Guam (2004) | Poland (2005) | |
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Administrative divisions | none (territory of the US) | 16 provinces (wojewodztwa, singular - wojewodztwo); Dolnoslaskie, Kujawsko-Pomorskie, Lodzkie, Lubelskie, Lubuskie, Malopolskie, Mazowieckie, Opolskie, Podkarpackie, Podlaskie, Pomorskie, Slaskie, Swietokrzyskie, Warminsko-Mazurskie, Wielkopolskie, Zachodniopomorskie |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 29.8% (male 25,577; female 23,850)
15-64 years: 64% (male 54,220; female 52,026) 65 years and over: 6.3% (male 4,912; female 5,505) (2004 est.) |
0-14 years: 16.7% (male 3,319,176/female 3,150,859)
15-64 years: 70.3% (male 13,506,153/female 13,638,265) 65 years and over: 13% (male 1,912,431/female 3,108,260) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | fruits, copra, vegetables; eggs, pork, poultry, beef | potatoes, fruits, vegetables, wheat; poultry, eggs, pork |
Airports | 5 (2003 est.) | 123 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 4
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
total: 84
over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 30 1,524 to 2,437 m: 40 914 to 1,523 m: 8 under 914 m: 3 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
total: 39
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 13 under 914 m: 21 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 549 sq km
land: 549 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 312,685 sq km
land: 304,465 sq km water: 8,220 sq km |
Area - comparative | three times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than New Mexico |
Background | Guam was ceded to the US by Spain in 1898. Captured by the Japanese in 1941, it was retaken by the US three years later. The military installation on the island is one of the most strategically important US bases in the Pacific. | Poland is an ancient nation that was conceived near the middle of the 10th century. Its golden age occurred in the 16th century. During the following century, the strengthening of the gentry and internal disorders weakened the nation. In a series of agreements between 1772 and 1795, Russia, Prussia, and Austria partitioned Poland amongst themselves. Poland regained its independence in 1918 only to be overrun by Germany and the Soviet Union in World War II. It became a Soviet satellite state following the war, but its government was comparatively tolerant and progressive. Labor turmoil in 1980 led to the formation of the independent trade union "Solidarity" that over time became a political force and by 1990 had swept parliamentary elections and the presidency. A "shock therapy" program during the early 1990s enabled the country to transform its economy into one of the most robust in Central Europe, but Poland currently suffers low GDP growth and high unemployment. Solidarity suffered a major defeat in the 2001 parliamentary elections when it failed to elect a single deputy to the lower house of Parliament, and the new leaders of the Solidarity Trade Union subsequently pledged to reduce the Trade Union's political role. Poland joined NATO in 1999 and the European Union in 2004. |
Birth rate | 19.31 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 10.78 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $340 million
expenditures: $445 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2000 est.) |
revenues: $44.52 billion
expenditures: $54.93 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.) |
Capital | Hagatna (Agana) | Warsaw |
Climate | tropical marine; generally warm and humid, moderated by northeast trade winds; dry season from January to June, rainy season from July to December; little seasonal temperature variation | temperate with cold, cloudy, moderately severe winters with frequent precipitation; mild summers with frequent showers and thundershowers |
Coastline | 125.5 km | 491 km |
Constitution | Organic Act of 1 August 1950 | adopted by the National Assembly 2 April 1997, passed by national referendum 25 May 1997, effective 17 October 1997 |
Country name | conventional long form: Territory of Guam
conventional short form: Guam local long form: Guahan |
conventional long form: Republic of Poland
conventional short form: Poland local long form: Rzeczpospolita Polska local short form: Polska |
Currency | US dollar (USD) | - |
Death rate | 4.35 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 10.01 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | NA (2003 est.) | $99.15 billion (2004 est.) |
Dependency status | organized, unincorporated territory of the US with policy relations between Guam and the US under the jurisdiction of the Office of Insular Affairs, US Department of the Interior | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (territory of the US) | chief of mission: Ambassador Victor ASHE
embassy: Aleje Ujazdowskie 29/31 00-540 Warsaw mailing address: American Embassy Warsaw, US Department of State, 5010 Warsaw Place, Washington, DC 20521-5010 (pouch) telephone: [48] (22) 504-2000 FAX: [48] (22) 504-2688 consulate(s) general: Krakow |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (territory of the US) | chief of mission: Ambassador Przemyslaw GRUDZINSKI
chancery: 2640 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 234-3800 through 3802 FAX: [1] (202) 328-6270 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York |
Disputes - international | none | as a member state that forms part of the EU's external border, Poland must implement the strict Schengen border rules |
Economic aid - recipient | Guam receives large transfer payments from the US Federal Treasury ($143 million in 1997) into which Guamanians pay no income or excise taxes; under the provisions of a special law of Congress, the Guam Treasury, rather than the US Treasury, receives federal income taxes paid by military and civilian Federal employees stationed in Guam (2001 est.) | $17 billion in available EU structural adjustment and cohesion funds (2004-06) |
Economy - overview | The economy depends on US military spending, tourism, and the export of fish and handicrafts. Total US grants, wage payments, and procurement outlays amounted to $1 billion in 1998. Over the past 20 years, the tourist industry has grown rapidly, creating a construction boom for new hotels and the expansion of older ones. More than 1 million tourists visit Guam each year. The industry had recently suffered setbacks because of the continuing Japanese slowdown; the Japanese normally make up almost 90% of the tourists. Most food and industrial goods are imported. Guam faces the problem of building up the civilian economic sector to offset the impact of military downsizing. | Poland has steadfastly pursued a policy of economic liberalization throughout the 1990s and today stands out as a success story among transition economies. Even so, much remains to be done, especially in bringing down unemployment. The privatization of small and medium-sized state-owned companies and a liberal law on establishing new firms has encouraged the development of the private business sector, but legal and bureaucratic obstacles alongside persistent corruption are hampering its further development. Poland's agricultural sector remains handicapped by surplus labor, inefficient small farms, and lack of investment. Restructuring and privatization of "sensitive sectors" (e.g., coal, steel, railroads, and energy), while recently initiated, have stalled. Reforms in health care, education, the pension system, and state administration have resulted in larger-than-expected fiscal pressures. Further progress in public finance depends mainly on reducing losses in Polish state enterprises, restraining entitlements, and overhauling the tax code to incorporate the growing gray economy and farmers, most of whom pay no tax. The government has introduced a package of social and administrative spending cuts to reduce public spending by about $17 billion through 2007. Additional reductions are under discussion in the legislature but could be trumped by election-year politics in 2005. Poland joined the EU in May 2004, and surging exports to the EU contributed to Poland's strong growth in 2004, though its competitiveness could be threatened by the zloty's appreciation. GDP per capita roughly equals that of the three Baltic states. Poland stands to benefit from nearly $13.5 billion in EU funds, available through 2006. Farmers have already begun to reap the rewards of membership via higher food prices and EU agricultural subsidies. |
Electricity - consumption | 771.9 million kWh (2001) | 117.4 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 11.5 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | 4.5 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | 830 million kWh (2001) | 133.8 billion kWh (2002) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Lamlam 406 m |
lowest point: near Raczki Elblaskie -2 m
highest point: Rysy 2,499 m |
Environment - current issues | extirpation of native bird population by the rapid proliferation of the brown tree snake, an exotic, invasive species | situation has improved since 1989 due to decline in heavy industry and increased environmental concern by post-Communist governments; air pollution nonetheless remains serious because of sulfur dioxide emissions from coal-fired power plants, and the resulting acid rain has caused forest damage; water pollution from industrial and municipal sources is also a problem, as is disposal of hazardous wastes; pollution levels should continue to decrease as industrial establishments bring their facilities up to European Union code, but at substantial cost to business and the government |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to: Air Pollution, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Kyoto Protocol, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94 |
Ethnic groups | Chamorro 37%, Filipino 26%, white 10%, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and other 27% | Polish 96.7%, German 0.4%, Belarusian 0.1%, Ukrainian 0.1%, other and unspecified 2.7% (2002 census) |
Exchange rates | the US dollar is used | zlotych per US dollar - 3.6576 (2004), 3.8891 (2003), 4.08 (2002), 4.0939 (2001), 4.3461 (2000)
note: zlotych is the plural form of zloty |
Executive branch | chief of state: President George W. BUSH of the US (since 20 January 2001); Vice President Richard B. CHENEY (since 20 January 2001)
head of government: Governor Felix P. P. CAMACHO (since 6 January 2003) and Lieutenant Governor Kaleo MOYLAN (since 6 January 2003) cabinet: executive departments; heads appointed by the governor with the consent of the Guam legislature elections: US president and vice president elected on the same ticket for a four-year term; governor and lieutenant governor elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year term; election last held 5 November 2002 (next to be held NA November 2006) election results: Felix P. P. CAMACHO elected governor; percent of vote - Felix P. P. CAMACHO (Republican Party) 55.4%, Robert A. UNDERWOOD (Democratic Party) 44.6% |
chief of state: President Aleksander KWASNIEWSKI (since 23 December 1995)
head of government: Prime Minister Marek BELKA (since 24 June 2004); Deputy Prime Minister Izabela JARUGA-NOWACKA (since 24 June 2004) cabinet: Council of Ministers responsible to the prime minister and the Sejm; the prime minister proposes, the president appoints, and the Sejm approves the Council of Ministers elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 8 October 2000 (next to be held October 2005); prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president and confirmed by the Sejm election results: Aleksander KWASNIEWSKI reelected president; percent of popular vote - Aleksander KWASNIEWSKI 53.9%, Andrzej OLECHOWSKI 17.3%, Marian KRZAKLEWSKI 15.6%, Lech WALESA 1% |
Exports | NA (2001) | 53,000 bbl/day (2001) |
Exports - commodities | mostly transshipments of refined petroleum products; construction materials, fish, food and beverage products | machinery and transport equipment 37.8%, intermediate manufactured goods 23.7%, miscellaneous manufactured goods 17.1%, food and live animals 7.6% (2003) |
Exports - partners | Japan 70.1%, South Korea 17.9%, Singapore 6% (2003) | Germany 30%, Italy 6.1%, France 6%, UK 5.4%, Czech Republic 4.3%, Netherlands 4.3% (2004) |
Fiscal year | 1 October - 30 September | calendar year |
Flag description | territorial flag is dark blue with a narrow red border on all four sides; centered is a red-bordered, pointed, vertical ellipse containing a beach scene, outrigger canoe with sail, and a palm tree with the word GUAM superimposed in bold red letters; US flag is the national flag | two equal horizontal bands of white (top) and red; similar to the flags of Indonesia and Monaco which are red (top) and white |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $3.2 billion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 7%
industry: 15% services: 78% (2002 est.) |
agriculture: 2.9%
industry: 31.3% services: 65.9% (2004 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $21,000 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $12,000 (2004 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | NA | 5.6% (2004 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 13 28 N, 144 47 E | 52 00 N, 20 00 E |
Geography - note | largest and southernmost island in the Mariana Islands archipelago; strategic location in western North Pacific Ocean | historically, an area of conflict because of flat terrain and the lack of natural barriers on the North European Plain |
Heliports | - | 3 (2004 est.) |
Highways | total: 885 km
paved: 675 km unpaved: 210 km note: there are also 685 km of roads classified non-public, including roads located on federal government installations |
total: 364,697 km
paved: 249,088 km (including 399 km of expressways) unpaved: 115,609 km (2001) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
lowest 10%: 3.2%
highest 10%: 24.7% (1998) |
Illicit drugs | - | major illicit producer of synthetic drugs for the international market; minor transshipment point for Asian and Latin American illicit drugs to Western Europe |
Imports | NA (2001) | 413,700 bbl/day (2001) |
Imports - commodities | petroleum and petroleum products, food, manufactured goods | machinery and transport equipment 38%, intermediate manufactured goods 21%, chemicals 14.8%, minerals, fuels, lubricants, and related materials 9.1% (2003) |
Imports - partners | Singapore 35.8%, Japan 22.2%, South Korea 17.5%, Hong Kong 11.4% (2003) | Germany 24.4%, Italy 7.9%, Russia 7.3%, France 6.7%, China 4.6% (2004) |
Independence | none (territory of the US) | 11 November 1918 (independent republic proclaimed) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA | 10% (2004 est.) |
Industries | US military, tourism, construction, transshipment services, concrete products, printing and publishing, food processing, textiles | machine building, iron and steel, coal mining, chemicals, shipbuilding, food processing, glass, beverages, textiles |
Infant mortality rate | total: 7.15 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 7.8 deaths/1,000 live births female: 6.46 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
total: 8.51 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 9.59 deaths/1,000 live births female: 7.37 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 0% (1999 est.) | 3.4% (2004 est.) |
International organization participation | Interpol (subbureau), IOC, UPU | ACCT (observer), Australia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CBSS, CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EU (new member), FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MIGA, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM (guest), NATO, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNMEE, UNMIK, UNMIL, UNOCI, UNOMIG, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU (member affiliate), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 1,000 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Federal District Court (judge is appointed by the president); Territorial Superior Court (judges appointed for eight-year terms by the governor) | Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president on the recommendation of the National Council of the Judiciary for an indefinite period); Constitutional Tribunal (judges are chosen by the Sejm for nine-year terms) |
Labor force | 60,000 (2000 est.) | 17.02 million (2004 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | private 74% (industry 10%, trade 24%, other services 40%), federal and territorial government 26% (2000 est.) | agriculture 16.1%, industry 29%, services 54.9% (2002) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 2,788 km
border countries: Belarus 407 km, Czech Republic 658 km, Germany 456 km, Lithuania 91 km, Russia (Kaliningrad Oblast) 206 km, Slovakia 444 km, Ukraine 526 km |
Land use | arable land: 9.09%
permanent crops: 16.36% other: 74.55% (2001) |
arable land: 45.91%
permanent crops: 1.12% other: 52.97% (2001) |
Languages | English, Chamorro, Japanese | Polish 97.8%, other and unspecified 2.2% (2002 census) |
Legal system | modeled on US; US federal laws apply | mixture of Continental (Napoleonic) civil law and holdover Communist legal theory; changes being gradually introduced as part of broader democratization process; limited judicial review of legislative acts, but rulings of the Constitutional Tribunal are final; court decisions can be appealed to the European Court of Justice in Strasbourg |
Legislative branch | unicameral Legislature (15 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve two-year terms)
elections: last held 5 November 2002 (next to be held 2 November 2004) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - Democratic Party 9, Republican Party 6 note: Guam elects one nonvoting delegate to the US House of Representatives; election last held 5 November 2002 (next to be held 2 November 2004); results - Madeleine BORDALLO (Democratic Party) was elected as delegate; percent of vote by party - Democratic Party 64.6%, Republican Party 35.4%; seats by party - Democratic Party 1 |
bicameral legislature consisting of an upper house, the Senate or Senat (100 seats; members are elected by a majority vote on a provincial basis to serve four-year terms), and a lower house, the Sejm (460 seats; members are elected under a complex system of proportional representation to serve four-year terms); the designation of National Assembly or Zgromadzenie Narodowe is only used on those rare occasions when the two houses meet jointly
elections: Senate - last held 25 September 2005 (next to be held by September 2009); Sejm elections last held September 25 2005 (next to be held by September 2009) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PiS 49, PO 34, LPR 7, SO 3, PSL 2, independents 5; Sejm - percent of vote by party - PiS 27%, PO 24.1%, SO 11.4%, SLD 11.3%, LPR 8%, PSL 7%, other 11.2%; seats by party - PiS 155, PO 133, SO 56, SLD 55, LPR 34, PSL 25, German minorities 2 note: two seats are assigned to ethnic minority parties in the Sejm only |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 78.12 years
male: 75.08 years female: 81.34 years (2004 est.) |
total population: 74.74 years
male: 70.71 years female: 79.03 years (2005 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99% male: 99% female: 99% (1990 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99.8% male: 99.8% female: 99.7% (2003 est.) |
Location | Oceania, island in the North Pacific Ocean, about three-quarters of the way from Hawaii to the Philippines | Central Europe, east of Germany |
Map references | Oceania | Europe |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: defined by international treaties |
Merchant marine | none | total: 7 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 154,710 GRT/228,132 DWT
by type: cargo 3, chemical tanker 2, passenger/cargo 1, roll on/roll off 1 registered in other countries: 107 (2005) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the US | - |
Military branches | - | Land Forces, Navy, Polish Air Force (PSP) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $3.5 billion (2002) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 1.71% (2002) |
National holiday | Discovery Day, first Monday in March (1521) | Constitution Day, 3 May (1791) |
Nationality | noun: Guamanian(s)
adjective: Guamanian |
noun: Pole(s)
adjective: Polish |
Natural hazards | frequent squalls during rainy season; relatively rare, but potentially very destructive typhoons (June - December) | flooding |
Natural resources | fishing (largely undeveloped), tourism (especially from Japan) | coal, sulfur, copper, natural gas, silver, lead, salt, amber, arable land |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) | -0.49 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Pipelines | - | gas 13,552 km; oil 1,772 km (2004) |
Political parties and leaders | Democratic Party (controls the legislature) [speaker, Vicente (Ben) PANGELINAN]; Republican Party (party of Governor CAMACHO) [leader NA] | Catholic-National Movement or RKN [Antoni MACIEREWICZ]; Civic Platform or PO [Donald TUSK]; Conservative Peasants Party or KL [Artur BALAZS]; Democratic Left Alliance or SLD [Jozef OLEKSY]; Dom Ojczysty (Fatherland Home); Freedom Union or UW [Wladyslaw FRASYNIUK]; German Minority of Lower Silesia or MNSO [Henryk KROLL]; Law and Justice or PiS [Jaroslaw KACZYNSKI]; League of Polish Families or LPR [Marek KOTLINOWSKI]; Movement for the Reconstruction of Poland or ROP [Jan OLSZEWSKI]; Peasant-Democratic Party or PLD [Roman JAGIELINSKI]; Polish Accord or PP [Jan LOPUSZANSKI]; Polish Peasant Party or PSL [Waldemar PAWLAK]; Samoobrona or SO [Andrzej LEPPER]; Social Democratic Party of Poland or SDPL [Marek BOROWSKI]; Social Movement or RS [Krzysztof PIESIEWICZ]; Union of Labor or UP [Izabela JARUGA-NOWACKA] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | All Poland Trade Union Alliance or OPZZ (trade union) [Jan GUZ]; Roman Catholic Church [Cardinal Jozef GLEMP]; Solidarity Trade Union [Janusz SNIADEK] |
Population | 166,090 (July 2004 est.) | 38,635,144 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 23% (2001 est.) | 18.4% (2000 est.) |
Population growth rate | 1.5% (2004 est.) | 0.03% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Apra Harbor | Gdansk, Gdynia, Swinoujscie, Szczecin |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 4, FM 7, shortwave 2 (2003) | AM 14, FM 777, shortwave 1 (1998) |
Railways | - | total: 23,852 km
broad gauge: 629 km 1.524-m gauge standard gauge: 23,223 km 1.435-m gauge (20,555 km operational) (11,962 km electrified) (2004) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 85%, other 15% (1999 est.) | Roman Catholic 89.8% (about 75% practicing), Eastern Orthodox 1.3%, Protestant 0.3%, other 0.3%, unspecified 8.3% (2002) |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.89 male(s)/female total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.62 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal; US citizens, but do not vote in US presidential elections | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: modern system, integrated with US facilities for direct dialing, including free use of 800 numbers
domestic: modern digital system, including cellular mobile service and local access to the Internet international: country code - 1-671; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean); submarine cables to US and Japan (Guam is a trans-Pacific communications hub for MCI, Sprint, AT&T, IT&E, and GTE, linking the US and Asia) |
general assessment: underdeveloped and outmoded system in the process of being overhauled; partial privatization of the state-owned telephone monopoly is underway; the long waiting list for main line telephone service has resulted in a boom in mobile cellular telephone use
domestic: cable, open-wire, and microwave radio relay; 3 cellular networks; local exchanges 56.6% digital international: country code - 48; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat, NA Eutelsat, 2 Inmarsat (Atlantic and Indian Ocean regions), and 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 84,134 (2001) | 12.3 million (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 32,600 (2001) | 17.401 million (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 5 (1997) | 179 (plus 256 repeaters) (September 1995) |
Terrain | volcanic origin, surrounded by coral reefs; relatively flat coralline limestone plateau (source of most fresh water), with steep coastal cliffs and narrow coastal plains in north, low hills in center, mountains in south | mostly flat plain; mountains along southern border |
Total fertility rate | 2.61 children born/woman (2004 est.) | 1.39 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 15% (2000 est.) | 19.5% (2004 est.) |
Waterways | - | 3,997 km (navigable rivers and canals) (2003) |