Luxembourg (2006) | Yemen (2002) | |
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Administrative divisions | 3 districts; Diekirch, Grevenmacher, Luxembourg | 19 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Abyan, 'Adan, Ad Dali', Al Bayda', Al Hudaydah, Al Jawf, Al Mahrah, Al Mahwit, 'Amran, Dhamar, Hadramawt, Hajjah, Ibb, Lahij, Ma'rib, Sa'dah, San'a', Shabwah, Ta'izz
note: there may be one additional governorate of the capital city of Sanaa |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 18.9% (male 46,118/female 43,356)
15-64 years: 66.5% (male 159,498/female 156,075) 65 years and over: 14.6% (male 28,027/female 41,339) (2006 est.) |
0-14 years: 47% (male 4,468,928; female 4,317,648)
15-64 years: 50.1% (male 4,783,769; female 4,587,309) 65 years and over: 2.9% (male 273,282; female 270,321) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | wine, grapes, barley, oats, potatoes, wheat, fruits; dairy products, livestock products | grain, fruits, vegetables, pulses, qat (mildly narcotic shrub), coffee, cotton; dairy products, livestock (sheep, goats, cattle, camels), poultry; fish |
Airports | 2 (2006) | 49 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2006) |
total: 16
over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 9 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2006) |
total: 28
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 7 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 4 (2002) |
Area | total: 2,586 sq km
land: 2,586 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 527,970 sq km
land: 527,970 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Perim, Socotra, the former Yemen Arab Republic (YAR or North Yemen), and the former People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (PDRY or South Yemen) |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Rhode Island | slightly larger than twice the size of Wyoming |
Background | Founded in 963, Luxembourg became a grand duchy in 1815 and an independent state under the Netherlands. It lost more than half of its territory to Belgium in 1839, but gained a larger measure of autonomy. Full independence was attained in 1867. Overrun by Germany in both World Wars, it ended its neutrality in 1948 when it entered into the Benelux Customs Union and when it joined NATO the following year. In 1957, Luxembourg became one of the six founding countries of the European Economic Community (later the European Union), and in 1999 it joined the euro currency area. | North Yemen became independent of the Ottoman Empire in 1918. The British, who had set up a protectorate area around the southern port of Aden in the 19th century, withdrew in 1967 from what became South Yemen. Three years later, the southern government adopted a Marxist orientation. The massive exodus of hundreds of thousands of Yemenis from the south to the north contributed to two decades of hostility between the states. The two countries were formally unified as the Republic of Yemen in 1990. A southern secessionist movement in 1994 was quickly subdued. In 2000, Saudi Arabia and Yemen agreed to a delimitation of their border. |
Birth rate | 11.94 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 43.3 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $9.195 billion
expenditures: $9.573 billion; including capital expenditures of $975.5 million (2005 est.) |
revenues: $3 billion
expenditures: $3.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
Capital | name: Luxembourg
geographic coordinates: 49 45 N, 6 10 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October |
Sanaa |
Climate | modified continental with mild winters, cool summers | mostly desert; hot and humid along west coast; temperate in western mountains affected by seasonal monsoon; extraordinarily hot, dry, harsh desert in east |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 1,906 km |
Constitution | 17 October 1868; occasional revisions | 16 May 1991; amended 29 September 1994 and February 2001 |
Country name | conventional long form: Grand Duchy of Luxembourg
conventional short form: Luxembourg local long form: Grand Duche de Luxembourg local short form: Luxembourg |
conventional long form: Republic of Yemen
conventional short form: Yemen local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Yamaniyah local short form: Al Yaman |
Currency | - | Yemeni rial (YER) |
Death rate | 8.41 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 9.31 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | $4.7 billion (2001) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Ann WAGNER
embassy: 22 Boulevard Emmanuel Servais, L-2535 Luxembourg City mailing address: American Embassy Luxembourg, Unit 1410, APO AE 09126-1410 (official mail); American Embassy Luxembourg, PSC 9, Box 9500, APO AE 09123 (personal mail) telephone: [352] 46 01 23 FAX: [352] 46 14 01 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Edmund J. HULL
embassy: Dhahar Himyar Zone, Sheraton Hotel District, Sanaa mailing address: P. O. Box 22347, Sanaa telephone: [967] (1) 303-161 FAX: [967] (1) 303-182 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Joseph WEYLAND
chancery: 2200 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 265-4171/72 FAX: [1] (202) 328-8270 consulate(s) general: New York, San Francisco |
chief of mission: Ambassador Abd al-Wahhab Abdallah al-HAJRI
chancery: Suite 705, 2600 Virginia Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20037 telephone: [1] (202) 965-4760 FAX: [1] (202) 337-2017 |
Disputes - international | none | demarcation of delimited boundary with Saudi Arabia involves nomadic tribal affiliations; Yemen has asserted traditional fishing rights to islands ceded to Eritrea in ICJ ruling |
Economic aid - donor | ODA, $235.59 million (2004) | - |
Economic aid - recipient | - | $176.1 million (1995) (1995) |
Economy - overview | This stable, high-income economy - benefitting from its proximity to France, Belgium, and Germany - features solid growth, low inflation, and low unemployment. The industrial sector, initially dominated by steel, has become increasingly diversified to include chemicals, rubber, and other products. Growth in the financial sector, which now accounts for about 28% of GDP, has more than compensated for the decline in steel. Most banks are foreign-owned and have extensive foreign dealings. Agriculture is based on small family-owned farms. The economy depends on foreign and cross-border workers for more than 30% of its labor force. Although Luxembourg, like all EU members, has suffered from the global economic slump, the country enjoys an extraordinarily high standard of living - GDP per capita ranks first in the world. | Yemen, one of the poorest countries in the Arab world, reported strong growth in the mid-1990s with the onset of oil production, but has been harmed by periodic declines in oil prices. Yemen has embarked on an IMF-supported structural adjustment program designed to modernize and streamline the economy, which has led to substantial foreign debt relief and restructuring. Aided by higher oil prices in 1999-2000, Yemen worked to maintain tight control over spending and implement additional components of the IMF program. A high population growth rate and internal political dissension complicate the government's task. |
Electricity - consumption | 6.14 billion kWh (2005 est.) | 2.976 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 2.346 billion kWh (2005 est.) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 5.287 billion kWh (2005 est.) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 3.203 billion kWh (2005 est.) | 3.2 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Moselle River 133 m
highest point: Buurgplaatz 559 m |
lowest point: Arabian Sea 0 m
highest point: Jabal an Nabi Shu'ayb 3,760 m |
Environment - current issues | air and water pollution in urban areas, soil pollution of farmland | very limited natural fresh water resources; inadequate supplies of potable water; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: Nuclear Test Ban |
Ethnic groups | Celtic base (with French and German blend), Portuguese, Italian, Slavs (from Montenegro, Albania, and Kosovo) and European (guest and resident workers) | predominantly Arab; but also Afro-Arab, South Asians, Europeans |
Exchange rates | euros per US dollar - 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001) | Yemeni rials per US dollar - 171.860 (December 2001), 168.678 (2001), 161.718 (2000), 155.718 (1999), 135.882 (1998), 129.281 (1997) |
Executive branch | chief of state: Grand Duke HENRI (since 7 October 2000); Heir Apparent Prince GUILLAUME (son of the monarch, born 11 November 1981)
head of government: Prime Minister Jean-Claude JUNCKER (since 1 January 1995) and Vice Prime Minister Jean ASSELBORN (since 31 July 2004) cabinet: Council of Ministers recommended by the prime minister and appointed by the monarch elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; following popular elections to the Chamber of Deputies, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the monarch; the deputy prime minister is appointed by the monarch; they are responsible to the Chamber of Deputies note: government coalition - CSV and LSAP |
chief of state: President Field Marshall Ali Abdallah SALIH (since 22 May 1990, the former president of North Yemen, assumed office upon the merger of North and South Yemen); Vice President Maj. Gen. Abd al-Rab Mansur al-HADI (since 3 October 1994)
head of government: Prime Minister Abd al-Qadir BA JAMAL (since 4 April 2001) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister elections: president elected by direct, popular vote for a seven-year term (recently extended from a five-year term by constitutional amendment); election last held 23 September 1999 (next to be held NA 2006); vice president appointed by the president; prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president election results: Ali Abdallah SALIH elected president; percent of vote - Ali Abdallah SALIH 96.3%, Najib Qahtan AL-SHAABI 3.7% |
Exports | 634 bbl/day (2001) | $3.9 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Exports - commodities | machinery and equipment, steel products, chemicals, rubber products, glass | crude oil, coffee, dried and salted fish |
Exports - partners | Germany 21%, France 16.3%, Belgium 9.2%, UK 8.3%, Italy 7.5%, Spain 6.6%, Netherlands 4.3% (2005) | Thailand 34%, China 26%, South Korea 14%, Singapore 9%, Japan 3%, Saudi Arabia 3% (1999) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and light blue; similar to the flag of the Netherlands, which uses a darker blue and is shorter; design was based on the flag of France | three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black; similar to the flag of Syria which has two green stars and of Iraq which has three green stars (plus an Arabic inscription) in a horizontal line centered in the white band; also similar to the flag of Egypt which has a heraldic eagle centered in the white band |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $14.8 billion (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 1%
industry: 13% services: 86% (2005 est.) |
agriculture: 17%
industry: 40% services: 43% (1998) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $820 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 4% (2005 est.) | 4% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 49 45 N, 6 10 E | 15 00 N, 48 00 E |
Geography - note | landlocked; the only Grand Duchy in the world | strategic location on Bab el Mandeb, the strait linking the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, one of world's most active shipping lanes |
Heliports | 1 (2006) | - |
Highways | - | total: 69,263 km
paved: 9,963 km unpaved: 59,300 km (1999) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 3%
highest 10%: 26% (1998) (1998) |
Imports | 50,700 bbl/day (2001) | $3 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Imports - commodities | minerals, metals, foodstuffs, quality consumer goods | food and live animals, machinery and equipment |
Imports - partners | Belgium 28.2%, Germany 21.8%, China 12.8%, France 9.6%, Netherlands 5.1% (2005) | Saudi Arabia 10%, UAE 8%, France 7%, US 7%, Italy 6% (1999) |
Independence | 1839 (from the Netherlands) | 22 May 1990, Republic of Yemen was established with the merger of the Yemen Arab Republic [Yemen (Sanaa) or North Yemen] and the Marxist-dominated People's Democratic Republic of Yemen [Yemen (Aden) or South Yemen]; previously North Yemen had become independent on NA November 1918 (from the Ottoman Empire) and South Yemen had become independent on 30 November 1967 (from the UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 4.5% (2005 est.) | NA% |
Industries | banking and financial services, iron and steel, information technology, telecommunications, cargo transportation, food processing, chemicals, metal products, engineering, tires, glass, aluminum, tourism | crude oil production and petroleum refining; small-scale production of cotton textiles and leather goods; food processing; handicrafts; small aluminum products factory; cement |
Infant mortality rate | total: 4.74 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 4.73 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.76 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
66.78 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.5% (2005 est.) | 10% (2001 est.) |
International organization participation | ACCT, AsDB, Australia Group, Benelux, CE, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, MIGA, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OIF, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNRWA, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC | ACC, AFESD, AL, AMF, CAEU, CCC, ESCWA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, NAM, OAS (observer), OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | NA | 4,900 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | judicial courts and tribunals (3 Justices of the Peace, 2 district courts, and 1 Supreme Court of Appeals); administrative courts and tribunals (State Prosecutor's Office, administrative courts and tribunals, and the Constitutional Court); judges for all courts are appointed for life by the monarch | Supreme Court |
Labor force | 316,500 of whom 121,600 are foreign cross-border workers commuting primarily from France, Belgium, and Germany (2005 est.) | NA |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 1%
industry: 13% services: 86% (2004 est.) |
most people are employed in agriculture and herding; services, construction, industry, and commerce account for less than one-fourth of the labor force |
Land boundaries | total: 359 km
border countries: Belgium 148 km, France 73 km, Germany 138 km |
total: 1,746 km
border countries: Oman 288 km, Saudi Arabia 1,458 km |
Land use | arable land: 23.94%
permanent crops: 0.39% other: 75.67% (includes Belgium) (2005) |
arable land: 2.75%
permanent crops: 0.21% other: 97.04% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Luxembourgish (national language), German (administrative language), French (administrative language) | Arabic |
Legal system | based on civil law system; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on Islamic law, Turkish law, English common law, and local tribal customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | unicameral Chamber of Deputies or Chambre des Deputes (60 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 13 June 2004 (next to be held by June 2009) election results: percent of vote by party - CSV 36.1%, LSAP 23.4%, DP 16.1%, Green Party 11.6%, ADR 10%; seats by party - CSV 24, LSAP 14, DP 10, Green Party 7, ADR 5 note: there is also a Council of State that serves as an advisory body to the Chamber of Deputies; the Council of State has 21 members appointed by the Grand Duke on the advice of the prime minister |
a new constitutional amendment ratified on 20 February 2001 created a bicameral legislature consisting of a Shura Council (111 seats; members appointed by the president) and a House of Representatives (301 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms)
elections: last held 27 April 1997 (next to be held 27 April 2003) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - GPC 189, Islah 52, Nasserite Unionist Party 3, National Arab Socialist Baath Party 2, independents 54, election pending 1; seats by party as of January 2002: GPC 223, Islah 64, Nasserite Unionist Party 3, National Arab Socialist Baath Party 2, YSP 2, independents 7 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 78.89 years
male: 75.6 years female: 82.38 years (2006 est.) |
total population: 60.59 years
male: 58.81 years female: 62.46 years (2002 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 100% male: 100% female: 100% (2000 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 38% male: 53% female: 26% (1990 est.) |
Location | Western Europe, between France and Germany | Middle East, bordering the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Red Sea, between Oman and Saudi Arabia |
Map references | Europe | Middle East |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | contiguous zone: 24 NM
continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | total: 42 ships (1000 GRT or over) 557,636 GRT/792,069 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 6, chemical tanker 16, container 7, liquefied gas 2, passenger 3, petroleum tanker 3, roll on/roll off 5 foreign-owned: 42 (Belgium 9, Finland 4, France 14, Germany 10, Netherlands 2, US 3) (2006) |
total: 4 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 15,002 GRT/23,752 DWT
ships by type: cargo 1, petroleum tanker 3 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Hong Kong 2 (2002 est.) |
Military - note | - | establishement of a Coast Guard, scheduled for May 2001, has been delayed |
Military branches | Army | Army (includes Special Forces, established in 1999), Navy, Air Force, Air Defense Forces, Republican Guard |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $231.6 million (2003) | $482.5 million (FY01) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 0.9% (2003) | 5.2% (FY01) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 4,272,156 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 2,397,914 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 14 years of age (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 238,690 (2002 est.) |
National holiday | National Day (Birthday of Grand Duchess Charlotte) 23 June | Unification Day, 22 May (1990) |
Nationality | noun: Luxembourger(s)
adjective: Luxembourg |
noun: Yemeni(s)
adjective: Yemeni |
Natural hazards | NA | sandstorms and dust storms in summer |
Natural resources | iron ore (no longer exploited), arable land | petroleum, fish, rock salt, marble, small deposits of coal, gold, lead, nickel, and copper, fertile soil in west |
Net migration rate | 8.75 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Pipelines | gas 155 km (2006) | crude oil 644 km; petroleum products 32 km |
Political parties and leaders | Action Committee for Democracy and Justice or ADR [Gast GIBERYEN]; Christian Social People's Party or CSV (also known as Christian Social Party or PCS) [Francois BILTGEN]; Democratic Party or DP [Claude MEISCH]; Green Party [Francois BAUSCH]; Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party or LSAP [Alex BODRY]; Marxist and Reformed Communist Party dei Lenk/la Gauche (the Left) [no formal leadership]; other minor parties | there are over 12 political parties active in Yemen, some of the more prominent are: General People's Congress or GPC [President Ali Abdallah SALIH]; Islamic Reform Grouping or Islah [Shaykh Abdallah bin Husayn al-AHMAR]; National Arab Socialist Baath Party [Dr. Qassim SALAAM]; Nasserite Unionist Party [Abdel Malik al-MAKHLAFI]; Yemeni Socialist Party or YSP [Ali Salih MUQBIL]
note: President SALIH's General People's Congress or GPC won a landslide victory in the April 1997 legislative election and no longer governs in coalition with Shaykh Abdallah bin Husayn al-AHMAR's Islamic Reform Grouping or Islah - the two parties had been in coalition since the end of the civil war in 1994; the YSP, a loyal opposition party, boycotted the April 1997 legislative election, but announced that it would participate in Yemen's first local elections which were held in February 2001; these local elections aim to decentralize political power and are a key element of the government's political reform program |
Political pressure groups and leaders | ABBL (bankers' association); ALEBA (financial sector trade union); Centrale Paysanne (federation of agricultural producers); CEP (professional sector chamber); CGFP (trade union representing civil service); Chambre de Commerce (Chamber of Commerce); Chambre des Metiers (Chamber of Artisans); FEDIL (federation of industrialists); Greenpeace (environment protection); LCGP (center-right trade union); Mouvement Ecologique (protection of ecology); OGBL (center-left trade union) | NA |
Population | 474,413 (July 2006 est.) | 18,701,257 (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA |
Population growth rate | 1.23% (2006 est.) | 3.4% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Aden, Al Hudaydah, Al Mukalla, As Salif, Ras Issa, Mocha, Nishtun |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 9, shortwave 2 (1999) | AM 6, FM 1, shortwave 2 (1998) |
Radios | - | 1.05 million (1997) |
Railways | total: 274 km
standard gauge: 274 km 1.435-m gauge (262 km electrified) (2005) |
0 km |
Religions | 87% Roman Catholic, 13% Protestants, Jews, and Muslims (2000) | Muslim including Shaf'i (Sunni) and Zaydi (Shi'a), small numbers of Jewish, Christian, and Hindu |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.01 male(s)/female total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: highly developed, completely automated and efficient system, mainly buried cables
domestic: nationwide cellular telephone system; buried cable international: country code - 352; 3 channels leased on TAT-6 coaxial submarine cable (Europe to North America) |
general assessment: since unification in 1990, efforts have been made to create a national telecommunications network
domestic: the national network consists of microwave radio relay, cable, tropospheric scatter, and GSM cellular mobile telephone systems international: satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (2 Indian Ocean and 1 Atlantic Ocean), 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region), and 2 Arabsat; microwave radio relay to Saudi Arabia and Djibouti |
Telephones - main lines in use | 244,500 (2005) | 291,359 (1999) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 720,000 (2005) | 32,042 (2000) |
Television broadcast stations | 5 (1999) | 7 (plus several low-power repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | mostly gently rolling uplands with broad, shallow valleys; uplands to slightly mountainous in the north; steep slope down to Moselle flood plain in the southeast | narrow coastal plain backed by flat-topped hills and rugged mountains; dissected upland desert plains in center slope into the desert interior of the Arabian Peninsula |
Total fertility rate | 1.78 children born/woman (2006 est.) | 6.9 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 4.5% (2005 est.) | 30% (1995 est.) |
Waterways | 37 km (on Moselle River) (2003) | none |