Puerto Rico (2001) | Colombia (2007) | |
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Administrative divisions | none (commonwealth associated with the US); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 78 municipalities (municipios, singular - municipio) at the second order; Adjuntas, Aguada, Aguadilla, Aguas Buenas, Aibonito, Anasco, Arecibo, Arroyo, Barceloneta, Barranquitas, Bayamon, Cabo Rojo, Caguas, Camuy, Canovanas, Carolina, Catano, Cayey, Ceiba, Ciales, Cidra, Coamo, Comerio, Corozal, Culebra, Dorado, Fajardo, Florida, Guanica, Guayama, Guayanilla, Guaynabo, Gurabo, Hatillo, Hormigueros, Humacao, Isabela, Jayuya, Juana Diaz, Juncos, Lajas, Lares, Las Marias, Las Piedras, Loiza, Luquillo, Manati, Maricao, Maunabo, Mayaguez, Moca, Morovis, Naguabo, Naranjito, Orocovis, Patillas, Penuelas, Ponce, Quebradillas, Rincon, Rio Grande, Sabana Grande, Salinas, San German, San Juan, San Lorenzo, San Sebastian, Santa Isabel, Toa Alta, Toa Baja, Trujillo Alto, Utuado, Vega Alta, Vega Baja, Vieques, Villalba, Yabucoa, Yauco | 32 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento) and 1 capital district* (distrito capital); Amazonas, Antioquia, Arauca, Atlantico, 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:
23.73% (male 478,441; female 455,800) 15-64 years: 65.72% (male 1,242,245; female 1,345,421) 65 years and over: 10.55% (male 177,083; female 238,326) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 29.8% (male 6,696,471/female 6,539,612)
15-64 years: 64.8% (male 14,012,140/female 14,732,874) 65 years and over: 5.4% (male 1,042,645/female 1,355,856) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | sugarcane, coffee, pineapples, plantains, bananas; livestock products, chickens | coffee, cut flowers, bananas, rice, tobacco, corn, sugarcane, cocoa beans, oilseed, vegetables; forest products; shrimp |
Airports | 28 (2000 est.) | 934 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
19 over 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 6 (2000 est.) |
total: 103
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 8 1,524 to 2,437 m: 39 914 to 1,523 m: 42 under 914 m: 12 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
9 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 7 (2000 est.) |
total: 831
over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 34 914 to 1,523 m: 216 under 914 m: 580 (2007) |
Area | total:
9,104 sq km land: 8,959 sq km water: 145 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, and Serrana Bank |
Area - comparative | slightly less than three times the size of Rhode Island | slightly less than twice the size of Texas |
Background | Discovered by Columbus in 1493, the island was ceded by Spain to the US in 1898 following the Spanish-American War. A popularly elected governor has served since 1948. In plebiscites held in 1967 and 1993, voters chose to retain commonwealth status. | Colombia was one of the three countries that emerged from the collapse of Gran Colombia in 1830 (the others are Ecuador and Venezuela). A 40-year conflict between government forces and anti-government insurgent groups and illegal paramilitary groups - both heavily funded by the drug trade - escalated during the 1990s. The insurgents lack the military or popular support necessary to overthrow the government, and violence has been decreasing since about 2002, but insurgents continue attacks against civilians and large swaths of the countryside are under guerrilla influence. More than 32,000 former paramilitaries had demobilized by the end of 2006 and the United Self Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC) as a formal organization had largely ceased to function. Still, some renegades continued to engage in criminal activities. The Colombian Government has stepped up efforts to reassert government control throughout the country, and now has a presence in every one of its municipalities. However, neighboring countries worry about the violence spilling over their borders. |
Birth rate | 15.26 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 20.16 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$6.7 billion expenditures: $9.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY99/00) |
revenues: $49.09 billion
expenditures: $49.75 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2006 est.) |
Capital | San Juan | name: Bogota
geographic coordinates: 4 36 N, 74 05 W time difference: UTC-5 (same time as Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | tropical marine, mild; little seasonal temperature variation | tropical along coast and eastern plains; cooler in highlands |
Coastline | 501 km | 3,208 km (Caribbean Sea 1,760 km, North Pacific Ocean 1,448 km) |
Constitution | ratified 3 March 1952; approved by US Congress 3 July 1952; effective 25 July 1952 | 5 July 1991; amended many times |
Country name | conventional long form:
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico conventional short form: Puerto Rico |
conventional long form: Republic of Colombia
conventional short form: Colombia local long form: Republica de Colombia local short form: Colombia |
Currency | US dollar (USD) | - |
Death rate | 7.77 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 5.54 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | $38.47 billion (2006 est.) |
Dependency status | commonwealth associated with the US | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (commonwealth associated with the US) | chief of mission: Ambassador William B. WOOD
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 | none (commonwealth associated with the US) | chief of mission: Ambassador Carolina BARCO Isakson
chancery: 2118 Leroy Place NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 387-8338 FAX: [1] (202) 232-8643 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco, San Juan (Puerto Rico), Washington, DC |
Disputes - international | none | memorials and countermemorials were filed by the parties in Nicaragua's 1999 and 2001 proceedings against Honduras and Colombia at the ICJ over the maritime boundary and territorial claims in the western Caribbean Sea - final public hearings are scheduled for 2007; dispute with Venezuela over maritime boundary and Venezuelan-administered Los Monjes Islands near the Gulf of Venezuela; Colombian-organized illegal narcotics, guerrilla, and paramilitary activities penetrate all of its neighbors' borders and have caused over 300,000 persons to flee the country, mostly into neighboring states |
Economic aid - recipient | $NA | $NA (2005) |
Economy - overview | Puerto Rico has one of the most dynamic economies in the Caribbean region. A diverse industrial sector has surpassed agriculture as the primary locus of economic activity and income. Encouraged by duty-free access to the US and by tax incentives, US firms have invested heavily in Puerto Rico since the 1950s. US minimum wage laws apply. Sugar production has lost out to dairy production and other livestock products as the main source of income in the agricultural sector. Tourism has traditionally been an important source of income, with estimated arrivals of nearly 5 million tourists in 1999. Prospects for 2001 are clouded by a probable slowing down in both the construction and tourist sectors and by increasing inflation, particularly in energy and food prices; estimated growth will be 2%. | Colombia's economy has experienced positive growth over the past three years despite a serious armed conflict. The economy continues to improve in part because of austere government budgets, focused efforts to reduce public debt levels, an export-oriented growth strategy, an improved security situation in the country, and high commodity prices. Ongoing economic problems facing President URIBE range from reforming the pension system to reducing high unemployment, and to achieving congressional passage of a fiscal transfers reform; furthermore, new exploration is needed to offset declining oil production. However, the government's economic policy, democratic security strategy, and the signing of a free trade agreement with the US have engendered a growing sense of confidence in the economy, particularly within the business sector. |
Electricity - consumption | 15.587 billion kWh (1999) | 38.91 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 1.758 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 16 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | 16.76 billion kWh (1999) | 50.47 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
98.45% hydro: 1.55% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Cerro de Punta 1,338 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 | erosion; occasional drought causing water shortages | deforestation; soil and water quality damage from overuse of pesticides; air pollution, especially in Bogota, from vehicle emissions |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to: Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
Ethnic groups | white (mostly Spanish origin) 80.5%, black 8%, Amerindian 0.4%, Asian 0.2%, mixed and other 10.9% | mestizo 58%, white 20%, mulatto 14%, black 4%, mixed black-Amerindian 3%, Amerindian 1% |
Exchange rates | the US dollar is used | Colombian pesos per US dollar - 2,358.6 (2006), 2,320.75 (2005), 2,628.61 (2004), 2,877.65 (2003), 2,504.24 (2002) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
President George W. BUSH of the US (since 20 January 2001); Vice President Richard B. CHENEY (since 20 January 2001) head of government: Governor Sila M. CALDERON (since NA January 2001) cabinet: appointed by the governor with the consent of the legislature elections: US president and vice president elected on the same ticket for four-year terms; governor elected by popular vote for a four-year term; election last held 7 November 2000 (next to be held NA November 2004) election results: Sila M. CALDERON (PDP) elected governor; percent of vote - 48.8% |
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) cabinet: Cabinet consists of a coalition of the three largest parties that supported President URIBE's reelection - the PSUN, PC, and CR - and independents elections: president and vice president elected by popular vote for a four-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 28 May 2006 (next to be held in May 2010) election results: President Alvaro URIBE Velez reelected president; percent of vote - Alvaro URIBE Velez 62%, Carlos GAVIRIA Diaz 22%, Horacio SERPA Uribe 12%, other 4% |
Exports | $38.5 billion (f.o.b., 2000) | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | pharmaceuticals, electronics, apparel, canned tuna, rum, beverage concentrates, medical equipment | petroleum, coffee, coal, nickel, emeralds, apparel, bananas, cut flowers |
Exports - partners | US 88% (2000) | US 35.7%, Venezuela 11.4%, Ecuador 5.4% (2006) |
Fiscal year | 1 July - 30 June | calendar year |
Flag description | five equal horizontal bands of red (top and bottom) alternating with white; a blue isosceles triangle based on the hoist side bears a large, white, five-pointed star in the center; design influenced by the US flag, but based on the Cuban flag | 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 - $39 billion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
1% industry: 45% services: 54% (1999 est.) |
agriculture: 12%
industry: 35.6% services: 52.4% (2006 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $10,000 (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 2.8% (2000 est.) | 6.8% (2006 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 18 15 N, 66 30 W | 4 00 N, 72 00 W |
Geography - note | important location along the Mona Passage - a key shipping lane to the Panama Canal; San Juan is one of the biggest and best natural harbors in the Caribbean; many small rivers and high central mountains ensure land is well watered; south coast relatively dry; fertile coastal plain belt in north | only South American country with coastlines on both the North Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea |
Heliports | - | 2 (2007) |
Highways | total:
14,400 km paved: 14,400 km unpaved: 0 km (1996) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 7.9%
highest 10%: 34.3% (2004) |
Illicit drugs | - | illicit producer of coca, opium poppy, and cannabis; world's leading coca cultivator with 144,000 hectares in coca cultivation in 2005, a 26% increase over 2004, producing a potential of 545 mt of pure cocaine; the world's largest producer of coca derivatives; supplies cocaine to most of the US market and the great majority of other international drug markets; in 2005, aerial eradication dispensed herbicide to treat over 130,000 hectares but aggressive replanting on the part of coca growers means Colombia remains a key producer; a significant portion of non-US narcotics proceeds are either laundered or invested in Colombia through the black market peso exchange; important supplier of heroin to the US market; opium poppy cultivation fell 50% between 2003 and 2004 to 2,100 hectares yielding a potential 3.8 metric tons of pure heroin, mostly for the US market; no poppy estimate was conducted in 2005 |
Imports | $27 billion (c.i.f., 2000) | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | chemicals, machinery and equipment, clothing, food, fish, petroleum products | industrial equipment, transportation equipment, consumer goods, chemicals, paper products, fuels, electricity |
Imports - partners | US 60% (2000) | US 26.9%, Brazil 8.6%, Mexico 8.5%, China 6%, Venezuela 5.6%, Japan 4.1% (2006) |
Independence | none (commonwealth associated with the US) | 20 July 1810 (from Spain) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 5.8% (2006 est.) |
Industries | pharmaceuticals, electronics, apparel, food products; tourism | textiles, food processing, oil, clothing and footwear, beverages, chemicals, cement; gold, coal, emeralds |
Infant mortality rate | 9.51 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 20.13 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 23.86 deaths/1,000 live births female: 16.28 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 5.7% (2000 est.) | 4.3% (2006 est.) |
International organization participation | Caricom (observer), ECLAC (associate), FAO (associate), ICFTU, Interpol (subbureau), IOC, WCL, WFTU, WHO (associate) | BCIE, CAN, Caricom (observer), CDB, CSN, FAO, G-3, G-15, G-24, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAES, LAIA, Mercosur (associate), MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 76 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 390 sq km (1993 est.) | 9,000 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Superior Courts; Municipal Courts (justices for all these courts appointed by the governor with the consent of the Senate) | four roughly coequal, supreme judicial organs; Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia (highest court of criminal law; judges are selected by their peers from the nominees of the Superior Judicial Council for eight-year terms); Council of State (highest court of administrative law; judges are selected from the nominees of the Superior Judicial Council 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); Superior Judicial Council (administers and disciplines the civilian judiciary; resolves jurisdictional conflicts arising between other courts; members are elected by three sister courts and Congress for eight-year terms) |
Labor force | 1.3 million (2000) | 20.34 million (2006 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 3%, industry 20%, services 77% (2000 est.) | agriculture: 22.7%
industry: 18.7% services: 58.5% (2000 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 6,309 km
border countries: Brazil 1,644 km, Ecuador 590 km, Panama 225 km, Peru 1,800 km, Venezuela 2,050 km |
Land use | arable land:
4% permanent crops: 5% permanent pastures: 26% forests and woodland: 16% other: 49% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 2.01%
permanent crops: 1.37% other: 96.62% (2005) |
Languages | Spanish, English | Spanish |
Legal system | based on Spanish civil code | based on Spanish law; a new criminal code modeled after US procedures was enacted into law in 2004 and is gradually being implemented; judicial review of executive and legislative acts |
Legislative branch | bicameral Legislative Assembly consists of the Senate (28 seats; members are directly elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) and the House of Representatives (54 seats; members are directly elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 7 November 2000 (next to be held NA November 2004); House of Representatives - last held 7 November 2000 (next to be held NA November 2004) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PNP 19, PPD 7, PIP 1, other 1; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PNP 30, PPD 20, PIP 1, other 3 note: Puerto Rico elects one nonvoting representative to the US House of Representatives; elections last held 7 November 2000 (next to be held NA November 2004); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PPD 1 (Anibal ACEVEDO-VILA) |
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 12 March 2006 (next to be held in March 2010); House of Representatives - last held 12 March 2006 (next to be held in March 2010) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PSUN 20, PC 18, PL 18, CR 15, PDI 10, other parties 21; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PL 35, PSUN 33, PC 29, CR 20, PDA 8, other parties 41 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
75.76 years male: 71.28 years female: 80.48 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 72.27 years
male: 68.44 years female: 76.24 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 89% male: 90% female: 88% (1980 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 92.8% male: 92.9% female: 92.7% (2004 est.) |
Location | Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of the Dominican Republic | Northern South America, bordering the Caribbean Sea, between Panama and Venezuela, and bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between Ecuador and Panama |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | South America |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
Merchant marine | - | total: 15 ships (1000 GRT or over) 35,949 GRT/49,161 DWT
by type: cargo 11, liquefied gas 1, petroleum tanker 3 registered in other countries: 5 (Antigua and Barbuda 1, Panama 4) (2007) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the US | - |
Military branches | paramilitary National Guard, Police Force | National Army (Ejercito Nacional), National Navy (Armada Nacional, includes Naval Aviation, Naval Infantry (Infanteria de Marina, Colmar), and Coast Guard), Colombian Air Force (Fuerza Aerea de Colombia, FAC) (2007) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 3.4% (2005 est.) |
National holiday | US Independence Day, 4 July (1776) | Independence Day, 20 July (1810) |
Nationality | noun:
Puerto Rican(s) (US citizens) adjective: Puerto Rican |
noun: Colombian(s)
adjective: Colombian |
Natural hazards | periodic droughts; hurricanes | highlands subject to volcanic eruptions; occasional earthquakes; periodic droughts |
Natural resources | some copper and nickel; potential for onshore and offshore oil | petroleum, natural gas, coal, iron ore, nickel, gold, copper, emeralds, hydropower |
Net migration rate | -2.13 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -0.29 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Pipelines | - | gas 4,360 km; oil 6,140 km; refined products 3,158 km (2006) |
Political parties and leaders | National Democratic Party [Celeste BENITEZ]; National Republican Party of Puerto Rico [Luis FERRE]; New Progressive Party or PNP [Pedro ROSSELLO]; Popular Democratic Party or PPD [Hector Luis ACEVEDO]; Puerto Rican Independence Party or PIP [Ruben BERRIOS Martinez] | Colombian Conservative Party or PC [Julio MANZUR Abdala]; Alternative Democratic Pole or PDA [Carlos GAVIRIA Diaz]; Liberal Party or PL [Cesar GAVIRIA Trujillo]; Radical Change or CR [German VARGAS Lleras]; Social National Unity Party or U Party [Carlos GARCIA Orjuela]
note: Colombia has 15 formally recognized political parties, and numerous unofficial parties that did not meet the vote threshold in the March 2006 legislative elections required for recognition |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Armed Forces for National Liberation or FALN; Armed Forces of Popular Resistance; Boricua Popular Army (also known as the Macheteros); Volunteers of the Puerto Rican Revolution | two largest insurgent groups active in Colombia - Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia or FARC and National Liberation Army or ELN |
Population | 3,937,316 (July 2001 est.) | 44,379,598 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 49.2% (2005) |
Population growth rate | 0.54% (2001 est.) | 1.433% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Guanica, Guayanilla, Guayama, Playa de Ponce, San Juan | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 72, FM 17, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 454, FM 34, shortwave 27 (1999) |
Radios | 2.7 million (1997) | - |
Railways | total:
96 km narrow gauge: 96 km 1.000-m gauge, rural, narrow-gauge system for hauling sugarcane; no passenger service |
total: 3,304 km
standard gauge: 150 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 3,154 km 0.914-m gauge (2006) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 85%, Protestant and other 15% | Roman Catholic 90%, other 10% |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.74 male(s)/female total population: 0.93 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.024 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.951 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.769 male(s)/female total population: 0.961 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal; indigenous inhabitants are US citizens but do not vote in US presidential elections | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
modern system, integrated with that of the US by high-capacity submarine cable and Intelsat with high-speed data capability domestic: digital telephone system; cellular telephone service international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat; submarine cable to US |
general assessment: modern system in many respects; telecommunications sector liberalized during the 1990s; multiple providers of both fixed-line and mobile-cellular services; fixed-line connections stand at about 18 per 100 persons; mobile cellular usage is approaching 70 per 100 persons
domestic: nationwide microwave radio relay system; domestic satellite system with 41 earth stations; fiber-optic network linking 50 cities international: country code - 57; submarine cables provide links to the US, parts of the Caribbean, and Central and South America; satellite earth stations - 6 Intelsat, 1 Inmarsat; 3 fully digitalized international switching centers (2007) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 1.322 million (1997) | 7.865 million (2006) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 169,265 (1996) | 29.763 million (2006) |
Television broadcast stations | 18 (plus three stations of the US Armed Forces Radio and Television Service) (1997) | 60 (1997) |
Terrain | mostly mountains, with coastal plain belt in north; mountains precipitous to sea on west coast; sandy beaches along most coastal areas | flat coastal lowlands, central highlands, high Andes Mountains, eastern lowland plains |
Total fertility rate | 1.9 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 2.51 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 9.5% (2000) | 11.1% (2006 est.) |
Waterways | none | 18,000 km (2006) |