Sudan (2003) | Slovakia (2002) | |
Administrative divisions | 26 states (wilayat, singular - wilayah); A'ali an Nil, Al Bahr al Ahmar, Al Buhayrat, Al Jazirah, Al Khartum, Al Qadarif, Al Wahdah, An Nil al Abyad, An Nil al Azraq, Ash Shamaliyah, Bahr al Jabal, Gharb al Istiwa'iyah, Gharb Bahr al Ghazal, Gharb Darfur, Gharb Kurdufan, Janub Darfur, Janub Kurdufan, Junqali, Kassala, Nahr an Nil, Shamal Bahr al Ghazal, Shamal Darfur, Shamal Kurdufan, Sharq al Istiwa'iyah, Sinnar, Warab | 8 regions (kraje, singular - kraj); Banskobystricky, Bratislavsky, Kosicky, Nitriansky, Presovsky, Trenciansky, Trnavsky, Zilinsky |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 44% (male 8,562,412; female 8,195,201)
15-64 years: 53.8% (male 10,260,581; female 10,246,045) 65 years and over: 2.2% (male 468,898; female 381,023) (2003 est.) |
0-14 years: 18.3% (male 508,256; female 484,739)
15-64 years: 70.1% (male 1,888,705; female 1,910,842) 65 years and over: 11.6% (male 237,770; female 392,054) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cotton, groundnuts (peanuts), sorghum, millet, wheat, gum arabic, sugarcane, cassava (tapioca), mangos, papaya, bananas, sweet potatoes, sesame; sheep, livestock | grains, potatoes, sugar beets, hops, fruit; pigs, cattle, poultry; forest products |
Airports | 63 (2002) | 34 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 12
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 8 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 (2002) |
total: 17
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 7 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 51
1,524 to 2,437 m: 17 914 to 1,523 m: 24 under 914 m: 10 (2002) |
total: 17
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 9 under 914 m: 7 (2002) |
Area | total: 2,505,810 sq km
land: 2.376 million sq km water: 129,810 sq km |
total: 48,845 sq km
land: 48,800 sq km water: 45 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly more than one-quarter the size of the US | about twice the size of New Hampshire |
Background | Military regimes favoring Islamic-oriented governments have dominated national politics since independence from the UK in 1956. Sudan has been embroiled in a civil war for all but 10 years of this period (1972-82). The wars are rooted in northern economic, political, and social domination of non-Muslim, non-Arab southern Sudanese. Since 1983, the war and war- and famine-related effects have led to more than 2 million deaths and over 4 million people displaced. The ruling regime is a mixture of military elite and an Islamist party that came to power in a 1989 coup. Some northern opposition parties have made common cause with the southern rebels and entered the war as a part of an anti-government alliance. Peace talks gained momentum in 2002-03 with the signing of several accords, including a cease-fire agreement. | In 1918 the Slovaks joined the closely related Czechs to form Czechoslovakia. Following the chaos of World War II, Czechoslovakia became a Communist nation within Soviet-ruled Eastern Europe. Soviet influence collapsed in 1989 and Czechoslovakia once more became free. The Slovaks and the Czechs agreed to separate peacefully on 1 January 1993. Historic, political, and geographic factors have caused Slovakia to experience more difficulty in developing a modern market economy than some of its Central European neighbors. |
Birth rate | 36.48 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 10.09 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $1.6 billion
expenditures: $1.9 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
revenues: $5.2 billion
expenditures: $5.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999) |
Capital | Khartoum | Bratislava |
Climate | tropical in south; arid desert in north; rainy season varies by region (April to November) | temperate; cool summers; cold, cloudy, humid winters |
Coastline | 853 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 12 April 1973, suspended following coup of 6 April 1985; interim constitution of 10 October 1985 suspended following coup of 30 June 1989; new constitution implemented on 30 June 1998 partially suspended 12 December 1999 by President BASHIR | ratified 1 September 1992, fully effective 1 January 1993; changed in September 1998 to allow direct election of the president; amended February 2001 to allow Slovakia to apply for NATO and EU membership |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of the Sudan
conventional short form: Sudan local long form: Jumhuriyat as-Sudan local short form: As-Sudan former: Anglo-Egyptian Sudan |
conventional long form: Slovak Republic
conventional short form: Slovakia local long form: Slovenska Republika local short form: Slovensko |
Currency | Sudanese dinar (SDD) | Slovak koruna (SKK) |
Death rate | 9.59 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 9.22 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $15.8 billion (2002 est.) | $9.6 billion (2002 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | US Embassy in Khartoum is located on Sharia Abdul Latif Avenue; mailing address - P. O. Box 699, Khartoum; APO AE 09829; telephone - [249] (11) 774611 or 774700; FAX - [249] (11) 774137 | chief of mission: Ambassador Ronald WEISER
embassy: Hviezdoslavovo Namestie 4, 81102 Bratislava mailing address: P.O. Box 309, 814 99 Bratislava telephone: [421] (2) 5443-3338, 5443-0861 FAX: [421] (2) 5443-0096 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge D'Affairs, Ad Interim Khidir Haroun AHMED (since April 2001)
chancery: 2210 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 338-8565 FAX: [1] (202) 667-2406 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Martin BUTORA
chancery: 3523 International Court NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 237-1054 FAX: [1] (202) 237-6438 |
Disputes - international | the north-south civil war has drawn Sudan's neighbors into the fighting, sheltering refugees, and infiltration by rebel groups - Kenya and Uganda have acted as mediators; Sudan accuses Eritrea of supporting Sudanese rebel groups; efforts to demarcate the porous boundary with Ethiopia have been delayed by fighting in Sudan; Kenya's administrative boundary still extends into the Sudan, creating the "Ilemi triangle"; Egypt and Sudan retain claims to administer the triangular areas that extend north and south of the 1899 Treaty boundary along the 22nd Parallel, but have withdrawn their military presence; Egypt is economically developing the "Hala'ib triangle" | Slovakia requested additional ICJ judgment in 1998, and talks continue to set modalities to assure Hungarian compliance with 1997 ICJ decision to proceed with construction of Gabcikovo-Nagymaros Dam, abandoned by Hungary in 1989 |
Economic aid - recipient | $187 million (1997) | ODA $113 million (2000 est.) |
Economy - overview | Sudan has turned around a struggling economy with sound economic policies and infrastructure investments, but it still faces formidable economic problems, notably the low level of per capita output. From 1997 to date, Sudan has been implementing IMF macroeconomic reforms. In 1999 Sudan began exporting crude oil and in the last quarter of 1999 recorded its first trade surplus, which, along with monetary policy, has stabilized the exchange rate. Increased oil production, revived light industry, and expanded export processing zones helped maintain GDP growth at 5.1% in 2002. Agriculture production remains Sudan's most important sector, employing 80% of the work force and contributing 43% of GDP, but most farms remain rain-fed and susceptible to drought. Chronic domestic instability, lagging reforms, adverse weather, and weak world agricultural prices - but, above all, the low starting point - ensure that much of the population will remain at or below the poverty line for years. | Slovakia has mastered much of the difficult transition from a centrally planned economy to a modern market economy. The DZURINDA government has made excellent progress in 2001-02 in macroeconomic stabilization and structural reform. Major privatizations are nearly complete, the banking sector is almost completely in foreign hands, and foreign investment has picked up. Slovakia's economy exceeded expectations in 2001-02, despite the general European slowdown. Unemployment, at an unacceptable 17.2% in 2002, remains the economy's Achilles heel. The government faces other strong challenges in 2003, especially the cutting of budget and current account deficits and the prevention of a revival of inflation. |
Electricity - consumption | 2.222 billion kWh (2001) | 25.203 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 4.9 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | 4.5 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 2.389 billion kWh (2001) | 27.53 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 52.1%
hydro: 47.9% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
fossil fuel: 35%
hydro: 17% nuclear: 48% other: 0% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Red Sea 0 m
highest point: Kinyeti 3,187 m |
lowest point: Bodrok River 94 m
highest point: Gerlachovsky Stit 2,655 m |
Environment - current issues | inadequate supplies of potable water; wildlife populations threatened by excessive hunting; soil erosion; desertification; periodic drought | air pollution from metallurgical plants presents human health risks; acid rain damaging forests |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
Ethnic groups | black 52%, Arab 39%, Beja 6%, foreigners 2%, other 1% | Slovak 85.7%, Hungarian 10.6%, Roma 1.6% (the 1992 census figures underreport the Gypsy/Romany community, which is about 500,000), Czech, Moravian, Silesian 1.1%, Ruthenian and Ukrainian 0.6%, German 0.1%, Polish 0.1%, other 0.2% (1996) |
Exchange rates | Sudanese dinars per US dollar - 263.31 (2002), 258.7 (2001), 257.12 (2000), 252.55 (1999), 200.8 (1998) | koruny per US dollar - 47.792 (September 2001), 46.035 (2000), 41.363 (1999), 35.233 (1998), 33.616 (1997) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Lt. Gen. Umar Hassan Ahmad al-BASHIR (since 16 October 1993); First Vice President Ali Uthman Muhammad TAHA (since 17 February 1998), Second Vice President Moses MACHAR (since 12 February 2001); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Lt. Gen. Umar Hasan Ahmad al-BASHIR (since 16 October 1993); First Vice President Ali Uthman Muhammad TAHA (since 17 February 1998), Second Vice President Moses MACHAR (since 12 February 2001); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president; note - the National Congress Party or NCP (formerly the National Islamic Front or NIF) dominates al-BASHIR's cabinet elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 13-23 December 2000 (next to be held NA 2005) election results: Lt. Gen. Umar Hasan Ahmad al-BASHIR reelected president; percent of vote - Umar Hasan Ahmad al-BASHIR 86.5%, Ja'afar Muhammed NUMAYRI 9.6%, three other candidates received a combined vote of 3.9%; election widely viewed as rigged; all popular opposition parties boycotted elections because of a lack of guarantees for a free and fair election note: Lt. Gen. al-BASHIR assumed supreme executive power in 1989 and retained it through several transitional governments in the early and mid-1990s before being popularly elected for the first time in March 1996 |
chief of state: President Rudolf SCHUSTER (since 15 June 1999)
head of government: Prime Minister Mikulas DZURINDA (since 30 October 1998) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister elections: president elected by direct, popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 29 May 1999 (next to be held NA May/June 2004); following National Council elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of a majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the president election results: Rudolf SCHUSTER elected president in the first direct, popular election; percent of vote - Rudolf SCHUSTER 57% note: government coalition - SDK, SDL, SMK, SOP, KDH |
Exports | NA (2001) | $12.9 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.) |
Exports - commodities | oil and petroleum products; cotton, sesame, livestock, groundnuts, gum arabic, sugar | machinery and transport equipment 39.4%, intermediate manufactured goods 27.5%, miscellaneous manufactured goods 13%, chemicals 8% (1999) |
Exports - partners | China 55.7%, Japan 14%, Saudi Arabia 4.9% (2002) | EU 59.9% (Germany 27.0%, Italy 8.8%, Austria 8.1%), Czech Republic 16.6% (2001) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black with a green isosceles triangle based on the hoist side | three equal horizontal bands of white (top), blue, and red superimposed with the Slovak cross in a shield centered on the hoist side; the cross is white centered on a background of red and blue |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $52.9 billion (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $66 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 43%
industry: 17% services: 40% (1999 est.) |
agriculture: 5%
industry: 34% services: 61% (2000) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,400 (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $12,200 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 5.1% (2002 est.) | 4% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 15 00 N, 30 00 E | 48 40 N, 19 30 E |
Geography - note | largest country in Africa; dominated by the Nile and its tributaries | landlocked; most of the country is rugged and mountainous; the Tatra Mountains in the north are interspersed with many scenic lakes and valleys |
Heliports | 2 (2002) | 1 (2002) |
Highways | total: 11,900 km
paved: 4,320 km unpaved: 7,580 km (1999 est.) |
total: 17,710 km
paved: 17,533 km (including 288 km of expressways) unpaved: 177 km (1998 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 5%
highest 10%: 18% (1992) (1992) |
Illicit drugs | - | transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin bound for Western Europe; producer of synthetic drugs for regional market |
Imports | NA (2001) | $15.4 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, manufactured goods, refinery and transport equipment, medicines and chemicals, textiles, wheat | machinery and transport equipment 37.7%, intermediate manufactured goods 18%, fuels 13%, chemicals 11%, miscellaneous manufactured goods 9.5% (1999) |
Imports - partners | China 19.7%, Saudi Arabia 7.4%, Germany 5.5%, India 5.5%, UK 5.4%, Indonesia 4.7%, Australia 4% (2002) | EU 49.8% (Germany 24.7%, Italy 6.4%), Czech Republic 15.1%, Russia 14.8% (2001) |
Independence | 1 January 1956 (from Egypt and UK) | 1 January 1993 (Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia) |
Industrial production growth rate | 8.5% (1999 est.) | 4.4% (2002 est.) |
Industries | oil, cotton ginning, textiles, cement, edible oils, sugar, soap distilling, shoes, petroleum refining, pharmaceuticals, armaments, automobile/light truck assembly | metal and metal products; food and beverages; electricity, gas, coke, oil, nuclear fuel; chemicals and manmade fibers; machinery; paper and printing; earthenware and ceramics; transport vehicles; textiles; electrical and optical apparatus; rubber products |
Infant mortality rate | total: 65.59 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 66.3 deaths/1,000 live births female: 64.85 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
8.76 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 9.2% (2002 est.) | 3.3% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | ABEDA, ACP, AfDB, AFESD, AL, AMF, ECA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNU, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer) | Australia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CCC, CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EU (applicant), FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NAM (guest), NSG, OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNTAET, UNTSO, UPU, WCL, WEU (associate partner), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 2 (2002) | 6 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 19,500 sq km (1998 est.) | 1,740 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Special Revolutionary Courts | Supreme Court (judges are elected by the National Council); Constitutional Court (judges appointed by president from group of nominees approved by the National Council) |
Labor force | 11 million (1996 est.) | 3 million (1999) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 80%, industry and commerce 7%, government 13% (1998 est.) | industry 29%, agriculture 9%, construction 8%, transport and communication 8%, services 46% (1994) (1994) |
Land boundaries | total: 7,687 km
border countries: Central African Republic 1,165 km, Chad 1,360 km, Democratic Republic of the Congo 628 km, Egypt 1,273 km, Eritrea 605 km, Ethiopia 1,606 km, Kenya 232 km, Libya 383 km, Uganda 435 km |
total: 1,524 km
border countries: Austria 91 km, Czech Republic 215 km, Hungary 677 km, Poland 444 km, Ukraine 97 km |
Land use | arable land: 7.03%
permanent crops: 0.08% other: 92.89% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 30.74%
permanent crops: 2.64% other: 66.62% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Arabic (official), Nubian, Ta Bedawie, diverse dialects of Nilotic, Nilo-Hamitic, Sudanic languages, English
note: program of "Arabization" in process |
Slovak (official), Hungarian |
Legal system | based on English common law and Islamic law; as of 20 January 1991, the now defunct Revolutionary Command Council imposed Islamic law in the northern states; Islamic law applies to all residents of the northern states regardless of their religion; some separate religious courts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations | civil law system based on Austro-Hungarian codes; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction; legal code modified to comply with the obligations of Organization on Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and to expunge Marxist-Leninist legal theory |
Legislative branch | unicameral National Assembly (360 seats; 270 popularly elected, 90 elected by supra assembly of interest groups known as National Congress; members serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 13-22 December 2000 (next to be held NA December 2004) election results: NCP 355, others 5 note: on 12 December 1999, BASHIR dismissed the National Assembly during an internal power struggle between the president and the speaker of the National Assembly Hassan al-TURABI |
unicameral National Council of the Slovak Republic or Narodna Rada Slovenskej Republiky (150 seats; members are elected on the basis of proportional representation to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 20-21 September 2002 (next to be held NA September 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - HZDS-LS 19.5%, SDKU 15.1%, SMER 13.5%, SMK 11.2%, KDH 8.3%, ANO 8%, KSS 6.3%; seats by party - governing coalition 78 (SDKU 28, SMK 20, KDH 15, ANO 15), opposition 72 (HZDS 36, SMER 25, KSS 11) |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 57.73 years
male: 56.59 years female: 58.93 years (2003 est.) |
total population: 74.2 years
male: 70.19 years female: 78.41 years (2002 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 61.1% male: 71.8% female: 50.5% (2003 est.) |
definition: NA
total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Northern Africa, bordering the Red Sea, between Egypt and Eritrea | Central Europe, south of Poland |
Map references | Africa | Europe |
Maritime claims | contiguous zone: 18 NM
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation territorial sea: 12 NM |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total: 4 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 29,854 GRT/39,084 DWT
ships by type: cargo 1, livestock carrier 1, roll on/roll off 2 (2002 est.) |
total: 3 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 15,191 GRT/19,489 DWT
ships by type: cargo 3 (2002 est.) |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force, Popular Defense Force Militia | Army (Ground Forces), Air and Air Defense Forces, Home Guards (Territorial Defense Forces), Civil Defense Force, Railway Armed Forces (subordinate to the Ministry of Transportation, Post, and Telecommunications) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $581 million (2001 est.) | $406 million (2002) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.5% (1999) | 1.89% (2002) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 9,032,834 (2003 est.) | males age 15-49: 1,486,728 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 5,558,462 (2003 est.) | males age 15-49: 1,136,775 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age (2003 est.) | 18 years of age (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 429,334 (2003 est.) | males: 45,502 (2002 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 1 January (1956) | Constitution Day, 1 September (1992) |
Nationality | noun: Sudanese (singular and plural)
adjective: Sudanese |
noun: Slovak(s)
adjective: Slovak |
Natural hazards | dust storms and periodic persistent droughts | NA |
Natural resources | petroleum; small reserves of iron ore, copper, chromium ore, zinc, tungsten, mica, silver, gold, hydropower | brown coal and lignite; small amounts of iron ore, copper and manganese ore; salt; arable land |
Net migration rate | 0.24 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 0.53 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Pipelines | gas 156 km; oil 2,297 km; refined products 810 km (2003) | petroleum products NA km; natural gas 2,700 km |
Political parties and leaders | the government allows political "associations" under a 1998 law revised in 2000; to obtain government approval parties must accept the constitution and refrain from advocating or using violence against the regime; approved parties include the National Congress Party or NCP [Ibrahim Ahmed UMAR], Popular National Congress or PNC [Hassan al-TURABI], and over 20 minor, pro-government parties | Christian Democratic Movement or KDH [Pavol HRUSOVSKY]; Democratic Party or DS [Ludovit KANIK]; Direction (Smer) [Robert FICO]; Liberal Democratic Union or LDU [Jan BUDAJ]; Movement for a Democratic Slovakia-People's Party or HZDS-LS [Vladimir MECIAR]; Party of Civic Understanding or SOP [Pavol HAMZIK]; note - SSDS and SZS joined the SOP parliamentary caucus; Party of the Democratic Left or SDL [Pavel KONCOS]; Party of the Hungarian Coalition or SMK [Bela BUGAR]; Real Slovak National Party or PSNS [Jan SLOTA]; Slovak Communist Party or KSS [leader NA]; Slovak Democratic and Christian Union or SDKU [Mikulas DZURINDA]; note - this is DZURINDA's new party for the 2002 elections; he remains chairman of a rump and splintering SDK; Slovak Democratic Coalition or SDK (loose parliamentary club grouping, representing members of the smaller SSDS, SZS, and those committed to run under SDKU in 2002) [Mikulas DZURINDA]; Slovak National Party or SNS [Anna MALIKOVA]; Yes (ANO) [Paval RUSKO] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Democratic Unionist Party [Muhammed Uthman AL-MIRGHANI]; National Congress Party [Ibrahim Ahmed UMAR]; National Democratic Alliance [Muhammed Uthman AL-MIRGHANI, chairman]; Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army [Dr. John GARANG]; Umma [Sadiq al-MAHDI] | Association of Employers of Slovakia; Association of Towns and Villages or ZMOS; Confederation of Trade Unions or KOZ; Metal Workers Unions or KOVO and METALURG |
Population | 38,114,160 (July 2003 est.) | 5,422,366 (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.71% (2003 est.) | 0.14% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Juba, Khartoum, Kusti, Malakal, Nimule, Port Sudan, Sawakin | Bratislava, Komarno |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 12, FM 1, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 15, FM 78, shortwave 2 (1998) |
Radios | - | 3.12 million (1997) |
Railways | total: 5,978 km
narrow gauge: 4,578 km 1.067-m gauge; 1,400 km 0.600-m gauge plantation line (2002) |
total: 3,660 km
broad gauge: 102 km 1.520-m gauge standard gauge: 3,507 km 1.435-m gauge (1,505 km electrified; 1,011 km double-tracked) narrow gauge: 51 km (46 km 1,000-m gauge; 5 km 0.750-m gauge) (2001) |
Religions | Sunni Muslim 70% (in north), indigenous beliefs 25%, Christian 5% (mostly in south and Khartoum) | Roman Catholic 60.3%, atheist 9.7%, Protestant 8.4%, Orthodox 4.1%, other 17.5% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.23 male(s)/female total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.61 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
Suffrage | 17 years of age; universal, but noncompulsory | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: large, well-equipped system by regional standards and being upgraded; cellular communications started in 1996 and have expanded substantially
domestic: consists of microwave radio relay, cable, radiotelephone communications, tropospheric scatter, and a domestic satellite system with 14 earth stations international: satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) and 1 Arabsat (2000) |
general assessment: a modernization and privatization program is increasing accessibility to telephone service, reducing the waiting time for new subscribers, and generally improving service quality
domestic: predominantly an analog system that is now receiving digital equipment and is being enlarged with fiber-optic cable, especially in the larger cities; mobile cellular capability has been added international: three international exchanges (one in Bratislava and two in Banska Bystrica) are available; Slovakia is participating in several international telecommunications projects that will increase the availability of external services |
Telephones - main lines in use | 400,000 (2000) | 1,934,558 (1998) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 20,000 (2000) | 736,662 (April 1999) |
Television broadcast stations | 3 (1997) | 38 (plus 864 repeaters) (1995) |
Terrain | generally flat, featureless plain; mountains in far south, northeast and west; desert dominates the north | rugged mountains in the central and northern part and lowlands in the south |
Total fertility rate | 5.1 children born/woman (2003 est.) | 1.25 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 18.7% (2002 est.) | 17.2% (2002 est.) |
Waterways | 5,310 km | 172 km (all on the Danube) |