Panama (2004) | Sierra Leone (2006) | |
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Administrative divisions | 9 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia) and 1 territory* (comarca); Bocas del Toro, Chiriqui, Cocle, Colon, Darien, Herrera, Los Santos, Panama, San Blas*, and Veraguas | 3 provinces and 1 area*; Eastern, Northern, Southern, Western* |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 30.2% (male 461,427; female 443,932)
15-64 years: 63.6% (male 967,490; female 940,344) 65 years and over: 6.2% (male 88,611; female 98,659) (2004 est.) |
0-14 years: 44.8% (male 1,321,563/female 1,370,721)
15-64 years: 52% (male 1,494,502/female 1,625,733) 65 years and over: 3.2% (male 90,958/female 101,773) (2006 est.) |
Agriculture - products | bananas, rice, corn, coffee, sugarcane, vegetables; livestock; shrimp | rice, coffee, cocoa, palm kernels, palm oil, peanuts; poultry, cattle, sheep, pigs; fish |
Airports | 103 (2003 est.) | 10 (2006) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 44
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 15 under 914 m: 22 (2004 est.) |
total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2006) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 61
914 to 1,523 m: 12 under 914 m: 49 (2004 est.) |
total: 9
914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 2 (2006) |
Area | total: 78,200 sq km
land: 75,990 sq km water: 2,210 sq km |
total: 71,740 sq km
land: 71,620 sq km water: 120 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than South Carolina | slightly smaller than South Carolina |
Background | With US backing, Panama seceded from Colombia in 1903 and promptly signed a treaty with the US allowing for the construction of a canal and US sovereignty over a strip of land on either side of the structure (the Panama Canal Zone). The Panama Canal was built by the US Army Corps of Engineers between 1904 and 1914. On 7 September 1977, an agreement was signed for the complete transfer of the Canal from the US to Panama by the end of 1999. Certain portions of the Zone and increasing responsibility over the Canal were turned over in the intervening years. With US help, dictator Manuel NORIEGA was deposed in 1989. The entire Panama Canal, the area supporting the Canal, and remaining US military bases were turned over to Panama by or on 31 December 1999. | The government is slowly reestablishing its authority after the 1991 to 2002 civil war that resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and the displacement of more than 2 million people (about one-third of the population). The last UN peacekeepers withdrew in December 2005, leaving full responsibility for security with domestic forces, but a new civilian UN office remains to support the government. Mounting tensions related to planned 2007 elections, deteriorating political and economic conditions in Guinea, and the tenuous security situation in neighboring Liberia may present challenges to continuing progress in Sierra Leone's stability. |
Birth rate | 20.36 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 45.76 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $2.995 billion
expenditures: $3.421 billion, including capital expenditures of $471 million (2003 est.) |
revenues: $96 million
expenditures: $351 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
Capital | Panama | name: Freetown
geographic coordinates: 8 30 N, 13 15 W time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | tropical maritime; hot, humid, cloudy; prolonged rainy season (May to January), short dry season (January to May) | tropical; hot, humid; summer rainy season (May to December); winter dry season (December to April) |
Coastline | 2,490 km | 402 km |
Constitution | 11 October 1972; major reforms adopted 1978, 1983, 1994, and 2004 | 1 October 1991; subsequently amended several times |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Panama
conventional short form: Panama local long form: Republica de Panama local short form: Panama |
conventional long form: Republic of Sierra Leone
conventional short form: Sierra Leone local long form: Republic of Sierra Leone local short form: Sierra Leone |
Currency | balboa (PAB); US dollar (USD) | - |
Death rate | 6.39 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 23.03 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | $8.834 billion (2003 est.) | $1.61 billion (2003 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Linda Ellen WATT
embassy: Avenida Balboa and Calle 37, Apartado Postal 0816-02561, Zona 5, Panama City 5 mailing address: American Embassy Panama, Unit 0945, APO AA 34002 telephone: [507] 207-7000 FAX: [507] 227-1964 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Thomas N. HULL
embassy: Corner of Walpole and Siaka Stevens Streets, Freetown mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [232] (22) 226481 through 226485 FAX: [232] (22) 225471 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Federico HUMBERT Arias
chancery: 2862 McGill Terrace NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 483-1407 FAX: [1] (202) 483-8416 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Houston, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, San Juan (Puerto Rico), Tampa |
chief of mission: Ambassador Ibrahim M. KAMARA
chancery: 1701 19th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 939-9261 through 9263 FAX: [1] (202) 483-1793 |
Disputes - international | none | domestic fighting among disparate rebel groups, warlords, and youth gangs in Cote d'Ivoire, Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone perpetuate insurgencies, street violence, looting, arms trafficking, ethnic conflicts, and refugees in border areas; UN Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) has maintained over 4,000 peacekeepers in Sierra Leone since 1999; Sierra Leone pressures Guinea to remove its forces from the town of Yenga occupied since 1998 |
Economic aid - recipient | $197.1 million (1995) | $297.4 million (2003 est.) |
Economy - overview | Panama's dollarised economy rests primarily on a well-developed services sector that accounts for three-fourths of GDP. Services include operating the Panama Canal, banking, the Colon Free Zone, insurance, container ports, flagship registry, and tourism. A slump in Colon Free Zone and agricultural exports, the global slowdown, and the withdrawal of US military forces held back economic growth in 2000-03. The government has been backing public works programs, tax reforms, new regional trade agreements, and development of tourism in order to stimulate growth. Unemployment remains at an unacceptably high level. | Sierra Leone is an extremely poor African nation with tremendous inequality in income distribution. While it possesses substantial mineral, agricultural, and fishery resources, its economic and social infrastructure is not well developed, and serious social disorders continue to hamper economic development. About two-thirds of the working-age population engages in subsistence agriculture. Manufacturing consists mainly of the processing of raw materials and of light manufacturing for the domestic market. Alluvial diamond mining remains the major source of hard currency earnings, accounting for nearly half of Sierra Leone's exports. The fate of the economy depends upon the maintenance of domestic peace and the continued receipt of substantial aid from abroad, which is essential to offset the severe trade imbalance and supplement government revenues. The IMF has completed a Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility program that helped stabilize economic growth and reduce inflation. A recent increase in political stability has led to a revival of economic activity, such as the rehabilitation of bauxite mining. |
Electricity - consumption | 3.681 billion kWh (2001) | 242.4 million kWh (2003) |
Electricity - exports | 118 million kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - imports | 43 million kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production | 4.039 billion kWh (2001) | 260.6 million kWh (2003) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Volcan de Chiriqui 3,475 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Loma Mansa (Bintimani) 1,948 m |
Environment - current issues | water pollution from agricultural runoff threatens fishery resources; deforestation of tropical rain forest; land degradation and soil erosion threatens siltation of Panama Canal; air pollution in urban areas; mining threatens natural resources | rapid population growth pressuring the environment; overharvesting of timber, expansion of cattle grazing, and slash-and-burn agriculture have resulted in deforestation and soil exhaustion; civil war depleting natural resources; overfishing |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Marine Life Conservation |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification |
Ethnic groups | mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white) 70%, Amerindian and mixed (West Indian) 14%, white 10%, Amerindian 6% | 20 African ethnic groups 90% (Temne 30%, Mende 30%, other 30%), Creole (Krio) 10% (descendants of freed Jamaican slaves who were settled in the Freetown area in the late-18th century), refugees from Liberia's recent civil war, small numbers of Europeans, Lebanese, Pakistanis, and Indians |
Exchange rates | balboas per US dollar - 1 (2003), 1 (2002), 1 (2001), 1 (2000), 1 (1999) | leones per US dollar - 2,889.6 (2005), 2,701.3 (2004), 2,347.9 (2003), 2,099 (2002), 1,986.2 (2001) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Martin TORRIJOS Espino (since 1 September 2004); First Vice President Samuel LEWIS Navarro (since 1 September 2004); Second Vice President Ruben AROSEMENA Valdes (since 1 September 2004); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Martin TORRIJOS Espino (since 1 September 2004); First Vice President Samuel LEWIS Navarro (since 1 September 2004); Second Vice President Ruben AROSEMENA Valdes (since 1 September 2004); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president elections: president and vice presidents elected on the same ticket by popular vote for five-year terms; election last held 2 May 2004 (next to be held 3 May 2009); note - beginning in 2009, Panama will have only one vice president. election results: Martin TORRIJOS Espino elected president; percent of vote - Martin TORRIJOS Espino 47.5%, Guillermo ENDARA Galimany 30.6%, Jose Miguel ALEMAN 17%, Ricardo MARTINELLI 4.9% note: government coalition - PRD (Democratic Revolutionary Party), PP (Popular Party) |
chief of state: President Ahmad Tejan KABBAH (since 29 March 1996, reinstated 10 March 1998); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Ahmad Tejan KABBAH (since 29 March 1996, reinstated 10 March 1998); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Ministers of State appointed by the president with the approval of the House of Representatives; the cabinet is responsible to the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 14 May 2002 (next to be held 28 July 2007) election results: Ahmad Tejan KABBAH reelected president; percent of vote - Ahmad Tejan KABBAH (SLPP) 70.6%, Ernest KOROMA (APC) 22.4% |
Exports | NA (2001) | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | bananas, shrimp, sugar, coffee, clothing (1999) | diamonds, rutile, cocoa, coffee, fish |
Exports - partners | US 13.9%, Nigeria 9.8%, Germany 8.1%, South Korea 7.8%, Peru 5.1%, Costa Rica 4.9%, Belgium 4.8%, Japan 4.5% (2003) | Belgium 66.2%, Germany 13.5%, US 4.6% (2005) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | divided into four, equal rectangles; the top quadrants are white (hoist side) with a blue five-pointed star in the center and plain red; the bottom quadrants are plain blue (hoist side) and white with a red five-pointed star in the center | three equal horizontal bands of light green (top), white, and light blue |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $18.78 billion (2003 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 8.3%
industry: 14.7% services: 77.1% (2003 est.) |
agriculture: 49%
industry: 31% services: 21% (2001 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $6,300 (2003 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 4.1% (2003 est.) | 7.5% (2005 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 9 00 N, 80 00 W | 8 30 N, 11 30 W |
Geography - note | strategic location on eastern end of isthmus forming land bridge connecting North and South America; controls Panama Canal that links North Atlantic Ocean via Caribbean Sea with North Pacific Ocean | rainfall along the coast can reach 495 cm (195 inches) a year, making it one of the wettest places along coastal, western Africa |
Heliports | - | 2 (2006) |
Highways | total: 11,400 km
paved: 3,944 km (including 30 km of expressways) unpaved: 7,456 km (1999) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 1.2%
highest 10%: 35.7% (1997) |
lowest 10%: 0.5%
highest 10%: 43.6% (1989) |
Illicit drugs | major cocaine transshipment point and primary money-laundering center for narcotics revenue; money-laundering activity is especially heavy in the Colon Free Zone; offshore financial center; negligible signs of coca cultivation; monitoring of financial transactions is improving; official corruption remains a major problem | - |
Imports | NA (2001) | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | capital goods, crude oil, foodstuffs, consumer goods, chemicals (1999) | foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, fuels and lubricants, chemicals |
Imports - partners | Japan 33.2%, US 11.4%, China 9.1%, South Korea 7.7%, Singapore 7.1% (2003) | Germany 18.9%, Cote d'Ivoire 11.2%, UK 8.5%, US 6.9%, China 5.6%, Netherlands 5.4%, South Africa 4.1% (2005) |
Independence | 3 November 1903 (from Colombia; became independent from Spain 28 November 1821) | 27 April 1961 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 7% (2003 est.) | NA% |
Industries | construction, petroleum refining, brewing, cement and other construction materials, sugar milling | diamond mining; small-scale manufacturing (beverages, textiles, cigarettes, footwear); petroleum refining, small commercial ship repair |
Infant mortality rate | total: 20.95 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 23.08 deaths/1,000 live births female: 18.72 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
total: 160.39 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 177.47 deaths/1,000 live births female: 142.8 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1.4% (2003 est.) | 1% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA (observer), MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO | ACP, AfDB, AU, C, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
Irrigated land | 320 sq km (1998 est.) | 300 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia (nine judges appointed for 10-year terms); five superior courts; three courts of appeal | Supreme Court; Appeals Court; High Court |
Labor force | 1.19 million
note: shortage of skilled labor, but an oversupply of unskilled labor (2003 est.) |
1.369 million (1981 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 20.8%, industry 18%, services 61.2% (1995 est.) | agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
Land boundaries | total: 555 km
border countries: Colombia 225 km, Costa Rica 330 km |
total: 958 km
border countries: Guinea 652 km, Liberia 306 km |
Land use | arable land: 7.36%
permanent crops: 1.98% other: 90.66% (2001) |
arable land: 7.95%
permanent crops: 1.05% other: 91% (2005) |
Languages | Spanish (official), English 14%
note: many Panamanians bilingual |
English (official, regular use limited to literate minority), Mende (principal vernacular in the south), Temne (principal vernacular in the north), Krio (English-based Creole, spoken by the descendants of freed Jamaican slaves who were settled in the Freetown area, a lingua franca and a first language for 10% of the population but understood by 95%) |
Legal system | based on civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court of Justice; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations | based on English law and customary laws indigenous to local tribes; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | unicameral National Assembly (formerly called Legislative Assembly) or Asamblea Nacional (78 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms; note - In 2009, the number of seats will change to 71)
elections: last held 2 May 2004 (next to be held 3 May 2009) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PRD 40, PA 17, PS 8, MOLIRENA 3, Democratic Change 2, PP 2, PLN 1, other 5 note: legislators from outlying rural districts are chosen on a plurality basis while districts located in more populous towns and cities elect multiple legislators by means of a proportion-based formula |
unicameral Parliament (124 seats - 112 elected by popular vote, 12 filled by paramount chiefs elected in separate elections; members serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 14 May 2002 (next to be held May 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - SLPP 70.06%, APC 22.35%, PLP 3%, others 4.59%; seats by party - SLPP 83, APC 27, PLP 2 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 72.14 years
male: 69.82 years female: 74.56 years (2004 est.) |
total population: 40.22 years
male: 38.05 years female: 42.46 years (2006 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 92.6% male: 93.2% female: 91.9% (2003 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write English, Mende, Temne, or Arabic
total population: 29.6% male: 39.8% female: 20.5% (2000 est.) |
Location | Central America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Colombia and Costa Rica | Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Liberia |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Africa |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | total: 4,833 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 122,960,929 GRT/183,615,337 DWT
by type: barge carrier 3, bulk 1,434, cargo 819, chemical tanker 388, combination bulk 73, combination ore/oil 18, container 613, liquefied gas 190, livestock carrier 3, multi-functional large load carrier 15, passenger 36, passenger/cargo 5, petroleum tanker 514, rail car carrier 1, refrigerated cargo 281, roll on/roll off 125, short-sea/passenger 37, specialized tanker 36, vehicle carrier 242 foreign-owned: Albania 2, Angola 1, Antigua and Barbuda 2, Argentina 7, Australia 11, Austria 1, Bahamas 3, Bangladesh 1, Belgium 5, Belize 4, Brazil 4, British Virgin Islands 8, Cambodia 2, Canada 6, Cayman Islands 1, Chile 13, China 286, Colombia 14, Croatia 3, Cuba 17, Cyprus 6, Denmark 4, Dominican Republic 1, Ecuador 1, Egypt 16, Equatorial Guinea 1, France 7, Germany 89, Greece 549, Haiti 1, Honduras 2, Hong Kong 288, India 22, Indonesia 44, Iran 1, Ireland 2, Israel 4, Italy 7, Japan 1630, Jordan 8, Kenya 1, South Korea 349, Kuwait 1, Latvia 11, Liberia 3, Lithuania 2, Luxembourg 1, Malaysia 12, Malta 1, Marshall Islands 3, Mexico 7, Monaco 29, Netherlands 14, Netherlands Antilles 1, New Zealand 1, Nigeria 6, Norway 86, Oman 1, Pakistan 1, Peru 17, Philippines 41, Poland 12, Portugal 6, Puerto Rico 3, Romania 9, Russia 8, Saint Kitts and Nevis 3, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 6, Saudi Arabia 6, Singapore 105, South Africa 3, Spain 52, Sri Lanka 3, Sudan 1, Sweden 4, Switzerland 93, Syria 1, Taiwan 348, Thailand 14, Trinidad and Tobago 1, Turkey 12, Ukraine 2, United Kingdom 51, United States 99, Venezuela 4 registered in other countries: 85 (2004 est.) |
total: 54 ships (1000 GRT or over) 185,037 GRT/249,996 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 2, cargo 36, chemical tanker 3, combination ore/oil 3, liquefied gas 1, livestock carrier 1, passenger 1, passenger/cargo 3, petroleum tanker 2, roll on/roll off 2 foreign-owned: 14 (China 2, Cyprus 1, Egypt 1, Russia 1, Syria 1, UAE 3, Ukraine 4, US 1) (2006) |
Military - note | on 10 February 1990, the government of then President ENDARA abolished Panama's military and reformed the security apparatus by creating the Panamanian Public Forces; in October 1994, Panama's Legislative Assembly approved a constitutional amendment prohibiting the creation of a standing military force, but allowing the temporary establishment of special police units to counter acts of "external aggression" | - |
Military branches | an amendment to the Constitution abolished the armed forces, but there are security forces (Panamanian Public Forces or PPF includes the Panamanian National Police, National Maritime Service, and National Air Service) | Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces (RSLAF): Army (includes Air Wing, Maritime Wing) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $145 million (2003) | $14.25 million (2005 est.) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.2% (2003) | 1.7% (2005 est.) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 810,341 (2004 est.) | - |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 553,422 (2004 est.) | - |
National holiday | Independence Day, 3 November (1903) | Independence Day, 27 April (1961) |
Nationality | noun: Panamanian(s)
adjective: Panamanian |
noun: Sierra Leonean(s)
adjective: Sierra Leonean |
Natural hazards | occasional severe storms and forest fires in the Darien area | dry, sand-laden harmattan winds blow from the Sahara (December to February); sandstorms, dust storms |
Natural resources | copper, mahogany forests, shrimp, hydropower | diamonds, titanium ore, bauxite, iron ore, gold, chromite |
Net migration rate | -0.91 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 0.23 migrant(s)/1,000 population
note: refugees currently in surrounding countries are slowly returning (2006 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Democratic Change or CD [Ricardo MARTINELLI]; Democratic Revolutionary Party or PRD [Martin TORRIJOS]; National Liberal Party or PLN [Anibal GALINDO]; Nationalist Republican Liberal Movement or MOLIRENA [Jesus ROSAS]; Panamenista Party or PA (formerly the Arnulfista Party) [Mireya Elisa MOSCOSO Rodriguez]; Popular Party or PP (formerly Christian Democratic Party or PDC) [Ruben AROSEMENA]; Solidarity Party or PS [Jose Raul MULINO] | All People's Congress or APC [Ben KANU]; Peace and Liberation Party or PLP [Darlington MORRISON, interim chairman]; Sierra Leone People's Party or SLPP [Sama BANYA]; numerous others |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Chamber of Commerce; National Civic Crusade; National Council of Organized Workers or CONATO; National Union of Construction and Similar Workers (SUNTRACS); National Council of Private Enterprise or CONEP; Panamanian Association of Business Executives or APEDE; Panamanian Industrialists Society or SIP; Workers Confederation of the Republic of Panama or CTRP | trade unions and student unions |
Population | 3,000,463 (July 2004 est.) | 6,005,250 (July 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 37% (1999 est.) | 68% (1989 est.) |
Population growth rate | 1.31% (2004 est.) | 2.3% (2006 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Balboa, Cristobal, Coco Solo, Manzanillo (part of Colon area), Vacamonte | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 101, FM 134, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 1, FM 9, shortwave 1 (1999) |
Railways | total: 355 km
standard gauge: 76 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 279 km 0.914-m gauge (2003) |
- |
Religions | Roman Catholic 85%, Protestant 15% | Muslim 60%, indigenous beliefs 30%, Christian 10% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.9 male(s)/female total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 0.96 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.89 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: domestic and international facilities well developed
domestic: NA international: country code - 507; 1 coaxial submarine cable; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); connected to the Central American Microwave System |
general assessment: marginal telephone and telegraph service
domestic: the national microwave radio relay trunk system connects Freetown to Bo and Kenema international: country code - 232; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 386,900 (2002) | 24,000 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 834,000 (2003) | 113,200 (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 38 (including repeaters) (1998) | 2 (1999) |
Terrain | interior mostly steep, rugged mountains and dissected, upland plains; coastal areas largely plains and rolling hills | coastal belt of mangrove swamps, wooded hill country, upland plateau, mountains in east |
Total fertility rate | 2.49 children born/woman (2004 est.) | 6.08 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 13.8% (2003 est.) | NA% |
Waterways | 800 km (includes 82 km Panama Canal) (2004) | 800 km (600 km year round) (2005) |