Ethiopia (2006) | Lesotho (2003) | |
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Administrative divisions | 9 ethnically-based states (kililoch, singular - kilil) and 2 self-governing administrations* (astedaderoch, singular - astedader); Adis Abeba* (Addis Ababa), Afar, Amara (Amhara), Binshangul Gumuz, Dire Dawa*, Gambela Hizboch (Gambela Peoples), Hareri Hizb (Harari People), Oromiya (Oromia), Sumale (Somali), Tigray, Ye Debub Biheroch Bihereseboch na Hizboch (Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples) | 10 districts; Berea, Butha-Buthe, Leribe, Mafeteng, Maseru, Mohales Hoek, Mokhotlong, Qacha's Nek, Quthing, Thaba-Tseka |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 43.7% (male 16,373,718/female 16,280,766)
15-64 years: 53.6% (male 19,999,482/female 20,077,014) 65 years and over: 2.7% (male 929,349/female 1,117,652) (2006 est.) |
0-14 years: 37.7% (male 353,554; female 349,092)
15-64 years: 56.8% (male 516,017; female 541,694) 65 years and over: 5.5% (male 41,735; female 59,867) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cereals, pulses, coffee, oilseed, cotton, sugarcane, potatoes, qat, cut flowers; hides, cattle, sheep, goats; fish | corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock |
Airports | 84 (2006) | 28 (2002) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 14
over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 5 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2006) |
total: 4
over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 70
over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 13 914 to 1,523 m: 28 under 914 m: 23 (2006) |
total: 24
914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 20 (2002) |
Area | total: 1,127,127 sq km
land: 1,119,683 sq km water: 7,444 sq km |
total: 30,355 sq km
land: 30,355 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly less than twice the size of Texas | slightly smaller than Maryland |
Background | Unique among African countries, the ancient Ethiopian monarchy maintained its freedom from colonial rule with the exception of the 1936-41 Italian occupation during World War II. In 1974, a military junta, the Derg, deposed Emperor Haile SELASSIE (who had ruled since 1930) and established a socialist state. Torn by bloody coups, uprisings, wide-scale drought, and massive refugee problems, the regime was finally toppled in 1991 by a coalition of rebel forces, the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF). A constitution was adopted in 1994, and Ethiopia's first multiparty elections were held in 1995. A border war with Eritrea late in the 1990's ended with a peace treaty in December 2000. Final demarcation of the boundary is currently on hold due to Ethiopian objections to an international commission's finding requiring it to surrender territory considered sensitive to Ethiopia. | Basutoland was renamed the Kingdom of Lesotho upon independence from the UK in 1966. King MOSHOESHOE was exiled in 1990. Constitutional government was restored in 1993 after 23 years of military rule. In 1998, violent protests and a military mutiny following a contentious election prompted a brief but bloody South African military intervention. Constitutional reforms have since restored political stability; peaceful parliamentary elections were held in 2002. |
Birth rate | 37.98 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 27.26 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $2.338 billion
expenditures: $2.88 billion; including capital expenditures of $788 million (2005 est.) |
revenues: $76 million
expenditures: $80 million, including capital expenditures of $15 million (FY 99/00 est.) |
Capital | name: Addis Ababa
geographic coordinates: 9 02 N, 38 42 E time difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Maseru |
Climate | tropical monsoon with wide topographic-induced variation | temperate; cool to cold, dry winters; hot, wet summers |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | ratified December 1994, effective 22 August 1995 | 2 April 1993 |
Country name | conventional long form: Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia
conventional short form: Ethiopia local long form: Ityop'iya Federalawi Demokrasiyawi Ripeblik local short form: Ityop'iya former: Abyssinia, Italian East Africa abbreviation: FDRE |
conventional long form: Kingdom of Lesotho
conventional short form: Lesotho former: Basutoland |
Currency | - | loti (LSL); South African rand (ZAR) |
Death rate | 14.86 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 24.58 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $5.101 billion (2005 est.) | $735 million (2002) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Vicki HUDDLESTON
embassy: Entoto Street, Addis Ababa mailing address: P. O. Box 1014, Addis Ababa telephone: [251] (1) 517-4000 FAX: [251] (1) 517-4888 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Robert G. LOFTIS
embassy: 254 Kingsway, Maseru West (Consular Section) mailing address: P. O. Box 333, Maseru 100, Lesotho telephone: [266] 312666 FAX: [266] 310116 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Samuel ASSEFA
chancery: 3506 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 364-1200 FAX: [1] (202) 587-0195 consulate(s) general: Los Angeles consulate(s): New York |
chief of mission: Ambassador Molelekeng E. RAPOLAKI
chancery: 2511 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 797-5533 through 5536 FAX: [1] (202) 234-6815 |
Disputes - international | Eritrea and Ethiopia agreed to abide by the 2002 Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission's (EEBC) delimitation decision, but mutual animosities, accusations, and armed posturing prevail, preventing demarcation despite international intervention; Ethiopia refuses to withdraw to the delimited boundary until technical errors made by the EEBC that ignored "human geography" are addressed, including the award of Badme, the focus of the 1998-2000 war; Eritrea insists that the EEBC decision be implemented immediately without modifications; Ethiopia has only an administrative line and no international border with the Oromo region of southern Somalia where it maintains alliances with local clans in opposition to the unrecognized Somali Interim Government in Mogadishu; "Somaliland" secessionists provide port facilities and trade ties to landlocked Ethiopia; efforts to demarcate the porous boundary with Sudan have been delayed by civil war | none |
Economic aid - donor | - | ODA $4.4 million |
Economic aid - recipient | $308 million (FY00/01) | $41.5 million (2000) |
Economy - overview | Ethiopia's poverty-stricken economy is based on agriculture, accounting for half of GDP, 60% of exports, and 80% of total employment. The agricultural sector suffers from frequent drought and poor cultivation practices. Coffee is critical to the Ethiopian economy with exports of some $156 million in 2002, but historically low prices have seen many farmers switching to qat to supplement income. The war with Eritrea in 1998-2000 and recurrent drought have buffeted the economy, in particular coffee production. In November 2001, Ethiopia qualified for debt relief from the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative, and in December 2005 the International Monetary Fund voted to forgive Ethiopia's debt to the body. Under Ethiopia's land tenure system, the government owns all land and provides long-term leases to the tenants; the system continues to hamper growth in the industrial sector as entrepreneurs are unable to use land as collateral for loans. Drought struck again late in 2002, leading to a 2% decline in GDP in 2003. Normal weather patterns late in 2003 helped agricultural and GDP growth recover in 2004-05. | Small, landlocked, and mountainous, Lesotho relies on remittances from miners employed in South Africa and customs duties from the Southern Africa Customs Union for the majority of government revenue, but the government has strengthened its tax system to reduce dependency on customs duties. Completion of a major hydropower facility in January 1998 now permits the sale of water to South Africa, also generating royalties for Lesotho. As the number of mineworkers has declined steadily over the past several years, a small manufacturing base has developed based on farm products that support the milling, canning, leather, and jute industries and a rapidly growing apparel-assembly sector. The economy is still primarily based on subsistence agriculture, especially livestock, although drought has decreased agricultural activity. The extreme inequality in the distribution of income remains a major drawback. Lesotho has signed an Interim Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility with the IMF. |
Electricity - consumption | 1.914 billion kWh (2003) | 40 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2003) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2003) | 40 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2001) |
Electricity - production | 2.058 billion kWh (2003) | 0 kWh NA kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Denakil Depression -125 m
highest point: Ras Dejen 4,620 m |
lowest point: junction of the Orange and Makhaleng Rivers 1,400 m
highest point: Thabana Ntlenyana 3,482 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification; water shortages in some areas from water-intensive farming and poor management | population pressure forcing settlement in marginal areas results in overgrazing, severe soil erosion, and soil exhaustion; desertification; Highlands Water Project controls, stores, and redirects water to South Africa |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping |
Ethnic groups | Oromo 40%, Amhara and Tigre 32%, Sidamo 9%, Shankella 6%, Somali 6%, Afar 4%, Gurage 2%, other 1% | Sotho 99.7%, Europeans, Asians, and other 0.3%, |
Exchange rates | birr per US dollar - 8.68 (2005), 8.6356 (2004), 8.5997 (2003), 8.5678 (2002), 8.4575 (2001)
note: since 24 October 2001 exchange rates are determined on a daily basis via interbank transactions regulated by the Central Bank |
maloti per US dollar - 10.54 (2002), 8.61 (2001), 6.94 (2000), 6.11 (1999), 5.53 (1998) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President GIRMA Woldegiorgis (since 8 October 2001)
head of government: Prime Minister MELES Zenawi (since NA August 1995) cabinet: Council of Ministers as provided for in the December 1994 constitution; ministers are selected by the prime minister and approved by the House of People's Representatives elections: president elected by the House of People's Representatives for a six-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 8 October 2001 (next to be held October 2007); prime minister designated by the party in power following legislative elections election results: GIRMA Woldegiorgis elected president; percent of vote by the House of People's Representatives - 100% |
chief of state: King LETSIE III (since 7 February 1996); note - King LETSIE III formerly occupied the throne from November 1990 to February 1995, while his father was in exile
head of government: Prime Minister Pakalitha MOSISILI (since 23 May 1998) cabinet: Cabinet elections: none; according to the constitution, the leader of the majority party in the Assembly automatically becomes prime minister; the monarch is hereditary, but, under the terms of the constitution, which came into effect after the March 1993 election, the monarch is a "living symbol of national unity" with no executive or legislative powers; under traditional law the college of chiefs has the power to determine who is next in the line of succession, who shall serve as regent in the event that the successor is not of mature age, and may even depose the monarch |
Exports | NA bbl/day | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | coffee, qat, gold, leather products, live animals, oilseeds | manufactures 75% (clothing, footwear, road vehicles), wool and mohair, food and live animals (2000) |
Exports - partners | Saudi Arabia 6.9%, Djibouti 6.8%, Switzerland 6.4%, Italy 5.9%, US 5.5%, Netherlands 4.2% (2005) | US 97.5%, Canada 0.9%, France 0.6% (2002) |
Fiscal year | 8 July - 7 July | 1 April - 31 March |
Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of green (top), yellow, and red with a yellow pentagram and single yellow rays emanating from the angles between the points on a light blue disk centered on the three bands; Ethiopia is the oldest independent country in Africa, and the three main colors of her flag were so often adopted by other African countries upon independence that they became known as the pan-African colors | divided diagonally from the lower hoist side corner; the upper half is white, bearing the brown silhouette of a large shield with crossed spear and club; the lower half is a diagonal blue band with a green triangle in the corner |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $5.106 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 47.5%
industry: 9.9% services: 42.6% (2005 est.) |
agriculture: 20%
industry: 46% services: 34% (2001) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $2,700 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 8.9% (2005 est.) | 4% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 8 00 N, 38 00 E | 29 30 S, 28 30 E |
Geography - note | landlocked - entire coastline along the Red Sea was lost with the de jure independence of Eritrea on 24 May 1993; the Blue Nile, the chief headstream of the Nile by water volume, rises in T'ana Hayk (Lake Tana) in northwest Ethiopia; three major crops are believed to have originated in Ethiopia: coffee, grain sorghum, and castor bean | landlocked, completely surrounded by South Africa; mountainous, more than 80% of the country is 1,800 meters above sea level |
Highways | - | total: 5,940 km
paved: 1,087 km unpaved: 4,853 km (1999) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 3%
highest 10%: 33.7% (1995) |
lowest 10%: 0.9%
highest 10%: 43.4% |
Illicit drugs | transit hub for heroin originating in Southwest and Southeast Asia and destined for Europe and North America, as well as cocaine destined for markets in southern Africa; cultivates qat (khat) for local use and regional export, principally to Djibouti and Somalia (legal in all three countries); the lack of a well-developed financial system limits the country's utility as a money-laundering center | - |
Imports | NA bbl/day | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | food and live animals, petroleum and petroleum products, chemicals, machinery, motor vehicles, cereals, textiles | food; building materials, vehicles, machinery, medicines, petroleum products (2000) |
Imports - partners | Saudi Arabia 14.7%, China 12.6%, US 12.4%, **COUNTRY** 9.6%, India 6.7%, Italy 4.6% (2005) | Hong Kong 51.9%, China 25%, France 3.9% (2002) |
Independence | oldest independent country in Africa and one of the oldest in the world - at least 2,000 years | 4 October 1966 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 6.7% (2001 est.) | 15.5% (1999) |
Industries | food processing, beverages, textiles, leather, chemicals, metals processing, cement | food, beverages, textiles, apparel assembly, handicrafts; construction; tourism |
Infant mortality rate | total: 93.62 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 103.43 deaths/1,000 live births female: 83.51 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
total: 86.21 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 91.28 deaths/1,000 live births female: 80.99 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 11.6% (2005 est.) | 10% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, AfDB, AU, COMESA, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), IPU, ISO, ITU, MIGA, NAM, ONUB, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNOCI, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO (observer) | ACP, AfDB, C, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW, SACU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 2,900 sq km (2003) | 10 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Federal Supreme Court (the president and vice president of the Federal Supreme Court are recommended by the prime minister and appointed by the House of People's Representatives; for other federal judges, the prime minister submits to the House of People's Representatives for appointment candidates selected by the Federal Judicial Administrative Council) | High Court (chief justice appointed by the monarch); Court of Appeal; Magistrate's Court; customary or traditional court |
Labor force | 27.27 million | 838,000 |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 80%
industry: 8% services: 12% (1985) |
86% of resident population engaged in subsistence agriculture; roughly 35% of the active male wage earners work in South Africa |
Land boundaries | total: 5,328 km
border countries: Djibouti 349 km, Eritrea 912 km, Kenya 861 km, Somalia 1,600 km, Sudan 1,606 km |
total: 909 km
border countries: South Africa 909 km |
Land use | arable land: 10.01%
permanent crops: 0.65% other: 89.34% (2005) |
arable land: 10.71%
permanent crops: 0% other: 89.29% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Amharic, Tigrinya, Oromigna, Guaragigna, Somali, Arabic, other local languages, English (major foreign language taught in schools) | Sesotho (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa |
Legal system | currently transitional mix of national and regional courts | based on English common law and Roman-Dutch law; judicial review of legislative acts in High Court and Court of Appeal; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | bicameral Parliament consists of the House of Federation or upper chamber (108 seats; members are chosen by state assemblies to serve five-year terms) and the House of People's Representatives or lower chamber (547 seats; members are directly elected by popular vote from single-member districts to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 15 May 2005 (next to be held in 2010) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats by party - EPRDF 327, CUD 109, UEDF 52, SPDP 23, OFDM 11, BGPDUF 8, ANDP 8, independent 1, others 6, undeclared 2 note: irregularities at some polling stations necessitated the rescheduling of voting in certain constituencies |
bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (33 members - 22 principal chiefs and 11 other members appointed by the ruling party) and the Assembly (120 seats, 80 by direct popular vote and 40 by proportional vote; members elected by popular vote for five-year terms); note - number of seats in the Assembly rose from 80 to 120 in the May 2002 election
elections: last held 25 May 2002 (next to be held NA May 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - LCD 54%, BNP 21%, LPC 7%, other 18%; seats by party - LCD 76, BNP 21, LPC 5, other 18 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 49.03 years
male: 47.86 years female: 50.24 years (2006 est.) |
total population: 36.94 years
male: 36.76 years female: 37.13 years (2003 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 42.7% male: 50.3% female: 35.1% (2003 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 84.8% male: 74.5% female: 94.5% (2003 est.) |
Location | Eastern Africa, west of Somalia | Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa |
Map references | Africa | Africa |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total: 8 ships (1000 GRT or over) 79,441 GRT/97,669 DWT
by type: cargo 6, roll on/roll off 2 (2006) |
- |
Military - note | - | the Lesotho Government in 1999 began an open debate on the future structure, size, and role of the armed forces, especially considering the Lesotho Defense Force's (LDF) history of intervening in political affairs |
Military branches | Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF): Ground Forces, Ethiopian Air Force
note: Ethiopia is landlocked and has no navy; following the secession of Eritrea, Ethiopian naval facilities remained in Eritrean possession |
Lesotho Defense Force (LDF; including Army and Air Wing), Royal Lesotho Mounted Police |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $295.9 million (2005 est.) | $34 million (1999) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 3.4% (2005 est.) | NA% |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 459,723 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 250,560 (2003 est.) |
National holiday | National Day (defeat of MENGISTU regime), 28 May (1991) | Independence Day, 4 October (1966) |
Nationality | noun: Ethiopian(s)
adjective: Ethiopian |
noun: Mosotho (singular), Basotho (plural)
adjective: Basotho |
Natural hazards | geologically active Great Rift Valley susceptible to earthquakes, volcanic eruptions; frequent droughts | periodic droughts |
Natural resources | small reserves of gold, platinum, copper, potash, natural gas, hydropower | water, agricultural and grazing land, some diamonds and other minerals |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population
note: repatriation of Ethiopian refugees residing in Sudan is expected to continue for several years; some Sudanese, Somali, and Eritrean refugees, who fled to Ethiopia from the fighting or famine in their own countries, continue to return to their homes (2006 est.) |
-0.74 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Afar National Democratic Party or ANDP; Benishangul Gumuz People's Democratic Unity Front or BGPDUF [Mulualem BESSE]; Coalition for Unity and Democracy or CUD [HAILU Shawel]; Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front or EPRDF [MELES Zenawi] (an alliance of Amhara National Democratic Movement or ANDM, Oromo People's Democratic Organization or OPDO, the South Ethiopean People's Democratic Front or SEPDF, and TigrAyan Peoples' Liberation Front or TPLF); Gurage Nationalities' Democratic Movement or GNDM; Oromo Federalist Democratic Movement or OFDM [BULCHA Demeksa]; Somali People's Democratic Party or SPDP; United Ethopian Democratic Forces or UEDF [BEYENE Petros]; dozens of small parties | Basotho Congress Party or BCP [Tseliso MAKHAKHE]; Basotho National Party or BNP [Maj. Gen. Justine Metsing LEKHANYA]; Lesotho Congress for Democracy or LCD [Phebe MOTEBANO, chairwoman; Pakalitha MOSISILI, leader] - the governing party; Lesotho People's Congress or LPC [Kelebone MAOPE]; United Democratic Party or UDP [Charles MOFELI]; Marematlou Freedom Party or MFP and Setlamo Alliance [Vincent MALEBO]; Progressive National Party or PNP [Chief Peete Nkoebe PEETE]; Sefate Democratic Party or SDP [Bofihla NKUEBE] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Afar Revolutionary Democratic Union Front or ARDUF; Oromo Liberation Front or OLF [DAOUD Ibsa]; Oromo National Liberation Front or ONLF | NA |
Population | 74,777,981
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2006 est.) |
1,861,959
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 50% (2004 est.) | 49% (1999) |
Population growth rate | 2.31% (2006 est.) | 0.19% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | none |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 8, FM 0, shortwave 1 (2001) | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998) |
Railways | total: 681 km (Ethiopian segment of the Addis Ababa-Djibouti railroad)
narrow gauge: 681 km 1.000-m gauge note: railway under joint control of Djibouti and Ethiopia (2005) |
total: 2.6 km; note - owned by, operated by, and included in the statistics of South Africa
narrow gauge: 2.6 km 1.067-m gauge (1995) |
Religions | Muslim 45%-50%, Ethiopian Orthodox 35%-40%, animist 12%, other 3%-8% | Christian 80%, indigenous beliefs 20% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.83 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: adequate for government use
domestic: open-wire; microwave radio relay; radio communication in the HF, VHF, and UHF frequencies; two domestic satellites provide the national trunk service international: country code - 251; open-wire to Sudan and Djibouti; microwave radio relay to Kenya and Djibouti; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 2 Pacific Ocean) |
general assessment: rudimentary system
domestic: consists of a few landlines, a small microwave radio relay system, and a minor radiotelephone communication system; a cellular mobile telephone system is growing international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 610,300 (2005) | 22,200 (2000) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 410,600 (2005) | 21,600 (2000) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 plus 24 repeaters (2002) | 1 (2000) |
Terrain | high plateau with central mountain range divided by Great Rift Valley | mostly highland with plateaus, hills, and mountains |
Total fertility rate | 5.22 children born/woman (2006 est.) | 3.52 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 45% (2002) |
Waterways | - | none |