Senegal (2002) | Cuba (2001) | |
Administrative divisions | 10 regions (regions, singular - region); Dakar, Diourbel, Fatick, Kaolack, Kolda, Louga, Saint-Louis, Tambacounda, Thies, Ziguinchor
note: there may be another region called Matam |
14 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia) and 1 special municipality* (municipio especial); Camaguey, Ciego de Avila, Cienfuegos, Ciudad de La Habana, Granma, Guantanamo, Holguin, Isla de la Juventud*, La Habana, Las Tunas, Matanzas, Pinar del Rio, Sancti Spiritus, Santiago de Cuba, Villa Clara |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 43.5% (male 2,321,789; female 2,290,105)
15-64 years: 53.4% (male 2,710,178; female 2,943,554) 65 years and over: 3.1% (male 159,445; female 164,500) (2002 est.) |
0-14 years:
20.99% (male 1,205,159; female 1,142,070) 15-64 years: 69.14% (male 3,876,432; female 3,855,878) 65 years and over: 9.87% (male 511,589; female 592,895) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | peanuts, millet, corn, sorghum, rice, cotton, tomatoes, green vegetables; cattle, poultry, pigs; fish | sugar, tobacco, citrus, coffee, rice, potatoes, beans; livestock |
Airports | 20 (2001) | 171 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 9
over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 6 914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2002) |
total:
77 over 3,047 m: 7 2,438 to 3,047 m: 9 1,524 to 2,437 m: 16 914 to 1,523 m: 10 under 914 m: 35 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 11
1,524 to 2,437 m: 6 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
total:
94 914 to 1,523 m: 31 under 914 m: 63 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 196,190 sq km
land: 192,000 sq km water: 4,190 sq km |
total:
110,860 sq km land: 110,860 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than South Dakota | slightly smaller than Pennsylvania |
Background | Independent from France in 1960, Senegal joined with The Gambia to form the nominal confederation of Senegambia in 1982. However, the envisaged integration of the two countries was never carried out, and the union was dissolved in 1989. Despite peace talks, a southern separatist group sporadically has clashed with government forces since 1982. Senegal has a long history of participating in international peacekeeping. | Fidel CASTRO led a rebel army to victory in 1959; his iron rule has held the country together since. Cuba's communist revolution, with Soviet support, was exported throughout Latin America and Africa during the 1960s, 70s, and 80s. The country is now slowly recovering from a severe economic recession in 1990, following the withdrawal of former Soviet subsidies, worth $4 billion to $6 billion annually. Havana portrays its difficulties as the result of the US embargo in place since 1961. Illicit migration to the US - using homemade rafts, alien smugglers, or falsified visas - is a continuing problem. Some 3,000 Cubans took to the Straits of Florida in 2000; the US Coast Guard interdicted only about 35% of these. |
Birth rate | 36.99 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 12.36 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $1.373 billion
expenditures: $1.373 billion, including capital expenditures of $357 million (2002 est.) |
revenues:
$13.5 billion expenditures: $14.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
Capital | Dakar | Havana |
Climate | tropical; hot, humid; rainy season (May to November) has strong southeast winds; dry season (December to April) dominated by hot, dry, harmattan wind | tropical; moderated by trade winds; dry season (November to April); rainy season (May to October) |
Coastline | 531 km | 3,735 km |
Constitution | a new constitution was adopted 7 January 2001 | 24 February 1976, amended July 1992 |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Senegal
conventional short form: Senegal local long form: Republique du Senegal local short form: Senegal |
conventional long form:
Republic of Cuba conventional short form: Cuba local long form: Republica de Cuba local short form: Cuba |
Currency | Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF); note - responsible authority is the Central Bank of the West African States | Cuban peso (CUP) |
Death rate | 8.14 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 7.33 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $3.1 billion (2002 est.) | $11.1 billion (convertible currency, 1999); another $15 billion -$20 billion owed to Russia (2000) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Harriet L. ELAM-THOMAS
embassy: Avenue Jean XXIII at the corner of Rue Kleber, Dakar mailing address: B. P. 49, Dakar telephone: [221] 823-4296 FAX: [221] 822-2991 |
none; note - the US has an Interests Section in the Swiss Embassy, headed by Principal Officer Vicki HUDDLESTON; address: USINT, Swiss Embassy, Calzada between L and M Streets, Vedado Seccion, Havana; telephone: 33-3551 through 3559 (operator assistance required); FAX: 33-3700; protecting power in Cuba is Switzerland |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Amadou L. BA
chancery: 2112 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 234-0540 FAX: [1] (202) 332-6315 consulate(s) general: New York |
none; note - Cuba has an Interests Section in the Swiss Embassy, headed by Principal Officer Fernando REMIREZ DE ESTENOZ; address: Cuban Interests Section, Swiss Embassy, 2630 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009; telephone: [1] (202) 797-8518 |
Disputes - international | Senegalese separatists disrupt legal border trade with smuggling, cattle rustling, and other illegal activities in Guinea-Bissau | US Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay is leased to US and only mutual agreement or US abandonment of the area can terminate the lease |
Economic aid - recipient | $362.6 million (2002 est.) | $68.2 million (1997 est.) |
Economy - overview | In January 1994, Senegal undertook a bold and ambitious economic reform program with the support of the international donor community. This reform began with a 50% devaluation of Senegal's currency, the CFA franc, which is linked at a fixed rate to the French franc. Government price controls and subsidies have been steadily dismantled. After seeing its economy contract by 2.1% in 1993, Senegal made an important turnaround, thanks to the reform program, with real growth in GDP averaging 5% annually during 1995-2001. Annual inflation had been pushed down to less than 1%, but rose to an estimated 3.3% in 2001. Investment rose steadily from 13.8% of GDP in 1993 to 16.5% in 1997. As a member of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU), Senegal is working toward greater regional integration with a unified external tariff. Senegal also realized full Internet connectivity in 1996, creating a miniboom in information technology-based services. Private activity now accounts for 82% of GDP. On the negative side, Senegal faces deep-seated urban problems of chronic unemployment, trade union militancy, juvenile delinquency, and drug addiction. | The government, the primary player in the economy, has undertaken limited reforms in recent years to stem excess liquidity, increase enterprise efficiency, and alleviate serious shortages of food, consumer goods, and services, but prioritizing of political control makes extensive reforms unlikely. Living standards for the average Cuban, without access to dollars, remain at a depressed level compared with 1990. The liberalized farmers' markets introduced in 1994, sell above-quota production at market prices, expand legal consumption alternatives, and reduce black market prices. Income taxes and increased regulations introduced since 1996 have sharply reduced the number of legally self-employed from a high of 208,000 in January 1996. Havana announced in 1995 that GDP declined by 35% during 1989-93 as a result of lost Soviet aid and domestic inefficiencies. The slide in GDP came to a halt in 1994 when Cuba reported growth in GDP of 0.7%. Cuba reported that GDP increased by 2.5% in 1995 and 7.8% in 1996, before slowing down in 1997 and 1998 to 2.5% and 1.2% respectively. Growth recovered with a 6.2% increase in GDP in 1999 and a 5.6% increase in 2000. Much of Cuba's recovery can be attributed to tourism revenues and foreign investment. Growth in 2001 should continue at the same level as the government balances the need for economic loosening against its concern for firm political control. |
Electricity - consumption | 1.228 billion kWh (2000) | 13.353 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 1.32 billion kWh (2000) | 14.358 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
fossil fuel:
94.2% hydro: 0.7% nuclear: 0% other: 5.1% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed feature near Nepen Diakha 581 m |
lowest point:
Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Pico Turquino 2,005 m |
Environment - current issues | wildlife populations threatened by poaching; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification; overfishing | pollution of Havana Bay; overhunting threatens wildlife populations; deforestation |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Marine Dumping |
party to:
Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution signed, but not ratified: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Marine Life Conservation |
Ethnic groups | Wolof 43.3%, Pular 23.8%, Serer 14.7%, Jola 3.7%, Mandinka 3%, Soninke 1.1%, European and Lebanese 1%, other 9.4% | mulatto 51%, white 37%, black 11%, Chinese 1% |
Exchange rates | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 742.79 (January 2002), 733.04 (2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.70 (1999), 589.95 (1998), 583.67 (1997); note - from 1 January 1999, the XOF is pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 XOF per euro | Cuban pesos per US dollar - 1.0000 (nonconvertible, official rate, for international transactions, pegged to the US dollar); convertible peso sold for domestic use at a rate of 1.00 US dollar per 22 pesos by the Government of Cuba (January 2001) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Abdoulaye WADE (since 1 April 2000)
head of government: Prime Minister Idrissa SECK (since 4 November 2002) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister in consultation with the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term under new constitution; election last held 27 February and 19 March 2000 (next to be held 27 February 2005); prime minister appointed by the president election results: Abdoulaye WADE elected president; percent of vote in the second round of voting - Abdoulaye WADE (PDS) 58.49%, Abdou DIOUF (PS) 41.51% |
chief of state:
President of the Council of State and President of the Council of Ministers Fidel CASTRO Ruz (prime minister from February 1959 until 24 February 1976 when office was abolished; president since 2 December 1976); First Vice President of the Council of State and First Vice President of the Council of Ministers Gen. Raul CASTRO Ruz (since 2 December 1976); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President of the Council of State and President of the Council of Ministers Fidel CASTRO Ruz (prime minister from February 1959 until 24 February 1976 when office was abolished; president since 2 December 1976); First Vice President of the Council of State and First Vice President of the Council of Ministers Gen. Raul CASTRO Ruz (since 2 December 1976); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Council of Ministers proposed by the president of the Council of State, appointed by the National Assembly; note - there is also a Council of State whose members are elected by the National Assembly elections: president and vice president elected by the National Assembly; election last held 24 February 1998 (next election unscheduled) election results: Fidel CASTRO Ruz elected president; percent of legislative vote - 100%; Raul CASTRO Ruz elected vice president; percent of legislative vote - 100% |
Exports | $1 billion f.o.b. (2001) | $1.8 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | fish, groundnuts (peanuts), petroleum products, phosphates, cotton | sugar, nickel, tobacco, fish, medical products, citrus, coffee |
Exports - partners | France 19%, Italy 12%, Spain 6%, Cote d'Ivoire 2% (2000) | Russia 23%, Netherlands 23%, Canada 13% (1999) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), yellow, and red with a small green five-pointed star centered in the yellow band; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia | five equal horizontal bands of blue (top and bottom) alternating with white; a red equilateral triangle based on the hoist side bears a white, five-pointed star in the center; design influenced by the US flag |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $16.2 billion (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $19.2 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 19%
industry: 21% services: 61% (2000 est.) |
agriculture:
7% industry: 37% services: 56% (1998 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,580 (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1,700 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 5.7% (2001 est.) | 5.6% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 14 00 N, 14 00 W | 21 30 N, 80 00 W |
Geography - note | westernmost country on the African continent; The Gambia is almost an enclave of Senegal | largest country in Caribbean |
Highways | total: 14,576 km
paved: 4,271 km unpaved: 10,305 km (1996) |
total:
60,858 km paved: 29,820 km (including 638 km of expressway) unpaved: 31,038 km (1997) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 1%
highest 10%: 43% (1991) |
lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | transshipment point for Southwest and Southeast Asian heroin moving to Europe and North America; illicit cultivator of cannabis | territorial waters and air space serve as transshipment zone for cocaine bound for the US and Europe; established the death penalty for certain drug-related crimes in 1999 |
Imports | $1.3 billion f.o.b. (2001) | $3.4 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | foods and beverages, consumer goods, capital goods, petroleum products | petroleum, food, machinery, chemicals, semifinished goods, transport equipment, consumer goods |
Imports - partners | France 27%, Nigeria 19%, Germany 4%, US 4%, Italy 3% (2000) | Spain 18%, Venezuela 13%, Canada 8% (1999) |
Independence | 4 April 1960 (from France); complete independence was achieved upon dissolution of federation with Mali on 20 August 1960 | 20 May 1902 (from US) |
Industrial production growth rate | 5.2% (2000 est.) | 5% (2000 est.) |
Industries | agricultural and fish processing, phosphate mining, fertilizer production, petroleum refining, construction materials | sugar, petroleum, tobacco, chemicals, construction, services, nickel, steel, cement, agricultural machinery |
Infant mortality rate | 55.41 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | 7.39 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3.3% (2001 est.) | 0.3% (1999 est.) |
International organization participation | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, CCC, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, FZ, G-15, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, MIPONUH, MONUC, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOVIC, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | CCC, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IAEA, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IFAD, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, NAM, OAS (excluded from formal participation since 1962), OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2002) | 4 (2001) |
Irrigated land | 710 sq km (1998 est.) | 9,100 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | Constitutional Court; Council of State; Court of Final Appeals or Cour de Cassation; Court of Appeals; note-the judicial system was reformed in 1992 | People's Supreme Court or Tribunal Supremo Popular (president, vice president, and other judges are elected by the National Assembly) |
Labor force | NA | 4.3 million (2000 est.)
note: state sector 75%, non-state sector 25% (1998) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 70% | agriculture 25%, industry 24%, services 51% (1998) |
Land boundaries | total: 2,640 km
border countries: The Gambia 740 km, Guinea 330 km, Guinea-Bissau 338 km, Mali 419 km, Mauritania 813 km |
total:
29 km border countries: US Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay 29 km note: Guantanamo Naval Base is leased by the US and thus remains part of Cuba |
Land use | arable land: 11.58%
permanent crops: 0.19% other: 88.23% (1998 est.) |
arable land:
24% permanent crops: 7% permanent pastures: 27% forests and woodland: 24% other: 18% (1993 est.) |
Languages | French (official), Wolof, Pulaar, Jola, Mandinka | Spanish |
Legal system | based on French civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts in Constitutional Court; the Council of State audits the government's accounting office; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on Spanish and American law, with large elements of Communist legal theory; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (120 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve five-year terms)
note: the former National Assembly, dissolved in the spring of 2001, had 140 seats elections: last held 29 April 2001 (next to be held NA 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - SOPI Coalition 89, AFP 11, PS 10, other 10 |
unicameral National Assembly of People's Power or Asemblea Nacional del Poder Popular (601 seats, elected directly from slates approved by special candidacy commissions; members serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 11 January 1998 (next to be held in 2003) election results: percent of vote - PCC 94.39%; seats - PCC 601 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 62.93 years
male: 61.29 years female: 64.61 years (2002 est.) |
total population:
76.41 years male: 74.02 years female: 78.94 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 39.1% male: 51.1% female: 28.9% (2001 est.) |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 95.7% male: 96.2% female: 95.3% (1995 est.) |
Location | Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea-Bissau and Mauritania | Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, south of Florida |
Map references | Africa | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | 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 |
exclusive economic zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | - | total:
15 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 54,821 GRT/78,062 DWT ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 7, liquefied gas 1, petroleum tanker 1, refrigerated cargo 5 (2000 est.) |
Military - note | - | Moscow, for decades the key military supporter and supplier of Cuba, cut off almost all military aid by 1993 |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force, National Gendarmerie, National Police (Surete Nationale) | Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR) includes ground forces, Revolutionary Navy (MGR), Air and Air Defense Force (DAAFAR), Territorial Troops Militia (MTT), and Youth Labor Army (EJT); the Border Guard (TGF) is controlled by the Interior Ministry |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $68.6 million (FY02) | $NA |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.4% (FY02) | roughly 4% (FY95 est.) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 2,406,337 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49:
3,090,633 females age 15-49: 3,029,274 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 1,257,423 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49:
1,911,160 females age 15-49: 1,867,958 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age (2002 est.) | 17 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 114,189 (2002 est.) | males:
79,562 females: 85,650 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 4 April (1960) | Independence Day, 10 October (1868); note - 10 October 1868 is the date of independence from Spain, 20 May 1902 is the date of independence from US administration |
Nationality | noun: Senegalese (singular and plural)
adjective: Senegalese |
noun:
Cuban(s) adjective: Cuban |
Natural hazards | lowlands seasonally flooded; periodic droughts | the east coast is subject to hurricanes from August to October (in general, the country averages about one hurricane every other year); droughts are common |
Natural resources | fish, phosphates, iron ore | cobalt, nickel, iron ore, copper, manganese, salt, timber, silica, petroleum, arable land |
Net migration rate | 0.21 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | -1.36 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | African Party for Democracy and Socialism or And Jef (also known as PADS/AJ) [Landing SAVANE, secretary general]; African Party of Independence [Majhemout DIOP]; Alliance of Forces of Progress or AFP [Moustapha NIASSE]; Democratic and Patriotic Convention or CDP (also known as Garab-Gi) [Dr. Iba Der THIAM]; Democratic League-Labor Party Movement or LD-MPT [Dr. Abdoulaye BATHILY]; Front for Socialism and Democracy or FSD [Cheikh Abdoulaye DIEYE]; Gainde Centrist Bloc or BGC [Jean-Paul DIAS]; Independence and Labor Party or PIT [Amath DANSOKHO]; National Democratic Rally or RND [Madier DIOUF]; Senegalese Democratic Party or PDS [Abdoulaye WADE]; Socialist Party or PS [Ousmane Tanor DIENG]; SOPI Coalition (a coalition led by the PDS) [Abdoulaye WADE]; Union for Democratic Renewal or URD [Djibo Leyti KA]; other small parties | only party - Cuban Communist Party or PCC [Fidel CASTRO Ruz, first secretary] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | labor; Muslim brotherhoods; students; teachers | NA |
Population | 10,589,571 (July 2002 est.) | 11,184,023 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 54% (2001 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.91% (2002 est.) | 0.37% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Dakar, Kaolack, Matam, Podor, Richard Toll, Saint-Louis, Ziguinchor | Cienfuegos, Havana, Manzanillo, Mariel, Matanzas, Nuevitas, Santiago de Cuba |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 8, FM 20, shortwave 1 (2001) | AM 169, FM 55, shortwave 1 (1998) |
Radios | 1.24 million (1997) | 3.9 million (1997) |
Railways | total: 906 km
narrow gauge: 906 km 1.000-meter gauge (70 km double-tracked) (2001) |
total:
11,969 km standard gauge: 4,807 km 1.435-m gauge (147 km electrified) note: in addition to the 4,807 km of standard gauge track in public use, 7,162 km of track is in private use by sugar plantations; about 90% of the private use track is standard gauge and the rest is narrow gauge (2000) |
Religions | Muslim 94%, indigenous beliefs 1%, Christian 5% (mostly Roman Catholic) | nominally 85% Roman Catholic prior to CASTRO assuming power; Protestants, Jehovah's Witnesses, Jews, and Santeria are also represented |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.97 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
at birth:
1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.86 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 16 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: good system
domestic: above-average urban system; microwave radio relay, coaxial cable and fiber-optic cable in trunk system international: 4 submarine cables; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
general assessment:
NA domestic: principal trunk system, end to end of country, is coaxial cable; fiber-optic distribution in Havana and on Isla de la Juventud; 2 microwave radio relay installations (one is old, US-built; the other newer, Soviet-built); both analog and digital mobile cellular service established international: satellite earth station - 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 234,916 (2001) | 473,031 (2000) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 373,965 (2001) | 2,994 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (1997) | 58 (1997) |
Terrain | generally low, rolling, plains rising to foothills in southeast | mostly flat to rolling plains, with rugged hills and mountains in the southeast |
Total fertility rate | 5.03 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 1.6 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 48% (urban youth 40%) (2001 est.) | 5.5% (2000 est.) |
Waterways | 897 km
note: 785 km on the Senegal river, and 112 km on the Saloum river |
240 km |