Trinidad and Tobago (2002) | Burundi (2006) | |
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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 | 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: 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: 46.3% (male 1,884,825/female 1,863,200)
15-64 years: 51.1% (male 2,051,451/female 2,082,017) 65 years and over: 2.6% (male 83,432/female 125,143) (2006 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cocoa, sugarcane, rice, citrus, coffee, vegetables; poultry | coffee, cotton, tea, corn, sorghum, sweet potatoes, bananas, manioc (tapioca); beef, milk, hides |
Airports | 6 (2001) | 8 (2006) |
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: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2006) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 3
914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2002) |
total: 7
914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 3 (2006) |
Area | total: 5,128 sq km
land: 5,128 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 27,830 sq km
land: 25,650 sq km water: 2,180 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Delaware | slightly smaller than Maryland |
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. | 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. Over 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 the summer of 2006 but still faces many challenges. |
Birth rate | 13.66 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 42.22 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $1.54 billion
expenditures: $1.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $117.3 million (1998) (1998) |
revenues: $215.4 million
expenditures: $278 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.) |
Capital | Port-of-Spain | name: Bujumbura
geographic coordinates: 3 23 S, 29 22 E time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | tropical; rainy season (June to December) | 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 | 362 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 1 August 1976 | 28 February 2005; ratified by popular referendum |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Trinidad and Tobago
conventional short form: Trinidad and Tobago |
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 |
Currency | Trinidad and Tobago dollar (TTD) | - |
Death rate | 8.81 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 13.46 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | $2.2 billion (2000 est.) | $1.2 billion (2003) |
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 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 (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 Celestin NIYONGABO
chancery: Suite 212, 2233 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007 telephone: [1] (202) 342-2574 FAX: [1] (202) 342-2578 |
Disputes - international | none | Tutsi, Hutu, other conflicting ethnic groups, associated political rebels, armed gangs, and various government forces continue fighting in the Great Lakes region, transcending the boundaries of Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda in an effort to gain control over populated and natural resource areas; government heads pledge to end conflict, but localized violence continues despite the presence of about 6,000 peacekeepers from the UN Operation in Burundi (ONUB) since 2004; although some 150,000 Burundian refugees have been repatriated, as of February 2005, Burundian refugees still reside in camps in western Tanzania as well as the Democratic Republic of the Congo |
Economic aid - recipient | $24 million (1999 est.) | $105.5 million (2003) |
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. | 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 10 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. |
Electricity - consumption | 4.792 billion kWh (2000) | 141.4 million kWh (2003) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2000) | 10 million kWh; note - supplied by the Democratic Republic of the Congo (2003) |
Electricity - production | 5.153 billion kWh (2000) | 141.3 million kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
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Elevation extremes | lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: El Cerro del Aripo 940 m |
lowest point: Lake Tanganyika 772 m
highest point: Heha 2,670 m |
Environment - current issues | water pollution from agricultural chemicals, industrial wastes, and raw sewage; oil pollution of beaches; deforestation; soil erosion | 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, 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: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
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% | Hutu (Bantu) 85%, Tutsi (Hamitic) 14%, Twa (Pygmy) 1%, Europeans 3,000, South Asians 2,000 |
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) | Burundi francs per US dollar - 1,138 (2005), 1,100.91 (2004), 1,082.62 (2003), 930.75 (2002), 830.35 (2001) |
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 Pierre NKURUNZIZA (since 26 August 2005); First Vice President Martin NDUWIMANA - Tutsi (since 29 August 2005); Second Vice President Marina BARAMPAMA - Hutu (since 8 September 2006)
head of government: President Pierre NKURUNZIZA (since 26 August 2005); First Vice President Martin NDUWIMANA - Tutsi (since 29 August 2005); Second Vice President Marina BARAMPAMA - Hutu (since 8 September 2006) 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 | $4.1 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | petroleum and petroleum products, chemicals, steel products, fertilizer, sugar, cocoa, coffee, citrus, flowers | coffee, tea, sugar, cotton, hides |
Exports - partners | US 45.9%, Caricom countries 26.1%, Latin America 9.5%, EU 5.7% (1999) | Germany 24.4%, Belgium 11.1%, Netherlands 8%, Switzerland 5.8%, US 4.6%, Pakistan 4% (2005) |
Fiscal year | 1 October - 30 September | calendar year |
Flag description | red with a white-edged black diagonal band from the upper hoist side | 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 | purchasing power parity - $10.6 billion (2001 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 2%
industry: 43% services: 55% (2000 est.) |
agriculture: 46.3%
industry: 20.3% services: 33.4% (2005 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $9,000 (2001 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 4% (2001 est.) | 1.1% (2005 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 11 00 N, 61 00 W | 3 30 S, 30 00 E |
Geography - note | Pitch Lake, on Trinidad's southwestern coast, is the world's largest natural reservoir of asphalt | landlocked; straddles crest of the Nile-Congo watershed; the Kagera, which drains into Lake Victoria, is the most remote headstream of the White Nile |
Highways | total: 8,320 km
paved: 4,252 km unpaved: 4,068 km (1996) |
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Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 1.8%
highest 10%: 32.9% (1998) |
Illicit drugs | transshipment point for South American drugs destined for the US and Europe; producer of cannabis | - |
Imports | $3.5 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | machinery, transportation equipment, manufactured goods, food, live animals | capital goods, petroleum products, foodstuffs |
Imports - partners | US 39.8%, Venezuela 11.9%, EU 11%, Caricom 4.8% (1999) | Kenya 12.9%, Tanzania 10.6%, Belgium 10.4%, Italy 8.1%, France 5.4%, Uganda 5.3%, China 5%, India 4.1% (2005) |
Independence | 31 August 1962 (from UK) | 1 July 1962 (from UN trusteeship under Belgian administration) |
Industrial production growth rate | 4.2% (2001) (2001) | 18% (2001) |
Industries | petroleum, chemicals, tourism, food processing, cement, beverage, cotton textiles | light consumer goods such as blankets, shoes, soap; assembly of imported components; public works construction; food processing |
Infant mortality rate | 24.2 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: 63.13 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 70.26 deaths/1,000 live births female: 55.79 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 5.6% (2001 est.) | 16% (2005 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, ACP, AfDB, AU, CEPGL, COMESA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), IPU, ISO (subscriber), ITU, MIGA, NAM, OIF, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 17 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 30 sq km (1998 est.) | 210 sq km (2003) |
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 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 | 564,000 (2000) (2000) | 2.99 million (2002) |
Labor force - by occupation | construction and utilities 12%, manufacturing, mining, and quarrying 14%, agriculture 10%, services 64% (1997 est.) | agriculture: 93.6%
industry: 2.3% services: 4.1% (2002 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 974 km
border countries: Democratic Republic of the Congo 233 km, Rwanda 290 km, Tanzania 451 km |
Land use | arable land: 14.62%
permanent crops: 9.16% other: 76.22% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 35.57%
permanent crops: 13.12% other: 51.31% (2005) |
Languages | English (official), Hindi, French, Spanish, Chinese | Kirundi (official), French (official), Swahili (along Lake Tanganyika and in the Bujumbura area) |
Legal system | based on English common law; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on German and Belgian civil codes and customary law; has not accepted 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 |
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 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: 68.59 years
male: 66.04 years female: 71.25 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 50.81 years
male: 50.07 years female: 51.58 years (2006 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: 51.6% male: 58.5% female: 45.2% (2003 est.) |
Location | Caribbean, islands between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, northeast of Venezuela | Central Africa, east of Democratic Republic of the Congo |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Africa |
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 |
none (landlocked) |
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.) |
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Military branches | Trinidad and Tobago Defense Force (including Ground Force, Coast Guard, and Air Wing), Trinidad and Tobago Police Service | National Defense Force (Forces de Defense Nationales, FDN): Army (includes Naval Detachment and Air Wing), National Gendarmerie (being disbanded) (2006) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $90 million (1999) | $43.9 million (2005 est.) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.4% (1999) | 5.6% (2005 est.) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 347,831 (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 248,324 (2002 est.) | - |
National holiday | Independence Day, 31 August (1962) | Independence Day, 1 July (1962) |
Nationality | noun: Trinidadian(s), Tobagonian(s)
adjective: Trinidadian, Tobagonian |
noun: Burundian(s)
adjective: Burundian |
Natural hazards | outside usual path of hurricanes and other tropical storms | flooding, landslides, drought |
Natural resources | petroleum, natural gas, asphalt | nickel, uranium, rare earth oxides, peat, cobalt, copper, platinum, vanadium, arable land, hydropower, niobium, tantalum, gold, tin, tungsten, kaolin, limestone |
Net migration rate | -10.02 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 8.22 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil 1,032 km; petroleum products 19 km; natural gas 904 km | - |
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] | the three national, mainstream, governing parties are: Burundi Democratic Front or FRODEBU [Leonce NGENDAKUMANA, president]; National Council for the Defense of Democracy, Front for the Defense of Democracy or CNDD-FDD [Hussein RADJABU, president]; Unity for National Progress or UPRONA [Aloys RUBUKA, president]
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 | Jamaat-al Musilmeen [Yasin BAKR] | none |
Population | 1,163,724 (July 2002 est.) | 8,090,068
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 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 21% (1992 est.) | 68% (2002 est.) |
Population growth rate | -0.52% (2002 est.) | 3.7% (2006 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Pointe-a-Pierre, Point Fortin, Point Lisas, Port-of-Spain, Scarborough, Tembladora | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 12, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 0, FM 4, shortwave 1 (2001) |
Radios | 680,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | minimal agricultural railroad system near San Fernando; common carrier railway service was discontinued in 1968 (2001) | - |
Religions | Roman Catholic 29.4%, Hindu 23.8%, Anglican 10.9%, Muslim 5.8%, Presbyterian 3.4%, other 26.7% | Christian 67% (Roman Catholic 62%, Protestant 5%), indigenous beliefs 23%, Muslim 10% |
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: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.67 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | NA years of age; universal adult |
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: primitive system
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) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 252,000 (1999) | 27,700 (2004) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 17,411 (1997) | 153,000 (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | 4 (1997) | 1 (2001) |
Terrain | mostly plains with some hills and low mountains | hilly and mountainous, dropping to a plateau in east, some plains |
Total fertility rate | 1.8 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 6.55 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 11.8% (2001) (2001) | NA% |
Waterways | none | mainly on Lake Tanganyika (2003) |