Ecuador (2008) | Somalia (2008) | |
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Administrative divisions | 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 | 18 regions (plural - NA, singular - gobolka); Awdal, Bakool, Banaadir, Bari, Bay, Galguduud, Gedo, Hiiraan, Jubbada Dhexe, Jubbada Hoose, Mudug, Nugaal, Sanaag, Shabeellaha Dhexe, Shabeellaha Hoose, Sool, Togdheer, Woqooyi Galbeed |
Age structure | 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.) |
0-14 years: 44.4% (male 2,031,682/female 2,019,629)
15-64 years: 53% (male 2,423,602/female 2,410,126) 65 years and over: 2.6% (male 97,932/female 135,802) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | bananas, coffee, cocoa, rice, potatoes, manioc (tapioca), plantains, sugarcane; cattle, sheep, pigs, beef, pork, dairy products; balsa wood; fish, shrimp | bananas, sorghum, corn, coconuts, rice, sugarcane, mangoes, sesame seeds, beans; cattle, sheep, goats; fish |
Airports | 406 (2007) | 67 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | 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) |
total: 7
over 3,047 m: 4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 302
914 to 1,523 m: 34 under 914 m: 268 (2007) |
total: 60
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 20 914 to 1,523 m: 29 under 914 m: 7 (2007) |
Area | total: 283,560 sq km
land: 276,840 sq km water: 6,720 sq km note: includes Galapagos Islands |
total: 637,657 sq km
land: 627,337 sq km water: 10,320 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Nevada | slightly smaller than Texas |
Background | 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. | Britain withdrew from British Somaliland in 1960 to allow its protectorate to join with Italian Somaliland and form the new nation of Somalia. In 1969, a coup headed by Mohamed SIAD Barre ushered in an authoritarian socialist rule that managed to impose a degree of stability in the country for a couple of decades. After the regime's collapse early in 1991, Somalia descended into turmoil, factional fighting, and anarchy. In May 1991, northern clans declared an independent Republic of Somaliland that now includes the administrative regions of Awdal, Woqooyi Galbeed, Togdheer, Sanaag, and Sool. Although not recognized by any government, this entity has maintained a stable existence and continues efforts to establish a constitutional democracy, including holding municipal, parliamentary, and presidential elections. The regions of Bari, Nugaal, and northern Mudug comprise a neighboring self-declared autonomous state of Puntland, which has been self-governing since 1998 but does not aim at independence; it has also made strides toward reconstructing a legitimate, representative government but has suffered some civil strife. Puntland disputes its border with Somaliland as it also claims portions of eastern Sool and Sanaag. Beginning in 1993, a two-year UN humanitarian effort (primarily in the south) was able to alleviate famine conditions, but when the UN withdrew in 1995, having suffered significant casualties, order still had not been restored. A two-year peace process, led by the Government of Kenya under the auspices of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), concluded in October 2004 with the election of Abdullahi YUSUF Ahmed as President of the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) of Somalia and the formation of an interim government, known as the Somalia Transitional Federal Institutions (TFIs). The Somalia TFIs include a 275-member parliamentary body, known as the Transitional Federal Assembly (TFA), a transitional Prime Minister, Nur "Adde" Hassan HUSSEIN, and a 90-member cabinet. The TFIs are based on the Transitional Federal Charter, which outlines a five-year mandate leading to the establishment of a new Somali constitution and a transition to a representative government following national elections. While its institutions remain weak, the TFG continues to reach out to Somali stakeholders and work with international donors to help build the governance capacity of the TFIs and work towards national elections in 2009. In June 2006, a loose coalition of clerics, business leaders, and Islamic court militias known as the Council of Islamic Courts (CIC) defeated powerful Mogadishu warlords and took control of the capital. The Courts continued to expand militarily throughout much of southern Somalia and threatened to overthrow the TFG in Baidoa. Ethiopian and TFG forces, concerned over links between some CIC factions and the al-Qaida East Africa network and the al-Qaida operatives responsible for the bombings of the US embassies in Tanzania and Kenya in 1998, intervened in late December 2006, resulting in the collapse of the CIC as an organization. However, the TFG continues to face violent resistance from extremist elements, such as the al-Shabaab militia previously affiliated with the now-defunct CIC. |
Birth rate | 21.91 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 44.6 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $13.1 billion
expenditures: planned $11.3 billion (2007 est.) |
revenues: $NA
expenditures: $NA |
Capital | name: Quito
geographic coordinates: 0 13 S, 78 30 W time difference: UTC-5 (same time as Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
name: Mogadishu
geographic coordinates: 2 04 N, 45 22 E time difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | tropical along coast, becoming cooler inland at higher elevations; tropical in Amazonian jungle lowlands | principally desert; northeast monsoon (December to February), moderate temperatures in north and hot in south; southwest monsoon (May to October), torrid in the north and hot in the south, irregular rainfall, hot and humid periods (tangambili) between monsoons |
Coastline | 2,237 km | 3,025 km |
Constitution | 10 August 1998 | 25 August 1979, presidential approval 23 September 1979
note: the formation of transitional governing institutions, known as the Transitional Federal Government, is currently ongoing |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Ecuador
conventional short form: Ecuador local long form: Republica del Ecuador local short form: Ecuador |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Somalia local long form: Jamhuuriyada Demuqraadiga Soomaaliyeed local short form: Soomaaliya former: Somali Republic, Somali Democratic Republic |
Death rate | 4.21 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 16.28 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $17.56 billion (31 October 2007) | $3 billion (2001 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | 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 |
the US does not have an embassy in Somalia; US interests are represented by the US Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya at United Nations Avenue, Nairobi; mailing address: Unit 64100, Nairobi; APO AE 09831; telephone: [254] (20) 363-6000; FAX [254] (20) 363-6157 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | 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 |
Somalia does not have an embassy in the US (ceased operations on 8 May 1991); note - the TFG is represented in the United States through its Permanent Mission to the United Nations |
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 | Ethiopian forces invaded southern Somalia and routed Islamist Courts from Mogadishu in January 2007; "Somaliland" secessionists provide port facilities in Berbera to landlocked Ethiopia and have established commercial ties with other regional states; "Puntland" and "Somaliland" "governments" seek international support in their secessionist aspirations and overlapping border claims; the undemarcated former British administrative line has little meaning as a political separation to rival clans within Ethiopia's Ogaden and southern Somalia's Oromo region; Kenya works hard to prevent the clan and militia fighting in Somalia from spreading south across the border, which has long been open to nomadic pastoralists |
Economic aid - recipient | $209.5 million (2005) | $236.4 million (2005 est.) |
Economy - overview | 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. | Despite the lack of effective national governance, Somalia has maintained a healthy informal economy, largely based on livestock, remittance/money transfer companies, and telecommunications. Agriculture is the most important sector, with livestock normally accounting for about 40% of GDP and about 65% of export earnings. Nomads and semi-pastoralists, who are dependent upon livestock for their livelihood, make up a large portion of the population. Livestock, hides, fish, charcoal, and bananas are Somalia's principal exports, while sugar, sorghum, corn, qat, and machined goods are the principal imports. Somalia's small industrial sector, based on the processing of agricultural products, has largely been looted and sold as scrap metal. Somalia's service sector also has grown. Telecommunication firms provide wireless services in most major cities and offer the lowest international call rates on the continent. In the absence of a formal banking sector, money exchange services have sprouted throughout the country, handling between $500 million and $1 billion in remittances annually. Mogadishu's main market offers a variety of goods from food to the newest electronic gadgets. Hotels continue to operate and are supported with private-security militias. Somalia's arrears to the IMF continued to grow in 2006-07. Statistics on Somalia's GDP, growth, per capita income, and inflation should be viewed skeptically. In late December 2004, a major tsunami caused an estimated 150 deaths and resulted in destruction of property in coastal areas. |
Electricity - consumption | 8.855 billion kWh (2005) | 251.1 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | 16 million kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 1.723 billion kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | 12.94 billion kWh (2005) | 270 million kWh (2005) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Chimborazo 6,267 m |
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Shimbiris 2,416 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation; soil erosion; desertification; water pollution; pollution from oil production wastes in ecologically sensitive areas of the Amazon Basin and Galapagos Islands | famine; use of contaminated water contributes to human health problems; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification |
Environment - international agreements | 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 |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection |
Ethnic groups | mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white) 65%, Amerindian 25%, Spanish and others 7%, black 3% | Somali 85%, Bantu and other non-Somali 15% (including Arabs 30,000) |
Exchange rates | 1 the US dollar is used; the sucre was eliminated in 2000 | Somali shillings per US dollar - NA (2007), 1,438.3 (2006) official rate; the unofficial black market rate was about 23,000 shillings per dollar as of February 2007
note: the Republic of Somaliland, a self-declared independent country not recognized by any foreign government, issues its own currency, the Somaliland shilling |
Executive branch | 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% |
chief of state: Transitional Federal President Abdullahi YUSUF Ahmed (since 14 October 2004); note - a transitional governing entity with a five-year mandate, known as the Transitional Federal Institutions (TFIs), was established in October 2004; the TFIs relocated to Somalia in June 2004
head of government: Prime Minister Nur "Adde" Hassan HUSSEIN (since 24 November 2007) State requested addition of "Adde" Feb '08 cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the prime minister and approved by the Transitional Federal Assembly election results: Abdullahi YUSUF Ahmed, the former leader of the semi-autonomous Puntland region of Somalia, was elected president by the Transitional Federal Assembly |
Exports | 420,600 bbl/day (2004 est.) | 0 bbl/day (2004) |
Exports - commodities | petroleum, bananas, cut flowers, shrimp, cacao, coffee, hemp, wood, fish | livestock, bananas, hides, fish, charcoal, scrap metal |
Exports - partners | US 53.6%, Peru 8.2%, Colombia 5.6%, Chile 4.4% (2006) | UAE 49.6%, Yemen 21.4%, Oman 5.9% (2006) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | NA |
Flag description | 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 | light blue with a large white five-pointed star in the center; blue field influenced by the flag of the UN |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 10%
industry: 35% services: 54% (2007 est.) |
agriculture: 65%
industry: 10% services: 25% (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 2.6% (2007 est.) | 2.6% (2007 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 2 00 S, 77 30 W | 10 00 N, 49 00 E |
Geography - note | Cotopaxi in Andes is highest active volcano in world | strategic location on Horn of Africa along southern approaches to Bab el Mandeb and route through Red Sea and Suez Canal |
Government - note | - | although an interim government was created in 2004, other regional and local governing bodies continue to exist and control various regions of the country, including the self-declared Republic of Somaliland in northwestern Somalia and the semi-autonomous State of Puntland in northeastern Somalia |
Heliports | 1 (2007) | - |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 2%
highest 10%: 35% note: data for urban households only (October 2006) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | 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 | 44,680 bbl/day (2004) | 4,800 bbl/day (2004) |
Imports - commodities | industrial materials, fuels and lubricants, nondurable consumer goods | manufactures, petroleum products, foodstuffs, construction materials, qat |
Imports - partners | US 23.1%, Colombia 13.3%, Brazil 7.3%, Panama 4% (2006) | Djibouti 30.8%, Brazil 8.5%, India 8.2%, Kenya 8.1%, Oman 5.5%, UAE 5.2%, Yemen 5% (2006) |
Independence | 24 May 1822 (from Spain) | 1 July 1960 (from a merger of British Somaliland, which became independent from the UK on 26 June 1960, and Italian Somaliland, which became independent from the Italian-administered UN trusteeship on 1 July 1960, to form the Somali Republic) |
Industrial production growth rate | 1.4% (2007 est.) | NA% |
Industries | petroleum, food processing, textiles, wood products, chemicals | a few light industries, including sugar refining, textiles, wireless communication |
Infant mortality rate | 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.) |
total: 113.08 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 122.29 deaths/1,000 live births female: 103.59 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3.3% (2007 est.) | NA%; note - businesses print their own money, so inflation rates cannot be easily determined |
International organization participation | 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 | ACP, AfDB, AFESD, AMF, AU, CAEU, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), IPU, ITSO, ITU, LAS, NAM, OIC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO |
Irrigated land | 8,650 sq km (2003) | 2,000 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | 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) | following the breakdown of the central government, most regions have reverted to local forms of conflict resolution, either secular, traditional Somali customary law, or Shari'a (Islamic) law with a provision for appeal of all sentences |
Labor force | 4.55 million (urban) (2007 est.) | 3.7 million (few skilled laborers) (1975) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 8%
industry: 24% services: 68% (2001) |
agriculture: 71%
industry and services: 29% (1975) |
Land boundaries | total: 2,010 km
border countries: Colombia 590 km, Peru 1,420 km |
total: 2,340 km
border countries: Djibouti 58 km, Ethiopia 1,600 km, Kenya 682 km |
Land use | arable land: 5.71%
permanent crops: 4.81% other: 89.48% (2005) |
arable land: 1.64%
permanent crops: 0.04% other: 98.32% (2005) |
Languages | Spanish (official), Amerindian languages (especially Quechua) | Somali (official), Arabic, Italian, English |
Legal system | based on civil law system; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | no national system; a mixture of English common law, Italian law, Islamic Shari'a, and Somali customary law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations |
Legislative branch | 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 |
unicameral National Assembly
note: unicameral Transitional Federal Assembly (TFA) (275 seats; 244 members appointed by the four major clans (61 for each clan), 31 seats allocated to smaller clans and subclans) |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 76.62 years
male: 73.74 years female: 79.63 years (2007 est.) |
total population: 48.84 years
male: 47.06 years female: 50.69 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 91% male: 92.3% female: 89.7% (2001 census) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 37.8% male: 49.7% female: 25.8% (2001 est.) |
Location | Western South America, bordering the Pacific Ocean at the Equator, between Colombia and Peru | Eastern Africa, bordering the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean, east of Ethiopia |
Map references | South America | Africa |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 200 nm
continental shelf: 100 nm from 2,500 meter isobath |
territorial sea: 200 nm |
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) |
total: 1 ship (1000 GRT or over) 2,659 GRT/2,540 DWT
by type: cargo 1 foreign-owned: 1 (UAE 1) (2007) |
Military branches | Army, Navy (includes Naval Infantry, Naval Aviation, Coast Guard), Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Ecuatoriana, FAE) (2007) | no national-level armed forces (2007) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.8% (2006) | 0.9% (2005 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day (independence of Quito), 10 August (1809) | Foundation of the Somali Republic, 1 July (1960); note - 26 June (1960) in Somaliland |
Nationality | noun: Ecuadorian(s)
adjective: Ecuadorian |
noun: Somali(s)
adjective: Somali |
Natural hazards | frequent earthquakes, landslides, volcanic activity; floods; periodic droughts | recurring droughts; frequent dust storms over eastern plains in summer; floods during rainy season |
Natural resources | petroleum, fish, timber, hydropower | uranium and largely unexploited reserves of iron ore, tin, gypsum, bauxite, copper, salt, natural gas, likely oil reserves |
Net migration rate | -2.16 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Pipelines | extra heavy crude oil 578 km; gas 71 km; oil 1,389 km; refined products 1,185 km (2007) | - |
Political parties and leaders | 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] | none |
Political pressure groups and leaders | 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] | numerous clan and sub-clan factions exist both in support and in opposition to the transitional government |
Population | 13,755,680 (July 2007 est.) | 9,118,773
note: this estimate was derived from an official census taken in 1975 by the Somali Government; population counting in Somalia is complicated by the large number of nomads and by refugee movements in response to famine and clan warfare (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 38.3% (2006) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 1.554% (2007 est.) | 2.832% (2007 est.) |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 392, FM 35, shortwave 29 (2001) | AM 0, FM 11 (also 1 station each in Puntland and Somaliland), shortwave 1 (in Mogadishu) (2001) |
Railways | total: 966 km
narrow gauge: 966 km 1.067-m gauge (2006) |
- |
Religions | Roman Catholic 95%, other 5% | Sunni Muslim |
Sex ratio | 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.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.006 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.006 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.721 male(s)/female total population: 0.997 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal, compulsory for literate persons ages 18-65, optional for other eligible voters | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | 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) |
ngeneral assessment: the public telecommunications system was almost completely destroyed or dismantled during the civil war; private wireless companies offer service in most major cities and charge the lowest international rates on the continent
domestic: local cellular telephone systems have been established in Mogadishu and in several other population centers international: country code - 252; international connections are available from Mogadishu by satellite (2001) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 1.754 million (2006) | 100,000 (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 8.485 million (2006) | 500,000 (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | 7 (plus 14 repeaters) (2000) | 4 (2 in Mogadishu and 2 in Hargeisa) (2001) |
Terrain | coastal plain (costa), inter-Andean central highlands (sierra), and flat to rolling eastern jungle (oriente) | mostly flat to undulating plateau rising to hills in north |
Total fertility rate | 2.63 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 6.68 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 9.8% (2007 est.) | NA% |
Waterways | 1,500 km (most inaccessible) (2006) | - |