Compare Australia (2004) - Nicaragua (2008)

Compare Australia (2004) z Nicaragua (2008)

	Australia (2004)	Nicaragua (2008)

Administrative divisions	6 states and 2 territories; Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia*	15 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento) and 2 autonomous regions* (regiones autonomistas, singular - region autonoma); 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: 20.1% (male 2,044,449; female 1,948,574) 15-64 years: 67.2% (male 6,747,687; female 6,623,995) 65 years and over: 12.8% (male 1,121,522; female 1,426,917) (2004 est.)	0-14 years: 35.5% (male 1,025,426/female 988,148) 15-64 years: 61.3% (male 1,734,153/female 1,746,574) 65 years and over: 3.2% (male 79,589/female 101,466) (2007 est.)
Agriculture - products	wheat, barley, sugarcane, fruits; cattle, sheep, poultry	coffee, bananas, sugarcane, cotton, rice, corn, tobacco, sesame, soya, beans; beef, veal, pork, poultry, dairy products; shrimp, lobsters
Airports	444 (2003 est.)	163 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 305 over 3,047 m: 10 2,438 to 3,047 m: 12 1,524 to 2,437 m: 131 914 to 1,523 m: 139 under 914 m: 13 (2004 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 (2007)
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 143 1,524 to 2,437 m: 17 914 to 1,523 m: 112 under 914 m: 14 (2004 est.)	total: 152 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 16 under 914 m: 135 (2007)
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: 129,494 sq km land: 120,254 sq km water: 9,240 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than the US contiguous 48 states	slightly smaller than the state of New York
Background	Aboriginal settlers arrived on the continent from Southeast Asia about 40,000 years before the first Europeans began exploration in the 17th century. No formal territorial claims were made until 1770, when Capt. James COOK took possession in the name of Great Britain. Six colonies were created in the late 18th and 19th centuries; they federated and became the Commonwealth of Australia in 1901. The new country took 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. In recent decades, Australia has transformed itself into an internationally competitive, advanced market economy. 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.	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	12.4 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)	24.12 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Budget	revenues: $185 billion expenditures: $181 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2003)	revenues: $1.027 billion expenditures: $1.336 billion (2007 est.)
Capital	Canberra	name: Managua geographic coordinates: 12 09 N, 86 17 W time difference: UTC-6 (1 hour behind Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Climate	generally arid to semiarid; temperate in south and east; tropical in north	tropical in lowlands, cooler in highlands
Coastline	25,760 km	910 km
Constitution	9 July 1900, effective 1 January 1901	9 January 1987; reforms in 1995, 2000, and 2005
Country name	conventional long form: Commonwealth of Australia conventional short form: Australia	conventional long form: Republic of Nicaragua conventional short form: Nicaragua local long form: Republica de Nicaragua local short form: Nicaragua
Currency	Australian dollar (AUD)	-
Death rate	7.38 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)	4.42 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Debt - external	$233.5 billion (2003 est.)	$3.702 billion (31 December 2007 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 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 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 Arturo CRUZ Sequeira, Jr. 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	the 1999 maritime delimitation established partial maritime boundaries with East Timor over part of the Timor Gap but temporary resource-sharing agreements over an unreconciled area grant Australia 90% share of exploited gas reserves and hamper creation of a southern maritime boundary with Indonesia (see Ashmore and Cartier Islands disputes); Australia asserts a territorial claim to Antarctica and to its continental shelf (see Antarctica)	memorials and countermemorials were filed by the parties in Nicaragua's 1999 and 2001 proceedings against Honduras and Colombia at the ICJ over the maritime boundary and territorial claims in the western Caribbean Sea, final public hearings are scheduled for 2007; 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 - donor	ODA, $894 million (FY99/00)	-
Economic aid - recipient	-	$471 million (2006 est.)
Economy - overview	Australia has an enviable 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. Australia's emphasis on reforms, low inflation, and growing ties with China are other key factors behind the economy's strength. The impact of drought, weak foreign demand, and strong import demand pushed the trade deficit up to $18 billion in 2003 and to $20 billion in 2004 from $8 billion in 2002. One other concern is the domestic housing bubble.	Nicaragua has widespread underemployment, one of the highest degrees of income inequality in the world, and the third lowest per capita income in the Western Hemisphere. While the country has progressed toward macroeconomic stability in the past few years, annual GDP 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. In early 2004, Nicaragua secured some $4.5 billion in foreign debt reduction under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative, and in October 2007, the IMF approved a new poverty reduction and growth facility (PRGF) program that should create fiscal space for social spending and investment. The continuity of a relationship with the IMF reinforces donor confidence, despite private sector concerns surrounding Ortega, which has dampened investment. The US-Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) has been in effect since April 2006 and has expanded export opportunities for many agricultural and manufactured goods. Energy shortages fueled by high oil prices, however, are a serious bottleneck to growth.
Electricity - consumption	184.4 billion kWh (2001)	2.929 billion kWh (2006)
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2001)	8 million kWh (2005)
Electricity - imports	0 kWh (2001)	69.34 million kWh (2006)
Electricity - production	198.2 billion kWh (2001)	2.778 billion kWh (2006)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Lake Eyre -15 m highest point: Mount Kosciuszko 2,229 m	lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Mogoton 2,438 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	deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution
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, 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, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification
Ethnic groups	Caucasian 92%, Asian 7%, aboriginal and other 1%	mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white) 69%, white 17%, black 9%, Amerindian 5%
Exchange rates	Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.5419 (2003), 1.8406 (2002), 1.9334 (2001), 1.7248 (2000), 1.55 (1999)	gold cordobas per US dollar - 18.457 (2007), 17.582 (2006), 16.733 (2005), 15.937 (2004), 15.105 (2003)
Executive branch	chief of state: Queen of Australia ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Michael JEFFERY (since 11 August 2003) head of government: Prime Minister John Winston HOWARD (since 11 March 1996); Deputy Prime Minister John ANDERSON (since 20 July 1999) cabinet: Parliament nominates and selects, from among its members, a list of candidates to serve as government ministers; from this list, the governor general swears in the final selections for the Cabinet elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch on the recommendation of the prime minister; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or leader of a majority coalition is sworn in as prime minister by the governor general note: government coalition - Liberal Party and National Party	chief of state: President Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra (since 10 January 2007); Vice President Jaime MORALES Carazo (since 10 January 2007); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government head of government: President Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra (since 10 January 2007); Vice President Jaime MORALES Carazo (since 10 January 2007) 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 so long as it is not consecutive); election last held 5 November 2006 (next to be held by November 2011) election results: Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra elected president - 38.07%, Eduardo MONTEALEGRE 29%, Jose RIZO 26.21%, Edmundo JARQUIN 6.44%
Exports	523,400 bbl/day (2001)	1,397 bbl/day (2004)
Exports - commodities	coal, gold, meat, wool, alumina, iron ore, wheat, machinery and transport equipment	coffee, beef, shrimp and lobster, tobacco, sugar, gold, peanuts
Exports - partners	Japan 18.1%, US 8.7%, China 8.4%, South Korea 7.4%, New Zealand 7.4%, UK 6.7% (2003)	US 65.2%, El Salvador 6.9%, Honduras 3.8% (2006)
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 known as the Commonwealth Star, representing the federation of the colonies of Australia in 1901; the star depicts one point for each of the six original states and one representing all of Australia's internal and external territories; 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 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 - $571.4 billion (2003 est.)	-
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 3.5% industry: 26.3% services: 70.2% (2003 est.)	agriculture: 17.1% industry: 25.9% services: 56.9% (2007 est.)
GDP - per capita	purchasing power parity - $29,000 (2003 est.)	-
GDP - real growth rate	3% (2003 est.)	2.9% (2007 est.)
Geographic coordinates	27 00 S, 133 00 E	13 00 N, 85 00 W
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	largest country in Central America; contains the largest freshwater body in Central America, Lago de Nicaragua
Highways	total: 811,603 km paved: 314,090 km (including 18,619 km of expressways) unpaved: 497,513 km (1999 est.)	-
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: 2% highest 10%: 25.4% (1994)	lowest 10%: 2.2% highest 10%: 33.8% (2001)
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	transshipment point for cocaine destined for the US and transshipment point for arms-for-drugs dealing
Imports	530,800 bbl/day (2001)	15,560 bbl/day (2005 est.)
Imports - commodities	machinery and transport equipment, computers and office machines, telecommunication equipment and parts; crude oil and petroleum products	consumer goods, machinery and equipment, raw materials, petroleum products
Imports - partners	US 16%, Japan 12.5%, China 11%, Germany 6.1%, UK 4.2% (2003)	US 20.1%, Mexico 13.9%, Venezuela 9.4%, Costa Rica 6.9%, Guatemala 5.4%, China 4.3% (2006)
Independence	1 January 1901 (federation of UK colonies)	15 September 1821 (from Spain)
Industrial production growth rate	-0.1% (2003 est.)	3% (2007 est.)
Industries	mining, industrial and transportation equipment, food processing, chemicals, steel	food processing, chemicals, machinery and metal products, textiles, clothing, petroleum refining and distribution, beverages, footwear, wood
Infant mortality rate	total: 4.76 deaths/1,000 live births male: 5.16 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.34 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)	total: 27.14 deaths/1,000 live births male: 30.45 deaths/1,000 live births female: 23.67 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	2.8% (2003 est.)	9.8% (2007 est.)
International organization participation	ANZUS, APEC, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN (dialogue partner), Australia Group, BIS, C, CP, EBRD, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MIGA, NAM (guest), NEA, NSG, OECD, OPCW, Paris Club, PCA, PIF, Sparteca, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNMEE, UNMISET, UNTSO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, WToO, ZC	BCIE, CACM, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAES, LAIA (observer), MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Irrigated land	24,000 sq km (1998 est.)	610 sq km (2003)
Judicial branch	High Court (the chief justice and six other justices are appointed by the governor general)	Supreme Court or Corte Suprema de Justicia (16 judges elected for five-year terms by the National Assembly)
Labor force	10.19 million (37256)	2.262 million (2007 est.)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture 5%, industry 22%, services 73% (1997 est.)	agriculture: 29% industry: 19% services: 52% (2006 est.)
Land boundaries	0 km	total: 1,231 km border countries: Costa Rica 309 km, Honduras 922 km
Land use	arable land: 6.55% (includes about 27 million hectares of cultivated grassland) permanent crops: 0.04% other: 93.41% (2001)	arable land: 14.81% permanent crops: 1.82% other: 83.37% (2005)
Languages	English, native 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 English common law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations	civil law system; Supreme Court may review administrative acts; accepts 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 9 October 2004 (next to be held not later than June 2008); House of Representatives - last held 9 October 2004 (next to be held not later than November 2007) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party (as of 1 July 2003) - Liberal Party-National Party coalition 34, Australian Labor Party 28, Australian Democrats 7, Green Party 2, One Nation Party 1, Country Liberal Party 1, Australian Progressive Alliance 1, independent 2; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Liberal Party-National Party coalition 86, Australian Labor Party 60, Country Liberal Party 1, independent and other 3	unicameral National Assembly or Asamblea Nacional (92 seats; 90 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: 80.26 years male: 77.4 years female: 83.27 years (2004 est.)	total population: 70.92 years male: 68.82 years female: 73.13 years (2007 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 total population: 67.5% male: 67.2% female: 67.8% (2003 est.)
Location	Oceania, continent between the Indian Ocean and the South Pacific Ocean	Central America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Costa Rica and Honduras
Map references	Oceania	Central America and the Caribbean
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin	territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm continental shelf: natural prolongation
Merchant marine	total: 52 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 1,531,461 GRT/1,999,409 DWT by type: bulk 20, cargo 5, chemical tanker 3, combination bulk 2, container 3, liquefied gas 4, passenger 2, petroleum tanker 7, roll on/roll off 6 foreign-owned: United Kingdom 2, United States 12 registered in other countries: 60 (2004 est.)	-
Military branches	Australian Army, Royal Australian Navy, Royal Australian Air Force, new Special Operations Command (announced in December 2002)	National Army of Nicaragua (ENN; includes Navy, Air Force) (2007)
Military expenditures - dollar figure	$14,120.1 million (2003)	-
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	2.8% (2003)	0.6% (2006)
Military manpower - availability	males age 15-49: 5,061,810 (2004 est.)	-
Military manpower - fit for military service	males age 15-49: 4,356,671 (2004 est.)	-
Military manpower - reaching military age annually	males: 140,182 (2004 est.)	-
National holiday	Australia Day, 26 January (1788)	Independence Day, 15 September (1821)
Nationality	noun: Australian(s) adjective: Australian	noun: Nicaraguan(s) adjective: Nicaraguan
Natural hazards	cyclones along the coast; severe droughts; forest fires	destructive earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides; extremely susceptible to hurricanes
Natural resources	bauxite, coal, iron ore, copper, tin, gold, silver, uranium, nickel, tungsten, mineral sands, lead, zinc, diamonds, natural gas, petroleum	gold, silver, copper, tungsten, lead, zinc, timber, fish
Net migration rate	3.98 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)	-1.15 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Pipelines	condensate/gas 492 km; gas 28,680 km; liquid petroleum gas 240 km; oil 4,773 km; oil/gas/water 110 km (2004)	oil 54 km (2007)
Political parties and leaders	Australian Democrats [Andrew BARTLETT]; Australian Labor Party [Mark LATHAM]; Australian Progressive Alliance [Meg LEES]; Country Liberal Party [Terry MILLS]; Australian Greens [Bob BROWN]; Liberal Party [John Winston HOWARD]; The Nationals [John ANDERSON]; One Nation Party [Len HARRIS]	Alliance for the Republic or APRE [Miguel LOPEZ Baldizon]; Alternative for Change or AC [Orlando TARDENCILLA Espinoza]; Central American Unionist Party or PUCA [Blanca ROJAS]; Conservative Party or PC [Azalia AVILES Salmeron]; Independent Liberal Party or PLI [Anibal MARTINEZ Nunez, Pedro REYES Vallejos]; Independent Liberal Party for National Unity or PLIUN [Carlos GUERRA Gallardo]; Liberal Constitutionalist 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 Resistance Party or PRN [Salvador TALAVERA]; Sandinista National Liberation Front or FSLN [Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra]; Sandinista Renovation Movement or MRS [Dora Maria TELLEZ]
Political pressure groups and leaders	Australian Monarchist League [leader NA]; Australian Republican Movement [leader NA]	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	19,913,144 (July 2004 est.)	5,675,356 (July 2007 est.)
Population below poverty line	NA	48% (2005)
Population growth rate	0.9% (2004 est.)	1.855% (2007 est.)
Ports and harbors	Adelaide, Brisbane, Cairns, Darwin, Devonport (Tasmania), Fremantle, Geelong, Hobart (Tasmania), Launceston (Tasmania), Mackay, Melbourne, Sydney, Townsville	-
Radio broadcast stations	AM 262, FM 345, shortwave 1 (1998)	AM 63, FM 32, shortwave 1 (1998)
Railways	total: 44,015 km (5,290 km electrified) broad gauge: 1,957 km 1.600-m gauge standard gauge: 27,095 km 1.435-m gauge (2,828 km electrified) narrow gauge: 14,957 km 1.067-m gauge (2,462 km electrified) dual gauge: 213 km dual gauge (2003)	total: 6 km narrow gauge: 6 km 1.067-m gauge (2006)
Religions	Anglican 26.1%, Roman Catholic 26%, other Christian 24.3%, non-Christian 11%, other 12.6%	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: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.79 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2004 est.)	at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.038 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.993 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.784 male(s)/female total population: 1.001 male(s)/female (2007 est.)
Suffrage	18 years of age; universal and compulsory	16 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: country code - 61; 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: system being upgraded by foreign investment; nearly all installed telecommunications capacity now uses digital technology, owing to investments since privatization of the formerly state-owned telecoms company domestic: since privatization, access to fixed-line and mobile-cellular services has improved but teledensity still lags behind other Central American countries; connected to Central American Microwave System international: country code - 505; the Americas Region Caribbean Ring System (ARCOS-1) fiber optic submarine cable provides connectivity to South and Central America, parts of the Caribbean, and the US; satellite earth stations - 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region) and 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
Telephones - main lines in use	10.815 million (2003)	247,900 (2006)
Telephones - mobile cellular	14.347 million (2003)	1.83 million (2006)
Television broadcast stations	104 (1997)	3 (plus 7 repeaters) (1997)
Terrain	mostly low plateau with deserts; fertile plain in southeast	extensive Atlantic coastal plains rising to central interior mountains; narrow Pacific coastal plain interrupted by volcanoes
Total fertility rate	1.76 children born/woman (2004 est.)	2.69 children born/woman (2007 est.)
Unemployment rate	6% (2003)	5.6% plus underemployment of 46.5% (2007 est.)
Waterways	2,000 km (mainly used for recreation on Murray and Murray-Darling river systems) (2004)	2,220 km (including lakes Managua and Nicaragua) (2007)

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