Canada (2006) | Mali (2006) | |
Administrative divisions | 10 provinces and 3 territories*; Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Northwest Territories*, Nova Scotia, Nunavut*, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, Saskatchewan, Yukon Territory* | 8 regions (regions, singular - region); Gao, Kayes, Kidal, Koulikoro, Mopti, Segou, Sikasso, Tombouctou |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 17.6% (male 2,992,811/female 2,848,388)
15-64 years: 69% (male 11,482,452/female 11,368,286) 65 years and over: 13.3% (male 1,883,008/female 2,523,987) (2006 est.) |
0-14 years: 48.2% (male 2,857,670/female 2,787,506)
15-64 years: 48.8% (male 2,804,344/female 2,910,097) 65 years and over: 3% (male 146,458/female 210,754) (2006 est.) |
Agriculture - products | wheat, barley, oilseed, tobacco, fruits, vegetables; dairy products; forest products; fish | cotton, millet, rice, corn, vegetables, peanuts; cattle, sheep, goats |
Airports | 1,337 (2006) | 29 (2006) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 509
over 3,047 m: 18 2,438 to 3,047 m: 15 1,524 to 2,437 m: 151 914 to 1,523 m: 248 under 914 m: 77 (2006) |
total: 9
2,438 to 3,047 m: 4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2006) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 828
1,524 to 2,437 m: 66 914 to 1,523 m: 355 under 914 m: 407 (2006) |
total: 20
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 6 under 914 m: 8 (2006) |
Area | total: 9,984,670 sq km
land: 9,093,507 sq km water: 891,163 sq km |
total: 1.24 million sq km
land: 1.22 million sq km water: 20,000 sq km |
Area - comparative | somewhat larger than the US | slightly less than twice the size of Texas |
Background | A land of vast distances and rich natural resources, Canada became a self-governing dominion in 1867 while retaining ties to the British crown. Economically and technologically the nation has developed in parallel with the US, its neighbor to the south across an unfortified border. Canada's paramount political problem is meeting public demands for quality improvements in health care and education services after a decade of budget cuts. Canada also faces questions about integrity in government following revelations regarding a corruption scandal in the federal government that has helped revive the fortunes of separatists in predominantly francophone Quebec. | The Sudanese Republic and Senegal became independent of France in 1960 as the Mali Federation. When Senegal withdrew after only a few months, what formerly made up the Sudanese Republic was renamed Mali. Rule by dictatorship was brought to a close in 1991 by a coup that ushered in democratic government. President Alpha KONARE won Mali's first democratic presidential election in 1992 and was reelected in 1997. In keeping with Mali's two-term constitutional limit, KONARE stepped down in 2002 and was succeeded by Amadou TOURE. |
Birth rate | 10.78 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 49.82 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $159.6 billion
expenditures: $152.6 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2004) |
revenues: $764 million
expenditures: $828 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (2002 est.) |
Capital | name: Ottawa
geographic coordinates: 45 25 N, 75 40 W time difference: UTC-5 (same time as Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins second Sunday in March; ends first Sunday in November note: Canada is divided into six time zones |
name: Bamako
geographic coordinates: 12 39 N, 8 00 W time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | varies from temperate in south to subarctic and arctic in north | subtropical to arid; hot and dry (February to June); rainy, humid, and mild (June to November); cool and dry (November to February) |
Coastline | 202,080 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | made up of unwritten and written acts, customs, judicial decisions, and traditions; the written part of the constitution consists of the Constitution Act of 29 March 1867, which created a federation of four provinces, and the Constitution Act of 17 April 1982, which transferred formal control over the constitution from Britain to Canada, and added a Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms as well as procedures for constitutional amendments | adopted 12 January 1992 |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Canada |
conventional long form: Republic of Mali
conventional short form: Mali local long form: Republique de Mali local short form: Mali former: French Sudan and Sudanese Republic |
Death rate | 7.8 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 16.89 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | $439.8 billion (30 November 2005) | $2.8 billion (2002) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador David H. WILKINS
embassy: 490 Sussex Drive, Ottawa, Ontario K1N 1G8 mailing address: P. O. Box 5000, Ogdensburgh, NY 13669-0430 telephone: [1] (613) 238-5335, 4470 FAX: [1] (613) 688-3082 consulate(s) general: Calgary, Halifax, Montreal, Quebec, Toronto, Vancouver, Winnipeg |
chief of mission: Ambassador Terrence P. MCCULLEY
embassy: Rue Rochester NY and Rue Mohamed V, Bamako mailing address: B. P. 34, Bamako telephone: [223] 222-5470 FAX: [223] 222-3712 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Michael WILSON
chancery: 501 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20001 telephone: [1] (202) 682-1740 FAX: [1] (202) 682-7701 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Boston, Buffalo, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis, New York, Phoenix, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Tucson consulate(s): Anchorage, Houston, Philadelphia, Princeton (New Jersey), Raleigh, San Jose (California) |
chief of mission: Ambassador Abdoulaye DIOP
chancery: 2130 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 332-2249, 939-8950 FAX: [1] (202) 332-6603 |
Disputes - international | managed maritime boundary disputes with the US at Dixon Entrance, Beaufort Sea, Strait of Juan de Fuca, and around the disputed Machias Seal Island and North Rock; working toward greater cooperation with US in monitoring people and commodities crossing the border; uncontested sovereignty dispute with Denmark over Hans Island in the Kennedy Channel between Ellesmere Island and Greenland | none |
Economic aid - donor | ODA, $2.6 billion (2004) | - |
Economic aid - recipient | - | $472.1 million (2002) |
Economy - overview | As an affluent, high-tech industrial society in the trillion dollar class, Canada resembles the US in its market-oriented economic system, pattern of production, and affluent living standards. Since World War II, the impressive growth of the manufacturing, mining, and service sectors has transformed the nation from a largely rural economy into one primarily industrial and urban. The 1989 US-Canada Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) (which includes Mexico) touched off a dramatic increase in trade and economic integration with the US. Given its great natural resources, skilled labor force, and modern capital plant, Canada enjoys solid economic prospects. Top-notch fiscal management has produced consecutive balanced budgets since 1997, although public debate continues over how to manage the rising cost of the publicly funded healthcare system. Exports account for roughly a third of GDP. Canada enjoys a substantial trade surplus with its principal trading partner, the US, which absorbs more than 85% of Canadian exports. Canada is the US' largest foreign supplier of energy, including oil, gas, uranium, and electric power. | Mali is among the poorest countries in the world, with 65% of its land area desert or semidesert and with a highly unequal distribution of income. Economic activity is largely confined to the riverine area irrigated by the Niger. About 10% of the population is nomadic and some 80% of the labor force is engaged in farming and fishing. Industrial activity is concentrated on processing farm commodities. Mali is heavily dependent on foreign aid and vulnerable to fluctuations in world prices for cotton, its main export, along with gold. The government has continued its successful implementation of an IMF-recommended structural adjustment program that is helping the economy grow, diversify, and attract foreign investment. Mali's adherence to economic reform and the 50% devaluation of the CFA franc in January 1994 have pushed up economic growth to a sturdy 5% average in 1996-2005. Worker remittances and external trade routes for the landlocked country have been jeopardized by continued unrest in neighboring Cote d'Ivoire. |
Electricity - consumption | 520.9 billion kWh (2003) | 762.6 million kWh (2003) |
Electricity - exports | 22 billion kWh (2004) | 0 kWh; note - recent hydropower developments may be providing electricity to Senegal and Mauritania (2003) |
Electricity - imports | 33 billion kWh (2004) | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production | 566.3 billion kWh (2003) | 820 million kWh (2003) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Logan 5,959 m |
lowest point: Senegal River 23 m
highest point: Hombori Tondo 1,155 m |
Environment - current issues | air pollution and resulting acid rain severely affecting lakes and damaging forests; metal smelting, coal-burning utilities, and vehicle emissions impacting on agricultural and forest productivity; ocean waters becoming contaminated due to agricultural, industrial, mining, and forestry activities | deforestation; soil erosion; desertification; inadequate supplies of potable water; poaching |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Marine Life Conservation |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | British Isles origin 28%, French origin 23%, other European 15%, Amerindian 2%, other, mostly Asian, African, Arab 6%, mixed background 26% | Mande 50% (Bambara, Malinke, Soninke), Peul 17%, Voltaic 12%, Songhai 6%, Tuareg and Moor 10%, other 5% |
Exchange rates | Canadian dollars per US dollar - 1.2118 (2005), 1.301 (2004), 1.4011 (2003), 1.5693 (2002), 1.5488 (2001) | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 527.47 (2005), 528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003), 696.99 (2002), 733.04 (2001) |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Michaelle JEAN (since 27 September 2005)
head of government: Prime Minister Stephen HARPER (since 6 February 2006) cabinet: Federal Ministry chosen by the prime minister usually from among the members of his own party sitting in Parliament elections: none; the monarchy is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister for a five-year term; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition in the House of Commons is automatically designated prime minister by the governor general |
chief of state: President Amadou Toumani TOURE (since 8 June 2002)
head of government: Prime Minister Ousmane Issoufi MAIGA (since 30 April 2004) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 12 May 2002 (next to be held April 2007); prime minister appointed by the president election results: Amadou Toumani TOURE elected president; percent of vote - Amadou Toumani TOURE 64.4%, Soumaila CISSE 35.6% |
Exports | 1.6 million bbl/day (2004) | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | motor vehicles and parts, industrial machinery, aircraft, telecommunications equipment; chemicals, plastics, fertilizers; wood pulp, timber, crude petroleum, natural gas, electricity, aluminum | cotton, gold, livestock |
Exports - partners | US 84.2%, Japan 2.1%, UK 1.8% (2005) | China 25.2%, Pakistan 12.8%, Thailand 8.7%, Taiwan 6.7%, Italy 4.5% (2005) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | calendar year |
Flag description | two vertical bands of red (hoist and fly side, half width), with white square between them; an 11-pointed red maple leaf is centered in the white square; the official colors of Canada are red and white | three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), yellow, and red; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 2.2%
industry: 29.4% services: 68.4% (2005 est.) |
agriculture: 45%
industry: 17% services: 38% (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 2.9% (2005 est.) | 6.1% (2005 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 60 00 N, 95 00 W | 17 00 N, 4 00 W |
Geography - note | second-largest country in world (after Russia); strategic location between Russia and US via north polar route; approximately 90% of the population is concentrated within 160 km of the US border | landlocked; divided into three natural zones: the southern, cultivated Sudanese; the central, semiarid Sahelian; and the northern, arid Saharan |
Heliports | 319 (2006) | - |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 2.8%
highest 10%: 23.8% (1994) |
lowest 10%: 1.8%
highest 10%: 40.4% (1994) |
Illicit drugs | illicit producer of cannabis for the domestic drug market and export to US; use of hydroponics technology permits growers to plant large quantities of high-quality marijuana indoors; transit point for ecstasy entering the US market; vulnerable to narcotics money laundering because of its mature financial services sector | - |
Imports | 963,000 bbl/day (2004) | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, motor vehicles and parts, crude oil, chemicals, electricity, durable consumer goods | petroleum, machinery and equipment, construction materials, foodstuffs, textiles |
Imports - partners | US 56.7%, China 7.8%, Mexico 3.8% (2005) | France 13.1%, Senegal 13.1%, Cote d'Ivoire 8.5% (2005) |
Independence | 1 July 1867 (union of British North American colonies); 11 December 1931 (independence recognized) | 22 September 1960 (from France) |
Industrial production growth rate | 2.6% (2005 est.) | NA% |
Industries | transportation equipment, chemicals, processed and unprocessed minerals, food products, wood and paper products, fish products, petroleum and natural gas | food processing; construction; phosphate and gold mining |
Infant mortality rate | total: 4.69 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 5.15 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.22 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
total: 107.58 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 117.32 deaths/1,000 live births female: 97.54 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.2% (2005 est.) | 4.5% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | ACCT, AfDB, APEC, Arctic Council, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN (dialogue partner), Australia Group, BIS, C, CDB, CE (observer), EAPC, EBRD, ESA (cooperating state), FAO, G-7, G-8, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, MIGA, MINUSTAH, MONUC, NAFTA, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS, OECD, OIF, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, PIF (partner), SECI (observer), UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNMOVIC, UNRWA, UNTSO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, ECOWAS, FAO, FZ, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, MONUC, NAM, OIC, OIF, ONUB, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNMIS, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
Irrigated land | 7,850 sq km (2003) | 2,360 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court of Canada (judges are appointed by the prime minister through the governor general); Federal Court of Canada; Federal Court of Appeal; Provincial Courts (these are named variously Court of Appeal, Court of Queens Bench, Superior Court, Supreme Court, and Court of Justice) | Supreme Court or Cour Supreme |
Labor force | 16.3 million (December 2005) | 3.93 million (2001 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 2%, manufacturing 14%, construction 5%, services 75%, other 3% (2004) | agriculture: 80%
industry and services: 20% (2001 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: 8,893 km
border countries: US 8,893 km (includes 2,477 km with Alaska) |
total: 7,243 km
border countries: Algeria 1,376 km, Burkina Faso 1,000 km, Guinea 858 km, Cote d'Ivoire 532 km, Mauritania 2,237 km, Niger 821 km, Senegal 419 km |
Land use | arable land: 4.57%
permanent crops: 0.65% other: 94.78% (2005) |
arable land: 3.76%
permanent crops: 0.03% other: 96.21% (2005) |
Languages | English (official) 59.3%, French (official) 23.2%, other 17.5% | French (official), Bambara 80%, numerous African languages |
Legal system | based on English common law, except in Quebec, where civil law system based on French law prevails; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations | based on French civil law system and customary law; judicial review of legislative acts in Constitutional Court (which was formally established on 9 March 1994); has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | bicameral Parliament or Parlement consists of the Senate or Senat (members appointed by the governor general with the advice of the prime minister and serve until reaching 75 years of age; its normal limit is 105 senators) and the House of Commons or Chambre des Communes (308 seats; members elected by direct, popular vote to serve for up to five-year terms)
elections: House of Commons - last held 23 January 2006 (next to be held in 2011) election results: House of Commons - percent of vote by party - Conservative Party 36.3%, Liberal Party 30.2%, New Democratic Party 17.5%, Bloc Quebecois 10.5%, Greens 4.5%, other 1%; seats by party - Conservative Party 124, Liberal Party 103, New Democratic Party 29, Bloc Quebecois 51, other 1 |
unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (147 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 14 and 28 July 2002 (next to be held July 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Hope 2002 coalition 66, ADEMA 51, other 30 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 80.22 years
male: 76.86 years female: 83.74 years (2006 est.) |
total population: 49 years
male: 47.05 years female: 51.01 years (2006 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99% male: 99% female: 99% (2003 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 46.4% male: 53.5% female: 39.6% (2003 est.) |
Location | Northern North America, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean on the east, North Pacific Ocean on the west, and the Arctic Ocean on the north, north of the conterminous US | Western Africa, southwest of Algeria |
Map references | North America | Africa |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total: 173 ships (1000 GRT or over) 2,129,243 GRT/2,716,340 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 62, cargo 10, chemical tanker 9, container 2, passenger 6, passenger/cargo 63, petroleum tanker 13, roll on/roll off 8 foreign-owned: 7 (Germany 3, Netherlands 1, Norway 1, US 2) registered in other countries: 111 (Australia 1, Bahamas 18, Barbados 8, Cambodia 6, Cyprus 2, Denmark 1, Honduras 1, Hong Kong 28, Liberia 2, Malta 18, Marshall Islands 6, Panama 4, Russia 1, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 6, US 4, Vanuatu 5) (2006) |
- |
Military branches | Canadian Forces: Land Forces Command, Maritime Command, Air Command, Canada Command (homeland security) (2006) | Army, Air Force, National Guard |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $9,801.7 million (2003) | $106.3 million (2005 est.) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.1% (2003) | 1.9% (2005 est.) |
National holiday | Canada Day, 1 July (1867) | Independence Day, 22 September (1960) |
Nationality | noun: Canadian(s)
adjective: Canadian |
noun: Malian(s)
adjective: Malian |
Natural hazards | continuous permafrost in north is a serious obstacle to development; cyclonic storms form east of the Rocky Mountains, a result of the mixing of air masses from the Arctic, Pacific, and North American interior, and produce most of the country's rain and snow east of the mountains | hot, dust-laden harmattan haze common during dry seasons; recurring droughts; occasional Niger River flooding |
Natural resources | iron ore, nickel, zinc, copper, gold, lead, molybdenum, potash, diamonds, silver, fish, timber, wildlife, coal, petroleum, natural gas, hydropower | gold, phosphates, kaolin, salt, limestone, uranium, gypsum, granite, hydropower
note: bauxite, iron ore, manganese, tin, and copper deposits are known but not exploited |
Net migration rate | 5.85 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) | -6.6 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Pipelines | crude and reined oil 23,564 km; liquid petroleum gas 74,980 km (2005) | - |
Political parties and leaders | Bloc Quebecois [Gilles DUCEPPE]; Conservative Party of Canada (a merger of the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservative Party) [Stephen HARPER]; Green Party [Elizabeth MAY]; Liberal Party [Stephane DION]; New Democratic Party [Jack LAYTON] | Alliance for Democracy or ADEMA [Diounconda TRAORE, party chairman]; Hope 2002 (a coalition of CNID, MPR, RDT, and RPM); National Congress for Democratic Initiative or CNID [Mountaga TALL, chairman]; Party for Democracy and Progress or PDP [Me Idrissa TRAORE]; Party for National Renewal or PARENA [Tiebile DRAME, secretary general]; Patriotic Movement for Renewal or MPR [Choguel MAIGA]; Rally for Democracy and Labor or RDT; Rally for Mali or RPM [Ibrahim Boubacar KEITA, chairman]; Sudanese Union/African Democratic Rally or US/RDA [Mamadou Bamou TOURE, secretary general]; Union for Democracy and Development or UDD [Moussa Balla COULIBALY]; Union for Republic and Democracy or URD [Soumaila CISSE] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Patriotic Movement of the Ghanda Koye or MPGK; United Movement and Fronts of Azawad or MFUA |
Population | 33,098,932 (July 2006 est.) | 11,716,829 (July 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 15.9%; note - this figure is the Low Income Cut-Off (LICO), a calculation that results in higher figures than found in many comparable economies; Canada does not have an official poverty line (2003) | 64% (2001 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.88% (2006 est.) | 2.63% (2006 est.) |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 245, FM 582, shortwave 6 (2004) | AM 1, FM 28, shortwave 1
note: the shortwave station in Bamako has seven frequencies and five transmitters and relays broadcasts for China Radio International (2001) |
Railways | total: 48,467 km
standard gauge: 48,467 km 1.435-m gauge (2005) |
total: 729 km
narrow gauge: 729 km 1.000-m gauge (2005) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 42.6%, Protestant 23.3% (including United Church 9.5%, Anglican 6.8%, Baptist 2.4%, Lutheran 2%), other Christian 4.4%, Muslim 1.9%, other and unspecified 11.8%, none 16% (2001 census) | Muslim 90%, indigenous beliefs 9%, Christian 1% |
Sex ratio | 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: 0.75 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: excellent service provided by modern technology
domestic: domestic satellite system with about 300 earth stations international: country code - 1-xxx; 5 coaxial submarine cables; satellite earth stations - 5 Intelsat (4 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Pacific Ocean) and 2 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region) |
general assessment: domestic system unreliable but improving; provides only minimal service
domestic: network consists of microwave radio relay, open-wire, and radiotelephone communications stations; expansion of microwave radio relay in progress international: country code - 223; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 18.276 million (2005) | 75,000 (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 16.6 million (2005) | 869,600 (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | 80 (plus many repeaters) (1997) | 1 (plus repeaters) (2001) |
Terrain | mostly plains with mountains in west and lowlands in southeast | mostly flat to rolling northern plains covered by sand; savanna in south, rugged hills in northeast |
Total fertility rate | 1.61 children born/woman (2006 est.) | 7.42 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 6.8% (2005 est.) | 14.6% (2001 est.) |
Waterways | 631 km
note: Saint Lawrence Seaway of 3,769 km, including the Saint Lawrence River of 3,058 km, shared with United States (2003) |
1,815 km (2005) |