Botswana (2002) | Ethiopia (2005) | |
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Administrative divisions | 10 districts and four town councils*; Central, Chobe, Francistown*, Gaborone*, Ghanzi, Kgalagadi, Kgatleng, Kweneng, Lobatse*, Ngamiland, North-East, Selebi-Pikwe*, South-East, Southern | 9 ethnically-based states (kililoch, singular - kilil) and 2 self-governing administrations* (astedaderoch, singular - astedader); Adis Abeba* (Addis Ababa), Afar, Amara (Amhara), Binshangul Gumuz, Dire Dawa*, Gambela Hizboch (Gambela Peoples), Hareri Hizb (Harari People), Oromiya (Oromia), Sumale (Somali), Tigray, Ye Debub Biheroch Bihereseboch na Hizboch (Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples) |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 40% (male 319,988; female 316,961)
15-64 years: 55.8% (male 428,638; female 458,777) 65 years and over: 4.2% (male 26,965; female 39,903) (2002 est.) |
0-14 years: 43.9% (male 16,082,504/female 15,999,602)
15-64 years: 53.4% (male 19,452,737/female 19,525,746) 65 years and over: 2.7% (male 905,648/female 1,087,049) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | livestock, sorghum, maize, millet, beans, sunflowers, groundnuts | cereals, pulses, coffee, oilseed, sugarcane, potatoes, qat; hides, cattle, sheep, goats |
Airports | 92 (2001) | 83 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 10
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 7 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2002) |
total: 14
over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 5 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 76
1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 55 under 914 m: 18 (2002) |
total: 69
over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 13 914 to 1,523 m: 27 under 914 m: 23 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 600,370 sq km
land: 585,370 sq km water: 15,000 sq km |
total: 1,127,127 sq km
land: 1,119,683 sq km water: 7,444 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Texas | slightly less than twice the size of Texas |
Background | Formerly the British protectorate of Bechuanaland, Botswana adopted its new name upon independence in 1966. The economy, one of the most robust on the continent, is dominated by diamond mining. | Unique among African countries, the ancient Ethiopian monarchy maintained its freedom from colonial rule, with the exception of the 1936-41 Italian occupation during World War II. In 1974 a military junta, the Derg, deposed Emperor Haile SELASSIE (who had ruled since 1930) and established a socialist state. Torn by bloody coups, uprisings, wide-scale drought, and massive refugee problems, the regime was finally toppled in 1991 by a coalition of rebel forces, the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF). A constitution was adopted in 1994 and Ethiopia's first multiparty elections were held in 1995. A two and a half year border war with Eritrea ended with a peace treaty on 12 December 2000. Final demarcation of the boundary is currently on hold due to Ethiopian objections to an international commission's finding requiring it to surrender sensitive territory. |
Birth rate | 28.04 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 38.61 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $2.3 billion
expenditures: $2.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY01/02 ) |
revenues: $1.887 billion
expenditures: $2.388 billion, including capital expenditures of $788 million (2004 est.) |
Capital | Gaborone | Addis Ababa |
Climate | semiarid; warm winters and hot summers | tropical monsoon with wide topographic-induced variation |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | March 1965, effective 30 September 1966 | ratified December 1994, effective 22 August 1995 |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Botswana
conventional short form: Botswana former: Bechuanaland |
conventional long form: Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia
conventional short form: Ethiopia local long form: Ityop'iya Federalawi Demokrasiyawi Ripeblik local short form: Ityop'iya former: Abyssinia, Italian East Africa abbreviation: FDRE |
Currency | pula (BWP) | - |
Death rate | 26.26 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 15.06 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $325 million (2001) | $2.9 billion (2001 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Joseph HUGGING
embassy: address NA, Gaborone mailing address: Embassy Enclave, P. O. Box 90, Gaborone telephone: [267] 353982 FAX: [267] 312782 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Aurelia A. BRAZEAL
embassy: Entoto Street, Addis Ababa mailing address: P. O. Box 1014, Addis Ababa telephone: [251] (1) 550666 FAX: [251] (1) 551328 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Kgosi SEEPAPITSO IV
chancery: 1531-1533 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 244-4990 FAX: [1] (202) 244-4164 |
chief of mission: Ambassador KASSAHUN Ayele
chancery: 3506 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 364-1200 FAX: [1] (202) 686-9551 consulate(s) general: Los Angeles consulate(s): New York |
Disputes - international | none | Eritrea and Ethiopia agreed to abide by the 2002 Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission's (EEBC) delimitation decision, but despite international intervention, mutual animosities, accusations and armed posturing prevail, preventing demarcation; Ethiopia refuses to withdraw to the delimited boundary until technical errors made by the EEBC that ignored "human geography" are addressed, including the award of Badme, the focus of the 1998-2000 war; Eritrea insists that the EEBC decision be implemented immediately without modifications; Ethiopia has only an administrative line and no international border with the Oromo region of southern Somalia where it maintains alliances with local clans in opposition to the unrecognized Somali Interim Government in Mogadishu; "Somaliland" secessionists provide port facilities and trade ties to landlocked Ethiopia; the UNHCR expects most of the remaining 23,000 Somali refugees in Ethiopia to be repatriated in 2005; efforts to demarcate the porous boundary with Sudan have been delayed by civil war |
Economic aid - recipient | $73 million (1995) (1995) | $308 million (FY00/01) |
Economy - overview | Botswana has maintained one of the world's highest growth rates since independence in 1966. Through fiscal discipline and sound management, Botswana has transformed itself from one of the poorest countries in the world to a middle-income country with a per capita GDP of $7,800 in 2001. Two major investment services rank Botswana as the best credit risk in Africa. Diamond mining has fueled much of expansion and currently accounts for more than one-third of GDP and for four-fifths of export earnings. Tourism, subsistence farming, and cattle raising are other key sectors. On the downside, the government must deal with high rates of unemployment and poverty. Unemployment officially is 21%, but unofficial estimates place it closer to 40%. HIV/AIDS infection rates are the highest in the world and threaten Botswana's impressive economic gains. | Ethiopia's poverty-stricken economy is based on agriculture, accounting for half of GDP, 60% of exports, and 80% of total employment. The agricultural sector suffers from frequent drought and poor cultivation practices. Coffee is critical to the Ethiopian economy with exports of some $156 million in 2002, but historically low prices have seen many farmers switching to qat to supplement income. The war with Eritrea in 1998-2000 and recurrent drought have buffeted the economy, in particular coffee production. In November 2001, Ethiopia qualified for debt relief from the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative. Under Ethiopia's land tenure system, the government owns all land and provides long-term leases to the tenants; the system continues to hamper growth in the industrial sector as entrepreneurs are unable to use land as collateral for loans. Drought struck again late in 2002, leading to a 2% decline in GDP in 2003. Normal weather patterns late in 2003 helped agricultural and GDP growth recover in 2004. |
Electricity - consumption | 1.451 billion kWh (2000) | 1.998 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | 986 million kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | 500 million kWh (2000) | 2.149 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: junction of the Limpopo and Shashe Rivers 513 m
highest point: Tsodilo Hills 1,489 m |
lowest point: Denakil Depression -125 m
highest point: Ras Dejen 4,620 m |
Environment - current issues | overgrazing; desertification; limited fresh water resources | deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification; water shortages in some areas from water-intensive farming and poor management |
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: none of the selected agreements |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea |
Ethnic groups | Tswana (or Setswana) 79%, Kalanga 11%, Basarwa 3%, other, including Kgalagadi and white 7% | Oromo 40%, Amhara and Tigre 32%, Sidamo 9%, Shankella 6%, Somali 6%, Afar 4%, Gurage 2%, other 1% |
Exchange rates | pulas per US dollar - 6.8353 (January 2002), 5.8412 (2001), 5.1018 (2000), 4.6244 (1999), 4.2259 (1998), 3.6508 (1997) | birr per US dollar - 8.68 (2004), 8.5997 (2003), 8.5678 (2002), 8.4575 (2001), 8.2173 (2000)
note: since 24 October 2001 exchange rates are determined on a daily basis via interbank transactions regulated by the Central Bank |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Festus MOGAE (since 1 April 1998) and Vice President Seretse Ian KHAMA (since 13 July 1998); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Festus MOGAE (since 1 April 1998) and Vice President Seretse Ian KHAMA (since 13 July 1998); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president elections: president elected by the National Assembly for a five-year term; election last held 16 October 1999 (next to be held NA October 2004); vice president appointed by the president election results: Festus MOGAE elected president; percent of National Assembly vote - 54.3% |
chief of state: President GIRMA Woldegiorgis (since 8 October 2001)
head of government: Prime Minister MELES Zenawi (since NA August 1995) cabinet: Council of Ministers as provided for in the December 1994 constitution; ministers are selected by the prime minister and approved by the House of People's Representatives elections: president elected by the House of People's Representatives for a six-year term; election last held 8 October 2001 (next to be held October 2007); prime minister designated by the party in power following legislative elections election results: GIRMA Woldegiorgis elected president; percent of vote by the House of People's Representatives - 100% |
Exports | $2.5 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) | NA |
Exports - commodities | diamonds 80%, copper, nickel, soda ash, meat, textiles (2001) | coffee, qat, gold, leather products, live animals, oilseeds |
Exports - partners | EFTA 85%, Southern African Customs Union (SACU) 10%, Zimbabwe 2% (1999) | Djibouti 13.3%, Germany 10%, Japan 8.4%, Saudi Arabia 5.6%, US 5.2%, UAE 5%, Italy 4.6% (2004) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | 8 July - 7 July |
Flag description | light blue with a horizontal white-edged black stripe in the center | three equal horizontal bands of green (top), yellow, and red with a yellow pentagram and single yellow rays emanating from the angles between the points on a light blue disk centered on the three bands; Ethiopia is the oldest independent country in Africa, and the three main colors of her flag were so often adopted by other African countries upon independence that they became known as the pan-African colors |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $12.4 billion (2001 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 4%
industry: 44% (including 36% mining) services: 52% (2000 est.) |
agriculture: 47%
industry: 12.4% services: 40.6% (2004 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $7,800 (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $800 (2004 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 4.7% (2001 est.) | 11.6% (2004 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 22 00 S, 24 00 E | 8 00 N, 38 00 E |
Geography - note | landlocked; population concentrated in eastern part of the country | landlocked - entire coastline along the Red Sea was lost with the de jure independence of Eritrea on 24 May 1993; the Blue Nile, the chief headstream of the Nile by water volume, rises in T'ana Hayk (Lake Tana) in northwest Ethiopia; three major crops are believed to have originated in Ethiopia: coffee, grain sorghum, and castor bean |
Highways | total: 10,217 km
paved: 5,620 km unpaved: 4,597 km (1999) |
total: 33,297 km
paved: 3,996 km unpaved: 29,301 km (2002) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 3%
highest 10%: 33.7% (1995) |
Illicit drugs | - | Transit hub for heroin originating in Southwest and Southeast Asia and destined for Europe and North America as well as cocaine destined for markets in southern Africa; cultivates qat (khat) for local use and regional export, principally to Djibouti and Somalia (legal in all three countries); the lack of a well-developed financial system limits the country's utility as a money-laundering center |
Imports | $2.1 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) | NA |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, machinery, electrical goods, transport equipment, textiles, fuel and petroleum products, wood and paper products, metal and metal products (2000) | food and live animals, petroleum and petroleum products, chemicals, machinery, motor vehicles, cereals, textiles |
Imports - partners | Southern African Customs Union (SACU) 77%, EFTA 9%, Zimbabwe 4% (1999) | Saudi Arabia 25.3%, US 15.8%, China 6.6% (2004) |
Independence | 30 September 1966 (from UK) | oldest independent country in Africa and one of the oldest in the world - at least 2,000 years |
Industrial production growth rate | 2.4% (2001 est.) | 6.7% (2001 est.) |
Industries | diamonds, copper, nickel, salt, soda ash, potash; livestock processing; textiles | food processing, beverages, textiles, chemicals, metals processing, cement |
Infant mortality rate | 64.72 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: 95.32 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 105.3 deaths/1,000 live births female: 85.05 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 6.6% (2001 est.) | 2.4% (2004 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW, SACU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | ACP, AfDB, AU, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, MIGA, NAM, ONUB, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIL, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO (observer) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 11 (2001) | - |
Irrigated land | 10 sq km (1998 est.) | 1,900 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | High Court; Court of Appeal; Magistrates' Courts (one in each district) | Federal Supreme Court (the president and vice president of the Federal Supreme Court are recommended by the prime minister and appointed by the House of People's Representatives; for other federal judges, the prime minister submits to the House of People's Representatives for appointment candidates selected by the Federal Judicial Administrative Council) |
Labor force | 264,000 formal sector employees (2000) | NA (2001 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | NA | agriculture and animal husbandry 80%, industry and construction 8%, government and services 12% (1985) |
Land boundaries | total: 4,013 km
border countries: Namibia 1,360 km, South Africa 1,840 km, Zimbabwe 813 km |
total: 5,328 km
border countries: Djibouti 349 km, Eritrea 912 km, Kenya 861 km, Somalia 1,600 km, Sudan 1,606 km |
Land use | arable land: 0.61%
permanent crops: 0.01% other: 99.38% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 10.71%
permanent crops: 0.75% other: 88.54% (2001) |
Languages | English (official), Setswana | Amharic, Tigrinya, Oromigna, Guaragigna, Somali, Arabic, other local languages, English (major foreign language taught in schools) |
Legal system | based on Roman-Dutch law and local customary law; judicial review limited to matters of interpretation; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | currently transitional mix of national and regional courts |
Legislative branch | bicameral Parliament consists of the House of Chiefs (a largely advisory 15-member body consisting of the chiefs of the eight principal tribes, four elected subchiefs, and three members selected by the other 12 members) and the National Assembly (44 seats, 40 members are directly elected by popular vote and 4 are appointed by the majority party; members serve five-year terms)
elections: National Assembly elections last held 16 October 1999 (next to be held NA October 2004) election results: percent of vote by party - BDP 54.3%, BNF 24.7%, other 21%; seats by party - BDP 33, BNF 6, other 1 |
bicameral Parliament consists of the House of Federation or upper chamber (108 seats; members are chosen by state assemblies to serve five-year terms) and the House of People's Representatives or lower chamber (548 seats; members are directly elected by popular vote from single-member districts to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 15 May 2005 (next to be held NA 2010) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats by party - OPDO 177, ANDM 134, TPLF 38, WGGPDO 27, EPRDF 19, SPDO 18, GNDM 15, KSPDO 10, ANDP 8, GPRDF 7, SOPDM 7, BGPDUF 6, BMPDO 5, KAT 4, other regional political groupings 22, independents 8; note - 43 seats unconfirmed note: irregularities and violence at some polling stations necessitated the rescheduling of voting in certain constituencies; voting postponed in Somali regional state because of severe drought |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 35.29 years
male: 35.15 years female: 35.43 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 48.83 years
male: 47.67 years female: 50.03 years (2005 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 69.8% male: 80.5% female: 59.9% (1995 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 42.7% male: 50.3% female: 35.1% (2003 est.) |
Location | Southern Africa, north of South Africa | Eastern Africa, west of Somalia |
Map references | Africa | Africa |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | - | total: 8 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 81,933 GRT/101,287 DWT
by type: cargo 6, roll on/roll off 2 (2005) |
Military branches | Botswana Defense Force (including Army and Air Wing), Botswana National Police | Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF): Ground Forces, Air Force
note: Ethiopia is landlocked and has no navy; following the secession of Eritrea, Ethiopian naval facilities remained in Eritrean possession (2003) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $135 million (FY01/02) | $337.1 million (2004) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 3.5% (FY01/02) | 4.6% (2004) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 384,888 (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 202,685 (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 19,479 (2002 est.) | - |
National holiday | Independence Day (Botswana Day), 30 September (1966) | National Day (defeat of MENGISTU regime), 28 May (1991) |
Nationality | noun: Motswana (singular), Batswana (plural)
adjective: Motswana (singular), Batswana (plural) |
noun: Ethiopian(s)
adjective: Ethiopian |
Natural hazards | periodic droughts; seasonal August winds blow from the west, carrying sand and dust across the country, which can obscure visibility | geologically active Great Rift Valley susceptible to earthquakes, volcanic eruptions; frequent droughts |
Natural resources | diamonds, copper, nickel, salt, soda ash, potash, coal, iron ore, silver | small reserves of gold, platinum, copper, potash, natural gas, hydropower |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population
note: repatriation of Ethiopians who fled to Sudan for refuge from war and famine in earlier years is expected to continue for several years; some Sudanese and Somali refugees, who fled to Ethiopia from the fighting or famine in their own countries, continue to return to their homes (2005 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Botswana Democratic Party or BDP [Festus MOGAE]; Botswana National Front or BNF [Otswoletse MOUPO]; Botswana Congress Party or BCP [Mokgweetsi KGOSIPULA]; Botswana Alliance Movement or BAM [Ephraim Lepetu SETSHWAELO]
note: a number of minor parties joined forces in 1999 to form the BAM but did not capture any parliamentary seats; the BAM parties are: the United Action Party [Ephraim Lepetu SETSHWAELO], the Independence Freedom Party or IFP [Motsamai MPHO], and the Botswana Progressive Union [D. K. KWELE] |
Afar National Democratic Party or ANDP [leader NA]; Benishangul Gumuz People's Democratic Unity Front or BGPDUF [Mulualem BESSE]; Coalition for Unity and Democracy or CUD [HAILU Shawil]; Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front or EPRDF [MELES Zenawi] (an alliance of ANDM, OPDO, SEPDF, and TPLF); Gurage Nationalities' Democratic Movement or GNDM [leader NA]; United Ethopian Democratic Forces or UEDF [MERARA Gudina]; dozens of small parties |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Afar Revolutionary Democratic Union Front or ARDUF [leader NA]; Council of Alternative Forces for Peace and Democracy in Ethiopia or CAFPDE [BEYANE Petros]; Southern Ethiopia People's Democratic Coalition or SEPDC [BEYANE Petros] |
Population | 1,591,232
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 2002 est.) |
73,053,286
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 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 47% (2000 est.) | 50% (2004 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.18% (2002 est.) | 2.36% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none | Ethiopia is landlocked and has used ports of Assab and Massawa in Eritrea and port of Djibouti |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 8, FM 13, shortwave 4 (2001) | AM 8, FM 0, shortwave 1 (2001) |
Radios | 252,720 (2000) | - |
Railways | total: 888 km
narrow gauge: 888 km 1.067-m gauge (2000 est.) |
total: 681 km (Ethiopian segment of the Addis Ababa-Djibouti railroad)
narrow gauge: 681 km 1.000-m gauge note: railway under joint control of Djibouti and Ethiopia (2004) |
Religions | indigenous beliefs 85%, Christian 15% | Muslim 45%-50%, Ethiopian Orthodox 35%-40%, animist 12%, other 3%-8% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.93 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.83 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: the system is expanding with the growth of mobile cellular service and participation in regional development
domestic: small system of open-wire lines, microwave radio relay links, and a few radiotelephone communication stations; mobile cellular service is growing fast international: two international exchanges; digital microwave radio relay links to Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and South Africa; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) |
general assessment: adequate for government use
domestic: open-wire; microwave radio relay; radio communication in the HF, VHF, and UHF frequencies; two domestic satellites provide the national trunk service international: country code - 251; open-wire to Sudan and Djibouti; microwave radio relay to Kenya and Djibouti; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 2 Pacific Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 131,000 (September 2001) | 435,000 (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 270,000 (September 2001) | 97,800 (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (2001) | 1 plus 24 repeaters (2002) |
Terrain | predominantly flat to gently rolling tableland; Kalahari Desert in southwest | high plateau with central mountain range divided by Great Rift Valley |
Total fertility rate | 3.6 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 5.33 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 40% (official rate is 21%) (2001 est.) | NA (2002) |
Waterways | none | - |