Cameroon (2004) | Guinea-Bissau (2006) | |
![]() | ![]() | |
Administrative divisions | 10 provinces; Adamaoua, Centre, Est, Extreme-Nord, Littoral, Nord, Nord-Ouest, Ouest, Sud, Sud-Ouest | 9 regions (regioes, singular - regiao); Bafata, Biombo, Bissau, Bolama, Cacheu, Gabu, Oio, Quinara, Tombali; note - Bolama may have been renamed Bolama/Bijagos |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 42% (male 3,416,086; female 3,334,904)
15-64 years: 54.8% (male 4,425,246; female 4,370,329) 65 years and over: 3.2% (male 233,506; female 283,607) (2004 est.) |
0-14 years: 41.4% (male 297,623/female 298,942)
15-64 years: 55.6% (male 384,559/female 417,811) 65 years and over: 3% (male 18,048/female 25,046) (2006 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coffee, cocoa, cotton, rubber, bananas, oilseed, grains, root starches; livestock; timber | rice, corn, beans, cassava (tapioca), cashew nuts, peanuts, palm kernels, cotton; timber; fish |
Airports | 47 (2003 est.) | 28 (2006) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 11
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
total: 3
over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2006) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 36
1,524 to 2,437 m: 7 914 to 1,523 m: 20 under 914 m: 9 (2004 est.) |
total: 25
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 20 (2006) |
Area | total: 475,440 sq km
land: 469,440 sq km water: 6,000 sq km |
total: 36,120 sq km
land: 28,000 sq km water: 8,120 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than California | slightly less than three times the size of Connecticut |
Background | The former French Cameroon and part of British Cameroon merged in 1961 to form the present country. Cameroon has generally enjoyed stability, which has permitted the development of agriculture, roads, and railways, as well as a petroleum industry. Despite movement toward democratic reform, political power remains firmly in the hands of an ethnic oligarchy. | Since independence from Portugal in 1974, Guinea-Bissau has experienced considerable political and military upheaval. In 1980, a military coup established authoritarian dictator Joao Bernardo 'Nino' VIEIRA as president. Despite setting a path to a market economy and multiparty system, VIEIRA's regime was characterized by the suppression of political opposition and the purging of political rivals. Several coup attempts through the 1980s and early 1990s failed to unseat him. In 1994 VIEIRA was elected president in the country's first free elections. A military mutiny and resulting civil war in 1998 eventually led to VIEIRA's ouster in May 1999. In February 2000, a transitional government turned over power to opposition leader Kumba YALA, after he was elected president in transparent polling. In September 2003, after only three years in office, YALA was ousted by the military in a bloodless coup, and businessman Henrique ROSA was sworn in as interim president. In August 2005, former President VIEIRA was re-elected president in the second round of presidential polling. Since formally assuming office in October 2005, Vieira has pledged to pursue economic development and national reconciliation. |
Birth rate | 35.08 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 37.22 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $2.442 billion
expenditures: $1.941 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2003 est.) |
revenues: $NA
expenditures: $NA |
Capital | Yaounde | name: Bissau
geographic coordinates: 11 51 N, 15 35 W time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | varies with terrain, from tropical along coast to semiarid and hot in north | tropical; generally hot and humid; monsoonal-type rainy season (June to November) with southwesterly winds; dry season (December to May) with northeasterly harmattan winds |
Coastline | 402 km | 350 km |
Constitution | 20 May 1972 approved by referendum; 2 June 1972 formally adopted; revised January 1996 | 16 May 1984; amended 4 May 1991, 4 December 1991, 26 February 1993, 9 June 1993, NA 1996 |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Cameroon
conventional short form: Cameroon former: French Cameroon |
conventional long form: Republic of Guinea-Bissau
conventional short form: Guinea-Bissau local long form: Republica da Guine-Bissau local short form: Guine-Bissau former: Portuguese Guinea |
Currency | Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XAF); note - responsible authority is the Bank of the Central African States | - |
Death rate | 15.34 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 16.53 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | $7.236 billion (2003 est.) | $941.5 million (2000 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador George McDade STAPLES
embassy: Rue Nachtigal, Yaounde mailing address: P. O. Box 817, Yaounde; pouch: American Embassy, Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-2520 telephone: [237] 223-05-12, 222-25-89, 222-17-94, 223-40-14 FAX: [237] 223-07-53 branch office(s): Douala |
the US Embassy suspended operations on 14 June 1998 in the midst of violent conflict between forces loyal to then President VIEIRA and military-led junta; the US Ambassador to Senegal is accredited to Guinea-Bissau |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Jerome MENDOUGA
chancery: 2349 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 265-8790 FAX: [1] (202) 387-3826 |
chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); note - Guinea-Bissau does not have official representation in Washington, DC; Guinea-Bissau's representative in Washington is Henrique Adriano DA SILVA, P.O. Box 33813, Washington, DC 20033, telephone: (301)947-3958 |
Disputes - international | ICJ ruled in 2002 on the entire Cameroon-Nigeria land and maritime boundary but the parties formed a Joint Border Commission to resolve differences bilaterally and have commenced with demarcation in less-contested sections of the boundary, starting in Lake Chad in the north; the ICF ruled on an equidistance settlement of Cameroon-Equatorial Guinea-Nigeria maritime boundary in the Gulf of Guinea, however, implementation of the decision is delayed due to imprecisely defined coordinates, the unresolved Bakasi allocation, and a sovereignty dispute between Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon over an island at the mouth of the Ntem River; Nigeria initially rejected cession of the Bakasi Peninsula; Lake Chad Commission continues to urge signatories Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria to ratify delimitation treaty over the lake region, which remains the site of armed clashes among local populations and militias | attempts to stem refugees and cross-border raids, arms smuggling, and political instability from a separatist movement in Senegal's Casamance region |
Economic aid - recipient | on 23 January 2001, the Paris Club agreed to reduce Cameroon's debt of $1.3 billion by $900 million; debt relief now totals $1.26 billion | $115.4 million (1995) |
Economy - overview | Because of its oil resources and favorable agricultural conditions, Cameroon has one of the best-endowed primary commodity economies in sub-Saharan Africa. Still, it faces many of the serious problems facing other underdeveloped countries, such as a top-heavy civil service and a generally unfavorable climate for business enterprise. Since 1990, the government has embarked on various IMF and World Bank programs designed to spur business investment, increase efficiency in agriculture, improve trade, and recapitalize the nation's banks. In June 2000, the government completed an IMF-sponsored, three-year structural adjustment program; however, the IMF is pressing for more reforms, including increased budget transparency, privatization, and poverty reduction programs. International oil and cocoa prices have considerable impact on the economy. | One of the 10 poorest countries in the world, Guinea-Bissau depends mainly on farming and fishing. Cashew crops have increased remarkably in recent years, and the country now ranks sixth in cashew production. Guinea-Bissau exports fish and seafood along with small amounts of peanuts, palm kernels, and timber. Rice is the major crop and staple food. However, intermittent fighting between Senegalese-backed government troops and a military junta destroyed much of the country's infrastructure and caused widespread damage to the economy in 1998; the civil war led to a 28% drop in GDP that year, with partial recovery in 1999-2002. Before the war, trade reform and price liberalization were the most successful part of the country's structural adjustment program under IMF sponsorship. The tightening of monetary policy and the development of the private sector had also begun to reinvigorate the economy. Because of high costs, the development of petroleum, phosphate, and other mineral resources is not a near-term prospect. However, offshore oil prospecting has begun and could lead to much-needed revenue in the long run. The inequality of income distribution is one of the most extreme in the world. The government and international donors continue to work out plans to forward economic development from a lamentably low base. In December 2003, the World Bank, IMF, and UNDP were forced to step in to provide emergency budgetary support in the amount of $107 million for 2004, representing over 80% of the total national budget. Government drift and indecision, however, have resulted in continued low growth in 2002-05. |
Electricity - consumption | 3.36 billion kWh (2001) | 52.08 million kWh (2003) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production | 3.613 billion kWh (2001) | 56 million kWh (2003) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Fako (on Mount Cameroon) 4,095 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location in the northeast corner of the country 300 m |
Environment - current issues | water-borne diseases are prevalent; deforestation; overgrazing; desertification; poaching; overfishing | deforestation; soil erosion; overgrazing; overfishing |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Cameroon Highlanders 31%, Equatorial Bantu 19%, Kirdi 11%, Fulani 10%, Northwestern Bantu 8%, Eastern Nigritic 7%, other African 13%, non-African less than 1% | African 99% (includes Balanta 30%, Fula 20%, Manjaca 14%, Mandinga 13%, Papel 7%), European and mulatto less than 1% |
Exchange rates | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XAF) per US dollar - 581.2 (2003), 696.988 (2002), 733.039 (2001), 711.976 (2000), 615.699 (1999) | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 527.47 (2005), 528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003), 696.99 (2002), 733.04 (2001)
note: since 1 January 1999, the XOF franc has been pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 XOF francs per euro |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Paul BIYA (since 6 November 1982)
head of government: Prime Minister Ephraim INONI (since 8 Dec 2004) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president from proposals submitted by the prime minister elections: president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term; election last held 11 October 2004 (next to be held NA October 2011); prime minister appointed by the president election results: President Paul BIYA reelected; percent of vote - Paul BIYA 70.9%, John FRU NDI 17.4%, Adamou Ndam NJOYA 4.5%, Garga Haman ADJI 3.7% |
chief of state: President Joao Bernardo 'Nino' VIEIRA (since 1 October 2005)
head of government: Prime Minister Aristides GOMES (since 2 November 2005) cabinet: NA elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (no term limits); election last held 24 July 2005 (next to be held in 2010); prime minister appointed by the president after consultation with party leaders in the legislature election results: Joao Bernardo VIEIRA elected president; percent of vote, second ballot - Joao Bernardo VIEIRA 52.4%, Malan Bacai SANHA 47.6% |
Exports | NA (2001) | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | crude oil and petroleum products, lumber, cocoa beans, aluminum, coffee, cotton | cashew nuts, shrimp, peanuts, palm kernels, sawn lumber |
Exports - partners | Spain 21.9%, Italy 13.4%, France 10.8%, Netherlands 10.6%, US 7.5%, China 4.4% (2003) | India 72%, Nigeria 17.1%, Ecuador 4% (2005) |
Fiscal year | 1 July - 30 June | calendar year |
Flag description | three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), red, and yellow with a yellow five-pointed star centered in the red band; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia | two equal horizontal bands of yellow (top) and green with a vertical red band on the hoist side; there is a black five-pointed star centered in the red band; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $27.75 billion (2003 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 42.6%
industry: 19.8% services: 37.6% (2003 est.) |
agriculture: 62%
industry: 12% services: 26% (1999 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,800 (2003 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 4.2% (2003 est.) | 2.3% (2005 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 6 00 N, 12 00 E | 12 00 N, 15 00 W |
Geography - note | sometimes referred to as the hinge of Africa; throughout the country there are areas of thermal springs and indications of current or prior volcanic activity; Mount Cameroon, the highest mountain in Sub-Saharan west Africa, is an active volcano | this small country is swampy along its western coast and low-lying further inland |
Highways | total: 34,300 km
paved: 4,288 km unpaved: 30,012 km (1999 est.) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 1.9%
highest 10%: 36.6% (1996) |
lowest 10%: 0.5%
highest 10%: 42.4% (1991) |
Imports | NA (2001) | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | machinery, electrical equipment, transport equipment, fuel, food | foodstuffs, machinery and transport equipment, petroleum products |
Imports - partners | France 21.9%, Nigeria 9.5%, Japan 6.8%, US 5.7%, China 4.9%, Germany 4.3% (2003) | Italy 25.3%, Senegal 18.6%, Portugal 15.8%, Cote d'Ivoire 4.3% (2005) |
Independence | 1 January 1960 (from French-administered UN trusteeship) | 24 September 1973 (unilaterally declared by Guinea-Bissau); 10 September 1974 (recognized by Portugal) |
Industrial production growth rate | 4.2% (1999 est.) | 4.7% (2003 est.) |
Industries | petroleum production and refining, food processing, light consumer goods, textiles, lumber | agricultural products processing, beer, soft drinks |
Infant mortality rate | total: 69.18 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 73.16 deaths/1,000 live births female: 65.09 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
total: 105.21 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 115.53 deaths/1,000 live births female: 94.57 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.3% (2003 est.) | 4% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | ABEDA, ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, BDEAC, C, CEMAC, FAO, FZ, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ITU, MIGA, MONUC, NAM, OIC, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIK, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, ECOWAS, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OIF, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
Irrigated land | 330 sq km (1998 est.) | 250 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president); High Court of Justice (consists of 9 judges and 6 substitute judges, elected by the National Assembly) | Supreme Court or Supremo Tribunal da Justica (consists of nine justices appointed by the president and serve at his pleasure; final court of appeals in criminal and civil cases); Regional Courts (one in each of nine regions; first court of appeals for Sectoral Court decisions; hear all felony cases and civil cases valued at over $1,000); 24 Sectoral Courts (judges are not necessarily trained lawyers; they hear civil cases under $1,000 and misdemeanor criminal cases) |
Labor force | 6.49 million NA (2003) | 480,000 (1999) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 70%, industry and commerce 13%, other 17% | agriculture: 82%
industry and services: 18% (2000 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: 4,591 km
border countries: Central African Republic 797 km, Chad 1,094 km, Republic of the Congo 523 km, Equatorial Guinea 189 km, Gabon 298 km, Nigeria 1,690 km |
total: 724 km
border countries: Guinea 386 km, Senegal 338 km |
Land use | arable land: 12.81%
permanent crops: 2.58% other: 84.61% (2001) |
arable land: 8.31%
permanent crops: 6.92% other: 84.77% (2005) |
Languages | 24 major African language groups, English (official), French (official) | Portuguese (official), Crioulo, African languages |
Legal system | based on French civil law system, with common law influence; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (180 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve five-year terms; note - the president can either lengthen or shorten the term of the legislature)
elections: last held 23 June 2002 (next to be held NA 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - RDCP 133, SDF 21, UDC 5, other 21 note: the constitution calls for an upper chamber for the legislature, to be called a Senate, but it has yet to be established |
unicameral National People's Assembly or Assembleia Nacional Popular (100 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve a maximum of four years)
elections: last held 28 March 2004 (next to be held in 2008) election results: percent of vote by party - PAIGC 31.5%, PRS 24.8%, PUSD 16.1%, UE 4.1%, APU 1.3%, 13 other parties 22.2%; seats by party - PAIGC 45, PRS 35, PUSD 17, UE 2, APU 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 47.95 years
male: 47.1 years female: 48.83 years (2004 est.) |
total population: 46.87 years
male: 45.05 years female: 48.75 years (2006 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 79% male: 84.7% female: 73.4% (2003 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 42.4% male: 58.1% female: 27.4% (2003 est.) |
Location | Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Biafra, between Equatorial Guinea and Nigeria | Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Senegal |
Map references | Africa | Africa |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 50 nm | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | total: 1 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 169,593 GRT/357,023 DWT
by type: petroleum tanker 1 (2004 est.) |
- |
Military branches | Army, Navy (includes Naval Infantry), Air Force | People's Revolutionary Armed Force (FARP; includes Army, Navy, and Air Force), paramilitary force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $189.2 million (2003) | $9.46 million (2005 est.) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.4% (2003) | 3.1% (2005 est.) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 3,898,944 (2004 est.) | - |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 1,979,151 (2004 est.) | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 184,054 (2004 est.) | - |
National holiday | Republic Day (National Day), 20 May (1972) | Independence Day, 24 September (1973) |
Nationality | noun: Cameroonian(s)
adjective: Cameroonian |
noun: Guinean(s)
adjective: Guinean |
Natural hazards | volcanic activity with periodic releases of poisonous gases from Lake Nyos and Lake Monoun volcanoes | hot, dry, dusty harmattan haze may reduce visibility during dry season; brush fires |
Natural resources | petroleum, bauxite, iron ore, timber, hydropower | fish, timber, phosphates, bauxite, clay, granite, limestone, unexploited deposits of petroleum |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Pipelines | gas 90 km; liquid petroleum gas 9 km; oil 1,120 km (2004) | - |
Political parties and leaders | Cameroonian Democratic Union or UDC [Adamou NDAM NJOYA]; Democratic Rally of the Cameroon People or RDCP [Paul BIYA]; Movement for the Defense of the Republic or MDR [Dakole DAISSALA]; Movement for the Liberation and Development of Cameroon or MLDC [leader Marcel YONDO]; Movement for the Youth of Cameroon or MYC [Dieudonne TINA]; National Union for Democracy and Progress or UNDP [Maigari BELLO BOUBA]; Social Democratic Front or SDF [John FRU NDI]; Union of Cameroonian Populations or UPC [Augustin Frederic KODOCK] | African Party for the Independence of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde or PAIGC [Carlos GOMES Junior]; Democratic Social Front or FDS; Electoral Union or UE; Party for Democratic Convergence or PCD [Victor MANDINGA]; Social Renovation Party or PRS [Alberto NAMBEIA]; Union for Change or UM [Jorge MANDINGA, president, Dr. Anne SAAD, secretary general]; United Platform or UP (coalition formed by PCD, FDS, FLING, and RGB-MB); United Popular Alliance or APU; United Social Democratic Party or PUSD [Francisco Jose FADUL] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Southern Cameroon National Council [Ayamba Ette OTUN]; Human Rights Defense Group [Albert MUKONG, president] | NA |
Population | 16,063,678
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 2004 est.) |
1,442,029 (July 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 48% (2000 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 1.97% (2004 est.) | 2.07% (2006 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Bonaberi, Douala, Garoua, Kribi, Tiko | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 9, shortwave 3 (2002) | AM 1 (transmitter out of service), FM 4, shortwave 0 (2002) |
Railways | total: 1,008 km
narrow gauge: 1,008 km 1.000-m gauge (2003) |
- |
Religions | indigenous beliefs 40%, Christian 40%, Muslim 20% | indigenous beliefs 50%, Muslim 45%, Christian 5% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.82 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.72 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
Suffrage | 20 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: available only to business and government
domestic: cable, microwave radio relay, and tropospheric scatter international: country code - 237; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); fiber optic submarine cable (SAT-3/WASC) provides connectivity to Europe and Asia |
general assessment: small system
domestic: combination of microwave radio relay, open-wire lines, radiotelephone, and cellular communications international: country code - 245 |
Telephones - main lines in use | 110,900 (2002) | 10,600 (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 1.077 million (2003) | 67,000 (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (2002) | NA (2005) |
Terrain | diverse, with coastal plain in southwest, dissected plateau in center, mountains in west, plains in north | mostly low coastal plain rising to savanna in east |
Total fertility rate | 4.55 children born/woman (2004 est.) | 4.86 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 30% (2001 est.) | NA% |
Waterways | navigation mainly on Benue River; limited during rainy season (2004) | four largest rivers are navigable for some distance; many inlets and creeks give shallow-water access to much of interior (2006) |