Compare Nicaragua (2003) - Lebanon (2003)

Compare Nicaragua (2003) z Lebanon (2003)

	Nicaragua (2003)	Lebanon (2003)

Administrative divisions	15 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento) and 2 autonomous regions* (regiones autonomistas, singular - region autonomista); Atlantico Norte, Atlantico Sur, Boaco, Carazo, Chinandega, Chontales, Esteli, Granada, Jinotega, Leon, Madriz, Managua, Masaya, Matagalpa, Nueva Segovia, Rio San Juan, Rivas	6 governorates (mohafazat, singular - mohafazah); Beyrouth, Beqaa, Liban-Nord, Liban-Sud, Mont-Liban, Nabatiye
Age structure	0-14 years: 37.7% (male 984,719; female 949,282) 15-64 years: 59.2% (male 1,510,352; female 1,527,991) 65 years and over: 3% (male 68,332; female 87,841) (2003 est.)	0-14 years: 27.1% (male 514,447; female 494,166) 15-64 years: 66.1% (male 1,177,773; female 1,286,433) 65 years and over: 6.8% (male 115,693; female 139,191) (2003 est.)
Agriculture - products	coffee, bananas, sugarcane, cotton, rice, corn, tobacco, sesame, soya, beans; beef, veal, pork, poultry, dairy products	citrus, grapes, tomatoes, apples, vegetables, potatoes, olives, tobacco; sheep, goats
Airports	176 (2002)	8 (2002)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 11 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 3 (2002)	total: 5 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2002)
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 165 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 23 under 914 m: 141 (2002)	total: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 1 (2002)
Area	total: 129,494 sq km land: 120,254 sq km water: 9,240 sq km	total: 10,400 sq km land: 10,230 sq km water: 170 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than the state of New York	about 0.7 times the size of Connecticut
Background	The Pacific Coast of Nicaragua was settled as a Spanish colony from Panama in the early 16th century. Independence from Spain was declared in 1821 and the country became an independent republic in 1838. Britain occupied the Caribbean Coast in the first half of the 19th century, but gradually ceded control of the region in subsequent decades. 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, 1996, and again in 2001 saw the Sandinistas defeated. The country has slowly rebuilt its economy during the 1990s, but was hard hit by Hurricane Mitch in 1998.	Lebanon has made progress toward rebuilding its political institutions since 1991 and the end of the devastating 16-year civil war. Under the Ta'if Accord - the blueprint for national reconciliation - the Lebanese have established a more equitable political system, particularly by giving Muslims a greater say in the political process while institutionalizing sectarian divisions in the government. Since the end of the war, the Lebanese have conducted several successful elections, most of the militias have been weakened or disbanded, and the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) have extended central government authority over about two-thirds of the country. Hizballah, the radical Shi'a party, retains its weapons. Syria maintains about 16,000 troops in Lebanon, based mainly east of Beirut and in the Bekaa Valley. Syria's troop deployment was legitimized by the Arab League during Lebanon's civil war and in the Ta'if Accord. Damascus justifies its continued military presence in Lebanon by citing Beirut's requests and the failure of the Lebanese Government to implement all of the constitutional reforms in the Ta'if Accord. Israel's withdrawal from its security zone in southern Lebanon in May 2000, however, has emboldened some Lebanese Christians and Druze to demand that Syria withdraw its forces as well.
Birth rate	26.29 births/1,000 population (2003 est.)	19.68 births/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Budget	revenues: $726 million expenditures: $908 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.)	revenues: $3.1 billion expenditures: $5.9 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.)
Capital	Managua	Beirut
Climate	tropical in lowlands, cooler in highlands	Mediterranean; mild to cool, wet winters with hot, dry summers; Lebanon mountains experience heavy winter snows
Coastline	910 km	225 km
Constitution	9 January 1987, with reforms in 1995 and 2000	23 May 1926, amended a number of times, most recently Charter of Lebanese National Reconciliation (Ta'if Accord) of October 1989
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: Lebanese Republic conventional short form: Lebanon local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Lubnaniyah local short form: Lubnan
Currency	gold cordoba (NIO)	Lebanese pound (LBP)
Death rate	4.69 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.)	6.32 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Debt - external	$5.8 billion (2002 est.)	$9.3 billion (2002 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US	chief of mission: Ambassador Barbara Calandra MOORE embassy: Apartado Postal 327, Kilometer 4.5 Carretera Sur, Managua mailing address: APO AA 34021 telephone: [505] 266-6010, 266-2298, 266-6013 FAX: [505] 266-9074	chief of mission: Ambassador Vincent Martin BATTLE embassy: Awkar, Lebanon mailing address: P. O. Box 70840, Awkar, Lebanon; PSC 815, Box 2, FPO AE 09836-0002 telephone: 011-961-4-543-600/542-600 FAX: 011-961-4-544-136
Diplomatic representation in the US	chief of mission: Ambassador Salvador STADTHAGEN (since 5 December 2003) 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 Dr. Farid ABBOUD chancery: 2560 28th Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 939-6320 FAX: [1] (202) 939-6324 consulate(s) general: Detroit, New York, and Los Angeles
Disputes - international	territorial disputes with Colombia over the Archipelago de San Andres y Providencia and Quita Sueno Bank region; 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; legal dispute over navigational rights of San Juan River on border with Costa Rica	Syrian troops in central and eastern Lebanon since October 1976; Lebanese Government claims Shab'a Farms area of Israeli-occupied Golan Heights
Economic aid - recipient	Substantial foreign support	$3.5 billion (pledges 1997-2001) $4.2 billion in pledges November 2002 Paris II Aid Conference
Economy - overview	Nicaragua, one of the hemisphere's poorest countries, faces low per capita income, flagging socio-economic indicators, and huge external debt. Distribution of income is one of the most unequal on the globe. While the country has made progress toward macroeconomic stability over the past few years, a banking crisis and scandal has shaken the economy. Nicaragua 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 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 move up moderately in 2003 because of increased private investment and exports.	The 1975-91 civil war seriously damaged Lebanon's economic infrastructure, cut national output by half, and all but ended Lebanon's position as a Middle Eastern entrepot and banking hub. Peace enabled the central government to restore control in Beirut, begin collecting taxes, and regain access to key port and government facilities. Economic recovery was helped by a financially sound banking system and resilient small- and medium-scale manufacturers. Family remittances, banking services, manufactured and farm exports, and international aid provided the main sources of foreign exchange. Lebanon's economy made impressive gains since the launch in 1993 of "Horizon 2000," the government's $20 billion reconstruction program. Real GDP grew 8% in 1994, 7% in 1995, 4% in 1996 and in 1997, but slowed to 1.2% in 1998, -1.6% in 1999, -0.6% in 2000, 0.8% in 2001, and 1.5% in 2002. During the 1990s annual inflation fell to almost 0% from more than 100%. Lebanon has rebuilt much of its war-torn physical and financial infrastructure. The government nonetheless faces serious challenges in the economic arena. It has funded reconstruction by borrowing heavily - mostly from domestic banks. In order to reduce the ballooning national debt, the re-installed HARIRI government began an economic austerity program to rein in government expenditures, increase revenue collection, and privatize state enterprises. The HARIRI government met with international donors at the Paris II conference in November 2002 to seek bilateral assistance restructuring its domestic debt at lower rates of interest. While privatization of state-owned enterprises had not occurred by the end of 2002, the government had successfully avoided a currency devaluation and debt default in 2002.
Electricity - consumption	2.388 billion kWh (2001)	7.44 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2001)	0 kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports	17 million kWh (2001)	1.183 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - production	2.549 billion kWh (2001)	6.728 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - production by source	fossil fuel: 83.9% hydro: 7.7% nuclear: 0% other: 8.4% (2001)	fossil fuel: 97.2% hydro: 2.8% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Mogoton 2,438 m	lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m highest point: Qurnat as Sawda' 3,088 m
Environment - current issues	deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution	deforestation; soil erosion; desertification; air pollution in Beirut from vehicular traffic and the burning of industrial wastes; pollution of coastal waters from raw sewage and oil spills
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, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation
Ethnic groups	mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white) 69%, white 17%, black 9%, Amerindian 5%	Arab 95%, Armenian 4%, other 1%
Exchange rates	gold cordobas per US dollar - 14.25 (2002), 13.37 (2001), 12.68 (2000), 11.81 (1999), 10.58 (1998)	Lebanese pounds per US dollar - 1,507.5 (2002), 1,507.5 (2001), 1,507.5 (2000), 1,507.84 (1999), 1,516.13 (1998)
Executive branch	chief of state: President Enrique BOLANOS Geyer (since 10 January 2002); Vice President Jose RIZO Castellon (since 10 January 2002); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government head of government: President Enrique BOLANOS Geyer (since 10 January 2002); Vice President Jose RIZO Castellon (since 10 January 2002); 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 4 November 2001 (next to be held by November 2006) election results: Enrique BOLANOS Geyer (PLC) elected president - 56.3%, Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra (FSLN) 42.3%, Alberto SABORIO (PC) 1.4%; Jose RIZO Castellon elected vice president	chief of state: President Emile LAHUD (since 24 November 1998) head of government: Prime Minister Rafiq HARIRI (since 23 October 2000); Deputy Prime Minister Issam FARES (since 23 October 2000); note - HARIRI resigned on 15 April 2003, but was reappointed the next day cabinet: Cabinet chosen by the prime minister in consultation with the president and members of the National Assembly elections: president elected by the National Assembly for a six-year term; election last held 15 October 1998 (next to be held NA 2004); prime minister and deputy prime minister appointed by the president in consultation with the National Assembly; by custom, the president is a Maronite Christian, the prime minister is a Sunni Muslim, and the speaker of the legislature is a Shi'a Muslim election results: Emile LAHUD elected president; National Assembly vote - 118 votes in favor, 0 against, 10 abstentions
Exports	NA (2001)	NA (2001)
Exports - commodities	coffee, shrimp and lobster, cotton, tobacco, bananas, beef, sugar, gold	foodstuffs and tobacco, textiles, chemicals, precious stones, metal products, electrical products, jewelry, paper products
Exports - partners	US 59.4%, El Salvador 7.5%, Honduras 4.8% (2002)	Switzerland 10.8%, Saudi Arabia 9%, UAE 8.6%, US 6.7%, Jordan 4.6%, Turkey 4.3% (2002)
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 horizontal bands of red (top), white (double width), and red with a green cedar tree centered in the white band
GDP	purchasing power parity - $11.16 billion (2002 est.)	purchasing power parity - $17.61 billion (2002 est.)
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 30% industry: 26% services: 44% (2002 est.)	agriculture: 12% industry: 21% services: 67% (2000)
GDP - per capita	purchasing power parity - $2,200 (2002 est.)	purchasing power parity - $4,800 (2002 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	1.1% (2002 est.)	2% (2002 est.)
Geographic coordinates	13 00 N, 85 00 W	33 50 N, 35 50 E
Geography - note	largest country in Central America; contains the largest freshwater body in Central America, Lago de Nicaragua	Nahr el Litani only major river in Near East not crossing an international boundary; rugged terrain historically helped isolate, protect, and develop numerous factional groups based on religion, clan, and ethnicity
Highways	total: 19,032 km paved: 2,094 km unpaved: 16,938 km (2000)	total: 7,300 km paved: 6,198 km unpaved: 1,102 km (1999 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: 0.7% highest 10%: 48.8% (1998)	lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%
Illicit drugs	transshipment point for cocaine destined for the US and transshipment point for arms-for-drugs dealing	cannabis cultivation dramatically reduced to 2,500 hectares in 2002; opium poppy cultivation minimal; small amounts of Latin American cocaine and Southwest Asian heroin transit country on way to US and European markets
Imports	NA (2001)	NA (2001)
Imports - commodities	machinery and equipment, raw materials, petroleum products, consumer goods	foodstuffs, electrical products, vehicles, minerals, chemicals, textiles, fuels
Imports - partners	US 23.7%, Costa Rica 10.3%, Venezuela 10.1%, Guatemala 7.8%, Mexico 6.7%, El Salvador 6%, South Korea 4.6% (2002)	Italy 11.3%, France 10.7%, Germany 8.4%, US 5.6%, Syria 5.4%, China 4.8%, Belgium 4.5%, UK 4.2% (2002)
Independence	15 September 1821 (from Spain)	22 November 1943 (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	banking; food processing; jewelry; cement; textiles; mineral and chemical products; wood and furniture products; oil refining; metal fabricating
Infant mortality rate	total: 31.39 deaths/1,000 live births male: 35.08 deaths/1,000 live births female: 27.51 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.)	total: 26.43 deaths/1,000 live births male: 29.22 deaths/1,000 live births female: 23.51 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	3.7% (2002 est.)	3.5% (2002 est.)
International organization participation	BCIE, CACM, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, LAES, LAIA (observer), NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO	ABEDA, ACCT, AFESD, AL, AMF, ESCWA, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OAS (observer), OIC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNRWA, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs)	3 (2000)	22 (2000)
Irrigated land	880 sq km (1998 est.)	1,200 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch	Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (16 judges elected for five-year terms by the National Assembly)	four Courts of Cassation (three courts for civil and commercial cases and one court for criminal cases); Constitutional Council (called for in Ta'if Accord - rules on constitutionality of laws); Supreme Council (hears charges against the president and prime minister as needed)
Labor force	1.7 million (1999)	1.5 million note: in addition, there are as many as 1 million foreign workers (2001 est.)
Labor force - by occupation	services 43%, agriculture 42%, industry 15% (1999 est.)	services NA%, industry NA%, agriculture NA%
Land boundaries	total: 1,231 km border countries: Costa Rica 309 km, Honduras 922 km	total: 454 km border countries: Israel 79 km, Syria 375 km
Land use	arable land: 20.24% permanent crops: 2.38% other: 77.38% (1998 est.)	arable land: 17.6% permanent crops: 12.51% other: 69.89% (1998 est.)
Languages	Spanish (official) note: English and indigenous languages on Atlantic coast	Arabic (official), French, English, Armenian
Legal system	civil law system; Supreme Court may review administrative acts	mixture of Ottoman law, canon law, Napoleonic code, and civil law; no judicial review of legislative acts; 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 4 November 2001 (next to be held by November 2006) 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 1	unicameral National Assembly or Majlis Alnuwab (Arabic) or Assemblee Nationale (French) (128 seats; members elected by popular vote on the basis of sectarian proportional representation to serve four-year terms) elections: last held 27 August and 3 September 2000 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: percent of vote by party - Muslim 57% (of which Sunni 25%, Sh'ite 25%, Druze 6%, Alawite less than 1%), Christian 43% (of which Maronite 23%); seats by party - Muslim 64 (of which Sunni 27, Sh'ite 27, Druze 8, Alawite 2), Christian 64 (of which Maronite 34)
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 69.68 years male: 67.68 years female: 71.79 years (2003 est.)	total population: 72.07 years male: 69.64 years female: 74.61 years (2003 est.)
Literacy	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 67.5% male: 67.2% female: 67.8% (2003 est.)	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 87.4% male: 93.1% female: 82.2% (2003 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 Israel and Syria
Map references	Central America and the Caribbean	Middle East
Maritime claims	continental shelf: natural prolongation territorial sea: 200 NM	territorial sea: 12 NM
Merchant marine	none (2002 est.)	total: 56 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 230,142 GRT/306,442 DWT ships by type: bulk 5, cargo 28, chemical tanker 1, combination bulk 1, container 4, liquefied gas 1, livestock carrier 9, roll on/roll off 4, vehicle carrier 3 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: France 1, Greece 10, Netherlands 4, Panama 1, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 2, Spain 1, Syria 2 (2002 est.)
Military branches	Army, Navy, Air Force	Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF; includes Army, Navy, and Air Force)
Military expenditures - dollar figure	$26 million (FY98)	$541 million (2002)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	1.2% (FY98)	4.8% (FY99)
Military manpower - availability	males age 15-49: 1,347,033 (2003 est.)	males age 15-49: 1,025,984 (2003 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service	males age 15-49: 825,906 (2003 est.)	males age 15-49: 630,657 (2003 est.)
Military manpower - military age	18 years of age (2003 est.)	-
Military manpower - reaching military age annually	males: 59,903 (2003 est.)	-
National holiday	Independence Day, 15 September (1821)	Independence Day, 22 November (1943)
Nationality	noun: Nicaraguan(s) adjective: Nicaraguan	noun: Lebanese (singular and plural) adjective: Lebanese
Natural hazards	destructive earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides; extremely susceptible to hurricanes	dust storms, sandstorms
Natural resources	gold, silver, copper, tungsten, lead, zinc, timber, fish	limestone, iron ore, salt, water-surplus state in a water-deficit region, arable land
Net migration rate	-1.27 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.)	0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Pipelines	oil 54 km (2003)	oil 209 km (2003)
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]	political party activity is organized along largely sectarian lines; numerous political groupings exist, consisting of individual political figures and followers motivated by religious, clan, and economic considerations
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	NA
Population	5,128,517 (July 2003 est.)	3,727,703 (July 2003 est.)
Population below poverty line	50% (2001 est.)	28% (1999 est.)
Population growth rate	2.03% (2003 est.)	1.34% (2003 est.)
Ports and harbors	Bluefields, Corinto, El Bluff, Puerto Cabezas, Puerto Sandino, Rama, San Juan del Sur	Antilyas, Batroun, Beirut, Chekka, El Mina, Ez Zahrani, Jbail, Jounie, Naqoura, Sidon, Tripoli, Tyre
Radio broadcast stations	AM 63, FM 32, shortwave 1 (1998)	AM 20, FM 22, shortwave 4 (1998)
Railways	total: 6 km narrow gauge: 6 km 1.067-m gauge (2002)	total: 401 km standard gauge: 319 km 1.435-m narrow gauge: 82 km 1.050-m note: rail system is unusable because of damage in civil war (2002)
Religions	Roman Catholic 85%, Protestant	Muslim 70% (including Shi'a, Sunni, Druze, Isma'ilite, Alawite or Nusayri), Christian 30% (including Orthodox Christian, Catholic, Protestant), Jewish NEGL%
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: 0.78 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2003 est.)	at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.83 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2003 est.)
Suffrage	16 years of age; universal	21 years of age; compulsory for all males; authorized for women at age 21 with elementary education
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: telecommunications system severely damaged by civil war; rebuilding well underway domestic: primarily microwave radio relay and cable international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean and 1 Atlantic Ocean) (erratic operations); coaxial cable to Syria; microwave radio relay to Syria but inoperable beyond Syria to Jordan; 3 submarine coaxial cables
Telephones - main lines in use	140,000 (1996)	700,000 (1999)
Telephones - mobile cellular	7,911 (1997)	580,000 (1999)
Television broadcast stations	3 (plus seven low-power repeaters) (1997)	15 (plus 5 repeaters) (1995)
Terrain	extensive Atlantic coastal plains rising to central interior mountains; narrow Pacific coastal plain interrupted by volcanoes	narrow coastal plain; El Beqaa (Bekaa Valley) separates Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon Mountains
Total fertility rate	3 children born/woman (2003 est.)	1.98 children born/woman (2003 est.)
Unemployment rate	24% plus considerable underemployment (2002 est.)	18% (1997 est.)
Waterways	2,220 km (including 2 large lakes)	none

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