Benin (2006) | Thailand (2001) | |
Administrative divisions | 12 departments; Alibori, Atakora, Atlantique, Borgou, Collines, Kouffo, Donga, Littoral, Mono, Oueme, Plateau, Zou | 76 provinces (changwat, singular and plural); Amnat Charoen, Ang Thong, Buriram, Chachoengsao, Chai Nat, Chaiyaphum, Chanthaburi, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Chon Buri, Chumphon, Kalasin, Kamphaeng Phet, Kanchanaburi, Khon Kaen, Krabi, Krung Thep Mahanakhon (Bangkok), Lampang, Lamphun, Loei, Lop Buri, Mae Hong Son, Maha Sarakham, Mukdahan, Nakhon Nayok, Nakhon Pathom, Nakhon Phanom, Nakhon Ratchasima, Nakhon Sawan, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Nan, Narathiwat, Nong Bua Lamphu, Nong Khai, Nonthaburi, Pathum Thani, Pattani, Phangnga, Phatthalung, Phayao, Phetchabun, Phetchaburi, Phichit, Phitsanulok, Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya, Phrae, Phuket, Prachin Buri, Prachuap Khiri Khan, Ranong, Ratchaburi, Rayong, Roi Et, Sa Kaeo, Sakon Nakhon, Samut Prakan, Samut Sakhon, Samut Songkhram, Sara Buri, Satun, Sing Buri, Sisaket, Songkhla, Sukhothai, Suphan Buri, Surat Thani, Surin, Tak, Trang, Trat, Ubon Ratchathani, Udon Thani, Uthai Thani, Uttaradit, Yala, Yasothon |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 44.1% (male 1,751,709/female 1,719,138)
15-64 years: 53.5% (male 2,067,248/female 2,138,957) 65 years and over: 2.4% (male 75,694/female 110,198) (2006 est.) |
0-14 years:
23.43% (male 7,380,273; female 7,099,506) 15-64 years: 69.95% (male 21,304,051; female 21,921,383) 65 years and over: 6.62% (male 1,796,325; female 2,296,213) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cotton, corn, cassava (tapioca), yams, beans, palm oil, peanuts; livestock | rice, cassava (tapioca), rubber, corn, sugarcane, coconuts, soybeans |
Airports | 5 (2006) | 110 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2006) |
total:
59 over 3,047 m: 6 2,438 to 3,047 m: 11 1,524 to 2,437 m: 21 914 to 1,523 m: 17 under 914 m: 4 (2000 est.) |
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 (2006) |
total:
51 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 16 under 914 m: 34 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 112,620 sq km
land: 110,620 sq km water: 2,000 sq km |
total:
514,000 sq km land: 511,770 sq km water: 2,230 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Pennsylvania | slightly more than twice the size of Wyoming |
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. | A unified Thai kingdom was established in the mid-14th century; it was known as Siam until 1939. Thailand is the only southeast Asian country never to have been taken over by a European power. A bloodless revolution in 1932 led to a constitutional monarchy. In alliance with Japan during World War II, Thailand became a US ally following the conflict. |
Birth rate | 38.85 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 16.63 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $766.8 million
expenditures: $1.017 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.) |
revenues:
$19 billion expenditures: $21 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
Capital | name: Porto-Novo (official capital)
geographic coordinates: 6 29 N, 2 37 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) note: Cotonou (seat of government) |
Bangkok |
Climate | tropical; hot, humid in south; semiarid in north | tropical; rainy, warm, cloudy southwest monsoon (mid-May to September); dry, cool northeast monsoon (November to mid-March); southern isthmus always hot and humid |
Coastline | 121 km | 3,219 km |
Constitution | December 1990 | new constitution signed by King PHUMIPHON on 11 October 1997 |
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:
Kingdom of Thailand conventional short form: Thailand former: Siam |
Currency | - | baht (THB) |
Death rate | 12.22 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 7.54 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.6 billion (2000) | $90 billion (2000 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 Richard E. HECKLINGER embassy: 120/22 Wireless Road, Bangkok mailing address: APO AP 96546 telephone: [66] (2) 205-4000 FAX: [66] (2) 254-1171 consulate(s) general: Chiang Mai |
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 TEJ Bunnag chancery: 1024 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007 telephone: [1] (202) 944-3600 FAX: [1] (202) 944-3611 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York |
Disputes - international | Benin and Burkina Faso military clash in 2006 over sections of riverine boundary involving disputed villages and squatters; much of Benin-Niger boundary, including tripoint with Nigeria, remains undemarcated; in 2005, Nigeria ceded thirteen villages to Benin as a consequence of a 2004 joint task force to resolve maritime and land boundary disputes, but clashes among rival gangs along the border persist; a joint boundary commission continues to resurvey the boundary with Togo to verify Benin's claim that Togo moved boundary stones | parts of the border with Laos are indefinite; parts of border with Cambodia are indefinite; sporadic border hostilities with Burma over border alignment and ethnic Shan rebels operating in cross-border region |
Economic aid - recipient | $342.6 million (2000) | $131.5 million (1998 est.) |
Economy - overview | The economy of Benin remains underdeveloped and dependent on subsistence agriculture, cotton production, and regional trade. Growth in real output has averaged around 5% in the past six years, but rapid population growth 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. Many of these proposals are included in Benin's application to receive Millennium Challenge Account funding - for which it was a finalist in 2004-05. The 2001 privatization policy continues in telecommunications, water, electricity, and agriculture in spite of government reluctance. The Paris Club and bilateral creditors have eased the external debt situation, with Benin benefiting from a G8 debt reduction announced in July 2005, while pressing for more rapid structural reforms. Benin continues to be hurt by Nigerian trade protection that bans imports of a growing list of products from Benin and elsewhere, which has resulted in increased smuggling and criminality in the border region. | After enjoying the world's highest growth rate from 1985 to 1995 - averaging almost 9% annually - increased speculative pressure on Thailand's currency in 1997 led to a crisis that uncovered financial sector weaknesses and forced the government to float the baht. Long pegged at 25 to the dollar, the baht reached its lowest point of 56 to the dollar in January 1998 and the economy contracted by 10.2% that same year. Thailand entered a recovery stage in 1999, expanding 4.2% and grew about the same amount in 2000, largely due to strong exports - which increased about 20% in 2000. An ailing financial sector and the slow pace of corporate debt restructuring, combined with a softening of global demand, is likely to slow growth in 2001. |
Electricity - consumption | 538.2 million kWh (2003) | 83.991 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2003) | 200 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 474 million kWh (2003) | 1.02 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 69 million kWh (2003) | 89.431 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
91.17% hydro: 3.81% nuclear: 0% other: 5.02% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mont Sokbaro 658 m |
lowest point:
Gulf of Thailand 0 m highest point: Doi Inthanon 2,576 m |
Environment - current issues | inadequate supplies of potable water; poaching threatens wildlife populations; deforestation; desertification | air pollution from vehicle emissions; water pollution from organic and factory wastes; deforestation; soil erosion; wildlife populations threatened by illegal hunting |
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:
Climate Change, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Biodiversity, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Law of the Sea |
Ethnic groups | African 99% (42 ethnic groups, most important being Fon, Adja, Yoruba, Bariba), Europeans 5,500 | Thai 75%, Chinese 14%, other 11% |
Exchange rates | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 527.47 (2005), 528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003), 696.99 (2002), 733.04 (2001) | baht per US dollar - 43.078 (January 2001), 40.112 (2000), 37.814 (1999), 41.359 (1998), 31.364 (1997), 25.343 (1996) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President YAYI Boni (since 6 April 2006); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President YAYI Boni (since 6 April 2006) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president reelected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); runoff election held 19 March 2006 (next to be held March 2011) election results: YAYI Boni elected president; percent of vote - YAYI Boni 74.5%, Adrien HOUNGBEDJI 25.5% |
chief of state:
King PHUMIPHON Adunyadet (since 9 June 1946) head of government: Prime Minister THAKSIN Chinnawat (since NA January 2001) cabinet: Council of Ministers note: there is also a Privy Council elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; prime minister designated from among the members of the House of Representatives; following a national election for the House of Representatives, the leader of the party that can organize a majority coalition usually becomes prime minister |
Exports | NA bbl/day | $68.2 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | cotton, crude oil, palm products, cocoa | computers and parts, textiles, integrated circuits, rice |
Exports - partners | China 31.3%, Indonesia 8.1%, India 7.4%, Niger 6%, Togo 4.8%, Thailand 4.8%, Nigeria 4.6% (2005) | US 22%, Japan 14%, Singapore 9%, Hong Kong 5%, Netherlands 4%, Malaysia 4%, UK 4% (1999) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 October - 30 September |
Flag description | two equal horizontal bands of yellow (top) and red (bottom) with a vertical green band on the hoist side | five horizontal bands of red (top), white, blue (double width), white, and red |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $413 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 31.6%
industry: 13.8% services: 54.6% (2004 est.) |
agriculture:
13% industry: 40% services: 47% (1999) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $6,700 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 3.5% (2005 est.) | 4.2% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 9 30 N, 2 15 E | 15 00 N, 100 00 E |
Geography - note | sandbanks create difficult access to a coast with no natural harbors, river mouths, or islands | controls only land route from Asia to Malaysia and Singapore |
Heliports | - | 2 (2000 est.) |
Highways | - | total:
64,600 km paved: 62,985 km unpaved: 1,615 km (1996) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%:
2.5% highest 10%: 37.1% (1992) |
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 | a minor producer of opium, heroin, and marijuana; illicit transit point for heroin en route to the international drug market from Burma and Laos; eradication efforts have reduced the area of cannabis cultivation and shifted some production to neighboring countries; opium poppy cultivation has been reduced by eradication efforts; also a drug money-laundering center; minor role in amphetamine production for regional consumption; increasing indigenous abuse of methamphetamine |
Imports | NA bbl/day | $61.8 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, capital goods, petroleum products | capital goods, intermediate goods and raw materials, consumer goods, fuels |
Imports - partners | France 21.8%, Ghana 7.1%, Cote d'Ivoire 7%, China 6.7%, UK 5.2%, Belgium 4.9%, Togo 4.5%, Thailand 4.2%, Nigeria 4% (2005) | Japan 26%, US 14%, Singapore 6%, China 5%, Malaysia 5%, Taiwan 5% (1999) |
Independence | 1 August 1960 (from France) | 1238 (traditional founding date; never colonized) |
Industrial production growth rate | 8.3% (2001 est.) | 3% (2000 est.) |
Industries | textiles, food processing, construction materials, cement | tourism; textiles and garments, agricultural processing, beverages, tobacco, cement, light manufacturing, such as jewelry; electric appliances and components, computers and parts, integrated circuits, furniture, plastics; world's second-largest tungsten producer and third-largest tin producer |
Infant mortality rate | total: 79.56 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 84.09 deaths/1,000 live births female: 74.88 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
30.49 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3.5% (2005 est.) | 2.1% (2000 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, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, MONUC, NAM, OIC, OIF, ONUB, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNOCI, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO | APEC, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN, BIS, CCC, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NAM, OAS (observer), OIC (observer), OPCW, OSCE (partner), PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNITAR, UNMIBH, UNTAET, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 15 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 120 sq km (2003) | 44,000 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | Constitutional Court or Cour Constitutionnelle; Supreme Court or Cour Supreme; High Court of Justice | Supreme Court or Sandika (judges appointed by the monarch) |
Labor force | 3.211 million | 32.6 million (1997 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | - | agriculture 54%, industry 15%, services 31% (1996 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: 1,989 km
border countries: Burkina Faso 306 km, Niger 266 km, Nigeria 773 km, Togo 644 km |
total:
4,863 km border countries: Burma 1,800 km, Cambodia 803 km, Laos 1,754 km, Malaysia 506 km |
Land use | arable land: 23.53%
permanent crops: 2.37% other: 74.1% (2005) |
arable land:
34% permanent crops: 6% permanent pastures: 2% forests and woodland: 26% other: 32% (1993 est.) |
Languages | French (official), Fon and Yoruba (most common vernaculars in south), tribal languages (at least six major ones in north) | Thai, English (secondary language of the elite), ethnic and regional dialects |
Legal system | based on French civil law and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on civil law system, with influences of common law; 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 2003 (next to be held March 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Presidential Movement (UBF, MADEP, FC, Alliance MDC-PC-CPP, IPD, AFP, MDS, RDP) 52, opposition (PRB, PRD, E'toile, and 5 other small parties) 31 |
bicameral National Assembly or Rathasapha consists of the Senate or Wuthisapha (200 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) and the House of Representatives or Sapha Phuthaen Ratsadon (500 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 4 March, 29 April, 4 June, 9 July, and 22 July 2000 (next to be held NA March 2004); House of Representatives - last held 6 January 2001 (next to be held NA January 2005) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - TRT 248, DP 128, TNP 41, NAP 36, NDP 29, other 18 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 53.04 years
male: 51.9 years female: 54.22 years (2006 est.) |
total population:
68.86 years male: 65.64 years female: 72.24 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 33.6% male: 46.4% female: 22.6% (2002 est.) |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 93.8% male: 96% female: 91.6% (1995 est.) |
Location | Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Benin, between Nigeria and Togo | Southeastern Asia, bordering the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand, southeast of Burma |
Map references | Africa | Southeast Asia |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 200 nm | continental shelf:
200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | - | total:
294 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,845,972 GRT/2,923,914 DWT ships by type: bulk 36, cargo 133, chemical tanker 3, combination bulk 1, container 14, liquefied gas 20, multi-functional large-load carrier 3, passenger 1, petroleum tanker 61, refrigerated cargo 13, roll on/roll off 2, short-sea passenger 2, specialized tanker 5 (2000 est.) |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force | Royal Thai Army, Royal Thai Navy (includes Royal Thai Marine Corps), Royal Thai Air Force, Paramilitary Forces |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $100.9 million (2005 est.) | $1.775 billion (FY00) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.3% (2005 est.) | 1.4% (FY00) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49:
17,717,268 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49:
10,646,818 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males:
567,659 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | National Day, 1 August (1960) | Birthday of King PHUMIPHON, 5 December (1927) |
Nationality | noun: Beninese (singular and plural)
adjective: Beninese |
noun:
Thai (singular and plural) adjective: Thai |
Natural hazards | hot, dry, dusty harmattan wind may affect north from December to March | land subsidence in Bangkok area resulting from the depletion of the water table; droughts |
Natural resources | small offshore oil deposits, limestone, marble, timber | tin, rubber, natural gas, tungsten, tantalum, timber, lead, fish, gypsum, lignite, fluorite, arable land |
Net migration rate | 0.67 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | - | petroleum products 67 km; natural gas 350 km |
Political parties and leaders | Alliance of Progress Forces or AFP; African Movement for Democracy and Progress or MADEP [Sefou FAGBOHOUN]; Democratic Renewal Party or PRD [Adrien HOUNGBEDJI]; Impulse for Progress and Democracy or IPD; Key Force or FC; Movement for Development and Solidarity or MDS; Movement for Development by the Culture-Salute Party-Congress of People for Progress Alliance or Alliance MDC-PS-CPP; New Alliance or NA; Rally for Democracy and Progress or RDP; Renaissance Party du Benin or RB [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 |
Democratic Party or DP (Prachathipat Party) [CHUAN Likphai]; Liberal Democratic Party or LDP (Seri Tham) [PHINIT Charusombat]; Mass Party or MP [CHALERM Yoobamrung, SOPHON Petchsavang]; National Development Party or NDP (Chat Phattana) [KORN Dabbaransi]; New Aspiration Party or NAP (Khwamwang Mai) [Gen. CHAWALIT Yongchaiyut]; Phalang Dharma Party or PDP (Phalang Tham) [CHAIWAT Sinsuwong]; Social Action Party or SAP (Kitsangkhom Party) [leader vacant]; Solidarity Party or SP (Ekkaphap Party) [CHAIYOT Sasomsap]; Thai Citizen's Party or TCP (Prachakon Thai) [SAMAK Sunthonwet]; Thai Nation Party or TNP (Chat Thai Party) [BANHAN Sinlapa-acha]; Thai Rak Thai Party or TRT [THAKSIN Chinnawat] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 7,862,944
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.) |
61,797,751
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.) |
Population below poverty line | 33% (2001 est.) | 12.5% (1998 est.) |
Population growth rate | 2.73% (2006 est.) | 0.91% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Bangkok, Laem Chabang, Pattani, Phuket, Sattahip, Si Racha, Songkhla |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 9, shortwave 4 (2000) | AM 204, FM 334, shortwave 6 (1999) |
Radios | - | 13.96 million (1997) |
Railways | total: 578 km
narrow gauge: 578 km 1.000-m gauge (2005) |
total:
3,940 km narrow gauge: 3,940 km 1.000-m gauge (99 km double track) |
Religions | indigenous beliefs 50%, Christian 30%, Muslim 20% | Buddhism 95%, Muslim 3.8%, Christianity 0.5%, Hinduism 0.1%, other 0.6% (1991) |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.69 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2001 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: country code - 229; satellite earth station - 7 (Intelsat-Atlantic Ocean); fiber optic submarine cable (SAT-3/WASC) provides connectivity to Europe and Asia |
general assessment:
service to general public adequate, but investment in technological upgrades reduced by recession; bulk of service to government activities provided by multichannel cable and microwave radio relay network domestic: microwave radio relay and multichannel cable; domestic satellite system being developed international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean and 1 Pacific Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 76,300 (2005) | 5.4 million (1998) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 386,700 (2005) | 2.3 million (1998) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (2001) | 5 (all in Bangkok; plus 131 repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | mostly flat to undulating plain; some hills and low mountains | central plain; Khorat Plateau in the east; mountains elsewhere |
Total fertility rate | 5.2 children born/woman (2006 est.) | 1.87 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 3.7% (2000 est.) |
Waterways | 150 km (on River Niger along northern border) (2005) | 4,000 km
note: 3,701 km are navigable throughout the year by boats with drafts up to 0.9 meters; numerous minor waterways serve shallow-draft native craft |