Korea, North (2004) | Comoros (2002) | |
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Administrative divisions | 9 provinces (do, singular and plural) and 4 municipalities (si, singular and plural)
provinces: Chagang-do (Chagang), Hamgyong-bukto (North Hamgyong), Hamgyong-namdo (South Hamgyong), Hwanghae-bukto (North Hwanghae), Hwanghae-namdo (South Hwanghae), Kangwon-do (Kangwon), P'yongan-bukto (North P'yongan), P'yongan-namdo (South P'yongan), Yanggang-do (Yanggang) municipalites: Kaesong-si (Kaesong), Najin Sonbong-si (Najin), Namp'o-si (Namp'o), P'yongyang-si (Pyongyang) |
3 islands; Grande Comore (Njazidja), Anjouan (Nzwani), and Moheli (Mwali); note - there are also four municipalities named Domoni, Fomboni, Moroni, and Moutsamoudou |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 24.6% (male 2,836,991; female 2,755,127)
15-64 years: 67.8% (male 7,575,590; female 7,812,878) 65 years and over: 7.6% (male 583,463; female 1,133,504) (2004 est.) |
0-14 years: 42.9% (male 132,013; female 131,282)
15-64 years: 54.2% (male 164,245; female 168,793) 65 years and over: 2.9% (male 8,588; female 9,461) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | rice, corn, potatoes, soybeans, pulses; cattle, pigs, pork, eggs | vanilla, cloves, perfume essences, copra, coconuts, bananas, cassava (tapioca) |
Airports | 78 (2003 est.) | 4 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 35
over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 23 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 3 (2003 est.) |
total: 4
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 3 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 43
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 20 914 to 1,523 m: 14 under 914 m: 8 (2003 est.) |
- |
Area | total: 120,540 sq km
land: 120,410 sq km water: 130 sq km |
total: 2,170 sq km
land: 2,170 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Mississippi | slightly more than 12 times the size of Washington, DC |
Background | An independent kingdom under Chinese suzerainty for most of the past millennium, Korea was occupied by Japan in 1905 following the Russo-Japanese War; five years later, Japan formally annexed the entire peninsula. Following World War II, Korea was split, with the northern half coming under Soviet-sponsored Communist domination. After failing in the Korean War (1950-53) to conquer the US-backed republic in the southern portion by force, North Korea under its founder President KIM Il Sung adopted a policy of ostensible diplomatic and economic "self-reliance" as a check against excessive Soviet or Communist Chinese influence and molded political, economic, and military policies around the core ideological objective of eventual unification of Korea under Pyongyang's control. KIM's son, the current ruler KIM Jong Il, was officially designated as KIM's future successor in 1980 and assumed a growing political and managerial role until his father's death in 1994, when he assumed full power without opposition. After decades of economic mismanagement and resource misallocation, the North since the mid-1990s has relied heavily on international food aid to feed its population while continuing to expend resources to maintain an army of about 1 million. North Korea's long-range missile development and research into nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons and massive conventional armed forces are of major concern to the international community. In December 2002, following revelations it was pursuing a nuclear weapons program based on enriched uranium in violation of a 1994 agreement with the United States to freeze and ultimately dismantle its existing plutonium-based program, North Korea expelled monitors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and in January 2003 declared its withdrawal from the international Non-Proliferation Treaty. In mid-2003 Pyongyang announced it had completed the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel rods (to extract weapons-grade plutonium) and was developing a "nuclear deterrent." Since August 2003 North Korea has participated in six-party talks with the United States, China, South Korea, Japan, and Russia to resolve the stalemate over its nuclear programs. | Unstable Comoros has endured 19 coups or attempted coups since gaining independence from France in 1975. In 1997, the islands of Anjouan and Moheli declared their independence from Comoros. In 1999, military chief Col. AZALI seized power. He has pledged to resolve the secessionist crisis through a confederal arrangement named the 2000 Fomboni Accord. In December 2001, voters approved a new constitution and presidential elections took place in the spring of 2002. |
Birth rate | 16.77 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 39.01 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues: NA
expenditures: NA, including capital expenditures of NA |
revenues: $27.6 million
expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
Capital | Pyongyang | Moroni |
Climate | temperate with rainfall concentrated in summer | tropical marine; rainy season (November to May) |
Coastline | 2,495 km | 340 km |
Constitution | adopted 1948, completely revised 27 December 1972, revised again in April 1992 and September 1998 | 23 December 2001
note: a Transitional National Unity Government (GUNT) was formed on 20 January 2002 following the passing of the new constitution; the GUNT governed until the presidential elections on 14 April 2002 |
Country name | conventional long form: Democratic People's Republic of Korea
conventional short form: North Korea local long form: Choson-minjujuui-inmin-konghwaguk local short form: none note: the North Koreans generally use the term "Choson" to refer to their country abbreviation: DPRK |
conventional long form: Union of the Comoros
conventional short form: Comoros local long form: Union des Comores local short form: Comores |
Currency | North Korean won (KPW) | Comoran franc (KMF) |
Death rate | 6.99 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 9.1 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $12 billion (1996 est.) | $225 million |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (Swedish Embassy in Pyongyang represents the US as consular protecting power) | the US does not have an embassy in Comoros; the ambassador to Mauritius is accredited to Comoros |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none; North Korea has a Permanent Mission to the UN in New York | chief of mission: Ambassador-designate Ahmed DJABIR (ambassador to the US and Canada and permanent representative to the UN)
chancery: (temporary) care of the Permanent Mission of the Federal and Islamic Republic of the Comoros to the United Nations, 420 East 50th Street, New York, NY 10022 telephone: [1] (212) 972-8010 and 223-2711 FAX: [1] (212) 983-4712 and 715-0699 |
Disputes - international | with China, certain islands in Yalu and Tumen rivers are in uncontested dispute; a section of boundary around Paektu-san (mountain) is indefinite; China has been attempting to stop mass illegal migration of North Koreans escaping famine, economic privation, and oppression into northern China; Military Demarcation Line within the 4-km wide Demilitarized Zone has separated North from South Korea since 1953; periodic maritime disputes with South Korea | claims French-administered Mayotte; the island of Anjouan (Nzwani) has moved to secede from Comoros again after recent military coup |
Economic aid - recipient | $NA; note - over $133 million in food aid through the World Food Program in 2003 plus additional aid from bilateral donors and non-governmental organizations | $10 million (2001 est.) |
Economy - overview | North Korea, one of the world's most centrally planned and isolated economies, faces desperate economic conditions. Industrial capital stock is nearly beyond repair as a result of years of underinvestment and spare parts shortages. Industrial and power output have declined in parallel. The nation has suffered its tenth year of food shortages because of a lack of arable land, collective farming, weather-related problems, and chronic shortages of fertilizer and fuel. Massive international food aid deliveries have allowed the regime to escape mass starvation since 1995-96, but the population remains the victim of prolonged malnutrition and deteriorating living conditions. Large-scale military spending eats up resources needed for investment and civilian consumption. In 2003, heightened political tensions with key donor countries and general donor fatigue threatened the flow of desperately needed food aid and fuel aid as well. Black market prices continued to rise following the increase in official prices and wages in the summer of 2002, leaving some vulnerable groups, such as the elderly and unemployed, less able to buy goods. The regime, however, relaxed restrictions on farmers' market activities in spring 2003, leading to an expansion of market activity. | One of the world's poorest countries, Comoros is made up of three islands that have inadequate transportation links, a young and rapidly increasing population, and few natural resources. The low educational level of the labor force contributes to a subsistence level of economic activity, high unemployment, and a heavy dependence on foreign grants and technical assistance. Agriculture, including fishing, hunting, and forestry, contributes 40% to GDP, employs 80% of the labor force, and provides most of the exports. The country is not self-sufficient in food production; rice, the main staple, accounts for the bulk of imports. The government is struggling to upgrade education and technical training, to privatize commercial and industrial enterprises, to improve health services, to diversify exports, to promote tourism, and to reduce the high population growth rate. Increased foreign support is essential if the goal of 4% annual GDP growth is to be met. Remittances from 150,000 Comorans abroad help supplement GDP. |
Electricity - consumption | 27.91 billion kWh (2001) | 17.67 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 30.01 billion kWh (2001) | 19 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 89%
hydro: 11% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Sea of Japan 0 m
highest point: Paektu-san 2,744 m |
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Le Kartala 2,360 m |
Environment - current issues | water pollution; inadequate supplies of potable water; water-borne disease; deforestation; soil erosion and degradation | soil degradation and erosion results from crop cultivation on slopes without proper terracing; deforestation |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Environmental Modification, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | racially homogeneous; there is a small Chinese community and a few ethnic Japanese | Antalote, Cafre, Makoa, Oimatsaha, Sakalava |
Exchange rates | official: North Korean won per US dollar - 150 (December 2002), 2.15 (December 2001), 2.15 (May 1994), 2.13 (May 1992), 2.14 (September 1991), 2.1 (January 1990); market: North Korean won per US dollar - 300-600 (December 2002), 200 (December 2001) | Comoran francs per US dollar - 557.09 (January 2002), 549.78 (2001), 533.98 (2000), 461.77 (1999), 442.46 (1998), 437.75 (1997)
note: prior to January 1999, the official rate was pegged to the French franc at 75 Comoran francs per French franc; since 1 January 1999, the Comoran franc is pegged to the euro at a rate of 491.9677 Comoran francs per euro |
Executive branch | chief of state: KIM Jong Il (since July 1994); note - on 3 September 2003, rubberstamp Supreme People's Assembly (SPA) reelected KIM Jong Il Chairman of the National Defense Commission, a position accorded nation's "highest administrative authority"; SPA reelected KIM Yong Nam President of its Presidium also with responsibility of representing state and receiving diplomatic credentials; SPA appointed PAK Pong Ju Premier
head of government: Premier PAK Pong Ju (since 3 September 2003); Vice Premiers KWAK Pom Gi (since 5 September 1998), JON Sung Hun (since 3 September 2003), RO Tu Chol (since 3 September 2003) cabinet: Cabinet (Naegak), members, except for the Minister of People's Armed Forces, are appointed by the SPA elections: election last held in September 2003 (next to be held in September 2008) election results: KIM Jong Il and KIM Yong Nam were only nominees for positions and ran unopposed |
chief of state: President AZALI Assoumani (since 26 May 2002); note - AZALI Assoumani became president on 6 May 1999 after a bloodless coup on 30 April 1999; on 16 January 2002, President AZALI resigned his position to run in the 14 April 2002 presidential elections; during that time, Prime Minister Hamada Madi BOLERO served as interim president; AZALI Assoumani sworn in as president on 26 May 2002
head of government: Prime Minister Hamada Madi BOLERO (since NA November 2000); note - on 16 January 2002, President AZALI resigned his position to run in the 14 April 2002 presidential elections; Prime Minister Hamada Madi BOLERO was appointed interim president and Djaffar SALIM interim deputy prime minister cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 14 April 2002 (next to be held NA April 2007); prime minister appointed by the president election results: President AZALI Assoumani elected president with 75% of the vote |
Exports | NA (2001) | $35.3 million f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Exports - commodities | minerals, metallurgical products, manufactures (including armaments); textiles and fishery products | vanilla, ylang-ylang, cloves, perfume oil, copra |
Exports - partners | South Korea 28.5%, China 28.4%, Japan 24.7% (2002) | France 46%, US 18%, Singapore 18%, Germany 9% (1999) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | three horizontal bands of blue (top), red (triple width), and blue; the red band is edged in white; on the hoist side of the red band is a white disk with a red five-pointed star | four equal horizontal bands of yellow (top), white, red, and blue with a green isosceles triangle based on the hoist; centered within the triangle is a white crescent with the convex side facing the hoist and four white, five-pointed stars placed vertically in a line between the points of the crescent; the horizontal bands and the four stars represent the four main islands of the archipelago - Mwali, Njazidja, Nzwani, and Mayotte (a territorial collectivity of France, but claimed by Comoros); the crescent, stars, and color green are traditional symbols of Islam |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $29.58 billion (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $424 million (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 30.2%
industry: 33.8% services: 36% (2002 est.) |
agriculture: 40%
industry: 4% services: 56% (2001 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,300 (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $710 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 1% (2003 est.) | 1% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 40 00 N, 127 00 E | 12 10 S, 44 15 E |
Geography - note | strategic location bordering China, South Korea, and Russia; mountainous interior is isolated and sparsely populated | important location at northern end of Mozambique Channel |
Heliports | 19 (2003 est.) | - |
Highways | total: 31,200 km
paved: 1,997 km unpaved: 29,203 km (1999 est.) |
total: 880 km
paved: 673 km unpaved: 207 km (1996) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | for years, from the 1970's into the 2000's, citizens of the Democratic People's Republic of (North) Korea (DPRK), many of them diplomatic employees of the government, were apprehended abroad while trafficking in narcotics, including two in Turkey in December 2004; in recent years, police investigations in Taiwan and Japan have linked North Korea to large illicit shipments of heroin and methamphetamine, including an attempt by the North Korean merchant ship Pong Su to deliver 150 kg of heroin to Australia in April 2003; all indications point to North Korea emerging as an important regional source of illicit drugs targeting markets in Japan, Taiwan, the Russian Far East, and China | - |
Imports | NA (2001) | $44.9 million f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Imports - commodities | petroleum, coking coal, machinery and equipment; textiles, grain | rice and other foodstuffs, consumer goods; petroleum products, cement, transport equipment |
Imports - partners | China 39.7%, Thailand 14.6%, Japan 11.2%, Germany 7.6%, South Korea 6.2% (2002) | France 34%, South Africa 14%, Kenya 7%, Pakistan 4% (1999) |
Independence | 15 August 1945 (from Japan) | 6 July 1975 (from France) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA | -2% (1999 est.) |
Industries | military products; machine building, electric power, chemicals; mining (coal, iron ore, magnesite, graphite, copper, zinc, lead, and precious metals), metallurgy; textiles, food processing; tourism | tourism, perfume distillation |
Infant mortality rate | total: 24.84 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 26.59 deaths/1,000 live births female: 23 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
81.79 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | NA (2003 est.) | 3.5% (2001 est.) |
International organization participation | ARF, FAO, G-77, ICAO, ICRM, IFAD, IFRCS, IHO, IMO, IOC, ISO, ITU, NAM, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AFESD, AL, CCC, ECA, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS (associate), ILO, IMF, IMO, InOC, Interpol, IOC, ISO (subscriber), ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WMO, WTrO (applicant) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 14,600 sq km (1998 est.) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | Central Court (judges are elected by the Supreme People's Assembly) | Supreme Court or Cour Supremes (two members appointed by the president, two members elected by the Federal Assembly, one elected by the Council of each island, and others are former presidents of the republic) |
Labor force | 9.6 million | 144,500 (1996 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agricultural 36%, nonagricultural 64% | agriculture 80% |
Land boundaries | total: 1,673 km
border countries: China 1,416 km, South Korea 238 km, Russia 19 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land: 20.76%
permanent crops: 2.49% other: 76.75% (2001) |
arable land: 34.98%
permanent crops: 17.94% other: 47.08% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Korean | Arabic (official), French (official), Shikomoro (a blend of Swahili and Arabic) |
Legal system | based on German civil law system with Japanese influences and Communist legal theory; no judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | French and Muslim law in a new consolidated code |
Legislative branch | unicameral Supreme People's Assembly or Ch'oego Inmin Hoeui (687 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 3 August 2003 (next to be held in August 2008) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA; the KWP approves a list of candidates who are elected without opposition; some seats are held by minor parties |
bicameral legislature consists of the Senate (15 seats - five from each island); members selected by regional councils for six-year terms) and a Federal Assembly or Assemblee Federale (42 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms); note - the Federal Assembly was dissolved following the coup of 30 April 1999
elections: Federal Assembly - last held 1 and 8 December 1996 (next to be held NA April 2003) election results: Federal Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - RND 39, FNJ 3, independent 1 note: the constitution stipulates that only parties that win six seats in the Federal Assembly (two from each island) are permitted to be in the opposition, but if no party accomplishes that, the second most successful party will be in the opposition; in the elections of December 1996 the FNJ appeared to qualify as opposition |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 71.08 years
male: 68.38 years female: 73.92 years (2004 est.) |
total population: 60.79 years
male: 58.56 years female: 63.09 years (2002 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99% male: 99% female: 99% |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 57.3% male: 64.2% female: 50.4% (1995 est.) |
Location | Eastern Asia, northern half of the Korean Peninsula bordering the Korea Bay and the Sea of Japan, between China and South Korea | Southern Africa, group of islands in the Mozambique Channel, about two-thirds of the way between northern Madagascar and northern Mozambique |
Map references | Asia | Africa |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm note: military boundary line 50 nm in the Sea of Japan and the exclusive economic zone limit in the Yellow Sea where all foreign vessels and aircraft without permission are banned |
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | total: 203 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 921,577 GRT/1,339,929 DWT
by type: bulk 6, cargo 166, combination bulk 2, container 3, liquefied gas 1, livestock carrier 3, multi-functional large load carrier 1, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 11, refrigerated cargo 6, roll on/roll off 2, short-sea/passenger 1 foreign-owned: Albania 1, Belize 1, Bolivia 1, Cambodia 3, Cyprus 1, Egypt 3, Germany 1, Greece 4, Italy 1, Lebanon 2, Marshall Islands 1, Pakistan 1, Portugal 1, Romania 8, Saint Kitts and Nevis 1, Syria 9, Tanzania 1, Tunisia 1, Turkey 5, Ukraine 2, United States 3 registered in other countries: 4 (2004 est.) |
total: 6 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 139,779 GRT/205,369 DWT
ships by type: cargo 6 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Malta 1, Pakistan 1, Turkey 1 (2002 est.) |
Military branches | Korean People's Army (includes Army, Navy, Air Force), Civil Security Forces | Comoran Security Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $5,217.4 million (FY02) | $6 million (FY01) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 22.9% (2003) | 3% (FY01) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 6,181,038 (2004 est.) | males age 15-49: 145,509 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 3,694,855 (2004 est.) | males age 15-49: 86,455 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 189,014 (2004 est.) | - |
National holiday | Founding of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), 9 September (1948) | Independence Day, 6 July (1975) |
Nationality | noun: Korean(s)
adjective: Korean |
noun: Comoran(s)
adjective: Comoran |
Natural hazards | late spring droughts often followed by severe flooding; occasional typhoons during the early fall | cyclones possible during rainy season (December to April); Le Kartala on Grand Comore is an active volcano |
Natural resources | coal, lead, tungsten, zinc, graphite, magnesite, iron ore, copper, gold, pyrites, salt, fluorspar, hydropower | NEGL |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) | NEGL migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Pipelines | oil 154 km (2004) | - |
Political parties and leaders | major party - Korean Workers' Party or KWP [KIM Jong Il, general secretary]; minor parties - Chondoist Chongu Party [RYU Mi Yong, chairwoman] (under KWP control); Social Democratic Party [KIM Yong Dae, chairman] (under KWP control) | Front National pour la Justice or FNJ (Islamic party in opposition) [Ahmed Abdallah MOHAMED, Ahmed ABOUBACAR, Soidiki M'BAPANOZA]; Rassemblement National pour le Development or RND (party of the government) [Ali Bazi SELIM] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | none | NA |
Population | 22,697,553 (July 2004 est.) | 614,382 (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA | 60% (2001 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.98% (2004 est.) | 2.99% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Ch'ongjin, Haeju, Hungnam (Hamhung), Kimch'aek, Kosong, Najin, Namp'o, Sinuiju, Songnim, Sonbong (formerly Unggi), Ungsang, Wonsan | Fomboni, Moroni, Moutsamoudou |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 16, FM 14, shortwave 12 (1999) | AM 1, FM 4, shortwave 1 (2001) |
Radios | - | 90,000 (1997) |
Railways | total: 5,214 km
standard gauge: 5,214 km 1.435-m gauge (3,500 km electrified) (2003) |
0 km |
Religions | traditionally Buddhist and Confucianist, some Christian and syncretic Chondogyo (Religion of the Heavenly Way)
note: autonomous religious activities now almost nonexistent; government-sponsored religious groups exist to provide illusion of religious freedom |
Sunni Muslim 98%, Roman Catholic 2% |
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: 0.52 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.91 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
Suffrage | 17 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: NA
domestic: NA international: country code - 850; satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) and 1 Russian (Indian Ocean region); other international connections through Moscow and Beijing |
general assessment: sparse system of microwave radio relay and HF radiotelephone communication stations
domestic: HF radiotelephone communications and microwave radio relay international: HF radiotelephone communications to Madagascar and Reunion |
Telephones - main lines in use | 1.1 million (2001) | 7,000 (2000) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | NA | NA |
Television broadcast stations | 38 (1999) | NA |
Terrain | mostly hills and mountains separated by deep, narrow valleys; coastal plains wide in west, discontinuous in east | volcanic islands, interiors vary from steep mountains to low hills |
Total fertility rate | 2.2 children born/woman (2004 est.) | 5.26 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA (2003) | 20% (1996 est.) |
Waterways | 2,250 km
note: most navigable only by small craft (2004) |
none |