Part 359

Turks and Caicos Islands general assessment: fully digital system with international direct dialing domestic: full range of services available; GSM wireless service available international: country code - 1-649; the Americas Region Caribbean Ring System (ARCOS-1) fiber optic telecommunications submarine cable provides connectivity to South and Central America, parts of the Caribbean, and the US; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

Tuvalu general assessment: serves particular needs for internal communications domestic: radiotelephone communications between islands international: country code - 688; international calls can be made by satellite

Uganda general assessment: seriously inadequate; mobile cellular service is increasing rapidly, but the number of main lines is still deficient; e-mail and Internet services are available domestic: intercity traffic by wire, microwave radio relay, and radiotelephone communication stations, fixed and mobile-cellular systems for short-range traffic international: country code - 256; satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) and 1 Inmarsat; analog links to Kenya and Tanzania

Ukraine general assessment: Ukraine's telecommunication development plan emphasizes improving domestic trunk lines, international connections, and the mobile-cellular system domestic: at independence in December 1991, Ukraine inherited a telephone system that was antiquated, inefficient, and in disrepair; more than 3.5 million applications for telephones could not be satisfied; telephone density is rising and the domestic trunk system is being improved; about one-third of Ukraine's networks are digital and a majority of regional centers now have digital switching stations; improvements in local networks and local exchanges continue to lag; the mobile-cellular telephone system's expansion has slowed, largely due to saturation of the market which had reached 120 mobile phones per 100 people by 2008 international: country code - 380; 2 new domestic trunk lines are a part of the fiber-optic Trans-Asia-Europe (TAE) system and 3 Ukrainian links have been installed in the fiber-optic Trans-European Lines (TEL) project that connects 18 countries; additional international service is provided by the Italy-Turkey-Ukraine-Russia (ITUR) fiber-optic submarine cable and by an unknown number of earth stations in the Intelsat, Inmarsat, and Intersputnik satellite systems

United Arab Emirates general assessment: modern fiber-optic integrated services; digital network with rapidly growing use of mobile-cellular telephones; key centers are Abu Dhabi and Dubai domestic: microwave radio relay, fiber optic and coaxial cable international: country code - 971; linked to the international submarine cable FLAG (Fiber-Optic Link Around the Globe); landing point for both the SEA-ME-WE-3 and SEA-ME-WE-4 submarine cable networks; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 2 Indian Ocean) and 1 Arabsat; tropospheric scatter to Bahrain; microwave radio relay to Saudi Arabia

United Kingdom general assessment: technologically advanced domestic and international system domestic: equal mix of buried cables, microwave radio relay, and fiber-optic systems international: country code - 44; numerous submarine cables provide links throughout Europe, Asia, Australia, the Middle East, and US; satellite earth stations - 10 Intelsat (7 Atlantic Ocean and 3 Indian Ocean), 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic Ocean region), and 1 Eutelsat; at least 8 large international switching centers

United States general assessment: a large, technologically advanced, multipurpose communications system domestic: a large system of fiber-optic cable, microwave radio relay, coaxial cable, and domestic satellites carries every form of telephone traffic; a rapidly growing cellular system carries mobile telephone traffic throughout the country international: country code - 1; multiple ocean cable systems provide international connectivity; satellite earth stations - 61 Intelsat (45 Atlantic Ocean and 16 Pacific Ocean), 5 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region), and 4 Inmarsat (Pacific and Atlantic Ocean regions) (2000)

Uruguay general assessment: fully digitalized domestic: most modern facilities concentrated in Montevideo; new nationwide microwave radio relay network; overall fixed-line and mobile-cellular teledensity is 130 telephones per 100 persons international: country code - 598; the UNISOR submarine cable system provides direct connectivity to Brazil and Argentina; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2002)

Uzbekistan general assessment: antiquated and inadequate; in serious need of modernization domestic: the main line telecommunications system is dilapidated and telephone density is low; the state-owned telecommunications company, Uzbektelecom, is using loans from the Japanese government and the China Development Bank to improve mainline services; completion of conversion to digital exchanges planned for 2010; mobile services are growing rapidly, with the subscriber base reaching 12.7 million in 2008 international: country code - 998; linked by fiber-optic cable or microwave radio relay with CIS member states and to other countries by leased connection via the Moscow international gateway switch; after the completion of the Uzbek link to the Trans-Asia-Europe (TAE) fiber-optic cable, Uzbekistan plans to establish a fiber-optic connection to Afghanistan (2008)

Vanuatu general assessment: NA domestic: NA international: country code - 678; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean)

Venezuela general assessment: modern and expanding domestic: domestic satellite system with 3 earth stations; recent substantial improvement in telephone service in rural areas; substantial increase in digitalization of exchanges and trunk lines; installation of a national interurban fiber-optic network capable of digital multimedia services; combined fixed and mobile-cellular telephone subscribership 125 per 100 persons international: country code - 58; submarine cable systems provide connectivity to the Caribbean, Central and South America, and US; satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) and 1 PanAmSat; participating with Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia in the construction of an international fiber-optic network (2007)

Vietnam general assessment: Vietnam is putting considerable effort into modernization and expansion of its telecommunication system domestic: all provincial exchanges are digitalized and connected to Hanoi, Da Nang, and Ho Chi Minh City by fiber-optic cable or microwave radio relay networks; main lines have been substantially increased, and the use of mobile telephones is growing rapidly international: country code - 84; a landing point for the SEA-ME-WE-3, the C2C, and Thailand-Vietnam-Hong Kong submarine cable systems; the Asia-America Gateway submarine cable system, scheduled for completion by the end of 2008, will provide new access links to Asia and the US; satellite earth stations - 2 Intersputnik (Indian Ocean region)

Virgin Islands general assessment: modern system with total digital switching, uses fiber-optic cable and microwave radio relay domestic: full range of services available international: country code - 1-340; submarine cable connections to US, the Caribbean, Central and South America; satellite earth stations - NA

Wake Island general assessment: satellite communications; 2 DSN circuits off the Overseas Telephone System (OTS) domestic: NA international: NA

Wallis and Futuna general assessment: NA domestic: NA international: country code - 681

West Bank general assessment: NA domestic: Israeli company BEZEK and the Palestinian company PALTEL are responsible for fixed line services; the Palestinian JAWAL company provides cellular services international: country code - 970 (2004)

Western Sahara general assessment: sparse and limited system domestic: NA international: country code - 212; tied into Morocco's system by microwave radio relay, tropospheric scatter, and satellite; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) linked to Rabat, Morocco

World general assessment: NA domestic: NA international: NA

Yemen general assessment: since unification in 1990, efforts have been made to create a national telecommunications network domestic: the national network consists of microwave radio relay, cable, tropospheric scatter, GSM and CDMA mobile-cellular telephone systems; fixed-line and mobile-cellular teledensity remains low by regional standards international: country code - 967; landing point for the international submarine cable Fiber-Optic Link Around the Globe (FLAG); satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (2 Indian Ocean and 1 Atlantic Ocean), 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region), and 2 Arabsat; microwave radio relay to Saudi Arabia and Djibouti

Zambia general assessment: facilities are aging but still among the best in Sub-Saharan Africa domestic: high-capacity microwave radio relay connects most larger towns and cities; several cellular telephone services in operation and network coverage is improving; Internet service is widely available; very small aperture terminal (VSAT) networks are operated by private firms international: country code - 260; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean and 1 Atlantic Ocean)

Zimbabwe general assessment: system was once one of the best in Africa, but now suffers from poor maintenance; more than 100,000 outstanding requests for connection despite an equally large number of installed but unused main lines domestic: consists of microwave radio relay links, open-wire lines, radiotelephone communication stations, fixed wireless local loop installations, and a substantial mobile-cellular network; Internet connection is available in Harare and planned for all major towns and for some of the smaller ones international: country code - 263; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat; 2 international digital gateway exchanges (in Harare and Gweru)

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Field Listing :: Terrain

This entry contains a brief description of the topography. Country

Terrain

Afghanistan mostly rugged mountains; plains in north and southwest

Albania mostly mountains and hills; small plains along coast

Algeria mostly high plateau and desert; some mountains; narrow, discontinuous coastal plain

American Samoa five volcanic islands with rugged peaks and limited coastal plains, two coral atolls (Rose Island, Swains Island)

Andorra rugged mountains dissected by narrow valleys

Angola narrow coastal plain rises abruptly to vast interior plateau

Anguilla flat and low-lying island of coral and limestone

Antarctica about 98% thick continental ice sheet and 2% barren rock, with average elevations between 2,000 and 4,000 meters; mountain ranges up to nearly 5,000 meters; ice-free coastal areas include parts of southern Victoria Land, Wilkes Land, the Antarctic Peninsula area, and parts of Ross Island on McMurdo Sound; glaciers form ice shelves along about half of the coastline, and floating ice shelves constitute 11% of the area of the continent

Antigua and Barbuda mostly low-lying limestone and coral islands, with some higher volcanic areas

Arctic Ocean central surface covered by a perennial drifting polar icepack that, on average, is about 3 meters thick, although pressure ridges may be three times that thickness; clockwise drift pattern in the Beaufort Gyral Stream, but nearly straight-line movement from the New Siberian Islands (Russia) to Denmark Strait (between Greenland and Iceland); the icepack is surrounded by open seas during the summer, but more than doubles in size during the winter and extends to the encircling landmasses; the ocean floor is about 50% continental shelf (highest percentage of any ocean) with the remainder a central basin interrupted by three submarine ridges (Alpha Cordillera, Nansen Cordillera, and Lomonosov Ridge)

Argentina rich plains of the Pampas in northern half, flat to rolling plateau of Patagonia in south, rugged Andes along western border

Armenia Armenian Highland with mountains; little forest land; fast flowing rivers; good soil in Aras River valley

Aruba flat with a few hills; scant vegetation

Ashmore and Cartier Islands low with sand and coral

Atlantic Ocean surface usually covered with sea ice in Labrador Sea, Denmark Strait, and coastal portions of the Baltic Sea from October to June; clockwise warm-water gyre (broad, circular system of currents) in the northern Atlantic, counterclockwise warm-water gyre in the southern Atlantic; the ocean floor is dominated by the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, a rugged north-south centerline for the entire Atlantic basin

Australia mostly low plateau with deserts; fertile plain in southeast

Austria in the west and south mostly mountains (Alps); along the eastern and northern margins mostly flat or gently sloping

Azerbaijan large, flat Kur-Araz Ovaligi (Kura-Araks Lowland) (much of it below sea level) with Great Caucasus Mountains to the north, Qarabag Yaylasi (Karabakh Upland) in west; Baku lies on Abseron Yasaqligi (Apsheron Peninsula) that juts into Caspian Sea

Bahamas, The long, flat coral formations with some low rounded hills

Bahrain mostly low desert plain rising gently to low central escarpment

Bangladesh mostly flat alluvial plain; hilly in southeast

Barbados relatively flat; rises gently to central highland region

Belarus generally flat and contains much marshland

Belgium flat coastal plains in northwest, central rolling hills, rugged mountains of Ardennes Forest in southeast

Belize flat, swampy coastal plain; low mountains in south

Benin mostly flat to undulating plain; some hills and low mountains

Bermuda low hills separated by fertile depressions

Bhutan mostly mountainous with some fertile valleys and savanna

Bolivia rugged Andes Mountains with a highland plateau (Altiplano), hills, lowland plains of the Amazon Basin

Bosnia and Herzegovina mountains and valleys

Botswana predominantly flat to gently rolling tableland; Kalahari Desert in southwest

Bouvet Island volcanic; coast is mostly inaccessible

Brazil mostly flat to rolling lowlands in north; some plains, hills, mountains, and narrow coastal belt

British Indian Ocean Territory flat and low (most areas do not exceed two meters in elevation)

British Virgin Islands coral islands relatively flat; volcanic islands steep, hilly

Brunei flat coastal plain rises to mountains in east; hilly lowland in west

Bulgaria mostly mountains with lowlands in north and southeast

Burkina Faso mostly flat to dissected, undulating plains; hills in west and southeast

Burma central lowlands ringed by steep, rugged highlands

Burundi hilly and mountainous, dropping to a plateau in east, some plains

Cambodia mostly low, flat plains; mountains in southwest and north

Cameroon diverse, with coastal plain in southwest, dissected plateau in center, mountains in west, plains in north

Canada mostly plains with mountains in west and lowlands in southeast

Cape Verde steep, rugged, rocky, volcanic

Cayman Islands low-lying limestone base surrounded by coral reefs

Central African Republic vast, flat to rolling, monotonous plateau; scattered hills in northeast and southwest

Chad broad, arid plains in center, desert in north, mountains in northwest, lowlands in south

Chile low coastal mountains; fertile central valley; rugged Andes in east

China mostly mountains, high plateaus, deserts in west; plains, deltas, and hills in east

Christmas Island steep cliffs along coast rise abruptly to central plateau

Clipperton Island coral atoll

Cocos (Keeling) Islands flat, low-lying coral atolls

Colombia flat coastal lowlands, central highlands, high Andes Mountains, eastern lowland plains

Comoros volcanic islands, interiors vary from steep mountains to low hills

Congo, Democratic Republic of the vast central basin is a low-lying plateau; mountains in east

Congo, Republic of the coastal plain, southern basin, central plateau, northern basin

Cook Islands low coral atolls in north; volcanic, hilly islands in south

Coral Sea Islands sand and coral reefs and islands (or cays)

Costa Rica coastal plains separated by rugged mountains including over 100 volcanic cones, of which several are major volcanoes

Cote d'Ivoire mostly flat to undulating plains; mountains in northwest

Croatia geographically diverse; flat plains along Hungarian border, low mountains and highlands near Adriatic coastline and islands

Cuba mostly flat to rolling plains, with rugged hills and mountains in the southeast

Cyprus central plain with mountains to north and south; scattered but significant plains along southern coast

Czech Republic Bohemia in the west consists of rolling plains, hills, and plateaus surrounded by low mountains; Moravia in the east consists of very hilly country

Denmark low and flat to gently rolling plains

Djibouti coastal plain and plateau separated by central mountains

Dominica rugged mountains of volcanic origin

Dominican Republic rugged highlands and mountains with fertile valleys interspersed

Ecuador coastal plain (costa), inter-Andean central highlands (sierra), and flat to rolling eastern jungle (oriente)

Egypt vast desert plateau interrupted by Nile valley and delta

El Salvador mostly mountains with narrow coastal belt and central plateau

Equatorial Guinea coastal plains rise to interior hills; islands are volcanic

Eritrea dominated by extension of Ethiopian north-south trending highlands, descending on the east to a coastal desert plain, on the northwest to hilly terrain and on the southwest to flat-to-rolling plains

Estonia marshy, lowlands; flat in the north, hilly in the south

Ethiopia high plateau with central mountain range divided by Great Rift Valley

European Union fairly flat along the Baltic and Atlantic coast; mountainous in the central and southern areas

Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) rocky, hilly, mountainous with some boggy, undulating plains

Faroe Islands rugged, rocky, some low peaks; cliffs along most of coast

Fiji mostly mountains of volcanic origin

Finland mostly low, flat to rolling plains interspersed with lakes and low hills

France metropolitan France: mostly flat plains or gently rolling hills in north and west; remainder is mountainous, especially Pyrenees in south, Alps in east French Guiana: low-lying coastal plains rising to hills and small mountains Guadeloupe: Basse-Terre is volcanic in origin with interior mountains; Grande-Terre is low limestone formation; most of the seven other islands are volcanic in origin Martinique: mountainous with indented coastline; dormant volcano Reunion: mostly rugged and mountainous; fertile lowlands along coast

French Polynesia mixture of rugged high islands and low islands with reefs

French Southern and Antarctic Lands Ile Amsterdam (Ile Amsterdam et Ile Saint-Paul): a volcanic island with steep coastal cliffs; the center floor of the volcano is a large plateau Ile Saint-Paul (Ile Amsterdam et Ile Saint-Paul): triangular in shape, the island is the top of a volcano, rocky with steep cliffs on the eastern side; has active thermal springs Iles Crozet: a large archipelago formed from the Crozet Plateau is divided into two groups of islands Iles Kerguelen: the interior of the large island of Ile Kerguelen is composed of rugged terrain of high mountains, hills, valleys, and plains with a number of peninsulas stretching off its coasts Bassas da India (Iles Eparses): atoll, awash at high tide; shallow (15 m) lagoon Europa Island, Glorioso Islands, Juan de Nova Island: low, flat, and sandy Tromelin Island (Iles Eparses): low, flat, sandy; likely volcanic seamount

Gabon narrow coastal plain; hilly interior; savanna in east and south

Gambia, The flood plain of the Gambia River flanked by some low hills

Gaza Strip flat to rolling, sand- and dune-covered coastal plain

Georgia largely mountainous with Great Caucasus Mountains in the north and Lesser Caucasus Mountains in the south; Kolkhet'is Dablobi (Kolkhida Lowland) opens to the Black Sea in the west; Mtkvari River Basin in the east; good soils in river valley flood plains, foothills of Kolkhida Lowland

Germany lowlands in north, uplands in center, Bavarian Alps in south

Ghana mostly low plains with dissected plateau in south-central area

Gibraltar a narrow coastal lowland borders the Rock of Gibraltar

Greece mostly mountains with ranges extending into the sea as peninsulas or chains of islands

Greenland flat to gradually sloping icecap covers all but a narrow, mountainous, barren, rocky coast

Grenada volcanic in origin with central mountains

Guam volcanic origin, surrounded by coral reefs; relatively flat coralline limestone plateau (source of most fresh water), with steep coastal cliffs and narrow coastal plains in north, low hills in center, mountains in south

Guatemala mostly mountains with narrow coastal plains and rolling limestone plateau

Guernsey mostly level with low hills in southwest

Guinea generally flat coastal plain, hilly to mountainous interior

Guinea-Bissau mostly low coastal plain rising to savanna in east

Guyana mostly rolling highlands; low coastal plain; savanna in south

Haiti mostly rough and mountainous

Heard Island and McDonald Islands Heard Island - 80% ice-covered, bleak and mountainous, dominated by a large massif (Big Ben) and an active volcano (Mawson Peak); McDonald Islands - small and rocky

Holy See (Vatican City) urban; low hill

Honduras mostly mountains in interior, narrow coastal plains

Hong Kong hilly to mountainous with steep slopes; lowlands in north

Hungary mostly flat to rolling plains; hills and low mountains on the Slovakian border

Iceland mostly plateau interspersed with mountain peaks, icefields; coast deeply indented by bays and fiords

India upland plain (Deccan Plateau) in south, flat to rolling plain along the Ganges, deserts in west, Himalayas in north

Indian Ocean surface dominated by counterclockwise gyre (broad, circular system of currents) in the southern Indian Ocean; unique reversal of surface currents in the northern Indian Ocean; low atmospheric pressure over southwest Asia from hot, rising, summer air results in the southwest monsoon and southwest-to-northeast winds and currents, while high pressure over northern Asia from cold, falling, winter air results in the northeast monsoon and northeast-to-southwest winds and currents; ocean floor is dominated by the Mid-Indian Ocean Ridge and subdivided by the Southeast Indian Ocean Ridge, Southwest Indian Ocean Ridge, and Ninetyeast Ridge

Indonesia mostly coastal lowlands; larger islands have interior mountains

Iran rugged, mountainous rim; high, central basin with deserts, mountains; small, discontinuous plains along both coasts

Iraq mostly broad plains; reedy marshes along Iranian border in south with large flooded areas; mountains along borders with Iran and Turkey

Ireland mostly level to rolling interior plain surrounded by rugged hills and low mountains; sea cliffs on west coast