Burundi (2005) | Bangladesh (2001) | |
Administrative divisions | 16 provinces; Bubanza, Bujumbura, Bururi, Cankuzo, Cibitoke, Gitega, Karuzi, Kayanza, Kirundo, Makamba, Muramvya, Muyinga, Mwaro, Ngozi, Rutana, Ruyigi | 5 divisions; Barisal, Chittagong, Dhaka, Khulna, Rajshahi; note - there may be one additional division named Sylhet |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 46% (male 1,479,941/female 1,450,808)
15-64 years: 51.3% (male 1,617,864/female 1,653,331) 65 years and over: 2.6% (male 66,199/female 102,466) (2005 est.) |
0-14 years:
35.04% (male 23,550,607; female 22,451,006) 15-64 years: 61.6% (male 41,432,123; female 39,434,633) 65 years and over: 3.36% (male 2,389,639; female 2,011,852) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coffee, cotton, tea, corn, sorghum, sweet potatoes, bananas, manioc (tapioca); beef, milk, hides | rice, jute, tea, wheat, sugarcane, potatoes, tobacco, pulses, oilseeds, spices, fruit; beef, milk, poultry |
Airports | 8 (2004 est.) | 18 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
total:
15 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 5 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 7
914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 3 (2004 est.) |
total:
3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 27,830 sq km
land: 25,650 sq km water: 2,180 sq km |
total:
144,000 sq km land: 133,910 sq km water: 10,090 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Maryland | slightly smaller than Wisconsin |
Background | Burundi's first democratically elected president was assassinated in October 1993 after only one hundred days in office. Since then, some 200,000 Burundians have perished in widespread, often intense ethnic violence between Hutu and Tutsi factions. Hundreds of thousands have been internally displaced or have become refugees in neighboring countries. Burundi troops, seeking to secure their borders, briefly intervened in the conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1998. A new transitional government, inaugurated on 1 November 2001, signed a power-sharing agreement with the largest rebel faction in December 2003 and set in place a provisional constitution in October 2004. Implementation of the agreement has been problematic, however, as one remaining rebel group refuses to sign on and elections have been repeatedly delayed, clouding prospects for a sustainable peace. | Bangladesh came into existence in 1971 when Bengali East Pakistan seceded from its union with West Pakistan. About a third of this extremely poor country annually floods during the monsoon rainy season, hampering economic development. |
Birth rate | 39.66 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 25.3 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $152.5 million
expenditures: $187.7 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.) |
revenues:
$4.9 billion expenditures: $6.8 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY99/00 est.) |
Capital | Bujumbura | Dhaka |
Climate | equatorial; high plateau with considerable altitude variation (772 m to 2,670 m above sea level); average annual temperature varies with altitude from 23 to 17 degrees centigrade but is generally moderate as the average altitude is about 1,700 m; average annual rainfall is about 150 cm; wet seasons from February to May and September to November, and dry seasons from June to August and December to January | tropical; mild winter (October to March); hot, humid summer (March to June); humid, warm rainy monsoon (June to October) |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 580 km |
Constitution | 13 March 1992; provided for establishment of a plural political system; supplanted on 20 October 2004 by a provisional constitution approved by the parliament which extended the transition; a 28 February 2005 popular referendum ratified the new constitution which set ethnic quotas for government positions, and tentatively scheduled general elections for April 2005 | 4 November 1972, effective 16 December 1972, suspended following coup of 24 March 1982, restored 10 November 1986, amended many times |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Burundi
conventional short form: Burundi local long form: Republika y'u Burundi local short form: Burundi former: Urundi |
conventional long form:
People's Republic of Bangladesh conventional short form: Bangladesh former: East Pakistan |
Currency | - | taka (BDT) |
Death rate | 17.43 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 8.6 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.133 billion (2002) | $17 billion (2000) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador James Howard YELLIN
embassy: Avenue des Etats-Unis, Bujumbura mailing address: B. P. 1720, Bujumbura telephone: [257] 223454 FAX: [257] 222926 |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Mary Ann PETERS embassy: Road 27, House 110, Banani, Dhaka mailing address: G. P. O. Box 323, Dhaka 1000 telephone: [880] (2) 8824700 through 8824722 FAX: [880] (2) 8823744 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Antoine NTAMOBWA
chancery: Suite 212, 2233 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007 telephone: [1] (202) 342-2574 FAX: [1] (202) 342-2578 |
chief of mission:
Ambassador-designate A. Tariq KARIM chancery: 3510 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 244-0183 consulate(s) general: Los Angeles and New York |
Disputes - international | Tutsi, Hutu, other conflicting ethnic groups, associated political rebels, armed gangs, and various government forces continue fighting in the Great Lakes region, transcending the boundaries of Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda in an effort to gain control over populated and natural resource areas; government heads pledge to end conflict, but localized violence continues despite the presence of about 6,000 peacekeepers from the UN Operation in Burundi (ONUB) since 2004; although some 150,000 Burundian refugees have been repatriated, as of February 2005, Burundian refugees still reside in camps in western Tanzania as well as the Democratic Republic of the Congo | a portion of the boundary with India is indefinite; exchange of 151 enclaves along border with India subject to ratification by Indian parliament; dispute with India over South Talpatty/New Moore Island |
Economic aid - recipient | $92.7 million (2000) | $1.575 billion (2000 est.) |
Economy - overview | Burundi is a landlocked, resource-poor country with an underdeveloped manufacturing sector. The economy is predominantly agricultural with roughly 90% of the population dependent on subsistence agriculture. Economic growth depends on coffee and tea exports, which account for 90% of foreign exchange earnings. The ability to pay for imports, therefore, rests primarily on weather conditions and international coffee and tea prices. The Tutsi minority, 14% of the population, dominates the government and the coffee trade at the expense of the Hutu majority, 85% of the population. Since October 1993 an ethnic-based war has resulted in more than 200,000 deaths, forced 450,000 refugees into Tanzania, and displaced 140,000 others internally. Doubts about the prospects for sustainable peace continue to impede development. Only one in two children go to school, and approximately one in ten adults has HIV/AIDS. Food, medicine, and electricity remain in short supply. | Despite sustained domestic and international efforts to improve economic and demographic prospects, Bangladesh remains one of the world's poorest, most densely populated, and least developed nations. Although more than half of GDP is generated through the service sector, nearly two-thirds of Bangladeshis are employed in the agriculture sector, with rice as the single most important product. Major impediments to growth include frequent cyclones and floods, inefficient state-owned enterprises, inadequate port facilities, a rapidly growing labor force that cannot be absorbed by agriculture, delays in exploiting energy resources (natural gas), insufficient power supplies, and slow implementation of economic reforms. Reform is stalled in many instances by political infighting and corruption at all levels of government. Even so, Prime Minister Sheikh HASINA's Awami League government has made some headway improving the climate for foreign investors and liberalizing the capital markets. Progress on other economic reforms has been halting because of opposition from the bureaucracy, public sector unions, and other vested interest groups. |
Electricity - consumption | 137.8 million kWh (2002) | 11.216 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 15 million kWh; note - supplied by the Democratic Republic of the Congo (2002) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 132 million kWh (2002) | 12.06 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
93.7% hydro: 6.3% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Lake Tanganyika 772 m
highest point: Heha 2,670 m |
lowest point:
Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: Keokradong 1,230 m |
Environment - current issues | soil erosion as a result of overgrazing and the expansion of agriculture into marginal lands; deforestation (little forested land remains because of uncontrolled cutting of trees for fuel); habitat loss threatens wildlife populations | many people are landless and forced to live on and cultivate flood-prone land; water-borne diseases prevalent in surface water; water pollution, especially of fishing areas, results from the use of commercial pesticides; ground water contaminated by naturally-occurring arsenic; intermittent water shortages because of falling water tables in the northern and central parts of the country; soil degradation and erosion; deforestation; severe overpopulation |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
Ethnic groups | Hutu (Bantu) 85%, Tutsi (Hamitic) 14%, Twa (Pygmy) 1%, Europeans 3,000, South Asians 2,000 | Bengali 98%, tribal groups, non-Bengali Muslims (1998) |
Exchange rates | Burundi francs per US dollar - 1,100.91 (2004), 1,082.62 (2003), 930.75 (2002), 830.35 (2001), 720.67 (2000) | taka per US dollar - 54.000 (January 2001), 52.142 (2000), 49.085 (1999), 46.906 (1998), 43.892 (1997), 41.794 (1996) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Domitien NDAYIZEYE (since 30 April 2003); note - NDAYIZEYE, a Hutu, was sworn in as president for the second half of the three-year transitional government inaugurated on 1 November 2001; Vice President Frederic NGENZEBUHORO (since 11 November 2004)
head of government: President Domitien NDAYIZEYE (since 30 April 2003); note - NDAYIZEYE, a Hutu, was sworn in as president for the second half of the three-year transitional government inaugurated on 1 November 2001; Vice President Frederic NGENZEBUHORO (since 11 November 2004) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by president elections: NA; current president assumed power on 30 April 2003 as part of the transitional government established by the 2000 Arusha Accord; note - next presidential election is scheduled for 22 April 2005 |
chief of state:
President Shahabuddin AHMED (since 9 October 1996); note - the president's duties are normally ceremonial, but with the 13th amendment to the constitution ("Caretaker Government Amendment"), the president's role becomes significant at times when Parliament is dissolved and a caretaker government is installed - at presidential direction - to supervise the elections head of government: Prime Minister Sheikh HASINA (since 13 July 1996) cabinet: Cabinet selected by the prime minister and appointed by the president elections: president elected by National Parliament for a five-year term; election last held 24 July 1996 (next to be held by NA October 2001); following legislative elections, the leader of the party that wins the most seats is usually appointed prime minister by the president election results: Shahabuddin AHMED elected president without opposition; percent of National Parliament vote - NA% |
Exports | NA | $5.9 billion (2000) |
Exports - commodities | coffee, tea, sugar, cotton, hides | garments, jute and jute goods, leather, frozen fish and seafood |
Exports - partners | Germany 19.6%, Belgium 8.2%, Pakistan 6.7%, US 5.6%, Rwanda 5.6%, Thailand 5.4% (2004) | US 31.2%, Germany 9.95%, UK 8.06%, France 5.82%, Italy 4.42% (1999) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 July - 30 June |
Flag description | divided by a white diagonal cross into red panels (top and bottom) and green panels (hoist side and outer side) with a white disk superimposed at the center bearing three red six-pointed stars outlined in green arranged in a triangular design (one star above, two stars below) | green with a large red disk slightly to the hoist side of center; the red sun of freedom represents the blood shed to achieve independence; the green field symbolizes the lush countryside, and secondarily, the traditional color of Islam |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $203 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 48.1%
industry: 19% services: 32.9% (2004 est.) |
agriculture:
30% industry: 18% services: 52% (2000 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $600 (2004 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1,570 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 3% (2004 est.) | 5.3% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 3 30 S, 30 00 E | 24 00 N, 90 00 E |
Geography - note | landlocked; straddles crest of the Nile-Congo watershed; the Kagera, which drains into Lake Victoria, is the most remote headstream of the White Nile | - |
Highways | total: 14,480 km
paved: 1,028 km unpaved: 13,452 km (1999 est.) |
total:
201,182 km paved: 19,112 km unpaved: 182,070 km (1997) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 1.8%
highest 10%: 32.9% (1998) |
lowest 10%:
3.9% highest 10%: 28.6% (1995-96 est.) |
Illicit drugs | - | transit country for illegal drugs produced in neighboring countries |
Imports | NA | $8.1 billion (2000) |
Imports - commodities | capital goods, petroleum products, foodstuffs | machinery and equipment, chemicals, iron and steel, textiles, raw cotton, food, crude oil and petroleum products, cement |
Imports - partners | Kenya 13.7%, Tanzania 11.2%, US 8.9%, Belgium 8.5%, France 8.4%, Italy 6%, Uganda 5.6%, Japan 4.6%, Germany 4.5% (2004) | India 12.2%, Singapore 7.8%, Japan 6.7%, China 6.4%, US 5.3% (1999) |
Independence | 1 July 1962 (from UN trusteeship under Belgian administration) | 16 December 1971 (from West Pakistan); note - 26 March 1971 is the date of independence from West Pakistan, 16 December 1971 is known as Victory Day and commemorates the official creation of the state of Bangladesh |
Industrial production growth rate | 18% (2001) | 6.1% (2000 est.) |
Industries | light consumer goods such as blankets, shoes, soap; assembly of imported components; public works construction; food processing | cotton textiles, jute, garments, tea processing, paper newsprint, cement, chemical fertilizer, light engineering, sugar |
Infant mortality rate | total: 69.29 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 75.87 deaths/1,000 live births female: 62.5 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
69.85 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 8.5% (2004 est.) | 5.8% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, CEPGL, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO (subscriber), ITU, MIGA, NAM, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO | AsDB, C, CCC, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO (pending member), ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM, OIC, OPCW, SAARC, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOP, UNMOT, UNOMIG, UNTAET, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 10 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 740 sq km (1998 est.) | 31,000 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Cour Supreme; Constitutional Court; Courts of Appeal (there are three in separate locations); Tribunals of First Instance (17 at the province level and 123 small local tribunals) | Supreme Court (the chief justices and other judges are appointed by the president) |
Labor force | 2.99 million (2002) | 64.1 million (1998)
note: extensive export of labor to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, Oman, Qatar, and Malaysia; workers' remittances estimated at $1.71 billion in 1998-99 |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 93.6%, industry 2.3%, services 4.1% (2002 est.) | agriculture 63%, services 26%, industry 11% (FY95/96) |
Land boundaries | total: 974 km
border countries: Democratic Republic of the Congo 233 km, Rwanda 290 km, Tanzania 451 km |
total:
4,246 km border countries: Burma 193 km, India 4,053 km |
Land use | arable land: 35.05%
permanent crops: 14.02% other: 50.93% (2001) |
arable land:
73% permanent crops: 2% permanent pastures: 5% forests and woodland: 15% other: 5% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Kirundi (official), French (official), Swahili (along Lake Tanganyika and in the Bujumbura area) | Bangla (official, also known as Bengali), English |
Legal system | based on German and Belgian civil codes and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on English common law |
Legislative branch | bicameral, consists of a National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (expanded from 121 to approximately 140 seats under the transitional government inaugurated 1 November 2001; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) and a Senate (54 seats; term length is undefined, the current senators will likely serve out the three-year transition period)
elections: last held 29 June 1993 (next was scheduled to be held in 1998, but was suspended by presidential decree in 1996; elections are currently planned to be held by April 2005) election results: percent of vote by party - FRODEBU 71.04%, UPRONA 21.4%, other 7.56%; seats by party - FRODEBU 65, UPRONA 16, civilians 27, other parties 13 |
unicameral National Parliament or Jatiya Sangsad (330 seats; 300 elected by popular vote from single territorial constituencies, 30 seats reserved for women; members serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 12 June 1996 (next to be held before 13 October 2001) election results: percent of vote by party - AL 33.87%, BNP 30.87%; seats by party - AL 178, BNP 113, JP 33, JI 3, other 3; note - the elections of 12 June 1996 brought to power an Awami League government for the first time in twenty-one years; held under a neutral, caretaker administration, the elections were characterized by a peaceful, orderly process and massive voter turnout, ending a bitter two-year impasse between the former BNP and opposition parties that had paralyzed National Parliament and led to widespread street violence |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 50.29 years
male: 49.61 years female: 50.99 years (2005 est.) |
total population:
60.54 years male: 60.74 years female: 60.33 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 51.6% male: 58.5% female: 45.2% (2003 est.) |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 56% male: 63% female: 49% (2000 est.) |
Location | Central Africa, east of Democratic Republic of the Congo | Southern Asia, bordering the Bay of Bengal, between Burma and India |
Map references | Africa | Asia |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | contiguous zone:
18 NM continental shelf: up to the outer limits of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | - | total:
35 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 268,566 GRT/375,110 DWT ships by type: bulk 2, cargo 25, container 3, petroleum tanker 2, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 2 (2000 est.) |
Military branches | National Defense Force (Forces de Defense Nationales, FDN): Army (includes Naval Detachment and Air Wing), National Gendarmerie (2005) | Army, Navy, Coast Guard, Air Force, paramilitary forces (includes Bangladesh Rifles, Bangladesh Ansars, Village Defense Parties, National Cadet Corps), Armed Police battalions |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $38.7 million (2004) | $559 million (FY96/97) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 6% (2004) | 1.8% (FY96/97) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49:
36,005,553 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49:
21,362,279 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 1 July (1962) | Independence Day, 26 March (1971); note - 26 March 1971 is the date of independence from West Pakistan, 16 December 1971 is Victory Day and commemorates the official creation of the state of Bangladesh |
Nationality | noun: Burundian(s)
adjective: Burundian |
noun:
Bangladeshi(s) adjective: Bangladeshi |
Natural hazards | flooding, landslides, drought | droughts, cyclones; much of the country routinely inundated during the summer monsoon season |
Natural resources | nickel, uranium, rare earth oxides, peat, cobalt, copper, platinum, vanadium, arable land, hydropower, niobium, tantalum, gold, tin, tungsten, kaolin, limestone | natural gas, arable land, timber, coal |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) | -0.76 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | - | natural gas 1,250 km |
Political parties and leaders | the three national, mainstream, governing parties are: Unity for National Progress or UPRONA [Jean-Baptiste MANWANGARI, secretary general]; Burundi Democratic Front or FRODEBU [Jean MINANI, president]; National Council for the Defense of Democracy, Front for the Defense of Democracy of CNDD-FDD [Pierre NKURUNZIZA, president]
note: a multiparty system was introduced after 1998, included are: National Resistance Movement for the Rehabilitation of the Citizen or MRC-Rurenzangemero [Epitace BANYAGANAKANDI]; Party for National Redress or PARENA [Jean-Baptiste BAGAZA] |
Awami League or AL [Sheikh HASINA]; Bangladesh Communist Party or BCP [Saifuddin Ahmed MANIK]; Bangladesh Nationalist Party or BNP [Khaleda ZIAur Rahman]; Islami Oikya Jote or IOJ [Azizol HAQ]; Jamaat-E-Islami or JI [Motiur Rahman NIZAMI]; Jatiya Party or JP [Hussain Mohammad ERSHAD] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | loosely organized Hutu and Tutsi militias, often affiliated with Hutu and Tutsi extremist parties or subordinate to government security forces | NA |
Population | 6,370,609
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 2005 est.) |
131,269,860 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 68% (2002 est.) | 35.6% (FY95/96 est.) |
Population growth rate | 2.22% (2005 est.) | 1.59% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Bujumbura | Chittagong, Dhaka, Mongla Port, Narayanganj (2001) |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 0, FM 4, shortwave 1 (2001) | AM 12, FM 12, shortwave 2 (1999) |
Radios | - | 6.15 million (1997) |
Railways | - | total:
2,745 km broad gauge: 923 km 1.676-m gauge narrow gauge: 1,822 km 1.000-m gauge (2000) |
Religions | Christian 67% (Roman Catholic 62%, Protestant 5%), indigenous beliefs 23%, Muslim 10% | Muslim 83%, Hindu 16%, other 1% (1998) |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.65 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
at birth:
1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.19 male(s)/female total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | NA years of age; universal adult | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: primitive system
domestic: sparse system of open-wire, radiotelephone communications, and low-capacity microwave radio relay international: country code - 257; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) |
general assessment:
totally inadequate for a modern country domestic: modernizing; introducing digital systems; trunk systems include VHF and UHF microwave radio relay links, and some fiber-optic cable in cities international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Indian Ocean); international radiotelephone communications and landline service to neighboring countries (2000) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 23,900 (2003) | 500,000 (2000) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 64,000 (2003) | 283,000 (2000) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (2001) | 15 (1999) |
Terrain | hilly and mountainous, dropping to a plateau in east, some plains | mostly flat alluvial plain; hilly in southeast |
Total fertility rate | 5.81 children born/woman (2005 est.) | 2.78 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA | 35.2% (1996) |
Waterways | mainly on Lake Tanganyika (2004) | up to 8,046 km depending on season
note: includes 3,058 km main cargo routes |