Haiti (2002) | Eritrea (2001) | |
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Administrative divisions | 9 departments (departements, singular - departement); Artibonite, Centre, Grand 'Anse, Nord, Nord-Est, Nord-Ouest, Ouest, Sud, Sud-Est | 8 provinces (singular - awraja); Akale Guzay, Barka, Denkel, Hamasen, Sahil, Semhar, Senhit, Seraye
note: in May 1995 the National Assembly adopted a resolution stating that the administrative structure of Eritrea, which had been established by former colonial powers, would consist of only six provinces when the new constitution, then being drafted, became effective in 1997; the new provinces, the names of which had not been recommended by the US Board on Geographic Names for recognition by the US Government, pending acceptable definition of the boundaries, were: Anseba, Debub, Debubawi Keyih Bahri, Gash-Barka, Maakel, and Semanawi Keyih Bahri; more recently, it has been reported that these provinces have been redesignated regions and renamed Southern Red Sea, Northern Red Sea, Anseba, Gash-Barka, Southern, and Central |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 39.5% (male 1,414,052; female 1,377,693)
15-64 years: 56.3% (male 1,924,867; female 2,049,952) 65 years and over: 4.2% (male 142,657; female 154,501) (2002 est.) |
0-14 years:
42.85% (male 922,691; female 918,916) 15-64 years: 53.87% (male 1,147,927; female 1,167,705) 65 years and over: 3.28% (male 71,232; female 69,798) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coffee, mangoes, sugarcane, rice, corn, sorghum; wood | sorghum, lentils, vegetables, corn, cotton, tobacco, coffee, sisal; livestock, goats; fish |
Airports | 12 (2001) | 20 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2002) |
total:
2 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 10
914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 6 (2002) |
total:
18 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 27,750 sq km
land: 27,560 sq km water: 190 sq km |
total:
121,320 sq km land: 121,320 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Maryland | slightly larger than Pennsylvania |
Background | The native Arawak Amerindians - who inhabited the island of Hispaniola when it was discovered by Columbus in 1492 - were virtually annihilated by Spanish settlers within 25 years. In the early 17th century, the French established a presence on Hispaniola, and in 1697, Spain ceded to the French the western third of the island - Haiti. The French colony, based on forestry and sugar-related industries, became one of the wealthiest in the Caribbean, but only through the heavy importation of African slaves and considerable environmental degradation. In the late 18th century, Haiti's nearly half million slaves revolted under Toussaint L'OUVERTURE and after a prolonged struggle, became the first black republic to declare its independence in 1804. Haiti has been plagued by political violence for most of its history since then, and it is now one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere. Over three decades of dictatorship followed by military rule ended in 1990 when Jean-Bertrand ARISTIDE was elected president. Most of his term was usurped by a military takeover, but he was able to return to office in 1994 and oversee the installation of a close associate to the presidency in 1996. ARISTIDE won a second term as president in 2000, and took office early in 2001. However, a political crisis stemming from fraudulent legislative elections in 2000 has not yet been resolved. | Eritrea was awarded to Ethiopia in 1952 as part of a federation. Ethiopia's annexation of Eritrea as a province 10 years later sparked a 30-year struggle for independence that ended in 1991 with Eritrean rebels defeating governmental forces; independence was overwhelmingly approved in a 1993 referendum. A two and a half year border war with Ethiopia that erupted in 1998 ended under UN auspices on 12 December 2000. |
Birth rate | 31.42 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 42.52 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $273 million
expenditures: $361 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY00/01 est.) |
revenues:
$283.9 million expenditures: $351.6 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1997 est.) |
Capital | Port-au-Prince | Asmara (formerly Asmera) |
Climate | tropical; semiarid where mountains in east cut off trade winds | hot, dry desert strip along Red Sea coast; cooler and wetter in the central highlands (up to 61 cm of rainfall annually); semiarid in western hills and lowlands; rainfall heaviest during June-September except in coastal desert |
Coastline | 1,771 km | 2,234 km total; mainland on Red Sea 1,151 km, islands in Red Sea 1,083 km |
Constitution | approved March 1987; suspended June 1988, with most articles reinstated March 1989; in October 1991, government claimed to be observing the constitution; return to constitutional rule, October 1994 | the transitional constitution, decreed on 19 May 1993, was replaced by a new constitution adopted on 23 May 1997, but not yet implemented |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Haiti
conventional short form: Haiti local long form: Republique d'Haiti local short form: Haiti |
conventional long form:
State of Eritrea conventional short form: Eritrea local long form: Hagere Ertra local short form: Ertra former: Eritrea Autonomous Region in Ethiopia |
Currency | gourde (HTG) | nakfa (ERN) |
Death rate | 14.88 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 12.07 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.2 billion (1999) (1999) | $281 million (2000 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Roger NORIEGA
embassy: 5 Harry S Truman Boulevard, Port-au-Prince mailing address: P. O. Box 1761, Port-au-Prince telephone: [509] 222-0354, 222-0269, 222-0200, 222-0327 FAX: [509] 223-1641, 222-0200, extension 460 |
chief of mission:
Ambassador William D. CLARKE embassy: Franklin D. Roosevelt Street, Asmara mailing address: P. O. Box 211, Asmara telephone: [291] (1) 120004 FAX: [291] (1) 127584 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Chief of Mission Harry Frantz LEO
chancery: 2311 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 332-4090 FAX: [1] (202) 745-7215 consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, Miami, New York, and San Juan (Puerto Rico) |
chief of mission:
Ambassador GIRMA Asmerom chancery: 1708 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 319-1991 FAX: [1] (202) 319-1304 |
Disputes - international | claims US-administered Navassa Island | as a result of the 12 December 2000 peace agreement ending a two-year war with Ethiopia, the UN will administer a 25-km wide temporary security zone within Eritrea until a joint boundary commission delimits and demarcates a final boundary |
Economic aid - recipient | $730.6 million (1995) (1995) | $77 million (1999) |
Economy - overview | About 80% of the population lives in abject poverty. Nearly 70% of all Haitians depend on the agriculture sector, which consists mainly of small-scale subsistence farming and employs about two-thirds of the economically active work force. The country has experienced little job creation since the former President PREVAL took office in February 1996, although the informal economy is growing. Following legislative elections in May 2000, fraught with irregularities, international donors - including the US and EU - suspended almost all aid to Haiti. The economy shrank an estimated 1.2% in 2001, and the contraction will likely intensify in 2002 unless a political agreement with donors is reached and aid restored. | With independence from Ethiopia on 24 May 1993, Eritrea faced the economic problems of a small, desperately poor country. The economy is largely based on subsistence agriculture, with 80% of the population involved in farming and herding. The small industrial sector consists mainly of light industries with outmoded technologies. Domestic output (GDP) is substantially augmented by worker remittances from abroad. Government revenues come from custom duties and taxes on income and sales. Road construction is a top domestic priority. In the long term, Eritrea may benefit from the development of offshore oil, offshore fishing, and tourism. Eritrea's economic future depends on its ability to master fundamental social and economic problems, e.g., by reducing illiteracy, promoting job creation, expanding technical training, attracting foreign investment, and streamlining the bureaucracy. Eritrea's agriculture over the last two years was severely weakened by war and drought, and many farmlands must wait to be demined. Another major difficulty is the ports, which prior to the war were Ethiopia's preferred outlets but since have seen trade dry up. |
Electricity - consumption | 485.46 million kWh (2000) | 153.5 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh NA kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh NA kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 522 million kWh (2000) | 165 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 69%
hydro: 31% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Chaine de la Selle 2,680 m |
lowest point:
near Kulul within the Denakil depression -75 m highest point: Soira 3,018 m |
Environment - current issues | extensive deforestation (much of the remaining forested land is being cleared for agriculture and used as fuel); soil erosion; inadequate supplies of potable water | deforestation; desertification; soil erosion; overgrazing; loss of infrastructure from civil warfare |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban |
party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | black 95%, mulatto and white 5% | ethnic Tigrinya 50%, Tigre and Kunama 40%, Afar 4%, Saho (Red Sea coast dwellers) 3% |
Exchange rates | gourdes per US dollar - 26.674 (January 2002), 26.339 (2001), 22.524 (2000), 17.965 (1999), 16.505 (1998), 17.311 (1997) | nakfa per US dollar = 9.5 (January 2000), 7.6 (January 1999), 7.2 (March 1998 est.) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Jean-Bertrand ARISTIDE (since 7 February 2001)
head of government: Prime Minister Yvon NEPTUNE (since 4 March 2002); note - former Prime Minister CHERESTAL resigned in January 2002 cabinet: Cabinet chosen by the prime minister in consultation with the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 26 November 2000 (next to be held NA 2005); prime minister appointed by the president, ratified by the National Assembly election results: Jean-Bertrand ARISTIDE elected president; percent of vote - Jean-Bertrand ARISTIDE 92% |
chief of state:
President ISAIAS Afworki (since 8 June 1993); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government and is head of the State Council and National Assembly head of government: President ISAIAS Afworki (since 8 June 1993); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government and is head of the State Council and National Assembly cabinet: State Council is the collective executive authority elections: president elected by the National Assembly; election last held 8 June 1993 (next tentatively scheduled for December 2001) election results: ISAIAS Afworki elected president; percent of National Assembly vote - ISAIAS Afworki 95% |
Exports | $326.6 million f.o.b. (2001) | $26 million (f.o.b., 1999) |
Exports - commodities | manufactures, coffee, oils, cocoa | livestock, sorghum, textiles, food, small manufactures |
Exports - partners | US 90%, EU 6% (2000) | Sudan 27.2%, Ethiopia 26.5%, Japan 13.2%, UAE 7.3%, Italy 5.3% (1998) |
Fiscal year | 1 October - 30 September | calendar year |
Flag description | two equal horizontal bands of blue (top) and red with a centered white rectangle bearing the coat of arms, which contains a palm tree flanked by flags and two cannons above a scroll bearing the motto L'UNION FAIT LA FORCE (Union Makes Strength) | red isosceles triangle (based on the hoist side) dividing the flag into two right triangles; the upper triangle is green, the lower one is blue; a gold wreath encircling a gold olive branch is centered on the hoist side of the red triangle |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $12 billion (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $2.9 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 30%
industry: 20% services: 50% (2001 est.) |
agriculture:
16% industry: 27% services: 57% (2000 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,700 (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $710 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | -1.2% (2001 est.) | -1% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 19 00 N, 72 25 W | 15 00 N, 39 00 E |
Geography - note | shares island of Hispaniola with Dominican Republic (western one-third is Haiti, eastern two-thirds is the Dominican Republic) | strategic geopolitical position along world's busiest shipping lanes; Eritrea retained the entire coastline of Ethiopia along the Red Sea upon de jure independence from Ethiopia on 24 May 1993 |
Highways | total: 4,160 km
paved: 1,011 km unpaved: 3,149 km (1996) |
total:
3,850 km paved: 810 km unpaved: 3,040 km (2000) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | major Caribbean transshipment point for cocaine en route to the US and Europe; substantial money-laundering activity; Colombian narcotics traffickers favor Haiti for illicit financial transactions; pervasive corruption | - |
Imports | $977.5 million c.i.f. (2001) | $560 million (c.i.f., 1999) |
Imports - commodities | food, manufactured goods, machinery and transport equipment, fuels, raw materials | machinery, petroleum products, food, manufactured goods |
Imports - partners | US 60%, EU 10.5%, Dominican Republic 3.7% (2000) | Italy 17.4%, UAE 16.2%, Germany 5.7%, UK 4.5%, Korea 4.4% (1998) |
Independence | 1 January 1804 (from France) | 24 May 1993 (from Ethiopia) |
Industrial production growth rate | 0.6% (1997 est.) | NA% |
Industries | sugar refining, flour milling, textiles, cement, light assembly industries based on imported parts | food processing, beverages, clothing and textiles |
Infant mortality rate | 93.35 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | 75.14 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 14% (2001 est.) | 14% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | ACCT, ACP, Caricom, CCC, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, LAES, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW (signatory), PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | ACP, AfDB, CCC, ECA, FAO, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IGAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 3 (2000) | 4 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 750 sq km (1998 est.) | 280 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Cour de Cassation | Supreme Court; 10 provincial courts; 29 district courts |
Labor force | 3.6 million (1995)
note: shortage of skilled labor, unskilled labor abundant (2001) (1995) |
NA |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 66%, services 25%, industry 9% | agriculture 80%, industry and services 20% |
Land boundaries | total: 360 km
border countries: Dominican Republic 360 km |
total:
1,630 km border countries: Djibouti 113 km, Ethiopia 912 km, Sudan 605 km |
Land use | arable land: 20.32%
permanent crops: 12.7% other: 66.98% (1998 est.) |
arable land:
12% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 49% forests and woodland: 6% other: 32% (1998 est.) |
Languages | French (official), Creole (official) | Afar, Amharic, Arabic, Tigre and Kunama, Tigrinya, other Cushitic languages |
Legal system | based on Roman civil law system; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | operates on the basis of transitional laws that incorporate pre-independence statutes of the Eritrean People's Liberation Front, revised Ethiopian laws, customary laws, and post independence enacted laws |
Legislative branch | bicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale consists of the Senate (27 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms; one-third elected every two years) and the Chamber of Deputies (83 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held for two-thirds of seats 21 May 2000, with runoffs on 9 July boycotted by the opposition; seven seats still disputed; election for remaining one-third held on 26 November 2000 (next to be held NA 2002); Chamber of Deputies - last held 21 May 2000, with runoffs on 30 July boycotted by the opposition; one vacant seat rerun 26 November 2000 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - FL 26, independent 1; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - FL 73, MOCHRENA 3, PLB 2, OPL 1, vacant 1, other minor parties and independents 3 |
unicameral National Assembly (150 seats; term limits not established)
elections: in May 1997, following the adoption of the new constitution, 75 members of the PFDJ Central Committee (the old Central Committee of the EPLF), 60 members of the 527-member Constituent Assembly which had been established in 1997 to discuss and ratify the new constitution, and 15 representatives of Eritreans living abroad were formed into a Transitional National Assembly to serve as the country's legislative body until country-wide elections to a National Assembly are held; only 75 members will be elected to the National Assembly - the other 75 will be members of the Central Committee of the PFDJ; parliamentary elections are now scheduled for NA December 2001 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 49.55 years
male: 47.88 years female: 51.29 years (2002 est.) |
total population:
56.18 years male: 53.73 years female: 58.71 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 45% male: 48% female: 42.2% (1995 est.) |
definition:
NA total population: 25% male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Caribbean, western one-third of the island of Hispaniola, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, west of the Dominican Republic | Eastern Africa, bordering the Red Sea, between Djibouti and Sudan |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Africa |
Maritime claims | contiguous zone: 24 NM
continental shelf: to depth of exploitation exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea:
12 NM |
Merchant marine | none (2002 est.) | total:
5 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 16,069 GRT/19,549 DWT ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 1, liquefied gas 1, petroleum tanker 1, roll on/roll off 1 (2000 est.) |
Military branches | Haitian National Police (HNP)
note: the regular Haitian Army, Navy, and Air Force have been demobilized but still exist on paper until or unless they are constitutionally abolished |
Army, Navy, Air Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $50 million (FY00) | $160 million (2000 est.) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.3% (FY00) | 29.4% (2000 est.) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 1,691,585 (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 919,275 (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 87,049 (2002 est.) | - |
National holiday | Independence Day, 1 January (1804) | Independence Day, 24 May (1993) |
Nationality | noun: Haitian(s)
adjective: Haitian |
noun:
Eritrean(s) adjective: Eritrean |
Natural hazards | lies in the middle of the hurricane belt and subject to severe storms from June to October; occasional flooding and earthquakes; periodic droughts | frequent droughts; locust swarms |
Natural resources | bauxite, copper, calcium carbonate, gold, marble, hydropower | gold, potash, zinc, copper, salt, possibly oil and natural gas, fish |
Net migration rate | -2.31 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 7.91 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)
note: according to the UNHCR, about 150,000 Eritrean refugees in Sudan have registered for voluntary repatriation, following the restoration of diplomatic relations between Eritrea and Sudan in January 2000 |
Political parties and leaders | Alliance for the Liberation and Advancement of Haiti or ALAH [Reynold GEORGES]; Assembly of Progressive National Democrats or RDNP [Leslie MANIGAT]; Convergence (opposition coalition composed of ESPACE, OPL, and MOCHRENA) [Gerard PIERRE-CHARLES, Evans PAUL, Luc MESADIEU, Victor BENOIT]; Democratic Consultation Group coalition or ESPACE [Evans PAUL, Victor Benoit] composed of the following parties: National Congress of Democratic Movements or KONAKOM, National Progressive Revolutionary Party or PANPRA, Generation 2004, and Haiti Can; Haitian Christian Democratic Party or PDCH [Marie-France CLAUDE]; Haitian Democratic Party or PADEM [Clark PARENT]; Lavalas Family or FL [Jean-Bertrand ARISTIDE]; Mobilization for National Development or MDN [Hubert DE RONCERAY]; Movement for National Reconstruction or MRN [Rene THEODORE]; Movement for the Installation of Democracy in Haiti or MIDH [Marc BAZIN]; Movement for the Organization of the Country or MOP [Gesner COMEAU and Jean MOLIERE]; National Cooperative Action Movement or MKN [Volrick Remy JOSEPH]; National Front for Change and Democracy or FNCD [Evans PAUL and Turneb DELPE]; New Christian Movement for a New Haiti or MOCHRENA [Luc MESADIEU]; Open the Gate or PLB [Renaud BERNARDIN]; Struggling People's Organization or OPL [Gerard PIERRE-CHARLES] | People's Front for Democracy and Justice or PFDJ, the only party recognized by the government [ISAIAS Afworki, PETROS Solomon]; note - the National Assembly has appointed a committee to draft a law on political parties |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Autonomous Haitian Workers or CATH; Confederation of Haitian Workers or CTH; Federation of Workers Trade Unions or FOS; National Popular Assembly or APN; Papaye Peasants Movement or MPP; Popular Organizations Gathering Power or PROP; Roman Catholic Church | Eritrean Islamic Jihad or EIJ; Eritrean Liberation Front or ELF [ABDULLAH Muhammed]; Eritrean Liberation Front-Revolutionary Council or ELF-RC [Ahmed NASSER]; Eritrean Liberation Front-United Organization or ELF-UO [Mohammed Said NAWD] |
Population | 7,063,722
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 2002 est.) |
4,298,269 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 80% (1998 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 1.42% (2002 est.) | 3.84% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Cap-Haitien, Gonaives, Jacmel, Jeremie, Les Cayes, Miragoane, Port-au-Prince, Port-de-Paix, Saint-Marc | Assab (Aseb), Massawa (Mits'iwa) |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 41, FM 26, shortwave 0 (1999) | AM 2, FM 1, shortwave 2 (2000) |
Radios | 415,000 (1997) | 345,000 (1997) |
Railways | total: 40 km
narrow gauge: 40 km 0.760-m gauge; single-track note: privately owned industrial line; closed in early 1990s (2001 est.) |
total:
317 km narrow gauge: 317 km 0.950-m gauge (1999) note: links Ak'ordat and Asmara with the port of Massawa; nonoperational since 1978 except for about a 5 km stretch that was reopened in Massawa in 1994; rehabilitation of the remainder and of the rolling stock is under way |
Religions | Roman Catholic 80%, Protestant 16% (Baptist 10%, Pentecostal 4%, Adventist 1%, other 1%), none 1%, other 3% (1982)
note: roughly half of the population also practices Voodoo |
Muslim, Coptic Christian, Roman Catholic, Protestant |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.92 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
at birth:
1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.02 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: domestic facilities barely adequate; international facilities slightly better
domestic: coaxial cable and microwave radio relay trunk service international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
general assessment:
NA domestic: very inadequate; most telephones are in Asmara; government is seeking international tenders to improve the system international: NA |
Telephones - main lines in use | 60,000 (1997) | 23,578 (2000) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 0 (1995) | NA |
Television broadcast stations | 2 (plus a cable TV service) (1997) | 1 (2000) |
Terrain | mostly rough and mountainous | dominated by extension of Ethiopian north-south trending highlands, descending on the east to a coastal desert plain, on the northwest to hilly terrain and on the southwest to flat-to-rolling plains |
Total fertility rate | 4.3 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 5.87 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | widespread unemployment and underemployment; more than two-thirds of the labor force do not have formal jobs (2001) (2001) | NA% |
Waterways | NEGL; less than 100 km navigable | none |