Austria (2006) | Sierra Leone (2001) | |
Administrative divisions | 9 states (Bundeslaender, singular - Bundesland); Burgenland, Kaernten (Carinthia), Niederoesterreich, Oberoesterreich, Salzburg, Steiermark (Styria), Tirol, Vorarlberg, Wien (Vienna) | 3 provinces and 1 area*; Eastern, Northern, Southern, Western* |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 15.4% (male 645,337/female 614,602)
15-64 years: 67.5% (male 2,782,712/female 2,749,620) 65 years and over: 17.1% (male 567,752/female 832,857) (2006 est.) |
0-14 years:
44.73% (male 1,190,207; female 1,237,326) 15-64 years: 52.12% (male 1,351,455; female 1,477,155) 65 years and over: 3.15% (male 84,364; female 86,111) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | grains, potatoes, sugar beets, wine, fruit; dairy products, cattle, pigs, poultry; lumber | rice, coffee, cocoa, palm kernels, palm oil, peanuts; poultry, cattle, sheep, pigs; fish |
Airports | 55 (2006) | 11 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 25
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: 15 (2006) |
total:
1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 30
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 26 (2006) |
total:
10 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 3 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 83,870 sq km
land: 82,444 sq km water: 1,426 sq km |
total:
71,740 sq km land: 71,620 sq km water: 120 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Maine | slightly smaller than South Carolina |
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. Following the Soviet Union's collapse in 1991 and Austria's entry into the European Union in 1995, some Austrians have called into question this neutrality. A prosperous, democratic country, Austria entered the Economic and Monetary Union in 1999. | Since 1991, civil war between the government and the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and the displacement of more than 2 million people (well over one-third of the population) many of whom are now refugees in neighboring countries. A peace agreement, signed in July 1999, collapsed in May 2000 after the RUF took over 500 UN peacekeepers hostage. The RUF stepped up attacks on Guinea in December 2000, despite a cease-fire that it signed with the Freetown government one month earlier. As of late 2000, up to 13,000 UN peacekeepers were protecting the capital and key towns in the south. A UK force of 750 was helping to reinforce security and train the Sierra Leone army. |
Birth rate | 8.74 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 45.11 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $148.6 billion
expenditures: $154.5 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.) |
revenues:
$96 million expenditures: $351 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
Capital | name: Vienna
geographic coordinates: 48 12 N, 16 22 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October |
Freetown |
Climate | temperate; continental, cloudy; cold winters with frequent rain and some snow in lowlands and snow in mountains; moderate summers with occasional showers | tropical; hot, humid; summer rainy season (May to December); winter dry season (December to April) |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 402 km |
Constitution | 1920; revised 1929 (reinstated 1 May 1945) | 1 October 1991; subsequently amended several times |
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 Sierra Leone conventional short form: Sierra Leone |
Currency | - | leone (SLL) |
Death rate | 9.76 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 19.19 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $510.6 billion (30 June 2005 est.) | $1.28 billion (1999) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Susan R. McCAW
embassy: Boltzmanngasse 16, A-1090, Vienna mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [43] (1) 31339-0 FAX: [43] (1) 3100682 |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Joseph H. MELROSE, Jr. embassy: Corner of Walpole and Siaka Stevens Streets, Freetown mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [232] (22) 226481 through 226485 FAX: [232] (22) 225471 |
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, New York |
chief of mission:
Ambassador John Ernest LEIGH chancery: 1701 19th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 939-9261 through 9263 FAX: [1] (202) 483-1793 |
Disputes - international | Austrian anti-nuclear activists have revived blockades of the Czech-Austrian border to protest operation of the Temelin nuclear power plant in the Czech Republic | civil war has engendered massive refugee movements into neighboring Guinea and Liberia |
Economic aid - donor | ODA, $681 million (2004) | - |
Economic aid - recipient | - | $203.7 million (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. The Austrian economy also benefits greatly from strong commercial relations, especially in the banking and insurance sectors, with central, eastern, and southeastern Europe. The economy features a large service sector, a sound industrial sector, and a small, but highly developed agricultural sector. Membership in the EU has drawn an influx of foreign investors attracted by Austria's access to the single European market and proximity to the new EU economies. The current government has successfully pursued a comprehensive economic reform program, aimed at streamlining government, creating a more competitive business environment, further strengthening Austria's attractiveness as an investment location, pursuing a balanced budget, and implementing effective pension reforms. Weak domestic consumption and slow growth in Europe have held the economy to growth rates of 0.4% in 2002, 1.4% in 2003, 2.4% in 2004, and 1.8% in 2005. To meet increased competition from both EU and Central European countries, particularly the new EU members, Austria will need to continue restructuring, emphasizing knowledge-based sectors of the economy, and encouraging greater labor flexibility and greater labor participation by its aging population. | Sierra Leone is an extremely poor African nation with tremendous inequality in income distribution. It does have substantial mineral, agricultural, and fishery resources. However, the economic and social infrastructure is not well developed, and serious social disorders continue to hamper economic development. About two-thirds of the working-age population engages in subsistence agriculture. Manufacturing consists mainly of the processing of raw materials and of light manufacturing for the domestic market. Bauxite and rutile mines have been shut down by civil strife. The major source of hard currency is found in the mining of diamonds, the large majority of which are smuggled out of the country. The resurgence of internal warfare in 1999 brought another substantial drop in GDP, with GNP recovering part of the way in 2000. The fate of the economy depends upon the maintenance of domestic peace and the continued receipt of substantial aid from abroad. |
Electricity - consumption | 64.78 billion kWh (2004) | 223.2 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 13.53 billion kWh (2004) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 16.63 billion kWh (2004) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 63.69 billion kWh (2004) | 240 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Neusiedler See 115 m
highest point: Grossglockner 3,798 m |
lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Loma Mansa (Bintimani) 1,948 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 | rapid population growth pressuring the environment; overharvesting of timber, expansion of cattle grazing, and slash-and-burn agriculture have resulted in deforestation and soil exhaustion; civil war depleting natural resources; overfishing |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Austrians 91.1%, former Yugoslavs 4% (includes Croatians, Slovenes, Serbs, and Bosniaks), Turks 1.6%, German 0.9%, other or unspecified 2.4% (2001 census) | 20 native African tribes 90% (Temne 30%, Mende 30%, other 30%), Creole 10% (descendants of freed Jamaican slaves who were settled in the Freetown area in the late-18th century), refugees from Liberia's recent civil war, small numbers of Europeans, Lebanese, Pakistanis, and Indians |
Exchange rates | euros per US dollar - 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001) | leones per US dollar - 1,653.39 (January 2001), 2,092.13 (2000), 1,804.20 (1999), 1,563.62 (1998), 981.48 (1997), 920.73 (1996) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Heinz FISCHER (since 8 July 2004)
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 (eligible for a second term); presidential election last held 25 April 2004 (next to be held April 2010); 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: Heinz FISCHER elected president; percent of vote - Heinz FISCHER (SPOe) 52.4%, Benita FERRERO-WALDNER (OeVP) 47.6% note: government coalition - OeVP and FPOe |
chief of state:
President Ahmad Tejan KABBAH (since 29 March 1996, reinstated 10 March 1998); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Ahmad Tejan KABBAH (since 29 March 1996, reinstated 10 March 1998); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Ministers of State appointed by the president with the approval of the House of Representatives; the cabinet is responsible to the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election held 26-27 February and 15 March 1996 (next to be held NA September 2001); note - president's tenure of office is limited to two five-year terms election results: Ahmad Tejan KABBAH elected president; percent of vote - Ahmad Tejan KABBAH (SLPP) 59.5%, John KAREFA-SMART (UNPP) 40.5% |
Exports | 30,140 bbl/day (2004) | $65 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | machinery and equipment, motor vehicles and parts, paper and paperboard, metal goods, chemicals, iron and steel, textiles, foodstuffs | diamonds, rutile, cocoa, coffee, fish |
Exports - partners | Germany 31.2%, Italy 8.7%, US 5.8%, Switzerland 5.2%, France 4.2% (2005) | Belgium 38%, US 6%, Italy 4%, UK 4% (1999) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and red | three equal horizontal bands of light green (top), white, and light blue |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $2.7 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 1.8%
industry: 30.4% services: 67.8% (2004 est.) |
agriculture:
43% industry: 26% services: 31% (1999) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $510 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 1.8% (2005 est.) | 4.2% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 47 20 N, 13 20 E | 8 30 N, 11 30 W |
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 | - |
Heliports | 1 (2006) | 1 (2000 est.) |
Highways | - | total:
11,300 km paved: 904 km unpaved: 10,396 km (1997) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 3.3%
highest 10%: 22.5% (2004) |
lowest 10%:
0.5% highest 10%: 43.6% (1989) |
Illicit drugs | transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin and South American cocaine destined for Western Europe | - |
Imports | 152,600 bbl/day (2004) | $145 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, motor vehicles, chemicals, metal goods, oil and oil products; foodstuffs | foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, fuels and lubricants, chemicals |
Imports - partners | Germany 45.9%, Italy 6.6%, Switzerland 4.5% (2005) | UK 34%, US 8%, Italy 7%, Nigeria 5% (1999) |
Independence | 17 September 1156 (Duchy of Austria founded); 11 August 1804 (Austrian Empire proclaimed); 12 November 1918 (republic proclaimed) | 27 April 1961 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 4.7% (2005 est.) | NA% |
Industries | construction, machinery, vehicles and parts, food, metals, chemicals, lumber and wood processing, paper and paperboard, communications equipment, tourism | mining (diamonds); small-scale manufacturing (beverages, textiles, cigarettes, footwear); petroleum refining |
Infant mortality rate | total: 4.6 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 5.65 deaths/1,000 live births female: 3.5 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
146.52 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.3% (2005 est.) | 15% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | ACCT (observer), AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, 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, IPU, ISO, ITU, MIGA, MINURSO, NAM (guest), NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OIF (observer), OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, PFP, SECI (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNOMIG, UNTSO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU (observer), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC | ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 40 sq km (2003) | 290 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Judicial Court or Oberster Gerichtshof; Administrative Court or Verwaltungsgerichtshof; Constitutional Court or Verfassungsgerichtshof | Supreme Court; Appeals Court; High Court |
Labor force | 3.49 million (2005 est.) | 1.369 million (1981 est.)
note: only about 65,000 wage earners (1985) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 3%
industry: 27% services: 70% (2005 est.) |
agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% |
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:
958 km border countries: Guinea 652 km, Liberia 306 km |
Land use | arable land: 16.59%
permanent crops: 0.85% other: 82.56% (2005) |
arable land:
7% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 31% forests and woodland: 28% other: 33% (1993 est.) |
Languages | German (official nationwide), Slovene (official in Carinthia), Croatian (official in Burgenland), Hungarian (official in Burgenland) | English (official, regular use limited to literate minority), Mende (principal vernacular in the south), Temne (principal vernacular in the north), Krio (English-based Creole, spoken by the descendants of freed Jamaican slaves who were settled in the Freetown area, a lingua franca and a first language for 10% of the population but understood by 95%) |
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 English law and customary laws indigenous to local tribes; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | bicameral Federal Assembly or Bundesversammlung consists of Federal Council or Bundesrat (62 members; members represent each of the states on the basis of population, but with each state having at least 3 representatives; members serve a five- 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 1 October 2006 (next to be held in the fall of 2010) election results: National Council - percent of vote by party - SPOe 35.3%, OeVP 34.3%, Greens 11.1%, FPOe 11.0%, BZOe 4.1%; seats by party - SPOe 68, OeVP 66, Greens 21, FPOe 21, BZOe 7 |
unicameral House of Representatives (80 seats - 68 elected by popular vote, 12 filled by paramount chiefs elected in separate elections; members serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 26-27 February 1996 (next to be held NA 2001) election results: percent of vote by party - SLPP 36.1%, UNPP 21.6%, PDP 15.3%, APC 5.7%, NUP 5.3%, DCP 4.8%, other 11.2%; seats by party - SLPP 27, UNPP 17, PDP 12, APC 5, NUP 4, DCP 3; note - first elections since the former House of Representatives was shut down by the military coup of 29 April 1992 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 79.07 years
male: 76.17 years female: 82.11 years (2006 est.) |
total population:
45.6 years male: 42.69 years female: 48.61 years (2001 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 English, Mende, Temne, or Arabic total population: 31.4% male: 45.4% female: 18.2% (1995 est.) |
Location | Central Europe, north of Italy and Slovenia | Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Liberia |
Map references | Europe | Africa |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | territorial sea:
200 NM continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
Merchant marine | total: 8 ships (1000 GRT or over) 34,072 GRT/44,437 DWT
by type: cargo 6, container 2 foreign-owned: 2 (Netherlands 2) registered in other countries: 14 (Liberia 13, Malta 1) (2006) |
total:
1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,057 GRT/3,498 DWT ships by type: cargo 1 (2000 est.) |
Military branches | Land Forces (KdoLdSK), Air Forces (KdoLuSK) | Army |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $1.497 billion (FY01/02) | $46 million (FY96/97) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 0.9% (2004) | 2% (FY96/97) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49:
1,161,790 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49:
563,631 (2001 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, 27 April (1961) |
Nationality | noun: Austrian(s)
adjective: Austrian |
noun:
Sierra Leonean(s) adjective: Sierra Leonean |
Natural hazards | landslides; avalanches; earthquakes | dry, sand-laden harmattan winds blow from the Sahara (December to February); sandstorms, dust storms |
Natural resources | oil, coal, lignite, timber, iron ore, copper, zinc, antimony, magnesite, tungsten, graphite, salt, hydropower | diamonds, titanium ore, bauxite, iron ore, gold, chromite |
Net migration rate | 1.94 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 10.23 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)
note: by the end of 1999 refugees from Sierra Leone are assumed to be returning |
Pipelines | gas 2,722 km; oil 663 km; refined products 149 km (2006) | - |
Political parties and leaders | Alliance for the Future of Austria or BZOe [Joerg HAIDER]; Austrian People's Party or OeVP [Wolfgang SCHUESSEL]; Freedom Party of Austria or FPOe [Heinz Christian STRACHE]; Social Democratic Party of Austria or SPOe [Alfred GUSENBAUER]; The Greens [Alexander VAN DER BELLEN] | All People's Congress or APC [Edward Mohammed TURAY, chairman]; Democratic Centre Party or DCP [Adu Aiah KOROMA]; National Democratic Alliance or NDA [Amadu M. B. JALLOH]; National Republican Party or NRP [Sahr Stephen MAMBU]; National Unity Party or NUP [Dr. John KARIMU, chairman]; People's Democratic Party or PDP [Thaimu BANGURA, chairman]; People's Progressive Party or PPP [Abass Chernok BUNDU, chairman]; Revolutionary United Front Party or RUFP [Foday SANKOH, chairman]; Sierra Leone People's Party or SLPP [President Ahmad Tejan KABBAH, chairman]; United National People's Party or UNPP [John KARIFA-SMART in exile, Raymond KAMARA, acting leader] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Austrian Trade Union Federation (nominally independent but 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 and other non-government organizations in the areas of environment and human rights | Trade Unions and Student Unions |
Population | 8,192,880 (July 2006 est.) | 5,426,618 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 5.9% (2004) | 68% (1989 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.09% (2006 est.) | 3.61% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Bonthe, Freetown, Pepel |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 65 (plus several hundred repeaters), shortwave 1 (2001) | AM 1, FM 9, shortwave 1 (1999) |
Radios | - | 1.12 million (1997) |
Railways | total: 6,011 km
standard gauge: 5,568 km 1.435-m gauge (3,427 km electrified) narrow gauge: 21 km 1.000-m gauge; 422 km 0.760-m gauge (109 km electrified) (2005) |
total:
84 km used on a limited basis because the mine at Marampa is closed narrow gauge: 84 km 1.067-m gauge |
Religions | Roman Catholic 73.6%, Protestant 4.7%, Muslim 4.2%, other 3.5%, unspecified 2%, none 12% (2001 census) | Muslim 60%, indigenous beliefs 30%, Christian 10% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
at birth:
1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 0.96 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.91 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.98 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: highly developed and efficient
domestic: there are 45 main lines for every 100 persons; the fiber optic net is very extensive; all telephone applications and Internet services are available international: country code - 43; satellite earth stations - 15; in addition, there are about 600 VSAT (very small aperture terminals) (2005) |
general assessment:
marginal telephone and telegraph service domestic: national microwave radio relay trunk system, made unserviceable by military activities, is now operating from Freetown to Bo and Kenema (April 2001) international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 3.705 million (2005) | 17,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 8.16 million (2005) | 650 (1999) |
Television broadcast stations | 10 (plus more than 1,000 repeaters) (2001) | 2 (1999) |
Terrain | in the west and south mostly mountains (Alps); along the eastern and northern margins mostly flat or gently sloping | coastal belt of mangrove swamps, wooded hill country, upland plateau, mountains in east |
Total fertility rate | 1.36 children born/woman (2006 est.) | 6.01 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 5.2% (2005 est.) | NA% |
Waterways | 358 km (2003) | 800 km (of which 600 km navigable year round) |