Zambia (2008) | Libya (2008) | |
Administrative divisions | 9 provinces; Central, Copperbelt, Eastern, Luapula, Lusaka, Northern, North-Western, Southern, Western | 25 municipalities (baladiyat, singular - baladiyah); Ajdabiya, Al 'Aziziyah, Al Fatih, Al Jabal al Akhdar, Al Jufrah, Al Khums, Al Kufrah, An Nuqat al Khams, Ash Shati', Awbari, Az Zawiyah, Banghazi, Darnah, Ghadamis, Gharyan, Misratah, Murzuq, Sabha, Sawfajjin, Surt, Tarabulus, Tarhunah, Tubruq, Yafran, Zlitan; note - the 25 municipalities may have been replaced by 13 regions |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 45.7% (male 2,633,578/female 2,608,714)
15-64 years: 51.9% (male 2,969,913/female 2,990,923) 65 years and over: 2.4% (male 116,818/female 157,501) (2007 est.) |
0-14 years: 33.4% (male 1,029,096/female 985,606)
15-64 years: 62.4% (male 1,940,287/female 1,827,429) 65 years and over: 4.2% (male 124,892/female 129,604) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | corn, sorghum, rice, peanuts, sunflower seed, vegetables, flowers, tobacco, cotton, sugarcane, cassava (tapioca), coffee; cattle, goats, pigs, poultry, milk, eggs, hides | wheat, barley, olives, dates, citrus, vegetables, peanuts, soybeans; cattle |
Airports | 107 (2007) | 141 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 9
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2007) |
total: 60
over 3,047 m: 23 2,438 to 3,047 m: 6 1,524 to 2,437 m: 23 914 to 1,523 m: 6 under 914 m: 2 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 98
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 64 under 914 m: 29 (2007) |
total: 81
over 3,047 m: 5 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 15 914 to 1,523 m: 41 under 914 m: 18 (2007) |
Area | total: 752,614 sq km
land: 740,724 sq km water: 11,890 sq km |
total: 1,759,540 sq km
land: 1,759,540 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Texas | slightly larger than Alaska |
Background | The territory of Northern Rhodesia was administered by the [British] South Africa Company from 1891 until it was taken over 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. The election in 2001 was marked by administrative problems with three parties filing a legal petition challenging the election of ruling party candidate Levy MWANAWASA. The new president launched an anticorruption investigation in 2002 to probe high-level corruption during the previous administration. In 2006-2007, this task force successfully prosecuted four cases, including a landmark civil case in the UK in which former President CHILUBA and numerous others were found liable for USD 41 million. MWANAWASA was reelected in 2006 in an election that was deemed free and fair. | The Italians supplanted the Ottoman Turks from the area around Tripoli in 1911 and did not relinquish their hold until 1943 when defeated in World War II. Libya then passed to UN administration and achieved independence in 1951. Following a 1969 military coup, Col. Muammar Abu Minyar al-QADHAFI began to espouse his own political system, the Third Universal Theory. The system is a combination of socialism and Islam derived in part from tribal practices and is supposed to be implemented by the Libyan people themselves in a unique form of "direct democracy." QADHAFI has always seen himself as a revolutionary and visionary leader. He used oil funds during the 1970s and 1980s to promote his ideology outside Libya, supporting subversives and terrorists abroad to hasten the end of Marxism and capitalism. In addition, beginning in 1973, he engaged in military operations in northern Chad's Aozou Strip - to gain access to minerals and to use as a base of influence in Chadian politics - but was forced to retreat in 1987. UN sanctions in 1992 isolated QADHAFI politically following the downing of Pan AM Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. During the 1990s, QADHAFI began to rebuild his relationships with Europe. UN sanctions were suspended in April 1999 and finally lifted in September 2003 after Libya accepted responsibility for the Lockerbie bombing. In December 2003, Libya announced that it had agreed to reveal and end its programs to develop weapons of mass destruction and to renounce terrorism, and QADHAFI has made significant strides in normalizing relations with western nations since then. He has received various Western European leaders as well as many working-level and commercial delegations, and made his first trip to Western Europe in 15 years when he traveled to Brussels in April 2004. Libya has responded in good faith to legal cases brought against it in US courts for terrorist acts that predate its renunciation of violence. Claims for compensation in the Lockerbie bombing, LaBelle disco bombing, and UTA 772 bombing cases are ongoing. The US rescinded Libya's designation as a state sponsor of terrorism in June 2006. In late 2007, Libya was elected by the General Assembly to a nonpermanent seat on the United Nations Security Council for the 2008-2009 term. |
Birth rate | 40.78 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 26.09 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $2.508 billion
expenditures: $2.838 billion (2007 est.) |
revenues: $39.62 billion
expenditures: $19.51 billion (2007 est.) |
Capital | name: Lusaka
geographic coordinates: 15 25 S, 28 17 E time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
name: Tripoli
geographic coordinates: 32 53 N, 13 10 E time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | tropical; modified by altitude; rainy season (October to April) | Mediterranean along coast; dry, extreme desert interior |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 1,770 km |
Constitution | 24 August 1991; amended in 1996 to establish presidential term limits | none; note - following the September 1969 military overthrow of the Libyan government, the Revolutionary Command Council replaced the existing constitution with the Constitutional Proclamation in December 1969; in March 1977, Libya adopted the Declaration of the Establishment of the People's Authority |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Zambia
conventional short form: Zambia former: Northern Rhodesia |
conventional long form: Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya
conventional short form: Libya local long form: Al Jumahiriyah al Arabiyah al Libiyah ash Shabiyah al Ishtirakiyah al Uzma local short form: none |
Death rate | 21.46 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 3.47 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $2.798 billion (31 December 2007 est.) | $4.837 billion (31 December 2007 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Carmen M. MARTINEZ
embassy: corner of Independence and United Nations Avenues, Lusaka mailing address: P. O. Box 31617, Lusaka telephone: [260] (1) 250-955 FAX: [260] (1) 252-225 |
chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires J. Christopher Stevens
embassy: Corinthia Bab Africa Hotel, Souq At-Tlat Al-Qadim, Tripoli mailing address: US Embassy, 8850 Tripoli Place, Washington, DC 20521-8850 telephone: [218] 21-335-1848 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Inonge MBIKUSITA-LEWANIKA
chancery: 2419 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 265-9717 through 9719 FAX: [1] (202) 332-0826 |
chief of mission: ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Ali Suleiman AUJALI
chancery: 2600 Virginia Avenue NW, Suite 705, Washington, DC 20037 telephone: [1] (202) 944-9601 FAX: [1] (202) 944-9060 |
Disputes - international | in 2004, Zimbabwe dropped objections to plans between Botswana and Zambia to build a bridge over the Zambezi River, thereby de facto recognizing a short, but not clearly delimited, Botswana-Zambia boundary in the river; 42,250 Congolese refugees in Zambia are offered voluntary repatriation in November 2006, most of whom are expected to return in the next two years; Angolan refugees too have been repatriating but 26,450 still remain with 90,000 others from other neighboring states in 2006 | Libya has claimed more than 32,000 sq km in southeastern Algeria and about 25,000 sq km in the Tommo region of Niger in a currently dormant dispute; various Chadian rebels from the Aozou region reside in southern Libya |
Economic aid - recipient | $504 million (2007) | ODA, $24.44 million (2005 est.) |
Economy - overview | Zambia's economy has experienced modest growth in recent years, with real GDP growth in 2005-07 between 5-6% per year. Privatization of government-owned copper mines in the 1990s 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. Copper output has increased steadily since 2004, due to higher copper prices and foreign investment. In 2005, Zambia qualified for debt relief under the Highly Indebted Poor Country Initiative, consisting of approximately USD 6 billion in debt relief. Zambia experienced a bumper harvest in 2007, which helped to boost GDP and agricultural exports and contain inflation. Although poverty continues to be significant problem in Zambia, its economy has strengthened, featuring single-digit inflation, a relatively stable currency, decreasing interest rates, and increasing levels of trade. | The Libyan economy depends primarily upon revenues from the oil sector, which contribute about 95% of export earnings, about one-quarter of GDP, and 60% of public sector wages. Substantial revenues from the energy sector coupled with a small population give Libya one of the highest per capita GDPs in Africa, but little of this income flows down to the lower orders of society. Libyan officials in the past five years have made progress on economic reforms as part of a broader campaign to reintegrate the country into the international fold. This effort picked up steam after UN sanctions were lifted in September 2003 and as Libya announced in December 2003 that it would abandon programs to build weapons of mass destruction. Almost all US unilateral sanctions against Libya were removed in April 2004, helping Libya attract more foreign direct investment, mostly in the energy sector. Libyan oil and gas licensing rounds continue to draw high international interest; the National Oil Company set a goal of nearly doubling oil production to 3 million bbl/day by 2015. Libya faces a long road ahead in liberalizing the socialist-oriented economy, but initial steps - including applying for WTO membership, reducing some subsidies, and announcing plans for privatization - are laying the groundwork for a transition to a more market-based economy. The non-oil manufacturing and construction sectors, which account for more than 20% of GDP, have expanded from processing mostly agricultural products to include the production of petrochemicals, iron, steel, and aluminum. Climatic conditions and poor soils severely limit agricultural output, and Libya imports about 75% of its food. Libya's primary agricultural water source remains the Great Manmade River Project, but significant resources are being invested in desalinization research to meet growing water demands. |
Electricity - consumption | 8.655 billion kWh (2005) | 18.18 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | 243 million kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 465 million kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | 8.85 billion kWh (2005) | 21.15 billion kWh (2005) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Zambezi river 329 m
highest point: unnamed location in Mafinga Hills 2,301 m |
lowest point: Sabkhat Ghuzayyil -47 m
highest point: Bikku Bitti 2,267 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 | desertification; very limited natural fresh water resources; the Great Manmade River Project, the largest water development scheme in the world, is being built to bring water from large aquifers under the Sahara to coastal cities |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
Ethnic groups | African 98.7%, European 1.1%, other 0.2% | Berber and Arab 97%, other 3% (includes Greeks, Maltese, Italians, Egyptians, Pakistanis, Turks, Indians, and Tunisians) |
Exchange rates | Zambian kwacha per US dollar - 3,990.2 (2007), 3,601.5 (2006), 4,463.5 (2005), 4,778.9 (2004), 4,733.3 (2003) | Libyan dinars per US dollar - 1.2604 (2007), 1.3108 (2006), 1.3084 (2005), 1.305 (2004), 1.2929 (2003) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Levy MWANAWASA (since 2 January 2002); Vice President Rupiah BANDA (since 9 October 2006); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Levy MWANAWASA (since 2 January 2002); Vice President Rupiah BANDA (since 9 October 2006) 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 (eligible for a second term); election last held 28 September 2006 (next to be held in 2011); vice president appointed by the president election results: Levy MWANAWASA reelected president; percent of vote - Levy MWANAWASA 43.0%, Michael SATA 29.4%, Hakainde HICHILEMA 25.3%, Godfrey MIYANDA 1.6%, Winright NGONDO 0.8% |
chief of state: Revolutionary Leader Col. Muammar Abu Minyar al-QADHAFI (since 1 September 1969); note - holds no official title, but is de facto chief of state
head of government: Secretary of the General People's Committee (Prime Minister) al-Baghdadi Ali al-MAHMUDI (since 5 March 2006) cabinet: General People's Committee established by the General People's Congress elections: national elections are indirect through a hierarchy of people's committees; head of government elected by the General People's Congress; election last held March 2006 (next to be held NA) election results: NA |
Exports | 169 bbl/day (2004) | 1.326 million bbl/day (2004) |
Exports - commodities | copper/cobalt 64%, cobalt, electricity; tobacco, flowers, cotton | crude oil, refined petroleum products, natural gas, chemicals |
Exports - partners | Switzerland 38.4%, South Africa 21.6%, China 10.3%, UK 7.6%, Tanzania 6.4% (2006) | Italy 36.7%, Germany 14.3%, Spain 8.7%, US 6.1%, France 5.6%, Turkey 5.3% (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 | plain green; green is the traditional color of Islam (the state religion) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 17.6%
industry: 26% services: 56.5% (2007 est.) |
agriculture: 2.1%
industry: 81.7% services: 16.2% (2007 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 6% (2007 est.) | 5.4% (2007 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 15 00 S, 30 00 E | 25 00 N, 17 00 E |
Geography - note | landlocked; the Zambezi forms a natural riverine boundary with Zimbabwe | more than 90% of the country is desert or semidesert |
Heliports | - | 2 (2007) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 1.2%
highest 10%: 38.8% (2004) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | transshipment point for moderate amounts of methaqualone, small amounts of heroin, and cocaine bound for southern Africa and possibly Europe; a poorly developed financial infrastructure coupled with a government commitment to combating money laundering make it an unattractive venue for money launderers; major consumer of cannabis | - |
Imports | 13,370 bbl/day (2004) | 1,233 bbl/day (2004) |
Imports - commodities | machinery, transportation equipment, petroleum products, electricity, fertilizer; foodstuffs, clothing | machinery, semi-finished goods, food, transport equipment, consumer products |
Imports - partners | South Africa 47.3%, UAE 10.4%, Zimbabwe 5.7%, Norway 4% (2006) | Italy 18.9%, Germany 7.9%, China 7.5%, Tunisia 6.3%, France 5.8%, Turkey 5.2%, US 4.7%, South Korea 4.3%, UK 4% (2006) |
Independence | 24 October 1964 (from UK) | 24 December 1951 (from UN trusteeship) |
Industrial production growth rate | 6.2% (2007 est.) | 5.6% (2007 est.) |
Industries | copper mining and processing, construction, foodstuffs, beverages, chemicals, textiles, fertilizer, horticulture | petroleum, iron and steel, food processing, textiles, handicrafts, cement |
Infant mortality rate | total: 100.71 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 105.48 deaths/1,000 live births female: 95.8 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
total: 22.82 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 25.07 deaths/1,000 live births female: 20.47 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 8.9% (2007 est.) | 3.3% (2007 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, AfDB, AU, C, COMESA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OPCW, PCA, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO | ABEDA, AfDB, AFESD, AMF, AMU, AU, CAEU, COMESA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, OPCW, OPEC, PCA, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer) |
Irrigated land | 1,560 sq km (2003) | 4,700 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 |
Labor force | 4.989 million (2007 est.) | 1.82 million (2007 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 85%
industry: 6% services: 9% (2004) |
agriculture: 17%
industry: 23% services: 59% (2004 est.) |
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: 4,348 km
border countries: Algeria 982 km, Chad 1,055 km, Egypt 1,115 km, Niger 354 km, Sudan 383 km, Tunisia 459 km |
Land use | arable land: 6.99%
permanent crops: 0.04% other: 92.97% (2005) |
arable land: 1.03%
permanent crops: 0.19% other: 98.78% (2005) |
Languages | English (official), major vernaculars - Bemba, Kaonda, Lozi, Lunda, Luvale, Nyanja, Tonga, and about 70 other indigenous languages | Arabic, Italian, English, all are widely understood in the major cities |
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 Italian and French civil law systems and Islamic law; separate religious courts; no constitutional provision for judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | unicameral National Assembly (158 seats; 150 members are elected by popular vote, 8 members are appointed by the president, to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 28 September 2006 (next to be held in 2011) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - MMD 72, PF 44, UDA 27, ULP 2, NDF 1, independents 2; seats not determined 2 |
unicameral General People's Congress (approximately 2,700 seats; members elected indirectly through a hierarchy of people's committees) |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 38.44 years
male: 38.34 years female: 38.54 years (2007 est.) |
total population: 76.88 years
male: 74.64 years female: 79.23 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write English
total population: 80.6% male: 86.8% female: 74.8% (2003 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 82.6% male: 92.4% female: 72% (2003 est.) |
Location | Southern Africa, east of Angola | Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Tunisia |
Map references | Africa | Africa |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | territorial sea: 12 nm
note: Gulf of Sidra closing line - 32 degrees, 30 minutes north exclusive fishing zone: 62 nm |
Merchant marine | - | total: 17 ships (1000 GRT or over) 67,200 GRT/85,931 DWT
by type: cargo 11, liquefied gas 3, petroleum tanker 2, roll on/roll off 1 foreign-owned: 3 (Kuwait 1, Norway 1, Syria 1) registered in other countries: 4 (Malta 3, Tunisia 1) (2007) |
Military branches | Zambian National Defense Force (ZNDF): Army, Air Force, Police, National Service | Armed Peoples on Duty (APOD, Army), Libyan Arab Navy, Libyan Arab Air Force (Al-Quwwat al-Jawwiya al-Jamahiriya al-Arabia al-Libyya, LAAF) (2007) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.8% (2005 est.) | 3.9% (2005 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 24 October (1964) | Revolution Day, 1 September (1969) |
Nationality | noun: Zambian(s)
adjective: Zambian |
noun: Libyan(s)
adjective: Libyan |
Natural hazards | periodic drought, tropical storms (November to April) | hot, dry, dust-laden ghibli is a southern wind lasting one to four days in spring and fall; dust storms, sandstorms |
Natural resources | copper, cobalt, zinc, lead, coal, emeralds, gold, silver, uranium, hydropower | petroleum, natural gas, gypsum |
Net migration rate | -2.68 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Pipelines | oil 771 km (2007) | condensate 882 km; gas 3,425 km; oil 6,956 km (2007) |
Political parties and leaders | All Peoples Congress Party [Winright NGONDO]; Forum for Democracy and Development or FDD [Edith NAWAKWI]; Heritage Party or HP [Godfrey MIYANDA]; Liberal Progressive Front or LPF [Roger CHONGWE]; Movement for Multiparty Democracy or MMD [Levy MWANAWASA]; National Democratic Focus or NDF; Patriotic Front or PF [Michael SATA]; Party of Unity for Democracy and Development or PUDD [Dan PULE]; Reform Party [Nevers MUMBA]; United Democratic Alliance or UDA; United Liberal Party or ULP [Sakwiba SIKOTA]; United National Independence Party or UNIP [Tilyenji KAUNDA]; United Party for National Development or UPND [Hakainde HICHILEMA]; Zambia Democratic Congress or ZADECO [Langton SICHONE]; Zambian Republican Party or ZRP [Benjamin MWILA] | none |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | various Arab nationalist movements with almost negligible memberships may be functioning clandestinely, as well as some Islamic elements; an anti-QADHAFI Libyan exile movement exists, primarily based in London, but has little influence |
Population | 11,477,447
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2007 est.) |
6,036,914
note: includes 166,510 non-nationals (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 86% (1993) | 7.4% (2005 est.) |
Population growth rate | 1.664% (2007 est.) | 2.262% (2007 est.) |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 19, FM 5, shortwave 4 (2001) | AM 16, FM 3, shortwave 3 (2001) |
Railways | total: 2,157 km
narrow gauge: 2,157 km 1.067-m gauge note: includes 891 km of the Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority (TAZARA) (2006) |
0 km
note: Libya has announced plans to build seven lines totaling 2,757 km of 1.435-m gauge track (2006) |
Religions | Christian 50%-75%, Muslim and Hindu 24%-49%, indigenous beliefs 1% | Sunni Muslim 97%, other 3% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.993 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.742 male(s)/female total population: 0.994 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.044 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.062 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.964 male(s)/female total population: 1.052 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory |
Telephone system | general assessment: facilities are aging but still 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 and network coverage is improving; Internet service is widely available; very small aperture terminal (VSAT) networks are operated by private firms international: country code - 260; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean and 1 Atlantic Ocean) |
general assessment: telecommunications system is being modernized; mobile cellular telephone system became operational in 1996; combined fixed line and mobile telephone density reached 75 telephones per 100 persons in 2006
domestic: microwave radio relay, coaxial cable, cellular, tropospheric scatter, and a domestic satellite system with 14 earth stations international: country code - 218; satellite earth stations - 4 Intelsat, NA Arabsat, and NA Intersputnik; submarine cables to France and Italy; microwave radio relay to Tunisia and Egypt; tropospheric scatter to Greece; participant in Medarabtel (1999) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 93,400 (2006) | 483,000 (2006) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 1,663,300 (2006) | 3.928 million (2006) |
Television broadcast stations | 9 (2001) | 12 (plus 1 repeater) (1999) |
Terrain | mostly high plateau with some hills and mountains | mostly barren, flat to undulating plains, plateaus, depressions |
Total fertility rate | 5.31 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 3.21 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 50% (2000 est.) | 30% (2004 est.) |
Waterways | 2,250 km (includes Lake Tanganyika and the Zambezi and Luapula rivers) (2005) | - |