Angola (2001) | Haiti (2001) | |
Administrative divisions | 18 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia); Bengo, Benguela, Bie, Cabinda, Cuando Cubango, Cuanza Norte, Cuanza Sul, Cunene, Huambo, Huila, Luanda, Lunda Norte, Lunda Sul, Malanje, Moxico, Namibe, Uige, Zaire | 9 departments (departements, singular - departement); Artibonite, Centre, Grand'Anse, Nord, Nord-Est, Nord-Ouest, Ouest, Sud, Sud-Est |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
43.31% (male 2,266,870; female 2,222,262) 15-64 years: 53.98% (male 2,847,089; female 2,748,091) 65 years and over: 2.71% (male 127,798; female 153,921) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years:
40.31% (male 1,421,945; female 1,385,580) 15-64 years: 55.52% (male 1,869,323; female 1,997,246) 65 years and over: 4.17% (male 140,556; female 149,899) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | bananas, sugarcane, coffee, sisal, corn, cotton, manioc (tapioca), tobacco, vegetables, plantains; livestock; forest products; fish | coffee, mangoes, sugarcane, rice, corn, sorghum; wood |
Airports | 247 (2000 est.) | 13 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
31 over 3,047 m: 4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 8 1,524 to 2,437 m: 12 914 to 1,523 m: 6 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total:
3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
216 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 5 1,524 to 2,437 m: 30 914 to 1,523 m: 96 under 914 m: 83 (2000 est.) |
total:
10 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 8 (2000 est.) |
Area | total:
1,246,700 sq km land: 1,246,700 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total:
27,750 sq km land: 27,560 sq km water: 190 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly less than twice the size of Texas | slightly smaller than Maryland |
Background | Civil war has been the norm in Angola since independence from Portugal in 1975. A 1994 peace accord between the government and the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) provided for the integration of former UNITA insurgents into the government and armed forces. A national unity government was installed in April of 1997, but serious fighting resumed in late 1998, rendering hundreds of thousands of people homeless. Up to 1.5 million lives may have been lost in fighting over the past quarter century. | One of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere, Haiti has been plagued by political violence for most of its history. Over three decades of dictatorship followed by military rule ended in 1990 when Jean-Bertrand ARISTIDE was elected president. Most of his term was usurped by a military takeover, but he was able to return to office in 1994 and oversee the installation of a close associate to the presidency in 1996. ARISTIDE won a second term as president in 2000, and took office early the following year. |
Birth rate | 46.54 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 31.68 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$928 million expenditures: $2.5 billion, including capital expenditures of $963 million (1992 est.) |
revenues:
$317 million expenditures: $362 million, including capital expenditures of $84 million (FY99/00 est.) |
Capital | Luanda | Port-au-Prince |
Climate | semiarid in south and along coast to Luanda; north has cool, dry season (May to October) and hot, rainy season (November to April) | tropical; semiarid where mountains in east cut off trade winds |
Coastline | 1,600 km | 1,771 km |
Constitution | 11 November 1975; revised 7 January 1978, 11 August 1980, 6 March 1991, and 26 August 1992 | approved March 1987; suspended June 1988, with most articles reinstated March 1989; in October 1991, government claimed to be observing the constitution; return to constitutional rule, October 1994 |
Country name | conventional long form:
Republic of Angola conventional short form: Angola local long form: Republica de Angola local short form: Angola former: People's Republic of Angola |
conventional long form:
Republic of Haiti conventional short form: Haiti local long form: Republique d'Haiti local short form: Haiti |
Currency | kwanza (AOA) | gourde (HTG) |
Death rate | 24.68 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 15 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $10.8 billion (2000 est.) | $1 billion (1998 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Joseph G. SULLIVAN embassy: number 32 Rua Houari Boumeddienne, Luanda mailing address: international mail: Caixa Postal 6484, Luanda; pouch: American Embassy Luanda, Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-2550 telephone: [244] (2) 345-481, 346-418 FAX: [244] (2) 346-924 |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Brian Dean CURRAN embassy: 5 Harry Truman Boulevard, Port-au-Prince mailing address: P. O. Box 1761, Port-au-Prince telephone: [509] 222-0354, 222-0269, 222-0200, 223-4776 FAX: [509] 23-1641 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Josefina Perpetua Pitra DIAKIDI chancery: 1615 M Street, NW, Suite 900, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 785-1156 FAX: [1] (202) 785-1258 consulate(s) general: New York |
chief of mission:
Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Louis Harold JOSEPH chancery: 2311 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 332-4090 FAX: [1] (202) 745-7215 consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, Miami, New York, and San Juan (Puerto Rico) |
Disputes - international | none | claims US-administered Navassa Island |
Economic aid - recipient | $493.1 million (1995) | $730.6 million (1995) |
Economy - overview | Angola is an economy in disarray because of a quarter century of nearly continuous warfare. Despite its abundant natural resources, output per capita is among the world's lowest. Subsistence agriculture provides the main livelihood for 85% of the population. Oil production and the supporting activities are vital to the economy, contributing about 45% to GDP and 90% of exports. Violence continues, millions of land mines remain, and many farmers are reluctant to return to their fields. As a result, much of the country's food must still be imported. To fully take advantage of its rich resources - gold, diamonds, extensive forests, Atlantic fisheries, and large oil deposits - Angola will need to end its conflict and continue reforming government policies. Despite the increase in the pace of civil warfare in late 1998, the economy grew by an estimated 5% in 2000. The government introduced new currency denominations in 1999, including 1 and 5 kwanza notes. Internal strife discourages investment outside of the petroleum sector, which is producing roughly 800,000 barrels of oil per day. Angola has entered into a Staff Monitored Program (SMP) with the IMF. Continued growth depends on sharp cuts in inflation, further economic reform, and a lessening of fighting. | About 80% of the population lives in abject poverty. Nearly 70% of all Haitians depend on the agriculture sector, which consists mainly of small-scale subsistence farming and employs about two-thirds of the economically active work force. The country has experienced little job creation since the former President PREVAL took office in February 1996, although the informal economy is growing. Following legislative elections in May 2000, fraught with irregularities, international donors - including the US and EU - suspended almost all aid to Haiti. This destabilized the Haitian currency, the gourde, and, combined with a 40% fuel price hike in September, caused widespread price increases. Prices appear to have leveled off in January 2001. |
Electricity - consumption | 1.372 billion kWh (1999) | 625 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 1.475 billion kWh (1999) | 672 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
32.2% hydro: 67.8% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
fossil fuel:
52.83% hydro: 47.17% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Morro de Moco 2,620 m |
lowest point:
Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Chaine de la Selle 2,680 m |
Environment - current issues | overuse of pastures and subsequent soil erosion attributable to population pressures; desertification; deforestation of tropical rain forest, in response to both international demand for tropical timber and to domestic use as fuel, resulting in loss of biodiversity; soil erosion contributing to water pollution and siltation of rivers and dams; inadequate supplies of potable water | extensive deforestation (much of the remaining forested land is being cleared for agriculture and used as fuel); soil erosion; inadequate supplies of potable water |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection signed, but not ratified: Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban |
Ethnic groups | Ovimbundu 37%, Kimbundu 25%, Bakongo 13%, mestico (mixed European and Native African) 2%, European 1%, other 22% | black 95%, mulatto and white 5% |
Exchange rates | kwanza per US dollar - 17,910,800 (January 2001), 10,041,000 (2000), 2,790,706 (1999), 392,824 (1998), 229,040 (1997), 128,029 (1996); note - in December 1999 the kwanza was revalued with six zeroes dropped off the old value | gourdes per US dollar - 23.761 (January 2001), 22.524 (2000), 17.965 (1999), 16.505 (1998), 17.311 (1997), 15.093 (1996) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
President Jose Eduardo DOS SANTOS (since 21 September 1979); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government head of government: President Jose Eduardo DOS SANTOS (since 21 September 1979); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: President DOS SANTOS originally elected (in 1979) without opposition under a one-party system and stood for reelection in Angola's first multiparty elections 29-30 September 1992 (next to be held NA) election results: DOS SANTOS 49.6%, Jonas SAVIMBI 40.1%, making a run-off election necessary; the run-off was not held and SAVIMBI's National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) repudiated the results of the first election; the civil war resumed |
chief of state:
President Jean-Bertrand ARISTIDE (since 7 February 2001) head of government: Prime Minister Jean-Marie CHERESTAL (since 9 February 2001) cabinet: Cabinet chosen by the prime minister in consultation with the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 26 November 2000 (next to be held NA 2005); prime minister appointed by the president, ratified by the Congress election results: Jean-Bertrand ARISTIDE elected president; percent of vote - Jean-Bertrand ARISTIDE 92% |
Exports | $7.8 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | $186 million (f.o.b., 1999) |
Exports - commodities | crude oil 90%, diamonds, refined petroleum products, gas, coffee, sisal, fish and fish products, timber, cotton | manufactures, coffee, oils, mangoes |
Exports - partners | US 54%, South Korea 14%, Benelux 11%, China 7%, Taiwan 6% (1999) | US 89%, EU 8% (1999) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 October - 30 September |
Flag description | two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and black with a centered yellow emblem consisting of a five-pointed star within half a cogwheel crossed by a machete (in the style of a hammer and sickle) | two equal horizontal bands of blue (top) and red with a centered white rectangle bearing the coat of arms, which contains a palm tree flanked by flags and two cannons above a scroll bearing the motto L'UNION FAIT LA FORCE (Union Makes Strength) |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $10.1 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $12.7 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
7% industry: 60% services: 33% (1999 est.) |
agriculture:
32% industry: 20% services: 48% (1999 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,000 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1,800 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 4.9% (2000 est.) | 1.2% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 12 30 S, 18 30 E | 19 00 N, 72 25 W |
Geography - note | Cabinda is separated from rest of country by the Democratic Republic of the Congo | shares island of Hispaniola with Dominican Republic (western one-third is Haiti, eastern two-thirds is the Dominican Republic) |
Highways | total:
76,626 km paved: 19,156 km unpaved: 57,470 km (1997) |
total:
4,160 km paved: 1,011 km unpaved: 3,149 km (1996) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | increasingly used as a transshipment point for cocaine and heroin destined for Western Europe and other African states | major Caribbean transshipment point for cocaine en route to the US and Europe; vulnerable to money laundering |
Imports | $2.5 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | $1.2 billion (c.i.f., 1999) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and electrical equipment, vehicles and spare parts; medicines, food, textiles, military goods | food, machinery and transport equipment, fuels, raw materials |
Imports - partners | South Korea 16%, Portugal 15%, US 13%, South Africa 10%, France 8% (1999) | US 60%, EU 13% (1999) |
Independence | 11 November 1975 (from Portugal) | 1 January 1804 (from France) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 0.6% (1997 est.) |
Industries | petroleum; diamonds, iron ore, phosphates, feldspar, bauxite, uranium, and gold; cement; basic metal products; fish processing; food processing; brewing; tobacco products; sugar; textiles | sugar refining, flour milling, textiles, cement, tourism, light assembly industries based on imported parts |
Infant mortality rate | 193.72 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | 95.23 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 325% (2000 est.) | 19% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, AfDB, CCC, CEEAC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, NAM, OAS (observer), OAU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | ACCT, ACP, Caricom (observer), CCC, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, LAES, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | 3 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 750 sq km (1993 est.) | 750 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Tribunal da Relacao (judges are appointed by the president) | Supreme Court or Cour de Cassation |
Labor force | 5 million (1997 est.) | 3.6 million (1995)
note: shortage of skilled labor, unskilled labor abundant (1998) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 85%, industry and services 15% (1997 est.) | agriculture 66%, services 25%, industry 9% |
Land boundaries | total:
5,198 km border countries: Democratic Republic of the Congo 2,511 km (of which 220 km is the boundary of discontiguous Cabinda Province), Republic of the Congo 201 km, Namibia 1,376 km, Zambia 1,110 km |
total:
275 km border countries: Dominican Republic 275 km |
Land use | arable land:
2% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 23% forests and woodland: 43% other: 32% (1993 est.) |
arable land:
20% permanent crops: 13% permanent pastures: 18% forests and woodland: 5% other: 44% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Portuguese (official), Bantu and other African languages | French (official), Creole (official) |
Legal system | based on Portuguese civil law system and customary law; recently modified to accommodate political pluralism and increased use of free markets | based on Roman civil law system; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | unicameral National Assembly or Assembleia Nacional (220 seats; members elected by proportional vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 29-30 September 1992 (next to be held NA) election results: percent of vote by party - MPLA 54%, UNITA 34%, others 12%; seats by party - MPLA 129, UNITA 70, PRS 6, FNLA 5, PLD 3, others 7 |
bicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale consists of the Senate (27 seats; members serve six-year terms; one-third elected every two years) and the Chamber of Deputies (83 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held for two-thirds of seats 21 May 2000, with runoffs on 9 July boycotted by the opposition; about eight seats still disputed; election for remaining one-third held on 26 November 2000 (next to be held NA 2002); Chamber of Deputies - last held 21 May 2000, with runoffs on 30 July boycotted by the opposition; one vacant seat rerun 26 November 2000 (next election NA 2004) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - FL 26, independent 1; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - FL 73, OPL 1, other minor parties and independents 9 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
38.59 years male: 37.36 years female: 39.87 years (2001 est.) |
total population:
49.38 years male: 47.67 years female: 51.17 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 42% male: 56% female: 28% (1998 est.) |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 45% male: 48% female: 42.2% (1995 est.) |
Location | Southern Africa, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Namibia and Democratic Republic of the Congo | Caribbean, western one-third of the island of Hispaniola, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, west of the Dominican Republic |
Map references | Africa | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | contiguous zone:
24 NM exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
contiguous zone:
24 NM continental shelf: to depth of exploitation exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | total:
9 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 39,305 GRT/63,067 DWT ships by type: cargo 8, petroleum tanker 1 (2000 est.) |
none (2000 est.) |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces, National Police Force | Haitian National Police (HNP)
note: the regular Haitian Army, Navy, and Air Force have been demobilized but still exist on paper until constitutionally abolished |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $1.2 billion (FY97) | $NA; note - mainly for police and security activities |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 22% (1999) | NA% |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
2,480,016 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49:
1,635,253 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
1,246,224 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49:
888,305 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age | 18 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
103,807 (2001 est.) |
males:
87,049 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 11 November (1975) | Independence Day, 1 January (1804) |
Nationality | noun:
Angolan(s) adjective: Angolan |
noun:
Haitian(s) adjective: Haitian |
Natural hazards | locally heavy rainfall causes periodic flooding on the plateau | lies in the middle of the hurricane belt and subject to severe storms from June to October; occasional flooding and earthquakes; periodic droughts |
Natural resources | petroleum, diamonds, iron ore, phosphates, copper, feldspar, gold, bauxite, uranium | bauxite, copper, calcium carbonate, gold, marble, hydropower |
Net migration rate | -0.34 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -2.64 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil 179 km | - |
Political parties and leaders | Liberal Democratic Party or PLD [Analia de Victoria PEREIRA]; National Front for the Liberation of Angola or FNLA [disputed leadership: Lucas NGONDA, Holden ROBERTO]; National Union for the Total Independence of Angola or UNITA [Jonas SAVIMBI], largest opposition party has engaged in years of armed resistance; Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola or MPLA [Jose Eduardo DOS SANTOS] ruling party in power since 1975; Social Renewal Party or PRS [disputed leadership: Eduardo KUANGANA, Antonio MUACHICUNGO]; UNITA-Renovada [Eugenio NGOLO "Manuvakola", leader]
note: about a dozen minor parties participated in the 1992 elections but won few seats and have little influence in the National Assembly |
Alliance for the Liberation and Advancement of Haiti or ALAH [Reynold GEORGES]; Assembly of Progressive National Democrats or RDNP [Leslie MANIGAT]; Convergence (opposition coalition composed of ESPACE, OPL, and MOCHRENA) [Gerard PIERRE-CHARLES, Evans PAUL, Luc MESADIEU, Victor BENOIT]; Democratic Consultation Group coalition or ESPACE [Evans PAUL, Victor Benoit] composed of the following parties: National Congress of Democratic Movements or KONAKOM, National Progressive Revolutionary Party or PANPRA, Generation 2004, and Haiti Can; Haitian Christian Democratic Party or PDCH [Marie-France CLAUDE]; Haitian Democratic Party or PADEM [Clark PARENT]; Lavalas Family or FL [Jean-Bertrand ARISTIDE]; Mobilization for National Development or MDN [Hubert DE RONCERAY]; Movement for National Reconstruction or MRN [Rene THEODORE]; Movement for the Installation of Democracy in Haiti or MIDH [Marc BAZIN]; Movement for the Organization of the Country or MOP [Gesner COMEAU and Jean MOLIERE]; National Front for Change and Democracy or FNCD [Evans PAUL and Turneb DELPE]; New Christian Movement for a New Haiti or MOCHRENA [Luc MESADIEU]; Struggling People's Organization or OPL [Gerard PIERRE-CHARLES] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda or FLEC [N'zita Henriques TIAGO; Antonio Bento BEMBE]
note: FLEC is waging a small-scale, highly factionalized, armed struggle for the independence of Cabinda Province |
Autonomous Haitian Workers or CATH; Confederation of Haitian Workers or CTH; Federation of Workers Trade Unions or FOS; National Popular Assembly or APN; Papaye Peasants Movement or MPP; Popular Organizations Gathering Power or PROP; Roman Catholic Church |
Population | 10,366,031 (July 2001 est.) | 6,964,549
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 80% (1998 est.) |
Population growth rate | 2.15% (2001 est.) | 1.4% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Ambriz, Cabinda, Lobito, Luanda, Malongo, Mocamedes, Namibe, Porto Amboim, Soyo | Cap-Haitien, Gonaives, Jacmel, Jeremie, Les Cayes, Miragoane, Port-au-Prince, Port-de-Paix, Saint-Marc |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 34, FM 7, shortwave 9 (1999) | AM 41, FM 26, shortwave 0 (1999) |
Radios | 630,000 (1997) | 415,000 (1997) |
Railways | total:
2,771 km (inland, much of the track is unusable because of land mines still in place from the civil war) narrow gauge: 2,648 km 1.067-m gauge; 123 km 0.600-m gauge (2000) |
total:
40 km (single track; privately owned industrial line) - closed in early 1990s narrow gauge: 40 km 0.760-m gauge |
Religions | indigenous beliefs 47%, Roman Catholic 38%, Protestant 15% (1998 est.) | Roman Catholic 80%, Protestant 16% (Baptist 10%, Pentecostal 4%, Adventist 1%, other 1%), none 1%, other 3% (1982)
note: roughly one-half of the population also practices Voodoo |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.83 male(s)/female total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.94 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
telephone service limited mostly to government and business use; HF radiotelephone used extensively for military links domestic: limited system of wire, microwave radio relay, and tropospheric scatter international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
general assessment:
domestic facilities barely adequate; international facilities slightly better domestic: coaxial cable and microwave radio relay trunk service international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 62,000 (1997) | 60,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 7,052 (1997) | 0 (1995) |
Television broadcast stations | 7 (1999) | 2 (plus a cable TV service) (1997) |
Terrain | narrow coastal plain rises abruptly to vast interior plateau | mostly rough and mountainous |
Total fertility rate | 6.48 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 4.4 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | extensive unemployment and underemployment affecting more than half the population (2000 est.) | widespread unemployment and underemployment; more than two-thirds of the labor force do not have formal jobs (1999) |
Waterways | 1,295 km | NEGL; less than 100 km navigable |