Colombia (2005) | Papua New Guinea (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 | 20 provinces; Bougainville, Central, Chimbu, Eastern Highlands, East New Britain, East Sepik, Enga, Gulf, Madang, Manus, Milne Bay, Morobe, National Capital, New Ireland, Northern, Sandaun, Southern Highlands, Western, Western Highlands, West New Britain |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 30.7% (male 6,670,950/female 6,516,371)
15-64 years: 64.2% (male 13,424,433/female 14,142,825) 65 years and over: 5.1% (male 968,127/female 1,231,573) (2005 est.) |
0-14 years:
38.7% (male 993,248; female 960,647) 15-64 years: 57.63% (male 1,507,064; female 1,402,666) 65 years and over: 3.67% (male 87,779; female 97,651) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coffee, cut flowers, bananas, rice, tobacco, corn, sugarcane, cocoa beans, oilseed, vegetables; forest products; shrimp | coffee, cocoa, coconuts, palm kernels, tea, rubber, sweet potatoes, fruit, vegetables; poultry, pork |
Airports | 980 (2004 est.) | 492 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 101
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 9 1,524 to 2,437 m: 39 914 to 1,523 m: 39 under 914 m: 12 (2004 est.) |
total:
20 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 13 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 879
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 34 914 to 1,523 m: 272 under 914 m: 572 (2004 est.) |
total:
472 1,524 to 2,437 m: 13 914 to 1,523 m: 57 under 914 m: 402 (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:
462,840 sq km land: 452,860 sq km water: 9,980 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly less than three times the size of Montana | slightly larger than California |
Background | Colombia was one of the three countries that emerged from the collapse of Gran Colombia in 1830 (the others are 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 several thousand strong in recent years, challenging the insurgents for control of territory and the drug trade, and also the government's ability to exert its dominion over rural areas. While Bogota steps up efforts to reassert government control throughout the country, neighboring countries worry about the violence spilling over their borders. | The eastern half of the island of New Guinea - second largest in the world - was divided between Germany (north) and the UK (south) in 1885. The latter area was transferred to Australia in 1902, which occupied the northern portion during World War I and continued to administer the combined areas until independence in 1975. A nine-year secessionist revolt on the island of Bougainville ended in 1997, after claiming some 20,000 lives. |
Birth rate | 20.82 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 32.15 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $15.33 billion
expenditures: $21.03 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.) |
revenues:
$1.6 billion expenditures: $1.9 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1998 est.) |
Capital | Bogota | Port Moresby |
Climate | tropical along coast and eastern plains; cooler in highlands | tropical; northwest monsoon (December to March), southeast monsoon (May to October); slight seasonal temperature variation |
Coastline | 3,208 km (Caribbean Sea 1,760 km, North Pacific Ocean 1,448 km) | 5,152 km |
Constitution | 5 July 1991 | 16 September 1975 |
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:
Independent State of Papua New Guinea conventional short form: Papua New Guinea former: Territory of Papua and New Guinea abbreviation: PNG |
Currency | - | kina (PGK) |
Death rate | 5.59 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 7.88 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $38.7 billion (2004 est.) | $2.9 billion (2000 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador William B. WOOD
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 Arma Jane KARAER embassy: Douglas Street, Port Moresby mailing address: P. O. Box 1492, Port Moresby telephone: [675] 321-1455 FAX: [675] 321-3423 |
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: Atlanta, Beverly Hills, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Miami, New Orleans, New York, San Francisco, San Juan (Puerto Rico), and Washington, DC |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Susan JACOBS chancery: 1779 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 745-3680 FAX: [1] (202) 745-3679 |
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; dispute with Venezuela over maritime boundary and Los Monjes Islands near the Gulf of Venezuela; Colombian-organized illegal narcotics, guerrilla, and paramilitary activities penetrate all of its neighbors' borders and have created a serious refugee crisis with over 300,000 persons having fled the country, mostly into neighboring states | none |
Economic aid - recipient | NA | $400 million (1999 est.) |
Economy - overview | Colombia's economy has been on a recovery trend during the past two years despite a serious armed conflict. The economy continues to improve thanks to austere government budgets, focused efforts to reduce public debt levels, and an export-oriented growth focus. Ongoing economic problems facing President URIBE range from reforming the pension system to reducing high unemployment. New exploration is needed to offset declining oil production. On the positive side, several international financial institutions have praised the economic reforms introduced by URIBE, which include measures designed to reduce the public-sector deficit below 2.5% of GDP. The government's economic policy and democratic security strategy have engendered a growing sense of confidence in the economy, particularly within the business sector. Coffee prices have recovered from previous lows as the Colombian coffee industry pursues greater market shares in developed countries such as the United States. | Papua New Guinea is richly endowed with natural resources, but exploitation has been hampered by the rugged terrain and the high cost of developing infrastructure. Agriculture provides a subsistence livelihood for 85% of the population. Mineral deposits, including oil, copper, and gold, account for 72% of export earnings. The 3.4% average annual growth rate of GDP during 1979-1998 conceals considerable year-to-year variation resulting from external economic shocks, natural disasters, and economic management problems. There has been little growth in the last half of the 1990s, with real GDP in 1999 barely 3% higher than in 1994, not enough to compensate for population growth. A new administration under the leadership of Prime Minister Mekere MORAUTA in July 1999 has promised to restore integrity to state institutions, to stabilize the kina, to restore stability to the national budget, to privatize public enterprises where appropriate, and to ensure ongoing peace on Bougainville. The government has had considerable success in attracting international support, specifically gaining the support of the IMF and the World Bank in securing development assistance loans. Significant challenges remain for MORAUTA, however, including gaining further investor confidence, specifically for the proposed Papua New Guinea-Australia oil pipeline, continuing efforts to privatize government assets, and in maintaining the support from members of Parliament who after 15 July 2001 can dismiss him with a vote of no-confidence. |
Electricity - consumption | 41.14 billion kWh (2002) | 1.693 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 618 million kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 23 million kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 44.87 billion kWh (2002) | 1.82 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
54.95% hydro: 45.05% 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:
Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Mount Wilhelm 4,509 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation; soil and water quality damage from overuse of pesticides; air pollution, especially in Bogota, from vehicle emissions | rain forest subject to deforestation as a result of growing commercial demand for tropical timber; pollution from mining projects; severe drought |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
party to:
Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
Ethnic groups | mestizo 58%, white 20%, mulatto 14%, black 4%, mixed black-Amerindian 3%, Amerindian 1% | Melanesian, Papuan, Negrito, Micronesian, Polynesian |
Exchange rates | Colombian pesos per US dollar - 2,628.61 (2004), 2,877.65 (2003), 2,504.24 (2002), 2,299.63 (2001), 2,087.9 (2000) | kina per US dollar - 2.81 (October 2000), 2.696 (2000), 2.539 (1999), 2.058 (1998), 1.434 (1997), 1.318 (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 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:
Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Silas ATOPARE (since 13 November 1997) head of government: Prime Minister Mekere MORAUTA (since NA August 1999); Deputy Prime Minister Michael OGIO (since 3 November 2000) cabinet: National Executive Council appointed by the governor general on the recommendation of the prime minister elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the National Executive Council; prime minister and deputy prime minister appointed by the governor general for up to five years on the basis of majority support in National Parliament |
Exports | NA | $2.1 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | petroleum, coffee, coal, apparel, bananas, cut flowers | oil, gold, copper ore, logs, palm oil, coffee, cocoa, crayfish, prawns |
Exports - partners | US 42.1%, Venezuela 9.7%, Ecuador 6% (2004) | Australia 30%, Japan 12%, Germany 7%, South Korea 4%, Philippines 3%, UK 3% (1999) |
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 | divided diagonally from upper hoist-side corner; the upper triangle is red with a soaring yellow bird of paradise centered; the lower triangle is black with five, white, five-pointed stars of the Southern Cross constellation centered |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $12.2 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 13.4%
industry: 32.1% services: 54.5% (2004 est.) |
agriculture:
30% industry: 35% services: 35% (1999 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $6,600 (2004 est.) | purchasing power parity - $2,500 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 3.6% (2004 est.) | 2.9% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 4 00 N, 72 00 W | 6 00 S, 147 00 E |
Geography - note | only South American country with coastlines on both the North Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea | shares island of New Guinea with Indonesia; one of world's largest swamps along southwest coast |
Heliports | 1 (2004 est.) | 2 (2000 est.) |
Highways | total: 112,998 km
paved: 26,000 km unpaved: 84,000 km (2000) |
total:
19,600 km paved: 686 km unpaved: 18,914 km (1996) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 1%
highest 10%: 44% (1999) |
lowest 10%:
1.7% highest 10%: 40.5% (1996) |
Illicit drugs | illicit producer of coca, opium poppy, and cannabis; world's leading coca cultivator (cultivation of coca in 2002 was 144,450 hectares, a 15% decline since 2001); potential production of opium between 2001 and 2002 declined by 25% to 91 metric tons; potential production of heroin declined to 11.3 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 Colombia through the black market peso exchange | - |
Imports | NA | $1 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | industrial equipment, transportation equipment, consumer goods, chemicals, paper products, fuels, electricity | machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods, food, fuels, chemicals |
Imports - partners | US 29.1%, Venezuela 6.5%, China 6.4%, Mexico 6.2%, Brazil 5.8% (2004) | Australia 53%, Singapore 13%, Japan 6%, US 4%, New Zealand 4%, Malaysia 4% (1999) |
Independence | 20 July 1810 (from Spain) | 16 September 1975 (from the Australian-administered UN trusteeship) |
Industrial production growth rate | 4% (2004 est.) | NA% |
Industries | textiles, food processing, oil, clothing and footwear, beverages, chemicals, cement; gold, coal, emeralds | copra crushing, palm oil processing, plywood production, wood chip production; mining of gold, silver, and copper; crude oil production; construction, tourism |
Infant mortality rate | total: 20.97 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 24.92 deaths/1,000 live births female: 16.89 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
58.21 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 5.9% (2004 est.) | 17% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | BCIE, CAN, CDB, CSN, FAO, G-3, G-24, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, Mercosur (associate), MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO | ACP, APEC, ARF (dialogue partner), AsDB, ASEAN (observer), C, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OPCW, Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 3 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 8,500 sq km (1998 est.) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | four roughly coequal, supreme judicial organs; Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia (highest court of criminal law; judges are selected by their peers from the nominees of the Superior Judicial Council for eight-year terms); Council of State (highest court of administrative law; judges are selected from the nominees of the Superior Judicial Council 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); Superior Judicial Council (administers and disciplines the civilian judiciary; resolves jurisdictional conflicts arising between other courts; members are elected by three sister courts and Congress for eight-year terms) | Supreme Court (the chief justice is appointed by the governor general on the proposal of the National Executive Council after consultation with the minister responsible for justice; other judges are appointed by the Judicial and Legal Services Commission) |
Labor force | 20.7 million (2004 est.) | 1.941 million |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 30%, industry 24%, services 46% (1990) | agriculture 85%, industry NA%, services NA% |
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:
820 km border countries: Indonesia 820 km |
Land use | arable land: 2.42%
permanent crops: 1.67% other: 95.91% (2001) |
arable land:
0.1% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 0% forests and woodland: 92.9% other: 6% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Spanish | English spoken by 1%-2%, pidgin English widespread, Motu spoken in Papua region
note: 715 indigenous languages |
Legal system | based on Spanish law; a new criminal code modeled after US procedures was enacted into law in 2004; judicial review of executive and legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations | based on English common 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 March 2006); House of Representatives - last held 10 March 2002 (next to be held 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 |
unicameral National Parliament - sometimes referred to as the House of Assembly (109 seats, 89 elected from open electorates and 20 from provincial electorates; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 14-28 June 1997 (next to be held NA June 2002) election results: percent of vote by party - PPP 15%, Pangu Pati 14%, NA 14%, PDM 8%, PNC 6%, PAP 5%, UP 3%, NP 1%, PUP 1%, independents 33%; seats by party - PPP 16, Pangu Pati 15, NA 15, PDM 9, PNC 7, PAP 5, UP 3, NP 1, PUP 1, independents 37; note - association with political parties is very fluid |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 71.72 years
male: 67.88 years female: 75.7 years (2005 est.) |
total population:
63.46 years male: 61.39 years female: 65.64 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 92.5% male: 92.4% female: 92.6% (2003 est.) |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 72.2% male: 81% female: 62.7% (1995 est.) |
Location | Northern South America, bordering the Caribbean Sea, between Panama and Venezuela, and bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between Ecuador and Panama | Southeastern Asia, group of islands including the eastern half of the island of New Guinea between the Coral Sea and the South Pacific Ocean, east of Indonesia |
Map references | South America | Oceania |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
measured from claimed archipelagic baselines
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation exclusive fishing zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | total: 15 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 35,427 GRT/46,301 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 1, cargo 11, liquefied gas 1, petroleum tanker 2 registered in other countries: 7 (2005) |
total:
20 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 35,361 GRT/51,096 DWT ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 9, chemical tanker 1, combination ore/oil 3, container 1, petroleum tanker 3, roll on/roll off 2 (2000 est.) |
Military branches | Army (Ejercito Nacional), Navy (Armada Nacional, includes Naval Aviation, Marines, and Coast Guard), Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Colombiana) | Papua New Guinea Defense Force (includes Ground, Naval, and Air Forces, and Special Forces Unit) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $3.3 billion (FY01) | $42 million (FY98) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 3.4% (FY01) | 1% (FY98) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49:
1,306,159 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49:
723,012 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 20 July (1810) | Independence Day, 16 September (1975) |
Nationality | noun: Colombian(s)
adjective: Colombian |
noun:
Papua New Guinean(s) adjective: Papua New Guinean |
Natural hazards | highlands subject to volcanic eruptions; occasional earthquakes; periodic droughts | active volcanism; situated along the Pacific "Rim of Fire"; the country is subject to frequent and sometimes severe earthquakes; mud slides; tsunamis |
Natural resources | petroleum, natural gas, coal, iron ore, nickel, gold, copper, emeralds, hydropower | gold, copper, silver, natural gas, timber, oil, fisheries |
Net migration rate | -0.31 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | gas 4,360 km; oil 6,134 km; refined products 3,140 km (2004) | - |
Political parties and leaders | Colombian Communist Party or PCC [Jaime CAICEDO]; Conservative Party or PSC [Carlos HOLGUIN Sardi]; Democratic Pole or PDI [Samuel MORENO Rojas]; Liberal Party or PL [Juan Fernando CRISTO]
note: Colombia has about 60 formally recognized political parties, most of which do not have a presence in either house of Congress |
National Alliance or NA [Michael SOMARE]; National Party or NP [Michael MEL]; Papua New Guinea United Party or Pangu Pati [Chris HAIVETA]; People's Action Party or PAP [Ted DIRO]; People's Democratic Movement or PDM [Sir Mekere MORAUTA]; People's National Congress or PNC [Simon KAUMI]; People's Progress Party or PPP [Michael NALI]; People's Unity Party or PUP [Alfred KAIABE]; United Party or UP [Rimbiuk PATO] |
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 | NA |
Population | 42,954,279 (July 2005 est.) | 5,049,055 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 55% (2001) | 37% |
Population growth rate | 1.49% (2005 est.) | 2.43% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Barranquilla, Buenaventura, Cartagena, Muelles El Bosque, Puerto Bolivar, Santa Marta, Turbo | Kieta, Lae, Madang, Port Moresby, Rabaul |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 454, FM 34, shortwave 27 (1999) | AM 8, FM 19, shortwave 28 (1998) |
Radios | - | 410,000 (1997) |
Railways | total: 3,304 km
standard gauge: 150 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 3,154 km 0.914-m gauge (2004) |
0 km |
Religions | Roman Catholic 90%, other 10% | Roman Catholic 22%, Lutheran 16%, Presbyterian/Methodist/London Missionary Society 8%, Anglican 5%, Evangelical Alliance 4%, Seventh-Day Adventist 1%, other Protestant 10%, indigenous beliefs 34% |
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: 0.79 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.9 male(s)/female total population: 1.05 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: country code - 57; satellite earth stations - 6 Intelsat, 1 Inmarsat; 3 fully digitalized international switching centers; 8 submarine cables |
general assessment:
services are adequate and being improved; facilities provide radiotelephone and telegraph, coastal radio, aeronautical radio, and international radio communication services domestic: mostly radiotelephone international: submarine cables to Australia and Guam; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean); international radio communication service |
Telephones - main lines in use | 8,768,100 (2003) | 47,000 (1996) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 6,186,200 (2003) | 3,053 (1996) |
Television broadcast stations | 60 (includes seven low-power stations) (1997) | 3 (1997) |
Terrain | flat coastal lowlands, central highlands, high Andes Mountains, eastern lowland plains | mostly mountains with coastal lowlands and rolling foothills |
Total fertility rate | 2.56 children born/woman (2005 est.) | 4.3 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 13.6% (2004 est.) | NA% |
Waterways | 9,187 km (2004) | 10,940 km |