Mali (2001) | Honduras (2004) | |
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Administrative divisions | 8 regions (regions, singular - region); Gao, Kayes, Kidal, Koulikoro, Mopti, Segou, Sikasso, Tombouctou | 18 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento); Atlantida, Choluteca, Colon, Comayagua, Copan, Cortes, El Paraiso, Francisco Morazan, Gracias a Dios, Intibuca, Islas de la Bahia, La Paz, Lempira, Ocotepeque, Olancho, Santa Barbara, Valle, Yoro |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
47.2% (male 2,612,215; female 2,583,370) 15-64 years: 49.73% (male 2,610,142; female 2,864,127) 65 years and over: 3.07% (male 158,486; female 180,178) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 41.2% (male 1,434,555; female 1,376,216)
15-64 years: 55.1% (male 1,866,219; female 1,896,027) 65 years and over: 3.7% (male 118,404; female 132,147) (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cotton, millet, rice, corn, vegetables, peanuts; cattle, sheep, goats | bananas, coffee, citrus; beef; timber; shrimp |
Airports | 27 (2000 est.) | 115 (2003 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
7 2,438 to 3,047 m: 4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
total: 11
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 3 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
20 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 9 (2000 est.) |
total: 104
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 18 under 914 m: 84 (2004 est.) |
Area | total:
1.24 million sq km land: 1.22 million sq km water: 20,000 sq km |
total: 112,090 sq km
land: 111,890 sq km water: 200 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly less than twice the size of Texas | slightly larger than Tennessee |
Background | The Sudanese Republic and Senegal became independent of France in 1960 as the Mali Federation. When Senegal withdrew after only a few months, the Sudanese Republic was renamed Mali. Rule by dictatorship was brought to a close in 1991 with a transitional government, and in 1992 when Mali's first democratic presidential election was held. Since his reelection in 1997, President KONARE has continued to push through political and economic reforms and to fight corruption. In 1999 he indicated he would not run for a third term. | Part of Spain's vast empire in the New World, Honduras became an independent nation in 1821. After two and one-half decades of mostly military rule, a freely elected civilian government came to power in 1982. During the 1980s, Honduras proved a haven for anti-Sandinista contras fighting the Marxist Nicaraguan Government and an ally to Salvadoran Government forces fighting against leftist guerrillas. The country was devastated by Hurricane Mitch in 1998, which killed about 5,600 people and caused approximately $2 billion in damage. |
Birth rate | 48.79 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 31.04 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$730 million expenditures: $770 million, including capital expenditures of $320 million (1997 est.) |
revenues: $1.342 billion
expenditures: $1.744 billion, including capital expenditures of $106 million (2003) |
Capital | Bamako | Tegucigalpa |
Climate | subtropical to arid; hot and dry February to June; rainy, humid, and mild June to November; cool and dry November to February | subtropical in lowlands, temperate in mountains |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 820 km |
Constitution | adopted 12 January 1992 | 11 January 1982, effective 20 January 1982; amended 1995 |
Country name | conventional long form:
Republic of Mali conventional short form: Mali local long form: Republique de Mali local short form: Mali former: French Sudan and Sudanese Republic |
conventional long form: Republic of Honduras
conventional short form: Honduras local long form: Republica de Honduras local short form: Honduras |
Currency | Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF); note - responsible authority is the Central Bank of the West African States | lempira (HNL) |
Death rate | 18.71 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 6.64 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | $3 billion (1999) | $5.246 billion (2003) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Michael RANNEBERGER embassy: Rue Rochester NY and Rue Mohamed V, Bamako mailing address: B. P. 34, Bamako telephone: [223] 22 54 70 FAX: [223] 22 37 12 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Larry Leon PALMER
embassy: Avenida La Paz, Apartado Postal No. 3453, Tegucigalpa mailing address: American Embassy, APO AA 34022, Tegucigalpa telephone: [504] 238-5114, 236-9320 FAX: [504] 236-9037 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Cheick Oumar DIARRAH chancery: 2130 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 332-2249, 939-8950 FAX: [1] (202) 332-6603 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Mario Miguel CANAHUATI
chancery: Suite 4-M, 3007 Tilden Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 966-7702 FAX: [1] (202) 966-9751 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Phoenix, San Francisco honorary consulate(s): Atlanta, Boston, Detroit, Jacksonville |
Disputes - international | none | in 1992, ICJ ruled on the delimitation of "bolsones" (disputed areas) along the El Salvador-Honduras border, and the OAS is assisting with a technical resolution of bolsones; in 2003, the ICJ rejected El Salvador's request to revise its decision on one bolsone; the 1992 ICJ ruling advised a tripartite resolution to a maritime boundary in the Gulf of Fonseca with consideration of Honduran access to the Pacific; El Salvador continues to claim tiny Conejo Island, not mentioned by the ICJ, off Honduras in the Gulf of Fonseca; Honduras claims Sapodilla Cays off the coast of Belize but agreed to creation of a joint ecological park and Guatemalan corridor in the Caribbean in the failed 2002 Belize-Guatemala Differendum; Nicaragua filed a claim against Honduras in 1999 and against Colombia in 2001 at the ICJ over a complex maritime dispute in the Caribbean Sea |
Economic aid - recipient | $596.4 million (1995) | $557.8 million (1999) |
Economy - overview | Mali is among the poorest countries in the world, with 65% of its land area desert or semidesert. Economic activity is largely confined to the riverine area irrigated by the Niger. About 10% of the population is nomadic and some 80% of the labor force is engaged in farming and fishing. Industrial activity is concentrated on processing farm commodities. Mali is heavily dependent on foreign aid and vulnerable to fluctuations in world prices for cotton, its main export. In 1997, the government continued its successful implementation of an IMF-recommended structural adjustment program that is helping the economy grow, diversify, and attract foreign investment. Mali's adherence to economic reform and the 50% devaluation of the African franc in January 1994 have pushed up economic growth to a sturdy 5% average in 1996-2000. Growth should remain around 5% in 2001-02, and inflation should stay less than 2%. | Honduras, one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere with an extraordinarily unequal distribution of income and massive unemployment, is banking on expanded trade privileges under the Enhanced Caribbean Basin Initiative and on debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative. While the country has met most of its macroeconomic targets, it has failed to meet the IMF's goals to liberalize its energy and telecommunications sectors. Growth remains dependent on the status of the US economy, its major trading partner, on commodity prices, particularly coffee, and on reduction of the high crime rate. |
Electricity - consumption | 413.9 million kWh (1999) | 3.822 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 308 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 445 million kWh (1999) | 3.778 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
44.94% hydro: 55.06% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Senegal River 23 m highest point: Hombori Tondo 1,155 m |
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Cerro Las Minas 2,870 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation; soil erosion; desertification; inadequate supplies of potable water; poaching | urban population expanding; deforestation results from logging and the clearing of land for agricultural purposes; further land degradation and soil erosion hastened by uncontrolled development and improper land use practices such as farming of marginal lands; mining activities polluting Lago de Yojoa (the country's largest source of fresh water), as well as several rivers and streams, with heavy metals |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Nuclear Test Ban |
party to: 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: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Mande 50% (Bambara, Malinke, Soninke), Peul 17%, Voltaic 12%, Songhai 6%, Tuareg and Moor 10%, other 5% | mestizo (mixed Amerindian and European) 90%, Amerindian 7%, black 2%, white 1% |
Exchange rates | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 699.21 (January 2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.70 (1999), 589.95 (1998), 583.67 (1997), 511.55 (1996); note - from 1 January 1999, the XOF is pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 XOF per euro | lempiras per US dollar - 17.3453 (2003), 16.4334 (2002), 15.4737 (2001), 14.8392 (2000), 14.2132 (1999) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
President Alpha Oumar KONARE (since 8 June 1992) head of government: Prime Minister Mande SIDIBE (since September 2000) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 11 May 1997 (next to be held NA May 2002); prime minister appointed by the president election results: Alpha Oumar KONARE reelected president; percent of vote - Alpha Oumar KONARE 95.9%, Mamadou DIABY 4.1% |
chief of state: President Ricardo (Joest) MADURO (since 27 January 2002); First Vice President Vicente WILLIAMS Agasse (since 27 January 2002); Second Vice President Armida Villela Maria DE LOPEZ Contreras (since 27 January 2002); Third Vice President Alberto DIAZ Lobo (since 27 January 2002); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Ricardo (Joest) MADURO (since 27 January 2002); First Vice President Vicente WILLIAMS Agasse (since 27 January 2002); Second Vice President Armida Villela Maria DE LOPEZ Contreras (since 27 January 2002); Third Vice President Alberto DIAZ Lobo (since 27 January 2002); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet appointed by president elections: president elected by popular vote for a four-year term; election last held 25 November 2001 (next to be held 27 November 2005) election results: Ricardo (Joest) MADURO (PN) elected president - 52.2%, Raphael PINEDA Ponce (PL) 44.3%, others 3.5% |
Exports | $480 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | cotton 50%, gold, livestock (1999 est.) | coffee, bananas, shrimp, lobster, meat; zinc, lumber (2000) |
Exports - partners | Italy 18%, Thailand 15%, Germany 7%, Portugal 4% (1999) | US 65.5%, El Salvador 3.5%, Guatemala 2.4% (2003) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), yellow, and red; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia | three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), white, and blue with five blue, five-pointed stars arranged in an X pattern centered in the white band; the stars represent the members of the former Federal Republic of Central America - Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua; similar to the flag of El Salvador, which features a round emblem encircled by the words REPUBLICA DE EL SALVADOR EN LA AMERICA CENTRAL centered in the white band; also similar to the flag of Nicaragua, which features a triangle encircled by the word REPUBLICA DE NICARAGUA on top and AMERICA CENTRAL on the bottom, centered in the white band |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $9.1 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $17.55 billion (2003 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
46% industry: 21% services: 33% (1998) |
agriculture: 12.8%
industry: 31.9% services: 55.3% (2003 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $850 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $2,600 (2003 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 4.8% (2000 est.) | 3% (2003 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 17 00 N, 4 00 W | 15 00 N, 86 30 W |
Geography - note | landlocked | has only a short Pacific coast but a long Caribbean shoreline, including the virtually uninhabited eastern Mosquito Coast |
Highways | total:
15,100 km paved: 1,827 km unpaved: 13,273 km (1996) |
total: 13,603 km
paved: 2,775 km unpaved: 10,828 km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
1.8% highest 10%: 40.4% (1994) |
lowest 10%: 0.6%
highest 10%: 42.7% (1998) |
Illicit drugs | - | transshipment point for drugs and narcotics; illicit producer of cannabis, cultivated on small plots and used principally for local consumption; corruption is a major problem; some money-laundering activity |
Imports | $575 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, construction materials, petroleum, foodstuffs, textiles | machinery and transport equipment, industrial raw materials, chemical products, fuels, foodstuffs (2000) |
Imports - partners | Cote d'Ivoire 19%, France 19%, Senegal 4%, Benelux 3% (1999) | US 53.1%, El Salvador 4.5%, Mexico 3% (2003) |
Independence | 22 September 1960 (from France) | 15 September 1821 (from Spain) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA | 7.7% (2003 est.) |
Industries | minor local consumer goods production and food processing; construction; phosphate and gold mining | sugar, coffee, textiles, clothing, wood products |
Infant mortality rate | 121.44 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 29.64 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 33.22 deaths/1,000 live births female: 25.89 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 0.8% (2000 est.) | 7.7% (2003 est.) |
International organization participation | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, CCC, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, FZ, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (subscriber), ITU, MIPONUH, MONUC, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WADB, WAEMU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | ABEDA, BCIE, CACM, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (subscriber), ITU, LAES, LAIA (observer), MIGA, MINURSO, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW (signatory), PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 780 sq km (1993 est.) | 760 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Cour Supreme | Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia (judges are elected for seven-year terms by the National Congress) |
Labor force | NA | 2.41 million (2003 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture and fishing 80% (1998 est.) | agriculture 34%, industry 21%, services 45% (2001 est.) |
Land boundaries | total:
7,243 km border countries: Algeria 1,376 km, Burkina Faso 1,000 km, Guinea 858 km, Cote d'Ivoire 532 km, Mauritania 2,237 km, Niger 821 km, Senegal 419 km |
total: 1,520 km
border countries: Guatemala 256 km, El Salvador 342 km, Nicaragua 922 km |
Land use | arable land:
2% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 25% forests and woodland: 6% other: 67% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 9.55%
permanent crops: 3.22% other: 87.23% (2001) |
Languages | French (official), Bambara 80%, numerous African languages | Spanish, Amerindian dialects |
Legal system | based on French civil law system and customary law; judicial review of legislative acts in Constitutional Court (which was formally established on 9 March 1994); has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | rooted in Roman and Spanish civil law with increasing influence of English common law; recent judicial reforms include abandoning Napoleonic legal codes in favor of the oral adversarial system; accepts ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations |
Legislative branch | unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (147 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 20 July and 3 August 1997 (next to be held in two rounds in 2002); note - much of the opposition boycotted the election election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - ADEMA 130, PARENA 8, CDS 4, UDD 3, PDP 2 |
unicameral National Congress or Congreso Nacional (128 seats; members are elected proportionally to the number of votes their party's presidential candidate receives to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 25 November 2001 (next to be held 27 November 2005) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PN 61, PL 55, PUD 5, PDC 4, PINU-SD 3 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
47.02 years male: 45.84 years female: 48.24 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 66.15 years
male: 64.99 years female: 67.37 years (2004 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 31% male: 39.4% female: 23.1% (1995 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 76.2% male: 76.1% female: 76.3% (2003 est.) |
Location | Western Africa, southwest of Algeria | Central America, bordering the Caribbean Sea, between Guatemala and Nicaragua and bordering the Gulf of Fonseca (North Pacific Ocean), between El Salvador and Nicaragua |
Map references | Africa | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: natural extension of territory or to 200 nm |
Merchant marine | - | total: 238 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 598,600 GRT/616,158 DWT
by type: bulk 12, cargo 139, chemical tanker 5, combination bulk 1, container 5, liquefied gas 1, livestock carrier 1, passenger 3, passenger/cargo 2, petroleum tanker 54, refrigerated cargo 8, roll on/roll off 4, short-sea/passenger 3 foreign-owned: Argentina 1, Bahrain 1, British Virgin Islands 1, Bulgaria 1, Cayman Islands 1, China 4, Costa Rica 1, Cyprus 1, Egypt 5, El Salvador 1, Greece 16, Hong Kong 3, Indonesia 2, Israel 1, Italy 1, Japan 2, Jordan 1, South Korea 9, Lebanon 4, Liberia 4, Maldives 2, Marshall Islands 3, Mexico 1, Nigeria 2, Panama 10, Philippines 1, Russia 1, Saint Kitts and Nevis 3, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1, Saudi Arabia 1, Singapore 22, Spain 1, Taiwan 2, Tanzania 1, Thailand 1, Turkey 2, Turks and Caicos Islands 1, United States 7, Vanuatu 1, Vietnam 1 registered in other countries: 16 (2004 est.) |
Military branches | Army, Air Force, Gendarmerie, Republican Guard, National Guard, National Police (Surete Nationale) | Army, Navy (including Naval Infantry), Air Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $49 million (FY96) | $99.8 million (2003) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2% (FY96) | 1.5% (2003) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
2,284,632 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 1,642,029 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
1,309,612 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 977,130 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 76,143 (2004 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 22 September (1960) | Independence Day, 15 September (1821) |
Nationality | noun:
Malian(s) adjective: Malian |
noun: Honduran(s)
adjective: Honduran |
Natural hazards | hot, dust-laden harmattan haze common during dry seasons; recurring droughts | frequent, but generally mild, earthquakes; extremely susceptible to damaging hurricanes and floods along the Caribbean coast |
Natural resources | gold, phosphates, kaolin, salt, limestone, uranium, hydropower
note: bauxite, iron ore, manganese, tin, and copper deposits are known but not exploited |
timber, gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, iron ore, antimony, coal, fish, hydropower |
Net migration rate | -0.36 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -1.99 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Alliance for Democracy or ADEMA [Ibrahim Boubacar KEITA, party chairman]; Block of Alternative for the Renewal of Africa or BARA [Yoro DIAKITE]; Democratic and Social Convention or CDS [Mamadou Bakary SANGARE, chairman]; Movement for the Independence, Renaissance and Integration of Africa or MIRIA [Mohamed Lamine TRAORE, Mouhamedou DICKO]; National Congress for Democratic Initiative or CNID [Mountaga TALL, chairman]; Party for Democracy and Progress or PDP [Me Idrissa TRAORE]; Party for National Renewal or PARENA [Yoro DIAKITE, chairman; Tiebile DRAME, secretary general]; Rally for Democracy and Labor or RDT [Ali GNANGADO]; Rally for Democracy and Progress or RDP [Almamy SYLLA, chairman]; Sudanese Union/African Democratic Rally or US/RDA [Mamadou Bamou TOURE, secretary general]; Union of Democratic Forces for Progress or UFDP [Youssouf TOURE, secretary general]; Union for Democracy and Development or UDD [Moussa Balla COULIBALY] | Christian Democratic Party or PDC [Juan Ramon VELAZQUEZ Nassar]; Democratic Unification Party or PUD [Matias FUNES]; Liberal Party or PL [Roberto MICHELETTI Bain]; National Innovation and Unity Party-Social Democratic Party or PINU-SD [Olban F. VALLADARES]; National Party of Honduras or PN [Jose Celin DISCUA Elvir]; United Confederation of Honduran Workers or CUTH |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Patriotic Movement of the Ghanda Koye or MPGK; United Movement and Fronts of Azawad or MFUA | Committee for the Defense of Human Rights in Honduras or CODEH; Confederation of Honduran Workers or CTH; Coordinating Committee of Popular Organizations or CCOP; General Workers Confederation or CGT; Honduran Council of Private Enterprise or COHEP; National Association of Honduran Campesinos or ANACH; National Union of Campesinos or UNC; Popular Bloc or BP; United Federation of Honduran Workers or FUTH |
Population | 11,008,518 (July 2001 est.) | 6,823,568
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.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 53% (1993 est.) |
Population growth rate | 2.97% (2001 est.) | 2.24% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Koulikoro | La Ceiba, Puerto Castilla, Puerto Cortes, San Lorenzo, Tela, Puerto Lempira |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 14, shortwave 7 (1998) | AM 241, FM 53, shortwave 12 (1998) |
Radios | 570,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | total:
729 km (linked to Senegal's rail system through Kayes) narrow gauge: 729 km 1.000-m gauge |
total: 699 km
narrow gauge: 279 km 1.067-m gauge; 420 km 0.914-m gauge (2003) |
Religions | Muslim 90%, indigenous beliefs 9%, Christian 1% | Roman Catholic 97%, Protestant minority |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.91 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.88 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.9 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
Suffrage | 21 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory |
Telephone system | general assessment:
domestic system poor but improving; provides only minimal service domestic: network consists of microwave radio relay, open wire, and radiotelephone communications stations; expansion of microwave radio relay in progress international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) |
general assessment: inadequate system
domestic: NA international: country code - 504; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); connected to Central American Microwave System |
Telephones - main lines in use | 23,000 (1997) | 322,500 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 2,842 (1997) | 326,500 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (plus two repeaters) (1997) | 11 (plus 17 repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | mostly flat to rolling northern plains covered by sand; savanna in south, rugged hills in northeast | mostly mountains in interior, narrow coastal plains |
Total fertility rate | 6.81 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 3.97 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 27.5% (2003 est.) |
Waterways | 1,815 km | 465 km (most navigable only by small craft) (2004) |