Austria (2001) | Lesotho (2002) | |
Administrative divisions | 9 states (bundeslaender, singular - bundesland); Burgenland, Kaernten, Niederoesterreich, Oberoesterreich, Salzburg, Steiermark, Tirol, Vorarlberg, Wien | 10 districts; Berea, Butha-Buthe, Leribe, Mafeteng, Maseru, Mohales Hoek, Mokhotlong, Qacha's Nek, Quthing, Thaba-Tseka |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
16.57% (male 691,925; female 658,375) 15-64 years: 68.05% (male 2,802,019; female 2,744,536) 65 years and over: 15.38% (male 478,498; female 775,482) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 39% (male 433,229; female 427,926)
15-64 years: 56.3% (male 600,476; female 642,538) 65 years and over: 4.7% (male 43,691; female 60,094) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | grains, potatoes, sugar beets, wine, fruit; dairy products, cattle, pigs, poultry; lumber | corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock |
Airports | 55 (2000 est.) | 28 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
24 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 5 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 14 (2000 est.) |
total: 4
over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
31 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 27 (2000 est.) |
total: 24
914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 20 (2002) |
Area | total:
83,858 sq km land: 82,738 sq km water: 1,120 sq km |
total: 30,355 sq km
land: 30,355 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Maine | slightly smaller than Maryland |
Background | Once the center of power for the large Austro-Hungarian Empire, Austria was reduced to a small republic after its defeat in World War I. Following annexation by Nazi Germany in 1938 and subsequent occupation by the victorious Allies, Austria's 1955 State Treaty declared the country "permanently neutral" as a condition of Soviet military withdrawal. Neutrality, once ingrained as part of the Austrian cultural identity, has been called into question since the Soviet collapse of 1991 and Austria's increasingly prominent role in European affairs. A prosperous country, Austria joined the European Union in 1995 and the euro monetary system in 1999. | Basutoland was renamed the Kingdom of Lesotho upon independence from the UK in 1966. King MOSHOESHOE was exiled in 1990. Constitutional government was restored in 1993 after 23 years of military rule. |
Birth rate | 9.74 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 30.72 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$56.3 billion expenditures: $60.5 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
revenues: $76 million
expenditures: $80 million, including capital expenditures of $15 million |
Capital | Vienna | Maseru |
Climate | temperate; continental, cloudy; cold winters with frequent rain in lowlands and snow in mountains; cool summers with occasional showers | temperate; cool to cold, dry winters; hot, wet summers |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 1920; revised 1929 (reinstated 1 May 1945) | 2 April 1993 |
Country name | conventional long form:
Republic of Austria conventional short form: Austria local long form: Republik Oesterreich local short form: Oesterreich |
conventional long form: Kingdom of Lesotho
conventional short form: Lesotho former: Basutoland |
Currency | Austrian schilling (ATS); euro (EUR)
note: on 1 January 1999, the EU introduced the euro as a common currency that is now being used by financial institutions in Austria at a fixed rate of 13.7603 Austrian shillings per euro and will replace the local currency for all transactions in 2002 |
loti (LSL); South African rand (ZAR) |
Death rate | 9.8 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 16.81 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $16 billion (1999) | $715 million (2001 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Kathryn Walt HALL embassy: Boltzmanngasse 16, A-1091, Vienna mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [43] (1) 313-39-2060 FAX: [43] (1) 313-39-2057 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Robert G. LOFTIS
embassy: 254 Kingsway, Maseru West (Consular Section) mailing address: P. O. Box 333, Maseru 100, Lesotho telephone: [266] 312666 FAX: [266] 310116 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Peter MOSER chancery: 3524 International Court NW, Washington, DC 20008-3035 telephone: [1] (202) 895-6700 FAX: [1] (202) 895-6750 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York |
chief of mission: Ambassador Dr. Lebohang Kenneth MOLEKO
chancery: 2511 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 797-5533 through 5536 FAX: [1] (202) 234-6815 |
Disputes - international | minor disputes with Czech Republic and Slovenia over nuclear power plants and post-World War II treatment of German-speaking minorities | none |
Economic aid - donor | ODA, $472 million (1999) | - |
Economic aid - recipient | - | $123.7 million (1995) (1995) |
Economy - overview | Austria with its well-developed market economy and high standard of living is closely tied to other EU economies, especially Germany's. Membership in the EU has drawn an influx of foreign investors attracted by Austria's access to the single European market and proximity to EU aspirant economies. In 2000, Austria moved to further cut government spending and raise taxes to meet EMU deficit targets after facing unexpected difficulties in reducing the public deficit. To meet increased competition from both EU and Central European countries, Austria will need to emphasize knowledge-based sectors of the economy and continue to deregulate the service sector. Growth is expected to remain at about 3% in 2001. | Small, landlocked, and mountainous, Lesotho's primary natural resource is water. Its economy is based on subsistence agriculture, livestock, remittances from miners employed in South Africa, and a rapidly growing apparel-assembly sector. The number of mineworkers has declined steadily over the past several years. A small manufacturing base depends largely on farm products that support the milling, canning, leather, and jute industries. Agricultural products are exported primarily to South Africa. Proceeds from membership in a common customs union with South Africa form the majority of government revenue. Although drought has decreased agricultural activity over the past few years, completion of a major hydropower facility in January 1998 now permits the sale of water to South Africa, generating royalties for Lesotho. The pace of privatization has increased in recent years. In December 1999, the government embarked on a nine-month IMF staff-monitored program aimed at structural adjustment and stabilization of macroeconomic fundamentals. The government is in the process of applying for a three-year successor program with the IMF under its Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility. Lesotho has a marked inequality in income distribution and serious unemployment/underemployment problems that will not yield to short-run solutions. |
Electricity - consumption | 53.231 billion kWh (1999) | 100 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 13.507 billion kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 11.605 billion kWh (1999) | 100 million kWh
note: electricity supplied by South Africa (2000) |
Electricity - production | 59.283 billion kWh (1999) | 0 kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
29.53% hydro: 67.65% nuclear: 0% other: 2.82% (1999) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Neusiedler See 115 m highest point: Grossglockner 3,798 m |
lowest point: junction of the Orange and Makhaleng Rivers 1,400 m
highest point: Thabana Ntlenyana 3,482 m |
Environment - current issues | some forest degradation caused by air and soil pollution; soil pollution results from the use of agricultural chemicals; air pollution results from emissions by coal- and oil-fired power stations and industrial plants and from trucks transiting Austria between northern and southern Europe | population pressure forcing settlement in marginal areas results in overgrazing, severe soil erosion, and soil exhaustion; desertification; Highlands Water Project controls, stores, and redirects water to South Africa |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping |
Ethnic groups | German 98%, Croatian, Slovene, other (includes Hungarians, Czechs, Slovaks, Roma) | Sotho 99.7%, Europeans, Asians, and other 0.3%, |
Exchange rates | euros per US dollar - 1.0659 (January 2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999); Austrian schillings per US dollar - 11.86 (January 1999), 12.91 (1999), 12.379 (1998), 12.204 (1997), 10.587 (1996) | maloti per US dollar - 11.58786 (January 2002), 8.60918 (2001), 6.93983 (2000), 6.10948 (1999), 5.52828 (1998), 4.60796 (1997); note - the Lesotho loti is at par with the South African rand which is also legal tender; maloti is the plural form of loti |
Executive branch | chief of state:
President Thomas KLESTIL (since 8 July 1992) head of government: Chancellor Wolfgang SCHUESSEL (OeVP)(since 4 February 2000); Vice Chancellor Susanne RIESS-PASSER (FPOe) (since 4 February 2000) cabinet: Council of Ministers chosen by the president on the advice of the chancellor elections: president elected by direct popular vote for a six-year term; presidential election last held 19 April 1998 (next to be held in the spring of 2004); chancellor traditionally chosen by the president from the plurality party in the National Council; in the case of the current coalition, the chancellor was chosen from another party after the plurality party failed to form a government; vice chancellor chosen by the president on the advice of the chancellor election results: Thomas KLESTIL reelected president; percent of vote - Thomas KLESTIL 63%, Gertraud KNOLL 14%, Heide SCHMIDT 11%, Richard LUGNER 10%, Karl NOWAK 2% note: government coalition - OeVP and FPOe |
chief of state: King LETSIE III (since 7 February 1996); note - King LETSIE III formerly occupied the throne from November 1990 to February 1995, while his father was in exile
head of government: Prime Minister Pakalitha MOSISILI (since 23 May 1998) cabinet: Cabinet elections: none; according to the constitution, the leader of the majority party in the Assembly automatically becomes prime minister; the monarch is hereditary, but, under the terms of the constitution which came into effect after the March 1993 election, the monarch is a "living symbol of national unity" with no executive or legislative powers; under traditional law the college of chiefs has the power to determine who is next in the line of succession, who shall serve as regent in the event that the successor is not of mature age, and may even depose the monarch |
Exports | $63.2 billion (2000 est.) | $250 million f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Exports - commodities | machinery and equipment, paper and paperboard, metal goods, chemicals, iron and steel; textiles, foodstuffs | manufactures 75% (clothing, footwear, road vehicles), wool and mohair, food and live animals |
Exports - partners | EU 64.2% (Germany 35.7%, Italy 8.7%, France 4.5%), Switzerland 5.9%, US 4.5%, Hungary 3.9% (1999) | South African Customs Union 53.9%, North America 45.6% (1999) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 April - 31 March |
Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and red | divided diagonally from the lower hoist side corner; the upper half is white, bearing the brown silhouette of a large shield with crossed spear and club; the lower half is a diagonal blue band with a green triangle in the corner |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $203 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $5.3 billion (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
2.2% industry: 30.4% services: 67.4% (1999 est.) |
agriculture: 18%
industry: 38% services: 44% (2001) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $25,000 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $2,450 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 3.1% (2000 est.) | 2.6% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 47 20 N, 13 20 E | 29 30 S, 28 30 E |
Geography - note | landlocked; strategic location at the crossroads of central Europe with many easily traversable Alpine passes and valleys; major river is the Danube; population is concentrated on eastern lowlands because of steep slopes, poor soils, and low temperatures elsewhere | landlocked, completely surrounded by South Africa; mountainous, more than 80% of the country is 1,800 meters above sea level |
Heliports | 1 (2000 est.) | - |
Highways | total:
133,361 km paved: 133,361 km (including 1,613 km of expressways) unpaved: 0 km (1998) |
total: 4,955 km
paved: 887 km unpaved: 4,068 km (1996) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | - | lowest 10%: 1%
highest 10%: 43% (1986-87) |
Illicit drugs | transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin and South American cocaine destined for Western Europe | - |
Imports | $65.6 billion (2000 est.) | $720 million f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, chemicals, metal goods, oil and oil products; foodstuffs | food; building materials, vehicles, machinery, medicines, petroleum products |
Imports - partners | EU 70.3% (Germany 42.5%, Italy 7.9%, France 5.3%), US 5.4%, Switzerland 3.0%, Hungary 2.8% (1999) | South African Customs Union 89.5%, Asia 7% (1999) |
Independence | 1156 (from Bavaria) | 4 October 1966 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 4.2% (2000) | 15.5% (1999 est.) |
Industries | construction, machinery, vehicles and parts, food, chemicals, lumber and wood processing, paper and paperboard, communications equipment, tourism | food, beverages, textiles, apparel assembly, handicrafts; construction; tourism |
Infant mortality rate | 4.44 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | 82.57 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2% (2000 est.) | 6.9% (2001 est.) |
International organization participation | AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CCC, CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, G- 9, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MINURSO, NAM (guest), NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOT, UNOMIG, UNTAET, UNTSO, UPU, WCL, WEU (observer), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC | ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, ISO (subscriber), ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW, SACU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 37 (2000) | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 457 sq km (1995 est.) | 10 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Judicial Court or Oberster Gerichtshof; Administrative Court or Verwaltungsgerichtshof; Constitutional Court or Verfassungsgerichtshof | High Court (chief justice appointed by the monarch); Court of Appeal; Magistrate's Court; customary or traditional court |
Labor force | 3.7 million (1999) | 700,000 economically active |
Labor force - by occupation | services 68%, industry and crafts 29%, agriculture and forestry 3% (1999 est.) | 86% of resident population engaged in subsistence agriculture; roughly 35% of the active male wage earners work in South Africa |
Land boundaries | total:
2,562 km border countries: Czech Republic 362 km, Germany 784 km, Hungary 366 km, Italy 430 km, Liechtenstein 35 km, Slovakia 91 km, Slovenia 330 km, Switzerland 164 km |
total: 909 km
border countries: South Africa 909 km |
Land use | arable land:
17% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 23% forests and woodland: 39% other: 20% (1996 est.) |
arable land: 10.71%
permanent crops: 0% other: 89.29% (1998 est.) |
Languages | German | Sesotho (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa |
Legal system | civil law system with Roman law origin; judicial review of legislative acts by the Constitutional Court; separate administrative and civil/penal supreme courts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on English common law and Roman-Dutch law; judicial review of legislative acts in High Court and Court of Appeal; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | bicameral Federal Assembly or Bundesversammlung consists of Federal Council or Bundesrat (64 members; members represent each of the states on the basis of population, but with each state having at least three representatives; members serve a four- or six-year term) and the National Council or Nationalrat (183 seats; members elected by direct popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: National Council - last held 3 October 1999 (next to be held in the fall of 2003) election results: National Council - percent of vote by party - SPOe 33.2%, OeVP 26.9%, FPOe 26.9%, Greens 7.4%; seats by party - SPOe 65, OeVP 52, FPOe 52, Greens 14 |
bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (33 members - 22 principal chiefs and 11 other members appointed by the ruling party) and the Assembly (120 seats, 80 by direct popular vote and 40 by proportional vote; members elected by popular vote for five-year terms); note - number of seats in the Assembly rose from 80 to 120 in the May 2002 election
elections: last held 25 May 2002 (next to be held NA May 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - LCD 54%, BNP 21%, LPC 7%, other 18%; seats by party - LCD 76, BNP 21, LPC 5, other 18 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
77.84 years male: 74.68 years female: 81.15 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 47 years
male: 46.3 years female: 47.8 years (2002 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 98% male: NA% female: NA% |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 83% male: 72% female: 93% (1999 est.) |
Location | Central Europe, north of Italy and Slovenia | Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa |
Map references | Europe | Africa |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total:
23 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 86,905 GRT/117,417 DWT ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 18, combination bulk 2, container 2 (2000 est.) |
- |
Military - note | - | The Lesotho Government in 1999 began an open debate on the future structure, size, and role of the armed forces, especially considering the Lesotho Defense Force's (LDF) history of intervening in political affairs. |
Military branches | Army (includes Flying Division) | Lesotho Defense Force (LDF; including Army and Air Wing), Royal Lesotho Mounted Police |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $1.7 billion (FY98) | $34 million (1999) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.2% (FY98) | NA% |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
2,091,263 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 526,332 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
1,731,383 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 283,203 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 19 years of age | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
50,580 (2001 est.) |
- |
National holiday | National Day, 26 October (1955); note - commemorates the passage of the law on permanent neutrality | Independence Day, 4 October (1966) |
Nationality | noun:
Austrian(s) adjective: Austrian |
noun: Mosotho (singular), Basotho (plural)
adjective: Basotho |
Natural hazards | NA | periodic droughts |
Natural resources | iron ore, oil, timber, magnesite, lead, coal, lignite, copper, hydropower | water, agricultural and grazing land, some diamonds and other minerals |
Net migration rate | 2.45 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -0.63 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil 777 km; natural gas 840 km (1999) | - |
Political parties and leaders | Austrian People's Party or OeVP [Wolfgang SCHUESSEL]; Freedom Party of Austria or FPOe [Susanne RIESS-PASSER]; Social Democratic Party of Austria or SPOe [Alfred GUSENBAUER]; The Greens Alternative or GA [Alexander VAN DER BELLEN] | Basotho Congress Party or BCP [Tseliso MAKHAKHE]; Basotho National Party or BNP [Maj. Gen. Justine Metsing LEKHANYA]; Lesotho Congress for Democracy or LCD [Phebe MOTEBANO, chairwoman; Pakalitha MOSISILI, leader] - the governing party; Lesotho People's Congress or LPC [Kelebone MAOPE]; United Democratic Party or UDP [Charles MOFELI]; Marematlou Freedom Party or MFP and Setlamo Alliance [Vincent MALEBO]; Progressive National Party or PNP [Chief Peete Nkoebe PEETE]; Sefate Democratic Party or SDP [Bofihla NKUEBE] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Austrian Trade Union Federation (primarily Socialist) or OeGB; Federal Economic Chamber; OeVP-oriented League of Austrian Industrialists or VOeI; Roman Catholic Church, including its chief lay organization, Catholic Action; three composite leagues of the Austrian People's Party or OeVP representing business, labor, and farmers | NA |
Population | 8,150,835 (July 2001 est.) | 2,207,954
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 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 49% (1999 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.24% (2001 est.) | 1.33% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Linz, Vienna, Enns, Krems | none |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 61 (plus several hundred repeaters), shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998) |
Radios | 6.08 million (1997) | NA (2002) |
Railways | total:
6,095.2 km (3,643.3 km electrified) standard gauge: 5,564.2 km 1.435-m gauge (3,521.2 km electrified) narrow gauge: 497.1 km (33.9 km 1.000-m gauge - 28.1 km electrified, 497.1 km 0.760-m gauge - 94 km electrified) (2001) |
total: 2.6 km; note - owned by, operated by, and included in the statistics of South Africa
narrow gauge: 2.6 km 1.067-m gauge (1995) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 78%, Protestant 5%, Muslim and other 17% | Christian 80%, indigenous beliefs 20% |
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: 0.62 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.93 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.73 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
Suffrage | 19 years of age; universal; compulsory for presidential elections | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
highly developed and efficient domestic: there are 48 main lines for every 100 persons and the system is nearly 100% digital; the fiber optic net is very extensive; all telephone applications and Internet services are available international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) and 2 Eutelsat (1999) |
general assessment: rudimentary system
domestic: consists of a few landlines, a small microwave radio relay system, and a minor radiotelephone communication system; a cellular mobile telephone system is growing international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 4 million (3,600,000 analog main lines plus 400,000 ISDN or Integrated Services Digital Network connections) (1999) | 22,200 (2000) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 4.5 million (2000) | 21,600 (2000) |
Television broadcast stations | 45 (plus 960 repeaters) (1995) | 1 (2000) |
Terrain | in the west and south mostly mountains (Alps); along the eastern and northern margins mostly flat or gently sloping | mostly highland with plateaus, hills, and mountains |
Total fertility rate | 1.39 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 4.01 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 5.4% (2000 est.) | 45% (2000 est.) |
Waterways | 358 km (1999) | none |