Nicaragua (2007) | Central African Republic (2007) | |
Administrative divisions | 15 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento) and 2 autonomous regions* (regiones autonomistas, singular - region autonoma); Atlantico Norte*, Atlantico Sur*, Boaco, Carazo, Chinandega, Chontales, Esteli, Granada, Jinotega, Leon, Madriz, Managua, Masaya, Matagalpa, Nueva Segovia, Rio San Juan, Rivas | 14 prefectures (prefectures, singular - prefecture), 2 economic prefectures* (prefectures economiques, singular - prefecture economique), and 1 commune**; Bamingui-Bangoran, Bangui**, Basse-Kotto, Haute-Kotto, Haut-Mbomou, Kemo, Lobaye, Mambere-Kadei, Mbomou, Nana-Grebizi*, Nana-Mambere, Ombella-Mpoko, Ouaka, Ouham, Ouham-Pende, Sangha-Mbaere*, Vakaga |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 35.5% (male 1,025,426/female 988,148)
15-64 years: 61.3% (male 1,734,153/female 1,746,574) 65 years and over: 3.2% (male 79,589/female 101,466) (2007 est.) |
0-14 years: 41.6% (male 914,566/female 903,849)
15-64 years: 54.2% (male 1,174,520/female 1,195,364) 65 years and over: 4.1% (male 71,355/female 109,384) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coffee, bananas, sugarcane, cotton, rice, corn, tobacco, sesame, soya, beans; beef, veal, pork, poultry, dairy products; shrimp, lobsters | cotton, coffee, tobacco, manioc (tapioca), yams, millet, corn, bananas; timber |
Airports | 163 (2007) | 51 (2007) |
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 (2007) |
total: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 152
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 16 under 914 m: 135 (2007) |
total: 48
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 10 914 to 1,523 m: 24 under 914 m: 13 (2007) |
Area | total: 129,494 sq km
land: 120,254 sq km water: 9,240 sq km |
total: 622,984 sq km
land: 622,984 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than the state of New York | slightly smaller than Texas |
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 2001, saw the Sandinistas defeated, but voting in 2006 announced the return of former Sandinista President Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra. Nicaragua's infrastructure and economy - hard hit by the earlier civil war and by Hurricane Mitch in 1998 - are slowly being rebuilt. | The former French colony of Ubangi-Shari became the Central African Republic upon independence in 1960. After three tumultuous decades of misrule - mostly by military governments - civilian rule was established in 1993 and lasted for one decade. President Ange-Felix PATASSE's civilian government was plagued by unrest, and in March 2003 he was deposed in a military coup led by General Francois BOZIZE, who established a transitional government. Though the government has the tacit support of civil society groups and the main parties, a wide field of candidates contested the municipal, legislative, and presidential elections held in March and May of 2005 in which General BOZIZE was affirmed as president. The government still does not fully control the countryside, where pockets of lawlessness persist. |
Birth rate | 24.12 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 33.52 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $996.7 million
expenditures: $1.211 billion (2006 est.) |
revenues: $NA
expenditures: $NA |
Capital | name: Managua
geographic coordinates: 12 09 N, 86 17 W time difference: UTC-6 (1 hour behind Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
name: Bangui
geographic coordinates: 4 22 N, 18 35 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | tropical in lowlands, cooler in highlands | tropical; hot, dry winters; mild to hot, wet summers |
Coastline | 910 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 9 January 1987; reforms in 1995, 2000, and 2005 | ratified by popular referendum 5 December 2004; effective 27 December 2004 |
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: Central African Republic
conventional short form: none local long form: Republique Centrafricaine local short form: none former: Ubangi-Shari, Central African Empire abbreviation: CAR |
Death rate | 4.42 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 18.46 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $3.918 billion (2006 est.) | $1.06 billion (2002 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Paul A. TRIVELLI
embassy: Kilometer 4.5 Carretera Sur, Managua mailing address: P.O. Box 327 telephone: [505] 266-6010 FAX: [505] 266-3861 |
chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires James PANOS
embassy: Avenue David Dacko, Bangui mailing address: B. P. 924, Bangui telephone: [236] 61 02 00 FAX: [236] 61 44 94 note: the embassy is currently operating with a minimal staff |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Arturo CRUZ Sequeira, Jr.
chancery: 1627 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 939-6570, [1] (202) 939-6573 FAX: [1] (202) 939-6545 consulate(s) general: Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco |
chief of mission: Ambassador Emmanuel TOUABOY
chancery: 1618 22nd Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 483-7800 FAX: [1] (202) 332-9893 |
Disputes - international | memorials and countermemorials were filed by the parties in Nicaragua's 1999 and 2001 proceedings against Honduras and Colombia at the ICJ over the maritime boundary and territorial claims in the western Caribbean Sea, final public hearings are scheduled for 2007; the 1992 ICJ ruling for El Salvador and Honduras advised a tripartite resolution to establish a maritime boundary in the Gulf of Fonseca, which considers Honduran access to the Pacific; legal dispute over navigational rights of San Juan River on border with Costa Rica | periodic skirmishes over water and grazing rights among related pastoral populations along the border with southern Sudan persist |
Economic aid - recipient | $471 million (2006 est.) | ODA, $95.29 million; note - traditional budget subsidies from France (2005 est.) |
Economy - overview | Nicaragua has widespread underemployment and the third lowest per capita income in the Western Hemisphere. Distribution of income is one of the most unequal on the globe. While the country has progressed toward macroeconomic stability in the past few years, GDP annual growth has been far too low to meet the country's needs, forcing the country to rely on international economic assistance to meet fiscal and debt financing obligations. Nicaragua qualified in early 2004 for some $4.5 billion in foreign debt reduction under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative and in November 2006 obtained over $800 million in debt relief from the Inter-American Development Bank. In October 2005, Nicaragua ratified the US-Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), which will provide an opportunity for Nicaragua to attract investment, create jobs, and deepen economic development. Energy shortages, however, are a serious bottleneck to growth. | Subsistence agriculture, together with forestry, remains the backbone of the economy of the Central African Republic (CAR), with more than 70% of the population living in outlying areas. The agricultural sector generates more than half of GDP. Timber has accounted for about 16% of export earnings and the diamond industry, for 40%. Important constraints to economic development include the CAR's landlocked position, a poor transportation system, a largely unskilled work force, and a legacy of misdirected macroeconomic policies. Factional fighting between the government and its opponents remains a drag on economic revitalization. Distribution of income is extraordinarily unequal. Grants from France and the international community can only partially meet humanitarian needs. |
Electricity - consumption | 2.929 billion kWh (2006) | 101.4 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | 8 million kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 69.34 million kWh (2006) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | 2.778 billion kWh (2006) | 109 million kWh (2005) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mogoton 2,438 m |
lowest point: Oubangui River 335 m
highest point: Mont Ngaoui 1,420 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution | tap water is not potable; poaching has diminished the country's reputation as one of the last great wildlife refuges; desertification; deforestation |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
Ethnic groups | mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white) 69%, white 17%, black 9%, Amerindian 5% | Baya 33%, Banda 27%, Mandjia 13%, Sara 10%, Mboum 7%, M'Baka 4%, Yakoma 4%, other 2% |
Exchange rates | gold cordobas per US dollar - 17.582 (2006), 16.733 (2005), 15.937 (2004), 15.105 (2003), 14.251 (2002) | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XAF) per US dollar - 522.59 (2006), 527.47 (2005), 528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003), 696.99 (2002) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra (since 10 January 2007); Vice President Jaime MORALES Carazo (since 10 January 2007); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra (since 10 January 2007); Vice President Jaime MORALES Carazo (since 10 January 2007) 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 (eligible for a second term so long as it is not consecutive); election last held 5 November 2006 (next to be held by November 2011) election results: Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra elected president - 38.07%, Eduardo MONTEALEGRE 29%, Jose RIZO 26.21%, Edmundo JARQUIN 6.44% |
chief of state: President Francois BOZIZE (since 15 March 2003 coup)
head of government: Prime Minister Elie DOTE (since 13 June 2005); note - Celestin GAOMBALET resigned 11 June 2005 cabinet: Council of Ministers elections: under the new constitution, the president elected to a five-year term (eligible for a second term); elections last held 13 March and 8 May 2005 (next to be held in 2010); prime minister appointed by the political party with a parliamentary majority election results: Francois BOZIZE elected president; percent of second round balloting - Francois BOZIZE (KNK) 64.6%, Martin ZIGUELE (MLPC) 35.4% |
Exports | 1,397 bbl/day (2004) | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | coffee, beef, shrimp and lobster, tobacco, sugar, gold, peanuts | diamonds, timber, cotton, coffee, tobacco |
Exports - partners | US 65.2%, El Salvador 6.9%, Honduras 3.8% (2006) | Belgium 30.7%, Spain 10.7%, Indonesia 8%, France 7.8%, China 6.9%, Democratic Republic of the Congo 6%, Turkey 5%, Italy 4.7% (2006) |
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 | four equal horizontal bands of blue (top), white, green, and yellow with a vertical red band in center; there is a yellow five-pointed star on the hoist side of the blue band |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 17.2%
industry: 25.9% services: 56.9% (2006 est.) |
agriculture: 55%
industry: 20% services: 25% (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 3.7% (2006 est.) | 3.5% (2006 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 13 00 N, 85 00 W | 7 00 N, 21 00 E |
Geography - note | largest country in Central America; contains the largest freshwater body in Central America, Lago de Nicaragua | landlocked; almost the precise center of Africa |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 2.2%
highest 10%: 33.8% (2001) |
lowest 10%: 0.7%
highest 10%: 47.7% (1993) |
Illicit drugs | transshipment point for cocaine destined for the US and transshipment point for arms-for-drugs dealing | - |
Imports | 15,560 bbl/day (2005 est.) | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | consumer goods, machinery and equipment, raw materials, petroleum products | food, textiles, petroleum products, machinery, electrical equipment, motor vehicles, chemicals, pharmaceuticals |
Imports - partners | US 20.1%, Mexico 13.9%, Venezuela 9.4%, Costa Rica 6.9%, Guatemala 5.4%, China 4.3% (2006) | France 15.4%, Netherlands 15.1%, US 9.2%, Cameroon 8.9% (2006) |
Independence | 15 September 1821 (from Spain) | 13 August 1960 (from France) |
Industrial production growth rate | 2.4% (2005 est.) | 3% (2002) |
Industries | food processing, chemicals, machinery and metal products, textiles, clothing, petroleum refining and distribution, beverages, footwear, wood | gold and diamond mining, logging, brewing, textiles, footwear, assembly of bicycles and motorcycles |
Infant mortality rate | total: 27.14 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 30.45 deaths/1,000 live births female: 23.67 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
total: 83.97 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 90.68 deaths/1,000 live births female: 77.05 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 9.1% (2006 est.) | 3.6% (2001 est.) |
International organization participation | BCIE, CACM, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAES, LAIA (observer), MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, BDEAC, CEMAC, FAO, FZ, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OIC (observer), OIF, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
Irrigated land | 610 sq km (2003) | 20 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (16 judges elected for five-year terms by the National Assembly) | Supreme Court or Cour Supreme; Constitutional Court (3 judges appointed by the president, 3 by the president of the National Assembly, and 3 by fellow judges); Court of Appeal; Criminal Courts; Inferior Courts |
Labor force | 2.204 million (2006 est.) | NA |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 29%
industry: 19% services: 52% (2006 est.) |
- |
Land boundaries | total: 1,231 km
border countries: Costa Rica 309 km, Honduras 922 km |
total: 5,203 km
border countries: Cameroon 797 km, Chad 1,197 km, Democratic Republic of the Congo 1,577 km, Republic of the Congo 467 km, Sudan 1,165 km |
Land use | arable land: 14.81%
permanent crops: 1.82% other: 83.37% (2005) |
arable land: 3.1%
permanent crops: 0.15% other: 96.75% (2005) |
Languages | Spanish 97.5% (official), Miskito 1.7%, other 0.8% (1995 census)
note: English and indigenous languages on Atlantic coast |
French (official), Sangho (lingua franca and national language), tribal languages |
Legal system | civil law system; Supreme Court may review administrative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on French law |
Legislative branch | unicameral National Assembly or Asamblea Nacional (92 seats; 90 members are elected by proportional representation and party lists to serve five-year terms; 1 seat for the previous president, 1 seat for the runner-up in previous presidential election)
elections: last held 5 November 2006 (next to be held by November 2011) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - FSLN 38, PLC 25, ALN 23 (22 plus one for presidential candidate Eduardo MONTEALEGRE, runner-up in the 2006 presidential election), MRS 5, APRE 1 (outgoing President Enrique BOLANOS) |
unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (109 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 13 March 2005 and 8 May 2005 (next to be held in 2010) election results: percent of vote by party - MLPC 43%, RDC 18%, MDD 9%, FPP 6%, PSD 5%, ADP 4%, PUN 3%, FODEM 2%, PLD 2%, UPR 1%, FC 1%, independents 6%; seats by party - MLPC 47, RDC 20, MDD 8, FPP 7, PSD 6, ADP 5, PUN 3, FODEM 2, PLD 2, UPR 1, FC 1, independents 7 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 70.92 years
male: 68.82 years female: 73.13 years (2007 est.) |
total population: 43.74 years
male: 43.69 years female: 43.79 years (2007 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: 51% male: 63.3% female: 39.9% (2003 est.) |
Location | Central America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Costa Rica and Honduras | Central Africa, north of Democratic Republic of the Congo |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Africa |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm continental shelf: natural prolongation |
none (landlocked) |
Military branches | National Army of Nicaragua (ENN; includes Navy, Air Force) (2007) | Central African Armed Forces (FACA): Ground Forces, Military Air Service, General Directorate of Gendarmerie Inspection (DGIG); National Police (2006) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 0.6% (2006) | 1.1% (2006 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 15 September (1821) | Republic Day, 1 December (1958) |
Nationality | noun: Nicaraguan(s)
adjective: Nicaraguan |
noun: Central African(s)
adjective: Central African |
Natural hazards | destructive earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides; extremely susceptible to hurricanes | hot, dry, dusty harmattan winds affect northern areas; floods are common |
Natural resources | gold, silver, copper, tungsten, lead, zinc, timber, fish | diamonds, uranium, timber, gold, oil, hydropower |
Net migration rate | -1.15 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Pipelines | oil 54 km (2006) | - |
Political parties and leaders | Alliance for the Republic or APRE [Miguel LOPEZ Baldizon]; Central American Unionist Party or PUCA [Blanca ROJAS]; Christian Alternative Party or AC [Orlando TARDENCILLA Espinoza]; Conservative Party or PC [Azalia AVILES Salmeron]; Independent Liberal Party or PLI [Anibal MARTINEZ Nunez, Pedro REYES Vallejos]; Independent Liberal Party for National Unity or PLIUN [Carlos GUERRA Gallardo]; Liberal Constitutional Party or PLC [Jorge CASTILLO Quant]; Liberal Salvation Movement or MSL [Eliseo NUNEZ Hernandez]; New Liberal Party or PALI [Adolfo GARCIA Esquivel]; Nicaraguan Liberal Alliance or ALN [Eduardo MONTEALEGRE]; Nicaraguan Party of the Christian Path or PCCN [Guillermo OSORNO Molina]; Nicaraguan Resistance Party or PRN [Salvador TALAVERA]; Sandinista National Liberation Front or FSLN [Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra]; Sandinista Renovation Movement or MRS [Dora Maria TELLEZ]; Unity Alliance or AU | Alliance for Democracy and Progress or ADP [Jacques MBOLIEDAS]; Central African Democratic Assembly or RDC [Andre KOLINGBA]; Civic Forum or FC [Gen. Timothee MALENDOMA]; Democratic Forum for Modernity or FODEM [Charles MASSI]; Liberal Democratic Party or PLD [Nestor KOMBO-NAGUEMON]; Movement for Democracy and Development or MDD [David DACKO]; Movement for the Liberation of the Central African People or MLPC [Ange-Felix PATASSE] (the party of deposed president); National Convergence or KNK; Patriotic Front for Progress or FPP [Abel GOUMBA]; People's Union for the Republic or UPR [Pierre Sammy MAKFOY]; National Unity Party or PUN [Jean-Paul NGOUPANDE]; Social Democratic Party or PSD [Enoch LAKOUE] |
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 | 5,675,356 (July 2007 est.) | 4,369,038
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 48% (2005) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 1.855% (2007 est.) | 1.505% (2007 est.) |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 63, FM 32, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 1 (2001) |
Railways | total: 6 km
narrow gauge: 6 km 1.067-m gauge (2006) |
- |
Religions | Roman Catholic 72.9%, Evangelical 15.1%, Moravian 1.5%, Episcopal 0.1%, other 1.9%, none 8.5% (1995 census) | indigenous beliefs 35%, Protestant 25%, Roman Catholic 25%, Muslim 15%
note: animistic beliefs and practices strongly influence the Christian majority |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.038 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.993 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.784 male(s)/female total population: 1.001 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.012 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.983 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.652 male(s)/female total population: 0.978 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
Suffrage | 16 years of age; universal | 21 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: country code - 505; satellite earth stations - 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region) and 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
general assessment: limited telephone service; fixed-line connections for well less than 1 per 100 persons coupled with mobile-cellular usage of only about 3 per 100 persons
domestic: network consists principally of microwave radio relay and low-capacity, low-powered radiotelephone communication international: country code - 236; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2007) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 247,900 (2006) | 10,000 (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 1.83 million (2006) | 100,000 (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | 3 (plus 7 repeaters) (1997) | 1 (2001) |
Terrain | extensive Atlantic coastal plains rising to central interior mountains; narrow Pacific coastal plain interrupted by volcanoes | vast, flat to rolling, monotonous plateau; scattered hills in northeast and southwest |
Total fertility rate | 2.69 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 4.32 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 3.8% plus underemployment of 46.5% (2006 est.) | 8% (23% for Bangui) (2001 est.) |
Waterways | 2,220 km (including lakes Managua and Nicaragua) (2007) | 2,800 km (primarily on the Oubangui and Sangha rivers) (2006) |