Publication Information Notes, Definitions, and Abbreviations
Afghanistan Albania Algeria American Samoa Andorra Angola Anguilla Antarctica Antigua and Barbuda Arctic Ocean Argentina Armenia Aruba Ashmore and Cartier Islands Atlantic Ocean Australia Austria Azerbaijan
The Bahamas Bahrain Baker Island Bangladesh Barbados Bassas da India Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bermuda Bhutan Bolivia Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Bouvet Island Brazil British Indian OceanTerritory British Virgin Islands Brunei Bulgaria Burkina Burma Burundi
Cambodia Cameroon Canada Cape Verde Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad Chile China Christmas Island Clipperton Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia Comoros Congo Cook Islands Coral Sea Islands Costa Rica Cote d'Ivoire Croatia Cuba Cyprus Czech Republic
Denmark Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic
Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Europa Island
Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) Faroe Islands Fiji Finland France French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern and Antarctic Lands
Macau Macedonia, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Man, Isle of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania Mauritius Mayotte Mexico Micronesia, Federated States of Midway Islands Moldova Monaco Mongolia Montserrat Morocco Mozambique
Namibia Nauru Navassa Island Nepal Netherlands Netherlands Antilles New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria Niue Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway
Oman
Pacific Ocean Pakistan Palau Palmyra Atoll Panama Papua New Guinea Paracel Islands Paraguay Peru Philippines Pitcairn Islands Poland Portugal Puerto Rico
Qatar
Reunion Romania Russia Rwanda
Saint Helena Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Pierre and Miquelon Saint Vincent and the Grenadines San Marino Sao Tome and Principe Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia South Africa South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain Spratly Islands Sri Lanka Sudan Suriname Svalbard Swaziland Sweden Switzerland Syria
Taiwan Tajikistan Tanzania Thailand Togo Tokelau Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tromelin Island Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu
Uganda Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom United States Uruguay Uzbekistan
Vanuatu Venezuela Vietnam Virgin Islands
Wake Island Wallis and Futuna West Bank Western Sahara Western Samoa World
Publication Information for The World Factbook 1995
The printed version of the Factbook is published annually in July by the Central Intelligence Agency for the use of US Government officials, and the style, format, coverage, and content are designed to meet their specific requirements. Information was provided by the American Geophysical Union, Bureau of the Census, Central Intelligence Agency, Defense Intelligence Agency, Defense Mapping Agency, Defense Nuclear Agency, Department of State, Foreign Broadcast Information Service, Maritime Administration, National Science Foundation (Polar Information Program), Naval Maritime Intelligence Center, Office of Territorial and International Affairs, US Board on Geographic Names, US Coast Guard, and others.
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There have been some significant changes in this edition. The Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands became the independent nation of Palau. The gross domestic product (GDP) of all countries is now presented on a purchasing power parity (PPP) basis rather than on the old exchange rate basis. There is a new entry on Age structure and the Airports entry now includes unpaved runways. The Communications category has been restructured and now includes the entries of Telephone system, Radio, and Television. The remainder of the entries in the former Communications category-Railroads, Highways, Inland waterways, Pipelines, Ports, Merchant marine, and Airports-can now be found under a new category called Transportation. There is a new appendix listing estimates of gross domestic product on an exchange rate basis for all nations. A reference map of the Republic of South Africa is included. The electronic files used to produce the Factbook have been restructured into a database. As a result, the formats of some entries in this edition have been changed. Additional changes will occur in the 1996 Factbook.
Abbreviations: (see Appendix B for abbreviations for international organizations and groups and Appendix D for abbreviations for selected international environmental agreements) avdp. — avoirdupois c.i.f. — cost, insurance, and freight CY — calendar year DWT — deadweight ton est. — estimate Ex-Im — Export-Import Bank of the United States f.o.b. — free on board FRG — Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany); used for information dated before 3 October 1990 or CY91 FSU — former Soviet Union FY — fiscal year FYROM — The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia GDP — gross domestic product GDR — German Democratic Republic (East Germany); used for information dated before 3 October 1990 or CY91 GNP — gross national product GRT — gross register ton GWP — gross world product km — kilometer kW — kilowatt kWh — kilowatt hour m — meter NA — not available NEGL — negligible nm — nautical mile NZ — New Zealand ODA — official development assistance OOF — other official flows PDRY — People's Democratic Republic of Yemen [Yemen (Aden) or South Yemen]; used for information dated before 22 May 1990 or CY91 sq km — square kilometer sq mi — square mile UAE — United Arab Emirates UK — United Kingdom US — United States USSR — Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (Soviet Union); used for information dated before 25 December 1991 YAR — Yemen Arab Republic [Yemen (Sanaa) or North Yemen]; used for information dated before 22 May 1990 or CY91
Administrative divisions: The numbers, designatory terms, and first-order administrative divisions are generally those approved by the US Board on Geographic Names (BGN). Changes that have been reported but not yet acted on by BGN are noted.
Airports: Only airports with usable runways are included in this listing. For airports with more than one runway, only the longest runway is included. Not all airports have facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control. Paved runways have concrete or asphalt surfaces; unpaved runways have grass, dirt, sand, or gravel surfaces.
Area: Total area is the sum of all land and water areas delimited by international boundaries and/or coastlines. Land area is the aggregate of all surfaces delimited by international boundaries and/or coastlines, excluding inland water bodies (lakes, reservoirs, rivers). Comparative areas are based on total area equivalents. Most entities are compared with the entire US or one of the 50 states. The smaller entities are compared with Washington, DC (178 sq km, 69 sq mi) or The Mall in Washington, DC (0.59 sq km, 0.23 sq mi, 146 acres).
Birth rate: The average annual number of births during a year per 1,000 population at midyear; also known as crude birth rate. Dates of information: In general, information available as of 1 January 1995 is used in the preparation of this edition. Population figures are estimates for 1 July 1995, with population growth rates estimated for calendar year 1995. Major political events have been updated through April 1995.
Death rate: The average annual number of deaths during a year per l,000 population at midyear; also known as crude death rate.
Digraphs: The digraph is a two-letter "country code" that precisely identifies every entity without overlap, duplication, or omission. AF, for example, is the digraph for Afghanistan. It is a standardized geopolitical data element promulgated in the Federal Information Processing Standards Publication (FIPS) 10-3 by the National Bureau of Standards (now called National Institute of Standards and Technology) at the US Department of Commerce and maintained by the Office of the Geographer at the US Department of State. The digraph is used to eliminate confusion and incompatibility in the collection, processing, and dissemination of area-specific data and is particularly useful for interchanging data between databases.
Diplomatic representation: The US Government has diplomatic relations with 184 nations, including 178 of the 185 UN members (excluded UN members are Bhutan, Cuba, Iran, Iraq, North Korea, former Yugoslavia, and the US itself). In addition, the US has diplomatic relations with 6 nations that are not in the UN - Holy See, Kiribati, Nauru, Switzerland, Tonga, and Tuvalu.
Economic aid: This entry refers to bilateral commitments of official development assistance (ODA) and other official flows (OOF). ODA is defined as financial assistance which is concessional in character, has the main objective to promote economic development and welfare of LDCs, and contains a grant element of at least 25%. OOF transactions are also official government assistance, but with a main objective other than development and with a grant element less than 25%. OOF transactions include official export credits (such as Ex-Im Bank credits), official equity and portfolio investment, and debt reorganization by the official sector that does not meet concessional terms. Aid is considered to have been committed when agreements are initialed by the parties involved and constitute a formal declaration of intent.
Entities: Some of the nations, dependent areas, areas of special sovereignty, and governments included in this publication are not independent, and others are not officially recognized by the US Government. "Nation" refers to a people politically organized into a sovereign state with a definite territory. "Dependent area" refers to a broad category of political entities that are associated in some way with a nation. Names used for page headings are usually the short-form names as approved by the US Board on Geographic Names. There are 266 entities in The World Factbook that may be categorized as follows:
NATIONS 184 — UN members (excluding the former Yugoslavia, which is still counted by the UN) 7 — nations that are not members of the UN—Holy See, Kiribati, Nauru, Serbia and Montenegro, Switzerland, Tonga, Tuvalu
OTHER 1 — Taiwan
DEPENDENT AREAS 6 — Australia—Ashmore and Cartier Islands, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Coral Sea Islands, Heard Island and McDonald Islands, Norfolk Island 2 — Denmark—Faroe Islands, Greenland 16 — France—Bassas da India, Clipperton Island, Europa Island, French Guiana, French Polynesia, French Southern and Antarctic Lands, Glorioso Islands, Guadeloupe, Juan de Nova Island, Martinique, Mayotte, New Caledonia, Reunion, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Tromelin Island, Wallis and Futuna 2 — Netherlands—Aruba, Netherlands Antilles 3 — New Zealand—Cook Islands, Niue, Tokelau 3 — Norway—Bouvet Island, Jan Mayen, Svalbard 1 — Portugal—Macau 16 — United Kingdom—Anguilla, Bermuda, British Indian Ocean Territory, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, Guernsey, Hong Kong, Jersey, Isle of Man, Montserrat, Pitcairn Islands, Saint Helena, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands 14 — United States—American Samoa, Baker Island, Guam, Howland Island, Jarvis Island, Johnston Atoll, Kingman Reef, Midway Islands, Navassa Island, Northern Mariana Islands, Palmyra Atoll, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, Wake Island
MISCELLANEOUS 6 — Antarctica, Gaza Strip, Paracel Islands, Spratly Islands, West Bank, Western Sahara
OTHER ENTITIES 4 — oceans—Arctic Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, Pacific Ocean
1 — World 266 — total
Exchange rate: The official value of a nation's monetary unit at a given date or over a given period of time, as expressed in units of local currency per US dollar and as determined by international market forces or official fiat.
GDP methodology: In the "Economy" section, GDP dollar estimates for all countries are derived from purchasing power parity (PPP) calculations rather than from conversions at official currency exchange rates. The PPP method normally involves the use of international dollar price weights, which are applied to the quantities of goods and services produced in a given economy. In addition to the lack of reliable data from the majority of countries, the statistician faces a major difficulty in specifying, identifying, and allowing for the quality of goods and services. The division of a GDP estimate in local currency by the corresponding PPP estimate in dollars gives the PPP conversion rate. On average, one thousand dollars will buy the same market basket of goods in the US as one thousand dollars - converted to the local currency at the PPP conversion rate - will buy in the other country. Whereas PPP estimates for OECD countries are quite reliable, PPP estimates for developing countries are often rough approximations. Most of the GDP estimates are based on extrapolation of numbers published by the UN International Comparison Program and by Professors Robert Summers and Alan Heston of the University of Pennsylvania and their colleagues. Currency exchange rates depend on a variety of international and domestic financial forces that often have little relation to domestic output. In developing countries with weak currencies the exchange rate estimate of GDP in dollars is typically one-fourth to one-half the PPP estimate. Furthermore, exchange rates may suddenly go up or down by 10% or more because of market forces or official fiat whereas real output has remained unchanged. On 12 January 1994, for example, the 14 countries of the African Financial Community (whose currencies are tied to the French franc) devalued their currencies by 50%. This move, of course, did not cut the real output of these countries by half. One important caution: the proportion of, say, defense expenditures as a percentage of GDP in local currency accounts may differ substantially from the proportion when GDP accounts are expressed in PPP terms, as, for example, when an observer tries to estimate the dollar level of Russian or Japanese military expenditures. Note: The numbers for GDP and other economic data can not be chained together from successive volumes of the Factbook because of changes in the US dollar measuring rod, revisions of data by statistical agencies, use of new or different sources of information, and changes in national statistical methods and practices.
Gross domestic product (GDP): The value of all final goods and services produced within a nation in a given year.
Gross national product (GNP): The value of all final goods and services produced within a nation in a given year, plus income earned abroad, minus income earned by foreigners from domestic production.
Gross world product (GWP): The aggregate value of all goods and services produced worldwide in a given year.
Growth rate (population): The annual percent change in the population, resulting from a surplus (or deficit) of births over deaths and the balance of migrants entering and leaving a country. The rate may be positive or negative.
Illicit drugs: There are five categories of illicit drugs - narcotics, stimulants, depressants (sedatives), hallucinogens, and cannabis. These categories include many drugs legally produced and prescribed by doctors as well as those illegally produced and sold outside medical channels. Cannabis (Cannabis sativa) is the common hemp plant, which provides hallucinogens with some sedative properties, and includes marijuana (pot, Acapulco gold, grass, reefer), tetrahydrocannabinol (THC, Marinol), hashish (hash), and hashish oil (hash oil). Coca (Erythroxylum coca) is a bush, and the leaves contain the stimulant used to make cocaine. Coca is not to be confused with cocoa, which comes from cacao seeds and is used in making chocolate, cocoa, and cocoa butter. Cocaine is a stimulant derived from the leaves of the coca bush. Depressants (sedatives) are drugs that reduce tension and anxiety and include chloral hydrate, barbiturates (Amytal, Nembutal, Seconal, phenobarbital), benzodiazepines (Librium, Valium), methaqualone (Quaalude), glutethimide (Doriden), and others (Equanil, Placidyl, Valmid). Drugs are any chemical substances that effect a physical, mental, emotional, or behavioral change in an individual. Drug abuse is the use of any licit or illicit chemical substance that results in physical, mental, emotional, or behavioral impairment in an individual. Hallucinogens are drugs that affect sensation, thinking, self-awareness, and emotion. Hallucinogens include LSD (acid, microdot), mescaline and peyote (mexc, buttons, cactus), amphetamine variants (PMA, STP, DOB), phencyclidine (PCP, angel dust, hog), phencyclidine analogues (PCE, PCPy, TCP), and others (psilocybin, psilocyn). Hashish is the resinous exudate of the cannabis or hemp plant (Cannabis sativa). Heroin is a semisynthetic derivative of morphine. Mandrax is the Southwest Asian slang term for methaqualone, a pharmaceutical depressant. Marijuana is the dried leaves of the cannabis or hemp plant (Cannabis sativa). Methaqualone is a pharmaceutical depressant, in slang referred to as Quaaludes in North America or Mandrax in Southwest Asia Narcotics are drugs that relieve pain, often induce sleep, and refer to opium, opium derivatives, and synthetic substitutes. Natural narcotics include opium (paregoric, parepectolin), morphine (MS-Contin, Roxanol), codeine (Tylenol with codeine, Empirin with codeine, Robitussan AC), and thebaine. Semisynthetic narcotics include heroin (horse, smack), and hydromorphone (Dilaudid). Synthetic narcotics include meperidine or Pethidine (Demerol, Mepergan), methadone (Dolophine, Methadose), and others (Darvon, Lomotil). Opium is the milky exudate of the incised, unripe seedpod of the opium poppy. Opium poppy (Papaver somniferum) is the source for many natural and semisynthetic narcotics. Poppy straw concentrate is the alkaloid derived from the mature dried opium poppy. Qat (kat, khat) is a stimulant from the buds or leaves of catha edulis that is chewed or drunk as tea. Quaaludes is the North American slang term for methaqualone, a pharmaceutical depressant. Stimulants are drugs that relieve mild depression, increase energy and activity, and include cocaine (coke, snow, crack), amphetamines (Desoxyn, Dexedrine), phenmetrazine (Preludin), methylphenidate (Ritalin), and others (Cylert, Sanorex, Tenuate).
Infant mortality rate: The number of deaths to infants under one year old in a given year per l,000 live births occurring in the same year.
International disputes: This category includes a wide variety of situations that range from traditional bilateral boundary disputes to unilateral claims of one sort or another. Information regarding disputes over international boundaries and maritime boundaries has been reviewed by the Department of State. References to other situations involving borders or frontiers may also be included, such as resource disputes, geopolitical questions, or irredentist issues. However, inclusion does not necessarily constitute official acceptance or recognition by the US Government.
Irrigated land: The figure refers to the land area that is artificially supplied with water.
Land use: The land surface is categorized as arable land - land cultivated for crops that are replanted after each harvest (wheat, maize, rice); permanent crops - land cultivated for crops that are not replanted after each harvest (citrus, coffee, rubber); meadows and pastures - land permanently used for herbaceous forage crops; forest and woodland - under dense or open stands of trees; and other - any land type not specifically mentioned above (urban areas, roads, desert).
Leaders: The chief of state is the titular leader of the country who represents the state at official and ceremonial functions but is not involved with the day- to-day activities of the government. The head of government is the administrative leader who manages the day-to-day activities of the government. In the UK, the monarch is the chief of state, and the Prime Minister is the head of government. In the US, the President is both the chief of state and the head of government.
Life expectancy at birth: The average number of years to be lived by a group of people all born in the same year, if mortality at each age remains constant in the future.
Literacy: There are no universal definitions and standards of literacy. Unless otherwise noted, all rates are based on the most common definition - the ability to read and write at a specified age. Detailing the standards that individual countries use to assess the ability to read and write is beyond the scope of this publication.
Maritime claims: The proximity of neighboring states may prevent some national claims from being extended the full distance.
Merchant marine: All ships engaged in the carriage of goods. All commercial vessels (as opposed to all nonmilitary ships), which excludes tugs, fishing vessels, offshore oil rigs, etc. Also, a grouping of merchant ships by nationality or register. Captive register - A register of ships maintained by a territory, possession, or colony primarily or exclusively for the use of ships owned in the parent country; also referred to as an offshore register, the offshore equivalent of an internal register. Ships on a captive register will fly the same flag as the parent country, or a local variant of it, but will be subject to the maritime laws and taxation rules of the offshore territory. Although the nature of a captive register makes it especially desirable for ships owned in the parent country, just as in the internal register, the ships may also be owned abroad. The captive register then acts as a flag of convenience register, except that it is not the register of an independent state. Flag of convenience register - A national register offering registration to a merchant ship not owned in the flag state. The major flags of convenience (FOC) attract ships to their registers by virtue of low fees, low or nonexistent taxation of profits, and liberal manning requirements. True FOC registers are characterized by having relatively few of the ships registered actually owned in the flag state. Thus, while virtually any flag can be used for ships under a given set of circumstances, an FOC register is one where the majority of the merchant fleet is owned abroad. It is also referred to as an open register. Flag state - The nation in which a ship is registered and which holds legal jurisdiction over operation of the ship, whether at home or abroad. Flag state maritime legislation determines how a ship is manned and taxed and whether a foreign-owned ship may be placed on the register. Internal register - A register of ships maintained as a subset of a national register. Ships on the internal register fly the national flag and have that nationality but are subject to a separate set of maritime rules from those on the main national register. These differences usually include lower taxation of profits, manning by foreign nationals, and, usually, ownership outside the flag state (when it functions as an FOC register). The Norwegian International Ship Register and Danish International Ship Register are the most notable examples of an internal register. Both have been instrumental in stemming flight from the national flag to flags of convenience and in attracting foreign owned ships to the Norwegian and Danish flags. Merchant ship - A vessel that carries goods against payment of freight; commonly used to denote any nonmilitary ship but accurately restricted to commercial vessels only. Register - The record of a ship's ownership and nationality as listed with the maritime authorities of a country; also, the compendium of such individual ships' registrations. Registration of a ship provides it with a nationality and makes it subject to the laws of the country in which registered (the flag state) regardless of the nationality of the ship's ultimate owner.
Money figures: All money figures are expressed in contemporaneous US dollars unless otherwise indicated.
National product: The total output of goods and services in a country in a given year. See GDP methodology, Gross domestic product (GDP), and Gross national product (GNP).
Net migration rate: The balance between the number of persons entering and leaving a country during the year per 1,000 persons (based on midyear population). An excess of persons entering the country is referred to as net immigration (3.56 migrants/1,000 population); an excess of persons leaving the country as net emigration (-9.26 migrants/1,000 population).
Population: Figures are estimates from the Bureau of the Census based on statistics from population censuses, vital statistics registration systems, or sample surveys pertaining to the recent past, and on assumptions about future trends. Starting with the 1993 Factbook, demographic estimates for some countries (mostly African) have taken into account the effects of the growing incidence of AIDS infections; in 1993 these countries were Burkina, Burundi, Central African Republic, Congo, Cote d'Ivoire, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, Zaire, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Thailand, Brazil, and Haiti.
Telephone numbers: All telephone numbers presented in the Factbook consist of the country code in brackets, the city or area code (where required) in parentheses, and the local number. The one component that is not presented is the international access code which varies from country to country. For example, an international direct dial phone call placed from the United States to Madrid, Spain, would be as follows:
011 [34] (1) 577-xxxx where 011 is the international access code for station-to-station calls (01 is for calls other than station-to-station calls), [34] is the country code for Spain, (1) is the city code for Madrid, 577 is the local exchange, and xxxx is the local telephone number.
An international direct dial phone call placed from another country to the United States would be as follows:
international access code + [1] (202) 939-xxxx where [1] is the country code for the United States, (202) is the area code for Washington, DC, 939 is the local exchange, and xxxx is the local telephone number.
Total fertility rate: The average number of children that would be born per woman if all women lived to the end of their childbearing years and bore children according to a given fertility rate at each age. Years: All year references are for the calendar year (CY) unless indicated as fiscal year (FY). FY93/94 refers to the fiscal year that began in calendar year 1993 and ended in calendar year 1994 as defined in the Fiscal Year entry of the Economy section for each nation. FY90-94 refers to the four fiscal years that began in calendar year 1990 and ended in calendar year 1994.
Note: Information for the US and US dependencies was compiled from material in the public domain and does not represent Intelligence Community estimates. The Handbook of International Economic Statistics, published annually in September by the Central Intelligence Agency, contains detailed economic information for the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries, Eastern Europe, the newly independent republics of the former nations of Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union, and selected other countries. The Handbook can be obtained wherever The World Factbook is available.
Area: total area: 647,500 sq km land area: 647,500 sq km comparative area: slightly smaller than Texas
Land boundaries: total 5,529 km, China 76 km, Iran 936 km, Pakistan 2,430 km, Tajikistan 1,206 km, Turkmenistan 744 km, Uzbekistan 137 km
Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims: none; landlocked
International disputes: periodic disputes with Iran over Helmand water rights; Iran supports clientsin country, private Pakistani and Saudi sources also are active; power struggles among various groups for control of Kabul, regional rivalries among emerging warlords, traditional tribal disputes continue; support to Islamic fighters in Tajikistan's civil war; border dispute with Pakistan (Durand Line); support to Islamic militants worldwide by some factions
Climate: arid to semiarid; cold winters and hot summers
Terrain: mostly rugged mountains; plains in north and southwest
Natural resources: natural gas, petroleum, coal, copper, talc, barites, sulphur, lead, zinc, iron ore, salt, precious and semiprecious stones
Land use: arable land: 12% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 15% forest and woodland: 3% other: 39%
Irrigated land: 26,600 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment: current issues: soil degradation; overgrazing; deforestation (much of the remaining forests are being cut down for fuel and building materials); desertification natural hazards: damaging earthquakes occur in Hindu Kush mountains; flooding international agreements: party to - Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation Note: landlocked
@Afghanistan:People
Population: 21,251,821 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 42% (female 4,342,218; male 4,507,141) 15-64 years: 56% (female 5,406,675; male 6,443,734) 65 years and over: 2% (female 256,443; male 295,610) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 14.47% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 42.69 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 18.53 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 120.5 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 152.8 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 45.37 years male: 45.98 years female: 44.72 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 6.21 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Nationality: noun: Afghan(s) adjective: Afghan
Ethnic divisions: Pashtun 38%, Tajik 25%, Uzbek 6%, Hazara 19%, minor ethnic groups (Chahar Aimaks, Turkmen, Baloch, and others)
Religions: Sunni Muslim 84%, Shi'a Muslim 15%, other 1%
Languages: Pashtu 35%, Afghan Persian (Dari) 50%, Turkic languages (primarily Uzbek and Turkmen) 11%, 30 minor languages (primarily Balochi and Pashai) 4%, much bilingualism
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.) total population: 29% male: 44% female: 14%
Labor force: 4.98 million by occupation: agriculture and animal husbandry 67.8%, industry 10.2%, construction 6.3%, commerce 5.0%, services and other 10.7% (1980 est.)
@Afghanistan:Government
Names: conventional long form: Islamic State of Afghanistan conventional short form: Afghanistan local long form: Dowlat-e Eslami-ye Afghanestan local short form: Afghanestan former: Republic of Afghanistan
Note: there may be two new provinces of Nurestan (Nuristan) and Khowst
Independence: 19 August 1919 (from UK)
National holiday: Victory of the Muslim Nation, 28 April; Remembrance Day for Martyrs and Disabled, 4 May; Independence Day, 19 August
Constitution: none
Legal system: a new legal system has not been adopted but the transitional government has declared it will follow Islamic law (Shari'a)
Suffrage: undetermined; previously males 15-50 years of age, universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Burhanuddin RABBANI (Interim President July- December 1992; President since 2 January 1993); Vice President Mohammad NABI MOHAMMADI (since NA); election last held 31 December 1992 (next to be held NA); results - Burhanuddin RABBANI was elected to a two-year term by a national shura, later amended by multi-party agreement to 18 months; note - in June 1994 failure to agree on a transfer mechanism resulted in RABBANI's extending the term to 28 December 1994; following the expiration of the term and while negotiations on the formation of a new government go on, RABBANI continues in office head of government: Prime Minister of the Council of Ministers Aleksander Gabriel MEKSI (since 10 April 1992) cabinet: Council of Ministers
Note: term of present government expired 28 December 1994; factional fighting since 1 January 1994 has kept government officers from actually occupying ministries and discharging government responsibilities; the government's authority to remove cabinet members, including the Prime Minister, following the expiration of their term is questionable
Legislative branch: a unicameral parliament consisting of 205 members was chosen by the shura in January 1993; non-functioning as of June 1993
Judicial branch: an interim Chief Justice of the Supreme Court has been appointed, but a new court system has not yet been organized
Political parties and leaders: current political organizations include Jamiat-i-Islami (Islamic Society), Burhanuddin RABBANI, Ahmad Shah MASOOD; Hizbi Islami-Gulbuddin (Islamic Party), Gulbuddin HIKMATYAR faction; Hizbi Islami-Khalis (Islamic Party), Yunis KHALIS faction; Ittihad-i-Islami Barai Azadi Afghanistan (Islamic Union for the Liberation of Afghanistan), Abdul Rasul SAYYAF; Harakat-Inqilab-i-Islami (Islamic Revolutionary Movement), Mohammad Nabi MOHAMMADI; Jabha-i-Najat-i-Milli Afghanistan (Afghanistan National Liberation Front), Sibghatullah MOJADDEDI; Mahaz-i-Milli-Islami (National Islamic Front), Sayed Ahamad GAILANI; Hizbi Wahdat-Khalili faction (Islamic Unity Party), Abdul Karim KHALILI; Hizbi Wahdat-Akbari faction (Islamic Unity Party), Mohammad Akbar AKBARI; Harakat-i-Islami (Islamic Movement), Mohammed Asif MOHSENI; Jumbesh-i-Milli Islami (National Islamic Movement), Abdul Rashid DOSTAM; Taliban (Religious Students Movement), Mohammad OMAR
Note: the former ruling Watan Party has been disbanded
Other political or pressure groups: the former resistance commanders are the major power brokers in the countryside and their shuras (councils) are now administering most cities outside Kabul; tribal elders and religious students are trying to wrest control from them; ulema (religious scholars); tribal elders; religious students (talib)
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Abdul RAHIM chancery: 2341 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 234-3770, 3771 FAX: [1] (202) 328-3516 consulate(s) general: New York consulate(s): Washington, DC
US diplomatic representation: none; embassy was closed in January 1989
Flag: NA; note - the flag has changed at least twice since 1992
@Afghanistan:Economy
Overview: Afghanistan is an extremely poor, landlocked country, highly dependent on farming (wheat especially) and livestock raising (sheep and goats). Economic considerations have played second fiddle to political and military upheavals during more than 15 years of war, including the nearly 10-year Soviet military occupation (which ended 15 February 1989). Over the past decade, one-third of the population fled the country, with Pakistan sheltering more than 3 million refugees and Iran about 3 million. About 1.4 million Afghan refugees remain in Pakistan and about 2 million in Iran. Another 1 million probably moved into and around urban areas within Afghanistan. Although reliable data are unavailable, gross domestic product is lower than 13 years ago because of the loss of labor and capital and the disruption of trade and transport.
National product: GDP $NA
National product real growth rate: NA%
National product per capita: $NA
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 56.7% (1991)
Unemployment rate: NA%
Budget: revenues: $NA expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA million (1991 est.)
Exports: $188.2 million (f.o.b., 1991) commodities: fruits and nuts, handwoven carpets, wool, cotton, hides and pelts, precious and semi-precious gems partners: FSU countries, Pakistan, Iran, Germany, India, UK, Belgium, Luxembourg, Czechoslovakia
Imports: $616.4 million (c.i.f., 1991) commodities: food and petroleum products; most consumer goods partners: FSU countries, Pakistan, Iran, Japan, Singapore, India, South Korea, Germany
External debt: $2.3 billion (March 1991 est.)
Industrial production: growth rate 2.3% (FY90/91 est.); accounts for about 25% of GDP
Electricity: capacity: 480,000 kW production: 550 million kWh consumption per capita: 39 kWh (1993)
Industries: small-scale production of textiles, soap, furniture, shoes, fertilizer, and cement; handwoven carpets; natural gas, oil, coal, copper
Illicit drugs: an illicit cultivator of opium poppy and cannabis for the international drug trade; world's second-largest opium producer after Burma (950 metric tons in 1994) and a major source of hashish
Economic aid: recipient: $450 million US assistance provided 1985-1993; the UN provides assistance in the form of food aid, immunization, land mine removal, and a wide range of aid to refugees and displaced persons
Currency: 1 afghani (AF) = 100 puls
Exchange rates: afghanis (Af) per US$1 - 1,900 (January 1994), 1,019 (March 1993), 850 (1991), 700 (1989-90), 220 (1988-89); note - these rates reflect the free market exchange rates rather than the official exchange rates
Fiscal year: 21 March - 20 March
@Afghanistan:Transportation
Railroads: total: 24.6 km broad gauge: 9.6 km 1.524-m gauge from Gushgy (Turkmenistan) to Towraghondi; 15 km 1,524-m gauge from Termiz (Uzbekistan) to Kheyrabad transshipment point on south bank of Amu Darya
Highways: total: 21,000 km paved: 2,800 km unpaved: gravel 1,650 km; earth 16,550 km (1984)
Inland waterways: total navigability 1,200 km; chiefly Amu Darya, which handles vessels up to about 500 metric tons
Pipelines: petroleum products - Uzbekistan to Bagram and Turkmenistan to Shindand; natural gas 180 km
Ports: Keleft, Kheyrabad, Shir Khan
Airports: total: 48 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 3 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 5 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 2 with paved runways under 914 m: 15 with unpaved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 14 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 6
@Afghanistan:Communications
Telephone system: 31,200 telephones; limited telephone, telegraph, and radiobroadcast services; 1 public telephone in Kabul local: NA intercity: NA international: one link between western Afghanistan and Iran (via satellite)
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 5, FM 0, shortwave 2 radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: several television stations run by factions and local councils which provide intermittent service televisions: NA
@Afghanistan:Defense Forces
Branches: the military still does not exist on a national scale; some elements of the former Army, Air and Air Defense Forces, National Guard, Border Guard Forces, National Police Force (Sarandoi), and tribal militias still exist but are factionalized among the various mujahedin and former regime leaders
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 5,646,789; males fit for military service 3,011,777; males reach military age (22) annually 200,264 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $450 million, 15% of GDP (1990 est.); the new government has not yet adopted a defense budget
Location: Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea and Ionian Sea, between Greece and Serbia and Montenegro
Map references: Ethnic Groups in Eastern Europe, Europe
Area: total area: 28,750 sq km land area: 27,400 sq km comparative area: slightly larger than Maryland
Land boundaries: total 720 km, Greece 282 km, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 151 km, Serbia and Montenegro 287 km (114 km with Serbia, 173 km with Montenegro)
Coastline: 362 km
Maritime claims: continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation territorial sea: 12 nm
International disputes: the Albanian Government supports protection of the rights of ethnic Albanians outside of its borders; Albanian majority in Kosovo seeks independence from Serbian Republic; Albanians in Macedonia claim discrimination in education, access to public sector jobs and representation in government; Albania is involved in a bilaterlal dispute with Greece over border demarcation, the treatment of Albania's ethnic Greek minority, and migrant Albanian workers in Greece
Climate: mild temperate; cool, cloudy, wet winters; hot, clear, dry summers; interior is cooler and wetter
Terrain: mostly mountains and hills; small plains along coast
Land use: arable land: 21% permanent crops: 4% meadows and pastures: 15% forest and woodland: 38% other: 22%
Irrigated land: 4,230 sq km (1989)
Environment: current issues: deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution from industrial and domestic effluents natural hazards: destructive earthquakes; tsunami occur along southwestern coast international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change
Note: strategic location along Strait of Otranto (links Adriatic Sea to Ionian Sea and Mediterranean Sea)
@Albania:People
Population: 3,413,904 (July 1995 est.) note: IMF, working with Albanian government figures, estimates the population at 3,120,000 in 1993 and that the population has fallen since 1990
Age structure: 0-14 years: 32% (female 520,186; male 563,953) 15-64 years: 62% (female 1,026,321; male 1,104,371) 65 years and over: 6% (female 112,252; male 86,821) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.16% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 21.7 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 5.22 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: -4.88 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 28.1 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 73.81 years male: 70.83 years female: 77.02 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 2.71 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Ethnic divisions: Albanian 95%, Greeks 3%, other 2% (Vlachs, Gypsies, Serbs, and Bulgarians) (1989 est.)
Religions: Muslim 70%, Albanian Orthodox 20%, Roman Catholic 10% note: all mosques and churches were closed in 1967 and religious observances prohibited; in November 1990, Albania began allowing private religious practice
Languages: Albanian (Tosk is the official dialect), Greek
Literacy: age 9 and over can read and write (1955) total population: 72% male: 80% female: 63%
Labor force: 1.5 million (1987) by occupation: agriculture 60%, industry and commerce 40% (1986)
@Albania:Government
Names: conventional long form: Republic of Albania conventional short form: Albania local long form: Republika e Shqiperise local short form: Shqiperia former: People's Socialist Republic of Albania
Independence: 28 November 1912 (from Ottoman Empire)
National holiday: Independence Day, 28 November (1912)
Constitution: an interim basic law was approved by the People's Assembly on 29 April 1991; a draft constitution was rejected by popular referendum in the fall of 1994 and a new draft is pending
Legal system: has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal and compulsory
Executive branch: chief of state: President of the Republic Sali BERISHA (since 9 April 1992) head of government: Prime Minister of the Council of Ministers Aleksander Gabriel MEKSI (since 10 April 1992) cabinet: Council of Ministers; appointed by the president
Legislative branch: unicameral People's Assembly (Kuvendi Popullor): elections last held 22 March 1992; results - DP 62.29%, ASP 25.57%, SDP 4.33%, RP 3.15%, UHP 2.92%, other 1.74%; seats - (140 total) DP 92, ASP 38, SDP 7, RP 1, UHP 2 note: 6 members of the Democratic Party defected making the present seating in the Assembly DP 86, ASP 38, SDP 7, DAP 6, RP 1, UHP 2
Judicial branch: Supreme Court
Political parties and leaders: there are at least 28 political parties; most prominent are the Albanian Socialist Party (ASP; formerly the Albania Workers Party), Fatos NANO, first secretary; Democratic Party (DP); Albanian Republican Party (RP), Sabri GODO; Omonia (Greek minority party), Sotir QIRJAZATI, first secretary; Social Democratic Party (SDP), Skender GJINUSHI; Democratic Alliance Party (DAP), Neritan CEKA, chairman; Unity for Human Rights Party (UHP), Vasil MELO, chairman; Ecology Party (EP), Namik HOTI, chairman
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Lublin Hasan DILJA chancery: Suite 1010, 1511 K Street NW, Washington, DC 20005 telephone: [1] (202) 223-4942, 8187 FAX: [1] (202) 628-7342
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador Joseph E. LAKE embassy: Rruga E. Elbansanit 103, Tirane mailing address: PSC 59, Box 100 (A), APO AE 09624 telephone: [355] (42) 328-75, 335-20 FAX: [355] (42) 322-22
Flag: red with a black two-headed eagle in the center
@Albania:Economy
Overview: An extremely poor country by European standards, Albania is making the difficult transition to a more open-market economy. The economy rebounded in 1993-94 after a severe depression accompanying the collapse of the previous centrally planned system in 1990 and 1991. Stabilization policies - including a strict monetary policy, public sector layoffs, and reduced social services - have improved the government's fiscal situation and reduced inflation. The recovery was spurred by the remittances of some 20% of the population which works abroad, mostly in Greece and Italy. These remittances supplement GDP and help offset the large foreign trade deficit. Foreign assistance and humanitarian aid also supported the recovery. Most agricultural land was privatized in 1992, substantially improving peasant incomes. Albania's limited industrial sector, now less than one-sixth of GDP, continued to decline in 1994. A sharp fall in chromium prices reduced hard currency receipts from the mining sector. Large segments of the population, especially those living in urban areas, continue to depend on humanitarian aid to meet basic food requirements. Unemployment remains a severe problem accounting for approximately one-fifth of the work force. Growth is expected to continue in 1995, but could falter if Albania becomes involved in the conflict in the former Yugoslavia, workers' remittances from Greece are reduced, or foreign assistance declines.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $3.8 billion (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate: 11% (1994 est.)
National product per capita: $1,110 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 16% (1994)
Unemployment rate: 18% (1994 est.)
Budget: revenues: $1.1 billion expenditures: $1.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $70 million (1991 est.)
Exports: $112 million (f.o.b., 1993) commodities: asphalt, metals and metallic ores, electricity, crude oil, vegetables, fruits, tobacco partners: Italy, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Germany, Greece, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary
Imports: $621 million (f.o.b., 1993) commodities: machinery, consumer goods, grains partners: Italy, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania, Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, Greece
External debt: $920 million (1994 est.)
Industrial production: growth rate -10% (1993 est.); accounts for 16% of GDP (1993 est.)
Agriculture: accounts for 55% of GDP; arable land per capita among lowest in Europe; 80% of arable land now in private hands; 60% of the work force engaged in farming; produces wide range of temperate-zone crops and livestock
Illicit drugs: transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin transiting the Balkan route and cocaine from South America destined for Western Europe; limited opium production
Railroads: total: 543 km line connecting Podgorica (Serbia and Montenegro) and Shkoder completed August 1986 standard gauge: 509 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 34 km 0.950-m gauge (1990)
Highways: total: 18,450 km paved: 17,450 km unpaved: earth 1,000 km (1991)
Inland waterways: 43 km plus Albanian sections of Lake Scutari, Lake Ohrid, and Lake Prespa (1990)
Pipelines: crude oil 145 km; petroleum products 55 km; natural gas 64 km (1991)
Airports: total: 11 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 2 with unpaved runways over 3,047 m: 2 with unpaved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 1 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 2
@Albania:Communications
Telephone system: about 55,000 telephones; about 15 telephones/1,000 persons local: primitive; about 11,000 telephones in Tirane, the capital city intercity: obsolete wire system; no longer provides a telephone for every village; in 1992, following the fall of the communist government, peasants cut the wire to about 1,000 villages and used it to build fences international: inadequate; carried through the Tirane exchange and transmitted through Italy on 240 microwave radio relay circuits and through Greece on 150 microwave radio relay circuits
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 17, FM 1, shortwave 0 radios: 515,000 (1987 est.)
Branches: Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces, Interior Ministry Troops, Border Guards
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 919,085; males fit for military service 755,574; males reach military age (19) annually 33,323 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: 330 million leke, NA% of GNP (1993); note - conversion of defense expenditures into US dollars using the current exchange rate could produce misleading results
International disputes: Libya claims part of southeastern Algeria; land boundary dispute with Tunisia settled in 1993
Climate: arid to semiarid; mild, wet winters with hot, dry summers along coast; drier with cold winters and hot summers on high plateau; sirocco is a hot, dust/sand-laden wind especially common in summer
Terrain: mostly high plateau and desert; some mountains; narrow, discontinuous coastal plain
Land use: arable land: 3% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 13% forest and woodland: 2% other: 82%
Irrigated land: 3,360 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment: current issues: soil erosion from overgrazing and other poor farming practices; desertification; dumping of raw sewage, petroleum refining wastes, and other industrial effluents is leading to the pollution of rivers and coastal waters; Mediterranean Sea, in particular, becoming polluted from oil wastes, soil erosion, and fertilizer runoff; inadequate supplies of potable water natural hazards: mountainous areas subject to severe earthquakes; mudslides international agreements: party to - Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Desertification, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban
Note: second-largest country in Africa (after Sudan)
@Algeria:People
Population: 28,539,321 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 41% (female 5,678,879; male 5,885,246) 15-64 years: 56% (female 7,887,885; male 8,033,508) 65 years and over: 3% (female 557,636; male 496,167) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 2.25% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 29.02 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 6.05 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: -0.49 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 50.3 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 68.01 years male: 66.94 years female: 69.13 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 3.7 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Nationality: noun: Algerian(s) adjective: Algerian
Ethnic divisions: Arab-Berber 99%, European less than 1%
Religions: Sunni Muslim (state religion) 99%, Christian and Jewish 1%
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.) total population: 57% male: 70% female: 46%
Labor force: 6.2 million (1992 est.) by occupation: government 29.5%, agriculture 22%, construction and public works 16.2%, industry 13.6%, commerce and services 13.5%, transportation and communication 5.2% (1989)
@Algeria:Government
Names: conventional long form: Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria conventional short form: Algeria local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Jaza'iriyah ad Dimuqratiyah ash Shabiyah local short form: Al Jaza'ir
Digraph: AG
Type: republic
Capital: Algiers
Administrative divisions: 48 provinces (wilayas, singular - wilaya); Adrar, Ain Defla, Ain Temouchent, Alger, Annaba, Batna, Bechar, Bejaia, Biskra, Blida, Bordj Bou Arreridj, Bouira, Boumerdes, Chlef, Constantine, Djelfa, El Bayadh, El Oued, El Tarf, Ghardaia, Guelma, Illizi, Jijel, Khenchela, Laghouat, Mascara, Medea, Mila, Mostaganem, M'Sila, Naama, Oran, Ouargla, Oum el Bouaghi, Relizane, Saida, Setif, Sidi Bel Abbes, Skikda, Souk Ahras, Tamanghasset, Tebessa, Tiaret, Tindouf, Tipaza, Tissemsilt, Tizi Ouzou, Tlemcen
Independence: 5 July 1962 (from France)
National holiday: Anniversary of the Revolution, 1 November (1954)
Constitution: 19 November 1976, effective 22 November 1976; revised 3 November 1988 and 23 February 1989
Legal system: socialist, based on French and Islamic law; judicial review of legislative acts in ad hoc Constitutional Council composed of various public officials, including several Supreme Court justices; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Lamine ZEROUAL (since 31 January 1994); next election to be held by the end of 1995 head of government: Prime Minister Mokdad SIFI (since 11 April 1994) cabinet: Council of Ministers; appointed by the prime minister
Legislative branch: unicameral; note - suspended since 1992 National People's Assembly (Al-Majlis Ech-Chaabi Al-Watani): elections first round held on 26 December 1991 (second round canceled by the military after President BENDJEDID resigned 11 January 1992, effectively suspending the Assembly); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (281 total); the fundamentalist FIS won 188 of the 231 seats contested in the first round; note - elections (provincial and municipal) were held in June 1990, the first in Algerian history; results - FIS 55%, FLN 27.5%, other 17.5%, with 65% of the voters participating
Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Cour Supreme)
Political parties and leaders: Islamic Salvation Front (FIS, outlawed April 1992), Ali BELHADJ, Dr. Abassi MADANI, Abdelkader HACHANI (all under arrest), Rabeh KEBIR (self-exile in Germany); National Liberation Front (FLN), Abdelhamid MEHRI, Secretary General; Socialist Forces Front (FFS), Hocine Ait AHMED, Secretary General note: the government established a multiparty system in September 1989 and, as of 31 December 1990, over 50 legal parties existed
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Osmane BENCHERIF chancery: 2118 Kalorama Road NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 265-2800
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador Ronald E. NEUMANN embassy: 4 Chemin Cheikh Bachir El-Ibrahimi, Algiers mailing address: B. P. Box 549, Alger-Gare, 16000 Algiers telephone: [213] (2) 69-11-86, 69-18-54, 69-38-75 FAX: [213] (2) 69-39-79 consulate(s): none (Oran closed June 1993)
Flag: two equal vertical bands of green (hoist side) and white with a red five-pointed star within a red crescent; the crescent, star, and color green are traditional symbols of Islam (the state religion)
@Algeria:Economy
Overview: The hydrocarbons sector is the backbone of the economy, accounting for roughly 57% of government revenues, 25% of GDP, and almost all export earnings; Algeria has the fifth largest reserves of natural gas in the world and ranks fourteenth for oil. Algiers' efforts to reform one of the most centrally planned economies in the Arab world began after the 1986 collapse of world oil prices plunged the country into a severe recession. In 1989, the government launched a comprehensive, IMF-supported program to achieve macroeconomic stabilization and to introduce market mechanisms into the economy. Despite substantial progress toward macroeconomic adjustment, in 1992 the reform drive stalled as Algiers became embroiled in political turmoil. In September 1993, a new government was formed, and one priority was the resumption and acceleration of the structural adjustment process. Buffeted by the slump in world oil prices and burdened with a heavy foreign debt, Algiers concluded a one-year standby arrangement with the IMF in April 1994.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $97.1 billion (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate: 0.2% (1994 est.)
Agriculture: accounts for 12% of GDP (1993) and employs 22% of labor force; products- wheat, barley, oats, grapes, olives, citrus, fruits, sheep, cattle; net importer of food - grain, vegetable oil, sugar
Economic aid: recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-85), $1.4 billion; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $925 million; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $1.8 billion; Communist countries (1970-89), $2.7 billion; net official disbursements (1985-89), $375 million
ships by type: bulk 9, cargo 27, chemical tanker 7, liquefied gas tanker 9, oil tanker 5, roll-on/roll-off cargo 12, short-sea passenger 5, specialized tanker 1
Airports: total: 139 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 9 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 23 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 14 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 5 with paved runways under 914 m: 20 with unpaved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 24 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 41
@Algeria:Communications
Telephone system: 822,000 telephones; excellent domestic and international service in the north, sparse in the south local: NA intercity: 12 domestic satellite links; 20 additional satellite links are planned international: 5 submarine cables; microwave radio relay to Italy, France, Spain, Morocco, and Tunisia; coaxial cable to Morocco and Tunisia; 2 INTELSAT (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean), 1 Intersputnik, 1 ARABSAT earth station
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 26, FM 0, shortwave 0 radios: 5.2 million
Television: broadcast stations: 18 televisions: 1.6 million
@Algeria:Defense Forces
Branches: National Popular Army, Navy, Air Force, Territorial Air Defense, National Gendarmerie
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 7,124,894; males fit for military service 4,373,272; males reach military age (19) annually 313,707 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $1.3 billion, 2.7% of GDP (1994)
Climate: tropical marine, moderated by southeast trade winds; annual rainfall averages 124 inches; rainy season from November to April, dry season from May to October; little seasonal temperature variation
Terrain: five volcanic islands with rugged peaks and limited coastal plains, two coral atolls (Rose Island, Swains Island)
Natural resources: pumice, pumicite
Land use: arable land: 10% permanent crops: 5% meadows and pastures: 0% forest and woodland: 75% other: 10%
Irrigated land: NA sq km
Environment: current issues: limited natural fresh water resources; in many areas of the island water supplies come from roof catchments natural hazards: typhoons common from December to March international agreements: NA
Note: Pago Pago has one of the best natural deepwater harbors in the South Pacific Ocean, sheltered by shape from rough seas and protected by peripheral mountains from high winds; strategic location in the South Pacific Ocean
@American Samoa:People
Population: 57,366 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: NA 15-64 years: NA 65 years and over: NA
Population growth rate: 3.82% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 36.21 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 4.01 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 6 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 18.78 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 72.91 years male: 71.03 years female: 74.85 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 4.3 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Nationality: noun: American Samoan(s) adjective: American Samoan
Religions: Christian Congregationalist 50%, Roman Catholic 20%, Protestant denominations and other 30%
Languages: Samoan (closely related to Hawaiian and other Polynesian languages), English; most people are bilingual
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1980) total population: 97% male: 98% female: 97%
Labor force: 14,400 (1990) by occupation: government 33%, tuna canneries 34%, other 33% (1990)
@American Samoa:Government
Names: conventional long form: Territory of American Samoa conventional short form: American Samoa
Abbreviation: AS
Digraph: AQ
Type: unincorporated and unorganized territory of the US; administered by the US Department of Interior, Office of Territorial and International Affairs
Capital: Pago Pago
Administrative divisions: none (territory of the US)
Independence: none (territory of the US)
National holiday: Territorial Flag Day, 17 April (1900)
Constitution: ratified 1966, in effect 1967
Legal system: NA
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President William Jefferson CLINTON (since 20 January 1993); Vice President Albert GORE, Jr. (since 20 January 1993) head of government: Governor A. P. LUTALI (since 3 January 1993); Lieutenant Governor Tauese P. SUNIA (since 3 January 1993); election last held 3 November 1992 (next to be held NA November 1996); results - A. P. LUTALI (Democrat) 53%, Peter Tali COLEMAN (Republican) 36%
Legislative branch: bicameral Legislative Assembly (Fono) House of Representatives: elections last held 3 November 1992 (next to be held NA November 1994); results - representatives popularly elected from 17 house districts; seats - (21 total, 20 elected, and 1 nonvoting delegate from Swains Island) Senate: elections last held 3 November 1992 (next to be held NA November 1996); results - senators elected by village chiefs from 12 senate districts; seats - (18 total) number of seats by party NA US House of Representatives: elections last held 3 November 1992 (next to be held NA November 1994); results - Eni R. F. H. FALEOMAVAEGA reelected as delegate
Judicial branch: High Court
Political parties and leaders: NA
Member of: ESCAP (associate), INTERPOL (subbureau), IOC, SPC
Diplomatic representation in US: none (territory of the US)
US diplomatic representation: none (territory of the US)
Flag: blue with a white triangle edged in red that is based on the fly side and extends to the hoist side; a brown and white American bald eagle flying toward the hoist side is carrying two traditional Samoan symbols of authority, a staff and a war club
@American Samoa:Economy
Overview: Economic activity is strongly linked to the US, with which American Samoa conducts 80%-90% of its foreign trade. Tuna fishing and tuna processing plants are the backbone of the private sector, with canned tuna the primary export. The tuna canneries and the government are by far the two largest employers. Other economic activities include a slowly developing tourist industry. Transfers from the US Government add substantially to American Samoa's economic well-being.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $128 million (1991 est.)
National product real growth rate: NA%
National product per capita: $2,600 (1991)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 7% (1990)
Unemployment rate: 12% (1991)
Budget: revenues: $97 million (includes $43,000,000 in local revenue and $54,000,000 in grant revenue); expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY90/91)
Exports: $306 million (f.o.b., 1989) commodities: canned tuna 93% partners: US 99.6%
Imports: $360.3 million (c.i.f., 1989) commodities: materials for canneries 56%, food 8%, petroleum products 7%, machinery and parts 6% partners: US 62%, Japan 9%, NZ 7%, Australia 11%, Fiji 4%, other 7%
External debt: $NA
Industrial production: growth rate NA%
Electricity: capacity: 30,000 kW production: 90 million kWh consumption per capita: 1,505 kWh (1993)
Economic aid: recipient: $21,042,650 in operational funds and $1,227,000 in construction funds for capital improvement projects from the US Department of Interior (1991)
Currency: 1 United States dollar = 100 cents
Exchange rates: US currency is used
Fiscal year: 1 October - 30 September
@American Samoa:Transportation
Railroads: 0 km
Highways: total: 350 km paved: 150 km unpaved: 200 km
Ports: Aanu'u (new construction), Auasi, Faleosao, Ofu, Pago Pago, Ta'u
Merchant marine: none
Airports: total: 4 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 with paved runways under 914 m: 3 note: small airstrips on Fituita and Ofu
@American Samoa:Communications
Telephone system: 8,399 telephones; good telex, telegraph, and facsimile services local: NA intercity: NA international: 1 INTELSAT (Pacific Ocean) and 1 COMSAT earth station
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0 radios: NA
Location: Southwestern Europe, between France and Spain
Map references: Europe
Area: total area: 450 sq km land area: 450 sq km comparative area: slightly more than 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC
Land boundaries: total 125 km, France 60 km, Spain 65 km
Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims: none; landlocked
International disputes: none
Climate: temperate; snowy, cold winters and warm, dry summers
Terrain: rugged mountains dissected by narrow valleys
Natural resources: hydropower, mineral water, timber, iron ore, lead
Land use: arable land: 2% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 56% forest and woodland: 22% other: 20%
Irrigated land: NA sq km
Environment: current issues: deforestation; overgrazing of mountain meadows contributes to soil erosion natural hazards: snowslides, avalanches international agreements: NA
Note: landlocked
@Andorra:People
Population: 65,780 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 18% (female 5,503; male 5,985) 15-64 years: 70% (female 21,873; male 24,334) 65 years and over: 12% (female 4,020; male 4,065) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 2.72% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 12.92 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 7.25 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 21.53 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 7.7 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 78.52 years male: 75.65 years female: 81.66 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.72 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Ethnic divisions: Spanish 61%, Andorran 30%, French 6%, other 3%
Religions: Roman Catholic (predominant)
Languages: Catalan (official), French, Castilian
Literacy: NA%
Labor force: NA
@Andorra:Government
Names: conventional long form: Principality of Andorra conventional short form: Andorra local long form: Principat d'Andorra local short form: Andorra
Digraph: AN
Type: parliamentary democracy (since March 1993) that retains as its heads of state a co-principality; the two princes are the president of France and Spanish bishop of Seo de Urgel, who are represented locally by officials called veguers
Capital: Andorra la Vella
Administrative divisions: 7 parishes (parroquies, singular - parroquia); Andorra, Canillo, Encamp, La Massana, Les Escaldes, Ordino, Sant Julia de Loria
Independence: 1278
National holiday: Mare de Deu de Meritxell, 8 September
Constitution: Andorra's first written constitution was drafted in 1991; adopted 14 March 1993
Legal system: based on French and Spanish civil codes; no judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chiefs of state: French Co-Prince Francois MITTERRAND (since 21 May 1981), represented by Veguer de Franca Jean Pierre COURTOIS (since NA); note - COURTOIS is to become French ambassador to Libreville and his replacement has not been announced; Spanish Episcopal Co-Prince Mgr. Juan MARTI Alanis (since 31 January 1971), represented by Veguer Episcopal Francesc BADIA Bata (since NA); two permanent delegates (French Prefect Pierre STEINMETZ for the department of Pyrenees-Orientales, since NA, and Spanish Vicar General Nemesi MARQUES Oste for the Seo de Urgel diocese, since NA) head of government: Executive Council President Marc FORNE (since 21 December 1994) elected by Parliament, following resignation of Oscar RIBAS Reig cabinet: Executive Council; designated by the executive council president
Legislative branch: unicameral General Council of the Valleys: (Consell General de las Valls); elections last held 12 December 1993 (next to be held NA); yielded no clear winner; results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (28 total) number of seats by party NA
Judicial branch: Supreme Court of Andorra at Perpignan (France) for civil cases, the Ecclesiastical Court of the bishop of Seo de Urgel (Spain) for civil cases, Tribunal of the Courts (Tribunal des Cortes) for criminal cases
Political parties and leaders: National Democratic Group (AND), Oscar RIBAS Reig and Jordi FARRAS; Liberal Union (UL), Francesc CERQUEDA; New Democracy (ND), Jaume BARTOMEU; Andorran National Coalition (CNA), Antoni CERQUEDA; National Democratic Initiative (IDN), Vincenc MATEU; Liberal Union (UL), Marc FORNE note: there are two other small parties
Member of: ECE, IFRCS (associate), INTERPOL, IOC, ITU, UN, UNESCO
Diplomatic representation in US: Andorra has no mission in the US
US diplomatic representation: Andorra is included within the Barcelona (Spain) Consular District, and the US Consul General visits Andorra periodically
Flag: three equal vertical bands of blue (hoist side), yellow, and red with the national coat of arms centered in the yellow band; the coat of arms features a quartered shield; similar to the flags of Chad and Romania that do not have a national coat of arms in the center
@Andorra:Economy
Overview: Tourism, the mainstay of Andorra's economy, accounts for roughly 80% of GDP. An estimated 13 million tourists visit annually, attracted by Andorra's duty-free status and by its summer and winter resorts. The banking sector, with its "tax haven" status, also contributes substantially to the economy. Agricultural production is limited by a scarcity of arable land, and most food has to be imported. The principal livestock activity is sheep raising. Manufacturing consists mainly of cigarettes, cigars, and furniture. Andorra is a member of the EU Customs Union; it is unclear what effect the European Single Market will have on the advantages Andorra obtains from its duty-free status.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $760 million (1992 est.)
National product real growth rate: NA%
National product per capita: $14,000 (1992 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA%
Unemployment rate: 0%
Budget: revenues: $138 million expenditures: $177 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1993)
Exports: $30 million (f.o.b., 1993 est.) commodities: electricity, tobacco products, furniture partners: France, Spain
Imports: $NA commodities: consumer goods, food partners: France, Spain
External debt: $NA
Industrial production: growth rate NA%
Electricity: capacity: 35,000 kW production: 140 million kWh consumption per capita: 2,570 kWh (1992)
Land use: arable land: 2% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 23% forest and woodland: 43% other: 32%
Irrigated land: NA km2
Environment: current issues: population pressures contributing to overuse of pastures and subsequent soil erosion; desertification; deforestation of tropical rain forest attributable to the international demand for tropical timber and domestic use as a fuel; deforestation contributing to loss of biodiversity; soil erosion contributing to water pollution and siltation of rivers and dams; inadequate supplies of potable water
natural hazards: locally heavy rainfall causes periodic flooding on the plateau international agreements: party to - Law of the Sea; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification
Note: Cabinda is separated from rest of country by Zaire
@Angola:People
Population: 10,069,501 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 45% (female 2,208,307; male 2,274,533) 15-64 years: 53% (female 2,641,259; male 2,685,543) 65 years and over: 2% (female 136,573; male 123,286) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 2.68% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 45.05 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 18.1 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: -0.15 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 142.1 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 46.28 years male: 44.18 years female: 48.49 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 6.42 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Nationality: noun: Angolan(s) adjective: Angolan
Ethnic divisions: Ovimbundu 37%, Kimbundu 25%, Bakongo 13%, mestico (mixed European and Native African) 2%, European 1%, other 22%
Religions: indigenous beliefs 47%, Roman Catholic 38%, Protestant 15% (est.)
Languages: Portuguese (official), Bantu and other African languages
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.) total population: 42% male: 56% female: 28%
Labor force: 2.783 million economically active by occupation: agriculture 85%, industry 15% (1985 est.)
@Angola:Government
Note: Civil war has been the norm since independence from Portugal on 11 November 1975; a cease-fire lasted from 31 May 1991 until October 1992 when the insurgent National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) refused to accept its defeat in internationally monitored elections and fighting resumed throughout much of the countryside. The two sides signed another peace accord on 20 November 1994; the cease-fire is generally holding but most provisions of the accord remain to be implemented.
Names: conventional long form: Republic of Angola conventional short form: Angola local long form: Republica de Angola local short form: Angola former: People's Republic of Angola
Digraph: AO
Type: transitional government nominally a multiparty democracy with a strong presidential system
National holiday: Independence Day, 11 November (1975)
Constitution: 11 November 1975; revised 7 January 1978, 11 August 1980, 6 March 1991, and 26 August 1992
Legal system: based on Portuguese civil law system and customary law; recently modified to accommodate political pluralism and increased use of free markets
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Jose Eduardo DOS SANTOS (since 21 September 1979) head of government: Prime Minister Marcolino Jose Carlos MOCO (since 2 December 1992) cabinet: Council of Ministers; appointed by the president
Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly (Assembleia Nacional): first nationwide, multiparty elections were held 29-30 September 1992 with disputed results
Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Tribunal da Relacao)
Political parties and leaders: Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), led by Jose Eduardo DOS SANTOS, is the ruling party and has been in power since 1975; National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), led by Jonas SAVIMBI, is a legal party despite its history of armed resistance to the government; five minor parties have small numbers of seats in the National Assembly
Other political or pressure groups: Cabindan State Liberation Front (FLEC), N'ZITA Tiago, leader of largest faction (FLEC-FAC) note: FLEC is waging a small-scale, highly factionalized, armed struggle for the independence of Cabinda Province
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Jose Goncalves Martins PATRICIO embassy: 1819 L Street NW, Washington, DC 20036, Suite 400 telephone: [1] (202) 785-1156 FAX: [1] (202) 785-1258
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador Edmund T. DE JARNETTE embassy: 32 Rua Houari Boumedienne, Miramar, Luanda mailing address: C.P. 6484, Luanda; American Embassy, Luanda, Department of State, Washington, D.C. 20521-2550 (pouch) telephone: [244] (2) 345-481, 346-418 FAX: [244] (2) 347-884
Flag: two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and black with a centered yellow emblem consisting of a five-pointed star within half a cogwheel crossed by a machete (in the style of a hammer and sickle)
@Angola:Economy
Overview: Subsistence agriculture provides the main livelihood for 80%-90% of the population but accounts for less than 15% of GDP. Oil production is vital to the economy, contributing about 60% to GDP. Despite the signing of a peace accord in November 1994 between the Angola government and the UNITA insurgents, sporadic fighting continues and many farmers remain reluctant to return to their fields. As a result, much of the country's food requirements must still be imported. Angola has rich natural resources - notably gold, diamonds, and arable land, in addition to large oil deposits - but will need to observe the cease-fire, implement the peace agreement, and reform government policies if it is to achieve its potential.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $6.1 billion (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate: -1% (1994 est.)
National product per capita: $620 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 20% average per month (1994 est.)
Unemployment rate: 15% with considerable underemployment (1993 est.)
Budget: revenues: $928 million expenditures: $2.5 billion, including capital expenditures of $963 million (1992 est.)
Exports: $3 billion (f.o.b., 1993 est.) commodities: oil, diamonds, refined petroleum products, gas, coffee, sisal, fish and fish products, timber, cotton partners: US, France, Germany, Netherlands, Brazil
Imports: $1.6 billion (f.o.b., 1992 est.) commodities: capital equipment (machinery and electrical equipment), food, vehicles and spare parts, textiles and clothing, medicines, substantial military deliveries partners: Portugal, Brazil, US, France, Spain
External debt: $11.7 billion (1994 est.)
Industrial production: growth rate NA%; accounts for about 60% of GDP, including petroleum output
Industries: petroleum; mining - diamonds, iron ore, phosphates, feldspar, bauxite, uranium, and gold; fish processing; food processing; brewing; tobacco; sugar; textiles; cement; basic metal products
Agriculture: cash crops - bananas, sugarcane, coffee, sisal, corn, cotton, cane, manioc, tobacco; food crops - cassava, corn, vegetables, plantains; livestock production accounts for 20%, fishing 4%, forestry 2% of total agricultural output
Illicit drugs: increasingly used as a transshipment point for cocaine destined for Western Europe
Economic aid: recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $265 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $1.105 billion; Communist countries (1970-89), $1.3 billion; net official disbursements (1985-89), $750 million
Currency: 1 new kwanza (NKz) = 100 lwei
Exchange rates: new kwanza (NKz) per US$1 - 900,000 (official rate 25 April 1995), 1,900,000 (black market rate 6 April 1995), 600,000 (official rate 10 January 1995), 90,000 (official rate 1 June 1994), 180,000 (black market rate 1 June 1994); 7,000 (official rate 16 December 1993), 50,000 (black market rate 16 December 1993); 3,884 (July 1993); 550 (April 1992); 90 (November 1991); 60 (October 1990)
Fiscal year: calendar year
@Angola:Transportation
Railroads: total: 3,189 km; note - limited trackage in use because of landmines still in place from the civil war; majority of the Benguela Railroad also closed because of civil war narrow gauge: 2,879 km 1.067-m gauge; 310 km 0.600-m gauge
Highways: total: 73,828 km paved: bituminous-surface 8,577 km unpaved: crushed stone, gravel, improved earth 29,350 km; unimproved earth 35,901 km
Inland waterways: 1,295 km navigable
Pipelines: crude oil 179 km
Ports: Ambriz, Cabinda, Lobito, Luanda, Malogo, Namibe, Porto Amboim, Soyo
Airports: total: 289 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 4 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 9 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 12 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 6 with paved runways under 914 m: 93 with unpaved runways over 3,047 m: 1 with unpaved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 5 with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 33 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 126
@Angola:Communications
Telephone system: 40,300 telephones; 4.1 telephones/1,000 persons; high frequency radio used extensively for military links; telephone service limited mostly to government and business use local: NA intercity: limited system of wire, microwave radio relay, and troposcatter routes international: 2 INTELSAT (Atlantic Ocean) earth stations
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 17, FM 13, shortwave 0 radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: 6 televisions: NA
@Angola:Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces, National Police Force
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 2,315,717; males fit for military service 1,166,082; males reach military age (18) annually 100,273 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $1.1 billion, 31% of GDP (1993)
Land use: arable land: NA% permanent crops: NA% meadows and pastures: NA% forest and woodland: NA% other: NA% (mostly rock with sparse scrub oak, few trees, some commercial salt ponds)
Irrigated land: NA sq km
Environment: current issues: supplies of potable water sometimes cannot meet increasing demand largely because of poor distribution system natural hazards: frequent hurricanes and other tropical storms (July to October) international agreements: NA
@Anguilla:People
Population: 7,099 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 32% (female 1,129; male 1,115) 15-64 years: 60% (female 2,101; male 2,126) 65 years and over: 8% (female 362; male 266) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.66% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 24.09 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 8.03 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: -9.44 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 17.3 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 74.1 years male: 71.32 years female: 76.91 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 3.05 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Religions: Anglican 40%, Methodist 33%, Seventh-Day Adventist 7%, Baptist 5%, Roman Catholic 3%, other 12%
Languages: English (official)
Literacy: age 12 and over can read and write (1984) total population: 95% male: 95% female: 95%
Labor force: 4,400 (1992) by occupation: commerce 36%, services 29%, construction 18%, transportation and utilities 10%, manufacturing 3%, agriculture/fishing/forestry/mining 4%
@Anguilla:Government
Names: conventional long form: none conventional short form: Anguilla
Digraph: AV
Type: dependent territory of the UK
Capital: The Valley
Administrative divisions: none (dependent territory of the UK)
Independence: none (dependent territory of the UK)
National holiday: Anguilla Day, 30 May
Constitution: Anguilla Constitutional Orders 1 April 1982; amended 1990
Legal system: based on English common law
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor Alan W. SHAVE (since 14 August 1992) head of government: Chief Minister Hubert HUGHES (since 16 March 1994)
cabinet: Executive Council; appointed by the governor from the elected members of the House of Assembly
Legislative branch: unicameral House of Assembly: elections last held 16 March 1994 (next to be held March 1999); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (11 total, 7 elected) ANA 2, AUP 2, ADP 2, independent 1
Judicial branch: High Court
Political parties and leaders: Anguilla National Alliance (ANA); Anguilla United Party (AUP), Hubert HUGHES; Anguilla Democratic Party (ADP), Victor BANKS
Member of: CARICOM (observer), CDB, INTERPOL (subbureau)
Diplomatic representation in US: none (dependent territory of the UK)
US diplomatic representation: none (dependent territory of the UK)
Flag: two horizontal bands of white (top, almost triple width) and light blue with three orange dolphins in an interlocking circular design centered in the white band; a new flag may have been in use since 30 May 1990
@Anguilla:Economy
Overview: Anguilla has few natural resources, and the economy depends heavily on lobster fishing, offshore banking, tourism, and remittances from emigrants. In recent years the economy has benefited from a boom in tourism and construction. Development plans center around the improvement of the infrastructure, particularly transport and tourist facilities, and also light industry.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $49 million (1993 est.)
National product real growth rate: 7.5% (1992)
National product per capita: $7,000 (1993 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 3% (1992 est.)
Unemployment rate: 7% (1992 est.)
Budget: revenues: $13.8 million expenditures: $15.2 million, including capital expenditures of $2.4 million (1992 est.)
Exports: $556,000 (f.o.b., 1992) commodities: lobster and salt partners: NA
Imports: $33.5 million (f.o.b., 1992) commodities: NA partners: NA
External debt: $NA
Industrial production: growth rate NA%
Electricity: capacity: 2,000 kW production: 6 million kWh consumption per capita: 862 kWh (1992)
Economic aid: recipient: Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $38 million
Currency: 1 EC dollar (EC$) = 100 cents
Exchange rates: East Caribbean dollars (EC$) per US$1 - 2.70 (fixed rate since 1976)
Fiscal year: NA
@Anguilla:Transportation
Railroads: 0 km
Highways: total: 105 km (1992 est.) paved: 65 km unpaved: gravel and earth 40 km
Ports: Blowing Point, Road Bay
Merchant marine: none
Airports: total: 3 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 1 with paved runways under 914 m: 2
@Anguilla:Communications
Telephone system: 890 telephones; modern internal telephone system local: NA intercity: NA international: radio relay microwave link to island of Saint Martin
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 3, FM 1, shortwave 0 radios: NA
Location: continent mostly south of the Antarctic Circle
Map references: Antarctic Region
Area: total area: 14 million sq km (est.) land area: 14 million sq km (est.) comparative area: slightly less than 1.5 times the size of the US note: second-smallest continent (after Australia)
Land boundaries: none, but see entry on International disputes
Coastline: 17,968 km
Maritime claims: none, but see entry on International Disputes
International disputes: Antarctic Treaty defers claims (see Antarctic Treaty Summary below); sections (some overlapping) claimed by Argentina, Australia, Chile, France (Adelie Land), New Zealand (Ross Dependency), Norway (Queen Maud Land), and UK; the US and most other nations do not recognize the territorial claims of other nations and have made no claims themselves (the US reserves the right to do so); no formal claims have been made in the sector between 90 degrees west and 150 degrees west
Climate: severe low temperatures vary with latitude, elevation, and distance from the ocean; East Antarctica is colder than West Antarctica because of its higher elevation; Antarctic Peninsula has the most moderate climate; higher temperatures occur in January along the coast and average slightly below freezing
Terrain: about 98% thick continental ice sheet and 2% barren rock, with average elevations between 2,000 and 4,000 meters; mountain ranges up to 4,897 meters high; 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
Natural resources: none presently exploited; iron ore, chromium, copper, gold, nickel, platinum and other minerals, and coal and hydrocarbons have been found in small, uncommercial quantities
Land use: arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 0% forest and woodland: 0% other: 100% (ice 98%, barren rock 2%)
Irrigated land: 0 sq km
Environment: current issues: in October 1991 it was reported that the ozone shield, which protects the Earth's surface from harmful ultraviolet radiation, had dwindled to the lowest level recorded over Antarctica since 1975 when measurements were first taken natural hazards: katabatic (gravity-driven) winds blow coastward from the high interior; frequent blizzards form near the foot of the plateau; cyclonic storms form over the ocean and move clockwise along the coast; volcanism on Deception Island and isolated areas of West Antarctica; other seismic activity rare and weak international agreements: NA
Note: the coldest, windiest, highest, and driest continent; during summer more solar radiation reaches the surface at the South Pole than is received at the Equator in an equivalent period; mostly uninhabitable
@Antarctica:People
Population: no indigenous inhabitants; note - there are seasonally staffed research stations Summer (January) population: over 4,115 total; Argentina 207, Australia 268, Belgium 13, Brazil 80, Chile 256, China NA, Ecuador NA, Finland 11, France 78, Germany 32, Greenpeace 12, India 60, Italy 210, Japan 59, South Korea 14, Netherlands 10, NZ 264, Norway 23, Peru 39, Poland NA, South Africa 79, Spain 43, Sweden 10, UK 116, Uruguay NA, US 1,666, former USSR 565 (1989-90) Winter (July) population: over 1,046 total; Argentina 150, Australia 71, Brazil 12, Chile 73, China NA, France 33, Germany 19, Greenpeace 5, India 1, Japan 38, South Korea 14, NZ 11, Poland NA, South Africa 12, UK 69, Uruguay NA, US 225, former USSR 313 (1989-90) Year-round stations: 42 total; Argentina 6, Australia 3, Brazil 1, Chile 3, China 2, Finland 1, France 1, Germany 1, India 1, Japan 2, South Korea 1, NZ 1, Poland 1, South Africa 3, UK 5, Uruguay 1, US 3, former USSR 6 (1990-91) Summer only stations: over 38 total; Argentina 7, Australia 3, Chile 5, Germany 3, India 1, Italy 1, Japan 4, NZ 2, Norway 1, Peru 1, South Africa 1, Spain 1, Sweden 2, UK 1, US numerous, former USSR 5 (1989-90); note - the disintegration of the former USSR has placed the status and future of its Antarctic facilities in doubt; stations may be subject to closings at any time because of ongoing economic difficulties
@Antarctica:Government
Names: conventional long form: none conventional short form: Antarctica
Digraph: AY
Type: Antarctic Treaty Summary: The Antarctic Treaty, signed on 1 December 1959 and entered into force on 23 June 1961, establishes the legal framework for the management of Antarctica. Administration is carried out through consultative member meetings - the 18th Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting was in Japan in April 1993. Currently, there are 42 treaty member nations: 26 consultative and 16 acceding. Consultative (voting) members include the seven nations that claim portions of Antarctica as national territory (some claims overlap) and 19 nonclaimant nations. The US and some other nations that have made no claims have reserved the right to do so. The US does not recognize the claims of others. The year in parentheses indicates when an acceding nation was voted to full consultative (voting) status, while no date indicates the country was an original 1959 treaty signatory. Claimant nations are - Argentina, Australia, Chile, France, New Zealand, Norway, and the UK. Nonclaimant consultative nations are - Belgium, Brazil (1983), China (1985), Ecuador (1990), Finland (1989), Germany (1981), India (1983), Italy (1987), Japan, South Korea (1989), Netherlands (1990), Peru (1989), Poland (1977), South Africa, Spain (1988), Sweden (1988), Uruguay (1985), the US, and Russia. Acceding (nonvoting) members, with year of accession in parentheses, are - Austria (1987), Bulgaria (1978), Canada (1988), Colombia (1988), Cuba (1984), Czech Republic (1993), Denmark (1965), Greece (1987), Guatemala (1991), Hungary (1984), North Korea (1987), Papua New Guinea (1981), Romania (1971), Slovakia (1993), Switzerland (1990), and Ukraine (1992). Article 1: area to be used for peaceful purposes only; military activity, such as weapons testing, is prohibited, but military personnel and equipment may be used for scientific research or any other peaceful purpose Article 2: freedom of scientific investigation and cooperation shall continue Article 3: free exchange of information and personnel in cooperation with the UN and other international agencies Article 4: does not recognize, dispute, or establish territorial claims and no new claims shall be asserted while the treaty is in force Article 5: prohibits nuclear explosions or disposal of radioactive wastes Article 6: includes under the treaty all land and ice shelves south of 60 degrees 00 minutes south Article 7: treaty-state observers have free access, including aerial observation, to any area and may inspect all stations, installations, and equipment; advance notice of all activities and of the introduction of military personnel must be given Article 8: allows for jurisdiction over observers and scientists by their own states Article 9: frequent consultative meetings take place among member nations Article 10: treaty states will discourage activities by any country in Antarctica that are contrary to the treaty Article 11: disputes to be settled peacefully by the parties concerned or, ultimately, by the ICJ Articles 12, 13, 14: deal with upholding, interpreting, and amending the treaty among involved nations Other agreements: more than 170 recommendations adopted at treaty consultative meetings and ratified by governments include - Agreed Measures for the Conservation of Antarctic Fauna and Flora (1964); Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Seals (1972); Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (1980); a mineral resources agreement was signed in 1988 but was subsequently rejected; in 1991 the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty was signed and awaits ratification; this agreement provides for the protection of the Antarctic environment through five specific annexes on marine pollution, fauna, and flora, environmental impact assessments, waste management, and protected areas; it also prohibits all activities relating to mineral resources except scientific research; 14 parties have ratified Protocol as of April 1995
Legal system: US law, including certain criminal offenses by or against US nationals, such as murder, may apply to areas not under jurisdiction of other countries. Some US laws directly apply to Antarctica. For example, the Antarctic Conservation Act, 16 U.S.C. section 2401 et seq., provides civil and criminal penalties for the following activities, unless authorized by regulation of statute: The taking of native mammals or birds; the introduction of nonindigenous plants and animals; entry into specially protected or scientific areas; the discharge or disposal of pollutants; and the importation into the US of certain items from Antarctica. Violation of the Antarctic Conservation Act carries penalties of up to $10,000 in fines and 1 year in prison. The Departments of Treasury, Commerce, Transportation, and Interior share enforcement responsibilities. Public Law 95-541, the US Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978, requires expeditions from the US to Antarctica to notify, in advance, the Office of Oceans and Polar Affairs, Room 5801, Department of State, Washington, DC 20520, which reports such plans to other nations as required by the Antarctic Treaty. For more information contact Permit Office, Office of Polar Programs, National Science Foundation, Arlington, Virginia 22230 (703-306-1031).
@Antarctica:Economy
Overview: No economic activity at present except for fishing off the coast and small-scale tourism, both based abroad.
@Antarctica:Transportation
Ports: none; offshore anchorage
Airports: 42 landing facilities at different locations operated by 15 national governments party to the Treaty; one additional air facility operated by commercial (nongovernmental) tourist organization; helicopter pads at 36 of these locations; runways at 14 locations are gravel, sea ice, glacier ice, or compacted snow surface suitable for wheeled fixed-wing aircraft; no paved runways; 15 locations have snow-surface skiways limited to use by ski-equipped planes - 11 runways/skiways 1,000 to 3,000 m, 5 runways/skiways less than 1,000 m, 8 runways/skiways greater than 3,000 m, and 5 of unspecified or variable length; airports generally subject to severe restrictions and limitations resulting from extreme seasonal and geographic conditions; airports do not meet ICAO standards; advance approval from the respective governmental or non-governmental operating organization required for landing
@Antarctica:Communications
Telephone system: local: NA intercity: NA international: NA
Radio: broadcast stations: AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: NA televisions: NA
@Antarctica:Defense Forces
Note: the Antarctic Treaty prohibits any measures of a military nature, such as the establishment of military bases and fortifications, the carrying out of military maneuvers, or the testing of any type of weapon; it permits the use of military personnel or equipment for scientific research or for any other peaceful purposes
Location: Caribbean, islands between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east-southeast of Puerto Rico
Map references: Central America and the Caribbean
Area: total area: 440 sq km land area: 440 sq km comparative area: slightly less than 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC note: includes Redonda
Land boundaries: 0 km
Coastline: 153 km
Maritime claims: contiguous zone: 24 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 12 nm
International disputes: none
Climate: tropical marine; little seasonal temperature variation
Terrain: mostly low-lying limestone and coral islands with some higher volcanic areas
Natural resources: negligible; pleasant climate fosters tourism
Land use: arable land: 18% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 7% forest and woodland: 16% other: 59%
Irrigated land: NA sq km
Environment: current issues: water management - a major concern because of limited natural fresh water resources - is further hampered by the clearing of trees to increase crop production, causing rainfall to run off quickly
natural hazards: hurricanes and tropical storms (July to October); periodic droughts international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Whaling
@Antigua And Barbuda:People
Population: 65,176 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 25% (female 8,062; male 8,390) 15-64 years: 69% (female 22,342; male 22,334) 65 years and over: 6% (female 2,231; male 1,817) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.68% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 17.08 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 5.35 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: -4.91 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 17.8 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 73.4 years male: 71.32 years female: 75.57 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.68 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Ethnic divisions: black African, British, Portuguese, Lebanese, Syrian
Religions: Anglican (predominant), other Protestant sects, some Roman Catholic
Languages: English (official), local dialects
Literacy: age 15 and over has completed five or more years of schooling (1960) total population: 89% male: 90% female: 88%
Labor force: 30,000 by occupation: commerce and services 82%, agriculture 11%, industry 7% (1983)
@Antigua And Barbuda:Government
Names: conventional long form: none conventional short form: Antigua and Barbuda
Digraph: AC
Type: parliamentary democracy
Capital: Saint John's
Administrative divisions: 6 parishes and 2 dependencies*; Barbuda*, Redonda*, Saint George, Saint John, Saint Mary, Saint Paul, Saint Peter, Saint Philip
Independence: 1 November 1981 (from UK)
National holiday: Independence Day, 1 November (1981)
Constitution: 1 November 1981
Legal system: based on English common law
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General James B. CARLISLE (since NA 1993) head of government: Prime Minister Lester Bryant BIRD (since 8 March 1994) cabinet: Council of Ministers; appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister
Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament Senate: 17 member body appointed by the governor general House of Representatives: elections last held 8 March 1994 (next to be held NA 1999); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (17 total) ALP 11, UPP 5, independent 1
Judicial branch: Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court
Political parties and leaders: Antigua Labor Party (ALP), Lester Bryant BIRD; United Progressive Party (UPP), Baldwin SPENCER
Other political or pressure groups: United Progressive Party (UPP), headed by Baldwin SPENCER, a coalition of three opposition political parties - the United National Democratic Party (UNDP); the Antigua Caribbean Liberation Movement (ACLM); and the Progressive Labor Movement (PLM); Antigua Trades and Labor Union (ATLU), headed by William ROBINSON
Member of: ACP, C, CARICOM, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, GATT, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS (associate), ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT (nonsignatory user), INTERPOL, IOC, ISO (subscriber), ITU, NAM (observer), OAS, OECS, OPANAL, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WMO
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Patrick Albert LEWIS chancery: 3216 New Mexico Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20016 telephone: [1] (202) 362-5211, 5166, 5122 FAX: [1] (202) 362-5225 consulate(s) general: Miami
US diplomatic representation: the post was closed 30 June 1994; the US Ambassador to Barbados is accredited to Antigua and Barbuda
Flag: red with an inverted isosceles triangle based on the top edge of the flag; the triangle contains three horizontal bands of black (top), light blue, and white with a yellow rising sun in the black band
@Antigua And Barbuda:Economy
Overview: The economy is primarily service oriented, with tourism the most important determinant of economic performance. In 1993, tourism made a direct contribution to GDP of about 17%, and also spurred growth in other sectors such as construction and transport. While only accounting for roughly 5% of GDP in 1993, agricultural production increased by 4%. Tourist arrivals remained strong in 1994.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $400 million (1993 est.)
National product real growth rate: 3.4% (1993)
National product per capita: $6,000 (1993 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 7% (1993)
Unemployment rate: 6% (1992 est.)
Budget: revenues: $105 million expenditures: $161 million, including capital expenditures of $56 million (1992)
Exports: $54.7 million (f.o.b., 1992) commodities: petroleum products 48%, manufactures 23%, food and live animals 4%, machinery and transport equipment 17% partners: OECS 26%, Barbados 15%, Guyana 4%, Trinidad and Tobago 2%, US 0.3%
Imports: $260.9 million (f.o.b., 1992) commodities: food and live animals, machinery and transport equipment, manufactures, chemicals, oil partners: US 27%, UK 16%, Canada 4%, OECS 3%, other 50%
External debt: $250 million (1990 est.)
Industrial production: growth rate -4.9% (1993 est.); accounts for 6.5% of GDP
Electricity: capacity: 52,100 kW production: 95 million kWh consumption per capita: 1,242 kWh (1993)
Agriculture: accounts for 5% of GDP; expanding output of cotton, fruits, vegetables, and livestock; other crops - bananas, coconuts, cucumbers, mangoes, sugarcane; not self-sufficient in food
Illicit drugs: a long-time but relatively minor transshipment point for narcotics bound for the US and Europe and recent transshipment point for heroin from Europe to the US; more significant as a drug money laundering center
Economic aid: recipient: US commitments (1985-88), $10 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $50 million
Currency: 1 EC dollar (EC$) = 100 cents
Exchange rates: East Caribbean dollars (EC$) per US$1 - 2.70 (fixed rate since 1976)
Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March
@Antigua And Barbuda:Transportation
Railroads: total: 77 km narrow gauge: 64 km 0.760-m gauge; 13 km 0.610-m gauge (used almost exclusively for handling sugar cane)
Highways: total: 240 km paved: NA unpaved: NA
Ports: Saint John's
Merchant marine: total: 304 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,188,113 GRT/1,651,190 DWT ships by type: bulk 7, cargo 216, chemical tanker 8, container 48, liquefied gas tanker 3, oil tanker 1, refrigerated cargo 10, roll-on/roll-off cargo 11 note: a flag of convenience registry
Airports: total: 3 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 with paved runways under 914 m: 2
@Antigua And Barbuda:Communications
Telephone system: 6,700 telephones; good automatic telephone system local: NA intercity: NA international: 1 coaxial submarine cable; 1 INTELSAT (Atlantic Ocean) earth station; tropospheric scatter links with Saba and Guadeloupe
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 4, FM 2, shortwave 2 radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: 2 televisions: NA
@Antigua And Barbuda:Defense Forces
Branches: Royal Antigua and Barbuda Defense Force, Royal Antigua and Barbuda Police Force (includes the Coast Guard)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $1.4 million, 1% of GDP (FY90/91)
Location: body of water mostly north of the Arctic Circle
Map references: Arctic Region
Area: total area: 14.056 million sq km comparative area: slightly more than 1.5 times the size of the US; smallest of the world's four oceans (after Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, and Indian Ocean) note: includes Baffin Bay, Barents Sea, Beaufort Sea, Chukchi Sea, East Siberian Sea, Greenland Sea, Hudson Bay, Hudson Strait, Kara Sea, Laptev Sea, Northwest Passage, and other tributary water bodies
Coastline: 45,389 km
International disputes: some maritime disputes (see littoral states); Svalbard is the focus of a maritime boundary dispute between Norway and Russia
Climate: polar climate characterized by persistent cold and relatively narrow annual temperature ranges; winters characterized by continuous darkness, cold and stable weather conditions, and clear skies; summers characterized by continuous daylight, damp and foggy weather, and weak cyclones with rain or snow
Terrain: central surface covered by a perennial drifting polar icepack that averages about 3 meters in thickness, although pressure ridges may be three times that size; 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 ice pack is surrounded by open seas during the summer, but more than doubles in size during the winter and extends to the encircling land masses; 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 Lomonsov Ridge); maximum depth is 4,665 meters in the Fram Basin
Natural resources: sand and gravel aggregates, placer deposits, polymetallic nodules, oil and gas fields, fish, marine mammals (seals and whales)
Environment: current issues: endangered marine species include walruses and whales; fragile ecosystem slow to change and slow to recover from disruptions or damage natural hazards: ice islands occasionally break away from northern Ellesmere Island; icebergs calved from glaciers in western Greenland and extreme northeastern Canada; permafrost in islands; virtually icelocked from October to June; ships subject to superstructure icing from October to May international agreements: NA
Note: major chokepoint is the southern Chukchi Sea (northern access to the Pacific Ocean via the Bering Strait); strategic location between North America and Russia; shortest marine link between the extremes of eastern and western Russia, floating research stations operated by the US and Russia; maximum snow cover in March or April about 20 to 50 centimeters over the frozen ocean and lasts about 10 months
@Arctic Ocean:Government
Digraph: XQ
@Arctic Ocean:Economy
Overview: Economic activity is limited to the exploitation of natural resources, including petroleum, natural gas, fish, and seals.
@Arctic Ocean:Transportation
Ports: Churchill (Canada), Murmansk (Russia), Prudhoe Bay (US)
Note: sparse network of air, ocean, river, and land routes; the Northwest Passage (North America) and Northern Sea Route (Eurasia) are important seasonal waterways
@Arctic Ocean:Communications
Telephone system: international: no submarine cables
Location: Southern South America, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Chile and Uruguay
Map references: South America
Area: total area: 2,766,890 sq km land area: 2,736,690 sq km comparative area: slightly less than three-tenths the size of the US
Land boundaries: total 9,665 km, Bolivia 832 km, Brazil 1,224 km, Chile 5,150 km, Paraguay 1,880 km, Uruguay 579 km
Coastline: 4,989 km
Maritime claims: contiguous zone: 24 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 12 nm
International disputes: short section of the boundary with Uruguay is in dispute; short section of the boundary with Chile is indefinite; claims British-administered Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas); claims British-administered South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands; territorial claim in Antarctica
Climate: mostly temperate; arid in southeast; subantarctic in southwest
Terrain: rich plains of the Pampas in northern half, flat to rolling plateau of Patagonia in south, rugged Andes along western border
Natural resources: fertile plains of the pampas, lead, zinc, tin, copper, iron ore, manganese, petroleum, uranium
Land use: arable land: 9% permanent crops: 4% meadows and pastures: 52% forest and woodland: 22% other: 13%
Irrigated land: 17,600 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment: current issues: erosion results from inadequate flood controls and improper land use practices; irrigated soil degradation; desertification; air pollution in Buenos Aires and other major cites; water pollution in urban areas; rivers becoming polluted due to increased pesticide and fertilizer use natural hazards: Tucuman and Mendoza areas in the Andes subject to earthquakes; pamperos are violent windstorms that can strike the Pampas and northeast; heavy flooding international agreements: party to - Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling; signed, but not ratified - Desertification, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation
Note: second-largest country in South America (after Brazil); strategic location relative to sea lanes between South Atlantic and South Pacific Oceans (Strait of Magellan, Beagle Channel, Drake Passage)
@Argentina:People
Population: 34,292,742 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 28% (female 4,706,793; male 4,903,589) 15-64 years: 62% (female 10,680,074; male 10,689,728) 65 years and over: 10% (female 1,922,552; male 1,390,006) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.11% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 19.51 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 8.62 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 0.19 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 28.8 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 71.51 years male: 68.22 years female: 74.97 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 2.65 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Ethnic divisions: white 85%, mestizo, Indian, or other nonwhite groups 15%
Religions: nominally Roman Catholic 90% (less than 20% practicing), Protestant 2%, Jewish 2%, other 6%
Languages: Spanish (official), English, Italian, German, French
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.) total population: 95% male: 96% female: 95%
Labor force: 10.9 million by occupation: agriculture 12%, industry 31%, services 57% (1985 est.)
@Argentina:Government
Names: conventional long form: Argentine Republic conventional short form: Argentina local long form: Republica Argentina local short form: Argentina
Digraph: AR
Type: republic
Capital: Buenos Aires
Administrative divisions: 23 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia), and 1 federal district* (distrito federal); Buenos Aires; Catamarca; Chaco; Chubut; Cordoba; Corrientes; Distrito Federal*; Entre Rios; Formosa; Jujuy; La Pampa; La Rioja; Mendoza; Misiones; Neuquen; Rio Negro; Salta; San Juan; San Luis; Santa Cruz; Santa Fe; Santiago del Estero; Tierra del Fuego, Antartida e Islas del Atlantico Sur; Tucuman note: the US does not recognize any claims to Antarctica or Argentina's claims to the Falkland Islands
Independence: 9 July 1816 (from Spain)
National holiday: Revolution Day, 25 May (1810)
Constitution: 1 May 1853; revised August 1994
Legal system: mixture of US and West European legal systems; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state and head of government: President Carlos Saul MENEM (since 8 July 1989); Vice President (position vacant); election last held 14 May 1995 (next to be held NA May 1999); results - Carlos Saul MENEM was reelected cabinet: Cabinet; appointed by the president
Legislative branch: bicameral National Congress (Congreso Nacional) Senate: elections last held May 1989, but provincial elections in late 1991 set the stage for indirect elections by provincial senators for one-third of 48 seats in the national senate in May 1992; seats (48 total) - PJ 29, UCR 11, others 7, vacant 1 Chamber of Deputies: elections last held 3 October 1993 ( next to be held October 1995); elections are held every two years and half of the total membership is elected each time for four year terms; seats - (257 total) PJ 122, UCR 83, MODIN 7, UCD 5, other 40
Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Corte Suprema)
Political parties and leaders: Justicialist Party (PJ), Carlos Saul MENEM, Peronist umbrella political organization; Radical Civic Union (UCR),Raul ALFONSIN, moderately left-of-center party; Union of the Democratic Center (UCD), Jorge AGUADO, conservative party; Dignity and Independence Political Party (MODIN), Aldo RICO, right-wing party; Grand Front (Frente Grande), Carlos ALVAREZ, center-left coalition; several provincial parties
Other political or pressure groups: Peronist-dominated labor movement; General Confederation of Labor (CGT; Peronist-leaning umbrella labor organization); Argentine Industrial Union (manufacturers' association); Argentine Rural Society (large landowners' association); business organizations; students; the Roman Catholic Church; the Armed Forces
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Raul Enrique GRANILLO OCAMPO chancery: 1600 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 939-6400 through 6403 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, San Francisco, and San Juan (Puerto Rico)
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador James R. CHEEK embassy: 4300 Colombia, 1425 Buenos Aires mailing address: Unit 4334; APO AA 34034 telephone: [54] (1) 777-4533, 4534 FAX: [54] (1) 777-0197
Flag: three equal horizontal bands of light blue (top), white, and light blue; centered in the white band is a radiant yellow sun with a human face known as the Sun of May
@Argentina:Economy
Overview: Argentina, rich in natural resources, benefits also from a highly literate population, an export-oriented agricultural sector, and a diversified industrial base. Nevertheless, following decades of mismanagement and statist policies, the economy in the late 1980s was plagued with huge external debts and recurring bouts of hyperinflation. Elected in 1989, in the depths of recession, President MENEM has implemented a comprehensive economic restructuring program that shows signs of putting Argentina on a path of stable, sustainable growth. Argentina's currency has traded at par with the US dollar since April 1991, and inflation has fallen to its lowest level in 20 years. Argentines have responded to the relative price stability by repatriating flight capital and investing in domestic industry. The economy registered an impressive 6% advance in 1994, fueled largely by inflows of foreign capital and strong domestic consumption spending. The government's major short term objective is encouraging exports, e.g., by reducing domestic costs of production. At the start of 1995, the government had to deal with the spillover from international financial movements associated with the devaluation of the Mexican peso. In addition, unemployment had become a serious issue for the government. Despite average annual 7% growth in 1991-94, unemployment surprisingly has doubled - due mostly to layoffs in government bureaus and in privatized industrial firms and utilities and, to a lesser degree, to illegal immigration. Much remains to be done in the 1990s in dismantling the old statist barriers to growth, extending the recent economic gains, and bringing down the rate of unemployment.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $270.8 billion (1994 est.)
Industries: food processing, motor vehicles, consumer durables, textiles, chemicals and petrochemicals, printing, metallurgy, steel
Agriculture: accounts for 8% of GDP (including fishing); produces abundant food for both domestic consumption and exports; among world's top five exporters of grain and beef; principal crops - wheat, corn, sorghum, soybeans, sugar beets
Illicit drugs: increasing use as a transshipment country for cocaine headed for the US and Europe
Economic aid: recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $1 billion; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $4.4 billion; Communist countries (1970-89), $718 million
Railroads: total: 34,572 km broad gauge: NA km 1.676-m gauge standard gauge: NA km 1.435-m narrow gauge: 400 km 0.750-m gauge; NA km 1.000-m gauge (209 km electrified)
Highways: total: 208,350 km paved: 57,000 km unpaved: gravel 39,500 km; improved/unimproved earth 111,850 km
Inland waterways: 11,000 km navigable
Pipelines: crude oil 4,090 km; petroleum products 2,900 km; natural gas 9,918 km
Ports: Bahia Blanca, Buenos Aires, Comodoro Rivadavia, Concepcion del Uruguay, La Plata, Mar del Plata, Necochea, Rio Gallegos, Rosario, Santa Fe, Ushuaia
Airports: total: 1,602 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 5 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 25 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 55 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 48 with paved runways under 914 m: 703 with unpaved runways over 3,047 m: 2 with unpaved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 70 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 693
@Argentina:Communications
Telephone system: 2,650,000 telephones; 12,000 public telephones; 78 telephones/1,000 persons; extensive modern system but many families do not have telephones; microwave widely used; however, during rainstorms, the telephone system frequently grounds out, even in Buenos Aires local: NA intercity: microwave radio relay and domestic satellite network with 40 earth stations international: 2 INTELSAT (Atlantic Ocean) earth stations
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 171, FM 0, shortwave 13 radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: 231 televisions: NA
@Argentina:Defense Forces
Branches: Argentine Army, Navy of the Argentine Republic, Argentine Air Force, National Gendarmerie, Argentine Naval Prefecture (Coast Guard only), National Aeronautical Police Force
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 8,573,780; males fit for military service 6,954,584; males reach military age (20) annually 301,166 (1995 est.)
Map references: Commonwealth of Independent States - European States
Area: total area: 29,800 sq km land area: 28,400 sq km comparative area: slightly larger than Maryland
Land boundaries: total 1,254 km, Azerbaijan (east) 566 km, Azerbaijan (south) 221 km, Georgia 164 km, Iran 35 km, Turkey 268 km
Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims: none; landlocked
International disputes: supports ethnic Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh in their separatist conflict against the Azerbaijani government; traditional demands on former Armenian lands in Turkey have subsided
Climate: highland continental, hot summers, cold winters
Terrain: high Armenian Plateau with mountains; little forest land; fast flowing rivers; good soil in Aras River valley
Natural resources: small deposits of gold, copper, molybdenum, zinc, alumina
Land use: arable land: 17% permanent crops: 3% meadows and pastures: 20% forest and woodland: 0% other: 60%
Irrigated land: 3,050 sq km (1990)
Environment: current issues: soil pollution from toxic chemicals such as DDT; energy blockade, the result of conflict with Azerbaijan, has led to deforestation as citizens scavenge for firewood; pollution of Hrazdan (Razdan) and Aras Rivers; the draining of Sevana Lich, a result of its use as a source for hydropower, threatens drinking water supplies natural hazards: occasionally severe earthquakes; droughts international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Nuclear Test Ban, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Desertification
Note: landlocked
@Armenia:People
Population: 3,557,284 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 31% (female 542,664; male 570,998) 15-64 years: 61% (female 1,103,171; male 1,076,226) 65 years and over: 8% (female 154,784; male 109,441) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.94% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 22.79 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 6.66 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: -6.68 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 26 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 72.36 years male: 68.94 years female: 75.95 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 3.06 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Nationality: noun: Armenian(s) adjective: Armenian
Ethnic divisions: Armenian 93%, Azeri 3%, Russian 2%, other (mostly Yezidi Kurds) 2% (1989) note: as of the end of 1994, most Azeris had emigrated from Armenia
Religions: Armenian Orthodox 94%
Languages: Armenian 96%, Russian 2%, other 2%
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1989) total population: 99% male: 99% female: 98%
Labor force: 1.578 million by occupation: industry and construction 34%, agriculture and forestry 31%, other 35% (1992)
@Armenia:Government
Names: conventional long form: Republic of Armenia conventional short form: Armenia local long form: Hayastani Hanrapetut'yun local short form: Hayastan former: Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic; Armenian Republic
Independence: 28 May 1918 (First Armenian Republic); 23 September 1991 (from Soviet Union)
National holiday: Referendum Day, 21 September
Constitution: adopted NA April 1978; referendum on new constitution to be held 5 July 1995
Legal system: based on civil law system
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Levon Akopovich TER-PETROSYAN (since October 1991) election last held 16 October 1991 (next to be held NA 1996); results - Levon Akopovich TER-PETROSYAN 86%; radical nationalists about 7%; note - Levon Akopovich TER-PETROSYAN was elected Chairman of the Armenian Supreme Soviet 4 August 1990 before becoming president head of government: Prime Minister Hrant BAGRATYAN (since 16 February 1993); First Deputy Prime Minister Vigen CHITECHYAN (since 16 February 1993) cabinet: Council of Ministers; appointed by the president
Legislative branch: unicameral Supreme Soviet: elections last held 20 May 1990 (next to be held 5 July 1995); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (260 total) non-aligned 136, ANM 52, DPA 17, Democratic Liberal Party 17, ARF 12, NDU 9, Christian Democratic Party 1, Constitutional Rights Union 1, ONS 1, Republican Party 1, Nagorno-Karabakh representatives 13
Judicial branch: Supreme Court
Political parties and leaders: Armenian National Movement (ANM), Ter-Husik LAZARYAN, chairman; National Democratic Union (NDU), David VARTANYAN, chairman; Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF, Dashnaktsutyun); note - banned until reorganized; Democratic Party of Armenia (DPA; Communist Party), Aram SARKISYAN, chairman; Christian Democratic Party, Azat ARSHAKYAN, chairman; Greens Party, Hakob SANASARIAN, chairman; Democratic Liberal Party, Rouben MIRZAKHANYAN, chairman; Republican Party, Ashot NAVARSARDYAN, chairman; Union for Self-Determination (ONS), Paruir AIRIKYAN, chairman
Member of: BSEC, CCC, CIS, EBRD, ECE, ESCAP, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, ILO, IMF, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM, ITU, NACC, NAM (observer), OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Ruben SHUGARIAN chancery: Suite 210, 1660 L Street NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 628-5766 FAX: [1] (202) 628-5769
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador Harry J. GILMORE embassy: 18 Gen Bagramian, Yerevan mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [7] (8852) 151-144, 524-661 FAX: [7] (8852) 151-138
Flag: three equal horizontal bands of red (top), blue, and gold
@Armenia:Economy
Overview: Under the old Soviet central planning system, Armenia had developed a more modern industrial sector, supplying machine building equipment, textiles, and other manufactured goods to sister republics in exchange for raw materials and energy resources. Armenia is a large food importer and its mineral deposits (gold, bauxite) are small. The economic decline in recent years (1991-94) has been particularly severe due to the ongoing conflict over the ethnic Armenian-dominated region of Nagorno-Karabakh in Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan and Turkey have blockaded pipeline and railroad traffic to Armenia for its support of the Karabakh Armenians. This has left Armenia with chronic energy shortages because of a lack of capacity and frequent disruptions of natural gas deliveries through unstable Georgia, as well as difficulties in obtaining other types of fuel. In addition, bread is strictly rationed and there are shortages of other goods. In 1994, the economy seemed to bottom out. The government has managed to increase its financial and budgetary discipline, bringing inflation down from around 40% per month in first half 1994 to single digits in second half 1994 and the first quarter of 1995. A full economic recovery cannot be expected until the conflict is settled and the blockade lifted.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $8.1 billion (1994 estimate as extrapolated from World Bank estimate for 1992)
National product real growth rate: -2% (1994 est.)
National product per capita: $2,290 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 27% per month average (1994 est.)
Unemployment rate: 6.5% of officially registered unemployed but large numbers of underemployed (1994 est.)
Budget: revenues: $NA expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA
Exports: $43 million to countries outside the FSU (f.o.b., 1994) commodities: gold and jewelry, aluminum, transport equipment, electrical equipment partners: Iran, Russia, Turkmenistan, Georgia
Imports: $120 million from countries outside the FSU (c.i.f., 1994) commodities: grain, other foods, fuel, other energy partners: Iran, Russia, Turkmenistan, Georgia, US, EU
External debt: $NA
Industrial production: growth rate 7% (1994 est.); accounts for 41% of GDP
Industries: traditionally diverse, including (as a percent of output of former USSR) metalcutting machine tools (5.5%), forging-pressing machines (1.9%), electric motors (9%), tires (1.5%), knitted wear (4.4%), hosiery (3.0%), shoes (2.2%), silk fabric (0.8%), washing machines (2.0%), chemicals, trucks, watches, instruments, and microelectronics (1990); currently, much of industry is shut down
Agriculture: only 17% of land area is arable; employs 31% of labor force as residents increasingly turn to subsistence agriculture; fruits (especially grapes) and vegetable farming, minor livestock sector; vineyards near Yerevan are famous for brandy and other liqueurs
Illicit drugs: illicit cultivator of cannabis mostly for domestic consumption; used as a transshipment point for illicit drugs to Western Europe
Economic aid: recipient: considerable humanitarian aid, mostly food and energy products, from US and EU; Russia granted 60 billion rubles in technical credits in late 1994 and approved a 110 billion ruble credit almost half of which was to go toward the restart of the Metsamor nuclear power plant
Currency: 1 dram = 100 luma (introduced new currency in November 1993)
Exchange rates: dram per US$1 - 406 (end December 1994)
Fiscal year: calendar year
@Armenia:Transportation
Railroads: total: 840 km in common carrier service; does not include industrial lines broad gauge: 840 km 1.520-m gauge (1990)
Highways: total: 11,300 km paved: 10,500 km unpaved: earth 800 km (1990)
Inland waterways: NA km
Pipelines: natural gas 900 km (1991)
Ports: none
Airports: total: 11 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 2 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 2 with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 2 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 3 with unpaved runways under 914 m: 1
@Armenia:Communications
Telephone system: about 650,000 telephones; 177 telephones/1,000 persons; progress on installation of fiber optic cable and construction of facilities for mobile cellular phone service remains in the negotiation phase for joint venture agreement local: NA intercity: NA international: international connections to other former republics of the USSR are by landline or microwave and to other countries by satellite and by leased connection through the Moscow international gateway switch; 1 INTELSAT satellite link
Radio: broadcast stations: AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: NA; note - 100% of population receives Armenian and Russian TV programs televisions: NA
@Armenia:Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Air and Air Defense Forces, National Guard, Security Forces (internal and border troops)
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 877,414; males fit for military service 699,167; males reach military age (18) annually 28,634 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: 250 million rubles, NA% of GDP (1992 est.); note - conversion of the military budget into US dollars using the current exchange rate could produce misleading results
Location: Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, north of Venezuela
Map references: Central America and the Caribbean
Area: total area: 193 sq km land area: 193 sq km comparative area: slightly larger than Washington, DC
Land boundaries: 0 km
Coastline: 68.5 km
Maritime claims: territorial sea: 12 nm
International disputes: none
Climate: tropical marine; little seasonal temperature variation
Terrain: flat with a few hills; scant vegetation
Natural resources: negligible; white sandy beaches
Land use: arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 0% forest and woodland: 0% other: 100%
Irrigated land: NA sq km
Environment: current issues: NA natural hazards: lies outside the Caribbean hurricane belt international agreements: NA
@Aruba:People
Population: 65,974 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 23% (female 7,377; male 7,726) 15-64 years: 69% (female 24,269; male 21,141) 65 years and over: 8% (female 3,223; male 2,238) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.65% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 14.6 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 6.17 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: -1.91 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 8.3 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 76.56 years male: 72.89 years female: 80.42 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.82 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Nationality: noun: Aruban(s) adjective: Aruban
Ethnic divisions: mixed European/Caribbean Indian 80%
Religions: Roman Catholic 82%, Protestant 8%, Hindu, Muslim, Confucian, Jewish
Languages: Dutch (official), Papiamento (a Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, English dialect), English (widely spoken), Spanish
Literacy: NA%
Labor force: NA by occupation: most employment is in the tourist industry (1995)
@Aruba:Government
Names: conventional long form: none conventional short form: Aruba
Digraph: AA
Type: part of the Dutch realm; full autonomy in internal affairs obtained in 1986 upon separation from the Netherlands Antilles
Capital: Oranjestad
Administrative divisions: none (self-governing part of the Netherlands)
Independence: none (part of the Dutch realm; in 1990, Aruba requested and received from the Netherlands cancellation of the agreement to automatically give independence to the island in 1996)
National holiday: Flag Day, 18 March
Constitution: 1 January 1986
Legal system: based on Dutch civil law system, with some English common law influence
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: Queen BEATRIX Wilhelmina Armgard (since 30 April 1980), represented by Governor General Olindo KOOLMAN (since 1 January 1992) head of government: Prime Minister Jan (Henny) H. EMAN (since 29 July 1994) cabinet: Council of Ministers; appointed with the advice and approval of the legislature
Legislative branch: unicameral Legislature (Staten): elections last held 29 July 1994 (next to be held by NA July 1998); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (21 total) AVP 10, MEP 9, OLA 2
Judicial branch: Joint High Court of Justice
Political parties and leaders: Electoral Movement Party (MEP), Nelson ODUBER; Aruban People's Party (AVP), Jan (Henny) H. EMAN; National Democratic Action (ADN), Pedro Charro KELLY; New Patriotic Party (PPN), Eddy WERLEMEN; Aruban Patriotic Party (PPA), Benny NISBET; Aruban Democratic Party (PDA), Leo BERLINSKI; Democratic Action '86 (AD '86), Arturo ODUBER; Organization for Aruban Liberty (OLA), Glenbert CROES note: governing coalition includes the MEP, PPA, and ADN
Member of: ECLAC (associate), INTERPOL, IOC, UNESCO (associate), WCL, WTO (associate)
Diplomatic representation in US: none (self-governing part of the Netherlands)
US diplomatic representation: none (self-governing part of the Netherlands)
Flag: blue with two narrow horizontal yellow stripes across the lower portion and a red, four-pointed star outlined in white in the upper hoist-side corner
@Aruba:Economy
Overview: Tourism is the mainstay of the Aruban economy, although offshore banking and oil refining and storage are also important. The rapid growth of the tourism sector over the last decade has resulted in a substantial expansion of other activities. Construction has boomed, with hotel capacity five times the 1985 level. Additionally, the reopening of the country's oil refinery in 1993, a major source of employment and foreign exchange earnings, has further spurred growth. Aruba's small labor force and less than 1% unemployment rate have led to a large number of unfilled job vacancies despite sharp rises in wage rates in recent years.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $1.1 billion (1993 est.)
National product real growth rate: 5% (1993 est.)
National product per capita: $17,000 (1993 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 7% (1994 est.)
Unemployment rate: 0.6% (1992)
Budget: revenues: $145 million expenditures: $185 million, including capital expenditures of $42 million (1988)
Agriculture: poor quality soils and low rainfall limit agricultural activity to the cultivation of aloes, some livestock, and fishing
Illicit drugs: drug money laundering center and transit point for narcotics bound for the US and Europe
Economic aid: recipient: Western (non-US) countries ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1980-89), $220 million
Currency: 1 Aruban florin (Af.) = 100 cents
Exchange rates: Aruban florins (Af.) per US$1 - 1.7900 (fixed rate since 1986)
Fiscal year: calendar year
@Aruba:Transportation
Railroads: 0 km
Highways: total: NA paved: NA unpaved: NA
Ports: Barcadera, Oranjestad, Sint Nicolaas
Merchant marine: none
Airports: total: 2 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 1 note: government-owned airport east of Oranjestad accepts transatlantic flights
@Aruba:Communications
Telephone system: 72,168 telephones; 1,100 telephones/1,000 persons; more than adequate local: NA intercity: extensive interisland microwave radio relay links international: 1 submarine cable to Sint Maarten
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 4, FM 4, shortwave 0 radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: 1 televisions: NA
@Aruba:Defense Forces
Note: defense is the responsibility of the Netherlands
Location: Southeastern Asia, islands in the Indian Ocean, northwest of Australia
Map references: Southeast Asia
Area: total area: 5 sq km land area: 5 sq km comparative area: about 8.5 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC note: includes Ashmore Reef (West, Middle, and East Islets) and Cartier Island
Land boundaries: 0 km
Coastline: 74.1 km
Maritime claims: contiguous zone: 12 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to depth of exploitation exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 3 nm
International disputes: none
Climate: tropical
Terrain: low with sand and coral
Natural resources: fish
Land use: arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 0% forest and woodland: 0% other: 100% (all grass and sand)
Irrigated land: 0 sq km
Environment: current issues: NA natural hazards: surrounded by shoals and reefs which can pose maritime hazards international agreements: NA
Note: Ashmore Reef National Nature Reserve established in August 1983
@Ashmore And Cartier Islands:People
Population: no indigenous inhabitants; note - there are only seasonal caretakers
@Ashmore And Cartier Islands:Government
Names: conventional long form: Territory of Ashmore and Cartier Islands conventional short form: Ashmore and Cartier Islands
Digraph: AT
Type: territory of Australia administered by the Australian Ministry for the Environment, Sport, and Territories
Capital: none; administered from Canberra, Australia
Administrative divisions: none (territory of Australia)
Independence: none (territory of Australia)
Legal system: relevant laws of the Northern Territory of Australia
Diplomatic representation in US: none (territory of Australia)
US diplomatic representation: none (territory of Australia)
@Ashmore And Cartier Islands:Economy
Overview: no economic activity
@Ashmore And Cartier Islands:Transportation
Ports: none; offshore anchorage only
@Ashmore And Cartier Islands:Defense Forces
Note: defense is the responsibility of Australia; periodic visits by the Royal Australian Navy and Royal Australian Air Force
Location: body of water between Africa, Antarctica, and the Western Hemisphere
Map references: World
Area: total area: 82.217 million sq km comparative area: slightly less than nine times the size of the US; second-largest of the world's four oceans (after the Pacific Ocean, but larger than Indian Ocean or Arctic Ocean) note: includes Baltic Sea, Black Sea, Caribbean Sea, Davis Strait, Denmark Strait, Drake Passage, Gulf of Mexico, Mediterranean Sea, North Sea, Norwegian Sea, Scotia Sea, Weddell Sea, and other tributary water bodies
Coastline: 111,866 km
International disputes: some maritime disputes (see littoral states)
Climate: tropical cyclones (hurricanes) develop off the coast of Africa near Cape Verde and move westward into the Caribbean Sea; hurricanes can occur from May to December, but are most frequent from August to November
Terrain: surface usually covered with sea ice in Labrador Sea, Denmark Strait, and 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; maximum depth is 8,605 meters in the Puerto Rico Trench
Natural resources: oil and gas fields, fish, marine mammals (seals and whales), sand and gravel aggregates, placer deposits, polymetallic nodules, precious stones
Environment: current issues: endangered marine species include the manatee, seals, sea lions, turtles, and whales; driftnet fishing is exacerbating declining fish stocks and contributing to international disputes; municipal sludge pollution off eastern US, southern Brazil, and eastern Argentina; oil pollution in Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, Lake Maracaibo, Mediterranean Sea, and North Sea; industrial waste and municipal sewage pollution in Baltic Sea, North Sea, and Mediterranean Sea natural hazards: icebergs common in Davis Strait, Denmark Strait, and the northwestern Atlantic Ocean from February to August and have been spotted as far south as Bermuda and the Madeira Islands; icebergs from Antarctica occur in the extreme southern Atlantic Ocean; ships subject to superstructure icing in extreme northern Atlantic from October to May and extreme southern Atlantic from May to October; persistent fog can be a maritime hazard from May to September international agreements: NA
Note: major choke points include the Dardanelles, Strait of Gibraltar, access to the Panama and Suez Canals; strategic straits include the Strait of Dover, Straits of Florida, Mona Passage, The Sound (Oresund), and Windward Passage; the Equator divides the Atlantic Ocean into the North Atlantic Ocean and South Atlantic Ocean
@Atlantic Ocean:Government
Digraph: ZH
@Atlantic Ocean:Economy
Overview: The Atlantic Ocean provides some of the world's most heavily trafficked sea routes, between and within the Eastern and Western Hemispheres. Other economic activity includes the exploitation of natural resources, e.g., fishing, the dredging of aragonite sands (The Bahamas), and production of crude oil and natural gas (Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, and North Sea).
@Atlantic Ocean:Transportation
Ports: Alexandria (Egypt), Algiers (Algeria), Antwerp (Belgium), Barcelona (Spain), Buenos Aires (Argentina), Casablanca (Morocco), Colon (Panama), Copenhagen (Denmark), Dakar (Senegal), Gdansk (Poland), Hamburg (Germany), Helsinki (Finland), Las Palmas (Canary Islands, Spain), Le Havre (France), Lisbon (Portugal), London (UK), Marseille (France), Montevideo (Uruguay), Montreal (Canada), Naples (Italy), New Orleans (US), New York (US), Oran (Algeria), Oslo (Norway), Piraeus (Greece), Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), Rotterdam (Netherlands), Saint Petersburg (Russia), Stockholm (Sweden)
Note: Kiel Canal and Saint Lawrence Seaway are two important waterways
@Atlantic Ocean:Communications
Telephone system: international: numerous submarine cables with most between continental Europe and the UK, North America and the UK, and in the Mediterranean; numerous direct links across Atlantic via INTELSAT satellite network
Location: Oceania, continent between the Indian Ocean and the South Pacific Ocean
Map references: Oceania
Area: total area: 7,686,850 sq km land area: 7,617,930 sq km comparative area: slightly smaller than the US note: includes Macquarie Island
Land boundaries: 0 km
Coastline: 25,760 km
Maritime claims: contiguous zone: 24 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 12 nm
International disputes: territorial claim in Antarctica (Australian Antarctic Territory)
Climate: generally arid to semiarid; temperate in south and east; tropical in north
Terrain: mostly low plateau with deserts; fertile plain in southeast
Natural resources: bauxite, coal, iron ore, copper, tin, silver, uranium, nickel, tungsten, mineral sands, lead, zinc, diamonds, natural gas, petroleum
Land use: arable land: 6% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 58% forest and woodland: 14% other: 22%
Irrigated land: 18,800 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment: current issues: soil erosion from overgrazing, industrial development, urbanization, and poor farming practices; soil salinity rising due to the use of poor quality water; desertification; clearing for agricultural purposes threatens the natural habitat of many unique animal and plant species; the Great Barrier Reef off the northeast coast, the largest coral reef in the world, is threatened by increased shipping and its popularity as a tourist site; limited natural fresh water resources natural hazards: cyclones along the coast; severe droughts international agreements: party to - Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Wetlands, Whaling; signed, but not ratified - Desertification
Note: world's smallest continent but sixth-largest country; population concentrated along the eastern and southeastern coasts; regular, tropical, invigorating, sea breeze known as "the Doctor" occurs along the west coast in the summer
@Australia:People
Population: 18,322,231 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 22% (female 1,929,366; male 2,032,238) 15-64 years: 67% (female 6,017,362; male 6,181,887) 65 years and over: 11% (female 1,227,004; male 934,374) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.31% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 14.13 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 7.37 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 6.33 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 7.1 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 77.78 years male: 74.67 years female: 81.04 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.82 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Nationality: noun: Australian(s) adjective: Australian
Ethnic divisions: Caucasian 95%, Asian 4%, aboriginal and other 1%
Religions: Anglican 26.1%, Roman Catholic 26%, other Christian 24.3%
Languages: English, native languages
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1980 est.) total population: 100% male: 100% female: 100%
Labor force: 8.63 million (September 1991) by occupation: finance and services 33.8%, public and community services 22.3%, wholesale and retail trade 20.1%, manufacturing and industry 16.2%, agriculture 6.1% (1987)
@Australia:Government
Names: conventional long form: Commonwealth of Australia conventional short form: Australia
Digraph: AS
Type: federal parliamentary state
Capital: Canberra
Administrative divisions: 6 states and 2 territories*; Australian Capital Territory*, New South Wales, Northern Territory*, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia
Dependent areas: Ashmore and Cartier Islands, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Coral Sea Islands, Heard Island and McDonald Islands, Norfolk Island
Independence: 1 January 1901 (federation of UK colonies)
National holiday: Australia Day, 26 January (1788)
Constitution: 9 July 1900, effective 1 January 1901
Legal system: based on English common law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal and compulsory
Executive branch: chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General William George HAYDEN (since 16 February 1989) head of government: Prime Minister Paul John KEATING (since 20 December 1991); Deputy Prime Minister Brian HOWE (since 4 June 1991) cabinet: Cabinet; prime minister selects his cabinet from members of the House and Senate
Legislative branch: bicameral Federal Parliament Senate: elections last held 13 March 1993 (next to be held by NA 1996); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (76 total) Liberal-National 36, Labor 30, Australian Democrats 7, Greens 2, independents 1 House of Representatives: elections last held 13 March 1993 (next to be held by NA 1996); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (147 total) Labor 80, Liberal-National 65, independent 2
Judicial branch: High Court
Political parties and leaders: government: Australian Labor Party, Paul John KEATING opposition: Liberal Party, John HOWARD; National Party, Timothy FISCHER; Australian Democratic Party, Cheryl KERNOT; Green Party, leader NA
Other political or pressure groups: Australian Democratic Labor Party (anti-Communist Labor Party splinter group); Peace and Nuclear Disarmament Action (Nuclear Disarmament Party splinter group)
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Donald Eric RUSSELL chancery: 1601 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 797-3000 FAX: [1] (202) 797-3168 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Honolulu, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, Pago Pago (American Samoa), and San Francisco
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador Edward J. PERKINS embassy: Moonah Place, Yarralumla, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 2600 mailing address: APO AP 96549 telephone: [61] (6) 270-5000 FAX: [61] (6) 270-5970 consulate(s) general: Melbourne, Perth, and Sydney consulate(s): Brisbane
Flag: blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and a large seven-pointed star in the lower hoist-side quadrant; the remaining half is a representation of the Southern Cross constellation in white with one small five-pointed star and four, larger, seven-pointed stars
@Australia:Economy
Overview: Australia has a prosperous Western-style capitalist economy, with a per capita GDP comparable to levels in industrialized West European countries. Rich in natural resources, Australia is a major exporter of agricultural products, minerals, metals, and fossil fuels. Primary products account for more than 60% of the value of total exports, so that, as in 1983-84, a downturn in world commodity prices can have a big impact on the economy. The government is pushing for increased exports of manufactured goods, but competition in international markets continues to be severe. Australia has suffered from the low growth and high unemployment characterizing the OECD countries in the early 1990s. In 1992-93 the economy recovered slowly from the prolonged recession of 1990-91, a major restraining factor being weak world demand for Australia's exports. Growth picked up so strongly in 1994 that the government felt the need for fiscal and monetary tightening by yearend. Australia's GDP grew 6.4% in 1994, largely due to increases in industrial output and business investment. A severe drought in 1994 is expected to reduce the value of Australia's net farm production by $825 million in the twelve months through June 1995, but rising world commodity prices are likely to boost rural exports by 7.7% to $14.5 billion in 1995/96, according to government statistics.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $374.6 billion (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate: 6.4% (1994)
National product per capita: $20,720 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.5% (1994)
Unemployment rate: 8.9% (December 1994)
Budget: revenues: $83.8 billion expenditures: $92.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY93/94)
Exports: $50.4 billion (1994) commodities: coal, gold, meat, wool, alumina, wheat, machinery and transport equipment partners: Japan 25%, US 11%, South Korea 6%, NZ 5.7%, UK, Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong (1992)
Imports: $51.1 billion (1994) commodities: machinery and transport equipment, computers and office machines, crude oil and petroleum products partners: US 23%, Japan 18%, UK 6%, Germany 5.7%, NZ 4% (1992)
External debt: $147.2 billion (1994)
Industrial production: growth rate 3.9% (FY93/94); accounts for 32% of GDP
Industries: mining, industrial and transportation equipment, food processing, chemicals, steel
Agriculture: accounts for 5% of GDP and over 30% of export revenues; world's largest exporter of beef and wool, second-largest for mutton, and among top wheat exporters; major crops - wheat, barley, sugarcane, fruit; livestock - cattle, sheep, poultry
Illicit drugs: Tasmania is one of the world's major suppliers of licit opiate products; government maintains strict controls over areas of opium poppy cultivation and output of poppy straw concentrate
Economic aid: donor: ODA and OOF commitments (1970-89), $10.4 billion
Railroads: total: 40,478 km (1,130 km electrified; 183 km dual gauge) broad gauge: 7,970 km 1.600-m gauge standard gauge: 16,201 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 16,307 km 1.067-m gauge
Highways: total: 837,872 km paved: 243,750 km unpaved: gravel, crushed stone, stabilized earth 228,396 km; unimproved earth 365,726 km
Inland waterways: 8,368 km; mainly by small, shallow-draft craft
Pipelines: crude oil 2,500 km; petroleum products 500 km; natural gas 5,600 km
Airports: total: 480 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 9 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 15 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 128 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 125 with paved runways under 914 m: 31 with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 23 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 149
@Australia:Communications
Telephone system: 8,700,000 telephones; good international and domestic service local: NA intercity: domestic satellite service international: submarine cables to New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, and Indonesia; 10 INTELSAT (4 Indian Ocean and 6 Pacific Ocean) earth stations
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 258, FM 67, shortwave 0 radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: 134 televisions: NA
@Australia:Defense Forces
Branches: Australian Army, Royal Australian Navy, Royal Australian Air Force
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 4,934,175; males fit for military service 4,274,900; males reach military age (17) annually 131,852 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $7.2 billion, 2.2% of GDP (FY94/95)
Area: total area: 83,850 sq km land area: 82,730 sq km comparative area: slightly smaller than Maine
Land boundaries: total 2,496 km, Czech Republic 362 km, Germany 784 km, Hungary 366 km, Italy 430 km, Liechtenstein 37 km, Slovakia 91 km, Slovenia 262 km, Switzerland 164 km
Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims: none; landlocked
International disputes: none
Climate: temperate; continental, cloudy; cold winters with frequent rain in lowlands and snow in mountains; cool summers with occasional showers
Terrain: in the west and south mostly mountains (Alps); along the eastern and northern margins mostly flat or gently sloping
Land use: arable land: 17% permanent crops: 1% meadows and pastures: 24% forest and woodland: 39% other: 19%
Irrigated land: 40 sq km (1989)
Environment: current issues: some forest degradation caused by air and soil pollution; soil pollution results from the use of agricultural chemicals; air pollution results from emissions by coal- and oil-fired power stations and industrial plants and from trucks transiting Austria between northern and southern Europe natural hazards: NA international agreements: party to - Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Air Pollution-Sulpher 94, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Law of the Sea, Whaling
Note: landlocked; strategic location at the crossroads of central Europe with many easily traversable Alpine passes and valleys; major river is the Danube; population is concentrated on eastern lowlands because of steep slopes, poor soils, and low temperatures elsewhere
@Austria:People
Population: 7,986,664 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 17% (female 681,087; male 711,127) 15-64 years: 67% (female 2,672,554; male 2,677,100) 65 years and over: 16% (female 791,762; male 453,034) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.35% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 11.21 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 10.27 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 2.5 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 6.9 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 76.9 years male: 73.7 years female: 80.27 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.48 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Ethnic divisions: German 99.4%, Croatian 0.3%, Slovene 0.2%, other 0.1%
Religions: Roman Catholic 85%, Protestant 6%, other 9%
Languages: German
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1974 est.) total population: 99%
Labor force: 3.47 million (1989) by occupation: services 56.4%, industry and crafts 35.4%, agriculture and forestry 8.1% note: an estimated 200,000 Austrians are employed in other European countries; foreign laborers in Austria number 177,840, about 5% of labor force (1988)
@Austria:Government
Names: conventional long form: Republic of Austria conventional short form: Austria local long form: Republik Oesterreich local short form: Oesterreich
Digraph: AU
Type: federal republic
Capital: Vienna
Administrative divisions: 9 states (bundeslaender, singular - bundesland); Burgenland, Kaernten, Niederoesterreich, Oberoesterreich, Salzburg, Steiermark, Tirol, Vorarlberg, Wien
Independence: 12 November 1918 (from Austro-Hungarian Empire)
National holiday: National Day, 26 October (1955)
Constitution: 1920; revised 1929 (reinstated 1 May 1945)
Legal system: civil law system with Roman law origin; judicial review of legislative acts by a Constitutional Court; separate administrative and civil/penal supreme courts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal; compulsory for presidential elections
Executive branch: chief of state: President Thomas KLESTIL (since 8 July 1992); election last held 24 May 1992 (next to be held 1996); results of second ballot - Thomas KLESTIL 57%, Rudolf STREICHER 43% head of government: Chancellor Franz VRANITZKY (since 16 June 1986); Vice Chancellor Erhard BUSEK (since 2 July 1991) cabinet: Council of Ministers; chosen by the president on the advice of the chancellor
Legislative branch: bicameral Federal Assembly (Bundesversammlung) Federal Council (Bundesrat): consists of 63 members representing each of the provinces on the basis of population, but with each province having at least 3 representatives National Council (Nationalrat): elections last held 9 October 1994 (next to be held October 1998); results - SPOE 34.9%, OEVP 27.7%, FPOE 22.5%, Greens 7.3%, LF 6.0% other 1.6%; seats - (183 total) SPOE 65, OEVP 52, FPOE 42, Greens 13, LF 11
Judicial branch: Supreme Judicial Court (Oberster Gerichtshof) for civil and criminal cases, Administrative Court (Verwaltungsgerichtshof) for bureaucratic cases, Constitutional Court (Verfassungsgerichtshof) for constitutional cases
Political parties and leaders: Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPOE), Franz VRANITZKY, chairman; Austrian People's Party (OEVP), Erhard BUSEK, chairman; Freedom Movement (F) (was the Freedom Party of Austria, FPOE), Joerg HAIDER, chairman; Communist Party (KPOE), Walter SILBERMAYER, chairman; The Greens, Madeleine PETROVIC; Liberal Forum (LF), Heide SCHMIDT
Other political or pressure groups: Federal Chamber of Commerce and Industry; Austrian Trade Union Federation (primarily Socialist); three composite leagues of the Austrian People's Party (OEVP) representing business, labor, and farmers; OEVP-oriented League of Austrian Industrialists; Roman Catholic Church, including its chief lay organization, Catholic Action
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Helmut TUERK chancery: 3524 International Court NW, Washington, DC 20008-3035 telephone: [1] (202) 895-6700 FAX: [1] (202) 895-6750 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador Swanee G. HUNT chancery: Boltzmanngasse 16, A-1091, Vienna mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [43] (1) 313-39 FAX: [43] (1) 310-0682 consulate(s) general: none (Salzburg closed September 1993)
Flag: three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and red
@Austria:Economy
Overview: Austria boasts a prosperous and stable market economy with a sizable but falling proportion of nationalized industry and with extensive welfare benefits. Thanks to its raw material endowment, a technically skilled labor force, and strong links to German industrial firms, Austria occupies specialized niches in European industry and services (tourism, banking) and produces almost enough food to feed itself with only 8% of the labor force in agriculture. After 11 consecutive years of growth, the Austrian economy experienced a mild recession in 1993, but growth resumed in 1994. Unemployment is 4.3% and will likely stay at that level as companies adjust to the competition of EU membership beginning 1 January 1995. To prepare for EU membership, Austria's government has taken measures to open the economy by introducing a major tax reform, privatizing state-owned firms, and liberalizing cross-border capital movements. Problems for the 1990s include an aging population, the high level of industrial subsidies, and the struggle to keep welfare benefits within budgetary capabilities - the deficit climbed to over 4% of GDP in 1994.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $139.3 billion (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate: 2.5% (1994 est.)
National product per capita: $17,500 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 3% (1994)
Unemployment rate: 4.3% (1994 est.)
Budget: revenues: $52.2 billion expenditures: $60.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1993 est.)
Exports: $44.1 billion (1994 est.) commodities: machinery and equipment, iron and steel, lumber, textiles, paper products, chemicals partners: EC 63.5% (Germany 38.9%), EFTA 9.0%, Eastern Europe/FSU 12.3%, Japan 1.5%, US 3.4% (1993)
Imports: $53.8 billion (1994 est.) commodities: petroleum, foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, vehicles, chemicals, textiles and clothing, pharmaceuticals partners: EC 66.8% (Germany 41.3%), EFTA 6.7%, Eastern Europe/FSU 7.5%, Japan 4.4%, US 4.4% (1993)
Industries: foods, iron and steel, machines, textiles, chemicals, electrical, paper and pulp, tourism, mining, motor vehicles
Agriculture: accounts for 3.2% of GDP (including forestry); principal crops and animals - grains, fruit, potatoes, sugar beets, sawn wood, cattle, pigs, poultry; 80%-90% self-sufficient in food
Illicit drugs: transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin transiting the Balkan route and Eastern Europe
Economic aid: donor: ODA and OOF commitments (1970-89), $2.4 billion
Railroads: total: 5,624 km standard gauge: 5,269 km 1.435-m gauge (3,162 km electrified) narrow gauge: 355 km 1.000-m and 0.760-m gauge (84 km electrified) (1994)
Highways: total: 110,000 km paved: 35,000 km (including 1,554 km of autobahn) unpaved: mostly gravel and earth 75,000 km (1992)
Inland waterways: 446 km
Pipelines: crude oil 554 km; petroleum products 171 km; natural gas 2,611 km
Airports: total: 55 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 1 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 5 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 3 with paved runways under 914 m: 41 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 4
@Austria:Communications
Telephone system: 4,014,000 telephones; highly developed and efficient
local: NA intercity: NA international: 2 INTELSAT (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean), and EUTELSAT earth stations
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 6, FM 21 (repeaters 545), shortwave 0 radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: 47 (repeaters 870) televisions: NA
@Austria:Defense Forces
Branches: Army (includes Flying Division)
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 2,026,567; males fit for military service 1,695,879; males reach military age (19) annually 46,821 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - about $1.8 billion, 0.9% of GDP (1994)
Note—Azerbaijan continues to be plagued by an unresolved seven-year-old conflict with Armenian separatists over its Nagorno-Karabakh region. The Karabakh Armenians have declared independence and seized almost 20% of the country's territory, creating almost 1 million Azeri displaced persons in the process. Both sides have generally observed a Russian-mediated cease-fire in place since May 1994, and support the OSCE-mediated peace process, now entering its fourth year. Nevertheless, Baku and Xankandi (Stepanakert) remain far apart on most substantive issues from the placement and composition of a peacekeeping force to the enclave's ultimate political status, and prospects for a negotiated settlement remain dim.
@Azerbaijan:Geography
Location: Southwestern Asia, bordering the Caspian Sea, between Iran and Russia
Map references: Commonwealth of Independent States - European States
Area: total area: 86,600 sq km land area: 86,100 sq km comparative area: slightly larger than Maine note: includes the exclave of Naxcivan Autonomous Republic and the Nagorno-Karabakh region; the region's autonomy was abolished by Azerbaijani Supreme Soviet on 26 November 1991
Land boundaries: total 2,013 km, Armenia (west) 566 km, Armenia (southwest) 221 km, Georgia 322 km, Iran (south) 432 km, Iran (southwest) 179 km, Russia 284 km, Turkey 9 km
Coastline: 0 km (landlocked) note: Azerbaijan borders the Caspian Sea (800 km, est.)
Maritime claims: none; landlocked
International disputes: violent and longstanding dispute with ethnic Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh over its status; Caspian Sea boundaries are not yet determined
Climate: dry, semiarid steppe
Terrain: large, flat Kur-Araz Lowland (much of it below sea level) with Great Caucasus Mountains to the north, Qarabag (Karabakh) Upland in west; Baku lies on Abseron (Apsheron) Peninsula that juts into Caspian Sea
Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, nonferrous metals, alumina
Land use: arable land: 18% permanent crops: 4% meadows and pastures: 25% forest and woodland: 0% other: 53%
Irrigated land: 14,010 sq km (1990)
Environment: current issues: local scientists consider the Abseron (Apsheron) Peninsula (including Baku and Sumqayit) and the Caspian Sea to be the ecologically most devastated area in the world because of severe air, water, and soil pollution; soil pollution results from the use of DDT as a pesticide and also from toxic defoliants used in the production of cotton natural hazards: droughts; some lowland areas threatened by rising levels of the Caspian Sea international agreements: signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate Change
Note: landlocked
@Azerbaijan:People
Population: 7,789,886 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 33% (female 1,241,952; male 1,315,313) 15-64 years: 61% (female 2,437,810; male 2,307,496) 65 years and over: 6% (female 303,926; male 183,389) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.32% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 22.05 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 6.56 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: -2.32 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 33.9 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 71.09 years male: 67.4 years female: 74.97 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 2.64 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Ethnic divisions: Azeri 90%, Dagestani Peoples 3.2%, Russian 2.5%, Armenian 2.3%, other 2% (1995 est.) note: almost all Armenians live in the separatist Nagorno-Karabakh region
Religions: Muslim 93.4%, Russian Orthodox 2.5%, Armenian Orthodox 2.3%, other 1.8% (1995 est.) note: religious affiliation is still nominal in Azerbaijan; actual practicing adherents are much lower
Languages: Azeri 89%, Russian 3%, Armenian 2%, other 6% (1995 est.)
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1989) total population: 97% male: 99% female: 96%
Labor force: 2.789 million by occupation: agriculture and forestry 32%, industry and construction 26%, other 42% (1990)
@Azerbaijan:Government
Names: conventional long form: Azerbaijani Republic conventional short form: Azerbaijan local long form: Azarbaycan Respublikasi local short form: none former: Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic
Digraph: AJ
Type: republic
Capital: Baku (Baki)
Administrative divisions: 59 rayons (rayonlar; rayon - singular), 11 cities* (saharlar; sahar - singular), 1 autonomous republic** (muxtar respublika); Abscron Rayonu, Agcabadi Rayonu, Agdam Rayonu, Agdas Rayonu, Agstafa Rayonu, Agsu Rayonu, AliBayramli Sahari*, Astara Rayonu, Baki Sahari*, Balakan Rayonu, Barda Rayonu, Beylaqan Rayonu, Bilasuvar Rayonu, Cabrayil Rayonu, Calilabad Rayonu, Daskasan Rayonu, Davaci Rayonu, Fuzuli Rayonu, Gadabay Rayonu, Ganca Sahari*, Goranboy Rayonu, Goycay Rayonu, Haciqabul Rayonu, Imisli Rayonu, Ismayilli Rayonu, Kalbacar Rayonu, Kurdamir Rayonu, Lacin Rayonu, Lankaran Rayonu, Lankaran Sahari*, Lerik Rayonu, Masalli Rayonu, Mingacevir Sahari*, Naftalan Sahari*, Naxcivan Muxtar Respublikasi**, Neftcala Rayonu, Oguz Rayonu, Qabala Rayonu, Qax Rayonu, Qazax Rayonu, Qobustan Rayonu, Quba Rayonu, Qubadli Rayonu, Qusar Rayonu, Saatli Rayonu, Sabirabad Rayonu, Saki Rayonu, Saki Sahari*, Salyan Rayonu, Samaxi Rayonu, Samkir Rayonu, Samux Rayonu, Siyazan Rayonu, Sumqayit Sahari*, Susa Rayonu, Susa Sahari*, Tartar Rayonu, Tovuz Rayonu, Ucar Rayonu, Xacmaz Rayonu, Xankandi Sahari*, Xanlar Rayonu, Xizi Rayonu, Xocali Rayonu, Xocavand Rayonu, Yardimb Rayonu, Yevlax Rayonu, Yevlax Sahari*, Zangilan Rayonu, Zaqatala Rayonu, Zardab Rayonu
Independence: 30 August 1991 (from Soviet Union)
National holiday: Independence Day, 28 May
Constitution: adopted NA April 1978; writing a new constitution
Legal system: based on civil law system
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Heydar ALIYEV (since 18 June 1993); election last held 3 October 1993 (next to be held NA); results - Heydar ALIYEV won 97% of vote head of government: Acting Prime Minister Fuad QULIYEV (since 9 October 1994); First Deputy Prime Ministers Abbas ABBASOV, Samed SADYKOV, Vahid AKHMEDOV (since NA) cabinet: Council of Ministers; appointed by the president and confirmed by the Mejlis
Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly (Milli Mejlis): elections last held 30 September and 14 October 1990 for the Supreme Soviet (next expected to be held September 1995 for the National Assembly); seats for Supreme Soviet - (360 total) Communists 280, Democratic Bloc 45 (grouping of opposition parties), other 15, vacant 20; note - on 19 May 1992 the Supreme Soviet was prorogued in favor of a Popular Front-dominated National Council; seats - (50 total) Popular Front 25, opposition elements 25 note: since June 1993 ALIYEV has rotated in several supporters to replace Popular Front adherents
Judicial branch: Supreme Court
Political parties and leaders: Azerbaijan Popular Front (APF), Ebulfez ELCIBEY, chairman; Musavat Party, Isa GAMBAR, chairman; National Independence Party, Etibar MAMEDOV, chairman; Social Democratic Party (SDP), Araz ALIZADE, chairman; Communist Party, Ramiz AKHMEDOV, chairman; People's Freedom Party, Yunus OGUZ, chairman; Independent Social Democratic Party, Arif YUNUSOV and Leila YUNOSOVA, cochairmen; New Azerbaijan Party, Heydar ALIYEV, chairman; Boz Gurd Party, Iskander HAMIDOV, chairman; Azerbaijan Democratic Independence Party, Qabil HUSEYNLI, chairman; Islamic Party of Azerbaijan, Ali Akram, chairman; Ana Veten Party, Fazail AGAMALIYEV; Azerbaijan Democratic Party, Sardar Jalaloglu MAMEDOV; Azerbaijan Democratic Party of Proprietors (DPOP), Makhmud MAMEDOV; Azerbaijan Patriotic Solidarity Party, Sabir RUSTAMHANLI; Azerbaijan Republic Reform Party, Fuad ASADOV; Communist Party of Azerbaijan (unregistered), Sayad SAYADOV; Equality of the Peoples Party, Faukhraddin AYDAYEV; Independent Azerbaijan Party, Nizami SULEYMANOV; Labor Party of Azerbaijan, Sabutai HAJIYEV; Liberal-Democratic Party of Azerbaijan, Lyudmila NIKOLAYEVNA; National Enlightenment Party, Hajy Osman EFENDIYEV; National Liberation Party, Panak SHAKHSEVEV; Peasant Party, Firuz MUSTAFAYEV; Radical Party of Azerbaijan, Malik SHARIFOV; United Azerbaijan Party, Kerrar ABILOV; Vetan Adzhagy Party, Zakir TAGIYEV
Other political or pressure groups: self-proclaimed Armenian Nagorno-Karabakh Republic; Talysh independence movement
Member of: BSEC, CCC, CIS, EBRD, ECE, ECO, ESCAP, IBRD, ICAO, IDB, IFAD, ILO, IMF, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ITU, NACC, OIC, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Hafiz Mir Jalal PASHAYEV chancery: (temporary) Suite 700, 927 15th Street NW, Washington, DC 20005 telephone: [1] (202) 842-0001 FAX: [1] (202) 842-0004
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador Richard D. KAUZLARICH embassy: Azadliq Prospect 83, Baku mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [9] (9412) 96-00-19, 98-03-37 FAX: [9] (9412) 98-37-55
Flag: three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), red, and green; a crescent and eight-pointed star in white are centered in red band
@Azerbaijan:Economy
Overview: Azerbaijan is less developed industrially than either Armenia or Georgia, the other Transcaucasian states. It resembles the Central Asian states in its majority nominally Muslim population, high structural unemployment, and low standard of living. The economy's most prominent products are oil, cotton, and gas. Production from the Caspian oil and gas field has been in decline for several years, but the November 1994 ratification of the $7.5 billion oil deal with a consortium of Western companies should generate the funds needed to spur future industrial development. Azerbaijan accounted for 1.5% to 2% of the capital stock and output of the former Soviet Union. Azerbaijan shares all the formidable problems of the ex-Soviet republics in making the transition from a command to a market economy, but its considerable energy resources brighten its long-term prospects. Baku has only recently begun making progress on economic reform, and old economic ties and structures have yet to be replaced.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $13.8 billion (1994 estimate as extrapolated from World Bank estimate for 1992)
National product real growth rate: -22% (1994 est.)
National product per capita: $1,790 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 28% monthly average (1994)
Unemployment rate: 0.9% includes officially registered unemployed; also large numbers of other unemployed and underemployed workers (December 1994)
Budget: revenues: $167.5 million expenditures: $234.6 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1994)
Exports: $366 million to non-FSU countries (f.o.b., 1994) commodities: oil and gas, chemicals, oilfield equipment, textiles, cotton (1991) partners: mostly CIS and European countries
Imports: $296 million from non-FSU countries (c.i.f., 1994) commodities: machinery and parts, consumer durables, foodstuffs, textiles (1991) partners: European countries
Illicit drugs: illicit cultivator of cannabis and opium poppy; mostly for CIS consumption; limited government eradication program; transshipment point for illicit drugs to Western Europe
Economic aid: recipient: wheat from Turkey
Currency: 1 manat = 100 gopik
Exchange rates: manats per US$1 - 4500 (April 1995), 4168 (end of December 1994)
Fiscal year: calendar year
@Azerbaijan:Transportation
Railroads: total: 2,090 km in common carrier service; does not include industrial lines broad gauge: 2,090 km 1.520-m gauge (1990)
Highways: total: 36,700 km paved or graveled: 31,800 km unpaved: earth 4,900 km (1990)
Pipelines: crude oil 1,130 km; petroleum products 630 km; natural gas 1,240 km
Ports: Baku (Baki)
Airports: total: 69 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 2 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 6 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 17 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 3 with paved runways under 914 m: 1 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 7 with unpaved runways under 914 m: 33
@Azerbaijan:Communications
Telephone system: 710,000 telephones; 90 telephones/1,000 persons (1991); 202,000 persons waiting for telephone installations (January 1991); domestic telephone service is of poor quality and inadequate local: a joint venture to establish a cellular telephone system (Bakcel) in the Baku area is supposed to become operational in 1994 intercity: NA international: connections to other former USSR republics by cable and microwave and to other countries via the Moscow international gateway switch; INTELSAT link installed in late 1992 in Baku with Turkish financial assistance with access to 200 countries through Turkey; since August 1993 an earth station near Baku has provided direct communications with New York through Russia's Stationar-11 satellite
Radio: broadcast stations: AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: NA; domestic and Russian TV programs are received locally and Turkish and Iranian TV is received from an INTELSAT satellite through a receive-only earth station televisions: NA
@Azerbaijan:Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Air Force, Navy, Maritime Border Guard, National Guard, Security Forces (internal and border troops)
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 1,927,955; males fit for military service 1,553,736; males reach military age (18) annually 68,407 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: 70.5 billion rubles, 10% of GDP (1993 budget allocation); note - conversion of the military budget into US dollars using the current exchange rate could produce misleading results
Location: Caribbean, chain of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean, southeast of Florida
Map references: Central America and the Caribbean
Area: total area: 13,940 sq km land area: 10,070 sq km comparative area: slightly larger than Connecticut
Land boundaries: 0 km
Coastline: 3,542 km
Maritime claims: continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 3 nm
International disputes: none
Climate: tropical marine; moderated by warm waters of Gulf Stream
Terrain: long, flat coral formations with some low rounded hills
Natural resources: salt, aragonite, timber
Land use: arable land: 1% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 0% forest and woodland: 32% other: 67%
Irrigated land: NA sq km
Environment: current issues: coral reef decay natural hazards: hurricanes and other tropical storms that cause extensive flood and wind damage international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution
Note: strategic location adjacent to US and Cuba; extensive island chain
@The Bahamas:People
Population: 256,616 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 28% (female 35,924; male 36,504) 15-64 years: 66% (female 87,868; male 82,780) 65 years and over: 6% (female 8,247; male 5,293) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.09% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 19.23 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 5.79 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: -2.56 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 24.3 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 72.12 years male: 67.37 years female: 76.97 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 2.01 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write but definition of literary not available (1963 est.) total population: 90% male: 90% female: 89%
Labor force: 136,900 (1993) by occupation: government 30%, hotels and restaurants 25%, business services 10%, agriculture 5% (1989)
@The Bahamas:Government
Names: conventional long form: Commonwealth of The Bahamas conventional short form: The Bahamas
Digraph: BF
Type: commonwealth
Capital: Nassau
Administrative divisions: 21 districts; Acklins and Crooked Islands, Bimini, Cat Island, Exuma, Freeport, Fresh Creek, Governor's Harbour, Green Turtle Cay, Harbour Island, High Rock, Inagua, Kemps Bay, Long Island, Marsh Harbour, Mayaguana, New Providence, Nicholls Town and Berry Islands, Ragged Island, Rock Sound, Sandy Point, San Salvador and Rum Cay
Independence: 10 July 1973 (from UK)
National holiday: National Day, 10 July (1973)
Constitution: 10 July 1973
Legal system: based on English common law
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Sir Clifford DARLING (since 2 January 1992) head of government: Prime Minister Hubert A. INGRAHAM (since 19 August 1992) cabinet: Cabinet; appointed by the governor on the prime minister's recommendation
Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament Senate: a 16-member body appointed by the governor general House of Assembly: elections last held 19 August 1992 (next to be held by August 1997); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (49 total) FNM 32, PLP 17
Judicial branch: Supreme Court
Political parties and leaders: Progressive Liberal Party (PLP), Sir Lynden O. PINDLING; Free National Movement (FNM), Hubert Alexander INGRAHAM;
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Timothy Baswell DONALDSON chancery: 2220 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 319-2660 FAX: [1] (202) 319-2668 consulate(s) general: Miami and New York
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador Sidney WILLIAMS embassy: Mosmar Building, Queen Street, Nassau mailing address: P. O. Box N-8197, Nassau telephone: [1] (809) 322-1181, 328-2206 FAX: [1] (809) 328-7838
Flag: three equal horizontal bands of aquamarine (top), gold, and aquamarine with a black equilateral triangle based on the hoist side
@The Bahamas:Economy
Overview: The Bahamas is a stable, developing nation whose economy is based primarily on tourism and offshore banking. Tourism alone provides about 50% of GDP and directly or indirectly employs about 50,000 people or 40% of the local work force. The economy has slackened in recent years, as the annual increase in the number of tourists slowed. Nonetheless, per capita GDP is one of the highest in the region.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $4.4 billion (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate: 3.5% (1994 est.)
National product per capita: $15,900 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.7% (1994)
Unemployment rate: 13.1% (1993)
Budget: revenues: $696 million expenditures: $756 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY94/95)
Exports: $257 million (f.o.b., 1993 est.) commodities: pharmaceuticals, cement, rum, crawfish, refined petroleum products partners: US 51%, UK 7%, Norway 7%, France 6%, Italy 5%
Industrial production: growth rate 3% (1990); accounts for 15% of GDP
Electricity: capacity: 424,000 kW production: 929 million kWh consumption per capita: 3,200 kWh (1993)
Industries: tourism, banking, cement, oil refining and transshipment, salt production, rum, aragonite, pharmaceuticals, spiral welded steel pipe
Agriculture: accounts for 5% of GDP; dominated by small-scale producers; principal products - citrus fruit, vegetables, poultry; large net importer of food
Illicit drugs: transshipment point for cocaine and marijuana bound for US and Europe; also a money-laundering center
Economic aid: recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY85-89), $1 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $345 million
Currency: 1 Bahamian dollar (B$) = 100 cents
Exchange rates: Bahamian dollar (B$) per US$1 - 1.00 (fixed rate)
Fiscal year: 1 July - 30 June
@The Bahamas:Transportation
Railroads: 0 km
Highways: total: 2,400 km paved: 1,350 km unpaved: gravel 1,050 km
Ports: Freeport, Matthew Town, Nassau
Merchant marine: total: 936 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 21,815,474 GRT/35,253,416 DWT ships by type: bulk 162, cargo 181, chemical tanker 39, combination bulk 9, combination ore/oil 19, container 52, liquefied gas tanker 20, oil tanker 182, passenger 55, refrigerated cargo 146, roll-on/roll-off cargo 43, short-sea passenger 16, vehicle carrier 12 note: a flag of convenience registry; includes 46 countries among which are UK 158 ships, Norway 125, Greece 100, US 94, Denmark 80, Netherlands 53, France 36, Finland 35, Japan 35, Sweden 25
Airports: total: 60 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 2 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 16 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 11 with paved runways under 914 m: 22 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 8
@The Bahamas:Communications
Telephone system: 99,000 telephones; totally automatic system; highly developed local: NA intercity: NA international: tropospheric scatter and submarine cable links to Florida; 3 coaxial submarine cables; 1 INTELSAT (Atlantic Ocean) earth station
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 3, FM 2, shortwave 0 radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: 1 televisions: NA
@The Bahamas:Defense Forces
Branches: Royal Bahamas Defense Force (Coast Guard only), Royal Bahamas Police Force
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $65 million, 2.7% of GDP (1990)
Location: Middle East, archipelago in the Persian Gulf, east of Saudi Arabia
Map references: Middle East
Area: total area: 620 sq km land area: 620 sq km comparative area: slightly less than 3.5 times the size of Washington, DC
Land boundaries: 0 km
Coastline: 161 km
Maritime claims: contiguous zone: 24 nm continental shelf: extending to boundaries to be determined territorial sea: 12 nm
International disputes: territorial dispute with Qatar over the Hawar Islands; maritime boundary with Qatar
Climate: arid; mild, pleasant winters; very hot, humid summers
Terrain: mostly low desert plain rising gently to low central escarpment
Natural resources: oil, associated and nonassociated natural gas, fish
Land use: arable land: 2% permanent crops: 2% meadows and pastures: 6% forest and woodland: 0% other: 90%
Irrigated land: 10 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment: current issues: desertification resulting from the degradation of limited arable land, periods of drought, and dust storms; coastal degradation (damage to coastlines, coral reefs, and sea vegetation) resulting from oil spills and other discharges from large tankers, oil refineries, and distribution stations; no natural fresh water resources so that groundwater and sea water are the only sources for all water needs natural hazards: periodic droughts; dust storms international agreements: party to - Climate Change, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity
Note: close to primary Middle Eastern petroleum sources; strategic location in Persian Gulf through which much of Western world's petroleum must transit to reach open ocean
@Bahrain:People
Population: 575,925 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 31% (female 87,398; male 89,976) 15-64 years: 67% (female 152,363; male 231,586) 65 years and over: 2% (female 7,051; male 7,551) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 2.58% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 24.12 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 3.31 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 4.95 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 18 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 73.94 years male: 71.46 years female: 76.49 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 3.12 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Ethnic divisions: Bahraini 63%, Asian 13%, other Arab 10%, Iranian 8%, other 6%
Religions: Shi'a Muslim 70%, Sunni Muslim 30%
Languages: Arabic, English, Farsi, Urdu
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1991) total population: 84% male: 89% female: 77%
Labor force: 140,000 by occupation: industry and commerce 85%, agriculture 5%, services 5%, government 3% (1982) note: 42% of labor force is Bahraini
@Bahrain:Government
Names: conventional long form: State of Bahrain conventional short form: Bahrain local long form: Dawlat al Bahrayn local short form: Al Bahrayn
Digraph: BA
Type: traditional monarchy
Capital: Manama
Administrative divisions: 12 districts (manatiq, singular - mintaqah); Al Hadd, Al Manamah, Al Mintaqah al Gharbiyah, Al Mintaqah al Wusta, Al Mintaqah ash Shamaliyah, Al Muharraq, Ar Rifa'wa al Mintaqah al Janubiyah, Jidd Hafs, Madinat Hamad, Madinat 'Isa, Mintaqat Juzur Hawar, Sitrah
Independence: 15 August 1971 (from UK)
National holiday: Independence Day, 16 December (1961)
Constitution: 26 May 1973, effective 6 December 1973
Legal system: based on Islamic law and English common law
Suffrage: none
Executive branch: chief of state: Amir ISA bin Salman Al Khalifa (since 2 November 1961); Heir Apparent HAMAD bin Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa (son of the Amir, born 28 January 1950) head of government: Prime Minister KHALIFA bin Salman Al Khalifa (since 19 January 1970) cabinet: Cabinet
Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly was dissolved 26 August 1975 and legislative powers were assumed by the Cabinet; appointed Advisory Council established 16 December 1992
Judicial branch: High Civil Appeals Court
Political parties and leaders: political parties prohibited; several small, clandestine leftist and Islamic fundamentalist groups are active
Member of: ABEDA, AFESD, AL, AMF, ESCWA, FAO, G-77, GATT, GCC, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDB, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Muhammad ABD AL-GHAFFAR al-Abdallah chancery: 3502 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 342-0741, 342-0742 consulate(s) general: New York
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador David M. RANSOM embassy: Building No. 979, Road 3119 (next to Ahli Sports Club), Zinj District, Manama mailing address: FPO AE 09834-5100; P.O. Box 26431, Manama (International Mail) telephone: [973] 273300; afterhours [973] 275-126 FAX: [973] 272594
Flag: red with a white serrated band (eight white points) on the hoist side
@Bahrain:Economy
Overview: Tiny in area, Bahrain is well-to-do in economic resources and per capita income. Petroleum production and processing account for about 80% of export receipts, 60% of government revenues, and 30% of GDP. Economic conditions have fluctuated with the changing fortunes of oil since 1985, for example, during and following the Gulf crisis of 1990-91. With its highly developed communication and transport facilities Bahrain is home to numerous multinational firms with business in the Gulf. A large share of exports consists of petroleum products made from imported crude. Prospects for 1995 are good, with private enterprise the main driving force, e.g., in banking and construction. Unemployment, especially among the young, and the depletion of both oil and underground water resources are major long-term economic problems.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $7.1 billion (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate: 2.2% (1994 est.)
National product per capita: $12,100 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2% (1994 est.)
Unemployment rate: 15% (1991 est.)
Budget: revenues: $1.2 billion (1989) expenditures: $1.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1992)
Exports: $3.69 billion (f.o.b., 1993 est.) commodities: petroleum and petroleum products 80%, aluminum 7% partners: Japan 11%, UAE 5%, South Korea 4%, India 4%, Saudi Arabia 3% (1992)
Imports: $3.83 billion (f.o.b., 1993 est.) commodities: nonoil 59%, crude oil 41% partners: Saudi Arabia 47%, UK 7%, Japan 7%, US 6%, Germany 5% (1992)
External debt: $2.6 billion (1993)
Industrial production: growth rate 13% (1992); accounts for 38% of GDP, including petroleum
Agriculture: including fishing, accounts for less than 2% of GDP; not self-sufficient in food production; heavily subsidized sector produces fruit, vegetables, poultry, dairy products, shrimp, fish
Economic aid: recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-79), $24 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $45 million; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $9.8 billion
Highways: total: 2,670 km paved: 2,010 km unpaved: 660 km (1991 est.)
Pipelines: crude oil 56 km; petroleum products 16 km; natural gas 32 km
Ports: Manama, Mina' Salman, Sitrah
Merchant marine: total: 6 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 79,949 GRT/120,900 DWT ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 4, chemical tanker 1
Airports: total: 4 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 2 with paved runways under 914 m: 1 with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 1
@Bahrain:Communications
Telephone system: 98,000 telephones; 170 telephones/1,000 persons; modern system; good domestic services; excellent international connections local: NA intercity: NA international: 2 INTELSAT (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) and 1 ARABSAT earth station; tropospheric scatter to Qatar, UAE; microwave radio relay to Saudi Arabia; submarine cable to Qatar, UAE, and Saudi Arabia
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 2, FM 3, shortwave 0 radios: 60 million
Television: broadcast stations: 2 televisions: 21 million
@Bahrain:Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Air Defense, Coast Guard, Police Force
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 210,725; males fit for military service 117,414; males reach military age (15) annually 4,346 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $247 million, 5.5% of GDP (1994)
Climate: equatorial; scant rainfall, constant wind, burning sun
Terrain: low, nearly level coral island surrounded by a narrow fringing reef
Natural resources: guano (deposits worked until 1891)
Land use: arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 0% forest and woodland: 0% other: 100%
Irrigated land: 0 sq km
Environment: current issues: no natural fresh water resources natural hazards: the narrow fringing reef surrounding the island can be a maritime hazard international agreements: NA
Note: treeless, sparse, and scattered vegetation consisting of grasses, prostrate vines, and low growing shrubs; primarily a nesting, roosting, and foraging habitat for seabirds, shorebirds, and marine wildlife
@Baker Island:People
Population: uninhabited; note - American civilians evacuated in 1942 after Japanese air and naval attacks during World War II; occupied by US military during World War II, but abandoned after the war; public entry is by special-use permit only and generally restricted to scientists and educators; a cemetery and cemetery ruins are located near the middle of the west coast
@Baker Island:Government
Names: conventional long form: none conventional short form: Baker Island
Digraph: FQ
Type: unincorporated territory of the US administered by the Fish and Wildlife Service of the US Department of the Interior as part of the National Wildlife Refuge system
Capital: none; administered from Washington, DC
@Baker Island:Economy
Overview: no economic activity
@Baker Island:Transportation
Ports: none; offshore anchorage only; note - there is one boat landing area along the middle of the west coast
Airports: 1 abandoned World War II runway of 1,665 m
Note: there is a day beacon near the middle of the west coast
@Baker Island:Defense Forces
Note: defense is the responsibility of the US; visited annually by the US Coast Guard
Land use: arable land: 67% permanent crops: 2% meadows and pastures: 4% forest and woodland: 16% other: 11%
Irrigated land: 27,380 sq km (1989)
Environment: current issues: many people are landless and forced to live on and cultivate flood-prone land; limited access to potable water; water-borne diseases prevalent; water pollution especially of fishing areas results from the use of commercial pesticides; intermittent water shortages because of falling water tables in the northern and central parts of the country; soil degradation; deforestation; severe overpopulation natural hazards: droughts, cyclones; much of the country routinely flooded during the summer monsoon season international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Desertification, Law of the Sea
@Bangladesh:People
Population: 128,094,948 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 40% (female 25,195,262; male 26,352,299) 15-64 years: 57% (female 34,862,105; male 37,867,705) 65 years and over: 3% (female 1,761,336; male 2,056,241) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 2.32% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 34.62 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 11.43 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 104.6 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 55.46 years male: 55.69 years female: 55.22 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 4.39 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Ethnic divisions: Bengali 98%, Biharis 250,000, tribals less than 1 million
Religions: Muslim 83%, Hindu 16%, Buddhist, Christian, other
Languages: Bangla (official), English
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1990) total population: 35% male: 47% female: 22%
Labor force: 50.1 million by occupation: agriculture 65%, services 21%, industry and mining 14% (1989) note: extensive export of labor to Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Oman (1991)
@Bangladesh:Government
Names: conventional long form: People's Republic of Bangladesh conventional short form: Bangladesh former: East Pakistan
National holiday: Independence Day, 26 March (1971)
Constitution: 4 November 1972, effective 16 December 1972, suspended following coup of 24 March 1982, restored 10 November 1986, amended many times
Legal system: based on English common law
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Abdur Rahman BISWAS (since 8 October 1991); election last held 8 October 1991 (next to be held by NA October 1996); results - Abdur Rahman BISWAS received 52.1% of parliamentary vote head of government: Prime Minister Khaleda ZIAur RAHMAN (since 20 March 1991) cabinet: Council of Ministers; appointed by the president
Legislative branch: unicameral National Parliament (Jatiya Sangsad): elections last held 27 February 1991 (next to be held by February 1996); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (330 total, 300 elected and 30 seats reserved for women) BNP 168, AL 93, JP 35, JI 20, BCP 5, National Awami Party (Muzaffar) 1, Workers Party 1, JSD 1, Ganotantri Party 1, Islami Oikya Jote 1, NDP 1, independents 3
Judicial branch: Supreme Court
Political parties and leaders: Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), Khaleda ZIAur RAHMAN; Awami League (AL), Sheikh Hasina WAJED; Jatiyo Party (JP), Hussain Mohammad ERSHAD (in jail); Jamaat-E-Islami (JI), Ali KHAN; Bangladesh Communist Party (BCP), Saifuddin Ahmed MANIK; National Awami Party (Muzaffar); Workers Party, leader NA; Jatiyo Samajtantik Dal (JSD), Serajul ALAM KHAN; Ganotantri Party, leader NA; Islami Oikya Jote, leader NA; National Democratic Party (NDP), leader NA; Muslim League, Khan A. SABUR; Democratic League, Khondakar MUSHTAQUE Ahmed; Democratic League, Khondakar MUSHTAQUE Ahmed; United People's Party, Kazi ZAFAR Ahmed
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Humayun KABIR chancery: 2201 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007 telephone: [1] (202) 342-8372 through 8376 consulate(s) general: New York
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador David N. MERRILL embassy: Diplomatic Enclave, Madani Avenue, Baridhara, Dhaka mailing address: G. P. O. Box 323, Dhaka 1212 telephone: [880] (2) 884700 through 884722 FAX: [880] (2) 883-744
Flag: green with a large red disk slightly to the hoist side of center; green is the traditional color of Islam
@Bangladesh:Economy
Overview: Despite sustained domestic and international efforts to improve economic and demographic prospects, Bangladesh remains one of the world's poorest, most densely populated, and least developed nations. Its economy is overwhelmingly agricultural, with the cultivation of rice the single most important activity in the economy. Major impediments to growth include frequent cyclones and floods, the inefficiency of state-owned enterprises, a rapidly growing labor force that cannot be absorbed by agriculture, delays in exploiting energy resources (natural gas), and inadequate power supplies. Excellent rice crops and expansion of the export garment industry led to real growth of 4% in 1992 and again in 1993. Policy measures intended to reduce government regulation of private industry, to curb population growth, and to expand employment opportunities have had only partial success given the serious nature of Bangladesh's basic problems.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $130.1 billion (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate: 4.5% (1994 est.)
Budget: revenues: $2.8 billion expenditures: $4.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $1.8 billion (FY92/93)
Exports: $2.38 billion (1993) commodities: garments, jute and jute goods, leather, shrimp partners: US 33%, Western Europe 39% (Germany 8.4%, Italy 6%) (FY91/92 est.)
Imports: $3.99 billion (1993) commodities: capital goods, petroleum, food, textiles partners: Hong Kong 7.5%, Singapore 7.4%, China 7.4%, Japan 7.1% (FY91/92 est.)
External debt: $13.5 billion (June 1993)
Industrial production: growth rate 6.9% (FY92/93 est.); accounts for 9.4% of GDP
Agriculture: accounts for 33% of GDP, 65% of employment, and one-fifth of exports; world's largest exporter of jute; commercial products - jute, rice, wheat, tea, sugarcane, potatoes, beef, milk, poultry; shortages include wheat, vegetable oils, cotton
Illicit drugs: transit country for illegal drugs produced in neighboring countries
Economic aid: recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $3.4 billion; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1980-89), $11.65 million; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $6.52 million; Communist countries (1970-89), $1.5 billion
Currency: 1 taka (Tk) = 100 poiska
Exchange rates: taka (Tk) per US$1 - 40.250 (January 1995), 40.212 (1994), 39.567 (1993), 38.951 (1992), 36.596 (1991), 34.569 (1990)
Fiscal year: 1 July - 30 June
@Bangladesh:Transportation
Railroads: total: 2,892 km broad gauge: 978 km 1.676-m gauge narrow gauge: 1,914 km 1.000-m gauge (1992)
Highways: total: 7,240 km paved: 3,840 km unpaved: 3,400 km (1985)
Inland waterways: 5,150-8,046 km navigable waterways (includes 2,575-3,058 km main cargo routes)
Airports: total: 16 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 2 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 1 with paved runways under 914 m: 7
@Bangladesh:Communications
Telephone system: 241,250 telephones; 1 telephone/522 persons; poor domestic telephone service local: NA intercity: NA international: 2 INTELSAT (Indian Ocean) earth stations; adequate international radio communications and landline service
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 9, FM 6, shortwave 0 radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: 11 televisions: NA
@Bangladesh:Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force paramilitary forces: Bangladesh Rifles, Bangladesh Ansars, Armed Police Reserve, Village Defense Parties, National Cadet Corps
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 33,039,035; males fit for military service 19,607,817 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $448 million, 1.7% of GDP (FY93/94)
Terrain: relatively flat; rises gently to central highland region
Natural resources: petroleum, fishing, natural gas
Land use: arable land: 77% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 9% forest and woodland: 0% other: 14%
Irrigated land: NA sq km
Environment: current issues: pollution of coastal waters from waste disposal by ships; soil erosion; illegal solid waste disposal threatens contamination of aquifers natural hazards: hurricanes (especially June to October); periodic landslides international agreements: party to - Climate Change, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity
Note: easternmost Caribbean island
@Barbados:People
Population: 256,395 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 24% (female 30,175; male 31,507) 15-64 years: 66% (female 86,103; male 82,727) 65 years and over: 10% (female 15,849; male 10,034) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.24% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 15.45 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 8.27 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: -4.82 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 19.2 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 74.16 years male: 71.47 years female: 77.06 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.78 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Ethnic divisions: African 80%, European 4%, other 16%
Religions: Protestant 67% (Anglican 40%, Pentecostal 8%, Methodist 7%, other 12%), Roman Catholic 4%, none 17%, unknown 3%, other 9% (1980)
Languages: English
Literacy: age 15 and over has ever attended school (1970) total population: 99% male: 99% female: 99%
Labor force: 124,800 (1992) by occupation: services and government 41%, commerce 15%, manufacturing and construction 18%, transportation, storage, communications, and financial institutions 8%, agriculture 6%, utilities 2% (1992 est.)
@Barbados:Government
Names: conventional long form: none conventional short form: Barbados
Digraph: BB
Type: parliamentary democracy
Capital: Bridgetown
Administrative divisions: 11 parishes; Christ Church, Saint Andrew, Saint George, Saint James, Saint John, Saint Joseph, Saint Lucy, Saint Michael, Saint Peter, Saint Philip, Saint Thomas note: the new city of Bridgetown may be given parish status
Independence: 30 November 1966 (from UK)
National holiday: Independence Day, 30 November (1966)
Constitution: 30 November 1966
Legal system: English common law; no judicial review of legislative acts
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Dame Nita BARROW (since 6 June 1990) head of government: Prime Minister Owen Seymour ARTHUR (since 6 September 1994); Deputy Prime Minister Billie MILLER (since 6 September 1994) cabinet: Cabinet; appointed by the governor general on advice of the prime minister
Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament Senate: consists of a 21-member body appointed by the governor general
House of Assembly: election last held 6 September 1994 (next to be held by January 1999); results - percentage vote by party NA; seats - (28 total) DLP 8, BLP 19, NDP 1
Judicial branch: Supreme Court of Judicature
Political parties and leaders: Democratic Labor Party (DLP),David THOMPSON; Barbados Labor Party (BLP), Owen ARTHUR; National Democratic Party (NDP), Richard HAYNES
Other political or pressure groups: Barbados Workers Union, Leroy TROTMAN; People's Progressive Movement, Eric SEALY; Workers' Party of Barbados, Dr. George BELLE; Clement Payne Labor Union, David COMMISSIONG
Member of: ACP, C, CARICOM, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, GATT, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, LAES, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Courtney BLACKMAN chancery: 2144 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 939-9218, 9219 FAX: [1] (202) 332-7467 consulate(s) general: Miami and New York consulate(s): Los Angeles
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador Jeanette W. HYDE embassy: Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce Building, Broad Street, Bridgetown mailing address: P. O. Box 302, Bridgetown; FPO AA 34055 telephone: [1] (809) 436-4950 FAX: [1] (809) 429-5246
Flag: three equal vertical bands of blue (hoist side), yellow, and blue with the head of a black trident centered on the gold band; the trident head represents independence and a break with the past (the colonial coat of arms contained a complete trident)
@Barbados:Economy
Overview: A per capita income of $9,200 gives Barbados one of the highest standards of living of all the small island states of the eastern Caribbean. Historically, the economy was based on the cultivation of sugarcane and related activities. In recent years, however, the economy has diversified into manufacturing and tourism. A moderate recovery that began in late 1993 after 3 years of contraction is mainly due to increased tourism and expansion in the construction sector. Economic prospects for 1995 depend mostly on continued growth in the industrialized countries, especially in Europe, which would spur further expansion in tourism.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $2.4 billion (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate: 3% (1994 est.)
National product per capita: $9,200 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2% (1994 est.)
Unemployment rate: 20.5% (1994 est.)
Budget: revenues: $509 million expenditures: $636 million, including capital expenditures of $86 million (FY94/95 est.)
Exports: $161 million (f.o.b., 1993 est.) commodities: sugar and molasses, rum, other foods and beverages, chemicals, electrical components, clothing partners: US 13%, UK 10%, Trinidad and Tobago 9%, Windward Islands 8%
Imports: $703 million (c.i.f., 1993 est.) commodities: consumer goods, machinery, foodstuffs, construction materials, chemicals, fuel, electrical components partners: US 36%, UK 11%, Trinidad and Tobago 11%, Japan 3%
External debt: $652 million (1991 est.)
Industrial production: growth rate 2% (FY93/94 est.); accounts for about 10% of GDP
Electricity: capacity: 152,100 kW production: 510 million kWh consumption per capita: 1,841 kWh (1993)
Industries: tourism, sugar, light manufacturing, component assembly for export
Agriculture: accounts for 6% of GDP; major cash crop is sugarcane; other crops - vegetables, cotton; not self-sufficient in food
Illicit drugs: one of many Caribbean transshipment points for narcotics bound for the US and Europe
Economic aid: recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $15 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $171 million
Airports: total: 1 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 1
@Barbados:Communications
Telephone system: 89,000 telephones local: island wide automatic telephone system; intercity: NA international: 1 INTELSAT (Atlantic Ocean) earth station; tropospheric scatter link to Trinidad and Saint Lucia
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 3, FM 2, shortwave 0 radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: 2 (1 pay) televisions: NA
@Barbados:Defense Forces
Branches: Royal Barbados Defense Force (includes the Ground Forces and Coast Guard), Royal Barbados Police Force
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 71,153; males fit for military service 49,488 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $NA, NA% of GDP
Land use: arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 0% forest and woodland: 0% other: 100% (all rock)
Irrigated land: 0 sq km
Environment: current issues: NA natural hazards: maritime hazard since it is usually under water during high tide and surrounded by reefs; subject to periodic cyclones
international agreements: NA
@Bassas Da India:People
Population: uninhabited
@Bassas Da India:Government
Names: conventional long form: none conventional short form: Bassas da India
Digraph: BS
Type: French possession administered by a Commissioner of the Republic, resident in Reunion
Capital: none; administered by France from Reunion
Map references: Commonwealth of Independent States - European States
Area: total area: 207,600 sq km land area: 207,600 sq km comparative area: slightly smaller than Kansas
Land boundaries: total 3,098 km, Latvia 141 km, Lithuania 502 km, Poland 605 km, Russia 959 km, Ukraine 891 km
Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims: none; landlocked
International disputes: none
Climate: cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime
Terrain: generally flat and contains much marshland
Natural resources: forest land, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas
Land use: arable land: 29% permanent crops: 1% meadows and pastures: 15% forest and woodland: 0% other: 55%
Irrigated land: 1,490 sq km (1990)
Environment: current issues: soil pollution from pesticide use; southern part of the country contaminated with fallout from 1986 nuclear reactor accident at Chornobyl' natural hazards: NA international agreements: party to - Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Biodiversity, Environmental Modification, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection; signed, but not ratified - Climate Change, Law of the Sea
Note: landlocked
@Belarus:People
Population: 10,437,418 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 22% (female 1,126,062; male 1,166,439) 15-64 years: 65% (female 3,494,891; male 3,293,196) 65 years and over: 13% (female 913,508; male 443,322) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.3% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 12.98 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 11.23 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 1.27 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 18.6 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 71.03 years male: 66.36 years female: 75.93 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.87 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1989) total population: 97% male: 99% female: 96%
Labor force: 4.887 million by occupation: industry and construction 40%, agriculture and forestry 21%, other 39% (1992)
@Belarus:Government
Names: conventional long form: Republic of Belarus conventional short form: Belarus local long form: Respublika Byelarus' local short form: none former: Belorussian (Byelorussian) Soviet Socialist Republic
Digraph: BO
Type: republic
Capital: Minsk
Administrative divisions: 6 voblastsi (singular - voblasts') and one municipality* (harady, singular - horad); Brestskaya (Brest), Homyel'skaya (Homyel'), Horad Minsk*, Hrodzyenskaya (Hrodna), Mahilyowskaya (Mahilyow), Minskaya, Vitsyebskaya (Vitsyebsk) note: the administrative centers of the voblastsi are included in parentheses
Independence: 25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union)
National holiday: Independence Day, 27 July (1990)
Constitution: adopted 15 March 1994; replaces constitution of April 1978
Legal system: based on civil law system
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Aleksandr LUKASHENKO (since 20 July 1994); election held June 24 and 10 July 1994 (next to be held NA 1999); Aleksandr LUKASHENKO 80%, Vyacheslav KEBICH 14% head of government: Prime Minister Mikhail CHIGIR (since July 1994); Deputy Prime Ministers Vladimir GARKUN, Viktor GONCHAR, Sergey LING, Mikhail MYASNIKOVICH, Valeriy KOKAREV (since NA) cabinet: Council of Ministers note: first presidential elections took place in June-July 1994
Legislative branch: unicameral Supreme Soviet: elections last held 4 April 1990 (next to be held 14 May 1995); results - Communists 87%; seats - (360 total) number of seats by party NA; note - 50 seats are for public bodies; the Communist Party obtained an overwhelming majority
Judicial branch: Supreme Court
Political parties and leaders: Belarusian Popular Front (BPF), Zenon POZNYAK, chairman; Party of Popular Accord, Gennadiy KARPENKO; Union of Belarusian Entreprenuers, V. N. KARYAGIN; Belarusian Party of Communists, Vasiliy NOVIKOV, Viktor CHIKIN, chairmen; Belarus Peasant Party, Yevgeniy LUGIN, chairman; Belarusian Socialist Party, Vyacheslav KUZNETSOV, chairman; Belarusian Social Democrat Party (SDBP), Oleg TRUSOV, Stanislav SHUSHKEVICH, chairmen; Agrarian Party of Belarus, Aleksandr DUBKO; United Democratic Party of Belarus (UDPB), Aleksandr DOBROVOLSKIY, chairman; Independent Trade Unions, Sergey ANTONCHIK, chairman
Member of: CCC, CE (guest), CEI (associate members), CIS, EBRD, ECE, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IFC, ILO, IMF, INMARSAT, INTELSAT (nonsignatory user), INTERPOL, IOC, ISO, ITU, NACC, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Sergey Nikolayevich MARTYNOV chancery: 1619 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 986-1604 FAX: [1] (202) 986-1805 consulate(s) general: New York
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador Kenneth Spencer YALOWITZ embassy: Starovilenskaya #46, Minsk mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [7] (0172) 34-65-37
Flag: three horizontal bands of white (top), red, and white
@Belarus:Economy
Overview: Belarus ranks among the most developed of the former Soviet states, with a relatively modern - by Soviet standards - and diverse machine building sector and a robust agriculture sector. It also serves as a transport link for Russian oil exports to the Baltic states and Eastern and Western Europe. The breakup of the Soviet Union and its command economy has resulted in a sharp economic contraction as traditional trade ties have collapsed. The Belarusian government has lagged behind the governments of most other former Soviet states in economic reform, with privatization almost nonexistent. The system of state orders and distribution persists. In mid-1994, the Belarusian government embarked on an austerity program with IMF support to slash state credits and consumer subsidies in order to bring down the budget deficit and reduce inflation. However, despite its promising start, the regime's drive to reinvigorate the economy has fallen short, and the IMF has criticized its failure to implement the reforms that the Fund had negotiated. As a result, the IMF has suspended talks on introducing a stand-by arrangement. Economic relations with Russia, which will have an important bearing on the future course of the economy, will be strengthened if Minsk adopts the necessary legislation to implement a customs union agreed to in January 1995.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $53.4 billion (1994 estimate as extrapolated from World Bank estimate for 1992)
National product real growth rate: -20% (1994)
National product per capita: $5,130 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 29% per month (1994)
Unemployment rate: 1.4% officially registered unemployed (December 1993); large numbers of underemployed workers
Budget: revenues: $NA expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA
Exports: $968 million to outside of the FSU countries (f.o.b., 1994) commodities: machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs partners: Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Bulgaria
Imports: $534 million from outside the FSU countries (c.i.f., 1994) commodities: fuel, natural gas, industrial raw materials, textiles, sugar partners: Russia, Ukraine, Poland
External debt: $1.5 billion (July 1994 est.)
Industrial production: growth rate -19% (1994); accounts for about 40% of GDP (1992)
Industries: employ about 40% of labor force and produced a wide variety of products including (in percent share of total output of former Soviet Union): tractors (12%); metal-cutting machine tools (11%); off-highway dump trucks up to 110-metric-ton load capacity (100%); wheel-type earthmovers for construction and mining (100%); eight-wheel-drive, high-flotation trucks with cargo capacity of 25 metric tons for use in tundra and roadless areas (100%); equipment for animal husbandry and livestock feeding (25%); motorcycles (21.3%); television sets (11%); chemical fibers (28%); fertilizer (18%); linen fabric (11%); wool fabric (7%); radios; refrigerators; and other consumer goods
Agriculture: accounts for almost 25% of GDP and 5.7% of total agricultural output of former Soviet Union; employs 21% of the labor force; in 1988 produced the following (in percent of total Soviet production): grain (3.6%), potatoes (12.2%), vegetables (3.0%), meat (6.0%), milk (7.0%); net exporter of meat, milk, eggs, flour, potatoes
Illicit drugs: illicit cultivator of opium poppy and cannabis; mostly for the domestic market; transshipment point for illicit drugs to Western Europe
Economic aid: $NA
Currency: Belarusian rubel (BR)
Exchange rates: Belarusian rubels per US$1 - 10,600 (end December 1994)
Fiscal year: calendar year
@Belarus:Transportation
Railroads: total: 5,570 km in common carrier service; does not include industrial lines broad gauge: 5,570 km 1.520-m gauge (1990)
Highways: total: 98,200 km paved: 66,100 km unpaved: earth 32,100 km (1990)
Inland waterways: NA km
Pipelines: crude oil 1,470 km; refined products 1,100 km; natural gas 1,980 km (1992)
Ports: Mazyr
Merchant marine: note: claims 5% of former Soviet fleet
Airports: total: 118 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 2 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 18 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 with paved runways under 914 m: 11 with unpaved runways over 3,047 m: 1 with unpaved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 6 with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 4 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 9 with unpaved runways under 914 m: 62
@Belarus:Communications
Telephone system: 1,849,000 telephones (December 1991); 18 telephones/100 persons; telephone service inadequate for the purposes of either business or the population; about 70% of the telephones are in homes; over 750,000 applications from households for telephones remain unsatisfied (1992); new investment centers on international connections and business needs; the new BelCel NMT 450 cellular system (a joint venture) is now operating in Minsk local: NA intercity: NA international: international traffic is carried by the Moscow international gateway switch and also by 2 satellite earth stations near Minsk - INTELSAT (through Canada) and EUTELSAT (through the UK)
Radio: broadcast stations: AM NA, FM NA, shortwave 0 radios: 3.14 million (5,615,000 with multiple speaker systems for program diffusion)
Television: broadcast stations: NA televisions: 3.538 million
@Belarus:Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Air Force, Air Defense Force, Republic Security Forces (internal and border troops)
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 2,550,500; males fit for military service 1,999,138; males reach military age (18) annually 71,808 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: 56.5 billion rubles, NA% of GDP (1993 est.); note - conversion of the military budget into US dollars using the current exchange rate could produce misleading results
Location: Western Europe, bordering the North Sea, between France and the Netherlands
Map references: Europe
Area: total area: 30,510 sq km land area: 30,230 sq km comparative area: slightly larger than Maryland
Land boundaries: total 1,385 km, France 620 km, Germany 167 km, Luxembourg 148 km, Netherlands 450 km
Coastline: 64 km
Maritime claims: continental shelf: median line with neighbors exclusive fishing zone: median line with neighbors (extends about 68 km from coast) territorial sea: 12 nm
Terrain: flat coastal plains in northwest, central rolling hills, rugged mountains of Ardennes Forest in southeast
Natural resources: coal, natural gas
Land use: arable land: 24% permanent crops: 1% meadows and pastures: 20% forest and woodland: 21% other: 34%
Irrigated land: 10 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment: current issues: Meuse River, a major source of drinking water, polluted from steel production wastes; other rivers polluted by animal wastes and fertilizers; industrial air pollution contributes to acid rain in neighboring countries natural hazards: flooding is a threat in areas of reclaimed coastal land, protected from the sea by concrete dikes international agreements: party to - Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Antarctic Treaty, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Law of the Sea
Note: crossroads of Western Europe; majority of West European capitals within 1,000 km of Brussels which is the seat of the EU
@Belgium:People
Population: 10,081,880 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 18% (female 875,079; male 919,939) 15-64 years: 66% (female 3,303,219; male 3,363,250) 65 years and over: 16% (female 969,966; male 650,427) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.17% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 11.46 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 10.22 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 0.5 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 7 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 77.21 years male: 73.94 years female: 80.67 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.62 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Nationality: noun: Belgian(s) adjective: Belgian
Ethnic divisions: Fleming 55%, Walloon 33%, mixed or other 12%
Religions: Roman Catholic 75%, Protestant or other 25%
Languages: Dutch 56%, French 32%, German 1%, legally bilingual 11% divided along ethnic lines
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1980 est.) total population: 99%
Labor force: 4.126 million by occupation: services 63.6%, industry 28%, construction 6.1%, agriculture 2.3% (1988)
@Belgium:Government
Names: conventional long form: Kingdom of Belgium conventional short form: Belgium local long form: Royaume de Belgique local short form: Belgique
Independence: 4 October 1830 (from the Netherlands)
National holiday: National Day, 21 July (ascension of King Leopold to the throne in 1831)
Constitution: 7 February 1831, last revised 14 July 1993; parliament approved a constitutional package creating a federal state
Legal system: civil law system influenced by English constitutional theory; judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
Suffrage: 18 years of age, universal and compulsory
Executive branch: chief of state: King ALBERT II (since 9 August 1993) head of government: Prime Minister Jean-Luc DEHAENE (since 6 March 1992) cabinet: Cabinet; the king appoints the ministers who are approved by the legislature
Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament Senate: (Flemish - Senaat, French - Senat); elections last held 24 November 1991 (next to be held by the end of 1995); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (184 total; of which 106 are directly elected; in the 1995 elections, seats will decrease to 71) CVP 20, SP 14, VLD 13, VU 5, AGALEV 5, VB 5, ROSSEN 1, PS 18, PRL 9, PSC 9, ECOLO 6, FDF 1 Chamber of Deputies: (Flemish - Kamer van Volksvertegenwoordigers, French - Chambre des Representants); elections last held 24 November 1991 (next to be held by 21 May 1995); results - CVP 16.7%, PS 13.6%, SP 12.0%, VLD 11.9%, PRL 8.2%, PSC 7.8%, VB 6.6%, VU 5.9%, ECOLO 5.1%, AGALEV 4.9%, FDF 2.6%, ROSSEM 3.2%, FN 1.5%; seats - (212 total; in 1995 elections, seats will decrease to 150) CVP 39, PS 35, SP 28, VLD 26, PRL 20, PSC 18, VB 12, VU 10, ECOLO 10, AGALEV 7, FDF 3, ROSSEM 3, FN 1
Judicial branch: Supreme Court of Justice (Flemish - Hof van Cassatie, French - Cour de Cassation)
Political parties and leaders: Flemish Christian Democrats (CVP - Christian People's Party), Johan van HECKE, president; Francophone Christian Democrats (PSC - Social Christian Party), Gerard DEPREZ, president; Flemish Socialist Party (SP), Louis TOBBACK, president; Francophone Socialist Party (PS), Philippe BUSQUIN, president; Flemish Liberal Democrats (VLD), Guy VERHOFSTADT, president; Francophone Liberal Reform Party (PRL), Jean GOL, president; Francophone Democratic Front (FDF), Georges CLERFAYT, president; Volksunie (VU), Bert ANCIAUX, president; Vlaams Blok (VB), Karel DILLEN, chairman; ROSSEM, Jean Pierre VAN ROSSEM; National Front (FN), Daniel FERET, president; AGALEV (Flemish Greens), no president; ECOLO (Francophone Ecologists), no president; other minor parties
Other political or pressure groups: Christian and Socialist Trade Unions; Federation of Belgian Industries; numerous other associations representing bankers, manufacturers, middle-class artisans, and the legal and medical professions; various organizations represent the cultural interests of Flanders and Wallonia; various peace groups such as the Flemish Action Committee Against Nuclear Weapons and Pax Christi
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Andre ADAM (appointed 3 October 1994) chancery: 3330 Garfield Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 333-6900 FAX: [1] (202) 333-3079 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador Alan J. BLINKEN embassy: 27 Boulevard du Regent, B-1000 Brussels mailing address: APO AE 09724; PSC 82, Box 002, Brussels telephone: [32] (2) 513 38 30 FAX: [32] (2) 511 27 25
Flag: three equal vertical bands of black (hoist side), yellow, and red; the design was based on the flag of France
@Belgium:Economy
Overview: This small private enterprise economy has capitalized on its central geographic location, highly developed transport network, and diversified industrial and commercial base. Industry is concentrated mainly in the populous Flemish area in the north, although the government is encouraging reinvestment in the southern region of Walloon. With few natural resources Belgium must import substantial quantities of raw materials and export a large volume of manufactures, making its economy unusually dependent on the state of world markets. Three-fourths of its trade is with other EU countries. The economy grew at a strong 4% pace during the period 1988-90, slowed to 1% in 1991-92, dropped by 1.5% in 1993, and recovered with 2.3% growth in 1994. Belgium's public debt has risen to 140% of GDP, and the government is trying to control its expenditures to bring the figure more into line with other industrialized countries.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $181.5 billion (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate: 2.3% (1994 est.)
National product per capita: $18,040 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.5% (1994)
Unemployment rate: 14.1% (December 1994)
Budget: revenues: $97.8 billion expenditures: $109.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1989)
Exports: $117 billion (f.o.b., 1992) Belgium-Luxembourg Economic Union
commodities: iron and steel, transportation equipment, tractors, diamonds, petroleum products partners: EC 75.5%, US 3.7%, former Communist countries 1.4% (1991)
Imports: $120 billion (c.i.f., 1992) Belgium-Luxembourg Economic Union
commodities: fuels, grains, chemicals, foodstuffs partners: EC 73%, US 4.8%, oil-exporting less developed countries 4%, former Communist countries 1.8% (1991)
External debt: $31.3 billion (1992 est.)
Industrial production: growth rate -0.1% (1993 est.); accounts for 25% of GDP
Industries: engineering and metal products, motor vehicle assembly, processed food and beverages, chemicals, basic metals, textiles, glass, petroleum, coal
Agriculture: accounts for 2.0% of GDP; emphasis on livestock production - beef, veal, pork, milk; major crops are sugar beets, fresh vegetables, fruits, grain, tobacco; net importer of farm products
Illicit drugs: source of precursor chemicals for South American cocaine processors; transshipment point for cocaine entering the European market
Economic aid: donor: ODA and OOF commitments (1970-89), $5.8 billion
Merchant marine: total: 23 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 42,055 GRT/56,842 DWT ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 9, chemical tanker 6, liquefied gas 2, oil tanker 5
Airports: total: 43 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 6 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 9 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 1 with paved runways under 914 m: 22 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 3
@Belgium:Communications
Telephone system: 4,720,000 telephones; highly developed, technologically advanced, and completely automated domestic and international telephone and telegraph facilities local: NA intercity: extensive cable network; limited microwave radio relay network; nationwide mobile phone system international: 5 submarine cables; 2 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth stations and 1 EUTELSAT earth station
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 3, FM 39, shortwave 0 radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: 32 televisions: NA
@Belgium:Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, National Gendarmerie
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 2,559,077; males fit for military service 2,126,875; males reach military age (19) annually 61,488 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $3.9 billion, 1.8% of GDP (1994)
Location: Middle America, bordering the Caribbean Sea, between Guatemala and Mexico
Map references: Central America and the Caribbean
Area: total area: 22,960 sq km land area: 22,800 sq km comparative area: slightly larger than Massachusetts
Land boundaries: total 516 km, Guatemala 266 km, Mexico 250 km
Coastline: 386 km
Maritime claims: exclusive economic zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 12 nm in the north, 3 nm in the south; note - from the mouth of the Sarstoon River to Ranguana Cay, Belize's territorial sea is 3 miles; according to Belize's Maritime Areas Act, 1992, the purpose of this limitation is to provide a framework for the negotiation of a definitive agreement on territorial differences with Guatemala
International disputes: border with Guatemala in dispute; talks to resolve the dispute are stalled
Climate: tropical; very hot and humid; rainy season (May to February)
Terrain: flat, swampy coastal plain; low mountains in south
Natural resources: arable land potential, timber, fish
Land use: arable land: 2% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 2% forest and woodland: 44% other: 52%
Irrigated land: 20 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment: current issues: deforestation; water pollution from sewage, industrial effluents, agricultural runoff natural hazards: frequent, devastating hurricanes (September to December) and coastal flooding (especially in south) international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping
Note: national capital moved 80 km inland from Belize City to Belmopan because of hurricanes; only country in Central America without a coastline on the North Pacific Ocean
@Belize:People
Population: 214,061 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 44% (female 45,812; male 47,618) 15-64 years: 53% (female 55,630; male 57,230) 65 years and over: 3% (female 3,970; male 3,801) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 2.42% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 33.71 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 5.86 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: -3.7 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 34.7 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 68.32 years male: 66.37 years female: 70.36 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 4.25 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Religions: Roman Catholic 62%, Protestant 30% (Anglican 12%, Methodist 6%, Mennonite 4%, Seventh-Day Adventist 3%, Pentecostal 2%, Jehovah's Witnesses 1%, other 2%), none 2%, other 6% (1980)
Languages: English (official), Spanish, Maya, Garifuna (Carib)
Literacy: age 15 and over has ever attended school (1970) total population: 91% male: 91% female: 91%
Labor force: 51,500 by occupation: agriculture 30%, services 16%, government 15.4%, commerce 11.2%, manufacturing 10.3% note: shortage of skilled labor and all types of technical personnel (1985)
@Belize:Government
Names: conventional long form: none conventional short form: Belize former: British Honduras
National holiday: Independence Day, 21 September (1981)
Constitution: 21 September 1981
Legal system: English law
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Sir Colville YOUNG (since 17 November 1993) head of government: Prime Minister Manuel ESQUIVEL (since July 1993); Deputy Prime Minister Dean BARROW (since NA 1993) cabinet: Cabinet; appointed by the governor general on advice from the prime minister
Legislative branch: bicameral National Assembly Senate: consists of an 8-member appointed body; 5 members are appointed on the advice of the prime minister, 2 on the advice of the leader of the opposition, and 1 after consultation with the Belize Advisory Council (this council serves as an independent body to advise the governor-general with respect to difficult decisions such as granting pardons, commutations, stays of execution, the removal of justices of appeal who appear to be incompetent, etc.) National Assembly: elections last held 30 June 1993 (next to be held June 1998); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (28 total) PUP 13 UDP 15
Judicial branch: Supreme Court
Political parties and leaders: People's United Party (PUP), George PRICE, Florencio MARIN, Said MUSA; United Democratic Party (UDP), Manuel ESQUIVEL, Dean LINDO, Dean BARROW; National Alliance for Belizean Rights, Philip GOLDSON
Other political or pressure groups: Society for the Promotion of Education and Research (SPEAR), Assad SHOMAN; United Workers Front, leader NA
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Dean R. LINDO chancery: 2535 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 332-9636 FAX: [1] (202) 332-6888 consulate(s) general: Los Angeles consulate(s): New York
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador George Charles BRUNO embassy: Gabourel Lane and Hutson Street, Belize City mailing address: P. O. Box 286, Belize City; APO: Unit 7401, APO AA 34025 telephone: [501] (2) 77161 through 77163 FAX: [501] (2) 30802
Flag: blue with a narrow red stripe along the top and the bottom edges; centered is a large white disk bearing the coat of arms; the coat of arms features a shield flanked by two workers in front of a mahogany tree with the related motto SUB UMBRA FLOREO (I Flourish in the Shade) on a scroll at the bottom, all encircled by a green garland
@Belize:Economy
Overview: The small, essentially private enterprise economy is based primarily on agriculture, agro-based industry, and merchandising, with tourism and construction assuming increasing importance. Agriculture accounts for about 30% of GDP and provides 75% of export earnings, while sugar, the chief crop, accounts for almost 40% of hard currency earnings. The US, Belize's main trading partner, is assisting in efforts to reduce dependency on sugar with an agricultural diversification program.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $575 million (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate: 2% (1994 est.)
National product per capita: $2,750 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 5.5% (1991)
Unemployment rate: 10% (1993 est.)
Budget: revenues: $126.8 million expenditures: $123.1 million, including capital expenditures of $44.8 million (FY90/91 est.)
Exports: $115 million (f.o.b., 1993) commodities: sugar, citrus fruits, bananas, clothing, fish products, molasses, wood partners: US 51%, UK, other EC (1992)
Imports: $281 million (c.i.f., 1993) commodities: machinery and transportation equipment, food, manufactured goods, fuels, chemicals, pharmaceuticals partners: US 57%, UK 8%, other EC 7%, Mexico (1992)
External debt: $158 million (1992)
Industrial production: growth rate 3.7% (1990); accounts for 12% of GDP
Electricity: capacity: 34,532 kW production: 110 million kWh consumption per capita: 490 kWh (1993)
Industries: garment production, food processing, tourism, construction
Illicit drugs: transshipment point for cocaine; an illicit producer of cannabis for the international drug trade; minor money-laundering center
Economic aid: recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $104 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $215 million
Airports: total: 46 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 with paved runways under 914 m: 35 with unpaved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 9
@Belize:Communications
Telephone system: 8,650 telephones; above-average system based on microwave radio relay local: NA intercity: microwave radio relay international: 1 INTELSAT (Atlantic Ocean) earth station
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 6, FM 5, shortwave 1 radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: 1 televisions: NA
@Belize:Defense Forces
Branches: Belize Defense Force (includes Army, Navy, Air Force, and Volunteer Guard), Belize National Police
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 50,499; males fit for military service 30,040; males reach military age (18) annually 2,285 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $11 million, 2.2% of GDP (FY93/94)
Location: Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Nigeria and Togo
Map references: Africa
Area: total area: 112,620 sq km land area: 110,620 sq km comparative area: slightly smaller than Pennsylvania
Land boundaries: total 1,989 km, Burkina 306 km, Niger 266 km, Nigeria 773 km, Togo 644 km
Coastline: 121 km
Maritime claims: territorial sea: 200 nm
International disputes: none
Climate: tropical; hot, humid in south; semiarid in north
Terrain: mostly flat to undulating plain; some hills and low mountains
Natural resources: small offshore oil deposits, limestone, marble, timber
Land use: arable land: 12% permanent crops: 4% meadows and pastures: 4% forest and woodland: 35% other: 45%
Irrigated land: 60 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment: current issues: recent droughts have severely affected marginal agriculture in north; inadequate supplies of potable water; poaching threatens wildlife populations; deforestation; desertification natural hazards: hot, dry, dusty harmattan wind may affect north in winter international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection; signed, but not ratified - Desertification, Law of the Sea
Note: no natural harbors
@Benin:People
Population: 5,522,677 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 48% (female 1,324,553; male 1,333,673) 15-64 years: 49% (female 1,431,630; male 1,299,180) 65 years and over: 3% (female 74,119; male 59,522) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 3.33% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 47.25 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 13.93 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 107.6 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 52.24 years male: 50.34 years female: 54.2 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 6.72 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Nationality: noun: Beninese (singular and plural) adjective: Beninese
Ethnic divisions: African 99% (42 ethnic groups, most important being Fon, Adja, Yoruba, Bariba), Europeans 5,500
Religions: indigenous beliefs 70%, Muslim 15%, Christian 15%
Languages: French (official), Fon and Yoruba (most common vernaculars in south), tribal languages (at least six major ones in north)
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.) total population: 23% male: 32% female: 16%
Labor force: 1.9 million (1987) by occupation: agriculture 60%, transport, commerce, and public services 38%, industry less than 2%
@Benin:Government
Names: conventional long form: Republic of Benin conventional short form: Benin local long form: Republique du Benin local short form: Benin former: Dahomey
Digraph: BN
Type: republic under multiparty democratic rule dropped Marxism-Leninism December 1989; democratic reforms adopted February 1990; transition to multiparty system completed 4 April 1991
Capital: Porto-Novo
Administrative divisions: 6 provinces; Atakora, Atlantique, Borgou, Mono, Oueme, Zou
Independence: 1 August 1960 (from France)
National holiday: National Day, 1 August (1990)
Constitution: 2 December 1990
Legal system: based on French civil law and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state and head of government: President Nicephore SOGLO (since 4 April 1991); election last held 10 and 24 March 1991 (next election 1996); results - Nicephore SOGLO 68%, Mathieu KEREKOU 32% cabinet: Executive Council; appointed by the president
Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly (Assemblee Nationale): elections last held 28 March 1995; results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (83 total) Renaissance Party and allies 20, PRD 19, FARD-ALAFIA 10, PSD 7, NCC 3, RDL-VIVOTEN 3, Communist Party 2, Alliance Chameleon 1, RDP 1, ADP 1, other 16
Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Cour Supreme)
Political parties and leaders: as of August 1994, 72 political parties were officially recognized; the following are among the most important: Alliance of the Democratic Union for the Forces of Progress (UDFP), Timothee ADANLIN; Movement for Democracy and Social Progress (MDPS), Jean-Roger AHOYO; Union for Liberty and Development (ULD), Marcellin DEGBE; Alliance of the National Party for Democracy and Development (PNDD) and the Democratic Renewal Party (PRD), Pascal Chabi KAO; Alliance of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) and the National Union for Solidarity and Progress (UNSP), Bruno AMOUSSOU; Our Common Cause (NCC), Albert TEVOEDJRE; National Rally for Democracy (RND), Joseph KEKE; Alliance of the National Movement for Democracy and Development (MNDD), leader NA; Movement for Solidarity, Union, and Progress (MSUP), Adebo ADENIYI; Union for Democracy and National Reconstruction (UDRN), Azaria FAKOREDE; Union for Democracy and National Solidarity (UDS), Mama Amadou N'DIAYE; Assembly of Liberal Democrats for National Reconstruction (RDL), Severin ADJOVI; Alliance for Social Democracy (ASD), Robert DOSSOU; Bloc for Social Democracy (BSD), Michel MAGNIDE; Alliance for Democracy and Progress (ADP), Akindes ADEKPEDJOU, and the Democratic Union for Social Renewal (UDRS), Bio Gado Seko N'GOYE; National Union for Democracy and Progress (UNDP), Robert TAGNON; Party for Progress and Democracy, Thiophile NATA; FARD-ALAFIA, Mathieu KEREKOU; The Renaissance Party, Nicephore SOGLO; The Patriotic Union for the Republic (UPR), Jean-Marie ZAHOUN; Union for the Conservation of Democracy, Bernard HOUEGNON
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Lucien Edgar TONOUKOUIN chancery: 2737 Cathedral Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 232-6656, 6657, 6658 FAX: [1] (202) 265-1996
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador Ruth A. DAVIS embassy: Rue Caporal Bernard Anani, Cotonou mailing address: B. P. 2012, Cotonou telephone: [229] 30-06-50, 30-05-13, 30-17-92 FAX: [229] 41-15-22
Flag: two equal horizontal bands of yellow (top) and red with a vertical green band on the hoist side
@Benin:Economy
Overview: The economy of Benin remains underdeveloped and dependent on subsistence agriculture, cotton production, and regional trade. Growth in real output has averaged a sound 4% in 1991-94 but this rate barely exceeds the rapid population growth of 3.3%. Inflation jumped to 35% in 1994 (compared to 3% in 1993) following the 50% currency devaluation in January. Commercial and transport activities, which make up almost 36% of GDP, are extremely vulnerable to developments in Nigeria as evidenced by decreased reexport trade in 1994 due to a severe contraction in Nigerian demand. The industrial sector accounts for less than 10% of GDP and mainly produces foods, beverages, cement, and textiles. Support by the Paris Club and official bilateral creditors has eased the external debt situation in recent years. The government, still burdened with money-losing state enterprises and a bloated civil service, is gradually implementing a World Bank supported structural adjustment program.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $6.7 billion (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate: 4% (1994 est.)
National product per capita: $1,260 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 35% (1994 est.)
Unemployment rate: NA%
Budget: revenues: $272 million (1993 est.) expenditures: $375 million, including capital expenditures of $84 million (1993 est.)
Exports: $332 million (f.o.b., 1993 est.) commodities: cotton, crude oil, palm products, cocoa partners: FRG 36%, France 16%, Spain 14%, Italy 8%, UK 4%
Imports: $571 million (f.o.b., 1993 est.) commodities: foodstuffs, beverages, tobacco, petroleum products, intermediate goods, capital goods, light consumer goods partners: France 20%, Thailand 8%, Netherlands 7%, US 5%
External debt: $1 billion (December 1990 est.)
Industrial production: growth rate -0.7% (1988); accounts for 10% of GDP
Electricity: capacity: 30,000 kW production: 10 million kWh consumption per capita: 25 kWh (1993)
Industries: textiles, cigarettes, construction materials, beverages, food, petroleum
Agriculture: accounts for 35% of GDP; small farms produce 90% of agricultural output; production is dominated by food crops - corn, sorghum, cassava, yams, beans, rice; cash crops include cotton, palm oil, peanuts; poultry and livestock output has not kept up with consumption
Illicit drugs: transshipment point for narcotics associated with Nigerian trafficking organizations and most commonly destined for Western Europe and the US
Economic aid: recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $46 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $1.3 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $19 million; Communist countries (1970-89), $101 million
Currency: 1 CFA franc (CFAF) = 100 centimes
Exchange rates: Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (CFAF) per US$1 - 529.43 (January 1995), 555.20 (1994), 283.16 (1993), 264.69 (1992), 282.11 (1991), 272.26 (1990) note: beginning 12 January 1994 the CFA franc was devalued to CFAF 100 per French franc from CFAF 50 at which it had been fixed since 1948
Fiscal year: calendar year
@Benin:Transportation
Railroads: total: 578 km (single track) narrow gauge: 578 km 1.000-m gauge
Highways: total: 8,435 km paved: 1,038 km unpaved: crushed stone 2,600 km; improved earth 1,530 km; unimproved earth 3,267 km
Inland waterways: navigable along small sections, important only locally
Ports: Cotonou, Porto-Novo
Merchant marine: none
Airports: total: 7 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 1 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 4
@Benin:Communications
Telephone system: NA telephones; fair system of open wire and microwave radio relay local: NA intercity: microwave radio relay and open wire international: 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station, submarine cable
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 2, FM 2, shortwave 0 radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: 2 televisions: NA
@Benin:Defense Forces
Branches: Armed Forces (includes Army, Navy, Air Force), National Gendarmerie
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 1,165,463; females age 15-49 1,249,234; males fit for military service 596,956; females fit for military service 631,780; males reach military age (18) annually 60,282 (1995 est.); females reach military age (18) annually 58,770 (1995 est.) note: both sexes are liable for miltary service
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $33 million, 3.2% of GDP (1994)
Religions: Anglican 37%, Roman Catholic 14%, African Methodist Episcopal (Zion) 10%, Methodist 6%, Seventh-Day Adventist 5%, other 28%
Languages: English
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1970) total population: 98% male: 98% female: 99%
Labor force: 32,000 by occupation: clerical 25%, services 22%, laborers 21%, professional and technical 13%, administrative and managerial 10%, sales 7%, agriculture and fishing 2% (1984)
@Bermuda:Government
Names: conventional long form: none conventional short form: Bermuda
Digraph: BD
Type: dependent territory of the UK
Capital: Hamilton
Administrative divisions: 9 parishes and 2 municipalities*; Devonshire, Hamilton, Hamilton*, Paget, Pembroke, Saint George*, Saint Georges, Sandys, Smiths, Southampton, Warwick
Independence: none (dependent territory of the UK)
National holiday: Bermuda Day, 24 May
Constitution: 8 June 1968
Legal system: English law
Suffrage: 21 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor Lord David WADDINGTON (since 25 August 1992) head of government: Premier John William David SWAN (since NA January 1982); Deputy Premier J. Irving PEARMAN (since 5 October 1993) cabinet: Cabinet; nominated by the premier, appointed by the governor
Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament Senate: consists of an 11-member body appointed by the governor House of Assembly: elections last held 5 October 1993 (next to be held by NA October 1998); results - percent of vote by party UBP 50%, PLP 46%, independents 4%; seats - (40 total) UBP 22, PLP 18
Judicial branch: Supreme Court
Political parties and leaders: United Bermuda Party (UBP), John W. D. SWAN; Progressive Labor Party (PLP), Frederick WADE; National Liberal Party (NLP), Gilbert DARRELL
Other political or pressure groups: Bermuda Industrial Union (BIU), Ottiwell SIMMONS
Member of: CARICOM (observer), CCC, ICFTU, INTERPOL (subbureau), IOC
Diplomatic representation in US: none (dependent territory of the UK)
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador Robert A. FARMER consulate(s) general: Crown Hill, 16 Middle Road, Devonshire, Hamilton
mailing address: P. O. Box HM325, Hamilton HMBX; PSC 1002, FPO AE 09727-1002 telephone: [1] (809) 295-1342 FAX: [1] (809) 295-1592
Flag: red with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the Bermudian coat of arms (white and blue shield with a red lion holding a scrolled shield showing the sinking of the ship Sea Venture off Bermuda in 1609) centered on the outer half of the flag
@Bermuda:Economy
Overview: Bermuda enjoys one of the highest per capita incomes in the world, having successfully exploited its location by providing luxury tourist facilities and financial services. The tourist industry attracts more than 90% of its business from North America. The industrial sector is small, and agriculture is severely limited by a lack of suitable land. About 80% of food needs are imported.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $1.7 billion (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate: 2.5% (1994)
National product per capita: $28,000 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.5% (1993)
Unemployment rate: 6% (1991)
Budget: revenues: $327.5 million expenditures: $308.9 million, including capital expenditures of $35.4 million (FY90/91 est.)
Exports: $60 million (f.o.b., 1991) commodities: semitropical produce, light manufactures, re-exports of pharmaceuticals partners: US 62.4%, UK 20%
Imports: $519 million (f.o.b.,1993) commodities: fuel, foodstuffs, machinery partners: US 38%, UK 5%, Canada 5%
External debt: $NA
Industrial production: growth rate NA%
Electricity: capacity: 140,000 kW production: 504 million kWh consumption per capita: 7,745 kWh (1993)
Agriculture: accounts for less than 1% of GDP; most basic foods must be imported; produces bananas, vegetables, citrus fruits, flowers, dairy products
Economic aid: recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-81), $34 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $277 million
Currency: 1 Bermudian dollar (Bd$) = 100 cents
Exchange rates: Bermudian dollar (Bd$) per US$1 - 1.0000 (fixed rate)
Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March
@Bermuda:Transportation
Railroads: 0 km
Highways: total: 210 km paved: 210 km note: in addition, there are 400 km of paved and unpaved roads that are privately owned
Ports: Hamilton, Saint George
Merchant marine: total: 65 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 3,144,245 GRT/5,152,030 DWT ships by type: bulk 14, cargo 4, container 7, liquefied gas tanker 15, oil tanker 16, refrigerated cargo 2, roll-on/roll-off cargo 5, short-sea passenger 1, vehicle carrier 1 note: a flag of convenience registry; includes 12 countries among which are UK 6 ships, Canada 4, US 4, Sweden 3, Hong Kong 2, Mexico 2, Norway 2, Australia 1, Germany 1, NZ 1
Airports: total: 1 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
@Bermuda:Communications
Telephone system: 52,670 telephones; modern, fully automatic telephone system local: NA intercity: NA international: 3 submarine cables; 2 INTELSAT (Atlantic Ocean) earth stations
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 5, FM 3, shortwave 0 radios: NA
Land use: arable land: 2% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 5% forest and woodland: 70% other: 23%
Irrigated land: 340 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment: current issues: soil erosion; limited access to potable water natural hazards: violent storms coming down from the Himalayas are the source of the country's name which translates as Land of the Thunder Dragon; frequent landslides during the rainy season international agreements: party to - Nuclear Test Ban; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Law of the Sea
Note: landlocked; strategic location between China and India; controls several key Himalayan mountain passes
@Bhutan:People
Population: 1,780,638 (July 1995 est.) note: other estimates range as low as 600,000
Age structure: 0-14 years: 40% (female 342,276; male 368,916) 15-64 years: 56% (female 486,258; male 513,560) 65 years and over: 4% (female 34,215; male 35,413) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 2.34% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 39.02 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 15.61 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 118.6 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 51.03 years male: 51.56 years female: 50.48 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 5.39 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Nationality: noun: Bhutanese (singular and plural) adjective: Bhutanese
National holiday: National Day, 17 December (1907) (Ugyen Wangchuck became first hereditary king)
Constitution: no written constitution or bill of rights
Legal system: based on Indian law and English common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: each family has one vote in village-level elections
Executive branch: Chief of State and Head of Government: King Jigme Singye WANGCHUCK (since 24 July 1972) Royal Advisory Council (Lodoi Tsokde): nominated by the king cabinet: Council of Ministers (Lhengye Shungtsog); appointed by the king
Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly (Tshogdu); no national elections
Judicial branch: High Court
Political parties and leaders: no legal parties
Other political or pressure groups: Buddhist clergy; Indian merchant community; ethnic Nepalese organizations leading militant antigovernment campaign
Member of: AsDB, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, IMF, INTELSAT, IOC, ITU, NAM, SAARC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO
Diplomatic representation in US: Bhutan has no embassy in the US, but does have a Permanent Mission to the UN, headed by Ugyen TSERING, located at 2 United Nations Plaza, 27th Floor, New York, NY 10017, telephone [1] (212) 826-1919; note - the Bhutanese mission to the UN has consular jurisdiction in the US consulate(s) general: New York honorary consulate(s): San Francisco; Washington, DC
US diplomatic representation: no formal diplomatic relations, although informal contact is maintained between the Bhutanese and US Embassy in New Delhi (India)
Flag: divided diagonally from the lower hoist side corner; the upper triangle is orange and the lower triangle is red; centered along the dividing line is a large black and white dragon facing away from the hoist side
@Bhutan:Economy
Overview: The economy, one of the world's least developed, is based on agriculture and forestry, which provide the main livelihood for 90% of the population and account for about half of GDP. Agriculture consists largely of subsistence farming and animal husbandry. Rugged mountains dominate the terrain and make the building of roads and other infrastructure difficult and expensive. The economy is closely aligned with India's through strong trade and monetary links. The industrial sector is small and technologically backward, with most production of the cottage industry type. Most development projects, such as road construction, rely on Indian migrant labor. Bhutan's hydropower potential and its attraction for tourists are key resources; however, the government limits the number of tourists to 4,000 per year to minimize foreign influence. Much of the impetus for growth has come from large public-sector companies. Nevertheless, in recent years, Bhutan has shifted toward decentralized development planning and greater private initiative. The government privatized several large public-sector firms, is revamping its trade regime and liberalizing administerial procedures over industrial licensing. The government's industrial contribution to GDP decreased from 13% in 1988 to about 11% in 1993.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $1.2 billion (1994 est.)
Budget: revenues: $52 million expenditures: $150 million, including capital expenditures of $95 million (FY93/94 est.) note: the government of India finances nearly three-fifths of Bhutan's budget expenditures
Imports: $97.6 million (c.i.f., FY93/94 est.) commodities: fuel and lubricants, grain, machinery and parts, vehicles, fabrics, rice partners: India 79%, Japan, UK, Germany, US
External debt: $141 million (October 1994)
Industrial production: growth rate 7.6% (1992 est.); accounts for 18% of GDP; primarily cottage industry and home based handicrafts
Electricity: capacity: 360,000 kW production: 1.7 billion kWh consumption per capita: 143 kWh (1993) note: Bhutan exports electricity to India
Economic aid: recipient: Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $115 million; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $11 million
Currency: 1 ngultrum (Nu) = 100 chetrum; note - Indian currency is also legal tender
Exchange rates: ngultrum (Nu) per US$1 - 31.374 (January 1995), 31.374 (1994), 30.493 (1993), 25.918 (1992), 22.742 (1991), 17.504 (1990); note - the Bhutanese ngultrum is at par with the Indian rupee
Fiscal year: 1 July - 30 June
@Bhutan:Transportation
Railroads: 0 km
Highways: total: 2,165 km paved: NA unpaved: gravel 1,703 km undifferentiated: 462 km
Ports: none
Airports: total: 2 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 1
@Bhutan:Communications
Telephone system: NA telephones; domestic telephone service is very poor with very few telephones in use local: NA intercity: NA international: international telephone and telegraph service is by land line through India; an earth station was planned (1990)
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0 (1990) radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: 0 (1990) televisions: NA
@Bhutan:Defense Forces
Branches: Royal Bhutan Army, Palace Guard, Militia, Royal Bhutan Police
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 434,586; males fit for military service 232,121; males reach military age (18) annually 17,365 (1995 est.)
Location: Central South America, southwest of Brazil
Map references: South America
Area: total area: 1,098,580 sq km land area: 1,084,390 sq km comparative area: slightly less than three times the size of Montana
Land boundaries: total 6,743 km, Argentina 832 km, Brazil 3,400 km, Chile 861 km, Paraguay 750 km, Peru 900 km
Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims: none; landlocked
International disputes: has wanted a sovereign corridor to the South Pacific Ocean since the Atacama area was lost to Chile in 1884; dispute with Chile over Rio Lauca water rights
Climate: varies with altitude; humid and tropical to cold and semiarid
Terrain: rugged Andes Mountains with a highland plateau (Altiplano), hills, lowland plains of the Amazon Basin
Land use: arable land: 3% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 25% forest and woodland: 52% other: 20%
Irrigated land: 1,650 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment: current issues: the clearing of land for agricultural purposes and the international demand for tropical timber are contributing to deforestation; soil erosion from overgrazing and poor cultivation methods (including slash-and-burn agriculture); desertification; loss of biodiversity; industrial pollution of water supplies used for drinking and irrigation natural hazards: cold, thin air of high plateau is obstacle to efficient fuel combustion, as well as to physical activity by those unaccustomed to it from birth; flooding in the northeast (March to April) international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Nuclear Test Ban, Tropical Timber 83, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Desertification, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection
Note: landlocked; shares control of Lago Titicaca, world's highest navigable lake (elevation 3,805 m), with Peru
@Bolivia:People
Population: 7,896,254 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 39% (female 1,542,931; male 1,565,624) 15-64 years: 57% (female 2,276,308; male 2,188,100) 65 years and over: 4% (female 174,419; male 148,872) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 2.25% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 31.61 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 8.12 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: -1.01 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 70.6 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 63.85 years male: 61.39 years female: 66.43 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 4.1 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Ethnic divisions: Quechua 30%, Aymara 25%, mestizo (mixed European and Indian ancestry) 25%-30%, European 5%-15%
Religions: Roman Catholic 95%, Protestant (Evangelical Methodist)
Languages: Spanish (official), Quechua (official), Aymara (official)
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1992) total population: 80% male: 88% female: 72%
Labor force: 3.54 million by occupation: agriculture NA, services and utilities 20%, manufacturing, mining and construction 7% (1993)
@Bolivia:Government
Names: conventional long form: Republic of Bolivia conventional short form: Bolivia local long form: Republica de Bolivia local short form: Bolivia
Digraph: BL
Type: republic
Capital: La Paz (seat of government); Sucre (legal capital and seat of judiciary)
Administrative divisions: 9 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento); Chuquisaca, Cochabamba, Beni, La Paz, Oruro, Pando, Potosi, Santa Cruz, Tarija
Independence: 6 August 1825 (from Spain)
National holiday: Independence Day, 6 August (1825)
Constitution: 2 February 1967
Legal system: based on Spanish law and Code Napoleon; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 18 years of age, universal and compulsory (married); 21 years of age, universal and compulsory (single)
Executive branch: chief of state and head of government: President Gonzalo SANCHEZ DE LOZADA Bustamente (since 6 August 1993); Vice President Victor Hugo CARDENAS Conde (since 6 August 1993); election last held 6 June 1993 (next to be held May 1997); results - Gonzalo SANCHEZ DE LOZADA (MNR) 34%, Hugo BANZER Suarez (ADN/MIR alliance) 20%, Carlos PALENQUE Aviles (CONDEPA) 14%, Max FERNANDEZ Rojas (UCS) 13%, Antonio ARANIBAR Quiroga (MBL) 5%; no candidate received a majority of the popular vote; Gonzalo SANCHEZ DE LOZADA won a congressional runoff election on 4 August 1993 after forming a coalition with Max FERNANDEZ and Antonio ARANIBAR; FERNANDEZ left the coalition in 1994 cabinet: Cabinet; appointed by the president from panel proposed by the Senate
Legislative branch: bicameral National Congress (Congreso Nacional) Chamber of Deputies (Camara de Diputados): elections last held 6 June 1993 (next to be held May 1997); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (130 total) MNR 52, UCS 20, ADN 17, MIR 17, CONDEPA 13, MBL 7, ARBOL 1, ASD 1, EJE 1, PCD 1 Chamber of Senators (Camara de Senadores): elections last held 6 June 1993 (next to be held May 1997); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (27 total) MNR 17, ADN 4, MIR 4, CONDEPA 1, UCS 1
Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Corte Suprema)
Political parties and leaders: Left parties: Free Bolivia Movement (MBL), Antonio ARANIBAR; April 9 Revolutionary Vanguard (VR-9), Carlos SERRATE; Alternative of Democratic Socialism (ASD), Jerjes JUSTIANO; Revolutionary Front of the Left (FRI), Oscar ZAMORA; Bolivian Socialist Falange (FSB); Socialist Unzaguista Movement (MAS); Socialist Party One (PS-1); Bolivian Communist Party (PCB) Center-Left parties: Nationalist Revolutionary Movement (MNR), Gonzalo SANCHEZ DE LOZADA; Movement of the Revolutionary Left (MIR), Jaime PAZ Zamora, Oscar EID; Christian Democrat (PCD), Jorge AGREDA Center-Right party: Nationalist Democratic Action (ADN), Jorge LANDIVAR, Hugo BANZER populist parties: Civic Solidarity Union (UCS), Max FERNANDEZ Rojas; Conscience of the Fatherland (CONDEPA), Carlos PALENQUE Aviles; Popular Patriotic Movement (MPP), Julio MANTILLA; Unity and Progress Movement (MUP), Ivo KULJIS Evangelical: Bolivian Renovating Alliance (ARBOL), Hugo VILLEGAS indigenous: Tupac Katari Revolutionary Liberation Movement (MRTK-L), Victor Hugo CARDENAS Conde; Patriotic Axis of Convergence (EJE-P), Ramiro BARRANCHEA; National Katarista Movement (MKN), Fernando UNTOJA
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Andres PETRICEVIC Raznatovic chancery: 3014 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 483-4410 through 4412 FAX: [1] (202) 328-3712 consulate(s) general: Miami, New York, and San Francisco
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador Curt Warren KAMMAN embassy: Avenida Arce 2780, San Jorge, La Paz mailing address: P. O. Box 425, La Paz; APO AA 34032 telephone: [591] (2) 430251 FAX: [591] (2) 4339000
Flag: three equal horizontal bands of red (top), yellow, and green with the coat of arms centered on the yellow band; similar to the flag of Ghana, which has a large black five-pointed star centered in the yellow band
@Bolivia:Economy
Overview: With its long history of semifeudal social controls, dependence on volatile prices for its mineral exports, and bouts of hyperinflation, Bolivia has remained one of the poorest and least developed Latin American countries. However, Bolivia has experienced generally improving economic conditions since the PAZ Estenssoro administration (1985-89) introduced market-oriented policies which reduced inflation from 11,700% in 1985 to about 20% in 1988. PAZ Estenssoro was followed as President by Jaime PAZ Zamora (1989-93) who continued the free-market policies of his predecessor, despite opposition from his own party and from Bolivia's once powerful labor movement. By maintaining fiscal discipline, PAZ Zamora helped reduce inflation to 9.3% in 1993, while GDP grew by an annual average of 3.25% during his tenure. Inaugurated in August 1993, President SANCHEZ DE LOZADA has vowed to advance the market-oriented economic reforms he helped launch as PAZ Estenssoro's planning minister. His successes so far have included an inflation rate that continues to decrease - the 1994 rate of 8.5% was the lowest in ten years - the signing of a free trade agreement with Mexico, and progress on his unique privatization plan. The main privatization bill was passed by the Bolivian legislature in late March 1994. Related laws - one that establishes SIRESE, the regulatory agency that will oversee the privatizations, and another that outlines the rules for privatization in the electricity sector - were approved later in the year.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $18.3 billion (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate: 4.2% (1994 est.)
Industries: mining, smelting, petroleum, food and beverage, tobacco, handicrafts, clothing; illicit drug industry reportedly produces 15% of its revenues
Agriculture: accounts for about 21% of GDP (including forestry and fisheries); principal commodities - coffee, coca, cotton, corn, sugarcane, rice, potatoes, timber; self-sufficient in food
Illicit drugs: world's second-largest producer of coca (after Peru) with an estimated 48,100 hectares under cultivation in 1994; voluntary and forced eradication programs unable to prevent production from rising to 89,800 metric tons in 1994 from 84,400 tons in 1993; government considers all but 12,000 hectares illicit; intermediate coca products and cocaine exported to or through Colombia and Brazil to the US and other international drug markets; alternative crop program aims to reduce illicit coca cultivation
Economic aid: recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $990 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $2.025 billion; Communist countries (1970-89), $340 million
Airports: total: 1,382 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 3 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 with paved runways under 914 m: 1,016 with unpaved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 5 with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 77 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 275
@Bolivia:Communications
Telephone system: about 150,000 telephones; about 2.0 telephones/100 persons; new subscribers face bureaucratic difficulties; most telephones in La Paz and other cities; microwave radio relay system being expanded; improved international services local: NA intercity: microwave radio relay system international: 1 INTELSAT (Atlantic Ocean) earth station
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 129, FM 0, shortwave 68 radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: 43 televisions: NA
@Bolivia:Defense Forces
Branches: Army (Ejercito Boliviano), Navy (Fuerza Naval Boliviana, includes Marines), Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Boliviana), National Police Force (Policia Nacional de Bolivia)
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 1,885,485; males fit for military service 1,226,218; males reach military age (19) annually 81,065 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $134 million; 1.9% of GDP (1994)
Note—Bosnia and Herzegovina is set to enter its third year of interethnic civil strife which began in the spring of 1992 after the Government of Bosnia and Herzegovina held a referendum on independence. Bosnia's Serbs - supported by neighboring Serbia - responded with armed resistance aimed at partitioning the republic along ethnic lines and joining Serb-held areas to 'greater Serbia'. In March 1994, Bosnia's Muslims and Croats reduced the number of warring factions from three to two by signing an agreement in Washington, DC, creating the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. A group of rebel Muslims, however, continues to battle government forces in the northwest enclave of Bihac. A Contact Group of countries, the US, UK, France, Germany, and Russia, continues to seek a resolution between the Federation and the Bosnian Serbs. In July of 1994 the Contact Group presented a plan to the warring parties that roughly equally divides the country between the two, while maintaining Bosnia in its current internationally recognized borders. The Federation agreed to the plan almost immediately, while the Bosnian Serbs rejected it.
@Bosnia And Herzegovina:Geography
Location: Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea and Croatia
Map references: Ethnic Groups in Eastern Europe, Europe
Area: total area: 51,233 sq km land area: 51,233 sq km comparative area: slightly larger than Tennessee
Land boundaries: total 1,459 km, Croatia 932 km, Serbia and Montenegro 527 km (312 km with Serbia; 215 km with Montenegro)
Coastline: 20 km
Maritime claims: NA
International disputes: as of January 1995, Bosnian Government and Bosnian Serb leaders remain far apart on territorial and constitutional solutions for Bosnia; the two sides did, however, sign a four-month cessation of hostilities agreement effective January 1; the Bosnian Serbs continue to reject the Contact Group Plan submitted by the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Russia, and accepted by the Bosnian Government, which stands firm in its desire to regain lost territory and preserve Bosnia as a multiethnic state within its current borders; Bosnian Serb forces control approximately 70% of Bosnian territory
Climate: hot summers and cold winters; areas of high elevation have short, cool summers and long, severe winters; mild, rainy winters along coast
Land use: arable land: 20% permanent crops: 2% meadows and pastures: 25% forest and woodland: 36% other: 17%
Irrigated land: NA sq km
Environment: current issues: air pollution from metallurgical plants; sites for disposing of urban waste are limited; widespread casualties, water shortages, and destruction of infrastructure because of civil strife natural hazards: frequent and destructive earthquakes international agreements: party to - Air Pollution, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection
@Bosnia And Herzegovina:People
Population: 3,201,823 (July 1995 est.) note: all data dealing with population is subject to considerable error because of the dislocations caused by military action and ethnic cleansing
Age structure: 0-14 years: 22% (female 337,787; male 370,966) 15-64 years: 68% (female 1,082,357; male 1,085,610) 65 years and over: 10% (female 190,992; male 134,111) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.65% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 11.29 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 7.51 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 2.72 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 11.6 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 75.47 years male: 72.75 years female: 78.37 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.65 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Ethnic divisions: Muslim 38%, Serb 40%, Croat 22% (est.)
Religions: Muslim 40%, Orthodox 31%, Catholic 15%, Protestant 4%, other 10%
Languages: Serbo-Croatian 99%
Literacy: NA%
Labor force: 1,026,254 by occupation: NA%
@Bosnia And Herzegovina:Government
Note: The US recognizes the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, formed by the Muslims and Croats in March 1994, remains in the implementation stages.
Names: conventional long form: Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina conventional short form: Bosnia and Herzegovina local long form: Republika Bosna i Hercegovina local short form: Bosna i Hercegovina
Digraph: BK
Type: emerging democracy
Capital: Sarajevo
Administrative divisions: 109 districts (opstinas, singular - opstina) Banovici, Banja Luka, Bihac, Bijeljina, Bileca, Bosanska Dubica, Bosanska Gradiska, Bosanska Krupa, Bosanski Brod, Bosanski Novi, Bosanski Petrovac, Bosanski Samac, Bosansko Grahovo, Bratunac, Brcko, Breza, Bugojno, Busovaca, Cazin, Cajnice, Capljina, Celinac, Citluk, Derventa, Doboj, Donji Vakuf, Foca, Fojnica, Gacko, Glamoc, Gorazde, Gornji Vakuf, Gracanica, Gradacac, Grude, Han Pijesak, Jablanica, Jajce, Kakanj, Kalesija, Kalinovik, Kiseljak, Kladanj, Kljuc, Konjic, Kotor Varos, Kresevo, Kupres, Laktasi, Listica, Livno, Lopare, Lukavac, Ljubinje, Ljubuski, Maglaj, Modrica, Mostar, Mrkonjic-Grad, Neum, Nevesinje, Odzak, Olovo, Orasje, Posusje, Prijedor, Prnjavor, Prozor, (Pucarevo) Novi Travnik, Rogatica, Rudo, Sanski Most, Sarajevo-Centar, Sarajevo-Hadzici, Sarajevo-Ilidza, Sarajevo-Ilijas, Sarajevo-Novi Grad, Sarajevo-Novo, Sarajevo-Pale, Sarajevo-Stari Grad, Sarajevo-Trnovo, Sarajevo-Vogosca, Skender Vakuf, Sokolac, Srbac, Srebrenica, Srebrenik, Stolac, Sekovici, Sipovo, Teslic, Tesanj, Drvar, Duvno, Travnik, Trebinje, Tuzla, Ugljevik, Vares, Velika Kladusa, Visoko, Visegrad, Vitez, Vlasenica, Zavidovici, Zenica, Zvornik, Zepce, Zivinice note: currently under negotiation with the assistance of international mediators
Independence: NA April 1992 (from Yugoslavia)
National holiday: NA
Constitution: promulgated in 1974 (under the Communists), amended 1989, 1990, and 1991; the Assembly planned to draft a new constitution in 1991, before conditions deteriorated; constitution of Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (including Muslim and Croatian controlled parts of Republic) ratified April 1994
Legal system: based on civil law system
Suffrage: 16 years of age, if employed; 18 years of age, universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Alija IZETBEGOVIC (since 20 December 1990), other members of the collective presidency: Ejup GANIC (since NA November 1990), Nijaz DURAKOVIC (since NA October 1993), Stjepan KLJUJIC (since NA October 1993), Ivo KOMSIC (since NA October 1993), Mirko PEJANOVIC (since NA June 1992), Tatjana LJUJIC-MIJATOVIC (since NA December 1992) head of government: Prime Minister Haris SILAJDZIC (since NA October 1993) cabinet: executive body of ministers; members of, and responsible to, the National Assembly note: the president of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina is Kresimir ZUBAK (since 31 May 1994); Vice President Ejup GANIC (since 31 May 1994)
Legislative branch: bicameral National Assembly Chamber of Municipalities (Vijece Opeina): elections last held November-December 1990 (next to be held NA); percent of vote by party NA; seats - (110 total) SDA 43, SDS BiH 38, HDZ BiH 23, Party of Democratic Changes 4, DSS 1, SPO 1 Chamber of Citizens (Vijece Gradanstvo): elections last held November-December 1990 (next to be held NA); percent of vote by party NA; seats - (130 total) SDA 43, SDS BiH 34, HDZ BiH 21, Party of Democratic Changes 15, SRSJ BiH 12, LBO 2, DSS 1, DSZ 1, LS 1 note: legislative elections for Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina are slated for late 1994
Political parties and leaders: Party of Democratic Action (SDA), Alija IZETBEGOVIC; Croatian Democratic Union of Bosnia and Herzegovina (HDZ BiH), Dario KORDIC; Serbian Democratic Party of Bosnia and Herzegovina (SDS BiH), Radovan KARADZIC, president; Liberal Bosnian Organization (LBO), Adil ZULFIKARPASIC, president; Democratic Party of Socialists (DSS), Nijaz DURAKOVIC, president; Party of Democratic Changes, leader NA; Serbian Movement for Renewal (SPO), Milan TRIVUNCIC; Alliance of Reform Forces of Yugoslavia for Bosnia and Herzegovina (SRSJ BiH), Dr. Nenad KECMANOVIC, president; Democratic League of Greens (DSZ), Drazen PETROVIC; Liberal Party (LS), Rasim KADIC, president
Other political or pressure groups: NA
Member of: CE (guest), CEI, ECE, FAO, ICAO, IFAD, ILO, IMO, INTELSAT (nonsignatory user), INTERPOL, IOC, IOM (observer), ITU, NAM (guest), OSCE, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Sven ALKALAJ chancery: Suite 760, 1707 L Street NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 833-3612, 3613, 3615 FAX: [1] (202) 833-2061 consulate(s) general: New York
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador Victor JACKOVICH embassy: address NA mailing address: American Embassy Bosnia, c/o AmEmbassy Vienna Boltzmangasse 16, A-1091, Vienna, Austria; APO: (Bosnia) Vienna, Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-9900 telephone: [43] (1) 313-39 FAX: [43] (1) 310-0682
Flag: white with a large blue shield; the shield contains white Roman crosses with a white diagonal band running from the upper hoist corner to the lower fly side
@Bosnia And Herzegovina:Economy
Overview: Bosnia and Herzegovina ranked next to The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia as the poorest republic in the old Yugoslav federation. Although agriculture has been almost all in private hands, farms have been small and inefficient, and the republic traditionally has been a net importer of food. Industry has been greatly overstaffed, one reflection of the rigidities of Communist central planning and management. TITO had pushed the development of military industries in the republic with the result that Bosnia hosted a large share of Yugoslavia's defense plants. As of February 1995, Bosnia and Herzegovina was being torn apart by the continued bitter interethnic warfare that has caused production to plummet, unemployment and inflation to soar, and human misery to multiply. No economic statistics for 1992-94 are available, although output clearly has fallen substantially below the levels of earlier years and almost certainly is well below $1,000 per head. The country receives substantial amounts of humanitarian aid from the international community.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $NA
National product real growth rate: NA%
National product per capita: $NA
Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA%
Unemployment rate: NA%
Budget: revenues: $NA expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA
Exports: $NA commodities: NA partners: NA
Imports: $NA commodities: NA partners: NA
External debt: $NA
Industrial production: growth rate NA%; production is sharply down because of interethnic and interrepublic warfare (1991-94)
Electricity: capacity: 3,800,000 kW production: NA kWh consumption per capita: NA kWh (1993)
Industries: steel production, mining (coal, iron ore, lead, zinc, manganese, and bauxite), manufacturing (vehicle assembly, textiles, tobacco products, wooden furniture, 40% of former Yugoslavia's armaments including tank and aircraft assembly, domestic appliances), oil refining (1991)
Agriculture: accounted for 9.0% of GDP in 1989; regularly produces less than 50% of food needs; the foothills of northern Bosnia support orchards, vineyards, livestock, and some wheat and corn; long winters and heavy precipitation leach soil fertility reducing agricultural output in the mountains; farms are mostly privately held, small, and not very productive (1991)
Illicit drugs: NA
Economic aid: $NA
Currency: 1 dinar = 100 para; Croatian dinar used in Croat-held area, presumably to be replaced by new Croatian kuna; old and new Serbian dinars used in Serb-held area; hard currencies probably supplanting local currencies in areas held by Bosnian government
Exchange rates: NA
Fiscal year: calendar year
@Bosnia And Herzegovina:Transportation
Railroads: total: 1,021 km (electrified 795 km) standard gauge: 1,021 km 1.435-m gauge (1994)
Highways: total: 21,168 km paved: 11,436 km unpaved: gravel 8,146 km; earth 1,586 km (1991)
Inland waterways: NA km
Pipelines: crude oil 174 km; natural gas 90 km (1992); note - pipelines now disrupted
Ports: Bosanski Brod
Merchant marine: none
Airports: total: 27 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 4 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 with paved runways under 914 m: 11 with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 1 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 8
@Bosnia And Herzegovina:Communications
Telephone system: 727,000 telephones; telephone and telegraph network is in need of modernization and expansion; many urban areas are below average when compared with services in other former Yugoslav republics
local: NA intercity: NA international: no earth stations
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 9, FM 2, shortwave 0 radios: 840,000
Area: total area: 600,370 sq km land area: 585,370 sq km comparative area: slightly smaller than Texas
Land boundaries: total 4,013 km, Namibia 1,360 km, South Africa 1,840 km, Zimbabwe 813 km
Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims: none; landlocked
International disputes: short section of boundary with Namibia is indefinite; quadripoint with Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe is in disagreement; dispute with Namibia over uninhabited Kasikili (Sidudu) Island in Linyanti (Chobe) River remained unresolved in mid-February 1995 and the parties agreed to refer the matter to the International Court of Justice
Climate: semiarid; warm winters and hot summers
Terrain: predominately flat to gently rolling tableland; Kalahari Desert in southwest
Natural resources: diamonds, copper, nickel, salt, soda ash, potash, coal, iron ore, silver
Land use: arable land: 2% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 75% forest and woodland: 2% other: 21%
Irrigated land: 20 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment: current issues: overgrazing, primarily as a result of the expansion of the cattle population; desertification; limited natural fresh water resources natural hazards: periodic droughts; seasonal August winds blow from the west, carrying sand and dust across the country, which can obscure visibility international agreements: party to - Climate Change, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity
Note: landlocked; population concentrated in eastern part of the country
@Botswana:People
Population: 1,392,414 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 43% (female 300,598; male 303,333) 15-64 years: 53% (female 398,347; male 344,838) 65 years and over: 4% (female 25,773; male 19,525) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 2.36% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 31.01 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 7.41 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 38 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 63.56 years male: 60.54 years female: 66.67 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 3.86 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Ethnic divisions: Batswana 95%, Kalanga, Basarwa, and Kgalagadi 4%, white 1%
Religions: indigenous beliefs 50%, Christian 50%
Languages: English (official), Setswana
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.) total population: 23% male: 32% female: 16%
Labor force: 428,000 (1992) by occupation: 220,000 formal sector employees, most others are engaged in cattle raising and subsistence agriculture (1992 est.); 14,300 are employed in various mines in South Africa (March 1992)
@Botswana:Government
Names: conventional long form: Republic of Botswana conventional short form: Botswana former: Bechuanaland
Digraph: BC
Type: parliamentary republic
Capital: Gaborone
Administrative divisions: 10 districts; Central, Chobe, Ghanzi, Kgalagadi, Kgatleng, Kweneng, Ngamiland, North-East, South-East, Southern; in addition, there are 4 town councils - Francistown, Gaborone, Lobatse, Selebi-Phikwe
Independence: 30 September 1966 (from UK)
National holiday: Independence Day, 30 September (1966)
Constitution: March 1965, effective 30 September 1966
Legal system: based on Roman-Dutch law and local customary law; judicial review limited to matters of interpretation; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 21 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state and head of government: President Sir Ketumile MASIRE (since 13 July 1980); Vice President Festus MOGAE (since 9 March 1992); election last held 15 October 1994 (next to be held October 1999); results - President Sir Ketumile MASIRE was reelected by the National Assembly cabinet: Cabinet; appointed by the president
Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament House of Chiefs: is a largely advisory 15-member body consisting of chiefs of the 8 principal tribes, 4 elected subchiefs, and 3 members selected by the other 12 National Assembly: elections last held 15 October 1994 (next to be held October 1999); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (44 total of which 40 are elected and 4 are appointed) BDP 27, BNF 13
Judicial branch: High Court, Court of Appeal
Political parties and leaders: Botswana Democratic Party (BDP), Sir Ketumile MASIRE; Botswana National Front (BNF), Kenneth KOMA; Botswana People's Party (BPP), Knight MARIPE; Botswana Independence Party (BIP), Motsamai MPHO
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Botsweletse Kingsley SEBELE chancery: Suite 7M, 3400 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 244-4990, 4991 FAX: [1] (202) 244-4164
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador Howard F. JETER embassy: address NA, Gaborone mailing address: P. O. Box 90, Gaborone telephone: [267] 353982 FAX: [267] 356947
Flag: light blue with a horizontal white-edged black stripe in the center
@Botswana:Economy
Overview: The economy has historically been based on cattle raising and crops. Agriculture today provides a livelihood for more than 80% of the population but supplies only about 50% of food needs and accounts for only 5% of GDP. Subsistence farming and cattle raising predominate. The driving force behind the rapid economic growth of the 1970s and 1980s has been the mining industry. This sector, mostly on the strength of diamonds, has gone from generating 25% of GDP in 1980 to 39% in 1994. No other sector has experienced such growth, especially not agriculture, which is plagued by erratic rainfall and poor soils. The unemployment rate remains a problem at 25%. Hampered by a still sluggish diamond market in 1994, GDP grew by only 1%.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $4.3 billion (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate: 1% (1994 est.)
National product per capita: $3,130 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 10% (1994 est.)
Unemployment rate: 25% (1994 est.)
Budget: revenues: $1.7 billion expenditures: $1.99 billion, including capital expenditures of $652 million (FY93/94)
Economic aid: recipient: US aid (1992), $13 million; Norway (1992), $16 million; Sweden (1992), $15.5 million; Germany (1992), $3.6 million; EC/Lome-IV (1992), $3 million-$6 million in grants; $28.7 million in long-term projects (1992)
Railroads: total: 888 km narrow gauge: 888 km 1.067-m gauge (1992)
Highways: total: 11,514 km paved: 1,600 km unpaved: crushed stone, gravel 1,700 km; improved earth 5,177 km; unimproved earth 3,037 km
Ports: none
Airports: total: 100 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 1 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 6 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 2 with paved runways under 914 m: 23 with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 5 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 62
@Botswana:Communications
Telephone system: 26,000 telephones; sparse system; telephone density - 18.67 telephones/1,000 persons local: NA intercity: small system of open wire lines, microwave radio relay links, and a few radio communication stations international: 1 INTELSAT (Indian Ocean) earth station
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 7, FM 13, shortwave 0 radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: 0 televisions: NA
@Botswana:Defense Forces
Branches: Botswana Defense Force (includes Army and Air Wing), Botswana National Police
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 306,878; males fit for military service 161,376; males reach military age (18) annually 15,403 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $198 million, 5.2% of GDP (FY93/94)
Location: Eastern South America, bordering the Atlantic Ocean
Map references: South America
Area: total area: 8,511,965 sq km land area: 8,456,510 sq km comparative area: slightly smaller than the US note: includes Arquipelago de Fernando de Noronha, Atol das Rocas, Ilha da Trindade, Ilhas Martin Vaz, and Penedos de Sao Pedro e Sao Paulo
Land boundaries: total 14,691 km, Argentina 1,224 km, Bolivia 3,400 km, Colombia 1,643 km, French Guiana 673 km, Guyana 1,119 km, Paraguay 1,290 km, Peru 1,560 km, Suriname 597 km, Uruguay 985 km, Venezuela 2,200 km
International disputes: short section of the boundary with Paraguay, just west of Salto das Sete Quedas (Guaira Falls) on the Rio Parana, is in dispute; two short sections of boundary with Uruguay are in dispute - Arroio Invernada (Arroyo de la Invernada) area of the Rio Quarai (Rio Cuareim) and the islands at the confluence of the Rio Quarai and the Uruguay River
Climate: mostly tropical, but temperate in south
Terrain: mostly flat to rolling lowlands in north; some plains, hills, mountains, and narrow coastal belt
Land use: arable land: 7% permanent crops: 1% meadows and pastures: 19% forest and woodland: 67% other: 6%
Irrigated land: 27,000 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment: current issues: deforestation in Amazon Basin destroys the habitat and endangers the existence of a multitude of plant and animal species indigenous to the area; air and water pollution in Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, and several other large cities; land degradation and water pollution caused by improper mining activities natural hazards: recurring droughts in northeast; floods and occasional frost in south international agreements: party to - Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Wetlands, Whaling; signed, but not ratified - Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Desertification
Note: largest country in South America; shares common boundaries with every South American country except Chile and Ecuador
@Brazil:People
Population: 160,737,489 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 31% (female 24,641,868; male 25,515,775) 15-64 years: 64% (female 51,966,272; male 51,254,165) 65 years and over: 5% (female 4,393,530; male 2,965,879) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.22% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 21.16 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 8.98 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 57.2 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 61.82 years male: 56.57 years female: 67.32 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 2.39 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Ethnic divisions: Caucasion (includes Portuguese, German, Italian, Spanish, Polish) 55%, mixed Caucasion and African 38%, African 6%, other (includes Japanese, Arab, Amerindian) 1%
Religions: Roman Catholic (nominal) 70%
Languages: Portuguese (official), Spanish, English, French
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1991) total population: 80% male: 80% female: 80%
Labor force: 57 million (1989 est.) by occupation: services 42%, agriculture 31%, industry 27%
@Brazil:Government
Names: conventional long form: Federative Republic of Brazil conventional short form: Brazil local long form: Republica Federativa do Brasil local short form: Brasil
Digraph: BR
Type: federal republic
Capital: Brasilia
Administrative divisions: 26 states (estados, singular - estado) and 1 federal district* (distrito federal); Acre, Alagoas, Amapa, Amazonas, Bahia, Ceara, Distrito Federal*, Espirito Santo, Goias, Maranhao, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Minas Gerais, Para, Paraiba, Parana, Pernambuco, Piaui, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande do Norte, Rio Grande do Sul, Rondonia, Roraima, Santa Catarina, Sao Paulo, Sergipe, Tocantins
Independence: 7 September 1822 (from Portugal)
National holiday: Independence Day, 7 September (1822)
Constitution: 5 October 1988
Legal system: based on Roman codes; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: voluntary between 16 and 18 years of age and over 70; compulsory over 18 and under 70 years of age
Executive branch: chief of state and head of government: President Fernando Henrique CARDOSO (since 1 January 1995) election last held 3 October 1994; next to be held October 1998); results - Fernando Henrique CARDOSO 53%, Luis Inacio LULA da Silva 26%, Eneas CARNEIRO 7%, Orestes QUERCIA 4%, Leonel BRIZOLA 3%, Espiridiao AMIN 3%; note - second free, direct presidential election since 1960 cabinet: Cabinet; appointed by the president
Legislative branch: bicameral National Congress (Congresso Nacional) Federal Senate (Senado Federal): election last held 3 October 1994 for two-thirds of Senate (next to be held October 1996 for one-third of the Senate); results - PMBD 28%, PFL 22%, PSDB 12%, PPR 7%, PDT 7%, PT 6%, PTB 6%, other 12% Chamber of Deputies (Camara dos Deputados): election last held 3 October 1994 (next to be held October 1998); results - PMDB 21%, PFL 18%, PDT 7%, PSDB 12%, PPR 10%, PTB 6%, PT 10%, other 16%
Judicial branch: Supreme Federal Tribunal
Political parties and leaders: National Reconstruction Party (PRN), Daniel TOURINHO, president; Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB), Luiz HENRIQUE da Silveira, president; Liberal Front Party (PFL), Jorge BORNHAUSEN, president; Workers' Party (PT), Rui Goethe da Costa FALCAO, president; Brazilian Workers' Party (PTB), Jose Eduardo ANDRADE VIEIRA, president; Democratic Workers' Party (PDT), Anthony GAROTINHO, president; Progressive Renewal Party (PPR), Espiridiao AMIN, president; Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB), Artur DA TAVOLA, president; Popular Socialist Party (PPS), Roberto FREIRE, president; Communist Party of Brazil (PCdoB), Joao AMAZONAS, secretary general; Liberal Party (PL), Alvero VALLE, president
Other political or pressure groups: left wing of the Catholic Church and labor unions allied to leftist Workers' Party are critical of government's social and economic policies
Member of: AfDB, AG (observer), CCC, ECLAC, FAO, G-11, G-15, G-19, G-24, G-77, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, MERCOSUR, NAM (observer), OAS, ONUSAL, OPANAL, PCA, RG, UN, UNAVEM II, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNOMOZ, UNOMUR, UNPROFOR, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Paulo Tarso FLECHA de LIMA chancery: 3006 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 745-2700 FAX: [1] (202) 745-2827 consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Juan (Puerto Rico), and San Francisco consulate(s): Houston
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador Melvyn LEVITSKY embassy: Avenida das Nacoes, Lote 3, Brasilia, Distrito Federal mailing address: Unit 3500; APO AA 34030 telephone: [55] (61) 321-7272 FAX: [55] (61) 225-9136 consulate(s) general: Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo consulate(s): Porto Alegre, Recife
Flag: green with a large yellow diamond in the center bearing a blue celestial globe with 27 white five-pointed stars (one for each state and the Federal District) arranged in the same pattern as the night sky over Brazil; the globe has a white equatorial band with the motto ORDEM E PROGRESSO (Order and Progress)
@Brazil:Economy
Overview: The economy, with large agrarian, mining, and manufacturing sectors, entered the 1990s with declining real growth, runaway inflation, an unserviceable foreign debt of $122 billion, and a lack of policy direction. In addition, the economy remained highly regulated, inward-looking, and protected by substantial trade and investment barriers. Ownership of major industrial and mining facilities is divided among private interests - including several multinationals - and the government. Most large agricultural holdings are private, with the government channeling financing to this sector. Conflicts between large landholders and landless peasants have produced intermittent violence. The COLLOR government, which assumed office in March 1990, launched an ambitious reform program that sought to modernize and reinvigorate the economy by stabilizing prices, deregulating the economy, and opening it to increased foreign competition. Itamar FRANCO, who assumed the presidency following President COLLOR's resignation in December 1992, was out of step with COLLOR's reform agenda; initiatives to redress fiscal problems, privatize state enterprises, and liberalize trade and investment policies lost momentum. Galloping inflation - by June 1994 the monthly rate had risen to nearly 50% - had undermined economic stability. In response, the then finance minister, Fernando Henrique CARDOSO, launched the third phase of his stabilization plan, known as Plano Real, that called for a new currency, the real, which was introduced on 1 July 1994. Inflation subsequently dropped to under 3% per month through the end of 1994. The newly elected President CARDOSO has called for the implementation of sweeping market-oriented reform, including public sector and fiscal reform, privatization, deregulation, and elimination of barriers to increased foreign investment. Brazil's natural resources remain a major, long-term economic strength.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $886.3 billion (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate: 5.3% (1994 est.)
Budget: revenues: $113 billion expenditures: $109 billion, including capital expenditures of $23 billion (1992)
Exports: $43.6 billion (f.o.b., 1994 est.) commodities: iron ore, soybean bran, orange juice, footwear, coffee, motor vehicle parts partners: EC 27.6%, Latin America 21.8%, US 17.4%, Japan 6.3% (1993)
Imports: $33.2 billion (f.o.b., 1994 est.) commodities: crude oil, capital goods, chemical products, foodstuffs, coal partners: US 23.3%, EC 22.5%, Middle East 13.0%, Latin America 11.8%, Japan 6.5% (1993)
External debt: $134 billion (1994)
Industrial production: growth rate 9.5% (1993); accounts for 39% of GDP
Industries: textiles, shoes, chemicals, cement, lumber, mining (iron ore, tin), steel making, machine building - including aircraft, motor vehicles, motor vehicle parts and assemblies, and other machinery and equipment
Agriculture: accounts for 11% of GDP; world's largest producer and exporter of coffee and orange juice concentrate and second-largest exporter of soybeans; other products - rice, corn, sugarcane, cocoa, beef; self-sufficient in food, except for wheat
Illicit drugs: illicit producer of cannabis and coca, mostly for domestic consumption; government has a small-scale eradication program to control cannabis and coca cultivation; important transshipment country for Bolivian and Colombian cocaine headed for the US and Europe
Economic aid: recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $2.5 billion; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $10.2 million; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $284 million; former Communist countries (1970-89), $1.3 billion
Currency: 1 real (R$) = 100 centavos
Exchange rates: R$ per US$1 - 0.85 (January 1995); CR$ per US$1 - 390.845 (January 1994), 88.449 (1993), 4.513 (1992), 0.407 (1991), 0.068 (1990) note: on 1 August 1993 the cruzeiro real (CR$), equal to 1,000 cruzeiros, was introduced; another new currency, the real, was introduced on 1 July 1994, equal to 2,750 cruzeiro reals
Fiscal year: calendar year
@Brazil:Transportation
Railroads: total: 30,612 km (1992) broad gauge: 5,369 km 1.600-m gauge (1,108 km electrified) standard gauge: 194 km 1.440-m gauge narrow gauge: 24,739 km 1.000-m gauge (112 km electrified); 13 km 0.760-m gauge dual gauge: 310 km 1.600-m/1.000-m gauge (78 km electrified)
Highways: total: 1,670,148 km paved: 161,503 km unpaved: gravel/earth 1,508,645 km (1990)
Inland waterways: 50,000 km navigable
Pipelines: crude oil 2,000 km; petroleum products 3,804 km; natural gas 1,095 km
Ports: Belem, Fortaleza, Ilheus, Imbituba, Manaus, Paranagua, Porto Alegre, Recife, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande, Salvador, Santos, Vitoria
Airports: total: 3,467 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 5 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 19 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 126 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 286 with paved runways under 914 m: 1,652 with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 76 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 1,303
@Brazil:Communications
Telephone system: 9.86 million telephones; telephone density - 61/1,000 persons; good working system local: NA intercity: extensive microwave radio relay systems and 64 domestic satellite earth stations international: 3 coaxial submarine cables; 3 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth stations
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 1,223, FM 0, shortwave 151 radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: 112 (Brazil has the world's fourth largest television broadcasting system) televisions: NA
@Brazil:Defense Forces
Branches: Brazilian Army, Brazilian Navy (includes Marines), Brazilian Air Force, Federal Police (paramilitary)
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 44,301,765; males fit for military service 29,815,576; males reach military age (18) annually 1,703,438 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $5.0 billion, 0.9% of GDP (1994)
International disputes: the entire Chagos Archipelago is claimed by Mauritius
Climate: tropical marine; hot, humid, moderated by trade winds
Terrain: flat and low (up to 4 meters in elevation)
Natural resources: coconuts, fish
Land use: arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 0% forest and woodland: 0% other: 100%
Irrigated land: 0 sq km
Environment: current issues: NA natural hazards: NA international agreements: NA
Note: archipelago of 2,300 islands; Diego Garcia, largest and southernmost island, occupies strategic location in central Indian Ocean; island is site of joint US-UK military facility
@British Indian Ocean Territory:People
Population: no indigenous inhabitants note: there are UK-US military personnel; civilian inhabitants, known as the Ilois, evacuated to Mauritius before construction of UK-US military facilities
@British Indian Ocean Territory:Government
Names: conventional long form: British Indian Ocean Territory conventional short form: none
Abbreviation: BIOT
Digraph: IO
Type: dependent territory of the UK
Capital: none
Independence: none (dependent territory of the UK)
Executive branch: chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952) head of government: Commissioner Mr. D. R. MACLENNAN); Administrator Mr. David Smith; note - both reside in the UK
Diplomatic representation in US: none (dependent territory of the UK)
US diplomatic representation: none (dependent territory of the UK)
Flag: white with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and six blue wavy horizontal stripes bearing a palm tree and yellow crown centered on the outer half of the flag
@British Indian Ocean Territory:Economy
Overview: All economic activity is concentrated on the largest island of Diego Garcia, where joint UK-US defense facilities are located. Construction projects and various services needed to support the military installations are done by military and contract employees from the UK, Mauritius, the Philippines, and the US. There are no industrial or agricultural activities on the islands.
Electricity: provided by the US military
@British Indian Ocean Territory:Transportation
Railroads: 0 km
Highways: total: NA paved: short stretch of paved road between port and airfield on Diego Garcia unpaved: NA
Ports: Diego Garcia
Airports: total: 1 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 1
@British Indian Ocean Territory:Communications
Telephone system: NA telephones; minimal facilities local: NA intercity: NA international: 1 INTELSAT (Atlantic Ocean) earth station
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0 radios: NA
Land use: arable land: 20% permanent crops: 7% meadows and pastures: 33% forest and woodland: 7% other: 33%
Irrigated land: NA sq km
Environment: current issues: limited natural fresh water resources (except for a few seasonal streams and springs on Tortola, most of the island's water supply comes from wells and rainwater catchment) natural hazards: hurricanes and tropical storms (July to October) international agreements: NA
Note: strong ties to nearby US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico
@British Virgin Islands:People
Population: 13,027 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: NA 15-64 years: NA 65 years and over: NA
Population growth rate: 1.27% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 20.25 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 6.07 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: -1.5 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 19.33 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 72.73 years male: 70.88 years female: 74.7 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 2.27 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Nationality: noun: British Virgin Islander(s) adjective: British Virgin Islander
Ethnic divisions: black 90%, white, Asian
Religions: Protestant 86% (Methodist 45%, Anglican 21%, Church of God 7%, Seventh-Day Adventist 5%, Baptist 4%, Jehovah's Witnesses 2%, other 2%), Roman Catholic 6%, none 2%, other 6% (1981)
Languages: English (official)
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1970) total population: 98% male: 98% female: 98%
Labor force: 4,911 (1980) by occupation: NA
@British Virgin Islands:Government
Names: conventional long form: none conventional short form: British Virgin Islands
Abbreviation: BVI
Digraph: VI
Type: dependent territory of the UK
Capital: Road Town
Administrative divisions: none (dependent territory of the UK)
Independence: none (dependent territory of the UK)
National holiday: Territory Day, 1 July
Constitution: 1 June 1977
Legal system: English law
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor Peter Alfred PENFOLD (since 14 October 1991) head of government: Chief Minister H. Lavity STOUTT (since NA September 1986) cabinet: Executive Council; appointed by the governor
Legislative branch: unicameral Legislative Council: election last held 20 February 1995 (next to be held on NA February 2000); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (13 total) VIP 6, CCM 2, UP 2, independents 3 note: legislature was expanded to 13 seats as of election on 20 February 1995
Judicial branch: Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court
Political parties and leaders: United Party (UP), Conrad MADURO; Virgin Islands Party (VIP), H. Lavity STOUTT; Concerned Citizens Movement (CCM), E. Walwyln BREWLEY
Member of: CARICOM (associate), CDB, ECLAC (associate), INTERPOL (subbureau), IOC, OECS (associate), UNESCO (associate)
Diplomatic representation in US: none (dependent territory of the UK)
US diplomatic representation: none (dependent territory of the UK)
Flag: blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the Virgin Islander coat of arms centered in the outer half of the flag; the coat of arms depicts a woman flanked on either side by a vertical column of six oil lamps above a scroll bearing the Latin word VIGILATE (Be Watchful)
@British Virgin Islands:Economy
Overview: The economy, one of the most prosperous in the Caribbean area, is highly dependent on the tourist industry, which generates about 21% of the national income. In 1985 the government offered offshore registration to companies wishing to incorporate in the islands, and, in consequence, incorporation fees generated about $2 million in 1987. The economy slowed in 1991 because of the poor performances of the tourist sector and tight commercial bank credit. Livestock raising is the most significant agricultural activity. The islands' crops, limited by poor soils, are unable to meet food requirements.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $133 million (1991)
Budget: revenues: $51 million expenditures: $88 million, including capital expenditures of $38 million (1991)
Exports: $2.7 million (f.o.b., 1988) commodities: rum, fresh fish, gravel, sand, fruits, animals partners: Virgin Islands (US), Puerto Rico, US
Imports: $11.5 million (c.i.f., 1988) commodities: building materials, automobiles, foodstuffs, machinery partners: Virgin Islands (US), Puerto Rico, US
External debt: $4.5 million (1985)
Industrial production: growth rate 4% (1985)
Electricity: capacity: 10,500 kW production: 50 million kWh consumption per capita: 3,148 kWh (1993)
Currency: 1 United States dollar (US$) = 100 cents
Exchange rates: US currency is used
Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March
@British Virgin Islands:Transportation
Railroads: 0 km
Highways: total: 106 km (1983) paved: NA unpaved: NA
Ports: Road Town
Merchant marine: none
Airports: total: 3 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 1 with paved runways under 914 m: 1 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 1
@British Virgin Islands:Communications
Telephone system: 3,000 telephones; worldwide external telephone service local: NA intercity: NA international: submarine cable communication links to Bermuda
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0 radios: NA
Location: Southeastern Asia, bordering the South China Sea and Malaysia
Map references: Southeast Asia
Area: total area: 5,770 sq km land area: 5,270 sq km comparative area: slightly larger than Delaware
Land boundaries: total 381 km, Malysia 381 km
Coastline: 161 km
Maritime claims: exclusive economic zone: 200 nm or to median line territorial sea: 12 nm
International disputes: may wish to purchase the Malaysian salient that divides the country; all of the Spratly Islands are claimed by China, Taiwan, and Vietnam; parts of them are claimed by Malaysia and the Philippines; in 1984, Brunei established an exclusive fishing zone that encompasses Louisa Reef, but has not publicly claimed the island
Climate: tropical; hot, humid, rainy
Terrain: flat coastal plain rises to mountains in east; hilly lowland in west
Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, timber
Land use: arable land: 1% permanent crops: 1% meadows and pastures: 1% forest and woodland: 79% other: 18%
Irrigated land: 10 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment: current issues: NA natural hazards: typhoons, earthquakes, and severe flooding are very rare international agreements: party to - Endangered Species, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution; signed, but not ratified - Law of the Sea
Note: close to vital sea lanes through South China Sea linking Indian and Pacific Oceans; two parts physically separated by Malaysia; almost an enclave of Malaysia
@Brunei:People
Population: 292,266 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 34% (female 48,458; male 50,624) 15-64 years: 62% (female 85,581; male 95,955) 65 years and over: 4% (female 5,172; male 6,476) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 2.63% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 25.83 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 5.07 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 5.49 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 24.7 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 71.24 years male: 69.65 years female: 72.91 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 3.41 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Ethnic divisions: Malay 64%, Chinese 20%, other 16%
Religions: Muslim (official) 63%, Buddhism 14%, Christian 8%, indigenous beliefs and other 15% (1981)
Languages: Malay (official), English, Chinese
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1991) total population: 88% male: 92% female: 82%
Labor force: 119,000 (1993 est.); note - includes members of the Army by occupation: government 47.5%, production of oil, natural gas, services, and construction 41.9%, agriculture, forestry, and fishing 3.8% (1986) note: 33% of labor force is foreign (1988)
@Brunei:Government
Names: conventional long form: Negara Brunei Darussalam conventional short form: Brunei
Constitution: 29 September 1959 (some provisions suspended under a State of Emergency since December 1962, others since independence on 1 January 1984)
Legal system: based on Islamic law
Suffrage: none
Executive branch: chief of state and head of government: Sultan and Prime Minister His Majesty Paduka Seri Baginda Sultan Haji HASSANAL Bolkiah Mu'izzaddin Waddaulah (since 5 October 1967) cabinet: Council of Cabinet Ministers; composed chiefly of members of the royal family
Legislative branch: unicameral Legislative Council (Majlis Masyuarat Megeri): elections last held in March 1962; in 1970 the Council was changed to an appointive body by decree of the sultan; an elected legislative Council is being considered as part of constitution reform, but elections are unlikely for several years
Judicial branch: Supreme Court
Political parties and leaders: Brunei United National Party (inactive), Anak HASANUDDIN, chairman; Brunei National Solidarity Party (the first legal political party and now banned), leader NA; Brunei Peoples Party (banned), leader NA
Member of: APEC, ASEAN, C, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, GATT, ICAO, IDB, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT (nonsignatory user), INTERPOL, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OIC, UN, UNCTAD, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Haji JAYA bin Abdul Latif chancery: Watergate, Suite 300, 3rd floor, 2600 Virginia Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20037 telephone: [1] (202) 342-0159 FAX: [1] (202) 342-0158
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador Theresa A. TULL embassy: Third Floor, Teck Guan Plaza, Jalan Sultan, Bandar Seri Begawan mailing address: American Embassy Box B, APO AP 96440 telephone: [673] (2) 229670 FAX: [673] (2) 225293
Flag: yellow with two diagonal bands of white (top, almost double width) and black starting from the upper hoist side; the national emblem in red is superimposed at the center; the emblem includes a swallow-tailed flag on top of a winged column within an upturned crescent above a scroll and flanked by two upraised hands
@Brunei:Economy
Overview: The economy is a mixture of foreign and domestic entrepreneurship, government regulation and welfare measures, and village tradition. It is almost totally supported by exports of crude oil and natural gas, with revenues from the petroleum sector accounting for more than 40% of GDP. Per capita GDP is among the highest in the Third World, and substantial income from overseas investment supplements domestic production. The government provides for all medical services and subsidizes food and housing.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $4.43 billion (1993 est.)
National product real growth rate: -4% (1993 est.)
Budget: revenues: $1.5 billion expenditures: $1.5 billion, including capital expenditures of $255 million (1990 est.)
Exports: $2.2 billion (f.o.b., 1993 est.) commodities: crude oil, liquefied natural gas, petroleum products partners: Japan 52%, South Korea 10%, UK 9%, Thailand 7%, Singapore 6% (1991)
Imports: $1.2 billion (c.i.f., 1993 est.) commodities: machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods, food, chemicals partners: Singapore 34%, UK 23%, US 10%, Japan 8%, Malaysia 7%, Switzerland 4% (1991)
External debt: $0
Industrial production: growth rate 12.9% (1987); accounts for 41.6% of GDP (1990), includes mining, quarrying, and manufacturing
Industries: petroleum, petroleum refining, liquefied natural gas, construction
Agriculture: imports about 80% of its food needs; principal crops and livestock include rice, cassava, bananas, buffaloes, and pigs
Economic aid: recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-87), $20.6 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $153 million
Currency: 1 Bruneian dollar (B$) = 100 cents
Exchange rates: Bruneian dollars (B$) per US$1 - 1.4524 (January 1995), 1.5274 (1994), 1.6158 (1993), 1.6290 (1992), 1.7276 (1991), 1.8125 (1990); note - the Bruneian dollar is at par with the Singapore dollar
Fiscal year: calendar year
@Brunei:Transportation
Railroads: total: 13 km private line narrow gauge: 13 km 0.610-m gauge
Highways: total: 1,090 km paved: bituminous 370 km (with another 52 km under construction) unpaved: gravel or earth 720 km
Inland waterways: 209 km; navigable by craft drawing less than 1.2 meters
Pipelines: crude oil 135 km; petroleum products 418 km; natural gas 920 km
Ports: Bandar Seri Begawar, Kuala Belait, Muara, Seria, Tutong
Merchant marine: total: 7 liquefied gas carriers (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 348,476 GRT/340,635 DWT
Airports: total: 5 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 1 with paved runways under 914 m: 3 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 1
@Brunei:Communications
Telephone system: 33,000 telephones (1987); service throughout country is adequate for present needs; international service good to adjacent Malaysia local: NA intercity: NA international: INTELSAT (NA Indian Ocean and 1 Pacific Ocean) earth stations
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 4, FM 4, shortwave 0 radios: 74,000 (1987) note: radiobroadcast coverage good
Television: broadcast stations: 1 televisions: NA
@Brunei:Defense Forces
Branches: Land Forces, Navy, Air Force, Royal Brunei Police
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 81,560; males fit for military service 47,403; males reach military age (18) annually 2,835 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $312 million, 6.2% of GDP (1994)
Location: Southeastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea, between Romania and Turkey
Map references: Ethnic Groups in Eastern Europe, Europe
Area: total area: 110,910 sq km land area: 110,550 sq km comparative area: slightly larger than Tennessee
Land boundaries: total 1,808 km, Greece 494 km, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 148 km, Romania 608 km, Serbia and Montenegro 318 km (all with Serbia), Turkey 240 km
Terrain: mostly mountains with lowlands in north and southeast
Natural resources: bauxite, copper, lead, zinc, coal, timber, arable land
Land use: arable land: 34% permanent crops: 3% meadows and pastures: 18% forest and woodland: 35% other: 10%
Irrigated land: 10 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment: current issues: air pollution from industrial emissions; rivers polluted from raw sewage, heavy metals, detergents; deforestation; forest damage from air pollution and resulting acid rain; soil contamination from heavy metals from metallurgical plants and industrial wastes natural hazards: earthquakes, landslides international agreements: party to - Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Antarctic Treaty, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Law of the Sea
Note: strategic location near Turkish Straits; controls key land routes from Europe to Middle East and Asia
@Bulgaria:People
Population: 8,775,198 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 19% (female 800,413; male 841,697) 15-64 years: 66% (female 2,927,880; male 2,910,133) 65 years and over: 15% (female 735,706; male 559,369) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: -0.25% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 11.75 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 11.31 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: -2.91 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 11.4 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 73.68 years male: 70.43 years female: 77.1 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.71 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Nationality: noun: Bulgarian(s) adjective: Bulgarian
Ethnic divisions: Bulgarian 85.3%, Turk 8.5%, Gypsy 2.6%, Macedonian 2.5%, Armenian 0.3%, Russian 0.2%, other 0.6%
Religions: Bulgarian Orthodox 85%, Muslim 13%, Jewish 0.8%, Roman Catholic 0.5%, Uniate Catholic 0.2%, Protestant, Gregorian-Armenian, and other 0.5%
Languages: Bulgarian; secondary languages closely correspond to ethnic breakdown
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1992) total population: 98% male: 99% female: 97%
Labor force: 4.3 million by occupation: industry 33%, agriculture 20%, other 47% (1987)
@Bulgaria:Government
Names: conventional long form: Republic of Bulgaria conventional short form: Bulgaria
Digraph: BU
Type: emerging democracy
Capital: Sofia
Administrative divisions: 9 provinces (oblasti, singular - oblast); Burgas, Grad Sofiya, Khaskovo, Lovech, Montana, Plovdiv, Ruse, Sofiya, Varna
Independence: 22 September 1908 (from Ottoman Empire)
National holiday: Independence Day 3 March (1878)
Constitution: adopted 12 July 1991
Legal system: based on civil law system, with Soviet law influence; has accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal and compulsory
Executive branch: chief of state: President Zhelyu Mitev ZHELEV (since 1 August 1990); Vice President (vacant); election last held January 1992; results - Zhelyu ZHELEV was elected by popular vote head of government: Chairman of the Council of Ministers (Prime Minister) Zhan VIDENOV (since 25 January 1995); Deputy Prime Ministers Doncho KONAKCHIEV, Kiril TSOCHEV, Rumen GECHEV, Svetoslav SHIVAROV (since 25 January 1995) cabinet: Council of Ministers; elected by the National Assembly
Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly (Narodno Sobranie): last held 18 December 1994 (next to be held NA 1997); results - BSP 43.5%, UDF 24.2%, PU 6.5%, MRF 5.4%, BBB 4.7%; seats - (240 total) BSP 125, UDF 69, PU 18, MRF 15, BBB 13
Political parties and leaders: Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP), Zhan VIDENOV, chairman; Union of Democratic Forces (UDF), Ivan KOSTOV an alliance of pro-Democratic parties; People's Union (PU), Stefan SAVOV; Movement for Rights and Freedoms (mainly ethnic Turkish party) (MRF), Ahmed DOGAN; Bulgarian Business Bloc (BBB), George GANCHEV
Other political or pressure groups: Democratic Alliance for the Republic (DAR); New Union for Democracy (NUD); Ecoglasnost; Podkrepa Labor Confederation; Fatherland Union; Bulgarian Communist Party (BCP); Confederation of Independent Trade Unions of Bulgaria (KNSB); Bulgarian Agrarian National Union - United (BZNS); Bulgarian Democratic Center; "Nikola Petkov" Bulgarian Agrarian National Union; Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization - Union of Macedonian Societies (IMRO-UMS); numerous regional, ethnic, and national interest groups with various agendas
Member of: ACCT, BIS, BSEC, CCC, CE, CEI (associate members), EBRD, ECE, FAO, G- 9, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT (nonsignatory user), INTERPOL, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, NACC, NAM (guest), NSG, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WEU (associate partner), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Snezhana Damianova BOTUSHAROVA chancery: 1621 22nd Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 387-7969 FAX: [1] (202) 234-7973
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador William D. MONTGOMERY embassy: 1 Saborna Street, Sofia mailing address: Unit 1335, Sofia; APO AE 09213-1335 telephone: [359] (2) 88-48-01 through 05 FAX: [359] (2) 80-19-77
Flag: three equal horizontal bands of white (top), green, and red; the national emblem formerly on the hoist side of the white stripe has been removed - it contained a rampant lion within a wreath of wheat ears below a red five-pointed star and above a ribbon bearing the dates 681 (first Bulgarian state established) and 1944 (liberation from Nazi control)
@Bulgaria:Economy
Overview: The Bulgarian economy continued its painful adjustment in 1994 from the misdirected development undertaken during four decades of Communist rule. Many aspects of a market economy have been put in place and have begun to function, but much of the economy, especially the industrial sector, has yet to re-establish market links lost with the collapse of the other centrally planned Soviet Bloc economies. The prices of many imported industrial inputs, especially energy products, have risen markedly, and falling real wages have not sufficed to restore competitiveness. The government plans more extensive privatization in 1995 to improve the management of enterprises and to encourage foreign investment. Bulgaria resumed payments on its $10 billion in commercial debt in 1993 following the negotiation of a 50% write-off.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $33.7 billion (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate: 0.2% (1994 est.)
National product per capita: $3,830 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 122% (1994)
Unemployment rate: 16% (1994)
Budget: revenues: $14 billion expenditures: $17.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $610 million (1993 est.)
Exports: $3.6 billion (f.o.b., 1993) commodities: machinery and equipment 30.6%; agricultural products 24%; manufactured consumer goods 22.2%; fuels, minerals, raw materials, and metals 10.5%; other 12.7% (1991) partners: former CEMA countries 57.7% (FSU 48.6%, Poland 2.1%, Czechoslovakia 0.9%); developed countries 26.3% (Germany 4.8%, Greece 2.2%); less developed countries 15.9% (Libya 2.1%, Iran 0.7%) (1991)
Imports: $4.3 billion (c.i.f., 1993) commodities: fuels, minerals, and raw materials 58.7%; machinery and equipment 15.8%; manufactured consumer goods 4.4%; agricultural products 15.2%; other 5.9% partners: former CEMA countries 51.0% (FSU 43.2%, Poland 3.7%); developed countries 32.8% (Germany 7.0%, Austria 4.7%); less developed countries 16.2% (Iran 2.8%, Libya 2.5%)
External debt: $12 billion (1994)
Industrial production: growth rate 4% (1994); accounts for about 37% of GDP (1990)
Industries: machine building and metal working, food processing, chemicals, textiles, building materials, ferrous and nonferrous metals
Agriculture: climate and soil conditions support livestock raising and the growing of various grain crops, oilseeds, vegetables, fruits, and tobacco; more than one-third of the arable land devoted to grain; world's fourth-largest tobacco exporter; surplus food producer
Illicit drugs: transshipment point for southwest Asian heroin and South American cocaine transiting the Balkan route; limited producer of precursor chemicals
Economic aid: recipient: $700 million in balance of payments support (1994)
Airports: total: 355 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 1 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 17 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 10 with paved runways under 914 m: 88 with unpaved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 1 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 10 with unpaved runways under 914 m: 226
@Bulgaria:Communications
Telephone system: 2,600,000 telephones; 29 telephones/100 persons (1992); extensive but antiquated transmission system of coaxial cable and microwave radio relay; direct dialing to 36 countries; telephone service is available in most villages; almost two-thirds of the lines are residential; 67% of Sofia households have phones (November 1988) local: NA intercity: NA international: 1 earth station using Intersputnik; INTELSAT link used through a Greek earth station
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 20, FM 15, shortwave 0 radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: 29 (Russian repeater in Sofia 1) televisions: 2.1 million (May 1990)
@Bulgaria:Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces, Border Troops, Internal Troops
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 2,171,414; males fit for military service 1,810,989; males reach military age (19) annually 69,200 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: 13 billion leva, NA% of GDP (1994 est.); note - conversion of defense expenditures into US dollars using the current exchange rate could produce misleading results
Area: total area: 274,200 sq km land area: 273,800 sq km comparative area: slightly larger than Colorado
Land boundaries: total 3,192 km, Benin 306 km, Ghana 548 km, Cote d'Ivoire 584 km, Mali 1,000 km, Niger 628 km, Togo 126 km
Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims: none; landlocked
International disputes: following mutual acceptance of an International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling in December 1986 on their international boundary dispute, Burkina and Mali are proceeding with boundary demarcation, including the tripoint with Niger
Terrain: mostly flat to dissected, undulating plains; hills in west and southeast
Natural resources: manganese, limestone, marble; small deposits of gold, antimony, copper, nickel, bauxite, lead, phosphates, zinc, silver
Land use: arable land: 10% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 37% forest and woodland: 26% other: 27%
Irrigated land: 160 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment: current issues: recent droughts and desertification severely affecting agricultural activities, population distribution, and the economy; overgrazing; soil degradation; deforestation natural hazards: recurring droughts international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Desertification, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban
Note: landlocked
@Burkina:People
Population: 10,422,828 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 48% (female 2,488,662; male 2,517,245) 15-64 years: 49% (female 2,707,601; male 2,378,957) 65 years and over: 3% (female 184,578; male 145,785) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 2.79% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 48.05 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 18.22 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: -1.9 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 116.9 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 46.6 years male: 45.71 years female: 47.51 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 6.88 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Nationality: noun: Burkinabe (singular and plural) adjective: Burkinabe
Religions: indigenous beliefs 40%, Muslim 50%, Christian (mainly Roman Catholic) 10%
Languages: French (official), tribal languages belonging to Sudanic family, spoken by 90% of the population
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.) total population: 18% male: 28% female: 9%
Labor force: NA (most adults are employed in subsistance agriculture) by occupation: agriculture 80%, industry 15%, commerce, services, and government 5% note: 20% of male labor force migrates annually to neighboring countries for seasonal employment (1984)
@Burkina:Government
Names: conventional long form: Burkina Faso conventional short form: Burkina former: Upper Volta
National holiday: Anniversary of the Revolution, 4 August (1983)
Constitution: 2 June 1991
Legal system: based on French civil law system and customary law
Suffrage: none
Executive branch: chief of state: President Captain Blaise COMPAORE (since 15 October 1987); election last held December 1991 head of government: Prime Minister Roch KABORE (since March 1994) cabinet: Council of Ministers; appointed by the president
Legislative branch: unicameral Assembly of People's Deputies: elections last held 24 May 1992 (next to be held 1997); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (107 total), ODP-MT 78, CNPP-PSD 12, RDA 6, ADF 4, other 7 note: the current law also provides for a second consultative chamber, which has not been formally constituted
Judicial branch: Appeals Court
Political parties and leaders: Organization for People's Democracy - Labor Movement (ODP-MT), ruling party, Simon COMPAORE, Secretary General; National Convention of Progressive Patriots-Social Democratic Party (CNPP-PSD), Moussa BOLY; African Democratic Rally (RDA), Gerard Kango OUEDRAOGO; Alliance for Democracy and Federation (ADF), Amadou Michel NANA
Other political or pressure groups: committees for the defense of the revolution; watchdog/political action groups throughout the country in both organizations and communities
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Gaetan R. OUEDRAOGO chancery: 2340 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 332-5577, 6895
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador Donald J. McCONNELL embassy: Avenue Raoul Follerau, Ouagadougou mailing address: 01 B. P. 35, Ouagadougou telephone: [226] 306723 through 306725 FAX: [226] 312368
Flag: two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and green with a yellow five-pointed star in the center; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia
@Burkina:Economy
Overview: One of the poorest countries in the world, Burkina has a high population density and a high population growth rate, few natural resources, and a fragile soil. Economic development is hindered by a poor communications network within a landlocked country. Agriculture provides about 40% of GDP and is mainly of a subsistence nature. Industry, dominated by unprofitable government-controlled corporations, accounts for about 15% of GDP. Following the 50% currency devaluation in January 1994, the government updated its development program in conjunction with international agencies. Even with the best of plans, however, the government faces formidable problems on all sides.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $6.5 billion (1993 est.)
National product real growth rate: 0.4% (1993 est.)
Agriculture: accounts for about 40% of GDP; cash crops - peanuts, shea nuts, sesame, cotton; food crops - sorghum, millet, corn, rice; livestock; not self-sufficient in food grains
Economic aid: recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $294 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $2.9 billion; Communist countries (1970-89), $113 million
Currency: 1 CFA franc (CFAF) = 100 centimes
Exchange rates: CFA francs (CFAF) per US$1 - 529.43 (January 1995), 555.20 (1995), 283.16 (1993), 264.69 (1992), 282.11 (1991), 272.26 (1990) note: beginning 12 January 1994 the CFA franc was devalued to CFAF 100 per French franc from CFAF 50 at which it had been fixed since 1948
Fiscal year: calendar year
@Burkina:Transportation
Railroads: total: 620 km (520 km Ouagadougou to Cote d'Ivoire border and 100 km Ouagadougou to Kaya; single track) narrow gauge: 620 km 1.000-m gauge
Highways: total: 16,500 km paved: 1,300 km unpaved: improved earth 7,400 km; unimproved earth 7,800 km (1985)
Ports: none
Airports: total: 48 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 1 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 with paved runways under 914 m: 26 with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 4 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 16
@Burkina:Communications
Telephone system: NA telephones; all services only fair local: NA intercity: microwave radio relay, wire, and radio communication stations international: 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 2, FM 1, shortwave 0 radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: 2 televisions: NA
@Burkina:Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Air Force, National Gendarmerie, National Police, People's Militia
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 2,081,999; males fit for military service 1,065,605 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $104 million, 6.4% of GDP (1994)
Location: Southeastern Asia, bordering the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal, between Bangladesh and Thailand
Map references: Southeast Asia
Area: total area: 678,500 sq km land area: 657,740 sq km comparative area: slightly smaller than Texas
Land boundaries: total 5,876 km, Bangladesh 193 km, China 2,185 km, India 1,463 km, Laos 235 km, Thailand 1,800 km
Coastline: 1,930 km
Maritime claims: contiguous zone: 24 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 12 nm
International disputes: none
Climate: tropical monsoon; cloudy, rainy, hot, humid summers (southwest monsoon, June to September); less cloudy, scant rainfall, mild temperatures, lower humidity during winter (northeast monsoon, December to April)
Terrain: central lowlands ringed by steep, rugged highlands
Natural resources: petroleum, timber, tin, antimony, zinc, copper, tungsten, lead, coal, some marble, limestone, precious stones, natural gas
Land use: arable land: 15% permanent crops: 1% meadows and pastures: 1% forest and woodland: 49% other: 34%
Irrigated land: 10,180 sq km (1989)
Environment: current issues: deforestation; industrial pollution of air, soil, and water; inadequate sanitation and water treatment contribute to disease
natural hazards: destructive earthquakes and cyclones; flooding and landslides common during rainy season (June to September); periodic droughts international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83; signed, but not ratified - Law of the Sea
Note: strategic location near major Indian Ocean shipping lanes
@Burma:People
Population: 45,103,809 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 36% (female 7,963,544; male 8,285,459) 15-64 years: 60% (female 13,478,211; male 13,404,987) 65 years and over: 4% (female 1,080,922; male 890,686) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.84% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 28.02 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 9.63 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 61.6 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 60.47 years male: 58.38 years female: 62.69 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 3.58 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Nationality: noun: Burmese (singular and plural) adjective: Burmese
Ethnic divisions: Burman 68%, Shan 9%, Karen 7%, Rakhine 4%, Chinese 3%, Mon 2%, Indian 2%, other 5%
Religions: Buddhist 89%, Christian 4% (Baptist 3%, Roman Catholic 1%), Muslim 4%, animist beliefs 1%, other 2%
Languages: Burmese; minority ethnic groups have their own languages
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.) total population: 81% male: 89% female: 72%
Labor force: 16.007 million (1992) by occupation: agriculture 65.2%, industry 14.3%, trade 10.1%, government 6.3%, other 4.1% (FY88/89 est.)
@Burma:Government
Names: conventional long form: Union of Burma conventional short form: Burma local long form: Pyidaungzu Myanma Naingngandaw (translated by the US Government as Union of Myanma and by the Burmese as Union of Myanmar) local short form: Myanma Naingngandaw former: Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma
Digraph: BM
Type: military regime
Capital: Rangoon (regime refers to the capital as Yangon)
National holiday: Independence Day, 4 January (1948)
Constitution: 3 January 1974 (suspended since 18 September 1988); National Convention started on 9 January 1993 to draft a new constitution; chapter headings and three of 15 sections have been approved
Legal system: has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state and head of government: Chairman of the State Law and Order Restoration Council Gen. THAN SHWE (since 23 April 1992) State Law and Order Restoration Council: military junta which assumed power 18 September 1988
Legislative branch: People's Assembly (Pyithu Hluttaw): election last held 27 May 1990, but Assembly never convened; results - NLD 80%; seats - (485 total) NLD 396, the regime-favored NUP 10, other 79; was dissolved after the coup of 18 September 1988
Judicial branch: limited; remnants of the British-era legal system in place, but there is no guarantee of a fair public trial; the judiciary is not independent of the executive
Political parties and leaders: Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA), THAN AUNG, Secretary; National Unity Party (NUP; proregime), THA KYAW; National League for Democracy (NLD), U AUNG SHWE; and eight other minor legal parties
Other political or pressure groups: National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma (NCGUB), headed by the elected prime minister SEIN WIN (consists of individuals legitimately elected to Parliament but not recognized by the military regime; the group fled to a border area and joined with insurgents in December 1990 to form a parallel government; Kachin Independence Army (KIA); United Wa State Army (UWSA); Karen National Union (KNU); several Shan factions, including the Mong Tai Army (MTA); All Burma Student Democratic Front (ABSDF)
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador U THAUNG chancery: 2300 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 332-9044, 9045 consulate(s) general: New York
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Marilyn A. MEYERS embassy: 581 Merchant Street, Rangoon (GPO 521) mailing address: American Embassy, Box B, APO AP 96546 telephone: [95] (1) 82055, 82182 (operator assistance required) FAX: [95] (1) 80409
Flag: red with a blue rectangle in the upper hoist-side corner bearing, all in white, 14 five-pointed stars encircling a cogwheel containing a stalk of rice; the 14 stars represent the 14 administrative divisions
@Burma:Economy
Overview: Burma has a mixed economy with about 75% private activity, mainly in agriculture, light industry, and transport, and with about 25% state-controlled activity, mainly in energy, heavy industry, and foreign trade. Government policy in the last six years, 1989-94, has aimed at revitalizing the economy after four decades of tight central planning. Thus, private activity has markedly increased; foreign investment has been encouraged, so far with moderate success; and efforts continue to increase the efficiency of state enterprises. Published estimates of Burma's foreign trade are greatly understated because of the volume of black market trade. A major ongoing problem is the failure to achieve monetary and fiscal stability. Although Burma remains a poor Asian country, its rich resources furnish the potential for substantial long-term increases in income, exports, and living standards.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $41.4 billion (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate: 6.4% (1994)
National product per capita: $930 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 38% (1994 est.)
Unemployment rate: NA%
Budget: revenues: $4.4 billion expenditures: $6.7 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY93/94 est.)
Exports: $674 million (FY93/94 est.) commodities: pulses and beans, teak, rice, hardwood partners: Singapore, China, Thailand, India, Hong Kong
Imports: $1.2 billion (FY93/94 est.) commodities: machinery, transport equipment, chemicals, food products partners: Japan, China, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia
External debt: $5.4 billion (FY93/94 est.)
Industrial production: growth rate 4.9% (FY92/93 est.); accounts for 10% of GDP
Industries: agricultural processing; textiles and footwear; wood and wood products; petroleum refining; mining of copper, tin, tungsten, iron; construction materials; pharmaceuticals; fertilizer
Agriculture: accounts for 65% of GDP and 65% of employment (including fishing, animal husbandry, and forestry); self-sufficient in food; principal crops - paddy rice, corn, oilseed, sugarcane, pulses; world's largest stand of hardwood trees; rice and timber account for 55% of export revenues
Illicit drugs: world's largest illicit producer of opium (2,030 metric tons in 1994 - dropped 21% due to regional drought in 1994) and minor producer of cannabis for the international drug trade; opium production continues to be almost double since the collapse of Rangoon's antinarcotic programs; growing role in amphetamine production for regional consumption
Economic aid: recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $158 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $3.9 billion; Communist countries (1970-89), $424 million
Airports: total: 80 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 2 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 10 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 11 with paved runways under 914 m: 33 with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 5 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 17
@Burma:Communications
Telephone system: 53,000 telephones (1986); meets minimum requirements for local and intercity service for business and government; international service is good local: NA intercity: NA international: 1 INTELSAT (Indian Ocean) earth station
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 2, FM 1, shortwave 0 (1985) radios: NA note: radiobroadcast coverage is limited to the most populous areas
Television: broadcast stations: 1 (1985) televisions: NA
@Burma:Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 11,553,094; females age 15-49 11,463,189; males fit for military service 6,180,091; females fit for military service 6,116,421; males reach military age (18) annually 457,445 (1995 est.); females reach military age (18) annually 441,628 (1995 est.) note: both sexes liable for military service
Land use: arable land: 43% permanent crops: 8% meadows and pastures: 35% forest and woodland: 2% other: 12%
Irrigated land: 720 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment: current issues: soil erosion as a result of overgrazing and the expansion of agriculture into marginal lands; deforestation (little forested land remains because of uncontrolled cutting of trees for fuel); habitat loss threatens wildlife populations natural hazards: flooding, landslides international agreements: party to - Endangered Species; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban
Note: landlocked; straddles crest of the Nile-Congo watershed
@Burundi:People
Population: 6,262,429 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 48% (female 1,489,721; male 1,494,730) 15-64 years: 50% (female 1,606,307; male 1,498,021) 65 years and over: 2% (female 105,446; male 68,204) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 2.18% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 43.35 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 21.51 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: NA migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.) note: in a number of waves since April 1994, hundreds of thousands of refugees have fled the civil strife between the Hutu and Tutsi factions in Burundi and crossed into Rwanda, Tanzania, and Zaire; the refugee flows are continuing in 1995 as the ethnic violence has persisted
Infant mortality rate: 111.9 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 39.86 years male: 37.84 years female: 41.95 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 6.63 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Independence: 1 July 1962 (from UN trusteeship under Belgian administration)
National holiday: Independence Day, 1 July (1962)
Constitution: 13 March 1992; provides for establishment of a plural political system
Legal system: based on German and Belgian civil codes and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: universal adult at age NA
Executive branch: chief of state: President Sylvestre NTIBANTUNGANYA (since September 1994) note: President Melchior NDADAYE, Burundi's first democratically elected president, died in the military coup of 21 October 1993 and was succeeded on 5 February 1994 by President Cyprien NTARYAMIRA, who was killed in a mysterious airplane explosion on 6 April 1994 head of government: Prime Minister Antoine NDUWAYO (since February 1995); selected by President NTIBANTUNGANYA following the resignation of Anatole KANYENKIKO on 15 February 1995 cabinet: Council of Ministers; appointed by prime minister
Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly (Assemblee Nationale): elections last held 29 June 1993 (next to be held NA); results - FRODEBU 71%, UPRONA 21.4%; seats - (81 total) FRODEBU 65, UPRONA 16; other parties won too small shares of the vote to win seats in the assembly note: The National Unity Charter outlining the principles for constitutional government was adopted by a national referendum on 5 February 1991
Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Cour Supreme)
Political parties and leaders: Unity for National Progress (UPRONA); Burundi Democratic Front (FRODEBU); Organization of the People of Burundi (RBP); Socialist Party of Burundi (PSB); People's Reconciliation Party (PRP); opposition parties, legalized in March 1992, include Burundi African Alliance for the Salvation (ABASA); Rally for Democracy and Economic and Social Development (RADDES); and Party for National Redress (PARENA)
Other political or pressure groups: NA;
Member of: ACCT, ACP, AfDB, CCC, CEEAC, CEPGL, ECA, FAO, G-77, GATT, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, INTELSAT (nonsignatory user), INTERPOL, IOC, ISO (subscriber), ITU, NAM, OAU, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: post vacant since recall of Ambassador Jacques BACAMURWANKO in November 1994 chancery: Suite 212, 2233 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007 telephone: [1] (202) 342-2574
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador Robert C. KRUEGER embassy: Avenue des Etats-Unis, Bujumbura mailing address: B. P. 1720, Bujumbura telephone: [257] (2) 23454 FAX: [257] (2) 22926
Flag: divided by a white diagonal cross into red panels (top and bottom) and green panels (hoist side and outer side) with a white disk superimposed at the center bearing three red six-pointed stars outlined in green arranged in a triangular design (one star above, two stars below)
@Burundi:Economy
Overview: A landlocked, resource-poor country in an early stage of economic development, Burundi since October 1993 has suffered from massive ethnic-based violence that has displaced an estimated million people, disrupted production, and set back needed reform programs. Burundi is predominately agricultural with roughly 90% of the population dependent on subsistence agriculture. Its economic health depends on the coffee crop, which accounts for 80% of foreign exchange earnings. The ability to pay for imports therefore continues to rest largely on the vagaries of the climate and the international coffee market. As part of its economic reform agenda, launched in February 1991 with IMF and World Bank support, Burundi is trying to diversify its agricultural exports, attract foreign investment in industry, and modernize government budgetary practices. Although the government remains committed to reforms, it fears new austerity measures would add to ethnic tensions.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $3.7 billion (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate: -13.5% (1994 est.)
National product per capita: $600 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 10% (1993 est.)
Unemployment rate: NA%
Budget: revenues: $318 million expenditures: $326 million, including capital expenditures of $150 million (1991 est.)
Exports: $68 million (f.o.b., 1993) commodities: coffee 81%, tea, cotton, hides, and skins partners: EC 57%, US 19%, Asia 1%
Imports: $203 million (c.i.f., 1993) commodities: capital goods 31%, petroleum products 15%, foodstuffs, consumer goods partners: EC 45%, Asia 29%, US 2%
External debt: $1.05 billion (1994 est.)
Industrial production: growth rate 11% (1991 est.); accounts for about 15% of GDP
Electricity: capacity: 55,000 kW production: 100 million kWh consumption per capita: 20 kWh (1993)
Industries: light consumer goods such as blankets, shoes, soap; assembly of imported components; public works construction; food processing
Agriculture: accounts for 50% of GDP; cash crops - coffee, cotton, tea; food crops - corn, sorghum, sweet potatoes, bananas, manioc; livestock - meat, milk, hides and skins
Economic aid: recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $71 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $10.2 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $32 million; Communist countries (1970-89), $175 million
Highways: total: 5,900 km paved: 640 km unpaved: gravel, crushed stone 2,260 km; improved, unimproved earth 3,000 km (1990)
Inland waterways: Lake Tanganyika
Ports: Bujumbura
Airports: total: 4 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 1 with paved runways under 914 m: 1 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 2
@Burundi:Communications
Telephone system: 8,000 telephones; primative system; telephone density - 1.3 telephones/1,000 persons local: NA intercity: sparse system of wire, radiocommunications, and low-capacity microwave radio relay links international: 1 INTELSAT (Indian Ocean) earth station
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 2, FM 2, shortwave 0 radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: 1 televisions: NA
@Burundi:Defense Forces
Branches: Army (includes naval and air units), paramilitary Gendarmerie
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 1,350,042; males fit for military service 705,864; males reach military age (16) annually 73,308 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $25 million, 2.6% of GDP (1993)
International disputes: offshore islands and sections of the boundary with Vietnam are in dispute; maritime boundary with Vietnam not defined; parts of border with Thailand in dispute; maritime boundary with Thailand not clearly defined
Climate: tropical; rainy, monsoon season (May to November); dry season (December to April); little seasonal temperature variation
Terrain: mostly low, flat plains; mountains in southwest and north
Natural resources: timber, gemstones, some iron ore, manganese, phosphates, hydropower potential
Land use: arable land: 16% permanent crops: 1% meadows and pastures: 3% forest and woodland: 76% other: 4%
Irrigated land: 920 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment: current issues: logging activities throughout the country and strip mining for gems in the western region along the border with Thailand are resulting in habitat loss and declining biodiversity (in particular, destruction of mangrove swamps threatens natural fisheries); deforestation; soil erosion; in rural areas, a majority of the population does not have access to potable water natural hazards: monsoonal rains (June to November); flooding; occasional droughts international agreements: party to - Marine Life Conservation, Ship Pollution; signed, but not ratified - Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping
Note: a land of paddies and forests dominated by the Mekong River and Tonle Sap
@Cambodia:People
Population: 10,561,373 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 46% (female 2,367,414; male 2,438,104) 15-64 years: 51% (female 2,932,788; male 2,494,203) 65 years and over: 3% (female 185,337; male 143,527) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 2.83% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 44.42 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 16.16 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 109.6 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 49.46 years male: 48 years female: 51 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 5.81 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Ethnic divisions: Khmer 90%, Vietnamese 5%, Chinese 1%, other 4%
Religions: Theravada Buddhism 95%, other 5%
Languages: Khmer (official), French
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.) total population: 35% male: 48% female: 22%
Labor force: 2.5 million to 3 million by occupation: agriculture 80% (1988 est.)
@Cambodia:Government
Names: conventional long form: Kingdom of Cambodia conventional short form: Cambodia local long form: Reacheanachak Kampuchea local short form: Kampuchea
Digraph: CB
Type: multiparty liberal democracy under a constitutional monarchy established in September 1993
Capital: Phnom Penh
Administrative divisions: 21 provinces (khet, singular and plural); Banteay Meanchey, Batdambang, Kampong Cham, Kampong Chhnang, Kampong Spoe, Kampong Thum, Kampot, Kandal, Kaoh Kong, Kracheh, Mondol Kiri, Phnum Penh, Pouthisat, Preah Vihear, Prey Veng, Rotanokiri, Siemreab-Otdar Meanchey, Sihanoukville, Stoeng Treng, Svay Rieng, Takev note: Siemreab-Otdar Meanchey may have been divided into two provinces named Siemreab and Otdar Meanchey
Independence: 9 November 1949 (from France)
National holiday: Independence Day, 9 November 1949
Constitution: promulgated September 1993
Legal system: currently being defined
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: King Norodom SIHANOUK (reinstated 24 September 1993) head of government: power shared between First Prime Minister Prince Norodom RANARIDDH and Second Prime Minister HUN SEN cabinet: Council of Ministers; elected by the National Assembly
Legislative branch: unicameral; a 120-member constituent assembly based on proportional representation within each province was established following the UN-supervised election in May 1993; the constituent assembly was transformed into a legislature in September 1993 after delegates promulgated the constitution
Judicial branch: Supreme Court provided for by the constitution has not yet been established and the future judicial system is yet to be defined by law
Political parties and leaders: National United Front for an Independent, Neutral, Peaceful, and Cooperative Cambodia (FUNCINPEC), Prince NORODOM RANARIDDH; Cambodian Pracheachon Party or Cambodian People's Party (CPP), CHEA SIM; Buddhist Liberal Democratic Party, SON SANN; Democratic Kampuchea (DK, also known as the Khmer Rouge), KHIEU SAMPHAN; Molinaka, PROM NEAKAREACH
Diplomatic representation in US: Ambassador SISOWATH SIRIRATH represents Cambodia at the United Nations
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador Charles H. TWINING embassy: 27 EO Street 240, Phnom Penh mailing address: Box P, APO AP 96546 telephone: [855] (23) 26436, 26438 FAX: [855] (23) 26437
Flag: horizontal band of red separates two equal horizontal bands of blue with a white three-towered temple representing Angkor Wat in the center
@Cambodia:Economy
Overview: The Cambodian economy - virtually destroyed by decades of war - is slowly recovering. Government leaders are moving toward restoring fiscal and monetary discipline and have established good working relations with international financial institutions. Growth, starting from a low base, has been strong in 1991-94. Despite such positive developments, the reconstruction effort faces many tough challenges because of the persistence of internal political divisions and the related lack of confidence of foreign investors. Rural Cambodia, where 90% of about 9.5 million Khmer live, remains mired in poverty. The almost total lack of basic infrastructure in the countryside will hinder development and will contribute to a growing imbalance in growth between urban and rural areas over the near term. Moreover, the government's lack of experience in administering economic and technical assistance programs and rampant corruption among officials will slow the growth of critical public sector investment. Inflation for 1994 as a whole was less than a quarter of the 1992 rate and was declining during the year.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $6.4 billion (1994 est.)
Budget: revenues: $190 million expenditures: $365 million, including capital expenditures of $120 million (1994 est.)
Exports: $283.6 million (f.o.b., 1993) commodities: timber, rubber, soybeans, sesame partners: Singapore, Japan, Thailand, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia
Imports: $479.3 million (c.i.f., 1993) commodities: cigarettes, construction materials, petroleum products, machinery partners: Singapore, Vietnam, Japan, Australia, Hong Kong, Indonesia
External debt: $383 million to OECD members (1993)
Industrial production: growth rate 7.9% (1993 est.); accounts for 8% of GDP
Electricity: capacity: 40,000 kW production: 160 million kWh consumption per capita: 14 kWh (1993)
Illicit drugs: increasingly used as a transshipment country for heroin produced in the Golden Triangle; growing money-laundering center; high-level narcotics-related corruption in government; possible small-scale heroin production; large producer of cannibis
Economic aid: recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $725 million; Western (non-US countries) (1970-89), $300 million; Communist countries (1970-89), $1.8 billion; donor countries and multilateral institutions pledged $880 million in assistance in 1992; IMF pledged $120 million in aid for 1995-98
Railroads: total: 655 km narrow gauge: 655 km 1.000-m gauge
Highways: total: 34,100 km (some roads in serious disrepair) paved: bituminous 3,000 km unpaved: crushed stone, gravel, or improved earth 3,100 km; unimproved earth 28,000 km
Inland waterways: 3,700 km navigable all year to craft drawing 0.6 meters; 282 km navigable to craft drawing 1.8 meters
Ports: Kampong Saom (Sihanoukville), Kampot, Krong Kaoh Kong, Phnom Penh
Merchant marine: none
Airports: total: 22 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 3 with paved runways under 914 m: 2 with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 3 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 10
@Cambodia:Communications
Telephone system: NA telephones; service barely adequate for government requirements and virtually nonexistent for general public local: NA intercity: NA international: international service limited to Vietnam and other adjacent countries
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0 radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: 1 televisions: NA
@Cambodia:Defense Forces
Branches: Khmer Royal Armed Forces (KRAF): created in 1993 by the merger of the Cambodian People's Armed Forces and the two non-Communist resistance armies; note - the KRAF is also known as the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF) Resistance forces: National Army of Democratic Kampuchea (Khmer Rouge)
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 2,255,050; males fit for military service 1,256,632; males reach military age (18) annually 70,707 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $85 million, 1.4% of GDP (1995 est.)
Location: Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Equatorial Guinea and Nigeria
Map references: Africa
Area: total area: 475,440 sq km land area: 469,440 sq km comparative area: slightly larger than California
Land boundaries: total 4,591 km, Central African Republic 797 km, Chad 1,094 km, Congo 523 km, Equatorial Guinea 189 km, Gabon 298 km, Nigeria 1,690 km
Coastline: 402 km
Maritime claims: territorial sea: 50 nm
International disputes: demarcation of international boundaries in Lake Chad, the lack of which led to border incidents in the past, is completed and awaits ratification by Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria; dispute with Nigeria over land and maritime boundaries in the vicinity of the Bakasi Peninsula has been referred to the International Court of Justice
Climate: varies with terrain, from tropical along coast to semiarid and hot in north
Terrain: diverse, with coastal plain in southwest, dissected plateau in center, mountains in west, plains in north
Natural resources: petroleum, bauxite, iron ore, timber, hydropower potential
Land use: arable land: 13% permanent crops: 2% meadows and pastures: 18% forest and woodland: 54% other: 13%
Irrigated land: 280 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment: current issues: water-borne diseases are prevalent; deforestation; overgrazing; desertification; poaching; overfishing natural hazards: recent volcanic activity with release of poisonous gases international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83; signed, but not ratified - Desertification, Nuclear Test Ban, Tropical Timber 94
Note: sometimes referred to as the hinge of Africa
@Cameroon:People
Population: 13.521 million (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 44% (female 2,978,216; male 3,001,487) 15-64 years: 52% (female 3,562,247; male 3,523,100) 65 years and over: 4% (female 248,314; male 207,636) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 2.92% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 40.42 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 11.19 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 75.4 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 57.48 years male: 55.41 years female: 59.6 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 5.8 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Administrative divisions: 10 provinces; Adamaoua, Centre, Est, Extreme-Nord, Littoral, Nord, Nord-Ouest, Ouest, Sud, Sud-Ouest
Independence: 1 January 1960 (from UN trusteeship under French administration)
National holiday: National Day, 20 May (1972)
Constitution: 20 May 1972
Legal system: based on French civil law system, with common law influence; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 20 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Paul BIYA (since 6 November 1982); election last held 11 October 1992; results - President Paul BIYA reelected with about 40% of the vote amid widespread allegations of fraud; SDF candidate John FRU NDI got 36% of the vote; UNDP candidate Bello Bouba MAIGARI got 19% of the vote head of government: Prime Minister Simon ACHIDI ACHU (since 9 April 1992) cabinet: Cabinet; appointed by the president
Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly (Assemblee Nationale): elections last held 1 March 1992 (next scheduled for March 1997); results - (180 seats) CPDM 88, UNDP 68, UPC 18, MDR 6
Judicial branch: Supreme Court
Political parties and leaders: Cameroon People's Democratic Movement (CPDM), Paul BIYA, president, is government-controlled and was formerly the only party, but opposition parties were legalized in 1990
major opposition parties: National Union for Democracy and Progress (UNDP); Social Democratic Front (SDF); Cameroonian Democratic Union (UDC); Union of Cameroonian Populations (UPC); Movement for the Defense of the Republic (MDR)
Other political or pressure groups: Alliance for Change (FAC), Cameroon Anglophone Movement (CAM)
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Jerome MENDOUGA chancery: 2349 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 265-8790 through 8794
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador Harriet W. ISOM embassy: Rue Nachtigal, Yaounde mailing address: B. P. 817, Yaounde telephone: [237] 23-40-14 FAX: [237] 23-07-53 consulate(s): none (Douala closed September 1993)
Flag: three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), red, and yellow with a yellow five-pointed star centered in the red band; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia
@Cameroon:Economy
Overview: Because of its offshore oil resources and favorable agricultural conditions, Cameroon has one of the best-endowed, most diversified primary commodity economies in sub-Saharan Africa. Still, it faces many of the serious problems facing other underdeveloped countries, such as political instability, a top-heavy civil service, and a generally unfavorable climate for business enterprise. The development of the oil sector led rapid economic growth between 1970 and 1985. Growth came to an abrupt halt in 1986, precipitated by steep declines in the prices of major exports: coffee, cocoa, and petroleum. Export earnings were cut by almost one-third, and inefficiencies in fiscal management were exposed. In 1990-93, with support from the IMF and World Bank, the government began to introduce reforms designed to spur business investment, increase efficiency in agriculture, and recapitalize the nation's banks. Political instability, following suspect elections in 1992, brought IMF/WB structural adjustment to a halt. Although the 50% devaluation of the currency in January 1994 improved the potential for export growth, mismanagement remains and is the main barrier to economic improvement.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $15.7 billion (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate: -2.9% (1994 est.)
National product per capita: $1,200 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): -0.8% (FY91/92)
Unemployment rate: 25% (1990 est.)
Budget: revenues: $1.6 billion expenditures: $2.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $226 million (FY92/93 est.)
Industries: petroleum production and refining, food processing, light consumer goods, textiles, lumber
Agriculture: the agriculture and forestry sectors provide employment for the majority of the population, contributing about 25% to GDP and providing a high degree of self-sufficiency in staple foods; commercial and food crops include coffee, cocoa, timber, cotton, rubber, bananas, oilseed, grains, livestock, root starches
Economic aid: recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-90), $479 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-90), $4.75 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $29 million; Communist countries (1970-89), $125 million
Currency: 1 CFA franc (CFAF) = 100 centimes
Exchange rates: Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (CFAF) per US$1 - 529.43 (January 1995), 555.20 (1994), 283.16 (1993), 264.69 (1992), 282.11 (1991), 272.26 (1990) note: beginning 12 January 1994, the CFA franc was devalued to CFAF 100 per French franc from CFAF 50 at which it had been fixed since 1948
Fiscal year: 1 July - 30 June
@Cameroon:Transportation
Railroads: total: 1,111 km narrow gauge: 1,111 km 1.000-m gauge
Highways: total: 65,000 km paved: 2,682 km unpaved: gravel, improved earth 32,318 km; unimproved earth 30,000 km
Inland waterways: 2,090 km; of decreasing importance
Airports: total: 60 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 2 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 4 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 1 with paved runways under 914 m: 20 with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 9 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 21
@Cameroon:Communications
Telephone system: 26,000 telephones; telephone density - 2 telephones/1,000 persons; available only to business and government local: NA intercity: cable, microwave radio relay, and troposcatter international: 2 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth stations
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 11, FM 11, shortwave 0 radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: 1 televisions: NA
@Cameroon:Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Navy (includes Naval Infantry), Air Force, National Gendarmerie, Presidential Guard
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 3,038,007; males fit for military service 1,532,303; males reach military age (18) annually 147,293 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $102 million, NA% of GDP (1994)
Location: Northern North America, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean and North Pacific Ocean, north of the conterminous US
Map references: North America
Area: total area: 9,976,140 sq km land area: 9,220,970 sq km comparative area: slightly larger than US
Land boundaries: total 8,893 km, US 8,893 km (includes 2,477 km with Alaska)
Coastline: 243,791 km
Maritime claims: continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 12 nm
International disputes: maritime boundary disputes with the US; Saint Pierre and Miquelon is focus of maritime boundary dispute between Canada and France
Climate: varies from temperate in south to subarctic and arctic in north
Terrain: mostly plains with mountains in west and lowlands in southeast
Land use: arable land: 5% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 3% forest and woodland: 35% other: 57%
Irrigated land: 8,400 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment: current issues: air pollution and resulting acid rain severely affecting lakes and damaging forests; metal smelting, coal-burning utilities, and vehicle emissions impacting on agricultural and forest productivity; ocean waters becoming contaminated due to agricultural, industrial, mining, and forestry activities natural hazards: continuous permafrost in north is a serious obstacle to development; cyclonic storms form east of the Rocky Mountains, a result of the mixing of air masses from the Arctic, Pacific, and American interior, and produce most of the country's rain and snow international agreements: party to - Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Desertification, Law of the Sea
Note: second-largest country in world (after Russia); strategic location between Russia and US via north polar route; nearly 90% of the population is concentrated in the region near the US/Canada border
@Canada:People
Population: 28,434,545 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 21% (female 2,874,705; male 3,016,050) 15-64 years: 67% (female 9,529,272; male 9,531,107) 65 years and over: 12% (female 2,022,324; male 1,461,087) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.09% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 13.74 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 7.43 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 4.55 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 6.8 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 78.29 years male: 74.93 years female: 81.81 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.83 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Nationality: noun: Canadian(s) adjective: Canadian
Ethnic divisions: British Isles origin 40%, French origin 27%, other European 20%, indigenous Indian and Eskimo 1.5%
Religions: Roman Catholic 46%, United Church 16%, Anglican 10%, other 28%
Languages: English (official), French (official)
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1986) total population: 97%
Labor force: 13.38 million by occupation: services 75%, manufacturing 14%, agriculture 4%, construction 3%, other 4% (1988)
@Canada:Government
Names: conventional long form: none conventional short form: Canada
Digraph: CA
Type: confederation with parliamentary democracy
Capital: Ottawa
Administrative divisions: 10 provinces and 2 territories*; Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Northwest Territories*, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, Saskatchewan, Yukon Territory*
Independence: 1 July 1867 (from UK)
National holiday: Canada Day, 1 July (1867)
Constitution: amended British North America Act 1867 patriated to Canada 17 April 1982; charter of rights and unwritten customs
Legal system: based on English common law, except in Quebec, where civil law system based on French law prevails; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Romeo LeBLANC (since 8 February 1995) head of government: Prime Minister Jean CHRETIEN (since 4 November 1993) was elected on 25 October 1993, replacing Kim CAMBELL; Deputy Prime Minister Sheila COPPS cabinet: Federal Ministry; chosen by the prime minister from members of his own party sitting in Parliament
Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament (Parlement) Senate (Senat): consisting of a body whose members are appointed to serve until 75 years of age by the governor general and selected on the advice of the prime minister; its normal limit 104 senators House of Commons (Chambre des Communes): elections last held 25 October 1993 (next to be held by NA October 1998); results - percent of votes by party NA; seats - (295 total) Liberal Party 178, Bloc Quebecois 54, Reform Party 52, New Democratic Party 8, Progressive Conservative Party 2, independents 1
Judicial branch: Supreme Court
Political parties and leaders: Liberal Party, Jean CHRETIEN; Bloc Quebecois, Lucien BOUCHARD; Reform Party, Preston MANNING; New Democratic Party, Audrey McLAUGHLIN; Progressive Conservative Party, Jean CHAREST
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Raymond A.J. CHRETIEN chancery: 501 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20001 telephone: [1] (202) 682-1740 FAX: [1] (202) 682-7726 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Boston, Buffalo, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, New York, and Seattle consulate(s): Cincinnati, Cleveland, Miami, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Princeton, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, and San Juan (Puerto Rico)
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador James Johnston BLANCHARD embassy: 100 Wellington Street, K1P 5T1, Ottawa mailing address: P. O. Box 5000, Ogdensburg, NY 13669-0430 telephone: [1] (613) 238-5335, 4470 FAX: [1] (613) 238-5720 consulate(s) general: Calgary, Halifax, Montreal, Quebec, Toronto, and Vancouver
Flag: three vertical bands of red (hoist side), white (double width, square), and red with a red maple leaf centered in the white band
@Canada:Economy
Overview: As an affluent, high-tech industrial society, Canada today closely resembles the US in per capita output, market-oriented economic system, and pattern of production. Since World War II the impressive growth of the manufacturing, mining, and service sectors has transformed the nation from a largely rural economy into one primarily industrial and urban. In the 1980s, Canada registered one of the highest rates of real growth among the OECD nations, averaging about 3.2%. With its great natural resources, skilled labor force, and modern capital plant, Canada has excellent economic prospects, although the country still faces high unemployment and a growing debt. Moreover, the continuing constitutional impasse between English- and French-speaking areas has observers discussing a possible split in the confederation; foreign investors have become edgy.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $639.8 billion (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate: 4.5% (1994)
National product per capita: $22,760 (1994)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 0.2% (1994)
Unemployment rate: 9.6% (December 1994)
Budget: revenues: $85 billion (Federal) expenditures: $115.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY93/94 est.)
Exports: $164.3 billion (f.o.b., 1994 est.) commodities: newsprint, wood pulp, timber, crude petroleum, machinery, natural gas, aluminum, motor vehicles and parts; telecommunications equipment partners: US, Japan, UK, Germany, South Korea, Netherlands, China
Imports: $151.5 billion (c.i.f., 1994 est.) commodities: crude oil, chemicals, motor vehicles and parts, durable consumer goods, electronic computers; telecommunications equipment and parts partners: US, Japan, UK, Germany, France, Mexico, Taiwan, South Korea
Industries: processed and unprocessed minerals, food products, wood and paper products, transportation equipment, chemicals, fish products, petroleum and natural gas
Agriculture: accounts for about 3% of GDP; one of the world's major producers and exporters of grain (wheat and barley); key source of US agricultural imports; large forest resources cover 35% of total land area; commercial fisheries provide annual catch of 1.5 million metric tons, of which 75% is exported
Illicit drugs: illicit producer of cannabis for the domestic drug market; use of hydroponics technology permits growers to plant large quantities of high-quality marijuana indoors; growing role as a transit point for heroin and cocaine entering the US market
Economic aid: donor: ODA and OOF commitments (1970-89), $7.2 billion
Railroads: total: 78,148 km; note - there are two major transcontinental freight railway systems: Canadian National (government owned) and Canadian Pacific Railway; passenger service provided by VIA (government operated) standard gauge: 78,148 km 1.435-m gauge (185 km electrified) (1994)
Highways: total: 849,404 km paved: 253,692 km (15,983 km of expressways) unpaved: gravel 595,712 km (1991)
Inland waterways: 3,000 km, including Saint Lawrence Seaway
Pipelines: crude and refined oil 23,564 km; natural gas 74,980 km
Ports: Becancour, Churchill, Halifax, Montreal, New Westminister, Prince Rupert, Quebec, Saint John (New Brunswick), Saint John's (Newfoundland), Seven Islands, Sydney, Three Rivers, Toronto, Vancouver, Windsor
Merchant marine: total: 71 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 617,010 GRT/878,819 DWT ships by type: bulk 17, cargo 10, chemical tanker 5, oil tanker 23, passenger 1, passenger-cargo 1, railcar carrier 2, roll-on/roll-off cargo 7, short-sea passenger 3, specialized tanker 2 note: does not include ships used exclusively in the Great Lakes
Airports: total: 1,386 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 17 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 16 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 147 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 234 with paved runways under 914 m: 550 with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 69 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 353
@Canada:Communications
Telephone system: 18,000,000 telephones; excellent service provided by modern media local: NA intercity: about 300 earth stations for domestic satellite communications international: 5 coaxial submarine cables; 5 INTELSAT earth stations (4 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Pacific Ocean)
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 900, FM 29, shortwave 0 radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: 53 (repeaters 1,400) televisions: NA
@Canada:Defense Forces
Branches: Canadian Armed Forces (includes Land Forces Command or LC, Maritime Command or MC, Air Command or AC, Communications Command or CC, Training Command or TC), Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP)
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 7,570,877; males fit for military service 6,522,092; males reach military age (17) annually 151,590 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $9.0 billion, 1.6% of GDP (FY95/96)
Climate: temperate; warm, dry, summer; precipitation very erratic
Terrain: steep, rugged, rocky, volcanic
Natural resources: salt, basalt rock, pozzolana, limestone, kaolin, fish
Land use: arable land: 9% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 6% forest and woodland: 0% other: 85%
Irrigated land: 20 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment: current issues: overgrazing of livestock and improper land use such as the cultivation of crops on steep slopes has led to soil erosion; demand for wood used as fuel has resulted in deforestation; desertification; environmental damage has threatened several indigenous species of birds and reptiles; overfishing natural hazards: prolonged droughts; harmattan wind can obscure visibility; volcanically and seismically active international agreements: party to - Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification
Note: strategic location 500 km from west coast of Africa near major north-south sea routes; important communications station; important sea and air refueling site
@Cape Verde:People
Population: 435,983 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 50% (female 106,539; male 110,301) 15-64 years: 47% (female 114,931; male 88,029) 65 years and over: 3% (female 9,781; male 6,402) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 2.98% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 45.32 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 8.65 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: -6.88 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 55.9 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 63.01 years male: 61.1 years female: 65.01 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 6.23 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Ethnic divisions: Creole (mulatto) 71%, African 28%, European 1%
Religions: Roman Catholicism fused with indigenous beliefs
Languages: Portuguese, Crioulo, a blend of Portuguese and West African words
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1990) total population: 63% male: 75% female: 53%
Labor force: 102,000 (1985 est.) by occupation: agriculture (mostly subsistence) 57%, services 29%, industry 14% (1981)
@Cape Verde:Government
Names: conventional long form: Republic of Cape Verde conventional short form: Cape Verde local long form: Republica de Cabo Verde local short form: Cabo Verde
Digraph: CV
Type: republic
Capital: Praia
Administrative divisions: 14 districts (concelhos, singular - concelho); Boa Vista, Brava, Fogo, Maio, Paul, Praia, Porto Novo, Ribeira Grande, Sal, Santa Catarina, Santa Cruz, Sao Nicolau, Sao Vicente, Tarrafal
Independence: 5 July 1975 (from Portugal)
National holiday: Independence Day, 5 July (1975)
Constitution: new constitution came into force 25 September 1992
Legal system: NA
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Antonio MASCARENHAS Monteiro (since 22 March 1991; election last held 17 February 1991 (next to be held February 1996); results - Antonio Monteiro MASCARENHAS (independent) received 72.6% of vote head of government: Prime Minister Carlos Alberto Wahnon de Carvalho VEIGA (since 13 January 1991) cabinet: Council of Ministers; appointed by prime minister from members of the Assembly
Legislative branch: unicameral People's National Assembly (Assembleia Nacional Popular): elections last held 13 January 1991 (next to be held January 1996); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (79 total) MPD 56, PAICV 23; note - the 1991 multiparty Assembly election ended 15 years of single-party rule
Judicial branch: Supreme Tribunal of Justice (Supremo Tribunal de Justia)
Political parties and leaders: Movement for Democracy (MPD), Prime Minister Carlos VEIGA, founder and chairman; African Party for Independence of Cape Verde (PAICV), Pedro Verona Rodrigues PIRES, chairman
Member of: ACP, AfDB, CCC, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM (observer), ITU, NAM, OAU, UN (Cape Verde assumed a nonpermanent seat on the Security Council on 1 January 1992), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNOMOZ, UPU, WCL, WHO, WMO
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Jose Eduardo BARBOSA (since 12 February 1994) chancery: 3415 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007 telephone: [1] (202) 965-6820 FAX: [1] (202) 965-1207 consulate(s) general: Boston
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador Joseph M. SEGARS embassy: Rua Abilio Macedo 81, Praia mailing address: C. P. 201, Praia telephone: [238] 61 56 16 FAX: [238] 61 13 55
Flag: three horozontal bands of light blue (top, double width), white (with a horozontal red stripe in the middle third), and light blue; a circle of 10 yellow five-pointed stars is centered on the hoist end of the red stripe and extends into the upper and lower blue bands
@Cape Verde:Economy
Overview: Cape Verde's low per capita GDP reflects a poor natural resource base, serious water shortages exacerbated by cycles of long-term drought, and a high birthrate. The economy is service oriented, with commerce, transport, and public services accounting for 60% of GDP. Although nearly 70% of the population lives in rural areas, agriculture's share of GDP is only 20%; the fishing sector accounts for 4%. About 90% of food must be imported. The fishing potential, mostly lobster and tuna, is not fully exploited. Cape Verde annually runs a high trade deficit, financed by remittances from emigrants and foreign aid, which form important supplements to GDP. Economic reforms, launched by the new democratic government in 1991, are aimed at developing the private sector and attracting foreign investment to diversify the economy. Prospects for 1995 depend heavily on the maintenance of aid flows, remittances, and the momentum of the government's development program.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $410 million (1993 est.)
National product real growth rate: 3.5% (1992 est.)
National product per capita: $1,000 (1993 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 7% (1992)
Unemployment rate: 26% (1990 est.)
Budget: revenues: $174 million expenditures: $235 million, including capital expenditures of $165 million (1993 est.)
Exports: $4.4 million (f.o.b., 1992 est.) commodities: fish, bananas, hides and skins partners: Netherlands, Portugal, Angola
Imports: $173 million (c.i.f., 1992 est.) commodities: foodstuffs, consumer goods, industrial products, transport equipment partners: Portugal, Netherlands, Germany, Spain
External debt: $156 million (1991)
Industrial production: growth rate 3.6% (1990 est.); accounts for 8% of GDP
Electricity: capacity: 15,000 kW production: 40 million kWh consumption per capita: 73 kWh (1993)
Industries: fish processing, salt mining, garment industry, ship repair, construction materials, food and beverage production
Agriculture: accounts for 20% of GDP (including fishing); largely subsistence farming; bananas are the only export crop; other crops - corn, beans, sweet potatoes, coffee; growth potential of agricultural sector limited by poor soils and scanty rainfall; annual food imports required; fish catch provides for both domestic consumption and small exports
Illicit drugs: increasingly used as a transshipment point for illicit drugs moving from Latin America and Africa destined for Western Europe
Economic aid: recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY75-90), $93 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-90), $586 million; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $12 million; Communist countries (1970-89), $36 million
Highways: total: 1,100 km (1992) paved: 680 km unpaved: 420 km
Ports: Mindelo, Praia, Tarrafal
Merchant marine: total: 7 (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 11,609 GRT/19,052 DWT cargo 6, chemical tanker 1
Airports: total: 6 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 1 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 5
@Cape Verde:Communications
Telephone system: over 1,700 telephones; telephine density - about 4 telephones/1,000 persons local: NA intercity: interisland microwave radio relay system, high frequency radio links to Senegal and Guinea-Bissau international: 2 coaxial submarine cables; 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 1, FM 6, shortwave 0 radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: 1 televisions: NA
@Cape Verde:Defense Forces
Branches: People's Revolutionary Armed Forces (FARP; includes Army and Navy), Security Service
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 80,867; males fit for military service 47,225 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $3.4 million, NA% of GDP (1994)
Climate: tropical marine; warm, rainy summers (May to October) and cool, relatively dry winters (November to April)
Terrain: low-lying limestone base surrounded by coral reefs
Natural resources: fish, climate and beaches that foster tourism
Land use: arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 8% forest and woodland: 23% other: 69%
Irrigated land: NA sq km
Environment: current issues: no natural fresh water resources, drinking water supplies must be met by rainwater catchment natural hazards: hurricanes (July to November) international agreements: NA
Note: important location between Cuba and Central America
@Cayman Islands:People
Population: 33,192 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: NA 15-64 years: NA 65 years and over: NA
Population growth rate: 4.3% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 14.79 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 4.98 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 33.2 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 8.4 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 77.1 years male: 75.37 years female: 78.81 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.43 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Ethnic divisions: mixed 40%, white 20%, black 20%, expatriates of various ethnic groups 20%
Religions: United Church (Presbyterian and Congregational), Anglican, Baptist, Roman Catholic, Church of God, other Protestant denominations
Languages: English
Literacy: age 15 and over has ever attended school (1970) total population: 98% male: 98% female: 98%
Labor force: 8,061 by occupation: service workers 18.7%, clerical 18.6%, construction 12.5%, finance and investment 6.7%, directors and business managers 5.9% (1979)
@Cayman Islands:Government
Names: conventional long form: none conventional short form: Cayman Islands
Digraph: CJ
Type: dependent territory of the UK
Capital: George Town
Administrative divisions: 8 districts; Creek, Eastern, Midland, South Town, Spot Bay, Stake Bay, West End, Western
Independence: none (dependent territory of the UK)
National holiday: Constitution Day (first Monday in July)
Constitution: 1959, revised 1972 and 1992
Legal system: British common law and local statutes
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952) head of government: Governor and President of the Executive Council Michael GORE (since 15 September 1992) cabinet: Executive Council; 3 members are appointed by the governor, 4 members elected by the Legislative Assembly
Legislative branch: unicameral Legislative Assembly: election last held November 1992 (next to be held November 1996); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (15 total, 12 elected)
Judicial branch: Grand Court, Cayman Islands Court of Appeal
Political parties and leaders: no formal political parties
Member of: CARICOM (observer), CDB, INTERPOL (subbureau), IOC
Diplomatic representation in US: none (dependent territory of the UK)
US diplomatic representation: none (dependent territory of the UK)
Flag: blue, with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the Caymanian coat of arms on a white disk centered on the outer half of the flag; the coat of arms includes a pineapple and turtle above a shield with three stars (representing the three islands) and a scroll at the bottom bearing the motto HE HATH FOUNDED IT UPON THE SEAS
@Cayman Islands:Economy
Overview: The economy depends heavily on tourism (70% of GDP and 75% of foreign currency earnings) and offshore financial services, with the tourist industry aimed at the luxury market and catering mainly to visitors from North America. About 90% of the islands' food and consumer goods must be imported. The Caymanians enjoy one of the highest outputs per capita and one of the highest standards of living in the world.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $700 million (1993 est.)
Budget: revenues: $141.5 million expenditures: $160.7 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1991)
Exports: $10 million (f.o.b., 1993 est.) commodities: turtle products, manufactured consumer goods partners: mostly US
Imports: $312 million (c.i.f., 1993 est.) commodities: foodstuffs, manufactured goods partners: US, Trinidad and Tobago, UK, Netherlands Antilles, Japan
External debt: $15 million (1986)
Industrial production: growth rate NA%
Electricity: capacity: 80,000 kW production: 230 million kWh consumption per capita: 6,899 kWh (1993)
Industries: tourism, banking, insurance and finance, construction, building materials, furniture making
Agriculture: minor production of vegetables, fruit, livestock; turtle farming
Illicit drugs: a major money-laundering center for illicit drug profits; transshipment point for narcotics bound for the US and Europe
Economic aid: recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $26.7 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $35 million
Currency: 1 Caymanian dollar (CI$) = 100 cents
Exchange rates: Caymanian dollars (CI$) per US$1 - 0.83 (18 November 1993), 0.85 (22 November 1993)
Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March
@Cayman Islands:Transportation
Railroads: 0 km
Highways: total: 160 km (main roads) paved: NA unpaved: NA
Ports: Cayman Brac, George Town
Merchant marine: total: 26 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 321,434 GRT/583,348 DWT ships by type: bulk 7, cargo 6, chemical tanker 2, container 1, oil tanker 3, roll-on/roll-off cargo 7 note: a flag of convenience registry; UK owns 6 ships, India 5, Norway 3, US 3, Greece 1, Sweden 1, UAE 1
Airports: total: 3 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 1
@Cayman Islands:Communications
Telephone system: 35,000 telephones local: NA intercity: NA international: 1 submarine coaxial cable; 1 INTELSAT (Atlantic Ocean) earth station
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 2, FM 1, shortwave 0 radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: 0 televisions: NA
@Cayman Islands:Defense Forces
Branches: Royal Cayman Islands Police Force (RCIPF)
Land use: arable land: 3% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 5% forest and woodland: 64% other: 28%
Irrigated land: NA sq km
Environment: current issues: tap water is not potable; poaching has diminished reputation as one of last great wildlife refuges; desertification natural hazards: hot, dry, dusty harmattan winds affect northern areas; floods are common international agreements: party to - Endangered Species, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Law of the Sea
Note: landlocked; almost the precise center of Africa
@Central African Republic:People
Population: 3,209,759 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 43% (female 690,290; male 694,153) 15-64 years: 53% (female 886,421; male 825,268) 65 years and over: 4% (female 64,846; male 48,781) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 2.1% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 41.84 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 20.89 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 135.6 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 42.15 years male: 40.68 years female: 43.67 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 5.37 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Nationality: noun: Central African(s) adjective: Central African
Ethnic divisions: Baya 34%, Banda 27%, Sara 10%, Mandjia 21%, Mboum 4%, M'Baka 4%, Europeans 6,500 (including 3,600 French)
Religions: indigenous beliefs 24%, Protestant 25%, Roman Catholic 25%, Muslim 15%, other 11% note: animistic beliefs and practices strongly influence the Christian majority
Languages: French (official), Sangho (lingua franca and national language), Arabic, Hunsa, Swahili
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.) total population: 38% male: 52% female: 25%
Labor force: 775,413 (1986 est.) by occupation: agriculture 85%, commerce and services 9%, industry 3%, government 3% note: about 64,000 salaried workers (1985)
@Central African Republic:Government
Names: conventional long form: Central African Republic conventional short form: none local long form: Republique Centrafricaine local short form: none former: Central African Empire
National holiday: National Day, 1 December (1958) (proclamation of the republic)
Constitution: 21 November 1986
Legal system: based on French law
Suffrage: 21 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Ange PATASSE (since 22 October 1993); election last held 19 September 1993 (next scheduled for 1998); PATASSE received 52.45% of the votes and Abel GOUMBA received 45.62% head of government: Prime Minister (vacant) (Dr. Jean-Luc MANDABA resigned on 11 April 1995) cabinet: Council of Ministers; appointed by the president
Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly (Assemblee Nationale): elections last held 19 September 1993; results - percentage vote by party NA; seats - (85 total) MLPC 33, RDC 14, PLD 7, ADP 6, PSD 3, others 22 note: the National Assembly is advised by the Economic and Regional Council (Conseil Economique et Regional); when they sit together they are called the Congress (Congres)
Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Cour Supreme)
Political parties and leaders: Movement for the Liberation of the Central African People (MLPC), the party of the new president, Ange Felix PATASSE; Movement for Democracy and Development (MDD), David DACKO; Marginal Movement for Democracy, Renaissance and Evolution (MDREC), Joseph BENDOUNGA; Central African Democratic Assembly (RDC), Andre KOLINGBA; Patriotic Front for Progress (FFP), Abel GOUMBA; Civic Forum (FC), Gen. Timothee MALENDOMA
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Henri KOBA (appointed 19 September 1994) chancery: 1618 22nd Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 483-7800, 7801 FAX: [1] (202) 332-9893
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador Robert E. GRIBBIN III embassy: Avenue David Dacko, Bangui mailing address: B. P. 924, Bangui telephone: [236] 61 02 00, 61 25 78, 61 02 10 FAX: [236] 61 44 94
Flag: four equal horizontal bands of blue (top), white, green, and yellow with a vertical red band in center; there is a yellow five-pointed star on the hoist side of the blue band
@Central African Republic:Economy
Overview: Subsistence agriculture, together with forestry, remains the backbone of the CAR economy, with more than 70% of the population living in outlying areas. The agricultural sector generates about half of GDP. Timber has accounted for about 26% of export earnings and the diamond industry for 54%. Important constraints to economic development include the CAR's landlocked position, a poor transportation system, a largely unskilled work force, and a legacy of misdirected macroeconomic policies. A major plus is the large forest reserves, which the government is moving to protect from overexploitation. The 50% devaluation of the currencies of 14 Francophone African nations on 12 January 1994 had mixed effects on CAR's economy. While diamond, timber, coffee, and cotton exports increased - leading GDP to increase by 5.5% - inflation rose to 40%, fueled by the rising prices of imports on which the economy depends. CAR's poor resource base and primitive infrastructure will keep it dependent on multilateral donors and France for the foreseeable future.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $2.2 billion (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate: 5.5% (1994 est.)
National product per capita: $700 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 40% (1994 est.)
Unemployment rate: 30% (1988 est.) in Bangui
Budget: revenues: $175 million expenditures: $312 million, including capital expenditures of $122 million (1991 est.)
Exports: $123.5 million (f.o.b., 1992) commodities: diamonds, timber, cotton, coffee, tobacco partners: France, Belgium, Italy, Japan, US
Imports: $165.1 million (f.o.b., 1992) commodities: food, textiles, petroleum products, machinery, electrical equipment, motor vehicles, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, consumer goods, industrial products partners: France, other EC countries, Japan, Algeria
External debt: $859 million (1991)
Industrial production: growth rate 4% (1990 est.); accounts for 14% of GDP
Electricity: capacity: 40,000 kW production: 100 million kWh consumption per capita: 29 kWh (1993)
Industries: diamond mining, sawmills, breweries, textiles, footwear, assembly of bicycles and motorcycles
Agriculture: self-sufficient in food production except for grain; commercial crops - cotton, coffee, tobacco, timber; food crops - manioc, yams, millet, corn, bananas
Economic aid: recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-90), $52 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-90), $1.6 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $6 million; Communist countries (1970-89), $38 million
Currency: 1 CFA franc (CFAF) = 100 centimes
Exchange rates: Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (CFAF) per US$1 - 529.43 (January 1995), 555.20 (1994), 283.16 (1993), 264.69 (1992), 282.11 (1991), 272.26 (1990) note: beginning 12 January 1994, the CFA franc was devalued to CFAF 100 per French franc from CFAF 50 at which it had been fixed since 1948
Fiscal year: calendar year
@Central African Republic:Transportation
Railroads: 0 km
Highways: total: 22,000 km paved: bituminous 458 km unpaved: improved earth 10,542 km; unimproved earth 11,000 km
Inland waterways: 800 km; traditional trade carried on by means of shallow-draft dugouts; Oubangui is the most important river
Ports: Bangui, Nola
Airports: total: 61 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 with paved runways under 914 m: 19 with unpaved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 9 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 29
@Central African Republic:Communications
Telephone system: NA telephones; system is only fair local: NA intercity: network consists principally of micowave radio relay and low capacity, low powered radio communication international: 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0 radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: 1 televisions: NA
@Central African Republic:Defense Forces
Branches: Central African Army (includes Republican Guard), Air Force, National Gendarmerie, Police Force
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 718,487; males fit for military service 375,950 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $30 million, 2.3% of GDP (1994)
Area: total area: 1.284 million sq km land area: 1,259,200 sq km comparative area: slightly more than three times the size of California
Land boundaries: total 5,968 km, Cameroon 1,094 km, Central African Republic 1,197 km, Libya 1,055 km, Niger 1,175 km, Nigeria 87 km, Sudan 1,360 km
Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims: none; landlocked
International disputes: the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled in February 1994 that the 100,000 sq km Aozou Strip between Chad and Libya belongs to Chad; Libya has withdrawn some of its forces in response to the ICJ ruling, but still maintains an airfield in the disputed area; demarcation of international boundaries in Lake Chad, the lack of which has led to border incidents in the past, is completed and awaiting ratification by Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria
Climate: tropical in south, desert in north
Terrain: broad, arid plains in center, desert in north, mountains in northwest, lowlands in south
Natural resources: petroleum (unexploited but exploration under way), uranium, natron, kaolin, fish (Lake Chad)
Land use: arable land: 2% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 36% forest and woodland: 11% other: 51%
Irrigated land: 100 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment: current issues: inadequate supplies of potable water; improper waste disposal in rural areas contributes to soil and water pollution; desertification natural hazards: hot, dry, dusty harmattan winds occur in north; periodic droughts; locust plagues international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping
Note: landlocked; Lake Chad is the most significant water body in the Sahel
@Chad:People
Population: 5,586,505 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 44% (female 1,198,619; male 1,267,470) 15-64 years: 54% (female 1,563,678; male 1,456,481) 65 years and over: 2% (female 71,971; male 28,286) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 2.18% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 42.05 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 20.26 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 129.7 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 41.19 years male: 40.04 years female: 42.38 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 5.33 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Nationality: noun: Chadian(s) adjective: Chadian
Ethnic divisions: north and center: Muslims (Arabs, Toubou, Hadjerai, Fulbe, Kotoko, Kanembou, Baguirmi, Boulala, Zaghawa, and Maba) south: non-Muslims (Sara, Ngambaye, Mbaye, Goulaye, Moundang, Moussei, Massa) nonindigenous 150,000, of whom 1,000 are French
Religions: Muslim 50%, Christian 25%, indigenous beliefs, animism 25%
Languages: French (official), Arabic (official), Sara (in south), Sango (in south), more than 100 different languages and dialects are spoken
Literacy: age 15 and over has the ability to read and write in French and Arabic (1990 est.) total population: 30% male: 42% female: 18%
Labor force: NA by occupation: agriculture 85% (engaged in unpaid subsistence farming, herding, and fishing)
@Chad:Government
Names: conventional long form: Republic of Chad conventional short form: Chad local long form: Republique du Tchad local short form: Tchad
National holiday: Independence Day 11 August (1960)
Constitution: 22 December 1989 (suspended 3 December 1990); Provisional National Charter 1 March 1991 is in effect (note - the constitutional commission, which was drafting a new constitution to submit to transitional parliament for ratification in April 1994, failed to do so but expects to submit a new draft to the parliament before the end of April 1995)
Legal system: based on French civil law system and Chadian customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: universal at age NA
Executive branch: chief of state: President Lt. Gen. Idriss DEBY, since 4 December 1990 (after seizing power on 3 December 1990 - transitional government's mandate expires April 1996) head of government: Prime Minister Djimasta KOIBLA (since 9 April 1995) cabinet: Council of State; appointed by the president on recommendation of the prime minister
Legislative branch: unicameral National Consultative Council (Conceil National Consultatif): elections, formerly scheduled for April 1995, were postponed by mutual agreement of the parties concerned until some time prior to April 1996; elections last held 8 July 1990; the National Consultative Council was disbanded 3 December 1990 and replaced by the Provisional Council of the Republic having 30 members appointed by President DEBY on 8 March 1991; this, in turn, was replaced by a 57-member Higher Transitional Council (Conseil Superieur de Transition) elected by a specially convened Sovereign National Conference on 6 April 1993
Judicial branch: Court of Appeal
Political parties and leaders: Patriotic Salvation Movement (MPS), former dissident group, Idriss DEBY, chairman note: President DEBY, who promised political pluralism, a new constitution, and free elections by April 1994, subsequently twice postponed these initiatives, first until April 1995 and again until sometime before April 1996; there are numerous dissident groups and at least 45 opposition political parties
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Mahamat Saleh AHMAT chancery: 2002 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 462-4009 FAX: [1] (202) 265-1937
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador Laurence E. POPE II embassy: Avenue Felix Eboue, N'Djamena mailing address: B. P. 413, N'Djamena telephone: [235] (51) 62 18, (51) 40 09, (51) 47 59 FAX: [235] (51) 33 72
Flag: three equal vertical bands of blue (hoist side), yellow, and red; similar to the flag of Romania; also similar to the flag of Andorra, which has a national coat of arms featuring a quartered shield centered in the yellow band; design was based on the flag of France
@Chad:Economy
Overview: Climate, geographic remoteness, poor resource endowment, and lack of infrastructure make Chad one of the most underdeveloped countries in the world. Its economy is hobbled by political turmoil, conflict with Libya, drought, and food shortages. Consequently the economy has shown little progress in recent years in overcoming a severe setback brought on by civil war in the late 1980s. More than 80% of the work force is involved in subsistence farming and fishing. Cotton is the major cash crop, accounting for at least half of exports. Chad is highly dependent on foreign aid, especially food credits, given chronic shortages in several regions. Of all the Francophone countries in Africa, Chad has benefited the least from the 50% devaluation of their currencies on 12 January 1994. Despite an increase in external financial aid and favorable price increases for cotton - the primary source of foreign exchange - the corrupt and enfeebled government bureaucracy continues to dampen economic enterprise by neglecting payments to domestic suppliers and public sector salaries. Oil production in the Lake Chad area remains a distant prospect and the subsistence-driven economy probably will continue to limp along in the near term.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $2.8 billion (1993 est.)
National product real growth rate: 3.5% (1993 est.)
National product per capita: $530 (1993 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): -4.1% (1992)
Unemployment rate: NA%
Budget: revenues: $120 million expenditures: $363 million, including capital expenditures of $104 million (1992 est.)
Exports: $190 million (f.o.b., 1992) commodities: cotton 48%, cattle 35%, textiles 5%, fish partners: France, Nigeria, Cameroon
Imports: $261 million (f.o.b., 1992) commodities: machinery and transportation equipment 39%, industrial goods 20%, petroleum products 13%, foodstuffs 9%; note - excludes military equipment partners: US, France, Nigeria, Cameroon
External debt: $492 million (December 1990 est.)
Industrial production: growth rate 2.7% (1992 est.); accounts for nearly 15% of GDP
Electricity: capacity: 40,000 kW production: 80 million kWh consumption per capita: 13 kWh (1993)
Agriculture: accounts for about 45% of GDP; largely subsistence farming; cotton most important cash crop; food crops include sorghum, millet, peanuts, rice, potatoes, manioc; livestock - cattle, sheep, goats, camels; self-sufficient in food in years of adequate rainfall
Economic aid: recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $198 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $1.5 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $28 million; Communist countries (1970-89), $80 million
Currency: 1 CFA franc (CFAF) = 100 centimes
Exchange rates: Communaute Financiere Africaine Francs (CFAF) per US$1 - 529.43 (January 1995), 555.20 (1994), 283.16 (1993), 264.69 (1992), 282.11 (1991), 272.26 (1990) note: beginning 12 January 1994 the CFA franc was devalued to CFAF 100 per French franc from CFAF 50 at which it had been fixed since 1948
Fiscal year: calendar year
@Chad:Transportation
Railroads: 0 km
Highways: total: 31,322 km paved: bituminous 263 km unpaved: gravel, crushed stone 7,069 km; earth 23,990 km
Inland waterways: 2,000 km navigable
Ports: none
Airports: total: 66 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 with paved runways under 914 m: 23 with unpaved runways over 3,047 m: 1 with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 17 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 21
@Chad:Communications
Telephone system: NA telephones; primitive system local: NA intercity: fair system of radio communication stations for intercity links international: 1 INTELSAT (Atlantic Ocean) earth station
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 6, FM 1, shortwave 0 radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: NA; note - limited TV service; many facilties are inoperative televisions: NA
@Chad:Defense Forces
Branches: Armed Forces (includes Ground Force, Air Force, and Gendarmerie), Republican Guard, Police
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 1,307,210; males fit for military service 679,640; males reach military age (20) annually 54,945 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $74 million, 11.1% of GDP (1994)
Location: Southern South America, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean and South Pacific Ocean, between Argentina and Peru
Map references: South America
Area: total area: 756,950 sq km land area: 748,800 sq km comparative area: slightly smaller than twice the size of Montana note: includes Isla de Pascua (Easter Island) and Isla Sala y Gomez
Land boundaries: total 6,171 km, Argentina 5,150 km, Bolivia 861 km, Peru 160 km
International disputes: short section of the southern boundary with Argentina is indefinite; Bolivia has wanted a sovereign corridor to the South Pacific Ocean since the Atacama area was lost to Chile in 1884; dispute with Bolivia over Rio Lauca water rights; territorial claim in Antarctica (Chilean Antarctic Territory) partially overlaps Argentine and British claims
Climate: temperate; desert in north; cool and damp in south
Terrain: low coastal mountains; fertile central valley; rugged Andes in east
Natural resources: copper, timber, iron ore, nitrates, precious metals, molybdenum
Land use: arable land: 7% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 16% forest and woodland: 21% other: 56%
Irrigated land: 12,650 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment: current issues: air pollution from industrial and vehicle emissions; water pollution from raw sewage; deforestation contributing to loss of biodiversity; soil erosion; desertification natural hazards: severe earthquakes; active volcanism; tsunamis international agreements: party to - Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling; signed, but not ratified - Law of the Sea
Note: strategic location relative to sea lanes between Atlantic and Pacific Oceans (Strait of Magellan, Beagle Channel, Drake Passage); Atacama Desert one of world's driest regions
@Chile:People
Population: 14,161,216 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 29% (female 2,014,877; male 2,099,450) 15-64 years: 64% (female 4,574,947; male 4,529,251) 65 years and over: 7% (female 549,385; male 393,306) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.49% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 20.29 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 5.42 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 14.3 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 74.88 years male: 71.89 years female: 78.01 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 2.49 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Nationality: noun: Chilean(s) adjective: Chilean
Ethnic divisions: European and European-Indian 95%, Indian 3%, other 2%
Religions: Roman Catholic 89%, Protestant 11%, Jewish
Languages: Spanish
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1992) total population: 94% male: 95% female: 94%
Labor force: 4.728 million by occupation: services 38.3% (includes government 12%), industry and commerce 33.8%, agriculture, forestry, and fishing 19.2%, mining 2.3%, construction 6.4% (1990)
@Chile:Government
Names: conventional long form: Republic of Chile conventional short form: Chile local long form: Republica de Chile local short form: Chile
Digraph: CI
Type: republic
Capital: Santiago
Administrative divisions: 13 regions (regiones, singular - region); Aisen del General Carlos Ibanez del Campo, Antofagasta, Araucania, Atacama, Bio-Bio, Coquimbo, Libertador General Bernardo O'Higgins, Los Lagos, Magallanes y de la Antartica Chilena, Maule, Region Metropolitana, Tarapaca, Valparaiso note: the US does not recognize claims to Antarctica
Independence: 18 September 1810 (from Spain)
National holiday: Independence Day, 18 September (1810)
Constitution: 11 September 1980, effective 11 March 1981; amended 30 July 1989
Legal system: based on Code of 1857 derived from Spanish law and subsequent codes influenced by French and Austrian law; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal and compulsory
Executive branch: chief of state and head of government: President Eduardo FREI Ruiz-Tagle (since 11 March 1994) election last held 11 December 1993 (next to be held December 1999); results - Eduardo FREI Ruiz-Tagle (PDC) 58%, Arturo ALESSANDRI 24.4%, other 17.6% cabinet: Cabinet; appointed by the president
Legislative branch: bicameral National Congress (Congreso Nacional) Senate (Senado): election last held 11 December 1993 (next to be held December 1997); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (46 total, 38 elected) Concertation of Parties for Democracy 21 (PDC 13, PS 4, PPD 3, PR 1), Union for the Progress of Chile 15 (RN 11, UDI 3, UCC 1), right-wing independents 10 Chamber of Deputies (Camara de Diputados): election last held 11 December 1993 (next to be held December 1997); results - Concertation of Parties for Democracy 53.95% (PDC 27.16%, PS 12.01%, PPD 11.82%, PR 2.96%,); Union for the Progress of Chile 30.57% (RN 15.25%, UDI 12.13%, UCC 3.19%); seats - (120 total) Concertation of Parties for Democracy 70 (PDC 37, PPD 15, PR 2, PS 15, left-wing independent 1), Union for the Progress of Chile 47 (RN 30, UDI 15, UCC 2), right-wing independents 3
Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Corte Suprema)
Political parties and leaders: Concertation of Parties for Democracy consists mainly of three parties: Christian Democratic Party (PDC), Alejandro FOXLEY; Socialist Party (PS), Camilo ESCALONA; Party for Democracy (PPD), Jorge SCHAULSOHN; Radical Party (PR); Union for the Progress of Chile consists mainly of three parties: National Renewal (RN), Andres ALLAMAND; Independent Democratic Union (UDI), Jovino NOVOA; Center Center Union (UCC), Francisco Javier ERRAZURIZ
Other political or pressure groups: revitalized university student federations at all major universities; labor - United Labor Central (CUT) includes trade unionists from the country's five largest labor confederations; Roman Catholic Church
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Gabriel GUERRA-MONDRAGON chancery: 1732 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 785-1746 FAX: [1] (202) 887-5579 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and San Juan (Puerto Rico)
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador Gabriel GUERRA-MONDRAGON embassy: Codina Building, 1343 Agustinas, Santiago mailing address: Unit 4127, Santiago; APO AA 34033 telephone: [56] (2) 232-2600 FAX: [56] (2) 330-3710
Flag: two equal horizontal bands of white (top) and red; there is a blue square the same height as the white band at the hoist-side end of the white band; the square bears a white five-pointed star in the center; design was based on the US flag
@Chile:Economy
Overview: Chile has a prosperous, essentially free market economy, with the degree of government intervention varying according to the philosophy of the different regimes. Under the center-left government of President AYLWIN, which took power in March 1990, spending on social welfare rose steadily. At the same time business investment, exports, and consumer spending also grew substantially. The new president, FREI, who took office in March 1994, has emphasized social spending even more. Growth in 1991-94 has averaged 6.5% annually, with an estimated one million Chileans having moved out of poverty in the last four years. Copper remains vital to the health of the economy; Chile is the world's largest producer and exporter of copper. Success in meeting the government's goal of sustained annual growth of 5% depends on world copper prices, the level of confidence of foreign investors and creditors, and the government's own ability to maintain a conservative fiscal stance.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $97.7 billion (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate: 4.3% (1994 est.)
Budget: revenues: $10.9 billion expenditures: $10.9 billion, including capital expenditures of $1.2 billion (1993)
Exports: $11.5 billion (f.o.b., 1994) commodities: copper 41%, other metals and minerals 8.7%, wood products 7.1%, fish and fishmeal 9.8%, fruits 8.4% (1991) partners: EC 29%, Japan 17%, US 16%, Argentina 5%, Brazil 5% (1992)
Imports: $10.9 billion (f.o.b., 1994) commodities: capital goods 25.2%, spare parts 24.8%, raw materials 15.4%, petroleum 10%, foodstuffs 5.7% partners: EC 24%, US 21%, Brazil 10%, Japan 10% (1992)
External debt: $20 billion (1994 est.)
Industrial production: growth rate 4.3% (1993 est.); accounts for 34% of GDP
Industries: copper, other minerals, foodstuffs, fish processing, iron and steel, wood and wood products, transport equipment, cement, textiles
Agriculture: accounts for about 7% of GDP (including fishing and forestry); major exporter of fruit, fish, and timber products; major crops - wheat, corn, grapes, beans, sugar beets, potatoes, deciduous fruit; livestock products - beef, poultry, wool; self-sufficient in most foods; 1991 fish catch of 6.6 million metric tons; net agricultural importer
Illicit drugs: a minor transshipment country for cocaine destined for the US and Europe; booming economy has made it more attractive to traffickers seeking to launder drug profits
Economic aid: recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $521 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $1.6 billion; Communist countries (1970-89), $386 million
Railroads: total: 7,766 km broad gauge: 3,974 km 1.676-m gauge (1,865 km electrified) standard gauge: 150 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 3,642 km 1.000-m gauge (80 km electrified)
Highways: total: 79,599 km paved: 10,984 km unpaved: gravel or earth 68,615 km (1990)
Inland waterways: 725 km
Pipelines: crude oil 755 km; petroleum products 785 km; natural gas 320 km
Ports: Antofagasta, Arica, Chanarol, Coquimbo, Iquique, Puerto Montt, Punta Arenas, San Antonio, San Vicente, Talcahuano, Valparaiso
Merchant marine: total: 36 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 510,006 GRT/879,891 DWT ships by type: bulk 13, cargo 7, chemical tanker 3, combination ore/oil 2, liquefied gas tanker 3, oil tanker 3, roll-on/roll-off cargo 3, vehicle carrier 2
Airports: total: 390 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 5 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 5 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 18 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 17 with paved runways under 914 m: 252 with unpaved runways over 3,047 m: 1 with unpaved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 13 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 76
@Chile:Communications
Telephone system: 768,000 telephones; modern telephone system based on extensive microwave radio relay facilities local: NA intercity: extensive microwave radio relay links and 3 domestic satellite stations international: 2 INTELSAT (Atlantic Ocean) earth stations
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 159, FM 0, shortwave 11 radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: 131 televisions: NA
@Chile:Defense Forces
Branches: Army of the Nation, National Navy (includes Naval Air, Coast Guard, and Marines), Air Force of the Nation, Carabineros of Chile (National Police), Investigations Police
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 3,758,770; males fit for military service 2,796,740; males reach military age (19) annually 121,831 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $1 billion, 3.4% of GDP (1991 est.)
Location: Eastern Asia, bordering the East China Sea, Korea Bay, Yellow Sea, and South China Sea, between North Korea and Vietnam
Map references: Asia
Area: total area: 9,596,960 sq km land area: 9,326,410 sq km comparative area: slightly larger than the US
Land boundaries: total 22,143.34 km, Afghanistan 76 km, Bhutan 470 km, Burma 2,185 km, Hong Kong 30 km, India 3,380 km, Kazakhstan 1,533 km, North Korea 1,416 km, Kyrgyzstan 858 km, Laos 423 km, Macau 0.34 km, Mongolia 4,673 km, Nepal 1,236 km, Pakistan 523 km, Russia (northeast) 3,605 km, Russia (northwest) 40 km, Tajikistan 414 km, Vietnam 1,281 km
Coastline: 14,500 km
Maritime claims: continental shelf: claim to shallow areas of East China Sea and Yellow Sea territorial sea: 12 nm
International disputes: boundary with India in dispute; disputed sections of the boundary with Russia remain to be settled; boundary with Tajikistan in dispute; a short section of the boundary with North Korea is indefinite; involved in a complex dispute over the Spratly Islands with Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam, and possibly Brunei; maritime boundary dispute with Vietnam in the Gulf of Tonkin; Paracel Islands occupied by China, but claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan; claims Japanese-administered Senkaku-shoto (Senkaku Islands/Diaoyu Tai), as does Taiwan
Climate: extremely diverse; tropical in south to subarctic in north
Terrain: mostly mountains, high plateaus, deserts in west; plains, deltas, and hills in east
Land use: arable land: 10% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 31% forest and woodland: 14% other: 45%
Irrigated land: 478,220 sq km (1991 - Chinese data)
Environment: current issues: air pollution from the overwhelming use of high-sulfur coal as a fuel, produces acid rain which is damaging forests; water shortages experienced throughout the country, particularly in urban areas; future growth in water usage threatens to outpace supplies; water pollution from industrial effluents; much of the population does not have access to potable water; less than 10% of sewage receives treatment; deforestation; estimated loss of one-fifth of agricultural land since 1957 to soil erosion and economic development; desertification; trade in endangered species natural hazards: frequent typhoons (about five per year along southern and eastern coasts); damaging floods; tsunamis; earthquakes; droughts international agreements: party to - Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Wetlands, Whaling; signed, but not ratified - Desertification, Law of the Sea
Note: world's third-largest country (after Russia and Canada)
@China:People
Population: 1,203,097,268 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 26% (female 151,266,866; male 167,234,782) 15-64 years: 67% (female 391,917,572; male 419,103,994) 65 years and over: 7% (female 39,591,692; male 33,982,362) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.04% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 17.78 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 7.36 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 52.1 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 68.08 years male: 67.09 years female: 69.18 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.84 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Nationality: noun: Chinese (singular and plural) adjective: Chinese
Ethnic divisions: Han Chinese 91.9%, Zhuang, Uygur, Hui, Yi, Tibetan, Miao, Manchu, Mongol, Buyi, Korean, and other nationalities 8.1%
Religions: Daoism (Taoism), Buddhism, Muslim 2%-3%, Christian 1% (est.) note: officially atheist, but traditionally pragmatic and eclectic
Languages: Standard Chinese or Mandarin (Putonghua, based on the Beijing dialect), Yue (Cantonese), Wu (Shanghainese), Minbei (Fuzhou), Minnan (Hokkien-Taiwanese), Xiang, Gan, Hakka dialects, minority languages (see Ethnic divisions entry)
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1990) total population: 78% male: 87% female: 68%
Labor force: 583.6 million (1991) by occupation: agriculture and forestry 60%, industry and commerce 25%, construction and mining 5%, social services 5%, other 5% (1990 est.)
@China:Government
Names: conventional long form: People's Republic of China conventional short form: China local long form: Zhonghua Renmin Gongheguo local short form: Zhong Guo
Abbreviation: PRC
Digraph: CH
Type: Communist state
Capital: Beijing
Administrative divisions: 23 provinces (sheng, singular and plural), 5 autonomous regions* (zizhiqu, singular and plural), and 3 municipalities** (shi, singular and plural); Anhui, Beijing**, Fujian, Gansu, Guangdong, Guangxi*, Guizhou, Hainan, Hebei, Heilongjiang, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Jilin, Liaoning, Nei Mongol*, Ningxia*, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Shandong, Shanghai**, Shanxi, Sichuan, Tianjin**, Xinjiang*, Xizang* (Tibet), Yunnan, Zhejiang note: China considers Taiwan its 23rd province
Independence: 221 BC (unification under the Qin or Ch'in Dynasty 221 BC; Qing or Ch'ing Dynasty replaced by the Republic on 12 February 1912; People's Republic established 1 October 1949)
National holiday: National Day, 1 October (1949)
Constitution: most recent promulgated 4 December 1982
Legal system: a complex amalgam of custom and statute, largely criminal law; rudimentary civil code in effect since 1 January 1987; new legal codes in effect since 1 January 1980; continuing efforts are being made to improve civil, administrative, criminal, and commercial law
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President JIANG Zemin (since 27 March 1993); Vice President RONG Yiren (since 27 March 1993); election last held 27 March 1993 (next to be held 1998); results - JIANG Zemin was nominally elected by the Eighth National People's Congress head of government: Premier LI Peng (Acting Premier since 24 November 1987, Premier since 9 April 1988) Vice Premier ZHU Rongji (since 8 April 1991); Vice Premier ZOU Jiahua (since 8 April 1991); Vice Premier QIAN Qichen (since 29 March 1993); Vice Premier LI Lanqing (29 March 1993); Vice Premier WU Bangguo (since 17 March 1995); Vice Premier JIANG Chunyun (since 17 March 1995) cabinet: State Council; appointed by the National People's Congress (NPC)
Legislative branch: unicameral National People's Congress: (Quanguo Renmin Daibiao Dahui) elections last held March 1993 (next to be held March 1998); results - CCP is the only party but there are also independents; seats - (2,977 total) (elected at county or xian level)
Judicial branch: Supreme People's Court
Political parties and leaders: Chinese Communist Party (CCP), JIANG Zemin, general secretary of the Central Committee (since 24 June 1989); eight registered small parties controlled by CCP
Other political or pressure groups: such meaningful opposition as exists consists of loose coalitions, usually within the party and government organization, that vary by issue
Member of: AfDB, APEC, AsDB, CCC, ESCAP, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ISO, ITU, MINURSO, NAM (observer), PCA, UN, UN Security Council, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNITAR, UNOMIL, UNOMOZ, UNTSO, UNU, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador LI Daoyu chancery: 2300 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 328-2500 through 2502 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador J. Stapleton ROY embassy: Xiu Shui Bei Jie 3, 100600 Beijing mailing address: PSC 461, Box 50, Beijing; FPO AP 96521-0002 telephone: [86] (1) 5323831 FAX: [86] (1) 5323178 consulate(s) general: Chengdu, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Shenyang
Flag: red with a large yellow five-pointed star and four smaller yellow five-pointed stars (arranged in a vertical arc toward the middle of the flag) in the upper hoist-side corner
@China:Economy
Overview: Beginning in late 1978 the Chinese leadership has been trying to move the economy from the sluggish Soviet-style centrally planned economy to a more productive and flexible economy with market elements, but still within the framework of monolithic Communist control. To this end the authorities switched to a system of household responsibility in agriculture in place of the old collectivization, increased the authority of local officials and plant managers in industry, permitted a wide variety of small-scale enterprise in services and light manufacturing, and opened the economy to increased foreign trade and investment. The result has been a strong surge in production, particularly in agriculture in the early 1980s. Industry also has posted major gains, especially in coastal areas near Hong Kong and opposite Taiwan, where foreign investment and modern production methods have helped spur production of both domestic and export goods. Aggregate output has more than doubled since 1978. On the darker side, the leadership has often experienced in its hybrid system the worst results of socialism (bureaucracy, lassitude, corruption) and of capitalism (windfall gains and stepped-up inflation). Beijing thus has periodically backtracked, retightening central controls at intervals. In 1992-94 annual growth of GDP accelerated, particularly in the coastal areas - to more than 10% annually according to official claims. In late 1993 China's leadership approved additional long-term reforms aimed at giving more play to market-oriented institutions and at strengthening the center's control over the financial system. In 1994 strong growth continued in the widening market-oriented areas of the economy. At the same time, the government struggled to (a) collect revenues due from provinces, businesses, and individuals; (b) keep inflation within bounds; (c) reduce extortion and other economic crimes; and (d) keep afloat the large state-owned enterprises, most of which had not participated in the vigorous expansion of the economy. From 60 to 100 million surplus rural workers are adrift between the villages and the cities, many barely subsisting through part-time low-pay jobs. Popular resistance, changes in central policy, and loss of authority by rural cadres have weakened China's population control program, which is essential to the nation's long-term economic viability. One of the most dangerous long-term threats to continued rapid economic growth is the deterioration in the environment, notably air pollution, soil erosion, and the steady fall of the water table especially in the north.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $2.9788 trillion (1994 estimate as extrapolated from World Bank estimate for 1992 by use of official Chinese growth statistics for 1993-94; because of the difficulties with official statistics in this time of rapid change, the result may overstate China's GDP by as much as 25%)
National product real growth rate: 11.8% (1994 est.)
National product per capita: $2,500 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 25.5% (December 1994 over December 1993)
Unemployment rate: 2.7% in urban areas (1994); substantial underemployment
Budget: deficit $13.7 billion (1994)
Exports: $121 billion (f.o.b., 1994) commodities: textiles, garments, footwear, toys, machinery and equipment, weapon systems partners: Hong Kong, Japan, US, Germany, South Korea, Russia (1993)
Imports: $115.7 billion (c.i.f., 1994) commodities: rolled steel, motor vehicles, textile machinery, oil products, aircraft partners: Japan, Taiwan, US, Hong Kong, Germany, South Korea (1993)
Industries: iron and steel, coal, machine building, armaments, textiles and apparel, petroleum, cement, chemical fertilizers, consumer durables, food processing, autos, consumer electronics, telecommunications
Agriculture: accounts for almost 30% of GDP; among the world's largest producers of rice, potatoes, sorghum, peanuts, tea, millet, barley, and pork; commercial crops include cotton, other fibers, and oilseeds; produces variety of livestock products; basically self-sufficient in food; fish catch of 13.35 million metric tons (including fresh water and pond raised) (1991)
Illicit drugs: illicit producer of opium; bulk of production is in Yunnan Province (which produced 25 metric tons in 1994); transshipment point for heroin produced in the Golden Triangle
Economic aid: donor: to less developed countries (1970-89) $7 billion recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-87), $220.7 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $13.5 billion
Currency: 1 yuan (Y) = 10 jiao
Exchange rates: yuan (Y) per US$1 - 8.4413 (January 1995), 8.6187 (1994), 5.7620 (1993), 5.5146 (1992), 5.3234 (1991), 4.7832 (1990) note: beginning 1 January 1994, the People's Bank of China quotes the midpoint rate against the US dollar based on the previous day's prevailing rate in the interbank foreign exchange market
Fiscal year: calendar year
@China:Transportation
Railroads: total: 65,780 km standard gauge: 55,180 km 1.435-m gauge (7,174 km electrified; more than 11,000 km double track) narrow gauge: 600 km 1.000-m gauge; 10,000 km 0.762-m to 1.067-m gauge dedicated industrial lines
Highways: total: 1.029 million km paved: 170,000 km unpaved: gravel/improved earth 648,000 km; unimproved earth 211,000 km (1990)
Inland waterways: 138,600 km; about 109,800 km navigable
Pipelines: crude oil 9,700 km; petroleum products 1,100 km; natural gas 6,200 km (1990)
Merchant marine: total: 1,628 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 16,013,532 GRT/24,027,766 DWT ships by type: barge carrier 3, bulk 298, cargo 849, chemical tanker 14, combination bulk 10, container 98, liquefied gas tanker 4, multifunction large load carrier 1, oil tanker 212, passenger 24, passenger-cargo 25, refrigerated cargo 21, roll-on/roll-off cargo 24, short-sea passenger 44, vehicle carrier 1 note: China beneficially owns an additional 250 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling approximately 8,831,462 DWT that operate under Panamanian, Hong Kong, Maltese, Liberian, Vanuatu, Cypriot, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Bahamian, and Singaporean registry
Airports: total: 204 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 17 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 69 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 89 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 9 with paved runways under 914 m: 7 with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 7 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 3 with unpaved runways under 914 m: 3
@China:Communications
Telephone system: 20,000,000 telephones (summer 1994); domestic and international services are increasingly available for private use; unevenly distributed internal system serves principal cities, industrial centers, and most townships; expanding phone lines, interprovincial fiber optic links, satellite communications, cellullar/mobile communications, etc. local: NA intercity: fiber optic trunk lines, 55 earth stations for domestic satellites international: 5 INTELSAT earth stations (4 Pacific Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) and 1 INMARSAT earth station; several international fiber optic links to Japan and Hong Kong
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 274, FM NA, shortwave 0 radios: 215 million
Television: broadcast stations: 202 (repeaters 2,050) televisions: 75 million
@China:Defense Forces
Branches: People's Liberation Army (PLA), which includes the Ground Forces, Navy (includes Marines and Naval Aviation), Air Force, Second Artillery Corps (the strategic missile force), People's Armed Police (internal security troops, nominally subordinate to Ministry of Public Security, but included by the Chinese as part of the "armed forces" and considered to be an adjunct to the PLA in war time)
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 351,330,411; males fit for military service 194,286,619; males reach military age (18) annually 9,841,658 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: defense budget - 63.09 billion yuan, NA% of GDP (1995 est.); note - conversion of the defense budget into US dollars using the current exchange rate could produce misleading results
Climate: tropical; heat and humidity moderated by trade winds
Terrain: steep cliffs along coast rise abruptly to central plateau
Natural resources: phosphate
Land use: arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 0% forest and woodland: 0% other: 100%
Irrigated land: NA sq km
Environment: current issues: NA natural hazards: almost completely surrounded by a reef which can be a maritime hazard international agreements: NA
Note: located along major sea lanes of Indian Ocean
@Christmas Island:People
Population: 889 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: NA 15-64 years: NA 65 years and over: NA
Population growth rate: -9% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: NA
Death rate: NA
Net migration rate: NA
Infant mortality rate: NA
Life expectancy at birth: total population: NA male: NA female: NA
Total fertility rate: NA
Nationality: noun: Christmas Islander(s) adjective: Christmas Island
Ethnic divisions: Chinese 61%, Malay 25%, European 11%, other 3%, no indigenous population
Religions: Buddhist 36.1%, Muslim 25.4%, Christian 17.7% (Roman Catholic 8.2%, Church of England 3.2%, Presbyterian 0.9%, Uniting Church 0.4%, Methodist 0.2%, Baptist 0.1%, and other 4.7%), none 12.7%, unknown 4.6%, other 3.5% (1981)
Languages: English
Labor force: NA by occupation: all workers are employees of the Phosphate Mining Company of Christmas Island, Ltd.
@Christmas Island:Government
Names: conventional long form: Territory of Christmas Island conventional short form: Christmas Island
Digraph: KT
Type: territory of Australia
Capital: The Settlement
Administrative divisions: none (territory of Australia)
Independence: none (territory of Australia)
National holiday: NA
Constitution: Christmas Island Act of 1958
Legal system: under the authority of the governor general of Australia
Executive branch: chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952) head of government: Administrator M. J. GRIMES (since NA) cabinet: Advisory Council
Legislative branch: none
Judicial branch: none
Political parties and leaders: none
Member of: none
Diplomatic representation in US: none (territory of Australia)
US diplomatic representation: none (territory of Australia)
Flag: the flag of Australia is used
@Christmas Island:Economy
Overview: Phosphate mining had been the only significant economic activity, but in December 1987 the Australian Government closed the mine as no longer economically viable. Plans have been under way to reopen the mine and also to build a casino and hotel to develop tourism.
National product: GDP $NA
National product real growth rate: NA%
National product per capita: $NA
Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA%
Unemployment rate: NA%
Budget: revenues: $NA expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA
Land use: arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 0% forest and woodland: 0% other: 100% (all coral)
Irrigated land: 0 sq km
Environment: current issues: NA natural hazards: NA international agreements: NA
Note: reef about 8 km in circumference
@Clipperton Island:People
Population: uninhabited
@Clipperton Island:Government
Names: conventional long form: none conventional short form: Clipperton Island local long form: none local short form: Ile Clipperton former: sometimes called Ile de la Passion
Digraph: IP
Type: French possession administered by France from French Polynesia by High Commissioner of the Republic
Capital: none; administered by France from French Polynesia
Independence: none (possession of France)
@Clipperton Island:Economy
Overview: The only economic activity is a tuna fishing station.
Location: Southeastern Asia, group of islands in the Indian Ocean, south of Indonesia, about one-half of the way from Australia to Sri Lanka
Map references: Southeast Asia
Area: total area: 14 sq km land area: 14 sq km comparative area: about 24 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC note: includes the two main islands of West Island and Home Island
Climate: pleasant, modified by the southeast trade wind for about nine months of the year; moderate rain fall
Terrain: flat, low-lying coral atolls
Natural resources: fish
Land use: arable land: NA% permanent crops: NA% meadows and pastures: NA% forest and woodland: NA% other: NA%
Irrigated land: NA sq km
Environment: current issues: there are no natural fresh water resources on the island, groundwater does accumulate in natural underground reservoirs natural hazards: cyclones may occur in the early months of the year international agreements: NA
Note: two coral atolls thickly covered with coconut palms and other vegetation
@Cocos (keeling) Islands:People
Population: 604 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: NA 15-64 years: NA 65 years and over: NA
Population growth rate: 0.98% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: NA births/1,000 population
Death rate: NA deaths/1,000 population
Net migration rate: NA migrant(s)/1,000 population
Infant mortality rate: NA deaths/1,000 live births
Life expectancy at birth: total population: NA years male: NA years female: NA years
Ethnic divisions: West Island: Europeans Home Island: Cocos Malays
Religions: Sunni Muslims
Languages: English
Labor force: NA
@Cocos (keeling) Islands:Government
Names: conventional long form: Territory of Cocos (Keeling) Islands conventional short form: Cocos (Keeling) Islands
Digraph: CK
Type: territory of Australia
Capital: West Island
Administrative divisions: none (territory of Australia)
Independence: none (territory of Australia)
National holiday: NA
Constitution: Cocos (Keeling) Islands Act of 1955
Legal system: based upon the laws of Australia and local laws
Suffrage: NA
Executive branch: chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952) head of government: Administrator B. CUNNINGHAM (since NA) cabinet: Islands Council; Chairman of the Islands Council Haji WAHIN bin Bynie (since NA)
Legislative branch: unicameral Islands Council
Judicial branch: Supreme Court
Political parties and leaders: NA
Member of: none
Diplomatic representation in US: none (territory of Australia)
US diplomatic representation: none (territory of Australia)
Flag: the flag of Australia is used
@Cocos (keeling) Islands:Economy
Overview: Grown throughout the islands, coconuts are the sole cash crop. Copra and fresh coconuts are the major export earners. Small local gardens and fishing contribute to the food supply, but additional food and most other necessities must be imported from Australia.
National product: GDP $NA
National product real growth rate: NA%
National product per capita: $NA
Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA%
Budget: revenues: $NA expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA
Exports: $NA commodities: copra partners: Australia
Imports: $NA commodities: foodstuffs partners: Australia
External debt: $NA
Industrial production: growth rate NA%
Electricity: capacity: 1,000 kW production: 2 million kWh consumption per capita: 2,980 kWh (1990)
Industries: copra products
Agriculture: gardens provide vegetables, bananas, pawpaws, coconuts
Highways: total: NA km paved: NA km unpaved: NA km
Ports: none; lagoon anchorage only
Merchant marine: none
Airports: total: 1 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
@Cocos (keeling) Islands:Communications
Telephone system: NA telephones local: NA intercity: NA international: linked by telephone, telex, and facsimile communications via satellite with Australia
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0 radios: 250 (1985)
Location: Northern South America, bordering the Caribbean Sea, between Panama and Venezuela, and bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between Ecuador and Panama
Map references: South America
Area: total area: 1,138,910 sq km land area: 1,038,700 sq km comparative area: slightly less than three times the size of Montana note: includes Isla de Malpelo, Roncador Cay, Serrana Bank, and Serranilla Bank
Land boundaries: total 7,408 km, Brazil 1,643 km, Ecuador 590 km, Panama 225 km, Peru 2,900 km, Venezuela 2,050 km
Coastline: 3,208 km (Caribbean Sea 1,760 km, North Pacific Ocean 1,448 km)
Maritime claims: continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation exclusive economic zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 12 nm
International disputes: maritime boundary dispute with Venezuela in the Gulf of Venezuela; territorial dispute with Nicaragua over Archipelago de San Andres y Providencia and Quita Sueno Bank
Climate: tropical along coast and eastern plains; cooler in highlands
Terrain: flat coastal lowlands, central highlands, high Andes Mountains, eastern lowland plains
Land use: arable land: 4% permanent crops: 2% meadows and pastures: 29% forest and woodland: 49% other: 16%
Irrigated land: 5,150 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment: current issues: deforestation; soil damage from overuse of pesticides; air pollution, especially in Bogota, from vehicle emissions natural hazards: highlands subject to volcanic eruptions; occasional earthquakes; periodic droughts international agreements: party to - Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Endangered Species, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83; signed, but not ratified - Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Climate Change, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping
Note: only South American country with coastlines on both North Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea
@Colombia:People
Population: 36,200,251 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 32% (female 5,784,010; male 5,925,600) 15-64 years: 63% (female 11,642,870; male 11,245,235) 65 years and over: 5% (female 888,358; male 714,178) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.7% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 21.89 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 4.69 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: -0.17 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 26.9 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 72.48 years male: 69.68 years female: 75.38 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 2.4 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Ethnic divisions: mestizo 58%, white 20%, mulatto 14%, black 4%, mixed black-Indian 3%, Indian 1%
Religions: Roman Catholic 95%
Languages: Spanish
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1985) total population: 88% male: 88% female: 88%
Labor force: 12 million (1990) by occupation: services 46%, agriculture 30%, industry 24% (1990)
@Colombia:Government
Names: conventional long form: Republic of Colombia conventional short form: Colombia local long form: Republica de Colombia local short form: Colombia
Digraph: CO
Type: republic; executive branch dominates government structure
Capital: Bogota
Administrative divisions: 32 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento) and 1 capital district* (distrito capital); Amazonas, Antioquia, Arauca, Atlantico, Bogota*, Bolivar, Boyaca, Caldas, Caqueta, Casanare, Cauca, Cesar, Choco, Cordoba, Cundinamarca, Guainia, Guaviare, Huila, La Guajira, Magdalena, Meta, Narino, Norte de Santander, Putumayo, Quindio, Risaralda, San Andres y Providencia, Santander, Sucre, Tolima, Valle del Cauca, Vaupes, Vichada
Independence: 20 July 1810 (from Spain)
National holiday: Independence Day, 20 July (1810)
Constitution: 5 July 1991
Legal system: based on Spanish law; a new criminal code modeled after US procedures was enacted in 1992-93; judicial review of executive and legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal and compulsory
Executive branch: chief of state and head of government: President Ernesto SAMPER Pizano (since 7 August 1994); election last held 29 May 1994 (next to be held May 1998) and resulted in no candidate receiving more than 50% of the total vote; a run-off election to select a president from the two leading candidates was held on 19 June 1994; results - Ernesto SAMPER Pizano (Liberal Party) 50.4%, Andres PASTRANA Arango (Conservative Party) 48.6%, blank votes 1%; Humberto de la CALLE was elected vice president in a new proceedure that replaces the traditional designation of vice presidents by newly elected presidents. cabinet: Cabinet
Legislative branch: bicameral Congress (Congreso) Senate (Senado): elections last held 13 March 1994 (next to be held NA March 1998); preliminary results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (102 total) Liberal Party 59, conservatives (includes PC, MSN, and NDF) 31, other 12 House of Representatives (Camara de Representantes): elections last held 13 March 1994 (next to be held NA March 1998); preliminary results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (161 total) Liberal Party 89, conservatives (includes PC, MSN, and NDF) 53, AD/M-19 2, other 17
Judicial branch: Supreme Court of Justice (Corte Suprema de Justical), Constitutional Court, Council of State
Political parties and leaders: Liberal Party (PL), Juan Guillermo ANGEL; Conservative Party (PC), Fabio VALENCIA Cossio; National Salvation Movement (MSN), Alvaro GOMEZ Hurtado; New Democratic Force (NDF), Andres PASTRANA Arango; Democratic Alliance M-19 (AD/M-19) is a coalition of small leftist parties and dissident liberals and conservatives; Patriotic Union (UP) is a legal political party formed by Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and Colombian Communist Party (PCC), Carlos ROMERO
Other political or pressure groups: three insurgent groups are active in Colombia - Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), Manuel MARULANDA and Alfonso CANO; National Liberation Army (ELN), Manuel PEREZ; and dissidents of the recently demobilized People's Liberation Army (EPL), Francisco CARABALLO; Francisco CARABALLO was captured by the government in June 1994
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Carlos LLERAS de la Fuente chancery: 2118 Leroy Place NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 387-8338 FAX: [1] (202) 232-8643 consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, San Francisco, San Juan (Puerto Rico), and Washington, DC consulate(s): Atlanta and Tampa
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador Myles R. R. FRECHETTE embassy: Calle 38, No. 8-61, Bogota mailing address: Apartado Aereo 3831, Bogota; APO AA 34038 telephone: [57] (1) 320-1300 FAX: [57] (1) 288-5687 consulate(s): Barranquilla
Flag: three horizontal bands of yellow (top, double-width), blue, and red; similar to the flag of Ecuador, which is longer and bears the Ecuadorian coat of arms superimposed in the center
@Colombia:Economy
Overview: Colombia's economy has grown steadily since 1991, when the government implemented sweeping economic reform measures. President SAMPER, who took office in August 1994, has pledged to maintain those reforms while expanding government assistance for poor Colombians, who continue to make up about 40% of the population. In an effort to bring down inflation, SAMPER has arranged a "social pact" with business and labor to curtail price hikes and trim inflation to 18%. The rapid development of oil, coal, and other nontraditional industries, along with copious inflows of capital and strengthening of prices for coffee, have helped keep growth at 5%-6%. Development of the massive Cusiana oilfield provides the means to sustain this level over the next several years. Exporters say, however, that their sales have been hampered by the appreciation of the Colombian peso, and farmers have sought government help in adjusting to greater foreign competition. Moreover, increased foreign investment and even greater domestic growth have been hindered by an inadequate energy and transportation infrastructure and by violence stemming from drug trafficking and persistent rural insurgency.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $172.4 billion (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate: 5.7% (1994 est.)
Industries: textiles, food processing, oil, clothing and footwear, beverages, chemicals, metal products, cement; mining - gold, coal, emeralds, iron, nickel, silver, salt
Agriculture: growth rate 3.8% (1994 est.); accounts for about 15% of GDP; crops make up two-thirds and livestock one-third of agricultural output; climate and soils permit a wide variety of crops, such as coffee, rice, tobacco, corn, sugarcane, cocoa beans, oilseeds, vegetables; forest products and shrimp farming are becoming more important
Illicit drugs: illicit producer of coca, opium poppies, and cannabis; about 45,000 hectares of coca under cultivation; the world's largest processor of coca derivatives into cocaine; supplier of cocaine to the US and other international drug markets; active eradication program against narcotics crop
Economic aid: recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $1.6 billion; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $3.3 billion; Communist countries (1970-89), $399 million
Airports: total: 1,307 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 2 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 7 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 34 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 31 with paved runways under 914 m: 734 with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 80 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 419
@Colombia:Communications
Telephone system: 1,890,000 telephones; modern system in many respects
local: NA intercity: nationwide microwave radio relay system; 11 domestic earth stations international: 2 INTELSAT (Atlantic Ocean) earth stations
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 413, FM 0, shortwave 28 radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: 33 televisions: NA
@Colombia:Defense Forces
Branches: Army (Ejercito Nacional), Navy (Armada Nacional, includes Marines and Coast Guard), Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Colombiana), National Police (Policia Nacional)
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 9,851,980; males fit for military service 6,640,348; males reach military age (18) annually 349,599 (1995 est.)
International disputes: claims French-administered Mayotte
Climate: tropical marine; rainy season (November to May)
Terrain: volcanic islands, interiors vary from steep mountains to low hills
Natural resources: negligible
Land use: arable land: 35% permanent crops: 8% meadows and pastures: 7% forest and woodland: 16% other: 34%
Irrigated land: NA sq km
Environment: current issues: soil degradation and erosion results from crop cultivation on slopes without proper terracing; deforestation natural hazards: cyclones and tsunamis possible during rainy season (December to April); Mount Kartala on Grand Comore is an active volcano international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection; signed, but not ratified - Desertification
Note: important location at northern end of Mozambique Channel
@Comoros:People
Population: 549,338 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 48% (female 131,334; male 132,327) 15-64 years: 49% (female 137,083; male 133,629) 65 years and over: 3% (female 7,860; male 7,105) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 3.56% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 46.22 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 10.6 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 77.3 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 58.27 years male: 56.04 years female: 60.57 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 6.73 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Languages: Arabic (official), French (official), Comoran (a blend of Swahili and Arabic)
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1980) total population: 48% male: 56% female: 40%
Labor force: 140,000 (1982) by occupation: agriculture 80%, government 3%
@Comoros:Government
Names: conventional long form: Federal Islamic Republic of the Comoros conventional short form: Comoros local long form: Republique Federale Islamique des Comores local short form: Comores
Digraph: CN
Type: independent republic
Capital: Moroni
Administrative divisions: three islands; Grand Comore (Njazidja), Anjouan (Nzwani), and Moheli (Mwali) note: there are also four municipalities named Domoni, Fomboni, Moroni, and Mutsamudu
Independence: 6 July 1975 (from France)
National holiday: Independence Day, 6 July (1975)
Constitution: 7 June 1992
Legal system: French and Muslim law in a new consolidated code
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Said Mohamed DJOHAR (since 11 March 1990); election last held 11 March 1990 (next to be held March 1996); results - Said Mohamed DJOHAR (UDZIMA) 55%, Mohamed TAKI Abdulkarim (UNDC) 45%
head of government: Prime Minister Halifa HOUMADI (since 13 October 1994); note - HOUMADI is the fifteenth prime minister appointed by President DJOHAR in the last three years cabinet: Council of Ministers; appointed by the president
Legislative branch: unicameral Federal Assembly (Assemblee Federale): elections last held 12-20 December 1993 (next to be held by NA January 1998); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (42 total) Ruling Coalition: RDR 15, UNDC 5, MWANGAZA 2; Opposition: UDZIMA 8, other smaller parties 10; 2 seats remained unfilled
Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Cour Supreme)
Political parties and leaders: over 20 political parties are currently active, the most important of which are; Comoran Union for Progress (UDZIMA), Omar TAMOU; Islands' Fraternity and Unity Party (CHUMA), Said Ali KEMAL; Comoran Party for Democracy and Progress (PCDP), Ali MROUDJAE; Realizing Freedom's Capability (UWEZO), Mouazair ABDALLAH; Democratic Front of the Comoros (FDR), Moustapha CHELKH; Dialogue Proposition Action (DPA/MWANGAZA), Said MCHAWGAMA; Rally for Change and Democracy (RACHADE), Hassan HACHIM; Union for Democracy and Decentralization (UNDC), Mohamed Taki Halidi IBRAHAM; Rally for Democracy and Renewal (RDR); Comoran Popular Front (FPC), Mohamed HASSANALI, Mohamed El Arif OUKACHA, Abdou MOUSTAKIM (Secretary General)
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Mohamed Ahamadu DJIMBANAO (ambassador to the US and Canada) chancery: (temporary) care of the Permanent Mission of the Federal and Islamic Republic of the Comoros to the United Nations, 336 East 45th Street, 2nd Floor, New York, NY 10017 telephone: [1] (212) 972-8010 FAX: [1] (212) 983-4712
US diplomatic representation: none; ambassador to Port Louis, Mauritius, is accredited to Comoros
Flag: green with a white crescent in the center of the field, its points facing upward; there are four white five-pointed stars placed in a line between the points of the crescent; the crescent, stars, and color green are traditional symbols of Islam; the four stars represent the four main islands of the archipelago - Mwali, Njazidja, Nzwani, and Mayotte (a territorial collectivity of France, but claimed by Comoros); the design, the most recent of several, is described in the constitution approved by referendum on 7 June 1992
@Comoros:Economy
Overview: One of the world's poorest countries, Comoros is made up of several islands that have poor transportation links, a young and rapidly increasing population, and few natural resources. The low educational level of the labor force contributes to a subsistence level of economic activity, high unemployment, and a heavy dependence on foreign grants and technical assistance. Agriculture, including fishing, hunting, and forestry, is the leading sector of the economy. It contributes 40% to GDP, employs 80% of the labor force, and provides most of the exports. The country is not self-sufficient in food production; rice, the main staple, accounts for 90% of imports. The government is struggling to upgrade education and technical training, to privatize commercial and industrial enterprises, to improve health services, to diversify exports, and to reduce the high population growth rate. Continued foreign support is essential if the goal of 4% annual GDP growth is to be reached in the late 1990s.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $370 million (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate: 0.9% (1994 est.)
National product per capita: $700 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 15% (1993 est.)
Unemployment rate: 15.8% (1989)
Budget: revenues: $83 million expenditures: $92 million, including capital expenditures of $32 million (1992)
Exports: $13.7 million (f.o.b., 1993 est.) commodities: vanilla, ylang-ylang, cloves, perfume oil, copra partners: US 44%, France 40%, Germany 6%, Africa 5% (1992)
Imports: $40.9 million (f.o.b., 1993 est.) commodities: rice and other foodstuffs, petroleum products, cement, consumer goods partners: France 34%, South Africa 14%, Kenya 8%, Japan 4% (1992)
External debt: $160 million (1992 est.)
Industrial production: growth rate -6.5% (1989 est.); accounts for 6% of GDP
Electricity: capacity: 16,000 kW production: 17 million kWh consumption per capita: 27 kWh (1993)
Industries: perfume distillation, textiles, furniture, jewelry, construction materials, soft drinks
Agriculture: accounts for 40% of GDP; most of population works in subsistence agriculture and fishing; plantations produce cash crops for export - vanilla, cloves, perfume essences, copra; principal food crops - coconuts, bananas, cassava; world's leading producer of essence of ylang-ylang (for perfumes) and second-largest producer of vanilla; large net food importer
Economic aid: recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY80-89), $10 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $435 million; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $22 million; Communist countries (1970-89), $18 million
Currency: 1 Comoran franc (CF) = 100 centimes
Exchange rates: Comoran francs (CF) per US$1 - 297.07 (January 1995), 416.40 (1994), 254.57 (1993), 264.69 (1992), 282.11 (1991), 272.26 (1990) note: beginning 12 January 1994, the Comoran franc was devalued to 75 per French franc from 50 per French franc at which it had been fixed since 1948
Fiscal year: calendar year
@Comoros:Transportation
Railroads: 0 km
Highways: total: 750 km paved: bituminous 210 km unpaved: crushed stone, gravel 540 km
Ports: Fomboni, Moroni, Mutsamudo
Merchant marine: none
Airports: total: 4 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 3
@Comoros:Communications
Telephone system: over 1,800 telephones; sparse system of radio relay and high-frequency radio communication stations for interisland and external communications to Madagascar and Reunion local: NA intercity: high frequency radio and microwave radio relay international: high frequency radio
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 2, FM 1, shortwave 0 radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: 0 televisions: NA
@Comoros:Defense Forces
Branches: Comoran Security Force
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 117,349; males fit for military service 70,178 (1995 est.)
Location: Western Africa, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Angola and Gabon
Map references: Africa
Area: total area: 342,000 sq km land area: 341,500 sq km comparative area: slightly smaller than Montana
Land boundaries: total 5,504 km, Angola 201 km, Cameroon 523 km, Central African Republic 467 km, Gabon 1,903 km, Zaire 2,410 km
Coastline: 169 km
Maritime claims: territorial sea: 200 nm
International disputes: long segment of boundary with Zaire along the Congo River is indefinite (no division of the river or its islands has been made)
Climate: tropical; rainy season (March to June); dry season (June to October); constantly high temperatures and humidity; particularly enervating climate astride the Equator
Terrain: coastal plain, southern basin, central plateau, northern basin
Land use: arable land: 2% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 29% forest and woodland: 62% other: 7%
Irrigated land: 40 sq km (1989)
Environment: current issues: air pollution from vehicle emissions; water pollution from the dumping of raw sewage; tap water is not potable; deforestation natural hazards: seasonal flooding international agreements: party to - Endangered Species, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Law of the Sea, Tropical Timber 94
Note: about 70% of the population lives in Brazzaville, Pointe Noire, or along the railroad between them
@Congo:People
Population: 2,504,996 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 44% (female 543,324; male 548,840) 15-64 years: 53% (female 682,927; male 645,045) 65 years and over: 3% (female 49,879; male 34,981) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 2.32% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 39.86 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 16.7 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 109.4 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 47.09 years male: 45.23 years female: 49 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 5.23 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Nationality: noun: Congolese (singular and plural) adjective: Congolese or Congo
Languages: French (official), African languages (Lingala and Kikongo are the most widely used)
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1984) total population: 60% male: 71% female: 49%
Labor force: 79,100 wage earners by occupation: agriculture 75%, commerce, industry, and government 25%
@Congo:Government
Names: conventional long form: Republic of the Congo conventional short form: Congo local long form: Republique Populaire du Congo local short form: Congo former: Congo/Brazzaville
Digraph: CF
Type: republic
Capital: Brazzaville
Administrative divisions: 9 regions (regions, singular - region) and 1 commune*; Bouenza, Brazzaville*, Cuvette, Kouilou, Lekoumou, Likouala, Niari, Plateaux, Pool, Sangha
Independence: 15 August 1960 (from France)
National holiday: Congolese National Day, 15 August (1960)
Constitution: new constitution approved by referendum March 1992
Legal system: based on French civil law system and customary law
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Pascal LISSOUBA (since August 1992); election last held August 1992 (next to be held August 1997); results - President Pascal LISSOUBA won with 61% of the vote head of government: Prime Minister Jacques Joachim YHOMBI-OPANGO (since 23 June 1993) cabinet: Council of Ministers; named by the president
Legislative branch: bicameral National Assembly (Assemblee Nationale): election last held 3 October 1993; results - percentage vote by party NA; seats - (125 total) UPADS 64, URD/PCT 58, others 3 Senate: election last held 26 July 1992 (next to be held July 1998); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (60 total) UPADS 23, MCDDI 14, RDD 8, RDPS 5, PCT 2, others 8
Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Cour Supreme)
Political parties and leaders: Congolese Labor Party (PCT), Denis SASSOU-NGUESSO, president; Pan-African Union for Social Development (UPADS), Pascal LISSOUBA, leader; Association for Democracy and Development (RDD), Joachim Yhombi OPANGO, president; Congolese Movement for Democracy and Integral Development (MCDDI), Bernard KOLELAS, leader; Association for Democracy and Social Progress (RDPS), Jean-Pierre Thystere TCHICAYA, president; Union of Democratic Forces (UFD), David Charles GANAO, leader; Union for Development and Social Progress (UDPS), Jean-Michael BOKAMBA-YANGOUMA, leader note: Congo has many political parties of which these are among the most important
Other political or pressure groups: Union of Congolese Socialist Youth (UJSC); Congolese Trade Union Congress (CSC); Revolutionary Union of Congolese Women (URFC); General Union of Congolese Pupils and Students (UGEEC)
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Pierre Damien BOUSSOUKOU-BOUMBA chancery: 4891 Colorado Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20011 telephone: [1] (202) 726-0825 FAX: [1] (202) 726-1860
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador William C. RAMSEY embassy: Avenue Amilcar Cabral, Brazzaville mailing address: B. P. 1015, Brazzaville telephone: [242] 83 20 70 FAX: [242] 83 63 38
Flag: red, divided diagonally from the lower hoist side by a yellow band; the upper triangle (hoist side) is green and the lower triangle is red; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia
@Congo:Economy
Overview: Congo's economy is a mixture of village agriculture and handicrafts, an industrial sector based largely on oil, support services, and a government characterized by budget problems and overstaffing. A reform program, supported by the IMF and World Bank, ran into difficulties in 1990-91 because of problems in changing to a democratic political regime and a heavy debt-servicing burden. Oil has supplanted forestry as the mainstay of the economy, providing about two-thirds of government revenues and exports. In the early 1980s rapidly rising oil revenues enabled Congo to finance large-scale development projects with growth averaging 5% annually, one of the highest rates in Africa. Subsequently, growth has slowed to an average of roughly 1.5% annually, only two-thirds of the population growth rate. Political turmoil and misguided government investment have derailed economic reform programs sponsored by the IMF and World Bank. Even with these difficulties Congo enjoys one of the highest incomes per capita in sub-Saharan Africa
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $6.7 billion (1993 est.)
National product real growth rate: -2.1% (1993 est.)
Budget: revenues: $765 million expenditures: $952 million, including capital expenditures of $65 million (1990)
Exports: $1.1 billion (f.o.b., 1993) commodities: crude oil 83%, lumber, plywood, sugar, cocoa, coffee, diamonds partners: US, Italy, France, Spain, other EC countries
Imports: $472 million (c.i.f., 1991) commodities: intermediate manufactures, capital equipment, construction materials, foodstuffs partners: France, US, Italy, Japan, other EC countries
External debt: $4 billion (1993)
Industrial production: growth rate 8% (1993 est.); accounts for 35% of GDP; includes petroleum
Electricity: capacity: 120,000 kW production: 400 million kWh consumption per capita: 201 kWh (1993)
Agriculture: accounts for 12% of GDP (including fishing and forestry); cassava accounts for 90% of food output; other crops - rice, corn, peanuts, vegetables; cash crops include coffee and cocoa; forest products important export earner; imports over 90% of food needs
Economic aid: recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-90), $63 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-90), $2.5 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $15 million; Communist countries (1970-89), $338 million
Currency: 1 CFA franc (CFAF) = 100 centimes
Exchange rates: Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (CFAF) per US$1 - 529.43 (January 1994), 555.20 (1994), 283.16 (1993), 264.69 (1992), 282.11 (1991), 272.26 (1990) note: beginning 12 January 1994, the CFA franc was devalued to CFAF 100 per French franc from CFAF 50 at which it had been fixed since 1948
Fiscal year: calendar year
@Congo:Transportation
Railroads: total: 797 km (includes 285 km that are privately owned) narrow gauge: 797 km 1.067-m gauge
Highways: total: 11,960 km paved: 560 km unpaved: gravel or crushed stone 850 km; improved earth 5,350 km; unimproved earth 5,200 km
Inland waterways: the Congo and Ubangi (Oubangui) Rivers provide 1,120 km of commercially navigable water transport; the rest are used for local traffic only
Airports: total: 41 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 1 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 with paved runways under 914 m: 11 with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 8 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 18
@Congo:Communications
Telephone system: 18,100 telephones; 7 telephones/1,000 persons; services adequate for government use; key centers are Brazzaville, Pointe-Noire, and Loubomo local: NA intercity: primary network consists of microwave radio relay and coaxial cable international: 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 4, FM 1, shortwave 0 radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: 4 televisions: NA
@Congo:Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Navy (includes Marines), Air Force, National Police
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 568,663; males fit for military service 289,335; males reach military age (20) annually 24,749 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $110 million, 3.8% of GDP (1993)
Location: Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, about one-half of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand
Map references: Oceania
Area: total area: 240 sq km land area: 240 sq km comparative area: slightly less than 1.3 times the size of Washington, DC
Land boundaries: 0 km
Coastline: 120 km
Maritime claims: continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 12 nm
International disputes: none
Climate: tropical; moderated by trade winds
Terrain: low coral atolls in north; volcanic, hilly islands in south
Natural resources: negligible
Land use: arable land: 4% permanent crops: 22% meadows and pastures: 0% forest and woodland: 0% other: 74%
Irrigated land: NA sq km
Environment: current issues: NA natural hazards: typhoons (November to March) international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change; signed, but not ratified - Law of the Sea
@Cook Islands:People
Population: 19,343 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: NA 15-64 years: NA 65 years and over: NA
Population growth rate: 1.13% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 23.05 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 5.2 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: -6.53 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 24.7 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 71.14 years male: 69.2 years female: 73.1 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 3.27 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Ethnic divisions: Polynesian (full blood) 81.3%, Polynesian and European 7.7%, Polynesian and other 7.7%, European 2.4%, other 0.9%
Religions: Christian (majority of populace members of Cook Islands Christian Church)
Languages: English (official), Maori
Literacy: NA%
Labor force: 5,810 by occupation: agriculture 29%, government 27%, services 25%, industry 15%, other 4% (1981)
@Cook Islands:Government
Names: conventional long form: none conventional short form: Cook Islands
Digraph: CW
Type: self-governing parliamentary government in free association with New Zealand; Cook Islands is fully responsible for internal affairs; New Zealand retains responsibility for external affairs, in consultation with the Cook Islands
Capital: Avarua
Administrative divisions: none
Independence: none (became self-governing in free association with New Zealand on 4 August 1965 and has the right at any time to move to full independence by unilateral action)
National holiday: Constitution Day, 4 August
Constitution: 4 August 1965
Legal system: NA
Suffrage: universal adult at age NA
Executive branch: chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); Representative of the Queen Apenera SHORT (since NA); Representative of New Zealand Adrian SINCOCK (since NA) head of government: Prime Minister Geoffrey HENRY (since 1 February 1989); Deputy Prime Minister Inatio AKARURU (since 1 February 1989) cabinet: Cabinet; collectively responsible to the Parliament
Legislative branch: unicameral Parliament: elections last held 24 March 1994 (next to be held NA); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (25 total) Cook Islands Party 20, Democratic Party 3, Alliance Party 2 note: the House of Arikis (chiefs) advises on traditional matters, but has no legislative powers
Judicial branch: High Court
Political parties and leaders: Cook Islands Party, Geoffrey HENRY; Democratic Party, Sir Thomas DAVIS; Cook Islands Labor Party, Rena JONASSEN; Cook Islands People's Party, Sadaraka SADARAKA; Alliance Party, Norman GEORGE
Member of: AsDB, ESCAP (associate), ICAO, ICFTU, IFAD, INTELSAT (nonsignatory user), IOC, SPARTECA, SPC, SPF, UNESCO, WHO
Diplomatic representation in US: none (self-governing in free association with New Zealand)
US diplomatic representation: none (self-governing in free association with New Zealand)
Flag: blue, with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and a large circle of 15 white five-pointed stars (one for every island) centered in the outer half of the flag
@Cook Islands:Economy
Overview: Agriculture provides the economic base. The major export earners are fruit, copra, and clothing. Manufacturing activities are limited to a fruit-processing plant and several clothing factories. Economic development is hindered by the isolation of the islands from foreign markets and a lack of natural resources and good transportation links. A large trade deficit is annually made up for by remittances from emigrants and from foreign aid, largely from New Zealand. Current economic development plans call for exploiting the tourism potential and expanding the fishing industry.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $57 million (1993 est.)
National product real growth rate: NA%
National product per capita: $3,000 (1993 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 6.2% (1990)
Unemployment rate: NA%
Budget: revenues: $38 million expenditures: $34.4 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1993 est.)
Exports: $3.4 million (f.o.b., 1990) commodities: copra, fresh and canned fruit, clothing partners: NZ 80%, Japan
Imports: $50 million (c.i.f., 1990) commodities: foodstuffs, textiles, fuels, timber partners: NZ 49%, Japan, Australia, US
External debt: $124 million (1994)
Industrial production: growth rate NA%; accounts for 5% of GDP
Electricity: capacity: 14,000 kW production: 21 million kWh consumption per capita: 741 kWh (1993)
Industries: fruit processing, tourism
Agriculture: accounts for 12% of GDP, export crops - copra, citrus fruits, pineapples, tomatoes, bananas; subsistence crops - yams, taro
Economic aid: recipient: Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $128 million; in 1994, Cook Islands received $4.3 million in budget support and $2.7 million in project aid from New Zealand, the country's largest source of aid
Location: Oceania, islands in the Coral Sea, northeast of Australia
Map references: Oceania
Area: total area: less than 3 sq km land area: less than 3 sq km comparative area: NA note: includes numerous small islands and reefs scattered over a sea area of about 1 million sq km, with Willis Islets the most important
Terrain: sand and coral reefs and islands (or cays)
Natural resources: negligible
Land use: arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 0% forest and woodland: 0% other: 100% (mostly grass or scrub cover)
Irrigated land: 0 sq km
Environment: current issues: no permanent fresh water resources natural hazards: occasional, tropical cyclones international agreements: NA
Note: important nesting area for birds and turtles
@Coral Sea Islands:People
Population: no indigenous inhabitants; note - there are 3 meteorologists
@Coral Sea Islands:Government
Names: conventional long form: Coral Sea Islands Territory conventional short form: Coral Sea Islands
Digraph: CR
Type: territory of Australia administered by the Ministry for Environment, Sport, and Territories
Capital: none; administered from Canberra, Australia
Independence: none (territory of Australia)
Flag: the flag of Australia is used
@Coral Sea Islands:Economy
Overview: no economic activity
@Coral Sea Islands:Transportation
Ports: none; offshore anchorage only
@Coral Sea Islands:Defense Forces
Note: defense is the responsibility of Australia; visited regularly by the Royal Australian Navy; Australia has control over the activities of visitors
Climate: tropical; dry season (December to April); rainy season (May to November)
Terrain: coastal plains separated by rugged mountains
Natural resources: hydropower potential
Land use: arable land: 6% permanent crops: 7% meadows and pastures: 45% forest and woodland: 34% other: 8%
Irrigated land: 1,180 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment: current issues: deforestation, largely a result of the clearing of land for cattle ranching; soil erosion natural hazards: occasional earthquakes, hurricanes along Atlantic coast; frequent flooding of lowlands at onset of rainy season; active volcanoes international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands, Whaling; signed, but not ratified - Desertification, Marine Life Conservation
@Costa Rica:People
Population: 3,419,114 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 35% (female 585,976; male 617,456) 15-64 years: 60% (female 1,013,491; male 1,036,195) 65 years and over: 5% (female 88,050; male 77,946) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 2.24% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 24.88 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 3.47 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 1.02 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 10.3 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 78.11 years male: 76.21 years female: 80.1 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 3.01 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Nationality: noun: Costa Rican(s) adjective: Costa Rican
Ethnic divisions: white (including mestizo) 96%, black 2%, Indian 1%, Chinese 1%
Religions: Roman Catholic 95%
Languages: Spanish (official), English; spoken around Puerto Limon
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1984) total population: 93% male: 93% female: 93%
Labor force: 868,300 by occupation: industry and commerce 35.1%, government and services 33%, agriculture 27%, other 4.9% (1985 est.)
@Costa Rica:Government
Names: conventional long form: Republic of Costa Rica conventional short form: Costa Rica local long form: Republica de Costa Rica local short form: Costa Rica
Digraph: CS
Type: democratic republic
Capital: San Jose
Administrative divisions: 7 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia); Alajuela, Cartago, Guanacaste, Heredia, Limon, Puntarenas, San Jose
Independence: 15 September 1821 (from Spain)
National holiday: Independence Day, 15 September (1821)
Constitution: 9 November 1949
Legal system: based on Spanish civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal and compulsory
Executive branch: chief of state and head of government: President Jose Maria FIGUERES Olsen (since 8 May 1994); First Vice President Rodrigo OREAMUNO Blanco (since 8 May 1994); Second Vice President Rebeca GRYNSPAN Mayufis (since 8 May 1994); election last held 6 February 1994 (next to be held February 1998); results - President FIGUERES (PLN party) 49.7%, Miquel Angel RODRIGUEZ (PUSC party) 47.5% cabinet: Cabinet; selected by the president
Legislative branch: unicameral Legislative Assembly (Asamblea Legislativa): elections last held 6 February 1994 (next to be held February 1998); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (61 total) PLN 28, PUSC 29, minority parties 4
Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Corte Suprema)
Political parties and leaders: National Liberation Party (PLN), Manuel AGUILAR Bonilla; Social Christian Unity Party (PUSC), Rafael Angel CALDERON Fournier; Marxist Popular Vanguard Party (PVP), Humberto VARGAS Carbonell; New Republic Movement (MNR), Sergio Erick ARDON Ramirez; Progressive Party (PP), Isaac Felipe AZOFEIFA Bolanos; People's Party of Costa Rica (PPC), Lenin CHACON Vargas; Radical Democratic Party (PRD), Juan Jose ECHEVERRIA Brealey
Other political or pressure groups: Costa Rican Confederation of Democratic Workers (CCTD, Liberation Party affiliate); Confederated Union of Workers (CUT, Communist Party affiliate); Authentic Confederation of Democratic Workers (CATD, Communist Party affiliate); Chamber of Coffee Growers; National Association for Economic Development (ANFE); Free Costa Rica Movement (MCRL, rightwing militants); National Association of Educators (ANDE)
Member of: AG (observer), BCIE, CACM, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM, ITU, LAES, LAIA (observer), NAM (observer), OAS, OPANAL, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Sonia PICADO chancery: 2114 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 234-2945 FAX: [1] (202) 265-4795 consulate(s) general: Albuquerque, Atlanta, Chicago, Durham, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Orlando, Philadelphia, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, and San Juan (Puerto Rico) consulate(s): Austin
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: US Ambassador to Costa Rica Peter DE VOS embassy: Pavas Road, San Jose mailing address: APO AA 34020 telephone: [506] 220-3939 FAX: [506] 220-2305
Flag: five horizontal bands of blue (top), white, red (double width), white, and blue, with the coat of arms in a white disk on the hoist side of the red band
@Costa Rica:Economy
Overview: Costa Rica's basically stable and progressive economy depends especially on tourism and export of bananas, coffee, and other agricultural products. In 1994 the economy grew at an estimated 4.3%, compared with 6.5% in 1993, 7.7% in 1992, and 2.1% in 1991. Inflation in 1993 dropped to 9% from 17% in 1992 and 25% in 1991, an indication of basic financial stability. Unemployment is officially reported at only 4.0%, but there is much underemployment. Costa Rica signed a free trade agreement with Mexico in 1994.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $16.9 billion (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate: 4.3% (1994 est.)
National product per capita: $5,050 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 9% (1993 est.)
Unemployment rate: 4% (1993); much underemployment
Budget: revenues: $1.1 billion expenditures: $1.34 billion, including capital expenditures of $110 million (1991 est.)
Exports: $2.1 billion (f.o.b., 1993) commodities: coffee, bananas, textiles, sugar partners: US, Germany, Italy, Guatemala, El Salvador, Netherlands, UK, France
Imports: $2.9 billion (c.i.f., 1993) commodities: raw materials, consumer goods, capital equipment, petroleum partners: US, Japan, Mexico, Guatemala, Venezuela, Germany
External debt: $3.2 billion (1991)
Industrial production: growth rate 10.5% (1992); accounts for 22% of GDP
Industries: food processing, textiles and clothing, construction materials, fertilizer, plastic products
Agriculture: accounts for 19% of GDP and 70% of exports; cash commodities - coffee, beef, bananas, sugar; other food crops include corn, rice, beans, potatoes; normally self-sufficient in food except for grain; depletion of forest resources resulting in lower timber output
Illicit drugs: transshipment country for cocaine and heroin from South America; illicit production of cannabis on small, scattered plots
Economic aid: recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $1.4 billion; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $935 million; Communist countries (1971-89), $27 million
Railroads: total: 950 km (260 km electrified) narrow gauge: 950 km 1.067-m gauge
Highways: total: 35,560 km paved: 5,600 km unpaved: gravel and earth 29,960 km (1992)
Inland waterways: about 730 km, seasonally navigable
Pipelines: petroleum products 176 km
Ports: Caldera, Golfito, Moin, Puerto Limon, Puerto Quepos, Puntarenas
Merchant marine: none
Airports: total: 174 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 17 with paved runways under 914 m: 117 with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 1 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 36
@Costa Rica:Communications
Telephone system: 292,000 telephones; very good domestic telephone service local: NA intercity: NA international: connection into Central American Microwave System; 1 INTELSAT (Atlantic Ocean) earth station
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 71, FM 0, shortwave 13 radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: 18 televisions: NA
@Costa Rica:Defense Forces
Branches: Civil Guard, Coast Guard, Air Section, Rural Assistance Guard; note - the Constitution prohibits armed forces
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 896,516; males fit for military service 602,785; males reach military age (18) annually 32,815 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $22 million, 0.5% of GDP (1989)
Climate: tropical along coast, semiarid in far north; three seasons - warm and dry (November to March), hot and dry (March to May), hot and wet (June to October)
Terrain: mostly flat to undulating plains; mountains in northwest
Natural resources: petroleum, diamonds, manganese, iron ore, cobalt, bauxite, copper
Land use: arable land: 9% permanent crops: 4% meadows and pastures: 9% forest and woodland: 26% other: 52%
Irrigated land: 620 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment: current issues: deforestation (most of the country's forests - once the largest in West Africa - have been cleared by the timber industry); water pollution from sewage and industrial and agricultural effluents natural hazards: coast has heavy surf and no natural harbors; during the rainy season torrential flooding is possible international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83; signed, but not ratified - Desertification
@Cote D'ivoire:People
Population: 14,791,257 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 48% (female 3,506,147; male 3,534,751) 15-64 years: 50% (female 3,619,759; male 3,820,999) 65 years and over: 2% (female 142,366; male 167,235) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 3.38% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 46.17 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 14.95 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: NA migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.) note: since 1989, over 350,000 refugees have fled to Cote d'Ivoire to escape the civil war in Liberia; if a lasting peace is achieved in Liberia in 1995, large numbers of refugees can be expected to return to their homes
Infant mortality rate: 93.1 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 48.87 years male: 46.52 years female: 51.29 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 6.61 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Nationality: noun: Ivorian(s) adjective: Ivorian
Ethnic divisions: Baoule 23%, Bete 18%, Senoufou 15%, Malinke 11%, Agni, foreign Africans (mostly Burkinabe and Malians, about 3 million), non-Africans 130,000 to 330,000 (French 30,000 and Lebanese 100,000 to 300,000)
Religions: indigenous 25%, Muslim 60%, Christian 12%
Languages: French (official), 60 native dialects; Dioula is the most widely spoken
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1988) total population: 34% male: 44% female: 23%
Labor force: 5.718 million by occupation: over 85% of population engaged in agriculture, forestry, livestock raising; about 11% of labor force are wage earners, nearly half in agriculture and the remainder in government, industry, commerce, and professions
@Cote D'ivoire:Government
Names: conventional long form: Republic of Cote d'Ivoire conventional short form: Cote d'Ivoire local long form: Republique de Cote d'Ivoire local short form: Cote d'Ivoire former: Ivory Coast
Digraph: IV
Type: republic; multiparty presidential regime established 1960
Capital: Yamoussoukro note: although Yamoussoukro has been the capital since 1983, Abidjan remains the administrative center; foreign governments, including the United States, maintain presence in Abidjan
Constitution: 3 November 1960; has been amended numerous times, last time November 1990
Legal system: based on French civil law system and customary law; judicial review in the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 21 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Henri Konan BEDIE (since 7 December 1993) constitutional successor who will serve during the remainder of the term of former President Felix HOUPHOUET-BOIGNY who died in office after continuous service from November 1960 (next election October 1995) head of government: Prime Minister Daniel Kablan DUNCAN (since 10 December 1993) cabinet: Council of Ministers; appointed by the prime minister
Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly (Assemblee Nationale): elections last held 25 November 1990 (next to be held November 1995); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (175 total) PDCI 163, FPI 9, PIT 1, independents 2
Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Cour Supreme)
Political parties and leaders: Democratic Party of the Cote d'Ivoire (PDCI), Henri Konan BEDIE; Rally of the Republicans (RDR), Djeny KOBINA; Ivorian Popular Front (FPI), Laurent GBAGBO; Ivorian Worker's Party (PIT), Francis WODIE; Ivorian Socialist Party (PSI), Morifere BAMBA; over 20 smaller parties
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Moise KOUMOUE-KOFFI chancery: 2424 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 797-0300
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador Hume A. HORAN embassy: 5 Rue Jesse Owens, Abidjan mailing address: 01 B. P. 1712, Abidjan telephone: [225] 21 09 79, 21 46 72 FAX: [225] 22 32 59
Flag: three equal vertical bands of orange (hoist side), white, and green; similar to the flag of Ireland, which is longer and has the colors reversed - green (hoist side), white, and orange; also similar to the flag of Italy, which is green (hoist side), white, and red; design was based on the flag of France
@Cote D'ivoire:Economy
Overview: Cote d'Ivoire is among the world's largest producers and exporters of coffee, cocoa beans, and palm-kernel oil. Consequently, the economy is highly sensitive to fluctuations in international prices for coffee and cocoa and to weather conditions. Despite attempts by the government to diversify, the economy is still largely dependent on agriculture and related industries. After several years of lagging performance, the Ivorian economy began a comeback in 1994, due to improved prices for cocoa and coffee, growth in non-traditional primary exports such as pineapples and rubber, trade and banking liberalization, offshore oil and gas discoveries, and generous external financing and debt rescheduling by multilateral lenders and France. The 50% devaluation in January 1994 caused a one time jump in the inflation rate. Government adherence to a renewed structural adjustment program has led to a budget surplus for the first time in several years, a smaller personnel budget, and an increase in public investment. While real growth in 1994 was only 1.5%, the IMF and World Bank expect it will surpass 6% in 1995.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $20.5 billion (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate: 1.5% (1994 est.)
National product per capita: $1,430 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA%
Unemployment rate: 14% (1985)
Budget: revenues: $1.9 billion expenditures: $3.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $408 million (1993)
Agriculture: most important sector, contributing one-third to GDP and 80% to exports; cash crops include coffee, cocoa beans, timber, bananas, palm kernels, rubber; food crops - corn, rice, manioc, sweet potatoes; not self-sufficient in bread grain and dairy products
Illicit drugs: illicit producer of cannabis; mostly for local consumption; some international drug trade; transshipment point for Southwest and Southeast Asian heroin to Europe and occasionally to the US
Economic aid: recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $356 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-88), $5.2 billion
Currency: 1 CFA franc (CFAF) = 100 centimes
Exchange rates: Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (CFAF) per US$1 - 529.43 (January 1995), 555.20 (1994), 283.16 (1993), 264.69 (1992), 282.11 (1991), 272.26 (1990) note: beginning 12 January 1994, the CFA franc was devalued to CFAF 100 per French franc from CFAF 50 at which it had been fixed since 1948
Fiscal year: calendar year
@Cote D'ivoire:Transportation
Railroads: total: 660 km (25 km double track) narrow gauge: 660 km 1.000-meter gauge
Highways: total: 46,600 km paved: 3,600 km unpaved: gravel, crushed stone, improved earth 32,000 km; unimproved earth 11,000 km
Inland waterways: 980 km navigable rivers, canals, and numerous coastal lagoons
Ports: Abidjan, Aboisso, Dabou, San-Pedro
Merchant marine: total: 5 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 49,671 GRT/69,216 DWT ships by type: chemical tanker 1, container 2, oil tanker 1, roll-on/roll-off cargo 1
Airports: total: 40 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 1 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 with paved runways under 914 m: 11 with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 6 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 16
@Cote D'ivoire:Communications
Telephone system: 87,700 telephones; well-developed by African standards but operating well below capacity; consists of open-wire lines and radio relay microwave links local: NA intercity: NA microwave radio relay international: 2 INTELSAT (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) earth stations; 2 coaxial submarine cables
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 71, FM 0, shortwave 13 radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: 18 televisions: NA
@Cote D'ivoire:Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, paramilitary Gendarmerie, Presidential Guard, Military Fire Group
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 3,318,314; males fit for military service 1,724,020; males reach military age (18) annually 154,120 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $140 million, 1.4% of GDP (1993)
Location: Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea, between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Slovenia
Map references: Ethnic Groups in Eastern Europe, Europe
Area: total area: 56,538 sq km land area: 56,410 sq km comparative area: slightly smaller than West Virginia
Land boundaries: total 2,028 km, Bosnia and Herzegovina 932 km, Hungary 329 km, Serbia and Montenegro 266 km (241 km with Serbia; 25 km with Montenego), Slovenia 501 km
Coastline: 5,790 km (mainland 1,778 km, islands 4,012 km)
Maritime claims: continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
International disputes: Ethnic Serbs have occupied UN protected areas in eastern Croatia and along the western Bosnia and Herzegovinian border
Climate: Mediterranean and continental; continental climate predominant with hot summers and cold winters; mild winters, dry summers along coast
Terrain: geographically diverse; flat plains along Hungarian border, low mountains and highlands near Adriatic coast, coastline, and islands
Natural resources: oil, some coal, bauxite, low-grade iron ore, calcium, natural asphalt, silica, mica, clays, salt
Land use: arable land: 32% permanent crops: 20% meadows and pastures: 18% forest and woodland: 15% other: 15%
Irrigated land: NA sq km
Environment: current issues: air pollution (from metallurgical plants) and resulting acid rain is damaging the forests; coastal pollution from industrial and domestic waste; widespread casualties and destruction of infrastructure in border areas affected by civil strife natural hazards: frequent and destructive earthquakes international agreements: party to - Air Pollution, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification
Note: controls most land routes from Western Europe to Aegean Sea and Turkish Straits
@Croatia:People
Population: 4,665,821 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 19% (female 418,272; male 442,064) 15-64 years: 68% (female 1,592,187; male 1,588,455) 65 years and over: 13% (female 394,650; male 230,193) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.13% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 11.02 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 10.55 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 0.77 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 8.4 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 74.02 years male: 70.59 years female: 77.65 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.62 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Nationality: noun: Croat(s) adjective: Croatian
Ethnic divisions: Croat 78%, Serb 12%, Muslim 0.9%, Hungarian 0.5%, Slovenian 0.5%, others 8.1% (1991)
Religions: Catholic 76.5%, Orthodox 11.1%, Slavic Muslim 1.2%, Protestant 0.4%, others and unknown 10.8%
Languages: Serbo-Croatian 96%, other 4%
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1991) total population: 97% male: 99% female: 95%
Labor force: 1,509,489 by occupation: industry and mining 37%, agriculture 16% (1981 est.), government NA%, other
@Croatia:Government
Names: conventional long form: Republic of Croatia conventional short form: Croatia local long form: Republika Hrvatska local short form: Hrvatska
Digraph: HR
Type: parliamentary democracy
Capital: Zagreb
Administrative divisions: 21 counties (zupanijas, zupanija - singular): Bjelovar-Bilogora, City of Zagreb, Dubrovnik-Neretva, Istra, Karlovac, Koprivnica-Krizevci, Krapina-Zagorje, Lika-Senj, Medimurje, Osijek-Baranja, Pozega-Slavonija, Primorje-Gorski Kotar, Sibenik, Sisak-Moslavina, Slavonski Brod-Posavina, Split-Dalmatia, Varazdin, Virovitica-Podravina, Vukovar-Srijem, Zadar-Knin, Zagreb
Independence: 25 June 1991 (from Yugoslavia)
National holiday: Statehood Day, 30 May (1990)
Constitution: adopted on 22 December 1990
Legal system: based on civil law system
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal (16 years of age, if employed)
Executive branch: chief of state: President Franjo TUDJMAN (since 30 May 1990); election last held 4 August 1992 (next to be held NA 1997); results - Franjo TUDJMAN reelected with about 56% of the vote; his opponent Dobroslav PARAGA got 5% of the vote head of government: Prime Minister Nikica VALENTIC (since 3 April 1993); Deputy Prime Ministers Mato GRANIC (since 8 September 1992); Ivica KOSTOVIC (since 14 October 1993); Jure RADIC (since NA); Borislav SKEGRO (since 3 April 1993) cabinet: Council of Ministers; appointed by the president
Legislative branch: bicameral parliament Assembly (Sabor) House of Districts (Zupanije Dom): elections last held 7 and 21 February 1993 (next to be held NA February 1997); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (68 total; 63 elected, 5 presidentially appointed) HDZ 37, HSLS 16, HSS 5, Istrian Democratic Assembly 3, SPH-SDP 1, HNS 1 House of Representatives (Predstavnicke Dom): elections last held 2 August 1992 (next to be held NA August 1996); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (138 total) HDZ 85, HSLS 14, SPH-SDP 11, HNS 6, Dalmatian Action/Istrian Democratic Assembly/ Rijeka Democratic Alliance coalition 6, HSP 5, HSS 3, SNS 3, independents 5
Political parties and leaders: Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), Zlatko CANJUGA, secretary general; Croatian Democratic Independents (HND), Stjepan MESIC, president; Croatian Social Liberal Party (HSLS), Drazen BUDISA, president; Croatian Democratic Peasant Party (HDSS), Ante BABIC; Croatian Party of Rights (HSP), Ante DAPIC; Croatian Peasants' Party (HSS), Josip PANKRETIC; Croatian People's Party (HNS), Radimir CACIC, president; Dalmatian Action (DA), Mira LJUBIC-LORGER; Serb National Party (SNS), Milan DJUKIC; Social Democratic Action (SDP), Miko TRIPALO; other small parties include the Istrian Democratic Assembly and the Rijeka Democratic Alliance
Other political or pressure groups: NA
Member of: CCC, CE (guest), CEI, EBRD, ECE, FAO, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NAM (observer), OSCE, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Petar A. SARCEVIC chancery: 2343 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 588-5899 FAX: [1] (202) 588-8936 consulate(s) general: New York
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador Peter W. GALBRAITH embassy: Andrije Hebranga 2, Zagreb mailing address: US Embassy, Zagreb, Unit 1345, APO AE 09213-1345 telephone: [385] (41) 456-000 FAX: [385] (41) 440-235
Flag: red, white, and blue horizontal bands with Croatian coat of arms (red and white checkered)
@Croatia:Economy
Overview: Before the dissolution of Yugoslavia, the republic of Croatia, after Slovenia, was the most prosperous and industrialized area, with a per capita output perhaps one-third above the Yugoslav average. At present, Croatian Serb Separatists control approximately one-third of the Croatian territory, and one of the overriding determinants of Croatia's long-term political and economic prospects will be the resolution of this territorial dispute. Croatia faces serious economic problems stemming from: the legacy of longtime Communist mismanagement of the economy; large foreign debt; damage during the fighting to bridges, factories, power lines, buildings, and houses; the large refugee population, both Croatian and Bosnian; and the disruption of economic ties to Serbia and the other former Yugoslav republics, as well as within its own territory. At the minimum, extensive Western aid and investment, especially in the tourist and oil industries, would seem necessary to revive the moribund economy. However, peace and political stability must come first; only then will recent government moves toward a "market-friendly" economy restore old levels of output. As of February 1995, fighting continues among Croats, Serbs, and Muslims, and national boundaries and final political arrangements are still in doubt.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $12.4 billion (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate: 3.4% (1994 est.)
National product per capita: $2,640 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 3% (1994 est.)
Unemployment rate: 17% (December 1994)
Budget: revenues: $NA expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA
Exports: $3.9 billion (f.o.b., 1993) commodities: machinery and transport equipment 30%, other manufacturers 37%, chemicals 11%, food and live animals 9%, raw materials 6.5%, fuels and lubricants 5% (1990) partners: EC countries, Slovenia
Imports: $4.7 billion (c.i.f., 1993) commodities: machinery and transport equipment 21%, fuels and lubricants 19%, food and live animals 16%, chemicals 14%, manufactured goods 13%, miscellaneous manufactured articles 9%, raw materials 6.5%, beverages and tobacco 1% (1990) partners: EC countries, Slovenia, FSU countries
Electricity: capacity: 3,570,000 kW production: NA kWh consumption per capita: NA kWh (1993)
Industries: chemicals and plastics, machine tools, fabricated metal, electronics, pig iron and rolled steel products, aluminum reduction, paper, wood products (including furniture), building materials (including cement), textiles, shipbuilding, petroleum and petroleum refining, food processing and beverages
Agriculture: Croatia normally produces a food surplus; most agricultural land in private hands and concentrated in Croat-majority districts in Slavonia and Istria; much of Slavonia's land has been put out of production by fighting; wheat, corn, sugar beets, sunflowers, alfalfa, and clover are main crops in Slavonia; central Croatian highlands are less fertile but support cereal production, orchards, vineyards, livestock breeding, and dairy farming; coastal areas and offshore islands grow olives, citrus fruits, and vegetables
Economic aid: recipient: IMF, $192 million
Currency: 1 Croatian kuna (HRK) = 100 paras
Exchange rates: Croatian kuna per US $1 - 5.6144 (November 1994)
Fiscal year: calendar year
@Croatia:Transportation
Railroads: total: 2,699 km standard gauge: 2,699 km 1.435-m gauge (963 km electrified) note: disrupted by territorial dispute (1994)
Highways: total: 27,368 km paved: 22,176 km (302 km of expressways) unpaved: 5,192 km (1991)
Inland waterways: 785 km perennially navigable
Pipelines: crude oil 670 km; petroleum products 20 km; natural gas 310 km (1992); note - now disrupted because of territorial dispute
Merchant marine: total: 35 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 181,565 GRT/225,533 DWT ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 20, chemical tanker 1, container 2, oil tanker 2, passenger 2, refrigerated cargo 1, roll-on/roll-off cargo 2, short-sea passenger 4 note: also controlled by Croatian shipowners are 134 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 3,286,231 DWT that operate under Maltese and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines registry
Airports: total: 76 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 2 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 6 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 1 with paved runways under 914 m: 55 with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 2 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 8
@Croatia:Communications
Telephone system: 350,000 telephones local: NA intercity: NA international: no satellite links
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 14, FM 8, shortwave 0 radios: 1.1 million
Television: broadcast stations: 12 (repeaters 2) televisions: 1.027 million
@Croatia:Defense Forces
Branches: Ground Forces, Naval Forces, Air and Air Defense Forces, Frontier Guard, Home Guard
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 1,183,184; males fit for military service 943,749; males reach military age (19) annually 32,831 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: 337 billion to 393 billion dinars, NA% of GDP (1993 est.); note - conversion of defense expenditures into US dollars using the current exchange rate could produce misleading results
International disputes: US Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay is leased to US and only mutual agreement or US abandonment of the area can terminate the lease
Climate: tropical; moderated by trade winds; dry season (November to April); rainy season (May to October)
Terrain: mostly flat to rolling plains with rugged hills and mountains in the southeast
Land use: arable land: 23% permanent crops: 6% meadows and pastures: 23% forest and woodland: 17% other: 31%
Irrigated land: 8,960 sq km (1989)
Environment: current issues: pollution of Havana Bay; overhunting threatens wildlife populations; deforestation natural hazards: the east coast is subject to hurricanes from August to October (in general, the country averages about one hurricane every other year); droughts are common international agreements: party to - Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution; signed, but not ratified - Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Desertification, Marine Life Conservation
Note: largest country in Caribbean
@Cuba:People
Population: 10,937,635 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 22% (female 1,191,320; male 1,256,928) 15-64 years: 68% (female 3,732,434; male 3,751,464) 65 years and over: 10% (female 528,104; male 477,385) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.65% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 14.54 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 6.53 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: -1.55 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 8.1 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 77.05 years male: 74.86 years female: 79.37 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.63 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Nationality: noun: Cuban(s) adjective: Cuban
Ethnic divisions: mulatto 51%, white 37%, black 11%, Chinese 1%
Religions: nominally Roman Catholic 85% prior to Castro assuming power
Languages: Spanish
Literacy: age 15-49 and over can read and write (1981) total population: 98%
Labor force: 4,620,800 economically active population (1988); 3,578,800 in state sector by occupation: services and government 30%, industry 22%, agriculture 20%, commerce 11%, construction 10%, transportation and communications 7% (June 1990)
@Cuba:Government
Names: conventional long form: Republic of Cuba conventional short form: Cuba local long form: Republica de Cuba local short form: Cuba
Digraph: CU
Type: Communist state
Capital: Havana
Administrative divisions: 14 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia) and 1 special municipality* (municipio especial); Camaguey, Ciego de Avila, Cienfuegos, Ciudad de La Habana, Granma, Guantanamo, Holguin, Isla de la Juventud*, La Habana, Las Tunas, Matanzas, Pinar del Rio, Sancti Spiritus, Santiago de Cuba, Villa Clara
Independence: 20 May 1902 (from Spain 10 December 1898; administered by the US from 1898 to 1902)
National holiday: Rebellion Day, 26 July (1953)
Constitution: 24 February 1976
Legal system: based on Spanish and American law, with large elements of Communist legal theory; does not accept compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 16 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state and head of government: President of the Council of State and President of the Council of Ministers Fidel CASTRO Ruz (Prime Minister from February 1959 until 24 February 1976 when office was abolished; President since 2 December 1976); First Vice President of the Council of State and First Vice President of the Council of Ministers Gen. Raul CASTRO Ruz (since 2 December 1976) cabinet: Council of Ministers; proposed by the president of the Council of State, appointed by the National Assembly
Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly of People's Power: (Asamblea Nacional del Poder Popular) elections last held February 1993 (next to be held NA); seats - 589 total, elected directly from slates approved by special candidacy commissions
Political parties and leaders: only party - Cuban Communist Party (PCC), Fidel CASTRO Ruz, first secretary
Member of: CCC, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, GATT, IAEA, ICAO, ICRM, IFAD, IFRCS, ILO, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT (nonsignatory user), INTERPOL, IOC, ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA (observer), NAM, OAS (excluded from formal participation since 1962), PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Principal Officer Alfonso FRAGA PEREZ (since August 1992) represented by the Cuban Interests Section of the Swiss Embassy in Washington, DC chancery: 2630 and 2639 16th Street NW, Cuban Interests Section, Swiss Embassy, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 797-8609, 8610, 8615
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Principal Officer Joseph G. SULLIVAN US Interests Section: USINT, Swiss Embassy, Calzada Entre L Y M, Vedado Seccion, Havana mailing address: use street address telephone: 33-3551 through 3559, 33-3543 through 3547, 33-3700 (operator assistance required) FAX: Telex 512206 note: protecting power in Cuba is Switzerland - US Interests Section, Swiss Embassy
Flag: five equal horizontal bands of blue (top and bottom) alternating with white; a red equilateral triangle based on the hoist side bears a white five-pointed star in the center
@Cuba:Economy
Overview: Cuba's heavily statist economy remains severely depressed as the result of its own inefficiencies and the loss of massive amounts of economic aid from the former Soviet Bloc. Total output in 1994 was only about half the output of 1989. The fall in output and in imports is reflected in the deterioration of food supplies, shortages of electricity, inability to get spare parts, and the replacement of motor-driven vehicles by bicycles and draft animals. Higher world market prices for sugar and nickel in 1994, however, resulted in a slight increase in export earnings for the first time in six years, despite lower production of both commodities. The growth of tourism slowed in late 1994 as a result of negative publicity surrounding the exodus of Cubans from the island and other international factors. The government continued its aggressive search for foreign investment and announced preliminary agreements to form large joint ventures with Mexican investors in telecommunications and oil refining. In mid-1994, the National Assembly began introducing several new taxes and price increases to stem growing excess liquidity and restore some of the peso's value as a monetary instrument. In October the government attempted to stimulate food production by permitting the sale of any surplus production (over state quotas) at unrestricted prices at designated markets. Similar but much smaller markets were also introduced for the sale of manufactured goods in December. The various government measures have influenced a remarkable appreciation of the black market value of the peso, from more than 100 pesos to the dollar in September 1994 to 40 pesos to the dollar in early 1995. Policy discussions continue in the bureaucracy over the proper pace and scope of economic reform.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $14 billion (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate: 0.4% (1994 est.)
National product per capita: $1,260 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA%
Unemployment rate: NA%
Budget: revenues: $9.3 billion expenditures: $12.5 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1994 est.)
Exports: $1.6 billion (f.o.b., 1994 est.) commodities: sugar, nickel, shellfish, tobacco, medical products, citrus, coffee partners: Russia 15%, Canada 9%, China 8%, Egypt 6%, Spain 5%, Japan 4%, Morocco 4% (1994 est.)
Industries: sugar milling and refining, petroleum refining, food and tobacco processing, textiles, chemicals, paper and wood products, metals (particularly nickel), cement, fertilizers, consumer goods, agricultural machinery
Agriculture: key commercial crops - sugarcane, tobacco, and citrus fruits; other products - coffee, rice, potatoes, meat, beans; world's largest sugar exporter; not self-sufficient in food (excluding sugar); sector hurt by persistent shortages of fuels and parts
Economic aid: recipient: Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $710 million; Communist countries (1970-89), $18.5 billion
Currency: 1 Cuban peso (Cu$) = 100 centavos
Exchange rates: Cuban pesos (Cu$) per US$1 - 1.0000 (non-convertible, official rate, linked to the US dollar)
Fiscal year: calendar year
@Cuba:Transportation
Railroads: total: 12,623 km standard gauge: 4,881 km 1.435-m gauge (151.7 km electrified) other: 7,742 km 0.914- and 1.435-m gauge for sugar plantation lines
Highways: total: 26,477 km paved: 14,477 km unpaved: gravel or earth 12,000 km (1989)
Inland waterways: 240 km
Ports: Cienfuegos, La Habana, Manzanillo, Mariel, Matanzas, Nuevitas, Santiago de Cuba
Merchant marine: total: 48 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 278,103 GRT/396,138 DWT ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 22, chemical tanker 1, liquefied gas tanker 4, oil tanker 10, passenger-cargo 1, refrigerated cargo 9 note: Cuba beneficially owns an additional 24 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 215,703 DWT under the registry of Panama, Cyprus, Malta, and Mauritius
Airports: total: 181 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 7 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 8 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 13 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 10 with paved runways under 914 m: 106 with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 1 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 36
@Cuba:Communications
Telephone system: 229,000 telephones; 20.7 telephones/1,000 persons; among the world's least developed telephone systems local: NA intercity: NA international: 1 INTELSAT (Atlantic Ocean) earth station
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 150, FM 5, shortwave 0 radios: 2.14 million
Television: broadcast stations: 58 televisions: 1.53 million
@Cuba:Defense Forces
Branches: Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR) includes ground forces, Revolutionary Navy (MGR), Air and Air Defense Force (DAAFAR), Territorial Militia Troops (MTT), and Youth Labor Army (EJT); Interior Ministry Border Guards (TGF),
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 3,065,751; females age 15-49 3,023,997; males fit for military service 1,909,901; females fit for military service 1,878,768; males reach military age (17) annually 72,582; females reach military age (17) annually 69,361 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - approx. $600 million, 4% of GSP (gross social product) in 1994 was for defense
Note: Moscow, for decades the key military supporter and supplier of Cuba, cut off military aid by 1993
Location: Middle East, island in the Mediterreanean Sea, south of Turkey
Map references: Middle East
Area: total area: 9,250 sq km (note - 3,355 sq km are in the Turkish area) land area: 9,240 sq km comparative area: about 0.7 times the size of Connecticut
Land boundaries: 0 km
Coastline: 648 km
Maritime claims: continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation territorial sea: 12 nm
International disputes: 1974 hostilities divided the island into two de facto autonomous areas, a Greek area controlled by the Cypriot Government (59% of the island's land area) and a Turkish-Cypriot area (37% of the island), that are separated by a UN buffer zone (4% of the island); there are two UK sovereign base areas within the Greek Cypriot portion of the island
Climate: temperate, Mediterranean with hot, dry summers and cool, wet winters
Terrain: central plain with mountains to north and south; scattered but significant plains along southern coast
Land use: arable land: 40% permanent crops: 7% meadows and pastures: 10% forest and woodland: 18% other: 25%
Irrigated land: 350 sq km (1989)
Environment: current issues: water resource problems (no natural reservoir catchments, seasonal disparity in rainfall, and most potable resources concentrated in the Turkish Cypriot area); water pollution from sewage and industrial wastes; coastal degradation; loss of wildlife habitats from urbanization natural hazards: moderate earthquake activity international agreements: party to - Air Pollution, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate Change
Age structure: 0-14 years: 26% (female 92,179; male 97,723) 15-64 years: 64% (female 234,929; male 236,693) 65 years and over: 10% (female 42,190; male 32,922) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.88% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 16.27 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 7.48 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 8.6 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 76.47 years male: 74.19 years female: 78.85 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 2.3 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Nationality: noun: Cypriot(s) adjective: Cypriot
Ethnic divisions: total: Greek 78% (99.5% of the Greeks live in the Greek area; 0.5% of the Greeks live in the Turkish area), Turkish 18% (1.3% of the Turks live in the Greek area; 98.7% of the Turks live in the Turkish area), other 4% (99.2% of the other ethnic groups live in the Greek area; 0.8% of the other ethnic groups live in the Turkish area)
Religions: Greek Orthodox 78%, Muslim 18%, Maronite, Armenian Apostolic, and other 4%
Languages: Greek, Turkish, English
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1987 est.) total population: 94% male: 98% female: 91%
Labor force: Greek area: 285,500 by occupation: services 57%, industry 29%, agriculture 14% (1992) Turkish area: 74,000 by occupation: services 52%, industry 23%, agriculture 25% (1992)
@Cyprus:Government
Names: conventional long form: Republic of Cyprus conventional short form: Cyprus note: the Turkish area refers to itself as the "Turkish Republic" or the "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus"
Abbreviation: the Turkish area is sometimes referred to as the TRNC which is short for "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus"
Digraph: CY
Type: republic note: a disaggregation of the two ethnic communities inhabiting the island began after the outbreak of communal strife in 1963; this separation was further solidified following the Turkish invasion of the island in July 1974, which gave the Turkish Cypriots de facto control in the north; Greek Cypriots control the only internationally recognized government; on 15 November 1983 Turkish Cypriot President Rauf DENKTASH declared independence and the formation of a "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus" (TRNC), which has been recognized only by Turkey; both sides publicly call for the resolution of intercommunal differences and creation of a new federal system of government
Capital: Nicosia note: the Turkish area's capital is Lefkosa (Nicosia)
Administrative divisions: 6 districts; Famagusta, Kyrenia, Larnaca, Limassol, Nicosia, Paphos; note - Turkish area administrative divisions include Kyrenia, all but a small part of Famagusta, and small parts of Nicosia and Larnaca
Independence: 16 August 1960 (from UK) note: Turkish area proclaimed self-rule on NA February 1975 from Republic of Cyprus
National holiday: Independence Day, 1 October note: Turkish area celebrates 15 November as Independence Day
Constitution: 16 August 1960; negotiations to create the basis for a new or revised constitution to govern the island and to better relations between Greek and Turkish Cypriots have been held intermittently; in 1975 Turkish Cypriots created their own Constitution and governing bodies within the "Turkish Federated State of Cyprus," which was renamed the "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus" in 1983; a new Constitution for the Turkish area passed by referendum on 5 May 1985
Legal system: based on common law, with civil law modifications
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state and head of government: President Glafcos CLERIDES (since 28 February 1993); election last held 14 February 1993 (next to be held February 1998); results - Glafkos CLERIDES 50.3%, George VASSILIOU 49.7% cabinet: Council of Ministers; appointed jointly by the president and vice-president note: Rauf R. DENKTASH has been president of the Turkish area since 13 February 1975; Hakki ATUN has been prime minister of the Turkish area since 1 January 1994; there is a Council of Ministers (cabinet) in the Turkish area; elections last held 15 and 22 April 1995 (next to be held April 2000); results - Rauf R. DENKTASH 62.5%, Dervis EROGLU 37.5%
Legislative branch: unicameral Greek area: House of Representatives (Vouli Antiprosopon): elections last held 19 May 1991 (next to be held NA); results - DISY 35.8%, AKEL (Communist) 30.6%, DIKO 19.5%, EDEK 10.9%; others 3.2%; seats - (56 total) DISY 20, AKEL (Communist) 18, DIKO 11, EDEK 7 Turkish area: Assembly of the Republic (Cumhuriyet Meclisi): elections last held 12 December 1993 (next to be held NA); results - UBP 29.9%, DP 29.2%, CTP 24.2% TKP 13.3%, others 3.4%; seats - (50 total) UBP (conservative) 15, DP 16, CTP 13, TKP 5, UDP 1
Judicial branch: Supreme Court; note - there is also a Supreme Court in the Turkish area
Political parties and leaders: Greek area: Progressive Party of the Working People (AKEL, Communist Party), Dimitrios CHRISTOFIAS; Democratic Rally (DISY), John MATSIS; Democratic Party (DIKO), Spyros KYPRIANOU; United Democratic Union of the Center (EDEK), Vassos LYSSARIDIS; Socialist Democratic Renewal Movement (ADISOK), Mikhalis PAPAPETROU; Liberal Party, Nikos ROLANDIS; Free Democrats, George VASSILIOU Turkish area: National Unity Party (UBP), Dervis EROGLU; Communal Liberation Party (TKP), Mustafa AKINCI; Republican Turkish Party (CTP), Ozker OZGUR; New Cyprus Party (YKP), Alpay DURDURAN; Free Democratic Party (HDP), Ismet KOTAK; National Justice Party (MAP), Zorlu TORE; Unity and Sovereignty Party (BEP), Arif Salih KIRDAG; Democratic Party (DP), Hakki ATUN; Fatherland Party (VP), Orhan UCOK; National Birth Party (UDP); the HDP, MAP, and VP merged under the label National Struggle Unity Party (MMBP) to compete in the 12 December 1993 legislative election
Other political or pressure groups: United Democratic Youth Organization (EDON, Communist controlled); Union of Cyprus Farmers (EKA, Communist controlled); Cyprus Farmers Union (PEK, pro-West); Pan-Cyprian Labor Federation (PEO, Communist controlled); Confederation of Cypriot Workers (SEK, pro-West); Federation of Turkish Cypriot Labor Unions (Turk-Sen); Confederation of Revolutionary Labor Unions (Dev-Is)
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Andreas J. JACOVIDES chancery: 2211 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 462-5772 consulate(s) general: New York note: Representative of the Turkish area in the US is Namik KORMAN, office at 1667 K Street NW, Washington, DC, telephone [1] (202) 887-6198
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador Richard A. BOUCHER embassy: corner of Metochiou and Ploutarchou Streets, Engomi, Nicosia mailing address: P. O. Box 4536 APO AE 09836 telephone: [357] (2) 476100 FAX: [357] (2) 465944
Flag: white with a copper-colored silhouette of the island (the name Cyprus is derived from the Greek word for copper) above two green crossed olive branches in the center of the flag; the branches symbolize the hope for peace and reconciliation between the Greek and Turkish communities note: the Turkish Cypriot flag has a horizontal red stripe at the top and bottom between which is a red crescent and red star on a white field
@Cyprus:Economy
Overview: The Greek Cypriot economy is small, diversified, and prosperous. Industry contributes 14% to GDP and employs 29% of the labor force, while the service sector contributes 53% to GDP and employs 57% of the labor force. An average 6.8% rise in real GDP between 1986 and 1990 was temporarily checked in 1991, because of the adverse effects of the Gulf war on tourism. After surging 8.5% in 1992, growth slowed to 2.0% in 1993 - its lowest level in two decades - because of the decline in tourist arrivals associated with the recession in Western Europe, Cyprus' main trading partner, and the loss in export competitiveness due to a sharp rise in unit labor costs. Real GDP is likely to have picked up in 1994, and inflation is estimated to have risen to between 5% and 6%. The Turkish Cypriot economy has less than one-third the per capita GDP of the south. Because it is recognized only by Turkey, it has had much difficulty arranging foreign financing, and foreign firms have hesitated to invest there. The economy remains heavily dependent on agriculture, which employs one-quarter of the work force. Moreover, because the Turkish lira is legal tender, the Turkish Cypriot economy has suffered the same high inflation as mainland Turkey. The small, vulnerable economy is estimated to have experienced a sharp drop in growth during 1994 because of the severe economic crisis affecting the mainland. To compensate for the economy's weakness, Turkey provides direct and indirect aid to nearly every sector; financial support has risen in value to about one-third of Turkish Cypriot GDP.
National product: Greek area: GDP - purchasing power parity - $7.3 billion (1994 est.) Turkish area: GDP - purchasing power parity - $510 million (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate: Greek area: 5% (1994 est.) Turkish area: -4% (1994 est.)
National product per capita: Greek area: $12,500 (1994 est.) Turkish area: $3,500 (1994 est.)
Budget: revenues: Greek area - $1.8 billion Turkish area - $285 million expenditures: Greek area - $2.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $400 million Turkish area - $377 million, including capital expenditures of $80 million (1995 est.)
Exports: $868 million (f.o.b., 1993) commodities: citrus, potatoes, grapes, wine, cement, clothing and shoes partners: UK 18%, Greece 9%, Lebanon 14%, Germany 6%
Imports: $2.6 billion (f.o.b., 1993) commodities: consumer goods, petroleum and lubricants, food and feed grains, machinery partners: UK 13%, Japan 9%, Italy 10%, Germany 8%, US 8%
External debt: $2.4 billion (1993)
Industrial production: growth rate 0.1% (1993); accounts for 14% of GDP
Industries: food, beverages, textiles, chemicals, metal products, tourism, wood products
Agriculture: contributes 6% to GDP and employs 25% of labor force in the south; major crops - potatoes, vegetables, barley, grapes, olives, citrus fruits; vegetables and fruit provide 25% of export revenues
Illicit drugs: transit point for heroin via air routes and container traffic to Europe, especially from Lebanon and Turkey
Economic aid: recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $292 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $250 million; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $62 million; Communist countries (1970-89), $24 million
Highways: Greek area: *** No data for this item *** total: 10,448 km paved: 5,694 km unpaved: gravel, crushed stone, earth 4,754 km (1992) Turkish area: *** No data for this item *** total: 6,116 km paved: 5,278 km unpaved: 838 km
Ports: Famagusta, Kyrenia, Larnaca, Limassol, Vasilikos Bay
Merchant marine: total: 1,446 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 22,911,818 GRT/39,549,216 DWT ships by type: bulk 473, cargo 530, chemical tanker 28, combination bulk 55, combination ore/oil 24, container 92, liquefied gas tanker 3, multifunction large-load carrier 5, oil tanker 120, passenger 5, passenger-cargo 1, railcar carrier 1, refrigerated cargo 58, roll-on/roll-off cargo 33, short-sea passenger 14, specialized tanker 2, vehicle carrier 2 note: a flag of convenience registry; includes 48 countries among which are ships of Greece 705, Germany 174, Russia 56, Netherlands 45, Japan 27, Belgium 25, UK 21, Spain 17, Switzerland 14, Hong Kong 13
Airports: total: 15 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 7 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 3 with paved runways under 914 m: 4 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 1
@Cyprus:Communications
Telephone system: 210,000 telephones; excellent in both the area controlled by the Cypriot Government (Greek area), and in the Turkish-Cypriot administered area; largely open-wire and microwave radio relay local: NA intercity: microwave radio relay international: international service by tropospheric scatter, 3 submarine cables, and 2 INTELSAT (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) and 1 EUTELSAT earth station
Radio: Greek sector: NA broadcast stations: AM 11, FM 8, shortwave 0 radios: NA Turkish sector: NA broadcast stations: AM 2, FM 6, shortwave 0 radios: NA
Television: Greek sector: NA broadcast stations: 1 (repeaters 34) televisions: NA Turkish sector: NA broadcast stations: 1 televisions: NA
@Cyprus:Defense Forces
Branches: Greek area: Greek Cypriot National Guard (GCNG; includes air and naval elements), Greek Cypriot Police Turkish area: Turkish Cypriot Security Force
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 188,231; males fit for military service 129,397; males reach military age (18) annually 5,467 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $457 million, 5.6% of GDP (1995)
Map references: Ethnic Groups in Eastern Europe, Europe
Area: total area: 78,703 sq km land area: 78,645 sq km comparative area: slightly smaller than South Carolina
Land boundaries: total 1,880 km, Austria 362 km, Germany 646 km, Poland 658 km, Slovakia 214 km
Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims: none; landlocked
International disputes: Liechtenstein claims restitution for l,600 square kilometers of Czech territory confiscated from its royal family in 1918; Sudeten German claims for restitution of property confiscated in connection with their expulsion after World War II versus the Czech Republic claims that restitution does not preceed before February 1948 when the Communists seized power; unresolved property issues with Slovakia over redistribution of property of the former Czechoslovak federal government
Terrain: two main regions: Bohemia in the west, consisting of rolling plains, hills, and plateaus surrounded by low mountains; and Moravia in the east, consisting of very hilly country
Natural resources: hard coal, soft coal, kaolin, clay, graphite
Land use: arable land: NA% permanent crops: NA% meadows and pastures: NA% forest and woodland: NA% other: NA%
Irrigated land: NA sq km
Environment: current issues: air and water pollution in areas of northwest Bohemia centered around Zeplica and in northern Moravia around Ostrava present health risks; acid rain damaging forests natural hazards: NA international agreements: party to - Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Law of the Sea
Note: landlocked; strategically located astride some of oldest and most significant land routes in Europe; Moravian Gate is a traditional military corridor between the North European Plain and the Danube in central Europe
@Czech Republic:People
Population: 10,432,774 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 19% (female 981,918; male 1,030,003) 15-64 years: 68% (female 3,529,411; male 3,530,112) 65 years and over: 13% (female 848,599; male 512,731) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.26% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 13.46 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 10.85 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 8.9 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 73.54 years male: 69.87 years female: 77.41 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.84 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Ethnic divisions: Czech 94.4%, Slovak 3%, Polish 0.6%, German 0.5%, Gypsy 0.3%, Hungarian 0.2%, other 1%
Religions: atheist 39.8%, Roman Catholic 39.2%, Protestant 4.6%, Orthodox 3%, other 13.4%
Languages: Czech, Slovak
Literacy: can read and write total population: 99%
Labor force: 5.389 million by occupation: industry 37.9%, agriculture 8.1%, construction 8.8%, communications and other 45.2% (1990)
@Czech Republic:Government
Names: conventional long form: Czech Republic conventional short form: Czech Republic local long form: Ceska Republika local short form: Cechy
Digraph: EZ
Type: parliamentary democracy
Capital: Prague
Administrative divisions: 8 regions (kraje, kraj - singular); Jihocesky, Jihomoravsky, Praha, Severocesky, Severomoravsky, Stredocesky, Vychodocesky, Zapadocesky
Independence: 1 January 1993 (from Czechoslovakia)
National holiday: National Liberation Day, 9 May; Founding of the Republic, 28 October
Constitution: ratified 16 December 1992; effective 1 January 1993
Legal system: civil law system based on Austro-Hungarian codes; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction; legal code modified to bring it in line with Organization on Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) obligations and to expunge Marxist-Leninist legal theory
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Vaclav HAVEL (since 26 January 1993); election last held 26 January 1993 (next to be held NA January 1998); results - Vaclav HAVEL elected by the National Council head of government: Prime Minister Vaclav KLAUS (since NA June 1992); Deputy Prime Ministers Ivan KOCARNIK, Josef LUX, Jan KALVODA (since NA June 1992) cabinet: Cabinet; appointed by the president on recommendation of the prime minister
Legislative branch: bicameral National Council (Narodni rada) Senate: elections not yet held; seats (81 total) Chamber of Deputies: elections last held 5-6 June 1992 (next to be held NA 1996); results - percent of vote by party NA given breakup and realignment of all parliamentary opposition parties since 1992; seats - (200 total) governing coalition: ODS 65, KDS 10, ODA 16, KDU-CSL 15, opposition: CSSD 18, LB 25, KSCM 10, LSU 9, LSNS 5, CMSS 9, SPR-RSC 6, independents 12
Political parties and leaders: governing coalition: Civic Democratic Party (ODS), Vaclav KLAUS, chairman; Christian Democratic Party (KDS), Ivan PILIP, chairman; Civic Democratic Alliance (ODA), Jan KALVODA, chairman; Christian Democratic Union/Czech People's Party (KDU-CSL), Josef LUX, chairman opposition: Czech Social Democrats (CSSD - left opposition), Milos ZEMAN, chairman; Left Bloc (LB - left opposition), Marie STIBOROVA, chairman; Communist Party (KSCM - left opposition), Miroslav GREBENICEK, chairman; Liberal Social Union (LSU - left opposition), Frantisek TRNKA, chairman; Liberal National Social Party (LSNS - center party), Pavel HIRS, chairman; Bohemian-Moravian Center Party (CMSS - center party), Jan KYCER, chairman; Assembly for the Republic (SPR-RSC - right radical) , Miroslav SLADEK, chairman
Other political or pressure groups: Czech-Moravian Chamber of Trade Unions; Civic Movement
Member of: Australia Group, BIS, CCC, CE (guest), CEI, CERN, EBRD, ECE, FAO, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, NACC, NSG, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNOMIL, UNOMOZ, UNPROFOR, UPU, WEU (associate partner), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Michael ZANTOVSKY chancery: 3900 Spring of Freedom Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 363-6315, 6316 FAX: [1] (202) 966-8540
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador Adrian A. BASORA embassy: Trziste 15, 11801 Prague 1 mailing address: Unit 1330; APO AE 09213-1330 telephone: [42] (2) 2451-0847 FAX: [42] (2) 2451-1001
Flag: two equal horizontal bands of white (top) and red with a blue isosceles triangle based on the hoist side (almost identical to the flag of the former Czechoslovakia)
@Czech Republic:Economy
Overview: The government of the Czech Republic, using successful stabilization policies to bolster its claims to full membership in the western economic community, has reduced inflation to 10%, kept unemployment at 3%, balanced the budget, run trade surpluses, and reoriented exports to the EU since the breakup of the Czechoslovak federation on 1 January 1993. GDP grew 2% in 1994 after stagnating in 1993 and contracting nearly 20% since 1990. Prague's mass privatization program, including its innovative distribution of ownership shares to Czech citizens via 'coupon vouchers,' has made the most rapid progress in Eastern Europe. When coupon shares are distributed in early 1995, 75%-80% of the economy will be in private hands or partially privatized, according to the Czech government. Privatized companies still face major problems in restructuring; the number of annual bankruptcies quadrupled in 1994. In September 1994, Prague repaid $471 million in IMF loans five years ahead of schedule, making the Czech Republic the first East European country to pay off all IMF debts. Despite these outlays, hard-currency reserves in the banking system totaled more than $8.5 billion in October. Standard & Poor's boosted the Republic's credit rating to BBB+ in mid-1994 - up from a BBB rating that was already two steps higher than Hungary's and one step above Greece's rating. Prague forecasts a balanced budget, at least 3% GDP growth, 5% unemployment, and single-digit inflation for 1995. Inflationary pressures - primarily as a result of foreign bank lending to Czech enterprises but perhaps also due to eased currency convertibility controls - are likely to be the most troublesome issues in 1995. Continuing economic recovery in Western Europe should boost Czech exports and production but a substantial increase in prices could erode the Republic's comparative advantage in low wages and exchange rates. Prague already took steps in 1994 to increase control over banking policies to neutralize the impact of foreign inflows on the money supply. Although Czech unemployment is currently the lowest in Central Europe, it will probably increase 1-2 percentage points in 1995 as large state firms go bankrupt or are restructured and service sector growth slows.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $76.5 billion (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate: 2.2% (1994 est.)
Railroads: total: 9,434 km (include 1.520-m broad, 1.435-m standard, and several narrow gauges) (1988)
Highways: total: 55,890 km (1988) paved: NA unpaved: NA
Inland waterways: NA km; the Elbe (Labe) is the principal river
Pipelines: natural gas 5,400 km
Ports: Decin, Prague, Usti nad Labem
Merchant marine: total: 14 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 181,646 GRT/282,296 DWT ships by type: bulk 5, cargo 9
Airports: total: 116 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 2 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 9 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 13 with paved runways under 914 m: 5 with unpaved runways over 3,047 m: 1 with unpaved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 10 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 32 with unpaved runways under 914 m: 41
@Czech Republic:Communications
Telephone system: NA telephones local: NA intercity: NA international: NA
Radio: broadcast stations: AM, FM, shortwave radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: NA televisions: NA
@Czech Republic:Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Air and Air Defense Forces, Civil Defense, Railroad Units
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 2,753,301; males fit for military service 2,095,661; males reach military age (18) annually 91,177 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: 27 billion koruny, NA% of GNP (1994 est.); note - conversion of defense expenditures into US dollars using the current exchange rate could produce misleading results
Location: Northern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, on a peninsula north of Germany
Map references: Europe
Area: total area: 43,070 sq km land area: 42,370 sq km comparative area: slightly more than twice the size of Massachusetts note: includes the island of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea and the rest of metropolitan Denmark, but excludes the Faroe Islands and Greenland
Land boundaries: total 68 km, Germany 68 km
Coastline: 3,379 km
Maritime claims: contiguous zone: 4 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 3 nm
International disputes: Rockall continental shelf dispute involving Iceland, Ireland, and the UK (Ireland and the UK have signed a boundary agreement in the Rockall area)
Climate: temperate; humid and overcast; mild, windy winters and cool summers
Land use: arable land: 61% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 6% forest and woodland: 12% other: 21%
Irrigated land: 4,300 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment: current issues: air pollution, principally from vehicle emissions; nitrogen and phosphorus pollution of the North Sea; drinking and surface water becoming polluted from animal wastes natural hazards: flooding is a threat in some areas of the country (e.g., parts of Jutland, along the southern coast of the island of Lolland) that are protected from the sea by a system of dikes international agreements: party to - Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Wetlands, Whaling; signed, but not ratified - Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Desertification, Law of the Sea
Note: controls Danish Straits linking Baltic and North Seas; about one-quarter of the population lives in Copenhagen
@Denmark:People
Population: 5,199,437 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 17% (female 430,598; male 451,993) 15-64 years: 68% (female 1,731,531; male 1,780,083) 65 years and over: 15% (female 473,537; male 331,695) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.22% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 12.38 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 11.14 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 0.96 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 6.8 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 76.11 years male: 73.23 years female: 79.16 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.69 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Nationality: noun: Dane(s) adjective: Danish
Ethnic divisions: Scandinavian, Eskimo, Faroese, German
Religions: Evangelical Lutheran 91%, other Protestant and Roman Catholic 2%, other 7% (1988)
Languages: Danish, Faroese, Greenlandic (an Eskimo dialect), German (small minority)
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1980 est.) total population: 99%
Labor force: 2,553,900 by occupation: private services 37.1%, government services 30.4%, manufacturing and mining 20%, construction 6.3%, agriculture, forestry, and fishing 5.6%, electricity/gas/water 0.6% (1991)
@Denmark:Government
Names: conventional long form: Kingdom of Denmark conventional short form: Denmark local long form: Kongeriget Danmark local short form: Danmark
Digraph: DA
Type: constitutional monarchy
Capital: Copenhagen
Administrative divisions: metropolitan Denmark - 14 counties (amter, singular - amt) and 1 city* (stad); Arhus, Bornholm, Frederiksborg, Fyn, Kbenhavn, Nordjylland, Ribe, Ringkbing, Roskilde, Snderjylland, Staden Kbenhavn*, Storstrm, Vejle, Vestsjaelland, Viborg note: see separate entries for the Faroe Islands and Greenland, which are part of the Danish realm and self-governing administrative divisions
Independence: 1849 (became a constitutional monarchy)
National holiday: Birthday of the Queen, 16 April (1940)
Constitution: 5 June 1953
Legal system: civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: Queen MARGRETHE II (since NA January 1972); Heir Apparent Crown Prince FREDERIK, elder son of the Queen (born 26 May 1968) head of government: Prime Minister Poul Nyrup RASMUSSEN (since NA January 1993) cabinet: Cabinet; appointed by the monarch
Legislative branch: unicameral Parliament (Folketing): elections last held 21 September 1994 (next to be held by December 1998); results - Social Democrats 34.6%, Liberals 23.3%, Conservatives 15.0%, Social People's Party 7.3%, Progress Party 6.4%, Radical Liberals 4.6%, Unity Party 3.1%, Center Democrats 2.8%, Christian People's Party 1.8%; seats - (179 total) Social Democrats 63, Liberals 44, Conservatives 28, Social People's Party 13, Progress Party 11, Radical Liberals 8, Unity Party 6, Center Democrats 5, independent 1
Judicial branch: Supreme Court
Political parties and leaders: Social Democratic Party, Poul Nyrup RASMUSSEN; Conservative Party, Hans ENGELL; Liberal Party, Uffe ELLEMANN-JENSEN; Socialist People's Party, Holger K. NIELSEN; Progress Party, Group Chairman Kim BEHNKE and Policy Spokesman Jan Kopke CHRISTENSEN; Center Democratic Party, Mimi Stilling JAKOBSEN; Radical Liberal Party, Marianne JELVED; Christian People's Party, Jann SJURSEN; Common Course, Preben Moller HANSEN; Danish Workers' Party; Unity Party
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Peter Pedersen DYVIG (Knud-Erik TYGESEN is Ambassador Elect for 1995) chancery: 3200 Whitehaven Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 234-4300 FAX: [1] (202) 328-1470 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador Edward E. ELSON embassy: Dag Hammarskjolds Alle 24, 2100 Copenhagen O mailing address: APO AE 09716 telephone: [45] (31) 42 31 44 FAX: [45] (35) 43 02 23
Flag: red with a white cross that extends to the edges of the flag; the vertical part of the cross is shifted to the hoist side, and that design element of the DANNEBROG (Danish flag) was subsequently adopted by the other Nordic countries of Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden
@Denmark:Economy
Overview: This thoroughly modern economy features high-tech agriculture, up-to-date small-scale and corporate industry, extensive government welfare measures, comfortable living standards, and high dependence on foreign trade. Denmark is self-sufficient in food production. The new center-left coalition government will concentrate on reducing the persistent high unemployment rate and the budget deficit as well as following the previous government's policies of maintaining low inflation and a current account surplus. In the face of recent international market pressure on the Danish krone, the coalition has also vowed to maintain a stable currency. The coalition hopes to lower marginal income taxes while maintaining overall tax revenues; boost industrial competitiveness through labor market and tax reforms and increased research and development funds; and improve welfare services for the neediest while cutting paperwork and delays. Prime Minister RASMUSSEN's reforms will focus on adapting Denmark to the criteria for European integration by 1999; although Copenhagen has won from the European Union (EU) the right to opt out of the European Monetary Union (EMU) if a national referendum rejects it. Denmark is, in fact, one of the few EU countries likely to fit into the EMU on time. Denmark is weathering the current worldwide slump better than many West European countries. After posting 4.5% real GDP growth in 1994, Copenhagen is predicting a continued strong showing in 1995, with real GDP up by 3.2%. The government expects an upswing in business investment in 1995 to drive economic growth. Although unemployment is high, it remains stable compared to most European countries.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $103 billion (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate: 4.5% (1994 est.)
National product per capita: $19,860 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2% (1994 est.)
Unemployment rate: 12.3% (1994 est.)
Budget: revenues: $56.5 billion expenditures: $64.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1994 est.)
Exports: $42.9 billion (f.o.b., 1994) commodities: meat and meat products, dairy products, transport equipment (shipbuilding), fish, chemicals, industrial machinery partners: EC 54.3% (Germany 23.6%, UK 10.1%, France 5.7%), Sweden 10.5%, Norway 5.8%, US 4.9%, Japan 3.6% (1992)
Imports: $37.1 billion (c.i.f., 1994 est.) commodities: petroleum, machinery and equipment, chemicals, grain and foodstuffs, textiles, paper partners: EC 53.4% (Germany 23.1%, UK 8.2%, France 5.6%), Sweden 10.8%, Norway 5.4%, US 5.7%, Japan 4.1% (1992)
Industries: food processing, machinery and equipment, textiles and clothing, chemical products, electronics, construction, furniture, and other wood products, shipbuilding
Agriculture: accounts for 4% of GDP; principal products - meat, dairy, grain, potatoes, rape, sugar beets, fish
Economic aid: donor: ODA and OOF commitments (1970-89), $5.9 billion
Railroads: total: 2,838 km (494 km privately owned and operated) standard gauge: 2,838 km 1.435-m gauge (440 km electrified; 760 km double track) (1994)
Highways: total: 71,042 km paved: concrete, asphalt, stone block 71,042 km (696 km of expressways)
Inland waterways: 417 km
Pipelines: crude oil 110 km; petroleum products 578 km; natural gas 700 km
Merchant marine: total: 345 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 5,005,470 GRT/6,974,750 DWT ships by type: bulk 17, cargo 109, chemical tanker 24, combination bulk 1, container 61, liquefied gas tanker 32, livestock carrier 4, oil tanker 32, railcar carrier 1, refrigerated cargo 18, roll-on/roll-off cargo 35, short-sea passenger 11 note: Denmark has created its own internal register, called the Danish International Ship register (DIS); DIS ships do not have to meet Danish manning regulations, and they amount to a flag of convenience within the Danish register
Airports: total: 118 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 2 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 7 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 13 with paved runways under 914 m: 85 with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 1 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 7
@Denmark:Communications
Telephone system: 4,509,000 telephones; excellent telephone and telegraph services; buried and submarine cables and microwave radio relay support trunk network local: NA intercity: microwave radio relay international: 19 submarine coaxial cables; 7 INTELSAT, EUTELSAT, and INMARSAT earth stations
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 3, FM 2, shortwave 0 radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: 50 televisions: NA
@Denmark:Defense Forces
Branches: Royal Danish Army, Royal Danish Navy, Royal Danish Air Force, Home Guard
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 1,347,774; males fit for military service 1,158,223; males reach military age (20) annually 36,191 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $2.7 billion, 1.9% of GDP (1994)
Terrain: coastal plain and plateau separated by central mountains
Natural resources: geothermal areas
Land use: arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 9% forest and woodland: 0% other: 91%
Irrigated land: NA sq km
Environment: current issues: inadequate supplies of potable water; desertification natural hazards: earthquakes; droughts; occasional cyclonic disturbances from the Indian Ocean bring heavy rains and flash floods international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Ship Pollution; signed, but not ratified - Climate Change, Desertification
Note: strategic location near world's busiest shipping lanes and close to Arabian oilfields; terminus of rail traffic into Ethiopia; a vast wasteland
@Djibouti:People
Population: 421,320 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 43% (female 90,070; male 90,631) 15-64 years: 55% (female 108,824; male 121,715) 65 years and over: 2% (female 4,900; male 5,180) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.48% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 42.79 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 15.51 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: -12.46 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 108.8 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 49.7 years male: 47.83 years female: 51.62 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 6.15 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Ethnic divisions: Somali 60%, Afar 35%, French, Arab, Ethiopian, and Italian 5%
Religions: Muslim 94%, Christian 6%
Languages: French (official), Arabic (official), Somali, Afar
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1990) total population: 48% male: 63% female: 34%
@Djibouti:Government
Names: conventional long form: Republic of Djibouti conventional short form: Djibouti former: French Territory of the Afars and Issas French Somaliland
National holiday: Independence Day, 27 June (1977)
Constitution: multiparty constitution approved in referendum 4 September 1992
Legal system: based on French civil law system, traditional practices, and Islamic law
Suffrage: universal adult at age NA
Executive branch: chief of state: President HASSAN GOULED Aptidon (since 24 June 1977); election last held 7 May 1993 (next to be held NA 1999); results - President Hassan GOULED Aptidon was reelected head of government: Prime Minister BARKAT Gourad Hamadou (since 30 September 1978) cabinet: Council of Ministers; responsible to the president
Legislative branch: unicameral Chamber of Deputies (Chambre des Deputes): elections last held 18 December 1992; results - RPP (the ruling party) dominated; seats - (65 total) RPP 65
Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Cour Supreme)
Political parties and leaders: ruling party: People's Progress Assembly (RPP), Hassan GOULED Aptidon other parties: Democratic Renewal Party (PRD), Mohamed Jama ELABE; Democratic National Party (PND), ADEN Robleh Awaleh
Other political or pressure groups: Front for the Restoration of Unity and Democracy (FRUD) and affiliates; Movement for Unity and Democracy (MUD)
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Roble OLHAYE chancery: Suite 515, 1156 15th Street NW, Washington, DC 20005 telephone: [1] (202) 331-0270 FAX: [1] (202) 331-0302
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador Martin L. CHESHES embassy: Plateau du Serpent, Boulevard Marechal Joffre, Djibouti mailing address: B. P. 185, Djibouti telephone: [253] 35 39 95 FAX: [253] 35 39 40
Flag: two equal horizontal bands of light blue (top) and light green with a white isosceles triangle based on the hoist side bearing a red five-pointed star in the center
@Djibouti:Economy
Overview: The economy is based on service activities connected with the country's strategic location and status as a free trade zone in northeast Africa. Two-thirds of the inhabitants live in the capital city, the remainder being mostly nomadic herders. Scanty rainfall limits crop production to fruits and vegetables, and most food must be imported. Djibouti provides services as both a transit port for the region and an international transshipment and refueling center. It has few natural resources and little industry. The nation is, therefore, heavily dependent on foreign assistance (an important supplement to GDP) to help support its balance of payments and to finance development projects. An unemployment rate of over 30% continues to be a major problem. Per capita consumption dropped an estimated 35% over the last six years because of recession, civil war, and a high population growth rate (including immigrants and refugees).
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $500 million (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate: -3% (1994 est.)
National product per capita: $1,200 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 6% (1993 est.)
Unemployment rate: over 30% (1994 est.)
Budget: revenues: $164 million expenditures: $201 million, including capital expenditures of $16 million (1993 est.)
Exports: $184 million (f.o.b., 1994 est.) commodities: hides and skins, coffee (in transit) partners: Somalia 48%, Yemen 42%
Imports: $384 million (f.o.b., 1994 est.) commodities: foods, beverages, transport equipment, chemicals, petroleum products partners: France, UK, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, South Korea
External debt: $227 million (1993 est.)
Industrial production: growth rate 3% (1991 est.); accounts for 14% of GDP
Electricity: capacity: 90,000 kW production: 170 million kWh consumption per capita: 398 kWh (1993)
Industries: limited to a few small-scale enterprises, such as dairy products and mineral-water bottling
Agriculture: mostly fruit and vegetables; herding of goats, sheep, and camels
Economic aid: recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY78-89), $39 million; Western (non-US) countries, including ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $1.1 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $149 million; Communist countries (1970-89), $35 million
Currency: 1 Djiboutian franc (DF) = 100 centimes
Exchange rates: Djiboutian francs (DF) per US$1 - 177.721 (fixed rate since 1973)
Fiscal year: calendar year
@Djibouti:Transportation
Railroads: total: 97 km (Djibouti segment of the Addis Ababa-Djibouti railroad) narrow gauge: 97 km 1.000-m gauge
Highways: total: 2,900 km paved: 280 km unpaved: improved, unimproved earth 2,620 km (1982)
Airports: total: 13 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 1 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 with paved runways under 914 m: 3 with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 2 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 6
@Djibouti:Communications
Telephone system: NA telephones; telephone facilities in the city of Djibouti are adequate as are the microwave radio relay connections to outlying areas of the country local: NA intercity: microwave radio relay network international: international connections via submarine cable to Saudi Arabia and by satellite link to other countries; 1 INTELSAT (Indian Ocean) and 1 ARABSAT earth station
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 2, FM 2, shortwave 0 radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: 1 televisions: NA
@Djibouti:Defense Forces
Branches: Djibouti National Army (includes Navy and Air Force), National Security Force (Force Nationale de Securite), National Police Force
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 101,385; males fit for military service 59,337 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $26 million, NA% of GDP (1989)
Climate: tropical; moderated by northeast trade winds; heavy rainfall
Terrain: rugged mountains of volcanic origin
Natural resources: timber
Land use: arable land: 9% permanent crops: 13% meadows and pastures: 3% forest and woodland: 41% other: 34%
Irrigated land: NA sq km
Environment: current issues: NA natural hazards: flash floods are a constant threat; destructive hurricanes can be expected during the late summer months international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Whaling
@Dominica:People
Population: 82,608 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 29% (female 11,665; male 12,130) 15-64 years: 64% (female 25,606; male 26,890) 65 years and over: 7% (female 3,724; male 2,593) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.4% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 18.63 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 5.33 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: -9.36 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 9.9 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 77.2 years male: 74.35 years female: 80.2 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.95 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Religions: Roman Catholic 77%, Protestant 15% (Methodist 5%, Pentecostal 3%, Seventh-Day Adventist 3%, Baptist 2%, other 2%), none 2%, unknown 1%, other 5%
Languages: English (official), French patois
Literacy: age 15 and over has ever attended school (1970) total population: 94% male: 94% female: 94%
Labor force: 25,000 by occupation: agriculture 40%, industry and commerce 32%, services 28% (1984)
@Dominica:Government
Names: conventional long form: Commonwealth of Dominica conventional short form: Dominica
Digraph: DO
Type: parliamentary democracy
Capital: Roseau
Administrative divisions: 10 parishes; Saint Andrew, Saint David, Saint George, Saint John, Saint Joseph, Saint Luke, Saint Mark, Saint Patrick, Saint Paul, Saint Peter
Independence: 3 November 1978 (from UK)
National holiday: Independence Day, 3 November (1978)
Constitution: 3 November 1978
Legal system: based on English common law
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Crispin Anselm SORHAINDO (since 25 October 1993) election last held 4 October 1993 (next to be held NA October 1998); results - President Crispin Anselm SORHAINDO was elected by the House of Assembly to a five-year term head of government: Prime Minister (Mary) Eugenia CHARLES (since 21 July 1980, elected for a third term 28 May 1990) cabinet: Cabinet; appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister
Legislative branch: unicameral House of Assembly: elections last held 28 May 1990 (next to be held by October 1995); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (30 total; 9 appointed senators and 21 elected representatives) DFP 11, UWP 6, DLP 4
Judicial branch: Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court
Political parties and leaders: Dominica Freedom Party (DFP), Brian ALLEYNE; Dominica Labor Party (DLP), Rosie DOUGLAS; United Workers Party (UWP), Edison JAMES
Other political or pressure groups: Dominica Liberation Movement (DLM), a small leftist group
Diplomatic representation in US: Dominica has no embassy in the US consulate(s) general: New York
US diplomatic representation: no official presence since the Ambassador resides in Bridgetown (Barbados), but travels frequently to Dominica
Flag: green with a centered cross of three equal bands - the vertical part is yellow (hoist side), black, and white - the horizontal part is yellow (top), black, and white; superimposed in the center of the cross is a red disk bearing a sisserou parrot encircled by 10 green five-pointed stars edged in yellow; the 10 stars represent the 10 administrative divisions (parishes)
@Dominica:Economy
Overview: The economy is dependent on agriculture and thus is highly vulnerable to climatic conditions. Agriculture accounts for about 30% of GDP and employs 40% of the labor force. Principal products include bananas, citrus, mangoes, root crops, and coconuts. Development of the tourist industry remains difficult because of the rugged coastline and the lack of an international airport. In 1994 a tropical storm devastated the banana industry.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $200 million (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate: 1.6% (1994 est.)
Budget: revenues: $70 million expenditures: $84 million, including capital expenditures of $26 million (FY90/91 est.)
Exports: $48.3 million (f.o.b., 1993) commodities: bananas, soap, bay oil, vegetables, grapefruit, oranges partners: UK 55%, CARICOM countries, Italy, US
Imports: $98.8 million (f.o.b., 1993) commodities: manufactured goods, machinery and equipment, food, chemicals partners: US 25%, CARICOM, UK, Japan, Canada
External debt: $92.8 million (1992)
Industrial production: growth rate -10% (1994 est.); accounts for 7% of GDP
Electricity: capacity: 7,000 kW production: 30 million kWh consumption per capita: 347 kWh (1993)
Agriculture: accounts for 30% of GDP; principal crops - bananas, citrus, mangoes, root crops, coconuts; bananas provide the bulk of export earnings; forestry and fisheries potential not exploited
Illicit drugs: transshipment point for narcotics bound for the US and Europe; minor cannabis producer
Economic aid: recipient: Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $120 million
Currency: 1 EC dollar (EC$) = 100 cents
Exchange rates: East Caribbean dollars (EC$) per US$1 - 2.70 (fixed rate since 1976)
Fiscal year: 1 July - 30 June
@Dominica:Transportation
Railroads: 0 km
Highways: total: 750 km paved: 370 km unpaved: gravel or earth 380 km
Ports: Portsmouth, Roseau
Merchant marine: none
Airports: total: 2 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 1 with paved runways under 914 m: 1
@Dominica:Communications
Telephone system: 4,600 telephones; fully automatic network local: NA intercity: NA international: SHF radio and microwave radio relay links to Martinique and Guadeloupe; VHF and UHF radio links to Saint Lucia
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 3, FM 2, shortwave 0 radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: 1 cable televisions: NA
@Dominica:Defense Forces
Branches: Commonwealth of Dominica Police Force (includes Special Service Unit, Coast Guard)
Location: Caribbean, eastern two-thirds of the island of Hispaniola, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of Haiti
Map references: Central America and the Caribbean
Area: total area: 48,730 sq km land area: 48,380 sq km comparative area: slightly more than twice the size of New Hampshire
Land boundaries: total 275 km, Haiti 275 km
Coastline: 1,288 km
Maritime claims: contiguous zone: 24 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 6 nm
International disputes: none
Climate: tropical maritime; little seasonal temperature variation; seasonal variation in rainfall
Terrain: rugged highlands and mountains with fertile valleys interspersed
Natural resources: nickel, bauxite, gold, silver
Land use: arable land: 23% permanent crops: 7% meadows and pastures: 43% forest and woodland: 13% other: 14%
Irrigated land: 2,250 sq km (1989)
Environment: current issues: water shortages; soil eroding into the sea damages coral reefs; deforestation natural hazards: occasional hurricanes (July to October) international agreements: party to - Endangered Species, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Law of the Sea
Note: shares island of Hispaniola with Haiti (eastern two-thirds is the Dominican Republic, western one-third is Haiti)
@Dominican Republic:People
Population: 7,511,263 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 35% (female 1,288,210; male 1,336,162) 15-64 years: 61% (female 2,246,791; male 2,312,555) 65 years and over: 4% (female 178,388; male 149,157) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.17% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 23.92 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 6.15 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: -6.04 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 49.5 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 68.73 years male: 66.57 years female: 70.99 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 2.72 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.) total population: 83% male: 85% female: 82%
Labor force: 2.3 million to 2.6 million by occupation: agriculture 49%, services 33%, industry 18% (1986)
@Dominican Republic:Government
Names: conventional long form: Dominican Republic conventional short form: none local long form: Republica Dominicana local short form: none
Digraph: DR
Type: republic
Capital: Santo Domingo
Administrative divisions: 29 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia) and 1 district* (distrito); Azua, Baoruco, Barahona, Dajabon, Distrito Nacional*, Duarte, Elias Pina, El Seibo, Espaillat, Hato Mayor, Independencia, La Altagracia, La Romana, La Vega, Maria Trinidad Sanchez, Monsenor Nouel, Monte Cristi, Monte Plata, Pedernales, Peravia, Puerto Plata, Salcedo, Samana, Sanchez Ramirez, San Cristobal, San Juan, San Pedro de Macoris, Santiago, Santiago Rodriguez, Valverde
Independence: 27 February 1844 (from Haiti)
National holiday: Independence Day, 27 February (1844)
Constitution: 28 November 1966
Legal system: based on French civil codes
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal and compulsory or married persons regardless of age note: members of the armed forces and police cannot vote
Executive branch: chief of state and head of government: President Joaquin BALAGUER Ricardo (since 16 August 1986, sixth elected term began 16 August 1994); Vice President Jacinto PEYNADO (since 16 August 1994) election last held 16 May 1994 (next to be held May 1996); results - Joaquin BALAGUER (PRSC) 42.6%, Juan BOSCH Gavino (PLD) 13.2%, Jose Francisco PENA Gomez (PRD) 41.9%, Jacobo MAJLUTA (PRI) 2.3% cabinet: Cabinet; nominated by the president
Legislative branch: bicameral National Congress (Congreso Nacional) Senate (Senado): elections last held 16 May 1994 (next to be held May 1998); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (30 total) PRSC 15, PLD 1, PRD 14 Chamber of Deputies (Camara de Diputados): elections last held 16 May 1994 (next to be held May 1998); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (120 total) PLD 13, PRSC 50, PRD 57
Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Corte Suprema)
Political parties and leaders: major parties: Social Christian Reformist Party (PRSC), Joaquin BALAGUER Ricardo; Dominican Liberation Party (PLD), (vacant following retirement of Juan BOSCH Gavino); Dominican Revolutionary Party (PRD), Jose Franciso PENA Gomez; Independent Revolutionary Party (PRI), Jacobo MAJLUTA minor parties: National Veterans and Civilian Party (PNVC), Juan Rene BEAUCHAMPS Javier; Liberal Party of the Dominican Republic (PLRD), Andres Van Der HORST; Democratic Quisqueyan Party (PQD), Elias WESSIN Chavez; National Progressive Force (FNP), Marino VINICIO Castillo; Popular Christian Party (PPC), Rogelio DELGADO Bogaert; Dominican Communist Party (PCD), Narciso ISA Conde; Dominican Workers' Party (PTD), Ivan RODRIGUEZ; Anti-Imperialist Patriotic Union (UPA), Ignacio RODRIGUEZ Chiappini; Alliance for Democracy Party (APD), Maximilano Rabelais PUIG Miller, Nelsida MARMOLEJOS, Vicente BENGOA; Democratic Union (UD), Fernando ALVAREZ Bogaert note: in 1983 several leftist parties, including the PCD, joined to form the Dominican Leftist Front (FID); however, they still retain individual party structures
Other political or pressure groups: Collective of Popular Organzations (COP), leader NA
Member of: ACP, CARICOM (observer), ECLAC, FAO, G-11, G-77, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM, ITU, LAES, LAIA (observer), NAM (guest), OAS, OPANAL, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Jose del Carmen ARIZA Gomez chancery: 1715 22nd Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 332-6280 FAX: [1] (202) 265-8057 consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Mayaguez (Puerto Rico), Miami, New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and San Juan (Puerto Rico) consulate(s): Charlotte Amalie (Virgin Islands), Detroit, Houston, Jacksonville, Minneapolis, Mobile, and Ponce (Puerto Rico)
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador Donna Jean HRINAK embassy: corner of Calle Cesar Nicolas Penson and Calle Leopoldo Navarro, Santo Domingo mailing address: Unit 5500, Santo Domingo; APO AA 34041 telephone: [1] (809) 541-2171, 8100 FAX: [1] (809) 686-7437
Flag: a centered white cross that extends to the edges, divides the flag into four rectangles - the top ones are blue (hoist side) and red, the bottom ones are red (hoist side) and blue; a small coat of arms is at the center of the cross
@Dominican Republic:Economy
Overview: The Dominican economy showed some signs of slippage in 1994, although its overall performance in recent years has been relatively strong. After posting an increase of nearly 8% in 1992, GDP growth fell to 3% in 1993 and 1994 as mining output decreased and erosion of real wages caused private consumption to decline. A pre-election boost in government spending in early 1994 led to the first government deficit in four years and bumped inflation up to 14% for the year. Continued dynamism in construction and the services sector, especially tourism, should keep the economy growing in 1995. Tourism, agriculture, and manufacturing for export remain key sectors of the economy. Domestic industry is based on the processing of agricultural products, oil refining, and chemicals.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $24 billion (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate: 2.9% (1994 est.)
National product per capita: $3,070 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 14% (1994)
Unemployment rate: 30% (1994 est.)
Budget: revenues: $1.8 billion expenditures: $2.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1994 est.)
Exports: $585 million (f.o.b., 1994) commodities: ferronickel, sugar, gold, coffee, cocoa partners: US 52%, EC 23%, Puerto Rico 9%, Asia 7% (1992)
Imports: $2.5 billion (c.i.f., 1994 est.) commodities: foodstuffs, petroleum, cotton and fabrics, chemicals and pharmaceuticals partners: US 60% (1993)
External debt: $4.3 billion (1994 est.)
Industrial production: growth rate 3.4% (1994); accounts for 14% of GDP
Agriculture: accounts for 15% of GDP and employs 49% of labor force; commercial crops - sugarcane, coffee, cotton, cocoa, and tobacco; food crops - rice, beans, potatoes, corn, bananas; animal output - cattle, hogs, dairy products, meat, eggs; not self-sufficient in food
Illicit drugs: transshipment point for South American drugs destined for the US and Europe
Economic aid: recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY85-89), $575 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $655 million
Airports: total: 36 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 2 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 5 with paved runways under 914 m: 16 with unpaved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 1 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 6
@Dominican Republic:Communications
Telephone system: 190,000 telephones; relatively efficient domestic system based on islandwide microwave radio relay network local: NA intercity: islandwide microwave radio relay network international: 1 coaxial submarine cable; 1 INTELSAT (Atlantic Ocean) earth station
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 120, FM 0, shortwave 6 radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: 18 televisions: NA
@Dominican Republic:Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, National Police
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 2,008,597; males fit for military service 1,266,812; males reach military age (18) annually 79,769 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $116 million, 1.4% of GDP (1994)
Location: Western South America, bordering the Pacific Ocean at the Equator, between Colombia and Peru
Map references: South America
Area: total area: 283,560 sq km land area: 276,840 sq km comparative area: slightly smaller than Nevada note: includes Galapagos Islands
Land boundaries: total 2,010 km, Colombia 590 km, Peru 1,420 km
Coastline: 2,237 km
Maritime claims: continental shelf: claims continental shelf between mainland and Galapagos Islands territorial sea: 200 nm
International disputes: three sections of the boundary with Peru are in dispute
Climate: tropical along coast becoming cooler inland
Terrain: coastal plain (costa), inter-Andean central highlands (sierra), and flat to rolling eastern jungle (oriente)
Natural resources: petroleum, fish, timber
Land use: arable land: 6% permanent crops: 3% meadows and pastures: 17% forest and woodland: 51% other: 23%
Irrigated land: 5,500 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment: current issues: deforestation; soil erosion; desertification; water pollution natural hazards: frequent earthquakes, landslides, volcanic activity; periodic droughts international agreements: party to - Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Tropical Timber 94
Note: Cotopaxi in Andes is highest active volcano in world
@Ecuador:People
Population: 10,890,950 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 36% (female 1,928,977; male 1,990,036) 15-64 years: 60% (female 3,281,575; male 3,230,082) 65 years and over: 4% (female 244,862; male 215,418) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.95% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 25.08 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 5.55 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 37.7 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 70.35 years male: 67.83 years female: 72.99 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 2.97 children born/woman (1995 est.)
National holiday: Independence Day, 10 August (1809) (independence of Quito)
Constitution: 10 August 1979
Legal system: based on civil law system; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal, compulsory for literate persons ages 18-65, optional for other eligible voters
Executive branch: chief of state and head of government: President Sixto DURAN-BALLEN Cordovez (since 10 August 1992); Vice President Alberto DAHIK Garzoni (since 10 August 1992); election runoff election held 5 July 1992 (next to be held NA 1996); results - Sixto DURAN-BALLEN elected as president and Alberto DAHIK elected as vice president cabinet: Cabinet; appointed by the president
Legislative branch: unicameral National Congress (Congreso Nacional): elections last held 1 May 1994 (next to be held 1 May 1996); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (77 total) PSC 25, PRE 11, MPD 8, ID 7, DP 7, PCE 7, PUR 2, CFP 2, APRE 2, PSE 1, FRA 1, PLRE 1, LN 1, independents 2
Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Corte Suprema)
Political parties and leaders: Center-Right parties: Social Christian Party (PSC), Jaime NEBOT Saadi, president; Republican Unity Party (PUR), President Sixto DURAN-BALLEN, leader; Ecuadorian Conservative Party (PCE), Vice President Alberto DAHIK, president Center-Left parties: Democratic Left (ID), Andres VALLEJO Arcos, Rodrigo BORJA Cevallos, leaders; Popular Democracy (DP), Rodrigo PAZ, leader; Ecuadorian Radical Liberal Party (PLRE), Medardo MORA, leader; Radical Alfarista Front (FRA), Jaime ASPIAZU Seminario, director populist parties: Roldista Party (PRE), Abdala BUCARAM Ortiz, director; Concentration of Popular Forces (CFP), Rodolfo BAQUERIZO Nazur, leader; Popular Revolutionary Action (APRE), Frank VARGAS Passos, leader Far-Left parties: Popular Democratic Movement (MPD), Juan Jose CASTELLO, leader; Ecuadorian Socialist Party (PSE), Leon ROLDOS, leader; Broad Leftist Front (FADI), Rene Mauge MOSQUERA, chairman; Ecuadorian National Liberation (LN), Alfredo CASTILLO, director Communists: Communist Party of Ecuador (PCE, pro-North Korea), Rene Mauge MOSQUERA, Secretary General; Communist Party of Ecuador/Marxist-Leninist (PCMLE, Maoist)
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Edgar TERAN Teran chancery: 2535 15th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 234-7200 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, and San Francisco consulate(s): Newark
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador Peter F. ROMERO embassy: Avenida 12 de Octubre y Avenida Patria, Quito mailing address: APO AA 34039-3420 telephone: [593] (2) 562-890, 561-624, 561-749 FAX: [593] (2) 502-052 consulate(s) general: Guayaquil
Flag: three horizontal bands of yellow (top, double width), blue, and red with the coat of arms superimposed at the center of the flag; similar to the flag of Colombia that is shorter and does not bear a coat of arms
@Ecuador:Economy
Overview: Ecuador has substantial oil resources and rich agricultural areas. Growth has been uneven in recent years because of fluctuations in prices for Ecuador's primary exports - oil and bananas - as well as because of government policies designed to curb inflation. President Sixto DURAN-BALLEN launched a series of macroeconomic reforms when he came into office in August 1992 which included raising domestic fuel prices and utility rates, eliminating most subsidies, and bringing the government budget into balance. These measures helped to reduce inflation from 55% in 1992 to 25% in 1994. DURAN-BALLEN has a much more favorable attitude toward foreign investment than his predecessor and has supported several laws designed to encourage foreign investment. Ecuador has implemented free or complementary trade agreements with Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Peru, and Venezuela, as well as applied for World Trade Organization membership. Ecuador signed a standby agreement with the IMF and rescheduled its $7.6 billion commercial debt in 1994 thereby regaining access to multilateral lending. Growth in 1994 speeded up to 3.9%, based on increased exports of bananas and non-traditional products, while international reserves increased to a record $1.6 billion.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $41.1 billion (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate: 3.9% (1994 est.)
National product per capita: $3,840 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 25% (1994)
Unemployment rate: 7.1% (1994)
Budget: revenues: $2.76 billion expenditures: $2.76 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1994)
Exports: $3.3 billion (f.o.b., 1994 est.) commodities: petroleum 39%, bananas 17%, shrimp 16%, cocoa 3%, coffee 6% partners: US 42%, Latin America 29%, Caribbean, EU countries 17%
Imports: $3 billion (f.o.b., 1994 est.) commodities: transport equipment, consumer goods, vehicles, machinery, chemicals partners: US 28%, EU 17%, Latin America 31%, Caribbean, Japan
External debt: $13.2 billion (yearend 1993 est.)
Industrial production: growth rate 6.4% (1993); accounts for almost 35% of GDP, including petroleum
Industries: petroleum, food processing, textiles, metal work, paper products, wood products, chemicals, plastics, fishing, lumber
Agriculture: accounts for 14% of GDP (including fishing and forestry); leading producer and exporter of bananas and balsawood; other agricultural exports - coffee, cocoa, fish, shrimp; other crops - rice, potatoes, manioc, plantains, sugarcane; livestock products - cattle, sheep, hogs, beef, pork, dairy products; net importer of foodgrains, dairy products, and sugar
Illicit drugs: significant transit country for derivatives of coca originating in Colombia, Bolivia, and Peru; minor illicit producer of coca; importer of precursor chemicals used in production of illicit narcotics; important money-laundering hub
Economic aid: recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $498 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-91), $2.39 billion; Communist countries (1970-89), $64 million
Airports: total: 175 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 2 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 7 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 8 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 15 with paved runways under 914 m: 107 with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 5 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 31
@Ecuador:Communications
Telephone system: 318,000 telephones; 30 telephones/1,000 persons; domestic facilities generally inadequate and unreliable local: NA intercity: NA international: 1 INTELSAT (Atlantic Ocean) earth station
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 272, FM 0, shortwave 39 radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: 33 televisions: NA
@Ecuador:Defense Forces
Branches: Army (Ejercito Ecuatoriano), Navy (Armada Ecuatoriana, includes Marines), Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Ecuatoriana), National Police
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 2,814,867; males fit for military service 1,903,979; males reach military age (20) annually 113,985 (1995 est.)
Location: Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Libya and the Gaza Strip
Map references: Africa
Area: total area: 1,001,450 sq km land area: 995,450 sq km comparative area: slightly more than three times the size of New Mexico
Land boundaries: total 2,689 km, Gaza Strip 11 km, Israel 255 km, Libya 1,150 km, Sudan 1,273 km
Coastline: 2,450 km
Maritime claims: contiguous zone: 24 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation exclusive economic zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 12 nm
International disputes: administrative boundary with Sudan does not coincide with international boundary creating the "Hala'ib Triangle," a barren area of 20,580 sq km, tensions over this disputed area began to escalate in 1992 and remain high
Climate: desert; hot, dry summers with moderate winters
Terrain: vast desert plateau interrupted by Nile valley and delta
Land use: arable land: 3% permanent crops: 2% meadows and pastures: 0% forest and woodland: 0% other: 95%
Irrigated land: 25,850 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment: current issues: agricultural land being lost to urbanization and windblown sands; increasing soil salinization below Aswan High Dam; desertification; oil pollution threatening coral reefs, beaches, and marine habitats; other water pollution from agricultural pesticides, raw sewage, and industrial effluents; very limited natural fresh water resources away from the Nile which is the only perennial water source; rapid growth in population overstraining natural resources natural hazards: periodic droughts; frequent earthquakes, flash floods, landslides, volcanic activity; hot, driving windstorm called khamsin occurs in spring; duststorms, sandstorms international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Desertification, Tropical Timber 94
Note: controls Sinai Peninsula, only land bridge between Africa and remainder of Eastern Hemisphere; controls Suez Canal, shortest sea link between Indian Ocean and Mediterranean Sea; size, and juxtaposition to Israel, establish its major role in Middle Eastern geopolitics
@Egypt:People
Population: 62,359,623 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 37% (female 11,380,668; male 11,872,728) 15-64 years: 59% (female 18,250,706; male 18,641,830) 65 years and over: 4% (female 1,204,477; male 1,009,214) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.95% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 28.69 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 8.86 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: -0.35 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 74.5 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 61.12 years male: 59.22 years female: 63.12 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 3.67 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Ethnic divisions: Eastern Hamitic stock (Egyptians, Bedouins, and Berbers) 99%, Greek, Nubian, Armenian, other European (primarily Italian and French) 1%
Religions: Muslim (mostly Sunni) 94% (official estimate), Coptic Christian and other 6% (official estimate)
Languages: Arabic (official), English and French widely understood by educated classes
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.) total population: 48% male: 63% female: 34%
Labor force: 16 million (1994 est.) by occupation: government, public sector enterprises, and armed forces 36%, agriculture 34%, privately owned service and manufacturing enterprises 20% (1984) note: shortage of skilled labor; 2,500,000 Egyptians work abroad, mostly in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Arab states (1993 est.)
@Egypt:Government
Names: conventional long form: Arab Republic of Egypt conventional short form: Egypt local long form: Jumhuriyat Misr al-Arabiyah local short form: none former: United Arab Republic (with Syria)
Digraph: EG
Type: republic
Capital: Cairo
Administrative divisions: 26 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Ad Daqahliyah, Al Bahr al Ahmar, Al Buhayrah, Al Fayyum, Al Gharbiyah, Al Iskandariyah, Al Isma'iliyah, Al Jizah, Al Minufiyah, Al Minya, Al Qahirah, Al Qalyubiyah, Al Wadi al Jadid, Ash Sharqiyah, As Suways, Aswan, Asyu't, Bani Suwayf, Bur Sa'id, Dumyat, Janub Sina, Kafr ash Shaykh, Matruh, Qina, Shamal Sina, Suhaj
Independence: 28 February 1922 (from UK)
National holiday: Anniversary of the Revolution, 23 July (1952)
Constitution: 11 September 1971
Legal system: based on English common law, Islamic law, and Napoleonic codes; judicial review by Supreme Court and Council of State (oversees validity of administrative decisions); accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal and compulsory
Executive branch: chief of state: President Mohammed Hosni MUBARAK (sworn in as president on 14 October 1981, eight days after the assassination of President SADAT); national referendum held 4 October 1993 validated Mubarak's nomination by the People's Assembly to a third 6-year presidential term head of government: Prime Minister Atef Mohammed Najib SEDKY (since 12 November 1986) cabinet: Cabinet; appointed by the president
Legislative branch: bicameral People's Assembly (Majlis al-Cha'b): elections last held 29 November 1990 (next to be held NA November 1995); results - NDP 86.3%, NPUG 1.3%, independents 12.4%; seats - (454 total, 444 elected, 10 appointed by the president) NDP 383, NPUG 6, independents 55; note - most opposition parties boycotted; NDP figures include NDP members who ran as independents and other NDP-affiliated independents Advisory Council (Majlis al-Shura): functions only in a consultative role; elections last held 8 June 1989 (next to be held NA June 1995); results - NDP 100%; seats - (258 total, 172 elected, 86 appointed by the president) NDP 172
Judicial branch: Supreme Constitutional Court
Political parties and leaders: National Democratic Party (NDP), President Mohammed Hosni MUBARAK, leader, is the dominant party; legal opposition parties are; New Wafd Party (NWP), Fu'ad SIRAJ AL-DIN; Socialist Labor Party, Ibrahim SHUKRI; National Progressive Unionist Grouping (NPUG), Khalid MUHYI-AL-DIN; Socialist Liberal Party (SLP), Mustafa Kamal MURAD; Democratic Unionist Party, Mohammed 'Abd-al-Mun'im TURK; Umma Party, Ahmad al-SABAHI; Misr al-Fatah Party (Young Egypt Party), Gamal RABIE; Nasserist Arab Democratic Party, Dia' al-din DAWUD; Democratic Peoples' Party, Anwar AFIFI; The Greens Party, Kamal KIRAH; Social Justice Party, Muhammad 'ABD-AL-'AL note: formation of political parties must be approved by government
Other political or pressure groups: despite a constitutional ban against religious-based parties, the technically illegal Muslim Brotherhood constitutes MUBARAK's potentially most significant political opposition; MUBARAK tolerated limited political activity by the Brotherhood for his first two terms, but has moved more aggressively in the past year to block its influence; trade unions and professional associations are officially sanctioned
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Ahmed Maher El SAYED chancery: 3521 International Court NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 895-5400 FAX: [1] (202) 244-4319, 5131 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, New York, and San Francisco
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador Edward S. WALKER, Jr. embassy: (North Gate) 8, Kamel El-Din Salah Street, Garden City, Cairo
Flag: three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black with the national emblem (a shield superimposed on a golden eagle facing the hoist side above a scroll bearing the name of the country in Arabic) centered in the white band; similar to the flag of Yemen, which has a plain white band; also similar to the flag of Syria that has two green stars and to the flag of Iraq, which has three green stars (plus an Arabic inscription) in a horizontal line centered in the white band
@Egypt:Economy
Overview: Half of Egypt's GDP originates in the public sector, most industrial plants being owned by the government. Overregulation holds back technical modernization and foreign investment. Even so, the economy grew rapidly during the late 1970s and early 1980s, but in 1986 the collapse of world oil prices and an increasingly heavy burden of debt servicing led Egypt to begin negotiations with the IMF for balance-of-payments support. Egypt's first IMF standby arrangement concluded in mid-1987 was suspended in early 1988 because of the government's failure to adopt promised reforms. Egypt signed a follow-on program with the IMF and also negotiated a structural adjustment loan with the World Bank in 1991. In 1991-93 the government made solid progress on administrative reforms such as liberalizing exchange and interest rates but resisted implementing major structural reforms like streamlining the public sector. As a result, the economy has not gained momentum and unemployment has become a growing problem. Egypt probably will continue making uneven progress in implementing the successor programs with the IMF and World Bank it signed onto in late 1993. Tourism has plunged since 1992 because of sporadic attacks by Islamic extremists on tourist groups. President MUBARAK has cited population growth as the main cause of the country's economic troubles. The addition of about 1.2 million people a year to the already huge population of 62 million exerts enormous pressure on the 5% of the land area available for agriculture along the Nile.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $151.5 billion (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate: 1.5% (1994 est.)
National product per capita: $2,490 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 8% (1994 est.)
Unemployment rate: 20% (1994 est.)
Budget: revenues: $18 billion expenditures: $19.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $3.8 billion (FY94/95 est.)
Exports: $3.1 billion (f.o.b., FY93/94 est.) commodities: crude oil and petroleum products, cotton yarn, raw cotton, textiles, metal products, chemicals partners: EU, US, Japan
Imports: $11.2 billion (c.i.f., FY93/94 est.) commodities: machinery and equipment, foods, fertilizers, wood products, durable consumer goods, capital goods partners: EU, US, Japan
Agriculture: cotton, rice, corn, wheat, beans, fruit, vegetables; cattle, water buffalo, sheep, goats; annual fish catch about 140,000 metric tons
Illicit drugs: a transit point for Southwest Asian and Southeast Asian heroin and opium moving to Europe and the US; popular transit stop for Nigerian couriers; large domestic consumption of hashish from Lebanon and Syria
Economic aid: recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $15.7 billion; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-88), $10.1 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $2.9 billion; Communist countries (1970-89), $2.4 billion
Railroads: total: 4,895 km (42 km electrified; 951 km double track) standard gauge: 4,548 km 1,435-m gauge (42 km electrified; 951 km double track) narrow gauge: 347 km 0.750-m gauge
Highways: total: 47,387 km paved: 34,593 km unpaved: 12,794 km
Inland waterways: 3,500 km (including the Nile, Lake Nasser, Alexandria-Cairo Waterway, and numerous smaller canals in the delta); Suez Canal, 193.5 km long (including approaches), used by oceangoing vessels drawing up to 16.1 meters of water
Pipelines: crude oil 1,171 km; petroleum products 596 km; natural gas 460 km
Ports: Alexandria, Al Ghurdaqah, Aswan, Asyut, Bur Safajah, Damietta, Marsa Matruh, Port Said, Suez
Airports: total: 91 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 11 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 35 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 17 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 3 with paved runways under 914 m: 14 with unpaved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 2 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 7
@Egypt:Communications
Telephone system: 600,000 telephones; 11 telephones/1,000 persons; large system by Third World standards but inadequate for present requirements and undergoing extensive upgrading local: NA intercity: principal centers at Alexandria, Cairo, Al Mansurah, Ismailia Suez, and Tanta are connected by coaxial cable and microwave radio relay international: 2 INTELSAT (Atlantic Ocean and Indian Ocean), 1 ARABSAT, and 1 INMARSAT earth station; 5 coaxial submarine cables, microwave troposcatter (to Sudan), and microwave radio relay (to Libya, Israel, and Jordan)
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 39, FM 6, shortwave 0 radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: 41 televisions: NA
@Egypt:Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Air Defense Command
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 16,113,413; males fit for military service 10,455,955; males reach military age (20) annually 648,724 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $3.5 billion, 8.2% of total government budget (FY94/95)
Location: Middle America, bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between Guatemala and Honduras
Map references: Central America and the Caribbean
Area: total area: 21,040 sq km land area: 20,720 sq km comparative area: slightly smaller than Massachusetts
Land boundaries: total 545 km, Guatemala 203 km, Honduras 342 km
Coastline: 307 km
Maritime claims: territorial sea: 200 nm
International disputes: land boundary dispute with Honduras mostly resolved by 11 September 1992 International Court of Justice (ICJ) decision; with respect to the maritime boundary in the Golfo de Fonseca, ICJ referred to an earlier agreement in this century and advised that some tripartite resolution among El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua likely would be required
Climate: tropical; rainy season (May to October); dry season (November to April)
Terrain: mostly mountains with narrow coastal belt and central plateau
Land use: arable land: 27% permanent crops: 8% meadows and pastures: 29% forest and woodland: 6% other: 30%
Irrigated land: 1,200 sq km (1989)
Environment: current issues: deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution; contamination of soils from disposal of toxic wastes natural hazards: known as the Land of Volcanoes; frequent and sometimes very destructive earthquakes and volcanic activity international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection; signed, but not ratified - Climate Change, Law of the Sea
Note: smallest Central American country and only one without a coastline on Caribbean Sea
@El Salvador:People
Population: 5,870,481 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 40% (female 1,165,152; male 1,200,759) 15-64 years: 56% (female 1,677,958; male 1,602,230) 65 years and over: 4% (female 122,368; male 102,014) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 2.02% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 32.39 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 6.19 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: -5.96 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 38.9 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 67.5 years male: 64.89 years female: 70.23 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 3.69 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Ethnic divisions: mestizo 94%, Indian 5%, white 1%
Religions: Roman Catholic 75% note: there is extensive activity by Protestant groups throughout the country; by the end of 1992, there were an estimated 1 million Protestant evangelicals in El Salvador
Languages: Spanish, Nahua (among some Indians)
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.) total population: 73% male: 76% female: 70%
Labor force: 1.7 million (1982 est.) by occupation: agriculture 40%, commerce 16%, manufacturing 15%, government 13%, financial services 9%, transportation 6%, other 1% note: shortage of skilled labor and a large pool of unskilled labor, but training programs improving situation (1984 est.)
@El Salvador:Government
Names: conventional long form: Republic of El Salvador conventional short form: El Salvador local long form: Republica de El Salvador local short form: El Salvador
Digraph: ES
Type: republic
Capital: San Salvador
Administrative divisions: 14 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento); Ahuachapan, Cabanas, Chalatenango, Cuscatlan, La Libertad, La Paz, La Union, Morazan, San Miguel, San Salvador, Santa Ana, San Vicente, Sonsonate, Usulutan
Independence: 15 September 1821 (from Spain)
National holiday: Independence Day, 15 September (1821)
Constitution: 20 December 1983
Legal system: based on civil and Roman law, with traces of common law; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state and head of government: President Armando CALDERON SOL (since 1 June 1994); Vice President Enrique BORGO Bustamante (since 1 June 1994) election last held 20 March 1994 (next to be held March 1999); results - Armando CALDERON SOL (ARENA) 49.03%, Ruben ZAMORA Rivas (CD/FMLN/MNR) 24.09%, Fidel CHAVEZ Mena (PDC) 16.39%, other 10.49%; because no candidate received a majority, a run-off election was held 24 April 1994; results - Armando CALDERON SOL (ARENA) 68.35%, Ruben ZAMORA Rivas (CD/FMLN/MNR) 31.65% cabinet: Council of Ministers
Legislative branch: unicameral Legislative Assembly (Asamblea Legislativa): elections last held 20 March 1994 (next to be held March 1997); results - ARENA 46.4%, FMLN 25.0%, PDC 21.4%, PCN 4.8%, other 2.4%; seats - (84 total) ARENA 39, FMLN 21, PDC 18, PCN 4, other 2
Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Corte Suprema)
Political parties and leaders: National Republican Alliance (ARENA), Juan Jose DOMENECH, president; Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN), Salvador SANCHEZ Ceren (aka Leonel GONZALEZ), general coordinator; Christian Democratic Party (PDC), Ronal UMANA, secretary general; National Conciliation Party (PCN), Ciro CRUZ Zepeda, secretary general; Democratic Convergence (CD), Juan Jose MARTEL, secretary general; Unity Movement, Jorge MARTINEZ Menendez, president note: newly formed parties not yet officially recognized by the Supreme Electoral Tribunal: Liberal Democratic Party (PLD), Kirio Waldo SALGADO, founder; Social Democratic Party (breakaway from FMLN), Joaquin VILLALOBOS, founder; Social Christian Renovation Movement (MRSC) (breakaway from PDC), Abraham RODRIGUEZ, founder
Other political or pressure groups: labor organizations: Salvadoran Communal Union (UCS), peasant association; General Confederation of Workers (CGT), moderate; United Workers Front (FUT) business organizations: Productive Alliance (AP), conservative; National Federation of Salvadoran Small Businessmen (FENAPES), conservative
Member of: BCIE, CACM, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM, ITU, LAES, LAIA (observer), NAM (observer), OAS, OPANAL, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Ana Cristina SOL chancery: 2308 California Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 265-9671, 9672 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, and San Francisco
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador Alan H. FLANIGAN embassy: Final Boulevard, Station Antiguo Cuscatlan, San Salvador mailing address: Unit 3116, San Salvador; APO AA 34023 telephone: [503] 78-4444 FAX: [503] 78-6011
Flag: three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), white, and blue with the national coat of arms centered in the white band; the coat of arms features a round emblem encircled by the words REPUBLICA DE EL SALVADOR EN LA AMERICA CENTRAL; similar to the flag of Nicaragua, which has a different coat of arms centered in the white band - it features a triangle encircled by the words REPUBLICA DE NICARAGUA on top and AMERICA CENTRAL on the bottom; also similar to the flag of Honduras, which has five blue stars arranged in an X pattern centered in the white band
@El Salvador:Economy
Overview: The agricultural sector accounts for 24% of GDP, employs about 40% of the labor force, and contributes about 66% to total exports. Coffee is the major commercial crop, accounting for 45% of export earnings. The manufacturing sector, based largely on food and beverage processing, accounts for 19% of GDP and 15% of employment. In 1992-94 the government made substantial progress toward privatization and deregulation of the economy. Growth in national output in 1991-94 nearly averaged 5%, exceeding growth in population for the first time since 1987; and inflation in 1994 of 10% was down from 19% in 1993.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $9.8 billion (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate: 5% (1994 est.)
National product per capita: $1,710 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 10% (1994 est.)
Unemployment rate: 6.7% (1993)
Budget: revenues: $846 million expenditures: $890 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1992 est.)
Exports: $823 million (f.o.b., 1994 est.) commodities: coffee, sugarcane, shrimp partners: US, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Germany
Imports: $2.1 billion (c.i.f., 1994 est.) commodities: raw materials, consumer goods, capital goods partners: US, Guatemala, Mexico, Venezuela, Germany
Agriculture: accounts for 24% of GDP and 40% of labor force (including fishing and forestry); coffee most important commercial crop; other products - sugarcane, corn, rice, beans, oilseeds, beef, dairy products, shrimp; not self-sufficient in food
Illicit drugs: transshipment point for cocaine; marijuana produced for local consumption
Economic aid: recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-90), $2.95 billion (plus $250 million for 1992-96); Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $525 million
Railroads: total: 602 km (single track; note - some sections abandoned, unusable, or operating at reduced capacity) narrow gauge: 602 km 0.914-m gauge
Highways: total: 10,000 km paved: 1,500 km unpaved: gravel 4,100 km; improved, unimproved earth 4,400 km
Inland waterways: Rio Lempa partially navigable
Ports: Acajutla, Puerto Cutuco, La Libertad, La Union, Puerto El Triunfo
Merchant marine: none
Airports: total: 106 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 1 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 2 with paved runways under 914 m: 78 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 23
@El Salvador:Communications
Telephone system: 116,000 telephones; 21 telephones/1,000 persons local: NA intercity: nationwide microwave radio relay system international: 1 INTELSAT (Atlantic Ocean) earth station; connected to Central American Microwave System
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 77, FM 0, shortwave 2 radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: 5 televisions: NA
@El Salvador:Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 1,393,480; males fit for military service 892,958; males reach military age (18) annually 77,562 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $103 million, 0.7% of GDP (1994); $91.9 million, less than 1% of GDP (1995 est.)
International disputes: maritime boundary dispute with Gabon because of disputed sovereignty over islands in Corisco Bay
Climate: tropical; always hot, humid
Terrain: coastal plains rise to interior hills; islands are volcanic
Natural resources: timber, petroleum, small unexploited deposits of gold, manganese, uranium
Land use: arable land: 8% permanent crops: 4% meadows and pastures: 4% forest and woodland: 51% other: 33%
Irrigated land: NA sq km
Environment: current issues: tap water is not potable; desertification natural hazards: violent windstorms international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Endangered Species, Nuclear Test Ban; signed, but not ratified - Desertification, Law of the Sea
Note: insular and continental regions rather widely separated
@Equatorial Guinea:People
Population: 420,293 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 43% (female 90,404; male 90,997) 15-64 years: 53% (female 117,124; male 105,724) 65 years and over: 4% (female 8,969; male 7,075) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 2.59% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 40.22 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 14.36 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 100.2 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 52.56 years male: 50.39 years female: 54.79 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 5.23 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Nationality: noun: Equatorial Guinean(s) or Equatoguinean(s) adjective: Equatorial Guinean or Equatoguinean
Ethnic divisions: Bioko (primarily Bubi, some Fernandinos), Rio Muni (primarily Fang), Europeans less than 1,000, mostly Spanish
Religions: nominally Christian and predominantly Roman Catholic, pagan practices
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1983) total population: 62% male: 77% female: 48%
Labor force: 172,000 (1986 est.) by occupation: agriculture 66%, services 23%, industry 11% (1980) note: labor shortages on plantations
@Equatorial Guinea:Government
Names: conventional long form: Republic of Equatorial Guinea conventional short form: Equatorial Guinea local long form: Republica de Guinea Ecuatorial local short form: Guinea Ecuatorial former: Spanish Guinea
Digraph: EK
Type: republic in transition to multiparty democracy
Capital: Malabo
Administrative divisions: 7 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia); Annobon, Bioko Norte, Bioko Sur, Centro Sur, Kie-Ntem, Litoral, Wele-Nzas
Independence: 12 October 1968 (from Spain)
National holiday: Independence Day, 12 October (1968)
Constitution: new constitution 17 November 1991
Legal system: partly based on Spanish civil law and tribal custom
Suffrage: universal adult at age NA
Executive branch: chief of state: President Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Teodoro OBIANG NGUEMA MBASOGO (since 3 August 1979); election last held 25 June 1989 (next to be held 25 June 1996); results - President Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Teodoro OBIANG NGUEMA MBASOGO was reelected without opposition head of government: Prime Minister Silvestre SIALE BILEKA (since 17 January 1992); Vice Prime Minister Anatolio NDONG MBA (since November 1993) cabinet: Council of Ministers; appointed by the president
Legislative branch: unicameral House of People's Representatives: (Camara de Representantes del Pueblo) elections last held 21 November 1993; seats - (82 total) PDGE 72, various opposition parties 10
Judicial branch: Supreme Tribunal
Political parties and leaders: ruling party: Democratic Party for Equatorial Guinea (PDGE), Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Teodoro OBIANG NGUEMA MBASOGO, party leader opposition parties: Progressive Democratic Alliance (ADP), Antonio-Ebang Mbele Abang, president; Popular Action of Equatorial Guinea (APGE),Casiano Masi Edu, leader; Liberal Democratic Convention (CLD), Alfonso Nsue MOKUY, president; Convergence for Social Democracy (CPDS),Santiago Obama Ndong, president; Social Democratic and Popular Convergence (CSDP), Secundino Oyono Agueng Ada, general secretary; Party of the Social Democratic Coalition (PCSD), Buenaventura Moswi M'Asumu, general coordinater; Liberal Party (PL), leaders unknown; Party of Progress (PP), Severo MOTO Nsa, president; Social Democratic Party (PSD), Benjamin-Gabriel Balingha Balinga Alene, general secretary; Socialist Party of Equatorial Guinea (PSGE), Tomas MICHEBE Fernandez, general secretary; National Democratic Union (UDENA), Jose MECHEBA Ikaka, president; Democratic Social Union (UDS), Jesus Nze Obama Avomo, general secretary; Popular Union (UP), Juan Bitui, president
Member of: ACCT, ACP, AfDB, BDEAC, CEEAC, ECA, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS (associate), ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT (nonsignatory user), INTERPOL, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAS (observer), OAU, UDEAC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: (vacant); Charge d'Affaires ad interim Teodoro Biyogo NSUE chancery: (temporary) 57 Magnolia Avenue, Mount Vernon, NY 10553 telephone: [1] (914) 738-9584, 667-6913 FAX: [1] (914) 667-6838
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Charge d'Affaires Joseph P. O'NEILL embassy: Calle de Los Ministros, Malabo mailing address: P.O. Box 597, Malabo telephone: [240] (9) 21-85, 24-06, 25-07 FAX: [240] (9) 21-64
Flag: three equal horizontal bands of green (top), white, and red with a blue isosceles triangle based on the hoist side and the coat of arms centered in the white band; the coat of arms has six yellow six-pointed stars (representing the mainland and five offshore islands) above a gray shield bearing a silk-cotton tree and below which is a scroll with the motto UNIDAD, PAZ, JUSTICIA (Unity, Peace, Justice)
@Equatorial Guinea:Economy
Overview: Agriculture, forestry, and fishing account for about half of GDP and nearly all exports. Subsistence farming predominates. Although pre-independence Equatorial Guinea counted on cocoa production for hard currency earnings, the deterioration of the rural economy under successive brutal regimes has diminished potential for agriculture-led growth. A number of aid programs sponsored by the World Bank and the international donor community have failed to revitalize export agriculture. Businesses for the most part are owned by government officials and their family members. Commerce accounts for about 8% of GDP and the construction, public works, and service sectors for about 38%. Undeveloped natural resources include titanium, iron ore, manganese, uranium, and alluvial gold. Oil exploration, taking place under concessions offered to US, French, and Spanish firms, has been moderately successful. Increased production from recently discovered natural gas fields will provide a greater share of exports in 1995.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $280 million (1993 est.)
National product real growth rate: 7.3% (1993 est.)
Electricity: capacity: 23,000 kW production: 20 million kWh consumption per capita: 50 kWh (1993)
Industries: fishing, sawmilling
Agriculture: accounts for almost 50% of GDP, cash crops - timber and coffee from Rio Muni, cocoa from Bioko; food crops - rice, yams, cassava, bananas, oil palm nuts, manioc, livestock
Economic aid: recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY81-89), $14 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $130 million; Communist countries (1970-89), $55 million
Currency: 1 CFA franc (CFAF) = 100 centimes
Exchange rates: Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (CFAF) per US$1 - 529.43 (January 1995), 555.20 (1994), 273,16 (1993), 264.69 (1992), 282.11 (1991), 272.26 (1990) note: beginning 12 January 1994, the CFA franc was devalued to CFAF 100 per French franc from CFAF 50 at which it had been fixed since 1948
Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March
@Equatorial Guinea:Transportation
Railroads: total: 0 km
Highways: total: 2,760 km (2,460 km on Rio Muni and 300 km on Bioko) paved: NA unpaved: NA
Ports: Bata, Luba, Malabo
Merchant marine: total: 2 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 6,412 GRT/6,699 DWT ships by type: cargo 1, passenger-cargo 1
Airports: total: 3 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 with paved runways under 914 m: 1
@Equatorial Guinea:Communications
Telephone system: 2,000 telephones; poor system with adequate government services local: NA intercity: NA international: international communications from Bata and Malabo to African and European countries; 1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT earth station
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 2, FM 0, shortwave 0 radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: 1 televisions: NA
@Equatorial Guinea:Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Rapid Intervention Force, National Police
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 89,752; males fit for military service 45,611 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $2.5 million, NA% of GDP (FY93/94)
Location: Eastern Africa, bordering the Red Sea, between Djibouti and Sudan
Map references: Africa
Area: total area: 121,320 sq km land area: 121,320 sq km comparative area: slightly larger than Pennsylvania
Land boundaries: total 1,630 km, Djibouti 113 km, Ethiopia 912 km, Sudan 605 km
Coastline: 1,151 km (land and island coastline is 2,234 km)
Maritime claims: NA
International disputes: none
Climate: hot, dry desert strip along Red Sea coast; cooler and wetter in the central highlands (up to 61 cm of rainfall annually); semiarid in western hills and lowlands; rainfall heaviest during June-September except on coastal desert
Terrain: 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
Natural resources: gold, potash, zinc, copper, salt, probably oil (petroleum geologists are prospecting for it), fish
Land use: arable land: 3% permanent crops: 2% (coffee) meadows and pastures: 40% forest and woodland: 5% other: 50%
Irrigated land: NA sq km
Environment: current issues: famine; deforestation; desertification; soil erosion; overgrazing; loss of infrastructure from civil warfare natural hazards: frequent droughts international agreements: party to - Endangered Species; signed, but not ratified - Desertification
Note: strategic geopolitical position along world's busiest shipping lanes; Eritrea retained the entire coastline of Ethiopia along the Red Sea upon de jure independence from Ethiopia on 27 April 1993
@Eritrea:People
Population: 3,578,709 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 43% (female 763,416; male 774,922) 15-64 years: 54% (female 965,124; male 965,435) 65 years and over: 3% (female 52,950; male 56,862) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 9.04% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 44.34 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 15.67 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: NA migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.) note: repatriation of up to a half million Eritrean refugees in Sudan is now underway; 100,000 are expected to return during 1995
Infant mortality rate: 120.6 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 50 years male: 48.28 years female: 51.78 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 6.53 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Ethnic divisions: ethnic Tigrays 50%, Tigre and Kunama 40%, Afar 4%, Saho (Red Sea coast dwellers) 3%
Religions: Muslim, Coptic Christian, Roman Catholic, Protestant
Languages: Tigre and Kunama, Cushitic dialects, Tigre, Nora Bana, Arabic
Labor force: NA
@Eritrea:Government
Names: conventional long form: State of Eritrea conventional short form: Eritrea local long form: none local short form: none former: Eritrea Autonomous Region in Ethiopia
Digraph: ER
Type: transitional government note: on 29 May 1991 ISAIAS Afworke, secretary general of the Peoples' Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ), which then served and still serves as the country's legislative body, announced the formation of the Provisional Government in Eritrea (PGE) in preparation for the 23-25 April 1993 referendum on independence for the autonomous region of Eritrea; the result was a landslide vote for independence which was proclaimed on 27 April 1993
Independence: 27 May 1993 (from Ethiopia; formerly the Eritrea Autonomous Region)
National holiday: National Day (independence from Ethiopia), 24 May (1993)
Constitution: transitional "constitution" decreed 19 May 1993
Legal system: NA
Suffrage: NA
Executive branch: chief of state and head of government: President ISAIAS Afworke (since 22 May 1993) cabinet: State Council; the collective executive authority note: election to be held before 20 May 1997
Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly: PFDJ Central Committee serves as the country's legislative body until country-wide elections are held (before 20 May 1997)
Judicial branch: Judiciary
Political parties and leaders: People's Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ), ISAIAS Afworke, PETROS Solomon (the only party recognized by the government)
Other political or pressure groups: Eritrean Islamic Jihad (EIJ); Islamic Militant Group; Eritrean Liberation Front (ELF), ABDULLAH Muhammed; Eritrean Liberation Front - United Organization (ELF-UO), Mohammed Said NAWUD; Eritrean Liberation Front - Revolutionary Council (ELF-RC), Ahmed NASSER
Member of: ACP, ECA, FAO, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, IGADD, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT (nonsignatory user), ITU, OAU, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador AMDEMICHAEL Berhane Khasai chancery: Suite 400, 910 17th Street NW, Washington, DC 20006 telephone: [1] (202) 429-1991 FAX: [1] (202) 429-9004
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador Robert G. HOUDEK embassy: 34 Zera Yacob St., Asmara mailing address: P.O. Box 211, Asmara telephone: [291] (1) 120004 FAX: [291] (1) 127584
Flag: red isosceles triangle (based on the hoist side) dividing the flag into two right triangles; the upper triangle is green, the lower one is blue; a gold wreath encircling a gold olive branch is centered on the hoist side of the red triangle
@Eritrea:Economy
Overview: With independence from Ethiopia on 27 April 1993, Eritrea faces the bitter economic problems of a small, desperately poor African country. Most of the population will continue to depend on subsistence farming. Domestic output is substantially augmented by worker remittances from abroad. Government revenues come from custom duties and income and sales taxes. Eritrea has inherited the entire coastline of Ethiopia and has long-term prospects for revenues from the development of offshore oil, offshore fishing, and tourism. For the time being, Ethiopia will be largely dependent on Eritrean ports for its foreign trade.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $1.8 billion (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate: 2% (1994 est.)
National product per capita: $500 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA%
Unemployment rate: NA%
Budget: revenues: $NA expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA
Exports: $NA commodities: NA partners: NA
Imports: $NA commodities: NA partners: NA
External debt: $NA
Industrial production: growth rate NA%
Electricity: capacity: NA kW production: NA kWh consumption per capita: NA kWh
Industries: food processing, beverages, clothing and textiles
Currency: 1 birr (Br) = 100 cents; at present, Ethiopian currency used
Exchange rates: 1 birr (Br) per US$1 - 5.9500 (January 1995), 5.9500 (1994), 5.000 (fixed rate 1992-93); note - official rate pegged to US$
Fiscal year: NA
@Eritrea:Transportation
Railroads: total: 307 km; note - nonoperational since 1978; links Ak'ordat and Asmara (formerly Asmera) with the port of Massawa (formerly Mits'iwa) narrow gauge: 307 km 1.000-m gauge (1993 est.)
Highways: total: 3,845 km paved: 807 km unpaved: gravel 840 km; improved earth 402 km; unimproved earth 1,796 km
Ports: Assab (Aseb), Massawa (Mits'iwa)
Merchant marine: none
Airports: total: 20 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 1 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 with paved runways under 914 m: 2 with unpaved runways over 3,047 m: 1 with unpaved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 6 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 7
@Eritrea:Communications
Telephone system: NA local: NA intercity: NA international: NA
Radio: broadcast stations: AM NA, FM NA, shortwave 0 radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: NA televisions: NA
@Eritrea:Defense Forces
Branches: Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF)
Location: Eastern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and Gulf of Finland, between Latvia and Russia
Map references: Europe
Area: total area: 45,100 sq km land area: 43,200 sq km comparative area: slightly larger than New Hampshire and Vermont combined note: includes 1,520 islands in the Baltic Sea
Land boundaries: total 557 km, Latvia 267 km, Russia 290 km
Coastline: 1,393 km
Maritime claims: exclusive economic zone: limits to be fixed in coordination with neighboring states territorial sea: 12 nm
International disputes: claims over 2,000 sq km of Russian territory in the Narva and Pechora regions - based on boundary established under the 1921 Peace Treaty of Tartu
Land use: arable land: 22% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 11% forest and woodland: 31% other: 36%
Irrigated land: 110 sq km (1990)
Environment: current issues: air heavily polluted with sulfur dioxide from oil-shale burning power plants in northeast; contamination of soil and groundwater with petroleum products, chemicals at military bases natural hazards: flooding occurs frequently in the spring international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
@Estonia:People
Population: 1,625,399 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 22% (female 174,304; male 181,101) 15-64 years: 65% (female 549,473; male 515,426) 65 years and over: 13% (female 139,722; male 65,373) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.53% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 13.9 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 11.93 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 3.31 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 18.7 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 70.17 years male: 65.2 years female: 75.39 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.98 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Nationality: noun: Estonian(s) adjective: Estonian
Ethnic divisions: Estonian 61.5%, Russian 30.3%, Ukrainian 3.17%, Byelorussian 1.8%, Finn 1.1%, other 2.13% (1989)
Religions: Lutheran
Languages: Estonian (official), Latvian, Lithuanian, Russian, other
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1989) total population: 100% male: 100% female: 100%
Labor force: 750,000 (1992) by occupation: industry and construction 42%, agriculture and forestry 20%, other 38% (1990)
@Estonia:Government
Names: conventional long form: Republic of Estonia conventional short form: Estonia local long form: Eesti Vabariik local short form: Eesti former: Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic
Digraph: EN
Type: republic
Capital: Tallinn
Administrative divisions: 15 counties (maakonnad, singular - maakond): Harju maakond (Tallinn), Hiiu maakond (Kardla), Ida-Viru maakond (Johvi), Jarva maakond (Paide), Jogeva maakond (Jogeva), Laane maakond (Haapsalu), Laane-Viru maakond (Rakvere), Parnu maakond (Parnu), Polva maakond (Polva), Rapla maakond (Rapla), Saare maakond (Kuessaare), Tartu maakond (Tartu), Valga maakond (Valga), Viljandi maakond (Viljandi), Voru maakond (Voru) note: county centers are in parentheses
Independence: 6 September 1991 (from Soviet Union)
National holiday: Independence Day, 24 February (1918)
Constitution: adopted 28 June 1992
Legal system: based on civil law system; no judicial review of legislative acts
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Lennart MERI (since 21 October 1992); election last held 20 September 1992; (next to be held fall 1996); results - no candidate received majority; newly elected Parliament elected Lennart MERI (21 October 1992) head of government: Prime Minister Andres TARAND (since NA October 1994) cabinet: Council of Ministers; appointed by the prime minister, authorized by the legislature
Legislative branch: unicameral Parliament (Riigikogu): elections last held 5 March 1995 (next to be held NA 1998); results - KMU 32.22%, RE 16.18%, K 14.17%, Pro Patria and ERSP 7.85%, M 5.98%, Our Home is Estonia and Right-Wingers 5.0%; seats - (101 total) KMU 41, RE 19, K 16, Pro Patria 8, Our Home is Estonia 6, M 6, Right-Wingers 5
Judicial branch: Supreme Court
Political parties and leaders: Coalition Party and Rural Union (KMU) made up of 4 parties: Coalition Party, Country People's Party, Farmer's Assembly, and Pensioners' and Families' League; Coalition Party, Tiit VAHI, chairman; Country People's Party, Arnold RUUTEL, chairman; Farmer's Assembly, Jaak-Hans KUKS, chairman; Pensioners' and Families' League; Reform Party-Liberals (RE), Siim KALLAS, chairman; Center Party (K), Edgar SAVISAAR, chairman; Union of Pro Patria (Isaama of Fatherland), Mart LAAR, chairman; National Independence Party (ERSP), Kelam TUNNE, chairman; Our Home is Estonia made up of 2 parties: United Peoples Party and the Russian Party in Estonia; United Peoples Party, Viktor ANDREJEV, chairman; Russian Party in Estonia, Sergei KUZNETSOV, chairman; Moderates (M) made up of 2 parties: Social Democratic Party and Rural Center Party; Social Democratic Party, Eiki NESTOR, chairman; Rural Center Party, Vambo KAAL, chairman; Right-Wingers, Ulo NUGIS, chairman
Member of: BIS, CBSS, CCC, CE, EBRD, ECE, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTERPOL, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NACC, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WEU (associate partner), WHO, WIPO, WMO
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Toomas Hendrik ILVES chancery: 1030 15th Street NW, Washington, DC 20005, Suite 1000 telephone: [1] (202) 789-0320 FAX: [1] (202) 789-0471 consulate(s) general: New York
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Keith SMITH embassy: Kentmanni 20, Tallinn EE 0001 mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [372] (2) 312-021 through 024 FAX: [372] (2) 312-025
Flag: pre-1940 flag restored by Supreme Soviet in May 1990 - three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), black, and white
@Estonia:Economy
Overview: Bolstered by a widespread national desire to reintegrate into Western Europe, the Estonian government has pursued an ambitious program of market reforms and stabilization measures, which is rapidly transforming the economy. Three years after independence - and two years after the introduction of the kroon - Estonians are beginning to reap tangible benefits; inflation, though still high, was brought down to about 2% per month in second half 1994; production declines have bottomed out with estimated growth of 4% in 1994; and living standards are rising. Economic restructuring has been dramatic. By 1994 the service sector accounted for over 55% of GDP, while the once-dominant heavy industrial sector continues to shrink. The private sector is growing rapidly; the share of the state enterprises in the economy has steadily declined and by late 1994 accounted for only about 40% of GDP. Estonia's foreign trade has shifted rapidly from East to West; the Western industrialized countries now account for two-thirds of foreign trade.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $10.4 billion (1994 estimate as extrapolated from World Bank estimate for 1992)
National product real growth rate: 4% (1994 est.)
National product per capita: $6,460 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 3.3% per month (1994 average)
Unemployment rate: about 2% in 1994 (official estimate but large number of underemployed workers)
Budget: revenues: $643 million expenditures: $639 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1993 est.)
Agriculture: accounts for 10% of GDP; employs 20% of work force; very efficient by Soviet standards; net exports of meat, fish, dairy products, and potatoes; imports of feedgrains for livestock; fruits and vegetables
Illicit drugs: transshipment point for illicit drugs from Central and Southwest Asia and Latin America to Western Europe; very limited illicit opium producer; mostly for domestic consumption
Economic aid: recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (1992), $10 million
Currency: 1 Estonian kroon (EEK) = 100 cents (introduced in August 1992)
Exchange rates: kroons (EEK) per US$1 - 12.25 (January 1995); note - kroons are tied to the German Deutschmark at a fixed rate of 8 to 1
Fiscal year: calendar year
@Estonia:Transportation
Railroads: total: 1,030 km common carrier lines only; does not include dedicated industrial lines broad gauge: 1,030 km 1.520-m gauge (1990)
Highways: total: 30,300 km paved or graveled: 29,200 km unpaved: earth 1,100 km (1990)
Inland waterways: 500 km perennially navigable
Pipelines: natural gas 420 km (1992)
Ports: Haapsalu, Narva, Novotallin, Paldiski, Parnu, Tallinn
Airports: total: 22 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 7 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 3 with unpaved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 2 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 4 with unpaved runways under 914 m: 5
@Estonia:Communications
Telephone system: about 400,000 telephones; 246 telephones/1,000 persons; telephone system is antiquated; improvements are being made piecemeal, with emphasis on business needs and international connections; there are still about 150,000 unfulfilled requests for telephone service local: NA intercity: NA international: international traffic is carried to the other former USSR republics by land line or microwave and to other countries partly by leased connection to the Moscow international gateway switch, and partly by a new Tallinn-Helsinki fiber optic submarine cable which gives Estonia access to international circuits everywhere; substantial investment has been made in cellular systems which are operational throughout Estonia and also Latvia and which have access to the international packet switched digital network via Helsinki
Radio: broadcast stations: AM NA, FM NA, shortwave 0 radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: 3; note - provide Estonian programs as well as Moscow Ostenkino's first and second programs televisions: NA
@Estonia:Defense Forces
Branches: Ground Forces, Navy, Air and Air Defense Force (not officially sanctioned), Maritime Border Guard, Volunteer Defense League (Kaitseliit), Security Forces (internal and border troops), Coast Guard
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 396,588; males fit for military service 311,838; males reach military age (18) annually 11,915 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $34.1 million, almost 5% of the overall State budget and 1.5% of GDP (1995)
Area: total area: 1,127,127 sq km land area: 1,119,683 sq km comparative area: slightly less than twice the size of Texas
Land boundaries: total 5,311 km, Djibouti 337 km, Eritrea 912 km, Kenya 830 km, Somalia 1,626 km, Sudan 1,606 km
Coastline: none - landlocked
Maritime claims: none; landlocked
International disputes: southern half of the boundary with Somalia is a Provisional Administrative Line; territorial dispute with Somalia over the Ogaden
Climate: tropical monsoon with wide topographic-induced variation
Terrain: high plateau with central mountain range divided by Great Rift Valley
Natural resources: small reserves of gold, platinum, copper, potash
Land use: arable land: 12% permanent crops: 1% meadows and pastures: 41% forest and woodland: 24% other: 22%
Irrigated land: 1,620 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment: current issues: deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification; famine natural hazards: geologically active Great Rift Valley susceptible to earthquakes, volcanic eruptions; frequent droughts international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Ozone Layer Protection; signed, but not ratified - Desertification, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban
Note: landlocked - entire coastline along the Red Sea was lost with the de jure independence of Eritrea on 27 April 1993
@Ethiopia:People
Population: 55,979,018 (July 1995 est.) note: Ethiopian demographic data, except population and population growth rate, include Eritrea
Age structure: 0-14 years: 46% (female 12,782,345; male 12,802,187) 15-64 years: 52% (female 14,352,059; male 14,511,342) 65 years and over: 2% (female 815,974; male 715,111) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 3.09% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 46.68 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 15.77 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: NA migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.) note: repatriation of Ethiopian refugees from Sudan, Kenya and Somalia, where they had taken refuge from war and famine in earlier years, is expected to continue in 1995; additional influxes of Sudanese and Somalis fleeing fighting in their countries can be expected in 1995
Infant mortality rate: 120.6 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 50 years male: 48.28 years female: 51.78 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 7.07 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Ethnic divisions: Oromo 40%, Amhara and Tigrean 32%, Sidamo 9%, Shankella 6%, Somali 6%, Afar 4%, Gurage 2%, other 1%
Religions: Muslim 45%-50%, Ethiopian Orthodox 35%-40%, animist 12%, other 5%
Languages: Amharic (official), Tigrinya, Orominga, Guaraginga, Somali, Arabic, English (major foreign language taught in schools)
Literacy: age 10 and over can read and write (1984) total population: 24% male: 33% female: 16%
Labor force: 18 million by occupation: agriculture and animal husbandry 80%, government and services 12%, industry and construction 8% (1985)
@Ethiopia:Government
Names: conventional long form: none conventional short form: Ethiopia local long form: none local short form: Ityop'iya
Digraph: ET
Type: transitional government note: on 28 May 1991 the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) toppled the authoritarian government of MENGISTU Haile-Mariam and took control in Addis Ababa; a new constitution was promulgated in December 1994 and national and regional elections are scheduled for May 1995; the administrative regions will elect regional assemblies by popular vote; the National Assembly will have two chambers - one elected by popular vote and the other selected as representatives by the regional assemblies; the lower house of the National Assembly will select or confirm the president, the prime minister and the cabinet officers and judges; the prime minister will be the chief executive officer and the duties of the president will be mostly ceremonial
Capital: Addis Ababa
Administrative divisions: 14 ethnically-based administrative regions (astedader akababiwach, singular - astedader akababi) Addis Ababa, Afar, Amhara, Benishangul, Gambela, Gurage-Hadiya-Kambata, Hareri, Kefa, Omo, Oromo, Sidama, Somali, Tigray, Wolayta note: the following named four administrative regions may have been abolished and their territories distributed among the remaining ten regions: Kefa, Omo, Sidama, and Wolayta
Independence: oldest independent country in Africa and one of the oldest in the world - at least 2,000 years
National holiday: National Day, 28 May (1991) (defeat of Mengistu regime)
Constitution: new constitution promulgated in December 1994
Legal system: NA
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President MELES Zenawi (since 1 June 1991); appointed by the Council of Representatives following the military defeat of the MENGISTU government; following the elections to the National Assembly scheduled for May 1995 the lower house of the National Assembly will nominate a new president head of government: Prime Minister TAMIRAT Layne (since 6 June 1991); a new prime minister will be designated by the party in power following the elections to the General Assembly in May 1995 cabinet: Council of Ministers; presently designated by the chairman of the Council of Representatives; under the new constitution and following the elections in May 1995 the cabinet officers will be selected by the prime minister
Legislative branch: Constituent Assembly: elections were held on 5 June 1994; results - government parties swept almost all seats; in December 1994 the Constituent Assembly ratified the new constitution with few changes; the new constitution prescribes two chambers for the new National Assembly - one which is elected by popular vote and one which represents the ethnic interests of the regional governments
Judicial branch: Supreme Court
Political parties and leaders: Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), MELES Zenawi;
Other political or pressure groups: Oromo Liberation Front (OLF); All Amhara People's Organization; Southern Ethiopia People's Democratic Coalition; numerous small, ethnic-based groups have formed since Mengistu's resignation, including several Islamic militant groups
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador BERHANE Gebre-Christos chancery: 2134 Kalorama Road NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 234-2281, 2282 FAX: [1] (202) 328-7950
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador Irvin HICKS embassy: Entoto Street, Addis Ababa mailing address: P. O. Box 1014, Addis Ababa telephone: [251] (1) 550666 FAX: [251] (1) 552191
Flag: three equal horizontal bands of green (top), yellow, and red; Ethiopia is the oldest independent country in Africa, and the colors of her flag were so often adopted by other African countries upon independence that they became known as the pan-African colors
@Ethiopia:Economy
Overview: With the independence of Eritrea on 27 April 1993, Ethiopia continues to face difficult economic problems as one of the poorest and least developed countries in Africa. Its economy is based on agriculture, which accounts for about 45% of GDP, 90% of exports, and 80% of total employment; coffee generates 60% of export earnings. The agricultural sector suffers from frequent periods of drought, poor cultivation practices, and deterioration of internal security conditions. The manufacturing sector is heavily dependent on inputs from the agricultural sector. Over 90% of large-scale industry, but less than 10% of agriculture, is state run. The government is considering selling off a portion of state-owned plants, and is implementing reform measures that are gradually liberalizing the economy. A major medium-term problem is the improvement of roads, water supply, and other parts of an infrastructure badly neglected during years of civil strife.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $20.3 billion (1993 est.)
National product real growth rate: 3% (1994 est.)
National product per capita: $380 (1993 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 10% (FY93/94)
Unemployment rate: NA%
Budget: revenues: $1.2 billion expenditures: $1.7 billion, including capital expenditures of $707 million (FY93/94)
Exports: $219.8 million (f.o.b., 1993 est.) commodities: coffee, leather products, gold partners: Germany, Japan, Saudi Arabia, France, Italy
Imports: $1.04 billion (c.i.f., 1993 est.) commodities: capital goods, consumer goods, fuel partners: US, Germany, Italy, Saudi Arabia, Japan
External debt: $3.7 billion (1993 est.)
Industrial production: growth rate -3.3% (FY91/92); accounts for 12% of GDP
Agriculture: accounts for 45% of GDP; export crops of coffee and oilseeds are grown partly on state farms; estimated 50% of agricultural production is at subsistence level; principal crops and livestock - cereals, pulses, coffee, oilseeds, sugarcane, potatoes and other vegetables, hides and skins, cattle, sheep, goats
Illicit drugs: transit hub for heroin originating in Southwest and Southeast Asia and destined for Europe and North America as well as cocaine destined for southern African markets; cultivates qat (chat) for local use and regional export
Economic aid: recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $504 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $3.4 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $8 million; Communist countries (1970-89), $2 billion
Currency: 1 birr (Br) = 100 cents
Exchange rates: birr (Br) per US$1 - 5.9500 (January 1995), 5.9500 (1994), 5.0000 (fixed rate 1992-93); fixed at 2.070 before 1992; note - official rate pegged to the US$
Fiscal year: 8 July - 7 July
@Ethiopia:Transportation
Railroads: total: 681 km (Ethiopian segment of the Addis Ababa-Djibouti railroad)
narrow gauge: 681 km 1.000-m gauge
Highways: total: 24,127 km paved: 3,289 km unpaved: gravel 6,664 km; improved earth 1,652 km; unimproved earth 12,522 km (1993)
Airports: total: 98 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 2 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 1 with paved runways under 914 m: 24 with unpaved runways over 3,047 m: 4 with unpaved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 6 with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 14 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 42
@Ethiopia:Communications
Telephone system: NA telephones; open-wire and radio relay system adequate for government use local: NA intercity: open wire and microwave radio relay links international: open-wire to Sudan and Djibouti; microwave radio relay to Kenya and Djibouti; 3 INTELSAT (1 Atlantic Ocean and 2 Pacific Ocean) earth stations
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 4, FM 0, shortwave 0 radios: 9 million
Branches: Transitional Government of Ethiopia Forces, Air Force, Police
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 12,658,084; males fit for military service 6,569,759; males reach military age (18) annually 565,976 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $140 million, 4.1% of GDP (FY94/95)
Location: Southern South America, islands in the South Atlantic Ocean, east of southern Argentina
Map references: South America
Area: total area: 12,170 sq km land area: 12,170 sq km comparative area: slightly smaller than Connecticut note: includes the two main islands of East and West Falkland and about 200 small islands
International disputes: administered by the UK, claimed by Argentina
Climate: cold marine; strong westerly winds, cloudy, humid; rain occurs on more than half of days in year; occasional snow all year, except in January and February, but does not accumulate
Terrain: rocky, hilly, mountainous with some boggy, undulating plains
Natural resources: fish, wildlife
Land use: arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 99% forest and woodland: 0% other: 1%
Irrigated land: NA sq km
Environment: current issues: NA natural hazards: strong winds persist throughout the year international agreements: NA
Note: deeply indented coast provides good natural harbors; short growing season
@Falkland Islands (islas Malvinas):People
Population: 2,317 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: NA 15-64 years: NA 65 years and over: NA
Population growth rate: 2.43% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: NA
Death rate: NA
Net migration rate: NA
Infant mortality rate: NA
Life expectancy at birth: NA
Total fertility rate: NA
Nationality: noun: Falkland Islander(s) adjective: Falkland Island
Ethnic divisions: British
Religions: primarily Anglican, Roman Catholic, United Free Church, Evangelist Church, Jehovah's Witnesses, Lutheran, Seventh-Day Adventist
Languages: English
Labor force: 1,100 (est.) by occupation: agriculture 95% (mostly sheepherding)
@Falkland Islands (islas Malvinas):Government
Names: conventional long form: Colony of the Falkland Islands conventional short form: Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas)
Digraph: FA
Type: dependent territory of the UK
Capital: Stanley
Administrative divisions: none (dependent territory of the UK)
Independence: none (dependent territory of the UK)
National holiday: Liberation Day, 14 June (1982)
Constitution: 3 October 1985
Legal system: English common law
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952) head of government: Governor David Everard TATHAM (since August 1992) cabinet: Executive Council; 3 members elected by the Legislative Council, 2 ex-officio members (chief executive and the financial secretary), and the governor
Legislative branch: unicameral Legislative Council: elections last held 11 October 1989 (next to be held October 1994); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (10 total, 8 elected) independents 8
Judicial branch: Supreme Court
Political parties and leaders: NA
Member of: ICFTU
Diplomatic representation in US: none (dependent territory of the UK)
US diplomatic representation: none (dependent territory of the UK)
Flag: blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the Falkland Island coat of arms in a white disk centered on the outer half of the flag; the coat of arms contains a white ram (sheep raising is the major economic activity) above the sailing ship Desire (whose crew discovered the islands) with a scroll at the bottom bearing the motto DESIRE THE RIGHT
@Falkland Islands (islas Malvinas):Economy
Overview: The economy was formerly based on agriculture, mainly sheep farming, which directly or indirectly employs most of the work force. Dairy farming supports domestic consumption; crops furnish winter fodder. Exports feature shipments of high-grade wool to the UK and the sale of postage stamps and coins. Rich stocks of fish in the surrounding waters are not presently exploited by the islanders. So far, efforts to establish a domestic fishing industry have been unsuccessful. The economy has diversified since 1987 when the government began selling fishing licenses to foreign trawlers operating within the Falklands exclusive fishing zone. These license fees total more than $40 million per year and support the island's health, education, and welfare system. To encourage tourism, the Falkland Islands Development Corporation has built three lodges for visitors attracted by the abundant wildlife and trout fishing. The islands are now self-financing except for defense. The British Geological Survey announced a 200-mile oil exploration zone around the islands in 1993 and early seismic surveys suggest substantial reserves capable of producing 500,000 barrels per day.
Budget: revenues: $65 million expenditures: $55.2 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1992-93)
Exports: at least $14.7 million commodities: wool, hides and skins, and meat partners: UK, Netherlands, Japan (1987 est.)
Imports: at least $13.9 million commodities: food, clothing, timber, and machinery partners: UK, Netherlands Antilles (Curacao), Japan (1987 est.)
External debt: $NA
Industrial production: growth rate NA%
Electricity: capacity: 9,200 kW production: 17 million kWh consumption per capita: 7,253 kWh (1993)
Industries: wool and fish processing
Agriculture: predominantly sheep farming; small dairy herds; some fodder and vegetable crops
Economic aid: recipient: Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1992-93), $87 million
Currency: 1 Falkland pound (#F) = 100 pence
Exchange rates: Falkland pound (#F) per US$1 - 0.6350 (January 1995), 0.6529 (1994), 0.6658 (1993), 0.5664 (1992), 0.5652 (1991), 0.5604 (1990); note - the Falkland pound is at par with the British pound
Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March
@Falkland Islands (islas Malvinas):Transportation
Railroads: 0 km
Highways: total: 510 km paved: 30 km unpaved: gravel 80 km; unimproved earth 400 km
Ports: Stanley
Merchant marine: none
Airports: total: 5 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 with paved runways under 914 m: 4
@Falkland Islands (islas Malvinas):Communications
Telephone system: 590 telephones local: NA intercity: government-operated radiotelephone and private VHF/CB radio networks provide effective service to almost all points on both islands international: 1 INTELSAT (Atlantic Ocean) earth station with links through London to other countries
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 2, FM 3, shortwave 0 radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: 0 televisions: NA
@Falkland Islands (islas Malvinas):Defense Forces
Branches: British Forces Falkland Islands (includes Army, Royal Air Force, Royal Navy, and Royal Marines), Police Force
Climate: mild winters, cool summers; usually overcast; foggy, windy
Terrain: rugged, rocky, some low peaks; cliffs along most of coast
Natural resources: fish
Land use: arable land: 2% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 0% forest and woodland: 0% other: 98%
Irrigated land: NA sq km
Environment: current issues: NA natural hazards: NA international agreements: NA
Note: archipelago of 18 inhabited islands and a few uninhabited islets; strategically located along important sea lanes in northeastern Atlantic; precipitous terrain limits habitation to small coastal lowlands
@Faroe Islands:People
Population: 48,871 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 24% (female 5,673; male 6,119) 15-64 years: 63% (female 14,164; male 16,835) 65 years and over: 13% (female 3,335; male 2,745) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.99% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 17.54 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 7.59 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 7.9 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 78.29 years male: 74.91 years female: 81.8 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 2.42 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Nationality: noun: Faroese (singular and plural) adjective: Faroese
Ethnic divisions: Scandinavian
Religions: Evangelical Lutheran
Languages: Faroese (derived from Old Norse), Danish
Literacy: NA%
Labor force: 17,585 by occupation: largely engaged in fishing, manufacturing, transportation, and commerce
@Faroe Islands:Government
Names: conventional long form: none conventional short form: Faroe Islands local long form: none local short form: Foroyar
Digraph: FO
Type: part of the Danish realm; self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark
Capital: Torshavn
Administrative divisions: none (self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark)
Independence: none (part of the Danish realm; self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark)
National holiday: Birthday of the Queen, 16 April (1940)
Constitution: 5 June 1953 (Danish constitution)
Legal system: Danish
Suffrage: 20 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: Queen MARGRETHE II (since 14 January 1972), represented by High Commissioner Bent KLINTE (since NA) head of government: Prime Minister Edmund JOENSEN (since 15 September 1994) cabinet: Landsstyri; elected by the local legislature
Legislative branch: unicameral Faroese Parliament (Logting): elections last held 8 July 1994 (next to be held by July 1998); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (32 total) Liberal Party 8, People's Party 6, Social Democrats 5, Republicans 4, Workers' Party 3, Christian Democrats 2, Center Party 2, Home Rule Party 2 Danish Parliament: elections last held on 21 September 1994 (next to be held by September 1998); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (2 total) Liberals 2
Judicial branch: none
Political parties and leaders: Social Democratic Party, Marita PETERSEN; Workers Front, Oli JACOBSEN; Home Rule Party, Helena Dam A NEYSTABOE; The 'Coalition Party', Edmund JOENSEN; Republican Party, Finnbogir ESAKSON; Centrist Party, Tordur NICLASEN; Christian People's Party, Niels Pauli DANIELSEN; People's Party, Arnfinn KALLSBERG; Liberal Party; Christian Democratic Party
Member of: none
Diplomatic representation in US: none (self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark)
US diplomatic representation: none (self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark)
Flag: white with a red cross outlined in blue that extends to the edges of the flag; the vertical part of the cross is shifted to the hoist side in the style of the DANNEBROG (Danish flag)
@Faroe Islands:Economy
Overview: The Faroese, who have long enjoyed the affluent living standards of the Danes and other Scandinavians, now must cope with the decline of the all-important fishing industry and one of the world's heaviest per capita external debts of about $25,000. When the nations of the world extended their fishing zones to 200 nautical miles in the early 1970s, the Faroese no longer could continue their traditional long-distance fishing and subsequently depleted their own nearby fishing areas. The government's tight controls on fish stocks and its austerity measures have caused a recession, and subsidy cuts will force nationalization in the fishing industry, which has already been plagued with bankruptcies. Copenhagen has threatened to withhold its annual subsidy of $130 million - roughly one-third of the islands' budget revenues - unless the Faroese make significant efforts to balance their budget. To this extent the Faroe government is expected to continue its tough policies, including introducing a 20% value-added tax (VAT) in 1993, and has agreed to an IMF economic-political stabilization plan. In addition to its annual subsidy, the Danish government has bailed out the second largest Faroe bank to the tune of $140 million since October 1992.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $662 million (1989 est.)
National product real growth rate: -10.8% (1993 est.)
Budget: revenues: $407.2 million expenditures: $482.7 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1993 est.)
Exports: $345.3 million (f.o.b., 1993 est.) commodities: fish and fish products 88%, animal feedstuffs, transport equipment (ships) (1989) partners: Denmark 20%, Germany 18.3%, UK 14.2%, France 11.2%, Spain 7.9%, US 4.5%
Imports: $234.4 million (c.i.f., 1993 est.) commodities: machinery and transport equipment 24.4%, manufactures 24%, food and livestock 19%, fuels 12%, chemicals 6.5% partners: Denmark 43.8%, Norway 19.8%, Sweden 4.9%, Germany 4.2%, US 1.3%
External debt: $1.2 billion (1993 est.)
Industrial production: growth rate NA%
Electricity: capacity: 90,000 kW production: 200 million kWh consumption per capita: 3,953 kWh (1992)
Industries: fishing, shipbuilding, handicrafts
Agriculture: accounts for 27% of GDP; principal crops - potatoes and vegetables; livestock - sheep; annual fish catch about 360,000 metric tons
Economic aid: recipient: receives an annual subsidy from Denmark of about $130 million
Airports: total: 1 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 1
@Faroe Islands:Communications
Telephone system: 27,900 telephones; good international communications; fair domestic facilities local: NA intercity: NA international: 3 coaxial submarine cables
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 1, FM 3 repeaters 10, shortwave 0 radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: 3 (repeaters 29) televisions: NA
@Faroe Islands:Defense Forces
Branches: no organized native military forces; only a small Police Force and Coast Guard are maintained
Land use: arable land: 8% permanent crops: 5% meadows and pastures: 3% forest and woodland: 65% other: 19%
Irrigated land: 10 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment: current issues: deforestation; soil erosion natural hazards: cyclonic storms can occur from November to January international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 94
Note: includes 332 islands of which approximately 110 are inhabited
@Fiji:People
Population: 772,891 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 36% (female 136,570; male 142,581) 15-64 years: 61% (female 235,491; male 235,411) 65 years and over: 3% (female 11,943; male 10,895) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.16% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 23.69 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 6.42 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: -5.67 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 17.7 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 65.42 years male: 63.13 years female: 67.82 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 2.87 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Nationality: noun: Fijian(s) adjective: Fijian
Ethnic divisions: Fijian 49%, Indian 46%, European, other Pacific Islanders, overseas Chinese, and other 5%
Religions: Christian 52% (Methodist 37%, Roman Catholic 9%), Hindu 38%, Muslim 8%, other 2% note: Fijians are mainly Christian, Indians are Hindu, and there is a Muslim minority (1986)
Languages: English (official), Fijian, Hindustani
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1986) total population: 87% male: 90% female: 84%
Names: conventional long form: Republic of Fiji conventional short form: Fiji
Digraph: FJ
Type: republic note: military coup leader Maj. Gen. Sitiveni RABUKA formally declared Fiji a republic on 6 October 1987
Capital: Suva
Administrative divisions: 4 divisions and 1 dependency*; Central, Eastern, Northern, Rotuma*, Western
Independence: 10 October 1970 (from UK)
National holiday: Independence Day, 10 October (1970)
Constitution: 10 October 1970 (suspended 1 October 1987); a new Constitution was proposed on 23 September 1988 and promulgated on 25 July 1990; the 1990 Constitution is under review; the review is scheduled to be complete by 1997
Legal system: based on British system
Suffrage: 21 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Ratu Sir Kamisese MARA (since 12 January 1994); First Vice President Ratu Sir Josaia TAIVAIQIA (since 12 January 1994); Second Vice President Ratu Inoke TAKIVEIKATA (since 12 January 1994); note - President GANILAU died on 15 December 1993 and Vice President MARA became acting president; MARA was elected president by the Great Council of Chiefs on 12 January 1994 head of government: Prime Minister Sitiveni RABUKA (since 2 June 1992)
Presidential Council: appointed by the governor general Great Council of Chiefs: highest ranking members of the traditional chiefly system cabinet: Cabinet; appointed by prime minister from members of Parliament and responsible to Parliament
Legislative branch: the bicameral Parliament was dissolved following the coup of 14 May 1987 Senate: nonelective body containing 34 seats, 24 reserved for ethnic Fijians, 9 for Indians and others, 1 for the island of Rotuma; appointed by President House of Representatives: elections last held 18-25 February 1994 (next to be held NA 1999); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (70 total, with ethnic Fijians allocated 37 seats, ethnic Indians 27 seats, and independents and other 6 seats) number of seats by party SVT 31, NFP 20, FLP 7, FA 5, GVP 4, independents 2, ANC 1
Judicial branch: Supreme Court
Political parties and leaders: Fijian Political Party (SVT - primarily Fijian), leader Maj. Gen. Sitivini RABUKA; National Federation Party (NFP; primarily Indian), Jai Ram REDDY; Fijian Nationalist Party (FNP), Sakeasi BUTADROKA; Fiji Labor Party (FLP), Mahendra CHAUDHRY; General Voters Party (GVP), Bill SORBY; Fiji Conservative Party (FCP), Isireli VUIBAU; Conservative Party of Fiji (CPF), Jolale ULUDOLE and Viliame SAVU; Fiji Indian Liberal Party, Swami MAHARAJ; Fiji Indian Congress Party, Ishwari BAJPAI; Fiji Independent Labor (Muslim), leader NA; Four Corners Party, David TULVANUAVOU; Fijian Association (FA), leader NA; General Electors' Association, leader NA note: in early 1995, ethnic Fijian members of the All National Congress (ANC) merged with the Fijian Association (FA); the new FA is scheduled to hold its first meeting in April 1995 at which time the leaders of the party will be chosen; it is likely that Josevata KAMIKAMICA, the leader of the FA before the merger, will be elected leader and Adi Kuini Bavadra SPEED, the leader of the ANC before the merger, will be elected deputy leader; the remaining members of the ANC have renamed their party the General Electors' Association
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Pita Kewa NACUVA chancery: Suite 240, 2233 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007 telephone: [1] (202) 337-8320 FAX: [1] (202) 337-1996 consulate(s): New York
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Michael W. MARINE embassy: 31 Loftus Street, Suva mailing address: P. O. Box 218, Suva telephone: [679] 314466 FAX: [679] 300081
Flag: light blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the Fijian shield centered on the outer half of the flag; the shield depicts a yellow lion above a white field quartered by the cross of Saint George featuring stalks of sugarcane, a palm tree, bananas, and a white dove
@Fiji:Economy
Overview: Fiji's economy is primarily agricultural, with a large subsistence sector. Sugar exports and tourism are the major sources of foreign exchange. Industry contributes 13% to GDP, with sugar processing accounting for one-third of industrial activity. Roughly 250,000 tourists visit each year. Political uncertainty and drought, however, contribute to substantial fluctuations in earnings from tourism and sugar and to the emigration of skilled workers. In 1992, growth was approximately 3%, based on growth in tourism and a lessening of labor-management disputes in the sugar and gold-mining sectors. In 1993, the government's budgeted growth rate of 3% was not achieved because of a decline in non-sugar agricultural output and damage from Cyclone Kina. Growth in 1994 is estimated to be 5%, largely attributed to increased tourism and expansion in domestic production, particularly in the manufacturing sector.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $4.3 billion (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate: 5% (1994 est.)
National product per capita: $5,650 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1.5% (1994)
Unemployment rate: 5.4% (1992)
Budget: revenues: $485 million expenditures: $579 million, including capital expenditures of $58 million (1994)
Exports: $405 million (f.o.b., 1993) commodities: sugar 40%, clothing, gold, processed fish, lumber partners: EC 26%, Australia 15%, Pacific Islands 11%, Japan 6%
Imports: $634 million (c.i.f., 1993) commodities: machinery and transport equipment, petroleum products, food, consumer goods, chemicals partners: Australia 30%, NZ 17%, Japan 13%, EC 6%, US 6%
External debt: $670 million (1994 est.)
Industrial production: growth rate 0% (1993 est.); accounts for 13% of GDP
Electricity: capacity: 200,000 kW production: 480 million kWh consumption per capita: 581 kWh (1993)
Agriculture: accounts for 23% of GDP; principal cash crop is sugarcane; coconuts, cassava, rice, sweet potatoes, bananas; small livestock sector includes cattle, pigs, horses, and goats; fish catch nearly 33,000 tons (1989)
Economic aid: recipient: Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1980-89), $815 million
Railroads: total: 644 km; note - belongs to the government owned Fiji Sugar Corporation narrow gauge: 644 km 0.610-m gauge
Highways: total: 3,300 km paved: 1,590 km unpaved: gravel, crushed stone, stabilized earth 1,290 km; unimproved earth 420 km (1984)
Inland waterways: 203 km; 122 km navigable by motorized craft and 200-metric-ton barges
Ports: Labasa, Lautoka, Levuka, Savusavu, Suva
Merchant marine: total: 5 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 16,267 GRT/17,884 DWT ships by type: chemical tanker 2, oil tanker 1, roll-on/roll-off cargo 2
Airports: total: 23 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 1 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 1 with paved runways under 914 m: 16 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 4
@Fiji:Communications
Telephone system: 53,228 telephones; 71 telephones/1,000 persons; modern local, interisland, and international (wire/radio integrated) public and special-purpose telephone, telegraph, and teleprinter facilities; regional radio center local: NA intercity: NA international: important COMPAC cable link between US-Canada and NZ-Australia; 1 INTELSAT (Pacific Ocean) earth station
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 7, FM 1, shortwave 0 radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: 0 televisions: NA
@Fiji:Defense Forces
Branches: Republic of Fiji Military Forces (RFMF; includes army, navy, and air elements)
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 201,441; males fit for military service 111,046; males reach military age (18) annually 8,466 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $22.4 million, about 2% of GDP (FY91/92)
Location: Northern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, Gulf of Bothnia, and Gulf of Finland, between Sweden and Russia
Map references: Europe
Area: total area: 337,030 sq km land area: 305,470 sq km comparative area: slightly smaller than Montana
Land boundaries: total 2,628 km, Norway 729 km, Sweden 586 km, Russia 1,313 km
Coastline: 1,126 km (excludes islands and coastal indentations)
Maritime claims: contiguous zone: 6 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation exclusive fishing zone: 12 nm territorial sea: 4 nm
International disputes: none
Climate: cold temperate; potentially subarctic, but comparatively mild because of moderating influence of the North Atlantic Current, Baltic Sea, and more than 60,000 lakes
Terrain: mostly low, flat to rolling plains interspersed with lakes and low hills
Natural resources: timber, copper, zinc, iron ore, silver
Land use: arable land: 8% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 0% forest and woodland: 76% other: 16%
Irrigated land: 620 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment: current issues: air pollution from manufacturing and power plants contributing to acid rain; water pollution from industrial wastes, agricultural chemicals; habitat loss threatens wildlife populations natural hazards: NA international agreements: party to - Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Wetlands, Whaling; signed, but not ratified - Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Desertification, Law of the Sea
Note: long boundary with Russia; Helsinki is northernmost national capital on European continent; population concentrated on small southwestern coastal plain
@Finland:People
Population: 5,085,206 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 19% (female 469,666; male 491,484) 15-64 years: 67% (female 1,683,371; male 1,716,307) 65 years and over: 14% (female 457,061; male 267,317) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.3% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 12.22 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 9.77 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 0.59 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 5.2 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 76.22 years male: 72.51 years female: 80.11 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.79 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Languages: Finnish 93.5% (official), Swedish 6.3% (official), small Lapp- and Russian-speaking minorities
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1980 est.) total population: 100%
Labor force: 2.533 million by occupation: public services 30.4%, industry 20.9%, commerce 15.0%, finance, insurance, and business services 10.2%, agriculture and forestry 8.6%, transport and communications 7.7%, construction 7.2%
@Finland:Government
Names: conventional long form: Republic of Finland conventional short form: Finland local long form: Suomen Tasavalta local short form: Suomi
Digraph: FI
Type: republic
Capital: Helsinki
Administrative divisions: 12 provinces (laanit, singular - laani); Ahvenanmaa, Hame, Keski-Suomi, Kuopio, Kymi, Lappi, Mikkeli, Oulu, Pohjois-Karjala, Turku ja Pori, Uusimaa, Vaasa
Independence: 6 December 1917 (from Soviet Union)
National holiday: Independence Day, 6 December (1917)
Constitution: 17 July 1919
Legal system: civil law system based on Swedish law; Supreme Court may request legislation interpreting or modifying laws; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Martti AHTISAARI (since 1 March 1994); election last held 31 January-6 February 1994 (next to be held January 2000); results - Martti AHTISAARI 54%, Elisabeth REHN 46% head of government: Prime Minister Paavo LIPPONEN (since 13 April 1995); Deputy Prime Minister Sauli NIINISTO (since 13 April 1995) cabinet: Council of State (Valtioneuvosto); appointed by the president, responsible to Parliament
Legislative branch: unicameral Parliament (Eduskunta): elections last held 19 March 1995 (next to be held March 1999); results - Social Democratic Party 28.3%, Center Party 19.9%, National Coalition (Conservative) Party 17.9%, Leftist Alliance (Communist) 11.2%, Swedish People's Party 5.1%, Green League 6.5%, Ecology Party 0.3%, Rural 1.3%, Finnish Christian League 3.0%, Liberal People's Party 0.6%, Young Finns 2.8%; seats - (200 total) Social Democratic Party 63, Center Party 44, National Coalition (Conservative) Party 39, Leftist Alliance (Communist) 22, Swedish People's Party 11, Green League 9, Ecology Party 1, Rural 1, Finnish Christian League 7, Young Finns 2, Aaland Islands 1
Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Korkein Oikeus)
Political parties and leaders: government coalition: Social Democratic Party, Paavo LIPPONEN; National Coalition (conservative) Party, Sauli NIINISTO; Leftist Alliance (Communist) People's Democratic League and Democratic Alternative, Claes ANDERSON; Swedish People's Party, (Johan) Ole NORRBACK; Green League, Pekka HAAVISTO other: Center Party, Esko AHO; Finnish Christian League, Toimi KANKAANNIEMI; Rural Party, Tina MAKELA; Liberal People's Party, Tuulikki UKKOLA; Greens Ecological Party (EPV); Young Finns
Other political or pressure groups: Finnish Communist Party-Unity, Yrjo HAKANEN; Constitutional Rightist Party; Finnish Pensioners Party; Communist Workers Party, Timo LAHDENMAKI
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Jukka VALTASAARI chancery: 3301 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 298-5800 FAX: [1] (202) 298-6030 consulate(s) general: Los Angeles and New York
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador Derek N. SHEARER embassy: Itainen Puistotie 14A, FIN-00140, Helsinki mailing address: APO AE 09723 telephone: [358] (0) 171931 FAX: [358] (0) 174681
Flag: white with a blue cross that extends to the edges of the flag; the vertical part of the cross is shifted to the hoist side in the style of the DANNEBROG (Danish flag)
@Finland:Economy
Overview: Finland has a highly industrialized, largely free market economy, with per capita output two-thirds of the US figure. Its key economic sector is manufacturing - principally the wood, metals, and engineering industries. Trade is important, with the export of goods representing about 30% of GDP. Except for timber and several minerals, Finland depends on imports of raw materials, energy, and some components for manufactured goods. Because of the climate, agricultural development is limited to maintaining self-sufficiency in basic products. Forestry, an important export earner, provides a secondary occupation for the rural population. The economy, which experienced an average of 4.9% annual growth between 1987 and 1989, sank into deep recession in 1991 as GDP contracted by 6.5%. The recession - which continued in 1992 with GDP contracting by 4.1% - has been caused by economic overheating, depressed foreign markets, and the dismantling of the barter system between Finland and the former Soviet Union under which Soviet oil and gas had been exchanged for Finnish manufactured goods. The Finnish Government has proposed efforts to increase industrial competitiveness and efficiency by an increase in exports to Western markets, cuts in public expenditures, partial privatization of state enterprises, and changes in monetary policy. In June 1991 Helsinki had tied the markka to the European Union's (EU) European Currency Unit (ECU) to promote stability. Ongoing speculation resulting from a lack of confidence in the government's policies forced Helsinki to devalue the markka by about 12% in November 1991 and to indefinitely break the link in September 1992. The devaluations have boosted the competitiveness of Finnish exports. The recession bottomed out in 1993, and Finland participated in the general European upturn of 1994. Unemployment probably will remain a serious problem during the next few years; the majority of Finnish firms face a weak domestic market and the troubled German and Swedish export markets. The Finns voted in an October 1994 referendum to enter the EU, and Finland officially joined the Union on 1 January 1995. Increasing integration with Western Europe will dominate the economic picture over the next few years.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $81.8 billion (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate: 3.5% (1994 est.)
National product per capita: $16,140 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.1% (1992)
Unemployment rate: 22% (1993)
Budget: revenues: $21.7 billion expenditures: $31.7 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1993 est.)
Exports: $23.4 billion (f.o.b., 1993) commodities: paper and pulp, machinery, chemicals, metals, timber partners: EC 53.2% (Germany 15.6%, UK 10.7%), EFTA 19.5% (Sweden 12.8%), US 5.9%, Japan 1.3%, Russia 2.8% (1992)
Imports: $18 billion (c.i.f., 1993) commodities: foodstuffs, petroleum and petroleum products, chemicals, transport equipment, iron and steel, machinery, textile yarn and fabrics, fodder grains partners: EC 47.2% (Germany 16.9%, UK 8.7%), EFTA 19.0% (Sweden 11.7%), US 6.1%, Japan 5.5%, Russia 7.1% (1992)
External debt: $30 billion (December 1993)
Industrial production: growth rate 5% (1993 est.); accounts for 28% of GDP
Industries: metal products, shipbuilding, forestry and wood processing (pulp, paper), copper refining, foodstuffs, chemicals, textiles, clothing
Agriculture: accounts for 7% of GDP (including forestry); livestock production, especially dairy cattle, predominates; main crops - cereals, sugar beets, potatoes; 85% self-sufficient, but short of foodgrains and fodder grains; annual fish catch about 160,000 metric tons
Illicit drugs: transshipment point for Latin American cocaine for the West European market
Economic aid: donor: ODA and OOF commitments (1970-89), $2.7 billion
Airports: total: 159 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 3 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 23 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 13 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 21 with paved runways under 914 m: 94 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 5
@Finland:Communications
Telephone system: 3,140,000 telephones; good service from cable and microwave radio relay network local: NA intercity: cable and microwave radio relay international: 1 submarine cable; INTELSAT satellite transmission service via Swedish earth station and a receive-only INTELSAT earth station near Helsinki for TV programs
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 6, FM 105, shortwave 0 radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: 235 televisions: NA
@Finland:Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Frontier Guard (includes Sea Guard)
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 1,318,231; males fit for military service 1,083,749; males reach military age (17) annually 33,085 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $1.86 billion, about 1.9% of GDP (1994)
Location: Western Europe, bordering the Bay of Biscay and English Channel, between Belgium and Spain southeast of the UK; bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Italy and Spain
Map references: Europe
Area: total area: 547,030 sq km land area: 545,630 sq km comparative area: slightly more than twice the size of Colorado note: includes Corsica and the rest of metropolitan France, but excludes the overseas administrative divisions
Land boundaries: total 2,892.4 km, Andorra 60 km, Belgium 620 km, Germany 451 km, Italy 488 km, Luxembourg 73 km, Monaco 4.4 km, Spain 623 km, Switzerland 573 km
Coastline: 3,427 km (mainland 2,783 km, Corsica 644 km)
Maritime claims: contiguous zone: 24 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation exclusive economic zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 12 nm
International disputes: Madagascar claims Bassas da India, Europa Island, Glorioso Islands, Juan de Nova Island, and Tromelin Island; Comoros claims Mayotte; Mauritius claims Tromelin Island; Seychelles claims Tromelin Island; Suriname claims part of French Guiana; Mexico claims Clipperton Island; territorial claim in Antarctica (Adelie Land); Saint Pierre and Miquelon is focus of maritime boundary dispute between Canada and France
Climate: generally cool winters and mild summers, but mild winters and hot summers along the Mediterranean
Terrain: mostly flat plains or gently rolling hills in north and west; remainder is mountainous, especially Pyrenees in south, Alps in east
Natural resources: coal, iron ore, bauxite, fish, timber, zinc, potash
Land use: arable land: 32% permanent crops: 2% meadows and pastures: 23% forest and woodland: 27% other: 16%
Irrigated land: 11,600 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment: current issues: some forest damage from acid rain; air pollution from industrial and vehicle emissions; water pollution from urban wastes, agricultural runoff natural hazards: flooding international agreements: party to - Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Wetlands, Whaling; signed, but not ratified - Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Desertification, Law of the Sea
Note: largest West European nation; occasional warm tropical wind known as mistral
@France:People
Population: 58,109,160 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 19% (female 5,438,447; male 5,700,143) 15-64 years: 65% (female 18,889,771; male 19,001,536) 65 years and over: 16% (female 5,433,276; male 3,645,987) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.46% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 13 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 9.29 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 0.86 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 6.5 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 78.37 years male: 74.5 years female: 82.44 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.8 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Nationality: noun: Frenchman(men), Frenchwoman(women) adjective: French
Ethnic divisions: Celtic and Latin with Teutonic, Slavic, North African, Indochinese, Basque minorities
Religions: Roman Catholic 90%, Protestant 2%, Jewish 1%, Muslim (North African workers) 1%, unaffiliated 6%
Languages: French 100%, rapidly declining regional dialects and languages (Provencal, Breton, Alsatian, Corsican, Catalan, Basque, Flemish)
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1991 est.) total population: 99%
Labor force: 24.17 million by occupation: services 61.5%, industry 31.3%, agriculture 7.2% (1987)
@France:Government
Names: conventional long form: French Republic conventional short form: France local long form: Republique Francaise local short form: France
Digraph: FR
Type: republic
Capital: Paris
Administrative divisions: 22 regions (regions, singular - region); Alsace, Aquitaine, Auvergne, Basse-Normandie, Bourgogne, Bretagne, Centre, Champagne-Ardenne, Corse, Franche-Comte, Haute-Normandie, Ile-de-France, Languedoc-Roussillon, Limousin, Lorraine, Midi-Pyrenees, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, Pays de la Loire, Picardie, Poitou-Charentes, Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur, Rhone-Alpes note: the 22 regions are subdivided into 96 departments; see separate entries for the overseas departments (French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Reunion) and the territorial collectivities (Mayotte, Saint Pierre and Miquelon)
Dependent areas: Bassas da India, Clipperton Island, Europa Island, French Polynesia, French Southern and Antarctic Lands, Glorioso Islands, Juan de Nova Island, New Caledonia, Tromelin Island, Wallis and Futuna note: the US does not recognize claims to Antarctica
Independence: 486 (unified by Clovis)
National holiday: National Day, Taking of the Bastille, 14 July (1789)
Constitution: 28 September 1958, amended concerning election of president in 1962, amended to comply with provisions of EC Maastricht Treaty in 1992; amended to tighten immigration laws 1993
Legal system: civil law system with indigenous concepts; review of administrative but not legislative acts
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Francois MITTERRAND (since 21 May 1981); election last held 8 May 1988 (next to be held by May 1995); results - Second Ballot Francois MITTERRAND 54%, Jacques CHIRAC 46% head of government: Prime Minister Edouard BALLADUR (since 29 March 1993) cabinet: Council of Ministers; appointed by the president on the suggestion of the prime minister
Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament (Parlement) Senate (Senat): elections last held 27 September 1992 (next to be held September 1995; nine-year term, elected by thirds every three years); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (321 total; 296 metropolitan France, 13 for overseas departments and territories, and 12 for French nationals abroad) RPR 91, UDF 142, PS 66, PCF 16, independents 2, other 4 National Assembly (Assemblee Nationale): elections last held 21 and 28 March 1993 (next to be held NA 1998); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (577 total) RPR 247, UDF 213, PS 67, PCF 24, independents 26
Political parties and leaders: Rally for the Republic (RPR), Alain JUPPE, interim head; Union for French Democracy (UDF, coalition of PR, CDS, RAD, PSD), Valery Giscard d'ESTAING; Republican Party (PR), Gerard LONGUET; Center for Social Democrats (CDS), Francois BAYROU; Radical (RAD), Yves GALLAND; Socialist Party (PS), Henri EMMANUELLI; Left Radical Movement (MRG), Jean-Francois HORY; Communist Party (PCF), Robert HUE; National Front (FN), Jean-Marie LE PEN; The Greens, Antoine WAECHTER, Jean-Louis VIDAL, Guy CAMBOT; Generation Ecology (GE), Brice LALONDE
Other political or pressure groups: Communist-controlled labor union (Confederation Generale du Travail - CGT) nearly 2.4 million members (claimed); Socialist-leaning labor union (Confederation Francaise Democratique du Travail or CFDT) about 800,000 members (est.); independent labor union (Force Ouvriere) 1 million members (est.); independent white-collar union (Confederation Generale des Cadres) 340,000 members (claimed); National Council of French Employers (Conseil National du Patronat Francais - CNPF or Patronat)
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Jacques ANDREANI chancery: 4101 Reservoir Road NW, Washington, DC 20007 telephone: [1] (202) 944-6000 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Honolulu, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, San Francisco, and San Juan (Puerto Rico)
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador Pamela C. HARRIMAN embassy: 2 Avenue Gabriel, 75382 Paris Cedex 08 mailing address: Unit 21551, Paris; APO AE 09777 telephone: [33] (1) 42 96 12 02, 42 61 80 75 FAX: [33] (1) 42 66 97 83 consulate(s) general: Bordeaux, Marseille, Strasbourg
Flag: three equal vertical bands of blue (hoist side), white, and red; known as the French Tricouleur (Tricolor); the design and colors are similar to a number of other flags, including those of Belgium, Chad, Ireland, Cote d'Ivoire, and Luxembourg; the official flag for all French dependent areas
@France:Economy
Overview: One of the world's most highly developed economies, France has substantial agricultural resources and a diversified modern industrial sector. Large tracts of fertile land, the application of modern technology, and subsidies have combined to make it the leading agricultural producer in Western Europe. Largely self-sufficient in agricultural products, France is a major exporter of wheat and dairy products. The industrial sector generates about one-quarter of GDP, and the growing services sector has become crucial to the economy. Following stagnation and recession in 1991-93, French GDP in 1994 expanded 2.4%. Growth in 1995 is expected to be in the 3.0% to 3.5% range. Persistently high unemployment will still pose a major problem for the government. Paris remains committed to maintaining the franc-deutsche mark parity, which has kept French interest rates high despite France's low inflation. Although the pace of economic and financial integration within the European Union has slowed down, integration presumably will remain a major force shaping the fortunes of the various economic sectors over the next few years.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $1.0801 trillion (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate: 2.4% (1994 est.)
National product per capita: $18,670 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1.6% (1994)
Unemployment rate: 12.6% (yearend 1994)
Budget: revenues: $220.5 billion expenditures: $249.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $47 billion (1993 budget)
Exports: $249.2 billion (f.o.b., 1994 est.) commodities: machinery and transportation equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs, agricultural products, iron and steel products, textiles and clothing partners: Germany 18.6%, Italy 11.0%, Spain 11.0%, Belgium-Luxembourg 9.1%, UK 8.8%, Netherlands 7.9%, US 6.4%, Japan 2.0%, FSU 0.7% (1991 est.)
Imports: $238.1 billion (c.i.f., 1994 est.) commodities: crude oil, machinery and equipment, agricultural products, chemicals, iron and steel products partners: Germany 17.8%, Italy 10.9%, US 9.5%, Netherlands 8.9%, Spain 8.8%, Belgium-Luxembourg 8.5%, UK 7.5%, Japan 4.1%, FSU 1.3% (1991 est.)
Agriculture: accounts for 4% of GDP (including fishing and forestry); one of the world's top five wheat producers; other principal products - beef, dairy products, cereals, sugar beets, potatoes, wine grapes; self-sufficient for most temperate-zone foods; shortages include fats and oils and tropical produce, but overall net exporter of farm products; fish catch of 850,000 metric tons ranks among world's top 20 countries and is all used domestically
Economic aid: donor: ODA and OOF commitments (1970-89), $75.1 billion
Railroads: total: 34,074 km standard gauge: 33,975 km 1.435-m gauge (5,850 km electrified; 12,132 km double or multiple track) other: 99 km various gauges including 1.000-m (privately owned and operated) (1994)
Highways: total: 1,511,200 km paved: 811,200 km (including 7,700 km of controlled access divided highway) unpaved: 700,000 km (1992)
Inland waterways: 14,932 km; 6,969 km heavily traveled
Pipelines: crude oil 3,059 km; petroleum products 4,487 km; natural gas 24,746 km
Ports: Bordeaux, Boulogne, Cherbourg, Dijon, Dunkerque, La Pallice, Le Havre, Lyon, Marseille, Mullhouse, Nantes, Paris, Rouen, Saint Nazaire, Saint Malo, Strasbourg
Merchant marine: total: 78 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,186,183 GRT/3,323,068 DWT ships by type: bulk 6, cargo 7, chemical tanker 6, container 15, liquefied gas tanker 4, oil tanker 21, passenger 1, roll-on/roll-off cargo 11, short-sea passenger 5, specialized tanker 2 note: France also maintains a captive register for French-owned ships in the Kerguelen Islands (French Southern and Antarctic Lands) and French Polynesia
Airports: total: 476 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 12 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 29 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 96 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 74 with paved runways under 914 m: 188 with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 3 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 74
@France:Communications
Telephone system: 39,200,000 telephones; highly developed; extensive cable and microwave radio relay networks; large-scale introduction of optical-fiber systems; satellite systems for domestic traffic local: NA intercity: microwave radio relay, optical fiber cable, and domestic satellites international: 2 INTELSAT earth stations (with total of 5 antennas - 2 Indian Ocean and 3 for Atlantic Ocean); HF radio communications with more than 20 countries; INMARSAT service; EUTELSAT TV service
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 41, FM 800 (mostly repeaters), shortwave 0 radios: 48 million
Television: broadcast stations: 846 (mostly repeaters) televisions: 36 million
@France:Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Navy (includes Naval Air), Air Force and Air Defense, National Gendarmerie
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 14,740,155; males fit for military service 12,258,691; males reach military age (18) annually 378,489 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $47.1 billion, 3.1% of GDP (1995)
International disputes: Suriname claims area between Riviere Litani and Riviere Marouini (both headwaters of the Lawa)
Climate: tropical; hot, humid; little seasonal temperature variation
Terrain: low-lying coastal plains rising to hills and small mountains
Natural resources: bauxite, timber, gold (widely scattered), cinnabar, kaolin, fish
Land use: arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 0% forest and woodland: 82% other: 18%
Irrigated land: NA sq km
Environment: current issues: NA natural hazards: high frequency of heavy showers and severe thunderstorms; flooding international agreements: NA
Note: mostly an unsettled wilderness
@French Guiana:People
Population: 145,270 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 32% (female 22,511; male 23,535) 15-64 years: 63% (female 41,995; male 50,064) 65 years and over: 5% (female 3,608; male 3,557) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 4.13% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 25.23 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 4.61 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 20.65 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 15.1 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 75.52 years male: 72.27 years female: 78.94 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 3.46 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Nationality: noun: French Guianese (singular and plural) adjective: French Guianese
Ethnic divisions: black or mulatto 66%, Caucasian 12%, East Indian, Chinese, Amerindian 12%, other 10%
Religions: Roman Catholic
Languages: French
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1982) total population: 83% male: 84% female: 82%
Labor force: 23,265 by occupation: services, government, and commerce 60.6%, industry 21.2%, agriculture 18.2% (1980)
@French Guiana:Government
Names: conventional long form: Department of Guiana conventional short form: French Guiana local long form: none local short form: Guyane
Digraph: FG
Type: overseas department of France
Capital: Cayenne
Administrative divisions: none (overseas department of France)
Independence: none (overseas department of France)
National holiday: National Day, Taking of the Bastille, 14 July (1789)
Constitution: 28 September 1958 (French Constitution)
Legal system: French legal system
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Francois MITTERRAND (since 21 May 1981) head of government: Prefect Jean-Francois CORDET (since NA 1992); President of the General Council Elie CASTOR (since NA); President of the Regional Council Antoine KARAM (22 March 1993) cabinet: Council of Ministers
Legislative branch: unicameral General Council and a unicameral Regional Council General Council: elections last held 25 September and 8 October 1988 (next to be held NA); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (19 total) PSG 12, URC 7 Regional Council: elections last held 22 March 1992 (next to be held NA); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (31 total) PSG 16, FDG 10, RPR 2, independents 3 French Senate: elections last held 24 September 1989 (next to be held September 1998); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (1 total) PSG 1 French National Assembly: elections last held 21 and 28 March 1993 (next to be held NA 1998); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (2 total) RPR 1, independent 1
Judicial branch: Court of Appeals (highest local court based in Martinique with jurisdiction over Martinique, Guadeloupe, and French Guiana)
Political parties and leaders: Guianese Socialist Party (PSG), Elie CASTRO; Conservative Union for the Republic (UPR), Leon BERTRAND; Rally for the Center Right (URC); Rally for the Republic (RPR); Guyana Democratic Front (FDG), Georges OTHILY; Walwari Committee, Christine TAUBIRA-DELANON
Member of: FZ, WCL, WFTU
Diplomatic representation in US: none (overseas department of France)
US diplomatic representation: none (overseas department of France)
Flag: the flag of France is used
@French Guiana:Economy
Overview: The economy is tied closely to that of France through subsidies and imports. Besides the French space center at Kourou, fishing and forestry are the most important economic activities, with exports of fish and fish products (mostly shrimp) accounting for more than 60% of total revenue in 1992. The large reserves of tropical hardwoods, not fully exploited, support an expanding sawmill industry that provides sawn logs for export. Cultivation of crops - rice, cassava, bananas, and sugarcane - is limited to the coastal area, where the population is largely concentrated. French Guiana is heavily dependent on imports of food and energy. Unemployment is a serious problem, particularly among younger workers.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $800 million (1993 est.)
National product real growth rate: NA%
National product per capita: $6,000 (1993 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.5% (1992)
Unemployment rate: 13% (1990)
Budget: revenues: $735 million expenditures: $735 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1987)
Exports: $59 million (f.o.b., 1992) commodities: shrimp, timber, rum, rosewood essence partners: France 52%, Spain 15%, US 5% (1992)
Imports: $1.5 billion (c.i.f., 1992) commodities: food (grains, processed meat), other consumer goods, producer goods, petroleum partners: France 77%, Germany 11%, US 5% (1992)
External debt: $1.2 billion (1988)
Industrial production: growth rate NA%
Electricity: capacity: 180,000 kW production: 450 million kWh consumption per capita: 3,149 kWh (1993)
Highways: total: 1,137 km paved: 455 km unpaved: improved, unimproved earth 682 km (1988)
Inland waterways: 460 km, navigable by small oceangoing vessels and river and coastal steamers; 3,300 km navigable by native craft
Ports: Cayenne, Degrad des Cannes, Saint-Laurent du Maroni
Merchant marine: none
Airports: total: 11 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 1 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 2 with paved runways under 914 m: 5 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 3
@French Guiana:Communications
Telephone system: 18,100 telephones; fair open-wire and microwave radio relay system local: NA intercity: open wire and microwave radio relay international: 1 INTELSAT (Atlantic Ocean) earth station
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 5, FM 7, shortwave 0 radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: 9 televisions: NA
@French Guiana:Defense Forces
Branches: French Forces, Gendarmerie
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 41,986; males fit for military service 27,298
Terrain: mixture of rugged high islands and low islands with reefs
Natural resources: timber, fish, cobalt
Land use: arable land: 1% permanent crops: 19% meadows and pastures: 5% forest and woodland: 31% other: 44%
Irrigated land: NA sq km
Environment: current issues: NA natural hazards: occasional cyclonic storms in January international agreements: NA
Note: includes five archipelagoes; Makatea in French Polynesia is one of the three great phosphate rock islands in the Pacific Ocean - the others are Banaba (Ocean Island) in Kiribati and Nauru
@French Polynesia:People
Population: 219,999 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 36% (female 38,361; male 39,744) 15-64 years: 60% (female 64,034; male 69,024) 65 years and over: 4% (female 4,437; male 4,399) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 2.23% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 27.56 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 5.27 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 14.6 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 70.75 years male: 68.32 years female: 73.29 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 3.3 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Nationality: noun: French Polynesian(s) adjective: French Polynesian
Ethnic divisions: Polynesian 78%, Chinese 12%, local French 6%, metropolitan French 4%
Religions: Protestant 54%, Roman Catholic 30%, other 16%
Languages: French (official), Tahitian (official)
Literacy: age 14 and over can read and write but definition of literary not available (1977) total population: 98% male: 98% female: 98%
Labor force: 76,630 employed (1988)
@French Polynesia:Government
Names: conventional long form: Territory of French Polynesia conventional short form: French Polynesia local long form: Territoire de la Polynesie Francaise local short form: Polynesie Francaise
Digraph: FP
Type: overseas territory of France since 1946
Capital: Papeete
Administrative divisions: none (overseas territory of France); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 5 archipelagic divisions named Archipel des Marquises, Archipel des Tuamotu, Archipel des Tubuai, Iles du Vent, and Iles Sous-le-Vent note: Clipperton Island is administered by France from French Polynesia
Independence: none (overseas territory of France)
National holiday: National Day, Taking of the Bastille, 14 July (1789)
Constitution: 28 September 1958 (French Constitution)
Legal system: based on French system
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Francois MITTERRAND (since 21 May 1981); High Commissioner of the Republic Paul RONCIERE (since 8 August 1994) head of government: President of the Territorial Government of French Polynesia Gaston FLOSSE (since 10 May 1991); Deputy to the French Assembly and President of the Territorial Assembly Jean JUVENTIN (since NA November 1992); Territorial Vice President and Minister of Health Michel BUILLARD (since 12 September 1991) cabinet: Council of Ministers; president submits a list of members of the Assembly for approval by them to serve as ministers
Legislative branch: unicameral Territorial Assembly: elections last held 17 March 1991 (next to be held March 1996); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (41 total) People's Rally for the Republic (Gaullist) 18, Polynesian Union Party 12, New Fatherland Party 7, other 4 French Senate: elections last held 24 September 1989 (next to be held September 1998); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (1 total) party NA French National Assembly: elections last held 21 and 28 March 1993 (next to be held NA March 1998); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (2 total) People's Rally for the Republic (Gaullist) 2
Judicial branch: Court of Appeal, Court of the First Instance, Court of Administrative Law
Political parties and leaders: People's Rally for the Republic (Tahoeraa Huiraatira), Gaston FLOSSE; Polynesian Union Party (includes Te Tiarama), Alexandre LEONTIEFF; Here Ai'a Party, Jean JUVENTIN; New Fatherland Party (Ai'a Api), Emile VERNAUDON; Polynesian Liberation Front (Tavini Hviraatira No Te Ao Maohi), Oscar TEMARU; Independent Party (Ia Mana Te Nunaa), Jacques DROLLET; other small parties
Member of: ESCAP (associate), FZ, ICFTU, SPC, WMO
Diplomatic representation in US: none (overseas territory of France)
US diplomatic representation: none (overseas territory of France)
Flag: the flag of France is used
@French Polynesia:Economy
Overview: Since 1962, when France stationed military personnel in the region, French Polynesia has changed from a subsistence economy to one in which a high proportion of the work force is either employed by the military or supports the tourist industry. Tourism accounts for about 20% of GDP and is a primary source of hard currency earnings.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $1.5 billion (1993 est.)
National product real growth rate: NA%
National product per capita: $7,000 (1993 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1.7% (1991)
Unemployment rate: 10% (1990 est.)
Budget: revenues: $614 million expenditures: $957 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1988)
Exports: $88.9 million (f.o.b., 1989) commodities: coconut products 79%, mother-of-pearl 14%, vanilla, shark meat partners: France 54%, US 17%, Japan 17%
Imports: $765 million (c.i.f., 1989) commodities: fuels, foodstuffs, equipment partners: France 53%, US 11%, Australia 6%, NZ 5%
External debt: $NA
Industrial production: growth rate NA%; accounts for 15% of GDP
Electricity: capacity: 75,000 kW production: 275 million kWh consumption per capita: 1,189 kWh (1993)
Agriculture: coconut and vanilla plantations; vegetables and fruit; poultry, beef, dairy products
Economic aid: recipient: Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-88), $3.95 billion
Currency: 1 CFP franc (CFPF) = 100 centimes
Exchange rates: Comptoirs Francais du Pacifique francs (CFPF) per US$1 - 96.25 (January 1995), 100.94 (1994), 102.96 (1993), 96.24 (1992), 102.57 (1991), 99.00 (1990); note - linked at the rate of 18.18 to the French franc
Fiscal year: calendar year
@French Polynesia:Transportation
Railroads: 0 km
Highways: total: 600 km (1982) paved: NA unpaved: NA
Ports: Mataura, Papeete, Rikitea, Uturoa
Merchant marine: total: 3 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 4,127 GRT/6,710 DWT ships by type: passenger-cargo 2, refrigerated cargo 1 note: a subset of the French register allowing French-owned ships to operate under more liberal taxation and manning regulations than permissable under the main French register
Airports: total: 43 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 2 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 14 with paved runways under 914 m: 18 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 4
@French Polynesia:Communications
Telephone system: 33,200 telephones local: NA intercity: NA international: 1 INTELSAT (Pacific Ocean) earth station
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 5, FM 2, shortwave 0 radios: 84,000
Location: Southern Africa, islands in the southern Indian Ocean, about equidistant between Africa, Antarctica, and Australia; note - "French Southern and Antarctic Lands" includes Ile Amsterdam, Ile Saint-Paul, Iles Crozet, and Iles Kerguelen in the southern Indian Ocean, along with the French-claimed sector of Antartica, "Terre Adelie"; the United States does not recognize the French claim to "Terre Adelie"
Map references: Antarctic Region
Area: total area: 7,781 sq km land area: 7,781 sq km comparative area: slightly less than 1.5 times the size of Delaware note: includes Ile Amsterdam, Ile Saint-Paul, Iles Crozet and Iles Kerguelen; excludes "Terre Adelie" claim of about 500,000 sq km in Antarctica that is not recognized by the US
Land boundaries: 0 km
Coastline: 1,232 km
Maritime claims: exclusive economic zone: 200 nm from Iles Kerguelen only territorial sea: 12 nm
International disputes: "Terre Adelie" claim in Antarctica is not recognized by the US
Climate: antarctic
Terrain: volcanic
Natural resources: fish, crayfish
Land use: arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 0% forest and woodland: 0% other: 100%
Irrigated land: 0 sq km
Environment: current issues: NA natural hazards: Ile Amsterdam and Ile Saint-Paul are extinct volcanoes international agreements: NA
Note: remote location in the southern Indian Ocean
@French Southern And Antarctic Lands:People
Population: no indigenous inhabitants; note - there are researchers whose numbers vary from 150 in winter (July) to 200 in summer (January)
@French Southern And Antarctic Lands:Government
Names: conventional long form: Territory of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands conventional short form: French Southern and Antarctic Lands local long form: Territoire des Terres Australes et Antarctiques Francaises local short form: Terres Australes et Antarctiques Francaises
Digraph: FS
Type: overseas territory of France since 1955; governed by High Administrator Bernard de GOUTTES (since May 1990), who is assisted by a 7-member Consultative Council and a 12-member Scientific Council
Capital: none; administered from Paris, France
Administrative divisions: none (overseas territory of France); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 3 districts named Ile Crozet, Iles Kerguelen, and Iles Saint-Paul et Amsterdam; excludes "Terre Adelie" claim in Antarctica that is not recognized by the US
Independence: none (overseas territory of France)
Flag: the flag of France is used
@French Southern And Antarctic Lands:Economy
Overview: Economic activity is limited to servicing meteorological and geophysical research stations and French and other fishing fleets. The fish catches landed on Iles Kerguelen by foreign ships are exported to France and Reunion.
Budget: revenues: $17.5 million expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA (1992)
@French Southern And Antarctic Lands:Transportation
Highways: total: NA paved: NA unpaved: NA
Ports: none; offshore anchorage only
Merchant marine: total: 48 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,290,975 GRT/2,403,050 DWT ships by type: bulk 5, cargo 6, chemical tanker 4, container 1, liquefied gas tanker 3, multifunction large-load carrier 1, oil tanker 15, refrigerated cargo 4, roll-on/roll-off cargo 8, specialized liquefied tanker 1 note: a subset of the French register allowing French-owned ships to operate under more liberal taxation and manning regulations than permissable under the main French register
Airports: none
@French Southern And Antarctic Lands:Communications
Telephone system: NA telephones local: NA intercity: NA international: NA
Radio: broadcast stations: AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: NA televisions: NA
@French Southern And Antarctic Lands:Defense Forces
International disputes: maritime boundary dispute with Equatorial Guinea because of disputed sovereignty over islands in Corisco Bay
Climate: tropical; always hot, humid
Terrain: narrow coastal plain; hilly interior; savanna in east and south
Natural resources: petroleum, manganese, uranium, gold, timber, iron ore
Land use: arable land: 1% permanent crops: 1% meadows and pastures: 18% forest and woodland: 78% other: 2%
Irrigated land: NA sq km
Environment: current issues: deforestation; poaching natural hazards: NA international agreements: party to - Endangered Species, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Law of the Sea, Tropical Timber 94
@Gabon:People
Population: 1,155,749 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 34% (female 193,859; male 194,761) 15-64 years: 61% (female 347,839; male 359,997) 65 years and over: 5% (female 30,218; male 29,075) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.46% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 28.34 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 13.72 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 92.4 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 55.14 years male: 52.31 years female: 58.06 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 3.93 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Nationality: noun: Gabonese (singular and plural) adjective: Gabonese
Ethnic divisions: Bantu tribes including four major tribal groupings (Fang, Eshira, Bapounou, Bateke), other Africans and Europeans 100,000, including 27,000 French
Religions: Christian 55%-75%, Muslim less than 1%, animist
Languages: French (official), Fang, Myene, Bateke, Bapounou/Eschira, Bandjabi
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.) total population: 61% male: 74% female: 48%
Labor force: 120,000 salaried by occupation: agriculture 65.0%, industry and commerce 30.0%, services 2.5%, government 2.5%
@Gabon:Government
Names: conventional long form: Gabonese Republic conventional short form: Gabon local long form: Republique Gabonaise local short form: Gabon
National holiday: Renovation Day, 12 March (1968) (Gabonese Democratic Party established)
Constitution: adopted 14 March 1991
Legal system: based on French civil law system and customary law; judicial review of legislative acts in Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court; compulsory ICJ jurisdiction not accepted
Suffrage: 21 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President El Hadj Omar BONGO (since 2 December 1967); election last held on 5 December 1993 (next to be held 1998); results - President Omar BONGO was reelected with 51% of the vote head of government: Prime Minister Paulin OBAME Nguema (since 9 December 1994) cabinet: Council of Ministers; appointed by the prime minister in consultation with the president
Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly (Assemblee Nationale): elections last held on 5 December 1993 (next to be held by 1998); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (120 total) PDG 62, Morena-Bucherons/RNB 19, PGP 18, National Recovery Movement (Morena-Original) 7, APSG 6, USG 4, CRP 1, independents 3
Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Cour Supreme)
Political parties and leaders: Gabonese Democratic Party (PDG, former sole party), Jaques ADIAHENOT, Secretary General; National Recovery Movement - Lumberjacks (Morena-Bucherons/RNB), Fr. Paul M'BA-ABESSOLE, leader; Gabonese Party for Progress (PGP), Pierre-Louis AGONDHO-OKAWE, President; National Recovery Movement (Morena-Original), Pierre ZONGUE-NGUEMA, Chairman; Association for Socialism in Gabon (APSG), leader NA; Gabonese Socialist Union (USG), leader NA; Circle for Renewal and Progress (CRP), leader NA; Union for Democracy and Development (UDD), leader NA; Rally of Democrats (RD), leader NA; Forces of Change for Democratic Union, leader NA
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Paul BOUNDOUKOU-LATHA chancery: 2233 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007, Suite 200 telephone: [1] (202) 797-1000
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador Joseph C. WILSON IV embassy: Boulevard de la Mer, Libreville mailing address: B. P. 4000, Libreville telephone: [241] 76 20 03 through 76 20 04, 74 34 92 FAX: [241] 74 55 07
Flag: three equal horizontal bands of green (top), yellow, and blue
@Gabon:Economy
Overview: Notwithstanding its serious ongoing economic problems, Gabon enjoys a per capita income more than twice that of most nations of sub-Saharan Africa. Gabon depended on timber and manganese until oil was discovered offshore in the early 1970s. The oil sector now accounts for 50% of GDP. Real growth was feeble in 1992 and Gabon continues to face the problem of fluctuating prices for its oil, timber, manganese, and uranium exports. Despite an abundance of natural wealth, and a manageable rate of population growth, the economy is hobbled by poor fiscal management. In 1992, the fiscal deficit widened to 2.4% of GDP, and Gabon failed to settle arrears on its bilateral debt, leading to a cancellation of rescheduling agreements with official and private creditors. Devaluation of its Francophone currency by 50% in January 1994 did not set off an expected inflationary spiral but the government must continue to keep a tight reign on spending and wage increases.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $5.6 billion (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate: 1.9% (1994 est.)
National product per capita: $4,900 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 35% (1994 est.)
Unemployment rate: NA%
Budget: revenues: $1.3 billion expenditures: $1.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $311 million (1993 est.)
Imports: $832 million (c.i.f., 1993 est.) commodities: foodstuffs, chemical products, petroleum products, construction materials, manufactures, machinery partners: France 42%, African countries 23%, US, Japan
External debt: $3.3 billion (1993 est.)
Industrial production: growth rate -3% (1991)
Electricity: capacity: 315,000 kW production: 910 million kWh consumption per capita: 757 kWh (1993)
Industries: food and beverages, lumbering and plywood, textiles, cement, petroleum refining, mining - manganese, uranium, gold, petroleum
Agriculture: cash crops - cocoa, coffee, palm oil; livestock raising not developed; importer of food; small fishing operations provide a catch of about 20,000 metric tons; okoume (a tropical softwood) is the most important timber product
Economic aid: recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-90), $68 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-90), $2.342 billion; Communist countries (1970-89), $27 million
Currency: 1 CFA franc (CFAF) = 100 centimes
Exchange rates: Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (CFAF) per US$1 - 529.43 (January 1995), 555.20 (1994), 283.16 (1993), 264.69 (1992), 282.11 (1991), 272.26 (1990) note: beginning 12 January 1994, the CFA franc was devalued to CFAF 100 per French franc from CFAF 50 at which it had been fixed since 1948
Fiscal year: calendar year
@Gabon:Transportation
Railroads: total: 649 km single track (Transgabonese Railroad) standard gauge: 649 km 1.437-m gauge
Highways: total: 7,500 km paved: 560 km unpaved: crushed stone 960 km; earth 5,980 km
Inland waterways: 1,600 km perennially navigable
Pipelines: crude oil 270 km; petroleum products 14 km
Airports: total: 69 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 1 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 7 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 1 with paved runways under 914 m: 28 with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 8 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 23
@Gabon:Communications
Telephone system: 15,000 telephones; telephone density - 13/1,000 persons local: NA intercity: adequate system, comprising cable, microwave radio relay, tropospheric scatter, radiocommunication stations, and 12 domestic satellite links international: 3 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth stations
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 6, FM 6, shortwave 0 radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: 3 (repeaters 5) televisions: NA
@Gabon:Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Presidential Guard, National Gendarmerie, National Police
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 272,025; males fit for military service 138,197; males reach military age (20) annually 10,516 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $154 million, 2.4% of GDP (1993)
International disputes: short section of boundary with Senegal is indefinite
Climate: tropical; hot, rainy season (June to November); cooler, dry season (November to May)
Terrain: flood plain of the Gambia River flanked by some low hills
Natural resources: fish
Land use: arable land: 16% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 9% forest and woodland: 20% other: 55%
Irrigated land: 120 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment: current issues: deforestation; desertification; water-borne diseases prevalent natural hazards: rainfall has dropped by 30% in the last thirty years international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution; signed, but not ratified - Desertification
Note: almost an enclave of Senegal; smallest country on the continent of Africa
@The Gambia:People
Population: 989,273 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 47% (female 231,636; male 231,053) 15-64 years: 51% (female 257,329; male 244,947) 65 years and over: 2% (female 11,850; male 12,458) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 3.08% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 45.97 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 15.19 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 120.8 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 50.55 years male: 48.25 years female: 52.92 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 6.23 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Religions: Muslim 90%, Christian 9%, indigenous beliefs 1%
Languages: English (official), Mandinka, Wolof, Fula, other indigenous vernaculars
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.) total population: 27% male: 39% female: 16%
Labor force: 400,000 (1986 est.) by occupation: agriculture 75.0%, industry, commerce, and services 18.9%, government 6.1%
@The Gambia:Government
Names: conventional long form: Republic of The Gambia conventional short form: The Gambia
Digraph: GA
Type: republic under multiparty democratic rule
Capital: Banjul
Administrative divisions: 5 divisions and 1 city*; Banjul*, Lower River, MacCarthy Island, North Bank, Upper River, Western
Independence: 18 February 1965 (from UK; The Gambia and Senegal signed an agreement on 12 December 1981 that called for the creation of a loose confederation to be known as Senegambia, but the agreement was dissolved on 30 September 1989)
National holiday: Independence Day, 18 February (1965)
Constitution: 24 April 1970
Legal system: based on a composite of English common law, Koranic law, and customary law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
Suffrage: 21 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state and head of government: Chairman of the Armed Forces Provisional Ruling Council Capt. Yahya A. J. J. JAMMEH (since the military coup of 22 July 1994); Vice Chairman of the Armed Forces Provisional Ruling Council Capt. Edward SINGHATEH (since March 1995); election last held on 29 April 1992; results - Sir Dawda JAWARA (PPP) 58.5%, Sherif Mustapha DIBBA (NCP) 22.2%, Assan Musa CAMARA (GPP) 8.0% (prior to the 22 July 1994 coup, next election was scheduled for April 1997) cabinet: Cabinet; appointed by the president from members of the House of Representatives (present cabinet appointed by Chairman of the Armed Forces Provisional Ruling Council)
Legislative branch: unicameral House of Representatives: elections last held on 29 April 1992 (next to be held April 1997); results - PPP 58.1%; seats - (43 total, 36 elected) PPP 30, NCP 6
Judicial branch: Supreme Court
Political parties and leaders: People's Progressive Party (PPP), Dawda K. JAWARA (in exile), secretary general; National Convention Party (NCP), Sheriff DIBBA (in exile); Gambian People's Party (GPP), Hassan Musa CAMARA; United Party (UP), leader NA; People's Democratic Organization of Independence and Socialism (PDOIS), leader NA; People's Democratic Party (PDP), Jabel SALLAH
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Aminatta DIBBA chancery: Suite 1000, 1155 15th Street NW, Washington, DC 20005 telephone: [1] (202) 785-1399, 1379, 1425 FAX: [1] (202) 785-1430
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador Andrew J. WINTER embassy: Fajara, Kairaba Avenue, Banjul mailing address: P. M. B. No. 19, Banjul telephone: [220] 392856, 392858, 391970, 391971 FAX: [220] 392475
Flag: three equal horizontal bands of red (top), blue with white edges, and green
@The Gambia:Economy
Overview: The Gambia has no important mineral or other natural resources and has a limited agricultural base. About 75% of the population is engaged in crop production and livestock raising, which contribute 30% to GDP. Small-scale manufacturing activity - processing peanuts, fish, and hides - accounts for less than 10% of GDP. A sustained structural adjustment program, including a liberalized trade policy, had fostered a respectable 4% rate of growth in recent years. Reexport trade constitutes one-third of economic activity; however, border closures associated with Senegal's monetary crisis in late 1993 led to a halving of reexport trade, reducing government revenues in turn. The 50% devaluation of the CFA franc in January 1994 has made Senegalese goods more competitive and apparently prompted a relaxation of Senegalese controls, paving the way for a comeback in reexports. But overwhelming these developments were the devastating effects of the military's takeover in July 1994. By October, traffic at the Port of Banjul had fallen precipitously as importers nervously scaled back their activities with the commencement of the anticorruption drive by the new regime. Concerned with the growing potential for serious unrest after a countercoup attempt was bloodily put down by the regime, the United Kingdom and the EU in November issued a travelers advisory for The Gambia, which brought a halt to tourism almost immediately. The Gambia faces additional problems in 1995 if, as is likely, economic sanctions by Western governments remain in effect in response to indications that the military regime intends to stay in power far longer than expected by the donors.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $1 billion (1993 est.)
National product real growth rate: NA%
National product per capita: $1,050 (1993 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 6.5% (1993)
Unemployment rate: NA%
Budget: revenues: $94 million expenditures: $89 million, including capital expenditures of $24 million (FY92/93 est.)
Exports: $81 million (f.o.b., FY92/93 est.) commodities: peanuts and peanut products, fish, cotton lint, palm kernels partners: Japan 60%, Europe 29%, Africa 5%, US 1%, other 5% (1989)
Imports: $154 million (f.o.b., FY92/93 est.) commodities: foodstuffs, manufactures, raw materials, fuel, machinery and transport equipment partners: Europe 57%, Asia 25%, USSR and Eastern Europe 9%, US 6%, other 3% (1989)
External debt: $286 million (FY92/93 est.)
Industrial production: growth rate 6.7%
Electricity: capacity: 30,000 kW production: 70 million kWh consumption per capita: 64 kWh (1993)
Agriculture: accounts for 30% of GDP; one-third of food requirements is imported; major export crop is peanuts; other principal crops - millet, sorghum, rice, corn, cassava, palm kernels; livestock - cattle, sheep, goats; forestry and fishing resources not fully exploited
Economic aid: recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $93 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $535 million; Communist countries (1970-89), $39 million
Airports: total: 1 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 1
@The Gambia:Communications
Telephone system: 3,500 telephones; telephone density - 4 telephones/1,000 persons local: NA intercity: adequate network of radio relay and wire international: 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 3, FM 2, shortwave 0 radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: NA televisions: NA
@The Gambia:Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Navy, National Police
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 214,680; males fit for military service 108,659 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $14 million, 3.8% of GDP (FY93/94)
Note—The Israel-PLO Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements ("the DOP"), signed in Washington on 13 September 1993, provides for a transitional period not exceeding five years of Palestinian interim self-government in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Under the DOP, final status negotiations are to begin no later than the beginning of the third year of the transitional period.
@Gaza Strip:Geography
Location: Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Israel
Map references: Middle East
Area: total area: 360 sq km land area: 360 sq km comparative area: slightly more than twice the size of Washington, DC
Land boundaries: total 62 km, Egypt 11 km, Israel 51 km
Coastline: 40 km
Maritime claims: Israeli occupied with interim status subject to Israeli/Palestinian negotiations - final status to be determined
International disputes: West Bank and Gaza Strip are Israeli occupied with interim status subject to Israeli/Palestinian negotiations - final status to be determined
Climate: temperate, mild winters, dry and warm to hot summers
Terrain: flat to rolling, sand- and dune-covered coastal plain
Natural resources: negligible
Land use: arable land: 13% permanent crops: 32% meadows and pastures: 0% forest and woodland: 0% other: 55%
Irrigated land: 115 sq km (1992 est.)
Environment: current issues: desertification natural hazards: NA international agreements: NA
Note: there are 24 Jewish settlements and civilian land use sites in the Gaza Strip (August 1994 est.)
@Gaza Strip:People
Population: 813,322 (July 1995 est.) note: in addition, there are 4,800 Jewish settlers in the Gaza Strip (August 1994 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 52% (female 205,192; male 215,158) 15-64 years: 45% (female 185,748; male 183,886) 65 years and over: 3% (female 13,106; male 10,232) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 4.55% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 50.24 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 4.75 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 30.6 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 71.09 years male: 69.56 years female: 72.69 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 7.74 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Nationality: noun: NA adjective: NA
Ethnic divisions: Palestinian Arab and other 99.4%, Jewish 0.6%
Religions: Muslim (predominantly Sunni) 98.7%, Christian 0.7%, Jewish 0.6%
Languages: Arabic, Hebrew (spoken by Israeli settlers), English (widely understood)
Literacy: NA%
Labor force: NA by occupation: construction 33.4%, agriculture 20.0%, commerce, restaurants, and hotels 14.9%, industry 10.0%, other services 21.7% (1991) note: excluding Jewish settlers
@Gaza Strip:Government
Note: Under the Israeli-PLO Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements ("the DOP"), Israel agreed to transfer certain powers and responsibilities to the Palestinian Authority, and subsequently to an elected Palestinian Council, as part of interim self-governing arrangements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. A transfer of powers and responsibilities for the Gaza Strip and Jericho has taken place pursuant to the Israel-PLO 4 May 1994 Cairo Agreement on the Gaza Strip and the Jericho Area. The DOP provides that Israel will retain responsibility during the transitional period for external security and for internal security and public order of settlements and Israelis. Final status is to be determined through direct negotiations within five years.
Names: conventional long form: none conventional short form: Gaza Strip local long form: none local short form: Qita Ghazzah
Digraph: GZ
@Gaza Strip:Economy
Overview: In 1991 roughly 40% of Gaza Strip workers were employed across the border by Israeli industrial, construction, and agricultural enterprises, with worker remittances supplementing GDP by roughly 50%. Gaza depends upon Israel for nearly 90% of its external trade. Aggravating the impact of Israeli military administration, unrest in the territory since 1988 (intifadah) has raised unemployment and lowered the standard of living of Gazans. The Persian Gulf crisis and its aftershocks also have dealt blows to Gaza since August 1990. Worker remittances from the Gulf states have dropped, unemployment has increased, and exports have fallen. The withdrawal of Israel from the Gaza Strip in May 1994 brings a new set of adjustment problems.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $1.7 billion (1993 est.)
National product real growth rate: NA%
National product per capita: $2,400 (1993 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 5.7% (1993)
Unemployment rate: 45% (1994 est.)
Budget: revenues: $33.6 million expenditures: $34.5 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY89/90)
Exports: $83 million (f.o.b., 1992) commodities: citrus partners: Israel, Egypt
Imports: $365 million (c.i.f., 1992) commodities: food, consumer goods, construction materials partners: Israel, Egypt
Industries: generally small family businesses that produce textiles, soap, olive-wood carvings, and mother-of-pearl souvenirs; the Israelis have established some small-scale modern industries in an industrial center
Agriculture: olives, citrus and other fruits; vegetables; beef and dairy products
Economic aid: $240 million disbursed from international aid pledges in 1994
Currency: 1 new Israeli shekel (NIS) = 100 new agorot
Note—Georgia has been beset by ethnic and civil strife since independence. In late 1991, the country's first elected president, Zviad GAMSAKHURDIA was ousted in an armed coup. In October 1993, GAMSAKHURDIA, and his supporters sponsored a failed attempt to retake power from the current government led by former Soviet Foreign Minister Eduard SHEVARDNADZE. The Georgian government has also faced armed separatist conflicts in the Abkhazia and South Ossetia regions. A cease-fire went into effect in South Ossetia in June 1992 and a joint Georgian-Ossetian-Russian peacekeeping force has been in place since that time. Georgian forces were driven out of the Abkhaz region in September 1993 after a yearlong war with Abkhaz separatists. Nearly 200,000 Georgian refugees have since fled Abkhazia, adding substantially to the estimated 100,000 internally displaced persons already in Georgia. Russian peacekeepers are deployed along the border of Abkhazia and the rest of Georgia.
@Georgia:Geography
Location: Southwestern Asia, bordering the Black Sea, between Turkey and Russia
Map references: Middle East
Area: total area: 69,700 sq km land area: 69,700 sq km comparative area: slightly larger than South Carolina
Land boundaries: total 1,461 km, Armenia 164 km, Azerbaijan 322 km, Russia 723 km, Turkey 252 km
Coastline: 310 km
Maritime claims: NA
International disputes: none
Climate: warm and pleasant; Mediterranean-like on Black Sea coast
Terrain: largely mountainous with Great Caucasus Mountains in the north and Lesser Caucasus Mountains in the south; 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
Natural resources: forest lands, hydropower, manganese deposits, iron ores, copper, minor coal and oil deposits; coastal climate and soils allow for important tea and citrus growth
Land use: arable land: 11% permanent crops: 4% meadows and pastures: 29% forest and woodland: 38% other: 18%
Irrigated land: 4,660 sq km (1990)
Environment: current issues: air pollution, particularly in Rust'avi; heavy pollution of Mtkvari River and the Black Sea; inadequate supplies of potable water; soil pollution from toxic chemicals natural hazards: NA international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Ship Pollution; signed, but not ratified - Desertification
@Georgia:People
Population: 5,725,972 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 24% (female 674,331; male 707,355) 15-64 years: 64% (female 1,894,681; male 1,791,847) 65 years and over: 12% (female 410,703; male 247,055) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.77% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 15.77 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 8.73 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 0.66 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 22.6 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 73.1 years male: 69.43 years female: 76.95 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 2.16 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Nationality: noun: Georgian(s) adjective: Georgian
Ethnic divisions: Georgian 70.1%, Armenian 8.1%, Russian 6.3%, Azeri 5.7%, Ossetian 3%, Abkhaz 1.8%, other 5%
Religions: Georgian Orthodox 65%, Russian Orthodox 10%, Muslim 11%, Armenian Orthodox 8%, unknown 6%
Languages: Armenian 7%, Azeri 6%, Georgian 71% (official), Russian 9%, other 7%
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1989) total population: 99% male: 100% female: 98%
Labor force: 2.763 million by occupation: industry and construction 31%, agriculture and forestry 25%, other 44% (1990)
@Georgia:Government
Names: conventional long form: Republic of Georgia conventional short form: Georgia local long form: Sak'art'velos Respublika local short form: Sak'art'velo former: Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic
Digraph: GG
Type: republic
Capital: T'bilisi
Administrative divisions: 2 autonomous republics (avtomnoy respubliki, singular - avtom respublika); Abkhazia (Sokhumi), Ajaria (Bat'umi) note: the administrative centers of the autonomous republics are included in parentheses; there are no oblasts - the rayons around T'bilisi are under direct republic jurisdiction
Independence: 9 April 1991 (from Soviet Union)
National holiday: Independence Day, 26 May (1991)
Constitution: adopted 21 February 1921; currently amending constitution for Parliamentary and popular review by late 1995
Legal system: based on civil law system
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: Chairman of Parliament Eduard Amvrosiyevich SHEVARDNADZE (Chairman of the Government Council since 10 March 1992; elected Chairman of Parliament in 11 October 1992; note - the Government Council has since been disbanded); election last held 11 October 1992 (next to be held October 1995); results - Eduard SHEVARDNADZE 95% head of government: Prime Minister Otar PATSATSIA (since September 1993); Deputy Prime Ministers Avtandil MARGIANI, Zurab KERVALISHVILI (since 25 November 1992), Tamaz NADAREISHVILI (since September 1993), Temur BASILIA (since 17 March 1994), Bakur GULA (since NA) cabinet: Council of Ministers
Legislative branch: unicameral Georgian Parliament (Supreme Soviet): elections last held 11 October 1992 (next to be held October 1995); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (225 total) number of seats by party NA
Judicial branch: Supreme Court
Political parties and leaders: Citizens Union (CU), Eduard SHEVARDNADZE, Zurab SHVANIA, general secretary; National Democratic Party (NDP), Georgi (Gia) CHANTURIA, Ivane GIORGADZE; United Republican Party, umbrella organization for parties including the GPF and the Charter 1991 Party, cochairmen Bakhtand DZABIRADZE, Notar NATADZE, and Theodor PAATASHVILI; Georgian Popular Front (GPF), Nodar NATADZE, chairman; Charter 1991 Party, Thedor PAATASHVILI; Georgian Social Democratic Party (GSDP), Guram MUCHAIDZE, secretary general; National Reconstruction and Rebirth of Georgia Union, Valerian ADVADZE; Christian Democratic Union (CDU), Irakli SHENGELAYA; Democratic Georgia Union (DGU), El'dar SHENGELAYA; National Independence Party (NIP), Irakliy TSERETELI, chairman; Georgian Monarchists' Party (GMP), Temur ZHORZHOLIANI; Green Party, Zurab ZHVANIA; Republican Party (RP), Ivliane KHAINDRAVA; Workers' Union of Georgia (WUG), Vakhtang GABUNIA; Agrarian Party of Georgia (APG), Roin LIPARTELIANI; Choice Society (Archevani), Jaba IOSELIANI, chairman; Georgian Workers Communist Party, Panteleimon GIORGADZE, chairman; National Liberation Front, Tengiz SIGULA, chairman
Other political or pressure groups: supporters of ousted President Zviad GAMSAKHURDIA (deceased 1 January 1994) boycotted the October elections and remain a source of opposition
Member of: BSEC, CCC, CIS, EBRD, ECE, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM (observer), ITU, NACC, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Tedo JAPARIDZE chancery: (temporary) Suite 424, 1511 K Street NW, Washington, DC 20005 telephone: [1] (202) 393-6060, 5959
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador Kent N. BROWN embassy: #25 Antoneli Street, T'bilisi 380026 mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [7] (8832) 98-99-67, 93-38-03 FAX: [7] (8832) 93-37-59
Flag: maroon field with small rectangle in upper hoist side corner; rectangle divided horizontally with black on top, white below
@Georgia:Economy
Overview: Georgia's economy has traditionally revolved around Black Sea tourism; cultivation of citrus fruits, tea, and grapes; mining of manganese and copper; and a small industrial sector producing wine, metals, machinery, chemicals, and textiles. The country imports the bulk of its energy needs, including natural gas and oil products. Its only sizable domestic energy resource is hydropower. Since 1990, widespread conflicts, e.g., in Abkhazia, South Ossetia, and Mingreliya, have severely aggravated the economic crisis resulting from the disintegration of the Soviet command economy in December 1991. Throughout 1993 and 1994, much of industry was functioning at only 20% of capacity; heavy disruptions in agricultural cultivation were reported; and tourism was shut down. The country is precariously dependent on US and EU humanitarian grain shipments, as most other foods are priced beyond reach of the average citizen. Georgia is also suffering from an acute energy crisis, as it is having problems paying for even minimal imports. Georgia is pinning its hopes for recovery on reestablishing trade ties with Russia and on developing international transportation through the key Black Sea ports of P'ot'i and Bat'umi. The government began a tenuous program in 1994 aiming to stabilize prices and reduce large consumer subsidies.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $6 billion (1994 estimate as extrapolated from World Bank estimate for 1992)
National product real growth rate: -30% (1994 est.)
Unemployment rate: officially less than 5% but real unemployment may be more than 20%, with even larger numbers of underemployed workers
Budget: revenues: $NA expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA
Exports: $NA commodities: citrus fruits, tea, wine, other agricultural products; diverse types of machinery; ferrous and nonferrous metals; textiles; chemicals; fuel re-exports partners: Russia, Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan (1992)
Imports: $NA commodities: fuel, grain and other foods, machinery and parts, transport equipment partners: Russia, Azerbaijan, Turkey (1993); note - EU and US sent humanitarian food shipments
External debt: NA (T'bilisi owes about $400 million to Turkmenistan for natural gas as of January 1995)
Industrial production: growth rate -27% (1993); accounts for 36% of GDP
Industries: heavy industrial products include raw steel, rolled steel, airplanes; machine tools, foundry equipment, electric locomotives, tower cranes, electric welding equipment, machinery for food preparation and meat packing, electric motors, process control equipment, instruments; trucks, tractors, and other farm machinery; light industrial products, including cloth, hosiery, and shoes; chemicals; wood-working industries; the most important food industry is wine
Agriculture: accounted for 97% of former USSR citrus fruits and 93% of former USSR tea; important producer of grapes; also cultivates vegetables and potatoes; dependent on imports for grain, dairy products, sugar; small livestock sector
Illicit drugs: illicit cultivator of cannabis and opium poppy; mostly for domestic consumption; used as transshipment point for illicit drugs to Western Europe
Economic aid: recipient: heavily dependent on US and EU for humanitarian grain shipments; EC granted around $70 million in trade credits in 1992 and another $40 million in 1993; Turkey granted $50 million in 1993; smaller scale credits granted by Russia and China
Currency: coupons introduced in April 1993 to be followed by introduction of the lari at undetermined future date; in July 1993 use of the Russian ruble was banned
Exchange rates: coupons per $US1 - 1,280,000 (end December 1994)
Fiscal year: calendar year
@Georgia:Transportation
Railroads: total: 1,570 km in common carrier service; does not include industrial lines broad gauge: 1,570 km 1.520-m gauge (1990)
Highways: total: 33,900 km paved and graveled: 29,500 km unpaved: earth 4,400 km (1990)
Pipelines: crude oil 370 km; refined products 300 km; natural gas 440 km (1992)
Airports: total: 28 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 1 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 7 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 1 with paved runways under 914 m: 1 with unpaved runways over 3,047 m: 1 with unpaved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 1 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 5 with unpaved runways under 914 m: 6
Note: transportation network is in poor condition and disrupted by ethnic conflict, criminal activities, and fuel shortages; network lacks maintenance and repair
@Georgia:Communications
Telephone system: 672,000 telephones (mid-1993); 117 telephones/1,000 persons; poor telephone service; 339,000 unsatisfied applications for telephones (December 1990) local: NA intercity: NA international: links via landline to CIS members and Turkey; low-capacity satellite link and leased international connections via the Moscow international gateway switch with other countries; international electronic mail and telex service available
Radio: broadcast stations: AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: NA televisions: NA
Location: Central Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, between the Netherlands and Poland, south of Denmark
Map references: Europe
Area: total area: 356,910 sq km land area: 349,520 sq km comparative area: slightly smaller than Montana note: includes the formerly separate Federal Republic of Germany, the German Democratic Republic, and Berlin following formal unification on 3 October 1990
Land boundaries: total 3,621 km, Austria 784 km, Belgium 167 km, Czech Republic 646 km, Denmark 68 km, France 451 km, Luxembourg 138 km, Netherlands 577 km, Poland 456 km, Switzerland 334 km
Coastline: 2,389 km
Maritime claims: continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation exclusive economic zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 12 nm
International disputes: none
Climate: temperate and marine; cool, cloudy, wet winters and summers; occasional warm, tropical foehn wind; high relative humidity
Terrain: lowlands in north, uplands in center, Bavarian Alps in south
Land use: arable land: 34% permanent crops: 1% meadows and pastures: 16% forest and woodland: 30% other: 19%
Irrigated land: 4,800 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment: current issues: emissions from coal-burning utilities and industries and lead emissions from vehicle exhausts (the result of continued use of leaded fuels) contribute to air pollution; acid rain, resulting from sulfur dioxide emissions, is damaging forests; heavy pollution in the Baltic Sea from raw sewage and industrial effluents from rivers in eastern Germany natural hazards: NA international agreements: party to - Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Wetlands, Whaling; signed, but not ratified - Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes
Note: strategic location on North European Plain and along the entrance to the Baltic Sea
@Germany:People
Population: 81,337,541 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 16% (female 6,518,108; male 6,857,577) 15-64 years: 68% (female 27,167,824; male 28,130,083) 65 years and over: 16% (female 8,127,938; male 4,536,011) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.26% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 10.98 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 10.83 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 2.46 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 6.3 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 76.62 years male: 73.5 years female: 79.92 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.5 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Nationality: noun: German(s) adjective: German
Ethnic divisions: German 95.1%, Turkish 2.3%, Italians 0.7%, Greeks 0.4%, Poles 0.4%, other 1.1% (made up largely of people fleeing the war in the former Yugoslavia)
Religions: Protestant 45%, Roman Catholic 37%, unaffiliated or other 18%
Languages: German
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1991 est.) total population: 99%
Labor force: 36.75 million by occupation: industry 41%, agriculture 6%, other 53% (1987)
@Germany:Government
Names: conventional long form: Federal Republic of Germany conventional short form: Germany local long form: Bundesrepublik Deutschland local short form: Deutschland
Digraph: GM
Type: federal republic
Capital: Berlin note: the shift from Bonn to Berlin will take place over a period of years with Bonn retaining many administrative functions and several ministries
Independence: 18 January 1871 (German Empire unification); divided into four zones of occupation (UK, US, USSR, and later, France) in 1945 following World War II; Federal Republic of Germany (FRG or West Germany) proclaimed 23 May 1949 and included the former UK, US, and French zones; German Democratic Republic (GDR or East Germany) proclaimed 7 October 1949 and included the former USSR zone; unification of West Germany and East Germany took place 3 October 1990; all four power rights formally relinquished 15 March 1991
National holiday: German Unity Day (Day of Unity), 3 October (1990)
Constitution: 23 May 1949, known as Basic Law; became constitution of the united German people 3 October 1990
Legal system: civil law system with indigenous concepts; judicial review of legislative acts in the Federal Constitutional Court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Roman HERZOG (since 1 July 1994) head of government: Chancellor Dr. Helmut KOHL (since 4 October 1982) cabinet: Cabinet; appointed by the president upon the proposal of the chancellor
Legislative branch: bicameral chamber (no official name for the two chambers as a whole) Federal Assembly (Bundestag): last held 16 October 1994 (next to be held by NA 1998); results - CDU 34.2%, SPD 36.4%, Alliance 90/Greens 7.3%, CSU 7.3%, FDP 6.9%, PDS 4.4%, Republicans 1.9% ; seats - (662 total, but number can vary) CDU 244, SPD 252, Alliance 90/Greens 49, CSU 50, FDP 47, PDS 30; elected by direct popular vote under a system combining direct and proportional representation; a party must win 5% of the national vote or 3 direct mandates to gain representation Federal Council (Bundesrat): State governments are directly represented by votes; each has 3 to 6 votes depending on size and are required to vote as a block; current composition: votes - (68 total) SPD-led states 37, CDU-led states 31
Judicial branch: Federal Constitutional Court (Bundesverfassungsgericht)
Political parties and leaders: Christian Democratic Union (CDU), Helmut KOHL, chairman; Christian Social Union (CSU), Theo WAIGEL, chairman; Free Democratic Party (FDP), Klaus KINKEL, chairman; Social Democratic Party (SPD), Rudolf SCHARPING, chairman; Alliance '90/Greens, Krista SAGER, Juergen TRITTIN, cochairpersons; Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS), Lothar BISKY, chairman; Republikaner, Rolf SCHLIERER, chairman; National Democratic Party (NPD), Guenter DECKERT; Communist Party (DKP), Rolf PRIEMER
Other political or pressure groups: expellee, refugee, and veterans groups
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Juergen CHROBOG chancery: 4645 Reservoir Road NW, Washington, DC 20007 telephone: [1] (202) 298-4000 FAX: [1] (202) 298-4249 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco, Seattle consulate(s): Manila (Trust Territories of the Pacific Islands) and Wellington (America Samoa)
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador Charles E. REDMAN embassy: Deichmanns Aue 29, 53170 Bonn mailing address: Unit 21701, Bonn; APO AE 09080 telephone: [49] (228) 3391 FAX: [49] (228) 339-2663 branch office: Berlin consulate(s) general: Frankfurt, Hamburg, Leipzig, Munich, and Stuttgart
Flag: three equal horizontal bands of black (top), red, and yellow
@Germany:Economy
Overview: Five years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, progress towards economic integration between eastern and western Germany is clearly visible, yet the eastern region almost certainly will remain dependent on subsidies funded by western Germany until well into the next century. The staggering $390 billion in western German assistance that the eastern states have received since 1990 - 40 times the amount in real terms of US Marshall Fund aid sent to West Germany after World War II - is just beginning to have an impact on the eastern German standard of living, which plummeted after unification. Assistance to the east continues to run at roughly $100 billion annually. Although the growth rate in the east was much greater than in the west in 1993-94, eastern GDP per capita nonetheless remains well below preunification levels; it will take 10-15 years for the eastern states to match western Germany's living standards. The economic recovery in the east is led by the construction industries which account for one-third of industrial output, with growth increasingly supported by the service sectors and light manufacturing industries. Eastern Germany's economy is changing from one anchored on manufacturing to a more service-oriented economy. Western Germany, with three times the per capita output of the eastern states, has an advanced market economy and is a world leader in exports. The strong recovery in 1994 from recession began in the export sector and spread to the investment and consumption sectors in response to falling interest rates. Western Germany has a highly urbanized and skilled population that enjoys excellent living standards, abundant leisure time, and comprehensive social welfare benefits. It is relatively poor in natural resources, coal being the most important mineral. Western Germany's world-class companies manufacture technologically advanced goods. The region's economy is mature: services and manufacturing account for the dominant share of economic activities, and raw materials and semimanufactured goods constitute a large portion of imports.
National product: Germany: GDP - purchasing power parity - $1.3446 trillion (1994 est.) western: GDP - purchasing power parity - $1.2363 trillion (1994 est.) eastern: GDP - purchasing power parity - $108.3 billion (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate: Germany: 2.9% (1994 est.) western: 2.3% (1994 est.) eastern: 9.2% (1994 est.)
National product per capita: Germany: $16,580 (1994 est.) western: $19,660 (1994 est.) eastern: $5,950 (1994 est.)
Industries: western: among world's largest and technologically advanced producers of iron, steel, coal, cement, chemicals, machinery, vehicles, machine tools, electronics; food and beverages eastern: metal fabrication, chemicals, brown coal, shipbuilding, machine building, food and beverages, textiles, petroleum refining
Agriculture: western: accounts for about 1% of GDP (including fishing and forestry); diversified crop and livestock farming; principal crops and livestock include potatoes, wheat, barley, sugar beets, fruit, cabbage, cattle, pigs, poultry; net importer of food eastern: accounts for about 10% of GDP (including fishing and forestry); principal crops - wheat, rye, barley, potatoes, sugar beets, fruit; livestock products include pork, beef, chicken, milk, hides and skins; net importer of food
Illicit drugs: source of precursor chemicals for South American cocaine processors; transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin and Latin American cocaine for West European markets
Economic aid: western-donor: ODA and OOF commitments (1970-89), $75.5 billion eastern-donor: bilateral to non-Communist less developed countries (1956-89) $4 billion
Currency: 1 deutsche mark (DM) = 100 pfennige
Exchange rates: deutsche marks (DM) per US$1 - 1.5313 (January 1995), 1.6228 (1994), 1.6533 (1993), 1.5617 (1992), 1.6595 (1991), 1.6157 (1990)
Fiscal year: calendar year
@Germany:Transportation
Railroads: total: 43,457 km standard gauge: 43,190 km (electrified 16,694 km) narrow gauge: 267 km (1994)
Highways: total: 636,282 km paved: 501,282 km (10,955 km of autobahn) unpaved: 135,000 km (1991)
Inland waterways: western: 5,222 km, of which almost 70% are usable by craft of 1,000-metric-ton capacity or larger; major rivers include the Rhine and Elbe; Kiel Canal is an important connection between the Baltic Sea and North Sea eastern: 2,319 km (1988)
Pipelines: crude oil 3,644 km; petroleum products 3,946 km; natural gas 97,564 km (1988)
note: the German register includes ships of the former East and West Germany
Airports: total: 660 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 13 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 64 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 68 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 53 with paved runways under 914 m: 381 with unpaved runways over 3,047 m: 2 with unpaved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 8 with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 9 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 62
@Germany:Communications
Telephone system: western: 40,300,000 telephones; highly developed, modern telecommunication service to all parts of the country; fully adequate in all respects; intensively developed, highly redundant cable and microwave radio relay networks, all completely automatic local: very modern intercity: domestic satellite, microwave radio relay, and cable systems international: 12 INTELSAT (Atlantic Ocean), 2 INTELSAT (Indian Ocean), and 1 EUTELSAT earth station; 2 HF radiocommunication centers; tropospheric scatter links eastern: 3,970,000 telephones; badly needs modernization local: NA intercity: NA international: 1 INTELSAT earth station and 1 Intersputnik system
Radio: western: NA broadcast stations: AM 80, FM 470, shortwave 0 radios: NA eastern: NA broadcast stations: AM 23, FM 17, shortwave 0 radios: 67 million
Television: broadcast stations: 246 (repeaters 6,000); note - there are 15 Russian repeaters in eastern Germany televisions: 25 million in western Germany, 6 million in eastern Germany
@Germany:Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Navy (includes Naval Air Arm), Air Force, Border Police, Coast Guard
Manpower availability: males 15-49 20,274,127; males fit for military service 17,472,940; males reach military age (18) annually 428,082 (1995 est.)
Land use: arable land: 5% permanent crops: 7% meadows and pastures: 15% forest and woodland: 37% other: 36%
Irrigated land: 80 sq km (1989)
Environment: current issues: recent drought in north severely affecting agricultural activities; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; poaching and habitat destruction threatens wildlife populations; water pollution; inadequate supplies of potable water natural hazards: dry, dusty, harmattan winds occur from January to March; droughts international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Climate Change, Desertification, Marine Life Conservation
Note: Lake Volta is the world's largest artificial lake; northeasterly harmattan wind (January to March)
@Ghana:People
Population: 17,763,138 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 46% (female 4,030,154; male 4,069,945) 15-64 years: 51% (female 4,638,451; male 4,494,533) 65 years and over: 3% (female 276,186; male 253,869) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 3.06% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 43.57 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 12.02 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: -0.94 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 81.7 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 55.85 years male: 53.88 years female: 57.88 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 6.09 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Ethnic divisions: black African 99.8% (major tribes - Akan 44%, Moshi-Dagomba 16%, Ewe 13%, Ga 8%), European and other 0.2%
Religions: indigenous beliefs 38%, Muslim 30%, Christian 24%, other 8%
Languages: English (official), African languages (including Akan, Moshi-Dagomba, Ewe, and Ga)
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.) total population: 60% male: 70% female: 51%
Labor force: 3.7 million by occupation: agriculture and fishing 54.7%, industry 18.7%, sales and clerical 15.2%, services, transportation, and communications 7.7%, professional 3.7%
@Ghana:Government
Names: conventional long form: Republic of Ghana conventional short form: Ghana former: Gold Coast
National holiday: Independence Day, 6 March (1957)
Constitution: new constitution approved 28 April 1992
Legal system: based on English common law and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state and head of government: President Jerry John RAWLINGS (since 3 November 1992) election last held 3 November 1992 (next to be held November 1996); results - opposition boycotted the election, the National Democratic Congress won 198 of the total 200 seats and 2 seats were won by independents cabinet: Cabinet; president nominates members subject to approval by the Parliament
Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly: elections last held 29 December 1992 (next to be held December 1996); results - opposition boycotted the election; the National Democratic Congress won 198 0f 200 total seats and independents won 2
Judicial branch: Supreme Court
Political parties and leaders: National Democratic Congress, Jerry John RAWLINGS; New Patriotic Party, Albert Adu BOAHEN; People's Heritage Party, Alex ERSKINE; various other smaller parties
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Ekwow SPIO-GARBRAH chancery: 3512 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 686-4520 FAX: [1] (202) 686-4527 consulate(s) general: New York
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador Kenneth L. BROWN (scheduled to leave in June 1995) embassy: Ring Road East, East of Danquah Circle, Accra mailing address: P. O. Box 194, Accra telephone: [233] (21) 775348, 775349, 775297, 775298 FAX: [233] (21) 776008
Flag: three equal horizontal bands of red (top), yellow, and green with a large black five-pointed star centered in the gold band; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia; similar to the flag of Bolivia, which has a coat of arms centered in the yellow band
@Ghana:Economy
Overview: Well endowed with natural resources, Ghana is relatively well off, having twice the per capita output of the poorer countries in West Africa. Heavily reliant on international assistance, Ghana has made steady progress in liberalizing its economy since 1983. Overall growth continued at a rate of approximately 5% in 1994, due largely to increased gold, timber, and cocoa production - major sources of foreign exchange. The economy, however, continues to revolve around subsistence agriculture, which accounts for 45% of GDP and employs 55% of the work force, mainly small landholders. Public sector wage increases, regional peacekeeping commitments, and the containment of internal unrest in the underdeveloped north have placed substantial demands on the government's budget and have led to inflationary deficit financing and a 27% depreciation of the cedi in 1994.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $22.6 billion (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate: 5% (1994 est.)
National product per capita: $1,310 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 25% (1993 est.)
Unemployment rate: 10% (1991)
Budget: revenues: $1.05 billion expenditures: $1.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $178 million (1993)
Exports: $1 billion (f.o.b., 1993 est.) commodities: cocoa 40%, gold, timber, tuna, bauxite, and aluminum partners: Germany 31%, US 12%, UK 11%, Netherlands 6%, Japan 5% (1991)
Imports: $1.7 billion (c.i.f., 1993 est.) commodities: petroleum 16%, consumer goods, foods, intermediate goods, capital equipment partners: UK 22%, US 11%, Germany 9%, Japan 6%
External debt: $4.6 billion (December 1993 est.)
Industrial production: growth rate 3.4% in manufacturing (1993); accounts for almost 15% of GDP
Agriculture: accounts for almost 50% of GDP (including fishing and forestry); the major cash crop is cocoa; other principal crops - rice, coffee, cassava, peanuts, corn, shea nuts, timber; normally self-sufficient in food
Illicit drugs: illicit producer of cannabis for the international drug trade; transit hub for Southwest and Southeast Asian heroin destined for Europe and the US
Economic aid: recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $455 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $2.6 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $78 million; Communist countries (1970-89) $106 million
Currency: 1 new cedi (C) = 100 pesewas
Exchange rates: new cedis per US$1 - 1,046.74 (December 1994), 936.71 (1994), 649.06 (1993), 437.09 (1992), 367.83 (1991), 326.33 (1990)
Fiscal year: calendar year
@Ghana:Transportation
Railroads: total: 953 km; note - undergoing major renovation narrow gauge: 953 km 1.067-m gauge (32 km double track)
Highways: total: 32,250 km paved: concrete, bituminous 6,084 km unpaved: gravel, crushed stone, improved earth 26,166 km
Inland waterways: Volta, Ankobra, and Tano Rivers provide 168 km of perennial navigation for launches and lighters; Lake Volta provides 1,125 km of arterial and feeder waterways
Airports: total: 12 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 2 with paved runways under 914 m: 2 with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 2 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 2
@Ghana:Communications
Telephone system: 42,300 telephones; poor to fair system; telephone density - 2.4/1,000 persons local: NA intercity: primarily microwave radio relay international: 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 4, FM 1, shortwave 0 radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: 4 (translators 8) televisions: NA
Location: Southwestern Europe, bordering the Strait of Gibraltar, which links the Mediterranean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, on the southern coast of Spain
Map references: Europe
Area: total area: 6.5 sq km land area: 6.5 sq km comparative area: about 11 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC
Land boundaries: total 1.2 km, Spain 1.2 km
Coastline: 12 km
Maritime claims: territorial sea: 3 nm
International disputes: source of occasional friction between Spain and the UK
Climate: Mediterranean with mild winters and warm summers
Terrain: a narrow coastal lowland borders The Rock
Natural resources: negligible
Land use: arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 0% forest and woodland: 0% other: 100%
Irrigated land: NA sq km
Environment: current issues: limited natural freshwater resources, so large concrete or natural rock water catchments collect rain water natural hazards: NA international agreements: NA
Note: strategic location on Strait of Gibraltar that links the North Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea
@Gibraltar:People
Population: 31,874 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 24% (female 3,757; male 3,835) 15-64 years: 63% (female 9,730; male 10,485) 65 years and over: 13% (female 2,360; male 1,707) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.62% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 15 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 8.85 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 7.9 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 76.61 years male: 73.7 years female: 79.48 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 2.29 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Religions: Roman Catholic 74%, Protestant 11% (Church of England 8%, other 3%), Moslem 8%, Jewish 2%, none or other 5% (1981)
Languages: English (used in schools and for official purposes), Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Russian
Literacy: NA%
Labor force: 14,800 (including non-Gibraltar laborers) note: UK military establishments and civil government employ nearly 50% of the labor force
@Gibraltar:Government
Names: conventional long form: none conventional short form: Gibraltar
Digraph: GI
Type: dependent territory of the UK
Capital: Gilbraltar
Administrative divisions: none (dependent territory of the UK)
Independence: none (dependent territory of the UK)
National holiday: Commonwealth Day (second Monday of March)
Constitution: 30 May 1969
Legal system: English law
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal, plus other UK subjects resident six months or more
Executive branch: chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor and Commander in Chief Gen. Sir John CHAPPLE (since NA March 1993) head of government: Chief Minister Joe BOSSANO (since 25 March 1988) Gibraltar Council: advises the governor cabinet: Council of Ministers; appointed from the elected members of the Assembly by the governor in consultation with the chief minister
Legislative branch: unicameral House of Assembly: elections last held on 16 January 1992 (next to be held January 1996); results - SL 73.3%; seats - (18 total, 15 elected) number of seats by party NA
Judicial branch: Supreme Court, Court of Appeal
Political parties and leaders: Gibraltar Socialist Labor Party (SL), Joe BOSSANO; Gibraltar Labor Party/Association for the Advancement of Civil Rights (GCL/AACR), leader NA; Gibraltar Social Democrats, Peter CARUANA; Gibraltar National Party, Joe GARCIA
Other political or pressure groups: Housewives Association; Chamber of Commerce; Gibraltar Representatives Organization
Member of: INTERPOL (subbureau)
Diplomatic representation in US: none (dependent territory of the UK)
US diplomatic representation: none (dependent territory of the UK)
Flag: two horizontal bands of white (top, double width) and red with a three-towered red castle in the center of the white band; hanging from the castle gate is a gold key centered in the red band
@Gibraltar:Economy
Overview: Gibraltar benefits from an extensive shipping trade and offshore banking. The British military presence has been severely reduced and now only contributes about 11% to the local economy. The financial sector accounts for 15% of GDP; tourism, shipping services fees, and duties on consumer goods also generate revenue. Because more than 70% of the economy is in the public sector, changes in government spending have a major impact on the level of employment.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $205 million (1993 est.)
National product real growth rate: NA%
National product per capita: $6,600 (1993 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 3.6% (1988)
Unemployment rate: NA%
Budget: revenues: $116 million expenditures: $124 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1992-93)
Imports: $420 million (c.i.f., 1992) commodities: fuels, manufactured goods, and foodstuffs partners: UK, Spain, Japan, Netherlands
External debt: $318 million (1987)
Industrial production: growth rate NA%
Electricity: capacity: 47,000 kW production: 90 million kWh consumption per capita: 2,539 kWh (1993)
Industries: tourism, banking and finance, construction, commerce; support to large UK naval and air bases; transit trade and supply depot in the port; light manufacturing of tobacco, roasted coffee, ice, mineral waters, candy, beer, and canned fish
Agriculture: none
Economic aid: recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $800,000; Western (non-US) countries and ODA bilateral commitments (1992-93), $2.5 million
Currency: 1 Gibraltar pound (#G) = 100 pence
Exchange rates: Gibraltar pounds (#G) per US$1 - 0.6350 (January 1995), 0.6529 (1994), 0.6658 (1993), 0.5664 (1992), 0.5652 (1991), 0.5603 (1990); note - the Gibraltar pound is at par with the British pound
Fiscal year: 1 July - 30 June
@Gibraltar:Transportation
Railroads: total: NA km; 1.000-m gauge system in dockyard area only
Highways: total: 50 km paved: 50 km
Pipelines: none
Ports: Gibraltar
Merchant marine: total: 23 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 419,707 GRT/721,110 DWT ships by type: bulk 3, cargo 3, chemical tanker 1, container 2, oil tanker 14
Airports: total: 1 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
@Gibraltar:Communications
Telephone system: 9,400 telephones; adequate, automatic domestic system and adequate international radiocommunication and microwave facilities local: NA intercity: NA international: 1 INTELSAT (Atlantic Ocean) earth station
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 1, FM 6, shortwave 0 radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: 4 televisions: NA
@Gibraltar:Defense Forces
Branches: British Army, Royal Navy, Royal Air Force
Location: Southern Africa, group of islands in the Indian Ocean, northwest of Madagascar
Map references: Africa
Area: total area: 5 sq km land area: 5 sq km comparative area: about 8.5 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC note: includes Ile Glorieuse, Ile du Lys, Verte Rocks, Wreck Rock, and South Rock
Location: Southern Europe, bordering the Aegean Sea, Ionian Sea, and the Mediterranean Sea, between Albania and Turkey
Map references: Europe
Area: total area: 131,940 sq km land area: 130,800 sq km comparative area: slightly smaller than Alabama
Land boundaries: total 1,210 km, Albania 282 km, Bulgaria 494 km, Turkey 206 km, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 228 km
Coastline: 13,676 km
Maritime claims: continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation territorial sea: 6 nm
International disputes: complex maritime, air, and territorial disputes with Turkey in Aegean Sea; Cyprus question; dispute with The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia over name, symbols, and certain constitutional provisions; Greece is involved in a bilateral dispute with Albania over border demarcation, the treatment of Albania's ethnic Greek minority, and migrant Albanian workers in Greece
Land use: arable land: 23% permanent crops: 8% meadows and pastures: 40% forest and woodland: 20% other: 9%
Irrigated land: 11,900 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment: current issues: air pollution; water pollution natural hazards: severe earthquakes international agreements: party to - Air Pollution, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Desertification, Law of the Sea
Note: strategic location dominating the Aegean Sea and southern approach to Turkish Straits; a peninsular country, possessing an archipelago of about 2,000 islands
@Greece:People
Population: 10,647,511 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 18% (female 904,374; male 947,494) 15-64 years: 67% (female 3,601,029; male 3,565,931) 65 years and over: 15% (female 919,044; male 709,639) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.72% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 10.56 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 9.31 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 5.99 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 8.3 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 77.92 years male: 75.39 years female: 80.59 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.46 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Nationality: noun: Greek(s) adjective: Greek
Ethnic divisions: Greek 98%, other 2% note: the Greek Government states there are no ethnic divisions in Greece
Religions: Greek Orthodox 98%, Muslim 1.3%, other 0.7%
Languages: Greek (official), English, French
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1991) total population: 95% male: 98% female: 93%
Labor force: 4.077 million by occupation: services 52%, agriculture 23%, industry 25% (1994)
@Greece:Government
Names: conventional long form: Hellenic Republic conventional short form: Greece local long form: Elliniki Dhimokratia local short form: Ellas former: Kingdom of Greece
Digraph: GR
Type: presidential parliamentary government; monarchy rejected by referendum 8 December 1974
National holiday: Independence Day, 25 March (1821) (proclamation of the war of independence)
Constitution: 11 June 1975
Legal system: based on codified Roman law; judiciary divided into civil, criminal, and administrative courts
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal and compulsory
Executive branch: chief of state: President Konstantinos (Kostis) STEPHANOPOULOS (since 10 March 1995) election last held 10 March 1995 (next to be held by NA 2000); results - Konstantinos STEPHANOPOULOS was elected by Parliament
head of government: Prime Minister Andreas PAPANDREOU (since 10 October 1993) cabinet: Cabinet; appointed by the president on recommendation of the prime minister
Legislative branch: unicameral Chamber of Deputies (Vouli ton Ellinon): elections last held 10 October 1993 (next to be held by NA October 1997); results - PASOK 46.88%, ND 39.30%, Political Spring 4.87%, KKE 4.54%, and Progressive Left (replaced by Coalition of the Left and Progress) 2.94%; seats - (300 total) PASOK 170, ND 111, Political Spring 10, KKE 9
Judicial branch: Supreme Judicial Court, Special Supreme Tribunal
Political parties and leaders: New Democracy (ND; conservative), Miltiades EVERT; Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK), Andreas PAPANDREOU; Communist Party (KKE), Aleka PAPARIGA; Ecologist-Alternative List, leader rotates; Political Spring, Antonis SAMARAS; Coalition of the Left and Progress (Synaspismos), Nikolaos KONSTANTOPOULOS
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Loucas TSILAS chancery: 2221 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 939-5800 FAX: [1] (202) 939-5824 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco consulate(s): New Orleans
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador Thomas M.T. NILES embassy: 91 Vasilissis Sophias Boulevard, 10160 Athens mailing address: PSC 108, Athens; APO AE 09842 telephone: [30] (1) 721-2951, 8401 FAX: [30] (1) 645-6282 consulate(s) general: Thessaloniki
Flag: nine equal horizontal stripes of blue alternating with white; there is a blue square in the upper hoist-side corner bearing a white cross; the cross symbolizes Greek Orthodoxy, the established religion of the country
@Greece:Economy
Overview: Greece has a mixed capitalist economy with the basic entrepreneurial system overlaid in 1981-89 by a socialist system that enlarged the public sector from 55% of GDP in 1981 to about 70% in 1989. Since then, the public sector has been reduced to about 60% of GDP. Tourism continues as a major source of foreign exchange, and agriculture is self-sufficient except for meat, dairy products, and animal feedstuffs. Over the last decade, real GDP growth has averaged 1.6% a year, compared with the European Union average of 2.2%. Inflation continues to be well above the EU average, and the national debt has reached 140% of GDP, the highest in the EU. Prime Minister PAPANDREOU will probably make only limited progress correcting the economy's problems of high inflation, large budget deficit, and decaying infrastructure. His economic program suggests that although he will shun his expansionary policies of the 1980s, he will avoid tough measures needed to slow inflation or reduce the state's role in the economy. He has limited the previous government's privatization plans, for example, and has called for generous welfare spending and real wage increases. Athens continues to rely heavily on EU aid, which recently has amounted to about 6% of GDP. Greece almost certainly will not meet the EU's Maastricht Treaty convergence targets of public deficit held to 3% of GDP and national debt to 60% of GDP by 1999. Per capita GDP has fallen below Portugal's level, the lowest among EU members.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $93.7 billion (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate: 0.4% (1994 est.)
Industries: tourism, food and tobacco processing, textiles, chemicals, metal products, mining, petroleum
Agriculture: including fishing and forestry, accounts for 12% of GDP; principal products - wheat, corn, barley, sugar beets, olives, tomatoes, wine, tobacco, potatoes; self-sufficient in food except meat, dairy products, and animal feedstuffs
Illicit drugs: illicit producer of cannabis and limited opium; mostly for domestic production; serves as a gateway to Europe for traffickers smuggling cannabis and heroin from the Middle East and Southwest Asia to the West and precursor chemicals to the East; transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin transiting the Balkan route
Economic aid: recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-81), $525 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $1.39 billion
Railroads: total: 2,503 km standard gauge: 1,565 km 1.435-m gauge (36 km electrified; 100 km double track) narrow gauge: 887 km 1,000-m gauge; 22 km 0.750-m gauge; 29 km 0.600-m gauge
Highways: total: 130,000 km paved: 119,210 km (116 km expressways) unpaved: 10,790 km (1990)
Inland waterways: 80 km; system consists of three coastal canals; including the Corinth Canal (6 km) which crosses the Isthmus of Corinth connecting the Gulf of Corinth with the Saronic Gulf and shortens the sea voyage from the Adriatic to Piraievs (Piraeus) by 325 km; and three unconnected rivers
Pipelines: crude oil 26 km; petroleum products 547 km
Merchant marine: total: 1,046 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 29,076,911 GRT/53,618,024 DWT ships by type: bulk 469, cargo 105, chemical tanker 22, combination bulk 21, combination ore/oil 31, container 40, liquefied gas tanker 5, oil tanker 239, passenger 14, passenger-cargo 3, refrigerated cargo 10, roll-on/roll-off cargo 16, short-sea passenger 67, specialized tanker 3, vehicle carrier 1 note: ethnic Greeks also own 125 ships under Liberian registry, 323 under Panamanian, 705 under Cypriot, 351 under Maltese, and 100 under Bahamian
Airports: total: 79 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 5 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 15 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 16 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 17 with paved runways under 914 m: 22 with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 1 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 3
@Greece:Communications
Telephone system: 4,080,000 telephones; adequate, modern networks reach all areas; microwave radio relay carries most traffic; extensive open-wire network; submarine cables to off-shore islands local: NA intercity: microwave radio relay and open wire international: tropospheric links, 8 submarine cables; 2 INTELSAT (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) and 1 EUTELSAT ground station
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 29, FM 17 (repeaters 20), shortwave 0 radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: 361 televisions: NA
@Greece:Defense Forces
Branches: Hellenic Army, Hellenic Navy, Hellenic Air Force, National Guard, Police
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 2,676,152; males fit for military service 2,046,996; males reach military age (21) annually 75,857 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $4.1 billion, 5.4% of GDP (1994)
Climate: arctic to subarctic; cool summers, cold winters
Terrain: flat to gradually sloping icecap covers all but a narrow, mountainous, barren, rocky coast
Natural resources: zinc, lead, iron ore, coal, molybdenum, cryolite, uranium, fish
Land use: arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 1% forest and woodland: 0% other: 99%
Irrigated land: 0 sq km
Environment: current issues: NA natural hazards: continuous permafrost over northern two-thirds of the island international agreements: NA
Note: dominates North Atlantic Ocean between North America and Europe; sparse population confined to small settlements along coast
@Greenland:People
Population: 57,611 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 27% (female 7,664; male 7,881) 15-64 years: 68% (female 17,761; male 21,580) 65 years and over: 5% (female 1,500; male 1,225) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.05% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 17.7 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 7.2 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 25.1 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 67.65 years male: 63.33 years female: 71.98 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 2.25 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Independence: none (part of the Danish realm; self-governing overseas administrative division)
National holiday: Birthday of the Queen, 16 April (1940)
Constitution: 5 June 1953 (Danish constitution)
Legal system: Danish
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: Queen MARGRETHE II (since 14 January 1972), represented by High Commissioner Steen SPORE (since NA 1993) head of government: Home Rule Chairman Lars Emil JOHANSEN (since 15 March 1991) cabinet: Landsstyre; formed from the Landsting on basis of strength of parties
Legislative branch: unicameral Parliament (Landsting): elections last held on 4 March 1995 (next to be held 5 March 1999); results - Siumut 38.5%, Inuit Ataqatigiit 20.3%, Atassut Party 29.7%; seats - (31 total) Siumut 12, Atassut Party 10, Inuit Ataqatigiit 6, conservative splinter grouping 2, independent 1 Danish Folketing: last held on 21 September 1994 (next to be held by September 1998); Greenland elects two representatives to the Folketing; results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (2 total) Liberals 1, Social Democrats 1; note - Greenlandic representatives are affiliated with Danish political parties
Judicial branch: High Court (Landsret)
Political parties and leaders: two-party ruling coalition; Siumut (Forward Party, a moderate socialist party that advocates more distinct Greenlandic identity and greater autonomy from Denmark), Lars Emil JOHANSEN, chairman; Inuit Ataqatigiit (IA) (Eskimo Brotherhood, a Marxist-Leninist party that favors complete independence from Denmark rather than home rule), Josef MOTZFELDT; Atassut Party (Solidarity, a more conservative party that favors continuing close relations with Denmark), Daniel SKIFTE; AKULLIIT, Bjarne KREUTZMANN; Issituup (Polar Party), Nicolai HEINRICH
Diplomatic representation in US: none (self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark)
US diplomatic representation: none (self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark)
Flag: two equal horizontal bands of white (top) and red with a large disk slightly to the hoist side of center - the top half of the disk is red, the bottom half is white
@Greenland:Economy
Overview: Greenland's economic situation at present is difficult. Unemployment is increasing, and prospects for economic growth in the immediate future are dim. Following the closing of the Black Angel lead and zinc mine in 1989, Greenland became almost completely dependent on fishing and fish processing, the sector accounting for 95% of exports. Prospects for fisheries are not bright, as the important shrimp catches will at best stabilize and cod catches have dropped. Resumption of mining and hydrocarbon activities is not around the corner, thus leaving only tourism with some potential for the near future. The public sector in Greenland, i.e., the central government and its commercial entities and the municipalities, plays a dominant role in Greenland accounting for about two-thirds of total employment. About half the government's revenues come from grants from the Danish Government.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $NA
Budget: revenues: $667 million expenditures: $635 million, including capital expenditures of $103.8 million (1993 est.)
Exports: $330.5 million (f.o.b., 1993 est.) commodities: fish and fish products 95% partners: Denmark 79%, Benelux 9%, Germany 5%
Imports: $369.6 million (c.i.f., 1993 est.) commodities: manufactured goods 28%, machinery and transport equipment 24%, food and live animals 12.4%, petroleum products 12% partners: Denmark 65%, Norway 8.8%, US 4.6%, Germany 3.8%, Japan 3.8%, Sweden 2.4%
External debt: $297.1 million (1993)
Industrial production: growth rate NA%
Electricity: capacity: 84,000 kW production: 210 million kWh consumption per capita: 3,361 kWh (1993)
Industries: fish processing (mainly shrimp), lead and zinc mining, handicrafts, some small shipyards, potential for platinum and gold mining
Agriculture: sector dominated by fishing and sheep raising; crops limited to forage and small garden vegetables; 1988 fish catch of 133,500 metric tons
Airports: total: 10 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 1 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 1 with paved runways under 914 m: 2 with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 1 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 3
@Greenland:Communications
Telephone system: 17,900 telephones; adequate domestic and international service provided by cables and microwave radio relay local: NA intercity: microwave radio relay international: 2 coaxial submarine cables; 1 INTELSAT (Atlantic Ocean) earth station
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 5, FM 7 (repeaters 35), shortwave 0 radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: 4 (repeaters 9) televisions: NA
Land use: arable land: 15% permanent crops: 26% meadows and pastures: 3% forest and woodland: 9% other: 47%
Irrigated land: NA sq km
Environment: current issues: NA natural hazards: lies on edge of hurricane belt; hurricane season lasts from June to November international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Whaling
Note: the administration of the islands of the Grenadines group is divided between Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada
@Grenada:People
Population: 94,486 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 43% (female 20,076; male 20,824) 15-64 years: 52% (female 23,123; male 25,828) 65 years and over: 5% (female 2,514; male 2,121) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.45% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 29.69 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 5.95 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: -19.24 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 12.1 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 70.67 years male: 68.2 years female: 73.17 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 3.85 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Religions: Roman Catholic, Anglican, other Protestant sects
Languages: English (official), French patois
Literacy: age 15 and over has ever attended school (1970) total population: 98% male: 98% female: 98%
Labor force: 36,000 by occupation: services 31%, agriculture 24%, construction 8%, manufacturing 5%, other 32% (1985)
@Grenada:Government
Names: conventional long form: none conventional short form: Grenada
Digraph: GJ
Type: parliamentary democracy
Capital: Saint George's
Administrative divisions: 6 parishes and 1 dependency*; Carriacou and Petit Martinique*, Saint Andrew, Saint David, Saint George, Saint John, Saint Mark, Saint Patrick
Independence: 7 February 1974 (from UK)
National holiday: Independence Day, 7 February (1974)
Constitution: 19 December 1973
Legal system: based on English common law
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Reginald Oswald PALMER (since 6 August 1992) head of government: Prime Minister George BRIZAN (since 1 February 1994) cabinet: Cabinet; appointed by the governor general on advice of the prime minister
Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament Senate: consists of a 13-member body, 10 appointed by the government and 3 by the Leader of the Opposition House of Representatives: elections last held on 13 March 1990 (next to be held by NA July 1995); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (15 total) NDC 7, GULP 4, TNP 2, NNP 2
Judicial branch: Supreme Court
Political parties and leaders: National Democratic Congress (NDC), George BRIZAN; Grenada United Labor Party (GULP), Sir Eric GAIRY; The National Party (TNP), Ben JONES; New National Party (NNP), Keith MITCHELL; Maurice Bishop Patriotic Movement (MBPM), Terrence MARRYSHOW
Member of: ACP, C, CARICOM, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, GATT, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, INTERPOL, IOC, ISO (subscriber), ITU, LAES, NAM, OAS, OECS, OPANAL, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Denneth MODESTE chancery: 1701 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 265-2561
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Ollie P. ANDERSON, Jr. embassy: Point Salines, Saint George's mailing address: P. O. Box 54, Saint George's, Grenada, W.I. telephone: [1] (809) 444-1173 through 1178 FAX: [1] (809) 444-4820
Flag: a rectangle divided diagonally into yellow triangles (top and bottom) and green triangles (hoist side and outer side) with a red border around the flag; there are seven yellow five-pointed stars with three centered in the top red border, three centered in the bottom red border, and one on a red disk superimposed at the center of the flag; there is also a symbolic nutmeg pod on the hoist-side triangle (Grenada is the world's second-largest producer of nutmeg, after Indonesia); the seven stars represent the seven administrative divisions
@Grenada:Economy
Overview: The economy is essentially agricultural and centers on the traditional production of spices and tropical plants. Agriculture accounts for about 15% of GDP and 80% of exports and employs 24% of the labor force. Tourism is the leading foreign exchange earner, followed by agricultural exports. Manufacturing remains relatively undeveloped, but is expected to grow, given a more favorable private investment climate since 1983. The economy achieved an impressive average annual growth rate of 5.5% in 1986-91 but has stalled since 1992. Unemployment remains high at about 25%.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $258 million (1993 est.)
National product real growth rate: 0.5% (1993 est.)
Budget: revenues: $82.2 million (1993 est.) expenditures: $74.3 million, including capital expenditures of $11.8 million (1993 est.)
Exports: $18.6 million (f.o.b., 1993 est.) commodities: bananas, cocoa, nutmeg, fruit and vegetables, clothing, mace partners: Netherlands, UK, Trinidad and Tobago, United States
Imports: $133.8 million (f.o.b., 1993 est.) commodities: food 25%, manufactured goods 22%, machinery 20%, chemicals 10%, fuel 6% (1989) partners: US 29%, UK, Trinidad and Tobago, Japan, Canada (1989)
External debt: $89.9 million (1993)
Industrial production: growth rate 1.8% (1992 est.); accounts for 9% of GDP
Electricity: capacity: 12,500 kW production: 60 million kWh consumption per capita: 639 kWh (1993)
Industries: food and beverage, textile, light assembly operations, tourism, construction
Agriculture: accounts for 14% of GDP and 80% of exports; bananas, cocoa, nutmeg, and mace account for two-thirds of total crop production; world's second-largest producer and fourth-largest exporter of nutmeg and mace; small-sized farms predominate, growing a variety of citrus fruits, avocados, root crops, sugarcane, corn, and vegetables
Economic aid: recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY84-89), $60 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $70 million; Communist countries (1970-89), $32 million
Currency: 1 EC dollar (EC$) = 100 cents
Exchange rates: East Caribbean dollars (EC$) per US$1 - 2.70 (fixed rate since 1976)
Fiscal year: calendar year
@Grenada:Transportation
Railroads: 0 km
Highways: total: 1,000 km paved: 600 km unpaved: otherwise improved 300 km; unimproved earth 100 km
Ports: Grenville, Saint George's
Merchant marine: none
Airports: total: 3 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 with paved runways under 914 m: 1
@Grenada:Communications
Telephone system: 5,650 telephones; automatic, islandwide telephone system; new SHF radio links to the islands of Trinidad, Tobago, and Saint Vincent; VHF and UHF radio links to the islands of Trinidad and Carriacou local: NA intercity: NA international: SHF, VHF, and UHF radio communications
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0 radios: NA
Location: Caribbean, islands in the eastern Caribbean Sea, southeast of Puerto Rico
Map references: Central America and the Caribbean
Area: total area: 1,780 sq km land area: 1,706 sq km comparative area: 10 times the size of Washington, DC note: Guadeloupe is an archipelago of nine inhabited islands, of which Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, and Marie-Galante are the three largest
Climate: subtropical tempered by trade winds; relatively high humidity
Terrain: Basse-Terre is volcanic in origin with interior mountains; Grand-Terre is low limestone formation; most of the seven other islands are volcanic in origin
Natural resources: cultivable land, beaches and climate that foster tourism
Land use: arable land: 18% permanent crops: 5% meadows and pastures: 13% forest and woodland: 40% other: 24%
Irrigated land: 30 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment: current issues: NA natural hazards: hurricanes (June to October); La Soufriere is an active volcano international agreements: NA
@Guadeloupe:People
Population: 402,815 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 26% (female 51,069; male 52,922) 15-64 years: 66% (female 134,328; male 130,875) 65 years and over: 8% (female 19,318; male 14,303) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.24% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 18.15 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 5.58 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: -0.16 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 8.5 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 77.2 years male: 74.16 years female: 80.38 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.95 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Ethnic divisions: black or mulatto 90%, white 5%, East Indian, Lebanese, Chinese less than 5%
Religions: Roman Catholic 95%, Hindu and pagan African 5%
Languages: French, creole patois
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1982) total population: 90% male: 90% female: 90%
Labor force: 120,000 by occupation: services, government, and commerce 53.0%, industry 25.8%, agriculture 21.2%
@Guadeloupe:Government
Names: conventional long form: Department of Guadeloupe conventional short form: Guadeloupe local long form: Departement de la Guadeloupe local short form: Guadeloupe
Digraph: GP
Type: overseas department of France
Capital: Basse-Terre
Administrative divisions: none (overseas department of France)
Independence: none (overseas department of France)
National holiday: National Day, Taking of the Bastille, 14 July (1789)
Constitution: 28 September 1958 (French Constitution)
Legal system: French legal system
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Francois MITTERRAND (since 21 May 1981) head of government: Prefect Franck PERRIEZ (since NA 1992); President of the General Council Dominique LARIFLA (since NA); President of the Regional Council Lucette MICHAUX-CHEVRY (since 22 March 1992) cabinet: Council of Ministers
Legislative branch: unicameral General Council and unicameral Regional Council General Council: elections last held NA March 1992 (next to be held by NA 1996); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (43 total) FRUI.G 13, RPR/DUD 13, PPDG 8, FGPS 3, PCG 3, UPLG 1, PSG 1, independent 1 Regional Council: elections last held on 31 January 1993 (next to be held by 16 March 1998); results - RPR/DUD 48.30%, FGPS 17.09%, FRUI.G 7.44%, PPDG 8.90%, UPLG 7.75% PCG 6.05%; seats - (41 total) seats by party NA French Senate: elections last held in September 1986 (next to be held September 1995); Guadeloupe elects two representatives; results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (2 total) PCG 1, FGPS 1 French National Assembly: elections last held on 21 and 28 March 1993 (next to be held March 1998); Guadeloupe elects four representatives; results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (4 total) FGPS 1, RPR 1, PPDG 1, independent 1
Judicial branch: Court of Appeal (Cour d'Appel) with jurisdiction over Guadeloupe, French Guiana, and Martinique
Political parties and leaders: Rally for the Republic (RPR), Aldo BLAISE; Communist Party of Guadeloupe (PCG), Christian Medard CELESTE; Socialist Party (FGPS), Georges LOUISOR; Popular Union for the Liberation of Guadeloupe (UPLG), Lucien PERATIN; FGPS Dissidents (FRUI.G); Union for French Democracy (UDF), Simon BARLAGNE; Progressive Democratic Party (PPDG), Henri BANGOU
Other political or pressure groups: Popular Union for the Liberation of Guadeloupe (UPLG); Movement for Independent Guadeloupe (MPGI); General Union of Guadeloupe Workers (UGTG); General Federation of Guadeloupe Workers (CGT-G); Christian Movement for the Liberation of Guadeloupe (KLPG)
Member of: FZ, WCL, WFTU
Diplomatic representation in US: none (overseas department of France)
US diplomatic representation: none (overseas department of France)
Flag: the flag of France is used
@Guadeloupe:Economy
Overview: The economy depends on agriculture, tourism, light industry, and services. It is also dependent upon France for large subsidies and imports. Tourism is a key industry, with most tourists from the US. In addition, an increasingly large number of cruise ships visit the islands. The traditionally important sugarcane crop is slowly being replaced by other crops, such as bananas (which now supply about 50% of export earnings), eggplant, and flowers. Other vegetables and root crops are cultivated for local consumption, although Guadeloupe is still dependent on imported food, which comes mainly from France. Light industry consists mostly of sugar and rum production. Most manufactured goods and fuel are imported. Unemployment is especially high among the young.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $3.8 billion (1993 est.)
National product real growth rate: NA%
National product per capita: $9,000 (1993 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 3.7% (1990)
Unemployment rate: 31.3% (1990)
Budget: revenues: $400 million expenditures: $671 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1989)
Exports: $130 million (f.o.b., 1992) commodities: bananas, sugar, rum partners: France 70%, Martinique 17% (1991)
Imports: $1.5 billion (c.i.f., 1992) commodities: foodstuffs, fuels, vehicles, clothing and other consumer goods, construction materials partners: France 60%, EC, US, Japan (1991)
External debt: $NA
Industrial production: growth rate NA%
Electricity: capacity: 320,000 kW production: 650 million kWh consumption per capita: 1,421 kWh (1993)
Agriculture: cash crops - bananas, sugarcane; other products include tropical fruits and vegetables; livestock - cattle, pigs, goats; not self-sufficient in food
Economic aid: recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $4 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $8.235 billion
Airports: total: 9 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 1 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 2 with paved runways under 914 m: 6
@Guadeloupe:Communications
Telephone system: 57,300 telephones; domestic facilities inadequate local: NA intercity: NA international: 1 INTELSAT (Atlantic Ocean) earth station; interisland microwave radio relay to Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, and Martinique
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 2, FM 8 (private stations licensed to broadcast FM 30), shortwave 0 radios: NA
Climate: tropical marine; generally warm and humid, moderated by northeast trade winds; dry season from January to June, rainy season from July to December; little seasonal temperature variation
Terrain: volcanic origin, surrounded by coral reefs; relatively flat coraline limestone plateau (source of most fresh water) with steep coastal cliffs and narrow coastal plains in north, low-rising hills in center, mountains in south
Natural resources: fishing (largely undeveloped), tourism (especially from Japan)
Land use: arable land: 11% permanent crops: 11% meadows and pastures: 15% forest and woodland: 18% other: 45%
Irrigated land: NA sq km
Environment: current issues: NA natural hazards: frequent squalls during rainy season; relatively rare, but potentially very destructive typhoons (especially in August)
international agreements: NA
Note: largest and southernmost island in the Mariana Islands archipelago; strategic location in western North Pacific Ocean
@Guam:People
Population: 153,307 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: NA 15-64 years: NA 65 years and over: NA
Population growth rate: 2.42% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 25.01 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 3.86 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 3 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 15.17 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 74.29 years male: 72.42 years female: 76.13 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 2.32 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Ethnic divisions: Chamorro 47%, Filipino 25%, Caucasian 10%, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and other 18%
Religions: Roman Catholic 98%, other 2%
Languages: English, Chamorro, Japanese
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1990) total population: 99% male: 99% female: 99%
Labor force: 46,930 (1990) by occupation: federal and territorial government 40%, private 60% (trade 18%, services 15.6%, construction 13.8%, other 12.6%) (1990)
@Guam:Government
Names: conventional long form: Territory of Guam conventional short form: Guam
Digraph: GQ
Type: organized, unincorporated territory of the US with policy relations between Guam and the US under the jurisdiction of the Office of Territorial and International Affairs, US Department of the Interior
Capital: Agana
Administrative divisions: none (territory of the US)
Independence: none (territory of the US)
National holiday: Guam Discovery Day (first Monday in March) (1521); Liberation Day, 21 July
Constitution: Organic Act of 1 August 1950
Legal system: modeled on US; federal laws apply
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal; US citizens, but do not vote in US presidential elections
Executive branch: chief of state: President William Jefferson CLINTON (since 20 January 1993); Vice President Albert GORE, Jr. (since 20 January 1993) head of government: Governor Carl GUTIERREZ (since 8 November 1994); Lieutenant Governor Madeleine BORDALLO (since 8 November 1994); election last held 8 November 1994 (next to be held NA November 1998); results - Carl GUTIERREZ (Democrat) was elected Governor and Madeleine BORDALLO (Democrat) was elected Lieutenant Governor cabinet: executive departments; heads appointed by the governor with the consent of the Guam legislature
Legislative branch: unicameral Legislature: elections last held 8 November 1994 (next to be held NA November 1996); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (21 total) Democrats 14, Republican 7 US House of Representatives: elections last held 8 November 1994 (next to be held NA November 1996); Guam elects one delegate; results - Robert UNDERWOOD was reelected as delegate; seats - (1 total) Democrat 1
Judicial branch: Federal District Court, Territorial Superior Court
Political parties and leaders: Democratic Party (controls the legislature); Republican Party (party of the Governor)
Member of: ESCAP (associate), INTERPOL (subbureau), IOC, SPC
Diplomatic representation in US: none (territory of the US)
US diplomatic representation: none (territory of the US)
Flag: territorial flag is dark blue with a narrow red border on all four sides; centered is a red-bordered, pointed, vertical ellipse containing a beach scene, outrigger canoe with sail, and a palm tree with the word GUAM superimposed in bold red letters; US flag is the national flag
@Guam:Economy
Overview: The economy depends mainly on US military spending and on revenues from tourism. Over the past 20 years the tourist industry has grown rapidly, creating a construction boom for new hotels and the expansion of older ones. Visitors numbered about 900,000 in 1992. The slowdown in Japanese economic growth has been reflected in less vigorous growth in the tourism sector. About 60% of the labor force works for the private sector and the rest for government. Most food and industrial goods are imported, with about 75% from the US. Guam faces the problem of building up the civilian economic sector to offset the impact of military downsizing.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $2 billion (1991 est.)
National product real growth rate: NA%
National product per capita: $14,000 (1991 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 4% (1992 est.)
Unemployment rate: 2% (1992 est.)
Budget: revenues: $525 million expenditures: $395 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1991)
Exports: $34 million (f.o.b., 1984) commodities: mostly transshipments of refined petroleum products, construction materials, fish, food and beverage products partners: US 25%, Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands 63%, other 12%
Imports: $493 million (c.i.f., 1984) commodities: petroleum and petroleum products, food, manufactured goods partners: US 23%, Japan 19%, other 58%
External debt: $NA
Industrial production: growth rate NA%
Electricity: capacity: 300,000 kW production: 750 million kWh consumption per capita: 4,797 kWh (1993)
Industries: US military, tourism, construction, transshipment services, concrete products, printing and publishing, food processing, textiles
Agriculture: relatively undeveloped with most food imported; fruits, vegetables, eggs, pork, poultry, beef, copra
Economic aid: although Guam receives no foreign aid, it does receive large transfer payments from the general revenues of the US Federal Treasury into which Guamanians pay no income or excise taxes; under the provisions of a special law of Congress, the Guamanian Treasury, rather than the US Treasury, receives federal income taxes paid by military and civilian Federal employees stationed in Guam
Currency: 1 United States dollar (US$) = 100 cents
Exchange rates: US currency is used
Fiscal year: 1 October - 30 September
@Guam:Transportation
Railroads: 0 km
Highways: total: 674 km (all-weather roads) paved: NA unpaved: NA
Ports: Apra Harbor
Merchant marine: none
Airports: total: 5 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 2 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 with paved runways under 914 m: 1
@Guam:Communications
Telephone system: 26,317 telephones (1989) local: NA intercity: NA international: 2 INTELSAT (Pacific Ocean) earth stations
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 3, FM 3, shortwave 0 radios: NA
Location: Middle America, bordering the Caribbean Sea, between Honduras and Belize and bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between El Salvador and Mexico
Map references: Central America and the Caribbean
Area: total area: 108,890 sq km land area: 108,430 sq km comparative area: slightly smaller than Tennessee
Land boundaries: total 1,687 km, Belize 266 km, El Salvador 203 km, Honduras 256 km, Mexico 962 km
Coastline: 400 km
Maritime claims: continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation exclusive economic zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 12 nm
International disputes: border with Belize in dispute; talks to resolve the dispute are stalled
Climate: tropical; hot, humid in lowlands; cooler in highlands
Terrain: mostly mountains with narrow coastal plains and rolling limestone plateau (Peten)
Land use: arable land: 12% permanent crops: 4% meadows and pastures: 12% forest and woodland: 40% other: 32%
Irrigated land: 780 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment: current issues: deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution natural hazards: numerous volcanoes in mountains, with frequent violent earthquakes; Caribbean coast subject to hurricanes and other tropical storms international agreements: party to - Antarctic Treaty, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea
Note: no natural harbors on west coast
@Guatemala:People
Population: 10,998,602 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 43% (female 2,324,041; male 2,424,686) 15-64 years: 53% (female 2,939,170; male 2,934,334) 65 years and over: 4% (female 198,807; male 177,564) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 2.53% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 34.65 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 7.33 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: -2.04 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 52.2 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 64.85 years male: 62.27 years female: 67.56 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 4.63 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Ethnic divisions: Mestizo - mixed Amerindian-Spanish ancestry (in local Spanish called Ladino) 56%, Amerindian or predominently Amerindian 44%
Religions: Roman Catholic, Protestant, traditional Mayan
Languages: Spanish 60%, Indian language 40% (23 Indian dialects, including Quiche, Cakchiquel, Kekchi)
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.) total population: 55% male: 63% female: 47%
Labor force: 3.2 million (1994 est.) by occupation: agriculture 60%, services 13%, manufacturing 12%, commerce 7%, construction 4%, transport 3%, utilities 0.7%, mining 0.3% (1985)
@Guatemala:Government
Names: conventional long form: Republic of Guatemala conventional short form: Guatemala local long form: Republica de Guatemala local short form: Guatemala
Digraph: GT
Type: republic
Capital: Guatemala
Administrative divisions: 22 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento); Alta Verapaz, Baja Verapaz, Chimaltenango, Chiquimula, El Progreso, Escuintla, Guatemala, Huehuetenango, Izabal, Jalapa, Jutiapa, Peten, Quetzaltenango, Quiche, Retalhuleu, Sacatepequez, San Marcos, Santa Rosa, Solola, Suchitepequez, Totonicapan, Zacapa
Independence: 15 September 1821 (from Spain)
National holiday: Independence Day, 15 September (1821)
Constitution: 31 May 1985, effective 14 January 1986 note: suspended 25 May 1993 by President SERRANO; reinstated 5 June 1993 following ouster of president
Legal system: civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state and head of government: President Ramiro DE LEON Carpio (since 6 June 1993); Vice President Arturo HERBRUGER (since 18 June 1993); election runoff held on 11 January 1991 (next to be held November 1995); results - Jorge SERRANO Elias (MAS) 68.1%, Jorge CARPIO Nicolle (UCN) 31.9% note: President SERRANO resigned on 1 June 1993 shortly after dissolving Congress and the judiciary; on 6 June 1993, Ramiro DE LEON Carpio was chosen as the new president by a vote of Congress; he will finish off the remainder of SERRANO's term which expires 14 January 1996 cabinet: Council of Ministers; named by the president
Legislative branch: unicameral Congress of the Republic (Congreso de la Republica): by agreement of 11 November 1993, a special election was held on 14 August 1994 to select 80 new congressmen (next election to be held in November 1995 for full four year terms); results - percent of vote by party; FRG 40%, PAN 31.25%, DCG 15%, UCN 10%, MLN 2.5%, UD 1.25%; seats - (80 total) FRG 32, PAN 25, DCG 12, UCN 8, MLN 2, UD 1 note: on 11 November 1993 the congress approved a procedure that would reduce its membership from 116 seats to 80; the procedure provided for a special election in mid-1994 to elect an interim congress of 80 members to serve until replaced in a general election in November 1995; the plan was approved in a general referendum in January 1994 and the special election was held on 14 August 1994
Judicial branch: Supreme Court of Justice (Corte Suprema de Justicia); additionally the Court of Constitutionality is presided over by the President of the Supreme Court
Political parties and leaders: National Centrist Union (UCN), (vacant); Solidarity Action Movement (MAS), Oliverio GARCIA Rodas; Christian Democratic Party (DCG), Alfonso CABRERA Hidalgo; National Advancement Party (PAN), Alvaro ARZU Irigoyen; National Liberation Movement (MLN), Mario SANDOVAL Alarcon; Social Democratic Party (PSD), Mario SOLORZANO Martinez; Revolutionary Party (PR), Carlos CHAVARRIA Perez; Guatemalan Republican Front (FRG), Efrain RIOS Montt; Democratic Union (UD)
Other political or pressure groups: Coordinating Committee of Agricultural, Commercial, Industrial, and Financial Associations (CACIF); Mutual Support Group (GAM); Agrarian Owners Group (UNAGRO); Committee for Campesino Unity (CUC); leftist guerrilla movement known as Guatemalan National Revolutionary Union (URNG) has four main factions - Guerrilla army of the Poor (EGP); Revolutionary Organization of the People in Arms (ORPA); Rebel Armed Forces (FAR); Guatemalan Labor Party (PGT/O)
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Edmond MULET chancery: 2220 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 745-4952 through 4954 FAX: [1] (202) 745-1908 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, and San Francisco
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador Marilyn McAFEE embassy: 7-01 Avenida de la Reforma, Zone 10, Guatemala City mailing address: APO AA 34024 telephone: [502] (2) 311541 FAX: [502] (2) 318885
Flag: three equal vertical bands of light blue (hoist side), white, and light blue with the coat of arms centered in the white band; the coat of arms includes a green and red quetzal (the national bird) and a scroll bearing the inscription LIBERTAD 15 DE SEPTIEMBRE DE 1821 (the original date of independence from Spain) all superimposed on a pair of crossed rifles and a pair of crossed swords and framed by a wreath
@Guatemala:Economy
Overview: The economy is based on family and corporate agriculture, which accounts for 25% of GDP, employs about 60% of the labor force, and supplies two-thirds of exports. Manufacturing, predominantly in private hands, accounts for about 15% of GDP and 12% of the labor force. In both 1990 and 1991, the economy grew by 3%, the fourth and fifth consecutive years of mild growth. In 1992 growth picked up to almost 5% as government policies favoring competition and foreign trade and investment took stronger hold. In 1993-94, despite political unrest, this momentum continued, foreign investment held up, and annual growth was 4%.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $33 billion (1994 est.)
Agriculture: accounts for 25% of GDP; most important sector of economy; contributes two-thirds of export earnings; principal crops - sugarcane, corn, bananas, coffee, beans, cardamom; livestock - cattle, sheep, pigs, chickens; food importer
Illicit drugs: transit country for cocaine shipments; illicit producer of opium poppy and cannabis for the international drug trade; the government has an active eradication program for cannabis and opium poppy
Economic aid: recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-90), $1.1 billion; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $7.92 billion
Railroads: total: 1,019 km (102 km privately owned) narrow gauge: 1,019 km 0.914-m gauge (single track)
Highways: total: 26,429 km paved: 2,868 km unpaved: gravel 11,421 km; unimproved earth 12,140 km
Inland waterways: 260 km navigable year round; additional 730 km navigable during high-water season
Pipelines: crude oil 275 km
Ports: Champerico, Puerto Barrios, Puerto Quetzal, San Jose, Santo Tomas de Castilla
Merchant marine: none
Airports: total: 528 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 1 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 5 with paved runways under 914 m: 360 with unpaved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 12 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 146
@Guatemala:Communications
Telephone system: 97,670 telephones; fairly modern network centered in the city of Guatemala local: NA intercity: NA international: connection into Central American Microwave System; 1 INTELSAT (Atlantic Ocean) earth station
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 91, FM 0, shortwave 15 radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: 25 televisions: NA
@Guatemala:Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 2,574,501; males fit for military service 1,683,028; males reach military age (18) annually 123,715 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $121 million, 1% of GDP (1993)
Location: Western Europe, islands in the English Channel, northwest of France
Map references: Europe
Area: total area: 194 sq km land area: 194 sq km comparative area: slightly larger than Washington, DC note: includes Alderney, Guernsey, Herm, Sark, and some other smaller islands
Climate: temperate with mild winters and cool summers; about 50% of days are overcast
Terrain: mostly level with low hills in southwest
Natural resources: cropland
Land use: arable land: NA% permanent crops: NA% meadows and pastures: NA% forest and woodland: NA% other: NA%
Irrigated land: NA sq km
Environment: current issues: NA natural hazards: NA international agreements: NA
Note: large, deepwater harbor at Saint Peter Port
@Guernsey:People
Population: 64,353 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 18% (female 5,664; male 5,892) 15-64 years: 66% (female 21,574; male 21,030) 65 years and over: 16% (female 6,059; male 4,134) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.98% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 13.29 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 9.93 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 6.4 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 6.4 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 78.34 years male: 75.63 years female: 81.07 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.7 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Constitution: unwritten; partly statutes, partly common law and practice
Legal system: English law and local statute; justice is administered by the Royal Court
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952) head of government: Lieutenant Governor and Commander in Chief Vice-Admiral Sir John COWARD (since NA 1994); Bailiff Mr. Graham Martyn DOREY (since February 1992) cabinet: Advisory and Finance Committee (other committees); appointed by the States
Legislative branch: unicameral Assembly of the States: elections last held NA (next to be held NA); results - no percent of vote by party since all are independents; seats - (60 total, 33 elected), all independents
Judicial branch: Royal Court
Political parties and leaders: none; all independents
Member of: none
Diplomatic representation in US: none (British crown dependency)
US diplomatic representation: none (British crown dependency)
Flag: white with the red cross of Saint George (patron saint of England) extending to the edges of the flag
@Guernsey:Economy
Overview: Financial services account for more than 50% of total income. Tourism, manufacturing, and horticulture, mainly tomatoes and cut flowers, have been declining. Bank profits (1992) registered a record 26% growth. Fund management and insurance are the two other major income generators. Per capita output and living standards are somewhat lower than the levels of the less affluent EU countries.
National product: GDP $NA
National product real growth rate: 9% (1987)
National product per capita: $NA
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 7% (1988)
Unemployment rate: NA%
Budget: revenues: $208.9 million expenditures: $173.9 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1988)
Exports: $NA commodities: tomatoes, flowers and ferns, sweet peppers, eggplant, other vegetables partners: UK (regarded as internal trade)
Imports: $NA commodities: coal, gasoline, and oil partners: UK (regarded as internal trade)
External debt: $NA
Industrial production: growth rate NA%
Electricity: capacity: 173,000 kW production: 525 million kWh consumption per capita: 9,060 kWh (1992)
Industries: tourism, banking
Agriculture: tomatoes, flowers (mostly grown in greenhouses), sweet peppers, eggplant, other vegetables, fruit; Guernsey cattle
Economic aid: none
Currency: 1 Guernsey (#G) pound = 100 pence
Exchange rates: Guernsey pounds (#G) per US$1 - 0.6350 (January 1995), 0.6529 (1994), 0.6658 (1993), 0.5664 (1992), 0.5652 (1991), 0.5603 (1990); note - the Guernsey pound is at par with the British pound
Fiscal year: calendar year
@Guernsey:Transportation
Railroads: 0 km
Highways: total: NA paved: NA unpaved: NA
Ports: Saint Peter Port, Saint Sampson
Merchant marine: none
Airports: total: 2 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 1 with paved runways under 914 m: 1
@Guernsey:Communications
Telephone system: 41,900 telephones local: NA intercity: NA international: 1 submarine cable
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0 radios: NA
Climate: generally hot and humid; monsoonal-type rainy season (June to November) with southwesterly winds; dry season (December to May) with northeasterly harmattan winds
Terrain: generally flat coastal plain, hilly to mountainous interior
Natural resources: bauxite, iron ore, diamonds, gold, uranium, hydropower, fish
Land use: arable land: 6% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 12% forest and woodland: 42% other: 40%
Irrigated land: 240 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment: current issues: deforestation; inadequate supplies of potable water; desertification; soil contamination and erosion; overfishing natural hazards: hot, dry, dusty harmattan haze may reduce visibility during dry season international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Desertification
@Guinea:People
Population: 6,549,336 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 44% (female 1,450,501; male 1,448,164) 15-64 years: 53% (female 1,784,420; male 1,691,502) 65 years and over: 3% (female 102,735; male 72,014) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 2.43% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 43.43 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 19.13 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: NA migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.) note: Guinea has received about 400,000 refugees from the civil wars in Liberia and Sierra Leone; the continued fighting in Sierra Leone will likely drive more refugees into Guinea in 1995; on the other hand, peace may be achieved in Liberia and permit Liberian refugees to return home
Infant mortality rate: 136.6 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 44.6 years male: 42.31 years female: 46.95 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 5.79 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Religions: Muslim 85%, Christian 8%, indigenous beliefs 7%
Languages: French (official); each tribe has its own language
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.) total population: 24% male: 35% female: 13%
Labor force: 2.4 million (1983) by occupation: agriculture 80.0%, industry and commerce 11.0%, services 5.4%, civil servants 3.6%
@Guinea:Government
Names: conventional long form: Republic of Guinea conventional short form: Guinea local long form: Republique de Guinee local short form: Guinee former: French Guinea
National holiday: Anniversary of the Second Republic, 3 April (1984)
Constitution: 23 December 1990 (Loi Fundamentale)
Legal system: based on French civil law system, customary law, and decree; legal codes currently being revised; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state and head of government: President Lansana CONTE, elected in the first multi-party election 19 December 1993; prior to the election he had ruled as head of military government since 5 April 1984 cabinet: Council of Ministers; appointed by the president
Legislative branch: unicameral People's National Assembly (Assemblee Nationale Populaire): the People's National Assembly was dissolved after the 3 April 1984 coup; framework established in December 1991 for a new National Assembly with 114 seats; legislative elections, tentatively scheduled for 1994, were not held and are now rescheduled for 11 June 1995
Judicial branch: Court of Appeal (Cour d'Appel)
Political parties and leaders: political parties were legalized on 1 April 1992 pro-government: Party for Unity and Progress (PUP) other: Rally for the Guinean People (RPG), Alpha CONDE; Union for a New Republic (UNR), Mamadou BAH; Party for Renewal and Progress (PRP), Siradiou DIALLO; Movement of Patriotic Democrats (MDP), Ahmed Tidiane CISSE
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Elhadj Boubacar BARRY chancery: 2112 Leroy Place NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 483-9420 FAX: [1] (202) 483-8688
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador Joseph A. SALOOM III embassy: 2nd Boulevard and 9th Avenue, Conakry mailing address: B. P. 603, Conakry telephone: [224] 44 15 20 through 44 15 23 FAX: [224] 44 15 22
Flag: three equal vertical bands of red (hoist side), yellow, and green; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia; similar to the flag of Rwanda, which has a large black letter R centered in the yellow band
@Guinea-bissau:Economy
Overview: Although possessing major mineral and hydropower resources and considerable potential for agricultural development, Guinea remains one of the poorest countries in the world. The agricultural sector contributes about 40% to GDP and employs 80% of the work force, while industry accounts for 27% of GDP. Guinea possesses over 25% of the world's bauxite reserves. The mining sector accounted for 85% of exports in 1991. Long-run improvements in literacy, financial institutions, and the legal framework are needed if the country is to move out of poverty. Except in the bauxite industry, foreign investment remains minimal.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $6.3 billion (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate: 0.8% (1994 est.)
Imports: $768 million (c.i.f., 1992 est.) commodities: petroleum products, metals, machinery, transport equipment, foodstuffs, textiles, and other grain partners: France 26%, Cote d'Ivoire 12%, Hong Kong 6%, Germany 6%
External debt: 2.5 billion (1992)
Industrial production: growth rate NA%; accounts for 27% of GDP
Electricity: capacity: 180,000 kW production: 520 million kWh consumption per capita: 77 kWh (1993)
Agriculture: accounts for 40% of GDP (includes fishing and forestry); mostly subsistence farming; principal products - rice, coffee, pineapples, palm kernels, cassava, bananas, sweet potatoes, timber; livestock - cattle, sheep and goats; not self-sufficient in food grains
Economic aid: recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $227 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $1.465 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $120 million; Communist countries (1970-89), $446 million
Currency: 1 Guinean franc (FG) = 100 centimes
Exchange rates: Guinean francs (FG) per US$1 - 810.94 (1 July 1993), 922.9 (30 September 1992), 675 (1990), 618 (1989), 515 (1988), 440 (1987), 383 (1986)
Fiscal year: calendar year
@Guinea:Transportation
Railroads: total: 1,048 km standard gauge: 241 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 807 km 1.000-m gauge
Highways: total: 30,100 km paved: 1,145 km unpaved: gravel, crushed stone 12,955 km (of which barely 4,500 are currently all-weather roads); unimproved earth 16,000 km (1987)
Inland waterways: 1,295 km navigable by shallow-draft native craft
Ports: Boke, Conakry, Kamsar
Merchant marine: none
Airports: total: 15 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 1 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 with paved runways under 914 m: 1 with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 7 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 3
@Guinea:Communications
Telephone system: 15,000 telephones; poor to fair system of open-wire lines, small radiocommunication stations, and new radio relay system local: NA intercity: microwave radio relay and radio communication stations international: 1 INTELSAT (Atlantic Ocean) earth station
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 3, FM 1, shortwave 0 radios: 200,000
Branches: Army, Navy (acts primarily as a coast guard), Air Force, Republican Guard, Presidential Guard, paramilitary National Gendarmerie, National Police Force (Surete National)
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 1,478,653; males fit for military service 745,990 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $50 million, 1.6% of GDP (1994)
Climate: tropical; generally hot and humid; monsoonal-type rainy season (June to November) with southwesterly winds; dry season (December to May) with northeasterly harmattan winds
Terrain: mostly low coastal plain rising to savanna in east
Natural resources: unexploited deposits of petroleum, bauxite, phosphates, fish, timber
Land use: arable land: 11% permanent crops: 1% meadows and pastures: 43% forest and woodland: 38% other: 7%
Irrigated land: NA sq km
Environment: current issues: deforestation; soil erosion; overgrazing; overfishing natural hazards: hot, dry, dusty harmattan haze may reduce visibility during dry season; brush fires international agreements: party to - Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification
@Guinea-bissau:People
Population: 1,124,537 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 43% (female 242,518; male 243,093) 15-64 years: 54% (female 320,987; male 286,308) 65 years and over: 3% (female 16,129; male 15,502) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 2.36% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 40.24 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 16.62 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 117.9 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 47.87 years male: 46.21 years female: 49.57 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 5.43 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Ethnic divisions: African 99% (Balanta 30%, Fula 20%, Manjaca 14%, Mandinga 13%, Papel 7%), European and mulatto less than 1%
Religions: indigenous beliefs 65%, Muslim 30%, Christian 5%
Languages: Portuguese (official), Criolo, African languages
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.) total population: 36% male: 50% female: 24%
Labor force: 403,000 (est.) by occupation: agriculture 90%, industry, services, and commerce 5%, government 5%
@Guinea-bissau:Government
Names: conventional long form: Republic of Guinea-Bissau conventional short form: Guinea-Bissau local long form: Republica de Guine-Bissau local short form: Guine-Bissau former: Portuguese Guinea
Digraph: PU
Type: republic, formerly highly centralized, multiparty since mid-1991
National holiday: Independence Day, 10 September (1974)
Constitution: 16 May 1984, amended 4 May 1991 (currently undergoing revision to liberalize popular participation in the government)
Legal system: NA
Suffrage: 15 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President of the Republic of Guinea-Bissau Joao Bernardo VIEIRA (assumed power 14 November 1980); election last held August 1994 (next to be held 1999); results - Joao Bernardo VIEIRA 52%, Kumba YALLA 48% head of government: Prime Minister Manuel SATURNINO, since 5 November 1994 cabinet: Council of Ministers; appointed by the president
Legislative branch: unicameral National People's Assembly: (Assembleia Nacional Popular) elections last held 3 July and 7 August 1994 (next to be held 1999); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (100 total) PAIGC 62, RGB 19, PRS 12, Union for Change Coalition 6, FLING 1
Judicial branch: none; there is a Ministry of Justice in the Council of Ministers
Political parties and leaders: African Party for the Independence of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde (PAIGC), President Joao Bernardo VIEIRA, leader; Guinea-Bissau Resistance (RGB); Democratic Front (FD), Aristides MENEZES, leader; Social Renovation Party (PRS); Union for Change Coalition; Front for the Liberation and Independence of Guinea (FLING); Democratic Social Front (FDS), Rafael BARBOSA, leader; Bafata Movement, Domingos Fernandes GARNER, leader; Guinea-Bissau Resistance (RGB); Union for Change Coalition; Front for the Liberation and Independence of Guinea (FLING)
Member of: ACCT (associate), ACP, AfDB, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, GATT, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT (nonsignatory user), INTERPOL, IOM (observer), ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, UN, UNAVEM II, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNOMIL, UNOMOZ, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Alfredo Lopes CABRAL chancery: 918 16th Street NW, Mezzanine Suite, Washington, DC 20006 telephone: [1] (202) 872-4222 FAX: [1] (202) 872-4226
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador Roger A. McGUIRE embassy: Bairro de Penha, Bissau mailing address: C.P. 297, 1067 Bissau Codex, Bissau, Guinea-Bissau telephone: [245] 252273, 252274, 252275, 252276 FAX: [245] 252282
Flag: two equal horizontal bands of yellow (top) and green with a vertical red band on the hoist side; there is a black five-pointed star centered in the red band; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia; similar to the flag of Cape Verde, which has the black star raised above the center of the red band and is framed by two corn stalks and a yellow clam shell
@Guinea:Economy
Overview: Guinea-Bissau ranks among the poorest countries in the world. Agriculture and fishing are the main economic activities. Cashew nuts, peanuts, and palm kernels are the primary exports. Exploitation of known mineral deposits is unlikely at present because of a weak infrastructure and the high cost of development. With IMF support the country is committed to an economic reform program emphasizing monetary stability and private sector growth. This process will continue at a slow pace because of a heavy foreign debt burden and internal constraints.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $900 million (1993 est.)
National product real growth rate: 2.9% (1993 est.)
National product per capita: $840 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 55% (1991 est.)
Unemployment rate: NA%
Budget: revenues: $33.6 million expenditures: $44.8 million, including capital expenditures of $570,000 (1991 est.)
Exports: $19 million (f.o.b., 1993) commodities: cashews, fish, peanuts, palm kernels partners: Portugal, Spain, Senegal, India, Nigeria
Imports: $56 million (f.o.b., 1993) commodities: foodstuffs, transport equipment, petroleum products, machinery and equipment partners: Portugal, Netherlands, China, Germany, Senegal
External debt: $462 million (December 1990 est.)
Industrial production: growth rate NA (1991 est.); accounts for 8% of GDP
Electricity: capacity: 22,000 kW production: 40 million kWh consumption per capita: 37 kWh (1993)
Agriculture: accounts for over 45% of GDP, nearly 100% of exports, and 90% of employment; rice is the staple food; other crops include corn, beans, cassava, cashew nuts, peanuts, palm kernels, and cotton; not self-sufficient in food; fishing and forestry potential not fully exploited
Economic aid: recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $49 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $615 million; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $41 million; Communist countries (1970-89), $68 million
Highways: total: 3,218 km paved: bituminous 2,698 km unpaved: earth 520 km
Inland waterways: scattered stretches are important to coastal commerce
Ports: Bissau
Merchant marine: none
Airports: total: 32 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 1 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 1 with paved runways under 914 m: 22 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 6
@Guinea-bissau:Communications
Telephone system: 3,000 telephones; poor system; telephone density - 2.7 telephones/1,000 persons local: NA intercity: combination of microwave radio relay, open wire lines and radiocommunications international: NA
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 2, FM 3, shortwave 0 radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: 1 televisions: NA
@Guinea-bissau:Defense Forces
Branches: People's Revolutionary Armed Force (FARP; includes Army, Navy, and Air Force), paramilitary force
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 251,636; males fit for military service 143,694 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $9 million, 4.5% of GDP (1994)
Location: Northern South America, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Suriname and Venezuela
Map references: South America
Area: total area: 214,970 sq km land area: 196,850 sq km comparative area: slightly smaller than Idaho
Land boundaries: total 2,462 km, Brazil 1,119 km, Suriname 600 km, Venezuela 743 km
Coastline: 459 km
Maritime claims: continental shelf: 200 nm or to the outer edge of the continental margin exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 12 nm
International disputes: all of the area west of the Essequibo River claimed by Venezuela; Suriname claims area between New (Upper Courantyne) and Courantyne/Kutari Rivers (all headwaters of the Courantyne)
Climate: tropical; hot, humid, moderated by northeast trade winds; two rainy seasons (May to mid-August, mid-November to mid-January)
Terrain: mostly rolling highlands; low coastal plain; savanna in south
Natural resources: bauxite, gold, diamonds, hardwood timber, shrimp, fish
Land use: arable land: 3% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 6% forest and woodland: 83% other: 8%
Irrigated land: 1,300 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment: current issues: water pollution from sewage and agricultural and industrial chemicals; deforestation natural hazards: flash floods are a constant threat during rainy seasons international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83
@Guyana:People
Population: 723,774 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 33% (female 118,515; male 123,048) 15-64 years: 62% (female 224,484; male 225,543) 65 years and over: 5% (female 17,540; male 14,644) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: -0.81% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 19.41 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 7.34 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: -20.19 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 47.7 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 65.1 years male: 61.86 years female: 68.5 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 2.23 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Nationality: noun: Guyanese (singular and plural) adjective: Guyanese
Ethnic divisions: East Indian 51%, black and mixed 43%, Amerindian 4%, European and Chinese 2%
Religions: Christian 57%, Hindu 33%, Muslim 9%, other 1%
Languages: English, Amerindian dialects
Literacy: age 15 and over has ever attended school (1990 est.) total population: 96% male: 98% female: 95%
Labor force: 268,000 by occupation: industry and commerce 44.5%, agriculture 33.8%, services 21.7% note: public-sector employment amounts to 60%-80% of the total labor force (1985)
@Guyana:Government
Names: conventional long form: Co-operative Republic of Guyana conventional short form: Guyana former: British Guiana
National holiday: Republic Day, 23 February (1970)
Constitution: 6 October 1980
Legal system: based on English common law with certain admixtures of Roman-Dutch law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: Executive President Cheddi JAGAN (since 5 October 1992); election last held 5 October 1992; results - Cheddi JAGAN was elected president since he was leader of the party with the most votes in the National Assembly elections head of government: Prime Minister Sam HINDS (since 5 October 1992) cabinet: Cabinet of Ministers; appointed by the president, responsible to the legislature
Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly: elections last held on 5 October 1992 (next to be held in 1997); results - PPP 53.4%, PNC 42.3%, WPA 2%, TUF 1.2%; seats - (65 total, 53 elected) PPP 36, PNC 26, WPA 2, TUF 1
Judicial branch: Supreme Court of Judicature
Political parties and leaders: People's Progressive Party (PPP), Cheddi JAGAN; People's National Congress (PNC), Hugh Desmond HOYTE; Good and Green Georgetown (GGG), Hamilton GREEN; Working People's Alliance (WPA), Eusi KWAYANA, Rupert ROOPNARINE; Democratic Labor Movement (DLM), Paul TENNASSEE; People's Democratic Movement (PDM), Llewellyn JOHN; National Democratic Front (NDF), Joseph BACCHUS; The United Force (TUF), Manzoor NADIR; United Republican Party (URP), Leslie RAMSAMMY; National Republican Party (NRP), Robert GANGADEEN; Guyana Labor Party (GLP), Nanda GOPAUL
Other political or pressure groups: Trades Union Congress (TUC); Guyana Council of Indian Organizations (GCIO); Civil Liberties Action Committee (CLAC) note: the latter two organizations are small and active but not well organized
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Dr. Ali Odeen ISHMAEL chancery: 2490 Tracy Place NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 265-6900, 6901 consulate(s) general: New York
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador George F. JONES embassy: 99-100 Young and Duke Streets, Kingston, Georgetown mailing address: P. O. Box 10507, Georgetown telephone: [592] (2) 54900 through 54909, 57960 through 57969 FAX: [592] (2) 58497
Flag: green with a red isosceles triangle (based on the hoist side) superimposed on a long yellow arrowhead; there is a narrow black border between the red and yellow, and a narrow white border between the yellow and the green
@Guyana:Economy
Overview: Guyana, one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere, has pushed ahead strongly in 1992-94, with an 8% average annual economic growth rate, led by gold mining, and rice, sugar, and forestry products for export. Favorable factors include recovery in the key agricultural and mining sectors, a more favorable atmosphere for business initiative, a more realistic exchange rate, a sharp drop in the inflation rate, and the continued support of international organizations. Serious underlying economic problems will continue. Electric power has been in short supply and constitutes a major barrier to future gains in national output. The government will have to persist in efforts to manage its large $2.2 billion external debt, control inflation, and to extend the privatization program.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $1.4 billion (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate: 8.5% (1994 est.)
Budget: revenues: $23.7 million expenditures: $19.6 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1994 est.)
Exports: $475 million (f.o.b., 1994) commodities: sugar, bauxite/alumina, rice, shrimp, molasses partners: UK 33%, US 31%, Canada 9%, France 5%, Japan 3% (1992)
Imports: $456 million (c.i.f., 1994 est.) commodities: manufactures, machinery, petroleum, food partners: US 37%, Trinidad and Tobago 13%, UK 11%, Italy 8%, Japan 5% (1992)
Agriculture: most important sector, accounting for 25% of GDP and about half of exports; sugar and rice are key crops; development potential exists for fishing and forestry; not self-sufficient in food, especially wheat, vegetable oils, and animal products
Illicit drugs: transshipment point for narcotics from South America - primarily Venezuela - to the US and Europe; producer of cannabis
Economic aid: recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $116 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $325 million; Communist countries 1970-89, $242 million
Railroads: total: 100 km NA-m gauge industrial lines for the transport of minerals, including bauxite
Highways: total: 7,665 km paved: 550 km unpaved: gravel 5,000 km; earth 2,115 km
Inland waterways: 6,000 km total of navigable waterways; Berbice, Demerara, and Essequibo Rivers are navigable by oceangoing vessels for 150 km, 100 km, and 80 km, respectively
Ports: Bartica, Georgetown, Linden, New Amsterdam, Parika
Airports: total: 54 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 1 with paved runways under 914 m: 34 with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 2 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 14
@Guyana:Communications
Telephone system: over 27,000 telephones; fair system for long distance calling local: NA intercity: microwave radio relay network for trunk lines international: tropospheric scatter link to Trinidad; 1 INTELSAT (Atlantic Ocean) earth station
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 4, FM 3, shortwave 1 radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: 0 televisions: NA
@Guyana:Defense Forces
Branches: Guyana Defense Force (GDF; includes Ground Forces, Coast Guard, and Air Corps), Guyana People's Militia (GPM), Guyana National Service (GNS)
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 198,665; males fit for military service 150,573 (1995 est.)
Location: Caribbean, western one-third of the island of Hispaniola, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, west of the Dominican Republic
Map references: Central America and the Caribbean
Area: total area: 27,750 sq km land area: 27,560 sq km comparative area: slightly larger than Maryland
Land boundaries: total 275 km, Dominican Republic 275 km
International disputes: claims US-administered Navassa Island
Climate: tropical; semiarid where mountains in east cut off trade winds
Terrain: mostly rough and mountainous
Natural resources: bauxite
Land use: arable land: 20% permanent crops: 13% meadows and pastures: 18% forest and woodland: 4% other: 45%
Irrigated land: 750 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment: current issues: extensive deforestation (much of the remaining forested land is being cleared for agriculture and use as fuel); soil erosion; inadequate supplies of potable water natural hazards: lies in the middle of the hurricane belt and subject to severe storms from June to October; occasional flooding and earthquakes; periodic droughts international agreements: party to - Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban
Note: shares island of Hispaniola with Dominican Republic (western one-third is Haiti, eastern two-thirds is the Dominican Republic)
@Haiti:People
Population: 6,539,983 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 46% (female 1,490,939; male 1,535,607) 15-64 years: 50% (female 1,692,032; male 1,557,568) 65 years and over: 4% (female 133,291; male 130,546) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.5% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 38.64 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 18.65 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: -4.99 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 107.5 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 44.77 years male: 43.04 years female: 46.59 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 5.82 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Nationality: noun: Haitian(s) adjective: Haitian
Ethnic divisions: black 95%, mulatto and European 5%
Religions: Roman Catholic 80% (of which an overwhelming majority also practice Voodoo), Protestant 16% (Baptist 10%, Pentecostal 4%, Adventist 1%, other 1%), none 1%, other 3% (1982)
Languages: French (official) 10%, Creole
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1982) total population: 35% male: 37% female: 32%
Labor force: 2.3 million by occupation: agriculture 66%, services 25%, industry 9% note: shortage of skilled labor, unskilled labor abundant (1982)
@Haiti:Government
Names: conventional long form: Republic of Haiti conventional short form: Haiti local long form: Republique d'Haiti local short form: Haiti
National holiday: Independence Day, 1 January (1804)
Constitution: approved March 1987, suspended June 1988, most articles reinstated March 1989; October 1991, government claims to be observing the Constitution
Legal system: based on Roman civil law system; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Jean-Bertrand ARISTIDE (since 7 February 1991), ousted in a coup in September 1991 but, with US military support, returned to power on 15 October 1994; election last held 16 December 1990 (next to be held by December 1995); results - Rev. Jean-Bertrand ARISTIDE 67.5%, Marc BAZIN 14.2%, Louis DEJOIE 4.9% head of government: Prime Minister Smarck MICHEL (since October 1994) cabinet: Cabinet; chosen by prime minister in consultation with the president
Legislative branch: bicameral National Assembly (Assemblee Nationale) Senate: elections last held 18 January 1993, widely condemned as illegitimate (next to be held 25 June 1994); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (27 total) FNCD 12, MIDH-PANPRA 8, PAIN 2, MRN 1, RDNP 1, PNT 1, independent 2 Chamber of Deputies: elections last held 16 December 1990, with runoff held 20 January 1991 (next to be held 25 June 1995); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (83 total) FNCD 27, MIDH-PANPRA 17, PDCH 7, PAIN 6, RDNP 6, MDN 5, PNT 3, MKN 2, MODELH 2, MRN 1, independents 5, other 2
Judicial branch: Court of Appeal (Cour de Cassation)
Political parties and leaders: National Front for Change and Democracy (FNCD), Evans PAUL, including National Cooperative Action Movement (MKN), Volvick Remy JOSEPH; National Congress of Democratic Movements (CONACOM), Victor BENOIT; Movement for the Installation of Democracy in Haiti (MIDH), Marc BAZIN; National Progressive Revolutionary Party (PANPRA), Serge GILLES; National Patriotic Movement of November 28 (MNP-28), Dejean BELIZAIRE; National Agricultural and Industrial Party (PAIN), Louis DEJOIE; Movement for National Reconstruction (MRN), Rene THEODORE; Haitian Christian Democratic Party (PDCH), Joseph DOUZE; Assembly of Progressive National Democrats (RDNP), Leslie MANIGAT; National Party of Labor (PNT), Thomas DESULME; Mobilization for National Development (MDN), Hubert DE RONCERAY; Democratic Movement for the Liberation of Haiti (MODELH), Francois LATORTUE; Haitian Social Christian Party (PSCH), Gregoire EUGENE; Movement for the Organization of the Country (MOP), Gesner COMEAU and Jean MOLIERE; Democratic Unity Confederation (KID), Evans PAUL; National Lavalas Political Organization (OPL), Gerard PIERRE/CHARLES
Other political or pressure groups: Roman Catholic Church; Confederation of Haitian Workers (CTH); Federation of Workers Trade Unions (FOS); Autonomous Haitian Workers (CATH); National Popular Assembly (APN); Revolutionary Front for Haitian Advancement and Progress (FRAPH)
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Jean CASIMIR chancery: 2311 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 332-4090 through 4092 FAX: [1] (202) 745-7215 consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, Miami, New York, and San Juan (Puerto Rico)
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador William Lacy SWING embassy: Harry Truman Boulevard, Port-au-Prince mailing address: P. O. Box 1761, Port-au-Prince telephone: [509] 22-0354, 22-0368, 22-0200, 22-0612 FAX: [509] 23-1641
Flag: two equal horizontal bands of blue (top) and red with a centered white rectangle bearing the coat of arms, which contains a palm tree flanked by flags and two cannons above a scroll bearing the motto L'UNION FAIT LA FORCE (Union Makes Strength)
@Haiti:Economy
Overview: About 75% of the population live in abject poverty. Agriculture is mainly small-scale subsistence farming and employs two-thirds of the work force. The majority of the population does not have ready access to safe drinking water, adequate medical care, or sufficient food. The lack of employment opportunities remains one of the most critical problems facing the economy, along with soil erosion and political instability. International trade sanctions in response to the September 1991 coup against President ARISTIDE further damaged the economy. The restoration of President ARISTIDE, the lifting of sanctions in late 1994, and foreign aid will alleviate some economic problems. Haiti will continue to depend heavily on foreign aid.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $5.6 billion (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate: -15% (1994 est.)
Budget: revenues: $56 million expenditures: $131 million, including capital expenditures of $6 million (1994 est.)
Exports: $173.3 million (f.o.b., 1993 est.) commodities: light manufactures 65%, coffee 19%, other agriculture 8%, other 8% partners: US 81%, Europe 12% (1993)
Imports: $476.8 million (f.o.b., 1993 est.) commodities: machines and manufactures 34%, food and beverages 22%, petroleum products 14%, chemicals 10%, fats and oils 9% partners: US 51%, Europe 16%, Latin America 18% (1993)
External debt: $871 million (September 1994)
Industrial production: growth rate -2% (1991 est.); accounts for 15% of GDP
Electricity: capacity: 150,000 kW production: 590 million kWh consumption per capita: 86 kWh (1993)
Industries: sugar refining, textiles, flour milling, cement manufacturing, tourism, light assembly industries based on imported parts
Agriculture: accounts for 28% of GDP and employs two-thirds of work force; mostly small-scale subsistence farms; commercial crops - coffee, mangoes, sugarcane, wood; staple crops - rice, corn, sorghum; shortage of wheat flour
Illicit drugs: transshipment point for cocaine and marijuana en route to the US and Europe
Economic aid: recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (1970-89), $700 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $770 million
Currency: 1 gourde (G) = 100 centimes
Exchange rates: gourdes (G) per US$1 - 14.10 (1 December 1994), 12.00 (1 July 1993), 8.4 (December 1991), fixed rate of 5.000 through second quarter of 1991
Fiscal year: 1 October - 30 September
@Haiti:Transportation
Railroads: total: 40 km (single track; privately owned industrial line) narrow gauge: 40 km 0.760-m gauge
Highways: total: 4,000 km paved: 950 km unpaved: otherwise improved 900 km; unimproved earth 2,150 km
Inland waterways: negligible; less than 100 km navigable
Airports: total: 14 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 with paved runways under 914 m: 6 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 5
@Haiti:Communications
Telephone system: 36,000 telephones; domestic facilities barely adequate, international facilities slightly better local: NA intercity: NA international: 1 INTELSAT (Atlantic Ocean) earth station
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 33, FM 0, shortwave 2 radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: 4 televisions: NA
@Haiti:Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Police note: the regular Haitian Army, Navy and Air Force are currently suspended and replaced by the Interim Public Security Force (IPSF)
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 1,323,034; males fit for military service 716,233; males reach military age (18) annually 64,371 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $34 million, 1.5% of GDP (1988 est.)
Location: Southern Europe, an enclave of Rome (Italy)
Map references: Europe
Area: total area: 0.44 sq km land area: 0.44 sq km comparative area: about 0.7 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC
Land boundaries: total 3.2 km, Italy 3.2 km
Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims: none; landlocked
International disputes: none
Climate: temperate; mild, rainy winters (September to mid-May) with hot, dry summers (May to September)
Terrain: low hill
Natural resources: none
Land use: arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 0% forest and woodland: 0% other: 100%
Irrigated land: 0 sq km
Environment: current issues: NA natural hazards: NA international agreements: signed, but not ratified - Air Pollution, Environmental Modification
Note: urban; landlocked; enclave of Rome, Italy; world's smallest state; outside the Vatican City, 13 buildings in Rome and Castel Gandolfo (the pope's summer residence) enjoy extraterritorial rights
@Holy See (vatican City):People
Population: 830 (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.15% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: NA
Death rate: NA
Net migration rate: NA
Infant mortality rate: NA
Life expectancy at birth: NA
Total fertility rate: NA
Nationality: noun: none adjective: none
Ethnic divisions: Italians, Swiss
Religions: Roman Catholic
Languages: Italian, Latin, various other languages
Labor force: NA by occupation: dignitaries, priests, nuns, guards, and 3,000 lay workers who live outside the Vatican
@Holy See (vatican City):Government
Names: conventional long form: The Holy See (State of the Vatican City) conventional short form: Holy See (Vatican City) local long form: Santa Sede (Stato della Citta del Vaticano) local short form: Santa Sede (Citta del Vaticano)
Digraph: VT
Type: monarchical-sacerdotal state
Capital: Vatican City
Independence: 11 February 1929 (from Italy)
National holiday: Installation Day of the Pope, 22 October (1978) (John Paul II) note: Pope John Paul II was elected on 16 October 1978
Constitution: Apostolic Constitution of 1967 (effective 1 March 1968)
Legal system: NA
Suffrage: limited to cardinals less than 80 years old
Executive branch: chief of state: Pope JOHN PAUL II (Karol WOJTYLA; since 16 October 1978); election last held 16 October 1978 (next to be held after the death of the current pope); results - Karol WOJTYLA was elected for life by the College of Cardinals head of government: Secretary of State Archbishop Angelo Cardinal SODANO (since NA 1991) cabinet: Pontifical Commission; appointed by Pope
Other political or pressure groups: none (exclusive of influence exercised by church officers)
Member of: IAEA, ICFTU, INTELSAT, IOM (observer), ITU, OAS (observer), OSCE, UN (observer), UNCTAD, UNHCR, UPU, WIPO, WTO (observer)
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Apostolic Pro-Nuncio Archbishop Agostino CACCIAVILLAN chancery: 3339 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 333-7121
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador Raymond L. FLYNN embassy: Via Delle Terme Deciane 26, Rome 00153 mailing address: PSC 59, APO AE 09624 telephone: [39] (6) 46741 FAX: [39] (6) 6380159
Flag: two vertical bands of yellow (hoist side) and white with the crossed keys of Saint Peter and the papal miter centered in the white band
@Holy See (vatican City):Economy
Overview: This unique, noncommercial economy is supported financially by contributions (known as Peter's Pence) from Roman Catholics throughout the world, the sale of postage stamps and tourist mementos, fees for admission to museums, and the sale of publications. The incomes and living standards of lay workers are comparable to, or somewhat better than, those of counterparts who work in the city of Rome.
Budget: revenues: $169 million expenditures: $167.5 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1993)
Electricity: capacity: 5,000 kW standby production: power supplied by Italy consumption per capita: NA kWh (1992)
Industries: printing and production of a small amount of mosaics and staff uniforms; worldwide banking and financial activities
Currency: 1 Vatican lira (VLit) = 100 centesimi
Exchange rates: Vatican lire (VLit) per US$1 - 1,609.5 (January 1995), 1,612.4 (1994), 1,573.7 (1993), 1,232.4 (1992), 1,240.6 (1991), 1,198.1 (1990); note - the Vatican lira is at par with the Italian lira which circulates freely
Fiscal year: calendar year
@Holy See (vatican City):Transportation
Railroads: total: 862 meters; note - connects to Italy's network at Rome's Saint Peter's station narrow gauge: 862 meters 1.435-m gauge
Highways: none; all city streets
Ports: none
Airports: none
@Holy See (vatican City):Communications
Telephone system: 2,000 telephones; automatic exchange local: NA intercity: tied into Italian system international: uses Italian system
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 3, FM 4, shortwave 0 radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: 0 televisions: NA
@Holy See (vatican City):Defense Forces
Note: defense is the responsibility of Italy; Swiss Papal Guards are posted at entrances to the Vatican City
Location: Middle America, bordering the Caribbean Sea, between Guatemala and Nicaragua and bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between El Salvador and Nicaragua
Map references: Central America and the Caribbean
Area: total area: 112,090 sq km land area: 111,890 sq km comparative area: slightly larger than Tennessee
Land boundaries: total 1,520 km, Guatemala 256 km, El Salvador 342 km, Nicaragua 922 km
Coastline: 820 km
Maritime claims: contiguous zone: 24 nm continental shelf: natural extension of territory or to 200 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 12 nm
International disputes: land boundary dispute with El Salvador mostly resolved by 11 September 1992 International Court of Justice (ICJ) decision; with respect to the maritime boundary in the Golfo de Fonseca, ICJ referred to an earlier agreement in this century and advised that some tripartite resolution among El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua likely would be required
Climate: subtropical in lowlands, temperate in mountains
Terrain: mostly mountains in interior, narrow coastal plains
Natural resources: timber, gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, iron ore, antimony, coal, fish
Land use: arable land: 14% permanent crops: 2% meadows and pastures: 30% forest and woodland: 34% other: 20%
Irrigated land: 900 sq km (1989 est.)
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 freshwater) with heavy metals as well as several rivers and streams natural hazards: frequent, but generally mild, earthquakes; damaging hurricanes and floods along Caribbean coast international agreements: party to - Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate Change
@Honduras:People
Population: 5,459,743 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 43% (female 1,159,846; male 1,201,927) 15-64 years: 53% (female 1,468,950; male 1,444,959) 65 years and over: 4% (female 95,361; male 88,700) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 2.66% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 34.12 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 6 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: -1.56 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 43.4 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 68.04 years male: 65.64 years female: 70.55 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 4.55 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Ethnic divisions: mestizo (mixed Indian and European) 90%, Indian 7%, black 2%, white 1%
Religions: Roman Catholic 97%, Protestant minority
Languages: Spanish, Indian dialects
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.) total population: 73% male: 76% female: 71%
Labor force: 1.3 million by occupation: agriculture 62%, services 20%, manufacturing 9%, construction 3%, other 6% (1985)
@Honduras:Government
Names: conventional long form: Republic of Honduras conventional short form: Honduras local long form: Republica de Honduras local short form: Honduras
Digraph: HO
Type: republic
Capital: Tegucigalpa
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
Independence: 15 September 1821 (from Spain)
National holiday: Independence Day, 15 September (1821)
Constitution: 11 January 1982, effective 20 January 1982
Legal system: rooted in Roman and Spanish civil law; some influence of English common law; accepts ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal and compulsory
Executive branch: chief of state and head of government: President Carlos Roberto REINA Idiaquez (since 27 January 1994); election last held 28 November 1993 (next to be held November 1997); results - Carlos Roberto REINA Idiaquez (PLH) 53%, Oswaldo RAMOS Soto (PNH) 41%, other 6% cabinet: Cabinet
Legislative branch: unicameral National Congress (Congreso Nacional): elections last held on 27 November 1993 (next to be held November 1997); results - PNH 53%, PLH 41%, PDCH 1.0%, PINU-SD 2.5%, other 2.5%; seats - (134 total) PNH 55, PLH 77, PINU-SD 2
Judicial branch: Supreme Court of Justice (Corte Suprema de Justica)
Political parties and leaders: Liberal Party (PLH), Rafael PINEDA Ponce, president; National Party of Honduras (PNH), Oswaldo RAMOS Soto, president; National Innovation and Unity Party (PINU), Olban VALLADARES, president; Christian Democratic Party (PDCH), Efrain DIAZ Arrivillaga, president
Other political or pressure groups: National Association of Honduran Campesinos (ANACH); Honduran Council of Private Enterprise (COHEP); Confederation of Honduran Workers (CTH); National Union of Campesinos (UNC); General Workers Confederation (CGT); United Federation of Honduran Workers (FUTH); Committee for the Defense of Human Rights in Honduras (CODEH); Coordinating Committee of Popular Organizations (CCOP)
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Roberto FLORES Bermudez chancery: 3007 Tilden Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 966-7702, 2604, 5008, 4596 FAX: [1] (202) 966-9751 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, San Francisco, and San Juan (Puerto Rico) consulate(s): Boston, Detroit, and Jacksonville
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador William T. PRYCE embassy: Avenida La Paz, Apartado Postal No 3453, Tegucigalpa mailing address: American Embassy, APO AA 34022, Tegucigalpa telephone: [504] 36-9320, 38-5114 FAX: [504] 36-9037
Flag: 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
@Honduras:Economy
Overview: Honduras is one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere. Agriculture, the most important sector of the economy, accounts for 28% of GDP, employs 62% of the labor force, and produces two-thirds of exports. Productivity remains low. Manufacturing, still in its early stages, employs 9% of the labor force, accounts for 15% of GDP, and generates 20% of exports. The service sectors, including public administration, account for 50% of GDP and employ 20% of the labor force. Many basic problems face the economy, including rapid population growth, high unemployment, inflation, a lack of basic services, a large and inefficient public sector, and the dependence of the export sector mostly on coffee and bananas, which are subject to sharp price fluctuations. A far-reaching reform program, initiated by former President CALLEJAS in 1990 and scaled back by President REINA, is beginning to take hold.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $9.7 billion (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate: -1.9% (1994 est.)
Budget: revenues: $527 million expenditures: $668 million, including capital expenditures of $166 million (1993 est.)
Exports: $850 million (f.o.b., 1993 est) commodities: bananas, coffee, shrimp, lobster, minerals, meat, lumber partners: US 53%, Germany 11%, Belgium 8%, UK 5%
Imports: $990 million (c.i.f. 1994 est) commodities: machinery and transport equipment, chemical products, manufactured goods, fuel and oil, foodstuffs partners: US 50%, Mexico 8%, Guatemala 6%
External debt: $4 billion (1994 est.)
Industrial production: growth rate 10% (1992 est.); accounts for 22% of GDP
Industries: agricultural processing (sugar and coffee), textiles, clothing, wood products
Agriculture: most important sector, accounting for 28% of GDP, more than 60% of the labor force, and two-thirds of exports; principal products include bananas, coffee, timber, beef, citrus fruit, shrimp; importer of wheat
Illicit drugs: transshipment point for narcotics; illicit producer of cannabis, cultivated on small plots and used principally for local consumption
Economic aid: recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $1.4 billion; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $1.1 billion
Currency: 1 lempira (L) = 100 centavos
Exchange rates: lempiras (L) per US$1 - 9.1283 (October 1994), 7.2600 (1993), 5.8300 (1992), 5.4000 (1991); 2.0000 (fixed rate until 1991) 5.70 parallel black-market rate (November 1990); the lempira was allowed to float in 1992
Fiscal year: calendar year
@Honduras:Transportation
Railroads: total: 785 km narrow gauge: 508 km 1.067-m gauge; 277 km 0.914-m gauge
Highways: total: 8,950 km paved: 1,700 km unpaved: otherwise improved 5,000 km; unimproved earth 2,250 km
Inland waterways: 465 km navigable by small craft
Ports: La Ceiba, Puerto Castilla, Puerto Cortes, San Lorenzo, Tela, Puerto Lempira
Merchant marine: total: 271 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 802,990 GRT/1,210,553 DWT ships by type: bulk 31, cargo 171, chemical tanker 1, combination bulk 1, container 6, liquefied gas tanker 2, livestock carrier 3, oil tanker 21, passenger 2, passenger-cargo 3, refrigerated cargo 19, roll-on/roll-off cargo 7, short-sea passenger 2, specialized tanker 1, vehicle carrier 1 note: a flag of convenience registry; Russia owns 14 ships, Vietnam 7, North Korea 4, US 3, Hong Kong 2, South Korea 2, Greece 1
Airports: total: 159 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 4 with paved runways under 914 m: 118 with unpaved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 4 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 27
@Honduras:Communications
Telephone system: NA telephones; 7 telephones/1,000 persons; inadequate system local: NA intercity: NA international: 2 INTELSAT (Atlantic Ocean) earth stations and the Central American microwave radio relay system
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 176, FM 0, shortwave 7 radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: 28 televisions: NA
@Honduras:Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Navy (includes Marines), Air Force, Public Security Forces (FUSEP)
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 1,275,670; males fit for military service 760,113; males reach military age (18) annually 62,405 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $41 million, about 0.4% of GDP (1994)
Land use: arable land: 7% permanent crops: 1% meadows and pastures: 1% forest and woodland: 12% other: 79%
Irrigated land: 20 sq km (1989)
Environment: current issues: air and water pollution from rapid urbanization natural hazards: occasional typhoons international agreements: NA
Note: more than 200 islands
@Hong Kong:People
Population: 5,542,869 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 19% (female 499,460; male 549,734) 15-64 years: 70% (female 1,866,540; male 2,016,684) 65 years and over: 11% (female 331,391; male 279,060) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: -0.12% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 12.02 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 6.02 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: -7.22 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 5.8 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 80.18 years male: 76.78 years female: 83.78 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.39 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Nationality: noun: Chinese adjective: Chinese
Ethnic divisions: Chinese 95%, other 5%
Religions: eclectic mixture of local religions 90%, Christian 10%
Languages: Chinese (Cantonese), English
Literacy: age 15 and over has ever attended school (1971) total population: 77% male: 90% female: 64%
Labor force: 2.8 million (1990) by occupation: manufacturing 28.5%, wholesale and retail trade, restaurants, and hotels 27.9%, services 17.7%, financing, insurance, and real estate 9.2%, transport and communications 4.5%, construction 2.5%, other 9.7% (1989)
@Hong Kong:Government
Names: conventional long form: none conventional short form: Hong Kong
Abbreviation: HK
Digraph: HK
Type: dependent territory of the UK scheduled to revert to China in 1997
Capital: Victoria
Administrative divisions: none (dependent territory of the UK)
Independence: none (dependent territory of the UK; the UK signed an agreement with China on 19 December 1984 to return Hong Kong to China on 1 July 1997; in the joint declaration, China promises to respect Hong Kong's existing social and economic systems and lifestyle)
National holiday: Liberation Day, 29 August (1945)
Constitution: unwritten; partly statutes, partly common law and practice; new Basic Law approved in March 1990 in preparation for 1997
Legal system: based on English common law
Suffrage: direct election 21 years of age; universal for permanent residents living in the territory of Hong Kong for the past seven years; indirect election limited to about 100,000 professionals of electoral college and functional constituencies
Executive branch: chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952) head of government: Governor Chris PATTEN (since 9 July 1992); Chief Secretary Anson CHAN Fang On-Sang (since 29 November 1993) cabinet: Executive Council; appointed by the governor
Legislative branch: unicameral Legislative Council: indirect elections last held 12 September 1991 and direct elections were held for the first time 15 September 1991 (next to be held 17 September 1995 when the number of directly-elected seats increases to 50); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (60 total; 21 indirectly elected by functional constituencies, 18 directly elected, 18 appointed by governor, 3 ex officio members); indirect elections - number of seats by functional constituency NA; direct elections - UDHK 12, Meeting Point 3, ADPL 1, other 2
Judicial branch: Supreme Court
Political parties and leaders: Democratic Party, Martin LEE, chairman; Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong, TSANG Yuk-shing, chairman; Hong Kong Democratic Foundation, Dr. Patrick SHIU Kin-ying, chairman note: in April 1994, the United Democrats of Hong Kong (UDHK) and Meeting Point merged to form the Democratic Party; the merger became effective in October 1994
Other political or pressure groups: Liberal Party, Allen LEE, chairman; Association for Democracy and People's Livelihood (ADPL), Frederick FUNG Kin Kee, chairman; Liberal Democratic Federation, HU Fa-kuang, chairman; Federation of Trade Unions (pro-China), LEE Chark-tim, president; Hong Kong and Kowloon Trade Union Council (pro-Taiwan); Confederation of Trade Unions (pro-democracy), LAU Chin-shek, chairman; Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce; Chinese General Chamber of Commerce (pro-China); Federation of Hong Kong Industries; Chinese Manufacturers' Association of Hong Kong; Hong Kong Professional Teachers' Union, CHEUNG Man-kwong, president; Hong Kong Alliance in Support of the Patriotic Democratic Movement in China, Szeto WAH, chairman
Member of: APEC, AsDB, CCC, ESCAP (associate), GATT, ICFTU, IMO (associate), INTERPOL (subbureau), IOC, ISO (correspondent), WCL, WMO
Diplomatic representation in US: none (dependent territory of the UK)
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Consul General Richard W. MUELLER consulate(s) general: 26 Garden Road, Hong Kong mailing address: PSC 464, Box 30, Hong Kong, or FPO AP 96522-0002 telephone: [852] 523-9011 FAX: [852] 845-4845
Flag: blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant with the Hong Kong coat of arms on a white disk centered on the outer half of the flag; the coat of arms contains a shield (bearing two junks below a crown) held by a lion (representing the UK) and a dragon (representing China) with another lion above the shield and a banner bearing the words HONG KONG below the shield
@Hong Kong:Economy
Overview: Hong Kong has a bustling free market economy with few tariffs or nontariff barriers. Natural resources are limited, and food and raw materials must be imported. Manufacturing accounts for about 17% of GDP. Goods and services exports account for about 50% of GDP. Real GDP growth averaged a remarkable 8% in 1987-88, slowed to 3.0% in 1989-90, and picked up to 4.2% in 1991, 5.0% in 1992, 5.2% in 1993, and 5.5% in 1994. Unemployment, which has been declining since the mid-1980s, is now about 2%. A shortage of labor continues to put upward pressure on prices and the cost of living. Prospects for 1995-96 remain bright so long as major trading partners continue to be reasonably prosperous and so long as investors feel China will support free market practices after the takeover in 1997.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $136.1 billion (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate: 5.5% (1994 est.)
National product per capita: $24,530 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 8.5% (1994)
Unemployment rate: 1.9% (1994 est.)
Budget: revenues: $19.2 billion expenditures: $19.7 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY93/94)
Exports: $168.7 billion (including re-exports of $121.0 billion )(f.o.b., 1994 est.) commodities: clothing, textiles, yarn and fabric, footwear, electrical appliances, watches and clocks, toys partners: China 32%, US 23%, Germany 5%, Japan 5%, UK 3% (1993 est.)
Imports: $160 billion (c.i.f., 1994 est.) commodities: foodstuffs, transport equipment, raw materials, semimanufactures, petroleum; a large share is re-exported partners: China 36%, Japan 19%, Taiwan 9%, US 7% (1993 est.)
Agriculture: minor role in the economy; local farmers produce 26% fresh vegetables, 27% live poultry; 8% of land area suitable for farming
Illicit drugs: a hub for Southeast Asian heroin trade; transshipment and major financial and money-laundering center; increasing indigenous amphetamine and cocaine abuse
Economic aid: recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-87), $152 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $923 million
Currency: 1 Hong Kong dollar (HK$) = 100 cents
Exchange rates: Hong Kong dollars (HK$) per US$ - 7.800 (1994), 7.800 (1993), 7.741 (1992), 7.771 (1991), 7.790 (1990); note - linked to the US dollar at the rate of about 7.8 HK$ per 1 US$ since 1985
Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March
@Hong Kong:Transportation
Railroads: total: 35 km standard gauge: 35 km 1.435-m gauge
Highways: total: 1,100 km paved: 794 km unpaved: gravel, crushed stone, earth 306 km
Ports: Hong Kong
Merchant marine: total: 217 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 7,657,749 GRT/13,181,496 DWT ships by type: bulk 116, cargo 29, chemical tanker 2, combination bulk 2, combination ore/oil 6, container 28, liquefied gas tanker 5, oil tanker 18, refrigerated cargo 7, short-sea passenger 1, vehicle carrier 3 note: a flag of convenience registry; includes 15 countries among which are UK with 53 ships, China 15, Bermuda 7, Japan 6, Belgium 3, Germany 3, Greece 3, Canada 2, Netherlands 2, Singapore 2
Airports: total: 3 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 1 with paved runways under 914 m: 2
@Hong Kong:Communications
Telephone system: 3,000,000 telephones; modern facilities provide excellent domestic and international services local: NA intercity: microwave transmission links and extensive optical fiber transmission network international: 3 INTELSAT (1 Pacific Ocean and 2 Indian Ocean) earth stations; coaxial cable to Guangzhou, China; links to 5 international submarine cables providing access to ASEAN member nations, Japan, Taiwan, Australia, Middle East, and Western Europe
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 6, FM 6, shortwave 0 radios: 2.5 million
Television: broadcast stations: 4 (British Broadcasting Corporation repeater 1; British Forces Broadcasting Service repeater 1) televisions: 1.312 million (1,224,000 color TV sets)
@Hong Kong:Defense Forces
Branches: Headquarters of British Forces, Army, Royal Navy, Royal Air Force, Royal Hong Kong Auxiliary Air Force, Royal Hong Kong Police Force
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 1,634,559; males fit for military service 1,245,905; males reach military age (18) annually 40,996 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $207 million, 0.2% of GDP (FY92/93); this represents 65% of the total cost of defending the colony, the remainder being paid by the UK
Climate: equatorial; scant rainfall, constant wind, burning sun
Terrain: low-lying, nearly level, sandy, coral island surrounded by a narrow fringing reef; depressed central area
Natural resources: guano (deposits worked until late 1800s)
Land use: arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 0% forest and woodland: 5% other: 95%
Irrigated land: 0 sq km
Environment: current issues: no natural fresh water resources natural hazards: the narrow fringing reef surrounding the island can be a maritime hazard international agreements: NA
Note: almost totally covered with grasses, prostrate vines, and low-growing shrubs; small area of trees in the center; primarily a nesting, roosting, and foraging habitat for seabirds, shorebirds, and marine wildlife; feral cats
@Howland Island:People
Population: uninhabited; note - American civilians evacuated in 1942 after Japanese air and naval attacks during World War II; occupied by US military during World War II, but abandoned after the war; public entry is by special-use permit only and generally restricted to scientists and educators
@Howland Island:Government
Names: conventional long form: none conventional short form: Howland Island
Digraph: HQ
Type: unincorporated territory of the US administered by the Fish and Wildlife Service of the US Department of the Interior as part of the National Wildlife Refuge System
Capital: none; administered from Washington, DC
@Howland Island:Economy
Overview: no economic activity
@Howland Island:Transportation
Ports: none; offshore anchorage only; note - there is one boat landing area along the middle of the west coast
Airports: airstrip constructed in 1937 for scheduled refueling stop on the round-the-world flight of Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan - they left Lae, New Guinea, for Howland Island, but were never seen again; the airstrip is no longer serviceable
Note: Earhart Light is a day beacon near the middle of the west coast that was partially destroyed during World War II, but has since been rebuilt in memory of famed aviatrix Amelia Earhart
@Howland Island:Defense Forces
Note: defense is the responsibility of the US; visited annually by the US Coast Guard
Map references: Ethnic Groups in Eastern Europe, Europe
Area: total area: 93,030 sq km land area: 92,340 sq km comparative area: slightly smaller than Indiana
Land boundaries: total 1,989 km, Austria 366 km, Croatia 329 km, Romania 443 km, Serbia and Montenegro 151 km (all with Serbia), Slovakia 515 km, Slovenia 82 km, Ukraine 103 km
Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims: none; landlocked
International disputes: Gabcikovo Dam dispute with Slovakia
Land use: arable land: 50.7% permanent crops: 6.1% meadows and pastures: 12.6% forest and woodland: 18.3% other: 12.3%
Irrigated land: 1,750 sq km (1989)
Environment: current issues: air pollution; industrial and municipal pollution of Lake Balaton natural hazards: levees are common along many streams, but flooding occurs almost every year international agreements: party to - Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Law of the Sea
Note: landlocked; strategic location astride main land routes between Western Europe and Balkan Peninsula as well as between Ukraine and Mediterranean basin
@Hungary:People
Population: 10,318,838 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 18% (female 918,281; male 958,027) 15-64 years: 68% (female 3,534,218; male 3,440,036) 65 years and over: 14% (female 914,221; male 554,055) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.02% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 12.65 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 12.44 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 11.9 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 71.9 years male: 67.94 years female: 76.06 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.82 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Independence: 1001 (unification by King Stephen I)
National holiday: St. Stephen's Day (National Day), 20 August (commemorates the founding of Hungarian state circa 1000 A.D.)
Constitution: 18 August 1949, effective 20 August 1949, revised 19 April 1972; 18 October 1989 revision ensured legal rights for individuals and constitutional checks on the authority of the prime minister and also established the principle of parliamentary oversight
Legal system: in process of revision, moving toward rule of law based on Western model
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Arpad GONCZ (since 3 August 1990; previously interim president from 2 May 1990); election last held 3 August 1990 (next to be held NA 1995); results - President GONCZ elected by parliamentary vote; note - President GONCZ was elected by the National Assembly with a total of 295 votes out of 304 as interim President from 2 May 1990 until elected President head of government: Prime Minister Gyula HORN (since 15 July 1994) cabinet: Council of Ministers; elected by the National Assembly on recommendation of the president
Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly (Orszaggyules): elections last held on 8 and 29 May 1994 (next to be held spring 1998); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (386 total) MSzP 209, SzDSz 70, MDF 37, FKgP 26, KDNP 22, FiDeSz 20, other 2
Judicial branch: Constitutional Court
Political parties and leaders: Hungarian Democratic Forum (MDF), Lajos FUR, chairman; Independent Smallholders (FKgP), Jozsef TORGYAN, president; Hungarian Socialist Party (MSzP), Gyula HORN, president; Christian Democratic People's Party (KDNP), Dr. Lazlo SURJAN, president; Federation of Young Democrats (FiDeSz), Viktor ORBAN, chairman; Alliance of Free Democrats (SzDSz), Ivan PETO, chairman note: the Hungarian Socialist (Communist) Workers' Party (MSzMP) renounced Communism and became the Hungarian Socialist Party (MSzP) in October 1989; there is still a small MMP
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Gyorgy BANLAKI (since 27 October 1994) chancery: 3910 Shoemaker Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 362-6730 FAX: [1] (202) 966-8135 consulate(s) general: Los Angeles and New York
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador Donald M. BLINKEN embassy: V. Szabadsag Ter 12, Budapest mailing address: Am Embassy, Unit 1320, Budapest; APO AE 09213-1320 telephone: [36] (1) 112-6450 FAX: [36] (1) 132-8934
Flag: three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and green
@Hungary:Economy
Overview: Since 1989 Hungary has been a leader in the transition from a socialist command economy to a market economy - thanks in large part to its initial economic reforms during the Communist era. The private sector now accounts for about 55% of GDP. Nonetheless, the transformation is proving difficult, and many citizens say life was better under the old system. On the bright side, the four-year decline in output finally ended in 1994, as real GDP increased an estimated 3%. This growth helped reduce unemployment to just over 10% by yearend, down from a peak of 13%. However, no progress was made against inflation, which remained stuck at about 20%, and the already-large current account deficit in the balance of payments actually got worse, reaching almost $4 billion. Underlying Hungary's other economic problems is the large budget deficit, which probably exceeded 7% of GDP in 1994, despite some late-year budget cutting by the new leftist government. In 1995 the government has pledged to accelerate privatization and lower the budget deficit to 5.5% of GDP. It believes this fiscal tightening will reduce the current account deficit to $2.5 billion but at the cost of holding economic growth to only 1%.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $58.8 billion (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate: 3% (1994 est.)
National product per capita: $5,700 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 21% (1994)
Unemployment rate: 10.4% (yearend 1994)
Budget: revenues: $11.3 billion expenditures: $14.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1994)
Exports: $10.3 billion (f.o.b., 1994 est.) commodities: raw materials and semi-finished goods 30.0%, machinery and transport equipment 20.1%, consumer goods 25.2%, food and agriculture 21.4%, fuels and energy 3.4% (1993) partners: Germany 25.3%, Italy 8.3%, Austria 10.5%, the FSU 14.0%, US 4.3% (1993)
Imports: $14.2 billion (f.o.b., 1994 est.) commodities: fuels and energy 12.6%, raw materials and semi-finished goods 27.3%, machinery and transport equipment 33.0%, consumer goods 21.2%, food and agriculture 5.9% (1993) partners: Germany 21.5%, Italy 6.1%, Austria 11.8%, the FSU 20.9%, US 4.3% (1993); note - about one-fourth of the imports from the FSU were MiGs delivered as a debt payment
Agriculture: including forestry, accounts for 15% of GDP and 16% of employment; highly diversified crop and livestock farming; principal crops - wheat, corn, sunflowers, potatoes, sugar beets; livestock - hogs, cattle, poultry, dairy products; self-sufficient in food output
Illicit drugs: transshipment point for Southeast Asia heroin and South American cocaine destined for Western Europe; limited producer of precursor chemicals
Economic aid: recipient: assistance pledged by OECD countries since 1989 about $9 billion
Railroads: total: 7,785 km broad gauge: 35 km 1.520-m gauge standard gauge: 7,574 km 1.435-m gauge (2,277 km electrified; 1,236 km double track) narrow gauge: 176 km mostly 0.760-m gauge (1994)
Highways: total: 158,711 km paved: 69,992 km (441 km expressways) unpaved: 88,719 km (1992)
Inland waterways: 1,622 km (1988)
Pipelines: crude oil 1,204 km; natural gas 4,387 km (1991)
Airports: total: 78 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 2 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 7 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 with paved runways under 914 m: 1 with unpaved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 7 with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 9 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 14 with unpaved runways under 914 m: 34
@Hungary:Communications
Telephone system: 1,520,000 phones; 14.7 telephones/100 inhabitants (1993); 14,213 telex lines; automatic telephone network based on microwave radio relay system; 608,000 telephones on order; 12-15 year wait for a telephone; 49% of all phones are in Budapest (1991) local: NA intercity: microwave radio relay international: 1 INTELSAT and Intersputnik earth stations
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 32, FM 15, shortwave 0 radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: 41 (Russian repeaters 8) televisions: NA
@Hungary:Defense Forces
Branches: Ground Forces, Air and Air Defense Forces, Border Guard, Territorial Defense
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 2,639,860; males fit for military service 2,105,632; males reach military age (18) annually 86,298 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: 66.5 billion forints, NA% of GDP (1994 est.); note - conversion of defense expenditures into US dollars using the prevailing exchange rate could produce misleading results
Location: Northern Europe, island between the Greenland Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, northwest of the UK
Map references: Arctic Region
Area: total area: 103,000 sq km land area: 100,250 sq km comparative area: slightly smaller than Kentucky
Land boundaries: 0 km
Coastline: 4,988 km
Maritime claims: continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 12 nm
International disputes: Rockall continental shelf dispute involving Denmark, Ireland, and the UK (Ireland and the UK have signed a boundary agreement in the Rockall area)
Climate: temperate; moderated by North Atlantic Current; mild, windy winters; damp, cool summers
Terrain: mostly plateau interspersed with mountain peaks, icefields; coast deeply indented by bays and fiords
Land use: arable land: 1% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 20% forest and woodland: 1% other: 78%
Irrigated land: NA sq km
Environment: current issues: water pollution from fertilizer runoff; inadequate wastewater treatment natural hazards: earthquakes and volcanic activity international agreements: party to - Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Environmental Modification, Marine Life Conservation
Note: strategic location between Greenland and Europe; westernmost European country; more land covered by glaciers than in all of continental Europe
@Iceland:People
Population: 265,998 (July 1995 est.) note: population data estimates based on average growth rate may differ slightly from official population data because of volatile migration rates
Age structure: 0-14 years: 24% (female 31,482; male 32,912) 15-64 years: 65% (female 84,559; male 87,089) 65 years and over: 11% (female 16,554; male 13,402) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.92% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 15.85 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 6.7 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 4 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 78.98 years male: 76.69 years female: 81.39 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 2.06 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Ethnic divisions: homogeneous mixture of descendants of Norwegians and Celts
Religions: Evangelical Lutheran 96%, other Protestant and Roman Catholic 3%, none 1% (1988)
Languages: Icelandic
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1976 est.) total population: 100%
Labor force: 127,900 by occupation: commerce, transportation, and services 60.0%, manufacturing 12.5%, fishing and fish processing 11.8%, construction 10.8%, agriculture 4.0% (1990)
@Iceland:Government
Names: conventional long form: Republic of Iceland conventional short form: Iceland local long form: Lyoveldio Island local short form: Island
National holiday: Anniversary of the Establishment of the Republic, 17 June (1944)
Constitution: 16 June 1944, effective 17 June 1944
Legal system: civil law system based on Danish law; does not accept compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Vigdis FINNBOGADOTTIR (since 1 August 1980); election last held on 29 June 1988 (next scheduled for June 1996); results - there was no election in 1992 as President Vigdis FINNBOGADOTTIR was unopposed head of government: Prime Minister David ODDSSON (since 30 April 1991)
cabinet: Cabinet; appointed by the president
Legislative branch: unicameral Parliament (Althing): elections last held on 8 April 1995 (next to be held by April 1999); results - Independence Party 37.1%, Progressive Party 23.3%, Social Democratic Party 11.4%, Socialists 14.3%, People's Movement 7.2%, Women's Party 4.9%; seats - (63 total) Independence 25, Progressive 15, Social Democratic 7, Socialists 9, People's Movement 4, Women's Party 3
Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Haestirettur)
Political parties and leaders: Independence Party (conservative), David ODDSSON; Progressive Party, Halldor ASGRIMSSON; Social Democratic Party, Jon Baldvin HANNIBALSSON; People's Alliance (left socialist), Olafur Ragnar GRIMSSON; Women's Party; People's Movement (moderate left); National Awakening, Johanna SIGURDARDOTTIR
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Einar BENEDIKTSSON chancery: Suite 1200, 1156 15th Street NW, Washington, DC 20005 telephone: [1] (202) 265-6653 through 6655 FAX: [1] (202) 265-6656 consulate(s) general: New York
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador Parker W. BORG embassy: Laufasvegur 21, Box 40, Reykjavik mailing address: US Embassy, PSC 1003, Box 40, Reykjavik; FPO AE 09728-0340 telephone: [354] (1) 629100 FAX: [354] (1) 629139
Flag: blue with a red cross outlined in white that extends to the edges of the flag; the vertical part of the cross is shifted to the hoist side in the style of the Dannebrog (Danish flag)
@Iceland:Economy
Overview: Iceland's Scandinavian-type economy is basically capitalistic, but with an extensive welfare system, relatively low unemployment, and comparatively even distribution of income. The economy is heavily dependent on the fishing industry, which provides nearly 75% of export earnings and employs 12% of the work force. In the absence of other natural resources - except energy - Iceland's economy is vulnerable to changing world fish prices. The economy, in recession since 1988, began to recover in 1993, posting 0.4% growth, but was still hampered by cutbacks in fish quotas as well as falling world prices for its main exports: fish and fish products, aluminum, and ferrosilicon. Real GDP grew by perhaps 2.4% in 1994. The center-right government plans to continue its policies of reducing the budget and current account deficits, limiting foreign borrowing, containing inflation, revising agricultural and fishing policies, diversifying the economy, and privatizing state-owned industries. The government, however, remains divided on the issue of EU membership, primarily because of Icelanders' concern about losing control over their fishing resources.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $4.5 billion (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate: 2.4% (1994 est.)
Industries: fish processing, aluminum smelting, ferro-silicon production, geothermal power
Agriculture: accounts for about 15% of GDP; fishing is most important economic activity, contributing nearly 75% to export earnings; principal crops - potatoes, turnips; livestock - cattle, sheep; fish catch of about 1.1 million metric tons in 1992
Economic aid: recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-81), $19.1 million
Merchant marine: total: 6 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 30,025 GRT/40,410 DWT ships by type: cargo 1, chemical tanker 1, oil tanker 1, refrigerated cargo 1, roll-on/roll-off cargo 2
Airports: total: 90 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 1 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 6 with paved runways under 914 m: 53 with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 23
@Iceland:Communications
Telephone system: 140,000 telephones; adequate domestic service local: NA intercity: the trunk network consists of coaxial and fiber-optic cables and microwave radio relay links international: 2 earth stations carry all international traffic through an Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT satellite
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 5, FM 147 (transmitters and repeaters), shortwave 0 radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: 202 (transmitters and repeaters) televisions: NA
@Iceland:Defense Forces
Branches: no regular armed forces; Police, Coast Guard; note - Iceland's defense is provided by the US-manned Icelandic Defense Force (IDF) headquartered at Keflavik
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 70,743; males fit for military service 62,698 (1995 est.)
Location: Southern Asia, bordering the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal, between Bangladesh and Pakistan
Map references: Asia
Area: total area: 3,287,590 km2 land area: 2,973,190 km2 comparative area: slightly more than one-third the size of the US
Land boundaries: total 14,103 km, Bangladesh 4,053 km, Bhutan 605 km, Burma 1,463 km, China 3,380 km, Nepal 1,690 km, Pakistan 2,912 km
Coastline: 7,000 km
Maritime claims: contiguous zone: 24 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 12 nm
International disputes: boundaries with Bangladesh and China; status of Kashmir with Pakistan; water-sharing problems with downstream riparians, Bangladesh over the Ganges and Pakistan over the Indus
Climate: varies from tropical monsoon in south to temperate in north
Terrain: upland plain (Deccan Plateau) in south, flat to rolling plain along the Ganges, deserts in west, Himalayas in north
Natural resources: coal (fourth-largest reserves in the world), iron ore, manganese, mica, bauxite, titanium ore, chromite, natural gas, diamonds, petroleum, limestone
Land use: arable land: 55% permanent crops: 1% meadows and pastures: 4% forest and woodland: 23% other: 17%
Irrigated land: 430,390 sq km (1989)
Environment: current issues: deforestation; soil erosion; overgrazing; desertification; air pollution from industrial effluents and vehicle emissions; water pollution from raw sewage and runoff of agricultural pesticides; tap water is not potable throughout the country; huge and rapidly growing population is overstraining natural resources natural hazards: droughts, flash floods, severe thunderstorms common; earthquakes international agreements: party to - Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber, Wetlands, Whaling; signed, but not ratified - Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Desertification, Law of the Sea
Note: dominates South Asian subcontinent; near important Indian Ocean trade routes
@India:People
Population: 936,545,814 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 35% (female 159,921,309; male 168,812,255) 15-64 years: 61% (female 274,105,407; male 296,145,798) 65 years and over: 4% (female 18,870,762; male 18,690,283) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.77% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 27.78 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 10.07 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 76.3 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 59.04 years male: 58.5 years female: 59.61 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 3.4 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Nationality: noun: Indian(s) adjective: Indian
Ethnic divisions: Indo-Aryan 72%, Dravidian 25%, Mongoloid and other 3%
Religions: Hindu 80%, Muslim 14%, Christian 2.4%, Sikh 2%, Buddhist 0.7%, Jains 0.5%, other 0.4%
Languages: English enjoys associate status but is the most important language for national, political, and commercial communication, Hindi the national language and primary tongue of 30% of the people, Bengali (official), Telugu (official), Marathi (official), Tamil (official), Urdu (official), Gujarati (official), Malayalam (official), Kannada (official), Oriya (official), Punjabi (official), Assamese (official), Kashmiri (official), Sindhi (official), Sanskrit (official), Hindustani a popular variant of Hindu/Urdu, is spoken widely throughout northern India note: 24 languages each spoken by a million or more persons; numerous other languages and dialects, for the most part mutually unintelligible
Literacy: age 7 and over can read and write (1991) total population: 52% male: 64% female: 39%
Labor force: 314.751 million (1990) by occupation: agriculture 65% (1993 est.)
@India:Government
Names: conventional long form: Republic of India conventional short form: India
Digraph: IN
Type: federal republic
Capital: New Delhi
Administrative divisions: 25 states and 7 union territories*; Andaman and Nicobar Islands*, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chandigarh*, Dadra and Nagar Haveli*, Daman and Diu*, Delhi*, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala, Lakshadweep*, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Orissa, Pondicherry*, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal
Independence: 15 August 1947 (from UK)
National holiday: Anniversary of the Proclamation of the Republic, 26 January (1950)
Constitution: 26 January 1950
Legal system: based on English common law; limited judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Shankar Dayal SHARMA (since 25 July 1992); Vice President Kicheril Raman NARAYANAN (since 21 August 1992) head of government: Prime Minister P. V. Narasimha RAO (since 21 June 1991) cabinet: Council of Ministers; appointed by the president on recommendation of the prime minister
Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament (Sansad) Council of States (Rajya Sabha): body consisting of not more than 250 members, up to 12 appointed by the president, the remainder chosen by the elected members of the state and territorial assemblies People's Assembly (Lok Sabha): elections last held 21 May, 12 and 15 June 1991 (next to be held by 1996); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (545 total, 543 elected, 2 appointed) Congress (I) Party 245, BJP 119, Janata Dal Party 39, Janata Dal (Ajit Singh) 20, CPI/M 35, CPI 14, Telugu Desam 13, AIADMK 11, Samajwadi Janata Party 5, Shiv Sena 4, RSP 4, BSP 1, Congress (S) Party 1, other 23, vacant 9; note - the distribution of seats as of 18 January 1995 is as follows: Congress (I) Party 260, BJP 117, CPI/M 36, Janata Dal Party 24, Samta Party 14, CPI 14, AIADMK 12, Janata Dal (Ajit) 7, Telugu Desam 7, RSP 4, Janata Dal (Ex-Ajit) 3, Samajwadi Party 3, BSP 3, AIFB 3, Shiv Sena 2, Congress (S) Party 1, Kerala Congress (Mani faction) 1, Bihar Peoples Party 1, India National League 1, other 14, vacant 16
Judicial branch: Supreme Court
Political parties and leaders: Congress (I) Party, P. V. Narasimha RAO, president; Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), L.K. ADVANI; Janata Dal Party, S.R. BOMMAI; Janata Dal (Ajit), Ajit SINGH; Janata Dal (Ex-Ajit), leader NA; Communist Party of India/Marxist (CPI/M), Harkishan Singh SURJEET; Communist Party of India (CPI), Indrajit GUPTA; Telugu Desam (a regional party in Andhra Pradesh), N. T. Rama RAO; All-India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazagham (AIADMK; a regional party in Tamil Nadu), Jayaram JAYALALITHA; Samajwadi Party (SP), Mulayam Singh YADAV (President), Om Prakash CHAUTALA, Devi LAL; Shiv Sena, Bal THACKERAY; Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP), Tridip CHOWDHURY; Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Kanshi RAM; Congress (S) Party, leader NA; Communist Party of India/Marxist-Leninist (CPI/ML), Vinod MISHRA; Dravida Munnetra Kazagham (a regional party in Tamil Nadu), M. KARUNANIDHI; Akali Dal factions representing Sikh religious community in the Punjab; National Conference (NC; a regional party in Jammu and Kashmir), Farooq ABDULLAH; Bihar Peoples Party, Lovely ANAND; Samta Party (formerly Janata Dal members), Natish KUMAR; Indian National League, Suliaman SAIT; Kerala Congress (Mani faction), K.M. MANI; All India Forward Bloc (AIFB), Prem Dutta PALIWAL (Chairman), Chitta BASU (General Secretary)
Other political or pressure groups: various separatist groups seeking greater communal and/or regional autonomy; numerous religious or militant/chauvinistic organizations, including Adam Sena, Ananda Marg, Vishwa Hindu Parishad, and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Siddhartha Shankar RAY chancery: 2107 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 939-7000 consulate(s) general: Chicago, New York, and San Francisco
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador Frank G. WISNER embassy: Shanti Path, Chanakyapuri 110021, New Delhi mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [91] (11) 600651 FAX: [91] (11) 6872028 consulate(s) general: Bombay, Calcutta, Madras
Flag: three equal horizontal bands of orange (top), white, and green with a blue chakra (24-spoked wheel) centered in the white band; similar to the flag of Niger, which has a small orange disk centered in the white band
@India:Economy
Overview: India's economy is a mixture of traditional village farming, modern agriculture, handicrafts, a wide range of modern industries, and a multitude of support services. Faster economic growth in the 1980s permitted a significant increase in real per capita private consumption. A large share of the population, perhaps as much as 40%, remains too poor to afford an adequate diet. Financial strains in 1990 and 1991 prompted government austerity measures that slowed industrial growth but permitted India to meet its international payment obligations without rescheduling its debt. Production, trade, and investment reforms since 1991 have provided new opportunities for Indian businessmen and an estimated 100 million to 200 million middle class consumers. New Delhi has always paid its foreign debts on schedule and has stimulated exports, attracted foreign investment, and revived confidence in India's economic prospects. Foreign exchange reserves, precariously low three years ago, now total more than $19 billion. Positive factors for the remainder of the 1990s are India's strong entrepreneurial class and the central government's recognition of the continuing need for market-oriented approaches to economic development, for example in upgrading the wholly inadequate communications facilities. Negative factors include the desperate poverty of hundreds of millions of Indians and the impact of the huge and expanding population on an already overloaded environment.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $1.2539 trillion (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate: 5% (1994 est.)
National product per capita: $1,360 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 10% (1994 est.)
Unemployment rate: NA%
Budget: revenues: $30.85 billion expenditures: $48.35 billion, including capital expenditures of $10.5 billion (FY93/94)
Exports: $24.4 billion (f.o.b., 1994 est.) commodities: clothing, gems and jewelry, engineering goods, chemicals, leather manufactures, cotton yarn, and fabric partners: US, Japan, Germany, UK, Hong Kong
Imports: $25.5 billion (c.i.f., 1994 est.) commodities: crude oil and petroleum products, machinery, gems, fertilizer, chemicals partners: US, Germany, Saudi Arabia, UK, Belgium, Japan
External debt: $89.2 billion (November 1994)
Industrial production: growth rate 7% (1994 est.); accounts for 28% of GDP
Agriculture: accounts for 34% of GDP; principal crops - rice, wheat, oilseeds, cotton, jute, tea, sugarcane, potatoes; livestock - cattle, buffaloes, sheep, goats, poultry; fish catch of about 3 million metric tons ranks India among the world's top 10 fishing nations
Illicit drugs: licit producer of opium poppy for the pharmaceutical trade, but an undetermined quantity of opium is diverted to illicit international drug markets; major transit country for illicit narcotics produced in neighboring countries; illicit producer of hashish and methaqualone; produced 82 metric tons of illicit opium in 1994
Economic aid: recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $4.4 billion; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1980-89), $31.7 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $315 million; USSR (1970-89), $11.6 billion; Eastern Europe (1970-89), $105 million
Railroads: total: 62,211 km (6,500 km electrified; 12,617 km double track) broad gauge: 34,544 km 1.676-m gauge narrow gauge: 23,599 km 1.000-m gauge; 4,068 km 0.762-m and 0.610-m gauge (1994 est.)
Highways: total: 1.97 million km paved: 960,000 km unpaved: gravel, crushed stone, earth 1.01 million km (1989)
Inland waterways: 16,180 km; 3,631 km navigable by large vessels
Pipelines: crude oil 3,497 km; petroleum products 1,703 km; natural gas 902 km (1989)
Ports: Bombay, Calcutta, Cochin, Haldia, Kandla, Madras, Mormugao, New Mangalore, Pondicherry, Port Blair (Andaman Islands), Tuticorin, Vishakhapatnam
Airports: total: 352 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 11 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 48 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 85 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 72 with paved runways under 914 m: 81 with unpaved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 7 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 46
@India:Communications
Telephone system: NA telephones; 5 telephones/1,000 persons; domestic telephone system is poor; long-distance telephoning has been improved by a domestic satellite system which also carries TV local: NA intercity: NA international: 3 INTELSAT (Indian Ocean) earth stations and submarine cables to Malaysia and the United Arab Emirates
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 96, FM 4, shortwave 0 radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: 274 (government controlled) televisions: NA
@India:Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, various security or paramilitary forces (includes Border Security Force, Assam Rifles, and Coast Guard)
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 253,134,487; males fit for military service 148,814,104; males reach military age (17) annually 9,461,907 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $7.8 billion, 2.8% of GDP (FY94/95)
Location: body of water between Africa, Antarctica, Asia, and Australia
Map references: World
Area: total area: 73.6 million sq km comparative area: slightly less than eight times the size of the US; third-largest ocean (after the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Ocean, but larger than the Arctic Ocean) note: includes Arabian Sea, Bass Straight, Bay of Bengal, Great Australian Bight, Gulf of Oman, Persian Gulf, Red Sea, Strait of Malacca, and other tributary water bodies
Coastline: 66,526 km
International disputes: some maritime disputes (see littoral states)
Climate: northeast monsoon (December to April), southwest monsoon (June to October); tropical cyclones occur during May/June and October/November in the northern Indian Ocean and January/February in the southern Indian Ocean
Terrain: 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 Ninety East Ridge; maximum depth is 7,258 meters in the Java Trench
Natural resources: oil and gas fields, fish, shrimp, sand and gravel aggregates, placer deposits, polymetallic nodules
Environment: current issues: endangered marine species include the dugong, seals, turtles, and whales; oil pollution in the Arabian Sea, Persian Gulf, and Red Sea natural hazards: ships subject to superstructure icing in extreme south near Antarctica from May to October international agreements: NA
Note: major chokepoints include Bab el Mandeb, Strait of Hormuz, Strait of Malacca, southern access to the Suez Canal, and the Lombok Strait
@Indian Ocean:Government
Digraph: XO
@Indian Ocean:Economy
Overview: The Indian Ocean provides major sea routes connecting the Middle East, Africa, and East Asia with Europe and the Americas. It carries a particularly heavy traffic of petroleum and petroleum products from the oilfields of the Persian Gulf and Indonesia. Its fish are of great and growing importance to the bordering countries for domestic consumption and export. Fishing fleets from Russia, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan also exploit the Indian Ocean, mainly for shrimp and tuna. Large reserves of hydrocarbons are being tapped in the offshore areas of Saudi Arabia, Iran, India, and western Australia. An estimated 40% of the world's offshore oil production comes from the Indian Ocean. Beach sands rich in heavy minerals and offshore placer deposits are actively exploited by bordering countries, particularly India, South Africa, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and Thailand.
Industries: based on exploitation of natural resources, particularly fish, minerals, oil and gas, fishing, sand and gravel
@Indian Ocean:Transportation
Ports: Bombay (India), Calcutta (India), Colombo (Sri Lanka), Durban (South Africa), Jakarta (Indonesia), Madras (India), Melbourne (Australia), Richard's Bay (South Africa)
@Indian Ocean:Communications
Telephone system: international: submarine cables from India to United Arab Emirates and Malaysia, and from Sri Lanka to Djibouti and Indonesia
International disputes: sovereignty over Timor Timur (East Timor Province) disputed with Portugal and not recognized by the UN; two islands in dispute with Malaysia
Climate: tropical; hot, humid; more moderate in highlands
Terrain: mostly coastal lowlands; larger islands have interior mountains
Land use: arable land: 8% permanent crops: 3% meadows and pastures: 7% forest and woodland: 67% other: 15%
Irrigated land: 75,500 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment: current issues: deforestation; water pollution from industrial wastes, sewage; air pollution in urban areas natural hazards: occasional floods, severe droughts, and tsunamis international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Desertification, Marine Life Conservation, Tropical Timber 94
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
@Indonesia:People
Population: 203,583,886 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 32% (female 32,548,039; male 33,485,810) 15-64 years: 64% (female 65,394,816; male 64,914,362) 65 years and over: 4% (female 4,027,367; male 3,213,492) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.56% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 24.06 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 8.48 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 65 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 61.22 years male: 59.13 years female: 63.42 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 2.74 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Nationality: noun: Indonesian(s) adjective: Indonesian
Religions: Muslim 87%, Protestant 6%, Roman Catholic 3%, Hindu 2%, Buddhist 1%, other 1% (1985)
Languages: Bahasa Indonesia (modified form of Malay; official), English, Dutch, local dialects the most widely spoken of which is Javanese
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1990) total population: 82% male: 88% female: 75%
Labor force: 67 million by occupation: agriculture 55%, manufacturing 10%, construction 4%, transport and communications 3% (1985 est.)
@Indonesia:Government
Names: conventional long form: Republic of Indonesia conventional short form: Indonesia local long form: Republik Indonesia local short form: Indonesia former: Netherlands East Indies; Dutch East Indies
Digraph: ID
Type: republic
Capital: Jakarta
Administrative divisions: 24 provinces (propinsi-propinsi, singular - propinsi), 2 special regions* (daerah-daerah istimewa, singular - daerah istimewa), and 1 special capital city district** (daerah khusus ibukota); Aceh*, Bali, Bengkulu, Irian Jaya, Jakarta Raya**, Jambi, Jawa Barat, Jawa Tengah, Jawa Timur, Kalimantan Barat, Kalimantan Selatan, Kalimantan Tengah, Kalimantan Timur, Lampung, Maluku, Nusa Tenggara Barat, Nusa Tenggara Timur, Riau, Sulawesi Selatan, Sulawesi Tengah, Sulawesi Tenggara, Sulawesi Utara, Sumatera Barat, Sumatera Selatan, Sumatera Utara, Timor Timur, Yogyakarta*
Independence: 17 August 1945 (proclaimed independence; on 27 December 1949, Indonesia became legally independent from the Netherlands)
National holiday: Independence Day, 17 August (1945)
Constitution: August 1945, abrogated by Federal Constitution of 1949 and Provisional Constitution of 1950, restored 5 July 1959
Legal system: based on Roman-Dutch law, substantially modified by indigenous concepts and by new criminal procedures code; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 17 years of age; universal and married persons regardless of age
Executive branch: chief of state and head of government: President Gen. (Ret.) SOEHARTO (since 27 March 1968); Vice President Gen. (Ret.) Try SUTRISNO (since 11 March 1993) cabinet: Cabinet
Legislative branch: unicameral House of Representatives (Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat or DPR): elections last held on 8 June 1992 (next to be held NA 1997); results - GOLKAR 68%, PPP 17%, PDI 15%; seats - (500 total, 400 elected, 100 military representatives appointed) GOLKAR 282, PPP 62, PDI 56 note: the People's Consultative Assembly (Majelis Permusyawaratan Rakyat or MPR) includes the DPR plus 500 indirectly elected members who meet every five years to elect the president and vice president and, theoretically, to determine national policy
Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Mahkamah Agung)
Political parties and leaders: GOLKAR (quasi-official party based on functional groups), Lt. Gen. (Ret.) HARMOKO, general chairman; Indonesia Democracy Party (PDI - federation of former Nationalist and Christian Parties), Megawati SUKARNOPUTRI, chairman; Development Unity Party (PPP, federation of former Islamic parties), Ismail Hasan METAREUM, chairman
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Arifin Mohamad SIREGAR chancery: 2020 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 775-5200 FAX: [1] (202) 775-5365 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador Robert L. BARRY embassy: Medan Merdeka Selatan 5, Box 1, Jakarta mailing address: APO AP 96520 telephone: [62] (21) 360360 FAX: [62] (21) 3862259 consulate(s) general: Medan, Surabaya
Flag: two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and white; similar to the flag of Monaco, which is shorter; also similar to the flag of Poland, which is white (top) and red
@Indonesia:Economy
Overview: Indonesia is a mixed economy with some socialist institutions and central planning but with a recent emphasis on deregulation and private enterprise. Indonesia has extensive natural wealth, yet, with a large and rapidly increasing population, it remains a rather poor country. Real GDP growth in 1985-94 averaged about 6%, quite impressive, but not sufficient to both slash underemployment and absorb the 2.3 million workers annually entering the labor force. Agriculture, including forestry and fishing, is an important sector, accounting for 21% of GDP and over 50% of the labor force. The staple crop is rice. Once the world's largest rice importer, Indonesia is now nearly self-sufficient. Plantation crops - rubber and palm oil - and textiles and plywood are being encouraged for both export and job generation. Industrial output now accounts for almost 40% of GDP and is based on a supply of diverse natural resources, including crude oil, natural gas, timber, metals, and coal. Foreign investment has also boosted manufacturing output and exports in recent years. Indeed, the economy's growth is highly dependent on the continuing expansion of nonoil exports. Japan remains Indonesia's most important customer and supplier of aid. Rapid growth in the money supply in 1989-90 prompted Jakarta to implement a tight monetary policy in 1991, forcing the private sector to go to foreign banks for investment financing. Real interest rates remained above 10% and off-shore commercial debt grew. The growth in off-shore debt prompted Jakarta to limit foreign borrowing beginning in late 1991. Despite the continued problems in moving toward a more open financial system and the persistence of a fairly tight credit situation, GDP growth in 1992-94 has matched the government target of 6%-7% annual growth.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $619.4 billion (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate: 6.7% (1994 est.)
Unemployment rate: 3% official rate; underemployment 40% (1994 est.)
Budget: revenues: $32.8 billion expenditures: $32.8 billion, including capital expenditures of $12.9 billion (FY94/95)
Exports: $41.3 billion (f.o.b, 1994 est.) commodities: manufactures 56.7%, fuels 24.8%, foodstuffs 11.1%, raw materials 7.4% (1994 est.) partners: Japan 30%, US 14%, Singapore 9%, South Korea 6%, Taiwan 4% (1993)
Imports: $31.4 billion (f.o.b., 1994 est.) commodities: capital equipment 44.2%, intermed and raw materials 37.0%, consumer goods 11.5%, fuels 7.2% (1994 est.) partners: Japan 22%, US 11%, South Korea 7%, Germany 7%, Singapore 6%, Australia 5%, Taiwan 5% (1993)
External debt: $87 billion (1994)
Industrial production: growth rate 8.4% (1993 est.); accounts for 40% of GDP
Industries: petroleum and natural gas, textiles, mining, cement, chemical fertilizers, plywood, food, rubber
Agriculture: accounts for 21% of GDP; subsistence food production; small-holder and plantation production for export; main products are rice, cassava, peanuts, rubber, cocoa, coffee, palm oil, copra, other tropical products, poultry, beef, pork, eggs
Illicit drugs: illicit producer of cannabis for the international drug trade, but not a major player; government actively eradicating plantings and prosecuting traffickers; growing role as transshipment point for Golden Triangle heroin; increasing indigenous methamphetamine abuse
Economic aid: recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $4.4 billion; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $25.9 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $213 million; Communist countries (1970-89), $175 million
Currency: 1 Indonesian rupiah (Rp) = 100 sen (sen no longer used)
Airports: total: 450 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 3 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 10 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 35 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 42 with paved runways under 914 m: 324 with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 4 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 32
@Indonesia:Communications
Telephone system: 763,000 telephones (1986); domestic service fair, international service good local: NA intercity: interisland microwave system and HF police net; 1 earth station for a domestic satellite international: 2 INTELSAT (1 Indian Ocean and 1 Pacific Ocean) earth stations
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 618, FM 38, shortwave 0 radios: NA note: radiobroadcast coverage good
Television: broadcast stations: 9 televisions: NA
@Indonesia:Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, National Police
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 55,883,688; males fit for military service 32,952,204; males reach military age (18) annually 2,247,586 (1995 est.)
Location: Middle East, bordering the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf, between Iraq and Pakistan
Map references: Middle East
Area: total area: 1.648 million sq km land area: 1.636 million sq km comparative area: slightly larger than Alaska
Land boundaries: total 5,440 km, Afghanistan 936 km, Armenia 35 km, Azerbaijan (north) 432 km, Azerbaijan (northwest) 179 km, Iraq 1,458 km, Pakistan 909 km, Turkey 499 km, Turkmenistan 992 km
Coastline: 2,440 km note: Iran also borders the Caspian Sea (740 km)
Maritime claims: contiguous zone: 24 nm continental shelf: natural prolongation exclusive economic zone: bilateral agreements, or median lines in the Persian Gulf territorial sea: 12 nm
International disputes: Iran and Iraq restored diplomatic relations in 1990 but are still trying to work out written agreements settling outstanding disputes from their eight-year war concerning border demarcation, prisoners-of-war, and freedom of navigation and sovereignty over the Shatt al Arab waterway; Iran occupies two islands in the Persian Gulf claimed by the UAE: Tunb as Sughra (Arabic), Jazireh-ye Tonb-e Kuchek (Persian) or Lesser Tunb, and Tunb al Kubra (Arabic), Jazireh-ye Tonb-e Bozorg (Persian) or Greater Tunb; it jointly administers with the UAE an island in the Persian Gulf claimed by the UAE, Abu Musa (Arabic) or Jazireh-ye Abu Musa (Persian); in 1992 the dispute over Abu Musa and the Tunb islands became more acute when Iran unilaterally tried to control the entry of third country nationals into the UAE portion of Abu Musa island, Tehran subsequently backed off in the face of significant diplomatic support for the UAE in the region, but in 1994 it increased its military presence on the disputed islands; periodic disputes with Afghanistan over Helmand water rights; Caspian Sea boundaries are not yet determined
Climate: mostly arid or semiarid, subtropical along Caspian coast
Terrain: rugged, mountainous rim; high, central basin with deserts, mountains; small, discontinuous plains along both coasts
Land use: arable land: 8% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 27% forest and woodland: 11% other: 54%
Irrigated land: 57,500 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment: current issues: air pollution, especially in urban areas, from vehicle emissions, refinery operations, and industrial effluents; deforestation; overgrazing; desertification; oil pollution in the Persian Gulf; inadequate supplies of potable water natural hazards: periodic droughts, floods; duststorms, sandstorms; earthquakes along the Western border international agreements: party to - Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation
@Iran:People
Population: 64,625,455 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 45% (female 14,113,933; male 14,995,015) 15-64 years: 51% (female 16,237,810; male 16,803,943) 65 years and over: 4% (female 1,197,869; male 1,276,885) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 2.29% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 34.85 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 6.85 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: -5.11 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 54.6 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 66.97 years male: 65.77 years female: 68.22 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 4.93 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Nationality: noun: Iranian(s) adjective: Iranian
Ethnic divisions: Persian 51%, Azerbaijani 24%, Gilaki and Mazandarani 8%, Kurd 7%, Arab 3%, Lur 2%, Baloch 2%, Turkmen 2%, other 1%
Religions: Shi'a Muslim 95%, Sunni Muslim 4%, Zoroastrian, Jewish, Christian, and Baha'i 1%
Languages: Persian and Persian dialects 58%, Turkic and Turkic dialects 26%, Kurdish 9%, Luri 2%, Baloch 1%, Arabic 1%, Turkish 1%, other 2%
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1991) total population: 66% male: 74% female: 56%
Labor force: 15.4 million by occupation: agriculture 33%, manufacturing 21% note: shortage of skilled labor (1988 est.)
@Iran:Government
Names: conventional long form: Islamic Republic of Iran conventional short form: Iran local long form: Jomhuri-ye Eslami-ye Iran local short form: Iran
Digraph: IR
Type: theocratic republic
Capital: Tehran
Administrative divisions: 24 provinces (ostanha, singular - ostan); Azarbayjan-e Bakhtari (West Azerbaijan), Azarbayjan-e Khavari (East Azerbaijan), Bakhtaran, Bushehr, Chahar Mahall va Bakhtiari, Esfahan, Fars, Gilan, Hamadan, Hormozgan, Ilam, Kerman, Khorasan, Khuzestan, Kohkiluyeh va Buyer Ahmadi, Kordestan, Lorestan, Markazi, Mazandaran, Semnan, Sistan va Baluchestan, Tehran, Yazd, Zanjan note: there may be a new province named Ardabil formed from a part of Azarbayjan-e Khavari (East Azerbaijan) which may have been renamed Azarbayjan-e Markazi (Central Azerbaijan); the name Bakhtaran may have been changed to Kermanshahan
Independence: 1 April 1979 (Islamic Republic of Iran proclaimed)
National holiday: Islamic Republic Day, 1 April (1979)
Constitution: 2-3 December 1979; revised 1989 to expand powers of the presidency and eliminate the prime ministership
Legal system: the Constitution codifies Islamic principles of government
Suffrage: 15 years of age; universal
Executive branch: supreme leader (rahbar) and functional chief of state: Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ali Hoseini-KHAMENEI (since 4 June 1989) head of government: President Ali Akbar Hashemi-RAFSANJANI (since 3 August 1989); election last held June 1993 (next to be held June 1997); results - Ali Akbar Hashemi-RAFSANJANI was elected with 63% of the vote cabinet: Council of Ministers; selected by the president with legislative approval
Legislative branch: unicameral Islamic Consultative Assembly (Majles-e-Shura-ye-Eslami): elections last held 8 April 1992 (next to be held April 1996); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (270 seats total) number of seats by party NA
Judicial branch: Supreme Court
Political parties and leaders: there are at least 76 licensed parties; the three most important are - Tehran Militant Clergy Association, Mohammad Reza MAHDAVI-KANI; Militant Clerics Association, Mehdi MAHDAVI-KARUBI and Mohammad Asqar MUSAVI-KHOINIHA; Fedaiyin Islam Organization, Sadeq KHALKHALI
Other political or pressure groups: groups that generally support the Islamic Republic include Hizballah, Mojahedin of the Islamic Revolution, Muslim Students Following the Line of the Imam; armed political groups that have been almost completely repressed by the government include Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MEK), People's Fedayeen, Kurdish Democratic Party; the Society for the Defense of Freedom
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Iran has an Interests Section in the Pakistani Embassy in Washington, DC chancery: Iranian Interests Section, 2209 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007 telephone: [1] (202) 965-4990
US diplomatic representation: protecting power in Iran is Switzerland
Flag: three equal horizontal bands of green (top), white, and red; the national emblem (a stylized representation of the word Allah) in red is centered in the white band; Allah Alkbar (God is Great) in white Arabic script is repeated 11 times along the bottom edge of the green band and 11 times along the top edge of the red band
@Iran:Economy
Overview: Iran's economy is a mixture of central planning, state ownership of oil and other large enterprises, village agriculture, and small-scale private trading and service ventures. Over the past several years, the government has introduced several measures to liberalize the economy and reduce government intervention, but most of these changes have moved slowly because of political opposition. Iran has faced increasingly severe financial difficulties since mid-1992 due to an import surge that began in 1989 and general financial mismanagement. At yearend 1993 the Iranian Government estimated that it owed foreign creditors about $30 billion; an estimated $8 billion of this debt was in arrears. At yearend 1994, Iran rescheduled $12 billion in debt. Earnings from oil exports - which provide 90% of Iran's export revenues - are providing less relief to Iran than usual because of reduced oil prices.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $310 billion (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate: -2% (1994 est.)
National product per capita: $4,720 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 35% (1994)
Unemployment rate: over 30% (1994 est.)
Budget: revenues: $NA expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA
Industries: petroleum, petrochemicals, textiles, cement and other building materials, food processing (particularly sugar refining and vegetable oil production), metal fabricating, armaments and military equipment
Agriculture: accounts for about 20% of GDP; principal products - wheat, rice, other grains, sugar beets, fruits, nuts, cotton, dairy products, wool, caviar; not self-sufficient in food
Illicit drugs: illicit producer of opium poppy for the domestic and international drug trade; produced 35-70 metric tons in 1993; net opiate importer but also a key transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin to Europe
Economic aid: recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-80), $1 billion; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $1.675 billion; Communist countries (1970-89), $976 million
note: aid fell sharply following the 1979 revolution
Currency: 10 Iranian rials (IR) = 1 toman; note - domestic figures are generally referred to in terms of the toman
Exchange rates: Iranian rials (IR) per US$1 - 1,749.04 (January 1995), 1,748.75 (1994), 1,267.77 (1993), 65.552 (1992), 67.505 (1991); black market rate: 3,000 rials per US$1 (December 1994)
Fiscal year: 21 March - 20 March
@Iran:Transportation
Railroads: total: 4,850 km; note - 480 km under construction from Bafq to Bandar-e 'Abbas; segment from Bafq to Sirjan has been completed and is operational; section from Sirjan to Bandar-e 'Abbas still under construction broad gauge: 90 km 1.676-m gauge narrow gauge: 4,760 km 1.432-m gauge
Highways: total: 140,200 km paved: 42,694 km unpaved: gravel, crushed stone 46,866 km; improved earth 49,440 km; unimproved earth 1,200 km
Inland waterways: 904 km; the Shatt al Arab is usually navigable by maritime traffic for about 130 km; channel has been dredged to 3 meters and is in use
Pipelines: crude oil 5,900 km; petroleum products 3,900 km; natural gas 4,550 km
Ports: Abadan (largely destroyed in fighting during 1980-88 war), Ahvaz, Bandar Beheshti, Bandar-e 'Abbas, Bandar-e Anzali, Bandar-e Bushehr, Bandar-e Khomeyni, Bandar-e Mah Shahr, Bandar-e Torkeman, Jazireh-ye Khark, Jazireh-ye Lavan, Jazireh-ye Sirri, Khorramshahr (limited operation since November 1992), Now Shahr
Airports: total: 261 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 28 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 12 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 32 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 20 with paved runways under 914 m: 46 with unpaved runways over 3,047 m: 2 with unpaved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 18 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 101
@Iran:Communications
Telephone system: 2,143,000 telephones; 35 telephones/1,000 persons local: NA intercity: microwave radio relay extends throughout country; system centered in Tehran international: 3 INTELSAT (2 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) earth stations; HF radio and microwave radio relay to Turkey, Pakistan, Syria, Kuwait, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan; submarine fiber optic cable to UAE
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 77, FM 3, shortwave 0 radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: 28 televisions: NA
@Iran:Defense Forces
Branches: Islamic Republic of Iran Ground Forces, Navy, Air and Air Defense Force, Revolutionary Guards (includes Basij militia with its ground, air, and naval forces), Law Enforcement Forces
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 14,639,290; males fit for military service 8,703,732; males reach military age (21) annually 615,096 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: according to official Iranian data, Iran spent 1,785 billion rials, including $808 million in hard currency, in 1992 and budgeted 2,507 billion rials, including $850 million in hard currency, for 1993 note: conversion of rial expenditures into US dollars using the current exchange rate could produce misleading results
Location: Middle East, bordering the Persian Gulf, between Iran and Kuwait
Map references: Middle East
Area: total area: 437,072 sq km land area: 432,162 sq km comparative area: slightly more than twice the size of Idaho
Land boundaries: total 3,631 km, Iran 1,458 km, Jordan 181 km, Kuwait 242 km, Saudi Arabia 814 km, Syria 605 km, Turkey 331 km
Coastline: 58 km
Maritime claims: continental shelf: not specified territorial sea: 12 nm
International disputes: Iran and Iraq restored diplomatic relations in 1990 but are still trying to work out written agreements settling outstanding disputes from their eight-year war concerning border demarcation, prisoners-of-war, and freedom of navigation and sovereignty over the Shatt al Arab waterway; in November 1994, Iraq formally accepted the UN-demarcated border with Kuwait which had been spelled out in Security Council Resolutions 687 (1991), 773 (1993), and 883 (1993); this formally ends earlier claims to Kuwait and to Bubiyan and Warbah islands; potential dispute over water development plans by Turkey for the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers
Climate: mostly desert; mild to cool winters with dry, hot, cloudless summers; northern mountainous regions along Iranian and Turkish borders experience cold winters with occasionally heavy snows which melt in early spring, sometimes causing extensive flooding in central and southern Iraq
Terrain: mostly broad plains; reedy marshes along Iranian border in south; mountains along borders with Iran and Turkey
Land use: arable land: 12% permanent crops: 1% meadows and pastures: 9% forest and woodland: 3% other: 75%
Irrigated land: 25,500 sq km (1989 est)
Environment: current issues: government water control projects have drained most of the inhabited marsh areas west of Al Qurnah by drying up or diverting the feeder streams and rivers; a once sizable population of Shi'a Muslims, who have inhabited these areas for thousands of years, has been displaced; furthermore, the destruction of the natural habitat poses serious threats to the area's wildlife populations; inadequate supplies of potable water; development of Tigris-Euphrates Rivers system contingent upon agreements with upstream riparian Turkey; air and water pollution; soil degradation (salinization) and erosion; desertification natural hazards: duststorms, sandstorms, floods international agreements: party to - Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban; signed, but not ratified - Environmental Modification
@Iraq:People
Population: 20,643,769 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 48% (female 4,850,028; male 5,009,513) 15-64 years: 49% (female 5,021,710; male 5,125,191) 65 years and over: 3% (female 338,790; male 298,537) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 3.72% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 43.6 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 6.82 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 0.39 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 62.4 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 66.52 years male: 65.54 years female: 67.56 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 6.56 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Nationality: noun: Iraqi(s) adjective: Iraqi
Ethnic divisions: Arab 75%-80%, Kurdish 15%-20%, Turkoman, Assyrian or other 5%
Religions: Muslim 97% (Shi'a 60%-65%, Sunni 32%-37%), Christian or other 3%
Languages: Arabic, Kurdish (official in Kurdish regions), Assyrian, Armenian
Literacy: age 15-45 can read and write (1985) total population: 89% male: 90% female: 88%
Labor force: 4.4 million (1989) by occupation: services 48%, agriculture 30%, industry 22% note: severe labor shortage; expatriate labor force was about 1,600,000 (July 1990); since then, it has declined substantially
@Iraq:Government
Names: conventional long form: Republic of Iraq conventional short form: Iraq local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Iraqiyah local short form: Al Iraq
Digraph: IZ
Type: republic
Capital: Baghdad
Administrative divisions: 18 provinces (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Al Anbar, Al Basrah, Al Muthanna, Al Qadisiyah, An Najaf, Arbil, As Sulaymaniyah, At Ta'mim, Babil, Baghdad, Dahuk, Dhi Qar, Diyala, Karbala', Maysan, Ninawa, Salah ad Din, Wasit
Independence: 3 October 1932 (from League of Nations mandate under British administration)
National holiday: Anniversary of the Revolution, 17 July (1968)
Constitution: 22 September 1968, effective 16 July 1970 (provisional Constitution); new constitution drafted in 1990 but not adopted
Legal system: based on Islamic law in special religious courts, civil law system elsewhere; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President SADDAM Husayn (since 16 July 1979); Vice President Taha Muhyi al-Din MARUF (since 21 April 1974); Vice President Taha Yasin RAMADAN (since 23 March 1991) head of government: Prime Minister SADDAM Husayn (since NA May 1994); Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Mikhail AZIZ (since NA 1979) Revolutionary Command Council: Chairman SADDAM Husayn, Vice Chairman Izzat IBRAHIM al-Duri cabinet: Council of Ministers
Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly (Majlis al-Watani): elections last held on 1 April 1989 (next to be held NA); results - Sunni Arabs 53%, Shi'a Arabs 30%, Kurds 15%, Christians 2% (est.); seats - (250 total) number of seats by party NA note: in northern Iraq, a "Kurdish Assembly" was elected in May 1992 and calls for Kurdish self-determination within a federated Iraq; the assembly is not recognized by the Baghdad government
Judicial branch: Court of Cassation
Political parties and leaders: Ba'th Party
Other political or pressure groups: political parties and activity severely restricted; opposition to regime from disaffected members of the Ba'th Party, Army officers, and Shi'a religious and ethnic Kurdish dissidents; the Green Party (government-controlled)
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Iraq has an Interest Section in the Algerian Embassy in Washington, DC chancery: Iraqi Interests Section, 1801 P Street NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 483-7500 FAX: [1] (202) 462-5066
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: (vacant); note - operations have been temporarily suspended; a US Interests Section is located in Poland's embassy in Baghdad embassy: Masbah Quarter (opposite the Foreign Ministry Club), Baghdad mailing address: P. O. Box 2447 Alwiyah, Baghdad telephone: [964] (1) 719-6138, 719-6139, 718-1840, 719-3791 FAX: Telex 212287
Flag: three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black with three green five-pointed stars in a horizontal line centered in the white band; the phrase ALLAHU AKBAR (God is Great) in green Arabic script - Allahu to the right of the middle star and Akbar to the left of the middle star - was added in January 1991 during the Persian Gulf crisis; similar to the flag of Syria that has two stars but no script and the flag of Yemen that has a plain white band; also similar to the flag of Egypt that has a symbolic eagle centered in the white band
@Iraq:Economy
Overview: The Ba'thist regime engages in extensive central planning and management of industrial production and foreign trade while leaving some small-scale industry and services and most agriculture to private enterprise. The economy has been dominated by the oil sector, which has traditionally provided about 95% of foreign exchange earnings. In the 1980s, financial problems caused by massive expenditures in the eight-year war with Iran and damage to oil export facilities by Iran, led the government to implement austerity measures and to borrow heavily and later reschedule foreign debt payments. After the end of hostilities in 1988, oil exports gradually increased with the construction of new pipelines and restoration of damaged facilities. Agricultural development remained hampered by labor shortages, salinization, and dislocations caused by previous land reform and collectivization programs. The industrial sector, although accorded high priority by the government, also was under financial constraints. Iraq's seizure of Kuwait in August 1990, subsequent international economic embargoes, and military action by an international coalition beginning in January 1991 drastically changed the economic picture. Industrial and transportation facilities, which suffered severe damage, have been partially restored. Oil exports remain at less than 5% of the previous level. Shortages of spare parts continue. Living standards deteriorated even further in 1993 and 1994; consumer prices have more than doubled in both 1993 and 1994. The UN-sponsored economic embargo has reduced exports and imports and has contributed to the sharp rise in prices. The Iraqi government has been unwilling to abide by UN resolutions so that the economic embargo can be removed. The government's policies of supporting large military and internal security forces and of allocating resources to key supporters of the regime have exacerbated shortages. In brief, per capita output in 1993-94 is far below the 1989-90 level, but no precise estimate is available.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $NA
National product real growth rate: NA%
National product per capita: $NA
Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA%
Unemployment rate: NA%
Budget: revenues: $NA expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA
Industries: petroleum production and refining, chemicals, textiles, construction materials, food processing
Agriculture: accounted for 11% of GNP and 30% of labor force before the Gulf war; principal products - wheat, barley, rice, vegetables, dates, other fruit, cotton, wool; livestock - cattle, sheep; not self-sufficient in food output
Economic aid: recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-80), $3 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $647 million; Communist countries (1970-89), $3.9 billion
Currency: 1 Iraqi dinar (ID) = 1,000 fils
Exchange rates: Iraqi dinars (ID) per US$1 - 3.2 (fixed official rate since 1982); black-market rate (March 1995) US$1 = 1200 Iraqi dinars; semi-official rate US$1 = 650 Iraqi dinars
Fiscal year: calendar year
@Iraq:Transportation
Railroads: total: 2,457 km standard gauge: 2,457 km 1.435-m gauge
Highways: total: 45,550 km paved: 38,400 km unpaved: 7,150 km (1989 est.)
Inland waterways: 1,015 km; Shatt al Arab is usually navigable by maritime traffic for about 130 km; channel has been dredged to 3 meters and is in use; Tigris and Euphrates Rivers have navigable sections for shallow-draft watercraft; Shatt al Basrah canal was navigable by shallow-draft craft before closing in 1991 because of the Persian Gulf war
Pipelines: crude oil 4,350 km; petroleum products 725 km; natural gas 1,360 km
Ports: Umm Qasr, Khawr az Zubayr, and Al Basrah have limited functionality
Airports: total: 121 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 21 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 34 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 8 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 7 with paved runways under 914 m: 22 with unpaved runways over 3,047 m: 3 with unpaved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 5 with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 5 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 16
@Iraq:Communications
Telephone system: 632,000 telephones; reconstitution of damaged telecommunication facilities began after the Gulf war; most damaged facilities have been rebuilt local: NA intercity: the network consists of coaxial cables and microwave radio relay links international: 2 INTELSAT (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean), 1 GORIZONT (Atlantic Ocean) in the Intersputnik system, and 1 ARABSAT earth station; coaxial cable and microwave radio relay to Jordan, Kuwait, Syria, and Turkey; Kuwait line is probably non-operational
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 16, FM 1, shortwave 0 radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: 13 televisions: NA
@Iraq:Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Republican Guard and Special Republican Guard, Navy, Air Force, Air Defense Force, Border Guard Force, Internal Security Forces
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 4,626,610; males fit for military service 2,597,687; males reach military age (18) annually 229,015 (1995 est.)
International disputes: Northern Ireland question with the UK; Rockall continental shelf dispute involving Denmark, Iceland, and the UK (Ireland and the UK have signed a boundary agreement in the Rockall area)
Climate: temperate maritime; modified by North Atlantic Current; mild winters, cool summers; consistently humid; overcast about half the time
Terrain: mostly level to rolling interior plain surrounded by rugged hills and low mountains; sea cliffs on west coast
Land use: arable land: 14% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 71% forest and woodland: 5% other: 10%
Irrigated land: NA sq km
Environment: current issues: water pollution, especially of lakes, from agricultural runoff natural hazards: NA international agreements: party to - Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Climate Change, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83, Wetlands, Whaling; signed, but not ratified - Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Biodiversity, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation
Note: strategic location on major air and sea routes between North America and northern Europe; over 40% of the population resides within 60 miles of Dublin
@Ireland:People
Population: 3,550,448 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 24% (female 415,640; male 440,468) 15-64 years: 64% (female 1,125,638; male 1,155,823) 65 years and over: 12% (female 237,098; male 175,781) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.33% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 14.04 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 8.48 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: -2.22 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 7.2 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 75.99 years male: 73.15 years female: 79 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.95 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Religions: Roman Catholic 93%, Anglican 3%, none 1%, unknown 2%, other 1% (1981)
Languages: Irish (Gaelic), spoken mainly in areas located along the western seaboard, English is the language generally used
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1981 est.) total population: 98%
Labor force: 1.37 million by occupation: services 57.0%, manufacturing and construction 28%, agriculture, forestry, and fishing 13.5%, energy and mining 1.5% (1992)
@Ireland:Government
Names: conventional long form: none conventional short form: Ireland
Constitution: 29 December 1937; adopted 1 July 1937 by plebescite
Legal system: based on English common law, substantially modified by indigenous concepts; judicial review of legislative acts in Supreme Court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Mary Bourke ROBINSON (since 9 November 1990); election last held 9 November 1990 (next to be held November 1997); results - Mary Bourke ROBINSON 52.8%, Brian LENIHAN 47.2% head of government: Prime Minister John BRUTON (since 15 December 1994) cabinet: Cabinet; appointed by president with previous nomination of the prime minister and approval of the House of Representatives
Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament (Oireachtas) Senate (Seanad Eireann): elections last held NA February 1992 (next to be held NA February 1997); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (60 total, 49 elected) Fianna Fail 26, Fine Gael 16, Labor 9, Progressive Democrats 2, Democratic Left 1, independents 6 House of Representatives (Dail Eireann): elections last held on 25 November 1992 (next to be held by November 1997); results - Fianna Fail 39.1%, Fine Gael 24.5%, Labor Party 19.3%, Progressive Democrats 4.7%, Democratic Left 2.8%, Sinn Fein 1.6%, Workers' Party 0.7%, independents 5.9%; seats - (166 total) Fianna Fail 68, Fine Gael 45, Labor Party 33, Progressive Democrats 10 Democratic Left 4, Greens 1, independents 5
Judicial branch: Supreme Court
Political parties and leaders: Democratic Left, Proinsias DE ROSSA; Fianna Fail, Bertie AHERN; Labor Party, Richard SPRING; Fine Gael, John BRUTON; Communist Party of Ireland, Michael O'RIORDAN; Sinn Fein, Gerry ADAMS; Progressive Democrats, Desmond O'MALLEY; The Workers' Party, Marion DONNELLY; Green Alliance, Bronwen MAHER note: Prime Minister BRUTON heads a three-party coalition consisting of the Fine Gael, the Labor Party, and the Democratic Left
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Dermot A. GALLAGHER chancery: 2234 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 462-3939 consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, New York, and San Francisco
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador Jean Kennedy SMITH embassy: 42 Elgin Road, Ballsbridge, Dublin mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [353] (1) 6687122 FAX: [353] (1) 6689946
Flag: three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and orange; similar to the flag of the Cote d'Ivoire, which is shorter and has the colors reversed - orange (hoist side), white, and green; also similar to the flag of Italy, which is shorter and has colors of green (hoist side), white, and red
@Ireland:Economy
Overview: The economy is small and trade dependent. Agriculture, once the most important sector, is now dwarfed by industry, which accounts for 37% of GDP, about 80% of exports, and employs 28% of the labor force. Although exports remain the primary engine for Ireland's robust growth, the economy is also benefiting from a rise in consumer spending and recovery in both construction and business investment. Ireland has substantially reduced its external debt since 1987, to 40% of GDP in 1994. Over the same period, inflation has fallen sharply and chronic trade deficits have been transformed into annual surpluses. Unemployment remains a serious problem, however, and job creation is the main focus of government policy. To ease unemployment, Dublin aggressively courts foreign investors and recently created a new industrial development agency to aid small indigenous firms. Government assistance is constrained by Dublin's continuing deficit reduction measures.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $49.8 billion (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate: 5.5% (1994 est.)
Airports: total: 44 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 1 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 2 with paved runways under 914 m: 32 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 4
@Ireland:Communications
Telephone system: 900,000 telephones; modern digital system using cable and microwave radio relay local: NA intercity: microwave radio relay international: 1 INTELSAT (Atlantic Ocean) earth station
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 9, FM 45, shortwave 0 radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: 86 televisions: NA
@Ireland:Defense Forces
Branches: Army (includes Naval Service and Air Corps), National Police (Garda Siochana)
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 926,831; males fit for military service 749,646; males reach military age (17) annually 34,215 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $500 million, 1.3% of GDP (1994)
(also see separate Gaza Strip and West Bank entries) Note: The territories occupied by Israel since the 1967 war are not included in the data below. In keeping with the framework established at the Madrid Conference in October 1991, bilateral negotiations are being conducted between Israel and Palestinian representatives, Syria, and Jordan to determine the final status of the occupied territories. On 25 April 1982, Israel withdrew from the Sinai pursuant to the 1979 Israel-Egypt Peace treaty. Outstanding territorial and other disputes with Jordan were resolved in the 26 October 1994 Israel-Jordan Treaty of Peace.
@Israel:Geography
Location: Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Lebanon
Map references: Middle East
Area: total area: 20,770 sq km land area: 20,330 sq km comparative area: slightly larger than New Jersey
Land boundaries: total 1,006 km, Egypt 255 km, Gaza Strip 51 km, Jordan 238 km, Lebanon 79 km, Syria 76 km, West Bank 307 km
Coastline: 273 km
Maritime claims: continental shelf: to depth of exploitation territorial sea: 12 nm
International disputes: separated from Lebanon, Syria, and the West Bank by the 1949 Armistice Line; the Gaza Strip and Jericho area, formerly occupied by Israel, are now administered largely by the Palestinian Authority; other areas of the West Bank outside Jericho are administered jointly by Israel and the Palestinian Authority; Golan Heights is Israeli occupied; Israeli troops in southern Lebanon since June 1982
Climate: temperate; hot and dry in southern and eastern desert areas
Terrain: Negev desert in the south; low coastal plain; central mountains; Jordan Rift Valley
Natural resources: copper, phosphates, bromide, potash, clay, sand, sulfur, asphalt, manganese, small amounts of natural gas and crude oil
Land use: arable land: 17% permanent crops: 5% meadows and pastures: 40% forest and woodland: 6% other: 32%
Irrigated land: 2,140 sq km (1989)
Environment: current issues: limited arable land and natural fresh water resources pose serious constraints; desertification; air pollution from industrial and vehicle emissions; groundwater pollution from industrial and domestic waste, chemical fertilizers, and pesticides natural hazards: sandstorms may occur during spring and summer international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution; signed, but not ratified - Climate Change, Desertification, Marine Life Conservation
Note: there are 199 Jewish settlements and civilian land use sites in the West Bank, 42 in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, 24 in the Gaza Strip, and 25 in East Jerusalem (August 1994 est.)
@Israel:People
Population: 5,433,134 (July 1995 est.) note: includes 122,000 Jewish settlers in the West Bank, 14,500 in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, 4,800 in the Gaza Strip, and 149,000 in East Jerusalem (August 1994 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 29% 15-64 years: 61% 65 years and over: 10%
Population growth rate: 1.4% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 20.39 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 6.38 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 8.4 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 78.14 years male: 76 years female: 80.39 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 2.81 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Nationality: noun: Israeli(s) adjective: Israeli
Ethnic divisions: Jewish 82% (Israel born 50%, Europe/Americas/Oceania born 20%, Africa born 7%, Asia born 5%), non-Jewish 18% (mostly Arab) (1993 est.)
Religions: Judaism 82%, Islam 14% (mostly Sunni Muslim), Christian 2%, Druze and other 2%
Languages: Hebrew (official), Arabic used officially for Arab minority, English most commonly used foreign language
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1992) total population: 95% male: 97% female: 93%
Labor force: 1.9 million (1992) by occupation: public services 29.3%, industry 22.1%, commerce 13.9%, finance and business 10.4%, personal and other services 7.4%, construction 6.5%, transport, storage, and communications 6.3%, agriculture, forestry, and fishing 3.5%, other 0.6% (1992)
@Israel:Government
Names: conventional long form: State of Israel conventional short form: Israel local long form: Medinat Yisra'el local short form: Yisra'el
Digraph: IS
Type: republic
Capital: Jerusalem note: Israel proclaimed Jerusalem its capital in 1950, but the US, like nearly all other countries, does not recognize this status, and maintains its Embassy in Tel Aviv
Independence: 14 May 1948 (from League of Nations mandate under British administration)
National holiday: Independence Day, 14 May 1948 (Israel declared independence on 14 May 1948, but the Jewish calendar is lunar and the holiday may occur in April or May)
Constitution: no formal constitution; some of the functions of a constitution are filled by the Declaration of Establishment (1948), the basic laws of the parliament (Knesset), and the Israeli citizenship law
Legal system: mixture of English common law, British Mandate regulations, and, in personal matters, Jewish, Christian, and Muslim legal systems; in December 1985, Israel informed the UN Secretariat that it would no longer accept compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Ezer WEIZMAN (since 13 May 1993) election last held 24 March 1993 (next to be held NA March 1999); results - Ezer WEIZMAN elected by Knesset head of government: Prime Minister Yitzhak RABIN (since NA July 1992) cabinet: Cabinet; selected from and approved by the Knesset
Legislative branch: unicameral parliament (Knesset): elections last held NA June 1992 (next to be held by NA 1996); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (120 total) Labor 44, Likud 32, MERETZ 12, Tzomet 8, National Religious Party 6, SHAS 6, United Torah Jewry 4, Democratic Front for Peace and Equality (Hadash) 3, Moledet 3, Arab Democratic Party 2; note - in 1994 four legislators broke party ranks, resulting in the following new distribution of seats - Labor Party 44, Likud bloc 32, MERETZ 12, National Religious Party 6, SHAS 6, Tzomet 5, United Torah Jewry 4, Democratic Front for Peace and Equality (Hadash) 3, Moledet 2, Arab Democratic Party 2, independents 4 (1 in coalition, 3 voting with opposition)
Judicial branch: Supreme Court
Political parties and leaders: members of the government: Labor Party, Prime Minister Yitzhak RABIN; MERETZ, Minister of Communications Shulamit ALONI; independent, Gonen SEGEV not in coalition, but voting with the government: Democratic Front for Peace and Equality (Hadash), Hashim MAHAMID; Arab Democratic Party, Abd al Wahab DARAWSHAH opposition parties: Likud Party, Binyamin NETANYAHU; Tzomet, Rafael EITAN; National Religious Party, Zevulun HAMMER; United Torah Jewry, Avraham SHAPIRA; Moledet, Rehavam ZEEVI; Peace Guard (independent), Shaul GUTMAN; SHAS, Arieh DERI note: Israel currently has a coalition government comprising 2 parties and an independent that hold 57 seats of the Knesset's 120 seats
Other political or pressure groups: Gush Emunim, Israeli nationalists advocating Jewish settlement on the West Bank and Gaza Strip; Peace Now supports territorial concessions in the West Bank and is critical of government's Lebanon policy
Member of: AG (observer), CCC, CE (observer), CERN (observer), EBRD, ECE, FAO, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, OAS (observer), PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Itamar RABINOVICH chancery: 3514 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 364-5500 FAX: [1] (202) 364-5610 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, and San Francisco
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador Martin INDYK embassy: 71 Hayarkon Street, Tel Aviv mailing address: PSC 98, Box 100, Tel Aviv; APO AE 09830 telephone: [972] (3) 517-4338 FAX: [972] (3) 663-449 consulate(s) general: Jerusalem
Flag: white with a blue hexagram (six-pointed linear star) known as the Magen David (Shield of David) centered between two equal horizontal blue bands near the top and bottom edges of the flag
@Israel:Economy
Overview: Israel has a market economy with substantial government participation. It depends on imports of crude oil, grains, raw materials, and military equipment. Despite limited natural resources, Israel has intensively developed its agricultural and industrial sectors over the past 20 years. Industry employs about 22% of Israeli workers, construction 6.5%, agriculture, forestry, and fishing 3.5%, and services most of the rest. Israel is largely self-sufficient in food production except for grains. Diamonds, high-technology equipment, and agricultural products (fruits and vegetables) are leading exports. Israel usually posts current account deficits, which are covered by large transfer payments from abroad and by foreign loans. Roughly half of the government's external debt is owed to the United States, which is its major source of economic and military aid. To earn needed foreign exchange, Israel has been targeting high-technology niches in international markets, such as medical scanning equipment. The influx of Jewish immigrants from the former USSR, which topped 450,000 during the period 1990-94, increased unemployment, intensified housing problems, and strained the government budget. At the same time, the immigrants bring to the economy valuable scientific and professional expertise.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $70.1 billion (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate: 6.8% (1994 est.)
National product per capita: $13,880 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 14.5% (1994)
Unemployment rate: 7.5% (1994 est.)
Budget: revenues: $42.3 billion expenditures: $45.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $11.1 billion (FY92/93)
Exports: $16.2 billion (f.o.b., 1994 est.) commodities: machinery and equipment, cut diamonds, chemicals, textiles and apparel, agricultural products, metals partners: US, EU, Japan
Imports: $22.5 billion (c.i.f., 1994 est.) commodities: military equipment, investment goods, rough diamonds, oil, other productive inputs, consumer goods partners: EU, US, Japan
External debt: $25.9 billion (November 1994 est.)
Industrial production: growth rate 8% (1994 est.); accounts for about 30% of GDP
Industries: food processing, diamond cutting and polishing, textiles and apparel, chemicals, metal products, military equipment, transport equipment, electrical equipment, miscellaneous machinery, potash mining, high-technology electronics, tourism
Agriculture: citrus and other fruits, vegetables, cotton; beef, poultry, dairy products
Illicit drugs: increasingly concerned about cocaine and heroin abuse and trafficking
Economic aid: recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-90), $18.2 billion; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $2.8 billion
Currency: 1 new Israeli shekel (NIS) = 100 new agorot
Airports: total: 57 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 2 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 6 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 8 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 7 with paved runways under 914 m: 31 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 3
@Israel:Communications
Telephone system: 1,800,000 telephones; most highly developed in the Middle East although not the largest local: NA intercity: good system of coaxial cable and microwave radio relay international: 3 submarine cables; 3 INTELSAT (2 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) earth stations
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 9, FM 45, shortwave 0 radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: 20 televisions: NA
@Israel:Defense Forces
Branches: Israel Defense Forces (includes ground, naval, and air components), Pioneer Fighting Youth (Nahal), Frontier Guard, Chen (women); note - historically there have been no separate Israeli military services
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 1,309,502; females age 15-49 1,283,923; males fit for military service 1,072,501; females fit for military service 1,047,575; males reach military age (18) annually 47,950; females reach military age (18) annually 45,839 (1995 est.) note: military service mandatory for men and women
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $6.5 billion, about 10% of GDP (1995)
Location: Southern Europe, a peninsula extending into the central Mediterranean Sea, northeast of Tunisia
Map references: Europe
Area: total area: 301,230 sq km land area: 294,020 sq km comparative area: slightly larger than Arizona note: includes Sardinia and Sicily
Land boundaries: total 1,899.2 km, Austria 430 km, France 488 km, Holy See (Vatican City) 3.2 km, San Marino 39 km, Slovenia 199 km, Switzerland 740 km
Coastline: 4,996 km
Maritime claims: continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation territorial sea: 12 nm
International disputes: none
Climate: predominantly Mediterranean; Alpine in far north; hot, dry in south
Terrain: mostly rugged and mountainous; some plains, coastal lowlands
Natural resources: mercury, potash, marble, sulfur, dwindling natural gas and crude oil reserves, fish, coal
Land use: arable land: 32% permanent crops: 10% meadows and pastures: 17% forest and woodland: 22% other: 19%
Irrigated land: 31,000 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment: current issues: air pollution from industrial emissions such as sulfur dioxide; coastal and inland rivers polluted from industrial and agricultural effluents; acid rain damaging lakes; inadequate industrial waste treatment and disposal facilities natural hazards: regional risks include landslides, mudflows, avalanches, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, flooding; land subsidence in Venice international agreements: party to - Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Desertification
Note: strategic location dominating central Mediterranean as well as southern sea and air approaches to Western Europe
@Italy:People
Population: 58,261,971 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 15% (female 4,352,325; male 4,603,083) 15-64 years: 68% (female 19,969,086; male 19,874,528) 65 years and over: 17% (female 5,630,747; male 3,832,202) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.21% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 10.89 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 9.78 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 1.03 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 7.4 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 77.85 years male: 74.67 years female: 81.23 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.41 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Nationality: noun: Italian(s) adjective: Italian
Ethnic divisions: Italian (includes small clusters of German-, French-, and Slovene-Italians in the north and Albanian-Italians and Greek-Italians in the south), Sicilians, Sardinians
Religions: Roman Catholic 98%, other 2%
Languages: Italian, German (parts of Trentino-Alto Adige region are predominantly German speaking), French (small French-speaking minority in Valle d'Aosta region), Slovene (Slovene-speaking minority in the Trieste-Gorizia area)
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.) total population: 97% male: 98% female: 96%
Labor force: 23.988 million by occupation: services 58%, industry 32.2%, agriculture 9.8% (1988)
@Italy:Government
Names: conventional long form: Italian Republic conventional short form: Italy local long form: Repubblica Italiana local short form: Italia former: Kingdom of Italy
Independence: 17 March 1861 (Kingdom of Italy proclaimed)
National holiday: Anniversary of the Republic, 2 June (1946)
Constitution: 1 January 1948
Legal system: based on civil law system, with ecclesiastical law influence; appeals treated as trials de novo; judicial review under certain conditions in Constitutional Court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal (except in senatorial elections, where minimum age is 25)
Executive branch: chief of state: President Oscar Luigi SCALFARO (since 28 May 1992) head of government: Prime Minister (referred to in Italy as the President of the Council of Ministers) Lamberto DINI (since 1 February 1995) cabinet: Council of Ministers; nominated by the President of the Council (i.e., Prime Minister) and approved by the President of the Republic
Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament (Parlamento) Senate (Senato della Repubblica): elections last held 27-28 March 1994 (next must be held by spring 1999, but may be held by end of 1995); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (326 total, 315 elected, 11 appointed senators-for-life) PDS 61, Northern League 60, National Alliance 48, Forza Italia 36, Italian Popular Party 31, Communist Refoundation 18, Greens and The Network 13, Italian Socialists 13, Christian Democratic Center 12, Democratic Alliance 8, Christian Socialists 5, Pact for Italy 4, Radical Party (Pannella List) 1, others 5 Chamber of Deputies (Camera dei Deputati): elections last held 27-28 March 1994 (next must be held by spring 1999, but may be held by end of 1995); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (630 total) Northern League 117, PDS 114, Forza Italia 113, National Alliance 109, Communist Refoundation 39, Christian Democratic Center 33, Italian Popular Party 33, Greens and The Network 20, Democratic Alliance 18, Italian Socialists 16, Pact for Italy 13, Christian Socialists 5
Political parties and leaders: Forza Italia (FI), Silvio BERLUSCONI; National Alliance, Gianfranco FINI, party secretary; Northern League - Federal Italy (NL), Umberto BOSSI, president; Italian Social Movement, Pino RAUTI; Democratic Party of the Left (PDS, Massimo D'ALEMA, secretary; Communist Refoundation (RC), Fausto BERTINOTTI; Greens, Gianni MATTIOLI; Italian Socialists, Ottaviano DELTURCO; Rete (The Network), Leoluca ORLANDO; Christian Socialists, Ermanno GORRIERI; Pact for Italy, Mario SEGNI; Italian Popular Party (PPI), Rocco BUTTIGLIONE, Gerardo BIANCO; Christian Democratic Center (CCD), Pier Ferdinando CASINI; Union of the Democratic Center (UDC), Raffaele COSTA; Pannella List, Marco PANNELLA
Other political or pressure groups: the Roman Catholic Church; three major trade union confederations (Confederazione Generale Italiana del Lavoro or CGIL which is PDS-dominated, Confederazione Italiana dei Sindacati Lavoratori or CISL which is centerist, and Unione Italiana del Lavoro or UIL which is center-left); Italian manufacturers and merchants associations (Confindustria, Confcommercio); organized farm groups (Confcoltivatori, Confagricoltura)
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Boris BIANCHERI-CHIAPPORI chancery: 1601 Fuller Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 328-5500 consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, Houston, Miami, New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, San Francisco consulate(s): Detroit and New Orleans
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador Reginald BARTHOLOMEW embassy: Via Veneto 119/A, 00187-Rome mailing address: PSC 59, Box 100, Rome; APO AE 09624 telephone: [39] (6) 46741 FAX: [39] (6) 4882672 consulate(s) general: Florence, Milan, Naples
Flag: three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and red; similar to the flag of Ireland, which is longer and is green (hoist side), white, and orange; also similar to the flag of the Cote d'Ivoire, which has the colors reversed - orange (hoist side), white, and green
@Italy:Economy
Overview: Since World War II the Italian economy has changed from one based on agriculture into a ranking industrial economy, with approximately the same total and per capita output as France and the UK. The country is still divided into a developed industrial north, dominated by private companies, and an undeveloped agricultural south, dominated by large public enterprises. Services account for 48% of GDP, industry 35%, agriculture 4%, and public administration 13%. Most raw materials needed by industry and over 75% of energy requirements must be imported. After growing at an average annual rate of 3% in 1983-90, growth slowed to about 1% in 1991 and 1992, fell by 0.7% in 1993, and recovered to 2% in 1994. In the second half of 1992, Rome became unsettled by the prospect of not qualifying to participate in EU plans for economic and monetary union later in the decade; thus it finally began to address its huge fiscal imbalances. Subsequently, the government has adopted fairly stringent budgets, abandoned its highly inflationary wage indexation system, and started to scale back its extremely generous social welfare programs, including pension and health care benefits. Monetary officials were forced to withdraw the lira from the European monetary system in September 1992 when it came under extreme pressure in currency markets. For the 1990s, Italy faces the problems of pushing ahead with fiscal reform, refurbishing a tottering communications system, curbing pollution in major industrial centers, and adjusting to the new competitive forces accompanying the ongoing expansion and economic integration of the European Union.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $998.9 billion (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate: 2.2% (1994 est.)
National product per capita: $17,180 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 3.9% (1994)
Unemployment rate: 12.2% (January 1995)
Budget: revenues: $339 billion expenditures: $431 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1994 est.)
Exports: $190.8 billion (f.o.b., 1994) commodities: metals, textiles and clothing, production machinery, motor vehicles, transportation equipment, chemicals, other partners: EU 53.4%, US 7.8%, OPEC 3.8% (1994)
Imports: $168.7 billion (c.i.f., 1994) commodities: industrial machinery, chemicals, transport equipment, petroleum, metals, food, agricultural products partners: EU 56.3%, OPEC 5.3%, US 4.6% (1994)
External debt: $67 billion (1993 est.)
Industrial production: growth rate 4.3% (1994 est.); accounts for 35% of GDP
Industries: machinery, iron and steel, chemicals, food processing, textiles, motor vehicles, clothing, footwear, ceramics
Agriculture: accounts for about 4% of GDP; self-sufficient in foods other than meat, dairy products, and cereals; principal crops - fruits, vegetables, grapes, potatoes, sugar beets, soybeans, grain, olives; fish catch of 525,000 metric tons in 1990
Illicit drugs: important gateway country for Latin American cocaine and Southwest Asian heroin entering the European market
Economic aid: donor: ODA and OOF commitments (1970-89), $25.9 billion
Railroads: total: 19,503 km standard gauge: 18,230 km 1.435-m gauge (10,499 km electrified; 2,112 km privately owned) narrow gauge: 1,273 km 0.950-m to 1.000-m gauge (224 km electrified; 1,273 km privately owned)
Highways: total: 305,388 km paved: 277,388 km (6,940 km of expressways) unpaved: gravel, crushed stone 23,000 km; earth 5,000 km (1992)
Inland waterways: 2,400 km for various types of commercial traffic, although of limited overall value
Pipelines: crude oil 1,703 km; petroleum products 2,148 km; natural gas 19,400 km
Ports: Ancona, Augusta, Bari, Cagliari (Sardinia), Catania, Gaeta, Genoa, La Spezia, Livorno, Naples, Oristano (Sardinia), Palermo (Sicily), Piombino, Porto Torres (Sardinia), Ravenna, Savona, Trieste, Venice
Airports: total: 138 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 5 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 34 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 15 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 26 with paved runways under 914 m: 34 with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 2 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 22
@Italy:Communications
Telephone system: 25,600,000 telephones; modern, well-developed, fast; fully automated telephone, telex, and data services local: NA intercity: high-capacity cable and microwave radio relay trunks international: international service by 21 submarine cables, 3 satellite earth stations operating in INTELSAT with 3 Atlantic Ocean antennas and 2 Indian Ocean antennas; also participates in INMARSAT and EUTELSAT systems
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 135, FM 28 (repeaters 1,840), shortwave 0 radios: 16 million
Television: broadcast stations: 83 (repeaters 1,000) televisions: 18 million
@Italy:Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Carabinieri
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 14,934,657; males fit for military service 12,962,594; males reach military age (18) annually 382,142 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $21.5 billion, 2% of GDP (1994)
Location: Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, south of Cuba
Map references: Central America and the Caribbean
Area: total area: 10,990 sq km land area: 10,830 sq km comparative area: slightly smaller than Connecticut
Land boundaries: 0 km
Coastline: 1,022 km
Maritime claims: continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation exclusive economic zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 12 nm
International disputes: none
Climate: tropical; hot, humid; temperate interior
Terrain: mostly mountains with narrow, discontinuous coastal plain
Natural resources: bauxite, gypsum, limestone
Land use: arable land: 19% permanent crops: 6% meadows and pastures: 18% forest and woodland: 28% other: 29%
Irrigated land: 350 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment: current issues: deforestation; coastal waters polluted by industrial waste, sewage, and oil spills; damage to coral reefs; air pollution in Kingston results from vehicle emissions natural hazards: hurricanes (especially July to November) international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution
Note: strategic location between Cayman Trench and Jamaica Channel, the main sea lanes for Panama Canal
@Jamaica:People
Population: 2,574,291 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 33% (female 412,565; male 431,043) 15-64 years: 60% (female 786,700; male 770,681) 65 years and over: 7% (female 96,348; male 76,954) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.78% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 22.03 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 5.62 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: -8.65 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 16.1 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 74.65 years male: 72.39 years female: 77.01 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 2.42 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Ethnic divisions: African 76.3%, Afro-European 15.1%, East Indian and Afro-East Indian 3%, white 3.2%, Chinese and Afro-Chinese 1.2%, other 1.2%
Religions: Protestant 55.9% (Church of God 18.4%, Baptist 10%, Anglican 7.1%, Seventh-Day Adventist 6.9%, Pentecostal 5.2%, Methodist 3.1%, United Church 2.7%, other 2.5%), Roman Catholic 5%, other, including some spiritual cults 39.1% (1982)
Languages: English, Creole
Literacy: age 15 and over has ever attended school (1987) total population: 82% male: 77% female: 86%
Labor force: 1,062,100 by occupation: services 41%, agriculture 22.5%, industry 19%, unemployed 17.5% (1989)
@Jamaica:Government
Names: conventional long form: none conventional short form: Jamaica
Digraph: JM
Type: parliamentary democracy
Capital: Kingston
Administrative divisions: 14 parishes; Clarendon, Hanover, Kingston, Manchester, Portland, Saint Andrew, Saint Ann, Saint Catherine, Saint Elizabeth, Saint James, Saint Mary, Saint Thomas, Trelawny, Westmoreland
Independence: 6 August 1962 (from UK)
National holiday: Independence Day (first Monday in August) (1962)
Constitution: 6 August 1962
Legal system: based on English common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Sir Howard COOKE (since 1 August 1991)
head of government: Prime Minister P. J. PATTERSON (since 30 March 1992); Deputy Prime Minister Seymour MULLINGS (since NA 1993) cabinet: Cabinet; appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister
Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament Senate: consists of a 21-member body appointed by the governor general
House of Representatives: elections last held 30 March 1993 (next to be held by March 1998); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (60 total) PNP 52, JLP 8
Judicial branch: Supreme Court
Political parties and leaders: People's National Party (PNP) P. J. PATTERSON; Jamaica Labor Party (JLP), Edward SEAGA
Other political or pressure groups: Rastafarians (black religious/racial cultists, pan-Africanists); New Beginnings Movement (NBM)
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Richard Leighton BERNAL chancery: 1520 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 452-0660 FAX: [1] (202) 452-0081 consulate(s) general: Miami and New York
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador J. Gary COOPER (since October 1994) embassy: Jamaica Mutual Life Center, 2 Oxford Road, 3rd floor, Kingston mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [1] (809) 929-4850 through 4859 FAX: [1] (809) 926-6743
Flag: diagonal yellow cross divides the flag into four triangles - green (top and bottom) and black (hoist side and fly side)
@Jamaica:Economy
Overview: Key sectors in this island economy are bauxite (alumina and bauxite account for more than half of exports) and tourism. The government's tight fiscal and monetary policies, which have been partially successful in curbing inflation, have held growth to 1.2% in 1993 and 2.0% in 1994.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $7.8 billion (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate: 2% (1994 est.)
National product per capita: $3,050 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 26.7% (1994)
Unemployment rate: 15.7% (1992)
Budget: revenues: $600 million expenditures: $736 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY90/91 est.)
Exports: $1.2 billion (f.o.b., 1994 est.) commodities: alumina, bauxite, sugar, bananas, rum partners: US 47%, UK 11%, Canada 9%, Norway 7%; France 4% (1993)
Imports: $2.2 billion (f.o.b., 1994 est.) commodities: machinery and transport equipment, construction materials, fuel, food, chemicals partners: US 54%, Japan 4.0%, Mexico 6%, UK 4%, Venezuela 3% (1993)
External debt: $3.6 billion (1994 est.)
Industrial production: growth rate 0.4% (1992); accounts for almost 30% of GDP
Agriculture: accounts for about 7% of GDP, 22% of work force, and 17% of exports; commercial crops - sugarcane, bananas, coffee, citrus, potatoes, vegetables; livestock and livestock products include poultry, goats, milk; not self-sufficient in grain, meat, and dairy products
Illicit drugs: transshipment point for cocaine from Central and South America to North America and Europe; illicit cultivation of cannabis; government has an active cannabis eradication program
Economic aid: recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $1.2 billion; other countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $1.6 billion
Airports: total: 41 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 3 with paved runways under 914 m: 31 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 4
Location: Northern Europe, island between the Greenland Sea and the Norwegian Sea, northeast of Iceland
Map references: Arctic Region
Area: total area: 373 sq km land area: 373 sq km comparative area: slightly more than twice the size of Washington, DC
Land boundaries: 0 km
Coastline: 124.1 km
Maritime claims: contiguous zone: 10 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to depth of exploitation exclusive economic zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 4 nm
International disputes: none
Climate: arctic maritime with frequent storms and persistent fog
Terrain: volcanic island, partly covered by glaciers; Beerenberg is the highest peak, with an elevation of 2,277 meters
Natural resources: none
Land use: arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 0% forest and woodland: 0% other: 100%
Irrigated land: 0 sq km
Environment: current issues: NA natural hazards: dominated by the volcano Beerenberg; volcanic activity resumed in 1970 international agreements: NA
Note: barren volcanic island with some moss and grass
@Jan Mayen:People
Population: no permanent inhabitants; note - there are personnel who man the LORAN C base and the weather and coastal services radio station
@Jan Mayen:Government
Names: conventional long form: none conventional short form: Jan Mayen
Digraph: JN
Type: territory of Norway
Capital: none; administered from Oslo, Norway, through a governor (sysselmann) resident in Longyearbyen (Svalbard)
Independence: none (territory of Norway)
@Jan Mayen:Economy
Overview: Jan Mayen is a volcanic island with no exploitable natural resources. Economic activity is limited to providing services for employees of Norway's radio and meteorological stations located on the island.
Electricity: capacity: 15,000 kW production: 40 million kWh consumption per capita: NA kWh (1992)
@Jan Mayen:Transportation
Highways: total: NA paved: NA unpaved: NA
Ports: none; offshore anchorage only
Airports: total: 1 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 1
@Jan Mayen:Communications
Telephone system: NA telephones local: NA intercity: NA international: NA
Radio: broadcast stations: AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA radios: NA note: radio and meteorological station
Television: broadcast stations: NA televisions: NA
Location: Eastern Asia, island chain between the North Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Japan, east of the Korean peninsula
Map references: Asia
Area: total area: 377,835 sq km land area: 374,744 sq km comparative area: slightly smaller than California note: includes Bonin Islands (Ogasawara-gunto), Daito-shoto, Minami-jima, Okinotori-shima, Ryukyu Islands (Nansei-shoto), and Volcano Islands (Kazan-retto)
Land boundaries: 0 km
Coastline: 29,751 km
Maritime claims: exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 12 nm; 3 nm in the international straits - La Perouse or Soya, Tsugaru, Osumi, and Eastern and Western Channels of the Korea or Tsushima Strait
International disputes: islands of Etorofu, Kunashiri, Shikotan, and the Habomai group occupied by the Soviet Union in 1945, now administered by Russia, claimed by Japan; Liancourt Rocks disputed with South Korea; Senkaku-shoto (Senkaku Islands) claimed by China and Taiwan
Climate: varies from tropical in south to cool temperate in north
Terrain: mostly rugged and mountainous
Natural resources: negligible mineral resources, fish
Land use: arable land: 13% permanent crops: 1% meadows and pastures: 1% forest and woodland: 67% other: 18%
Irrigated land: 28,680 sq km (1989)
Environment: current issues: air pollution from power plant emissions results in acid rain; acidification of lakes and reservoirs degrading water quality and threatening aquatic life; Japan's appetite for fish and tropical timber is contributing to the depletion of these resources in Asia and elsewhere natural hazards: many dormant and some active volcanoes; about 1,500 seismic occurrences (mostly tremors) every year; tsunamis international agreements: party to - Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling; signed, but not ratified - Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Desertification, Law of the Sea
Note: strategic location in northeast Asia
@Japan:People
Population: 125,506,492 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 16% (female 9,955,603; male 10,542,973) 15-64 years: 69% (female 43,377,425; male 43,843,645) 65 years and over: 15% (female 10,514,017; male 7,272,829) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.32% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 10.66 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 7.46 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 4.3 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 79.44 years male: 76.6 years female: 82.42 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.56 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Nationality: noun: Japanese (singular and plural) adjective: Japanese
Ethnic divisions: Japanese 99.4%, other 0.6% (mostly Korean)
Religions: observe both Shinto and Buddhist 84%, other 16% (including 0.7% Christian)
Languages: Japanese
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1970 est.) total population: 99%
Labor force: 65.87 million (December 1994) by occupation: trade and services 54%, manufacturing, mining, and construction 33%, agriculture, forestry, and fishing 7%, government 3% (1988)
@Japan:Government
Names: conventional long form: none conventional short form: Japan
Independence: 660 BC (traditional founding by Emperor Jimmu)
National holiday: Birthday of the Emperor, 23 December (1933)
Constitution: 3 May 1947
Legal system: modeled after European civil law system with English-American influence; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
Suffrage: 20 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: Emperor AKIHITO (since 7 January 1989) head of government: Prime Minister Tomiichi MURAYAMA (since 30 June 1994); Deputy Prime Minister Yohei KONO (since 30 June 1994) cabinet: Cabinet; appointed by the prime minister
Legislative branch: bicameral Diet (Kokkai) consists of an upper house or House of Councillors and a lower house or House of Representatives House of Councillors (Sangi-in): half of the members elected every three years to six-year terms; elections last held on 26 July 1992 (next set to be held 23 July 1995); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (252 total) LDP 106, SDPJ 73, Komeito 24, DSP 12, JCP 11, JNP 4, others 16, independents 6; note - the distribution of seats as of 1 April 1995 is as follows - LDP 94, SDPJ 68, Heisei-kai 47, Shin Ryokufu-kai 16, JCP 11, others 15, vacant 1 House of Representatives (Shugi-in): all members elected every four years to four-year terms; elections last held on 18 July 1993 (next to be held by 1997); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (511 total) LDP 223, SDPJ 70, Shinseito 55, Komeito 51, JNP 35, JCP 15, DSP 15, Sakigake 13, others 4, independents 30; note - the distribution of seats as of 1 April 1995 is as follows - LDP 207, Shinshinto 173, SDPJ 70, Sakigake 21, JCP 15, others 19, vacant 6
Judicial branch: Supreme Court
Political parties and leaders: Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), Yohei KONO, president and Yoshiro MORI, secretary general; Social Democratic Party of Japan (SDPJ), Tomiichi MURAYAMA; Japan Communist Party (JCP), Tetsuzo FUWA, Presidium chairman; Sakigake (Harbinger), Masayoshi TAKEMURA, chairman; Shinshinto (New Frontier Party, NFP), Toshiki KAIFU, chairman and Ichiro OZAWA, secretary general note: Shinshinto was formed in December 1994 by the merger of Shinseito (Japan Renewal Party, JRP), Komeito (Clean Government Party, CGP), Japan New Party (JNP), Democratic Socialist Party (DSP), and several minor groups; Shin Ryokufu-kai is a parliamentary alliance which exists only in the upper house, it includes remnants of Shinseito, JNP, DSP, and a minor labor group; Heisei-kai is a joint bloc of Shinshinto and Komei members; Komei is a group formed from what remains of Komeito in the upper house
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Takakazu KURIYAMA chancery: 2520 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 939-6700 FAX: [1] (202) 328-2187 consulate(s) general: Agana (Guam), Anchorage, Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Honolulu, Houston, Kansas City (Missouri), Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Portland (Oregon), San Francisco, and Seattle consulate(s): Saipan (Northern Mariana Islands)
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador Walter F. MONDALE embassy: 10-5, Akasaka 1-chome, Minato-ku (107), Tokyo mailing address: Unit 45004, Box 258, Tokyo; APO AP 96337-0001 telephone: [81] (3) 3224-5000 FAX: [81] (3) 3505-1862 consulate(s) general: Naha (Okinawa), Osaka-Kobe, Sapporo consulate(s): Fukuoka, Nagoya
Flag: white with a large red disk (representing the sun without rays) in the center
@Japan:Economy
Overview: Government-industry cooperation, a strong work ethic, mastery of high technology, and a comparatively small defense allocation (roughly 1% of GDP) have helped Japan advance with extraordinary rapidity to the rank of second most powerful economy in the world. Industry, the most important sector of the economy, is heavily dependent on imported raw materials and fuels. Usually self-sufficient in rice, Japan must import about 50% of its requirements of other grain and fodder crops. Japan maintains one of the world's largest fishing fleets and accounts for nearly 15% of the global catch. Overall economic growth has been spectacular: a 10% average in the 1960s, a 5% average in the 1970s and 1980s. Economic growth came to a halt in 1992-93 largely because of contractionary domestic policies intended to wring speculative excesses from the stock and real estate markets. Growth resumed at a 0.6% pace in 1994 largely because of consumer demand. As for foreign trade, the stronger yen and slower global growth are containing export growth. Unemployment and inflation remain remarkably low in comparison with the other industrialized nations. Japan continues to run a huge trade surplus - $121 billion in 1994, roughly the same size as in 1993 - which supports extensive investment in foreign assets. Prime Minister MURAYAMA has yet to formalize his government's plans for administrative and economic reform, including reduction in the trade surplus. As leader of a coalition government, he has softened his own socialist positions. The crowding of the habitable land area and the aging of the population are two major long-run problems.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $2.5274 trillion (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate: 0.6% (1994 est.)
National product per capita: $20,200 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 0.7% (1994)
Unemployment rate: 2.9% (1994)
Budget: revenues: $569 billion expenditures: $671 billion, including capital expenditures (public works only) of about $126 billion (1994 est.)
Exports: $395.5 billion (f.o.b., 1994) commodities: manufactures 97% (including machinery 46%, motor vehicles 20%, consumer electronics 10%) partners: Southeast Asia 33%, US 29%, Western Europe 18%, China 5%
Imports: $274.3 billion (c.i.f., 1994) commodities: manufactures 52%, fossil fuels 20%, foodstuffs and raw materials 28% partners: Southeast Asia 25%, US 23%, Western Europe 15%, China 9%
External debt: $NA
Industrial production: growth rate 1% (1994); accounts for 30% of GDP
Industries: steel and non-ferrous metallurgy, heavy electrical equipment, construction and mining equipment, motor vehicles and parts, electronic and telecommunication equipment and components, machine tools and automated production systems, locomotives and railroad rolling stock, shipbuilding, chemicals, textiles, food processing
Agriculture: accounts for only 2% of GDP; highly subsidized and protected sector, with crop yields among highest in world; principal crops - rice, sugar beets, vegetables, fruit; animal products include pork, poultry, dairy and eggs; about 50% self-sufficient in food production; shortages of wheat, corn, soybeans; world's largest fish catch of 10 million metric tons in 1991
Economic aid: donor: ODA and OOF commitments (1970-94), $132 billion note: ODA outlay of $9.9 billion in 1994 (est.)
Currency: yen (Y)
Exchange rates: yen (Y) per US$1 - 99.75 (January 1995), 102.21 (1994), 111.20 (1993), 126.65 (1992), 134.71 (1991), 144.79 (1990)
Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March
@Japan:Transportation
Railroads: total: 27,327 km (5,724 km double track and multitrack sections) standard gauge: 2,012 km 1.435-m gauge (2,012 km electrified) narrow gauge: 25,315 km predominantly 1.067-m gauge (9,038 km electrified) (1987)
Highways: total: 1,111,974 km paved: 754,102 km (including 4,869 km of national expressways) unpaved: gravel, crushed stone, or earth 357,872 km (1991)
Inland waterways: about 1,770 km; seagoing craft ply all coastal inland seas
Pipelines: crude oil 84 km; petroleum products 322 km; natural gas 1,800 km
Merchant marine: total: 851 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 18,195,386 GRT/27,292,044 DWT ships by type: bulk 210, cargo 63, chemical tanker 7, combination ore/oil 7, container 41, liquefied gas tanker 41, multifunction large-load carrier 1, oil tanker 264, passenger 10, passenger-cargo 5, refrigerated cargo 48, roll-on/roll-off cargo 43, short-sea passenger 30, specialized tanker 2, vehicle carrier 79 note: Japan owns an additional 1,537 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 45,490,202 DWT that operate under Panamanian, Liberian, Vanuatu, Bahamian, Singaporian, Cypriot, Philippines, Hong Kong, and Maltese registry
Airports: total: 175 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 6 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 31 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 36 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 30 with paved runways under 914 m: 70 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 2
@Japan:Communications
Telephone system: 64,000,000 telephones; excellent domestic and international service local: NA intercity: NA international: 5 INTELSAT (4 Pacific Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) earth stations; submarine cables to US (via Guam), Philippines, China, and Russia
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 318, FM 58, shortwave 0 radios: 95 million
Television: broadcast stations: 12,350 (1 kW or greater 196) televisions: 100 million
@Japan:Defense Forces
Branches: Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (Army), Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (Navy), Japan Air Self-Defense Force (Air Force)
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 31,947,532; males fit for military service 27,494,758; males reach military age (18) annually 910,970 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $47.2 billion, 1% of GDP (FY95/96)
Climate: tropical; scant rainfall, constant wind, burning sun
Terrain: sandy, coral island surrounded by a narrow fringing reef
Natural resources: guano (deposits worked until late 1800s)
Land use: arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 0% forest and woodland: 0% other: 100%
Irrigated land: 0 sq km
Environment: current issues: no natural fresh water resources natural hazards: the narrow fringing reef surrounding the island can be a maritime hazard international agreements: NA
Note: sparse bunch grass, prostrate vines, and low-growing shrubs; primarily a nesting, roosting, and foraging habitat for seabirds, shorebirds, and marine wildlife; feral cats
@Jarvis Island:People
Population: uninhabited; note - Millersville settlement on western side of island occasionally used as a weather station from 1935 until World War II, when it was abandoned; reoccupied in 1957 during the International Geophysical Year by scientists who left in 1958; public entry is by special-use permit only and generally restricted to scientists and educators
@Jarvis Island:Government
Names: conventional long form: none conventional short form: Jarvis Island
Digraph: DQ
Type: unincorporated territory of the US administered by the Fish and Wildlife Service of the US Department of the Interior as part of the National Wildlife Refuge System
Capital: none; administered from Washington, DC
@Jarvis Island:Economy
Overview: no economic activity
@Jarvis Island:Transportation
Ports: none; offshore anchorage only; note - there is one boat landing area in the middle of the west coast and another near the southwest corner of the island
Note: there is a day beacon near the middle of the west coast
@Jarvis Island:Defense Forces
Note: defense is the responsibility of the US; visited annually by the US Coast Guard
Terrain: gently rolling plain with low, rugged hills along north coast
Natural resources: agricultural land
Land use: arable land: 57% permanent crops: NA% meadows and pastures: NA% forest and woodland: NA% other: NA%
Irrigated land: NA sq km
Environment: current issues: NA natural hazards: NA international agreements: NA
Note: largest and southernmost of Channel Islands; about 30% of population concentrated in Saint Helier
@Jersey:People
Population: 86,649 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 17% (female 7,029; male 7,450) 15-64 years: 69% (female 30,156; male 29,916) 65 years and over: 14% (female 7,202; male 4,896) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.7% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 12.83 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 9.97 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 4.11 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 4.6 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 76.9 years male: 73.81 years female: 80.32 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.44 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Constitution: unwritten; partly statutes, partly common law and practice
Legal system: English law and local statute
Suffrage: NA years of age; universal adult
Executive branch: Chief of State: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952) Head of Government: Lieutenant Governor and Commander in Chief Air Marshal Sir John SUTTON (since NA 1990); Bailiff Sir Peter L. CRILL (since NA) cabinet: committees; appointed by the States
Legislative branch: unicameral Assembly of the States: elections last held NA (next to be held NA); results - no percent of vote by party since all are independents; seats - (56 total, 52 elected) 52 independents
Judicial branch: Royal Court
Political parties and leaders: none; all independents
Member of: none
Diplomatic representation in US: none (British crown dependency)
US diplomatic representation: none (British crown dependency)
Flag: white with the diagonal red cross of Saint Patrick (patron saint of Ireland) extending to the corners of the flag
@Jersey:Economy
Overview: The economy is based largely on financial services, agriculture, and tourism. Potatoes, cauliflower, tomatoes, and especially flowers are important export crops, shipped mostly to the UK. The Jersey breed of dairy cattle is known worldwide and represents an important export earner. Milk products go to the UK and other EU countries. In 1986 the finance sector overtook tourism as the main contributor to GDP, accounting for 40% of the island's output. In recent years the government has encouraged light industry to locate in Jersey, with the result that an electronics industry has developed alongside the traditional manufacturing of knitwear. All raw material and energy requirements are imported, as well as a large share of Jersey's food needs.
National product: GDP $NA
National product real growth rate: 8% (1987 est.)
National product per capita: $NA
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 8% (1988 est.)
Unemployment rate: NA%
Budget: revenues: $308 million expenditures: $284.4 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1985)
Exports: $NA commodities: light industrial and electrical goods, foodstuffs, textiles partners: UK
Imports: $NA commodities: machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods, foodstuffs, mineral fuels, chemicals partners: UK
External debt: $NA
Industrial production: growth rate NA%
Electricity: capacity: 50,000 kW standby production: power supplied by France consumption per capita: NA kWh (1992)
Industries: tourism, banking and finance, dairy
Agriculture: potatoes, cauliflowers, tomatoes; dairy and cattle farming
Economic aid: none
Currency: 1 Jersey pound (#J) = 100 pence
Exchange rates: Jersey pounds (#J) per US$1 - 0.6250 (January 1995), 0.6529 (1994), 0.6658 (1993), 0.5664 (1992), 0.5652 (1991), 0.5603 (1990); the Jersey pound is at par with the British pound
Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March
@Jersey:Transportation
Railroads: 0 km
Highways: total: NA paved: NA unpaved: NA
Ports: Gorey, Saint Aubin, Saint Helier
Merchant marine: none
Airports: total: 1 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
@Jersey:Communications
Telephone system: 63,700 telephones local: NA intercity: NA international: 3 submarine cables
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0 radios: NA
Climate: tropical, but generally dry; consistent northeast trade winds with little seasonal temperature variation
Terrain: mostly flat with a maximum elevation of 4 meters
Natural resources: guano (deposits worked until about 1890)
Land use: arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 0% forest and woodland: 0% other: 100%
Irrigated land: 0 sq km
Environment: current issues: no natural fresh water resources natural hazards: NA international agreements: NA
Note: strategic location in the North Pacific Ocean; Johnston Island and Sand Island are natural islands; North Island (Akau) and East Island (Hikina) are manmade islands formed from coral dredging; closed to the public; former nuclear weapons test site; site of Johnston Atoll Chemical Agent Disposal System (JACADS); some low-growing vegetation
@Johnston Atoll:People
Population: 327 (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 0% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: NA
Death rate: NA
Net migration rate: NA
Infant mortality rate: NA
Life expectancy at birth: NA
Total fertility rate: NA
@Johnston Atoll:Government
Names: conventional long form: none conventional short form: Johnston Atoll
Digraph: JQ
Type: unincorportated territory of the US administered by the US Defense Nuclear Agency (DNA) and managed cooperatively by DNA and the Fish and Wildlife Service of the US Department of the Interior as part of the National Wildlife Refuge system
Capital: none
Diplomatic representation in US: none (territory of the US)
US diplomatic representation: none (territory of the US)
Flag: the flag of the US is used
@Johnston Atoll:Economy
Overview: Economic activity is limited to providing services to US military personnel and contractors located on the island. All food and manufactured goods must be imported.
Electricity: supplied by the management and operations contractor
@Johnston Atoll:Transportation
Railroads: 0 km
Highways: total: NA paved: NA unpaved: NA
Ports: Johnston Island
Airports: total: 1 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
@Johnston Atoll:Communications
Telephone system: NA telephones; excellent system including 60-channel submarine cable, Autodin/SRT terminal, digital telephone switch, Military Affiliated Radio System (MARS station), and UHF/VHF air-ground radio local: NA intercity: NA international: NA
Radio: broadcast stations: AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: commercial satellite television system televisions: NA
Area: total area: 89,213 sq km land area: 88,884 sq km comparative area: slightly smaller than Indiana
Land boundaries: total 1,619 km, Iraq 181 km, Israel 238 km, Saudi Arabia 728 km, Syria 375 km, West Bank 97 km
Coastline: 26 km
Maritime claims: territorial sea: 3 nm
International disputes: none
Climate: mostly arid desert; rainy season in west (November to April)
Terrain: mostly desert plateau in east, highland area in west; Great Rift Valley separates East and West Banks of the Jordan River
Natural resources: phosphates, potash, shale oil
Land use: arable land: 4% permanent crops: 0.5% meadows and pastures: 1% forest and woodland: 0.5% other: 94%
Irrigated land: 570 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment: current issues: limited natural fresh water resources; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification natural hazards: NA international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
@Jordan:People
Population: 4,100,709 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 44% (female 884,462; male 930,266) 15-64 years: 53% (female 1,058,060; male 1,119,347) 65 years and over: 3% (female 53,709; male 54,865) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 2.69% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 37.32 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 4.02 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: -6.4 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 32.3 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 72.27 years male: 70.43 years female: 74.21 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 5.25 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Ethnic divisions: Arab 98%, Circassian 1%, Armenian 1%
Religions: Sunni Muslim 92%, Christian 8%
Languages: Arabic (official), English widely understood among upper and middle classes
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1991) total population: 83% male: 91% female: 75%
Labor force: 600,000 (1992) by occupation: industry 11.4%, commerce, restaurants, and hotels 10.5%, construction 10.0%, transport and communications 8.7%, agriculture 7.4%, other services 52.0% (1992)
@Jordan:Government
Names: conventional long form: Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan conventional short form: Jordan local long form: Al Mamlakah al Urduniyah al Hashimiyah local short form: Al Urdun former: Transjordan
Digraph: JO
Type: constitutional monarchy
Capital: Amman
Administrative divisions: 8 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Al Balqa', Al Karak, Al Mafraq, 'Amman, At Tafilah, Az Zarqa', Irbid, Ma'an
Independence: 25 May 1946 (from League of Nations mandate under British administration)
National holiday: Independence Day, 25 May (1946)
Constitution: 8 January 1952
Legal system: based on Islamic law and French codes; judicial review of legislative acts in a specially provided High Tribunal; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 20 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: King HUSSEIN Bin Talal Al Hashimi (since 11 August 1952) head of government: Prime Minister Zayd BIN SHAKIR (since 8 January 1995) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the monarch
Legislative branch: bicameral National Assembly (Majlis al-'Umma) House of Notables (Majlis al-A'ayan): consists of a 40-member body appointed by the king from designated categories of public figures House of Representatives: elections last held 8 November 1993 (next to be held NA November 1997); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (80 total) Muslim Brotherhood (fundamentalist) 16, Independent Islamic bloc (generally traditionalist) 6, Radical leftist 3, pro-government 55 note: the House of Representatives has been convened and dissolved by the King several times since 1974 and in November 1989 the first parliamentary elections in 22 years were held
Judicial branch: Court of Cassation
Political parties and leaders: Al-'Ahd (Pledge) Party, Sec. Gen. 'Abd al-Hadi al-MAJALI; Al-Ahrar (Liberals) Party, Sec. Gen. Ahmad al-ZU'BI; Al-Hurriyah (Freedom) Party, Sec. Gen. Fawwaz al-ZUBI; Al-Watan (Homeland) Party, leader 'Akif al-FAYIZ; Al-Yaqazah (Awakening) Party, Sec. Gen. 'Abd al-Ra'uf al-RAWABIDAH; Constitutional Jordanian Arab Front Party, leader Milhim al-TALL; Democratic Arab Islamic Movement Party-Du'a', Sec. Gen. Yusuf Abu BAKR; Democratic Arab Unionist Party-Wad, Sec. Gen. Anis al-MU'ASHIR; Islamic Action Front (IAF), Sec. Gen. Ishaq al-FARHAN; Jordanian Arab Democratic Party, Sec. Gen. Mu'nis al-RAZZAZ; Jordanian Arab Masses Party, Sec. Gen. 'Abd al-Khaliq SHATAT; Jordanian Arab Socialist Ba'th Party, Command First Secretary Taysir al-HIMSI; Jordanian Communist Party (JCP), Sec. Gen. Ya'qub ZAYADIN; Jordanian Democratic Popular Unity Party, Sec. Gen. 'Azmi al-KHAWAJA; Jordanian Democratic Progressive Party, Sec. Gen. 'Ali 'AMIR; Jordanian National Alliance Party, Sec. Gen. Mijhim al-KHURAYSHAH; Jordanian People's Democratic Party-Hashd, Sec. Gen. Taysir al-ZIBRI; Jordanian Socialist Democratic Party, Sec. Gen. 'Isa MADANAT; Pan-Arab Action Front Party, Sec. Gen. Muhammad al-ZU'BI; Popular Unity Party-the Unionists, Sec. Gen. Talal al-RAMAHI; Progress and Justice Party, Sec. Gen. 'Ali al-SA'D; Progressive Arab Ba'th Party, Command Secretary Mahmud al-MA'AYITAH; Al-Mustaqbal (Future) Party, Sec. Gen. Sulayman 'ARAR
Member of: ABEDA, ACC, AFESD, AL, AMF, CAEU, CCC, ESCWA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OIC, PCA, UN, UNAVEM II, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNOMIL, UNOMOZ, UNPROFOR, UNRWA, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Fayiz A. TARAWNEH chancery: 3504 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 966-2664 FAX: [1] (202) 966-3110
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador Wesley E. EGAN, Jr. embassy: Jabel Amman, Amman mailing address: P. O. Box 354, Amman 11118 Jordan; APO AE 09892-0200 telephone: [962] (6) 820101 FAX: [962] (6) 820159
Flag: three equal horizontal bands of black (top), white, and green with a red isosceles triangle based on the hoist side bearing a small white seven-pointed star; the seven points on the star represent the seven fundamental laws of the Koran
@Jordan:Economy
Overview: Jordan benefited from increased Arab aid during the oil boom of the late 1970s and early 1980s, when its annual real GNP growth averaged more than 10%. In the remainder of the 1980s, however, reductions in both Arab aid and worker remittances slowed real economic growth to an average of roughly 2% per year. Imports - mainly oil, capital goods, consumer durables, and food - outstripped exports, with the difference covered by aid, remittances, and borrowing. In mid-1989, the Jordanian Government began debt-rescheduling negotiations and agreed to implement an IMF-supported program designed to gradually reduce the budget deficit and implement badly needed structural reforms. The Persian Gulf crisis that began in August 1990, however, aggravated Jordan's already serious economic problems, forcing the government to shelve the IMF program, stop most debt payments, and suspend rescheduling negotiations. Aid from Gulf Arab states, worker remittances, and trade contracted; and refugees flooded the country, producing serious balance-of-payments problems, stunting GDP growth, and straining government resources. The economy rebounded in 1992, largely due to the influx of capital repatriated by workers returning from the Gulf, but the recovery was uneven throughout 1994. The government is implementing the reform program adopted in 1992 and continues to secure rescheduling and write-offs of its heavy foreign debt. Debt, poverty, and unemployment remain Jordan's biggest on-going problems.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $17 billion (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate: 5.5% (1994 est.)
National product per capita: $4,280 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 6% (1994 est.)
Unemployment rate: 16% (1994 est.)
Budget: revenues: $2 billion expenditures: $2.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $630 million (1995 est.)
Exports: $1.4 billion (f.o.b., 1994) commodities: phosphates, fertilizers, potash, agricultural products, manufactures partners: India, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, EU, Indonesia, UAE
Agriculture: accounts for about 8% of GDP; wheat, barley, citrus fruit, tomatoes, melons, olives; sheep, goats, poultry; large net importer of food
Economic aid: recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $1.7 billion; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $1.5 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $9.5 billion; Communist countries (1970-89), $44 million
Airports: total: 17 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 9 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 4 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 1 with paved runways under 914 m: 2 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 1
@Jordan:Communications
Telephone system: 81,500 telephones; adequate telephone system local: NA microwave, cable, and radio links intercity: NA international: 2 INTELSAT (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) and 1 ARABSAT earth station; coaxial cable and microwave to Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Syria; microwave link to Lebanon is inactive; participant in MEDARABTEL, a microwave radio relay network linking Syria, Jordan, Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 5, FM 7, shortwave 0 radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: 8 and 1 TV receive-only satellite link televisions: NA
@Jordan:Defense Forces
Branches: Jordanian Armed Forces (JAF; includes Royal Jordanian Land Force, Royal Naval Force, and Royal Jordanian Air Force); Ministry of the Interior's Public Security Force (falls under JAF only in wartime or crisis situations)
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 981,004; males fit for military service 699,891; males reach military age (18) annually 45,494 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $564.2 million, 9.1% of GDP (1995 est.)
Map references: Commonwealth of Independent States - Central Asian States
Area: total area: 2,717,300 sq km land area: 2,669,800 sq km comparative area: slightly less than four times the size of Texas
Land boundaries: total 12,012 km, China 1,533 km, Kyrgyzstan 1,051 km, Russia 6,846 km, Turkmenistan 379 km, Uzbekistan 2,203 km
Coastline: 0 km (landlocked) note: Kazakhstan borders the Aral Sea (1,015 km) and the Caspian Sea (1,894 km)
Maritime claims: none; landlocked
International disputes: Caspian Sea boundaries are not yet determined
Climate: continental, cold winters and hot summers, arid and semiarid
Terrain: extends from the Volga to the Altai Mountains and from the plains in western Siberia to oasis and desert in Central Asia
Natural resources: major deposits of petroleum, coal, iron ore, manganese, chrome ore, nickel, cobalt, copper, molybdenum, lead, zinc, bauxite, gold, uranium
Land use: arable land: 15% permanent crops: NEGL% meadows and pastures: 57% forest and woodland: 4% other: 24%
Irrigated land: 23,080 sq km (1990)
Environment: current issues: radioactive or toxic chemical sites associated with its former defense industries and test ranges are found throughout the country and pose health risks for humans and animals; industrial pollution is severe in some cities; because the two main rivers which flowed into the Aral Sea have been diverted for irrigation, it is drying up and leaving behind a harmful layer of chemical pesticides and natural salts; these substances are then picked up by the wind and blown into noxious dust storms; pollution in the Caspian Sea; soil pollution from overuse of agricultural chemicals and salinization from faulty irrigation practices natural hazards: NA international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Ship Pollution; signed, but not ratified - Climate Change, Desertification
Note: landlocked
@Kazakhstan:People
Population: 17,376,615 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 30% (female 2,589,509; male 2,664,952) 15-64 years: 63% (female 5,531,519; male 5,371,563) 65 years and over: 7% (female 820,900; male 398,172) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.62% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 19.26 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 7.93 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: -5.11 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 40 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 68.25 years male: 63.61 years female: 73.13 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 2.43 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Ethnic divisions: Kazakh (Qazaq) 41.9%, Russian 37%, Ukrainian 5.2%, German 4.7%, Uzbek 2.1%, Tatar 2%, other 7.1% (1991 official data)
Religions: Muslim 47%, Russian Orthodox 44%, Protestant 2%, other 7%
Languages: Kazakh (Qazaqz) official language spoken by over 40% of population, Russian (language of interethnic communication) spoken by two-thirds of population and used in everyday business
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1989) total population: 98% male: 99% female: 96%
Labor force: 7.356 million by occupation: industry and construction 31%, agriculture and forestry 26%, other 43% (1992)
@Kazakhstan:Government
Names: conventional long form: Republic of Kazakhstan conventional short form: Kazakhstan local long form: Qazaqstan Respublikasy local short form: none former: Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic
Digraph: KZ
Type: republic
Capital: Almaty
Administrative divisions: 19 oblystar (singular - oblys) and 1 city (qalalar, singular - qala)*; Almaty Qalasy*, Almaty Oblysy, Aqmola Oblysy, Aqtobe Oblysy, Atyrau Oblysy, Batys Qazaqstan Oblysy (Oral), Kokshetau Oblysy, Mangghystau Oblysy (Aqtau), Ongtustik Qazaqstan Oblysy (Shymkent), Qaraghandy Oblysy, Qostanay Oblysy, Qyzylorda Oblysy, Pavlodar Oblysy, Semey Oblysy, Shyghys Qazaqstan Oblysy (Oskemen; formerly Ust'-Kamenogorsk), Soltustik Qazaqstan Oblysy (Petropavl), Taldyqorghan Oblysy, Torghay Oblysy, Zhambyl Oblysy, Zhezqazghan Oblysy note: names in parentheses are administrative centers when name differs from oblys name
Independence: 16 December 1991 (from the Soviet Union)
National holiday: Independence Day, 16 December (1991)
Constitution: adopted 28 January 1993
Legal system: based on civil law system
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Nursultan NAZARBAYEV (since NA April 1990); Vice President Yerik ASANBAYEV (since 1 December 1991); election last held 1 December 1991 (next to be held NA 1996); results - Nursultan A. NAZARBAYEV ran unopposed; note - NAZARBAYEV has extended his term to the year 2000 by a nationwide referendum held 30 April 1995 head of government: Prime Minister Akezhan KAZHEGELDIN (since 12 October 1994); First Deputy Prime Ministers Nigmatzhan ISINGARIN (since 12 October 1994) and Vitalia METTE (since March 1995) cabinet: Council of Ministers; appointed by the prime minister
Legislative branch: unicameral Supreme Council: elections last held 7 March 1994 (next to be held NA 1999); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (177 total) Union Peoples' Unity of Kazakhstan 33, Confederation of Trade Unions of the Republic of Kazakhstan 11, Peoples' Congress of Kazakhstan Party 9, Socialist Party of Kazakhstan 8, Peasant Union of the Republic Kazakhstan 4, Social Movement LAD 4, Organization of Veterans 1, Union of Youth of Kazakhstan 1, Democratic Committee for Human Rights 1, Association of Lawyers of Kazakhstan 1, International Public Committee "Aral-Asia-Kazakhstan" 1, Congress of Entrepreneurs of Kazakhstan 1, Deputies of the 12th Supreme Soviet 40, independents 62 note: the Supreme Council disbanded 12 March 1995 following a Constitutional Court ruling that the March 1994 elections were invalid
Judicial branch: Supreme Court
Political parties and leaders: People's Unity Party (PUP; was Union of People's Unity), Kuanysh SULTANOV, chairman; People's Congress of Kazakhstan (PCK), Olzhas SULEYMENOV, chairman; Socialist Party of Kazakhstan (SPK; former Communist Party), Yermukhamet YERTYSHBAYEV, co-chairman; Republican Party (Azat), Kamal ORMANTAYEV, chairman; Democratic Progress (Russian) Party, Alexandra DOKUCHAYEVA, chairman; Confederation of Trade Unions of the Republic of Kazakhstan; Peasant Union of the Republic Kazakhstan (KPU); Social Movement LAD, V. MIKHAYLOV, chairman; Union of Youth of Kazakhstan; Democratic Committee for Human Rights; Association of Lawyers of Kazakhstan; International Public Committee "Aral-Asia-Kazakhstan"; Congress of Entrepreneurs of Kazakhstan; Deputies of the 12th Supreme Soviet; People's Cooperative Party, Umirzak SARSENOV, chairman; Organization of Veterans
Other political or pressure groups: Independent Trade Union Center (Birlesu; an association of independent trade union and business associations), Leonid SOLOMIN, president
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Tuleutai S. SULEYMENOV chancery: (temporary) 3421 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 333-4504 through 4507 FAX: [1] (202) 333-4509
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador William H. COURTNEY embassy: 99/97 Furmanova Street, Almaty, Republic of Kazakhstan 480012
mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [7] (3272) 63-24-26 FAX: [7] (3272) 63-38-83
Flag: sky blue background representing the endless sky and a gold sun with 32 rays soaring above a golden steppe eagle in the center; on the hoist side is a "national ornamentation" in yellow
@Kazakhstan:Economy
Overview: Kazakhstan, the second largest of the former Soviet states in territory, possesses enormous untapped fossil-fuel reserves as well as plentiful supplies of other minerals and metals. It also has considerable agricultural potential with its vast steppe lands accommodating both livestock and grain production. Kazakhstan's industrial sector rests on the extraction and processing of these natural resources and also on a relatively large machine building sector specializing in construction equipment, tractors, agricultural machinery, and some defense items. The breakup of the USSR and the collapse of demand for Kazakhstan's traditional heavy industry products have resulted in a sharp contraction of the economy since 1991, with the steepest annual decline occurring in 1994. The government has pursued a moderate program of economic reform and privatization which is gradually lifting state controls over economic activity and shifting assets into the private sector. Nevertheless, government control over key sectors of the economy remains strong. Sustained economic hardships and continued pressures from industrial elites will make it difficult for the government to sustain its policies of monetary and fiscal discipline which had brought down inflation by the end of 1994. Continued lack of pipeline transportation for expanded oil exports has closed off a likely source of economic recovery.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $55.2 billion (1994 estimate as extrapolated from World Bank estimate for 1992)
National product real growth rate: -25% (1994 est.)
National product per capita: $3,200 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 24% per month (1994 est.)
Unemployment rate: 1.1% includes only officially registered unemployed; also large numbers of underemployed workers (1994)
Budget: revenues: $NA expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA
Imports: $3.5 billion (1994) commodities: machinery and parts, industrial materials, oil and gas partners: Russia and other former Soviet republics, China
External debt: less than $1 billion debt to Russia
Industries: accounts for 26% of net national product; extractive industries (oil, coal, iron ore, manganese, chromite, lead, zinc, copper, titanium, bauxite, gold, silver, phosphates, sulfur), iron and steel, nonferrous metal, tractors and other agricultural machinery, electric motors, construction materials
Agriculture: accounts for 20% of GDP; employs about 26% of the labor force; grain, mostly spring wheat; meat, cotton, wool
Illicit drugs: illicit cultivation of cannabis and opium poppy; mostly for CIS consumption; limited government eradication program; used as transshipment point for illicit drugs to Western Europe and North America from Southwest Asia
Economic aid: recipient: approximately $1 billion in foreign loans and credits allocated in 1994; disbursements projected at $700 billion through 1995
Currency: national currency the tenge introduced on 15 November 1993
Exchange rates: tenges per US$1 - 54 (yearend 1994)
Fiscal year: calendar year
@Kazakhstan:Transportation
Railroads: total: 14,460 km in common carrier service; does not include industrial lines broad gauge: 14,460 km 1.520-m gauge (1990)
Highways: total: 189,000 km paved and graveled: 108,100 km unpaved: earth 80,900 km (1990)
Inland waterways: Syrdariya River, Ertis River
Pipelines: crude oil 2,850 km; refined products 1,500 km; natural gas 3,480 km (1992)
Airports: total: 352 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 7 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 23 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 11 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 5 with paved runways under 914 m: 9 with unpaved runways over 3,047 m: 9 with unpaved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 8 with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 25 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 65 with unpaved runways under 914 m: 190
@Kazakhstan:Communications
Telephone system: 2.2 million telephones; telephone service is poor; about 17 telephones/100 persons in urban areas and 7.6 telephones/100 persons in rural areas; Almaty has 184,000 telephones local: NA intercity: land line and microwave radio relay international: international traffic with other former USSR republics and China carried by landline and microwave, and with other countries by satellite and through 8 international telecommunications circuits at the Moscow international gateway switch; INTELSAT earth station; new satellite earth station established at Almaty with Turkish financial help (December 1992) with 2500 channel band width
Radio: broadcast stations: AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA radios: 4.088 million (with multiple speakers for program diffusion 6,082,000)
Television: broadcast stations: Orbita (TV receive only) earth station televisions: 4.75 million
@Kazakhstan:Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Republic National Guard, Republic Security Forces (internal and border troops)
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 4,513,089; males fit for military service 3,605,584; males reach military age (18) annually 154,280 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: 69.3 billion rubles, NA% of GDP (forecast for 1993); note - conversion of the military budget into US dollars using the current exchange rate could produce misleading results
Location: Eastern Africa, bordering the Indian Ocean, between Somalia and Tanzania
Map references: Africa
Area: total area: 582,650 sq km land area: 569,250 sq km comparative area: slightly more than twice the size of Nevada
Land boundaries: total 3,446 km, Ethiopia 830 km, Somalia 682 km, Sudan 232 km, Tanzania 769 km, Uganda 933 km
Coastline: 536 km
Maritime claims: continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation exclusive economic zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 12 nm
International disputes: administrative boundary with Sudan does not coincide with international boundary; possible claim by Somalia based on unification of ethnic Somalis
Climate: varies from tropical along coast to arid in interior
Terrain: low plains rise to central highlands bisected by Great Rift Valley; fertile plateau in west
Natural resources: gold, limestone, soda ash, salt barytes, rubies, fluorspar, garnets, wildlife
Land use: arable land: 3% permanent crops: 1% meadows and pastures: 7% forest and woodland: 4% other: 85%
Irrigated land: 520 sq km (1989)
Environment: current issues: water pollution from urban and industrial wastes; degradation of water quality from increased use of pesticides and fertilizers; deforestation; soil erosion; desertification; poaching natural hazards: NA international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling; signed, but not ratified - Desertification
Note: the Kenyan Highlands comprise one of the most successful agricultural production regions in Africa; glaciers on Mt. Kenya; unique physiography supports abundant and varied wildlife of scientific and economic value
@Kenya:People
Population: 28,817,227 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 48% (female 6,841,235; male 6,957,908) 15-64 years: 50% (female 7,277,061; male 7,085,925) 65 years and over: 2% (female 359,659; male 295,439) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.99% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 41.66 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 12.04 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: -19.69 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 73.5 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 52.41 years male: 50.72 years female: 54.16 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 5.76 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Nationality: noun: Kenyan(s) adjective: Kenyan
Ethnic divisions: Kikuyu 22%, Luhya 14%, Luo 13%, Kalenjin 12%, Kamba 11%, Kisii 6%, Meru 6%, Asian, European, and Arab 1%, other 15%
Religions: Protestant (including Anglican) 38%, Roman Catholic 28%, indigenous beliefs 26%, other 8%
Languages: English (official), Swahili (official), numerous indigenous languages
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1989) total population: 71% male: 81% female: 62%
Names: conventional long form: Republic of Kenya conventional short form: Kenya former: British East Africa
Digraph: KE
Type: republic
Capital: Nairobi
Administrative divisions: 7 provinces and 1 area*; Central, Coast, Eastern, Nairobi Area*, North Eastern, Nyanza, Rift Valley, Western
Independence: 12 December 1963 (from UK)
National holiday: Independence Day, 12 December (1963)
Constitution: 12 December 1963, amended as a republic 1964; reissued with amendments 1979, 1983, 1986, 1988, 1991, and 1992
Legal system: based on English common law, tribal law, and Islamic law; judicial review in High Court; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations; constitutional amendment of 1982 making Kenya a de jure one-party state repealed in 1991
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state and head of government: President Daniel Toroitich arap MOI (since 14 October 1978); Vice President George SAITOTI (since 10 May 1989); election last held on 29 December 1992 (next to be held NA 1997); results - President Daniel T. arap MOI was reelected with 37% of the vote; Kenneth Matiba (FORD-ASILI) 26%; Mwai Kibaki (SP) 19%, Oginga Odinga (FORD-Kenya) 17% cabinet: Cabinet; appointed by the president
Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly (Bunge): elections last held on 29 December 1992 (next to be held NA); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (188 total) KANU 100, FORD-Kenya 31, FORD-Asili 31, DP 23, smaller parties 3; president nominates 12 additional members note: first multiparty election since repeal of one-party state law in 1991
Judicial branch: Court of Appeal, High Court
Political parties and leaders: ruling party is Kenya African National Union (KANU), President Daniel Toroitich arap MOI; opposition parties include Forum for the Restoration of Democracy (FORD-Kenya), Michael WAMALWA; Forum for the Restoration of Democracy (FORD-Asili), Kenneth MATIBA; Democratic Party of Kenya (DP), Mwai KIBAKI
Other political or pressure groups: labor unions; Roman Catholic Church
Member of: ESCAP, FAO, G-77, ICAO, ICRM, IFAD, IFRCS, IMO, INTELSAT (nonsignatory user), IOC, ISO, ITU, NAM, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNOMIL, UNU, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Benjamin Edgar KIPKORIR chancery: 2249 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 387-6101 FAX: [1] (202) 462-3829 consulate(s) general: Los Angeles and New York
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador Aurelia BRAZEAL embassy: corner of Moi Avenue and Haile Selassie Avenue, Nairobi mailing address: P. O. Box 30137, Unit 64100, Nairobi; APO AE 09831 telephone: [254] (2) 334141 FAX: [254] (2) 340838
Flag: three equal horizontal bands of black (top), red, and green; the red band is edged in white; a large warrior's shield covering crossed spears is superimposed at the center
@Kenya:Economy
Overview: Kenya in recent years has had one of the highest natural rates of growth in population, but the statistics have been complicated by the large-scale movement of nomadic groups and of Somalis back and forth across the border. Population growth has been accompanied by deforestation, deterioration in the road system, the water supply, and other parts of the infrastructure. In industry and services, Nairobi's reluctance to embrace IMF-supported reforms had held back investment and growth in 1991-93. Nairobi's push on economic reform in 1994, however, helped support a 3.3% increase in output.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $33.1 billion (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate: 3.3% (1994 est.)
National product per capita: $1,170 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 30% (1994 est.)
Unemployment rate: 35% urban (1994 est.)
Budget: revenues: $2.4 billion expenditures: $2.8 billion, including capital expenditures of $740 million (1990 est.)
Exports: $1.45 billion (f.o.b., 1994 est.) commodities: tea 25%, coffee 18%, petroleum products 11% (1990) partners: EC 47%, Africa 23%, Asia 11%, US 4%, Middle East 3% (1991)
Imports: $1.85 billion (f.o.b., 1994 est.) commodities: machinery and transportation equipment 29%, petroleum and petroleum products 15%, iron and steel 7%, raw materials, food and consumer goods (1989) partners: EC 46%, Asia 23%, Middle East 20%, US 5% (1991)
External debt: $7 billion (1994 est.)
Industrial production: growth rate 3.9% (1991 est.); accounts for 14% of GDP
Agriculture: most important sector, accounting for 27% of GDP and 65% of exports; cash crops - coffee, tea; food products - corn, wheat, sugarcane, fruit, vegetables, dairy products, beef, pork, poultry, eggs
Illicit drugs: widespread harvesting of small, wild plots of marijuana and qat; most locally consumed; transit country for Southwest Asian heroin moving to West Africa and onward to Europe and North America; Indian methaqualone also transits on way to South Africa
Economic aid: recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $839 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $7.49 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $74 million; Communist countries (1970-89), $83 million
Airports: total: 246 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 3 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 22 with paved runways under 914 m: 83 with unpaved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 14 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 119
@Kenya:Communications
Telephone system: over 260,000 telephones; in top group of African systems local: NA intercity: consists primarily of microwave radio relay links international: 2 INTELSAT (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) earth stations
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 16, FM 4, shortwave 0 radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: 6 televisions: NA
@Kenya:Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, paramilitary General Service Unit of the Police
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 6,358,344; males fit for military service 3,932,506 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $136 million, 1.9% of GDP (FY93/94)
Climate: tropical, but moderated by prevailing winds
Terrain: low and nearly level with a maximum elevation of about 1 meter
Natural resources: none
Land use: arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 0% forest and woodland: 0% other: 100%
Irrigated land: 0 sq km
Environment: current issues: NA natural hazards: wet or awash most of the time, maximum elevation of about 1 meter makes this a maritime hazard international agreements: NA
Note: barren coral atoll with deep interior lagoon; closed to the public
@Kingman Reef:People
Population: uninhabited
@Kingman Reef:Government
Names: conventional long form: none conventional short form: Kingman Reef
Digraph: KQ
Type: unincorporated territory of the US administered by the US Navy, however it is awash the majority of the time, so it is not usable and is uninhabited
Capital: none; administered from Washington, DC
@Kingman Reef:Economy
Overview: no economic activity
@Kingman Reef:Transportation
Ports: none; offshore anchorage only
Airports: lagoon was used as a halfway station between Hawaii and American Samoa by Pan American Airways for flying boats in 1937 and 1938
Location: Oceania, group of islands in the Pacific Ocean, straddling the equator and the International Date Line, about one-half of the way from Hawaii to Australia
Map references: Oceania
Area: total area: 717 sq km land area: 717 sq km comparative area: slightly more than four times the size of Washington, DC note: includes three island groups - Gilbert Islands, Line Islands, Phoenix Islands
Climate: tropical; marine, hot and humid, moderated by trade winds
Terrain: mostly low-lying coral atolls surrounded by extensive reefs
Natural resources: phosphate (production discontinued in 1979)
Land use: arable land: 0% permanent crops: 51% meadows and pastures: 0% forest and woodland: 3% other: 46%
Irrigated land: NA sq km
Environment: current issues: NA natural hazards: typhoons can occur any time, but usually November to March; occasional tornadoes international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Endangered Species, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection; signed, but not ratified - Climate Change
Note: 20 of the 33 islands are inhabited; Banaba (Ocean Island) in Kiribati is one of the three great phosphate rock islands in the Pacific Ocean - the others are Makatea in French Polynesia and Nauru
@Kiribati:People
Population: 79,386 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: NA 15-64 years: NA 65 years and over: NA
Population growth rate: 1.95% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 31.25 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 12.31 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 0.56 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 98.4 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 54.16 years male: 52.56 years female: 55.78 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 3.73 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Nationality: noun: I-Kiribati (singular and plural) adjective: I-Kiribati
Ethnic divisions: Micronesian
Religions: Roman Catholic 52.6%, Protestant (Congregational) 40.9%, Seventh-Day Adventist, Baha'i, Church of God, Mormon 6% (1985)
Languages: English (official), Gilbertese
Literacy: NA%
Labor force: 7,870 economically active, not including subsistence farmers (1985 est.)
@Kiribati:Government
Names: conventional long form: Republic of Kiribati conventional short form: Kiribati former: Gilbert Islands
Digraph: KR
Type: republic
Capital: Tarawa
Administrative divisions: 3 units; Gilbert Islands, Line Islands, Phoenix Islands note: in addition, there are 6 districts (Banaba, Central Gilberts, Line Islands, Northern Gilberts, Southern Gilberts, Tarawa) and 21 island councils (Abaiang, Abemama, Aranuka, Arorae, Banaba, Beru, Butaritari, Kanton, Kiritimati, Kuria, Maiana, Makin, Marakei, Nikunau, Nonouti, Onotoa, Tabiteuea, Tabuaeran, Tamana, Tarawa, Teraina; note - one council for each of the inhabited islands)
Independence: 12 July 1979 (from UK)
National holiday: Independence Day, 12 July (1979)
Constitution: 12 July 1979
Legal system: NA
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state and head of government: President (Beretitenti) Teburoro TITO (since 1 October 1994); Vice President (Kauoman-ni-Beretitenti) Tewareka TENTOA (since 12 October 1994); election last held on 30 September 1994 (next to be held by NA 1999) cabinet: Cabinet; appointed by the president from an elected parliament
Legislative branch: unicameral House of Assembly (Maneaba Ni Maungatabu): elections last held on 22 July 1994 (next to be held by NA 1999); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (40 total; 39 elected) Maneaban Te Mauri 13, National Progressive Party 7, independents 19
Judicial branch: Court of Appeal, High Court
Political parties and leaders: National Progressive Party, Teatao TEANNAKI; Christian Democratic Party, Teburoro TITO; New Movement Party, leader NA; Liberal Party, Tewareka TENTOA; Maneaba Party, Roniti TEIWAKI; Maneaban Te Mauri, leader NA note: there is no tradition of formally organized political parties in Kiribati; they more closely resemble factions or interest groups because they have no party headquarters, formal platforms, or party structures
Member of: ACP, AsDB, C, ESCAP, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, IDA, IFC, IFRCS (associate), IMF, INTELSAT (nonsignatory user), INTERPOL, ITU, SPARTECA, SPC, SPF, UNESCO, UPU, WHO
Diplomatic representation in US: Kiribati has no mission in the US
US diplomatic representation: the ambassador to Fiji is accredited to Kiribati
Flag: the upper half is red with a yellow frigate bird flying over a yellow rising sun, and the lower half is blue with three horizontal wavy white stripes to represent the ocean
@Kiribati:Economy
Overview: A remote country of 33 scattered coral atolls, Kiribati has few national resources. Commercially viable phosphate deposits were exhausted at the time of independence in 1979. Copra and fish now represent the bulk of production and exports. The economy has fluctuated widely in recent years. Real GDP declined about 5% in 1987, as the fish catch fell sharply to only one-fourth the level of 1986 and copra production was hampered by repeated rains. Output rebounded strongly in 1988, with real GDP growing by 10%. The upturn in economic growth came from an increase in copra production and a good fish catch. GDP then fell by 2.2% in 1989 and by 2.9% in 1990, but has risen by about 3% annually in 1991-93. Foreign financial aid, largely from the UK and Japan, is a critical supplement to GDP, amounting to 25%-50% of GDP in recent years.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $62 million (1993 est.)
National product real growth rate: 2.9% (1993 est.)
Budget: revenues: $29.6 million expenditures: $32.8 million, including capital expenditures of $14 million (1993 est.)
Exports: $4.2 million (f.o.b., 1992 est.) commodities: copra 50%, seaweed 16%, fish 15% partners: Denmark, Fiji, US
Imports: $33.1 million (c.i.f., 1992 est.) commodities: foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, miscellaneous manufactured goods, fuel partners: Australia 40%, Japan 18%, Fiji 17%, NZ 6%, US 4% (1991)
External debt: $2 million (December 1989 est.)
Industrial production: growth rate 0.7% (1992 est.); accounts for less than 4% of GDP
Electricity: capacity: 5,000 kW production: 13 million kWh consumption per capita: 131 kWh (1993)
Industries: fishing, handicrafts
Agriculture: accounts for 23% of GDP (including fishing); copra and fish contribute about 65% to exports; subsistence farming predominates; food crops - taro, breadfruit, sweet potatoes, vegetables; not self-sufficient in food
Economic aid: recipient: Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $273 million
Airports: total: 21 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 1 with paved runways under 914 m: 5 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 11
@Kiribati:Communications
Telephone system: 1,400 telephones local: NA intercity: NA international: 1 INTELSAT (Pacific Ocean) earth station
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0 radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: 0 televisions: NA
@Kiribati:Defense Forces
Branches: Police Force (carries out law enforcement functions and paramilitary duties; there are small police posts on all islands); no military force is maintained
Location: Eastern Asia, northern half of the Korean peninsula bordering the Korea Bay and the Sea of Japan, between China and Russia
Map references: Asia
Area: total area: 120,540 sq km land area: 120,410 sq km comparative area: slightly smaller than Mississippi
Land boundaries: total 1,673 km, China 1,416 km, South Korea 238 km, Russia 19 km
Coastline: 2,495 km
Maritime claims: territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm military boundary line: 50 nm in the Sea of Japan and the exclusive economic zone limit in the Yellow Sea where all foreign vessels and aircraft without permission are banned
International disputes: short section of boundary with China is indefinite; Demarcation Line with South Korea
Climate: temperate with rainfall concentrated in summer
Terrain: mostly hills and mountains separated by deep, narrow valleys; coastal plains wide in west, discontinuous in east
Land use: arable land: 18% permanent crops: 1% meadows and pastures: 0% forest and woodland: 74% other: 7%
Irrigated land: 14,000 sq km (1989)
Environment: current issues: localized air pollution attributable to inadequate industrial controls; water pollution; inadequate supplies of potable water natural hazards: late spring droughts often followed by severe flooding; occasional typhoons during the early fall international agreements: party to - Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Environmental Modification, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution; signed, but not ratified - Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Law of the Sea
Note: strategic location bordering China, South Korea, and Russia; mountainous interior is isolated, nearly inaccessible, and sparsely populated
@Korea, North:People
Population: 23,486,550 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 30% (female 3,402,672; male 3,540,313) 15-64 years: 66% (female 7,840,465; male 7,741,155) 65 years and over: 4% (female 622,250; male 339,695) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.78% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 23.31 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 5.47 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 26.8 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 70.05 years male: 66.96 years female: 73.29 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 2.34 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Nationality: noun: Korean(s) adjective: Korean
Ethnic divisions: racially homogeneous
Religions: Buddhism and Confucianism, some Christianity and syncretic Chondogyo note: autonomous religious activities now almost nonexistent; government-sponsored religious groups exist to provide illusion of religious freedom
Languages: Korean
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write Korean (1990 est.) total population: 99% male: 99% female: 99%
Labor force: 9.615 million by occupation: agricultural 36%, nonagricultural 64% note: shortage of skilled and unskilled labor (mid-1987 est.)
@Korea, North:Government
Names: conventional long form: Democratic People's Republic of Korea conventional short form: North Korea local long form: Choson-minjujuui-inmin-konghwaguk local short form: none note: the North Koreans generally use the term "Choson" to refer to their country
Abbreviation: DPRK
Digraph: KN
Type: Communist state; Stalinist dictatorship
Capital: P'yongyang
Administrative divisions: 9 provinces (do, singular and plural) and 3 special cities* (jikhalsi, singular and plural); Chagang-do (Chagang Province), Hamgyong-bukto (North Hamgyong Province), Hamgyong-namdo (South Hamgyong Province), Hwanghae-bukto (North Hwanghae Province), Hwanghae-namdo (South Hwanghae Province), Kaesong-si* (Kaesong City), Kangwon-do (Kangwon Province), Namp'o-si* (Namp'o City), P'yongan-bukto (North P'yongan Province), P'yongan-namdo (South P'yongan Province), P'yongyang-si* (P'yongyang City), Yanggang-do (Yanggang Province)
Independence: 9 September 1948 note: 15 August 1945, date of independence from the Japanese and celebrated in North Korea as National Liberation Day
National holiday: DPRK Foundation Day, 9 September (1948)
Constitution: adopted 1948, completely revised 27 December 1972, revised again in April 1992
Legal system: based on German civil law system with Japanese influences and Communist legal theory; no judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 17 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: KIM Chong-il, is the son of and designated successor to former President KIM Il-song (who died 8 July 1994); formal succession has not yet taken place (January 1995); election last held 24 May 1990 (next to be held by NA); results - President KIM Il-song was reelected without opposition head of government: Premier KANG Song-san (since December 1992) cabinet: State Administration Council; appointed by the Supreme People's Assembly
Legislative branch: unicameral Supreme People's Assembly (Ch'oego Inmin Hoeui): elections last held on 7-9 April 1990 (next to be held NA); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (687 total) the KWP approves a single list of candidates who are elected without opposition; minor parties hold a few seats
Judicial branch: Central Court
Political parties and leaders: major party - Korean Workers' Party (KWP), KIM Chong-il, secretary, Central Committee; Korean Social Democratic Party, KIM Pyong-sik, chairman; Chondoist Chongu Party, YU Mi-yong, chairwoman
Member of: ESCAP, FAO, G-77, ICAO, IFAD, IFRCS, IMO, INTELSAT (nonsignatory user), IOC, ISO, ITU, NAM, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in US: none
US diplomatic representation: none
Flag: three horizontal bands of blue (top), red (triple width), and blue; the red band is edged in white; on the hoist side of the red band is a white disk with a red five-pointed star
@Korea, North:Economy
Overview: More than 90% of this command economy is socialized; agricultural land is collectivized; and state-owned industry produces 95% of manufactured goods. State control of economic affairs is unusually tight even for a Communist country because of the small size and homogeneity of the society and the strict rule of KIM Il-song in the past and now his son, KIM Chong-il. Economic growth during the period 1984-88 averaged 2%-3%, but output declined by 3%-5% annually during 1989-92 because of systemic problems and disruptions in socialist-style economic relations with the former USSR and China. In 1992, output dropped sharply, by perhaps 7%-9%, as the economy felt the cumulative effect of the reduction in outside support. The leadership insisted on maintaining its high level of military outlays from a shrinking economic pie. Moreover, a serious drawdown in inventories and critical shortages in the energy sector have led to increasing interruptions in industrial production. Abundant mineral resources and hydropower have formed the basis of industrial development since World War II. Output of the extractive industries includes coal, iron ore, magnesite, graphite, copper, zinc, lead, and precious metals. Manufacturing is centered on heavy industry, including military industry, with light industry lagging far behind. Despite the use of improved seed varieties, expansion of irrigation, and the heavy use of fertilizers, North Korea has not yet become self-sufficient in food production. Indeed, a shortage of arable lands, several years of poor harvests, and a cumbersome distribution system have resulted in chronic food shortages. The collapse of Communism in the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe in 1989-91 has disrupted important technological links. North Korea remains far behind South Korea in economic development and living standards. GDP is stagnant.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $21.3 billion (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate: 0% (1994 est.)
National product per capita: $920 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA%
Unemployment rate: NA%
Budget: revenues: $19.3 billion expenditures: $19.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1992 est.)
Exports: $1.02 billion (f.o.b., 1993 est.) commodities: minerals, metallurgical products, agricultural and fishery products, manufactures (including armaments) partners: China, Japan, Russia, South Korea, Germany, Hong Kong
Industries: machine building, military products, electric power, chemicals, mining, metallurgy, textiles, food processing
Agriculture: accounts for about 25% of GDP and 36% of work force; principal crops - rice, corn, potatoes, soybeans, pulses; livestock and livestock products - cattle, hogs, pork, eggs; not self-sufficient in grain
Economic aid: recipient: Communist countries, $1.4 billion a year in the 1980s, but very little now
Currency: 1 North Korean won (Wn) = 100 chon
Exchange rates: North Korean won (Wn) per US$1 - 2.15 (May 1994), 2.13 (May 1992), 2.14 (September 1991), 2.1 (January 1990), 2.3 (December 1989)
Fiscal year: calendar year
@Korea, North:Transportation
Railroads: total: 4,915 km standard gauge: 4,250 km 1.435-m gauge (3,397 km electrified; 159 km double track) narrow gauge: 665 km 0.762-m gauge (1989)
Highways: total: 30,000 km paved: 1,861 km unpaved: gravel, crushed stone, earth 28,139 km (1992)
Inland waterways: 2,253 km; mostly navigable by small craft only
ships by type: bulk 9, cargo 70, combination bulk 1, oil tanker 3, passenger 2, passenger-cargo 1, short-sea passenger 1 note: North Korea owns an additional 4 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling approximately 32,405 DWT that operate under Honduran registry
Airports: total: 49 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 2 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 15 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 1 with paved runways under 914 m: 2 with unpaved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 4 with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 5 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 12 with unpaved runways under 914 m: 6
@Korea, North:Communications
Telephone system: telephone system is believed to be available only to government officials and not to private individuals local: NA intercity: NA international: 1 earth station near P'yongyang, uses an Indian Ocean INTELSAT satellite; other international connections through Moscow and Beijing
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 18, FM 0, shortwave 0 radios: 3.5 million
Branches: Korean People's Army (includes Army, Navy, Air Force), Civil Security Forces
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 6,753,400; males fit for military service 4,094,854; males reach military age (18) annually 193,480 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - about $5 billion, 20%-25% of GDP (1991 est.); note - the officially announced but suspect figure is $2.2 billion (1994), about 12% of total spending
Land use: arable land: 21% permanent crops: 1% meadows and pastures: 1% forest and woodland: 67% other: 10%
Irrigated land: 13,530 sq km (1989)
Environment: current issues: air pollution in large cities; water pollution from the discharge of sewage and industrial effluents; driftnet fishing natural hazards: occasional typhoons bring high winds and floods; earthquakes in southwest international agreements: party to - Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Whaling; signed, but not ratified - Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Desertification, Law of the Sea
@Korea, South:People
Population: 45,553,882 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 24% (female 5,280,998; male 5,640,789) 15-64 years: 71% (female 15,877,182; male 16,291,183) 65 years and over: 5% (female 1,554,512; male 909,218) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.04% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 15.63 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 6.18 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 0.9 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 20.9 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 70.89 years male: 67.69 years female: 74.29 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.66 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Nationality: noun: Korean(s) adjective: Korean
Ethnic divisions: homogeneous (except for about 20,000 Chinese)
Religions: Christianity 48.6%, Buddhism 47.4%, Confucianism 3%, pervasive folk religion (shamanism), Chondogyo (Religion of the Heavenly Way) 0.2%
Languages: Korean, English widely taught in high school
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.) total population: 96% male: 99% female: 94%
Labor force: 20 million by occupation: services and other 52%, mining and manufacturing 27%, agriculture, fishing, forestry 21% (1991)
@Korea, South:Government
Names: conventional long form: Republic of Korea conventional short form: South Korea local long form: Taehan-min'guk local short form: none note: the South Koreans generally use the term "Hanguk" to refer to their country
Abbreviation: ROK
Digraph: KS
Type: republic
Capital: Seoul
Administrative divisions: 9 provinces (do, singular and plural) and 6 special cities* (jikhalsi, singular and plural); Cheju-do, Cholla-bukto, Cholla-namdo, Ch'ungch'ong-bukto, Ch'ungch'ong-namdo, Inch'on-jikhalsi*, Kangwon-do, Kwangju-jikhalsi*, Kyonggi-do, Kyongsang-bukto, Kyongsang-namdo, Pusan-jikhalsi*, Soul-t'ukpyolsi*, Taegu-jikhalsi*, Taejon-jikhalsi*
Independence: 15 August 1948
National holiday: Independence Day, 15 August (1948)
Constitution: 25 February 1988
Legal system: combines elements of continental European civil law systems, Anglo-American law, and Chinese classical thought
Suffrage: 20 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President KIM Yong-sam (since 25 February 1993); election last held on 18 December 1992 (next to be held NA December 1997); results - KIM Yong-sam (DLP) 41.9%, KIM Tae-chung (DP) 33.8%, CHONG Chu-yong (UPP) 16.3%, other 8% head of government: Prime Minister YI Hong-ku (since 17 December 1994); Deputy Prime Minister HONG Chae-yong (since 4 October 1994) and Deputy Prime Minister KIM Tok (since 23 December 1994) cabinet: State Council; appointed by the president on the prime minister's recommendation
Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly (Kukhoe): elections last held on 24 March 1992; results - DLP 38.5%, DP 29.2%, Unification National Party (UNP) 17.3% (name later changed to UPP), other 15%; seats - (299 total) DLP 149, DP 97, UNP 31, other 22; the distribution of seats as of January 1994 was DLP 172, DP 96, UPP 11, other 20 note: the change in the distribution of seats reflects the fluidity of the current situation where party members are constantly switching from one party to another
Judicial branch: Supreme Court
Political parties and leaders: majority party: Democratic Liberal Party (DLP), KIM Yong-sam, president opposition: Democratic Party (DP), YI Ki-taek, executive chairman; United People's Party (UPP), KIM Tong-kil, chairman; several smaller parties note: the DLP resulted from a merger of the Democratic Justice Party (DJP), Reunification Democratic Party (RDP), and New Democratic Republican Party (NDRP) on 9 February 1990
Other political or pressure groups: Korean National Council of Churches; National Democratic Alliance of Korea; National Federation of Student Associations; National Federation of Farmers' Associations; National Council of Labor Unions; Federation of Korean Trade Unions; Korean Veterans' Association; Federation of Korean Industries; Korean Traders Association
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador PAK Kun-u chancery: 2450 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 939-5600 consulate(s) general: Agana (Guam), Anchorage, Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Honolulu, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco, and Seattle
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador James T. LANEY embassy: 82 Sejong-Ro, Chongro-ku, Seoul mailing address: American Embassy, Unit 15550, Seoul; APO AP 96205-0001 telephone: [82] (2) 397-4114 FAX: [82] (2) 738-8845 consulate(s): Pusan
Flag: white with a red (top) and blue yin-yang symbol in the center; there is a different black trigram from the ancient I Ching (Book of Changes) in each corner of the white field
@Korea, South:Economy
Overview: The driving force behind the economy's dynamic growth has been the planned development of an export-oriented economy in a vigorously entrepreneurial society. Real GDP increased more than 10% annually between 1986 and 1991. This growth ultimately led to an overheated situation characterized by a tight labor market, strong inflationary pressures, and a rapidly rising current account deficit. As a result, in 1992, economic policy focused on slowing the growth rate of inflation and reducing the deficit. Annual growth slowed to 5%, still above the rate in most other countries of the world, and recovered to 6.3% in 1993. The economy expanded by 8.3% in 1994, driven by booming exports.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $508.3 billion (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate: 8.3% (1994)
National product per capita: $11,270 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 5.6% (1994)
Unemployment rate: 2% (November 1994)
Budget: revenues: $63 billion expenditures: $63 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1995 est.)
Exports: $96.2 billion (f.o.b., 1994) commodities: electronic and electrical equipment, machinery, steel, automobiles, ships, textiles, clothing, footwear, fish partners: US 26%, Japan 17%, EU 14%
Imports: $102.3 billion (c.i.f., 1994) commodities: machinery, electronics and electronic equipment, oil, steel, transport equipment, textiles, organic chemicals, grains partners: Japan 26%, US 24%, EU 15%
External debt: $44.1 billion (1993)
Industrial production: growth rate 12.1% (1994 est.); accounts for about 45% of GNP
Agriculture: accounts for 8% of GDP and employs 21% of work force (including fishing and forestry); principal crops - rice, root crops, barley, vegetables, fruit; livestock and livestock products - cattle, hogs, chickens, milk, eggs; self-sufficient in food, except for wheat; fish catch of 2.9 million metric tons, seventh-largest in world
Economic aid: recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $3.9 billion; non-US countries (1970-89), $3 billion
Currency: 1 South Korean won (W) = 100 chun (theoretical)
Exchange rates: South Korean won (W) per US$1 - 790.48 (January 1995), 803.44 (1994), 802.67 (1993), 780.65 (1992), 733.35 (1991), 707.76 (1990)
Fiscal year: calendar year
@Korea, South:Transportation
Railroads: total: 6,763 km standard gauge: 6,716 km 1.435-meter gauge (525 km electrified; 847 km double track) narrow gauge: 47 km 0.610-meter gauge
Highways: total: 63,200 km paved: expressways 1,550 km unpaved: NA undifferentiated: national highway 12,190 km; provincial, local roads 49,460 km (1991)
Inland waterways: 1,609 km; use restricted to small native craft
Airports: total: 114 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 1 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 22 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 10 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 14 with paved runways under 914 m: 63 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 4
@Korea, South:Communications
Telephone system: 13.3 million telephones; excellent domestic and international services local: NA intercity: NA international: 3 INTELSAT (2 Pacific Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) earth stations
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 79, FM 46, shortwave 0 radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: 256 (1 kW or greater 57) televisions: NA
@Korea, South:Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, National Maritime Police (Coast Guard)
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 13,580,832; males fit for military service 8,701,742; males reach military age (18) annually 405,290 (1995 est.)
Location: Middle East, bordering the Persian Gulf, between Iraq and Saudi Arabia
Map references: Middle East
Area: total area: 17,820 sq km land area: 17,820 sq km comparative area: slightly smaller than New Jersey
Land boundaries: total 464 km, Iraq 242 km, Saudi Arabia 222 km
Coastline: 499 km
Maritime claims: territorial sea: 12 nm
International disputes: in November 1994, Iraq formally accepted the UN-demarcated border with Kuwait which had been spelled out in Security Council Resolutions 687 (1991), 773 (1993), and 883 (1993); this formally ends earlier claims to Kuwait and to Bubiyan and Warbah islands; ownership of Qaruh and Umm al Maradim islands disputed by Saudi Arabia
Climate: dry desert; intensely hot summers; short, cool winters
Terrain: flat to slightly undulating desert plain
Natural resources: petroleum, fish, shrimp, natural gas
Land use: arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 8% forest and woodland: 0% other: 92%
Irrigated land: 20 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment: current issues: limited natural fresh water resources; some of world's largest and most sophisticated desalination facilities provide much of the water; air and water pollution; desertification natural hazards: sudden cloudbursts are common from October to April, they bring inordinate amounts of rain which can damage roads and houses; sandstorms and duststorms occur throughout the year, but are most common between March and August international agreements: party to - Climate Change, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Endangered Species, Marine Dumping
Note: strategic location at head of Persian Gulf
@Kuwait:People
Population: 1,817,397 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 34% (female 302,908; male 319,659) 15-64 years: 64% (female 467,163; male 697,849) 65 years and over: 2% (female 13,476; male 16,342) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 7.46% (1995 est.) note: this rate reflects the continued post-Gulf crisis return of nationals and expatriates
Birth rate: 21.07 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 2.2 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 55.71 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 11.5 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 75.64 years male: 73.33 years female: 78.06 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 2.93 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Nationality: noun: Kuwaiti(s) adjective: Kuwaiti
Ethnic divisions: Kuwaiti 45%, other Arab 35%, South Asian 9%, Iranian 4%, other 7%
Religions: Muslim 85% (Shi'a 30%, Sunni 45%, other 10%), Christian, Hindu, Parsi, and other 15%
Languages: Arabic (official), English widely spoken
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1985) total population: 74% male: 78% female: 69%
Labor force: 566,000 (1986) by occupation: services 45.0%, construction 20.0%, trade 12.0%, manufacturing 8.6%, finance and real estate 2.6%, agriculture 1.9%, power and water 1.7%, mining and quarrying 1.4% note: 70% of labor force non-Kuwaiti (1986)
@Kuwait:Government
Names: conventional long form: State of Kuwait conventional short form: Kuwait local long form: Dawlat al Kuwayt local short form: Al Kuwayt
Digraph: KU
Type: nominal constitutional monarchy
Capital: Kuwait
Administrative divisions: 5 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Al 'Ahmadi, Al Jahrah, Al Kuwayt, Hawalli, Al Farwaniyah
Independence: 19 June 1961 (from UK)
National holiday: National Day, 25 February (1948)
Constitution: approved and promulgated 11 November 1962
Legal system: civil law system with Islamic law significant in personal matters; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: adult males who resided in Kuwait before 1920 and their male descendants at age 21 note: only 10% of all citizens are eligible to vote; in 1996, naturalized citizens who do not meet the pre-1920 qualification but have been naturalized for thirty years will be eligible to vote
Executive branch: chief of state: Amir Shaykh JABIR al-Ahmad al-Jabir Al Sabah (since 31 December 1977) head of government: Prime Minister and Crown Prince SAAD al-Abdallah al-Salim Al Sabah (since 8 February 1978); Deputy Prime Minister SABAH al-Ahmad al-Jabir Al Sabah (since 17 October 1992) cabinet: Council of Ministers; appointed by the Prime Minister and approved by the Amir
Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly (Majlis al-umma): dissolved 3 July 1986; new elections were held on 5 October 1992 with a second election in the 14th and 16th constituencies held February 1993
Judicial branch: High Court of Appeal
Political parties and leaders: none
Other political or pressure groups: small, clandestine leftist and Shi'a fundamentalist groups are active; several groups critical of government policies are publicly active
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador MUHAMMAD al-Sabah al-Salim Al SABAH chancery: 2940 Tilden Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 966-0702 FAX: [1] (202) 966-0517
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador Ryan C. CROCKER embassy: Bneid al-Gar (opposite the Kuwait International Hotel), Kuwait City mailing address: P.O. Box 77 SAFAT, 13001 SAFAT, Kuwait; Unit 69000, Kuwait; APO AE 09880-9000 telephone: [965] 2424151 through 2424159 FAX: [965] 2442855
Flag: three equal horizontal bands of green (top), white, and red with a black trapezoid based on the hoist side
@Kuwait:Economy
Overview: Kuwait is a small and relatively open economy with proved crude oil reserves of about 94 billion barrels - 10% of world reserves. Kuwait has rebuilt its war-ravaged petroleum sector; its crude oil production reached at least 2.0 million barrels per day by the end of 1993. The government ran a sizable fiscal deficit in 1993. Petroleum accounts for nearly half of GDP and 90% of export and government revenues. Kuwait lacks water and has practically no arable land, thus preventing development of agriculture. With the exception of fish, it depends almost wholly on food imports. About 75% of potable water must be distilled or imported. Because of its high per capita income, comparable with Western European incomes, Kuwait provides its citizens with extensive health, educational, and retirement benefits. Per capita military expenditures are among the highest in the world. The economy improved moderately in 1994, with the growth in industry and finance, and should see further gains in 1995, especially if oil prices go up. The World Bank has urged Kuwait to push ahead with privatization, including in the oil industry, but the government will move slowly on this front.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $30.7 billion (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate: 9.3% (1994 est.)
National product per capita: $16,900 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 3% (1993)
Unemployment rate: NEGL% (1992 est.)
Budget: revenues: $9 billion expenditures: $13 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY92/93)
Exports: $10.5 billion (f.o.b., 1993) commodities: oil partners: France 16%, Italy 15%, Japan 12%, UK 11%
Imports: $6.6 billion (f.o.b., 1993) commodities: food, construction materials, vehicles and parts, clothing partners: US 35%, Japan 12%, UK 9%, Canada 9%
External debt: $7.2 billion (December 1989 est.) note: external debt has grown substantially in 1991 and 1992 to pay for restoration of war damage
Industrial production: growth rate NA%; accounts for NA% of GDP
Merchant marine: total: 47 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,202,558 GRT/3,618,527 DWT ships by type: cargo 9, container 3, liquefied gas tanker 7, livestock carrier 4, oil tanker 24
Airports: total: 8 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 3 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 with paved runways under 914 m: 2 with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 1 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 1
@Kuwait:Communications
Telephone system: NA telephones; civil network suffered extensive damage as a result of the Gulf war and reconstruction is still under way with some restored international and domestic capabilities local: NA intercity: NA international: earth stations destroyed during Gulf war and not rebuilt yet; temporary mobile satellite antennae provide international telecommunications; coaxial cable and microwave radio relay to Saudi Arabia; service to Iraq is nonoperational
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 3, FM 0, shortwave 0 radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: 3 televisions: NA
@Kuwait:Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, National Police Force, National Guard
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 610,205; males fit for military service 363,735; males reach military age (18) annually 16,170 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $3.4 billion, 13.3% of GDP (1995)
Map references: Commonwealth of Independent States - Central Asian States
Area: total area: 198,500 sq km land area: 191,300 sq km comparative area: slightly smaller than South Dakota
Land boundaries: total 3,878 km, China 858 km, Kazakhstan 1,051 km, Tajikistan 870 km, Uzbekistan 1,099 km
Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims: none; landlocked
International disputes: territorial dispute with Tajikistan on southwestern boundary in Isfara Valley area
Climate: dry continental to polar in high Tien Shan; subtropical in southwest (Fergana Valley); temperate in northern foothill zone
Terrain: peaks of Tien Shan rise to 7,000 meters, and associated valleys and basins encompass entire nation
Natural resources: abundant hydroelectric potential; significant deposits of gold and rare earth metals; locally exploitable coal, oil and natural gas; other deposits of nepheline, mercury, bismuth, lead, and zinc
Land use: arable land: 7% permanent crops: NEGL% meadows and pastures: 42% forest and woodland: 0% other: 51%
Irrigated land: 10,320 sq km (1990)
Environment: current issues: water pollution; many people get their water directly from contaminated streams and wells, as a result, water-borne diseases are prevalent; increasing soil salinity from faulty irrigation practices natural hazards: NA international agreements: NA
Note: landlocked
@Kyrgyzstan:People
Population: 4,769,877 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 37% (female 868,108; male 888,479) 15-64 years: 57% (female 1,377,221; male 1,345,990) 65 years and over: 6% (female 185,807; male 104,272) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.5% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 25.97 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 7.32 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: -3.66 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 45.8 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 68.13 years male: 63.92 years female: 72.56 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 3.31 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Nationality: noun: Kyrgyz(s) adjective: Kyrgyz
Ethnic divisions: Kirghiz 52.4%, Russian 21.5%, Uzbek 12.9%, Ukrainian 2.5%, German 2.4%, other 8.3%
Religions: Muslim 70%, Russian Orthodox NA%
Languages: Kirghiz (Kyrgyz) - official language, Russian widely used
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1989) total population: 97% male: 99% female: 96%
Labor force: 1.836 million by occupation: agriculture and forestry 38%, industry and construction 21%, other 41% (1990)
@Kyrgyzstan:Government
Names: conventional long form: Kyrgyz Republic conventional short form: Kyrgyzstan local long form: Kyrgyz Respublikasy local short form: none former: Kirghiz Soviet Socialist Republic
Digraph: KG
Type: republic
Capital: Bishkek
Administrative divisions: 6 oblasttar (singular - oblast) and 1 city* (singular - shaar); Bishkek Shaary*, Chuy Oblasty (Bishkek), Jalal-Abad Oblasty, Naryn Oblasty, Osh Oblasty, Talas Oblasty, Ysyk-Kol Oblasty (Karakol) note: names in parentheses are administrative centers when name differs from oblast name
Independence: 31 August 1991 (from Soviet Union)
National holiday: National Day, 2 December; Independence Day, 31 August (1991)
Constitution: adopted 5 May 1993
Legal system: based on civil law system
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Askar AKAYEV (since 28 October 1990); election last held 12 October 1991 (next to be held NA 1996); results - Askar AKAYEV won in uncontested election with 95% of vote and with 90% of electorate voting; note - president elected by Supreme Soviet 28 October 1990, then by popular vote 12 October 1991; AKAYEV won 96% of the vote in a referendum on his status as president on 30 January 1994 head of government: Prime Minister Apas DJUMAGULOV (since NA December 1993) cabinet: Cabinet of Ministers; subordinate to the president
Legislative branch: bicameral Assembly of Legislatures: elections last held 5 February 1995 (next to be held no later than NA 1998); 35-member house to which 19 members have been elected so far; next round of runoffs scheduled for 19 April 1995 Assembly of Representatives: elections last held 5 February 1995 (next to be held no later than NA 1998); 70-member house to which 60 members have been elected so far; next round of runoffs scheduled for 19 April 1995 note: the legislature became bicameral for the 5 February 1995 elections
Judicial branch: Supreme Court
Political parties and leaders: Social Democratic Party (SDP), Ishenbai KADYRBEKOV, chairman; Democratic Movement of Kyrgyzstan (DMK), Kazat AKHMATOV, chairman; National Unity, German KUZNETSOV; Communist Party of Kyrgyzstan (PCK), Sherali SYDYKOV, chairman; Democratic Movement of Free Kyrgyzstan (ErK), Topchubek TURGUNALIYEV, chairman; Republican Popular Party of Kyrgyzstan; Agrarian Party of Kyrgyzstan, A. ALIYEV
Other political or pressure groups: National Unity Democratic Movement; Peasant Party; Council of Free Trade Unions; Union of Entrepreneurs; Agrarian Party
Member of: AsDB, CIS, EBRD, ECE, ECO, ESCAP, FAO, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IOC, IOM (observer), ITU, NACC, OIC, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: (vacant); Charge d'Affaires ad interim Almas CHUKIN chancery: (temporary) Suite 705, 1511 K Street NW, Washington, DC 20005 telephone: [1] (202) 347-3732, 3733, 3718 FAX: [1] (202) 347-3718
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador Eileen A. MALLOY embassy: Erkindik Prospekt #66, Bishkek 720002 mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [7] (3312) 22-29-20, 22-27-77, 22-26-31, 22-24-73 FAX: [7] (3312) 22-35-51
Flag: red field with a yellow sun in the center having 40 rays representing the 40 Kirghiz tribes; on the obverse side the rays run counterclockwise, on the reverse, clockwise; in the center of the sun is a red ring crossed by two sets of three lines, a stylized representation of the roof of the traditional Kirghiz yurt
@Kyrgyzstan:Economy
Overview: Kyrgyzstan is one of the smallest and poorest states of the former Soviet Union. Its economy is heavily agricultural, growing cotton and tobacco on irrigated land in the south and grain in the foothills of the north and raising sheep and goats on mountain pastures. Its small and obsolescent industrial sector, concentrated around Bishkek, has traditionally relied on Russia and other CIS countries for customers and industrial inputs, including most of its fuel. Since 1990, the economy has contracted by almost 50% as subsidies from Moscow vanished and trade links with other former Soviet republics eroded. At the same time, the Kyrgyz government stuck to tight monetary and fiscal policies in 1994 that succeeded in reducing inflation from 23% per month in 1993 to 5.4% per month in 1994. Moreover, Kyrgyzstan has been the most successful of the Central Asian states in reducing state controls over the economy and privatizing state industries. Nevertheless, restructuring proved to be a slow and painful process in 1994 despite relatively large flows of foreign aid and continued progress on economic reform. The decline in output in 1995 may be much smaller, perhaps 5%, compared with an estimated 24% in 1994.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $8.4 billion (1994 estimate as extrapolated from World Bank estimate for 1992)
National product real growth rate: -24% (1994 est.)
National product per capita: $1,790 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 5.4% per month (1994 est.)
Unemployment rate: 0.7% includes officially registered unemployed; also large numbers of unregistered unemployed and underemployed workers (1994)
Budget: revenues: $NA expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA
Exports: $116 million to countries outside the FSU (1994) commodities: wool, chemicals, cotton, ferrous and nonferrous metals, shoes, machinery, tobacco partners: Russia 70%, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and others
Imports: $92.4 million from countries outside the FSU (1994) commodities: grain, lumber, industrial products, ferrous metals, fuel, machinery, textiles, footwear partners: other CIS republics
Illicit drugs: illicit cultivator of cannabis and opium poppy; mostly for CIS consumption; limited government eradication program; used as transshipment point for illicit drugs to Western Europe and North America from Southwest Asia
Economic aid: recipient: IMF aid commitments were $80 million in 1993 and $400 million in 1994
Currency: introduced national currency, the som (10 May 1993)
Exchange rates: soms per US$1 - 10.6 (yearend 1994)
Fiscal year: calendar year
@Kyrgyzstan:Transportation
Railroads: total: 370 km in common carrier service; does not include industrial lines broad gauge: 370 km 1.520-m gauge (1990)
Highways: total: 30,300 km paved and graveled: 22,600 km unpaved: earth 7,700 km (1990)
Pipelines: natural gas 200 km
Ports: Ysyk-Kol (Rybach'ye)
Airports: total: 54 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 1 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 9 with paved runways under 914 m: 1 with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 4 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 4 with unpaved runways under 914 m: 32
@Kyrgyzstan:Communications
Telephone system: 342,000 telephones (1991); 76 telephones/1,000 persons (December 1991); poorly developed; about 100,000 unsatisfied applications for household telephones local: NA intercity: principally by microwave radio relay international: connections with other CIS countries by landline or microwave and with other countries by leased connections with Moscow international gateway switch and by satellite; 1 GORIZONT and 1 INTELSAT satellite link through Ankara to 200 other countries
Radio: broadcast stations: AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA radios: 825,000 (radio receiver systems with multiple speakers for program diffusion 748,000)
Land use: arable land: 4% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 3% forest and woodland: 58% other: 35%
Irrigated land: 1,554 sq km (1992 est.)
Environment: current issues: deforestation; soil erosion; a majority of the population does not have access to potable water natural hazards: floods, droughts, and blight international agreements: party to - Climate Change, Environmental Modification, Nuclear Test Ban; signed, but not ratified - Law of the Sea
Note: landlocked
@Laos:People
Population: 4,837,237 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 45% (female 1,084,615; male 1,111,928) 15-64 years: 51% (female 1,280,142; male 1,199,149) 65 years and over: 4% (female 86,390; male 75,013) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 2.84% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 42.64 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 14.28 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 99.2 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 52.2 years male: 50.66 years female: 53.81 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 5.98 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Nationality: noun: Lao(s) or Laotian(s) adjective: Lao or Laotian
Ethnic divisions: Lao Loum (lowland) 68%, Lao Theung (upland) 22%, Lao Soung (highland) including the Hmong ("Meo") and the Yao (Mien) 9%, ethnic Vietnamese/Chinese 1%
Religions: Buddhist 60%, animist and other 40%
Languages: Lao (official), French, English, and various ethnic languages
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1992) total population: 50% male: 65% female: 35%
Labor force: 1 million-1.5 million by occupation: agriculture 80% (1992 est.)
@Laos:Government
Names: conventional long form: Lao People's Democratic Republic conventional short form: Laos local long form: Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao local short form: none
Digraph: LA
Type: Communist state
Capital: Vientiane
Administrative divisions: 16 provinces (khoueng, singular and plural) and 1 municipality* (kampheng nakhon, singular and plural); Attapu, Bokeo, Bolikhamxai, Champasak, Houaphan, Khammouan, Louangnamtha, Louangphabang, Oudomxai, Phongsali, Salavan, Savannakhet, Viangchan*, Viangchan, Xaignabouli, Xekong, Xiangkhoang
Independence: 19 July 1949 (from France)
National holiday: National Day, 2 December (1975) (proclamation of the Lao People's Democratic Republic)
Constitution: promulgated 14 August 1991
Legal system: based on traditional customs, French legal norms and procedures, and Socialist practice
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President NOUHAK PHOUMSAVAN (since 25 November 1992) head of government: Prime Minister Gen. KHAMTAI SIPHANDON (since 15 August 1991) cabinet: Council of Ministers; appointed by the president, approved by the Assembly
Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly: elections last held on 20 December 1992 (next to be held NA); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (85 total) number of seats by party NA
Judicial branch: Supreme People's Court
Political parties and leaders: Lao People's Revolutionary Party (LPRP), KHAMTAI Siphandon, party president; other parties proscribed
Other political or pressure groups: non-Communist political groups proscribed; most opposition leaders fled the country in 1975
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador HIEM PHOMMACHANH chancery: 2222 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 332-6416, 6417 FAX: [1] (202) 332-4923
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador Victor L. TOMSETH embassy: Rue Bartholonie, Vientiane mailing address: B. P. 114, Vientiane; American Embassy, Box V, APO AP 96546 telephone: [856] (21) 212581, 212582, 212585 FAX: [856] (21) 212584
Flag: three horizontal bands of red (top), blue (double width), and red with a large white disk centered in the blue band
@Laos:Economy
Overview: The government of Laos - one of the few remaining official Communist states - has been decentralizing control and encouraging private enterprise since 1986. The results, starting from an extremely low base, have been striking - growth has averaged 7.5% annually since 1988. Even so, Laos is a landlocked country with a primitive infrastructure. It has no railroads, a rudimentary road system, and limited external and internal telecommunications. Electricity is available in only a few urban areas. Subsistence agriculture accounts for half of GDP and provides 80% of total employment. The predominant crop is rice. In non-drought years, Laos is self-sufficient overall in food, but each year flood, pests, and localized drought cause shortages in various parts of the country. For the foreseeable future the economy will continue to depend on aid from the IMF and other international sources; aid from the former USSR and Eastern Europe has been cut sharply. As in many developing countries, deforestation and soil erosion will hamper efforts to maintain the high rate of GDP growth.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $4 billion (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate: 8.4% (1994 est.)
Illicit drugs: illicit producer of cannabis, opium poppy for the international drug trade, fourth largest opium producer (85 metric tons in 1994); heroin producer; increasingly used as transshipment point for heroin produced in Burma
Economic aid: recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-79), $276 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $605 million; Communist countries (1970-89), $995 million; international assistance in loans and grant aid (1993/94) $217.7 million
Highways: total: 14,130 km paved: 2,260 km unpaved: 11,870 km (1992 est.)
Inland waterways: about 4,587 km, primarily Mekong and tributaries; 2,897 additional kilometers are sectionally navigable by craft drawing less than 0.5 m
Airports: total: 52 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 1 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 3 with paved runways under 914 m: 25 with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 1 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 17
@Laos:Communications
Telephone system: 7,390 telephones (1986); service to general public very poor; radio communications network provides generally erratic service to government users local: 16 telephone lines per 1,000 people intercity: radio communications international: 1 earth station
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 10, FM 0, shortwave 0 radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: 2 televisions: NA
@Laos:Defense Forces
Branches: Lao People's Army (LPA; includes riverine naval and militia elements), Air Force, National Police Department
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 1,051,105; males fit for military service 567,017; males reach military age (18) annually 51,437 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $105 million, 8.1% of GDP (FY92/93)
Land use: arable land: 27% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 13% forest and woodland: 39% other: 21%
Irrigated land: 160 sq km (1990)
Environment: current issues: air and water pollution because of a lack of waste conversion equipment; Gulf of Riga and Daugava River heavily polluted; contamination of soil and groundwater with chemicals and petroleum products at military bases natural hazards: NA international agreements: party to - Air Pollution, Hazardous Wastes, Ship Pollution; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate Change
@Latvia:People
Population: 2,762,899 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 22% (female 294,521; male 304,830) 15-64 years: 65% (female 933,003; male 870,128) 65 years and over: 13% (female 247,476; male 112,941) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.5% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 13.71 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 12.49 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 3.76 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 21 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 69.65 years male: 64.6 years female: 74.95 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.97 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Nationality: noun: Latvian(s) adjective: Latvian
Ethnic divisions: Latvian 51.8%, Russian 33.8%, Byelorussian 4.5%, Ukrainian 3.4%, Polish 2.3%, other 4.2%
Religions: Lutheran, Roman Catholic, Russian Orthodox
Languages: Lettish (official), Lithuanian, Russian, other
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1989) total population: 100% male: 100% female: 99%
Labor force: 1.407 million by occupation: industry and construction 41%, agriculture and forestry 16%, other 43% (1990)
@Latvia:Government
Names: conventional long form: Republic of Latvia conventional short form: Latvia local long form: Latvijas Republika local short form: Latvija former: Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic
Digraph: LG
Type: republic
Capital: Riga
Administrative divisions: 26 counties (singular - rajons) and 7 municipalities*: Aizkraukles Rajons, Aluksnes Rajons, Balvu Rajons, Bauskas Rajons, Cesu Rajons, Daugavpils*, Daugavpils Rajons, Dobeles Rajons, Gulbenes Rajons, Jekabpils Rajons, Jelgava*, Jelgavas Rajons, Jurmala*, Kraslavas Rajons, Kuldigas Rajons, Leipaja*, Liepajas Rajons, Limbazu Rajons, Ludzas Rajons, Madonas Rajons, Ogres Rajons, Preiju Rajons, Rezekne*, Rezeknes Rajons, Riga*, Rigas Rajons, Saldus Rajons, Talsu Rajons, Tukuma Rajons, Valkas Rajons, Valmieras Rajons, Ventspils*, Ventspils Rajons
Independence: 6 September 1991 (from Soviet Union)
National holiday: Independence Day, 18 November (1918)
Constitution: newly elected Parliament in 1993 restored the 1933 constitution
Legal system: based on civil law system
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Guntis ULMANIS (since 7 July 1993); Parliament (Saeima) elected President ULMANIS in the third round of balloting on 7 July 1993 head of government: Prime Minister Maris GAILIS (since September 1994)
cabinet: Council of Ministers; appointed by the Supreme Council
Legislative branch: unicameral Parliament (Saeima): elections last held 5-6 June 1993 (next to be held NA October 1995); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (100 total) LC 36, LNNK 15, Concord for Latvia 13, LZS 12, Equal Rights 7, LKDS 6, TUB 6, DCP 5
Judicial branch: Supreme Court
Political parties and leaders: Latvian Way Union (LC), Valdis BIRKAVS; Latvian Farmers Union (LZS), Alvars BERKIS; Latvian National Independence Movement (LNNK), Andrejs KRASTINS, Aristids LAMBERGS, cochairmen; Concord for Latvia, Janis JURKANS; Equal Rights, Sergejs DIMANIS; Christian Democrat Union (LKDS), Peteris CIMDINS, Andris SAULITIS, Janis RUSKO; Fatherland and Freedom (TUB), Maris GRINBLATS, Roberts MILBERGS, Oigerts DZENTIS; Democratic Center (DCP), Ints CALITIS; Popular Front of Latvia (LTF), Uldis AUGSTKALNS
Member of: BIS, CBSS, CCC, CE, EBRD, ECE, FAO, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT (nonsignatory user), INTERPOL, IOC, IOM (observer), ITU, NACC, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WEU (associate partner), WHO, WIPO, WMO
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Ojars Eriks KALNINS chancery: 4325 17th Street NW, Washington, DC 20011 telephone: [1] (202) 726-8213, 8214 FAX: [1] (202) 726-6785
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador Ints M, SILINS embassy: Raina Boulevard 7, Riga 226050 mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [371] (2) 213-962 FAX: [371] 882-0047 (cellular)
Flag: two horizontal bands of maroon (top and bottom), white (middle, narrower than other two bands)
@Latvia:Economy
Overview: Latvia is rapidly becoming a dynamic market economy, rivaled only by Estonia among the former Soviet states in the speed of its transformation. However, the transition has been painful; in 1994 the IMF reported a 2% growth in GDP, following steep declines in 1992-93. The government's tough monetary policies and reform program have kept inflation at less than 2% a month, supported a dynamic private sector now accounting for more than half of GDP, and spurred the growth of trade ties with the West. Much of agriculture is already privatized and the government plans to step up the pace of privatization of state enterprises. Latvia thus is in the midst of recovery, helped by the country's strategic location on the Baltic Sea, its well-educated population, and its diverse - albeit largely obsolete - industrial structure.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $12.3 billion (1994 estimate as extrapolated from World Bank estimate for 1992)
National product real growth rate: 2% (1994 est.)
National product per capita: $4,480 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1.9% (monthly average 1994)
Unemployment rate: 6.5% (December 1994)
Budget: revenues: $NA expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA
Industries: highly diversified; dependent on imports for energy, raw materials, and intermediate products; produces buses, vans, street and railroad cars, synthetic fibers, agricultural machinery, fertilizers, washing machines, radios, electronics, pharmaceuticals, processed foods, textiles
Agriculture: principally dairy farming and livestock feeding; products - meat, milk, eggs, grain, sugar beets, potatoes, vegetables; fishing and fish packing
Illicit drugs: transshipment point for illicit drugs from Central and Southwest Asia and Latin America to Western Europe; limited producer of illicit opium; mostly for domestic consumption; also produces illicit amphetamines for export
Economic aid: $NA
Currency: 1 lat = 100 cents; introduced NA March 1993
Airports: total: 50 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 6 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 1 with paved runways under 914 m: 27 with unpaved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 2 with unpaved runways under 914 m: 10
@Latvia:Communications
Telephone system: 660,000 telephones; 240 telephones/1,000 persons (1993); Latvia is better provided with telephone service than most of the other former Soviet republics; an NMT-450 analog cellular telephone network covers 75% of Latvia's population local: NA intercity: NA international: international traffic carried by leased connection to the Moscow international gateway switch and through the new Ericsson AXE local/transit digital telephone exchange in Riga and through the Finnish cellular net; electronic mail capability by Sprint data network
Radio: broadcast stations: AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: NA televisions: NA
@Latvia:Defense Forces
Branches: Ground Forces, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces, Security Forces (internal and border troops), Border Guard, Home Guard (Zemessardze)
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 658,193; males fit for military service 517,896; males reach military age (18) annually 18,736 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: 176 million rubles, 3% to 5% of GDP (1994); note - conversion of the military budget into US dollars using the prevailing exchange rate could produce misleading results
Note—Lebanon has made progress toward rebuilding its political institutions and regaining its national sovereignty since the end of the devastating 16-year civil war which began in 1975. Under the Ta'if accord - the blueprint for national reconciliation - the Lebanese have established a more equitable political system, particularly by giving Muslims a greater say in the political process. Since December 1990, the Lebanese have formed three cabinets and conducted the first legislative election in 20 years. Most of the militias have been weakened or disbanded. The Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) has seized vast quantities of weapons used by the militias during the war and extended central government authority over about one-half of the country. Hizballah, the radical Sh'ia party, retains most of its weapons. Foreign forces still occupy areas of Lebanon. Israel maintains troops in southern Lebanon and continues to support a proxy militia, The Army of South Lebanon (ASL), along a narrow stretch of territory contiguous to its border. The ASL's enclave encompasses this self-declared security zone and about 20 kilometers north to the strategic town of Jazzine. As of December 1993, Syria maintained about 30,000-35,000 troops in Lebanon. These troops are based mainly in Beirut, North Lebanon, and the Bekaa Valley. Syria's deployment was legitimized by the Arab League early in Lebanon's civil war and in the Ta'if accord. Citing the continued weakness of the LAF, Beirut's requests, and failure of the Lebanese Government to implement all of the constitutional reforms in the Ta'if accord, Damascus has so far refused to withdraw its troops from Beirut.
@Lebanon:Geography
Location: Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Israel and Syria
Map references: Middle East
Area: total area: 10,400 sq km land area: 10,230 sq km comparative area: about 0.8 times the size of Connecticut
Land boundaries: total 454 km, Israel 79 km, Syria 375 km
Coastline: 225 km
Maritime claims: territorial sea: 12 nm
International disputes: separated from Israel by the 1949 Armistice Line; Israeli troops in southern Lebanon since June 1982; Syrian troops in northern, central, and eastern Lebanon since October 1976
Climate: Mediterranean; mild to cool, wet winters with hot, dry summers; Lebanon mountains experience heavy winter snows
Terrain: narrow coastal plain; Al Biqa' (Bekaa Valley) separates Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon Mountains
Natural resources: limestone, iron ore, salt, water-surplus state in a water-deficit region
Land use: arable land: 21% permanent crops: 9% meadows and pastures: 1% forest and woodland: 8% other: 61%
Irrigated land: 860 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment: current issues: deforestation; soil erosion; desertification; air pollution in Beirut from vehicular traffic and the burning of industrial wastes; pollution of coastal waters from raw sewage and oil spills natural hazards: duststorms, sandstorms international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution; signed, but not ratified - Desertification, Environmental Modification, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation
Note: Nahr al Litani only major river in Near East not crossing an international boundary; rugged terrain historically helped isolate, protect, and develop numerous factional groups based on religion, clan, and ethnicity
@Lebanon:People
Population: 3,695,921 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 36% (female 657,403; male 682,757) 15-64 years: 58% (female 1,131,450; male 1,016,859) 65 years and over: 6% (female 111,585; male 95,867) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 2.15% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 27.9 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 6.44 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 38 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 69.69 years male: 67.22 years female: 72.28 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 3.31 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Nationality: noun: Lebanese (singular and plural) adjective: Lebanese
Ethnic divisions: Arab 95%, Armenian 4%, other 1%
Religions: Islam 70% (5 legally recognized Islamic groups - Alawite or Nusayri, Druze, Isma'ilite, Shi'a, Sunni), Christian 30% (11 legally recognized Christian groups - 4 Orthodox Christian, 6 Catholic, 1 Protestant), Judaism NEGL%
Languages: Arabic (official), French (official), Armenian, English
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.) total population: 80% male: 88% female: 73%
Labor force: 650,000 by occupation: industry, commerce, and services 79%, agriculture 11%, government 10% (1985)
@Lebanon:Government
Names: conventional long form: Republic of Lebanon conventional short form: Lebanon local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Lubnaniyah local short form: none
Independence: 22 November 1943 (from League of Nations mandate under French administration)
National holiday: Independence Day, 22 November (1943)
Constitution: 23 May 1926, amended a number of times
Legal system: mixture of Ottoman law, canon law, Napoleonic code, and civil law; no judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 21 years of age; compulsory for all males; authorized for women at age 21 with elementary education
Executive branch: chief of state: President Ilyas HARAWI (since 24 November 1989); note - by custom, the president is a Maronite Christian, the prime minister is a Sunni Muslim, and the speaker of the legislature is a Shi'a Muslim head of government: Prime Minister Rafiq HARIRI (since 22 October 1992) cabinet: Cabinet; chosen by the president in consultation with the members of the National Assembly
Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly: (Arabic - Majlis Alnuwab, French - Assemblee Nationale) Lebanon's first legislative election in 20 years was held in the summer of 1992; the National Assembly is composed of 128 deputies, one-half Christian and one-half Muslim; its mandate expires in 1996
Judicial branch: four Courts of Cassation (three courts for civil and commercial cases and one court for criminal cases)
Political parties and leaders: political party activity is organized along largely sectarian lines; numerous political groupings exist, consisting of individual political figures and followers motivated by religious, clan, and economic considerations
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Riyad TABBARAH chancery: 2560 28th Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 939-6300 FAX: [1] (202) 939-6324 consulate(s) general: Detroit, New York, and Los Angeles
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: (vacant) embassy: Antelias, Beirut address: P. O. Box 70-840, Beirut; PSC 815, Box 2, Beirut; FPO AE 09836-0002 telephone: [961] (1) 402200, 403300, 416502, 426183, 417774 FAX: [961] (1) 407112
Flag: three horizontal bands of red (top), white (double width), and red with a green and brown cedar tree centered in the white band
@Lebanon:Economy
Overview: The 1975-1991 civil war seriously damaged Lebanon's economic infrastructure, cut national output by half, and all but ended Lebanon's position as a Middle Eastern entrepot and banking hub. A tentative peace has enabled the central government to begin restoring control in Beirut, collect taxes, and regain access to key port and government facilities. The battered economy has also been propped up by a financially sound banking system and resilient small- and medium-scale manufacturers. Family remittances, banking transactions, manufactured and farm exports, the narcotics trade, and international emergency aid are the main sources of foreign exchange. In the relatively settled year of 1991, industrial production, agricultural output, and exports showed substantial gains. The further rebuilding of the war-ravaged country was delayed in 1992 because of an upturn in political wrangling. In October 1992, Rafiq HARIRI was appointed Prime Minister. HARIRI, a wealthy entrepreneur, announced ambitious plans for Lebanon's reconstruction which involve a substantial influx of foreign aid and investment. Progress on restoring basic services is limited. Since Prime Minister HARIRI's appointment, the most significant improvement lies in the stabilization of the Lebanese pound, which had gained over 30% in value by yearend 1993. The years 1993 and 1994 were marked by efforts of the new administration to encourage domestic and foreign investment and to obtain additional international assistance. The construction sector led the 8.5% advance in real GDP in 1994.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $15.8 billion (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate: 8.5% (1994 est.)
Exports: $925 million (f.o.b., 1993 est.) commodities: agricultural products, chemicals, textiles, precious and semiprecious metals and jewelry, metals and metal products partners: Saudi Arabia 21%, Switzerland 9.5%, Jordan 6%, Kuwait 12%, US 5%
Imports: $4.1 billion (c.i.f., 1993 est.) commodities: consumer goods, machinery and transport equipment, petroleum products partners: Italy 14%, France 12%, US 6%, Turkey 5%, Saudi Arabia 3%
Industries: banking, food processing, textiles, cement, oil refining, chemicals, jewelry, some metal fabricating
Agriculture: principal products - citrus fruits, vegetables, potatoes, olives, tobacco, hemp (hashish), sheep, goats; not self-sufficient in grain
Illicit drugs: illicit producer of hashish and heroin for the international drug trade; hashish production is shipped to Western Europe, the Middle East, and North and South America; increasingly a key locus of cocaine processing and trafficking; a Lebanese/Syrian 1994 eradication campaign eliminated the opium crop and caused a 50% decrease in the cannabis crop
Economic aid: the government estimates that it has received $1.7 billion in aid and has an additional $725 million in commitments to support its $3 billion National Emergency Recovery Program
Airports: total: 9 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 1 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 1 with paved runways under 914 m: 2 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 1
@Lebanon:Communications
Telephone system: 325,000 telephones; 95 telephones/1,000 persons; telecommunications system severely damaged by civil war; rebuilding still underway local: NA intercity: primarily microwave radio relay and cable international: 2 INTELSAT (1 Indian Ocean and 1 Atlantic Ocean) earth stations (erratic operations); coaxial cable to Syria; microwave radio relay to Syria but inoperable beyond Syria to Jordan; 3 submarine coaxial cables
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 5, FM 3, shortwave 0; note - numerous AM and FM stations are operated sporadically by various factions radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: 13 televisions: NA
@Lebanon:Defense Forces
Branches: Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF; includes Army, Navy, and Air Force)
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 857,698; males fit for military service 533,640 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $278 million, 5.5% of GDP (1994)
Location: Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa
Map references: Africa
Area: total area: 30,350 sq km land area: 30,350 sq km comparative area: slightly larger than Maryland
Land boundaries: total 909 km, South Africa 909 km
Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims: none; landlocked
International disputes: none
Climate: temperate; cool to cold, dry winters; hot, wet summers
Terrain: mostly highland with plateaus, hills, and mountains
Natural resources: water, agricultural and grazing land, some diamonds and other minerals
Land use: arable land: 10% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 66% forest and woodland: 0% other: 24%
Irrigated land: NA sq km
Environment: current issues: population pressure forcing settlement in marginal areas results in overgrazing, severe soil erosion, soil exhaustion; desertification; Highlands Water Project will control, store, and redirect water to South Africa natural hazards: periodic droughts international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping
Note: landlocked; surrounded by South Africa
@Lesotho:People
Population: 1,992,960 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 41% (female 407,213; male 416,709) 15-64 years: 54% (female 558,106; male 520,961) 65 years and over: 5% (female 51,809; male 38,162) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 2.44% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 33.39 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 8.96 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 67.4 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 62.56 years male: 60.74 years female: 64.43 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 4.41 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Languages: Sesotho (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1966) total population: 59% male: 44% female: 68%
Labor force: 689,000 economically active by occupation: 86.2% of resident population engaged in subsistence agriculture; roughly 60% of the active male wage earners work in South Africa
@Lesotho:Government
Names: conventional long form: Kingdom of Lesotho conventional short form: Lesotho former: Basutoland
National holiday: Independence Day, 4 October (1966)
Constitution: 2 April 1993
Legal system: based on English common law and Roman-Dutch law; judicial review of legislative acts in High Court and Court of Appeal; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 21 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: King MOSHOESHOE II (since February 1995) head of government: Prime Minister Ntsu MOKHEHLE (since 2 April 1993) cabinet: Cabinet
Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament consisting of the Assembly or lower house whose members are chosen by popular election and the Senate or upper house whose members consist of the 22 principal chiefs and 11 other members appointed by the ruling party; election last held in March 1993 (first since 1971); all 65 seats in the Assembly were won by the BCP
Judicial branch: High Court, Court of Appeal, Magistrate's Court, customary or traditional court
Political parties and leaders: Basotho National Party (BNP), Evaristus SEKHONYANA; Basotho Congress Party (BCP), Ntsu MOKHEHLE; National Independent Party (NIP), A. C. MANYELI; Marematlou Freedom Party (MFP), Vincent MALEBO; United Democratic Party, Charles MOFELI; Communist Party of Lesotho (CPL), Jacob M. KENA
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: (vacant); Charge d'Affaires ad interim Mokhali A. LITHEBE (since 2 July 1994) chancery: 2511 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 797-5533 through 5536 FAX: [1] (202) 234-6815
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador Myrick BISMARCK embassy: address NA, Maseru mailing address: P. O. Box 333, Maseru 100, Lesotho telephone: [266] 312666 FAX: [266] 310116
Flag: divided diagonally from the lower hoist side corner; the upper half is white bearing the brown silhouette of a large shield with crossed spear and club; the lower half is a diagonal blue band with a green triangle in the corner
@Lesotho:Economy
Overview: Small, landlocked, and mountainous, Lesotho has no important natural resources other than water. Its economy is based on agriculture, light manufacturing, and remittances from laborers employed in South Africa (these remittances supplement domestic income by as much as 45%). The great majority of households gain their livelihoods from subsistence farming and migrant labor; a large portion of the adult male work force is employed in South African mines. Manufacturing depends largely on farm products to support the milling, canning, leather, and jute industries; other industries include textile, clothing, and construction. Although drought has decreased agricultural activity over the past few years, improvement of a major hydropower facility will permit the sale of water to South Africa and allow Lesotho's economy to continue its moderate growth.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $2.6 billion (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate: 6% (1994 est.)
National product per capita: $1,340 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 13.9% (1993)
Unemployment rate: substantial unemployment and underemployment
Budget: revenues: $438 million expenditures: $430 million, including capital expenditures of $155 million (FY93/94 est.)
Exports: $109 million (f.o.b., 1992) commodities: wool, mohair, wheat, cattle, peas, beans, corn, hides, skins, baskets partners: South Africa 42%, EC 28%, North and South America 25% (1991)
Imports: $964 million (c.i.f., 1992) commodities: mainly corn, building materials, clothing, vehicles, machinery, medicines, petroleum partners: South Africa 94%, Asia 3%, EC 1% (1991)
External debt: $512 million (1993)
Industrial production: growth rate 10%; accounts for 17% of GDP (1993 est.)
Agriculture: accounts for 50% of GDP (1993 est.); exceedingly primitive, mostly subsistence farming and livestock; principal crops corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley
Economic aid: recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $268 million; US (1992), $10.3 million; US (1993 est.), $10.1 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $819 million; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $4 million; Communist countries (1970-89), $14 million
Currency: 1 loti (L) = 100 lisente
Exchange rates: maloti (M) per US$1 - 3.5389 (January 1995), 3.5490 (1994), 3.2636 (1993), 2.8497 (1992), 2.7563 (1991), 2.5863 (1990); note - the Basotho loti is at par with the South African rand
Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March
@Lesotho:Transportation
Railroads: total: 2.6 km; note - owned by, operated by, and included in the statistics of South Africa narrow gauge: 2.6 km 1.067-m gauge
Highways: total: 7,215 km paved: 572 km unpaved: gravel, stabilized earth 2,337 km; improved earth 1,806 km; unimproved earth 2,500 km (1988)
Ports: none
Airports: total: 29 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 1 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 1 with paved runways under 914 m: 23 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 4
@Lesotho:Communications
Telephone system: 5,920 telephones; rudimentary system local: NA intercity: consists of a few land lines, a small microwave radio relay system, and a minor radio communication system international: 1 INTELSAT (Atlantic Ocean) earth station
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 3, FM 4, shortwave 0 radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: 1 televisions: NA
@Lesotho:Defense Forces
Branches: Lesotho Defense Force (LDF; includes Army and Air Wing), Lesotho Mounted Police
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 453,844; males fit for military service 244,767 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $25 million, NA% of GDP (1994)
Location: Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Cote d'Ivoire and Sierra Leone
Map references: Africa
Area: total area: 111,370 sq km land area: 96,320 sq km comparative area: slightly larger than Tennessee
Land boundaries: total 1,585 km, Guinea 563 km, Cote d'Ivoire 716 km, Sierra Leone 306 km
Coastline: 579 km
Maritime claims: territorial sea: 200 nm
International disputes: none
Climate: tropical; hot, humid; dry winters with hot days and cool to cold nights; wet, cloudy summers with frequent heavy showers
Terrain: mostly flat to rolling coastal plains rising to rolling plateau and low mountains in northeast
Natural resources: iron ore, timber, diamonds, gold
Land use: arable land: 1% permanent crops: 3% meadows and pastures: 2% forest and woodland: 39% other: 55%
Irrigated land: 20 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment: current issues: tropical rain forest subject to deforestation; soil erosion; loss of biodiversity; pollution of rivers from the dumping of iron ore tailings and of coastal waters from oil residue and raw sewage natural hazards: dust-laden harmattan winds blow from the Sahara (December to March) international agreements: party to - Endangered Species, Nuclear Test Ban, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation
@Liberia:People
Population: 3,073,245 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 44% (female 674,155; male 680,952) 15-64 years: 52% (female 768,147; male 844,326) 65 years and over: 4% (female 55,575; male 50,090) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 3.32% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 43.08 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 12.05 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: NA migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.) note: if the Ghanaian-led peace negotiations, under way in 1995, are successful, many Liberian refugees may return from exile
Infant mortality rate: 110.6 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 58.17 years male: 55.67 years female: 60.75 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 6.3 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Ethnic divisions: indigenous African tribes 95% (including Kpelle, Bassa, Gio, Kru, Grebo, Mano, Krahn, Gola, Gbandi, Loma, Kissi, Vai, and Bella), Americo-Liberians 5% (descendants of former slaves)
Religions: traditional 70%, Muslim 20%, Christian 10%
Languages: English 20% (official), Niger-Congo language group about 20 local languages come from this group
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.) total population: 40% male: 50% female: 29%
Labor force: 510,000 including 220,000 in the monetary economy by occupation: agriculture 70.5%, services 10.8%, industry and commerce 4.5%, other 14.2% note: non-African foreigners hold about 95% of the top-level management and engineering jobs
@Liberia:Government
Names: conventional long form: Republic of Liberia conventional short form: Liberia
Digraph: LI
Type: republic
Capital: Monrovia
Administrative divisions: 13 counties; Bomi, Bong, Grand Bassa, Grand Cape Mount, Grand Gedeh, Grand Kru, Lofa, Margibi, Maryland, Montserrado, Nimba, River Cess, Sinoe
Independence: 26 July 1847
National holiday: Independence Day, 26 July (1847)
Constitution: 6 January 1986
Legal system: dual system of statutory law based on Anglo-American common law for the modern sector and customary law based on unwritten tribal practices for indigenous sector
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state and head of government: Chairman of the Council of State David KPOMAKPOR (since March 1994); election last held on 15 October 1985; results - Gen. Dr. Samuel Kanyon DOE (NDPL) 50.9%, Jackson DOE (LAP) 26.4%, other 22.7% note: constitutional government ended in September 1990 when President Samuel Kanyon DOE was killed by rebel forces; civil war ensued and in July 1993 the Cotonou Peace Treaty was negotiated by the major warring factions under UN auspices; a transitional coalition government under David KROMAKPOR was formed in March 1994 but has been largely ineffective and unable to implement the provisions of the peace treaty; Ghanaian-led negotiations are now underway to seat a new interim government that would oversee elections proposed for late 1995
cabinet: Cabinet; selected by the leaders of the major factions in the civil war
Legislative branch: unicameral Transitional Legislative Assembly, the members of which are appointed by the leaders of the major factions in the civil war note: the former bicameral legislature no longer exists and there is no assurance that it will be reconstituted very soon
Judicial branch: Supreme Court
Political parties and leaders: National Democratic Party of Liberia (NDPL), Augustus CAINE, chairman; Liberian Action Party (LAP), Emmanuel KOROMAH, chairman; Unity Party (UP), Joseph KOFA, chairman; United People's Party (UPP), Gabriel Baccus MATTHEWS, chairman; National Patriotic Party (NPP), Charles TAYLOR, chairman; Liberian Peoples Party (LPP), Dusty WOLOKOLLIE, chairman
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Konah K. BLACKETT chancery: 5201 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20011 telephone: [1] (202) 723-0437 consulate(s) general: New York
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: (vacant); Charge d' Affaires William P. TWADDELL embassy: 111 United Nations Drive, Monrovia mailing address: P. O. Box 100098, Mamba Point, Monrovia telephone: [231] 222991 through 222994 FAX: [231] 223710
Flag: 11 equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom) alternating with white; there is a white five-pointed star on a blue square in the upper hoist-side corner; the design was based on the US flag
@Liberia:Economy
Overview: Civil war since 1990 has destroyed much of Liberia's economy, especially the infrastructure in and around Monrovia. Businessmen have fled the country, taking capital and expertise with them. Many will not return. Richly endowed with water, mineral resources, forests, and a climate favorable to agriculture, Liberia had been a producer and exporter of basic products, while local manufacturing, mainly foreign owned, had been small in scope. Political instability threatens prospects for economic reconstruction and repatriation of some 750,000 Liberian refugees who have fled to neighboring countries. The political impasse between the interim government and rebel leader Charles TAYLOR has prevented restoration of normal economic life, including the re-establishment of a strong central government with effective economic development programs. The economy deteriorated further in 1994.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $2.3 billion (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate: NA%
National product per capita: $770 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA%
Unemployment rate: NA%
Budget: revenues: $242.1 million expenditures: $435.4 million, including capital expenditures of $29.5 million (1989 est.)
Exports: $505 million (f.o.b., 1989 est.) commodities: iron ore 61%, rubber 20%, timber 11%, coffee partners: US, EC, Netherlands
Imports: $394 million (c.i.f., 1989 est.) commodities: mineral fuels, chemicals, machinery, transportation equipment, rice and other foodstuffs partners: US, EC, Japan, China, Netherlands, ECOWAS
External debt: $2.1 billion (September 1993 est.)
Industrial production: growth rate NA% (1993-94); much industrial damage caused by factional warfare
Electricity: capacity: 330,000 kW production: 440 million kWh consumption per capita: 143 kWh (1993)
Agriculture: accounts for about 40% of GDP (including fishing and forestry); principal products - rubber, timber, coffee, cocoa, rice, cassava, palm oil, sugarcane, bananas, sheep, goats; not self-sufficient in food, imports 25% of rice consumption
Illicit drugs: increasingly a transshipment point for heroin and cocaine
Economic aid: recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $665 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $870 million; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $25 million; Communist countries (1970-89), $77 million
Currency: 1 Liberian dollar (L$) = 100 cents
Exchange rates: Liberian dollars (L$) per US$1 - 1.00 (officially fixed rate since 1940); unofficial parallel exchange rate of US$1 - L$7 (January 1992), unofficial rate floats against the US dollar
Fiscal year: calendar year
@Liberia:Transportation
Railroads: total: 490 km (single track); note - three rail systems owned and operated by foreign steel and financial interests in conjunction with Liberian Government; one of these, the Lamco Railroad, closed in 1989 after iron ore production ceased; the other two have been shut down by the civil war standard gauge: 345 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 145 km 1.067-m gauge
Highways: total: 10,087 km paved: 603 km unpaved: gravel 5,171 km (includes 2,323 km of private roads of rubber and timber firms, open to the public); earth 4,313 km
Ports: Buchanan, Greenville, Harper, Monrovia
Merchant marine: total: 1,549 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 56,709,634 GRT/97,038,680 DWT ships by type: barge carrier 3, bulk 392, cargo 121, chemical tanker 114, combination bulk 33, combination ore/oil 57, container 124, liquefied gas tanker 75, oil tanker 459, passenger 32, passenger-cargo 1, refrigerated cargo 58, roll-on/roll-off cargo 18, short-sea passenger 1, specialized tanker 7, vehicle carrier 54 note: a flag of convenience registry; includes 53 countries; the 10 major fleet flags are: United States 232 ships, Japan 190, Norway 166, Greece 125, Germany 125, United Kingdom 102, Hong Kong 95, China 45, Russia 41, and the Netherlands 34
Airports: total: 59 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 1 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 with paved runways under 914 m: 43 with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 3 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 11
@Liberia:Communications
Telephone system: NA telephones; telephone and telegraph service via radio relay network; main center is Monrovia; most telecommunications services inoperable due to insurgency movement local: NA intercity: NA international: 1 INTELSAT (Atlantic Ocean) earth station
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 3, FM 4, shortwave 0 radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: 5 televisions: NA
@Liberia:Defense Forces
Branches: NA; the ultimate structure of the Liberian military force will depend on who is the victor in the ongoing civil war
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 732,063; males fit for military service 390,849 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $30 million, 2% of GDP (1994)
Location: Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Tunisia
Map references: Africa
Area: total area: 1,759,540 sq km land area: 1,759,540 sq km comparative area: slightly larger than Alaska
Land boundaries: total 4,383 km, Algeria 982 km, Chad 1,055 km, Egypt 1,150 km, Niger 354 km, Sudan 383 km, Tunisia 459 km
Coastline: 1,770 km
Maritime claims: territorial sea: 12 nm Gulf of Sidra closing line: 32 degrees 30 minutes north
International disputes: the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled in February 1994 that the 100,000 sq km Aozou Strip between Chad and Libya belongs to Chad, and that Libya must withdraw from it by 31 May 1994; Libya has withdrawn some its forces in response to the ICJ ruling, but still maintains an airfield in the disputed area; maritime boundary dispute with Tunisia; claims part of northern Niger and part of southeastern Algeria
Climate: Mediterranean along coast; dry, extreme desert interior
Terrain: mostly barren, flat to undulating plains, plateaus, depressions
Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, gypsum
Land use: arable land: 2% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 8% forest and woodland: 0% other: 90%
Irrigated land: 2,420 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment: current issues: desertification; very limited natural fresh water resources; the Great Manmade River Project, the largest water development scheme in the world, is being built to bring water from large aquifers under the Sahara to coastal cities natural hazards: hot, dry, dust-laden ghibli is a southern wind lasting one to four days in spring and fall; duststorms, sandstorms international agreements: party to - Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Law of the Sea
@Libya:People
Population: 5,248,401 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 48% (female 1,226,851; male 1,269,813) 15-64 years: 49% (female 1,261,424; male 1,331,093) 65 years and over: 3% (female 76,017; male 83,203) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 3.7% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 44.89 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 7.91 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 61.4 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 64.29 years male: 62.12 years female: 66.57 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 6.32 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Nationality: noun: Libyan(s) adjective: Libyan
Ethnic divisions: Berber and Arab 97%, Greeks, Maltese, Italians, Egyptians, Pakistanis, Turks, Indians, Tunisians
Religions: Sunni Muslim 97%
Languages: Arabic, Italian, English, all are widely understood in the major cities
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1984) total population: 60% male: 77% female: 42%
Labor force: 1 million (includes about 280,000 resident foreigners) by occupation: industry 31%, services 27%, government 24%, agriculture 18%
@Libya:Government
Names: conventional long form: Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya conventional short form: Libya local long form: Al Jumahiriyah al Arabiyah al Libiyah ash Shabiyah al Ishirakiyah local short form: none
Digraph: LY
Type: Jamahiriya (a state of the masses) in theory, governed by the populace through local councils; in fact, a military dictatorship
Capital: Tripoli
Administrative divisions: 25 municipalities (baladiyah, singular - baladiyat); Ajdabiya, Al 'Aziziyah, Al Fatih, Al Jabal al Akhdar, Al Jufrah, Al Khums, Al Kufrah, An Nuqat al Khams, Ash Shati', Awbari, Az Zawiyah, Banghazi, Darnah, Ghadamis, Gharyan, Misratah, Murzuq, Sabha, Sawfajjin, Surt, Tarabulus, Tarhunah, Tubruq, Yafran, Zlitan
Independence: 24 December 1951 (from Italy)
National holiday: Revolution Day, 1 September (1969)
Constitution: 11 December 1969, amended 2 March 1977
Legal system: based on Italian civil law system and Islamic law; separate religious courts; no constitutional provision for judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal and compulsory
Executive branch: chief of state: Revolutionary Leader Col. Mu'ammar Abu Minyar al-QADHAFI (since 1 September 1969) head of government: Chairman of the General People's Committee (Premier) Abd al Majid al-Qa'ud (since 29 January 1994) cabinet: General People's Committee; established by the General People's Congress note: national elections are indirect through a hierarchy of peoples' committees
Legislative branch: unicameral General People's Congress: national elections are indirect through a hierarchy of peoples' committees
Judicial branch: Supreme Court
Political parties and leaders: none
Other political or pressure groups: various Arab nationalist movements with almost negligible memberships may be functioning clandestinely, as well as some Islamic elements
Flag: plain green; green is the traditional color of Islam (the state religion)
@Libya:Economy
Overview: The socialist-oriented economy depends primarily upon revenues from the oil sector, which contributes practically all export earnings and about one-third of GDP. In 1990 per capita GDP was the highest in Africa at $5,410, but GDP growth rates have slowed and fluctuated sharply in response to changes in the world oil market. Import restrictions and inefficient resource allocations have led to periodic shortages of basic goods and foodstuffs. Windfall revenues from the hike in world oil prices in late 1990 improved the foreign payments position and resulted in a current account surplus through 1992. The nonoil manufacturing and construction sectors, which account for about 20% of GDP, have expanded from processing mostly agricultural products to include petrochemicals, iron, steel, and aluminum. Although agriculture accounts for only 5% of GDP, it employs 18% of the labor force. Climatic conditions and poor soils severely limit farm output, and Libya imports about 75% of its food requirements. The UN sanctions imposed in April 1992 have not yet had a major impact on the economy because Libya's oil revenues generate sufficient foreign exchange which sustains imports of food, consumer goods, and equipment for the oil industry and ongoing development projects.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $32.9 billion (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate: -0.9% (1994 est.)
National product per capita: $6,510 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 25% (1993 est.)
Unemployment rate: NA%
Budget: revenues: $8.1 billion expenditures: $9.8 billion, including capital expenditures of $3.1 billion (1989 est.)
Railroads: note: Libya has had no railroad in operation since 1965, all previous systems having been dismantled; current plans are to construct a 1.435-m standard gauge line from the Tunisian frontier to Tripoli and Misratah, then inland to Sabha, center of a mineral-rich area, but there has been no progress; other plans made jointly with Egypt would establish a rail line from As Sallum, Egypt, to Tobruk with completion set for mid-1994; no progress has been reported
Highways: total: 19,300 km paved: bituminous 10,800 km unpaved: gravel, earth 8,500 km
Inland waterways: none
Pipelines: crude oil 4,383 km; petroleum products 443 km (includes liquified petroleum gas 256 km); natural gas 1,947 km
Ports: Al Khums, Banghazi, Darnah, Marsa al Burayqah, Misratah, Ra's Lanuf, Tobruk, Tripoli, Zuwarah
ships by type: cargo 10, chemical tanker 1, liquefied gas tanker 2, oil tanker 10, roll-on/roll-off cargo 3, short-sea passenger 4
Airports: total: 146 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 24 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 5 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 22 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 6 with paved runways under 914 m: 21 with unpaved runways over 3,047 m: 4 with unpaved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 17 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 44
@Libya:Communications
Telephone system: 370,000 telephones; modern telecommunications system
local: NA intercity: microwave radio relay, coaxial cable, tropospheric scatter, and 14 domestic satellites international: 2 INTELSAT (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) satellite earth stations; submarine cables to France and Italy; microwave radio relay to Tunisia and Egypt; tropospheric scatter to Greece; planned ARABSAT and Intersputnik satellite earth stations
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 17, FM 3, shortwave 0 radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: 12 televisions: NA
@Libya:Defense Forces
Branches: Armed Peoples of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriyah (includes Army, Navy, and Air and Air Defense Command), Police
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 1,131,175; males fit for military service 672,571; males reach military age (17) annually 54,676 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $1.4 billion, 6.1% of GDP (1994 est.)
Location: Central Europe, between Austria and Switzerland
Map references: Europe
Area: total area: 160 sq km land area: 160 sq km comparative area: about 0.9 times the size of Washington, DC
Land boundaries: total 78 km, Austria 37 km, Switzerland 41 km
Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims: none; landlocked
International disputes: claims 1,600 square kilometers of Czech territory confiscated from its royal family in 1918; the Czech Republic insists that restitution does not go back before February 1948, when the Communists seized power
Climate: continental; cold, cloudy winters with frequent snow or rain; cool to moderately warm, cloudy, humid summers
Terrain: mostly mountainous (Alps) with Rhine Valley in western third
Natural resources: hydroelectric potential
Land use: arable land: 25% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 38% forest and woodland: 19% other: 18%
Irrigated land: NA sq km
Environment: current issues: NA natural hazards: NA international agreements: party to - Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Biodiversity, Law of the Sea
Note: landlocked; variety of microclimatic variations based on elevation
@Liechtenstein:People
Population: 30,654 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 19% (female 2,897; male 2,974) 15-64 years: 71% (female 10,853; male 10,777) 65 years and over: 10% (female 1,930; male 1,223) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.2% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 12.95 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 6.56 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 5.58 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 5.3 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 77.52 years male: 73.86 years female: 81.17 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.47 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Ethnic divisions: Alemannic 95%, Italian and other 5%
Religions: Roman Catholic 87.3%, Protestant 8.3%, unknown 1.6%, other 2.8% (1988)
Languages: German (official), Alemannic dialect
Literacy: age 10 and over can read and write (1981) total population: 100% male: 100% female: 100%
Labor force: 19,905 of which 11,933 are foreigners; 6,885 commute from Austria and Switzerland to work each day by occupation: industry, trade, and building 53.2%, services 45%, agriculture, fishing, forestry, and horticulture 1.8% (1990)
@Liechtenstein:Government
Names: conventional long form: Principality of Liechtenstein conventional short form: Liechtenstein local long form: Furstentum Liechtenstein local short form: Liechtenstein
Independence: 23 January 1719 (Imperial Principality of Liechtenstein established)
National holiday: Assumption Day, 15 August
Constitution: 5 October 1921
Legal system: local civil and penal codes; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: Prince Hans ADAM II (since 13 November 1989; assumed executive powers 26 August 1984); Heir Apparent Prince ALOIS von und zu Liechtenstein (born 11 June 1968) head of government: Mario FRICK (since 15 December 1993); Deputy Head of Government Dr. Thomas BUECHEL (since 15 December 1993) cabinet: Cabinet; elected by the Diet; confirmed by the sovereign
Legislative branch: unicameral Diet (Landtag): elections last held on 24 October 1993 (next to be held by March 1997); results - VU 50.1%, FBP 41.3%, FL 8.5%; seats - (25 total) VU 13, FBP 11, FL 1
Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Oberster Gerichtshof) for criminal cases, Superior Court (Obergericht) for civil cases
Political parties and leaders: Fatherland Union (VU), Dr. Oswald KRANTZ; Progressive Citizens' Party (FBP), Otmar HASLER; The Free List (FL)
Member of: CE, EBRD, ECE, EFTA, GATT, IAEA, ICRM, IFRCS, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ITU, OSCE, UN, UNCTAD, UPU, WCL, WIPO
Diplomatic representation in US: in routine diplomatic matters, Liechtenstein is represented in the US by the Swiss Embassy
US diplomatic representation: the US has no diplomatic or consular mission in Liechtenstein, but the US Consul General at Zurich (Switzerland) has consular accreditation at Vaduz
Flag: two equal horizontal bands of blue (top) and red with a gold crown on the hoist side of the blue band
@Liechtenstein:Economy
Overview: Despite its small size and limited natural resources, Liechtenstein has developed into a prosperous, highly industrialized, free-enterprise economy with a vital service sector and living standards on par with its large European neighbors. Low business taxes - the maximum tax rate is 20% - and easy incorporation rules have induced about 25,000 holding or so-called letter box companies to establish nominal offices in Liechtenstein, providing 30% of state revenues. The country participates in a customs union with Switzerland and uses the Swiss franc as its national currency. Liechtenstein plans to join the European Economic Area (an organization serving as a bridge between EFTA and EU) in 1995.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $630 million (1990 est.)
National product real growth rate: NA%
National product per capita: $22,300 (1990 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 5.4% (1990)
Unemployment rate: 1.5% (1994)
Budget: revenues: $259 million expenditures: $292 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1990 est.)
Exports: $NA commodities: small specialty machinery, dental products, stamps, hardware, pottery partners: EC countries 42.7%, EFTA countries 20.9% (Switzerland 15.4%), other 36.4% (1990)
Imports: $NA commodities: machinery, metal goods, textiles, foodstuffs, motor vehicles partners: NA
External debt: $NA
Industrial production: growth rate NA%
Electricity: capacity: 23,000 kW production: 150 million kWh consumption per capita: 5,230 kWh (1992)
Railroads: total: 18.5 km; note - owned, operated, and included in statistics of Austrian Federal Railways standard gauge: 18.5 km 1.435-m gauge (electrified)
Highways: total: 322.93 km paved: 322.93 km
Ports: none
Airports: none
@Liechtenstein:Communications
Telephone system: 25,400 telephones; limited, but sufficient automatic telephone system local: NA intercity: NA international: linked to Swiss networks by cable and radio relay
Radio: broadcast stations: AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA radios: NA note: linked to Swiss networks
Television: broadcast stations: NA televisions: NA note: linked to Swiss networks
Location: Eastern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, between Latvia and Russia
Map references: Europe
Area: total area: 65,200 sq km land area: 65,200 sq km comparative area: slightly larger than West Virginia
Land boundaries: total 1,273 km, Belarus 502 km, Latvia 453 km, Poland 91 km, Russia (Kaliningrad) 227 km
Coastline: 108 km
Maritime claims: territorial sea: 12 nm
International disputes: dispute with Russia (Kaliningrad Oblast) over the position of the Nemunas (Nemen) River border presently located on the Lithuanian bank and not in midriver as by international standards
Climate: maritime; wet, moderate winters and summers
Terrain: lowland, many scattered small lakes, fertile soil
Natural resources: peat
Land use: arable land: 49.1% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 22.2% forest and woodland: 16.3% other: 12.4%
Irrigated land: 430 sq km (1990)
Environment: current issues: contamination of soil and groundwater with petroleum products and chemicals at military bases natural hazards: NA international agreements: party to - Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate Change
@Lithuania:People
Population: 3,876,396 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 23% (female 426,616; male 444,556) 15-64 years: 65% (female 1,299,052; male 1,227,420) 65 years and over: 12% (female 313,217; male 165,535) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.71% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 14.46 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 10.95 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 3.62 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 16.5 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 71.37 years male: 66.68 years female: 76.3 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 2 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1989) total population: 98% male: 99% female: 98%
Labor force: 1.836 million by occupation: industry and construction 42%, agriculture and forestry 18%, other 40% (1990)
@Lithuania:Government
Names: conventional long form: Republic of Lithuania conventional short form: Lithuania local long form: Lietuvos Respublika local short form: Lietuva former: Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic
Digraph: LH
Type: republic
Capital: Vilnius
Administrative divisions: 44 regions (rajonai, singular - rajonas) and 11 municipalities*: Akmenes Rajonas, Alytaus Rajonas, Alytus*, Anyksciu Rajonas, Birsionas*, Birzu Rajonas, Druskininkai*, Ignalinos Rajonas, Jonavos Rajonas, Joniskio Rajonas, Jurbarko Rajonas, Kaisiadoriu Rajonas, Marijampoles Rajonas, Kaunas*, Kauno Rajonas, Kedainiu Rajonas, Kelmes Rajonas, Klaipeda*, Klaipedos Rajonas, Kretingos Rajonas, Kupiskio Rajonas, Lazdiju Rajonas, Marijampole*, Mazeikiu Rajonas, Moletu Rajonas, Neringa* Pakruojo Rajonas, Palanga*, Panevezio Rajonas, Panevezys*, Pasvalio Rajonas, Plunges Rajonas, Prienu Rajonas, Radviliskio Rajonas, Raseiniu Rajonas, Rokiskio Rajonas, Sakiu Rajonas, Salcininky Rajonas, Siauliai*, Siauliu Rajonas, Silales Rajonas, Siltues Rajonas, Sirvinty Rajonas, Skuodo Rajonas, Svencioniu Rajonas, Taurages Rajonas, Telsiu Rajonas, Traky Rajonas, Ukmerges Rajonas, Utenos Rajonas, Varenos Rajonas, Vilkaviskio Rajonas, Vilniaus Rajonas, Vilnius*, Zarasu Rajonas
Independence: 6 September 1991 (from Soviet Union)
National holiday: Independence Day, 16 February (1918)
Constitution: adopted 25 October 1992
Legal system: based on civil law system; no judicial review of legislative acts
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Algirdas Mykolas BRAZAUSKAS (since 25 November 1992; elected acting president by Parliament 25 November 1992 and elected by direct vote 15 February 1993); election last held 14 February 1993 (next to be held NA 1997); results - Algirdas BRAZAUSKAS was elected; note - on 25 November 1992 BRAZAUSKAS was elected chairman of Parliament and, as such, acting president of the Republic; he was confirmed in office by direct balloting 15 February 1993 head of government: Premier Adolfas SLEZEVICIUS (since 10 March 1993) cabinet: Council of Ministers; appointed by the president on the nomination of the prime minister
Legislative branch: unicameral Seimas (parliament): elections last held 26 October and 25 November 1992 (next to be held NA 1996); results - LDDP 51%; seats - (141 total) LDDP 73, Conservative Party 30, LKDP 17, LTS 8, Farmers' Union 4, LLS 4, Center Union 2, others 3
Judicial branch: Supreme Court, Court of Appeals
Political parties and leaders: Christian Democratic Party (LKDP), Povilas KATILIUS, chairman; Democratic Labor Party of Lithuania (LDDP), Adolfas SLEZEVICIUS, chairman; Lithuanian Nationalist Union (LTS), Rimantas SMETONA, chairman; Lithuanian Social Democratic Party (LSDP), Aloyzas SAKALAS, chairman; Farmers' Union, Jonas CIULEVICIUS, chairman; Center Union, Romualdas OZOLAS, chairman; Conservative Party, Vytautas LANDSBERGIS, chairman; Lithuanian Polish Union (LLS), Rytardas MACIKIANEC, chairman
Other political or pressure groups: Homeland Union; Lithuanian Future Forum; Farmers Union
Member of: BIS, CBSS, CCC, CE, EBRD, ECE, FAO, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, INTELSAT (nonsignatory user), INTERPOL, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NACC, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WEU (associate partner), WHO, WIPO, WMO
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Alfonsas EIDINTAS chancery: 2622 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 234-5860, 2639 FAX: [1] (202) 328-0466 consulate(s) general: New York
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador James W. SWIHART, Jr. embassy: Akmenu 6, Vilnius 2600 mailing address: APO AE 09723 telephone: [370] (2) 223-031 FAX: [370] (2) 222-779
Flag: three equal horizontal bands of yellow (top), green, and red
@Lithuania:Economy
Overview: Since independence in September 1991, Lithuania has made steady progress in developing a market economy. Almost 50% of state property has been privatized and trade is diversifying with a gradual shift away from the former Soviet Union to Western markets. In addition, the Lithuanian government has adhered to a disciplined budgetary and financial policy which has brought inflation down from a monthly average of around 14% in first half 1993 to an average of 3.1% in 1994. Nevertheless, the process has been painful with industrial output in 1993 less than half the 1991 level. The economy appeared to have bottomed out in 1994, and Vilnius's policies have laid the groundwork for vigorous recovery over the next few years. Recovery will build on Lithuanian's strategic location with its ice-free port at Klaipeda and its rail and highway hub in Vilnius connecting it with Eastern Europe, Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine, and on its agriculture potential, highly skilled labor force, and diversified industrial sector. Lacking important natural resources, it will remain dependent on imports of fuels and raw materials.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $13.5 billion (1994 estimate as extrapolated from World Bank estimate for 1992)
National product real growth rate: -0.5% (1994 est.)
National product per capita: $3,500 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 3.1% (monthly average 1994)
Unemployment rate: 4.5% (January 1995)
Budget: revenues: $258.5 million expenditures: $270.2 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1992 est.)
Industries: industry's share in the economy has been declining substantially over the past year, due to the economic crisis and the growth of services in the economy; among branches which are still important: metal-cutting machine tools 6.6%, electric motors 4.6%, television sets 6.2%, refrigerators and freezers 5.4%; other branches: petroleum refining, shipbuilding (small ships), furniture making, textiles, food processing, fertilizers, agricultural machinery, optical equipment, electronic components, computers, and amber
Agriculture: employs around 18% of labor force; accounts for 25% of GDP; sugar, grain, potatoes, sugar beets, vegetables, meat, milk, dairy products, eggs, fish; most developed are the livestock and dairy branches, which depend on imported grain; net exporter of meat, milk, and eggs
Illicit drugs: transshipment point for illicit drugs from Central and Southwest Asia and Latin America to Western Europe; limited producer of illicit opium; mostly for domestic consumption
Economic aid: recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (1992), $10 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-86), $NA million; Communist countries (1971-86), $NA million
Currency: introduced the convertible litas in June 1993
Exchange rates: litai per US$1 - 4 (fixed rate 1 May 1994)
Fiscal year: calendar year
@Lithuania:Transportation
Railroads: total: 2,010 km broad gauge: 2,010 km 1.524-m gauge (120 km electrified) (1990)
Highways: total: 44,200 km paved: 35,500 km unpaved: earth 8,700 km (1990)
Inland waterways: 600 km perennially navigable
Pipelines: crude oil, 105 km; natural gas 760 km (1992)
Airports: total: 96 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 3 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 2 with paved runways under 914 m: 14 with unpaved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 1 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 6 with unpaved runways under 914 m: 63
@Lithuania:Communications
Telephone system: 900,000 telephones; 240 telephones/1,000 persons; telecommunications system ranks among the most modern of the former Soviet republics local: NA intercity: land lines and microwave radio relay international: international connections no longer depend on the Moscow gateway switch, but are established by satellite through Oslo from Vilnius and through Copenhagen from Kaunas; 1 EUTELSAT and 1 INTELSAT earth station; an NMT-450 analog cellular network operates in Vilnius and other cities and is linked internationally through Copenhagen by EUTELSAT; international electronic mail is available; land lines or microwave to former USSR republics
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 13, FM 26, shortwave 1, longwave 1 radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: 3 televisions: NA
@Lithuania:Defense Forces
Branches: Ground Forces, Navy, Air and Air Defense Force, Security Forces (internal and border troops), National Guard (Skat)
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 949,663; males fit for military service 750,386; males reach military age (18) annually 27,630 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $30 million, 2% of GDP (1994); note - for 1995 defense expenditures were $54 million at exchange rate conversion
Location: Western Europe, between France and Germany
Map references: Europe
Area: total area: 2,586 sq km land area: 2,586 sq km comparative area: slightly smaller than Rhode Island
Land boundaries: total 359 km, Belgium 148 km, France 73 km, Germany 138 km
Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims: none; landlocked
International disputes: none
Climate: modified continental with mild winters, cool summers
Terrain: mostly gently rolling uplands with broad, shallow valleys; uplands to slightly mountainous in the north; steep slope down to Moselle floodplain in the southeast
Natural resources: iron ore (no longer exploited)
Land use: arable land: 24% permanent crops: 1% meadows and pastures: 20% forest and woodland: 21% other: 34%
Irrigated land: NA sq km
Environment: current issues: deforestation; air and water pollution in urban areas natural hazards: NA international agreements: party to - Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83; signed, but not ratified - Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Desertification, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea
Note: landlocked
@Luxembourg:People
Population: 404,660 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 18% (female 35,372; male 36,645) 15-64 years: 68% (female 136,960; male 137,792) 65 years and over: 14% (female 35,774; male 22,117) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.57% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 12.61 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 9.42 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 2.47 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 6.6 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 76.95 years male: 73.31 years female: 80.75 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.65 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Ethnic divisions: Celtic base (with French and German blend), Portuguese, Italian, and European (guest and worker residents)
Religions: Roman Catholic 97%, Protestant and Jewish 3%
Languages: Luxembourgisch, German, French, English
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1980 est.) total population: 100% male: 100% female: 100%
Labor force: 177,300 (one-third of labor force is foreign workers, mostly from Portugal, Italy, France, Belgium, and Germany) by occupation: services 65%, industry 31.6%, agriculture 3.4% (1988)
@Luxembourg:Government
Names: conventional long form: Grand Duchy of Luxembourg conventional short form: Luxembourg local long form: Grand-Duche de Luxembourg local short form: Luxembourg
National holiday: National Day, 23 June (1921) (public celebration of the Grand Duke's birthday)
Constitution: 17 October 1868, occasional revisions
Legal system: based on civil law system; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal and compulsory
Executive branch: chief of state: Grand Duke JEAN (since 12 November 1964); Heir Apparent Prince HENRI (son of Grand Duke JEAN, born 16 April 1955) head of government: Prime Minister Jean-Claude JUNKER (since 1 January 1994); Vice Prime Minister Jacques F. POOS (since 21 July 1984) cabinet: Council of Ministers; appointed by the sovereign
Legislative branch: unicameral Chamber of Deputies (Chambre des Deputes): elections last held on 12 June 1994 (next to be held by June 1999); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (60 total) CSV 21, LSAP 17, DP 12, Action Committee for Democracy and Pension Rights 5, Greens 5 note: the Council of State (Conseil d'Etat) is an advisory body whose views are considered by the Chamber of Deputies
Judicial branch: Superior Court of Justice (Cour Superieure de Justice)
Political parties and leaders: Christian Social People's Party (CSV), Erna HENNICOT-SCHOEPGES; Socialist Workers Party (LSAP), Ben FAYOT; Democratic Party (DP), Henri GRETHEN; Action Committee for Democracy and Pension Rights, Roby MEHLEN; other minor parties
Other political or pressure groups: group of steel companies representing iron and steel industry; Centrale Paysanne representing agricultural producers; Christian and Socialist labor unions; Federation of Industrialists; Artisans and Shopkeepers Federation
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Alphonse BERNS chancery: 2200 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 265-4171 FAX: [1] (202) 328-8270 consulate(s) general: New York and San Francisco
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador Clay CONSTANTINOU embassy: 22 Boulevard Emmanuel-Servais, 2535 Luxembourg City mailing address: PSC 11, Luxembourg City; APO AE 09132-5380 telephone: [352] 46 01 23 FAX: [352] 46 14 01
Flag: three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and light blue; similar to the flag of the Netherlands, which uses a darker blue and is shorter; design was based on the flag of France
@Luxembourg:Economy
Overview: The stable, prosperous economy features moderate growth, low inflation, and negligible unemployment. Agriculture is based on small but highly productive family-owned farms. The industrial sector, until recently dominated by steel, has become increasingly more diversified, particularly toward high-technology firms. During the past decade, growth in the financial sector has more than compensated for the decline in steel. Services, especially banking, account for a growing proportion of the economy. Luxembourg participates in an economic union with Belgium on trade and most financial matters, is also closely connected economically to the Netherlands, and as a member of the 15-member European Union enjoys the advantages of the open European market.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $9.2 billion (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate: 2.6% (1994 est.)
National product per capita: $22,830 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 3.6% (1992)
Unemployment rate: 2.4% (1994)
Budget: revenues: $4 billion expenditures: $4.05 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1994 est.)
Industries: banking, iron and steel, food processing, chemicals, metal products, engineering, tires, glass, aluminum
Agriculture: accounts for less than 3% of GDP (including forestry); principal products - barley, oats, potatoes, wheat, fruits, wine grapes; cattle raising widespread
Economic aid: none
Currency: 1 Luxembourg franc (LuxF) = 100 centimes
Exchange rates: Luxembourg francs (LuxF) per US$1 - 31.549 (January 1995), 33,456 (1994), 34.597 (1993), 32.150 (1992), 34.148 (1991), 33.418 (1990); note - the Luxembourg franc is at par with the Belgian franc, which circulates freely in Luxembourg
Fiscal year: calendar year
@Luxembourg:Transportation
Railroads: total: 271 km standard gauge: 271 km 1.435-m gauge (243 km electrified; 178 km double track) (1994)
Highways: total: 5,108 km paved: 5,062 km (95 km of limited access divided highway) unpaved: 46 km (1992)
Location: Eastern Asia, bordering the South China Sea and China
Map references: Southeast Asia
Area: total area: 16 sq km land area: 16 sq km comparative area: about 0.1 times the size of Washington, DC
Land boundaries: total 0.34 km, China 0.34 km
Coastline: 40 km
Maritime claims: not specified
International disputes: none
Climate: subtropical; marine with cool winters, warm summers
Terrain: generally flat
Natural resources: negligible
Land use: arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 0% forest and woodland: 0% other: 100%
Irrigated land: NA sq km
Environment: current issues: NA natural hazards: NA international agreements: party to - Ozone Layer Protection (extended from Portugal)
Note: essentially urban; one causeway and one bridge connect the two islands to the peninsula on mainland
@Macau:People
Population: 490,901 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 24% (female 56,991; male 60,944) 15-64 years: 68% (female 167,366; male 165,168) 65 years and over: 8% (female 23,537; male 16,895) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.25% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 14.5 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 4.21 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 2.24 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 5.4 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 79.86 years male: 77.41 years female: 82.43 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.49 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Nationality: noun: Macanese (singular and plural) adjective: Macau
Ethnic divisions: Chinese 95%, Portuguese 3%, other 2%
Religions: Buddhist 45%, Roman Catholic 7%, Protestant 1%, none 45.8%, other 1.2% (1981)
Languages: Portuguese (official), Cantonese is the language of commerce
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1981) total population: 90% male: 93% female: 86%
Labor force: 180,000 (1986) by occupation: NA
@Macau:Government
Names: conventional long form: none conventional short form: Macau local long form: none local short form: Ilha de Macau
Digraph: MC
Type: overseas territory of Portugal scheduled to revert to China in 1999
Independence: none (territory of Portugal; Portugal signed an agreement with China on 13 April 1987 to return Macau to China on 20 December 1999; in the joint declaration, China promises to respect Macau's existing social and economic systems and lifestyle for 50 year after transition)
National holiday: Day of Portugal, 10 June (1580)
Constitution: 17 February 1976, Organic Law of Macau; basic law drafted primarily by Beijing awaiting final approval
Legal system: Portuguese civil law system
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President (of Portugal) Mario Alberto SOARES (since 9 March 1986) head of government: Governor Gen. Vasco Joachim Rocha VIEIRA (since 20 March 1991) cabinet: Consultative Council; consists of five members appointed by the governor, two nominated by the governor, five members elected for a four-year term (2 represent administrative bodies, 1 represents moral, cultural, and welfare interests, and 2 economic interests), and three statuatory members
Legislative branch: unicameral Legislative Assembly: elections last held on 10 March 1991 (next to be held NA); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (23 total, 8 elected by universal suffrage, 8 by indirect suffrage, and 7 appointed by the governor) number of seats by party NA
Judicial branch: Supreme Court
Political parties and leaders: Association to Defend the Interests of Macau; Macau Democratic Center; Group to Study the Development of Macau; Macau Independent Group
Other political or pressure groups: wealthy Macanese and Chinese representing local interests, wealthy pro-Communist merchants representing China's interests; in January 1967 the Macau Government acceded to Chinese demands that gave China veto power over administration
Diplomatic representation in US: none (Chinese territory under Portuguese administration)
US diplomatic representation: the US has no offices in Macau, and US interests are monitored by the US Consulate General in Hong Kong
Flag: the flag of Portugal is used
@Macau:Economy
Overview: The economy is based largely on tourism (including gambling) and textile and fireworks manufacturing. Efforts to diversify have spawned other small industries - toys, artificial flowers, and electronics. The tourist sector has accounted for roughly 25% of GDP, and the clothing industry has provided about two-thirds of export earnings; the gambling industry represented well over 40% of GDP in 1992. Macau depends on China for most of its food, fresh water, and energy imports. Japan and Hong Kong are the main suppliers of raw materials and capital goods.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $4.8 billion (1993 est.)
Budget: revenues: $305 million expenditures: $298 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1989 est.)
Exports: $1.8 billion (1992 est.) commodities: textiles, clothing, toys partners: US 35%, Hong Kong 12.5%, Germany 12%, China 9.9%, France 8% (1992 est.)
Imports: $2 billion (1992 est.) commodities: raw materials, foodstuffs, capital goods partners: Hong Kong 33%, China 20%, Japan 18% (1992 est.)
External debt: $91 million (1985)
Industrial production: growth rate NA%
Electricity: capacity: 258,000 kW production: 950 million kWh consumption per capita: 2,093 kWh (1993)
Agriculture: rice, vegetables; food shortages - rice, vegetables, meat; depends mostly on imports for food requirements
Economic aid: none
Currency: 1 pataca (P) = 100 avos
Exchange rates: patacas (P) per US$1 - 8.034 (1991-94), 8.024 (1990), 8.030 (1989); note - linked to the Hong Kong dollar at the rate of 1.03 patacas per Hong Kong dollar
Fiscal year: calendar year
@Macau:Transportation
Railroads: 0 km
Highways: total: 42 km paved: 42 km
Ports: Macau
Merchant marine: none
Airports: none usable, 1 under construction; 1 seaplane station
@Macau:Communications
Telephone system: 52,000 telephones; fairly modern communication facilities maintained for domestic and international services local: NA intercity: NA international: high-frequency radio communication facility; access to international communications carriers provided via Hong Kong and China; 1 INTELSAT (Indian Ocean) earth station
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 4, FM 3, shortwave 0 radios: 115,000
Television: broadcast stations: 0; note - TV programs received from Hong Kong televisions: NA
@Macau:Defense Forces
Branches: NA
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 141,160; males fit for military service 78,578 (1995 est.)
@Macedonia, The Former Yugoslav Republic Of:Geography
Location: Southeastern Europe, north of Greece
Map references: Ethnic Groups in Eastern Europe, Europe
Area: total area: 25,333 sq km land area: 24,856 sq km comparative area: slightly larger than Vermont
Land boundaries: total 748 km, Albania 151 km, Bulgaria 148 km, Greece 228 km, Serbia and Montenegro 221 km (all with Serbia)
Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims: none; landlocked
International disputes: dispute with Greece over name, symbols, and certain constitutional provisions
Climate: hot, dry summers and autumns and relatively cold winters with heavy snowfall
Terrain: mountainous territory covered with deep basins and valleys; there are three large lakes, each divided by a frontier line; country bisected by the Vardar River
Land use: arable land: 5% permanent crops: 5% meadows and pastures: 20% forest and woodland: 30% other: 40%
Irrigated land: NA sq km
Environment: current issues: air pollution from metallurgical plants natural hazards: high seismic risks international agreements: party to - Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection
Note: landlocked; major transportation corridor from Western and Central Europe to Aegean Sea and Southern Europe to Western Europe
@Macedonia, The Former Yugoslav Republic Of:People
Population: 2,159,503 (July 1995 est.) note: the Macedonian government census of July 1994 put the population at 1.94 million, but ethnic allocations were likely undercounted
Age structure: 0-14 years: 25% (female 257,876; male 277,314) 15-64 years: 67% (female 711,810; male 733,903) 65 years and over: 8% (female 97,475; male 81,125) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.9% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 15.82 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 6.7 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: -0.14 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 24.2 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 74 years male: 71.87 years female: 76.3 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 2.02 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Labor force: 591,773 (June 1994) by occupation: manufacturing and mining 40% (1992)
@Macedonia, The Former Yugoslav Republic Of:Government
Names: conventional long form: The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia conventional short form: none local long form: Republika Makedonija local short form: Makedonija
Constitution: adopted 17 November 1991, effective 20 November 1991
Legal system: based on civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Kiro GLIGOROV (since 27 January 1991); election last held 16 October 1994 (next to be held NA 1997); results - Kiro GLIGOROV was elected by the Assembly in 1991; reelected by popular vote in 1994 head of government: Prime Minister Branko CRVENKOVSKI (since 4 September 1992) cabinet: Council of Ministers; elected by the majority vote of all the deputies in the Sobranje
Legislative branch: unicameral Assembly (Sobranje): elections last held 16 and 30 October 1994 (next to be held November 1998); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (120 total) seats by party NA
Judicial branch: Constitutional Court, Judicial Court of the Republic
Political parties and leaders: Social-Democratic Alliance of Macedonia (SDSM; former Communist Party), Branko CRVENKOVSKI, president; Party for Democratic Prosperity (PDP); note - two factions competing for party name; one faction is led by Abdurahman HALITI and the other faction is led by Arber XHAFFERI; National Democratic Party (NDP), Ilijas HALINI, president; Alliance of Reform Forces of Macedonia - Liberal Party (SRSM-LP), Stojan ANDOV, president; Socialist Party of Macedonia (SPM), Kiro POPOVSKI, president; Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization - Democratic Party for Macedonian National Unity (VMRO-DPMNE), Ljupco GEORGIEVSKI, president; Party of Yugoslavs in Macedonia (SJM), Milan DURCINOV, president; Democratic Party (DP), Petar GOSEV, president
Other political or pressure groups: Movement for All Macedonian Action (MAAK); Democratic Party of Serbs; Democratic Party of Turks; Party for Democratic Action (Slavic Muslim)
Member of: CCC, CE (guest), CEI, EBRD, ECE, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT (nonsignatory user), INTERPOL, IOC, ITU, OSCE (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO
Diplomatic representation in US: the US recognized The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia on 8 February 1994
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Victor D. COMRAS liaison office: ul. 27 Mart No. 5, 9100 Skopje mailing address: USLO Skopje, Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-7120 (pouch) telephone: [389] (91) 116-180 FAX: [389] (91) 117-103
Flag: 16-point gold sun (Vergina, Sun) centered on a red field
@Macedonia, The Former Yugoslav Republic Of:Economy
Overview: The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, although the poorest republic in the former Yugoslav federation, can meet basic food and energy needs through its own agricultural and coal resources. Its economic decline will continue unless ties are reforged or enlarged with its neighbors Serbia and Montenegro, Albania, Greece, and Bulgaria. The economy depends on outside sources for all of its oil and gas and most of its modern machinery and parts. An important supplement of GDP is the remittances from thousands of Macedonians working in Germany and other West European nations. Continued political turmoil, both internally and in the region as a whole, prevents any swift readjustments of trade patterns and economic programs. The country's industrial output and GDP are expected to decline further in 1995. The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia's geographical isolation, technological backwardness, and potential political instability place it far down the list of countries of interest to Western investors. Resolution of the dispute with Greece and an internal commitment to economic reform would encourage foreign investment over the long run. In the immediate future, the worst scenario for the economy would be the spread of fighting across its borders.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $1.9 billion (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate: -15% (1994 est.)
National product per capita: $900 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 54% (1994)
Unemployment rate: 30% (1993 est.)
Budget: revenues: $NA expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA
Exports: $1.06 billion (1993) commodities: manufactured goods 40%, machinery and transport equipment 14%, miscellaneous manufactured articles 23%, raw materials 7.6%, food (rice) and live animals 5.7%, beverages and tobacco 4.5%, chemicals 4.7% (1990) partners: principally Serbia and Montenegro and the other former Yugoslav republics, Germany, Greece, Albania
Imports: $1.2 billion (1993) commodities: fuels and lubricants 19%, manufactured goods 18%, machinery and transport equipment 15%, food and live animals 14%, chemicals 11.4%, raw materials 10%, miscellaneous manufactured articles 8.0%, beverages and tobacco 3.5% (1990) partners: other former Yugoslav republics, Greece, Albania, Germany, Bulgaria
External debt: $840 million (1992)
Industrial production: growth rate -14% (1993)
Electricity: capacity: 1,600,000 kW production: NA kWh consumption per capita: NA kWh (1993)
Industries: low levels of technology predominate, such as, oil refining by distillation only; produces basic liquid fuels, coal, metallic chromium, lead, zinc, and ferronickel; light industry produces basic textiles, wood products, and tobacco
Agriculture: meets the basic needs for food; principal crops are rice, tobacco, wheat, corn, and millet; also grown are cotton, sesame, mulberry leaves, citrus fruit, and vegetables; agricultural production is highly labor intensive
Illicit drugs: limited illicit opium cultivation; transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin
Economic aid: recipient: US $10 million (for humanitarian and technical assistance) EC promised a 100 ECU million economic aid package (1993)
Currency: the denar, which was adopted by the Macedonian legislature 26 April 1992, was initially issued in the form of a coupon pegged to the German mark; subsequently repegged to a basket of seven currencies
@Macedonia, The Former Yugoslav Republic Of:Transportation
Railroads: total: 922 km standard gauge: 922 km 1.435-m gauge (1994)
Highways: total: 10,591 km paved: 5,091 km unpaved: gravel 1,404 km; earth 4,096 km (1991)
Inland waterways: none, lake transport only
Pipelines: none
Ports: none
Airports: total: 16 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 with paved runways under 914 m: 11 with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 1 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 2
@Macedonia, The Former Yugoslav Republic Of:Communications
Telephone system: 125,000 telephones local: NA intercity: NA international: no satellite links
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 6, FM 2, shortwave 0 radios: 370,000
@Macedonia, The Former Yugoslav Republic Of:Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Police Force
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 585,403; males fit for military service 474,467; males reach military age (19) annually 19,693 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: 7 billion denars, NA% of GNP (1993 est.); note - conversion of the military budget into US dollars using the prevailing exchange rate could produce misleading results
Location: Southern Africa, island in the Indian Ocean, east of Mozambique
Map references: Africa
Area: total area: 587,040 sq km land area: 581,540 sq km comparative area: slightly less than twice the size of Arizona
Land boundaries: 0 km
Coastline: 4,828 km
Maritime claims: contiguous zone: 24 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or 100 nm from the 2,500-m isobath exclusive economic zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 12 nm
International disputes: claims Bassas da India, Europa Island, Glorioso Islands, Juan de Nova Island, and Tromelin Island (all administered by France)
Climate: tropical along coast, temperate inland, arid in south
Terrain: narrow coastal plain, high plateau and mountains in center
Natural resources: graphite, chromite, coal, bauxite, salt, quartz, tar sands, semiprecious stones, mica, fish
Land use: arable land: 4% permanent crops: 1% meadows and pastures: 58% forest and woodland: 26% other: 11%
Irrigated land: 9,000 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment: current issues: soil erosion results from deforestation and overgrazing; desertification; surface water contaminated with raw sewage and other organic wastes; several species of flora and fauna unique to the island are endangered natural hazards: periodic cyclones international agreements: party to - Endangered Species, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Law of the Sea
Note: world's fourth-largest island; strategic location along Mozambique Channel
@Madagascar:People
Population: 13,862,325 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 47% (female 3,231,647; male 3,265,715) 15-64 years: 50% (female 3,511,699; male 3,413,564) 65 years and over: 3% (female 225,205; male 214,495) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 3.18% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 44.82 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 12.99 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 86.9 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 54.45 years male: 52.47 years female: 56.48 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 6.62 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Nationality: noun: Malagasy (singular and plural) adjective: Malagasy
Ethnic divisions: Malayo-Indonesian (Merina and related Betsileo), Cotiers (mixed African, Malayo-Indonesian, and Arab ancestry - Betsimisaraka, Tsimihety, Antaisaka, Sakalava), French, Indian, Creole, Comoran
Religions: indigenous beliefs 52%, Christian 41%, Muslim 7%
Languages: French (official), Malagasy (official)
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.) total population: 80% male: 88% female: 73%
Labor force: total workers: 4.9 million workers not receiving money wages: 4.7 million (96% of total labor force); note - 4.3 million workers are in subsistence agriculture wage earners: 175,000 (3.6% of total work force) wage earners by occupation: agriculture 45,500, domestic service 29,750, industry 26,250, commerce 24,500, construction 19,250, service 15,750, transportation 10,500, other 3,500 (1985 est.)
@Madagascar:Government
Names: conventional long form: Republic of Madagascar conventional short form: Madagascar local long form: Republique de Madagascar local short form: Madagascar former: Malagasy Republic
National holiday: Independence Day, 26 June (1960)
Constitution: 19 August 1992 by national referendum
Legal system: based on French civil law system and traditional Malagasy law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Albert ZAFY (since 9 March 1993); election last held on 10 February 1993 (next to be held 1998); results - Albert ZAFY (UNDD), 67%; Didier RATSIRAKA (AREMA), 33% head of government: Prime Minister Francisque RAVONY (since 9 August 1993) cabinet: Council of Ministers; appointed by the prime minister
Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament Senate (Senat): two-thirds of upper house seats are to be filled from popularly elected regional assemblies; the remaining third is to be filled by presidential appointment; decentralization and formation of regional assemblies is not expected before 1997 National Assembly (Assemblee Nationale): elections last held on 16 June 1993 (next to be held June 1997); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (138 total) CFV coalition 76, PMDM/MFM 16, CSCD 11, Famima 10, RPSD 7, various pro-Ratsiraka groups 10, others 8
Political parties and leaders: Committee of Living Forces (CFV), an alliance of National Union for Development and Democracy (UNDD), Support Group for Democracy and Development in Madagascar (CSDDM), Action and Reflection Group for the Development of Madagascar (GRAD), Congress Party for Madagascar Independence - Renewal (AKFM-Fanavaozana), and some 12 other parties, trade unions, and religious groups; Militant Party for the Development of Madagascar (PMDM/MFM), formerly the Movement for Proletarian Power, Manandafy RAKOTONIRINA; Confederation of Civil Societies for Development (CSCD), Guy Willy RAZANAMASY; Association of United Malagasys (Famima); Rally for Social Democracy (RPSD), Pierre TSIRANANA
Other political or pressure groups: National Council of Christian Churches (FFKM); Federalist Movement
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Pierrot Jocelyn RAJAONARIVELO chancery: 2374 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 265-5525, 5526 consulate(s) general: New York
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador Dennis P. BARRETT embassy: 14-16 Rue Rainitovo, Antsahavola, Antananarivo mailing address: B. P. 620, Antananarivo telephone: [261] (2) 212-57, 200-89, 207-18 FAX: [261] (2) 345-39
Flag: two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and green with a vertical white band of the same width on hoist side
@Madagascar:Economy
Overview: Madagascar is one of the poorest countries in the world, suffering from chronic malnutrition, underfunded health and education facilities, a 3% annual population growth rate, and severe loss of forest cover, accompanied by erosion. Agriculture, including fishing and forestry, is the mainstay of the economy, accounting for over 30% of GDP and contributing more than 70% of total export earnings. Industry is largely confined to the processing of agricultural products and textile manufacturing; in 1991 it accounted for only 13% of GDP. In 1986 the government introduced a five-year development plan that stressed self-sufficiency in food (mainly rice) by 1990, increased production for exports, and reduced energy imports. Subsequently, growth in output has been held back because of protracted antigovernment strikes and demonstrations for political reform. Since 1993, corruption and political instability have caused the economy and infrastructure to decay further. Since April 1994, the government commitment to economic reforms has been erratic. Enormous obstacles stand in the way of Madagascar's realizing its considerable growth potential.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $10.6 billion (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate: 2.8% (1994 est.)
National product per capita: $790 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 35% (1994 est.)
Unemployment rate: NA%
Budget: revenues: $250 million expenditures: $265 million, including capital expenditures of $180 million (1991 est.)
Exports: $240 million (f.o.b., 1993 est.) commodities: coffee 45%, vanilla 20%, cloves 11%, shellfish, sugar, petroleum products partners: France, US, Germany, Japan, Russia
Imports: $510 million (f.o.b., 1993 est.) commodities: intermediate manufactures 30%, capital goods 28%, petroleum 15%, consumer goods 14%, food 13% partners: France, Germany, Japan, UK, Italy, Netherlands
External debt: $4.3 billion (1993 est.)
Industrial production: growth rate 3.8% (1993 est.); accounts for 13% of GDP
Electricity: capacity: 220,000 kW production: 560 million kWh consumption per capita: 40 kWh (1993)
Agriculture: accounts for 31% of GDP; cash crops - coffee, vanilla, sugarcane, cloves, cocoa; food crops - rice, cassava, beans, bananas, peanuts; cattle raising widespread; almost self-sufficient in rice
Illicit drugs: illicit producer of cannabis (cultivated and wild varieties) used mostly for domestic consumption
Economic aid: recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $136 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $3.125 billion; Communist countries (1970-89), $491 million
Railroads: total: 1,020 km narrow gauge: 1,020 km 1.000-m gauge
Highways: total: 40,000 km paved: 4,694 km unpaved: gravel, crushed stone, stabilized earth 811 km; other earth 34,495 km (est.)
Inland waterways: of local importance only; isolated streams and small portions of Canal des Pangalanes
Ports: Antsiranana, Mahajanga, Port Saint-Louis, Toamasina, Toliaria
Merchant marine: total: 10 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 20,261 GRT/28,193 DWT ships by type: cargo 5, chemical tanker 1, liquefied gas tanker 1, oil tanker 1, roll-on/roll-off cargo 2
Airports: total: 138 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 1 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 21 with paved runways under 914 m: 42 with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 5 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 64
@Madagascar:Communications
Telephone system: NA telephones; above average system local: NA intercity: open-wire lines, coaxial cables, microwave radio relay, and tropospheric scatter links international: submarine cable to Bahrain; 1 earth station for Indian Ocean INTELSAT
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 17, FM 3, shortwave 0 radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: 1 (repeaters 36) televisions: NA
@Madagascar:Defense Forces
Branches: Popular Armed Forces (includes Intervention Forces, Development Forces, Aeronaval Forces - includes Navy and Air Force), Gendarmerie, Presidential Security Regiment
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 3,027,156; males fit for military service 1,800,127; males reach military age (20) annually 130,071 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $35 million, 1.3% of GDP (1991)
Area: total area: 118,480 sq km land area: 94,080 sq km comparative area: slightly larger than Pennsylvania
Land boundaries: total 2,881 km, Mozambique 1,569 km, Tanzania 475 km, Zambia 837 km
Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims: none; landlocked
International disputes: dispute with Tanzania over the boundary in Lake Nyasa (Lake Malawi)
Climate: tropical; rainy season (November to May); dry season (May to November)
Terrain: narrow elongated plateau with rolling plains, rounded hills, some mountains
Natural resources: limestone, unexploited deposits of uranium, coal, and bauxite
Land use: arable land: 25% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 20% forest and woodland: 50% other: 5%
Irrigated land: 200 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment: current issues: deforestation; land degradation; water pollution from agricultural runoff, sewage, industrial wastes; siltation of spawning grounds endangers fish population natural hazards: NA international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection; signed, but not ratified - Law of the Sea
Note: landlocked
@Malawi:People
Population: 9,808,384 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 48% (female 2,361,309; male 2,384,679) 15-64 years: 49% (female 2,479,108; male 2,335,729) 65 years and over: 3% (female 139,632; male 107,927) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 2.63% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 49.81 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 23.53 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: NA migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.) note: the return of refugees to Mozambique is much reduced compared with 1994
Infant mortality rate: 140.2 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 39.01 years male: 38.28 years female: 39.76 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 7.36 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Constitution: 6 July 1966; republished as amended January 1974
Legal system: based on English common law and customary law; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court of Appeal; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 21 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state and head of government: President Bakili MULUZI (since 21 May 1994), leader of the United Democratic Front cabinet: Cabinet; named by the president
Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly: elections last held 17 May 1994 (next to be held 1999); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (177 total) UDF 84, AFORD 33, MCP 55, others 5
Judicial branch: High Court, Supreme Court of Appeal
Political parties and leaders: ruling party: United Democratic Front (UDF), Bakili MULUZI opposition groups: Malawi Congress Party (MCP), Gwanda CHAKUAMBA Phiri, secretary general (top party position); Alliance for Democracy (AFORD), Chakufwa CHIHANA; Socialist League of Malawi (Lesoma), Kapote MWAKUSULA, secretary general; Malawi Democratic Union (MDU), Harry BWANAUSI; Congress for the Second Republic (CSR), Kanyama CHIUME; Malawi Socialist Labor Party (MSLP), Stanford SAMBANEMANJA
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: (vacant); Charge d'Affaires ad interim Patrick NYASULU (since 14 October 1994) chancery: 2408 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 797-1007
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador Peter R. CHAVEAS embassy: address NA, in new capital city development area in Lilongwe mailing address: P. O. Box 30016, Lilongwe 3, Malawi telephone: [265] 783 166 FAX: [265] 780 471
Flag: three equal horizontal bands of black (top), red, and green with a radiant, rising, red sun centered in the black band; similar to the flag of Afghanistan, which is longer and has the national coat of arms superimposed on the hoist side of the black and red bands
@Malawi:Economy
Overview: Landlocked Malawi ranks among the world's least developed countries. The economy is predominately agricultural, with about 90% of the population living in rural areas. Agriculture accounts for 40% of GDP and 90% of export revenues. After two years of weak performance, economic growth improved significantly in 1988-91 as a result of good weather and a broadly based economic adjustment effort by the government. Drought cut overall output sharply in 1992, but the lost ground was recovered in 1993. The economy depends on substantial inflows of economic assistance from the IMF, the World Bank, and individual donor nations. The new government faces strong challenges, e.g., to spur exports, to improve educational and health facilities, and to deal with environmental problems of deforestation and erosion.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $7.3 billion (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate: 9.3% (1994 est.)
National product per capita: $750 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 30% (1994 est.)
Unemployment rate: NA%
Budget: revenues: $416 million expenditures: $498 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1992 est.)
Agriculture: accounts for 40% of GDP; cash crops - tobacco, sugarcane, cotton, tea, and corn; subsistence crops - potatoes, cassava, sorghum, pulses; livestock - cattle, goats
Economic aid: recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $215 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $2.15 billion
Railroads: total: 789 km narrow gauge: 789 km 1.067-m gauge
Highways: total: 13,135 km paved: 2,364 km unpaved: gravel, crushed stone, stabilized earth 251 km; earth, improved earth 10,520 km
Inland waterways: Lake Nyasa (Lake Malawi); Shire River, 144 km
Ports: Chipoka, Monkey Bay, Nkhata Bay, Nkotakota
Airports: total: 47 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 1 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 4 with paved runways under 914 m: 25 with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 1 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 15
@Malawi:Communications
Telephone system: 42,250 telephones local: NA intercity: fair system of open-wire lines, radio relay links, and radio communications stations international: 2 INTELSAT (1 Indian Ocean and 1 Atlantic Ocean ) earth stations
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 10, FM 17, shortwave 0 radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: 0 televisions: NA
@Malawi:Defense Forces
Branches: Army (includes Air Wing and Naval Detachment), Police (includes paramilitary Mobile Force Unit), paramilitary Malawi Young Pioneers
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 2,069,302; males fit for military service 1,056,372 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $13 million, 0.7% of GDP (FY93/94)
Location: Southeastern Asia, peninsula and northern one-third of the island of Borneo bordering the Java Sea and the South China Sea, south of Vietnam
Map references: Southeast Asia
Area: total area: 329,750 sq km land area: 328,550 sq km comparative area: slightly larger than New Mexico
Land boundaries: total 2,669 km, Brunei 381 km, Indonesia 1,782 km, Thailand 506 km
Coastline: 4,675 km (Peninsular Malaysia 2,068 km, East Malaysia 2,607 km)
Maritime claims: continental shelf: 200-m depth or to depth of exploitation; specified boundary in the South China Sea exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 12 nm
International disputes: involved in a complex dispute over the Spratly Islands with China, Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam, and possibly Brunei; State of Sabah claimed by the Philippines; Brunei may wish to purchase the Malaysian salient that divides Brunei into two parts; two islands in dispute with Singapore; two islands in dispute with Indonesia
Climate: tropical; annual southwest (April to October) and northeast (October to February) monsoons
Terrain: coastal plains rising to hills and mountains
Land use: arable land: 3% permanent crops: 10% meadows and pastures: 0% forest and woodland: 63% other: 24%
Irrigated land: 3,420 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment: current issues: air pollution from industrial and vehicular emissions; water pollution from raw sewage; deforestation natural hazards: flooding international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83; signed, but not ratified - Law of the Sea
Note: strategic location along Strait of Malacca and southern South China Sea
@Malaysia:People
Population: 19,723,587 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 37% (female 3,559,434; male 3,690,310) 15-64 years: 59% (female 5,871,131; male 5,844,568) 65 years and over: 4% (female 423,539; male 334,605) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 2.24% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 27.95 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 5.56 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 24.7 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 69.48 years male: 66.55 years female: 72.56 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 3.47 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Ethnic divisions: Malay and other indigenous 59%, Chinese 32%, Indian 9%
Religions: Peninsular Malaysia: Muslim (Malays), Buddhist (Chinese), Hindu (Indians) Sabah: Muslim 38%, Christian 17%, other 45% Sarawak: tribal religion 35%, Buddhist and Confucianist 24%, Muslim 20%, Christian 16%, other 5%
Languages: Peninsular Malaysia: Malay (official), English, Chinese dialects, Tamil Sabah: English, Malay, numerous tribal dialects, Chinese (Mandarin and Hakka dialects predominate) Sarawak: English, Malay, Mandarin, numerous tribal languages *** No data for this item ***
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.) total population: 78% male: 86% female: 70%
Labor force: 7.627 million (1993)
@Malaysia:Government
Names: conventional long form: none conventional short form: Malaysia former: Malayan Union
Digraph: MY
Type: constitutional monarchy note: Federation of Malaysia formed 9 July 1963; nominally headed by the paramount ruler (king) and a bicameral Parliament; Peninsular Malaysian states - hereditary rulers in all but Melaka, where governors are appointed by Malaysian Pulau Pinang Government; powers of state governments are limited by federal Constitution; Sabah - self-governing state, holds 20 seats in House of Representatives, with foreign affairs, defense, internal security, and other powers delegated to federal government; Sarawak - self-governing state, holds 27 seats in House of Representatives, with foreign affairs, defense, internal security, and other powers delegated to federal government
Capital: Kuala Lumpur
Administrative divisions: 13 states (negeri-negeri, singular - negeri) and 2 federal territories* (wilayah-wilayah persekutuan, singular - wilayah persekutuan); Johor, Kedah, Kelantan, Labuan*, Melaka, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, Perak, Perlis, Pulau Pinang, Sabah, Sarawak, Selangor, Terengganu, Wilayah Persekutuan*
Independence: 31 August 1957 (from UK)
National holiday: National Day, 31 August (1957)
Constitution: 31 August 1957, amended 16 September 1963
Legal system: based on English common law; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court at request of supreme head of the federation; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 21 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: Paramount Ruler JA'AFAR ibni Abdul Rahman (since 26 April 1994); Deputy Paramount Ruler SALAHUDDIN ibni Hisammuddin Alam Shah (since 26 April 1994) head of government: Prime Minister Dr. MAHATHIR bin Mohamad (since 16 July 1981); Deputy Prime Minister ANWAR bin Ibrahim (since 1 December 1993) cabinet: Cabinet; appointed by the Paramount Ruler from members of parliament
Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament (Parlimen) Senate (Dewan Negara): consists of 58 members, 32 appointed by the paramount ruler and 26 elected by the state legislatures (2 from each state) for six-year terms; elections last held NA (next to be held NA); results - NA House of Representatives (Dewan Rakyat): consists of 180 members, elected for five-year terms; elections last held 21 October 1990 (next to be held by December 1995); results - National Front 52%, other 48%; seats - (180 total) National Front 127, DAP 20, PAS 7, independents 4, other 22; note - within the National Front, UMNO won 71 seats and MCA won 18 seats
Judicial branch: Supreme Court
Political parties and leaders: Peninsular Malaysia: National Front, a confederation of 13 political parties dominated by United Malays National Organization Baru (UMNO Baru), MAHATHIR bin Mohamad; Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA), LING Liong Sik; Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia, LIM Keng Yaik; Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC), S. Samy VELLU Sabah: National Front, SALLEH Said Keruak, Sabah Chief Minister, Sakaran DANDAI, head of Sabah State; United Sabah National Organizaton (USNO), leader NA Sarawak: coalition Sarawak National Front composed of the Party Pesaka Bumiputra Bersatu (PBB), Datuk Patinggi Amar Haji Abdul TAIB Mahmud; Sarawak United People's Party (SUPP), Datuk Amar James WONG Soon Kai; Sarawak National Party (SNAP), Datuk Amar James WONG; Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak (PBDS), Datuk Leo MOGGIE; major opposition parties are Democratic Action Party (DAP), LIM Kit Siang and Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS), Fadzil NOOR
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Abdul MAJID bin Mohamed chancery: 2401 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 328-2700 FAX: [1] (202) 483-7661 consulate(s) general: Los Angeles and New York
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador John S. WOLF embassy: 376 Jalan Tun Razak, 50400 Kuala Lumpur mailing address: P. O. Box No. 10035, 50700 Kuala Lumpur; APO AP 96535-8152 telephone: [60] (3) 2489011 FAX: [60] (3) 2422207
Flag: fourteen equal horizontal stripes of red (top) alternating with white (bottom); there is a blue rectangle in the upper hoist-side corner bearing a yellow crescent and a yellow fourteen-pointed star; the crescent and the star are traditional symbols of Islam; the design was based on the flag of the US
@Malaysia:Economy
Overview: The Malaysian economy, a mixture of private enterprise and a soundly managed public sector, has posted a remarkable record of 9% average annual growth in 1988-94. The official growth target for 1995 is 8.5%. This growth has resulted in a substantial reduction in poverty and a marked rise in real wages. Manufactured goods exports expanded rapidly, and foreign investors continued to commit large sums in the economy. The government is aware of the inflationary potential of this rapid development and is closely monitoring fiscal and monetary policies.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $166.8 billion (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate: 8.7% (1994)
National product per capita: $8,650 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 3.7% (1994)
Unemployment rate: 2.9% (1994)
Budget: revenues: $18.7 billion expenditures: $19.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $4.8 billion (1994)
Exports: $56.6 billion (f.o.b., 1994) commodities: electronic equipment, petroleum and petroleum products, palm oil, wood and wood products, rubber, textiles partners: Singapore 22%, US 20%, Japan 13%, UK 4%, Germany 4%, Thailand 4% (1993)
Imports: $55.2 billion (c.i.f., 1994) commodities: machinery and equipment, chemicals, food, petroleum products partners: Japan 27%, US 17%, Singapore 15%, Taiwan 5%, Germany 4%, UK 3%, South Korea 3% (1993)
External debt: $35.5 billion (1994 est.)
Industrial production: growth rate 12% (1994); accounts for 38% of GDP (1993 est.)
Industries: Peninsular Malaysia: rubber and oil palm processing and manufacturing, light manufacturing industry, electronics, tin mining and smelting, logging and processing timber Sabah: logging, petroleum production Sarawak: agriculture processing, petroleum production and refining, logging
Agriculture: accounts for 16% of GDP (1993 est.) Peninsular Malaysia: natural rubber, palm oil, rice Sabah: mainly subsistence, but also rubber, timber, coconut, rice Sarawak: rubber, timber, pepper; deficit of rice in all areas
Illicit drugs: transit point for Golden Triangle heroin going to the US, Western Europe, and the Third World despite severe penalties for drug trafficking; increasing indigenous abuse of methamphetamine
Economic aid: recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-84), $170 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $4.7 million; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $42 million
Railroads: total: 1,801 km (Peninsular Malaysia 1,665 km; Sabah 136 km; Sarawak 0 km) narrow gauge: 1,801 km 1.000-m gauge (Peninsular Malaysia 1,665 km; Sabah 136 km)
Highways: total: 29,028 km (Peninsular Malaysia 23,602 km, Sabah 3,782 km, Sarawak 1,644 km) paved: NA (Peninsular Malaysia 19,354 km mostly bituminous treated) unpaved: NA (Peninsular Malaysia 4,248 km)
Inland waterways: Peninsular Malaysia: 3,209 km Sabah: 1,569 km Sarawak: 2,518 km
Pipelines: crude oil 1,307 km; natural gas 379 km
Ports: Kota Kinabalu, Kuantan, Kuching, Kudat, Lahad Datu, Labuan, Lumut, Miri, Pasir Gudang, Penang, Port Dickson, Port Kelang, Sandakan, Sibu, Tanjong Berhala, Tanjong Kidurong, Tawau
Airports: total: 115 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 3 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 5 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 11 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 6 with paved runways under 914 m: 82 with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 1 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 7
@Malaysia:Communications
Telephone system: 994,860 telephones (1984); international service good local: NA intercity: good intercity service provided on Peninsular Malaysia mainly by microwave radio relay; adequate intercity microwave radio relay network between Sabah and Sarawak via Brunei; 2 domestic satellite links international: submarine cables extend to India and Sarawak; SEACOM submarine cable links to Hong Kong and Singapore; satellite earth stations - 2 INTELSAT (1 Indian Ocean and 1 Pacific Ocean)
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 28, FM 3, shortwave 0 radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: 33 televisions: NA
@Malaysia:Defense Forces
Branches: Malaysian Army, Royal Malaysian Navy, Royal Malaysian Air Force, Royal Malaysian Police Force, Marine Police, Sarawak Border Scouts
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 5,041,003; males fit for military service 3,058,445; males reach military age (21) annually 183,760 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $2.1 billion, 2.9% of GDP (1994)
Location: Southern Asia, group of atolls in the Indian Ocean, south-southwest of India
Map references: Asia
Area: total area: 300 sq km land area: 300 sq km comparative area: slightly more than 1.5 times the size of Washington, DC
Land boundaries: 0 km
Coastline: 644 km
Maritime claims: exclusive economic zone: 35-310 nm as defined by geographic coordinates; segment of zone coincides with maritime boundary with India territorial sea: 12 nm
International disputes: none
Climate: tropical; hot, humid; dry, northeast monsoon (November to March); rainy, southwest monsoon (June to August)
Terrain: flat with elevations only as high as 2.5 meters
Natural resources: fish
Land use: arable land: 10% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 3% forest and woodland: 3% other: 84%
Irrigated land: NA sq km
Environment: current issues: depletion of freshwater aquifers threatens water supplies natural hazards: low level of islands makes them very sensitive to sea level rise international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection; signed, but not ratified - Law of the Sea
Note: 1,190 coral islands grouped into 26 atolls; archipelago of strategic location astride and along major sea lanes in Indian Ocean
@Maldives:People
Population: 261,310 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 47% (female 60,038; male 63,042) 15-64 years: 50% (female 63,526; male 67,020) 65 years and over: 3% (female 3,537; male 4,147) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 3.58% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 42.8 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 7 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 50 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 65.49 years male: 63.99 years female: 67.07 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 6.17 children born/woman (1995 est.)
National holiday: Independence Day, 26 July (1965)
Constitution: 4 June 1968
Legal system: based on Islamic law with admixtures of English common law primarily in commercial matters; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 21 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state and head of government: President Maumoon Abdul GAYOOM (since 11 November 1978); election last held 1 October 1993 (next to be held 1998); results - President Maumoon Abdul GAYOOM was reelected with 92.76% of the vote cabinet: Ministry of Atolls; appointed by the president
Legislative branch: unicameral Citizens' Council (Majlis): elections last held 2 December 1994 (next to be held NA December 1999); results - percent of vote NA; seats - (48 total, 40 elected, 8 appointed by the president) independents 40
Judicial branch: High Court
Political parties and leaders: although political parties are not banned, none exist; country governed by the Didi clan for the past eight centuries
Diplomatic representation in US: Maldives has no embassy in the US, but does have a UN mission in New York; Permanent Representative to the UN Ahmed ZAKI
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: the US Ambassador to Sri Lanka is accredited to Maldives and makes periodic visits there consular agency: Midhath Hilmy, Male telephone: 322581
Flag: red with a large green rectangle in the center bearing a vertical white crescent; the closed side of the crescent is on the hoist side of the flag
@Maldives:Economy
Overview: Fishing is the largest industry, employing 25% of the work force and accounting for over 60% of exports. Over 90% of government tax revenue comes from import duties and tourism-related taxes. During the 1980s tourism became one of the most important and highest growth sectors of the economy. In 1993, tourism accounted for 17% of GDP and more than 60% of the Maldives' foreign exchange receipts. The Maldivian government initiated an economic reform program in 1989 initially by lifting import quotas and opening some exports to the private sector. Subsequently, it has liberalized regulations to allow more foreign investment. Agriculture and manufacturing continue to play a minor role in the economy, constrained by the limited availability of cultivatable land and the shortage of domestic labor. Most staple foods must be imported. In 1993, industry which consisted mainly of garment production, boat building, and handicrafts accounted for about 6% of GDP.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $360 million (1993 est.)
National product real growth rate: 5.4% (1993 est.)
National product per capita: $1,500 (1993 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 20% (1993)
Unemployment rate: NEGL%
Budget: revenues: $95 million (excluding foreign transfers) expenditures: $143 million, including capital expenditures of $71 million (1993 est.)
Exports: $38.5 million (f.o.b., 1993 est.) commodities: fish, clothing partners: US, UK, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Germany
Imports: $177.8 million (c.i.f., 1993) commodities: consumer goods, intermediate and capital goods, petroleum products partners: Singapore, Germany, Sri Lanka, India, Japan
External debt: $130 million (1993 est.)
Industrial production: growth rate 24% (1990); accounts for 6% of GDP
Electricity: capacity: 5,000 kW production: 30 million kWh consumption per capita: 123 kWh (1993)
Industries: fishing and fish processing, tourism, shipping, boat building, some coconut processing, garments, woven mats, coir (rope), handicrafts
Economic aid: recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $28 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $125 million; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $14 million
Airports: total: 2 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 1 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
@Maldives:Communications
Telephone system: 2,804 telephones; minimal domestic and international facilities local: NA intercity: NA international: 1 INTELSAT (Indian Ocean) earth station
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 2, FM 1, shortwave 0 radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: 1 televisions: NA
@Maldives:Defense Forces
Branches: National Security Service (paramilitary police force)
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 57,172; males fit for military service 31,911 (1995 est.)
Area: total area: 1.24 million sq km land area: 1.22 million sq km comparative area: slightly less than twice the size of Texas
Land boundaries: total 7,243 km, Algeria 1,376 km, Burkina 1,000 km, Guinea 858 km, Cote d'Ivoire 532 km, Mauritania 2,237 km, Niger 821 km, Senegal 419 km
Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims: none; landlocked
International disputes: the disputed international boundary between Burkina and Mali was submitted to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in October 1983 and the ICJ issued its final ruling in December 1986, which both sides agreed to accept; Burkina and Mali are proceeding with boundary demarcation, including the tripoint with Niger
Climate: subtropical to arid; hot and dry February to June; rainy, humid, and mild June to November; cool and dry November to February
Terrain: mostly flat to rolling northern plains covered by sand; savanna in south, rugged hills in northeast
Natural resources: gold, phosphates, kaolin, salt, limestone, uranium, bauxite, iron ore, manganese, tin, and copper deposits are known but not exploited
Land use: arable land: 2% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 25% forest and woodland: 7% other: 66%
Irrigated land: 50 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment: current issues: deforestation; soil erosion; desertification; inadequate supplies of potable water; poaching natural hazards: hot, dust-laden harmattan haze common during dry seasons; recurring droughts international agreements: party to - Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Nuclear Test Ban
Note: landlocked
@Mali:People
Population: 9,375,132 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 48% (female 2,240,565; male 2,242,373) 15-64 years: 49% (female 2,416,952; male 2,165,043) 65 years and over: 3% (female 162,234; male 147,965) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 2.89% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 51.88 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 19.93 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: -3 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 104.5 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 46.37 years male: 44.7 years female: 48.09 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 7.33 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Nationality: noun: Malian(s) adjective: Malian
Ethnic divisions: Mande 50% (Bambara, Malinke, Sarakole), Peul 17%, Voltaic 12%, Songhai 6%, Tuareg and Moor 10%, other 5%
Religions: Muslim 90%, indigenous beliefs 9%, Christian 1%
Languages: French (official), Bambara 80%, numerous African languages
Literacy: age 6 and over can read and write (1988) total population: 19% male: 27% female: 12%
Labor force: 2.666 million (1986 est.) by occupation: agriculture 80%, services 19%, industry and commerce 1% (1981)
@Mali:Government
Names: conventional long form: Republic of Mali conventional short form: Mali local long form: Republique de Mali local short form: Mali former: French Sudan
National holiday: Anniversary of the Proclamation of the Republic, 22 September (1960)
Constitution: adopted 12 January 1992
Legal system: based on French civil law system and customary law; judicial review of legislative acts in Constitutional Court (which was formally established on 9 March 1994); has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 21 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Alpha Oumar KONARE (since 8 June 1992); election last held in April 1992 (next to be held April 1997); Alpha KONARE was elected in runoff race against Montaga TALL head of government: Prime Minister Ibrahima Boubacar KEITA (since March 1994) cabinet: Council of Ministers; appointed by the prime minister
Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly: elections last held on 8 March 1992 (next to be held February 1997); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (116 total) Adema 76, CNID 9, US/RAD 8, Popular Movement for the Development of the Republic of West Africa 6, RDP 4, UDD 4, RDT 3, UFDP 3, PDP 2, UMDD 1
Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Cour Supreme)
Political parties and leaders: Association for Democracy (Adema), Ibrahim Baubacar KEITA; National Congress for Democratic Initiative (CNID), Mountaga TALL; Sudanese Union/African Democratic Rally (US/RDA), Mamadou Madeira KEITA; Popular Movement for the Development of the Republic of West Africa; Rally for Democracy and Progress (RDP), Almamy SYLLA; Union for Democracy and Development (UDD), Moussa Balla COULIBALY; Rally for Democracy and Labor (RDT); Union of Democratic Forces for Progress (UFDP), Dembo DIALLO; Party for Democracy and Progress (PDP), Idrissa TRAORE; Malian Union for Democracy and Development (UMDD)
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Ibrahim Siragatou CISSE chancery: 2130 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 332-2249, 939-8950
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: (vacant) (Ambassador William H. DAMERON III retired March 1995) embassy: Rue Rochester NY and Rue Mohamed V, Bamako mailing address: B. P. 34, Bamako telephone: [223] 22 54 70 FAX: [223] 22 37 12
Flag: three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), yellow, and red; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia
@Mali:Economy
Overview: Mali is among the poorest countries in the world, with 65% of its land area desert or semidesert. Economic activity is largely confined to the riverine area irrigated by the Niger. About 10% of the population is nomadic and some 80% of the labor force is engaged in agriculture and fishing. Industrial activity is concentrated on processing farm commodities. The economy is beginning to turn around after contracting through 1992-93, largely because of enhanced exports and import substitute production in the wake of the 50% devaluation of January 1994. Post-devaluation inflation appears to have peaked at 35% in 1994 and the government appears to be keeping on track with its IMF structural adjustment program.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $5.4 billion (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate: 2.4% (1994 est.)
National product per capita: $600 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 35% (1994 est.)
Unemployment rate: NA%
Budget: revenues: $376 million expenditures: $697 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1992 est.)
Exports: $415 million (f.o.b., 1993) commodities: cotton, livestock, gold partners: mostly franc zone and Western Europe
Imports: $842 million (f.o.b., 1993) commodities: machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, construction materials, petroleum, textiles partners: mostly franc zone and Western Europe
External debt: $2.6 billion (1991 est.)
Industrial production: growth rate -1.4% (1992 est.); accounts for 13.0% of GDP
Electricity: capacity: 90,000 kW production: 310 million kWh consumption per capita: 33 kWh (1993)
Industries: minor local consumer goods production and food processing, construction, phosphate and gold mining
Agriculture: accounts for 50% of GDP; mostly subsistence farming; cotton and livestock products account for over 70% of exports; other crops - millet, rice, corn, vegetables, peanuts; livestock - cattle, sheep, goats
Economic aid: recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $349 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $3.02 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $92 million; Communist countries (1970-89), $190 million
Currency: 1 CFA franc (CFAF) = 100 centimes
Exchange rates: Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (CFAF) per US$1 - 529.43 (January 1995), 555.20 (1994), 283.16 (1993), 264.69 (1992), 282.11 (1991), 272.26 (1990) note: beginning 12 January 1994, the CFA franc was devalued to CFAF 100 per French franc from CFAF 50 at which it had been fixed since 1948
Fiscal year: calendar year
@Mali:Transportation
Railroads: total: 642 km; note - linked to Senegal's rail system through Kayes narrow gauge: 642 km 1.000-m gauge
Highways: total: 15,700 km paved: 1,670 km unpaved: gravel, improved earth 3,670 km; unimproved earth 10,360 km
Inland waterways: 1,815 km navigable
Ports: Koulikoro
Airports: total: 33 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 4 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 2 with paved runways under 914 m: 10 with unpaved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 3 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 12
@Mali:Communications
Telephone system: 11,000 telephones; domestic system poor but improving; provides only minimal service local: NA intercity: microwave radio relay, wire, and radio communications stations; expansion of microwave radio relay in progress international: 2 INTELSAT (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) earth stations
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 2, FM 2, shortwave 0 radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: 2 televisions: NA
@Mali:Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Air Force, Gendarmerie, Republican Guard, National Guard, National Police (Surete Nationale)
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 1,861,977; males fit for military service 1,062,916 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $66 million, 2.2% of GDP (1994)
Location: Southern Europe, islands in the Mediterranean Sea, south of Sicily (Italy)
Map references: Europe
Area: total area: 320 sq km land area: 320 sq km comparative area: slightly less than twice the size of Washington, DC
Land boundaries: 0 km
Coastline: 140 km
Maritime claims: contiguous zone: 24 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation exclusive fishing zone: 25 nm territorial sea: 12 nm
International disputes: Malta and Tunisia are discussing the commercial exploitation of the continental shelf between their countries, particularly for oil exploration
Climate: Mediterranean with mild, rainy winters and hot, dry summers
Terrain: mostly low, rocky, flat to dissected plains; many coastal cliffs
Natural resources: limestone, salt
Land use: arable land: 38% permanent crops: 3% meadows and pastures: 0% forest and woodland: 0% other: 59%
Irrigated land: 10 sq km (1989)
Environment: current issues: very limited natural fresh water resources; increasing reliance on desalination natural hazards: NA international agreements: party to - Climate Change, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Desertification
Note: the country comprises an archipelago, with only the 3 largest islands (Malta, Gozo, and Comino) being inhabited; numerous bays provide good harbors
@Malta:People
Population: 369,609 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 22% (female 39,199; male 41,581) 15-64 years: 67% (female 123,665; male 124,167) 65 years and over: 11% (female 23,597; male 17,400) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.75% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 13.22 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 7.43 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 1.7 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 7.7 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 77.02 years male: 74.75 years female: 79.48 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.92 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Nationality: noun: Maltese (singular and plural) adjective: Maltese
Ethnic divisions: Arab, Sicilian, Norman, Spanish, Italian, English
Religions: Roman Catholic 98%
Languages: Maltese (official), English (official)
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1985) total population: 84% male: 86% female: 82%
Labor force: 127,200 by occupation: government (excluding job corps) 37%, services 26%, manufacturing 22%, training programs 9%, construction 4%, agriculture 2% (1990)
@Malta:Government
Names: conventional long form: Republic of Malta conventional short form: Malta
Digraph: MT
Type: parliamentary democracy
Capital: Valletta
Administrative divisions: none (administration directly from Valletta)
Independence: 21 September 1964 (from UK)
National holiday: Independence Day, 21 September (1964)
Constitution: 1964 constitution substantially amended on 13 December 1974
Legal system: based on English common law and Roman civil law; has accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Ugo MIFSUD BONNICI (since 4 April 1994) head of government: Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Dr. Edward (Eddie) FENECH ADAMI (since 12 May 1987); Deputy Prime Minister Dr. Guido DE MARCO (since 14 May 1987) cabinet: Cabinet; appointed by the president on advice of the prime minister
Legislative branch: unicameral House of Representatives: elections last held 22 February 1992 (next to be held by February 1997); results - NP 51.8%, MLP 46.5%; seats - (usually 65 total) MLP 36, NP 29; note - additional seats are given to the party with the largest popular vote to ensure a legislative majority; current total: 69 (MLP 33, NP 36 after adjustment)
Judicial branch: Constitutional Court, Court of Appeal
Political parties and leaders: Nationalist Party (NP), Edward FENECH ADAMI; Malta Labor Party (MLP), Alfred SANT
Member of: C, CCC, CE, EBRD, ECE, FAO, G-77, GATT, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IFAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT (nonsignatory user), INTERPOL, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Albert Borg Olivier DE PUGET chancery: 2017 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 462-3611, 3612 FAX: [1] (202) 387-5470 consulate(s): New York
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador Joseph R. PAOLINO, Jr. embassy: 2nd Floor, Development House, Saint Anne Street, Floriana, Malta mailing address: P. O. Box 535, Valletta telephone: [356] 235960 FAX: [356] 243229
Flag: two equal vertical bands of white (hoist side) and red; in the upper hoist-side corner is a representation of the George Cross, edged in red
@Malta:Economy
Overview: Significant resources are limestone, a favorable geographic location, and a productive labor force. Malta produces only about 20% of its food needs, has limited freshwater supplies, and has no domestic energy sources. Consequently, the economy is highly dependent on foreign trade and services. Manufacturing and tourism are the largest contributors to the economy. Manufacturing accounts for about 24% of GDP, with the electronics and textile industries major contributors and with the state-owned Malta drydocks employing about 4,300 people. In 1994, over 1,000,000 tourists visited the island. Per capita GDP of $10,760 places Malta in the range of the less affluent EU countries.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $3.9 billion (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate: 4.4% (1994 est.)
National product per capita: $10,760 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 5% (1994 est.)
Unemployment rate: 4.5% (March 1994)
Budget: revenues: $1.4 billion expenditures: $1.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $215 million (FY94/95 est.)
Exports: $1.3 billion (f.o.b., 1993) commodities: machinery and transport equipment, clothing and footware, printed matter partners: Italy 32%, Germany 16%, UK 8%
Imports: $2.1 billion (c.i.f., 1993) commodities: food, petroleum, machinery and semimanufactured goods partners: Italy 27%, Germany 14%, UK 13%, US 9%
External debt: $603 million (1992)
Industrial production: growth rate 5.4% (1992); accounts for 27% of GDP
Agriculture: accounts for 3% of GDP and 2% of the work force (1992); overall, 20% self-sufficient; main products - potatoes, cauliflower, grapes, wheat, barley, tomatoes, citrus, cut flowers, green peppers, hogs, poultry, eggs; generally adequate supplies of vegetables, poultry, milk, pork products; seasonal or periodic shortages in grain, animal fodder, fruits, other basic foodstuffs
Illicit drugs: transshipment point for hashish from North Africa to Western Europe
Economic aid: recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-81), $172 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $336 million; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $76 million; Communist countries (1970-88), $48 million
Highways: total: 1,291 km paved: asphalt 1,179 km unpaved: gravel, crushed stone 77 km; earth 35 km
Ports: Marsaxlokk, Valletta
Merchant marine: total: 964 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 15,518,359 GRT/26,604,739 DWT ships by type: barge carrier 3, bulk 272, cargo 300, chemical tanker 30, combination bulk 26, combination ore/oil 16, container 33, liquefied gas tanker 3, multifunction large-load carrier 3, oil tanker 191, passenger 7, passenger-cargo 3, railcar carrier 1, refrigerated cargo 14, roll-on/roll-off cargo 26, short-sea passenger 20, specialized tanker 5, vehicle carrier 11 note: a flag of convenience registry; includes 49 countries; the 10 major fleet flags are: Greece 351 ships, Russia 66, Croatia 63, Switzerland 31, Montenegro 29, Italy 27, Germany 23, Monaco 20, UK 20, and Georgia 10
Airports: total: 1 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 1
@Malta:Communications
Telephone system: 153,000 telephones; automatic system satisfies normal requirements local: NA intercity: submarine cable and microwave radio relay between islands international: 1 submarine cable and 1 INTELSAT (Atlantic Ocean) earth station
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 8, FM 4, shortwave 0 radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: 2 televisions: NA
@Malta:Defense Forces
Branches: Armed Forces, Maltese Police Force
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 98,525; males fit for military service 78,305 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $21.4 million, about 0.9% of GDP (FY92/93)
Climate: cool summers and mild winters; humid; overcast about half the time
Terrain: hills in north and south bisected by central valley
Natural resources: lead, iron ore
Land use: arable land: NA% permanent crops: NA% meadows and pastures: NA% forest and woodland: NA% other: NA% (extensive arable land and forests)
Irrigated land: NA sq km
Environment: current issues: NA natural hazards: NA international agreements: NA
Note: one small islet, the Calf of Man, lies to the southwest, and is a bird sanctuary
@Man, Isle Of:People
Population: 72,751 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 18% (female 6,462; male 6,833) 15-64 years: 64% (female 23,219; male 23,348) 65 years and over: 18% (female 7,759; male 5,130) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.99% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 13.73 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 12.36 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 8.55 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 8 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 76.53 years male: 73.78 years female: 79.48 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.8 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Executive branch: chief of state: Lord of Mann Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Lieutenant Governor Air Marshal Sir Laurence JONES (since NA 1990) head of government: President of the Legislative Council Sir Charles KERRUISH (since NA 1990) cabinet: Council of Ministers
Legislative branch: bicameral Tynwald Legislative Council: consists of a 10-member body composed of the Lord Bishop of Sodor and Man, a nonvoting attorney general, and 8 others named by the House of Keys House of Keys: elections last held NA 1991 (next to be held NA 1996); results - percent of vote NA; seats - (24 total) independents 24
Judicial branch: Court of Tynwald
Political parties and leaders: there is no party system and members sit as independents
Member of: none
Diplomatic representation in US: none (British crown dependency)
US diplomatic representation: none (British crown dependency)
Flag: red with the Three Legs of Man emblem (Trinacria), in the center; the three legs are joined at the thigh and bent at the knee; in order to have the toes pointing clockwise on both sides of the flag, a two-sided emblem is used
@Man, Isle Of:Economy
Overview: Offshore banking, manufacturing, and tourism are key sectors of the economy. The government's policy of offering incentives to high-technology companies and financial institutions to locate on the island has paid off in expanding employment opportunities in high-income industries. As a result, agriculture and fishing, once the mainstays of the economy, have declined in their shares of GDP. Banking now contributes about 45% to GDP. Trade is mostly with the UK. The Isle of Man enjoys free access to European Union markets.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $780 million (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate: NA%
National product per capita: $10,800 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 7% (1992 est.)
Unemployment rate: 1% (1992 est.)
Budget: revenues: $130.4 million expenditures: $114.4 million, including capital expenditures of $18.1 million (1985 est.)
Agriculture: cereals and vegetables; cattle, sheep, pigs, poultry
Economic aid: $NA
Currency: 1 Manx pound (#M) = 100 pence
Exchange rates: Manx pounds (#M) per US$1 - 0.6350 (January 1995), 0.6529 (1994), 0.6658 (1993), 0.5664 (1992), 0.5652 (1991), 0.5603 (1990); the Manx pound is at par with the British pound
Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March
@Man, Isle Of:Transportation
Railroads: total: 60 km (36 km electrified)
Highways: total: 640 km paved: NA unpaved: NA
Ports: Castletown, Douglas, Peel, Ramsey
Merchant marine: total: 68 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,810,355 GRT/3,183,773 DWT ships by type: bulk 11, cargo 10, chemical tanker 4, container 9, liquefied gas tanker 8, oil tanker 15, roll-on/roll-off cargo 9, vehicle carrier 2 note: a flag of convenience registry; UK owns 9 ships, Switzerland 2, Denmark 1, Netherlands 1
Airports: total: 1 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
@Man, Isle Of:Communications
Telephone system: 24,435 telephones local: NA intercity: NA international: NA
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 1, FM 4, shortwave 0 radios: NA
Location: Oceania, group of atolls and reefs in the North Pacific Ocean, about one-half of the way from Hawaii to Papua New Guinea
Map references: Oceania
Area: total area: 181.3 sq km land area: 181.3 sq km comparative area: slightly larger than Washington, DC note: includes the atolls of Bikini, Eniwetak, and Kwajalein
International disputes: claims US territory of Wake Island
Climate: wet season May to November; hot and humid; islands border typhoon belt
Terrain: low coral limestone and sand islands
Natural resources: phosphate deposits, marine products, deep seabed minerals
Land use: arable land: 0% permanent crops: 60% meadows and pastures: 0% forest and woodland: 0% other: 40%
Irrigated land: NA sq km
Environment: current issues: inadequate supplies of potable water natural hazards: occasional typhoons international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution
Note: two archipelagic island chains of 30 atolls and 1,152 islands; Bikini and Eniwetak are former US nuclear test sites; Kwajalein, the famous World War II battleground, is now used as a US missile test range
@Marshall Islands:People
Population: 56,157 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 51% (female 13,950; male 14,547) 15-64 years: 47% (female 12,801; male 13,470) 65 years and over: 2% (female 740; male 649) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 3.86% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 46.03 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 7.48 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 48 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 63.49 years male: 61.94 years female: 65.11 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 6.89 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Nationality: noun: Marshallese (singular and plural) adjective: Marshallese
Ethnic divisions: Micronesian
Religions: Christian (mostly Protestant)
Languages: English (universally spoken and is the official language), two major Marshallese dialects from the Malayo-Polynesian family, Japanese
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1980) total population: 93% male: 100% female: 88%
Labor force: 4,800 (1986) by occupation: NA
@Marshall Islands:Government
Names: conventional long form: Republic of the Marshall Islands conventional short form: Marshall Islands former: Marshall Islands District (Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands)
Digraph: RM
Type: constitutional government in free association with the US; the Compact of Free Association entered into force 21 October 1986
Capital: Majuro
Administrative divisions: none
Independence: 21 October 1986 (from the US-administered UN trusteeship)
National holiday: Proclamation of the Republic of the Marshall Islands, 1 May (1979)
Constitution: 1 May 1979
Legal system: based on adapted Trust Territory laws, acts of the legislature, municipal, common, and customary laws
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state and head of government: President Amata KABUA (since 1979); election last held 6 January 1992 (next to be held NA); results - President Amata KABUA was reelected cabinet: Cabinet; president selects from the parliament
Legislative branch: unicameral Parliament (Nitijela): elections last held 18 November 1991 (next to be held November 1995); results - percent of vote NA; seats - (33 total) independents 33
Judicial branch: Supreme Court
Political parties and leaders: no formal parties; President KABUA is chief political (and traditional) leader
Member of: AsDB, ESCAP, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFC, IMF, INTELSAT (nonsignatory user), INTERPOL, SPARTECA, SPC, SPF, UN, UNCTAD, WHO
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Wilfred I. KENDALL chancery: 2433 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 234-5414 FAX: [1] (202) 232-3236 consulate(s) general: Honolulu and Los Angeles
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador David C. FIELDS embassy: address NA, Majuro mailing address: P. O. Box 1379, Majuro, Republic of the Marshall Islands 96960-1379 telephone: [692] 247-4011 FAX: [692] 247-4012
Flag: blue with two stripes radiating from the lower hoist-side corner - orange (top) and white; there is a white star with four large rays and 20 small rays on the hoist side above the two stripes
@Marshall Islands:Economy
Overview: Agriculture and tourism are the mainstays of the economy. Agricultural production is concentrated on small farms, and the most important commercial crops are coconuts, tomatoes, melons, and breadfruit. A few cattle ranches supply the domestic meat market. Small-scale industry is limited to handicrafts, fish processing, and copra. The tourist industry is the primary source of foreign exchange and employs about 10% of the labor force. The islands have few natural resources, and imports far exceed exports. The US Government provides about 70% of the budget.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $75 million (1992 est.)
National product real growth rate: 6% (1992)
National product per capita: $1,500 (1992 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 7% (1992 est.)
Unemployment rate: 16% (1991 est.)
Budget: revenues: $106 million expenditures: $128.7 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1993)
Exports: $3.9 million (f.o.b., 1992 est.) commodities: coconut oil, fish, live animals, trichus shells partners: US, Japan, Australia
Imports: $62.9 million (c.i.f., 1992 est.) commodities: foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, beverages and tobacco, fuels partners: US, Japan, Australia
External debt: $NA
Industrial production: growth rate NA%
Electricity: capacity: 42,000 kW production: 80 million kWh consumption per capita: 1,840 kWh (1990)
Industries: copra, fish, tourism; craft items from shell, wood, and pearls; offshore banking (embryonic)
Airports: total: 16 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 1 with paved runways under 914 m: 5 with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 1 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 6
@Marshall Islands:Communications
Telephone system: 570 telephones (Majuro) and 186 telephones (Ebeye); telex services local: NA intercity: islands interconnected by shortwave radio (used mostly for government purposes) international: 2 INTELSAT (Pacific Ocean) earth stations; US Government satellite communications system on Kwajalein
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 radios: NA
Climate: tropical; moderated by trade winds; rainy season (June to October)
Terrain: mountainous with indented coastline; dormant volcano
Natural resources: coastal scenery and beaches, cultivable land
Land use: arable land: 10% permanent crops: 8% meadows and pastures: 30% forest and woodland: 26% other: 26%
Irrigated land: 60 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment: current issues: NA natural hazards: hurricanes, flooding, and volcanic activity (an average of one major natural disaster every five years) international agreements: NA
@Martinique:People
Population: 394,787 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 23% (female 44,960; male 46,512) 15-64 years: 67% (female 134,439; male 130,642) 65 years and over: 10% (female 22,058; male 16,176) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.1% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 16.92 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 5.82 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: -0.1 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 7.3 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 78.67 years male: 75.94 years female: 81.53 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.81 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Nationality: noun: Martiniquais (singular and plural) adjective: Martiniquais
Ethnic divisions: African and African-Caucasian-Indian mixture 90%, Caucasian 5%, East Indian, Lebanese, Chinese less than 5%
Religions: Roman Catholic 95%, Hindu and pagan African 5%
Languages: French, Creole patois
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1982) total population: 93% male: 92% female: 93%
Labor force: 100,000 by occupation: service industry 31.7%, construction and public works 29.4%, agriculture 13.1%, industry 7.3%, fisheries 2.2%, other 16.3%
@Martinique:Government
Names: conventional long form: Department of Martinique conventional short form: Martinique local long form: Departement de la Martinique local short form: Martinique
Digraph: MB
Type: overseas department of France
Capital: Fort-de-France
Administrative divisions: none (overseas department of France)
Independence: none (overseas department of France)
National holiday: National Day, Taking of the Bastille, 14 July (1789)
Constitution: 28 September 1958 (French Constitution)
Legal system: French legal system
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Francois MITTERRAND (since 21 May 1981) head of government: Prefect Michel MORIN (since NA); President of the General Council Claude LISE (since 22 March 1992); President of the Regional Council Emile CAPGRAS (since 22 March 1992) cabinet: Council of Ministers
Legislative branch: unicameral General Council and a unicameral Regional Assembly General Council: elections last held 25 September and 8 October 1988 (next to be held NA); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (44 total) number of seats by party NA; note - a leftist coalition obtained a one-seat margin Regional Assembly: elections last held on 22 March 1992 (next to be held by March 1998); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (41 total) RPR-UDF 16, MIM 9, PPM 9, PCM 5, independents 2 French Senate: elections last held 24 September 1989 (next to be held NA); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (2 total) UDF 1, PPM 1 French National Assembly: elections last held NA June 1993 (next to be held NA June 1998); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (4 total) RPR 3, FSM 1
Judicial branch: Supreme Court
Political parties and leaders: Rally for the Republic (RPR), Stephen BAGOE; Union for a Martinique of Progress (UMP); Martinique Progressive Party (PPM), Aime CESAIRE; Socialist Federation of Martinique (FSM), Michel YOYO; Martinique Communist Party (PCM); Martinique Patriots (PM); Union for French Democracy (UDF), Jean MARAN; Martinique Independence Movement (MIM), Alfred MARIE-JEANNE; Republican Party (PR), Jean BAILLY
Other political or pressure groups: Proletarian Action Group (GAP); Alhed Marie-Jeanne Socialist Revolution Group (GRS); Caribbean Revolutionary Alliance (ARC); Central Union for Martinique Workers (CSTM), Marc PULVAR; Frantz Fanon Circle; League of Workers and Peasants; Parti Martiniquais Socialiste (PMS); Association for the Protection of Martinique's Heritage (ecologist)
Member of: FZ, WCL, WFTU
Diplomatic representation in US: none (overseas department of France)
US diplomatic representation: the post closed in August 1993 (overseas department of France)
Flag: the flag of France is used
@Martinique:Economy
Overview: The economy is based on sugarcane, bananas, tourism, and light industry. Agriculture accounts for about 10% of GDP and the small industrial sector for 10%. Sugar production has declined, with most of the sugarcane now used for the production of rum. Banana exports are increasing, going mostly to France. The bulk of meat, vegetable, and grain requirements must be imported, contributing to a chronic trade deficit that requires large annual transfers of aid from France. Tourism has become more important than agricultural exports as a source of foreign exchange. The majority of the work force is employed in the service sector and in administration. Banana workers launched protests late in 1992 because of falling banana prices and fears of greater competition in the European market from other producers.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $3.9 billion (1993 est.)
National product real growth rate: NA%
National product per capita: $10,000 (1993 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 3.9% (1990)
Unemployment rate: 32.1% (1990)
Budget: revenues: $610 million expenditures: $1.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1991)
Exports: $247 million (f.o.b., 1992) commodities: refined petroleum products, bananas, rum, pineapples partners: France 57%, Guadeloupe 31%, French Guiana (1991)
Imports: $1.75 billion (c.i.f., 1992) commodities: petroleum products, crude oil, foodstuffs, construction materials, vehicles, clothing and other consumer goods partners: France 62%, UK, Italy, Germany, Japan, US (1991)
External debt: $NA
Industrial production: growth rate NA%
Electricity: capacity: 113,100 kW production: 700 million kWh consumption per capita: 1,677 kWh (1993)
Agriculture: including fishing and forestry, accounts for about 10% of GDP; principal crops - pineapples, avocados, bananas, flowers, vegetables, sugarcane for rum; dependent on imported food, particularly meat and vegetables
Illicit drugs: transshipment point for cocaine and marijuana bound for the US and Europe
Economic aid: recipient: Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $10.1 billion
Highways: total: 1,680 km paved: 1,300 km unpaved: gravel, earth 380 km
Ports: Fort-de-France, La Trinite
Merchant marine: none
Airports: total: 2 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 1 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 1
@Martinique:Communications
Telephone system: 68,900 telephones; domestic facilities are adequate local: NA intercity: NA international: interisland microwave radio relay links to Guadeloupe, Dominica, and Saint Lucia; 2 INTELSAT (Atlantic Ocean) earth stations
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 1, FM 6, shortwave 0 radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: 10 televisions: NA
@Martinique:Defense Forces
Branches: French forces (Army, Navy, Air Force), Gendarmerie
Location: Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Senegal and Western Sahara
Map references: Africa
Area: total area: 1,030,700 sq km land area: 1,030,400 sq km comparative area: slightly larger than three times the size of New Mexico
Land boundaries: total 5,074 km, Algeria 463 km, Mali 2,237 km, Senegal 813 km, Western Sahara 1,561 km
Coastline: 754 km
Maritime claims: contiguous zone: 24 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 12 nm
International disputes: boundary with Senegal in dispute
Climate: desert; constantly hot, dry, dusty
Terrain: mostly barren, flat plains of the Sahara; some central hills
Natural resources: iron ore, gypsum, fish, copper, phosphate
Land use: arable land: 1% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 38% forest and woodland: 5% other: 56%
Irrigated land: 120 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment: current issues: overgrazing, deforestation, and soil erosion aggravated by drought are contributing to desertification; very limited natural fresh water resources away from the Senegal which is the only perennial river natural hazards: hot, dry, dust/sand-laden sirocco wind blows primarily in March and April; periodic droughts international agreements: party to - Climate Change, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Desertification, Law of the Sea
Note: most of the population concentrated along the Senegal River in the southern part of the country
@Mauritania:People
Population: 2,263,202 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 48% (female 544,674; male 551,099) 15-64 years: 49% (female 574,282; male 542,762) 65 years and over: 3% (female 28,955; male 21,430) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 3.17% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 47.32 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 15.66 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 83.5 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 48.54 years male: 45.66 years female: 51.54 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 6.92 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1988) total population: 35% male: 46% female: 25%
Labor force: 465,000 (1981 est.); 45,000 wage earners (1980) by occupation: agriculture 47%, services 29%, industry and commerce 14%, government 10%
@Mauritania:Government
Names: conventional long form: Islamic Republic of Mauritania conventional short form: Mauritania local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Islamiyah al Muritaniyah local short form: Muritaniyah
Digraph: MR
Type: republic
Capital: Nouakchott
Administrative divisions: 12 regions (regions, singular - region); Adrar, Assaba, Brakna, Dakhlet Nouadhibou, Gorgol, Guidimaka, Hodh ech Chargui, Hodh el Gharbi, Inchiri, Tagant, Tiris Zemmour, Trarza note: there may be a new capital district of Nouakchott
Independence: 28 November 1960 (from France)
National holiday: Independence Day, 28 November (1960)
Constitution: 12 July 1991
Legal system: three-tier system: Islamic (Shari'a) courts, special courts, state security courts (in the process of being eliminated)
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state and head of government: President Col. Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed TAYA (since 12 December 1984); election last held NA January 1992 (next to be held NA January 1998); results - President Col. Maaouya Ould Sid 'Ahmed TAYA elected cabinet: Council of Ministers
Legislative branch: bicameral legislature Senate (Majlis al-Shuyukh): elections last held 15 April 1994 (nex to be held NA 1996); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats (56 total, with 17 up for election every two years) PRDS 16, UFD/NE 1 National Assembly (Majlis al-Watani): elections last held 6 and 13 March 1992 (next to be held NA March 1997); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (79 total) UFD/NE 67, PMR 1, RDU 1, independents 10
Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Cour Supreme)
Political parties and leaders: legalized by constitution passed 12 July 1991, however, politics continue to be tribally based; emerging parties include Democratic and Social Republican Party (PRDS), led by President Col. Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed TAYA; Union of Democratic Forces-New Era (UFD/NE), headed by Ahmed Ould DADDAH; Assembly for Democracy and Unity (RDU), Ahmed Ould SIDI BABA; Popular Social and Democratic Union (UPSD), Mohamed Mahmoud Ould MAH; Mauritanian Party for Renewal (PMR), Hameida BOUCHRAYA; National Avant-Garde Party (PAN), Khattry Ould JIDDOU; Mauritanian Party of the Democratic Center (PCDM), Bamba Ould SIDI BADI
Other political or pressure groups: Mauritanian Workers Union (UTM)
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Ismail Ould IYAHI (since 22 September 1994) chancery: 2129 Leroy Place NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 232-5700
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador Dorothy Myers SAMPAS embassy: address NA, Nouakchott mailing address: B. P. 222, Nouakchott telephone: [222] (2) 526-60, 526-63 FAX: [222] (2) 515-92
Flag: green with a yellow five-pointed star above a yellow, horizontal crescent; the closed side of the crescent is down; the crescent, star, and color green are traditional symbols of Islam
@Mauritania:Economy
Overview: A majority of the population still depends on agriculture and livestock for a livelihood, even though most of the nomads and many subsistence farmers were forced into the cities by recurrent droughts in the 1970s and 1980s. Mauritania has extensive deposits of iron ore, which account for almost 50% of total exports. The decline in world demand for this ore, however, has led to cutbacks in production. The nation's coastal waters are among the richest fishing areas in the world, but overexploitation by foreigners threatens this key source of revenue. The country's first deepwater port opened near Nouakchott in 1986. In recent years, drought and economic mismanagement have resulted in a substantial buildup of foreign debt. The government has begun the second stage of an economic reform program in consultation with the World Bank, the IMF, and major donor countries. Short-term growth prospects are gloomy because of the heavy debt service burden, rapid population growth, and vulnerability to climatic conditions.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $2.4 billion (1993 est.)
National product real growth rate: 5% (1993 est.)
National product per capita: $1,110 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 10% (1993)
Unemployment rate: 20% (1991 est.)
Budget: revenues: $280 million expenditures: $346 million, including capital expenditures of $61 million (1989 est.)
Exports: $401 million (f.o.b., 1993 est.) commodities: iron ore, fish and fish products partners: Japan 27%, Italy, Belgium, Luxembourg
Imports: $378 million (c.i.f., 1993 est.) commodities: foodstuffs, consumer goods, petroleum products, capital goods partners: Algeria 15%, China 6%, US 3%, France, Germany, Spain, Italy
External debt: $1.9 billion (1992 est.)
Industrial production: growth rate NA%; accounts for almost 30% of GDP
Electricity: capacity: 110,000 kW production: 135 million kWh consumption per capita: 61 kWh (1993)
Industries: fish processing, mining of iron ore and gypsum
Agriculture: accounts for 25% of GDP (including fishing); largely subsistence farming and nomadic cattle and sheep herding except in Senegal river valley; crops - dates, millet, sorghum, root crops; fish products number-one export; large food deficit in years of drought
Economic aid: recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $168 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $1.3 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $490 million; Communist countries (1970-89), $277 million; Arab Development Bank (1991), $20 million
Airports: total: 28 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 1 with paved runways under 914 m: 2 with unpaved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 6 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 10
@Mauritania:Communications
Telephone system: NA telephones; poor system of cable and open-wire lines, minor microwave radio relay links, and radio communications stations (improvements being made) local: NA intercity: mostly cable and open wire lines international: 1 INTELSAT (Atlantic Ocean) and 2 ARABSAT earth stations, with six planned
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 2, FM 0, shortwave 0 radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: 1 televisions: NA
@Mauritania:Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, National Gendarmerie, National Guard, National Police, Presidential Guard
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 483,916; males fit for military service 236,323
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $36 million, 2.7% of GDP (1994)
Location: Southern Africa, island in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar
Map references: World
Area: total area: 1,860 sq km land area: 1,850 sq km comparative area: slightly less than 10.5 times the size of Washington, DC note: includes Agalega Islands, Cargados Carajos Shoals (Saint Brandon), and Rodrigues
Land boundaries: 0 km
Coastline: 177 km
Maritime claims: continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 12 nm
International disputes: claims UK-administered Chagos Archipelago, which includes the island of Diego Garcia in UK-administered British Indian Ocean Territory; claims French-administered Tromelin Island
Climate: tropical, modified by southeast trade winds; warm, dry winter (May to November); hot, wet, humid summer (November to May)
Terrain: small coastal plain rising to discontinuous mountains encircling central plateau
Natural resources: arable land, fish
Land use: arable land: 54% permanent crops: 4% meadows and pastures: 4% forest and woodland: 31% other: 7%
Irrigated land: 170 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment: current issues: water pollution natural hazards: cyclones (November to April); almost completely surrounded by reefs that may pose maritime hazards international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection
@Mauritius:People
Population: 1,127,068 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 28% (female 152,892; male 158,891) 15-64 years: 66% (female 376,049; male 372,910) 65 years and over: 6% (female 39,088; male 27,238) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.89% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 18.91 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 6.38 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: -3.64 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 17.8 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 70.84 years male: 66.9 years female: 74.95 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 2.2 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Religions: Hindu 52%, Christian 28.3% (Roman Catholic 26%, Protestant 2.3%), Muslim 16.6%, other 3.1%
Languages: English (official), Creole, French, Hindi, Urdu, Hakka, Bojpoori
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1990) total population: 80% male: 85% female: 75%
Labor force: 335,000 by occupation: government services 29%, agriculture and fishing 27%, manufacturing 22%, other 22%
@Mauritius:Government
Names: conventional long form: Republic of Mauritius conventional short form: Mauritius
Digraph: MP
Type: parliamentary democracy
Capital: Port Louis
Administrative divisions: 9 districts and 3 dependencies*; Agalega Islands*, Black River, Cargados Carajos*, Flacq, Grand Port, Moka, Pamplemousses, Plaines Wilhems, Port Louis, Riviere du Rempart, Rodrigues*, Savanne
Independence: 12 March 1968 (from UK)
National holiday: Independence Day, 12 March (1968)
Constitution: 12 March 1968; amended 12 March 1992
Legal system: based on French civil law system with elements of English common law in certain areas
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Cassam UTEEM (since 1 July 1992); Vice President Rabindranath GHURBURRON (since 1 July 1992) head of government: Prime Minister Sir Anerood JUGNAUTH (since 12 June 1982); Deputy Prime Minister Prem NABABSING (since 26 September 1990) cabinet: Council of Ministers; appointed by the president on recommendation of the prime minister
Legislative branch: unicameral Legislative Assembly: elections last held on 15 September 1991 (next to be held by 15 September 1996); results - MSM/MMM 53%, MLP/PMSD 38%; seats - (66 total) MSM/MMM alliance 59 (MSM 29, MMM 26, OPR 2, MTD 2), MLP/PMSD 4 (MLP 3, PMSD 1); note - the Supreme Court denied the assignment of 3 seats to the MSM
Judicial branch: Supreme Court
Political parties and leaders: government coalition: Militant Socialist Movement (MSM), A. JUGNAUTH; Mauritian Militant Resurgence (RMM), Prem NABABSING (less 10 legislators under the leadership of Paul BERENGER, now voting with the opposition); Mauritian Social Democratic Party (PMSD), X. DUVAL; Organization of the People of Rodrigues (OPR), Louis Serge CLAIR; Democratic Labor Movement (MTD), Anil BAICHOO opposition: Mauritian Labor Party (MLP), Navin RAMGOOLMAN; MMM-Berenger Faction, Paul BERENGER; Socialist Workers Front, Sylvio MICHEL
Other political or pressure groups: various labor unions
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Anund Priyay NEEWOOR chancery: Suite 441, 4301 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 244-1491, 1492 FAX: [1] (202) 966-0983
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador Leslie M. ALEXANDER embassy: 4th Floor, Rogers House, John Kennedy Street, Port Louis mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [230] 208-9763 through 9767 FAX: [230] 208-9534
Flag: four equal horizontal bands of red (top), blue, yellow, and green
@Mauritius:Economy
Overview: Since independence in 1968, Mauritius has developed from a low income, agriculturally based economy to middle income diversified economy with growing industrial and tourist sectors. For most of the period annual growth has been of the order of 5% to 6%. This remarkable achievement has been reflected in increased life expectancy, lowered infant mortality, and a much improved infrastructure. Sugarcane is grown on about 90% of the cultivated land area and accounts for 40% of export earnings. The government's development strategy centers on industrialization (with a view to modernization and to exports), agricultural diversification, and tourism. Economic performance in 1991-93 continued strong with solid real growth and low unemployment.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $9.3 billion (1993 est.)
National product real growth rate: 4.7% (1993 est.)
Budget: revenues: $653 million expenditures: $567 million, including capital expenditures of $143 million (FY92/93 est.)
Exports: $1.32 billion (f.o.b., 1993 est.) commodities: textiles 44%, sugar 40%, light manufactures 10% partners: EC and US have preferential treatment, EC 77%, US 15%
Imports: $1.7 billion (f.o.b., 1993 est.) commodities: manufactured goods 50%, capital equipment 17%, foodstuffs 13%, petroleum products 8%, chemicals 7% partners: EC, US, South Africa, Japan
External debt: $996.8 million (1993 est.)
Industrial production: growth rate 5.8% (1992); accounts for 25% of GDP
Electricity: capacity: 340,000 kW production: 920 million kWh consumption per capita: 777 kWh (1993)
Industries: food processing (largely sugar milling), textiles, wearing apparel, chemicals, metal products, transport equipment, nonelectrical machinery, tourism
Agriculture: accounts for 10% of GDP; about 90% of cultivated land in sugarcane; other products - tea, corn, potatoes, bananas, pulses, cattle, goats, fish; net food importer, especially rice and fish
Illicit drugs: illicit producer of cannabis for the international drug trade; heroin consumption and transshipment are growing problems
Economic aid: recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $76 million; Western (non-US) countries (1970-89), $709 million; Communist countries (1970-89), $54 million
Highways: total: 1,800 km paved: 1,640 km unpaved: earth 160 km
Ports: Port Louis
Merchant marine: total: 16 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 191,703 GRT/297,347 DWT ships by type: bulk 5, cargo 8, liquefied gas tanker 1, oil tanker 1, passenger-cargo 1
Airports: total: 5 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 1 with paved runways under 914 m: 2 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 1
@Mauritius:Communications
Telephone system: over 48,000 telephones; small system with good service local: NA intercity: utilizes primarily microwave radio relay international: 1 INTELSAT (Indian Ocean) earth station; new microwave link to Reunion; high-frequency radio links to several countries
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 2, FM 0, shortwave 0 radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: 4 televisions: NA
@Mauritius:Defense Forces
Branches: National Police Force (includes the paramilitary Special Mobile Force or SMF, Special Support Units or SSU, and National Coast Guard)
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 321,947; males fit for military service 163,904 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $11.2 million, 0.4% of GDP (FY92/93)
Climate: tropical; marine; hot, humid, rainy season during northeastern monsoon (November to May); dry season is cooler (May to November)
Terrain: generally undulating with ancient volcanic peaks, deep ravines
Natural resources: negligible
Land use: arable land: NA% permanent crops: NA% meadows and pastures: NA% forest and woodland: NA% other: NA%
Irrigated land: NA sq km
Environment: current issues: NA natural hazards: cyclones during rainy season international agreements: NA
Note: part of Comoro Archipelago
@Mayotte:People
Population: 97,088 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 49% (female 23,910; male 24,120) 15-64 years: 48% (female 22,824; male 23,935) 65 years and over: 3% (female 1,165; male 1,134) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 3.8% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 48.44 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 10.46 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 77.3 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 58.27 years male: 56.04 years female: 60.57 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 6.71 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Nationality: noun: Mahorais (singular and plural) adjective: Mahoran
Ethnic divisions: NA
Religions: Muslim 99%, Christian (mostly Roman Catholic)
Languages: Mahorian (a Swahili dialect), French
Literacy: NA%
Labor force: NA
@Mayotte:Government
Names: conventional long form: Territorial Collectivity of Mayotte conventional short form: Mayotte
Digraph: MF
Type: territorial collectivity of France
Capital: Mamoutzou
Administrative divisions: none (territorial collectivity of France)
Independence: none (territorial collectivity of France)
National holiday: National Day, Taking of the Bastille, 14 July (1789)
Constitution: 28 September 1958 (French Constitution)
Legal system: French law
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Francois MITTERRAND (since 21 May 1981) head of government: Prefect Jean-Jacques DERACQ (since NA); President of the General Council Younoussa BAMANA (since NA 1976)
Legislative branch: unicameral General Council (Conseil General): elections last held NA March 1994 (next to be held NA); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (19 total) MPM 12, RPR 4, independents 3 French Senate: elections last held on 24 September 1989 (next to be held NA September 1995); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (1 total) MPM 1 French National Assembly: elections last held 21 and 28 March 1993 (next to be held NA 1998); results - UDF-CDS 54.3%, RPR 44.3%; seats - (1 total) UDF-CDS 1
Political parties and leaders: Mahoran Popular Movement (MPM), Younoussa BAMANA; Party for the Mahoran Democratic Rally (PRDM), Daroueche MAOULIDA; Mahoran Rally for the Republic (RPR), Mansour KAMARDINE; Union for French Democracy (UDF), Maoulida AHMED; Center of Social Democrats (CDS),
Member of: FZ
Diplomatic representation in US: none (territorial collectivity of France)
US diplomatic representation: none (territorial collectivity of France)
Flag: the flag of France is used
@Mayotte:Economy
Overview: Economic activity is based primarily on the agricultural sector, including fishing and livestock raising. Mayotte is not self-sufficient and must import a large portion of its food requirements, mainly from France. The economy and future development of the island are heavily dependent on French financial assistance. Mayotte's remote location is an obstacle to the development of tourism.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $54 million (1993 est.)
National product real growth rate: NA%
National product per capita: $600 (1993 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA%
Unemployment rate: NA%
Budget: revenues: $NA expenditures: $37.3 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1985 est.)
Exports: $4 million (f.o.b., 1984) commodities: ylang-ylang, vanilla partners: France 79%, Comoros 10%, Reunion 9%
Imports: $21.8 million (f.o.b., 1984) commodities: building materials, transportation equipment, rice, clothing, flour partners: France 57%, Kenya 16%, South Africa 11%, Pakistan 8%
External debt: $NA
Industrial production: growth rate NA%
Electricity: capacity: NA kW production: NA kWh consumption per capita: NA kWh
Industries: newly created lobster and shrimp industry
Agriculture: most important sector; provides all export earnings; crops - vanilla, ylang-ylang, coffee, copra; imports major share of food needs
Economic aid: recipient: Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $402 million
Highways: total: 42 km paved: bituminous 18 km unpaved: 24 km
Ports: Dzaoudzi
Merchant marine: none
Airports: total: 1 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 1
@Mayotte:Communications
Telephone system: 450 telephones; small system administered by French Department of Posts and Telecommunications local: NA intercity: NA international: radio relay and high-frequency radio communications for links to Comoros and international communications
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0 radios: NA
Location: Middle America, bordering the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico, between Belize and the US and bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between Guatamala and the US
Map references: North America
Area: total area: 1,972,550 sq km land area: 1,923,040 sq km comparative area: slightly less than three times the size of Texas
Land boundaries: total 4,538 km, Belize 250 km, Guatemala 962 km, US 3,326 km
Coastline: 9,330 km
Maritime claims: contiguous zone: 24 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 12 nm
International disputes: claims Clipperton Island (French possession)
Climate: varies from tropical to desert
Terrain: high, rugged mountains, low coastal plains, high plateaus, and desert
Land use: arable land: 12% permanent crops: 1% meadows and pastures: 39% forest and woodland: 24% other: 24%
Irrigated land: 51,500 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment: current issues: natural fresh water resources scarce and polluted in north, inaccessible and poor quality in center and extreme southeast; raw sewage and industrial effluents polluting rivers in urban areas; deforestation; widespread erosion; desertification; serious air pollution in the national capital and urban centers along US-Mexico border natural hazards: tsunamis along the Pacific coast, destructive earthquakes in the center and south, and hurricanes on the Gulf and Caribbean coasts international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling; signed, but not ratified - Desertification
Note: strategic location on southern border of US
@Mexico:People
Population: 93,985,848 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 37% (female 17,028,091; male 17,631,110) 15-64 years: 59% (female 28,429,663; male 26,866,886) 65 years and over: 4% (female 2,184,998; male 1,845,100) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.9% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 26.64 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 4.64 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: -3.03 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 26 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 73.34 years male: 69.74 years female: 77.11 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 3.09 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Nationality: noun: Mexican(s) adjective: Mexican
Ethnic divisions: mestizo (Indian-Spanish) 60%, Amerindian or predominantly Amerindian 30%, Caucasian or predominantly Caucasian 9%, other 1%
Religions: nominally Roman Catholic 89%, Protestant 6%
Languages: Spanish, various Mayan dialects
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1990) total population: 88% male: 90% female: 85%
Labor force: 26.2 million (1990) by occupation: services 31.7%, agriculture, forestry, hunting, and fishing 28%, commerce 14.6%, manufacturing 11.1%, construction 8.4%, transportation 4.7%, mining and quarrying 1.5%
@Mexico:Government
Names: conventional long form: United Mexican States conventional short form: Mexico local long form: Estados Unidos Mexicanos local short form: Mexico
Digraph: MX
Type: federal republic operating under a centralized government
Capital: Mexico
Administrative divisions: 31 states (estados, singular - estado) and 1 federal district* (distrito federal); Aguascalientes, Baja California, Baja California Sur, Campeche, Chiapas, Chihuahua, Coahuila de Zaragoza, Colima, Distrito Federal*, Durango, Guanajuato, Guerrero, Hidalgo, Jalisco, Mexico, Michoacan de Ocampo, Morelos, Nayarit, Nuevo Leon, Oaxaca, Puebla, Queretaro de Arteaga, Quintana Roo, San Luis Potosi, Sinaloa, Sonora, Tabasco, Tamaulipas, Tlaxcala, Veracruz-Llave, Yucatan, Zacatecas
Independence: 16 September 1810 (from Spain)
National holiday: Independence Day, 16 September (1810)
Constitution: 5 February 1917
Legal system: mixture of US constitutional theory and civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal and compulsory (but not enforced)
Executive branch: chief of state and head of government: President Ernesto ZEDILLO Ponce de Leon (since 1 December 1994); election last held on 21 August 1994 (next to be held NA); results - Ernesto ZEDILLO Ponce de Leon (PRI) 50.18%, Cuauhtemoc CARDENAS Solorzano (PRD) 17.08%, Diego FERNANDEZ de Cevallos (PAN) 26.69%; other 6.049% cabinet: Cabinet; appointed by the president
Legislative branch: bicameral National Congress (Congreso de la Union)
Senate (Camara de Senadores): elections last held on 21 August 1994 (next to be held NA); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats in full Senate - (128 total; Senate expanded from 64 seats at the last election) PRI 93, PRD 25, PAN 10 Chamber of Deputies (Camara de Diputados): elections last held on 24 August 1994 (next to be held NA); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (500 total) PRI 300, PAN 119, PRD 71, PFCRN 10
Judicial branch: Supreme Court of Justice (Corte Suprema de Justicia)
Political parties and leaders: (recognized parties) Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), Maria de los Angeles MORENO; National Action Party (PAN), Carlos CASTILLO; Popular Socialist Party (PPS), Indalecio SAYAGO Herrera; Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD), Porfirio MUNOZ Ledo; Cardenist Front for the National Reconstruction Party (PFCRN), Rafael AGUILAR Talamantes; Authentic Party of the Mexican Revolution (PARM), Rosa Maria MARTINEZ Denagri; Democratic Forum Party (PFD), Pablo Emilio MADERO; Mexican Green Ecologist Party (PVEM), Jorge GONZALEZ Torres
Other political or pressure groups: Roman Catholic Church; Confederation of Mexican Workers (CTM); Confederation of Industrial Chambers (CONCAMIN); Confederation of National Chambers of Commerce (CONCANACO); National Peasant Confederation (CNC); Revolutionary Workers Party (PRT); Revolutionary Confederation of Workers and Peasants (CROC); Regional Confederation of Mexican Workers (CROM); Confederation of Employers of the Mexican Republic (COPARMEX); National Chamber of Transformation Industries (CANACINTRA); Coordinator for Foreign Trade Business Organizations (COECE); Federation of Unions Providing Goods and Services (FESEBES)
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Jesus SILVA HERZOG Flores chancery: 1911 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20006 telephone: [1] (202) 728-1600 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, El Paso, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, San Juan (Puerto Rico) consulate(s): Albuquerque, Austin, Boston, Brownsville (Texas), Calexico (California), Corpus Christi, Del Rio (Texas), Detroit, Eagle Pass (Texas), Fresno (California), Loredo, McAllen (Texas), Midland (Texas), Nogales (Arizona), Oxnard (California), Philadelphia, Phoenix, Sacramento, St. Louis, Salt Lake City, San Bernardino, San Jose, Santa Ana, Seattle
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador James R. JONES embassy: Paseo de la Reforma 305, Colonia Cuauhtemoc, 06500 Mexico, Distrito Federal mailing address: P. O. Box 3087, Laredo, TX 78044-3087 telephone: [52] (5) 211-0042 FAX: [52] (5) 511-9980, 208-3373 consulate(s) general: Ciudad Juarez, Guadalajara, Monterrey, Tijuana consulate(s): Hermosillo, Matamoros, Merida, Nuevo Laredo
Flag: three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and red; the coat of arms (an eagle perched on a cactus with a snake in its beak) is centered in the white band
@Mexico:Economy
Overview: Mexico, under the guidance of new President Ernesto ZEDILLO, entered 1995 in the midst of a severe financial crisis. Mexico's membership in the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) with the United States and Canada, its solid record of economic reforms, and its strong growth in the second and third quarters of 1994 - at an annual rate of 3.8% and 4.5% respectively - seemed to augur bright prospects for 1995. However, an overvalued exchange rate and widening current account deficits created an imbalance that ultimately proved unsustainable. To finance the trade gap, Mexico City had become increasingly reliant on volatile portfolio investment. A series of political shocks in 1994 - an uprising in the southern state of Chiapas, the assassination of a presidential candidate, several high profile kidnappings, the killing of a second high-level political figure, and renewed threats from the Chiapas rebels - combined with rising international interest rates and concerns of a devaluation to undermine investor confidence and prompt massive outflows of capital. The dwindling of foreign exchange reserves, which the central bank had been using to defend the currency, forced the new administration to change the exchange rate policy and allow the currency to float freely in the last days of 1994. The adjustment roiled Mexican financial markets, leading to a 30% to 40% weakening of the peso relative to the dollar. ZEDILLO announced an emergency economic program that included federal budget cuts and plans for more privatizations, but it failed to restore investor confidence quickly. While the devaluation is likely to help Mexican exporters, whose products are now cheaper, it also raises the specter of an inflationary spiral if domestic producers increase their prices and workers demand wage hikes. Although strong economic fundamentals bode well for Mexico's longer-term outlook, prospects for solid growth and low inflation have deteriorated considerably, at least through 1995.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $728.7 billion (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate: 3.5% (1994 est.)
Budget: revenues: $96.99 billion (1994 est.) expenditures: $96.51 billion (1994 est.), including capital expenditures of $NA (1994 est.)
Exports: $60.8 billion (f.o.b., 1994 est.), includes in-bond industries commodities: crude oil, oil products, coffee, silver, engines, motor vehicles, cotton, consumer electronics partners: US 82%, Japan 1.4%, EC 5% (1993 est.)
Imports: $79.4 billion (f.o.b., 1994 est.), includes in-bond industries commodities: metal-working machines, steel mill products, agricultural machinery, electrical equipment, car parts for assembly, repair parts for motor vehicles, aircraft, and aircraft parts partners: US 74%, Japan 4.7%, EC 11% (1993 est.)
Industries: food and beverages, tobacco, chemicals, iron and steel, petroleum, mining, textiles, clothing, motor vehicles, consumer durables, tourism
Agriculture: accounts for 7% of GDP; large number of small farms at subsistence level; major food crops - corn, wheat, rice, beans; cash crops - cotton, coffee, fruit, tomatoes
Illicit drugs: illicit cultivation of opium poppy and cannabis continues in spite of government eradication program; major supplier of heroin and marijuana to the US market; continues as the primary transshipment country for US-bound cocaine and marijuana from South America; increasingly involved in the production and distribution of methamphetamine
Economic aid: recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $3.1 billion; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $7.7 billion; Communist countries (1970-89), $110 million
Currency: 1 New Mexican peso (Mex$) = 100 centavos
Exchange rates: market rate of Mexican pesos (Mex$) per US$1 - 6.736 (average in March 1995), 5.5133 (January 1995), 3.3751 (1994), 3.1156 (1993), 3,094.9 (1992), 3,018.4 (1991), 2,812.6 (1990) note: the new peso replaced the old peso on 1 January 1993; 1 new peso = 1,000 old pesos
Fiscal year: calendar year
@Mexico:Transportation
Railroads: total: 24,500 km standard gauge: 24,410 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 93 km 0.914-m gauge
Highways: total: 242,300 km paved: 84,800 km (including 3,166 km of expressways) unpaved: gravel and earth 157,500 km
Inland waterways: 2,900 km navigable rivers and coastal canals
Pipelines: crude oil 28,200 km; petroleum products 10,150 km; natural gas 13,254 km; petrochemical 1,400 km
ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 2, chemical tanker 4, container 7, liquefied gas tanker 7, oil tanker 30, refrigerated cargo 2, roll-on/roll-off cargo 2, short-sea passenger 4
Airports: total: 2,055 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 9 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 25 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 82 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 75 with paved runways under 914 m: 1,262 with unpaved runways over 3,047 m: 1 with unpaved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 60 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 539
@Mexico:Communications
Telephone system: 6,410,000 telephones; highly developed system with extensive microwave radio relay links; privatized in December 1990 local: adequate phone service for business and government, but, at a density of less than 7 telephones/100 persons, the population is poorly served intercity: includes 120 domestic satellite terminals and an extensive network of microwave radio relay links international: 5 INTELSAT (4 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Pacific Ocean) earth stations; connected into Central America Microwave System; launched Solidarity I satellite in November 1993
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 679, FM 0, shortwave 22 radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: 238 televisions: NA
@Mexico:Defense Forces
Branches: National Defense (includes Army and Air Force), Navy (includes Marines)
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 23,354,445; males fit for military service 17,029,788; males reach military age (18) annually 1,054,513 (1995 est.)
Location: Oceania, island group in the North Pacific Ocean, about three-quarters of the way from Hawaii to Indonesia
Map references: Oceania
Area: total area: 702 sq km land area: 702 sq km comparative area: slightly less than four times the size of Washington, DC note: includes Pohnpei (Ponape), Truk (Chuuk), Yap, and Kosrae
Climate: tropical; heavy year-round rainfall, especially in the eastern islands; located on southern edge of the typhoon belt with occasional severe damage
Terrain: islands vary geologically from high mountainous islands to low, coral atolls; volcanic outcroppings on Pohnpei, Kosrae, and Truk
Land use: arable land: NA% permanent crops: NA% meadows and pastures: NA% forest and woodland: NA% other: NA%
Irrigated land: NA sq km
Environment: current issues: NA natural hazards: typhoons (June to December) international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Law of the Sea
Note: four major island groups totaling 607 islands
@Micronesia, Federated States Of:People
Population: 122,950 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: NA 15-64 years: NA 65 years and over: NA
Population growth rate: 3.35% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 28.12 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 6.3 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 11.65 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 36.52 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 67.81 years male: 65.84 years female: 69.81 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 3.98 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Ethnic divisions: nine ethnic Micronesian and Polynesian groups
Religions: Roman Catholic 50%, Protestant 47%, other and none 3%
Languages: English (official and common language), Trukese, Pohnpeian, Yapese, Kosrean
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1980) total population: 89% male: 91% female: 88%
Labor force: NA by occupation: two-thirds are government employees note: 45,000 people are between the ages of 15 and 65
@Micronesia, Federated States Of:Government
Names: conventional long form: Federated States of Micronesia conventional short form: none former: Kosrae, Ponape, Truk, and Yap Districts (Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands)
Abbreviation: FSM
Digraph: FM
Type: constitutional government in free association with the US; the Compact of Free Association entered into force 3 November 1986
Capital: Kolonia (on the island of Pohnpei) note: a new capital is being built about 10 km southwest in the Palikir valley
Independence: 3 November 1986 (from the US-administered UN Trusteeship)
National holiday: Proclamation of the Federated States of Micronesia, 10 May (1979)
Constitution: 10 May 1979
Legal system: based on adapted Trust Territory laws, acts of the legislature, municipal, common, and customary laws
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state and head of government: President Bailey OLTER (since 21 May 1991); Vice President Jacob NENA (since 21 May 1991); election last held 11 May 1991 (next to be held 7 March 1995); results - Bailey OLTER elected president; Jacob NENA elected vice-president cabinet: Cabinet
Legislative branch: unicameral Congress: elections last held 5 March 1991 (next to be held 7 March 1995); results - percent of vote NA; seats - (14 total) independents 14
Judicial branch: Supreme Court
Political parties and leaders: no formal parties
Member of: AsDB, ESCAP, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFC, IMF, ITU, SPARTECA, SPC, SPF, UN, UNCTAD, WHO
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Jesse B. MAREHALAU chancery: 1725 N Street NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 223-4383 FAX: [1] (202) 223-4391 consulate(s) general: Honolulu and Tamuning (Guam)
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador March Fong EU embassy: address NA, Kolonia mailing address: P. O. Box 1286, Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia 96941 telephone: [691] 320-2187 FAX: [691] 320-2186
Flag: light blue with four white five-pointed stars centered; the stars are arranged in a diamond pattern
@Micronesia, Federated States Of:Economy
Overview: Economic activity consists primarily of subsistence farming and fishing. The islands have few mineral deposits worth exploiting, except for high-grade phosphate. The potential for a tourist industry exists, but the remoteness of the location and a lack of adequate facilities hinder development. Financial assistance from the US is the primary source of revenue, with the US pledged to spend $1 billion in the islands in the 1990s. Geographical isolation and a poorly developed infrastructure are major impediments to long-term growth.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $160 million (1990 est.) note: GDP was supplemented by approximately $100 million in grant aid in 1990
National product real growth rate: 4% (1994)
National product per capita: $1,500 (1990 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA%
Unemployment rate: 27% (1989)
Budget: revenues: $45 million expenditures: $31 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY94/95 est.)
Exports: $3.2 million (f.o.b., 1990) commodities: fish, copra, bananas, black pepper partners: Japan, US
Imports: $91.2 million (c.i.f., 1990) commodities: food, manufactured goods, machinery and equipment, beverages partners: US, Japan, Australia
External debt: $NA
Industrial production: growth rate NA%
Electricity: capacity: 18,000 kW production: 40 million kWh consumption per capita: 380 kWh (1990)
Industries: tourism, construction, fish processing, craft items from shell, wood, and pearls
Agriculture: mainly a subsistence economy; black pepper; tropical fruits and vegetables, coconuts, cassava, sweet potatoes, pigs, chickens
Economic aid: recipient: under terms of the Compact of Free Association, the US will provide $1.3 billion in grant aid during the period 1986-2001
Currency: 1 United States dollar (US$) = 100 cents
Exchange rates: US currency is used
Fiscal year: 1 October - 30 September
@Micronesia, Federated States Of:Transportation
Railroads: 0 km
Highways: total: 226 km paved: 39 km (on major islands) unpaved: stone, coral, laterite 187 km
Ports: Colonia (Yap), Kolonia (Pohnpei), Lele, Moen
Merchant marine: none
Airports: total: 6 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 1 with paved runways under 914 m: 1
@Micronesia, Federated States Of:Communications
Telephone system: 960 telephones on Kolonia and Truk local: NA intercity: islands interconnected by shortwave radio (used mostly for government purposes international: 4 INTELSAT (Pacific Ocean) earth stations
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 5, FM 1, shortwave 1 radios: 16,000
Climate: tropical, but moderated by prevailing easterly winds
Terrain: low, nearly level
Natural resources: fish, wildlife
Land use: arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 0% forest and woodland: 0% other: 100%
Irrigated land: 0 sq km
Environment: current issues: NA natural hazards: NA international agreements: NA
Note: a coral atoll; closed to the public
@Midway Islands:People
Population: no indigenous inhabitants; note - there are 453 US military personnel (July 1995 est.)
@Midway Islands:Government
Names: conventional long form: none conventional short form: Midway Islands
Digraph: MQ
Type: unincorporated territory of the US administered by the US Navy, under Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Pacific Division; this facility has been operationally closed since 10 September 1993 and is currently being transferred from Pacific Fleet to Naval Facilities Engineering Command via a Memorandum of Understanding
Capital: none; administered from Washington, DC
Flag: the US flag is used
@Midway Islands:Economy
Overview: The economy is based on providing support services for US naval operations located on the islands. All food and manufactured goods must be imported.
Electricity: supplied by US Military
@Midway Islands:Transportation
Railroads: 0 km
Highways: total: 32 km paved: NA
Pipelines: 7.8 km
Ports: Sand Island
Airports: total: 3 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 1
@Midway Islands:Communications
Telephone system: local: NA intercity: NA international: NA
Radio: broadcast stations: AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: NA televisions: NA
Map references: Commonwealth of Independent States - European States
Area: total area: 33,700 sq km land area: 33,700 sq km comparative area: slightly more than twice the size of Hawaii
Land boundaries: total 1,389 km, Romania 450 km, Ukraine 939 km
Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims: none; landlocked
International disputes: certain territory of Moldova and Ukraine - including Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina - are considered by Bucharest as historically a part of Romania; this territory was incorporated into the former Soviet Union following the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact in 1940
Climate: moderate winters, warm summers
Terrain: rolling steppe, gradual slope south to Black Sea
Natural resources: lignite, phosphorites, gypsum
Land use: arable land: 50% permanent crops: 13% meadows and pastures: 9% forest and woodland: 0% other: 28%
Irrigated land: 2,920 sq km (1990)
Environment: current issues: heavy use of agricultural chemicals, including banned pesticides such as DDT, has contaminated soil and groundwater; extensive soil erosion from poor farming methods natural hazards: NA international agreements: signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate Change
Note: landlocked
@Moldova:People
Population: 4,489,657 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 27% (female 588,155; male 609,372) 15-64 years: 64% (female 1,487,170; male 1,386,293) 65 years and over: 9% (female 258,958; male 159,709) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.36% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 15.93 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 10.05 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: -2.25 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 29.8 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 68.22 years male: 64.81 years female: 71.8 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 2.16 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Ethnic divisions: Moldavian/Romanian 64.5%, Ukrainian 13.8%, Russian 13%, Gagauz 3.5%, Jewish 1.5%, Bulgarian 2%, other 1.7% (1989 figures)
note: internal disputes with ethnic Russians and Ukrainians in the Dniester region and Gagauz Turks in the south
Religions: Eastern Orthodox 98.5%, Jewish 1.5%, Baptist (only about 1,000 members) (1991) note: the large majority of churchgoers are ethnic Moldavian
Languages: Moldovan (official; virtually the same as the Romanian language), Russian, Gagauz (a Turkish dialect)
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1989) total population: 96% male: 99% female: 94%
Labor force: 2.03 million (January 1994) by occupation: agriculture 34.4%, industry 20.1%, other 45.5% (1985 figures)
@Moldova:Government
Names: conventional long form: Republic of Moldova conventional short form: Moldova local long form: Republica Moldova local short form: none former: Soviet Socialist Republic of Moldova; Moldavia
Digraph: MD
Type: republic
Capital: Chisinau
Administrative divisions: previously divided into 40 rayons; new districts possible under new constitution in 1994
Independence: 27 August 1991 (from Soviet Union)
National holiday: Independence Day, 27 August 1991
Constitution: new constitution adopted NA July 1994; replaces old Soviet constitution of 1979
Legal system: based on civil law system; no judicial review of legislative acts; does not accept compulsory ICJ jurisdiction but accepts many UN and OSCE documents
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Mircea SNEGUR (since 3 September 1990); election last held 8 December 1991 (next to be held NA 1996); results - Mircea SNEGUR ran unopposed and won 98.17% of vote; note - President SNEGUR was named executive president by the Supreme Soviet on 3 September 1990 and was confirmed by popular election on 8 December 1991 head of government: Prime Minister Andrei SANGHELI (since 1 July 1992; reappointed 5 April 1994 after elections for new legislature); First Deputy Prime Minister Ion GUTU (since NA) cabinet: Council of Ministers; appointed by the president on recommendation of the prime minister
Legislative branch: unicameral Parliament: elections last held 27 February 1994 (next to be held NA 1999); results - percent by party NA; seats - (104 total) Agrarian-Democratic Party 56, Socialist/Yedinstvo Bloc 28, Peasants and Intellectual Bloc 11, Christian Democratic Popular Front 9
Judicial branch: Supreme Court
Political parties and leaders: Christian Democratic Popular Front (formerly Moldovan Popular Front), Iurie ROSCA, chairman; Yedinstvo Intermovement, Vladimir SOLONARI, chairman; Social Democratic Party, Oazu NANTOI, chairman, two other chairmen; Agrarian-Democratic Party, Dumitru MOTPAN, chairman; Democratic Party, Gheorghe GHIMPU, chairman; Democratic Labor Party, Alexandru ARSENI, chairman; Reform Party, Anatol SELARU; Republican Party, Victor PUSCAS; Socialist Party, Valeriu SENIC, cochairman; Communist Party, Vladimir VORONIN, cochairman; Peasants and Intellectuals Bloc
Other political or pressure groups: United Council of Labor Collectives (UCLC), Igor SMIRNOV, chairman; Congress of Intellectuals, Alexandru MOSANU; The Ecology Movement of Moldova (EMM), G. MALARCHUK, chairman; The Christian Democratic League of Women of Moldova (CDLWM), L. LARI, chairman; National Christian Party of Moldova (NCPM), D. TODIKE, M. BARAGA, V. NIKU, leaders; The Peoples Movement Gagauz Khalky (GKh), S. GULGAR, leader; The Democratic Party of Gagauzia (DPG), G. SAVOSTIN, chairman; The Alliance of Working People of Moldova (AWPM), G. POLOGOV, president; Christian Alliance for Greater Romania; Stefan the Great Movement; Liberal Convention of Moldova; Association of Victims of Repression; Christian Democratic Youth League
Member of: BSEC, CE (guest), CIS, EBRD, ECE, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, ILO, IMF, INTELSAT (nonsignatory user), INTERPOL, IOC, IOM (observer), ITU, NACC, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Nicolae TAU chancery: Suites 329, 333, 1511 K Street NW, Washington, DC 20005 telephone: [1] (202) 783-3012 FAX: [1] (202) 783-3342
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador Mary C. PENDLETON embassy: Strada Alexei Mateevich #103, Chisinau mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [373] (2) 23-37-72 FAX: [373] (2) 23-30-44
Flag: same color scheme as Romania - 3 equal vertical bands of blue (hoist side), yellow, and red; emblem in center of flag is of a Roman eagle of gold outlined in black with a red beak and talons carrying a yellow cross in its beak and a green olive branch in its right talons and a yellow scepter in its left talons; on its breast is a shield divided horizontally red over blue with a stylized ox head, star, rose, and crescent all in black-outlined yellow
@Moldova:Economy
Overview: Moldova enjoys a favorable climate and good farmland but has no major mineral deposits. As a result, Moldova's economy is primarily based on agriculture, featuring fruits, vegetables, wine, and tobacco. Moldova must import all of its supplies of oil, coal, and natural gas, and energy shortages have contributed to sharp production declines since the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991. The Moldovan government is making steady progress on an ambitious economic reform agenda, and the IMF has called Moldova a model for the region. As part of its reform efforts, Chisinau has introduced a stable currency, freed all prices, stopped issuing preferential credits to state enterprises and backed their steady privatization, removed export controls, and freed interest rates. Chisinau appears strongly committed to continuing these reforms in 1995. Meanwhile, privatization of medium and large enterprises got underway in mid-1994 and is expected to pick up speed in 1995. To improve its precarious energy situation, Chisinau reached an agreement with Moscow in December 1994 on gas deliveries for 1995. Gazprom, Russia's national gas company, has agreed to reduce prices for natural gas deliveries to Moldova from the world market price of $80/thousand cubic meters (tcm) to $58/tcm in return for part ownership of the Moldovan pipeline system.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $11.9 billion (1994 estimate as extrapolated from World Bank estimate for 1992)
National product real growth rate: -30% (1994 est.)
National product per capita: $2,670 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 7.6% per month (1994)
Unemployment rate: 1% (includes only officially registered unemployed; large numbers of underemployed workers)
Budget: revenues: $NA expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA note: budget deficit for 1993 approximately 6% of GDP
Exports: $144 million to outside the FSU countries (1994); over 70% of exports go to FSU countries commodities: foodstuffs, wine, tobacco, textiles and footwear, machinery, chemicals (1991) partners: Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Romania, Germany
Imports: $174 million from outside the FSU countries (1994); over 70% of imports are from FSU countries commodities: oil, gas, coal, steel, machinery, foodstuffs, automobiles, and other consumer durables partners: Russia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Romania, Germany
External debt: $300 million (as of 11 December 1994)
Agriculture: accounts for about 40% of GDP; Moldova's principal economic activity; products are vegetables, fruits, wine, grain, sugar beets, sunflower seed, meat, milk, tobacco
Illicit drugs: illicit cultivator of opium poppy and cannabis; mostly for CIS consumption; transshipment point for illicit drugs to Western Europe
Economic aid: recipient: joint EC-US loan (1993), $127 million; IMF STF credit (1993), $64 million; IMF stand-by loan (1993), $72 million; US commitments (1992-93), $61 million in humanitarian aid, $11 million in technical assistance; World Bank loan (1993), $60 million; Russia (1993), 50 billion ruble credit; Romania (1993), 20 billion lei credit
Currency: the leu (plural lei) was introduced in late 1993
Exchange rates: lei per US$1 - 4.277 (22 December 1994)
Fiscal year: calendar year
@Moldova:Transportation
Railroads: total: 1,150 km in common carrier service; does not include industrial lines broad gauge: 1,150 km 1.520-m gauge (1990)
Highways: total: 20,000 km paved or graveled: 13,900 km unpaved: earth 6,100 km (1990)
Pipelines: natural gas 310 km (1992)
Ports: none
Airports: total: 26 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 1 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 with paved runways under 914 m: 3 with unpaved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 2 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 5 with unpaved runways under 914 m: 8
@Moldova:Communications
Telephone system: 577,000 telephones; 134 telephones/1,000 persons; telecommunication system not well developed; 215,000 unsatisfied requests for telephone service (1991) local: NA intercity: NA international: international connections to the other former Soviet republics by land line and microwave radio relay through Ukraine, and to other countries by leased connections to the Moscow international gateway switch; 1 EUTELSAT and 1 INTELSAT earth station
Radio: broadcast stations: AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: NA televisions: NA
@Moldova:Defense Forces
Branches: Ground Forces, Air and Air Defense Forces, Republic Security Forces (internal and border troops)
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 1,116,912; males fit for military service 881,642; males reach military age (18) annually 35,447 (1995 est.)
Location: Western Europe, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, on the southern coast of France, near the border with Italy
Map references: Europe
Area: total area: 1.9 sq km land area: 1.9 sq km comparative area: about three times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC
Land boundaries: total 4.4 km, France 4.4 km
Coastline: 4.1 km
Maritime claims: territorial sea: 12 nm
International disputes: none
Climate: Mediterranean with mild, wet winters and hot, dry summers
Terrain: hilly, rugged, rocky
Natural resources: none
Land use: arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 0% forest and woodland: 0% other: 100%
Irrigated land: NA sq km
Environment: current issues: NA natural hazards: NA international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Whaling; signed, but not ratified - Law of the Sea
Note: second smallest independent state in world (after Holy See); almost entirely urban
@Monaco:People
Population: 31,515 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 17% (female 2,691; male 2,740) 15-64 years: 63% (female 10,233; male 9,645) 65 years and over: 20% (female 3,939; male 2,267) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.7% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 10.66 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 12.12 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 8.44 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 7 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 77.9 years male: 74.18 years female: 81.8 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.7 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Nationality: noun: Monacan(s) or Monegasque(s) adjective: Monacan or Monegasque
Ethnic divisions: French 47%, Monegasque 16%, Italian 16%, other 21%
Religions: Roman Catholic 95%
Languages: French (official), English, Italian, Monegasque
Literacy: NA%
Labor force: NA
@Monaco:Government
Names: conventional long form: Principality of Monaco conventional short form: Monaco local long form: Principaute de Monaco local short form: Monaco
Independence: 1419 (rule by the House of Grimaldi)
National holiday: National Day, 19 November
Constitution: 17 December 1962
Legal system: based on French law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 25 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: Prince RAINIER III (since NA November 1949); Heir Apparent Prince ALBERT Alexandre Louis Pierre (born 14 March 1958) head of government: Minister of State Paul DIJOUD (since NA) cabinet: Council of Government; under the authority of the Prince
Legislative branch: unicameral National Council (Conseil National): elections last held 24 and 31 January 1993 (next to be held NA); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (18 total) Campora List 15, Medecin List 2, independent 1
Political parties and leaders: National and Democratic Union (UND); Campora List, Anne-Marie CAMPORA; Medecin List, Jean-Louis MEDECIN
Member of: ACCT, ECE, IAEA, ICAO, ICRM, IFRCS, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ITU, OSCE, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WIPO
Diplomatic representation in US: honorary consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New Orleans, New York, San Francisco, San Juan (Puerto Rico) honorary consulate(s): Dallas, Palm Beach, Philadelphia, and Washington, DC
US diplomatic representation: no mission in Monaco, but the US Consul General in Marseille, France, is accredited to Monaco
Flag: two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and white; similar to the flag of Indonesia which is longer and the flag of Poland which is white (top) and red
@Monaco:Economy
Overview: Monaco, situated on the French Mediterranean coast, is a popular resort, attracting tourists to its casino and pleasant climate. The Principality has successfully sought to diversify into services and small, high-value-added, nonpolluting industries. The state has no income tax and low business taxes and thrives as a tax haven both for individuals who have established residence and for foreign companies that have set up businesses and offices. About 50% of Monaco's annual revenue comes from value-added taxes on hotels, banks, and the industrial sector; about 25% of revenue comes from tourism. Living standards are high, that is, roughly comparable to those in prosperous French metropolitan suburbs.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $558 million (1993 est.)
National product real growth rate: NA%
National product per capita: $18,000 (1993 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA%
Unemployment rate: NEGL%
Budget: revenues: $424 million expenditures: $376 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1991 est.)
Exports: $NA; full customs integration with France, which collects and rebates Monacan trade duties; also participates in EU market system through customs union with France
Imports: $NA; full customs integration with France, which collects and rebates Monacan trade duties; also participates in EU market system through customs union with France
External debt: $NA
Industrial production: growth rate NA%
Electricity: capacity: 10,000 kW standby; power imported from France production: NA kWh consumption per capita: NA kWh (1993)
Railroads: total: 1.7 km standard gauge: 1.7 km 1.435-m gauge
Highways: none; city streets
Ports: Monaco
Merchant marine: none
Airports: linked to airport in Nice, France, by helicopter service
@Monaco:Communications
Telephone system: 38,200 telephones; automatic telephone system local: NA intercity: NA international: no satellite links; served by cable into the French communications system
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 3, FM 4, shortwave 0 radios: NA
Land use: arable land: 1% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 79% forest and woodland: 10% other: 10%
Irrigated land: 770 sq km (1989)
Environment: current issues: limited natural fresh water resources; policies of the former communist regime promoting rapid urbanization and industrial growth have raised concerns about their negative effects on the environment; the burning of soft coal and the concentration of factories in Ulaanbaatar have severely polluted the air; deforestation, overgrazing, the converting of virgin land to agricultural production have increased soil erosion from wind and rain; desertification natural hazards: duststorms can occur in the spring international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Environmental Modification, Nuclear Test Ban; signed, but not ratified - Desertification, Law of the Sea
Note: landlocked; strategic location between China and Russia
@Mongolia:People
Population: 2,493,615 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 40% (female 495,919; male 511,464) 15-64 years: 56% (female 693,037; male 693,776) 65 years and over: 4% (female 54,991; male 44,428) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 2.58% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 32.65 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 6.82 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 41.8 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 66.54 years male: 64.28 years female: 68.92 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 4.26 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Ethnic divisions: Mongol 90%, Kazakh 4%, Chinese 2%, Russian 2%, other 2%
Religions: predominantly Tibetan Buddhist, Muslim 4% note: previously limited religious activity because of Communist regime
Languages: Khalkha Mongol 90%, Turkic, Russian, Chinese
Literacy: NA%
Labor force: NA by occupation: primarily herding/agricultural note: over half the adult population is in the labor force, including a large percentage of women; shortage of skilled labor
@Mongolia:Government
Names: conventional long form: none conventional short form: Mongolia local long form: none local short form: Mongol Uls former: Outer Mongolia
Legal system: blend of Russian, Chinese, and Turkish systems of law; no constitutional provision for judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Punsalmaagiyn OCHIRBAT (since 3 September 1990); election last held 6 June 1993 (next to be held NA 1997); results - Punsalmaagiyn OCHIRBAT (MNDP and MSDP) elected directly with 57.8% of the vote; other candidate Lodongiyn TUDEV (MPRP) head of government: Prime Minister Putsagiyn JASRAY (since 3 August 1992); Deputy Prime Ministers Lhamsuren ENEBISH and Choijilsurengiyn PUREVDORJ (since NA) cabinet: Cabinet; appointed by the Great Hural
Legislative branch: unicameral State Great Hural: elections held for the first time 28 June 1992 (next to be held NA); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (76 total) MPRP 71, United Party of Mongolia 4, MSDP 1 note: the People's Small Hural no longer exists
Judicial branch: Supreme Court serves as appeals court for people's and provincial courts, but to date rarely overturns verdicts of lower courts
Political parties and leaders: Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party (MPRP), Budragchagiin DASH-YONDON, secretary general; Mongolian National Democratic Party (MNDP), D. GANBOLD, chairman; Mongolian Social Democratic Party (MSDP), B. BATBAYAR, chairman; United Party of Mongolia, leader NA note: opposition parties were legalized in May 1990
Member of: AsDB, CCC, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, INTELSAT (nonsignatory user), INTERPOL, IOC, ISO, ITU, NAM (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Luvsandorj DAWAAGIW chancery: 2833 M Street NW, Washington, DC 20007 telephone: [1] (202) 333-7117 FAX: [1] (202) 298-9227 consulate(s) general: New York
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador Donald C. JOHNSON embassy: address NA, Ulaanbaatar mailing address: c/o American Embassy Beijing, Micro Region 11, Big Ring Road; PSC 461, Box 300, FPO AP 96521-0002 telephone: [976] (1) 329095, 329606 FAX: [976] (1) 320776
Flag: three equal, vertical bands of red (hoist side), blue, and red, centered on the hoist-side red band in yellow is the national emblem ("soyombo" - a columnar arrangement of abstract and geometric representation for fire, sun, moon, earth, water, and the yin-yang symbol)
@Mongolia:Economy
Overview: Mongolia's severe climate, scattered population, and wide expanses of unproductive land have constrained economic development. Economic activity traditionally has been based on agriculture and the breeding of livestock. In past years extensive mineral resources had been developed with Soviet support; total Soviet assistance at its height amounted to 30% of GDP. The mining and processing of coal, copper, molybdenum, tin, tungsten, and gold account for a large part of industrial production. Timber and fishing are also important sectors. The Mongolian leadership has been gradually making the transition from Soviet-style central planning to a market economy through privatization and price reform, and is soliciting support from international financial agencies and foreign investors. The economy, however, has still not recovered from the loss of Soviet aid, and the country continues to suffer substantial economic hardships, with one-fourth of the population below the poverty line.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $4.4 billion (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate: 2.5% (1994 est.)
National product per capita: $1,800 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 70% (1994 est.)
Unemployment rate: 15% (1991 est.)
Budget: revenues: $NA expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA (1991 est.) note: deficit of $67 million
Exports: $360 million (f.o.b., 1993 est.) commodities: copper, livestock, animal products, cashmere, wool, hides, fluorspar, other nonferrous metals partners: former CMEA countries 62%, China 17%, EC 8% (1992)
Imports: $361 million (f.o.b., 1993 est.) commodities: machinery and equipment, fuels, food products, industrial consumer goods, chemicals, building materials, sugar, tea partners: USSR 75%, Austria 5%, China 5% (1991)
External debt: $NA
Industrial production: growth rate -15% (1992 est.); accounts for about 42% of GDP
Industries: copper, processing of animal products, building materials, food and beverage, mining (particularly coal)
Agriculture: accounts for about 35% of GDP and provides livelihood for about 50% of the population; livestock raising predominates (primarily sheep and goats, but also cattle, camels, and horses); crops - wheat, barley, potatoes, forage
Economic aid: NA
Currency: 1 tughrik (Tug) = 100 mongos
Exchange rates: tughriks (Tug) per US$1 - 415.34 (January 1995), 412.72 (1994), 42.56 (1992), 9.52 (1991), 5.63 (1990) note: the exchange rate 40 tughriks = 1US$ was introduced June 1991 and was in force to the end of 1992; beginning 27 May 1993 the exchange rate is the midpoint of the average buying and selling rates that are freely determined on the basis of market transactions between commercial banks and the nonbank public
Fiscal year: calendar year
@Mongolia:Transportation
Railroads: total: 1,750 km broad gauge: 1,750 km 1.524-m gauge (1988)
Highways: total: 46,700 km paved: 1,000 km unpaved: 45,700 km (1988)
Inland waterways: 397 km of principal routes (1988)
Ports: none
Airports: total: 34 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 7 with paved runways under 914 m: 1 with unpaved runways over 3,047 m: 3 with unpaved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 5 with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 10 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 3 with unpaved runways under 914 m: 5
@Mongolia:Communications
Telephone system: 63,000 telephones (1989) local: NA intercity: NA international: at least 1 satellite earth station
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 12, FM 1, shortwave 0 radios: 220,000
Climate: tropical; little daily or seasonal temperature variation
Terrain: volcanic islands, mostly mountainous, with small coastal lowland
Natural resources: negligible
Land use: arable land: 20% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 10% forest and woodland: 40% other: 30%
Irrigated land: NA sq km
Environment: current issues: land erosion occurs on slopes that have been cleared for cultivation natural hazards: severe hurricanes (June to November); volcanic eruptions (there are seven active volcanoes on the island) international agreements: NA
@Montserrat:People
Population: 12,738 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: NA 15-64 years: NA 65 years and over: NA
Population growth rate: 0.3% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 15.5 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 9.81 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: -2.65 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 11.69 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 75.69 years male: 73.93 years female: 77.49 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.99 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Religions: Anglican, Methodist, Roman Catholic, Pentecostal, Seventh-Day Adventist, other Christian denominations
Languages: English
Literacy: age 15 and over has ever attended school (1970) total population: 97% male: 97% female: 97%
Labor force: 5,100 by occupation: community, social, and personal services 40.5%, construction 13.5%, trade, restaurants, and hotels 12.3%, manufacturing 10.5%, agriculture, forestry, and fishing 8.8%, other 14.4% (1983 est.)
@Montserrat:Government
Names: conventional long form: none conventional short form: Montserrat
Digraph: MH
Type: dependent territory of the UK
Capital: Plymouth
Administrative divisions: 3 parishes; Saint Anthony, Saint Georges, Saint Peter's
Independence: none (dependent territory of the UK)
National holiday: Celebration of the Birthday of the Queen (second Saturday of June)
Constitution: present constitution came into force 19 December 1989
Legal system: English common law and statute law
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor Frank SAVAGE (since NA February 1993) head of government: Chief Minister Reuben T. MEADE (since NA October 1991) cabinet: Executive Council; consists of the governor, the chief minister, three other ministries, the attorney-general, and the finance secretary
Legislative branch: unicameral Legislative Council: elections last held 8 October 1991; results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (11 total, 7 elected) NPP 4, NDP 1, PLM 1, independent 1
Judicial branch: Supreme Court
Political parties and leaders: National Progressive Party (NPP) Reuben T. MEADE; People's Liberation Movement (PLM), Noel TUITT; National Development Party (NDP), Bertrand OSBORNE
Diplomatic representation in US: none (dependent territory of the UK)
US diplomatic representation: none (dependent territory of the UK)
Flag: blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the Montserratian coat of arms centered in the outer half of the flag; the coat of arms features a woman standing beside a yellow harp with her arm around a black cross
@Montserrat:Economy
Overview: The economy is small and open with economic activity centered on tourism and construction. Tourism is the most important sector and accounts for roughly one-fifth of GDP. Agriculture accounts for about 4% of GDP and industry 10%. The economy is heavily dependent on imports, making it vulnerable to fluctuations in world prices. Exports consist mainly of electronic parts sold to the US.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $55.6 million (1993 est.)
National product real growth rate: 1% (1993 est.)
National product per capita: $4,380 (1993 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.8% (1992)
Unemployment rate: NA
Budget: revenues: $12.1 million expenditures: $14.3 million, including capital expenditures of $3.2 million (1988 est.)
Exports: $2.8 million (f.o.b., 1992) commodities: electronic parts, plastic bags, apparel, hot peppers, live plants, cattle partners: NA
Imports: $80.6 million (f.o.b., 1992) commodities: machinery and transportation equipment, foodstuffs, manufactured goods, fuels, lubricants, and related materials partners: NA
External debt: $2.05 million (1987)
Industrial production: growth rate 8.1% (1986); accounts for 10% of GDP
Electricity: capacity: 5,271 kW production: 17 million kWh consumption per capita: 1,106 kWh (1993)
Agriculture: accounts for 4% of GDP; small-scale farming; food crops - tomatoes, onions, peppers; not self-sufficient in food, especially livestock products
Economic aid: recipient: Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $90 million
Currency: 1 EC dollar (EC$) = 100 cents
Exchange rates: East Caribbean dollars (EC$) per US$1 - 2.70 (fixed rate since 1976)
Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March
@Montserrat:Transportation
Railroads: 0 km
Highways: total: 280 km paved: 200 km unpaved: gravel, earth 80 km
Ports: Plymouth
Merchant marine: none
Airports: total: 1 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 1
@Montserrat:Communications
Telephone system: 3,000 telephones local: NA intercity: NA international: NA
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 8, FM 4, shortwave 0 radios: NA
Location: Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, between Algeria and Western Sahara
Map references: Africa
Area: total area: 446,550 sq km land area: 446,300 sq km comparative area: slightly larger than California
Land boundaries: total 2,002 km, Algeria 1,559 km, Western Sahara 443 km
Coastline: 1,835 km
Maritime claims: contiguous zone: 24 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation exclusive economic zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 12 nm
International disputes: claims and administers Western Sahara, but sovereignty is unresolved; the UN is attempting to hold a referendum; the UN-administered cease-fire has been currently in effect since September 1991; Spain controls five places of sovereignty (plazas de soberania) on and off the coast of Morocco - the coastal enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla which Morocco contests as well as the islands of Penon de Alhucemas, Penon de Velez de la Gomera, and Islas Chafarinas
Climate: Mediterranean, becoming more extreme in the interior
Terrain: northern coast and interior are mountainous with large areas of bordering plateaus, intermontane valleys, and rich coastal plains
Natural resources: phosphates, iron ore, manganese, lead, zinc, fish, salt
Land use: arable land: 18% permanent crops: 1% meadows and pastures: 28% forest and woodland: 12% other: 41%
Irrigated land: 12,650 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment: current issues: land degradation/desertification (soil erosion resulting from farming of marginal areas, overgrazing, destruction of vegetation); water supplies contaminated by raw sewage; siltation of reservoirs; oil pollution of coastal waters natural hazards: northern mountains geologically unstable and subject to earthquakes; periodic droughts international agreements: party to - Endangered Species, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ship Pollution, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection
Note: strategic location along Strait of Gibraltar
@Morocco:People
Population: 29,168,848 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 38% (female 5,486,176; male 5,659,410) 15-64 years: 58% (female 8,456,525; male 8,327,560) 65 years and over: 4% (female 641,236; male 597,941) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 2.09% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 27.93 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 5.97 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: -1.08 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 45.8 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 68.98 years male: 67.03 years female: 71.02 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 3.69 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Ethnic divisions: Arab-Berber 99.1%, other 0.7%, Jewish 0.2%
Religions: Muslim 98.7%, Christian 1.1%, Jewish 0.2%
Languages: Arabic (official), Berber dialects, French often the language of business, government, and diplomacy
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1990) total population: 50% male: 61% female: 38%
Labor force: 7.4 million by occupation: agriculture 50%, services 26%, industry 15%, other 9% (1985)
@Morocco:Government
Names: conventional long form: Kingdom of Morocco conventional short form: Morocco local long form: Al Mamlakah al Maghribiyah local short form: Al Maghrib
Digraph: MO
Type: constitutional monarchy
Capital: Rabat
Administrative divisions: 36 provinces and 5 wilayas*; Agadir, Al Hoceima, Assa-Zag, Azilal, Beni Mellal, Ben Slimane, Boulemane, Casablanca*, Chaouen, El Jadida, El Kelaa des Sraghna, Er Rachidia, Essaouira, Es Smara, Fes*, Figuig, Guelmim, Ifrane, Kenitra, Khemisset, Khenifra, Khouribga, Laayoune, Larache, Marrakech*, Meknes*, Nador, Ouarzazate, Oujda, Rabat-Sale*, Safi, Settat, Sidi Kacem, Tanger, Tan-Tan, Taounate, Taroudannt, Tata, Taza, Tetouan, Tiznit
Independence: 2 March 1956 (from France)
National holiday: National Day, 3 March (1961) (anniversary of King Hassan II's accession to the throne)
Constitution: 10 March 1972, revised 4 September 1992
Legal system: based on Islamic law and French and Spanish civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts in Constitutional Chamber of Supreme Court
Suffrage: 21 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: King HASSAN II (since 3 March 1961) head of government: Prime Minister Abdellatif FILALI (since 29 May 1994) cabinet: Council of Ministers; appointed by the King
Legislative branch: unicameral Chamber of Representatives (Majlis Nawab): two-thirds elected by direct, universal suffrage and one-third by an electoral college of government, professional, and labor representatives; direct, popular elections last held 15 June 1993 (next to be held NA 1999); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats (333 total, 222 directly elected) USFP 48, IP 43, MP 33, RNI 28, UC 27, PND 14, MNP 14, PPS 6, PDI 3, SAP 2, PA 2, OADP 2; indirect, special interest elections last held 17 September 1993 (next to be held NA 1999); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (333 total, 111 indirectly elected) UC 27, MP 18, RNI 13, MNP 11, PND 10, IP 7, Party of Shura and Istiqlal 6, USFP 4, PPS 4, CDT 4, UTM 3, UGTM 2, SAP 2
Judicial branch: Supreme Court
Political parties and leaders: opposition: Socialist Union of Popular Forces (USFP), Mohammad al-YAZGHI; Istiqlal Party (IP), M'Hamed BOUCETTA; Party of Progress and Socialism (PPS), Ali YATA; Organization of Democratic and Popular Action (OADP), leader NA pro-government: Constitutional Union (UC), Maati BOUABID; Popular Movement (MP), Mohamed LAENSER; National Democratic Party (PND), Mohamed Arsalane EL-JADIDI; National Popular Movement (MNP), Mahjoubi AHARDANE independents: National Rally of Independents (RNI), Ahmed OSMAN; Democracy and Istiqlal Party (PDI), leader NA; Action Party (PA), Abdullah SENHAJI; Non-Obedience Candidates (SAP), leader NA labor unions and community organizations (indirect elections) only): Democratic Confederation of Labor (CDT), Nabir AMAOUI; General Union of Moroccan Workers (UGTM), Abderrazzak AFILAL; Moroccan Union of Workers (UTM), leader NA; Party of Shura and Istiqlal, leader NA
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Mohamed BENAISSA chancery: 1601 21st Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 462-7979 through 7982 FAX: [1] (202) 265-0161 consulate(s) general: New York
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador Marc C. GINSBERG embassy: 2 Avenue de Marrakech, Rabat mailing address: PSC 74, Box 003, APO AE 09718 telephone: [212] (7) 76 22 65 FAX: [212] (7) 76 56 61 consulate(s) general: Casablanca
Flag: red with a green pentacle (five-pointed, linear star) known as Solomon's seal in the center of the flag; green is the traditional color of Islam
@Morocco:Economy
Overview: Morocco faces the typical problems of developing countries - restraining government spending, reducing constraints on private activity and foreign trade, and keeping inflation within bounds. Since the early 1980s the government has pursued an economic program toward these objectives with the support of the IMF, the World Bank, and the Paris Club of creditors. The economy has substantial assets to draw on: the world's largest phosphate reserves, diverse agricultural and fishing resources, a sizable tourist industry, a growing manufacturing sector, and remittances from Moroccans working abroad. A severe drought in 1992-93 depressed economic activity and held down exports. Real GDP contracted by 4.4% in 1992 and 1.1% in 1993. Despite these setbacks, initiatives to relax capital controls, strengthen the banking sector, and privatize state enterprises went forward in 1993-94. Favorable rainfall in 1994 boosted agricultural production by 40%. Servicing the large debt, high unemployment, and vulnerability to external economic forces remain long-term problems for Morocco.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $87.5 billion (1994 est.)
Industries: phosphate rock mining and processing, food processing, leather goods, textiles, construction, tourism
Agriculture: accounts for 15% of GDP, 50% of employment, and 30% of export value; not self-sufficient in food; cereal farming and livestock raising predominate; barley, wheat, citrus fruit, wine, vegetables, olives
Illicit drugs: illicit producer of hashish; trafficking on the increase for both domestic and international drug markets; shipments of hashish mostly directed to Western Europe; transit point for cocaine from South America destined for Western Europe
Economic aid: recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $1.3 billion; US commitments, including Ex-Im (1992), $123.6 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $7.5 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $4.8 billion; Communist countries (1970-89), $2.5 billion note: $2.8 billion debt canceled by Saudi Arabia (1991); IMF standby agreement worth $13 million; World Bank, $450 million (1991)
Airports: total: 74 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 11 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 4 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 8 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 3 with paved runways under 914 m: 13 with unpaved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 10 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 24
@Morocco:Communications
Telephone system: 280,000 telephones; 10.5 telephones/1,000 persons local: NA intercity: good system composed of wire lines, cables, and microwave radio relay links; principal centers are Casablanca and Rabat; secondary centers are Fes, Marrakech, Oujda, Tangier, and Tetouan international: 5 submarine cables; 2 INTELSAT (Atlantic Ocean) and 1 ARABSAT earth station; microwave radio relay to Gibraltar, Spain, and Western Sahara; coaxial cable and microwave radio relay to Algeria; microwave radio relay network linking Syria, Jordan, Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 20, FM 7, shortwave 0 radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: 26 (repeaters 26) televisions: NA
@Morocco:Defense Forces
Branches: Royal Moroccan Army, Royal Moroccan Navy, Royal Moroccan Air Force, Royal Gendarmerie, Auxiliary Forces
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 7,307,076; males fit for military service 4,637,453; males reach military age (18) annually 323,921 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $1.3 billion, 3.8% of GDP (1994)
Terrain: mostly coastal lowlands, uplands in center, high plateaus in northwest, mountains in west
Natural resources: coal, titanium
Land use: arable land: 4% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 56% forest and woodland: 20% other: 20%
Irrigated land: 1,150 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment: current issues: civil strife and recurrent drought in the hinterlands have resulted in increased migration to urban and coastal areas with adverse environmental consequences; desertification; pollution of surface and coastal waters natural hazards: severe droughts and floods occur in central and southern provinces; devastating cyclones international agreements: party to - Endangered Species, Ozone Layer Protection; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Law of the Sea
@Mozambique:People
Population: 18,115,250 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 45% (female 4,069,117; male 4,078,429) 15-64 years: 53% (female 4,882,292; male 4,630,193) 65 years and over: 2% (female 260,057; male 195,162) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 2.87% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 44.6 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 15.94 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: NA migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.) note: by the end of 1994, an estimated 1.6 million Mozambican refugees, who fled to Malawi, Zimbabwa, and South Africa in earlier years from the civil war, had returned; an estimated 100,000 refugees remain to be repatriated from those countries
Infant mortality rate: 126 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 48.95 years male: 47.04 years female: 50.92 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 6.19 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1990) total population: 33% male: 45% female: 21%
Labor force: NA by occupation: 90% engaged in agriculture
@Mozambique:Government
Names: conventional long form: Republic of Mozambique conventional short form: Mozambique local long form: Republica Popular de Mocambique local short form: Mocambique
National holiday: Independence Day, 25 June (1975)
Constitution: 30 November 1990
Legal system: based on Portuguese civil law system and customary law
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Joaquim Alberto CHISSANO (since 6 November 1986) head of government: Prime Minister Pascoal MOCUMBI (since December 1994) cabinet: Cabinet
Legislative branch: unicameral Assembly of the Republic (Assembleia da Republica): draft electoral law provides for periodic, direct presidential and Assembly elections note: as called for in the 1992 peace accords, presidential and legislative elections took place during 27-29 October 1994; fourteen parties, including the Mozambique National Resistance (RENAMO) participated; Joaquim Alberto CHISSANO was elected president and his FRELIMO party gathered a slim majority in the 250 seat legislature
Judicial branch: Supreme Court
Political parties and leaders: Front for the Liberation of Mozambique (FRELIMO), Joaquim Alberto CHISSANO, chairman; the ruling party since independence, FRELIMO was the only legal party before 30 November 1990 when the new Constitution went into effect establishing a multiparty system
Member of: ACP, AfDB, CCC, ECA, FAO, FLS, G-77, GATT, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM (observer), ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Hipolito Pereira Zozimo PATRICIO chancery: Suite 570, 1990 M Street NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 293-7146 FAX: [1] (202) 835-0245
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador Dennis Coleman JETT embassy: Avenida Kenneth Kuanda, 193 Maputo mailing address: P. O. Box 783, Maputo telephone: [258] (1) 492797 FAX: [258] (1) 490114
Flag: three equal horizontal bands of green (top), black, and yellow with a red isosceles triangle based on the hoist side; the black band is edged in white; centered in the triangle is a yellow five-pointed star bearing a crossed rifle and hoe in black superimposed on an open white book
@Mozambique:Economy
Overview: One of Africa's poorest countries, Mozambique has failed to exploit the economic potential of its sizable agricultural, hydropower, and transportation resources. Indeed, national output, consumption, and investment declined throughout the first half of the 1980s because of internal disorders, lack of government administrative control, and a growing foreign debt. A sharp increase in foreign aid, attracted by an economic reform policy, resulted in successive years of economic growth in the late 1980s, but aid has declined steadily since 1989. Agricultural output is at only 75% of its 1981 level, and grain has to be imported. Industry operates at only 20%-40% of capacity. The economy depends heavily on foreign assistance to keep afloat. Peace accords signed in October 1992 improved chances of foreign investment, aided IMF-supported economic reforms, and supported continued economic recovery. Elections held in 1994 diverted government attention from the economy, resulting in slippage and delays in the economic reform program. Nonetheless, growth in 1994 was solid and can continue into the late 1990s given continued foreign help in meeting debt obligations.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $10.6 billion (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate: 5.8% (1994 est.)
National product per capita: $610 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 50% (1994 est.)
Unemployment rate: 50% (1989 est.)
Budget: revenues: $252 million expenditures: $607 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1992 est.)
Exports: $150 million (f.o.b., 1994 est.) commodities: shrimp 40%, cashews, cotton, sugar, copra, citrus partners: Spain, South Africa, US, Portugal, Japan
Imports: $1.14 billion (c.i.f., 1994 est.) commodities: food, clothing, farm equipment, petroleum partners: South Africa, UK, France, Japan, Portugal
Agriculture: accounts for 50% of GDP and about 90% of exports; cash crops - cotton, cashew nuts, sugarcane, tea, shrimp; other crops - cassava, corn, rice, tropical fruits; not self-sufficient in food
Economic aid: recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $350 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $4.4 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $37 million; Communist countries (1970-89), $890 million
Airports: total: 192 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 1 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 4 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 11 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 5 with paved runways under 914 m: 112 with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 15 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 44
Note: note: highway traffic impeded by land mines not removed at end of civil war
@Mozambique:Communications
Telephone system: NA telephone density; fair system of troposcatter, open-wire lines, and radio relay local: NA intercity: microwave radio relay and tropospheric scatter international: 5 INTELSAT (2 Atlantic Ocean and 3 Indian Ocean) earth stations
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 29, FM 4, shortwave 0 radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: 1 televisions: NA
@Mozambique:Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Naval Command, Air and Air Defense Forces, Militia; note - by late 1994, the army and former RENAMO rebels had demobilized; under UN supervision and training, recruits from both the army and rebel forces joined an integrated force that is still forming
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 4,061,109; males fit for military service 2,331,793 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $110 million, 7.3% of GDP (1993)
International disputes: short section of boundary with Botswana is indefinite; quadripoint with Botswana, Zambia, and Zimbabwe is in disagreement; dispute with Botswana over uninhabited Kasikili ( Sidudu) Island in Linyanti (Chobe) River remained unresolved in mid-February 1995 and the parties agreed to refer the matter to the International Court of Justice;
Climate: desert; hot, dry; rainfall sparse and erratic
Terrain: mostly high plateau; Namib Desert along coast; Kalahari Desert in east
Land use: arable land: 1% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 64% forest and woodland: 22% other: 13%
Irrigated land: 40 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment: current issues: very limited natural fresh water resources; desertification natural hazards: prolonged periods of drought international agreements: party to - Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate Change
@Namibia:People
Population: 1,651,545 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 47% (female 384,885; male 394,216) 15-64 years: 50% (female 414,283; male 405,938) 65 years and over: 3% (female 26,783; male 25,440) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 3.44% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 43.04 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 8.61 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 59.8 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 62.1 years male: 59.37 years female: 64.9 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 6.34 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Ethnic divisions: black 86%, white 6.6%, mixed 7.4% note: about 50% of the population belong to the Ovambo tribe and 9% to the Kavangos tribe; other ethnic groups include (with approximate share of total population): Herero 7%, Damara 7%, Nama 5%, Caprivian 4%, Bushmen 3%, Baster 2%, Tswana 0.5%
Religions: 80%-90% Christian (50% Lutheran; at least 30% other Christian denominations)
Languages: English 7% (official), Afrikaans common language of most of the population and about 60% of the white population, German 32%, indigenous languages: Oshivambo, Herero, Nama
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1960) total population: 38% male: 45% female: 31%
Labor force: 500,000 by occupation: agriculture 60%, industry and commerce 19%, services 8%, government 7%, mining 6% (1981 est.)
@Namibia:Government
Names: conventional long form: Republic of Namibia conventional short form: Namibia
Independence: 21 March 1990 (from South African mandate)
National holiday: Independence Day, 21 March (1990)
Constitution: ratified 9 February 1990; effective 12 March 1990
Legal system: based on Roman-Dutch law and 1990 constitution
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state and head of government: President Sam NUJOMA (since 21 March 1990); election last held 7-8 December 1994 (next to be held NA); results - Sam NUJOMA elected president by popular vote cabinet: Cabinet; appointed by the president from the National Assembly
Legislative branch: bicameral legislature National Council: elections last held 30 November-3 December 1992 (next to be held by December 1998); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (26 total) SWAPO 19, DTA 6, UDF 1 National Assembly: elections last held 7-8 December 1994 (next to be held NA); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (72 total) SWAPO 53, DTA 15, UDF 2, MAG 1, DCN 1
Judicial branch: Supreme Court
Political parties and leaders: South West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO), Sam NUJOMA; DTA of Namibia (formerly Democratic Turnhalle Alliance) (DTA), Mishake MUYONGO; United Democratic Front (UDF), Justus GAROEB; Federal Convention of Namibia (FCN), Kephics CONRUDIE; Monitor Action Group (MAG), Kosie PRETORIUS; Workers Revolutionary Party (WRP); Southwest African National Union (SWANU), Hitjevi VEII; Democratic Coalition of Namibia (DCN), Moses KATJIUONGA
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Tuliameni KALOMOH chancery: 1605 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 986-0540 FAX: [1] (202) 986-0443
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador Marshall F. McCALLIE embassy: Ausplan Building, 14 Lossen St., Windhoek mailing address: Private Bag 12029 Ausspannplatz, Windhoek telephone: [264] (61) 221601 FAX: [264] (61) 229792
Flag: a large blue triangle with a yellow sunburst fills the upper left section, and an equal green triangle (solid) fills the lower right section; the triangles are separated by a red stripe that is contrasted by two narrow white-edge borders
@Namibia:Economy
Overview: The economy is heavily dependent on the mining industry to extract and process minerals for export. Mining accounts for almost 25% of GDP. Namibia is the fourth-largest exporter of nonfuel minerals in Africa and the world's fifth-largest producer of uranium. Alluvial diamond deposits are among the richest in the world, making Namibia a primary source for gem-quality diamonds. Namibia also produces large quantities of lead, zinc, tin, silver, and tungsten. More than half the population depends on agriculture (largely subsistence agriculture) for its livelihood. Namibia must import some of its food.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $5.8 billion (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate: 5.8% (1994 est.)
National product per capita: $3,600 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 11% (1994)
Unemployment rate: 35% in urban areas (1993 est.)
Budget: revenues: $941 million expenditures: $1.05 billion, including capital expenditures of $157 million (FY93/94)
Agriculture: accounts for 10% of GDP; livestock raising major source of cash income; crops - millet, sorghum, peanuts; fish catch potential of over 1 million metric tons not being fulfilled
Economic aid: recipient: Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $47.2 million
Railroads: total: 2,341 km (single track) narrow gauge: 2,341 km 1.067-m gauge
Highways: total: 54,500 km paved: 4,080 km unpaved: gravel 2,540 km; earth 47,880 km (roads and tracks)
Ports: Luderitz, Walvis Bay
Merchant marine: none
Airports: total: 135 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 2 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 14 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 3 with paved runways under 914 m: 20 with unpaved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 23 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 70
@Namibia:Communications
Telephone system: 62,800 telephones; telephone density - 38/1,000 persons local: good urban services intercity: fair rural service; microwave radio relay links major towns; connections to other populated places are by open wire international: NA
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 4, FM 40, shortwave 0 radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: 3 televisions: NA
@Namibia:Defense Forces
Branches: National Defense Force (Army), Police
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 348,380; males fit for military service 206,684 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $54 million, 2% of GDP (FY93/94)
Climate: tropical; monsoonal; rainy season (November to February)
Terrain: sandy beach rises to fertile ring around raised coral reefs with phosphate plateau in center
Natural resources: phosphates
Land use: arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 0% forest and woodland: 0% other: 100%
Irrigated land: NA sq km
Environment: current issues: limited natural fresh water resources, roof storage tanks collect rainwater; phosphate mining threatens limited remaining land resources natural hazards: periodic droughts international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Marine Dumping; signed, but not ratified - Law of the Sea
Note: Nauru is one of the three great phosphate rock islands in the Pacific Ocean - the others are Banaba (Ocean Island) in Kiribati and Makatea in French Polynesia; only 53 km south of Equator
@Nauru:People
Population: 10,149 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: NA 15-64 years: NA 65 years and over: NA
Population growth rate: 1.33% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 18.03 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 5.1 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 0.4 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 40.6 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 66.68 years male: 64.3 years female: 69.18 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 2.08 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Nationality: noun: Nauruan(s) adjective: Nauruan
Ethnic divisions: Nauruan 58%, other Pacific Islander 26%, Chinese 8%, European 8%
Religions: Christian (two-thirds Protestant, one-third Roman Catholic)
Languages: Nauruan (official; a distinct Pacific Island language), English widely understood, spoken, and used for most government and commercial purposes
Literacy: NA%
Labor force: by occupation: NA
@Nauru:Government
Names: conventional long form: Republic of Nauru conventional short form: Nauru former: Pleasant Island
Digraph: NR
Type: republic
Capital: no official capital; government offices in Yaren District
Independence: 31 January 1968 (from the Australia, New Zealand, and UK-administered UN trusteeship)
National holiday: Independence Day, 31 January (1968)
Constitution: 29 January 1968
Legal system: own Acts of Parliament and British common law
Suffrage: 20 years of age; universal and compulsory
Executive branch: chief of state and head of government: President Bernard DOWIYOGO (since 12 December 1989); election last held 19 November 1992 (next to be held NA November 1995); results - Bernard DOWIYOGO elected by Parliament cabinet: Cabinet; appointed by the president from the parliament
Legislative branch: unicameral Parliament: elections last held on 14 November 1992 (next to be held NA November 1995); results - percent of vote NA; seats - (18 total) independents 18
Judicial branch: Supreme Court
Political parties and leaders: none
Member of: AsDB, C (special), ESCAP, ICAO, INTELSAT (nonsignatory user), INTERPOL, ITU, SPARTECA, SPC, SPF, UPU
Diplomatic representation in US: consulate(s): Agana (Guam)
US diplomatic representation: the US Ambassador to Fiji is accredited to Nauru
Flag: blue with a narrow, horizontal, yellow stripe across the center and a large white 12-pointed star below the stripe on the hoist side; the star indicates the country's location in relation to the Equator (the yellow stripe) and the 12 points symbolize the 12 original tribes of Nauru
@Nauru:Economy
Overview: Revenues come from the export of phosphates, the reserves of which are expected to be exhausted by the year 2000. Phosphates have given Nauruans one of the highest per capita incomes in the Third World. Few other resources exist, so most necessities must be imported, including fresh water from Australia. The rehabilitation of mined land and the replacement of income from phosphates are serious long-term problems. Substantial amounts of phosphate income are invested in trust funds to help cushion the transition.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $100 million (1993 est.)
National product real growth rate: NA%
National product per capita: $10,000 (1993 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA%
Unemployment rate: 0%
Budget: revenues: $69.7 million expenditures: $51.5 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1986 est.)
Exports: $93 million (f.o.b., 1984) commodities: phosphates partners: Australia, NZ
Imports: $73 million (c.i.f., 1984) commodities: food, fuel, manufactures, building materials, machinery partners: Australia, UK, NZ, Japan
External debt: $33.3 million
Industrial production: growth rate NA%
Electricity: capacity: 14,000 kW production: 30 million kWh consumption per capita: 3,036 kWh (1993)
Railroads: total: 3.9 km; note - used to haul phosphates from the center of the island to processing facilities on the southwest coast
Highways: total: 27 km paved: 21 km unpaved: improved earth 6 km
Ports: Nauru
Merchant marine: none
Airports: total: 1 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
@Nauru:Communications
Telephone system: 1,600 telephones; adequate local and international radio communications provided via Australian facilities local: NA intercity: NA international: 1 INTELSAT (Pacific Ocean) earth station
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0 radios: 4,000
Television: broadcast stations: 0 televisions: NA
@Nauru:Defense Forces
Branches: no regular armed forces; Directorate of the Nauru Police Force
Defense expenditures: $NA; note - no formal defense structure
Terrain: raised coral and limestone plateau, flat to undulating; ringed by vertical white cliffs (9 to 15 meters high)
Natural resources: guano
Land use: arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 10% forest and woodland: 0% other: 90%
Irrigated land: 0 sq km
Environment: current issues: NA natural hazards: NA international agreements: NA
Note: strategic location 160 km south of the US Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba; mostly exposed rock, but enough grassland to support goat herds; dense stands of fig-like trees, scattered cactus
@Navassa Island:People
Population: uninhabited; note - transient Haitian fishermen and others camp on the island
@Navassa Island:Government
Names: conventional long form: none conventional short form: Navassa Island
Digraph: BQ
Type: unincorporated territory of the US administered by the US Coast Guard
Area: total area: 140,800 sq km land area: 136,800 sq km comparative area: slightly larger than Arkansas
Land boundaries: total 2,926 km, China 1,236 km, India 1,690 km
Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims: none; landlocked
International disputes: none
Climate: varies from cool summers and severe winters in north to subtropical summers and mild winters in south
Terrain: Terai or flat river plain of the Ganges in south, central hill region, rugged Himalayas in north
Natural resources: quartz, water, timber, hydroelectric potential, scenic beauty, small deposits of lignite, copper, cobalt, iron ore
Land use: arable land: 17% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 13% forest and woodland: 33% other: 37%
Irrigated land: 9,430 sq km (1989)
Environment: current issues: the almost total dependence on wood for fuel and cutting down trees to expand agricultural land without replanting has resulted in widespread deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution (use of contaminated water presents human health risks) natural hazards: severe thunderstorms, flooding, landslides, drought, and famine depending on the timing, intensity, and duration of the summer monsoons international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation
Note: landlocked; strategic location between China and India; contains eight of world's 10 highest peaks
@Nepal:People
Population: 21,560,869 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 43% (female 4,479,950; male 4,692,575) 15-64 years: 55% (female 5,778,107; male 5,994,147) 65 years and over: 2% (female 305,502; male 310,588) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 2.44% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 37.31 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 12.9 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 81.2 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 53.09 years male: 52.86 years female: 53.34 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 5.15 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Nationality: noun: Nepalese (singular and plural) adjective: Nepalese
Religions: Hindu 90%, Buddhist 5%, Muslim 3%, other 2% (1981) note: only official Hindu state in world, although no sharp distinction between many Hindu and Buddhist groups
Languages: Nepali (official), 20 languages divided into numerous dialects
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1990) total population: 26% male: 38% female: 13%
Labor force: 8.5 million (1991 est.) by occupation: agriculture 93%, services 5%, industry 2% note: severe lack of skilled labor
@Nepal:Government
Names: conventional long form: Kingdom of Nepal conventional short form: Nepal
Independence: 1768 (unified by Prithvi Narayan Shah)
National holiday: Birthday of His Majesty the King, 28 December (1945)
Constitution: 9 November 1990
Legal system: based on Hindu legal concepts and English common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: head of government: Prime Minister Man Mohan ADHIKARI (since 30 November 1994) chief of state: King BIRENDRA Bir Bikram Shah Dev (since 31 January 1972, crowned King 24 February 1985); Heir Apparent Crown Prince DIPENDRA Bir Bikram Shah Dev, son of the King (born 21 June 1971) cabinet: Cabinet; appointed by the king on recommendation of the prime minister
Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament National Council: consists of a 60-member body, 50 appointed by House of Representatives and 10 by the King House of Representatives: elections last held on 15 November 1994 (next to be held NA); results - NCP 33%, CPN/UML 31%, NDP 18%, Terai Rights Sadbhavana Party 3%, NWPP 1%; seats - (205 total) CPN/UML 88, NCP 83, NDP 20, NWPP 4, Terai Rights Sadbhavana Party 3, independents 7; note - the new Constitution of 9 November 1990 gave Nepal a multiparty democracy system for the first time in 32 years
Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Sarbochha Adalat)
Political parties and leaders: Communist Party of Nepal/United Marxist and Leninist (CPN/UML), Prime Minister Man Mohan ADHIKARI, Deputy Prime Minister Madhav Kumar NEPAL; Nepali Congress Party (NCP), president Krishna Prasad BHATTARAI, former Prime Minister Girija Prasad KOIRALA, Leader of the Opposition Sher Bahadur DEUBA; National Democratic Party (NDP), Surya Bahadur THAPA; Terai Rights Sadbhavana (Goodwill) Party, Gajendra Narayan SINGH; United People's Front (UPF), Niranjan Govinda BAIDYA; Nepal Workers and Peasants Party (NWPP), Narayan Man BIJUKCHHE; Communist Party of Nepal (Democratic-Manandhar), B. B. MANANDHAR
Other political or pressure groups: numerous small, left-leaning student groups in the capital; several small, radical Nepalese antimonarchist groups
Member of: AsDB, CCC, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, SAARC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNOSOM, UNPROFOR, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: (vacant); Charge d'Affaires ad interim Pradeep KHATIWADA chancery: 2131 Leroy Place NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 667-4550 consulate(s) general: New York
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador Sandra L. VOGELGESANG embassy: Pani Pokhari, Kathmandu mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [977] (1) 411179 FAX: [977] (1) 419963
Flag: red with a blue border around the unique shape of two overlapping right triangles; the smaller, upper triangle bears a white stylized moon and the larger, lower triangle bears a white 12-pointed sun
@Nepal:Economy
Overview: Nepal is among the poorest and least developed countries in the world. Agriculture is the mainstay of the economy, providing a livelihood for over 90% of the population and accounting for half of GDP. Industrial activity is limited, mainly involving the processing of agricultural produce (jute, sugarcane, tobacco, and grain). Production of textiles and carpets has expanded recently and accounted for 85% of foreign exchange earnings in FY93/94. Apart from agricultural land and forests, exploitable natural resources are mica, hydropower, and tourism. Agricultural production in the late 1980s grew by about 5%, as compared with annual population growth of 2.6%. More than 40% of the population is undernourished. Since May 1991, the government has been encouraging trade and foreign investment, e.g., by eliminating business licenses and registration requirements in order to simplify domestic and foreign investment. The government also has been cutting public expenditures by reducing subsidies, privatizing state industries, and laying off civil servants. Prospects for foreign trade and investment in the 1990s remain poor, however, because of the small size of the economy, its technological backwardness, its remoteness, and susceptibility to natural disaster. The international community provides funding for 70% of Nepal's developmental budget and for 30% of total budgetary expenditures. The government, realizing that attempts to reverse three years of liberalization would jeopardize this vital support, almost certainly will move ahead with its reform program in 1995-96.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $22.4 billion (1994 est.)
Unemployment rate: NA%; note - there is substantial underemployment (1994)
Budget: revenues: $455 million expenditures: $854 million, including capital expenditures of $427 million (FY93/94 est.)
Exports: $593 million (f.o.b., 1993) but does not include unrecorded border trade with India commodities: carpets, clothing, leather goods, jute goods, grain partners: India, US, Germany, UK
Imports: $899 million (c.i.f., 1993) commodities: petroleum products 20%, fertilizer 11%, machinery 10% partners: India, Singapore, Japan, Germany
External debt: $2 billion (1993 est.)
Industrial production: NA
Electricity: capacity: 280,000 kW production: 920 million kWh consumption per capita: 41 kWh (1993)
Industries: small rice, jute, sugar, and oilseed mills; cigarette, textile, carpet, cement, and brick production; tourism
Agriculture: rice, corn, wheat, sugarcane, root crops, milk, buffalo meat; not self-sufficient in food, particularly in drought years
Illicit drugs: illicit producer of cannabis for the domestic and international drug markets; transit point for heroin from Southeast Asia to the West
Economic aid: recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $304 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1980-89), $2.23 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $30 million; Communist countries (1970-89), $286 million
Railroads: total: 101 km; note - all in Terai close to Indian border narrow gauge: 101 km 0.762-m gauge
Highways: total: 7,400 km paved: 3,000 km unpaved: 4,400 km
Ports: none
Airports: total: 44 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 1 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 1 with paved runways under 914 m: 28 with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 1 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 10
@Nepal:Communications
Telephone system: 50,000 telephones (1990); poor telephone and telegraph service; fair radio communication service local: NA intercity: NA international: international radio communication service is fair; 1 INTELSAT (Indian Ocean) earth station
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 88, FM 0, shortwave 0 radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: 1 televisions: NA
@Nepal:Defense Forces
Branches: Royal Nepalese Army, Royal Nepalese Army Air Service, Nepalese Police Force
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 5,163,703; males fit for military service 2,682,284; males reach military age (17) annually 247,978 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $36 million, 1.2% of GDP (FY92/93)
Land use: arable land: 26% permanent crops: 1% meadows and pastures: 32% forest and woodland: 9% other: 32%
Irrigated land: 5,500 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment: current issues: water pollution in the form of heavy metals, organic compounds, and nutrients such as nitrates and phosphates; air pollution from vehicles and refining activities; acid rain natural hazards: the extensive system of dikes and dams, protects nearly one-half of the total area from being flooded international agreements: party to - Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Wetlands, Whaling; signed, but not ratified - Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Biodiversity, Desertification, Law of the Sea
Note: located at mouths of three major European rivers (Rhine, Maas or Meuse, and Schelde)
@Netherlands:People
Population: 15,452,903 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 18% (female 1,382,057; male 1,445,451) 15-64 years: 68% (female 5,184,224; male 5,369,018) 65 years and over: 14% (female 1,238,336; male 833,817) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.52% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 12.42 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 8.48 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 1.29 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 6 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 77.95 years male: 74.9 years female: 81.17 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.56 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Ethnic divisions: Dutch 96%, Moroccans, Turks, and other 4% (1988)
Religions: Roman Catholic 34%, Protestant 25%, Muslim 3%, other 2%, unaffiliated 36% (1991)
Languages: Dutch
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1979 est.) total population: 99%
Labor force: 6.4 million (1993) by occupation: services 71.4%, manufacturing and construction 24.6%, agriculture 4.0% (1992)
@Netherlands:Government
Names: conventional long form: Kingdom of the Netherlands conventional short form: Netherlands local long form: Koninkrijk de Nederlanden local short form: Nederland
Digraph: NL
Type: constitutional monarchy
Capital: Amsterdam; The Hague is the seat of government
Legal system: civil law system incorporating French penal theory; judicial review in the Supreme Court of legislation of lower order rather than Acts of the States General; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: Queen BEATRIX Wilhelmina Armgard (since 30 April 1980); Heir Apparent WILLEM-ALEXANDER, Prince of Orange, son of Queen Beatrix (born 27 April 1967) head of government: Prime Minister Willem (Wim) KOK (since 22 August 1994); Vice Prime Minister Hans DIJKSTAL and Hans VAN MIERLO (since 22 August 1994) cabinet: Cabinet; appointed by the prime minister
Legislative branch: bicameral legislature (Staten Generaal) First Chamber (Eerste Kamer): members indirectly elected by the country's 12 provincial councils for four-year terms; elections last held 9 June l991 (next to be held 9 June 1995); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (75 total) number of seats by party NA Second Chamber (Tweede Kamer): members directly elected for four-year terms; elections last held on 3 May 1994 (next to be held in May 1999); results - PvdA 24.3%, CDA 22.3%, VVD 20.4%, D'66 16.5%, other 16.5%; seats - (150 total) PvdA 37, CDA 34, VVD 31, D'66 24, other 24
Judicial branch: Supreme Court (De Hoge Raad)
Political parties and leaders: Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), Hans HELGERS; Labor (PvdA), Wim KOK; Liberal (VVD - People's Party for Freedom and Democracy), Frits BOLKESTEIN; Democrats '66 (D'66), Hans van MIERLO; a host of minor parties
Other political or pressure groups: large multinational firms; Federation of Netherlands Trade Union Movement (comprising Socialist and Catholic trade unions) and a Protestant trade union; Federation of Catholic and Protestant Employers Associations; the nondenominational Federation of Netherlands Enterprises; and Interchurch Peace Council (IKV)
Member of: AfDB, AG (observer), AsDB, Australia Group, Benelux, BIS, CCC, CE, CERN, EBRD, EC, ECE, ECLAC, EIB, ESA, ESCAP, FAO, G-10, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MTCR, NACC, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNAVEM II, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNOMOZ, UNOMUR, UNPROFOR, UNTSO, UNU, UPU, WCL, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Adriaan JACOBOVITS DE SZEGED chancery: 4200 Linnean Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 244-5300 FAX: [1] (202) 362-3430 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador Kirk Terry DORNBUSH embassy: Lange Voorhout 102, 2514 EJ The Hague mailing address: PSC 71, Box 1000, the Hague; APO AE 09715 telephone: [31] (70) 310-9209 FAX: [31] (70) 361-4688 consulate(s) general: Amsterdam
Flag: three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and blue; similar to the flag of Luxembourg, which uses a lighter blue and is longer
@Netherlands:Economy
Overview: This highly developed and affluent economy is based on private enterprise. The government makes its presence felt, however, through many regulations, permit requirements, and welfare programs affecting most aspects of economic activity. The trade and financial services sector contributes over 50% of GDP. Industrial activity provides about 25% of GDP and is led by the food-processing, oil-refining, and metalworking industries. The highly mechanized agricultural sector employs only 4% of the labor force, but provides large surpluses for export and the domestic food-processing industry. Indeed the Netherlands ranks third worldwide in value of agricultural exports, behind the US and France. High unemployment and a sizable budget deficit are currently the most serious economic problems. Many of the economic issues of the 1990s will reflect the course of European economic integration.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $275.8 billion (1994 est.)
Budget: revenues: $109.9 billion expenditures: $122.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1992 est.)
Exports: $153 billion (f.o.b., 1994 est.) commodities: metal products, chemicals, processed food and tobacco, agricultural products partners: EC 77% (Germany 27%, Belgium-Luxembourg 15%, UK 10%), Central and Eastern Europe 10%, US 4% (1991)
Imports: $137 billion (f.o.b., 1994 est.) commodities: raw materials and semifinished products, consumer goods, transportation equipment, crude oil, food products partners: EC 64% (Germany 26%, Belgium-Luxembourg 14%, UK 8%), US 8% (1991)
External debt: $0
Industrial production: growth rate -1.5% (1993 est.); accounts for 25% of GDP
Industries: agroindustries, metal and engineering products, electrical machinery and equipment, chemicals, petroleum, fishing, construction, microelectronics
Agriculture: accounts for 4.6% of GDP; animal production predominates; crops - grains, potatoes, sugar beets, fruits, vegetables; shortages of grain, fats, and oils
Illicit drugs: important gateway for cocaine, heroin, and hashish entering Europe; European producer of illicit amphetamines and other synthetic drugs
Economic aid: donor: ODA and OOF commitments (1970-89), $19.4 billion
Merchant marine: total: 343 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,629,578 GRT/3,337,307 DWT ships by type: bulk 2, cargo 195, chemical tanker 21, combination bulk 3, container 33, liquefied gas tanker 12, livestock carrier 1, multifunction large-load carrier 1, oil tanker 37, railcar carrier 1, refrigerated cargo 18, roll-on/roll-off cargo 14, short-sea passenger 3, specialized tanker 2 note: many Dutch-owned ships are also registered on the Netherlands Antilles register
Airports: total: 29 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 1 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 9 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 3 with paved runways under 914 m: 8 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 3
@Netherlands:Communications
Telephone system: 9,418,000 telephones; highly developed, well maintained, and integrated; extensive redundant system of multiconductor cables, supplemented by microwave radio relay links local: nationwide mobile phone system intercity: microwave radio relay international: 5 submarine cables; 3 INTELSAT (1 Indian Ocean and 2 Atlantic Ocean) and 1 EUTELSAT earth station
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 3 (relays 3), FM 12 (repeaters 39), shortwave 0
radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: 8 (repeaters 7) televisions: NA
@Netherlands:Defense Forces
Branches: Royal Netherlands Army, Royal Netherlands Navy (includes Naval Air Service and Marine Corps), Royal Netherlands Air Force, Royal Constabulary
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 4,177,555; males fit for military service 3,656,529; males reach military age (20) annually 94,771 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $7.1 billion, 2.2% of GDP (1994)
Location: Caribbean, two island groups in the Caribbean Sea - one includes Curacao and Bonaire north of Venezuela and the other is east of the Virgin Islands
Map references: Central America and the Caribbean
Area: total area: 960 sq km land area: 960 sq km comparative area: slightly less than 5.5 times the size of Washington, DC note: includes Bonaire, Curacao, Saba, Sint Eustatius, and Sint Maarten (Dutch part of the island of Saint Martin)
Climate: tropical; ameliorated by northeast trade winds
Terrain: generally hilly, volcanic interiors
Natural resources: phosphates (Curacao only), salt (Bonaire only)
Land use: arable land: 8% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 0% forest and woodland: 0% other: 92%
Irrigated land: NA sq km
Environment: current issues: NA natural hazards: Curacao and Bonaire are south of Caribbean hurricane belt, so rarely threatened; Sint Maarten, Saba, and Sint Eustatius are subject to hurricanes from July to October international agreements: party to - Whaling (extended from Netherlands)
@Netherlands Antilles:People
Population: 203,505 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 26% (female 25,349; male 26,577) 15-64 years: 67% (female 69,273; male 67,485) 65 years and over: 7% (female 8,599; male 6,222) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.06% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 16.23 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 5.26 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: -0.38 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 9 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 76.94 years male: 74.67 years female: 79.33 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.9 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Religions: Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Seventh-Day Adventist
Languages: Dutch (official), Papiamento a Spanish-Portuguese-Dutch-English dialect predominates, English widely spoken, Spanish
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1981) total population: 98% male: 98% female: 99%
Labor force: 89,000 by occupation: government 65%, industry and commerce 28% (1983)
@Netherlands Antilles:Government
Names: conventional long form: none conventional short form: Netherlands Antilles local long form: none local short form: Nederlandse Antillen
Digraph: NT
Type: part of the Dutch realm; full autonomy in internal affairs granted in 1954
Capital: Willemstad
Administrative divisions: none (part of the Dutch realm)
Independence: none (part of the Dutch realm)
National holiday: Queen's Day, 30 April (1938)
Constitution: 29 December 1954, Statute of the Realm of the Netherlands, as amended
Legal system: based on Dutch civil law system, with some English common law influence
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: Queen BEATRIX Wilhelmina Armgard (since 30 April 1980), represented by Governor General Jaime SALEH (since NA October 1989) head of government: Prime Minister Miguel POURIER (since 25 February 1994) cabinet: Council of Ministers; appointed with the advice and approval of the unicameral legislature
Legislative branch: unicameral Staten: elections last held on 25 February 1994 (next to be held March 1998); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (23 total) PAR 8, PNP 3, SPA 2, PDB 2, UPB 1, MAN 2, DP 1, WIPM 1, DP-St.E 1, DP-St.M 1, Nos Patria 1 note: the government of Prime Minister Miguel POURIER is a coalition of several parties
Judicial branch: Joint High Court of Justice
Political parties and leaders: political parties are indigenous to each island Bonaire: Patriotic Union of Bonaire (UPB), Rudy ELLIS; Democratic Party of Bonaire (PDB), Franklin CRESTIAN Curacao: Antillean Restructuring Party (PAR), Miguel POURIER; National People's Party (PNP), Maria LIBERIA-PETERS; New Antilles Movement (MAN), Domenico Felip Don MARTINA; Workers' Liberation Front (FOL), Wilson (Papa) GODETT; Socialist Independent (SI), George HUECK and Nelson MONTE; Democratic Party of Curacao (DP), Augustin DIAZ; Nos Patria, Chin BEHILIA Saba: Windward Islands People's Movement (WIPM Saba), Will JOHNSON; Saba Democratic Labor Movement, Vernon HASSELL; Saba Unity Party, Carmen SIMMONDS Sint Eustatius: Democratic Party of Sint Eustatius (DP-St.E), K. Van PUTTEN; Windward Islands People's Movement (WIPM); St. Eustatius Alliance (SEA), Ralph BERKEL Sint Maarten: Democratic Party of Sint Maarten (DP-St.M), Claude WATHEY; Patriotic Movement of Sint Maarten (SPA), Vance JAMES
Member of: CARICOM (observer), ECLAC (associate), ICFTU, INTERPOL, IOC, UNESCO (associate), UPU, WMO, WTO (associate)
Diplomatic representation in US: none (self-governing part of the Netherlands)
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Consul General Bernard J. WOERZ consulate(s) general: Saint Anna Boulevard 19, Willemstad, Curacao mailing address: P. O. Box 158, Willemstad, Curacao telephone: [599] (9) 61-3066 FAX: [599] (9) 61-6489
Flag: white with a horizontal blue stripe in the center superimposed on a vertical red band also centered; five white five-pointed stars are arranged in an oval pattern in the center of the blue band; the five stars represent the five main islands of Bonaire, Curacao, Saba, Sint Eustatius, and Sint Maarten
@Netherlands Antilles:Economy
Overview: Tourism and offshore finance are the mainstays of the economy. The islands enjoy a high per capita income and a well-developed infrastructure as compared with other countries in the region. Almost all consumer and capital goods are imported, with Venezuela and the US being the major suppliers. Poor soils and inadequate water supplies hamper the development of agriculture.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $1.85 billion (1993 est.)
National product real growth rate: 1.8% (1994 est.)
Airports: total: 5 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 1 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 1 with paved runways under 914 m: 1
@Netherlands Antilles:Communications
Telephone system: NA telephones; generally adequate facilities local: NA intercity: extensive interisland microwave radio relay links international: 2 submarine cables; 2 INTELSAT (Atlantic Ocean) earth stations
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 9, FM 4, shortwave 0 radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: 1 televisions: NA
@Netherlands Antilles:Defense Forces
Branches: Royal Netherlands Navy, Marine Corps, Royal Netherlands Air Force, National Guard, Police Force
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 56,058; males fit for military service 31,558; males reach military age (20) annually 1,734 (1995 est.)
Note: defense is responsibility of the Netherlands
Land use: arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 14% forest and woodland: 51% other: 35%
Irrigated land: NA sq km
Environment: current issues: NA natural hazards: typhoons most frequent from November to March international agreements: NA
@New Caledonia:People
Population: 184,552 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 31% (female 27,712; male 28,677) 15-64 years: 64% (female 58,462; male 60,169) 65 years and over: 5% (female 4,997; male 4,535) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.75% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 22.04 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 4.9 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 0.4 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 14.4 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 74.02 years male: 70.73 years female: 77.48 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 2.57 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Nationality: noun: New Caledonian(s) adjective: New Caledonian
Ethnic divisions: Melanesian 42.5%, European 37.1%, Wallisian 8.4%, Polynesian 3.8%, Indonesian 3.6%, Vietnamese 1.6%, other 3%
Religions: Roman Catholic 60%, Protestant 30%, other 10%
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1976) total population: 91% male: 92% female: 90%
Labor force: 50,469 foreign workers for plantations and mines from Wallis and Futuna, Vanuatu, and French Polynesia (1980 est.) by occupation: NA
@New Caledonia:Government
Names: conventional long form: Territory of New Caledonia and Dependencies conventional short form: New Caledonia local long form: Territoire des Nouvelle-Caledonie et Dependances local short form: Nouvelle-Caledonie
Digraph: NC
Type: overseas territory of France since 1956
Capital: Noumea
Administrative divisions: none (overseas territory of France); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 3 provinces named Iles Loyaute, Nord, and Sud
Independence: none (overseas territory of France; a referendum on independence will be held in 1998)
National holiday: National Day, Taking of the Bastille, 14 July (1789)
Constitution: 28 September 1958 (French Constitution)
Legal system: the 1988 Matignon Accords grant substantial autonomy to the islands; formerly under French law
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Francois MITTERRAND (since 21 May 1981) head of government: High Commissioner and President of the Council of Government Didier CULTIAUX (since NA July 1994; appointed by the French Ministry of the Interior); President of the Territorial Congress Simon LOUECKHOTE (since 26 June 1989) cabinet: Consultative Committee
Legislative branch: unicameral Territorial Assembly: elections last held 11 June 1989 (next to be held July 1995); results - RPCR 44.5%, FLNKS 28.5%, FN 7%, CD 5%, UO 4%, other 11%; seats - (54 total) RPCR 27, FLNKS 19, FN 3, other 5; note - election boycotted by FULK French Senate: elections last held 27 September 1992 (next to be held September 2001); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (1 total) RPCR 1 French National Assembly: elections last held 21 March 1993 (next to be held 21 and 28 March 1998); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (2 total) RPCR 2
Judicial branch: Court of Appeal
Political parties and leaders: white-dominated Rassemblement pour la Caledonie dans la Republique (RPCR), conservative, Jacques LAFLEUR, president - affiliated to France's Rassemblement pour la Republique (RPR; also called South Province Party); Melanesian proindependence Kanaka Socialist National Liberation Front (FLNKS), Paul NEAOUTYINE; Melanesian moderate Kanak Socialist Liberation (LKS), Nidoish NAISSELINE; National Front (FN), extreme right, Guy GEORGE; Caledonie Demain (CD), right-wing, Bernard MARANT; Union Oceanienne (UO), conservative, Michel HEMA; Front Uni de Liberation Kanak (FULK), proindependence, Clarence UREGEI; Union Caledonian (UC), Francois BURCK, president; "1999" (new party calling for an autonomous state), Philippe PENTECOST
Member of: ESCAP (associate), FZ, ICFTU, SPC, WFTU, WMO
Diplomatic representation in US: none (overseas territory of France)
US diplomatic representation: none (overseas territory of France)
Flag: the flag of France is used
@New Caledonia:Economy
Overview: New Caledonia has more than 25% of the world's known nickel resources. In recent years the economy has suffered because of depressed international demand for nickel, the principal source of export earnings. Only a negligible amount of the land is suitable for cultivation, and food accounts for about 25% of imports.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $1 billion (1991 est.)
National product real growth rate: 2.4% (1988)
National product per capita: $6,000 (1991 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1.4% (1990)
Unemployment rate: 16% (1989)
Budget: revenues: $224 million expenditures: $211 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1985 est.)
Exports: $671 million (f.o.b., 1989) commodities: nickel metal 87%, nickel ore partners: France 32%, Japan 23.5%, US 3.6%
Imports: $764 million (c.i.f., 1989) commodities: foods, fuels, minerals, machines, electrical equipment partners: France 44.0%, US 10%, Australia 9%
Agriculture: large areas devoted to cattle grazing; coffee, corn, wheat, vegetables; 60% self-sufficient in beef
Illicit drugs: illicit cannabis cultivation is becoming a principal source of income for some families
Economic aid: recipient: Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $4.185 billion
Currency: 1 CFP franc (CFPF) = 100 centimes
Exchange rates: Comptoirs Francais du Pacifique francs (CFPF) per US$1 - 96.25 (January 1995), 100.93 (1994), 102.96 (1993), 96.24 (1992), 102.57 (1991), 99.00 (1990); note - linked at the rate of 18.18 to the French franc
Fiscal year: calendar year
@New Caledonia:Transportation
Railroads: 0 km
Highways: total: 6,340 km paved: 634 km unpaved: 5,706 km (1987)
Airports: total: 36 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 1 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 3 with paved runways under 914 m: 19 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 13
@New Caledonia:Communications
Telephone system: 32,578 telephones (1987) local: NA intercity: NA international: 1 INTELSAT (Pacific Ocean) satellite link
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 5, FM 3, shortwave 0 radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: 7 televisions: NA
@New Caledonia:Defense Forces
Branches: French Armed Forces (Army, Navy, Air Force, Gendarmerie); Police Force
Location: Oceania, islands in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of Australia
Map references: Oceania
Area: total area: 268,680 sq km land area: 268,670 sq km comparative area: about the size of Colorado note: includes Antipodes Islands, Auckland Islands, Bounty Islands, Campbell Island, Chatham Islands, and Kermadec Islands
Land boundaries: 0 km
Coastline: 15,134 km
Maritime claims: continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 12 nm
International disputes: territorial claim in Antarctica (Ross Dependency)
Climate: temperate with sharp regional contrasts
Terrain: predominately mountainous with some large coastal plains
Land use: arable land: 2% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 53% forest and woodland: 38% other: 7%
Irrigated land: 2,800 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment: current issues: deforestation; soil erosion; native flora and fauna hard-hit by species introduced from outside natural hazards: earthquakes are common, though usually not severe international agreements: party to - Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83, Wetlands, Whaling; signed, but not ratified - Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation
Note: about 80% of the population lives in cities
@New Zealand:People
Population: 3,407,277 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 23% (female 381,027; male 401,285) 15-64 years: 65% (female 1,109,402; male 1,111,079) 65 years and over: 12% (female 234,339; male 170,145) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.52% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 15.14 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 8.03 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: -1.87 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 8.6 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 76.65 years male: 73.08 years female: 80.42 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.99 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Nationality: noun: New Zealander(s) adjective: New Zealand
Ethnic divisions: European 88%, Maori 8.9%, Pacific Islander 2.9%, other 0.2%
Religions: Anglican 24%, Presbyterian 18%, Roman Catholic 15%, Methodist 5%, Baptist 2%, other Protestant 3%, unspecified or none 33% (1986)
Languages: English (official), Maori
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1980 est.) total population: 99%
Labor force: 1,603,500 (June 1991) by occupation: services 66.6%, industry 22.6%, agriculture 10.8% (1992)
@New Zealand:Government
Names: conventional long form: none conventional short form: New Zealand
Abbreviation: NZ
Digraph: NZ
Type: parliamentary democracy
Capital: Wellington
Administrative divisions: 93 counties, 9 districts*, and 3 town districts**; Akaroa, Amuri, Ashburton, Bay of Islands, Bruce, Buller, Chatham Islands, Cheviot, Clifton, Clutha, Cook, Dannevirke, Egmont, Eketahuna, Ellesmere, Eltham, Eyre, Featherston, Franklin, Golden Bay, Great Barrier Island, Grey, Hauraki Plains, Hawera*, Hawke's Bay, Heathcote, Hikurangi**, Hobson, Hokianga, Horowhenua, Hurunui, Hutt, Inangahua, Inglewood, Kaikoura, Kairanga, Kiwitea, Lake, Mackenzie, Malvern, Manaia**, Manawatu, Mangonui, Maniototo, Marlborough, Masterton, Matamata, Mount Herbert, Ohinemuri, Opotiki, Oroua, Otamatea, Otorohanga*, Oxford, Pahiatua, Paparua, Patea, Piako, Pohangina, Raglan, Rangiora*, Rangitikei, Rodney, Rotorua*, Runanga, Saint Kilda, Silverpeaks, Southland, Stewart Island, Stratford, Strathallan, Taranaki, Taumarunui, Taupo, Tauranga, Thames-Coromandel*, Tuapeka, Vincent, Waiapu, Waiheke, Waihemo, Waikato, Waikohu, Waimairi, Waimarino, Waimate, Waimate West, Waimea, Waipa, Waipawa*, Waipukurau*, Wairarapa South, Wairewa, Wairoa, Waitaki, Waitomo*, Waitotara, Wallace, Wanganui, Waverley**, Westland, Whakatane*, Whangarei, Whangaroa, Woodville note: there may be a new administrative structure of 16 regions (Auckland, Bay of Plenty, Canterbury, Gisborne, Hawke's Bay, Marlborough, Nelson, Northland, Otago, Southland, Taranaki, Tasman, Waikato, Wanganui-Manawatu, Wellington, West Coast) that are subdivided into 57 districts and 16 cities* (Ashburton, Auckland*, Banks Peninsula, Buller, Carterton, Central Hawke's Bay, Central Otago, Christchurch*, Clutha, Dunedin*, Far North, Franklin, Gisborne, Gore, Grey, Hamilton*, Hastings, Hauraki, Horowhenua, Hurunui, Hutt*, Invercargill*, Kaikoura, Kaipara, Kapiti Coast, Kawerau, Mackenzie, Manawatu, Manukau*, Marlborough, Masterton, Matamata Piako, Napier*, Nelson*, New Plymouth, North Shore*, Opotiki, Otorohanga, Palmerston North*, Papakura*, Porirua*, Queenstown Lakes, Rangitikei, Rodney, Rotorua, Ruapehu, Selwyn, Southland, South Taranaki, South Waikato, South Wairarapa, Stratford, Tararua, Tasman, Taupo, Tauranga, Thames Coromandel, Timaru, Upper Hutt*, Waikato, Waimakariri, Waimate, Waipa, Wairoa, Waitakere*, Waitaki, Waitomo, Wanganui, Wellington*, Western Bay of Plenty, Westland, Whakatane, Whangarei)
Dependent areas: Cook Islands, Niue, Tokelau
Independence: 26 September 1907 (from UK)
National holiday: Waitangi Day, 6 February (1840) (Treaty of Waitangi established British sovereignty)
Constitution: no formal, written constitution; consists of various documents, including certain acts of the UK and New Zealand Parliaments; Constitution Act 1986 was to have come into force 1 January 1987, but has not been enacted
Legal system: based on English law, with special land legislation and land courts for Maoris; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Dame Catherine TIZARD (since 12 December 1990) head of government: Prime Minister James BOLGER (since 29 October 1990); Deputy Prime Minister Donald McKINNON (since 2 November 1990) cabinet: Executive Council; appointed by the governor general on recommendation of the prime minister
Legislative branch: unicameral House of Representatives: (commonly called Parliament) elections last held 6 November 1993 (next to be held NA November 1996); results - NP 35.2%, NZLP 34.7%, Alliance 18.3%, New Zealand First 8.3%; seats - (99 total) NP 50, NZLP 45, Alliance 2, New Zealand First Party 2
Judicial branch: High Court, Court of Appeal
Political parties and leaders: National Party (NP, government), James BOLGER; New Zealand Labor Party (NZLP, opposition), Helen CLARK; Alliance, Sandra LEE; Democratic Party, Dick RYAN; New Zealand Liberal Party, Hanmish MACINTYRE and Gilbert MYLES; Green Party, no official leader; Mana Motuhake, Martin RATA; Socialist Unity Party (SUP, pro-Soviet), Kenneth DOUGLAS; New Zealand First, Winston PETERS note: the New Labor, Democratic, and Mana Motuhake parties formed a coalition called the Alliance Party, Sandra LEE, president, in September 1991; the Green Party joined the coalition in May 1992
Member of: ANZUS (US suspended security obligations to NZ on 11 August 1986), APEC, AsDB, Australia Group, C, CCC, CP, EBRD, ESCAP, FAO, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, MTCR, NAM (guest), OECD, PCA, SPARTECA, SPC, SPF, UN, UNAVEM II, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNOSOM, UNPROFOR, UNTSO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Lionel John WOOD chancery: 37 Observatory Circle NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 328-4800 consulate(s) general: Apia (Western Samoa), Los Angeles
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador Josiah Horton BEEMAN embassy: 29 Fitzherbert Terrace, Thorndon, Wellington mailing address: P. O. Box 1190, Wellington; PSC 467, Box 1, FPO AP 96531-1001 telephone: [64] (4) 472-2068 FAX: [64] (4) 472-3537 consulate(s) general: Auckland
Flag: blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant with four red five-pointed stars edged in white centered in the outer half of the flag; the stars represent the Southern Cross constellation
@New Zealand:Economy
Overview: Since 1984 the government has been reorienting an agrarian economy dependent on a guaranteed British market to a more industrialized, open free market economy that can compete on the global scene. The government has hoped that dynamic growth would boost real incomes, broaden and deepen the technological capabilities of the industrial sector, reduce inflationary pressures, and permit the expansion of welfare benefits. The initial results were mixed: inflation is down from double-digit levels, but growth was sluggish in 1988-91. In 1992-93, growth picked up to 3% annually, a sign that the new economic approach was beginning to pay off. Business confidence strengthened in 1994, and export demand picked up in the Asia-Pacific region, resulting in 6.2% growth. Inflation remains among the lowest in the industrial world.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $56.4 billion (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate: 6.2% (1994)
National product per capita: $16,640 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1.6% (FY93/94)
Unemployment rate: 7.5% (December 1994)
Budget: revenues: $18.94 billion expenditures: $18.82 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY94/95) note: surplus $120 million (FY94/95)
Exports: $11.2 billion (1994) commodities: wool, lamb, mutton, beef, fish, cheese, chemicals, forestry products, fruits and vegetables, manufactures partners: Australia 20%, Japan 15%, US 12%, UK 6%
Imports: $10.4 billion (1994) commodities: machinery and equipment, vehicles and aircraft, petroleum, consumer goods partners: Australia 21%, US 18%, Japan 16%, UK 6%
External debt: $38.5 billion (September 1994)
Industrial production: growth rate 1.9% (1990); accounts for about 20% of GDP
Industries: food processing, wood and paper products, textiles, machinery, transportation equipment, banking and insurance, tourism, mining
Agriculture: accounts for about 9% of GDP and about 11% of the work force; livestock predominates - wool, meat, dairy products all export earners; crops - wheat, barley, potatoes, pulses, fruits, vegetables; surplus producer of farm products; fish catch reached a record 503,000 metric tons in 1988
Economic aid: donor: ODA and OOF commitments (1970-89), $526 million
Airports: total: 102 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 2 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 8 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 28 with paved runways under 914 m: 41 with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 2 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 21
@New Zealand:Communications
Telephone system: 2,110,000 telephones; excellent international and domestic systems local: NA intercity: NA international: submarine cables extend to Australia and Fiji; 2 INTELSAT (Pacific Ocean) earth stations
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 64, FM 2, shortwave 0 radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: 14 televisions: NA
@New Zealand:Defense Forces
Branches: New Zealand Army, Royal New Zealand Navy, Royal New Zealand Air Force
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 883,668; males fit for military service 742,871; males reach military age (20) annually 27,162 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $792 million, 2% of GDP (FY90/91)
International disputes: territorial disputes with Colombia over the Archipelago de San Andres y Providencia and Quita Sueno Bank; with respect to the maritime boundary question in the Golfo de Fonseca, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) referred the disputants to an earlier agreement in this century and advised that some tripartite resolution among El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua likely would be required
Climate: tropical in lowlands, cooler in highlands
Terrain: extensive Atlantic coastal plains rising to central interior mountains; narrow Pacific coastal plain interrupted by volcanoes
Natural resources: gold, silver, copper, tungsten, lead, zinc, timber, fish
Land use: arable land: 9% permanent crops: 1% meadows and pastures: 43% forest and woodland: 35% other: 12%
Irrigated land: 850 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment: current issues: deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution natural hazards: destructive earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides, and occasionally severe hurricanes international agreements: party to - Endangered Species, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea
@Nicaragua:People
Population: 4,206,353 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 44% (female 921,356; male 930,594) 15-64 years: 53% (female 1,146,485; male 1,097,811) 65 years and over: 3% (female 62,607; male 47,500) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 2.61% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 33.73 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 6.45 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: -1.19 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 50.3 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 64.54 years male: 61.67 years female: 67.53 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 4.17 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Ethnic divisions: mestizo (mixed Amerindian and Caucasian) 69%, white 17%, black 9%, Indian 5%
Religions: Roman Catholic 95%, Protestant 5%
Languages: Spanish (official) note: English- and Indian-speaking minorities on Atlantic coast
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1971) total population: 57% male: 57% female: 57%
Labor force: 1.086 million by occupation: services 43%, agriculture 44%, industry 13% (1986)
@Nicaragua:Government
Names: conventional long form: Republic of Nicaragua conventional short form: Nicaragua local long form: Republica de Nicaragua local short form: Nicaragua
Digraph: NU
Type: republic
Capital: Managua
Administrative divisions: 16 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento); Boaco, Carazo, Chinandega, Chontales, Esteli, Granada, Jinotega, Leon, Madriz, Managua, Masaya, Matagalpa, Nueva Segovia, Rio San Juan, Rivas, Zelaya
Independence: 15 September 1821 (from Spain)
National holiday: Independence Day, 15 September (1821)
Constitution: 9 January 1987
Legal system: civil law system; Supreme Court may review administrative acts
Suffrage: 16 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state and head of government: President Violeta Barrios de CHAMORRO (since 25 April 1990); Vice President Virgilio GODOY Reyes (since 25 April 1990); election last held 25 February 1990 (next to be held November 1996); results - Violeta Barrios de CHAMORRO (UNO) 54.7%, Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra (FSLN) 40.8%, other 4.5% cabinet: Cabinet
Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly (Asamblea Nacional): elections last held 25 February 1990 (next to be held November 1996); results - UNO 53.9%, FSLN 40.8%, PSC 1.6%, MUR 1.0%; seats - (92 total) UNO 41, FSLN 39, "Centrist" (Dissident UNO) 12
Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Corte Suprema)
Political parties and leaders: far right: Liberal Constitutionalist Party* (PLC), Arnold ALEMAN; Conservative Popular Alliance Party (APC), Myriam ARGUELLO; Central American Unionist Party (PUCA), Blanca ROJAS Echaverry; Independent Liberal Party for National Unity (PLUIN), Alfonso MOCADO Guillen; Conservative Party of Nicaragua (PCN - formed in 1992 by the merger of the Conservative Social Party (PSC) with the Democratic Conservative Party (PCD) and PCL, the Conservative party of Labor), Fernando AGUERO; National Justice Party (PJN), Jorge DIAZ Cruz; National Conservative Party* (PNC), Adolfo CALERO center right: Neoliberal Party* (PALI), Adolfo GARCIA Esquivel; National Action Party* (PAN), Delvis MONTIEL; Independent Liberal Party* (PLI), Wilfredo NAVARRO center left: Christian Democratic Union (UDC), Luis Humberto GUZMAN; Nicaraguan Democratic Movement (MDN), Roberto URROZ; Social Democratic Party (PSD), Adolfo JARQUIN; Movement of Revolutionary Unity (MUR), Pablo HERNANDEZ; Sandinista Renovation Movement (MRS), Sergio RAMIREZ; Democratic Action Movement (MAD), Eden PASTORA; Communist Party of Nicaragua* (PCdeN), Eli ALTIMIRANO Perez far left: Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN), Daniel ORTEGA; Revolutionary Workers' Party (PRT), Bonifacio MIRANDA; Popular Action Movement-Marxist-Leninist (MAP-ML), Isidro TELLEZ; Nicaraguan Socialist Party (PSN), Gustavo TABLADA; Unidad Nicaraguense de Obreros, Campesinos, y Profesionales (UNOCP), Rosalio GONZALEZ Urbina note: parties marked with an asterisk belong to the National Opposition Union (UNO), an alliance of moderate parties, which, however, does not always follow a unified political agenda
Other political or pressure groups: National Workers Front (FNT) is a Sandinista umbrella group of eight labor unions: Sandinista Workers' Central (CST); Farm Workers Association (ATC); Health Workers Federation (FETASALUD); National Union of Employees (UNE); National Association of Educators of Nicaragua (ANDEN); Union of Journalists of Nicaragua (UPN); Heroes and Martyrs Confederation of Professional Associations (CONAPRO); and the National Union of Farmers and Ranchers (UNAG); Permanent Congress of Workers (CPT) is an umbrella group of four non-Sandinista labor unions: Confederation of Labor Unification (CUS); Autonomous Nicaraguan Workers' Central (CTN-A); Independent General Confederation of Labor (CGT-I); and Labor Action and Unity Central (CAUS); Nicaraguan Workers' Central (CTN) is an independent labor union; Superior Council of Private Enterprise (COSEP) is a confederation of business groups
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Roberto Genaro MAYORGA Cortes chancery: 1627 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 939-6570 consulate(s) general: Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, San Francisco
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador John F. MAISTO embassy: Kilometer 4.5 Carretera Sur., Managua mailing address: APO AA 34021 telephone: [505] (2) 666010, 666013, 666015 through 18, 666026, 666027, 666032 through 34 FAX: [505] (2) 666046
Flag: three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), white, and blue with the national coat of arms centered in the white band; the coat of arms features a triangle encircled by the words REPUBLICA DE NICARAGUA on the top and AMERICA CENTRAL on the bottom; 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 Honduras, which has five blue stars arranged in an X pattern centered in the white band
@Nicaragua:Economy
Overview: Since March 1991, when President CHAMORRO began an ambitious economic stabilization program, Nicaragua has had considerable success in reducing inflation and obtaining substantial economic aid from abroad. Annual inflation fell from more than 750% in 1991 to less than 5% in 1992. Inflation rose again to an estimated 20% in 1993, although this increase was due almost entirely to a large currency devaluation in January. As of early 1994, the government was close to finalizing an enhanced structural adjustment facility with the IMF, after the previous standby facility expired in early 1993. Despite these successes, achieving overall economic growth in an economy scarred by misguided economic values and civil war during the 1980s has proved elusive. Economic growth was flat in 1992 and slightly negative in 1993. Nicaragua's per capita foreign debt is one of the highest in the world; nonetheless, as of late 1993, Nicaragua was current on its post-1988 debt as well as on payments to the international financial institutions. Definition of property rights remains a problem; ownership disputes over large tracts of land, businesses, and homes confiscated by the previous government have yet to be resolved. A rise in exports of coffee and other products led growth in 1994.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $6.4 billion (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate: 3.2% (1994 est.)
Budget: revenues: $375 million (1992) expenditures: $410 million (1992), including capital expenditures of $115 million (1991 est.)
Exports: $329 million (f.o.b., 1994 est.) commodities: meat, coffee, cotton, sugar, seafood, gold, bananas partners: US, Central America, Canada, Germany
Imports: $786 million (c.i.f., 1994 est.) commodities: consumer goods, machinery and equipment, petroleum products partners: Central America, US, Venezuela, Japan
External debt: $11 billion (1993)
Industrial production: growth rate -0.8% (1993 est.); accounts for 26% of GDP
Industries: food processing, chemicals, metal products, textiles, clothing, petroleum refining and distribution, beverages, footwear
Agriculture: crops account for about 15% of GDP; export crops - coffee, bananas, sugarcane, cotton; food crops - rice, corn, cassava, citrus fruit, beans; also produces a variety of animal products - beef, veal, pork, poultry, dairy products; normally self-sufficient in food
Illicit drugs: transshipment point for cocaine destined for the US
Economic aid: recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-92), $620 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $1.381 billion
Currency: 1 gold cordoba (C$) = 100 centavos
Exchange rates: gold cordobas (C$) per US$1 - 7.08 (December 1994), 6.72 (1994), 5.62 (1993), 5.00 (1992); note - gold cordoba replaced cordoba as Nicaragua's currency in 1991 (exchange rate of old cordoba had reached per US$1 - 25,000,000 by March 1992)
Fiscal year: calendar year
@Nicaragua:Transportation
Railroads: total: 376 km; note - majority of system is nonoperational standard gauge: 3 km 1.435-m gauge line at Puerto Cabezas; note - does not connect with mainline narrow gauge: 373 km 1.067-m gauge
Highways: total: 15,286 km paved: 1,598 km unpaved: 13,688 km note: there is a 368.5 km portion of the Pan-American Highway which is not in the total
Inland waterways: 2,220 km, including 2 large lakes
Pipelines: crude oil 56 km
Ports: Bluefields, Corinto, El Bluff, Puerto Cabezas, Puerto Sandino, Rama, San Juan del Sur
Merchant marine: none
Airports: total: 198 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 1 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 3 with paved runways under 914 m: 149 with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 2 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 39
@Nicaragua:Communications
Telephone system: 60,000 telephones; low-capacity radio relay and wire system being expanded; connection into Central American Microwave System local: NA intercity: wire and radio relay international: 1 Intersputnik and 1 INTELSAT (Atlantic Ocean) earth station
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 45, FM 0, shortwave 3 radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: 7 televisions: NA
@Nicaragua:Defense Forces
Branches: Ground Forces, Navy, Air Force note: total strength of all branches - 14,500
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 982,345; males fit for military service 604,721; males reach military age (18) annually 47,064 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $32 million, 1.7% of GDP (1994), 8.1% of government budget
Area: total area: 1.267 million sq km land area: 1,266,700 sq km comparative area: slightly less than twice the size of Texas
Land boundaries: total 5,697 km, Algeria 956 km, Benin 266 km, Burkina 628 km, Chad 1,175 km, Libya 354 km, Mali 821 km, Nigeria 1,497 km
Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims: none; landlocked
International disputes: Libya claims about 19,400 sq km in northern Niger; demarcation of international boundaries in Lake Chad, the lack of which has led to border incidents in the past, is completed and awaiting ratification by Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria; Burkina and Mali are proceeding with boundary demarcation, including the tripoint with Niger
Climate: desert; mostly hot, dry, dusty; tropical in extreme south
Terrain: predominately desert plains and sand dunes; flat to rolling plains in south; hills in north
Natural resources: uranium, coal, iron ore, tin, phosphates
Land use: arable land: 3% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 7% forest and woodland: 2% other: 88%
Irrigated land: 320 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment: current issues: overgrazing; soil erosion; deforestation; desertification; wildlife populations (such as elephant, hippopotamus, and lion) threatened because of poaching and habitat destruction natural hazards: recurring droughts international agreements: party to - Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Law of the Sea
Note: landlocked
@Niger:People
Population: 9,280,208 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 49% (female 2,275,338; male 2,275,999) 15-64 years: 49% (female 2,314,857; male 2,188,938) 65 years and over: 2% (female 107,432; male 117,644) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 3.4% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 54.8 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 20.8 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 109.3 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 45.07 years male: 43.42 years female: 46.77 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 7.35 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Ethnic divisions: Hausa 56%, Djerma 22%, Fula 8.5%, Tuareg 8%, Beri Beri (Kanouri) 4.3%, Arab, Toubou, and Gourmantche 1.2%, about 4,000 French expatriates
Religions: Muslim 80%, remainder indigenous beliefs and Christians
Languages: French (official), Hausa, Djerma
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1988) total population: 11% male: 17% female: 5%
Labor force: 2.5 million wage earners (1982) by occupation: agriculture 90%, industry and commerce 6%, government 4%
@Niger:Government
Names: conventional long form: Republic of Niger conventional short form: Niger local long form: Republique du Niger local short form: Niger
National holiday: Republic Day, 18 December (1958)
Constitution: approved by national referendum 16 December 1992; promulgated January 1993
Legal system: based on French civil law system and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Mahamane OUSMANE (since 16 April 1993); election last held 17 March 1993 (next to be held NA February 1998) head of government: Prime Minister Hama AMADOU (since 21 February 1995) cabinet: Cabinet; appointed by the president on recommendation of the prime minister
Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly: elected by proportional representation for 5 year terms; elections last held 12 January 1995 (next to be held NA); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (83 total) MNSD-NASSARA 29, CDS 24, PNDS 12, ANDP-Z 9, UDFP 3, UDPS 2, PADN 2, PPN-RDA 1, UPDP 1
Judicial branch: State Court (Cour d'Etat), Court of Appeal (Cour d'Apel)
Political parties and leaders: National Movement of the Development Society (MNSD-NASSARA), Mamadou TANDJA, chairman; Democratic and Social Convention (CDS), Jacoub SANOUSSI; Nigerien Party for Democracy and Socialism (PNDS), Mahamadou ISSOUFOU; Nigerien Alliance for Democracy and Progress-Zamanlahia (ANDP-Z), Moumouni Adamou DJERMAKOYE; Union of Popular Forces for Democracy and Progress-Sawaba (UDFP), Djibo BAKARY, chairman; Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS), Akoli DAOUEL; Niger Social Democrat Party (PADN), Malam Adji WAZIRI; Niger Progressive Party-African Democratic Rally (PPN-RDA), Dori ABDOULAI, chairman; Union of Patriots, Democrats, and Progressives (UPDP), Professor Andre SALIFOU, chairman
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Adamou SEYDOU chancery: 2204 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 483-4224 through 4227
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador John S. DAVISON embassy: Rue Des Ambassades, Niamey mailing address: B. P. 11201, Niamey telephone: [227] 72 26 61 through 72 26 64 FAX: [227] 73 31 67
Flag: three equal horizontal bands of orange (top), white, and green with a small orange disk (representing the sun) centered in the white band; similar to the flag of India, which has a blue spoked wheel centered in the white band
@Niger:Economy
Overview: Niger is one of the world's poorest countries, with GDP growth lagging behind the rapid growth of population. The economy is centered on subsistence agriculture, animal husbandry, and reexport trade, and increasingly less on uranium, its major export throughout the 1970s and 1980s. Uranium revenues dropped by almost 50% between 1983 and 1990 with the end of the uranium boom. Terms of trade with Nigeria, Niger's largest regional trade partner, have improved dramatically since the 50% devaluation of the African franc in January 1994; this devaluation boosted exports of livestock, peas, onions, and the products of Niger's small cotton industry. The government relies on bilateral and multilateral aid for operating expenses and public investment and is strongly induced to adhere to structural adjustment programs designed by the IMF and the World Bank.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $4.6 billion (1993 est.)
National product real growth rate: 1.4% (1993 est.)
National product per capita: $550 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA%
Unemployment rate: NA%
Budget: revenues: $188 million expenditures: $400 million, including capital expenditures of $125 million (1993 est.)
Imports: $286 million (c.i.f., 1993 est.) commodities: consumer goods, primary materials, machinery, vehicles and parts, petroleum, cereals partners: France 23%, Cote d'Ivoire, Germany, Italy, Japan
External debt: $1.2 billion (December 1991 est.)
Industrial production: growth rate -2.7% (1992 est.); accounts for 15% of GDP
Electricity: capacity: 60,000 kW production: 200 million kWh consumption per capita: 42 kWh (1992)
Industries: cement, brick, textiles, food processing, chemicals, slaughterhouses, and a few other small light industries; uranium mining began in 1971
Agriculture: accounts for roughly 40% of GDP and 90% of labor force; cash crops - cowpeas, cotton, peanuts; food crops - millet, sorghum, cassava, rice; livestock - cattle, sheep, goats; self-sufficient in food except in drought years
Economic aid: recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $380 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $3.165 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $504 million; Communist countries (1970-89), $61 million
Currency: 1 CFA franc (CFAF) = 100 centimes
Exchange rates: Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (CFAF) per US$1 - 529.43 (January 1995), 555.20 (1994), 283.16 (1993), 264.69 (1992), 282.11 (1991), 272.26 (1990) note: the official rate is pegged to the French franc, and beginning 12 January 1994, the CFA franc was devalued to CFAF 100 per French franc from CFAF 50 at which it had been fixed since 1948
Fiscal year: 1 October - 30 September
@Niger:Transportation
Railroads: 0 km
Highways: total: 39,970 km paved: bituminous 3,170 km unpaved: gravel, laterite 10,330 km; earth 3,470 km; tracks 23,000 km
Inland waterways: Niger River is navigable 300 km from Niamey to Gaya on the Benin frontier from mid-December through March
Ports: none
Airports: total: 29 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 6 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 1 with paved runways under 914 m: 3 with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 1 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 16
@Niger:Communications
Telephone system: 14,260 telephones; small system of wire, radiocommunications, and radio relay links concentrated in southwestern area local: NA intercity: wire, radiocommunications, and radio relay; 3 domestic satellite links, with 1 planned international: 2 INTELSAT (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) earth stations
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 15, FM 5, shortwave 0 radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: 18 televisions: NA
@Niger:Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Air Force, National Gendarmerie, Republican Guard, National Police
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 1,908,767; males fit for military service 1,029,384; males reach military age (18) annually 94,506 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $32 million, 1.3% of GDP (FY92/93)
Location: Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Benin and Cameroon
Map references: Africa
Area: total area: 923,770 sq km land area: 910,770 sq km comparative area: slightly more than twice the size of California
Land boundaries: total 4,047 km, Benin 773 km, Cameroon 1,690 km, Chad 87 km, Niger 1,497 km
Coastline: 853 km
Maritime claims: continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation exclusive economic zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 30 nm
International disputes: demarcation of international boundaries in Lake Chad, the lack of which led to border incidents in the past, is completed and awaits ratification by Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria; dispute with Cameroon over land and maritime boundaries in the vicinity of the Bakasi Peninsula has been referred to the International Court of Justice
Climate: varies; equatorial in south, tropical in center, arid in north
Terrain: southern lowlands merge into central hills and plateaus; mountains in southeast, plains in north
Natural resources: petroleum, tin, columbite, iron ore, coal, limestone, lead, zinc, natural gas
Land use: arable land: 31% permanent crops: 3% meadows and pastures: 23% forest and woodland: 15% other: 28%
Irrigated land: 8,650 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment: current issues: soil degradation; rapid deforestation; desertification; recent droughts in north severely affecting marginal agricultural activities natural hazards: periodic droughts international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection
@Nigeria:People
Population: 101,232,251 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 45% (female 22,643,026; male 22,850,322) 15-64 years: 52% (female 25,842,286; male 26,978,906) 65 years and over: 3% (female 1,438,392; male 1,479,319) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 3.16% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 43.26 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 12.01 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 0.35 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 72.6 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 55.98 years male: 54.69 years female: 57.3 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 6.31 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Ethnic divisions: north: Hausa and Fulani southwest: Yoruba southeast: Ibos non-Africans 27,000 note: Hausa and Fulani, Yoruba, and Ibos together make up 65% of population
Religions: Muslim 50%, Christian 40%, indigenous beliefs 10%
Languages: English (official), Hausa, Yoruba, Ibo, Fulani
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.) total population: 51% male: 62% female: 40%
Labor force: 42.844 million by occupation: agriculture 54%, industry, commerce, and services 19%, government 15%
@Nigeria:Government
Names: conventional long form: Federal Republic of Nigeria conventional short form: Nigeria
Digraph: NI
Type: military government since 31 December 1983; plans to institute a constitutional conference to prepare for a new transition to civilian rule after plans for a transition in 1993 were negated by General BABANGIDA
Capital: Abuja note: on 12 December 1991 the capital was officially moved from Lagos to Abuja; many government offices remain in Lagos pending completion of facilities in Abuja
Administrative divisions: 30 states and 1 territory*; Abia, Abuja Capital Territory*, Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Bauchi, Benue, Borno, Cross River, Delta, Edo, Enugu, Imo, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Kogi, Kwara, Lagos, Niger, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, Oyo, Plateau, Rivers, Sokoto, Taraba, Yobe
Independence: 1 October 1960 (from UK)
National holiday: Independence Day, 1 October (1960)
Constitution: 1979 constitution still in force; plan for 1989 constitution to take effect in 1993 was not implemented
Legal system: based on English common law, Islamic law, and tribal law
Suffrage: 21 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state and head of government: Chairman of the Provisional Ruling Council and Commander in Chief of Armed Forces and Defense Minister Gen. Sani ABACHA (since 17 November 1993); Vice-Chairman of the Provisional Ruling Council Oladipo DIYA (since 17 November 1993) cabinet: Federal Executive Council
Legislative branch: bicameral National Assembly Senate: suspended after coup of 17 November 1993 House of Representatives: suspended after coup of 17 November 1993
Judicial branch: Supreme Court, Federal Court of Appeal
Political parties and leaders: note: two political party system suspended after the coup of 17 November 1993
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Zubair Mahmud KAZAURE chancery: 1333 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 986-8400 consulate(s) general: New York
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador Walter C. CARRINGTON embassy: 2 Eleke Crescent, Lagos mailing address: P. O. Box 554, Lagos telephone: [234] (1) 261-0097 FAX: [234] (1) 261-0257 branch office: Abuja consulate(s) general: Kaduna
Flag: three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and green
@Nigeria:Economy
Overview: The oil-rich Nigerian economy continues to be hobbled by political instability and poor macroeconomic management. Nigeria's unpopular military rulers show no sign of wanting to restore democratic civilian rule in the near future and appear divided on how to redress fundamental economic imbalances that cause troublesome inflation and the steady depreciation of the naira. The government's domestic and international arrears continue to limit economic growth - even in the oil sector - and prevent an agreement with the IMF and bilateral creditors on debt relief. The inefficient (largely subsistence) agricultural sector has failed to keep up with rapid population growth, and Nigeria, once a large net exporter of food, now must import food.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $122.6 billion (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate: -0.8% (1994 est.)
National product per capita: $1,250 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 53% (1993 est.)
Unemployment rate: 28% (1992 est.)
Budget: revenues: $9 billion expenditures: $10.8 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1992 est.)
Agriculture: accounts for 35% of GDP and half of labor force; cash crops - cocoa, peanuts, palm oil, rubber; food crops - corn, rice, sorghum, millet, cassava, yams; livestock - cattle, sheep, goats, pigs; fishing and forestry resources extensively exploited
Illicit drugs: passenger and cargo air hub for West Africa; facilitates movement of heroin en route from Southeast and Southwest Asia to Western Europe and North America; increasingly a transit route for cocaine from South America intended for West European, East Asian, and North American markets
Economic aid: recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $705 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $3 billion; Communist countries (1970-89), $2.2 billion
Railroads: total: 3,567 km narrow gauge: 3,505 km 1.067-m gauge standard gauge: 62 km 1.435-m gauge
Highways: total: 107,990 km paved: mostly bituminous-surface treatment 30,019 km unpaved: gravel, crushed stone, improved earth 25,411 km; unimproved earth 52,560 km
Inland waterways: 8,575 km consisting of Niger and Benue Rivers and smaller rivers and creeks
Pipelines: crude oil 2,042 km; petroleum products 3,000 km; natural gas 500 km
Ports: Calabar, Lagos, Onne, Port Harcourt, Sapele, Warri
Merchant marine: total: 32 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 404,064 GRT/661,850 DWT ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 14, chemical tanker 3, liquefied gas tanker 1, oil tanker 12, roll-on/roll-off cargo 1
Airports: total: 80 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 6 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 10 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 10 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 7 with paved runways under 914 m: 25 with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 1 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 21
@Nigeria:Communications
Telephone system: NA telephones; above-average system limited by poor maintenance; major expansion in progress local: NA intercity: microwave radio relay, coaxial cable, and 20 domestic satellite earth stations carry intercity traffic international: 3 INTELSAT earth stations (2 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) and 1 coaxial submarine cable carry international traffic
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 35, FM 17, shortwave 0 radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: 28 televisions: NA
@Nigeria:Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, paramilitary Police Force
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 23,167,009; males fit for military service 13,246,223; males reach military age (18) annually 1,024,059 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $172 million, about 1% of GDP (1992)
Climate: tropical; modified by southeast trade winds
Terrain: steep limestone cliffs along coast, central plateau
Natural resources: fish, arable land
Land use: arable land: 61% permanent crops: 4% meadows and pastures: 4% forest and woodland: 19% other: 12%
Irrigated land: NA sq km
Environment: current issues: traditional methods of burning brush and trees to clear land for agriculture have threatened soil supplies which naturally are not very abundant natural hazards: typhoons international agreements: signed, but not ratified - Law of the Sea
Note: one of world's largest coral islands
@Niue:People
Population: 1,837 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: NA 15-64 years: NA 65 years and over: NA
Population growth rate: -3.66% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: NA
Death rate: NA
Net migration rate: NA
Infant mortality rate: NA
Life expectancy at birth: NA
Total fertility rate: NA
Nationality: noun: Niuean(s) adjective: Niuean
Ethnic divisions: Polynesian (with some 200 Europeans, Samoans, and Tongans)
Religions: Ekalesia Nieue (Niuean Church) 75% - a Protestant church closely related to the London Missionary Society, Morman 10%, other 15% (mostly Roman Catholic, Jehovah's Witnesses, Seventh-Day Adventist)
Languages: Polynesian closely related to Tongan and Samoan, English
Labor force: 1,000 (1981 est.) by occupation: most work on family plantations; paid work exists only in government service, small industry, and the Niue Development Board
@Niue:Government
Names: conventional long form: none conventional short form: Niue
Digraph: NE
Type: self-governing territory in free association with New Zealand; Niue fully responsible for internal affairs; New Zealand retains responsibility for external affairs
Capital: Alofi
Administrative divisions: none
Independence: 19 October 1974 (became a self-governing territory in free association with New Zealand on 19 October 1974)
National holiday: Waitangi Day, 6 February (1840) (Treaty of Waitangi established British sovereignty)
Constitution: 19 October 1974 (Niue Constitution Act)
Legal system: English common law
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by New Zealand Representative Kurt MEYER (since NA) head of government: Premier Frank F. LUI (since 12 March 1993; Acting Premier since December 1992) cabinet: Cabinet; consists of the premier and three other ministers
Legislative branch: unicameral Legislative Assembly: elections last held 6 March 1993 (next to be held NA 1996); results - percent of vote NA; seats - (20 total, 6 elected)
Judicial branch: Appeal Court of New Zealand, High Court
Political parties and leaders: Niue Peoples Party (NPP), Young VIVIAN
Member of: ESCAP (associate), INTELSAT (nonsignatory user), SPARTECA, SPC, SPF, UNESCO, WHO
Diplomatic representation in US: none (self-governing territory in free association with New Zealand)
US diplomatic representation: none (self-governing territory in free association with New Zealand)
Flag: yellow with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant; the flag of the UK bears five yellow five-pointed stars - a large one on a blue disk in the center and a smaller one on each arm of the bold red cross
@Niue:Economy
Overview: The economy is heavily dependent on aid from New Zealand. Government expenditures regularly exceed revenues, with the shortfall made up by grants from New Zealand - the grants are used to pay wages to public employees. The agricultural sector consists mainly of subsistence gardening, although some cash crops are grown for export. Industry consists primarily of small factories to process passion fruit, lime oil, honey, and coconut cream. The sale of postage stamps to foreign collectors is an important source of revenue. The island in recent years has suffered a serious loss of population because of migration of Niueans to New Zealand.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $2.4 million (1993 est.)
National product real growth rate: NA%
National product per capita: $1,200 (1993 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 5% (1992)
Unemployment rate: NA%
Budget: revenues: $5.5 million expenditures: $6.3 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1985 est.)
Ethnic divisions: descendants of the Bounty mutineers, Australian, New Zealander
Religions: Anglican 39%, Roman Catholic 11.7%, Uniting Church in Australia 16.4%, Seventh-Day Adventist 4.4%, none 9.2%, unknown 16.9%, other 2.4% (1986)
Languages: English (official), Norfolk a mixture of 18th century English and ancient Tahitian
Labor force: NA
@Norfolk Island:Government
Names: conventional long form: Territory of Norfolk Island conventional short form: Norfolk Island
Digraph: NF
Type: territory of Australia
Capital: Kingston (administrative center); Burnt Pine (commercial center)
Administrative divisions: none (territory of Australia)
Independence: none (territory of Australia)
National holiday: Pitcairners Arrival Day Anniversary, 8 June (1856)
Constitution: Norfolk Island Act of 1979
Legal system: wide legislative and executive responsibility under the Norfolk Island Act of 1979; Supreme Court
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Administrator Alan Gardner KERR (since NA April 1992), who is appointed by the Governor General of Australia head of government: Assembly President David Ernest BUFFETT (since NA May 1992) cabinet: Executive Council
Legislative branch: unicameral Legislative Assembly: elections last held 20 May 1992 (next to be held NA May 1995); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (9 total) independents 9
Judicial branch: Supreme Court
Political parties and leaders: NA
Member of: none
Diplomatic representation in US: none (territory of Australia)
US diplomatic representation: none (territory of Australia)
Flag: three vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and green with a large green Norfolk Island pine tree centered in the slightly wider white band
@Norfolk Island:Economy
Overview: The primary economic activity is tourism, which has brought a level of prosperity unusual among inhabitants of the Pacific islands. The number of visitors has increased steadily over the years and reached 29,000 in FY88/89. Revenues from tourism have given the island a favorable balance of trade and helped the agricultural sector to become self-sufficient in the production of beef, poultry, and eggs.
National product: GDP $NA
National product real growth rate: NA%
National product per capita: $NA
Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA%
Unemployment rate: NA%
Budget: revenues: $NA expenditures: $4.2 million, including capital expenditures of $400,000 (1989 est.)
Exports: $1.7 million (f.o.b., FY85/86) commodities: postage stamps, seeds of the Norfolk Island pine and Kentia palm, small quantities of avocados partners: Australia, Pacific Islands, NZ, Asia, Europe
Imports: $15.6 million (c.i.f., FY85/86) commodities: NA partners: Australia, Pacific Islands, NZ, Asia, Europe
External debt: $NA
Industrial production: growth rate NA%
Electricity: capacity: 7,000 kW production: 8 million kWh consumption per capita: 3,160 kWh (1990)
Industries: tourism
Agriculture: Norfolk Island pine seed, Kentia palm seed, cereals, vegetables, fruit, cattle, poultry
Location: Oceania, islands in the North Pacific Ocean, about three-quarters of the way from Hawaii to the Philippines
Map references: Oceania
Area: total area: 477 sq km land area: 477 sq km comparative area: slightly more than 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC note: includes 14 islands including Saipan, Rota, and Tinian
Climate: tropical marine; moderated by northeast trade winds, little seasonal temperature variation; dry season December to June, rainy season July to October
Terrain: southern islands are limestone with level terraces and fringing coral reefs; northern islands are volcanic; highest elevation is 471 m (Mt. Okso' Takpochao on Saipan)
Natural resources: arable land, fish
Land use: arable land: 5% on Saipan permanent crops: NA% meadows and pastures: 19% forest and woodland: NA% other: NA%
Irrigated land: NA sq km
Environment: current issues: contamination of groundwater on Saipan by raw sewage contributes to disease natural hazards: active volcanoes on Pagan and Agrihan; typhoons (especially August to November) international agreements: NA
Note: strategic location in the North Pacific Ocean
@Northern Mariana Islands:People
Population: 51,033 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: NA 15-64 years: NA 65 years and over: NA
Population growth rate: 3.04% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 33.05 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 4.61 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 37.96 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 67.43 years male: 65.53 years female: 69.48 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 2.69 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Nationality: noun: NA adjective: NA
Ethnic divisions: Chamorro, Carolinians and other Micronesians, Caucasian, Japanese, Chinese, Korean
Religions: Christian (Roman Catholic majority, although traditional beliefs and taboos may still be found)
Languages: English, Chamorro, Carolinian note: 86% of population speaks a language other than English at home
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1980) total population: 97% male: 97% female: 96%
Labor force: 7,476 total indigenous labor force, 2,699 unemployed; 21,188 foreign workers (1990) by occupation: NA
@Northern Mariana Islands:Government
Names: conventional long form: Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands conventional short form: Northern Mariana Islands
Digraph: CQ
Type: commonwealth in political union with the US; self-governing with locally elected governor, lieutenant governor, and legislature; federal funds to the Commonwealth administered by the US Department of the Interior, Office of Territorial and International Affairs
Capital: Saipan
Administrative divisions: none
Independence: none (commonwealth in political union with the US)
National holiday: Commonwealth Day, 8 January (1978)
Constitution: Covenant Agreement effective 3 November 1986 and the Constitution of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands
Legal system: based on US system except for customs, wages, immigration laws, and taxation
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal; indigenous inhabitants are US citizens but do not vote in US presidential elections
Executive branch: chief of state: President William Jefferson CLINTON (since 20 January 1993); Vice President Albert GORE, Jr. (since 20 January 1993) head of government: Governor Froilan C. TENORIO (since January 1994); Lieutenant Governor Jesus C. BORJA (since January 1994); election last held in NA November 1993 (next to be held NA November 1997); results - Froilan C. TENORIO (Democrat) was elected governor with 56% of the vote
Legislative branch: bicameral Legislature Senate: elections last held NA November 1993 (next to be held NA November 1995); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (9 total) Republicans retained a majority of the seats House of Representatives: elections last held NA November 1993 (next to be held NA November 1995); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (18 total) Republicans retained a majority of the seats US House of Representatives: the Commonwealth does not have a nonvoting delegate in Congress; instead, it has an elected official "resident representative" located in Washington, DC; seats - (1 total) Juan N. BABAUTA (Republican)
Judicial branch: Commonwealth Supreme Court, Superior Court, Federal District Court
Political parties and leaders: Republican Party, Benigno R. FITIAL, Leader; Democratic Party, Dr. Carlos S. CAMACHO, Chairman
Member of: ESCAP (associate), INTERPOL (subbureau), SPC
Flag: blue with a white five-pointed star superimposed on the gray silhouette of a latte stone (a traditional foundation stone used in building) in the center
@Northern Mariana Islands:Economy
Overview: The economy benefits substantially from financial assistance from the US. The rate of funding has declined as locally generated government revenues have grown. An agreement for the years 1986 to 1992 entitled the islands to $228 million for capital development, government operations, and special programs. A rapidly growing major source of income is the tourist industry, which now employs about 50% of the work force. Japanese tourists predominate. The agricultural sector is of minor importance and is made up of cattle ranches and small farms producing coconuts, breadfruit, tomatoes, and melons. Industry is small scale, mostly handicrafts, light manufacturing, and garment production.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $524 million (1994 est.) note: GDP numbers reflect US spending
Agriculture: coconuts, fruits, cattle, vegetables; food is a major import
Economic aid: none
Currency: 1 United States dollar (US$) = 100 cents
Exchange rates: US currency is used
Fiscal year: 1 October - 30 September
@Northern Mariana Islands:Transportation
Railroads: 0 km
Highways: total: 381.5 km paved: NA unpaved: NA undifferentiated: primary 134.5 km; secondary 55 km; local 192 km (1991)
Inland waterways: none
Ports: Saipan, Tinian
Merchant marine: none
Airports: total: 8 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 with paved runways under 914 m: 3 with unpaved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
@Northern Mariana Islands:Communications
Telephone system: NA telephones local: NA intercity: NA international: 2 INTELSAT (Pacific Ocean) earth stations
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 2, FM 1, shortwave 0 (1984) radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: 1; note - there are 2 cable TV stations televisions: NA
International disputes: territorial claim in Antarctica (Queen Maud Land); maritime boundary dispute with Russia over portion of Barents Sea
Climate: temperate along coast, modified by North Atlantic Current; colder interior; rainy year-round on west coast
Terrain: glaciated; mostly high plateaus and rugged mountains broken by fertile valleys; small, scattered plains; coastline deeply indented by fjords; arctic tundra in north
Land use: arable land: 3% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 0% forest and woodland: 27% other: 70%
Irrigated land: 950 sq km (1989)
Environment: current issues: water pollution; acid rain damaging forests and adversely affecting lakes, threatening fish stocks; air pollution from vehicle emissions natural hazards: NA international agreements: party to - Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Wetlands, Whaling; signed, but not ratified - Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Desertification, Law of the Sea, Tropical Timber 94
Note: about two-thirds mountains; some 50,000 islands off its much indented coastline; strategic location adjacent to sea lanes and air routes in North Atlantic; one of most rugged and longest coastlines in world; Norway and Turkey only NATO members having a land boundary with Russia
@Norway:People
Population: 4,330,951 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 19% (female 390,344; male 444,570) 15-64 years: 65% (female 1,375,493; male 1,424,027) 65 years and over: 16% (female 408,675; male 287,842) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.37% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 12.86 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 10.35 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 1.15 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 6.1 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 77.61 years male: 74.26 years female: 81.15 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.76 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Religions: Evangelical Lutheran 87.8% (state church), other Protestant and Roman Catholic 3.8%, none 3.2%, unknown 5.2% (1980)
Languages: Norwegian (official) note: small Lapp- and Finnish-speaking minorities
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1976 est.) total population: 99%
Labor force: 2.13 million by occupation: services 71%, industry 23%, agriculture, forestry, and fishing 6% (1992)
@Norway:Government
Names: conventional long form: Kingdom of Norway conventional short form: Norway local long form: Kongeriket Norge local short form: Norge
Digraph: NO
Type: constitutional monarchy
Capital: Oslo
Administrative divisions: 19 provinces (fylker, singular - fylke); Akershus, Aust-Agder, Buskerud, Finnmark, Hedmark, Hordaland, More og Romsdal, Nordland, Nord-Trondelag, Oppland, Oslo, Ostfold, Rogaland, Sogn og Fjordane, Sor-Trondelag, Telemark, Troms, Vest-Agder, Vestfold
Dependent areas: Bouvet Island, Jan Mayen, Svalbard
Independence: 26 October 1905 (from Sweden)
National holiday: Constitution Day, 17 May (1814)
Constitution: 17 May 1814, modified in 1884
Legal system: mixture of customary law, civil law system, and common law traditions; Supreme Court renders advisory opinions to legislature when asked; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: King HARALD V (since 17 January 1991); Heir Apparent Crown Prince HAAKON MAGNUS (born 20 July 1973) head of government: Prime Minister Gro Harlem BRUNDTLAND (since 3 November 1990) cabinet: State Council; appointed by the king in accordance with the will of the Storting
Legislative branch: modified unicameral Parliament (Storting) which, for certain purposes, divides itself into two chambers Storting: elections last held 13 September 1993 (next to be held September 1997); results - Labor 37.1%, Center Party 18.5%, Conservatives 15.6%, Christian People's 8.4%, Socialist Left 7.9%, Progress 6%, Left Party 3.6%, Red Electoral Alliance 1.2%; seats - (165 total) Labor 67, Center Party 32, Consevatives 18, Christian People's 13, Socialist Left 13, Progress 10, Left Party 1, Red Electoral Alliance 1, unawarded 10 note: for certain purposes, the Storting divides itself into two chambers and elects one-fourth of its membership to an upper house or Lagting
Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Hoyesterett)
Political parties and leaders: Labor Party, Thorbjorn JAGLUND; Conservative Party, Jan PETERSEN; Center Party, Anne ENGER LAHNSTEIN; Christian People's Party, Kjell Magne BONDEVIK; Socialist Left, Kjellbjorg LUNDE; Norwegian Communist, Kare Andre NILSEN; Progress Party, Carl I. HAGEN; Liberal, Odd Einar DORUM; Left Party; Red Electoral Alliance, Erling FOLKVORD
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Kjeld VIBE chancery: 2720 34th Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 333-6000 FAX: [1] (202) 337-0870 consulate(s) general: Houston, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, New York, and San Francisco consulate(s): Miami
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador Thomas A. LOFTUS embassy: Drammensveien 18, 0244 Oslo mailing address: PSC 69, Box 1000, APO AE 09707 telephone: [47] 22 44 85 50 FAX: [47] 22 44 33 63
Flag: red with a blue cross outlined in white that extends to the edges of the flag; the vertical part of the cross is shifted to the hoist side in the style of the Dannebrog (Danish flag)
@Norway:Economy
Overview: Norway has a mixed economy involving a combination of free market activity and government intervention. The government controls key areas, such as the vital petroleum sector (through large-scale state enterprises) and extensively subsidizes agriculture, fishing, and areas with sparse resources. Norway also maintains an extensive welfare system that helps propel public sector expenditures to slightly more than 50% of the GDP and results in one of the highest average tax burdens in the world (54%). A small country with a high dependence on international trade, Norway is basically an exporter of raw materials and semiprocessed goods, with an abundance of small- and medium-sized firms, and is ranked among the major shipping nations. The country is richly endowed with natural resources - petroleum, hydropower, fish, forests, and minerals - and is highly dependent on its oil sector to keep its economy afloat. Norway imports more than half its food needs. Although one of the government's main priorities is to reduce this dependency, this situation is not likely to improve for years to come. The government also hopes to reduce unemployment and strengthen and diversify the economy through tax reform and a series of expansionary budgets. The budget deficit is expected to hit a record 8% of GDP because of welfare spending and bail-outs of the banking system. Unemployment is currently running at 8.4% - including those in job programs - because of the weakness of the economy outside the oil sector. Economic growth, only 1.6% in 1993, moved up to 5.5% in 1994. Oslo opted to stay out of the EU during a referendum in November 1994.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $95.7 billion (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate: 5.5% (1994 est.)
Unemployment rate: 8.4% (including people in job-training programs; 1994 est.)
Budget: revenues: $50.9 billion expenditures: $55.5 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1994 est.)
Exports: $36.6 billion (f.o.b., 1994) commodities: petroleum and petroleum products 40%, metals and products 10.6%, fish and fish products 6.9%, chemicals 6.4%, natural gas 6.0%, ships 5.4% partners: EC 66.3%, Nordic countries 16.3%, developing countries 8.4%, US 6.0%, Japan 1.8% (1993)
Imports: $29.3 billion (c.i.f., 1994) commodities: machinery and equipment 38.9%, chemicals and other industrial inputs 26.6%, manufactured consumer goods 17.8%, foodstuffs 6.4% partners: EC 48.6%, Nordic countries 25.1%, developing countries 9.6%, US 8.1%, Japan 8.0% (1993)
External debt: $NA
Industrial production: growth rate 4.6% (1994); accounts for 14% of GDP
Industries: petroleum and gas, food processing, shipbuilding, pulp and paper products, metals, chemicals, timber, mining, textiles, fishing
Agriculture: accounts for 3% of GDP and about 6% of labor force; among world's top 10 fishing nations; livestock output exceeds value of crops; fish catch of 1.76 million metric tons in 1989
Illicit drugs: transshipment point for drugs shipped via the CIS and Baltic states for the European market
Economic aid: donor: ODA and OOF commitments (1970-89), $4.4 billion
Merchant marine: total: 764 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 20,793,968 GRT/35,409,472 DWT ships by type: bulk 159, cargo 92, chemical tanker 85, combination bulk 8, combination ore/oil 28, container 17, liquefied gas tanker 81, oil tanker 162, passenger 13, passenger-cargo 2, railcar carrier 1, refrigerated cargo 13, roll-on/roll-off cargo 54, short-sea passenger 21, vehicle carrier 28 note: the government has created a captive register, the Norwegian International Ship Register (NIS), as a subset of the Norwegian register; ships on the NIS enjoy many benefits of flags of convenience and do not have to be crewed by Norwegians
Airports: total: 104 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 1 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 12 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 13 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 10 with paved runways under 914 m: 62 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 6
@Norway:Communications
Telephone system: 3,102,000 telephones; high-quality domestic and international telephone, telegraph, and telex services local: NA intercity: domestic earth stations international: 2 buried coaxial cable systems; 4 coaxial submarine cables; EUTELSAT, INTELSAT (Atlantic Ocean), and MARISAT earth stations
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 46, FM 493 (350 private and 143 government), shortwave 0 radios: 3.3 million
Television: broadcast stations: 54 (repeaters 2,100) televisions: 1.5 million
@Norway:Defense Forces
Branches: Norwegian Army, Royal Norwegian Navy, Royal Norwegian Air Force, Home Guard
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 1,116,130; males fit for military service 928,774; males reach military age (20) annually 29,123 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $3.4 billion, 3.2% of GDP (1994)
International disputes: no defined boundary with most of UAE; Administrative Line with UAE in far north
Climate: dry desert; hot, humid along coast; hot, dry interior; strong southwest summer monsoon (May to September) in far south
Terrain: vast central desert plain, rugged mountains in north and south
Natural resources: petroleum, copper, asbestos, some marble, limestone, chromium, gypsum, natural gas
Land use: arable land: less than 2% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 5% forest and woodland: 0% other: 93%
Irrigated land: 410 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment: current issues: rising soil salinity; beach pollution from oil spills; very limited natural fresh water resources natural hazards: summer winds often raise large sandstorms and duststorms in interior; periodic droughts international agreements: party to - Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ship Pollution, Whaling; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate Change
Note: strategic location with small foothold on Musandam Peninsula controlling Strait of Hormuz, a vital transit point for world crude oil
@Oman:People
Population: 2,125,089 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 46% (female 480,974; male 498,619) 15-64 years: 51% (female 493,685; male 593,740) 65 years and over: 3% (female 31,826; male 26,245) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 3.71% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 38.05 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 5 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 4.09 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 34.3 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 70.25 years male: 68.31 years female: 72.29 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 6.16 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Nationality: noun: Omani(s) adjective: Omani
Ethnic divisions: Arab, Baluchi, South Asian (Indian, Pakistani, Sri Lankan, Bangladeshi)
Religions: Ibadhi Muslim 75%, Sunni Muslim, Shi'a Muslim, Hindu
Languages: Arabic (official), English, Baluchi, Urdu, Indian dialects
Literacy: NA%
Labor force: 430,000 (est.) by occupation: agriculture 40% (est.)
@Oman:Government
Names: conventional long form: Sultanate of Oman conventional short form: Oman local long form: Saltanat Uman local short form: Uman
Digraph: MU
Type: monarchy
Capital: Muscat
Administrative divisions: 6 regions (mintaqah, singular - mintaqat) and 2 governorates* (muhafazah, singular - muhafazat) Ad Dakhiliyah, Al Batinah, Al Wusta, Ash Sharqiyah, Az Zahirah, Masqat, Musandam*, Zufar*
Independence: 1650 (expulsion of the Portuguese)
National holiday: National Day, 18 November (1940)
Constitution: none
Legal system: based on English common law and Islamic law; ultimate appeal to the sultan; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: none
Executive branch: chief of state and head of government: Sultan and Prime Minister QABOOS bin Said Al Said (since 23 July 1970) cabinet: Cabinet
Legislative branch: unicameral Consultative Council
Judicial branch: none; traditional Islamic judges and a nascent civil court system
Political parties and leaders: none
Other political or pressure groups: NA
Member of: ABEDA, AFESD, AL, AMF, ESCWA, FAO, G-77, GCC, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OIC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Abdallah bin Muhammad bin Aqil al-DHAHAB chancery: 2535 Belmont Rd. NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 387-1980 through 1982 FAX: [1] (202) 745-4933
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador David J. DUNFORD embassy: address NA, Muscat mailing address: P. O. Box 202, Code No. 115, Muscat telephone: [968] 698989 FAX: [968] 699779
Flag: three horizontal bands of white (top, double width), red, and green (double width) with a broad, vertical, red band on the hoist side; the national emblem (a khanjar dagger in its sheath superimposed on two crossed swords in scabbards) in white is centered at the top of the vertical band
@Oman:Economy
Overview: Economic performance is closely tied to the fortunes of the oil industry, including trends in international oil prices and the ability of OPEC producers to agree on output quotas. Petroleum accounts for more than 85% of export earnings, about 80% of government revenues, and roughly 40% of GDP. Oman has proved oil reserves of 4 billion barrels, equivalent to about 20 years' supply at the current rate of extraction. Agriculture is carried on at a subsistence level and the general population depends on imported food. The government is encouraging private investment, both domestic and foreign, as a prime force for further economic development.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $17 billion (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate: 0.5% (1994 est.)
Industries: crude oil production and refining, natural gas production, construction, cement, copper
Agriculture: accounts for 4% of GDP and 40% of the labor force (including fishing); less than 2% of land cultivated; largely subsistence farming (dates, limes, bananas, alfalfa, vegetables, camels, cattle); not self-sufficient in food; annual fish catch averages 100,000 metric tons
Economic aid: recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $137 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $148 million; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $797 million
Currency: 1 Omani rial (RO) = 1,000 baiza
Exchange rates: Omani rials (RO) per US$1 - 0.3845 (fixed rate since 1986)
Fiscal year: calendar year
@Oman:Transportation
Railroads: 0 km
Highways: total: 26,000 km paved: 5,000 km unpaved: 21,000 km (1992 est.)
Pipelines: crude oil 1,300 km; natural gas 1,030 km
Airports: total: 140 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 4 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 1 with paved runways under 914 m: 36 with unpaved runways over 3,047 m: 3 with unpaved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 61 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 31
@Oman:Communications
Telephone system: 50,000 telephones; modern system consisting of open-wire, microwave, and radio communications stations; limited coaxial cable local: NA intercity: open wire, microwave, radio communications, and 8 domestic satellite links international: 2 INTELSAT (Indian Ocean) and 1 ARABSAT earth station
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 2, FM 3, shortwave 0 radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: 7 televisions: NA
@Oman:Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Royal Oman Police
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 520,428; males fit for military service 294,993; males reach military age (14) annually 26,065 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $1.7 billion, 14.2% of GDP (1995 est.)
Location: body of water between Antarctica, Asia, Australia, and the Western Hemisphere
Map references: World
Area: total area: 165.384 million sq km comparative area: about 18 times the size of the US; the largest ocean (followed by the Atlantic Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and the Arctic Ocean); covers about one-third of the global surface; larger than the total land area of the world note: includes Bali Sea, Bellingshausen Sea, Bering Sea, Bering Strait, Coral Sea, East China Sea, Flores Sea, Gulf of Alaska, Gulf of Tonkin, Java Sea, Philippine Sea, Ross Sea, Savu Sea, Sea of Japan, Sea of Okhotsk, South China Sea, Tasman Sea, Timor Sea, and other tributary water bodies
Coastline: 135,663 km
International disputes: some maritime disputes (see littoral states)
Climate: the western Pacific is monsoonal - a rainy season occurs during the summer months, when moisture-laden winds blow from the ocean over the land, and a dry season during the winter months, when dry winds blow from the Asian land mass back to the ocean
Terrain: surface currents in the northern Pacific are dominated by a clockwise, warm-water gyre (broad circular system of currents) and in the southern Pacific by a counterclockwise, cool-water gyre; in the northern Pacific sea ice forms in the Bering Sea and Sea of Okhotsk in winter; in the southern Pacific sea ice from Antarctica reaches its northernmost extent in October; the ocean floor in the eastern Pacific is dominated by the East Pacific Rise, while the western Pacific is dissected by deep trenches, including the world's deepest, the 10,924 meter Marianas Trench
Natural resources: oil and gas fields, polymetallic nodules, sand and gravel aggregates, placer deposits, fish
Environment: current issues: endangered marine species include the dugong, sea lion, sea otter, seals, turtles, and whales; oil pollution in Philippine Sea and South China Sea natural hazards: surrounded by a zone of violent volcanic and earthquake activity sometimes referred to as the Pacific Ring of Fire; subject to tropical cyclones (typhoons) in southeast and east Asia from May to December (most frequent from July to October); tropical cyclones (hurricanes) may form south of Mexico and strike Central America and Mexico from June to October (most common in August and September); southern shipping lanes subject to icebergs from Antarctica; occasional El Nino phenomenon occurs off the coast of Peru when the trade winds slacken and the warm Equatorial Countercurrent moves south, killing the plankton that is the primary food source for anchovies; consequently, the anchovies move to better feeding grounds, causing resident marine birds to starve by the thousands because of their lost food source; ships subject to superstructure icing in extreme north from October to May and in extreme south from May to October; persistent fog in the northern Pacific can be a maritime hazard from June to December international agreements: NA
Note: the major choke points are the Bering Strait, Panama Canal, Luzon Strait, and the Singapore Strait; the Equator divides the Pacific Ocean into the North Pacific Ocean and the South Pacific Ocean; dotted with low coral islands and rugged volcanic islands in the southwestern Pacific Ocean
@Pacific Ocean:Government
Digraph: ZN
@Pacific Ocean:Economy
Overview: The Pacific Ocean is a major contributor to the world economy and particularly to those nations its waters directly touch. It provides low-cost sea transportation between East and West, extensive fishing grounds, offshore oil and gas fields, minerals, and sand and gravel for the construction industry. In 1985 over half (54%) of the world's fish catch came from the Pacific Ocean, which is the only ocean where the fish catch has increased every year since 1978. Exploitation of offshore oil and gas reserves is playing an ever-increasing role in the energy supplies of Australia, NZ, China, US, and Peru. The high cost of recovering offshore oil and gas, combined with the wide swings in world prices for oil since 1985, has slowed but not stopped new drillings.
Industries: fishing, oil and gas production
@Pacific Ocean:Transportation
Ports: Bangkok (Thailand), Hong Kong, Los Angeles (US), Manila (Philippines), Pusan (South Korea), San Francisco (US), Seattle (US), Shanghai (China), Singapore, Sydney (Australia), Vladivostok (Russia), Wellington (NZ), Yokohama (Japan)
@Pacific Ocean:Communications
Telephone system: international: several submarine cables with network nodal points on Guam and Hawaii
Location: Southern Asia, bordering the Arabian Sea, between India and Iran
Map references: Asia
Area: total area: 803,940 sq km land area: 778,720 sq km comparative area: slightly less than twice the size of California
Land boundaries: total 6,774 km, Afghanistan 2,430 km, China 523 km, India 2,912 km, Iran 909 km
Coastline: 1,046 km
Maritime claims: contiguous zone: 24 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 12 nm
International disputes: status of Kashmir with India; border question with Afghanistan (Durand Line); water-sharing problems (Wular Barrage) over the Indus with upstream riparian India
Climate: mostly hot, dry desert; temperate in northwest; arctic in north
Terrain: flat Indus plain in east; mountains in north and northwest; Balochistan plateau in west
Natural resources: land, extensive natural gas reserves, limited petroleum, poor quality coal, iron ore, copper, salt, limestone
Land use: arable land: 23% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 6% forest and woodland: 4% other: 67% (1993)
Irrigated land: 170,000 sq km (1992)
Environment: current issues: water pollution from raw sewage, industrial wastes, and agricultural runoff; limited natural fresh water resources; a majority of the population does not have access to potable water; deforestation; soil erosion; desertification natural hazards: frequent earthquakes, occasionally severe especially in north and west; flooding along the Indus after heavy rains (July and August) international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Desertification, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation
Note: controls Khyber Pass and Bolan Pass, traditional invasion routes between Central Asia and the Indian Subcontinent
@Pakistan:People
Population: 131,541,920 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 44% (female 28,033,354; male 29,777,818) 15-64 years: 52% (female 33,456,410; male 35,109,482) 65 years and over: 4% (female 2,556,846; male 2,608,010) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.28% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 41.8 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 12.07 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: -16.93 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 99.5 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 57.86 years male: 57.18 years female: 58.56 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 6.35 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Ethnic divisions: Punjabi, Sindhi, Pashtun (Pathan), Baloch, Muhajir (immigrants from India and their descendents)
Religions: Muslim 97% (Sunni 77%, Shi'a 20%), Christian, Hindu, and other 3%
Languages: Urdu (official), English (official; lingua franca of Pakistani elite and most government ministries), Punjabi 64%, Sindhi 12%, Pashtu 8%, Urdu 7%, Balochi and other 9%
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.) total population: 35% male: 47% female: 21%
Labor force: 36 million by occupation: agriculture 46%, mining and manufacturing 18%, services 17%, other 19% note: extensive export of labor
@Pakistan:Government
Names: conventional long form: Islamic Republic of Pakistan conventional short form: Pakistan former: West Pakistan
Digraph: PK
Type: republic
Capital: Islamabad
Administrative divisions: 4 provinces, 1 territory*, and 1 capital territory**; Balochistan, Federally Administered Tribal Areas*, Islamabad Capital Territory**, North-West Frontier, Punjab, Sindh note: the Pakistani-administered portion of the disputed Jammu and Kashmir region includes Azad Kashmir and the Northern Areas
Independence: 14 August 1947 (from UK)
National holiday: Pakistan Day, 23 March (1956) (proclamation of the republic)
Constitution: 10 April 1973, suspended 5 July 1977, restored with amendments 30 December 1985
Legal system: based on English common law with provisions to accommodate Pakistan's stature as an Islamic state; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
Suffrage: 21 years of age; universal; separate electorates and reserved parliamentary seats for non-Muslims
Executive branch: chief of state: President Sardar Farooq LEGHARI; election last held 13 November 1993 (next to be held no later than 14 October 1998); results - LEGHARI was elected by Parliament and the four provincial assemblies
head of government: Prime Minister Benazir BHUTTO cabinet: Cabinet
Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament (Majlis-e-Shoora) Senate: elections last held NA March 1994 (next to be held NA March 1997); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (87 total) PPP 22, PML/N 17; Tribal Area Representatives (nonparty) 8, ANP 6, PML/J 5, JWP 5, MQM/A 5, JUI/F 2, PKMAP 2, JI 2, NPP 2, BNM/H 1, BNM/M 1, JUP/NI 1, JUP/NO 1, JAH 1, JUI/S 1, PML/F 1, PNP 1, independents 2, vacant 1 National Assembly: elections last held 6 October 1993 (next to be held by October 1998); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (217 total) PPP 92, PML/N 75, PML/J 6, IJM-Islamic Democratic Front 4, ANP 3, PKMAP 4, PIF 3, JWP 2, MDM 2, BNM/H 1, BNM/M 1, NDA 1, NPP 1, PKQP 1, Religious minorities 10 reserved seats, independents 9, results pending 2
Judicial branch: Supreme Court, Federal Islamic (Shari'at) Court
Political parties and leaders: government: Pakistan People's Party (PPP), Benazir BHUTTO; Pakistan Muslim League, Junejo faction (PML/J), Hamid Nasir CHATTHA; National People's Party (NPP), Ghulam Mustapha JATOI; Pakhtun Khwa Milli Awami Party (PKMAP), Mahmood Khan ACHAKZAI; Balochistan National Movement, Hayee Group (BNM/H), Dr. HAYEE Baluch; National Democratic Alliance (NDA), Maulana Kausar NIAZI; Pakhtun Quami Party (PKQP), Mohammed AFZAL Khan; Jamhoori Watan Party (JWP), Akbar Khan BUGTI opposition: Pakistan Muslim League, Nawaz Sharif faction (PML/N), Nawaz SHARIF; Awami National Party (ANP), Khan Abdul WALI KHAN; Pakistan Islamic Front (PIF), Qazi Hussain AHMED; Balochistan National Movement, Mengal Group (BNM/M), Sardar Akhtar MENGAL; Mohajir Quami Movement, Altaf faction (MQM/A), Altaf HUSSAIN; Jamaat-i-Islami (JI), Qazi Hussain AHMED; Jamiat-al-Hadith (JAH) frequently shifting: Mutaheda Deeni Mahaz (MDM), Maulana Sami-ul-HAQ, the MDM includes Jamiat Ulema-i-Pakistan, Niazi faction (JUP/NI) and Anjuman Sepah-i-Sahaba Pakistan (ASSP); Islami-Jamhoori-Mahaz (IJM-Islamic Democratic Party), the IJM includes Jamiat Ulema-i-Islami, Fazlur Rehman group (JUI/F); Jamiat Ulema-i-Pakistan, Noorani faction (JUP/NO); Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam, Sami-ul-Haq faction (JUI/S); Pakistan Muslim League, Functional Group (PML/F); Pakistan National Party (PNP) note: political alliances in Pakistan can shift frequently
Other political or pressure groups: military remains important political force; ulema (clergy), landowners, industrialists, and small merchants also influential
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Maleeha LODHI chancery: 2315 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 939-6200 FAX: [1] (202) 387-0484 consulate(s) general: Los Angeles and New York
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador John C. MONJO embassy: Diplomatic Enclave, Ramna 5, Islamabad mailing address: P. O. Box 1048, PSC 1212, Box 2000, Unit 6220, Islamabad; APO AE 09812-2000 telephone: [92] (51) 826161 through 826179 FAX: [92] (51) 214222 consulate(s) general: Karachi, Lahore consulate(s): Peshawar
Flag: green with a vertical white band (symbolizing the role of religious minorities) on the hoist side; a large white crescent and star are centered in the green field; the crescent, star, and color green are traditional symbols of Islam
@Pakistan:Economy
Overview: The Pakistani economy has made progress in several key areas since Benazir BHUTTO became Prime Minister in October 1993. She has been under pressure from international donors and the IMF - which gave Pakistan a $1.3 billion structural adjustment credit in February 1994 - to continue the economic reforms and austerity measures begun by her predecessor, caretaker Prime Minister Moeen QURESHI (July-October 1993). Foreign exchange reserves climbed to more than $3 billion in 1994, and the budget deficit was substantially reduced. Real GDP growth was 4% in FY93/94, up from 2.3% in FY92/93. Foreign direct and portfolio investment also have increased. Privatization of large public sector utilities began in 1994 with the sale of 12% of the Pakistan Telecommunications Corporation (PTC) and the Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA); the sale of state-owned banks and other large units are planned for 1995. Still, the government must cope with long-standing economic vulnerabilities - high levels of debt service and defense spending, a small tax base, a huge population, and dependence on cotton-based exports - which hamper its ability to create a stable economic environment. In addition, Pakistan's infrastructure is inadequate and deteriorating, low levels of literacy constrain industrial growth, and increasing sectarian, ethnic, and tribal violence disrupt production.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $248.5 billion (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate: 4% (1994 est.)
National product per capita: $1,930 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 12% (FY93/94)
Unemployment rate: 10% (FY90/91 est.)
Budget: revenues: $10.5 billion expenditures: $11.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $3.1 billion (FY93/94)
Exports: $6.7 billion (1993) commodities: cotton, textiles, clothing, rice, leather, carpets partners: US, Japan, Hong Kong, Germany, UK, UAE, France
Imports: $9.5 billion (1993) commodities: petroleum, petroleum products, machinery, transportation equipment, vegetable oils, animal fats, chemicals partners: Japan, US, Germany, UK, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, South Korea
External debt: $24 billion (1993 est.)
Industrial production: growth rate 5.6% (FY93/94); accounts for 18% of GDP
Industries: textiles, food processing, beverages, construction materials, clothing, paper products, shrimp
Agriculture: 24% of GDP; world's largest contiguous irrigation system; major crops - cotton, wheat, rice, sugarcane, fruits, vegetables; livestock products - milk, beef, mutton, eggs
Illicit drugs: major illicit producer of opium and hashish for the international drug trade; remains world's third largest opium producer (160 metric tons in 1994); major center for processing Afghan heroin and key transit area for Southwest Asian heroin moving to Western market
Economic aid: recipient: $2.5 billion (FY91/92); $2.5 billion (FY92/93); $2.5 billion (FY93/94); no US commitments, includes bi- and multilateral aid
Railroads: total: 8,773 km broad gauge: 7,718 km 1.676-m gauge (286 km electrified; 1,037 double track) narrow gauge: 445 km 1.000-m gauge; 610 km less than 1.000-m gauge (1985)
Highways: total: 177,410 km paved: 94,027 km unpaved: 83,383 km (1991 est.)
Pipelines: crude oil 250 km; petroleum products 885 km; natural gas 4,044 km (1987)
Ports: Gwadar, Karachi, Ormaro (under construction), Port Muhammad bin Qasim
Airports: total: 119 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 12 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 21 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 33 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 14 with paved runways under 914 m: 24 with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 7 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 8
@Pakistan:Communications
Telephone system: NA telephones; about 7 telephones/1,000 persons; the domestic telephone system is poor, adequate only for government and business use; the system for international traffic is better local: NA intercity: microwave radio relay international: 3 INTELSAT (1 Atlantic Ocean and 2 Indian Ocean) earth stations; microwave radio relay
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 19, FM 8, shortwave 0 radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: 29 televisions: NA
@Pakistan:Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Civil Armed Forces, National Guard, paramilitary/security forces
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 30,219,551; males fit for military service 18,544,008; males reach military age (17) annually 1,429,719 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $3.2 billion, 5.6% of GDP (FY94/95)
Location: Oceania, group of islands in the North Pacific Ocean, southeast of the Philippines
Map references: Oceania
Area: total area: 458 sq km land area: 458 sq km comparative area: slightly more than 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC
Land boundaries: 0 km
Coastline: 1,519 km
Maritime claims: continental shelf: 200-m depth or to depth of exploitation exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 3 nm
International disputes: none
Climate: wet season May to November; hot and humid
Terrain: about 200 islands varying geologically from the high, mountainous main island of Babelthuap to low, coral islands usually fringed by large barrier reefs
Land use: arable land: NA% permanent crops: NA% meadows and pastures: NA% forest and woodland: NA% other: NA%
Irrigated land: NA sq km
Environment: current issues: inadequate facilities for disposal of solid waste; threats to the marine ecosystem from sand and coral dredging and illegal fishing practices that involve the use of dynamite natural hazards: typhoons (June to December) international agreements: NA
Note: includes World War II battleground of Beliliou (Peleliu) and world-famous rock islands; archipelago of six island groups totaling over 200 islands in the Caroline chain
@Palau:People
Population: 16,661 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: NA 15-64 years: NA 65 years and over: NA
Population growth rate: 1.76% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 22.11 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 6.61 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 2.12 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 25.07 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 71.01 years male: 69.14 years female: 73.02 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 2.85 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Nationality: noun: Palauan(s) adjective: Palauan
Ethnic divisions: Palauans are a composite of Polynesian, Malayan, and Melanesian races
Religions: Christian (Catholics, Seventh-Day Adventists, Jehovah's Witnesses, the Assembly of God, the Liebenzell Mission, and Latter-Day Saints), Modekngei religion (one-third of the population observes this religion which is indigenous to Palau)
Languages: English (official in all of Palau's 16 states), Sonsorolese (official in the state of Sonsoral), Angaur and Japanese (in the state of Anguar), Tobi (in the state of Tobi), Palauan (in the other 13 states)
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1980) total population: 92% male: 93% female: 90%
Labor force: NA by occupation: NA
@Palau:Government
Names: conventional long form: Republic of Palau conventional short form: Palau former: Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands
Digraph: PS
Type: self-governing territory in free association with the US pursuant to Compact of Free Association which entered into force 1 October 1994; Palau is fully responsible for internal affairs; US retains responsibility for external affairs
Capital: Koror note: a new capital is being built about 20 km northeast in eastern Babelthuap
Administrative divisions: there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 16 states: Aimeliik, Airai, Angaur, Kayangel, Koror, Melekeok, Ngaraard, Ngardmau, Ngaremlengui, Ngatpang, Ngchesar, Ngerchelong, Ngiwal, Peleliu, Sonsorol, Tobi
Independence: 1 October 1994 (from the US-administered UN Trusteeship)
National holiday: Constitution Day, 9 July (1979)
Constitution: 1 January 1981
Legal system: based on Trust Territory laws, acts of the legislature, municipal, common, and customary laws
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state and head of government: President Kuniwo NAKAMURA (since 1 January 1993), Vice-President Tommy E. REMENGESAU Jr. (since 1 January 1993); election last held 4 November 1992 (next to be held NA November 1996); results - Kuniwo NAKAMURA 50.7%, Johnson TORIBIONG 49.3%
Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament (Olbiil Era Kelulau or OEK) Senate: elections last held 4 November 1992 (next to be held NA November 1996); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (14 total) number of seats by party NA House of Delegates: elections last held 4 November 1992 (next to be held NA November 1996); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (16 total) number of seats by party NA
Judicial branch: Supreme Court, National Court, Court of Common Pleas
Member of: ESCAP (associate), SPC, SPF (observer), UN
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Liaison Officer NA liaison office: 444 North Capital Street NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: (202) 624-7793 FAX: NA note: relationship of free association with the US pursuant to compact of free association which entered into force 1 October 1994
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Liaison Officer Lloyd W. MOSS liaison office: Erenguul Street, Koror, Republic of Palau mailing address: P.O. Box 6028, Republic of Palau 96940 telephone: [680] 488-2920 FAX: [680] 488-2911 note: relationship of free association with the US pursuant to compact of free association which entered into force 1 October 1994
Flag: light blue with a large yellow disk (representing the moon) shifted slightly to the hoist side
@Palau:Economy
Overview: The economy consists primarily of subsistence agriculture and fishing. The government is the major employer of the work force, relying heavily on financial assistance from the US. The compact of "free association" with the United States, entered into after the end of the UN trusteeship on 1 October 1994, provides Palau with $500 million in US aid over 15 years in return for furnishing some military facilities. The population, in effect, enjoys a per capita income of $5,000, twice that of the Philippines and much of Micronesia. Long-run prospects for the tourist sector have been greatly bolstered by the expansion of air travel in the Pacific and the rapidly rising prosperity of leading East Asian countries.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $81.8 million (1994 est.) note: GDP numbers reflect US spending
National product real growth rate: NA%
National product per capita: $5,000 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA%
Unemployment rate: 20% (1986)
Budget: revenues: $6 million expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA (1986 est.)
Exports: $600,000 (f.o.b., 1989) commodities: trochus (type of shellfish), tuna, copra, handicrafts partners: US, Japan
Imports: $24.6 million (c.i.f., 1989) commodities: NA partners: US
External debt: about $100 million (1989)
Industrial production: growth rate NA%
Electricity: capacity: 16,000 kW production: 22 million kWh consumption per capita: 1,540 kWh (1990)
Industries: tourism, craft items (shell, wood, pearl), some commercial fishing and agriculture
Agriculture: subsistence-level production of coconut, copra, cassava, sweet potatoes
Economic aid: recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $2.56 billion; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $92 million
Currency: 1 United States dollar (US$) = 100 cents
Exchange rates: US currency is used
Fiscal year: 1 October - 30 September
@Palau:Transportation
Railroads: 0 km
Highways: total: 61 km paved: 36 km unpaved: gravel 25 km
Ports: Koror
Merchant marine: none
Airports: total: 3 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 2
@Palau:Communications
Telephone system: NA telephones local: NA intercity: NA international: 1 INTELSAT (Pacific Ocean) earth station
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0 radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: 2 televisions: NA
@Palau:Defense Forces
Branches: NA
Defense expenditures: $NA, NA% of GDP
Note: defense is the responsibility of the US pursuant to Compact of Free Association which entered into force 1 October 1994
Terrain: low, with maximum elevations of about 2 meters
Natural resources: none
Land use: arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 0% forest and woodland: 100% other: 0%
Irrigated land: 0 sq km
Environment: current issues: NA natural hazards: NA international agreements: NA
Note: about 50 islets covered with dense vegetation, coconut trees, and balsa-like trees up to 30 meters tall
@Palmyra Atoll:People
Population: uninhabited
@Palmyra Atoll:Government
Names: conventional long form: none conventional short form: Palmyra Atoll
Digraph: LQ
Type: incorporated territory of the US; privately owned, but administered by the Office of Territorial and International Affairs, US Department of the Interior
Capital: none; administered from Washington, DC
@Palmyra Atoll:Economy
Overview: no economic activity
@Palmyra Atoll:Transportation
Highways: much of the road and many causeways built during the war are unserviceable and overgrown
Ports: West Lagoon
Airports: total: 1 with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 1
Land use: arable land: 6% permanent crops: 2% meadows and pastures: 15% forest and woodland: 54% other: 23%
Irrigated land: 320 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment: current issues: water pollution from agricultural runoff threatens fishery resources; deforestation of tropical rain forest; land degradation natural hazards: NA international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Climate Change, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Tropical Timber 94
Note: strategic location on eastern end of isthmus forming land bridge connecting North and South America; controls Panama Canal that links North Atlantic Ocean via Caribbean Sea with North Pacific Ocean
@Panama:People
Population: 2,680,903 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 34% (female 439,491; male 458,817) 15-64 years: 61% (female 812,876; male 823,124) 65 years and over: 5% (female 74,672; male 71,923) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.9% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 24.12 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 4.79 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: -0.36 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 15.8 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 75.2 years male: 72.57 years female: 77.97 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 2.8 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Ethnic divisions: mestizo (mixed Indian and European ancestry) 70%, West Indian 14%, white 10%, Indian 6%
Religions: Roman Catholic 85%, Protestant 15%
Languages: Spanish (official), English 14% note: many Panamanians bilingual
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1990) total population: 89% male: 89% female: 88%
Labor force: 979,000 (1994 est.) by occupation: government and community services 31.8%, agriculture, hunting, and fishing 26.8%, commerce, restaurants, and hotels 16.4%, manufacturing and mining 9.4%, construction 3.2%, transportation and communications 6.2%, finance, insurance, and real estate 4.3% note: shortage of skilled labor, but an oversupply of unskilled labor
@Panama:Government
Names: conventional long form: Republic of Panama conventional short form: Panama local long form: Republica de Panama local short form: Panama
Digraph: PM
Type: constitutional republic
Capital: Panama
Administrative divisions: 9 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia) and 1 territory* (comarca); Bocas del Toro, Chiriqui, Cocle, Colon, Darien, Herrera, Los Santos, Panama, San Blas*, Veraguas
Independence: 3 November 1903 (from Colombia; became independent from Spain 28 November 1821)
National holiday: Independence Day, 3 November (1903)
Constitution: 11 October 1972; major reforms adopted April 1983
Legal system: based on civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court of Justice; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal and compulsory
Executive branch: chief of state and head of government: President Ernesto PEREZ BALLADARES Gonzalez Revilla (since 1 September 1994, elected 8 May 1994); First Vice President Tomas Gabriel ALTAMIRANO DUQUE (since 1 September 1994); Second Vice President Felipe Alejandro VIRZI Lopez (since 1 September 1994 election last held 8 May 1994 (next to be held 9 May 1999); results - Ernesto PEREZ BALLADARES (PRD) 33%, Mireya MOSCOSO DE GRUBER (PA) 29%, Ruben BLADES (MPE) 17%, Ruben Dario CARLES (MOLIRENA) 16% cabinet: Cabinet; appointed by the president
Legislative branch: unicameral Legislative Assembly (Asamblea Legislativa): legislators from outlying rural districts are chosen on a plurality basis while districts located in more populous towns and cities elect multiple legislators by means of a proportion-based formula; elections last held 8 May 1994 (next to be held 9 May 1999); results - percent of vote by party NA ; seats - (72 total) PRD 32, PS 4, PALA 1, PA 14, MPE 6, MOLIRENA 4, PLA 3, PRC 3, PL 2, PDC 1, UDI 1, MORENA 1
Judicial branch: Supreme Court of Justice (Corte Suprema de Justicia), 5 superior courts, 3 courts of appeal
Political parties and leaders: governing coalition: Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD), Gerardo GONZALEZ; Solidarity Party (PS), Samuel LEWIS GALINDO; Liberal Republican Party (PLR), Rodolfo CHIARI; Labor Party (PALA), Carlos Lopez GUEVARA other parties: Nationalist Republican Liberal Movement (MOLIRENA), Alfredo RAMIREZ; Authentic Liberal Party (PLA), Arnulfo ESCALONA; Arnulfista Party (PA), Mireya MOSCOSO DE GRUBER; Christian Democratic Party (PDC), Raul OSSA; Liberal Party (PL), Roberto ALEMAN Zubieta; Papa Egoro Movement (MPE), Ruben BLADES; Civic Renewal Party (PRC), Tomas HERRERA; National Unity Mission Party (MUN), Jose Manuel PAREDES; Independent Democratic Union (UDI), Jacinto CARDENAS; National Renovation Movement (MORENA), Pedro VALLERINO
Other political or pressure groups: National Council of Organized Workers (CONATO); National Council of Private Enterprise (CONEP); Panamanian Association of Business Executives (APEDE); National Civic Crusade; Chamber of Commerce; Panamanian Industrialists Society (SIP); Workers Confederation of the Republic of Panama (CTRP)
Member of: AG (associate), CG, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM, ITU, LAES, LAIA (observer), NAM, OAS, OPANAL, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Ricardo Alberto ARIAS chancery: 2862 McGill Terrace NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 483-1407 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Houston, Miami, New Orleans, New York, San Francisco, San Juan (Puerto Rico), Tampa
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Oliver P. GARZA embassy: Avenida Balboa and Calle 38, Apartado 6959, Panama City 5 mailing address: American Embassy Panama, Unit 0945; APO AA 34002 telephone: [507] 27-1777 FAX: [507] 27-1964
Flag: divided into four, equal rectangles; the top quadrants are white (hoist side) with a blue five-pointed star in the center and plain red, the bottom quadrants are plain blue (hoist side) and white with a red five-pointed star in the center
@Panama:Economy
Overview: Because of its key geographic location, Panama's economy is service-based, heavily weighted toward banking, commerce, and tourism. Trade and financial ties with the US are especially close. GDP grew at 3.6% in 1994, a respectable rate, yet below the 7.1% average of the early 1990s. Banking and financial services and trade through the Colon Free Zone continued to expand rapidly, with the industrial and agricultural sectors experiencing little growth. The new administration, inaugurated 1 September 1994, has launched an economic plan designed to reverse rising unemployment, attract foreign investment, cut back the size of government, and modernize the economy. The success of the plan in meeting its goals for 1995 and beyond depends largely on the success of the administration in reforming the labor code and instituting the reforms necessary to join the GATT.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $12.3 billion (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate: 3.6% (1994 est.)
partners: US 45%, EU, Central America and Caribbean
Imports: $2.205 billion (c.i.f., 1994 est.) commodities: capital goods 21%, crude oil 11%, foodstuffs 9%, consumer goods, chemicals partners: US 40%, EU, Central America and Caribbean, Japan
External debt: $6.7 billion (yearend 1993 est.)
Industrial production: growth rate 1.8% (1994 est.); accounts for about 9% of GDP
Industries: manufacturing and construction, petroleum refining, brewing, cement and other construction materials, sugar milling
Agriculture: accounts for 10% of GDP (1992 est.); crops - bananas, rice, corn, coffee, sugarcane; livestock; fishing; importer of food grain, vegetables
Illicit drugs: major cocaine transshipment point and drug money laundering center
Economic aid: recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $516 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $582 million; Communist countries (1970-89), $4 million
Currency: 1 balboa (B) = 100 centesimos
Exchange rates: balboas (B) per US$1 - 1.000 (fixed rate)
Fiscal year: calendar year
@Panama:Transportation
Railroads: total: 238 km broad gauge: 78 km 1.524-m gauge narrow gauge: 160 km 0.914-m gauge
Highways: total: 8,530 km paved: 2,745 km unpaved: gravel, crushed stone 3,270 km; improved, unimproved earth 2,515 km
Inland waterways: 800 km navigable by shallow draft vessels; 82 km Panama Canal
Pipelines: crude oil 130 km
Ports: Bahia de las Minas, Balboa, Colon, Cristobal, Panama
Merchant marine: total: 3,526 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 60,748,525 GRT/95,102,552 DWT ships by type: barge carrier 1, bulk 787, cargo 1,070, chemical tanker 175, combination bulk 33, combination ore/oil 25, container 259, liquefied gas tanker 125, livestock carrier 8, multifunction large-load carrier 6, oil tanker 465, passenger 24, passenger-cargo 3, refrigerated cargo 284, roll-on/roll-off cargo 81, short-sea passenger 34, specialized tanker 9, vehicle carrier 137 note: a flag of convenience registry; includes 93 countries; the 10 major fleet flags are: Japan 1,171 ships, Greece 323, Hong Kong 276, US 212, Taiwan 184, Singapore 181, South Korea 172, China 145 ships, UK 102, and Norway 70
Airports: total: 115 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 1 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 14 with paved runways under 914 m: 74 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 20
@Panama:Communications
Telephone system: 220,000 telephones; domestic and international facilities well developed local: NA intercity: NA international: 1 coaxial submarine cable; 2 INTELSAT (Atlantic Ocean) earth stations; connected to the Central American Microwave System
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 91, FM 0, shortwave 0 radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: 23 televisions: NA
@Panama:Defense Forces
Branches: Panamanian Public Forces (PPF; includes the National Police or PNP, Maritime Service, National Air Service, and Institutional Protective Service); Judicial Branch Technical Police
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 701,691; males fit for military service 481,927 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: expenditures for the Panamanian security forces amounted to $105 million, 1.0% of GDP (1993 est.)
Location: Southeastern Asia, group of islands including the eastern half of the island of New Guinea between the Coral Sea and the South Pacific Ocean, east of Indonesia
Map references: Oceania
Area: total area: 461,690 sq km land area: 451,710 sq km comparative area: slightly larger than California
Land boundaries: total 820 km, Indonesia 820 km
Coastline: 5,152 km
Maritime claims: measured from claimed archipelagic baselines continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 12 nm
International disputes: none
Climate: tropical; northwest monsoon (December to March), southeast monsoon (May to October); slight seasonal temperature variation
Terrain: mostly mountains with coastal lowlands and rolling foothills
Land use: arable land: 0% permanent crops: 1% meadows and pastures: 0% forest and woodland: 71% other: 28%
Irrigated land: NA sq km
Environment: current issues: rain forest subject to deforestation as a result of growing commercial demand for tropical timber; pollution from mining projects natural hazards: active volcanism; situated along the Pacific "Rim of Fire"; the country is subject to frequent and sometimes severe earthquakes; mudslides international agreements: party to - Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Law of the Sea
Note: shares island of New Guinea with Indonesia; one of world's largest swamps along southwest coast
@Papua New Guinea:People
Population: 4,294,750 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 41% (female 847,208; male 892,718) 15-64 years: 57% (female 1,161,961; male 1,268,266) 65 years and over: 2% (female 66,759; male 57,838) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 2.3% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 33.2 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 10.18 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 61.6 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 56.85 years male: 56.01 years female: 57.74 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 4.55 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Nationality: noun: Papua New Guinean(s) adjective: Papua New Guinean
Religions: Roman Catholic 22%, Lutheran 16%, Presbyterian/Methodist/London Missionary Society 8%, Anglican 5%, Evangelical Alliance 4%, Seventh-Day Adventist 1%, other Protestant sects 10%, indigenous beliefs 34%
Languages: English spoken by 1%-2%, pidgin English widespread, Motu spoken in Papua region note: 715 indigenous languages
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.) total population: 52% male: 65% female: 38%
Labor force: NA
@Papua New Guinea:Government
Names: conventional long form: Independent State of Papua New Guinea conventional short form: Papua New Guinea
Digraph: PP
Type: parliamentary democracy
Capital: Port Moresby
Administrative divisions: 20 provinces; Central, Chimbu, Eastern Highlands, East New Britain, East Sepik, Enga, Gulf, Madang, Manus, Milne Bay, Morobe, National Capital, New Ireland, Northern, North Solomons, Sandaun, Southern Highlands, Western, Western Highlands, West New Britain
Independence: 16 September 1975 (from the Australian-administered UN trusteeship)
National holiday: Independence Day, 16 September (1975)
Constitution: 16 September 1975
Legal system: based on English common law
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Wiwa KOROWI (since NA November 1991) head of government: Prime Minister Sir Julius CHAN (since 30 August 1994); Deputy Prime Minister Chris HAIVETA (since 7 September 1994) cabinet: National Executive Council; appointed by the governor on recommendation of the prime minister
Legislative branch: unicameral National Parliament: (sometimes referred to as the House of Assembly) elections last held 13-26 June 1992 (next to be held NA 1997); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (109 total) Pangu Party 24, PDM 17, PPP 10, PAP 10, independents 30, others 18; note - association with political parties is fluid
Judicial branch: Supreme Court
Political parties and leaders: Papua New Guinea United Party (Pangu Party), Jack GENIA; People's Democratic Movement (PDM), Paias WINGTI; People's Action Party (PAP), Akoka DOI; People's Progress Party (PPP), Sir Julius CHAN; United Party (UP), Paul TORATO; Papua Party (PP), Galeva KWARARA; National Party (NP), Paul PORA; Melanesian Alliance (MA), Fr. John MOMIS
Member of: ACP, APEC, AsDB, ASEAN (observer), C, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, NAM (observer), SPARTECA, SPC, SPF, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Kepas Isimel WATANGIA chancery: 3rd floor, 1615 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 745-3680 FAX: [1] (202) 745-3679
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador Richard W. TEARE embassy: Armit Street, Port Moresby mailing address: P. O. Box 1492, Port Moresby, or APO AE 96553 telephone: [675] 211455, 211594, 211654 FAX: [675] 213423
Flag: divided diagonally from upper hoist-side corner; the upper triangle is red with a soaring yellow bird of paradise centered; the lower triangle is black with five white five-pointed stars of the Southern Cross constellation centered
@Papua New Guinea:Economy
Overview: Papua New Guinea is richly endowed with natural resources, but exploitation has been hampered by the rugged terrain and the high cost of developing an infrastructure. Agriculture provides a subsistence livelihood for 85% of the population. Mining of numerous deposits, including copper and gold, accounts for about 60% of export earnings. Budgetary support from Australia and development aid under World Bank auspices have helped sustain the economy. Robust growth in 1991-92 was led by the mining sector; the opening of a large new gold mine helped the advance. At the start of 1995, Port Moresby is looking primarily to the exploitation of mineral and petroleum resources to drive economic development but new prospecting in Papua New Guinea has slumped as other mineral-rich countries have stepped up their competition for international investment. Output from current projects will probably begin to taper off in 1996, but no new large ventures are being developed to succeed them.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $9.2 billion (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate: 6.1% (1994 est.)
National product per capita: $2,200 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1.6% (1994)
Unemployment rate: NA%
Budget: revenues: $1.33 billion expenditures: $1.36 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1995 est.)
Industries: copra crushing, palm oil processing, plywood production, wood chip production, mining of gold, silver, and copper, construction, tourism
Agriculture: Accounts for 25% of GDP; livelihood for 85% of population; fertile soils and favorable climate permits cultivating a wide variety of crops; cash crops - coffee, cocoa, coconuts, palm kernels; other products - tea, rubber, sweet potatoes, fruit, vegetables, poultry, pork; net importer of food for urban centers
Economic aid: recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $40.6 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $6.5 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $17 million
Currency: 1 kina (K) = 100 toea
Exchange rates: kina (K) per US$1 - 0.8565 (December 1994), 0.9950 (1994), 1.0221 (1993), 1.0367 (1992), 1.0504 (1991), 1.0467 (1990); note - the government floated the kina on 10 October 1994
Fiscal year: calendar year
@Papua New Guinea:Transportation
Railroads: 0 km
Highways: total: 19,200 km paved: 640 km unpaved: gravel, crushed stone, stabilized earth 10,960 km; unimproved earth 7,600 km
Airports: total: 505 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 13 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 5 with paved runways under 914 m: 411 with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 12 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 63
@Papua New Guinea:Communications
Telephone system: more than 70,000 telephones (1987); services are adequate and being improved; facilities provide radiobroadcast, radiotelephone and telegraph, coastal radio, aeronautical radio, and international radiocommunication services local: NA intercity: mostly radio telephone international: submarine cables extend to Australia and Guam; 1 INTELSAT (Pacific Ocean) earth station; international radio communication service
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 31, FM 2, shortwave 0 radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: 2 (1987) televisions: NA
@Papua New Guinea:Defense Forces
Branches: Papua New Guinea Defense Force (includes Army, Navy, and Air Force)
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 1,111,661; males fit for military service 618,696 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $55 million, 1.8% of GDP (1993 est.)
Location: Southeastern Asia, group of small islands and reefs in the South China Sea, about one-third of the way from central Vietnam to the northern Philippines
Map references: Southeast Asia
Area: total area: NA sq km land area: NA sq km comparative area: NA
Land boundaries: 0 km
Coastline: 518 km
Maritime claims: NA
International disputes: occupied by China, but claimed by Taiwan and Vietnam
Climate: tropical
Terrain: NA
Natural resources: none
Land use: arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 0% forest and woodland: 0% other: 100%
Irrigated land: 0 sq km
Environment: current issues: NA natural hazards: typhoons international agreements: NA
@Paracel Islands:People
Population: no indigenous inhabitants; note - there are scattered Chinese garrisons
@Paracel Islands:Government
Names: conventional long form: none conventional short form: Paracel Islands
Digraph: PF
@Paracel Islands:Economy
Overview: no economic activity
@Paracel Islands:Transportation
Ports: small Chinese port facilities on Woody Island and Duncan Island being expanded
Airports: total: 1 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (on Woody Island)
@Paracel Islands:Communications
Telephone system: local: NA intercity: NA international: NA
Radio: broadcast stations: AM, FM, shortwave radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: NA televisions: NA
Location: Central South America, northeast of Argentina
Map references: South America
Area: total area: 406,750 sq km land area: 397,300 sq km comparative area: slightly smaller than California
Land boundaries: total 3,920 km, Argentina 1,880 km, Bolivia 750 km, Brazil 1,290 km
Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims: none; landlocked
International disputes: short section of the boundary with Brazil, just west of Salto del Guaira (Guaira Falls) on the Rio Parana, has not been determined
Climate: varies from temperate in east to semiarid in far west
Terrain: grassy plains and wooded hills east of Rio Paraguay; Gran Chaco region west of Rio Paraguay mostly low, marshy plain near the river, and dry forest and thorny scrub elsewhere
Natural resources: hydropower, timber, iron ore, manganese, limestone
Land use: arable land: 20% permanent crops: 1% meadows and pastures: 39% forest and woodland: 35% other: 5%
Irrigated land: 670 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment: current issues: deforestation (an estimated 2 million hectares of forest land have been lost from 1958-1985); water pollution; inadequate means for waste disposal present health risks for many urban residents natural hazards: local flooding in southeast (early September to June); poorly drained plains may become boggy (early October to June) international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection; signed, but not ratified - Nuclear Test Ban
Note: landlocked; buffer between Argentina and Brazil
@Paraguay:People
Population: 5,358,198 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 41% (female 1,077,284; male 1,123,776) 15-64 years: 55% (female 1,465,147; male 1,468,642) 65 years and over: 4% (female 120,776; male 102,573) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 2.71% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 31.48 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 4.38 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 24.1 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 73.58 years male: 72.06 years female: 75.18 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 4.22 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Ethnic divisions: mestizo (mixed Spanish and Indian) 95%, Caucasians plus Amerindians 5%
Religions: Roman Catholic 90%, Mennonite and other Protestant denominations
Languages: Spanish (official), Guarani
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.) total population: 90% male: 92% female: 88%
Labor force: 1.692 million (1993 est.) by occupation: agriculture 45%
@Paraguay:Government
Names: conventional long form: Republic of Paraguay conventional short form: Paraguay local long form: Republica del Paraguay local short form: Paraguay
Digraph: PA
Type: republic
Capital: Asuncion
Administrative divisions: 19 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento); Alto Paraguay, Alto Parana, Amambay, Boqueron, Caaguazu, Caazapa, Canindeyu, Central, Chaco, Concepcion, Cordillera, Guaira, Itapua, Misiones, Neembucu, Nueva Asuncion, Paraguari, Presidente Hayes, San Pedro
Independence: 14 May 1811 (from Spain)
National holiday: Independence Days, 14-15 May (1811)
Constitution: promulgated 20 June 1992
Legal system: based on Argentine codes, Roman law, and French codes; judicial review of legislative acts in Supreme Court of Justice; does not accept compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal and compulsory up to age 60
Executive branch: chief of state and head of government: President Juan Carlos WASMOSY (since 15 August 1993); Vice President Roberto Angel SEIFART (since 15 August 1993); election last held 9 May 1993 (next to be held May 1998); results - Juan Carlos WASMOSY 40.09%, Domingo LAINO 32.06%, Guillermo CABALLERO VARGAS 23.04% cabinet: Council of Ministers; nominated by the president
Legislative branch: bicameral Congress (Congreso) Chamber of Senators (Camara de Senadores): elections last held 9 May 1993 (next to be held May 1998); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (45 total) Colorado Party 20, PLRA 17, EN 8 Chamber of Deputies (Camara de Diputados): elections last held on 9 May 1993 (next to be held by May 1998); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (80 total) Colorado Party 38, PLRA 33, EN 9
Judicial branch: Supreme Court of Justice (Corte Suprema de Justicia)
Political parties and leaders: Colorado Party, Eugenio SANABRIA CANTERO, president; Authentic Radical Liberal Party (PLRA), Domingo LAINO; National Encounter (EN), Guillermo CABALLERO VARGAS (the EN party includes the following minor parties: Christian Democratic Party (PDC), Jose Angel BURRO; Febrerista Revolutionary Party (PRF), Euclides ACEVEDO; Popular Democratic Party (PDP), Hugo RICHER)
Other political or pressure groups: Confederation of Workers (CUT); Roman Catholic Church
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Jorge Genaro Andres PRIETO CONTI chancery: 2400 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 483-6960 through 6962 FAX: [1] (202) 234-4508 consulate(s) general: Miami, New Orleans, and New York
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador Robert SERVICE embassy: 1776 Avenida Mariscal Lopez, Asuncion mailing address: C. P. 402, Asuncion; Unit 4711, APO AA 34036-0001 telephone: [595] (21) 213-715 FAX: [595] (21) 213-728
Flag: three equal, horizontal bands of red (top), white, and blue with an emblem centered in the white band; unusual flag in that the emblem is different on each side; the obverse (hoist side at the left) bears the national coat of arms (a yellow five-pointed star within a green wreath capped by the words REPUBLICA DEL PARAGUAY, all within two circles); the reverse (hoist side at the right) bears the seal of the treasury (a yellow lion below a red Cap of Liberty and the words Paz y Justicia (Peace and Justice) capped by the words REPUBLICA DEL PARAGUAY, all within two circles)
@Paraguay:Economy
Overview: Agriculture, including forestry, accounts for about 25% of GDP, employs about 45% of the labor force, and provides the bulk of exports, in which soybeans and cotton are the most important. Paraguay lacks substantial mineral or petroleum resources but possesses a large hydropower potential. In a major step to increase its economic activity in the region, Paraguay in March 1991 joined the Southern Cone Common Market (MERCOSUR), which includes Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay. In 1992, the government, through an unorthodox approach, reduced external debt with both commercial and official creditors by purchasing a sizable amount of the delinquent commercial debt in the secondary market at a substantial discount. The government had paid 100% of remaining official debt arrears to the US, Germany, France, and Spain. All commercial debt arrears have been rescheduled. For the long run, the government must press forward with general, market-oriented economic reforms. Growth of 3.5% in 1993 was spurred by higher-than-expected agricultural output and rising international commodity prices. Inflation picked up steam in fourth quarter 1993 because of rises in public sector salaries and utility rates. GDP growth continued in 1994 at 3.5%. Although inflation declined a bit over 1993, increases in food prices, and crop and infrastructure damage from heavy rains at the end of the year, forced inflation to 18%, above the government's target of 15%. Paraguay reaffirmed its commitment to MERCOSUR on 1 January 1995 by implementing the organization's common external tariff.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $15.4 billion (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate: 3.5% (1994 est.)
National product per capita: $2,950 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 18% (1994 est.)
Unemployment rate: 11.2% (1994 est.)
Budget: revenues: $1.2 billion expenditures: $1.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $487 million (1992 est.)
Exports: $728 million (f.o.b., 1993 est.) commodities: cotton, soybeans, timber, vegetable oils, meat products, coffee, tung oil partners: EC 37%, Brazil 25%, Argentina 10%, Chile 6%, US 6%
Imports: $1.38 billion (c.i.f., 1993 est.) commodities: capital goods, foodstuffs, consumer goods, raw materials, fuels partners: Brazil 30%, EC 20%, US 18%, Argentina 8%, Japan 7%
External debt: $1.4 billion (yearend 1993 est.)
Industrial production: growth rate 3.6% (1993 est.); accounts for 20% of GDP
Electricity: capacity: 6,530,000 kW production: 26.5 billion kWh (1992) consumption per capita: NA note: much of the electricity produced in Paraguay is exported to Brazil and domestic consumption cannot be determined
Industries: meat packing, oilseed crushing, milling, brewing, textiles, other light consumer goods, cement, construction
Agriculture: accounts for 26% of GDP; cash crops - cotton, sugarcane, soybeans; other crops - corn, wheat, tobacco, cassava, fruits, vegetables; animal products - beef, pork, eggs, milk; surplus producer of timber; self-sufficient in most foods
Illicit drugs: illicit producer of cannabis for the international drug trade; important transshipment point for Bolivian cocaine headed for the US and Europe
Economic aid: recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $172 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $1.1 billion
Railroads: total: 970 km standard gauge: 440 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 60 km 1.000-m gauge other: 470 km various gauges (privately owned)
Highways: total: 28,300 km paved: 2,600 km unpaved: gravel 500 km; earth 25,200 km
Inland waterways: 3,100 km
Ports: Asuncion, Villeta, San Antonio, Encarnacion
Merchant marine: total: 13 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 16,747 GRT/19,513 DWT ships by type: cargo 11, oil tanker 2 note: in addition, 1 naval cargo ship is sometimes used commercially
Airports: total: 929 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 2 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 3 with paved runways under 914 m: 578 with unpaved runways over 3,047 m: 2 with unpaved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 27 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 314
@Paraguay:Communications
Telephone system: 78,300 telephones; 16 telephones/1,000 persons; meager telephone service; principal switching center in Asuncion local: NA intercity: fair microwave radio relay network international: 1 INTELSAT (Atlantic Ocean) earth station
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 40, FM 0, shortwave 7 radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: 5 televisions: NA
@Paraguay:Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Navy (includes Naval Air and Marines), Air Force
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 1,290,894; males fit for military service 937,054; males reach military age (17) annually 55,551 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $100 million, 1.6% of GDP (1994 est.)
Land use: arable land: 3% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 21% forest and woodland: 55% other: 21%
Irrigated land: 12,500 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment: current issues: deforestation; overgrazing of the slopes of the costa and sierra leading to soil erosion; desertification; air pollution in Lima; pollution of rivers and coastal waters from municipal and mining wastes natural hazards: earthquakes, tsunamis, flooding, landslides, mild volcanic activity international agreements: party to - Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Wetlands, Whaling; signed, but not ratified - Desertification, Tropical Timber 94
Note: shares control of Lago Titicaca, world's highest navigable lake, with Bolivia
@Peru:People
Population: 24,087,372 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 35% (female 4,152,520; male 4,296,293) 15-64 years: 61% (female 7,280,287; male 7,378,227) 65 years and over: 4% (female 535,156; male 444,889) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.8% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 24.88 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 6.84 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 52.1 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 66.07 years male: 63.86 years female: 68.38 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 3 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Ethnic divisions: Indian 45%, mestizo (mixed Indian and European ancestry) 37%, white 15%, black, Japanese, Chinese, and other 3%
Religions: Roman Catholic
Languages: Spanish (official), Quechua (official), Aymara
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.) total population: 82% male: 92% female: 74%
Labor force: 8 million (1992) by occupation: government and other services 44%, agriculture 37%, industry 19% (1988 est.)
@Peru:Government
Names: conventional long form: Republic of Peru conventional short form: Peru local long form: Republica del Peru local short form: Peru
Digraph: PE
Type: republic
Capital: Lima
Administrative divisions: 24 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento) and 1 constitutional province* (provincia constitucional); Amazonas, Ancash, Apurimac, Arequipa, Ayacucho, Cajamarca, Callao*, Cusco, Huancavelica, Huanuco, Ica, Junin, La Libertad, Lambayeque, Lima, Loreto, Madre de Dios, Moquegua, Pasco, Piura, Puno, San Martin, Tacna, Tumbes, Ucayali note: the 1979 Constitution mandated the creation of regions (regiones, singular - region) to function eventually as autonomous economic and administrative entities; so far, 12 regions have been constituted from 23 of the 24 departments - Amazonas (from Loreto), Andres Avelino Caceres (from Huanuco, Pasco, Junin), Arequipa (from Arequipa), Chavin (from Ancash), Grau (from Tumbes, Piura), Inca (from Cusco, Madre de Dios, Apurimac), La Libertad (from La Libertad), Los Libertadores-Huari (from Ica, Ayacucho, Huancavelica), Mariategui (from Moquegua, Tacna, Puno), Nor Oriental del Maranon (from Lambayeque, Cajamarca, Amazonas), San Martin (from San Martin), Ucayali (from Ucayali); formation of another region has been delayed by the reluctance of the constitutional province of Callao to merge with the department of Lima; because of inadequate funding from the central government and organizational and political difficulties, the regions have yet to assume major responsibilities; the 1993 Constitution retains the regions but limits their authority; the 1993 Constitution also reaffirms the roles of departmental and municipal governments.
Independence: 28 July 1821 (from Spain)
National holiday: Independence Day, 28 July (1821)
Constitution: 31 December 1993
Legal system: based on civil law system; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state and head of government: President Alberto Kenyo FUJIMORI Fujimori (since 28 July 1990); election last held 9 April 1995 (next to be held NA 2000); results - Alberto FUJIMORI 64.42%, Javier PEREZ de CUELLAR 21.80%, Mercedes CABANILLAS 4.11%, other 9.67%
cabinet: Council of Ministers; appointed by the president note: Prime Minister Efrain GOLDENBERG Schreiber (since NA February 1994) does not exercise executive power; this power is in the hands of the president
Legislative branch: unicameral Congress: elections last held 9 April 1995 (next to be held NA 2000); results - C90/NM 52.1% of the total vote, UPP 14%, eleven other parties 33.9%; seats - (120 total, when installed on 28 July 1995) C90/NM 67, UPP 17, APRA 8, FIM 6, (CODE)-Pais Posible 5, AP 4, PPC 3, Renovacion 3, IU 2, OBRAS 2, MIA 1, FRENATRACA 1, (FREPAP) 1
Judicial branch: Supreme Court of Justice (Corte Suprema de Justicia)
Political parties and leaders: Change 90-New Majority (C90/NM), Alberto FUJIMORI; Union for Peru (UPP), Javier PEREZ de CUELLAR; American Popular Revolutionary Alliance (APRA), Agustin MANTILLA Campos; Independent Moralizing Front (FIM), Fernando OLIVERA Vega; Democratic Coordinator (CODE) - Pais Posible, Jose BARBA Caballero and Alejandro TOLEDO; Popular Action Party (AP), Raul DIEZ CANSECO; Popular Christian Party (PPC), Luis BEDOYA Reyes; Renovacion, Rafael REY Rey; Civic Works Movement (OBRAS), Ricardo BELMONT; United Left (IU), Agustin HAYA de la TORRE; Independent Agrarian Movement (MIA), Rolando SALVATERRIE; Peru 2000-National Front of Workers and Peasants (FRENATRACA), Roger CACARES; Popular Agricultural Front (FREPAP), Ezequiel ATAUCUSI
Other political or pressure groups: leftist guerrilla groups include Shining Path, Abimael GUZMAN Reynoso (imprisoned); Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement, Nestor SERPA and Victor POLAY (imprisoned)
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Ricardo V. LUNA Mendoza chancery: 1700 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 833-9860 through 9869 FAX: [1] (202) 659-8124 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Paterson (New Jersey), and San Francisco
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador Alvin P. ADAMS, Jr. embassy: corner of Avenida Inca Garcilaso de la Vega and Avenida Espana, Lima mailing address: P. O. Box 1995, Lima 1; American Embassy (Lima), APO AA 34031 telephone: [51] (14) 338000 FAX: [51] (14) 316682
Flag: three equal, vertical bands of red (hoist side), white, and red with the coat of arms centered in the white band; the coat of arms features a shield bearing a llama, cinchona tree (the source of quinine), and a yellow cornucopia spilling out gold coins, all framed by a green wreath
@Peru:Economy
Overview: The Peruvian economy has become increasingly market-oriented, with major privatizations completed in 1994 in the mining and telecommunications industries. In the 1980s the economy suffered from hyperinflation, declining per capita output, and mounting external debt. Peru was shut off from IMF and World Bank support in the mid-1980s because of its huge debt arrears. An austerity program implemented shortly after the FUJIMORI government took office in July 1990 contributed to a third consecutive yearly contraction of economic activity, but the slide came to a halt late that year, and in 1991 output rose 2.4%. After a burst of inflation as the austerity program eliminated government price subsidies, monthly price increases eased to the single-digit level and by December 1991 dropped to the lowest increase since mid-1987. Lima obtained a financial rescue package from multilateral lenders in September 1991, although it faced $14 billion in arrears on its external debt. By working with the IMF and World Bank on new financial conditions and arrangements, the government succeeded in ending its arrears by March 1993. In 1992, GDP had fallen by 2.8%, in part because a warmer-than-usual El Nino current resulted in a 30% drop in the fish catch, but the economy rebounded as strong foreign investment helped push growth to 6% in 1993 and 8.6% in 1994.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $73.6 billion (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate: 8.6% (1994 est.)
Budget: revenues: $2 billion expenditures: $1.7 billion, including capital expenditures of $300 million (1992 est.)
Exports: $4.1 billion (f.o.b., 1994 est.) commodities: copper, zinc, fishmeal, crude petroleum and byproducts, lead, refined silver, coffee, cotton partners: US 19%, Japan 9%, Italy, Germany
Imports: $5.1 billion (f.o.b., 1994 est.) commodities: machinery, transport equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum, iron and steel, chemicals, pharmaceuticals partners: US 21%, Colombia, Argentina, Japan, Germany, Brazil
Industries: mining of metals, petroleum, fishing, textiles, clothing, food processing, cement, auto assembly, steel, shipbuilding, metal fabrication
Agriculture: accounts for 12% of GDP, about 35% of labor force; commercial crops - coffee, cotton, sugarcane; other crops - rice, wheat, potatoes, plantains, coca; animal products - poultry, red meats, dairy, wool; not self-sufficient in grain or vegetable oil; fish catch of 6.9 million metric tons (1990)
Illicit drugs: world's largest coca leaf producer with about 108,600 hectares under cultivation in 1994; source of supply for most of the world's coca paste and cocaine base; at least 85% of coca cultivation is for illicit production; most of cocaine base is shipped to Colombian drug dealers for processing into cocaine for the international drug market, but exports of finished cocaine are increasing
Economic aid: recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $1.7 billion; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $4.3 billion; Communist countries (1970-89), $577 million
Currency: 1 nuevo sol (S/.) = 100 centimos
Exchange rates: nuevo sol (S/.) per US$1 - 2.20 (February 1995), 2.195 (1994),1.988 (1993), 1.245 (1992), 0.772 (1991), 0.187 (1990)
Fiscal year: calendar year
@Peru:Transportation
Railroads: total: 1,801 km standard gauge: 1,501 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 300 km 0.914-m gauge
Highways: total: 69,942 km paved: 7,459 km unpaved: improved earth 13,538 km; unimproved earth 48,945 km
Inland waterways: 8,600 km of navigable tributaries of Amazon system and 208 km of Lago Titicaca
Pipelines: crude oil 800 km; natural gas and natural gas liquids 64 km
Ports: Callao, Chimbote, Ilo, Iquitos, Matarani, Paita, Pucallpa, Salaverry, San Martin, Talara, Yurimaguas note: Iquitos, Pucallpa, and Yurimaguas are all on the upper reaches of the Amazon and its tributaries
Merchant marine: total: 10 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 90,501 GRT/144,913 DWT ships by type: bulk 3, cargo 6, refrigerated cargo 1 note: in addition, 4 naval tankers and 1 naval cargo are sometimes used commercially
Airports: total: 236 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 6 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 16 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 11 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 5 with paved runways under 914 m: 97 with unpaved runways over 3,047 m: 1 with unpaved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 21 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 77
@Peru:Communications
Telephone system: 544,000 telephones; fairly adequate for most requirements local: NA intercity: nationwide microwave radio relay system and 12 domestic satellite links international: 2 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth stations
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 273, FM 0, shortwave 144 radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: 140 televisions: NA
@Peru:Defense Forces
Branches: Army (Ejercito Peruano), Navy (Marina de Guerra del Peru), Air Force (Fuerza Aerea del Peru), National Police
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 6,369,157; males fit for military service 4,300,772; males reach military age (20) annually 251,798 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $810 million, about 2.7% of GDP (1994)
Location: Southeastern Asia, archipelago between the Philippine Sea and the South China Sea, east of Vietnam
Map references: Southeast Asia
Area: total area: 300,000 sq km land area: 298,170 sq km comparative area: slightly larger than Arizona
Land boundaries: 0 km
Coastline: 36,289 km
Maritime claims: measured from claimed archipelagic baselines continental shelf: to depth of exploitation exclusive economic zone: 200 nm territorial sea: irregular polygon extending up to 100 nm from coastline as defined by 1898 treaty; since late 1970s has also claimed polygonal-shaped area in South China Sea up to 285 nm in breadth
International disputes: involved in a complex dispute over the Spratly Islands with China, Malaysia, Taiwan, Vietnam, and possibly Brunei; claims Malaysian state of Sabah
Climate: tropical marine; northeast monsoon (November to April); southwest monsoon (May to October)
Terrain: mostly mountains with narrow to extensive coastal lowlands
Land use: arable land: 26% permanent crops: 11% meadows and pastures: 4% forest and woodland: 40% other: 19%
Irrigated land: 16,200 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment: current issues: uncontrolled deforestation in watershed areas; soil erosion; air and water pollution in Manila; increasing pollution of coastal mangrove swamps which are important fish breeding grounds natural hazards: astride typhoon belt, usually affected by 15 and struck by five to six cyclonic storms per year; landslides, active volcanoes, destructive earthquakes, tsunamis international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83, Wetlands
@Philippines:People
Population: 73,265,584 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 38% (female 13,841,552; male 14,214,234) 15-64 years: 58% (female 21,603,818; male 20,923,307) 65 years and over: 4% (female 1,425,706; male 1,256,967) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 2.23% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 30.42 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 6.97 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: -1.14 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 49.6 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 65.65 years male: 63.16 years female: 68.25 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 3.81 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Ethnic divisions: Christian Malay 91.5%, Muslim Malay 4%, Chinese 1.5%, other 3%
Religions: Roman Catholic 83%, Protestant 9%, Muslim 5%, Buddhist and other 3%
Languages: Pilipino (official; based on Tagalog), English (official)
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1990) total population: 94% male: 94% female: 93%
Labor force: 24.12 million by occupation: agriculture 46%, industry and commerce 16%, services 18.5%, government 10%, other 9.5% (1989)
@Philippines:Government
Names: conventional long form: Republic of the Philippines conventional short form: Philippines local long form: Republika ng Pilipinas local short form: Pilipinas
Digraph: RP
Type: republic
Capital: Manila
Administrative divisions: 72 provinces and 61 chartered cities*; Abra, Agusan del Norte, Agusan del Sur, Aklan, Albay, Angeles*, Antique, Aurora, Bacolod*, Bago*, Baguio*, Bais*, Basilan, Basilan City*, Bataan, Batanes, Batangas, Batangas City*, Benguet, Bohol, Bukidnon, Bulacan, Butuan*, Cabanatuan*, Cadiz*, Cagayan, Cagayan de Oro*, Calbayog*, Caloocan*, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Camiguin, Canlaon*, Capiz, Catanduanes, Cavite, Cavite City*, Cebu, Cebu City*, Cotabato*, Dagupan*, Danao*, Dapitan*, Davao City* Davao, Davao del Sur, Davao Oriental, Dipolog*, Dumaguete*, Eastern Samar, General Santos*, Gingoog*, Ifugao, Iligan*, Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, Iloilo, Iloilo City*, Iriga*, Isabela, Kalinga-Apayao, La Carlota*, Laguna, Lanao del Norte, Lanao del Sur, Laoag*, Lapu-Lapu*, La Union, Legaspi*, Leyte, Lipa*, Lucena*, Maguindanao, Mandaue*, Manila*, Marawi*, Marinduque, Masbate, Mindoro Occidental, Mindoro Oriental, Misamis Occidental, Misamis Oriental, Mountain, Naga*, Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental, North Cotabato, Northern Samar, Nueva Ecija, Nueva Vizcaya, Olongapo*, Ormoc*, Oroquieta*, Ozamis*, Pagadian*, Palawan, Palayan*, Pampanga, Pangasinan, Pasay*, Puerto Princesa*, Quezon, Quezon City*, Quirino, Rizal, Romblon, Roxas*, Samar, San Carlos* (in Negros Occidental), San Carlos* (in Pangasinan), San Jose*, San Pablo*, Silay*, Siquijor, Sorsogon, South Cotabato, Southern Leyte, Sultan Kudarat, Sulu, Surigao*, Surigao del Norte, Surigao del Sur, Tacloban*, Tagaytay*, Tagbilaran*, Tangub*, Tarlac, Tawitawi, Toledo*, Trece Martires*, Zambales, Zamboanga*, Zamboanga del Norte, Zamboanga del Sur
Independence: 4 July 1946 (from US)
National holiday: Independence Day, 12 June (1898) (from Spain)
Constitution: 2 February 1987, effective 11 February 1987
Legal system: based on Spanish and Anglo-American law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
Suffrage: 15 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state and head of government: President Fidel Valdes RAMOS (since 30 June 1992); Vice President Joseph Ejercito ESTRADA (since 30 June 1992); election last held 11 May 1992 (next to be held NA May 1998); results - Fidel Valdes RAMOS won 23.6% of the vote, a narrow plurality cabinet: Executive Secretary; appointed by the president with the consent of the Commission of Appointments
Legislative branch: bicameral Congress (Kongreso) Senate (Senado): elections last held 11 May 1992 (next to be held NA May 1995); results - LDP 66%, NPC 20%, Lakas/NUCD 8%, Liberal 6%; seats - (24 total) LDP 15, NPC 5, Lakas/NUCD 2, Liberal 1, independent 1 House of Representatives (Kapulungan Ng Mga Kinatawan): elections last held 11 May 1992 (next to be held NA May 1995); results - LDP 43.5%; Lakas/NUCD 25%, NPC 23.5%, Liberal 5%, KBL 3%; seats - (200 total) LDP 87, NPC 45, Lakas/NUCD 41, Liberal 15, NP 6, KBL 3, independents 3
Judicial branch: Supreme Court
Political parties and leaders: Democratic Filipino Struggle (Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipinas, LDP), Edgardo ESPIRITU; People Power-National Union of Christian Democrats (Lakas ng Edsa, NUCD and Partido Lakas Tao, Lakas/NUCD); Fidel V. RAMOS, President of the Republic, Raul MANGLAPUS, Jose DE VENECIA, secretary general; Nationalist People's Coalition (NPC), Eduardo COJUANGCO; Liberal Party, Jovito SALONGA; People's Reform Party (PRP), Miriam DEFENSOR-SANTIAGO; New Society Movement (Kilusan Bagong Lipunan; KBL), Imelda MARCOS; Nacionalista Party (NP), Salvador H. LAUREL, president
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Raul Chaves RABE chancery: 1600 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 467-9300 FAX: [1] (202) 328-7614 consulate(s) general: Agana (Guam), Chicago, Honolulu, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, and Seattle consulate(s): San Diego and San Jose (Saipan)
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador John D. NEGROPONTE embassy: 1201 Roxas Boulevard, Ermita Manila 1000 mailing address: APO AP 96440 telephone: [63] (2) 521-71-16 FAX: [63] (2) 522-43-61 consulate(s): Cebu
Flag: two equal horizontal bands of blue (top) and red with a white equilateral triangle based on the hoist side; in the center of the triangle is a yellow sun with eight primary rays (each containing three individual rays) and in each corner of the triangle is a small yellow five-pointed star
@Philippines:Economy
Overview: Domestic output in this primarily agricultural economy failed to grow in 1992 and rose only slightly in 1993. Drought and power supply problems hampered production, while inadequate revenues prevented government pump priming. Worker remittances helped to supplement GDP. A marked increase in capital goods imports, particularly power generating equipment, telecommunications equipment, and electronic data processors, contributed to 20% annual import growth in 1992-94. Provided the government can cope with the substantial trade deficit and meet the fiscal targets agreed to with the IMF, the Philippines should duplicate the strong growth performance of 1994 in 1995-96.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $161.4 billion (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate: 4.3% (1994 est.)
Budget: revenues: $14 billion expenditures: $15.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY94/95 est.)
Exports: $13.4 billion (f.o.b., 1994) commodities: electronics, textiles, coconut products, copper, fish partners: US 39%, Japan 16%, Germany 5%, Hong Kong 5%, UK 4% (1993)
Imports: $21.3 billion (f.o.b., 1994) commodities: raw materials 40%, capital goods 25%, petroleum products 10% partners: Japan 23%, US 20%, Taiwan 6%, Singapore 5%, South Korea 5% (1993)
External debt: $40 billion (1994 est.)
Industrial production: growth rate 1.4% (1993); accounts for 28% of GDP
Agriculture: accounts for 22% of GDP and about 45% of labor force; major crops - rice, coconuts, corn, sugarcane, bananas, pineapples, mangos; animal products - pork, eggs, beef; net exporter of farm products; fish catch of 2 million metric tons annually
Illicit drugs: illicit producer of cannabis for the international drug trade; growers are producing more and better quality cannabis despite government eradication efforts; transit point for Southwest Asian heroin bound for the US
Economic aid: recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $3.6 billion; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-88), $7.9 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $5 million; Communist countries (1975-89), $123 million
Railroads: total: 800 km (est.); note - including about 390 km in Luzon narrow gauge: 800 km 1.067-m gauge
Highways: total: 160,700 km paved: 29,000 km unpaved: 131,700 km
Inland waterways: 3,219 km; limited to shallow-draft (less than 1.5 m) vessels
Pipelines: petroleum products 357 km
Ports: Batangas, Cagayan de Oro, Cebu, Davao, Guimaras, Iligan, Iloilo, Jolo, Legaspi, Manila, Masao, Puerto Princesa, San Fernando, Subic Bay, Zamboanga
Merchant marine: total: 552 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 8,748,083 GRT/14,373,730 DWT ships by type: bulk 237, cargo 134, chemical tanker 4, combination bulk 10, combination ore/oil 1, container 10, liquefied gas tanker 6, livestock carrier 9, oil tanker 46, passenger 1, passenger-cargo 11, refrigerated cargo 24, roll-on/roll-off cargo 13, short-sea passenger 17, vehicle carrier 29 note: a flag of convenience registry; Japan owns 13 ships, Norway 2, Switzerland 1, Taiwan 1, and South Korea 1
Airports: total: 269 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 2 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 7 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 24 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 32 with paved runways under 914 m: 133 with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 4 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 67
@Philippines:Communications
Telephone system: 872,900 telephones; good international radio and submarine cable services; domestic and interisland service adequate local: NA intercity: 11 domestic satellite links international: submarine cables extended to Hong Kong, Guam, Singapore, Taiwan, and Japan; 3 INTELSAT (1 Indian Ocean and 2 Pacific Ocean) earth stations
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 267 (including 6 US), FM 55, shortwave 0 radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: 33 (including 4 US) televisions: NA
@Philippines:Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Navy (includes Coast Guard and Marine Corps), Air Force
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 18,238,568; males fit for military service 12,876,771; males reach military age (20) annually 752,622 (1995 est.)
Climate: tropical, hot, humid, modified by southeast trade winds; rainy season (November to March)
Terrain: rugged volcanic formation; rocky coastline with cliffs
Natural resources: miro trees (used for handicrafts), fish
Land use: arable land: NA% permanent crops: NA% meadows and pastures: NA% forest and woodland: NA% other: NA%
Irrigated land: NA sq km
Environment: current issues: deforestation (only a small portion of the original forest remains because of burning and clearing for settlement) natural hazards: typhoons (especially November to March) international agreements: NA
@Pitcairn Islands:People
Population: 73 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: NA 15-64 years: NA 65 years and over: NA
Population growth rate: 2.8% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: NA births/1,000 population
Death rate: NA deaths/1,000 population
Net migration rate: NA migrant(s)/1,000 population
Infant mortality rate: NA deaths/1,000 live births
Life expectancy at birth: total population: NA years male: NA years female: NA years
Ethnic divisions: descendants of the Bounty mutineers
Religions: Seventh-Day Adventist 100%
Languages: English (official), Tahitian/English dialect
Labor force: NA by occupation: no business community in the usual sense; some public works; subsistence farming and fishing
@Pitcairn Islands:Government
Names: conventional long form: Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie, and Oeno Islands conventional short form: Pitcairn Islands
Digraph: PC
Type: dependent territory of the UK
Capital: Adamstown
Administrative divisions: none (dependent territory of the UK)
Independence: none (dependent territory of the UK)
National holiday: Celebration of the Birthday of the Queen (second Saturday in June)
Constitution: Local Government Ordinance of 1964
Legal system: local island by-laws
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal with three years residency
Executive branch: chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by UK High Commissioner to New Zealand and Governor (non-resident) of the Pitcairn Islands Robert John ALSTON (since NA); Commissioner (non-resident) G.D. HARRAWAY (since NA; is the liaison person between the governor and the Island Council) head of government: Island Magistrate and Chairman of the Island Council Jay WARREN (since NA)
Legislative branch: unicameral Island Council: elections take place each December; last held NA December 1994 (next to be held NA December 1995); results - percent of vote NA; seats - (11 total, 5 elected) all independents
Judicial branch: Island Court
Political parties and leaders: none
Other political or pressure groups: NA
Member of: SPC
Diplomatic representation in US: none (dependent territory of the UK)
US diplomatic representation: none (dependent territory of the UK)
Flag: blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the Pitcairn Islander coat of arms centered on the outer half of the flag; the coat of arms is yellow, green, and light blue with a shield featuring a yellow anchor
@Pitcairn Islands:Economy
Overview: The inhabitants exist on fishing and subsistence farming. The fertile soil of the valleys produces a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, including citrus, sugarcane, watermelons, bananas, yams, and beans. Bartering is an important part of the economy. The major sources of revenue are the sale of postage stamps to collectors and the sale of handicrafts to passing ships.
National product: GDP $NA
National product real growth rate: NA%
National product per capita: $NA
Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA%
Unemployment rate: NA%
Budget: revenues: $430,000 expenditures: $429,000, including capital expenditures of $NA (1987 est.)
Exports: $NA commodities: fruits, vegetables, curios partners: NA
Imports: $NA commodities: fuel oil, machinery, building materials, flour, sugar, other foodstuffs partners: NA
Map references: Ethnic Groups in Eastern Europe, Europe
Area: total area: 312,680 sq km land area: 304,510 sq km comparative area: slightly smaller than New Mexico
Land boundaries: total 3,114 km, Belarus 605 km, Czech Republic 658 km, Germany 456 km, Lithuania 91 km, Russia (Kaliningrad Oblast) 432 km, Slovakia 444 km, Ukraine 428 km
Coastline: 491 km
Maritime claims: exclusive economic zone: defined by international treaties territorial sea: 12 nm
International disputes: none
Climate: temperate with cold, cloudy, moderately severe winters with frequent precipitation; mild summers with frequent showers and thundershowers
Terrain: mostly flat plain; mountains along southern border
Natural resources: coal, sulfur, copper, natural gas, silver, lead, salt
Land use: arable land: 46% permanent crops: 1% meadows and pastures: 13% forest and woodland: 28% other: 12%
Irrigated land: 1,000 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment: current issues: forest damage due to air pollution and resulting acid rain; improper means for disposal of large amounts of hazardous and industrial waste; severe water pollution from industrial and municipal sources; severe air pollution results from emissions of sulfur dioxide from coal-fired power plants, which also drifts into Germany and the Netherlands natural hazards: NA international agreements: party to - Air Pollution, Antarctic Treaty, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Biodiversity, Law of the Sea
Note: historically, an area of conflict because of flat terrain and the lack of natural barriers on the North European Plain
@Poland:People
Population: 38,792,442 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 23% (female 4,349,467; male 4,559,536) 15-64 years: 66% (female 12,849,300; male 12,698,179) 65 years and over: 11% (female 2,693,407; male 1,642,553) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.36% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 13.34 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 9.23 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: -0.52 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 12.4 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 73.13 years male: 69.15 years female: 77.33 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.92 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Religions: Roman Catholic 95% (about 75% practicing), Eastern Orthodox, Protestant, and other 5%
Languages: Polish
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1978) total population: 99% male: 99% female: 98%
Labor force: 17.321 million (1993 annual average) by occupation: industry and construction 32.0%, agriculture 27.6%, trade, transport, and communications 14.7%, government and other 25.7% (1992)
@Poland:Government
Names: conventional long form: Republic of Poland conventional short form: Poland local long form: Rzeczpospolita Polska local short form: Polska
Independence: 11 November 1918 (independent republic proclaimed)
National holiday: Constitution Day, 3 May (1791)
Constitution: interim "small constitution" came into effect in December 1992 replacing the Communist-imposed constitution of 22 July 1952; new democratic constitution being drafted
Legal system: mixture of Continental (Napoleonic) civil law and holdover Communist legal theory; changes being gradually introduced as part of broader democratization process; limited judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Lech WALESA (since 22 December 1990); election first round held 25 November 1990, second round held 9 December 1990 (next to be held NA November 1995); results - second round Lech WALESA 74.7%, Stanislaw TYMINSKI 25.3% head of government: Prime Minister Jozef OLEKSY (since 6 March 1995); Deputy Prime Ministers Roman JAGIELINSKI, Grzegorz KOLODKO, and Aleksander LUCZAK (since NA) cabinet: Council of Ministers; responsible to the president and the Sejm
Legislative branch: bicameral National Assembly (Zgromadzenie Narodowe) Senate (Senat): elections last held 19 September 1993 (next to be held no later than NA October 1997); seats - (100 total) Communist origin or linked (PSL 34, SLD 37), post-Solidarity parties (UW 6, NSZZ 12, BBWR 2), non-Communist, non-Solidarity (independents 7, unaffiliated 1, vacant 1) Diet (Sejm): elections last held 19 September 1993 (next to be held no later than NA October 1997); seats - (460 total) Communist origin or linked (SLD 171, PSL 132), post-Solidarity parties (UW 74, UP 41, BBWR 16), non-Communist, non-Solidarity (KPN 22) note: 4 seats are constitutionally assigned to ethnic German parties
Judicial branch: Supreme Court
Political parties and leaders: post-Solidarity parties: Freedom Union (UW; Democratic Union and Liberal Democratic Congress merged to form Freedom Union), Leszek BALCEROWICZ; Christian-National Union (ZCHN), Ryszard CZARNECKI; Centrum (PC), Jaroslaw KACZYNSKI; Peasant Alliance (PL), Gabriel JANOWSKI; Solidarity Trade Union (NSZZ), Marian KRZAKLEWSKI; Union of Labor (UP), Ryszard BUGAJ; Christian-Democratic Party (PCHD), Pawel LACZKOWSKI; Conservative Party, Alexander HALL; Nonparty Bloc for the Support of the Reforms (BBWR) non-Communist, non-Solidarity: Confederation for an Independent Poland (KPN), Leszek MOCZULSKI; Polish Economic Program (PPG), Janusz REWINSKI; Christian Democrats (CHD), Andrzej OWSINSKI; German Minority (MN), Henryk KROL; Union of Real Politics (UPR), Janusz KORWIN-MIKKE; Democratic Party (SD), Antoni MACKIEWICZ Communist origin: Polish Peasant Party (PSL), Waldemar PAWLAK; Democratic Left Alliance (SLD), Aleksander KWASNIEWSKI
Other political or pressure groups: powerful Roman Catholic Church; Solidarity (trade union); All Poland Trade Union Alliance (OPZZ), populist program
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Jerzy KOZMINSKI chancery: 2640 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 234-3800 through 3802 FAX: [1] (202) 328-6271 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador Nicholas Andrew REY embassy: Aleje Ujazdowskie 29/31, Warsaw mailing address: American Embassy Warsaw, Box 5010, Unit 1340, APO AE 09213-1340 telephone: [48] (2) 628-30-41 FAX: [48] (2) 628-82-98 consulate(s) general: Krakow, Poznan
Flag: two equal horizontal bands of white (top) and red; similar to the flags of Indonesia and Monaco which are red (top) and white
@Poland:Economy
Overview: Poland continues to make good progress in the difficult transition to a market economy that began on 1 January 1990, when the new democratic government instituted "shock therapy" by decontrolling prices, slashing subsidies, and drastically reducing import barriers. Real GDP fell sharply in 1990 and 1991, but in 1992 Poland became the first country in the region to resume economic growth with a 2.6% increase. Growth increased to 3.8% in 1993 and 5.5% in 1994 - the highest rate in Europe except for Albania. All of the growth since 1991 has come from the booming private sector, which now accounts for at least 55% of GDP, even though privatization of the state-owned enterprises is proceeding slowly and most industry remains in state hands. Industrial production increased 12% in 1994 - led by 50% jumps in the output of motor vehicles, radios and televisions, and pulp and paper - and is now well above the 1990 level. Inflation, which had approached 1,200% annually in early 1990, was down to about 30% in 1994, as the government held the budget deficit to 1.5% of GDP. After five years of steady increases, unemployment has leveled off at about 16% nationwide, although it approaches 30% in some regions. The trade deficit was sharply reduced in 1994, due mainly to increased exports to Western Europe, Poland's main customer. The leftist government elected in September 1993 gets generally good marks from foreign observers for its management of the budget but is often criticized for not moving faster on privatization.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $191.1 billion (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate: 5.5% (1994 est.)
National product per capita: $4,920 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 30% (1994)
Unemployment rate: 16.1% (November 1994)
Budget: revenues: $27.1 billion expenditures: $30 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1994 est.)
Exports: $16.3 billion (f.o.b., 1994 est.) commodities: intermediate goods 26.5%, machinery and transport equipment 18.1%, miscellaneous manufactures 16.7%, foodstuffs 9.4%, fuels 8.4% (1993) partners: Germany 33.4%, Russia 10.2%, Italy 5.3%, UK 4.3% (1993)
Imports: $18.1 billion (f.o.b., 1994 est.) commodities: machinery and transport equipment 29.6%, intermediate goods 18.5%, chemicals 13.3%, fuels 12.5%, miscellaneous manufactures 10.1% partners: Germany 35.8%, Italy 9.2%, Russia 8.5%, UK 6.6% (1993)
External debt: $47 billion (1993); note - Poland's Western government creditors promised in 1991 to forgive 30% of Warsaw's $35 billion official debt immediately and to forgive another 20% in 1994; foreign banks agreed in early 1994 to forgive 45% of their $12 billion debt claim
Industries: machine building, iron and steel, extractive industries, chemicals, shipbuilding, food processing, glass, beverages, textiles
Agriculture: accounts for 7% of GDP; 75% of output from private farms, 25% from state farms; productivity remains low by European standards; leading European producer of rye, rapeseed, and potatoes; wide variety of other crops and livestock; major exporter of pork products; normally self-sufficient in food
Illicit drugs: illicit producer of opium for domestic consumption and amphetamines for the international market; transshipment point for Asian and Latin American illicit drugs to Western Europe; producer of precursor chemicals
Economic aid: donor: bilateral aid to non-Communist less developed countries (1954-89), $2.2 billion recipient: Western governments and institutions have pledged $8 billion in grants and loans since 1989, but most of the money has not been disbursed
Currency: 1 zloty (Zl) = 100 groszy
Exchange rates: zlotych (Zl) per US$1 - 2.45 (January 1995; a currency reform on 1 January 1995 replaced 10,000 old zlotys with 1 new zloty), 22,723 (1994), 18,115 (1993), 13,626 (1992), 10,576 (1991), 9,500 (1990)
Fiscal year: calendar year
@Poland:Transportation
Railroads: total: 25,528 km broad gauge: 659 km 1.520-m gauge standard gauge: 23,014 km 1.435-m gauge (11,496 km electrified; 8,978 km double track) narrow gauge: 1,855 km various gauges including 1.000-m, 0.785-m, 0.750-m, and 0.600-m (1994)
Highways: total: 367,000 km (excluding farm, factory and forest roads) paved: 235,247 km (257 km of which are limited access expressways) unpaved: 131,753 km (1992)
Inland waterways: 3,997 km navigable rivers and canals (1991)
Pipelines: crude oil 1,986 km; petroleum products 360 km; natural gas 4,600 km (1992)
note: in addition, Poland owns 9 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 76,501 DWT that operate under Bahamian, Liberian, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Vanuatu, Panamanian, and Cypriot registry
Airports: total: 134 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 2 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 30 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 27 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 3 with paved runways under 914 m: 7 with unpaved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 5 with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 10 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 32 with unpaved runways under 914 m: 18
@Poland:Communications
Telephone system: 4.9 million telephones; 12.7 phones/100 residents (1994); severely underdeveloped and outmoded system; exchanges are 86% automatic (1991) local: NA intercity: cable, open wire, and microwave international: INTELSAT, EUTELSAT, INMARSAT, and Intersputnik earth stations
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 27, FM 27, shortwave 0 radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: 40 (Russian repeaters 5) televisions: 9.6 million
@Poland:Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Force
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 10,181,069; males fit for military service 7,940,634; males reach military age (19) annually 323,133 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: 50.7 billion zlotych, NA% of GNP (1994 est.); note - conversion of defense expenditures into US dollars using the current exchange rate could produce misleading results
Land use: arable land: 32% permanent crops: 6% meadows and pastures: 6% forest and woodland: 40% other: 16%
Irrigated land: 6,340 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment: current issues: soil erosion; air pollution caused by industrial and vehicle emissions; water pollution, especially in coastal areas natural hazards: Azores subject to severe earthquakes international agreements: party to - Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Desertification, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban
Note: Azores and Madeira Islands occupy strategic locations along western sea approaches to Strait of Gibraltar
@Portugal:People
Population: 10,562,388 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 18% (female 943,412; male 1,000,971) 15-64 years: 68% (female 3,625,086; male 3,499,176) 65 years and over: 14% (female 889,142; male 604,601) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.36% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 11.72 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 9.65 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 1.55 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 9.1 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 75.53 years male: 72.11 years female: 79.16 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.47 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Nationality: noun: Portuguese (singular and plural) adjective: Portuguese
Ethnic divisions: homogeneous Mediterranean stock in mainland, Azores, Madeira Islands; citizens of black African descent who immigrated to mainland during decolonization number less than 100,000
Religions: Roman Catholic 97%, Protestant denominations 1%, other 2%
Languages: Portuguese
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1990) total population: 85% male: 89% female: 82%
Labor force: 4.24 million (1994 est.) by occupation: services 54.5%, manufacturing 24.4%, agriculture, forestry, fisheries 11.2%, construction 8.3%, utilites 1.0%, mining 0.5% (1992)
@Portugal:Government
Names: conventional long form: Portuguese Republic conventional short form: Portugal local long form: Republica Portuguesa local short form: Portugal
Dependent areas: Macau (scheduled to become a Special Administrative Region of China on 20 December 1999)
Independence: 1140 (independent republic proclaimed 5 October 1910)
National holiday: Day of Portugal, 10 June (1580)
Constitution: 25 April 1976, revised 30 October 1982 and 1 June 1989
Legal system: civil law system; the Constitutional Tribunal reviews the constitutionality of legislation; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Dr. Mario Alberto Nobre Lopes SOARES (since 9 March 1986); election last held 13 February 1991 (next to be held NA February 1996); results - Dr. Mario Lopes SOARES 70%, Basilio HORTA 14%, Carlos CARVALHAS 13%, Carlos MARQUES 3%; note - SOARES is finishing his second term and by law cannot run for a third consecutive term head of government: Prime Minister Anibal CAVACO SILVA (since 6 November 1985); note - will be replaced in the October 1995 elections Council of State: acts as a consultative body to the president cabinet: Council of Ministers; appointed by the president on recommendation of the prime minister
Legislative branch: unicameral Assembly of the Republic (Assembleia da Republica): elections last held 6 October 1991 (next to be held NA October 1995); results - PSD 50.4%, PS 29.3%, CDU 8.8%, CDS 4.4%, PSN 1.7%, PRD 0.6%, other 4.8%; seats - (230 total) PSD 136, PS 71, CDU 17, CDS 5, PSN 1
Judicial branch: Supreme Tribunal of Justice (Supremo Tribunal de Justica)
Political parties and leaders: Social Democratic Party (PSD), Fernando NOGUEIRA; Portuguese Socialist Party (PS), Antonio GUTERRES; Party of Democratic Renewal (PRD), Pedro CANAVARRO; Portuguese Communist Party (PCP), Carlos CARVALHAS; Social Democratic Center (CDS), Manuel MONTEIRO; National Solidarity Party (PSN), Manuel SERGIO; Center Democratic Party (CDS); United Democratic Coalition (CDU; Communists)
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Francisco Jose Laco Treichler KNOPFLI chancery: 2125 Kalorama Road NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 328-8610 FAX: [1] (202) 462-3726 consulate(s) general: Boston, New York, Newark (New Jersey), and San Francisco consulate(s): Los Angeles, New Bedford (Massachusetts), Providence (Rhode Island), and Washington, DC
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador Elizabeth Frawley BAGLEY embassy: Avenida das Forcas Armadas, 1600 Lisbon mailing address: PSC 83, Lisbon; APO AE 09726 telephone: [351] (1) 7266600, 7266659, 7268670, 7268880 FAX: [351] (1) 7269109 consulate(s): Ponta Delgada (Azores)
Flag: two vertical bands of green (hoist side, two-fifths) and red (three-fifths) with the Portuguese coat of arms centered on the dividing line
@Portugal:Economy
Overview: Portugal's economy contracted 0.4% in 1993 but registered a 1.4% growth in 1994, with 3% growth expected in 1995 and 1996. This comeback rests on high levels of public investment, continuing strong export growth, and a gradual recovery in consumer spending. The government's long-run economic goal is the modernization of Portuguese markets, industry, infrastructure, and work force in order to catch up with productivity and income levels of the more advanced EU countries. Per capita income now equals only 55% of the EU average. Economic policy in 1994 focused on reducing inflationary pressures by lowering the fiscal deficit, maintaining a stable escudo, moderating wage increases, and encouraging increased competition. The government's medium-term objective is to be in the first tier of the EU countries eligible to join the economic and monetary union (EMU) as early as 1997. To this end, the 1995 budget posits a cut in total deficit to 5.8% of GDP.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $107.3 billion (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate: 1.4% (1994 est.)
National product per capita: $10,190 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 6.1% (May 1994)
Unemployment rate: 6.7% (May 1994)
Budget: revenues: $31 billion expenditures: $41 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1994)
Exports: $15.4 billion (f.o.b., 1993) commodities: clothing and footwear, machinery, cork and paper products, hides and skins partners: EU 75.5%, other developed countries 12.4%, US 4.3% (1994)
Imports: $24.3 billion (c.i.f., 1993) commodities: machinery and transport equipment, agricultural products, chemicals, petroleum, textiles partners: EC 72%, other developed countries 10.9%, less developed countries 12.9%, US 3.4%
External debt: $20 billion (1993 est.)
Industrial production: growth rate 1.5% (1994 est.); accounts for 30.6% of GDP
Industries: textiles and footwear; wood pulp, paper, and cork; metalworking; oil refining; chemicals; fish canning; wine; tourism
Agriculture: accounts for 5% of GDP; small, inefficient farms; imports more than half of food needs; major crops - grain, potatoes, olives, grapes; livestock sector - sheep, cattle, goats, poultry, meat, dairy products
Illicit drugs: increasingly important gateway country for Latin American cocaine entering the European market; transshipment point for hashish from North Africa to Europe
Economic aid: recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $1.8 billion; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $1.2 billion
ships by type: bulk 5, cargo 28, chemical tanker 5, container 4, liquefied gas tanker 2, oil tanker 17, refrigerated cargo 2, roll-on/roll-off cargo 1, short-sea passenger 1 note: Portugal has created a captive register on Madeira for Portuguese-owned ships; ships on the Madeira Register (MAR) will have taxation and crewing benefits of a flag of convenience; in addition, Portugal owns 25 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 155,776 DWT that operate under Panamanian and Maltese registry
Airports: total: 65 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 5 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 8 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 18 with paved runways under 914 m: 29 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 2
@Portugal:Communications
Telephone system: 2,690,000 telephones local: NA intercity: generally adequate integrated network of coaxial cables, open wire and microwave radio relay, domestic satellite earth stations
international: 6 submarine cables; 3 INTELSAT (2 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean), EUTELSAT earth stations; tropospheric link to Azores
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 57, FM 66 (repeaters 22), shortwave 0 radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: 66 (repeaters 23) televisions: NA
@Portugal:Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Navy (includes Marines), Air Force, National Republican Guard, Fiscal Guard, Public Security Police
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 2,747,357; males fit for military service 2,223,299; males reach military age (20) annually 90,402 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $2.4 billion, 2.9% of GDP (1994)
Climate: tropical marine, mild, little seasonal temperature variation
Terrain: mostly mountains with coastal plain belt in north; mountains precipitous to sea on west coast; sandy beaches along most coastal areas
Natural resources: some copper and nickel, potential for onshore and offshore crude oil
Land use: arable land: 8% permanent crops: 9% meadows and pastures: 41% forest and woodland: 20% other: 22%
Irrigated land: 390 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment: current issues: the recent drought has caused water levels in reservoirs to drop and prompted water rationing for more than one-half of the population natural hazards: periodic droughts international agreements: NA
Note: important location along the Mona Passage - a key shipping lane to the Panama Canal; San Juan is one of the biggest and best natural harbors in the Caribbean; many small rivers and high central mountains ensure land is well watered; south coast relatively dry; fertile coastal plain belt in north
@Puerto Rico:People
Population: 3,812,569 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 25% (female 466,596; male 489,127) 15-64 years: 65% (female 1,274,765; male 1,195,785) 65 years and over: 10% (female 213,716; male 172,580) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.16% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 15.92 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 7.47 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: -6.81 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 12.8 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 75.1 years male: 70.78 years female: 79.66 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.98 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Nationality: noun: Puerto Rican(s) (US citizens) adjective: Puerto Rican
Ethnic divisions: Hispanic
Religions: Roman Catholic 85%, Protestant denominations and other 15%
Languages: Spanish, English
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1980) total population: 89% male: 90% female: 88%
Labor force: 1.2 million (1993) by occupation: government 22%, manufacturing 17%, trade 20%, construction 6%, communications and transportation 5%, other 30% (1993)
@Puerto Rico:Government
Names: conventional long form: Commonwealth of Puerto Rico conventional short form: Puerto Rico
Digraph: RQ
Type: commonwealth associated with the US
Capital: San Juan
Administrative divisions: none (commonwealth associated with the US); note - there are 78 municipalities
Independence: none (commonwealth associated with the US)
National holiday: US Independence Day, 4 July (1776)
Constitution: ratified 3 March 1952; approved by US Congress 3 July 1952; effective 25 July 1952
Legal system: based on Spanish civil code
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal; indigenous inhabitants are US citizens but do not vote in US presidential elections
Executive branch: chief of state: President William Jefferson CLINTON (since 20 January 1993); Vice President Albert GORE, Jr. (since 20 January 1993) head of government: Governor Pedro ROSSELLO (since 2 January 1993); election last held 3 November 1992 (next to be held 5 November 1996); results - Pedro ROSSELLO (PNP) 50%, Victoria MUNOZ (PPD) 46%, Fernando MARTIN (PIP) 4%
Legislative branch: bicameral Legislative Assembly Senate: elections last held 3 November 1992 (next to be held 5 November 1996); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (29 total) PNP 20, PPD 8, PIP 1 House of Representatives: elections last held 3 November 1992 (next to be held NA November 1996); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (53 total) PNP 36, PPD 16, PIP 1 US House of Representatives: elections last held 3 November 1992 (next to be held 5 November 1996); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (1 total) PNP 1 (Carlos Romero BARCELO); note - Puerto Rico elects one representative to the US House of Representatives
Judicial branch: Supreme Court, Superior Courts, Municipal Courts
Political parties and leaders: National Republican Party of Puerto Rico, Luis FERRE; Popular Democratic Party (PPD), Hector ACEVEDO; New Progressive Party (PNP), Pedro ROSSELLO; Puerto Rican Socialist Party (PSP) has been disbanded (1994); Puerto Rican Independence Party (PIP), Ruben BERRIOS Martinez; Puerto Rican Communist Party (PCP), leader(s) unknown
Other political or pressure groups: Armed Forces for National Liberation (FALN); Volunteers of the Puerto Rican Revolution; Boricua Popular Army (also known as the Macheteros); Armed Forces of Popular Resistance
Member of: CARICOM (observer), ECLAC (associate), FAO (associate), ICFTU, INTERPOL (subbureau), IOC, WCL, WFTU, WHO (associate), WTO (associate)
Diplomatic representation in US: none (commonwealth associated with the US)
US diplomatic representation: none (commonwealth associated with the US)
Flag: five equal horizontal bands of red (top and bottom) alternating with white; a blue isosceles triangle based on the hoist side bears a large white five-pointed star in the center; design based on the US flag
@Puerto Rico:Economy
Overview: Puerto Rico has one of the most dynamic economies in the Caribbean region. Industry has surpassed agriculture as the primary sector of economic activity and income. Encouraged by duty free access to the US and by tax incentives, US firms have invested heavily in Puerto Rico since the 1950s. US minimum wage laws apply. Important industries include pharmaceuticals, electronics, textiles, petrochemicals, and processed foods. Sugar production has lost out to dairy production and other livestock products as the main source of income in the agricultural sector. Tourism has traditionally been an important source of income for the island, with estimated arrivals of nearly 3.9 million tourists in 1993.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $26.8 billion (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate: 2.6% (1994 est.)
National product per capita: $7,050 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.9% (1994)
Unemployment rate: 16% (1994)
Budget: revenues: $5.1 billion expenditures: $5.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY94/95)
Exports: $21.8 billion (1994) commodities: pharmaceuticals, electronics, apparel, canned tuna, rum, beverage concentrates, medical equipment, instruments partners: US 86.2% (1993)
Industries: manufacturing accounts for 39.4% of GDP; manufacturing of pharmaceuticals, electronics, apparel, food products, instruments; tourism
Agriculture: accounts for only 3% of labor force and just over 1% of GDP; crops - sugarcane, coffee, pineapples, plantains, bananas; livestock - cattle, chickens; imports a large share of food needs (1993)
Economic aid: none
Currency: 1 United States dollar (US$) = 100 cents
Exchange rates: US currency is used
Fiscal year: 1 July - 30 June
@Puerto Rico:Transportation
Railroads: total: 96 km rural narrow-gauge system for hauling sugarcane; note - no passenger railroads
Highways: total: 13,762 km paved: 13,762 km (1982)
Ports: Guanica, Guayanilla, Guayama, Playa de Ponce, San Juan
Merchant marine: none
Airports: total: 31 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 3 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 9 with paved runways under 914 m: 14 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 2
@Puerto Rico:Communications
Telephone system: NA telephones; modern system, integrated with that of the US by high capacity submarine cable and INTELSAT with high-speed data capability; digital telephone system with about 1 million lines; cellular telephone service (1990) local: NA intercity: NA international: 1 INTELSAT earth station and submarine cable
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 50, FM 63, shortwave 0 radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: 9; note - cable television available with US programs (1990) televisions: NA
@Puerto Rico:Defense Forces
Branches: paramilitary National Guard, Police Force
International disputes: territorial dispute with Bahrain over the Hawar Islands; maritime boundary with Bahrain
Climate: desert; hot, dry; humid and sultry in summer
Terrain: mostly flat and barren desert covered with loose sand and gravel
Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, fish
Land use: arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 5% forest and woodland: 0% other: 95%
Irrigated land: NA sq km
Environment: current issues: limited natural fresh water resources are increasing dependence on large-scale desalination facilities natural hazards: haze, dust storms, sandstorms common international agreements: signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Law of the Sea
Note: strategic location in central Persian Gulf near major petroleum deposits
@Qatar:People
Population: 533,916 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 30% (female 81,443; male 80,591) 15-64 years: 68% (female 104,921; male 258,135) 65 years and over: 2% (female 2,941; male 5,885) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 2.74% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 22.72 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 3.59 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 8.25 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 20.4 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 73.03 years male: 70.45 years female: 75.5 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 4.63 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Nationality: noun: Qatari(s) adjective: Qatari
Ethnic divisions: Arab 40%, Pakistani 18%, Indian 18%, Iranian 10%, other 14%
Religions: Muslim 95%
Languages: Arabic (official), English commonly used as a second language
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1986) total population: 76% male: 77% female: 72%
Labor force: NA
@Qatar:Government
Names: conventional long form: State of Qatar conventional short form: Qatar local long form: Dawlat Qatar local short form: Qatar
Digraph: QA
Type: traditional monarchy
Capital: Doha
Administrative divisions: 9 municipalities (baladiyat, singular - baladiyah); Ad Dawhah, Al Ghuwayriyah, Al Jumayliyah, Al Khawr, Al Wakrah, Ar Rayyan, Jarayan al Batinah, Madinat ash Shamal, Umm Salal
Independence: 3 September 1971 (from UK)
National holiday: Independence Day, 3 September (1971)
Constitution: provisional constitution enacted 2 April 1970
Legal system: discretionary system of law controlled by the amir, although civil codes are being implemented; Islamic law is significant in personal matters
Suffrage: none
Executive branch: chief of state and head of government: Amir and Prime Minister KHALIFA bin Hamad Al Thani (since 22 February 1972); Crown Prince HAMAD bin Khalifa Al Thani (appointed 31 May 1977; son of Amir and Minister of Defense) cabinet: Council of Ministers; appointed by the amir
Legislative branch: unicameral Advisory Council (Majlis al-Shura): constitution calls for elections for part of this consultative body, but no elections have been held; seats - (30 total)
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador ABD AL-RAHMAN bin Saud bin Fahd Al Thani chancery: Suite 1180, 600 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20037 telephone: [1] (202) 338-0111
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador Kenton W. KEITH embassy: 149 Ali Bin Ahmed St., Farig Bin Omran (opposite the television station), Doha mailing address: P. O. Box 2399, Doha telephone: [974] 864701 through 864703 FAX: [974] 861669
Flag: maroon with a broad white serrated band (nine white points) on the hoist side
@Qatar:Economy
Overview: Oil is the backbone of the economy and accounts for more than 30% of GDP, roughly 75% of export earnings, and 70% of government revenues. Proved oil reserves of 3.3 billion barrels should ensure continued output at current levels for about 25 years. Oil has given Qatar a per capita GDP comparable to the leading West European industrial countries. Production and export of natural gas are becoming increasingly important. Long-term goals feature the development of off-shore oil and the diversification of the economy.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $10.7 billion (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate: -1% (1994 est.)
National product per capita: $20,820 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 3% (1993 est.)
Unemployment rate: NA%
Budget: revenues: $2.5 billion expenditures: $3 billion, including capital expenditures of $440 million (1992 est.)
Exports: $3.13 billion (f.o.b., 1993 est.) commodities: petroleum products 75%, steel, fertilizers partners: Japan 57%, South Korea 9%, Brazil 4%, UAE 4%, Singapore 3% (1992)
Imports: $1.75 billion (f.o.b., 1993 est.) commodities: machinery and equipment, consumer goods, food, chemicals partners: Japan 16%, UK 11%, US 11%, Germany 7%, France 5% (1992)
External debt: $1.5 billion (1993 est.)
Industrial production: accounts for 50% of GDP, including oil
Industries: crude oil production and refining, fertilizers, petrochemicals, steel (rolls reinforcing bars for concrete construction), cement
Agriculture: farming and grazing on small scale, less than 2% of GDP; agricultural area is small and government-owned; commercial fishing increasing in importance; most food imported
Economic aid: donor: pledged in ODA to less developed countries (1979-88), $2.7 billion
Airports: total: 6 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 1 with paved runways under 914 m: 2 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 3
@Qatar:Communications
Telephone system: 110,000 telephones; modern system centered in Doha local: NA intercity: NA international: tropospheric scatter to Bahrain; microwave radio relay to Saudi Arabia and UAE; submarine cable to Bahrain and UAE; 2 INTELSAT (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) and 1 ARABSAT earth station
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 2, FM 3, shortwave 0 radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: 3 televisions: NA
@Qatar:Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Public Security
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 219,442; males fit for military service 115,103; males reach military age (18) annually 3,915 (1995 est.)
Climate: tropical, but moderates with elevation; cool and dry from May to November, hot and rainy from November to April
Terrain: mostly rugged and mountainous; fertile lowlands along coast
Natural resources: fish, arable land
Land use: arable land: 20% permanent crops: 2% meadows and pastures: 4% forest and woodland: 35% other: 39%
Irrigated land: 60 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment: current issues: NA natural hazards: periodic, devastating cyclones (December to April); Piton de la Fournaise on the southeastern coast is an active volcano international agreements: NA
@Reunion:People
Population: 666,067 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 32% (female 104,924; male 109,972) 15-64 years: 62% (female 210,762; male 203,774) 65 years and over: 6% (female 21,606; male 15,029) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.98% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 24.59 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 4.79 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 7.7 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 74.46 years male: 71.39 years female: 77.67 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 2.75 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Nationality: noun: Reunionese (singular and plural) adjective: Reunionese
Ethnic divisions: French, African, Malagasy, Chinese, Pakistani, Indian
Religions: Roman Catholic 94%
Languages: French (official), Creole widely used
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1982) total population: 79% male: 76% female: 80%
Labor force: NA by occupation: agriculture 30%, industry 21%, services 49% (1981)
@Reunion:Government
Names: conventional long form: Department of Reunion conventional short form: Reunion local long form: none local short form: Ile de la Reunion
Digraph: RE
Type: overseas department of France
Capital: Saint-Denis
Administrative divisions: none (overseas department of France)
Independence: none (overseas department of France)
National holiday: National Day, Taking of the Bastille, 14 July (1789)
Constitution: 28 September 1958 (French Constitution)
Legal system: French law
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Francois MITTERRAND (since 21 May 1981) head of government: Prefect of Reunion Island Hubert FOURNIER (since NA) cabinet: Council of Ministers
Legislative branch: unicameral General Council and unicameral Regional Council General Council: elections last held March 1994 (next to be held NA); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (47 total) PCR 12, PS 12, UDF 11, RPR 5, others 7 Regional Council: elections last held 25 June 1993 (next to be held NA); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (45 total) UPF 17, Free-Dom Movement 13, PCR 9, PS 6 French Senate: elections last held 24 September 1992 (next to be held NA); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (3 total) RPR 1, FRA 1, independent 1 French National Assembly: elections last held 21 and 28 March 1993 (next to be held NA 1998); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (5 total) PS 1, PCR 1, UPF 1, RPR 1, UDF-CDS 1
Judicial branch: Court of Appeals (Cour d'Appel)
Political parties and leaders: Rally for the Republic (RPR), Alain DEFAUD; Union for French Democracy (UDF), Gilbert GERARD; Communist Party of Reunion (PCR), Elie HOARAU;; France-Reunion Future (FRA), Andre THIEN AH KOON; Socialist Party (PS), Jean-Claude FRUTEAU; Social Democrats (CDS), leader NA; Union for France (UPF - including RPR and UDF); Free-Dom Movement, Marguerite SUDRE
Member of: FZ, WFTU
Diplomatic representation in US: none (overseas department of France)
US diplomatic representation: none (overseas department of France)
Flag: the flag of France is used
@Reunion:Economy
Overview: The economy has traditionally been based on agriculture. Sugarcane has been the primary crop for more than a century, and in some years it accounts for 85% of exports. The government has been pushing the development of a tourist industry to relieve high unemployment, which recently amounted to one-third of the labor force. The gap in Reunion between the well-off and the poor is extraordinary and accounts for the persistent social tensions. The white and Indian communities are substantially better off than other segments of the population, often approaching European standards, whereas indigenous groups suffer the poverty and unemployment typical of the poorer nations of the African continent. The outbreak of severe rioting in February 1991 illustrates the seriousness of socioeconomic tensions. The economic well-being of Reunion depends heavily on continued financial assistance from France.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $2.5 billion (1993 est.)
National product real growth rate: NA%
National product per capita: $3,900 (1993 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA%
Unemployment rate: 35% (February 1991)
Budget: revenues: $358 million expenditures: $914 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1986 est.)
Exports: $166 million (f.o.b., 1988) commodities: sugar 75%, rum and molasses 4%, perfume essences 4%, lobster 3%, vanilla and tea 1% partners: France, Mauritius, Bahrain, South Africa, Italy
Imports: $1.7 billion (c.i.f., 1988) commodities: manufactured goods, food, beverages, tobacco, machinery and transportation equipment, raw materials, and petroleum products partners: France, Mauritius, Bahrain, South Africa, Italy
External debt: $NA
Industrial production: growth rate NA%; about 25% of GDP
Highways: total: 2,800 km paved: 2,200 km unpaved: gravel, crushed stone, stabilized earth 600 km
Ports: Le Port, Pointe des Galets
Merchant marine: none
Airports: total: 2 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 1
@Reunion:Communications
Telephone system: 85,900 telephones; adequate system; principal center Saint-Denis local: NA intercity: modern open-wire and microwave network international: radiocommunication to Comoros, France, Madagascar; new microwave route to Mauritius; 1 INTELSAT (Indian Ocean) earth station
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 3, FM 13, shortwave 0 radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: 1 (repeaters 18) televisions: NA
@Reunion:Defense Forces
Branches: French forces (Army, Navy, Air Force, and Gendarmerie)
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 173,693; males fit for military service 89,438; males reach military age (18) annually 5,781 (1995 est.)
Location: Southeastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea, between Bulgaria and Ukraine
Map references: Ethnic Groups in Eastern Europe, Europe
Area: total area: 237,500 sq km land area: 230,340 sq km comparative area: slightly smaller than Oregon
Land boundaries: total 2,508 km, Bulgaria 608 km, Hungary 443 km, Moldova 450 km, Serbia and Montenegro 476 km (all with Serbia), Ukraine (north) 362 km, Ukraine (south) 169 km
Coastline: 225 km
Maritime claims: contiguous zone: 24 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation exclusive economic zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 12 nm
International disputes: certain territory of Moldova and Ukraine - including Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina - are considered by Bucharest as historically a part of Romania; this territory was incorporated into the former Soviet Union following the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact in 1940
Climate: temperate; cold, cloudy winters with frequent snow and fog; sunny summers with frequent showers and thunderstorms
Terrain: central Transylvanian Basin is separated from the Plain of Moldavia on the east by the Carpathian Mountains and separated from the Walachian Plain on the south by the Transylvanian Alps
Natural resources: petroleum (reserves declining), timber, natural gas, coal, iron ore, salt
Land use: arable land: 43% permanent crops: 3% meadows and pastures: 19% forest and woodland: 28% other: 7%
Irrigated land: 34,500 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment: current issues: soil erosion and degradation; water pollution; air pollution in south from industrial effluents; contamination of Danube delta wetlands natural hazards: earthquakes most severe in south and southwest; geologic structure and climate promote landslides international agreements: party to - Air Pollution, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Law of the Sea
Note: controls most easily traversable land route between the Balkans, Moldova, and Ukraine
@Romania:People
Population: 23,198,330 (July 1995 est.) note: the Romanian census of January 1992 gives the population for that date as 22.749 million; the government estimates that population declined in 1993 by 0.3%
Age structure: 0-14 years: 21% (female 2,413,933; male 2,534,019) 15-64 years: 67% (female 7,737,531; male 7,732,038) 65 years and over: 12% (female 1,604,210; male 1,176,599) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.09% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 13.71 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 9.93 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: -2.88 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 18.7 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 72.24 years male: 69.31 years female: 75.35 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.82 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Nationality: noun: Romanian(s) adjective: Romanian
Ethnic divisions: Romanian 89.1%, Hungarian 8.9%, German 0.4%, Ukrainian, Serb, Croat, Russian, Turk, and Gypsy 1.6%
Religions: Romanian Orthodox 70%, Roman Catholic 6% (of which 3% are Uniate), Protestant 6%, unaffiliated 18%
Languages: Romanian, Hungarian, German
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1992) total population: 97% male: 98% female: 95%
Labor force: 11.3 million (1992) by occupation: industry 38%, agriculture 28%, other 34% (1989)
@Romania:Government
Names: conventional long form: none conventional short form: Romania local long form: none local short form: Romania
Independence: 1881 (from Turkey; republic proclaimed 30 December 1947)
National holiday: National Day of Romania, 1 December (1990)
Constitution: 8 December 1991
Legal system: former mixture of civil law system and Communist legal theory; is now based on the Constitution of France's Fifth Republic
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Ion ILIESCU (since 20 June 1990, previously President of Provisional Council of National Unity since 23 December 1989); election last held 27 September 1992, with runoff between top two candidates on 11 October 1992 (next to be held NA 1996); results - Ion ILIESCU 61.4%, Emil CONSTANTINESCU 38.6% head of government: Prime Minister Nicolae VACAROIU (since November 1992) cabinet: Council of Ministers; appointed by the prime minister
Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament Senate (Senat): elections last held 27 September 1992 (next to be held NA 1996); results - PSDR 34.3%, CDR 18.2%, DP-FSN 12.6%, others 34.9%; seats - (143 total) PSDR 49, CDR 26, DP-FSN 18, PUNR 13, UDMR 12, PRM 6, PAC 6, PDAR 5, PSM 5, PL-93 2 other 1 House of Deputies (Adunarea Deputatilor): elections last held 27 September 1992 (next to be held NA 1996); results - PSDR 34.0%, CDR 16,4%, DP-FSN 12.3%, others 37.3%; seats - (341 total) PSDR 116, CDR 56, DP-FSN 42, PUNR 29, UDMR 27, PL-93 19, PRM 15, PSM 13, PAC 5, other 19
Judicial branch: Supreme Court of Justice, Constitutional Court
Political parties and leaders: Democratic Party (DP-FSN), Petre ROMAN; Social Democratic Party of Romania (PSDR), Adrian NASTASE; Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania (UDMR), Bela MARKO; National Liberal Party (PNL), Mircea IONESCU-QUINTUS; National Peasants' Christian and Democratic Party (PNTCD), Corneliu COPOSU; Romanian National Unity Party (PUNR), Gheorghe FUNAR; Socialist Labor Party (PSM), Ilie VERDET; Agrarian Democratic Party of Romania (PDAR), Victor SURDU; The Democratic Convention (CDR), Emil CONSTANTINESCU; Romania Mare Party (PRM), Corneliu Vadim TUDOR; Civic Alliance Party (PAC), Nicolae MANOLESCU, chairman note: numerous other small parties exist but almost all failed to gain representation in the most recent election
Other political or pressure groups: various human rights and professional associations
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Mihai Horia BOTEZ chancery: 1607 23rd Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 332-4846, 4848, 4851 FAX: [1] (202) 232-4748 consulate(s) general: Los Angeles and New York
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador Alfred H. MOSES embassy: Strada Tudor Arghezi 7-9, Bucharest mailing address: American Consulate General (Bucharest), Unit 1315, Bucharest; APO AE 09213-1315 telephone: [40] (1) 210 01 49, 210 40 42 FAX: [40] (1) 210 03 95 branch office: Cluj-Napoca
Flag: three equal vertical bands of blue (hoist side), yellow, and red; the national coat of arms that used to be centered in the yellow band has been removed; now similar to the flags of Andorra and Chad
@Romania:Economy
Overview: Despite the continuing difficulties in moving away from the former command system, the Romanian economy seems to have bottomed out in 1993-94. Market oriented reforms have been introduced fitfully since the downfall of CEAUSESCU in December 1989, with the result a growing private sector, especially in services. The slow pace of structural reform, however, has exacerbated Romania's high inflation rate and eroded real wages. Agricultural production rebounded in 1993 from the drought-reduced harvest of 1992. The economy continued its recovery in 1994, further gains being realized in agriculture, construction, services, and trade. Food supplies are adequate but expensive. Romania's infrastructure had deteriorated over the last five years due to reduced levels of public investment. Residents of the capital reported frequent disruptions of heating and water services. The slow and painful process of conversion to a more open economy will continue in 1995.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $64.7 billion (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate: 3.4% (1994 est.)
National product per capita: $2,790 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 62% (1994)
Unemployment rate: 10.9% (December 1994)
Budget: revenues: $8.3 billion expenditures: $9.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1995 est.)
Exports: $6 billion (f.o.b., 1994) commodities: metals and metal products 17.6%, mineral products 11.9%, textiles 18.5%, electric machines and equipment 8.4%, transport materials 6.5% (1994) partners: EC 36.1%, developing countries 27.4%, East and Central Europe 14.9%, EFTA 5.1%, Russia 5%, Japan 1.4%, US 1.3% (1993)
Imports: $6.3 billion (f.o.b., 1994) commodities: minerals 21.1%, machinery and equipment 19.7%, textiles 11.5%, agricultural goods 9.2% (1994) partners: EC 45.8%, East and Central Europe 8.6%, developing countries 22.6%, Russia 11%, EFTA 6.2%, US 5.0%, Japan 0.8% (1993)
External debt: $4.4 billion (1994)
Industrial production: growth rate -1% (1993 est.); accounts for 45% of GDP
Industries: mining, timber, construction materials, metallurgy, chemicals, machine building, food processing, petroleum production and refining
Agriculture: accounts for 18% of GDP and 28% of labor force; major wheat and corn producer; other products - sugar beets, sunflower seed, potatoes, milk, eggs, meat, grapes
Illicit drugs: transshipment point for southwest Asian heroin and Latin American cocaine transiting the Balkan route
Economic aid: $NA
Currency: 1 leu (L) = 100 bani
Exchange rates: lei (L) per US$1 - 1,776.00 (January 1995), 1,655.09 (1994), 760.05 (1993), 307.95 (1992), 76.39 (1991), 22.432 (1990)
Fiscal year: calendar year
@Romania:Transportation
Railroads: total: 11,365 km broad gauge: 45 km 1.524-m gauge standard gauge: 10,893 km 1.435-m gauge (3,723 km electrified; 3,060 km double track) narrow gauge: 427 km 0.760-m gauge (1994)
Highways: total: 461,880 km paved: 235,559 km (113 km of expressways) unpaved: 226,321 km (1992)
Inland waterways: 1,724 km (1984)
Pipelines: crude oil 2,800 km; petroleum products 1,429 km; natural gas 6,400 km (1992)
Merchant marine: total: 238 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,528,971 GRT/3,849,943 DWT ships by type: bulk 46, cargo 167, container 2, oil tanker 14, passenger-cargo 1, railcar carrier 1, roll-on/roll-off cargo 7 note: in addition, Romania owns 20 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,207,388 DWT that operate under Liberian, Maltese, Cypriot, and Bahamian registry
Airports: total: 156 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 4 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 9 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 14 with unpaved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 1 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 17 with unpaved runways under 914 m: 108
@Romania:Communications
Telephone system: about 2.3 million telephones; 99 telephones/1,000 persons; 89% of phone network is automatic; poor service; cable and open wire local: NA intercity: trunk network is microwave; roughly 3,300 villages with no service (February 1990) international: 1 INTELSAT earth station; new digital international direct dial exchanges are in Bucharest (1993)
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 12, FM 5, shortwave 0 radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: 13 (1990) televisions: NA
@Romania:Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces, Paramilitary Forces, Civil Defense
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 5,934,524; males fit for military service 5,002,287; males reach military age (20) annually 196,587 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: 1,260 billion lei, 3% of GDP (1994); note - conversion of defense expenditures into US dollars using the current exchange rate could produce misleading results
Location: Northern Asia (that part west of the Urals is sometimes included with Europe), bordering the Arctic Ocean, between Europe and the North Pacific Ocean
Map references: Asia
Area: total area: 17,075,200 sq km land area: 16,995,800 sq km comparative area: slightly more than 1.8 times the size of the US
Land boundaries: total 20,139 km, Azerbaijan 284 km, Belarus 959 km, China (southeast) 3,605 km, China (south) 40 km, Estonia 290 km, Finland 1,313 km, Georgia 723 km, Kazakhstan 6,846 km, North Korea 19 km, Latvia 217 km, Lithuania (Kaliningrad Oblast) 227 km, Mongolia 3,441 km, Norway 167 km, Poland (Kaliningrad Oblast) 432 km, Ukraine 1,576 km
Coastline: 37,653 km
Maritime claims: continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation exclusive economic zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 12 nm
International disputes: inherited disputes from former USSR including: sections of the boundary with China; islands of Etorofu, Kunashiri, and Shikotan and the Habomai group occupied by the Soviet Union in 1945, administered by Russia, claimed by Japan; maritime dispute with Norway over portion of the Barents Sea; Caspian Sea boundaries are not yet determined; potential dispute with Ukraine over Crimea; Estonia claims over 2,000 sq km of Russian territory in the Narva and Pechora regions; the Abrene section of the border ceded by the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic to Russia in 1944; has made no territorial claim in Antarctica (but has reserved the right to do so) and does not recognize the claims of any other nation
Climate: ranges from steppes in the south through humid continental in much of European Russia; subarctic in Siberia to tundra climate in the polar north; winters vary from cool along Black Sea coast to frigid in Siberia; summers vary from warm in the steppes to cool along Arctic coast
Terrain: broad plain with low hills west of Urals; vast coniferous forest and tundra in Siberia; uplands and mountains along southern border regions
Natural resources: wide natural resource base including major deposits of oil, natural gas, coal, and many strategic minerals, timber note: formidable obstacles of climate, terrain, and distance hinder exploitation of natural resources
Land use: arable land: 8% permanent crops: NEGL% meadows and pastures: 5% forest and woodland: 45% other: 42%
Irrigated land: 56,000 sq km (1992)
Environment: current issues: air pollution from heavy industry, emissions of coal-fired electric plants, and transportation in major cities; industrial and agricultural pollution of inland waterways and sea coasts; deforestation; soil erosion; soil contamination from improper application of agricultural chemicals; scattered areas of sometimes intense radioactive contamination natural hazards: permafrost over much of Siberia is a major impediment to development; volcanic activity in the Kuril Islands; volcanoes and earthquakes on the Kamchatka Peninsula international agreements: party to - Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Antarctic Treaty, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Wetlands, Whaling; signed, but not ratified - Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Biodiversity, Law of the Sea
Note: largest country in the world in terms of area but unfavorably located in relation to major sea lanes of the world; despite its size, much of the country lacks proper soils and climates (either too cold or too dry) for agriculture
@Russia:People
Population: 149,909,089 (July 1995 est.) note: official Russian statistics put the population at 148,200,000 for 1994
Age structure: 0-14 years: 22% (female 16,208,640; male 16,784,017) 15-64 years: 66% (female 50,711,209; male 48,247,101) 65 years and over: 12% (female 12,557,447; male 5,400,675) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.2% (1995 est.) note: official Russian statistics put the population growth rate at -6.0% for 1994
Birth rate: 12.64 births/1,000 population (1995 est.) note: official Russian statistics put the birth rate at 9.5 births per l,000 population for 1994
Death rate: 11.36 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.) note: official Russian statistics put the death rate at 15.5 deaths per l,000 population in 1994
Net migration rate: 0.7 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 26.4 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.) note: official Russian statistics put the infant mortality rate at 19.9 deaths per l,000 live births in 1994
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 69.1 years male: 64.1 years female: 74.35 years (1995 est.) note: official Russian statistics put life expectancy at birth as 64 years for total population in 1994
Total fertility rate: 1.82 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1989) total population: 98% male: 100% female: 97%
Labor force: 85 million (1993) by occupation: production and economic services 83.9%, government 16.1%
@Russia:Government
Names: conventional long form: Russian Federation conventional short form: Russia local long form: Rossiyskaya Federatsiya local short form: Rossiya former: Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic
Digraph: RS
Type: federation
Capital: Moscow
Administrative divisions: 21 autonomous republics (avtomnykh respublik, singular - avtomnaya respublika); Adygea (Maykop), Bashkortostan (Ufa), Buryatia (Ulan-Ude), Chechnya (Groznyy), Chuvashia (Cheboksary), Dagestan (Makhachkala), Gorno-Altay (Gorno-Altaysk), Ingushetia (Nazran'), Kabardino-Balkaria (Nal'chik), Kalmykia (Elista), Karachay-Cherkessia (Cherkessk), Karelia (Petrozavodsk), Khakassia (Abakan), Komi (Syktyvkar), Mari El (Yoshkar-Ola), Mordovia (Saransk), North Ossetia (Vladikavkaz), Tatarstan (Kazan'), Tuva (Kyzyl), Udmurtia (Izhevsk), Yakutia - also known as Sakha (Yakutsk); 49 oblasts (oblastey, singular - oblast'); Amur (Blagoveshchensk), Arkhangel'sk, Astrakhan', Belgorod, Bryansk, Chelyabinsk, Chita, Irkutsk, Ivanovo, Kaliningrad, Kaluga, Kamchatka (Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy), Kemerovo, Kirov, Kostroma, Kurgan, Kursk, Leningrad (St. Petersburg), Lipetsk, Magadan, Moscow, Murmansk, Nizhniy Novgorod, Novgorod, Novosibirsk, Omsk, Orel, Orenburg, Penza, Perm', Pskov, Rostov, Ryazan', Sakhalin (Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk), Samara, Saratov, Smolensk, Sverdlovsk (Yekaterinburg), Tambov, Tomsk, Tula, Tver', Tyumen', Ul'yanovsk, Vladimir, Volgograd, Vologda, Voronezh, Yaroslavl'; 6 krays (krayev, singular - kray); Altay (Barnaul), Khabarovsk, Krasnodar, Krasnoyarsk, Primorskiy (Vladivostok), Stavropol'; 10 autonomous okrugs; Aga (Aginskoye), Chukotka (Anadyr'), Evenkia (Tura), Khantia-Mansia (Khanty-Mansiysk), Koryakia (Palana), Nenetsia (Nar'yan-Mar), Permyakia (Kudymkar), Taymyria (Dudinka), Ust'-Onda (Ust'-Ordynskiy), Yamalia (Salekhard); 1 autonomous oblast (avtomnykh oblast'); Birobijan note: the autonomous republics of Chechnya and Ingushetia were formerly the autonomous republic of Checheno-Ingushetia (the boundary between Chechenia and Ingushetia has yet to be determined); the cities of Moscow and St. Petersburg are federal cities; an administrative division has the same name as its administrative center (exceptions have the administrative center name following in parentheses)
Independence: 24 August 1991 (from Soviet Union)
National holiday: Independence Day, June 12 (1990)
Constitution: adopted 12 December 1993
Legal system: based on civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Boris Nikolayevich YEL'TSIN (since 12 June 1991); election last held 12 June 1991 (next to be held NA 1996); results - percent of vote by party NA; note - no vice president; if the president dies in office, cannot exercise his powers because of ill health, is impeached, or resigns, the premier succeeds him; the premier serves as acting president until a new presidential election is held, which must be within three months head of government: Premier and Chairman of the Council of Ministers Viktor Stepanovich CHERNOMYRDIN (since 14 December 1992); First Deputy Chairmen of the Council of Ministers Oleg SOSKOVETS (since 30 April 1993) and Anatoliy CHUBAYS (since 5 November 1994) Security Council: originally established as a presidential advisory body in June 1991, but restructured in March 1992 with responsibility for managing individual and state security Presidential Administration: drafts presidential edicts and provides staff and policy support to the entire executive branch cabinet: Council of Ministers; appointed by the president Group of Assistants: schedules president's appointments, processes presidential edicts and other official documents, and houses the president's press service and primary speechwriters Council of Heads of Republics: includes the leaders of the 21 ethnic-based Republics Council of Heads of Administrations: includes the leaders of the 66 autonomous territories and regions, and the mayors of Moscow and St. Petersburg Presidential Council: prepares policy papers for the president
Legislative branch: bicameral Federal Assembly Federation Council: elections last held 12 December 1993 (next to be held NA); results - two members elected from each of Russia's 89 territorial units for a total of 176 deputies; 2 seats unfilled as of 15 May 1994 (Chechnya did not participate in the election); Speaker Vladimir SHUMEYKO (Russia's Democratic Choice) State Duma: elections last held 12 December 1993 (next to be held NA December 1995); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (450 total) Russia's Democratic Choice 78, New Regional Policy 66, Liberal Democrats 63, Agrarian Party 55, Communist Party of the Russian Federation 45, Unity and Accord 30, Yavlinskiy-Boldyrev-Lukin Bloc (Yabloko) 27, Women of Russia 23, Democratic Party of Russia 15, Russia's Path 12, other parties 23, affiliation unknown 12, unfilled (as of 13 March 1994; Chechnya did not participate in the election) 1; Speaker Ivan RYBKIN (Agrarian Party); note - as of 11 April 1995, seats were as follows: Russia's Democratic Choice 54, New Regional Policy 32, Liberal Democrats 54, Agrarian Party 51, Communist Party of the Russian Federation 45, Unity and Accord 25, Yavlinskiy-Boldyrev-Lukin Bloc (Yabloko) 28, Liberal Democratic Union of 12 December 9, Women of Russia 22, Democratic Party of Russia 10, Russia's Path 12, Duma 96 23, Russia 35, Stability 36, affiliation unknown 14
Judicial branch: Constitutional Court, Supreme Court (highest court for criminal, civil, and administrative cases), Superior Court of Arbitration (highest court that resolves economic disputes)
Political parties and leaders: pro-market democrats: Party of Russian Unity and Accord, Sergey SHAKHRAY; Russia's Democratic Choice Party, Yegor GAYDAR; Russian Movement for Democratic Reforms, Anatoliy SOBCHAK; Yavlinskiy-Boldyrev-Lukin Bloc (Yabloko), Grigoriy YAVLINSKIY; Liberal Democratic Union of 12 December, Boris FEDOROV centrists/special interest parties: Civic Union for Stability, Justice, and Progress, Arkadiy VOL'SKIY; Democratic Party of Russia, Sergey GLAZ'YEV; Women of Russia, Alevtina FEDULOVA; Social Democratic Peoples' Party, Vasiliy LIPITSKIY; New Regional Policy (NRP), Vladimir MEDVEDEV anti-market and/or ultranationalist parties: Agrarian Party, Mikhail LAPSHIN; Communist Party of the Russian Federation, Gennadiy ZYUGANOV; Liberal Democratic Party of Russia, Vladimir ZHIRINOVSKIY; Derzhava, Aleksandr RUTSKOY note: more than 20 political parties and associations tried to gather enough signatures to run slates of candidates in the 12 December 1993 legislative elections, but only 13 succeeded
Other political or pressure groups: NA
Member of: BSEC, CBSS, CCC, CE (guest), CERN (observer), CIS, EBRD, ECE, ESCAP, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, MINURSO, NACC, NSG, OAS (observer), OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UN Security Council, UNAMIR, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNITAR, UNMIH, UNOMOZ, UNPROFOR, UNTSO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Sergey LAVROV chancery: 2650 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007 telephone: [1] (202) 298-5700 through 5704 FAX: [1] (202) 298-5735 consulate(s) general: New York, San Francisco, and Seattle
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador Thomas R. PICKERING embassy: Novinskiy Bul'var 19/23, Moscow mailing address: APO AE 09721 telephone: [7] (095) 252-24-51 through 59 FAX: [7] (095) 956-42-61 consulate(s) general: St. Petersburg, Vladivostok, Yekaterinburg
Flag: three equal horizontal bands of white (top), blue, and red
@Russia:Economy
Overview: Russia, a vast country with a wealth of natural resources, a well-educated population, and a diverse industrial base, continues to experience formidable difficulties in moving from its old centrally planned economy to a modern market economy. President YEL'TSIN's government has made substantial strides in converting to a market economy since launching its economic reform program in January 1992 by freeing nearly all prices, slashing defense spending, eliminating the old centralized distribution system, completing an ambitious voucher privatization program, establishing private financial institutions, and decentralizing foreign trade. Russia, however, has made little progress in a number of key areas that are needed to provide a solid foundation for the transition to a market economy. Financial stabilization has remained elusive, with wide swings in monthly inflation rates. Only limited restructuring of industry has occurred so far because of a scarcity of investment funds and the failure of enterprise managers to make hard cost-cutting decisions. In addition, Moscow has yet to develop a social safety net that would allow faster restructuring by relieving enterprises of the burden of providing social benefits for their workers and has been slow to develop the legal framework necessary to fully support a market economy and to encourage foreign investment. As a result, output has continued to fall. According to Russian official data, which probably overstate the fall, GDP declined by 15% in 1994 compared with a 12% decline in 1993. Industrial output in 1994 fell 21% with all major sectors taking a hit. Agricultural production in 1994 was down 9%. The grain harvest totaled 81 million tons, some 15 million tons less than in 1993. Unemployment climbed to an estimated 6.6 million or about 7% of the work force by yearend 1994. Floundering Russian firms have already had to put another 4.8 million workers on involuntary, unpaid leave or shortened workweeks. Government fears of large-scale unemployment continued to hamper industrial restructuring efforts. According to official Russian data, real per capita income was up nearly 18% in 1994 compared with 1993, in part because many Russians are working second jobs. Most Russians perceive that they are worse off now because of growing crime and health problems and mounting wage arrears. Russia has made significant headway in privatizing state assets, completing its voucher privatization program at midyear 1994. At least a portion of about 110,000 state enterprises were transferred to private hands by the end of 1994. Including partially privatized firms, the private sector accounted for roughly half of GDP in 1994. Financial stabilization continued to remain a challenge for the government. Moscow tightened financial policies in late 1993 and early 1994, including postponing planned budget spending, and succeeded in reducing monthly inflation from 18% in January to about 5% in July and August. At midyear, however, the government relaxed austerity measures in the face of mounting pressure from industry and agriculture, sparking a new round of inflation; the monthly inflation rate jumped to roughly 15% per month during the fourth quarter. In response, Moscow announced a fairly tight government budget for 1995 designed to bring monthly inflation down to around 1% by the end of 1995. According to official statistics, Russia's 1994 trade with nations outside the former Soviet Union produced a $12.3 billion surplus, up from $11.3 billion in 1993. Foreign sales - comprised largely of oil, natural gas, and other raw materials - grew more than 8%. Imports also were up 8% as demand for food and other consumer goods surged. Russian trade with other former Soviet republics continued to decline. At the same time, Russia paid only a fraction of the roughly $20 billion in debt that came due in 1994, and by the end of the year, Russia's hard currency foreign debt had risen to nearly $100 billion. Moscow reached agreement to restructure debts with Paris Club official creditors in mid-1994 and concluded a preliminary deal with its commercial bank creditors late in the year to reschedule debts owed them in early 1995. Capital flight continued to be a serious problem in 1994, with billions of additional dollars in assets being moved abroad, primarily to bank accounts in Europe. Russia's physical plant continues to deteriorate because of insufficient maintenance and new construction. Plant and equipment on average are twice the age of the West's. Many years will pass before Russia can take full advantage of its natural resources and its human assets.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $721.2 billion (1994 estimate as extrapolated from World Bank estimate for 1992)
National product real growth rate: -15% (1994 est.)
National product per capita: $4,820 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 10% per month (average 1994)
Unemployment rate: 7.1% (December 1994) with considerable additional underemployment
Budget: revenues: $NA expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA
Exports: $48 billion (f.o.b., 1994) commodities: petroleum and petroleum products, natural gas, wood and wood products, metals, chemicals, and a wide variety of civilian and military manufactures partners: Europe, North America, Japan, Third World countries, Cuba
Imports: $35.7 billion (f.o.b., 1994) commodities: machinery and equipment, consumer goods, medicines, meat, grain, sugar, semifinished metal products partners: Europe, North America, Japan, Third World countries, Cuba
Industries: complete range of mining and extractive industries producing coal, oil, gas, chemicals, and metals; all forms of machine building from rolling mills to high-performance aircraft and space vehicles; ship- building; road and rail transportation equipment; communications equipment; agricultural machinery, tractors, and construction equipment; electric power generating and transmitting equipment; medical and scientific instruments; consumer durables
Agriculture: grain, sugar beets, sunflower seeds, meat, milk, vegetables, fruits; because of its northern location does not grow citrus, cotton, tea, and other warm climate products
Illicit drugs: illicit cultivator of cannabis and opium poppy; mostly for domestic consumption; government has active eradication program; used as transshipment point for Asian and Latin American illicit drugs to Western Europe and Latin America
Economic aid: recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (1990-94), $15 billion; other countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1990-93), $120 billion
Currency: 1 ruble (R) = 100 kopeks
Exchange rates: rubles per US$1 - 3,550 (29 December 1994), 1,247 (27 December 1993); nominal exchange rate still deteriorating but real exchange rate holding steady
Fiscal year: calendar year
@Russia:Transportation
Railroads: total: 154,000 km; note - 87,000 km in common carrier service (49,000 km diesel; and 38,000 km electrified); 67,000 km serve specific industries and are not available for common carrier use broad gauge: 154,000 km 1.520-m gauge (1 January 1994)
Highways: total: 934,000 km (445,000 km serve specific industries or farms and are not available for common carrier use) paved and graveled: 725,000 km unpaved: 209,000 km (1 January 1994)
Inland waterways: total navigable routes in general use 101,000 km; routes with navigation guides serving the Russian River Fleet 95,900 km; of which routes with night navigational aids 60,400 km; man-made navigable routes 16,900 km (1 January 1994)
Pipelines: crude oil 48,000 km; petroleum products 15,000 km; natural gas 140,000 km (30 June 1993)
Merchant marine: total: 800 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 7,295,109 GRT/10,128,579 DWT ships by type: barge carrier 2, bulk cargo 26, cargo 424, chemical tanker 7, combination bulk 22, combination ore/oil 16, container 81, multifunction large-load carrier 3, oil tanker 111, passenger 4, passenger-cargo 5, refrigerated cargo 19, roll-on/roll-off cargo 62, short-sea passenger 16, specialized tanker 2 note: in addition, Russia owns 235 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 5,084,439 DWT that operate under Maltese, Cypriot, Liberian, Panamanian, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Honduran, Marshall Islands, Bahamian, and Vanuatu registry
Airports: total: 2,517 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 54 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 202 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 108 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 115 with paved runways under 914 m: 151 with unpaved runways over 3,047 m: 25 with unpaved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 45 with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 134 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 291 with unpaved runways under 914 m: 1,392
@Russia:Communications
Telephone system: 24,400,000 telephones; 20,900,000 telephones in urban areas and 3,500,000 telephones in rural areas; of these, total installed in homes 15,400,000; total pay phones for long distant calls 34,100; about 164 telephones/1,000 persons; Russia is enlisting foreign help, by means of joint ventures, to speed up the modernization of its telecommunications system; in 1992, only 661,000 new telephones were installed compared with 855,000 in 1991, and in 1992 the number of unsatisfied applications for telephones reached 11,000,000; expanded access to international E-mail service available via Sprint network; the inadequacy of Russian telecommunications is a severe handicap to the economy, especially with respect to international connections local: NMT-450 analog cellular telephone networks are operational and growing in Moscow and St. Petersburg intercity: intercity fiberoptic cable installation remains limited international: international traffic is handled by an inadequate system of satellites, land lines, microwave radio relay and outdated submarine cables; this traffic passes through the international gateway switch in Moscow which carries most of the international traffic for the other countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States; a new Russian Raduga satellite will link Moscow and St. Petersburg with Rome from whence calls will be relayed to destinations in Europe and overseas; satellite earth stations - INTELSAT, Intersputnik, Eutelsat (Moscow), INMARSAT, Orbita
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 1,050, FM 1,050, shortwave 1,050 radios: 48.8 million (radio receivers with multiple speaker systems for program diffusion 74,300,000)
Television: broadcast stations: 7,183 televisions: 54.2 million
@Russia:Defense Forces
Branches: Ground Forces, Navy, Air Forces, Air Defense Forces, Strategic Rocket Forces
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 38,264,699; males fit for military service 29,951,977; males reach military age (18) annually 1,106,176 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: $NA, NA% of GDP note: the Intelligence Community estimates that defense spending in Russia fell about 15% in real terms in 1994, reducing Russian defense outlays to about one-fourth of peak Soviet levels in the late 1980s; although Russia may still spend as much as 10% of its GDP on defense, this is significantly below the 15% to 17% burden the former USSR carried during much of the 1980s; conversion of military expenditures into US dollars using the current exchange rate could produce misleading results
Land use: arable land: 29% permanent crops: 11% meadows and pastures: 18% forest and woodland: 10% other: 32%
Irrigated land: 40 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment: current issues: deforestation results from uncontrolled cutting of trees for fuel; overgrazing; soil exhaustion; soil erosion natural hazards: periodic droughts; the volcanic Virunga mountains are in the northwest along the border with Zaire international agreements: party to - Endangered Species, Nuclear Test Ban; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Law of the Sea
Note: landlocked; predominantly rural population
@Rwanda:People
Population: 8,605,307 (July 1995 est.) note: the demographic estimates were prepared before civil strife, starting in April 1994, set in motion substantial and continuing population changes
Age structure: 0-14 years: 51% (female 2,184,549; male 2,201,049) 15-64 years: 47% (female 2,034,278; male 1,968,298) 65 years and over: 2% (female 126,255; male 90,878) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 2.67% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 48.52 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 21.82 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: NA migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.) note: since April 1994, more than one million refugees have fled the civil strife between the Hutu and Tutsi factions in Rwanda and crossed into Zaire, Burundi, and Tanzania; close to 350,000 Rwandan Tutsis who fled civil strife in earlier years are returning to Rwanda and a few of the recent Hutu refugees are going home despite the danger of doing so; the ethnic violence continues and in 1995 could produce further refugee flows as well as deter returns
Infant mortality rate: 118.1 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 39.33 years male: 38.5 years female: 40.19 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 8.12 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Nationality: noun: Rwandan(s) adjective: Rwandan
Ethnic divisions: Hutu 90%, Tutsi 9%, Twa (Pygmoid) 1%
Religions: Roman Catholic 65%, Protestant 9%, Muslim 1%, indigenous beliefs and other 25%
Languages: Kinyarwanda (official), French (official), Kiswahili used in commercial centers
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.) total population: 50% male: 64% female: 37%
Labor force: 3.6 million by occupation: agriculture 93%, government and services 5%, industry and commerce 2%
@Rwanda:Government
Names: conventional long form: Republic of Rwanda conventional short form: Rwanda local long form: Republika y'u Rwanda local short form: Rwanda
Digraph: RW
Type: republic; presidential system note: after genocide and civil war in April 1994, the Tutsi Rwandan Patriotic Front, in July 1994, took power and formed a new government
Independence: 1 July 1962 (from Belgium-administered UN trusteeship)
National holiday: Independence Day, 1 July (1962)
Constitution: 18 June 1991
Legal system: based on German and Belgian civil law systems and customary law; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: NA years of age; universal adult
Executive branch: chief of state: President Pasteur BIZIMUNGU (since 19 July 1994); took office following the siezure of the government by the Tutsi Rwandan Patriotic Front and the exiling of interim President Dr. Theodore SINDIKUBWABO; no future election dates have been set head of government: Prime Minister Faustin TWAGIRAMUNGU (since the siezure of power by the Tutsi Rwandan Patriotic Front in July 1994) cabinet: Council of Ministers; appointed by the president
Legislative branch: unicameral National Development Council: (Conseil National de Developpement) elections last held 19 December 1988 (next to be held NA 1995); results - MRND was the only party; seats - (70 total) MRND 70
Judicial branch: Constitutional Court consists of the Court of Cassation and the Council of State in joint session
Political parties and leaders: Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), Alexis KANYARENGWE, Chairman; National Revolutionary Movement for Democracy and Development (MRND); significant independent parties include: Democratic Republican Movement (MDR); Liberal Party (PL); Democratic and Socialist Party (PSD); Coalition for the Defense of the Republic (CDR); Party for Democracy in Rwanda (PADER); Christian Democratic Party (PDL) note: formerly a one-party state, Rwanda legalized independent parties in mid-1991
Other political or pressure groups: Rwanda Patriotic Army (RPA), the RPF military wing, Maj. Gen. Paul KAGAME, commander;
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: (vacant); Charge d'Affaires ad interim Joseph W. MUTABOBA chancery: 1714 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 232-2882 FAX: [1] (202) 232-4544
US diplomatic representation: note: US Embassy closed indefinitely chief of mission: Ambassador David P. RAWSON embassy: Boulevard de la Revolution, Kigali mailing address: B. P. 28, Kigali telephone: [250] 756 01 through 03 FAX: [250] 721 28
Flag: three equal vertical bands of red (hoist side), yellow, and green with a large black letter R centered in the yellow band; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia; similar to the flag of Guinea, which has a plain yellow band
@Rwanda:Economy
Overview: Rwanda is a poor African nation suffering bitterly from ethnic-based civil war. Almost 50% of GDP comes from the agricultural sector; coffee and tea make up 80%-90% of total exports. The amount of fertile land is limited, however, and deforestation and soil erosion continue to create problems. The industrial sector in Rwanda is small, contributing only 17% to GDP. Manufacturing focuses mainly on the processing of agricultural products. The Rwandan economy remains dependent on coffee/tea exports and foreign aid. Weak international prices since 1986 have caused the economy to contract and per capita GDP to decline. A structural adjustment program with the World Bank began in October 1990. Ethnic-based insurgency since 1990 has devastated wide areas, especially in the north, and displaced hundreds of thousands of people. A peace accord in mid-1993 temporarily ended most of the fighting, but massive resumption of civil warfare in April 1994 in the capital city Kigali and elsewhere has been taking thousands of lives and severely affecting short-term economic prospects. The economy suffers massively from failure to maintain the infrastructure, looting, neglect of important cash crops, and lack of health care facilities.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $7.9 billion (1993 est.)
National product real growth rate: -8% (1993 est.)
National product per capita: $950 (1993 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA%
Unemployment rate: NA%
Budget: revenues: $350 million expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA (1992 est.)
Exports: $44 million (f.o.b., 1993 est.) commodities: coffee 63%, tea, cassiterite, wolframite, pyrethrum partners: Germany, Belgium, Italy, Uganda, UK, France, US
Imports: $250 million (f.o.b., 1993 est.) commodities: textiles, foodstuffs, machines and equipment, capital goods, steel, petroleum products, cement and construction material partners: US, Belgium, Germany, Kenya, Japan
External debt: $873 million (1993 est.)
Industrial production: growth rate -2.2% (1991); accounts for 17% of GDP
Electricity: capacity: 60,000 kW production: 190 million kWh consumption per capita: 23 kWh (1993)
Agriculture: cash crops - coffee, tea, pyrethrum (insecticide made from chrysanthemums); main food crops - bananas, beans, sorghum, potatoes; stock raising
Economic aid: recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $128 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $2 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $45 million; Communist countries (1970-89), $58 million note: in October 1990 Rwanda launched a Structural Adjustment Program with the IMF; since September 1991, the EC has given $46 million and the US $25 million in support of this program (1993)
Highways: total: 4,885 km paved: 880 km unpaved: gravel, sand and gravel 1,305 km; unimproved earth 2,700 km
Inland waterways: Lac Kivu navigable by shallow-draft barges and native craft
Ports: Cyangugu, Gisenyi, Kibuye
Airports: total: 7 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 1 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 2 with paved runways under 914 m: 3 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 1
@Rwanda:Communications
Telephone system: NA telephones; telephone system does not provide service to the general public but is intended for business and government use local: NA intercity: the capital, Kigali, is connected to the centers of the prefectures by microwave radio relay; the remainder of the network depends on wire and high frequency radio international: international connections employ microwave radio relay to neighboring countries and satellite communications to more distant countries; 1 INTELSAT (Indian Ocean) and 1 SYMPHONIE earth station in Kigali (includes telex and telefax service)
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0 radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: 1 televisions: NA
@Rwanda:Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Gendarmerie
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 1,792,326; males fit for military service 913,711 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $112.5 million, 7% of GDP (1992)
Location: Southern Africa, island in the South Atlantic Ocean, west of Angola, about two-thirds of the way from South America to Africa
Map references: Africa
Area: total area: 410 sq km land area: 410 sq km comparative area: slightly more than 2.3 times the size of Washington, DC note: includes Ascension, Gough Island, Inaccessible Island, Nightingale Island, and Tristan da Cunha
Climate: tropical; marine; mild, tempered by trade winds
Terrain: rugged, volcanic; small scattered plateaus and plains
Natural resources: fish; Ascension is a breeding ground for sea turtles and sooty terns, no minerals
Land use: arable land: 7% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 7% forest and woodland: 3% other: 83%
Irrigated land: NA sq km
Environment: current issues: NA natural hazards: active volcanism on Tristan da Cunha international agreements: NA
Note: Napoleon Bonaparte's place of exile and burial (the remains were taken to Paris in 1840); harbors at least 40 species of plants unknown anywhere else in the world
@Saint Helena:People
Population: 6,762 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: NA 15-64 years: NA 65 years and over: NA
Population growth rate: 0.31% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 9.5 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 6.43 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 36.1 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 75.07 years male: 73.01 years female: 76.89 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.13 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Nationality: noun: Saint Helenian(s) adjective: Saint Helenian
Ethnic divisions: NA
Religions: Anglican (majority), Baptist, Seventh-Day Adventist, Roman Catholic
Languages: English
Literacy: age 20 and over can read and write (1987) total population: 97% male: 97% female: 98%
Labor force: 2,516 by occupation: professional, technical, and related workers 8.7%, managerial, administrative, and clerical 12.8%, sales people 8.1%, farmer, fishermen, etc. 5.4%, craftspersons, production process workers 14.7%, others 50.3% (1987)
@Saint Helena:Government
Names: conventional long form: none conventional short form: Saint Helena
Digraph: SH
Type: dependent territory of the UK
Capital: Jamestown
Administrative divisions: 1 administrative area and 2 dependencies*; Ascension*, Saint Helena, Tristan da Cunha*
Independence: none (dependent territory of the UK)
National holiday: Celebration of the Birthday of the Queen, 10 June 1989 (second Saturday in June)
Constitution: 1 January 1989
Legal system: NA
Suffrage: NA
Executive branch: chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952) head of government: Governor A. N. HOOLE (since NA 1991) cabinet: Executive Council
Legislative branch: unicameral Legislative Council: elections last held July 1993 (next to be held NA); results - percent of vote NA; seats - (15 total, 12 elected) independents 15
Judicial branch: Supreme Court
Political parties and leaders: none
Member of: ICFTU
Diplomatic representation in US: none (dependent territory of the UK)
US diplomatic representation: none (dependent territory of the UK)
Flag: blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the Saint Helenian shield centered on the outer half of the flag; the shield features a rocky coastline and three-masted sailing ship
@Saint Helena:Economy
Overview: The economy depends primarily on financial assistance from the UK. The local population earns some income from fishing, the raising of livestock, and sales of handicrafts. Because there are few jobs, a large proportion of the work force has left to seek employment overseas.
National product: GDP $NA
National product real growth rate: NA%
National product per capita: $NA
Inflation rate (consumer prices): -1.1% (1986)
Unemployment rate: NA%
Budget: revenues: $11.2 million expenditures: $11 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY92/93)
Exports: $27,400 (f.o.b., FY92/93) commodities: fish (frozen and salt-dried skipjack, tuna), handicrafts partners: South Africa, UK
Imports: $9.8 million (c.i.f., FY92/93) commodities: food, beverages, tobacco, fuel oils, animal feed, building materials, motor vehicles and parts, machinery and parts partners: UK, South Africa
External debt: $NA
Industrial production: growth rate NA%
Electricity: capacity: 9,800 kW production: 10 million kWh consumption per capita: NA kWh (1993)
Agriculture: maize, potatoes, vegetables; timber production being developed; crawfishing on Tristan da Cunha
Economic aid: recipient: Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1992-93), $13.5 million
Currency: 1 Saint Helenian pound (#S) = 100 pence
Exchange rates: Saint Helenian pounds (#S) per US$1 - 0.6350 (January 1995), 0.6529 (1994), 0.6033 (1993), 0.5664 (1992), 0.5652 (1991), 0.5603 (1990); note - the Saint Helenian pound is at par with the British pound
Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March
@Saint Helena:Transportation
Railroads: 0 km
Highways: total: NA (mainland 107 km, Ascension NA, Tristan da Cunha NA) paved: 169.7 km (mainland 87 km, Ascension 80 km, Tristan da Cunha 2.70 km) unpaved: NA (mainland 20 km earth roads, Ascension NA, Tristan da Cunha NA)
Ports: Georgetown, Jamestown
Merchant marine: none
Airports: total: 1 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 1
@Saint Helena:Communications
Telephone system: 550 telephones; automatic network local: NA intercity: HF radio links to Ascension, then into worldwide submarine cable and satellite networks international: major coaxial submarine cable relay point between South Africa, Portugal, and UK at Ascension; 2 INTELSAT (Atlantic Ocean) earth stations
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0 radios: 1,500
Location: Caribbean, islands in the Caribbean Sea, about one-third of the way from Puerto Rico to Trinidad and Tobago
Map references: Central America and the Caribbean
Area: total area: 269 sq km land area: 269 sq km comparative area: slightly more than 1.5 times the size of Washington, DC
Land boundaries: 0 km
Coastline: 135 km
Maritime claims: contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin territorial sea: 12 nm
International disputes: none
Climate: subtropical tempered by constant sea breezes; little seasonal temperature variation; rainy season (May to November)
Terrain: volcanic with mountainous interiors
Natural resources: negligible
Land use: arable land: 22% permanent crops: 17% meadows and pastures: 3% forest and woodland: 17% other: 41%
Irrigated land: NA sq km
Environment: current issues: NA natural hazards: hurricanes (July to October) international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Whaling
@Saint Kitts And Nevis:People
Population: 40,992 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 35% (female 7,072; male 7,430) 15-64 years: 57% (female 11,784; male 11,756) 65 years and over: 8% (female 1,729; male 1,221) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.85% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 23.49 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 9.56 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: -5.39 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 19.4 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 66.51 years male: 63.51 years female: 69.69 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 2.56 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Religions: Anglican, other Protestant sects, Roman Catholic
Languages: English
Literacy: age 15 and over has ever attended school (1980) total population: 97% male: 97% female: 98%
Labor force: 20,000 (1981)
@Saint Kitts And Nevis:Government
Names: conventional long form: Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis conventional short form: Saint Kitts and Nevis former: Federation of Saint Christopher and Nevis
Digraph: SC
Type: constitutional monarchy
Capital: Basseterre
Administrative divisions: 14 parishs; Christ Church Nichola Town, Saint Anne Sandy Point, Saint George Basseterre, Saint George Gingerland, Saint James Windward, Saint John Capisterre, Saint John Figtree, Saint Mary Cayon, Saint Paul Capisterre, Saint Paul Charlestown, Saint Peter Basseterre, Saint Thomas Lowland, Saint Thomas Middle Island, Trinity Palmetto Point
Independence: 19 September 1983 (from UK)
National holiday: Independence Day, 19 September (1983)
Constitution: 19 September 1983
Legal system: based on English common law
Suffrage: NA years of age; universal adult
Executive branch: chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Sir Clement Athelston ARRINDELL (since 19 September 1983, previously Governor General of theWest Indies Associated States since NA November 1981) head of government: Prime Minister Dr. Kennedy Alphonse SIMMONDS (since 19 September 1983, previously Premier of the West Indies Associated States since NA February 1980); Deputy Prime Minister Hugh HEYLIGER (since November 1994) cabinet: Cabinet; appointed by the governor general in consultation with the prime minister
Legislative branch: unicameral House of Assembly: elections last held 29 November 1993 (next to be held by 15 November 1995); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (14 total, 11 elected) PAM 4, SKNLP 4, NRP 1, CCM 2
Judicial branch: Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (based on Saint Lucia)
Political parties and leaders: People's Action Movement (PAM), Dr. Kennedy SIMMONDS; Saint Kitts and Nevis Labor Party (SKNLP), Dr. Denzil DOUGLAS; Nevis Reformation Party (NRP), Simeon DANIEL; Concerned Citizens Movement (CCM), Vance AMORY
Member of: ACP, C, CARICOM, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, GATT, IBRD, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFRCS (associate), IMF, INTERPOL, IOC, OAS, OECS, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Erstein Mallet EDWARDS chancery: Suite 608, 2100 M Street NW, Washington, DC 20037 telephone: [1] (202) 833-3550 FAX: [1] (202) 833-3553
US diplomatic representation: no official presence; covered by embassy in Bridgetown, Barbados
Flag: divided diagonally from the lower hoist side by a broad black band bearing two white five-pointed stars; the black band is edged in yellow; the upper triangle is green, the lower triangle is red
@Saint Kitts And Nevis:Economy
Overview: The economy has traditionally depended on the growing and processing of sugarcane; decreasing world prices have hurt the industry in recent years. Tourism and export-oriented manufacturing have begun to assume larger roles, although they still only account for 7% and 4% of GDP respectively. Growth in the construction and tourism sectors spurred the economic expansion in 1994. Most food is imported.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $210 million (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate: 4.5% (1994 est.)
National product per capita: $5,300 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1.6% (1993)
Unemployment rate: 12.2% (1990)
Budget: revenues: $103.2 million expenditures: $102.6 million, including capital expenditures of $50.1 million (1995 est.)
Exports: $32.4 million (f.o.b., 1992) commodities: machinery, food, electronics, beverages and tobacco partners: US 50%, UK 30%, CARICOM nations 11% (1992)
Imports: $100 million (f.o.b., 1992) commodities: machinery, manufactures, food, fuels partners: US 43%, CARICOM nations 18%, UK 12%, Canada 4%, Japan 4%, OECS 4% (1992)
Agriculture: accounts for 17% of GDP; cash crop - sugarcane; subsistence crops - rice, yams, vegetables, bananas; fishing potential not fully exploited
Illicit drugs: transshipment point for South American drugs destined for the US
Economic aid: recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY85-88), $10.7 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $67 million
Currency: 1 EC dollar (EC$) = 100 cents
Exchange rates: East Caribbean dollars (EC$) per US$1 - 2.70 (fixed rate since 1976)
Fiscal year: calendar year
@Saint Kitts And Nevis:Transportation
Railroads: total: 58 km on Saint Kitts for sugarcane narrow gauge: 58 km 0.760-m gauge
Highways: total: 300 km paved: 125 km unpaved: otherwise improved 125 km; unimproved earth 50 km
Ports: Basseterre, Charlestown
Merchant marine: none
Airports: total: 2 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 with paved runways under 914 m: 1
@Saint Kitts And Nevis:Communications
Telephone system: 2,400 telephones; good interisland VHF/UHF/SHF radio connections and international link via Antigua and Barbuda and Saint Martin local: NA intercity: interisland links are handled by VHF/UHF/SHF radio; within the islands all calls are local international: international calls are carried by radio to Antigua and Barbuda and there switched to submarine cable or to INTELSAT, or carried to Saint Martin by radio and switched to INTELSAT
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 2, FM 0, shortwave 0 radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: 4 televisions: NA
@Saint Kitts And Nevis:Defense Forces
Branches: Royal Saint Kitts and Nevis Police Force, Coast Guard
Location: Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, north of Trinidad and Tobago
Map references: Central America and the Caribbean
Area: total area: 620 sq km land area: 610 sq km comparative area: slightly less than 3.5 times the size of Washington, DC
Land boundaries: 0 km
Coastline: 158 km
Maritime claims: contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin territorial sea: 12 nm
International disputes: none
Climate: tropical, moderated by northeast trade winds; dry season from January to April, rainy season from May to August
Terrain: volcanic and mountainous with some broad, fertile valleys
Natural resources: forests, sandy beaches, minerals (pumice), mineral springs, geothermal potential
Land use: arable land: 8% permanent crops: 20% meadows and pastures: 5% forest and woodland: 13% other: 54%
Irrigated land: 10 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment: current issues: deforestation; soil erosion, particularly in the northern region natural hazards: hurricanes and volcanic activity international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Whaling
@Saint Lucia:People
Population: 156,050 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 35% (female 26,710; male 27,255) 15-64 years: 60% (female 47,584; male 46,326) 65 years and over: 5% (female 5,040; male 3,135) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.17% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 22.48 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 6.1 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: -4.67 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 20.5 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 69.88 years male: 66.33 years female: 73.67 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 2.37 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Nationality: noun: Saint Lucian(s) adjective: Saint Lucian
Ethnic divisions: African descent 90.3%, mixed 5.5%, East Indian 3.2%, Caucasian 0.8%
Religions: Roman Catholic 90%, Protestant 7%, Anglican 3%
Languages: English (official), French patois
Literacy: age 15 and over has ever attended school (1980) total population: 67% male: 65% female: 69%
Labor force: 43,800 by occupation: agriculture 43.4%, services 38.9%, industry and commerce 17.7% (1983 est.)
@Saint Lucia:Government
Names: conventional long form: none conventional short form: Saint Lucia
Digraph: ST
Type: parliamentary democracy
Capital: Castries
Administrative divisions: 11 quarters; Anse La Raye, Castries, Choiseul, Dauphin, Dennery, Gros Islet, Laborie, Micoud, Praslin, Soufriere, Vieux Fort
Independence: 22 February 1979 (from UK)
National holiday: Independence Day, 22 February (1979)
Constitution: 22 February 1979
Legal system: based on English common law
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Sir Stanislaus Anthony JAMES (since 10 October 1988) head of government: Prime Minister John George Melvin COMPTON (since 3 May 1982) cabinet: Cabinet; appointed by the governor general on advice of the prime minister
Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament Senate: consists of an 11-member body, 6 appointed on the advice of the prime minister, 3 on the advice of the leader of the opposition, and 2 after consultation with religious, economic, and social groups House of Assembly: elections last held 27 April 1992 (next to be held by April 1997); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (17 total) UWP 11, SLP 6
Judicial branch: Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court
Political parties and leaders: United Workers' Party (UWP), John COMPTON; Saint Lucia Labor Party (SLP), Julian HUNTE; Progressive Labor Party (PLP), Jon ODLUM
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Dr. Joseph Edsel EDMUNDS chancery: 3216 New Mexico Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20016 telephone: [1] (202) 364-6792 through 6795 FAX: [1] (202) 364-6728 consulate(s) general: New York
US diplomatic representation: no official presence since the Ambassador resides in Bridgetown (Barbados)
Flag: blue with a gold isosceles triangle below a black arrowhead; the upper edges of the arrowhead have a white border
@Saint Lucia:Economy
Overview: Though foreign investment in manufacturing and information processing in recent years has increased Saint Lucia's industrial base, the economy remains vulnerable due to its heavy dependence on banana production, which is subject to periodic droughts and tropical storms. Indeed, the destructive effect of Tropical Storm Debbie in mid-1994 caused the loss of 60% of the year's banana crop. Increased competition from Latin American bananas will probably further reduce market prices, exacerbating Saint Lucia's need to diversify its economy in coming years, e.g., by expanding tourism, manufacturing, and construction
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $610 million (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate: 2% (1994 est.)
National product per capita: $4,200 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 0.8% (1993)
Unemployment rate: 25% (1993 est.)
Budget: revenues: $121 million expenditures: $127 million, including capital expenditures of $104 million (1992 est.)
Exports: $122.8 million (f.o.b., 1992) commodities: bananas 60%, clothing, cocoa, vegetables, fruits, coconut oil partners: UK 56%, US 22%, CARICOM 19% (1991)
Imports: $276 million (f.o.b., 1992) commodities: manufactured goods 21%, machinery and transportation equipment 21%, food and live animals, chemicals, fuels partners: US 34%, CARICOM 17%, UK 14%, Japan 7%, Canada 4% (1991)
External debt: $96.4 million (1992 est.)
Industrial production: growth rate 3.5% (1990 est.); accounts for 12% of GDP
Electricity: capacity: 20,000 kW production: 112 million kWh consumption per capita: 693 kWh (1993)
Agriculture: accounts for 14% of GDP and 43% of labor force; crops - bananas, coconuts, vegetables, citrus fruit, root crops, cocoa; imports food for the tourist industry
Illicit drugs: transit country for South American drugs destined for the US and Europe
Economic aid: recipient: Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $120 million
Currency: 1 EC dollar (EC$) = 100 cents
Exchange rates: East Caribbean dollars (EC$) per US$1 - 2.70 (fixed rate since 1976)
Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March
@Saint Lucia:Transportation
Railroads: 0 km
Highways: total: 760 km paved: 500 km unpaved: otherwise improved 260 km
Ports: Castries, Vieux Fort
Merchant marine: none
Airports: total: 3 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 with paved runways under 914 m: 1
@Saint Lucia:Communications
Telephone system: 9,500 telephones local: low density (6 telephones/100 persons) but the system is automatically switched intercity: no intercity traffic international: direct microwave link with Martinique and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; interisland troposcatter link to Barbados
Radio: broadcast stations: AM 4, FM 1, shortwave 0 radios: NA
Television: broadcast stations: 1 cable televisions: NA
@Saint Lucia:Defense Forces
Branches: Royal Saint Lucia Police Force, Coast Guard
Location: Northern North America, islands in the North Atlantic Ocean, south of Newfoundland (Canada)
Map references: North America
Area: total area: 242 sq km land area: 242 sq km comparative area: slightly less than 1.5 times the size of Washington, DC note: includes eight small islands in the Saint Pierre and the Miquelon groups
International disputes: focus of maritime boundary dispute between Canada and France
Climate: cold and wet, with much mist and fog; spring and autumn are windy
Terrain: mostly barren rock
Natural resources: fish, deepwater ports
Land use: arable land: 13% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 0% forest and woodland: 4% other: 83%
Irrigated land: NA sq km
Environment: current issues: NA natural hazards: persistent fog throughout the year can be a maritime hazard international agreements: NA
Note: vegetation scanty
@Saint Pierre And Miquelon:People
Population: 6,757 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: NA 15-64 years: NA 65 years and over: NA
Population growth rate: 0.78% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 13.02 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 5.83 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 0.59 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 10.77 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 76 years male: 74.4 years female: 77.92 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.67 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Nationality: noun: Frenchman(men), Frenchwoman(women) adjective: French
Ethnic divisions: Basques and Bretons (French fishermen)
Religions: Roman Catholic 98%
Languages: French
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1982) total population: 99% male: 99% female: 99%
Labor force: 2,850 (1988) by occupation: NA
@Saint Pierre And Miquelon:Government
Names: conventional long form: Territorial Collectivity of Saint Pierre and Miquelon conventional short form: Saint Pierre and Miquelon local long form: Departement de Saint-Pierre et Miquelon local short form: Saint-Pierre et Miquelon
Digraph: SB
Type: territorial collectivity of France
Capital: Saint-Pierre
Administrative divisions: none (territorial collectivity of France)
Independence: none (territorial collectivity of France; has been under French control since 1763)
National holiday: National Day, Taking of the Bastille, 14 July
Constitution: 28 September 1958 (French Constitution)
Legal system: French law
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Francois MITTERRAND (since 21 May 1981) head of government: Commissioner of the Republic Yves HENRY (since NA December 1993); President of the General Council Gerard GRIGNON (since NA April 1994) cabinet: Council of Ministers
Legislative branch: unicameral General Council: elections last held NA April 1994 (next to be held NA April 2000); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (19 total) seats by party NA French Senate: elections last held NA September 1986 (next to be held NA September 1995); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (1 total) PS 1 French National Assembly: elections last held 21 and 28 March 1993 (next to be held NA June 1998); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (1 total) UDF 1
Judicial branch: Superior Tribunal of Appeals (Tribunal Superieur d'Appel)
Political parties and leaders: Socialist Party (PS), Albert PEN; Union for French Democracy (UDF/CDS), Gerard GRIGNON
Member of: FZ, WFTU
Diplomatic representation in US: none (territorial collectivity of France)
US diplomatic representation: none (territorial collectivity of France)
Flag: the flag of France is used
@Saint Pierre And Miquelon:Economy
Overview: The inhabitants have traditionally earned their livelihood by fishing and by servicing fishing fleets operating off the coast of Newfoundland. The economy has been declining, however, because the number of ships stopping at Saint Pierre has dropped steadily over the years. In March 1989, an agreement between France and Canada set fish quotas for Saint Pierre's trawlers fishing in Canadian and Canadian-claimed waters for three years. The agreement settles a longstanding dispute that had virtually brought fish exports to a halt. The islands are heavily subsidized by France. Imports come primarily from Canada and France.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $66 million (1993 est.)
National product real growth rate: NA%
National product per capita: $10,000 (1993 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA%
Unemployment rate: 9.6% (1990)
Budget: revenues: $18.3 million expenditures: $18.3 million, including capital expenditures of $5.5 million (1989 est.)
Exports: $30 million (f.o.b., 1991 est.) commodities: fish and fish products, fox and mink pelts partners: US 58%, France 17%, UK 11%, Canada, Portugal (1990)
Imports: $82 million (c.i.f., 1991 est.) commodities: meat, clothing, fuel, electrical equipment, machinery, building materials partners: Canada, France, US, Netherlands, UK
External debt: $NA
Industrial production: growth rate NA%
Electricity: capacity: 10,000 kW production: 50 million kWh consumption per capita: 6,013 kWh (1993)
Industries: fish processing and supply base for fishing fleets; tourism
Agriculture: vegetables, cattle, sheep, pigs for local consumption; fish catch of 20,500 metric tons (1989)
Economic aid: recipient: Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $500 million
Highways: total: 120 km paved: 60 km unpaved: earth 60 km (1985)
Ports: Saint Pierre
Merchant marine: none
Airports: total: 2 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 2
@Saint Pierre And Miquelon:Communications
Telephone system: 3,601 telephones local: NA intercity: NA international: radio communication with most countries in the world; 1 satellite link in French domestic satellite system
