Lesotho (2001) | Liberia (2008) | |
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Administrative divisions | 10 districts; Berea, Butha-Buthe, Leribe, Mafeteng, Maseru, Mohales Hoek, Mokhotlong, Qacha's Nek, Quthing, Thaba-Tseka | 15 counties; Bomi, Bong, Gbarpolu, Grand Bassa, Grand Cape Mount, Grand Gedeh, Grand Kru, Lofa, Margibi, Maryland, Montserrado, Nimba, River Cess, River Gee, Sinoe |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
39.28% (male 430,147; female 424,994) 15-64 years: 56.03% (male 588,440; female 631,404) 65 years and over: 4.69% (male 43,033; female 59,044) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 43.6% (male 698,382/female 695,409)
15-64 years: 53.6% (male 848,951/female 865,380) 65 years and over: 2.7% (male 42,745/female 45,064) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock | rubber, coffee, cocoa, rice, cassava (tapioca), palm oil, sugarcane, bananas; sheep, goats; timber |
Airports | 29 (2000 est.) | 53 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
4 over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
total: 2
over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
25 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 21 (2000 est.) |
total: 51
1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 8 under 914 m: 38 (2007) |
Area | total:
30,355 sq km land: 30,355 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 111,370 sq km
land: 96,320 sq km water: 15,050 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Maryland | slightly larger than Tennessee |
Background | Basutoland was renamed the Kingdom of Lesotho upon independence from the UK in 1966. Constitutional government was restored in 1993 after 23 years of military rule. | Settlement of freed slaves from the US in what is today Liberia began in 1822; by 1847, the Americo-Liberians were able to establish a republic. William TUBMAN, president from 1944-71, did much to promote foreign investment and to bridge the economic, social, and political gaps between the descendents of the original settlers and the inhabitants of the interior. In 1980, a military coup led by Samuel DOE ushered in a decade of authoritarian rule. In December 1989, Charles TAYLOR launched a rebellion against DOE's regime that led to a prolonged civil war in which DOE himself was killed. A period of relative peace in 1997 allowed for elections that brought TAYLOR to power, but major fighting resumed in 2000. An August 2003, peace agreement ended the war and prompted the resignation of former president Charles TAYLOR, who faces war crimes charges in The Hague related to his involvement in Sierra Leone's civil war. After two years of rule by a transitional government, democratic elections in late 2005 brought President Ellen JOHNSON SIRLEAF to power. The UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) maintains a strong presence throughout the country, but the security situation is still fragile and the process of rebuilding the social and economic structure of this war-torn country will take many years. |
Birth rate | 31.24 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 43.75 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$76 million expenditures: $80 million, including capital expenditures of $15 million (FY99/00 est.) |
revenues: NA
expenditures: NA |
Capital | Maseru | name: Monrovia
geographic coordinates: 6 18 N, 10 48 W time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | temperate; cool to cold, dry winters; hot, wet summers | tropical; hot, humid; dry winters with hot days and cool to cold nights; wet, cloudy summers with frequent heavy showers |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 579 km |
Constitution | 2 April 1993 | 6 January 1986 |
Country name | conventional long form:
Kingdom of Lesotho conventional short form: Lesotho former: Basutoland |
conventional long form: Republic of Liberia
conventional short form: Liberia |
Currency | loti (LSL); South African rand (ZAR) | - |
Death rate | 15.7 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 22.24 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $720 million (2000 est.) | $3.2 billion (2005 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Katherine H. PETERSON embassy: 254 Kingsway, Maseru West (Consular Section) mailing address: P. O. Box 333, Maseru 100, Lesotho telephone: [266] 312666 FAX: [266] 310116 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Donald E. BOOTH
embassy: 111 United Nations Drive, P. O. Box 10-0098, Mamba Point, 1000 Monrovia, 10 mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [231] 7-705-4825 or 4826 FAX: [231] 7-701-0370 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Lebohang Kenneth MOLEKO chancery: 2511 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 797-5533 through 5536 FAX: [1] (202) 234-6815 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Charles A. MINOR
chancery: 5201 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20011 telephone: [1] (202) 723-0437 FAX: [1] (202) 723-0436 consulate(s) general: New York |
Disputes - international | none | although civil unrest continues to abate with the assistance of 18,000 UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) peacekeepers, as of January 2007, Liberian refugees still remain in Guinea, Cote d'Ivoire, Sierra Leone, and Ghana; Liberia, in turn, shelters refugees fleeing turmoil in Cote d'Ivoire; despite the presence of over 9,000 UN forces (UNOCI) in Cote d'Ivoire since 2004, ethnic conflict continues to spread into neighboring states who can no longer send their migrant workers to Ivorian cocoa plantations; UN sanctions ban Liberia from exporting diamonds and timber |
Economic aid - recipient | $123.7 million (1995) | $236.2 million (2005) |
Economy - overview | Small, landlocked, and mountainous, Lesotho's primary natural resource is water. Its economy is based on subsistence agriculture, livestock, and remittances from miners employed in South Africa. The number of such mineworkers has declined steadily over the past several years. A small manufacturing base depends largely on farm products that support the milling, canning, leather, and jute industries. Agricultural products are exported primarily to South Africa. Proceeds from membership in a common customs union with South Africa form the majority of government revenue. Although drought has decreased agricultural activity over the past few years, completion of a major hydropower facility in January 1998 now permits the sale of water to South Africa, generating royalties for Lesotho. The pace of substantial privatization has increased in recent years. In December 1999, the government embarked on a nine-month IMF staff-monitored program aimed at structural adjustment and stabilization of macroeconomic fundamentals. The government is in the process of applying for a three-year successor program with the IMF under its Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility. | Civil war and government mismanagement destroyed much of Liberia's economy, especially the infrastructure in and around the capital, Monrovia. Many businesses fled the country, taking capital and expertise with them, but with the conclusion of fighting and the installation of a democratically-elected government in 2006, some have returned. Richly endowed with water, mineral resources, forests, and a climate favorable to agriculture, Liberia had been a producer and exporter of basic products - primarily raw timber and rubber. Local manufacturing, mainly foreign owned, had been small in scope. President JOHNSON SIRLEAF, a Harvard-trained banker and administrator, has taken steps to reduce corruption, build support from international donors, and encourage private investment. Embargos on timber and diamond exports have been lifted, opening new sources of revenue for the government. The reconstruction of infrastructure and the raising of incomes in this ravaged economy will largely depend on generous financial and technical assistance from donor countries and foreign investment in key sectors, such as infrastructure and power generation. |
Electricity - consumption | 55 million kWh (1999) | 296.9 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 55 million kWh
note: electricity supplied by South Africa (1999) |
0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | 0 kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (1999) | 319.3 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
0% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
junction of the Orange and Makhaleng Rivers 1,400 m highest point: Thabana Ntlenyana 3,482 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Wuteve 1,380 m |
Environment - current issues | population pressure forcing settlement in marginal areas results in overgrazing, severe soil erosion, and soil exhaustion; desertification; Highlands Water Project controls, stores, and redirects water to South Africa | tropical rain forest deforestation; soil erosion; loss of biodiversity; pollution of coastal waters from oil residue and raw sewage |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection signed, but not ratified: Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation |
Ethnic groups | Sotho 99.7%, Europeans, Asians, and other 0.3%, | indigenous African 95% (including Kpelle, Bassa, Gio, Kru, Grebo, Mano, Krahn, Gola, Gbandi, Loma, Kissi, Vai, Dei, Bella, Mandingo, and Mende), Americo-Liberians 2.5% (descendants of immigrants from the US who had been slaves), Congo People 2.5% (descendants of immigrants from the Caribbean who had been slaves) |
Exchange rates | maloti per US dollar - 7.78307 (January 2001), 6.93983 (2000), 6.10948 (1999), 5.52828 (1998), 4.60796 (1997), 4.29935 (1996); note - the Lesotho loti is at par with the South African rand which is also legal tender; maloti is the plural form of loti | Liberian dollars per US dollar - NA (2007), 59.43 (2006), 53.098 (2005), 54.906 (2004), 59.379 (2003) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
King LETSIE III (since 7 February 1996); note - King LETSIE III formerly occupied the throne from November 1990 to February 1995, while his father was in exile head of government: Prime Minister Pakalitha MOSISILI (since 23 May 1998) cabinet: Cabinet elections: none; according to the constitution, the leader of the majority party in the assembly automatically becomes prime minister; the monarch is hereditary, but, under the terms of the constitution which came into effect after the March 1993 election, the monarch is a "living symbol of national unity" with no executive or legislative powers; under traditional law the college of chiefs has the power to determine who is next in the line of succession, who shall serve as regent in the event that the successor is not of mature age, and may even depose the monarch |
chief of state: President Ellen JOHNSON SIRLEAF (since 16 January 2006); note - the President is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Ellen JOHNSON SIRLEAF (since 16 January 2006) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate elections: president elected by popular vote for a six-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 8 November 2005 (next to be held in 2011) election results: Ellen JOHNSON SIRLEAF elected president; percent of vote, second round - Ellen JOHNSON SIRLEAF 59.6%, George WEAH 40.4% |
Exports | $175 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | 23.31 bbl/day (2004) |
Exports - commodities | manufactures 75% (clothing, footwear, road vehicles), wool and mohair, food and live animals (1998) | rubber, timber, iron, diamonds, cocoa, coffee |
Exports - partners | South African Customs Union 65%, North America 34% (1998) | Germany 40.1%, South Africa 12%, Poland 11.7%, US 8.5%, Spain 8.2% (2006) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | calendar year |
Flag description | divided diagonally from the lower hoist side corner; the upper half is white, bearing the brown silhouette of a large shield with crossed spear and club; the lower half is a diagonal blue band with a green triangle in the corner | 11 equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom) alternating with white; there is a white five-pointed star on a blue square in the upper hoist-side corner; the design was based on the US flag |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $5.1 billion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
18% industry: 38% services: 44% (1999) |
agriculture: 76.9%
industry: 5.4% services: 17.7% (2002 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $2,400 (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 2.5% (2000 est.) | 8.5% (2007 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 29 30 S, 28 30 E | 6 30 N, 9 30 W |
Geography - note | landlocked; surrounded by South Africa | facing the Atlantic Ocean, the coastline is characterized by lagoons, mangrove swamps, and river-deposited sandbars; the inland grassy plateau supports limited agriculture |
Highways | total:
4,955 km paved: 887 km unpaved: 4,068 km (1996) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
0.9% highest 10%: 43.4% (1986-87) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | - | transshipment point for Southeast and Southwest Asian heroin and South American cocaine for the European and US markets; corruption, criminal activity, arms-dealing, and diamond trade provide significant potential for money laundering, but the lack of well-developed financial system limits the country's utility as a major money-laundering center |
Imports | $700 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | 3,532 bbl/day (2004) |
Imports - commodities | food; building materials, vehicles, machinery, medicines, petroleum products (1995) | fuels, chemicals, machinery, transportation equipment, manufactured goods; foodstuffs |
Imports - partners | South African Customs Union 90%, Asia 7% (1998) | South Korea 43.2%, Singapore 15%, Japan 12.8%, China 8.2% (2006) |
Independence | 4 October 1966 (from UK) | 26 July 1847 |
Industrial production growth rate | 15.5% (1999 est.) | NA% |
Industries | food, beverages, textiles, handicrafts; construction; tourism | rubber processing, palm oil processing, timber, diamonds |
Infant mortality rate | 82.77 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 149.73 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 165.65 deaths/1,000 live births female: 133.34 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 6% (2000 est.) | 15% (2003 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, ISO (subscriber), ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW, SACU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | ACP, AfDB, AU, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 30 sq km (1993 est.) | 30 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | High Court (chief justice appointed by the monarch); Court of Appeal; Magistrate's Court; customary or traditional court | Supreme Court |
Labor force | 700,000 economically active | - |
Labor force - by occupation | 86% of resident population engaged in subsistence agriculture; roughly 35% of the active male wage earners work in South Africa | agriculture: 70%
industry: 8% services: 22% (2000 est.) |
Land boundaries | total:
909 km border countries: South Africa 909 km |
total: 1,585 km
border countries: Guinea 563 km, Cote d'Ivoire 716 km, Sierra Leone 306 km |
Land use | arable land:
11% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 66% forests and woodland: 0% other: 23% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 3.43%
permanent crops: 1.98% other: 94.59% (2005) |
Languages | Sesotho (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa | English 20% (official), some 20 ethnic group languages, of which a few can be written and are used in correspondence |
Legal system | based on English common law and Roman-Dutch law; judicial review of legislative acts in High Court and Court of Appeal; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | dual system of statutory law based on Anglo-American common law for the modern sector and customary law based on unwritten tribal practices for indigenous sector; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations |
Legislative branch | bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (33 members - 22 principal chiefs and 11 other members appointed by the ruling party) and the Assembly (80 seats; members elected by popular vote for five-year terms); note - number of seats in the Assembly rose from 65 to 80 in the May 1998 election; on 28 February 2001, the Senate approved expansion of the Assembly by a further 50 seats in the next election, which may be held as early as January 2002
elections: last held 23 May 1998 (next to be held NA March 2001) election results: percent of vote by party - LCD 60.7%, BNP 24.5%, other 14.8%; seats by party - LCD 79, BNP 1 note: results contested; opposition parties claimed the election was fraudulent and staged a coup; Southern African Development Community (SADC) forces intervened in September 1998 and restored order; the Interim Political Authority (IPA) was set up in December 1998 to create a new electoral system and conduct new elections. |
bicameral National Assembly consists of the Senate (30 seats; note - number of seats changed in 11 October 2005 elections; members elected by popular vote to serve nine-year terms) and the House of Representatives (64 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 11 October 2005 (next to be held in 2011); House of Representatives - last held 11 October 2005 (next to be held in 2011) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - COTOL 7, NPP 4, CDC 3, LP 3, UP 3, APD 3, other 7; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - CDC 15, LP 9, COTOL 8, UP 8, APD 5, NPP 4, other 15 note: junior senators - those who received the second most votes in each county in the 11 October 2005 election - will only serve a six-year first term because the Liberian constitution mandates staggered Senate elections to ensure continuity of government; all senators will be eligible for nine-year terms thereafter |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
48.84 years male: 47.97 years female: 49.74 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 40.39 years
male: 38.93 years female: 41.89 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 83% male: 72% female: 93% (1999 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 57.5% male: 73.3% female: 41.6% (2003 est.) |
Location | Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa | Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Cote d'Ivoire and Sierra Leone |
Map references | Africa | Africa |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | territorial sea: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | - | total: 1,948 ships (1000 GRT or over) 71,387,243 GRT/109,450,945 DWT
by type: barge carrier 3, bulk carrier 338, cargo 91, chemical tanker 211, combination ore/oil 9, container 614, liquefied gas 81, passenger 2, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 455, refrigerated cargo 91, roll on/roll off 6, specialized tanker 11, vehicle carrier 35 foreign-owned: 1,904 (Argentina 3, Australia 2, Belgium 1, Brazil 3, Canada 3, China 32, Croatia 5, Cyprus 5, Denmark 12, Estonia 1, France 5, Germany 728, Gibraltar 7, Greece 311, Hong Kong 21, India 2, Indonesia 1, Israel 9, Italy 31, Japan 111, South Korea 4, Kuwait 1, Latvia 15, Lebanon 2, Mexico 1, Monaco 8, Netherlands 28, Norway 42, Poland 14, Qatar 2, Russia 87, Saudi Arabia 24, Singapore 42, Slovenia 1, Sweden 11, Switzerland 11, Taiwan 82, Turkey 7, Ukraine 24, UAE 22, UK 74, US 103, Uruguay 3, Vietnam 3) (2007) |
Military - note | The Lesotho Government in 1999 began an open debate on the future structure, size, and role of the armed forces, especially considering the Lesotho Defense Force's (LDF) history of intervening in political affairs. | - |
Military branches | Lesotho Defense Force (LDF; includes Army and Air Wing), Royal Lesotho Mounted Police (RLMP) | Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL): Army, Navy, Air Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $34 million (1999) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | 1.3% (2006 est.) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
515,464 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
277,369 (2001 est.) |
- |
National holiday | Independence Day, 4 October (1966) | Independence Day, 26 July (1847) |
Nationality | noun:
Mosotho (singular), Basotho (plural) adjective: Basotho |
noun: Liberian(s)
adjective: Liberian |
Natural hazards | periodic droughts | dust-laden harmattan winds blow from the Sahara (December to March) |
Natural resources | water, agricultural and grazing land, some diamonds and other minerals | iron ore, timber, diamonds, gold, hydropower |
Net migration rate | -0.63 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 26.86 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Basotho Congress Party or BCP [Tseliso MAKHAKHE]; Basotho National Party or BNP [Maj. Gen. Justine Metsing LEKHANYA]; Lesotho Congress for Democracy or LCD [Phebe MOTEBANO, chairwoman; Dr. Pakalitha MOSISILI, leader] - the governing party; United Democratic Party or UDP [Charles MOFELI]; Marematlou Freedom Party or MFP and Setlamo Alliance [Vincent MALEBO]; Progressive National Party or PNP [Chief Peete Nkoebe PEETE]; Sefate Democratic Party or SDP [Bofihla NKUEBE] | Alliance for Peace and Democracy or APD [Togba-na TIPOTEH]; Coalition for the Transformation of Liberia or COTOL [H. Varney SHERMAN]; Congress for Democratic Change or CDC [George WEAH]; Liberty Party or LP [Charles BRUMSKINE]; National Patriotic Party or NPP [Roland MASSAQUOI]; Unity Party or UP [Ellen JOHNSON SIRLEAF] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Demobilized former military officers |
Population | 2,177,062
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 2001 est.) |
3,195,931 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 49.2% (1999 est.) | 80% (2000 est.) |
Population growth rate | 1.49% (2001 est.) | 4.836% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 0, FM 10, shortwave 2 (2007) |
Radios | 104,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | total:
2.6 km; note - owned by, operated by, and included in the statistics of South Africa narrow gauge: 2.6 km 1.067-m gauge (1995) |
total: 490 km
standard gauge: 345 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 145 km 1.067-m gauge note: sections of railway are inoperable because of damage suffered during the civil war (2008) |
Religions | Christian 80%, indigenous beliefs 20% | Christian 40%, Muslim 20%, indigenous beliefs 40% |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.93 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.73 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.004 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.981 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.949 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
rudimentary system domestic: consists of a few landlines, a small microwave radio relay system, and a minor radiotelephone communication system international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
general assessment: the limited services available are found almost exclusively in the capital Monrovia; coverage extended to a number of other towns and rural areas by four mobile-cellular network operators
domestic: combined fixed and mobile-cellular teledensity only about 5 per 100 persons international: country code - 231; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 20,000 (1997) | 6,900 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 1,262 (1996) | 160,000 (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (2000) | 4 (plus 4 repeaters) (2007) |
Terrain | mostly highland with plateaus, hills, and mountains | mostly flat to rolling coastal plains rising to rolling plateau and low mountains in northeast |
Total fertility rate | 4.08 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 5.94 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 45% (2000 est.) | 85% (2003 est.) |
Waterways | none | - |