Compare Bangladesh (2006) - Dominican Republic (2004)

Compare Bangladesh (2006) z Dominican Republic (2004)

	Bangladesh (2006)	Dominican Republic (2004)

Administrative divisions	6 divisions; Barisal, Chittagong, Dhaka, Khulna, Rajshahi, Sylhet	31 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia) and 1 district* (distrito); Azua, Baoruco, Barahona, Dajabon, Distrito Nacional*, Duarte, Elias Pina, El Seibo, Espaillat, Hato Mayor, Independencia, La Altagracia, La Romana, La Vega, Maria Trinidad Sanchez, Monsenor Nouel, Monte Cristi, Monte Plata, Pedernales, Peravia, Puerto Plata, Salcedo, Samana, Sanchez Ramirez, San Cristobal, San Jose de Ocoa, San Juan, San Pedro de Macoris, Santiago, Santiago Rodriguez, Santo Domingo, Valverde
Age structure	0-14 years: 32.9% (male 24,957,997/female 23,533,894) 15-64 years: 63.6% (male 47,862,774/female 45,917,674) 65 years and over: 3.5% (male 2,731,578/female 2,361,435) (2006 est.)	0-14 years: 33.3% (male 1,502,062; female 1,435,135) 15-64 years: 61.4% (male 2,767,880; female 2,658,861) 65 years and over: 5.3% (male 219,230; female 250,466) (2004 est.)
Agriculture - products	rice, jute, tea, wheat, sugarcane, potatoes, tobacco, pulses, oilseeds, spices, fruit; beef, milk, poultry	sugarcane, coffee, cotton, cocoa, tobacco, rice, beans, potatoes, corn, bananas; cattle, pigs, dairy products, beef, eggs
Airports	16 (2006)	31 (2003 est.)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 15 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 5 (2006)	total: 13 over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2006)	total: 18 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 10 (2004 est.)
Area	total: 144,000 sq km land: 133,910 sq km water: 10,090 sq km	total: 48,730 sq km land: 48,380 sq km water: 350 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than Iowa	slightly more than twice the size of New Hampshire
Background	Europeans began to set up trading posts in the area of Bangladesh in the 16th century; eventually the British came to dominate the region and it became part of British India. In 1947, West Pakistan and East Bengal (both primarily Muslim) separated from India (largely Hindu) and jointly became the new country of Pakistan. East Bengal became East Pakistan in 1955, but the awkward arrangement of a two-part country with its territorial units separated by 1,600 km left the Bengalis marginalized and dissatisfied. East Pakistan seceded from its union with West Pakistan in 1971 and was renamed Bangladesh. About a third of this extremely poor country floods annually during the monsoon rainy season, hampering economic development.	Explored and claimed by Columbus on his first voyage in 1492, the island of Hispaniola became a springboard for Spanish conquest of the Caribbean and the American mainland. In 1697, Spain recognized French dominion over the western third of the island, which in 1804 became Haiti. The remainder of the island, by then known as Santo Domingo, sought to gain its own independence in 1821, but was conquered and ruled by the Haitians for 22 years; it finally attained independence as the Dominican Republic in 1844. In 1861, the Dominicans voluntarily returned to the Spanish Empire, but two years later they launched a war that restored independence in 1865. A legacy of unsettled, mostly non-representative, rule for much of its subsequent history was brought to an end in 1966 when Joaquin BALAGUER became president. He maintained a tight grip on power for most of the next 30 years when international reaction to flawed elections forced him to curtail his term in 1996. Since then, regular competitive elections have been held in which opposition candidates have won the presidency. The Dominican economy has had one of the fastest growth rates in the hemisphere over the past decade.
Birth rate	29.8 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)	23.6 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Budget	revenues: $5.993 billion expenditures: $8.598 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.)	revenues: $2.601 billion expenditures: $3.353 billion, including capital expenditures of $1.1 billion (2003 est.)
Capital	name: Dhaka geographic coordinates: 23 43 N, 90 25 E time difference: UTC+6 (11 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)	Santo Domingo
Climate	tropical; mild winter (October to March); hot, humid summer (March to June); humid, warm rainy monsoon (June to October)	tropical maritime; little seasonal temperature variation; seasonal variation in rainfall
Coastline	580 km	1,288 km
Constitution	4 November 1972, effective 16 December 1972; suspended following coup of 24 March 1982, restored 10 November 1986; amended many times	28 November 1966, amended 25 July 2002
Country name	conventional long form: People's Republic of Bangladesh conventional short form: Bangladesh local long form: Gana Prajatantri Banladesh local short form: Banladesh former: East Bengal, East Pakistan	conventional long form: Dominican Republic conventional short form: The Dominican local long form: Republica Dominicana local short form: La Dominicana
Currency	-	Dominican peso (DOP)
Death rate	8.27 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)	7.1 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Debt - external	$20.63 billion (2005 est.)	$6.567 billion (2003 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US	chief of mission: Ambassador Patricia A. BUTENIS embassy: Madani Avenue, Baridhara, Dhaka 1212 mailing address: G. P. O. Box 323, Dhaka 1000 telephone: [880] (2) 885-5500 FAX: [880] (2) 882-3744	chief of mission: Ambassador Hans H. HERTELL embassy: corner of Calle Cesar Nicolas Penson and Calle Leopoldo Navarro, Santo Domingo mailing address: Unit 5500, APO AA 34041-5500 telephone: [1] (809) 221-2171 FAX: [1] (809) 686-7437
Diplomatic representation in the US	chief of mission: Ambassador Shamsher Mobin CHOWDHURY chancery: 3510 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 244-0183 FAX: [1] (202) 244-5366 consulate(s) general: Los Angeles, New York	chief of mission: Ambassador-designate Flavio Dario Espinal JACOBO chancery: 1715 22nd Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 332-6280 FAX: [1] (202) 265-8057 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Mayaguez (Puerto Rico), Miami, New Orleans, New York, and San Juan (Puerto Rico) consulate(s): Mobile
Disputes - international	discussions with India remain stalled to delimit a small section of river boundary, exchange 162 miniscule enclaves in both countries, allocate divided villages, and stop illegal cross-border trade, migration, violence, and transit of terrorists through the porous border; Bangladesh resists India's attempts to fence or wall off high-traffic sections of the porous boundary; a joint Bangladesh-India boundary inspection in 2005 revealed 92 pillars are missing; dispute with India over New Moore/South Talpatty/Purbasha Island in the Bay of Bengal deters maritime boundary delimitation; Burmese Muslim refugees strain Bangladesh's meager resources	despite efforts to control illegal migration, destitute Haitians fleeing poverty and violence continue to cross into the Dominican Republic; illegal migration of Dominicans and other nationals across the Mona Passage to Puerto Rico has increased in the last year
Economic aid - recipient	$1.575 billion (2000 est.)	$239.6 million (1995)
Economy - overview	Despite sustained domestic and international efforts to improve economic and demographic prospects, Bangladesh remains a poor, overpopulated, and inefficiently-governed nation. Although half of GDP is generated through the service sector, nearly two-thirds of Bangladeshis are employed in the agriculture sector, with rice as the single-most-important product. Major impediments to growth include frequent cyclones and floods, inefficient state-owned enterprises, inadequate port facilities, a rapidly growing labor force that cannot be absorbed by agriculture, delays in exploiting energy resources (natural gas), insufficient power supplies, and slow implementation of economic reforms. Reform is stalled in many instances by political infighting and corruption at all levels of government. Progress also has been blocked by opposition from the bureaucracy, public sector unions, and other vested interest groups. The BNP government, led by Prime Minister Khaleda ZIA, has the parliamentary strength to push through needed reforms, but the party's political will to do so has been lacking in key areas. One encouraging note: growth has been a steady 5% for the past several years.	The Dominican Republic is a Caribbean representative democracy which enjoyed GDP growth of more than 7% in 1998-2000. Growth subsequently plummeted as part of the global economic slowdown. Although the country has long been viewed primarily as an exporter of sugar, coffee, and tobacco, in recent years the service sector has overtaken agriculture as the economy's largest employer, due to growth in tourism and free trade zones. The country suffers from marked income inequality; the poorest half of the population receives less than one-fifth of GNP, while the richest 10% enjoys nearly 40% of national income. Growth turned negative in 2003 with reduced tourism, a major bank fraud, and limited growth in the US economy, the source of 87% of export revenues. Resumption of a badly needed IMF loan was slowed due to government repurchase of electrical power plants.
Electricity - consumption	16.2 billion kWh (2003)	8.543 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2003)	0 kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports	0 kWh (2003)	0 kWh (2001)
Electricity - production	17.42 billion kWh (2003)	9.186 billion kWh (2001)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: Keokradong 1,230 m	lowest point: Lago Enriquillo -46 m highest point: Pico Duarte 3,175 m
Environment - current issues	many people are landless and forced to live on and cultivate flood-prone land; water-borne diseases prevalent in surface water; water pollution, especially of fishing areas, results from the use of commercial pesticides; ground water contaminated by naturally occurring arsenic; intermittent water shortages because of falling water tables in the northern and central parts of the country; soil degradation and erosion; deforestation; severe overpopulation	water shortages; soil eroding into the sea damages coral reefs; deforestation
Environment - international agreements	party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements	party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea
Ethnic groups	Bengali 98%, tribal groups, non-Bengali Muslims (1998)	white 16%, black 11%, mixed 73%
Exchange rates	taka per US dollar - 64.328 (2005), 59.513 (2004), 58.15 (2003), 57.888 (2002), 55.807 (2001)	Dominican pesos per US dollar - 30.8307 (2003), 18.6098 (2002), 16.9516 (2001), 16.415 (2000), 16.0331 (1999)
Executive branch	chief of state: President Iajuddin AHMED (since 6 September 2002); note - the president's duties are normally ceremonial, but with the 13th amendment to the constitution ("Caretaker Government Amendment"), the president's role becomes significant at times when Parliament is dissolved and a caretaker government is installed - at presidential direction - to supervise the elections head of government: Prime Minister Khaleda ZIA (since 10 October 2001) cabinet: Cabinet selected by the prime minister and appointed by the president elections: president elected by National Parliament for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election scheduled for 16 September 2002 was not held since Iajuddin AHMED was the only presidential candidate; he was sworn in on 6 September 2002 (next election to be held by 2007); following legislative elections, the leader of the party that wins the most seats is usually appointed prime minister by the president election results: Iajuddin AHMED declared by the Election Commission elected unopposed as president; percent of National Parliament vote - NA	chief of state: President Leonel FERNANDEZ Reyna (since 16 August 2004); Vice President Rafael ALBURQUERQUE de Castro (since 16 August 2004); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Leonel FERNANDEZ Reyna (since 16 August 2004); Vice President Rafael ALBURQUERQUE de Castro (since 16 August 2004); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet nominated by the president elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year terms; election last held 16 May 2004 (next to be held in May 2008) election results: Leonel FERNANDEZ elected president; percent of vote - Leonel FERNANDEZ (PLD) 57.1%, Rafael Hipolito MEJIA Dominguez (PRD) 33.7%, Eduardo ESTRELLA (PRSC) 8.7%
Exports	NA bbl/day	NA (2001)
Exports - commodities	garments, jute and jute goods, leather, frozen fish and seafood (2001)	ferronickel, sugar, gold, silver, coffee, cocoa, tobacco, meats, consumer goods
Exports - partners	US 23.6%, Germany 13.5%, UK 9.4%, France 6.4% (2005)	US 83.8%, Canada 1.5%, Haiti 1.5% (2003)
Fiscal year	1 July - 30 June	calendar year
Flag description	green field with a large red disk shifted slightly to the hoist side of center; the red disk represents the rising sun and the sacrifice to achieve independence; the green field symbolizes the lush vegetation of Bangladesh	a centered white cross that extends to the edges divides the flag into four rectangles - the top ones are blue (hoist side) and red, and the bottom ones are red (hoist side) and blue; a small coat of arms featuring a shield supported by an olive branch (left) and a palm branch (right) is at the center of the cross; above the shield a blue ribbon displays the motto, DIOS, PATRIA, LIBERTAD (God, Fatherland, Liberty), and below the shield, REPUBLICA DOMINICANA appears on a red ribbon
GDP	-	purchasing power parity - $52.71 billion (2003 est.)
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 19.9% industry: 19.8% services: 60.3% (2004 est.)	agriculture: 10.7% industry: 31.5% services: 57.8% (2003)
GDP - per capita	-	purchasing power parity - $6,000 (2003 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	6.4% (2005 est.)	-0.7% (2003 est.)
Geographic coordinates	24 00 N, 90 00 E	19 00 N, 70 40 W
Geography - note	most of the country is situated on deltas of large rivers flowing from the Himalayas: the Ganges unites with the Jamuna (main channel of the Brahmaputra) and later joins the Meghna to eventually empty into the Bay of Bengal	shares island of Hispaniola with Haiti
Highways	-	total: 12,600 km paved: 6,224 km unpaved: 6,376 km (1999)
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: 3.9% highest 10%: 28.6% (1995-96 est.)	lowest 10%: 2.1% highest 10%: 37.9% (1998)
Illicit drugs	transit country for illegal drugs produced in neighboring countries	transshipment point for South American drugs destined for the US and Europe; has become a transshipment point for ecstasy from the Netherlands and Belgium destined for US and Canada; substantial money-laundering activity; Colombian narcotics traffickers favor the Dominican Republic for illicit financial transactions
Imports	NA bbl/day	NA (2001)
Imports - commodities	machinery and equipment, chemicals, iron and steel, textiles, foodstuffs, petroleum products, cement (2000)	foodstuffs, petroleum, cotton and fabrics, chemicals and pharmaceuticals
Imports - partners	India 14.1%, China 13.5%, Kuwait 8.5%, Singapore 6.2%, Japan 4.1%, Hong Kong 4.1% (2005)	US 52.1%, Venezuela 11.9%, Mexico 4.7%, Colombia 4.2% (2003)
Independence	16 December 1971 (from West Pakistan); note - 26 March 1971 is the date of independence from West Pakistan, 16 December 1971 is known as Victory Day and commemorates the official creation of the state of Bangladesh	27 February 1844 (from Haiti)
Industrial production growth rate	6.7% (2005 est.)	2% (2001 est.)
Industries	cotton textiles, jute, garments, tea processing, paper newsprint, cement, chemical fertilizer, light engineering, sugar	tourism, sugar processing, ferronickel and gold mining, textiles, cement, tobacco
Infant mortality rate	total: 60.83 deaths/1,000 live births male: 61.87 deaths/1,000 live births female: 59.74 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)	total: 33.28 deaths/1,000 live births male: 35.75 deaths/1,000 live births female: 30.68 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	7% (2005 est.)	27.5% (2003 est.)
International organization participation	ARF, AsDB, BIMSTEC, C, CP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, MIGA, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM, OIC, OPCW, SAARC, SACEP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNOCI, UNOMIG, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO	ACP, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (subscriber), ITU, LAES, LAIA (observer), MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW (signatory), PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNOCI, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO
Irrigated land	47,250 sq km (2003)	2,590 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch	Supreme Court (the chief justices and other judges are appointed by the president)	Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (judges are appointed by a the National Judicial Council comprised of the President, the leaders of both chambers of congress, the President of the Supreme Court, and an opposition or non-governing party member)
Labor force	66.6 million note: extensive export of labor to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, Oman, Qatar, and Malaysia; workers' remittances estimated at $1.71 billion in 1998-99 (2005 est.)	2.3 million - 2.6 million (2000 est.)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture: 63% industry: 11% services: 26% (FY95/96)	agriculture 17%, industry 24.3%, services and government 58.7% (1998 est.)
Land boundaries	total: 4,246 km border countries: Burma 193 km, India 4,053 km	total: 360 km border countries: Haiti 360 km
Land use	arable land: 55.39% permanent crops: 3.08% other: 41.53% (2005)	arable land: 22.65% permanent crops: 10.33% other: 67.02% (2001)
Languages	Bangla (official, also known as Bengali), English	Spanish
Legal system	based on English common law	based on French civil codes; undergoing modification in 2004 towards an accusatory system
Legislative branch	unicameral National Parliament or Jatiya Sangsad; 300 seats elected by popular vote from single territorial constituencies (the constitutional amendment reserving 30 seats for women over and above the 300 regular parliament seats expired in May 2001); members serve five-year terms elections: last held 1 October 2001 (next to be held no later than January 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - BNP and alliance partners 41%, AL 40%; seats by party - BNP 193, AL 58, JI 17, JP (Ershad faction) 14, IOJ 2, JP (Manzur) 4, other 12; note - the election of October 2001 brought a majority BNP government aligned with three other smaller parties - JI, IOJ, and Jatiya Party (Manzur)	bicameral National Congress or Congreso Nacional consists of the Senate or Senado (32 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) and the Chamber of Deputies or Camara de Diputados (150 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: Senate - last held 16 May 2002 (next to be held NA May 2006); Chamber of Deputies - last held 16 May 2002 (next to be held NA May 2006) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PRD 29, PLD 2, PRSC 1; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PRD 73, PLD 41, PRSC 36
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 62.46 years male: 62.47 years female: 62.45 years (2006 est.)	total population: 67.63 years male: 65.98 years female: 69.35 years (2004 est.)
Literacy	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 43.1% male: 53.9% female: 31.8% (2003 est.)	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 84.7% male: 84.6% female: 84.8% (2003 est.)
Location	Southern Asia, bordering the Bay of Bengal, between Burma and India	Caribbean, eastern two-thirds of the island of Hispaniola, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of Haiti
Map references	Asia	Central America and the Caribbean
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 18 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: up to the outer limits of the continental margin	territorial sea: 6 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
Merchant marine	total: 42 ships (1000 GRT or over) 341,733 GRT/485,840 DWT by type: bulk carrier 3, cargo 29, container 6, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 3 foreign-owned: 1 (China 1) registered in other countries: 10 (Antigua and Barbuda 4, Comoros 1, Malta 3, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1, Singapore 1) (2006)	total: 3 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 11,230 GRT/17,011 DWT by type: cargo 1, petroleum tanker 2 foreign-owned: Pakistan 1, Singapore 1 registered in other countries: 1 (2004 est.)
Military branches	Bangladesh Defense Force: Bangladesh Army, Bangladesh Navy, Bangladesh Air Force (Bangladesh Biman Bahini, BAF) (2006)	Army, Navy, Air Force
Military expenditures - dollar figure	$1.01 billion (2005 est.)	$180 million (1998)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	1.8% (2005 est.)	1.1% (1998)
Military manpower - availability	-	males age 15-49: 2,354,800 (2004 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service	-	males age 15-49: 1,474,978 (2004 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually	-	males: 90,434 (2004 est.)
National holiday	Independence Day, 26 March (1971); note - 26 March 1971 is the date of independence from West Pakistan, 16 December 1971 is Victory Day and commemorates the official creation of the state of Bangladesh	Independence Day, 27 February (1844)
Nationality	noun: Bangladeshi(s) adjective: Bangladeshi	noun: Dominican(s) adjective: Dominican
Natural hazards	droughts, cyclones; much of the country routinely inundated during the summer monsoon season	lies in the middle of the hurricane belt and subject to severe storms from June to October; occasional flooding; periodic droughts
Natural resources	natural gas, arable land, timber, coal	nickel, bauxite, gold, silver
Net migration rate	-0.68 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)	-3.22 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Pipelines	gas 2,604 km (2006)	-
Political parties and leaders	Awami League or AL [Sheikh HASINA]; Bangladesh Communist Party or BCP [Saifuddin Ahmed MANIK]; Bangladesh Nationalist Party or BNP [Khaleda ZIA]; Islami Oikya Jote or IOJ [Mufti Fazlul Haq AMINI]; Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh or JIB [Motiur Rahman NIZAMI]; Jatiya Party or JP (Ershad faction) [Hussain Mohammad ERSHAD]; Jatiya Party (Manzur faction) [Naziur Rahman MANZUR]; Liberal Democratic Party or LDP [Badrudozza CHOWDHURY and Oli AHMED]	Dominican Liberation Party or PLD [Leonel FERNANDEZ Reyna]; Dominican Revolutionary Party or PRD [Vicente Sanchez BARET]; Social Christian Reformist Party or PRSC [Enrique ATUN]
Political pressure groups and leaders	NA	Collective of Popular Organizations or COP; Citizen Participation Group (Participacion Ciudadania); Foundation for Institution-Building (FINJUS)
Population	147,365,352 (July 2006 est.)	8,833,634 (July 2004 est.)
Population below poverty line	45% (2004 est.)	25%
Population growth rate	2.09% (2006 est.)	1.33% (2004 est.)
Ports and harbors	-	Barahona, La Romana, Manzanillo, Puerto Plata, San Pedro de Macoris, Santo Domingo
Radio broadcast stations	AM 15, FM 13, shortwave 2 (2006)	AM 120, FM 56, shortwave 4 (1998)
Railways	total: 2,768 km broad gauge: 946 km 1.676-m gauge narrow gauge: 1,822 km 1.000-m gauge (2005)	total: 1,743 km standard gauge: 375 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 142 km 0.762-m gauge note: additional 1,226 km operated by sugar companies in 1.076-m, 0.889-m, and 0.762-m gauges (2003)
Religions	Muslim 83%, Hindu 16%, other 1% (1998)	Roman Catholic 95%
Sex ratio	at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.16 male(s)/female total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2006 est.)	at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.88 male(s)/female total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2004 est.)
Suffrage	18 years of age; universal	18 years of age, universal and compulsory; married persons regardless of age note: members of the armed forces and national police cannot vote
Telephone system	general assessment: totally inadequate for a modern country domestic: modernizing; introducing digital systems; trunk systems include VHF and UHF microwave radio relay links, and some fiber-optic cable in cities international: country code - 880; satellite earth stations - 6; international radiotelephone communications and landline service to neighboring countries (2005)	general assessment: NA domestic: relatively efficient system based on island-wide microwave radio relay network international: country code - 1-809; 1 coaxial submarine cable; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
Telephones - main lines in use	1.07 million (2005)	901,800 (2003)
Telephones - mobile cellular	9 million (2005)	2,120,400 (2003)
Television broadcast stations	15 (1999)	25 (2003)
Terrain	mostly flat alluvial plain; hilly in southeast	rugged highlands and mountains with fertile valleys interspersed
Total fertility rate	3.11 children born/woman (2006 est.)	2.89 children born/woman (2004 est.)
Unemployment rate	2.5% (includes underemployment) (2005 est.)	16.5% (2003 est.)
Waterways	8,372 km note: includes 5,635 km main cargo routes; network reduced to 5,200 km in dry season (2005)	-

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