Botswana (2001) | Papua New Guinea (2006) | |
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Administrative divisions | 10 districts and four town councils*; Central, Chobe, Francistown*, Gaborone*, Ghanzi, Kgalagadi, Kgatleng, Kweneng, Lobatse*, Ngamiland, North-East, Selebi-Pikwe*, South-East, Southern | 20 provinces; Bougainville, Central, Chimbu, Eastern Highlands, East New Britain, East Sepik, Enga, Gulf, Madang, Manus, Milne Bay, Morobe, National Capital, New Ireland, Northern, Sandaun, Southern Highlands, Western, Western Highlands, West New Britain |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
40.3% (male 321,164; female 318,007) 15-64 years: 55.56% (male 423,954; female 457,227) 65 years and over: 4.14% (male 26,691; female 39,076) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 37.8% (male 1,090,879/female 1,054,743)
15-64 years: 58.3% (male 1,703,204/female 1,601,224) 65 years and over: 3.9% (male 103,054/female 117,440) (2006 est.) |
Agriculture - products | sorghum, corn, millet, pulses, groundnuts (peanuts), beans, cowpeas, sunflower seed; livestock | coffee, cocoa, copra, palm kernels, tea, sugar, rubber, sweet potatoes, fruit, vegetables, vanilla; shell fish, poultry, pork |
Airports | 92 (2000 est.) | 582 (2006) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
11 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 8 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 21
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 14 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 1 (2006) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
81 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 56 under 914 m: 22 (2000 est.) |
total: 561
1,524 to 2,437 m: 11 914 to 1,523 m: 62 under 914 m: 488 (2006) |
Area | total:
600,370 sq km land: 585,370 sq km water: 15,000 sq km |
total: 462,840 sq km
land: 452,860 sq km water: 9,980 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Texas | slightly larger than California |
Background | Formerly the British protectorate of Bechuanaland, Botswana adopted its new name upon independence in 1966. The economy, one of the most robust on the continent, is dominated by diamond mining. | The eastern half of the island of New Guinea - second largest in the world - was divided between Germany (north) and the UK (south) in 1885. The latter area was transferred to Australia in 1902, which occupied the northern portion during World War I and continued to administer the combined areas until independence in 1975. A nine-year secessionist revolt on the island of Bougainville ended in 1997 after claiming some 20,000 lives. |
Birth rate | 28.85 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 29.36 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$1.6 billion expenditures: $1.8 billion, including capital expenditures of $560 million (FY96) |
revenues: $1.368 billion
expenditures: $1.354 billion; including capital expenditures of $344 million (2005 est.) |
Capital | Gaborone | name: Port Moresby
geographic coordinates: 9 30 S, 147 10 E time difference: UTC+10 (15 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | semiarid; warm winters and hot summers | tropical; northwest monsoon (December to March), southeast monsoon (May to October); slight seasonal temperature variation |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 5,152 km |
Constitution | March 1965, effective 30 September 1966 | 16 September 1975 |
Country name | conventional long form:
Republic of Botswana conventional short form: Botswana former: Bechuanaland |
conventional long form: Independent State of Papua New Guinea
conventional short form: Papua New Guinea local short form: Papuaniugini former: Territory of Papua and New Guinea abbreviation: PNG |
Currency | pula (BWP) | - |
Death rate | 24.18 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 7.25 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | $455 million (2000) | $1.882 billion (2005 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador John E. LANGE embassy: address NA, Gaborone mailing address: P. O. Box 90, Gaborone telephone: [267] 353982 FAX: [267] 356947 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Robert W. FITTS
embassy: Douglas Street, Port Moresby mailing address: 4240 Port Moresby PI, US Department of State, Washington DC 20521-4240 telephone: [675] 321-1455 FAX: [675] 321-3423 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Kgosi SEEPAPITSO IV chancery: 1531-1533 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 244-4990 FAX: [1] (202) 244-4164 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Evan Jeremy PAKI
chancery: 1779 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Suite 805, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 745-3680 FAX: [1] (202) 745-3679 |
Disputes - international | none | relies on assistance from Australia to keep out illegal cross-border activities from primarily Indonesia, including goods smuggling, illegal narcotics trafficking, and squatters and secessionists |
Economic aid - recipient | $73 million (1995) | $NA |
Economy - overview | Botswana has maintained one of the world's highest growth rates since independence in 1966. Through fiscal discipline and sound management, Botswana has transformed itself from one of the poorest countries in the world to a middle-income country with a per capita GDP of $6,600 in 2000. Diamond mining has fueled much of Botswana's economic expansion and currently accounts for more than one-third of GDP and for three-fourths of export earnings. Tourism, subsistence farming, and cattle raising are other key sectors. The government must deal with high rates of unemployment and poverty. Unemployment officially is 19%, but unofficial estimates place it closer to 40%. HIV/AIDS infection rates are the highest in the world and threaten Botswana's impressive economic gains. | Papua New Guinea is richly endowed with natural resources, but exploitation has been hampered by rugged terrain and the high cost of developing infrastructure. Agriculture provides a subsistence livelihood for 85% of the population. Mineral deposits, including oil, copper, and gold, account for nearly two-thirds of export earnings. The economy has improved over the past three years because of high commodity prices following a prolonged period of instability. The government of Prime Minister SOMARE has expended much of its energy remaining in power and should be the first government in decades to serve a full five-year term. The government has also brought stability to the national budget thus far, largely through expenditure control. Numerous challenges still face the government including regaining investor confidence, restoring integrity to state institutions, promoting economic efficiency by privatizing moribund state institutions, and balancing relations with Australia, the former colonial ruler. Other socio-cultural challenges include the HIV/Aids epidemic, law and order, and land tenure issues. Australia annually supplies $240 million in aid, which accounts for nearly 20% of the national budget. |
Electricity - consumption | 1.517 billion kWh (1999) | 1.481 billion kWh (2003) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - imports | 950 million kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production | 610 million kWh (1999) | 1.592 billion kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
junction of the Limpopo and Shashe Rivers 513 m highest point: Tsodilo Hills 1,489 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Wilhelm 4,509 m |
Environment - current issues | overgrazing; desertification; limited fresh water resources | rain forest subject to deforestation as a result of growing commercial demand for tropical timber; pollution from mining projects; severe drought |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to: Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Tswana (or Setswana) 79%, Kalanga 11%, Basarwa 3%, other, including Kgalagadi and white 7% | Melanesian, Papuan, Negrito, Micronesian, Polynesian |
Exchange rates | pulas per US dollar - 5.4585 (January 2001), 5.1018 (2000), 4.6244 (1999), 4.2259 (1998), 3.6508 (1997), 3.3242 (1996) | kina per US dollar - 3.08 (2005), 3.2225 (2004), 3.5635 (2003), 3.8952 (2002), 3.3887 (2001) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
President Festus MOGAE (since 1 April 1998) and Vice President Seretse Ian KHAMA (since 13 July 1998); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Festus MOGAE (since 1 April 1998) and Vice President Seretse Ian KHAMA (since 13 July 1998); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president elections: president elected by the National Assembly for a five-year term; election last held 16 October 1999 (next to be held NA October 2004); vice president appointed by the president election results: Festus MOGAE elected president; percent of National Assembly vote - 54.3% |
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by governor general Sir Paulius MATANE (since 29 June 2004)
head of government: Prime Minister Sir Michael SOMARE (since 2 August 2002); deputy prime minister Don Polye (since 5 July 2006) cabinet: National Executive Council appointed by the governor general on the recommendation of the prime minister elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the National Executive Council; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition usually is appointed prime minister by the governor general |
Exports | $2.6 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | diamonds 72%, vehicles, copper, nickel, meat (1998) | oil, gold, copper ore, logs, palm oil, coffee, cocoa, crayfish, prawns |
Exports - partners | EU 77%, Southern African Customs Union (SACU) 18%, Zimbabwe 3% (1998) | Australia 28.7%, Japan 8.6%, China 5.4% (2005) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | calendar year |
Flag description | light blue with a horizontal white-edged black stripe in the center | divided diagonally from upper hoist-side corner; the upper triangle is red with a soaring yellow bird of paradise centered; the lower triangle is black with five, white, five-pointed stars of the Southern Cross constellation centered |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $10.4 billion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
4% industry: 46% (including 36% mining) services: 50% (1998 est.) |
agriculture: 35.3%
industry: 38.1% services: 26.6% (2005 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $6,600 (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 6% (2000 est.) | 3% (2005 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 22 00 S, 24 00 E | 6 00 S, 147 00 E |
Geography - note | landlocked; population concentrated in eastern part of the country | shares island of New Guinea with Indonesia; one of world's largest swamps along southwest coast |
Heliports | - | 2 (2006) |
Highways | total:
18,482 km paved: 4,343 km unpaved: 14,139 km (1996) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 1.7%
highest 10%: 40.5% (1996) |
Imports | $2.2 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, machinery and transport equipment, textiles, petroleum products | machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods, food, fuels, chemicals |
Imports - partners | Southern African Customs Union (SACU) 76%, Europe 10%, South Korea 5% (1998) | Australia 54.6%, Singapore 13.4%, Japan 4.3%, Malaysia 4.2% (2005) |
Independence | 30 September 1966 (from UK) | 16 September 1975 (from the Australian-administered UN trusteeship) |
Industrial production growth rate | 6.2% (2000 est.) | NA% |
Industries | diamonds, copper, nickel, coal, salt, soda ash, potash; livestock processing | copra crushing, palm oil processing, plywood production, wood chip production; mining of gold, silver, and copper; crude oil production, petroleum refining; construction, tourism |
Infant mortality rate | 63.2 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 49.96 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 54.08 deaths/1,000 live births female: 45.63 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 8.6% (2000 est.) | 1.7% (2005 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW, SACU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | ACP, APEC, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN (observer), C, CP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, NAM, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, WToO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 3 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 20 sq km (1993 est.) | NA |
Judicial branch | High Court; Court of Appeal; Magistrates' Courts (one in each district) | Supreme Court (the chief justice is appointed by the governor general on the proposal of the National Executive Council after consultation with the minister responsible for justice; other judges are appointed by the Judicial and Legal Services Commission) |
Labor force | 235,000 formal sector employees (1995) | 2.413 million (2004) |
Labor force - by occupation | 100,000 public sector; 135,000 private sector, including 14,300 who are employed in various mines in South Africa; most others engaged in cattle raising and subsistence agriculture (1995 est.) | agriculture: 85%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
Land boundaries | total:
4,013 km border countries: Namibia 1,360 km, South Africa 1,840 km, Zimbabwe 813 km |
total: 820 km
border countries: Indonesia 820 km |
Land use | arable land:
1% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 46% forests and woodland: 47% other: 6% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 0.49%
permanent crops: 1.4% other: 98.11% (2005) |
Languages | English (official), Setswana | Melanesian Pidgin serves as the lingua franca, English spoken by 1%-2%, Motu spoken in Papua region
note: 820 indigenous languages spoken (over one-tenth of the world's total) |
Legal system | based on Roman-Dutch law and local customary law; judicial review limited to matters of interpretation; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on English common law |
Legislative branch | bicameral Parliament consists of the House of Chiefs (a largely advisory 15-member body consisting of the chiefs of the eight principal tribes, four elected subchiefs, and three members selected by the other 12) and the National Assembly (44 seats, 40 members are directly elected by popular vote and 4 appointed by the majority party; members serve five-year terms)
elections: National Assembly elections last held 16 October 1999 (next to be held NA October 2004) election results: percent of vote by party - BDP 57.2%, BNF 26%, other 16.8%; seats by party - BDP 33, BNF 6, other 1 |
unicameral National Parliament - sometimes referred to as the House of Assembly (109 seats, 89 elected from open electorates and 20 from provincial electorates; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 15-29 June 2002 and April and May 2003; completed in May 2003 (voting in the Southern Highlands was not completed during the June 2002 election period); next to be held not later than June 2007 election results: percent of vote by party - National Alliance 18%, URP 13%, PDM 12%, PPP 8%, Pangu 6%, PAP 5%, PLP 4%, others 34%; seats by party - National Alliance 19, URP 14, PDM 13, PPP 8, PANGU 6, PAP 5, PLP 4, others 40; as of January 2006 - National Alliance 25, URP 10, PNGP 9, PPP 9, PANGU 6, PAP 12, PLP 4, others 34 note: association with political parties is fluid (2005) |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
37.13 years male: 36.77 years female: 37.51 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 65.28 years
male: 63.08 years female: 67.58 years (2006 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 69.8% male: 80.5% female: 59.9% (1995 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 64.6% male: 71.1% female: 57.7% (2002) |
Location | Southern Africa, north of South Africa | Oceania, group of islands including the eastern half of the island of New Guinea between the Coral Sea and the South Pacific Ocean, east of Indonesia |
Map references | Africa | Oceania |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | measured from claimed archipelagic baselines
territorial sea: 12 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | - | total: 24 ships (1000 GRT or over) 55,532 GRT/72,240 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 2, cargo 18, passenger/cargo 2, petroleum tanker 1, roll on/roll off 1 foreign-owned: 6 (UK 6) (2006) |
Military branches | Botswana Defense Force (includes Army and Air Wing), Botswana National Police | Papua New Guinea Defense Force (includes Maritime Operations Element, Air Operations Element) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $61 million (FY99) | $16.9 million (2003) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.2% (FY99) | 1.4% (FY02) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
380,152 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
199,995 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
19,479 (2001 est.) |
- |
National holiday | Independence Day, 30 September (1966) | Independence Day, 16 September (1975) |
Nationality | noun:
Motswana (singular), Batswana (plural) adjective: Motswana (singular), Batswana (plural) |
noun: Papua New Guinean(s)
adjective: Papua New Guinean |
Natural hazards | periodic droughts; seasonal August winds blow from the west, carrying sand and dust across the country, which can obscure visibility | active volcanism; situated along the Pacific "Ring of Fire"; the country is subject to frequent and sometimes severe earthquakes; mud slides; tsunamis |
Natural resources | diamonds, copper, nickel, salt, soda ash, potash, coal, iron ore, silver | gold, copper, silver, natural gas, timber, oil, fisheries |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Pipelines | - | oil 264 km (2006) |
Political parties and leaders | Botswana Democratic Party or BDP [Festus MOGAE]; Botswana National Front or BNF [Kenneth KOMA]; Botswana Congress Party or BCP [Michael DINGAKE]; Botswana Alliance Movement or BAM [Ephraim Lepetu SETSHWAELO]
note: main parties are: BDP, BNF, BCP; other minor parties joined forces in 1999 to form the Botswana Alliance Movement or BAM [Ephraim SETSHWAELO, chairman] but did not capture any parliamentary seats; the BAM parties are: the United Action Party [Ephraim Lepetu SETSHWAELO], the Botswana Peoples Party, the Independence Freedom Party [Motsamai MPHO], and the Botswana Progressive Union [D. K. KWELE] |
Christian Democratic Party [Dr. Banare BUN]; Melanesian Alliance Party or MAP [Sir Moi AVEL]; National Alliance Party or NA [Michael SOMARE]; National Party [Melcher PEP]; Papua and Niugini Union Party or PANGU [Rabbie NAMALIU]; Papua New Guinea First Party [Cecilking DORUBA]; Papua New Guinea Labor Party [Bob DANAYA]; Papua New Guinea Party or PNGP (was People's Democratic Movement or PDM) [Sir Mekere MORAUTA]; People's Action Party or PAP [Moses MALADINA]; People's Labor Party or PLP [Ekis ROPENU]; People's National Congress or PNC [Peter O'NEILL]; People's Progress Party or PPP [Byron CHAN]; Pipol First Party [Luther WENGE]; United Party [Bire KIMASOPA]; United Resources Party or URP [Tim NEVILLE] (2005) |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 1,586,119
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.) |
5,670,544 (July 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 47% (2000 est.) | 37% (2002 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.47% (2001 est.) | 2.21% (2006 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 7, FM 15, shortwave 5 (1998) | AM 8, FM 19, shortwave 28 (1998) |
Radios | 237,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | total:
888 km narrow gauge: 888 km 1.067-m gauge (2000) |
- |
Religions | indigenous beliefs 50%, Christian 50% | Roman Catholic 22%, Lutheran 16%, Presbyterian/Methodist/London Missionary Society 8%, Anglican 5%, Evangelical Alliance 4%, Seventh-Day Adventist 1%, other Protestant 10%, indigenous beliefs 34% |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.93 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.88 male(s)/female total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
sparse system domestic: small system of open-wire lines, microwave radio relay links, and a few radiotelephone communication stations international: two international exchanges; digital microwave radio relay links to Zambia, Zimbabwe, and South Africa; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) |
general assessment: services are adequate; facilities provide radiotelephone and telegraph, coastal radio, aeronautical radio, and international radio communication services
domestic: mostly radiotelephone international: country code - 675; submarine cables to Australia and Guam; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean); international radio communication service |
Telephones - main lines in use | 86,000 (1997) | 62,000 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | NA | 26,000 (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | 0 (1997) | 3 (all in the Port Moresby area)
note: additional stations at Mt. Hagen, Goroka, Lae, and Rabaul are planned (2004) |
Terrain | predominantly flat to gently rolling tableland; Kalahari Desert in southwest | mostly mountains with coastal lowlands and rolling foothills |
Total fertility rate | 3.7 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 3.88 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 40% (2000 est.) | 2.8% up to 80% in urban areas (2004) |
Waterways | none | 10,940 km (2003) |