Compare Central African Republic (2006) - West Bank (2008)

Compare Central African Republic (2006) z West Bank (2008)

	Central African Republic (2006)	West Bank (2008)

Administrative divisions	14 prefectures (prefectures, singular - prefecture), 2 economic prefectures* (prefectures economiques, singular - prefecture economique), and 1 commune; Bamingui-Bangoran, Bangui, Basse-Kotto, Haute-Kotto, Haut-Mbomou, Kemo, Lobaye, Mambere-Kadei, Mbomou, Nana-Grebizi, Nana-Mambere, Ombella-Mpoko, Ouaka, Ouham, Ouham-Pende, Sangha-Mbaere, Vakaga	-
Age structure	0-14 years: 41.9% (male 907,629/female 897,153) 15-64 years: 53.9% (male 1,146,346/female 1,173,268) 65 years and over: 4.2% (male 71,312/female 107,648) (2006 est.)	0-14 years: 42.4% (male 551,243/female 524,800) 15-64 years: 54.2% (male 704,209/female 670,382) 65 years and over: 3.4% (male 36,175/female 49,118) (2007 est.)
Agriculture - products	cotton, coffee, tobacco, manioc (tapioca), yams, millet, corn, bananas; timber	olives, citrus, vegetables; beef, dairy products
Airports	50 (2006)	3 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 (2006)	total: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2007)
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 47 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 10 914 to 1,523 m: 23 under 914 m: 13 (2006)	-
Area	total: 622,984 sq km land: 622,984 sq km water: 0 sq km	total: 5,860 sq km land: 5,640 sq km water: 220 sq km note: includes West Bank, Latrun Salient, and the northwest quarter of the Dead Sea, but excludes Mt. Scopus; East Jerusalem and Jerusalem No Man's Land are also included only as a means of depicting the entire area occupied by Israel in 1967
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than Texas	slightly smaller than Delaware
Background	The former French colony of Ubangi-Shari became the Central African Republic upon independence in 1960. After three tumultuous decades of misrule - mostly by military governments - civilian rule was established in 1993 and lasted for one decade. President Ange-Felix PATASSE's civilian government was plagued by unrest, and in March 2003 he was deposed in a military coup led by General Francois BOZIZE, who established a transitional government. Though the government has the tacit support of civil society groups and the main parties, a wide field of candidates contested the municipal, legislative, and presidential elections held in March and May of 2005 in which General BOZIZE was affirmed as president. The government still does not fully control the countryside, where pockets of lawlessness persist.	The September 1993 Israel-PLO Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements provided for a transitional period of Palestinian self-rule in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Under a series of agreements signed between May 1994 and September 1999, Israel transferred to the Palestinian Authority (PA) security and civilian responsibility for Palestinian-populated areas of the West Bank and Gaza. Negotiations to determine the permanent status of the West Bank and Gaza stalled following the outbreak of an intifada in September 2000, as Israeli forces reoccupied most Palestinian-controlled areas. In April 2003, the Quartet (US, EU, UN, and Russia) presented a roadmap to a final settlement of the conflict by 2005 based on reciprocal steps by the two parties leading to two states, Israel and a democratic Palestine. The proposed date for a permanent status agreement was postponed indefinitely due to violence and accusations that both sides had not followed through on their commitments. Following Palestinian leader Yasir ARAFAT's death in late 2004, Mahmud ABBAS was elected PA president in January 2005. A month later, Israel and the PA agreed to the Sharm el-Sheikh Commitments in an effort to move the peace process forward. In September 2005, Israel unilaterally withdrew all its settlers and soldiers and dismantled its military facilities in the Gaza Strip and withdrew settlers and redeployed soldiers from four small northern West Bank settlements. Nonetheless, Israel controls maritime, airspace, and most access to the Gaza Strip. A November 2005 PA-Israeli agreement authorized the reopening of the Rafah border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt under joint PA and Egyptian control. In January 2006, the Islamic Resistance Movement, HAMAS, won control of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC). The international community refused to accept the HAMAS-led government because it did not recognize Israel, would not renounce violence, and refused to honor previous peace agreements between Israel and the PA. HAMAS took control of the PA government in March 2006, but President ABBAS had little success negotiating with HAMAS to present a political platform acceptable to the international community so as to lift economic sanctions on Palestinians. The PLC was unable to convene throughout most of 2006 as a result of Israel's detention of many HAMAS PLC members and Israeli-imposed travel restrictions on other PLC members. Violent clashes took place between Fatah and HAMAS supporters in the Gaza Strip in 2006 and early 2007, resulting in numerous Palestinian deaths and injuries. ABBAS and HAMAS Political Bureau Chief MISHAL in February 2007 signed the Mecca Agreement in Saudi Arabia that resulted in the formation of a Palestinian National Unity Government (NUG) headed by HAMAS member Ismail HANIYA. However, fighting continued in the Gaza Strip, and in June, HAMAS militants succeeded in a violent takeover of all military and governmental institutions in the Gaza Strip. ABBAS dismissed the NUG and through a series of presidential decrees formed a PA government in the West Bank led by independent Salam FAYYAD. HAMAS rejected the NUG's dismissal and has called for resuming talks with Fatah, but ABBAS has ruled out negotiations until HAMAS agrees to a return of PA control over the Gaza Strip and recognizes the FAYYAD-led government. FAYYAD and his PA government initiated a series of security and economic reforms to improve conditions in the West Bank. ABBAS participated in talks with Israel's Prime Minister OLMERT and secured the release of some Palestinian prisoners and previously withheld customs revenue. During a November 2007 international meeting in Annapolis Maryland, ABBAS and OLMERT agreed to resume peace negotiations with the goal of reaching a final peace settlement by the end of 2008.
Birth rate	33.91 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)	30.99 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Budget	revenues: $NA expenditures: $NA	revenues: $1.149 billion expenditures: $2.31 billion note: includes Gaza Strip (2006)
Capital	name: Bangui geographic coordinates: 4 22 N, 18 35 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)	-
Climate	tropical; hot, dry winters; mild to hot, wet summers	temperate; temperature and precipitation vary with altitude, warm to hot summers, cool to mild winters
Coastline	0 km (landlocked)	0 km (landlocked)
Constitution	ratified by popular referendum 5 December 2004; effective 27 December 2004	-
Country name	conventional long form: Central African Republic conventional short form: none local long form: Republique Centrafricaine local short form: none former: Ubangi-Shari, Central African Empire abbreviation: CAR	conventional long form: none conventional short form: West Bank
Death rate	18.65 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)	3.85 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Debt - external	$1.06 billion (2002 est.)	$NA
Diplomatic representation from the US	chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires James PANOS embassy: Avenue David Dacko, Bangui mailing address: B. P. 924, Bangui telephone: [236] 61 02 00 FAX: [236] 61 44 94 note: the embassy is currently operating with a minimal staff	-
Diplomatic representation in the US	chief of mission: Ambassador Emmanuel TOUABOY chancery: 1618 22nd Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 483-7800 FAX: [1] (202) 332-9893	-
Disputes - international	about 30,000 refugees fleeing the 2002 civil conflict in the CAR still reside in southern Chad; periodic skirmishes over water and grazing rights among related pastoral populations along the border with southern Sudan persist	West Bank and Gaza Strip are Israeli-occupied with current status subject to the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement - permanent status to be determined through further negotiation; Israel continues construction of a "seam line" separation barrier along parts of the Green Line and within the West Bank; Israel withdrew from four settlements in the northern West Bank in August 2005; since 1948, about 350 peacekeepers from the UN Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO), headquartered in Jerusalem, monitor ceasefires, supervise armistice agreements, prevent isolated incidents from escalating, and assist other UN personnel in the region
Economic aid - recipient	ODA, $59.8 million; note - traditional budget subsidies from France (2002 est.)	$1.4 billion; (includes Gaza Strip) (2006 est.)
Economy - overview	Subsistence agriculture, together with forestry, remains the backbone of the economy of the Central African Republic (CAR), with more than 70% of the population living in outlying areas. The agricultural sector generates half of GDP. Timber has accounted for about 16% of export earnings and the diamond industry, for 40%. Important constraints to economic development include the CAR's landlocked position, a poor transportation system, a largely unskilled work force, and a legacy of misdirected macroeconomic policies. Factional fighting between the government and its opponents remains a drag on economic revitalization, with GDP growth at only 0.5% in 2004 and 2.5% in 2005. Distribution of income is extraordinarily unequal. Grants from France and the international community can only partially meet humanitarian needs.	The West Bank - the larger of the two areas comprising the Palestinian Authority (PA) - has experienced a general decline in economic conditions since the second intifada began in September 2000. The downturn has been largely a result of Israeli closure policies - the imposition of closures and access restrictions in response to security concerns in Israel - which disrupted labor and trading relationships. In 2001, and even more severely in 2002, Israeli military measures in PA areas resulted in the destruction of capital, the disruption of administrative structures, and widespread business closures. International aid of at least $1.14 billion to the West Bank and Gaza Strip in 2004 prevented the complete collapse of the economy and allowed some reforms in the government's financial operations. In 2005, high unemployment and limited trade opportunities - due to continued closures both within the West Bank and externally - stymied growth. Israel's and the international community's financial embargo of the PA when HAMAS ran the PA during March 2006 - June 2007 has interrupted the provision of PA social services and the payment of PA salaries. Since June the Fayyad government in the West Bank has restarted salary payments and the provision of services but would be unable to operate absent high levels of international assistance.
Electricity - consumption	98.58 million kWh (2003)	NA kWh
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2003)	-
Electricity - imports	0 kWh (2003)	NA kWh
Electricity - production	106 million kWh (2003)	NA kWh; note - most electricity imported from Israel; East Jerusalem Electric Company buys and distributes electricity to Palestinians in East Jerusalem and its concession in the West Bank; the Israel Electric Company directly supplies electricity to most Jewish residents and military facilities; some Palestinian municipalities, such as Nablus and Janin, generate their own electricity from small power plants
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Oubangui River 335 m highest point: Mont Ngaoui 1,420 m	lowest point: Dead Sea -408 m highest point: Tall Asur 1,022 m
Environment - current issues	tap water is not potable; poaching has diminished the country's reputation as one of the last great wildlife refuges; desertification; deforestation	adequacy of fresh water supply; sewage treatment
Environment - international agreements	party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 94 signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea	-
Ethnic groups	Baya 33%, Banda 27%, Mandjia 13%, Sara 10%, Mboum 7%, M'Baka 4%, Yakoma 4%, other 2%	Palestinian Arab and other 83%, Jewish 17%
Exchange rates	Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XAF) per US dollar - 527.47 (2005), 528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003), 696.99 (2002), 733.04 (2001)	new Israeli shekels per US dollar - 4.14 (2007), 4.4565 (2006), 4.4877 (2005), 4.482 (2004), 4.5541 (2003)
Executive branch	chief of state: President Francois BOZIZE (since 15 March 2003 coup) head of government: Prime Minister Elie DOTE (since 13 June 2005); note - Celestin GAOMBALET resigned 11 June 2005 cabinet: Council of Ministers elections: under the new constitution, the president elected to a five-year term (eligible for a second term); elections last held 13 March and 8 May 2005 (next to be held in 2010); prime minister appointed by the political party with a parliamentary majority election results: Francois BOZIZE elected president; percent of second round balloting - Francois BOZIZE (KNK) 64.6%, Martin ZIGUELE (MLPC) 35.4%	-
Exports	NA bbl/day	$301 million f.o.b.; (includes Gaza Strip) (2005)
Exports - commodities	diamonds, timber, cotton, coffee, tobacco	olives, fruit, vegetables, limestone
Exports - partners	Belgium 34.1%, France 9.5%, Spain 8.5%, Italy 7.9%, China 6.9%, Indonesia 6.2%, Democratic Republic of the Congo 4.6%, US 4.4%, Turkey 4.4% (2005)	Israel, Jordan, Gaza Strip (2006)
Fiscal year	calendar year	calendar year
Flag description	four equal horizontal bands of blue (top), white, green, and yellow with a vertical red band in center; there is a yellow five-pointed star on the hoist side of the blue band	-
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 55% industry: 20% services: 25% (2001 est.)	agriculture: 8% industry: 13% services: 79% (includes Gaza Strip) (2006 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	2.2% (2005 est.)	-8% (includes Gaza Strip) (2006 est.)
Geographic coordinates	7 00 N, 21 00 E	32 00 N, 35 15 E
Geography - note	landlocked; almost the precise center of Africa	landlocked; highlands are main recharge area for Israel's coastal aquifers; there are 242 West Bank settlements and 29 East Jerusalem settlements in addition to at least 20 occupied outposts (August 2005 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: 0.7% highest 10%: 47.7% (1993)	lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%
Imports	NA bbl/day	$2.44 billion c.i.f.; (includes Gaza Strip) (2005)
Imports - commodities	food, textiles, petroleum products, machinery, electrical equipment, motor vehicles, chemicals, pharmaceuticals	food, consumer goods, construction materials
Imports - partners	France 16.7%, Netherlands 10.4%, Cameroon 9.8%, US 7.4% (2005)	Israel, Jordan, Gaza Strip (2006)
Independence	13 August 1960 (from France)	-
Industrial production growth rate	3% (2002)	2.4% (includes Gaza Strip) (2005)
Industries	gold and diamond mining, logging, brewing, textiles, footwear, assembly of bicycles and motorcycles	generally small family businesses that produce cement, textiles, soap, olive-wood carvings, and mother-of-pearl souvenirs; the Israelis have established some small-scale, modern industries in the settlements and industrial centers
Infant mortality rate	total: 85.63 deaths/1,000 live births male: 92.44 deaths/1,000 live births female: 78.61 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)	total: 18.67 deaths/1,000 live births male: 20.59 deaths/1,000 live births female: 16.64 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	3.6% (2001 est.)	3.6% (includes Gaza Strip) (2006)
International organization participation	ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, BDEAC, CEMAC, FAO, FZ, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OIC (observer), OIF, OPCW, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO	-
Irrigated land	20 sq km (2003)	150 sq km; note - includes Gaza Strip (2003)
Judicial branch	Supreme Court or Cour Supreme; Constitutional Court (3 judges appointed by the president, 3 by the president of the National Assembly, and 3 by fellow judges); Court of Appeal; Criminal Courts; Inferior Courts	-
Labor force	NA	605,000 (2006)
Labor force - by occupation	-	agriculture: 18% industry: 15% services: 67% (2006)
Land boundaries	total: 5,203 km border countries: Cameroon 797 km, Chad 1,197 km, Democratic Republic of the Congo 1,577 km, Republic of the Congo 467 km, Sudan 1,165 km	total: 404 km border countries: Israel 307 km, Jordan 97 km
Land use	arable land: 3.1% permanent crops: 0.15% other: 96.75% (2005)	arable land: 16.9% permanent crops: 18.97% other: 64.13% (2001)
Languages	French (official), Sangho (lingua franca and national language), tribal languages	Arabic, Hebrew (spoken by Israeli settlers and many Palestinians), English (widely understood)
Legal system	based on French law	-
Legislative branch	unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (109 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: last held 13 March 2005 and 8 May 2005 (next to be held NA 2010) election results: percent of vote by party - MLPC 43%, RDC 18%, MDD 9%, FPP 6%, PSD 5%, ADP 4%, PUN 3%, FODEM 2%, PLD 2%, UPR 1%, FC 1%, independents 6%; seats by party - MLPC 47, RDC 20, MDD 8, FPP 7, PSD 6, ADP 5, PUN 3, FODEM 2, PLD 2, UPR 1, FC 1, independents 7	-
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 43.54 years male: 43.46 years female: 43.62 years (2006 est.)	total population: 73.46 years male: 71.68 years female: 75.35 years (2007 est.)
Literacy	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 51% male: 63.3% female: 39.9% (2003 est.)	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 92.4% male: 96.7% female: 88% (2004 est.)
Location	Central Africa, north of Democratic Republic of the Congo	Middle East, west of Jordan
Map references	Africa	Middle East
Maritime claims	none (landlocked)	none (landlocked)
Military branches	Central African Armed Forces (FACA): Ground Forces, Military Air Service; General Directorate of Gendarmerie Inspection (DGIG), Republican Guard, National Police (2006)	-
Military expenditures - dollar figure	$16.37 million (2005 est.)	-
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	1% (2005 est.)	NA
National holiday	Republic Day, 1 December (1958)	-
Nationality	noun: Central African(s) adjective: Central African	noun: NA adjective: NA
Natural hazards	hot, dry, dusty harmattan winds affect northern areas; floods are common	droughts
Natural resources	diamonds, uranium, timber, gold, oil, hydropower	arable land
Net migration rate	0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)	2.71 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Political parties and leaders	Alliance for Democracy and Progress or ADP [Jacques MBOLIEDAS]; Central African Democratic Assembly or RDC [Andre KOLINGBA]; Civic Forum or FC [Gen. Timothee MALENDOMA]; Democratic Forum for Modernity or FODEM [Charles MASSI]; Liberal Democratic Party or PLD [Nestor KOMBO-NAGUEMON]; Movement for Democracy and Development or MDD [David DACKO]; Movement for the Liberation of the Central African People or MLPC [Ange-Felix PATASSE] (the party of deposed president); National Convergence or KNK; Patriotic Front for Progress or FPP [Abel GOUMBA]; People's Union for the Republic or UPR [Pierre Sammy MAKFOY]; National Unity Party or PUN [Jean-Paul NGOUPANDE]; Social Democratic Party or PSD [Enoch LAKOUE]	-
Political pressure groups and leaders	NA	-
Population	4,303,356 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 2006 est.)	2,535,927 note: in addition, there are about 187,000 Israeli settlers in the West Bank and fewer than 177,000 in East Jerusalem (July 2004 est.)
Population below poverty line	NA%	46% (2007 est.)
Population growth rate	1.53% (2006 est.)	2.985% (2007 est.)
Radio broadcast stations	AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 1 (2002)	AM 0, FM 25, shortwave 0 (2008)
Religions	indigenous beliefs 35%, Protestant 25%, Roman Catholic 25%, Muslim 15% note: animistic beliefs and practices strongly influence the Christian majority	Muslim 75% (predominantly Sunni), Jewish 17%, Christian and other 8%
Sex ratio	at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.66 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2006 est.)	at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.736 male(s)/female total population: 1.038 male(s)/female (2007 est.)
Suffrage	21 years of age; universal	-
Telephone system	general assessment: fair system domestic: network consists principally of microwave radio relay and low-capacity, low-powered radiotelephone communication international: country code - 236; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)	general assessment: NA domestic: Israeli company BEZEK and the Palestinian company PALTEL are responsible for fixed line services; the Palestinian JAWAL company provides cellular services international: country code - 970 (2004)
Telephones - main lines in use	10,000 (2004)	349,000 (includes Gaza Strip) (2005)
Telephones - mobile cellular	60,000 (2004)	1.095 million (includes Gaza Strip) (2005)
Television broadcast stations	1 (2001)	30 (2008)
Terrain	vast, flat to rolling, monotonous plateau; scattered hills in northeast and southwest	mostly rugged dissected upland, some vegetation in west, but barren in east
Total fertility rate	4.41 children born/woman (2006 est.)	4.17 children born/woman (2007 est.)
Unemployment rate	8% (23% for Bangui) (2001 est.)	18.6% (2006)
Waterways	2,800 km (primarily on the Oubangui and Sangha rivers) (2005)	-

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