Sierra Leone (2007) | Burundi (2007) | |
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Administrative divisions | 3 provinces and 1 area*; Eastern, Northern, Southern, Western* | 17 provinces; Bubanza, Bujumbura Mairie, Bujumbura Rurale, Bururi, Cankuzo, Cibitoke, Gitega, Karuzi, Kayanza, Kirundo, Makamba, Muramvya, Muyinga, Mwaro, Ngozi, Rutana, Ruyigi |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 44.8% (male 1,349,878/female 1,400,297)
15-64 years: 52% (male 1,531,763/female 1,664,996) 65 years and over: 3.2% (male 92,360/female 105,268) (2007 est.) |
0-14 years: 46.3% (male 1,951,879/female 1,930,371)
15-64 years: 51.2% (male 2,131,759/female 2,162,093) 65 years and over: 2.6% (male 85,522/female 128,881) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | rice, coffee, cocoa, palm kernels, palm oil, peanuts; poultry, cattle, sheep, pigs; fish | coffee, cotton, tea, corn, sorghum, sweet potatoes, bananas, manioc (tapioca); beef, milk, hides |
Airports | 10 (2007) | 8 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2007) |
total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 9
914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 2 (2007) |
total: 7
914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 3 (2007) |
Area | total: 71,740 sq km
land: 71,620 sq km water: 120 sq km |
total: 27,830 sq km
land: 25,650 sq km water: 2,180 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than South Carolina | slightly smaller than Maryland |
Background | The government is slowly reestablishing its authority after the civil war from 1991 to 2002 that resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and the displacement of more than 2 million people (about one-third of the population). The last UN peacekeepers withdrew in December 2005 leaving full responsibility for security with domestic forces. A new civilian UN mission - the UN Integrated Office in Sierra Leone (UNIOSIL) - was established to support the government's efforts to consolidate peace. The most pressing long-term threat to stability in Sierra Leone is the potential for political insecurity surrounding elections in July 2007. | Burundi's first democratically elected president was assassinated in October 1993 after only 100 days in office, triggering widespread ethnic violence between Hutu and Tutsi factions. More than 200,000 Burundians perished during the conflict that spanned almost a dozen years. Hundreds of thousands of Burundians were internally displaced or became refugees in neighboring countries. An internationally brokered power-sharing agreement between the Tutsi-dominated government and the Hutu rebels in 2003 paved the way for a transition process that led to an integrated defense force, established a new constitution in 2005, and elected a majority Hutu government in 2005. The new government, led by President Pierre NKURUNZIZA, signed a South African brokered ceasefire with the country's last rebel group in September of 2006 but still faces many challenges. |
Birth rate | 45.41 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 41.97 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $96 million
expenditures: $351 million (2000 est.) |
revenues: $214.1 million
expenditures: $306.8 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (2006 est.) |
Capital | name: Freetown
geographic coordinates: 8 30 N, 13 15 W time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
name: Bujumbura
geographic coordinates: 3 22 S, 29 21 E time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | tropical; hot, humid; summer rainy season (May to December); winter dry season (December to April) | equatorial; high plateau with considerable altitude variation (772 m to 2,670 m above sea level); average annual temperature varies with altitude from 23 to 17 degrees centigrade but is generally moderate as the average altitude is about 1,700 m; average annual rainfall is about 150 cm; two wet seasons (February to May and September to November), and two dry seasons (June to August and December to January) |
Coastline | 402 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 1 October 1991; subsequently amended several times | 28 February 2005; ratified by popular referendum |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Sierra Leone
conventional short form: Sierra Leone local long form: Republic of Sierra Leone local short form: Sierra Leone |
conventional long form: Republic of Burundi
conventional short form: Burundi local long form: Republique du Burundi/Republika y'u Burundi local short form: Burundi former: Urundi |
Death rate | 22.64 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 13.17 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.61 billion (2003 est.) | $1.2 billion (2003) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Thomas N. HULL
embassy: Corner of Walpole and Siaka Stevens Streets, Freetown mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [232] (22) 515 000 or [232] (76) 515 000 FAX: [232] (22) 225471 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Patricia Newton MOLLER
embassy: Avenue des Etats-Unis, Bujumbura mailing address: B. P. 1720, Bujumbura telephone: [257] 223454 FAX: [257] 222926 |
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 Celestin NIYONGABO
chancery: Suite 212, 2233 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007 telephone: [1] (202) 342-2574 FAX: [1] (202) 342-2578 |
Disputes - international | as domestic fighting among disparate ethnic groups, rebel groups, warlords, and youth gangs in Cote d'Ivoire, Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone gradually abate, the number of refugees in border areas has begun to slowly dwindle; UN Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) has maintained over 4,000 peacekeepers in Sierra Leone since 1999; Sierra Leone considers excessive Guinea's definition of the flood plain limits to define the left bank boundary of the Makona and Moa rivers and protests Guinea's continued occupation of these lands including the hamlet of Yenga occupied since 1998 | conflicts among Tutsi, Hutu, other ethnic groups, associated political rebels, armed gangs, and various government forces have abated somewhat in the Great Lakes region; UN Operation in Burundi (ONUB) completed its mandate in December 2006 after a three-year peace-keeping mission |
Economic aid - recipient | $343.4 million (2005 est.) | $365 million (2005) |
Economy - overview | Sierra Leone is an extremely poor nation with tremendous inequality in income distribution. While it possesses substantial mineral, agricultural, and fishery resources, its economic and social infrastructure is not well developed, and serious social disorders continue to hamper economic development. Nearly half 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. Alluvial diamond mining remains the major source of hard currency earnings accounting for nearly half of Sierra Leone's exports. The fate of the economy depends upon the maintenance of domestic peace and the continued receipt of substantial aid from abroad, which is essential to offset the severe trade imbalance and supplement government revenues. The IMF has completed a Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility program that helped stabilize economic growth and reduce inflation. A recent increase in political stability has led to a revival of economic activity such as the rehabilitation of bauxite and rutile mining. | Burundi is a landlocked, resource-poor country with an underdeveloped manufacturing sector. The economy is predominantly agricultural with more than 90% of the population dependent on subsistence agriculture. Economic growth depends on coffee and tea exports, which account for 90% of foreign exchange earnings. The ability to pay for imports, therefore, rests primarily on weather conditions and international coffee and tea prices. The Tutsi minority, 14% of the population, dominates the government and the coffee trade at the expense of the Hutu majority, 85% of the population. An ethnic-based war that lasted for over a decade resulted in more than 200,000 deaths, forced more than 48,000 refugees into Tanzania, and displaced 140,000 others internally. Only one in two children go to school, and approximately one in 15 adults has HIV/AIDS. Food, medicine, and electricity remain in short supply. Political stability and the end of the civil war have improved aid flows and economic activity has increased, but underlying weaknesses - a high poverty rate, poor education rates, a weak legal system, and low administrative capacity - risk undermining planned economic reforms. Burundi grew about 5 percent in 2006. Delayed disbursements of funds from the World Bank may add to budget pressures in 2007. Burundi will continue to remain heavily dependent on aid from bilateral and multilateral donors. |
Electricity - consumption | 227.9 million kWh (2005) | 161.4 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2005) | 34 million kWh; note - supplied by the Democratic Republic of the Congo (2005) |
Electricity - production | 245 million kWh (2005) | 137 million kWh (2005) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Loma Mansa (Bintimani) 1,948 m |
lowest point: Lake Tanganyika 772 m
highest point: Heha 2,670 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 depleted natural resources; overfishing | soil erosion as a result of overgrazing and the expansion of agriculture into marginal lands; deforestation (little forested land remains because of uncontrolled cutting of trees for fuel); habitat loss threatens wildlife populations |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
Ethnic groups | 20 African ethnic groups 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 | Hutu (Bantu) 85%, Tutsi (Hamitic) 14%, Twa (Pygmy) 1%, Europeans 3,000, South Asians 2,000 |
Exchange rates | leones per US dollar - 2,961.7 (2006), 2,889.6 (2005), 2,701.3 (2004), 2,347.9 (2003), 2,099 (2002) | Burundi francs per US dollar - 1,030 (2006), 1,138 (2005), 1,100.91 (2004), 1,082.62 (2003), 930.75 (2002) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Ernest Bai KOROMA (since 17 September 2007); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Ernest Bai KOROMA (since 17 September 2007) 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 (eligible for a second term); election last held 11 August 2007 and 8 September 2007 (next to be held in 2012) election results: second round results; percent of vote - Ernest Bai KOROMA 54.6%, Solomon BEREWA 45.4% |
chief of state: President Pierre NKURUNZIZA (since 26 August 2005); First Vice President Martin NDUWIMANA - Tutsi (since 29 August 2005); Second Vice President Gabriel NTISEZERANA - Hutu (since 9 February 2007)
head of government: President Pierre NKURUNZIZA (since 26 August 2005); First Vice President Martin NDUWIMANA - Tutsi (since 29 August 2005); Second Vice President Gabriel NTISEZERANA - Hutu (since 9 February 2007) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by president elections: the president is elected by popular vote to a five-year term (eligible for a second term); note - the constitution adopted in February 2005 permits the post-transition president to be elected by a two-thirds majority of the parliament; vice presidents nominated by the president, endorsed by parliament election results: Pierre NKURUNZIZA was elected president by the parliament by a vote of 151 to 9; note - the constitution adopted in February 2005 permits the post-transition president to be elected by a two-thirds majority of the legislature |
Exports | NA bbl/day | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | diamonds, rutile, cocoa, coffee, fish | coffee, tea, sugar, cotton, hides |
Exports - partners | Belgium 52.1%, US 19.1%, Netherlands 6.8% (2006) | Switzerland 33.7%, UK 12.2%, Pakistan 8.5%, Rwanda 5.3%, Egypt 4.2% (2006) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of light green (top), white, and light blue | divided by a white diagonal cross into red panels (top and bottom) and green panels (hoist side and fly side) with a white disk superimposed at the center bearing three red six-pointed stars outlined in green arranged in a triangular design (one star above, two stars below) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 49%
industry: 31% services: 21% (2001 est.) |
agriculture: 44.9%
industry: 20.9% services: 34.1% (2006 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 7.1% (2006 est.) | 5.1% (2006 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 8 30 N, 11 30 W | 3 30 S, 30 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 | landlocked; straddles crest of the Nile-Congo watershed; the Kagera, which drains into Lake Victoria, is the most remote headstream of the White Nile |
Heliports | 2 (2007) | 1 (2007) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 0.5%
highest 10%: 43.6% (1989) |
lowest 10%: 1.7%
highest 10%: 32.8% (1998) |
Imports | NA bbl/day | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, fuels and lubricants, chemicals | capital goods, petroleum products, foodstuffs |
Imports - partners | Cote d'Ivoire 9.3%, US 7.7%, China 7.7%, Brazil 6.9%, UK 6.7%, Netherlands 5.5%, South Africa 4.5%, India 4.3%, France 4.2% (2006) | Saudi Arabia 12.6%, Kenya 8.2%, Japan 7.8%, Russia 4.7%, UK 4.6%, France 4.4%, China 4.4% (2006) |
Independence | 27 April 1961 (from UK) | 1 July 1962 (from UN trusteeship under Belgian administration) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 18% (2001) |
Industries | diamond mining; small-scale manufacturing (beverages, textiles, cigarettes, footwear); petroleum refining, small commercial ship repair | light consumer goods such as blankets, shoes, soap; assembly of imported components; public works construction; food processing |
Infant mortality rate | total: 158.27 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 175.39 deaths/1,000 live births female: 140.65 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
total: 61.93 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 68.91 deaths/1,000 live births female: 54.75 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1% (2002 est.) | 2.8% (2006 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, AfDB, AU, C, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, CEPGL, COMESA, EAC, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), IPU, ISO (subscriber), ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OIF, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
Irrigated land | 300 sq km (2003) | 210 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Appeals Court; High Court | Supreme Court or Cour Supreme; Constitutional Court; Courts of Appeal (there are three in separate locations); Tribunals of First Instance (17 at the province level and 123 small local tribunals) |
Labor force | 1.369 million (1981 est.) | 2.99 million (2002) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
agriculture: 93.6%
industry: 2.3% services: 4.1% (2002 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: 958 km
border countries: Guinea 652 km, Liberia 306 km |
total: 974 km
border countries: Democratic Republic of the Congo 233 km, Rwanda 290 km, Tanzania 451 km |
Land use | arable land: 7.95%
permanent crops: 1.05% other: 91% (2005) |
arable land: 35.57%
permanent crops: 13.12% other: 51.31% (2005) |
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%) | Kirundi (official), French (official), Swahili (along Lake Tanganyika and in the Bujumbura area) |
Legal system | based on English law and customary laws indigenous to local tribes; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on German and Belgian civil codes and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | unicameral Parliament (124 seats; 112 members elected by popular vote, 12 filled by paramount chiefs elected in separate elections; to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held on 11 August 2007 (next to be held in 2012) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - APC 59, SLPP 43, PMDC 10 |
bicameral Parliament or Parlement, consists of a National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (minimum 100 seats, 60% Hutu and 40% Tutsi with at least 30% being women; additional seats appointed by a National Independent Electoral Commission to ensure ethnic representation; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) and a Senate (54 seats; 34 members elected by indirect vote to serve five-year terms, with remaining seats assigned to ethnic groups and former chiefs of state)
elections: National Assembly - last held 4 July 2005 (next to be held in 2010); Senate - last held 29 July 2005 (next to be held in 2010) election results: National Assembly - percent of vote by party - CNDD-FDD 58.6%, FRODEBU 21.7%, UPRONA 7.2%, CNDD 4.1%, MRC-Rurenzangemero 2.1%, others 6.2%; seats by party - CNDD-FDD 59, FRODEBU 25, UPRONA 10, CNDD 4, MRC-Rurenzangemero 2; Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - CNDD-FDD 30, FRODEBU 3, CNDD 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 40.58 years
male: 38.36 years female: 42.87 years (2007 est.) |
total population: 51.29 years
male: 50.48 years female: 52.12 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write English, Mende, Temne, or Arabic
total population: 35.1% male: 46.9% female: 24.4% (2004 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 59.3% male: 67.3% female: 52.2% (2000 est.) |
Location | Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Liberia | Central Africa, east of Democratic Republic of the Congo |
Map references | Africa | Africa |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total: 113 ships (1000 GRT or over) 314,549 GRT/419,409 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 1, cargo 85, chemical tanker 4, combination ore/oil 1, container 4, liquefied gas 1, livestock carrier 1, passenger 1, passenger/cargo 4, petroleum tanker 7, roll on/roll off 4 foreign-owned: 47 (Belgium 1, China 8, Greece 1, Romania 2, Russia 5, Syria 8, Turkey 7, Ukraine 8, UAE 7) (2007) |
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Military branches | Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces (RSLAF): Army (includes Air Wing, Navy (Maritime Wing)) (2007) | National Defense Force (Forces de Defense Nationales, FDN): Army (includes Naval Detachment and Air Wing) (2006) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.3% (2006) | 5.9% (2006 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 27 April (1961) | Independence Day, 1 July (1962) |
Nationality | noun: Sierra Leonean(s)
adjective: Sierra Leonean |
noun: Burundian(s)
adjective: Burundian |
Natural hazards | dry, sand-laden harmattan winds blow from the Sahara (December to February); sandstorms, dust storms | flooding, landslides, drought |
Natural resources | diamonds, titanium ore, bauxite, iron ore, gold, chromite | nickel, uranium, rare earth oxides, peat, cobalt, copper, platinum, vanadium, arable land, hydropower, niobium, tantalum, gold, tin, tungsten, kaolin, limestone |
Net migration rate | 0.15 migrant(s)/1,000 population
note: refugees currently in surrounding countries are slowly returning (2007 est.) |
7.13 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | All People's Congress or APC [Ernest Bai KOROMA]; Peace and Liberation Party or PLP [Darlington MORRISON]; People's Movement for Democratic Change or PMDC [Charles MARGAI]; Sierra Leone People's Party or SLPP [Solomon BEREWA]; numerous others | governing parties: Burundi Democratic Front or FRODEBU [Leonce NGENDAKUMANA]; National Council for the Defense of Democracy - Front for the Defense of Democracy or CNDD-FDD [Jeremie NGENDAKUMANA]; Unity for National Progress or UPRONA [Aloys RUBUKA]
note: a multiparty system was introduced after 1998, included are: National Council for the Defense of Democracy or CNDD; National Resistance Movement for the Rehabilitation of the Citizen or MRC-Rurenzangemero [Epitace BANYAGANAKANDI]; Party for National Redress or PARENA [Jean-Baptiste BAGAZA] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | trade unions and student unions | none |
Population | 6,144,562 (July 2007 est.) | 8,390,505
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 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 70.2% (2004) | 68% (2002 est.) |
Population growth rate | 2.292% (2007 est.) | 3.593% (2007 est.) |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 9, shortwave 1 (2001) | AM 0, FM 4, shortwave 1 (2001) |
Religions | Muslim 60%, Christian 10%, indigenous beliefs 30% | Christian 67% (Roman Catholic 62%, Protestant 5%), indigenous beliefs 23%, Muslim 10% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 0.964 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.877 male(s)/female total population: 0.938 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.011 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.986 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.664 male(s)/female total population: 0.988 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | NA years of age; universal (adult) |
Telephone system | general assessment: marginal telephone and telegraph service
domestic: the national microwave radio relay trunk system connects Freetown to Bo and Kenema international: country code - 232; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2000) |
general assessment: primitive system; telephone density one of the lowest in the world; fixed-line connections stand at well less than 1 per 100 persons; mobile-cellular usage is increasing but remains at a meager 2 per 100 persons
domestic: sparse system of open-wire, radiotelephone communications, and low-capacity microwave radio relay international: country code - 257; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) (2007) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 24,000 (2002) | 31,100 (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 113,200 (2003) | 153,000 (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | 2 (1999) | 1 (2001) |
Terrain | coastal belt of mangrove swamps, wooded hill country, upland plateau, mountains in east | hilly and mountainous, dropping to a plateau in east, some plains |
Total fertility rate | 6.01 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 6.48 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | NA% |
Waterways | 800 km (600 km year round) (2005) | mainly on Lake Tanganyika (2005) |