Barbados (2006) | Indonesia (2006) | |
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Administrative divisions | 11 parishes; Christ Church, Saint Andrew, Saint George, Saint James, Saint John, Saint Joseph, Saint Lucy, Saint Michael, Saint Peter, Saint Philip, Saint Thomas; note - the city of Bridgetown may be given parish status | 30 provinces (propinsi-propinsi, singular - propinsi), 2 special regions* (daerah-daerah istimewa, singular - daerah istimewa), and 1 special capital city district** (daerah khusus ibukota); Aceh*, Bali, Banten, Bengkulu, Gorontalo, Irian Jaya Barat, Jakarta Raya**, Jambi, Jawa Barat, Jawa Tengah, Jawa Timur, Kalimantan Barat, Kalimantan Selatan, Kalimantan Tengah, Kalimantan Timur, Kepulauan Bangka Belitung, Kepulauan Riau, Lampung, Maluku, Maluku Utara, Nusa Tenggara Barat, Nusa Tenggara Timur, Papua, Riau, Sulawesi Barat, Sulawesi Selatan, Sulawesi Tengah, Sulawesi Tenggara, Sulawesi Utara, Sumatera Barat, Sumatera Selatan, Sumatera Utara, Yogyakarta*
note: following the implementation of decentralization beginning on 1 January 2001, the 440 districts or regencies have become the key administrative units responsible for providing most government services |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 20.1% (male 28,160/female 28,039)
15-64 years: 71.1% (male 97,755/female 101,223) 65 years and over: 8.8% (male 9,508/female 15,227) (2006 est.) |
0-14 years: 28.8% (male 35,995,919/female 34,749,582)
15-64 years: 65.8% (male 80,796,794/female 80,754,238) 65 years and over: 5.4% (male 5,737,473/female 7,418,733) (2006 est.) |
Agriculture - products | sugarcane, vegetables, cotton | rice, cassava (tapioca), peanuts, rubber, cocoa, coffee, palm oil, copra; poultry, beef, pork, eggs |
Airports | 1 (2006) | 662 (2006) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2006) |
total: 159
over 3,047 m: 4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 15 1,524 to 2,437 m: 49 914 to 1,523 m: 49 under 914 m: 42 (2006) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 503
1,524 to 2,437 m: 6 914 to 1,523 m: 26 under 914 m: 471 (2006) |
Area | total: 431 sq km
land: 431 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 1,919,440 sq km
land: 1,826,440 sq km water: 93,000 sq km |
Area - comparative | 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly less than three times the size of Texas |
Background | The island was uninhabited when first settled by the British in 1627. Slaves worked the sugar plantations established on the island until 1834 when slavery was abolished. The economy remained heavily dependent on sugar, rum, and molasses production through most of the 20th century. The gradual introduction of social and political reforms in the 1940s and 1950s led to complete independence from the UK in 1966. In the 1990s, tourism and manufacturing surpassed the sugar industry in economic importance. | The Dutch began to colonize Indonesia in the early 17th century; the islands were occupied by Japan from 1942 to 1945. Indonesia declared its independence after Japan's surrender, but it required four years of intermittent negotiations, recurring hostilities, and UN mediation before the Netherlands agreed to relinquish its colony. Indonesia is the world's largest archipelagic state and home to the world's largest Muslim population. Current issues include: alleviating poverty, preventing terrorism, consolidating democracy after four decades of authoritarianism, implementing financial sector reforms, stemming corruption, and holding the military and police accountable for human rights violations. Indonesia was the nation worst hit by the December 2004 tsunami, which particularly affected Aceh province causing over 100,000 deaths and over $4 billion in damage. An additional earthquake in March 2005 created heavy destruction on the island of Nias. Reconstruction in these areas may take up to a decade. In 2005, Indonesia reached a historic peace agreement with armed separatists in Aceh, but it continues to face a low intensity separatist guerilla movement in Papua. |
Birth rate | 12.71 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 20.34 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $847 million (including grants)
expenditures: $886 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
revenues: $54.3 billion
expenditures: $57.7 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.) |
Capital | name: Bridgetown
geographic coordinates: 13 06 N, 59 37 W time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
name: Jakarta
geographic coordinates: 6 10 S, 106 48 E time difference: UTC+7 (12 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) note: Indonesia is divided into three time zones |
Climate | tropical; rainy season (June to October) | tropical; hot, humid; more moderate in highlands |
Coastline | 97 km | 54,716 km |
Constitution | 30 November 1966 | August 1945; abrogated by Federal Constitution of 1949 and Provisional Constitution of 1950, restored 5 July 1959; series of amemdments concluded in 2002 |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Barbados |
conventional long form: Republic of Indonesia
conventional short form: Indonesia local long form: Republik Indonesia local short form: Indonesia former: Netherlands East Indies; Dutch East Indies |
Death rate | 8.67 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 6.25 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | $668 million (2003) | $135 billion (2005 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Mary M. OURISMAN
embassy: Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce Building, Broad Street, Bridgetown; (courier) ALICO Building-Cheapside, Bridgetown mailing address: P. O. Box 302, Bridgetown; CMR 1014, APO AA 34055 telephone: [1] (246) 436-4950 FAX: [1] (246) 429-5246, 429-3379 |
chief of mission: Ambassador B. Lynn PASCOE
embassy: Jalan 1 Medan Merdeka Selatan 4-5, Jakarta 10110 mailing address: Unit 8129, Box 1, FPO AP 96520 telephone: [62] (21) 3435-9000 FAX: [62] (21) 3435-9922 consulate(s) general: Surabaya consulate(s): Medan; Denpasar (consular agency) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Michael Ian KING
chancery: 2144 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 939-9200 FAX: [1] (202) 332-7467 consulate(s) general: Miami, New York consulate(s): Los Angeles |
chief of mission: Ambassador SUDJADNAN Parnohadiningrat
chancery: 2020 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 775-5200 FAX: [1] (202) 775-5365 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco |
Disputes - international | in 2005, Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago agreed to compulsory international arbitration that will result in a binding award challenging whether the northern limit of Trinidad and Tobago's and Venezuela's maritime boundary extends into Barbadian waters and the southern limit of Barbadian traditional fishing; joins other Caribbean states to counter Venezuela's claim that Aves Island sustains human habitation, a criterion under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which permits Venezuela to extend its EEZ/continental shelf over a large portion of the Caribbean Sea | East Timor-Indonesia Boundary Committee continues to meet, survey, and delimit land boundary, but several sections of the boundary remain unresolved; many East Timorese refugees who left in 2003 still reside in Indonesia and refuse repatriation; Indonesia and East Timor contest the sovereignty of the uninhabited coral island of Pulau Batek/Fatu Sinai, which hinders a decision on a northern maritime boundary; a 1997 treaty between Indonesia and Australia settled some parts of their maritime boundary but outstanding issues remain; ICJ's award of Sipadan and Ligitan islands to Malaysia in 2002 left maritime boundary in the hydrocarbon-rich Celebes Sea in dispute, culminating in hostile confrontations in March 2005 over concessions to the Ambalat oil block; the ICJ decision has prompted Indonesia to assert claims to and to establish a presence on its smaller outer islands; Indonesia and Singapore pledged in 2005 to finalize their 1973 maritime boundary agreement by defining unresolved areas north of Batam Island; Indonesian secessionists, squatters, and illegal migrants create repatriation problems for Papua New Guinea; piracy remains a problem in the Malacca Strait |
Economic aid - recipient | $9.1 million (1995) | $43 billion
note: Indonesia finished its IMF program in December 2003 but still receives bilateral aid through the Consultative Group on Indonesia (CGI), which pledged $2.8 billion in grants and loans for 2004 and again in 2005; nearly $5 billion in aid money pledged by a variety bilateral, multilateral, and non-governmental organization (NGO) donors following the 2004 tsunami; money is slated for use in relief and rebuilding efforts in Aceh (2002) |
Economy - overview | Historically, the Barbadian economy had been dependent on sugarcane cultivation and related activities, but production in recent years has diversified into light industry and tourism. Offshore finance and information services are important foreign exchange earners. The government continues its efforts to reduce unemployment, to encourage direct foreign investment, and to privatize remaining state-owned enterprises. The economy contracted in 2002-03 mainly due to a decline in tourism. Growth was positive in 2005, as economic conditions in the US and Europe moderately improved. | Indonesia, a vast polyglot nation, has struggled to overcome the Asian financial crisis, and still grapples with high unemployment, a fragile banking sector, endemic corruption, inadequate infrastructure, a poor investment climate, and unequal resource distribution among regions. Indonesia became a net oil importer in 2004 because of declining production and lack of new exploration investment. In late December 2004, the Indian Ocean tsunami took 131,000 lives with another 37,000 missing, left some 570,000 displaced persons, and caused an estimated $4.5 billion in damages and losses. The cost of subsidizing domestic fuel placed increasing strain on the budget in 2005, and combined with indecisive monetary policy, contributed to a run on the currency in August 2005, prompting the government to enact a 126% average fuel price hike in October. The resulting inflation and interest rate hikes dampened growth prospects in 2006. However, in October 2006, Jakarta paid off its outstanding IMF debt, incurred during the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis, four years ahead of schedule. Keys to future growth remain internal reform, building up the confidence of international and domestic investors, and strong global economic growth. |
Electricity - consumption | 761.7 million kWh (2003) | 105.4 billion kWh (2004) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2003) | 0 kWh (2004) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2003) | 0 kWh (2004) |
Electricity - production | 819 million kWh (2003) | 120.2 billion kWh (2004) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Hillaby 336 m |
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Puncak Jaya 5,030 m |
Environment - current issues | pollution of coastal waters from waste disposal by ships; soil erosion; illegal solid waste disposal threatens contamination of aquifers | deforestation; water pollution from industrial wastes, sewage; air pollution in urban areas; smoke and haze from forest fires |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Marine Life Conservation |
Ethnic groups | black 90%, white 4%, Asian and mixed 6% | Javanese 45%, Sundanese 14%, Madurese 7.5%, coastal Malays 7.5%, other 26% |
Exchange rates | Barbadian dollars per US dollar - 2 (2005), 2 (2004), 2 (2003), 2 (2002), 2 (2001) | Indonesian rupiahs per US dollar - 9,704.7 (2005), 8,938.9 (2004), 8,577.1 (2003), 9,311.2 (2002), 10,260.9 (2001) |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Sir Clifford Straughn HUSBANDS (since 1 June 1996)
head of government: Prime Minister Owen Seymour ARTHUR (since 7 September 1994); Deputy Prime Minister Mia MOTTLEY (since 26 May 2003) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the governor general; the prime minister recommends the deputy prime minister |
chief of state: President Susilo Bambang YUDHOYONO (since 20 October 2004) and Vice President Muhammad Yusuf KALLA (since 20 October 2004); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Susilo Bambang YUDHOYONO (since 20 October 2004) and Vice President Muhammad Yusuf KALLA (since 20 October 2004); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president elections: president and vice president were elected for five-year terms (eligible for a second term) by direct vote of the citizenry; last held 20 September 2004 (next to be held in 2009) election results: Susilo Bambang YUDHOYONO elected president receiving 60.6% of vote; MEGAWATI Sukarnoputri received 39.4% |
Exports | NA bbl/day | 431,500 bbl/day (2004 est.) |
Exports - commodities | sugar and molasses, rum, other foods and beverages, chemicals, electrical components | oil and gas, electrical appliances, plywood, textiles, rubber |
Exports - partners | US 18.6%, Trinidad and Tobago 15%, UK 12.1%, Saint Lucia 8.4%, Jamaica 7.9%, Grenada 4.6%, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 4.6% (2005) | Japan 21.1%, US 11.5%, Singapore 9.2%, South Korea 8.3%, China 7.8%, Malaysia 4% (2005) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | calendar year; note - previously was 1 April - 31 March, but starting with 2001, has been changed to calendar year |
Flag description | three equal vertical bands of blue (hoist side), gold, and blue with the head of a black trident centered on the gold band; the trident head represents independence and a break with the past (the colonial coat of arms contained a complete trident) | two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and white; similar to the flag of Monaco, which is shorter; also similar to the flag of Poland, which is white (top) and red |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 6%
industry: 16% services: 78% (2000 est.) |
agriculture: 13.4%
industry: 45.8% services: 40.8% (2005 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 4.1% (2005 est.) | 5.6% (2005 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 13 10 N, 59 32 W | 5 00 S, 120 00 E |
Geography - note | easternmost Caribbean island | archipelago of 17,508 islands (6,000 inhabited); straddles equator; strategic location astride or along major sea lanes from Indian Ocean to Pacific Ocean |
Heliports | - | 23 (2006) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 3.6%
highest 10%: 28.5% (2002) |
Illicit drugs | one of many Caribbean transshipment points for narcotics bound for Europe and the US; offshore financial center | illicit producer of cannabis largely for domestic use; producer of methamphetamine and ecstasy |
Imports | NA bbl/day | 345,700 bbl/day (2005 est.) |
Imports - commodities | consumer goods, machinery, foodstuffs, construction materials, chemicals, fuel, electrical components | machinery and equipment, chemicals, fuels, foodstuffs |
Imports - partners | NZ 45.9%, US 20.3%, Trinidad and Tobago 12% (2005) | Singapore 16.4%, Japan 12%, China 10.1%, US 6.7%, Thailand 6%, South Korea 5%, Saudi Arabia 4.7%, Australia 4.4% (2005) |
Independence | 30 November 1966 (from UK) | 17 August 1945 (independence proclaimed); 27 December 1949 (Netherlands recognizes Indonesian independence) |
Industrial production growth rate | -3.2% (2000 est.) | 4.8% (2005 est.) |
Industries | tourism, sugar, light manufacturing, component assembly for export | petroleum and natural gas, textiles, apparel, footwear, mining, cement, chemical fertilizers, plywood, rubber, food, tourism |
Infant mortality rate | total: 11.77 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 13.38 deaths/1,000 live births female: 10.15 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
total: 34.39 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 39.36 deaths/1,000 live births female: 29.17 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | -0.5% (2003 est.) | 10.5% (2005 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, LAES, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO | APEC, APT, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN, BIS, CP, EAS, FAO, G-15, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), IPU, ISO, ITU, MIGA, MONUC, NAM, OIC, OPCW, OPEC, PIF (partner), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNOMIG, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
Irrigated land | 50 sq km (2003) | 45,000 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court of Judicature (judges are appointed by the Service Commissions for the Judicial and Legal Services) | Supreme Court or Mahkamah Agung (justices appointed by the president from a list of candidates approved by the legislature); a separate Constitutional Court or Mahkamah Konstitusi was invested by the president on 16 August 2003; in March 2004 the Supreme Court assumed administrative and financial responsibility for the lower court system from the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights; Labor Court under supervision of Supreme Court began functioning in January 2006 |
Labor force | 128,500 (2001 est.) | 94.2 million (2005 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 10%
industry: 15% services: 75% (1996 est.) |
agriculture: 46.5%
industry: 11.8% services: 41.7% (1999 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 2,830 km
border countries: East Timor 228 km, Malaysia 1,782 km, Papua New Guinea 820 km |
Land use | arable land: 37.21%
permanent crops: 2.33% other: 60.46% (2005) |
arable land: 11.03%
permanent crops: 7.04% other: 81.93% (2005) |
Languages | English | Bahasa Indonesia (official, modified form of Malay), English, Dutch, local dialects, the most widely spoken of which is Javanese |
Legal system | English common law; no judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations | based on Roman-Dutch law, substantially modified by indigenous concepts and by new criminal procedures and election codes; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (21-member body appointed by the governor general) and the House of Assembly (30 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: House of Assembly - last held 21 May 2003 (next to be held by May 2008) election results: House of Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - BLP 23, DLP 7 |
House of Representatives or Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat (DPR) (550 seats; members elected to serve five-year terms); House of Regional Representatives (Dewan Perwakilan Daerah or DPD), constitutionally mandated role includes providing legislative input to DPR on issues affecting regions; People's Consultative Assembly (Majelis Permusyawaratan Rakyat or MPR) has role in inaugurating and impeaching president and in amending constitution; consists of popularly-elected members in DPR and DPD; MPR does not formulate national policy
elections: last held 5 April 2004 (next to be held in 2009) election results: percent of vote by party - Golkar 21.6%, PDI-P 18.5%, PKB 10.6%, PPP 8.2%, PD 7.5%, PKS 7.3%, PAN 6.4%, others 19.9%; seats by party - Golkar 128, PDI-P 109, PPP 58, PD 55, PAN 53, PKB 52, PKS 45, others 50 note: because of election rules, the number of seats won does not always follow the percentage of votes received by parties |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 72.79 years
male: 70.79 years female: 74.82 years (2006 est.) |
total population: 69.87 years
male: 67.42 years female: 72.45 years (2006 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school
total population: 99.7% male: 99.7% female: 99.7% (2002 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 87.9% male: 92.5% female: 83.4% (2002 est.) |
Location | Caribbean, island in the North Atlantic Ocean, northeast of Venezuela | Southeastern Asia, archipelago between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Southeast Asia |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
measured from claimed archipelagic straight baselines
territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | total: 58 ships (1000 GRT or over) 433,390 GRT/664,998 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 11, cargo 32, chemical tanker 7, passenger 1, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 3, roll on/roll off 2, specialized tanker 1 foreign-owned: 57 (Bahamas, The 1, Canada 8, Greece 11, Lebanon 1, Monaco 1, Norway 29, UAE 1, UK 5) registered in other countries: 1 (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1) (2006) |
total: 824 ships (1000 GRT or over) 3,773,771 GRT/4,887,614 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 43, cargo 451, chemical tanker 21, container 50, liquefied gas 7, livestock carrier 1, passenger 41, passenger/cargo 58, petroleum tanker 132, refrigerated cargo 2, roll on/roll off 12, specialized tanker 4, vehicle carrier 2 foreign-owned: 30 (France 1, Germany 1, Japan 3, South Korea 1, Norway 1, Philippines 1, Singapore 17, Switzerland 3, UK 2) registered in other countries: 122 (Bahamas 4, Belize 2, Bermuda 1, Cambodia 1, Georgia 1, Hong Kong 4, Liberia 1, Panama 50, Singapore 56, Thailand 1, unknown 1) (2006) |
Military - note | the Royal Barbados Defense Force includes a land-based Troop Command and a small Coast Guard; the primary role of the land element is to defend the island against external aggression; the Command consists of a single, part-time battalion with a small regular cadre that is deployed throughout the island; it increasingly supports the police in patrolling the coastline to prevent smuggling and other illicit activities (2005) | - |
Military branches | Royal Barbados Defense Force: Troops Command, Coast Guard (2005) | Indonesia Armed Forces (Tentara Nasional Indonesia, TNI): Army (TNI-AD), Navy (TNI-AL, includes marines, naval air arm), Air Force (TNI-AU)
note: the TNI is directly subordinate to the president but the government is making efforts to incorporate it into the Department of Defense |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | NA | $1.3 billion (2004) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA | 3% (2004) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 30 November (1966) | Independence Day, 17 August (1945) |
Nationality | noun: Barbadian(s) or Bajan (colloquial)
adjective: Barbadian or Bajan (colloquial) |
noun: Indonesian(s)
adjective: Indonesian |
Natural hazards | infrequent hurricanes; periodic landslides | occasional floods, severe droughts, tsunamis, earthquakes, volcanoes, forest fires |
Natural resources | petroleum, fish, natural gas | petroleum, tin, natural gas, nickel, timber, bauxite, copper, fertile soils, coal, gold, silver |
Net migration rate | -0.31 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Pipelines | - | condensate 944 km; condensate/gas 135 km; gas 9,175 km; oil 7,684 km; oil/gas/water 89 km; refined products 1,367 km (2006) |
Political parties and leaders | Barbados Labor Party or BLP [Owen ARTHUR]; Democratic Labor Party or DLP [David THOMPSON] | Crescent Moon and Star Party or PBB [Yusril Ihza MAHENDRA]; Democratic Party or PD [Subur BUDHISANTOSO]; Functional Groups Party or Golkar [Yusuf KALLA]; Indonesia Democratic Party-Struggle or PDI-P [MEGAWATI Sukarnoputri]; National Awakening Party or PKB [Alwi SHIHAB]; National Mandate Party or PAN [Sutrisno BACHIR]; Prosperous Justice Party or PKS [Tifatul SEMBIRING]; United Development Party or PPP [Hamzah HAZ] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Barbados Workers Union [Leroy TROTMAN]; Clement Payne Labor Union [David COMISSIONG]; People's Progressive Movement [Eric SEALY]; Worker's Party of Barbados [Dr. George BELLE] | NA |
Population | 279,912 (July 2006 est.) | 245,452,739 (July 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 16.7% (2004) |
Population growth rate | 0.37% (2006 est.) | 1.41% (2006 est.) |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 6, shortwave 0 (2004) | AM 678, FM 43, shortwave 82 (1998) |
Railways | - | total: 6,458 km
narrow gauge: 5,961 km 1.067-m gauge (125 km electrified); 497 km 0.750-m gauge (2005) |
Religions | Protestant 67% (Anglican 40%, Pentecostal 8%, Methodist 7%, other 12%), Roman Catholic 4%, none 17%, other 12% | Muslim 88%, Protestant 5%, Roman Catholic 3%, Hindu 2%, Buddhist 1%, other 1% (1998) |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.01 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.62 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.77 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 17 years of age; universal and married persons regardless of age |
Telephone system | general assessment: NA
domestic: island-wide automatic telephone system international: country code - 1-246; satellite earth stations - 1 (Intelsat -Atlantic Ocean); tropospheric scatter to Trinidad and Saint Lucia |
general assessment: domestic service fair, international service good
domestic: interisland microwave system and HF radio police net; domestic satellite communications system international: country code - 62; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean and 1 Pacific Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 134,900 (2005) | 12.772 million (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 206,200 (2005) | 46.91 million (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (plus two cable channels) (2004) | 54 local TV stations
note: 11 national TV networks; each with their own group of local, often low power, transmitters (2006) |
Terrain | relatively flat; rises gently to central highland region | mostly coastal lowlands; larger islands have interior mountains |
Total fertility rate | 1.65 children born/woman (2006 est.) | 2.4 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 10.7% (2003 est.) | 11.8% (2005 est.) |
Waterways | - | 21,579 km (2005) |