Mexico (2006) | Zambia (2006) | |
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Administrative divisions | 31 states (estados, singular - estado) and 1 federal district* (distrito federal); Aguascalientes, Baja California, Baja California Sur, Campeche, Chiapas, Chihuahua, Coahuila de Zaragoza, Colima, Distrito Federal*, Durango, Guanajuato, Guerrero, Hidalgo, Jalisco, Mexico, Michoacan de Ocampo, Morelos, Nayarit, Nuevo Leon, Oaxaca, Puebla, Queretaro de Arteaga, Quintana Roo, San Luis Potosi, Sinaloa, Sonora, Tabasco, Tamaulipas, Tlaxcala, Veracruz-Llave, Yucatan, Zacatecas | 9 provinces; Central, Copperbelt, Eastern, Luapula, Lusaka, Northern, North-Western, Southern, Western |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 30.6% (male 16,770,957/female 16,086,172)
15-64 years: 63.6% (male 33,071,809/female 35,316,281) 65 years and over: 5.8% (male 2,814,707/female 3,389,599) (2006 est.) |
0-14 years: 46.3% (male 2,673,891/female 2,656,268)
15-64 years: 51.3% (male 2,925,910/female 2,969,324) 65 years and over: 2.4% (male 117,877/female 158,740) (2006 est.) |
Agriculture - products | corn, wheat, soybeans, rice, beans, cotton, coffee, fruit, tomatoes; beef, poultry, dairy products; wood products | corn, sorghum, rice, peanuts, sunflower seed, vegetables, flowers, tobacco, cotton, sugarcane, cassava (tapioca), coffee; cattle, goats, pigs, poultry, milk, eggs, hides |
Airports | 1,839 (2006) | 111 (2006) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 228
over 3,047 m: 12 2,438 to 3,047 m: 28 1,524 to 2,437 m: 82 914 to 1,523 m: 77 under 914 m: 29 (2006) |
total: 10
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2006) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 1,611
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 68 914 to 1,523 m: 460 under 914 m: 1,081 (2006) |
total: 101
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 64 under 914 m: 32 (2006) |
Area | total: 1,972,550 sq km
land: 1,923,040 sq km water: 49,510 sq km |
total: 752,614 sq km
land: 740,724 sq km water: 11,890 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly less than three times the size of Texas | slightly larger than Texas |
Background | The site of advanced Amerindian civilizations, Mexico came under Spanish rule for three centuries before achieving independence early in the 19th century. A devaluation of the peso in late 1994 threw Mexico into economic turmoil, triggering the worst recession in over half a century. The nation continues to make an impressive recovery. Ongoing economic and social concerns include low real wages, underemployment for a large segment of the population, inequitable income distribution, and few advancement opportunities for the largely Amerindian population in the impoverished southern states. Elections held in July 2000 marked the first time since the 1910 Mexican Revolution that the opposition defeated the party in government, the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). Vicente FOX of the National Action Party (PAN) was sworn in on 1 December 2000 as the first chief executive elected in free and fair elections. | The territory of Northern Rhodesia was administered by the [British] South Africa Company from 1891 until it was taken over by the UK in 1923. During the 1920s and 1930s, advances in mining spurred development and immigration. The name was changed to Zambia upon independence in 1964. In the 1980s and 1990s, declining copper prices and a prolonged drought hurt the economy. Elections in 1991 brought an end to one-party rule, but the subsequent vote in 1996 saw blatant harassment of opposition parties. The election in 2001 was marked by administrative problems with three parties filing a legal petition challenging the election of ruling party candidate Levy MWANAWASA. The new president launched an anti-corruption campaign in 2002, which resulted in the prosecution of former President Frederick CHILUBA and some officials of his administration. |
Birth rate | 20.69 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 41 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $181 billion
expenditures: $184 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005) |
revenues: $1.688 billion
expenditures: $1.866 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.) |
Capital | name: Mexico (Distrito Federal)
geographic coordinates: 19 24 N, 99 09 W time difference: UTC-6 (1 hour behind Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins first Sunday in April; ends last Sunday in October note: Mexico is divided into four time zones |
name: Lusaka
geographic coordinates: 15 25 S, 28 17 E time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | varies from tropical to desert | tropical; modified by altitude; rainy season (October to April) |
Coastline | 9,330 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 5 February 1917 | 24 August 1991; amended in 1996 to establish presidential term limits |
Country name | conventional long form: United Mexican States
conventional short form: Mexico local long form: Estados Unidos Mexicanos local short form: Mexico |
conventional long form: Republic of Zambia
conventional short form: Zambia former: Northern Rhodesia |
Death rate | 4.74 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 19.93 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | $137.2 billion (2005 est.) | $4.641 billion (2005 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Antonio O. GARZA, Jr.
embassy: Paseo de la Reforma 305, Colonia Cuauhtemoc, 06500 Mexico, Distrito Federal mailing address: P. O. Box 9000, Brownsville, TX 78520-9000 telephone: [52] (55) 5080-2000 FAX: [52] (55) 5511-9980 consulate(s) general: Ciudad Juarez, Guadalajara, Monterrey, Tijuana consulate(s): Hermosillo, Matamoros, Merida, Nogales, Nuevo Laredo |
chief of mission: Ambassador Carmen M. MARTINEZ
embassy: corner of Independence and United Nations Avenues, Lusaka mailing address: P. O. Box 31617, Lusaka telephone: [260] (1) 250-955 FAX: [260] (1) 252-225 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Carlos Alberto DE ICAZA Gonzalez
chancery: 1911 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20006 telephone: [1] (202) 728-1600 FAX: [1] (202) 728-1698 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, El Paso, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Nogales (Arizona), Omaha, Orlando, Phoenix, Sacramento, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, San Juan (Puerto Rico) consulate(s): Albuquerque, Brownsville (Texas), Calexico (California), Del Rio (Texas), Detroit, Douglas (Arizona), Eagle Pass (Texas), Fresno (California), Indianapolis (Indiana), Kansas City (Missouri), Laredo (Texas), Las Vegas, McAllen (Texas), Midland (Texas), Oxnard (California), Philadelphia, Portland (Oregon), Presidio (Texas), Raleigh, Saint Paul (Minnesota), Salt Lake City, San Bernardino, Santa Ana (California), Seattle, Tucson, Yuma (Arizona) |
chief of mission: Ambassador Inonge MBIKUSITA-LEWANIKA
chancery: 2419 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 265-9717 through 9719 FAX: [1] (202) 332-0826 |
Disputes - international | prolonged drought, population growth, and outmoded practices and infrastructure in the border region have strained water-sharing arrangements with the US; the US has stepped up efforts to stem nationals from Mexico, Central America, and other parts of the world from illegally crossing the border with Mexico | in 2004 Zimbabwe dropped objections to plans between Botswana and Zambia to build a bridge over the Zambezi River, thereby de facto recognizing a short, but not clearly delimited, Botswana-Zambia boundary in the river |
Economic aid - recipient | $1.166 billion (1995) | $640.6 million (2002) |
Economy - overview | Mexico has a free market economy that recently entered the trillion dollar class. It contains a mixture of modern and outmoded industry and agriculture, increasingly dominated by the private sector. Recent administrations have expanded competition in seaports, railroads, telecommunications, electricity generation, natural gas distribution, and airports. Per capita income is one-fourth that of the US; income distribution remains highly unequal. Trade with the US and Canada has tripled since the implementation of NAFTA in 1994. Mexico has 12 free trade agreements with over 40 countries including, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, the European Free Trade Area, and Japan, putting more than 90% of trade under free trade agreements. The FOX administration is cognizant of the need to upgrade infrastructure, modernize the tax system and labor laws, and allow private investment in the energy sector, but has been unable to win the support of the opposition-led Congress. The next government that takes office in December 2006 will confront the same challenges of boosting economic growth, improving Mexico's international competitiveness, and reducing poverty. | Despite progress in privatization and budgetary reform, Zambia's economic growth remains somewhat below the 6%-7% needed to reduce poverty significantly. Privatization of government-owned copper mines relieved the government from covering mammoth losses generated by the industry and greatly improved the chances for copper mining to return to profitability and spur economic growth. Copper output has increased steadily since 2004, due to higher copper prices and the opening of new mines. The maize harvest was again good in 2005, helping boost GDP and agricultural exports. Cooperation continues with international bodies on programs to reduce poverty, including a new lending arrangement with the IMF in the second quarter of 2004. A tighter monetary policy will help cut inflation, but Zambia still has a serious problem with high public debt. |
Electricity - consumption | 193.9 billion kWh (2003) | 5.345 billion kWh (2003) |
Electricity - exports | 1.07 billion kWh (2003) | 2 billion kWh (2003) |
Electricity - imports | 390.2 million kWh (2003) | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production | 209.2 billion kWh (2003) | 8.347 billion kWh (2003) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Laguna Salada -10 m
highest point: Volcan Pico de Orizaba 5,700 m |
lowest point: Zambezi river 329 m
highest point: unnamed location in Mafinga Hills 2,301 m |
Environment - current issues | scarcity of hazardous waste disposal facilities; rural to urban migration; natural fresh water resources scarce and polluted in north, inaccessible and poor quality in center and extreme southeast; raw sewage and industrial effluents polluting rivers in urban areas; deforestation; widespread erosion; desertification; deteriorating agricultural lands; serious air and water pollution in the national capital and urban centers along US-Mexico border; land subsidence in Valley of Mexico caused by groundwater depletion
note: the government considers the lack of clean water and deforestation national security issues |
air pollution and resulting acid rain in the mineral extraction and refining region; chemical runoff into watersheds; poaching seriously threatens rhinoceros, elephant, antelope, and large cat populations; deforestation; soil erosion; desertification; lack of adequate water treatment presents human health risks |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected 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 |
Ethnic groups | mestizo (Amerindian-Spanish) 60%, Amerindian or predominantly Amerindian 30%, white 9%, other 1% | African 98.7%, European 1.1%, other 0.2% |
Exchange rates | Mexican pesos per US dollar - 10.898 (2005), 11.286 (2004), 10.789 (2003), 9.656 (2002), 9.342 (2001) | Zambian kwacha per US dollar - 4,463.5 (2005), 4,778.9 (2004), 4,733.3 (2003), 4,398.6 (2002), 3,610.9 (2001) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Felipe de Jesus CALDERON Hinojosa (since 1 December 2006); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Felipe de Jesus CALDERON Hinojosa (since 1 December 2006) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president; note - appointment of attorney general requires consent of the Senate elections: president elected by popular vote for a single six-year term; election last held 2 July 2006 (next to be held 1 July 2012) election results: Felipe CALDERON elected president; percent of vote - Felipe CALDERON (PAN) 35.89%, Andres Manuel Lopez OBRADOR (PRD) 35.31%, Roberto MADRAZO (PRI) 22.26%, other 6.54% |
chief of state: President Levy MWANAWASA (since 2 January 2002); Vice President Rupiah BANDA (since 9 October 2006); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Levy MWANAWASA (since 2 January 2002); Vice President Rupiah BANDA (since 9 October 2006); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president from among the members of the National Assembly elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 28 September 2006 (next to be held 2011); vice president appointed by the president election results: Levy MWANAWASA reelected president; percent of vote - Levy MWANAWASA 43.0%, Michael SATA 29.4%, Hakainde HICHILEMA 25.3%, Godfrey MIYANDA 1.6%, Winright NGONDO 0.8% |
Exports | 1.863 million bbl/day (2004) | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | manufactured goods, oil and oil products, silver, fruits, vegetables, coffee, cotton | copper/cobalt 64%, cobalt, electricity; tobacco, flowers, cotton |
Exports - partners | US 85.7%, Canada 2%, Spain 1.4% (2005) | Switzerland 28.7%, South Africa 18.6%, UK 14.4%, Democratic Republic of the Congo 5.4%, Tanzania 5.1%, Zimbabwe 4.1% (2005) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and red; the coat of arms (an eagle perched on a cactus with a snake in its beak) is centered in the white band | green with a panel of three vertical bands of red (hoist side), black, and orange below a soaring orange eagle, on the outer edge of the flag |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 3.8%
industry: 25.9% services: 70.2% (2005 est.) |
agriculture: 22%
industry: 29% services: 48.9% (2005 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 3% (2005 est.) | 5% (2005 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 23 00 N, 102 00 W | 15 00 S, 30 00 E |
Geography - note | strategic location on southern border of US; corn (maize), one of the world's major grain crops, is thought to have originated in Mexico | landlocked; the Zambezi forms a natural riverine boundary with Zimbabwe |
Heliports | 1 (2006) | - |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 1.6%
highest 10%: 35.6% (2002) |
lowest 10%: 1.1%
highest 10%: 41% (1998) |
Illicit drugs | major drug-producing nation; cultivation of opium poppy in 2004 amounted to 3,500 hectares, but opium cultivation stayed within the range - between 3,500 and 5,500 hectares - observed in nine of the last 12 years; potential production of 9 metric tons of pure heroin, or 23 metric tons of "black tar" heroin, the dominant form of Mexican heroin in the western United States; marijuana cultivation decreased 23% to 5,800 hectares in 2004 after decade-high cultivation peak in 2003; potential production of 10,400 metric tons of marijuana in 2004; government conducts the largest independent illicit-crop eradication program in the world; major supplier of heroin and largest foreign supplier of marijuana and methamphetamine to the US market; continues as the primary transshipment country for US-bound cocaine from South America, accounting for about 90% of estimated annual cocaine movement to the US; major drug syndicates control majority of drug trafficking throughout the country; producer and distributor of ecstasy; significant money-laundering center | transshipment point for moderate amounts of methaqualone, small amounts of heroin, and cocaine bound for Southern Africa and possibly Europe; a poorly developed financial infrastructure coupled with a government commitment to combating money laundering make it an unattractive venue for money launderers |
Imports | 205,000 bbl/day (2004) | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | metalworking machines, steel mill products, agricultural machinery, electrical equipment, car parts for assembly, repair parts for motor vehicles, aircraft, and aircraft parts | machinery, transportation equipment, petroleum products, electricity, fertilizer; foodstuffs, clothing |
Imports - partners | US 53.4%, China 8%, Japan 5.9% (2005) | South Africa 47.6%, UK 12.6%, Zimbabwe 4.3% (2005) |
Independence | 16 September 1810 (from Spain) | 24 October 1964 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 1.9% (2005 est.) | 7.9% (2005 est.) |
Industries | food and beverages, tobacco, chemicals, iron and steel, petroleum, mining, textiles, clothing, motor vehicles, consumer durables, tourism | copper mining and processing, construction, foodstuffs, beverages, chemicals, textiles, fertilizer, horticulture |
Infant mortality rate | total: 20.26 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 22.19 deaths/1,000 live births female: 18.24 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
total: 86.84 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 94.08 deaths/1,000 live births female: 79.37 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 4% (2005 est.) | 18.3% (2005 est.) |
International organization participation | APEC, BCIE, BIS, CAN (observer), CDB, CE (observer), CSN (observer), EBRD, FAO, G-3, G-6, G-15, G-24, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, NAFTA, NAM (observer), NEA, OAS, OECD, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNMOVIC, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO | ACP, AfDB, AU, C, COMESA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, MONUC, NAM, OPCW, PCA, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNMIS, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
Irrigated land | 63,200 sq km (2003) | 1,560 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court of Justice or Suprema Corte de Justicia Nacional (justices or ministros are appointed by the president with consent of the Senate) | Supreme Court (the final court of appeal; justices are appointed by the president); High Court (has unlimited jurisdiction to hear civil and criminal cases) |
Labor force | 43.4 million (2005 est.) | 4.8 million (2005 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 18%
industry: 24% services: 58% (2003) |
agriculture: 85%
industry: 6% services: 9% |
Land boundaries | total: 4,353 km
border countries: Belize 250 km, Guatemala 962 km, US 3,141 km |
total: 5,664 km
border countries: Angola 1,110 km, Democratic Republic of the Congo 1,930 km, Malawi 837 km, Mozambique 419 km, Namibia 233 km, Tanzania 338 km, Zimbabwe 797 km |
Land use | arable land: 12.66%
permanent crops: 1.28% other: 86.06% (2005) |
arable land: 6.99%
permanent crops: 0.04% other: 92.97% (2005) |
Languages | Spanish, various Mayan, Nahuatl, and other regional indigenous languages | English (official), major vernaculars - Bemba, Kaonda, Lozi, Lunda, Luvale, Nyanja, Tonga, and about 70 other indigenous languages |
Legal system | mixture of US constitutional theory and civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations | based on English common law and customary law; judicial review of legislative acts in an ad hoc constitutional council; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | bicameral National Congress or Congreso de la Union consists of the Senate or Camara de Senadores (128 seats; 96 are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms, and 32 are allocated on the basis of each party's popular vote) and the Federal Chamber of Deputies or Camara Federal de Diputados (500 seats; 300 members are directly elected by popular vote to serve three-year terms; remaining 200 members are allocated on the basis of each party's popular vote, also for three-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 2 July 2006 for all of the seats (next to be held 1 July 2012); Chamber of Deputies - last held 2 July 2006 (next to be held 5 July 2009) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PAN 52, PRI 33, PRD 29, PVEM 6, CD 5, PT 2, PNA 1; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PAN 206, PRD 127, PRI 103, PVEM 18, CD 17, PT 16, other 13; note - election results pending certification |
unicameral National Assembly (158 seats; 150 members are elected by popular vote, eight members are appointed by the president, to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 27 December 2001 (next to be held December 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - MMD 45.9%, UPND 32.4%, UNIP 8.8%, FDD 8.1%, HP 2.7%, PF 0.7%, ZRP 0.7%, independents 0.7%; seats by party - MMD 68, UPND 48, UNIP 13, FDD 12, HP 4, PF 1, ZRP 1, independents 1; seats not determined 2 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 75.41 years
male: 72.63 years female: 78.33 years (2006 est.) |
total population: 40.03 years
male: 39.76 years female: 40.31 years (2006 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 92.2% male: 94% female: 90.5% (2003 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write English
total population: 80.6% male: 86.8% female: 74.8% (2003 est.) |
Location | Middle America, bordering the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico, between Belize and the US and bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between Guatemala and the US | Southern Africa, east of Angola |
Map references | North America | Africa |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total: 56 ships (1000 GRT or over) 751,607 GRT/1,129,234 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 2, cargo 6, chemical tanker 6, liquefied gas 4, passenger/cargo 9, petroleum tanker 25, roll on/roll off 4 foreign-owned: 5 (Denmark 2, France 1, Norway 1, UAE 1) registered in other countries: 15 (Belize 1, Honduras 1, Liberia 1, Panama 5, Portugal 1, Spain 3, Venezuela 3) (2006) |
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Military branches | Secretariat of National Defense (Secretaria de Defensa Nacional, Sedena): Army (Ejercito), Mexican Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Mexicana, FAM); Secretariat of the Navy (Secretaria de Marina, Semar): Mexican Navy (Armada de Mexico, ARM, includes Naval Air Force (FAN) and Marines) (2006) | Zambian National Defense Force (ZNDF): Army, Air Force, Police, National Service |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $6.07 billion (2005 est.) | $121.7 million (2005 est.) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 0.8% (2005 est.) | 1.8% (2005 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 16 September (1810) | Independence Day, 24 October (1964) |
Nationality | noun: Mexican(s)
adjective: Mexican |
noun: Zambian(s)
adjective: Zambian |
Natural hazards | tsunamis along the Pacific coast, volcanoes and destructive earthquakes in the center and south, and hurricanes on the Pacific, Gulf of Mexico, and Caribbean coasts | periodic drought, tropical storms (November to April) |
Natural resources | petroleum, silver, copper, gold, lead, zinc, natural gas, timber | copper, cobalt, zinc, lead, coal, emeralds, gold, silver, uranium, hydropower |
Net migration rate | -4.32 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Pipelines | gas 22,705 km; liquid petroleum gas 1,875 km; oil 8,688 km; oil/gas/water 228 km; refined products 6,520 km (2006) | oil 771 km (2006) |
Political parties and leaders | Convergence for Democracy or CD [Dante DELGADO Ranauro]; Institutional Revolutionary Party (Institutional Revolutionary Party) or PRI [leader NA]; Mexican Green Ecological Party or PVEM [Jorge Emilio GONZALEZ Martinez]; National Action Party (Partido Accion Nacional) or PAN [Manuel ESPINO Barrientos]; New Alliance Party (Partido Nueva Alianza) or PNA [Miguel Angel JIMENEZ Godines]; Party of the Democratic Revolution (Partido de la Revolucion Democratica) or PRD [Leonel COTA Montano]; Workers Party or PT [Alberto ANAYA Gutierrez] | Agenda for Zambia or AZ [Inonge MBIKUSITA-LEWANIKA]; Forum for Democracy and Development or FDD [Christon TEMBO]; Heritage Party or HP [Godfrey MIYANDA]; Liberal Progressive Front or LPF [Roger CHONGWE, president]; Movement for Multiparty Democracy or MMD [Levy MWANAWASA, acting president]; National Leadership for Development or NLD [Yobert SHAMAPANDE]; National Party or NP [Dr. Sam CHIPUNGU]; Patriotic Front or PF [Michael SATA]; Social Democratic Party or SDP [Gwendoline KONIE]; United National Independence Party or UNIP [Francis NKHOMA, president]; United Party for National Development or UPND [Anderson MAZOKA]; Zambian Republican Party or ZRP [Benjamin MWILA] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Confederation of Employers of the Mexican Republic or COPARMEX; Confederation of Industrial Chambers or CONCAMIN; Confederation of Mexican Workers or CTM; Confederation of National Chambers of Commerce or CONCANACO; Coordinator for Foreign Trade Business Organizations or COECE; Federation of Unions Providing Goods and Services or FESEBES; National Chamber of Transformation Industries or CANACINTRA; National Peasant Confederation or CNC; National Union of Workers or UNT; Regional Confederation of Mexican Workers or CROM; Revolutionary Confederation of Workers and Peasants or CROC; Roman Catholic Church | NA |
Population | 107,449,525 (July 2006 est.) | 11,502,010
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 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 40% (2003 est.) | 86% (1993) |
Population growth rate | 1.16% (2006 est.) | 2.11% (2006 est.) |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 850, FM 545, shortwave 15 (2003) | AM 19, FM 5, shortwave 4 (2001) |
Railways | total: 17,562 km
standard gauge: 17,562 km 1.435-m gauge (2005) |
total: 2,173 km
narrow gauge: 2,173 km 1.067-m gauge note: includes 891 km of the Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority (TAZARA) (2005) |
Religions | nominally Roman Catholic 89%, Protestant 6%, other 5% | Christian 50%-75%, Muslim and Hindu 24%-49%, indigenous beliefs 1% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.83 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.74 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory (but not enforced) | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: low telephone density with about 18 main lines per 100 persons; privatized in December 1990; the opening to competition in January 1997 improved prospects for development, but Telmex remains dominant
domestic: adequate telephone service for business and government, but the population is poorly served; mobile subscribers far outnumber fixed-line subscribers; domestic satellite system with 120 earth stations; extensive microwave radio relay network; considerable use of fiber-optic cable and coaxial cable international: country code - 52; satellite earth stations - 32 Intelsat, 2 Solidaridad (giving Mexico improved access to South America, Central America, and much of the US as well as enhancing domestic communications), 1 Panamsat, numerous Inmarsat mobile earth stations; linked to Central American Microwave System of trunk connections; high capacity Columbus-2 fiber-optic submarine cable with access to the US, Virgin Islands, Canary Islands, Morocco, Spain, and Italy (2005) |
general assessment: facilities are aging but still among the best in Sub-Saharan Africa
domestic: high-capacity microwave radio relay connects most larger towns and cities; several cellular telephone services in operation; Internet service is widely available; very small aperture terminal (VSAT) networks are operated by private firms international: country code - 260; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean and 1 Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 19.512 million (2005) | 94,700 (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 47.462 million (2005) | 946,600 (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | 236 (plus repeaters) (1997) | 9 (2002) |
Terrain | high, rugged mountains; low coastal plains; high plateaus; desert | mostly high plateau with some hills and mountains |
Total fertility rate | 2.42 children born/woman (2006 est.) | 5.39 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 3.6% plus underemployment of perhaps 25% (2005 est.) | 50% (2000 est.) |
Waterways | 2,900 km (navigable rivers and coastal canals) (2005) | 2,250 km (includes Lake Tanganyika and the Zambezi and Luapula rivers) (2005) |