Honduras-Local Government
Background | | Once part of Spain's vast empire in the New World, Honduras became an independent nation in 1821. After two and a half decades of mostly military rule, a freely elected civilian government came to power in 1982. During the 1980s, Honduras proved a haven for anti-Sandinista contras fighting the Marxist Nicaraguan Government and an ally to Salvadoran Government forces fighting leftist guerrillas. The country was devastated by Hurricane Mitch in 1998, which killed about 5,600 people and caused approximately $2 billion in damage.
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Location | | Central America, bordering the Caribbean Sea, between Guatemala and Nicaragua and bordering the Gulf of Fonseca (North Pacific Ocean), between El Salvador and Nicaragua
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Area(sq km) | | total: 112,090 sq km land: 111,890 sq km water: 200 sq km
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Geographic coordinates | | 15 00 N, 86 30 W
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Land boundaries(km) | | total: 1,520 km border countries: Guatemala 256 km, El Salvador 342 km, Nicaragua 922 km
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Coastline(km) | | 820 km
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Climate | | subtropical in lowlands, temperate in mountains
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Elevation extremes(m) | | lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Cerro Las Minas 2,870 m
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Natural resources | | timber, gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, iron ore, antimony, coal, fish, hydropower
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Land use(%) | | arable land: 9.53% permanent crops: 3.21% other: 87.26% (2005)
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Irrigated land(sq km) | | 800 sq km (2003)
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Total renewable water resources(cu km) | | 95.9 cu km (2000)
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Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural) | | total: 0.86 cu km/yr (8%/12%/80%) per capita: 119 cu m/yr (2000)
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Natural hazards | | frequent, but generally mild, earthquakes; extremely susceptible to damaging hurricanes and floods along the Caribbean coast
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Environment - current issues | | urban population expanding; deforestation results from logging and the clearing of land for agricultural purposes; further land degradation and soil erosion hastened by uncontrolled development and improper land use practices such as farming of marginal lands; mining activities polluting Lago de Yojoa (the country's largest source of fresh water), as well as several rivers and streams, with heavy metals
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Environment - international agreements | | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
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Geography - note | | has only a short Pacific coast but a long Caribbean shoreline, including the virtually uninhabited eastern Mosquito Coast
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Population | | 7,792,854 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, higher death rates, lower population growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2009 est.)
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Age structure(%) | | 0-14 years: 38.1% (male 1,514,544/female 1,451,862) 15-64 years: 58.3% (male 2,278,508/female 2,267,527) 65 years and over: 3.6% (male 125,991/female 154,422) (2009 est.)
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Median age(years) | | total: 20.3 years male: 20 years female: 20.7 years (2009 est.)
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Population growth rate(%) | | 1.956% (2009 est.)
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Birth rate(births/1,000 population) | | 26.27 births/1,000 population (2009 est.)
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Death rate(deaths/1,000 population) | | 5.41 deaths/1,000 population (July 2009 est.)
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Net migration rate(migrant(s)/1,000 population) | | -1.3 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2009 est.)
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Urbanization(%) | | urban population: 48% of total population (2008) rate of urbanization: 2.9% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.)
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Sex ratio(male(s)/female) | | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.82 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2009 est.)
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Infant mortality rate(deaths/1,000 live births) | | total: 24.03 deaths/1,000 live births male: 26.97 deaths/1,000 live births female: 20.94 deaths/1,000 live births (2009 est.)
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Life expectancy at birth(years) | | total population: 69.4 years male: 67.86 years female: 71.02 years (2009 est.)
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Total fertility rate(children born/woman) | | 3.27 children born/woman (2009 est.)
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Nationality | | noun: Honduran(s) adjective: Honduran
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Ethnic groups(%) | | mestizo (mixed Amerindian and European) 90%, Amerindian 7%, black 2%, white 1%
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Religions(%) | | Roman Catholic 97%, Protestant 3%
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Languages(%) | | Spanish, Amerindian dialects
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Country name | | conventional long form: Republic of Honduras conventional short form: Honduras local long form: Republica de Honduras local short form: Honduras
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Government type | | democratic constitutional republic
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Capital | | name: Tegucigalpa geographic coordinates: 14 06 N, 87 13 W time difference: UTC-6 (1 hour behind Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins second Sunday in March; ends first Sunday in November
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Administrative divisions | | 18 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento); Atlantida, Choluteca, Colon, Comayagua, Copan, Cortes, El Paraiso, Francisco Morazan, Gracias a Dios, Intibuca, Islas de la Bahia, La Paz, Lempira, Ocotepeque, Olancho, Santa Barbara, Valle, Yoro
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Constitution | | 11 January 1982, effective 20 January 1982; amended many times
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Legal system | | rooted in Roman and Spanish civil law with increasing influence of English common law; recent judicial reforms include abandoning Napoleonic legal codes in favor of the oral adversarial system; accepts ICJ jurisdiction with reservations
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Suffrage | | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory
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Executive branch | | chief of state: President Jose Manuel ZELAYA Rosales (since 27 January 2006); Vice President Commissioner Aristides MEJIA Carranza (since 1 February 2009); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government; because the president and vice president are elected on the same ticket, the position of "vice president commissioner" was created after Vice President Elvin SANTOS resigned in late 2008 to run for president in the November 2009 election head of government: President Jose Manuel ZELAYA Rosales (since 27 January 2006); Vice President Commissioner Aristides MEJIA Carranza (since 1 February 2009) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by president elections: president elected by popular vote for a four-year term; election last held 29 November 2009 (next to be held in November 2013) election results: Porfirio "Pepe" LOBO Sosa elected president; percent of vote - Porfirio "Pepe" LOBO Sosa 56.3%, Elvin SANTOS Lozano 38.1%, other 5.6%; note - official results pending; LOBO is scheduled to take office 27 January 2010
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Legislative branch | | unicameral National Congress or Congreso Nacional (128 seats; members are elected proportionally by department to serve four-year terms) elections: 29 November 2009 (next to be held in November 2013) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PN 71, PL 45, PDC 5, PUD 4, PINU 3
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Judicial branch | | Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia (15 judges are elected for seven-year terms by the National Congress)
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Political pressure groups and leaders | | Beverage and Related Industries Syndicate or STIBYS; Committee for the Defense of Human Rights in Honduras or CODEH; Confederation of Honduran Workers or CTH; Coordinating Committee of Popular Organizations or CCOP; General Workers Confederation or CGT; Honduran Council of Private Enterprise or COHEP; National Association of Honduran Campesinos or ANACH; National Union of Campesinos or UNC; Popular Bloc or BP; United Confederation of Honduran Workers or CUTH
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International organization participation | | BCIE, CACM, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (subscriber), ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAES, LAIA (observer), MIGA, MINURSO, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, PetroCaribe, RG, SICA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
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Flag description | | three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), white, and blue, with five blue, five-pointed stars arranged in an X pattern centered in the white band; the stars represent the members of the former Federal Republic of Central America - Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua; similar to the flag of El Salvador, which features a round emblem encircled by the words REPUBLICA DE EL SALVADOR EN LA AMERICA CENTRAL centered in the white band; also similar to the flag of Nicaragua, which features a triangle encircled by the word REPUBLICA DE NICARAGUA on top and AMERICA CENTRAL on the bottom, centered in the white band
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Economy - overview | | Honduras, the second poorest country in Central America, has an extraordinarily unequal distribution of income and high unemployment. The economy relies heavily on a narrow range of exports, notably bananas and coffee, making it vulnerable to natural disasters and shifts in commodity prices; however, investments in the maquila and non-traditional export sectors are slowly diversifying the economy. Economic growth remains dependent on the US economy its largest trading partner, and will decline in 2009 as a result of reduction in export demand and tightening global credit markets. Remittances represent over a quarter of GDP or nearly three-quarters of exports. The US-Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) came into force in 2006 and has helped foster investment. Despite improvements in tax collections, the government's fiscal deficit is growing due to increases in current expenditures and financial losses from the state energy and telephone companies.
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GDP (purchasing power parity) | | $33.8 billion (2008 est.) $32.5 billion (2007 est.) $30.57 billion (2006 est.) note: data are in 2008 US dollars
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GDP (official exchange rate) | | $14 billion (2008 est.)
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GDP - real growth rate(%) | | 4% (2008 est.) 6.3% (2007 est.) 6.6% (2006 est.)
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GDP - per capita (PPP) | | $4,400 (2008 est.) $4,300 (2007 est.) $4,200 (2006 est.) note: data are in 2008 US dollars
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GDP - composition by sector(%) | | agriculture: 13.1% industry: 30% services: 56.9% (2008 est.)
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Labor force | | 2.991 million (2008 est.)
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Labor force - by occupation(%) | | agriculture: 39.2% industry: 20.9% services: 39.8% (2005 est.)
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Unemployment rate(%) | | 3.5% (2008 est.) note: high level of underemployment with up to a third of the labor force seeking more work.
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Population below poverty line(%) | | 50.7% (2004)
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Household income or consumption by percentage share(%) | | lowest 10%: 0.7% highest 10%: 42.2% (2006)
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Distribution of family income - Gini index | | 53.8 (2003) 56.3 (1998)
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Investment (gross fixed)(% of GDP) | | 33.4% of GDP (2008 est.)
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Budget | | revenues: $2.754 billion expenditures: $3.09 billion; including capital expenditures of $106 million (2008 est.)
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Inflation rate (consumer prices)(%) | | 11.4% (2008 est.) 6.9% (2007 est.)
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Stock of money | | $1.633 billion (31 December 2008) $1.6 billion (31 December 2007)
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Stock of quasi money | | $5.574 billion (31 December 2008) $5.239 billion (31 December 2007)
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Stock of domestic credit | | $7.172 billion (31 December 2008) $6.298 billion (31 December 2007)
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Market value of publicly traded shares | | $NA
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Economic aid - recipient | | $680.8 million (2005)
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Public debt(% of GDP) | | 20.4% of GDP (2008 est.) 74.1% of GDP (2004 est.)
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Agriculture - products | | bananas, coffee, citrus; beef; timber; shrimp, tilapia, lobster; corn, African palm
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Industries | | sugar, coffee, textiles, clothing, wood products
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Industrial production growth rate(%) | | 4.4% (2008 est.)
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Current account balance | | -$1.977 billion (2008 est.) -$1.274 billion (2007 est.)
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Exports | | $6.046 billion (2008 est.) $5.642 billion (2007 est.)
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Exports - commodities(%) | | coffee, shrimp, bananas, gold, palm oil, fruit, lobster, lumber
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Exports - partners(%) | | US 62.1%, Guatemala 5.2%, El Salvador 5%, Mexico 4.1% (2008)
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Imports | | $10.39 billion (2008 est.) $8.82 billion (2007 est.)
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Imports - commodities(%) | | machinery and transport equipment, industrial raw materials, chemical products, fuels, foodstuffs
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Imports - partners(%) | | US 50%, Guatemala 7.6%, El Salvador 5.3%, Mexico 4.7%, Costa Rica 4.2% (2008)
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Reserves of foreign exchange and gold | | $2.492 billion (31 December 2008 est.) $2.546 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
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Debt - external | | $3.209 billion (31 December 2008 est.) $3.411 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
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Exchange rates | | lempiras (HNL) per US dollar - 18.983 (2008 est.), 18.9 (2007), 18.895 (2006), 18.92 (2005), 18.206 (2004)
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Currency (code) | | lempira (HNL)
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Telephones - main lines in use | | 825,800 (2008)
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Telephones - mobile cellular | | 6.211 million (2008)
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Telephone system | | general assessment: the number of fixed-line connections are increasing but still limited; competition among multiple providers of mobile-cellular services is contributing to a sharp increase in the number of subscribers domestic: beginning in 2003, private sub-operators allowed to provide fixed-lines in order to expand telephone coverage contributing to an increase in fixed-line teledensity to roughly 10 per 100 persons; mobile-cellular subscribership exceeded 80 per 100 persons in 2008 international: country code - 504; landing point for both the Americas Region Caribbean Ring System (ARCOS-1) and the MAYA-1 fiber optic submarine cable system that together provide connectivity to South and Central America, parts of the Caribbean, and the US; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); connected to Central American Microwave System
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Internet country code | | .hn
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Internet users | | 658,500 (2008)
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Airports | | 106 (2009)
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Roadways(km) | | total: 13,600 km paved: 2,775 km unpaved: 10,825 km (2000)
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Ports and terminals | | La Ceiba, Puerto Cortes, San Lorenzo, Tela
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Military branches | | Army, Navy (includes Naval Infantry), Honduran Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Hondurena, FAH) (2008)
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Military service age and obligation(years of age) | | 18 years of age for voluntary 2 to 3-year military service (2004)
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Manpower available for military service | | males age 16-49: 1,868,940 females age 16-49: 1,825,770 (2008 est.)
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Manpower fit for military service | | males age 16-49: 1,397,938 females age 16-49: 1,402,398 (2009 est.)
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Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually | | male: 92,638 female: 88,993 (2009 est.)
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Military expenditures(% of GDP) | | 0.6% of GDP (2006 est.)
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Disputes - international | | International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled on the delimitation of "bolsones" (disputed areas) along the El Salvador-Honduras border in 1992 with final settlement by the parties in 2006 after an Organization of American States (OAS) survey and a further ICJ ruling in 2003; the 1992 ICJ ruling advised a tripartite resolution to a maritime boundary in the Gulf of Fonseca with consideration of Honduran access to the Pacific; El Salvador continues to claim tiny Conejo Island, not mentioned in the ICJ ruling, off Honduras in the Gulf of Fonseca; Honduras claims the Belizean-administered Sapodilla Cays off the coast of Belize in its constitution, but agreed to a joint ecological park around the cays should Guatemala consent to a maritime corridor in the Caribbean under the OAS-sponsored 2002 Belize-Guatemala Differendum; memorials and countermemorials were filed by the parties in Nicaragua's 1999 and 2001 proceedings against Honduras and Colombia at the ICJ over the maritime boundary and territorial claims in the western Caribbean Sea - final public hearings are scheduled for 2007
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Electricity - production(kWh) | | 6.05 billion kWh (2007 est.)
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Electricity - production by source(%) | | fossil fuel: 50.2% hydro: 49.8% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001)
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Electricity - consumption(kWh) | | 4.696 billion kWh (2007 est.)
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Electricity - exports(kWh) | | 0 kWh (2008 est.)
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Electricity - imports(kWh) | | 11.8 million kWh (2007 est.)
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Oil - production(bbl/day) | | 0 bbl/day (2008 est.)
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Oil - consumption(bbl/day) | | 52,000 bbl/day (2008 est.)
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Oil - exports(bbl/day) | | 0 bbl/day (2007 est.)
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Oil - imports(bbl/day) | | 46,130 bbl/day (2007 est.)
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Oil - proved reserves(bbl) | | 0 bbl (1 January 2009 est.)
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Natural gas - production(cu m) | | 0 cu m (2008 est.)
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Natural gas - consumption(cu m) | | 0 cu m (2008 est.)
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Natural gas - exports(cu m) | | 0 cu m (2008)
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Natural gas - proved reserves(cu m) | | 0 cu m (1 January 2009 est.)
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HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate(%) | | 0.7% (2007 est.)
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HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS | | 28,000 (2007 est.)
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HIV/AIDS - deaths | | 1,900 (2007 est.)
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Major infectious diseases | | degree of risk: high food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever vectorborne diseases: dengue fever and malaria water contact disease: leptospirosis (2009)
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Literacy(%) | | definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 80% male: 79.8% female: 80.2% (2001 census)
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School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)(years) | | total: 11 years male: 11 years female: 12 years (2004)
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Education expenditures(% of GDP) | | 3.8% of GDP (1991)
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