Roman Catholic 41.8%, Protestant 35.3%, Muslim 4.3%,
Orthodox 1.8%, other Christian 0.4%, other 1%, unspecified 4.3%,
none 11.1% (2000 census)
Syria
Sunni Muslim 74%, other Muslim (includes Alawite, Druze) 16%,
Christian (various denominations) 10%, Jewish (tiny communities in
Damascus, Al Qamishli, and Aleppo)
Taiwan
mixture of Buddhist and Taoist 93%, Christian 4.5%, other 2.5%
Tajikistan
Sunni Muslim 85%, Shia Muslim 5%, other 10% (2003 est.)
Tanzania
mainland - Christian 30%, Muslim 35%, indigenous beliefs
35%; Zanzibar - more than 99% Muslim
Thailand
Buddhist 94.6%, Muslim 4.6%, Christian 0.7%, other 0.1%
(2000 census)
Timor-Leste
Roman Catholic 98%, Muslim 1%, Protestant 1% (2005)
Togo
Christian 29%, Muslim 20%, indigenous beliefs 51%
Tokelau
Congregational Christian Church 70%, Roman Catholic 28%,
other 2%
note: on Atafu, all Congregational Christian Church of Samoa; on
Nukunonu, all Roman Catholic; on Fakaofo, both denominations, with
the Congregational Christian Church predominant
Tonga
Christian (Free Wesleyan Church claims over 30,000 adherents)
Trinidad and Tobago
Roman Catholic 26%, Hindu 22.5%, Anglican 7.8%,
Baptist 7.2%, Pentecostal 6.8%, Muslim 5.8%, Seventh Day Adventist
4%, other Christian 5.8%, other 10.8%, unspecified 1.4%, none 1.9%
(2000 census)
Tunisia
Muslim 98%, Christian 1%, Jewish and other 1%
Turkey
Muslim 99.8% (mostly Sunni), other 0.2% (mostly Christians
and Jews)
Turkmenistan
Muslim 89%, Eastern Orthodox 9%, unknown 2%
Turks and Caicos Islands
Baptist 40%, Anglican 18%, Methodist 16%,
Church of God 12%, other 14% (1990)
Tuvalu
Church of Tuvalu (Congregationalist) 97%, Seventh-Day
Adventist 1.4%, Baha'i 1%, other 0.6%
Uganda
Roman Catholic 41.9%, Protestant 42% (Anglican 35.9%,
Pentecostal 4.6%, Seventh Day Adventist 1.5%), Muslim 12.1%, other
3.1%, none 0.9% (2002 census)
Ukraine
Ukrainian Orthodox - Kyiv Patriarchate 50.4%, Ukrainian
Orthodox - Moscow Patriarchate 26.1%, Ukrainian Greek Catholic 8%,
Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox 7.2%, Roman Catholic 2.2%,
Protestant 2.2%, Jewish 0.6%, other 3.2% (2006 est.)
United Arab Emirates
Muslim 96% (Shia 16%), other (includes
Christian, Hindu) 4%
United Kingdom
Christian (Anglican, Roman Catholic, Presbyterian,
Methodist) 71.6%, Muslim 2.7%, Hindu 1%, other 1.6%, unspecified or
none 23.1% (2001 census)
United States
Protestant 51.3%, Roman Catholic 23.9%, Mormon 1.7%,
other Christian 1.6%, Jewish 1.7%, Buddhist 0.7%, Muslim 0.6%, other
or unspecified 2.5%, unaffiliated 12.1%, none 4% (2007 est.)
Uruguay
Roman Catholic 47.1%, non-Catholic Christians 11.1%,
nondenominational 23.2%, Jewish 0.3%, atheist or agnostic 17.2%,
other 1.1% (2006)
Uzbekistan
Muslim 88% (mostly Sunnis), Eastern Orthodox 9%, other 3%
Vanuatu
Presbyterian 31.4%, Anglican 13.4%, Roman Catholic 13.1%,
Seventh-Day Adventist 10.8%, other Christian 13.8%, indigenous
beliefs 5.6% (including Jon Frum cargo cult), other 9.6%, none 1%,
unspecified 1.3% (1999 Census)
Venezuela
nominally Roman Catholic 96%, Protestant 2%, other 2%
Vietnam
Buddhist 9.3%, Catholic 6.7%, Hoa Hao 1.5%, Cao Dai 1.1%,
Protestant 0.5%, Muslim 0.1%, none 80.8% (1999 census)
Virgin Islands
Baptist 42%, Roman Catholic 34%, Episcopalian 17%,
other 7%
Wallis and Futuna
Roman Catholic 99%, other 1%
West Bank
Muslim 75% (predominantly Sunni), Jewish 17%, Christian
and other 8%
Western Sahara
Muslim
World
Christians 33.32% (of which Roman Catholics 16.99%,
Protestants 5.78%, Orthodox 3.53%, Anglicans 1.25%), Muslims 21.01%,
Hindus 13.26%, Buddhists 5.84%, Sikhs 0.35%, Jews 0.23%, Baha'is
0.12%, other religions 11.78%, non-religious 11.77%, atheists 2.32%
(2007 est.)
Yemen
Muslim including Shaf'i (Sunni) and Zaydi (Shia), small
numbers of Jewish, Christian, and Hindu
Zambia
Christian 50%-75%, Muslim and Hindu 24%-49%, indigenous
beliefs 1%
Zimbabwe
syncretic (part Christian, part indigenous beliefs) 50%,
Christian 25%, indigenous beliefs 24%, Muslim and other 1%
This page was last updated on 18 December 2008
======================================================================
@2123 Suffrage
Afghanistan
18 years of age; universal
Albania
18 years of age; universal
Algeria
18 years of age; universal
American Samoa
18 years of age; universal
Andorra
18 years of age; universal
Angola
18 years of age; universal
Anguilla
18 years of age; universal
Antigua and Barbuda
18 years of age; universal
Argentina
18 years of age; universal and compulsory
Armenia
18 years of age; universal
Aruba
18 years of age; universal
Australia
18 years of age; universal and compulsory
Austria
16 years of age; universal; note - reduced from 18 years of
age in 2007
Azerbaijan
18 years of age; universal
Bahamas, The
18 years of age; universal
Bahrain
20 years of age; universal
Bangladesh
18 years of age; universal
Barbados
18 years of age; universal
Belarus
18 years of age; universal
Belgium
18 years of age; universal and compulsory
Belize
18 years of age; universal
Benin
18 years of age; universal
Bermuda
18 years of age; universal
Bhutan
18 years of age; universal
Bolivia
18 years of age, universal and compulsory (married); 21
years of age, universal and compulsory (single)
Bosnia and Herzegovina
18 years of age, universal
Botswana
18 years of age; universal
Brazil
voluntary between 16 and 18 years of age and over 70;
compulsory over 18 and under 70 years of age; note - military
conscripts do not vote
British Virgin Islands
18 years of age; universal
Brunei
18 years of age for village elections; universal
Bulgaria
18 years of age; universal
Burkina Faso
universal
Burma
18 years of age; universal
Burundi
NA years of age; universal (adult)
Cambodia
18 years of age; universal
Cameroon
20 years of age; universal
Canada
18 years of age; universal
Cape Verde
18 years of age; universal
Cayman Islands
18 years of age; universal
Central African Republic
21 years of age; universal
Chad
18 years of age; universal
Chile
18 years of age; universal and compulsory
China
18 years of age; universal
Cocos (Keeling) Islands
NA
Colombia
18 years of age; universal
Comoros
18 years of age; universal
Congo, Democratic Republic of the
18 years of age; universal and
compulsory
Congo, Republic of the
18 years of age; universal
Cook Islands
NA years of age; universal (adult)
Costa Rica
18 years of age; universal and compulsory
Cote d'Ivoire
18 years of age; universal
Croatia
18 years of age; universal (16 years of age, if employed)
Cuba
16 years of age; universal
Cyprus
18 years of age; universal
Czech Republic
18 years of age; universal
Denmark
18 years of age; universal
Djibouti
18 years of age; universal
Dominica
18 years of age; universal
Dominican Republic
18 years of age, universal and compulsory;
married persons regardless of age; note - members of the armed
forces and national police cannot vote
Ecuador
18 years of age; universal, compulsory for literate persons
ages 18-65, optional for other eligible voters
Egypt
18 years of age; universal and compulsory
El Salvador
18 years of age; universal
Equatorial Guinea
18 years of age; universal
Eritrea
18 years of age; universal
Estonia
18 years of age; universal for all Estonian citizens
Ethiopia
18 years of age; universal
European Union
18 years of age; universal
Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas)
18 years of age; universal
Faroe Islands
18 years of age; universal
Fiji
21 years of age; universal
Finland
18 years of age; universal
France
18 years of age; universal
French Polynesia
18 years of age; universal
Gabon
21 years of age; universal
Gambia, The
18 years of age; universal
Georgia
18 years of age; universal
Germany
18 years of age; universal
Ghana
18 years of age; universal
Gibraltar
18 years of age; universal; and British citizens who have
been residents six months or more
Greece
18 years of age; universal and compulsory
Greenland
18 years of age; universal
Grenada
18 years of age; universal
Guam
18 years of age; universal; US citizens, but do not vote in US
presidential elections
Guatemala
18 years of age; universal; note - active duty members of
the armed forces may not vote and are restricted to their barracks
on election day
Guernsey
18 years of age; universal
Guinea
18 years of age; universal
Guinea-Bissau
18 years of age; universal
Guyana
18 years of age; universal
Haiti
18 years of age; universal
Holy See (Vatican City)
limited to cardinals less than 80 years old
Honduras
18 years of age; universal and compulsory
Hong Kong
direct election - 18 years of age for a number of
non-executive positions; universal for permanent residents living in
the territory of Hong Kong for the past seven years; indirect
election - limited to about 220,000 members of functional
constituencies and an 800-member election committee drawn from broad
regional groupings, central government bodies, and municipal
organizations
Hungary
18 years of age; universal
Iceland
18 years of age; universal
India
18 years of age; universal
Indonesia
17 years of age; universal and married persons regardless
of age
Iran
16 years of age; universal
Iraq
18 years of age; universal
Ireland
18 years of age; universal
Isle of Man
16 years of age; universal
Israel
18 years of age; universal
Italy
18 years of age; universal (except in senatorial elections,
where minimum age is 25)
Jamaica
18 years of age; universal
Japan
20 years of age; universal
Jersey
16 years of age; universal
Jordan
18 years of age; universal
Kazakhstan
18 years of age; universal
Kenya
18 years of age; universal
Kiribati
18 years of age; universal
Korea, North
17 years of age; universal
Korea, South
19 years of age; universal
Kosovo
18 years of age; universal
Kuwait
NA years of age; universal (adult); note - males in the
military or police are not allowed to vote; adult females were
allowed to vote as of 16 May 2005; all voters must have been
citizens for 20 years
Kyrgyzstan
18 years of age; universal
Laos
18 years of age; universal
Latvia
18 years of age; universal for Latvian citizens
Lebanon
21 years of age; compulsory for all males; authorized for
women at age 21 with elementary education
Lesotho
18 years of age; universal
Liberia
18 years of age; universal
Libya
18 years of age; universal and compulsory
Liechtenstein
18 years of age; universal
Lithuania
18 years of age; universal
Luxembourg
18 years of age; universal and compulsory
Macau
direct election 18 years of age for some non-executive
positions, universal for permanent residents living in Macau for the
past seven years; indirect election limited to organizations
registered as "corporate voters" (257 are currently registered) and
a 300-member Election Committee drawn from broad regional groupings,
municipal organizations, and central government bodies
Macedonia
18 years of age; universal
Madagascar
18 years of age; universal
Malawi
18 years of age; universal
Malaysia
21 years of age; universal
Maldives
21 years of age; universal
Mali
18 years of age; universal
Malta
18 years of age; universal
Marshall Islands
18 years of age; universal
Mauritania
18 years of age; universal
Mauritius
18 years of age; universal
Mayotte
18 years of age; universal
Mexico
18 years of age; universal and compulsory (but not enforced)
Micronesia, Federated States of
18 years of age; universal
Moldova
18 years of age; universal
Monaco
18 years of age; universal
Mongolia
18 years of age; universal
Montenegro
18 years of age; universal
Montserrat
18 years of age; universal
Morocco
18 years of age; universal (as of January 2003)
Mozambique
18 years of age; universal
Namibia
18 years of age; universal
Nauru
20 years of age; universal and compulsory
Nepal
18 years of age; universal
Netherlands
18 years of age; universal
Netherlands Antilles
18 years of age; universal
New Caledonia
18 years of age; universal
New Zealand
18 years of age; universal
Nicaragua
16 years of age; universal
Niger
18 years of age; universal
Nigeria
18 years of age; universal
Niue
18 years of age; universal
Norfolk Island
18 years of age; universal
Northern Mariana Islands
18 years of age; universal; indigenous
inhabitants are US citizens but do not vote in US presidential
elections
Norway
18 years of age; universal
Oman
21 years of age; universal; note - members of the military and
security forces are not allowed to vote
Pakistan
18 years of age; universal; joint electorates and reserved
parliamentary seats for women and non-Muslims
Palau
18 years of age; universal
Panama
18 years of age; universal and compulsory
Papua New Guinea
18 years of age; universal
Paraguay
18 years of age; universal and compulsory up to age 75
Peru
18 years of age; universal and compulsory until the age of 70;
note - for the first time in recent elections, members of the
military and national police were eligible to vote in the 2006
elections
Philippines
18 years of age; universal
Pitcairn Islands
18 years of age; universal with three years
residency
Poland
18 years of age; universal
Portugal
18 years of age; universal
Puerto Rico
18 years of age; universal; island residents are US
citizens but do not vote in US presidential elections
Qatar
18 years of age; universal
Romania
18 years of age; universal
Russia
18 years of age; universal
Rwanda
18 years of age; universal
Saint Barthelemy
18 years of age, universal
Saint Helena
NA years of age
Saint Kitts and Nevis
18 years of age; universal
Saint Lucia
18 years of age; universal
Saint Martin
18 years of age, universal
Saint Pierre and Miquelon
18 years of age; universal
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
18 years of age; universal
Samoa
21 years of age; universal
San Marino
18 years of age; universal
Sao Tome and Principe
18 years of age; universal
Saudi Arabia
21 years of age; male
Senegal
18 years of age; universal
Serbia
18 years of age; universal
Seychelles
17 years of age; universal
Sierra Leone
18 years of age; universal
Singapore
21 years of age; universal and compulsory
Slovakia
18 years of age; universal
Slovenia
18 years of age; universal (16 years of age, if employed)
Solomon Islands
21 years of age; universal
Somalia
18 years of age; universal
South Africa
18 years of age; universal
Spain
18 years of age; universal
Sri Lanka
18 years of age; universal
Sudan
17 years of age; universal
Suriname
18 years of age; universal
Swaziland
18 years of age
Sweden
18 years of age; universal
Switzerland
18 years of age; universal
Syria
18 years of age; universal
Taiwan
20 years of age; universal
Tajikistan
18 years of age; universal
Tanzania
18 years of age; universal
Thailand
18 years of age; universal and compulsory
Timor-Leste
17 years of age; universal
Togo
NA years of age; universal (adult)
Tokelau
21 years of age; universal
Tonga
21 years of age; universal
Trinidad and Tobago
18 years of age; universal
Tunisia
18 years of age; universal except for active government
security forces (including the police and the military), people with
mental disabilities, people who have served more than three months
in prison (criminal cases only), and people given a suspended
sentence of more than six months
Turkey
18 years of age; universal
Turkmenistan
18 years of age; universal
Turks and Caicos Islands
18 years of age; universal
Tuvalu
18 years of age; universal
Uganda
18 years of age; universal
Ukraine
18 years of age; universal
United Arab Emirates
none
United Kingdom
18 years of age; universal
United States
18 years of age; universal
Uruguay
18 years of age; universal and compulsory
Uzbekistan
18 years of age; universal
Vanuatu
18 years of age; universal
Venezuela
18 years of age; universal
Vietnam
18 years of age; universal
Virgin Islands
18 years of age; universal; island residents are US
citizens but do not vote in US presidential elections
Wallis and Futuna
18 years of age; universal
Western Sahara
none; a UN-sponsored voter identification campaign
not yet completed
Yemen
18 years of age; universal
Zambia
18 years of age; universal
Zimbabwe
18 years of age; universal
This page was last updated on 18 December 2008
======================================================================
@2124 Telephone system
Afghanistan
general assessment: limited landline telephone service;
an increasing number of Afghans utilize mobile-cellular phone
networks in major cities
domestic: aided by the presence of multiple providers,
mobile-cellular telephone service is improving rapidly
international: country code - 93; five VSAT's installed in Kabul,
Herat, Mazar-e-Sharif, Kandahar, and Jalalabad provide international
and domestic voice and data connectivity (2007)
Albania
general assessment: despite new investment in fixed lines,
the density of main lines remains low with roughly 10 lines per 100
people; cellular telephone use is widespread and generally
effective; combined fixed line and mobile telephone density is
approximately 75 telephones per 100 persons
domestic: offsetting the shortage of fixed line capacity, mobile
phone service has been available since 1996; by 2003, two companies
were providing mobile services at a greater density than some of
Albania's neighbors; Internet broadband services initiated in 2005;
Internet cafes are popular in Tirana and have started to spread
outside the capital
international: country code - 355; submarine cable provides
connectivity to Italy, Croatia, and Greece; the Trans-Balkan Line, a
combination submarine cable and land fiber-optic system, provides
additional connectivity to Bulgaria, Macedonia, and Turkey;
international traffic carried by fiber-optic cable and, when
necessary, by microwave radio relay from the Tirana exchange to
Italy and Greece (2007)
Algeria
general assessment: a weak network of fixed-main lines,
which remains low at less than 10 telephones per 100 persons, is
partially offset by the rapid increase in mobile cellular
subscribership; in 2007, combined fixed-line and mobile telephone
density surpassed 90 telephones per 100 persons
domestic: privatization of Algeria's telecommunications sector began
in 2000; three mobile cellular licenses have been issued and, in
2005, a consortium led by Egypt's Orascom Telecom won a 15-year
license to build and operate a fixed-line network in Algeria; the
license will allow Orascom to develop high-speed data and other
specialized services and contribute to meeting the large unfulfilled
demand for basic residential telephony; Internet broadband services
began in 2003 with approximately 200,000 subscribers in 2006
international: country code - 213; landing point for the SEA-ME-WE-4
fiber-optic submarine cable system that provides links to Europe,
the Middle East, and Asia; microwave radio relay to Italy, France,
Spain, Morocco, and Tunisia; coaxial cable to Morocco and Tunisia;
participant in Medarabtel; satellite earth stations - 51 (Intelsat,
Intersputnik, and Arabsat) (2007)
American Samoa
general assessment: NA
domestic: good telex, telegraph, facsimile, and cellular telephone
services; domestic satellite system with 1 Comsat earth station
international: country code - 1-684; satellite earth station - 1
(Intelsat-Pacific Ocean)
Andorra
general assessment: NA
domestic: modern system with microwave radio relay connections
between exchanges
international: country code - 376; landline circuits to France and
Spain
Angola
general assessment: system inadequate; fewer than one
fixed-line per 100 persons; combined fixed line and mobile telephone
density exceeded 25 telephones per 100 persons in 2007
domestic: state-owned telecom had monopoly for fixed-lines until
2005; demand outstripped capacity, prices were high, and services
poor; Telecom Namibia, through an Angolan company, became the first
private licensed operator in Angola's fixed-line telephone network;
Angola Telecom established mobile-cellular service in Luanda in 1993
and the network has been extended to larger towns; a
privately-owned, mobile-cellular service provider began operations
in 2001
international: country code - 244; landing point for the SAT-3/WASC
fiber-optic submarine cable that provides connectivity to Europe and
Asia; satellite earth stations - 29 (2007)
Anguilla
general assessment: NA
domestic: modern internal telephone system
international: country code - 1-264; landing point for the East
Caribbean Fiber System (ECFS) submarine cable with links to 13 other
islands in the eastern Caribbean extending from the British Virgin
Islands to Trinidad; microwave radio relay to island of Saint Martin
(Guadeloupe and Netherlands Antilles) (2007)
Antarctica
general assessment: local systems at some research
stations
domestic: commercial cellular networks operating in a small number
of locations
international: country code - none allocated; via satellite
(including mobile Inmarsat and Iridium systems) to and from all
research stations, ships, aircraft, and most field parties (2007)
Antigua and Barbuda
general assessment: NA
domestic: good automatic telephone system
international: country code - 1-268; landing point for the East
Caribbean Fiber System (ECFS) submarine cable with links to 13 other
islands in the eastern Caribbean extending from the British Virgin
Islands to Trinidad; satellite earth stations - 2; tropospheric
scatter to Saba (Netherlands Antilles) and Guadeloupe (2007)
Argentina
general assessment: by opening the telecommunications
market to competition and foreign investment with the
"Telecommunications Liberalization Plan of 1998," Argentina
encouraged the growth of modern telecommunications technology;
fiber-optic cable trunk lines are being installed between all major
cities; major networks are entirely digital and the availability of
telephone service is improving; fixed-line telephone density is
gradually increasing reaching nearly 25 lines per 100 people in
2007; mobile telephone subscribership has been increasing rapidly
and has reached a level of 100 telephones per 100 persons
domestic: microwave radio relay, fiber-optic cable, and a domestic
satellite system with 40 earth stations serve the trunk network;
more than 110,000 pay telephones are installed and mobile telephone
use is rapidly expanding; broadband services are gaining ground
international: country code - 54; landing point for the Atlantis-2,
UNISUR, and South America-1 optical submarine cable systems that
provide links to Europe, Africa, South and Central America, and US;
satellite earth stations - 112; 2 international gateways near Buenos
Aires (2007)
Armenia
general assessment: telecommunications investments have made
major inroads in modernizing and upgrading the outdated
telecommunications network inherited from the Soviet era; now 100%
privately owned and undergoing modernization and expansion;
mobile-cellular services monopoly terminated in late 2004 and a
second provider began operations in mid-2005
domestic: reliable modern landline and mobile-cellular services are
available across Yerevan in major cities and towns; significant but
ever-shrinking gaps remain in mobile-cellular coverage in rural areas
international: country code - 374; Yerevan is connected to the
Trans-Asia-Europe fiber-optic cable through Iran; additional
international service is available by microwave radio relay and
landline connections to the other countries of the Commonwealth of
Independent States, through the Moscow international switch, and by
satellite to the rest of the world; satellite earth stations - 3
(2007)
Aruba
general assessment: modern fully automatic telecommunications
system
domestic: increased competition through privatization; 3 wireless
service providers are now licensed
international: country code - 297; landing site for the PAN-AM
submarine telecommunications cable system that extends from the US
Virgin Islands through Aruba to Venezuela, Colombia, Panama, and the
west coast of South America; extensive interisland microwave radio
relay links (2007)