Sao Tome and Principe (2002) | Cambodia (2001) | |
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Administrative divisions | 2 provinces; Principe, Sao Tome
note: Principe has had self-government since 29 April 1995 |
20 provinces (khett, singular and plural) and 4 municipalities* (krong, singular and plural); Banteay Mean Cheay, Batdambang, Kampong Cham, Kampong Chhnang, Kampong Spoe, Kampong Thum, Kampot, Kandal, Kaoh Kong, Keb*, Kracheh, Mondol Kiri, Otdar Mean Cheay, Pailin*, Phnum Penh*, Pouthisat, Preah Seihanu* (Sihanoukville), Preah Vihear, Prey Veng, Rotanah Kiri, Siem Reab, Stoeng Treng, Svay Rieng, Takev |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 47.7% (male 41,159; female 40,125)
15-64 years: 48.3% (male 39,701; female 42,586) 65 years and over: 4% (male 3,115; female 3,686) (2002 est.) |
0-14 years:
41.25% (male 2,626,821; female 2,526,510) 15-64 years: 55.28% (male 3,253,611; female 3,651,129) 65 years and over: 3.47% (male 177,577; female 255,853) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cocoa, coconuts, palm kernels, copra, cinnamon, pepper, coffee, bananas, papayas, beans; poultry; fish | rice, rubber, corn, vegetables |
Airports | 2 (2001) | 19 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 2
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2002) |
total:
6 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total:
13 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 11 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 1,001 sq km
land: 1,001 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total:
181,040 sq km land: 176,520 sq km water: 4,520 sq km |
Area - comparative | more than five times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than Oklahoma |
Background | Discovered and claimed by Portugal in the late 15th century, the islands' sugar-based economy gave way to coffee and cocoa in the 19th century - all grown with plantation slave labor, a form of which lingered into the 20th century. Although independence was achieved in 1975, democratic reforms were not instituted until the late 1980s. The first free elections were held in 1991. | Following a five-year struggle, communist Khmer Rouge forces captured Phnom Penh in 1975 and ordered the evacuation of all cities and towns; over 1 million displaced people died from execution or enforced hardships. A 1978 Vietnamese invasion drove the Khmer Rouge into the countryside and touched off 13 years of fighting. UN-sponsored elections in 1993 helped restore some semblance of normalcy, as did the rapid diminishment of the Khmer Rouge in the mid-1990s. A coalition government, formed after national elections in 1998, brought renewed political stability and the surrender of remaining Khmer Rouge forces. |
Birth rate | 42.3 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 33.16 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $58 million
expenditures: $114 million, including capital expenditures of $54 million |
revenues:
$363 million expenditures: $532 million, including capital expenditures of $225 million (2000 est.) |
Capital | Sao Tome | Phnom Penh |
Climate | tropical; hot, humid; one rainy season (October to May) | tropical; rainy, monsoon season (May to November); dry season (December to April); little seasonal temperature variation |
Coastline | 209 km | 443 km |
Constitution | approved March 1990; effective 10 September 1990 | promulgated 21 September 1993 |
Country name | conventional long form: Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe
conventional short form: Sao Tome and Principe local long form: Republica Democratica de Sao Tome e Principe local short form: Sao Tome e Principe |
conventional long form:
Kingdom of Cambodia conventional short form: Cambodia local long form: Preahreacheanachakr Kampuchea local short form: Kampuchea former: Khmer Republic, Kampuchea Republic |
Currency | dobra (STD) | riel (KHR) |
Death rate | 7.32 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 10.65 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $253.8 million (2000) (2000) | $829 million (1999 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | the US does not have an embassy in Sao Tome and Principe; the Ambassador to Gabon is accredited to Sao Tome and Principe on a nonresident basis and makes periodic visits to the islands | chief of mission:
Ambassador Kent M. WIEDEMANN embassy: 16-18 Mongkol lem St. 228, Phnom Penh mailing address: Box P, APO AP 96546 telephone: [855] (23) 216-436 FAX: [855] (23) 216-437 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | Sao Tome and Principe does not have an embassy in the US, but does have a Permanent Mission to the UN, headed by First Secretary Domingos Augusto FERREIRA, located at 400 Park Avenue, 7th Floor, New York, NY 10022, telephone [1] (212) 317-0580 | chief of mission:
Ambassador Roland ENG chancery: 4500 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20011 telephone: [1] (202) 726-7742 FAX: [1] (202) 726-8381 |
Disputes - international | none | portions of boundary with Vietnam are disputed; parts of border with Thailand are indefinite |
Economic aid - recipient | $200 million in December 2000 under the HIPC program | $548 million pledged in grants and concessional loans for 2001 by international donors |
Economy - overview | This small poor island economy has become increasingly dependent on cocoa since independence 26 years ago. However, cocoa production has substantially declined because of drought and mismanagement. The resulting shortage of cocoa for export has created a persistent balance-of-payments problem. Sao Tome has to import all fuels, most manufactured goods, consumer goods, and a substantial amount of food. Over the years, it has been unable to service its external debt and has had to depend on concessional aid and debt rescheduling. Sao Tome benefited from $200 million in debt relief in December 2000 under the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) program. Sao Tome's success in implementing structural reforms has been rewarded by international donors, who have pledged increased assistance in 2001. Considerable potential exists for development of a tourist industry, and the government has taken steps to expand facilities in recent years. The government also has attempted to reduce price controls and subsidies. Sao Tome is also optimistic that substantial petroleum discoveries are forthcoming in its territorial waters in the oil-rich waters of the Gulf of Guinea. Corruption scandals continue to weaken the economy. | Cambodia's economy slowed dramatically in 1997-98 due to the regional economic crisis, civil violence, and political infighting. Foreign investment and tourism fell off. In 1999, the first full year of peace in 30 years, progress was made on economic reforms and growth resumed at 4%. GDP growth for 2000 had been projected to reach 5.5%, but the worst flooding in 70 years severely damaged agricultural crops, and high oil prices hurt industrial production, and growth for the year is estimated at only 4%. Tourism is Cambodia's fastest growing industry, with arrivals up 34% in 2000. The long-term development of the economy after decades of war remains a daunting challenge. The population lacks education and productive skills, particularly in the poverty-ridden countryside, which suffers from an almost total lack of basic infrastructure. Fear of renewed political instability and corruption within the government discourage foreign investment and delay foreign aid. On the brighter side, the government is addressing these issues with assistance from bilateral and multilateral donors. |
Electricity - consumption | 15.81 million kWh (2000) | 136.7 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 17 million kWh (2000) | 147 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 41%
hydro: 59% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
fossil fuel:
59.18% hydro: 40.82% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Pico de Sao Tome 2,024 m |
lowest point:
Gulf of Thailand 0 m highest point: Phnum Aoral 1,810 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation; soil erosion and exhaustion | illegal logging activities throughout the country and strip mining for gems in the western region along the border with Thailand have resulted in habitat loss and declining biodiversity (in particular, destruction of mangrove swamps threatens natural fisheries); soil erosion; in rural areas, a majority of the population does not have access to potable water; toxic waste delivery from Taiwan sparked unrest in Kampong Saom (Sihanoukville) in December 1998 |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Marine Life Conservation, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping |
Ethnic groups | mestico, angolares (descendants of Angolan slaves), forros (descendants of freed slaves), servicais (contract laborers from Angola, Mozambique, and Cape Verde), tongas (children of servicais born on the islands), Europeans (primarily Portuguese) | Khmer 90%, Vietnamese 5%, Chinese 1%, other 4% |
Exchange rates | dobras per US dollar - 9,009.1 (December 2001), 8,842.1 (2001), 7,978.2 (2000), 7,119.0 (1999), 6,883.2 (1998), 4,552.5 (1997) | riels per US dollar - 3,909.0 (January 2001), 3,840.8 (2000), 3,807.8 (1999), 3,744.4 (1998), 2,946.3 (1997), 2,624.1 (1996) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Fradique DE MENEZES (since 3 September 2001)
head of government: Prime Minister Maria das NEVES (since 7 October 2002) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the proposal of the prime minister elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 29 July 2001 (next to be held NA July 2006); prime minister chosen by the National Assembly and approved by the president election results: Fradique DE MENEZES elected president in Sao Tome's third multiparty presidential election; percent of vote - NA% |
chief of state:
King Norodom SIHANOUK (reinstated 24 September 1993) head of government: Prime Minister HUN SEN (since 30 November 1998) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the monarch elections: none; the monarch is chosen by a Royal Throne Council; prime minister appointed by the monarch after a vote of confidence by the National Assembly |
Exports | $4.1 million f.o.b. (2000 est.) | $942 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | cocoa 90%, copra, coffee, palm oil | timber, garments, rubber, rice, fish |
Exports - partners | Portugal 33.3%, Netherlands 8.3%, Spain 8.3% (1999) | Vietnam 18%, Thailand 15%, US 10%, Singapore 8%, China 5% (1997) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | three horizontal bands of green (top), yellow (double width), and green with two black five-pointed stars placed side by side in the center of the yellow band and a red isosceles triangle based on the hoist side; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia | three horizontal bands of blue (top), red (double width), and blue with a white three-towered temple representing Angkor Wat outlined in black in the center of the red band |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $189 million (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $16.1 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 25%
industry: 10% services: 65% (1999 est.) |
agriculture:
43% industry: 20% services: 37% (1998 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,200 (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1,300 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 4% (2001 est.) | 4% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 1 00 N, 7 00 E | 13 00 N, 105 00 E |
Geography - note | the smallest country in Africa; the two main islands form part of a chain of extinct volcanoes and both are fairly mountainous | a land of paddies and forests dominated by the Mekong River and Tonle Sap |
Heliports | - | 3 (2000 est.) |
Highways | total: 320 km
paved: 218 km unpaved: 102 km (1996) |
total:
35,769 km paved: 4,165 km unpaved: 31,604 km (1997) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%:
2.9% highest 10%: 33.8% (1997) |
Illicit drugs | - | possible money laundering; narcotics-related corruption reportedly involving some in the government, military, and police; possible small-scale opium, heroin, and amphetamine production; large producer of cannabis for the international market |
Imports | $40 million f.o.b. (2000 est.) | $1.3 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and electrical equipment, food products, petroleum products | cigarettes, gold, construction materials, petroleum products, machinery, motor vehicles |
Imports - partners | Portugal 43%, France 15.7%, UK 13.7% (1999) | Thailand 16%, Vietnam 9%, Japan 7%, Hong Kong 5%, China 5% (1997) |
Independence | 12 July 1975 (from Portugal) | 9 November 1953 (from France) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | NA% |
Industries | light construction, textiles, soap, beer; fish processing; timber | garments, tourism, rice milling, fishing, wood and wood products, rubber, cement, gem mining, textiles |
Infant mortality rate | 47.5 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | 65.41 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 7% (2001 est.) | 1.6% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, CEEAC, CEMAC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ITU, NAM, OAU, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer) | ACCT, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO (subscriber), ITU, NAM, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2002) | 2 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 100 sq km (1998 est.) | 920 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the National Assembly) | Supreme Council of the Magistracy (provided for in the constitution and formed in December 1997); Supreme Court (and lower courts) exercises judicial authority |
Labor force | NA | 6 million (1998 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | population mainly engaged in subsistence agriculture and fishing
note: shortages of skilled workers |
agriculture 80% (1999 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total:
2,572 km border countries: Laos 541 km, Thailand 803 km, Vietnam 1,228 km |
Land use | arable land: 2%
permanent crops: 41% other: 57% (1998 est.) |
arable land:
13% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 11% forests and woodland: 66% other: 10% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Portuguese (official) | Khmer (official) 95%, French, English |
Legal system | based on Portuguese legal system and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | primarily a civil law mixture of French-influenced codes from the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC) period, royal decrees, and acts of the legislature, with influences of customary law and remnants of communist legal theory; increasing influence of common law in recent years |
Legislative branch | unicameral National Assembly or Assembleia Nacional (55 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 3 March 2002 (next to be held NA March 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - MLSTP 39.6%, Force for Change Democratic Movement 39.4%, Ue-Kedadji coalition 16.2%; seats by party - MLSTP 24, Force for Change Democratic Movement 23, Ue-Kedadji coalition 8 |
bicameral consists of the National Assembly (122 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) and the Senate (61 seats; two members appointed by the monarch, two elected by the National Assembly, and 57 elected by "functional constituencies"; members serve five-year terms
elections: National Assembly - last held 26 July 1998 (next to be held NA 2003); Senate - last held 2 March 1999 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: National Assembly - percent of vote by party - CPP 41%, FUNCINPEC 32%, SRP 14%, other 13%; seats by party - CPP 64, FUNCINPEC 43, SRP 15; Senate - seats by party - CPP 31, FUNCINPEC 21, SRP 7 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 65.93 years
male: 64.47 years female: 67.45 years (2002 est.) |
total population:
56.82 years male: 54.62 years female: 59.12 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 79.3% male: 85% female: 62% (1991 est.) |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 35% male: 48% female: 22% (1990 est.) |
Location | Western Africa, islands in the Gulf of Guinea, straddling the Equator, west of Gabon | Southeastern Asia, bordering the Gulf of Thailand, between Thailand, Vietnam, and Laos |
Map references | Africa | Southeast Asia |
Maritime claims | measured from claimed archipelagic baselines
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
contiguous zone:
24 NM continental shelf: 200 NM exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | total: 41 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 169,991 GRT/245,996 DWT
ships by type: bulk 6, cargo 23, chemical tanker 1, container 3, livestock carrier 1, petroleum tanker 3, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 2, specialized tanker 1 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Egypt 1, Greece 1, Kenya 1, Portugal 1, Syria 1, Turkey 1 (2002 est.) |
total:
295 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,305,932 GRT/1,853,487 DWT ships by type: bulk 22, cargo 237, chemical tanker 1, combination bulk 3, container 8, liquefied gas 1, livestock carrier 2, multi-functional large-load carrier 1, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 7, refrigerated cargo 6, roll on/roll off 5, short-sea passenger 1 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Cyprus 3, South Korea 1, Malta 1, Panama 1, Russia 1, Singapore 1 (2000 est.) |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Security Police | Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF), including Army, Navy, and Air Force - created in 1993 by the merger of the Cambodian People's Armed Forces and the two noncommunist resistance armies
note: Khmer Rouge and royalist insurgent forces were integrated into the RCAF in 1999 |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $400,000 (FY01) | $112 million (FY01 est.) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 0.8% (FY01) | 3% (FY01 est.) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 35,524 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49:
2,877,137 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 18,727 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49:
1,610,761 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males:
162,643 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 12 July (1975) | Independence Day, 9 November (1953) |
Nationality | noun: Sao Tomean(s)
adjective: Sao Tomean |
noun:
Cambodian(s) adjective: Cambodian |
Natural hazards | NA | monsoonal rains (June to November); flooding; occasional droughts |
Natural resources | fish, hydropower | timber, gemstones, some iron ore, manganese, phosphates, hydropower potential |
Net migration rate | -3.15 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Democratic Renovation Party [Armindo GRACA]; Force for Change Democratic Movement [leader NA]; Independent Democratic Action or ADI [Carlos NEVES]; Movement for the Liberation of Sao Tome and Principe-Social Democratic Party or MLSTP-PSD [Manuel Pinto Da COSTA]; Party for Democratic Convergence or PCD [Aldo BANDEIRA]; Ue-Kedadji coalition [leader NA]; other small parties | Buddhist Liberal Party or BLP [IENG MOULY]; Cambodian Pracheachon Party or Cambodian People's Party or CPP [CHEA SIM]; Khmer Citizen Party or KCP [NGUON SOEUR]; National United Front for an Independent, Neutral, Peaceful, and Cooperative Cambodia or FUNCINPEC [Prince NORODOM RANARIDDH]; Sam Rangsi Party or SRP (formerly Khmer Nation Party or KNP) [SAM RANGSI] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 170,372 (July 2002 est.) | 12,491,501
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 36% (1997 est.) |
Population growth rate | 3.18% (2002 est.) | 2.25% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Santo Antonio, Sao Tome | Kampong Saom (Sihanoukville), Kampot, Krong Kaoh Kong, Phnom Penh |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 1 (2002) | AM 7, FM 3, shortwave 3 (1999) |
Radios | 38,000 (1997) | 1.34 million (1997) |
Railways | 0 km | total:
603 km narrow gauge: 603 km 1.000-m gauge |
Religions | Christian 80% (Roman Catholic, Evangelical Protestant, Seventh-Day Adventist) | Theravada Buddhist 95%, other 5% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.93 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.85 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.89 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.69 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: adequate facilities
domestic: minimal system international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
general assessment:
adequate landline and/or cellular service in Phnom Penh and other provincial cities; rural areas have little telephone service domestic: NA international: adequate but expensive landline and cellular service available to all countries from Phnom Penh and major provincial cities; satellite earth station - 1 Intersputnik (Indian Ocean region) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 4,600 (2000) | 21,800 (mid-1998) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 6,942 (1997) | 80,000 (2000) |
Television broadcast stations | 2 (2002) | 5 (1999) |
Terrain | volcanic, mountainous | mostly low, flat plains; mountains in southwest and north |
Total fertility rate | 5.95 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 4.74 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 2.8% (1999 est.) |
Waterways | none | 3,700 km
note: navigable all year to craft drawing 0.6 m or less; 282 km navigable to craft drawing as much as 1.8 m |