Oman (2002) | Colombia (2003) | |
Administrative divisions | 6 regions (mintaqat, singular - mintaqah) and 2 governorates* (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah) Ad Dakhiliyah, Al Batinah, Al Wusta, Ash Sharqiyah, Az Zahirah, Masqat, Musandam*, Zufar*; note - the US Embassy in Oman reports that Masqat is a governorate, but this has not been confirmed by the US Board on Geographic Names (BGN) | 32 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento) and 1 capital district* (distrito capital); Amazonas, Antioquia, Arauca, Atlantico, Distrito Capital de Bogota*, Bolivar, Boyaca, Caldas, Caqueta, Casanare, Cauca, Cesar, Choco, Cordoba, Cundinamarca, Guainia, Guaviare, Huila, La Guajira, Magdalena, Meta, Narino, Norte de Santander, Putumayo, Quindio, Risaralda, San Andres y Providencia, Santander, Sucre, Tolima, Valle del Cauca, Vaupes, Vichada |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 41.9% (male 579,065; female 556,923)
15-64 years: 55.7% (male 914,494; female 597,948) 65 years and over: 2.4% (male 34,555; female 30,477) (2002 est.) |
0-14 years: 31.3% (male 6,601,581; female 6,447,679)
15-64 years: 63.7% (male 12,931,093; female 13,626,333) 65 years and over: 4.9% (male 913,798; female 1,141,589) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | dates, limes, bananas, alfalfa, vegetables; camels, cattle; fish | coffee, cut flowers, bananas, rice, tobacco, corn, sugarcane, cocoa beans, oilseed, vegetables; forest products; shrimp |
Airports | 143 (2001) | 1,050 (2002) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 6
over 3,047 m: 4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2002) |
total: 96
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 9 1,524 to 2,437 m: 38 914 to 1,523 m: 36 under 914 m: 11 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 133
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 7 1,524 to 2,437 m: 55 914 to 1,523 m: 37 under 914 m: 32 (2002) |
total: 954
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 51 914 to 1,523 m: 315 under 914 m: 587 (2002) |
Area | total: 212,460 sq km
land: 212,460 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 1,138,910 sq km
land: 1,038,700 sq km water: 100,210 sq km note: includes Isla de Malpelo, Roncador Cay, Serrana Bank, and Serranilla Bank |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Kansas | slightly less than three times the size of Montana |
Background | In 1970, QABOOS bin Said Al Said ousted his father and has ruled as sultan ever since. His extensive modernization program has opened the country to the outside world and has preserved a long-standing political and military relationship with the UK. Oman's moderate, independent foreign policy has sought to maintain good relations with all Middle Eastern countries. | Colombia was one of the three countries that emerged from the collapse of Gran Colombia in 1830 (the others being Ecuador and Venezuela). A 40-year insurgent campaign to overthrow the Colombian Government escalated during the 1990s, undergirded in part by funds from the drug trade. Although the violence is deadly and large swaths of the countryside are under guerrilla influence, the movement lacks the military strength or popular support necessary to overthrow the government. An anti-insurgent army of paramilitaries has grown to be several thousand strong in recent years, challenging the insurgents for control of territory and illicit industries such as the drug trade and the government's ability to exert its dominion over rural areas. While Bogota steps up efforts to reassert government control throughout the country, neighboring countries worry about the violence spilling over their borders. |
Birth rate | 37.76 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 21.59 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $9.2 billion
expenditures: $6.9 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
revenues: $24 billion
expenditures: $25.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
Capital | Muscat | Bogota |
Climate | dry desert; hot, humid along coast; hot, dry interior; strong southwest summer monsoon (May to September) in far south | tropical along coast and eastern plains; cooler in highlands |
Coastline | 2,092 km | 3,208 km (Caribbean Sea 1,760 km, North Pacific Ocean 1,448 km) |
Constitution | none; note - on 6 November 1996, Sultan QABOOS issued a royal decree promulgating a new basic law which, among other things, clarifies the royal succession, provides for a prime minister, bars ministers from holding interests in companies doing business with the government, establishes a bicameral legislature, and guarantees basic civil liberties for Omani citizens | 5 July 1991 |
Country name | conventional long form: Sultanate of Oman
conventional short form: Oman local long form: Saltanat Uman local short form: Uman former: Muscat and Oman |
conventional long form: Republic of Colombia
conventional short form: Colombia local long form: Republica de Colombia local short form: Colombia |
Currency | Omani rial (OMR) | Colombian peso (COP) |
Death rate | 4.03 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 5.63 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $5.3 billion (2000 est.) | $38.4 billion (2002 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Richard Lewis BALTIMORE III
embassy: Jameat A'Duwal Al Arabiya Street, Al Khuwair area, Muscat mailing address: international: P. O. Box 202, P.C. 115, Madinat Al-Sultan Qaboos, Muscat telephone: [968] 698989, extension 203 FAX: [968] 699771 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Anne W. PATTERSON
embassy: Calle 22D-BIS, numbers 47-51, Apartado Aereo 3831 mailing address: Carrera 45 #22D-45, Bogota, D.C., APO AA 34038 telephone: [57] (1) 315-0811 FAX: [57] (1) 315-2197 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Mohamed Ali AL KHUSAIBY
chancery: 2535 Belmont Road, NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 387-1980 through 1981, 1988 FAX: [1] (202) 745-4933 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Luis Alberto MORENO Mejia
chancery: 2118 Leroy Place NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 387-8338 FAX: [1] (202) 232-8643 consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, San Francisco, San Juan (Puerto Rico), and Washington, DC consulate(s): Atlanta |
Disputes - international | Oman signed a boundary treaty with the UAE in 1999, but the completed boundary is not expected until the end of 2002; undefined segments of the Oman-UAE boundary remain with Ra's al-Khaymah and Ash Shariqah (Sharjah) emirates, including the Musandam Peninsula, where an administrative boundary substitutes for an international boundary | Nicaragua filed a claim against Honduras in 1999 and against Colombia in 2001 at the ICJ over disputed maritime boundary involving 50,000 sq km in the Caribbean Sea, including the Archipelago de San Andres y Providencia and Quita Sueno Bank; maritime boundary dispute with Venezuela in the Gulf of Venezuela; Colombian drug activities penetrate Peruvian border area |
Economic aid - recipient | $76.4 million (1995) (1995) | $NA |
Economy - overview | Oman's economic performance improved significantly in 2000 due largely to the upturn in oil prices. The government is moving ahead with privatization of its utilities, the development of a body of commercial law to facilitate foreign investment, and increased budgetary outlays. Oman continues to liberalize its markets and joined the World Trade Organization (WTrO) in November 2000. GDP growth improved in 2001 despite the global slowdown. | Colombia's economy suffers from weak domestic and foreign demand, austere government budgets, and serious internal armed conflict. Other economic problems facing the new president URIBE range from reforming the pension system to reducing high unemployment. Two of Colombia's leading exports, oil and coffee, face an uncertain future; new exploration is needed to offset declining oil production, while coffee harvests and prices are depressed. Colombian business leaders are calling for greater progress in solving the conflict with insurgent groups. On the positive side, several international financial institutions have praised the economic reforms introduced by President URIBE and have pledged enough funding to cover Colombia's debt servicing costs in 2003. |
Electricity - consumption | 7.533 billion kWh (2000) | 39.81 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2000) | 210 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2000) | 40 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 8.1 billion kWh (2000) | 42.99 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
fossil fuel: 26%
hydro: 72.7% nuclear: 0% other: 1.3% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Arabian Sea 0 m
highest point: Jabal Shams 2,980 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Pico Cristobal Colon 5,775 m note: nearby Pico Simon Bolivar also has the same elevation |
Environment - current issues | rising soil salinity; beach pollution from oil spills; very limited natural fresh water resources | deforestation; soil and water quality damage from overuse of pesticides; air pollution, especially in Bogota, from vehicle emissions |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to: Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping |
Ethnic groups | Arab, Baluchi, South Asian (Indian, Pakistani, Sri Lankan, Bangladeshi), African | mestizo 58%, white 20%, mulatto 14%, black 4%, mixed black-Amerindian 3%, Amerindian 1% |
Exchange rates | Omani rials per US dollar - 0.3845 (fixed rate since 1986) | Colombian pesos per US dollar - 2,504.24 (2002), 2,299.63 (2001), 2,087.9 (2000), 1,756.23 (1999), 1,426.04 (1998) |
Executive branch | chief of state: Sultan and Prime Minister QABOOS bin Said Al Said (since 23 July 1970); note - the monarch is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: Sultan and Prime Minister QABOOS bin Said Al Said (since 23 July 1970); note - the monarch is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the monarch elections: none; the monarch is hereditary |
chief of state: President Alvaro URIBE Velez (since 7 August 2002); Vice President Francisco SANTOS (since 7 August 2002); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Alvaro URIBE Velez (since 7 August 2002); Vice President Francisco SANTOS (since 7 August 2002); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet consists of a coalition of the two dominant parties - the PL and PSC - and independents elections: president and vice president elected by popular vote for a four-year term; election last held 26 May 2002 (next to be held NA May 2006) election results: President Alvaro URIBE Velez received 53% of the vote; Vice President Francisco SANTOS was elected on the same ticket |
Exports | $10.9 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | petroleum, reexports, fish, metals, textiles | petroleum, coffee, coal, apparel, bananas, cut flowers |
Exports - partners | Japan 21%, Thailand 18%, China 16%, South Korea 12%, UAE 12%, US 3% (2001) | US 44.8%, Venezuela 9.4%, Ecuador 6.8% (2002) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | three horizontal bands of white, red, and green of equal width with a broad, vertical, red band on the hoist side; the national emblem (a khanjar dagger in its sheath superimposed on two crossed swords in scabbards) in white is centered near the top of the vertical band | three horizontal bands of yellow (top, double-width), blue, and red; similar to the flag of Ecuador, which is longer and bears the Ecuadorian coat of arms superimposed in the center |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $21.5 billion (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $251.6 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 3%
industry: 40% services: 57% (1999 est.) |
agriculture: 13%
industry: 30% services: 57% (2001 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $8,200 (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $6,100 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 7.4% (2001 est.) | 1.5% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 21 00 N, 57 00 E | 4 00 N, 72 00 W |
Geography - note | strategic location on Musandam Peninsula adjacent to Strait of Hormuz, a vital transit point for world crude oil | only South American country with coastlines on both North Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea |
Heliports | 1 (2002) | 1 (2002) |
Highways | total: 32,800 km
paved: 9,840 km (including 550 km of expressways) unpaved: 22,960 km (1996) |
total: 110,000 km
paved: 26,000 km unpaved: 84,000 km (2000) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 1%
highest 10%: 44% (1999) |
Illicit drugs | - | illicit producer of coca, opium poppy, and cannabis; world's leading coca cultivator (cultivation of coca in 2002 was 144,450 hectares, a 15% decline since 2001); potential production of opium between 2001 and 2002 declined by 25% to 91 metric tons; potential production of heroin declined to 11.3 metric tons; the world's largest processor of coca derivatives into cocaine; supplier of about 90% of the cocaine to the US market and the great majority of cocaine to other international drug markets; important supplier of heroin to the US market; active aerial eradication program; a significant portion of non-US narcotics proceeds are either laundered or invested in Colombia through the black market peso exchange |
Imports | $5.4 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods, food, livestock, lubricants | industrial equipment, transportation equipment, consumer goods, chemicals, paper products, fuels, electricity |
Imports - partners | UAE 23% (largely reexports), Japan 16%, UK 13%, Italy 7%, Germany 5%, US 5% (2001) | US 32.6%, Venezuela 7%, Mexico 5.3%, Japan 5.3%, Brazil 5.2%, Germany 4.2% (2002) |
Independence | 1650 (expulsion of the Portuguese) | 20 July 1810 (from Spain) |
Industrial production growth rate | 4% (2000 est.) | 4% (2001 est.) |
Industries | crude oil production and refining, natural gas production, construction, cement, copper | textiles, food processing, oil, clothing and footwear, beverages, chemicals, cement; gold, coal, emeralds |
Infant mortality rate | 21.77 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: 22.47 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 26.46 deaths/1,000 live births female: 18.34 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1% (2001 est.) | 6.2% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | ABEDA, AFESD, AL, AMF, CCC, ESCWA, FAO, G-77, GCC, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO | BCIE, CAN, Caricom (observer), CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-15, G-3, G-24, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNU, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | 18 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 620 sq km (1998 est.) | 8,500 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court
note: the nascent civil court system, administered by region, has non-Islamic judges as well as traditional Islamic judges |
four coequal, supreme judicial organs; Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justical (highest court of criminal law; judges are selected from the nominees of the Higher Council of Justice for eight-year terms); Council of State (highest court of administrative law, judges are selected from the nominees of the Higher Council of Justice for eight-year terms); Constitutional Court (guards integrity and supremacy of the constitution, rules on constitutionality of laws, amendments to the constitution, and international treaties); Higher Council of Justice (administers and disciplines the civilian judiciary; members of the disciplinary chamber resolve jurisdictional conflicts arising between other courts; members are elected by three sister courts and Congress for eight-year terms) |
Labor force | 920,000 | 18.3 million (1999 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% | services 46%, agriculture 30%, industry 24% (1990) |
Land boundaries | total: 1,374 km
border countries: Saudi Arabia 676 km, UAE 410 km, Yemen 288 km |
total: 6,004 km
border countries: Brazil 1,643 km, Ecuador 590 km, Panama 225 km, Peru 1,496 km (est.), Venezuela 2,050 km |
Land use | arable land: 0.08%
permanent crops: 0.22% other: 99.7% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 1.9%
permanent crops: 1.96% other: 96.14% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Arabic (official), English, Baluchi, Urdu, Indian dialects | Spanish |
Legal system | based on English common law and Islamic law; ultimate appeal to the monarch; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on Spanish law; a new criminal code modeled after US procedures was enacted in 1992-93; judicial review of executive and legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations |
Legislative branch | bicameral Majlis Oman consists of an upper chamber or Majlis al-Dawla (48 seats; members appointed by the monarch; has advisory powers only) and a lower chamber or Majlis al-Shura (83 seats; members elected by limited suffrage for three-year term, however, the monarch makes final selections and can negate election results; body has some limited power to propose legislation, but otherwise has only advisory powers)
elections: last held NA September 2000 (next to be held NA September 2003) election results: NA; note - two women were elected for the first time to the Majlis al-Shura, about 100,000 people voted |
bicameral Congress or Congreso consists of the Senate or Senado (102 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) and the House of Representatives or Camara de Representantes (166 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 10 March 2002 (next to be held NA March 2006); House of Representatives - last held 10 March 2002 (next to be held NA March 2006) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PL 28, PSC 13, independents and smaller parties (many aligned with conservatives) 61; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PL 54, PSC 21, independents and other parties 91 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 72.31 years
male: 70.15 years female: 74.57 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 71.14 years
male: 67.29 years female: 75.12 years (2003 est.) |
Literacy | definition: NA
total population: approaching 80% male: NA% female: NA% |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 92.5% male: 92.4% female: 92.6% (2003 est.) |
Location | Middle East, bordering the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Oman, and Persian Gulf, between Yemen and UAE | Northern South America, bordering the Caribbean Sea, between Panama and Venezuela, and bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between Ecuador and Panama |
Map references | Middle East | South America |
Maritime claims | contiguous zone: 24 NM
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | total: 3 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 17,291 GRT/9,457 DWT
ships by type: cargo 1, passenger 1, passenger/cargo 1 note: includes a foreign-owned ship registered here as a flag of convenience: Singapore 1 (2002 est.) |
total: 15 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 51,445 GRT/55,930 DWT
ships by type: bulk 5, cargo 6, container 1, petroleum tanker 3 note: includes a foreign-owned ship registered here as a flag of convenience: Germany 1 (2002 est.) |
Military branches | Royal Omani Armed Forces (Army, Navy, Air Force), Royal Omani Police | Army (Ejercito Nacional), Navy (Armada Nacional, including Marines and Coast Guard), Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Colombiana), National Police (Policia Nacional) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $2,424.4 million (FY01) | $3.3 billion (FY01) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 12.2% (FY01) | 3.4% (FY01) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 780,292 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49: 11,101,719 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 434,026 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49: 7,403,433 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 14 years of age (2002 est.) | 18 years of age (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 26,470 (2002 est.) | males: 392,468 (2003 est.) |
National holiday | Birthday of Sultan QABOOS, 18 November (1940) | Independence Day, 20 July (1810) |
Nationality | noun: Omani(s)
adjective: Omani |
noun: Colombian(s)
adjective: Colombian |
Natural hazards | summer winds often raise large sandstorms and dust storms in interior; periodic droughts | highlands subject to volcanic eruptions; occasional earthquakes; periodic droughts |
Natural resources | petroleum, copper, asbestos, some marble, limestone, chromium, gypsum, natural gas | petroleum, natural gas, coal, iron ore, nickel, gold, copper, emeralds, hydropower |
Net migration rate | 0.35 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | -0.32 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil 1,300 km; natural gas 1,030 km | gas 4,360 km; oil 6,134 km; refined products 3,140 km (2003) |
Political parties and leaders | none | Conservative Party or PSC [Carlos HOLGUIN Sardi]; Liberal Party or PL [Piedad CORDOBA and Juan Manuel LOPEZ Cabrales]; Colombian Communist Party or PCC [Jaime CAICEDO]; 19 of April Movement or M-19 [Antonio NAVARRO Wolff]
note: Colombia has about 60 formally recognized political parties, most of which do not have a presence in either house of Congress |
Political pressure groups and leaders | none | two largest insurgent groups active in Colombia - Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia or FARC and National Liberation Army or ELN; largest anti-insurgent paramilitary group is United Self-Defense Groups of Colombia or AUC |
Population | 2,713,462
note: includes 527,078 non-nationals (July 2002 est.) |
41,662,073 (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 55% (2001) |
Population growth rate | 3.41% (2002 est.) | 1.56% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Matrah, Mina' al Fahl, Mina' Raysut | Bahia de Portete, Barranquilla, Buenaventura, Cartagena, Leticia, Puerto Bolivar, San Andres, Santa Marta, Tumaco, Turbo |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 3, FM 9, shortwave 2 (1999) | AM 454, FM 34, shortwave 27 (1999) |
Radios | 1.4 million (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km | total: 3,304 km
standard gauge: 150 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 3,154 km 0.914-m gauge (2002) |
Religions | Ibadhi Muslim 75%, Sunni Muslim, Shi'a Muslim, Hindu | Roman Catholic 90% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.53 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.13 male(s)/female total population: 1.29 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.8 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
Suffrage | in Oman's most recent elections in 2000, limited to approximately 175,000 Omanis chosen by the government to vote in elections for the Majlis ash-Shura | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: modern system consisting of open wire, microwave, and radiotelephone communication stations; limited coaxial cable
domestic: open wire, microwave, radiotelephone communications, and a domestic satellite system with 8 earth stations international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) and 1 Arabsat |
general assessment: modern system in many respects
domestic: nationwide microwave radio relay system; domestic satellite system with 41 earth stations; fiber-optic network linking 50 cities international: satellite earth stations - 6 Intelsat, 1 Inmarsat; 3 fully digitalized international switching centers; 8 submarine cables |
Telephones - main lines in use | 201,000 (1997) | 5,433,565 (December 1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 59,822 (1997) | 1,800,229 (December 1998) |
Television broadcast stations | 13 (plus 25 low-power repeaters) (1999) | 60 (includes seven low-power stations) (1997) |
Terrain | central desert plain, rugged mountains in north and south | flat coastal lowlands, central highlands, high Andes Mountains, eastern lowland plains |
Total fertility rate | 5.99 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 2.61 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 17.4% (2002 est.) |
Waterways | none | 18,140 km (navigable by river boats) (April 1996) |