Papua New Guinea (2006) | Cuba (2001) | |
Administrative divisions | 20 provinces; Bougainville, Central, Chimbu, Eastern Highlands, East New Britain, East Sepik, Enga, Gulf, Madang, Manus, Milne Bay, Morobe, National Capital, New Ireland, Northern, Sandaun, Southern Highlands, Western, Western Highlands, West New Britain | 14 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia) and 1 special municipality* (municipio especial); Camaguey, Ciego de Avila, Cienfuegos, Ciudad de La Habana, Granma, Guantanamo, Holguin, Isla de la Juventud*, La Habana, Las Tunas, Matanzas, Pinar del Rio, Sancti Spiritus, Santiago de Cuba, Villa Clara |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 37.8% (male 1,090,879/female 1,054,743)
15-64 years: 58.3% (male 1,703,204/female 1,601,224) 65 years and over: 3.9% (male 103,054/female 117,440) (2006 est.) |
0-14 years:
20.99% (male 1,205,159; female 1,142,070) 15-64 years: 69.14% (male 3,876,432; female 3,855,878) 65 years and over: 9.87% (male 511,589; female 592,895) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coffee, cocoa, copra, palm kernels, tea, sugar, rubber, sweet potatoes, fruit, vegetables, vanilla; shell fish, poultry, pork | sugar, tobacco, citrus, coffee, rice, potatoes, beans; livestock |
Airports | 582 (2006) | 171 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 21
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 14 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 1 (2006) |
total:
77 over 3,047 m: 7 2,438 to 3,047 m: 9 1,524 to 2,437 m: 16 914 to 1,523 m: 10 under 914 m: 35 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 561
1,524 to 2,437 m: 11 914 to 1,523 m: 62 under 914 m: 488 (2006) |
total:
94 914 to 1,523 m: 31 under 914 m: 63 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 462,840 sq km
land: 452,860 sq km water: 9,980 sq km |
total:
110,860 sq km land: 110,860 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than California | slightly smaller than Pennsylvania |
Background | The eastern half of the island of New Guinea - second largest in the world - was divided between Germany (north) and the UK (south) in 1885. The latter area was transferred to Australia in 1902, which occupied the northern portion during World War I and continued to administer the combined areas until independence in 1975. A nine-year secessionist revolt on the island of Bougainville ended in 1997 after claiming some 20,000 lives. | Fidel CASTRO led a rebel army to victory in 1959; his iron rule has held the country together since. Cuba's communist revolution, with Soviet support, was exported throughout Latin America and Africa during the 1960s, 70s, and 80s. The country is now slowly recovering from a severe economic recession in 1990, following the withdrawal of former Soviet subsidies, worth $4 billion to $6 billion annually. Havana portrays its difficulties as the result of the US embargo in place since 1961. Illicit migration to the US - using homemade rafts, alien smugglers, or falsified visas - is a continuing problem. Some 3,000 Cubans took to the Straits of Florida in 2000; the US Coast Guard interdicted only about 35% of these. |
Birth rate | 29.36 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 12.36 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $1.368 billion
expenditures: $1.354 billion; including capital expenditures of $344 million (2005 est.) |
revenues:
$13.5 billion expenditures: $14.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
Capital | name: Port Moresby
geographic coordinates: 9 30 S, 147 10 E time difference: UTC+10 (15 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Havana |
Climate | tropical; northwest monsoon (December to March), southeast monsoon (May to October); slight seasonal temperature variation | tropical; moderated by trade winds; dry season (November to April); rainy season (May to October) |
Coastline | 5,152 km | 3,735 km |
Constitution | 16 September 1975 | 24 February 1976, amended July 1992 |
Country name | conventional long form: Independent State of Papua New Guinea
conventional short form: Papua New Guinea local short form: Papuaniugini former: Territory of Papua and New Guinea abbreviation: PNG |
conventional long form:
Republic of Cuba conventional short form: Cuba local long form: Republica de Cuba local short form: Cuba |
Currency | - | Cuban peso (CUP) |
Death rate | 7.25 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 7.33 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.882 billion (2005 est.) | $11.1 billion (convertible currency, 1999); another $15 billion -$20 billion owed to Russia (2000) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Robert W. FITTS
embassy: Douglas Street, Port Moresby mailing address: 4240 Port Moresby PI, US Department of State, Washington DC 20521-4240 telephone: [675] 321-1455 FAX: [675] 321-3423 |
none; note - the US has an Interests Section in the Swiss Embassy, headed by Principal Officer Vicki HUDDLESTON; address: USINT, Swiss Embassy, Calzada between L and M Streets, Vedado Seccion, Havana; telephone: 33-3551 through 3559 (operator assistance required); FAX: 33-3700; protecting power in Cuba is Switzerland |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Evan Jeremy PAKI
chancery: 1779 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Suite 805, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 745-3680 FAX: [1] (202) 745-3679 |
none; note - Cuba has an Interests Section in the Swiss Embassy, headed by Principal Officer Fernando REMIREZ DE ESTENOZ; address: Cuban Interests Section, Swiss Embassy, 2630 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009; telephone: [1] (202) 797-8518 |
Disputes - international | relies on assistance from Australia to keep out illegal cross-border activities from primarily Indonesia, including goods smuggling, illegal narcotics trafficking, and squatters and secessionists | US Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay is leased to US and only mutual agreement or US abandonment of the area can terminate the lease |
Economic aid - recipient | $NA | $68.2 million (1997 est.) |
Economy - overview | Papua New Guinea is richly endowed with natural resources, but exploitation has been hampered by rugged terrain and the high cost of developing infrastructure. Agriculture provides a subsistence livelihood for 85% of the population. Mineral deposits, including oil, copper, and gold, account for nearly two-thirds of export earnings. The economy has improved over the past three years because of high commodity prices following a prolonged period of instability. The government of Prime Minister SOMARE has expended much of its energy remaining in power and should be the first government in decades to serve a full five-year term. The government has also brought stability to the national budget thus far, largely through expenditure control. Numerous challenges still face the government including regaining investor confidence, restoring integrity to state institutions, promoting economic efficiency by privatizing moribund state institutions, and balancing relations with Australia, the former colonial ruler. Other socio-cultural challenges include the HIV/Aids epidemic, law and order, and land tenure issues. Australia annually supplies $240 million in aid, which accounts for nearly 20% of the national budget. | The government, the primary player in the economy, has undertaken limited reforms in recent years to stem excess liquidity, increase enterprise efficiency, and alleviate serious shortages of food, consumer goods, and services, but prioritizing of political control makes extensive reforms unlikely. Living standards for the average Cuban, without access to dollars, remain at a depressed level compared with 1990. The liberalized farmers' markets introduced in 1994, sell above-quota production at market prices, expand legal consumption alternatives, and reduce black market prices. Income taxes and increased regulations introduced since 1996 have sharply reduced the number of legally self-employed from a high of 208,000 in January 1996. Havana announced in 1995 that GDP declined by 35% during 1989-93 as a result of lost Soviet aid and domestic inefficiencies. The slide in GDP came to a halt in 1994 when Cuba reported growth in GDP of 0.7%. Cuba reported that GDP increased by 2.5% in 1995 and 7.8% in 1996, before slowing down in 1997 and 1998 to 2.5% and 1.2% respectively. Growth recovered with a 6.2% increase in GDP in 1999 and a 5.6% increase in 2000. Much of Cuba's recovery can be attributed to tourism revenues and foreign investment. Growth in 2001 should continue at the same level as the government balances the need for economic loosening against its concern for firm political control. |
Electricity - consumption | 1.481 billion kWh (2003) | 13.353 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2003) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2003) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 1.592 billion kWh (2003) | 14.358 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
94.2% hydro: 0.7% nuclear: 0% other: 5.1% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Wilhelm 4,509 m |
lowest point:
Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Pico Turquino 2,005 m |
Environment - current issues | rain forest subject to deforestation as a result of growing commercial demand for tropical timber; pollution from mining projects; severe drought | pollution of Havana Bay; overhunting threatens wildlife populations; deforestation |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to:
Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution signed, but not ratified: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Marine Life Conservation |
Ethnic groups | Melanesian, Papuan, Negrito, Micronesian, Polynesian | mulatto 51%, white 37%, black 11%, Chinese 1% |
Exchange rates | kina per US dollar - 3.08 (2005), 3.2225 (2004), 3.5635 (2003), 3.8952 (2002), 3.3887 (2001) | Cuban pesos per US dollar - 1.0000 (nonconvertible, official rate, for international transactions, pegged to the US dollar); convertible peso sold for domestic use at a rate of 1.00 US dollar per 22 pesos by the Government of Cuba (January 2001) |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by governor general Sir Paulius MATANE (since 29 June 2004)
head of government: Prime Minister Sir Michael SOMARE (since 2 August 2002); deputy prime minister Don Polye (since 5 July 2006) cabinet: National Executive Council appointed by the governor general on the recommendation of the prime minister elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the National Executive Council; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition usually is appointed prime minister by the governor general |
chief of state:
President of the Council of State and President of the Council of Ministers Fidel CASTRO Ruz (prime minister from February 1959 until 24 February 1976 when office was abolished; president since 2 December 1976); First Vice President of the Council of State and First Vice President of the Council of Ministers Gen. Raul CASTRO Ruz (since 2 December 1976); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President of the Council of State and President of the Council of Ministers Fidel CASTRO Ruz (prime minister from February 1959 until 24 February 1976 when office was abolished; president since 2 December 1976); First Vice President of the Council of State and First Vice President of the Council of Ministers Gen. Raul CASTRO Ruz (since 2 December 1976); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Council of Ministers proposed by the president of the Council of State, appointed by the National Assembly; note - there is also a Council of State whose members are elected by the National Assembly elections: president and vice president elected by the National Assembly; election last held 24 February 1998 (next election unscheduled) election results: Fidel CASTRO Ruz elected president; percent of legislative vote - 100%; Raul CASTRO Ruz elected vice president; percent of legislative vote - 100% |
Exports | NA bbl/day | $1.8 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | oil, gold, copper ore, logs, palm oil, coffee, cocoa, crayfish, prawns | sugar, nickel, tobacco, fish, medical products, citrus, coffee |
Exports - partners | Australia 28.7%, Japan 8.6%, China 5.4% (2005) | Russia 23%, Netherlands 23%, Canada 13% (1999) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | divided diagonally from upper hoist-side corner; the upper triangle is red with a soaring yellow bird of paradise centered; the lower triangle is black with five, white, five-pointed stars of the Southern Cross constellation centered | five equal horizontal bands of blue (top and bottom) alternating with white; a red equilateral triangle based on the hoist side bears a white, five-pointed star in the center; design influenced by the US flag |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $19.2 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 35.3%
industry: 38.1% services: 26.6% (2005 est.) |
agriculture:
7% industry: 37% services: 56% (1998 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $1,700 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 3% (2005 est.) | 5.6% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 6 00 S, 147 00 E | 21 30 N, 80 00 W |
Geography - note | shares island of New Guinea with Indonesia; one of world's largest swamps along southwest coast | largest country in Caribbean |
Heliports | 2 (2006) | - |
Highways | - | total:
60,858 km paved: 29,820 km (including 638 km of expressway) unpaved: 31,038 km (1997) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 1.7%
highest 10%: 40.5% (1996) |
lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | - | territorial waters and air space serve as transshipment zone for cocaine bound for the US and Europe; established the death penalty for certain drug-related crimes in 1999 |
Imports | NA bbl/day | $3.4 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods, food, fuels, chemicals | petroleum, food, machinery, chemicals, semifinished goods, transport equipment, consumer goods |
Imports - partners | Australia 54.6%, Singapore 13.4%, Japan 4.3%, Malaysia 4.2% (2005) | Spain 18%, Venezuela 13%, Canada 8% (1999) |
Independence | 16 September 1975 (from the Australian-administered UN trusteeship) | 20 May 1902 (from US) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 5% (2000 est.) |
Industries | copra crushing, palm oil processing, plywood production, wood chip production; mining of gold, silver, and copper; crude oil production, petroleum refining; construction, tourism | sugar, petroleum, tobacco, chemicals, construction, services, nickel, steel, cement, agricultural machinery |
Infant mortality rate | total: 49.96 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 54.08 deaths/1,000 live births female: 45.63 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
7.39 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1.7% (2005 est.) | 0.3% (1999 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, APEC, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN (observer), C, CP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, NAM, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, WToO | CCC, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IAEA, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IFAD, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, NAM, OAS (excluded from formal participation since 1962), OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 4 (2001) |
Irrigated land | NA | 9,100 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court (the chief justice is appointed by the governor general on the proposal of the National Executive Council after consultation with the minister responsible for justice; other judges are appointed by the Judicial and Legal Services Commission) | People's Supreme Court or Tribunal Supremo Popular (president, vice president, and other judges are elected by the National Assembly) |
Labor force | 2.413 million (2004) | 4.3 million (2000 est.)
note: state sector 75%, non-state sector 25% (1998) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 85%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
agriculture 25%, industry 24%, services 51% (1998) |
Land boundaries | total: 820 km
border countries: Indonesia 820 km |
total:
29 km border countries: US Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay 29 km note: Guantanamo Naval Base is leased by the US and thus remains part of Cuba |
Land use | arable land: 0.49%
permanent crops: 1.4% other: 98.11% (2005) |
arable land:
24% permanent crops: 7% permanent pastures: 27% forests and woodland: 24% other: 18% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Melanesian Pidgin serves as the lingua franca, English spoken by 1%-2%, Motu spoken in Papua region
note: 820 indigenous languages spoken (over one-tenth of the world's total) |
Spanish |
Legal system | based on English common law | based on Spanish and American law, with large elements of Communist legal theory; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | unicameral National Parliament - sometimes referred to as the House of Assembly (109 seats, 89 elected from open electorates and 20 from provincial electorates; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 15-29 June 2002 and April and May 2003; completed in May 2003 (voting in the Southern Highlands was not completed during the June 2002 election period); next to be held not later than June 2007 election results: percent of vote by party - National Alliance 18%, URP 13%, PDM 12%, PPP 8%, Pangu 6%, PAP 5%, PLP 4%, others 34%; seats by party - National Alliance 19, URP 14, PDM 13, PPP 8, PANGU 6, PAP 5, PLP 4, others 40; as of January 2006 - National Alliance 25, URP 10, PNGP 9, PPP 9, PANGU 6, PAP 12, PLP 4, others 34 note: association with political parties is fluid (2005) |
unicameral National Assembly of People's Power or Asemblea Nacional del Poder Popular (601 seats, elected directly from slates approved by special candidacy commissions; members serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 11 January 1998 (next to be held in 2003) election results: percent of vote - PCC 94.39%; seats - PCC 601 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 65.28 years
male: 63.08 years female: 67.58 years (2006 est.) |
total population:
76.41 years male: 74.02 years female: 78.94 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 64.6% male: 71.1% female: 57.7% (2002) |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 95.7% male: 96.2% female: 95.3% (1995 est.) |
Location | Oceania, group of islands including the eastern half of the island of New Guinea between the Coral Sea and the South Pacific Ocean, east of Indonesia | Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, south of Florida |
Map references | Oceania | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | measured from claimed archipelagic baselines
territorial sea: 12 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm |
exclusive economic zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | total: 24 ships (1000 GRT or over) 55,532 GRT/72,240 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 2, cargo 18, passenger/cargo 2, petroleum tanker 1, roll on/roll off 1 foreign-owned: 6 (UK 6) (2006) |
total:
15 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 54,821 GRT/78,062 DWT ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 7, liquefied gas 1, petroleum tanker 1, refrigerated cargo 5 (2000 est.) |
Military - note | - | Moscow, for decades the key military supporter and supplier of Cuba, cut off almost all military aid by 1993 |
Military branches | Papua New Guinea Defense Force (includes Maritime Operations Element, Air Operations Element) | Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR) includes ground forces, Revolutionary Navy (MGR), Air and Air Defense Force (DAAFAR), Territorial Troops Militia (MTT), and Youth Labor Army (EJT); the Border Guard (TGF) is controlled by the Interior Ministry |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $16.9 million (2003) | $NA |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.4% (FY02) | roughly 4% (FY95 est.) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49:
3,090,633 females age 15-49: 3,029,274 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49:
1,911,160 females age 15-49: 1,867,958 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 17 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males:
79,562 females: 85,650 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 16 September (1975) | Independence Day, 10 October (1868); note - 10 October 1868 is the date of independence from Spain, 20 May 1902 is the date of independence from US administration |
Nationality | noun: Papua New Guinean(s)
adjective: Papua New Guinean |
noun:
Cuban(s) adjective: Cuban |
Natural hazards | active volcanism; situated along the Pacific "Ring of Fire"; the country is subject to frequent and sometimes severe earthquakes; mud slides; tsunamis | the east coast is subject to hurricanes from August to October (in general, the country averages about one hurricane every other year); droughts are common |
Natural resources | gold, copper, silver, natural gas, timber, oil, fisheries | cobalt, nickel, iron ore, copper, manganese, salt, timber, silica, petroleum, arable land |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) | -1.36 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | oil 264 km (2006) | - |
Political parties and leaders | Christian Democratic Party [Dr. Banare BUN]; Melanesian Alliance Party or MAP [Sir Moi AVEL]; National Alliance Party or NA [Michael SOMARE]; National Party [Melcher PEP]; Papua and Niugini Union Party or PANGU [Rabbie NAMALIU]; Papua New Guinea First Party [Cecilking DORUBA]; Papua New Guinea Labor Party [Bob DANAYA]; Papua New Guinea Party or PNGP (was People's Democratic Movement or PDM) [Sir Mekere MORAUTA]; People's Action Party or PAP [Moses MALADINA]; People's Labor Party or PLP [Ekis ROPENU]; People's National Congress or PNC [Peter O'NEILL]; People's Progress Party or PPP [Byron CHAN]; Pipol First Party [Luther WENGE]; United Party [Bire KIMASOPA]; United Resources Party or URP [Tim NEVILLE] (2005) | only party - Cuban Communist Party or PCC [Fidel CASTRO Ruz, first secretary] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 5,670,544 (July 2006 est.) | 11,184,023 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 37% (2002 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.21% (2006 est.) | 0.37% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Cienfuegos, Havana, Manzanillo, Mariel, Matanzas, Nuevitas, Santiago de Cuba |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 8, FM 19, shortwave 28 (1998) | AM 169, FM 55, shortwave 1 (1998) |
Radios | - | 3.9 million (1997) |
Railways | - | total:
11,969 km standard gauge: 4,807 km 1.435-m gauge (147 km electrified) note: in addition to the 4,807 km of standard gauge track in public use, 7,162 km of track is in private use by sugar plantations; about 90% of the private use track is standard gauge and the rest is narrow gauge (2000) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 22%, Lutheran 16%, Presbyterian/Methodist/London Missionary Society 8%, Anglican 5%, Evangelical Alliance 4%, Seventh-Day Adventist 1%, other Protestant 10%, indigenous beliefs 34% | nominally 85% Roman Catholic prior to CASTRO assuming power; Protestants, Jehovah's Witnesses, Jews, and Santeria are also represented |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.88 male(s)/female total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
at birth:
1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.86 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 16 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: services are adequate; facilities provide radiotelephone and telegraph, coastal radio, aeronautical radio, and international radio communication services
domestic: mostly radiotelephone international: country code - 675; submarine cables to Australia and Guam; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean); international radio communication service |
general assessment:
NA domestic: principal trunk system, end to end of country, is coaxial cable; fiber-optic distribution in Havana and on Isla de la Juventud; 2 microwave radio relay installations (one is old, US-built; the other newer, Soviet-built); both analog and digital mobile cellular service established international: satellite earth station - 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 62,000 (2002) | 473,031 (2000) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 26,000 (2005) | 2,994 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 3 (all in the Port Moresby area)
note: additional stations at Mt. Hagen, Goroka, Lae, and Rabaul are planned (2004) |
58 (1997) |
Terrain | mostly mountains with coastal lowlands and rolling foothills | mostly flat to rolling plains, with rugged hills and mountains in the southeast |
Total fertility rate | 3.88 children born/woman (2006 est.) | 1.6 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 2.8% up to 80% in urban areas (2004) | 5.5% (2000 est.) |
Waterways | 10,940 km (2003) | 240 km |