Austria (2003) | Chad (2003) | |
Administrative divisions | 9 states (Bundeslaender, singular - Bundesland); Burgenland, Kaernten, Niederoesterreich, Oberoesterreich, Salzburg, Steiermark, Tirol, Vorarlberg, Wien | 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
note: instead of 14 prefectures, there may be a new administrative structure of 28 departments (departments, singular - department), and 1 city*; Assongha, Baguirmi, Bahr El Gazal, Bahr Koh, Batha Oriental, Batha Occidental, Biltine, Borkou, Dababa, Ennedi, Guera, Hadjer Lamis, Kabia, Kanem, Lac, Lac Iro, Logone Occidental, Logone Oriental, Mandoul, Mayo-Boneye, Mayo-Dallah, Monts de Lam, N'Djamena*, Ouaddai, Salamat, Sila, Tandjile Oriental, Tandjile Occidental, Tibesti |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 16.2% (male 678,944; female 646,390)
15-64 years: 68.3% (male 2,827,736; female 2,768,480) 65 years and over: 15.5% (male 490,979; female 775,678) (2003 est.) |
0-14 years: 47.9% (male 2,228,605; female 2,201,368)
15-64 years: 49.3% (male 2,171,169; female 2,393,184) 65 years and over: 2.8% (male 105,686; female 153,481) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | grains, potatoes, sugar beets, wine, fruit; dairy products, cattle, pigs, poultry; lumber | cotton, sorghum, millet, peanuts, rice, potatoes, manioc (tapioca); cattle, sheep, goats, camels |
Airports | 55 (2002) | 50 (2002) |
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 (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 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 31
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 27 (2002) |
total: 43
1,524 to 2,437 m: 13 914 to 1,523 m: 20 under 914 m: 10 (2002) |
Area | total: 83,858 sq km
land: 82,738 sq km water: 1,120 sq km |
total: 1.284 million sq km
land: 1,259,200 sq km water: 24,800 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Maine | slightly more than three times the size of California |
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 in 1945, Austria's status remained unclear for a decade. A State Treaty signed in 1955 ended the occupation, recognized Austria's independence, and forbade unification with Germany. A constitutional law that same year declared the country's "perpetual neutrality" as a condition for Soviet military withdrawal. This neutrality, once ingrained as part of the Austrian cultural identity, has been called into question since the Soviet collapse of 1991 and Austria's entry into the European Union in 1995. A prosperous country, Austria entered the European Monetary Union 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. A peace agreement, signed in January 2002 between the government and the rebels, provides for the demobilization of the rebels and their reintegration into the political system. Despite movement toward democratic reform, power remains in the hands of a northern ethnic oligarchy. |
Birth rate | 9.43 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 47.06 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $53 billion
expenditures: $54 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
revenues: $198 million
expenditures: $218 million, including capital expenditures of $146 million (1998 est.) |
Capital | Vienna | N'Djamena |
Climate | temperate; continental, cloudy; cold winters with frequent rain in lowlands and snow in mountains; cool summers with occasional showers | tropical in south, desert in north |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 1920; revised 1929 (reinstated 1 May 1945) | passed by referendum 31 March 1996 |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Austria
conventional short form: Austria local long form: Republik Oesterreich local short form: Oesterreich |
conventional long form: Republic of Chad
conventional short form: Chad local long form: Republique du Tchad local short form: Tchad |
Currency | euro (EUR)
note: on 1 January 1999, the European Monetary Union introduced the euro as a common currency to be used by the financial institutions of member countries; on 1 January 2002, the euro became the sole currency for everyday transactions within the member countries |
Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XAF); note - responsible authority is the Bank of the Central African States |
Death rate | 9.69 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 16.38 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $12.1 billion (2001 est.) | $1.1 billion (2000 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador William Lee LYONS BROWN, Jr.
embassy: Boltzmanngasse 16, A-1090, Vienna mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [43] (1) 31339, 31375, 31335 FAX: [43] (1) 5125835 |
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 FAX: [235] (51) 56-54 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Eva NOWOTNY
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 Hassaballah Abdelhadi Ahmat SOUBIANE
chancery: 2002 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 462-4009 FAX: [1] (202) 265-1937 |
Disputes - international | minor disputes with Czech Republic and Slovenia continue over nuclear power plants and post-World War II treatment of German-speaking minorities | internal political instabilities with fighting and violence overlap into Chad and Central African Republic, leaving refugees and rebel groups in both countries; Chadian Aozou rebels reside in southern Libya; Lake Chad Commission continues to urge signatories Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria to ratify delimitation treaty over lake region, which remains the site of armed clashes among local populations and militias; Chad rejects Nigerian request to redemarcate boundary, the site of continuing cross-border incidents |
Economic aid - donor | ODA, $410 million (2000) | - |
Economic aid - recipient | - | $238.3 million; note - $125 million committed by Taiwan (August 1997); $30 million committed by African Development Bank; ODA $150 million |
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. Slowing growth in Germany and elsewhere in the world held the economy to only 1.2% growth in 2001, 0.6% in 2002, and 0.8% in 2003.. To meet increased competition from both EU and Central European countries, Austria will need to emphasize knowledge-based sectors of the economy, continue to deregulate the service sector, and lower its tax burden. A key issue is the encouragement of much greater participation in the labor market by its ageing population. | Chad's primarily agricultural economy will continue to be boosted by major oilfield and pipeline projects that began in 2000. Over 80% of Chad's population relies on subsistence farming and stock raising for its livelihood. Cotton, cattle, and gum arabic provide the bulk of Chad's export earnings, but Chad will begin to export oil in 2004. Chad's economy has long been handicapped by its landlocked position, high energy costs, and a history of instability. Chad relies on foreign assistance and foreign capital for most public and private sector investment projects. A consortium led by two US companies has been investing $3.7 billion to develop oil reserves estimated at 1 billion barrels in southern Chad. Oil production is scheduled to come on stream in late 2003. |
Electricity - consumption | 54.85 billion kWh (2001) | 87.46 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 14.25 billion kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 14.47 billion kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 58.75 billion kWh (2001) | 94.04 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 29.3%
hydro: 67.2% nuclear: 0% other: 3.5% (2001) |
fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Neusiedler See 115 m
highest point: Grossglockner 3,798 m |
lowest point: Djourab Depression 160 m
highest point: Emi Koussi 3,415 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 | inadequate supplies of potable water; improper waste disposal in rural areas contributes to soil and water pollution; desertification |
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, Desertification, Endangered Species, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping |
Ethnic groups | German 88%, non-nationals 9.3% (includes Croatians, Slovenes, Hungarians, Czechs, Slovaks, Roma), naturalized 2% (includes those who have lived in Austria at least three generations) | 200 distinct groups; in the north and center: Arabs, Gorane (Toubou, Daza, Kreda), Zaghawa, Kanembou, Ouaddai, Baguirmi, Hadjerai, Fulbe, Kotoko, Hausa, Boulala, and Maba, most of whom are Muslim; in the south: Sara (Ngambaye, Mbaye, Goulaye), Moundang, Moussei, Massa, most of whom are Christian or animist; about 1,000 French citizens live in Chad |
Exchange rates | euros per US dollar - 1.06 (2002), 1.12 (2001), 1.09 (2000), 0.94 (1999), 12.38 (1998) | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XAF) per US dollar - 696.99 (2002), 733.04 (2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.7 (1999), 589.95 (1998) |
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 Hubert GORBACH (since 21 October 2003) 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; 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: President Lt. Gen. Idriss DEBY (since 4 December 1990)
head of government: Prime Minister Moussa Faki MAHAMAT (since NA July 2003) 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 reelected president; percent of vote - Lt. Gen. Idriss DEBY 63%, Ngarlegy YORONGAR 16%, Saleh KEBZABO 7% note: government coalition - MPS, UNDR, and URD |
Exports | 35,470 bbl/day (2001) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | machinery and equipment, motor vehicles and parts, paper and paperboard, metal goods, chemicals, iron and steel; textiles, foodstuffs | cotton, cattle, gum arabic |
Exports - partners | Germany 31.5%, Italy 9.3%, Switzerland 5.4%, US 4.9%, UK 4.9%, France 4.7%, Hungary 4.3% (2002) | Portugal 28.3%, Germany 13.6%, US 7.8%, Czech Republic 6.5%, France 5.8%, Nigeria 5.8%, Poland 5.5%, Spain 5.2%, Morocco 4.5% (2002) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and red | 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 - $227.7 billion (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $9.297 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 2%
industry: 33% services: 65% (2002 est.) |
agriculture: 38%
industry: 13% services: 49% (2001 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $27,900 (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1,000 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 1.1% (2002 est.) | 7.4% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 47 20 N, 13 20 E | 15 00 N, 19 00 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; Lake Chad is the most significant water body in the Sahel |
Heliports | 1 (2002) | - |
Highways | total: 200,000 km
paved: 200,000 km (including 1,633 km of expressways) unpaved: 0 km (2000) |
total: 33,400 km
paved: 267 km unpaved: 33,133 km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 2.5%
highest 10%: 22.5% (1995) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin and South American cocaine destined for Western Europe | - |
Imports | 262,000 bbl/day (2001) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, motor vehicles, chemicals, metal goods, oil and oil products; foodstuffs | machinery and transportation equipment, industrial goods, petroleum products, foodstuffs, textiles |
Imports - partners | Germany 42.6%, Italy 6.6%, Hungary 5.1%, Switzerland 4.8%, Netherlands 4.4% (2002) | France 31.5%, US 31.4%, Germany 5.5%, Nigeria 4.6% (2002) |
Independence | 1156 (from Bavaria) | 11 August 1960 (from France) |
Industrial production growth rate | 3.8% (2001 est.) | 5% (1995) |
Industries | construction, machinery, vehicles and parts, food, chemicals, lumber and wood processing, paper and paperboard, communications equipment, tourism | oil, cotton textiles, meatpacking, beer brewing, natron (sodium carbonate), soap, cigarettes, construction materials |
Infant mortality rate | total: 4.33 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 4.38 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.29 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
total: 95.74 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 105 deaths/1,000 live births female: 86.11 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1.8% (2002 est.) | 6% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, G- 9, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, 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, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMISET, UNMOGIP, UNMOT, UNOMIG, UNTSO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU (observer), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, BDEAC, CEEAC, CEMAC, ECA, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 37 (2000) | 1 (2002) |
Irrigated land | 457 sq km (2000 est.) | 200 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Judicial Court or Oberster Gerichtshof; Administrative Court or Verwaltungsgerichtshof; Constitutional Court or Verfassungsgerichtshof | Supreme Court; Court of Appeal; Criminal Courts; Magistrate Courts |
Labor force | 4.3 million (2001) | NA |
Labor force - by occupation | services 67%, industry and crafts 29%, agriculture and forestry 4% (2001 est.) | agriculture more than 80% (subsistence farming, herding, and fishing) |
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: 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: 16.89%
permanent crops: 0.99% other: 82.12% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 2.78%
permanent crops: 0.02% other: 97.2% (1998 est.) |
Languages | German | French (official), Arabic (official), Sara (in south), more than 120 different languages and dialects |
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; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on French civil law system and Chadian customary law; 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 24 November 2002 (next to be held in the fall of 2006) election results: National Council - percent of vote by party - OeVP 42.3%, SPOe 36.9%, FPOe 10.2%, Greens 9%; seats by party - OeVP 79, SPOe 69, FPOe 19, Greens 16 |
bicameral according to constitution, consists of a National Assembly (155 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) and a Senate (not yet created and size unspecified, members to serve six-year terms, one-third of membership renewable every two years)
elections: National Assembly - last held 21 April 2002 (next to be held in NA April 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - MPS 110, RDP 12, FAR 9, RNDP 5, URD 5, UNDR 3, others 11 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 78.17 years
male: 75.02 years female: 81.48 years (2003 est.) |
total population: 48.51 years
male: 46.97 years female: 50.1 years (2003 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 French or Arabic
total population: 47.5% male: 56% female: 39.3% (2003 est.) |
Location | Central Europe, north of Italy and Slovenia | Central Africa, south of Libya |
Map references | Europe | Africa |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total: 5 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 27,551 GRT/34,225 DWT
ships by type: cargo 4, container 1 (2002 est.) |
- |
Military branches | Land Forces (KdoLdSK), Air Forces (KdoLuSK) | Armed Forces (including National Army, Air Force, and Gendarmerie), Rapid Intervention Force, National and Nomadic Guard (GNNT), Presidential Security Guard, Police |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $1.497 billion (FY01/02) | $40.74 million (FY02) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 0.8% (FY01/02) | 1.9% (FY02) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 2,093,821 (2003 est.) | males age 15-49: 1,940,328 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 1,725,123 (2003 est.) | males age 15-49: 1,015,982 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 19 years of age (2003 est.) | 20 years of age (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 49,090 (2003 est.) | males: 86,953 (2003 est.) |
National holiday | National Day, 26 October (1955); note - commemorates the State Treaty restoring national sovereignty and the end of occupation and the passage of the law on permanent neutrality | Independence Day, 11 August (1960) |
Nationality | noun: Austrian(s)
adjective: Austrian |
noun: Chadian(s)
adjective: Chadian |
Natural hazards | landslides; avalanches; earthquakes | hot, dry, dusty harmattan winds occur in north; periodic droughts; locust plagues |
Natural resources | iron ore, oil, timber, magnesite, lead, coal, lignite, copper, hydropower | petroleum (unexploited but exploration under way), uranium, natron, kaolin, fish (Lake Chad) |
Net migration rate | 2.44 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Pipelines | gas 2,722 km; oil 687 km; refined products 149 km (2003) | oil 205 km (2003) |
Political parties and leaders | Austrian People's Party or OeVP [Wolfgang SCHUESSEL]; Freedom Party of Austria or FPOe [Herbert HAUPT]; Social Democratic Party of Austria or SPOe [Alfred GUSENBAUER]; The Greens Alternative or GA [Alexander VAN DER BELLEN] | Federation Action for the Republic or FAR [Ngarlejy YORONGAR]; National Rally for Development and Progress or RNDP [Mamadou BISSO]; National Union for Democracy 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); Union for Renewal and Democracy or URD [Gen. Wadal Abdelkader KAMOUGUE]; Viva Rally for Development and Progress or Viva RNDP [Delwa Kassire COUMAKOYE] |
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 | 8,188,207 (July 2003 est.) | 9,253,493 (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 80% (2001 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.22% (2003 est.) | 3.07% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Enns, Krems, Linz, Vienna | none |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 160 (plus several hundred repeaters), shortwave 1 (2001) | AM 2, FM 4, shortwave 5 (2002) |
Railways | total: 6,024 km (3,641 km electrified)
standard gauge: 5,566 km 1.435-m gauge (3,524 km electrified) narrow gauge: 34 km 1.000-m gauge (28 km electrified); 424 km 0.760-m gauge (89 km electrified) (2002) |
0 km |
Religions | Roman Catholic 78%, Protestant 5%, Muslim and other 17% | Muslim 51%, Christian 35%, animist 7%, other 7% |
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: 0.63 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.91 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.69 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 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; 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 1 Eutelsat; in addition, there are about 600 VSAT (very small aperture terminals) (2002) |
general assessment: primitive system
domestic: fair system of radiotelephone communication stations international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 4 million (consisting of 3,600,000 analog main lines plus 400,000 Integrated Services Digital Network connections); in addition, there are 100,000 Asymmetric Digital Services lines (2001) | 9,700 (1999) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 6 million (2001) | 5,500 (2000) |
Television broadcast stations | 45 (plus more than 1,000 repeaters) (2001) | 1 (2002) |
Terrain | in the west and south mostly mountains (Alps); along the eastern and northern margins mostly flat or gently sloping | broad, arid plains in center, desert in north, mountains in northwest, lowlands in south |
Total fertility rate | 1.41 children born/woman (2003 est.) | 6.44 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 4.8% (2002 est.) | NA% |
Waterways | 358 km (1999) | 2,000 km |