Benin (2004) | Uganda (2006) | |
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Administrative divisions | 12 departments; Alibori, Atakora, Atlantique, Borgou, Collines, Kouffo, Donga, Littoral, Mono, Oueme, Plateau, Zou | 56 districts; Adjumani, Apac, Arua, Bugiri, Bundibugyo, Bushenyi, Busia, Gulu, Hoima, Iganga, Jinja, Kabale, Kabarole, Kaberamaido, Kalangala, Kampala, Kamuli, Kamwenge, Kanungu, Kapchorwa, Kasese, Katakwi, Kayunga, Kibale, Kiboga, Kisoro, Kitgum, Kotido, Kumi, Kyenjojo, Lira, Luwero, Masaka, Masindi, Mayuge, Mbale, Mbarara, Moroto, Moyo, Mpigi, Mubende, Mukono, Nakapiripirit, Nakasongola, Nebbi, Ntungamo, Pader, Pallisa, Rakai, Rukungiri, Sembabule, Sironko, Soroti, Tororo, Wakiso, Yumbe
note: as of a July 2005, 13 new districts were reportedly added bringing the total up to 69; the new districts are Amolatar, Amuria, Budaka, Butaleja, Ibanda, Kaabong, Kabingo, Kaliro, Kiruhura, Koboko, Manafwa, Mityana, Nakaseke; a total of nine more districts are in the process of being added |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 46.8% (male 1,711,075; female 1,679,439)
15-64 years: 51% (male 1,802,990; female 1,890,915) 65 years and over: 2.3% (male 68,890; female 96,724) (2004 est.) |
0-14 years: 50% (male 7,091,763/female 6,996,385)
15-64 years: 47.8% (male 6,762,071/female 6,727,230) 65 years and over: 2.2% (male 266,931/female 351,374) (2006 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cotton, corn, cassava (tapioca), yams, beans, palm oil, peanuts, livestock (2001) | coffee, tea, cotton, tobacco, cassava (tapioca), potatoes, corn, millet, pulses, cut flowers; beef, goat meat, milk, poultry |
Airports | 5 (2003 est.) | 31 (2006) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
total: 5
over 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (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 (2004 est.) |
total: 26
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 6 914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 8 (2006) |
Area | total: 112,620 sq km
land: 110,620 sq km water: 2,000 sq km |
total: 236,040 sq km
land: 199,710 sq km water: 36,330 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Pennsylvania | slightly smaller than Oregon |
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. | The colonial boundaries created by Britain to delimit Uganda grouped together a wide range of ethnic groups with different political systems and cultures. These differences prevented the establishment of a working political community after independence was achieved in 1962. The dictatorial regime of Idi AMIN (1971-79) was responsible for the deaths of some 300,000 opponents; guerrilla war and human rights abuses under Milton OBOTE (1980-85) claimed at least another 100,000 lives. The rule of Yoweri MUSEVENI since 1986 has brought relative stability and economic growth to Uganda. During the 1990s, the government promulgated non-party presidential and legislative elections. |
Birth rate | 42.57 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 47.35 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $698.9 million
expenditures: $613.2 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2003) |
revenues: $1.845 billion
expenditures: $1.904 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.) |
Capital | Porto-Novo is the official capital; Cotonou is the seat of government | name: Kampala
geographic coordinates: 0 19 N, 32 25 E time difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | tropical; hot, humid in south; semiarid in north | tropical; generally rainy with two dry seasons (December to February, June to August); semiarid in northeast |
Coastline | 121 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | December 1990 | 8 October 1995; in 2005 the constitution was amended removing presidential term limits and legalizing a multiparty political system |
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 Uganda
conventional short form: Uganda |
Currency | Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF); note - responsible authority is the Central Bank of the West African States | - |
Death rate | 13.69 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 12.24 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.6 billion (2000) | $4.973 billion (2005 est.) |
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 (vacant); Charge d'Affaires William FITZGERALD
embassy: 1577 Ggaba Rd., Kampala mailing address: P. O. Box 7007, Kampala telephone: [256] (41) 234-142 FAX: [256] (41) 258-451 |
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 Edith G. SSEMPALA
chancery: 5911 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20011 telephone: [1] (202) 726-7100 through 7102, 0416 FAX: [1] (202) 726-1727 |
Disputes - international | two villages remain in dispute along the border with Burkina Faso; accuses Burkina Faso of moving boundary pillars; much of Benin-Niger boundary, including tripoint with Nigeria, remains undemarcated, and ICJ ad hoc judges have been selected to rule on disputed Niger and Mekrou River islands; several villages along the Okpara River are in dispute with Nigeria; a joint boundary commission continues to resurvey the boundary with Togo to verify Benin's claim that Togo moved boundary stones | Uganda is subject to armed fighting among hostile ethnic groups, rebels, armed gangs, militias, and various government forces; Ugandan refugees have fled the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) into the southern Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo; LRA forces have attacked Kenyan villages across the border |
Economic aid - recipient | $342.6 million (2000) | $959 million (2003) |
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. | Uganda has substantial natural resources, including fertile soils, regular rainfall, and sizable mineral deposits of copper and cobalt. Agriculture is the most important sector of the economy, employing over 80% of the work force. Coffee accounts for the bulk of export revenues. Since 1986, the government - with the support of foreign countries and international agencies - has acted to rehabilitate and stabilize the economy by undertaking currency reform, raising producer prices on export crops, increasing prices of petroleum products, and improving civil service wages. The policy changes are especially aimed at dampening inflation and boosting production and export earnings. During 1990-2001, the economy turned in a solid performance based on continued investment in the rehabilitation of infrastructure, improved incentives for production and exports, reduced inflation, gradually improved domestic security, and the return of exiled Indian-Ugandan entrepreneurs. In 2000, Uganda qualified for enhanced Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) debt relief worth $1.3 billion and Paris Club debt relief worth $145 million. These amounts combined with the original HIPC debt relief added up to about $2 billion. Growth for 2001-02 was solid despite continued decline in the price of coffee, Uganda's principal export. Growth in 2003-05 reflected an upturn in Uganda's export markets. |
Electricity - consumption | 631.1 million kWh (2001) | 1.448 billion kWh (2003) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 160 million kWh (2003) |
Electricity - imports | 376 million kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production | 274.3 million kWh (2001) | 1.729 billion kWh (2003) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mont Sokbaro 658 m |
lowest point: Lake Albert 621 m
highest point: Margherita Peak on Mount Stanley 5,110 m |
Environment - current issues | inadequate supplies of potable water; poaching threatens wildlife populations; deforestation; desertification | draining of wetlands for agricultural use; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; water hyacinth infestation in Lake Victoria; poaching is widespread |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, 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 Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification |
Ethnic groups | African 99% (42 ethnic groups, most important being Fon, Adja, Yoruba, Bariba), Europeans 5,500 | Baganda 17%, Ankole 8%, Basoga 8%, Iteso 8%, Bakiga 7%, Langi 6%, Rwanda 6%, Bagisu 5%, Acholi 4%, Lugbara 4%, Batoro 3%, Bunyoro 3%, Alur 2%, Bagwere 2%, Bakonjo 2%, Jopodhola 2%, Karamojong 2%, Rundi 2%, non-African (European, Asian, Arab) 1%, other 8% |
Exchange rates | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 581.2 (2003), 696.988 (2002), 733.039 (2001), 711.976 (2000), 615.699 (1999) | Ugandan shillings per US dollar - 1,780.7 (2005), 1,810.3 (2004), 1,963.7 (2003), 1,797.6 (2002), 1,755.7 (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 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 Lt. Gen. Yoweri Kaguta MUSEVENI (since seizing power 26 January 1986); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Lt. Gen. Yoweri Kaguta MUSEVENI (since seizing power 29 January 1986); Prime Minister Apollo NSIBAMBI (since 5 April 1999); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government; the prime minister assists the president in the supervision of the cabinet cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president from among elected legislators elections: president reelected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 23 February 2006 (next to be held in 2011) election results: Lt. Gen. Yoweri Kaguta MUSEVENI elected president; percent of vote - Lt. Gen. Yoweri Kaguta MUSEVENI 59.3%, Kizza BESIGYE 37.4%, other 3.3% |
Exports | NA (2001) | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | cotton, crude oil, palm products, cocoa | coffee, fish and fish products, tea, cotton, flowers, horticultural products; gold |
Exports - partners | China 21.1%, India 18%, Thailand 6.8%, Ghana 5.8%, Niger 4.4%, Indonesia 4.1% (2003) | Kenya 15.1%, Belgium 9.9%, Netherlands 9.7%, France 7.1%, Germany 5.1%, Rwanda 4% (2005) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 July - 30 June |
Flag description | two equal horizontal bands of yellow (top) and red with a vertical green band on the hoist side | six equal horizontal bands of black (top), yellow, red, black, yellow, and red; a white disk is superimposed at the center and depicts a red-crested crane (the national symbol) facing the hoist side |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $7.742 billion (2003 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 36.4%
industry: 14.5% services: 49.1% (2003 est.) |
agriculture: 31.1%
industry: 22.2% services: 46.9% (2004 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,100 (2003 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 5.5% (2003 est.) | 4% (2005 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 9 30 N, 2 15 E | 1 00 N, 32 00 E |
Geography - note | sandbanks create difficult access to a coast with no natural harbors, river mouths, or islands | landlocked; fertile, well-watered country with many lakes and rivers |
Highways | total: 6,787 km
paved: 1,357 km (including 10 km of expressways) unpaved: 5,430 km (1999 est.) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
lowest 10%: 4%
highest 10%: 21% (2000) |
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 | - |
Imports | NA (2001) | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, capital goods, petroleum products | capital equipment, vehicles, petroleum, medical supplies; cereals |
Imports - partners | China 29.5%, France 14.9%, UK 4.7%, Cote d'Ivoire 4.7%, Thailand 4.6% (2003) | Kenya 32%, UAE 8.6%, South Africa 6.4%, India 5.7%, China 5.2%, UK 4.4%, US 4.1%, Japan 4% (2005) |
Independence | 1 August 1960 (from France) | 9 October 1962 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 8.3% (2001 est.) | 9% (2005 est.) |
Industries | textiles, food processing, chemical production, construction materials (2001) | sugar, brewing, tobacco, cotton textiles; cement, steel production |
Infant mortality rate | total: 85.88 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 90.89 deaths/1,000 live births female: 80.71 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
total: 66.15 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 69.51 deaths/1,000 live births female: 62.69 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1.5% (2003 est.) | 8.1% (2005 est.) |
International organization participation | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, ECOWAS, Entente, FAO, FZ, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, MINUSTAH, MONUC, NAM, OIC, ONUB, OPCW, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNOCI, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO | ACP, AfDB, AU, C, COMESA, EADB, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIS, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
Irrigated land | 120 sq km (1998 est.) | 90 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Constitutional Court or Cour Constitutionnelle; Supreme Court or Cour Supreme; High Court of Justice | Court of Appeal (judges are appointed by the president and approved by the legislature); High Court (judges are appointed by the president) |
Labor force | NA (1996) | 13.17 million (2005 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | - | agriculture: 82%
industry: 5% services: 13% (1999 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: 1,989 km
border countries: Burkina Faso 306 km, Niger 266 km, Nigeria 773 km, Togo 644 km |
total: 2,698 km
border countries: Democratic Republic of the Congo 765 km, Kenya 933 km, Rwanda 169 km, Sudan 435 km, Tanzania 396 km |
Land use | arable land: 18.08%
permanent crops: 2.4% other: 79.52% (2001) |
arable land: 21.57%
permanent crops: 8.92% other: 69.51% (2005) |
Languages | French (official), Fon and Yoruba (most common vernaculars in south), tribal languages (at least six major ones in north) | English (official national language, taught in grade schools, used in courts of law and by most newspapers and some radio broadcasts), Ganda or Luganda (most widely used of the Niger-Congo languages, preferred for native language publications in the capital and may be taught in school), other Niger-Congo languages, Nilo-Saharan languages, Swahili, Arabic |
Legal system | based on French civil law and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | in 1995, the government restored the legal system to one based on English common law and customary law; accepts compulsory 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 Assembly (303 members - 214 directly elected by popular vote, 81 nominated by legally established special interest groups [women 56, army 10, disabled 5, youth 5, labor 5], 8 ex officio members; members serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 23 February 2006 (next to be held in 2011) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; note - election results had not been posted as of March 2006 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 50.81 years
male: 50.25 years female: 51.39 years (2004 est.) |
total population: 52.67 years
male: 51.68 years female: 53.69 years (2006 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: 69.9% male: 79.5% female: 60.4% (2003 est.) |
Location | Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Benin, between Nigeria and Togo | Eastern Africa, west of Kenya |
Map references | Africa | Africa |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 200 nm | none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | none | - |
Military branches | Armed Forces: Army, Navy, Air Force | Ugandan Peoples' Defense Force (UPDF): Army, Marine Unit, Air Wing |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $98.3 million (2003) | $192.8 million (2005 est.) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.7% (2003) | 2.2% (2005 est.) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 1,638,010
females age 15-49: 1,647,850 (2004 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 835,561
females age 15-49: 835,633 (2004 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 77,552
females: 81,841 (2004 est.) |
- |
National holiday | National Day, 1 August (1960) | Independence Day, 9 October (1962) |
Nationality | noun: Beninese (singular and plural)
adjective: Beninese |
noun: Ugandan(s)
adjective: Ugandan |
Natural hazards | hot, dry, dusty harmattan wind may affect north from December to March | NA |
Natural resources | small offshore oil deposits, limestone, marble, timber | copper, cobalt, hydropower, limestone, salt, arable land |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) | -1.4 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 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 |
Conservative Party or CP [Ken LUKYAMUZI]; Democratic Party or DP [Kizito SSEBAANA]; Forum for Democratic Change or FDC [Kizza BESIGYE]; Justice Forum or JEEMA [Muhammad Kibirige MAYANJA]; National Democrats Forum [Chapaa KARUHANGA]; National Resistance Movement or NRM [Yoweri MUSEVENI]; Ugandan People's Congress or UPC [Miria OBOTE]
note: a national referendum in July 2005 opened the way for Uganda's transition to a multi-party political system |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Popular Resistance Against a Life President or PRALP |
Population | 7,250,033
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 2004 est.) |
28,195,754
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 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 37% (2001 est.) | 35% (2001 est.) |
Population growth rate | 2.89% (2004 est.) | 3.37% (2006 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Cotonou, Porto-Novo | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 9, shortwave 4 (2000) | AM 7, FM 33, shortwave 2 (2001) |
Railways | total: 578 km
narrow gauge: 578 km 1.000-m gauge (2003) |
total: 1,244 km
narrow gauge: 1,244 km 1.000-m gauge (2005) |
Religions | indigenous beliefs 50%, Christian 30%, Muslim 20% | Roman Catholic 33%, Protestant 33%, Muslim 16%, indigenous beliefs 18% |
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: 0.71 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.76 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: NA
domestic: fair system of open-wire, microwave radio relay, and cellular connections international: country code - 229; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); fiber optic submarine cable (SAT-3/WASC) provides connectivity to Europe and Asia |
general assessment: seriously inadequate; two cellular systems have been introduced, but a sharp increase in the number of main lines is essential; e-mail and Internet services are available
domestic: intercity traffic by wire, microwave radio relay, and radiotelephone communication stations, fixed and mobile cellular systems for short-range traffic international: country code - 256; satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) and 1 Inmarsat; analog links to Kenya and Tanzania |
Telephones - main lines in use | 66,500 (2003) | 100,800 (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 236,200 (2003) | 1.525 million (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (2001) | 8 (plus one low-power repeater) (2001) |
Terrain | mostly flat to undulating plain; some hills and low mountains | mostly plateau with rim of mountains |
Total fertility rate | 5.95 children born/woman (2004 est.) | 6.71 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA | NA% |
Waterways | 150 km (on River Niger along northern border) (2004) | on Lake Victoria, 200 km on Lake Albert, Lake Kyoga, and parts of Albert Nile (2005) |