Trinidad and Tobago (2002) | Bulgaria (2001) | |
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Administrative divisions | 8 counties, 3 municipalities*, and 1 ward**; Arima*, Caroni, Mayaro, Nariva, Port-of-Spain*, Saint Andrew, Saint David, Saint George, Saint Patrick, San Fernando*, Tobago**, Victoria | 28 provinces (oblasti, singular - oblast); Blagoevgrad, Burgas, Dobrich, Gabrovo, Khaskovo, Kurdzhali, Kyustendil, Lovech, Montana, Pazardzhik, Pernik, Pleven, Plovdiv, Razgrad, Ruse, Shumen, Silistra, Sliven, Smolyan, Sofiya, Sofiya-Grad, Stara Zagora, Turgovishte, Varna, Veliko Turnovo, Vidin, Vratsa, Yambol |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 23% (male 136,807; female 131,177)
15-64 years: 70.2% (male 419,847; female 396,643) 65 years and over: 6.8% (male 35,146; female 44,104) (2002 est.) |
0-14 years:
15.11% (male 597,765; female 567,030) 15-64 years: 68.17% (male 2,588,805; female 2,665,736) 65 years and over: 16.72% (male 543,665; female 744,494) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cocoa, sugarcane, rice, citrus, coffee, vegetables; poultry | vegetables, fruits, tobacco, livestock, wine, wheat, barley, sunflowers, sugar beets |
Airports | 6 (2001) | 215 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 3
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2002) |
total:
128 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 19 1,524 to 2,437 m: 15 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 92 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 3
914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2002) |
total:
87 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 10 under 914 m: 75 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 5,128 sq km
land: 5,128 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total:
110,910 sq km land: 110,550 sq km water: 360 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Delaware | slightly larger than Tennessee |
Background | The islands came under British control in the 19th century; independence was granted in 1962. The country is one of the most prosperous in the Caribbean thanks largely to petroleum and natural gas production and processing. Tourism, mostly in Tobago, is targeted for expansion and is growing. | Bulgaria earned its independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1878, but having fought on the losing side in both World Wars, it fell within the Soviet sphere of influence and became a People's Republic in 1946. Communist domination ended in 1990, when Bulgaria held its first multi-party election since World War II and began the contentious process of moving toward political democracy and a market economy while combating inflation, unemployment, corruption, and crime. Today, reforms and democratization keep Bulgaria on a path toward eventual integration into NATO and the EU - with which it began accession negotiations in 2000. |
Birth rate | 13.66 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 8.06 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $1.54 billion
expenditures: $1.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $117.3 million (1998) (1998) |
revenues:
$4.85 billion expenditures: $4.92 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
Capital | Port-of-Spain | Sofia |
Climate | tropical; rainy season (June to December) | temperate; cold, damp winters; hot, dry summers |
Coastline | 362 km | 354 km |
Constitution | 1 August 1976 | adopted 12 July 1991 |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Trinidad and Tobago
conventional short form: Trinidad and Tobago |
conventional long form:
Republic of Bulgaria conventional short form: Bulgaria |
Currency | Trinidad and Tobago dollar (TTD) | lev (BGL) |
Death rate | 8.81 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 14.53 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $2.2 billion (2000 est.) | $10.4 billion (2000 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Roy L. AUSTIN
embassy: 15 Queen's Park West, Port-of-Spain mailing address: P. O. Box 752, Port-of-Spain telephone: [1] (868) 622-6371 through 6376 FAX: [1] (868) 628-5462 |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Richard M. MILES embassy: 1 Suborna Street, Sofia mailing address: American Embassy Sofia, Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-5740 telephone: [359] (2) 980-52-41 FAX: [359] (2) 981-89-77 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Mackisack LOGIE
chancery: 1708 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 467-6490 FAX: [1] (202) 785-3130 consulate(s) general: Miami and New York |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Philip DIMITROV chancery: 1621 22nd Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 387-7969 FAX: [1] (202) 234-7973 consulate(s): New York |
Disputes - international | none | - |
Economic aid - recipient | $24 million (1999 est.) | $1 billion (1999 est.) |
Economy - overview | Trinidad and Tobago has earned a reputation as an excellent investment site for international businesses. A leading performer in the past 4 years has been the booming natural gas sector. Tourism is a growing sector, although not proportionately as important as in many other Caribbean islands. The expected recovery of the global economy, along with anticipated higher oil prices, are plus factors for 2002. Negative factors are persistent high unemployment and the political uncertainties following the contentious selection of a new government in December 2001. | Bulgaria, a former communist country struggling to enter the European market economy, suffered a major economic downturn in 1996 and 1997, with triple digit inflation and GDP contraction of 10.6% and 6.9%. The current government - which took office in May 1997 after pre-term parliamentary elections - stabilized the economy and promoted growth by implementing a currency board, practicing sound financial policies, invigorating privatization, and pursuing structural reforms. Additionally, strong assistance from international financial institutions - most notably the IMF which approved a three-year Extended Fund Facility worth approximately $900 million in September 1998 - played a critical role in turning the economy around. After several years of tumult, Bulgaria's economy has stabilized. Its better-than-expected economic performance in 1999 - despite the impact of the Kosovo conflict, the 1998 Russian financial crisis, and structural reforms - and strong growth in 2000 portends solid growth over the next few years; this assumes continued fiscal restraint, additional structural reforms, aid from abroad, and prosperous times in the EU economy. |
Electricity - consumption | 4.792 billion kWh (2000) | 33.182 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2000) | 2.2 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2000) | 1.7 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 5.153 billion kWh (2000) | 36.217 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
fossil fuel:
51.52% hydro: 8.35% nuclear: 40.12% other: 0.01% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: El Cerro del Aripo 940 m |
lowest point:
Black Sea 0 m highest point: Musala 2,925 m |
Environment - current issues | water pollution from agricultural chemicals, industrial wastes, and raw sewage; oil pollution of beaches; deforestation; soil erosion | air pollution from industrial emissions; rivers polluted from raw sewage, heavy metals, detergents; deforestation; forest damage from air pollution and resulting acid rain; soil contamination from heavy metals from metallurgical plants and industrial wastes |
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, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to:
Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, 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, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
Ethnic groups | black 39.5%, East Indian (a local term - primarily immigrants from northern India) 40.3%, mixed 18.4%, white 0.6%, Chinese and other 1.2% | Bulgarian 83%, Turk 8.5%, Roma 2.6%, Macedonian, Armenian, Tatar, Gagauz, Circassian, others (1998) |
Exchange rates | Trinidad and Tobago dollars per US dollar - 6.2466 (January 2002), 6.2332 (2001), 6.2998 (2000), 6.2989 (1999), 6.2983 (1998), 6.2517 (1997) | leva per US dollar - 2.0848 (January 2001), 2.1233 (2000), 1.8364 (1999), 1,760.36 (1998), 1,681.88 (1997), 177.89 (1996)
note: on 5 July 1999, the lev was redenominated; the post-5 July 1999 lev is equal to 1,000 of the pre-5 July 1999 lev |
Executive branch | chief of state: President George Maxwell RICHARDS (since 17 March 2003)
head of government: Prime Minister Patrick MANNING (since 24 December 2001) cabinet: Cabinet appointed from among the members of Parliament elections: president elected by an electoral college, which consists of the members of the Senate and House of Representatives, for a five-year term; election last held 14 February 2003 (next to be held NA 2006); the president usually appoints as prime minister the leader of the majority party in the House of Representatives election results: George Maxwell RICHARDS elected president; percent of electoral college vote - 43% |
chief of state:
President Petar STOYANOV (since 22 January 1997); Vice President Todor KAVALDZHIEV (since 22 January 1997) head of government: Chairman of the Council of Ministers (Prime Minister) Ivan KOSTOV (since 19 May 1997); Deputy Prime Minister Petur ZHOTEV (since 21 December 1999) cabinet: Council of Ministers elected by the National Assembly elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for five-year terms; election last held 27 October and 3 November 1996 (next to be held NA 2001); chairman of the Council of Ministers (prime minister) nominated by the president; deputy prime ministers nominated by the prime minister election results: Petar STOYANOV elected president; percent of vote - Petar STOYANOV 59.73% |
Exports | $4.1 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) | $4.8 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | petroleum and petroleum products, chemicals, steel products, fertilizer, sugar, cocoa, coffee, citrus, flowers | clothing, footwear, iron and steel, machinery and equipment, fuels |
Exports - partners | US 45.9%, Caricom countries 26.1%, Latin America 9.5%, EU 5.7% (1999) | Italy 14%, Turkey 10%, Germany 9%, Greece 8%, Yugoslavia 8%, Belgium 6%, France 5%, US 4% (2000) |
Fiscal year | 1 October - 30 September | calendar year |
Flag description | red with a white-edged black diagonal band from the upper hoist side | three equal horizontal bands of white (top), green, and red; the national emblem formerly on the hoist side of the white stripe has been removed - it contained a rampant lion within a wreath of wheat ears below a red five-pointed star and above a ribbon bearing the dates 681 (first Bulgarian state established) and 1944 (liberation from Nazi control) |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $10.6 billion (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $48 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 2%
industry: 43% services: 55% (2000 est.) |
agriculture:
15% industry: 29% services: 56% (2000 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $9,000 (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $6,200 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 4% (2001 est.) | 5% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 11 00 N, 61 00 W | 43 00 N, 25 00 E |
Geography - note | Pitch Lake, on Trinidad's southwestern coast, is the world's largest natural reservoir of asphalt | strategic location near Turkish Straits; controls key land routes from Europe to Middle East and Asia |
Heliports | - | 1 (2000 est.) |
Highways | total: 8,320 km
paved: 4,252 km unpaved: 4,068 km (1996) |
total:
36,724 km paved: 33,786 km (including 314 km of expressways) unpaved: 2,938 km (1999) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%:
3.4% highest 10%: 22.5% (1995) |
Illicit drugs | transshipment point for South American drugs destined for the US and Europe; producer of cannabis | major European transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin and, to a lesser degree, South American cocaine for the European market; limited producer of precursor chemicals |
Imports | $3.5 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) | $5.9 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | machinery, transportation equipment, manufactured goods, food, live animals | fuels, minerals, and raw materials; machinery and equipment; metals and ores; chemicals and plastics; food, textiles |
Imports - partners | US 39.8%, Venezuela 11.9%, EU 11%, Caricom 4.8% (1999) | Russia 24%, Germany 14%, Italy 8%, Greece 5%, France 5%, Romania 4%, Turkey 3%, US 3% (2000) |
Independence | 31 August 1962 (from UK) | 3 March 1878 (from Ottoman Empire) |
Industrial production growth rate | 4.2% (2001) (2001) | 10.8% (2000 est.) |
Industries | petroleum, chemicals, tourism, food processing, cement, beverage, cotton textiles | electricity, gas and water; food, beverages and tobacco; machinery and equipment, base metals, chemical products, coke, refined petroleum, nuclear fuel |
Infant mortality rate | 24.2 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | 14.65 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 5.6% (2001 est.) | 10.4% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, C, Caricom, CCC, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-24, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, LAES, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO | ACCT, BIS, BSEC, CCC, CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EU (applicant), FAO, G- 9, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, IHO (pending member), ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NAM (guest), NSG, OAS (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOP, UPU, WCL, WEU (associate partner), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 17 (2000) | 26 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 30 sq km (1998 est.) | 12,370 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court of Judicature (comprised of the High Court of Justice and the Court of Appeals; the chief justice is appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister and the leader of the opposition; other justices are appointed by the president on the advice of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission); High Court of Justice; Court of Appeals the highest court of appeal is the Privy Council in London | Supreme Administrative Court; Supreme Court of Cassation; Constitutional Court (12 justices appointed or elected for nine-year terms); Supreme Judicial Council (consists of the chairmen of the two Supreme Courts, the Chief Prosecutor, and 22 other members; responsible for appointing the justices, prosecutors, and investigating magistrates in the justice system; members of the Supreme Judicial Council elected for five-year terms, 11 elected by the National Assembly and 11 by bodies of the judiciary) |
Labor force | 564,000 (2000) (2000) | 3.83 million (2000 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | construction and utilities 12%, manufacturing, mining, and quarrying 14%, agriculture 10%, services 64% (1997 est.) | agriculture 26%, industry 31%, services 43% (1998 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total:
1,808 km border countries: Greece 494 km, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 148 km, Romania 608 km, Yugoslavia 318 km, Turkey 240 km |
Land use | arable land: 14.62%
permanent crops: 9.16% other: 76.22% (1998 est.) |
arable land:
43% permanent crops: 2% permanent pastures: 14% forests and woodland: 38% other: 3% (1999 est.) |
Languages | English (official), Hindi, French, Spanish, Chinese | Bulgarian, secondary languages closely correspond to ethnic breakdown |
Legal system | based on English common law; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | civil law and criminal law based on Roman law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (31 seats; members appointed by the president for a maximum term of five years) and the House of Representatives (36 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: House of Representatives - last held 7 October 2002 (next to be held by October 2007) election results: House of Representatives - percent of vote - PNM 55.5%, UNC 44.5%; seats by party - PNM 20, UNC 16 note: Tobago has a unicameral House of Assembly, with 15 members serving four-year terms |
unicameral National Assembly or Narodno Sobranie (240 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 17 June 2001 (next to be held NA June 2005) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - National Movement for Simeon II 120, UDF 51, BSP 48, DPS 21 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 68.59 years
male: 66.04 years female: 71.25 years (2002 est.) |
total population:
71.2 years male: 67.72 years female: 74.89 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 94% (2000) male: 95.9% (1999) female: 91.7% (1999) |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 98% male: 99% female: 98% (1999) |
Location | Caribbean, islands between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, northeast of Venezuela | Southeastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea, between Romania and Turkey |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Europe |
Maritime claims | measured from claimed archipelagic baselines
contiguous zone: 24 NM continental shelf: 200 NM or to the outer edge of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
contiguous zone:
24 NM exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | total: 3 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 5,910 GRT/7,546 DWT
ships by type: cargo 2, petroleum tanker 1 note: includes a foreign-owned ship registered here as a flag of convenience: United States 1 (2002 est.) |
total:
81 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 938,706 GRT/1,440,374 DWT ships by type: bulk 44, cargo 16, chemical tanker 4, container 2, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 6, railcar carrier 2, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 3, short-sea passenger 1, specialized tanker 1 (2000 est.) |
Military branches | Trinidad and Tobago Defense Force (including Ground Force, Coast Guard, and Air Wing), Trinidad and Tobago Police Service | Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces, Civil Defense Forces, Internal Troops |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $90 million (1999) | $344 million (FY00) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.4% (1999) | 2.4% (FY00) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 347,831 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49:
1,891,498 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 248,324 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49:
1,581,697 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 19 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males:
56,104 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 31 August (1962) | Liberation Day, 3 March (1878) |
Nationality | noun: Trinidadian(s), Tobagonian(s)
adjective: Trinidadian, Tobagonian |
noun:
Bulgarian(s) adjective: Bulgarian |
Natural hazards | outside usual path of hurricanes and other tropical storms | earthquakes, landslides |
Natural resources | petroleum, natural gas, asphalt | bauxite, copper, lead, zinc, coal, timber, arable land |
Net migration rate | -10.02 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | -4.9 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil 1,032 km; petroleum products 19 km; natural gas 904 km | petroleum products 525 km; natural gas 1,500 km (1999) |
Political parties and leaders | National Alliance for Reconstruction or NAR [Hochoy CHARLES]; People's Empowerment Party or PEP [leader NA]; People's National Movement or PNM [Patrick MANNING]; Team Unity or TUN [Ramesh MAHARAJ]; United National Congress or UNC [Basdeo PANDAY] | Alliance for National Salvation or ANS (coalition led mainly by Movement for Rights and Freedoms or MRF) [Ahmed DOGAN]; Bulgarian Business Bloc or BBB [Georgi GANCHEV]; Bulgarian Socialist Party or BSP [Georgi PURVANOV, chairman]; Democratic Left or DL (bloc led by BSP, includes Ecoglasnost Political Club and Bulgarian Agrarian National Union) [leader NA]; Euro-left [Aleksandur TOMOV]; Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization or UMRO [Aleksander KARAKACHNOV]; Kingdom of Bulgaria Federation [leader NA]; Movement for Rights and Freedom or DPS [Ahmed DOGAN]; National Movement for Simeon II [Simeon II, former king]; New Civic Party for Bulgaria [Bogomil BONEV]; People's Union or PU (includes Bulgarian Agrarian People's Union and Democratic Party) [Anastasiya MOZER]; St. George's Day [Lyuben DILOV]; Union of Democratic Forces or UDF (an alliance of pro-democratic parties) [Ivan KOSTOV] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Jamaat-al Musilmeen [Yasin BAKR] | agrarian movement; Bulgarian Democratic Center; Confederation of Independent Trade Unions of Bulgaria or CITUB; Democratic Alliance for the Republic or DAR; New Union for Democracy or NUD; Podkrepa Labor Confederation; numerous regional, ethnic, and national interest groups with various agendas |
Population | 1,163,724 (July 2002 est.) | 7,707,495 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 21% (1992 est.) | 35% (2000 est.) |
Population growth rate | -0.52% (2002 est.) | -1.14% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Pointe-a-Pierre, Point Fortin, Point Lisas, Port-of-Spain, Scarborough, Tembladora | Burgas, Lom, Nesebur, Ruse, Varna, Vidin |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 12, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 24, FM 93, shortwave 2 (1998) |
Radios | 680,000 (1997) | 4.51 million (1997) |
Railways | minimal agricultural railroad system near San Fernando; common carrier railway service was discontinued in 1968 (2001) | total:
4,294 km standard gauge: 4,049 km 1.435-m gauge (2,710 km electrified; 917 km double track) narrow gauge: 245 km 0.760-m gauge (1998) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 29.4%, Hindu 23.8%, Anglican 10.9%, Muslim 5.8%, Presbyterian 3.4%, other 26.7% | Bulgarian Orthodox 83.5%, Muslim 13%, Roman Catholic 1.5%, Uniate Catholic 0.2%, Jewish 0.8%, Protestant, Gregorian-Armenian, and other 1% (1998) |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.8 male(s)/female total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
at birth:
1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.73 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: excellent international service; good local service
domestic: NA international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); tropospheric scatter to Barbados and Guyana |
general assessment:
extensive but antiquated domestic: more than two-thirds of the lines are residential; telephone service is available in most villages; a fairly modern digital cable trunk line now connects switching centers in most of the regions, the others are connected by digital microwave radio relay international: direct dialing to 58 countries; satellite earth stations - 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region); 2 Intelsat (Atlantic and Indian Ocean regions) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 252,000 (1999) | 3.255 million (2000) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 17,411 (1997) | 596,000 (2000) |
Television broadcast stations | 4 (1997) | 96 (plus 1,030 repeaters) (1995) |
Terrain | mostly plains with some hills and low mountains | mostly mountains with lowlands in north and southeast |
Total fertility rate | 1.8 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 1.13 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 11.8% (2001) (2001) | 17.7% (2000 est.) |
Waterways | none | 470 km (1987) |