Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (2002) | Sri Lanka (2001) | |
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Administrative divisions | 6 parishes; Charlotte, Grenadines, Saint Andrew, Saint David, Saint George, Saint Patrick | 8 provinces; Central, North Central, North Eastern, North Western, Sabaragamuwa, Southern, Uva, Western; note - North Eastern province may have been divided in two - Northern and Eastern |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 28.9% (male 17,093; female 16,497)
15-64 years: 64.8% (male 38,718; female 36,689) 65 years and over: 6.3% (male 3,188; female 4,209) (2002 est.) |
0-14 years:
25.99% (male 2,578,618; female 2,464,928) 15-64 years: 67.39% (male 6,369,881; female 6,708,852) 65 years and over: 6.62% (male 615,253; female 671,103) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | bananas, coconuts, sweet potatoes, spices; small numbers of cattle, sheep, pigs, goats; fish | rice, sugarcane, grains, pulses, oilseed, spices, tea, rubber, coconuts; milk, eggs, hides, beef |
Airports | 6 (2001) | 14 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 5
914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 2 (2002) |
total:
12 over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 6 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
total:
2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 389 sq km (Saint Vincent 344 sq km)
land: 389 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total:
65,610 sq km land: 64,740 sq km water: 870 sq km |
Area - comparative | twice the size of Washington, DC | slightly larger than West Virginia |
Background | Disputed between France and the United Kingdom in the 18th century, Saint Vincent was ceded to the latter in 1783. Autonomy was granted in 1969, and independence in 1979. | Occupied by the Portuguese in the 16th century and the Dutch in the 17th century, the island was ceded to the British in 1802. As Ceylon it became independent in 1948; its name was changed in 1972. Tensions between the Sinhalese majority and Tamil separatists erupted in violence in the mid-1980s. Tens of thousands have died in an ethnic war that continues to fester. |
Birth rate | 17.54 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 16.58 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $94.6 million
expenditures: $85.8 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) (2000 est.) |
revenues:
$3 billion expenditures: $3 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
Capital | Kingstown | Colombo; note - Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte is the legislative capital |
Climate | tropical; little seasonal temperature variation; rainy season (May to November) | tropical monsoon; northeast monsoon (December to March); southwest monsoon (June to October) |
Coastline | 84 km | 1,340 km |
Constitution | 27 October 1979 | adopted 16 August 1978 |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Saint Vincent and the Grenadines |
conventional long form:
Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka conventional short form: Sri Lanka former: Serendib, Ceylon |
Currency | East Caribbean dollar (XCD) | Sri Lankan rupee (LKR) |
Death rate | 6.12 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 6.43 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $167.2 million (2000) (2000) | $9.9 billion (2000) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | the US does not have an embassy in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; the US Ambassador in Barbados is accredited to Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | chief of mission:
Ambassador E. Ashley WILLS embassy: 210 Galle Road, Colombo 3 mailing address: P. O. Box 106, Colombo telephone: [94] (1) 448007 FAX: [94] (1) 437345 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Ellsworth I. A. JOHN
chancery: 3216 New Mexico Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20016 telephone: [1] (202) 364-6730 FAX: [1] (202) 364-6736 consulate(s) general: New York |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Warnasena RASAPUTRAM chancery: 2148 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 483-4025 (through 4028) FAX: [1] (202) 232-7181 consulate(s) general: Los Angeles consulate(s): New York |
Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $47.5 million (1995); note - EU $34.5 million (1998) (1995) | $577 million (1998) |
Economy - overview | Bananas and other agricultural products remain the staple of this lower-middle income country's economy. Although tourism and other services have been growing moderately in recent years, the government has been ineffective at introducing new industries. Unemployment remains high, and economic growth hinges upon seasonal variations in the agricultural and tourism sectors. Tropical storms wiped out substantial portions of crops in 1994 and 1995, and tourism in the Eastern Caribbean has suffered low arrivals following September 11. St. Vincent is home to a small offshore banking sector, but its restrictive secrecy laws have come under international review. As of June 2001, it remained on the Financial Action Task Force's list of noncooperative jurisdictions. | In 1977, Colombo abandoned statist economic policies and its import substitution trade policy for market-oriented policies and export-oriented trade. Sri Lanka's most dynamic sectors now are food processing, textiles and apparel, food and beverages, telecommunications, and insurance and banking. By 1996 plantation crops made up only 20% of exports (compared with 93% in 1970), while textiles and garments accounted for 63%. GDP grew at an annual average rate of 5.5% throughout the 1990s until a drought and a deteriorating security situation lowered growth to 3.8% in 1996. The economy rebounded in 1997-98 with growth of 6.4% and 4.7% - but slowed to 4.3% in 1999. Growth increased to 5.6% in 2000, with growth in tourism and exports leading the way. But a resurgence of civil war between the Sinhalese and the minority Tamils and a possible slowdown in tourism dampen prospects for 2001. For the next round of reforms, the central bank of Sri Lanka recommends that Colombo expand market mechanisms in nonplantation agriculture, dismantle the government's monopoly on wheat imports, and promote more competition in the financial sector. |
Electricity - consumption | 76.3 million kWh (1999) | 5.604 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 82 million kWh (1999) | 6.026 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 73%
hydro: 27% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
fossil fuel:
29.9% hydro: 70.1% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Soufriere 1,234 m |
lowest point:
Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: Pidurutalagala 2,524 m |
Environment - current issues | pollution of coastal waters and shorelines from discharges by pleasure yachts and other effluents; in some areas, pollution is severe enough to make swimming prohibitive | deforestation; soil erosion; wildlife populations threatened by poaching and urbanization; coastal degradation from mining activities and increased pollution; freshwater resources being polluted by industrial wastes and sewage runoff; waste disposal; air pollution in Colombo |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Marine Life Conservation |
Ethnic groups | black 66%, mixed 19%, East Indian 6%, Carib Amerindian 2%, other 7% | Sinhalese 74%, Tamil 18%, Moor 7%, Burgher, Malay, and Vedda 1% |
Exchange rates | East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7000 (fixed rate since 1976) | Sri Lankan rupees per US dollar - 83.506 (January 2001), 77.005 (2000), 70.635 (1999), 64.450 (1998), 58.995 (1997), 55.271 (1996) |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Sir Fredrick Nathaniel BALLANTYNE (since 2 September 2002)
head of government: Prime Minister Ralph E. GONSALVES (since 29 March 2001) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; the governor general is appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party is usually appointed prime minister by the governor general; deputy prime minister appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister |
chief of state:
President Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA (since 12 November 1994); note - Ratnasiri WICKRAMANAYAKE (since 10 August 2000) is the prime minister; in Sri Lanka the president is considered to be both the chief of state and the head of the government, this is in contrast to the more common practice of dividing the roles between the president and the prime minister when both offices exist head of government: President Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA (since 12 November 1994); note - Ratnasiri WICKRAMANAYAKE (since 10 August 2000) is the prime minister; in Sri Lanka the president is considered to be both the chief of state and the head of the government, this is in contrast to the more common practice of dividing the roles between the president and the prime minister when both offices exist cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president in consultation with the prime minister elections: president elected by popular vote for a six-year term; election last held 21 December 1999 (next to be held NA December 2005) election results: Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA reelected president; percent of vote - Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA (PA) 51%, Ranil WICKREMASINGHE (UNP) 42%, other 7% |
Exports | $53.7 million (2000 est.) | $5.2 billion (f.o.b., 2000) |
Exports - commodities | bananas 39%, eddoes and dasheen (taro), arrowroot starch, tennis racquets | textiles and apparel, tea, diamonds, coconut products, petroleum products |
Exports - partners | Caricom countries 49%, UK 16%, US 10% (1995) | US 39%, UK 13%, Middle East 8%, Germany 5%, Japan 4% (1999) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | three vertical bands of blue (hoist side), gold (double width), and green; the gold band bears three green diamonds arranged in a V pattern | yellow with two panels; the smaller hoist-side panel has two equal vertical bands of green (hoist side) and orange; the other panel is a large dark red rectangle with a yellow lion holding a sword, and there is a yellow bo leaf in each corner; the yellow field appears as a border that goes around the entire flag and extends between the two panels |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $339 million (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $62.7 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 10%
industry: 26% services: 64% (2001 est.) |
agriculture:
21% industry: 19% services: 60% (1998) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $2,900 (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $3,250 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | -0.8% (2001 est.) | 5.6% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 13 15 N, 61 12 W | 7 00 N, 81 00 E |
Geography - note | the administration of the islands of the Grenadines group is divided between Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada; Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is comprised of 32 islands and cays | strategic location near major Indian Ocean sea lanes |
Highways | total: 1,040 km
paved: 320 km unpaved: 720 km (1996) |
total:
11,285 km paved: 10,721 km unpaved: 564 km (1998 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%:
1.8% highest 10%: 39.7% (1995-96 est.) |
Illicit drugs | transshipment point for South American drugs destined for the US and Europe; small-scale cannabis cultivation | - |
Imports | $185.6 million (2000 est.) | $6.1 billion (f.o.b., 2000) |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, chemicals and fertilizers, minerals and fuels | machinery and equipment, textiles, petroleum, foodstuffs |
Imports - partners | US 36%, Caricom countries 28%, UK 13% (1995) | Japan 10%, India 9%, Hong Kong 8%, Singapore 8%, South Korea 6% (1999) |
Independence | 27 October 1979 (from UK) | 4 February 1948 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | -0.9% (1997 est.) | 4% (1999) |
Industries | food processing, cement, furniture, clothing, starch | processing of rubber, tea, coconuts, and other agricultural commodities; clothing, cement, petroleum refining, textiles, tobacco |
Infant mortality rate | 16.15 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | 16.08 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | -0.4% (2001 est.) | 8.5% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ITU, OAS, OECS, OPANAL, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WTrO | AsDB, C, CCC, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NAM, OAS (observer), OPCW, PCA, SAARC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNTAET, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 15 (2000) | 5 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 10 sq km (1998 est.) | 5,500 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (based on Saint Lucia; one judge of the Supreme Court resides in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines) | Supreme Court; Court of Appeals; judges for both courts are appointed by the president |
Labor force | 67,000 (1984 est.) | 6.6 million (1998) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 26%, industry 17%, services 57% (1980 est.) | services 45%, agriculture 38%, industry 17% (1998 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | 0 km |
Land use | arable land: 10.26%
permanent crops: 17.95% other: 71.79% (1998 est.) |
arable land:
14% permanent crops: 15% permanent pastures: 7% forests and woodland: 32% other: 32% (1993 est.) |
Languages | English, French patois | Sinhala (official and national language) 74%, Tamil (national language) 18%, other 8%
note: English is commonly used in government and is spoken competently by about 10% of the population |
Legal system | based on English common law | a highly complex mixture of English common law, Roman-Dutch, Muslim, Sinhalese, and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | unicameral House of Assembly (21 seats, 15 elected representatives and 6 appointed senators; representatives are elected by popular vote from single-member constituencies to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 28 March 2001 (next to be held by March 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - ULP 12, NDP 3 |
unicameral Parliament (225 seats; members elected by popular vote on the basis of a modified proportional representation system by district to serve six-year terms)
elections: last held 10 October 2000 (next to be held NA October 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - PA 45.11%, UNP 40.22%, JVP 6%, NUA 2.29%, SU 1.48%, TULF 1.23%, other 3.67%; seats by party - PA 107, UNP 89, JVP 10, TULF 5, EPDP 4, NUA 4, TELO 3, ACTC 1, SU 1, independent 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 72.82 years
male: 71.07 years female: 74.63 years (2002 est.) |
total population:
72.09 years male: 69.58 years female: 74.73 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school
total population: 96% male: 96% female: 96% (1970 est.) |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 90.2% male: 93.4% female: 87.2% (1995 est.) |
Location | Caribbean, islands in the Caribbean Sea, north of Trinidad and Tobago | Southern Asia, island in the Indian Ocean, south of India |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Asia |
Maritime claims | contiguous zone: 24 NM
continental shelf: 200 NM exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
contiguous zone:
24 NM continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | total: 788 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 7,000,660 GRT/10,702,776 DWT
ships by type: barge carrier 1, bulk 142, cargo 382, chemical tanker 24, combination bulk 11, combination ore/oil 3, container 47, liquefied gas 7, livestock carrier 3, multi-functional large-load carrier 2, passenger 3, petroleum tanker 48, refrigerated cargo 39, roll on/roll off 52, short-sea passenger 13, specialized tanker 10, vehicle carrier 1 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Albania 1, Anguilla 1, Argentina 1, Australia 2, Bahamas, The 1, Bangladesh 1, Barbados 2, Belgium 4, Bulgaria 14, Canada 1, Cayman Islands 1, China 135, Colombia 1, Croatia 12, Cyprus 6, Denmark 16, Egypt 7, Estonia 6, France 27, Germany 12, Greece 156, Guyana 7, Hong Kong 23, Iceland 1, India 11, Indonesia 3, Israel 2, Italy 19, Japan 1, Kenya 4, Latvia 5, Lebanon 9, Liberia 5, Lithuania 1, Malta 1, Man, Isle of 1, Marshall Islands 3, Mexico 1, Monaco 6, Netherlands 14, Netherlands Antilles 1, Nigeria 3, Norway 33, Pakistan 5, Panama 2, Poland 2, Portugal 2, Puerto Rico 2, Russia 8, Saint Kitts and Nevis 1, Saudi Arabia 3, Singapore 4, Slovenia 7, South Korea 4, Spain 1, Sweden 6, Switzerland 10, Syria 2, Taiwan 1, Thailand 1, Trinidad and Tobago 1, Tunisia 1, Turkey 15, Ukraine 8, United Arab Emirates 45, United Kingdom 16, United States 25, Vietnam 1 (2002 est.) |
total:
20 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 149,902 GRT/247,852 DWT ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 16, container 1, petroleum tanker 1, refrigerated cargo 1 (2000 est.) |
Military branches | Royal Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force (includes Special Service Unit), Coast Guard | Army, Navy, Air Force, Police Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $NA | $719 million (FY98) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | 4.2% (FY98) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49:
5,304,323 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49:
4,119,511 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males:
193,522 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 27 October (1979) | Independence Day, 4 February (1948) |
Nationality | noun: Saint Vincentian(s) or Vincentian(s)
adjective: Saint Vincentian or Vincentian |
noun:
Sri Lankan(s) adjective: Sri Lankan |
Natural hazards | hurricanes; Soufriere volcano on the island of Saint Vincent is a constant threat | occasional cyclones and tornadoes |
Natural resources | hydropower, cropland | limestone, graphite, mineral sands, gems, phosphates, clay, hydropower |
Net migration rate | -7.69 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | -1.43 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | - | crude oil and petroleum products 62 km (1987) |
Political parties and leaders | National Reform Party or NRP [Joel MIGUEL]; New Democratic Party or NDP [Arnhim EUSTACE]; People's Progressive Movement or PPM [Ken BOYEA]; Progressive Labor Party or PLP [leader NA]; United People's Movement or UPM [Adrian SAUNDERS]; Unity Labor Party or ULP [Ralph GONSALVES] (formed by the coalition of Saint Vincent Labor Party or SVLP and the Movement for National Unity or MNU) | All Ceylon Tamil Congress or ACTC [Nalliah GURUPAUAN]; Ceylon Workers Congress or CLDC [Arumugam THONDAMAN]; Communist Party [Raja COLLURE]; Democratic United National (Lalith) Front or DUNLF [Srimani ATHULATHMUDALI]; Eelam People's Democratic Party or EPDP [Douglas DEVANANDA]; Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front or EPRLF [Suresh PREMACHANDRA]; Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna or JVP [Tilvan SILVA]; National Unity Alliance or NUA [leader NA]; People's Alliance or PA [Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA]; People's Liberation Organization of Tamil Eelam or PLOTE [D. SIDDATHAN]; Sihala Urumaya or SU [leader NA]; Sri Lanka Freedom Party or SLFP [Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA]; Sri Lanka Muslim Congress or SLMC [Rauff HAKEEM and Ferial ASHRAFF]; Sri Lanka Progressive Front or SLPF [leader NA]; Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization or TELO [SUBRAMANIUM]; Tamil United Liberation Front or TULF [R. SAMPATHAN]; United National Party or UNP [Ranil WICKREMASINGHE]; Upcountry People's Front or UPF [P. CHANDRASEKARAN]; several ethnic Tamil and Muslim parties, represented in either parliament or provincial councils |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Buddhist clergy; labor unions; Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam or LTTE (insurgent group fighting for a separate state); radical chauvinist Sinhalese groups such as the National Movement Against Terrorism; Sinhalese Buddhist lay groups |
Population | 116,394 (July 2002 est.) | 19,408,635 (July 2001 est.)
note: since the outbreak of hostilities between the government and armed Tamil separatists in the mid-1980s, several hundred thousand Tamil civilians have fled the island; as of mid-1999, approximately 66,000 were housed in 133 refugee camps in south India, another 40,000 lived outside the Indian camps, and more than 200,000 Tamils have sought refuge in the West |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 22% (1997 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.37% (2002 est.) | 0.87% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Kingstown | Colombo, Galle, Jaffna, Trincomalee |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 3, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 26, FM 45, shortwave 1 (1998) |
Radios | 77,000 (1997) | 3.85 million (1997) |
Railways | 0 km | total:
1,463 km broad gauge: 1,404 km 1.676-m gauge narrow gauge: 59 km 0.762-m gauge (1996) |
Religions | Anglican 47%, Methodist 28%, Roman Catholic 13%, Hindu Seventh-Day Adventist, other Protestant | Buddhist 70%, Hindu 15%, Christian 8%, Muslim 7% (1999) |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.76 male(s)/female total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.92 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: adequate system
domestic: islandwide, fully automatic telephone system; VHF/UHF radiotelephone from Saint Vincent to the other islands of the Grenadines international: VHF/UHF radiotelephone from Saint Vincent to Barbados; new SHF radiotelephone to Grenada and to Saint Lucia; access to Intelsat earth station in Martinique through Saint Lucia |
general assessment:
very inadequate domestic service, particularly in rural areas; some hope for improvement with privatization of national telephone company and encouragement to private investment; good international service (1999) domestic: national trunk network consists mostly of digital microwave radio relay; fiber-optic links now in use in Colombo area and two fixed wireless local loops have been installed; competition is strong in mobile cellular systems; telephone density remains low at 2.6 main lines per 100 persons (1999) international: submarine cables to Indonesia and Djibouti; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) (1999) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 20,500 (1998) | 494,509 (1998) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | NA | 228,604 (1999) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (plus three repeaters) (1997) | 21 (1997) |
Terrain | volcanic, mountainous | mostly low, flat to rolling plain; mountains in south-central interior |
Total fertility rate | 2.01 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 1.95 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 22% (1997 est.) (1997 est.) | 8.8% (1999 est.) |
Waterways | none | 430 km (navigable by shallow-draft craft) |