Colombia (2002) | Mauritania (2001) | |
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Administrative divisions | 32 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento) and 1 capital district* (distrito capital); Amazonas, Antioquia, Arauca, Atlantico, Distrito Capital de Bogota*, Bolivar, Boyaca, Caldas, Caqueta, Casanare, Cauca, Cesar, Choco, Cordoba, Cundinamarca, Guainia, Guaviare, Huila, La Guajira, Magdalena, Meta, Narino, Norte de Santander, Putumayo, Quindio, Risaralda, San Andres y Providencia, Santander, Sucre, Tolima, Valle del Cauca, Vaupes, Vichada | 12 regions (regions, singular - region) and 1 capital district*; Adrar, Assaba, Brakna, Dakhlet Nouadhibou, Gorgol, Guidimaka, Hodh Ech Chargui, Hodh El Gharbi, Inchiri, Nouakchott*, Tagant, Tiris Zemmour, Trarza |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 31.6% (male 6,552,961; female 6,399,666)
15-64 years: 63.6% (male 12,694,293; female 13,375,425) 65 years and over: 4.8% (male 886,921; female 1,098,961) (2002 est.) |
0-14 years:
46.14% (male 634,940; female 632,654) 15-64 years: 51.59% (male 698,433; female 718,883) 65 years and over: 2.27% (male 25,840; female 36,562) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coffee, cut flowers, bananas, rice, tobacco, corn, sugarcane, cocoa beans, oilseed, vegetables; forest products; shrimp | dates, millet, sorghum, rice, corn, dates; cattle, sheep |
Airports | 1,066 (2001) | 26 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 96
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 9 1,524 to 2,437 m: 38 914 to 1,523 m: 36 under 914 m: 11 (2002) |
total:
8 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 954
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 51 914 to 1,523 m: 315 under 914 m: 587 (2002) |
total:
18 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 9 under 914 m: 3 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 1,138,910 sq km
land: 1,038,700 sq km water: 100,210 sq km note: includes Isla de Malpelo, Roncador Cay, Serrana Bank, and Serranilla Bank |
total:
1,030,700 sq km land: 1,030,400 sq km water: 300 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly less than three times the size of Montana | slightly larger than three times the size of New Mexico |
Background | Colombia was one of the three countries that emerged from the collapse of Gran Colombia in 1830 (the others being Ecuador and Venezuela). A 40-year insurgent campaign to overthrow the Colombian Government escalated during the 1990s, undergirded in part by funds from the drug trade. Although the violence is deadly and large swaths of the countryside are under guerrilla influence, the movement lacks the military strength or popular support necessary to overthrow the government. An anti-insurgent army of paramilitaries has grown to be several thousand strong in recent years, challenging the insurgents for control of territory and illicit industries such as the drug trade and the government's ability to exert its dominion over rural areas. While Bogota continues to try to negotiate a settlement, neighboring countries worry about the violence spilling over their borders. | Independent from France in 1960, Mauritania annexed the southern third of the former Spanish Sahara (now Western Sahara) in 1976, but relinquished it after three years of raids by the Polisario guerrilla front seeking independence for the territory. Opposition parties were legalized and a new constitution approved in 1991. Two multiparty presidential elections since then were widely seen as being flawed; Mauritania remains, in reality, a one-party state. The country continues to experience ethnic tensions between its black minority population and the dominant Maur (Arab-Berber) populace. |
Birth rate | 21.99 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 42.95 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $24 billion
expenditures: $25.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
revenues:
$329 million expenditures: $265 million, including capital expenditures of $75 million (1996 est.) |
Capital | Bogota | Nouakchott |
Climate | tropical along coast and eastern plains; cooler in highlands | desert; constantly hot, dry, dusty |
Coastline | 3,208 km (Caribbean Sea 1,760 km, North Pacific Ocean 1,448 km) | 754 km |
Constitution | 5 July 1991 | 12 July 1991 |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Colombia
conventional short form: Colombia local long form: Republica de Colombia local short form: Colombia |
conventional long form:
Islamic Republic of Mauritania conventional short form: Mauritania local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Islamiyah al Muritaniyah local short form: Muritaniyah |
Currency | Colombian peso (COP) | ouguiya (MRO) |
Death rate | 5.66 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 13.65 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $39 billion (2001 est.) | $2.1 billion (1999) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Anne W. PATTERSON
embassy: Calle 22D-BIS, numbers 47-51, Apartado Aereo 3831 mailing address: Carrera 45 #22D-45, Bogota, D.C., APO AA 34038 telephone: [57] (1) 315-0811 FAX: [57] (1) 315-2197 |
chief of mission:
Ambassador John W. LIMBERT embassy: Rue Abdallaye, Nouakchott mailing address: B. P. 222, Nouakchott telephone: [222] 25-26-60, 25-26-63 FAX: [222] 25-15-92 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Luis Alberto MORENO Mejia
chancery: 2118 Leroy Place NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 387-8338 FAX: [1] (202) 232-8643 consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, San Francisco, San Juan (Puerto Rico), and Washington, DC consulate(s): Atlanta |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Ahmed Ben Khalifa BEN JIDOU chancery: 2129 Leroy Place NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 232-5700 FAX: [1] (202) 319-2623 |
Disputes - international | Nicaragua filed a claim against Honduras in 1999 and against Colombia in 2001 at the ICJ over disputed maritime boundary involving 50,000 sq km in the Caribbean Sea, including the Archipelago de San Andres y Providencia and Quita Sueno Bank; maritime boundary dispute with Venezuela in the Gulf of Venezuela; Colombian drug activities penetrate Peruvian border area | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $NA | $300 million (1998) |
Economy - overview | Colombia's economy suffered from weak domestic demand, austere government budgets, and a difficult security situation. A new president takes office in 2002 and will face economic challenges ranging from pension reform to reduction of unemployment. Two of Colombia's leading exports, oil and coffee, face an uncertain future; new exploration is needed to offset declining oil production, while coffee harvests and prices are depressed. Problems in public security are a concern for Colombian business leaders, who are calling for progress in the government's peace negotiations with insurgent groups. Colombia is looking for continued support from the international community to boost economic and peace prospects. | A majority of the population still depends on agriculture and livestock for a livelihood, even though most of the nomads and many subsistence farmers were forced into the cities by recurrent droughts in the 1970s and 1980s. Mauritania has extensive deposits of iron ore, which account for half of total exports. The decline in world demand for this ore, however, has led to cutbacks in production. The nation's coastal waters are among the richest fishing areas in the world, but overexploitation by foreigners threatens this key source of revenue. The country's first deepwater port opened near Nouakchott in 1986. In the past, drought and economic mismanagement have resulted in a buildup of foreign debt. In March 1999, the government signed an agreement with a joint World Bank-IMF mission on a $54 million enhanced structural adjustment facility (ESAF). Mauritania withdrew its membership in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in 2000. Privatization and debt relief are in full swing, and the rate of economic growth appears to be accelerating, especially in the construction, telecommunication, and information sectors. Diamonds and petroleum are beginning to be explored and exploited. |
Electricity - consumption | 40.348 billion kWh (2000) | 140.4 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 37 million kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 77 million kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 43.342 billion kWh (2000) | 151 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 26%
hydro: 73% nuclear: 0% other: 1% (2000) |
fossil fuel:
82.78% hydro: 17.22% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Pico Cristobal Colon 5,775 m note: nearby Pico Simon Bolivar also has the same elevation |
lowest point:
Sebkha de Ndrhamcha -3 m highest point: Kediet Ijill 910 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation; soil and water quality damage from overuse of pesticides; air pollution, especially in Bogota, from vehicle emissions | overgrazing, deforestation, and soil erosion aggravated by drought are contributing to desertification; very limited natural fresh water resources away from the Senegal which is the only perennial river |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping |
party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | mestizo 58%, white 20%, mulatto 14%, black 4%, mixed black-Amerindian 3%, Amerindian 1% | mixed Maur/black 40%, Maur 30%, black 30% |
Exchange rates | Colombian pesos per US dollar - 2,275.89 (January 2002), 2,299.63 (2001), 2,087.90 (2000), 1,756.23 (1999), 1,426.04 (1998), 1,140.96 (1997) | ouguiyas per US dollar - 250.870 (December 2000), 238.923 (2000), 209.514 (1999), 188.476 (1998), 151.853 (1997), 137.222 (1996) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Alvaro URIBE Velez (since 7 August 2002); Vice President Francisco SANTOS (since 7 August 2002); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Alvaro URIBE Velez (since 7 August 2002); Vice President Francisco SANTOS (since 7 August 2002); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet consists of a coalition of the two dominant parties - the PL and PSC - and independents elections: president and vice president elected by popular vote for a four-year term; election last held 26 May 2002 (next to be held NA May 2006) election results: President Alvaro URIBE Velez received 53% of the vote; Vice President Francisco SANTOS was elected on the same ticket |
chief of state:
President Col. Maaouya Ould Sid Ahmed TAYA (since 12 December 1984) head of government: Prime Minister Cheik El Avia Ould Mohamed KHOUNA (since 17 November 1998) cabinet: Council of Ministers elections: president elected by popular vote for a six-year term; election last held 12 December 1997 (next to be held NA December 2003); prime minister appointed by the president election results: President Col. Maaouya Ould Sid Ahmed TAYA reelected with 90.9% of the vote |
Exports | $12.3 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) | $333 million (f.o.b., 1999) |
Exports - commodities | petroleum, coffee, coal, apparel, bananas, cut flowers | iron ore, fish and fish products, gold |
Exports - partners | US 43%, Andean Community of Nations 22%, EU 14%, (2001 est.) | Japan 18%, France 17%, Italy 16%, Spain 11% (1998) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | three horizontal bands of yellow (top, double-width), blue, and red; similar to the flag of Ecuador, which is longer and bears the Ecuadorian coat of arms superimposed in the center | green with a yellow five-pointed star above a yellow, horizontal crescent; the closed side of the crescent is down; the crescent, star, and color green are traditional symbols of Islam |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $255 billion (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $5.4 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 19%
industry: 26% services: 55% (2001 est.) |
agriculture:
25% industry: 31% services: 44% (1997) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $6,300 (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $2,000 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 1.5% (2001 est.) | 5% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 4 00 N, 72 00 W | 20 00 N, 12 00 W |
Geography - note | only South American country with coastlines on both North Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea | most of the population concentrated in the cities of Nouakchott and Nouadhibou and along the Senegal River in the southern part of the country |
Heliports | 1 (2002) | - |
Highways | total: 110,000 km
paved: 26,000 km unpaved: 84,000 km (2000) |
total:
7,660 km paved: 866 km unpaved: 6,794 km (1996) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 1%
highest 10%: 44% (1999) (1999) |
lowest 10%:
2.3% highest 10%: 29.9% (1995) |
Illicit drugs | illicit producer of coca, opium poppy, and cannabis; world's leading coca cultivator (cultivation of coca in 2001 was 169,800 hectares, a 25% increase over 2000); potential production of opium between 2000 and 2001 increased by 33% to 40 metric tons; potential production of heroin increased to 4.3 metric tons; the world's largest processor of coca derivatives into cocaine; supplier of about 90% of the cocaine to the US market and the great majority of cocaine to other international drug markets; important supplier of heroin to the US market; active aerial eradication program; a significant portion of non-US narcotics proceeds are either laundered or invested in Columbia through the black market peso exchange | - |
Imports | $12.7 billion c.i.f. (2001 est.) | $305 million (f.o.b., 1999) |
Imports - commodities | industrial equipment, transportation equipment, consumer goods, chemicals, paper products, fuels, electricity | machinery and equipment, petroleum products, capital goods, foodstuffs, consumer goods |
Imports - partners | US 35%, EU 16%, Andean Community of Nations 15%, Japan 5% (2001 est.) | France 27%, Benelux 9%, Germany 7%, Spain 7% (1998) |
Independence | 20 July 1810 (from Spain) | 28 November 1960 (from France) |
Industrial production growth rate | 4% (2001 est.) | 2.2% (1999) |
Industries | textiles, food processing, oil, clothing and footwear, beverages, chemicals, cement; gold, coal, emeralds | fish processing, mining of iron ore and gypsum |
Infant mortality rate | 23.21 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | 76.7 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 7.6% (2001) (2001) | 4.5% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | BCIE, CAN, Caricom (observer), CCC, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-3, G-24, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | ABEDA, ACCT (associate), ACP, AfDB, AFESD, AL, AMF, AMU, CAEU, CCC, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO (pending member), ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 18 (2000) | 5 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 8,500 sq km (1998 est.) | 490 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | four, coequal, supreme judicial organs; Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justical (highest court of criminal law; judges are selected from the nominees of the Higher Council of Justice for eight-year terms); Council of State (highest court of administrative law, judges are selected from the nominees of the Higher Council of Justice for eight-year terms); Constitutional Court (guards integrity and supremacy of the constitution, rules on constitutionality of laws, amendments to the constitution, and international treaties); Higher Council of Justice (administers and disciplines the civilian judiciary; members of the disciplinary chamber resolve jurisdictional conflicts arising between other courts; members are elected by three sister courts and Congress for eight-year terms) | Supreme Court or Cour Supreme; Court of Appeals; lower courts |
Labor force | 18.3 million (1999 est.) | 750,000 (1999) |
Labor force - by occupation | services 46%, agriculture 30%, industry 24% (1990) (1990) | agriculture 47%, services 39%, industry 14% |
Land boundaries | total: 6,004 km
border countries: Brazil 1,643 km, Ecuador 590 km, Panama 225 km, Peru 1,496 km (est.), Venezuela 2,050 km |
total:
5,074 km border countries: Algeria 463 km, Mali 2,237 km, Senegal 813 km, Western Sahara 1,561 km |
Land use | arable land: 1.9%
permanent crops: 1.96% other: 96.14% (1998 est.) |
arable land:
0% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 38% forests and woodland: 4% other: 58% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Spanish | Hasaniya Arabic (official), Pular, Soninke, Wolof (official), French |
Legal system | based on Spanish law; a new criminal code modeled after US procedures was enacted in 1992-93; judicial review of executive and legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations | a combination of Shari'a (Islamic law) and French civil law |
Legislative branch | bicameral Congress or Congreso consists of the Senate or Senado (102 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) and the House of Representatives or Camara de Representantes (166 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 10 March 2002 (next to be held NA March 2006); House of Representatives - last held 10 March 2002 (next to be held NA March 2006) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PL 28, PSC 13, independents and smaller parties (many aligned with conservatives) 61; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PL 54, PSC 21, independents and other parties 91 |
bicameral legislature consists of the Senate or Majlis al-Shuyukh (56 seats; 17 up for election every two years; members elected by municipal leaders to serve six-year terms) and the National Assembly or Majlis al-Watani (79 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 17 April 1998 (next to be held NA 2001); National Assembly - last held 11 and 18 October 1996 (next to be held NA 2001) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; National Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PRDS 71, AC 1, independents and other 7 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 70.85 years
male: 67 years female: 74.83 years (2002 est.) |
total population:
51.14 years male: 49.06 years female: 53.29 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 91.3% male: 91.2% female: 91.4% (1995 est.) |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 46.7% male: 53.4% female: 40% (1998 est.) |
Location | Northern South America, bordering the Caribbean Sea, between Panama and Venezuela, and bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between Ecuador and Panama | Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Senegal and Western Sahara |
Map references | South America | Africa |
Maritime claims | continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 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: 11 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 32,438 GRT/43,126 DWT
ships by type: bulk 5, cargo 3, container 1, petroleum tanker 2 note: includes a foreign-owned ship registered here as a flag of convenience: Germany 1 (2002 est.) |
none (2000 est.) |
Military branches | Army (Ejercito Nacional), Navy (Armada Nacional, including Marines and Coast Guard), Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Colombiana), National Police (Policia Nacional) | Army, Navy, Air Force, National Gendarmerie, National Guard, National Police, Presidential Guard |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $3.3 billion (FY01) | $41 million (FY97/98) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 3.4% (FY01) | 2.7% (FY97/98) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 10,946,932 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49:
624,375 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 7,308,703 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49:
302,699 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 379,295 (2002 est.) | - |
National holiday | Independence Day, 20 July (1810) | Independence Day, 28 November (1960) |
Nationality | noun: Colombian(s)
adjective: Colombian |
noun:
Mauritanian(s) adjective: Mauritanian |
Natural hazards | highlands subject to volcanic eruptions; occasional earthquakes; periodic droughts | hot, dry, dust/sand-laden sirocco wind blows primarily in March and April; periodic droughts |
Natural resources | petroleum, natural gas, coal, iron ore, nickel, gold, copper, emeralds, hydropower | iron ore, gypsum, fish, copper, phosphate, diamonds, gold |
Net migration rate | -0.32 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil 3,585 km; petroleum products 1,350 km; natural gas 830 km; natural gas liquids 125 km | - |
Political parties and leaders | Conservative Party or PSC [Carlos HOLGUIN Sardi]; Liberal Party or PL [Horatio SERPA Uribe]; Patriotic Union or UP is a legal political party formed by Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia or FARC and Colombian Communist Party or PCC [Jaime CAICEDO]; 19 of April Movement or M-19 [Antonio NAVARRO Wolff]
note: Colombia has about 60 formally recognized political parties, most of which do not have a presence in either house of Congress |
Action for Change or AC [Messoud Ould BOULKHEIR]; Assembly for Democracy and Unity or RDU [Ahmed Ould SIDI BABA]; Democratic and Social Republican Party or PRDS (ruling party) [President Col. Maaouya Ould Sid Ahmed TAYA]; Mauritanian Party for Renewal and Concorde or PMRC [Molaye El Hassen Ould JIYID]; National Union for Democracy and Development or UNDD [Tidjane KOITA]; Party for Liberty, Equality and Justice or PLEJ [Daouda M'BAGNIGA]; Popular Front or FP [Ch'bih Ould CHEIKH MALAININE]; Popular Progress Alliance or APP [Mohamed El Hafed Ould ISMAEL]; Popular Social and Democratic Union or UPSD [Mohamed Mahmoud Ould MAH]; Progress Force Union or UFP [Mohamed Ould MOLOUD]; Union for Progress and Democracy or UNDD [Naha Mint MOUKNASS]
note: parties legalized by constitution ratified 12 July 1991; however, politics continue to be tribally based |
Political pressure groups and leaders | two largest insurgent groups active in Colombia - Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia or FARC and National Liberation Army or ELN; largest anti-insurgent paramilitary group is United Self-Defense Groups of Colombia or AUC | Arab nationalists; Ba'athists; General Confederation of Mauritanian Workers or CGTM [Abdallahi Ould MOHAMED, secretary general]; Independent Confederation of Mauritanian Workers or CLTM [Samory Ould BEYE]; Islamists; Mauritanian Workers Union or UTM [Mohamed Ely Ould BRAHIM, secretary general] |
Population | 41,008,227 (July 2002 est.) | 2,747,312 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 55% (2001) (2001) | 50% (1996 est.) |
Population growth rate | 1.6% (2002 est.) | 2.93% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Bahia de Portete, Barranquilla, Buenaventura, Cartagena, Leticia, Puerto Bolivar, San Andres, Santa Marta, Tumaco, Turbo | Bogue, Kaedi, Nouadhibou, Nouakchott, Rosso |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 454, FM 34, shortwave 27 (1999) | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998) |
Radios | 21 million (1997) | 360,000 (1997) |
Railways | total: 3,304 km
standard gauge: 150 km 1.435-m gauge (connects Cerrejon coal mines to maritime port at Bahia de Portete) narrow gauge: 3,154 km 0.914-m gauge (major sections not in use) (2000 est.) |
total:
750 km (single track); note - owned and operated by government mining company standard gauge: 750 km 1.435-m gauge (1995) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 90% | Muslim 100% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.81 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
at birth:
1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: modern system in many respects
domestic: nationwide microwave radio relay system; domestic satellite system with 41 earth stations; fiber-optic network linking 50 cities international: satellite earth stations - 6 Intelsat, 1 Inmarsat; 3 fully digitalized international switching centers; 8 submarine cables |
general assessment:
limited system of cable and open-wire lines, minor microwave radio relay links, and radiotelephone communications stations (improvements being made) domestic: mostly cable and open-wire lines; a recently completed domestic satellite telecommunications system links Nouakchott with regional capitals international: satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) and 2 Arabsat |
Telephones - main lines in use | 5,433,565 (December 1997) | 26,000 (2000) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 1,800,229 (December 1998) | NA |
Television broadcast stations | 60 (includes seven low-power stations) (1997) | 1 (1997) |
Terrain | flat coastal lowlands, central highlands, high Andes Mountains, eastern lowland plains | mostly barren, flat plains of the Sahara; some central hills |
Total fertility rate | 2.64 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 6.22 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 17% (2001 est.) | 23% (1995 est.) |
Waterways | 18,140 km (navigable by river boats) (April 1996) | note:
ferry traffic on the Senegal River |