New Caledonia (2007) | Poland (2005) | |
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Administrative divisions | none (overseas territory of France); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 3 provinces named Province des Iles, Province Nord, and Province Sud | 16 provinces (wojewodztwa, singular - wojewodztwo); Dolnoslaskie, Kujawsko-Pomorskie, Lodzkie, Lubelskie, Lubuskie, Malopolskie, Mazowieckie, Opolskie, Podkarpackie, Podlaskie, Pomorskie, Slaskie, Swietokrzyskie, Warminsko-Mazurskie, Wielkopolskie, Zachodniopomorskie |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 27.9% (male 31,578/female 30,270)
15-64 years: 65.3% (male 72,821/female 72,109) 65 years and over: 6.8% (male 7,047/female 8,118) (2007 est.) |
0-14 years: 16.7% (male 3,319,176/female 3,150,859)
15-64 years: 70.3% (male 13,506,153/female 13,638,265) 65 years and over: 13% (male 1,912,431/female 3,108,260) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | vegetables; beef, deer, other livestock products; fish | potatoes, fruits, vegetables, wheat; poultry, eggs, pork |
Airports | 25 (2007) | 123 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 12
over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 9 under 914 m: 2 (2007) |
total: 84
over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 30 1,524 to 2,437 m: 40 914 to 1,523 m: 8 under 914 m: 3 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 13
914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 6 (2007) |
total: 39
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 13 under 914 m: 21 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 19,060 sq km
land: 18,575 sq km water: 485 sq km |
total: 312,685 sq km
land: 304,465 sq km water: 8,220 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than New Jersey | slightly smaller than New Mexico |
Background | Settled by both Britain and France during the first half of the 19th century, the island was made a French possession in 1853. It served as a penal colony for four decades after 1864. Agitation for independence during the 1980s and early 1990s ended in the 1998 Noumea Accord, which over a period of 15 to 20 years will transfer an increasing amount of governing responsibility from France to New Caledonia. The agreement also commits France to conduct as many as three referenda between 2013 and 2018, to decide whether New Caledonia should assume full sovereignty and independence. | Poland is an ancient nation that was conceived near the middle of the 10th century. Its golden age occurred in the 16th century. During the following century, the strengthening of the gentry and internal disorders weakened the nation. In a series of agreements between 1772 and 1795, Russia, Prussia, and Austria partitioned Poland amongst themselves. Poland regained its independence in 1918 only to be overrun by Germany and the Soviet Union in World War II. It became a Soviet satellite state following the war, but its government was comparatively tolerant and progressive. Labor turmoil in 1980 led to the formation of the independent trade union "Solidarity" that over time became a political force and by 1990 had swept parliamentary elections and the presidency. A "shock therapy" program during the early 1990s enabled the country to transform its economy into one of the most robust in Central Europe, but Poland currently suffers low GDP growth and high unemployment. Solidarity suffered a major defeat in the 2001 parliamentary elections when it failed to elect a single deputy to the lower house of Parliament, and the new leaders of the Solidarity Trade Union subsequently pledged to reduce the Trade Union's political role. Poland joined NATO in 1999 and the European Union in 2004. |
Birth rate | 17.75 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 10.78 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $996 million
expenditures: $1.072 billion (2001 est.) |
revenues: $44.52 billion
expenditures: $54.93 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.) |
Capital | name: Noumea
geographic coordinates: 22 16 S, 166 27 E time difference: UTC+11 (16 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Warsaw |
Climate | tropical; modified by southeast trade winds; hot, humid | temperate with cold, cloudy, moderately severe winters with frequent precipitation; mild summers with frequent showers and thundershowers |
Coastline | 2,254 km | 491 km |
Constitution | 4 October 1958 (French Constitution) | adopted by the National Assembly 2 April 1997, passed by national referendum 25 May 1997, effective 17 October 1997 |
Country name | conventional long form: Territory of New Caledonia and Dependencies
conventional short form: New Caledonia local long form: Territoire des Nouvelle-Caledonie et Dependances local short form: Nouvelle-Caledonie |
conventional long form: Republic of Poland
conventional short form: Poland local long form: Rzeczpospolita Polska local short form: Polska |
Death rate | 5.72 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 10.01 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $79 million (1998 est.) | $99.15 billion (2004 est.) |
Dependency status | territorial collectivity of France since 1998 | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas territory of France) | chief of mission: Ambassador Victor ASHE
embassy: Aleje Ujazdowskie 29/31 00-540 Warsaw mailing address: American Embassy Warsaw, US Department of State, 5010 Warsaw Place, Washington, DC 20521-5010 (pouch) telephone: [48] (22) 504-2000 FAX: [48] (22) 504-2688 consulate(s) general: Krakow |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (overseas territory of France) | chief of mission: Ambassador Przemyslaw GRUDZINSKI
chancery: 2640 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 234-3800 through 3802 FAX: [1] (202) 328-6270 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York |
Disputes - international | Matthew and Hunter Islands east of New Caledonia claimed by France and Vanuatu | as a member state that forms part of the EU's external border, Poland must implement the strict Schengen border rules |
Economic aid - recipient | $524.3 million annual subsidy from France (2004) | $17 billion in available EU structural adjustment and cohesion funds (2004-06) |
Economy - overview | New Caledonia has about 25% of the world's known nickel resources. Only a small amount of the land is suitable for cultivation, and food accounts for about 20% of imports. In addition to nickel, substantial financial support from France - equal to more than 15% of GDP - and tourism are keys to the health of the economy. Substantial new investment in the nickel industry, combined with the recovery of global nickel prices, brightens the economic outlook for the next several years. | Poland has steadfastly pursued a policy of economic liberalization throughout the 1990s and today stands out as a success story among transition economies. Even so, much remains to be done, especially in bringing down unemployment. The privatization of small and medium-sized state-owned companies and a liberal law on establishing new firms has encouraged the development of the private business sector, but legal and bureaucratic obstacles alongside persistent corruption are hampering its further development. Poland's agricultural sector remains handicapped by surplus labor, inefficient small farms, and lack of investment. Restructuring and privatization of "sensitive sectors" (e.g., coal, steel, railroads, and energy), while recently initiated, have stalled. Reforms in health care, education, the pension system, and state administration have resulted in larger-than-expected fiscal pressures. Further progress in public finance depends mainly on reducing losses in Polish state enterprises, restraining entitlements, and overhauling the tax code to incorporate the growing gray economy and farmers, most of whom pay no tax. The government has introduced a package of social and administrative spending cuts to reduce public spending by about $17 billion through 2007. Additional reductions are under discussion in the legislature but could be trumped by election-year politics in 2005. Poland joined the EU in May 2004, and surging exports to the EU contributed to Poland's strong growth in 2004, though its competitiveness could be threatened by the zloty's appreciation. GDP per capita roughly equals that of the three Baltic states. Poland stands to benefit from nearly $13.5 billion in EU funds, available through 2006. Farmers have already begun to reap the rewards of membership via higher food prices and EU agricultural subsidies. |
Electricity - consumption | 1.403 billion kWh (2005) | 117.4 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2005) | 11.5 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2005) | 4.5 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | 1.508 billion kWh (2005) | 133.8 billion kWh (2002) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mont Panie 1,628 m |
lowest point: near Raczki Elblaskie -2 m
highest point: Rysy 2,499 m |
Environment - current issues | erosion caused by mining exploitation and forest fires | situation has improved since 1989 due to decline in heavy industry and increased environmental concern by post-Communist governments; air pollution nonetheless remains serious because of sulfur dioxide emissions from coal-fired power plants, and the resulting acid rain has caused forest damage; water pollution from industrial and municipal sources is also a problem, as is disposal of hazardous wastes; pollution levels should continue to decrease as industrial establishments bring their facilities up to European Union code, but at substantial cost to business and the government |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to: Air Pollution, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Kyoto Protocol, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94 |
Ethnic groups | Melanesian 42.5%, European 37.1%, Wallisian 8.4%, Polynesian 3.8%, Indonesian 3.6%, Vietnamese 1.6%, other 3% | Polish 96.7%, German 0.4%, Belarusian 0.1%, Ukrainian 0.1%, other and unspecified 2.7% (2002 census) |
Exchange rates | Comptoirs Francais du Pacifique francs (XPF) per US dollar - 95.025 (2006), 95.89 (2005), 96.04 (2004), 105.66 (2003), 126.71 (2002) | zlotych per US dollar - 3.6576 (2004), 3.8891 (2003), 4.08 (2002), 4.0939 (2001), 4.3461 (2000)
note: zlotych is the plural form of zloty |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Nicolas SARKOZY (since 16 May 2007); represented by High Commissioner Yves DASSONVILLE (since 9 November 2007)
head of government: President of the Government Harold MARTIN (since 7 August 2007) cabinet: Cabinet consisting of 11 members elected from and by the Territorial Congress elections: French president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; high commissioner appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of Interior; president of the government elected by the members of the Territorial Congress for a five-year term (no term limits); note - last election held 7 August 2007 when Harold MARTIN was elected following the resignation of Marie-Noelle THEMEREAU as president on 24 July 2007 (next to be held in 2012) |
chief of state: President Aleksander KWASNIEWSKI (since 23 December 1995)
head of government: Prime Minister Marek BELKA (since 24 June 2004); Deputy Prime Minister Izabela JARUGA-NOWACKA (since 24 June 2004) cabinet: Council of Ministers responsible to the prime minister and the Sejm; the prime minister proposes, the president appoints, and the Sejm approves the Council of Ministers elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 8 October 2000 (next to be held October 2005); prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president and confirmed by the Sejm election results: Aleksander KWASNIEWSKI reelected president; percent of popular vote - Aleksander KWASNIEWSKI 53.9%, Andrzej OLECHOWSKI 17.3%, Marian KRZAKLEWSKI 15.6%, Lech WALESA 1% |
Exports | NA bbl/day | 53,000 bbl/day (2001) |
Exports - commodities | ferronickels, nickel ore, fish | machinery and transport equipment 37.8%, intermediate manufactured goods 23.7%, miscellaneous manufactured goods 17.1%, food and live animals 7.6% (2003) |
Exports - partners | Japan 17.8%, Taiwan 14.9%, France 13.7%, China 11.1%, Spain 9.7%, Belgium 7.5%, Italy 6.2%, Australia 4.7% (2006) | Germany 30%, Italy 6.1%, France 6%, UK 5.4%, Czech Republic 4.3%, Netherlands 4.3% (2004) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | the flag of France is used | two equal horizontal bands of white (top) and red; similar to the flags of Indonesia and Monaco which are red (top) and white |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 15%
industry: 8.8% services: 76.2% (2003) |
agriculture: 2.9%
industry: 31.3% services: 65.9% (2004 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $12,000 (2004 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | NA% | 5.6% (2004 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 21 30 S, 165 30 E | 52 00 N, 20 00 E |
Geography - note | consists of the main island of New Caledonia (one of the largest in the Pacific Ocean), the archipelago of Iles Loyaute, and numerous small, sparsely populated islands and atolls | historically, an area of conflict because of flat terrain and the lack of natural barriers on the North European Plain |
Heliports | 6 (2007) | 3 (2004 est.) |
Highways | - | total: 364,697 km
paved: 249,088 km (including 399 km of expressways) unpaved: 115,609 km (2001) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 3.2%
highest 10%: 24.7% (1998) |
Illicit drugs | - | major illicit producer of synthetic drugs for the international market; minor transshipment point for Asian and Latin American illicit drugs to Western Europe |
Imports | NA bbl/day | 413,700 bbl/day (2001) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, fuels, chemicals, foodstuffs | machinery and transport equipment 38%, intermediate manufactured goods 21%, chemicals 14.8%, minerals, fuels, lubricants, and related materials 9.1% (2003) |
Imports - partners | France 38.9%, Singapore 15.3%, Australia 11.4%, NZ 4.8% (2006) | Germany 24.4%, Italy 7.9%, Russia 7.3%, France 6.7%, China 4.6% (2004) |
Independence | none (overseas territory of France); note - a referendum on independence was held in 1998 but did not pass; a new referendum is scheduled for 2014 | 11 November 1918 (independent republic proclaimed) |
Industrial production growth rate | -0.6% (1996) | 10% (2004 est.) |
Industries | nickel mining and smelting | machine building, iron and steel, coal mining, chemicals, shipbuilding, food processing, glass, beverages, textiles |
Infant mortality rate | total: 7.42 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 8.12 deaths/1,000 live births female: 6.69 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
total: 8.51 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 9.59 deaths/1,000 live births female: 7.37 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1.4% (2000 est.) | 3.4% (2004 est.) |
International organization participation | ITUC, PIF (observer), SPC, UPU, WFTU, WMO | ACCT (observer), Australia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CBSS, CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EU (new member), FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MIGA, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM (guest), NATO, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNMEE, UNMIK, UNMIL, UNOCI, UNOMIG, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU (member affiliate), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC |
Irrigated land | 100 sq km (2003) | 1,000 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel; County Courts; Joint Commerce Tribunal Court; Children's Court | Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president on the recommendation of the National Council of the Judiciary for an indefinite period); Constitutional Tribunal (judges are chosen by the Sejm for nine-year terms) |
Labor force | 78,990 (2004) | 17.02 million (2004 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 20%
industry: 20% services: 60% (2002) |
agriculture 16.1%, industry 29%, services 54.9% (2002) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 2,788 km
border countries: Belarus 407 km, Czech Republic 658 km, Germany 456 km, Lithuania 91 km, Russia (Kaliningrad Oblast) 206 km, Slovakia 444 km, Ukraine 526 km |
Land use | arable land: 0.32%
permanent crops: 0.22% other: 99.46% (2005) |
arable land: 45.91%
permanent crops: 1.12% other: 52.97% (2001) |
Languages | French (official), 33 Melanesian-Polynesian dialects | Polish 97.8%, other and unspecified 2.2% (2002 census) |
Legal system | based on French civil law; the 1988 Matignon Accords grant substantial autonomy to the islands | mixture of Continental (Napoleonic) civil law and holdover Communist legal theory; changes being gradually introduced as part of broader democratization process; limited judicial review of legislative acts, but rulings of the Constitutional Tribunal are final; court decisions can be appealed to the European Court of Justice in Strasbourg |
Legislative branch | unicameral Territorial Congress or Congres du territoire (54 seats; members belong to the three Provincial Assemblies or Assemblees Provinciales elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 9 May 2004 (next to be held in 2009) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - RPCR-UMP 16, AE 16, UNI-FLNKS 8, UC 7, FN 4, others 3 note: New Caledonia currently holds one seat in the French Senate; by 2010, New Caledonia will gain a second seat in the French Senate; elections last held 24 September 2001 (next to be held not later than September 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - UMP 1; New Caledonia also elects two seats to the French National Assembly; elections last held 10 and 17 June 2007 (next to be held on June 2012); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - UMP 2 |
bicameral legislature consisting of an upper house, the Senate or Senat (100 seats; members are elected by a majority vote on a provincial basis to serve four-year terms), and a lower house, the Sejm (460 seats; members are elected under a complex system of proportional representation to serve four-year terms); the designation of National Assembly or Zgromadzenie Narodowe is only used on those rare occasions when the two houses meet jointly
elections: Senate - last held 25 September 2005 (next to be held by September 2009); Sejm elections last held September 25 2005 (next to be held by September 2009) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PiS 49, PO 34, LPR 7, SO 3, PSL 2, independents 5; Sejm - percent of vote by party - PiS 27%, PO 24.1%, SO 11.4%, SLD 11.3%, LPR 8%, PSL 7%, other 11.2%; seats by party - PiS 155, PO 133, SO 56, SLD 55, LPR 34, PSL 25, German minorities 2 note: two seats are assigned to ethnic minority parties in the Sejm only |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 74.5 years
male: 71.52 years female: 77.63 years (2007 est.) |
total population: 74.74 years
male: 70.71 years female: 79.03 years (2005 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 96.2% male: 96.8% female: 95.5% (1996 census) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99.8% male: 99.8% female: 99.7% (2003 est.) |
Location | Oceania, islands in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Australia | Central Europe, east of Germany |
Map references | Oceania | Europe |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: defined by international treaties |
Merchant marine | total: 2 ships (1000 GRT or over) 3,566 GRT/2,543 DWT
by type: cargo 1, passenger/cargo 1 (2007) |
total: 7 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 154,710 GRT/228,132 DWT
by type: cargo 3, chemical tanker 2, passenger/cargo 1, roll on/roll off 1 registered in other countries: 107 (2005) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of France | - |
Military branches | no regular indigenous military forces; French Armed Forces (includes Army, Navy, Air Force, Gendarmerie); Police Force | Land Forces, Navy, Polish Air Force (PSP) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $3.5 billion (2002) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA | 1.71% (2002) |
National holiday | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) | Constitution Day, 3 May (1791) |
Nationality | noun: New Caledonian(s)
adjective: New Caledonian |
noun: Pole(s)
adjective: Polish |
Natural hazards | cyclones, most frequent from November to March | flooding |
Natural resources | nickel, chrome, iron, cobalt, manganese, silver, gold, lead, copper | coal, sulfur, copper, natural gas, silver, lead, salt, amber, arable land |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population
note: there has been steady emigration from Wallis and Futuna to New Caledonia (2007 est.) |
-0.49 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Pipelines | - | gas 13,552 km; oil 1,772 km (2004) |
Political parties and leaders | Alliance pour la Caledonie or APLC [Didier LE ROUX]; Caledonian Union or UC; Federation des Comites de Coordination des Independantistes or FCCI [Francois BURCK]; Front National or FN [Guy GEORGE]; Front Uni de Liberation Kanak or FULK [Ernest UNE]; Kanak Socialist Front for National Liberation or FLNKS (includes PALIKA, UNI, UC, and UPM); Parti de Liberation Kanak or PALIKA [Paul NEAOUTYINE and Elie POIGOUNE]; Rally for Caledonia in the Republic (anti independence) or RPCR-UMP [Jacques LAFLEUR]; The Future Together or AE [Harold MARTIN]; Union Nationale pour l'Independance or UNI [Paul NEAOUTYINE]; note - may no longer exist, but Paul NEAOUTYINE has since become a president of Parti de Liberation Kanak or PALIKA; Union Progressiste Melanesienne or UPM [Victor TUTUGORO] | Catholic-National Movement or RKN [Antoni MACIEREWICZ]; Civic Platform or PO [Donald TUSK]; Conservative Peasants Party or KL [Artur BALAZS]; Democratic Left Alliance or SLD [Jozef OLEKSY]; Dom Ojczysty (Fatherland Home); Freedom Union or UW [Wladyslaw FRASYNIUK]; German Minority of Lower Silesia or MNSO [Henryk KROLL]; Law and Justice or PiS [Jaroslaw KACZYNSKI]; League of Polish Families or LPR [Marek KOTLINOWSKI]; Movement for the Reconstruction of Poland or ROP [Jan OLSZEWSKI]; Peasant-Democratic Party or PLD [Roman JAGIELINSKI]; Polish Accord or PP [Jan LOPUSZANSKI]; Polish Peasant Party or PSL [Waldemar PAWLAK]; Samoobrona or SO [Andrzej LEPPER]; Social Democratic Party of Poland or SDPL [Marek BOROWSKI]; Social Movement or RS [Krzysztof PIESIEWICZ]; Union of Labor or UP [Izabela JARUGA-NOWACKA] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | All Poland Trade Union Alliance or OPZZ (trade union) [Jan GUZ]; Roman Catholic Church [Cardinal Jozef GLEMP]; Solidarity Trade Union [Janusz SNIADEK] |
Population | 221,943 (July 2007 est.) | 38,635,144 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 18.4% (2000 est.) |
Population growth rate | 1.203% (2007 est.) | 0.03% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Gdansk, Gdynia, Swinoujscie, Szczecin |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 14, FM 777, shortwave 1 (1998) |
Railways | - | total: 23,852 km
broad gauge: 629 km 1.524-m gauge standard gauge: 23,223 km 1.435-m gauge (20,555 km operational) (11,962 km electrified) (2004) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 60%, Protestant 30%, other 10% | Roman Catholic 89.8% (about 75% practicing), Eastern Orthodox 1.3%, Protestant 0.3%, other 0.3%, unspecified 8.3% (2002) |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.043 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.868 male(s)/female total population: 1.009 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.62 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: NA
domestic: NA international: country code - 687; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
general assessment: underdeveloped and outmoded system in the process of being overhauled; partial privatization of the state-owned telephone monopoly is underway; the long waiting list for main line telephone service has resulted in a boom in mobile cellular telephone use
domestic: cable, open-wire, and microwave radio relay; 3 cellular networks; local exchanges 56.6% digital international: country code - 48; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat, NA Eutelsat, 2 Inmarsat (Atlantic and Indian Ocean regions), and 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 55,300 (2005) | 12.3 million (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 134,300 (2005) | 17.401 million (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 6 (plus 25 repeaters) (1997) | 179 (plus 256 repeaters) (September 1995) |
Terrain | coastal plains with interior mountains | mostly flat plain; mountains along southern border |
Total fertility rate | 2.25 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 1.39 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 17.1% (2004) | 19.5% (2004 est.) |
Waterways | - | 3,997 km (navigable rivers and canals) (2003) |