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Compare Benin (2003) - Honduras (2003)

Compare Benin (2003) z Honduras (2003)

 Benin (2003)Honduras (2003)
 BeninHonduras
Administrative divisions 12 departments; Alibori, Atakora, Atlantique, Borgou, Collines, Kouffo, Donga, Littoral, Mono, Oueme, Plateau, Zou 18 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento); Atlantida, Choluteca, Colon, Comayagua, Copan, Cortes, El Paraiso, Francisco Morazan, Gracias a Dios, Intibuca, Islas de la Bahia, La Paz, Lempira, Ocotepeque, Olancho, Santa Barbara, Valle, Yoro
Age structure 0-14 years: 47% (male 1,668,817; female 1,638,291)


15-64 years: 50.7% (male 1,739,517; female 1,834,231)


65 years and over: 2.3% (male 67,504; female 93,130) (2003 est.)
0-14 years: 41.6% (male 1,414,791; female 1,357,537)


15-64 years: 54.8% (male 1,811,757; female 1,843,456)


65 years and over: 3.6% (male 114,791; female 127,457) (2003 est.)
Agriculture - products cotton, corn, cassava (tapioca), yams, beans, palm oil, peanuts, livestock (2001) bananas, coffee, citrus; beef; timber; shrimp
Airports 5 (2002) 115 (2002)
Airports - with paved runways total: 1


1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2002)
total: 12


2,438 to 3,047 m: 3


1,524 to 2,437 m: 2


914 to 1,523 m: 3


under 914 m: 4 (2002)
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 (2002)
total: 103


1,524 to 2,437 m: 2


914 to 1,523 m: 18


under 914 m: 83 (2002)
Area total: 112,620 sq km


land: 110,620 sq km


water: 2,000 sq km
total: 112,090 sq km


land: 111,890 sq km


water: 200 sq km
Area - comparative slightly smaller than Pennsylvania slightly larger than Tennessee
Background Present day Benin was the site of Dahomey, a prominent West African kingdom that rose in the 15th century. The territory became a French Colony in 1872 and achieved independence on 1 August 1960, as the Republic of Benin. A succession of military governments ended in 1972 with the rise to power of Mathieu KEREKOU and the establishment of a government based on Marxist-Leninist principles. A move to representative government began in 1989. Two years later, free elections ushered in former Prime Minister Nicephore SOGLO as president, marking the first successful transfer of power in Africa from a dictatorship to a democracy. KEREKOU was returned to power by elections held in 1996 and 2001, though some irregularities were alleged. Part of Spain's vast empire in the New World, Honduras became an independent nation in 1821. After two and one-half decades of mostly military rule, a freely elected civilian government came to power in 1982. During the 1980s, Honduras proved a haven for anti-Sandinista contras fighting the Marxist Nicaraguan Government and an ally to Salvadoran Government forces fighting against leftist guerrillas. The country was devastated by Hurricane Mitch in 1998, which killed about 5,600 people and caused almost $1 billion in damage.
Birth rate 43.15 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) 31.67 births/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Budget revenues: $377.4 million


expenditures: $561.8 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001)
revenues: $607 million


expenditures: $411.9 million, including capital expenditures of $106 million (1999 est.)
Capital Porto-Novo is the official capital; Cotonou is the seat of government Tegucigalpa
Climate tropical; hot, humid in south; semiarid in north subtropical in lowlands, temperate in mountains
Coastline 121 km 820 km
Constitution December 1990 11 January 1982, effective 20 January 1982; amended 1995
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 Honduras


conventional short form: Honduras


local long form: Republica de Honduras


local short form: Honduras
Currency Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF); note - responsible authority is the Central Bank of the West African States lempira (HNL)
Death rate 13.65 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) 6.44 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Debt - external $1.6 billion (2000) $5.4 billion (2002)
Diplomatic representation from the US chief of mission: Ambassador Wayne NEILL


embassy: Rue Caporal Bernard Anani, Cotonou


mailing address: 01 B. P. 2012, Cotonou


telephone: [229] 30-06-50


FAX: [229] 30-06-70
chief of mission: Ambassador Larry Leon PALMER


embassy: Avenida La Paz, Apartado Postal No. 3453, Tegucigalpa


mailing address: American Embassy, APO AA 34022, Tegucigalpa


telephone: [504] 238-5114, 236-9320


FAX: [504] 236-9037
Diplomatic representation in the US chief of mission: Ambassador Cyrille Segbe OGUIN


chancery: 2124 Kalorama Road NW, Washington, DC 20008


telephone: [1] (202) 232-6656


FAX: [1] (202) 265-1996
chief of mission: Ambassador Mario Miguel CANAHUATI


chancery: Suite 4-M, 3007 Tilden Street NW, Washington, DC 20008


telephone: [1] (202) 966-2604


FAX: [1] (202) 966-9751


consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Phoenix, San Francisco, San Juan (Puerto Rico), Tampa


honorary consulate(s): Atlanta, Boston, Detroit, Jacksonville
Disputes - international two villages are in dispute along the border with Burkina Faso; much of Benin-Niger boundary, including tripoint with Nigeria, remains undemarcated, but states accept 2001 arbitration over disputed Niger River islands; several villages along the Okpara River are in dispute with Nigeria; in 2001, Benin claimed Togo moved the boundary stones - joint commission presently resurveying the boundary in 1992, ICJ ruled on the delimitation of "bolsones" (disputed areas) along the El Salvador-Honduras border, but they still remain largely undemarcated; in 2002, El Salvador filed an application to the ICJ to revise the decision on a section of bolsones; the ICJ also advised a tripartite resolution to a maritime boundary in the Golfo de Fonseca with consideration of Honduran access to the Pacific; El Salvador claims tiny Conejo Island, not mentioned by the ICJ, off Honduras in the Golfo de Fonseca; Honduras claims Sapodilla Cays off the coast of Belize but agreed to creation of a joint ecological park and Guatemalan corridor in the Caribbean in the 2002 Belize-Guatemala Differendum; Nicaragua filed a claim against Honduras in 1999 and against Colombia in 2001 at the ICJ over a complex maritime dispute in the Caribbean Sea
Economic aid - recipient $342.6 million (2000) $557.8 million (1999)
Economy - overview The economy of Benin remains underdeveloped and dependent on subsistence agriculture, cotton production, and regional trade. Growth in real output has averaged a stable 5% in the past six years, but rapid population rise has offset much of this increase. Inflation has subsided over the past several years. In order to raise growth still further, Benin plans to attract more foreign investment, place more emphasis on tourism, facilitate the development of new food processing systems and agricultural products, and encourage new information and communication technology. The 2001 privatization policy should continue in telecommunications, water, electricity, and agriculture in spite of initial government reluctance. The Paris Club and bilateral creditors have eased the external debt situation, while pressing for speeded-up structural reforms. Honduras, one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere with an extraordinarily unequal distribution of income, is banking on expanded trade privileges under the Enhanced Caribbean Basin Initiative and on debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative. While the country has met most of its macroeconomic targets, it failed to meet the IMF's goals to liberalize its energy and telecommunications sectors. Growth remains dependent on the status of the US economy, its major trading partner, on commodity prices, particularly coffee, and on reduction of the high crime rate.
Electricity - consumption 631.1 million kWh (2001) 3.822 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports 0 kWh (2001) 0 kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports 376 million kWh (2001) 308 million kWh (2001)
Electricity - production 274.3 million kWh (2001) 3.778 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - production by source fossil fuel: 14.2%


hydro: 85.8%


nuclear: 0%


other: 0% (2001)
fossil fuel: 50.2%


hydro: 49.8%


nuclear: 0%


other: 0% (2001)
Elevation extremes lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m


highest point: Mont Sokbaro 658 m
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m


highest point: Cerro Las Minas 2,870 m
Environment - current issues inadequate supplies of potable water; poaching threatens wildlife populations; deforestation; desertification urban population expanding; deforestation results from logging and the clearing of land for agricultural purposes; further land degradation and soil erosion hastened by uncontrolled development and improper land use practices such as farming of marginal lands; mining activities polluting Lago de Yojoa (the country's largest source of fresh water), as well as several rivers and streams, with heavy metals
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: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, 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 European) 90%, Amerindian 7%, black 2%, white 1%
Exchange rates Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 696.99 (2002), 733.04 (2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.7 (1999), 589.95 (1998) lempiras per US dollar - 16.43 (2002), 15.47 (2001), 14.84 (2000), 14.21 (1999), 13.39 (1998)
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 2001, 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 Ricardo (Joest) MADURO (since 27 January 2002); First Vice President Vicente WILLIAMS Agasse (since 27 January 2002); Second Vice President Armida Villela Maria DE LOPEZ Contreras (since 27 January 2002); Third Vice President Alberto DIAZ Lobo (since 27 January 2002); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government


head of government: President Ricardo (Joest) MADURO (since 27 January 2002); First Vice President Vicente WILLIAMS Agasse (since 27 January 2002); Second Vice President Armida Villela Maria DE LOPEZ Contreras (since 27 January 2002); Third Vice President Alberto DIAZ Lobo (since 27 January 2002); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government


cabinet: Cabinet appointed by president


elections: president elected by popular vote for a four-year term; election last held 25 November 2001 (next to be held NA November 2005)


election results: Ricardo (Joest) MADURO (PN) elected president - 52.2%, Raphael PINEDA Ponce (PL) 44.3%, others 3.5%
Exports NA (2001) NA (2001)
Exports - commodities cotton, crude oil, palm products, cocoa coffee, bananas, shrimp, lobster, meat; zinc, lumber (2000)
Exports - partners India 25%, Italy 11.1%, Indonesia 7.4%, China 7.2%, Thailand 6.7%, Brazil 6.1%, UK 4.4%, Niger 4% (2002) US 69.5%, El Salvador 3%, Guatemala 2% (2002)
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 equal horizontal bands of blue (top), white, and blue with five blue, five-pointed stars arranged in an X pattern centered in the white band; the stars represent the members of the former Federal Republic of Central America - Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua; similar to the flag of El Salvador, which features a round emblem encircled by the words REPUBLICA DE EL SALVADOR EN LA AMERICA CENTRAL centered in the white band; also similar to the flag of Nicaragua, which features a triangle encircled by the word REPUBLICA DE NICARAGUA on top and AMERICA CENTRAL on the bottom, centered in the white band
GDP purchasing power parity - $7.38 billion (2002 est.) purchasing power parity - $16.29 billion (2002 est.)
GDP - composition by sector agriculture: 38%


industry: 15%


services: 47% (2002 est.)
agriculture: 14%


industry: 32%


services: 54% (2002 est.)
GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $1,100 (2002 est.) purchasing power parity - $2,500 (2002 est.)
GDP - real growth rate 6% (2002 est.) 2.5% (2002 est.)
Geographic coordinates 9 30 N, 2 15 E 15 00 N, 86 30 W
Geography - note sandbanks create difficult access to a coast with no natural harbors, river mouths, or islands has only a short Pacific coast but a long Caribbean shoreline, including the virtually uninhabited eastern Mosquito Coast
Highways total: 6,787 km


paved: 1,357 km (including 10 km of expressways)


unpaved: 5,430 km (1999 est.)
total: 13,603 km


paved: 2,775 km


unpaved: 10,828 km (1999 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%: NA%


highest 10%: NA%
lowest 10%: 0.6%


highest 10%: 42.7% (1998)
Illicit drugs transshipment point for narcotics associated with Nigerian trafficking organizations and most commonly destined for Western Europe and the US; vulnerable to money laundering due to a poorly regulated financial infrastructure transshipment point for drugs and narcotics; illicit producer of cannabis, cultivated on small plots and used principally for local consumption; corruption is a major problem; some money-laundering activity
Imports NA (2001) NA (2001)
Imports - commodities foodstuffs, capital goods, petroleum products machinery and transport equipment, industrial raw materials, chemical products, fuels, foodstuffs (2000)
Imports - partners China 30.7%, France 15.7%, UK 4.8%, Italy 4.2% (2002) US 55.3%, El Salvador 4.3%, Mexico 4.2% (2002)
Independence 1 August 1960 (from France) 15 September 1821 (from Spain)
Industrial production growth rate 8.3% (2001 est.) 4% (1999 est.)
Industries textiles, food processing, chemical production, construction materials (2001) sugar, coffee, textiles, clothing, wood products
Infant mortality rate total: 86.76 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 91.79 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 81.58 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.)
total: 29.96 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 33.6 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 26.14 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 3.3% (2002 est.) 7.7% (2002 est.)
International organization participation ACP, AfDB, ECA, ECOWAS, Entente, FAO, FZ, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, MIPONUH, MONUC, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMEE, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO BCIE, CACM, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (subscriber), ITU, LAES, LAIA (observer), MINURSO, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW (signatory), PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) 4 (2002) 8 (2000)
Irrigated land 120 sq km (1998 est.) 760 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch Constitutional Court or Cour Constitutionnelle; Supreme Court or Cour Supreme; High Court of Justice Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia (judges are elected for seven-year terms by the National Congress)
Labor force NA 2.3 million (1997 est.)
Labor force - by occupation - agriculture 34%, industry 21%, services 45% (2001 est.)
Land boundaries total: 1,989 km


border countries: Burkina Faso 306 km, Niger 266 km, Nigeria 773 km, Togo 644 km
total: 1,520 km


border countries: Guatemala 256 km, El Salvador 342 km, Nicaragua 922 km
Land use arable land: 15.28%


permanent crops: 1.36%


other: 83.36% (1998 est.)
arable land: 15.15%


permanent crops: 3.13%


other: 81.72% (1998 est.)
Languages French (official), Fon and Yoruba (most common vernaculars in south), tribal languages (at least six major ones in north) Spanish, Amerindian dialects
Legal system based on French civil law and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction rooted in Roman and Spanish civil law with increasing influence of English common law; recent judicial reforms include abandoning Napoleonic legal codes in favor of the oral adversarial system; accepts ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
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 2003 (next to be held NA March 2007)


election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Presidential Movement 52, opposition (PRB, PRD, E'toile, and 5 other small parties) 31
unicameral National Congress or Congreso Nacional (128 seats; members are elected proportionally to the number of votes their party's presidential candidate receives to serve four-year terms)


elections: last held 25 November 2001 (next to be held NA November 2005)


election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PN 61, PL 55, PUD 5, PDC 4, PINU-SD 3
Life expectancy at birth total population: 51.08 years


male: 50.35 years


female: 51.84 years (2003 est.)
total population: 66.65 years


male: 65.31 years


female: 68.06 years (2003 est.)
Literacy definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 40.9%


male: 56.2%


female: 26.5% (2000)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 76.2%


male: 76.1%


female: 76.3% (2003 est.)
Location Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Benin, between Nigeria and Togo Middle America, bordering the Caribbean Sea, between Guatemala and Nicaragua and bordering the Gulf of Fonseca (North Pacific Ocean), between El Salvador and Nicaragua
Map references Africa Central America and the Caribbean
Maritime claims territorial sea: 200 NM contiguous zone: 24 NM


continental shelf: natural extension of territory or to 200 NM


exclusive economic zone: 200 NM


territorial sea: 12 NM
Merchant marine none (2002 est.) total: 250 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 680,784 GRT/765,815 DWT


ships by type: bulk 18, cargo 140, chemical tanker 4, container 7, livestock carrier 2, passenger 2, passenger/cargo 3, petroleum tanker 55, refrigerated cargo 10, roll on/roll off 4, short-sea passenger 4, specialized tanker 1


note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Argentina 1, Bahrain 1, Belize 1, British Virgin Islands 1, Bulgaria 1, China 8, Costa Rica 1, Cyprus 1, Egypt 6, El Salvador 1, Germany 1, Greece 18, Hong Kong 3, Indonesia 2, Italy 1, Japan 7, Lebanon 4, Liberia 4, Maldives 2, Marshall Islands 1, Mexico 1, Nigeria 1, Norway 1, Panama 14, Philippines 1, Romania 2, Russia 1, Saint Kitts and Nevis 3, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1, Singapore 24, South Korea 12, Spain 1, Syria 1, Taiwan 4, Tanzania 1, Trinidad and Tobago 1, Turkey 2, Turks and Caicos Islands 1, United Arab Emirates 6, UK 1, US 5, Vanuatu 1, Vietnam 1, Virgin Islands (UK) 1 (2002 est.)
Military branches Armed Forces (including Army, Navy, Air Force), National Gendarmerie Army, Navy (including marines), Air Force
Military expenditures - dollar figure $80.8 million (FY02) $35 million (FY99)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP 2.7% (FY02) 0.6% (FY99)
Military manpower - availability note: both sexes are liable for military service


males age 15-49: 1,597,562


females age 15-49: 1,536,036 (2003 est.)
males age 15-49: 1,594,266 (2003 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service males age 15-49: 805,603


females age 15-49: 809,961 (2003 est.)
males age 15-49: 948,957 (2003 est.)
Military manpower - military age 18 years of age (2003 est.) 18 years of age (2003 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually males: 75,021


females: 78,998 (2003 est.)
males: 74,895 (2003 est.)
National holiday National Day, 1 August (1960) Independence Day, 15 September (1821)
Nationality noun: Beninese (singular and plural)


adjective: Beninese
noun: Honduran(s)


adjective: Honduran
Natural hazards hot, dry, dusty harmattan wind may affect north from December to March frequent, but generally mild, earthquakes; extremely susceptible to damaging hurricanes and floods along the Caribbean coast
Natural resources small offshore oil deposits, limestone, marble, timber timber, gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, iron ore, antimony, coal, fish, hydropower
Net migration rate 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) -2.04 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Political parties and leaders African Congress for Renewal or DUNYA [Saka SALEY]; African Movement for Democracy and Progress or MADEP [Sefou FAGBOHOUN]; Alliance of the Social Democratic Party or PSD [Bruno AMOUSSOU]; Coalition of Democratic Forces [Gatien HOUNGBEDJI]; 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]; Key Force or FC [leader NA]; Presidential Movement (UBF, MADEP, FC, IDP, and 4 other small parties); Renaissance Party du Benin or PRB [Nicephore SOGLO]; The Star Alliance (Alliance E'toile) [Sacca LAFIA]; Union of Tomorrow's Benin or UBF [Bruno AMOUSSOU]


note: approximately 20 additional minor parties
Christian Democratic Party or PDC [Dr. Hernan CORRALES Padilla]; Democratic Unification Party or PUD [leader NA]; Liberal Party or PL [Roberto MICHELETTI Bain]; National Innovation and Unity Party-Social Democratic Party or PINU-SD [Olban F. VALLADARES]; National Party of Honduras or PN [Raphael CALLEJAS]
Political pressure groups and leaders NA Committee for the Defense of Human Rights in Honduras or CODEH; Confederation of Honduran Workers or CTH; Coordinating Committee of Popular Organizations or CCOP; General Workers Confederation or CGT; Honduran Council of Private Enterprise or COHEP; National Association of Honduran Campesinos or ANACH; National Union of Campesinos or UNC; Popular Bloc or BP; United Federation of Honduran Workers or FUTH
Population 7,041,490


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 2003 est.)
6,669,789


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 2003 est.)
Population below poverty line 37% (2001 est.) 53% (1993 est.)
Population growth rate 2.95% (2003 est.) 2.32% (2003 est.)
Ports and harbors Cotonou, Porto-Novo La Ceiba, Puerto Castilla, Puerto Cortes, San Lorenzo, Tela, Puerto Lempira
Radio broadcast stations AM 2, FM 9, shortwave 4 (2000) AM 241, FM 53, shortwave 12 (1998)
Railways total: 578 km


narrow gauge: 578 km 1.000-m gauge (2002)
total: 699 km


narrow gauge: 279 km 1.067-m gauge; 420 km 0.914-m gauge (2002)
Religions indigenous beliefs 50%, Christian 30%, Muslim 20% Roman Catholic 97%, Protestant minority
Sex ratio at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.72 male(s)/female


total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2003 est.)
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.9 male(s)/female


total population: 1 male(s)/female (2003 est.)
Suffrage 18 years of age; universal 18 years of age; universal and compulsory
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: inadequate system


domestic: NA


international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); connected to Central American Microwave System
Telephones - main lines in use 51,000 (2000) 234,000 (1997)
Telephones - mobile cellular 55,500 (2000) 14,427 (1997)
Television broadcast stations 1;; (2001) 11 (plus 17 repeaters) (1997)
Terrain mostly flat to undulating plain; some hills and low mountains mostly mountains in interior, narrow coastal plains
Total fertility rate 6.04 children born/woman (2003 est.) 4.07 children born/woman (2003 est.)
Unemployment rate NA% 28% (2002 est.)
Waterways streams navigable along small sections, important only locally 465 km (navigable by small craft)
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