Tonga (2001) | Mali (2006) | |
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Administrative divisions | 3 island groups; Ha'apai, Tongatapu, Vava'u | 8 regions (regions, singular - region); Gao, Kayes, Kidal, Koulikoro, Mopti, Segou, Sikasso, Tombouctou |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
40.93% (male 21,739; female 20,916) 15-64 years: 54.99% (male 28,231; female 29,082) 65 years and over: 4.08% (male 1,912; female 2,347) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 48.2% (male 2,857,670/female 2,787,506)
15-64 years: 48.8% (male 2,804,344/female 2,910,097) 65 years and over: 3% (male 146,458/female 210,754) (2006 est.) |
Agriculture - products | squash, coconuts, copra, bananas, vanilla beans, cocoa, coffee, ginger, black pepper; fish | cotton, millet, rice, corn, vegetables, peanuts; cattle, sheep, goats |
Airports | 6 (2000 est.) | 29 (2006) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 9
2,438 to 3,047 m: 4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2006) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
5 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
total: 20
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 6 under 914 m: 8 (2006) |
Area | total:
748 sq km land: 718 sq km water: 30 sq km |
total: 1.24 million sq km
land: 1.22 million sq km water: 20,000 sq km |
Area - comparative | four times the size of Washington, DC | slightly less than twice the size of Texas |
Background | The archipelago of "The Friendly Islands" was united into a Polynesian kingdom in 1845. It became a constitutional monarchy in 1875 and a British protectorate in 1900. Tonga acquired its independence in 1970 and became a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. It remains the only monarchy in the Pacific. | The Sudanese Republic and Senegal became independent of France in 1960 as the Mali Federation. When Senegal withdrew after only a few months, what formerly made up the Sudanese Republic was renamed Mali. Rule by dictatorship was brought to a close in 1991 by a coup that ushered in democratic government. President Alpha KONARE won Mali's first democratic presidential election in 1992 and was reelected in 1997. In keeping with Mali's two-term constitutional limit, KONARE stepped down in 2002 and was succeeded by Amadou TOURE. |
Birth rate | 23.59 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 49.82 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$49 million expenditures: $120 million, including capital expenditures of $75 million (FY96/97 est.) |
revenues: $764 million
expenditures: $828 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (2002 est.) |
Capital | Nuku'alofa | name: Bamako
geographic coordinates: 12 39 N, 8 00 W time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | tropical; modified by trade winds; warm season (December to May), cool season (May to December) | subtropical to arid; hot and dry (February to June); rainy, humid, and mild (June to November); cool and dry (November to February) |
Coastline | 419 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 4 November 1875, revised 1 January 1967 | adopted 12 January 1992 |
Country name | conventional long form:
Kingdom of Tonga conventional short form: Tonga former: Friendly Islands |
conventional long form: Republic of Mali
conventional short form: Mali local long form: Republique de Mali local short form: Mali former: French Sudan and Sudanese Republic |
Currency | pa'anga (TOP) | - |
Death rate | 5.74 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 16.89 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | $62 million (1998) | $2.8 billion (2002) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | the US does not have an embassy in Tonga; the ambassador to Fiji is accredited to Tonga | chief of mission: Ambassador Terrence P. MCCULLEY
embassy: Rue Rochester NY and Rue Mohamed V, Bamako mailing address: B. P. 34, Bamako telephone: [223] 222-5470 FAX: [223] 222-3712 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | Tonga does not have an embassy in the US; Ambassador Fetu'utolo TUPOU, resides in London; address: Embassy of the Kingdom of Tonga, c/o Tonga High Commission, 36 Molyneux Street, London W1H 6AB, telephone [44] (171) 724-5828, FAX [44] (171) 723-9074
consulate(s) general: San Francisco |
chief of mission: Ambassador Abdoulaye DIOP
chancery: 2130 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 332-2249, 939-8950 FAX: [1] (202) 332-6603 |
Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $38.8 million (1995) | $472.1 million (2002) |
Economy - overview | Tonga has a small, open economy with a narrow export base in agricultural goods, which contributes 30% to GDP. Squash, coconuts, bananas, and vanilla beans are the main crops, and agricultural exports make up two-thirds of total exports. The country must import a high proportion of its food, mainly from New Zealand. The industrial sector accounts for only 10% of GDP. Tourism is the primary source of hard currency earnings. The country remains dependent on sizable external aid and remittances from Tongan communities overseas to offset its trade deficit. The government is emphasizing the development of the private sector, especially the encouragement of investment, and is committing increased funds for health and education. Tonga has a reasonable basic infrastructure and well-developed social services. | Mali is among the poorest countries in the world, with 65% of its land area desert or semidesert and with a highly unequal distribution of income. Economic activity is largely confined to the riverine area irrigated by the Niger. About 10% of the population is nomadic and some 80% of the labor force is engaged in farming and fishing. Industrial activity is concentrated on processing farm commodities. Mali is heavily dependent on foreign aid and vulnerable to fluctuations in world prices for cotton, its main export, along with gold. The government has continued its successful implementation of an IMF-recommended structural adjustment program that is helping the economy grow, diversify, and attract foreign investment. Mali's adherence to economic reform and the 50% devaluation of the CFA franc in January 1994 have pushed up economic growth to a sturdy 5% average in 1996-2005. Worker remittances and external trade routes for the landlocked country have been jeopardized by continued unrest in neighboring Cote d'Ivoire. |
Electricity - consumption | 32.6 million kWh (1999) | 762.6 million kWh (2003) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh; note - recent hydropower developments may be providing electricity to Senegal and Mauritania (2003) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production | 35 million kWh (1999) | 820 million kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location on Kao Island 1,033 m |
lowest point: Senegal River 23 m
highest point: Hombori Tondo 1,155 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation results as more and more land is being cleared for agriculture and settlement; some damage to coral reefs from starfish and indiscriminate coral and shell collectors; overhunting threatens native sea turtle populations | deforestation; soil erosion; desertification; inadequate supplies of potable water; poaching |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution signed, but not ratified: none of the selected 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 |
Ethnic groups | Polynesian, Europeans about 300 | Mande 50% (Bambara, Malinke, Soninke), Peul 17%, Voltaic 12%, Songhai 6%, Tuareg and Moor 10%, other 5% |
Exchange rates | pa'anga per US dollar - 1.9885 (January 2001), 1.7585 (2000), 1.5991 (1999), 1.4920 (1998), 1.2635 (1997), 1.2323 (1996) | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 527.47 (2005), 528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003), 696.99 (2002), 733.04 (2001) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
King Taufa'ahau TUPOU IV (since 16 December 1965) head of government: Prime Minister Prince Lavaka ata ULUKALALA (since NA February 2000) and Deputy Prime Minister Tevita TOPOU (since NA January 2001) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the monarch note: there is also a Privy Council that consists of the monarch and the Cabinet elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; prime minister and deputy prime minister appointed for life by the monarch |
chief of state: President Amadou Toumani TOURE (since 8 June 2002)
head of government: Prime Minister Ousmane Issoufi MAIGA (since 30 April 2004) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 12 May 2002 (next to be held April 2007); prime minister appointed by the president election results: Amadou Toumani TOURE elected president; percent of vote - Amadou Toumani TOURE 64.4%, Soumaila CISSE 35.6% |
Exports | $8 million (f.o.b., 1998) | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | squash, fish, vanilla beans | cotton, gold, livestock |
Exports - partners | Japan 53%, US 18%, NZ 6%, Australia 6% (1997 est.) | China 25.2%, Pakistan 12.8%, Thailand 8.7%, Taiwan 6.7%, Italy 4.5% (2005) |
Fiscal year | 1 July - 30 June | calendar year |
Flag description | red with a bold red cross on a white rectangle in the upper hoist-side corner | three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), yellow, and red; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $225 million (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
30% industry: 10% services: 60% (1997) |
agriculture: 45%
industry: 17% services: 38% (2001 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $2,200 (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 5% (2000 est.) | 6.1% (2005 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 20 00 S, 175 00 W | 17 00 N, 4 00 W |
Geography - note | archipelago of 170 islands (36 inhabited) | landlocked; divided into three natural zones: the southern, cultivated Sudanese; the central, semiarid Sahelian; and the northern, arid Saharan |
Highways | total:
680 km paved: 184 km unpaved: 496 km (1996) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 1.8%
highest 10%: 40.4% (1994) |
Imports | $69 million (f.o.b., 1998) | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, machinery and transport equipment, fuels, chemicals | petroleum, machinery and equipment, construction materials, foodstuffs, textiles |
Imports - partners | NZ 30%, Australia 19%, US 11%, UK 11%, Japan 3% (1997 est.) | France 13.1%, Senegal 13.1%, Cote d'Ivoire 8.5% (2005) |
Independence | 4 June 1970 (from UK protectorate) | 22 September 1960 (from France) |
Industrial production growth rate | 8.6% (FY98/99) | NA% |
Industries | tourism, fishing | food processing; construction; phosphate and gold mining |
Infant mortality rate | 14.08 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 107.58 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 117.32 deaths/1,000 live births female: 97.54 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 7% (2000 est.) | 4.5% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, AsDB, C, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, ITU, Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO (observer) | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, ECOWAS, FAO, FZ, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, MONUC, NAM, OIC, OIF, ONUB, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNMIS, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 2 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 2,360 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the monarch); Court of Appeal (consists of the Privy Council with the addition of the chief justice of the Supreme Court) | Supreme Court or Cour Supreme |
Labor force | 34,000 (FY96/97) | 3.93 million (2001 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 65% (1997 est.) | agriculture: 80%
industry and services: 20% (2001 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 7,243 km
border countries: Algeria 1,376 km, Burkina Faso 1,000 km, Guinea 858 km, Cote d'Ivoire 532 km, Mauritania 2,237 km, Niger 821 km, Senegal 419 km |
Land use | arable land:
24% permanent crops: 43% permanent pastures: 6% forests and woodland: 11% other: 16% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 3.76%
permanent crops: 0.03% other: 96.21% (2005) |
Languages | Tongan, English | French (official), Bambara 80%, numerous African languages |
Legal system | based on English law | based on French civil law system and customary law; judicial review of legislative acts in Constitutional Court (which was formally established on 9 March 1994); has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | unicameral Legislative Assembly or Fale Alea (30 seats - 12 reserved for cabinet ministers sitting ex officio, nine for nobles selected by the country's 33 nobles, and nine elected by popular vote; members serve three-year terms)
elections: last held NA March 1999 (next to be held NA 2002) election results: percent of vote - pro-democratic 40%; seats - pro-democratic 5, traditionalist 4 |
unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (147 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 14 and 28 July 2002 (next to be held July 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Hope 2002 coalition 66, ADEMA 51, other 30 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
68.25 years male: 65.83 years female: 70.78 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 49 years
male: 47.05 years female: 51.01 years (2006 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
can read and write Tongan and/or English total population: 98.5% male: 98.4% female: 98.7% (1996 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 46.4% male: 53.5% female: 39.6% (2003 est.) |
Location | Oceania, archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean, about two-thirds of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand | Western Africa, southwest of Algeria |
Map references | Oceania | Africa |
Maritime claims | continental shelf:
200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total:
8 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 20,626 GRT/29,468 DWT ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 2, liquefied gas 3, petroleum tanker 1, roll on/roll off 1 (2000 est.) |
- |
Military branches | Tonga Defense Services (includes Royal Tongan Marines, Tongan Royal Guards, Maritime Force, Police); note - a new Air Wing which will be subordinate to the Defense Ministry is being developed | Army, Air Force, National Guard |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $NA | $106.3 million (2005 est.) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | 1.9% (2005 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 4 June (1970) | Independence Day, 22 September (1960) |
Nationality | noun:
Tongan(s) adjective: Tongan |
noun: Malian(s)
adjective: Malian |
Natural hazards | cyclones (October to April); earthquakes and volcanic activity on Fonuafo'ou | hot, dust-laden harmattan haze common during dry seasons; recurring droughts; occasional Niger River flooding |
Natural resources | fish, fertile soil | gold, phosphates, kaolin, salt, limestone, uranium, gypsum, granite, hydropower
note: bauxite, iron ore, manganese, tin, and copper deposits are known but not exploited |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -6.6 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Human Rights and Democracy Movement [Huliki WATAB, chairman, Viliami FUKOFUKA, president, 'Akilisi POHIVA, vice president] | Alliance for Democracy or ADEMA [Diounconda TRAORE, party chairman]; Hope 2002 (a coalition of CNID, MPR, RDT, and RPM); National Congress for Democratic Initiative or CNID [Mountaga TALL, chairman]; Party for Democracy and Progress or PDP [Me Idrissa TRAORE]; Party for National Renewal or PARENA [Tiebile DRAME, secretary general]; Patriotic Movement for Renewal or MPR [Choguel MAIGA]; Rally for Democracy and Labor or RDT; Rally for Mali or RPM [Ibrahim Boubacar KEITA, chairman]; Sudanese Union/African Democratic Rally or US/RDA [Mamadou Bamou TOURE, secretary general]; Union for Democracy and Development or UDD [Moussa Balla COULIBALY]; Union for Republic and Democracy or URD [Soumaila CISSE] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Pro-Democracy and Human Rights Movement [leader NA] | Patriotic Movement of the Ghanda Koye or MPGK; United Movement and Fronts of Azawad or MFUA |
Population | 104,227 (July 2001 est.) | 11,716,829 (July 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 64% (2001 est.) |
Population growth rate | 1.79% (2001 est.) | 2.63% (2006 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Neiafu, Nuku'alofa, Pangai | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (2001) | AM 1, FM 28, shortwave 1
note: the shortwave station in Bamako has seven frequencies and five transmitters and relays broadcasts for China Radio International (2001) |
Radios | 61,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km | total: 729 km
narrow gauge: 729 km 1.000-m gauge (2005) |
Religions | Christian (Free Wesleyan Church claims over 30,000 adherents) | Muslim 90%, indigenous beliefs 9%, Christian 1% |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.81 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
Suffrage | 21 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
NA domestic: NA international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
general assessment: domestic system unreliable but improving; provides only minimal service
domestic: network consists of microwave radio relay, open-wire, and radiotelephone communications stations; expansion of microwave radio relay in progress international: country code - 223; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 8,000 (1996) | 75,000 (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 302 (1996) | 869,600 (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (2001) | 1 (plus repeaters) (2001) |
Terrain | most islands have limestone base formed from uplifted coral formation; others have limestone overlying volcanic base | mostly flat to rolling northern plains covered by sand; savanna in south, rugged hills in northeast |
Total fertility rate | 3 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 7.42 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 13.3% (FY96/97) | 14.6% (2001 est.) |
Waterways | none | 1,815 km (2005) |