Lesotho (2004) | Bulgaria (2004) | |
![]() | ![]() | |
Administrative divisions | 10 districts; Berea, Butha-Buthe, Leribe, Mafeteng, Maseru, Mohale's Hoek, Mokhotlong, Qacha's Nek, Quthing, Thaba-Tseka | 28 provinces (oblasti, singular - oblast); Blagoevgrad, Burgas, Dobrich, Gabrovo, Khaskovo, Kurdzhali, Kyustendil, Lovech, Montana, Pazardzhik, Pernik, Pleven, Plovdiv, Razgrad, Ruse, Shumen, Silistra, Sliven, Smolyan, Sofiya, Sofiya-Grad, Stara Zagora, Turgovishte, Varna, Veliko Turnovo, Vidin, Vratsa, Yambol |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 37.3% (male 350,288; female 345,815)
15-64 years: 57.2% (male 521,434; female 545,183) 65 years and over: 5.5% (male 41,903; female 60,417) (2004 est.) |
0-14 years: 14.4% (male 553,801; female 526,856)
15-64 years: 68.5% (male 2,533,784; female 2,615,968) 65 years and over: 17.1% (male 535,954; female 751,610) (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock | vegetables, fruits, tobacco, livestock, wine, wheat, barley, sunflowers, sugar beets |
Airports | 28 (2003 est.) | 212 (2003 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 3
over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
total: 128
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 19 1,524 to 2,437 m: 15 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 92 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 25
914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 21 (2004 est.) |
total: 85
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 72 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 30,355 sq km
land: 30,355 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 110,910 sq km
land: 110,550 sq km water: 360 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. King MOSHOESHOE was exiled in 1990. Constitutional government was restored in 1993 after 23 years of military rule. In 1998, violent protests and a military mutiny following a contentious election prompted a brief but bloody South African military intervention. Constitutional reforms have since restored political stability; peaceful parliamentary elections were held in 2002. | The Bulgars, a Central Asian Turkic tribe, merged with the local Slavic inhabitants in the late 7th century to form the first Bulgarian state. In succeeding centuries, Bulgaria struggled with the Byzantine Empire to assert its place in the Balkans, but by the end of the 14th century the country was overrun by the Ottoman Turks. Northern Bulgaria attained autonomy in 1878 and all of Bulgaria became independent in 1908. Having fought on the losing side in both World Wars, Bulgaria fell within the Soviet sphere of influence and became a People's Republic in 1946. Communist domination ended in 1990, when Bulgaria held its first multiparty election since World War II and began the contentious process of moving toward political democracy and a market economy while combating inflation, unemployment, corruption, and crime. Today, reforms and democratization keep Bulgaria on a path toward eventual integration into the EU. The country joined NATO in 2004. |
Birth rate | 26.91 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 9.65 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $625.4 million
expenditures: $675.2 million, including capital expenditures of $15 million (2003 est.) |
revenues: $8.121 billion
expenditures: $8.121 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2003 est.) |
Capital | Maseru | Sofia |
Climate | temperate; cool to cold, dry winters; hot, wet summers | temperate; cold, damp winters; hot, dry summers |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 354 km |
Constitution | 2 April 1993 | adopted 12 July 1991 |
Country name | conventional long form: Kingdom of Lesotho
conventional short form: Lesotho former: Basutoland |
conventional long form: Republic of Bulgaria
conventional short form: Bulgaria |
Currency | loti (LSL); South African rand (ZAR) | lev (BGL) |
Death rate | 24.79 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 14.25 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | $735 million (2002) | $12.05 billion (2003) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Robert G. LOFTIS
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 James William PARDEW
embassy: 16 Kozyak Street, Sofia 1407 mailing address: American Embassy Sofia, Department of State, 5740 Sofia Place, Washington, DC 20521-5740 telephone: [359] (2) 937-5100 FAX: [359] (2) 937-5230 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Molelekeng E. RAPOLAKI
chancery: 2511 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 797-5533 through 5536 FAX: [1] (202) 234-6815 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Elena B. POPTODOROVA
chancery: 1621 22nd Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 387-0174 FAX: [1] (202) 234-7973 consulate(s): New York |
Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - donor | ODA $4.4 million | - |
Economic aid - recipient | $41.5 million (2000) | $300 million (2000 est.) |
Economy - overview | Small, landlocked, and mountainous, Lesotho relies on remittances from miners employed in South Africa and customs duties from the Southern Africa Customs Union for the majority of government revenue, but the government has strengthened its tax system to reduce dependency on customs duties. Completion of a major hydropower facility in January 1998 now permits the sale of water to South Africa, also generating royalties for Lesotho. As the number of mineworkers has declined steadily over the past several years, a small manufacturing base has developed based on farm products that support the milling, canning, leather, and jute industries and a rapidly growing apparel-assembly sector. The economy is still primarily based on subsistence agriculture, especially livestock, although drought has decreased agricultural activity. The extreme inequality in the distribution of income remains a major drawback. Lesotho has signed an Interim Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility with the IMF. | Bulgaria, a former communist country striving to enter the European Union, has experienced macroeconomic stability and strong growth since a major economic downturn in 1996 led to the fall of the then socialist government. As a result, the government became committed to economic reform and responsible fiscal planning. A $300 million stand-by agreement negotiated with the IMF at the end of 2001 has supported government efforts to overcome high rates of poverty and unemployment. |
Electricity - consumption | 40 million kWh (2001) | 32.52 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 6.79 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 40 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2001) | 830 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 0 kWh NA kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2001) | 41.38 billion kWh (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: junction of the Orange and Makhaleng Rivers 1,400 m
highest point: Thabana Ntlenyana 3,482 m |
lowest point: Black Sea 0 m
highest point: Musala 2,925 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 | air pollution from industrial emissions; rivers polluted from raw sewage, heavy metals, detergents; deforestation; forest damage from air pollution and resulting acid rain; soil contamination from heavy metals from metallurgical plants and industrial wastes |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Sulfur 94 |
Ethnic groups | Sotho 99.7%, Europeans, Asians, and other 0.3%, | Bulgarian 83.9%, Turk 9.4%, Roma 4.7%, other 2% (including Macedonian, Armenian, Tatar, Circassian) (2001) |
Exchange rates | maloti per US dollar - 7.5648 (2003), 10.5407 (2002), 8.6092 (2001), 6.9398 (2000), 6.1095 (1999) | leva per US dollar - 1.7327 (2003), 2.077 (2002), 2.1847 (2001), 2.1233 (2000), 1.8364 (1999)
note: on 5 July 1999, the lev was redenominated; the post-5 July 1999 lev is equal to 1,000 of the pre-5 July 1999 lev |
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 Georgi PURVANOV (since 22 January 2002); Vice President Angel MARIN (since 22 January 2002)
head of government: Chairman of the Council of Ministers (Prime Minister) Simeon SAXE-COBURG-GOTHA (since 24 July 2001); Deputy Prime Ministers Nikolay VASILEV (since 24 July 2001), Lidiya SHULEVA (since 24 July 2001), and Plamen PANAYOTOV (since 17 July 2003) cabinet: Council of Ministers nominated by the prime minister and elected by the National Assembly elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for five-year terms; election last held 11 November and 18 November 2001 (next to be held NA 2006); chairman of the Council of Ministers (prime minister) nominated by the president and elected by the National Assembly; deputy prime ministers nominated by the prime minister and elected by the National Assembly election results: Georgi PURVANOV elected president; percent of vote - Georgi PURVANOV 54.13%, Petar STOYANOV 45.87% |
Exports | NA (2001) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | manufactures 75% (clothing, footwear, road vehicles), wool and mohair, food and live animals (2000) | clothing, footwear, iron and steel, machinery and equipment, fuels |
Exports - partners | US 97.6%, Canada 1.5%, France 0.5% (2003) | Italy 14.1%, Germany 10.9%, Greece 10.5%, Turkey 9.2%, France 5.1%, US 4.5% (2003) |
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 | three equal horizontal bands of white (top), green, and red; the national emblem formerly on the hoist side of the white stripe has been removed - it contained a rampant lion within a wreath of wheat ears below a red five-pointed star and above a ribbon bearing the dates 681 (first Bulgarian state established) and 1944 (liberation from Nazi control) |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $5.583 billion (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $57.13 billion (2003 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 15.3%
industry: 43.3% services: 41.4% (2003) |
agriculture: 11.4%
industry: 30% services: 58.6% (2003) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $3,000 (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $7,600 (2003 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 4% (2003 est.) | 4.3% (2003 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 29 30 S, 28 30 E | 43 00 N, 25 00 E |
Geography - note | landlocked, completely surrounded by South Africa; mountainous, more than 80% of the country is 1,800 meters above sea level | strategic location near Turkish Straits; controls key land routes from Europe to Middle East and Asia |
Heliports | - | 1 (2003 est.) |
Highways | total: 5,940 km
paved: 1,087 km unpaved: 4,853 km (1999) |
total: 37,286 km
paved: 35,049 km (including 324 km of expressways) unpaved: 2,237 km (2000) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 0.9%
highest 10%: 43.4% |
lowest 10%: 4.5%
highest 10%: 22.8% (1997) |
Illicit drugs | - | major European transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin and, to a lesser degree, South American cocaine for the European market; limited producer of precursor chemicals; some money laundering of drug-related proceeds through financial institutions |
Imports | NA (2001) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | food; building materials, vehicles, machinery, medicines, petroleum products (2000) | fuels, minerals, and raw materials; machinery and equipment; metals and ores; chemicals and plastics; food, textiles |
Imports - partners | Hong Kong 36.6%, Taiwan 36.2%, China 12%, Germany 9.9% (2003) | Germany 14.4%, Russia 12.6%, Italy 10.3%, Greece 6.7%, Turkey 6.2%, France 5.7% (2003) |
Independence | 4 October 1966 (from UK) | 3 March 1878 (as an autonomous principality within the Ottoman Empire); 22 September 1908 (complete independence from the Ottoman Empire) |
Industrial production growth rate | 15.5% (1999) | 6.3% (2003 est.) |
Industries | food, beverages, textiles, apparel assembly, handicrafts; construction; tourism | electricity, gas and water; food, beverages and tobacco; machinery and equipment, base metals, chemical products, coke, refined petroleum, nuclear fuel |
Infant mortality rate | total: 85.22 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 90.19 deaths/1,000 live births female: 80.1 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
total: 21.31 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 25.15 deaths/1,000 live births female: 17.23 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 6.1% (2003 est.) | 2.3% (2003 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, AfDB, AU, C, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, ISO (subscriber), ITU, MIGA, NAM, OPCW, SACU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO | ACCT, Australia Group, BIS, BSEC, CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EU (applicant), FAO, G- 9, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, IHO (pending member), ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MIGA, NAM (guest), NATO, NSG, OAS (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIK, UNMIL, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU (associate affiliate), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC |
Irrigated land | 10 sq km (1998 est.) | 8,000 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | High Court (chief justice appointed by the monarch); Court of Appeal; Magistrate's Court; customary or traditional court | Supreme Administrative Court; Supreme Court of Cassation; Constitutional Court (12 justices appointed or elected for nine-year terms); Supreme Judicial Council (consists of the chairmen of the two Supreme Courts, the Chief Prosecutor, and 22 other members; responsible for appointing the justices, prosecutors, and investigating magistrates in the justice system; members of the Supreme Judicial Council elected for five-year terms, 11 elected by the National Assembly and 11 by bodies of the judiciary) |
Labor force | 838,000 (2000) | 3.333 million (2003 est.) |
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 26%, industry 31%, services 43% (1998 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: 909 km
border countries: South Africa 909 km |
total: 1,808 km
border countries: Greece 494 km, Macedonia 148 km, Romania 608 km, Serbia and Montenegro 318 km, Turkey 240 km |
Land use | arable land: 10.87%
permanent crops: 0.13% other: 89% (2001) |
arable land: 40.02%
permanent crops: 1.92% other: 58.06% (2001) |
Languages | Sesotho (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa | Bulgarian, secondary languages closely correspond to ethnic breakdown |
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 | civil law and criminal law based on Roman law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
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 (120 seats, 80 by direct popular vote and 40 by proportional vote; members elected by popular vote for five-year terms); note - number of seats in the Assembly rose from 80 to 120 in the May 2002 election
elections: last held 25 May 2002 (next to be held NA May 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - LCD 54%, BNP 21%, LPC 7%, other 18%; seats by party - LCD 76, BNP 21, LPC 5, other 18 |
unicameral National Assembly or Narodno Sobranie (240 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 17 June 2001 (next to be held NA June 2005) election results: percent of vote by party - NMS2 42.74%, UDF 18.18%, CfB 17.15%, MRF 7.45%; seats by party - NMS2 120, UDF 51, CfB 48, MRF 21; note - seating as of January 2005 - NMS2 98, CfB 49, UtDF 28, MRF 20, UDF 14, New Time 13, BANU 11, independents 7 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 36.81 years
male: 36.81 years female: 36.81 years (2004 est.) |
total population: 71.75 years
male: 68.14 years female: 75.59 years (2004 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 84.8% male: 74.5% female: 94.5% (2003 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98.6% male: 99.1% female: 98.2% (2003 est.) |
Location | Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa | Southeastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea, between Romania and Turkey |
Map references | Africa | Europe |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | - | total: 60 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 757,972 GRT/1,115,238 DWT
by type: bulk 37, cargo 7, chemical tanker 4, container 2, petroleum tanker 3, rail car carrier 2, roll on/roll off 3, short-sea/passenger 1, specialized tanker 1 registered in other countries: 45 (2004 est.) |
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; with Army and Air Wing) | Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $32.5 million (2003) | $356 million (FY02) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.6% (2003) | 2.6% (2003) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 465,827 (2004 est.) | males age 15-49: 1,829,203 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 253,974 (2004 est.) | males age 15-49: 1,530,657 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 52,811 (2004 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 4 October (1966) | Liberation Day, 3 March (1878) |
Nationality | noun: Mosotho (singular), Basotho (plural)
adjective: Basotho |
noun: Bulgarian(s)
adjective: Bulgarian |
Natural hazards | periodic droughts | earthquakes, landslides |
Natural resources | water, agricultural and grazing land, some diamonds and other minerals | bauxite, copper, lead, zinc, coal, timber, arable land |
Net migration rate | -0.74 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) | -4.58 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Pipelines | - | gas 2,425 km; oil 339 km; refined products 156 km (2004) |
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; Pakalitha MOSISILI, leader] - the governing party; Lesotho People's Congress or LPC [Kelebone MAOPE]; 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] | Bulgarian Agrarian National Union-People's Union or BANU [Anastasia MOZER]; Bulgarian Socialist Party or BSP [Sergei STANISHEV]; Coalition for Bulgaria or CfB (coalition of parties dominated by BSP) [Sergei STANISHEV]; Democrats for a Strong Bulgaria or DSB [Ivan KOSTOV]; Movement for Rights and Freedoms or MRF [Ahmed DOGAN]; National Movement for Simeon II or NMS2 [Simeon SAXE-COBURG-GOTHA]; New Time [Emil KOSHLUKOV]; Union of Democratic Forces or UDF [Nadezhda MIKHAYLOVA]; Union of Free Democrats or UFD [Stefan SOFIYANSKI]; United Democratic Forces or UtDF (a coalition of center-right parties dominated by DSB) |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Confederation of Independent Trade Unions of Bulgaria or CITUB; Podkrepa Labor Confederation; numerous regional, ethnic, and national interest groups with various agendas |
Population | 1,865,040
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 2004 est.) |
7,517,973 (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 49% (1999) | 13.4% (2002 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.14% (2004 est.) | -0.92% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none | Burgas, Lom, Nesebur, Ruse, Varna, Vidin |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 31, FM 63, shortwave 2 (2001) |
Railways | - | total: 4,294 km
standard gauge: 4,049 km 1.435-m gauge (2,710 km electrified) narrow gauge: 245 km 0.760-m gauge (2003) |
Religions | Christian 80%, indigenous beliefs 20% | Bulgarian Orthodox 82.6%, Muslim 12.2%, Roman Catholic 1.7%, Jewish 0.1%, Protestant, Gregorian-Armenian, and other 3.4% (1998) |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.69 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female total population: 0.93 male(s)/female (2004 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; a cellular mobile telephone system is growing international: country code - 266; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
general assessment: extensive but antiquated
domestic: more than two-thirds of the lines are residential; telephone service is available in most villages; a fairly modern digital cable trunk line now connects switching centers in most of the regions, the others are connected by digital microwave radio relay international: country code - 359; direct dialing to 58 countries; satellite earth stations - 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region); 2 Intelsat (Atlantic and Indian Ocean regions) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 28,600 (2002) | 2,868,200 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 92,000 (2002) | 2,597,500 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (2000) | 39 (plus 1,242 repeaters) (2001) |
Terrain | mostly highland with plateaus, hills, and mountains | mostly mountains with lowlands in north and southeast |
Total fertility rate | 3.44 children born/woman (2004 est.) | 1.37 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 45% (2002) | 14.3% (2003) |
Waterways | - | 470 km (2004) |