Botswana (2002) | Papua New Guinea (2007) | |
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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% (male 319,988; female 316,961)
15-64 years: 55.8% (male 428,638; female 458,777) 65 years and over: 4.2% (male 26,965; female 39,903) (2002 est.) |
0-14 years: 37.6% (male 1,107,568/female 1,070,594)
15-64 years: 58.5% (male 1,745,385/female 1,643,830) 65 years and over: 3.9% (male 106,487/female 122,023) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | livestock, sorghum, maize, millet, beans, sunflowers, groundnuts | coffee, cocoa, copra, palm kernels, tea, sugar, rubber, sweet potatoes, fruit, vegetables, vanilla; shell fish, poultry, pork |
Airports | 92 (2001) | 578 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 10
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 7 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2002) |
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 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 76
1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 55 under 914 m: 18 (2002) |
total: 557
1,524 to 2,437 m: 10 914 to 1,523 m: 58 under 914 m: 489 (2007) |
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 | 28.04 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 28.76 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $2.3 billion
expenditures: $2.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY01/02 ) |
revenues: $2.065 billion
expenditures: $1.924 billion (2006 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 | 26.26 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 7.14 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $325 million (2001) | $1.813 billion (2006 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Joseph HUGGING
embassy: address NA, Gaborone mailing address: Embassy Enclave, P. O. Box 90, Gaborone telephone: [267] 353982 FAX: [267] 312782 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Leslie W. Rowe
embassy: Douglas Street, Port Moresby, N.C.D. 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) (1995) | $NA (2005) |
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 $7,800 in 2001. Two major investment services rank Botswana as the best credit risk in Africa. Diamond mining has fueled much of expansion and currently accounts for more than one-third of GDP and for four-fifths of export earnings. Tourism, subsistence farming, and cattle raising are other key sectors. On the downside, the government must deal with high rates of unemployment and poverty. Unemployment officially is 21%, 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 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 also brought stability to the national budget, largely through expenditure control; however, it has relaxed spending constraints in 2006 and 2007 as elections approach. 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, its former colonial ruler. Other socio-cultural challenges could upend the economy including a worsening HIV/Aids epidemic and chronic 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 | 1.451 billion kWh (2000) | 3.439 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 986 million kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | 500 million kWh (2000) | 3.698 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
- |
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 - 6.8353 (January 2002), 5.8412 (2001), 5.1018 (2000), 4.6244 (1999), 4.2259 (1998), 3.6508 (1997) | kina per US dollar - 3.0643 (2006), 3.08 (2005), 3.2225 (2004), 3.5635 (2003), 3.8952 (2002) |
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 Puka TEMU (since 29 August 2007) cabinet: National Executive Council appointed by governor general on recommendation of prime minister elections: none; monarch is hereditary; governor general nominated by parliament and appointed by chief of state; following legislative elections, leader of majority party or leader of majority coalition usually is appointed prime minister by governor general |
Exports | $2.5 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | diamonds 80%, copper, nickel, soda ash, meat, textiles (2001) | oil, gold, copper ore, logs, palm oil, coffee, cocoa, crayfish, prawns |
Exports - partners | EFTA 85%, Southern African Customs Union (SACU) 10%, Zimbabwe 2% (1999) | Australia 30.2%, Japan 8.2%, China 5.7% (2006) |
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 - $12.4 billion (2001 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 4%
industry: 44% (including 36% mining) services: 52% (2000 est.) |
agriculture: 36.1%
industry: 36.7% services: 27.2% (2006 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $7,800 (2001 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 4.7% (2001 est.) | 3.7% (2006 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 (2007) |
Highways | total: 10,217 km
paved: 5,620 km unpaved: 4,597 km (1999) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 1.7%
highest 10%: 40.5% (1996) |
Illicit drugs | - | major consumer of cannabis |
Imports | $2.1 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, machinery, electrical goods, transport equipment, textiles, fuel and petroleum products, wood and paper products, metal and metal products (2000) | machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods, food, fuels, chemicals |
Imports - partners | Southern African Customs Union (SACU) 77%, EFTA 9%, Zimbabwe 4% (1999) | Australia 52%, Singapore 12.6%, China 5.9%, Japan 4.3% (2006) |
Independence | 30 September 1966 (from UK) | 16 September 1975 (from the Australian-administered UN trusteeship) |
Industrial production growth rate | 2.4% (2001 est.) | NA% |
Industries | diamonds, copper, nickel, salt, soda ash, potash; livestock processing; textiles | 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 | 64.72 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: 48.46 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 52.52 deaths/1,000 live births female: 44.2 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 6.6% (2001 est.) | 2.9% (2006 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, 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, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 11 (2001) | - |
Irrigated land | 10 sq km (1998 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 | 264,000 formal sector employees (2000) | 3.477 million (2006 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | NA | 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: 0.61%
permanent crops: 0.01% other: 99.38% (1998 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; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
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 members) and the National Assembly (44 seats, 40 members are directly elected by popular vote and 4 are 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 54.3%, BNF 24.7%, other 21%; seats by party - BDP 33, BNF 6, other 1 |
unicameral National Parliament (109 seats, 89 filled from open electorates and 20 from provinces and national capital distict; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms); constitution allows up to 126 seats
elections: last held from 30 June to 10 July 2007; next to be held in June 2012 election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - National Alliance 27, PNGP 8, PAP 6, URP 6, PANGU 5, PDM 5, independents 19, others 33; note - election to 1 seat was nullified note: 15 other parties won 4 or fewer seats; association with political parties is fluid |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 35.29 years
male: 35.15 years female: 35.43 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 65.62 years
male: 63.41 years female: 67.95 years (2007 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: 57.3% male: 63.4% female: 50.9% (2000 census) |
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) 56,157 GRT/72,821 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 3, cargo 20, petroleum tanker 1 foreign-owned: 6 (UK 6) (2007) |
Military branches | Botswana Defense Force (including Army and Air Wing), Botswana National Police | Papua New Guinea Defense Force (PNGDF; includes Maritime Operations Element, Air Operations Element) (2007) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $135 million (FY01/02) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 3.5% (FY01/02) | 1.4% (2005 est.) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 384,888 (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 202,685 (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 19,479 (2002 est.) | - |
National holiday | Independence Day (Botswana 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 (2002 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Pipelines | - | oil 264 km (2006) |
Political parties and leaders | Botswana Democratic Party or BDP [Festus MOGAE]; Botswana National Front or BNF [Otswoletse MOUPO]; Botswana Congress Party or BCP [Mokgweetsi KGOSIPULA]; Botswana Alliance Movement or BAM [Ephraim Lepetu SETSHWAELO]
note: a number of minor parties joined forces in 1999 to form the BAM but did not capture any parliamentary seats; the BAM parties are: the United Action Party [Ephraim Lepetu SETSHWAELO], the Independence Freedom Party or IFP [Motsamai MPHO], and the Botswana Progressive Union [D. K. KWELE] |
National Alliance Party or NA [Michael SOMARE]; Papua and Niugini Union Party or PANGU PATI [Andrew KUMBAKOR]; Papua New Guinea Party or PNGP [Sir Mekere MORAUTA]; People's Democratic Movement or PDM [Michael OGIO]; People's Action Party or PAP [Gabriel KAPRIS]; United Resources Party or URP [William DUMA] (2007) |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 1,591,232
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 2002 est.) |
5,795,887 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 47% (2000 est.) | 37% (2002 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.18% (2002 est.) | 2.163% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 8, FM 13, shortwave 4 (2001) | AM 8, FM 19, shortwave 28 (1998) |
Radios | 252,720 (2000) | - |
Railways | total: 888 km
narrow gauge: 888 km 1.067-m gauge (2000 est.) |
- |
Religions | indigenous beliefs 85%, Christian 15% | 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 (2002 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.035 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.062 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.873 male(s)/female total population: 1.043 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: the system is expanding with the growth of mobile cellular service and participation in regional development
domestic: small system of open-wire lines, microwave radio relay links, and a few radiotelephone communication stations; mobile cellular service is growing fast international: two international exchanges; digital microwave radio relay links to Namibia, 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 | 131,000 (September 2001) | 63,700 (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 270,000 (September 2001) | 75,000 (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (2001) | 3 (all in the Port Moresby area; 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 | 3.6 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 3.79 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 40% (official rate is 21%) (2001 est.) | 2% up to 80% in urban areas (2004) |
Waterways | none | 11,000 km (2006) |