Geographic note: archipelago of 13,500 islands (6,000 inhabited); straddles Equator; strategic location astride or along major sea lanes from Indian Ocean to Pacific Ocean
People ———
Population: 206,611,600 (July 1996 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 32% (male 33,354,840; female 32,414,363)
15-64 years: 64% (male 66,385,852; female 66,827,085)
65 years and over: 4% (male 3,380,567; female 4,248,893) (July 1996
est.)
Population growth rate: 1.53% (1996 est.)
Birth rate: 23.67 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Death rate: 8.38 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.8 male(s)/female
all ages: 1 male(s)/female (1996 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 63.1 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)