Angola (2001) | Nicaragua (2006) | |
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 | 15 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento) and 2 autonomous regions* (regiones autonomistas, singular - region autonomista); Atlantico Norte*, Atlantico Sur*, Boaco, Carazo, Chinandega, Chontales, Esteli, Granada, Jinotega, Leon, Madriz, Managua, Masaya, Matagalpa, Nueva Segovia, Rio San Juan, Rivas |
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: 36.4% (male 1,031,897/female 994,633)
15-64 years: 60.5% (male 1,677,633/female 1,691,353) 65 years and over: 3.1% (male 76,758/female 97,855) (2006 est.) |
Agriculture - products | bananas, sugarcane, coffee, sisal, corn, cotton, manioc (tapioca), tobacco, vegetables, plantains; livestock; forest products; fish | coffee, bananas, sugarcane, cotton, rice, corn, tobacco, sesame, soya, beans; beef, veal, pork, poultry, dairy products; shrimp, lobsters |
Airports | 247 (2000 est.) | 176 (2006) |
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: 11
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 3 (2006) |
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: 165
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 23 under 914 m: 141 (2006) |
Area | total:
1,246,700 sq km land: 1,246,700 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 129,494 sq km
land: 120,254 sq km water: 9,240 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly less than twice the size of Texas | slightly smaller than the state of New York |
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. | The Pacific coast of Nicaragua was settled as a Spanish colony from Panama in the early 16th century. Independence from Spain was declared in 1821 and the country became an independent republic in 1838. Britain occupied the Caribbean Coast in the first half of the 19th century, but gradually ceded control of the region in subsequent decades. Violent opposition to governmental manipulation and corruption spread to all classes by 1978 and resulted in a short-lived civil war that brought the Marxist Sandinista guerrillas to power in 1979. Nicaraguan aid to leftist rebels in El Salvador caused the US to sponsor anti-Sandinista contra guerrillas through much of the 1980s. Free elections in 1990, 1996, and 2001, saw the Sandinistas defeated, but voting in 2006 announced the return of former Sandinista President Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra. Nicaragua's infrastructure and economy - hard hit by the earlier civil war and by Hurricane Mitch in 1998 - are slowly being rebuilt. |
Birth rate | 46.54 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 24.51 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$928 million expenditures: $2.5 billion, including capital expenditures of $963 million (1992 est.) |
revenues: $1.134 billion
expenditures: $1.358 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.) |
Capital | Luanda | name: Managua
geographic coordinates: 12 09 N, 86 17 W time difference: UTC-6 (1 hour behind Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
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 in lowlands, cooler in highlands |
Coastline | 1,600 km | 910 km |
Constitution | 11 November 1975; revised 7 January 1978, 11 August 1980, 6 March 1991, and 26 August 1992 | 9 January 1987; reforms in 1995 and 2000 |
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 Nicaragua
conventional short form: Nicaragua local long form: Republica de Nicaragua local short form: Nicaragua |
Currency | kwanza (AOA) | - |
Death rate | 24.68 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 4.45 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | $10.8 billion (2000 est.) | $3.188 billion (2005 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 Paul A. TRIVELLI
embassy: Kilometer 4.5 Carretera Sur, Managua mailing address: P.O. Box 327 telephone: [505] 266-6010 FAX: [505] 266-3861 |
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 Salvador STADTHAGEN
chancery: 1627 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 939-6570, [1] (202) 939-6573 FAX: [1] (202) 939-6545 consulate(s) general: Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco |
Disputes - international | none | Nicaragua filed a claim against Honduras in 1999 and against Colombia in 2001 at the ICJ over disputed maritime boundary involving 50,000 sq km in the Caribbean Sea, including the Archipelago de San Andres y Providencia and Quita Sueno Bank; the 1992 ICJ ruling for El Salvador and Honduras advised a tripartite resolution to establish a maritime boundary in the Gulf of Fonseca, which considers Honduran access to the Pacific; legal dispute over navigational rights of San Juan River on border with Costa Rica |
Economic aid - recipient | $493.1 million (1995) | $419.5 million (2005 est.) |
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. | Nicaragua, one of the Western Hemisphere's poorest countries, has low per capita income, widespread underemployment, and a heavy external debt burden. Distribution of income is one of the most unequal on the globe. While the country has progressed toward macroeconomic stability in the past few years, GDP annual growth has been far too low to meet the country's needs, forcing the country to rely on international economic assistance to meet fiscal and debt financing obligations. Nicaragua qualified in early 2004 for some $4.5 billion in foreign debt reduction under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative because of its earlier successful performances under its International Monetary Fund policy program and other efforts. In October 2005, Nicaragua ratified the US-Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), which will provide an opportunity for Nicaragua to attract investment, create jobs, and deepen economic development. High oil prices helped drive inflation to 9.6% in 2005, leading to a fall in real GDP growth to 4% from over 5% in 2004. |
Electricity - consumption | 1.372 billion kWh (1999) | 1.848 billion kWh (2004) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 21.8 million kWh (2004) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 23.3 million kWh (2004) |
Electricity - production | 1.475 billion kWh (1999) | 2.887 billion kWh (2004) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
32.2% hydro: 67.8% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Morro de Moco 2,620 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mogoton 2,438 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 | deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution |
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, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification |
Ethnic groups | Ovimbundu 37%, Kimbundu 25%, Bakongo 13%, mestico (mixed European and Native African) 2%, European 1%, other 22% | mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white) 69%, white 17%, black 9%, Amerindian 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 | gold cordobas per US dollar - 16.733 (2005), 15.937 (2004), 15.105 (2003), 14.251 (2002), 13.372 (2001) |
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 Enrique BOLANOS Geyer (since 10 January 2002); Vice President Alfredo GOMEZ Urcuyo (since 10 October 2005); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government; Alfredo GOMEZ Urcuyo was elected Vice President by the deputies of the National Assembly after Vice President Jose RIZO Castellon resigned on 27 September 2005
head of government: President Enrique BOLANOS Geyer (since 10 January 2002); Vice President Alfredo GOMEZ Urcuyo (since 10 October 2005) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 5 November 2006 (next to be held by November 2011) election results: Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra (FSLN) elected president - 38.07%, Eduardo MONTEALEGRE (ALN) 29%, Jose RIZO (PLC) 26.21%, Edmundo JARQUIN (MRS) 6.44%; note - ORTEGA will take office 10 January 2007 |
Exports | $7.8 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | 758.9 bbl/day (2004) |
Exports - commodities | crude oil 90%, diamonds, refined petroleum products, gas, coffee, sisal, fish and fish products, timber, cotton | coffee, beef, shrimp and lobster, tobacco, sugar, gold, peanuts |
Exports - partners | US 54%, South Korea 14%, Benelux 11%, China 7%, Taiwan 6% (1999) | US 60.7%, Mexico 8.6%, El Salvador 6.2% (2005) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
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) | three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), white, and blue with the national coat of arms centered in the white band; the coat of arms features a triangle encircled by the words REPUBLICA DE NICARAGUA on the top and AMERICA CENTRAL on the bottom; similar to the flag of El Salvador, which features a round emblem encircled by the words REPUBLICA DE EL SALVADOR EN LA AMERICA CENTRAL centered in the white band; also similar to the flag of Honduras, which has five blue stars arranged in an X pattern centered in the white band |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $10.1 billion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
7% industry: 60% services: 33% (1999 est.) |
agriculture: 16.5%
industry: 27.5% services: 56% (2005 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,000 (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 4.9% (2000 est.) | 4% (2005 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 12 30 S, 18 30 E | 13 00 N, 85 00 W |
Geography - note | Cabinda is separated from rest of country by the Democratic Republic of the Congo | largest country in Central America; contains the largest freshwater body in Central America, Lago de Nicaragua |
Highways | total:
76,626 km paved: 19,156 km unpaved: 57,470 km (1997) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 1.2%
highest 10%: 45% (2001) |
Illicit drugs | increasingly used as a transshipment point for cocaine and heroin destined for Western Europe and other African states | transshipment point for cocaine destined for the US and transshipment point for arms-for-drugs dealing |
Imports | $2.5 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | 15,560 bbl/day (2005 est.) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and electrical equipment, vehicles and spare parts; medicines, food, textiles, military goods | consumer goods, machinery and equipment, raw materials, petroleum products |
Imports - partners | South Korea 16%, Portugal 15%, US 13%, South Africa 10%, France 8% (1999) | US 19.6%, Mexico 10.3%, Venezuela 9.5%, Costa Rica 8.5%, Guatemala 6.7%, El Salvador 4.5%, South Korea 4.1% (2005) |
Independence | 11 November 1975 (from Portugal) | 15 September 1821 (from Spain) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 2.4% (2005 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 | food processing, chemicals, machinery and metal products, textiles, clothing, petroleum refining and distribution, beverages, footwear, wood |
Infant mortality rate | 193.72 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 28.11 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 31.51 deaths/1,000 live births female: 24.54 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 325% (2000 est.) | 9.6% (2005 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 | BCIE, CACM, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITU, LAES, LAIA (observer), MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 750 sq km (1993 est.) | 610 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Tribunal da Relacao (judges are appointed by the president) | Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (16 judges elected for five-year terms by the National Assembly) |
Labor force | 5 million (1997 est.) | 2.01 million (2005 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 85%, industry and services 15% (1997 est.) | agriculture: 30.5%
industry: 17.3% services: 52.2% (2003 est.) |
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: 1,231 km
border countries: Costa Rica 309 km, Honduras 922 km |
Land use | arable land:
2% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 23% forests and woodland: 43% other: 32% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 14.81%
permanent crops: 1.82% other: 83.37% (2005) |
Languages | Portuguese (official), Bantu and other African languages | Spanish 97.5% (official), Miskito 1.7%, other 0.8% (1995 census)
note: English and indigenous languages on Atlantic coast |
Legal system | based on Portuguese civil law system and customary law; recently modified to accommodate political pluralism and increased use of free markets | civil law system; Supreme Court may review administrative acts; 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 |
unicameral National Assembly or Asamblea Nacional (92 seats; members are elected by proportional representation and party lists to serve five-year terms; 1 seat for the previous president, 1 seat for the runner-up in previous presidential election)
elections: last held 5 November 2006 (next to be held by November 2011) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - FSLN 38, PLC 25, ALN 23 (22 plus one for presidential candidate Eduardo MONTEALEGRE, runner-up in the 2006 presidential election), MRS 5, APRE 1 (outgoing President Enrique BOLANOS) |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
38.59 years male: 37.36 years female: 39.87 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 70.63 years
male: 68.55 years female: 72.81 years (2006 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: 67.5% male: 67.2% female: 67.8% (2003 est.) |
Location | Southern Africa, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Namibia and Democratic Republic of the Congo | Central America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Costa Rica and Honduras |
Map references | Africa | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | contiguous zone:
24 NM exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 200 nm
continental shelf: natural prolongation |
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.) |
- |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces, National Police Force | Army (includes Navy, Air Force) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $1.2 billion (FY97) | $32.27 million (2005 est.) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 22% (1999) | 0.7% (2005 est.) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
2,480,016 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
1,246,224 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
103,807 (2001 est.) |
- |
National holiday | Independence Day, 11 November (1975) | Independence Day, 15 September (1821) |
Nationality | noun:
Angolan(s) adjective: Angolan |
noun: Nicaraguan(s)
adjective: Nicaraguan |
Natural hazards | locally heavy rainfall causes periodic flooding on the plateau | destructive earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides; extremely susceptible to hurricanes |
Natural resources | petroleum, diamonds, iron ore, phosphates, copper, feldspar, gold, bauxite, uranium | gold, silver, copper, tungsten, lead, zinc, timber, fish |
Net migration rate | -0.34 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -1.17 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil 179 km | oil 54 km (2006) |
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 Republic or APRE [Miguel LOPEZ Baldizon]; Central American Unionist Party or PUCA [Blanca ROJAS]; Christian Alternative Party or AC [Orlando TARDENCILLA Espinoza]; Conservative Party or PC [Mario Sebastian RAPPACCIOLI]; Independent Liberal Party or PLI [Anibal MARTINEZ Nunez, Pedro REYES Vallejos]; Independent Liberal Party for National Unity or PLIUN [Carlos GUERRA Gallardo]; Liberal Constitutional Party or PLC [Jorge CASTILLO Quant]; Liberal Salvation Movement or MSL [Eliseo NUNEZ Hernandez]; New Liberal Party or PALI [Adolfo GARCIA Esquivel]; Nicaraguan Liberal Alliance or ALN [Eduardo MONTEALEGRE]; Nicaraguan Party of the Christian Path or PCCN [Guillermo OSORNO Molina]; Nicaraguan Resistance Party or PRN [Salvador TALAVERA]; Sandinista National Liberation Front or FSLN [Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra]; Sandinista Renovation Movement or MRS [Dora Maria TELLEZ]; Unity Alliance or AU |
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 |
National Workers Front or FNT is a Sandinista umbrella group of eight labor unions including - Farm Workers Association or ATC, Health Workers Federation or FETASALUD, Heroes and Martyrs Confederation of Professional Associations or CONAPRO, National Association of Educators of Nicaragua or ANDEN, National Union of Employees or UNE, National Union of Farmers and Ranchers or UNAG, Sandinista Workers Central or CST, and Union of Journalists of Nicaragua or UPN; Permanent Congress of Workers or CPT is an umbrella group of four non-Sandinista labor unions including - Autonomous Nicaraguan Workers Central or CTN-A, Confederation of Labor Unification or CUS, Independent General Confederation of Labor or CGT-I, and Labor Action and Unity Central or CAUS; Nicaraguan Workers' Central or CTN is an independent labor union; Superior Council of Private Enterprise or COSEP is a confederation of business groups |
Population | 10,366,031 (July 2001 est.) | 5,570,129 (July 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 50% (2001 est.) |
Population growth rate | 2.15% (2001 est.) | 1.89% (2006 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Ambriz, Cabinda, Lobito, Luanda, Malongo, Mocamedes, Namibe, Porto Amboim, Soyo | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 34, FM 7, shortwave 9 (1999) | AM 63, FM 32, shortwave 1 (1998) |
Radios | 630,000 (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: 6 km
narrow gauge: 6 km 1.067-m gauge (2005) |
Religions | indigenous beliefs 47%, Roman Catholic 38%, Protestant 15% (1998 est.) | Roman Catholic 72.9%, Evangelical 15.1%, Moravian 1.5%, Episcopal 0.1%, other 1.9%, none 8.5% (1995 census) |
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: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 16 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: inadequate system being upgraded by foreign investment
domestic: low-capacity microwave radio relay and wire system being expanded; connected to Central American Microwave System international: country code - 505; satellite earth stations - 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region) and 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 62,000 (1997) | 220,900 (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 7,052 (1997) | 1.119 million (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | 7 (1999) | 3 (plus seven low-power repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | narrow coastal plain rises abruptly to vast interior plateau | extensive Atlantic coastal plains rising to central interior mountains; narrow Pacific coastal plain interrupted by volcanoes |
Total fertility rate | 6.48 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 2.75 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate | extensive unemployment and underemployment affecting more than half the population (2000 est.) | 5.6% plus underemployment of 46.5% (2005 est.) |
Waterways | 1,295 km | 2,220 km (including lakes Managua and Nicaragua) (2005) |