Benin (2008) | Uzbekistan (2004) | |
![]() | ![]() | |
Administrative divisions | 12 departments; Alibori, Atakora, Atlantique, Borgou, Collines, Kouffo, Donga, Littoral, Mono, Oueme, Plateau, Zou | 12 provinces (viloyatlar, singular - viloyat), 1 autonomous republic* (respublika), and 1 city** (shahar); Andijon Viloyati, Buxoro Viloyati, Farg'ona Viloyati, Jizzax Viloyati, Namangan Viloyati, Navoiy Viloyati, Qashqadaryo Viloyati (Qarshi), Qaraqalpog'iston Respublikasi* (Nukus), Samarqand Viloyati, Sirdaryo Viloyati (Guliston), Surxondaryo Viloyati (Termiz), Toshkent Shahri**, Toshkent Viloyati, Xorazm Viloyati (Urganch)
note: administrative divisions have the same names as their administrative centers (exceptions have the administrative center name following in parentheses) |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 43.9% (male 1,788,248/female 1,754,940)
15-64 years: 53.7% (male 2,138,649/female 2,203,291) 65 years and over: 2.4% (male 77,844/female 115,342) (2007 est.) |
0-14 years: 34.1% (male 4,583,228; female 4,418,003)
15-64 years: 61.1% (male 7,990,233; female 8,157,136) 65 years and over: 4.8% (male 513,434; female 748,382) (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cotton, corn, cassava (tapioca), yams, beans, palm oil, peanuts, cashews; livestock | cotton, vegetables, fruits, grain; livestock |
Airports | 5 (2007) | 247 (2003 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2007) |
total: 33
over 3,047 m: 5 2,438 to 3,047 m: 14 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 4 (2003 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 (2007) |
total: 214
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 9 under 914 m: 200 (2003 est.) |
Area | total: 112,620 sq km
land: 110,620 sq km water: 2,000 sq km |
total: 447,400 sq km
land: 425,400 sq km water: 22,000 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Pennsylvania | slightly larger than California |
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. KEREKOU stepped down at the end of his second term in 2006 and was succeeded by Thomas YAYI Boni, a political outsider and independent. YAYI has begun a high profile fight against corruption and has strongly promoted accelerating Benin's economic growth. | Russia conquered Uzbekistan in the late 19th century. Stiff resistance to the Red Army after World War I was eventually suppressed and a socialist republic set up in 1924. During the Soviet era, intensive production of "white gold" (cotton) and grain led to overuse of agrochemicals and the depletion of water supplies, which have left the land poisoned and the Aral Sea and certain rivers half dry. Independent since 1991, the country seeks to gradually lessen its dependence on agriculture while developing its mineral and petroleum reserves. Current concerns include terrorism by Islamic militants, economic stagnation, and the curtailment of human rights and democratization. |
Birth rate | 38.1 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 26.12 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $936.9 million
expenditures: $1.226 billion (2007 est.) |
revenues: $2.176 billion
expenditures: $2.207 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2003 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) |
Tashkent (Toshkent) |
Climate | tropical; hot, humid in south; semiarid in north | mostly midlatitude desert, long, hot summers, mild winters; semiarid grassland in east |
Coastline | 121 km | 0 km (doubly landlocked); note - Uzbekistan includes the southern portion of the Aral Sea with a 420 km shoreline |
Constitution | adopted by referendum 2 December 1990 | new constitution adopted 8 December 1992 |
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 Uzbekistan
conventional short form: Uzbekistan local long form: Ozbekiston Respublikasi local short form: Ozbekiston former: Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic |
Currency | - | Uzbekistani sum (UZS) |
Death rate | 11.94 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 7.95 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.2 billion (2007) | $4.384 billion (2003 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Gayleatha B. BROWN
embassy: Rue Caporal Bernard Anani, Cotonou mailing address: 01 B. P. 2012, Cotonou telephone: [229] 21-30-06-50 FAX: [229] 21-30-03-84 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Jon PURNELL
embassy: 82 Chilanzarskaya, Tashkent 700115 mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [998] (71) 120-5450 FAX: [998] (71) 120-6335 |
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 Abdulaziz KAMILOV
chancery: 1746 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 293-6803 FAX: [1] (202) 293-6804 consulate(s) general: New York |
Disputes - international | two villages remain in dispute along the border with Burkina Faso; Benin accused Burkina Faso of moving boundary pillars; much of Benin-Niger boundary, including tripoint with Nigeria, remains undemarcated; in 2005, Nigeria ceded thirteen villages to Benin, but border relations remain strained by rival gang clashes; Benin and Togo announced plans in 2006 to construct a joint hydroelectric dam on the Mona River at the southern end of the border | prolonged drought and cotton monoculture creates water-sharing difficulties for Amu Darya river states; delimitation with Kazakhstan complete with demarcation underway; delimitation is underway with Kyrgyzstan but serious disputes around enclaves and elsewhere continue to mar progress for some 130 km of border; talks continue with Tajikistan to determine and delimit border |
Economic aid - recipient | $374.7 million (2006) | $87.4 million from the US (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 around 5% in the past seven 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. Specific projects to improve the business climate by reforms to the land tenure system, the commercial justice system, and the financial sector were included in Benin's $307 million Millennium Challenge Account grant signed in February 2006. The 2001 privatization policy continues in telecommunications, water, electricity, and agriculture though the government annulled the privatization of Benin's state cotton company in November 2007 after the discovery of irregularities in the bidding process. 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. An insufficient electrical supply continues to adversely affect Benin's economic growth though the government recently has taken steps to increase domestic power production. | Uzbekistan is a dry, landlocked country of which 11% consists of intensely cultivated, irrigated river valleys. More than 60% of its population lives in densely populated rural communities. Uzbekistan is now the world's second-largest cotton exporter, a large producer of gold and oil, and a regionally significant producer of chemicals and machinery. Following independence in December 1991, the government sought to prop up its Soviet-style command economy with subsidies and tight controls on production and prices. Uzbekistan responded to the negative external conditions generated by the Asian and Russian financial crises by emphasizing import substitute industrialization and by tightening export and currency controls within its already largely closed economy. The government, while aware of the need to improve the investment climate, sponsors measures that often increase, not decrease, the government's control over business decisions. A sharp increase in the inequality of income distribution has hurt the lower ranks of society since independence. In 2003, the government accepted the obligations of Article VIII under the International Monetary Fund (IMF), providing for full currency convertibility. However, strict currency controls and tightening of borders have lessened the effects of convertibility and have also lead to some shortages which have further stifled economic activity. |
Electricity - consumption | 587 million kWh (2005) | 47.07 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2005) | 3.998 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 595 million kWh (2005) | 9.7 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 105 million kWh (2005) | 44.49 billion kWh (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mont Sokbaro 658 m |
lowest point: Sariqarnish Kuli -12 m
highest point: Adelunga Toghi 4,301 m |
Environment - current issues | inadequate supplies of potable water; poaching threatens wildlife populations; deforestation; desertification | shrinkage of the Aral Sea is resulting in growing concentrations of chemical pesticides and natural salts; these substances are then blown from the increasingly exposed lake bed and contribute to desertification; water pollution from industrial wastes and the heavy use of fertilizers and pesticides is the cause of many human health disorders; increasing soil salination; soil contamination from buried nuclear processing and agricultural chemicals, including DDT |
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, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Fon and related 39.2%, Adja and related 15.2%, Yoruba and related 12.3%, Bariba and related 9.2%, Peulh and related 7%, Ottamari and related 6.1%, Yoa-Lokpa and related 4%, Dendi and related 2.5%, other 1.6% (includes Europeans), unspecified 2.9% (2002 census) | Uzbek 80%, Russian 5.5%, Tajik 5%, Kazakh 3%, Karakalpak 2.5%, Tatar 1.5%, other 2.5% (1996 est.) |
Exchange rates | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 493.51 (2007), 522.59 (2006), 527.47 (2005), 528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003) | Uzbekistani sums per US dollar - 115.9 (2003), 125.3 (2002), NA (2001), 236.608 (2000), 124.625 (1999) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Thomas YAYI Boni (since 6 April 2006); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Thomas YAYI Boni (since 6 April 2006) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); runoff election held 19 March 2006 (next to be held in March 2011) election results: Thomas YAYI Boni elected president; percent of vote - Thomas YAYI Boni 74.5%, Adrien HOUNGBEDJI 25.5% |
chief of state: President Islom KARIMOV (since 24 March 1990, when he was elected president by the then Supreme Soviet)
head of government: Prime Minister Shavkat MIRZIYAYEV (since 11 December 2003) cabinet: Cabinet of Ministers appointed by the president with approval of the Supreme Assembly elections: president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term (previously was a five-year term, extended by constitutional amendment in 2002); election last held 9 January 2000 (next to be held NA December 2007); prime minister and deputy ministers appointed by the president election results: Islom KARIMOV reelected president; percent of vote - Islom KARIMOV 91.9%, Abdulkhafiz JALALOV 4.2% |
Exports | 0 bbl/day (2007) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | cotton, cashews, shea butter, textiles, palm products, seafood | cotton 41.5%, gold 9.6%, energy products 9.6%, mineral fertilizers, ferrous metals, textiles, food products, automobiles (1998 est.) |
Exports - partners | China 20.9%, Indonesia 7.7%, India 7%, Netherlands 6.2%, Niger 5.7%, Togo 4.6%, Nigeria 4.3% (2006) | Russia 22.4%, China 9.3%, Ukraine 7.5%, Tajikistan 6.2%, Bangladesh 4.7%, Turkey 4.6%, Japan 4.3%, Kazakhstan 4.2%, US 4.1% (2003) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | two equal horizontal bands of yellow (top) and red (bottom) with a vertical green band on the hoist side | three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), white, and green separated by red fimbriations with a white crescent moon and 12 white stars in the upper hoist-side quadrant |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $43.99 billion (2003 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 33.2%
industry: 14.5% services: 52.3% (2007 est.) |
agriculture: 38%
industry: 26.3% services: 35.7% (2003 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $1,700 (2003 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 4.5% (2007 est.) | 3.1% (2003 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 9 30 N, 2 15 E | 41 00 N, 64 00 E |
Geography - note | sandbanks create difficult access to a coast with no natural harbors, river mouths, or islands | along with Liechtenstein, one of the only two doubly landlocked countries in the world |
Highways | - | total: 81,600 km
paved: 71,237 km unpaved: 10,363 km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 3.1%
highest 10%: 29% (2003) |
lowest 10%: 1.2%
highest 10%: 32.8% (1998) |
Illicit drugs | transshipment point used by Nigerian traffickers for narcotics destined for Western Europe; vulnerable to money laundering due to poorly enforced financial regulations | transit country for Afghan narcotics bound for Russian and, to a lesser extent, Western European markets; limited illicit cultivation of cannabis and small amounts of opium poppy for domestic consumption; poppy cultivation almost wiped out by government crop eradication program; transit point for heroin precursor chemicals bound for Afghanistan |
Imports | 16,830 bbl/day (2007 est.) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, capital goods, petroleum products | machinery and equipment 49.8%, foodstuffs 16.4%, chemicals, metals (1998 est.) |
Imports - partners | China 46.6%, France 7.5%, Thailand 6% (2006) | Russia 22.3%, US 11.4%, South Korea 11%, Germany 9.5%, China 6.5%, Kazakhstan 6.1%, Turkey 6.1% (2003) |
Independence | 1 August 1960 (from France) | 1 September 1991 (from Soviet Union) |
Industrial production growth rate | 4.5% (2007 est.) | 6.2% (2003 est.) |
Industries | textiles, food processing, construction materials, cement | textiles, food processing, machine building, metallurgy, natural gas, chemicals |
Infant mortality rate | total: 77.85 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 82.32 deaths/1,000 live births female: 73.26 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
total: 71.3 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 75.03 deaths/1,000 live births female: 67.39 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.5% (2007 est.) | 13.1% (2003 est.) |
International organization participation | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, ECOWAS, Entente, FAO, FZ, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, MONUC, NAM, OIC, OIF, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO | AsDB, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECO, FAO, GUUAM, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, SCO, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer) |
Irrigated land | 120 sq km (2003) | 42,810 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Constitutional Court or Cour Constitutionnelle; Supreme Court or Cour Supreme; High Court of Justice | Supreme Court (judges are nominated by the president and confirmed by the Supreme Assembly) |
Labor force | 5.38 million (2007 est.) | 14.2 million (2003 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | - | agriculture 44%, industry 20%, services 36% (1995) |
Land boundaries | total: 1,989 km
border countries: Burkina Faso 306 km, Niger 266 km, Nigeria 773 km, Togo 644 km |
total: 6,221 km
border countries: Afghanistan 137 km, Kazakhstan 2,203 km, Kyrgyzstan 1,099 km, Tajikistan 1,161 km, Turkmenistan 1,621 km |
Land use | arable land: 23.53%
permanent crops: 2.37% other: 74.1% (2005) |
arable land: 10.83%
permanent crops: 0.83% other: 88.34% (2001) |
Languages | French (official), Fon and Yoruba (most common vernaculars in south), tribal languages (at least six major ones in north) | Uzbek 74.3%, Russian 14.2%, Tajik 4.4%, other 7.1% |
Legal system | based on French civil law and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | evolution of Soviet civil law; still lacks independent judicial system |
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 31 March 2007 (next to be held by March 2011) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - FCBE 35, ADD 20, PRD 10, other and independents 18 |
bicameral Supreme Assembly or Oliy Majlis consists of an Upper House or Senate (100 seats; 84 members are elected by regional governing councils to serve five-year terms and 16 are appointed by the president) and a Lower House or Legislative Chamber (120 seats; elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 26 December 2004 and 9 January 2005 (next to be held December 2009) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; Legislative Chamber - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - LDPU 41, NDP 32, Fidokorlar 17, MTP 11, Adolat 9, unaffiliated 10 note: all parties in the Supreme Assembly support President KARIMOV |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 53.44 years
male: 52.28 years female: 54.63 years (2007 est.) |
total population: 64.09 years
male: 60.67 years female: 67.69 years (2004 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 34.7% male: 47.9% female: 23.3% (2002 census) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99.3% male: 99.6% female: 99% (2003 est.) |
Location | Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Benin, between Nigeria and Togo | Central Asia, north of Afghanistan |
Map references | Africa | Asia |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 200 nm | none (doubly landlocked) |
Military branches | Benin Armed Forces (FAB): Army (l'Arme de Terre), Benin Navy (Forces Navales Beninois, FNB), Benin People's Air Force (Force Aerienne Populaire de Benin, FAPB) (2008) | Army, Air and Air Defense Forces, National Guard |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $200 million (FY97) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.7% (2006) | 2% (FY97) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 7,126,325 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 5,783,740 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 321,886 (2004 est.) |
National holiday | National Day, 1 August (1960) | Independence Day, 1 September (1991) |
Nationality | noun: Beninese (singular and plural)
adjective: Beninese |
noun: Uzbekistani
adjective: Uzbekistani |
Natural hazards | hot, dry, dusty harmattan wind may affect north from December to March | NA |
Natural resources | small offshore oil deposits, limestone, marble, timber | natural gas, petroleum, coal, gold, uranium, silver, copper, lead and zinc, tungsten, molybdenum |
Net migration rate | 0.58 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | -1.72 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Pipelines | - | gas 9,149 km; oil 869 km; refined products 33 km (2004) |
Political parties and leaders | Alliance for Dynamic Democracy or ADD; Alliance of Progress Forces or AFP; African Movement for Democracy and Progress or MADEP [Sefou FAGBOHOUN]; Benin Renaissance or RB [Rosine SOGLO]; Democratic Renewal Party or PRD [Adrien HOUNGBEDJI]; Force Cowrie for an Emerging Benin or FCBE; Impulse for Progress and Democracy or IPD [Theophile NATA]; Key Force or FC [Lazare SÈHOUÉTO]; Movement for the People's Alternative or MAP [Olivier CAPO-CHICHI]; Rally for Democracy and Progress or RDP [Dominique HOUNGNINOU]; Social Democrat Party or PSD [Bruno AMOUSSOU]; Union for the Relief or UPR [Issa SALIFOU]; Union for Democracy and National Solidarity or UDS [Sacca LAFIA]
note: approximately 20 additional minor parties |
Adolat (Justice) Social Democratic Party [Dilorom TOSHMUHAMMADOVA, chairman]; Democratic National Rebirth Party (Milly Tiklanish) or MTP [Xurshid DOSTMUHAMMADOV, chief]; Liberal Democratic Party of Uzbekistan or LDPU [Adham SHODMONOV, chairman]; People's Democratic Party or NDP (formerly Communist Party) [Asliddin RUSTAMOV, first secretary]; Self-Sacrificers Party or Fidokorlar National Democratic Party [Ahtam TURSUNOV, chief]; note - Fatherland Progress Party merged with Self-Sacrificers Party |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Agrarian and Entrepreneurs' Party [Marat ZAHIDOV]; Birlik (Unity) Movement [Abdurakhim POLAT, chairman]; Erk (Freedom) Democratic Party [Muhammad SOLIH, chairman] was banned 9 December 1992; Ezgulik Human Rights Society [Vasilia INOYATOVA]; Free Farmers' Party or Ozod Dehqonlar [Nigara KHIDOYATOVA]; Human Rights Society of Uzbekistan [Tolib YAKUBOV, chairman]; Independent Human Rights Society of Uzbekistan [Mikhail ARDZINOV, chairman]; Mazlum [leader NA] |
Population | 8,078,314
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 2007 est.) |
26,410,416 (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 37.4% (2007 est.) | NA (2004 est.) |
Population growth rate | 2.674% (2007 est.) | 1.65% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Termiz (Amu Darya) |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 34, shortwave 1 (2007) | AM 20, FM 7, shortwave 10 (1998) |
Railways | total: 758 km
narrow gauge: 758 km 1.000-m gauge (2006) |
total: 3,950 km
broad gauge: 3,950 km 1.520-m gauge (620 km electrified) (2003) |
Religions | Christian 42.8% (Catholic 27.1%, Celestial 5%, Methodist 3.2%, other Protestant 2.2%, other 5.3%), Muslim 24.4%, Vodoun 17.3%, other 15.5% (2002 census) | Muslim 88% (mostly Sunnis), Eastern Orthodox 9%, other 3% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.019 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.971 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.675 male(s)/female total population: 0.983 male(s)/female (2007 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: 0.69 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: inadequate; fixed-line network is almost saturated with fixed-line teledensity stuck at a meager 1 per 100 persons; mobile-cellular telephone subscribership is increasing
domestic: fair system of open-wire, microwave radio relay, and cellular connections; four mobile-cellular providers international: country code - 229; landing point for the SAT-3/WASC fiber-optic submarine cable that provides connectivity to Europe and Asia; satellite earth station - 7 (Intelsat-Atlantic Ocean) (2007) |
general assessment: antiquated and inadequate; in serious need of modernization
domestic: the domestic telephone system is being expanded and technologically improved, particularly in Tashkent (Toshkent) and Samarqand, under contracts with prominent companies in industrialized countries; moreover, by 1998, six cellular networks had been placed in operation - four of the GSM type (Global System for Mobile Communication), one D-AMPS type (Digital Advanced Mobile Phone System), and one AMPS type (Advanced Mobile Phone System) international: country code - 998; linked by landline or microwave radio relay with CIS member states and to other countries by leased connection via the Moscow international gateway switch; after the completion of the Uzbek link to the Trans-Asia-Europe (TAE) fiber-optic cable, Uzbekistan will be independent of Russian facilities for international communications; Inmarsat also provides an international connection, albeit an expensive one; satellite earth stations - NA (1998) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 77,300 (2006) | 1,717,100 (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 1.056 million (2006) | 320,800 (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 6 (2007) | 4 (plus two repeaters that relay Russian programs), 1 cable rebroadcaster in Tashkent; approximately 20 stations in regional capitals (2003) |
Terrain | mostly flat to undulating plain; some hills and low mountains | mostly flat-to-rolling sandy desert with dunes; broad, flat intensely irrigated river valleys along course of Amu Darya, Syr Darya (Sirdaryo), and Zarafshon; Fergana Valley in east surrounded by mountainous Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan; shrinking Aral Sea in west |
Total fertility rate | 5.08 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 2.97 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 0.5% plus another 20% underemployed (2003) |
Waterways | 150 km (on River Niger along northern border) (2005) | 1,100 km (2004) |