Kiribati (2002) | Angola (2007) | |
Administrative divisions | 3 units; Gilbert Islands, Line Islands, Phoenix Islands; note - in addition, there are 6 districts (Banaba, Central Gilberts, Line Islands, Northern Gilberts, Southern Gilberts, Tarawa) and 21 island councils - one for each of the inhabited islands (Abaiang, Abemama, Aranuka, Arorae, Banaba, Beru, Butaritari, Kanton, Kiritimati, Kuria, Maiana, Makin, Marakei, Nikunau, Nonouti, Onotoa, Tabiteuea, Tabuaeran, Tamana, Tarawa, Teraina) | 18 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia); Bengo, Benguela, Bie, Cabinda, Cuando Cubango, Cuanza Norte, Cuanza Sul, Cunene, Huambo, Huila, Luanda, Lunda Norte, Lunda Sul, Malanje, Moxico, Namibe, Uige, Zaire |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 40.2% (male 19,588; female 19,092)
15-64 years: 56.6% (male 26,905; female 27,625) 65 years and over: 3.2% (male 1,339; female 1,786) (2002 est.) |
0-14 years: 43.7% (male 2,706,276/female 2,654,338)
15-64 years: 53.5% (male 3,339,114/female 3,225,121) 65 years and over: 2.8% (male 149,414/female 189,333) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | copra, taro, breadfruit, sweet potatoes, vegetables; fish | bananas, sugarcane, coffee, sisal, corn, cotton, manioc (tapioca), tobacco, vegetables, plantains; livestock; forest products; fish |
Airports | 21 (2001) | 232 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 4
1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 (2002) |
total: 31
over 3,047 m: 5 2,438 to 3,047 m: 8 1,524 to 2,437 m: 12 914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 1 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 16
914 to 1,523 m: 12 under 914 m: 4 (2002) |
total: 201
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 5 1,524 to 2,437 m: 30 914 to 1,523 m: 95 under 914 m: 69 (2007) |
Area | total: 811 sq km
land: 811 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes three island groups - Gilbert Islands, Line Islands, Phoenix Islands |
total: 1,246,700 sq km
land: 1,246,700 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | four times the size of Washington, DC | slightly less than twice the size of Texas |
Background | The Gilbert Islands were granted self-rule by the UK in 1971 and complete independence in 1979 under the new name of Kiribati. The US relinquished all claims to the sparsely inhabited Phoenix and Line Island groups in a 1979 treaty of friendship with Kiribati. | Angola is rebuilding its country after the end of a 27-year civil war in 2002. Fighting between the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), led by Jose Eduardo DOS SANTOS, and the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), led by Jonas SAVIMBI, followed independence from Portugal in 1975. Peace seemed imminent in 1992 when Angola held national elections, but UNITA renewed fighting after being beaten by the MPLA at the polls. Up to 1.5 million lives may have been lost - and 4 million people displaced - in the quarter century of fighting. SAVIMBI's death in 2002 ended UNITA's insurgency and strengthened the MPLA's hold on power. While President DOS SANTOS had pledged to hold legislative elections in 2007, he has since announced that legislative elections will be held in 2008, with Presidential elections planned for 2009. A specific election timetable has yet to be established. |
Birth rate | 31.58 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 44.51 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $28.4 million
expenditures: $37.2 million, including capital expenditures of $NA million (2000 est.) (2000 est.) |
revenues: $14.07 billion
expenditures: $10.78 billion (2006 est.) |
Capital | Tarawa | name: Luanda
geographic coordinates: 8 50 S, 13 14 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | tropical; marine, hot and humid, moderated by trade winds | semiarid in south and along coast to Luanda; north has cool, dry season (May to October) and hot, rainy season (November to April) |
Coastline | 1,143 km | 1,600 km |
Constitution | 12 July 1979 | adopted by People's Assembly 25 August 1992 |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Kiribati
conventional short form: Kiribati note: pronounced kir-ih-bahss former: Gilbert Islands |
conventional long form: Republic of Angola
conventional short form: Angola local long form: Republica de Angola local short form: Angola former: People's Republic of Angola |
Currency | Australian dollar (AUD) | - |
Death rate | 8.76 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 24.81 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $10 million (1999 est.) | $10.66 billion (2006 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | the US does not have an embassy in Kiribati; the ambassador to the Marshall Islands is accredited to Kiribati | chief of mission: Ambassador Cynthia EFIRD
embassy: number 32 Rua Houari Boumedienne (in the Miramar area of Luanda), Luanda mailing address: international mail: Caixa Postal 6468, Luanda; pouch: US Embassy Luanda, US Department of State, 2550 Luanda Place, Washington, DC 20521-2550 telephone: [244] (222) 64-1000 FAX: [244] (222) 64-1232 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | Kiribati does not have an embassy in the US; there is an honorary consulate in Honolulu | chief of mission: Ambassador Josefina Perpetua Pitra DIAKITI
chancery: 2108 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 785-1156 FAX: [1] (202) 785-1258 consulate(s) general: Houston, New York |
Disputes - international | none | many Cabindan separatists have returned to the province from exile since the 2006 ceasefire and peace agreement; concerns from international experts and local populations over the Okavango Delta ecology in Botswana and human displacement scuttled Namibian plans to construct a hydroelectric dam at Popavalle (Popa Falls) along the Angola-Namibia border |
Economic aid - recipient | $15.5 million (1995), largely from UK and Japan | $441.8 million (2005) |
Economy - overview | A remote country of 33 scattered coral atolls, Kiribati has few national resources. Commercially viable phosphate deposits were exhausted at the time of independence from the UK in 1979. Copra and fish now represent the bulk of production and exports. The economy has fluctuated widely in recent years. Economic development is constrained by a shortage of skilled workers, weak infrastructure, and remoteness from international markets. Tourism provides more than one-fifth of GDP. The financial sector is at an early stage of development as is the expansion of private sector initiatives. Foreign financial aid, from UK, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and China, is a critical supplement to GDP, equal to 25%-50% of GDP in recent years. Remittances from workers abroad account for more than $5 million each year. | Angola's high growth rate is driven by its oil sector, with record oil prices and rising petroleum production. Oil production and its supporting activities contribute about half of GDP and 90% of exports. Increased oil production supported 12% growth in 2004, 19% growth in 2005, and nearly 14% growth in 2006. A postwar reconstruction boom and resettlement of displaced persons has led to high rates of growth in construction and agriculture as well. Much of the country's infrastructure is still damaged or undeveloped from the 27-year-long civil war. Remnants of the conflict such as widespread land mines still mar the countryside even though an apparently durable peace was established after the death of rebel leader Jonas SAVIMBI in February 2002. Subsistence agriculture provides the main livelihood for most of the people, but half of the country's food must still be imported. In 2005, the government started using a $2 billion line of credit from China to rebuild Angola's public infrastructure, and several large-scale projects were completed in 2006. The central bank in 2003 implemented an exchange rate stabilization program using foreign exchange reserves to buy kwanzas out of circulation. This policy became more sustainable in 2005 because of strong oil export earnings; it has significantly reduced inflation. Although consumer inflation declined from 325% in 2000 to about 13% in 2006, the stabilization policy has put pressure on international net liquidity. To fully take advantage of its rich national resources - gold, diamonds, extensive forests, Atlantic fisheries, and large oil deposits - Angola will need to implement government reforms and to reduce corruption. The government has made little progress on reforms recommended by the IMF, such as promoting greater transparency in government spending, and continues to be without a formal monitoring agreement with the institution. Corruption, especially in the extractive sectors, is a major challenge facing Angola. |
Electricity - consumption | 6.51 million kWh (2000) | 2.201 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | 7 million kWh (2000) | 2.585 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location on Banaba 81 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Morro de Moco 2,620 m |
Environment - current issues | heavy pollution in lagoon of south Tarawa atoll due to heavy migration mixed with traditional practices such as lagoon latrines and open-pit dumping; ground water at risk | overuse of pastures and subsequent soil erosion attributable to population pressures; desertification; deforestation of tropical rain forest, in response to both international demand for tropical timber and to domestic use as fuel, resulting in loss of biodiversity; soil erosion contributing to water pollution and siltation of rivers and dams; inadequate supplies of potable water |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | predominantly Micronesian with some Polynesian | Ovimbundu 37%, Kimbundu 25%, Bakongo 13%, mestico (mixed European and native African) 2%, European 1%, other 22% |
Exchange rates | Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.9354 (January 2002), 1.9320 (2001), 1.7173 (2000), 1.5497 (1999), 1.5888 (1998), 1.3439 (1997) | kwanza per US dollar - 80.4 (2006), 88.6 (2005), 83.541 (2004), 74.606 (2003), 43.53 (2002) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Teburoro TITO (since 1 October 1994); Vice President Beniamina TIINGA (since NA December 2000); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Teburoro TITO (since 1 October 1994); Vice President Beniamina TIINGA (since NA December 2000); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: 12-member Cabinet appointed by the president from among the members of the House of Parliament elections: the House of Parliament chooses the presidential candidates from among their members and then those candidates compete in a general election; president is elected by popular vote for a four-year term; election last held 25 February 2003 (next to be held by November 2007); vice president appointed by the president election results: Teburoro TITO reelected president; percent of vote - Teburoro TITO 50.4%, Taberannang TIMEON 48.4%, Bakeua Bakeua TEKITA 1.2% |
chief of state: President Jose Eduardo DOS SANTOS (since 21 September 1979); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Jose Eduardo DOS SANTOS (since 21 September 1979); Fernando de Piedade Dias DOS SANTOS was appointed prime minister on 6 December 2002 cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president elected by universal ballot for a five-year term (eligible for a second consecutive or discontinuous term) under the 1992 constitution; President DOS SANTOS originally elected (in 1979) without opposition under a one-party system and stood for reelection in Angola's first multiparty elections 29-30 September 1992 (next to be held in 2009) election results: Jose Eduardo DOS SANTOS 49.6%, Jonas SAVIMBI 40.1%, making a run-off election necessary; the run-off was not held and SAVIMBI's National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) repudiated the results of the first election; the civil war resumed leaving DOS SANTOS in his current position as the president |
Exports | $6 million f.o.b. (1998) | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | copra 62%, coconuts, seaweed, fish | crude oil, diamonds, refined petroleum products, gas, coffee, sisal, fish and fish products, timber, cotton |
Exports - partners | Japan, Bangladesh, US, Australia, Brazil, Poland (2000) | US 38%, China 34.2%, Taiwan 5.8%, France 4.9%, Chile 4.1% (2006) |
Fiscal year | NA | calendar year |
Flag description | the upper half is red with a yellow frigate bird flying over a yellow rising sun, and the lower half is blue with three horizontal wavy white stripes to represent the ocean | two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and black with a centered yellow emblem consisting of a five-pointed star within half a cogwheel crossed by a machete (in the style of a hammer and sickle) |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $79 million (2001 est.), supplemented by a nearly equal amount from external sources (2001 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 30%
industry: 7% services: 63% (1998 est.) |
agriculture: 9.6%
industry: 65.8% services: 24.6% (2005 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $840 (2001 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 1.5% (2001 est.) | 16.1% (2006 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 1 25 N, 173 00 E | 12 30 S, 18 30 E |
Geography - note | 21 of the 33 islands are inhabited; Banaba (Ocean Island) in Kiribati is one of the three great phosphate rock islands in the Pacific Ocean - the others are Makatea in French Polynesia, and Nauru | the province of Cabinda is an exclave, separated from the rest of the country by the Democratic Republic of the Congo |
Highways | total: 670 km
paved: NA km unpaved: NA km note: 27 km are paved in South Tarawa (2001) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | - | used as a transshipment point for cocaine destined for Western Europe and other African states, particularly South Africa |
Imports | $44 million c.i.f. (1999) | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, miscellaneous manufactured goods, fuel | machinery and electrical equipment, vehicles and spare parts; medicines, food, textiles, military goods |
Imports - partners | Australia, Japan, Fiji, Poland, US (2000) | US 15.3%, Portugal 15%, South Korea 10.1%, China 8.8%, Brazil 8.2%, South Africa 6.7%, France 6.2% (2006) |
Independence | 12 July 1979 (from UK) | 11 November 1975 (from Portugal) |
Industrial production growth rate | 0.7% (1991 est.) | 13.5% (2004) |
Industries | fishing, handicrafts | petroleum; diamonds, iron ore, phosphates, feldspar, bauxite, uranium, and gold; cement; basic metal products; fish processing; food processing, brewing, tobacco products, sugar; textiles; ship repair |
Infant mortality rate | 52.63 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: 184.44 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 196.55 deaths/1,000 live births female: 171.72 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.5% (2001 est.) | 13.3% (2006 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, AsDB, C, ESCAP, FAO, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, ITU, OPCW, Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WTrO (applicant) | ACP, AfDB, AU, COMESA, CPLP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OAS (observer), OPEC, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 800 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Court of Appeal; High Court; 26 Magistrates' courts; judges at all levels are appointed by the president | Supreme Court and separate provincial courts (judges are appointed by the president) |
Labor force | 7,870 economically active, not including subsistence farmers (1985 est.) | 6.444 million (2006 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | - | agriculture: 85%
industry and services: 15% (2003 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 5,198 km
border countries: Democratic Republic of the Congo 2,511 km (of which 225 km is the boundary of discontiguous Cabinda Province), Republic of the Congo 201 km, Namibia 1,376 km, Zambia 1,110 km |
Land use | arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 50.68% other: 49.32% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 2.65%
permanent crops: 0.23% other: 97.12% (2005) |
Languages | I-Kiribati, English (official) | Portuguese (official), Bantu and other African languages |
Legal system | NA | based on Portuguese civil law system and customary law; recently modified to accommodate political pluralism and increased use of free markets |
Legislative branch | unicameral House of Parliament or Maneaba Ni Maungatabu (42 seats; 39 elected by popular vote, one ex officio member - the attorney general, one appointed to represent Banaba, and one other; members serve four-year terms)
elections: first round elections last held 29 November 2002; second round elections held 6 December 2002 (next to be held by November 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - BTK 17, MTM 16, independents 7, other 2 (includes attorney general) |
unicameral National Assembly or Assembleia Nacional (220 seats; members elected by proportional vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 29-30 September 1992 (next to be held in September 2008) election results: percent of vote by party - MPLA 54%, UNITA 34%, other 12%; seats by party - MPLA 129, UNITA 70, PRS 6, FNLA 5, PLD 3, other 7 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 60.54 years
male: 57.61 years female: 63.62 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 37.63 years
male: 36.73 years female: 38.57 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | definition: NA
total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 67.4% male: 82.9% female: 54.2% (2001 est.) |
Location | Oceania, group of 33 coral atolls in the Pacific Ocean, straddling the equator; the capital Tarawa is about one-half of the way from Hawaii to Australia; note - on 1 January 1995, Kiribati proclaimed that all of its territory lies in the same time zone as its Gilbert Islands group (GMT +12) even though the Phoenix Islands and the Line Islands under its jurisdiction lie on the other side of the International Date Line | Southern Africa, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Namibia and Democratic Republic of the Congo |
Map references | Oceania | Africa |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | total: 1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,291 GRT/1,295 DWT
ships by type: passenger/cargo 1 (2002 est.) |
total: 5 ships (1000 GRT or over) 6,865 GRT/8,825 DWT
by type: cargo 1, passenger/cargo 2, petroleum tanker 2 foreign-owned: 1 (Spain 1) registered in other countries: 6 (Bahamas 6) (2007) |
Military - note | Kiribati does not have military forces; defense assistance is provided by Australia and NZ | - |
Military branches | no regular military forces; Police Force (carries out law enforcement functions and paramilitary duties; small police posts are on all islands) | Angolan Armed Forces (FAA): Army, Navy (Marinha de Guerra, MdG), Angolan National Air Force (FANA) (2007) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $NA | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | 5.7% (2006) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 12 July (1979) | Independence Day, 11 November (1975) |
Nationality | noun: I-Kiribati (singular and plural)
adjective: I-Kiribati |
noun: Angolan(s)
adjective: Angolan |
Natural hazards | typhoons can occur any time, but usually November to March; occasional tornadoes; low level of some of the islands make them very sensitive to changes in sea level | locally heavy rainfall causes periodic flooding on the plateau |
Natural resources | phosphate (production discontinued in 1979) | petroleum, diamonds, iron ore, phosphates, copper, feldspar, gold, bauxite, uranium |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 2.14 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Pipelines | - | gas 235 km; liquid petroleum gas 122 km; oil 867 km; oil/gas/water 5 km (2006) |
Political parties and leaders | Boutokaan Te Koaua Party or BTK [Taberannang TIMEON]; Maneaban Te Mauri Party or MTM [Teburoro TITO]; National Progressive Party or NPP [Dr. Harry TONG]
note: there is no tradition of formally organized political parties in Kiribati; they more closely resemble factions or interest groups because they have no party headquarters, formal platforms, or party structures |
Liberal Democratic Party or PLD [Analia de Victoria PEREIRA]; National Front for the Liberation of Angola or FNLA [Holden ROBERTO]; National Union for the Total Independence of Angola or UNITA (largest opposition party) [Isaias SAMAKUVA]; Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola or MPLA (ruling party in power since 1975) [Jose Eduardo DOS SANTOS]; Social Renewal Party or PRS [Antonio MUACHICUNGO]
note: about a dozen minor parties participated in the 1992 elections but only won a few seats; they and the other 115 smaller parties have little influence in the National Assembly |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda or FLEC [N'zita Henriques TIAGO, Antonio Bento BEMBE]
note: FLEC's small-scale, highly factionalized armed struggle for the independence of Cabinda Province ended after BEMBE's faction signed a peace accord in August 2006; other factions have since demobilized under provisions of the accord, although the two main faction leaders have not acceded to the accord |
Population | 96,335 (July 2002 est.) | 12,263,596 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 70% (2003 est.) |
Population growth rate | 2.28% (2002 est.) | 2.184% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Banaba, Betio, English Harbour, Kanton | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1
note: the shortwave station may be inactive (2002) |
AM 21, FM 6, shortwave 7 (2001) |
Radios | 17,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km | total: 2,761 km
narrow gauge: 2,638 km 1.067-m gauge; 123 km 0.600-m gauge (2006) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 52%, Protestant (Congregational) 40%, some Seventh-Day Adventist, Muslim, Baha'i, Latter-day Saints, and Church of God (1999) | indigenous beliefs 47%, Roman Catholic 38%, Protestant 15% (1998 est.) |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.035 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.789 male(s)/female total population: 1.021 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: NA
domestic: NA international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) note: Kiribati is being linked to the Pacific Ocean Cooperative Telecommunications Network, which should improve telephone service |
general assessment: system inadequate; fewer than one fixed-line per 100 persons; combined fixed line and mobile telephone density approached 20 telephones per 100 persons in 2006
domestic: state-owned telecom had monopoly for fixed-lines until 2005; demand outstripped capacity and prices were high and services poor; Telecom Namibia, through an Angolan company, became the first private licensed operator in Angola's fixed-line telephone network; Angola Telecom established mobile-cellular service in Luanda in 1993 and the network has been extended to larger towns; a privately-owned, mobile-cellular service provider began operations in 2001 international: country code - 244; landing point for the SAT-3/WASC fiber-optic submarine cable that provides connectivity to Europe and Asia; satellite earth stations - 29 (2007) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 3,800 (1999) | 98,200 (2006) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | NA | 2.264 million (2006) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (not reported to be active) (2002) | 6 (2000) |
Terrain | mostly low-lying coral atolls surrounded by extensive reefs | narrow coastal plain rises abruptly to vast interior plateau |
Total fertility rate | 4.32 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 6.27 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 2%; underemployment 70% (1992 est.) | extensive unemployment and underemployment affecting more than half the population (2001 est.) |
Waterways | 5 km (small network of canals in Line Islands) | 1,300 km (2007) |