Djibouti (2005) | Austria (2004) | |
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Administrative divisions | 5 districts (cercles, singular - cercle); 'Ali Sabih, Dikhil, Djibouti, Obock, Tadjoura | 9 states (Bundeslaender, singular - Bundesland); Burgenland, Kaernten, Niederoesterreich, Oberoesterreich, Salzburg, Steiermark, Tirol, Vorarlberg, Wien |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 43.3% (male 103,516/female 102,860)
15-64 years: 53.5% (male 133,168/female 121,823) 65 years and over: 3.2% (male 7,748/female 7,588) (2005 est.) |
0-14 years: 15.9% (male 665,680; female 633,560)
15-64 years: 68.1% (male 2,799,411; female 2,764,426) 65 years and over: 16% (male 518,748; female 792,937) (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | fruits, vegetables; goats, sheep, camels, animal hides | grains, potatoes, sugar beets, wine, fruit; dairy products, cattle, pigs, poultry; lumber |
Airports | 13 (2004 est.) | 55 (2003 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 3
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1524 to 2437 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
total: 24
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 5 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 14 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 10
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 3 (2004 est.) |
total: 31
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 27 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 23,000 sq km
land: 22,980 sq km water: 20 sq km |
total: 83,870 sq km
land: 82,444 sq km water: 1,426 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Massachusetts | slightly smaller than Maine |
Background | The French Territory of the Afars and the Issas became Djibouti in 1977. Hassan Gouled APTIDON installed an authoritarian one-party state and proceeded to serve as president until 1999. Unrest among the Afars minority during the 1990s led to a civil war that ended in 2001 following the conclusion of a peace accord between Afar rebels and the Issa-dominated government. Djibouti's first multi-party presidential elections in 1999 resulted in the election of Ismail Omar GUELLEH. Djibouti occupies a very strategic geographic location at the mouth of the Red Sea and serves as an important transshipment location for goods entering and leaving the east African highlands. The present leadership favors close ties to France, which maintains a significant military presence in the country, but has also developed increasingly stronger ties with the United States in recent years. Djibouti currently hosts the only United States military base in sub-Saharan Africa and is a front-line state in the global war on terrorism. | Once the center of power for the large Austro-Hungarian Empire, Austria was reduced to a small republic after its defeat in World War I. Following annexation by Nazi Germany in 1938 and subsequent occupation by the victorious Allies in 1945, Austria's status remained unclear for a decade. A State Treaty signed in 1955 ended the occupation, recognized Austria's independence, and forbade unification with Germany. A constitutional law that same year declared the country's "perpetual neutrality" as a condition for Soviet military withdrawal. Following the Soviet Union's collapse in 1991 and Austria's entry into the European Union in 1995, some Austrian's have called into question this neutrality. A prosperous, democratic country, Austria entered the European Monetary Union in 1999. |
Birth rate | 39.98 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 8.9 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $135 million
expenditures: $182 million, including capital expenditures of NA (1999 est.) |
revenues: $67 billion
expenditures: $70 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.) |
Capital | Djibouti | Vienna |
Climate | desert; torrid, dry | temperate; continental, cloudy; cold winters with frequent rain and some snow in lowlands and snow in mountains; moderate summers with occasional showers |
Coastline | 314 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | multiparty constitution approved by referendum 4 September 1992 | 1920; revised 1929 (reinstated 1 May 1945) |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Djibouti
conventional short form: Djibouti former: French Territory of the Afars and Issas, French Somaliland |
conventional long form: Republic of Austria
conventional short form: Austria local long form: Republik Oesterreich local short form: Oesterreich |
Currency | - | euro (EUR)
note: on 1 January 1999, the European Monetary Union introduced the euro as a common currency to be used by the financial institutions of member countries; as of 1 January 2002, the euro became the only legal tender in EMU member countries, including Austria |
Death rate | 19.39 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 9.56 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | $366 million (2002 est.) | $15.5 billion (2003 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Marguerita RAGSDALE
embassy: Plateau du Serpent, Boulevard Marechal Joffre, Djibouti mailing address: B. P. 185, Djibouti telephone: [253] 35 39 95 FAX: [253] 35 39 40 |
chief of mission: Ambassador William Lee LYONS BROWN, Jr.
embassy: Boltzmanngasse 16, A-1090, Vienna mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [43] (1) 31339-0, 31375, 31335 FAX: [43] (1) 3100682 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador ROBLE Olhaye
chancery: Suite 515, 1156 15th Street NW, Washington, DC 20005 telephone: [1] (202) 331-0270 FAX: [1] (202) 331-0302 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Eva NOWOTNY
chancery: 3524 International Court NW, Washington, DC 20008-3035 telephone: [1] (202) 895-6700 FAX: [1] (202) 895-6750 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York |
Disputes - international | Djibouti maintains economic ties and border accords with "Somaliland" leadership while maintaining some political ties to various factions in Somalia; although most of the 26,000 Somali refugees in Djibouti who fled civil unrest in the early 1990s have returned, several thousand still await repatriation in UNHCR camps | minor disputes with the Czech Republic over the Temelin Nuclear Power Plant |
Economic aid - donor | - | ODA, $520 million (2002) |
Economic aid - recipient | $36 million (2001) | - |
Economy - overview | The economy is based on service activities connected with the country's strategic location and status as a free trade zone in northeast Africa. Two-thirds of the inhabitants live in the capital city, the remainder are mostly nomadic herders. Scanty rainfall limits crop production to fruits and vegetables, and most food must be imported. Djibouti provides services as both a transit port for the region and an international transshipment and refueling center. Djibouti has few natural resources and little industry. The nation is, therefore, heavily dependent on foreign assistance to help support its balance of payments and to finance development projects. An unemployment rate of at least 50% continues to be a major problem. While inflation is not a concern, due to the fixed tie of the Djiboutian franc to the US dollar, the artificially high value of the Djiboutian franc adversely affects Djibouti's balance of payments. Per capita consumption dropped an estimated 35% over the last seven years because of recession, civil war, and a high population growth rate (including immigrants and refugees). Faced with a multitude of economic difficulties, the government has fallen in arrears on long-term external debt and has been struggling to meet the stipulations of foreign aid donors. | Austria, with its well-developed market economy and high standard of living, is closely tied to other EU economies, especially Germany's. Membership in the EU has drawn an influx of foreign investors attracted by Austria's access to the single European market and proximity to EU aspirant economies. Slow growth in Germany and elsewhere in the world held the economy to 0.7% growth in 2001, 1.4% in 2002, and again less than 1% in 2003. However, recent data signal that the recovery has started. The government estimates economic growth in 2004 of 1.7-2.1% and of 2.5% in 2005. The government is planning a EURO 500 billion income tax cut in 2004, though some economists doubt it will have stimulative effects in 2004, because it will be offset by higher health insurance contributions and higher taxes on energy. For 2005, Austria plans a tax cut of EURO 2.5 billion and harmonization of the various pension schemes. To meet increased competition from both EU and Central European countries, particularly the new EU members, Austria will need to emphasize knowledge-based sectors of the economy, continue to deregulate the service sector, and lower its tax burden. A key issue is the encouragement of much greater participation in the labor market by its aging population. |
Electricity - consumption | 167.4 million kWh (2002) | 54.85 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2002) | 14.25 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2002) | 14.47 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 180 million kWh (2002) | 58.75 billion kWh (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Lac Assal -155 m
highest point: Moussa Ali 2,028 m |
lowest point: Neusiedler See 115 m
highest point: Grossglockner 3,798 m |
Environment - current issues | inadequate supplies of potable water; limited arable land; desertification; endangered species | some forest degradation caused by air and soil pollution; soil pollution results from the use of agricultural chemicals; air pollution results from emissions by coal- and oil-fired power stations and industrial plants and from trucks transiting Austria between northern and southern Europe |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants |
Ethnic groups | Somali 60%, Afar 35%, French, Arab, Ethiopian, and Italian 5% | German 88.5%, indigenous minorities 1.5% (includes Croatians, Slovenes, Hungarians, Czechs, Slovaks, Roma), recent immigrant groups 10% (includes Turks, Bosnians, Serbians, Croatians) (2001) |
Exchange rates | Djiboutian francs per US dollar - 177.72 (2004), 177.72 (2003), 177.72 (2002), 177.72 (2001), 177.72 (2000) | euros per US dollar - 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Ismail Omar GUELLEH (since 8 May 1999)
head of government: Prime Minister Mohamed Dileita DILEITA (since 4 March 2001) cabinet: Council of Ministers responsible to the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a six-year term; election last held 8 April 2005 (next to be held by April 2011); prime minister appointed by the president election results: Ismail Omar GUELLEH reelected president; percent of vote - Ismail Omar GUELLEH 100% |
chief of state: President Heinz FISCHER (since 8 July 2004)
head of government: Chancellor Wolfgang SCHUESSEL (OeVP)(since 4 February 2000); Vice Chancellor Hubert GORBACH (since 21 October 2003) cabinet: Council of Ministers chosen by the president on the advice of the chancellor elections: president elected by direct popular vote for a six-year term; presidential election last held 25 April 2004 (next to be held NA April 2010); chancellor traditionally chosen by the president from the plurality party in the National Council; vice chancellor chosen by the president on the advice of the chancellor election results: Heinz FISCHER elected president; percent of vote - Heinz FISCHER (SPOe) 52.4%, Benita FERRERO-WALDNER (OeVP) 47.6% note: government coalition - OeVP and FPOe |
Exports | NA | 35,470 bbl/day (2001) |
Exports - commodities | reexports, hides and skins, coffee (in transit) | machinery and equipment, motor vehicles and parts, paper and paperboard, metal goods, chemicals, iron and steel; textiles, foodstuffs |
Exports - partners | Somalia 63.8%, Yemen 22.6%, Ethiopia 5% (2004) | Germany 31.9%, Italy 9.6%, Switzerland 5.2%, US 4.9%, France 4.8%, UK 4.7% (2003) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | two equal horizontal bands of light blue (top) and light green with a white isosceles triangle based on the hoist side bearing a red five-pointed star in the center | three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and red |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $245.3 billion (2003 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 3.5%
industry: 15.8% services: 80.7% (2001 est.) |
agriculture: 3.5%
industry: 25.7% services: 70.9% (2003 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,300 (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $30,000 (2003 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 3.5% (2002 est.) | 0.7% (2003 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 11 30 N, 43 00 E | 47 20 N, 13 20 E |
Geography - note | strategic location near world's busiest shipping lanes and close to Arabian oilfields; terminus of rail traffic into Ethiopia; mostly wasteland; Lac Assal (Lake Assal) is the lowest point in Africa | landlocked; strategic location at the crossroads of central Europe with many easily traversable Alpine passes and valleys; major river is the Danube; population is concentrated on eastern lowlands because of steep slopes, poor soils, and low temperatures elsewhere |
Heliports | - | 1 (2003 est.) |
Highways | total: 2,890 km
paved: 364 km unpaved: 2,526 km (1999 est.) |
total: 200,000 km
paved: 200,000 km (including 1,633 km of expressways) unpaved: 0 km (2000) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
lowest 10%: 2.5%
highest 10%: 22.5% (1995) |
Illicit drugs | - | transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin and South American cocaine destined for Western Europe |
Imports | NA | 262,000 bbl/day (2001) |
Imports - commodities | foods, beverages, transport equipment, chemicals, petroleum products | machinery and equipment, motor vehicles, chemicals, metal goods, oil and oil products; foodstuffs |
Imports - partners | Saudi Arabia 19.7%, India 12.4%, Ethiopia 11.8%, China 8.1%, France 5.6%, US 4.8% (2004) | Germany 43.2%, Italy 6.7%, Hungary 5.4%, Switzerland 5%, Netherlands 4.2% (2003) |
Independence | 27 June 1977 (from France) | 1156 (Duchy of Austria founded); 12 November 1918 (republic proclaimed) |
Industrial production growth rate | 3% (1996 est.) | 1.9% (2003 est.) |
Industries | construction, agricultural processing, salt | construction, machinery, vehicles and parts, food, chemicals, lumber and wood processing, paper and paperboard, communications equipment, tourism |
Infant mortality rate | total: 104.13 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 111.82 deaths/1,000 live births female: 96.21 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
total: 4.68 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 5.76 deaths/1,000 live births female: 3.55 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2% (2002 est.) | 1.4% (2003 est.) |
International organization participation | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AFESD, AMF, AU, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ITU, LAS, NAM, OIC, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO | AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, G- 9, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MIGA, MINURSO, NAM (guest), NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIK, UNOMIG, UNTSO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU (observer), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC |
Irrigated land | 10 sq km (1998 est.) | 457 sq km (2000 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Cour Supreme | Supreme Judicial Court or Oberster Gerichtshof; Administrative Court or Verwaltungsgerichtshof; Constitutional Court or Verfassungsgerichtshof |
Labor force | 282,000 (2000) | 3.425 million (2003) |
Labor force - by occupation | NA | agriculture and forestry 4%, industry and crafts 29%, services 67% (2001 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: 516 km
border countries: Eritrea 109 km, Ethiopia 349 km, Somalia 58 km |
total: 2,562 km
border countries: Czech Republic 362 km, Germany 784 km, Hungary 366 km, Italy 430 km, Liechtenstein 35 km, Slovakia 91 km, Slovenia 330 km, Switzerland 164 km |
Land use | arable land: 0.04%
permanent crops: 0% other: 99.96% (2001) |
arable land: 16.91%
permanent crops: 0.86% other: 82.23% (2001) |
Languages | French (official), Arabic (official), Somali, Afar | German (official nationwide), Slovene (official in Carinthia), Croatian (official in Burgenland), Hungarian (official in Burgenland) |
Legal system | based on French civil law system, traditional practices, and Islamic law | civil law system with Roman law origin; judicial review of legislative acts by the Constitutional Court; separate administrative and civil/penal supreme courts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | unicameral Chamber of Deputies or Chambre des Deputes (65 seats; members elected by popular vote for five-year terms)
elections: last held 10 January 2003 (next to be held January 2008) election results: percent of vote - RPP 62.2%, FRUD 36.9%; seats - RPP 65, FRUD 0; note - RPP (the ruling party) dominated the election |
bicameral Federal Assembly or Bundesversammlung consists of Federal Council or Bundesrat (62 members; members represent each of the states on the basis of population, but with each state having at least three representatives; members serve a five- or six-year term) and the National Council or Nationalrat (183 seats; members elected by direct popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: National Council - last held 24 November 2002 (next to be held in the fall of 2006) election results: National Council - percent of vote by party - OeVP 42.3%, SPOe 36.5%, FPOe 10.0%, Greens 9.5%; seats by party - OeVP 79, SPOe 69, FPOe 18, Greens 17 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 43.1 years
male: 41.84 years female: 44.39 years (2005 est.) |
total population: 78.87 years
male: 76 years female: 81.89 years (2004 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 67.9% male: 78% female: 58.4% (2003 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98% male: NA female: NA |
Location | Eastern Africa, bordering the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea, between Eritrea and Somalia | Central Europe, north of Italy and Slovenia |
Map references | Africa | Europe |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total: 1 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 1,369 GRT/3,030 DWT
by type: cargo 1 (2005) |
total: 6 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 29,624 GRT/37,425 DWT
by type: cargo 4, container 2 foreign-owned: Netherlands 1 registered in other countries: 34 (2004 est.) |
Military branches | Djibouti National Army (includes Navy and Air Force) | Land Forces (KdoLdSK), Air Forces (KdoLuSK) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $28.6 million (2004) | $1.497 billion (FY01/02) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 4.4% (2004) | 0.85% (June 2004) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 2,066,467 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 1,699,384 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 48,981 (2004 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 27 June (1977) | National Day, 26 October (1955); note - commemorates the State Treaty restoring national sovereignty and the end of occupation and the passage of the law on permanent neutrality |
Nationality | noun: Djiboutian(s)
adjective: Djiboutian |
noun: Austrian(s)
adjective: Austrian |
Natural hazards | earthquakes; droughts; occasional cyclonic disturbances from the Indian Ocean bring heavy rains and flash floods | landslides; avalanches; earthquakes |
Natural resources | geothermal areas, gold, clay, granite, limestone, marble, salt, diatomite, gypsum, pumice, petroleum | oil, coal, lignite, timber, iron ore, copper, zinc, antimony, magnesite, tungsten, graphite, salt, hydropower |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 2 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Pipelines | - | gas 2,722 km; oil 663 km; refined products 149 km (2004) |
Political parties and leaders | Democratic National Party or PND [ADEN Robleh Awaleh]; Democratic Renewal Party or PRD [Abdillahi HAMARITEH]; Djibouti Development Party or PDD [Mohamed Daoud CHEHEM]; Front pour la Restauration de l'Unite Democratique or FRUD [Ali Mohamed DAOUD]; People's Progress Assembly or RPP (governing party) [Ismail Omar GUELLEH]; Peoples Social Democratic Party or PPSD [Moumin Bahdon FARAH]; Republican Alliance for Democracy or ARD [Ahmed Dini AHMED]; Union for Democracy and Justice or UDJ [leader NA] | Austrian People's Party or OeVP [Wolfgang SCHUESSEL]; Freedom Party of Austria or FPOe [Ursula HAUBNER]; Social Democratic Party of Austria or SPOe [Alfred GUSENBAUER]; The Greens [Alexander VAN DER BELLEN] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Union for Presidential Majority UMP (coalition includes RPP, FRUD, PPSD and PND); Union for Democratic Changeover or UAD (opposition coalition includes ARD, MRDD, UDJ, and PDD) [Ahmed Dini AHMED] | Austrian Trade Union Federation (nominally independent but primarily Socialist) or OeGB; Federal Economic Chamber; OeVP-oriented League of Austrian Industrialists or VOeI; Roman Catholic Church, including its chief lay organization, Catholic Action; three composite leagues of the Austrian People's Party or OeVP representing business, labor, and farmers and other non-government organizations in the areas of environment and human rights |
Population | 476,703 (July 2005 est.) | 8,174,762 (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 50% (2001 est.) | 3.9% (1999) |
Population growth rate | 2.06% (2005 est.) | 0.14% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Djibouti | Enns, Krems, Linz, Vienna |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (2001) | AM 2, FM 65 (plus several hundred repeaters), shortwave 1 (2001) |
Railways | total: 100 km (Djibouti segment of the Addis Ababa-Djibouti railway)
narrow gauge: 100 km 1.000-m gauge note: railway under joint control of Djibouti and Ethiopia (2004) |
total: 6,021 km (3,552 km electrified)
standard gauge: 5,565 km 1.435-m gauge (3,430 km electrified) narrow gauge: 34 km 1.000-m gauge (28 km electrified); 422 km 0.760-m gauge (94 km electrified) (2003) |
Religions | Muslim 94%, Christian 6% | Roman Catholic 73.6%, Protestant 4.7%, Muslim 4.2%, other 0.1%, none 17.4% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.09 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.02 male(s)/female total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.65 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal adult | 18 years of age; universal; compulsory for presidential elections |
Telephone system | general assessment: telephone facilities in the city of Djibouti are adequate as are the microwave radio relay connections to outlying areas of the country
domestic: microwave radio relay network international: country code - 253; submarine cable to Jiddah, Suez, Sicily, Marseilles, Colombo, and Singapore; satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) and 1 Arabsat; Medarabtel regional microwave radio relay telephone network |
general assessment: highly developed and efficient
domestic: there are 48 main lines for every 100 persons; the fiber optic net is very extensive; all telephone applications and Internet services are available international: country code - 43; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) and 1 Eutelsat; in addition, there are about 600 VSAT (very small aperture terminals) (2002) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 9,500 (2003) | 3.881 million (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 23,000 (2003) | 7,094,500 (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (2002) | 10 (plus more than 1,000 repeaters) (2001) |
Terrain | coastal plain and plateau separated by central mountains | in the west and south mostly mountains (Alps); along the eastern and northern margins mostly flat or gently sloping |
Total fertility rate | 5.4 children born/woman (2005 est.) | 1.35 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 50% (2004 est.) | 4.4% (2003 est.) |
Waterways | - | 358 km (2003) |