Land use:
arable land: NEGL%
permanent crops: 0%
meadows and pastures: 0%
forest and woodland: 97%
other: 3%
Irrigated land: 590 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment:
current issues: deforestation as foreign producers obtain timber
concessions
natural hazards: NA
international agreements: party to - Endangered Species, Marine
Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling;
signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Law of the
Sea
Geographic note: mostly tropical rain forest; great diversity of flora and fauna which for the most part is not threatened because of the lack of development; relatively small population most of which lives along the coast
People ———
Population: 436,418 (July 1996 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 34% (male 74,959; female 71,500)
15-64 years: 62% (male 136,287; female 132,407)
65 years and over: 4% (male 9,930; female 11,335) (July 1996 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.6% (1996 est.)
Birth rate: 24.15 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Death rate: 5.84 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)