Cayman Islands (2001) | Brazil (2007) | |
Administrative divisions | 8 districts; Creek, Eastern, Midland, South Town, Spot Bay, Stake Bay, West End, Western | 26 states (estados, singular - estado) and 1 federal district* (distrito federal); Acre, Alagoas, Amapa, Amazonas, Bahia, Ceara, Distrito Federal*, Espirito Santo, Goias, Maranhao, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Minas Gerais, Para, Paraiba, Parana, Pernambuco, Piaui, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande do Norte, Rio Grande do Sul, Rondonia, Roraima, Santa Catarina, Sao Paulo, Sergipe, Tocantins |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
22.21% (male 3,807; female 4,084) 15-64 years: 69.74% (male 12,102; female 12,676) 65 years and over: 8.05% (male 1,318; female 1,540) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 25.3% (male 24,554,254/female 23,613,027)
15-64 years: 68.4% (male 64,437,140/female 65,523,447) 65 years and over: 6.3% (male 4,880,562/female 7,002,217) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | vegetables, fruit; livestock, turtle farming | coffee, soybeans, wheat, rice, corn, sugarcane, cocoa, citrus; beef |
Airports | 3 (2000 est.) | 4,263 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
total: 718
over 3,047 m: 7 2,438 to 3,047 m: 25 1,524 to 2,437 m: 167 914 to 1,523 m: 467 under 914 m: 52 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 3,545
1,524 to 2,437 m: 83 914 to 1,523 m: 1,555 under 914 m: 1,907 (2007) |
Area | total:
259 sq km land: 259 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 8,511,965 sq km
land: 8,456,510 sq km water: 55,455 sq km note: includes Arquipelago de Fernando de Noronha, Atol das Rocas, Ilha da Trindade, Ilhas Martin Vaz, and Penedos de Sao Pedro e Sao Paulo |
Area - comparative | 1.5 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than the US |
Background | The Cayman Islands were colonized from Jamaica by the British during the 18th and 19th centuries. Administered by Jamaica from 1863, they remained a British dependency after 1962 when the former became independent. | Following three centuries under the rule of Portugal, Brazil became an independent nation in 1822 and a republic in 1889. By far the largest and most populous country in South America, Brazil overcame more than half a century of military intervention in the governance of the country when in 1985 the military regime peacefully ceded power to civilian rulers. Brazil continues to pursue industrial and agricultural growth and development of its interior. Exploiting vast natural resources and a large labor pool, it is today South America's leading economic power and a regional leader. Highly unequal income distribution remains a pressing problem. |
Birth rate | 13.79 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 16.3 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$265.2 million expenditures: $248.9 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1997) |
revenues: $244 billion
expenditures: $219.9 billion (FY07) |
Capital | George Town | name: Brasilia
geographic coordinates: 15 47 S, 47 55 W time difference: UTC-3 (2 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins third Sunday in October; ends third Sunday in February note: Brazil is divided into four time zones, including one for the Fernando de Noronha Islands |
Climate | tropical marine; warm, rainy summers (May to October) and cool, relatively dry winters (November to April) | mostly tropical, but temperate in south |
Coastline | 160 km | 7,491 km |
Constitution | 1959, revised 1972 and 1992 | 5 October 1988 |
Country name | conventional long form:
none conventional short form: Cayman Islands |
conventional long form: Federative Republic of Brazil
conventional short form: Brazil local long form: Republica Federativa do Brasil local short form: Brasil |
Currency | Caymanian dollar (KYD) | - |
Death rate | 5.15 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 6.19 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $70 million (1996) | $191.2 billion (2006 est.) |
Dependency status | overseas territory of the UK | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas territory of the UK) | chief of mission: Ambassador Clifford M. SOBEL
embassy: Avenida das Nacoes, Quadra 801, Lote 3, Distrito Federal Cep 70403-900, Brasilia mailing address: Unit 3500, APO AA 34030 telephone: [55] (61) 3312-7000 FAX: [55] (61) 3225-9136 consulate(s) general: Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo consulate(s): Recife |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (overseas territory of the UK) | chief of mission: Ambassador Antonio de Aguiar PATRIOTA
chancery: 3006 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 238-2700 FAX: [1] (202) 238-2827 consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco |
Disputes - international | none | unruly region at convergence of Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay borders is locus of money laundering, smuggling, arms and illegal narcotics trafficking, and fundraising for extremist organizations; uncontested dispute with Uruguay over certain islands in the Quarai/Cuareim and Invernada boundary streams and the resulting tripoint with Argentina |
Economic aid - recipient | $NA | $191.9 million (2005) |
Economy - overview | With no direct taxation, the islands are a thriving offshore financial center. More than 40,000 companies were registered in the Cayman Islands as of 1997, including almost 600 banks and trust companies; banking assets exceed $500 billion. A stock exchange was opened in 1997. Tourism is also a mainstay, accounting for about 70% of GDP and 75% of foreign currency earnings. The tourist industry is aimed at the luxury market and caters mainly to visitors from North America. Total tourist arrivals exceeded 1.2 million visitors in 1997. About 90% of the islands' food and consumer goods must be imported. The Caymanians enjoy one of the highest outputs per capita and one of the highest standards of living in the world. | Characterized by large and well-developed agricultural, mining, manufacturing, and service sectors, Brazil's economy outweighs that of all other South American countries and is expanding its presence in world markets. From 2001-03 real wages fell and Brazil's economy grew, on average only 2.2% per year, as the country absorbed a series of domestic and international economic shocks. That Brazil absorbed these shocks without financial collapse is a tribute to the resiliency of the Brazilian economy and the economic program put in place by former President CARDOSO and strengthened by President LULA DA SILVA. Since 2004, Brazil has enjoyed continued growth that yielded increases in employment and real wages. The three pillars of the economic program are a floating exchange rate, an inflation-targeting regime, and tight fiscal policy, initially reinforced by a series of IMF programs. The currency depreciated sharply in 2001 and 2002, which contributed to a dramatic current account adjustment; from 2003 to 2006, Brazil ran record trade surpluses and recorded its first current account surpluses since 1992. Productivity gains - particularly in agriculture - also contributed to the surge in exports. While economic management has been good, there remain important economic vulnerabilities. The most significant are debt-related: the government's largely domestic debt increased steadily from 1994 to 2003 - straining government finances - before falling as a percentage of GDP beginning in 2003. Brazil improved its debt profile in 2006 by shifting its debt burden toward real denominated and domestically held instruments. LULA DA SILVA restated his commitment to fiscal responsibility by maintaining the country's primary surplus during the 2006 election. Following his second inauguration, LULA DA SILVA announced a package of further economic reforms to reduce taxes and increase public investment. A major challenge will be to maintain sufficient growth to generate employment and reduce the government debt burden. |
Electricity - consumption | 306.9 million kWh (1999) | 368.5 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 160 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 39.2 billion kWh; note - supplied by Paraguay (2005) |
Electricity - production | 330 million kWh (1999) | 396.4 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: The Bluff 43 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Pico da Neblina 3,014 m |
Environment - current issues | no natural fresh water resources; drinking water supplies must be met by rainwater catchment | deforestation in Amazon Basin destroys the habitat and endangers a multitude of plant and animal species indigenous to the area; there is a lucrative illegal wildlife trade; air and water pollution in Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, and several other large cities; land degradation and water pollution caused by improper mining activities; wetland degradation; severe oil spills |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to: 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, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | mixed 40%, white 20%, black 20%, expatriates of various ethnic groups 20% | white 53.7%, mulatto (mixed white and black) 38.5%, black 6.2%, other (includes Japanese, Arab, Amerindian) 0.9%, unspecified 0.7% (2000 census) |
Exchange rates | Caymanian dollars per US dollar - 0.83 (3 November 1995), 0.85 (22 November 1993) | reals per US dollar - 2.1761 (2006), 2.4344 (2005), 2.9251 (2004), 3.0771 (2003), 2.9208 (2002) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); Governor and President of the Executive Council Peter SMITH (since 5 May 1999) head of government: Kurt TIBBETTS (since November 2000) cabinet: Executive Council (three members appointed by the governor, four members elected by the Legislative Assembly) elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; the governor is appointed by the monarch |
chief of state: President Luiz Inacio LULA DA SILVA (since 1 January 2003); Vice President Jose ALENCAR (since 1 January 2003); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Luiz Inacio LULA DA SILVA (since 1 January 2003); Vice President Jose ALENCAR (since 1 January 2003) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for a single four-year term; election last held 1 October 2006 with runoff 29 October 2006 (next to be held 3 October 2010 and, if necessary, 31 October 2010) election results: Luiz Inacio LULA DA SILVA (PT) reelected president - 60.83%, Geraldo ALCKMIN (PSDB) 39.17% |
Exports | $1.5 million (1998) | 278,400 bbl/day (2005) |
Exports - commodities | turtle products, manufactured consumer goods | transport equipment, iron ore, soybeans, footwear, coffee, autos |
Exports - partners | mostly US | US 17.8%, Argentina 8.5%, China 6.1%, Netherlands 4.2%, Germany 4.1% (2006) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | calendar year |
Flag description | blue, with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the Caymanian coat of arms on a white disk centered on the outer half of the flag; the coat of arms includes a pineapple and turtle above a shield with three stars (representing the three islands) and a scroll at the bottom bearing the motto HE HATH FOUNDED IT UPON THE SEAS | green with a large yellow diamond in the center bearing a blue celestial globe with 27 white five-pointed stars (one for each state and the Federal District) arranged in the same pattern as the night sky over Brazil; the globe has a white equatorial band with the motto ORDEM E PROGRESSO (Order and Progress) |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $930 million (1997 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
1.4% industry: 3.2% services: 95.4% (1994 est.) |
agriculture: 5.1%
industry: 30.9% services: 64% (2006 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $24,500 (1997 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 4.9% (1999 est.) | 3.7% (2006 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 19 30 N, 80 30 W | 10 00 S, 55 00 W |
Geography - note | important location between Cuba and Central America | largest country in South America; shares common boundaries with every South American country except Chile and Ecuador |
Heliports | - | 16 (2007) |
Highways | total:
406 km paved: 304 km unpaved: 102 km |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 0.9%
highest 10%: 44.8% (2004) |
Illicit drugs | vulnerable to drug money laundering and drug transshipment to the US and Europe | illicit producer of cannabis; trace amounts of coca cultivation in the Amazon region, used for domestic consumption; government has a large-scale eradication program to control cannabis; important transshipment country for Bolivian, Colombian, and Peruvian cocaine headed for Europe; also used by traffickers as a way station for narcotics air transshipments between Peru and Colombia; upsurge in drug-related violence and weapons smuggling; important market for Colombian, Bolivian, and Peruvian cocaine; illicit narcotics proceeds earned in Brazil are often laundered through the financial system; significant illicit financial activity in the Tri-Border Area |
Imports | $507.6 million (1998) | 674,500 bbl/day (2004) |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, manufactured goods | machinery, electrical and transport equipment, chemical products, oil, automotive parts, electronics |
Imports - partners | US, Trinidad and Tobago, UK, Netherlands Antilles, Japan | US 16.2%, Argentina 8.8%, China 8.7%, Germany 7.1%, Nigeria 4.3%, Japan 4.2% (2006) |
Independence | none (overseas territory of the UK) | 7 September 1822 (from Portugal) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 3.2% (2006 est.) |
Industries | tourism, banking, insurance and finance, construction, construction materials, furniture | textiles, shoes, chemicals, cement, lumber, iron ore, tin, steel, aircraft, motor vehicles and parts, other machinery and equipment |
Infant mortality rate | 10.16 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 27.62 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 31.27 deaths/1,000 live births female: 23.78 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3% (1998) | 4.2% (2006 est.) |
International organization participation | Caricom (observer), CDB, Interpol (subbureau), IOC, UNESCO (associate) | AfDB, BIS, CAN (associate), CPLP, CSN, FAO, G-15, G-24, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAES, LAIA, Mercosur, MIGA, MINUSTAH, NAM (observer), NSG, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNITAR, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNMOVIC, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 16 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 29,200 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Summary Court; Grand Court; Cayman Islands Court of Appeal | Supreme Federal Tribunal (11 ministers are appointed for life by the president and confirmed by the Senate); Higher Tribunal of Justice; Regional Federal Tribunals (judges are appointed for life); note - though appointed "for life," judges, like all federal employees, have a mandatory retirement age of 70 |
Labor force | 19,820 (1995) | 97.77 million (2006 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 1.4%, industry 12.6%, services 86% (1995) | agriculture: 20%
industry: 14% services: 66% (2003 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 16,885 km
border countries: Argentina 1,261 km, Bolivia 3,423 km, Colombia 1,644 km, French Guiana 730.4 km, Guyana 1,606 km, Paraguay 1,365 km, Peru 2,995 km, Suriname 593 km, Uruguay 1,068 km, Venezuela 2,200 km |
Land use | arable land:
0% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 8% forests and woodland: 23% other: 69% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 6.93%
permanent crops: 0.89% other: 92.18% (2005) |
Languages | English | Portuguese (official), Spanish, English, French |
Legal system | British common law and local statutes | based on Roman codes; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | unicameral Legislative Assembly (18 seats, three appointed members and 15 elected by popular vote; members serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 8 November 2000 (next to be held NA November 2004) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - NA |
bicameral National Congress or Congresso Nacional consists of the Federal Senate or Senado Federal (81 seats; 3 members from each state and federal district elected according to the principle of majority to serve eight-year terms; one-third and two-thirds elected every four years, alternately) and the Chamber of Deputies or Camara dos Deputados (513 seats; members are elected by proportional representation to serve four-year terms)
elections: Federal Senate - last held 1 October 2006 for one-third of the Senate (next to be held in October 2010 for two-thirds of the Senate); Chamber of Deputies - last held 1 October 2006 (next to be held in October 2010) election results: Federal Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PFL 6, PSDB 5, PMDB 4, PTB 3, PT 2, PDT 1, PSB 1, PL 1, PPS 1, PRTB 1, PP 1, PCdoB 1; total seats following election - PFL 18, PMDB 15, PSDB 15, PT 11, PDT 5, PTB 4, PSB 3, PL 3, PCdoB 2, PRB 2, PPS 1, PRTB 1, PP 1; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PMDB 89, PT 83, PFL 65, PSDB 65, PP 42, PSB 27, PDT 24, PL 23, PTB 22, PPS 21, PCdoB 13, PV 13, PSC 9, other 17 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
79.03 years male: 76.24 years female: 81.43 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 72.24 years
male: 68.3 years female: 76.38 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over has ever attended school total population: 98% male: 98% female: 98% (1970 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 88.6% male: 88.4% female: 88.8% (2004 est.) |
Location | Caribbean, island group in Caribbean Sea, nearly one-half of the way from Cuba to Honduras | Eastern South America, bordering the Atlantic Ocean |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | South America |
Maritime claims | exclusive fishing zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to edge of the continental margin |
Merchant marine | total:
106 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,656,452 GRT/2,643,036 DWT ships by type: bulk 21, cargo 5, chemical tanker 27, container 4, liquefied gas 1, petroleum tanker 13, refrigerated cargo 30, roll on/roll off 4, specialized tanker 1 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Cyprus 2, Denmark 2, Finland 1, Greece 11, Norway 3, UK 3, US 3 (2000 est.) |
total: 135 ships (1000 GRT or over) 2,020,182 GRT/3,039,015 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 20, cargo 21, carrier 1, chemical tanker 6, container 9, liquefied gas 12, passenger/cargo 12, petroleum tanker 47, roll on/roll off 7 foreign-owned: 16 (Chile 1, Denmark 2, Germany 7, Mexico 1, Norway 1, Spain 4) registered in other countries: 5 (Bahamas 1, Ghana 1, Liberia 3) (2007) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the UK | - |
Military branches | Royal Cayman Islands Police Force (RCIPF) | Brazilian Army, Brazilian Navy (Marinha do Brasil (MB), includes Naval Air and Marine Corps (Corpo de Fuzileiros Navais)), Brazilian Air Force (Forca Aerea Brasileira, FAB) (2007) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 2.6% (2006 est.) |
National holiday | Constitution Day, first Monday in July | Independence Day, 7 September (1822) |
Nationality | noun:
Caymanian(s) adjective: Caymanian |
noun: Brazilian(s)
adjective: Brazilian |
Natural hazards | hurricanes (July to November) | recurring droughts in northeast; floods and occasional frost in south |
Natural resources | fish, climate and beaches that foster tourism | bauxite, gold, iron ore, manganese, nickel, phosphates, platinum, tin, uranium, petroleum, hydropower, timber |
Net migration rate | 12.58 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)
note: major destination for Cubans trying to migrate to the US |
-0.03 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Pipelines | - | condensate/gas 244 km; gas 11,669 km; liquid petroleum gas 341 km; oil 5,212 km; refined products 4,755 km (2006) |
Political parties and leaders | there are no formal political parties but the following loose groupings act as political organizations; National Team; Democratic Alliance; Team Cayman | Brazilian Democratic Movement Party or PMDB [Federal Deputy Michel TEMER]; Brazilian Labor Party or PTB [Roberto JEFFERSON]; Brazilian Renewal Labor Party or PRTB [Jose Levy FIDELIX da Cruz]; Brazilian Republican Party or PRB [Vitor Paulo Araujo DOS SANTOS]; Brazilian Social Democracy Party or PSDB [Senator Tasso JEREISSATI]; Brazilian Socialist Party or PSB [Governor Eduardo Henrique Accioly CAMPOS]; Communist Party of Brazil or PCdoB [Jose Renato RABELO]; Democratic Labor Party or PDT [Carlos Roberto LUPI]; Democratic Socialist Party or PSD [Luis Marques MENDES]; Freedom and Socialism Party or PSOL [Heloisa HELENA]; Green Party or PV [Jose Luiz de Franca PENNA]; Humanist Party of Solidarity or PHS; Liberal Front Party or PFL (now known as the Democrats Party or DEM); Liberal Party or PL; Partido Municipalista Renovador or PMR [Natal Wellington Rodrigues FURUCHO]; Party of the Republic or PR [Sergio TAMER]; Popular Socialist Party or PPS [Federal Deputy Roberto FREIRE]; Progressive Party or PP [Federal Deputy Pedro CORREA]; Social Christian Party or PSC; Workers' Party or PT [Ricardo Jose Ribeiro BERZOINI] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Landless Worker's Movement; labor unions and federations; large farmers' associations; religious groups including evangelical Christian churches and the Catholic Church |
Population | 35,527 (July 2001 est.) | 190,010,647
note: Brazil conducted a census in August 2000, which reported a population of 169,799,170; that figure was about 3.3% lower than projections by the US Census Bureau, and is close to the implied underenumeration of 4.6% for the 1991 census; 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 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 31% (2005) |
Population growth rate | 2.12% (2001 est.) | 1.008% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Cayman Brac, George Town | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 1,365, FM 296, shortwave 161 (of which 91 are collocated with AM stations) (1999) |
Radios | 36,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km | total: 29,295 km
broad gauge: 4,932 km 1.600-m gauge (939 km electrified) standard gauge: 194 km 1.440-m gauge narrow gauge: 23,773 km 1.000-m gauge (581 km electrified) dual gauge: 396 km 1.000 m and 1.600-m gauges (three rails) (78 km electrified) (2006) |
Religions | United Church (Presbyterian and Congregational), Anglican, Baptist, Roman Catholic, Church of God, other Protestant | Roman Catholic (nominal) 73.6%, Protestant 15.4%, Spiritualist 1.3%, Bantu/voodoo 0.3%, other 1.8%, unspecified 0.2%, none 7.4% (2000 census) |
Sex ratio | at birth:
0.86 male(s)/female under 15 years: 0.93 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.86 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.983 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.697 male(s)/female total population: 0.976 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | voluntary between 16 and 18 years of age and over 70; compulsory over 18 and under 70 years of age; note - military conscripts do not vote |
Telephone system | general assessment:
NA domestic: NA international: 1 submarine coaxial cable; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
general assessment: good working system; fixed-line connections have remained relatively stable in recent years and stand at about 20 per 100 persons; mobile-cellular telephone density has risen to nearly 55 per 100 persons
domestic: extensive microwave radio relay system and a domestic satellite system with 64 earth stations; mobile-cellular usage has more than tripled in the past 5 years international: country code - 55; landing point for a number of submarine cables that provide direct links to South and Central America, the Caribbean, the US, Africa, and Europe; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean), 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic Ocean region east), connected by microwave relay system to Mercosur Brazilsat B3 satellite earth station (2007) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 19,000 (1995) | 38.8 million (2006) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 2,534 (1995) | 99.919 million (2006) |
Television broadcast stations | NA | 138 (1997) |
Terrain | low-lying limestone base surrounded by coral reefs | mostly flat to rolling lowlands in north; some plains, hills, mountains, and narrow coastal belt |
Total fertility rate | 2.04 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 1.88 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 4.1% (1997) | 9.6% (2006 est.) |
Waterways | none | 50,000 km (most in areas remote from industry and population) (2007) |