The 1991 CIA World Factbook
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Title: The 1991 CIA World Factbook
Author: United States. Central Intelligence Agency
Release date: February 1, 1992 [eBook #25]
Most recently updated: October 3, 2025
Language: English
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Credits: Dr. Gregory B. Newby
*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE 1991 CIA WORLD FACTBOOK ***
15 October 1991
The CIA World Factbook 1991
Some tags useful for searching the factbook are as follows:
_@_ the first three characters in each country heading;
for example, _@_Afghanistan
_@_Albania
_@_Algeria
_@_American Samoa
_*_ the first three characters in each section heading;
for example, _*_Geography
_*_People
_*_Government
_*_Economy
_#_ the first three characters in each individual entry;
for example, _#_Total area
_#_Comparative area
_#_Land boundaries
_#_Coastline
_%_ the first three characters in the first line following
the end of a country section or an appendix
_%_
THE WORLD FACTBOOK 1991
The World Factbook is produced annually by the Central Intelligence
Agency for the use of United States Government officials, and the style,
format, coverage, and content are designed to meet their specific
requirements.
Information was provided by the Bureau of the Census, Central
Intelligence Agency, Defense Intelligence Agency, Defense Nuclear Agency,
Department of State, Foreign Broadcast Information Service, Maritime
Administration, National Science Foundation (Polar Information Program),
Navy Operational Intelligence Center, Office of Territorial and
International Affairs, United States Board on Geographic Names,
United States Coast Guard, and others.
Comments and queries are welcome and may be addressed to:
Central Intelligence Agency
Attn: Public Affairs
Washington, DC 20505
(703) 351-2053
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Table of Contents
Notes, Definitions, and Abbreviations
Text (247 nations, dependent areas, and other entities)
Afghanistan
Albania
Algeria
American Samoa
Andorra
Angola
Anguilla
Antarctica
Antigua and Barbuda
Arctic Ocean
Argentina
Aruba
Ashmore and Cartier Islands
Atlantic Ocean
Australia
Austria
Bahamas, The
Bahrain
Baker Island
Bangladesh
Barbados
Bassas da India
Belgium
Belize
Benin
Bermuda
Bhutan
Bolivia
Botswana
Bouvet Island
Brazil
British Indian Ocean Territory
British Virgin Islands
Brunei
Bulgaria
Burkina
Burma
Burundi
Cambodia
Cameroon
Canada
Cape Verde
Cayman Islands
Central African Republic
Chad
Chile
China (also see separate Taiwan entry)
Christmas Island
Clipperton Island
Cocos (Keeling) Islands
Colombia
Comoros
Congo
Cook Islands
Coral Sea Islands
Costa Rica
Cuba
Cyprus
Czechoslovakia
Denmark
Djibouti
Dominica
Dominican Republic
Ecuador
Egypt
El Salvador
Equatorial Guinea
Ethiopia
Europa Island
Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas)
Faroe Islands
Fiji
Finland
France
French Guiana
French Polynesia
French Southern and Antarctic Lands
Gabon
Gambia, The
Gaza Strip
Germany
Ghana
Gibraltar
Glorioso Islands
Greece
Greenland
Grenada
Guadeloupe
Guam
Guatemala
Guernsey
Guinea
Guinea-Bissau
Guyana
Haiti
Heard Island and McDonald Islands
Honduras
Hong Kong
Howland Island
Hungary
Iceland
India
Indian Ocean
Indonesia
Iran
Iraq
Iraq-Saudi Arabia Neutral Zone
Ireland
Israel (also see separate Gaza Strip and West Bank entries)
Italy
Ivory Coast
Jamaica
Jan Mayen
Japan
Jarvis Island
Jersey
Johnston Atoll
Jordan (also see separate West Bank entry)
Juan de Nova Island
Kenya
Kingman Reef
Kiribati
Korea, North
Korea, South
Kuwait
Laos
Lebanon
Lesotho
Liberia
Libya
Liechtenstein
Luxembourg
Macau
Madagascar
Malawi
Malaysia
Maldives
Mali
Malta
Man, Isle of
Marshall Islands
Martinique
Mauritania
Mauritius
Mayotte
Mexico
Micronesia, Federated States of
Midway Islands
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 Islands, Trust Territory of the
(Palau)
Pacific Ocean
Pakistan
Palmyra Atoll
Panama
Papua New Guinea
Paracel Islands
Paraguay
Peru
Philippines
Pitcairn Islands
Poland
Portugal
Puerto Rico
Qatar
Reunion
Romania
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
Seychelles
Sierra Leone
Singapore
Solomon Islands
Somalia
South Africa
South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
Soviet Union
Spain
Spratly Islands
Sri Lanka
Sudan
Suriname
Svalbard
Swaziland
Sweden
Switzerland
Syria
Taiwan entry follows Zimbabwe
Tanzania
Thailand
Togo
Tokelau
Tonga
Trinidad and Tobago
Tromelin Island
Tunisia
Turkey
Turks and Caicos Islands
Tuvalu
Uganda
United Arab Emirates
United Kingdom
United States
Uruguay
Vanuatu
Vatican City
Venezuela
Vietnam
Virgin Islands
Wake Island
Wallis and Futuna
West Bank
Western Sahara
Western Samoa
World
Yemen
Yugoslavia
Zaire
Zambia
Zimbabwe
Taiwan
Appendix A: The United Nations System
Appendix B: International Organization and Group Abbreviations
Appendix C: International Organizations and Groups
Appendix D: Weights and Measures
Appendix E: Cross-Reference List of Geographic Names
Notes, Definitions, and Abbreviations
There have been some significant changes in this edition. The
Literacy entry now includes rates for males, females, and both
sexes. Appendix C: International Organizations and Groups is new
and includes date established, aim, and list of members. Three maps
of special interest have been added this year--republics of the
Soviet Union, ethnic groups in the Soviet Union, and ethnic groups
in Eastern Europe.
_#_Abbreviations: (see Appendix B for international organizations
and groups)
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
FY fiscal year
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
km kilometer
km2 square 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
UAE United Arab Emirates
UK United Kingdom
US United States
USSR Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (Soviet Union)
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
United States Board on Geographic Names (BGN). Changes that have been
reported but not yet acted upon by BGN are noted.
_#_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 km2, 69 miles2) or
The Mall in Washington, DC (0.59 km2, 0.23 miles2, 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 1991 was used in the preparation of this edition. Population
figures are estimates for 1 July 1991, with population growth rates
estimated for mid-1991 through mid-1992. Major political events have
been updated through 30 June 1991. Military age figures are average
annual estimates for 1991-95.
_#_Death rate: The average annual number of deaths during a year
per l,000 population at midyear. Also known as crude death rate.
_#_Diplomatic representation: The US Government has diplomatic
relations with 162 nations. There are only 144 US embassies, since some
nations have US ambassadors accredited to them, but no physical US
mission exists. The US has diplomatic relations with 151 of the 159 UN
members--the exceptions are Angola, Belorussia (Byelorussia;
constituent republic of the Soviet Union), Cambodia, Cuba, Iran, Vietnam,
Ukraine (constituent republic of the Soviet Union) and, obviously, the US
itself. In addition, the US has diplomatic relations with 12 nations that
are not in the UN--Andorra, Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati,
Marshall Islands, Monaco, Nauru, San Marino, South Korea, Switzerland,
Tonga, Tuvalu, and the Vatican City. North Korea is not in the UN and the
US does not have diplomatic relations with that nation. The US has not
recognized the incorporation of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania into the
Soviet Union and continues to accredit the diplomatic representatives of
their last free governments.
_#_Disputes: This category includes a wide variety of situations
that range from traditional bilateral boundary disputes to unilateral
claims of one sort or another. Every international land boundary
dispute in the "Guide to International Boundaries," a map published
by the Department of State, is included. References to other situations
may also be included that are border- or frontier-relevant, such as
maritime disputes, geopolitical questions, or irredentist issues.
However, inclusion does not necessarily constitute official acceptance
or recognition by the US Government.
_#_Economic aid: This entry refers to bilateral commitments of:
Official Development Assistance (ODA), which is defined as government
grants that (a) are administered with the promotion of economic
development and welfare of LDCs as their main objective and (b) are
concessional in character and contain a grant element of at least 25%;
and
Other Official Flows (OOF) or transactions by the official sector
whose main objective is other than development-motivated or whose
grant element is below the 25% threshold for ODA. OOF transactions
include official export credits (such as Eximbank 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. The
long-form name is included in the Government section and an entry
of "none" indicates a long-form name does not exist. In some
instances, no short-form name exists--then the long-form name must
serve for all usages.
There are 247 entities in the Factbook that may be categorized as
follows:
NATIONS
157 UN members (there are 159 members in the UN, but only 157 are
included in The World Factbook because Belorussia
(Byelorussia) and Ukraine are constituent republics of the Soviet
Union)
13 nations that are not members of the UN--Andorra, Federated States of
Micronesia, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Monaco, Nauru, North Korea,
San Marino, South Korea, Switzerland, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vatican City
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, Isle of Man, Jersey, Montserrat,
Pitcairn Islands, Saint Helena, South Georgia and the South
Sandwich Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands
15 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, Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (Palau),
Virgin Islands, Wake Island
MISCELLANEOUS
7 Antarctica, Gaza Strip, Iraq-Saudi Arabia Neutral Zone,
Paracel Islands, Spratly Islands, West Bank, Western Sahara
OTHER ENTITIES
4 oceans--Arctic Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, Pacific Ocean
1 World
===
247 total
Notes: The US Government has not recognized the incorporation of
Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania into the Soviet Union as constituent
republics during World War II. Those Baltic states are not members of the
UN and are not included in the list of nations. The US Government does
not recognize the four so-called "independent" homelands of
Bophuthatswana, Ciskei, Transkei, and Venda in South Africa.
_#_Gross domestic product (GDP): The value of all goods and
services produced domestically.
_#_Gross national product (GNP): The value of all goods and
services produced domestically, plus income earned abroad, minus
income earned by foreigners from domestic production.
_#_GNP/GDP methodology: In the Economy section, GNP/GDP dollar
estimates for the OECD countries, the USSR, and the East European
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 PPP GNP/GDP estimate
in dollars by the corresponding estimate in the local currency gives
the PPP conversion rate. 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. GNP/GDP estimates for the LDCs, on the other hand, are based on
the conversion of GNP/GDP estimates in local currencies to dollars at
the official currency exchange rates. One caution: the proportion of,
say, defense expenditures as a percent of GNP/GDP in local currency
accounts may differ substantially from the proportion when GNP/GDP
accounts are expressed in PPP terms, as, for example, when an observer
estimates the dollar level of Soviet or Japanese military expenditures;
similar problems exist when components are expressed in dollars under
currency exchange rate procedures. Finally, as academic research
moves forward on the PPP method, we hope to convert all GNP/GDP
estimates to this method in future editions of the Factbook.
_#_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, 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 (Erythroxylon coca) is a bush and the leaves contain the stimulant
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.
Marijuana is the dried leaves of the cannabis or hemp plant
(Cannabis sativa).
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 w/codeine, Empirin w/codeine, Robitussan A-C), 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.
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 of age in a given year per l,000 live births occurring in the same
year.
_#_Land use: Human use of 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--land under
dense or open stands of trees; and other--any land type not
specifically mentioned above (urban areas, roads, desert). The
percentage figure for irrigated refers to the portion of the entire
amount of land area that is artificially supplied with water.
_#_Leaders: The chief of state is the titular leader of the country
who represents the state at official and ceremonial funcions 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.
_#_Maps: All maps will be available only in the printed version for
the foreseeable future.
_#_Maritime claims: The proximity of neighboring states may prevent
some national claims from being fully extended.
_#_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 register 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. Differences in flag state maritime legislation determine
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 are expressed in contemporaneous US dollars
unless otherwise indicated.
_#_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 registration
systems, or sample surveys pertaining to the recent past, and on
assumptions about future trends.
_#_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).
_#_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 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 USSR,
and selected other countries. The Handbook can be obtained wherever
The World Factbook is available.
THE WORLD FACTBOOK
_@_Afghanistan
_*_Geography
_#_Total area: 647,500 km2; land area: 647,500 km2
_#_Comparative area: slightly smaller than Texas
_#_Land boundaries: 5,826 km total; China 76 km, Iran 936 km,
Pakistan 2,430 km, USSR 2,384 km
_#_Coastline: none--landlocked
_#_Maritime claims: none--landlocked
_#_Disputes: Pashtun question with Pakistan; Baloch question with Iran
and Pakistan; periodic disputes with Iran over Helmand water rights;
insurgency with Iranian and Pakistani involvement; traditional tribal
rivalries
_#_Climate: arid to semiarid; cold winters and hot summers
_#_Terrain: mostly rugged mountains; plains in north and southwest
_#_Natural resources: natural gas, crude oil, coal, copper, talc,
barites, sulphur, lead, zinc, iron ore, salt, precious and
semiprecious stones
_#_Land use: arable land 12%; permanent crops NEGL%; meadows and
pastures 46%; forest and woodland 3%; other 39%; includes irrigated
NEGL%
_#_Environment: damaging earthquakes occur in Hindu Kush mountains;
soil degradation, desertification, overgrazing, deforestation, pollution
_#_Note: landlocked
_*_People
_#_Population: US Bureau of the Census--16,450,304 (July 1991),
growth rate 5.2% (1991) and excludes 3,750,796 refugees in Pakistan
and 1,607,281 refugees in Iran; note--another report indicates a
July 1990 population of 16,904,904, including 3,271,580 refugees in
Pakistan and 1,277,700 refugees in Iran
_#_Birth rate: 44 births/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Death rate: 20 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Net migration rate: 28 migrants/1,000 population (1991);
note--there are flows across the border in both directions, but data are
fragmentary and unreliable
_#_Infant mortality rate: 164 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
_#_Life expectancy at birth: 44 years male, 43 years female (1991)
_#_Total fertility rate: 6.3 children born/woman (1991)
_#_Nationality: noun--Afghan(s); adjective--Afghan
_#_Ethnic divisions: Pashtun 50%, Tajik 25%, Uzbek 9%, Hazara
12-15%; minor ethnic groups include Chahar Aimaks, Turkmen, Baloch, and
other
_#_Religion: Sunni Muslim 84%, Shia Muslim 15%, other 1%
_#_Language: Pashtu 50%, Afghan Persian (Dari) 35%, Turkic
languages (primarily Uzbek and Turkmen) 11%, 30 minor languages
(primarily Balochi and Pashai) 4%; much bilingualism
_#_Literacy: 29% (male 44%, female 14%) age 15 and over can
read and write (1990 est.)
_#_Labor force: 4,980,000; agriculture and animal husbandry 67.8%,
industry 10.2%, construction 6.3%, commerce 5.0%, services and other
10.7%, (1980 est.)
_#_Organized labor: some small government-controlled unions
_*_Government
_#_Long-form name: Republic of Afghanistan
_#_Type: authoritarian
_#_Capital: Kabul
_#_Administrative divisions: 30 provinces (velayat,
singular--velayat); Badakhshan, Badghis, Baghlan, Balkh,
Bamian, Farah, Faryab, Ghazni, Ghowr, Helmand,
Herat, Jowzjan, Kabol, Kandahar, Kapisa, Konar,
Kondoz, Laghman, Lowgar, Nangarhar, Nimruz, Oruzgan,
Paktia, Paktika, Parvan, Samangan, Sar-e Pol,
Takhar, Vardak, Zabol; note--there may be a new province of
Nurestan (Nuristan)
_#_Independence: 19 August 1919 (from UK)
_#_Constitution: adopted 30 November 1987, revised May 1990
_#_Legal system: has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
_#_National holiday: Anniversary of the Saur Revolution, 27 April
(1978)
_#_Executive branch: president, four vice presidents, prime minister,
deputy prime minister, Council of Ministers (cabinet)
_#_Legislative branch: bicameral National Assembly (Meli Shura)
consists of an upper house or Council of Elders (Sena) and a lower house
or Council of Representatives (Wolosi Jirga)
_#_Judicial branch: Supreme Court
_#_Leaders:
Chief of State and Head of Government--President (Mohammad)
NAJIBULLAH (Ahmadzai) (since 30 November 1987); First Vice President
Abdul Wahed SORABI (since 7 January 1991); Prime Minister Fazil Haq
KHALIQYAR (since 21 May 1990)
_#_Political parties and leaders: main party--Hizbi Watan Homeland
Party (formerly known as the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan
or PDPA); there are other, much smaller political parties recognized by
the government
_#_Suffrage: universal, male ages 15-50
_#_Elections:
Senate--last held NA April 1988 (next to be held April 1991);
results--Hizbi Watan was the only party;
seats--(192 total, 128 elected) Hizbi Watan 128;
House of Representatives--last held NA April 1988 (next to be held
April 1993);
results--Hizbi Watan was the only party;
seats--(234 total) Hizbi Watan 184, opposition 50;
note--members may or may not be affiliated with a political party
_#_Communists: Hizbi Watan Homeland Party (formerly the People's
Democratic Party of Afghanistan or PDPA) claims 200,000 members and no
longer considers itself a Communist party
_#_Other political or pressure groups: the military and other branches
of internal security have been rebuilt by the USSR; insurgency continues
throughout the country; widespread antiregime sentiment and opposition on
religious and political grounds
_#_Member of: AsDB, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD,
ICAO, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, INTELSAT, IOC, ITU,
LORCS, NAM, OIC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WTO;
note--Afghanistan was suspended from the OIC in January 1980, but in
March 1989 the self-proclaimed Mujaheddin Government of Afghanistan
was given membership
_#_Diplomatic representation: Minister-Counselor, Charge d'Affaires
Abdul Ghafur JOUSHAN; Chancery at 2341 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington
DC 20008;
telephone (202) 234-3770 or 3771;
US--Charge d'Affaires (vacant); Embassy at Ansari Wat, Wazir
Akbar Khan Mina, Kabul; telephone 62230 through 62235 or 62436;
note--US Embassy in Kabul was closed in January 1989
_#_Flag: three equal horizontal bands of black (top), red, and green
with the national coat of arms superimposed on the hoist side of the
black and red bands; similar to the flag of Malawi which is shorter and
bears a radiant, rising red sun centered in the black band
_*_Economy
_#_Overview: Fundamentally, Afghanistan is an extremely poor,
landlocked country, highly dependent on farming (wheat especially) and
livestock raising (sheep and goats). Economic considerations, however,
have played second fiddle to political and military upheavals, including
the nine-year Soviet military occupation (ended 15 February 1989) and the
continuing bloody civil war. Over the past decade, one-third of the
population has fled the country, with Pakistan sheltering about 3.3
million refugees and Iran about 1.3 million. Another 1 million have
probably moved into and around urban areas within Afghanistan. Large
numbers of bridges, buildings, and factories have been destroyed or
damaged by military action or sabotage. Government claims
to the contrary, gross domestic product almost certainly is
lower than 10 years ago because of the loss of labor and capital
and the disruption of trade and transport.
_#_GDP: $3 billion, per capita $200; real growth rate 0% (1989 est.)
_#_Inflation rate (consumer prices): over 92% (1990 est.)
_#_Unemployment rate: NA%
_#_Budget: revenues $1.2 billion; expenditures $4.3 billion,
including capital expenditures of $306 million (FY91 est.)
_#_Exports: $236 million (f.o.b., FY90);
commodities--natural gas 55%, fruits and nuts 24%, handwoven
carpets, wool, cotton, hides, and pelts;
partners--mostly USSR and Eastern Europe
_#_Imports: $874 million (c.i.f., FY90 est.);
commodities--food and petroleum products;
partners--mostly USSR and Eastern Europe
_#_External debt: $2.3 billion (March 1991 est.)
_#_Industrial production: growth rate 8.1% (FY91 plan); accounts
for about 25% of GDP
_#_Electricity: 480,000 kW capacity; 1,470 million kWh produced,
100 kWh per capita (1989)
_#_Industries: small-scale production of textiles, soap, furniture,
shoes, fertilizer, and cement; handwoven carpets; natural gas, oil, coal,
copper
_#_Agriculture: largely subsistence farming and nomadic animal
husbandry; cash products--wheat, fruits, nuts, karakul pelts, wool,
mutton
_#_Illicit drugs: an illicit producer of opium poppy and cannabis
for the international drug trade; world's second-largest opium producer
(after Burma) and a major source of hashish
_#_Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $322
million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments
(1970-88), $465 million; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $57 million;
Communist countries (1970-89), $4.1 billion
_#_Currency: afghani (plural--afghanis); 1 afghani (Af) = 100 puls
_#_Exchange rates: afghanis (Af) per US$1--586 (March 1991)
_#_Fiscal year: 21 March-20 March
_*_Communications
_#_Railroads: 9.6 km (single track) 1.524-meter gauge from Kushka
(USSR) to Towraghondi and 15.0 km from Termez (USSR) to
Kheyrabad transshipment point on south bank of Amu Darya
_#_Highways: 21,000 km total (1984); 2,800 km hard surface, 1,650 km
bituminous-treated gravel and improved earth, 16,550 km unimproved earth
and tracks
_#_Inland waterways: total navigability 1,200 km; chiefly Amu Darya,
which handles steamers up to about 500 metric tons
_#_Pipelines: petroleum, oil, and lubricants pipelines--USSR
to Bagram and USSR to Shindand; natural gas, 180 km
_#_Ports: Shir Khan and Kheyrabad (river ports)
_#_Civil air: 2 TU-154, 2 Boeing 727, 4 Yak-40, assorted smaller
transports
_#_Airports: 40 total, 36 usable; 9 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; 10 with runways 2,440-3,659 m;
17 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
_#_Telecommunications: limited telephone, telegraph, and
radiobroadcast services; television introduced in 1980; 31,200
telephones; stations--5 AM, no FM, 1 TV; 1 satellite earth station
_*_Defense Forces
_#_Branches: Army, Air and Air Defense Forces, Special
Guard/National Guard, Border Guard Forces, National Police Force
(Sarandoi), Ministry of State Security (WAD), Tribal Militia
_#_Manpower availability: males 15-49, 4,049,092; 2,171,757 fit for
military service; 166,135 reach military age (22) annually
_#_Defense expenditures: $450 million, 15% of GDP (1990)
_%_
_@_Albania
_*_Geography
_#_Total area: 28,750 km2; land area: 27,400 km2
_#_Comparative area: slightly larger than Maryland
_#_Land boundaries: 768 km total; Greece 282 km, Yugoslavia 486 km
_#_Coastline: 362 km
_#_Maritime claims:
Continental shelf: not specified;
Territorial sea: 12 nm
_#_Disputes: Kosovo question with Yugoslavia; Northern Epirus question
with 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
_#_Natural resources: crude oil, natural gas, coal, chromium,
copper, timber, nickel
_#_Land use: arable land 21%; permanent crops 4%; meadows and
pastures 15%; forest and woodland 38%; other 22%; includes irrigated
1%
_#_Environment: subject to destructive earthquakes; tsunami occur
along southwestern coast; deforestation seems to be slowing
_#_Note: strategic location along Strait of Otranto (links
Adriatic Sea to Ionian Sea and Mediterranean Sea)
_*_People
_#_Population: 3,335,044 (July 1991), growth rate 1.8% (1991)
_#_Birth rate: 24 births/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Death rate: 5 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Infant mortality rate: 50 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
_#_Life expectancy at birth: 72 years male, 79 years female (1991)
_#_Total fertility rate: 2.9 children born/woman (1991)
_#_Nationality: noun--Albanian(s); adjective--Albanian
_#_Ethnic divisions: Albanian 90%, Greeks 8%, other 2% (Vlachs,
Gypsies, Serbs, and Bulgarians) (1989 est.)
_#_Religion: all mosques and churches were closed in 1967 and
religious observances prohibited; in November 1990 Albania began
allowing private religious practice and was considering the repeal
of the constitutional amendment banning religious activities;
estimates of religious affiliation--Muslim 70%, Greek Orthodox 20%,
Roman Catholic 10%
_#_Language: Albanian (Tosk is official dialect), Greek
_#_Literacy: 72% (male 80%, female 63%) age 9 and over can
read and write (1955)
_#_Labor force: 1,500,000 (1987); agriculture about 60%, industry
and commerce 40% (1986)
_#_Organized labor: Central Council of Albanian Trade Unions, 610,000
members
_*_Government
_#_Long-form name: Republic of Albania
_#_Type: nascent democracy with strong Communist party influence;
basic law has dropped all references to socialism
_#_Capital: Tirane
_#_Administrative divisions: 26 districts (rrethe, singular--rreth);
Berat, Dibre, Durres, Elbasan, Fier, Gjirokaster, Gramsh,
Kolonje, Korce, Kruje, Kukes, Lezhe, Librazhd, Lushnje,
Mat, Mirdite, Permet, Pogradec, Puke, Sarande, Shkoder,
Skrapar, Tepelene, Tirane, Tropoje, Vlore
_#_Independence: 28 November 1912 (from Ottoman Empire);
People's Socialist Republic of Albania declared 11 January 1946
_#_Constitution: an interim basic law was approved by the People's
Assembly on 29 April 1991; a new constitution is to be drafted for
adoption in four to six months
_#_Legal system: has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
_#_National holiday: Liberation Day, 29 November (1944)
_#_Executive branch: president, prime minister of the Council of
Ministers, one deputy prime minister of the Council of Ministers
_#_Legislative branch: unicameral People's Assembly (Kuvendi
Popullor)
_#_Judicial branch: Supreme Court
_#_Leaders:
Chief of State--President of the Republic Ramiz ALIA (since 22
November 1982);
Head of Government--Prime Minister of the interim Council of
Ministers Ylli BUFI (since 5 June 1991);
_#_Political parties and leaders: Albanian Workers Party (AWP),
Ramiz ALIA, first secretary;
Democratic Party (DP), Sali BERISHA, chairman and cofounder with
Gramoz PASHKO;
Albanian Republican Party, Sabri GODO;
Ecology Party, Namik HOTI;
Omonia (Greek minority party), leader NA;
Agrarian Party, leader NA;
note--in December 1990 President ALIA allowed new political parties
to be formed in addition to the AWP for the first time since 1944
_#_Suffrage: universal and compulsory at age 18
_#_Elections:
President--last held 30 April 1991 (next to be held spring 1992);
results--President Ramiz ALIA was reelected with token opposition;
People's Assembly--last held 31 March 1991 (next to be held
spring 1992);
results--AWP 68%, DP 25%;
seats--(250 total) preliminary results AWP 168, DP 75, Omonia 5,
Veterans Association 1, other 1;
note--the AWP's votes came mostly from the countryside while the DP
won majorities in the six-largest cities;
_#_Communists: 147,000 party members (November 1986); note--in
March 1991 the Albanian Workers' Party announced that it considered
itself no longer Communist but socialist
_#_Member of: ECE, FAO, IAEA, IOC, ISO, ITU, LORCS, UN, UNCTAD,
UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO
_#_Diplomatic representation: the Governments of the United States and
Albania agreed to reestablish diplomatic relations to be effective
from 15 March 1991 and to exchange diplomatic missions at the level
of ambassador
_#_Flag: red with a black two-headed eagle in the center below a red
five-pointed star outlined in yellow
_*_Economy
_#_Overview: As the poorest country in Europe, Albania's development
lags behind even the least favored areas of the Yugoslav economy.
For over 40 years, the Stalinist-type economy has operated on the
principles of central planning and state ownership of the means of
production. In recent years Albania has implemented limited economic
reforms to stimulate its lagging economy, provide incentives, and
decentralize decisionmaking. In an effort to expand international
ties, Tirane has reestablished diplomatic relations with the Soviet
Union and the US. The Albanians have also passed legislation allowing
foreign investment. Albania possesses considerable mineral
resources and, until 1990, was largely self-sufficient in food;
several years of drought have hindered agricultural development.
Numerical estimates of Albanian economic activity are subject to an
especially wide margin of error because the government until recently
did not release economic information.
_#_GNP: $4.1 billion, per capita $1,250; real growth rate NA% (1990
est.)
_#_Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA%
_#_Unemployment rate: NA%
_#_Budget: revenues $2.3 billion; expenditures $2.3 billion,
including capital expenditures of NA (1989)
_#_Exports: $378 million (f.o.b., 1987 est.);
commodities--asphalt, bitumen, petroleum products, metals and
metallic ores, electricity, oil, vegetables, fruits, tobacco;
partners--Italy, Yugoslavia, FRG, Greece, Czechoslovakia, Poland,
Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary
_#_Imports: $255 million (f.o.b., 1987 est.);
commodities--machinery, machine tools, iron and steel products,
textiles, chemicals, pharmaceuticals;
partners--Italy, Yugoslavia, FRG, Czechoslovakia, Romania,
Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, GDR
_#_External debt: $NA
_#_Industrial production: growth rate NA
_#_Electricity: 1,690,000 kW capacity; 5,000 million kWh produced,
1,530 kWh per capita (1990)
_#_Industries: food processing, textiles and clothing, lumber,
oil, cement, chemicals, basic metals, hydropower
_#_Agriculture: arable land per capita among lowest in Europe;
one-half of work force engaged in farming; produces wide range of
temperate-zone crops and livestock; claims self-sufficiency in grain
output
_#_Economic aid: Western (non-US) countries, ODA (1988) $5.8 million
_#_Currency: lek (plural--leke); 1 lek (L) = 100 qintars
_#_Exchange rates: leke (L) per US$1--8.00 (noncommercial fixed rate
since 1986), 4.14 (commercial fixed rate since 1987)
_#_Fiscal year: calendar year
_*_Communications
_#_Railroads: 543 km total; 509 1.435-meter standard gauge, single
track and 34 km narrow gauge, single track (1990); line connecting
Titograd (Yugoslavia) and Shkoder (Albania) completed August 1986
_#_Highways: 16,700 km total; 6,700 km highway and roads, 10,000 km
forest and agricultural (1990)
_#_Inland waterways: 43 km plus Albanian sections of Lake Scutari,
Lake Ohrid, and Lake Prespa (1990)
_#_Pipelines: crude oil, 145 km; refined products, 55 km; natural gas,
64 km (1988)
_#_Ports: Durres, Sarande, Vlore
_#_Merchant marine: 11 cargo ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 52,886
GRT/75,993 DWT
_#_Airports: 12 total, 10 usable; more than 5 with permanent-surface
runways; more than 5 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 5 with runways
1,220-2,439 m
_#_Telecommunications: stations--17 AM, 1 FM, 9 TV; 246,000 TVs
(1990); 210,000 radios
_*_Defense Forces
_#_Branches: Albanian People's Army, Albanian Coastal Defense Command,
Air and Air Defense Force, Frontier Troops, Interior Troops
_#_Manpower availability: males 15-49, 900,723; 743,594 fit for
military service; 33,497 reach military age (19) annually
_#_Defense expenditures: 1.0 billion leks, NA% of GDP (FY90);
note--conversion of defense expenditures into US dollars using the
official administratively set exchange rate would produce misleading
results
_%_
_@_Algeria
_*_Geography
_#_Total area: 2,381,740 km2; land area: 2,381,740 km2
_#_Comparative area: slightly less than 3.5 times the size of Texas
_#_Land boundaries: 6,343 km total; Libya 982 km, Mali 1,376 km,
Mauritania 463 km, Morocco 1,559 km, Niger 956 km, Tunisia 965 km,
Western Sahara 42 km
_#_Coastline: 998 km
_#_Maritime claims:
Territorial sea: 12 nm
_#_Disputes: Libya claims about 19,400 km2 in southeastern Algeria
_#_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
_#_Natural resources: crude oil, natural gas, iron ore, phosphates,
uranium, lead, zinc
_#_Land use: arable land 3%; permanent crops NEGL%; meadows and
pastures 13%; forest and woodland 2%; other 82%; includes irrigated
NEGL%
_#_Environment: mountainous areas subject to severe earthquakes;
desertification
_#_Note: second-largest country in Africa (after Sudan)
_*_People
_#_Population: 26,022,188 (July 1991), growth rate 2.5% (1991)
_#_Birth rate: 32 births/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Death rate: 7 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Infant mortality rate: 57 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
_#_Life expectancy at birth: 66 years male, 68 years female (1991)
_#_Total fertility rate: 4.2 children born/woman (1991)
_#_Nationality: noun--Algerian(s); adjective--Algerian
_#_Ethnic divisions: Arab-Berber 99%, European less than
1%
_#_Religion: Sunni Muslim (state religion) 99%, Christian and
Jewish 1%
_#_Language: Arabic (official), French, Berber dialects
_#_Literacy: 50% (male 63%, female 36%) age 15 and over can
read and write (1987)
_#_Labor force: 3,700,000; industry and commerce 40%, agriculture
24%, government 17%, services 10% (1984)
_#_Organized labor: 16-19% of labor force claimed; General Union of
Algerian Workers (UGTA) is the only labor organization and is
subordinate to the National Liberation Front
_*_Government
_#_Long-form name: Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria
_#_Type: republic
_#_Capital: Algiers
_#_Administrative divisions: 48 provinces (wilayat, 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)
_#_Constitution: 19 November 1976, effective 22 November 1976
_#_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
_#_National holiday: Anniversary of the Revolution, 1 November (1954)
_#_Executive branch: president, prime minister, Council of Ministers
(cabinet)
_#_Legislative branch: unicameral National People's Assembly
(Al-Majlis Ech-Chaabi Al-Watani)
_#_Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Cour Supreme)
_#_Leaders:
Chief of State--President Chadli BENDJEDID (since 7 February 1979);
Head of Government--Prime Minister Sid Ahmed GHOZALI (since
6 June 1991)
_#_Political parties and leaders:
National Liberation Front (FLN), Chadli BENDJEDID, president;
Islamic Salvation Front (FIS), Abassi MADANI;
the government established a multiparty system in September 1989 and as
of 31 December 1990 over 30 legal parties existed
_#_Suffrage: universal at age 18
_#_Elections:
President--last held on 22 December 1988 (next to be held December
1993); results--President BENDJEDID was reelected without opposition;
National People's Assembly--last held on 26 February 1987 (next
were to be held 27 June 1991 but postponed indefinitely because
of civil unrest);
results--FLN was the only party;
seats--(281 total) FLN 281; note--the government held multiparty
elections (municipal and wilaya) in June 1990, the first in Algerian
history; results--FIS 55%, FLN 27.5%, other 17.5%, with 65% of the voters
participating
_#_Communists: 400 (est.); Communist party banned 1962
_#_Member of: ABEDA, AfDB, AFESD, AL, AMF, AMU, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-19,
G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IDB, IFAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT,
INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ISO, ITU, LORCS, NAM, OAPEC, OAS
(observer), OAU, OIC, OPEC, UN, UNAVEM, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO,
UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
_#_Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Abderrahmane BENSID;
Chancery at 2118 Kalorama Road NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone
(202) 328-5300;
US--Ambassador Christopher W. S. ROSS; Embassy at 4 Chemin Cheich
Bachir El-Ibrahimi, Algiers (mailing address is B. P. Box 549,
Alger-Gare, 16000 Algiers); telephone [213] (2) 601-425 or 255, 186;
there is a US Consulate in Oran
_#_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)
_*_Economy
_#_Overview: The exploitation of oil and natural gas products forms
the backbone of the economy. Algeria depends on hydrocarbons for nearly
all of its export receipts, about 30% of government revenues, and nearly
25% of GDP. In 1973-74 the sharp increase in oil prices led to a booming
economy and helped to finance an ambitious program of industrialization.
Plunging oil and gas prices, combined with the mismanagement of Algeria's
highly centralized economy, have brought the nation to its most serious
social and economic crisis since independence. The government has
promised far-reaching reforms, including giving public-sector companies
more autonomy, encouraging private-sector activity, boosting gas and
nonhydrocarbon exports, and proposing a major overhaul of the banking
and financial systems, but to date has made little progress.
_#_GDP: $54 billion, per capita $2,130; real growth rate 2.5%
(1990 est.)
_#_Inflation rate (consumer prices): 16.6% (1990)
_#_Unemployment rate: 26% (1990 est.)
_#_Budget: revenues $16.7 billion; expenditures $17.3 billion,
including capital expenditures of $6.6 billion (1990 est.)
_#_Exports: $10.2 billion (f.o.b., 1990 est.);
commodities--petroleum and natural gas 98%;
partners--Netherlands, Czechoslovakia, Romania, Italy, France, US
_#_Imports: $9.2 billion (f.o.b., 1990 est.);
commodities--capital goods 29%, consumer goods 30%;
partners--France 25%, Italy 8%, FRG 8%, US 6-7%
_#_External debt: $26.6 billion (December 1990)
_#_Industrial production: growth rate -3% (1989 est.); accounts for
30% of GDP, including petroleum
_#_Electricity: 5,156,000 kW capacity; 14,900 million kWh
produced, 580 kWh per capita (1990)
_#_Industries: petroleum, light industries, natural gas, mining,
electrical, petrochemical, food processing
_#_Agriculture: accounts for 11% of GDP and employs 24% of labor
force; net importer of food--grain, vegetable oil, and sugar; farm
production includes wheat, barley, oats, grapes, olives, citrus, fruits,
sheep,and cattle
_#_Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-85), $1.4
billion; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments
(1970-88), $8.5 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $1.8 billion;
Communist countries (1970-89), $2.7 billion
_#_Currency: Algerian dinar (plural--dinars); 1 Algerian dinar
(DA) = 100 centimes
_#_Exchange rates: Algerian dinars (DA) per US$1--13.581 (January
1991), 8.958 (1990), 7.6086 (1989), 5.9148 (1988), 4.8497 (1987), 4.7023
(1986), 5.0278 (1985)
_#_Fiscal year: calendar year
_*_Communications
_#_Railroads: 4,146 km total; 2,632 km standard gauge (1.435 m),
1,258 km 1.055-meter gauge, 256 km 1.000-meter gauge; 300 km electrified;
215 km double track
_#_Highways: 80,000 km total; 60,000 km concrete or bituminous,
20,000 km gravel, crushed stone, unimproved earth
_#_Pipelines: crude oil, 6,612 km; refined products, 298 km; natural
gas, 2,948 km
_#_Ports: Algiers, Annaba, Arzew, Bejaia, Jijel, Mers el Kebir,
Mostaganem, Oran, Skikda
_#_Merchant marine: 75 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 903,179
GRT/1,063,994 DWT; includes 5 short-sea passenger, 27 cargo, 2 vehicle
carrier, 10 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 5 petroleum, oils, and lubricants
(POL) tanker, 9 liquefied gas, 7 chemical tanker, 9 bulk, 1 specialized
tanker
_#_Civil air: 42 major transport aircraft
_#_Airports: 145 total, 134 usable; 53 with permanent-surface runways;
3 with runways over 3,659 m; 30 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 66 with
runways 1,220-2,439 m
_#_Telecommunications: excellent domestic and international service in
the north, sparse in the south; 693,000 telephones; stations--26 AM, no
FM, 113 TV; 1,550,000 TV sets; 3,500,000 receiver sets; 6 submarine
cables; coaxial cable or radio relay to Italy, France, Spain, Morocco,
and Tunisia; satellite earth stations--1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT, 1
Indian Ocean INTELSAT, 1 Intersputnik, 1 ARABSAT, and 15 domestic
_*_Defense Forces
_#_Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Territorial Air Defense,
National Gendarmerie
_#_Manpower availability: males 15-49, 6,142,818; 3,780,873 fit for
military service; 293,175 reach military age (19) annually
_#_Defense expenditures: $857 million, 1.8% of GDP (1991)
_%_
_@_American Samoa
(territory of the US)
_*_Geography
_#_Total area: 199 km2; land area: 199 km2
_#_Comparative area: slightly larger than Washington, DC
_#_Land boundaries: none
_#_Coastline: 116 km
_#_Maritime claims:
Contiguous zone: 12 nm;
Continental shelf: 200 m (depth);
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm;
Territorial sea: 12 nm
_#_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
_#_Natural resources: pumice and pumicite
_#_Land use: arable land 10%; permanent crops 5%; meadows and
pastures 0%; forest and woodland 75%; other 10%
_#_Environment: typhoons common from December to March
_#_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 about
3,700 km south-southwest of Honolulu in the South Pacific Ocean about
halfway between Hawaii and New Zealand
_*_People
_#_Population: 43,052 (July 1991), growth rate 2.9% (1991)
_#_Birth rate: 41 births/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Death rate: 4 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Net migration rate: - 8 immigrants/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Infant mortality rate: 11 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
_#_Life expectancy at birth: 69 years male, 74 years female (1991)
_#_Total fertility rate: 5.4 children born/woman (1991)
_#_Nationality: noun--American Samoan(s); adjective--American Samoan
_#_Ethnic divisions: Samoan (Polynesian) 90%, Caucasian 2%, Tongan
2%, other 6%
_#_Religion: Christian Congregationalist 50%, Roman Catholic 20%,
Protestant denominations and other 30%
_#_Language: Samoan (closely related to Hawaiian and other Polynesian
languages) and English; most people are bilingual
_#_Literacy: 97% (male 97%, female 97%) age 15 and over can
read and write (1980)
_#_Labor force: 11,145; government 48%, tuna canneries 33%, other
19% (1986 est.)
_#_Organized labor: NA
_#_Note: about 65,000 American Samoans live in the States of
California and Washington and 20,000 in Hawaii
_*_Government
_#_Long-form name: Territory of American Samoa
_#_Type: unincorporated and unorganized territory of the US
_#_Capital: Pago Pago
_#_Administrative divisions: none (territory of the US)
_#_Independence: none (territory of the US)
_#_Constitution: ratified 1966, in effect 1967
_#_National holiday: Flag Day, 17 April (1900)
_#_Executive branch: President of the US, governor, lieutenant
governor
_#_Legislative branch: bicameral Legislative Assembly (Fono) consists
of an upper house or Senate and a lower house or House of Representatives
_#_Judicial branch: High Court
_#_Leaders:
Chief of State--President George BUSH (since 20 January 1989);
Vice President Dan QUAYLE (since 20 January 1989);
Head of Government--Governor Peter Tali COLEMAN (since 20
January 1989);
Lieutenant Governor Galea'i POUMELE (since NA 1989)
_#_Suffrage: universal at age 18; indigenous inhabitants are US
nationals, not US citizens
_#_Elections:
Governor--last held 7 November 1988 (next to be held November
1992); results--Peter T. COLEMAN was elected (percent of vote NA);
Senate--last held 7 November 1988 (next to be held November
1992);
results--senators elected by county councils from 12 senate
districts;
seats--(18 total) number of seats by party NA;
House of Representatives--last held NA November 1990 (next to be
held November 1992);
results--representatives popularly elected from 17 house districts;
seats--(21 total, 20 elected and 1 nonvoting delegate from Swain's
Island);
US House of Representatives--last held 19 November 1990 (next
to be held November 1992);
results--Eni R. F. H. FALEOMAVAEGA reelected as a nonvoting delegate
_#_Communists: none
_#_Member of: IOC, SPC
_#_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
_#_Note: administered by the US Department of Interior, Office of
Territorial and International Affairs; indigenous inhabitants are US
nationals, not citizens of the US
_*_Economy
_#_Overview: Economic development is strongly linked to the US, with
which American Samoa does 90% of its foreign trade. Tuna fishing and tuna
processing plants are the backbone of the private-sector economy, with
canned tuna the primary export. The tuna canneries are the second-largest
employer, exceeded only by the government. Other economic activities
include meat canning, handicrafts, dairy farming, and a slowly developing
tourist industry.
_#_GNP: $190 million, per capita $5,210; real growth rate NA% (1985)
_#_Inflation rate (consumer prices): 4.3% (1989)
_#_Unemployment rate: 13.4% (1986)
_#_Budget: revenues $51.2 million; expenditures $59.9 million,
including capital expenditures of $NA million (1990)
_#_Exports: $288 million (f.o.b., 1987);
commodities--canned tuna 93%;
partners--US 99.6%
_#_Imports: $346 million (c.i.f., 1987);
commodities--building materials 18%, food 17%, petroleum
products 14%;
partners--US 72%, Japan 7%, NZ 7%, Australia 5%, other 9%
_#_External debt: $NA
_#_Industrial production: growth rate NA%
_#_Electricity: 42,000 kW capacity; 85 million kWh produced,
2,020 kWh per capita (1990)
_#_Industries: tuna canneries (largely dependent on foreign supplies
of raw tuna)
_#_Agriculture: bananas, coconuts, vegetables, taro, breadfruit, yams,
copra, pineapples, papayas
_#_Economic aid: $21,042,650 million in operational funds and
$5,948,931 million in construction funds for capital improvement projects
from the US Department of Interior (1991)
_#_Currency: US currency is used
_#_Exchange rates: US currency is used
_#_Fiscal year: 1 October-30 September
_*_Communications
_#_Railroads: none
_#_Highways: 350 km total; 150 km paved, 200 km unpaved
_#_Ports: Pago Pago, Ta'u
_#_Airports: 4 total, 4 usable; 2 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; 1 with runways 2,440 to 3,659 m
(international airport at Tafuna, near Pago Pago); small airstrips on
Ta'u and Ofu
_#_Telecommunications: 6,500 telephones; stations--1 AM, 2 FM, 1 TV;
good telex, telegraph, and facsimile services; 1 Pacific Ocean INTELSAT
earth station, 1 COMSAT earth station
_*_Defense Forces
_#_Note: defense is the responsibility of the US
_%_
_@_Andorra
_*_Geography
_#_Total area: 450 km2; land area: 450 km2
_#_Comparative area: slightly more than 2.5 times the size of
Washington, DC
_#_Land boundaries: 125 km total; France 60 km, Spain 65 km
_#_Coastline: none--landlocked
_#_Maritime claims: none--landlocked
_#_Climate: temperate; snowy, cold winters and cool, 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%
_#_Environment: deforestation, overgrazing
_#_Note: landlocked
_*_People
_#_Population: 53,197 (July 1991), growth rate 2.4% (1991)
_#_Birth rate: 11 births/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Death rate: 4 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Net migration rate: 16 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Infant mortality rate: 7 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
_#_Life expectancy at birth: 74 years male, 81 years female (1991)
_#_Total fertility rate: 1.3 children born/woman (1991)
_#_Nationality: noun--Andorran(s); adjective--Andorran
_#_Ethnic divisions: Catalan stock; Spanish 61%, Andorran 30%,
French 6%, other 3%
_#_Religion: virtually all Roman Catholic
_#_Language: Catalan (official); many also speak some French and
Castilian
_#_Literacy: NA% (male NA%, female NA%)
_#_Labor force: NA
_#_Organized labor: none
_*_Government
_#_Long-form name: Principality of Andorra
_#_Type: unique coprincipality under formal sovereignty of president
of France and Spanish bishop of Seo de Urgel, who are represented locally
by officials called verguers
_#_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
_#_Constitution: none; some pareatges and decrees, mostly custom and
usage
_#_Legal system: based on French and Spanish civil codes; no judicial
review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
_#_National holiday: Mare de Deu de Meritxell, 8 September
_#_Executive branch: two co-princes (president of France, bishop of
Seo de Urgel in Spain), two designated representatives (French veguer,
Episcopal veguer), two permanent delegates (French prefect for the
department of Pyrenees-Orientales, Spanish vicar general for the Seo
de Urgel diocese), president of government, Executive Council
_#_Legislative branch: unicameral General Council of the Valleys
(Consell General de las Valls)
_#_Judicial branch: civil cases--Supreme Court of Andorra at Perpignan
(France) or the Ecclesiastical Court of the bishop of Seo de Urgel
(Spain); criminal cases--Tribunal of the Courts (Tribunal des Cortes)
_#_Leaders:
Chiefs of State--French Co-Prince Francois MITTERRAND (since 21
May 1981), represented by Veguer de Franca Jean Pierre COURTOIS;
Spanish Episcopal Co-Prince Mgr. Joan MARTI y Alanis (since 31
January 1971), represented by Veguer Episcopal Francesc BADIA Batalla;
Head of Government--Oscar RIBAS Reig (since NA January 1990)
_#_Political parties and leaders: political parties not yet legally
recognized; traditionally no political parties but partisans for
particular independent candidates for the General Council on the basis of
competence, personality, and orientation toward Spain or France; various
small pressure groups developed in 1972; first formal political party,
Andorran Democratic Association, was formed in 1976 and reorganized in
1979 as Andorran Democratic Party
_#_Suffrage: universal at age 18
_#_Elections:
General Council of the Valleys--last held 11 December 1989
(next to be held December 1993);
results--percent of vote NA;
seats--(28 total) number of seats by party NA
_#_Communists: negligible
_#_Member of: CSCE, INTERPOL, IOC
_#_Diplomatic representation: Andorra has no mission in the US;
US--includes Andorra within the Barcelona (Spain) Consular District
and the US Consul General visits Andorra periodically; Consul General
Ruth A. DAVIS; Consulate General at Via Layetana 33, Barcelona 3, Spain
(mailing address APO NY 09286); telephone [34] (3) 319-9550
_#_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 which do not have a national coat of arms in the center
lar to the
_*_Economy
_#_Overview: The mainstay of Andorra's economy is tourism. An
estimated 12 million tourists visit annually, attracted by Andorra's
duty-free status and by its summer and winter resorts. 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. The
rapid pace of European economic integration is a potential threat to
Andorra's advantages from its duty-free status.
_#_GDP: $727 million, per capita $14,000; real growth rate NA%
(1990 est.)
_#_Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA%
_#_Unemployment rate: none
_#_Budget: revenues $NA; expenditures $NA, including capital
expenditures of $NA
_#_Exports: $0.017 million (f.o.b., 1986);
commodities--electricity;
partners--France, Spain
_#_Imports: $531 million (f.o.b., 1986);
commodities--consumer goods, food;
partners--France, Spain
_#_External debt: $NA
_#_Industrial production: growth rate NA%
_#_Electricity: 35,000 kW capacity; 140 million kWh produced,
2,800 kWh per capita (1989)
_#_Industries: tourism (particularly skiing), sheep, timber, tobacco,
smuggling, banking
_#_Agriculture: sheep raising; small quantities of tobacco, rye,
wheat, barley, oats, and some vegetables
_#_Economic aid: none
_#_Currency: French franc (plural--francs) and Spanish peseta
(plural--pesetas); 1 French franc (F) = 100 centimes and 1 Spanish peseta
(Pta) = 100 centimos
_#_Exchange rates: French francs (F) per US$1--5.1307 (January 1991),
5.4453 (1990), 6.3801 (1989), 5.9569 (1988), 6.0107 (1987), 6.9261
(1986), 8.9852 (1985); Spanish pesetas (Ptas) per US$1--95.20 (January
1991), 101.93 (1990), 118.38 (1989), 116.49 (1988), 123.48 (1987), 140.05
(1986), 170.04 (1985)
_#_Fiscal year: calendar year
_*_Communications
_#_Highways: 96 km
_#_Telecommunications: international digital microwave network;
international landline circuits to France and Spain; stations--1 AM, no
FM, no TV; 17,700 telephones
_*_Defense Forces
_#_Note: defense is the responsibility of France and Spain
_%_
_@_Angola
_*_Geography
_#_Total area: 1,246,700 km2; land area: 1,246,700 km2
_#_Comparative area: slightly less than twice the size of Texas
_#_Land boundaries: 5,198 km total; Congo 201 km, Namibia 1,376 km,
Zaire 2,511 km, Zambia 1,110 km
_#_Coastline: 1,600 km
_#_Maritime claims:
Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm;
Territorial sea: 20 nm
_#_Disputes: civil war since independence on 11 November 1975;
on 31 May 1991 Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos SANTOS
and Jonas SAVIMBI, leader of the National Union for the Total
Independence of Angola (UNITA), signed a peace treaty that calls for
multiparty elections between September and November 1992, an
internationally monitored cease-fire, and termination of outside
military assistance
_#_Climate: semiarid in south and along coast to Luanda; north has
cool, dry season (May to October) and hot, rainy season (November to
April)
_#_Terrain: narrow coastal plain rises abruptly to vast interior
plateau
_#_Natural resources: petroleum, diamonds, iron ore, phosphates,
copper, feldspar, gold, bauxite, uranium
_#_Land use: arable land 2%; permanent crops NEGL%; meadows and
pastures 23%; forest and woodland 43%; other 32%
_#_Environment: locally heavy rainfall causes periodic flooding on
plateau; desertification
_#_Note: Cabinda is separated from rest of country by Zaire
_*_People
_#_Population: 8,668,281 (July 1991), growth rate 2.7% (1991)
_#_Birth rate: 47 births/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Death rate: 20 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Net migration rate: NEGL migrants/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Infant mortality rate: 151 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
_#_Life expectancy at birth: 42 years male, 46 years female (1991)
_#_Total fertility rate: 6.7 children born/woman (1991)
_#_Nationality: noun--Angolan(s); adjective--Angolan
_#_Ethnic divisions: Ovimbundu 37%, Kimbundu 25%, Bakongo 13%,
Mestico 2%, European 1%, other 22%
_#_Religion: indigenous beliefs 47%, Roman Catholic 38%, Protestant
15% (est.)
_#_Language: Portuguese (official); various Bantu dialects
_#_Literacy: 42% (male 56%, female 28%) age 15 and over can
read and write (1990 est.)
_#_Labor force: 2,783,000 economically active; agriculture 85%,
industry 15% (1985 est.)
_#_Organized labor: about 450,695 (1980)
_*_Government
_#_Long-form name: People's Republic of Angola
_#_Type: in transition from a one-party Marxist state to a multiparty
democracy with a strong presidential system
_#_Capital: Luanda
_#_Administrative divisions: 18 provinces (provincias,
singular--provincia); Bengo, Benguela, Bie, Cabinda, Cuando Cubango,
Cuanza Norte, Cuanza Sul, Cunene, Huambo, Huila, Luanda, Lunda Norte,
Lunda Sul, Malanje, Moxico, Namibe, Uige, Zaire
_#_Independence: 11 November 1975 (from Portugal)
_#_Constitution: 11 November 1975; revised 7 January 1978, 11
August 1980, and 6 March 1991
_#_Legal system: based on Portuguese civil law system and customary
law; recently modified to accommodate multipartyism and increased use of
free markets
_#_National holiday: Independence Day, 11 November (1975)
_#_Executive branch: president, chairman of the Council of Ministers,
Council of Ministers (cabinet)
_#_Legislative branch: unicameral People's Assembly (Assembleia do
Povo)
_#_Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Tribunal da Relacao)
_#_Leaders:
Chief of State and Head of Government--President Jose Eduardo dos
SANTOS (since 21 September 1979)
_#_Political parties and leaders: only one party exists--the
Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola-Labor Party
(MPLA), Jose Eduardo dos SANTOS--although others are expected to
form as legalization of a multiparty system proceeds;
National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) lost to
the MPLA and Cuban military support forces in the immediate
postindependence struggle, but is to receive recognition as a legal party
_#_Suffrage: universal at age 18
_#_Elections: first nationwide, multiparty elections to be held
between September and November 1992
_#_Member of: ACP, AfDB, CEEAC (observer), ECA, FAO,
FLS, G-77, ICAO, IFAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ITU,
LORCS, NAM, OAU, SADCC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO,
WIPO, WMO, WTO
_#_Diplomatic representation: none
_#_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)
_*_Economy
_#_Overview: Subsistence agriculture provides the main livelihood for
80 to 90% of the population, but accounts for less than 15% of GDP. Oil
production is the most lucrative sector of the economy, contributing
about 50% to GDP. In recent years, however, the impact of fighting an
internal war has severely affected the nonoil economy, and food has to be
imported. For the long run, Angola has the advantage of rich natural
resources, notably gold, diamonds, and arable land. To realize its
economic potential Angola not only must secure domestic peace but also
must reform government policies that have led to distortions and
imbalances throughout the economy.
_#_GDP: $7.9 billion, per capita $925; real growth rate 2.0% (1990
est.)
_#_Inflation rate (consumer prices): 23.2% (1988)
_#_Unemployment rate: NA%
_#_Budget: revenues $2.6 billion; expenditures $4.4 billion,
including capital expenditures of $963 million (1990 est.)
_#_Exports: $3.8 billion (f.o.b., 1990 est.);
commodities--oil,liquified petroleum gas, diamonds, coffee, sisal,
fish and fish products, timber, cotton;
partners--US, USSR, Cuba, Portugal, Brazil, France
_#_Imports: $1.5 billion (f.o.b., 1990 est.);
commodities--capital equipment (machinery and electrical
equipment), food, vehicles and spare parts, textiles and clothing,
medicines; substantial military deliveries;
partners--US, USSR, Cuba, Portugal, Brazil
_#_External debt: $7.0 billion (1990)
_#_Industrial production: growth rate NA%; accounts for about 60%
of GDP, including petroleum output
_#_Electricity: 506,000 kW capacity; 770 million kWh produced,
90 kWh per capita (1989)
_#_Industries: petroleum, diamonds, mining, fish processing, food
processing, brewing, tobacco, sugar, textiles, cement, basic metal
products
_#_Agriculture: cash crops--coffee, sisal, corn, cotton, sugar,
manioc, tobacco; food crops--cassava, corn, vegetables, plantains,
bananas; livestock production accounts for 20%, fishing 4%, forestry
2% of total agricultural output; disruptions caused by civil war
and marketing deficiencies require food imports
_#_Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $265
million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments
(1970-88), $1,005 million; Communist countries (1970-89), $1.3 billion
_#_Currency: kwanza (plural--kwanza); 1 kwanza (Kz) = 100 lwei
_#_Exchange rates: kwanza (Kz) per US$1--29.62 (fixed rate since 1976)
_#_Fiscal year: calendar year
_*_Communications
_#_Railroads: 3,189 km total; 2,879 km 1.067-meter gauge, 310 km
0.600-meter gauge; limited trackage in use because of insurgent attacks;
sections of the Benguela Railroad closed because of insurgency
_#_Highways: 73,828 km total; 8,577 km bituminous-surface treatment,
29,350 km crushed stone, gravel, or improved earth, remainder unimproved
earth
_#_Inland waterways: 1,295 km navigable
_#_Pipelines: crude oil, 179 km
_#_Ports: Luanda, Lobito, Namibe, Cabinda
_#_Merchant marine: 12 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling
66,348 GRT/102,825 DWT; includes 11 cargo, 1 petroleum, oils, and
lubricants (POL) tanker
_#_Civil air: 27 major transport aircraft
_#_Airports: 315 total, 183 usable; 28 with permanent-surface runways;
1 with runways over 3,659 m; 13 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 58 with
runways 1,220-2,439 m
_#_Telecommunications: fair system of wire, radio relay, and
troposcatter routes; high frequency used extensively for military/Cuban
links; 40,300 telephones; stations--17 AM, 13 FM, 2 TV; 2 Atlantic Ocean
INTELSAT earth stations
_*_Defense Forces
_#_Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force/Air Defense, People's Defense
Organization and Territorial Troops, Frontier Guard
_#_Manpower availability: males 15-49, 2,080,837; 1,047,500 fit for
military service; 92,430 reach military age (18) annually
_#_Defense expenditures: $NA, NA% of GDP
_%_
_@_Anguilla
(dependent territory of the UK)
_*_Geography
_#_Total area: 91 km2; land area: 91 km2
_#_Comparative area: about half the size of Washington, DC
_#_Land boundaries: none
_#_Coastline: 61 km
_#_Maritime claims:
Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm;
Territorial sea: 3 nm
_#_Climate: tropical; moderated by northeast trade winds
_#_Terrain: flat and low-lying island of coral and limestone
_#_Natural resources: negligible; salt, fish, lobster
_#_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
_#_Environment: frequent hurricanes, other tropical storms (July
to October)
_#_Note: located 270 km east of Puerto Rico
_*_People
_#_Population: 6,922 (July 1991), growth rate 0.6% (1991)
_#_Birth rate: 24 births/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Death rate: 9 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Net migration rate: - 10 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Infant mortality rate: 18 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
_#_Life expectancy at birth: 71 years male, 77 years female (1991)
_#_Total fertility rate: 3.1 children born/woman (1991)
_#_Nationality: noun--Anguillan(s); adjective--Anguillan
_#_Ethnic divisions: mainly of black African descent
_#_Religion: Anglican 40%, Methodist 33%, Seventh-Day Adventist 7%,
Baptist 5%, Roman Catholic 3%, other 12%
_#_Language: English (official)
_#_Literacy: 95% (male 95%, female 95%) age 12 and over can
read and write (1984)
_#_Labor force: 2,780 (1984)
_#_Organized labor: NA
_*_Government
_#_Long-form name: none
_#_Type: dependent territory of the UK
_#_Capital: The Valley
_#_Administrative divisions: none (dependent territory of the UK)
_#_Independence: none (dependent territory of the UK)
_#_Constitution: 1 April 1982
_#_Legal system: based on English common law
_#_National holiday: Anguilla Day, 30 May
_#_Executive branch: British monarch, governor, chief minister,
Executive Council (cabinet)
_#_Legislative branch: unicameral House of Assembly
_#_Judicial branch: High Court
_#_Leaders:
Chief of State--Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952),
represented by Governor Brian G. J. CANTY (since NA 1989);
Head of Government--Chief Minister Emile GUMBS (since NA March
1984, served previously from February 1977 to May 1980)
_#_Political parties and leaders:
Anguilla National Alliance (ANA), Emile GUMBS;
Anguilla United Party (AUP), Ronald WEBSTER;
Anguilla Democratic Party (ADP), Victor BANKS
_#_Suffrage: universal at age 18
_#_Elections:
House of Assembly--last held 27 February 1989 (next to
be held February 1994);
results--percent of vote by party NA;
seats--(11 total, 7 elected) ANA 3, AUP 2, ADP 1, independent 1
_#_Communists: none
_#_Member of: CARICOM (observer), CDB
_#_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
_*_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. Development is planned to improve the
infrastructure, particularly transport and tourist facilities, and
also light industry. Improvement in the economy has reduced
unemployment from 40% in 1984 to about 5% in 1988.
_#_GDP: $23 million, per capita $3,300; real growth rate
8.2% (1988 est.)
_#_Inflation rate (consumer prices): 4.5% (1988 est.)
_#_Unemployment rate: 5.0% (1988 est.)
_#_Budget: revenues $10.4 million; expenditures $11.0 million,
including capital expenditures of $1.1 million (1989 est.)
_#_Exports: $NA;
commodities--lobster and salt;
partners--NA
_#_Imports: $NA;
commodities--NA;
partners --NA
_#_External debt: $NA
_#_Industrial production: growth rate NA%
_#_Electricity: 2,000 kW capacity; 6 million kWh produced, 870 kWh
per capita (1990)
_#_Industries: tourism, boat building, salt, fishing (including
lobster)
_#_Agriculture: pigeon peas, corn, sweet potatoes, sheep, goats, pigs,
cattle, poultry
_#_Economic aid: Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral
commitments (1970-89), $38 million
_#_Currency: East Caribbean dollar (plural--dollars); 1 EC dollar
(EC$) = 100 cents
_#_Exchange rates: East Caribbean dollars (EC$) per US$1--2.70 (fixed
rate since 1976)
_#_Fiscal year: NA
_*_Communications
_#_Highways: 60 km surfaced
_#_Ports: Road Bay, Blowing Point
_#_Civil air: no major transport aircraft
_#_Airports: 3 total, 3 usable; 1 with permanent-surface runways of
1,100 m (Wallblake Airport)
_#_Telecommunications: modern internal telephone system; 890
telephones; stations--3 AM, 1 FM, no TV; radio relay link to island of
Saint Martin
_*_Defense Forces
_#_Note: defense is the responsibility of the UK
_%_
_@_Antarctica
_*_Geography
_#_Total area: about 14,000,000 km2; land area: about 14,000,000 km2
_#_Comparative area: slightly less than 1.5 times the size of the US;
second-smallest continent (after Australia)
_#_Land boundaries: see entry on _#_Disputes
_#_Coastline: 17,968 km
_#_Maritime claims: see entry on _#_Disputes
_#_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; Brazil has noted possible Latin claims;
the US and USSR do not recognize the territorial claims of other nations
and have made no claims themselves (but reserve the right to do so); no
formal claims have been made in the sector between 90o west and
150o west
_#_Climate: severe low temperatures vary with latitude, elevation, and
distance from the ocean; East Antarctica colder than West Antarctica
because of its higher elevation; Antarctic Peninsula has most
moderate climate; warmest temperatures occur in January along the coast
and average slightly below freezing
_#_Terrain: about 98% thick continental ice sheet, 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 Ross Island on
McMurdo Sound; glaciers form ice shelves along about half of coastline
and floating ice shelves constitute 11% of the area of the continent
_#_Natural resources: none presently exploited; coal and iron ore;
chromium, copper, gold, nickel, platinum, and hydrocarbons have been
found in small uncommercial quantities
_#_Land use: arable land 0%; permanent crops 0%; pastures 0%;
meadows and forest and woodland 0%; other 100% (ice 98%, barren rock
2%)
_#_Environment: mostly uninhabitable; katabatic (gravity) 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
around the coast, as does a circumpolar ocean current; during
summer more solar radiation reaches the surface at the South Pole than
is received at the Equator in an equivalent period; in April 1991 it was
reported that the ozone shield, which protects the Earth's surface from
harmful ultraviolet radiation, had dwindled to its lowest level ever over
Antarctica; subject to active volcanism (Deception Island and isolated
areas of West Antarctica); other seismic activity rare and weak
_#_Note: the coldest, windiest, highest, and driest continent
_*_People
_#_Population: no indigenous inhabitants; staffing of research
stations varies seasonally;
Summer (January) population--4,120; Argentina 207, Australia 268,
Belgium 13, Brazil 80, Chile 256, China NA, Ecuador NA, Finland 16,
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,
USSR 565 (1989-90);
Winter (July) population--1,066 total; Argentina 150, Australia
71, Brazil 12, Chile 73, China NA, France 33, Germany 19, Greenpeace 5,
India 21, Japan 38, South Korea 14, NZ 11, Poland NA, South Africa 12,
UK 69, Uruguay NA, US 225, USSR 313 (1989-90);
Year-round stations--42 total; Argentina 6, Australia 3, Brazil 1,
Chile 3, China 2, France 1, Germany 2, Greenpeace 1, India 2, Japan 2,
South Korea 1, NZ 1, Poland 1, South Africa 1, UK 5, Uruguay 1, US 3,
USSR 6 (1990-91);
Summer only stations--34 total; Argentina 1, Australia 3, Chile 5,
Finland 1, Germany 4, India 1, Italy 1, Japan 1, NZ 2, Norway 1,
Peru 1, South Africa 1, Spain 1, Sweden 2, UK 1, US 3, USSR 5 (1989-90)
_*_Government
_#_Long-form name: none
_#_Type: The Antarctic Treaty, signed on 1 December 1959 and entered
into force on 23 June 1961, established for at least 30 years a legal
framework for peaceful use, scientific research, and deferral of legal
questions regarding territorial claims. Administration is carried out
through consultative member meetings--the last meeting was held in Madrid
(Spain) in April 1991.
Consultative (voting) members include seven nations that claim
portions of Antarctica as national territory (some claims overlap) and
nonclaimant nations. The US and other nations have made no claims, but
have reserved the right to claim territory. 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 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 the USSR.
Acceding (nonvoting) members, with year of accession in parenthesis,
are--Austria (1987), Bulgaria (1978), Canada (1988), Colombia (1988),
Cuba (1984), Czechoslovakia (1962), Denmark (1965), Greece (1987),
Hungary (1984), North Korea (1987), Papua New Guinea (1981), Romania
(1971), and Switzerland (1990).
Antarctic Treaty Summary:
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 peaceful scientific and logistics purposes;
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 60o 00%19 south, but that the water areas be covered by
international law;
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 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 150 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 by some signatories and is likely to be replaced in
1991 by a comprehensive environmental protection agreement that defers
minerals development for a long period.
_*_Economy
_#_Overview: No economic activity at present except for fishing off
the coast and small-scale tourism, both based abroad. Exploitation of
mineral resources is unlikely because of technical difficulties, high
costs, and objections by environmentalists.
_*_Communications
_#_Airports: 37 total; 27 usable; none with permanent hard-surface
runways; 2 with runways over 3,659 m; 5 with runways 2,440-3,659 m;
4 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
_#_Ports: none; offshore anchorage only
_*_Defense Forces
_#_Note: none; Article 7 of the Antarctic Treaty states that advance
notice of all activities and the introduction of military personnel must
be given
_%_
_@_Antigua and Barbuda
_*_Geography
_#_Total area: 440 km2; land area: 440 km2; includes Redonda
_#_Comparative area: slightly less than 2.5 times the size of
Washington, DC
_#_Land boundaries: none
_#_Coastline: 153 km
_#_Maritime claims:
Contiguous zone: 24 nm;
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm;
Territorial sea: 12 nm
_#_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%
_#_Environment: subject to hurricanes and tropical storms (July to
October); insufficient freshwater resources; deeply indented coastline
provides many natural harbors
_#_Note: 420 km east-southeast of Puerto Rico
_*_People
_#_Population: 63,917 (July 1991), growth rate 0.4% (1991)
_#_Birth rate: 18 births/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Death rate: 6 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Net migration rate: - 9 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Infant mortality rate: 22 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
_#_Life expectancy at birth: 70 years male, 74 years female (1991)
_#_Total fertility rate: 1.7 children born/woman (1991)
_#_Nationality: noun--Antiguan(s); adjective--Antiguan
_#_Ethnic divisions: almost entirely of black African origin; some of
British, Portuguese, Lebanese, and Syrian origin
_#_Religion: Anglican (predominant), other Protestant sects, some
Roman Catholic
_#_Language: English (official), local dialects
_#_Literacy: 89% (male 90%, female 88%) age 15 and over having
completed 5 or more years of schooling (1960)
_#_Labor force: 30,000; commerce and services 82%, agriculture 11%,
industry 7% (1983)
_#_Organized labor: Antigua and Barbuda Public Service Association
(ABPSA), membership 500; Antigua Trades and Labor Union (ATLU), 10,000
members; Antigua Workers Union (AWU), 10,000 members (1986 est.)
_*_Government
_#_Long-form name: none
_#_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)
_#_Constitution: 1 November 1981
_#_Legal system: based on English common law
_#_National holiday: Independence Day, 1 November (1981)
_#_Executive branch: British monarch, governor general, prime
minister, deputy prime minister, Cabinet
_#_Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament consists of an upper house
or Senate and a lower house or House of Representatives
_#_Judicial branch: Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court
_#_Leaders:
Chief of State--Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952),
represented by Governor General Sir Wilfred Ebenezer JACOBS (since 1
November 1981, previously Governor since 1976);
Head of Government--Prime Minister Vere Cornwall BIRD, Sr. (since
NA 1976)
_#_Political parties and leaders:
Antigua Labor Party (ALP), Vere C. BIRD, Sr., Lester BIRD;
United National Democratic Party (UNDP), Dr. Ivor HEATH
_#_Suffrage: universal at age 18
_#_Elections:
House of Representatives--last held 9 March 1989 (next to be
held 1994);
results--percentage of vote by party NA;
seats--(17 total) ALP 15, UNDP 1, independent 1
_#_Communists: negligible
_#_Other political or pressure groups: Antigua Caribbean Liberation
Movement (ACLM), a small leftist nationalist group led by Leonard (Tim)
HECTOR; Antigua Trades and Labor Union (ATLU), headed by Noel THOMAS
_#_Member of: ACP, C, CARICOM, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, GATT, IBRD,
ICAO, ICFTU, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTERPOL, IOC, ITU, NAM
(observer), OAS, OECS, OPANAL, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, WCL, WHO, WMO
_#_Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Edmund Hawkins LAKE;
Chancery at Suite 2H, 3400 International Drive NW, Washington DC 20008;
telephone (202) 362-5211 or 5166, 5122, 5225; there is an Antiguan
Consulate in Miami;
US--the US Ambassador to Barbados is accredited to Antigua and
Barbuda, and in his absence, the Embassy is headed by Charge d'Affaires
Bryant SALTER; Embassy at Queen Elizabeth Highway, Saint John's
(mailing address is FPO Miami 34054); telephone (809) 462-3505 or 3506
_#_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
_*_Economy
_#_Overview: The economy is primarily service oriented, with tourism
the most important determinant of economic performance. During the period
1983-89, real GDP expanded at an annual average rate of about 7%.
Tourism's contribution to GDP, as measured by value added tax in hotels
and restaurants, rose from about 14% in 1983 to 16% in 1989, and
stimulated growth in other sectors--particularly in construction,
communications, and public utilities. Antigua and Barbuda is one of the
few areas in the Caribbean experiencing a labor shortage in some sectors
of the economy.
_#_GDP: $350 million, per capita $5,470 (1989); real growth rate 3.0%
(1991 est.)
_#_Inflation rate (consumer prices): 7% (1990 est.)
_#_Unemployment rate: 5.0% (1988 est.)
_#_Budget: revenues $92.8 million; expenditures $101 million,
including capital expenditures of $NA (1990 est.)
_#_Exports: $33.2 million (f.o.b., 1990 est.);
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: $358.2 million (c.i.f., 1990 est.);
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 3% (1989 est.); accounts
for 9% of GDP
_#_Electricity: 52,000 kW capacity; 95 million kWh produced, 1,490 kWh
per capita (1990)
_#_Industries: tourism, construction, light manufacturing (clothing,
alcohol, household appliances)
_#_Agriculture: accounts for 4% of GDP; expanding output of cotton,
fruits, vegetables, and livestock sector; other crops--bananas, coconuts,
cucumbers, mangoes, sugarcane; not self-sufficient in food
_#_Economic aid: US commitments, $10 million (1985-88); Western
(non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-88), $45
million
_#_Currency: East Caribbean dollar (plural--dollars); 1 EC dollar
(EC$) = 100 cents
_#_Exchange rates: East Caribbean dollars (EC$) per US$1--2.70 (fixed
rate since 1976)
_#_Fiscal year: 1 April-31 March
_*_Communications
_#_Railroads: 64 km 0.760-meter narrow gauge and 13 km 0.610-meter
gauge used almost exclusively for handling sugarcane
_#_Highways: 240 km
_#_Ports: Saint John's
_#_Merchant marine: 86 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 319,477
GRT/497,194 DWT; includes 61 cargo, 5 refrigerated cargo, 6 container,
4 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 1 multifunction large load carrier, 3
petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 6 chemical tanker; note--a
flag of convenience registry
_#_Civil air: 10 major transport aircraft
_#_Airports: 3 total, 3 usable; 2 with permanent-surface runways;
1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 2 with runways less than 1,220 m
_#_Telecommunications: good automatic telephone system; 6,700
telephones; tropospheric scatter links with Saba and Guadeloupe;
stations--4 AM, 2 FM, 2 TV, 2 shortwave; 1 coaxial submarine cable;
1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station
_*_Defense Forces
_#_Branches: Royal Antigua and Barbuda Defense Force, Royal Antigua
and Barbuda Police Force (includes the Coast Guard)
_#_Manpower availability: NA
_#_Defense expenditures: $1.4 million, less than 1% of GDP (FY91)
_%_
_@_Arctic Ocean
_*_Geography
_#_Total area: 14,056,000 km2; includes Baffin Bay, Barents Sea,
Beaufort Sea, Chukchi Sea, East Siberian Sea, Greenland Sea, Hudson Bay,
Hudson Strait, Kara Sea, Laptev Sea, and other tributary water bodies
_#_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)
_#_Coastline: 45,389 km
_#_Climate: 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 which 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 (USSR) 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,
whales)
_#_Environment: endangered marine species include walruses and whales;
ice islands occasionally break away from northern Ellesmere Island;
icebergs calved from western Greenland and extreme northeastern Canada;
maximum snow cover in March or April about 20 to 50 centimeters over the
frozen ocean and lasts about 10 months; permafrost in islands; virtually
icelocked from October to June; fragile ecosystem slow to change and slow
to recover from disruptions or damage
_#_Note: major chokepoint is the southern Chukchi Sea (northern
access to the Pacific Ocean via the Bering Strait); ships subject to
superstructure icing from October to May; strategic location between
North America and the USSR; shortest marine link between the extremes of
eastern and western USSR; floating research stations operated by the US
and USSR
_*_Economy
_#_Overview: Economic activity is limited to the exploitation of
natural resources, including crude oil, natural gas, fishing, and
sealing.
_*_Communications
_#_Ports: Churchill (Canada), Murmansk (USSR), Prudhoe Bay (US)
_#_Telecommunications: no submarine cables
_#_Note: sparse network of air, ocean, river, and land routes; the
Northwest Passage (North America) and Northern Sea Route (Asia) are
important waterways
_%_
_@_Argentina
_*_Geography
_#_Total area: 2,766,890 km2; land area: 2,736,690 km2
_#_Comparative area: slightly more than four times the size of Texas
_#_Land boundaries: 9,665 km total; Bolivia 832 km, Brazil 1,224 km,
Chile 5,150 km, Paraguay 1,880 km, Uruguay 579 km
_#_Coastline: 4,989 km
_#_Maritime claims:
Continental shelf: 200 m (depth) or to depth of exploitation;
Territorial sea: 200 nm (overflight and navigation permitted beyond
12 nm)
_#_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, crude oil, uranium
_#_Land use: arable land 9%; permanent crops 4%; meadows and
pastures 52%; forest and woodland 22%; other 13%; includes irrigated
1%
_#_Environment: Tucuman and Mendoza areas in Andes subject to
earthquakes; pamperos are violent windstorms that can strike Pampas and
northeast; irrigated soil degradation; desertification; air and water
pollution in Buenos Aires
_#_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)
_*_People
_#_Population: 32,663,983 (July 1991), growth rate 1.1% (1991)
_#_Birth rate: 20 births/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Death rate: 9 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Net migration rate: NEGL migrants/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Infant mortality rate: 31 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
_#_Life expectancy at birth: 68 years male, 74 years female (1991)
_#_Total fertility rate: 2.7 children born/woman (1991)
_#_Nationality: noun--Argentine(s); adjective--Argentine
_#_Ethnic divisions: white 85%; mestizo, Indian, or other nonwhite
groups 15%
_#_Religion: nominally Roman Catholic 90% (less than 20% practicing),
Protestant 2%, Jewish 2%, other 6%
_#_Language: Spanish (official), English, Italian, German, French
_#_Literacy: 95% (male 96%, female 95%) age 15 and over can
read and write (1990 est.)
_#_Labor force: 10,900,000; agriculture 12%, industry 31%, services
57% (1985 est.)
_#_Organized labor: 3,000,000; 28% of labor force
_*_Government
_#_Long-form name: Argentine Republic
_#_Type: republic
_#_Capital: Buenos Aires (tentative plans to move to Viedma by
1990 indefinitely postponed)
_#_Administrative divisions: 22 provinces (provincias,
singular--provincia), 1 national territory* (territorio nacional), and 1
district** (distrito); 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 national
territory is in the process of becoming a province; the US does not
recognize claims to Antarctica
_#_Independence: 9 July 1816 (from Spain)
_#_Constitution: 1 May 1853
_#_Legal system: mixture of US and West European legal systems; has
not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
_#_National holiday: Revolution Day, 25 May (1810)
_#_Executive branch: president, vice president, Cabinet
_#_Legislative branch: bicameral National Congress (Congreso Nacional)
consists of an upper chamber or Senate (Senado) and a lower chamber or
Chamber of Deputies (Camara de Diputados)
_#_Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Corte Suprema)
_#_Leaders:
Chief of State and Head of Government--President Carlos Saul
MENEM (since 8 July 1989); Vice President Eduardo DUHALDE (since 8 July
1989)
_#_Political parties and leaders:
Justicialist Party (JP), Carlos Saul MENEM, Peronist umbrella political
organization;
Radical Civic Union (UCR), Raul ALFONSIN, moderately left of center;
Union of the Democratic Center (UCD), Alvaro ALSOGARAY, conservative
party;
Intransigent Party (PI), Dr. Oscar ALENDE, leftist party;
several provincial parties
_#_Suffrage: universal at age 18
_#_Elections:
President--last held 14 May 1989 (next to be held May 1995);
results--Carlos Saul MENEM was elected;
Chamber of Deputies--last held 14 May 1989 (next to be
held October 1991); results--JP 47%, UCR 30%, UCD 7%, other 16%;
seats--(254 total); JP 122, UCR 93, UCD 11, other 28
_#_Communists: some 70,000 members in various party organizations,
including a small nucleus of activists
_#_Other political or pressure groups: Peronist-dominated labor
movement, General Confederation of Labor (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
_#_Member of: AfDB, AG (observer), CCC, ECLAC, FAO, G-6, G-11,
G-19, G-24, G-77, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD,
IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU,
LAES, LAIA, LORCS, NAM, OAS, PCA, RG, UN, UNAVEM, UNCTAD,
UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIIMOG, UNTSO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
_#_Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Ortiz de ROZAS;
Chancery at 1600 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington DC 20009; telephone
(202) 939-6400 through 6403; there are Argentine Consulates General in
Houston, Miami, New Orleans, New York, San Francisco, and San Juan
(Puerto Rico), and Consulates in Baltimore, Chicago, and Los Angeles;
US--Ambassador Terence A. TODMAN; Embassy at 4300 Colombia,
1425 Buenos Aires (mailing address is APO Miami 34034);
telephone [54] (1) 774-7611 or 8811, 9911
_#_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
_*_Economy
_#_Overview: Argentina is rich in natural resources and has a highly
literate population, an export-oriented agricultural sector, and a
diversified industrial base. Nevertheless, following decades of
mismanagement and statist policies, the economy has encountered
major problems in recent years, leading to escalating inflation and
a recession in 1988-90. A widening public-sector deficit and a
multidigit inflation rate have dominated the economy over the past
three years; retail prices rose nearly 5,000% in 1989 and another
1,345% in 1990. Since 1978, Argentina's external debt has nearly doubled
to $60 billion, creating severe debt-servicing difficulties and hurting
the country's creditworthiness with international lenders.
_#_GNP: $82.7 billion, per capita $2,560; real growth rate - 3.5%
(1990 est.)
_#_Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1,350% (1990)
_#_Unemployment rate: 8.6% (May 1990)
_#_Budget: revenues $12.2 billion; expenditures $17.3 billion,
including capital expenditures of $2.8 billion (1989)
_#_Exports: $12.4 billion (f.o.b., 1990);
commodities--meat, wheat, corn, oilseed, hides, wool;
partners--US 12%, USSR, Italy, Brazil, Japan, Netherlands
_#_Imports: $4.1 billion (c.i.f., 1990);
commodities--machinery and equipment, chemicals, metals, fuels and
lubricants, agricultural products;
partners--US 22%, Brazil, FRG, Bolivia, Japan, Italy, Netherlands
_#_External debt: $60 billion (December 1990)
_#_Industrial production: growth rate 5% (1991 est.); accounts for
30% of GDP
_#_Electricity: 16,749,000 kW capacity; 45,580 million kWh produced,
1,410 kWh per capita (1990)
_#_Industries: food processing, motor vehicles, consumer durables,
textiles, chemicals and petrochemicals, printing, metallurgy, steel
_#_Agriculture: accounts for 15% of GNP (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; 1987 fish catch estimated at 500,000 tons
_#_Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $1.0
billion; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments
(1970-88), $4.0 billion; Communist countries (1970-89), $718 million
_#_Currency: austral (plural--australes); 1 austral (2) = 100
centavos
_#_Exchange rates: australes (2) per US$1--9,900 (April 1991),
4,707 (1990), 423 (1989), 8.7526 (1988), 2.1443 (1987), 0.9430 (1986),
0.6018 (1985)
_#_Fiscal year: calendar year
_*_Communications
_#_Railroads: 34,172 km total (includes 169 km electrified); includes
a mixture of 1.435-meter standard gauge, 1.676-meter broad gauge,
1.000-meter gauge, and 0.750-meter gauge
_#_Highways: 208,350 km total; 47,550 km paved, 39,500 km gravel,
101,000 km improved earth, 20,300 km unimproved earth
_#_Inland waterways: 11,000 km navigable
_#_Pipelines: 4,090 km crude oil; 2,900 km refined products; 9,918 km
natural gas
_#_Ports: Bahia Blanca, Buenos Aires, Necochea, Rio Gallegos, Rosario,
Santa Fe
_#_Merchant marine: 129 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,663,884
GRT/2,689,645 DWT; includes 42 cargo, 7 refrigerated cargo, 6 container,
1 railcar carrier, 47 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker,
4 chemical tanker, 4 liquefied gas, 18 bulk; additionally, 2 naval
tankers and 1 military transport are sometimes used commercially
_#_Civil air: 54 major transport aircraft
_#_Airports: 1,763 total, 1,575 usable; 135 with permanent-surface
runways; 1 with runways over 3,659 m; 31 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 336
with runways 1,220-2,439 m
_#_Telecommunications: extensive modern system; 2,650,000 telephones
(12,000 public telephones); radio relay widely used; stations--171 AM,
no FM, 231 TV, 13 shortwave; 2 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth stations;
domestic satellite network has 40 stations
_*_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 15-49, 7,992,140; 6,478,730 fit for
military service; 285,047 reach military age (20) annually
_#_Defense expenditures: $700 million, 1% of GNP (1990)
_%_
_@_Aruba
(part of the Dutch realm)
_*_Geography
_#_Total area: 193 km2; land area: 193 km2
_#_Comparative area: slightly larger than Washington, DC
_#_Land boundaries: none
_#_Coastline: 68.5 km
_#_Maritime claims:
Exclusive fishing zone: 12 nm;
Territorial sea: 12 nm
_#_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%
_#_Environment: lies outside the Caribbean hurricane belt
_#_Note: 28 km north of Venezuela
_*_People
_#_Population: 64,052 (July 1991), growth rate 0.6% (1991)
_#_Birth rate: 15 births/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Death rate: 6 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Net migration rate: - 4 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Infant mortality rate: 8 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
_#_Life expectancy at birth: 72 years male, 80 years female (1991)
_#_Total fertility rate: 1.8 children born/woman (1991)
_#_Nationality: noun--Aruban(s); adjective--Aruban
_#_Ethnic divisions: mixed European/Caribbean Indian 80%
_#_Religion: Roman Catholic 82%, Protestant 8%, also small Hindu,
Muslim, Confucian, and Jewish minority
_#_Language: Dutch (official), Papiamento (a Spanish, Portuguese,
Dutch, English dialect), English (widely spoken), Spanish
_#_Literacy: NA% (male NA%, female NA%)
_#_Labor force: NA, but most employment is in the tourist industry
(1986)
_#_Organized labor: Aruban Workers' Federation (FTA)
_*_Government
_#_Long-form name: none
_#_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); note--in 1990 Aruba
requested and received from the Netherlands cancellation of the
agreement to automatically give independence to the island in 1996
_#_Constitution: 1 January 1986
_#_Legal system: based on Dutch civil law system, with some English
common law influence
_#_National holiday: Flag Day, 18 March
_#_Executive branch: Dutch monarch, governor, prime minister, Council
of Ministers (cabinet)
_#_Legislative branch: unicameral legislature (Staten)
_#_Judicial branch: Joint High Court of Justice
_#_Leaders:
Chief of State--Queen BEATRIX Wilhelmina Armgard (since 30 April
1980), represented by Governor General Felipe B. TROMP (since 1 January
1986);
Head of Government--Prime Minister Nelson ODUBER (since NA February
1989)
_#_Political parties and leaders:
Electoral Movement Party (MEP), Nelson ODUBER;
Aruban People's Party (AVP), Henny EMAN;
National Democratic Action (ADN), Pedro Charro KELLY;
New Patriotic Party (PPN), Eddy WERLEMEN;
Aruban Patriotic Party (PPA), Leo CHANCE;
Aruban Democratic Party (PDA), Leo BERLINSKI;
Democratic Action '86 (AD'86), Arturo ODUBER;
governing coalition includes the MEP, PPA, and ADN
_#_Suffrage: universal at age 18
_#_Elections:
Legislature--last held 6 January 1989 (next to be held by January
1993);
results--percent of vote by party NA;
seats--(21 total) MEP 10, AVP 8, ADN 1, PPN 1, PPA 1
_#_Member of: ECLAC (associate), INTERPOL, IOC, UNESCO (associate),
WCL, WTO (associate)
_#_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
_*_Economy
_#_Overview: Tourism is the mainstay of the economy, although
offshore banking and oil refining and storage are also important.
Hotel capacity expanded rapidly between 1985 and 1989 and nearly
doubled in 1990 alone. Unemployment has steadily declined from about
20% in 1986 to about 2% in 1990. The reopening of the local oil
refinery, once a major source of employment and foreign exchange
earnings, promises to give the economy an additional boost.
_#_GDP: $730 million, per capita $11,600; real growth rate 8.8%
(1989 est.)
_#_Inflation rate (consumer prices): 5.8% (1990 est.)
_#_Unemployment rate: 1.6% (1990 est.)
_#_Budget: revenues $145 million; expenditures $185 million, including
capital expenditures of $42 million (1988)
_#_Exports: $131.6 million (f.o.b., 1990 est.);
commodities--mostly petroleum products;
partners--US 64%, EC
_#_Imports: $496 million (f.o.b., 1990 est.);
commodities--food, consumer goods, manufactures;
partners--US 8%, EC
_#_External debt: $81 million (1987)
_#_Industrial production: growth rate NA
_#_Electricity: 310,000 kW capacity; 945 million kWh produced, 15,000
kWh per capita (1990)
_#_Industries: tourism, transshipment facilities, oil refining
_#_Agriculture: poor quality soils and low rainfall limit agricultural
activity to the cultivation of aloes, some livestock, and fishing
_#_Economic aid: Western (non-US) countries ODA and OOF bilateral
commitments (1980-1988), $200 million
_#_Currency: Aruban florin (plural--florins);
1 Aruban florin (Af.) = 100 cents
_#_Exchange rates: Aruban florins (Af.) per US$1--1.7900 (fixed rate
since 1986)
_#_Fiscal year: calendar year
_*_Communications
_#_Ports: Oranjestad, Sint Nicolaas
_#_Airfield: government-owned airport east of Oranjestad
_#_Telecommunications: generally adequate; extensive interisland radio
relay links; 72,168 telephones; stations--4 AM, 4 FM, 1 TV; 1 sea cable
to Sint Maarten
_*_Defense Forces
_#_Note: defense is the responsibility of the Netherlands
_%_
_@_Ashmore and Cartier Islands
(territory of Australia)
_*_Geography
_#_Total area: 5 km2; land area: 5 km2; includes Ashmore Reef (West,
Middle, and East Islets) and Cartier Island
_#_Comparative area: about 8.5 times the size of The Mall in
Washington, DC
_#_Land boundaries: none
_#_Coastline: 74.1 km
_#_Maritime claims:
Contiguous zone: 12 nm;
Continental shelf: 200 m (depth) or to depth of exploration;
Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm;
Territorial sea: 3 nm
_#_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--grass and sand 100%
_#_Environment: surrounded by shoals and reefs; Ashmore Reef National
Nature Reserve established in August 1983
_#_Note: located in extreme eastern Indian Ocean between Australia
and Indonesia 320 km off the northwest coast of Australia
_*_People
_#_Population: no permanent inhabitants; seasonal caretakers
_*_Government
_#_Long-form name: Territory of Ashmore and Cartier Islands
_#_Type: territory of Australia administered by the Australian
Ministry for Territories and Local Government
_#_Administrative divisions: none (territory of Australia)
_#_Legal system: relevant laws of the Northern Territory of Australia
_#_Note: administered by the Australian Minister for Arts, Sports, the
Environment, Tourism, and Territories Roslyn KELLY
_#_Diplomatic representation: none (territory of Australia)
_*_Economy
_#_Overview: no economic activity
_*_Communications
_#_Ports: none; offshore anchorage only
_*_Defense Forces
_#_Note: defense is the responsibility of Australia; periodic
visits by the Royal Australian Navy and Royal Australian Air Force
_%_
_@_Atlantic Ocean
_*_Geography
_#_Total area: 82,217,000 km2; includes Baltic Sea, Black Sea,
Caribbean Sea, Davis Strait, Denmark Strait, Drake Passage, Gulf of
Mexico, Mediterranean Sea, North Sea, Norwegian Sea, Weddell Sea, and
other tributary water bodies
_#_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)
_#_Coastline: 111,866 km
_#_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 north Atlantic,
counterclockwise warm water gyre in the south 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: endangered marine species include the manatee, seals,
sea lions, turtles, and whales; 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; icebergs common in Davis Strait, Denmark Strait,
and the northwestern Atlantic 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
_#_Note: ships subject to superstructure icing in extreme north
Atlantic from October to May and extreme south Atlantic from May to
October; persistent fog can be a hazard to shipping from May to
September; major choke points include the Dardanelles, Strait of
Gibraltar, access to the Panama and Suez Canals; strategic straits
include the Dover Strait, Straits of Florida, Mona Passage, The Sound
(Oresund), and Windward Passage; north Atlantic shipping lanes subject
to icebergs from February to August; the Equator divides the Atlantic
Ocean into the North Atlantic Ocean and South Atlantic Ocean
_*_Economy
_#_Overview: Economic activity is limited to exploitation of natural
resources, especially fish, dredging aragonite sands (The Bahamas), and
crude oil and natural gas production (Caribbean Sea and North Sea).
_*_Communications
_#_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), Saint Petersburg (formerly Leningrad; USSR), 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), Stockholm (Sweden)
_#_Telecommunications: 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
_#_Note: Kiel Canal and Saint Lawrence Seaway are two important
waterways
_%_
_@_Australia
_*_Geography
_#_Total area: 7,686,850 km2; land area: 7,617,930 km2; includes
Macquarie Island
_#_Comparative area: slightly smaller than the US
_#_Land boundaries: none
_#_Coastline: 25,760 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
_#_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, crude oil
_#_Land use: arable land 6%; permanent crops NEGL%; meadows and
pastures 58%; forest and woodland 14%; other 22%; includes irrigated
NEGL%
_#_Environment: subject to severe droughts and floods; cyclones along
coast; limited freshwater availability; irrigated soil degradation;
regular, tropical, invigorating, sea breeze known as the doctor occurs
along west coast in summer; desertification
_#_Note: world's smallest continent but sixth-largest country
_*_People
_#_Population: 17,288,044 (July 1991), growth rate 1.5% (1991)
_#_Birth rate: 15 births/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Death rate: 7 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Net migration rate: 7 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Infant mortality rate: 8 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
_#_Life expectancy at birth: 74 years male, 80 years female (1991)
_#_Total fertility rate: 1.8 children born/woman (1991)
_#_Nationality: noun--Australian(s); adjective--Australian
_#_Ethnic divisions: Caucasian 95%, Asian 4%, Aboriginal and other
1%
_#_Religion: Anglican 26.1%, Roman Catholic 26.0%, other Christian
24.3%
_#_Language: English, native languages
_#_Literacy: 100% (male 100%, female 100%) age 15 and over can
read and write (1980 est.)
_#_Labor force: 7,700,000; 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)
_#_Organized labor: 42% of labor force (1988)
_*_Government
_#_Long-form name: Commonwealth of Australia
_#_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)
_#_Constitution: 9 July 1900, effective 1 January 1901
_#_Legal system: based on English common law; accepts compulsory ICJ
jurisdiction, with reservations
_#_National holiday: Australia Day (last Monday in January), 29
January 1990
_#_Executive branch: British monarch, governor general, prime
minister, deputy prime minister, Cabinet
_#_Legislative branch: bicameral Federal Parliament consists of an
upper house or Senate and a lower house or House of Representatives
_#_Judicial branch: High Court
_#_Leaders:
Chief of State--Queen ELIZABETH II (since February 1952),
represented by Governor General William George HAYDEN (since NA February
1989);
Head of Government--Prime Minister Robert James Lee HAWKE (since
11 March 1983); Deputy Prime Minister Paul KEATING (since 3 April 1990)
_#_Political parties and leaders:
government--Australian Labor Party, Robert James Lee HAWKE;
opposition--Liberal Party, John HEWSON;
National Party, Timothy FISCHER;
Australian Democratic Party, Janet POWELL
_#_Suffrage: universal and compulsory at age 18
_#_Elections:
Senate--last held 11 July 1987 (next to be held by July 1993);
results--Labor 43%, Liberal-National 42%, Australian Democrats 8%,
independents 2%;
seats--(76 total) Labor 32, Liberal-National 34, Australian
Democrats 7, independents 3;
House of Representatives--last held 24 March 1990 (next to be
held by November 1993);
results--Labor 39.7%, Liberal-National 43%, Australian Democrats
and independents 11.1%;
seats--(148 total) Labor 78, Liberal-National 69, independent 1
_#_Communists: 4,000 members (est.)
_#_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)
_#_Member of: AfDB, AG (observer), ANZUS, APEC, AsDB, BIS, C, CCC, CP,
EBRD, ESCAP, FAO, GATT, G-8, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA,
IEA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM,
ISO, ITU, LORCS, NAM (guest), NEA, OECD, PCA, SPC, SPF, UN, UNCTAD,
UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIIMOG, UNTAG, UNTSO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
_#_Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Michael J. COOK; Chancery at
1601 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20036; telephone (202)
797-3000; there are Australian Consulates General in Chicago, Honolulu,
Houston, Los Angeles, New York, Pago Pago (American Samoa), and San
Francisco;
US--Ambassador Melvin F. SEMBLER; Moonah Place, Yarralumla,
Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 2600 (mailing address is APO San
Francisco 96404); telephone [61] (6) 270-5000; there are US Consulates
General in Melbourne, Perth, and Sydney, and a Consulate in 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
_*_Economy
_#_Overview: Australia has a prosperous Western-style capitalist
economy, with a per capita GNP 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.
Of the top 25 exports, 21 are primary products, so that, as happened
during 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 will be
severe.
_#_GDP: $255.9 billion, per capita $15,000; real growth rate 2.2%
(1990)
_#_Inflation rate (consumer prices): 6.9% (December 1990)
_#_Unemployment rate: 9.2% (March 1991)
_#_Budget: revenues $74.2 billion; expenditures $67.9 billion,
including capital expenditures of NA (FY90)
_#_Exports: $39.8 billion (f.o.b., FY90);
commodities--metals, minerals, coal, wool, cereals, meat,
manufacturers;
partners--Japan 26%, US 11%, NZ 6%, South Korea 4%, Singapore 4%,
UK, Taiwan, Hong Kong
_#_Imports: $42.0 billion (f.o.b., FY90);
commodities--manufactured raw materials, capital equipment,
consumer goods;
partners--US 24%, Japan 19%, UK 6%, FRG 7%, NZ 4% (1990)
_#_External debt: $123.7 billion (September 1990)
_#_Industrial production: growth rate - 1.8% (1990); accounts for
32% of GDP
_#_Electricity: 38,000,000 kW capacity; 150,000 million kWh produced,
8,860 kWh per capita (1990)
_#_Industries: mining, industrial and transportation equipment, food
processing, chemicals, steel, motor vehicles
_#_Agriculture: accounts for 5% of GNP and 37% 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
_#_Economic aid: donor--ODA and OOF commitments (1970-89), $10.4
billion
_#_Currency: Australian dollar (plural--dollars); 1 Australian dollar
($A) = 100 cents
_#_Exchange rates: Australian dollars ($A) per US$1--1.2834 (January
1991), 1.2799 (1990), 1.2618 (1989), 1.2752 (1988), 1.4267 (1987), 1.4905
(1986), 1.4269 (1985)
_#_Fiscal year: 1 July-30 June
_*_Communications
_#_Railroads: 40,478 km total; 7,970 km 1.600-meter gauge, 16,201 km
1.435-meter standard gauge, 16,307 km 1.067-meter gauge; 183 km dual
gauge; 1,130 km electrified; government owned (except for a few hundred
kilometers of privately owned track) (1985)
_#_Highways: 837,872 km total; 243,750 km paved, 228,396 km gravel,
crushed stone, or stabilized soil surface, 365,726 km unimproved earth
_#_Inland waterways: 8,368 km; mainly by small, shallow-draft craft
_#_Pipelines: crude oil, 2,500 km; refined products, 500 km; natural
gas, 5,600 km
_#_Ports: Adelaide, Brisbane, Cairns, Darwin, Devonport, Fremantle,
Geelong, Hobart, Launceston, Mackay, Melbourne, Sydney, Townsville
_#_Merchant marine: 77 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,249,926
GRT/3,391,323 DWT; includes 2 short-sea passenger, 6 cargo, 6 container,
10 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 1 vehicle carrier, 16 petroleum, oils, and
lubricants (POL) tanker, 1 chemical tanker, 4 liquefied gas, 1
combination ore/oil, 30 bulk
_#_Civil air: around 150 major transport aircraft
_#_Airports: 747 total, 524 usable; 270 with permanent-surface
runways, 1 with runways over 3,659 m; 17 with runways 2,440-3,659 m;
401 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
_#_Telecommunications: good international and domestic service; 8.7
million telephones; stations--258 AM, 67 FM, 134 TV; submarine cables to
New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, and Indonesia; domestic satellite service;
satellite stations--4 Indian Ocean INTELSAT, 6 Pacific Ocean INTELSAT
earth stations
_*_Defense Forces
_#_Branches: Australian Army, Royal Australian Navy, Royal Australian
Air Force
_#_Manpower availability: males 15-49, 4,689,559; 4,090,921 fit for
military service; 135,435 reach military age (17) annually
_#_Defense expenditures: $6.6 billion, 2.2% of GDP (FY90)
_%_
_@_Austria
_*_Geography
_#_Total area: 83,850 km2; land area: 82,730 km2
_#_Comparative area: slightly smaller than Maine
_#_Land boundaries: 2,640 km total; Czechoslovakia 548 km,
Germany 784 km, Hungary 366 km, Italy 430 km, Liechtenstein 37 km,
Switzerland 164 km, Yugoslavia 311 km
_#_Coastline: none--landlocked
_#_Maritime claims: none--landlocked
_#_Climate: temperate; continental, cloudy; cold winters with frequent
rain in lowlands and snow in mountains; cool summers with occasional
showers
_#_Terrain: mostly mountains with Alps in west and south; mostly flat,
with gentle slopes along eastern and northern margins
_#_Natural resources: iron ore, crude oil, timber, magnesite,
aluminum, lead, coal, lignite, copper, hydropower
_#_Land use: arable land 17%; permanent crops 1%; meadows and
pastures 24%; forest and woodland 39%; other 19%; includes irrigated
NEGL%
_#_Environment: because of steep slopes, poor soils, and cold
temperatures, population is concentrated on eastern lowlands
_#_Note: landlocked; strategic location at the crossroads of
central Europe with many easily traversable Alpine passes and valleys;
major river is the Danube
_*_People
_#_Population: 7,665,804 (July 1991), growth rate 0.3% (1991)
_#_Birth rate: 12 births/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Death rate: 11 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Net migration rate: 2 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Infant mortality rate: 5 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
_#_Life expectancy at birth: 74 years male, 81 years female (1991)
_#_Total fertility rate: 1.5 children born/woman (1991)
_#_Nationality: noun--Austrian(s); adjective--Austrian
_#_Ethnic divisions: German 99.4%, Croatian 0.3%, Slovene 0.2%,
other 0.1%
_#_Religion: Roman Catholic 85%, Protestant 6%, other 9%
_#_Language: German
_#_Literacy: 99% (male NA%, female NA%) age 15 and over can
read and write (1974 est.)
_#_Labor force: 3,470,000 (1989); services 56.4%, industry and crafts
35.4%, agriculture and forestry 8.1%; an estimated 200,000 Austrians are
employed in other European countries; foreign laborers in Austria number
177,840, about 6% of labor force (1988)
_#_Organized labor: 60.1% of work force; the Austrian Trade Union
Federation has 1,644,408 members (1989)
_*_Government
_#_Long-form name: Republic of Austria
_#_Type: federal republic
_#_Capital: Vienna
_#_Administrative divisions: 9 states (bundeslander,
singular--bundesland); Burgenland, Karnten, Niederosterreich,
Oberosterreich, Salzburg, Steiermark, Tirol, Vorarlberg, Wien
_#_Independence: 12 November 1918 (from Austro-Hungarian Empire)
_#_Constitution: 1920, revised 1929 (reinstated 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
_#_National holiday: National Day, 26 October (1955)
_#_Executive branch: president, chancellor, vice chancellor, Council
of Ministers (cabinet)
_#_Legislative branch: bicameral Federal Assembly (Bundesversammlung)
consists of an upper council or Federal Council (Bundesrat) and a lower
council or National Council (Nationalrat)
_#_Judicial branch: Supreme Judicial Court (Oberster Gerichtshof) for
civil and criminal cases, Administrative Court (Verwaltungsgerichtshof)
for bureaucratic cases, Constitutional Court (Verfassungsgerichtshof) for
constitutional cases
_#_Leaders:
Chief of State--President Kurt WALDHEIM (since 8 July 1986);
Head of Government--Chancellor Franz VRANITZKY (since 16 June
1986); Vice Chancellor Josef RIEGLER (since 19 May 1989)
_#_Political parties and leaders:
Socialist Party of Austria (SPO), Franz VRANITZKY, chairman;
Austrian People's Party (OVP), Josef RIEGLER, chairman;
Freedom Party of Austria (FPO), Jorg HAIDER, chairman;
Communist Party (KPO), Franz MUHRI, chairman;
Green Alternative List (GAL), Andreas WABL, chairman
_#_Suffrage: universal at age 19; compulsory for presidential
elections
_#_Elections:
President--last held 8 June 1986 (next to be held May 1992);
results of Second Ballot--Dr. Kurt WALDHEIM 53.89%, Dr. Kurt STEYRER
46.11%;
National Council--last held 7 October 1990 (next to be
held October 1994);
results--SP0 43%, OVP 32.1%, FPO 16.6%, GAL 4.5%, KPO 0.7%,
other 0.32%;
seats--(183 total) SP0 80, OVP 60, FP0 33, GAL 10
_#_Communists: membership 15,000 est.; activists 7,000-8,000
_#_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 (OVP) representing
business, labor, and farmers; OVP-oriented League of Austrian
Industrialists; Roman Catholic Church, including its chief lay
organization, Catholic Action
_#_Member of: AfDB, AG (observer), AsDB, BIS, CCC, CE, CERN, CSCE,
EBRD, ECE, EFTA, ESA, FAO, G-9, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU,
IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM, ISO,
ITU, LORCS, NAM (guest), NEA, OAS (observer), OECD, PCA, UN, UNCTAD,
UNESCO, UNDOF, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIIMOG, UNTSO, UPU, WCL,
WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
_#_Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Friedrich HOESS; Embassy at
2343 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202)
483-4474; there are Austrian Consulates General in Chicago, Los Angeles,
and New York;
US--Ambassador Roy Michael HUFFINGTON; Embassy at Boltzmanngasse
16, A-1091, Vienna (mailing address is APO New York 09108-0001);
telephone [43] (222) 31-55-11; there is a US Consulate General in Salzburg
_#_Flag: three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and red
_*_Economy
_#_Overview: Austria boasts a prosperous and stable capitalist
economy with a sizable proportion of nationalized industry and extensive
welfare benefits. Thanks to an excellent raw material endowment, a
technically skilled labor force, and strong links to West German
industrial firms, Austria has successfully occupied 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. Improved export prospects from German unification
and the opening of Eastern Europe will also boost the economy during
the next few years. Living standards are roughly comparable with the
large industrial countries of Western Europe. Problems for the l990s
include an aging population, the high level of subsidies, and the
struggle to keep welfare benefits within budget capabilities. Austria,
which has applied for EC membership, is currently involved in EC and
European Free Trade Association negotiations for a European Economic
Area and will have to adapt its economy to achieve freer movement of
goods, services, capital, and labor with the EC.
_#_GDP: $111.0 billion, per capita $14,500; real growth rate 4.5%
(1990)
_#_Inflation rate (consumer prices): 3.3% (1990)
_#_Unemployment: 5.4% (1990)
_#_Budget: revenues $44.1 billion; expenditures $49.6 billion,
including capital expenditures of $NA (1990)
_#_Exports: $40.9 billion (f.o.b., 1990);
commodities--machinery and equipment, iron and steel, lumber,
textiles, paper products, chemicals;
partners--EC 64.8%, EFTA 10.3%, CEMA 7.7%, US 3.2%, Japan 1.5%
_#_Imports: $46.6 billion (c.i.f., 1990);
commodities--petroleum, foodstuffs, machinery and equipment,
vehicles, chemicals, textiles and clothing, pharmaceuticals;
partners--EC 68.4%, EFTA 7%, CEMA 5.7%, Japan 4.6%, US 3.6%
_#_External debt: $11.8 billion (1990 est.)
_#_Industrial production: real growth rate 8.5% (1990); accounts
for 34% of GDP
_#_Electricity: 17,562,000 kW capacity; 49,290 million kWh produced,
6,500 kWh per capita (1989)
_#_Industries: foods, iron and steel, machines, textiles, chemicals,
electrical, paper and pulp, tourism, mining
_#_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
_#_Economic aid: donor--ODA and OOF commitments (1970-89), $2.4
billion
_#_Currency: Austrian schilling (plural--schillings); 1 Austrian
schilling (S) = 100 groschen
_#_Exchange rates: Austrian schillings (S) per US$1--10.627 (January
1991), 11.370 (1990), 13.231 (1989), 12.348 (1988), 12.643 (1987), 15.267
(1986), 20.690 (1985)
_#_Fiscal year: calendar year
_*_Communications
_#_Railroads: 6,028 km total; 5,388 km government owned and 640 km
privately owned (1.435- and 1.000-meter gauge); 5,403 km 1.435-meter
standard gauge of which 3,051 km is electrified and 1,520 km is double
tracked; 363 km 0.760-meter narrow gauge of which 91 km is electrified
_#_Highways: 95,412 km total; 34,612 are the primary network
(including 1,012 km of autobahn, 10,400 km of federal, and 23,200 km of
provincial roads); of this number, 21,812 km are paved and 12,800 km are
unpaved; in addition, there are 60,800 km of communal roads (mostly
gravel, crushed stone, earth)
_#_Inland waterways: 446 km
_#_Ports: Vienna, Linz (river ports)
_#_Merchant marine: 32 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling
150,735 GRT/252,237 DWT; includes 26 cargo, 1 container, 1 chemical
tanker, 4 bulk
_#_Pipelines: 554 km crude oil; 2,611 km natural gas; 171 km refined
products
_#_Civil air: 25 major transport aircraft
_#_Airports: 55 total, 54 usable; 20 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; 5 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 4 with
runways 1,220-2,439 m
_#_Telecommunications: highly developed and efficient; 4,014,000
telephones; extensive TV and radiobroadcast systems; stations--6 AM, 21
(545 repeaters) FM, 47 (870 repeaters) TV; satellite stations operating
in INTELSAT 1 Atlantic Ocean earth station and 1 Indian Ocean earth
station and EUTELSAT systems
_*_Defense Forces
_#_Branches: Army, Flying Division, Gendarmerie
_#_Manpower availability: males 15-49, 1,957,414; 1,646,179 fit for
military service; 48,038 reach military age (19) annually
_#_Defense expenditures: $1.4 billion, 1% of GDP (1990)
_%_
_@_The Bahamas
_*_Geography
_#_Total area: 13,940 km2; land area: 10,070 km2
_#_Comparative area: slightly larger than Connecticut
_#_Land boundaries: none
_#_Coastline: 3,542 km
_#_Maritime claims:
Continental shelf: 200 m (depth) or to depth of exploitation;
Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm;
Territorial sea: 3 nm
_#_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 NEGL%; meadows and
pastures NEGL%; forest and woodland 32%; other 67%
_#_Environment: subject to hurricanes and other tropical storms
that cause extensive flood damage
_#_Note: strategic location adjacent to US and Cuba; extensive island
chain
_*_People
_#_Population: 252,110 (July 1991), growth rate 1.4% (1991)
_#_Birth rate: 19 births/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Death rate: 5 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Infant mortality rate: 18 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
_#_Life expectancy at birth: 69 years male, 76 years female (1991)
_#_Total fertility rate: 2.2 children born/woman (1991)
_#_Nationality: noun--Bahamian(s); adjective--Bahamian
_#_Ethnic divisions: black 85%, white 15%
_#_Religion: Baptist 32%, Anglican 20%, Roman Catholic 19%,
Methodist 6%, Church of God 6%, other Protestant 12%, none or unknown
3%, other 2% (1980)
_#_Language: English; some Creole among Haitian immigrants
_#_Literacy: 90% (male 90%, female 89%) age 15 and over but
definition of literacy not available (1963 est.)
_#_Labor force: 132,600; government 30%, hotels and restaurants 25%,
business services 10%, agriculture 5% (1986)
_#_Organized labor: 25% of labor force
_*_Government
_#_Long-form name: The Commonwealth of The Bahamas
_#_Type: commonwealth
_#_Capital: Nassau
_#_Administrative divisions: 21 districts; Abaco, Acklins Island,
Andros Island, Berry Islands, Biminis, Cat Island, Cay Lobos, Crooked
Island, Eleuthera, Exuma, Grand Bahama, Harbour Island, Inagua, Long Cay,
Long Island, Mayaguana, New Providence, Ragged Island, Rum Cay, San
Salvador, Spanish Wells
_#_Independence: 10 July 1973 (from UK)
_#_Constitution: 10 July 1973
_#_Legal system: based on English common law
_#_National holiday: Independence Day, 10 July (1973)
_#_Executive branch: British monarch, governor general, prime
minister, deputy prime minister, Cabinet
_#_Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament consists of an upper house
or Senate and a lower house or House of Assembly
_#_Judicial branch: Supreme Court
_#_Leaders:
Chief of State--Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952),
represented by Acting Governor General Sir Henry TAYLOR (since 26 June
1988);
Head of Government--Prime Minister Sir Lynden Oscar PINDLING (since
16 January 1967)
_#_Political parties and leaders:
Progressive Liberal Party (PLP), Sir Lynden O. PINDLING;
Free National Movement (FNM), Hubert Alexander INGRAHAM
_#_Suffrage: universal at age 18
_#_Elections:
House of Assembly--last held 19 June 1987 (next to be held
by June 1992);
results--percent of vote by party NA;
seats--(49 total) PLP 32, FNM 17
_#_Communists: none known
_#_Other political or pressure groups: Vanguard Nationalist and
Socialist Party (VNSP), a small leftist party headed by Lionel CAREY;
Trade Union Congress (TUC), headed by Arlington MILLER
_#_Member of: ACP, C, CCC, CARICOM, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB,
IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ITU,
LORCS, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO,
WMO
_#_Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Margaret E. McDONALD;
Chancery at Suite 865, 600 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington DC 20037;
telephone (202) 944-3390; there are Bahamian Consulates General in Miami
and New York;
US--Ambassador Chic HECHT; Embassy at Mosmar Building,
Queen Street, Nassau (mailing address is P. O. Box N-8197, Nassau);
telephone (809) 322-1181 or 328-2206
_#_Flag: three equal horizontal bands of aquamarine (top), gold, and
aquamarine with a black equilateral triangle based on the hoist side
_*_Economy
_#_Overview: The Bahamas is a stable, middle-income 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, the per capita GDP of $9,800 is one of the highest in the
region.
_#_GDP: $2.4 billion, per capita $9,800; real growth rate 2.0%
(1989 est.)
_#_Inflation rate (consumer prices): 7.1% (1990 est.)
_#_Unemployment: 11.7% (1989)
_#_Budget: revenues $1.03 billion; expenditures $1.1 billion,
including capital expenditures of $275 million (1990)
_#_Exports: $300 million (f.o.b., 1990 est.);
commodities--pharmaceuticals, cement, rum, crawfish;
partners--US 41%, Norway 30%, Denmark 4%
_#_Imports: $1.23 billion (f.o.b., 1990 est.);
commodities--foodstuffs, manufactured goods, mineral fuels;
partners--US 35%, Nigeria 21%, Japan 13%, Angola 11%
_#_External debt: $1.2 billion (December 1990)
_#_Industrial production: growth rate NA%; accounts for 15% of GDP
_#_Electricity: 368,000 kW capacity; 857 million kWh produced,
3,480 kWh per capita (1990)
_#_Industries: tourism, banking, cement, oil refining and
transshipment, salt production, rum, aragonite, pharmaceuticals, spiral
weld, steel pipe
_#_Agriculture: accounts for less than 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
_#_Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY85-88), $1.0
million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments
(1970-88), $345 million
_#_Currency: Bahamian dollar (plural--dollars); 1 Bahamian dollar
(B$) = 100 cents
_#_Exchange rates: Bahamian dollar (B$) per US$1--1.00 (fixed rate)
_#_Fiscal year: calendar year
_*_Communications
_#_Highways: 2,400 km total; 1,350 km paved, 1,050 km gravel
_#_Ports: Freeport, Nassau
_#_Merchant marine: 636 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 14,266,066
GRT/23,585,465 DWT; includes 42 passenger, 16 short-sea passenger, 190
cargo, 41 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 23 container, 5 car carrier,
1 railroad carrier, 141 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 8
liquefied gas, 15 combination ore/oil, 33 chemical tanker, 1 specialized
tanker, 112 bulk, 8 combination bulk; note--a flag of convenience
registry
_#_Civil air: 9 major transport aircraft
_#_Airports: 59 total, 57 usable; 31 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; 3 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 25 with
runways 1,220-2,439 m
_#_Telecommunications: highly developed; 99,000 telephones in totally
automatic system; tropospheric scatter and submarine cable links to
Florida; stations--3 AM, 2 FM, 1 TV; 3 coaxial submarine cables; 1
Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station
_*_Defense Forces
_#_Branches: Royal Bahamas Defense Force (a coast guard element only),
Royal Bahamas Police Force
_#_Manpower availability: males 15-49, 68,020; NA fit for military
service
_#_Defense expenditures: $65 million, 2.7% of GDP (1990)
_%_
_@_Bahrain
_*_Geography
_#_Total area: 620 km2; land area: 620 km2
_#_Comparative area: slightly less than 3.5 times the size of
Washington, DC
_#_Land boundaries: none
_#_Coastline: 161 km
_#_Maritime claims:
Continental shelf: not specific;
Territorial sea: 3 nm
_#_Disputes: territorial dispute with Qatar over the Hawar Islands
_#_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%, includes irrigated NEGL%
_#_Environment: subsurface water sources being rapidly depleted
(requires development of desalination facilities); dust storms;
desertification
_#_Note: close to primary Middle Eastern crude oil sources;
strategic location in Persian Gulf through which much of Western
world's crude oil must transit to reach open ocean
_*_People
_#_Population: 536,974 (July 1991), growth rate 3.2% (1991)
_#_Birth rate: 27 births/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Death rate: 3 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Net migration rate: 7 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Infant mortality rate: 17 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
_#_Life expectancy at birth: 71 years male, 76 years female (1991)
_#_Total fertility rate: 4.0 children born/woman (1991)
_#_Nationality: noun--Bahraini(s); adjective--Bahraini
_#_Ethnic divisions: Bahraini 63%, Asian 13%, other Arab 10%,
Iranian 8%, other 6%
_#_Religion: Muslim (Shia 70%, Sunni 30%)
_#_Language: Arabic (official); English also widely spoken; Farsi,
Urdu
_#_Literacy: 77% (male 82%, female 69%) age 15 and over can
read and write (1990 est.)
_#_Labor force: 140,000; 42% of labor force is Bahraini; industry
and commerce 85%, agriculture 5%, services 5%, government 3% (1982)
_#_Organized labor: General Committee for Bahrain Workers exists in
only eight major designated companies
_*_Government
_#_Long-form name: State of Bahrain
_#_Type: traditional monarchy
_#_Capital: Manama
_#_Administrative divisions: 12 municipalities (baladiyat,
singular--baladiyah); 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)
_#_Constitution: 26 May 1973, effective 6 December 1973
_#_Legal system: based on Islamic law and English common law
_#_National holiday: National Day, 16 December
_#_Executive branch: amir, crown prince and heir apparent, prime
minister, Cabinet
_#_Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly was dissolved
26 August 1975 and legislative powers were assumed by the Cabinet
_#_Judicial branch: High Civil Appeals Court
_#_Leaders:
Chief of State--Amir Isa bin Salman Al KHALIFA (since
2 November 1961); Heir Apparent Hamad bin Isa Al KHALIFA (son of Amir;
born 28 January 1950);
Head of Government--Prime Minister Khalifa bin Salman Al KHALIFA,
(since 19 January 1970)
_#_Political parties and pressure groups: political parties
prohibited; several small, clandestine leftist and Shia fundamentalist
groups are active
_#_Suffrage: none
_#_Elections: none
_#_Communists: negligible
_#_Member of: ABEDA, AFESD, AL, AMF, ESCWA, FAO, G-77, GCC, IBRD,
ICAO, IDB, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ISO (correspondent),
ITU, LORCS, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO,
WMO
_#_Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Ghazi Muhammad AL-QUSAYBI;
Chancery at 3502 International Drive NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone
(202) 342-0741 or 342-0742; there is a Bahraini Consulate General in
New York;
US--Ambassador Dr. Charles W. HOSTLER; Embassy at Building
No. 979, Road No. 3119, Block/Area 331, Manama ZINJ (mailing address is
P. O. 26431, Manama, or FPO New York 09526-6210); telephone [973]
273-300 or 275-126
_#_Flag: red with a white serrated band (eight white points) on the
hoist side
_*_Economy
_#_Overview: Petroleum production and processing account for
about 85% of export receipts, 60% of government revenues, and 20% of GDP.
Economic conditions have fluctuated with the changing fortunes of oil
since 1985, including the Gulf crisis of 1990-91. The liberation of
Kuwait in early 1991 has improved short- to medium-term prospects and
has raised investors' confidence. Bahrain with its highly developed
communication and transport facilities is home to numerous
multinational firms with business in the Gulf.
_#_GDP: $3.9 billion, per capita $7,500; real growth rate 2.5%
(1990 est.)
_#_Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1.5% (1989)
_#_Unemployment: 8-10% (1989)
_#_Budget: revenues $1.2 billion; expenditures $1.32 billion,
including capital expenditures of $NA (1989)
_#_Exports: $2.7 billion (f.o.b., 1989 est.);
commodities--petroleum 80%, aluminum 7%, other 13%;
partners--UAE, Japan, US, India
_#_Imports: $3.0 billion (f.o.b., 1989);
commodities--nonoil 59%, crude oil 41%;
partners--Saudi Arabia, Japan, US, UK
_#_External debt: $1.1 billion (December 1989 est.)
_#_Industrial production: growth rate 3.8% (1988); accounts for
44% of GDP
_#_Electricity: 1,652,000 kW capacity; 6,000 million kWh produced,
12,080 kWh per capita (1989)
_#_Industries: petroleum processing and refining, aluminum smelting,
offshore banking, ship repairing
_#_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, and fish;
fish catch 9,000 metric tons in 1987
_#_Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-79), $24
million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments
(1970-88), $35 million; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $9.8 billion
_#_Currency: Bahraini dinar (plural--dinars); 1 Bahraini dinar
(BD) = 1,000 fils
_#_Exchange rates: Bahraini dinars (BD) per US$1--0.3760 (fixed rate)
_#_Fiscal year: calendar year
_*_Communications
_#_Highways: 200 km bituminous surfaced, including 25 km
bridge-causeway to Saudi Arabia opened in November 1986; NA km
natural surface tracks
_#_Ports: Mina Salman, Manama, Sitrah
_#_Merchant marine: 4 cargo and 2 container (1,000 GRT or over)
totaling 114,733 GRT/155,065 DWT
_#_Pipelines: crude oil, 56 km; refined products, 16 km; natural gas,
32 km
_#_Civil air: 24 major transport aircraft
_#_Airports: 3 total, 3 usable; 2 with permanent-surface runways; 2
with runways over 3,659 m; 1 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
_#_Telecommunications: excellent international telecommunications;
adequate domestic services; 98,000 telephones; stations--2 AM, 1 FM,
2 TV; satellite earth stations--1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT, 1 Indian Ocean
INTELSAT, 1 ARABSAT; tropospheric scatter and microwave to Qatar, UAE,
Saudi Arabia; submarine cable to Qatar and UAE
_*_Defense Forces
_#_Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Air Defense, Police Force
_#_Manpower availability: males 15-49, 187,606; 104,285 fit for
military service
_#_Defense expenditures: $194 million, 6% of GDP (1990)
_%_
_@_Baker Island
(territory of the US)
_*_Geography
_#_Total area: 1.4 km2; land area: 1.4 km2
_#_Comparative area: about 2.3 times the size of The Mall in
Washington, DC
_#_Land boundaries: none
_#_Coastline: 4.8 km
_#_Maritime claims:
Contiguous zone: 12 nm;
Continental shelf: 200 m (depth);
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm;
Territorial sea: 12 nm
_#_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%
_#_Environment: treeless, sparse and scattered vegetation consisting
of grasses, prostrate vines, and low growing shrubs; lacks fresh water;
primarily a nesting, roosting, and foraging habitat for seabirds,
shorebirds, and marine wildlife
_#_Note: remote location 2,575 km southwest of Honolulu in the North
Pacific Ocean, just north of the Equator, about halfway between Hawaii
and Australia
_*_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 located near the middle of the west coast
_*_Government
_#_Long-form name: none
_#_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
_*_Economy
_#_Overview: no economic activity
_*_Communications
_#_Ports: none; offshore anchorage only, 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
_*_Defense Forces
_#_Note: defense is the responsibility of the US; visited annually by
the US Coast Guard
_%_
_@_Bangladesh
_*_Geography
_#_Total area: 144,000 km2; land area: 133,910 km2
_#_Comparative area: slightly smaller than Wisconsin
_#_Land boundaries: 4,246 km total; Burma 193 km, India 4,053 km
_#_Coastline: 580 km
_#_Maritime claims:
Contiguous zone: 18 nm;
Continental shelf: up to outer limits of continental margin;
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm;
Territorial sea: 12 nm
_#_Disputes: a portion of the boundary with India is in dispute;
water sharing problems with upstream riparian India over the Ganges
_#_Climate: tropical; cool, dry winter (October to March); hot, humid
summer (March to June); cool, rainy monsoon (June to October)
_#_Terrain: mostly flat alluvial plain; hilly in southeast
_#_Natural resources: natural gas, uranium, arable land, timber
_#_Land use: arable land 67%; permanent crops 2%; meadows and
pastures 4%; forest and woodland 16%; other 11%; includes irrigated
14%
_#_Environment: vulnerable to droughts; much of country routinely
flooded during summer monsoon season; overpopulation; deforestation
_#_Note: almost completely surrounded by India
_*_People
_#_Population: 116,601,424 (July 1991), growth rate 2.3% (1991)
_#_Birth rate: 36 births/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Death rate: 13 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Infant mortality rate: 118 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
_#_Life expectancy at birth: 54 years male, 52 years female (1991)
_#_Total fertility rate: 4.7 children born/woman (1991)
_#_Nationality: noun--Bangladeshi(s); adjective--Bangladesh
_#_Ethnic divisions: Bengali 98%, Biharis 250,000, and tribals less
than 1 million
_#_Religion: Muslim 83%, Hindu 16%, Buddhist, Christian, and other
less than 1%
_#_Language: Bangla (official), English widely used
_#_Literacy: 35% (male 47%, female 22%) age 15 and over can
read and write (1990 est.)
_#_Labor force: 35,100,000; agriculture 74%, services 15%, industry
and commerce 11% (FY86); extensive export of labor to Saudi Arabia, UAE,
and Oman (1991)
_#_Organized labor: 3% of labor force belongs to 2,614 registered
unions (1986 est.)
_*_Government
_#_Long-form name: People's Republic of Bangladesh
_#_Type: republic
_#_Capital: Dhaka
_#_Administrative divisions: 64 districts (zillagulo,
singular--zilla); Bagerhat, Bandarban, Barguna, Barisal,
Bhola, Bogra, Brahmanbaria, Chandpur, Chapai Nawabganj,
Chattagram, Chuadanga, Comilla, Cox's Bazar, Dhaka,
Dinajpur, Faridpur, Feni, Gaibandha, Gazipur, Gopalganj,
Habiganj, Jaipurhat, Jamalpur, Jessore, Jhalakati, Jhenaidah,
Khagrachari, Khulna, Kishorganj, Kurigram, Kushtia, Laksmipur,
Lalmonirhat, Madaripur, Magura, Manikganj, Meherpur,
Moulavibazar, Munshiganj, Mymensingh, Naogaon, Narail,
Narayanganj, Narsingdi, Nator, Netrakona, Nilphamari,
Noakhali, Pabna, Panchagar, Parbattya Chattagram,
Patuakhali, Pirojpur, Rajbari, Rajshahi, Rangpur,
Satkhira, Shariyatpur, Sherpur, Sirajganj, Sunamganj, Sylhet,
Tangail, Thakurgaon
_#_Independence: 16 December 1971 (from Pakistan; formerly East
Pakistan)
_#_Constitution: 4 November 1972, effective 16 December 1972,
suspended following coup of 24 March 1982, restored 10 November 1986,
amended NA March 1991
_#_Legal system: based on English common law
_#_National holiday: Independence Day, 26 March (1971)
_#_Executive branch: president, prime minister, Cabinet
_#_Legislative branch: unicameral National Parliament (Jatiya Sangsad)
_#_Judicial branch: Supreme Court
_#_Leaders:
Chief of State--President Abdur Rahman BISWAS (since
8 October 1991)
Head of Government--Prime Minister Khaleda ZIAUR Rahman
(since 20 March 1991)
_#_Political parties and leaders:
Bangladesh Nationalist Party, Khaleda ZIAUR Rahman;
Awami League, Sheikh Hasina WAZED;
Jatiyo Party, Hussain Mohammad ERSHAD;
Jamaat-E-Islami, Ali KHAN;
Bangladesh Communist Party (pro-Soviet), Saifuddin Ahmed MANIK;
National Awami Party (Muzaffar);
Workers Party, leader NA;
Jatiyo Samajtantik Dal (National Socialist Party--SIRAJ), M. A. JALIL;
Ganotantri Party, leader NA;
Islami Oikya Jote, leader NA;
National Democratic Party, leader NA;
Muslim League, Khan A. SABUR;
Democratic League, Khondakar MUSHTAQUE Ahmed;
United People's Party, Kazi ZAFAR Ahmed
_#_Suffrage: universal at age 18
_#_Elections:
President--last held 8 October 1991 (next to be held by October
1996);
results--Abdur Rahman BISWAS received 52.1% of parliamentary vote
National Parliament--last held 27 February 1991 (next to be held
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, CBP 5, National Awami Party (Muzaffar) 1,
Workers Party 1, SIRAJ 1, Ganotantri Party 1, Islami Oikya Jote 1,
NDP 1, independents 3
_#_Communists: 5,000 members (1987 est.)
_#_Member of: AsDB, C, CCC, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD,
ICAO, ICFTU, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC,
ISO, ITU, LORCS, NAM, OIC, SAARC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIIMOG,
UPU, WHO, WFTU, WIPO, WCL, WMO, WTO
_#_Diplomatic representation: Ambassador A. H. S. Ataul KARIM;
Chancery at 2201 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington DC 20007; telephone
(202) 342-8372 through 8376; there is a Bangladesh Consulate General in
New York;
US--Ambassador William B. MILAM; Embassy at Diplomatic
Enclave, Madani Avenue, Baridhara, Dhaka (mailing address
is G. P. O. Box 323, Dhaka 1212); telephone [880] (2) 884700-22
_#_Flag: green with a large red disk slightly to the hoist side of
center; green is the traditional color of Islam
_*_Economy
_#_Overview: Bangladesh is one of the poorest nations in the world.
The economy is based on the output of a narrow range of
agricultural products, such as jute, which is the main cash crop and
major source of export earnings. Bangladesh is hampered by a relative
lack of natural resources, population growth of more than 2% a year,
large-scale unemployment, and a limited infrastructure; furthermore,
it is highly vulnerable to natural disasters. Despite these constraints,
real GDP growth averaged about 3.5% annually during 1985-89. A strong
agricultural performance in FY90 pushed the growth rate up to 5.5%.
Alleviation of poverty remains the cornerstone of the government's
development strategy.
_#_GDP: $20.4 billion, per capita $180; real growth rate 4.0%
(1990 est.)
_#_Inflation rate (consumer prices): 10% (FY90 est.)
_#_Unemployment rate: 30% (FY90 est.)
_#_Budget: revenues $2.2 billion; expenditures $3.9 billion, including
capital expenditures of $1.6 billion (FY90)
_#_Exports: $1.5 billion (FY90 est.);
commodities--jute, tea, leather, shrimp, textiles;
partners--US 25%, Western Europe 22%, Middle East 9%, Japan 8%,
Eastern Europe 7%
_#_Imports: $3.6 billion (FY90 est.);
commodities--food, petroleum and other energy, nonfood consumer
goods, semiprocessed goods, and capital equipment;
partners--Western Europe 18%, Japan 14%, Middle East 9%, US 8%
_#_External debt: $10.9 billion (FY90 est.)
_#_Industrial production: growth rate 4.1% (FY90 est.); accounts
for 15% of GDP
_#_Electricity: 1,990,000 kW capacity; 5,700 million kWh produced,
50 kWh per capita (1990)
_#_Industries: jute manufacturing, base metals, food processing,
cotton textiles, tobacco processing, chemicals
_#_Agriculture: accounts for about 40% of GDP, 60% of
employment, and one third of exports; imports 10% of food grain
requirements; world's largest exporter of jute; commercial
products--jute, rice, wheat, tea, sugarcane, potatoes, beef, milk,
poultry; shortages include wheat, vegetable oils and cotton; fish catch
778,000 metric tons in 1986
_#_Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $3.4
billion; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments
(1980-88), $10.6 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $652 million;
Communist countries (1970-89), $1.5 billion
_#_Currency: taka (plural--taka); 1 taka (Tk) = 100 paise
_#_Exchange rates: taka (Tk) per US$1--35.790 (January 1991), 34.567
(1990), 32.270 (1989), 31.733 (1988), 30.950 (1987), 30.407 (1986),
27.995 (1985)
_#_Fiscal year: 1 July-30 June
_*_Communications
_#_Railroads: 2,892 km total (1986); 1,914 km 1.000 meter gauge,
978 km 1.676 meter broad gauge
_#_Highways: 7,240 km total (1985); 3,840 km paved, 3,400 km unpaved
_#_Inland waterways: 5,150-8,046 km navigable waterways (includes
2,575-3,058 km main cargo routes)
_#_Ports: Chittagong, Chalna
_#_Merchant marine: 47 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling
339,081 GRT/500,008 DWT; includes 38 cargo, 2 petroleum, oils, and
lubricants (POL) tanker, 3 refrigerated cargo, 1 roll-on/roll-off, 3 bulk
_#_Pipelines: 1,220 km natural gas
_#_Civil air: 15 major transport aircraft
_#_Airports: 16 total, 12 usable; 12 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; 4 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 6 with
runways 1,220-2,439 m
_#_Telecommunications: adequate international radio communications and
landline service; fair domestic wire and microwave service; fair
broadcast service; 241,250 telephones; stations--9 AM, 6 FM, 11 TV;
2 Indian Ocean INTELSAT satellite earth stations
_*_Defense Forces
_#_Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force; paramilitary forces--Bangladesh
Rifles, Bangladesh Ansars, Armed Police Reserve, Coastal Police
_#_Manpower availability: males 15-49, 28,896,632; 17,154,593 fit for
military service
_#_Defense expenditures: $319 million, 1.5% of GDP (FY91)
_%_
_@_Barbados
_*_Geography
_#_Total area: 430 km2; land area: 430 km2
_#_Comparative area: slightly less than 2.5 times the size of
Washington, DC
_#_Land boundaries: none
_#_Coastline: 97 km
_#_Maritime claims:
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm;
Territorial sea: 12 nm
_#_Climate: tropical; rainy season (June to October)
_#_Terrain: relatively flat; rises gently to central highland region
_#_Natural resources: crude oil, fishing, natural gas
_#_Land use: arable land 77%; permanent crops 0%; meadows and
pastures 9%; forest and woodland 0%; other 14%
_#_Environment: subject to hurricanes (especially June to October)
_#_Note: easternmost Caribbean island
_*_People
_#_Population: 254,626 (July 1991), growth rate 0.1% (1991)
_#_Birth rate: 16 births/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Death rate: 9 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Net migration rate: - 6 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Infant mortality rate: 23 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
_#_Life expectancy at birth: 70 years male, 76 years female (1991)
_#_Total fertility rate: 1.8 children born/woman (1991)
_#_Nationality: noun--Barbadian(s); adjective--Barbadian
_#_Ethnic divisions: African 80%, mixed 16%, European 4%
_#_Religion: Protestant 67% (Anglican 40%, Pentecostal 8%, Methodist
7%, other 12%), Roman Catholic 4%; none 17%, unknown 3%, other 9%
(1980)
_#_Language: English
_#_Literacy: 99% (male 99%, female 99%) age 15 and over having ever
attended school (1970)
_#_Labor force: 112,300; services and government 37%; commerce 22%;
manufacturing and construction 22%; transportation, storage,
communications, and financial institutions 9%; agriculture 8%; utilities
2% (1985 est.)
_#_Organized labor: 32% of labor force
_*_Government
_#_Long-form name: none
_#_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--there may
be a new city of Bridgetown
_#_Independence: 30 November 1966 (from UK)
_#_Constitution: 30 November 1966
_#_Legal system: English common law; no judicial review of
legislative acts
_#_National holiday: Independence Day, 30 November (1966)
_#_Executive branch: British monarch, governor general, prime
minister, deputy prime minister, Cabinet
_#_Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament consists of an upper
house or Senate and a lower house or House of Assembly
_#_Judicial branch: Supreme Court of Judicature
_#_Leaders:
Chief of State--Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952),
represented by Governor General Sir Hugh SPRINGER (since 24 February
1984);
Head of Government--Prime Minister Lloyd Erskine SANDIFORD (since
2 June 1987)
_#_Political parties and leaders:
Democratic Labor Party (DLP), Erskine SANDIFORD;
Barbados Labor Party (BLP), Henry FORDE;
National Democratic Party (NDP), Richie HAYNES
_#_Suffrage: universal at age 18
_#_Elections:
House of Assembly--last held 22 January 1991 (next to be held by
January 1996);
results--DLP 49.8%;
seats--(28 total) DLP 18, BLP 10
_#_Communists: negligible
_#_Other political or pressure groups: Industrial and General Workers
Union, Sir Frank WALCOTT; People's Progressive Movement, Eric SEALY;
Workers' Party of Barbados, Dr. George BELLE
_#_Member of: ACP, C, CARICOM, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, GATT, IADB,
IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC,
ISO (correspondent), ITU, LAES, LORCS, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, UN, UNCTAD,
UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO
_#_Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Sir William DOUGLAS; Chancery
at 2144 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 939-9200
through 9202; there is a Barbadian Consulate General in New York and a
Consulate in Los Angeles;
US--Ambassador G. Philip HUGHES; Embassy at Canadian
Imperial Bank of Commerce Building, Broad Street, Bridgetown (mailing
address is P. O. Box 302, Bridgetown or FPO Miami 34054); telephone (809)
436-4950 through 4957
_#_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)
_*_Economy
_#_Overview: A per capita income of $6,500 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. The tourist
industry is now a major employer of the labor force and a primary source
of foreign exchange. An unemployment rate of 18% remains one of the most
serious economic problems facing the country.
_#_GDP: $1.7 billion, per capita $6,500; real growth rate
3.6% (1989 est.)
_#_Inflation rate (consumer prices): 6.2% (1989)
_#_Unemployment: 18% (1990)
_#_Budget: revenues $501 million; expenditures $484 million,
including capital expenditures of $113 million (FY91)
_#_Exports: $165 million (f.o.b., 1990 est.);
commodities--sugar and molasses, chemicals, electrical components,
clothing, rum, machinery and transport equipment;
partners: CARICOM 30%, US 20%, UK 20%
_#_Imports: $701 million (c.i.f., 1990 est.);
commodities--foodstuffs, consumer durables, raw materials,
machinery, crude oil, construction materials, chemicals;
partners--US 35%, CARICOM 13%, UK 12%, Japan 6%, Canada 8%,
Venezuela 4%
_#_External debt: $550 million (June 1990 est.)
_#_Industrial production: growth rate - 1.5% (1989); accounts
for 14 % of GDP
_#_Electricity: 132,000 kW capacity; 494 million kWh produced, 1,880
kWh per capita (1990)
_#_Industries: tourism, sugar, light manufacturing, component assembly
for export
_#_Agriculture: accounts for 10% of GDP; major cash crop is sugarcane;
other crops--vegetables and cotton; not self-sufficient in food
_#_Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $15
million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments
(1970-88), $169 million
_#_Currency: Barbadian dollars (plural--dollars); 1 Barbadian dollar
(Bds$) = 100 cents
_#_Exchange rates: Barbadian dollars (Bds$) per US$1--2.0113 (fixed
rate)
_#_Fiscal year: 1 April-31 March
_*_Communications
_#_Highways: 1,570 km total; 1,475 km paved, 95 km gravel and earth
_#_Ports: Bridgetown
_#_Merchant marine: 2 cargo ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 3,200
GRT/7,338 DWT
_#_Civil air: 2 major transport aircraft
_#_Airports: 1 with permanent-surface runways 2,440-3,659 m
_#_Telecommunications: islandwide automatic telephone system with
89,000 telephones; tropospheric scatter link to Trinidad and Saint Lucia;
stations--3 AM, 2 FM, 2 (1 is pay) TV; 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth
station
_*_Defense Forces
_#_Branches: Royal Barbados Defense Force, Coast Guard, Royal
Barbados Police Force
_#_Manpower availability: males 15-49, 69,038; 48,455 fit for military
service, no conscription
_#_Defense expenditures: $10 million, 0.7% of GDP (1989)
_%_
_@_Bassas da India
(French possession)
_*_Geography
_#_Total area: undetermined
_#_Comparative area: undetermined
_#_Land boundaries: none
_#_Coastline: 35.2 km
_#_Maritime claims:
Contiguous zone: 12 nm;
Continental shelf: 200 m (depth) or to depth of exploitation;
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm;
Territorial sea: 12 nm
_#_Disputes: claimed by Madagascar
_#_Climate: tropical
_#_Terrain: a volcanic rock 2.4 m high
_#_Natural resources: none
_#_Land use: arable land 0%; permanent crops 0%; meadows and
pastures 0%; forest and woodland 0%; other (rock) 100%
_#_Environment: surrounded by reefs; subject to periodic cyclones
_#_Note: navigational hazard since it is usually under water during
high tide; located in southern Mozambique Channel about halfway between
Africa and Madagascar
_*_People
_#_Population: uninhabited
_*_Government
_#_Long-form name: none
_#_Type: French possession administered by Commissioner of the
Republic Daniel CONSTANTIN, resident in Reunion
_*_Economy
_#_Overview: no economic activity
_*_Communications
_#_Ports: none; offshore anchorage only
_*_Defense Forces
_#_Note: defense is the responsibility of France
_%_
_@_Belgium
_*_Geography
_#_Total area: 30,510 km2; land area: 30,230 km2
_#_Comparative area: slightly larger than Maryland
_#_Land boundaries: 1,385 km total; France 620 km, Germany 167 km,
Luxembourg 148 km, Netherlands 450 km
_#_Coastline: 64 km
_#_Maritime claims:
Continental shelf: not specific;
Exclusive fishing zone: equidistant line with neighbors (extends
about 68 km from coast);
Territorial sea: 12 nm
_#_Climate: temperate; mild winters, cool summers; rainy, humid,
cloudy
_#_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%, includes irrigated
NEGL%
_#_Environment: air and water pollution
_#_Note: majority of West European capitals within 1,000 km of
Brussels; crossroads of Western Europe; Brussels is the seat of the EC
_*_People
_#_Population: 9,921,910 (July 1991), growth rate 0.1% (1991)
_#_Birth rate: 12 births/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Death rate: 11 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Infant mortality rate: 6 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
_#_Life expectancy at birth: 74 years male, 81 years female (1991)
_#_Total fertility rate: 1.6 children born/woman (1991)
_#_Nationality: noun--Belgian(s); adjective--Belgian
_#_Ethnic divisions: Fleming 55%, Walloon 33%, mixed or other 12%
_#_Religion: Roman Catholic 75%, remainder Protestant or other
_#_Language: Flemish (Dutch) 56%, French 32%, German 1%; legally
bilingual 11%; divided along ethnic lines
_#_Literacy: 99% (male NA%, female NA%) age 15 and over can
read and write (1980 est.)
_#_Labor force: 4,200,000; services 69%, industry 28%, agriculture
3% (1988)
_#_Organized labor: 70% of labor force
_*_Government
_#_Long-form name: Kingdom of Belgium
_#_Type: constitutional monarchy
_#_Capital: Brussels
_#_Administrative divisions: 9 provinces (French--provinces,
singular--province; Flemish--provincien, singular--provincie);
Antwerpen, Brabant, Hainaut, Liege, Limburg, Luxembourg, Namur,
Oost-Vlaanderen, West-Vlaanderen
_#_Independence: 4 October 1830 (from the Netherlands)
_#_Constitution: 7 February 1831, last revised 8-9 August 1980; the
government is in the process of revising the Constitution, with the aim
of federalizing the Belgian state
_#_Legal system: civil law system influenced by English constitutional
theory; judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ
jurisdiction, with reservations
_#_National holiday: National Day, 21 July (ascension of King Leopold
to the throne in 1831)
_#_Executive branch: monarch, prime minister, five deputy prime
ministers, Cabinet
_#_Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament consists of an upper
chamber or Senate (Flemish--Senaat, French--Senat) and a lower chamber
or Chamber of Representatives (Flemish--Kamer van
Volksvertegenwoordigers, French--Chambre des Representants)
_#_Judicial branch: Supreme Court of Justice (Flemish--Hof van
Cassatie, French--Cour de Cassation)
_#_Leaders:
Chief of State--King BAUDOUIN I (since 17 July 1951);
Heir Apparent Prince ALBERT of Liege (brother of the King; born 6
June 1934);
Head of Government--Prime Minister Wilfried MARTENS,
(since April 1979, with a 10-month interruption in 1981)
_#_Political parties and leaders:
Flemish Social Christian (CVP), Herman van ROMPUY, president;
Walloon Social Christian (PSC), Gerard DEPREZ, president;
Flemish Socialist (SP), Frank VANDENBROUCKE, president;
Walloon Socialist (PS), Guy SPITAELS, president;
Flemish Liberal (PVV), Guy VERHOFSTADT, president;
Walloon Liberal (PRL), Antoine DUQUESNE, president;
Francophone Democratic Front (FDF), Georges CLERFAYT, president;
Volksunie (VU), Jaak GABRIELS, president;
Communist Party (PCB), Louis van GEYT, president;
Vlaams Blok (VB), Karel DILLEN;
other minor parties
_#_Suffrage: universal and compulsory at age 18
_#_Elections:
Senate--last held 13 December 1987 (next to be held by
January 1992);
results--CVP 19.2%, PS 15.7%, SP 14.7%, PVV 11.3%, PRL 9.3%,
VU 8.1%, PSC 7.8%, ECOLO-AGALEV 7.7%, VB 2.0%, VDF 1.3%,
other 1.96%;
seats--(106 total) CVP 22, PS 20, SP 17, PRL 12, PVV 11, PSC 9, VU 8,
ECOLO-AGALEV 5, VB 1, FDF 1;
Chamber of Representatives--last held 13 December 1987
(next to be held by January 1992);
results--CVP 19.45%, PS 15.66%, SP 14.88%, PVV 11.55%, PRL 9.41%,
PSC 8.01%, VU 8.05%, ECOLO-AGALEV 7.05%, VB 1.90%, FDF 1.16%, other
2.88%;
seats--(212 total) CVP 43, PS 40, SP 32, PVV 25, PRL 23,
PSC 19, VU 16, ECOLO-AGALEV 9, FDF 3, VB 2
_#_Communists: under 5,000 members (December 1985 est.)
_#_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
_#_Member of: ACCT, AfDB, AG (observer), AsDB, Benelux, BIS, CCC, CE,
CERN, COCOM, CSCE, EBRD, EC, ECE, EIB, ESA, FAO, G-9, G-10, GATT, IADB,
IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO,
INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LORCS, NATO, NEA, OAS
(observer), OECD, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMOGIP,
UNRWA, UPU, WCL, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
_#_Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Juan CASSIERS; Chancery at
3330 Garfield Street NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 333-6900;
there are Belgian Consulates General in Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Los
Angeles, and New York;
US--Ambassador Maynard W. GLITMAN; Embassy at 27 Boulevard du
Regent, B-1000 Brussels (mailing address is APO New York 09667-1000);
telephone [32] (2) 513-3830; there is a US Consulate General in Antwerp
_#_Flag: three equal vertical bands of black (hoist side), yellow,
and red; the design was based on the flag of France
_*_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 essential raw
materials, making its economy closely dependent on the state of world
markets. Over 70% of trade is with other EC countries. During
the period 1988-90 Belgium's economic performance was marked by buoyant
output growth, moderate inflation, and a substantial external surplus.
Real GDP grew by an average of 3.9% in 1988-90. However, the economy
is likely to slow in 1991-92 to below 3% GDP growth.
_#_GDP: $144.8 billion, per capita $14,600; real growth rate 3.3%
(1990)
_#_Inflation rate (consumer prices): 3% (1991 est.)
_#_Unemployment rate: 8.2% est. (1991 est.)
_#_Budget: revenues $45.0 billion; expenditures $55.3 billion,
including capital expenditures of NA (1989)
_#_Exports: $106 billion (f.o.b., 1990 est.) Belgium-Luxembourg
Economic Union;
commodities--iron and steel, transportation equipment,
tractors, diamonds, petroleum products;
partners--EC 74%, US 5%, Communist countries 2% (1989)
_#_Imports: $108 billion (c.i.f., 1989) Belgium-Luxembourg Economic
Union;
commodities--fuels, grains, chemicals, foodstuffs;
partners--EC 73%, US 4%, oil-exporting less developed countries 4%,
Communist countries 3% (1989)
_#_External debt: $28.8 billion (1990 est.)
_#_Industrial production: growth rate 1.3% (1991 est.); accounts
for almost 30% of GDP
_#_Electricity: 17,325,000 kW capacity; 62,780 million kWh produced,
6,350 kWh per capita (1989)
_#_Industries: engineering and metal products, processed food and
beverages, chemicals, basic metals, textiles, glass, petroleum, coal
_#_Agriculture: accounts for 2% of GDP; emphasis on livestock
production--beef, veal, pork, milk; major crops are sugar beets, fresh
vegetables, fruits, grain, and tobacco; net importer of farm products
_#_Economic aid: donor--ODA and OOF commitments (1970-89), $5.8
billion
_#_Currency: Belgian franc (plural--francs); 1 Belgian franc (BF) =
100 centimes
_#_Exchange rates: Belgian francs (BF) per US$1--31.102 (January
1991), 33.418 (1990), 39.404 (1989), 36.768 (1988), 37.334 (1987), 44.672
(1986), 59.378 (1985)
_#_Fiscal year: calendar year
_*_Communications
_#_Railroads: Belgian National Railways (SNCB) operates 3,667 km
1.435-meter standard gauge, government owned; 2,563 km double track;
1,978 km electrified; 191 km 1.000-meter gauge, government owned and
operated
_#_Highways: 103,396 km total; 1,317 km limited access, divided
autoroute; 11,717 km national highway; 1,362 km provincial road; about
38,000 km paved and 51,000 km unpaved rural roads
_#_Inland waterways: 2,043 km (1,528 km in regular commercial use)
_#_Ports: Antwerp, Brugge, Gent, Oostende, Zeebrugge
_#_Merchant marine: 69 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,785,066
GRT/2,927,618 DWT; includes 12 cargo, 6 roll-on/roll-off, 6 container, 7
petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 9 liquefied gas, 3
combination ore/oil, 9 chemical tanker, 11 bulk, 6 combination bulk
_#_Pipelines: refined products 1,167 km; crude 161 km; natural gas
3,300 km
_#_Civil air: 47 major transport aircraft
_#_Airports: 42 total, 42 usable; 24 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; 14 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 3 with
runways 1,220-2,439 m
_#_Telecommunications: excellent domestic and international telephone
and telegraph facilities; 4,720,000 telephones; stations--8 AM, 19 FM (42
relays), 25 TV (10 relays); 5 submarine cables; satellite earth stations
operating in INTELSAT 3 Atlantic Ocean and EUTELSAT systems
_*_Defense Forces
_#_Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, National Gendarmerie
_#_Manpower availability: males 15-49, 2,521,178; 2,115,935 fit for
military service; 64,634 reach military age (19) annually
_#_Defense expenditures: $4.8 billion, 2.5% of GDP (1990)
_%_
_@_Belize
_*_Geography
_#_Total area: 22,960 km2; land area: 22,800 km2
_#_Comparative area: slightly larger than Massachusetts
_#_Land boundaries: 516 km total; Guatemala 266 km, Mexico 250 km
_#_Coastline: 386 km
_#_Maritime claims:
Territorial sea: 3 nm
_#_Disputes: claimed by Guatemala, but boundary negotiations to
resolve dispute are nearing completion
_#_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 NEGL%; meadows and
pastures 2%; forest and woodland 44%; other 52%, includes irrigated
NEGL%
_#_Environment: frequent devastating hurricanes (September to
December) and coastal flooding (especially in south); deforestation
_#_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
_*_People
_#_Population: 228,069 (July 1991), growth rate 3.6% (1991)
_#_Birth rate: 38 births/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Death rate: 5 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Net migration rate: 4 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Infant mortality rate: 35 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
_#_Life expectancy at birth: male 67 years, female 72 years (1991)
_#_Total fertility rate: 4.7 children born/woman (1991)
_#_Nationality: noun--Belizean(s); adjective--Belizean
_#_Ethnic divisions: Creole 39.7%, Mestizo 33.1%, Maya 9.5%, Garifuna
7.6%, East Indian 2.1%, other 8.0%
_#_Religion: 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%, unknown 3%, other 3%
(1980)
_#_Language: English (official), Spanish, Maya, Garifuna (Carib)
_#_Literacy: 91% (male 91%, female 91%) age 15 and over having ever
attended school (1970)
_#_Labor force: 51,500; agriculture 30.0%, services 16.0%, government
15.4%, commerce 11.2%, manufacturing 10.3%; shortage of skilled
labor and all types of technical personnel (1985)
_#_Organized labor: 12% of labor force; 7 unions currently active
_*_Government
_#_Long-form name: none
_#_Type: parliamentary democracy
_#_Capital: Belmopan
_#_Administrative divisions: 6 districts; Belize, Cayo, Corozal,
Orange Walk, Stann Creek, Toledo
_#_Independence: 21 September 1981 (from UK; formerly British
Honduras)
_#_Constitution: 21 September 1981
_#_Legal system: English law
_#_National holiday: Independence Day, 21 September
_#_Executive branch: British monarch, governor general, prime
minister, deputy prime minister, Cabinet
_#_Legislative branch: bicameral National Assembly consists of an
upper house or Senate and a lower house or House of Representatives
_#_Judicial branch: Supreme Court
_#_Leaders:
Chief of State--Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952),
represented by Governor General Dame Elmira Minita GORDON (since 21
September 1981);
Head of Government--Prime Minister George Cadle PRICE (since 4
September 1989)
_#_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;
Belize Popular Party (BPP), Louis SYLVESTRE
_#_Suffrage: universal at age 18
_#_Elections:
National Assembly--last held 4 September 1989 (next to be
held September 1994);
results--percent of vote by party NA; seats--(28 total)
PUP 15 seats, UDP 13 seats; note--in January 1990 one
member expelled from UDP joined PUP, making the seat count
16 PUP, UDP 12
_#_Communists: negligible
_#_Other political or pressure groups: Society for the Promotion
of Education and Research (SPEAR) headed by former PUP minister;
United Workers Front
_#_Member of: ACP, C, CARICOM, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, GATT, IBRD, IDA,
IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM, (observer), ITU, LORCS,
NAM, OAS, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WMO
_#_Diplomatic representation: Ambassador James V. HYDE; Chancery at
Suite 2J, 3400 International Drive NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone
(202) 363-4505;
US--Ambassador Eugene L. SCASSA; Embassy at Gabourel Lane and
Hutson Street, Belize City (mailing address is P. O. Box 286, Belize
City); telephone [501] 77161 through 77163
_#_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
_*_Economy
_#_Overview: The economy is based primarily on agriculture and
merchandising. Agriculture accounts for more than 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.
_#_GDP: $290 million, per capita $1,320; real growth rate 9% (1990
est.)
_#_Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1.8% (1990 est.)
_#_Unemployment rate: 12% (1988)
_#_Budget: revenues $87.4 million; expenditures $130.5 million,
including capital expenditures of $53.5 million (FY90 est.)
_#_Exports: $108 million (f.o.b., 1990 est.);
commodities--sugar, clothing, seafood, molasses, citrus, wood and
wood products;
partners--US 47%, UK, Trinidad and Tobago, Canada (1987)
_#_Imports: $204 million (c.i.f., 1990 est.);
commodities--machinery and transportation equipment, food,
manufactured goods, fuels, chemicals, pharmaceuticals;
partners--US 55%, UK, Netherlands Antilles, Mexico (1987)
_#_External debt: $169 million (December 1990)
_#_Industrial production: growth rate 9.7% (1989); accounts for
16% of GDP
_#_Electricity: 34,700 kW capacity; 90 million kWh produced,
410 kWh per capita (1990)
_#_Industries: garment production, citrus concentrates, sugar
refining, rum, beverages, tourism
_#_Agriculture: accounts for 30% of GDP (including fish and forestry);
commercial crops include sugarcane, bananas, coca, citrus fruits;
expanding output of lumber and cultured shrimp; net importer of basic
foods
_#_Illicit drugs: an illicit producer of cannabis for the
international drug trade; eradication program cut marijuana
production from 200 metric tons in 1987 to 66 metric tons in 1989;
transshipment point for cocaine
_#_Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $104
million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments
(1970-88), $199 million
_#_Currency: Belizean dollar (plural--dollars); 1 Belizean dollar
(Bz$) = 100 cents
_#_Exchange rates: Belizean dollars (Bz$) per US$1--2.00 (fixed rate)
_#_Fiscal year: 1 April-31 March
_*_Communications
_#_Highways: 2,710 km total; 500 km paved, 1,600 km gravel, 300 km
improved earth, and 310 km unimproved earth
_#_Inland waterways: 825 km river network used by shallow-draft craft;
seasonally navigable
_#_Ports: Belize City; additional ports for shallow draught craft
include Corozol, Punta Gorda, Big Creek
_#_Civil air: no major transport aircraft
_#_Airports: 42 total, 32 usable; 3 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 2,439 m; 2 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
_#_Telecommunications: 8,650 telephones; above-average system based on
radio relay; stations--6 AM, 5 FM, 1 TV, 1 shortwave; 1 Atlantic Ocean
INTELSAT earth station
_*_Defense Forces
_#_Branches: British Forces Belize, Belize Defense Force (including
Army, Navy, Air Force, and Volunteer Guard), Belize National Police
_#_Manpower availability: males 15-49, 53,184; 31,790 fit for military
service; 2,545 reach military age (18) annually
_#_Defense expenditures: $4.8 million, 1.8% of GDP (1990 est.)
_%_
_@_Benin
_*_Geography
_#_Total area: 112,620 km2; land area: 110,620 km2
_#_Comparative area: slightly smaller than Pennsylvania
_#_Land boundaries: 1,989 km total; Burkina 306 km, Niger 266 km,
Nigeria 773 km, Togo 644 km
_#_Coastline: 121 km
_#_Maritime claims:
Territorial sea: 200 nm
_#_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%, includes irrigated NEGL%
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