Benin (2001) | Ecuador (2006) | |
![]() | ![]() | |
Administrative divisions | 6 provinces; Atakora, Atlantique, Borgou, Mono, Oueme, Zou; note - six additional provinces have been reported but not confirmed; they are Alibori, Collines, Couffo, Donga, Littoral, and Plateau; moreover, the term "province" may have been changed to "department" | 22 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia); Azuay, Bolivar, Canar, Carchi, Chimborazo, Cotopaxi, El Oro, Esmeraldas, Galapagos, Guayas, Imbabura, Loja, Los Rios, Manabi, Morona-Santiago, Napo, Orellana, Pastaza, Pichincha, Sucumbios, Tungurahua, Zamora-Chinchipe |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
47.32% (male 1,574,124; female 1,544,741) 15-64 years: 50.38% (male 1,607,900; female 1,712,360) 65 years and over: 2.3% (male 64,756; female 86,901) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 33% (male 2,281,499/female 2,195,551)
15-64 years: 61.9% (male 4,178,653/female 4,210,766) 65 years and over: 5% (male 319,719/female 361,322) (2006 est.) |
Agriculture - products | corn, sorghum, cassava (tapioca), yams, beans, rice, cotton, palm oil, peanuts; poultry, livestock | bananas, coffee, cocoa, rice, potatoes, manioc (tapioca), plantains, sugarcane; cattle, sheep, pigs, beef, pork, dairy products; balsa wood; fish, shrimp |
Airports | 5 (2000 est.) | 359 (2006) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 98
over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 19 914 to 1,523 m: 29 under 914 m: 43 (2006) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
total: 261
914 to 1,523 m: 33 under 914 m: 228 (2006) |
Area | total:
112,620 sq km land: 110,620 sq km water: 2,000 sq km |
total: 283,560 sq km
land: 276,840 sq km water: 6,720 sq km note: includes Galapagos Islands |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Pennsylvania | slightly smaller than Nevada |
Background | Dahomey gained its independence from France in 1960; the name was changed to Benin in 1975. From 1974 to 1989 the country was a socialist state; free elections were reestablished in 1991. | What is now Ecuador formed part of the northern Inca Empire until the Spanish conquest in 1533. Quito became a seat of Spanish colonial government in 1563 and part of the Viceroyalty of New Granada in 1717. The territories of the Viceroyalty - New Granada (Colombia), Venezuela, and Quito - gained their independence by 1819 and formed a federation known as Gran Colombia. When Quito withdrew in 1830, the traditional name was changed in favor of the "Republic of the Equator." Between 1904 and 1942, Ecuador lost territories in a series of conflicts with its neighbors. A border war with Peru that flared in 1995 was resolved in 1999. Although Ecuador marked 25 years of civilian governance in 2004, the period has been marred by political instability. Seven presidents have governed Ecuador since 1996. |
Birth rate | 44.23 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 22.29 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$299 million expenditures: $445 million, including capital expenditures of $14 million (1995 est.) |
revenues: $8.822 billion
expenditures: planned $8.153 billion; including capital expenditures of $1.6 billion (2005 est.) |
Capital | Porto-Novo is the official capital; Cotonou is the seat of government | name: Quito
geographic coordinates: 0 13 S, 78 30 W time difference: UTC-5 (same time as Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | tropical; hot, humid in south; semiarid in north | tropical along coast, becoming cooler inland at higher elevations; tropical in Amazonian jungle lowlands |
Coastline | 121 km | 2,237 km |
Constitution | December 1990 | 10 August 1998 |
Country name | conventional long form:
Republic of Benin conventional short form: Benin local long form: Republique du Benin local short form: Benin former: Dahomey |
conventional long form: Republic of Ecuador
conventional short form: Ecuador local long form: Republica del Ecuador local short form: Ecuador |
Currency | Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF); note - responsible authority is the Central Bank of the West African States | - |
Death rate | 14.51 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 4.23 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.6 billion (1998 est.) | $18.09 billion (2005 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Pamela E. BRIDGEWATER embassy: Rue Caporal Bernard Anani, Cotonou mailing address: B. P. 2012, Cotonou telephone: [229] 30-06-50, 30-05-13, 30-17-92 FAX: [229] 30-14-39, 30-19-74 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Linda L. JEWELL
embassy: Avenida 12 de Octubre y Avenida Patria, Quito mailing address: APO AA 34039 telephone: [593] (2) 256-2890 FAX: [593] (2) 250-2052 consulate(s) general: Guayaquil |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Lucien Edgar TONOUKOUIN chancery: 2737 Cathedral Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 232-6656 FAX: [1] (202) 265-1996 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Luis Benigno GALLEGOS Chiriboga
chancery: 2535 15th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 234-7200 FAX: [1] (202) 667-3482 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, Jersey City (New Jersey), Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, San Francisco, Washington, DC |
Disputes - international | none | organized illegal narcotics operations in Colombia penetrate across Ecuador's shared border and caused over 20,000 refugees to flee into Ecuador in 2004 |
Economic aid - recipient | $274.6 million (1997) | $216 million (2002) |
Economy - overview | The economy of Benin remains underdeveloped and dependent on subsistence agriculture, cotton production, and regional trade. Growth in real output averaged a sound 5% in 1996-99, but a rapid population rise offset much of this growth. Inflation has subsided over the past several years. Commercial and transport activities, which make up a large part of GDP, are vulnerable to developments in Nigeria, particularly fuel shortages. The Paris Club and bilateral creditors have eased the external debt situation in recent years. While high fuel prices constrained growth in 2000, increased cotton production - enabled by a major restructuring program - and an expansion of the Cotonou port, may lead to increased growth in 2001. | Ecuador has substantial petroleum resources, which have accounted for 40% of the country's export earnings and one-third of central government budget revenues in recent years. Consequently, fluctuations in world market prices can have a substantial domestic impact. In the late 1990s, Ecuador suffered its worst economic crisis, with natural disasters and sharp declines in world petroleum prices driving Ecuador's economy into free fall in 1999. Real GDP contracted by more than 6%, with poverty worsening significantly. The banking system also collapsed, and Ecuador defaulted on its external debt later that year. The currency depreciated by some 70% in 1999, and, on the brink of hyperinflation, the MAHAUD government announced it would dollarize the economy. A coup, however, ousted MAHAUD from office in January 2000, and after a short-lived junta failed to garner military support, Vice President Gustavo NOBOA took over the presidency. In March 2000, Congress approved a series of structural reforms that also provided the framework for the adoption of the US dollar as legal tender. Dollarization stabilized the economy, and growth returned to its pre-crisis levels in the years that followed. Under the administration of Lucio GUTIERREZ - January 2003 to April 2005 - Ecuador benefited from higher world petroleum prices. However, the government under Alfredo PALACIO has reversed economic reforms that reduced Ecuador's vulnerability to petroleum price swings and financial crises, allowing the central government greater access to oil windfalls and disbursing surplus retirement funds. |
Electricity - consumption | 510.2 million kWh (1999) | 10.55 billion kWh (2003) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 65 million kWh (2003) |
Electricity - imports | 300 million kWh (1999) | 140 million kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production | 226 million kWh (1999) | 11.27 billion kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
24.78% hydro: 75.22% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Mont Sokbaro 658 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Chimborazo 6,267 m |
Environment - current issues | inadequate supplies of potable water; poaching threatens wildlife populations; deforestation; desertification | deforestation; soil erosion; desertification; water pollution; pollution from oil production wastes in ecologically sensitive areas of the Amazon Basin and Galapagos Islands |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | African 99% (42 ethnic groups, most important being Fon, Adja, Yoruba, Bariba), Europeans 5,500 | mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white) 65%, Amerindian 25%, Spanish and others 7%, black 3% |
Exchange rates | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 699.21 (January 2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.70 (1999), 589.95 (1998), 583.67 (1997), 511.55 (1996); note - from 1 January 1999, the XOF is pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 XOF per euro | 25,000 (2005), 25,000 (2004), 25,000 (2003), 25,000 (2002), 25,000 (2001) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
President Mathieu KEREKOU (since 4 April 1996); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Mathieu KEREKOU (since 4 April 1996); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president reelected by popular vote for a five-year term; runoff election held 22 March 2001 (next to be held NA March 2006) election results: Mathieu KEREKOU reelected president; percent of vote - Mathieu KEREKOU 84.1%, Bruno AMOUSSOU 15.9% note: the four top-ranking contenders following the first round presidential elections were: Mathieu KEREKOU (incumbent) 45.4%, Nicephore SOGOLO (former president) 27.1%, Adrien HOUNGBEDJI (National Assembly Speaker) 12.6%, and Bruno AMOUSSOU (Minister of State) 8.6%; the second round balloting, originally scheduled for 18 March, was postponed four days because both SOGOLO and HOUNGBEDJI withdrew alleging electoral fraud; this left KEREKOU to run against his own Minister of State, AMOUSSOU, in what was termed a "friendly match" |
chief of state: President Alfredo PALACIO (since 20 April 2005); Vice President Nicanor Alejandro SERRANO Aguilar (since 5 May 2005); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government; former President Lucio GUTIERREZ was removed from office by congress effective 20 April 2005
head of government: President Alfredo PALACIO (since 20 April 2005); Vice President Nicanor Alejandro SERRANO Aguilar (since 5 May 2005) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president elections: the president and vice president are elected on the same ticket by popular vote for a four-year term (may not serve consecutive terms); election last held 15 October 2006 with a runoff election scheduled for 26 November 2006 (next to be held October 2010) election results: results of the 15 October 2006 election; percent of vote - Alvaro NOBOA 26.8%; Rafael CORREA 22.8%; Gilmar GUTIERREZ 17.4%; Leon ROLDOS Aguilera 14.8%; Cynthia VITERI 9.6%; note - a runoff election will be held 26 November 2006 between NOBOA and CORREA |
Exports | $396 million (f.o.b., 1999) | 387,000 bbl/day (2004 est.) |
Exports - commodities | cotton, crude oil, palm products, cocoa | petroleum, bananas, cut flowers, shrimp |
Exports - partners | Brazil 14%, Libya 5%, Indonesia 4%, Italy 4% (1999) | US 51.1%, Peru 8%, Germany 4.4%, Colombia 4.3% (2005) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | two equal horizontal bands of yellow (top) and red with a vertical green band on the hoist side | three horizontal bands of yellow (top, double width), blue, and red with the coat of arms superimposed at the center of the flag; similar to the flag of Colombia, which is shorter and does not bear a coat of arms |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $6.6 billion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
37.9% industry: 13.5% services: 48.6% (1999) |
agriculture: 7%
industry: 31.2% services: 61.8% (2005 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,030 (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 5% (2000 est.) | 4.7% (2005 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 9 30 N, 2 15 E | 2 00 S, 77 30 W |
Geography - note | no natural harbors | Cotopaxi in Andes is highest active volcano in world |
Heliports | - | 1 (2006) |
Highways | total:
6,787 km paved: 1,357 km (including 10 km of expressways) unpaved: 5,430 km (1997 est.) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 2%
highest 10%: 32% note: data for urban households only (October 2003) |
Illicit drugs | transshipment point for narcotics associated with Nigerian trafficking organizations and most commonly destined for Western Europe and the US | significant transit country for cocaine originating in Colombia and Peru; importer of precursor chemicals used in production of illicit narcotics; attractive location for cash-placement by drug traffickers laundering money because of dollarization and weak anti-money-laundering regime; increased activity on the northern frontier by trafficking groups and Colombian insurgents |
Imports | $566 million (c.i.f., 1999) | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, tobacco, petroleum products, capital goods | vehicles, medicinal products, telecommunications equipment, electricity |
Imports - partners | France 38%, China 16%, UK 9%, Cote d'Ivoire 5% (1999) | US 22.3%, Colombia 14.9%, Venezuela 7.8%, Brazil 6%, China 5.3% (2005) |
Independence | 1 August 1960 (from France) | 24 May 1822 (from Spain) |
Industrial production growth rate | 6.9% (2000 est.) | 2.1% (2005 est.) |
Industries | textiles, cigarettes; beverages, food; construction materials, petroleum | petroleum, food processing, textiles, wood products, chemicals |
Infant mortality rate | 89.68 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 22.87 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 27.42 deaths/1,000 live births female: 18.09 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3% (2000 est.) | 2.1% (2005 est.) |
International organization participation | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, CCC, ECA, ECOWAS, Entente, FAO, FZ, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (subscriber), ITU, MIPONUH, MONUC, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNTAET, UPU, WADB, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | CAN, CSN, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, Mercosur (associate), MIGA, MINUSTAH, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNOCI, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 100 sq km (1993 est.) | 8,650 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Constitutional Court or Cour Constitutionnelle; Supreme Court or Cour Supreme; High Court of Justice | Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (according to the Constitution, new justices are elected by the full Supreme Court; in December 2004, however, Congress successfully replaced the entire court via a simple-majority resolution) |
Labor force | NA | 4.6 million (urban) (2005 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | - | agriculture: 8%
industry: 24% services: 68% (2001) |
Land boundaries | total:
1,989 km border countries: Burkina Faso 306 km, Niger 266 km, Nigeria 773 km, Togo 644 km |
total: 2,010 km
border countries: Colombia 590 km, Peru 1,420 km |
Land use | arable land:
13% permanent crops: 4% permanent pastures: 4% forests and woodland: 31% other: 48% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 5.71%
permanent crops: 4.81% other: 89.48% (2005) |
Languages | French (official), Fon and Yoruba (most common vernaculars in south), tribal languages (at least six major ones in north) | Spanish (official), Amerindian languages (especially Quechua) |
Legal system | based on French civil law and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on civil law system; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (83 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 30 March 1999 (next to be held NA March 2003) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - RB 27, PRD 11, FARD-ALAFIA 10, PSD 9, MADEP 6, E'toile 4, Alliance IPD 4, Car-DUNYA 3, MERCI 2, other 7 |
unicameral National Congress or Congreso Nacional (100 seats; members are popularly elected by province to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 20 October 2002 (next to be held October 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PSC 25, ID 16, PRE 15, PRIAN 10, PSP 9, Pachakutik Movement 6, MPD 5, DP 4, PS-FA 3, independents 7; note - defections by members of National Congress are commonplace, resulting in frequent changes in the numbers of seats held by the various parties |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
49.94 years male: 49.02 years female: 50.88 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 76.42 years
male: 73.55 years female: 79.43 years (2006 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 37.5% male: 52.2% female: 23.6% (2000) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 92.5% male: 94% female: 91% (2003 est.) |
Location | Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Nigeria and Togo | Western South America, bordering the Pacific Ocean at the Equator, between Colombia and Peru |
Map references | Africa | South America |
Maritime claims | territorial sea:
200 NM |
territorial sea: 200 nm
continental shelf: 100 nm from 2,500 meter isobath |
Merchant marine | none (2000 est.) | total: 31 ships (1000 GRT or over) 184,819 GRT/300,339 DWT
by type: chemical tanker 1, liquefied gas 1, passenger 7, petroleum tanker 21, specialized tanker 1 foreign-owned: 2 (Norway 1, Paraguay 1) registered in other countries: 1 (Georgia 1) (2006) |
Military branches | Armed Forces (includes Army, Navy, Air Force), National Gendarmerie | Army, Navy (includes naval infantry, naval aviation, coast guard), Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Ecuatoriana, FAE) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $27 million (FY96) | $650 million (2005 est.) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.2% (FY96) | 2% (2005 est.) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
1,455,433 females age 15-49: 1,489,947 note: both sexes are liable for military service (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
743,980 females age 15-49: 755,149 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
70,088 females: 73,618 (2001 est.) |
- |
National holiday | National Day, 1 August (1960) | Independence Day (independence of Quito), 10 August (1809) |
Nationality | noun:
Beninese (singular and plural) adjective: Beninese |
noun: Ecuadorian(s)
adjective: Ecuadorian |
Natural hazards | hot, dry, dusty harmattan wind may affect north in winter | frequent earthquakes, landslides, volcanic activity; floods; periodic droughts |
Natural resources | small offshore oil deposits, limestone, marble, timber | petroleum, fish, timber, hydropower |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -3.11 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Pipelines | - | extra heavy crude 578 km; gas 71 km; oil 1,386 km; refined products 1,185 km (2006) |
Political parties and leaders | African Movement for Democracy and Progress or MADEP [Sefou FAGBOHOUN]; Alliance for Democracy and Progress or ADP [Sylvain Adekpedjou AKINDES]; Alliance of the Social Democratic Party or PSD and the National Union for Solidarity and Progress or UNSP [Bruno AMOUSSOU]; Cameleon Alliance or AC [leader NA]; Car-DUNYA [Saka SALEY]; Communist Party of Benin or PCB [Pascal FANTONDJI, first secretary]; Democratic Renewal Party or PRD [Adrien HOUNGBEDJI]; Front for Renewal and Development or FARD-ALAFIA [Jerome Sakia KINA]; Impulse for Progress and Democracy or IPD [Bertin BORNA]; Liberal Democrats' Rally for National Reconstruction-Vivoten or RDL-Vivoten [Severin ADJOVI]; Movement for Citizens' Commitment and Awakening or MERCI [Severin ADJOVI]; New Generation for the Republic or NGR [Paul DOSSOU]; Our Common Cause or NCC [Francois Odjo TANKPINON]; Party Democratique du Benin or PDB [Col. Soule DANKORO]; Rally for Democracy and Pan-Africanism or RDP [Dominique HOYMINOU, Dr. Giles Auguste MINONTIN]; Renaissance Party du Benin or RB [Nicephore SOGLO]; The Star Alliance (Alliance E'toile) [Sacca LAFIA]; Union for National Democracy and Solidarity or UDS [Adamou N'Diaye MAMA]
note: the Coalition of Democratic Forces is an alliance of parties and organizations supporting President KEREKOU [Gatien HOUNGBEDJI] |
Concentration of Popular Forces or CFP [Averroes BUCARAM]; Democratic Left or ID [Guillermo LANDAZURI]; National Action Institutional Renewal Party or PRIAN [Alvaro NOBOA]; Pachakutik Movement [Gilberto TALAHUA]; Patriotic Society Party or PSP [Lucio GUTIERREZ Borbua]; Popular Democracy or DP [Dr. Juan Manuel FUERTES]; Popular Democratic Movement or MPD [Gustavo TERAN Acosta]; Radical Alfarista Front or FRA [Fabian ALARCON, director]; Roldosist Party or PRE [Abdala BUCARAM Ortiz, director]; Social Christian Party or PSC [Leon FEBRES CORDERO]; Socialist Party - Broad Front or PS-FA [Victor GRANDA] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador or CONAIE [Luis MACAS, president]; Coordinator of Social Movements or CMS [F. Napoleon SANTOS]; Federation of Indigenous Evangelists of Ecuador or FEINE [Marco MURILLO, president]; National Federation of Indigenous Afro-Ecuatorianos and Peasants or FENOCIN [Pedro DE LA CRUZ, president] |
Population | 6,590,782
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2001 est.) |
13,547,510 (July 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 37.2% (1999 est.) | 41% (2003) |
Population growth rate | 2.97% (2001 est.) | 1.5% (2006 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Cotonou, Porto-Novo | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 9, shortwave 4 (1998) | AM 392, FM 35, shortwave 29 (2001) |
Radios | 620,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | total:
578 km (single track) narrow gauge: 578 km 1.000-m gauge (2000) |
total: 966 km
narrow gauge: 966 km 1.067-m gauge (2005) |
Religions | indigenous beliefs 50%, Christian 30%, Muslim 20% | Roman Catholic 95%, other 5% |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.89 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal, compulsory for literate persons ages 18-65, optional for other eligible voters |
Telephone system | general assessment:
NA domestic: fair system of open wire, microwave radio relay, and cellular connections international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); submarine cable |
general assessment: generally elementary but being expanded
domestic: facilities generally inadequate and unreliable international: country code - 593; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 36,000 (1997) | 1,701,500 (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 4,295 (1997) | 6.246 million (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | 2 (one privately-owned) (1997) | 7 (plus 14 repeaters) (2001) |
Terrain | mostly flat to undulating plain; some hills and low mountains | coastal plain (costa), inter-Andean central highlands (sierra), and flat to rolling eastern jungle (oriente) |
Total fertility rate | 6.23 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 2.68 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 10.7% official rate; but underemployment of 47% (2005 est.) |
Waterways | streams navigable along small sections, important only locally | 1,500 km (most inaccessible) (2005) |