Zambia (2001) | Ecuador (2008) | |
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Administrative divisions | 9 provinces; Central, Copperbelt, Eastern, Luapula, Lusaka, Northern, North-Western, Southern, Western | 24 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia); Azuay, Bolivar, Canar, Carchi, Chimborazo, Cotopaxi, El Oro, Esmeraldas, Galapagos, Guayas, Imbabura, Loja, Los Rios, Manabi, Morona-Santiago, Napo, Orellana, Pastaza, Pichincha, Santa Elena, Santo Domingo de los Tsachilas, Sucumbios, Tungurahua, Zamora-Chinchipe |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
47.36% (male 2,324,128; female 2,303,349) 15-64 years: 50.14% (male 2,433,250; female 2,465,747) 65 years and over: 2.5% (male 105,694; female 138,031) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 32.6% (male 2,282,319/female 2,196,685)
15-64 years: 62.3% (male 4,271,848/female 4,301,149) 65 years and over: 5.1% (male 330,302/female 373,377) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | corn, sorghum, rice, peanuts, sunflower seed, vegetables, flowers, tobacco, cotton, sugarcane, cassava (tapioca); cattle, goats, pigs, poultry, milk, eggs, hides; coffee | bananas, coffee, cocoa, rice, potatoes, manioc (tapioca), plantains, sugarcane; cattle, sheep, pigs, beef, pork, dairy products; balsa wood; fish, shrimp |
Airports | 112 (2000 est.) | 406 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
13 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 104
over 3,047 m: 4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 17 914 to 1,523 m: 26 under 914 m: 54 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
99 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 65 under 914 m: 31 (2000 est.) |
total: 302
914 to 1,523 m: 34 under 914 m: 268 (2007) |
Area | total:
752,614 sq km land: 740,724 sq km water: 11,890 sq km |
total: 283,560 sq km
land: 276,840 sq km water: 6,720 sq km note: includes Galapagos Islands |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Texas | slightly smaller than Nevada |
Background | The territory of Northern Rhodesia was administered by the South Africa Company from 1891 until takeover by the UK in 1923. During the 1920s and 1930s, advances in mining spurred development and immigration. The name was changed to Zambia upon independence in 1964. In the 1980s and 1990s, declining copper prices and a prolonged drought hurt the economy. Elections in 1991 brought an end to one-party rule, but the subsequent vote in 1996 saw blatant harassment of opposition parties. | What is now Ecuador formed part of the northern Inca Empire until the Spanish conquest in 1533. Quito became a seat of Spanish colonial government in 1563 and part of the Viceroyalty of New Granada in 1717. The territories of the Viceroyalty - New Granada (Colombia), Venezuela, and Quito - gained their independence between 1819 and 1822 and formed a federation known as Gran Colombia. When Quito withdrew in 1830, the traditional name was changed in favor of the "Republic of the Equator." Between 1904 and 1942, Ecuador lost territories in a series of conflicts with its neighbors. A border war with Peru that flared in 1995 was resolved in 1999. Although Ecuador marked 25 years of civilian governance in 2004, the period has been marred by political instability. Protests in Quito have contributed to the mid-term ouster of Ecuador's last three democratically elected Presidents. |
Birth rate | 41.46 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 21.91 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$900 million expenditures: $1 billion, including capital expenditures of NA million (1999 est.) |
revenues: $13.1 billion
expenditures: planned $11.3 billion (2007 est.) |
Capital | Lusaka | name: Quito
geographic coordinates: 0 13 S, 78 30 W time difference: UTC-5 (same time as Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | tropical; modified by altitude; rainy season (October to April) | tropical along coast, becoming cooler inland at higher elevations; tropical in Amazonian jungle lowlands |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 2,237 km |
Constitution | 2 August 1991 | 10 August 1998 |
Country name | conventional long form:
Republic of Zambia conventional short form: Zambia former: Northern Rhodesia |
conventional long form: Republic of Ecuador
conventional short form: Ecuador local long form: Republica del Ecuador local short form: Ecuador |
Currency | Zambian kwacha (ZMK) | - |
Death rate | 21.97 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 4.21 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $6.5 billion (2000) | $17.56 billion (31 October 2007) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador David B. DUNN embassy: corner of Independence and United Nations Avenues mailing address: P. O. Box 31617, Lusaka telephone: [260] (1) 250-955 FAX: [260] (1) 252-225 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Linda L. JEWELL
embassy: Avenida 12 de Octubre y Avenida Patria, Quito mailing address: APO AA 34039 telephone: [593] (2) 256-2890 FAX: [593] (2) 250-2052 consulate(s) general: Guayaquil |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Atan SHANSONGA chancery: 2419 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 265-9717 through 9719 FAX: [1] (202) 332-0826 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Luis Benigno GALLEGOS Chiriboga
chancery: 2535 15th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 234-7200 FAX: [1] (202) 667-3482 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, Jersey City (New Jersey), Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, San Francisco, Washington, DC |
Disputes - international | - | organized illegal narcotics operations in Colombia penetrate across Ecuador's shared border, which thousands of Colombians also cross to escape the violence in their home country |
Economic aid - recipient | $1.99 billion (1995) | $209.5 million (2005) |
Economy - overview | Despite progress in privatization and budgetary reform, Zambia's economy has a long way to go. Privatization of government-owned copper mines relieved the government from covering mammoth losses generated by the industry and greatly improved the chances for copper mining to return to profitability and spur economic growth. In late 2000, Zambia was determined to be eligible for debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative. Inflation and unemployment rates remain high, but the GDP growth rate should rise in 2001. | Ecuador is substantially dependent on its petroleum resources, which have accounted for more than half of the country's export earnings and one-fourth of public sector revenues in recent years. In 1999/2000, Ecuador suffered a severe economic crisis, with GDP contracted by more than 6%, with a significant increase in poverty. The banking system also collapsed, and Ecuador defaulted on its external debt later that year. In March 2000, Congress approved a series of structural reforms that also provided for the adoption of the US dollar as legal tender. Dollarization stabilized the economy, and positive growth returned in the years that followed, helped by high oil prices, remittances, and increased non-traditional exports. From 2002-2006 the economy grew 5.5%, the highest five-year average in 25 years. The poverty rate declined but remained high at 38% in 2006. In 2006 the government of Alfredo PALACIO (2005-07) seized the assets of Occidental Petroleum for alleged contract violations and imposed a windfall revenue tax on foreign oil companies, leading to the suspension of free trade negotiations with the US. These measures, combined with chronic underinvestment in the state oil company, Petroecuador, led to a drop in petroleum production in 2007. PALACIO's successor, Rafael CORREA, raised the specter of debt default - but Ecuador has paid its debt on time. He also decreed a higher windfall revenue tax on private oil companies, then sought to renegotiate their contracts to overcome the debilitating effect of the tax. This generated economic uncertainty; private investment has dropped and economic growth has slowed significantly. |
Electricity - consumption | 5.926 billion kWh (1999) | 8.855 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | 1.6 billion kWh (1999) | 16 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 419 million kWh (1999) | 1.723 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | 7.642 billion kWh (1999) | 12.94 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
0.55% hydro: 99.45% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Zambezi river 329 m highest point: unnamed location in Mafinga Hills 2,301 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Chimborazo 6,267 m |
Environment - current issues | air pollution and resulting acid rain in the mineral extraction and refining region; chemical runoff into watersheds; poaching seriously threatens rhinoceros, elephant, antelope, and large cat populations; deforestation; soil erosion; desertification; lack of adequate water treatment presents human health risks | deforestation; soil erosion; desertification; water pollution; pollution from oil production wastes in ecologically sensitive areas of the Amazon Basin and Galapagos Islands |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | African 98.7%, European 1.1%, other 0.2% | mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white) 65%, Amerindian 25%, Spanish and others 7%, black 3% |
Exchange rates | Zambian kwacha per US dollar - 4,024.53 (January 2001), 3,110.84 (2000), 2,388.02 (1999), 1,862.07 (1998), 1,314.50 (1997), 1,207.90 (1996) | 1 the US dollar is used; the sucre was eliminated in 2000 |
Executive branch | chief of state:
President Frederick CHILUBA (since 2 November 1991); Vice President Enoch KAVINDELE (since 4 May 2001); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Frederick CHILUBA (since 2 November 1991); Vice President Enoch KAVINDELE (since 4 May 2001); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president from among the members of the National Assembly elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 18 November 1996 (next to be held NA October 2001); vice president appointed by the president election results: Frederick CHILUBA reelected president; percent of vote - Frederick CHILUBA 72.5%, Dean MUNGO'MBA 12.6%, Humphrey MULEMBA 7%, Akashambatwa LEWANIKA 4.7%, Chama CHAKOMBOKA 3.2% |
chief of state: President Rafael CORREA Delgado (since 15 January 2007); Vice President Lenin MORENO Garces (since 15 January 2007); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Rafael CORREA Delgado (since 15 January 2007); Vice President Lenin MORENO Garces (since 15 January 2007) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president elections: the president and vice president are elected on the same ticket by popular vote for a four-year term (may not serve consecutive terms); election last held 15 October 2006 with a runoff election on 26 November 2006 (next to be held in October 2010) election results: Rafael CORREA Delgado elected president; percent of vote - Rafael CORREA Delgado 56.7%; Alvaro NOBOA 43.3% |
Exports | $928 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | 420,600 bbl/day (2004 est.) |
Exports - commodities | copper, cobalt, electricity, tobacco | petroleum, bananas, cut flowers, shrimp, cacao, coffee, hemp, wood, fish |
Exports - partners | Japan, Saudi Arabia, India, Thailand, South Africa, US, Malaysia (1997) | US 53.6%, Peru 8.2%, Colombia 5.6%, Chile 4.4% (2006) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | green with a panel of three vertical bands of red (hoist side), black, and orange below a soaring orange eagle, on the outer edge of the flag | three horizontal bands of yellow (top, double width), blue, and red with the coat of arms superimposed at the center of the flag; similar to the flag of Colombia, which is shorter and does not bear a coat of arms |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $8.5 billion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
18% industry: 27% services: 55% (1999 est.) |
agriculture: 10%
industry: 35% services: 54% (2007 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $880 (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 4% (2000 est.) | 2.6% (2007 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 15 00 S, 30 00 E | 2 00 S, 77 30 W |
Geography - note | landlocked | Cotopaxi in Andes is highest active volcano in world |
Heliports | - | 1 (2007) |
Highways | total:
66,781 km paved: NA km unpaved: NA km (1997 est.) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
1.6% highest 10%: 39.2% (1995) |
lowest 10%: 2%
highest 10%: 35% note: data for urban households only (October 2006) |
Illicit drugs | transshipment point for moderate amounts of methaqualone, small amounts of heroin, and cocaine bound for Southern Africa and possibly Europe; regional money-laundering center | significant transit country for cocaine originating in Colombia and Peru, with over half of the US-bound cocaine passing through Ecuadorian Pacific waters; importer of precursor chemicals used in production of illicit narcotics; attractive location for cash-placement by drug traffickers laundering money because of dollarization and weak anti-money-laundering regime; increased activity on the northern frontier by trafficking groups and Colombian insurgents |
Imports | $1.05 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | 44,680 bbl/day (2004) |
Imports - commodities | machinery, transportation equipment, fuels, petroleum products, electricity, fertilizer; foodstuffs, clothing | industrial materials, fuels and lubricants, nondurable consumer goods |
Imports - partners | South Africa 48%, Saudi Arabia, UK, Zimbabwe (1997) | US 23.1%, Colombia 13.3%, Brazil 7.3%, Panama 4% (2006) |
Independence | 24 October 1964 (from UK) | 24 May 1822 (from Spain) |
Industrial production growth rate | 6.1% (2000 est.) | 1.4% (2007 est.) |
Industries | copper mining and processing, construction, foodstuffs, beverages, chemicals, textiles, fertilizer | petroleum, food processing, textiles, wood products, chemicals |
Infant mortality rate | 90.89 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 22.1 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 26.5 deaths/1,000 live births female: 17.47 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 27.3% (2000 est.) | 3.3% (2007 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-19, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, MONUC, NAM, OAU, OPCW, PCA, SADC, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIK, UNTAET, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | CAN, CSN, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAES, LAIA, Mercosur (associate), MIGA, MINUSTAH, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, OPEC, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 3 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 460 sq km (1993 est.) | 8,650 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court (the final court of appeal; justices are appointed by the president); High Court (has unlimited jurisdiction to hear civil and criminal cases) | Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (according to the Constitution, new justices are elected by the full Supreme Court; in December 2004, however, Congress successfully replaced the entire court via a simple-majority resolution) |
Labor force | 3.4 million | 4.55 million (urban) (2007 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 85%, industry 6%, services 9% | agriculture: 8%
industry: 24% services: 68% (2001) |
Land boundaries | total:
5,664 km border countries: Angola 1,110 km, Democratic Republic of the Congo 1,930 km, Malawi 837 km, Mozambique 419 km, Namibia 233 km, Tanzania 338 km, Zimbabwe 797 km |
total: 2,010 km
border countries: Colombia 590 km, Peru 1,420 km |
Land use | arable land:
7% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 40% forests and woodland: 39% other: 14% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 5.71%
permanent crops: 4.81% other: 89.48% (2005) |
Languages | English (official), major vernaculars - Bemba, Kaonda, Lozi, Lunda, Luvale, Nyanja, Tonga, and about 70 other indigenous languages | Spanish (official), Amerindian languages (especially Quechua) |
Legal system | based on English common law and customary law; judicial review of legislative acts in an ad hoc constitutional council; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on civil law system; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | unicameral National Assembly (150 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 18 November 1996 (next to be held NA December 2001) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - MMD 131, NP 5, Zadeco 2, AZ 2, independents 10 |
unicameral National Congress or Congreso Nacional (100 seats; members are elected through a party-list proportional representation system to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 15 October 2006 (next to be held in October 2010) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PRIAN 28; PSP 24; PSC 13; ID 7; PRE 6; MUPP-NP 6; RED 5; UDC 5; other 6; note - defections by members of National Congress are commonplace, resulting in frequent changes in the numbers of seats held by the various parties; as of 29 November 2007, Congress is on indefinite recess |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
37.29 years male: 37.06 years female: 37.53 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 76.62 years
male: 73.74 years female: 79.63 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write English total population: 78.2% male: 85.6% female: 71.3% (1995 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 91% male: 92.3% female: 89.7% (2001 census) |
Location | Southern Africa, east of Angola | Western South America, bordering the Pacific Ocean at the Equator, between Colombia and Peru |
Map references | Africa | South America |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | territorial sea: 200 nm
continental shelf: 100 nm from 2,500 meter isobath |
Merchant marine | - | total: 33 ships (1000 GRT or over) 190,931 GRT/306,280 DWT
by type: chemical tanker 1, liquefied gas 1, passenger 8, petroleum tanker 22, specialized tanker 1 foreign-owned: 2 (Philippines 1, US 1) registered in other countries: 3 (China 1, Panama 2) (2007) |
Military branches | Army, Air Force, National Service, police | Army, Navy (includes Naval Infantry, Naval Aviation, Coast Guard), Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Ecuatoriana, FAE) (2007) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $76 million (FY97) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.8% (FY97) | 2.8% (2006) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
2,246,640 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
1,193,047 (2001 est.) |
- |
National holiday | Independence Day, 24 October (1964) | Independence Day (independence of Quito), 10 August (1809) |
Nationality | noun:
Zambian(s) adjective: Zambian |
noun: Ecuadorian(s)
adjective: Ecuadorian |
Natural hazards | tropical storms (November to April) | frequent earthquakes, landslides, volcanic activity; floods; periodic droughts |
Natural resources | copper, cobalt, zinc, lead, coal, emeralds, gold, silver, uranium, hydropower | petroleum, fish, timber, hydropower |
Net migration rate | -0.16 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -2.16 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil 1,724 km | extra heavy crude oil 578 km; gas 71 km; oil 1,389 km; refined products 1,185 km (2007) |
Political parties and leaders | Agenda for Zambia or AZ [Akashambatwa LEWANIKA]; Labor Party or LP [Chibiza MFUNI]; Liberal Progressive Front or LPF [Roger CHONGWE, president]; Movement for Democratic Process or MDP [Chama CHAKOM BOKA]; Movement for Multiparty Democracy or MMD [Frederick CHILUBA]; National Party or NP [Daniel LISULO]; Republican Party or RP [Ben MWILA]; Social Democratic Party or SDP [Gwendoline Konie]; United National Independence Party or UNIP [Tilyenji KAUNDA]; United Party for National Development or UPND [Anderson MAZOKA]; Zambia Democratic Congress or Zadeco [Eden JERRY, acting head] | Alianza PAIS Movement [Rafael Vicente CORREA Delgado]; Christian Democratic Union or UDC [Diego ORDONEZ Guerrero]; Concentration of Popular Forces or CFP; Democratic Left or ID [Andres PAEZ Benalcazar]; Ethical and Democratic Network or RED [Leon ROLDOS]; National Action Institutional Renewal Party or PRIAN [Alvaro NOBOA]; Pachakutik Plurinational Unity Movement - New Country or MUPP-NP [Gilberto TALAHUA]; Patriotic Society Party or PSP [Lucio GUTIERREZ Borbua]; Popular Democratic Movement or MPD [Ciro GUZMAN Aldaz]; Roldosist Party or PRE [Abdala BUCARAM Ortiz, director]; Social Christian Party or PSC [Pascual DEL CIOPPO]; Socialist Party - Broad Front or PS-FA [Gustavo AYALA Cruz] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador or CONAIE [Luis MACAS, president]; Coordinator of Social Movements or CMS [F. Napoleon SANTOS]; Federation of Indigenous Evangelists of Ecuador or FEINE [Marco MURILLO, president]; National Federation of Indigenous Afro-Ecuatorianos and Peasants or FENOCIN [Pedro DE LA CRUZ, president] |
Population | 9,770,199
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 2001 est.) |
13,755,680 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 86% (1993 est.) | 38.3% (2006) |
Population growth rate | 1.93% (2001 est.) | 1.554% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Mpulungu | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 19, FM 5, shortwave 4 (1998) | AM 392, FM 35, shortwave 29 (2001) |
Radios | 1.03 million (1997) | - |
Railways | total:
2,164 km (1995) narrow gauge: 2,164 km 1.067-m gauge (13 km double track) note: the total includes 891 km of the Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority (TAZARA), which operates 1,860 km of 1.067-m narrow gauge track between Dar es Salaam and Kapiri Mposhi where it connects to the Zambia Railways system; TAZARA is not a part of the Zambia Railways system; Zambia Railways assets are scheduled for concessioning in 2001 |
total: 966 km
narrow gauge: 966 km 1.067-m gauge (2006) |
Religions | Christian 50%-75%, Muslim and Hindu 24%-49%, indigenous beliefs 1% | Roman Catholic 95%, other 5% |
Sex ratio | 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: 0.77 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.039 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.993 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.885 male(s)/female total population: 1.002 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal, compulsory for literate persons ages 18-65, optional for other eligible voters |
Telephone system | general assessment:
facilities are among the best in Sub-Saharan Africa domestic: high-capacity microwave radio relay connects most larger towns and cities; several cellular telephone services in operation; Internet service is widely available; very small aperture terminal (VSAT) networks are operated by private firms international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean and 1 Atlantic Ocean) |
general assessment: generally elementary but being expanded
domestic: fixed-line services provided by three state-owned enterprises; plans to transfer the state-owned operators to private ownership have repeatedly failed; fixed-line density stands at about 13 per 100 persons; mobile cellular use has surged and has a subscribership of nearly 65 per 100 persons international: country code - 593; landing point for the PAN-AM submarine telecommunications cable that provides links to the west coast of South America, Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, and extending onward to Aruba and the US Virgin Islands in the Caribbean; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2007) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 77,935 (in addition there are about 40,000 fixed telephones in wireless local loop connections) (1997) | 1.754 million (2006) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 6,000 (1998) | 8.485 million (2006) |
Television broadcast stations | 9 (1997) | 7 (plus 14 repeaters) (2000) |
Terrain | mostly high plateau with some hills and mountains | coastal plain (costa), inter-Andean central highlands (sierra), and flat to rolling eastern jungle (oriente) |
Total fertility rate | 5.53 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 2.63 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 50% (2000 est.) | 9.8% (2007 est.) |
Waterways | 2,250 km
note: includes Lake Tanganyika and the Zambezi and Luapula rivers |
1,500 km (most inaccessible) (2006) |