Honduras (2005) | Bahrain (2003) | |
Administrative divisions | 18 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento); Atlantida, Choluteca, Colon, Comayagua, Copan, Cortes, El Paraiso, Francisco Morazan, Gracias a Dios, Intibuca, Islas de la Bahia, La Paz, Lempira, Ocotepeque, Olancho, Santa Barbara, Valle, Yoro | 12 municipalities (manatiq, singular - mintaqah); Al Hadd, Al Manamah, Al Mintaqah al Gharbiyah, Al Mintaqah al Wusta, Al Mintaqah ash Shamaliyah, Al Muharraq, Ar Rifa' wa al Mintaqah al Janubiyah, Jidd Hafs, Madinat Hamad, Madinat 'Isa, Juzur Hawar, Sitrah
note: all municipalities administered from Manama |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 40.8% (male 1,452,646/female 1,393,271)
15-64 years: 55.5% (male 1,921,432/female 1,948,656) 65 years and over: 3.7% (male 122,146/female 137,053) (2005 est.) |
0-14 years: 28.8% (male 97,294; female 94,930)
15-64 years: 68% (male 266,351; female 187,473) 65 years and over: 3.2% (male 10,807; female 10,383) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | bananas, coffee, citrus; beef; timber; shrimp | fruit, vegetables; poultry, dairy products; shrimp, fish |
Airports | 115 (2004 est.) | 4 (2002) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 11
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 3 (2004 est.) |
total: 3
over 3,047 m: 2 1524 to 2437 m: 1 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 104
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 18 under 914 m: 84 (2004 est.) |
total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2002) |
Area | total: 112,090 sq km
land: 111,890 sq km water: 200 sq km |
total: 665 sq km
land: 665 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Tennessee | 3.5 times the size of Washington, DC |
Background | Once part of Spain's vast empire in the New World, Honduras became an independent nation in 1821. After two and a half decades of mostly military rule, a freely elected civilian government came to power in 1982. During the 1980s, Honduras proved a haven for anti-Sandinista contras fighting the Marxist Nicaraguan Government and an ally to Salvadoran Government forces fighting leftist guerrillas. The country was devastated by Hurricane Mitch in 1998, which killed about 5,600 people and caused approximately $2 billion in damage. | Bahrain's small size and central location among Persian Gulf countries require it to play a delicate balancing act in foreign affairs among its larger neighbors. Facing declining oil reserves, Bahrain has turned to petroleum processing and refining and has transformed itself into an international banking center. The new amir, installed in 1999, has pushed economic and political reforms and has worked to improve relations with the Shi'a community. In February 2001, Bahraini voters approved a referendum on the National Action Charter - the centerpiece of the amir's political liberalization program. In February 2002, Amir HAMAD bin Isa Al Khalifa proclaimed himself king. In October 2002, Bahrainis elected members of the lower house of Bahrain's reconstituted bicameral legislature, the National Assembly. |
Birth rate | 30.38 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 19.02 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $1.467 billion
expenditures: $1.722 billion, including capital expenditures of $106 million (2004 est.) |
revenues: $1.8 billion
expenditures: $2.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $700 million (2002 est.) |
Capital | Tegucigalpa | Manama |
Climate | subtropical in lowlands, temperate in mountains | arid; mild, pleasant winters; very hot, humid summers |
Coastline | 820 km | 161 km |
Constitution | 11 January 1982, effective 20 January 1982; amended 1995 | adopted late December 2000; Bahrani voters approved on 13-14 February 2001 a referendum on legislative changes (revised constitution calls for a partially elected legislature, a constitutional monarchy, and an independent judiciary) |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Honduras
conventional short form: Honduras local long form: Republica de Honduras local short form: Honduras |
conventional long form: Kingdom of Bahrain
conventional short form: Bahrain local long form: Mamlakat al Bahrayn local short form: Al Bahrayn former: Dilmun |
Currency | - | Bahraini dinar (BHD) |
Death rate | 6.87 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 3.99 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $5.365 billion (September 2004 est.) | $3.7 billion (2002) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Larry Leon PALMER
embassy: Avenida La Paz, Apartado Postal No. 3453, Tegucigalpa mailing address: American Embassy, APO AA 34022, Tegucigalpa telephone: [504] 238-5114, 236-9320 FAX: [504] 236-9037 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Ronald E. NEUMANN
embassy: Building #979, Road 3119 (next to Al-Ahli Sports Club), Block 321, Zinj District, Manama mailing address: American Embassy Manama, PSC 451, FPO AE 09834-5100; international mail: American Embassy, Box 26431, Manama telephone: [973] 273-300 FAX: [973] 272-594 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant)
chancery: Suite 4-M, 3007 Tilden Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 966-7702 FAX: [1] (202) 966-9751 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Phoenix, San Francisco honorary consulate(s): Boston, Detroit, Jacksonville |
chief of mission: Ambassador Khalifa bin Ali bin Rashid AL KHALIFA
chancery: 3502 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 342-0741 FAX: [1] (202) 362-2192 consulate(s) general: New York |
Disputes - international | in 1992, ICJ ruled on the delimitation of "bolsones" (disputed areas) along the El Salvador-Honduras border, but despite OAS intervention and a further ICJ ruling in 2003, full demarcation of the border remains stalled; the 1992 ICJ ruling advised a tripartite resolution to a maritime boundary in the Gulf of Fonseca with consideration of Honduran access to the Pacific; El Salvador continues to claim tiny Conejo Island, not mentioned in the ICJ ruling, off Honduras in the Gulf of Fonseca; Honduras claims Sapodilla Cays off the coast of Belize, but agreed to creation of a joint ecological park and Guatemalan corridor in the Caribbean in the failed 2002 Belize-Guatemala Differendum, which the OAS is attempting to revive; Nicaragua filed a claim against Honduras in 1999 and against Colombia in 2001 at the ICJ over a complex dispute over islands and maritime boundaries in the Caribbean Sea | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $557.8 million (1999) | $150 million; note - $50 million annually since 1992 from each of Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Kuwait (2002) |
Economy - overview | Honduras, one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere with an extraordinarily unequal distribution of income and massive unemployment, is banking on expanded trade under the U.S.-Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) and on debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative. The country has met most of its macroeconomic targets, and began a three-year IMF Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PGRF) program in February 2004. Growth remains dependent on the economy of the US, its largest trading partner, on commodity prices, particularly coffee, and on reduction of the high crime rate. | In Bahrain, petroleum production and refining account for about 60% of export receipts, 60% of government revenues, and 30% of GDP. With its highly developed communication and transport facilities, Bahrain is home to numerous multinational firms with business in the Gulf. Bahrain is dependent on Saudi Arabia for oil granted as aid. A large share of exports consists of petroleum products made from refining imported crude. Construction proceeds on several major industrial projects. Unemployment, especially among the young, and the depletion of oil and underground water resources are major long-term economic problems. |
Electricity - consumption | 3.771 billion kWh (2002) | 5.819 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 16 million kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 415 million kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 3.626 billion kWh (2002) | 6.257 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Cerro Las Minas 2,870 m |
lowest point: Persian Gulf 0 m
highest point: Jabal ad Dukhan 122 m |
Environment - current issues | urban population expanding; deforestation results from logging and the clearing of land for agricultural purposes; further land degradation and soil erosion hastened by uncontrolled development and improper land use practices such as farming of marginal lands; mining activities polluting Lago de Yojoa (the country's largest source of fresh water), as well as several rivers and streams, with heavy metals | desertification resulting from the degradation of limited arable land, periods of drought, and dust storms; coastal degradation (damage to coastlines, coral reefs, and sea vegetation) resulting from oil spills and other discharges from large tankers, oil refineries, and distribution stations; lack of freshwater resources, groundwater and seawater are the only sources for all water needs |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, 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, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | mestizo (mixed Amerindian and European) 90%, Amerindian 7%, black 2%, white 1% | Bahraini 63%, Asian 19%, other Arab 10%, Iranian 8% |
Exchange rates | lempiras per US dollar - 18.206 (2004), 17.345 (2003), 16.433 (2002), 15.474 (2001), 14.839 (2000) | Bahraini dinars per US dollar - 0.38 (2002), 0.38 (2001), 0.38 (2000), 0.38 (1999), 0.38 (1998) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Ricardo (Joest) MADURO (since 27 January 2002); First Vice President Vicente WILLIAMS Agasse (since 27 January 2002); Second Vice President Armida Villela Maria DE LOPEZ Contreras (since 27 January 2002); Third Vice President Alberto DIAZ Lobo (since 27 January 2002); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Ricardo (Joest) MADURO (since 27 January 2002); First Vice President Vicente WILLIAMS Agasse (since 27 January 2002); Second Vice President Armida Villela Maria DE LOPEZ Contreras (since 27 January 2002); Third Vice President Alberto DIAZ Lobo (since 27 January 2002); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet appointed by president elections: president elected by popular vote for a four-year term; election last held 25 November 2001 (next to be held 27 November 2005) election results: Ricardo (Joest) MADURO (PN) elected president - 52.2%, Raphael PINEDA Ponce (PL) 44.3%, others 3.5% |
chief of state: King HAMAD bin Isa Al Khalifa (since 6 March 1999); Heir Apparent Crown Prince SALMAN bin Hamad (son of the monarch, born 21 October 1969)
head of government: Prime Minister KHALIFA bin Salman Al Khalifa (since NA 1971) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the monarch elections: none; the monarchy is hereditary; prime minister appointed by the monarch |
Exports | NA | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | coffee, shrimp, bananas, gold, palm oil, fruit, lobster, lumber | petroleum and petroleum products, aluminum, textiles |
Exports - partners | US 54.4%, El Salvador 8.1%, Germany 5.9%, Guatemala 5.4% (2004) | US 4.5%, India 3.2%, Saudi Arabia 2.1% (2002) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), white, and blue with five blue, five-pointed stars arranged in an X pattern centered in the white band; the stars represent the members of the former Federal Republic of Central America - Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua; similar to the flag of El Salvador, which features a round emblem encircled by the words REPUBLICA DE EL SALVADOR EN LA AMERICA CENTRAL centered in the white band; also similar to the flag of Nicaragua, which features a triangle encircled by the word REPUBLICA DE NICARAGUA on top and AMERICA CENTRAL on the bottom, centered in the white band | red with a white serrated band (five white points) on the hoist side; the five points represent the five pillars of Islam |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $9.91 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 12.7%
industry: 32.1% services: 55.3% (2004 est.) |
agriculture: 1%
industry: 35% services: 64% (2001 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $2,800 (2004 est.) | purchasing power parity - $15,100 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 4.2% (2004 est.) | 2.9% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 15 00 N, 86 30 W | 26 00 N, 50 33 E |
Geography - note | has only a short Pacific coast but a long Caribbean shoreline, including the virtually uninhabited eastern Mosquito Coast | close to primary Middle Eastern petroleum sources; strategic location in Persian Gulf, which much of Western world's petroleum must transit to reach open ocean |
Heliports | - | 1 (2002) |
Highways | total: 13,603 km
paved: 2,775 km unpaved: 10,828 km (1999 est.) |
total: 3,261 km
paved: 2,531 km unpaved: 730 km (2000) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 0.6%
highest 10%: 42.7% (1998) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | transshipment point for drugs and narcotics; illicit producer of cannabis, cultivated on small plots and used principally for local consumption; corruption is a major problem; some money-laundering activity | - |
Imports | NA | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment, industrial raw materials, chemical products, fuels, foodstuffs (2000) | crude oil, machinery, chemicals |
Imports - partners | US 37.5%, Guatemala 6.9%, Mexico 5.4%, Costa Rica 4.3%, El Salvador 4% (2004) | Saudi Arabia 30.1%, US 11.7%, Japan 7.1%, Germany 6.5%, UK 5.6% (2002) |
Independence | 15 September 1821 (from Spain) | 15 August 1971 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 7.7% (2003 est.) | 2% (2000 est.) |
Industries | sugar, coffee, textiles, clothing, wood products | petroleum processing and refining, aluminum smelting, offshore banking, ship repairing; tourism |
Infant mortality rate | total: 29.32 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 32.84 deaths/1,000 live births female: 25.63 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
total: 18.59 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 21.65 deaths/1,000 live births female: 15.45 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 7% (2004 est.) | 0.5% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | ABEDA, BCIE, CACM, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (subscriber), ITU, LAES, LAIA (observer), MIGA, MINURSO, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW (signatory), PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO | ABEDA, AFESD, AL, AMF, ESCWA, FAO, G-77, GCC, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDB, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 760 sq km (1998 est.) | 50 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia (judges are elected for seven-year terms by the National Congress) | High Civil Appeals Court |
Labor force | 2.47 million (2004 est.) | 295,000
note: 44% of the population in the 15-64 age group is non-national (1998 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 34%, industry 21%, services 45% (2001 est.) | industry, commerce, and service 79%, government 20%, agriculture 1% (1997 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: 1,520 km
border countries: Guatemala 256 km, El Salvador 342 km, Nicaragua 922 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land: 9.55%
permanent crops: 3.22% other: 87.23% (2001) |
arable land: 4.35%
permanent crops: 4.35% other: 91.3% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Spanish, Amerindian dialects | Arabic, English, Farsi, Urdu |
Legal system | rooted in Roman and Spanish civil law with increasing influence of English common law; recent judicial reforms include abandoning Napoleonic legal codes in favor of the oral adversarial system; accepts ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations | based on Islamic law and English common law |
Legislative branch | unicameral National Congress or Congreso Nacional (128 seats; members are elected proportionally to the number of votes their party's presidential candidate receives to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 25 November 2001 (next to be held 27 November 2005) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PN 61, PL 55, PUD 5, PDC 4, PINU-SD 3 |
bicameral Parliament consists of Shura Council (40 members appointed by the King) and House of Deputies (40 members directly elected to serve four-year terms)
elections: House of Deputies - last held 31 October 2002 (next election to be held NA 2006) election results: House of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - independents 21, Sunni Islamists 9, other 10 note: first elections since 7 December 1973; unicameral National Assembly dissolved 26 August 1975; National Action Charter created bicameral legislature on 23 December 2000; approved by referendum 14 February 2001; first legislative session of Parliament held on 25 December 2002 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 69.3 years
male: 67.71 years female: 70.97 years (2005 est.) |
total population: 73.72 years
male: 71.28 years female: 76.24 years (2003 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 76.2% male: 76.1% female: 76.3% (2003 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 89.1% male: 91.9% female: 85% (2003 est.) |
Location | Central America, bordering the Caribbean Sea, between Guatemala and Nicaragua and bordering the Gulf of Fonseca (North Pacific Ocean), between El Salvador and Nicaragua | Middle East, archipelago in the Persian Gulf, east of Saudi Arabia |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Middle East |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: natural extension of territory or to 200 nm |
contiguous zone: 24 NM
continental shelf: extending to boundaries to be determined territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | total: 137 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 598,600 GRT/616,158 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 10, cargo 67, chemical tanker 6, container 2, liquefied gas 1, livestock carrier 1, passenger 4, passenger/cargo 5, petroleum tanker 30, refrigerated cargo 9, roll on/roll off 1, specialized tanker 1 foreign-owned: 44 (Canada 1, China 3, Egypt 1, Greece 4, Hong Kong 2, Israel 1, Japan 4, Lebanon 1, Mexico 1, Singapore 12, South Korea 6, Taiwan 2, Tanzania 1, Turkey 1, United States 2, Vanuatu 1, Vietnam 1) registered in other countries: 1 (2005) |
total: 7 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 234,599 GRT/336,528 DWT
ships by type: bulk 3, cargo 1, container 2, petroleum tanker 1, includes a foreign-owned ship registered here as a flag of convenience: Kuwait 1 (2002 est.) |
Military branches | Army, Navy (includes Naval Infantry), Air Force | Bahrain Defense Forces (BDF) comprising Ground Force (includes Air Defense), Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, Police Force, Amiri Guards, National Guard |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $100.6 million (2004) | $526.2 million (FY01) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.4% (2004) | 6.7% (FY01) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 222,242 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 121,739 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 15 years of age (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 6,126 (2003 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 15 September (1821) | National Day, 16 December (1971); note - 15 August 1971 is the date of independence from the UK, 16 December 1971 is the date of independence from British protection |
Nationality | noun: Honduran(s)
adjective: Honduran |
noun: Bahraini(s)
adjective: Bahraini |
Natural hazards | frequent, but generally mild, earthquakes; extremely susceptible to damaging hurricanes and floods along the Caribbean coast | periodic droughts; dust storms |
Natural resources | timber, gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, iron ore, antimony, coal, fish, hydropower | oil, associated and nonassociated natural gas, fish, pearls |
Net migration rate | -1.95 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 1.07 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Pipelines | - | gas 20 km; oil 53 km (2003) |
Political parties and leaders | Christian Democratic Party or PDC [Juan Ramon VELAZQUEZ Nassar]; Democratic Unification Party or PUD [Matias FUNES]; Liberal Party or PL [Roberto MICHELETTI Bain]; National Innovation and Unity Party-Social Democratic Party or PINU-SD [Olban F. VALLADARES]; National Party of Honduras or PN [Jose Celin DISCUA Elvir]; United Confederation of Honduran Workers or CUTH | political parties prohibited but politically oriented societies are allowed |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Committee for the Defense of Human Rights in Honduras or CODEH; Confederation of Honduran Workers or CTH; Coordinating Committee of Popular Organizations or CCOP; General Workers Confederation or CGT; Honduran Council of Private Enterprise or COHEP; National Association of Honduran Campesinos or ANACH; National Union of Campesinos or UNC; Popular Bloc or BP; United Federation of Honduran Workers or FUTH | Shi'a activists fomented unrest sporadically in 1994-97, demanding the return of an elected National Assembly and an end to unemployment; several small, clandestine leftist and Islamic fundamentalist groups are active |
Population | 6,975,204
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 2005 est.) |
667,238
note: includes 235,108 non-nationals (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 53% (1993 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.16% (2005 est.) | 1.61% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Puerto Castilla, Puerto Cortes, San Lorenzo, Tela | Manama, Mina' Salman, Sitrah |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 241, FM 53, shortwave 12 (1998) | AM 2, FM 3, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Railways | total: 699 km
narrow gauge: 279 km 1.067-m gauge; 420 km 0.914-m gauge (2004) |
0 km |
Religions | Roman Catholic 97%, Protestant 3% | Shi'a Muslim 70%, Sunni Muslim 30% |
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: 0.89 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.42 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.04 male(s)/female total population: 1.28 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: inadequate system
domestic: NA international: country code - 504; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); connected to Central American Microwave System |
general assessment: modern system
domestic: modern fiber-optic integrated services; digital network with rapidly growing use of mobile cellular telephones international: tropospheric scatter to Qatar and UAE; microwave radio relay to Saudi Arabia; submarine cable to Qatar, UAE, and Saudi Arabia; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) and 1 Arabsat (1997) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 322,500 (2002) | 152,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 326,500 (2002) | 58,543 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 11 (plus 17 repeaters) (1997) | 4 (1997) |
Terrain | mostly mountains in interior, narrow coastal plains | mostly low desert plain rising gently to low central escarpment |
Total fertility rate | 3.87 children born/woman (2005 est.) | 2.71 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 28.5% (2004 est.) | 15% (1998 est.) |
Waterways | 465 km (most navigable only by small craft) (2004) | none |