Saudi Arabia (2002) | Congo, Republic of the (2005) | |
![]() | ![]() | |
Administrative divisions | 13 provinces (mintaqat, singular - mintaqah); Al Bahah, Al Hudud ash Shamaliyah, Al Jawf, Al Madinah, Al Qasim, Ar Riyad, Ash Sharqiyah (Eastern Province), 'Asir, Ha'il, Jizan, Makkah, Najran, Tabuk | 10 regions (regions, singular - region) and 1 commune*; Bouenza, Brazzaville*, Cuvette, Cuvette-Ouest, Kouilou, Lekoumou, Likouala, Niari, Plateaux, Pool, Sangha |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 42.4% (male 5,086,541; female 4,883,942)
15-64 years: 54.8% (male 7,493,304; female 5,396,985) 65 years and over: 2.8% (male 362,780; female 289,778) (2002 est.) |
0-14 years: 37.3% (male 571,011/female 563,414)
15-64 years: 59% (male 886,297/female 907,348) 65 years and over: 3.7% (male 45,799/female 65,257) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | wheat, barley, tomatoes, melons, dates, citrus; mutton, chickens, eggs, milk | cassava (tapioca), sugar, rice, corn, peanuts, vegetables, coffee, cocoa; forest products |
Airports | 209 (2001) | 32 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 71 70
over 3,047 m: 31 31 2,438 to 3,047 m: 12 11 1,524 to 2,437 m: 24 23 914 to 1,523 m: 2 3 under 914 m: 2 2 (2002) |
total: 4
over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 138
2,438 to 3,047 m: 6 1,524 to 2,437 m: 79 914 to 1,523 m: 39 under 914 m: 13 (2002) |
total: 28
1,524 to 2,437 m: 6 914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 11 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 1,960,582 sq km
land: 1,960,582 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 342,000 sq km
land: 341,500 sq km water: 500 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly more than one-fifth the size of the US | slightly smaller than Montana |
Background | In 1902 Abd al-Aziz Ibn SAUD captured Riyadh and set out on a 30-year campaign to unify the Arabian Peninsula. In the 1930s, the discovery of oil transformed the country. Following Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in 1990, Saudi Arabia accepted the Kuwaiti royal family and 400,000 refugees while allowing Western and Arab troops to deploy on its soil for the liberation of Kuwait the following year. A burgeoning population, aquifer depletion, and an economy largely dependent on petroleum output and prices are all major governmental concerns. | Upon independence in 1960, the former French region of Middle Congo became the Republic of the Congo. A quarter century of experimentation with Marxism was abandoned in 1990 and a democratically elected government installed in 1992. A brief civil war in 1997 restored former Marxist President SASSOU-NGUESSO, but ushered in a period of ethnic unrest. Southern-based rebel groups agreed to a final peace accord in March 2003, but the calm is tenuous and refugees continue to present a humanitarian crisis. The Republic of Congo is one of Africa's largest petroleum producers with significant potential for offshore development. |
Birth rate | 37.25 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 27.88 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $42 billion
expenditures: $54 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2002 est.) |
revenues: $870.1 million
expenditures: $1.102 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.) |
Capital | Riyadh | Brazzaville |
Climate | harsh, dry desert with great temperature extremes | tropical; rainy season (March to June); dry season (June to October); constantly high temperatures and humidity; particularly enervating climate astride the Equator |
Coastline | 2,640 km | 169 km |
Constitution | governed according to Shari'a (Islamic law); the Basic Law that articulates the government's rights and responsibilities was introduced in 1993 | approved by referendum 20 January 2002 |
Country name | conventional long form: Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
conventional short form: Saudi Arabia local long form: Al Mamlakah al Arabiyah as Suudiyah local short form: Al Arabiyah as Suudiyah |
conventional long form: Republic of the Congo
conventional short form: Congo (Brazzaville) local long form: Republique du Congo local short form: none former: Middle Congo, Congo/Brazzaville, Congo |
Currency | Saudi riyal (SAR) | - |
Death rate | 5.86 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 14.82 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $23.8 billion (2001 est.) | $5 billion (2000 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Robert W. JORDAN
embassy: Collector Road M, Diplomatic Quarter, Riyadh mailing address: American Embassy Riyadh, Unit 61307, APO AE 09803-1307; International Mail: P. O. Box 94309, Riyadh 11693 telephone: [966] (1) 488-3800 FAX: [966] (1) 488-7360 consulate(s) general: Dhahran, Jiddah (Jeddah) |
chief of mission: Ambassador Roger A. MEECE
embassy: NA mailing address: NA telephone: [243] (88) 43608 note: the embassy is temporarily collocated with the US Embassy in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (US Embassy Kinshasa, 310 Avenue des Aviateurs, Kinshasa) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador BANDAR bin Sultan bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud
chancery: 601 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20037 telephone: [1] (202) 342-3800 consulate(s) general: Houston, Los Angeles, and New York |
chief of mission: Ambassador Serge MOMBOULI
chancery: 4891 Colorado Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20011 telephone: [1] (202) 726-5500 FAX: [1] (202) 726-1860 |
Disputes - international | demarcation of delimited boundary with Yemen involves nomadic tribal affiliations; because details of 1974 and 1977 treaties have not been made public, the exact location of the Saudi Arabia-UAE boundary is unknown and status is considered de facto | about 7,000 Congolese refugees fleeing internal civil conflicts since the mid-1990s still reside in the Democratic Republic of the Congo; the location of the boundary in the broad Congo River with the Democratic Republic of the Congo is indefinite except in the Pool Malebo/Stanley Pool area |
Economic aid - donor | pledged $100 million in 1993 to fund reconstruction of Lebanon; since 1993, Saudi Arabia has committed $208 million for assistance to the Palestinians; pledged $240 million to development in Afghanistan | - |
Economic aid - recipient | - | $159.1 million (1995) |
Economy - overview | This is an oil-based economy with strong government controls over major economic activities. Saudi Arabia has the largest reserves of petroleum in the world (26% of the proved reserves), ranks as the largest exporter of petroleum, and plays a leading role in OPEC. The petroleum sector accounts for roughly 75% of budget revenues, 45% of GDP, and 90% of export earnings. About 25% of GDP comes from the private sector. Roughly 4 million foreign workers play an important role in the Saudi economy, for example, in the oil and service sectors. Riyadh expects to have a budget deficit in 2002, in part because of increased spending for education and other social programs. The government in 1999 announced plans to begin privatizing the electricity companies, which follows the ongoing privatization of the telecommunications company. The government is expected to continue calling for private sector growth to lessen the kingdom's dependence on oil and increase employment opportunities for the swelling Saudi population. Shortages of water and rapid population growth will constrain government efforts to increase self-sufficiency in agricultural products. | The economy is a mixture of village agriculture and handicrafts, an industrial sector based largely on oil, support services, and a government characterized by budget problems and overstaffing. Oil has supplanted forestry as the mainstay of the economy, providing a major share of government revenues and exports. In the early 1980s, rapidly rising oil revenues enabled the government to finance large-scale development projects with GDP growth averaging 5% annually, one of the highest rates in Africa. The government has mortgaged a substantial portion of its oil earnings, contributing to a shortage of revenues. The 12 January 1994 devaluation of Franc Zone currencies by 50% resulted in inflation of 61% in 1994, but inflation has subsided since. Economic reform efforts continued with the support of international organizations, notably the World Bank and the IMF. The reform program came to a halt in June 1997 when civil war erupted. Denis SASSOU-NGUESSO, who returned to power when the war ended in October 1997, publicly expressed interest in moving forward on economic reforms and privatization and in renewing cooperation with international financial institutions. However, economic progress was badly hurt by slumping oil prices and the resumption of armed conflict in December 1998, which worsened the republic's budget deficit. The current administration presides over an uneasy internal peace and faces difficult economic challenges of stimulating recovery and reducing poverty. |
Electricity - consumption | 114.86 billion kWh (2000) | 573.6 million kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2000) | 250 million kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | 123.5 billion kWh (2000) | 348 million kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Persian Gulf 0 m
highest point: Jabal Sawda' 3,133 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Berongou 903 m |
Environment - current issues | desertification; depletion of underground water resources; the lack of perennial rivers or permanent water bodies has prompted the development of extensive seawater desalination facilities; coastal pollution from oil spills | air pollution from vehicle emissions; water pollution from the dumping of raw sewage; tap water is not potable; deforestation |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
Ethnic groups | Arab 90%, Afro-Asian 10% | Kongo 48%, Sangha 20%, M'Bochi 12%, Teke 17%, Europeans and other 3%
note: Europeans estimated at 8,500, mostly French, before the 1997 civil war; may be half that in 1998, following the widespread destruction of foreign businesses in 1997 |
Exchange rates | Saudi riyals per US dollar - 3.7450 (fixed rate since June 1986) | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XAF) per US dollar - 528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003), 696.99 (2002), 733.04 (2001), 711.98 (2000) |
Executive branch | chief of state: King and Prime Minister FAHD bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud (since 13 June 1982); Crown Prince and First Deputy Prime Minister ABDALLAH bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud (half-brother to the monarch, heir to the throne since 13 June 1982, regent from 1 January to 22 February 1996); note - the monarch is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: King and Prime Minister FAHD bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud (since 13 June 1982); Crown Prince and First Deputy Prime Minister ABDALLAH bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud (half-brother to the monarch, heir to the throne since 13 June 1982, regent from 1 January to 22 February 1996); note - the monarch is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Council of Ministers is appointed by the monarch and includes many royal family members elections: none; the monarch is hereditary |
chief of state: President Denis SASSOU-NGUESSO (since 25 October 1997, following the civil war in which he toppled elected president Pascal LISSOUBA); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Denis SASSOU-NGUESSO (since 25 October 1997, following the civil war in which he toppled elected president Pascal LISSOUBA); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term (eligible for a second seven-year term); election last held 10 March 2002 (next to be held NA 2009) election results: Denis SASSOU-NGUESSO reelected president; percent of vote - Denis SASSOU-NGUESSO 89.4%, Joseph Kignoumbi Kia MBOUNGOU 2.7% |
Exports | $66.9 billion f.o.b. (2001) | NA |
Exports - commodities | petroleum and petroleum products 90% | petroleum, lumber, plywood, sugar, cocoa, coffee, diamonds |
Exports - partners | US 17.4%, Japan 17.3%, South Korea 11.7%, Singapore 5.3%, India (2000) | China 26.8%, Taiwan 19.2%, North Korea 8.4%, US 7.3%, France 5.5%, South Korea 4.8% (2004) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | green with large white Arabic script (that may be translated as There is no God but God; Muhammad is the Messenger of God) above a white horizontal saber (the tip points to the hoist side); green is the traditional color of Islam | divided diagonally from the lower hoist side by a yellow band; the upper triangle (hoist side) is green and the lower triangle is red; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $241 billion (2001 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 7%
industry: 48% services: 45% (2000 est.) |
agriculture: 7.4%
industry: 52% services: 40.6% (2004 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $10,600 (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $800 (2004 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 1.6% (2001 est.) | 3.7% (2004 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 25 00 N, 45 00 E | 1 00 S, 15 00 E |
Geography - note | extensive coastlines on Persian Gulf and Red Sea provide great leverage on shipping (especially crude oil) through Persian Gulf and Suez Canal | about 70% of the population lives in Brazzaville, Pointe-Noire, or along the railroad between them |
Heliports | 5 (2002) | - |
Highways | total: 146,524 km
paved: 44,104 km unpaved: 102,420 km (1997 est.) |
total: 12,800 km
paved: 1,242 km unpaved: 11,558 km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
Illicit drugs | death penalty for traffickers; increasing consumption of heroin, cocaine, and hashish | - |
Imports | $29.7 billion f.o.b. (2001) | NA |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, chemicals, motor vehicles, textiles | capital equipment, construction materials, foodstuffs |
Imports - partners | US 21.1%, Japan 9.4%, Germany 7.4%, UK 7.3% (2000) | France 32.7%, US 10.1%, Germany 6.2%, Italy 6%, China 5.2%, Netherlands 4.5% (2004) |
Independence | 23 September 1932 (Unification of the Kingdom) | 15 August 1960 (from France) |
Industrial production growth rate | 1% (1997 est.) | 0% (2002 est.) |
Industries | crude oil production, petroleum refining, basic petrochemicals, cement, construction, fertilizer, plastics | petroleum extraction, cement, lumber, brewing, sugar, palm oil, soap, flour, cigarettes |
Infant mortality rate | 49.59 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: 92.41 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 98.48 deaths/1,000 live births female: 86.16 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1.7% (2001) | 1.8% (2004 est.) |
International organization participation | ABEDA, AfDB, AFESD, AL, AMF, BIS, CCC, ESCWA, FAO, G-19, G-77, GCC, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, NAM, OAPEC, OAS (observer), OIC, OPCW, OPEC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO (observer) | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, BDEAC, CEMAC, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNOCI, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 42 (2001) | - |
Irrigated land | 16,200 sq km (1998 est.) | 10 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Council of Justice | Supreme Court or Cour Supreme |
Labor force | 7 million
note: 35% of the population in the 15-64 age group is non-national (July 1998 est.) |
NA |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 12%, industry 25%, services 63% (1999 est.) | - |
Land boundaries | total: 4,431 km
border countries: Iraq 814 km, Jordan 744 km, Kuwait 222 km, Oman 676 km, Qatar 60 km, UAE 457 km, Yemen 1,458 km |
total: 5,504 km
border countries: Angola 201 km, Cameroon 523 km, Central African Republic 467 km, Democratic Republic of the Congo 2,410 km, Gabon 1,903 km |
Land use | arable land: 1.72%
permanent crops: 0.06% other: 98.22% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 0.51%
permanent crops: 0.13% other: 99.36% (2001) |
Languages | Arabic | French (official), Lingala and Monokutuba (lingua franca trade languages), many local languages and dialects (of which Kikongo is the most widespread) |
Legal system | based on Islamic law, several secular codes have been introduced; commercial disputes handled by special committees; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on French civil law system and customary law |
Legislative branch | a consultative council (90 members and a chairman appointed by the monarch for four-year terms) | bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (66 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) and the National Assembly (137 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 11 July 2002 (next to be held July 2007); National Assembly - last held 27 May and 26 June 2002 (next to be held by NA May 2007) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - FDP 56, other 10; National Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - FDP 83, UDR 6, UPADS 3, other 45 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 68.4 years
male: 66.7 years female: 70.2 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 52.26 years
male: 51.17 years female: 53.39 years (2005 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 78% male: 84.2% female: 69.5% (2002 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 83.8% male: 89.6% female: 78.4% (2003 est.) |
Location | Middle East, bordering the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea, north of Yemen | Western Africa, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Angola and Gabon |
Map references | Middle East | Africa |
Maritime claims | contiguous zone: 18 NM
continental shelf: not specified territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | total: 71 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,071,315 GRT/1,412,125 DWT
ships by type: cargo 11, chemical tanker 10, container 4, livestock carrier 3, passenger 1, petroleum tanker 20, refrigerated cargo 3, roll on/roll off 11, short-sea passenger 8 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Egypt 3, Finland 1, Greece 3, Kuwait 1, Sudan 1, United Arab Emirates 1, United Kingdom 3 (2002 est.) |
- |
Military branches | Land Force (Army), Navy, Air Force, Air Defense Force, National Guard, Ministry of Interior Forces (paramilitary) | Congolese Armed Forces (FAC): Army, Air Force (Armee de l'Air Congolaise), Navy, Gendarmerie, Republican Guard (2005) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $18.3 billion (FY00) | $126.5 million (2004) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 13% (FY00) | 2.8% (2004) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 6,007,635 (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 3,359,849 (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - military age | 17 years of age (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 233,402 (2002 est.) | - |
National holiday | Unification of the Kingdom, 23 September (1932) | Independence Day, 15 August (1960) |
Nationality | noun: Saudi(s)
adjective: Saudi or Saudi Arabian |
noun: Congolese (singular and plural)
adjective: Congolese or Congo |
Natural hazards | frequent sand and dust storms | seasonal flooding |
Natural resources | petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, gold, copper | petroleum, timber, potash, lead, zinc, uranium, copper, phosphates, gold, magnesium, natural gas, hydropower |
Net migration rate | 1.28 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil 6,400 km; petroleum products 150 km; natural gas 2,200 km (includes natural gas liquids 1,600 km) | gas 53 km; oil 646 km (2004) |
Political parties and leaders | none allowed | the most important of the many parties are the Democratic and Patriotic Forces or FDP (an alliance of Convention for Alternative Democracy, Congolese Labor Party or PCT, Liberal Republican Party, National Union for Democracy and Progress, Patriotic Union for the National Reconstruction, and Union for the National Renewal) [Denis SASSOU-NGUESSO, president]; Congolese Movement for Democracy and Integral Development or MCDDI [Michel MAMPOUYA]; Pan-African Union for Social Development or UPADS [Martin MBERI]; Rally for Democracy and Social Progress or RDPS [Jean-Pierre Thystere TCHICAYA, president]; Rally for Democracy and the Republic or RDR [Raymond Damasge NGOLLO]; Union for Democracy and Republic or UDR [leader NA]; Union of Democratic Forces or UFD [Sebastian EBAO] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | none | Congolese Trade Union Congress or CSC; General Union of Congolese Pupils and Students or UGEEC; Revolutionary Union of Congolese Women or URFC; Union of Congolese Socialist Youth or UJSC |
Population | 23,513,330
note: includes 5,360,526 non-nationals (July 2002 est.) |
3,039,126
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 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA |
Population growth rate | 3.27% (2002 est.) | 1.31% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Ad Dammam, Al Jubayl, Duba, Jiddah, Jizan, Rabigh, Ra's al Khafji, Mishab, Ras Tanura, Yanbu' al Bahr, Madinat Yanbu' al Sinaiyah | Brazzaville, Djeno, Impfondo, Ouesso, Oyo, Pointe-Noire |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 43, FM 31, shortwave 2 (1998) | AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 3 (2001) |
Radios | 6.25 million (1997) | - |
Railways | total: 1,392 km
standard gauge: 1,392 km 1.435-m gauge (724 km are double-tracked) (2001) |
total: 894 km
narrow gauge: 894 km 1.067-m gauge (2004) |
Religions | Muslim 100% | Christian 50%, animist 48%, Muslim 2% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.39 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.25 male(s)/female total population: 1.22 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
at birth: 1.01 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
Suffrage | none | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: modern system
domestic: extensive microwave radio relay, coaxial cable, and fiber-optic cable systems international: microwave radio relay to Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, UAE, Yemen, and Sudan; coaxial cable to Kuwait and Jordan; submarine cable to Djibouti, Egypt and Bahrain; satellite earth stations - 5 Intelsat (3 Atlantic Ocean and 2 Indian Ocean), 1 Arabsat, and 1 Inmarsat (Indian Ocean region) |
general assessment: services barely adequate for government use; key exchanges are in Brazzaville, Pointe-Noire, and Loubomo; intercity lines frequently out of order
domestic: primary network consists of microwave radio relay and coaxial cable international: country code - 242; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 3.1 million (1998) | 7,000 (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 1 million
note: in 1998, the government contracted for the installation of 575,000 additional Group Speciale Mobile (GSM) cellular telephone lines over 15 months to raise the total number of subscribers to more than one million; Riyadh planned to further expand the GSM system in 1999 by adding an additional one million lines (1998) |
330,000 (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 117 (1997) | 1 (2002) |
Terrain | mostly uninhabited, sandy desert | coastal plain, southern basin, central plateau, northern basin |
Total fertility rate | 6.21 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 3.54 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | NA (2003) |
Waterways | none | 4,385 km (on Congo and Oubanqui rivers) (2004) |