Sierra Leone (2002) | Bangladesh (2002) | |
Administrative divisions | 3 provinces and 1 area*; Eastern, Northern, Southern, Western* | 5 divisions; Barisal, Chittagong, Dhaka, Khulna, Rajshahi; note - there may be one additional division named Sylhet |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 44.7% (male 1,230,530; female 1,280,084)
15-64 years: 52.1% (male 1,397,070; female 1,528,986) 65 years and over: 3.2% (male 87,256; female 90,817) (2002 est.) |
0-14 years: 33.8% (male 23,069,242; female 21,995,457)
15-64 years: 62.8% (male 42,924,778; female 40,873,077) 65 years and over: 3.4% (male 2,444,314; female 2,069,816) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | rice, coffee, cocoa, palm kernels, palm oil, peanuts; poultry, cattle, sheep, pigs; fish | rice, jute, tea, wheat, sugarcane, potatoes, tobacco, pulses, oilseeds, spices, fruit; beef, milk, poultry |
Airports | 10 (2001) | 18 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2002) |
total: 15
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 6 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 9
914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 2 (2002) |
total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2002) |
Area | total: 71,740 sq km
land: 71,620 sq km water: 120 sq km |
total: 144,000 sq km
land: 133,910 sq km water: 10,090 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than South Carolina | slightly smaller than Iowa |
Background | Since 1991, civil war between the government and the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and the displacement of more than 2 million people (well over one-third of the population) many of whom are now refugees in neighboring countries. After several setbacks, the end to the eleven-year conflict in Sierra Leone may finally be near at hand. With the support of the UN peacekeeping force and contributions from the World Bank and international community, demobilization and disarmament of the RUF and Civil Defense Forces (CDF) combatants has been completed. Reestablishment of government authority throughout the country is slowly proceeding and national elections took place in May 2002. | Bangladesh came into existence in 1971 when Bengali East Pakistan seceded from its union with West Pakistan. About a third of this extremely poor country floods annually during the monsoon rainy season, hampering economic development. |
Birth rate | 44.58 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 25.12 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $96 million
expenditures: $351 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) (2000 est.) |
revenues: $4.9 billion
expenditures: $6.8 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY99/00 est.) |
Capital | Freetown | Dhaka |
Climate | tropical; hot, humid; summer rainy season (May to December); winter dry season (December to April) | tropical; mild winter (October to March); hot, humid summer (March to June); humid, warm rainy monsoon (June to October) |
Coastline | 402 km | 580 km |
Constitution | 1 October 1991; subsequently amended several times | 4 November 1972, effective 16 December 1972, suspended following coup of 24 March 1982, restored 10 November 1986, amended many times |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Sierra Leone
conventional short form: Sierra Leone |
conventional long form: People's Republic of Bangladesh
conventional short form: Bangladesh former: East Pakistan |
Currency | leone (SLL) | taka (BDT) |
Death rate | 18.83 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 8.47 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.3 billion (2000) | $17 billion (2000) (2000) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Peter Russell CHAVEAS
embassy: Corner of Walpole and Siaka Stevens Streets, Freetown mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [232] (22) 226481 through 226485 FAX: [232] (22) 225471 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Mary Ann PETERS
embassy: Madani Avenue, Baridhara, Dhaka 1212 mailing address: G. P. O. Box 323, Dhaka 1000 telephone: [880] (2) 8824700 through 8824722 FAX: [880] (2) 8823744 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Ibrahim M. KAMARA
chancery: 1701 19th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 939-9261 through 9263 FAX: [1] (202) 483-1793 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Syed Hasan AHMAD
chancery: 3510 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 244-0183 FAX: [1] (202) 244-5366 consulate(s) general: Los Angeles and New York |
Disputes - international | ongoing conflict in Sierra Leone has engendered refugee movements into neighboring Guinea and Liberia | only a small portion of the boundary with India remains undelimited; discussions to demarcate the boundary, exchange 162 miniscule enclaves, and allocate divided villages remain stalled; skirmishes, illegal border trafficking, and violence along the border continue; Bangladesh has protested India's attempts to fence off high traffic sections of the porous boundary; Burmese attempts to construct a dam on the border stream in 2001 prompted an armed response halting construction; Burmese Muslim refugees migrate into Bangladesh straining meager resources |
Economic aid - recipient | $103 million (2001 est.) | $1.575 billion |
Economy - overview | Sierra Leone is an extremely poor African nation with tremendous inequality in income distribution. It does have substantial mineral, agricultural, and fishery resources. However, the economic and social infrastructure is not well developed, and serious social disorders continue to hamper economic development, following a 10-year civil war. About two-thirds of the working-age population engages in subsistence agriculture. Manufacturing consists mainly of the processing of raw materials and of light manufacturing for the domestic market. There are plans to reopen bauxite and rutile mines shut down during the conflict. The major source of hard currency consists of the mining of diamonds. The fate of the economy depends upon the maintenance of domestic peace and the continued receipt of substantial aid from abroad. | Despite sustained domestic and international efforts to improve economic and demographic prospects, Bangladesh remains a poor, overpopulated, and ill-governed nation. Although more than half of GDP is generated through the service sector, nearly two-thirds of Bangladeshis are employed in the agriculture sector, with rice as the single most important product. Major impediments to growth include frequent cyclones and floods, inefficient state-owned enterprises, inadequate port facilities, a rapidly growing labor force that cannot be absorbed by agriculture, delays in exploiting energy resources (natural gas), insufficient power supplies, and slow implementation of economic reforms. Economic reform is stalled in many instances by political infighting and corruption at all levels of government. Progress also has been blocked by opposition from the bureaucracy, public sector unions, and other vested interest groups. The BNP government, led by Prime Minister Khaleda ZIA, has the parliamentary strength to push through needed reforms, but the party's level of political will to do so has been lacking. |
Electricity - consumption | 227.85 million kWh (2000) | 12.548 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 245 million kWh (2000) | 13.493 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
fossil fuel: 92%
hydro: 8% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Loma Mansa (Bintimani) 1,948 m |
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Keokradong 1,230 m |
Environment - current issues | rapid population growth pressuring the environment; overharvesting of timber, expansion of cattle grazing, and slash-and-burn agriculture have resulted in deforestation and soil exhaustion; civil war depleting natural resources; overfishing | many people are landless and forced to live on and cultivate flood-prone land; water-borne diseases prevalent in surface water; water pollution, especially of fishing areas, results from the use of commercial pesticides; ground water contaminated by naturally occurring arsenic; intermittent water shortages because of falling water tables in the northern and central parts of the country; soil degradation and erosion; deforestation; severe overpopulation |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | 20 native African tribes 90% (Temne 30%, Mende 30%, other 30%), Creole (Krio) 10% (descendants of freed Jamaican slaves who were settled in the Freetown area in the late-18th century), refugees from Liberia's recent civil war, small numbers of Europeans, Lebanese, Pakistanis, and Indians | Bengali 98%, tribal groups, non-Bengali Muslims (1998) |
Exchange rates | leones per US dollar - 2,212.47 (January 2002), 1,985.89 (2001), 2,092.13 (2000), 1,804.20 (1999), 1,563.62 (1998), 981.48 (1997) | taka per US dollar - 57.756 (January 2002), 55.807 (2001), 52.142 (2000), 49.085 (1999), 46.906 (1998), 43.892 (1997) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Ahmad Tejan KABBAH (since 29 March 1996, reinstated 10 March 1998); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Ahmad Tejan KABBAH (since 29 March 1996, reinstated 10 March 1998); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Ministers of State appointed by the president with the approval of the House of Representatives; the cabinet is responsible to the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 14 May 2002 (next to be held NA May 2007); note - president's tenure of office is limited to two five-year terms election results: Ahmad Tejan KABBAH reelected president; percent of vote - Ahmad Tejan KABBAH (SLPP) 70.6%, Ernest KOROMA 22.4% |
chief of state: President Iajuddin AHMED (since 6 Sepember 2002); note - the president's duties are normally ceremonial, but with the 13th amendment to the constitution ("Caretaker Government Amendment"), the president's role becomes significant at times when Parliament is dissolved and a caretaker government is installed - at presidential direction - to supervise the elections
head of government: Prime Minister Khaleda ZIA (since 10 October 2001) cabinet: Cabinet selected by the prime minister and appointed by the president elections: president elected by National Parliament for a five-year term; election scheduled for 16 September 2002 was not held since Iajuddin AHMED was the only presidential candidate; he was sworn in on 6 September 2002 (next election to be held by NA 2007); following legislative elections, the leader of the party that wins the most seats is usually appointed prime minister by the president election results: Iajuddin AHMED declared by the Election Commission elected unopposed as president; percent of National Parliament vote - NA% |
Exports | $65 million f.o.b. (2000 est.) | $6.6 billion (2001) |
Exports - commodities | diamonds, rutile, cocoa, coffee, fish | garments, jute and jute goods, leather, frozen fish and seafood |
Exports - partners | NZ 33.7%, Belgium 32.6%, US 7.4%, France 5.1% (2000) | US 31.8%, Germany 10.9%, UK 7.9%, France 5.2%, Netherlands 5.2%, Italy 4.42% (2000) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 July - 30 June |
Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of light green (top), white, and light blue | green with a large red disk slightly to the hoist side of center; the red sun of freedom represents the blood shed to achieve independence; the green field symbolizes the lush countryside, and secondarily, the traditional color of Islam |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $2.7 billion (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $230 billion (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 43%
industry: 27% services: 30% (2000) |
agriculture: 30%
industry: 18% services: 52% (2000 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $500 (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1,750 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 3% (2001 est.) | 5.6% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 8 30 N, 11 30 W | 24 00 N, 90 00 E |
Geography - note | rainfall along the coast can reach 495 cm (195 inches) a year, making it one of the wettest places along coastal, western Africa | most of the country is situated on deltas of large rivers flowing from the Himalayas: the Ganges unites with the Jamuna (main channel of the Brahmaputra) and later joins the Meghna to eventually empty into the Bay of Bengal |
Heliports | 2 (2002) | - |
Highways | total: 11,700 km
paved: 936 km unpaved: 10,764 km (2002) |
total: 201,182 km
paved: 19,112 km unpaved: 182,070 km (1997) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 1%
highest 10%: 44% (1989) (1989) |
lowest 10%: 4%
highest 10%: 29% |
Illicit drugs | - | transit country for illegal drugs produced in neighboring countries |
Imports | $145 million f.o.b. (2000 est.) | $8.7 billion (2001) |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, fuels and lubricants, chemicals | machinery and equipment, chemicals, iron and steel, textiles, raw cotton, food, crude oil and petroleum products, cement |
Imports - partners | Czech Republic 26.7%, UK 26.6%, US 5.1%, Netherlands 4.6% (2000) | India 10.5%, EU 9.5%, Japan 9.5%, Singapore 8.5%, China 7.4% (2000) |
Independence | 27 April 1961 (from UK) | 16 December 1971 (from West Pakistan); note - 26 March 1971 is the date of independence from West Pakistan, 16 December 1971 is known as Victory Day and commemorates the official creation of the state of Bangladesh |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 6.2% (2001 est.) |
Industries | mining (diamonds); small-scale manufacturing (beverages, textiles, cigarettes, footwear); petroleum refining | cotton textiles, jute, garments, tea processing, paper newsprint, cement, chemical fertilizer, light engineering, sugar |
Infant mortality rate | 144.38 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | 68.05 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 15% (2000 est.) | 5.8% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | AsDB, C, CCC, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM, OIC, OPCW, SAARC, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOP, UNMOT, UNOMIG, UNTAET, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2001) | 10 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 290 sq km (1998 est.) | 38,440 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Appeals Court; High Court | Supreme Court (the chief justices and other judges are appointed by the president) |
Labor force | 1.369 million
note: only about 65,000 wage earners (1985) (1981 est.) |
64.1 million (1998)
note: extensive export of labor to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, Oman, Qatar, and Malaysia; workers' remittances estimated at $1.71 billion in 1998-99 (1998) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% | agriculture 63%, services 26%, industry 11% (FY95/96) |
Land boundaries | total: 958 km
border countries: Guinea 652 km, Liberia 306 km |
total: 4,246 km
border countries: Burma 193 km, India 4,053 km |
Land use | arable land: 6.76%
permanent crops: 0.78% other: 92.46% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 60.7%
permanent crops: 2.61% other: 36.69% (1998 est.) |
Languages | English (official, regular use limited to literate minority), Mende (principal vernacular in the south), Temne (principal vernacular in the north), Krio (English-based Creole, spoken by the descendants of freed Jamaican slaves who were settled in the Freetown area, a lingua franca and a first language for 10% of the population but understood by 95%) | Bangla (official, also known as Bengali), English |
Legal system | based on English law and customary laws indigenous to local tribes; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on English common law |
Legislative branch | unicameral Parliament (124 seats - 112 elected by popular vote, 12 filled by paramount chiefs elected in separate elections; members serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 14 May 2002 (next to be held NA May 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - SLPP 70.06%, APC 22.35%, PLP 3%, others 4.59%; seats by party - SLPP 83, APC 27, PLP 2 |
unicameral National Parliament or Jatiya Sangsad; 300 seats elected by popular vote from single territorial constituencies (the constitutional amendment reserving 30 seats for women over and above the 300 regular parliament seats expired in May 2001); members serve five-year terms
elections: last held 1 October 2001 (next to be held before October 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - BNP and alliance partners 46%, AL 42%; seats by party - BNP 201, AL 62, JI 18, JP (Ershad faction) 14, IOJ 2, JP (Naziur) 1, other 4; note - the election of October 2001 brought a majority BNP government aligned with three other smaller parties - Jamaat-i-Islami, Islami Oikya Jote, and Jatiya Party (Naziur) |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 45.96 years
male: 43.01 years female: 49.01 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 60.92 years
male: 61.08 years female: 60.74 years (2002 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write English, Mende, Temne, or Arabic
total population: 31.4% male: 45.4% female: 18.2% (1995 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 56% male: 63% female: 49% (2000 est.) |
Location | Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Liberia | Southern Asia, bordering the Bay of Bengal, between Burma and India |
Map references | Africa | Asia |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 NM
contiguous zone: 24 NM exclusive economic zone: 200 NM |
contiguous zone: 18 NM
continental shelf: up to the outer limits of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | - | total: 34 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 269,932 GRT/379,271 DWT
ships by type: bulk 2, cargo 26, container 3, petroleum tanker 2, refrigerated cargo 1, includes s foreign-owned ship registered here as a flag of convenience: Singapore 5 (2002 est.) |
Military branches | Army (RSLAF) | Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, paramilitary forces (includes Bangladesh Rifles, Bangladesh Ansars, Village Defense Parties, Armed Police Battalions, National Cadet Corps) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $10.3 million (FY01) | $559 million (FY96/97) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.5% (FY01) | 1.8% (FY96/97) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 1,203,682 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49: 37,303,372 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 583,946 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49: 22,139,736 (2002 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 27 April (1961) | Independence Day, 26 March (1971); note - 26 March 1971 is the date of independence from West Pakistan, 16 December 1971 is Victory Day and commemorates the official creation of the state of Bangladesh |
Nationality | noun: Sierra Leonean(s)
adjective: Sierra Leonean |
noun: Bangladeshi(s)
adjective: Bangladeshi |
Natural hazards | dry, sand-laden harmattan winds blow from the Sahara (December to February); sandstorms, dust storms | droughts, cyclones; much of the country routinely inundated during the summer monsoon season |
Natural resources | diamonds, titanium ore, bauxite, iron ore, gold, chromite | natural gas, arable land, timber, coal |
Net migration rate | 6.32 migrant(s)/1,000 population
note: by the end of 1999 refugees from Sierra Leone are assumed to be returning (2002 est.) |
-0.75 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Pipelines | - | natural gas 1,250 km |
Political parties and leaders | All People's Congress or APC [Alhaji Sat KOROMA, interim chairman]; Citizens United for Peace and Progress or CUPP [Alfred Musa CONTEH, interim chairman]; Coalition for Progress Party or CPP [Jeridine WILLIAM-SARHO, interim leader]; Democratic Center Party or DCP [Adu Aiah KOROMA]; Democratic Labor Party or DLP [George E. L. PALMER]; Democratic Party or DP [Henry BALO, acting chairman]; National Alliance Democratic Party or NADP [Mohamed Yahya SILLAH, chairman]; National Democratic Alliance or NDA [Amadu M. B. JALLOH]; National People's Party or NPP [Andrew TURAY]; National Republican Party or NRP [Stephen Sahr MAMBU]; National Unity Movement or NUM [Sam LEIGH, interim chairman]; National Unity Party or NUP [John BENJAMINE, interim leader]; Peace and Liberation Party or PLP [Darlington MORRISON, interim chairman]; People's Democratic Alliance or PDA [Cpl. (Ret.) Abdul Rahman KAMARA, interim chairman]; People's Democratic Party or PDP [Osman KAMARA]; People's National Convention or PNC [Edward John KARGBO]; People's Progressive Party or PPP [Abass Chernok BUNDU, chairman]; Revolutionary United Front Party or RUFP [Foday Saybana SANKOH, chairman]; Social Democratic Party or SDP [Andrew Victor LUNGAY]; Sierra Leone People's Party or SLPP [Ahmad Tejan KABBAH, chairman]; United National People's Party or UNPP [John KAREFA-SMART in exile, Raymond KAMARA, acting leader]; Young People's Party or YPP [Cornelius DEVEAUS, interim chairman] | Awami League or AL [Sheikh HASINA]; Bangladesh Communist Party or BCP [Saifuddin Ahmed MANIK]; Bangladesh Nationalist Party or BNP [Khaleda ZIA, chairperson]; Islami Oikya Jote or IOJ [Mufti Fazlul Haq AMINI]; Jamaat-E-Islami or JI [Motiur Rahman NIZAMI]; Jatiya Party or JP (Ershad faction) [Hussain Mohammad ERSHAD]; Jatiya Party (Manzur faction) [[Naziur Rahman MANZUR] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Trade Unions and Student Unions | NA |
Population | 5,614,743 (July 2002 est.) | 133,376,684 (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 68% (1989 est.) | 36% |
Population growth rate | 3.21% (2002 est.) | 1.59% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Bonthe, Freetown, Pepel | Chittagong, Dhaka, Mongla Port, Narayanganj (2001) |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 9, shortwave 1 (1999) | AM 12, FM 12, shortwave 2 (1999) |
Radios | 1.12 million (1997) | 6.15 million (1997) |
Railways | total: 84 km
narrow gauge: 84 km 1.067-m gauge note: Sierra Leone has no common carrier railroads; the existing railroad is private and used on a limited basis while the mine at Marampa is closed (2001) |
total: 2,745 km
broad gauge: 923 km 1.676-m gauge narrow gauge: 1,822 km 1.000-m gauge (2000 est.) |
Religions | Muslim 60%, indigenous beliefs 30%, Christian 10% | Muslim 83%, Hindu 16%, other 1% (1998) |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 0.96 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.91 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.96 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.18 male(s)/female total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: marginal telephone and telegraph service
domestic: The national microwave radio relay trunk system connects Freetown to Bo and Kenema (April 2001) international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
general assessment: totally inadequate for a modern country
domestic: modernizing; introducing digital systems; trunk systems include VHF and UHF microwave radio relay links, and some fiber-optic cable in cities international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Indian Ocean); international radiotelephone communications and landline service to neighboring countries (2000) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 25,000 (2001) | 500,000 (2000) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 30,000 (2001) | 283,000 (2000) |
Television broadcast stations | 2 (1999) | 15 (1999) |
Terrain | coastal belt of mangrove swamps, wooded hill country, upland plateau, mountains in east | mostly flat alluvial plain; hilly in southeast |
Total fertility rate | 5.94 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 2.72 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 35% (2001 est.) |
Waterways | 800 km (of which 600 km navigable year round) | up to 8,046 km depending on season
note: includes 3,058 km main cargo routes |