The 1996 CIA World Factbook
by United States. Central Intelligence Agency · English · Gutenberg #27675 · 2,828,480 chars · public domain (US)
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Title: The 1996 CIA World Factbook
Author: United States. Central Intelligence Agency
Release date: December 31, 2008 [eBook #27675]
Most recently updated: October 16, 2025
Language: English
Other information and formats: www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/27675
Credits: Produced by Al Haines
*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE 1996 CIA WORLD FACTBOOK ***
THE 1996 CIA WORLD FACTBOOK
[Transcriber's note: At the time of the preparation of this
file (December 2008), the various supplementary sections
of the 1996 Factbook (Appendixes, Notes and Definitions,
History, etc.) were no longer available. Users of this
edition should refer to the Project Gutenberg's versions
of the 1995 and 1997 Factbooks for those sections. Note
that there may be changes in this material from year to year.]
A
Afghanistan
Albania
Algeria
American Samoa
Andorra
Angola
Anguilla
Antarctica
Antigua and Barbuda
Arctic Ocean
Argentina
Armenia
Aruba
Ashmore and Cartier Islands
Atlantic Ocean
Australia
Austria
Azerbaijan
B
The Bahamas
Bahrain
Baker Island
Bangladesh
Barbados
Bassas da India
Belarus
Belgium
Belize
Benin
Bermuda
Bhutan
Bolivia
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Botswana
Bouvet Island
Brazil
British Indian Ocean Territory
British Virgin Islands
Brunei
Bulgaria
Burkina Faso
Burma
Burundi
C
Cambodia
Cameroon
Canada
Cape Verde
Cayman Islands
Central African Republic
Chad
Chile
China
Christmas Island
Clipperton Island
Cocos (Keeling) Islands
Colombia
Comoros
Congo
Cook Islands
Coral Sea Islands
Costa Rica
Cote d'Ivoire
Croatia
Cuba
Cyprus
Czech Republic
D
Denmark
Djibouti
Dominica
Dominican Republic
E
Ecuador
Egypt
El Salvador
Equatorial Guinea
Eritrea
Estonia
Ethiopia
Europa Island
F
Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas)
Faroe Islands
Fiji
Finland
France
French Guiana
French Polynesia
French Southern and Antarctic Lands
G
Gabon
The Gambia
Gaza Strip
Georgia
Germany
Ghana
Gibraltar
Glorioso Islands
Greece
Greenland
Grenada
Guadeloupe
Guam
Guatemala
Guernsey
Guinea
Guinea-Bissau
Guyana
H
Haiti
Heard Island and McDonald Islands
Holy See (Vatican City)
Honduras
Hong Kong
Howland Island
Hungary
I
Iceland
India
Indian Ocean
Indonesia
Iran
Iraq
Ireland
Israel
Italy
J
Jamaica
Jan Mayen
Japan
Jarvis Island
Jersey
Johnston Atoll
Jordan
Juan de Nova Island
K
Kazakstan
Kenya
Kingman Reef
Kiribati
Korea, North
Korea, South
Kuwait
Kyrgyzstan
L
Laos
Latvia
Lebanon
Lesotho
Liberia
Libya
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
M
Macau
Macedonia, The Former Yugoslav Republic of
Madagascar
Malawi
Malaysia
Maldives
Mali
Malta
Man, Isle of
Marshall Islands
Martinique
Mauritania
Mauritius
Mayotte
Mexico
Micronesia, Federated States of
Midway Islands
Moldova
Monaco
Mongolia
Montserrat
Morocco
Mozambique
N
Namibia
Nauru
Navassa Island
Nepal
Netherlands
Netherlands Antilles
New Caledonia
New Zealand
Nicaragua
Niger
Nigeria
Niue
Norfolk Island
Northern Mariana Islands
Norway
O
Oman
P
Pacific Ocean
Pakistan
Palau
Palmyra Atoll
Panama
Papua New Guinea
Paracel Islands
Paraguay
Peru
Philippines
Pitcairn Islands
Poland
Portugal
Puerto Rico
Q
Qatar
R
Reunion
Romania
Russia
Rwanda
S
Saint Helena
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Saint Lucia
Saint Pierre and Miquelon
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
San Marino
Sao Tome and Principe
Saudi Arabia
Senegal
Serbia and Montenegro
Seychelles
Sierra Leone
Singapore
Slovakia
Slovenia
Solomon Islands
Somalia
South Africa
South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
Spain
Spratly Islands
Sri Lanka
Sudan
Suriname
Svalbard
Swaziland
Sweden
Switzerland
Syria
T
Taiwan
Tajikistan
Tanzania
Thailand
Togo
Tokelau
Tonga
Trinidad and Tobago
Tromelin Island
Tunisia
Turkey
Turkmenistan
Turks and Caicos Islands
Tuvalu
U
Uganda
Ukraine
United Arab Emirates
United Kingdom
United States
Uruguay
Uzbekistan
V
Vanuatu
Venezuela
Vietnam
Virgin Islands
W
Wake Island
Wallis and Futuna
West Bank
Western Sahara
Western Samoa
World
Y
Yemen
Z
Zaire
Zambia
Zimbabwe
=====================================================================
@Afghanistan
-----------
Map
---
Location: 33 00 N, 65 00 E -- Southern Asia, north of Pakistan
Flag
----
Description: three equal horizontal bands of green (top), white,
and black with a gold emblem centered on the three bands; the emblem
features a temple-like structure with Islamic inscriptions above and
below, encircled by a wreath on the left and right and by a bolder
Islamic inscription above, all of which are encircled by two crossed
scimitars
Geography
---------
Location: Southern Asia, north of Pakistan
Geographic coordinates: 33 00 N, 65 00 E
Map references: Asia
Area:
total area: 647,500 sq km
land area: 647,500 sq km
comparative area: slightly smaller than Texas
Land boundaries:
total: 5,529 km
border countries: China 76 km, Iran 936 km, Pakistan 2,430 km,
Tajikistan 1,206 km, Turkmenistan 744 km, Uzbekistan 137 km
Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims: none (landlocked)
International disputes: periodic disputes with Iran over Helmand
water rights; Iran supports clients in country, private Pakistani
and Saudi sources also are active; power struggles among various
groups for control of Kabul, regional rivalries among emerging
warlords, traditional tribal disputes continue; support to Islamic
fighters in Tajikistan's civil war; border dispute with Pakistan
(Durand Line); support to Islamic militants worldwide by some
factions
Climate: arid to semiarid; cold winters and hot summers
Terrain: mostly rugged mountains; plains in north and southwest
lowest point: Amu Darya 258 m
highest point: Nowshak 7,485 m
Natural resources: natural gas, petroleum, coal, copper, talc,
barites, sulfur, lead, zinc, iron ore, salt, precious and
semiprecious stones
Land use:
arable land: 12%
permanent crops: 0%
meadows and pastures: 46%
forest and woodland: 3%
other: 39%
Irrigated land: 26,600 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment:
current issues: soil degradation; overgrazing; deforestation (much
of the remaining forests are being cut down for fuel and building
materials); desertification
natural hazards: damaging earthquakes occur in Hindu Kush mountains;
flooding
international agreements: party to - Endangered Species,
Environmental Modification, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban;
signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life
Conservation
Geographic note: landlocked
People
------
Population: 22,664,136 (July 1996 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 43% (male 4,972,469; female 4,784,900)
15-64 years: 54% (male 6,377,231; female 5,916,954)
65 years and over: 3% (male 325,808; female 286,774) (July 1996 est.)
Population growth rate: 4.78% (1996 est.)
Birth rate: 43.03 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Death rate: 18.16 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Net migration rate: 22.94 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.08 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 1.14 male(s)/female
all ages: 1.06 male(s)/female (1996 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 149.7 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 45.85 years
male: 46.43 years
female: 45.24 years (1996 est.)
Total fertility rate: 6.14 children born/woman (1996 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Afghan(s)
adjective: Afghan
Ethnic divisions: Pashtun 38%, Tajik 25%, Uzbek 6%, Hazara 19%,
minor ethnic groups (Chahar Aimaks, Turkmen, Baloch, and others)
Religions: Sunni Muslim 84%, Shi'a Muslim 15%, other 1%
Languages: Pashtu 35%, Afghan Persian (Dari) 50%, Turkic languages
(primarily Uzbek and Turkmen) 11%, 30 minor languages (primarily
Balochi and Pashai) 4%, much bilingualism
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)
total population: 31.5%
male: 47.2%
female: 15%
Government
----------
Name of country:
conventional long form: Islamic State of Afghanistan
conventional short form: Afghanistan
local long form: Dowlat-e Eslami-ye Afghanestan
local short form: Afghanestan
former: Republic of Afghanistan
Data code: AF
Type of government: transitional government
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 two new provinces of Nurestan (Nuristan) and
Khowst
Independence: 19 August 1919 (from UK)
National holiday: Victory of the Muslim Nation, 28 April;
Remembrance Day for Martyrs and Disabled, 4 May; Independence Day,
19 August
Constitution: none
Legal system: a new legal system has not been adopted but the
transitional government has declared it will follow Islamic law
(Shari'a)
Suffrage: undetermined; previously males 15-50 years of age
Executive branch:
chief of state: President Burhanuddin RABBANI (interim president
July-December 1992, president since 2 January 1993) was elected to a
two-year term (later amended by multi-party agreement to 18 months)
by a national shura (council); election last held 31 December 1992
(next to be held NA); results - percent of vote NA; Vice President
Mohammad NABI MOHAMMADI (since NA) was appointed by the president;
note - in June 1994 failure to agree on a transfer mechanism
resulted in RABBANI's extending his term to 28 December 1994;
following the expiration of the term and while negotiations on the
formation of a new government go on, RABBANI continues in office
head of government: Prime Minister Ahmad Shah AHMADZAI (since NA)
was appointed by President RABBANI as de facto prime minister, but
does not have any real authority; First Deputy Prime Minister
Qutbuddin HELAL (since 17 March 1993) and Deputy Prime Minister
Arsala RAHMANI (since 17 March 1993)
cabinet: Council of Ministers; note - term of present government
expired 28 December 1994; factional fighting since 1 January 1994
has kept government officers from actually occupying ministries and
discharging government responsibilities; the government's authority
to remove cabinet members, including the prime minister, following
the expiration of their term is questionable
Legislative branch: a unicameral parliament consisting of 205
members was chosen by a national shura (council) in January 1993;
non-functioning as of June 1993
Judicial branch: an interim Chief Justice of the Supreme Court has
been appointed by the president in consultation with the prime
minister, but a new court system has not yet been organized
Political parties and leaders: current political organizations
include Jamiat-i-Islami (Islamic Society), Burhanuddin RABBANI,
Ahmad Shah MASOOD; Hizbi Islami-Gulbuddin (Islamic Party), Gulbuddin
HIKMATYAR faction; Hizbi Islami-Khalis (Islamic Party), Yunis KHALIS
faction; Ittihad-i-Islami Barai Azadi Afghanistan (Islamic Union for
the Liberation of Afghanistan), Abdul Rasul SAYYAF;
Harakat-Inqilab-i-Islami (Islamic Revolutionary Movement), Mohammad
Nabi MOHAMMADI; Jabha-i-Najat-i-Milli Afghanistan (Afghanistan
National Liberation Front), Sibghatullah MOJADDEDI;
Mahaz-i-Milli-Islami (National Islamic Front), Sayed Ahamad GAILANI;
Hizbi Wahdat-Khalili faction (Islamic Unity Party), Abdul Karim
KHALILI; Hizbi Wahdat-Akbari faction (Islamic Unity Party), Mohammad
Akbar AKBARI; Harakat-i-Islami (Islamic Movement), Mohammed Asif
MOHSENI; Jumbesh-i-Milli Islami (National Islamic Movement), Abdul
Rashid DOSTAM; Taliban (Religious Students Movement), Mohammad OMAR
note: the former ruling Watan Party has been disbanded
Other political or pressure groups: the former resistance
commanders are the major power brokers in the countryside and their
shuras (councils) are now administering most cities outside Kabul;
tribal elders and religious students are trying to wrest control
from them; ulema (religious scholars); tribal elders; religious
students (talib)
International organization participation: AsDB, CP, ECO, ESCAP,
FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO,
IMF, Intelsat, IOC, IOM (observer), ITU, NAM, OIC, UN, UNCTAD,
UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WToO
Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Abdul RAHIM
chancery: 2341 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 234-3770, 3771
FAX: [1] (202) 328-3516
consulate(s) general: New York
consulate(s): Washington, DC
US diplomatic representation: the US does not have an embassy in
Afghanistan (embassy closed January 1989)
Flag: three equal horizontal bands of green (top), white, and
black with a gold emblem centered on the three bands; the emblem
features a temple-like structure with Islamic inscriptions above and
below, encircled by a wreath on the left and right and by a bolder
Islamic inscription above, all of which are encircled by two crossed
scimitars
Economy
-------
Economic overview: Afghanistan is an extremely poor, landlocked
country, highly dependent on farming (wheat especially) and
livestock raising (sheep and goats). Economic considerations have
played second fiddle to political and military upheavals during more
than 16 years of war, including the nearly 10-year Soviet military
occupation (which ended 15 February 1989). Over the past decade,
one-third of the population fled the country, with Pakistan and Iran
sheltering more than 6 million refugees. Now, only 1.0 million
Afghan refugees remain in Pakistan and about 1.3 million in Iran.
Another 1 million probably moved into and around urban areas within
Afghanistan. Gross domestic product has fallen substantially over
the past 15 years because of the loss of labor and capital and the
disruption of trade and transport. Millions of people continue to
suffer from insufficient food, clothing, housing, and lack of
medical care. Numerical data are extremely shaky.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $12.8 billion (1995 est.)
GDP real growth rate: NA%
GDP per capita: $600 (1995 est.)
GDP composition by sector:
agriculture: 65%
industry: 15%
services: 20%
Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA%
Labor force: 4.98 million
by occupation: agriculture and animal husbandry 67.8%, industry
10.2%, construction 6.3%, commerce 5.0%, services and other 10.7%
(1980 est.)
Unemployment rate: NA%
Budget:
revenues: $NA
expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA
Industries: small-scale production of textiles, soap, furniture,
shoes, fertilizer, and cement; handwoven carpets; natural gas, oil,
coal, copper
Electricity:
capacity: 480,000 kW
production: 550 million kWh
consumption per capita: 39 kWh (1993)
Agriculture: wheat, fruits, nuts, karakul pelts; wool, mutton
Illicit drugs: an illicit cultivator of opium poppy and cannabis
for the international drug trade; world's second-largest opium
producer after Burma (1,250 metric tons in 1995) and a major source
of hashish
Exports: $188.2 million (f.o.b., 1991)
commodities: fruits and nuts, handwoven carpets, wool, cotton, hides
and pelts, precious and semi-precious gems
partners: FSU countries, Pakistan, Iran, Germany, India, UK,
Belgium, Luxembourg, Czechoslovakia
Imports: $616.4 million (c.i.f., 1991)
commodities: food and petroleum products; most consumer goods
partners: FSU countries, Pakistan, Iran, Japan, Singapore, India,
South Korea, Germany
External debt: $2.3 billion (March 1991 est.)
Economic aid:
recipient: ODA, $NA
note: US provided $450 million assistance (1985-93); the UN provides
assistance in the form of food aid, immunization, land mine removal,
and a wide range of aid to refugees and displaced persons
Currency: 1 afghani (AF) = 100 puls
Exchange rates: afghanis (Af) per US$1 - 7,000 (January 1995),
1,900 (January 1994), 1,019 (March 1993), 850 (1991); note - these
rates reflect the free market exchange rates rather than the
official exchange rate, which is a fixed rate of 50.600 afghanis to
the dollar
Fiscal year: 21 March - 20 March
Transportation
--------------
Railways:
total: 24.6 km
broad gauge: 9.6 km 1.524-m gauge from Gushgy (Turkmenistan) to
Towraghondi; 15 km 1,524-m gauge from Termiz (Uzbekistan) to
Kheyrabad transshipment point on south bank of Amu Darya
Highways:
total: 21,000 km
paved: 2,800 km
unpaved: 18,200 km (1984 est.)
Waterways: 1,200 km; chiefly Amu Darya, which handles vessels up
to about 500 DWT
Pipelines: petroleum products - Uzbekistan to Bagram and
Turkmenistan to Shindand; natural gas 180 km
Ports: Kheyrabad, Shir Khan
Airports:
total: 35
with paved runways over 3 047 m: 3
with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 4
with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 2
with paved runways under 914 m: 7
with unpaved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 3
with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 13
with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 3 (1995 est.)
Heliports: 3 (1995 est.)
Communications
--------------
Telephones: 31,200 (1983 est.)
Telephone system:
domestic: very limited telephone and telegraph service; 1 public
telephone in Kabul
international: satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean)
linked only to Iran and 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean Region)
Radio broadcast stations: AM 5, FM 0, shortwave 2
Radios: NA
Television broadcast stations: NA
note: several television stations run by factions and local councils
which provide intermittent service
Televisions: 100,000 (1993 est.)
Defense
-------
Branches: NA; note - the military still does not exist on a
national scale; some elements of the former Army, Air and Air
Defense Forces, National Guard, Border Guard Forces, National Police
Force (Sarandoi), and tribal militias still exist but are
factionalized among the various mujahedin and former regime leaders
Manpower availability:
males age 15-49: 5,549,602
males fit for military service: 2,976,741
males reach military age (22) annually: 220,532 (1996 est.)
Defense expenditures: $NA, NA% of GDP
======================================================================
@Albania
-------
Map
---
Location: 41 00 N, 20 00 E -- Southeastern Europe, bordering the
Adriatic Sea and Ionian Sea, between Greece and Serbia and Montenegro
Flag
----
Description: red with a black two-headed eagle in the center
Geography
---------
Location: Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea and
Ionian Sea, between Greece and Serbia and Montenegro
Geographic coordinates: 41 00 N, 20 00 E
Map references: Europe
Area:
total area: 28,750 sq km
land area: 27,400 sq km
comparative area: slightly larger than Maryland
Land boundaries:
total: 720 km
border countries: Greece 282 km, The Former Yugoslav Republic of
Macedonia 151 km, Serbia and Montenegro 287 km (114 km with Serbia,
173 km with Montenegro)
Coastline: 362 km
Maritime claims:
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
territorial sea: 12 nm
International disputes: the Albanian Government supports
protection of the rights of ethnic Albanians outside of its borders;
Albanian majority in Kosovo seeks independence from Serbian
Republic; Albanians in Macedonia claim discrimination in education,
access to public-sector jobs and representation in government;
Albania is involved in negotiations with Greece over border
demarcation, the treatment of Albania's ethnic Greek minority, and
migrant Albanian workers in Greece
Climate: mild temperate; cool, cloudy, wet winters; hot, clear,
dry summers; interior is cooler and wetter
Terrain: mostly mountains and hills; small plains along coast
lowest point: Adriatic Sea 0 m
highest point: Maja e Korabit 2,753 m
Natural resources: petroleum, 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%
Irrigated land: 4,230 sq km (1989)
Environment:
current issues: deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution from
industrial and domestic effluents
natural hazards: destructive earthquakes; tsunami occur along
southwestern coast
international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change
Geographic note: strategic location along Strait of Otranto (links
Adriatic Sea to Ionian Sea and Mediterranean Sea)
People
------
Population: 3,249,136 (July 1996 est.)
note: the IMF, working with Albanian government figures, estimates
that the population was 3,120,000 in 1993 and that it has fallen
since 1990
Age structure:
0-14 years: 34% (male 570,978; female 529,147)
15-64 years: 60% (male 910,873; female 1,049,662)
65 years and over: 6% (male 77,799; female 110,677) (July 1996 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.34% (1996 est.)
Birth rate: 22.21 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Death rate: 7.64 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Net migration rate: -1.17 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.08 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.08 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.87 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female
all ages: 0.92 male(s)/female (1996 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 49.2 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 67.92 years
male: 64.91 years
female: 71.17 years (1996 est.)
Total fertility rate: 2.65 children born/woman (1996 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Albanian(s)
adjective: Albanian
Ethnic divisions: Albanian 95%, Greeks 3%, other 2% (Vlachs,
Gypsies, Serbs, and Bulgarians) (1989 est.)
note: in 1989, other estimates of the Greek population ranged from
1% (official Albanian statistics) to 12% (from a Greek organization)
Religions: Muslim 70%, Albanian Orthodox 20%, Roman Catholic 10%
note: all mosques and churches were closed in 1967 and religious
observances prohibited; in November 1990, Albania began allowing
private religious practice
Languages: Albanian (Tosk is the official dialect), Greek
Literacy: age 9 and over can read and write (1955 est.)
total population: 72%
male: 80%
female: 63%
Government
----------
Name of country:
conventional long form: Republic of Albania
conventional short form: Albania
local long form: Republika e Shqiperise
local short form: Shqiperia
former: People's Socialist Republic of Albania
Data code: AL
Type of government: emerging democracy
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; note - some new administrative units may have been
created
Independence: 28 November 1912 (from Ottoman Empire)
National holiday: Independence Day, 28 November (1912)
Constitution: an interim basic law was approved by the People's
Assembly on 29 April 1991; a draft constitution was rejected by
popular referendum in the fall of 1994 and a new draft is pending
Legal system: has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal and compulsory
Executive branch:
chief of state: President of the Republic Sali BERISHA (since 9
April 1992) was elected for a five-year term by the People's Assembly
head of government: Prime Minister of the Council of Ministers
Aleksander Gabriel MEKSI (since 10 April 1992) was appointed by the
president
cabinet: Council of Ministers was appointed by the president
Legislative branch: unicameral
People's Assembly (Kuvendi Popullor): elections last held 22 March
1992; results - DP 62.29%, ASP 25.57%, SDP 4.33%, RP 3.15%, UHP
2.92%, other 1.74%; seats - (140 total) DP 92, ASP 38, SDP 7, RP 1,
UHP 2
note: six members of the Democratic Party defected, making the
present seating in the Assembly DP 86, ASP 38, SDP 7, DAP 6, RP 1,
UHP 2
Judicial branch: Supreme Court, chairman of the Supreme Court is
elected by the People's Assembly
Political parties and leaders: there are at least 28 political
parties; most prominent are the Albanian Socialist Party (ASP;
formerly the Albania Workers Party), Fatos NANO, first secretary;
Democratic Party (DP); Albanian Republican Party (RP), Sabri GODO;
Omonia (Greek minority party), Sotir QIRJAZATI, first secretary;
Social Democratic Party (SDP), Skender GJINUSHI; Democratic Alliance
Party (DAP), Neritan CEKA, chairman; Unity for Human Rights Party
(UHP), Vasil MELO, chairman; Ecology Party (EP), Namik HOTI, chairman
International organization participation: BSEC, CCC, CE, EBRD,
ECE, EU (applicant), FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD,
IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol,
IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NACC, OIC, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO,
UNOMIG, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (applicant)
Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Lublin DILJA
chancery: Suite 1000, 1511 K Street NW, Washington, DC 20005
telephone: [1] (202) 223-4942, 8187
FAX: [1] (202) 628-7342
US diplomatic representation:
chief of mission: Ambassador Joseph E. LAKE
embassy: Rruga E. Labinoti 103, Tirane
mailing address: PSC 59, Box 100 (A), APO AE 09624
telephone: [355] (42) 328-75, 335-20
FAX: [355] (42) 322-22
Flag: red with a black two-headed eagle in the center
Economy
-------
Economic overview: An extremely poor country by European
standards, Albania is making the difficult transition to a more
open-market economy. The economy rebounded in 1993-95 after a severe
depression accompanying the collapse of the previous centrally
planned system in 1990 and 1991. Stabilization policies - including
a strict monetary policy, public sector layoffs, and reduced social
services - have improved the government's fiscal situation and
reduced inflation. The recovery has been spurred by the remittances
of some 20% of the labor force which works abroad, mostly in Greece
and Italy. These remittances supplement GDP and help offset the
large foreign trade deficit. Foreign assistance and humanitarian aid
also supported the recovery. Most agricultural land was privatized
in 1992, substantially improving peasant incomes. Albania's
industrial sector ended its five-year, 78% decline in 1995,
recording roughly 6% growth. A sharp fall in chromium prices has
reduced hard currency receipts from the mining sector. Large
segments of the population, especially those living in urban areas,
continue to depend on humanitarian aid to meet basic food
requirements. Unemployment remains a severe problem accounting for
approximately one-fifth of the work force. Now that sanctions on
Serbia have been suspended, the falloff in hard currency earnings
from smuggling will aggravate unemployment problems. Growth is
expected to continue in 1996, but could falter if workers'
remittances from Greece are reduced or foreign assistance declines.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $4.1 billion (1995 est.)
GDP real growth rate: 6% (1995 est.)
GDP per capita: $1,210 (1995 est.)
GDP composition by sector:
agriculture: 55%
industry: NA%
services: NA% (1995 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 16% (1994 est.)
Labor force: 1.692 million (1994 est.) (including 352,000 emigrant
workers and 261,000 domestically unemployed)
by occupation (of those domestically employed): agriculture (nearly
all private) 49.5%, private sector 22.2%, state (nonfarm) sector
28.3% (including state-owned industry 7.8%)
Unemployment rate: 19% (1994 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $486.3 million
expenditures: $550.4 million, including capital expenditures of $124
million (1994)
Industries: food processing, textiles and clothing; lumber, oil,
cement, chemicals, mining, basic metals, hydropower
Industrial production growth rate: 6% (1995 est.)
Electricity:
capacity: 1,662,000 kW
production: 3.9 billion kWh
consumption per capita: 1,219 kWh (1994 est.)
Agriculture: wide range of temperate-zone crops and livestock
Illicit drugs: transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin
transiting the Balkan route and cocaine from South America destined
for Western Europe; limited opium production
Exports: $141 million (f.o.b., 1994 est.)
commodities: asphalt, metals and metallic ores, electricity, crude
oil, vegetables, fruits, tobacco
partners: Italy, US, Greece, The Former Yugoslav Republic of
Macedonia
Imports: $601 million (f.o.b., 1993 est.)
commodities: machinery, consumer goods, grains
partners: Italy, Greece, Bulgaria, Turkey, The Former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia
External debt: $977 million (1994 est.)
Economic aid:
recipient: ODA, $NA
Currency: 1 lek (L) = 100 qintars
Exchange rates: leke (L) per US$1 - 95.65 (January 1996), 100.00
(January 1995), 99.00 (January 1994), 97.00 (January 1993), 50.00
(January 1992), 25.00 (September 1991)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Transportation
--------------
Railways:
total: 670 km
standard gauge: 670 km 1.435-m gauge (1995)
Highways:
total: 18,450 km
paved: 17,450 km
unpaved: 1,000 km (1991 est.)
Waterways: 43 km plus Albanian sections of Lake Scutari, Lake
Ohrid, and Lake Prespa (1990)
Pipelines: crude oil 145 km; petroleum products 55 km; natural gas
64 km (1991)
Ports: Durres, Sarande, Shengjin, Vlore
Merchant marine:
total: 11 cargo ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 52,967 GRT/76,887
DWT (1995 est.)
Airports:
total: 11
with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 3
with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 2
with unpaved runways over 3 047 m: 2
with unpaved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 1
with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 1
with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 2 (1994 est.)
Communications
--------------
Telephones: 55,000
Telephone system:
domestic: obsolete wire system; no longer provides a telephone for
every village; in 1992, following the fall of the communist
government, peasants cut the wire to about 1,000 villages and used
it to build fences
international: inadequate; international traffic carried by
microwave radio relay from the Tirane exchange to Italy and Greece
Radio broadcast stations: AM 17, FM 1, shortwave 0
Radios: 577,000 (1991 est.)
Television broadcast stations: 9
Televisions: 300,000 (1993 est.)
Defense
-------
Branches: Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces, Interior
Ministry Troops, Border Guards
Manpower availability:
males age 15-49: 723,231
males fit for military service: 588,304
males reach military age (19) annually: 29,340 (1996 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $45 million, 2.5%
of GDP (1995)
======================================================================
@Algeria
-------
Map
---
Location: 28 00 N, 3 00 E -- Northern Africa, bordering the
Mediterranean Sea, between Morocco and Tunisia
Flag
----
Description: 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)
Geography
---------
Location: Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea,
between Morocco and Tunisia
Geographic coordinates: 28 00 N, 3 00 E
Map references: Africa
Area:
total area: 2,381,740 sq km
land area: 2,381,740 sq km
comparative area: slightly less than 3.5 times the size of Texas
Land boundaries:
total: 6,343 km
border countries: 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:
exclusive fishing zone: 32-52 nm
territorial sea: 12 nm
International disputes: part of southeastern region claimed by
Libya; land boundary dispute with Tunisia settled in 1993
Climate: arid to semiarid; mild, wet winters with hot, dry summers
along coast; drier with cold winters and hot summers on high
plateau; sirocco is a hot, dust/sand-laden wind especially common in
summer
Terrain: mostly high plateau and desert; some mountains; narrow,
discontinuous coastal plain
lowest point: Chott Melrhir -40 m
highest point: Tahat 3,003 m
Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, phosphates,
uranium, lead, zinc
Land use:
arable land: 3%
permanent crops: 0%
meadows and pastures: 13%
forest and woodland: 2%
other: 82%
Irrigated land: 3,360 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment:
current issues: soil erosion from overgrazing and other poor farming
practices; desertification; dumping of raw sewage, petroleum
refining wastes, and other industrial effluents is leading to the
pollution of rivers and coastal waters; Mediterranean Sea, in
particular, becoming polluted from oil wastes, soil erosion, and
fertilizer runoff; inadequate supplies of potable water
natural hazards: mountainous areas subject to severe earthquakes;
mud slides
international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Ozone Layer
Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified -
Desertification, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban
Geographic note: second-largest country in Africa (after Sudan)
People
------
Population: 29,183,032 (July 1996 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 40% (male 5,910,543; female 5,701,647)
15-64 years: 56% (male 8,319,650; female 8,162,816)
65 years and over: 4% (male 510,308; female 578,068) (July 1996 est.)
Population growth rate: 2.21% (1996 est.)
Birth rate: 28.51 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Death rate: 5.9 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Net migration rate: -0.49 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.88 male(s)/female
all ages: 1.02 male(s)/female (1996 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 48.7 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 68.31 years
male: 67.22 years
female: 69.46 years (1996 est.)
Total fertility rate: 3.59 children born/woman (1996 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Algerian(s)
adjective: Algerian
Ethnic divisions: Arab-Berber 99%, European less than 1%
Religions: Sunni Muslim (state religion) 99%, Christian and Jewish
1%
Languages: Arabic (official), French, Berber dialects
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)
total population: 61.6%
male: 73.9%
female: 49%
Government
----------
Name of country:
conventional long form: Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria
conventional short form: Algeria
local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Jaza'iriyah ad Dimuqratiyah ash
Shabiyah
local short form: Al Jaza'ir
Data code: AG
Type of government: republic
Capital: Algiers
Administrative divisions: 48 provinces (wilayas, singular -
wilaya); Adrar, Ain Defla, Ain Temouchent, Alger, Annaba, Batna,
Bechar, Bejaia, Biskra, Blida, Bordj Bou Arreridj, Bouira,
Boumerdes, Chlef, Constantine, Djelfa, El Bayadh, El Oued, El Tarf,
Ghardaia, Guelma, Illizi, Jijel, Khenchela, Laghouat, Mascara,
Medea, Mila, Mostaganem, M'Sila, Naama, Oran, Ouargla, Oum el
Bouaghi, Relizane, Saida, Setif, Sidi Bel Abbes, Skikda, Souk Ahras,
Tamanghasset, Tebessa, Tiaret, Tindouf, Tipaza, Tissemsilt, Tizi
Ouzou, Tlemcen
Independence: 5 July 1962 (from France)
National holiday: Anniversary of the Revolution, 1 November (1954)
Constitution: 19 November 1976, effective 22 November 1976;
revised 3 November 1988 and 23 February 1989
Legal system: socialist, based on French and Islamic law; judicial
review of legislative acts in ad hoc Constitutional Council composed
of various public officials, including several Supreme Court
justices; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state: President Liamine ZEROUAL (appointed president 31
January 1994, elected president 16 November 1995) was elected for a
five-year term by universal suffrage; election last held 16 November
1995 (next to be held NA); results - percent of vote NA
head of government: Prime Minister Ahmed OUYAHIA (since 31 December
1995) was appointed by the president
cabinet: Council of Ministers was appointed by the prime minister
Legislative branch: unicameral; note - suspended since 1992
National People's Assembly (Al-Majlis Ech-Chaabi Al-Watani):
first-round elections held 26 December 1991; second round canceled
by the military after President BENDJEDID resigned 11 January 1992,
effectively suspending the assembly (next election promised by late
1996 or early 1997); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats -
(281 total) the fundamentalist FIS won 188 of the 231 seats
contested in the first round
Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Cour Supreme)
Political parties and leaders: Islamic Salvation Front (FIS,
outlawed April 1992), Ali BELHADJ, Dr. Abassi MADANI, Rabeh KEBIR
(self-exile in Germany); National Liberation Front (FLN), Boualem
BENHAMOUDA, secretary general; Socialist Forces Front (FFS), Hocine
Ait AHMED, secretary general (self-exile in Switzerland); Hamas,
Mahfoud NAHNAH, chairman; Rally for Culture and Democracy (RCD),
Said SAADI, secretary general; Algerian Renewal Party (PRA),
Noureddine BOUKROUH, chairman
note: the government established a multiparty system in September
1989 and, as of 31 December 1990, over 50 legal parties existed
International organization participation: ABEDA, AfDB, AFESD, AL,
AMF, AMU, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-15, G-19, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO,
ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol,
IOC, ISO, ITU, NAM, OAPEC, OAS (observer), OAU, OIC, OPEC, OSCE
(partner), UN, UNAVEM III, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIH, UPU,
WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (applicant)
Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Osmane BENCHERIF
chancery: 2118 Kalorama Road NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 265-2800
US diplomatic representation:
chief of mission: Ambassador Ronald E. NEUMANN
embassy: 4 Chemin Cheikh Bachir El-Ibrahimi, Algiers
mailing address: B. P. Box 549, Alger-Gare, 16000 Algiers
telephone: [213] (2) 69-11-86, 69-18-54, 69-38-75, 69-12-55
FAX: [213] (2) 69-39-79
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
-------
Economic overview: The hydrocarbons sector is the backbone of the
economy, accounting for roughly 57% of government revenues, 25% of
GDP, and almost all export earnings; Algeria has the fifth-largest
reserves of natural gas in the world and ranks fourteenth for oil.
Algiers' efforts to reform one of the most centrally planned
economies in the Arab world began after the 1986 collapse of world
oil prices plunged the country into a severe recession. In 1989, the
government launched a comprehensive, IMF-supported program to
achieve economic stabilization and to introduce market mechanisms
into the economy. Despite substantial progress toward economic
adjustment, in 1992 the reform drive stalled as Algiers became
embroiled in political turmoil. In September 1993, a new government
was formed, and one priority was the resumption and acceleration of
the structural adjustment process. Buffeted by the slump in world
oil prices and burdened with a heavy foreign debt, Algiers concluded
a one-year standby arrangement with the IMF in April 1994. Following
a Paris Club debt rescheduling in 1995 and a robust harvest, the
economy experienced a strong recovery and key economic improvements.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $108.7 billion (1995 est.)
GDP real growth rate: 3.5% (1995 est.)
GDP per capita: $3,800 (1995 est.)
GDP composition by sector:
agriculture: 12%
industry: 50%
services: 38%
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 28% (1995 est.)
Labor force: 6.2 million (1992 est.)
by occupation: government 29.5%, agriculture 22%, construction and
public works 16.2%, industry 13.6%, commerce and services 13.5%,
transportation and communication 5.2% (1989)
Unemployment rate: 25% (1995 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $14.3 billion
expenditures: $17.9 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA
(1995 est.)
Industries: petroleum, light industries, natural gas, mining,
electrical, petrochemical, food processing
Industrial production growth rate: NA%
Electricity:
capacity: 5,370,000 kW
production: 18.3 billion kWh
consumption per capita: 587 kWh (1993)
Agriculture: wheat, barley, oats, grapes, olives, citrus, fruits;
sheep, cattle
Exports: $9.5 billion (f.o.b., 1995 est.)
commodities: petroleum and natural gas 97%
partners: Italy 21%, France 16%, US 14%, Germany 13%, Spain 9%
Imports: $10.6 billion (f.o.b., 1995 est.)
commodities: capital goods 39.7%, food and beverages 21.7%, consumer
goods 11.8% (1990)
partners: France 29%, Italy 14%, Spain 9%, US 9%, Germany 7%
External debt: $26 billion (1994)
Economic aid:
recipient: ODA, $316 million (1993)
Currency: 1 Algerian dinar (DA) = 100 centimes
Exchange rates: Algerian dinars (DA) per US$1 - 53.003 (January
1996), 47.663 (1995), 35.059 (1994), 23.345 (1993), 21.836 (1992),
18.473 (1991)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Transportation
--------------
Railways:
total: 4,772 km
standard gauge: 3,616 km 1.435-m gauge (301 km electrified; 215 km
double track)
narrow gauge: 1,156 km 1.055-m gauge
Highways:
total: 95,576 km
paved: 63,080 km (including 400 km of expressways)
unpaved: 32,496 km (1992 est.)
Pipelines: crude oil 6,612 km; petroleum products 298 km; natural
gas 2,948 km
Ports: Algiers, Annaba, Arzew, Bejaia, Beni Saf, Dellys,
Djendjene, Ghazaouet, Jijel, Mostaganem, Oran, Skikda, Tenes
Merchant marine:
total: 77 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 916,701 GRT/1,086,324
DWT
ships by type: bulk 9, cargo 27, chemical tanker 7, liquefied gas
tanker 10, oil tanker 5, roll-on/roll-off cargo 13, short-sea
passenger 5, specialized tanker 1 (1995 est.)
Airports:
total: 119
with paved runways over 3 047 m: 8
with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 24
with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 13
with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 4
with paved runways under 914 m: 17
with unpaved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 3
with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 19
with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 31 (1995 est.)
Heliports: 1 (1995 est.)
Communications
--------------
Telephones: 862,000 (1991 est.)
Telephone system:
domestic: excellent service in north but sparse in south; domestic
satellite system with 12 earth stations (20 additional domestic
earth stations are planned)
international: 5 submarine cables; microwave radio relay to Italy,
France, Spain, Morocco, and Tunisia; coaxial cable to Morocco and
Tunisia; participant in Medarabtel; satellite earth stations - 2
Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean), 1 Intersputnik, and
1 Arabsat
Radio broadcast stations: AM 26, FM 0, shortwave 0
Radios: 6 million (1991 est.)
Television broadcast stations: 18
Televisions: 2 million (1993 est.)
Defense
-------
Branches: National Popular Army, Navy, Air Force, Territorial Air
Defense, National Gendarmerie
Manpower availability:
males age 15-49: 7,391,946
males fit for military service: 4,534,267
males reach military age (19) annually: 326,229 (1996 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $1.3 billion,
2.7% of GDP (1994)
======================================================================
@American Samoa
--------------
(territory of the US)
Map
---
Location: 14 20 S, 170 00 W -- Oceania, group of islands in the
South Pacific Ocean, about one-half of the way from Hawaii to New
Zealand
Flag
----
Description: blue with a white triangle edged in red that is based
on the outer 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
Geography
---------
Location: Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean,
about one-half of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand
Geographic coordinates: 14 20 S, 170 00 W
Map references: Oceania
Area:
total area: 199 sq km
land area: 199 sq km
comparative area: slightly larger than Washington, DC
note: includes Rose Island and Swains Island
Land boundaries: 0 km
Coastline: 116 km
Maritime claims:
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 12 nm
International disputes: none
Climate: tropical marine, moderated by southeast trade winds;
annual rainfall averages 124 inches; rainy season from November to
April, dry season from May to October; little seasonal temperature
variation
Terrain: five volcanic islands with rugged peaks and limited
coastal plains, two coral atolls (Rose Island, Swains Island)
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Lata 966 m
Natural resources: pumice, pumicite
Land use:
arable land: 10%
permanent crops: 5%
meadows and pastures: 0%
forest and woodland: 75%
other: 10%
Irrigated land: NA sq km
Environment:
current issues: limited natural fresh water resources; in many areas
of the island, water supplies come from roof catchments
natural hazards: typhoons common from December to March
international agreements: NA
Geographic note: Pago Pago has one of the best natural deepwater
harbors in the South Pacific Ocean, sheltered by shape from rough
seas and protected by peripheral mountains from high winds;
strategic location in the South Pacific Ocean
People
------
Population: 59,566 (July 1996 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: NA
15-64 years: NA
65 years and over: NA
Population growth rate: 3.77% (1996 est.)
Birth rate: 35.75 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Death rate: 4.01 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Net migration rate: 6 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: NA male(s)/female
under 15 years: NA male(s)/female
15-64 years: NA male(s)/female
65 years and over: NA male(s)/female
all ages: NA male(s)/female
Infant mortality rate: 18.78 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 72.91 years
male: 71.03 years
female: 74.85 years (1996 est.)
Total fertility rate: 4.24 children born/woman (1996 est.)
Nationality:
noun: American Samoan(s)
adjective: American Samoan
Ethnic divisions: Samoan (Polynesian) 89%, Caucasian 2%, Tongan
4%, other 5%
Religions: Christian Congregationalist 50%, Roman Catholic 20%,
Protestant denominations and other 30%
Languages: Samoan (closely related to Hawaiian and other
Polynesian languages), English
note: most people are bilingual
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1980 est.)
total population: 97%
male: 98%
female: 97%
Government
----------
Name of country:
conventional long form: Territory of American Samoa
conventional short form: American Samoa
abbreviation: AS
Data code: AQ
Type of government: unincorporated and unorganized territory of
the US; administered by the US Department of Interior, Office of
Territorial and International Affairs
Capital: Pago Pago
Administrative divisions: none (territory of the US)
Independence: none (territory of the US)
National holiday: Territorial Flag Day, 17 April (1900)
Constitution: ratified 1966, in effect 1967
Legal system: NA
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state: President (of the US) William Jefferson CLINTON
(since 20 January 1993) and Vice President Albert GORE, Jr. (since
20 January 1993) are popularly elected by the citizens of the US
head of government: Governor A. P. LUTALI (since 3 January 1993) and
Lieutenant Governor Tauese P. SUNIA (since 3 January 1993) were
elected for a four-year term by popular vote; election last held 3
November 1992 (next to be held NA November 1996); results - A. P.
LUTALI (Democrat) 53%, Peter Tali COLEMAN (Republican) 36%
Legislative branch: bicameral Legislative Assembly (Fono)
House of Representatives: elections last held 8 November 1994 (next
to be held NA November 1996); results - representatives popularly
elected from 17 house districts; percent of vote by party NA; seats
- (21 total, 20 elected, and 1 nonvoting delegate from Swains
Island); number of seats by party NA
Senate: elections last held 3 November 1992 (next to be held NA
November 1996); results - senators elected by village chiefs from 12
senate districts; percent of vote by party NA; seats - (18 total)
number of seats by party NA
US House of Representatives: elections last held 8 November 1994
(next to be held NA November 1996); results - Eni R. F. H.
FALEOMAVAEGA reelected as delegate
Judicial branch: High Court, chief justice and associate justices
are appointed by the US Secretary of the Interior
Political parties and leaders: NA
International organization participation: ESCAP (associate),
Interpol (subbureau), IOC, SPC
Diplomatic representation in US: none (territory of the US)
US diplomatic representation: none (territory of the US)
Flag: blue with a white triangle edged in red that is based on the
outer 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
Economy
-------
Economic overview: Economic activity is strongly linked to the US,
with which American Samoa conducts 80%-90% of its foreign trade.
Tuna fishing and tuna processing plants are the backbone of the
private sector, with canned tuna the primary export. The tuna
canneries and the government are by far the two largest employers.
Other economic activities include a slowly developing tourist
industry. Transfers from the US Government add substantially to
American Samoa's economic well-being.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $128 million (1991 est.)
GDP real growth rate: NA%
GDP per capita: $2,600 (1991 est.)
GDP composition by sector:
agriculture: NA%
industry: NA%
services: NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA
Labor force: 14,400 (1990)
by occupation: government 33%, tuna canneries 34%, other 33% (1990)
Unemployment rate: 12% (1991)
Budget:
revenues: $97 million ($43 million in local revenue and $54 million
in grant revenue)
expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY90/91)
Industries: tuna canneries (largely dependent on foreign fishing
vessels), meat canning, handicrafts
Industrial production growth rate: NA%
Electricity:
capacity: 30,000 kW
production: 90 million kWh
consumption per capita: 1,505 kWh (1993)
Agriculture: bananas, coconuts, vegetables, taro, breadfruit,
yams, copra, pineapples, papayas; dairy farming
Exports: $306 million (f.o.b., 1989)
commodities: canned tuna 93%
partners: US 99.6%
Imports: $360.3 million (c.i.f., 1989)
commodities: materials for canneries 56%, food 8%, petroleum
products 7%, machinery and parts 6%
partners: US 62%, Japan 9%, NZ 7%, Australia 11%, Fiji 4%, other 7%
External debt: $NA
Economic aid:
recipient: ODA, $NA
note: $21 million in operational funds and $1.2 million in
construction funds for capital improvement projects from the US
Department of Interior (1991)
Currency: 1 US dollar (US$) = 100 cents
Exchange rates: US currency is used
Fiscal year: 1 October - 30 September
Transportation
--------------
Railways: 0 km
Highways:
total: 350 km
paved: 150 km
unpaved: 200 km
Ports: Aanu'u (new construction), Auasi, Faleosao, Ofu, Pago Pago,
Ta'u
Merchant marine: none
Airports:
total: 3
with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 1
with paved runways under 914 m: 2
note: small airstrips on Fituita and Ofu (1995 est.)
Communications
--------------
Telephones: 8,399
Telephone system:
domestic: good telex, telegraph, and facsimile services; domestic
satellite system with 1 Comsat earth station
international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean)
Radio broadcast stations: AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0
Radios: NA
Television broadcast stations: 1
Televisions: 8,000 (1993 est.)
Defense
-------
Defense note: defense is the responsibility of the US
======================================================================
@Andorra
-------
Map
---
Location: 42 30 N, 1 30 E -- Southwestern Europe, between France
and Spain
Flag
----
Description: three equal vertical bands of blue (hoist side),
yellow, and red with the national coat of arms centered in the
yellow band; the coat of arms features a quartered shield; similar
to the flags of Chad and Romania that do not have a national coat of
arms in the center
Geography
---------
Location: Southwestern Europe, between France and Spain
Geographic coordinates: 42 30 N, 1 30 E
Map references: Europe
Area:
total area: 450 sq km
land area: 450 sq km
comparative area: 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC
Land boundaries:
total: 125 km
border countries: France 60 km, Spain 65 km
Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims: none (landlocked)
International disputes: none
Climate: temperate; snowy, cold winters and warm, dry summers
Terrain: rugged mountains dissected by narrow valleys
lowest point: Riu Valira 840 m
highest point: Coma Pedrosa 2,946 m
Natural resources: hydropower, mineral water, timber, iron ore,
lead
Land use:
arable land: 2%
permanent crops: 0%
meadows and pastures: 56%
forest and woodland: 22%
other: 20%
Irrigated land: NA sq km
Environment:
current issues: deforestation; overgrazing of mountain meadows
contributes to soil erosion
natural hazards: snowslides, avalanches
international agreements: NA
Geographic note: landlocked
People
------
Population: 72,766 (July 1996 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 16% (male 5,829; female 5,851)
15-64 years: 73% (male 28,724; female 24,757)
65 years and over: 11% (male 3,718; female 3,887) (July 1996 est.)
Population growth rate: 2.96% (1996 est.)
Birth rate: 10.2 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Death rate: 2.9 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Net migration rate: 22.29 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 0.96 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.16 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.96 male(s)/female
all ages: 1.11 male(s)/female
Infant mortality rate: 2.2 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 90.94 years
male: 86.47 years
female: 95.2 years (1996 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.14 children born/woman (1996 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Andorran(s)
adjective: Andorran
Ethnic divisions: Spanish 61%, Andorran 30%, French 6%, other 3%
Religions: Roman Catholic (predominant)
Languages: Catalan (official), French, Castilian
Literacy: NA
Government
----------
Name of country:
conventional long form: Principality of Andorra
conventional short form: Andorra
local long form: Principat d'Andorra
local short form: Andorra
Data code: AN
Type of government: parliamentary democracy (since March 1993)
that retains as its heads of state a coprincipality; the two princes
are the president of France and Spanish bishop of Seo de Urgel, who
are represented locally by officials called veguers
Capital: Andorra la Vella
Administrative divisions: 7 parishes (parroquies, singular -
parroquia); Andorra, Canillo, Encamp, La Massana, Les Escaldes,
Ordino, Sant Julia de Loria
Independence: 1,278
National holiday: Mare de Deu de Meritxell, 8 September
Constitution: Andorra's first written constitution was drafted in
1991; adopted 14 March 1993
Legal system: based on French and Spanish civil codes; no judicial
review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ
jurisdiction
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chiefs of state: French Coprince Jacques CHIRAC (since 17 May 1995)
and Spanish Episcopal Coprince Monseigneur Juan MARTI Alanis (since
31 January 1971); each coprince is represented by a veguer (current
names NA)
head of government: Executive Council President Marc FORNE Molne
(since 21 December 1994) was elected by the General Council and
formally appointed by the coprinces
cabinet: Executive Council was designated by the executive council
president
Legislative branch: unicameral
General Council of the Valleys (Consell General de las Valls:
elections last held 12 December 1993 (next to be held NA 1997);
results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (28 total) AND 8, UL
5, ND 5, CNA 2, IDN 2, other 6
Judicial branch: Supreme Court of Andorra at Perpignan (France)
for civil cases, two civil judges appointed by the veguers, one
appeals judge appointed by the co-princes alternately;
Ecclesiastical Court of the Bishop of Seo de Urgel (Spain) for civil
cases; Tribunal of the Courts (Tribunal des Cortes) for criminal
cases, presided over by the two civil judges, one appeals judge, the
veguers, and two members of the General Council
Political parties and leaders: National Democratic Group (AND),
Oscar RIBAS Reig and Jordi FARRAS; Liberal Union (UL), Francesc
CERQUEDA; New Democracy (ND), Jaume BARTOMEU; Andorran National
Coalition (CNA), Antoni CERQUEDA; National Democratic Initiative
(IDN), Vincenc MATEU; Liberal Union (UL), Marc FORNE
note: there are two other small parties
International organization participation: CE, ECE, IFRCS,
Interpol, IOC, ITU, UN, UNESCO, WIPO
Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Juli MINOVES-TRIQUELL (also Permanent
Representative to the UN)
embassy: 2 United Nations Plaza, 25th Floor, New York, NY 10017
telephone: (212) 750-8064
FAX: (212) 750-6630
US diplomatic representation: the US does not have an embassy in
Andorra; US interests in Andorra are represented by the Consulate
General's office in Barcelona (Spain); mailing address: Paseo Reina
Elisenda, 23, 08034 Barcelona, Spain; telephone: (343) 280-2227;
FAX: (343) 205-7705; note - Consul General Maurice S. PARKER makes
periodic visits to Andorra
Flag: three equal vertical bands of blue (hoist side), yellow, and
red with the national coat of arms centered in the yellow band; the
coat of arms features a quartered shield; similar to the flags of
Chad and Romania that do not have a national coat of arms in the
center
Economy
-------
Economic overview: Tourism, the mainstay of Andorra's tiny,
well-to-do economy, accounts for roughly 80% of GDP. An estimated 13
million tourists visit annually, attracted by Andorra's duty-free
status and by its summer and winter resorts. Andorra's comparative
advantage has recently eroded as the economies of neighboring France
and Spain have been opened up, providing broader availability of
goods and lower tariffs. The banking sector, with its "tax haven"
status, also contributes substantially to the economy. Agricultural
production is limited by a scarcity of arable land, and most food
has to be imported. The principal livestock activity is sheep
raising. Manufacturing consists mainly of cigarettes, cigars, and
furniture. Andorra is a member of the EU Customs Union and is
treated as an EU member for trade in manufactured goods (no tariffs)
and as a non-EU member for agricultural products.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $1 billion (1993 est.)
GDP real growth rate: NA%
GDP per capita: $16,200 (1993 est.)
GDP composition by sector:
agriculture: NA%
industry: NA%
services: NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA%
Labor force: NA
Unemployment rate: 0%
Budget:
revenues: $138 million
expenditures: $177 million, including capital expenditures of $NA
(1993)
Industries: tourism (particularly skiing), sheep, timber, tobacco,
banking
Industrial production growth rate: NA%
Electricity:
capacity: 35,000 kW
production: 140 million kWh
consumption per capita: 2,570 kWh (1992)
Agriculture: small quantities of tobacco, rye, wheat, barley,
oats, vegetables; sheep raising
Exports: $46.2 million (f.o.b., 1993)
commodities: electricity, tobacco products, furniture
partners: France 35%, Spain 59%
Imports: $920.2 million (1993)
commodities: consumer goods, food
partners: France, Spain, US 2.6% (1992)
External debt: $NA
Economic aid: none
Currency: 1 French franc (F) = 100 centimes; 1 peseta (Pta) = 100
centimos; the French and Spanish currencies are used
Exchange rates: French francs (F) per US$1 - 5.0056 (January
1996), 4.9915 (1995), 5.5520 (1994), 5.6632 (1993), 5.2938 (1992),
5.6421 (1991); Spanish pesetas (Ptas) per US$1 - 123.19 (January
1996), 124.69 (1995), 133.96 (1994), 127.26 (1993), 102.38 (1992),
103.91 (1991)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Transportation
--------------
Railways: 0 km
Highways:
total: 269 km
paved: 198 km
unpaved: 71 km (1991 est.)
Ports: none
Airports: none
Communications
--------------
Telephones: 21,258 (1983 est.)
Telephone system:
domestic: modern system with microwave radio relay connections
between exchanges
international: landline circuits to France and Spain
Radio broadcast stations: AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0
Radios: 10,000 (1993 est.)
Television broadcast stations: 0
Televisions: 7,000 (1991 est.)
Defense
-------
Defense note: defense is the responsibility of France and Spain
======================================================================
@Angola
------
Civil war has been the norm since independence from Portugal on 11
November 1975; a cease-fire lasted from 31 May 1991 until October
1992 when the insurgent National Union for the Total Independence of
Angola (UNITA) refused to accept its defeat in internationally
monitored elections and fighting resumed throughout much of the
countryside. The two sides signed another peace accord on 20
November 1994; the cease-fire is generally holding, but most
provisions of the accord remain to be implemented.
Map
---
Location: 12 30 S, 18 30 E -- Southern Africa, bordering the South
Atlantic Ocean, between Namibia and Zaire
Flag
----
Description: 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)
Geography
---------
Location: Southern Africa, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean,
between Namibia and Zaire
Geographic coordinates: 12 30 S, 18 30 E
Map references: Africa
Area:
total area: 1,246,700 sq km
land area: 1,246,700 sq km
comparative area: slightly less than twice the size of Texas
Land boundaries:
total: 5,198 km
border countries: 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
International disputes: none
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
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Moro de Moco 2,620 m
Natural resources: petroleum, diamonds, iron ore, phosphates,
copper, feldspar, gold, bauxite, uranium
Land use:
arable land: 2%
permanent crops: 0%
meadows and pastures: 23%
forest and woodland: 43%
other: 32%
Irrigated land: NA sq km
Environment:
current issues: population pressures contributing to overuse of
pastures and subsequent soil erosion; desertification; deforestation
of tropical rain forest attributable to the international demand for
tropical timber and domestic use as a fuel; deforestation
contributing to loss of biodiversity; soil erosion contributing to
water pollution and siltation of rivers and dams; inadequate
supplies of potable water
natural hazards: locally heavy rainfall causes periodic flooding on
the plateau
international agreements: party to - Law of the Sea; signed, but not
ratified - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification
Geographic note: Cabinda is separated from rest of country by Zaire
People
------
Population: 10,342,899 (July 1996 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 45% (male 2,340,804; female 2,275,689)
15-64 years: 53% (male 2,748,417; female 2,706,295)
65 years and over: 2% (male 128,067; female 143,627) (July 1996 est.)
Population growth rate: 2.68% (1996 est.)
Birth rate: 44.58 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Death rate: 17.66 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Net migration rate: -0.14 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.89 male(s)/female
all ages: 1.02 male(s)/female (1996 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 138.9 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 46.8 years
male: 44.65 years
female: 49.06 years (1996 est.)
Total fertility rate: 6.35 children born/woman (1996 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Angolan(s)
adjective: Angolan
Ethnic divisions: Ovimbundu 37%, Kimbundu 25%, Bakongo 13%,
mestico (mixed European and Native African) 2%, European 1%, other
22%
Religions: indigenous beliefs 47%, Roman Catholic 38%, Protestant
15% (est.)
Languages: Portuguese (official), Bantu and other African languages
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
total population: 42%
male: 56%
female: 28%
Government
----------
Name of country:
conventional long form: Republic of Angola
conventional short form: Angola
local long form: Republica de Angola
local short form: Angola
former: People's Republic of Angola
Data code: AO
Type of government: transitional government nominally 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)
National holiday: Independence Day, 11 November (1975)
Constitution: 11 November 1975; revised 7 January 1978, 11 August
1980, 6 March 1991, and 26 August 1992
Legal system: based on Portuguese civil law system and customary
law; recently modified to accommodate political pluralism and
increased use of free markets
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state: President Jose Eduardo DOS SANTOS (since 21
September 1979) was originally elected without opposition under a
one party system and stood for election in Angola's first multiparty
elections on 29-30 September 1992; DOS SANTOS received 49.6% of the
total vote, making a run-off election necessary between him and
second-place Jonas SAVIMBI; the run-off was not held and SAVIMBI's
National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) disputed
the results of the first election; the civil war was resumed
head of government: Prime Minister Marcolino Jose Carlos MOCO (since
2 December 1992) was appointed by the president and is answerable to
the Assembly
cabinet: Council of Ministers was appointed by the president
Legislative branch: unicameral
National Assembly (Assembleia Nacional): elections last held 29-30
September 1992 (next to be held NA); results (disputed) - percentage
of vote by party NA; seats (223 total) - seats by party NA
Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Tribunal da Relacao), judges of
the Supreme Court are appointed by the president
Political parties and leaders: Popular Movement for the Liberation
of Angola (MPLA), led by Jose Eduardo DOS SANTOS, is the ruling
party and has been in power since 1975; National Union for the Total
Independence of Angola (UNITA), led by Jonas SAVIMBI, is a legal
party despite its history of armed resistance to the government;
five minor parties have small numbers of seats in the National
Assembly
Other political or pressure groups: Front for the Liberation of
the Enclave of Cabinda (FLEC), N'ZITA Tiago, leader of largest
faction (FLEC-FAC)
note: FLEC is waging a small-scale, highly factionalized, armed
struggle for the independence of Cabinda Province
International organization participation: ACP, AfDB, CCC, CEEAC
(observer), ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS,
ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, NAM, OAS
(observer), OAU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU,
WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO
Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Antonio dos Santos FRANCA "N'dalu"
embassy: 1819 L Street NW, Suite 400, Washington, DC 20036
telephone: [1] (202) 785-1156
FAX: [1] (202) 785-1258
US diplomatic representation:
chief of mission: Ambassador Donald K. STEINBERG
embassy: No. 32 Rua Houari Boumedienne, Miramar, Luanda
mailing address: C.P. 6484, Luanda; American Embassy, Luanda,
Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-2550 (pouch)
telephone: [244] (2) 345-481, 346-418
FAX: [244] (2) 346-924
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
-------
Economic overview: Angola is an economy in disarray. Despite its
abundant natural resources, output per capita is among the world's
lowest. Subsistence agriculture provides the main livelihood for
80%-90% of the population but accounts for less than 15% of GDP. Oil
production and the supporting activities are vital to the economy,
contributing about 50% to GDP. Despite the signing of a peace accord
in November 1994 between the Angola Government and the UNITA
insurgents, sporadic fighting continues and many farmers remain
reluctant to return to their fields. As a result, much of the
country's food must still be imported. To take advantage of its rich
resources - notably gold, diamonds, extensive forests, Atlantic
fisheries, and arable land, in addition to its large oil deposits -
Angola will need to observe the cease-fire, implement the peace
agreement, and reform government policies.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $7.4 billion (1995 est.)
GDP real growth rate: 4% (1995 est.)
GDP per capita: $700 (1995 est.)
GDP composition by sector:
agriculture: 12%
industry: 56%
services: 32% (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 20% monthly average (1994 est.)
Labor force: 2.783 million economically active
by occupation: agriculture 85%, industry 15% (1985 est.)
Unemployment rate: 24% with extensive underemployment (1993 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $928 million
expenditures: $2.5 billion, including capital expenditures of $963
million (1992 est.)
Industries: petroleum; diamonds, iron ore, phosphates, feldspar,
bauxite, uranium, and gold; fish processing; food processing;
brewing; tobacco; sugar; textiles; cement; basic metal products
Industrial production growth rate: NA%
Electricity:
capacity: 620,000 kW
production: 1.9 billion kWh
consumption per capita: 189 kWh (1993)
Agriculture: bananas, sugarcane, coffee, sisal, corn, cotton,
manioc (tapioca), tobacco, vegetables, plantains; livestock; forest
products; fish
Illicit drugs: increasingly used as a transshipment point for
cocaine and heroin destined for Western Europe and other African
states
Exports: $3 billion (f.o.b., 1993 est.)
commodities: oil, diamonds, refined petroleum products, gas, coffee,
sisal, fish and fish products, timber, cotton
partners: US, France, Germany, Netherlands, Brazil
Imports: $1.6 billion (f.o.b., 1992 est.)
commodities: capital equipment (machinery and electrical equipment),
food, vehicles and spare parts, textiles and clothing, medicines,
substantial military deliveries
partners: Portugal, Brazil, US, France, Spain
External debt: $12 billion (1995 est.)
Economic aid:
recipient: ODA, $189 million (1993)
Currency: 1 new kwanza (NKz) = 100 lwei
Exchange rates: new kwanza (NKz) per US$1 - 900,000 (official rate
25 April 1995), 1,900,000 (black market rate 6 April 1995), 600,000
(official rate 10 January 1995), 90,000 (official rate 1 June 1994),
180,000 (black market rate 1 June 1994); 7,000 (official rate 16
December 1993), 50,000 (black market rate 16 December 1993); 3,884
(July 1993); 550 (April 1992); 90 (November 1991); 60 (October 1990)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Transportation
--------------
Railways:
total: 2,952 km (1995 est.); note - limited trackage in use because
of landmines still in place from the civil war
narrow gauge: 2,798 km 1.067-m gauge; 154 km 0.600-m gauge
Highways:
total: 72,626 km
paved: 18,157 km
unpaved: 54,469 km (1992 est.)
Waterways: 1,295 km navigable
Pipelines: crude oil 179 km
Ports: Ambriz, Cabinda, Lobito, Luanda, Malogo, Namibe, Porto
Amboim, Soyo
Merchant marine:
total: 12 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 63,776 GRT/99,863 DWT
ships by type: cargo 11, oil tanker 1 (1995 est.)
Airports:
total: 143
with paved runways over 3 047 m: 3
with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 8
with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 11
with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 4
with paved runways under 914 m: 40
with unpaved runways over 3 047 m: 1
with unpaved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 4
with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 24
with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 48 (1995 est.)
Communications
--------------
Telephones: 78,000 (1991 est.)
Telephone system: telephone service limited mostly to government
and business use; HF radiotelephone used extensively for military
links
domestic: limited system of wire, microwave radio relay, and
tropospheric scatter
international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
Radio broadcast stations: AM 17, FM 13, shortwave 0
Radios: NA
Television broadcast stations: 6
Televisions: 50,000 (1993 est.)
Defense
-------
Branches: Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces, National Police
Force
Manpower availability:
males age 15-49: 2,373,087
males fit for military service: 1,195,176
males reach military age (18) annually: 106,456 (1996 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $1.1 billion, 31%
of GDP (1993)
======================================================================
@Anguilla
--------
(dependent territory of the UK)
Map
---
Location: 18 15 N, 63 10 W -- Caribbean, island in the Caribbean
Sea, east of Puerto Rico
Flag
----
Description: blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side
quadrant and the Anguillan coat of arms centered in the outer half
of the flag; the coat of arms depicts three orange dolphins in an
interlocking circular design on a white background with blue wavy
water below
Geography
---------
Location: Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, east of Puerto
Rico
Geographic coordinates: 18 15 N, 63 10 W
Map references: Central America and the Caribbean
Area:
total area: 91 sq km
land area: 91 sq km
comparative area: about half the size of Washington, DC
Land boundaries: 0 km
Coastline: 61 km
Maritime claims:
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 3 nm
International disputes: none
Climate: tropical; moderated by northeast trade winds
Terrain: flat and low-lying island of coral and limestone
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Crocus Hill 65 m
Natural resources: 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)
Irrigated land: NA sq km
Environment:
current issues: supplies of potable water sometimes cannot meet
increasing demand largely because of poor distribution system
natural hazards: frequent hurricanes and other tropical storms (July
to October)
international agreements: NA
People
------
Population: 10,424 (July 1996 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 28% (male 1,491; female 1,450)
15-64 years: 64% (male 3,418; female 3,275)
65 years and over: 8% (male 342; female 448) (July 1996 est.)
Population growth rate: 3.45% (1996 est.)
Birth rate: 17.84 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Death rate: 5.66 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Net migration rate: 22.35 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.76 male(s)/female
all ages: 1.02 male(s)/female
Infant mortality rate: 23 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 76.7 years
male: 73.75 years
female: 79.74 years (1996 est.)
Total fertility rate: 2.04 children born/woman (1996 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Anguillan(s)
adjective: Anguillan
Ethnic divisions: black African
Religions: Anglican 40%, Methodist 33%, Seventh-Day Adventist 7%,
Baptist 5%, Roman Catholic 3%, other 12%
Languages: English (official)
Literacy: age 12 and over can read and write (1984 est.)
total population: 95%
male: 95%
female: 95%
Government
----------
Name of country:
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Anguilla
Data code: AV
Type of government: dependent territory of the UK
Capital: The Valley
Administrative divisions: none (dependent territory of the UK)
Independence: none (dependent territory of the UK)
National holiday: Anguilla Day, 30 May
Constitution: Anguilla Constitutional Order 1 April 1982; amended
1990
Legal system: based on English common law
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952) is a
hereditary monarch; represented by Governor Alan HOOLE (since 1
November 1995)
head of government: Chief Minister Hubert HUGHES (since 16 March
1994) was appointed by the governor from members of the House of
Assembly
cabinet: Executive Council was appointed by the governor from among
the elected members of the House of Assembly
Legislative branch: unicameral
House of Assembly: elections last held 16 March 1994 (next to be
held March 1999); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (11
total, 7 elected) ANA 2, AUP 2, ADP 2, independent 1
Judicial branch: High Court, judge provided by Eastern Caribbean
Supreme Court
Political parties and leaders: Anguilla National Alliance (ANA),
David CARFY; Anguilla United Party (AUP), Hubert HUGHES; Anguilla
Democratic Party (ADP), Victor BANKS
International organization participation: Caricom (observer), CDB,
Interpol (subbureau), OECS (associate)
Diplomatic representation in US: none (dependent territory of the
UK)
US diplomatic representation: none (dependent territory of the UK)
Flag: blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side
quadrant and the Anguillan coat of arms centered in the outer half
of the flag; the coat of arms depicts three orange dolphins in an
interlocking circular design on a white background with blue wavy
water below
Economy
-------
Economic overview: Anguilla has few natural resources, and the
economy depends heavily on tourism, offshore banking, lobster
fishing, and remittances from emigrants. Output growth has averaged
about 7% in recent years, mainly as a result of boom in tourism
thanks to economic expansion in North America and the UK. The
economy, and especially the tourism sector, suffered a setback in
late 1995 due to the effects of Hurricane Luis in September.
Agricultural output had only just begun to recover from a drought in
1994 when Luis hit. Anguillan officials have put substantial effort
into developing the offshore financing sector. A comprehensive
package of financial services legislation was enacted in late 1994.
In the medium term, prospects for the economy will depend on the
tourism sector and, therefore, on continuing income growth in the
industrialized nations.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $53 million (1994 est.)
GDP real growth rate: 6.5% (1994 est.)
GDP per capita: $7,600 (1994 est.)
GDP composition by sector:
agriculture: NA%
industry: NA%
services: NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 4% (1994)
Labor force: 4,400 (1992)
by occupation: commerce 36%, services 29%, construction 18%,
transportation and utilities 10%, manufacturing 3%,
agriculture/fishing/forestry/mining 4%
Unemployment rate: 7% (1992 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $13.5 million (1993)
expenditures: $17.6 million, including capital expenditures of
$740,000 (1995 est.)
Industries: tourism, boat building, offshore financial services
Industrial production growth rate: NA%
Electricity:
capacity: 2,000 kW
production: 6 million kWh
consumption per capita: 862 kWh (1992)
Agriculture: pigeon peas, corn, sweet potatoes; sheep, goats,
pigs, cattle, poultry; fishing (including lobster)
Exports: $556,000 (f.o.b., 1992)
commodities: lobster and salt
partners: NA
Imports: $33.5 million (f.o.b., 1992)
commodities: NA
partners: NA
External debt: $NA
Economic aid: $NA
Currency: 1 EC dollar (EC$) = 100 cents
Exchange rates: East Caribbean dollars (EC$) per US$1 - 2.70
(fixed rate since 1976)
Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March
Transportation
--------------
Railways: 0 km
Highways:
total: 105 km
paved: 65 km
unpaved: 40 km (1992 est.)
Ports: Blowing Point, Road Bay
Merchant marine: none
Airports:
total: 2
with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 1
with paved runways under 914 m: 1 (1995 est.)
Communications
--------------
Telephones: 890
Telephone system:
domestic: modern internal telephone system
international: microwave radio relay to island of Saint Martin
(Guadeloupe and Netherlands Antilles)
Radio broadcast stations: AM 3, FM 1, shortwave 0
Radios: 2,000 (1992 est.)
Television broadcast stations: 0
Televisions: NA
Defense
-------
Defense note: defense is the responsibility of the UK
======================================================================
@Antarctica
----------
Map
---
Location: 90 00 S, 0 00 E -- continent mostly south of the
Antarctic Circle
Geography
---------
Location: continent mostly south of the Antarctic Circle
Geographic coordinates: 90 00 S, 0 00 E
Map references: Antarctic Region
Area:
total area: 14 million sq km (est.)
land area: 14 million sq km (est.)
comparative area: slightly less than 1.5 times the size of the US
note: second-smallest continent (after Australia)
Land boundaries: 0 km
note: see entry on International disputes
Coastline: 17,968 km
Maritime claims: none, but see entry on International disputes
International disputes: Antarctic Treaty defers claims (see
Antarctic Treaty Summary below); sections (some overlapping) claimed
by Argentina, Australia, Chile, France (Adelie Land), New Zealand
(Ross Dependency), Norway (Queen Maud Land), and UK; the US and most
other nations do not recognize the territorial claims of other
nations and have made no claims themselves (the US reserves the
right to do so); no formal claims have been made in the sector
between 90 degrees west and 150 degrees west
Climate: severe low temperatures vary with latitude, elevation,
and distance from the ocean; East Antarctica is colder than West
Antarctica because of its higher elevation; Antarctic Peninsula has
the most moderate climate; higher temperatures occur in January
along the coast and average slightly below freezing
Terrain: about 98% thick continental ice sheet and 2% barren rock,
with average elevations between 2,000 and 4,000 meters; mountain
ranges up to about 5,000 meters; ice-free coastal areas include
parts of southern Victoria Land, Wilkes Land, the Antarctic
Peninsula area, and parts of Ross Island on McMurdo Sound; glaciers
form ice shelves along about half of the coastline, and floating ice
shelves constitute 11% of the area of the continent
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Vinson Massif 5,140 m
Natural resources: none presently exploited; iron ore, chromium,
copper, gold, nickel, platinum and other minerals, and coal and
hydrocarbons have been found in small, uncommercial quantities
Land use:
arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0%
meadows and pastures: 0%
forest and woodland: 0%
other: 100% (ice 98%, barren rock 2%)
Irrigated land: 0 sq km
Environment:
current issues: in October 1991 it was reported that the ozone
shield, which protects the Earth's surface from harmful ultraviolet
radiation, had dwindled to the lowest level recorded over Antarctica
since 1975 when measurements were first taken
natural hazards: katabatic (gravity-driven) winds blow coastward
from the high interior; frequent blizzards form near the foot of the
plateau; cyclonic storms form over the ocean and move clockwise
along the coast; volcanism on Deception Island and isolated areas of
West Antarctica; other seismic activity rare and weak
international agreements: NA
Geographic note: the coldest, windiest, highest, and driest
continent; during summer, more solar radiation reaches the surface
at the South Pole than is received at the Equator in an equivalent
period; mostly uninhabitable
People
------
Population: no indigenous inhabitants; note - there are seasonally
staffed research stations
Summer (January) population: over 4,115 total; Argentina 207,
Australia 268, Belgium 13, Brazil 80, Chile 256, China NA, Ecuador
NA, Finland 11, France 78, Germany 32, Greenpeace 12, India 60,
Italy 210, Japan 59, South Korea 14, Netherlands 10, NZ 264, Norway
23, Peru 39, Poland NA, South Africa 79, Spain 43, Sweden 10, UK
116, Uruguay NA, US 1,666, former USSR 565 (1989-90)
Winter (July) population: over 1,046 total; Argentina 150, Australia
71, Brazil 12, Chile 73, China NA, France 33, Germany 19, Greenpeace
5, India 1, Japan 38, South Korea 14, NZ 11, Poland NA, South Africa
12, UK 69, Uruguay NA, US 225, former USSR 313 (1989-90)
Year-round stations: 42 total; Argentina 6, Australia 3, Brazil 1,
Chile 3, China 2, Finland 1, France 1, Germany 1, India 1, Japan 2,
South Korea 1, NZ 1, Poland 1, South Africa 3, UK 5, Uruguay 1, US
3, former USSR 6 (1990-91)
Summer-only stations: over 38 total; Argentina 7, Australia 3, Chile
5, Germany 3, India 1, Italy 1, Japan 4, NZ 2, Norway 1, Peru 1,
South Africa 1, Spain 1, Sweden 2, UK 1, US numerous, former USSR 5
(1989-90); note - the disintegration of the former USSR has placed
the status and future of its Antarctic facilities in doubt; stations
may be subject to closings at any time because of ongoing economic
difficulties
Government
----------
Name of country:
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Antarctica
Data code: AY
Type of government:
Antarctic Treaty Summary: The Antarctic Treaty, signed on 1 December
1959 and entered into force on 23 June 1961, establishes the legal
framework for the management of Antarctica. Administration is
carried out through consultative member meetings - the 18th
Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting was in Japan in April 1993.
Currently, there are 42 treaty member nations: 26 consultative and
16 acceding. Consultative (voting) members include the seven nations
that claim portions of Antarctica as national territory (some claims
overlap) and 19 nonclaimant nations. The US and some other nations
that have made no claims have reserved the right to do so. The US
does not recognize the claims of others. The year in parentheses
indicates when an acceding nation was voted to full consultative
(voting) status, while no date indicates the country was an original
1959 treaty signatory. Claimant nations are - Argentina, Australia,
Chile, France, New Zealand, Norway, and the UK. Nonclaimant
consultative nations are - Belgium, Brazil (1983), China (1985),
Ecuador (1990), Finland (1989), Germany (1981), India (1983), Italy
(1987), Japan, South Korea (1989), Netherlands (1990), Peru (1989),
Poland (1977), South Africa, Spain (1988), Sweden (1988), Uruguay
(1985), the US, and Russia. Acceding (nonvoting) members, with year
of accession in parentheses, are - Austria (1987), Bulgaria (1978),
Canada (1988), Colombia (1988), Cuba (1984), Czech Republic (1993),
Denmark (1965), Greece (1987), Guatemala (1991), Hungary (1984),
North Korea (1987), Papua New Guinea (1981), Romania (1971),
Slovakia (1993), Switzerland (1990), and Ukraine (1992).
Article 1: area to be used for peaceful purposes only; military
activity, such as weapons testing, is prohibited, but military
personnel and equipment may be used for scientific research or any
other peaceful purpose
Article 2: freedom of scientific investigation and cooperation shall
continue
Article 3: free exchange of information and personnel in cooperation
with the UN and other international agencies
Article 4: does not recognize, dispute, or establish territorial
claims and no new claims shall be asserted while the treaty is in
force
Article 5: prohibits nuclear explosions or disposal of radioactive
wastes
Article 6: includes under the treaty all land and ice shelves south
of 60 degrees 00 minutes south
Article 7: treaty-state observers have free access, including aerial
observation, to any area and may inspect all stations,
installations, and equipment; advance notice of all activities and
of the introduction of military personnel must be given
Article 8: allows for jurisdiction over observers and scientists by
their own states
Article 9: frequent consultative meetings take place among member
nations
Article 10: treaty states will discourage activities by any country
in Antarctica that are contrary to the treaty
Article 11: disputes to be settled peacefully by the parties
concerned or, ultimately, by the ICJ
Articles 12 13 14: deal with upholding, interpreting, and amending
the treaty among involved nations
Other agreements: more than 170 recommendations adopted at treaty
consultative meetings and ratified by governments include - Agreed
Measures for the Conservation of Antarctic Fauna and Flora (1964);
Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Seals (1972);
Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources
(1980); a mineral resources agreement was signed in 1988 but was
subsequently rejected; in 1991 the Protocol on Environmental
Protection to the Antarctic Treaty was signed and awaits
ratification; this agreement provides for the protection of the
Antarctic environment through five specific annexes on marine
pollution, fauna, and flora, environmental impact assessments, waste
management, and protected areas; it also prohibits all activities
relating to mineral resources except scientific research; 21 parties
have ratified Protocol as of April 1996
Legal system: US law, including certain criminal offenses by or
against US nationals, such as murder, may apply to areas not under
jurisdiction of other countries. Some US laws directly apply to
Antarctica. For example, the Antarctic Conservation Act, 16 U.S.C.
section 2401 et seq., provides civil and criminal penalties for the
following activities, unless authorized by regulation of statute:
The taking of native mammals or birds; the introduction of
nonindigenous plants and animals; entry into specially protected or
scientific areas; the discharge or disposal of pollutants; and the
importation into the US of certain items from Antarctica. Violation
of the Antarctic Conservation Act carries penalties of up to $10,000
in fines and 1 year in prison. The Departments of Treasury,
Commerce, Transportation, and Interior share enforcement
responsibilities. Public Law 95-541, the US Antarctic Conservation
Act of 1978, requires expeditions from the US to Antarctica to
notify, in advance, the Office of Oceans and Polar Affairs, Room
5801, Department of State, Washington, DC 20520, which reports such
plans to other nations as required by the Antarctic Treaty. For more
information contact Permit Office, Office of Polar Programs,
National Science Foundation, Arlington, Virginia 22230 (703)
306-1031.
Economy
-------
Economic overview: No economic activity at present except for
fishing off the coast and small-scale tourism, both based abroad.
Transportation
--------------
Ports: none; offshore anchorage
Airports: 50 landing facilities at different locations operated by
16 national governments party to the Treaty; one additional air
facility operated by commercial (nongovernmental) tourist
organization; helicopter pads at 25 of these locations; runways at
13 locations are gravel, sea ice, glacier ice, or compacted snow
surface suitable for wheeled fixed-wing aircraft; no paved runways;
12 locations have snow-surface skiways limited to use by
ski-equipped planes - 8 runways/skiways greater than 3,000 m,10
runways/skiways 1,000 to 3,000 m, 3 runways/skiways less than 1,000
m, and 4 of unspecified or variable length; airports generally
subject to severe restrictions and limitations resulting from
extreme seasonal and geographic conditions; airports do not meet
ICAO standards; advance approval from the respective governmental or
non-governmental operating organization required for landing (1995
est.)
Communications
--------------
Telephones: NA
Telephone system:
domestic: NA
international: NA
Radio broadcast stations: AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA
Radios: NA
Television broadcast stations: NA
Televisions: NA
Defense
-------
Defense note: the Antarctic Treaty prohibits any measures of a
military nature, such as the establishment of military bases and
fortifications, the carrying out of military maneuvers, or the
testing of any type of weapon; it permits the use of military
personnel or equipment for scientific research or for any other
peaceful purposes
======================================================================
@Antigua and Barbuda
-------------------
Map
---
Location: 17 03 N, 61 48 W -- Caribbean, islands between the
Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east-southeast of Puerto
Rico
Flag
----
Description: 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
Geography
---------
Location: Caribbean, islands between the Caribbean Sea and the
North Atlantic Ocean, east-southeast of Puerto Rico
Geographic coordinates: 17 03 N, 61 48 W
Map references: Central America and the Caribbean
Area:
total area: 440 sq km
land area: 440 sq km
comparative area: 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC
note: includes Redonda
Land boundaries: 0 km
Coastline: 153 km
Maritime claims:
contiguous zone: 24 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 12 nm
International disputes: none
Climate: tropical marine; little seasonal temperature variation
Terrain: mostly low-lying limestone and coral islands with some
higher volcanic areas
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Boggy Peak 402 m
Natural resources: negligible; pleasant climate fosters tourism
Land use:
arable land: 18%
permanent crops: 0%
meadows and pastures: 7%
forest and woodland: 16%
other: 59%
Irrigated land: NA sq km
Environment:
current issues: water management - a major concern because of
limited natural fresh water resources - is further hampered by the
clearing of trees to increase crop production, causing rainfall to
run off quickly
natural hazards: hurricanes and tropical storms (July to October);
periodic droughts
international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine
Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution,
Whaling; signed, but not ratified - Desertification
People
------
Population: 65,647 (July 1996 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 25% (male 8,386; female 8,043)
15-64 years: 69% (male 22,589; female 22,548)
65 years and over: 6% (male 1,820; female 2,261) (July 1996 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.76% (1996 est.)
Birth rate: 16.83 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Death rate: 5.32 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Net migration rate: -3.9 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.8 male(s)/female
all ages: 1 male(s)/female (1996 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 17.2 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 73.64 years
male: 71.55 years
female: 75.84 years (1996 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.68 children born/woman (1996 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Antiguan(s), Barbudan(s)
adjective: Antiguan, Barbudan
Ethnic divisions: black, British, Portuguese, Lebanese, Syrian
Religions: Anglican (predominant), other Protestant sects, some
Roman Catholic
Languages: English (official), local dialects
Literacy: age 15 and over has completed five or more years of
schooling (1960 est.)
total population: 89%
male: 90%
female: 88%
Government
----------
Name of country:
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Antigua and Barbuda
Data code: AC
Type of government: parliamentary democracy
Capital: Saint John's
Administrative divisions: 6 parishes and 2 dependencies*;
Barbuda*, Redonda*, Saint George, Saint John, Saint Mary, Saint
Paul, Saint Peter, Saint Philip
Independence: 1 November 1981 (from UK)
National holiday: Independence Day, 1 November (1981)
Constitution: 1 November 1981
Legal system: based on English common law
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952) is a
hereditary monarch, represented by Governor General James B.
CARLISLE (since NA 1993) who was chosen by the queen on advice from
the prime minister
head of government: Prime Minister Lester Bryant BIRD (since 8 March
1994) was appointed by the governor general
cabinet: Council of Ministers was appointed by the governor general
on the advice of the prime minister
Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament
Senate: 17- member body appointed by the governor general
House of Representatives: elections last held 8 March 1994 (next to
be held NA 1999); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (17
total) ALP 11, UPP 5, independent 1
Judicial branch: Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (based in Saint
Lucia), one judge of the Supreme Court is a resident of the islands
and presides over the Court of Summary Jurisdiction
Political parties and leaders: Antigua Labor Party (ALP), Lester
Bryant BIRD; United Progressive Party (UPP), headed by Baldwin
SPENCER, a coalition of three opposition political parties-the
United National Democratic Party (UNDP); the Antigua Caribbean
Liberation Movement (ACLM); and the Progressive Labor Movement (PLM)
Other political or pressure groups: Antigua Trades and Labor Union
(ATLU), William ROBINSON; People's Democratic Movement (PDM), Hugh
MARSHALL
International organization participation: ACP, C, Caricom, CDB,
ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO,
IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, ISO
(subscriber), ITU, NAM (observer), OAS, OECS, OPANAL, UN, UNCTAD,
UNESCO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WTrO
Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Lionel Alexander HURST
chancery: 3216 New Mexico Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20016
telephone: [1] (202) 362-5211, 5166, 5122
FAX: [1] (202) 362-5225
consulate(s) general: Miami
US diplomatic representation: the US does not have an embassy in
Antigua and Barbuda (embassy closed 30 June 1994); the US Ambassador
to Barbados is accredited to Antigua and Barbuda
Flag: red with an inverted isosceles triangle based on the top
edge of the flag; the triangle contains three horizontal bands of
black (top), light blue, and white with a yellow rising sun in the
black band
Economy
-------
Economic overview: Tourism continues to be by far the dominant
activity in the economy but the combined share in GDP of transport
and communications, trade, and public utilities has increased
markedly in recent years. Tourism's direct contribution to output in
1994 was about 20%. In addition, increased tourist arrivals helped
spur growth in the construction and transport sectors. The dual
island nation's agricultural production is mainly directed to the
domestic market; the sector is constrained by the limited water
supply and labor shortages that reflect the pull of higher wages in
tourism and construction. Manufacturing - which accounts for 3.5% of
GDP - comprises enclave-type assembly for export with major products
being bedding, handicrafts, and electronic components. Prospects for
economic growth in the medium term will continue to depend on income
growth in the industrialized world, especially in the US, which
accounts for about half of all tourist arrivals.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $425 million (1994 est.)
GDP real growth rate: 4.2% (1994 est.)
GDP per capita: $6,600 (1994 est.)
GDP composition by sector:
agriculture: 3.5%
industry: 19.3%
services: 77.2% (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 3.5% (1994)
Labor force: 30,000
by occupation: commerce and services 82%, agriculture 11%, industry
7% (1983)
Unemployment rate: 5%-10%(1995 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $134 million
expenditures: $135.4 million, including capital expenditures of $NA
(1995)
Industries: tourism, construction, light manufacturing (clothing,
alcohol, household appliances)
Industrial production growth rate: -4.9% (1993 est.)
Electricity:
capacity: 52,100 kW
production: 95 million kWh
consumption per capita: 1,242 kWh (1993)
Agriculture: cotton, fruits, vegetables, bananas, coconuts,
cucumbers, mangoes, sugarcane; livestock
Illicit drugs: a long-time but relatively minor transshipment
point for narcotics bound for the US and Europe and recent
transshipment point for heroin from Europe to the US; more
significant as a drug money laundering center
Exports: $40.9 million (f.o.b., 1994 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: $443.8 million (f.o.b., 1994 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: $377 million (1995 est.)
Economic aid: $NA
Currency: 1 EC dollar (EC$) = 100 cents
Exchange rates: East Caribbean dollars (EC$) per US$1 - 2.70
(fixed rate since 1976)
Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March
Transportation
--------------
Railways:
total: 77 km
narrow gauge: 64 km 0.760-m gauge; 13 km 0.610-m gauge (used almost
exclusively for handling sugarcane)
Highways:
total: 240 km
paved: NA km
unpaved: NA km
Ports: Saint John's
Merchant marine:
total: 367 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,573,063
GRT/2,147,243 DWT
ships by type: bulk 6, cargo 247, chemical tanker 6, combination
bulk 1, container 72, liquefied gas tanker 2, oil tanker 3,
refrigerated cargo 14, roll-on/roll-off cargo 16
note: a flag of convenience registry: Germany owns 12 ships,
Slovenia 3, Croatia 2, Cyprus 1, and US 1 (1995 est.)
Airports:
total: 3
with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 1
with paved runways under 914 m: 2 (1995 est.)
Communications
--------------
Telephones: 6,700
Telephone system:
domestic: good automatic telephone system
international: 1 coaxial submarine cable; satellite earth station -
1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); tropospheric scatter to Saba
(Netherlands Antilles) and Guadeloupe
Radio broadcast stations: AM 4, FM 2, shortwave 2
Radios: NA
Television broadcast stations: 2
Televisions: 28,000 (1993 est.)
Defense
-------
Branches: Royal Antigua and Barbuda Defense Force, Royal Antigua
and Barbuda Police Force (includes the Coast Guard)
Manpower availability:
males age 15-49: NA
males fit for military service: NA
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $1.4 million, 1%
of GDP (FY90/91)
======================================================================
@Arctic Ocean
------------
Map
---
Location: 90 00 N, 0 00 E -- body of water mostly north of the
Arctic Circle
Geography
---------
Location: body of water mostly north of the Arctic Circle
Geographic coordinates: 90 00 N, 0 00 E
Map references: Arctic Region
Area:
total area: 14.056 million sq km
comparative area: slightly more than 1.5 times the size of the US;
smallest of the world's four oceans (after Pacific Ocean, Atlantic
Ocean, and Indian Ocean)
note: includes Baffin Bay, Barents Sea, Beaufort Sea, Chukchi Sea,
East Siberian Sea, Greenland Sea, Hudson Bay, Hudson Strait, Kara
Sea, Laptev Sea, Northwest Passage, and other tributary water bodies
Coastline: 45,389 km
International disputes: some maritime disputes (see littoral
states); Svalbard is the focus of a maritime boundary dispute
between Norway and Russia
Climate: polar climate characterized by persistent cold and
relatively narrow annual temperature ranges; winters characterized
by continuous darkness, cold and stable weather conditions, and
clear skies; summers characterized by continuous daylight, damp and
foggy weather, and weak cyclones with rain or snow
Terrain: central surface covered by a perennial drifting polar
icepack that averages about 3 meters in thickness, although pressure
ridges may be three times that size; clockwise drift pattern in the
Beaufort Gyral Stream, but nearly straight line movement from the
New Siberian Islands (Russia) to Denmark Strait (between Greenland
and Iceland); the icepack 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)
lowest point: Fram Basin -4,665 m
highest point: sea level 0 m
Natural resources: sand and gravel aggregates, placer deposits,
polymetallic nodules, oil and gas fields, fish, marine mammals
(seals and whales)
Environment:
current issues: endangered marine species include walruses and
whales; fragile ecosystem slow to change and slow to recover from
disruptions or damage
natural hazards: ice islands occasionally break away from northern
Ellesmere Island; icebergs calved from glaciers in western Greenland
and extreme northeastern Canada; permafrost in islands; virtually
icelocked from October to June; ships subject to superstructure
icing from October to May
international agreements: NA
Geographic note: major chokepoint is the southern Chukchi Sea
(northern access to the Pacific Ocean via the Bering Strait);
strategic location between North America and Russia; shortest marine
link between the extremes of eastern and western Russia, floating
research stations operated by the US and Russia; maximum snow cover
in March or April about 20 to 50 centimeters over the frozen ocean;
snow cover lasts about 10 months
Government
----------
Data code: none; the US Government has not approved a standard for
hydrographic codes - see the Cross-Reference List of Hydrographic
Data Codes appendix
Economy
-------
Economic overview: Economic activity is limited to the
exploitation of natural resources, including petroleum, natural gas,
fish, and seals.
Transportation
--------------
Ports: Churchill (Canada), Murmansk (Russia), Prudhoe Bay (US)
Transportation note: sparse network of air, ocean, river, and land
routes; the Northwest Passage (North America) and Northern Sea Route
(Eurasia) are important seasonal waterways
Communications
--------------
Telephone system:
international: no submarine cables
======================================================================
@Argentina
---------
Map
---
Location: 34 00 S, 64 00 W -- Southern South America, bordering
the South Atlantic Ocean, between Chile and Uruguay
Flag
----
Description: 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
Geography
---------
Location: Southern South America, bordering the South Atlantic
Ocean, between Chile and Uruguay
Geographic coordinates: 34 00 S, 64 00 W
Map references: South America
Area:
total area: 2,766,890 sq km
land area: 2,736,690 sq km
comparative area: slightly less than three-tenths the size of the US
Land boundaries:
total: 9,665 km
border countries: Bolivia 832 km, Brazil 1,224 km, Chile 5,150 km,
Paraguay 1,880 km, Uruguay 579 km
Coastline: 4,989 km
Maritime claims:
contiguous zone: 24 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 12 nm
International disputes: short section of the boundary with Uruguay
is in dispute; short section of the boundary with Chile is
indefinite; claims British-administered Falkland Islands (Islas
Malvinas); claims British-administered South Georgia and the South
Sandwich Islands; territorial claim in Antarctica
Climate: mostly temperate; arid in southeast; subantarctic in
southwest
Terrain: rich plains of the Pampas in northern half, flat to
rolling plateau of Patagonia in south, rugged Andes along western
border
lowest point: Salinas Chicas -40 m
highest point: Cerro Aconcagua 6,962 m
Natural resources: fertile plains of the pampas, lead, zinc, tin,
copper, iron ore, manganese, petroleum, uranium
Land use:
arable land: 9%
permanent crops: 4%
meadows and pastures: 52%
forest and woodland: 22%
other: 13%
Irrigated land: 17,600 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment:
current issues: erosion results from inadequate flood controls and
improper land use practices; irrigated soil degradation;
desertification; air pollution in Buenos Aires and other major
cities; water pollution in urban areas; rivers becoming polluted due
to increased pesticide and fertilizer use
natural hazards: Tucuman and Mendoza areas in the Andes subject to
earthquakes; pamperos are violent windstorms that can strike the
Pampas and northeast; heavy flooding
international agreements: party to - Antarctic-Environmental
Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered
Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the
Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship
Pollution, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Desertification,
Marine Life Conservation
Geographic 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: 34,672,997 (July 1996 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 28% (male 4,904,380; female 4,707,293)
15-64 years: 63% (male 10,851,004; female 10,834,593)
65 years and over: 9% (male 1,414,412; female 1,961,315) (July 1996
est.)
Population growth rate: 1.1% (1996 est.)
Birth rate: 19.41 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Death rate: 8.62 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Net migration rate: 0.18 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.72 male(s)/female
all ages: 0.98 male(s)/female (1996 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 28.3 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 71.66 years
male: 68.37 years
female: 75.12 years (1996 est.)
Total fertility rate: 2.62 children born/woman (1996 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Argentine(s)
adjective: Argentine
Ethnic divisions: white 85%, mestizo, Indian, or other nonwhite
groups 15%
Religions: nominally Roman Catholic 90% (less than 20%
practicing), Protestant 2%, Jewish 2%, other 6%
Languages: Spanish (official), English, Italian, German, French
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)
total population: 96.2%
male: 96.2%
female: 96.2%
Government
----------
Name of country:
conventional long form: Argentine Republic
conventional short form: Argentina
local long form: Republica Argentina
local short form: Argentina
Data code: AR
Type of government: republic
Capital: Buenos Aires
Administrative divisions: 23 provinces (provincias, singular -
provincia), and 1 federal district* (distrito federal); Buenos
Aires; Catamarca; Chaco; Chubut; Cordoba; Corrientes; Distrito
Federal*; Entre Rios; Formosa; Jujuy; La Pampa; La Rioja; Mendoza;
Misiones; Neuquen; Rio Negro; Salta; San Juan; San Luis; Santa Cruz;
Santa Fe; Santiago del Estero; Tierra del Fuego, Antartida e Islas
del Atlantico Sur; Tucuman
note: the US does not recognize any claims to Antarctica or
Argentina's claims to the Falkland Islands
Independence: 9 July 1816 (from Spain)
National holiday: Revolution Day, 25 May (1810)
Constitution: 1 May 1853; revised August 1994
Legal system: mixture of US and West European legal systems; has
not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state and head of government: President Carlos Saul MENEM
(since 8 July 1989) was elected for a four-year term by universal
suffrage; election last held 14 May 1995 (next to be held May 1999);
results - Carlos Saul MENEM was reelected; Vice President Carlos
RUCKAUF
cabinet: Cabinet was appointed by the president
Legislative branch: bicameral National Congress (Congreso Nacional)
Senate: elections last held NA May 1995 (next to be held NA);
results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (72 total) PJ 38,
others 34
Chamber of Deputies: one-half of the members elected every two years
to four-year terms; elections last held 14 May 1995; (next to be
held NA 1997); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (257
total) PJ 132, UCR 68, Frepaso 26, other 31
Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Corte Suprema), the nine Supreme
Court judges are appointed by the president with approval of the
Senate
Political parties and leaders: Justicialist Party (PJ), Carlos
Saul MENEM, Peronist umbrella political organization; Radical Civic
Union (UCR), Rodolfo TERRAGNO, moderately left-of-center party;
Union of the Democratic Center (UCD), conservative party; Dignity
and Independence Political Party (MODIN), Aldo RICO, right-wing
party; Grand Front (Frente Grande), Carlos ALVAREZ, center-left
coalition; Front for a Country in Solidarity (Frepaso, a four party
coalition), leader Jose Octavio BORDON; several provincial parties
Other political or pressure groups: Peronist-dominated labor
movement; General Confederation of Labor (CGT), Peronist-leaning
umbrella labor organization; Argentine Industrial Union
(manufacturers' association); Argentine Rural Society (large
landowners' association); business organizations; students; the
Roman Catholic Church; the Armed Forces
International organization participation: AfDB, AG (observer),
Australia Group, BCIE, CCC, ECLAC, FAO, G- 6, G-11, G-15, G-19,
G-24, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD,
IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM,
ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, Mercosur, MINURSO, MTCR, NSG (observer), OAS,
OPANAL, PCA, RG, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNAMIR, UNAVEM
III, UNCRO, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNITAR,
UNMIH, UNTSO, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Raul Enrique GRANILLO OCAMPO
chancery: 1600 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009
telephone: [1] (202) 939-6400 through 6403
consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami,
New Orleans, New York, San Francisco, and San Juan (Puerto Rico)
US diplomatic representation:
chief of mission: Ambassador James R. CHEEK
embassy: 4300 Colombia, 1425 Buenos Aires
mailing address: Unit 4334, APO AA 34034
telephone: [54] (1) 777-4533, 4534
FAX: [54] (1) 777-0197
Flag: three equal horizontal bands of light blue (top), white, and
light blue; centered in the white band is a radiant yellow sun with
a human face known as the Sun of May
Economy
-------
Economic overview: Argentina, rich in natural resources, benefits
also from a highly literate population, an export-oriented
agricultural sector, and a diversified industrial base.
Nevertheless, following decades of mismanagement and statist
policies, the economy in the late 1980s was plagued with huge
external debts and recurring bouts of hyperinflation. Elected in
1989, in the depths of recession, President MENEM has implemented a
comprehensive economic restructuring program that shows signs of
putting Argentina on a path of stable, sustainable growth.
Argentina's currency has traded at par with the US dollar since
April 1991, and inflation has fallen to its lowest level in 20
years. Argentines have responded to the relative price stability by
repatriating flight capital and investing in domestic industry.
After registering impressive 7.4% growth in 1994, based largely on
inflows of foreign capital and strong domestic consumption, the
Argentine economy stumbled in 1995 as financial pressures fueled by
the Mexican peso crisis and political squabbling within the MENEM
administration undermined investor confidence and triggered capital
outflows. By yearend, GDP had contracted 4.4%, unemployment reached
16%, and Buenos Aires struggled to meet fiscal targets. On the trade
front, exports soared during the first half of 1995 - largely
because of strong demand in Brazil and high commodity prices - while
anemic domestic consumption lowered imports; the resulting yearend
trade surplus was about $1.2 billion. However, because exports
contribute only 7.5% to GDP, increased foreign sales had little
impact on aggregate growth. High unemployment will continue to
plague the MENEM administration for the next several years as
provincial entities are readied for privatization and more public
sector employees are laid off.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $278.5 billion (1995 est.)
GDP real growth rate: -4.4%
GDP per capita: $8,100 (1995 est.)
GDP composition by sector:
agriculture: 6%
industry: 31%
services: 63% (1992 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1.7% (1995 est.)
Labor force: 10.9 million
by occupation: agriculture 12%, industry 31%, services 57% (1985
est.)
Unemployment rate: 16% (1995 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $48.46 billion
expenditures: $46.5 billion, including capital expenditures of $3.5
billion (1994 est.)
Industries: food processing, motor vehicles, consumer durables,
textiles, chemicals and petrochemicals, printing, metallurgy, steel
Industrial production growth rate: -4.6% (1995 est.)
Electricity:
capacity: 17,330,000 kW
production: 54.8 billion kWh
consumption per capita: 1,610 kWh (1993)
Agriculture: wheat, corn, sorghum, soybeans, sugar beets; livestock
Illicit drugs: increasing use as a transshipment country for
cocaine headed for Europe and the US
Exports: $20.7 billion (f.o.b., 1995)
commodities: meat, wheat, corn, oilseed, manufactures
partners: US 9%, Brazil, Italy, Japan, Netherlands
Imports: $19.5 billion (c.i.f., 1995)
commodities: machinery and equipment, chemicals, metals, fuels and
lubricants, agricultural products
partners: US 21%, Brazil, Germany, Bolivia, Japan, Italy, Netherlands
External debt: $90 billion (December 1995)
Economic aid: $NA
Currency: 1 nuevo peso argentino = 100 centavos
Exchange rates: pesos per US$1 - 1.00000 (January 1996), 0.99975
(1995), 0.99901 (1994), 0.99895 (1993), 0.99064 (1992), 0.95355
(1991)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Transportation
--------------
Railways:
total: 37,910 km
broad gauge: 24,124 km 1.676-m gauge (142 km electrified)
standard gauge: 2,765 km 1.435-m gauge
narrow gauge: 11,021 km 1.000-m gauge (26 km electrified)
Highways:
total: 215,578 km
paved: 61,440 km
unpaved: 154,138 km
Waterways: 11,000 km navigable
Pipelines: crude oil 4,090 km; petroleum products 2,900 km;
natural gas 9,918 km
Ports: Bahia Blanca, Buenos Aires, Comodoro Rivadavia, Concepcion
del Uruguay, La Plata, Mar del Plata, Necochea, Rio Gallegos,
Rosario, Santa Fe, Ushuaia
Merchant marine:
total: 37 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 303,448 GRT/458,864 DWT
ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 11, chemical tanker 1, container 3, oil
tanker 14, railcar carrier 1, refrigerated cargo 5, roll-on/roll-off
cargo 1 (1995 est.)
Airports:
total: 1,253
with paved runways over 3 047 m: 5
with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 25
with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 54
with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 46
with paved runways under 914 m: 511
with unpaved runways over 3 047 m: 1
with unpaved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 2
with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 60
with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 549 (1995 est.)
Communications
--------------
Telephones: 2.7 million (1983 est.)
Telephone system: 12,000 public telephones; extensive modern
system but many families do not have telephones; despite extensive
use of microwave radio relay, the telephone system frequently
grounds out during rainstorms, even in Buenos Aires
domestic: microwave radio relay and a domestic satellite system with
40 earth stations serve the trunk network
international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
Radio broadcast stations: AM 171, FM 0, shortwave 13
Radios: 22.3 million (1991 est.)
Television broadcast stations: 231
Televisions: 7.165 million (1991 est.)
Defense
-------
Branches: Argentine Army, Navy of the Argentine Republic,
Argentine Air Force, National Gendarmerie, Argentine Naval
Prefecture (Coast Guard only), National Aeronautical Police Force
Manpower availability:
males age 15-49: 8,707,014
males fit for military service: 7,063,304
males reach military age (20) annually: 310,107 (1996 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $4.7 billion,
1.5% of GDP (1995)
======================================================================
@Armenia
-------
Map
---
Location: 40 00 N, 45 00 E -- Southwestern Asia, east of Turkey
Flag
----
Description: three equal horizontal bands of red (top), blue, and
gold
Geography
---------
Location: Southwestern Asia, east of Turkey
Geographic coordinates: 40 00 N, 45 00 E
Map references: Commonwealth of Independent States
Area:
total area: 29,800 sq km
land area: 28,400 sq km
comparative area: slightly larger than Maryland
Land boundaries:
total: 1,254 km
border countries: Azerbaijan-proper 566 km, Azerbaijan-Naxcivan
exclave 221 km, Georgia 164 km, Iran 35 km, Turkey 268 km
Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims: none (landlocked)
International disputes: supports ethnic Armenians in
Nagorno-Karabakh in their separatist conflict against the
Azerbaijani Government; traditional demands on former Armenian lands
in Turkey have subsided
Climate: highland continental, hot summers, cold winters
Terrain: high Armenian Plateau with mountains; little forest land;
fast flowing rivers; good soil in Aras River valley
lowest point: Debed River 400 m
highest point: Aragats Lerr 4,095 m
Natural resources: small deposits of gold, copper, molybdenum,
zinc, alumina
Land use:
arable land: 17%
permanent crops: 3%
meadows and pastures: 20%
forest and woodland: 0%
other: 60%
Irrigated land: 3,050 sq km (1990)
Environment:
current issues: soil pollution from toxic chemicals such as DDT;
energy blockade, the result of conflict with Azerbaijan, has led to
deforestation as citizens scavenge for firewood; pollution of
Hrazdan (Razdan) and Aras Rivers; the draining of Sevana Lich, a
result of its use as a source for hydropower, threatens drinking
water supplies; restart of Metsamor nuclear power plant without
adequate (IAEA-recommended) safety and backup systems
natural hazards: occasionally severe earthquakes; droughts
international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
Nuclear Test Ban, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified -
Desertification
Geographic note: landlocked
People
------
Population: 3,463,574 (July 1996 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 28% (male 497,461; female 476,649)
15-64 years: 64% (male 1,085,935; female 1,132,282)
65 years and over: 8% (male 111,661; female 159,586) (July 1996 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.02% (1996 est.)
Birth rate: 16.27 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Death rate: 7.73 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Net migration rate: -8.3 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female
all ages: 0.96 male(s)/female (1996 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 38.9 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 69.06 years
male: 64.44 years
female: 73.92 years (1996 est.)
Total fertility rate: 2.06 children born/woman (1996 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Armenian(s)
adjective: Armenian
Ethnic divisions: Armenian 93%, Azeri 3%, Russian 2%, other
(mostly Yezidi Kurds) 2% (1989)
note: as of the end of 1993, virtually all Azeris had emigrated from
======================================================================
@Aruba
-----
(part of the Dutch realm)
Map
---
Location: 12 30 N, 69 58 W -- Caribbean, island in the Caribbean
Sea, north of Venezuela
Flag
----
Description: 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
Geography
---------
Location: Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, north of
Venezuela
Geographic coordinates: 12 30 N, 69 58 W
Map references: Central America and the Caribbean
Area:
total area: 193 sq km
land area: 193 sq km
comparative area: slightly larger than Washington, DC
Land boundaries: 0 km
Coastline: 68.5 km
Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm
International disputes: none
Climate: tropical marine; little seasonal temperature variation
Terrain: flat with a few hills; scant vegetation
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mount Jamanota 188 m
Natural resources: negligible; white sandy beaches
Land use:
arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0%
meadows and pastures: 0%
forest and woodland: 0%
other: 100%
Irrigated land: NA sq km
Environment:
current issues: NA
natural hazards: lies outside the Caribbean hurricane belt
international agreements: NA
People
------
Population: 67,794 (July 1996 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 22% (male 7,850; female 7,155)
15-64 years: 69% (male 22,499; female 24,596)
65 years and over: 9% (male 2,353; female 3,341) (July 1996 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.31% (1996 est.)
Birth rate: 14.62 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Death rate: 6.24 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Net migration rate: -5.31 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.1 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female
all ages: 0.93 male(s)/female
Infant mortality rate: 8.2 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 76.68 years
male: 73 years
female: 80.55 years (1996 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.81 children born/woman (1996 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Aruban(s)
adjective: Aruban
Ethnic divisions: mixed European/Caribbean Indian 80%
Religions: Roman Catholic 82%, Protestant 8%, Hindu, Muslim,
Confucian, Jewish
Languages: Dutch (official), Papiamento (a Spanish, Portuguese,
Dutch, English dialect), English (widely spoken), Spanish
Literacy: NA
Government
----------
Name of country:
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Aruba
Data code: AA
Type of government: part of the Dutch realm; full autonomy in
internal affairs obtained in 1986 upon separation from the
Netherlands Antilles
Capital: Oranjestad
Administrative divisions: none (self-governing part of the
Netherlands)
Independence: none (part of the Dutch realm; in 1990, Aruba
requested and received from the Netherlands cancellation of the
agreement to automatically give independence to the island in 1996)
National holiday: Flag Day, 18 March
Constitution: 1 January 1986
Legal system: based on Dutch civil law system, with some English
common law influence
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state: Queen BEATRIX Wilhelmina Armgard (of the Netherlands
since 30 April 1980), a constitutional monarch, is represented by
Governor General Olindo KOOLMAN (since 1 January 1992) who was
appointed for a six-year term by the queen
head of government: Prime Minister Jan (Henny) H. EMAN (since 29
July 1994) and Deputy Prime Minister Glenbert F. CROES were
appointed by the legislature
cabinet: Council of Ministers was appointed by the legislature
Legislative branch: unicameral
Legislature (Staten): elections last held 29 July 1994 (next to be
held by NA July 1998); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats
- (21 total) AVP 10, MEP 9, OLA 2
Judicial branch: Joint High Court of Justice
Political parties and leaders: Electoral Movement Party (MEP),
Nelson ODUBER; Aruban People's Party (AVP), Jan (Henny) H. EMAN;
National Democratic Action (ADN), Pedro Charro KELLY; New Patriotic
Party (PPN), Eddy WERLEMEN; Aruban Patriotic Party (PPA), Benny
NISBET; Aruban Democratic Party (PDA), Leo BERLINSKI; Democratic
Action '86 (AD '86), Arturo ODUBER; Aruban Liberal Party (OLA),
Glenbert CROES
note: governing coalition includes the AVP and OLA
International organization participation: ECLAC (associate),
Interpol, IOC, UNESCO (associate), WCL, WToO (associate)
Diplomatic representation in US: none (self-governing part of the
Netherlands)
US diplomatic representation: none (self-governing part of the
Netherlands)
Flag: blue with two narrow horizontal yellow stripes across the
lower portion and a red, four-pointed star outlined in white in the
upper hoist-side corner
Economy
-------
Economic overview: Tourism is the mainstay of the Aruban economy,
although offshore banking and oil refining and storage are also
important. The rapid growth of the tourism sector over the last
decade has resulted in a substantial expansion of other activities.
Construction has boomed, with hotel capacity five times the 1985
level. In addition, the reopening of the country's oil refinery in
1993, a major source of employment and foreign exchange earnings,
has further spurred growth. Aruba's small labor force and less than
1% unemployment rate have led to a large number of unfilled job
vacancies despite sharp rises in wage rates in recent years.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $1.2 billion (1994 est.)
GDP real growth rate: 6.1% (1994 est.)
GDP per capita: $18,000 (1994 est.)
GDP composition by sector:
agriculture: NA%
industry: NA%
services: NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 6.1% (1994)
Labor force: NA
by occupation: most employment is in the tourist industry (1995)
Unemployment rate: 0.5% (1994)
Budget:
revenues: $145 million
expenditures: $185 million, including capital expenditures of $42
million (1988)
Industries: tourism, transshipment facilities, oil refining
Industrial production growth rate: NA%
Electricity:
capacity: 90,000 kW
production: 330 million kWh
consumption per capita: 4,761 kWh (1993)
Agriculture: aloes; livestock; fishing
Illicit drugs: major drug money laundering center and minor
transit point for narcotics bound for the US and Europe
Exports: $1.3 billion (including oil re-exports) (f.o.b., 1994)
commodities: mostly refined petroleum products
partners: US 64%, EU
Imports: $1.6 billion (f.o.b., 1994)
commodities: food, consumer goods, manufactures, petroleum products,
crude oil for refining and reexport
partners: US 8%, EU
External debt: $669 million (December 1995)
Economic aid: $NA
Currency: 1 Aruban florin (Af.) = 100 cents
Exchange rates: Aruban florins (Af.) per US$1 - 1.7900 (fixed rate
since 1986)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Transportation
--------------
Railways: 0 km
Highways:
total: NA km
paved: NA km
unpaved: NA km
Ports: Barcadera, Oranjestad, Sint Nicolaas
Merchant marine: none
Airports:
total: 2
with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 1
with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 1
note: government-owned airport east of Oranjestad accepts
transatlantic flights (1995 est.)
Communications
--------------
Telephones: 22,922 (1993 est.)
Telephone system:
domestic: more than adequate
international: 1 submarine cable to Sint Maarten (Netherlands
Antilles); extensive interisland microwave radio relay links
Radio broadcast stations: AM 4, FM 4, shortwave 0
Radios: NA
Television broadcast stations: 1
Televisions: 19,000 (1993 est.)
Defense
-------
Defense note: defense is the responsibility of the Netherlands
======================================================================
@Ashmore and Cartier Islands
---------------------------
(territory of Australia)
Map
---
Location: 12 14 S, 123 05 E -- Southeastern Asia, islands in the
Indian Ocean, northwest of Australia
Flag
----
Description: the flag of Australia is used
Geography
---------
Location: Southeastern Asia, islands in the Indian Ocean,
northwest of Australia
Geographic coordinates: 12 14 S, 123 05 E
Map references: Southeast Asia
Area:
total area: 5 sq km
land area: 5 sq km
comparative area: about eight times the size of The Mall in
Washington, DC
note: includes Ashmore Reef (West, Middle, and East Islets) and
Cartier Island
Land boundaries: 0 km
Coastline: 74.1 km
Maritime claims:
contiguous zone: 12 nm
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 3 nm
International disputes: none
Climate: tropical
Terrain: low with sand and coral
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location 3 m
Natural resources: fish
Land use:
arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0%
meadows and pastures: 0%
forest and woodland: 0%
other: 100% (all grass and sand)
Irrigated land: 0 sq km
Environment:
current issues: NA
natural hazards: surrounded by shoals and reefs that can pose
maritime hazards
international agreements: NA
Geographic note: Ashmore Reef National Nature Reserve established
in August 1983
People
------
Population: no indigenous inhabitants; note - there are only
seasonal caretakers
Government
----------
Name of country:
conventional long form: Territory of Ashmore and Cartier Islands
conventional short form: Ashmore and Cartier Islands
Data code: AT
Type of government: territory of Australia administered by the
Australian Ministry for the Environment, Sport, and Territories
Capital: none; administered from Canberra, Australia
Administrative divisions: none (territory of Australia)
Independence: none (territory of Australia)
Legal system: relevant laws of the Northern Territory of Australia
Diplomatic representation in US: none (territory of Australia)
US diplomatic representation: none (territory of Australia)
Flag: the flag of Australia is used
Economy
-------
Economic overview: no economic activity
Transportation
--------------
Ports: none; offshore anchorage only
Defense
-------
Defense note: defense is the responsibility of Australia; periodic
visits by the Royal Australian Navy and Royal Australian Air Force
======================================================================
@Atlantic Ocean
--------------
Map
---
Location: 0 00 N, 25 00 W -- body of water between Africa, Europe,
Antarctica, and the Western Hemisphere
Geography
---------
Location: body of water between Africa, Europe, Antarctica, and
the Western Hemisphere
Geographic coordinates: 0 00 N, 25 00 W
Map references: World
Area:
total area: 82.217 million sq km
comparative area: slightly less than nine times the size of the US;
second-largest of the world's four oceans (after the Pacific Ocean,
but larger than Indian Ocean or Arctic Ocean)
note: includes Baltic Sea, Black Sea, Caribbean Sea, Davis Strait,
Denmark Strait, Drake Passage, Gulf of Mexico, Mediterranean Sea,
North Sea, Norwegian Sea, Scotia Sea, Weddell Sea, and other
tributary water bodies
Coastline: 111,866 km
International disputes: some maritime disputes (see littoral
states)
Climate: tropical cyclones (hurricanes) develop off the coast of
Africa near Cape Verde and move westward into the Caribbean Sea;
hurricanes can occur from May to December, but are most frequent
from August to November
Terrain: surface usually covered with sea ice in Labrador Sea,
Denmark Strait, and Baltic Sea from October to June; clockwise warm
water gyre (broad, circular system of currents) in the northern
Atlantic, counterclockwise warm water gyre in the southern Atlantic;
the ocean floor is dominated by the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, a rugged
north-south centerline for the entire Atlantic basin
lowest point: Puerto Rico Trench -8,605 m
highest point: sea level 0 m
Natural resources: oil and gas fields, fish, marine mammals (seals
and whales), sand and gravel aggregates, placer deposits,
polymetallic nodules, precious stones
Environment:
current issues: endangered marine species include the manatee,
seals, sea lions, turtles, and whales; drift net fishing is
hastening the decline of fish stocks and contributing to
international disputes; municipal sludge pollution off eastern US,
southern Brazil, and eastern Argentina; oil pollution in Caribbean
Sea, Gulf of Mexico, Lake Maracaibo, Mediterranean Sea, and North
Sea; industrial waste and municipal sewage pollution in Baltic Sea,
North Sea, and Mediterranean Sea
natural hazards: icebergs common in Davis Strait, Denmark Strait,
and the northwestern Atlantic Ocean from February to August and have
been spotted as far south as Bermuda and the Madeira Islands;
icebergs from Antarctica occur in the extreme southern Atlantic
Ocean; ships subject to superstructure icing in extreme northern
Atlantic from October to May and extreme southern Atlantic from May
to October; persistent fog can be a maritime hazard from May to
September
international agreements: NA
Geographic note: major choke points include the Dardanelles,
Strait of Gibraltar, access to the Panama and Suez Canals; strategic
straits include the Strait of Dover, Straits of Florida, Mona
Passage, The Sound (Oresund), and Windward Passage; the Equator
divides the Atlantic Ocean into the North Atlantic Ocean and South
======================================================================
@Australia
---------
Map
---
Location: 27 00 S, 133 00 E -- Oceania, continent between the
Indian Ocean and the South Pacific Ocean
Flag
----
Description: 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
Geography
---------
Location: Oceania, continent between the Indian Ocean and the
South Pacific Ocean
Geographic coordinates: 27 00 S, 133 00 E
Map references: Oceania
Area:
total area: 7,686,850 sq km
land area: 7,617,930 sq km
comparative area: slightly smaller than the US
note: includes Macquarie Island
Land boundaries: 0 km
Coastline: 25,760 km
Maritime claims:
contiguous zone: 24 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 12 nm
International disputes: territorial claim in Antarctica
(Australian Antarctic Territory)
Climate: generally arid to semiarid; temperate in south and east;
tropical in north
Terrain: mostly low plateau with deserts; fertile plain in
southeast
lowest point: Lake Eyre -15 m
highest point: Mount Kosciusko 2,229 m
Natural resources: bauxite, coal, iron ore, copper, tin, silver,
uranium, nickel, tungsten, mineral sands, lead, zinc, diamonds,
natural gas, petroleum
Land use:
arable land: 6%
permanent crops: 0%
meadows and pastures: 58%
forest and woodland: 14%
other: 22%
Irrigated land: 18,800 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment:
current issues: soil erosion from overgrazing, industrial
development, urbanization, and poor farming practices; soil salinity
rising due to the use of poor quality water; desertification;
clearing for agricultural purposes threatens the natural habitat of
many unique animal and plant species; the Great Barrier Reef off the
northeast coast, the largest coral reef in the world, is threatened
by increased shipping and its popularity as a tourist site; limited
natural fresh water resources
natural hazards: cyclones along the coast; severe droughts
international agreements: party to - Antarctic-Environmental
Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered
Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the
Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban,
Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83,
Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Desertification
Geographic note: world's smallest continent but sixth-largest
country; population concentrated along the eastern and southeastern
coasts; regular, tropical, invigorating, sea breeze known as "the
Doctor" occurs along the west coast in the summer
People
------
Population: 18,260,863 (July 1996 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 21% (male 2,009,915; female 1,912,605)
15-64 years: 66% (male 6,129,285; female 5,980,315)
65 years and over: 13% (male 967,291; female 1,261,452) (July 1996
est.)
Population growth rate: 0.99% (1996 est.)
Birth rate: 13.99 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Death rate: 6.88 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Net migration rate: 2.74 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.77 male(s)/female
all ages: 1 male(s)/female (1996 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 5.5 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 79.39 years
male: 76.44 years
female: 82.5 years (1996 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.84 children born/woman (1996 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Australian(s)
adjective: Australian
Ethnic divisions: Caucasian 95%, Asian 4%, aboriginal and other 1%
Religions: Anglican 26.1%, Roman Catholic 26%, other Christian
24.3%
Languages: English, native languages
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1980 est.)
total population: 100%
male: 100%
female: 100%
Government
----------
Name of country:
conventional long form: Commonwealth of Australia
conventional short form: Australia
Data code: AS
Type of government: federal parliamentary state
Capital: Canberra
Administrative divisions: 6 states and 2 territories*; Australian
Capital Territory*, New South Wales, Northern Territory*,
Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia
Dependent areas: Ashmore and Cartier Islands, Christmas Island,
Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Coral Sea Islands, Heard Island and
McDonald Islands, Norfolk Island
Independence: 1 January 1901 (federation of UK colonies)
National holiday: Australia Day, 26 January (1788)
Constitution: 9 July 1900, effective 1 January 1901
Legal system: based on English common law; accepts compulsory ICJ
jurisdiction, with reservations
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal and compulsory
Executive branch:
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952) is a
hereditary monarch, represented by Governor General Sir William
DEANE (since 16 February 1996) who was appointed by the queen
head of government: Prime Minister John Winston HOWARD (since 11
March 1996) was appointed by the governor general; Deputy Prime
Minister Timothy Andrew FISCHER (since 11 March 1996)
cabinet: Cabinet was selected from among the members of Federal
Parliament by the governor general on the advice of the prime
minister
Legislative branch: bicameral Federal Parliament
Senate: elections last held 2 March 1996 (next to be held NA 1999);
results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (76 total)
Liberal-National 37, Labor 29, Australian Democrats 8, Greens 1,
independent 1
House of Representatives: elections last held 2 March 1996 (next to
be held NA 1999); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats -
(148 total) Liberal-National 94, Labor 49, independent 5
Judicial branch: High Court, the Chief Justice and six other
justices are appointed by the governor general
Political parties and leaders:
government: coalition of Liberal Party, John Winston HOWARD and
National Party, Timothy Andrew FISCHER
opposition: Australian Labor Party, Kim BEAZLEY; Australian
Democratic Party, Cheryl KERNOT; Green Party, Bob BROWN
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)
International organization participation: AG (observer), ANZUS,
APEC, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, C, CCC, CP, EBRD, ESCAP, FAO, G-
8, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS,
ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MTCR, NAM
(guest), NEA, NSG, OECD, PCA, Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UN, UNAMIR,
UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNTSO, UNU, UPU, WFTU, WHO,
WIPO, WMO, WTrO, ZC
Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission: Ambassador John Phillip MCCARTHY
chancery: 1601 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036
telephone: [1] (202) 797-3000
FAX: [1] (202) 797-3168
consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Honolulu, Houston, Los Angeles, New
York, Pago Pago (American Samoa), and San Francisco
US diplomatic representation:
chief of mission: Ambassador Edward J. PERKINS
embassy: Moonah Place, Yarralumla, Canberra, Australian Capital
Territory 2600
mailing address: APO AP 96549
telephone: [61] (6) 270-5000
FAX: [61] (6) 270-5970
consulate(s) general: Melbourne, Perth, and Sydney
consulate(s): Brisbane
Flag: blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side
quadrant and a large seven-pointed star in the lower hoist-side
quadrant; the remaining half is a representation of the Southern
Cross constellation in white with one small five-pointed star and
four, larger, seven-pointed stars
Economy
-------
Economic overview: Australia has a prosperous Western-style
capitalist economy, with a per capita GDP comparable to levels in
highly industrialized West European countries. Rich in natural
resources, Australia is a major exporter of agricultural products,
minerals, metals, and fossil fuels. Commodities account for more
than 80% of the value of total exports, so that, as in 1983-84, a
downturn in world commodity prices can have a big impact on the
economy. The government is pushing for increased exports of
manufactured goods, but competition in international markets
continues to be severe. Australia has suffered from the low growth
and high unemployment characterizing the OECD countries in the early
1990s. In 1992-93 the economy recovered slowly from the prolonged
recession of 1990-91, a major restraining factor being weak world
demand for Australia's exports. Growth picked up so strongly in 1994
that the government felt the need for fiscal and monetary tightening
by yearend. Australia's GDP grew 6.4% in 1994, largely due to
increases in industrial output and business investment. A severe
drought in 1994 reduced the value of Australia's net farm
production, but rising world commodity prices are likely to boost
commodity exports by 15% to $42.4 billion in 1995/96, according to
government statistics. Short-term economic problems include a
balancing of output growth and inflationary pressures and the
stimulation of exports to offset rising imports.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $405.4 billion (1995 est.)
GDP real growth rate: 3.3% (1995 est.)
GDP per capita: $22,100 (1995 est.)
GDP composition by sector:
agriculture: 3.1%
industry: 27.7%
services: 69.2% (1994)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 4.75% (1995)
Labor force: 8.63 million (September 1991)
by occupation: finance and services 33.8%, public and community
services 22.3%, wholesale and retail trade 20.1%, manufacturing and
industry 16.2%, agriculture 6.1% (1987)
Unemployment rate: 8.1% (December 1995)
Budget:
revenues: $95.69 billion
expenditures: $95.15 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA
(FY95/96 est.)
Industries: mining, industrial and transportation equipment, food
processing, chemicals, steel
Industrial production growth rate: 3.9% (FY93/94)
Electricity:
capacity: 34,540,000 kW
production: 155 billion kWh
consumption per capita: 8,021 kWh (1993)
Agriculture: wheat, barley, sugarcane, fruits; cattle, sheep,
poultry
Illicit drugs: Tasmania is one of the world's major suppliers of
licit opiate products; government maintains strict controls over
areas of opium poppy cultivation and output of poppy straw
concentrate
Exports: $51.57 billion (f.o.b., 1995)
commodities: coal, gold, meat, wool, alumina, wheat, machinery and
transport equipment
partners: Japan 25%, US 11%, South Korea 6%, NZ 5.7%, UK, Taiwan,
Singapore, Hong Kong (1992)
Imports: $57.41 billion (f.o.b., 1995)
commodities: machinery and transport equipment, computers and office
machines, crude oil and petroleum products
partners: US 23%, Japan 18%, UK 6%, Germany 5.7%, NZ 4% (1992)
External debt: $147.2 billion (1994)
Economic aid:
donor: ODA, $953 million (1993)
Currency: 1 Australian dollar ($A) = 100 cents
Exchange rates: Australian dollars ($A) per US$1 - 1.3477 (January
1996), 1.3486 (1995), 1.3668 (1994), 1.4704 (1993), 1.3600 (1992),
1.2835 (1991)
Fiscal year: 1 July - 30 June
Transportation
--------------
Railways:
total: 38,563 km (2,914 km electrified; 172 km dual gauge)
broad gauge: 6,083 km 1.600-m gauge
standard gauge: 16,752 km 1.435-m gauge
narrow gauge: 15,728 km 1.067-m gauge
Highways:
total: 810,264 km
paved: 283,592 km (including 1,200 km of expressways)
unpaved: 526,672 km (1989 est.)
Waterways: 8,368 km; mainly by small, shallow-draft craft
Pipelines: crude oil 2,500 km; petroleum products 500 km; natural
gas 5,600 km
Ports: Adelaide, Brisbane, Cairns, Darwin, Devonport, Fremantle,
Geelong, Hobart (Tasmania), Launceton (Tasmania), Mackay, Melbourne,
Sydney, Townsville
Merchant marine:
total: 76 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,547,869 GRT/3,679,534
DWT
ships by type: bulk 30, cargo 4, chemical tanker 3, combination bulk
1, container 6, liquefied gas tanker 6, oil tanker 18,
roll-on/roll-off cargo 7, short-sea passenger 1 (1995 est.)
Airports:
total: 442
with paved runways over 3 047 m: 9
with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 13
with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 106
with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 116
with paved runways under 914 m: 30
with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 22
with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 146 (1995 est.)
Communications
--------------
Telephones: 8.7 million (1987 est.)
Telephone system: good domestic and international service
domestic: domestic satellite system
international: submarine cables to New Zealand, Papua New Guinea,
and Indonesia; satellite earth stations - 10 Intelsat (4 Indian
Ocean and 6 Pacific Ocean), 2 Inmarsat (Indian and Pacific Ocean
Regions)
Radio broadcast stations: AM 258, FM 67, shortwave 0
Radios: NA
Television broadcast stations: 134 (1987 est.)
Televisions: 9.2 million (1992 est.)
Defense
-------
Branches: Australian Army, Royal Australian Navy, Royal Australian
Air Force
Manpower availability:
males age 15-49: 4,848,777
males fit for military service: 4,192,250
males reach military age (17) annually: 127,569 (1996 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $7.3 billion,
2.0% of GDP (FY95/96)
======================================================================
@Austria
-------
Map
---
Location: 47 20 N, 13 20 E -- Central Europe, north of Italy
Flag
----
Description: three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and
red
Geography
---------
Location: Central Europe, north of Italy
Geographic coordinates: 47 20 N, 13 20 E
Map references: Europe
Area:
total area: 83,850 sq km
land area: 82,730 sq km
comparative area: slightly smaller than Maine
Land boundaries:
total: 2,558 km
border countries: Czech Republic 362 km, Germany 784 km, Hungary 366
km, Italy 430 km, Liechtenstein 37 km, Slovakia 91 km, Slovenia 324
km, Switzerland 164 km
Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims: none (landlocked)
International disputes: none
Climate: temperate; continental, cloudy; cold winters with
frequent rain in lowlands and snow in mountains; cool summers with
occasional showers
Terrain: in the west and south mostly mountains (Alps); along the
eastern and northern margins mostly flat or gently sloping
lowest point: Neusiedler See 115 m
highest point: Grossglockner 3,797 m
Natural resources: iron ore, oil, timber, magnesite, lead, coal,
lignite, copper, hydropower
Land use:
arable land: 17%
permanent crops: 1%
meadows and pastures: 24%
forest and woodland: 39%
other: 19%
Irrigated land: 40 sq km (1989)
Environment:
current issues: some forest degradation caused by air and soil
pollution; soil pollution results from the use of agricultural
chemicals; air pollution results from emissions by coal- and
oil-fired power stations and industrial plants and from trucks
transiting Austria between northern and southern Europe
natural hazards: NA
international agreements: party to - Air Pollution, Air
Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air
Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic Treaty,
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental
Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban,
Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83,
Wetlands, Whaling; signed, but not ratified - Air Pollution-Sulphur
94, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol
Geographic note: landlocked; strategic location at the crossroads
of central Europe with many easily traversable Alpine passes and
valleys; major river is the Danube; population is concentrated on
eastern lowlands because of steep slopes, poor soils, and low
temperatures elsewhere
People
------
Population: 8,023,244 (July 1996 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 18% (male 720,696; female 685,179)
15-64 years: 67% (male 2,726,122; female 2,659,162)
65 years and over: 15% (male 451,231; female 780,854) (July 1996
est.)
Population growth rate: 0.41% (1996 est.)
Birth rate: 11.19 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Death rate: 10.43 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Net migration rate: 3.34 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.58 male(s)/female
all ages: 0.94 male(s)/female (1996 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 6.2 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 76.53 years
male: 73.38 years
female: 79.84 years (1996 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.49 children born/woman (1996 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Austrian(s)
adjective: Austrian
Ethnic divisions: German 99.4%, Croatian 0.3%, Slovene 0.2%, other
0.1%
Religions: Roman Catholic 85%, Protestant 6%, other 9%
Languages: German
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1974 est.)
total population: 99%
male: NA%
female: NA%
Government
----------
Name of country:
conventional long form: Republic of Austria
conventional short form: Austria
local long form: Republik Oesterreich
local short form: Oesterreich
Data code: AU
Type of government: federal republic
Capital: Vienna
Administrative divisions: 9 states (bundeslaender, singular -
bundesland); Burgenland, Kaernten, Niederoesterreich,
Oberoesterreich, Salzburg, Steiermark, Tirol, Vorarlberg, Wien
Independence: 12 November 1918 (from Austro-Hungarian Empire)
National holiday: National Day, 26 October (1955)
Constitution: 1920; revised 1929 (reinstated 1 May 1945)
Legal system: civil law system with Roman law origin; judicial
review of legislative acts by the Constitutional Court; separate
administrative and civil/penal supreme courts; has not accepted
compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal; compulsory for presidential
elections
Executive branch:
chief of state: President Thomas KLESTIL (since 8 July 1992) was
elected for a six-year term by popular vote; election last held 24
May 1992 (next to be held 1998); results of second ballot - Thomas
KLESTIL 57%, Rudolf STREICHER 43%
head of government: Chancellor Franz VRANITZKY (since 16 June 1986)
was chosen by the president from the majority party in the National
Council; Vice Chancellor Wolfgang SCHUESSEL (since 22 April 1995)
was chosen by the president on the advice of the chancellor
cabinet: Council of Ministers was chosen by the president on the
advice of the chancellor
Legislative branch: bicameral Federal Assembly (Bundesversammlung)
Federal Council (Bundesrat): consists of 63 members representing
each of the provinces on the basis of population, but with each
province having at least three representatives
National Council (Nationalrat): elections last held 17 December 1995
(next to be held Fall 1999); results - SPOE 38.3%, OEVP 28.3%, FPOE
22.1%, Greens 4.6%, LF 5.3%, other 1.4%; seats - (183 total) SPOE
71, OEVP 53, FPOE 40, Greens 9, LF 10
Judicial branch: Supreme Judicial Court (Oberster Gerichtshof) for
civil and criminal cases; Administrative Court
(Verwaltungsgerichtshof) for bureaucratic cases; Constitutional
Court (Verfassungsgerichtshof) for constitutional cases
Political parties and leaders: Social Democratic Party of Austria
(SPOE), Franz VRANITZKY, chairman; Austrian People's Party (OEVP),
Wolfgang SCHUESSEL, chairman; Freedom Movement (F, formerly the
Freedom Party of Austria or FPOE), Joerg HAIDER, chairman; Communist
Party (KPOE), Walter SILBERMAYER, chairman; The Greens, Madeleine
PETROVIC; Liberal Forum (LF), Heide SCHMIDT
Other political or pressure groups: Federal Chamber of Commerce
and Industry; Austrian Trade Union Federation (primarily Socialist);
three composite leagues of the Austrian People's Party (OEVP)
representing business, labor, and farmers; OEVP-oriented League of
Austrian Industrialists; Roman Catholic Church, including its chief
lay organization, Catholic Action
International organization participation: AfDB, AG (observer),
AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, CCC, CE, CEI, CERN, EBRD, ECE, EIB, ESA,
EU, FAO, G- 9, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA,
IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO,
ITU, MINURSO, MTCR, NACC, NAM (guest), NEA, NSG, OAS (observer),
OECD, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNAMIR, UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNFICYP,
UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMIH, UNMOT, UNOMIG, UNTSO, UPU, WCL, WEU
(observer), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC
Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Helmut TUERK
chancery: 3524 International Court NW, Washington, DC 20008-3035
telephone: [1] (202) 895-6700
FAX: [1] (202) 895-6750
consulate(s) general: Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York
US diplomatic representation:
chief of mission: Ambassador Swanee G. HUNT
chancery: Boltzmanngasse 16, A-1091, Vienna
mailing address: use embassy street address
telephone: [43] (1) 313-39
FAX: [43] (1) 310-0682
Flag: three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and red
Economy
-------
Economic overview: Austria has a well-developed market economy
with a sizable - but falling - proportion of nationalized industry,
an extensive social system, and a high standard of living. Austria's
economy is closely integrated with Germany and other EU members -
Austria joined the EU on 1 January 1995. Since the early 1980s, the
Austrian economy has experienced stable growth. Following a mild
recession in 1993, Austria's economy - driven by strong exports,
investment, and private consumption - expanded 2.7% in 1994 and
about 2.4% in 1995. The slowdown in 1995 was largely due to an
appreciation of the Austrian schilling and its negative effect on
exports and tourism. EU membership has had a positive impact on
foreign investment and has helped to lower inflation. Despite
Austria's generally favorable economic prospects, the government
faces a number of economic challenges, especially budget
consolidation. Smaller than expected revenues and rising welfare
payments caused the budget deficit to climb to 7.1% of GDP in 1995.
Austria also faces a growing unemployment problem. Although low by
European standards, Austria's unemployment rate has risen gradually
during the 1990s as companies restructured to meet competition from
the EU single market and Eastern Europe.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $152 billion (1995 est.)
GDP real growth rate: 2.4% (1995 est.)
GDP per capita: $19,000 (1995 est.)
GDP composition by sector:
agriculture: 2%
industry: 34%
services: 64% (1994)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.3% (1995 est.)
Labor force: 3.47 million (1989)
by occupation: services 56.4%, industry and crafts 35.4%,
agriculture and forestry 8.1%
note: an estimated 200,000 Austrians are employed in other European
countries; foreign laborers in Austria number 177,840, about 5% of
labor force (1988)
Unemployment rate: 4.6% (1995 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $65 billion
expenditures: $75.8 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA
(1995 est.)
Industries: food, iron and steel, machines, textiles, chemicals,
electrical, paper and pulp, tourism, mining, motor vehicles
Industrial production growth rate: 7.7% (first half 1995)
Electricity:
capacity: 17,230,000 kW
production: 50.2 billion kWh
consumption per capita: 5,824 kWh (1993)
Agriculture: grains, fruit, potatoes, sugar beets; cattle, pigs,
poultry; sawn wood
Illicit drugs: transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin
transiting the Balkan route and Eastern Europe
Exports: $45.2 billion (1994)
commodities: machinery and equipment, iron and steel, lumber,
textiles, paper products, chemicals
partners: EU 64.8% (Germany 38.1%, Italy 8.1%), Eastern Europe
11.8%, Japan 1.6%, US 3.5% (1994)
Imports: $55.3 billion (1994)
commodities: petroleum, foodstuffs, machinery and equipment,
vehicles, chemicals, textiles and clothing, pharmaceuticals
partners: EU 68.4% (Germany 40%, Italy 8.8%), Eastern Europe 6.55%,
Japan 4.3%, US 4.4% (1994)
External debt: $28.7 billion (1995 est.)
Economic aid:
donor: ODA, $544 million (1993)
Currency: 1 Austrian schilling (S) = 100 groschen
Exchange rates: Austrian schillings (S) per US$1 - 10.314 (January
1996), 10.081 (1995), 11.422 (1994), 11.632 (1993), 10.989 (1992),
11.676 (1991)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Transportation
--------------
Railways:
total: 5,624 km
standard gauge: 5,269 km 1.435-m gauge (3,263 km electrified)
narrow gauge: 355 km 1.000-m and 0.760-m gauge (86 km electrified)
(1995)
Highways:
total: 108,000 km
paved: 22,000 km (including 1,800 km of expressways)
unpaved: 86,000 km (1992 est.)
Waterways: 446 km
Pipelines: crude oil 554 km; petroleum products 171 km; natural
gas 2,611 km
Ports: Linz, Vienna
Merchant marine:
total: 29 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 88,617 GRT/122,475 DWT
ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 23, combination bulk 2, container 1,
refrigerated cargo 2 (1995 est.)
Airports:
total: 55
with paved runways over 3 047 m: 1
with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 5
with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 1
with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 3
with paved runways under 914 m: 41
with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 4 (1995 est.)
Heliports: 1 (1995 est.)
Communications
--------------
Telephones: 3.47 million (1986 est.)
Telephone system:
domestic: highly developed and efficient
international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Atlantic
Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) and 2 Eutelsat
Radio broadcast stations: AM 6, FM 21 (repeaters 545), shortwave 0
Radios: NA
Television broadcast stations: 47 (repeaters 870)
Televisions: 2,418,584 (1984 est.)
Defense
-------
Branches: Army (includes Flying Division)
Manpower availability:
males age 15-49: 2,084,827
males fit for military service: 1,741,068
males reach military age (19) annually: 45,628 (1996 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $2.1 billion,
1.0% of GDP (1995)
======================================================================
@Azerbaijan
----------
Azerbaijan continues to be plagued by an unresolved eight-year-old
conflict with Armenian separatists over its Nagorno-Karabakh region.
The Karabakh Armenians have declared independence and seized almost
20% of the country's territory, creating almost 1 million Azeri
refugees in the process. Both sides have generally observed a
Russian-mediated cease-fire in place since May 1994, and support the
OSCE-mediated peace process, now entering its fifth year.
Nevertheless, Baku and Xankandi (Stepanakert, Nagorno-Karabakh
region) remain far apart on most substantive issues from the
placement and composition of a peacekeeping force to the enclave's
ultimate political status, and prospects for a negotiated settlement
remain dim.
Map
---
Location: 40 30 N, 47 30 E -- Southwestern Asia, bordering the
Caspian Sea, between Iran and Russia
Flag
----
Description: three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), red, and
green; a crescent and eight-pointed star in white are centered in
red band
Geography
---------
Location: Southwestern Asia, bordering the Caspian Sea, between
Iran and Russia
Geographic coordinates: 40 30 N, 47 30 E
Map references: Commonwealth of Independent States
Area:
total area: 86,600 sq km
land area: 86,100 sq km
comparative area: slightly larger than Maine
note: includes the exclave of Naxcivan Autonomous Republic and the
Nagorno-Karabakh region; the region's autonomy was abolished by
Azerbaijani Supreme Soviet on 26 November 1991
Land boundaries:
total: 2,013 km
border countries: Armenia (with Azerbaijan-proper) 566 km, Armenia
(with Azerbaijan-Naxcivan exclave) 221 km, Georgia 322 km, Iran
(with Azerbaijan-proper) 432 km, Iran (with Azerbaijan-Naxcivan
exclave) 179 km, Russia 284 km, Turkey 9 km
Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)
note: Azerbaijan borders the Caspian Sea (800 km, est.)
Maritime claims: none (landlocked)
International disputes: violent and longstanding dispute with
ethnic Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh over its status; Caspian Sea
boundaries are not yet determined
Climate: dry, semiarid steppe
Terrain: large, flat Kur-Araz Lowland (much of it below sea level)
with Great Caucasus Mountains to the north, Qarabag (Karabakh)
Upland in west; Baku lies on Abseron (Apsheron) Peninsula that juts
into Caspian Sea
lowest point: Caspian Sea -28 m
highest point: Bazarduzu Dagi 4,485 m
Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, nonferrous
metals, alumina
Land use:
arable land: 18%
permanent crops: 4%
meadows and pastures: 25%
forest and woodland: 0%
other: 53%
Irrigated land: 14,010 sq km (1990)
Environment:
current issues: local scientists consider the Abseron (Apsheron)
Peninsula (including Baku and Sumqayit) and the Caspian Sea to be
the ecologically most devastated area in the world because of severe
air, water, and soil pollution; soil pollution results from the use
of DDT as a pesticide and also from toxic defoliants used in the
production of cotton
natural hazards: droughts; some lowland areas threatened by rising
levels of the Caspian Sea
international agreements: party to - Climate Change; signed, but not
ratified - Biodiversity
Geographic note: landlocked
People
------
Population: 7,676,953 (July 1996 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 32% (male 1,270,812; female 1,215,781)
15-64 years: 61% (male 2,293,688; female 2,423,222)
65 years and over: 7% (male 179,048; female 294,402) (July 1996 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.78% (1996 est.)
Birth rate: 22.28 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Death rate: 8.69 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Net migration rate: -5.8 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.61 male(s)/female
all ages: 0.95 male(s)/female (1996 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 74.5 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 64.84 years
male: 60.13 years
female: 69.78 years (1996 est.)
Total fertility rate: 2.64 children born/woman (1996 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Azerbaijani(s)
adjective: Azerbaijani
Ethnic divisions: Azeri 90%, Dagestani Peoples 3.2%, Russian 2.5%,
Armenian 2.3%, other 2% (1995 est.)
note: almost all Armenians live in the separatist Nagorno-Karabakh
region
Religions: Muslim 93.4%, Russian Orthodox 2.5%, Armenian Orthodox
2.3%, other 1.8% (1995 est.)
note: religious affiliation is still nominal in Azerbaijan; actual
practicing adherents are much lower
Languages: Azeri 89%, Russian 3%, Armenian 2%, other 6% (1995 est.)
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1989 est.)
total population: 97%
male: 99%
female: 96%
Government
----------
Name of country:
conventional long form: Azerbaijani Republic
conventional short form: Azerbaijan
local long form: Azarbaycan Respublikasi
local short form: none
former: Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic
Data code: AJ
Type of government: republic
Capital: Baku (Baki)
Administrative divisions: 59 rayons (rayonlar; rayon - singular),
11 cities* (saharlar; sahar - singular), 1 autonomous republic**
(muxtar respublika); Abscron Rayonu, Agcabadi Rayonu, Agdam Rayonu,
Agdas Rayonu, Agstafa Rayonu, Agsu Rayonu, AliBayramli Sahari*,
Astara Rayonu, Baki Sahari*, Balakan Rayonu, Barda Rayonu, Beylaqan
Rayonu, Bilasuvar Rayonu, Cabrayil Rayonu, Calilabad Rayonu,
Daskasan Rayonu, Davaci Rayonu, Fuzuli Rayonu, Gadabay Rayonu, Ganca
Sahari*, Goranboy Rayonu, Goycay Rayonu, Haciqabul Rayonu, Imisli
Rayonu, Ismayilli Rayonu, Kalbacar Rayonu, Kurdamir Rayonu, Lacin
Rayonu, Lankaran Rayonu, Lankaran Sahari*, Lerik Rayonu, Masalli
Rayonu, Mingacevir Sahari*, Naftalan Sahari*, Naxcivan Muxtar
Respublikasi**, Neftcala Rayonu, Oguz Rayonu, Qabala Rayonu, Qax
Rayonu, Qazax Rayonu, Qobustan Rayonu, Quba Rayonu, Qubadli Rayonu,
Qusar Rayonu, Saatli Rayonu, Sabirabad Rayonu, Saki Rayonu, Saki
Sahari*, Salyan Rayonu, Samaxi Rayonu, Samkir Rayonu, Samux Rayonu,
Siyazan Rayonu, Sumqayit Sahari*, Susa Rayonu, Susa Sahari*, Tartar
Rayonu, Tovuz Rayonu, Ucar Rayonu, Xacmaz Rayonu, Xankandi Sahari*,
Xanlar Rayonu, Xizi Rayonu, Xocali Rayonu, Xocavand Rayonu, Yardimb
Rayonu, Yevlax Rayonu, Yevlax Sahari*, Zangilan Rayonu, Zaqatala
Rayonu, Zardab Rayonu
Independence: 30 August 1991 (from Soviet Union)
National holiday: Independence Day, 28 May
Constitution: adopted 12 November 1995
Legal system: based on civil law system
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state: President Heydar ALIYEV (since 18 June 1993) was
elected by popular vote; election last held 3 October 1993 (next to
be held 1997 or 1998); results - Heydar ALIYEV won 97% of vote
head of government: Prime Minister Fuad QULIYEV (since 9 October
1994), First Deputy Prime Ministers Abbas ABBASOV (since NA), Samed
SADYKOV (since NA), Vahid AKHMEDOV (since NA), Elchin EFENDIYEV
(since NA) were appointed by the president and confirmed by the
Milli Mejlis
cabinet: Council of Ministers was appointed by the president and
confirmed by the Mejlis
Legislative branch: unicameral
National Assembly (Milli Mejlis): elections last held 12 and 26
November 1995 (next to be held NA); percent of vote by party NA;
seats - (125 total) number of seats by party NA
Judicial branch: Supreme Court
Political parties and leaders: Azerbaijan Popular Front (APF),
Ebulfez ELCIBEY, chairman; Musavat Party, Isa GAMBAR, chairman;
National Independence Party, Etibar MAMEDOV, chairman; Social
Democratic Party (SDP), Araz ALIZADE, chairman; Communist Party,
Ramiz AKHMEDOV, chairman; People's Freedom Party, Yunus OGUZ,
chairman; Independent Social Democratic Party, Arif YUNUSOV and
Leila YUNOSOVA, cochairmen; New Azerbaijan Party, Heydar ALIYEV,
chairman; Boz Gurd Party, Iskander HAMIDOV, chairman; Azerbaijan
Democratic Independence Party, Qabil HUSEYNLI, chairman; Islamic
Party of Azerbaijan, Ali Akram, chairman; Ana Veten Party, Fazail
AGAMALIYEV; Azerbaijan Democratic Party, Sardar Jalaloglu MAMEDOV;
Azerbaijan Democratic Party of Proprietors (DPOP), Makhmud MAMEDOV;
Azerbaijan Patriotic Solidarity Party, Sabir RUSTAMHANLI; Azerbaijan
Republic Reform Party, Fuad ASADOV; Communist Party of Azerbaijan
(unregistered), Sayad SAYADOV; Equality of the Peoples Party,
Faukhraddin AYDAYEV; Independent Azerbaijan Party, Nizami
SULEYMANOV; Labor Party of Azerbaijan, Sabutai HAJIYEV;
Liberal-Democratic Party of Azerbaijan, Lyudmila NIKOLAYEVNA;
National Enlightenment Party, Hajy Osman EFENDIYEV; National
Liberation Party, Panak SHAKHSEVEV; Peasant Party, Firuz MUSTAFAYEV;
Radical Party of Azerbaijan, Malik SHARIFOV; United Azerbaijan
Party, Kerrar ABILOV; Vetan Adzhagy Party, Zakir TAGIYEV
Other political or pressure groups: self-proclaimed Armenian
Nagorno-Karabakh Republic; Talysh independence movement
International organization participation: BSEC, CCC, CIS, EBRD,
ECE, ECO, ESCAP, FAO, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFRCS, ILO, IMF,
IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ITU, NACC, NAM (observer), OIC, OSCE,
PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO (observer)
Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Hafiz Mir Jalal PASHAYEV
chancery: (temporary) Suite 700, 927 15th Street NW, Washington, DC
20005
telephone: [1] (202) 842-0001
FAX: [1] (202) 842-0004
US diplomatic representation:
chief of mission: Ambassador Richard D. KAUZLARICH
embassy: Azadliq Prospekti 83, Baku
mailing address: use embassy street address
telephone: [9] (9412) 96-00-19, 98-03-37, 98-03-36, 93-64-80,
96-36-21
FAX: [9] (9412) 98-37-55
Flag: three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), red, and green;
a crescent and eight-pointed star in white are centered in red band
Economy
-------
Economic overview: Azerbaijan is less developed industrially than
either Armenia or Georgia, the other Transcaucasian states. It
resembles the Central Asian states in its majority nominally Muslim
population, high structural unemployment, and low standard of
living. The economy's most prominent products are oil, cotton, and
gas. Production from the Caspian oil and gas field has been in
decline for several years, but the November 1994 ratification of the
$7.5 billion oil deal with a consortium of Western companies should
generate the funds needed to spur future industrial development.
Azerbaijan shares all the formidable problems of the ex-Soviet
republics in making the transition from a command to a market
economy, but its considerable energy resources brighten its
long-term prospects. Baku has only recently begun making progress on
economic reform, and old economic ties and structures have yet to be
replaced. Whereas the economies of most of the former Soviet
republics had begun to bottom out in 1995, Azerbaijan's economy
continued to plummet because of its late start on economic reform.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $11.5 billion (1995 estimate as
extrapolated from World Bank estimate for 1994)
GDP real growth rate: -17% (1995 est.)
GDP per capita: $1,480 (1995 est.)
GDP composition by sector:
agriculture: NA%
industry: NA%
services: NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 85% (1995 est.)
Labor force: 2.789 million
by occupation: agriculture and forestry 32%, industry and
construction 26%, other 42% (1990)
Unemployment rate: 2.3% includes officially registered unemployed;
also large numbers of unregistered unemployed and underemployed
workers (December 1995)
Budget:
revenues: $465 million
expenditures: $488 million, including capital expenditures of $NA
(1995 est.)
Industries: petroleum and natural gas, petroleum products,
oilfield equipment; steel, iron ore, cement; chemicals and
petrochemicals; textiles
Industrial production growth rate: -21% (1995 est.)
Electricity:
capacity: 4,900,000 kW
production: 17 billion kWh
consumption per capita: 2,200 kWh (1995 est.)
Agriculture: cotton, grain, rice, grapes, fruit, vegetables, tea,
tobacco; cattle, pigs, sheep, goats
Illicit drugs: illicit cultivator of cannabis and opium poppy,
mostly for CIS consumption; limited government eradication program;
transshipment point for illicit drugs to Western Europe
Exports: $549.9 million (f.o.b., 1995)
commodities: oil and gas, chemicals, oilfield equipment, textiles,
cotton
partners: mostly CIS and European countries
Imports: $681.5 million (c.i.f., 1995)
commodities: machinery and parts, consumer durables, foodstuffs,
textiles
partners: European countries
External debt: $100 million (of which $75 million to Russia)
Economic aid:
recipient: ODA, $14 million (1993)
note: commitments, 1992-95, $1,000 million ($185 million in
disbursements); wheat from Turkey
Currency: 1 manat = 100 gopik
Exchange rates: manats per US$1 - 4,375 (April 1996), 4,500 (April
1995), 4,168 (end of December 1994)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Transportation
--------------
Railways:
total: 2,125 km in common carrier service; does not include
industrial lines
broad gauge: 2,125 km 1.520-m gauge (1,278 km electrified) (1993)
Highways:
total: 36,700 km
paved: 31,800 km (includes graveled)
unpaved: 4,900 km (1990 est.)
Pipelines: crude oil 1,130 km; petroleum products 630 km; natural
gas 1,240 km
Ports: Baku (Baki)
Airports:
total: 69
with paved runways over 3 047 m: 2
with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 6
with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 17
with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 3
with paved runways under 914 m: 1
with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 7
with unpaved runways under 914 m: 33 (1994 est.)
Communications
--------------
Telephones: 710,000 (1991 est.)
Telephone system: 202,000 persons waiting for telephone
installations (January 1991 est.)
domestic: telephone service is of poor quality and inadequate; a
joint venture to establish a cellular telephone system in the Baku
area was supposed to become operational in 1994
international: cable and microwave radio relay connections to former
Soviet republics; connection through Moscow international gateway
switch to other countries; satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat and
1 Intersputnik (Intelsat provides service to Turkey and through
Turkey to 200 more countries; Intersputnik provides direct service
to New York)
Radio broadcast stations: AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA (1
state-owned radio broadcast station)
Radios: NA
Television broadcast stations: 2
note: domestic and Russian TV programs are received locally and
Turkish and Iranian TV is received from an Intelsat satellite
through a receive-only earth station
Televisions: NA
Defense
-------
Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Maritime Border Guard
Manpower availability:
males age 15-49: 1,952,390
males fit for military service: 1,574,813
males reach military age (18) annually: 68,006 (1996 est.)
Defense expenditures: 33.5 billion manats, NA% of GDP (1994); note
- conversion of defense expenditures into US dollars using the
current exchange rate could produce misleading results
======================================================================
@Bahrain
-------
Map
---
Location: 26 00 N, 50 33 E -- Middle East, archipelago in the
Persian Gulf, east of Saudi Arabia
Flag
----
Description: red with a white serrated band (eight white points)
on the hoist side
Geography
---------
Location: Middle East, archipelago in the Persian Gulf, east of
Saudi Arabia
Geographic coordinates: 26 00 N, 50 33 E
Map references: Middle East
Area:
total area: 620 sq km
land area: 620 sq km
comparative area: 3.5 times the size of Washington, DC
Land boundaries: 0 km
Coastline: 161 km
Maritime claims:
contiguous zone: 24 nm
continental shelf: extending to boundaries to be determined
territorial sea: 12 nm
International disputes: territorial dispute with Qatar over the
Hawar Islands; maritime boundary with Qatar
Climate: arid; mild, pleasant winters; very hot, humid summers
Terrain: mostly low desert plain rising gently to low central
escarpment
lowest point: Persian Gulf 0 m
highest point: Jabal ad Dukhan 122 m
Natural resources: oil, associated and nonassociated natural gas,
fish
Land use:
arable land: 2%
permanent crops: 2%
meadows and pastures: 6%
forest and woodland: 0%
other: 90%
Irrigated land: 10 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment:
current issues: desertification resulting from the degradation of
limited arable land, periods of drought, and dust storms; coastal
degradation (damage to coastlines, coral reefs, and sea vegetation)
resulting from oil spills and other discharges from large tankers,
oil refineries, and distribution stations; no natural fresh water
resources so that groundwater and sea water are the only sources for
all water needs
natural hazards: periodic droughts; dust storms
international agreements: party to - Climate Change, Hazardous
Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection; signed, but not
ratified - Biodiversity
Geographic note: close to primary Middle Eastern petroleum
sources; strategic location in Persian Gulf which much of Western
world's petroleum must transit to reach open ocean
People
------
Population: 590,042 (July 1996 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 31% (male 92,455; female 89,554)
15-64 years: 67% (male 236,048; female 156,556)
65 years and over: 2% (male 7,956; female 7,473) (July 1996 est.)
Population growth rate: 2.27% (1996 est.)
Birth rate: 23.58 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Death rate: 3.29 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Net migration rate: 2.42 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.51 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 1.06 male(s)/female
all ages: 1.33 male(s)/female (1996 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 17.1 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 74.27 years
male: 71.78 years
female: 76.83 years (1996 est.)
Total fertility rate: 3.08 children born/woman (1996 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Bahraini(s)
adjective: Bahraini
Ethnic divisions: Bahraini 63%, Asian 13%, other Arab 10%, Iranian
8%, other 6%
Religions: Shi'a Muslim 75%, Sunni Muslim 25%
Languages: Arabic, English, Farsi, Urdu
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)
total population: 85.2%
male: 89.1%
female: 79.4%
Government
----------
Name of country:
conventional long form: State of Bahrain
conventional short form: Bahrain
local long form: Dawlat al Bahrayn
local short form: Al Bahrayn
Data code: BA
Type of government: traditional monarchy
Capital: Manama
Administrative divisions: 12 municipalites (manatiq, singular -
mintaqah); Al Hadd, Al Manamah, Al Mintaqah al Gharbiyah, Al
Mintaqah al Wusta, Al Mintaqah ash Shamaliyah, Al Muharraq, Ar
Rifa'wa al Mintaqah al Janubiyah, Jidd Hafs, Madinat Hamad, Madinat
'Isa, Juzur Hawar, Sitrah; note - all municipalities administered
from Manama
Independence: 15 August 1971 (from UK)
National holiday: Independence Day, 16 December (1971)
Constitution: 26 May 1973, effective 6 December 1973
Legal system: based on Islamic law and English common law
Suffrage: none
Executive branch:
chief of state: Amir ISA bin Salman Al Khalifa (since 2 November
1961) is a traditional Arab monarch; Heir Apparent HAMAD bin Isa bin
Salman Al Khalifa (son of the Amir, born 28 January 1949)
head of government: Prime Minister KHALIFA bin Salman Al Khalifa
(since 19 January 1970) was appointed by the amir
cabinet: Cabinet was appointed by the amir
Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly was dissolved 26
August 1975 and legislative powers were assumed by the Cabinet;
appointed Advisory Council established 16 December 1992
Judicial branch: High Civil Appeals Court
Political parties and leaders: political parties prohibited
Other political or pressure groups: several small, clandestine
leftist and Islamic fundamentalist groups are active; following the
arrest of a popular Shi'a cleric, Shi'a activists fomented unrest
sporadically from late 1994 to September 1995, demanding the return
of an elected National Assembly and an end to unemployment
International organization participation: ABEDA, AFESD, AL, AMF,
ESCWA, FAO, G-77, GCC, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDB, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO,
Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM,
OAPEC, OIC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO,
WTrO
Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Muhammad ABD AL-GHAFFAR al-Abdallah
chancery: 3502 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 342-0741, 342-0742
FAX: [1] (202) 362-2192
consulate(s) general: New York
US diplomatic representation:
chief of mission: Ambassador David M. RANSOM
embassy: Building No. 979, Road 3119 (next to Al-Ahli Sports Club),
Zinj District, Manama
mailing address: FPO AE 09834-5100; P.O. Box 26431, Manama
(International Mail)
telephone: [973] 273-300
FAX: [973] 272-594
Flag: red with a white serrated band (eight white points) on the
hoist side
Economy
-------
Economic overview: In Bahrain, petroleum production and processing
account for about 80% of export receipts, 60% of government
revenues, and 30% of GDP. Economic conditions have fluctuated with
the changing fortunes of oil since 1985, for example, during and
following the Gulf crisis of 1990-91. With its highly developed
communication and transport facilities, Bahrain is home to numerous
multinational firms with business in the Gulf. A large share of
exports consists of petroleum products made from imported crude.
Unemployment, especially among the young, and the depletion of both
oil and underground water resources are major long-term economic
problems.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $7.3 billion (1995 est.)
GDP real growth rate: -2% (1995 est.)
GDP per capita: $12,000 (1995 est.)
GDP composition by sector:
agriculture: NA%
industry: NA%
services: NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 3% (1995 est.)
Labor force: 140,000
by occupation: industry and commerce 85%, agriculture 5%, services
5%, government 3% (1982)
note: 42% of labor force is Bahraini
Unemployment rate: 25% (1994 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $1.38 billion
expenditures: $1.7 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA
(1995 est.)
Industries: petroleum processing and refining, aluminum smelting,
offshore banking, ship repairing
Industrial production growth rate: 13% (1992)
Electricity:
capacity: 1,050,000 kW
production: 3.3 billion kWh
consumption per capita: 5,453 kWh (1993)
Agriculture: fruit, vegetables; poultry, dairy products; shrimp,
fish
Exports: $3.2 billion (f.o.b., 1995 est.)
commodities: petroleum and petroleum products 80%, aluminum 7%
partners: India 20%, Japan 14%, Saudi Arabia 7%, US 6%, UAE 5% (1994)
Imports: $3.29 billion (c.i.f., 1995 est.)
commodities: nonoil 59%, crude oil 41%
partners: Saudi Arabia 37%, US 12%, UK 6%, Japan 5%, Germany 4%
(1994)
External debt: $2.6 billion (1993)
Economic aid: $NA
Currency: 1 Bahraini dinar (BD) = 1,000 fils
Exchange rates: Bahraini dinars (BD) per US$1 - 0.3760 (fixed rate)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Transportation
--------------
Railways: 0 km
Highways:
total: 2,671 km
paved: 2,011 km
unpaved: 660 km (1991 est.)
Pipelines: crude oil 56 km; petroleum products 16 km; natural gas
32 km
Ports: Manama, Mina' Salman, Sitrah
Merchant marine:
total: 6 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 117,060 GRT/194,061 DWT
ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 3, chemical tanker 1, oil tanker 1
(1995 est.)
Airports:
total: 3
with paved runways over 3 047 m: 2
with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 1 (1995 est.)
Heliports: 1 (1995 est.)
Communications
--------------
Telephones: 73,552 (1987 est.)
Telephone system: modern system; good domestic services and
excellent international connections
domestic: NA
international: tropospheric scatter to Qatar and UAE; microwave
radio relay to Saudi Arabia; submarine cable to Qatar, UAE, and
Saudi Arabia; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Atlantic
Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) and 1 Arabsat
Radio broadcast stations: AM 2, FM 3, shortwave 0
Radios: 320,000 (1993 est.)
Television broadcast stations: 2 (1988 est.)
Televisions: 270,000 (1993 est.)
Defense
-------
Branches: Ground Force, Navy, Air Force, Air Defense, Coast Guard,
Police Force
Manpower availability:
males age 15-49: 213,792
males fit for military service: 118,702 (1996 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $247 million,
5.5% of GDP (1994)
======================================================================
@Baker Island
------------
(territory of the US)
Map
---
Location: 0 13 N, 176 31 W -- Oceania, atoll in the North Pacific
Ocean, about one-half of the way from Hawaii to Australia
Flag
----
Description: the flag of the US is used
Geography
---------
Location: Oceania, atoll in the North Pacific Ocean, about
one-half of the way from Hawaii to Australia
Geographic coordinates: 0 13 N, 176 31 W
Map references: Oceania
Area:
total area: 1.4 sq km
land area: 1.4 sq km
comparative area: about 2.5 times the size of The Mall in
Washington, DC
Land boundaries: 0 km
Coastline: 4.8 km
Maritime claims:
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 12 nm
International disputes: none
Climate: equatorial; scant rainfall, constant wind, burning sun
Terrain: low, nearly level coral island surrounded by a narrow
fringing reef
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location 8 m
Natural resources: guano (deposits worked until 1891)
Land use:
arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0%
meadows and pastures: 0%
forest and woodland: 0%
other: 100%
Irrigated land: 0 sq km
Environment:
current issues: no natural fresh water resources
natural hazards: the narrow fringing reef surrounding the island can
be a maritime hazard
international agreements: NA
Geographic note: treeless, sparse, and scattered vegetation
consisting of grasses, prostrate vines, and low growing shrubs;
primarily a nesting, roosting, and foraging habitat for seabirds,
shorebirds, and marine wildlife
People
------
Population: uninhabited; note - American civilians evacuated in
1942 after Japanese air and naval attacks during World War II;
occupied by US military during World War II, but abandoned after the
war; public entry is by special-use permit only and generally
restricted to scientists and educators; a cemetery and cemetery
ruins are located near the middle of the west coast
Government
----------
Name of country:
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Baker Island
Data code: FQ
Type of government: unincorporated territory of the US
administered by the Fish and Wildlife Service of the US Department
of the Interior as part of the National Wildlife Refuge system
Capital: none; administered from Washington, DC
Flag: the flag of the US is used
Economy
-------
Economic overview: no economic activity
Transportation
--------------
Ports: none; offshore anchorage only; note - there is one boat
landing area along the middle of the west coast
Airports: 1 abandoned World War II runway of 1,665 m
Transportation note: there is a day beacon near the middle of the
west coast
Defense
-------
Defense note: defense is the responsibility of the US; visited
annually by the US Coast Guard
======================================================================
@Bangladesh
----------
Map
---
Location: 24 00 N, 90 00 E -- Southern Asia, bordering the Bay of
Bengal, between Burma and India
Flag
----
Description: green with a large red disk slightly to the hoist
side of center; green is the traditional color of Islam
Geography
---------
Location: Southern Asia, bordering the Bay of Bengal, between
Burma and India
Geographic coordinates: 24 00 N, 90 00 E
Map references: Asia
Area:
total area: 144,000 sq km
land area: 133,910 sq km
comparative area: slightly smaller than Wisconsin
Land boundaries:
total: 4,246 km
border countries: Burma 193 km, India 4,053 km
Coastline: 580 km
Maritime claims:
contiguous zone: 18 nm
continental shelf: up to the outer limits of the continental margin
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 12 nm
International disputes: a portion of the boundary with India 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
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Reng Tlang 957 m
Natural resources: natural gas, arable land, timber
Land use:
arable land: 67%
permanent crops: 2%
meadows and pastures: 4%
forest and woodland: 16%
other: 11%
Irrigated land: 27,380 sq km (1989)
Environment:
current issues: many people are landless and forced to live on and
cultivate flood-prone land; limited access to potable water;
water-borne diseases prevalent; water pollution especially of
fishing areas results from the use of commercial pesticides;
intermittent water shortages because of falling water tables in the
northern and central parts of the country; soil degradation;
deforestation; severe overpopulation
natural hazards: droughts, cyclones; much of the country routinely
flooded during the summer monsoon season
international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes,
Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands; signed, but not
ratified - Desertification, Law of the Sea
People
------
Population: 123,062,800 (July 1996 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 39% (male 24,434,219; female 23,436,359)
15-64 years: 58% (male 36,607,942; female 34,603,628)
65 years and over: 3% (male 2,175,017; female 1,805,635) (July 1996
est.)
Population growth rate: 1.85% (1996 est.)
Birth rate: 30.5 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Death rate: 11.21 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Net migration rate: -0.78 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 1.2 male(s)/female
all ages: 1.06 male(s)/female (1996 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 102.3 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 55.86 years
male: 56.02 years
female: 55.69 years (1996 est.)
Total fertility rate: 3.57 children born/woman (1996 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Bangladeshi(s)
adjective: Bangladesh
Ethnic divisions: Bengali 98%, Biharis 250,000, tribals less than
1 million
Religions: Muslim 83%, Hindu 16%, Buddhist, Christian, other
Languages: Bangla (official), English
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)
total population: 38.1%
male: 49.4%
female: 26.1%
Government
----------
Name of country:
conventional long form: People's Republic
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