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Compare Nicaragua (2001) - Syria (2002)
Compare Nicaragua (2001) z Syria (2002)
| Nicaragua (2001) | Syria (2002) | |
 |  | |
| Administrative divisions | 15 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento), 2 autonomous regions* (regiones autonomistas, singular - region autonomista); Boaco, Carazo, Chinandega, Chontales, Esteli, Granada, Jinotega, Leon, Madriz, Managua, Masaya, Matagalpa, Nueva Segovia, Rio San Juan, Rivas, Atlantico Norte*, Atlantico Sur* | 14 provinces (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Al Hasakah, Al Ladhiqiyah, Al Qunaytirah, Ar Raqqah, As Suwayda', Dar'a, Dayr az Zawr, Dimashq, Halab, Hamah, Hims, Idlib, Rif Dimashq, Tartus |
| Age structure | 0-14 years:
38.98% (male 976,087; female 941,141) 15-64 years: 58.08% (male 1,418,555; female 1,438,096) 65 years and over: 2.94% (male 62,963; female 81,551) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 39.3% (male 3,467,267; female 3,264,639)
15-64 years: 57.5% (male 5,052,841; female 4,817,662) 65 years and over: 3.2% (male 267,803; female 285,602) (2002 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | coffee, bananas, sugarcane, cotton, rice, corn, tobacco, sesame, soya, beans; beef, veal, pork, poultry, dairy products | wheat, barley, cotton, lentils, chickpeas, olives, sugar beets; beef, mutton, eggs, poultry, milk |
| Airports | 182 (2000 est.) | 99 (2001) |
| Airports - with paved runways | total:
11 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 3 (2000 est.) |
total: 24
over 3,047 m: 5 2,438 to 3,047 m: 16 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
| Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
171 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 25 under 914 m: 145 (2000 est.) |
total: 68
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 55 (2002) |
| Area | total:
129,494 sq km land: 120,254 sq km water: 9,240 sq km |
total: 185,180 sq km
land: 184,050 sq km water: 1,130 sq km note: includes 1,295 sq km of Israeli-occupied territory |
| Area - comparative | slightly smaller than the state of New York | slightly larger than North Dakota |
| Background | Settled as a colony of Spain in the 1520s, Nicaragua gained its independence in 1821. Violent opposition to governmental manipulation and corruption spread to all classes by 1978 and resulted in a short-lived civil war that brought the Marxist Sandinista guerrillas to power in 1979. Nicaraguan aid to leftist rebels in El Salvador caused the US to sponsor anti-Sandinista contra guerrillas through much of the 1980s. Free elections in 1990 and again in 1996 saw the Sandinistas defeated. The country has slowly rebuilt its economy during the 1990s, but was hard hit by Hurricane Mitch in 1998. | Following the breakup of the Ottoman Empire during World War I, Syria was administered by the French until independence in 1946. In the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, Syria lost the Golan Heights to Israel. Since 1976, Syrian troops have been stationed in Lebanon, ostensibly in a peacekeeping capacity. In recent years, Syria and Israel have held occasional peace talks over the return of the Golan Heights. |
| Birth rate | 27.64 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 30.11 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
| Budget | revenues:
$734 million expenditures: $836 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999 est.) |
revenues: $5 billion
expenditures: $7 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
| Capital | Managua | Damascus |
| Climate | tropical in lowlands, cooler in highlands | mostly desert; hot, dry, sunny summers (June to August) and mild, rainy winters (December to February) along coast; cold weather with snow or sleet periodically in Damascus |
| Coastline | 910 km | 193 km |
| Constitution | 9 January 1987, with reforms in 1995 and 2000 | 13 March 1973 |
| Country name | conventional long form:
Republic of Nicaragua conventional short form: Nicaragua local long form: Republica de Nicaragua local short form: Nicaragua |
conventional long form: Syrian Arab Republic
conventional short form: Syria local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Arabiyah as Suriyah local short form: Suriyah former: United Arab Republic (with Egypt) |
| Currency | gold cordoba (NIO) | Syrian pound (SYP) |
| Death rate | 4.82 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 5.12 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
| Debt - external | $6.4 billion (2000 est.) | $22 billion (2001 est.) |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Oliver P. GARZA embassy: Apartado Postal 327, Kilometer 4.5 Carretera Sur, Managua mailing address: APO AA 34021 telephone: [505] (2) 662298, 666010, 666012, 666013, 666015, 666018, 666026, 666027, 666032, 666033 FAX: [505] (2) 669074 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Theodore H. KATTOUF
embassy: Abou Roumaneh, Al-Mansur Street, No. 2, Damascus mailing address: P. O. Box 29, Damascus telephone: [963] (11) 333-1342 FAX: [963] (11) 331-9678 |
| Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Alfonso ORTEGA Urbina chancery: 1627 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 939-6570 FAX: [1] (202) 939-6542 consulate(s) general: Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York |
chief of mission: Ambassador Rustum al-ZU'BI
chancery: 2215 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 232-6313 FAX: [1] (202) 234-9548 |
| Disputes - international | territorial disputes with Colombia over the Archipelago de San Andres y Providencia and Quita Sueno Bank; with respect to the maritime boundary question in the Golfo de Fonseca, the ICJ referred to the line determined by the 1900 Honduras-Nicaragua Mixed Boundary Commission and advised that some tripartite resolution among El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua likely would be required; maritime boundary dispute with Honduras in the Caribbean Sea is before the ICJ; legal dispute over navigational rights of San Juan River on border with Costa Rica | Golan Heights is Israeli-occupied; dispute with upstream riparian Turkey over Turkish water development plans for the Tigris and Euphrates rivers; Syrian troops in northern, central, and eastern Lebanon since October 1976; Turkey is quick to rebuff any perceived Syrian claim to Hatay province |
| Economic aid - recipient | NA | $199 million (1997 est.) |
| Economy - overview | Nicaragua, one of the hemisphere's poorest countries, faces low per capita income, flagging socio-economic indicators, and huge external debt. While the country has made progress toward macro-economic stabilization over the past few years, a banking crisis and scandal has shaken the economy. Managua will continue to be dependent on international aid and debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative. Donors have made aid conditional on improving governability, the openness of government financial operation, poverty alleviation, and human rights. Nicaragua met the conditions for additional debt service relief in December 2000. Growth should remain moderate to high in 2001. | Syria's predominantly statist economy has been growing slower than its 2.5% annual population growth rate, causing a persistent decline in per capita GDP. President Bashar AL-ASAD has made little progress on the economic front after one year in office, but does appear willing to permit a gradual strengthening of the private sector. His most obvious accomplishment to this end was the recent passage of legislation allowing private banks to operate in Syria, although a private banking sector will take years and further government cooperation to develop. ASAD's recent cabinet reshuffle may improve his chances of implementing further growth-oriented policies, although external factors such as the international war on terrorism, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and downturn in oil prices could weaken the foreign investment and government revenues Syria needs to flourish. A long-run economic constraint is the pressure on water supplies caused by rapid population growth, industrial expansion, and increased water pollution. |
| Electricity - consumption | 2.265 billion kWh (1999) | 17.671 billion kWh (2000) |
| Electricity - exports | 20 million kWh (1999) | 650 million kWh (2000) |
| Electricity - imports | 100 million kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2000) |
| Electricity - production | 2.349 billion kWh (1999) | 19.7 billion kWh (2000) |
| Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
67.26% hydro: 17.71% nuclear: 0% other: 15.03% (1999) |
fossil fuel: 64%
hydro: 36% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Mogoton 2,438 m |
lowest point: unnamed location near Lake Tiberias -200 m
highest point: Mount Hermon 2,814 m |
| Environment - current issues | deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution; Hurricane Mitch damage | deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification; water pollution from raw sewage and petroleum refining wastes; inadequate potable water |
| Environment - international agreements | party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification |
| Ethnic groups | mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white) 69%, white 17%, black 9%, Amerindian 5% | Arab 90.3%, Kurds, Armenians, and other 9.7% |
| Exchange rates | gold cordobas per US dollar - 12.96 (November 2000), 12.69 (2000 est.), 11.81 (1999), 10.58 (1998), 9.45 (1997), 8.44 (1996) | Syrian pounds per US dollar - 51 (December 2001), 46 (2000), 46 (1998), 41.9 (January 1997) |
| Executive branch | chief of state:
President Arnoldo ALEMAN Lacayo (since 10 January 1997); Vice President Leopoldo NAVARRO (since 24 October 2000); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government head of government: President Arnoldo ALEMAN Lacayo (since 10 January 1997); Vice President Leopoldo NAVARRO (since 24 October 2000); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 20 October 1996 (next to be held 4 November 2001); note - in July 1995 the term of the office of the president was amended to five years election results: Arnoldo ALEMAN Lacayo (Liberal Alliance - ruling party - includes PLC, PALI, PLIUN, and PUCA) 51.03%, Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra (FSLN) 37.75%, Guillermo OSORNO (PCCN) 4.10%, Noel VIDAURRE (PCN) 2.26%, Benjamin LANZAS (PRONAL) 0.53%, other (18 other candidates) 4.33% |
chief of state: President Bashar al-ASAD (since 17 July 2000); Vice Presidents Abd al-Halim ibn Said KHADDAM (since 11 March 1984) and Muhammad Zuhayr MASHARIQA (since 11 March 1984)
head of government: Prime Minister Muhammad Mustafa MIRU (since 13 March 2000), Deputy Prime Ministers Lt. Gen. Mustafa TALAS (since 11 March 1984), Farouk al-SHARA (since 13 December 2001), Dr. Muhammad al-HUSAYN (since 13 December 2001) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term; referendum/election last held 10 July 2000 - after the death of President Hafez al-ASAD, father of Bashar al-ASAD - (next to be held NA 2007); vice presidents appointed by the president; prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president election results: Bashar al-ASAD elected president; percent of vote - Bashar al-ASAD 97.29% note: Hafiz al-ASAD died on 10 June 2000; on 20 June 2000, the Ba'th Party nominated Bashar al-ASAD for president and presented his name to the People's Council on 25 June 2000 |
| Exports | $631 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | $5 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
| Exports - commodities | coffee, shrimp and lobster, cotton, tobacco, beef, sugar, bananas; gold | crude oil 68%, textiles 7%, fruits and vegetables 6%, raw cotton 4% (1998 est.) |
| Exports - partners | US 37.7%, El Salvador 12.5%, Germany 9.8%, Costa Rica 5.1%, Spain 2.5%, France 2.1% (1999) | Germany 27%, Italy 12%, France 10%, Turkey 10%, Saudi Arabia 7% (2000 est.) |
| Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
| Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), white, and blue with the national coat of arms centered in the white band; the coat of arms features a triangle encircled by the words REPUBLICA DE NICARAGUA on the top and AMERICA CENTRAL on the bottom; 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 Honduras, which has five blue stars arranged in an X pattern centered in the white band | three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black, with two small green five-pointed stars in a horizontal line centered in the white band; similar to the flag of Yemen, which has a plain white band, and of Iraq, which has three green stars (plus an Arabic inscription) in a horizontal line centered in the white band; also similar to the flag of Egypt, which has a heraldic eagle centered in the white band |
| GDP | purchasing power parity - $13.1 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $54.2 billion (2001 est.) |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
31.6% industry: 22.8% services: 45.6% (1999) |
agriculture: 27%
industry: 23% services: 50% (2000 est.) |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $2,700 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $3,200 (2001 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 5% (2000 est.) | 2% (2001 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 13 00 N, 85 00 W | 35 00 N, 38 00 E |
| Geography - note | - | there are 42 Israeli settlements and civilian land use sites in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights (February 2002 est.) |
| Heliports | - | 7 (2002) |
| Highways | total:
16,382 km paved: 1,818 km unpaved: 14,564 km (1998) |
total: 41,451 km
paved: 9,575 km (including 877 km of expressways) unpaved: 31,876 km (1997) |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
1.6% highest 10%: 39.8% (1993) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
| Illicit drugs | transshipment point for cocaine destined for the US and transshipment point for arms-for-drugs dealing | a transit point for opiates and hashish bound for regional and Western markets |
| Imports | $1.6 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | $4 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
| Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, raw materials, petroleum products, consumer goods | machinery and transport equipment 21%, food and livestock 18%, metal and metal products 15%, chemicals and chemical products 10% (2000 est.) |
| Imports - partners | US 34.5%, Costa Rica 11.4%, Guatemala 7.3%, Panama 6.9%, Venezuela 5.9%, El Salvador 5.5% (1999) | Italy 9%, Germany 7%, France 5%, Lebanon 5%, China 4%, South Korea 4%, Turkey 4%, US 4% (2000 est.) |
| Independence | 15 September 1821 (from Spain) | 17 April 1946 (from League of Nations mandate under French administration) |
| Industrial production growth rate | 4.4% (2000 est.) | NA% |
| Industries | food processing, chemicals, machinery and metal products, textiles, clothing, petroleum refining and distribution, beverages, footwear, wood | petroleum, textiles, food processing, beverages, tobacco, phosphate rock mining |
| Infant mortality rate | 33.66 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | 32.73 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 11% (2000 est.) | 0.3% (2001 est.) |
| International organization participation | BCIE, CACM, CCC, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, LAES, LAIA (observer), NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | AFESD, AL, AMF, CAEU, CCC, ESCWA, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNRWA, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WToO |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 3 (2000) | 1 (2000) |
| Irrigated land | 880 sq km (1993 est.) | 12,130 sq km (1998 est.) |
| Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (16 judges elected for seven-year terms by the National Assembly) | Supreme Constitutional Court (justices are appointed for four-year terms by the president); High Judicial Council; Court of Cassation; State Security Courts |
| Labor force | 1.7 million (1999) | 4.7 million (1998 est.) |
| Labor force - by occupation | services 43%, agriculture 42%, industry 15% (1999 est.) | agriculture 40%, industry 20%, services 40% (1996 est.) |
| Land boundaries | total:
1,231 km border countries: Costa Rica 309 km, Honduras 922 km |
total: 2,253 km
border countries: Iraq 605 km, Israel 76 km, Jordan 375 km, Lebanon 375 km, Turkey 822 km |
| Land use | arable land:
9% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 46% forests and woodland: 27% other: 17% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 25.96%
permanent crops: 4.08% other: 69.96% (1998 est.) |
| Languages | Spanish (official)
note: English and indigenous languages on Atlantic coast |
Arabic (official); Kurdish, Armenian, Aramaic, Circassian widely understood; French, English somewhat understood |
| Legal system | civil law system; Supreme Court may review administrative acts | based on Islamic law and civil law system; special religious courts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
| Legislative branch | unicameral National Assembly or Asamblea Nacional (93 seats; members are elected by proportional representation to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 20 October 1996 (next to be held 4 November 2001) election results: percent of vote by party - Liberal Alliance (ruling party - includes PLC, PALI, PLIUN, and PUCA) 46.03%, FSLN 36.55%, PCCN 3.73%, PCN 2.12%, MRS 1.33%; seats by party - Liberal Alliance 42, FSLN 36, PCCN 4, PCN 3, PRONAL 2, MRS 1, PRN 1, PC 1, PLI 1, AU 1, UNO-96 Alliance 1 |
unicameral People's Council or Majlis al-shaab (250 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 30 November-1 December 1998 (next to be held NA 2002) election results: percent of vote by party - NPF 67%, independents 33%; seats by party - NPF 167, independents 83; note - the constitution guarantees that the Ba'th Party (part of the NPF alliance) receives one-half of the seats |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population:
69.05 years male: 67.1 years female: 71.11 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 69.08 years
male: 67.9 years female: 70.32 years (2002 est.) |
| Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 65.7% male: 64.6% female: 66.6% (1995 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 70.8% male: 85.7% female: 55.8% (1997 est.) |
| Location | Middle America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Costa Rica and Honduras | Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Lebanon and Turkey |
| Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Middle East |
| Maritime claims | continental shelf:
natural prolongation territorial sea: 200 NM |
contiguous zone: 41 NM
territorial sea: 35 NM |
| Merchant marine | none (2000 est.) | total: 143 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 482,985 GRT/702,590 DWT
ships by type: bulk 12, cargo 126, livestock carrier 4, roll on/roll off 1 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Egypt 1, Greece 2, Italy 1, Lebanon 10 (2002 est.) |
| Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force | Syrian Arab Army, Syrian Arab Navy, Syrian Arab Air Force (includes Air Defense Forces), Police and Security Force |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | $26 million (FY98) | $921 million (FY00 est.); note - based on official budget data that may understate actual spending |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.2% (FY98) | 5.9% (FY98) |
| Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
1,269,322 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 4,550,496 (2002 est.) |
| Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
779,267 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 2,539,342 (2002 est.) |
| Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age | 19 years of age (2002 est.) |
| Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
58,232 (2001 est.) |
males: 200,859 (2002 est.) |
| National holiday | Independence Day, 15 September (1821) | Independence Day, 17 April (1946) |
| Nationality | noun:
Nicaraguan(s) adjective: Nicaraguan |
noun: Syrian(s)
adjective: Syrian |
| Natural hazards | destructive earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides, and occasionally severe hurricanes | dust storms, sandstorms |
| Natural resources | gold, silver, copper, tungsten, lead, zinc, timber, fish | petroleum, phosphates, chrome and manganese ores, asphalt, iron ore, rock salt, marble, gypsum, hydropower |
| Net migration rate | -1.33 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
| Pipelines | crude oil 56 km | crude oil 1,304 km; petroleum products 515 km |
| Political parties and leaders | Conservative Party of Nicaragua or PCN [Dr. Fernando AGUERO Rocha]; Independent Liberal Party or PLI [Virgilio GODOY]; Liberal Alliance (ruling alliance including Liberal Constitutional Party or PLC, New Liberal Party or PALI, Independent Liberal Party for National Unity or PLIUN, and Central American Unionist Party or PUCA) [leader NA]; National Conservative Party or PC [Pedro SOLARZANO, Noel VIDAURRE]; National Project or PRONAL [Benjamin LANZAS]; Nicaraguan Party of the Christian Path or PCCN [Guillermo OSORNO, Roberto RODRIGUEZ]; Nicaraguan Resistance Party or PRN [Salvador TALAVERA]; Sandinista National Liberation Front or FSLN [Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra]; Sandinista Renovation Movement or MRS [Sergio RAMIREZ]; Unity Alliance or AU [Alejandro SERRANO]; Union Nacional Opositora 96 or UNO-96 [Alfredo CESAR Aguirre] | National Progressive Front or NPF (includes the Ba'th Party, ASU, Arab Socialist Party, Socialist Unionist Democratic Party, ASP, SCP) [President Bashar al-ASAD, chairman]; Arab Socialist Renaissance (Ba'th) Party (governing party) [President Bashar al-ASAD, secretary general]; Syrian Arab Socialist Party or ASP [Safwan KOUDSI]; Syrian Communist Party or SCP [Yusuf FAYSAL]; Syrian Social National Party [Jubran URAYJI] |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | National Workers Front or FNT is a Sandinista umbrella group of eight labor unions including - Farm Workers Association or ATC, Health Workers Federation or FETASALUD, Heroes and Martyrs Confederation of Professional Associations or CONAPRO, National Association of Educators of Nicaragua or ANDEN, National Union of Employees or UNE, National Union of Farmers and Ranchers or UNAG, Sandinista Workers Central or CST, and Union of Journalists of Nicaragua or UPN; Permanent Congress of Workers or CPT is an umbrella group of four non-Sandinista labor unions including - Autonomous Nicaraguan Workers Central or CTN-A, Confederation of Labor Unification or CUS, Independent General Confederation of Labor or CGT-I, and Labor Action and Unity Central or CAUS; Nicaraguan Workers' Central or CTN is an independent labor union; Superior Council of Private Enterprise or COSEP is a confederation of business groups | conservative religious leaders; Muslim Brotherhood (operates in exile in Jordan and Yemen); non-Ba'th parties have little effective political influence |
| Population | 4,918,393 (July 2001 est.) | 17,155,814 (July 2002 est.)
note: in addition, about 40,000 people live in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights - 20,000 Arabs (18,000 Druze and 2,000 Alawites) and about 20,000 Israeli settlers (February 2003 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | 50% (2000 est.) | 15%-25% |
| Population growth rate | 2.15% (2001 est.) | 2.5% (2002 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | Bluefields, Corinto, El Bluff, Puerto Cabezas, Puerto Sandino, Rama, San Juan del Sur | Baniyas, Jablah, Latakia, Tartus |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 63, FM 32, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 14, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998) |
| Radios | 1.24 million (1997) | 4.15 million (1997) |
| Railways | - | total: 2,750 km
standard gauge: 2,423 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 327 km 1.050-m gauge note: rail link between Syria and Iraq replaced in 2000 (2001) |
| Religions | Roman Catholic 85%, Protestant | Sunni Muslim 74%, Alawite, Druze, and other Muslim sects 16%, Christian (various sects) 10%, Jewish (tiny communities in Damascus, Al Qamishli, and Aleppo) |
| Sex ratio | at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.77 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.94 male(s)/female total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
| Suffrage | 16 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
| Telephone system | general assessment:
inadequate system being upgraded by foreign investment domestic: low-capacity microwave radio relay and wire system being expanded; connected to Central American Microwave System international: satellite earth stations - 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region) and 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
general assessment: fair system currently undergoing significant improvement and digital upgrades, including fiber-optic technology
domestic: coaxial cable and microwave radio relay network international: satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) and 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region); 1 submarine cable; coaxial cable and microwave radio relay to Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey; participant in Medarabtel |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 140,000 (1996) | 1.313 million (1997) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 7,911 (1997) | NA |
| Television broadcast stations | 3 (plus seven low-power repeaters) (1997) | 44 (plus 17 repeaters) (1995) |
| Terrain | extensive Atlantic coastal plains rising to central interior mountains; narrow Pacific coastal plain interrupted by volcanoes | primarily semiarid and desert plateau; narrow coastal plain; mountains in west |
| Total fertility rate | 3.18 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 3.84 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 20% plus considerable underemployment (1999 est.) | 20% (2000 est.) |
| Waterways | 2,220 km (including 2 large lakes) | 870 km (minimal economic importance) |
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