Cameroon (2004) | Sri Lanka (2001) | |
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Administrative divisions | 10 provinces; Adamaoua, Centre, Est, Extreme-Nord, Littoral, Nord, Nord-Ouest, Ouest, Sud, Sud-Ouest | 8 provinces; Central, North Central, North Eastern, North Western, Sabaragamuwa, Southern, Uva, Western; note - North Eastern province may have been divided in two - Northern and Eastern |
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:
25.99% (male 2,578,618; female 2,464,928) 15-64 years: 67.39% (male 6,369,881; female 6,708,852) 65 years and over: 6.62% (male 615,253; female 671,103) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coffee, cocoa, cotton, rubber, bananas, oilseed, grains, root starches; livestock; timber | rice, sugarcane, grains, pulses, oilseed, spices, tea, rubber, coconuts; milk, eggs, hides, beef |
Airports | 47 (2003 est.) | 14 (2000 est.) |
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:
12 over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 6 (2000 est.) |
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:
2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 475,440 sq km
land: 469,440 sq km water: 6,000 sq km |
total:
65,610 sq km land: 64,740 sq km water: 870 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than California | slightly larger than West Virginia |
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. | Occupied by the Portuguese in the 16th century and the Dutch in the 17th century, the island was ceded to the British in 1802. As Ceylon it became independent in 1948; its name was changed in 1972. Tensions between the Sinhalese majority and Tamil separatists erupted in violence in the mid-1980s. Tens of thousands have died in an ethnic war that continues to fester. |
Birth rate | 35.08 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 16.58 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $2.442 billion
expenditures: $1.941 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2003 est.) |
revenues:
$3 billion expenditures: $3 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
Capital | Yaounde | Colombo; note - Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte is the legislative capital |
Climate | varies with terrain, from tropical along coast to semiarid and hot in north | tropical monsoon; northeast monsoon (December to March); southwest monsoon (June to October) |
Coastline | 402 km | 1,340 km |
Constitution | 20 May 1972 approved by referendum; 2 June 1972 formally adopted; revised January 1996 | adopted 16 August 1978 |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Cameroon
conventional short form: Cameroon former: French Cameroon |
conventional long form:
Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka conventional short form: Sri Lanka former: Serendib, Ceylon |
Currency | Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XAF); note - responsible authority is the Bank of the Central African States | Sri Lankan rupee (LKR) |
Death rate | 15.34 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 6.43 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $7.236 billion (2003 est.) | $9.9 billion (2000) |
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 |
chief of mission:
Ambassador E. Ashley WILLS embassy: 210 Galle Road, Colombo 3 mailing address: P. O. Box 106, Colombo telephone: [94] (1) 448007 FAX: [94] (1) 437345 |
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 Warnasena RASAPUTRAM chancery: 2148 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 483-4025 (through 4028) FAX: [1] (202) 232-7181 consulate(s) general: Los Angeles consulate(s): New York |
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 | none |
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 | $577 million (1998) |
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. | In 1977, Colombo abandoned statist economic policies and its import substitution trade policy for market-oriented policies and export-oriented trade. Sri Lanka's most dynamic sectors now are food processing, textiles and apparel, food and beverages, telecommunications, and insurance and banking. By 1996 plantation crops made up only 20% of exports (compared with 93% in 1970), while textiles and garments accounted for 63%. GDP grew at an annual average rate of 5.5% throughout the 1990s until a drought and a deteriorating security situation lowered growth to 3.8% in 1996. The economy rebounded in 1997-98 with growth of 6.4% and 4.7% - but slowed to 4.3% in 1999. Growth increased to 5.6% in 2000, with growth in tourism and exports leading the way. But a resurgence of civil war between the Sinhalese and the minority Tamils and a possible slowdown in tourism dampen prospects for 2001. For the next round of reforms, the central bank of Sri Lanka recommends that Colombo expand market mechanisms in nonplantation agriculture, dismantle the government's monopoly on wheat imports, and promote more competition in the financial sector. |
Electricity - consumption | 3.36 billion kWh (2001) | 5.604 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 3.613 billion kWh (2001) | 6.026 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
29.9% hydro: 70.1% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Fako (on Mount Cameroon) 4,095 m |
lowest point:
Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: Pidurutalagala 2,524 m |
Environment - current issues | water-borne diseases are prevalent; deforestation; overgrazing; desertification; poaching; overfishing | deforestation; soil erosion; wildlife populations threatened by poaching and urbanization; coastal degradation from mining activities and increased pollution; freshwater resources being polluted by industrial wastes and sewage runoff; waste disposal; air pollution in Colombo |
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, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Marine Life Conservation |
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% | Sinhalese 74%, Tamil 18%, Moor 7%, Burgher, Malay, and Vedda 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) | Sri Lankan rupees per US dollar - 83.506 (January 2001), 77.005 (2000), 70.635 (1999), 64.450 (1998), 58.995 (1997), 55.271 (1996) |
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 Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA (since 12 November 1994); note - Ratnasiri WICKRAMANAYAKE (since 10 August 2000) is the prime minister; in Sri Lanka the president is considered to be both the chief of state and the head of the government, this is in contrast to the more common practice of dividing the roles between the president and the prime minister when both offices exist head of government: President Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA (since 12 November 1994); note - Ratnasiri WICKRAMANAYAKE (since 10 August 2000) is the prime minister; in Sri Lanka the president is considered to be both the chief of state and the head of the government, this is in contrast to the more common practice of dividing the roles between the president and the prime minister when both offices exist cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president in consultation with the prime minister elections: president elected by popular vote for a six-year term; election last held 21 December 1999 (next to be held NA December 2005) election results: Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA reelected president; percent of vote - Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA (PA) 51%, Ranil WICKREMASINGHE (UNP) 42%, other 7% |
Exports | NA (2001) | $5.2 billion (f.o.b., 2000) |
Exports - commodities | crude oil and petroleum products, lumber, cocoa beans, aluminum, coffee, cotton | textiles and apparel, tea, diamonds, coconut products, petroleum products |
Exports - partners | Spain 21.9%, Italy 13.4%, France 10.8%, Netherlands 10.6%, US 7.5%, China 4.4% (2003) | US 39%, UK 13%, Middle East 8%, Germany 5%, Japan 4% (1999) |
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 | yellow with two panels; the smaller hoist-side panel has two equal vertical bands of green (hoist side) and orange; the other panel is a large dark red rectangle with a yellow lion holding a sword, and there is a yellow bo leaf in each corner; the yellow field appears as a border that goes around the entire flag and extends between the two panels |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $27.75 billion (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $62.7 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 42.6%
industry: 19.8% services: 37.6% (2003 est.) |
agriculture:
21% industry: 19% services: 60% (1998) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,800 (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $3,250 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 4.2% (2003 est.) | 5.6% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 6 00 N, 12 00 E | 7 00 N, 81 00 E |
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 | strategic location near major Indian Ocean sea lanes |
Highways | total: 34,300 km
paved: 4,288 km unpaved: 30,012 km (1999 est.) |
total:
11,285 km paved: 10,721 km unpaved: 564 km (1998 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 1.9%
highest 10%: 36.6% (1996) |
lowest 10%:
1.8% highest 10%: 39.7% (1995-96 est.) |
Imports | NA (2001) | $6.1 billion (f.o.b., 2000) |
Imports - commodities | machinery, electrical equipment, transport equipment, fuel, food | machinery and equipment, textiles, petroleum, foodstuffs |
Imports - partners | France 21.9%, Nigeria 9.5%, Japan 6.8%, US 5.7%, China 4.9%, Germany 4.3% (2003) | Japan 10%, India 9%, Hong Kong 8%, Singapore 8%, South Korea 6% (1999) |
Independence | 1 January 1960 (from French-administered UN trusteeship) | 4 February 1948 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 4.2% (1999 est.) | 4% (1999) |
Industries | petroleum production and refining, food processing, light consumer goods, textiles, lumber | processing of rubber, tea, coconuts, and other agricultural commodities; clothing, cement, petroleum refining, textiles, tobacco |
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.) |
16.08 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.3% (2003 est.) | 8.5% (2000 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 | AsDB, C, CCC, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NAM, OAS (observer), OPCW, PCA, SAARC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNTAET, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 5 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 330 sq km (1998 est.) | 5,500 sq km (1993 est.) |
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; Court of Appeals; judges for both courts are appointed by the president |
Labor force | 6.49 million NA (2003) | 6.6 million (1998) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 70%, industry and commerce 13%, other 17% | services 45%, agriculture 38%, industry 17% (1998 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 |
0 km |
Land use | arable land: 12.81%
permanent crops: 2.58% other: 84.61% (2001) |
arable land:
14% permanent crops: 15% permanent pastures: 7% forests and woodland: 32% other: 32% (1993 est.) |
Languages | 24 major African language groups, English (official), French (official) | Sinhala (official and national language) 74%, Tamil (national language) 18%, other 8%
note: English is commonly used in government and is spoken competently by about 10% of the population |
Legal system | based on French civil law system, with common law influence; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | a highly complex mixture of English common law, Roman-Dutch, Muslim, Sinhalese, and customary law; has not accepted 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 Parliament (225 seats; members elected by popular vote on the basis of a modified proportional representation system by district to serve six-year terms)
elections: last held 10 October 2000 (next to be held NA October 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - PA 45.11%, UNP 40.22%, JVP 6%, NUA 2.29%, SU 1.48%, TULF 1.23%, other 3.67%; seats by party - PA 107, UNP 89, JVP 10, TULF 5, EPDP 4, NUA 4, TELO 3, ACTC 1, SU 1, independent 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 47.95 years
male: 47.1 years female: 48.83 years (2004 est.) |
total population:
72.09 years male: 69.58 years female: 74.73 years (2001 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: 90.2% male: 93.4% female: 87.2% (1995 est.) |
Location | Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Biafra, between Equatorial Guinea and Nigeria | Southern Asia, island in the Indian Ocean, south of India |
Map references | Africa | Asia |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 50 nm | contiguous zone:
24 NM continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | total: 1 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 169,593 GRT/357,023 DWT
by type: petroleum tanker 1 (2004 est.) |
total:
20 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 149,902 GRT/247,852 DWT ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 16, container 1, petroleum tanker 1, refrigerated cargo 1 (2000 est.) |
Military branches | Army, Navy (includes Naval Infantry), Air Force | Army, Navy, Air Force, Police Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $189.2 million (2003) | $719 million (FY98) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.4% (2003) | 4.2% (FY98) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 3,898,944 (2004 est.) | males age 15-49:
5,304,323 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 1,979,151 (2004 est.) | males age 15-49:
4,119,511 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 184,054 (2004 est.) | males:
193,522 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Republic Day (National Day), 20 May (1972) | Independence Day, 4 February (1948) |
Nationality | noun: Cameroonian(s)
adjective: Cameroonian |
noun:
Sri Lankan(s) adjective: Sri Lankan |
Natural hazards | volcanic activity with periodic releases of poisonous gases from Lake Nyos and Lake Monoun volcanoes | occasional cyclones and tornadoes |
Natural resources | petroleum, bauxite, iron ore, timber, hydropower | limestone, graphite, mineral sands, gems, phosphates, clay, hydropower |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) | -1.43 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | gas 90 km; liquid petroleum gas 9 km; oil 1,120 km (2004) | crude oil and petroleum products 62 km (1987) |
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] | All Ceylon Tamil Congress or ACTC [Nalliah GURUPAUAN]; Ceylon Workers Congress or CLDC [Arumugam THONDAMAN]; Communist Party [Raja COLLURE]; Democratic United National (Lalith) Front or DUNLF [Srimani ATHULATHMUDALI]; Eelam People's Democratic Party or EPDP [Douglas DEVANANDA]; Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front or EPRLF [Suresh PREMACHANDRA]; Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna or JVP [Tilvan SILVA]; National Unity Alliance or NUA [leader NA]; People's Alliance or PA [Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA]; People's Liberation Organization of Tamil Eelam or PLOTE [D. SIDDATHAN]; Sihala Urumaya or SU [leader NA]; Sri Lanka Freedom Party or SLFP [Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA]; Sri Lanka Muslim Congress or SLMC [Rauff HAKEEM and Ferial ASHRAFF]; Sri Lanka Progressive Front or SLPF [leader NA]; Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization or TELO [SUBRAMANIUM]; Tamil United Liberation Front or TULF [R. SAMPATHAN]; United National Party or UNP [Ranil WICKREMASINGHE]; Upcountry People's Front or UPF [P. CHANDRASEKARAN]; several ethnic Tamil and Muslim parties, represented in either parliament or provincial councils |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Southern Cameroon National Council [Ayamba Ette OTUN]; Human Rights Defense Group [Albert MUKONG, president] | Buddhist clergy; labor unions; Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam or LTTE (insurgent group fighting for a separate state); radical chauvinist Sinhalese groups such as the National Movement Against Terrorism; Sinhalese Buddhist lay groups |
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.) |
19,408,635 (July 2001 est.)
note: since the outbreak of hostilities between the government and armed Tamil separatists in the mid-1980s, several hundred thousand Tamil civilians have fled the island; as of mid-1999, approximately 66,000 were housed in 133 refugee camps in south India, another 40,000 lived outside the Indian camps, and more than 200,000 Tamils have sought refuge in the West |
Population below poverty line | 48% (2000 est.) | 22% (1997 est.) |
Population growth rate | 1.97% (2004 est.) | 0.87% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Bonaberi, Douala, Garoua, Kribi, Tiko | Colombo, Galle, Jaffna, Trincomalee |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 9, shortwave 3 (2002) | AM 26, FM 45, shortwave 1 (1998) |
Radios | - | 3.85 million (1997) |
Railways | total: 1,008 km
narrow gauge: 1,008 km 1.000-m gauge (2003) |
total:
1,463 km broad gauge: 1,404 km 1.676-m gauge narrow gauge: 59 km 0.762-m gauge (1996) |
Religions | indigenous beliefs 40%, Christian 40%, Muslim 20% | Buddhist 70%, Hindu 15%, Christian 8%, Muslim 7% (1999) |
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:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.92 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2001 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:
very inadequate domestic service, particularly in rural areas; some hope for improvement with privatization of national telephone company and encouragement to private investment; good international service (1999) domestic: national trunk network consists mostly of digital microwave radio relay; fiber-optic links now in use in Colombo area and two fixed wireless local loops have been installed; competition is strong in mobile cellular systems; telephone density remains low at 2.6 main lines per 100 persons (1999) international: submarine cables to Indonesia and Djibouti; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) (1999) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 110,900 (2002) | 494,509 (1998) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 1.077 million (2003) | 228,604 (1999) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (2002) | 21 (1997) |
Terrain | diverse, with coastal plain in southwest, dissected plateau in center, mountains in west, plains in north | mostly low, flat to rolling plain; mountains in south-central interior |
Total fertility rate | 4.55 children born/woman (2004 est.) | 1.95 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 30% (2001 est.) | 8.8% (1999 est.) |
Waterways | navigation mainly on Benue River; limited during rainy season (2004) | 430 km (navigable by shallow-draft craft) |