Barbados (2007) | Algeria (2008) | |
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Administrative divisions | 11 parishes and 1 city*; Bridgetown*, Christ Church, Saint Andrew, Saint George, Saint James, Saint John, Saint Joseph, Saint Lucy, Saint Michael, Saint Peter, Saint Philip, Saint Thomas | 48 provinces (wilayat, singular - wilaya); Adrar, Ain Defla, Ain Temouchent, Alger, Annaba, Batna, Bechar, Bejaia, Biskra, Blida, Bordj Bou Arreridj, Bouira, Boumerdes, Chlef, Constantine, Djelfa, El Bayadh, El Oued, El Tarf, Ghardaia, Guelma, Illizi, Jijel, Khenchela, Laghouat, Mascara, Medea, Mila, Mostaganem, M'Sila, Naama, Oran, Ouargla, Oum el Bouaghi, Relizane, Saida, Setif, Sidi Bel Abbes, Skikda, Souk Ahras, Tamanghasset, Tebessa, Tiaret, Tindouf, Tipaza, Tissemsilt, Tizi Ouzou, Tlemcen |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 19.7% (male 27,659/female 27,573)
15-64 years: 71.4% (male 98,633/female 102,020) 65 years and over: 8.9% (male 9,662/female 15,399) (2007 est.) |
0-14 years: 27.2% (male 4,627,479/female 4,447,468)
15-64 years: 67.9% (male 11,413,121/female 11,235,096) 65 years and over: 4.8% (male 752,058/female 857,994) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | sugarcane, vegetables, cotton | wheat, barley, oats, grapes, olives, citrus, fruits; sheep, cattle |
Airports | 1 (2007) | 150 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2007) |
total: 52
over 3,047 m: 10 2,438 to 3,047 m: 27 1,524 to 2,437 m: 10 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 1 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 98
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 26 914 to 1,523 m: 44 under 914 m: 25 (2007) |
Area | total: 431 sq km
land: 431 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 2,381,740 sq km
land: 2,381,740 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly less than 3.5 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. | After more than a century of rule by France, Algerians fought through much of the 1950s to achieve independence in 1962. Algeria's primary political party, the National Liberation Front (FLN), has dominated politics ever since. Many Algerians in the subsequent generation were not satisfied, however, and moved to counter the FLN's centrality in Algerian politics. The surprising first round success of the Islamic Salvation Front (FIS) in the December 1991 balloting spurred the Algerian army to intervene and postpone the second round of elections to prevent what the secular elite feared would be an extremist-led government from assuming power. The army began a crackdown on the FIS that spurred FIS supporters to begin attacking government targets. The government later allowed elections featuring pro-government and moderate religious-based parties, but did not appease the activists who progressively widened their attacks. The fighting escalated into an insurgency, which saw intense fighting between 1992-98 and which resulted in over 100,000 deaths - many attributed to indiscriminate massacres of villagers by extremists. The government gained the upper hand by the late-1990s and FIS's armed wing, the Islamic Salvation Army, disbanded in January 2000. However, small numbers of armed militants persist in confronting government forces and conducting ambushes and occasional attacks on villages. The army placed Abdelaziz BOUTEFLIKA in the presidency in 1999 in a fraudulent election but claimed neutrality in his 2004 landslide reelection victory. Longstanding problems continue to face BOUTEFLIKA in his second term, including the ethnic minority Berbers' ongoing autonomy campaign, large-scale unemployment, a shortage of housing, unreliable electrical and water supplies, government inefficiencies and corruption, and the continuing activities of extremist militants. The 2006 merger of the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC) with al-Qaida (followed by a change of name to al-Qaida in the Lands of the Islamic Maghreb) signaled an increase in bombings, including high-profile, mass-casualty suicide attacks targeted against the Algerian government and Western interests. Algeria must also diversify its petroleum-based economy, which has yielded a large cash reserve but which has not been used to redress Algeria's many social and infrastructure problems. |
Birth rate | 12.61 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 17.11 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $847 million (including grants)
expenditures: $886 million (2000 est.) |
revenues: $58.5 billion
expenditures: $41.35 billion (2007 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: Algiers
geographic coordinates: 36 45 N, 3 03 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | tropical; rainy season (June to October) | arid to semiarid; mild, wet winters with hot, dry summers along coast; drier with cold winters and hot summers on high plateau; sirocco is a hot, dust/sand-laden wind especially common in summer |
Coastline | 97 km | 998 km |
Constitution | 30 November 1966 | 8 September 1963; revised 19 November 1976, effective 22 November 1976; revised 3 November 1988, 23 February 1989, and 28 November 1996 |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Barbados |
conventional long form: People's Democratic Republic of Algeria
conventional short form: Algeria local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Jaza'iriyah ad Dimuqratiyah ash Sha'biyah local short form: Al Jaza'ir |
Death rate | 8.61 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 4.62 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $668 million (2003) | $3.358 billion (31 December 2007 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Mary M. OURISMAN
embassy: U.S. Embassy, Wildey Business Park, Wildey, St. Michael 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 Robert S. FORD
embassy: 5 Chemin Cheikh Bachir, El-Ibrahimi, El-Biar 16000 Algiers mailing address: B. P. 408, Alger-Gare, 16030 Algiers telephone: [213] 70-08-2000 FAX: [213] 21-60-7355 |
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 Amine KHERBI
chancery: 2118 Kalorama Road NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 265-2800 FAX: [1] (202) 667-2174 |
Disputes - international | in April 2006, the Permanent Court of Arbitration issued a decision that delimited a maritime boundary with Trinidad and Tobago and compelled Barbados to enter a fishing agreement limiting Barbadian fishermen's catches of flying fish in Trinidad and Tobago's exclusive economic zone; in 2005, Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago agreed to compulsory international arbitration under UNCLOS challenging whether the northern limit of Trinidad and Tobago's and Venezuela's maritime boundary extends into Barbadian waters; 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 eastern Caribbean Sea | Algeria supports the Polisario Front exiled in Algeria and who represent the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic; Algeria rejects Moroccan administration of Western Sahara; most of the approximately 90,000 Western Saharan Sahrawi refugees are sheltered in camps in Tindouf, Algeria; Algeria's border with Morocco remains an irritant to bilateral relations, each nation accusing the other of harboring militants and arms smuggling; Algeria remains concerned about armed bandits operating throughout the Sahel who sometimes destabilize southern Algerian towns; dormant disputes include Libyan claims of about 32,000 sq km still reflected on its maps of southeastern Algeria and the FLN's assertions of a claim to Chirac Pastures in southeastern Morocco |
Economic aid - recipient | $2.07 million (2005) | $370.6 million (2005 est.) |
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 2005-06, as economic conditions in the US and Europe moderately improved. | The hydrocarbons sector is the backbone of the economy, accounting for roughly 60% of budget revenues, 30% of GDP, and over 95% of export earnings. Algeria has the eighth-largest reserves of natural gas in the world and is the fourth-largest gas exporter; it ranks 14th in oil reserves. Sustained high oil prices in recent years have helped improve Algeria's financial and macroeconomic indicators. Algeria is running substantial trade surpluses and building up record foreign exchange reserves. Algeria has decreased its external debt to less than 10% of GDP after repaying its Paris Club and London Club debt in 2006. Real GDP has risen due to higher oil output and increased government spending. The government's continued efforts to diversify the economy by attracting foreign and domestic investment outside the energy sector, however, has had little success in reducing high unemployment and improving living standards. Structural reform within the economy, such as development of the banking sector and the construction of infrastructure, moves ahead slowly hampered by corruption and bureaucratic resistance. |
Electricity - consumption | 886.3 million kWh (2005) | 27.52 billion kWh (2005 est.) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2005) | 275 million kWh (2005 est.) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2005) | 359 million kWh (2005 est.) |
Electricity - production | 953 million kWh (2005) | 31.91 billion kWh (2005 est.) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Hillaby 336 m |
lowest point: Chott Melrhir -40 m
highest point: Tahat 3,003 m |
Environment - current issues | pollution of coastal waters from waste disposal by ships; soil erosion; illegal solid waste disposal threatens contamination of aquifers | soil erosion from overgrazing and other poor farming practices; desertification; dumping of raw sewage, petroleum refining wastes, and other industrial effluents is leading to the pollution of rivers and coastal waters; Mediterranean Sea, in particular, becoming polluted from oil wastes, soil erosion, and fertilizer runoff; inadequate supplies of potable water |
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, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | black 90%, white 4%, Asian and mixed 6% | Arab-Berber 99%, European less than 1%
note: almost all Algerians are Berber in origin, not Arab; the minority who identify themselves as Berber live mostly in the mountainous region of Kabylie east of Algiers; the Berbers are also Muslim but identify with their Berber rather than Arab cultural heritage; Berbers have long agitated, sometimes violently, for autonomy; the government is unlikely to grant autonomy but has offered to begin sponsoring teaching Berber language in schools |
Exchange rates | Barbadian dollars per US dollar - 2 (2006), 2 (2005), 2 (2004), 2 (2003), 2 (2002) | Algerian dinars per US dollar - 69.9 (2007), 72.647 (2006), 73.276 (2005), 72.061 (2004), 77.395 (2003) |
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 Abdelaziz BOUTEFLIKA (since 28 April 1999)
head of government: Prime Minister Abdelaziz BELKHADEM cabinet: Cabinet of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 8 April 2004 (next to be held in April 2009); prime minister appointed by the president election results: Abdelaziz BOUTEFLIKA reelected president for second term; percent of vote - Abdelaziz BOUTEFLIKA 85%, Ali BENFLIS 6.4%, Abdellah DJABALLAH 5% |
Exports | NA bbl/day | 1.724 million bbl/day (2004 est.) |
Exports - commodities | sugar and molasses, rum, other foods and beverages, chemicals, electrical components | petroleum, natural gas, and petroleum products 97% |
Exports - partners | US 27.6%, Trinidad and Tobago 15%, UK 10.2%, Saint Lucia 7%, Jamaica 6.5%, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 4.3% (2006) | US 27.2%, Italy 17%, Spain 9.7%, France 8.8%, Canada 8.1%, Belgium 4.3% (2006) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | 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 vertical bands of green (hoist side) and white; a red, five-pointed star within a red crescent centered over the two-color boundary
note: the crescent, star, and color green are traditional symbols of Islam (the state religion) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 6%
industry: 16% services: 78% (2000 est.) |
agriculture: 8.1%
industry: 61% services: 30.9% (2007 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 3.5% (2006 est.) | 4.6% (2007 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 13 10 N, 59 32 W | 28 00 N, 3 00 E |
Geography - note | easternmost Caribbean island | second-largest country in Africa (after Sudan) |
Heliports | - | 2 (2007) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 2.8%
highest 10%: 26.8% (1995) |
Illicit drugs | one of many Caribbean transshipment points for narcotics bound for Europe and the US; offshore financial center | - |
Imports | NA bbl/day | 12,390 bbl/day (2004 est.) |
Imports - commodities | consumer goods, machinery, foodstuffs, construction materials, chemicals, fuel, electrical components | capital goods, foodstuffs, consumer goods |
Imports - partners | US 37.7%, Trinidad and Tobago 22.6%, UK 5.9% (2006) | France 22%, Italy 8.6%, China 8.5%, Germany 5.9%, Spain 5.9%, US 4.8%, Turkey 4.5% (2006) |
Independence | 30 November 1966 (from UK) | 5 July 1962 (from France) |
Industrial production growth rate | -3.2% (2000 est.) | 5% (2007 est.) |
Industries | tourism, sugar, light manufacturing, component assembly for export | petroleum, natural gas, light industries, mining, electrical, petrochemical, food processing |
Infant mortality rate | total: 11.55 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 12.88 deaths/1,000 live births female: 10.19 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
total: 28.78 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 32.45 deaths/1,000 live births female: 24.93 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | -0.5% (2003 est.) | 4.6% (2007 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAES, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO | ABEDA, AfDB, AFESD, AMF, AMU, AU, BIS, FAO, G-15, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OAPEC, OAS (observer), OIC, OPCW, OPEC, OSCE (partner), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer) |
Irrigated land | 50 sq km (2003) | 5,690 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court of Judicature (judges are appointed by the Service Commissions for the Judicial and Legal Services); Caribbean Court of Justice is the highest court of appeal | Supreme Court |
Labor force | 128,500 (2001 est.) | 9.38 million (2007 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 10%
industry: 15% services: 75% (1996 est.) |
agriculture 14%, industry 13.4%, construction and public works 10%, trade 14.6%, government 32%, other 16% (2003 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 6,343 km
border countries: Libya 982 km, Mali 1,376 km, Mauritania 463 km, Morocco 1,559 km, Niger 956 km, Tunisia 965 km, Western Sahara 42 km |
Land use | arable land: 37.21%
permanent crops: 2.33% other: 60.46% (2005) |
arable land: 3.17%
permanent crops: 0.28% other: 96.55% (2005) |
Languages | English | Arabic (official), French, Berber dialects |
Legal system | English common law; no judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations | socialist, based on French and Islamic law; judicial review of legislative acts in ad hoc Constitutional Council composed of various public officials, including several Supreme Court justices; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (21 seats; members 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 |
bicameral Parliament consists of the National People's Assembly or Al-Majlis Al-Shabi Al-Watani (389 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) and the Council of Nations (Senate) (144 seats; one-third of the members appointed by the president, two-thirds elected by indirect vote; to serve six-year terms; the constitution requires half the council to be renewed every three years)
elections: National People's Assembly - last held 17 May 2007 (next to be held in 2012); Council of Nations (Senate) - last held 28 December 2006 (next to be held in 2009) election results: National People's Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - FLN 136, RND 61, MSP 52, PT 26, RCD 19, FNA 13, other 49, independents 33; Council of Nations - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - FLN 29, RND 12, MSP 3, RCD 1, independents 3, presidential appointees (unknown affiliation) 24; note - Council seating reflects the number of replaced council members rather than the whole Council |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 73 years
male: 71.02 years female: 75.01 years (2007 est.) |
total population: 73.52 years
male: 71.91 years female: 75.21 years (2007 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: 69.9% male: 79.6% female: 60.1% (2002 est.) |
Location | Caribbean, island in the North Atlantic Ocean, northeast of Venezuela | Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Morocco and Tunisia |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Africa |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 32-52 nm |
Merchant marine | total: 71 ships (1000 GRT or over) 539,579 GRT/793,899 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 13, cargo 39, chemical tanker 6, passenger 1, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 3, refrigerated cargo 5, roll on/roll off 2, specialized tanker 1 foreign-owned: 67 (Bahamas, The 1, Canada 9, Greece 11, India 1, Lebanon 1, Monaco 1, Norway 35, Sweden 5, UK 3) registered in other countries: 1 (St Vincent and The Grenadines 1) (2007) |
total: 35 ships (1000 GRT or over) 694,686 GRT/707,251 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 6, cargo 8, chemical tanker 2, liquefied gas 9, passenger/cargo 3, petroleum tanker 4, roll on/roll off 2, specialized tanker 1 foreign-owned: 12 (UK 12) (2007) |
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, Barbados Coast Guard (2007) | National Popular Army (ANP; includes Land Forces), Algerian National Navy (MRA), Air Force (QJJ), Territorial Air Defense Force (2005) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 0.5% (2006 est.) | 3.3% (2006) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 30 November (1966) | Revolution Day, 1 November (1954) |
Nationality | noun: Barbadian(s) or Bajan (colloquial)
adjective: Barbadian or Bajan (colloquial) |
noun: Algerian(s)
adjective: Algerian |
Natural hazards | infrequent hurricanes; periodic landslides | mountainous areas subject to severe earthquakes; mudslides and floods in rainy season |
Natural resources | petroleum, fish, natural gas | petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, phosphates, uranium, lead, zinc |
Net migration rate | -0.31 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | -0.33 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Pipelines | - | condensate 1,532 km; gas 13,861 km; liquid petroleum gas 2,408 km; oil 6,878 km (2007) |
Political parties and leaders | Barbados Labor Party or BLP [Owen ARTHUR]; Democratic Labor Party or DLP [David THOMPSON]; People's Empowerment Party or PEP [David COMISSIONG] | Ahd 54 [Ali Fauzi REBAINE]; Algerian National Front or FNA [Moussa TOUATI]; National Democratic Rally (Rassemblement National Democratique) or RND [Ahmed OUYAHIA]; Islamic Salvation Front or FIS (outlawed April 1992) [Ali BELHADJ, Dr. Abassi MADANI, Rabeh KEBIR]; National Entente Movement or MEN [Ali BOUKHAZNA]; National Liberation Front or FLN [Abdelaziz BELKHADEM, secretary general]; National Reform Movement or Islah (formerly MRN) [Mohamed BOULAHIA]; National Renewal Party or PRA [Mohamed BENSMAIL]; Rally for Culture and Democracy or RCD [Said SADI]; Renaissance Movement or EnNahda Movement [Fatah RABEI]; Socialist Forces Front or FFS [Hocine Ait AHMED]; Social Liberal Party or PSL [Ahmed KHELIL]; Society of Peace Movement or MSP [Boudjerra SOLTANI]; Workers Party or PT [Louisa HANOUNE]
note: a law banning political parties based on religion was enacted in March 1997 |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Barbados Secondary Teachers' Union or BSTU [Patrick FROST]; Barbados Union of Teachers or BUT [Herbert GITTENS]; Congress of Trade Unions and Staff Associations of Barbados or CTUSAB, which includes the BWU, NUPW, BUT, and BSTU [Leroy TROTMAN]; Barbados Workers Union or BWU [Leroy TROTMAN]; Clement Payne Labor Union [David COMISSIONG]; National Union of Public Workers [Joseph GODDARD] | The Algerian Human Rights League or LADDH [Hocine ZEHOUANE]; SOS Disparus [Nacera DUTOUR]; Somoud [Ali MERABET] |
Population | 280,946 (July 2007 est.) | 33,333,216 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 25% (2005 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.369% (2007 est.) | 1.216% (2007 est.) |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 6, shortwave 0 (2004) | AM 25, FM 1, shortwave 8 (1999) |
Railways | - | total: 3,973 km
standard gauge: 2,888 km 1.435-m gauge (283 km electrified) narrow gauge: 1,085 km 1.055-m gauge (2006) |
Religions | Protestant 67% (Anglican 40%, Pentecostal 8%, Methodist 7%, other 12%), Roman Catholic 4%, none 17%, other 12% | Sunni Muslim (state religion) 99%, Christian and Jewish 1% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.01 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.003 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.967 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.627 male(s)/female total population: 0.938 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.016 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.877 male(s)/female total population: 1.015 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: fixed-line teledensity of roughly 50 per 100 persons; mobile-cellular telephone density of 75 per 100 persons
domestic: island-wide automatic telephone system international: country code - 1-246; landing point for the East Caribbean Fiber System (ECFS) optic submarine cable with links to 13 other islands in the eastern Caribbean extending from the British Virgin Islands to Trinidad; satellite earth stations - 1 (Intelsat -Atlantic Ocean); tropospheric scatter to Trinidad and Saint Lucia (2007) |
general assessment: a weak network of fixed-main lines, which remains low at less than 10 telephones per 100 persons, is partially offset by the rapid increase in mobile cellular subscribership; in 2006, combined fixed-line and mobile telephone density surpassed 70 telephones per 100 persons
domestic: privatization of Algeria's telecommunications sector began in 2000; three mobile cellular licenses have been issued and, in 2005, a consortium led by Egypt's Orascom Telecom won a 15-year license to build and operate a fixed-line network in Algeria; the license will allow Orascom to develop high-speed data and other specialized services and contribute to meeting the large unfulfilled demand for basic residential telephony; internet broadband services began in 2003 with approximately 200,000 subscribers in 2006 international: country code - 213; landing point for the SEA-ME-WE-4 fiber- optic submarine cable system that provides links to Europe, the Middle East and Asia; microwave radio relay to Italy, France, Spain, Morocco, and Tunisia; coaxial cable to Morocco and Tunisia; participant in Medarabtel; satellite earth stations - 51 (Intelsat, Intersputnik, and Arabsat) (2007) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 134,900 (2005) | 2.841 million (2006) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 206,200 (2005) | 20.998 million (2006) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (plus 2 cable channels) (2004) | 46 (plus 216 repeaters) (1995) |
Terrain | relatively flat; rises gently to central highland region | mostly high plateau and desert; some mountains; narrow, discontinuous coastal plain |
Total fertility rate | 1.65 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 1.86 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 10.7% (2003 est.) | 14.1% (2007 est.) |