Australia (2002) | Chad (2001) | |
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Administrative divisions | 6 states and 2 territories*; Australian Capital Territory*, New South Wales, Northern Territory*, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia | 14 prefectures (prefectures, singular - prefecture); Batha, Biltine, Borkou-Ennedi-Tibesti, Chari-Baguirmi, Guera, Kanem, Lac, Logone Occidental, Logone Oriental, Mayo-Kebbi, Moyen-Chari, Ouaddai, Salamat, Tandjile |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 20.4% (male 2,046,052; female 1,949,725)
15-64 years: 67% (male 6,610,840; female 6,480,354) 65 years and over: 12.6% (male 1,078,506; female 1,381,315) (2002 est.) |
0-14 years:
47.73% (male 2,091,724; female 2,064,514) 15-64 years: 49.46% (male 2,035,099; female 2,271,389) 65 years and over: 2.81% (male 101,579; female 142,773) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | wheat, barley, sugarcane, fruits; cattle, sheep, poultry | cotton, sorghum, millet, peanuts, rice, potatoes, manioc (tapioca); cattle, sheep, goats, camels |
Airports | 421 (2001) | 50 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 294
over 3,047 m: 10 2,438 to 3,047 m: 11 1,524 to 2,437 m: 126 914 to 1,523 m: 134 under 914 m: 13 (2002) |
total:
7 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 150
1,524 to 2,437 m: 20 914 to 1,523 m: 116 under 914 m: 14 (2002) |
total:
43 1,524 to 2,437 m: 12 914 to 1,523 m: 20 under 914 m: 11 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 7,686,850 sq km
land: 7,617,930 sq km water: 68,920 sq km note: includes Lord Howe Island and Macquarie Island |
total:
1.284 million sq km land: 1,259,200 sq km water: 24,800 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than the US contiguous 48 states | slightly more than three times the size of California |
Background | Australia became a commonwealth of the British Empire in 1901. It was able to take advantage of its natural resources to rapidly develop its agricultural and manufacturing industries and to make a major contribution to the British effort in World Wars I and II. Long-term concerns include pollution, particularly depletion of the ozone layer, and management and conservation of coastal areas, especially the Great Barrier Reef. A referendum to change Australia's status, from a commonwealth headed by the British monarch to a republic, was defeated in 1999. | Chad, part of France's African holdings until 1960, endured three decades of ethnic warfare as well as invasions by Libya before a semblance of peace was finally restored in 1990. The government eventually suppressed or came to terms with most political-military groups, settled a territorial dispute with Libya on terms favorable to Chad, drafted a democratic constitution, and held multiparty presidential and National Assembly elections in 1996 and 1997 respectively. In 1998 a new rebellion broke out in northern Chad, which continued to escalate throughout 2000. Despite movement toward democratic reform, power remains in the hands of a northern ethnic oligarchy. |
Birth rate | 12.71 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 48.28 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $86.8 billion
expenditures: $84.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY00/01 est. ) |
revenues:
$198 million expenditures: $218 million, including capital expenditures of $146 million (1998 est.) |
Capital | Canberra | N'Djamena |
Climate | generally arid to semiarid; temperate in south and east; tropical in north | tropical in south, desert in north |
Coastline | 25,760 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 9 July 1900, effective 1 January 1901 | passed by referendum 31 March 1995 |
Country name | conventional long form: Commonwealth of Australia
conventional short form: Australia |
conventional long form:
Republic of Chad conventional short form: Chad local long form: Republique du Tchad local short form: Tchad |
Currency | Australian dollar (AUD) | Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XAF); note - responsible authority is the Bank of the Central African States |
Death rate | 7.25 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 15.4 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $176.8 billion (2001 est.) | $1 billion (1999 est.) |
Dependent areas | Ashmore and Cartier Islands, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Coral Sea Islands, Heard Island and McDonald Islands, Norfolk Island | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador J. Thomas SCHIEFFER
embassy: Moonah Place, Yarralumla, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 2600 mailing address: APO AP 96549 telephone: [61] (02) 6214-5600 FAX: [61] (02) 6214-5970 consulate(s) general: Melbourne, Perth, Sydney |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Christopher E. GOLDTHWAIT embassy: Avenue Felix Eboue, N'Djamena mailing address: B. P. 413, N'Djamena telephone: [235] (51) 70-09, (51) 90-52, (51) 92-33 FAX: [235] (51) 56-54 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Michael J. THAWLEY
chancery: 1601 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 797-3000 FAX: [1] (202) 797-3168 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Chicago, Honolulu, Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Hassaballah Abdelhadi Ahmat SOUBIANE chancery: 2002 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 462-4009 FAX: [1] (202) 265-1937 |
Disputes - international | Australia-East Timor-Indonesia are working to resolve maritime boundary and sharing of seabed resources in "Timor Gap"; Australia asserts a territorial claim to Antarctica and to its continental shelf | delimitation of international boundaries in the vicinity of Lake Chad, the lack of which led to border incidents in the past, has been completed and awaits ratification by Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria |
Economic aid - donor | ODA, $894 million (FY99/00 ) | - |
Economic aid - recipient | - | $238.3 million (1995); note - $125 million committed by Taiwan (August 1997); $30 million committed by African Development Bank |
Economy - overview | Australia has a prosperous Western-style capitalist economy, with a per capita GDP on par with the four dominant West European economies. Rising output in the domestic economy has been offsetting the global slump, and business and consumer confidence remains robust. Canberra's emphasis on reforms is another key factor behind the economy's strength. The stagnant economic conditions in major export partners and the impact of the worst drought in 100 years cast a shadow over prospects for 2003. | Landlocked Chad's economic development suffers from its geographic remoteness, drought, lack of infrastructure, and political turmoil. About 85% of the population depends on agriculture, including the herding of livestock. Of Africa's Francophone countries, Chad benefited least from the 50% devaluation of their currencies in January 1994. Financial aid from the World Bank, the African Development Fund, and other sources is directed largely at the improvement of agriculture, especially livestock production. The World Bank's decision to back the Doba oil field development and the Chad-Cameroon pipeline will add Chad to the group of already booming West African oil exporters. However, the rank and file may not benefit much from the oil development projects. |
Electricity - consumption | 188.49 billion kWh (2000) | 83.7 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 202.68 billion kWh (2000) | 90 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 90%
hydro: 8% nuclear: 0% other: 2% (2000) |
fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Lake Eyre -15 m
highest point: Mount Kosciuszko 2,229 m |
lowest point:
Djourab Depression 160 m highest point: Emi Koussi 3,415 m |
Environment - current issues | soil erosion from overgrazing, industrial development, urbanization, and poor farming practices; soil salinity rising due to the use of poor quality water; desertification; clearing for agricultural purposes threatens the natural habitat of many unique animal and plant species; the Great Barrier Reef off the northeast coast, the largest coral reef in the world, is threatened by increased shipping and its popularity as a tourist site; limited natural fresh water resources | inadequate supplies of potable water; improper waste disposal in rural areas contributes to soil and water pollution; desertification |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping |
Ethnic groups | Caucasian 92%, Asian 7%, aboriginal and other 1% | Muslims, commonly referred to as "northerners" or "gorane" (Arabs, Toubou, Hadjerai, Fulbe, Kotoko, Kanembou, Baguirmi, Boulala, Zaghawa, and Maba); non-Muslims, commonly referred to as "southerners" (Sara, Ngambaye, Mbaye, Goulaye, Moundang, Moussei, Massa) including nonindigenous 150,000 (of whom 1,000 are French)
note: ethnicity and regional background more commonly used to identify Chadians than religious affiliation |
Exchange rates | Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.9354 (January 2002), 1.9320 (2001), 1.7173 (2000), 1.5497 (1999), 1.5888 (1998), 1.3439 (1997) | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XAF) per US dollar - 699.21 (January 2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.70 (1999), 589.95 (1998), 583.67 (1997), 511.55 (1996); note - from 1 January 1999, the XAF is pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 XAF per euro |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Rt. Rev. Dr. Peter HOLLINGWORTH (since 29 June 2001)
head of government: Prime Minister John Winston HOWARD (since 11 March 1996); Deputy Prime Minister John ANDERSON (since 20 July 1999) cabinet: Cabinet Parliament nominates, from among its members, a list of candidates to serve as government ministers; from this list, the governor general makes the final selections for the Cabinet elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or leader of a majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the governor general note: government coalition - Liberal Party and National Party |
chief of state:
President Lt. Gen. Idriss DEBY (since 4 December 1990) head of government: Prime Minister Nagoum YAMASSOUM (since 13 December 1999) cabinet: Council of State, members appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister elections: president elected by popular vote to serve five-year term; if no candidate receives at least 50% of the total vote, the two candidates receiving the most votes must stand for a second round of voting; last held 20 May 2001 (next to be held NA 2006); prime minister appointed by the president election results: Lt. Gen. Idriss DEBY elected president; percent of vote - Lt. Gen. Idriss DEBY 63%, Ngarlegy YORONGAR 16%, Saleh KEBZABO 7% note: government coalition - MPS, UNDR, and URD |
Exports | $66.3 billion (2002 est.) | $172 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | coal, gold, meat, wool, alumina, iron ore, wheat, machinery and transport equipment | cotton, cattle, textiles |
Exports - partners | Developing countries 45.6%, Japan 19.7%, ASEAN 13.3%, EU 11.7%, US 9.7% (2001) | Portugal 38%, Germany 12%, Thailand, Costa Rica, South Africa, France (1999) |
Fiscal year | 1 July - 30 June | calendar year |
Flag description | blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and a large seven-pointed star in the lower hoist-side quadrant; the remaining half is a representation of the Southern Cross constellation in white with one small five-pointed star and four, larger, seven-pointed stars | three equal vertical bands of blue (hoist side), yellow, and red; similar to the flag of Romania; also similar to the flags of Andorra and Moldova, both of which have a national coat of arms centered in the yellow band; design was based on the flag of France |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $528 billion (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $8.1 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 3%
industry: 26% services: 71% (2001 est.) |
agriculture:
40% industry: 14% services: 46% (1998) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $27,000 (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1,000 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 3.6% (2002 est.) | 4% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 27 00 S, 133 00 E | 15 00 N, 19 00 E |
Geography - note | world's smallest continent but sixth-largest country; population concentrated along the eastern and southeastern coasts; regular, tropical, invigorating, sea breeze known as "the Doctor" occurs along the west coast in the summer | landlocked; Lake Chad is the most significant water body in the Sahel |
Highways | total: 913,000 km
paved: 353,331 km (including 1,363 km of expressways) unpaved: 559,669 km (1996) |
total:
33,400 km paved: 267 km unpaved: 33,133 km (1996) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 2%
highest 10%: 25% (1994) |
lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | Tasmania is one of the world's major suppliers of licit opiate products; government maintains strict controls over areas of opium poppy cultivation and output of poppy straw concentrate | - |
Imports | $68 billion (2002 est.) | $223 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment, computers and office machines, telecommunication equipment and parts; crude oil and petroleum products | machinery and transportation equipment, industrial goods, petroleum products, foodstuffs, textiles |
Imports - partners | Developing countries 31.7%, EU 21.6%, US 18.9%, ASEAN 14.8%, Japan 13.0% (2001) | France 40%, Cameroon 13%, Nigeria 12%, India 5% (1999) |
Independence | 1 January 1901 (federation of UK colonies) | 11 August 1960 (from France) |
Industrial production growth rate | 4.3% (2002 est.) | 5% (1995) |
Industries | mining, industrial and transportation equipment, food processing, chemicals, steel | cotton textiles, meatpacking, beer brewing, natron (sodium carbonate), soap, cigarettes, construction materials |
Infant mortality rate | 4.9 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | 95.06 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.8% (2002 est.) | 3% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | ANZUS, APEC, ARF (dialogue partner), AsDB, ASEAN (dialogue partner), Australia Group, BIS, C, CCC, CP, EBRD, ESCAP, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NAM (guest), NEA, NSG, OECD, OPCW, PCA, Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNMEE, UNTAET, UNTSO, UNU, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO, ZC | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, BDEAC, CEEAC, CEMAC, ECA, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 571 (2002) | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 24,000 sq km (1998 est.) | 140 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | High Court (the chief justice and six other justices are appointed by the governor general) | Supreme Court; Court of Appeal; Criminal Courts; Magistrate Courts |
Labor force | 9.2 million (December 2001 ) | NA |
Labor force - by occupation | services 73%, industry 22%, agriculture 5% (1997 est.) | agriculture 85% (subsistence farming, herding, and fishing) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total:
5,968 km border countries: Cameroon 1,094 km, Central African Republic 1,197 km, Libya 1,055 km, Niger 1,175 km, Nigeria 87 km, Sudan 1,360 km |
Land use | arable land: 6.88%
permanent crops: 0.03% other: 93.09% (1998 est.) |
arable land:
3% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 36% forests and woodland: 26% other: 35% (1993 est.) |
Languages | English, native languages | French (official), Arabic (official), Sara and Sango (in south), more than 100 different languages and dialects |
Legal system | based on English common law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations | based on French civil law system and Chadian customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | bicameral Federal Parliament consists of the Senate (76 seats - 12 from each of the six states and two from each of the two mainland territories; one-half of the members elected every three years by popular vote to serve six-year terms) and the House of Representatives (150 seats - this is up from 148 seats in 2001 election; members elected by popular vote on the basis of preferential representation to serve three-year terms; no state can have fewer than five representatives)
elections: Senate - last held 10 November 2001 (next to be held by November 2004); House of Representatives - last held 10 November 2001 (next to be held by November 2004) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Liberal Party-National Party coalition 35, Australian Labor Party 28, Australian Democrats 8, Green Party 2, One Nation Party 1, Country Labor Party 1, independent 1; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Liberal Party-National Party coalition 82, Australian Labor Party 65, independent and other 3 |
unicameral National Assembly (125 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms); replaces the Higher Transitional Council or the Conseil Superieur de Transition
elections: National Assembly - last held in two rounds on 5 January and 23 February 1997 (next to be held in late 2001); in the first round of voting some candidates won clear victories by receiving 50% or more of the vote; where that did not happen, the two highest scoring candidates stood for a second round of voting election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - MPS 65, URD 29, UNDR 15, RDP 3, others 13 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 80 years
male: 77.15 years female: 83 years (2002 est.) |
total population:
50.88 years male: 48.86 years female: 52.98 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 100% male: 100% female: 100% (1980 est.) |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write French or Arabic total population: 48.1% male: 62.1% female: 34.7% (1995 est.) |
Location | Oceania, continent between the Indian Ocean and the South Pacific Ocean | Central Africa, south of Libya |
Map references | Oceania | Africa |
Maritime claims | contiguous zone: 24 NM
continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total: 55 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,469,362 GRT/1,869,262 DWT
ships by type: bulk 26, cargo 5, chemical tanker 4, container 1, liquefied gas 4, passenger 2, petroleum tanker 7, roll on/roll off 6, includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: France 2, United Kingdom 2, United States 14 (2002 est.) |
- |
Military branches | Royal Australian Army, Royal Australian Navy, Royal Australian Air Force | Armed Forces (includes Ground Force, Air Force, and Gendarmerie), Republican Guard, Rapid Intervention Force, Police, Rural and Nomadic Guard (GNNT) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $9.3 billion (FY01/02 est.) | $39 million (FY96) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2% (FY01/02) | 3.5% (FY96) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 5,013,406 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49:
1,814,578 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 4,321,387 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49:
949,997 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 17 years of age (2002 est.) | 20 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 142,686 (2002 est.) | males:
82,003 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Australia Day, 26 January (1788) | Independence Day, 11 August (1960) |
Nationality | noun: Australian(s)
adjective: Australian |
noun:
Chadian(s) adjective: Chadian |
Natural hazards | cyclones along the coast; severe droughts; forest fires | hot, dry, dusty harmattan winds occur in north; periodic droughts; locust plagues |
Natural resources | bauxite, coal, iron ore, copper, tin, gold, silver, uranium, nickel, tungsten, mineral sands, lead, zinc, diamonds, natural gas, petroleum | petroleum (unexploited but exploration under way), uranium, natron, kaolin, fish (Lake Chad) |
Net migration rate | 4.12 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil 2,500 km; petroleum products 500 km; natural gas 5,600 km | - |
Political parties and leaders | Australian Democrats [Andrew BARTLETT]; Australian Labor Party [Simon CREAN]; Country Labor Party [leader NA]; Australian Greens [Bob BROWN]; Liberal Party [John Winston HOWARD]; National Party [John ANDERSON]; One Nation Party [Pauline HANSON] | National Union for Development and Renewal or UNDR [Saleh KEBZABO]; Patriotic Salvation Movement or MPS [Mahamat Saleh AHMAT, chairman] (originally in opposition but now the party in power and the party of the president); Rally for Democracy and Progress or RDP [Lal Mahamat CHOUA]; Union for Renewal and Democracy or URD [Gen. Wadal Abdelkader KAMOUGUE] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Australian Monarchist League [leader NA]; Australian Republican Movement [leader NA] | NA |
Population | 19,546,792 (July 2002 est.) | 8,707,078 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 64% (1995 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.96% (2002 est.) | 3.29% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Adelaide, Brisbane, Cairns, Darwin, Devonport (Tasmania), Fremantle, Geelong, Hobart (Tasmania), Launceston (Tasmania), Mackay, Melbourne, Sydney, Townsville | none |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 262, FM 345, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 2, FM 3, shortwave 5 (1998) |
Radios | 25.5 million (1997) | 1.67 million (1997) |
Railways | total: 33,819 km (2,540 km electrified)
broad gauge: 3,719 km 1.600-m gauge standard gauge: 15,422 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 14,506 km 1.067-m gauge dual gauge: 172 km NA gauges (1999 est.) |
0 km |
Religions | Anglican 26.1%, Roman Catholic 26%, other Christian 24.3%, non-Christian 11%, other 12.6% | Muslim 50%, Christian 25%, indigenous beliefs (mostly animism) 25% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
at birth:
1.04 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.9 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: excellent domestic and international service
domestic: domestic satellite system; much use of radiotelephone in areas of low population density; rapid growth of mobile cellular telephones international: submarine cables to New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, and Indonesia; satellite earth stations - 10 Intelsat (4 Indian Ocean and 6 Pacific Ocean), 2 Inmarsat (Indian and Pacific Ocean regions) (1998) |
general assessment:
primitive system domestic: fair system of radiotelephone communication stations international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 10.05 million (2000) | 7,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 8.6 million (2000) | NA |
Television broadcast stations | 104 (1997) | 1 (1997) |
Terrain | mostly low plateau with deserts; fertile plain in southeast | broad, arid plains in center, desert in north, mountains in northwest, lowlands in south |
Total fertility rate | 1.77 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 6.56 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 6.3% (2002) | NA% |
Waterways | 8,368 km (mainly used by small, shallow-draft craft) | 2,000 km |