The 2002 CIA World Factbook
by United States. Central Intelligence Agency · English · Gutenberg #6344 · 3,759,546 chars · public domain (US)
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Title: The 2002 CIA World Factbook
Author: United States. Central Intelligence Agency
Release date: August 1, 2004 [eBook #6344]
Most recently updated: October 3, 2025
Language: English
Other information and formats: www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/6344
Credits: Produced by Philip Serracino Inglott
*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE 2002 CIA WORLD FACTBOOK ***
CIA -- The World Factbook 2002 -- Country Listing
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
Bahamas, The
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
Cambodia
Cameroon
Canada
Cape Verde
Cayman Islands
Central African Republic
Chad
Chile
China
Christmas Island
Clipperton Island
Cocos (Keeling) Islands
Colombia
Comoros
Congo, Democratic Republic of the
Congo, Republic of the
Cook Islands
Coral Sea Islands
Costa Rica
Cote d'Ivoire
Croatia
Cuba
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Denmark
Djibouti
Dominica
Dominican Republic
East Timor
Ecuador
Egypt
El Salvador
Equatorial Guinea
Eritrea
Estonia
Ethiopia
Europa Island
Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas)
Faroe Islands
Fiji
Finland
France
French Guiana
French Polynesia
French Southern and Antarctic Lands
Gabon
Gambia, The
Gaza Strip
Georgia
Germany
Ghana
Gibraltar
Glorioso Islands
Greece
Greenland
Grenada
Guadeloupe
Guam
Guatemala
Guernsey
Guinea
Guinea-Bissau
Guyana
Haiti
Heard Island and McDonald Islands
Holy See (Vatican City)
Honduras
Hong Kong
Howland Island
Hungary
Iceland
India
Indian Ocean
Indonesia
Iran
Iraq
Ireland
Israel
Italy
Jamaica
Jan Mayen
Japan
Jarvis Island
Jersey
Johnston Atoll
Jordan
Juan de Nova Island
Kazakhstan
Kenya
Kingman Reef
Kiribati
Korea, North
Korea, South
Kuwait
Kyrgyzstan
Laos
Latvia
Lebanon
Lesotho
Liberia
Libya
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Macau
Macedonia, The Former Yugoslav Republic of
Madagascar
Malawi
Malaysia
Maldives
Mali
Malta
Man, Isle of
Marshall Islands
Martinique
Mauritania
Mauritius
Mayotte
Mexico
Micronesia, Federated States of
Midway Islands
Moldova
Monaco
Mongolia
Montserrat
Morocco
Mozambique
Namibia
Nauru
Navassa Island
Nepal
Netherlands
Netherlands Antilles
New Caledonia
New Zealand
Nicaragua
Niger
Nigeria
Niue
Norfolk Island
Northern Mariana Islands
Norway
Oman
Pacific Ocean
Pakistan
Palau
Palmyra Atoll
Panama
Papua New Guinea
Paracel Islands
Paraguay
Peru
Philippines
Pitcairn Islands
Poland
Portugal
Puerto Rico
Qatar
Reunion
Romania
Russia
Rwanda
Saint Helena
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Saint Lucia
Saint Pierre and Miquelon
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Samoa
San Marino
Sao Tome and Principe
Saudi Arabia
Senegal
Seychelles
Sierra Leone
Singapore
Slovakia
Slovenia
Solomon Islands
Somalia
South Africa
South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
Southern Ocean
Spain
Spratly Islands
Sri Lanka
Sudan
Suriname
Svalbard
Swaziland
Sweden
Switzerland
Syria
Taiwan entry follows Zimbabwe
Tajikistan
Tanzania
Thailand
Togo
Tokelau
Tonga
Trinidad and Tobago
Tromelin Island
Tunisia
Turkey
Turkmenistan
Turks and Caicos Islands
Tuvalu
Uganda
Ukraine
United Arab Emirates
United Kingdom
United States
Uruguay
Uzbekistan
Vanuatu
Venezuela
Vietnam
Virgin Islands
Wake Island
Wallis and Futuna
West Bank
Western Sahara
World
Yemen
Yugoslavia
Zambia
Zimbabwe
Taiwan
CIA - The World Factbook 2002
========================================================================
Aruba
Introduction
Aruba
Background: Discovered and claimed for Spain in 1499, Aruba was acquired
by the Dutch in 1636. The island's economy has been dominated by three
main industries. A 19th century gold rush was followed by prosperity
brought on by the opening in 1924 of an oil refinery. The last decades of
the 20th century saw a boom in the tourism industry. Aruba seceded from
the Netherlands Antilles in 1986 and became a separate, autonomous member
of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Movement toward full independence
was halted at Aruba's request in 1990.
Geography Aruba
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: 193 sq km water: 0 sq km land: 193 sq km
Area - comparative: slightly larger than Washington, DC
Land boundaries: 0 km
Coastline: 68.5 km
Maritime claims: territorial sea: 12 NM
Climate: tropical marine; little seasonal temperature variation
Terrain: flat with a few hills; scant vegetation
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point:
Mount Jamanota 188 m
Natural resources: NEGL; white sandy beaches
Land use: arable land: 11% (including aloe 0.01%) permanent crops: 0%
other: 89% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land: 0.01 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards: lies outside the Caribbean hurricane belt
Environment - current issues: NA
Geography - note: a flat, riverless island renowned for its white
sand beaches; its tropical climate is moderated by constant trade winds
from the Atlantic Ocean; the temperature is almost constant at about 27
degrees Celsius (81 degrees Fahrenheit)
People Aruba
Population: 70,441 (July 2002 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 21% (male 7,635; female 7,169) 15-64 years:
68.4% (male 23,270; female 24,906) 65 years and over: 10.6% (male 3,081;
female 4,380) (2002 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.59% (2002 est.)
Birth rate: 12.22 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Death rate: 6.29 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Net migration rate: NEGL migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.07
male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.93 male(s)/female 65 years and over:
0.7 male(s)/female total population: 0.93 male(s)/female (2002 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 6.26 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: 82.19 years (2002 est.) male: Total fertility
rate: 1.8 children born/woman (2002 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: NA%
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: NA
HIV/AIDS - deaths: NA
Nationality: noun: Aruban(s) adjective: Aruban; Dutch
Ethnic groups: mixed white/Caribbean Amerindian 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: definition: NA total population: 97% male: NA% female: NA%
Government Aruba
Country name: conventional long form: none conventional short form: Aruba
Dependency status: part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands; full autonomy
in internal affairs obtained in 1986 upon separation from the Netherlands
Antilles; Dutch Government responsible for defense and foreign affairs
Government type: parliamentary democracy
Capital: Oranjestad
Administrative divisions: none (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands)
Independence: none (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands)
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 of the Netherlands
(since 30 April 1980), represented by Governor General Olindo KOOLMAN
(since 1 January 1992) head of government: Prime Minister Nelson O. ODUBER
(since 30 October 2001); deputy prime minister NA cabinet: Council of
Ministers (elected by the Staten) election results: Nelson O. ODUBER
elected prime minister; percent of legislative vote - NA% elections:
the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed for a six-year
term by the monarch; prime minister and deputy prime minister elected
by the Staten for four-year terms; election last held 28 September 2001
(next to be held by December 2005)
Legislative branch: unicameral Legislature or Staten (21 seats; members
elected by direct, popular vote to serve four-year terms) election
results: percent of vote by party - MEP 52.4%, AVP 26.7%, PPA 9.6%,
OLA 5.7%, Aliansa 3.5%, other 2.1%; seats by party - MEP 12, AVP 6,
PPA 2, OLA 1 elections: Judicial branch: Joint High Court of Justice
(judges are appointed by the monarch)
Political parties and leaders: Aruba Solidarity Movement or MAS
[leader NA]; Aruban Democratic Alliance or Aliansa [leader NA]; Aruban
Democratic Party or PDA [Leo BERLINSKI]; Aruban Liberal Party or OLA
[Glenbert CROES]; Aruban Patriotic Party or PPA [Benny NISBET]; Aruban
People's Party or AVP [Tico CROES]; Concentration for the Liberation
of Aruba or CLA [leader NA]; People's Electoral Movement Party or MEP
[Nelson O. ODUBER]; For a Restructured Aruba Now or PARA [leader NA];
National Democratic Action or ADN [Pedro Charro KELLY]
Political pressure groups and leaders: NA
International organization participation: Caricom (observer), ECLAC
(associate), Interpol, IOC, UNESCO (associate), WCL, WToO (associate)
Diplomatic representation in the US: none (represented by the Kingdom
of the Netherlands)
Diplomatic representation from the US: Consul General Barbara
J. STEPHENSON embassy: Curacao telephone: [599] (9) 461-3066 FAX: [599]
(9) 461-6489
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
Economy Aruba
Economy - overview: Tourism is the mainstay of the small, open Aruban
economy, with offshore banking and oil refining and storage 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 low unemployment rate have led
to a large number of unfilled job vacancies, despite sharp rises in
wage rates in recent years. The government's goal of balancing the
budget within two years will hamper expenditures, as will the decline
in stopover tourist arrivals following the 11 September terrorist attacks.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $1.94 billion (2000 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 2.5% (2000)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $28,000 (2000 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: NA% industry: NA% services: NA%
Population below poverty line: NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 4% (2000)
Labor force: 41,501 (1997 est.)
Labor force - by occupation: most employment is in wholesale and retail
trade and repair, followed by hotels and restaurants; oil refining
Unemployment rate: 0.6% (1999 est.)
Budget: revenues: $135.81 million expenditures: $147 million, including
capital expenditures of $NA (2000)
Industries: tourism, transshipment facilities, oil refining
Industrial production growth rate: NA%
Electricity - production: 450 million kWh (2000)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 100% hydro: 0% other: 0%
(2000) nuclear: 0%
Electricity - consumption: 418.5 million kWh (2000)
Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (2000)
Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (2000)
Agriculture - products: aloes; livestock; fish
Exports: $2.58 billion (including oil reexports) (f.o.b., 2000)
Exports - commodities: live animals and animal products, art and
collectibles, machinery and electrical equipment, transport equipment
Exports - partners: US 42%, Colombia 20%, Netherlands 12% (1999)
Imports: $2.61 billion (f.o.b., 2000)
Imports - commodities: machinery and electrical equipment, crude oil
for refining and reexport, chemicals; foodstuffs
Imports - partners: US 63%, Netherlands 11%, Netherlands Antilles 3%,
Japan (1999)
Debt - external: $285 million (1996)
Economic aid - recipient: $26 million (1995); note - the Netherlands
provided a $127 million aid package to Aruba and Suriname in 1996
Currency: Aruban guilder/florin (AWG)
Currency code: AWG
Exchange rates: Aruban guilders/florins per US dollar - 1.7900 (fixed
rate since 1986)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications Aruba
Telephones - main lines in use: 33,000 (1997)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 3,402 (1997)
Telephone system: more than adequate international: interisland
microwave radio relay links
Radio broadcast stations: AM 4, FM 6, shortwave 0 (1998)
Radios: 50,000 (1997)
Television broadcast stations: 1 (1997)
Televisions: 20,000 (1997)
Internet country code: .aw
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): NA
Internet users: 4,000 (2000)
Transportation Aruba
Railways: 0 km
Highways: total: 800 km paved: 513 km note: most coastal roads are paved,
while unpaved roads serve large tracts of the interior (1995) unpaved:
287 km
Waterways: none
Ports and harbors: Barcadera, Oranjestad, Sint Nicolaas
Merchant marine: includes a foreign-owned ship registered here as a
flag of convenience: Airports: 1 (2001)
Airports - with paved runways: total: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 (2001)
Military Aruba
Military branches: no regular indigenous military forces; Royal Dutch
Navy and Marines, Coast Guard
Military - note: defense is the responsibility of the Kingdom of the
Netherlands
Transnational Issues Aruba
Disputes - international: none
Illicit drugs: drug-money-laundering center and transit point for
narcotics bound for the US and Europe
This page was last updated on 1 January 2002
========================================================================
Antigua and Barbuda
Introduction
Antigua and Barbuda
Background: The islands of Antigua and Barbuda became an independent
state within the British Commonwealth of Nations in 1981. Some 3,000
refugees fleeing a volcanic eruption on nearby Montserrat have settled
in Antigua and Barbuda since 1995.
Geography Antigua and Barbuda
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: 443 sq km (Antigua 280 sq km; Barbuda 161 sq km) water:
0 sq km note: includes Redonda, 1.6 sq km land: 442 sq km
Area - comparative: 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC
Land boundaries: 0 km
Coastline: 153 km
Maritime claims: 12 NM exclusive economic zone: Climate: tropical
marine; little seasonal temperature variation
Terrain: mostly low-lying limestone and coral islands, with some higher
volcanic areas
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point:
Boggy Peak 402 m
Natural resources: NEGL; pleasant climate fosters tourism
Land use: arable land: 18% permanent crops: 0% other: 82% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land: NA sq km
Natural hazards: hurricanes and tropical storms (July to October);
periodic droughts
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
Environment - international agreements: party to: Biodiversity, Climate
Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered
Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea,
Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution,
Whaling signed, but not ratified: Geography - note: Antigua has a deeply
indented shoreline with many natural harbors and beaches; Barbuda has
a very large western harbor
People Antigua and Barbuda
Population: 67,448 (July 2002 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 28% (male 9,618; female 9,293) 15-64 years:
67.3% (male 22,695; female 22,682) 65 years and over: 4.7% (male 1,289;
female 1,871) (2002 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.69% (2002 est.)
Birth rate: 18.84 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Death rate: 5.75 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Net migration rate: -6.23 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.03
male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.69
male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2002 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 21.61 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: 73.45 years (2002 est.) male: Total fertility
rate: 2.29 children born/woman (2002 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: NA%
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: NA
HIV/AIDS - deaths: NA
Nationality: noun: Antiguan(s), Barbudan(s) adjective: Antiguan, Barbudan
Ethnic groups: black, British, Portuguese, Lebanese, Syrian
Religions: Anglican (predominant), other Protestant, some Roman Catholic
Languages: English (official), local dialects
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over has completed five or more years
of schooling total population: 89% male: 90% female: 88% (1960 est.)
Government Antigua and Barbuda
Country name: conventional long form: none conventional short form:
Antigua and Barbuda
Government type: constitutional monarchy with UK-style parliament
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 (National Day), 1 November (1981)
Constitution: 1 November 1981
Legal system: based on English common law
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February
1952), represented by Governor General James B. CARLISLE (since NA 1993)
elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general chosen by
the monarch on the advice of the prime minister; prime minister appointed
by the governor general cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the
governor general on the advice of the prime minister head of government:
Prime Minister Lester Bryant BIRD (since 8 March 1994)
Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate
(17-member body appointed by the governor general) and the House
of Representatives (17 seats; members are elected by proportional
representation to serve five-year terms) election results: percent of vote
by party - NA%; seats by party - ALP 12, UPP 4, independent 1 elections:
House of Representatives - last held 9 March 1999 (next to be held NA
March 2004)
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 or ALP [Lester
Bryant BIRD]; Barbuda People's Movement or BPM [Thomas H. FRANK];
United Progressive Party or UPP [Baldwin SPENCER] (a coalition of three
opposition parties - United National Democratic Party or UNDP, Antigua
Caribbean Liberation Movement or ACLM, and Progressive Labor Movement
or PLM)
Political pressure groups and leaders: Antigua Trades and Labor Union
or ATLU [William ROBINSON]; People's Democratic Movement or PDM [Hugh
MARSHALL]
International organization participation: ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, ECLAC,
FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO,
Interpol, IOC, ISO (subscriber), ITU, NAM (observer), OAS, OECS, OPANAL,
UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Lionel
Alexander HURST chancery: 3216 New
[1] (202) 362-5211 FAX:
Diplomatic representation from the US: 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 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
Economy Antigua and Barbuda
Economy - overview: Tourism continues to dominate the economy, accounting
for more than half of GDP. Weak tourist arrival numbers since early
2000 have slowed the economy, however, and pressed the government into a
tight fiscal corner. The dual-island nation's agricultural production is
focused on the domestic market and constrained by a limited water supply
and a labor shortage stemming from the lure of higher wages in tourism
and construction work. Manufacturing 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 one-third of all tourist arrivals.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $674 million (2000 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 3.5% (2000 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $10,000 (2000 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 3.9% industry: 19.1% services:
77% (2001 est.)
Population below poverty line: NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 0.4% (2000 est.)
Labor force: 30,000
Labor force - by occupation: commerce and services 82%, agriculture 11%,
industry 7% (1983)
Unemployment rate: 7% (2000 est.)
Budget: revenues: $123.7 million expenditures: $145.9 million, including
capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.)
Industries: tourism, construction, light manufacturing (clothing,
alcohol, household appliances)
Industrial production growth rate: 6% (1997 est.)
Electricity - production: 100 million kWh (2000)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 100% hydro: 0% other: 0%
(2000) nuclear: 0%
Electricity - consumption: 93 million kWh (2000)
Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (2000)
Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (2000)
Agriculture - products: cotton, fruits, vegetables, bananas, coconuts,
cucumbers, mangoes, sugarcane; livestock
Exports: $40 million (2000 est.)
Exports - commodities: petroleum products 48%, manufactures 23%,
machinery and transport equipment 17%, food and live animals 4%, other 8%
Exports - partners: OECS 26%, Barbados 15%, Guyana 4%, Trinidad and
Tobago 2%, US 0.3%
Imports: $357 million (2000 est.)
Imports - commodities: food and live animals, machinery and transport
equipment, manufactures, chemicals, oil
Imports - partners: US 27%, UK 16%, Canada 4%, OECS 3%
Debt - external: $231 million (1999)
Economic aid - recipient: $2.3 million (1995)
Currency: East Caribbean dollar (XCD)
Currency code: XCD
Exchange rates: East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7000 (fixed
rate since 1976)
Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March
Communications Antigua and Barbuda
Telephones - main lines in use: 28,000 (1996)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 1,300 (1996)
Telephone system: general assessment: NA 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 0 (1998)
Radios: 36,000 (1997)
Television broadcast stations: 2 (1997)
Televisions: 31,000 (1997)
Internet country code: .ag
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 16 (2000)
Internet users: 5,000 (2001)
Transportation Antigua and Barbuda
Railways: total: 77 km narrow gauge: 64 km 0.760-m gauge; 13 km 0.610-m
gauge (used almost exclusively for handling sugarcane) (2001 est.)
Highways: total: 1,165 km paved: 384 km unpaved: 781 km note: it is
assumed that the main roads are paved; the secondary roads are assumed
to be unpaved (1995)
Waterways: none
Ports and harbors: Saint John's
Merchant marine: total: 762 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 4,541,940
GRT/5,894,553 DWT ships by type: bulk 20, cargo 469, chemical tanker 9,
combination bulk 4, container 202, liquefied gas 7, multi-functional
large-load carrier 6, petroleum tanker 1, refrigerated cargo 9, roll
on/roll off 35 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as
a flag of convenience: Australia 1, Bangladesh 2, Belgium 3, Colombia 1,
Cuba 1, Estonia 1, Germany 747, Greece 1, Iceland 8, Latvia 1, Lebanon
2, Lithuania 1, Netherlands 22, New Zealand 2, Portugal 1, Slovenia 6,
South Africa 1, Sweden 2, United Kingdom 1, United States 7 (2002 est.)
Airports: 3 (2001)
Airports - with paved runways: total: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 under 914 m:
1 (2001)
Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2001)
Military Antigua and Barbuda
Military branches: Royal Antigua and Barbuda Defense Force, Royal
Antigua and Barbuda Police Force (including the Coast Guard)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $NA
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: NA%
Transnational Issues Antigua and Barbuda
Disputes - international: none
Illicit drugs: considered a minor transshipment point for narcotics bound
for the US and Europe; more significant as a drug-money-laundering center
This page was last updated on 1 January 2002
========================================================================
Afghanistan
Introduction
Afghanistan
Background: Afghanistan's recent history is characterized by war
and civil strife, with intermittent periods of relative calm and
stability. The Soviet Union invaded in 1979 but was forced to withdraw 10
years later by anti-Communist mujahidin forces supplied and trained by the
US, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and others. Fighting subsequently continued
among the various mujahidin factions, giving rise to a state of warlordism
that spawned the Taliban in the early 1990s. The Taliban was able to seize
most of the country, aside from Northern Alliance strongholds primarily
in the northeast, until US and allied military action in support of the
opposition following the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks forced the
group's downfall. The four largest Afghan opposition groups met in Bonn,
Germany, in late 2001 and agreed on a plan for the formulation of a new
government structure that resulted in the inauguration of Hamid KARZAI
as Chairman of the Afghan Interim Authority (AIA) on 22 December 2001.
In addition to occasionally violent political jockeying and ongoing
military action to root out remaining terrorists and Taliban elements,
the country suffers from enormous poverty, a crumbling infrastructure,
and widespread land mines.
Geography Afghanistan
Location: Southern Asia, north and west of Pakistan, east of Iran
Geographic coordinates: 33 00 N, 65 00 E
Map references: Asia
Area: total: 647,500 sq km water: 0 sq km land: 647,500 sq km
Area - comparative: 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)
Climate: arid to semiarid; cold winters and hot summers
Terrain: mostly rugged mountains; plains in north and southwest
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Amu Darya 258 m highest point:
Nowshak 7,485 m
Natural resources: natural gas, petroleum, coal, copper, chromite, talc,
barites, sulfur, lead, zinc, iron ore, salt, precious and semiprecious
stones
Land use: arable land: 12% permanent crops: 0% other: 88% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land: 23,860 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards: damaging earthquakes occur in Hindu Kush mountains;
flooding; droughts
Environment - current issues: limited natural fresh water resources;
inadequate supplies of potable water; soil degradation; overgrazing;
deforestation (much of the remaining forests are being cut down for fuel
and building materials); desertification; air and water pollution
Environment - international agreements: party to: Desertification,
Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Marine Dumping, Nuclear
Test Ban signed, but not ratified: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Hazardous
Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation
Geography - note: landlocked; the Hindu Kush mountains that run northeast
to southwest divide the northern provinces from the rest of the country;
the highest peaks are in the northern Vakhan (Wakhan Corridor)
People Afghanistan
Population: 27,755,775 (July 2002 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 42% (male 5,953,291; female 5,706,542) 15-64
years: 55.2% (male 7,935,101; female 7,382,101) 65 years and over: 2.8%
(male 410,278; female 368,462) (2002 est.)
Population growth rate: 3.43% note: this rate reflects the continued
return of refugees from Iran (2002 est.)
Birth rate: 41.03 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Death rate: 17.43 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Net migration rate: 10.7 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04
male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 65 years and over:
1.11 male(s)/female total population: 1.06 male(s)/female (2002 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 144.76 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: 45.85 years (2002 est.) male: Total fertility
rate: 5.72 children born/woman (2002 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: less than 0.01% (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: NA
HIV/AIDS - deaths: NA
Nationality: noun: Afghan(s) adjective: Afghan
Ethnic groups: Pashtun 44%, Tajik 25%, Hazara 10%, minor ethnic groups
(Aimaks, Turkmen, Baloch, and others) 13%, Uzbek 8%
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: definition: age 15 and over can read and write male: 51%
female: 21% (1999 est.) total population: 36%
People - note: large numbers of Afghan refugees create burdens on
neighboring states
Government Afghanistan
Country name: conventional long form: Islamic State of Afghanistan
conventional short form: Afghanistan local short form: Afghanestan former:
Republic of Afghanistan local long form: Dowlat-e Eslami-ye Afghanestan
Government type: transitional
Capital: Kabul
Administrative divisions: 32 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, Nurestan, and Khowst
Independence: 19 August 1919 (from UK control over Afghan foreign
affairs)
National holiday: Independence Day, 19 August (1919)
Constitution: the Bonn Agreement calls for a Constitutional Loya Jirga
(Grand Council) to be convened within 18 months of the establishment of
the Transitional Authority to draft a new constitution for the country;
the basis for the next constitution is the 1963/64 Constitution, according
to the Bonn Agreement
Legal system: the Bonn Agreement calls for a judicial commission
to rebuild the justice system in accordance with Islamic principles,
international standards, the rule of law, and Afghan legal traditions
Suffrage: NA; previously males 15-50 years of age
Executive branch: note: following the Taliban's refusal to hand over
Usama bin LADIN to the US for his suspected involvement in the 11
September 2001 terrorist attacks in the US, a US-led international
coalition was formed; after several weeks of aerial bombardment by
coalition forces and military action on the ground, including Afghan
opposition forces, the Taliban was ousted from power on 17 November 2001;
in December 2001 a number of prominent Afghans met under UN auspices in
Bonn, Germany, to decide on a plan for governing the country; as a result,
the Afghan Interim Authority (AIA) - made up of 30 members, headed by a
chairman and five deputy chairmen - was inaugurated on 22 December 2001
with about a six-month mandate to be followed by a two-year Transitional
Authority (TA) after which elections are to be held; the structure of
the follow-on TA will be announced on 10 June 2002 when the Loya Jirga
(grand assembly) is convened chief of state: Chairman of the AIA, Hamad
KARZAI (since 22 December 2001); note - presently the chairman is both
chief of state and head of government head of government: Chairman of
the AIA, Hamad KARZAI (since 22 December 2001); note - presently the
chairman is both chief of state and head of government cabinet: the
30-member AIA elections: NA
Legislative branch: nonfunctioning as of June 1993
Judicial branch: the Bonn Agreement calls for the establishment of a
Supreme Court
Political parties and leaders: NA; note - political parties in
Afghanistan are in flux and many prominent players have plans to create
new parties; the three main groups represented in the Afghan Interim
Authority (AIA) are: the Northern Alliance (also known as the United
Islamic Front for the Salvation of Afghanistan) - the main opposition to
the Taliban - composed of different ethnic and political groups; the Rome
Group, associated with the former king of Afghanistan, composed mainly
of expatriate Afghans; and the Peshawar Group, another expatriate group;
there are also several "independent" groups
Political pressure groups and leaders: NA; note - ministries formed under
the Afghan Interim Authority(AIA) include former pressure group leaders
International organization participation: AsDB, CP, ECO, ESCAP, FAO,
G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF,
IOC (suspended), IOM (observer), ITU, NAM, OIC, OPCW (signatory), UN,
UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WToO
Diplomatic representation in the US: ambassador Ishaq SHAHRYAR (as
of 19 June 2002) chancery: consulate(s) general: New York telephone:
202-483-6410
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador
Robert Patrick John FINN; note - embassy in Kabul reopened 16 December
2001 following closure in January 1989 embassy: FAX: NA
Flag description: three equal vertical bands of black (hoist), red, and
green with a gold emblem centered on the red band; the emblem features
a temple-like structure encircled by a wreath on the left and right and
by a bold Islamic inscription above
Economy Afghanistan
Economy - overview: Afghanistan is an extremely poor, landlocked
country, highly dependent on farming and livestock raising (sheep and
goats). Economic considerations have played second fiddle to political
and military upheavals during two decades of war, including the nearly
10-year Soviet military occupation (which ended 15 February 1989). During
that conflict one-third of the population fled the country, with Pakistan
and Iran sheltering a combined peak of more than 6 million refugees.
Gross domestic product has fallen substantially over the past 20 years
because of the loss of labor and capital and the disruption of trade
and transport; severe drought added to the nation's difficulties
in 1998-2001. The majority of the population continues to suffer
from insufficient food, clothing, housing, and medical care, problems
exacerbated by military operations and political uncertainties. Inflation
remains a serious problem. Following the US-led coalition war that led
to the defeat of the Taliban in November 2001 and the formulation of
the Afghan Interim Authority (AIA) resulting from the December 2001 Bonn
Agreement, International efforts to rebuild Afghanistan were addressed at
the Tokyo Donors Conference for Afghan Reconstruction in January 2002,
when $4.5 billion was collected for a trust fund to be administered
by the World Bank. Priority areas for reconstruction include the
construction of education, health, and sanitation facilities, enhancement
of administrative capacity, the development of the agricultural sector,
and the rebuilding of road, energy, and telecommunication links.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $21 billion (2000 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: NA%
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $800 (2000 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 60% industry: 20% services:
20% (1990 est.)
Population below poverty line: NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA%
Labor force: 10 million (2000 est.)
Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 80%, industry 10%, services 10%
(1990 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, coal, copper
Electricity - production: 375 million kWh (2000)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 36% hydro: 64% other: 0%
(2000) nuclear: 0%
Electricity - consumption: 453.75 million kWh (2000)
Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (2000)
Electricity - imports: 105 million kWh (2000)
Agriculture - products: wheat, fruits, nuts, wool, mutton, sheepskin,
and lambskin
Exports: $1.2 billion (2001 est.)
Exports - commodities: opium, fruits and nuts, handwoven carpets, wool,
cotton, hides and pelts, precious and semi-precious gems
Exports - partners: Pakistan 32%, India 8%, Belgium 7%, Germany 5%,
Russia 5%, UAE 4% (1999)
Imports: $1.3 billion (2001 est.)
Imports - commodities: capital goods, food and petroleum products;
most consumer goods
Imports - partners: Pakistan 19%, Japan 16%, Kenya 9%, South Korea 7%,
India 6%, Turkmenistan 6% (1999)
Debt - external: $5.5 billion (1996 est.)
Economic aid - recipient: international pledges made by more than 60
countries and international financial institutions at the Tokyo Donors
Conference for Afghan reconstruction in January 2002 reached $4.5 billion
through 2006, with $1.8 billion allocated for 2002; according to a joint
preliminary assessment conducted by the World Bank, the Asian Development
Bank, and the UN Development Program, rebuilding Afghanistan will cost
roughly $15 billion over the next ten years
Currency: afghani (AFA)
Currency code: AFA
Exchange rates: afghanis per US dollar - 4,700 (January 2000), 4,750
(February 1999), 17,000 (December 1996), 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 was fixed at 50.600 afghanis to the dollar until 1996, when it
rose to 2,262.65 per dollar, and finally became fixed again at 3,000.00
per dollar in April 1996
Fiscal year: 21 March - 20 March
Communications Afghanistan
Telephones - main lines in use: 29,000 (1998)
Telephones - mobile cellular: NA
Telephone system: very limited telephone and telegraph service domestic:
Herat, Kandahar, Jalalabad, and Kabul through satellite and microwave
systems international: satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Indian
Ocean) linked only to Iran and 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region);
commercial satellite telephone center in Ghazni
Radio broadcast stations: AM 7 (6 are inactive; the active station
is in Kabul), FM 1, shortwave 1 (broadcasts in Pashtu, Afghan Persian
(Dari), Urdu, and English) (1999)
Radios: 167,000 (1999)
Television broadcast stations: at least 10 (one government-run central
television station in Kabul and regional stations in nine of the 32
provinces; the regional stations operate on a reduced schedule; also,
in 1997, there was a station in Mazar-e Sharif reaching four northern
Afghanistan provinces) (1998)
Televisions: 100,000 (1999)
Internet country code: .af
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 1 (2000)
Internet users: NA
Transportation Afghanistan
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
(2001)
Highways: total: 21,000 km paved: 2,793 km unpaved: 18,207 km (1998 est.)
Waterways: 1,200 km note: chiefly Amu Darya, which handles vessels up
to 500 DWT (2001)
Pipelines: natural gas 180 km note: product pipelines from Uzbekistan
and Turkmenistan have been in disrepair and disuse for years (2002)
Ports and harbors: Kheyrabad, Shir Khan
Airports: 46 (2001)
Airports - with paved runways: total: 10 over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047
m: 4 under 914 m: 1 (2001) 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2
Airports - with unpaved runways: 7 1,524 to 2,437 m: Heliports: 2
(2001)
Military Afghanistan
Military branches: NA; note - the December 2001 Bonn Agreement calls
for all militia forces to come under Afghan Interim Authority (AIA)
control, but formation of a national army is likely to be a gradual
process; Afghanistan's forces continue to be factionalized largely along
ethnic lines
Military manpower - military age: 22 years of age (2002 est.)
Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 6,896,623 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service: males age 15-49: 3,696,379
(2002 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually: males: 252,869
(2002 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $NA
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: NA%
Transnational Issues Afghanistan
Disputes - international: close ties with Pashtuns in Pakistan make
long border difficult to control
Illicit drugs: poppy ban cut 2001 cultivation by 97% to 1,695 hectares,
with potential production of 74 tons of opium; a major source of
hashish; many heroin-processing laboratories throughout the country;
major political factions in the country profit from the drug trade
This page was last updated on 1 January 2002
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Algeria
Introduction
Algeria
Background: After a century of rule by France, Algeria became independent
in 1962. The surprising first round success of the fundamentalist FIS
(Islamic Salvation Front) party in the December 1991 balloting caused the
army to intervene, crack down on the FIS, and postpone the subsequent
elections. The FIS response has resulted in a continuous low-grade
civil conflict with the secular state apparatus, which nonetheless has
allowed elections featuring pro-government and moderate religious-based
parties. FIS's armed wing, the Islamic Salvation Army, disbanded itself
in January 2000 and many armed militants surrendered under an amnesty
program designed to promote national reconciliation. Nevertheless,
residual fighting continues. Other concerns include Berber unrest,
large-scale unemployment, a shortage of housing, and the need to diversify
the petroleum-based economy.
Geography Algeria
Location: Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between
Morocco and Tunisia
Geographic coordinates: 28 00 N, 3 00 E
Map references: Africa
Area: total: 2,381,740 sq km water: 0 sq km land: 2,381,740 sq km
Area - comparative: 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
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
Elevation extremes: 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% other: 97% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land: 5,600 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards: mountainous areas subject to severe earthquakes;
mudslides and floods in rainy season
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
Environment - international agreements: party to: Biodiversity, Climate
Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification,
Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution,
Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Geography - note: second-largest
country in Africa (after Sudan)
People Algeria
Population: 32,277,942 (July 2002 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 33.5% (male 5,512,369; female 5,311,914) 15-64
years: 62.4% (male 10,175,135; female 9,950,315) 65 years and over: 4.1%
(male 610,643; female 717,566) (2002 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.68% (2002 est.)
Birth rate: 22.34 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Death rate: 5.15 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Net migration rate: -0.42 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 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:
0.85 male(s)/female total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2002 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 39.15 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: 71.67 years (2002 est.) male: Total fertility
rate: 2.63 children born/woman (2002 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.07% (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: NA
HIV/AIDS - deaths: NA
Nationality: noun: Algerian(s) adjective: Algerian
Ethnic groups: Arab-Berber 99%, European less than 1%
Religions: Sunni Muslim (state religion) 99%, Christian and Jewish 1%
Languages: Arabic (official), French, Berber dialects
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total
population: 61.6% male: 73.9% female: 49% (1995 est.)
Government Algeria
Country name: conventional long form: People's Democratic Republic of
Algeria conventional short form: Algeria local short form: Al Jaza'ir
local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Jaza'iriyah ad Dimuqratiyah ash
Sha'biyah
Government type: republic
Capital: Algiers
Administrative divisions: 48 provinces (wilayas, singular - wilaya);
Adrar, Ain Defla, Ain Temouchent, Alger, Annaba, Batna, Bechar, Bejaia,
Biskra, Blida, Bordj Bou Arreridj, Bouira, Boumerdes, Chlef, Constantine,
Djelfa, El Bayadh, El Oued, El Tarf, Ghardaia, Guelma, Illizi, Jijel,
Khenchela, Laghouat, Mascara, Medea, Mila, Mostaganem, M'Sila, Naama,
Oran, Ouargla, Oum el Bouaghi, Relizane, Saida, Setif, Sidi Bel Abbes,
Skikda, Souk Ahras, Tamanghasset, Tebessa, Tiaret, Tindouf, Tipaza,
Tissemsilt, Tizi Ouzou, Tlemcen
Independence: 5 July 1962 (from France)
National holiday: Revolution Day, 1 November (1954)
Constitution: 19 November 1976, effective 22 November 1976; revised 3
November 1988, 23 February 1989, and 28 November 1996
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 Abdelaziz BOUTEFLIKA
(since 28 April 1999) head of government: Prime Minister Ali BENFLIS
(since 26 August 2000)
Cabinet of Ministers appointed by the president elections: 15 April 1999
(next to be held NA April 2004); prime minister appointed by
the president election results: Abdelaziz BOUTEFLIKA elected president;
percent of vote - Abdelaziz BOUTEFLIKA over 70%; note - his six opposing
candidates withdrew on the eve of the election citing electoral fraud
Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament consists of the National
People's Assembly or Al-Majlis Ech-Chaabi Al-Watani (389 seats - changed
from 380 seats in the 2002 elections; members elected by popular vote to
serve five-year terms) and the Council of Nations (144 seats; one-third
of the members appointed by the president, two-thirds elected by indirect
vote; members serve six-year terms; the constitution requires half the
council to be renewed every three years) elections: National People's
Assembly - last held 30 May 2002 (next to be held NA 2007); Council of
Nations - last held 30 December 2000 (next to be held NA 2003) election
results: party - FLN 199, RND 48, MRN 43, MSP 38, PT 21, FNA 8, Nahda 1,
PRA 1, MEN 1, independents 29; Council of Nations - percent of vote by
party - NA%; seats by party - RND 79, FLN 12, FFS 4, MSP 1 (remaining
48 seats appointed by the president, party breakdown NA)
Judicial branch: Supreme Court or Cour Supreme
Political parties and leaders: Algerian National Front or FNA [Moussa
TOUATI]; Democratic National Rally or RND [Ahmed OUYAHIA, chairman];
Islamic Salvation Front or FIS (outlawed April 1992) [Ali BELHADJ and
Dr. Abassi MADANI (imprisoned), Rabeh KEBIR (self-exile in Germany)];
Movement of a Peaceful Society or MSP [Mahfoud NAHNAH, chairman]; National
Entente Movement or MEN [Ali BOUKHAZNA]; National Liberation Front or FLN
[Boualem BENHAMOUDA, secretary general]; National Reform Movement or
MRN [Abdellah DJABALLAH]; National Renewal Party or PRA [leader NA];
Progressive Republican Party [Khadir DRISS]; Rally for Culture and
Democracy or RCD [Said SAADI, secretary general]; Renaissance Movement
or EnNahda Movement [Lahbib ADAMI]; Social Liberal Party or PSL [Ahmed
KHELIL]; Socialist Forces Front or FFS [Hocine Ait AHMED, secretary
general (self-exile in Switzerland)]; Union for Democracy and Liberty
[Mouley BOUKHALAFA]; Workers Party or PT [Louisa HANOUN] note: a law
banning political parties based on religion was enacted in March 1997
Political pressure groups and leaders: NA
International organization participation: ABEDA, AfDB, AFESD, AL,
AMF, AMU, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-15, G-19, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC,
ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol,
IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MONUC, NAM, OAPEC, OAS (observer), OAU, OIC, OPCW,
OPEC, OSCE (partner), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMEE, UPU, WHO,
WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer)
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Idriss
JAZAIRY chancery: 2118 Kalorama Road NW, Washington, DC 20008 FAX: [1]
(202) 667-2174 telephone: [1] (202) 265-2800
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador
Janet A. SANDERSON embassy: 4 Chemin Cheikh Bachir El-Ibrahimi, Algiers
mailing address: B. P. Box 549, Alger-Gare, 16000 Algiers telephone:
[213] (21) 69-11-86, 69-12-55, 69-18-54, 69-38-75 FAX: [213] (21) 69-39-79
Flag description: two equal vertical bands of green (hoist side) and
white; a red, five-pointed star within a red crescent centered over the
two-color boundary; the crescent, star, and color green are traditional
symbols of Islam (the state religion)
Economy Algeria
Economy - overview: The hydrocarbons sector is the backbone of the
economy, accounting for roughly 60% of budget revenues, 30% of GDP,
and over 95% of export earnings. Algeria has the fifth-largest reserves
of natural gas in the world and is the second largest gas exporter; it
ranks 14th in oil reserves. Algeria's financial and economic indicators
improved during the mid-1990s, in part because of policy reforms supported
by the IMF and debt rescheduling from the Paris Club. Algeria's finances
in 2000 and 2001 benefited from the temporary spike in oil prices and
the government's tight fiscal policy, leading to a large increase in the
trade surplus, record highs in foreign exchange reserves, and reduction in
foreign debt. The government's continued efforts to diversify the economy
by attracting foreign and domestic investment outside the energy sector
has had little success in reducing high unemployment and improving living
standards. In 2001, the government signed an Association Treaty with
the European Union that will eventually lower tariffs and increase trade.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $177 billion (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 3.8% (2001 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $5,600 (2001 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 17% industry: 33% services:
50% (2000 est.)
Population below poverty line: 23% (1999 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 4.4%
highest 10%: 25% (1995)
Distribution of family income - Gini index: 35.3 (1995)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 3% (2001 est.)
Labor force: 9.4 million (2001 est.)
Labor force - by occupation: government 29%, agriculture 25%,
construction and public works 15%, industry 11%, other 20% (1996 est.)
Unemployment rate: 34% (2001 est.)
Budget: revenues: $20.3 billion expenditures: $18.8 billion, including
capital expenditures of $5.8 billion (2001 est.)
Industries: petroleum, natural gas, light industries, mining, electrical,
petrochemical, food processing
Industrial production growth rate: 6% (2001 est.)
Electricity - production: 23.556 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 99.58% hydro: 0.42%
other: 0% (2000) nuclear: 0%
Electricity - consumption: 21.847 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - exports: 210 million kWh (2000)
Electricity - imports: 150 million kWh (2000)
Agriculture - products: wheat, barley, oats, grapes, olives, citrus,
fruits; sheep, cattle
Exports: $20 billion (f.o.b., 2001 est.)
Exports - commodities: petroleum, natural gas, and petroleum products 97%
Exports - partners: Italy 23%, Spain 13%, US 13%, France 11%, Brazil 7%,
(2000)
Imports: $1 billion (f.o.b., 2001 est.)
Imports - commodities: capital goods, food and beverages, consumer goods
Imports - partners: France 29%, US 9%, Italy 8%, Germany 6%, Spain 5%
(2000)
Debt - external: $24.7 billion (2001 est.)
Economic aid - recipient: $100 million (1999 est.)
Currency: Algerian dinar (DZD)
Currency code: DZD
Exchange rates: Algerian dinars per US dollar - 77.889 (January 2002),
77.215 (2001), 75.260 (2000), 66.574 (1999), 58.739 (1998), 57.707 (1997)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications Algeria
Telephones - main lines in use: 2.3 million (1998)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 33,500 (1999)
Telephone system: general assessment: telephone density in Algeria is
very low, not exceeding five telephones per 100 persons; the number
of fixed main lines increased in the last few years to a little more
than 2,000,000, but only about two-thirds of these have subscribers;
much of the infrastructure is outdated and inefficient domestic: good
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 (1998)
Radio broadcast stations: AM 25, FM 1, shortwave 8 (1999)
Radios: 7.1 million (1997)
Television broadcast stations: 46 (plus 216 repeaters) (1995)
Televisions: 3.1 million (1997)
Internet country code: .dz
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 2 (2000)
Internet users: 180,000 (2001)
Transportation Algeria
Railways: total: 4,820 km standard gauge: 3,664 km 1.435-m gauge (301
km electrified; 215 km double-track) narrow gauge: 1,156 km 1.055-m gauge
(1999 est.)
Highways: total: 104,000 km paved: 71,656 km (including 640 km of
expressways) unpaved: 32,344 km (1996 est.)
Waterways: none
Pipelines: crude oil 6,612 km; petroleum products 298 km; natural gas
2,948 km
Ports and harbors: Algiers, Annaba, Arzew, Bejaia, Beni Saf, Dellys,
Djendjene, Ghazaouet, Jijel, Mostaganem, Oran, Skikda, Tenes
Merchant marine: total: 73 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 903,944
GRT/1,051,433 DWT ships by type: bulk 9, cargo 25, chemical tanker 7,
liquefied gas 10, petroleum tanker 5, roll on/roll off 12, short-sea
passenger 4, specialized tanker 1, includes some foreign-owned ships
registered here as a flag of convenience: United Arab Emirates 2
(2002 est.)
Airports: 136 (2001)
Airports - with paved runways: total: 52 over 3,047 m: 9 2,438 to 3,047
m: 26 914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 1 (2001) 1,524 to 2,437 m: 11
Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 84 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524
to 2,437 m: 23 under 914 m: 18 (2001) 914 to 1,523 m: 40
Heliports: 1 (2001)
Military Algeria
Military branches: Peoples National Army (ANP), Algerian National Navy
(ANN), Air Force, Territorial Air Defense, National Gendarmerie
Military manpower - military age: 19 years of age (2002 est.)
Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 9,016,048 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service: males age 15-49: 5,513,317
(2002 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually: males: 388,939
(2002 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $1.87 billion (FY99)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 4.1% (FY99)
Transnational Issues Algeria
Disputes - international: part of southeastern region claimed by Libya;
Algeria supports exiled West Saharan Polisario Front and rejects Moroccan
administration of Western Sahara
This page was last updated on 1 January 2002
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Azerbaijan
Introduction
Azerbaijan
Background: Azerbaijan - a nation of Turkic Muslims - has been
an independent republic since the collapse of the Soviet Union in
1991. Despite a 1`994 cease-fire, Azerbaijan has yet to resolve its
conflict with Armenia over the Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh enclave
(largely Armenian populated). Azerbaijan has lost almost 20% of its
territory and must support some 750,000 refugees and internally displaced
persons as a result of the conflict. Corruption is ubiquitous and the
promise of widespread wealth from Azerbaijan's undeveloped petroleum
resources remains largely unfulfilled.
Geography Azerbaijan
Location: Southwestern Asia, bordering the Caspian Sea, between Iran
and Russia
Geographic coordinates: 40 30 N, 47 30 E
Map references: Asia
Area: total: 86,600 sq km 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 water:
Area - comparative: slightly smaller than Maine
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)
Climate: dry, semiarid steppe
Terrain: large, flat Kur-Araz Ovaligi (Kura-Araks Lowland) (much of it
below sea level) with Great Caucasus Mountains to the north, Qarabag
Yaylasi (Karabakh Upland) in west; Baku lies on Abseron Yasaqligi
(Apsheron Peninsula) that juts into Caspian Sea
Elevation extremes: 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: 19% permanent crops: 3% other: 78% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land: 14,550 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards: droughts
Environment - current issues: local scientists consider the Abseron
Yasaqligi (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
Environment - international agreements: party to: Biodiversity, Climate
Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered
Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection,
Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note: both the main area of the country and the Naxcivan
exclave are landlocked
People Azerbaijan
Population: 7,798,497 (July 2002 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 28.3% (male 1,122,340; female 1,082,355)
15-64 years: 64.3% (male 2,441,830; female 2,577,109) 65 years and over:
7.4% (male 228,735; female 346,128) (2002 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.38% (2002 est.)
Birth rate: 18.84 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Death rate: 9.61 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Net migration rate: -5.41 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 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:
0.66 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2002 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 82.74 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: 67.53 years (2002 est.) male: Total fertility
rate: 2.29 children born/woman (2002 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: less than 0.01% (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: less than 500 (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths: less than 100 (1999 est.)
Nationality: noun: Azerbaijani(s) adjective: Azerbaijani
Ethnic groups: Azeri 90%, Dagestani 3.2%, Russian 2.5%, Armenian 2%,
other 2.3% (1998 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; percentages for actual practicing adherents are much lower
Languages: Azerbaijani (Azeri) 89%, Russian 3%, Armenian 2%, other 6%
(1995 est.)
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total
population: 97% male: 99% female: 96% (1989 est.)
Government Azerbaijan
Country name: Republic of Azerbaijan conventional short form: Republic
local long form: Azarbaycan Respublikasi
Government type: republic
Capital: Baku (Baki)
Administrative divisions: 59 rayons (rayonlar; rayon - singular), 11
cities* (saharlar; sahar - singular), 1 autonomous republic** (muxtar
respublika); Abseron Rayonu, Agcabadi Rayonu, Agdam Rayonu, Agdas Rayonu,
Agstafa Rayonu, Agsu Rayonu, Ali Bayramli 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, Yardimli Rayonu, Yevlax Rayonu, Yevlax
Sahari*, Zangilan Rayonu, Zaqatala Rayonu, Zardab Rayonu
Independence: 30 August 1991 (from Soviet Union)
National holiday: Founding of the Democratic Republic of Azerbaidzhan,
28 May (1918)
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) head of government: Prime Minister Artur RASIZADE (since 26
November 1996) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president
and confirmed by the National Assembly elections: president elected by
popular vote to a five-year term; election last held 11 October 1998
(next to be held NA October 2003); prime minister and first deputy
prime ministers appointed by the president and confirmed by the National
Assembly election results: Etibar MAMEDOV 11.8%, Nizami SULEYMANOV 8.2%
Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly or Milli Mejlis
(125 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 4 November 2000 (next to be held NA November 2005)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party -
NAP and allies 108, APF 6, CSP 3, PNIA 2, Musavat Party 2, CPA 2, APF
"traditionalist" 1, Compatriot Party 1
Judicial branch: Supreme Court
Political parties and leaders: Azerbaijan Popular Front or APF
[Ali KARIMLI, leader of "reform faction"; Mirmahmud FATTAYEV, leader
of "traditionalist" faction]; Civic Solidarity Party or CSP [Sabir
RUSTAMKHANLY]; Civic Union Party [Ayaz MUTALIBOV]; Communist Party of
Azerbaijan or CPA [Ramiz AHMADOV]; Compatriot Party [Mais SAFARLI];
Democratic Party for Azerbaijan or DPA [Rasul QULIYEV, chairman];
Justice Party [Ilyas ISMAILOV]; Liberal Party of Azerbaijan [Lala
Shvkat HACIYEVA]; Musavat [Isa GAMBAR, chairman]; New Azerbaijan Party
or NAP [Heydar ALIYEV, chairman]; Party for National Independence of
Azerbaijan or PNIA [Etibar MAMMADOV, chairman]; Social Democratic Party
of Azerbaijan or SDP [Zardust ALIZADE and Araz ALIZADE] note: Political
pressure groups and leaders: Sadval, Lezgin movement; self-proclaimed
Armenian Nagorno-Karabakh Republic; Talysh independence movement
International organization participation: AsDB, BSEC, CCC, CE, CIS,
EAPC, EBRD, ECE, ECO, ESCAP, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB,
IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent),
ITU, NAM (observer), OAS (observer), OIC, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD,
UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer)
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Hafiz
Mir Jalal PASHAYEV chancery: 2741
[1] (202) 337-5911 telephone:
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador
Ross WILSON embassy: 83 Azadliq Avenue, Baku 370007 mailing address:
American Embassy Baku, Department of State,
[9] (9412) 98-03-35, 36, 37 FAX:
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
Economy Azerbaijan
Economy - overview: Azerbaijan's number one export is oil. Azerbaijan's
oil production declined through 1997 but has registered an increase
every year since. Negotiation of production-sharing arrangements
(PSAs) with foreign firms, which have thus far committed $60 billion to
oilfield development, should generate the funds needed to spur future
industrial development. Oil production under the first of these PSAs,
with the Azerbaijan International Operating Company, began in November
1997. Azerbaijan shares all the formidable problems of the former 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 are slowly being replaced. An obstacle
to economic progress, including stepped up foreign investment in the
non-energy sector, is the continuing conflict with Armenia over the
Nagorno-Karabakh region. Trade with Russia and the other former Soviet
republics is declining in importance while trade is building with Turkey
and the nations of Europe. Long-term prospects will depend on world oil
prices, the location of new pipelines in the region, and Azerbaijan's
ability to manage its oil wealth.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $24.3 billion (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 9.9% (2001 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $3,100 (2001 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 22% industry: 33% services:
45% (2000 est.)
Population below poverty line: 64% (2001 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 2.8%
highest 10%: 27.8% (1995)
Distribution of family income - Gini index: 36 (1995)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1.6% (2001 est.)
Labor force: 2.9 million (1997)
Labor force - by occupation: agriculture and forestry 32%, industry 15%,
services 53% (1997)
Unemployment rate: 20% (official rate is 1.3% for 2001) (1999 est.)
Budget: revenues: $888 million expenditures: $978 million, including
capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.)
Industries: petroleum and natural gas, petroleum products, oilfield
equipment; steel, iron ore, cement; chemicals and petrochemicals; textiles
Industrial production growth rate: 5.1% (2001 est.)
Electricity - production: 17.6 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 91.37% hydro: 8.63%
other: 0% (2000) nuclear: 0%
Electricity - consumption: 16.7 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - exports: 900 million kWh (2000)
Electricity - imports: 1.25 billion kWh (2000)
Agriculture - products: cotton, grain, rice, grapes, fruit, vegetables,
tea, tobacco; cattle, pigs, sheep, goats
Exports: $2 billion (f.o.b., 2001 est.)
Exports - commodities: oil and gas 90%, machinery, cotton, foodstuffs
Exports - partners: Italy 43.7%, France 11.8%, Israel 7.7%, Turkey 6.0%,
France 5.6% (2000)
Imports: $1.6 billion (f.o.b., 2001)
Imports - commodities: machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, metals,
chemicals
Imports - partners: Russia 21.3%, Turkey 11%, US 8.9%, Iran 5.8%,
Germany 5.8% (2000)
Debt - external: $1.5 billion (2001)
Economic aid - recipient: ODA, $113 million (1996)
Currency: Azerbaijani manat (AZM)
Currency code: AZM
Exchange rates: Azerbaijani manats per US dollar - 4,804 (11 February
2002), 4,656.58 (2001), 4,474.15 (2000), 4,120.17 (1999), 3,869 (1998),
3,985.38 (1997)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications Azerbaijan
Telephones - main lines in use: 663,000 (1997)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 40,000 (1997)
Telephone system: general assessment: inadequate; requires considerable
expansion and modernization; teledensity of 8.6 main lines per 100
persons is very low domestic: the majority of telephones are in Baku
and other industrial centers - about 700 villages still without public
telephone service; satellite service connects Baku to a modern switch in
its exclave of Naxcivan international: the old Soviet system of cable
and microwave is still serviceable; a satellite connection to Turkey
enables Baku to reach about 200 additional countries, some of which are
directly connected to Baku by satellite providers other than Turkey (1997)
Radio broadcast stations: AM 10, FM 17, shortwave 1 (1998)
Radios: 175,000 (1997)
Television broadcast stations: 2 (1997)
Televisions: 170,000 (1997)
Internet country code: .az
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 2 (2000)
Internet users: 12,000 (2001)
Transportation Azerbaijan
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 est.)
Highways: total: 36,700 km paved: 31,800 km (includes some all-weather
gravel-surfaced roads) unpaved: 4,900 km (these roads are made of
unstabilized earth and are difficult to negotiate in wet weather) (1990)
Waterways: none
Pipelines: crude oil 1,130 km; petroleum products 630 km; natural gas
1,240 km
Ports and harbors: Baku (Baki)
Merchant marine: total: 54 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 246,051
GRT/306,756 DWT ships by type: cargo 12, petroleum tanker 40, roll
on/roll off 2 (2002 est.)
Airports: 52 (2001)
Airports - with paved runways: total: 9 2,438 to 3,047 m: 5 1,524 to
2,437 m: 4 (2001)
Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 43 1,524 to 2,437 m: 7 914 to
1,523 m: 8 under 914 m: 28 (2001)
Military Azerbaijan
Military branches: Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces
Military manpower - military age: 18 years of age (2002 est.)
Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 2,131,331 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service: males age 15-49: 1,706,325
(2002 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually: males: 77,099
(2002 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $121 million (FY99)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 2.6% (FY99)
Transnational Issues Azerbaijan
Disputes - international: Armenia supports ethnic Armenian secessionists
in Nagorno-Karabakh and militarily occupies almost one-fifth of
Azerbaijan - Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)
continues to mediate dispute; Azerbaijan signed bilateral agreements
with Russia delimiting the Caspian seabed, but littoral states are far
from multilateral agreement on dividing the waters and seabed regimes
- Iran insists on division of Caspian Sea into five equal sectors
while Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Turkmenistan have generally
agreed upon equidistant seabed boundaries; Iran threatens to conduct oil
exploration in Azerbaijani-claimed waters, while interdicting Azerbaijani
activities; Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan await ICJ decision to resolve
sovereignty dispute over oilfields in the Caspian Sea
Illicit drugs: limited illicit cultivation of cannabis and opium poppy,
mostly for CIS consumption; limited government eradication program;
transshipment point for opiates via Iran, Central Asia, and Russia to
Western Europe
This page was last updated on 1 January 2002
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Albania
Introduction
Albania
Background: In 1990 Albania ended 44 years of xenophobic communist
rule and established a multiparty democracy. The transition has
proven difficult as corrupt governments have tried to deal with high
unemployment, a dilapidated infrastructure, widespread gangsterism,
and disruptive political opponents. International observers judged
local elections in 2001 to be acceptable and a step toward democratic
development, but identified serious deficiencies which should be addressed
through reforms in the Albanian electoral code.
Geography Albania
Location: Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea and Ionian Sea,
between Greece and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
Geographic coordinates: 41 00 N, 20 00 E
Map references: Europe
Area: total: 28,748 sq km water: 1,350 sq km land: 27,398 sq km
Area - comparative: slightly smaller than Maryland
Land boundaries: total: 720 km border countries: Greece 282 km, The
Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 151 km, Yugoslavia 287 km
Coastline: 362 km
Maritime claims: continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of
exploitation territorial sea: 12 NM
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
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Adriatic Sea 0 m highest point:
Maja e Korabit (Golem Korab) 2,753 m
Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, coal, chromium, copper,
timber, nickel, hydropower
Land use: arable land: 21% permanent crops: 4% other: 75% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land: 3,400 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards: destructive earthquakes; tsunamis occur along
southwestern coast; floods; drought
Environment - current issues: deforestation; soil erosion; water
pollution from industrial and domestic effluents
Environment - international agreements: party to: Biodiversity, Climate
Change, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection,
Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note: strategic location along Strait of Otranto (links
Adriatic Sea to Ionian Sea and Mediterranean Sea)
People Albania
Population: 3,544,841 (July 2002 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 28.8% (male 528,678; female 493,531) 15-64
years: 64% (male 1,094,034; female 1,175,024) 65 years and over: 7.2%
(male 111,524; female 142,050) (2002 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.06% (2002 est.)
Birth rate: 18.59 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Death rate: 6.49 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Net migration rate: -1.46 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.07
male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.93 male(s)/female 65 years and over:
0.79 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2002 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 38.64 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: 75.14 years (2002 est.) male: Total fertility
rate: 2.27 children born/woman (2002 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: less than 0.01% (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: less than 100 (2000 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths: less than 100 (1999 est.)
Nationality: noun: Albanian(s) adjective: Albanian
Ethnic groups: Albanian 95%, Greek 3%, other 2% (Vlach, Gypsy, Serb,
and Bulgarian) (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: definition: age 9 and over can read and write total population:
93% (1997 est.) male: NA% female: NA%
Government Albania
Country name: Republic of Albania conventional short form: of Albania
local long form: Republika e Shqiperise
Government type: emerging democracy
Capital: Tirana
Administrative divisions: 36 districts (rrethe, singular - rreth) and 1
municipality* (bashki); Berat, Bulqize, Delvine, Devoll (Bilisht), Diber
(Peshkopi), Durres, Elbasan, Fier, Gjirokaster, Gramsh, Has (Krume),
Kavaje, Kolonje (Erseke), Korce, Kruje, Kucove, Kukes, Kurbin, Lezhe,
Librazhd, Lushnje, Malesi e Madhe (Koplik), Mallakaster (Ballsh), Mat
(Burrel), Mirdite (Rreshen), Peqin, Permet, Pogradec, Puke, Sarande,
Shkoder, Skrapar (Corovode), Tepelene, Tirane (Tirana), Tirane* (Tirana),
Tropoje (Bajram Curri), Vlore note: administrative divisions have the same
names as their administrative centers (exceptions have the administrative
center name following in parentheses)
Independence: 28 November 1912 (from Ottoman Empire)
National holiday: Independence Day, 28 November (1912)
Constitution: a constitution was adopted by popular referendum on 28
November 1998; note - the opposition Democratic Party boycotted the vote
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 Rexhep
MEIDANI (since 24 July 1997) head of government: Prime Minister Pandeli
MAJKO (since 22 February 2002) cabinet: Council of Ministers nominated
by the prime minister and approved by the president election results:
Rexhep MEIDANI elected president; People's Assembly vote by number -
total votes 122, for 110, against 3, abstained 2, invalid 7 elections:
president elected by the People's Assembly for a five-year term; election
last held 24 July 1997 (next to be held NA July 2002); prime minister
appointed by the president
Legislative branch: unicameral People's Assembly or Kuvendi Popullor
(140 seats; 100 are elected by direct popular vote and 40 by proportional
vote for four-year terms) election results: percent of vote by party -
PS 41.5%, PD and coalition allies 36.8%, NDP 5.2%, PSD 3.6%, PBDNJ 2.6%,
PASH 2.6%, PAD 2.5%; seats by party - PS 73, PD and coalition allies
46, NDP 6, PSD 4, PBDNJ 3, PASH 3, PAD 3, independents 2 elections:
last held 24 June with subsequent rounds on 8 July, 22 July, 29 July,
19 August 2001 (next to be held NA June 2005)
Judicial branch: Supreme Court (chairman is elected by the People's
Assembly for a four-year term)
Political parties and leaders: Agrarian Party or PASH [Lufter XHUVELI];
Albanian National Front (Balli Kombetar) or PBK [Shptim ROQI]; Albanian
Republican Party or PR [Fatmir MEDIU]; Albanian Socialist Party or PS
(formerly the Albania Workers Party) [Fatos NANO, chairman]; Christian
Democratic Party or PDK [Zef BUSHATI]; Democratic Alliance or PAD
[Nerltan CEKA]; Democratic Party or PD [Sali BERISHA]; Group of Reformist
Democrats [Leonard NDOKA]; Legality Movement Party or PLL [Ekrem SPAHIA];
Liberal Union Party or PBL [Teodor LACO]; New Democratic Party or NDP
[Genc POLLO]; OMONIA [Vagjelis DULES]; Party of National Unity or PUK
[Idajet BEQUIRI]; Social Democratic Party or PSD [Skender GJINUSHI];
Unity for Human Rights Party or PBDNJ [Vasil MELO, chairman]
Political pressure groups and leaders: NA
International organization participation: ACCT, BSEC, CCC, CE, CEI,
EAPC, EBRD, ECE, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS,
ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, OIC, OPCW,
OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNOMIG, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO,
WToO, WTrO
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador
Dr. Fatos TARIFA chancery: 2100 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 FAX:
[1] (202) 628-7342 telephone: [1] (202) 223-4942
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador
Joseph LIMPRECHT embassy: Rruga Elbasanit, Labinoti #103, Tirana mailing
address: U. S. Department of State, 9510
[355] (4) 247285 FAX:
Flag description: red with a black two-headed eagle in the center
Economy Albania
Economy - overview: Poor and backward by European standards, Albania is
making the difficult transition to a more modern open-market economy. The
government has taken measures to curb violent crime and to revive economic
activity and trade. The economy is bolstered by remittances from abroad
of $400-$600 million annually, mostly from Greece and Italy. Agriculture,
which accounts for 52% of GDP, is held back because of frequent drought
and the need to modernize equipment and consolidate small plots of
land. Severe energy shortages are forcing small firms out of business,
increasing unemployment, scaring off foreign investors, and spurring
inflation.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $13.2 billion (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 7.3% (2001 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $3,800 (2001 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 52% industry: 21% services:
27% (2001 est.)
Population below poverty line: 30% (2001 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 3% (2001 est.)
Labor force: 1.283 million (not including 352,000 emigrant workers and
261,000 domestically unemployed) (2000 est.)
Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 50%, industry and services 50%
Unemployment rate: 17% officially (2001 est.); may be as high as 30%
Budget: revenues: $697 million expenditures: $1.5 billion, including
capital expenditures of $368 million (2002 est.)
Industries: food processing, textiles and clothing; lumber, oil, cement,
chemicals, mining, basic metals, hydropower
Industrial production growth rate: 9% (2000 est.)
Electricity - production: 4.738 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 3% hydro: 97% other: 0%
(2000) nuclear: 0%
Electricity - consumption: 5.378 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - exports: 100 million kWh (2000)
Electricity - imports: 1.072 billion kWh (2000)
Agriculture - products: wheat, corn, potatoes, vegetables, fruits,
sugar beets, grapes; meat, dairy products
Exports: $306 million (f.o.b., 2001 est.)
Exports - commodities: textiles and footwear; asphalt, metals and
metallic ores, crude oil; vegetables, fruits, tobacco
Exports - partners: Italy 70%, Greece 12%, Germany 6%, The Former
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 2%, Austria 1% (2001)
Imports: $1.1 billion (f.o.b., 2001 est.)
Imports - commodities: machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, textiles,
chemicals
Imports - partners: Italy 32%, Greece 26%, Turkey 6%, Germany 6%,
Bulgaria 2% (2001)
Debt - external: $1 billion (2000)
Economic aid - recipient: $315 million (top donors were Italy, EU,
Germany) (2000 est.)
Currency: lek (ALL)
Currency code: ALL
Exchange rates: leke per US dollar - 140.16 (November 2001), 143.71
(2000) 137.69 (1999), 150.63 (1998), 148.93 (1997); note - leke is the
plural of lek
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications Albania
Telephones - main lines in use: 120,000 (2001)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 250,000 (2001)
Telephone system: general assessment: Albania has the poorest telephone
service in Europe with fewer than two telephones per 100 inhabitants;
it is doubtful that every village has telephone service 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 Tirana exchange to Italy and Greece
Radio broadcast stations: AM 13, FM 4, shortwave 2 (2001)
Radios: 1 million (2001)
Television broadcast stations: 3 (plus 58 repeaters) (2001)
Televisions: 700,000 (2001)
Internet country code: .al
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 10 (2001)
Internet users: 12,000 (2001)
Transportation Albania
Railways: total: 447 km standard gauge: 447 km 1.435-m gauge (2001 est.)
Highways: total: 18,000 km paved: 5,400 km unpaved: 12,600 km (1998 est.)
Waterways: 43 km note: includes Albanian sections of Lake Scutari,
Lake Ohrid, and Lake Prespa (1990)
Pipelines: crude oil 196 km; petroleum products 55 km; natural gas 64 km
(1996)
Ports and harbors: Durres, Sarande, Shengjin, Vlore
Merchant marine: total: 7 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 13,423
GRT/20,837 DWT ships by type: cargo 7, includes some foreign-owned
ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Croatia 1, Honduras 1
(2002 est.)
Airports: 11 (2001)
Airports - with paved runways: total: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 (2001)
Airports - with unpaved runways: 4 (2001) 914 to 1,523 m: Heliports:
1 (2001)
Military Albania
Military branches: Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces, Interior
Ministry Troops, Border Guards
Military manpower - military age: 19 years of age (2002 est.)
Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 888,086 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service: males age 15-49: 727,406
(2002 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually: males: 35,792
(2002 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $56.5 million (FY02)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 1.49% (FY02)
Transnational Issues Albania
Disputes - international: the Albanian Government supports protection
of the rights of ethnic Albanians outside of its borders in the Kosovo
region of Yugoslavia and in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
while continuing to seek regional cooperation; many Albanians illegally
transit neighboring states to emigrate to western Europe
Illicit drugs: increasingly active transshipment point for Southwest
Asian opiates, hashish, and cannabis transiting the Balkan route and -
to a far lesser extent - cocaine from South America destined for Western
Europe; limited opium and growing cannabis production; ethnic Albanian
narcotrafficking organizations active and rapidly expanding in Europe
This page was last updated on 1 January 2002
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Armenia
Introduction
Armenia
Background: An Armenian Apostolic Christian country, Armenia was
incorporated into Russia in 1828 and the USSR in 1920. Armenian
leaders remain preoccupied by the long conflict with Azerbaijan over
Nagorno-Karabakh, a primarily Armenian-populated region, assigned to
Soviet Azerbaijan in the 1920s by Moscow. Armenia and Azerbaijan began
fighting over the area in 1988; the struggle escalated after both
countries attained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. By
May 1994, when a cease-fire took hold, Armenian forces held not
only Nagorno-Karabakh but also a significant portion of Azerbaijan
proper. The economies of both sides have been hurt by their inability
to make substantial progress toward a peaceful resolution.
Geography Armenia
Location: Southwestern Asia, east of Turkey
Geographic coordinates: 40 00 N, 45 00 E
Map references: Asia
Area: total: 29,800 sq km water: 1,400 sq km land: 28,400 sq km
Area - comparative: slightly smaller 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)
Climate: highland continental, hot summers, cold winters
Terrain: Armenian Highland with mountains; little forest land; fast
flowing rivers; good soil in Aras River valley
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Debed River 400 m highest point:
Aragats Lerrnagagat' 4,090 m
Natural resources: small deposits of gold, copper, molybdenum, zinc,
alumina
Land use: arable land: 18% permanent crops: 2% other: 80% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land: 2,870 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards: occasionally severe earthquakes; droughts
Environment - current issues: soil pollution from toxic chemicals
such as DDT; energy blockade, the result of conflict with Azerbaijan
and disagreements with Turkey, has led to deforestation when citizens
scavenged for firewood; pollution of Hrazdan (Razdan) and Aras Rivers;
the draining of Sevana Lich (Lake Sevan), a result of its use as a source
for hydropower, threatens drinking water supplies; restart of Metsamor
nuclear power plant in spite of its location in a seismically-active zone
Environment - international agreements: party to: Air Pollution,
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear
Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified:
Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants
Geography - note: landlocked in the Lesser Caucasus Mountains; Sevana
Lich (Lake Sevan) is the largest lake in this mountain range
People Armenia
Population: 3,330,099 note: Armenia's first census since independence
was conducted in October 2001, but official figures have not yet been
released (July 2002 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 22.2% (male 374,597; female 363,115) 15-64
years: 67.7% (male 1,104,100; female 1,150,282) 65 years and over: 10.1%
(male 141,330; female 196,675) (2002 est.)
Population growth rate: -0.15% (2002 est.)
Birth rate: 12 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Death rate: 9.94 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Net migration rate: -3.51 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.03
male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female 65 years and over:
0.72 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2002 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 41.07 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: 71.12 years (2002 est.) male: Total fertility
rate: 1.53 children born/woman (2002 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.01% (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: less than 500 (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths: less than 100 (1999 est.)
Nationality: noun: Armenian(s) adjective: Armenian
Ethnic groups: 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 Armenia
Religions: Armenian Apostolic 94%, other Christian 4%, Yezidi
(Zoroastrian/animist) 2%
Languages: Armenian 96%, Russian 2%, other 2%
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total
population: 99% male: 99% female: 98% (1989 est.)
Government Armenia
Country name: Republic of Armenia conventional short form: Republic;
Armenian Republic local long form: Hayastani Hanrapetut'yun
Government type: republic
Capital: Yerevan
Administrative divisions: 11 provinces (marzer, singular - marz);
Aragatsotn, Ararat, Armavir, Geghark'unik', Kotayk', Lorri, Shirak,
Syunik', Tavush, Vayots' Dzor, Yerevan
Independence: 21 September 1991 (from Soviet Union)
National holiday: Independence Day, 21 September (1991)
Constitution: adopted by nationwide referendum 5 July 1995
Legal system: based on civil law system
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Robert KOCHARIAN (since 30
March 1998) head of
Prime Minister Andranik MARKARYAN (since 12 May 2000) cabinet: elected
by popular vote for a five-year term; special election last held
30 March 1998 (next to be held NA March 2003); prime minister appointed
by the president election results: Robert KOCHARIAN elected president;
percent of vote - Robert KOCHARIAN 59.5%, Karen DEMIRCHYAN 40.5%
Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly (Parliament) or Azgayin
Zhoghov (131 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year
terms) elections: results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by
party - Unity Bloc 61 (Republican Party 41, People's Party of Armenia 20),
Stability Group (independent Armenian deputies who have formed a bloc) 21,
ACP 10, ARF (Dashnak) 8, Law and Unity Party 7, NDU 6, Law-Governed Party
6, independents 10, unfilled 2; note - seats by party change frequently
Judicial branch: Supreme Court; Constitutional Court
Political parties and leaders: Agro-Technical People's Group
(formerly Stability Group) [Hmayk HOVHANISSIAN]; Armenian Communist
Party or ACP [Vladimir DARBINYAN]; Armenia Democratic Party [Armen
SARGSIAN]; Armenian Revolutionary Federation ("Dashnak" Party) or ARF
[Hrant MARKARYAN]; Christian Democratic Union or CDU [Azat ARSHAKYN,
chairman]; Constitutional Rights Union [Hrant KHACHATRYAN]; Democratic
Liberal Party/Ramkvar Azatakyan or DL/RA [Ruben MIRZAKHANIAN, chairman];
Law and Unity Party [Artashes GEGAMIAN, chairman]; Law-Governed Party
[Artur BAGDASARIAN, chairman]; National Accord Front [Ashot MANUTCHARIAN];
National Democratic Alliance [Arshak ZADOYAN]; National Democratic Party
[Shavarsh KOCHARIAN]; National Democratic Union or NDU [Vazgen MANUKIAN];
Pan-Armenian National Movement or PANM [Alex ARZOUMANYAN]; People's
Democratic Party [Gagik ASLANYAN]; People's Deputies Group [Hovhannes
HOVHANISSIAN]; People's Party of Armenia [Stepan DEMIRCHYAN]; Republic
Party [Aram SARGSIAN]; Republican Party or RPA [Andranik MARKARYAN];
Shamiram Women's Movement or SWM [Shogher MATEVOSIAN]; Social Democratic
(Hunchak) Party [Yeghia SHAMSHAYN]; Social Democratic Union (formerly
National Self-Determination Union) [Paruyr HAYRIKIAN]; Twenty-first
Century Party [David SHAKHNAZARIAN]; Unity Bloc [Stepan DEMIRCHIAN and
Andranik MARKARYAN] (a coalition of the Republican Party and People's
Party of Armenia); Yerkrapah Union [Manval GRIGORYAN]
Political pressure groups and leaders: NA
International organization participation: BSEC, CCC, CE, CIS, EAPC,
EBRD, ECE, ESCAP, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS,
ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NAM (observer), OAS (observer),
OPCW, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO,
WToO, WTrO (observer)
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Arman
KIRAKOSIAN consulate(s) general: Los
[1] (202) 319-1976 chancery:
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador John
M. ORDWAY embassy: 18 Baghramyan Ave., Yerevan 375019 mailing address:
American Embassy Yerevan, Department of
[374](1) 521-611, 543-900 FAX:
Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of red (top), blue,
and orange
Economy Armenia
Economy - overview: Under the old Soviet central planning system,
Armenia had developed a modern industrial sector, supplying machine
tools, textiles, and other manufactured goods to sister republics in
exchange for raw materials and energy. Since the implosion of the
USSR in December 1991, Armenia has switched to small-scale agriculture
away from the large agroindustrial complexes of the Soviet era. The
agricultural sector has long-term needs for more investment and updated
technology. The privatization of industry has been at a slower pace, but
has been given renewed emphasis by the current administration. Armenia
is a food importer, and its mineral deposits (gold, bauxite) are small.
The ongoing conflict with Azerbaijan over the ethnic Armenian-dominated
region of Nagorno-Karabakh and the breakup of the centrally directed
economic system of the former Soviet Union contributed to a severe
economic decline in the early 1990s. By 1994, however, the Armenian
Government had launched an ambitious IMF-sponsored economic program
that has resulted in positive growth rates in 1995-2001. Armenia also
managed to slash inflation and to privatize most small- and medium-sized
enterprises. The chronic energy shortages Armenia suffered in recent
years have been largely offset by the energy supplied by one of its
nuclear power plants at Metsamor. Armenia's severe trade imbalance has
been offset somewhat by international aid, domestic restructuring of
the economy, and foreign direct investment.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $11.2 billion (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 9.6% (2001 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $3,350 (2001 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 29% industry: 32% services:
39% (2000 est.)
Population below poverty line: 55% (2001 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 2.3%
highest 10%: 35.2% (1996)
Distribution of family income - Gini index: 44.4 (1996)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 3.1% (2000 est.)
Labor force: 1.4 million (2001)
Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 44%, services 14%, industry 42%
(2000 est.)
Unemployment rate: 20% note: official rate is 10.9% for 2000 (2001 est.)
Budget: revenues: $358 million expenditures: $458 million, including
capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.)
Industries: metal-cutting machine tools, forging-pressing machines,
electric motors, tires, knitted wear, hosiery, shoes, silk fabric,
chemicals, trucks, instruments, microelectronics, gem cutting, jewelry
manufacturing, software development, food processing, brandy
Industrial production growth rate: 3.8% (2001)
Electricity - production: 5.69 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 36.34% other: 0%
(2000) nuclear: 32.34% hydro: 31.32%
Electricity - consumption: 4.89 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - exports: 704 million kWh note: exports an unknown quantity
to Georgia; includes exports to Nagorno-Karabakh region in Azerbaijan
(2000)
Electricity - imports: 300 million kWh note: imports an unknown quantity
from Iran (2000)
Agriculture - products: fruit (especially grapes), vegetables; livestock
Exports: $338.5 million (f.o.b., 2001 est.)
Exports - commodities: diamonds, scrap metal, machinery and equipment,
brandy, copper ore
Exports - partners: Belgium 23%, Russia 15%, US 13%, Iran 10% (2000)
Imports: $868.6 million (f.o.b., 2001 est.)
Imports - commodities: natural gas, petroleum, tobacco products,
foodstuffs, diamonds
Imports - partners: Russia 15%, US 12%, Belgium 10%, Iran 9% (2000)
Debt - external: $839 million (June 2001)
Economic aid - recipient: $245.5 million (1995)
Currency: dram (AMD)
Currency code: AMD
Exchange rates: drams per US dollar - 564.08 (January 2002), 555.08
(2001), 539.53 (2000), 535.06 (1999), 504.92 (1998), 490.85 (1997)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications Armenia
Telephones - main lines in use: 568,000 (1997)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 25,000 (2001)
Telephone system: general assessment: system inadequate; now 90%
privately owned and undergoing modernization and expansion domestic:
the majority of subscribers and the most modern equipment are in Yerevan
(this includes paging and mobile cellular service) international: Yerevan
is connected to the Trans-Asia-Europe fiber-optic cable through Iran;
additional international service is available by microwave radio relay
and landline connections to the other countries of the Commonwealth of
Independent States and through the Moscow international switch and by
satellite to the rest of the world; satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat
(2000)
Radio broadcast stations: AM 9, FM 6, shortwave 1 (1998)
Radios: 850,000 (1997)
Television broadcast stations: 3 (plus an unknown number of repeaters)
(1998)
Televisions: 825,000 (1997)
Internet country code: .am
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 9 (2001)
Internet users: 30,000 (2001)
Transportation Armenia
Railways: total: 852 km in common carrier service; does not include
industrial lines broad gauge: 852 km 1.520-m gauge (779 km electrified)
(2001 est.)
Highways: total: 11,300 km paved: 10,500 km (includes some all-weather
gravel-surfaced roads) unpaved: 800 km (these roads are made of
unstabilized earth and are difficult to negotiate in wet weather) (1990)
Waterways: NA km
Pipelines: natural gas 900 km (1991)
Ports and harbors: none
Airports: 7 (2001)
Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 7 over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to
2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 1 (2001)
Military Armenia
Military branches: Army, Air and Air Defense Forces, Border Guards
Military manpower - military age: 18 years of age (2002 est.)
Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 912,650 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service: males age 15-49: 722,035
(2002 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually: males: 34,998
(2002 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $135 million (FY01)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 6.5% (FY01)
Transnational Issues Armenia
Disputes - international: Armenia supports ethnic Armenian secessionists
in Nagorno-Karabakh and militarily occupies almost one-fifth of Azerbaijan
- Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) continues to
mediate dispute; border with Turkey remains closed over Nagorno-Karabakh
dispute; traditional demands regarding former Armenian lands in Turkey
have subsided
Illicit drugs: illicit cultivator of cannabis mostly for domestic
consumption; increasingly used as a transshipment point for illicit
drugs - mostly opium and hashish - to Western Europe and the US via Iran,
Central Asia, and Russia
This page was last updated on 1 January 2002
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Andorra
Introduction
Andorra
Background: Long isolated and impoverished, mountainous Andorra has
achieved considerable prosperity since World War II through its tourist
industry. Many immigrants (legal and illegal) are attracted to the
thriving economy with its lack of income taxes.
Geography Andorra
Location: Southwestern Europe, between France and Spain
Geographic coordinates: 42 30 N, 1 30 E
Map references: Europe
Area: total: 468 sq km water: 0 sq km land: 468 sq km
Area - comparative: 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC
Land boundaries: total: 120.3 km border countries: France 56.6 km,
Spain 63.7 km
Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims: none (landlocked)
Climate: temperate; snowy, cold winters and warm, dry summers
Terrain: rugged mountains dissected by narrow valleys
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Riu Runer 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% other: 98% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land: NA sq km
Natural hazards: avalanches
Environment - current issues: deforestation; overgrazing of mountain
meadows contributes to soil erosion; air pollution; wastewater treatment
and solid waste disposal
Environment - international agreements: party to: Hazardous Wastes
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note: landlocked; straddles a number of important crossroads
in the Pyrenees
People Andorra
Population: 68,403 (July 2002 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 15.2% (male 5,456; female 4,951) 15-64 years:
71.9% (male 25,855; female 23,311) 65 years and over: 12.9% (male 4,425;
female 4,405) (2002 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.11% (2002 est.)
Birth rate: 9.97 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Death rate: 5.57 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Net migration rate: 6.74 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.1
male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.11 male(s)/female 65 years and over:
1 male(s)/female total population: 1.09 male(s)/female (2002 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 4.07 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: 86.58 years (2002 est.) male: Total fertility
rate: 1.26 children born/woman (2002 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: NA%
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: NA
HIV/AIDS - deaths: NA
Nationality: noun: Andorran(s) adjective: Andorran
Ethnic groups: Spanish 43%, Andorran 33%, Portuguese 11%, French 7%,
other 6% (1998)
Religions: Roman Catholic (predominant)
Languages: Catalan (official), French, Castilian
Literacy: definition: NA total population: 100% male: NA% female: NA%
Government Andorra
Country name: Principality of Andorra conventional short form:
Government type: parliamentary democracy (since March 1993) that retains
as its heads of state a coprincipality; the two princes are the president
of France and bishop of Seo de Urgel, Spain, who are represented locally
by coprinces' representatives
Capital: Andorra la Vella
Administrative divisions: 7 parishes (parroquies, singular - parroquia);
Andorra la Vella, Canillo, Encamp, La Massana, Escaldes-Engordany,
Ordino, Sant Julia de Loria
Independence: 1278 (was formed under the joint suzerainty of France
and Spain)
National holiday: Our Lady of Meritxell Day, 8 September (1278)
Constitution: Andorra's first written constitution was drafted in 1991;
approved by referendum 14 March 1993; came into force 4 May 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: chief of state: French Coprince Jacques CHIRAC
(since 17 May 1995), represented by Frederic de SAINT-SERNIN (since
NA); Spanish Coprince Episcopal Monseigneur Joan MARTI Alanis (since 31
January 1971), represented by Nemesi MARQUES OSTE (since NA) elections:
Executive Council president elected by the General Council and formally
appointed by the coprinces for a four-year term; election last held 4
March 2001 (next to be held NA 2005) election results: Marc FORNE Molne
elected executive council president; percent of General Council vote -
NA% cabinet: Executive Council or Govern designated by the Executive
Council president head of government: Executive Council President Marc
FORNE Molne (since 21 December 1994)
Legislative branch: unicameral General Council of the Valleys or Consell
General de las Valls (28 seats; members are elected by direct popular
vote, 14 from a single national constituency and 14 to represent each
of the 7 parishes; members serve four-year terms) elections: last held
4 March 2001 (next to be held NA March 2005) election results: percent
of vote by party - PLA 46.1%, PSD 30%, PD 23.8%, other 0.1%; seats by
party - PLA 15, PSD 6, PD 5, independents 2
Judicial branch: Tribunal of Judges or Tribunal de Batlles; Tribunal of
the Courts or Tribunal de Corts; Supreme Court of Justice of Andorra or
Tribunal Superior de Justicia d'Andorra; Supreme Council of Justice or
Consell Superior de la Justicia; Fiscal Ministry or Ministeri Fiscal;
Constitutional Tribunal or Tribunal Constitucional
Political parties and leaders: Democratic Party or PD (formerly part of
National Democratic Group or AND) [leader NA]; Liberal Party of Andorra
or PLA [Marc Forne MOLNE] (used to be Liberal Union or UL); National
Democratic Initiative or IDN [Vincenc MATEU Zamora]; New Democracy or ND
[Jaume BARTOMEU Cassany]; Social Democratic Party or PSD (formerly part
of National Democratic Group of AND) [leader NA]; Union of the People
of Ordino (Unio Parroquial d'Ordino) or UPO [Simo DURO Coma] note:
there are two other small parties
Political pressure groups and leaders: NA
International organization participation: CCC, CE, ECE, ICAO, ICRM,
IFRCS, Interpol, IOC, ITU, OSCE, UN, UNESCO, WHO, WIPO, WToO, WTrO
(observer)
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador
(vacant); Charge d'Affaires Jelena V. PIA-COMELLA chancery: 2 United
Nations Plaza, 25th Floor, New York, NY 10017 FAX: [1] (212) 750-6630
telephone: [1] (212) 750-8064
Diplomatic representation from the US: the US does not have an embassy
in Andorra; the US Ambassador to Spain is accredited to Andorra; US
interests in Andorra are represented by the Consulate General's office
in Barcelona (Spain); mailing address: 280-2227; FAX: (3493) 205-7705
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, which do not have a national coat of arms in the
center, and the flag of Moldova, which does bear a national emblem
Economy Andorra
Economy - overview: Tourism, the mainstay of Andorra's tiny, well-to-do
economy, accounts for roughly 80% of GDP. An estimated 9 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 - only 2% of the land
is arable - and most food has to be imported. The principal livestock
activity is sheep raising. Manufacturing output 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 - $1.3 billion (2000 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 3.8% (2000 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $19,000 (2000 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: NA% industry: NA% services: NA%
Population below poverty line: NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 4.3% (2000)
Labor force: 33,000 (2001 est.)
Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 1%, industry 21%, services 78%
(2000 est.)
Unemployment rate: 0%
Budget: revenues: $385 million expenditures: $342 million, including
capital expenditures of $NA (1997)
Industries: tourism (particularly skiing), cattle raising, timber,
tobacco, banking
Industrial production growth rate: NA%
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: NA% other: NA% nuclear:
NA% hydro: NA%
Electricity - consumption: NA kWh
Electricity - exports: NA kWh
Electricity - imports: NA kWh note: most electricity supplied by Spain
and France; Andorra generates a small amount of hydropower
Agriculture - products: small quantities of tobacco, rye, wheat, barley,
oats, vegetables; sheep
Exports: $58 million (f.o.b., 1998)
Exports - commodities: tobacco products, furniture
Exports - partners: France 34%, Spain 58% (1998)
Imports: $1.077 billion (c.i.f., 1998)
Imports - commodities: consumer goods, food, electricity
Imports - partners: Spain 48%, France 35%, US 2.3% (1998)
Debt - external: $NA
Economic aid - recipient: none
Currency: euro (EUR); French franc (FRF); Spanish peseta (ESP)
Currency code: EUR; FRF; ESP
Exchange rates: euros per US dollar - 1.1324 (January 2002), 1.1175
(2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999); French francs per US dollar -
5.8995 (1998), 5.8367 (1997); Spanish pesetas per US dollar - 149.40
(1998), 146.41 (1997)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications Andorra
Telephones - main lines in use: 32,946 (December 1998)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 14,117 (December 1998)
Telephone system: general assessment: NA domestic: modern system with
microwave radio relay connections between exchanges international:
landline circuits to France and Spain
Radio broadcast stations: AM 0, FM 15, shortwave 0 (1998)
Radios: 16,000 (1997)
Television broadcast stations: 0 (1997)
Televisions: 27,000 (1997)
Internet country code: .ad
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 1 (2000)
Internet users: 24,500 (2001)
Transportation Andorra
Railways: 0 km
Highways: total: 269 km paved: 198 km unpaved: 71 km (1994 est.)
Waterways: none
Ports and harbors: none
Airports: none (2001)
Military Andorra
Military branches: no regular military forces, but there is a police
force
Military - note: defense is the responsibility of France and Spain
Transnational Issues Andorra
Disputes - international: border is undemarcated in sections
This page was last updated on 1 January 2002
========================================================================
Angola
Introduction
Angola
Background: Civil war has been the norm in Angola since independence
from Portugal in 1975. A 1994 peace accord between the government and the
National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) provided for
the integration of former UNITA insurgents into the government and armed
forces. A national unity government was installed in April of 1997, but
serious fighting resumed in late 1998, rendering hundreds of thousands of
people homeless. Up to 1.5 million lives may have been lost in fighting
over the past quarter century. The death of Jonas SAVIMBI and a cease
fire with UNITA may bode well for the country.
Geography Angola
Location: Southern Africa, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between
Namibia and Democratic Republic of the Congo
Geographic coordinates: 12 30 S, 18 30 E
Map references: Africa
Area: total: 1,246,700 sq km water: 0 sq km land: 1,246,700 sq km
Area - comparative: slightly less than twice the size of Texas
Land boundaries: total: 5,198 km border countries: Democratic Republic
of the Congo 2,511 km (of which 225 km is the boundary of discontiguous
Cabinda Province), Republic of the Congo 201 km, Namibia 1,376 km,
Zambia 1,110 km
Coastline: 1,600 km
Maritime claims: 200 NM territorial sea: 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
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point:
Morro de Moco 2,620 m
Natural resources: petroleum, diamonds, iron ore, phosphates, copper,
feldspar, gold, bauxite, uranium
Land use: arable land: 2% permanent crops: 1% other: 97% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land: 750 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards: locally heavy rainfall causes periodic flooding on
the plateau
Environment - current issues: overuse of pastures and subsequent
soil erosion attributable to population pressures; desertification;
deforestation of tropical rain forest, in response to both international
demand for tropical timber and to domestic use as fuel, resulting in
loss of biodiversity; soil erosion contributing to water pollution and
siltation of rivers and dams; inadequate supplies of potable water
Environment - international agreements: party to: Biodiversity, Climate
Change, Desertification, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship
Pollution signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note: Cabinda is separated from rest of country by the
Democratic Republic of the Congo
People Angola
Population: 10,593,171 (July 2002 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 43.3% (male 2,318,326; female 2,272,726)
15-64 years: 53.9% (male 2,904,595; female 2,806,430) 65 years and over:
2.8% (male 131,316; female 159,778) (2002 est.)
Population growth rate: 2.18% (2002 est.)
Birth rate: 46.18 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Death rate: 24.35 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.02
male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 65 years and over:
0.82 male(s)/female total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2002 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 191.66 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: 40.18 years (2002 est.) male: Total fertility
rate: 6.43 children born/woman (2002 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 2.78% (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 160,000 (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths: 15,000 (1999 est.)
Nationality: noun: Angolan(s) adjective: Angolan
Ethnic groups: 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%
(1998 est.)
Languages: Portuguese (official), Bantu and other African languages
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total
population: 42% male: 56% female: 28% (1998 est.)
Government Angola
Country name: Republic of Angola conventional short form: local long
form: Republica de Angola
Government type: republic, 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); note - the president is both chief of state
and head of government head of government: President Jose Eduardo DOS
SANTOS (since 21 September 1979); note - the president is both chief of
state and head of government
Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: DOS SANTOS
originally elected (in 1979) without opposition under a
one-party system and stood for reelection in Angola's first multiparty
elections 29-30 September 1992 (next to be held NA) election results: DOS
SANTOS 49.6%, Jonas SAVIMBI 40.1%, making a run-off election necessary;
the run-off was not held and SAVIMBI's National Union for the Total
Independence of Angola (UNITA) repudiated the results of the first
election; the civil war resumed
Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly or Assembleia Nacional
(220 seats; members elected by proportional vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 29-30 September 1992 (next to be held NA) election
results: percent of vote by party - MPLA 54%, UNITA 34%, others 12%;
seats by party - MPLA 129, UNITA 70, PRS 6, FNLA 5, PLD 3, others 7
Judicial branch: Supreme Court or Tribunal da Relacao (judges are
appointed by the president)
Political parties and leaders: Liberal Democratic Party or PLD [Analia
de Victoria PEREIRA]; National Front for the Liberation of Angola or
FNLA [disputed leadership: Lucas NGONDA, Holden ROBERTO]; National
Union for the Total Independence of Angola or UNITA [Jonas SAVIMBI],
largest opposition party has engaged in years of armed resistance;
Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola or MPLA [Jose Eduardo
DOS SANTOS], ruling party in power since 1975; Social Renewal Party
or PRS [disputed leadership: Eduardo KUANGANA, Antonio MUACHICUNGO];
UNITA-Renovada [Eugenio NGOLO "Manuvakola"] note: won a few seats and
have little influence in the National Assembly
Political pressure groups and leaders: Front for the Liberation of the
Enclave of Cabinda or FLEC [N'zita Henriques TIAGO; Antonio Bento BEMBE]
note: FLEC is waging a small-scale, highly factionalized, armed struggle
for the independence of Cabinda Province
International organization participation: ACP, AfDB, CCC, CEEAC, ECA,
FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO,
IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, NAM, OAS (observer), OAU, SADC, UN,
UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador
Josefina Perpetua Pitra DIAKIDI FAX: [1] (202) 785-1258 consulate(s)
general: New York telephone: [1] (202) 785-1156 chancery: 2100 16th
Street NW, Washington, DC 20009
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador
Christopher William DELL embassy: number
international mail: State, Washington, DC 20521-2550 telephone: [244]
(2) 445-481, 447-028,
446-224, 445-727 FAX: [244] (2) 446-924
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)
Economy Angola
Economy - overview: Angola is an economy in disarray because of a quarter
century of nearly continuous warfare. Subsistence agriculture provides
the main livelihood for 85% of the population. Oil production and the
supporting activities are vital to the economy, contributing about 45%
to GDP and 90% of exports. Violence continues, millions of land mines
remain, and many farmers are reluctant to return to their fields. As
a result, much of the country's food must still be imported. To fully
take advantage of its rich natural resources - gold, diamonds, extensive
forests, Atlantic fisheries, and large oil deposits - Angola will need
to end its conflict and continue reforming government policies. Internal
strife discourages investment outside of the petroleum sector, which
is producing roughly 800,000 barrels of oil per day. While Angola made
progress in bringing inflation down further, from over 300% in 2000 to
about 110% in 2001, the government has failed to make sufficient progress
on reforms recommended by the IMF, such as increasing foreign exchange
reserves and promoting greater transparency in government spending.
Angola's GDP could be among the world's fastest growing in 2002 if oil
production from the Girassol field, which began production in December
2001, reaches 200,000 barrels per day as expected.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $13.3 billion (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 5.4% (2001 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $1,330 (2001 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 6% industry: 70% services: 24%
(2000 est.)
Population below poverty line: NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 110% (2001 est.)
Labor force: 5 million (1997 est.)
Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 85%, industry and services 15%
(1997 est.)
Unemployment rate: extensive unemployment and underemployment affecting
more than half the population (2001 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; cement; basic metal products; fish processing; food
processing; brewing; tobacco products; sugar; textiles
Industrial production growth rate: NA%
Electricity - production: 1.19 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 40.34% hydro: 59.66%
other: 0% (2000) nuclear: 0%
Electricity - consumption: 1.107 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (2000)
Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (2000)
Agriculture - products: bananas, sugarcane, coffee, sisal, corn,
cotton, manioc (tapioca), tobacco, vegetables, plantains; livestock;
forest products; fish
Exports: $7 billion (f.o.b., 2001 est.)
Exports - commodities: crude oil 90%, diamonds, refined petroleum
products, gas, coffee, sisal, fish and fish products, timber, cotton
Exports - partners: US 44.5%, EU 17.3%, China 22.7%, South Korea 8.1%
(2000)
Imports: $2.7 billion (f.o.b., 2001 est.)
Imports - commodities: machinery and electrical equipment, vehicles
and spare parts; medicines, food, textiles, military goods
Imports - partners: EU 47.4%, South Korea 16%, South Africa 15.9%,
US 11.3%, Brazil 5.5% (2000)
Debt - external: $10.4 billion (2001 est.)
Economic aid - recipient: $383.5 million (1999)
Currency: kwanza (AOA)
Currency code: AOA
Exchange rates: kwanza per US dollar - 32.8716 (January 2002), 22.058
(2001), 10.041 (2000), 2.791 (1999), 0.393 (1998), 0.229 (1997); note -
in December 1999 the kwanza was revalued with six zeroes dropped off
the old value
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications Angola
Telephones - main lines in use: 69,700 (1997)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 25,800 (2000)
Telephone system: general assessment: 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 36, FM 7, shortwave 9 (2000)
Radios: 815,000 (2000)
Television broadcast stations: 7 (2000)
Televisions: 196,000 (2000)
Internet country code: .ao
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 1 (2000)
Internet users: 30,000 (2001)
Transportation Angola
Railways: total: 2,771 km (inland, much of the track is unusable because
of land mines still in place from the civil war) narrow gauge: 2,648 km
1.067-m gauge; 123 km 0.600-m gauge (2000 est.)
Highways: total: 76,626 km paved: 19,156 km unpaved: 57,470 km (1997)
Waterways: 1,295 km
Pipelines: crude oil 179 km
Ports and harbors: Ambriz, Cabinda, Lobito, Luanda, Malongo, Mocamedes,
Namibe, Porto Amboim, Soyo
Merchant marine: total: 9 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 39,305
GRT/63,528 DWT ships by type: cargo 8, petroleum tanker 1 (2002 est.)
Airports: 244 (2001)
Airports - with paved runways: total: 32 over 3,047 m: 4 2,438 to 3,047
m: 8 1,524 to 2,437 m: 13 914 to 1,523 m: 6 under 914 m: 1 (2001)
Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 212 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to
3,047 m: 5 1,524 to 2,437 m: 30 914 to 1,523 m: 95 under 914 m: 80 (2001)
Military Angola
Military branches: Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces, National
Police Force
Military manpower - military age: 18 years of age (2002 est.)
Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 2,532,469 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service: males age 15-49: 1,272,509
(2002 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually: males: 103,807
(2002 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $1.2 billion (FY97)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 22% (1999)
Transnational Issues Angola
Disputes - international: none
Illicit drugs: used as a transshipment point for cocaine destined for
Western Europe and other African states
This page was last updated on 1 January 2002
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American Samoa
Introduction
American Samoa
Background: Settled as early as 1000 B. C., Samoa was "discovered"
by European explorers in the 18th century. International rivalries in
the latter half of the 19th century were settled by an 1899 treaty in
which Germany and the US divided the Samoan archipelago. The US formally
occupied its portion - a smaller group of eastern islands with the
excellent harbor of Pago Pago - the following year.
Geography American Samoa
Location: Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, about
half way between Hawaii and New Zealand
Geographic coordinates: 14 20 S, 170 00 W
Map references: Oceania
Area: includes Rose Island and Swains Island water: Area - comparative:
slightly larger than Washington, DC
Land boundaries: 0 km
Coastline: 116 km
Maritime claims: exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM
Climate: tropical marine, moderated by southeast trade winds; annual
rainfall averages about 3 m; 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)
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point:
Lata 966 m
Natural resources: pumice, pumicite
Land use: arable land: 5% permanent crops: 10% other: 85% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land: NA sq km
Natural hazards: typhoons common from December to March
Environment - current issues: limited natural fresh water resources;
the water division of the government has spent substantial funds in the
past few years to improve water catchments and pipelines
Geography - 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 American Samoa
Population: 68,688 (July 2002 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 38.1% (male 13,445; female 12,688) 15-64
years: 56.7% (male 19,228; female 19,741) 65 years and over: 5.2%
(male 1,931; female 1,655) (2002 est.)
Population growth rate: 2.31% (2002 est.)
Birth rate: 24.04 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Death rate: 4.34 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Net migration rate: 3.42 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.06
male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over:
1.17 male(s)/female total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2002 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 10.09 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: 80.21 years (2002 est.) male: Total fertility
rate: 3.4 children born/woman (2002 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: NA%
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: NA
HIV/AIDS - deaths: NA
Nationality: noun: American Samoan(s) adjective: American Samoan
Ethnic groups: Samoan (Polynesian) 89%, Caucasian 2%, Tongan 4%, other 5%
Religions: Christian Congregationalist 50%, Roman Catholic 20%,
Protestant and other 30%
Languages: Samoan (closely related to Hawaiian and other Polynesian
languages), English note: most people are bilingual
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total
population: 97% male: 98% female: 97% (1980 est.)
Government American Samoa
Country name: conventional long form: Territory of American Samoa
conventional short form: American Samoa abbreviation: AS
Dependency status: unincorporated and unorganized territory of the
US; administered by the Office of Insular Affairs, US Department of
the Interior
Government type: NA
Capital: Pago Pago
Administrative divisions: none (territory of the US); there are no
first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government,
but there are three districts and two islands* at the second order;
Eastern, Manu'a, Rose Island*, Swains Island*, Western
Independence: none (territory of the US)
National holiday: 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 George W. BUSH of the US
(since 20 January 2001) and Vice President Richard B. CHENEY (since
20 January 2001) election results: Tauese P. SUNIA reelected governor;
percent of vote - Tauese P. SUNIA (Democrat) 50.7%, Lealaifuaneva Peter
REID (independent) 47.8% elections: US president and vice president
elected on the same ticket for four-year terms; governor and lieutenant
governor elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year terms;
election last held 7 November 2000 (next to be held NA November 2004)
head of government: Togiola TULAFONO (since 3 January 1997) cabinet: NA
Legislative branch: bicameral Fono or Legislative Assembly consists
of the House of Representatives (21 seats - 20 of which are elected
by popular vote and 1 is an appointed, nonvoting delegate from Swains
Island; members serve two-year terms) and the Senate (18 seats; members
are elected from local chiefs and serve four-year terms) elections:
House of Representatives - last held 7 November 2000 (next to be held NA
November 2002); Senate - last held 7 November 2000 (next to be held NA
November 2004) note: Representatives; election last held 7 November 2000
(next to be held NA November 2002); results - Eni F. H. FALEOMAVAEGA
(Democrat) reelected as delegate for a sixth term election results: House
of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA;
Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - independents 18
Judicial branch: High Court (chief justice and associate justices are
appointed by the US Secretary of the Interior)
Political parties and leaders: Democratic Party [leader NA]; Republican
Party [leader NA]
Political pressure groups and leaders: NA
International organization participation: ESCAP (associate), Interpol
(subbureau), IOC, SPC
Diplomatic representation in the US: none (territory of the US)
Diplomatic representation from the US: none (territory of the US)
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
Economy American Samoa
Economy - overview: This is a traditional Polynesian economy in which
more than 90% of the land is communally owned. Economic activity
is strongly linked to the US, with which American Samoa conducts
most of its foreign trade. Tuna fishing and tuna processing plants
are the backbone of the private sector, with canned tuna the primary
export. Transfers from the US Government add substantially to American
Samoa's economic well-being. Attempts by the government to develop a
larger and broader economy are restrained by Samoa's remote location,
its limited transportation, and its devastating hurricanes. Tourism,
a developing sector, has been held back by the recurring financial
difficulties in East Asia.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $500 million (2000 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: NA%
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $8,000 (2000 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: NA% industry: NA% services: NA%
Population below poverty line: NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA%
Labor force: 14,000 (1996)
Labor force - by occupation: government 33%, tuna canneries 34%, other
33% (1990)
Unemployment rate: 6% (2000)
Budget: revenues: $121 million (37% in local revenue and 63% in US
grants) expenditures: $127 million, including capital expenditures of $NA
(FY96/97)
Industries: tuna canneries (largely supplied by foreign fishing vessels),
handicrafts
Industrial production growth rate: NA%
Electricity - production: 130 million kWh (2000)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 100% hydro: 0% other: 0%
(2000) nuclear: 0%
Electricity - consumption: 120.9 million kWh (2000)
Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (2000)
Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (2000)
Agriculture - products: bananas, coconuts, vegetables, taro, breadfruit,
yams, copra, pineapples, papayas; dairy products, livestock
Exports: $345 million (1999)
Exports - commodities: canned tuna 93%
Exports - partners: US 99.6%
Imports: $452 million (1999)
Imports - commodities: materials for canneries 56%, food 8%, petroleum
products 7%, machinery and parts 6%
Imports - partners: US 62%, Australia 11%, Japan 9%, NZ 7%, Fiji 4%,
other 7%
Debt - external: $NA
Economic aid - recipient: important financial support from the US,
more than $40 million in 1994
Currency: US dollar (USD)
Currency code: USD
Exchange rates: the US dollar is used
Fiscal year: 1 October - 30 September
Communications American Samoa
Telephones - main lines in use: 13,000 (1997)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 2,550 (1997)
Telephone system: general assessment: NA domestic: good telex, telegraph,
facsimile and cellular telephone 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 (1998)
Radios: 57,000 (1997)
Television broadcast stations: 1 (1997)
Televisions: 14,000 (1997)
Internet country code: .as
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 1 (2000)
Internet users: NA
Transportation American Samoa
Railways: 0 km
Highways: total: 350 km paved: 150 km unpaved: 200 km
Waterways: none
Ports and harbors: Aunu'u (new construction), Auasi, Faleosao, Ofu,
Pago Pago, Ta'u
Merchant marine: none (2002 est.)
Airports: 4 (2001)
Airports - with paved runways: total: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 under 914 m:
1 (2001)
Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 2 under 914 m: 2 (2001)
Military American Samoa
Military - note: defense is the responsibility of the US
Transnational Issues American Samoa
Disputes - international: none
This page was last updated on 1 January 2002
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Argentina
Introduction
Argentina
Background: Following independence from Spain in 1816, Argentina
experienced periods of internal political conflict between conservatives
and liberals and between civilian and military factions. After World
War II, a long period of Peronist authoritarian rule and interference in
subsequent governments was followed by a military junta that took power
in 1976. Democracy returned in 1983, and numerous elections since then
have underscored Argentina's progress in democratic consolidation.
Geography Argentina
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: 2,766,890 sq km land: 2,736,690 sq km water: 30,200 sq km
Area - comparative: 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: 12 NM exclusive economic zone: 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
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Salinas Chicas -40 m (located on
Peninsula Valdes) highest point: Cerro Aconcagua 6,960 m
Natural resources: fertile plains of the Pampas, lead, zinc, tin,
copper, iron ore, manganese, petroleum, uranium
Land use: arable land: 9% permanent crops: 1% other: 90% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land: 15,610 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards: San Miguel de Tucuman and Mendoza areas in the Andes
subject to earthquakes; pamperos are violent windstorms that can strike
the Pampas and northeast; heavy flooding
Environment - current issues: environmental problems (urban and rural)
typical of an industrializing economy such as deforestation, soil
degradation, desertification, air pollution, and water pollution note:
Argentina is a world leader in setting voluntary greenhouse gas targets
Environment - international agreements: party to: Antarctic-Environmental
Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic
Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol,
Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous
Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer
Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified:
Marine Life Conservation
Geography - note: second-largest country in South America (after Brazil);
strategic location relative to sea lanes between the South Atlantic
and the South Pacific Oceans (Strait of Magellan, Beagle Channel,
Drake Passage); Cerro Aconcagua is South America's tallest mountain,
while the Valdes Peninsula is the lowest point on the continent
People Argentina
Population: 37,812,817 (July 2002 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 26.3% (male 5,090,046; female 4,854,761) 15-64
years: 63.2% (male 11,968,135; female 11,937,709) 65 years and over: 10.5%
(male 1,636,332; female 2,325,834) (2002 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.13% (2002 est.)
Birth rate: 18.23 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Death rate: 7.57 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Net migration rate: 0.63 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05
male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.7
male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2002 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 17.2 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: 79.03 years (2002 est.) male: Total fertility
rate: 2.41 children born/woman (2002 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.69% (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 130,000 (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths: 1,800 (1999 est.)
Nationality: noun: Argentine(s) adjective: Argentine
Ethnic groups: white (mostly Spanish and Italian) 97%, mestizo,
Amerindian, or other nonwhite groups 3%
Religions: nominally Roman Catholic 92% (less than 20% practicing),
Protestant 2%, Jewish 2%, other 4%
Languages: Spanish (official), English, Italian, German, French
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total
population: 96.2% male: 96.2% female: 96.2% (1995 est.)
Government Argentina
Country name: Argentine Republic conventional short form: Government
type: republic
Capital: Buenos Aires
Administrative divisions: 23 provinces (provincias, singular -
provincia), and 1 autonomous city* (distrito federal); Buenos Aires,
Buenos Aires Capital Federal*, Catamarca, Chaco, Chubut, Cordoba,
Corrientes, 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: 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 and mandatory
Executive branch: chief of state: President Eduardo Alberto DUHALDE
(since 2 January 2002); note - selected by National Congress in aftermath
of resignation of former President DE LA RUA on 20 December 2001 and
resignations of others who briefly held the office following DE LA RUA's
departure; Vice President Carlos "Chacho" ALVAREZ resigned 6 October
2000 and the post remains vacant; note - the president is both the
chief of state and head of government head of government: President
Eduardo Alberto DUHALDE (since 2 January 2002); note - selected by
National Congress in aftermath of resignation of former President
DE LA RUA on 20 December 2001 and resignations of others who briefly
held the office following DE LA RUA's departure; Vice President Carlos
"Chacho" ALVAREZ resigned 6 October 2000 and the post remains vacant;
note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president election results: Fernando
DE LA RUA elected president; percent of vote - 48.5% ; Vice President
Carlos "Chacho" ALVAREZ resigned 6 October 2000 and a replacement was
not named; DE LA RUA resigned 20 December 2001; following a series of
interim presidents, Eduardo Alberto DUHALDE was selected president by
the National Congress on 1 January 2002 elections: for four-year terms;
election last held 24 October 1999 (next to be held NA October 2003)
Legislative branch: bicameral National Congress or Congreso Nacional
consists of the Senate (72 seats; formerly, three members appointed
by each of the provincial legislatures; presently transitioning to
one-third of the members being elected every two years to six-year terms)
and the Chamber of Deputies (257 seats; one-half of the members elected
every two years to four-year terms) election results: Senate - percent
of vote by bloc or party - NA%; seats by bloc or party - Justicialist
(Peronist) 40, UCR 24, provincial parties 6, Frepaso 1, ARI 1; Chamber
of Deputies - percent of vote by bloc or party - NA%; seats by bloc
or party - Justicialist (Peronist) 113, UCR 74, provincial parties 27,
Frepaso 17, ARI 17, AR 9 elections: Senate - last held 14 October 2001
(next to be held NA October 2003); Chamber of Deputies - last held 14
October 2001 (next to be held NA October 2003)
Judicial branch: Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (the nine Supreme Court
judges are appointed by the president with approval by the Senate)
Political parties and leaders: Action for the Republic or AR [Domingo
CAVALLO]; Alternative for a Republic of Equals or ARI [Elisa CARRIO];
Front for a Country in Solidarity or Frepaso (a four-party coalition)
[Dario Pedro ALESSANDRO]; Justicialist Party or PJ [Carlos Saul MENEM]
(Peronist umbrella political organization); Radical Civic Union or UCR
[Angel ROZAS]; several provincial parties
Political pressure groups and leaders: Argentine Association of
Pharmaceutical Labs (CILFA); Argentine Industrial Union (manufacturers'
association); Argentine Rural Society (large landowners' association);
business organizations; General Confederation of Labor or CGT
(Peronist-leaning umbrella labor organization); Peronist-dominated labor
movement; Roman Catholic Church; students
International organization participation: AfDB, Australia Group, BCIE,
BIS, CCC, ECLAC, FAO, G-6, G-15, G-19, G-24, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO,
ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol,
IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, Mercosur, MINURSO, MIPONUH, MTCR, NSG,
OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO,
UNIKOM, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOP, UNMOVIC, UNTSO, UNU, UPU, WCL,
WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador
Diego Ramiro GUELAR chancery: 1600 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington,
DC 20009 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles,
Miami, New York FAX: [1] (202) 332-3171 telephone: [1] (202) 238-6400
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador James
D. WALSH embassy: Avenida Colombia 4300, C1425GMN Buenos Aires mailing
address: international mail: use street address; APO address: Unit 4334,
APO AA 34034 telephone: [54] (11) 5777-4533 FAX: [54] (11) 5511-4240
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
Economy Argentina
Economy - overview: Argentina benefits from rich natural resources,
a highly literate population, an export-oriented agricultural sector,
and a diversified industrial base. However, when President Carlos MENEM
took office in 1989, the country had piled up huge external debts,
inflation had reached 200% per month, and output was plummeting. To
combat the economic crisis, the government embarked on a path of trade
liberalization, deregulation, and privatization. In 1991, it implemented
radical monetary reforms which pegged the peso to the US dollar and
limited the growth in the monetary base by law to the growth in reserves.
Inflation fell sharply in subsequent years. In 1995, the Mexican peso
crisis produced capital flight, the loss of banking system deposits,
and a severe, but short-lived, recession; a series of reforms to bolster
the domestic banking system followed. Real GDP growth recovered strongly,
reaching 8% in 1997. In 1998, international financial turmoil caused by
Russia's problems and increasing investor anxiety over Brazil produced
the highest domestic interest rates in more than three years, halving the
growth rate of the economy. Conditions worsened in 1999 with GDP falling
by 3%. President Fernando DE LA RUA, who took office in December 1999,
sponsored tax increases and spending cuts to reduce the deficit, which
had ballooned to 2.5% of GDP in 1999. Growth in 2000 was a negative
0.5%, as both domestic and foreign investors remained skeptical of the
government's ability to pay debts and maintain the peso's fixed exchange
rate with the US dollar. The economic situation worsened still further in
2001 with the widening of spreads on Argentine bonds, massive withdrawals
from the banks, and a further decline in consumer and investor confidence.
Government efforts to achieve a "zero deficit", to stabilize the banking
system, and to restore economic growth proved inadequate in the face
of the mounting economic problems. At the start of 2002, newly elected
president Eduardo DUHALDE met with IMF officials to secure an additional
$20 billion loan, but immediate action seemed unlikely. The peso's peg
to the dollar was abandoned in January 2002, and the peso was floated
from the dollar in February; inflation picked up rapidly.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $453 billion (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: -4.6% (2001 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $12,000 (2001 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 6% industry: 28% services: 66%
(2001 est.)
Population below poverty line: 37% (2001 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 4% (2001 est.)
Labor force: 15 million (1999)
Labor force - by occupation: agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA%
Unemployment rate: 25% (yearend 2001)
Budget: revenues: $44 billion expenditures: $48 billion, including
capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.)
Industries: food processing, motor vehicles, consumer durables, textiles,
chemicals and petrochemicals, printing, metallurgy, steel
Industrial production growth rate: 1% (2000 est.)
Electricity - production: 82.802 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 51.81% hydro: 40.67%
other: 0.29% (2000) nuclear: 7.23%
Electricity - consumption: 80.806 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - exports: 3.7 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - imports: 7.5 billion kWh (2000)
Agriculture - products: sunflower seeds, lemons, soybeans, grapes,
corn, tobacco, peanuts, tea, wheat; livestock
Exports: $26.5 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.)
Exports - commodities: edible oils, fuels and energy, cereals, feed,
motor vehicles
Exports - partners: Brazil 26.5%, US 11.8%, Chile 10.6%, Spain 3.5%
(2000)
Imports: $23.8 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.)
Imports - commodities: machinery and equipment, motor vehicles,
chemicals, metal manufactures, plastics
Imports - partners: Brazil 25.1%, US 18.7%, Germany 5%, China 4.6% (2000)
Debt - external: $155 billion (2001 est.)
Economic aid - recipient: $10 billion (2001 est.)
Currency: Argentine peso (ARS)
Currency code: ARS
Exchange rates: Argentine pesos per US dollar - 1.33325 (January 2002),
1.000 (1997-2001); note - fixed rate pegged to the US dollar was abandoned
in January 2002; peso now floats
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications Argentina
Telephones - main lines in use: 7.5 million (1998)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 3 million (December 1999)
Telephone system: general assessment: by opening the telecommunications
market to competition and foreign investment with the "Telecommunications
Liberalization Plan of 1998", Argentina encouraged the growth of modern
telecommunication technology; fiber-optic cable trunk lines are being
installed between all major cities; the major networks are entirely
digital and the availability of telephone service is being improved;
however, telephone density is presently minimal, and making telephone
service universally available will take some time domestic: microwave
radio relay, fiber-optic cable, and a domestic satellite system with 40
earth stations serve the trunk network; more than 110,000 pay telephones
are installed and mobile telephone use is rapidly expanding international:
Unisur submarine cables; two international gateways near Buenos Aires
(1999)
Radio broadcast stations: AM 260 (including 10 inactive stations),
FM NA (probably more than 1,000, mostly unlicensed), shortwave 6 (1998)
Radios: 24.3 million (1997)
Television broadcast stations: 42 (plus 444 repeaters) (1997)
Televisions: 7.95 million (1997)
Internet country code: .ar
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 33 (2000)
Internet users: 3.88 million (2001)
Transportation Argentina
Railways: total: 33,744 km (167 km electrified) broad gauge: 20,594 km
1.676-m gauge (141 km electrified) standard gauge: 2,739 km 1.435-m gauge
(26 km electrified) narrow gauge: 10,154 km 1.000-m gauge; 257 km 0.750-m
gauge (2000 est.)
Highways: total: 215,434 km paved: 63,553 km (including 734 km of
expressways) unpaved: 151,881 km (1998 est.)
Waterways: 10,950 km
Pipelines: crude oil 4,090 km; petroleum products 2,900 km; natural
gas 9,918 km
Ports and harbors: Bahia Blanca, Buenos Aires, Comodoro Rivadavia,
Concepcion del Uruguay, La Plata, Mar del Plata, Necochea, Rio Gallegos,
Rosario, Santa Fe, Ushuaia
Merchant marine: total: 24 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 147,505
GRT/222,500 DWT ships by type: cargo 9, petroleum tanker 10, railcar
carrier 1, refrigerated cargo 2, roll on/roll off 1, short-sea passenger
1, includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of
convenience: United Arab Emirates 1, Uruguay 1 (2002 est.)
Airports: 1,369 (2001)
Airports - with paved runways: total: 144 over 3,047 m: 4 2,438 to
3,047 m: 26 1,524 to 2,437 m: 60 914 to 1,523 m: 45 under 914 m: 9 (2001)
Airports - with unpaved runways: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: Military Argentina
Military branches: Argentine Army, Navy of the Argentine Republic
(includes naval aviation and Marines), Coast Guard, Argentine Air Force,
National Gendarmerie, National Aeronautical Police Force
Military manpower - military age: 20 years of age (2002 est.)
Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 9,521,633 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service: males age 15-49: 7,721,219
(2002 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually: males: 335,085
(2002 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $4.3 billion (FY99)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 1.3% (FY00)
Transnational Issues Argentina
Disputes - international: claims UK-administered Falkland Islands
(Islas Malvinas); claims UK-administered South Georgia and the South
Sandwich Islands; territorial claim in Antarctica partially overlaps
British and Chilean claims
Illicit drugs: used as a transshipment country for cocaine headed for
Europe and the US; increasing use as a money-laundering center; domestic
consumption of drugs in urban centers is increasing
This page was last updated on 1 January 2002
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Australia
Introduction
Australia
Background: Australia became a commonwealth of the British Empire
in 1901. It was able to take advantage of its natural resources to
rapidly develop its agricultural and manufacturing industries and to
make a major contribution to the British effort in World Wars I and II.
Long-term concerns include pollution, particularly depletion of the ozone
layer, and management and conservation of coastal areas, especially the
Great Barrier Reef. A referendum to change Australia's status, from a
commonwealth headed by the British monarch to an independent republic,
was defeated in 1999.
Geography Australia
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: 7,686,850 sq km water: 68,920 sq km note: includes Lord
Howe Island and Macquarie Island land: 7,617,930 sq km
Area - comparative: slightly smaller than the US contiguous 48 states
Land boundaries: 0 km
Coastline: 25,760 km
Maritime claims: 12 NM exclusive economic zone: Climate: generally
arid to semiarid; temperate in south and east; tropical in north
Terrain: mostly low plateau with deserts; fertile plain in southeast
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Lake Eyre -15 m highest point: Mount
Kosciuszko 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: 7% permanent crops: 0% other: 93% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land: 24,000 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards: cyclones along the coast; severe droughts; forest fires
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
Environment - international agreements: party to: Antarctic-Environmental
Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic
Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, 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, Tropical Timber 94,
Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol
Geography - 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 Australia
Population: 19,546,792 (July 2002 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 20.4% (male 2,046,052; female 1,949,725)
15-64 years: 67% (male 6,610,840; female 6,480,354) 65 years and over:
12.6% (male 1,078,506; female 1,381,315) (2002 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.96% (2002 est.)
Birth rate: 12.71 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Death rate: 7.25 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Net migration rate: 4.12 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 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:
0.78 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2002 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 4.9 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 80 years female: 83 years
(2002 est.) male: 77.15 years
Total fertility rate: 1.77 children born/woman (2002 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.15% (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 14,000 (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths: 100 (1999 est.)
Nationality: noun: Australian(s) adjective: Australian
Ethnic groups: Caucasian 92%, Asian 7%, aboriginal and other 1%
Religions: Anglican 26.1%, Roman Catholic 26%, other Christian 24.3%,
non-Christian 11%, other 12.6%
Languages: English, native languages
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total
population: 100% male: 100% female: 100% (1980 est.)
Government Australia
Country name: conventional long form: Commonwealth of Australia
conventional short form: Australia
Government type: democratic, federal-state system recognizing the
British monarch as sovereign
Capital: Canberra
Administrative divisions: 6 states and 2 territories*; Australian
Capital Territory*, New South Wales, Northern Territory*, Queensland,
South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia
Dependent areas: Ashmore and Cartier Islands, Christmas Island, Cocos
(Keeling) Islands, Coral Sea Islands, Heard Island and McDonald Islands,
Norfolk Island
Independence: 1 January 1901 (federation of UK colonies)
National holiday: Australia Day, 26 January (1788)
Constitution: 9 July 1900, effective 1 January 1901
Legal system: based on English common law; accepts compulsory ICJ
jurisdiction, with reservations
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal and compulsory
Executive branch: chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February
1952), represented by Governor General Rt. Rev. Dr. Peter HOLLINGWORTH
(since 29 June 2001) head of government: Prime Minister John Winston
HOWARD (since 11 March 1996); Deputy Prime Minister John ANDERSON
(since 20 July 1999) cabinet: Cabinet Parliament nominates, from among
its members, a list of candidates to serve as government ministers;
from this list, the governor general makes the final selections for the
Cabinet elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general
appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader
of the majority party or leader of a majority coalition is usually
appointed prime minister by the governor general for a three-year term
note: government coalition - Liberal Party and National Party
Legislative branch: bicameral Federal Parliament consists of the Senate
(76 seats - 12 from each of the six states and two from each of the two
mainland territories; one-half of the members elected every three years
by popular vote to serve six-year terms) and the House of Representatives
(150 seats - this is up from 148 seats in 2001 election; members elected
by popular vote on the basis of preferential representation to serve
three-year terms; no state can have fewer than five representatives)
elections: Senate - last held 10 November 2001 (next to be held by
November 2004); House of Representatives - last held 10 November 2001
(next to be held by November 2004) election results: Senate - percent
of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Liberal Party-National Party
coalition 35, Australian Labor Party 28, Australian Democrats 8, Green
Party 2, One Nation Party 1, Country Labor Party 1, independent 1; House
of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party -
Liberal Party-National Party coalition 82, Australian Labor Party 65,
independent and other 3
Judicial branch: High Court (the chief justice and six other justices
are appointed by the governor general)
Political parties and leaders: Australian Democrats [Natasha
STOTT-DESPOJA]; Australian Labor Party [Simon CREAN]; Country Labor Party
[leader NA]; Green Party [Bob BROWN]; Liberal Party [John Winston HOWARD];
National Party [John ANDERSON]; One Nation Party [leader NA]
Political pressure groups and leaders: Australian Democratic Labor Party
(anti-Communist Labor Party splinter group); Australian Monarchist League
[leader NA]; Australian Republican Movement [leader NA]
International organization participation: ANZUS, APEC, ARF (dialogue
partner), AsDB, ASEAN (dialogue partner), Australia Group, BIS, C, CCC,
CP, EBRD, ESCAP, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD,
IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NAM (guest),
NEA, NSG, OECD, OPCW, PCA, Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR,
UNMEE, UNTAET, UNTSO, UNU, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO, ZC
Diplomatic representation in the US: Ambassador Michael J. THAWLEY
consulate(s) general: FAX: [1] (202) 797-3168 telephone: [1] (202)
797-3000 chancery: 1601 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador
J. Thomas SCHIEFFER embassy: Moonah Place, Yarralumla, Canberra,
Australian Capital Territory 2600 mailing address: consulate(s) general:
Melbourne, Perth, Sydney
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
Economy Australia
Economy - overview: Australia has a prosperous Western-style capitalist
economy, with a per capita GDP on par with the four dominant West European
economies. The Australian economy has been resilient in the face of
the global economic downturn in 2001 chalking up 2.3% GDP growth, as
the domestic economy is offsetting the external slump and business and
consumer confidence remains robust. Canberra's emphasis on reforms is
a key factor behind the economy's strength, and Australia is expected
to outperform its trading partners in 2002, with GDP growth projected
to be 3% or better. Australia probably will experience some weakness in
mid-2002 as its business cycle tends to lag the US by about six months,
and larger problems could emerge if Australia's trade position worsens.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $465.9 billion (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 2.3% (2001 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $24,000 (2001 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 3% industry: 25% services: 72%
(2000 est.)
Population below poverty line: NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 2%
highest 10%: 25.4% (1994)
Distribution of family income - Gini index: 35.2 (1994)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 4.3% (2001 est.)
Labor force: 9.2 million (December 2001)
Labor force - by occupation: services 73%, industry 22%, agriculture 5%
(1997 est.)
Unemployment rate: 6.7% (2001)
Budget: revenues: $86.8 billion expenditures: $84.1 billion, including
capital expenditures of $NA (FY00/01 est.)
Industries: mining, industrial and transportation equipment, food
processing, chemicals, steel
Industrial production growth rate: 0.4% (2001 est.)
Electricity - production: 202.676 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 89.79% hydro: 8.47%
other: 1.74% (2000) nuclear: 0%
Electricity - consumption: 188.489 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (2000)
Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (2000)
Agriculture - products: wheat, barley, sugarcane, fruits; cattle,
sheep, poultry
Exports: $68.8 billion (2001 est.)
Exports - commodities: coal, gold, meat, wool, alumina, iron ore, wheat,
machinery and transport equipment
Exports - partners: Japan 19%, US 9%, South Korea 7%, China 6%, New
Zealand 5.8%, Singapore 4% (2001 est.)
Imports: $70.2 billion (2001 est.)
Imports - commodities: machinery and transport equipment, computers
and office machines, telecommunication equipment and parts; crude oil
and petroleum products
Imports - partners: US 20%, Japan 13%, China 7.7%, UK 6%, Germany 5%,
South Korea 4%, NZ 4%, Malaysia 3.6% (2001 est.)
Debt - external: $168.7 billion (2001 est.)
Economic aid - donor: ODA, $894 million (FY99/00)
Currency: Australian dollar (AUD)
Currency code: AUD
Exchange rates: Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.9354 (January 2002),
1.9320 (2001), 1.7173 (2000), 1.5497 (1999), 1.5888 (1998), 1.3439 (1997)
Fiscal year: 1 July - 30 June
Communications Australia
Telephones - main lines in use: 10.05 million (2000)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 8.6 million (2000)
Telephone system: general assessment: excellent domestic and
international service domestic: domestic satellite system; much use
of radiotelephone in areas of low population density; rapid growth of
mobile cellular telephones 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) (1998)
Radio broadcast stations: AM 262, FM 345, shortwave 1 (1998)
Radios: 25.5 million (1997)
Television broadcast stations: 104 (1997)
Televisions: 10.15 million (1997)
Internet country code: .au
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 603 (2001)
Internet users: 10.06 million (2001)
Transportation Australia
Railways: total: 33,819 km (2,540 km electrified) broad gauge: 3,719
km 1.600-m gauge narrow gauge: 14,506 km 1.067-m gauge standard gauge:
15,422 km 1.435-m gauge dual gauge: 172 km NA gauges (1999 est.)
Highways: total: 913,000 km paved: 353,331 km (including 1,363 km of
expressways) unpaved: 559,669 km (1996)
Waterways: 8,368 km (mainly used by small, shallow-draft craft)
Pipelines: crude oil 2,500 km; petroleum products 500 km; natural gas
5,600 km
Ports and harbors: Adelaide, Brisbane, Cairns, Darwin, Devonport
(Tasmania), Fremantle, Geelong, Hobart (Tasmania), Launceston (Tasmania),
Mackay, Melbourne, Sydney, Townsville
Merchant marine: total: 55 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,469,362
GRT/1,869,262 DWT ships by type: bulk 26, cargo 5, chemical tanker 4,
container 1, liquefied gas 4, passenger 2, petroleum tanker 7, roll
on/roll off 6, includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag
of convenience: France 2, United Kingdom 2, United States 14 (2002 est.)
Airports: 421 (2001)
Airports - with paved runways: 11 1,524 to 2,437 m: Airports - with
unpaved runways: total: 139 1,524 to 2,437 m: 16 914 to 1,523 m: 111
under 914 m: 12 (2001)
Military Australia
Military branches: Royal Australian Army, Royal Australian Navy, Royal
Australian Air Force
Military manpower - military age: 17 years of age (2002 est.)
Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 5,013,406 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service: males age 15-49: 4,321,387
(2002 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually: males: 142,686
(2002 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $9.3 billion (FY01/02 est.)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 2% (FY01/02)
Transnational Issues Australia
Disputes - international: Australia-East Timor-Indonesia are working
to resolve maritime boundary and sharing of seabed resources in "Timor
Gap"; Australia asserts a territorial claim to Antarctica and to its
continental shelf
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
This page was last updated on 1 January 2002
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Ashmore and Cartier Islands
Introduction
Ashmore and Cartier Islands
Background: These uninhabited islands came under Australian authority in
1931; formal administration began two years later. Ashmore Reef supports
a rich and diverse avian and marine habitat; in 1983 it became a National
Nature Reserve. Cartier Island, a former bombing range, is now a marine
reserve.
Geography Ashmore and Cartier Islands
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: 5 sq km note: includes Ashmore Reef (West, Middle, and
East Islets) and Cartier Island water: 0 sq km land: 5 sq km
Area - comparative: about eight times the size of The Mall in Washington,
DC
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 territorial sea: 12 NM exclusive fishing
zone: 200 NM
Climate: tropical
Terrain: low with sand and coral
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point:
unnamed location 3 m
Natural resources: fish
Land use: arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (all grass
and sand) (1998 est.)
Irrigated land: 0 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards: surrounded by shoals and reefs that can pose maritime
hazards
Environment - current issues: NA
Geography - note: Ashmore Reef National Nature Reserve established in
August 1983
People Ashmore and Cartier Islands
Population: no indigenous inhabitants note: Indonesian fishermen are
allowed access to the lagoon and fresh waster at Ashmore Reef's West
Island
Population growth rate: NA
People - note: the landing of illegal immigrants from Indonesia's Rote
Island has become an ongoing problem
Government Ashmore and Cartier Islands
Country name: conventional long form: Territory of Ashmore and Cartier
Islands conventional short form: Ashmore and Cartier Islands
Dependency status: territory of Australia; administered by the Australian
Department of Transport and Regional Services
Legal system: the laws of the Commonwealth of Australia and the laws
of the Northern Territory of Australia, where applicable, apply
Diplomatic representation in the US: none (territory of Australia)
Diplomatic representation from the US: none (territory of Australia)
Flag description: the flag of Australia is used
Economy Ashmore and Cartier Islands
Economy - overview: no economic activity
Transportation Ashmore and Cartier Islands
Waterways: none
Ports and harbors: none; offshore anchorage only
Military Ashmore and Cartier Islands
Military - note: defense is the responsibility of Australia; periodic
visits by the Royal Australian Navy and Royal Australian Air Force
This page was last updated on 1 January 2002
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Austria
Introduction
Austria
Background: Once the center of power for the large Austro-Hungarian
Empire, Austria was reduced to a small republic after its defeat in
World War I. Following annexation by Nazi Germany in 1938 and subsequent
occupation by the victorious Allies in 1945, Austria's status remained
unclear for a decade. A State Treaty signed in 1955 ended the occupation,
recognized Austria's independence, and forbade unification with
Germany. A constitutional law of that same year declared the country's
"perpetual neutrality" as a condition for Soviet military withdrawal. This
neutrality, once ingrained as part of the Austrian cultural identity,
has been called into question since the Soviet collapse of 1991 and
Austria's entry into the European Union in 1995. A prosperous country,
Austria entered the European Monetary Union in 1999.
Geography Austria
Location: Central Europe, north of Italy and Slovenia
Geographic coordinates: 47 20 N, 13 20 E
Map references: Europe
Area: total: 83,858 sq km water: 1,120 sq km land: 82,738 sq km
Area - comparative: slightly smaller than Maine
Land boundaries: total: 2,562 km border countries: Czech Republic 362
km, Germany 784 km, Hungary 366 km, Italy 430 km, Liechtenstein 35 km,
Slovakia 91 km, Slovenia 330 km, Switzerland 164 km
Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims: none (landlocked)
Climate: temperate; continental, cloudy; cold winters with frequent rain
in lowlands and snow in mountains; cool summers with occasional showers
Terrain: in the west and south mostly mountains (Alps); along the
eastern and northern margins mostly flat or gently sloping
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Neusiedler See 115 m highest point:
Grossglockner 3,798 m
Natural resources: iron ore, oil, timber, magnesite, lead, coal, lignite,
copper, hydropower
Land use: arable land: 17% permanent crops: 1% other: 82% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land: 457 sq km (2000 est.)
Natural hazards: landslides; avalanches; earthquakes
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
Environment - international agreements: party to: Air Pollution, Air
Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur
94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic Treaty,
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species,
Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear
Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83,
Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Air
Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol,
Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol
Geography - 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 Austria
Population: 8,169,929 (July 2002 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 16.4% (male 686,205; female 652,840) 15-64
years: 68.2% (male 2,814,866; female 2,756,777) 65 years and over: 15.4%
(male 484,313; female 774,928) (2002 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.23% (2002 est.)
Birth rate: 9.58 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Death rate: 9.73 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Net migration rate: 2.45 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 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:
0.62 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2002 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 4.39 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: 81.31 years (2002 est.) male: Total fertility
rate: 1.4 children born/woman (2002 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.1% (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 843 (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths: 8 (2001 est.)
Nationality: noun: Austrian(s) adjective: Austrian
Ethnic groups: German 88%, non-nationals 9.3% (includes Croatians,
Slovenes, Hungarians, Czechs, Slovaks, Roma), naturalized 2% (includes
those who have lived in Austria at least three generations)
Religions: Roman Catholic 78%, Protestant 5%, Muslim and other 17%
Languages: German
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total
population: 98% male: NA% female: NA%
Government Austria
Country name: Republic of Austria conventional short form: Oesterreich
Government type: federal republic
Capital: Vienna
Administrative divisions: 9 states (Bundeslaender, singular -
Bundesland); Burgenland, Kaernten, Niederoesterreich, Oberoesterreich,
Salzburg, Steiermark, Tirol, Vorarlberg, Wien
Independence: 1156 (from Bavaria)
National holiday: National Day, 26 October (1955); note - commemorates
the State Treaty restoring national sovereignty and the end of occupation
and the passage of the law on permanent neutrality
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; accepts 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) head of government: Chancellor Wolfgang SCHUESSEL (OeVP)(since
4 February 2000); Vice Chancellor Susanne RIESS-PASSER (FPOe) (since
4 February 2000) cabinet: Council of Ministers chosen by the president
on the advice of the chancellor elections: president elected by direct
popular vote for a six-year term; presidential election last held 19 April
1998 (next to be held in the spring of 2004); chancellor traditionally
chosen by the president from the plurality party in the National Council;
in the case of the current coalition, the chancellor was chosen from
another party after the plurality party failed to form a government;
vice chancellor chosen by the president on the advice of the chancellor
note: government coalition - OeVP and FPOe election results: Thomas
KLESTIL reelected president; percent of vote - Thomas KLESTIL 63%,
Gertraud KNOLL 14%, Heide SCHMIDT 11%, Richard LUGNER 10%, Karl NOWAK 2%
Legislative branch: bicameral Federal Assembly or Bundesversammlung
consists of Federal Council or Bundesrat (64 members; members represent
each of the states on the basis of population, but with each state having
at least three representatives; members serve a four- or six-year term)
and the National Council or Nationalrat (183 seats; members elected
by direct popular vote to serve four-year terms) election results:
National Council - percent of vote by party - SPOe 33.2%, OeVP 26.9%,
FPOe 26.9%, Greens 7.4%; seats by party - SPOe 65, OeVP 52, FPOe 52,
Greens 14 elections: National Council - last held 3 October 1999 (next
to be held in the fall of 2003)
Judicial branch: Supreme Judicial Court or Oberster Gerichtshof;
Administrative Court or Verwaltungsgerichtshof; Constitutional Court
or Verfassungsgerichtshof
Political parties and leaders: Austrian People's Party or OeVP [Wolfgang
SCHUESSEL]; Freedom Party of Austria or FPOe [Susanne RIESS-PASSER];
Social Democratic Party of Austria or SPOe [Alfred GUSENBAUER]; The
Greens Alternative or GA [Alexander VAN DER BELLEN]
Political pressure groups and leaders: Austrian Trade Union Federation
(primarily Socialist) or OeGB; Federal Economic Chamber; OeVP-oriented
League of Austrian Industrialists or VOeI; Roman Catholic Church,
including its chief lay organization, Catholic Action; three composite
leagues of the Austrian People's Party or OeVP representing business,
labor, and farmers
International organization participation: AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group,
BIS, BSEC (observer), CCC, CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EIB, EMU,
ESA, EU, FAO, G- 9, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA,
IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MINURSO,
NAM (guest), NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN,
UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNITAR, UNMEE,
UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOGIP, UNMOT, UNOMIG, UNTSO, UPU, WCL, WEU (observer),
WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Peter
MOSER chancery: 3524 International Court NW, Washington, DC 20008-3035
consulate(s) general: Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York FAX: [1] (202)
895-6750 telephone: [1] (202) 895-6700
Diplomatic representation from the US: Ambassador William Lee LYONS
BROWN, Jr. embassy: address telephone: [43] (1) 31339-0 FAX: [43]
(1) 3100682
Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white,
and red
Economy Austria
Economy - overview: Austria, with its well-developed market economy
and high standard of living, is closely tied to other EU economies,
especially Germany's. Membership in the EU has drawn an influx of foreign
investors attracted by Austria's access to the single European market
and proximity to EU aspirant economies. Slowing growth in Germany and
elsewhere in the world slowed the economy to only 1.2% growth in 2001;
the economy is expected to do little better in 2002. To meet increased
competition from both EU and Central European countries, Austria will
need to emphasize knowledge-based sectors of the economy, continue to
deregulate the service sector, and lower its tax burden.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $220 billion (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 1.2% (2001 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $27,000 (2001 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 2% industry: 29% services: 69%
(2001)
Population below poverty line: NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 4.4%
highest 10%: 19.3% (1992)
Distribution of family income - Gini index: 23.1 (1987)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.6% (2001)
Labor force: 4.3 million (2001)
Labor force - by occupation: services 67%, industry and crafts 29%,
agriculture and forestry 4% (2001 est.)
Unemployment rate: 4.8% (2001)
Budget: revenues: $53 billion expenditures: $54 billion, including
capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.)
Industries: construction, machinery, vehicles and parts, food, chemicals,
lumber and wood processing, paper and paperboard, communications
equipment, tourism
Industrial production growth rate: 3.8% (2001 est.)
Electricity - production: 60.285 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 28.46% hydro: 68.64%
other: 2.9% (2000) nuclear: 0%
Electricity - consumption: 54.764 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - exports: 15.11 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - imports: 13.809 billion kWh (2000)
Agriculture - products: grains, potatoes, sugar beets, wine, fruit;
dairy products, cattle, pigs, poultry; lumber
Exports: $70 billion (f.o.b., 2001) (2000 est.)
Exports - commodities: machinery and equipment, motor vehicles and
parts, paper and paperboard, metal goods, chemicals, iron and steel;
textiles, foodstuffs
Exports - partners: EU 63% (Germany 35%, Italy 9%, France 5%),
Switzerland 5%, US 5%, Hungary 4% (2000)
Imports: $73 billion (c.i.f., 2001)
Imports - commodities: machinery and equipment, motor vehicles,
chemicals, metal goods, oil and oil products; foodstuffs
Imports - partners: EU 68% (Germany 42%, Italy 7%, France 5%), US 6%,
Switzerland 3%, Hungary 2% (2000)
Debt - external: $12.1 billion (2001 est.)
Economic aid - donor: ODA, $410 million (2000)
Currency: euro (EUR); Austrian schilling (ATS) note: on 1 January 1999,
the European Monetary Union introduced the euro as a common currency to
be used by the financial institutions of member countries; on 1 January
2002, the euro became the sole currency for everyday transactions within
the member countries
Currency code: EUR; ATS
Exchange rates: euros per US dollar - 1.1324 (January 2002), 1.1175
(2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999); Austrian schillings per US dollar -
11.86 (January 1999), 12.91 (1999), 12.379 (1998), 12.204 (1997)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications Austria
Telephones - main lines in use: 4 million (consisting of 3,600,000 analog
main lines plus 400,000 Integrated Services Digital Network connections);
in addition, there are 100,000 Asymmetric Digital Services lines (2001)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 6 million (2001)
Telephone system: general assessment: highly developed and efficient
domestic: there are 48 main lines for every 100 persons; the fiber optic
net is very extensive; all telephone applications and Internet services
are available international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat
(1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) and 1 Eutelsat; in addition,
there are about 600 VSAT (very small aperture terminals) (2002)
Radio broadcast stations: AM 2, FM 160 (plus several hundred repeaters),
shortwave 1 (2001)
Radios: 6.08 million (1997)
Television broadcast stations: 45 (plus more than 1,000 repeaters) (2001)
Televisions: 4.25 million (1997)
Internet country code: .at
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 37 (2000)
Internet users: 3 million (2000)
Transportation Austria
Railways: total: 6,095.2 km (3,643.3 km electrified) standard gauge:
5,564.2 km 1.435-m gauge (3,521.2 km electrified) narrow gauge: 33.9
km 1.000-m gauge (28.1 km electrified); 497.1 km 0.760-m gauge (94 km
electrified) (2001 est.)
Highways: total: 133,361 km paved: 133,361 km (including 1,613 km of
expressways) unpaved: 0 km (1998)
Waterways: 358 km (1999)
Pipelines: crude oil 777 km; natural gas 840 km (1999)
Ports and harbors: Linz, Vienna, Enns, Krems
Merchant marine: total: 10 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 46,563
GRT/59,278 DWT ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 6, combination bulk 1,
container 2 (2002 est.)
Airports: 55 (2001)
Airports - with paved runways: total: 24 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047
m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 14 (2001) 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 31 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to
1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 27 (2001)
Heliports: 1 (2001)
Military Austria
Military branches: Land Forces (KdoLdSK), Air Forces (KdoLuSK)
Military manpower - military age: 19 years of age (2002 est.)
Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 2,092,623 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service: males age 15-49: 1,728,191
(2002 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually: males: 50,580
(2002 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $1,497,100,000 (FY01/02)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 0.8% (FY01/02)
Transnational Issues Austria
Disputes - international: minor disputes with Czech Republic and Slovenia
continue over nuclear power plants and post-World War II treatment of
German-speaking minorities
Illicit drugs: transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin and South
American cocaine destined for Western Europe
This page was last updated on 1 January 2002
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Anguilla
Introduction
Anguilla
Background: Colonized by English settlers from Saint Kitts in 1650,
Anguilla was administered by Great Britain until the early 19th century,
when the island - against the wishes of the inhabitants - was incorporated
into a single British dependency along with Saint Kitts and Nevis. Several
attempts at separation failed. In 1971, two years after a revolt,
Anguilla was finally allowed to secede; this arrangement was formally
recognized in 1980 with Anguilla becoming a separate British dependency.
Geography Anguilla
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: 102 sq km water: 0 sq km land: 102 sq km
Area - comparative: 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
Climate: tropical; moderated by northeast trade winds
Terrain: flat and low-lying island of coral and limestone
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point:
Crocus Hill 65 m
Natural resources: salt, fish, lobster
Land use: arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (mostly rock
with sparse scrub oak, few trees, some commercial salt ponds) (1998 est.)
Irrigated land: NA sq km
Natural hazards: frequent hurricanes and other tropical storms (July
to October)
Environment - current issues: supplies of potable water sometimes cannot
meet increasing demand largely because of poor distribution system
Geography - note: the most northerly of the Leeward Islands in the
Lesser Antilles
People Anguilla
Population: 12,446 (July 2002 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 25% (male 1,575; female 1,529) 15-64 years:
68.1% (male 4,356; female 4,124) 65 years and over: 6.9% (male 383;
female 479) (2002 est.)
Population growth rate: 2.44% (2002 est.)
Birth rate: 14.94 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Death rate: 5.54 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Net migration rate: 15.02 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.02 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.03
male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 65 years and over:
0.8 male(s)/female total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2002 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 23.68 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: 79.5 years (2002 est.) male: Total fertility
rate: 1.77 children born/woman (2002 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: NA%
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: NA
HIV/AIDS - deaths: NA
Nationality: noun: Anguillan(s) adjective: Anguillan
Ethnic groups: black (predominant), mulatto, white
Religions: Anglican 40%, Methodist 33%, Seventh-Day Adventist 7%,
Baptist 5%, Roman Catholic 3%, other 12%
Languages: English (official)
Literacy: definition: age 12 and over can read and write total
population: 95% male: 95% female: 95% (1984 est.)
Government Anguilla
Country name: conventional long form: none conventional short form:
Anguilla
Dependency status: overseas territory of the UK
Government type: NA
Capital: The Valley
Administrative divisions: none (overseas territory of the UK)
Independence: none (overseas 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); represented by Governor Peter JOHNSTONE (since NA February 2000)
elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor appointed by the
monarch; chief minister appointed by the governor from among the members
of the House of Assembly head of government: Chief Minister Osbourne
FLEMING (since 3 March 2000) cabinet: Executive Council appointed by
the governor from among the elected members of the House of Assembly
Legislative branch: unicameral House of Assembly (11 seats total, 7
elected by direct popular vote, 2 ex officio members, and 2 appointed;
members serve five-year terms) elections: last held 3 March 2000 (next
to be held NA June 2005) election results: percent of vote by party -
NA%; seats by party - UF 4, AUM 2, independent 1
Judicial branch: High Court (judge provided by Eastern Caribbean
Supreme Court)
Political parties and leaders: Anguilla United Movement or AUM [Hubert
HUGHES]; The United Front or UF [Osbourne FLEMMING, Victor BANKS],
a coalition of the Anguilla Democratic Party or ADP and the Anguilla
National Alliance or ANA
Political pressure groups and leaders: NA
International organization participation: Caricom (associate), CDB,
Interpol (subbureau), OECS (associate), ECLAC (associate)
Diplomatic representation in the US: none (overseas territory of the UK)
Diplomatic representation from the US: none (overseas territory of
the UK)
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
Economy Anguilla
Economy - overview: Anguilla has few natural resources, and the economy
depends heavily on luxury tourism, offshore banking, lobster fishing,
and remittances from emigrants. Increased activity in the tourism
industry, which has spurred the growth of the construction sector, has
contributed to economic growth. Anguillan officials have put substantial
effort into developing the offshore financial sector, which is small,
but growing. In the medium term, prospects for the economy will depend
largely on the tourism sector and, therefore, on revived income growth
in the industrialized nations as well as on favorable weather conditions.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $104 million (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 0% (2001 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $8,600 (2001 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 4% industry: 18% services: 78%
(1997 est.)
Population below poverty line: NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.3% (2001 est.)
Labor force: 6,735 (1999)
Labor force - by occupation: commerce 36%, services 29%,
construction 18%, transportation and utilities 10%, manufacturing 3%,
agriculture/fishing/forestry/mining 4%
Unemployment rate: 8% (1999)
Budget: revenues: $20.4 million expenditures: $23.3 million, including
capital expenditures of $3.8 million (1997 est.)
Industries: tourism, boat building, offshore financial services
Industrial production growth rate: 3.1% (1997 est.)
Electricity - production: 45.85 million kWh (2000)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: NA% hydro: NA% other:
NA% nuclear: NA%
Electricity - consumption: 42.6 million kWh
Agriculture - products: small quantities of tobacco, vegetables;
cattle raising
Exports: $2.6 million (1999)
Exports - commodities: lobster, fish, livestock, salt, concrete blocks,
rum
Exports - partners: UK, US, Puerto Rico
Imports: $80.9 million (1999)
Imports - commodities: fuels, foodstuffs, manufactures, chemicals,
textiles
Imports - partners: US, Puerto Rico, UK
Debt - external: $8.8 million (1998)
Economic aid - recipient: $3.5 million (1995)
Currency: East Caribbean dollar (XCD)
Currency code: XCD
Exchange rates: East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7000 (fixed
rate since 1976)
Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March
Communications Anguilla
Telephones - main lines in use: 4,974 (2000)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 1,629 (2000)
Telephone system: general assessment: NA domestic: modern internal
telephone system international: microwave radio relay to island of Saint
Martin (Guadeloupe and Netherlands Antilles)
Radio broadcast stations: AM 5, FM 6, shortwave 1 (1998)
Radios: 3,000 (1997)
Television broadcast stations: 1 (1997)
Televisions: 1,000 (1997)
Internet country code: .ai
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 16 (2000)
Internet users: 919 (2000)
Transportation Anguilla
Railways: 0 km
Highways: total: 105 km paved: 65 km unpaved: 40 km (1998 est.)
Waterways: none
Ports and harbors: Blowing Point, Road Bay
Merchant marine: none (2002 est.)
Airports: 3 (2001)
Airports - with paved runways: total: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2001)
Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 2 under 914 m: 2 (2001)
Military Anguilla
Military - note: defense is the responsibility of the UK
Transnational Issues Anguilla
Disputes - international: none
Illicit drugs: transshipment point for South American narcotics destined
for the US and Europe
This page was last updated on 1 January 2002
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Antarctica
Introduction
Antarctica
Background: Speculation over the existence of a "southern land" was
not confirmed until the early 1820s when British and American commercial
operators and British and Russian national expeditions began exploring
the Antarctic Peninsula region and other areas south of the Antarctic
Circle. Not until 1840 was it established that Antarctica was indeed a
continent and not just a group of islands. Several exploration "firsts"
were achieved in the early 20th century. Following World War II, there was
an upsurge in scientific research on t
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