Netherlands (2002) | Sierra Leone (2001) | |
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Administrative divisions | 12 provinces (provincien, singular - provincie); Drenthe, Flevoland, Friesland, Gelderland, Groningen, Limburg, Noord-Brabant, Noord-Holland, Overijssel, Utrecht, Zeeland, Zuid-Holland | 3 provinces and 1 area*; Eastern, Northern, Southern, Western* |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 18.3% (male 1,502,687; female 1,437,141)
15-64 years: 67.9% (male 5,548,188; female 5,362,412) 65 years and over: 13.8% (male 913,020; female 1,304,306) (2002 est.) |
0-14 years:
44.73% (male 1,190,207; female 1,237,326) 15-64 years: 52.12% (male 1,351,455; female 1,477,155) 65 years and over: 3.15% (male 84,364; female 86,111) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | grains, potatoes, sugar beets, fruits, vegetables; livestock | rice, coffee, cocoa, palm kernels, palm oil, peanuts; poultry, cattle, sheep, pigs; fish |
Airports | 28 (2001) | 11 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 21
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 7 1,524 to 2,437 m: 6 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 2 (2002) |
total:
1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 7
914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 5 (2002) |
total:
10 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 3 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 41,526 sq km
land: 33,883 sq km water: 7,643 sq km |
total:
71,740 sq km land: 71,620 sq km water: 120 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly less than twice the size of New Jersey | slightly smaller than South Carolina |
Background | The Kingdom of the Netherlands was formed in 1815. In 1830 Belgium seceded and formed a separate kingdom. The Netherlands remained neutral in World War I but suffered a brutal invasion and occupation by Germany in World War II. A modern, industrialized nation, the Netherlands is also a large exporter of agricultural products. The country was a founding member of NATO and the EC, and participated in the introduction of the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) in 1999. | Since 1991, civil war between the government and the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and the displacement of more than 2 million people (well over one-third of the population) many of whom are now refugees in neighboring countries. A peace agreement, signed in July 1999, collapsed in May 2000 after the RUF took over 500 UN peacekeepers hostage. The RUF stepped up attacks on Guinea in December 2000, despite a cease-fire that it signed with the Freetown government one month earlier. As of late 2000, up to 13,000 UN peacekeepers were protecting the capital and key towns in the south. A UK force of 750 was helping to reinforce security and train the Sierra Leone army. |
Birth rate | 11.58 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 45.11 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $134 billion
expenditures: $134 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
revenues:
$96 million expenditures: $351 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
Capital | Amsterdam; The Hague is the seat of government | Freetown |
Climate | temperate; marine; cool summers and mild winters | tropical; hot, humid; summer rainy season (May to December); winter dry season (December to April) |
Coastline | 451 km | 402 km |
Constitution | adopted 1814; amended many times, last time 17 February 1983 | 1 October 1991; subsequently amended several times |
Country name | conventional long form: Kingdom of the Netherlands
conventional short form: Netherlands local long form: Koninkrijk der Nederlanden local short form: Nederland |
conventional long form:
Republic of Sierra Leone conventional short form: Sierra Leone |
Currency | euro (EUR); Netherlands guilder (NLG)
note: on 1 January 1999, the European Monetary Union introduced the euro as a common currency to be used by financial institutions of member countries; on 1 January 2002, the euro became the sole currency for everyday transactions within the member countries |
leone (SLL) |
Death rate | 8.67 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 19.19 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | - | $1.28 billion (1999) |
Dependent areas | Aruba, Netherlands Antilles | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Clifford M. SOBEL
embassy: Lange Voorhout 102, 2514 EJ, The Hague mailing address: PSC 71, Box 1000, APO AE 09715 telephone: [31] (70) 310-9209 FAX: [31] (70) 361-4688 consulate(s) general: Amsterdam |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Joseph H. MELROSE, Jr. embassy: Corner of Walpole and Siaka Stevens Streets, Freetown mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [232] (22) 226481 through 226485 FAX: [232] (22) 225471 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Boudewijn J. VAN EENENNAAM
chancery: 4200 Linnean Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 244-5300 FAX: [1] (202) 362-3430 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York consulate(s): Boston |
chief of mission:
Ambassador John Ernest LEIGH chancery: 1701 19th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 939-9261 through 9263 FAX: [1] (202) 483-1793 |
Disputes - international | none | civil war has engendered massive refugee movements into neighboring Guinea and Liberia |
Economic aid - donor | ODA, $3.5 billion (2000 est.) | - |
Economic aid - recipient | - | $203.7 million (1995) |
Economy - overview | The Netherlands is a prosperous and open economy depending heavily on foreign trade. The economy is noted for stable industrial relations, moderate inflation, a sizable current account surplus, and an important role as a European transportation hub. Industrial activity is predominantly in food processing, chemicals, petroleum refining, and electrical machinery. A highly mechanized agricultural sector employs no more than 4% of the labor force but provides large surpluses for the food-processing industry and for exports. The Netherlands, along with 11 of its EU partners, began circulating the euro currency on 1 January 2002. The country continues to be one of the leading European nations for attracting foreign direct investment. Economic growth slowed considerably in 2001-02, as part of the global economic slowdown, but for the four years before that, annual growth averaged nearly 4%, well above the EU average. | Sierra Leone is an extremely poor African nation with tremendous inequality in income distribution. It does have substantial mineral, agricultural, and fishery resources. However, the economic and social infrastructure is not well developed, and serious social disorders continue to hamper economic development. About two-thirds of the working-age population engages in subsistence agriculture. Manufacturing consists mainly of the processing of raw materials and of light manufacturing for the domestic market. Bauxite and rutile mines have been shut down by civil strife. The major source of hard currency is found in the mining of diamonds, the large majority of which are smuggled out of the country. The resurgence of internal warfare in 1999 brought another substantial drop in GDP, with GNP recovering part of the way in 2000. The fate of the economy depends upon the maintenance of domestic peace and the continued receipt of substantial aid from abroad. |
Electricity - consumption | 100.71 billion kWh (2000) | 223.2 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 4.031 billion kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 22.946 billion kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 87.953 billion kWh (2000) | 240 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 90%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 4% other: 5% (2000) |
fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Zuidplaspolder -7 m
highest point: Vaalserberg 322 m |
lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Loma Mansa (Bintimani) 1,948 m |
Environment - current issues | water pollution in the form of heavy metals, organic compounds, and nutrients such as nitrates and phosphates; air pollution from vehicles and refining activities; acid rain | rapid population growth pressuring the environment; overharvesting of timber, expansion of cattle grazing, and slash-and-burn agriculture have resulted in deforestation and soil exhaustion; civil war depleting natural resources; overfishing |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Dutch 83%, other 17% (of which 9% are non-western origin mainly Turks, Moroccans, Antilleans, Surinamese and Indonesians) (1999 est.) | 20 native African tribes 90% (Temne 30%, Mende 30%, other 30%), Creole 10% (descendants of freed Jamaican slaves who were settled in the Freetown area in the late-18th century), refugees from Liberia's recent civil war, small numbers of Europeans, Lebanese, Pakistanis, and Indians |
Exchange rates | euros per US dollar - 1.1324 (January 2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999); Netherlands guilders per US dollar - 1.9837 (1998), 1.9513 (1997) | leones per US dollar - 1,653.39 (January 2001), 2,092.13 (2000), 1,804.20 (1999), 1,563.62 (1998), 981.48 (1997), 920.73 (1996) |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen BEATRIX (since 30 April 1980); Heir Apparent WILLEM-ALEXANDER (born 27 April 1967), son of the monarch
head of government: Prime Minister Jan Peter BALKENENDE (since 22 July 2002) and Vice Prime Ministers Johan REMKES (since NA 2002) and Roelf DE BOER (since NA 2002) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the monarch elections: none; the monarchy is hereditary; following Second Chamber elections, the leader of the majority party or leader of a majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the monarch; vice prime ministers appointed by the monarch note: there is also a Council of State composed of the monarch, heir apparent, and councilors that provides consultations to the prime minister on legislative and administrative policy |
chief of state:
President Ahmad Tejan KABBAH (since 29 March 1996, reinstated 10 March 1998); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Ahmad Tejan KABBAH (since 29 March 1996, reinstated 10 March 1998); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Ministers of State appointed by the president with the approval of the House of Representatives; the cabinet is responsible to the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election held 26-27 February and 15 March 1996 (next to be held NA September 2001); note - president's tenure of office is limited to two five-year terms election results: Ahmad Tejan KABBAH elected president; percent of vote - Ahmad Tejan KABBAH (SLPP) 59.5%, John KAREFA-SMART (UNPP) 40.5% |
Exports | $221.9 billion f.o.b. (2002) | $65 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | machinery and equipment, chemicals, fuels; foodstuffs | diamonds, rutile, cocoa, coffee, fish |
Exports - partners | EU 77.6% (Germany 25.6%, Benelux 11.8%, UK 11.1%, France 10.3%, Italy 6.2%) (2001) | Belgium 38%, US 6%, Italy 4%, UK 4% (1999) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and blue; similar to the flag of Luxembourg, which uses a lighter blue and is longer; one of the oldest flags in constant use, originating with William I, Prince of Orange, in the latter half of the 16th century | three equal horizontal bands of light green (top), white, and light blue |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $434 billion (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $2.7 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 3%
industry: 26% services: 71% (2001 est.) |
agriculture:
43% industry: 26% services: 31% (1999) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $26,900 (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $510 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 0.3% (2002 est.) | 4.2% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 52 30 N, 5 45 E | 8 30 N, 11 30 W |
Geography - note | located at mouths of three major European rivers (Rhine, Maas or Meuse, and Schelde) | - |
Heliports | 1 (2002) | 1 (2000 est.) |
Highways | total: 116,500 km
paved: 104,850 km (including 2,235 km of expressways) unpaved: 11,650 km (1999) |
total:
11,300 km paved: 904 km unpaved: 10,396 km (1997) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 3%
highest 10%: 25% (1994) |
lowest 10%:
0.5% highest 10%: 43.6% (1989) |
Illicit drugs | major European producer of illicit amphetamine and other synthetic drugs; important gateway for cocaine, heroin, and hashish entering Europe; major source of US-bound ecstasy; large financial sector vulnerable to money laundering | - |
Imports | $201.1 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) | $145 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, fuels; foodstuffs, clothing | foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, fuels and lubricants, chemicals |
Imports - partners | EU 54.6% (Germany 18.4%, Benelux 9.2%, UK 8.9%, France 5.8%), US 9.9% (2001) | UK 34%, US 8%, Italy 7%, Nigeria 5% (1999) |
Independence | 1579 (from Spain); note - the northern provinces of the Low Country concluded the Union of Utrecht, but it was 1648 before Spain finally recognized their independence | 27 April 1961 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 2% (2002 est.) | NA% |
Industries | agroindustries, metal and engineering products, electrical machinery and equipment, chemicals, petroleum, construction, microelectronics, fishing | mining (diamonds); small-scale manufacturing (beverages, textiles, cigarettes, footwear); petroleum refining |
Infant mortality rate | 4.31 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | 146.52 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3.4% (2002 est.) | 15% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, Benelux, BIS, CCC, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, ECLAC, EIB, EMU, ESA, ESCAP, EU, FAO, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNTSO, UNU, UPU, WCL, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC | ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 52 (2000) | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 5,650 sq km (1998 est.) | 290 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Hoge Raad (justices are nominated for life by the monarch) | Supreme Court; Appeals Court; High Court |
Labor force | 7.2 million (2000) | 1.369 million (1981 est.)
note: only about 65,000 wage earners (1985) |
Labor force - by occupation | services 73%, industry 23%, agriculture 4% (1998 est.) | agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% |
Land boundaries | total: 1,027 km
border countries: Belgium 450 km, Germany 577 km |
total:
958 km border countries: Guinea 652 km, Liberia 306 km |
Land use | arable land: 26.53%
permanent crops: 1.03% other: 72.44% (1998 est.) |
arable land:
7% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 31% forests and woodland: 28% other: 33% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Dutch | English (official, regular use limited to literate minority), Mende (principal vernacular in the south), Temne (principal vernacular in the north), Krio (English-based Creole, spoken by the descendants of freed Jamaican slaves who were settled in the Freetown area, a lingua franca and a first language for 10% of the population but understood by 95%) |
Legal system | civil law system incorporating French penal theory; constitution does not permit judicial review of acts of the States General; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations | based on English law and customary laws indigenous to local tribes; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | bicameral States General or Staten Generaal consists of the First Chamber or Eerste Kamer (75 seats; members indirectly elected by the country's 12 provincial councils for four-year terms) and the Second Chamber or Tweede Kamer (150 seats; members directly elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: First Chamber - last held 25 May 1999 (next to be held 15 May 2003); Second Chamber - last held 22 January 2003 (next to be held NA January 2007) election results: First Chamber - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - CDA 20, VVD 19, PvdA 15, D66 4, other 17; Second Chamber - percent of vote by party - CDA 28.6%, PvdA 27.3%, VVD 12.9%, Socialist Party 6.3%, List Pim Fortuyn 5.7%, Green Party 5.1%, D66 4.1%; seats by party - CDA 44, PvdA 42, VVD 28, Socialist Party 9, List Pim Fortuyn 8, Green Party 8, D66 6, other 5 |
unicameral House of Representatives (80 seats - 68 elected by popular vote, 12 filled by paramount chiefs elected in separate elections; members serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 26-27 February 1996 (next to be held NA 2001) election results: percent of vote by party - SLPP 36.1%, UNPP 21.6%, PDP 15.3%, APC 5.7%, NUP 5.3%, DCP 4.8%, other 11.2%; seats by party - SLPP 27, UNPP 17, PDP 12, APC 5, NUP 4, DCP 3; note - first elections since the former House of Representatives was shut down by the military coup of 29 April 1992 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 78.58 years
male: 75.7 years female: 81.59 years (2002 est.) |
total population:
45.6 years male: 42.69 years female: 48.61 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99% (2000 est.) male: NA% female: NA% |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write English, Mende, Temne, or Arabic total population: 31.4% male: 45.4% female: 18.2% (1995 est.) |
Location | Western Europe, bordering the North Sea, between Belgium and Germany | Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Liberia |
Map references | Europe | Africa |
Maritime claims | exclusive fishing zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea:
200 NM continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
Merchant marine | total: 622 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 4,587,662 GRT/5,251,529 DWT
ships by type: bulk 3, cargo 380, chemical tanker 46, container 64, liquefied gas 16, livestock carrier 2, multi-functional large-load carrier 15, passenger 9, petroleum tanker 28, refrigerated cargo 34, roll on/roll off 18, short-sea passenger 2, specialized tanker 5 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Belgium 1, Canada 1, Denmark 5, Finland 5, Germany 55, Ireland 12, Norway 12, Sweden 17, United Kingdom 33, United States 12 (2002 est.) |
total:
1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,057 GRT/3,498 DWT ships by type: cargo 1 (2000 est.) |
Military branches | Royal Netherlands Army, Royal Netherlands Navy (including Naval Air Service and Marine Corps), Royal Netherlands Air Force, Royal Constabulary | Army |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $6.5 billion (FY00/01 est.) | $46 million (FY96/97) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.5% (FY00/01 est.) | 2% (FY96/97) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 4,077,917 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49:
1,161,790 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 3,546,030 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49:
563,631 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 20 years of age (note - age 17 for cadets and midshipmen) (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 96,082
note: Netherlands has an all-volunteer, 74,100 force in 2001 (2002 est.) |
- |
National holiday | Queen's Day (Birthday of Queen-Mother JULIANA in 1909 and accession to the throne of her oldest daughter BEATRIX in 1980), 30 April | Independence Day, 27 April (1961) |
Nationality | noun: Dutchman(men), Dutchwoman(women)
adjective: Dutch |
noun:
Sierra Leonean(s) adjective: Sierra Leonean |
Natural hazards | flooding | dry, sand-laden harmattan winds blow from the Sahara (December to February); sandstorms, dust storms |
Natural resources | natural gas, petroleum, arable land | diamonds, titanium ore, bauxite, iron ore, gold, chromite |
Net migration rate | 2.35 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 10.23 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)
note: by the end of 1999 refugees from Sierra Leone are assumed to be returning |
Pipelines | crude oil 418 km; petroleum products 965 km; natural gas 10,230 km | - |
Political parties and leaders | Christian Democratic Appeal or CDA [Jan Peter BALKENENDE]; Christian Union Party [M. VAN DAALEN]; Democrats 66 or D66 [Thom DE GRAAF]; Green Party [Femke HALSEMA]; Labor Party or PvdA [Wouter BOS]; List Pim Fortuyn [Mat HERBEN]; People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (Liberal) or VVD [Gerrit ZALM]; Socialist Party [Jan MARIJNISSEN]; a host of minor parties | All People's Congress or APC [Edward Mohammed TURAY, chairman]; Democratic Centre Party or DCP [Adu Aiah KOROMA]; National Democratic Alliance or NDA [Amadu M. B. JALLOH]; National Republican Party or NRP [Sahr Stephen MAMBU]; National Unity Party or NUP [Dr. John KARIMU, chairman]; People's Democratic Party or PDP [Thaimu BANGURA, chairman]; People's Progressive Party or PPP [Abass Chernok BUNDU, chairman]; Revolutionary United Front Party or RUFP [Foday SANKOH, chairman]; Sierra Leone People's Party or SLPP [President Ahmad Tejan KABBAH, chairman]; United National People's Party or UNPP [John KARIFA-SMART in exile, Raymond KAMARA, acting leader] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Federation of Netherlands Trade Union Movement (comprising Socialist and Catholic trade unions) and a Protestant trade union; Federation of Catholic and Protestant Employers Associations; Interchurch Peace Council or IKV; large multinational firms; the nondenominational Federation of Netherlands Enterprises | Trade Unions and Student Unions |
Population | 16,067,754 (July 2002 est.) | 5,426,618 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 68% (1989 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.53% (2002 est.) | 3.61% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Amsterdam, Delfzijl, Dordrecht, Eemshaven, Groningen, Haarlem, Ijmuiden, Maastricht, Rotterdam, Terneuzen, Utrecht, Vlissingen | Bonthe, Freetown, Pepel |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 4, FM 58, shortwave 3 (1998) | AM 1, FM 9, shortwave 1 (1999) |
Radios | 15.3 million (1996) | 1.12 million (1997) |
Railways | total: 2,808 km
standard gauge: 2,808 km 1.435-m gauge (2,061 km electrified) (2001) |
total:
84 km used on a limited basis because the mine at Marampa is closed narrow gauge: 84 km 1.067-m gauge |
Religions | Roman Catholic 31%, Protestant 21%, Muslim 4.4%, other 3.6%, unaffiliated 40% (1998) | Muslim 60%, indigenous beliefs 30%, Christian 10% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
at birth:
1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 0.96 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.91 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.98 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: highly developed and well maintained
domestic: the existing system of multi-conductor cables is gradually being replaced by fiber-optic cables; the density of cellular telephone traffic is rapidly increasing and further modernization of the system is expected in 2001, with the introduction of the third generation of the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) international: 5 submarine cables; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean and 2 Atlantic Ocean), 1 Eutelsat, and 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic and Indian Ocean regions) (1996) |
general assessment:
marginal telephone and telegraph service domestic: national microwave radio relay trunk system, made unserviceable by military activities, is now operating from Freetown to Bo and Kenema (April 2001) international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 9,132,400 (1999) | 17,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 4,081,891 (April 1999) | 650 (1999) |
Television broadcast stations | 21 (plus 26 repeaters) (1995) | 2 (1999) |
Terrain | mostly coastal lowland and reclaimed land (polders); some hills in southeast | coastal belt of mangrove swamps, wooded hill country, upland plateau, mountains in east |
Total fertility rate | 1.65 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 6.01 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 3% (2002 est.) | NA% |
Waterways | 5,046 km (of which 3,745 km are canals)
note: 47% of total route length is usable by craft of 1,000-metric-ton capacity or larger |
800 km (of which 600 km navigable year round) |