Portugal (2002) | Liberia (2007) | |
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Administrative divisions | 18 districts (distritos, singular - distrito) and 2 autonomous regions* (regioes autonomas, singular - regiao autonoma); Aveiro, Acores (Azores)*, Beja, Braga, Braganca, Castelo Branco, Coimbra, Evora, Faro, Guarda, Leiria, Lisboa, Madeira*, Portalegre, Porto, Santarem, Setubal, Viana do Castelo, Vila Real, Viseu | 15 counties; Bomi, Bong, Gbarpolu, Grand Bassa, Grand Cape Mount, Grand Gedeh, Grand Kru, Lofa, Margibi, Maryland, Montserrado, Nimba, River Cess, River Gee, Sinoe |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 16.9% (male 875,485; female 827,670)
15-64 years: 67.3% (male 3,324,215; female 3,463,301) 65 years and over: 15.8% (male 644,761; female 948,813) (2002 est.) |
0-14 years: 43.6% (male 698,382/female 695,409)
15-64 years: 53.6% (male 848,951/female 865,380) 65 years and over: 2.7% (male 42,745/female 45,064) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | grain, potatoes, olives, grapes; sheep, cattle, goats, poultry, beef, dairy products | rubber, coffee, cocoa, rice, cassava (tapioca), palm oil, sugarcane, bananas; sheep, goats; timber |
Airports | 67 (2001) | 53 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 40
over 3,047 m: 5 2,438 to 3,047 m: 9 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 15 under 914 m: 7 (2002) |
total: 2
over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 26
914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 25 (2002) |
total: 51
1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 8 under 914 m: 38 (2007) |
Area | total: 92,391 sq km
land: 91,951 sq km water: 440 sq km note: includes Azores and Madeira Islands |
total: 111,370 sq km
land: 96,320 sq km water: 15,050 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Indiana | slightly larger than Tennessee |
Background | Following its heyday as a world power during the 15th and 16th centuries, Portugal lost much of its wealth and status with the destruction of Lisbon in a 1755 earthquake, occupation during the Napoleonic Wars, and the independence in 1822 of Brazil as a colony. A 1910 revolution deposed the monarchy; for most of the next six decades repressive governments ran the country. In 1974, a left-wing military coup installed broad democratic reforms. The following year Portugal granted independence to all of its African colonies. Portugal entered the EC (now the EU) in 1985. | Settlement of freed slaves from the US in what is today Liberia began in 1822; by 1847, the Americo-Liberians were able to establish a republic. William TUBMAN, president from 1944-71, did much to promote foreign investment and to bridge the economic, social, and political gaps between the descendents of the original settlers and the inhabitants of the interior. In 1980, a military coup led by Samuel DOE ushered in a decade of authoritarian rule. In December 1989, Charles TAYLOR launched a rebellion against DOE's regime that led to a prolonged civil war in which DOE himself was killed. A period of relative peace in 1997 allowed for elections that brought TAYLOR to power, but major fighting resumed in 2000. An August 2003, peace agreement ended the war and prompted the resignation of former president Charles TAYLOR, who was exiled to Nigeria. After two years of rule by a transitional government, democratic elections in late 2005 brought President Ellen JOHNSON SIRLEAF to power. The UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL), which maintains a strong presence throughout the country, completed a disarmament program for former combatants in late 2004, but the security situation is still volatile and the process of rebuilding the social and economic structure of this war-torn country remains sluggish. |
Birth rate | 11.5 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 43.75 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $45 billion
expenditures: $48 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
revenues: $85.4 million
expenditures: $90.5 million (2000 est.) |
Capital | Lisbon | name: Monrovia
geographic coordinates: 6 18 N, 10 48 W time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | maritime temperate; cool and rainy in north, warmer and drier in south | tropical; hot, humid; dry winters with hot days and cool to cold nights; wet, cloudy summers with frequent heavy showers |
Coastline | 1,793 km | 579 km |
Constitution | 25 April 1976, revised 30 October 1982, 1 June 1989, 5 November 1992, and 3 September 1997 | 6 January 1986 |
Country name | conventional long form: Portuguese Republic
conventional short form: Portugal local long form: Republica Portuguesa local short form: Portugal |
conventional long form: Republic of Liberia
conventional short form: Liberia |
Currency | euro (EUR); Portuguese escudo (PTE)
note: on 1 January 1999, the European Monetary Union introduced the euro as a common currency to be used by financial institutions of member countries; on 1 January 2002, the euro became the sole currency for everyday transactions within the member countries |
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Death rate | 10.21 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 22.24 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $13.1 billion (1997 est.) | $3.2 billion (2005 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador John N. PALMER
embassy: Avenida das Forcas Armadas, 1600-081 Lisbon, Apartado 4258, 1507 Lisboa CODEX mailing address: PSC 83, APO AE 09726 telephone: [351] (21) 727-3300 FAX: [351] (21) 727-9109 consulate(s): Ponta Delgada (Azores) |
chief of mission: Ambassador Donald E. BOOTH
embassy: 111 United Nations Drive, P. O. Box 10-0098, Mamba Point, 1000 Monrovia, 10 mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [231] 226-370 through 226-380 FAX: [231] 226-148 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Pedro Manuel Dos Reis Alves CATARINO
chancery: 2125 Kalorama Road NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 328-8610 FAX: [1] (202) 462-3726 consulate(s) general: Boston, New York, Newark (New Jersey), and San Francisco consulate(s): Los Angeles, New Bedford (Massachusetts), Providence (Rhode Island) |
chief of mission: Ambassador Charles A. MINOR
chancery: 5201 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20011 telephone: [1] (202) 723-0437 FAX: [1] (202) 723-0436 consulate(s) general: New York |
Disputes - international | none | although civil unrest continues to abate with the assistance of 18,000 UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) peacekeepers, as of January 2007, Liberian refugees still remain in Guinea, Cote d'Ivoire, Sierra Leone, and Ghana; Liberia, in turn, shelters refugees fleeing turmoil in Cote d'Ivoire; despite the presence of over 9,000 UN forces (UNOCI) in Cote d'Ivoire since 2004, ethnic conflict continues to spread into neighboring states who can no longer send their migrant workers to Ivorian cocoa plantations; UN sanctions ban Liberia from exporting diamonds and timber |
Economic aid - donor | ODA, $271 million (1995) (1995) | - |
Economic aid - recipient | - | $236.2 million (2005) |
Economy - overview | Portugal has become a diversified and increasingly service-based economy since joining the European Community in 1986. Over the past decade, successive governments have privatized many state-controlled firms and liberalized key areas of the economy, including the financial and telecommunications sectors. The country qualified for the European Monetary Union (EMU) in 1998 and began circulating its new currency, the euro, on 1 January 2002 along with 11 other EU member economies. Economic growth has been above the EU average for much of the past decade, but fell back in 2001-02. GDP per capita stands at 75% of that of the leading EU economies. A poor educational system, in particular, has been an obstacle to greater productivity and growth. Portugal has been increasingly overshadowed by lower-cost producers in Central Europe and Asia as a target for foreign direct investment. The new coalition government faces tough choices in its attempts to boost Portugal's economic competitiveness and to keep the budget deficit within the 3% EU ceiling. | Civil war and government mismanagement have destroyed much of Liberia's economy, especially the infrastructure in and around the capital, Monrovia. Many businessmen have fled the country, taking capital and expertise with them. Some have returned, but many will not. Richly endowed with water, mineral resources, forests, and a climate favorable to agriculture, Liberia had been a producer and exporter of basic products - primarily raw timber and rubber. Local manufacturing, mainly foreign owned, had been small in scope. President JOHNSON SIRLEAF, a Harvard-trained economist, has taken steps to reduce corruption, build support from international donors, and encourage private investment. An embargo on timber exports has been lifted, opening a source of revenue for the government, but diamonds remain under UN sanctions. The reconstruction of infrastructure and the raising of incomes in this ravaged economy will largely depend on generous financial support and technical assistance from donor countries. |
Electricity - consumption | 41.146 billion kWh (2000) | 296.9 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | 3.767 billion kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 4.698 billion kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | 43.242 billion kWh (2000) | 319.3 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 70%
hydro: 26% nuclear: 0% other: 4% (2000) |
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Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Ponta do Pico (Pico or Pico Alto) on Ilha do Pico in the Azores 2,351 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Wuteve 1,380 m |
Environment - current issues | soil erosion; air pollution caused by industrial and vehicle emissions; water pollution, especially in coastal areas | tropical rain forest deforestation; soil erosion; loss of biodiversity; pollution of coastal waters from oil residue and raw sewage |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Environmental Modification, Nuclear Test Ban |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation |
Ethnic groups | homogeneous Mediterranean stock; citizens of black African descent who immigrated to mainland during decolonization number less than 100,000; since 1990 East Europeans have entered Portugal | indigenous African 95% (including Kpelle, Bassa, Gio, Kru, Grebo, Mano, Krahn, Gola, Gbandi, Loma, Kissi, Vai, Dei, Bella, Mandingo, and Mende), Americo-Liberians 2.5% (descendants of immigrants from the US who had been slaves), Congo People 2.5% (descendants of immigrants from the Caribbean who had been slaves) |
Exchange rates | euros per US dollar - 1.1324 (January 2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999); Portuguese escudos per US dollar - 180.10 (1998), 175.31 (1997) | Liberian dollars per US dollar - 59.43 (2006), 53.098 (2005), 54.906 (2004), 59.379 (2003), 61.754 (2002) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Jorge SAMPAIO (since 9 March 1996)
head of government: Prime Minister Jose Manuel DURAO Barroso (since 6 April 2002) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister note: there is also a Council of State that acts as a consultative body to the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 14 January 2001 (next to be held NA January 2006); following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or leader of a majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the president election results: Jorge SAMPAIO reelected president; percent of vote - Jorge SAMPAIO (Socialist) 55.8%, Joaquim FERREIRA Do Amaral (Social Democrat) 34.5%, Antonio ABREU (Communist) 5.1% |
chief of state: President Ellen JOHNSON SIRLEAF (since 16 January 2006); note - the President is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Ellen JOHNSON SIRLEAF (since 16 January 2006) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate elections: president elected by popular vote for a six-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 8 November 2005 (next to be held in 2011) election results: Ellen JOHNSON SIRLEAF elected president; percent of vote, second round - Ellen JOHNSON SIRLEAF 59.6%, George WEAH 40.4% |
Exports | $25.9 billion f.o.b. (2001) | 23.31 bbl/day (2004) |
Exports - commodities | clothing and footwear, machinery, chemicals, cork and paper products, hides | rubber, timber, iron, diamonds, cocoa, coffee |
Exports - partners | EU 79.7% (Germany 19.2%, Spain 18.6%, France 12.6%, UK 10.3%, Benelux 5.4%), US 5.8% (2001) | Germany 22.6%, South Africa 15.5%, Poland 15.1%, US 11%, Spain 10.6%, South Korea 4.1% (2006) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | two vertical bands of green (hoist side, two-fifths) and red (three-fifths) with the Portuguese coat of arms centered on the dividing line | 11 equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom) alternating with white; there is a white five-pointed star on a blue square in the upper hoist-side corner; the design was based on the US flag |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $182 billion (2002 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 4%
industry: 29% services: 68% (2001) |
agriculture: 76.9%
industry: 5.4% services: 17.7% (2002 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $18,000 (2002 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 0.8% (2002 est.) | 7.8% (2006 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 39 30 N, 8 00 W | 6 30 N, 9 30 W |
Geography - note | Azores and Madeira Islands occupy strategic locations along western sea approaches to Strait of Gibraltar | facing the Atlantic Ocean, the coastline is characterized by lagoons, mangrove swamps, and river-deposited sandbars; the inland grassy plateau supports limited agriculture |
Highways | total: 68,732 km
paved: 59,110 km (including 797 km of expressways) unpaved: 9,622 km (1999) |
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Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 3%
highest 10%: 28% (1995 est.) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | gateway country for Latin American cocaine and Southwest Asian heroin entering the European market; transshipment point for hashish from North Africa to Europe; consumer of Southwest Asian heroin | transshipment point for Southeast and Southwest Asian heroin and South American cocaine for the European and US markets; corruption, criminal activity, arms-dealing, and diamond trade provide significant potential for money laundering, but the lack of well-developed financial system limits the country's utility as a major money-laundering center |
Imports | $39 billion f.o.b. (2001) | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, petroleum, textiles, agricultural products | fuels, chemicals, machinery, transportation equipment, manufactured goods; foodstuffs |
Imports - partners | EU 74.2% (Spain 26.5%, Germany 13.9%, France 10.3%, Italy 6.7%, UK 5.0%), US 3.8%, Japan 1.9% (2001) | South Korea 43.2%, Singapore 15%, Japan 12.8%, China 8.2% (2006) |
Independence | 1143 (independent republic proclaimed 5 October 1910) | 26 July 1847 |
Industrial production growth rate | 1.5% (2002 est.) | NA% |
Industries | textiles and footwear; wood pulp, paper, and cork; metalworking; oil refining; chemicals; fish canning; wine; tourism | rubber processing, palm oil processing, timber, diamonds |
Infant mortality rate | 5.84 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: 149.73 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 165.65 deaths/1,000 live births female: 133.34 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3.7% (2002 est.) | 15% (2003 est.) |
International organization participation | AfDB, Australia Group, BIS, CCC, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, ECLAC, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAIA (observer), MINURSO, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOP, UNTAET, UPU, WCL, WEU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC | ACP, AfDB, AU, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ITU, ITUC, NAM, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 16 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 6,320 sq km (1998 est.) | 30 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Supremo Tribunal de Justica (judges appointed for life by the Conselho Superior da Magistratura) | Supreme Court |
Labor force | 5.1 million (2000) | - |
Labor force - by occupation | services 60%, industry 30%, agriculture 10% (1999 est.) | agriculture: 70%
industry: 8% services: 22% (2000 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: 1,214 km
border countries: Spain 1,214 km |
total: 1,585 km
border countries: Guinea 563 km, Cote d'Ivoire 716 km, Sierra Leone 306 km |
Land use | arable land: 20.57%
permanent crops: 7.74% other: 71.69% (1999 est.) |
arable land: 3.43%
permanent crops: 1.98% other: 94.59% (2005) |
Languages | Portuguese | English 20% (official), some 20 ethnic group languages, of which a few can be written and are used in correspondence |
Legal system | civil law system; the Constitutional Tribunal reviews the constitutionality of legislation; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations | dual system of statutory law based on Anglo-American common law for the modern sector and customary law based on unwritten tribal practices for indigenous sector; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations |
Legislative branch | unicameral Assembly of the Republic or Assembleia da Republica (230 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 17 March 2002 (next to be held NA 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - PSD 40.1%, PS 37.8%, PP 8.7%, PCP/PEV 6.9%, The Left Bloc 2.7%; seats by party - PSD 105, PS 96, PP 14, PCP/PEV 12, The Left Bloc 3 |
bicameral National Assembly consists of the Senate (30 seats; note - number of seats changed in 11 October 2005 elections; members elected by popular vote to serve nine-year terms) and the House of Representatives (64 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 11 October 2005 (next to be held in 2011); House of Representatives - last held 11 October 2005 (next to be held in 2011) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - COTOL 7, NPP 4, CDC 3, LP 3, UP 3, APD 3, other 7; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - CDC 15, LP 9, COTOL 8, UP 8, APD 5, NPP 4, other 15 note: junior senators - those who received the second most votes in each county in the 11 October 2005 election - will only serve a six-year first term because the Liberian constitution mandates staggered Senate elections to ensure continuity of government; all senators will be eligible for nine-year terms thereafter |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 76.14 years
male: 72.65 years female: 79.87 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 40.39 years
male: 38.93 years female: 41.89 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 87.4% male: NA% female: NA% |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 57.5% male: 73.3% female: 41.6% (2003 est.) |
Location | Southwestern Europe, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, west of Spain | Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Cote d'Ivoire and Sierra Leone |
Map references | Europe | Africa |
Maritime claims | contiguous zone: 24 NM
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | total: 140 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,001,440 GRT/1,519,701 DWT
ships by type: bulk 10, cargo 71, chemical tanker 17, container 10, liquefied gas 8, multi-functional large-load carrier 1, petroleum tanker 10, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 6, short-sea passenger 4, vehicle carrier 2 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Belgium 1, British Virgin Islands 1, Cyprus 1, Denmark 6, Germany 20, Greece 1, Iceland 1, Italy 16, Lebanon 1, Liberia 1, Monaco 2, Norway 5, Panama 5, Spain 22, Switzerland 8, United Kingdom 1, Virgin Islands (UK) 1 (2002 est.) |
total: 1,948 ships (1000 GRT or over) 71,387,243 GRT/109,450,945 DWT
by type: barge carrier 3, bulk carrier 338, cargo 91, chemical tanker 211, combination ore/oil 9, container 614, liquefied gas 81, passenger 2, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 455, refrigerated cargo 91, roll on/roll off 6, specialized tanker 11, vehicle carrier 35 foreign-owned: 1,904 (Argentina 3, Australia 2, Belgium 1, Brazil 3, Canada 3, China 32, Croatia 5, Cyprus 5, Denmark 12, Estonia 1, France 5, Germany 728, Gibraltar 7, Greece 311, Hong Kong 21, India 2, Indonesia 1, Israel 9, Italy 31, Japan 111, South Korea 4, Kuwait 1, Latvia 15, Lebanon 2, Mexico 1, Monaco 8, Netherlands 28, Norway 42, Poland 14, Qatar 2, Russia 87, Saudi Arabia 24, Singapore 42, Slovenia 1, Sweden 11, Switzerland 11, Taiwan 82, Turkey 7, Ukraine 24, UAE 22, UK 74, US 103, Uruguay 3, Vietnam 3) (2007) |
Military branches | Army, Navy (PON) (includes Marines), Air Force, Republican Guard (includes Fiscal Guard) | Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL): Army, Navy, Air Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $1.286 billion (FY99/00) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.2% (FY99/00) | 1.3% (2006 est.) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 2,525,848 (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 2,024,526 (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - military age | 20 years of age (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 71,404 (2002 est.) | - |
National holiday | Portugal Day, 10 June (1580) | Independence Day, 26 July (1847) |
Nationality | noun: Portuguese (singular and plural)
adjective: Portuguese |
noun: Liberian(s)
adjective: Liberian |
Natural hazards | Azores subject to severe earthquakes | dust-laden harmattan winds blow from the Sahara (December to March) |
Natural resources | fish, forests (cork), tungsten, iron ore, uranium ore, marble, arable land, hydropower | iron ore, timber, diamonds, gold, hydropower |
Net migration rate | 0.5 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 26.86 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil 22 km; petroleum products 58 km; natural gas 700 km
note: the secondary lines for the natural gas pipeline that will be 300 km long have not yet been built |
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Political parties and leaders | The Greens or PEV [no leader]; Popular Party or PP [Paulo PORTAS]; Portuguese Communist Party/The Greens or PCP/PEV [Carlos CARVALHAS]; Portuguese Socialist Party or PS [Eduardo Ferro RODRIGUES]; Social Democratic Party or PSD [Jose Manuel DURAO Barroso]; United Democratic Coalition or CDU [leader NA]; The Left Bloc [no leader] | Alliance for Peace and Democracy or APD [Togba-na TIPOTEH]; Coalition for the Transformation of Liberia or COTOL; Congress for Democratic Change or CDC [George WEAH]; Liberian Action Party or LAP [H. Varney SHERMAN]; Liberty Party or LP [Charles BRUMSKINE]; National Patriotic Party or NPP [Cyril ALLEN]; Unity Party or UP [Charles CLARKE] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Demobilized former military officers |
Population | 10,084,245 (July 2002 est.) | 3,195,931 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 80% (2000 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.18% (2002 est.) | 4.836% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Aveiro, Funchal (Madeira Islands), Horta (Azores), Leixoes, Lisbon, Porto, Ponta Delgada (Azores), Praia da Vitoria (Azores), Setubal, Viana do Castelo | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 47, FM 172 (many are repeaters), shortwave 2 (1998) | AM 0, FM 7, shortwave 2 (2001) |
Radios | 3.02 million (1997) | - |
Railways | total: 2,850 km
broad gauge: 2,576 km 1.668-m gauge (623 km electrified; 426 km double-tracked) narrow gauge: 274 km 1.000-m gauge (2001) |
total: 490 km
standard gauge: 345 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 145 km 1.067-m gauge note: railway is inoperable because of damage suffered during the civil war (2006) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 94%, Protestant (1995) | Christian 40%, Muslim 20%, indigenous beliefs 40% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female total population: 0.93 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.004 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.981 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.949 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: undergoing rapid development in recent years, Portugal's telephone system, by the end of 1998, achieved a state-of-the-art network with broadband, high-speed capabilities and a main line telephone density of 53%
domestic: integrated network of coaxial cables, open wire, microwave radio relay, and domestic satellite earth stations international: 6 submarine cables; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (2 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean), NA Eutelsat; tropospheric scatter to Azores; note - an earth station for Inmarsat (Atlantic Ocean region) is planned |
general assessment: the limited services available are found almost exclusively in the capital Monrovia; coverage extended to a number of other towns and rural areas by four mobile-cellular network operators
domestic: combined fixed and mobile-cellular teledensity only about 5 per 100 persons international: country code - 231; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 5.3 million (yearend 1998) | 6,900 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 3,074,194 (1999) | 160,000 (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | 62 (plus 166 repeaters)
note: includes Azores and Madeira Islands (1995) |
1 (plus 4 repeaters) (2001) |
Terrain | mountainous north of the Tagus River, rolling plains in south | mostly flat to rolling coastal plains rising to rolling plateau and low mountains in northeast |
Total fertility rate | 1.48 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 5.94 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 4.7% (2002 est.) | 85% (2003 est.) |
Waterways | 820 km
note: relatively unimportant to national economy, used by shallow-draft craft limited to 300 metric-ton or less cargo capacity |
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