Ecuador (2005) | Kuwait (2007) | |
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Administrative divisions | 22 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia); Azuay, Bolivar, Canar, Carchi, Chimborazo, Cotopaxi, El Oro, Esmeraldas, Galapagos, Guayas, Imbabura, Loja, Los Rios, Manabi, Morona-Santiago, Napo, Orellana, Pastaza, Pichincha, Sucumbios, Tungurahua, Zamora-Chinchipe | 6 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Al Ahmadi, Al 'Asimah, Al Farwaniyah, Al Jahra', Hawalli, Mubarak Al Kabir |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 33.5% (male 2,282,252/female 2,195,942)
15-64 years: 61.5% (male 4,094,146/female 4,130,096) 65 years and over: 4.9% (male 310,336/female 350,821) (2005 est.) |
0-14 years: 26.7% (male 340,814/female 328,663)
15-64 years: 70.5% (male 1,128,231/female 636,967) 65 years and over: 2.8% (male 44,542/female 26,342) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | bananas, coffee, cocoa, rice, potatoes, manioc (tapioca), plantains, sugarcane; cattle, sheep, pigs, beef, pork, dairy products; balsa wood; fish, shrimp | practically no crops; fish |
Airports | 205 (2004 est.) | 7 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 62
over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 18 914 to 1,523 m: 19 under 914 m: 18 (2004 est.) |
total: 4
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 143
914 to 1,523 m: 30 under 914 m: 113 (2004 est.) |
total: 3
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2007) |
Area | total: 283,560 sq km
land: 276,840 sq km water: 6,720 sq km note: includes Galapagos Islands |
total: 17,820 sq km
land: 17,820 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Nevada | slightly smaller than New Jersey |
Background | The "Republic of the Equator" was one of three countries that emerged from the collapse of Gran Colombia in 1830 (the others are Colombia and Venezuela). Between 1904 and 1942, Ecuador lost territories in a series of conflicts with its neighbors. A border war with Peru that flared in 1995 was resolved in 1999. Although Ecuador marked 25 years of civilian governance in 2004, the period has been marred by political instability. Seven presidents have governed Ecuador since 1996. | Britain oversaw foreign relations and defense for the ruling Kuwaiti AL-SABAH dynasty from 1899 until independence in 1961. Kuwait was attacked and overrun by Iraq on 2 August 1990. Following several weeks of aerial bombardment, a US-led, UN coalition began a ground assault on 23 February 1991 that liberated Kuwait in four days. Kuwait spent more than $5 billion to repair oil infrastructure damaged during 1990-91. The AL-SABAH family has ruled since returning to power in 1991, and reestablished an elected legislature that in recent years has become increasingly assertive. |
Birth rate | 22.67 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 21.95 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $7.9 billion
expenditures: planned $7.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $1.6 billion (2004 est.) |
revenues: $60.29 billion
expenditures: $35.9 billion (2006 est.) |
Capital | Quito | name: Kuwait
geographic coordinates: 29 22 N, 47 58 E time difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | tropical along coast, becoming cooler inland at higher elevations; tropical in Amazonian jungle lowlands | dry desert; intensely hot summers; short, cool winters |
Coastline | 2,237 km | 499 km |
Constitution | 10 August 1998 | approved and promulgated 11 November 1962 |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Ecuador
conventional short form: Ecuador local long form: Republica del Ecuador local short form: Ecuador |
conventional long form: State of Kuwait
conventional short form: Kuwait local long form: Dawlat al Kuwayt local short form: Al Kuwayt |
Death rate | 4.24 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 2.39 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $16.81 billion (2004 est.) | $25.26 billion (2006 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Kristie Anne KENNEY
embassy: Avenida 12 de Octubre y Avenida Patria, Quito mailing address: APO AA 34039 telephone: [593] (2) 256-2890 FAX: [593] (2) 250-2052 consulate(s) general: Guayaquil |
chief of mission: Ambassador Richard LEBARON
embassy: Bayan 36302, Area 14, Al-Masjed Al-Aqsa Street (near the Bayan palace), Kuwait City mailing address: P. O. Box 77 Safat 13001 Kuwait; or PSC 1280 APO AE 09880-9000 telephone: [965] 259-1001 FAX: [965] 538-0282 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant)
chancery: 2535 15th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 234-7200 FAX: [1] (202) 667-3482 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, Jersey City (New Jersey), Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, and San Francisco |
chief of mission: Ambassador SALIM al-Abdallah al-Jabir al-Sabah
chancery: 2940 Tilden Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 966-0702 FAX: [1] (202) 966-0517 |
Disputes - international | organized illegal narcotics operations in Colombia penetrate across Ecuador's shared border and caused over 20,000 refugees to flee into Ecuador in 2004 | Kuwait and Saudi Arabia continue negotiating a joint maritime boundary with Iran; no maritime boundary exists with Iraq in the Persian Gulf |
Economic aid - recipient | $216 million (2002) | $NA (2004) |
Economy - overview | Ecuador has substantial petroleum resources, which have accounted for 40% of the country's export earnings and one-fourth of central government budget revenues in recent years. Consequently, fluctuations in world market prices can have a substantial domestic impact. In the late 1990s, Ecuador suffered its worst economic crisis, with natural disasters and sharp declines in world petroleum prices driving Ecuador's economy into free fall in 1999. Real GDP contracted by more than 6%, with poverty worsening significantly. The banking system also collapsed, and Ecuador defaulted on its external debt later that year. The currency depreciated by some 70% in 1999, and, on the brink of hyperinflation, the MAHAUD government announced it would dollarize the economy. A coup, however, ousted MAHAUD from office in January 2000, and after a short-lived junta failed to garner military support, Vice President Gustavo NOBOA took over the presidency. In March 2000, Congress approved a series of structural reforms that also provided the framework for the adoption of the US dollar as legal tender. Dollarization stabilized the economy, and growth returned to its pre-crisis levels in the years that followed. Under the administration of Lucio GUTIERREZ - January 2003 to April 2005 - Ecuador benefited from higher world petroleum prices, but the government has made little progress on economic reforms necessary to reduce Ecuador's vulnerability to petroleum price swings and financial crises. | Kuwait is a small, rich, relatively open economy with self-reported crude oil reserves of about 96 billion barrels - 10% of world reserves. Petroleum accounts for nearly half of GDP, 95% of export revenues, and 80% of government income. Kuwait's climate limits agricultural development. Consequently, with the exception of fish, it depends almost wholly on food imports. About 75% of potable water must be distilled or imported. Kuwait continues its discussions with foreign oil companies to develop fields in the northern part of the country. High oil prices in recent years have helped build Kuwait's budget and trade surpluses and foreign reserves. As a result of this positive fiscal situation, the need for economic reforms is less urgent and the government has not earnestly pushed through new initiatives. |
Electricity - consumption | 10.79 billion kWh (2002) | 36.28 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 57 million kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | 11.54 billion kWh (2002) | 41.11 billion kWh (2005) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Chimborazo 6,267 m |
lowest point: Persian Gulf 0 m
highest point: unnamed location 306 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation; soil erosion; desertification; water pollution; pollution from oil production wastes in ecologically sensitive areas of the Amazon Basin and Galapagos Islands | limited natural fresh water resources; some of world's largest and most sophisticated desalination facilities provide much of the water; air and water pollution; desertification |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: Marine Dumping |
Ethnic groups | mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white) 65%, Amerindian 25%, Spanish and others 7%, black 3% | Kuwaiti 45%, other Arab 35%, South Asian 9%, Iranian 4%, other 7% |
Exchange rates | 25,000 (2004), 25,000 (2003), 25,000 (2002), 25,000 (2001), 24,988 (2000) | Kuwaiti dinars per US dollar - 0.29 (2006), 0.292 (2005), 0.2947 (2004), 0.298 (2003), 0.3039 (2002) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Alfredo PALACIO (since 20 April 2005); Vice President Nicanor Alejandro SERRANO Aguilar (since 5 May 2005); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government; former President Lucio GUTIERREZ was removed from office by congress effective 20 April 2005
head of government: President Alfredo PALACIO (since 20 April 2005); Vice President Nicanor Alejandro SERRANO Aguilar (since 5 May 2005); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president elections: the president and vice president are elected on the same ticket by popular vote for a four-year term (no immediate reelection); election last held 20 October 2002; runoff election held 24 November 2002 (next to be held October 2006) election results: results of the 24 November 2002 runoff election - Lucio GUTIERREZ elected president; percent of vote - Lucio GUTIERREZ 54.3%; Alvaro NOBOA 45.7%; note - Vice President Alfredo PALACIO assumed the presidency on 20 April 2005 after congress removed Lucio GUTIERREZ from office |
chief of state: Amir SABAH al-Ahmad al-Jabir al-Sabah (since 29 January 2006); Crown Prince NAWAF al-Ahmad al-Jabir al-Sabah
head of government: Prime Minister NASIR MUHAMMAD al-Ahmad al-Sabah (since 3 April 2007); First Deputy Prime Minister JABIR Mubarak al-Hamad al-Sabah (since 9 February 2006); Deputy Prime Ministers MUHAMMAD al-Sabah al-Salim al-Sabah (since 9 February 2006) and Faysal al-HAJJI (since 5 April 2007) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister and approved by the amir elections: none; the amir is hereditary; the amir appoints the prime minister and deputy prime ministers |
Exports | 387,000 bbl/day (2004 est.) | 2.2 million bbl/day (2004) |
Exports - commodities | petroleum, bananas, cut flowers, shrimp | oil and refined products, fertilizers |
Exports - partners | US 42.9%, Panama 14.3%, Peru 7.9%, Italy 4.6% (2004) | Japan 20.4%, South Korea 16.2%, Taiwan 10.8%, Singapore 9.7%, US 9%, Netherlands 5.3%, China 4.1% (2006) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 April - 31 March |
Flag description | three horizontal bands of yellow (top, double width), blue, and red with the coat of arms superimposed at the center of the flag; similar to the flag of Colombia, which is shorter and does not bear a coat of arms | three equal horizontal bands of green (top), white, and red with a black trapezoid based on the hoist side; design, which dates to 1961, based on the Arab revolt flag of World War I |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 8.7%
industry: 30.5% services: 60.9% (2004 est.) |
agriculture: 0.4%
industry: 56.9% services: 42.8% (2006 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $3,700 (2004 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 5.8% (2004 est.) | 12.7% (2006 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 2 00 S, 77 30 W | 29 30 N, 45 45 E |
Geography - note | Cotopaxi in Andes is highest active volcano in world | strategic location at head of Persian Gulf |
Heliports | 1 (2004 est.) | 4 (2007) |
Highways | total: 43,197 km
paved: 8,164 km unpaved: 35,033 km (2002) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 2%
highest 10%: 32% note: data for urban households only (October 2003) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | significant transit country for cocaine originating in Colombia and Peru; importer of precursor chemicals used in production of illicit narcotics; attractive location for cash-placement by drug traffickers laundering money because of dollarization and weak anti-money-laundering regime, especially vulnerable along the border with Colombia; increased activity on the northern frontier by trafficking groups and Colombian insurgents | - |
Imports | NA | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | vehicles, medicinal products, telecommunications equipment, electricity | food, construction materials, vehicles and parts, clothing |
Imports - partners | US 16.5%, Colombia 14.1%, China 9.2%, Venezuela 7.1%, Brazil 6.5%, Chile 4.6%, Japan 4.5%, Mexico 4.3% (2004) | US 14.1%, Japan 7.8%, Germany 7.7%, Saudi Arabia 6.8%, China 5.7%, UK 5.4%, Italy 4.6% (2006) |
Independence | 24 May 1822 (from Spain) | 19 June 1961 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 10% (2004 est.) | 13.1% (2005 est.) |
Industries | petroleum, food processing, textiles, wood products, chemicals | petroleum, petrochemicals, cement, shipbuilding and repair, water desalination, food processing, construction materials |
Infant mortality rate | total: 23.66 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 28.36 deaths/1,000 live births female: 18.72 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
total: 9.47 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 10.48 deaths/1,000 live births female: 8.42 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2% (2004 est.) | 3% (2006 est.) |
International organization participation | CAN, CSN, FAO, 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, MINUSTAH, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNOCI, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO | ABEDA, AfDB, AFESD, AMF, BDEAC, CAEU, FAO, G-77, GCC, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, OPCW, OPEC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
Irrigated land | 8,650 sq km (1998 est.) | 130 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (according to the Constitution, new justices are elected by the full Supreme Court; in December 2004, however, Congress successfully replaced the entire court via a simple-majority resolution) | High Court of Appeal |
Labor force | 4.53 million (urban) (2004 est.) | 1.168 million
note: non-Kuwaitis represent about 80% of the labor force (2006 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 8%, industry 24%, services 68% (2001) | agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
Land boundaries | total: 2,010 km
border countries: Colombia 590 km, Peru 1,420 km |
total: 462 km
border countries: Iraq 240 km, Saudi Arabia 222 km |
Land use | arable land: 5.85%
permanent crops: 4.93% other: 89.22% (2001) |
arable land: 0.84%
permanent crops: 0.17% other: 98.99% (2005) |
Languages | Spanish (official), Amerindian languages (especially Quechua) | Arabic (official), English widely spoken |
Legal system | based on civil law system; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | civil law system with Islamic law significant in personal matters; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | unicameral National Congress or Congreso Nacional (100 seats; members are popularly elected by province to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 20 October 2002 (next to be held October 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PSC 25, PRE 15, ID 16, PRIAN 10, PSP 9, Pachakutik Movement 6, MPD 5, DP 4, PS-FA 3, independents 7; note - defections by members of National Congress are commonplace, resulting in frequent changes in the numbers of seats held by the various parties |
unicameral National Assembly or Majlis al-Umma (50 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms; all cabinet ministers are also ex officio voting members of the National Assembly)
elections: last held 29 June 2006 (next election to be held in 2010) election results: percent of vote by bloc - NA; seats by bloc - Islamic Bloc (Sunni) 17, Popular Bloc 9, National Action Bloc (liberals) 8, independents 16 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 76.21 years
male: 73.35 years female: 79.22 years (2005 est.) |
total population: 77.36 years
male: 76.25 years female: 78.52 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 92.5% male: 94% female: 91% (2003 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 93.3% male: 94.4% female: 91% (2005 census) |
Location | Western South America, bordering the Pacific Ocean at the Equator, between Colombia and Peru | Middle East, bordering the Persian Gulf, between Iraq and Saudi Arabia |
Map references | South America | Middle East |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 200 nm
continental shelf: 100 nm from 2,500 meter isobath |
territorial sea: 12 nm |
Merchant marine | total: 31 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 241,403 GRT/391,898 DWT
by type: chemical tanker 2, liquefied gas 1, passenger 8, petroleum tanker 20 foreign-owned: 3 (Germany 1, Greece 1, Paraguay 1) (2005) |
total: 38 ships (1000 GRT or over) 2,195,831 GRT/3,566,308 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 2, cargo 1, container 6, liquefied gas 5, livestock carrier 3, petroleum tanker 21 registered in other countries: 28 (Bahrain 3, Comoros 1, Liberia 1, Libya 1, Panama 1, Qatar 7, Saudi Arabia 6, UAE 8) (2007) |
Military branches | Army, Navy (includes Naval Infantry, Naval Aviation, Coast Guard), Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Ecuatoriana, FAE) | Land Forces, Kuwaiti Navy, Kuwaiti Air Force (Al-Quwwat al-Jawwiya al-Kuwaitiya), National Guard (2007) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $655 million (2004) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.2% (2004) | 5.3% (2006) |
National holiday | Independence Day (independence of Quito), 10 August (1809) | National Day, 25 February (1950) |
Nationality | noun: Ecuadorian(s)
adjective: Ecuadorian |
noun: Kuwaiti(s)
adjective: Kuwaiti |
Natural hazards | frequent earthquakes, landslides, volcanic activity; floods; periodic droughts | sudden cloudbursts are common from October to April and bring heavy rain, which can damage roads and houses; sandstorms and dust storms occur throughout the year, but are most common between March and August |
Natural resources | petroleum, fish, timber, hydropower | petroleum, fish, shrimp, natural gas |
Net migration rate | -6.07 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 16.05 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Pipelines | extra heavy crude 578 km; gas 71 km; oil 1,386 km; refined products 1,185 km (2004) | gas 269 km; oil 540 km; refined products 57 km (2006) |
Political parties and leaders | Concentration of Popular Forces or CFP [Averroes BUCARAM]; Democratic Left or ID [Guillermo LANDAZURI]; National Action Institutional Renewal Party or PRIAN [Alvaro NOBOA]; Pachakutik Movement [Gilberto TALAHUA]; Patriotic Society Party or PSP [Lucio GUTIERREZ Borbua]; Popular Democracy or DP [Dr. Juan Manuel FUERTES]; Popular Democratic Movement or MPD [Gustavo TERAN Acosta]; Radical Alfarista Front or FRA [Fabian ALARCON, director]; Roldosist Party or PRE [Abdala BUCARAM Ortiz, director]; Social Christian Party or PSC [Leon FEBRES CORDERO]; Socialist Party - Broad Front or PS-FA [Victor GRANDA] | none; formation of political parties is in practice illegal, but is not forbidden by law |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador or CONAIE [Luis MACAS, president]; Coordinator of Social Movements or CMS [F. Napoleon SANTOS]; Federation of Indigenous Evangelists of Ecuador or FEINE [Marco MURILLO, president]; National Federation of Indigenous Afro-Ecuatorianos and Peasants or FENOCIN [Pedro DE LA CRUZ, president]; Popular Front or FP [Luis VILLACIS] | a number of political groups act as de facto parties; several legislative blocs operate in the National Assembly: tribal groups, merchants, Shi'a activists, Islamists, secular liberals and pro-government deputies; in mid-2006, a coalition of Islamists, liberals, and Shia campaigned successfully for electoral reform to reduce corruption |
Population | 13,363,593 (July 2005 est.) | 2,505,559
note: includes 1,291,354 non-nationals (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 45% (2001 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 1.24% (2005 est.) | 3.561%
note: this rate reflects a return to pre-Gulf crisis immigration of expatriates (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Esmeraldas, Guayaquil, La Libertad, Manta, Puerto Bolivar | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 392, FM 35, shortwave 29 (2001) | AM 6, FM 11, shortwave 1 (1998) |
Railways | total: 966 km
narrow gauge: 966 km 1.067-m gauge (2004) |
- |
Religions | Roman Catholic 95%, other 5% | Muslim 85% (Sunni 70%, Shi'a 30%), other (includes Christian, Hindu, Parsi) 15% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.88 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.037 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.771 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.691 male(s)/female total population: 1.526 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal, compulsory for literate persons ages 18-65, optional for other eligible voters | NA years of age; universal (adult); note - males in the military or police are not allowed to vote; adult females were allowed to vote as of 16 May 2005; all voters must have been citizens for 20 years |
Telephone system | general assessment: generally elementary but being expanded
domestic: facilities generally inadequate and unreliable international: country code - 593; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
general assessment: the quality of service is excellent
domestic: new telephone exchanges provide a large capacity for new subscribers; trunk traffic is carried by microwave radio relay, coaxial cable, and open-wire and fiber-optic cable; a cellular telephone system operates throughout Kuwait, and the country is well supplied with pay telephones international: country code - 965; linked to international submarine cable Fiber-Optic Link Around the Globe (FLAG); linked to Bahrain, Qatar, UAE via the Fiber-Optic Gulf (FOG) cable; coaxial cable and microwave radio relay to Saudi Arabia; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean, 2 Indian Ocean), 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic Ocean), and 2 Arabsat |
Telephones - main lines in use | 1.549 million (2003) | 510,300 (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 2,394,400 (2003) | 2.536 million (2006) |
Television broadcast stations | 7 (plus 14 repeaters) (2001) | 13 (plus several satellite channels) (1997) |
Terrain | coastal plain (costa), inter-Andean central highlands (sierra), and flat to rolling eastern jungle (oriente) | flat to slightly undulating desert plain |
Total fertility rate | 2.72 children born/woman (2005 est.) | 2.86 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 11.1%; note - underemployment of 47% (2004 est.) | 2.2% (2004 est.) |
Waterways | 1,500 km (most inaccessible) (2003) | - |