Burkina Faso (2001) | Austria (2006) | |
Administrative divisions | 30 provinces; Bam, Bazega, Bougouriba, Boulgou, Boulkiemde, Ganzourgou, Gnagna, Gourma, Houe, Kadiogo, Kenedougou, Komoe, Kossi, Kouritenga, Mouhoun, Namentenga, Naouri, Oubritenga, Oudalan, Passore, Poni, Sanguie, Sanmatenga, Seno, Sissili, Soum, Sourou, Tapoa, Yatenga, Zoundweogo
note: a new electoral code was approved by the National Assembly in January 1997; the number of administrative provinces was increased from 30 to 45 (Bale, Bam, Banwa, Bazega, Bougouriba, Boulgou, Boulkiemde, Comoe, Ganzourgou, Gnagna, Gourma, Houet, Ioba, Kadiogo, Kenedougou, Komandjari, Kompienga, Kossi, Koupelogo, Kouritenga, Kourweogo, Leraba, Loroum, Mouhoun, Nahouri, Namentenga, Nayala, Naumbiel, Oubritenga, Oudalan, Passore, Poni, Samentenga, Sanguie, Seno, Sissili, Soum, Sourou, Tapoa, Tuy, Yagha, Yatenga, Ziro, Zondomo, Zoundweogo), however, this change has not yet been confirmed by the US Board on Geographic Names |
9 states (Bundeslaender, singular - Bundesland); Burgenland, Kaernten (Carinthia), Niederoesterreich, Oberoesterreich, Salzburg, Steiermark (Styria), Tirol, Vorarlberg, Wien (Vienna) |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
47.5% (male 2,937,285; female 2,892,107) 15-64 years: 49.59% (male 2,903,153; female 3,183,121) 65 years and over: 2.91% (male 150,688; female 205,935) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 15.4% (male 645,337/female 614,602)
15-64 years: 67.5% (male 2,782,712/female 2,749,620) 65 years and over: 17.1% (male 567,752/female 832,857) (2006 est.) |
Agriculture - products | peanuts, shea nuts, sesame, cotton, sorghum, millet, corn, rice; livestock | grains, potatoes, sugar beets, wine, fruit; dairy products, cattle, pigs, poultry; lumber |
Airports | 33 (2000 est.) | 55 (2006) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
2 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 25
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 5 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 15 (2006) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
31 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 12 under 914 m: 16 (2000 est.) |
total: 30
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 26 (2006) |
Area | total:
274,200 sq km land: 273,800 sq km water: 400 sq km |
total: 83,870 sq km
land: 82,444 sq km water: 1,426 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Colorado | slightly smaller than Maine |
Background | Independence from France came to Burkina Faso (formerly Upper Volta) in 1960. Governmental instability during the 1970s and 1980s was followed by multiparty elections in the early 1990s. Several hundred thousand farm workers migrate south every year to Cote d'Ivoire and Ghana. | Once the center of power for the large Austro-Hungarian Empire, Austria was reduced to a small republic after its defeat in World War I. Following annexation by Nazi Germany in 1938 and subsequent occupation by the victorious Allies in 1945, Austria's status remained unclear for a decade. A State Treaty signed in 1955 ended the occupation, recognized Austria's independence, and forbade unification with Germany. A constitutional law that same year declared the country's "perpetual neutrality" as a condition for Soviet military withdrawal. Following the Soviet Union's collapse in 1991 and Austria's entry into the European Union in 1995, some Austrians have called into question this neutrality. A prosperous, democratic country, Austria entered the Economic and Monetary Union in 1999. |
Birth rate | 44.79 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 8.74 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$277 million expenditures: $492 million, including capital expenditures of $233 million (1995 est.) |
revenues: $148.6 billion
expenditures: $154.5 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.) |
Capital | Ouagadougou | name: Vienna
geographic coordinates: 48 12 N, 16 22 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October |
Climate | tropical; warm, dry winters; hot, wet summers | temperate; continental, cloudy; cold winters with frequent rain and some snow in lowlands and snow in mountains; moderate summers with occasional showers |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 2 June 1991 approved by referendum; 11 June 1991 formally adopted | 1920; revised 1929 (reinstated 1 May 1945) |
Country name | conventional long form:
none conventional short form: Burkina Faso former: Upper Volta, Republic of Upper Volta |
conventional long form: Republic of Austria
conventional short form: Austria local long form: Republik Oesterreich local short form: Oesterreich |
Currency | Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF); note - responsible authority is the Central Bank of the West African States | - |
Death rate | 17.05 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 9.76 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.3 billion (1997) | $510.6 billion (30 June 2005 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Jimmy J. KOLKER embassy: 602 Avenue Raoul Follerau, Koulouba, Secteur 4, Ouagadougou mailing address: B. P. 35, Ouagadougou 01 telephone: [226] 306723 FAX: [226] 303890 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Susan R. McCAW
embassy: Boltzmanngasse 16, A-1090, Vienna mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [43] (1) 31339-0 FAX: [43] (1) 3100682 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Bruno ZIDOUEMBA chancery: 2340 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 332-5577 FAX: [1] (202) 667-1882 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Eva NOWOTNY
chancery: 3524 International Court NW, Washington, DC 20008-3035 telephone: [1] (202) 895-6700 FAX: [1] (202) 895-6750 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Los Angeles, New York |
Disputes - international | none | Austrian anti-nuclear activists have revived blockades of the Czech-Austrian border to protest operation of the Temelin nuclear power plant in the Czech Republic |
Economic aid - donor | - | ODA, $681 million (2004) |
Economic aid - recipient | $484.1 million (1995) | - |
Economy - overview | One of the poorest countries in the world, landlocked Burkina Faso has a high population density, few natural resources, and a fragile soil. About 90% of the population is engaged in (mainly subsistence) agriculture which is highly vulnerable to variations in rainfall. Industry remains dominated by unprofitable government-controlled corporations. Following the African franc currency devaluation in January 1994 the government updated its development program in conjunction with international agencies, and exports and economic growth have increased. Maintenance of its macroeconomic progress in 2001-02 depends on continued low inflation, reduction in the trade deficit, and reforms designed to encourage private investment. | Austria, with its well-developed market economy and high standard of living, is closely tied to other EU economies, especially Germany's. The Austrian economy also benefits greatly from strong commercial relations, especially in the banking and insurance sectors, with central, eastern, and southeastern Europe. The economy features a large service sector, a sound industrial sector, and a small, but highly developed agricultural sector. Membership in the EU has drawn an influx of foreign investors attracted by Austria's access to the single European market and proximity to the new EU economies. The current government has successfully pursued a comprehensive economic reform program, aimed at streamlining government, creating a more competitive business environment, further strengthening Austria's attractiveness as an investment location, pursuing a balanced budget, and implementing effective pension reforms. Weak domestic consumption and slow growth in Europe have held the economy to growth rates of 0.4% in 2002, 1.4% in 2003, 2.4% in 2004, and 1.8% in 2005. To meet increased competition from both EU and Central European countries, particularly the new EU members, Austria will need to continue restructuring, emphasizing knowledge-based sectors of the economy, and encouraging greater labor flexibility and greater labor participation by its aging population. |
Electricity - consumption | 265.1 million kWh (1999) | 64.78 billion kWh (2004) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 13.53 billion kWh (2004) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 16.63 billion kWh (2004) |
Electricity - production | 285 million kWh (1999) | 63.69 billion kWh (2004) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
71.93% hydro: 28.07% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Mouhoun (Black Volta) River 200 m highest point: Tena Kourou 749 m |
lowest point: Neusiedler See 115 m
highest point: Grossglockner 3,798 m |
Environment - current issues | recent droughts and desertification severely affecting agricultural activities, population distribution, and the economy; overgrazing; soil degradation; deforestation | some forest degradation caused by air and soil pollution; soil pollution results from the use of agricultural chemicals; air pollution results from emissions by coal- and oil-fired power stations and industrial plants and from trucks transiting Austria between northern and southern Europe |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban |
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Mossi over 40%, Gurunsi, Senufo, Lobi, Bobo, Mande, Fulani | Austrians 91.1%, former Yugoslavs 4% (includes Croatians, Slovenes, Serbs, and Bosniaks), Turks 1.6%, German 0.9%, other or unspecified 2.4% (2001 census) |
Exchange rates | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 699.21 (January 2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.70 (1999), 589.95 (1998), 583.67 (1997), 511.55 (1996); note - from 1 January 1999, the XOF is pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 XOF per euro | euros per US dollar - 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
President Blaise COMPAORE (since 15 October 1987) head of government: Prime Minister Ernest Paramanga YONLI (since 6 November 2000) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister elections: president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term; the president may serve unlimited terms; election last held 15 November 1998 (next to be held NA 2005); prime minister appointed by the president with the consent of the legislature election results: Blaise COMPAORE reelected president with 87.5% percent of the vote, 56% of voter turnout note: President COMPAORE faces an increasingly well-coordinated opposition; recent charges against a former member of his Presidential Guard in the 1998 assassination of a newspaper editor signify an attempt to defuse chronic areas of dissatisfaction |
chief of state: President Heinz FISCHER (since 8 July 2004)
head of government: Chancellor Wolfgang SCHUESSEL (OeVP)(since 4 February 2000); Vice Chancellor Hubert GORBACH (since 21 October 2003) cabinet: Council of Ministers chosen by the president on the advice of the chancellor elections: president elected by direct popular vote for a six-year term (eligible for a second term); presidential election last held 25 April 2004 (next to be held April 2010); chancellor traditionally chosen by the president from the plurality party in the National Council; vice chancellor chosen by the president on the advice of the chancellor election results: Heinz FISCHER elected president; percent of vote - Heinz FISCHER (SPOe) 52.4%, Benita FERRERO-WALDNER (OeVP) 47.6% note: government coalition - OeVP and FPOe |
Exports | $220 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | 30,140 bbl/day (2004) |
Exports - commodities | cotton, animal products, gold | machinery and equipment, motor vehicles and parts, paper and paperboard, metal goods, chemicals, iron and steel, textiles, foodstuffs |
Exports - partners | Italy 13%, France 10%, Indonesia 8%, Thailand 7% (1999) | Germany 31.2%, Italy 8.7%, US 5.8%, Switzerland 5.2%, France 4.2% (2005) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and green with a yellow five-pointed star in the center; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia | three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and red |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $12 billion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
26% industry: 27% services: 47% (1998) |
agriculture: 1.8%
industry: 30.4% services: 67.8% (2004 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,000 (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 5% (2000 est.) | 1.8% (2005 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 13 00 N, 2 00 W | 47 20 N, 13 20 E |
Geography - note | landlocked | landlocked; strategic location at the crossroads of central Europe with many easily traversable Alpine passes and valleys; major river is the Danube; population is concentrated on eastern lowlands because of steep slopes, poor soils, and low temperatures elsewhere |
Heliports | - | 1 (2006) |
Highways | total:
12,506 km paved: 2,001 km unpaved: 10,505 km (1996) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
2.2% highest 10%: 39.5% (1994) |
lowest 10%: 3.3%
highest 10%: 22.5% (2004) |
Illicit drugs | - | transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin and South American cocaine destined for Western Europe |
Imports | $610 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | 152,600 bbl/day (2004) |
Imports - commodities | machinery, food products, petroleum | machinery and equipment, motor vehicles, chemicals, metal goods, oil and oil products; foodstuffs |
Imports - partners | Cote d'Ivoire 30%, France 28%, Spain 3%, Benelux 3% (1999) | Germany 45.9%, Italy 6.6%, Switzerland 4.5% (2005) |
Independence | 5 August 1960 (from France) | 17 September 1156 (Duchy of Austria founded); 11 August 1804 (Austrian Empire proclaimed); 12 November 1918 (republic proclaimed) |
Industrial production growth rate | 4.2% (1995) | 4.7% (2005 est.) |
Industries | cotton lint, beverages, agricultural processing, soap, cigarettes, textiles, gold | construction, machinery, vehicles and parts, food, metals, chemicals, lumber and wood processing, paper and paperboard, communications equipment, tourism |
Infant mortality rate | 106.92 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 4.6 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 5.65 deaths/1,000 live births female: 3.5 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1.5% (2000 est.) | 2.3% (2005 est.) |
International organization participation | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, CCC, ECA, ECOWAS, Entente, FAO, FZ, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (subscriber), ITU, MONUC, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WADB, WAEMU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | ACCT (observer), AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, G- 9, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, MIGA, MINURSO, NAM (guest), NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OIF (observer), OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, PFP, SECI (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNOMIG, UNTSO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU (observer), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 200 sq km (1993 est.) | 40 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Appeals Court | Supreme Judicial Court or Oberster Gerichtshof; Administrative Court or Verwaltungsgerichtshof; Constitutional Court or Verfassungsgerichtshof |
Labor force | 5 million (1999)
note: a large part of the male labor force migrates annually to neighboring countries for seasonal employment |
3.49 million (2005 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 90% (2000 est.) | agriculture: 3%
industry: 27% services: 70% (2005 est.) |
Land boundaries | total:
3,192 km border countries: Benin 306 km, Cote d'Ivoire 584 km, Ghana 548 km, Mali 1,000 km, Niger 628 km, Togo 126 km |
total: 2,562 km
border countries: Czech Republic 362 km, Germany 784 km, Hungary 366 km, Italy 430 km, Liechtenstein 35 km, Slovakia 91 km, Slovenia 330 km, Switzerland 164 km |
Land use | arable land:
13% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 22% forests and woodland: 50% other: 15% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 16.59%
permanent crops: 0.85% other: 82.56% (2005) |
Languages | French (official), native African languages belonging to Sudanic family spoken by 90% of the population | German (official nationwide), Slovene (official in Carinthia), Croatian (official in Burgenland), Hungarian (official in Burgenland) |
Legal system | based on French civil law system and customary law | civil law system with Roman law origin; judicial review of legislative acts by the Constitutional Court; separate administrative and civil/penal supreme courts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | bicameral; consists of a National Assembly or Assemblee des Deputes Populaires (111 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) and the purely consultative Chamber of Representations or Chambre des Representants (178 seats; members are appointed to serve three-year terms)
elections: National Assembly election last held 11 May 1997 (next to be held NA 2002) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - CDP 101, PDP 6, RDA 2, ADF 2 |
bicameral Federal Assembly or Bundesversammlung consists of Federal Council or Bundesrat (62 members; members represent each of the states on the basis of population, but with each state having at least 3 representatives; members serve a five- or six-year term) and the National Council or Nationalrat (183 seats; members elected by direct popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: National Council - last held 1 October 2006 (next to be held in the fall of 2010) election results: National Council - percent of vote by party - SPOe 35.3%, OeVP 34.3%, Greens 11.1%, FPOe 11.0%, BZOe 4.1%; seats by party - SPOe 68, OeVP 66, Greens 21, FPOe 21, BZOe 7 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
46.41 years male: 45.86 years female: 46.98 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 79.07 years
male: 76.17 years female: 82.11 years (2006 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 19.2% male: 29.5% female: 9.2% (1995 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98% male: NA female: NA |
Location | Western Africa, north of Ghana | Central Europe, north of Italy and Slovenia |
Map references | Africa | Europe |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | - | total: 8 ships (1000 GRT or over) 34,072 GRT/44,437 DWT
by type: cargo 6, container 2 foreign-owned: 2 (Netherlands 2) registered in other countries: 14 (Liberia 13, Malta 1) (2006) |
Military branches | Army, Air Force, National Gendarmerie, National Police, People's Militia | Land Forces (KdoLdSK), Air Forces (KdoLuSK) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $66 million (FY96) | $1.497 billion (FY01/02) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2% (FY96) | 0.9% (2004) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
2,592,974 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
1,329,995 (2001 est.) |
- |
National holiday | Republic Day, 11 December (1958) | National Day, 26 October (1955); note - commemorates the State Treaty restoring national sovereignty and the end of occupation and the passage of the law on permanent neutrality |
Nationality | noun:
Burkinabe (singular and plural) adjective: Burkinabe |
noun: Austrian(s)
adjective: Austrian |
Natural hazards | recurring droughts | landslides; avalanches; earthquakes |
Natural resources | manganese, limestone, marble; small deposits of gold, antimony, copper, nickel, bauxite, lead, phosphates, zinc, silver | oil, coal, lignite, timber, iron ore, copper, zinc, antimony, magnesite, tungsten, graphite, salt, hydropower |
Net migration rate | -0.97 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 1.94 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Pipelines | - | gas 2,722 km; oil 663 km; refined products 149 km (2006) |
Political parties and leaders | African Democratic Rally-Alliance for Democracy and Federation or RDA-ADF [Herman YAMEOGO]; Congress for Democracy and Progress or CDP [Roch Marc-Christian KABORE]; Movement for Tolerance and Progress or MTP [Noyabtigungu Congo KABORE]; Party for African Independence or PAI [Philippe OUEDRAOGO]; Party for Democracy and Progress or PDP [Joseph KI-ZERBO]; Union of Greens for the Development of Burkina Faso or UVDB [Ram OVEDRAGO] | Alliance for the Future of Austria or BZOe [Joerg HAIDER]; Austrian People's Party or OeVP [Wolfgang SCHUESSEL]; Freedom Party of Austria or FPOe [Heinz Christian STRACHE]; Social Democratic Party of Austria or SPOe [Alfred GUSENBAUER]; The Greens [Alexander VAN DER BELLEN] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Burkinabe General Confederation of Labor or CGTB; Burkinabe Movement for Human Rights or HBDHP; Group of 14 February; National Confederation of Burkinabe Workers or CNTB; National Organization of Free Unions or ONSL; watchdog/political action groups throughout the country in both organizations and communities | Austrian Trade Union Federation (nominally independent but primarily Socialist) or OeGB; Federal Economic Chamber; OeVP-oriented League of Austrian Industrialists or VOeI; Roman Catholic Church, including its chief lay organization, Catholic Action; three composite leagues of the Austrian People's Party or OeVP representing business, labor, and farmers and other non-government organizations in the areas of environment and human rights |
Population | 12,272,289
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.) |
8,192,880 (July 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 5.9% (2004) |
Population growth rate | 2.68% (2001 est.) | 0.09% (2006 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 17, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 2, FM 65 (plus several hundred repeaters), shortwave 1 (2001) |
Radios | 370,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | total:
622 km (517 km from Ouagadougou to the Cote d'Ivoire border and 105 km from Ouagadougou to Kaya) narrow gauge: 622 km 1.000-m gauge (1995 est.) |
total: 6,011 km
standard gauge: 5,568 km 1.435-m gauge (3,427 km electrified) narrow gauge: 21 km 1.000-m gauge; 422 km 0.760-m gauge (109 km electrified) (2005) |
Religions | indigenous beliefs 40%, Muslim 50%, Christian (mainly Roman Catholic) 10% | Roman Catholic 73.6%, Protestant 4.7%, Muslim 4.2%, other 3.5%, unspecified 2%, none 12% (2001 census) |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.91 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.73 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
Suffrage | universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
all services only fair domestic: microwave radio relay, open wire, and radiotelephone communication stations international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
general assessment: highly developed and efficient
domestic: there are 45 main lines for every 100 persons; the fiber optic net is very extensive; all telephone applications and Internet services are available international: country code - 43; satellite earth stations - 15; in addition, there are about 600 VSAT (very small aperture terminals) (2005) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 36,000 (1997) | 3.705 million (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 1,503 (1997) | 8.16 million (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (1997) | 10 (plus more than 1,000 repeaters) (2001) |
Terrain | mostly flat to dissected, undulating plains; hills in west and southeast | in the west and south mostly mountains (Alps); along the eastern and northern margins mostly flat or gently sloping |
Total fertility rate | 6.35 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 1.36 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 5.2% (2005 est.) |
Waterways | none | 358 km (2003) |