Produced by Al Haines




THE 1996 CIA WORLD FACTBOOK


[Transcriber's note: At the time of the preparation of this
file (December 2008), the various supplementary sections
of the 1996 Factbook (Appendixes, Notes and Definitions,
History, etc.) were no longer available.  Users of this
edition should refer to the Project Gutenberg's versions
of the 1995 and 1997 Factbooks for those sections.  Note
that there may be changes in this material from year to year.]




A

Afghanistan
Albania
Algeria
American Samoa
Andorra
Angola
Anguilla
Antarctica
Antigua and Barbuda
Arctic Ocean
Argentina
Armenia
Aruba
Ashmore and Cartier Islands
Atlantic Ocean
Australia
Austria
Azerbaijan


B

The Bahamas
Bahrain
Baker Island
Bangladesh
Barbados
Bassas da India
Belarus
Belgium
Belize
Benin
Bermuda
Bhutan
Bolivia
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Botswana
Bouvet Island
Brazil
British Indian Ocean Territory
British Virgin Islands
Brunei
Bulgaria
Burkina Faso
Burma
Burundi


C

Cambodia
Cameroon
Canada
Cape Verde
Cayman Islands
Central African Republic
Chad
Chile
China
Christmas Island
Clipperton Island
Cocos (Keeling) Islands
Colombia
Comoros
Congo
Cook Islands
Coral Sea Islands
Costa Rica
Cote d'Ivoire
Croatia
Cuba
Cyprus
Czech Republic


D

Denmark
Djibouti
Dominica
Dominican Republic


E

Ecuador
Egypt
El Salvador
Equatorial Guinea
Eritrea
Estonia
Ethiopia
Europa Island


F

Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas)
Faroe Islands
Fiji
Finland
France
French Guiana
French Polynesia
French Southern and Antarctic Lands


G

Gabon
The Gambia
Gaza Strip
Georgia
Germany
Ghana
Gibraltar
Glorioso Islands
Greece
Greenland
Grenada
Guadeloupe
Guam
Guatemala
Guernsey
Guinea
Guinea-Bissau
Guyana


H

Haiti
Heard Island and McDonald Islands
Holy See (Vatican City)
Honduras
Hong Kong
Howland Island
Hungary


I

Iceland
India
Indian Ocean
Indonesia
Iran
Iraq
Ireland
Israel
Italy


J

Jamaica
Jan Mayen
Japan
Jarvis Island
Jersey
Johnston Atoll
Jordan
Juan de Nova Island


K

Kazakstan
Kenya
Kingman Reef
Kiribati
Korea, North
Korea, South
Kuwait
Kyrgyzstan


L

Laos
Latvia
Lebanon
Lesotho
Liberia
Libya
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg


M

Macau
Macedonia, The Former Yugoslav Republic of
Madagascar
Malawi
Malaysia
Maldives
Mali
Malta
Man, Isle of
Marshall Islands
Martinique
Mauritania
Mauritius
Mayotte
Mexico
Micronesia, Federated States of
Midway Islands
Moldova
Monaco
Mongolia
Montserrat
Morocco
Mozambique


N

Namibia
Nauru
Navassa Island
Nepal
Netherlands
Netherlands Antilles
New Caledonia
New Zealand
Nicaragua
Niger
Nigeria
Niue
Norfolk Island
Northern Mariana Islands
Norway


O

Oman


P

Pacific Ocean
Pakistan
Palau
Palmyra Atoll
Panama
Papua New Guinea
Paracel Islands
Paraguay
Peru
Philippines
Pitcairn Islands
Poland
Portugal
Puerto Rico


Q

Qatar


R

Reunion
Romania
Russia
Rwanda


S

Saint Helena
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Saint Lucia
Saint Pierre and Miquelon
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
San Marino
Sao Tome and Principe
Saudi Arabia
Senegal
Serbia and Montenegro
Seychelles
Sierra Leone
Singapore
Slovakia
Slovenia
Solomon Islands
Somalia
South Africa
South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
Spain
Spratly Islands
Sri Lanka
Sudan
Suriname
Svalbard
Swaziland
Sweden
Switzerland
Syria


T

Taiwan
Tajikistan
Tanzania
Thailand
Togo
Tokelau
Tonga
Trinidad and Tobago
Tromelin Island
Tunisia
Turkey
Turkmenistan
Turks and Caicos Islands
Tuvalu


U

Uganda
Ukraine
United Arab Emirates
United Kingdom
United States
Uruguay
Uzbekistan


V

Vanuatu
Venezuela
Vietnam
Virgin Islands


W

Wake Island
Wallis and Futuna
West Bank
Western Sahara
Western Samoa
World


Y

Yemen


Z

Zaire
Zambia
Zimbabwe



=====================================================================



@Afghanistan
-----------




Map
---


Location: 33 00 N, 65 00 E -- Southern Asia, north of Pakistan



Flag
----


Description: three equal horizontal bands of green (top), white,
  and black with a gold emblem centered on the three bands; the emblem
  features a temple-like structure with Islamic inscriptions above and
  below, encircled by a wreath on the left and right and by a bolder
  Islamic inscription above, all of which are encircled by two crossed
  scimitars





Geography
---------


Location: Southern Asia, north of Pakistan

Geographic coordinates: 33 00 N, 65 00 E

Map references: Asia

Area:
  total area: 647,500 sq km
  land area: 647,500 sq km
  comparative area: slightly smaller than Texas

Land boundaries:
  total: 5,529 km
  border countries: China 76 km, Iran 936 km, Pakistan 2,430 km,
  Tajikistan 1,206 km, Turkmenistan 744 km, Uzbekistan 137 km

Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims: none (landlocked)

International disputes: periodic disputes with Iran over Helmand
  water rights; Iran supports clients in country, private Pakistani
  and Saudi sources also are active; power struggles among various
  groups for control of Kabul, regional rivalries among emerging
  warlords, traditional tribal disputes continue; support to Islamic
  fighters in Tajikistan's civil war; border dispute with Pakistan
  (Durand Line); support to Islamic militants worldwide by some
  factions

Climate: arid to semiarid; cold winters and hot summers

Terrain: mostly rugged mountains; plains in north and southwest
  lowest point: Amu Darya 258 m
  highest point: Nowshak 7,485 m

Natural resources: natural gas, petroleum, coal, copper, talc,
  barites, sulfur, lead, zinc, iron ore, salt, precious and
  semiprecious stones

Land use:
  arable land: 12%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 46%
  forest and woodland: 3%
  other: 39%

Irrigated land: 26,600 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
  current issues: soil degradation; overgrazing; deforestation (much
  of the remaining forests are being cut down for fuel and building
  materials); desertification
  natural hazards: damaging earthquakes occur in Hindu Kush mountains;
  flooding
  international agreements: party to - Endangered Species,
  Environmental Modification, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban;
  signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
  Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life
  Conservation

Geographic note: landlocked



People
------


Population: 22,664,136 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 43% (male 4,972,469; female 4,784,900)
  15-64 years: 54% (male 6,377,231; female 5,916,954)
  65 years and over: 3% (male 325,808; female 286,774) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 4.78% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 43.03 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 18.16 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 22.94 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 1.08 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 1.14 male(s)/female
  all ages: 1.06 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 149.7 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 45.85 years
  male: 46.43 years
  female: 45.24 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 6.14 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Afghan(s)
  adjective: Afghan

Ethnic divisions: Pashtun 38%, Tajik 25%, Uzbek 6%, Hazara 19%,
  minor ethnic groups (Chahar Aimaks, Turkmen, Baloch, and others)

Religions: Sunni Muslim 84%, Shi'a Muslim 15%, other 1%

Languages: Pashtu 35%, Afghan Persian (Dari) 50%, Turkic languages
  (primarily Uzbek and Turkmen) 11%, 30 minor languages (primarily
  Balochi and Pashai) 4%, much bilingualism

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)
  total population: 31.5%
  male: 47.2%
  female: 15%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Islamic State of Afghanistan
  conventional short form: Afghanistan
  local long form: Dowlat-e Eslami-ye Afghanestan
  local short form: Afghanestan
  former: Republic of Afghanistan

Data code: AF

Type of government: transitional government

Capital: Kabul

Administrative divisions: 30 provinces (velayat, singular -
  velayat); Badakhshan, Badghis, Baghlan, Balkh, Bamian, Farah,
  Faryab, Ghazni, Ghowr, Helmand, Herat, Jowzjan, Kabol, Kandahar,
  Kapisa, Konar, Kondoz, Laghman, Lowgar, Nangarhar, Nimruz, Oruzgan,
  Paktia, Paktika, Parvan, Samangan, Sar-e Pol, Takhar, Vardak, Zabol
  note: there may be two new provinces of Nurestan (Nuristan) and
  Khowst

Independence: 19 August 1919 (from UK)

National holiday: Victory of the Muslim Nation, 28 April;
  Remembrance Day for Martyrs and Disabled, 4 May; Independence Day,
  19 August

Constitution: none

Legal system: a new legal system has not been adopted but the
  transitional government has declared it will follow Islamic law
  (Shari'a)

Suffrage: undetermined; previously males 15-50 years of age

Executive branch:
  chief of state: President Burhanuddin RABBANI (interim president
  July-December 1992, president since 2 January 1993) was elected to a
  two-year term (later amended by multi-party agreement to 18 months)
  by a national shura (council); election last held 31 December 1992
  (next to be held NA); results - percent of vote NA; Vice President
  Mohammad NABI MOHAMMADI (since NA) was appointed by the president;
  note - in June 1994 failure to agree on a transfer mechanism
  resulted in RABBANI's extending his term to 28 December 1994;
  following the expiration of the term and while negotiations on the
  formation of a new government go on, RABBANI continues in office
  head of government: Prime Minister Ahmad Shah AHMADZAI (since NA)
  was appointed by President RABBANI as de facto prime minister, but
  does not have any real authority; First Deputy Prime Minister
  Qutbuddin HELAL (since 17 March 1993) and Deputy Prime Minister
  Arsala RAHMANI (since 17 March 1993)
  cabinet: Council of Ministers; note - term of present government
  expired 28 December 1994; factional fighting since 1 January 1994
  has kept government officers from actually occupying ministries and
  discharging government responsibilities; the government's authority
  to remove cabinet members, including the prime minister, following
  the expiration of their term is questionable

Legislative branch: a unicameral parliament consisting of 205
  members was chosen by a national shura (council) in January 1993;
  non-functioning as of June 1993

Judicial branch: an interim Chief Justice of the Supreme Court has
  been appointed by the president in consultation with the prime
  minister, but a new court system has not yet been organized

Political parties and leaders: current political organizations
  include Jamiat-i-Islami (Islamic Society), Burhanuddin RABBANI,
  Ahmad Shah MASOOD; Hizbi Islami-Gulbuddin (Islamic Party), Gulbuddin
  HIKMATYAR faction; Hizbi Islami-Khalis (Islamic Party), Yunis KHALIS
  faction; Ittihad-i-Islami Barai Azadi Afghanistan (Islamic Union for
  the Liberation of Afghanistan), Abdul Rasul SAYYAF;
  Harakat-Inqilab-i-Islami (Islamic Revolutionary Movement), Mohammad
  Nabi MOHAMMADI; Jabha-i-Najat-i-Milli Afghanistan (Afghanistan
  National Liberation Front), Sibghatullah MOJADDEDI;
  Mahaz-i-Milli-Islami (National Islamic Front), Sayed Ahamad GAILANI;
  Hizbi Wahdat-Khalili faction (Islamic Unity Party), Abdul Karim
  KHALILI; Hizbi Wahdat-Akbari faction (Islamic Unity Party), Mohammad
  Akbar AKBARI; Harakat-i-Islami (Islamic Movement), Mohammed Asif
  MOHSENI; Jumbesh-i-Milli Islami (National Islamic Movement), Abdul
  Rashid DOSTAM; Taliban (Religious Students Movement), Mohammad OMAR
  note: the former ruling Watan Party has been disbanded

Other political or pressure groups: the former resistance
  commanders are the major power brokers in the countryside and their
  shuras (councils) are now administering most cities outside Kabul;
  tribal elders and religious students are trying to wrest control
  from them; ulema (religious scholars); tribal elders; religious
  students (talib)

International organization participation: AsDB, CP, ECO, ESCAP,
  FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO,
  IMF, Intelsat, IOC, IOM (observer), ITU, NAM, OIC, UN, UNCTAD,
  UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WToO

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Abdul RAHIM
  chancery: 2341 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
  telephone: [1] (202) 234-3770, 3771
  FAX: [1] (202) 328-3516
  consulate(s) general: New York
  consulate(s): Washington, DC

US diplomatic representation: the US does not have an embassy in
  Afghanistan (embassy closed January 1989)

Flag: three equal horizontal bands of green (top), white, and
  black with a gold emblem centered on the three bands; the emblem
  features a temple-like structure with Islamic inscriptions above and
  below, encircled by a wreath on the left and right and by a bolder
  Islamic inscription above, all of which are encircled by two crossed
  scimitars



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Afghanistan is an extremely poor, landlocked
  country, highly dependent on farming (wheat especially) and
  livestock raising (sheep and goats). Economic considerations have
  played second fiddle to political and military upheavals during more
  than 16 years of war, including the nearly 10-year Soviet military
  occupation (which ended 15 February 1989). Over the past decade,
  one-third of the population fled the country, with Pakistan and Iran
  sheltering more than 6 million refugees. Now, only 1.0 million
  Afghan refugees remain in Pakistan and about 1.3 million in Iran.
  Another 1 million probably moved into and around urban areas within
  Afghanistan. Gross domestic product has fallen substantially over
  the past 15 years because of the loss of labor and capital and the
  disruption of trade and transport. Millions of people continue to
  suffer from insufficient food, clothing, housing, and lack of
  medical care. Numerical data are extremely shaky.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $12.8 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: NA%

GDP per capita: $600 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 65%
  industry: 15%
  services: 20%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA%

Labor force: 4.98 million
  by occupation: agriculture and animal husbandry 67.8%, industry
  10.2%, construction 6.3%, commerce 5.0%, services and other 10.7%
  (1980 est.)

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget:
  revenues: $NA
  expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA

Industries: small-scale production of textiles, soap, furniture,
  shoes, fertilizer, and cement; handwoven carpets; natural gas, oil,
  coal, copper

Electricity:
  capacity: 480,000 kW
  production: 550 million kWh
  consumption per capita: 39 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: wheat, fruits, nuts, karakul pelts; wool, mutton

Illicit drugs: an illicit cultivator of opium poppy and cannabis
  for the international drug trade; world's second-largest opium
  producer after Burma (1,250 metric tons in 1995) and a major source
  of hashish

Exports: $188.2 million (f.o.b., 1991)
  commodities: fruits and nuts, handwoven carpets, wool, cotton, hides
  and pelts, precious and semi-precious gems
  partners: FSU countries, Pakistan, Iran, Germany, India, UK,
  Belgium, Luxembourg, Czechoslovakia

Imports: $616.4 million (c.i.f., 1991)
  commodities: food and petroleum products; most consumer goods
  partners: FSU countries, Pakistan, Iran, Japan, Singapore, India,
  South Korea, Germany

External debt: $2.3 billion (March 1991 est.)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $NA
  note: US provided $450 million assistance (1985-93); the UN provides
  assistance in the form of food aid, immunization, land mine removal,
  and a wide range of aid to refugees and displaced persons

Currency: 1 afghani (AF) = 100 puls

Exchange rates: afghanis (Af) per US$1 - 7,000 (January 1995),
  1,900 (January 1994), 1,019 (March 1993), 850 (1991); note - these
  rates reflect the free market exchange rates rather than the
  official exchange rate, which is a fixed rate of 50.600 afghanis to
  the dollar

Fiscal year: 21 March - 20 March



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 24.6 km
  broad gauge: 9.6 km 1.524-m gauge from Gushgy (Turkmenistan) to
  Towraghondi; 15 km 1,524-m gauge from Termiz (Uzbekistan) to
  Kheyrabad transshipment point on south bank of Amu Darya

Highways:
  total: 21,000 km
  paved: 2,800 km
  unpaved: 18,200 km (1984 est.)

Waterways: 1,200 km; chiefly Amu Darya, which handles vessels up
  to about 500 DWT

Pipelines: petroleum products - Uzbekistan to Bagram and
  Turkmenistan to Shindand; natural gas 180 km

Ports: Kheyrabad, Shir Khan

Airports:
  total: 35
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 3
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 4
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 2
  with paved runways under 914 m: 7
  with unpaved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 3
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 13
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 3 (1995 est.)

Heliports: 3 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 31,200 (1983 est.)

Telephone system:
  domestic: very limited telephone and telegraph service; 1 public
  telephone in Kabul
  international: satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean)
  linked only to Iran and 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean Region)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 5, FM 0, shortwave 2

Radios: NA

Television broadcast stations: NA
  note: several television stations run by factions and local councils
  which provide intermittent service

Televisions: 100,000 (1993 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: NA; note - the military still does not exist on a
  national scale; some elements of the former Army, Air and Air
  Defense Forces, National Guard, Border Guard Forces, National Police
  Force (Sarandoi), and tribal militias still exist but are
  factionalized among the various mujahedin and former regime leaders

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 5,549,602
  males fit for military service: 2,976,741
  males reach military age (22) annually: 220,532 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: $NA, NA% of GDP



======================================================================




@Albania
-------




Map
---


Location: 41 00 N, 20 00 E -- Southeastern Europe, bordering the
  Adriatic Sea and Ionian Sea, between Greece and Serbia and Montenegro



Flag
----


Description: red with a black two-headed eagle in the center





Geography
---------


Location: Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea and
  Ionian Sea, between Greece and Serbia and Montenegro

Geographic coordinates: 41 00 N, 20 00 E

Map references: Europe

Area:
  total area: 28,750 sq km
  land area: 27,400 sq km
  comparative area: slightly larger than Maryland

Land boundaries:
  total: 720 km
  border countries: Greece 282 km, The Former Yugoslav Republic of
  Macedonia 151 km, Serbia and Montenegro 287 km (114 km with Serbia,
  173 km with Montenegro)

Coastline: 362 km

Maritime claims:
  continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: the Albanian Government supports
  protection of the rights of ethnic Albanians outside of its borders;
  Albanian majority in Kosovo seeks independence from Serbian
  Republic; Albanians in Macedonia claim discrimination in education,
  access to public-sector jobs and representation in government;
  Albania is involved in negotiations with Greece over border
  demarcation, the treatment of Albania's ethnic Greek minority, and
  migrant Albanian workers in Greece

Climate: mild temperate; cool, cloudy, wet winters; hot, clear,
  dry summers; interior is cooler and wetter

Terrain: mostly mountains and hills; small plains along coast
  lowest point: Adriatic Sea 0 m
  highest point: Maja e Korabit 2,753 m

Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, coal, chromium, copper,
  timber, nickel

Land use:
  arable land: 21%
  permanent crops: 4%
  meadows and pastures: 15%
  forest and woodland: 38%
  other: 22%

Irrigated land: 4,230 sq km (1989)

Environment:
  current issues: deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution from
  industrial and domestic effluents
  natural hazards: destructive earthquakes; tsunami occur along
  southwestern coast
  international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change

Geographic note: strategic location along Strait of Otranto (links
  Adriatic Sea to Ionian Sea and Mediterranean Sea)



People
------


Population: 3,249,136 (July 1996 est.)
  note: the IMF, working with Albanian government figures, estimates
  that the population was 3,120,000 in 1993 and that it has fallen
  since 1990

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 34% (male 570,978; female 529,147)
  15-64 years: 60% (male 910,873; female 1,049,662)
  65 years and over: 6% (male 77,799; female 110,677) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.34% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 22.21 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 7.64 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: -1.17 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.08 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.08 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 0.87 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female
  all ages: 0.92 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 49.2 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 67.92 years
  male: 64.91 years
  female: 71.17 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.65 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Albanian(s)
  adjective: Albanian

Ethnic divisions: Albanian 95%, Greeks 3%, other 2% (Vlachs,
  Gypsies, Serbs, and Bulgarians) (1989 est.)
  note: in 1989, other estimates of the Greek population ranged from
  1% (official Albanian statistics) to 12% (from a Greek organization)

Religions: Muslim 70%, Albanian Orthodox 20%, Roman Catholic 10%
  note: all mosques and churches were closed in 1967 and religious
  observances prohibited; in November 1990, Albania began allowing
  private religious practice

Languages: Albanian (Tosk is the official dialect), Greek

Literacy: age 9 and over can read and write (1955 est.)
  total population: 72%
  male: 80%
  female: 63%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Republic of Albania
  conventional short form: Albania
  local long form: Republika e Shqiperise
  local short form: Shqiperia
  former: People's Socialist Republic of Albania

Data code: AL

Type of government: emerging democracy

Capital: Tirane

Administrative divisions: 26 districts (rrethe, singular - rreth);
  Berat, Dibre, Durres, Elbasan, Fier, Gjirokaster, Gramsh, Kolonje,
  Korce, Kruje, Kukes, Lezhe, Librazhd, Lushnje, Mat, Mirdite, Permet,
  Pogradec, Puke, Sarande, Shkoder, Skrapar, Tepelene, Tirane,
  Tropoje, Vlore; note - some new administrative units may have been
  created

Independence: 28 November 1912 (from Ottoman Empire)

National holiday: Independence Day, 28 November (1912)

Constitution: an interim basic law was approved by the People's
  Assembly on 29 April 1991; a draft constitution was rejected by
  popular referendum in the fall of 1994 and a new draft is pending

Legal system: has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal and compulsory

Executive branch:
  chief of state: President of the Republic Sali BERISHA (since 9
  April 1992) was elected for a five-year term by the People's Assembly
  head of government: Prime Minister of the Council of Ministers
  Aleksander Gabriel MEKSI (since 10 April 1992) was appointed by the
  president
  cabinet: Council of Ministers was appointed by the president

Legislative branch: unicameral
  People's Assembly (Kuvendi Popullor): elections last held 22 March
  1992; results - DP 62.29%, ASP 25.57%, SDP 4.33%, RP 3.15%, UHP
  2.92%, other 1.74%; seats - (140 total) DP 92, ASP 38, SDP 7, RP 1,
  UHP 2
  note: six members of the Democratic Party defected, making the
  present seating in the Assembly DP 86, ASP 38, SDP 7, DAP 6, RP 1,
  UHP 2

Judicial branch: Supreme Court, chairman of the Supreme Court is
  elected by the People's Assembly

Political parties and leaders: there are at least 28 political
  parties; most prominent are the Albanian Socialist Party (ASP;
  formerly the Albania Workers Party), Fatos NANO, first secretary;
  Democratic Party (DP); Albanian Republican Party (RP), Sabri GODO;
  Omonia (Greek minority party), Sotir QIRJAZATI, first secretary;
  Social Democratic Party (SDP), Skender GJINUSHI; Democratic Alliance
  Party (DAP), Neritan CEKA, chairman; Unity for Human Rights Party
  (UHP), Vasil MELO, chairman; Ecology Party (EP), Namik HOTI, chairman

International organization participation: BSEC, CCC, CE, EBRD,
  ECE, EU (applicant), FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD,
  IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol,
  IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NACC, OIC, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO,
  UNOMIG, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (applicant)

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Lublin DILJA
  chancery: Suite 1000, 1511 K Street NW, Washington, DC 20005
  telephone: [1] (202) 223-4942, 8187
  FAX: [1] (202) 628-7342

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Joseph E. LAKE
  embassy: Rruga E. Labinoti 103, Tirane
  mailing address: PSC 59, Box 100 (A), APO AE 09624
  telephone: [355] (42) 328-75, 335-20
  FAX: [355] (42) 322-22

Flag: red with a black two-headed eagle in the center



Economy
-------


Economic overview: An extremely poor country by European
  standards, Albania is making the difficult transition to a more
  open-market economy. The economy rebounded in 1993-95 after a severe
  depression accompanying the collapse of the previous centrally
  planned system in 1990 and 1991. Stabilization policies - including
  a strict monetary policy, public sector layoffs, and reduced social
  services - have improved the government's fiscal situation and
  reduced inflation. The recovery has been spurred by the remittances
  of some 20% of the labor force which works abroad, mostly in Greece
  and Italy. These remittances supplement GDP and help offset the
  large foreign trade deficit. Foreign assistance and humanitarian aid
  also supported the recovery. Most agricultural land was privatized
  in 1992, substantially improving peasant incomes. Albania's
  industrial sector ended its five-year, 78% decline in 1995,
  recording roughly 6% growth. A sharp fall in chromium prices has
  reduced hard currency receipts from the mining sector. Large
  segments of the population, especially those living in urban areas,
  continue to depend on humanitarian aid to meet basic food
  requirements. Unemployment remains a severe problem accounting for
  approximately one-fifth of the work force. Now that sanctions on
  Serbia have been suspended, the falloff in hard currency earnings
  from smuggling will aggravate unemployment problems. Growth is
  expected to continue in 1996, but could falter if workers'
  remittances from Greece are reduced or foreign assistance declines.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $4.1 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 6% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $1,210 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 55%
  industry: NA%
  services: NA% (1995 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 16% (1994 est.)

Labor force: 1.692 million (1994 est.) (including 352,000 emigrant
  workers and 261,000 domestically unemployed)
  by occupation (of those domestically employed): agriculture (nearly
  all private) 49.5%, private sector 22.2%, state (nonfarm) sector
  28.3% (including state-owned industry 7.8%)

Unemployment rate: 19% (1994 est.)

Budget:
  revenues: $486.3 million
  expenditures: $550.4 million, including capital expenditures of $124
  million (1994)

Industries: food processing, textiles and clothing; lumber, oil,
  cement, chemicals, mining, basic metals, hydropower

Industrial production growth rate: 6% (1995 est.)

Electricity:
  capacity: 1,662,000 kW
  production: 3.9 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 1,219 kWh (1994 est.)

Agriculture: wide range of temperate-zone crops and livestock

Illicit drugs: transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin
  transiting the Balkan route and cocaine from South America destined
  for Western Europe; limited opium production

Exports: $141 million (f.o.b., 1994 est.)
  commodities: asphalt, metals and metallic ores, electricity, crude
  oil, vegetables, fruits, tobacco
  partners: Italy, US, Greece, The Former Yugoslav Republic of
  Macedonia

Imports: $601 million (f.o.b., 1993 est.)
  commodities: machinery, consumer goods, grains
  partners: Italy, Greece, Bulgaria, Turkey, The Former Yugoslav
  Republic of Macedonia

External debt: $977 million (1994 est.)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $NA

Currency: 1 lek (L) = 100 qintars

Exchange rates: leke (L) per US$1 - 95.65 (January 1996), 100.00
  (January 1995), 99.00 (January 1994), 97.00 (January 1993), 50.00
  (January 1992), 25.00 (September 1991)

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 670 km
  standard gauge: 670 km 1.435-m gauge (1995)

Highways:
  total: 18,450 km
  paved: 17,450 km
  unpaved: 1,000 km (1991 est.)

Waterways: 43 km plus Albanian sections of Lake Scutari, Lake
  Ohrid, and Lake Prespa (1990)

Pipelines: crude oil 145 km; petroleum products 55 km; natural gas
  64 km (1991)

Ports: Durres, Sarande, Shengjin, Vlore

Merchant marine:
  total: 11 cargo ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 52,967 GRT/76,887
  DWT (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 11
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 3
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 2
  with unpaved runways over 3 047 m: 2
  with unpaved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 1
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 1
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 2 (1994 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 55,000

Telephone system:
  domestic: obsolete wire system; no longer provides a telephone for
  every village; in 1992, following the fall of the communist
  government, peasants cut the wire to about 1,000 villages and used
  it to build fences
  international: inadequate; international traffic carried by
  microwave radio relay from the Tirane exchange to Italy and Greece

Radio broadcast stations: AM 17, FM 1, shortwave 0

Radios: 577,000 (1991 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 9

Televisions: 300,000 (1993 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces, Interior
  Ministry Troops, Border Guards

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 723,231
  males fit for military service: 588,304
  males reach military age (19) annually: 29,340 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $45 million, 2.5%
  of GDP (1995)



======================================================================




@Algeria
-------




Map
---


Location: 28 00 N, 3 00 E -- Northern Africa, bordering the
  Mediterranean Sea, between Morocco and Tunisia



Flag
----


Description: two equal vertical bands of green (hoist side) and
  white with a red, five-pointed star within a red crescent; the
  crescent, star, and color green are traditional symbols of Islam
  (the state religion)





Geography
---------


Location: Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea,
  between Morocco and Tunisia

Geographic coordinates: 28 00 N, 3 00 E

Map references: Africa

Area:
  total area: 2,381,740 sq km
  land area: 2,381,740 sq km
  comparative area: slightly less than 3.5 times the size of Texas

Land boundaries:
  total: 6,343 km
  border countries: Libya 982 km, Mali 1,376 km, Mauritania 463 km,
  Morocco 1,559 km, Niger 956 km, Tunisia 965 km, Western Sahara 42 km

Coastline: 998 km

Maritime claims:
  exclusive fishing zone: 32-52 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: part of southeastern region claimed by
  Libya; land boundary dispute with Tunisia settled in 1993

Climate: arid to semiarid; mild, wet winters with hot, dry summers
  along coast; drier with cold winters and hot summers on high
  plateau; sirocco is a hot, dust/sand-laden wind especially common in
  summer

Terrain: mostly high plateau and desert; some mountains; narrow,
  discontinuous coastal plain
  lowest point: Chott Melrhir -40 m
  highest point: Tahat 3,003 m

Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, phosphates,
  uranium, lead, zinc

Land use:
  arable land: 3%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 13%
  forest and woodland: 2%
  other: 82%

Irrigated land: 3,360 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
  current issues: soil erosion from overgrazing and other poor farming
  practices; desertification; dumping of raw sewage, petroleum
  refining wastes, and other industrial effluents is leading to the
  pollution of rivers and coastal waters; Mediterranean Sea, in
  particular, becoming polluted from oil wastes, soil erosion, and
  fertilizer runoff; inadequate supplies of potable water
  natural hazards: mountainous areas subject to severe earthquakes;
  mud slides
  international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
  Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Ozone Layer
  Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified -
  Desertification, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban

Geographic note: second-largest country in Africa (after Sudan)



People
------


Population: 29,183,032 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 40% (male 5,910,543; female 5,701,647)
  15-64 years: 56% (male 8,319,650; female 8,162,816)
  65 years and over: 4% (male 510,308; female 578,068) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.21% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 28.51 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 5.9 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: -0.49 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.88 male(s)/female
  all ages: 1.02 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 48.7 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 68.31 years
  male: 67.22 years
  female: 69.46 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 3.59 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Algerian(s)
  adjective: Algerian

Ethnic divisions: Arab-Berber 99%, European less than 1%

Religions: Sunni Muslim (state religion) 99%, Christian and Jewish
  1%

Languages: Arabic (official), French, Berber dialects

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)
  total population: 61.6%
  male: 73.9%
  female: 49%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria
  conventional short form: Algeria
  local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Jaza'iriyah ad Dimuqratiyah ash
  Shabiyah
  local short form: Al Jaza'ir

Data code: AG

Type of government: republic

Capital: Algiers

Administrative divisions: 48 provinces (wilayas, singular -
  wilaya); Adrar, Ain Defla, Ain Temouchent, Alger, Annaba, Batna,
  Bechar, Bejaia, Biskra, Blida, Bordj Bou Arreridj, Bouira,
  Boumerdes, Chlef, Constantine, Djelfa, El Bayadh, El Oued, El Tarf,
  Ghardaia, Guelma, Illizi, Jijel, Khenchela, Laghouat, Mascara,
  Medea, Mila, Mostaganem, M'Sila, Naama, Oran, Ouargla, Oum el
  Bouaghi, Relizane, Saida, Setif, Sidi Bel Abbes, Skikda, Souk Ahras,
  Tamanghasset, Tebessa, Tiaret, Tindouf, Tipaza, Tissemsilt, Tizi
  Ouzou, Tlemcen

Independence: 5 July 1962 (from France)

National holiday: Anniversary of the Revolution, 1 November (1954)

Constitution: 19 November 1976, effective 22 November 1976;
  revised 3 November 1988 and 23 February 1989

Legal system: socialist, based on French and Islamic law; judicial
  review of legislative acts in ad hoc Constitutional Council composed
  of various public officials, including several Supreme Court
  justices; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: President Liamine ZEROUAL (appointed president 31
  January 1994, elected president 16 November 1995) was elected for a
  five-year term by universal suffrage; election last held 16 November
  1995 (next to be held NA); results - percent of vote NA
  head of government: Prime Minister Ahmed OUYAHIA (since 31 December
  1995) was appointed by the president
  cabinet: Council of Ministers was appointed by the prime minister

Legislative branch: unicameral; note - suspended since 1992
  National People's Assembly (Al-Majlis Ech-Chaabi Al-Watani):
  first-round elections held 26 December 1991; second round canceled
  by the military after President BENDJEDID resigned 11 January 1992,
  effectively suspending the assembly (next election promised by late
  1996 or early 1997); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats -
  (281 total) the fundamentalist FIS won 188 of the 231 seats
  contested in the first round

Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Cour Supreme)

Political parties and leaders: Islamic Salvation Front (FIS,
  outlawed April 1992), Ali BELHADJ, Dr. Abassi MADANI, Rabeh KEBIR
  (self-exile in Germany); National Liberation Front (FLN), Boualem
  BENHAMOUDA, secretary general; Socialist Forces Front (FFS), Hocine
  Ait AHMED, secretary general (self-exile in Switzerland); Hamas,
  Mahfoud NAHNAH, chairman; Rally for Culture and Democracy (RCD),
  Said SAADI, secretary general; Algerian Renewal Party (PRA),
  Noureddine BOUKROUH, chairman
  note: the government established a multiparty system in September
  1989 and, as of 31 December 1990, over 50 legal parties existed

International organization participation: ABEDA, AfDB, AFESD, AL,
  AMF, AMU, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-15, G-19, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO,
  ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol,
  IOC, ISO, ITU, NAM, OAPEC, OAS (observer), OAU, OIC, OPEC, OSCE
  (partner), UN, UNAVEM III, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIH, UPU,
  WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (applicant)

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Osmane BENCHERIF
  chancery: 2118 Kalorama Road NW, Washington, DC 20008
  telephone: [1] (202) 265-2800

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Ronald E. NEUMANN
  embassy: 4 Chemin Cheikh Bachir El-Ibrahimi, Algiers
  mailing address: B. P. Box 549, Alger-Gare, 16000 Algiers
  telephone: [213] (2) 69-11-86, 69-18-54, 69-38-75, 69-12-55
  FAX: [213] (2) 69-39-79

Flag: two equal vertical bands of green (hoist side) and white
  with a red, five-pointed star within a red crescent; the crescent,
  star, and color green are traditional symbols of Islam (the state
  religion)



Economy
-------


Economic overview: The hydrocarbons sector is the backbone of the
  economy, accounting for roughly 57% of government revenues, 25% of
  GDP, and almost all export earnings; Algeria has the fifth-largest
  reserves of natural gas in the world and ranks fourteenth for oil.
  Algiers' efforts to reform one of the most centrally planned
  economies in the Arab world began after the 1986 collapse of world
  oil prices plunged the country into a severe recession. In 1989, the
  government launched a comprehensive, IMF-supported program to
  achieve economic stabilization and to introduce market mechanisms
  into the economy. Despite substantial progress toward economic
  adjustment, in 1992 the reform drive stalled as Algiers became
  embroiled in political turmoil. In September 1993, a new government
  was formed, and one priority was the resumption and acceleration of
  the structural adjustment process. Buffeted by the slump in world
  oil prices and burdened with a heavy foreign debt, Algiers concluded
  a one-year standby arrangement with the IMF in April 1994. Following
  a Paris Club debt rescheduling in 1995 and a robust harvest, the
  economy experienced a strong recovery and key economic improvements.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $108.7 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 3.5% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $3,800 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 12%
  industry: 50%
  services: 38%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 28% (1995 est.)

Labor force: 6.2 million (1992 est.)
  by occupation: government 29.5%, agriculture 22%, construction and
  public works 16.2%, industry 13.6%, commerce and services 13.5%,
  transportation and communication 5.2% (1989)

Unemployment rate: 25% (1995 est.)

Budget:
  revenues: $14.3 billion
  expenditures: $17.9 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA
  (1995 est.)

Industries: petroleum, light industries, natural gas, mining,
  electrical, petrochemical, food processing

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity:
  capacity: 5,370,000 kW
  production: 18.3 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 587 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: wheat, barley, oats, grapes, olives, citrus, fruits;
  sheep, cattle

Exports: $9.5 billion (f.o.b., 1995 est.)
  commodities: petroleum and natural gas 97%
  partners: Italy 21%, France 16%, US 14%, Germany 13%, Spain 9%

Imports: $10.6 billion (f.o.b., 1995 est.)
  commodities: capital goods 39.7%, food and beverages 21.7%, consumer
  goods 11.8% (1990)
  partners: France 29%, Italy 14%, Spain 9%, US 9%, Germany 7%

External debt: $26 billion (1994)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $316 million (1993)

Currency: 1 Algerian dinar (DA) = 100 centimes

Exchange rates: Algerian dinars (DA) per US$1 - 53.003 (January
  1996), 47.663 (1995), 35.059 (1994), 23.345 (1993), 21.836 (1992),
  18.473 (1991)

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 4,772 km
  standard gauge: 3,616 km 1.435-m gauge (301 km electrified; 215 km
  double track)
  narrow gauge: 1,156 km 1.055-m gauge

Highways:
  total: 95,576 km
  paved: 63,080 km (including 400 km of expressways)
  unpaved: 32,496 km (1992 est.)

Pipelines: crude oil 6,612 km; petroleum products 298 km; natural
  gas 2,948 km

Ports: Algiers, Annaba, Arzew, Bejaia, Beni Saf, Dellys,
  Djendjene, Ghazaouet, Jijel, Mostaganem, Oran, Skikda, Tenes

Merchant marine:
  total: 77 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 916,701 GRT/1,086,324
  DWT
  ships by type: bulk 9, cargo 27, chemical tanker 7, liquefied gas
  tanker 10, oil tanker 5, roll-on/roll-off cargo 13, short-sea
  passenger 5, specialized tanker 1 (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 119
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 8
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 24
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 13
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 4
  with paved runways under 914 m: 17
  with unpaved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 3
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 19
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 31 (1995 est.)

Heliports: 1 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 862,000 (1991 est.)

Telephone system:
  domestic: excellent service in north but sparse in south; domestic
  satellite system with 12 earth stations (20 additional domestic
  earth stations are planned)
  international: 5 submarine cables; microwave radio relay to Italy,
  France, Spain, Morocco, and Tunisia; coaxial cable to Morocco and
  Tunisia; participant in Medarabtel; satellite earth stations - 2
  Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean), 1 Intersputnik, and
  1 Arabsat

Radio broadcast stations: AM 26, FM 0, shortwave 0

Radios: 6 million (1991 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 18

Televisions: 2 million (1993 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: National Popular Army, Navy, Air Force, Territorial Air
  Defense, National Gendarmerie

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 7,391,946
  males fit for military service: 4,534,267
  males reach military age (19) annually: 326,229 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $1.3 billion,
  2.7% of GDP (1994)



======================================================================




@American Samoa
--------------


(territory of the US)

Map
---


Location: 14 20 S, 170 00 W -- Oceania, group of islands in the
  South Pacific Ocean, about one-half of the way from Hawaii to New
  Zealand



Flag
----


Description: blue with a white triangle edged in red that is based
  on the outer side and extends to the hoist side; a brown and white
  American bald eagle flying toward the hoist side is carrying two
  traditional Samoan symbols of authority, a staff and a war club





Geography
---------


Location: Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean,
  about one-half of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand

Geographic coordinates: 14 20 S, 170 00 W

Map references: Oceania

Area:
  total area: 199 sq km
  land area: 199 sq km
  comparative area: slightly larger than Washington, DC
  note: includes Rose Island and Swains Island

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 116 km

Maritime claims:
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: none

Climate: tropical marine, moderated by southeast trade winds;
  annual rainfall averages 124 inches; rainy season from November to
  April, dry season from May to October; little seasonal temperature
  variation

Terrain: five volcanic islands with rugged peaks and limited
  coastal plains, two coral atolls (Rose Island, Swains Island)
  lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
  highest point: Lata 966 m

Natural resources: pumice, pumicite

Land use:
  arable land: 10%
  permanent crops: 5%
  meadows and pastures: 0%
  forest and woodland: 75%
  other: 10%

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Environment:
  current issues: limited natural fresh water resources; in many areas
  of the island, water supplies come from roof catchments
  natural hazards: typhoons common from December to March
  international agreements: NA

Geographic note: Pago Pago has one of the best natural deepwater
  harbors in the South Pacific Ocean, sheltered by shape from rough
  seas and protected by peripheral mountains from high winds;
  strategic location in the South Pacific Ocean



People
------


Population: 59,566 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: NA
  15-64 years: NA
  65 years and over: NA

Population growth rate: 3.77% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 35.75 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 4.01 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 6 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: NA male(s)/female
  under 15 years: NA male(s)/female
  15-64 years: NA male(s)/female
  65 years and over: NA male(s)/female
  all ages: NA male(s)/female

Infant mortality rate: 18.78 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 72.91 years
  male: 71.03 years
  female: 74.85 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 4.24 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: American Samoan(s)
  adjective: American Samoan

Ethnic divisions: Samoan (Polynesian) 89%, Caucasian 2%, Tongan
  4%, other 5%

Religions: Christian Congregationalist 50%, Roman Catholic 20%,
  Protestant denominations and other 30%

Languages: Samoan (closely related to Hawaiian and other
  Polynesian languages), English
  note: most people are bilingual

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1980 est.)
  total population: 97%
  male: 98%
  female: 97%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Territory of American Samoa
  conventional short form: American Samoa
  abbreviation: AS

Data code: AQ

Type of government: unincorporated and unorganized territory of
  the US; administered by the US Department of Interior, Office of
  Territorial and International Affairs

Capital: Pago Pago

Administrative divisions: none (territory of the US)

Independence: none (territory of the US)

National holiday: Territorial Flag Day, 17 April (1900)

Constitution: ratified 1966, in effect 1967

Legal system: NA

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: President (of the US) William Jefferson CLINTON
  (since 20 January 1993) and Vice President Albert GORE, Jr. (since
  20 January 1993) are popularly elected by the citizens of the US
  head of government: Governor A. P. LUTALI (since 3 January 1993) and
  Lieutenant Governor Tauese P. SUNIA (since 3 January 1993) were
  elected for a four-year term by popular vote; election last held 3
  November 1992 (next to be held NA November 1996); results - A. P.
  LUTALI (Democrat) 53%, Peter Tali COLEMAN (Republican) 36%

Legislative branch: bicameral Legislative Assembly (Fono)
  House of Representatives: elections last held 8 November 1994 (next
  to be held NA November 1996); results - representatives popularly
  elected from 17 house districts; percent of vote by party NA; seats
  - (21 total, 20 elected, and 1 nonvoting delegate from Swains
  Island); number of seats by party NA
  Senate: elections last held 3 November 1992 (next to be held NA
  November 1996); results - senators elected by village chiefs from 12
  senate districts; percent of vote by party NA; seats - (18 total)
  number of seats by party NA
  US House of Representatives: elections last held 8 November 1994
  (next to be held NA November 1996); results - Eni R. F. H.
  FALEOMAVAEGA reelected as delegate

Judicial branch: High Court, chief justice and associate justices
  are appointed by the US Secretary of the Interior

Political parties and leaders: NA

International organization participation: ESCAP (associate),
  Interpol (subbureau), IOC, SPC

Diplomatic representation in US: none (territory of the US)

US diplomatic representation: none (territory of the US)

Flag: blue with a white triangle edged in red that is based on the
  outer side and extends to the hoist side; a brown and white American
  bald eagle flying toward the hoist side is carrying two traditional
  Samoan symbols of authority, a staff and a war club



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Economic activity is strongly linked to the US,
  with which American Samoa conducts 80%-90% of its foreign trade.
  Tuna fishing and tuna processing plants are the backbone of the
  private sector, with canned tuna the primary export. The tuna
  canneries and the government are by far the two largest employers.
  Other economic activities include a slowly developing tourist
  industry. Transfers from the US Government add substantially to
  American Samoa's economic well-being.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $128 million (1991 est.)

GDP real growth rate: NA%

GDP per capita: $2,600 (1991 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: NA%
  industry: NA%
  services: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA

Labor force: 14,400 (1990)
  by occupation: government 33%, tuna canneries 34%, other 33% (1990)

Unemployment rate: 12% (1991)

Budget:
  revenues: $97 million ($43 million in local revenue and $54 million
  in grant revenue)
  expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY90/91)

Industries: tuna canneries (largely dependent on foreign fishing
  vessels), meat canning, handicrafts

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity:
  capacity: 30,000 kW
  production: 90 million kWh
  consumption per capita: 1,505 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: bananas, coconuts, vegetables, taro, breadfruit,
  yams, copra, pineapples, papayas; dairy farming

Exports: $306 million (f.o.b., 1989)
  commodities: canned tuna 93%
  partners: US 99.6%

Imports: $360.3 million (c.i.f., 1989)
  commodities: materials for canneries 56%, food 8%, petroleum
  products 7%, machinery and parts 6%
  partners: US 62%, Japan 9%, NZ 7%, Australia 11%, Fiji 4%, other 7%

External debt: $NA

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $NA
  note: $21 million in operational funds and $1.2 million in
  construction funds for capital improvement projects from the US
  Department of Interior (1991)

Currency: 1 US dollar (US$) = 100 cents

Exchange rates: US currency is used

Fiscal year: 1 October - 30 September



Transportation
--------------


Railways: 0 km

Highways:
  total: 350 km
  paved: 150 km
  unpaved: 200 km

Ports: Aanu'u (new construction), Auasi, Faleosao, Ofu, Pago Pago,
  Ta'u

Merchant marine: none

Airports:
  total: 3
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 1
  with paved runways under 914 m: 2
  note: small airstrips on Fituita and Ofu (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 8,399

Telephone system:
  domestic: good telex, telegraph, and facsimile services; domestic
  satellite system with 1 Comsat earth station
  international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0

Radios: NA

Television broadcast stations: 1

Televisions: 8,000 (1993 est.)



Defense
-------


Defense note: defense is the responsibility of the US



======================================================================




@Andorra
-------




Map
---


Location: 42 30 N, 1 30 E -- Southwestern Europe, between France
  and Spain



Flag
----


Description: three equal vertical bands of blue (hoist side),
  yellow, and red with the national coat of arms centered in the
  yellow band; the coat of arms features a quartered shield; similar
  to the flags of Chad and Romania that do not have a national coat of
  arms in the center





Geography
---------


Location: Southwestern Europe, between France and Spain

Geographic coordinates: 42 30 N, 1 30 E

Map references: Europe

Area:
  total area: 450 sq km
  land area: 450 sq km
  comparative area: 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries:
  total: 125 km
  border countries: France 60 km, Spain 65 km

Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims: none (landlocked)

International disputes: none

Climate: temperate; snowy, cold winters and warm, dry summers

Terrain: rugged mountains dissected by narrow valleys
  lowest point: Riu Valira 840 m
  highest point: Coma Pedrosa 2,946 m

Natural resources: hydropower, mineral water, timber, iron ore,
  lead

Land use:
  arable land: 2%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 56%
  forest and woodland: 22%
  other: 20%

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Environment:
  current issues: deforestation; overgrazing of mountain meadows
  contributes to soil erosion
  natural hazards: snowslides, avalanches
  international agreements: NA

Geographic note: landlocked



People
------


Population: 72,766 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 16% (male 5,829; female 5,851)
  15-64 years: 73% (male 28,724; female 24,757)
  65 years and over: 11% (male 3,718; female 3,887) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.96% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 10.2 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 2.9 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 22.29 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 0.96 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 1.16 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.96 male(s)/female
  all ages: 1.11 male(s)/female

Infant mortality rate: 2.2 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 90.94 years
  male: 86.47 years
  female: 95.2 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.14 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Andorran(s)
  adjective: Andorran

Ethnic divisions: Spanish 61%, Andorran 30%, French 6%, other 3%

Religions: Roman Catholic (predominant)

Languages: Catalan (official), French, Castilian

Literacy: NA



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Principality of Andorra
  conventional short form: Andorra
  local long form: Principat d'Andorra
  local short form: Andorra

Data code: AN

Type of government: parliamentary democracy (since March 1993)
  that retains as its heads of state a coprincipality; the two princes
  are the president of France and Spanish bishop of Seo de Urgel, who
  are represented locally by officials called veguers

Capital: Andorra la Vella

Administrative divisions: 7 parishes (parroquies, singular -
  parroquia); Andorra, Canillo, Encamp, La Massana, Les Escaldes,
  Ordino, Sant Julia de Loria

Independence: 1,278

National holiday: Mare de Deu de Meritxell, 8 September

Constitution: Andorra's first written constitution was drafted in
  1991; adopted 14 March 1993

Legal system: based on French and Spanish civil codes; no judicial
  review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ
  jurisdiction

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chiefs of state: French Coprince Jacques CHIRAC (since 17 May 1995)
  and Spanish Episcopal Coprince Monseigneur Juan MARTI Alanis (since
  31 January 1971); each coprince is represented by a veguer (current
  names NA)
  head of government: Executive Council President Marc FORNE Molne
  (since 21 December 1994) was elected by the General Council and
  formally appointed by the coprinces
  cabinet: Executive Council was designated by the executive council
  president

Legislative branch: unicameral
  General Council of the Valleys (Consell General de las Valls:
  elections last held 12 December 1993 (next to be held NA 1997);
  results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (28 total) AND 8, UL
  5, ND 5, CNA 2, IDN 2, other 6

Judicial branch: Supreme Court of Andorra at Perpignan (France)
  for civil cases, two civil judges appointed by the veguers, one
  appeals judge appointed by the co-princes alternately;
  Ecclesiastical Court of the Bishop of Seo de Urgel (Spain) for civil
  cases; Tribunal of the Courts (Tribunal des Cortes) for criminal
  cases, presided over by the two civil judges, one appeals judge, the
  veguers, and two members of the General Council

Political parties and leaders: National Democratic Group (AND),
  Oscar RIBAS Reig and Jordi FARRAS; Liberal Union (UL), Francesc
  CERQUEDA; New Democracy (ND), Jaume BARTOMEU; Andorran National
  Coalition (CNA), Antoni CERQUEDA; National Democratic Initiative
  (IDN), Vincenc MATEU; Liberal Union (UL), Marc FORNE
  note: there are two other small parties

International organization participation: CE, ECE, IFRCS,
  Interpol, IOC, ITU, UN, UNESCO, WIPO

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Juli MINOVES-TRIQUELL (also Permanent
  Representative to the UN)
  embassy: 2 United Nations Plaza, 25th Floor, New York, NY 10017
  telephone: (212) 750-8064
  FAX: (212) 750-6630

US diplomatic representation: the US does not have an embassy in
  Andorra; US interests in Andorra are represented by the Consulate
  General's office in Barcelona (Spain); mailing address: Paseo Reina
  Elisenda, 23, 08034 Barcelona, Spain; telephone: (343) 280-2227;
  FAX: (343) 205-7705; note - Consul General Maurice S. PARKER makes
  periodic visits to Andorra

Flag: three equal vertical bands of blue (hoist side), yellow, and
  red with the national coat of arms centered in the yellow band; the
  coat of arms features a quartered shield; similar to the flags of
  Chad and Romania that do not have a national coat of arms in the
  center



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Tourism, the mainstay of Andorra's tiny,
  well-to-do economy, accounts for roughly 80% of GDP. An estimated 13
  million tourists visit annually, attracted by Andorra's duty-free
  status and by its summer and winter resorts. Andorra's comparative
  advantage has recently eroded as the economies of neighboring France
  and Spain have been opened up, providing broader availability of
  goods and lower tariffs. The banking sector, with its "tax haven"
  status, also contributes substantially to the economy. Agricultural
  production is limited by a scarcity of arable land, and most food
  has to be imported. The principal livestock activity is sheep
  raising. Manufacturing consists mainly of cigarettes, cigars, and
  furniture. Andorra is a member of the EU Customs Union and is
  treated as an EU member for trade in manufactured goods (no tariffs)
  and as a non-EU member for agricultural products.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $1 billion (1993 est.)

GDP real growth rate: NA%

GDP per capita: $16,200 (1993 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: NA%
  industry: NA%
  services: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA%

Labor force: NA

Unemployment rate: 0%

Budget:
  revenues: $138 million
  expenditures: $177 million, including capital expenditures of $NA
  (1993)

Industries: tourism (particularly skiing), sheep, timber, tobacco,
  banking

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity:
  capacity: 35,000 kW
  production: 140 million kWh
  consumption per capita: 2,570 kWh (1992)

Agriculture: small quantities of tobacco, rye, wheat, barley,
  oats, vegetables; sheep raising

Exports: $46.2 million (f.o.b., 1993)
  commodities: electricity, tobacco products, furniture
  partners: France 35%, Spain 59%

Imports: $920.2 million (1993)
  commodities: consumer goods, food
  partners: France, Spain, US 2.6% (1992)

External debt: $NA

Economic aid: none

Currency: 1 French franc (F) = 100 centimes; 1 peseta (Pta) = 100
  centimos; the French and Spanish currencies are used

Exchange rates: French francs (F) per US$1 - 5.0056 (January
  1996), 4.9915 (1995), 5.5520 (1994), 5.6632 (1993), 5.2938 (1992),
  5.6421 (1991); Spanish pesetas (Ptas) per US$1 - 123.19 (January
  1996), 124.69 (1995), 133.96 (1994), 127.26 (1993), 102.38 (1992),
  103.91 (1991)

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways: 0 km

Highways:
  total: 269 km
  paved: 198 km
  unpaved: 71 km (1991 est.)

Ports: none

Airports: none



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 21,258 (1983 est.)

Telephone system:
  domestic: modern system with microwave radio relay connections
  between exchanges
  international: landline circuits to France and Spain

Radio broadcast stations: AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0

Radios: 10,000 (1993 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 0

Televisions: 7,000 (1991 est.)



Defense
-------


Defense note: defense is the responsibility of France and Spain



======================================================================




@Angola
------


Civil war has been the norm since independence from Portugal on 11
November 1975; a cease-fire lasted from 31 May 1991 until October
1992 when the insurgent National Union for the Total Independence of
Angola (UNITA) refused to accept its defeat in internationally
monitored elections and fighting resumed throughout much of the
countryside. The two sides signed another peace accord on 20
November 1994; the cease-fire is generally holding, but most
provisions of the accord remain to be implemented.

Map
---


Location: 12 30 S, 18 30 E -- Southern Africa, bordering the South
  Atlantic Ocean, between Namibia and Zaire



Flag
----


Description: two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and black
  with a centered yellow emblem consisting of a five-pointed star
  within half a cogwheel crossed by a machete (in the style of a
  hammer and sickle)





Geography
---------


Location: Southern Africa, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean,
  between Namibia and Zaire

Geographic coordinates: 12 30 S, 18 30 E

Map references: Africa

Area:
  total area: 1,246,700 sq km
  land area: 1,246,700 sq km
  comparative area: slightly less than twice the size of Texas

Land boundaries:
  total: 5,198 km
  border countries: Congo 201 km, Namibia 1,376 km, Zaire 2,511 km,
  Zambia 1,110 km

Coastline: 1,600 km

Maritime claims:
  exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 20 nm

International disputes: none

Climate: semiarid in south and along coast to Luanda; north has
  cool, dry season (May to October) and hot, rainy season (November to
  April)

Terrain: narrow coastal plain rises abruptly to vast interior
  plateau
  lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
  highest point: Moro de Moco 2,620 m

Natural resources: petroleum, diamonds, iron ore, phosphates,
  copper, feldspar, gold, bauxite, uranium

Land use:
  arable land: 2%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 23%
  forest and woodland: 43%
  other: 32%

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Environment:
  current issues: population pressures contributing to overuse of
  pastures and subsequent soil erosion; desertification; deforestation
  of tropical rain forest attributable to the international demand for
  tropical timber and domestic use as a fuel; deforestation
  contributing to loss of biodiversity; soil erosion contributing to
  water pollution and siltation of rivers and dams; inadequate
  supplies of potable water
  natural hazards: locally heavy rainfall causes periodic flooding on
  the plateau
  international agreements: party to - Law of the Sea; signed, but not
  ratified - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification

Geographic note: Cabinda is separated from rest of country by Zaire



People
------


Population: 10,342,899 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 45% (male 2,340,804; female 2,275,689)
  15-64 years: 53% (male 2,748,417; female 2,706,295)
  65 years and over: 2% (male 128,067; female 143,627) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.68% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 44.58 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 17.66 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: -0.14 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.89 male(s)/female
  all ages: 1.02 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 138.9 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 46.8 years
  male: 44.65 years
  female: 49.06 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 6.35 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Angolan(s)
  adjective: Angolan

Ethnic divisions: Ovimbundu 37%, Kimbundu 25%, Bakongo 13%,
  mestico (mixed European and Native African) 2%, European 1%, other
  22%

Religions: indigenous beliefs 47%, Roman Catholic 38%, Protestant
  15% (est.)

Languages: Portuguese (official), Bantu and other African languages

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
  total population: 42%
  male: 56%
  female: 28%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Republic of Angola
  conventional short form: Angola
  local long form: Republica de Angola
  local short form: Angola
  former: People's Republic of Angola

Data code: AO

Type of government: transitional government nominally a multiparty
  democracy with a strong presidential system

Capital: Luanda

Administrative divisions: 18 provinces (provincias, singular -
  provincia); Bengo, Benguela, Bie, Cabinda, Cuando Cubango, Cuanza
  Norte, Cuanza Sul, Cunene, Huambo, Huila, Luanda, Lunda Norte, Lunda
  Sul, Malanje, Moxico, Namibe, Uige, Zaire

Independence: 11 November 1975 (from Portugal)

National holiday: Independence Day, 11 November (1975)

Constitution: 11 November 1975; revised 7 January 1978, 11 August
  1980, 6 March 1991, and 26 August 1992

Legal system: based on Portuguese civil law system and customary
  law; recently modified to accommodate political pluralism and
  increased use of free markets

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: President Jose Eduardo DOS SANTOS (since 21
  September 1979) was originally elected without opposition under a
  one party system and stood for election in Angola's first multiparty
  elections on 29-30 September 1992; DOS SANTOS received 49.6% of the
  total vote, making a run-off election necessary between him and
  second-place Jonas SAVIMBI; the run-off was not held and SAVIMBI's
  National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) disputed
  the results of the first election; the civil war was resumed
  head of government: Prime Minister Marcolino Jose Carlos MOCO (since
  2 December 1992) was appointed by the president and is answerable to
  the Assembly
  cabinet: Council of Ministers was appointed by the president

Legislative branch: unicameral
  National Assembly (Assembleia Nacional): elections last held 29-30
  September 1992 (next to be held NA); results (disputed) - percentage
  of vote by party NA; seats (223 total) - seats by party NA

Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Tribunal da Relacao), judges of
  the Supreme Court are appointed by the president

Political parties and leaders: Popular Movement for the Liberation
  of Angola (MPLA), led by Jose Eduardo DOS SANTOS, is the ruling
  party and has been in power since 1975; National Union for the Total
  Independence of Angola (UNITA), led by Jonas SAVIMBI, is a legal
  party despite its history of armed resistance to the government;
  five minor parties have small numbers of seats in the National
  Assembly

Other political or pressure groups: Front for the Liberation of
  the Enclave of Cabinda (FLEC), N'ZITA Tiago, leader of largest
  faction (FLEC-FAC)
  note: FLEC is waging a small-scale, highly factionalized, armed
  struggle for the independence of Cabinda Province

International organization participation: ACP, AfDB, CCC, CEEAC
  (observer), ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS,
  ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, NAM, OAS
  (observer), OAU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU,
  WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Antonio dos Santos FRANCA "N'dalu"
  embassy: 1819 L Street NW, Suite 400, Washington, DC 20036
  telephone: [1] (202) 785-1156
  FAX: [1] (202) 785-1258

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Donald K. STEINBERG
  embassy: No. 32 Rua Houari Boumedienne, Miramar, Luanda
  mailing address: C.P. 6484, Luanda; American Embassy, Luanda,
  Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-2550 (pouch)
  telephone: [244] (2) 345-481, 346-418
  FAX: [244] (2) 346-924

Flag: two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and black with a
  centered yellow emblem consisting of a five-pointed star within half
  a cogwheel crossed by a machete (in the style of a hammer and sickle)



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Angola is an economy in disarray. Despite its
  abundant natural resources, output per capita is among the world's
  lowest. Subsistence agriculture provides the main livelihood for
  80%-90% of the population but accounts for less than 15% of GDP. Oil
  production and the supporting activities are vital to the economy,
  contributing about 50% to GDP. Despite the signing of a peace accord
  in November 1994 between the Angola Government and the UNITA
  insurgents, sporadic fighting continues and many farmers remain
  reluctant to return to their fields. As a result, much of the
  country's food must still be imported. To take advantage of its rich
  resources - notably gold, diamonds, extensive forests, Atlantic
  fisheries, and arable land, in addition to its large oil deposits -
  Angola will need to observe the cease-fire, implement the peace
  agreement, and reform government policies.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $7.4 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 4% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $700 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 12%
  industry: 56%
  services: 32% (1994 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 20% monthly average (1994 est.)

Labor force: 2.783 million economically active
  by occupation: agriculture 85%, industry 15% (1985 est.)

Unemployment rate: 24% with extensive underemployment (1993 est.)

Budget:
  revenues: $928 million
  expenditures: $2.5 billion, including capital expenditures of $963
  million (1992 est.)

Industries: petroleum; diamonds, iron ore, phosphates, feldspar,
  bauxite, uranium, and gold; fish processing; food processing;
  brewing; tobacco; sugar; textiles; cement; basic metal products

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity:
  capacity: 620,000 kW
  production: 1.9 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 189 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: bananas, sugarcane, coffee, sisal, corn, cotton,
  manioc (tapioca), tobacco, vegetables, plantains; livestock; forest
  products; fish

Illicit drugs: increasingly used as a transshipment point for
  cocaine and heroin destined for Western Europe and other African
  states

Exports: $3 billion (f.o.b., 1993 est.)
  commodities: oil, diamonds, refined petroleum products, gas, coffee,
  sisal, fish and fish products, timber, cotton
  partners: US, France, Germany, Netherlands, Brazil

Imports: $1.6 billion (f.o.b., 1992 est.)
  commodities: capital equipment (machinery and electrical equipment),
  food, vehicles and spare parts, textiles and clothing, medicines,
  substantial military deliveries
  partners: Portugal, Brazil, US, France, Spain

External debt: $12 billion (1995 est.)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $189 million (1993)

Currency: 1 new kwanza (NKz) = 100 lwei

Exchange rates: new kwanza (NKz) per US$1 - 900,000 (official rate
  25 April 1995), 1,900,000 (black market rate 6 April 1995), 600,000
  (official rate 10 January 1995), 90,000 (official rate 1 June 1994),
  180,000 (black market rate 1 June 1994); 7,000 (official rate 16
  December 1993), 50,000 (black market rate 16 December 1993); 3,884
  (July 1993); 550 (April 1992); 90 (November 1991); 60 (October 1990)

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 2,952 km (1995 est.); note - limited trackage in use because
  of landmines still in place from the civil war
  narrow gauge: 2,798 km 1.067-m gauge; 154 km 0.600-m gauge

Highways:
  total: 72,626 km
  paved: 18,157 km
  unpaved: 54,469 km (1992 est.)

Waterways: 1,295 km navigable

Pipelines: crude oil 179 km

Ports: Ambriz, Cabinda, Lobito, Luanda, Malogo, Namibe, Porto
  Amboim, Soyo

Merchant marine:
  total: 12 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 63,776 GRT/99,863 DWT
  ships by type: cargo 11, oil tanker 1 (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 143
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 3
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 8
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 11
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 4
  with paved runways under 914 m: 40
  with unpaved runways over 3 047 m: 1
  with unpaved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 4
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 24
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 48 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 78,000 (1991 est.)

Telephone system: telephone service limited mostly to government
  and business use; HF radiotelephone used extensively for military
  links
  domestic: limited system of wire, microwave radio relay, and
  tropospheric scatter
  international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 17, FM 13, shortwave 0

Radios: NA

Television broadcast stations: 6

Televisions: 50,000 (1993 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces, National Police
  Force

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 2,373,087
  males fit for military service: 1,195,176
  males reach military age (18) annually: 106,456 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $1.1 billion, 31%
  of GDP (1993)



======================================================================




@Anguilla
--------


(dependent territory of the UK)

Map
---


Location: 18 15 N, 63 10 W -- Caribbean, island in the Caribbean
  Sea, east of Puerto Rico



Flag
----


Description: blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side
  quadrant and the Anguillan coat of arms centered in the outer half
  of the flag; the coat of arms depicts three orange dolphins in an
  interlocking circular design on a white background with blue wavy
  water below





Geography
---------


Location: Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, east of Puerto
  Rico

Geographic coordinates: 18 15 N, 63 10 W

Map references: Central America and the Caribbean

Area:
  total area: 91 sq km
  land area: 91 sq km
  comparative area: about half the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 61 km

Maritime claims:
  exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 3 nm

International disputes: none

Climate: tropical; moderated by northeast trade winds

Terrain: flat and low-lying island of coral and limestone
  lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
  highest point: Crocus Hill 65 m

Natural resources: salt, fish, lobster

Land use:
  arable land: NA%
  permanent crops: NA%
  meadows and pastures: NA%
  forest and woodland: NA%
  other: NA% (mostly rock with sparse scrub oak, few trees, some
  commercial salt ponds)

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Environment:
  current issues: supplies of potable water sometimes cannot meet
  increasing demand largely because of poor distribution system
  natural hazards: frequent hurricanes and other tropical storms (July
  to October)
  international agreements: NA



People
------


Population: 10,424 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 28% (male 1,491; female 1,450)
  15-64 years: 64% (male 3,418; female 3,275)
  65 years and over: 8% (male 342; female 448) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 3.45% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 17.84 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 5.66 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 22.35 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.76 male(s)/female
  all ages: 1.02 male(s)/female

Infant mortality rate: 23 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 76.7 years
  male: 73.75 years
  female: 79.74 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.04 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Anguillan(s)
  adjective: Anguillan

Ethnic divisions: black African

Religions: Anglican 40%, Methodist 33%, Seventh-Day Adventist 7%,
  Baptist 5%, Roman Catholic 3%, other 12%

Languages: English (official)

Literacy: age 12 and over can read and write (1984 est.)
  total population: 95%
  male: 95%
  female: 95%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: none
  conventional short form: Anguilla

Data code: AV

Type of government: dependent territory of the UK

Capital: The Valley

Administrative divisions: none (dependent territory of the UK)

Independence: none (dependent territory of the UK)

National holiday: Anguilla Day, 30 May

Constitution: Anguilla Constitutional Order 1 April 1982; amended
  1990

Legal system: based on English common law

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952) is a
  hereditary monarch; represented by Governor Alan HOOLE (since 1
  November 1995)
  head of government: Chief Minister Hubert HUGHES (since 16 March
  1994) was appointed by the governor from members of the House of
  Assembly
  cabinet: Executive Council was appointed by the governor from among
  the elected members of the House of Assembly

Legislative branch: unicameral
  House of Assembly: elections last held 16 March 1994 (next to be
  held March 1999); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (11
  total, 7 elected) ANA 2, AUP 2, ADP 2, independent 1

Judicial branch: High Court, judge provided by Eastern Caribbean
  Supreme Court

Political parties and leaders: Anguilla National Alliance (ANA),
  David CARFY; Anguilla United Party (AUP), Hubert HUGHES; Anguilla
  Democratic Party (ADP), Victor BANKS

International organization participation: Caricom (observer), CDB,
  Interpol (subbureau), OECS (associate)

Diplomatic representation in US: none (dependent territory of the
  UK)

US diplomatic representation: none (dependent territory of the UK)

Flag: blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side
  quadrant and the Anguillan coat of arms centered in the outer half
  of the flag; the coat of arms depicts three orange dolphins in an
  interlocking circular design on a white background with blue wavy
  water below



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Anguilla has few natural resources, and the
  economy depends heavily on tourism, offshore banking, lobster
  fishing, and remittances from emigrants. Output growth has averaged
  about 7% in recent years, mainly as a result of boom in tourism
  thanks to economic expansion in North America and the UK. The
  economy, and especially the tourism sector, suffered a setback in
  late 1995 due to the effects of Hurricane Luis in September.
  Agricultural output had only just begun to recover from a drought in
  1994 when Luis hit. Anguillan officials have put substantial effort
  into developing the offshore financing sector. A comprehensive
  package of financial services legislation was enacted in late 1994.
  In the medium term, prospects for the economy will depend on the
  tourism sector and, therefore, on continuing income growth in the
  industrialized nations.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $53 million (1994 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 6.5% (1994 est.)

GDP per capita: $7,600 (1994 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: NA%
  industry: NA%
  services: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 4% (1994)

Labor force: 4,400 (1992)
  by occupation: commerce 36%, services 29%, construction 18%,
  transportation and utilities 10%, manufacturing 3%,
  agriculture/fishing/forestry/mining 4%

Unemployment rate: 7% (1992 est.)

Budget:
  revenues: $13.5 million (1993)
  expenditures: $17.6 million, including capital expenditures of
  $740,000 (1995 est.)

Industries: tourism, boat building, offshore financial services

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity:
  capacity: 2,000 kW
  production: 6 million kWh
  consumption per capita: 862 kWh (1992)

Agriculture: pigeon peas, corn, sweet potatoes; sheep, goats,
  pigs, cattle, poultry; fishing (including lobster)

Exports: $556,000 (f.o.b., 1992)
  commodities: lobster and salt
  partners: NA

Imports: $33.5 million (f.o.b., 1992)
  commodities: NA
  partners: NA

External debt: $NA

Economic aid: $NA

Currency: 1 EC dollar (EC$) = 100 cents

Exchange rates: East Caribbean dollars (EC$) per US$1 - 2.70
  (fixed rate since 1976)

Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March



Transportation
--------------


Railways: 0 km

Highways:
  total: 105 km
  paved: 65 km
  unpaved: 40 km (1992 est.)

Ports: Blowing Point, Road Bay

Merchant marine: none

Airports:
  total: 2
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 1
  with paved runways under 914 m: 1 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 890

Telephone system:
  domestic: modern internal telephone system
  international: microwave radio relay to island of Saint Martin
  (Guadeloupe and Netherlands Antilles)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 3, FM 1, shortwave 0

Radios: 2,000 (1992 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 0

Televisions: NA



Defense
-------


Defense note: defense is the responsibility of the UK



======================================================================




@Antarctica
----------



Map
---


Location: 90 00 S, 0 00 E -- continent mostly south of the
  Antarctic Circle





Geography
---------


Location: continent mostly south of the Antarctic Circle

Geographic coordinates: 90 00 S, 0 00 E

Map references: Antarctic Region

Area:
  total area: 14 million sq km (est.)
  land area: 14 million sq km (est.)
  comparative area: slightly less than 1.5 times the size of the US
  note: second-smallest continent (after Australia)

Land boundaries: 0 km
  note: see entry on International disputes

Coastline: 17,968 km

Maritime claims: none, but see entry on International disputes

International disputes: Antarctic Treaty defers claims (see
  Antarctic Treaty Summary below); sections (some overlapping) claimed
  by Argentina, Australia, Chile, France (Adelie Land), New Zealand
  (Ross Dependency), Norway (Queen Maud Land), and UK; the US and most
  other nations do not recognize the territorial claims of other
  nations and have made no claims themselves (the US reserves the
  right to do so); no formal claims have been made in the sector
  between 90 degrees west and 150 degrees west

Climate: severe low temperatures vary with latitude, elevation,
  and distance from the ocean; East Antarctica is colder than West
  Antarctica because of its higher elevation; Antarctic Peninsula has
  the most moderate climate; higher temperatures occur in January
  along the coast and average slightly below freezing

Terrain: about 98% thick continental ice sheet and 2% barren rock,
  with average elevations between 2,000 and 4,000 meters; mountain
  ranges up to about 5,000 meters; ice-free coastal areas include
  parts of southern Victoria Land, Wilkes Land, the Antarctic
  Peninsula area, and parts of Ross Island on McMurdo Sound; glaciers
  form ice shelves along about half of the coastline, and floating ice
  shelves constitute 11% of the area of the continent
  lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
  highest point: Vinson Massif 5,140 m

Natural resources: none presently exploited; iron ore, chromium,
  copper, gold, nickel, platinum and other minerals, and coal and
  hydrocarbons have been found in small, uncommercial quantities

Land use:
  arable land: 0%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 0%
  forest and woodland: 0%
  other: 100% (ice 98%, barren rock 2%)

Irrigated land: 0 sq km

Environment:
  current issues: in October 1991 it was reported that the ozone
  shield, which protects the Earth's surface from harmful ultraviolet
  radiation, had dwindled to the lowest level recorded over Antarctica
  since 1975 when measurements were first taken
  natural hazards: katabatic (gravity-driven) winds blow coastward
  from the high interior; frequent blizzards form near the foot of the
  plateau; cyclonic storms form over the ocean and move clockwise
  along the coast; volcanism on Deception Island and isolated areas of
  West Antarctica; other seismic activity rare and weak
  international agreements: NA

Geographic note: the coldest, windiest, highest, and driest
  continent; during summer, more solar radiation reaches the surface
  at the South Pole than is received at the Equator in an equivalent
  period; mostly uninhabitable



People
------


Population: no indigenous inhabitants; note - there are seasonally
  staffed research stations
  Summer (January) population: over 4,115 total; Argentina 207,
  Australia 268, Belgium 13, Brazil 80, Chile 256, China NA, Ecuador
  NA, Finland 11, France 78, Germany 32, Greenpeace 12, India 60,
  Italy 210, Japan 59, South Korea 14, Netherlands 10, NZ 264, Norway
  23, Peru 39, Poland NA, South Africa 79, Spain 43, Sweden 10, UK
  116, Uruguay NA, US 1,666, former USSR 565 (1989-90)
  Winter (July) population: over 1,046 total; Argentina 150, Australia
  71, Brazil 12, Chile 73, China NA, France 33, Germany 19, Greenpeace
  5, India 1, Japan 38, South Korea 14, NZ 11, Poland NA, South Africa
  12, UK 69, Uruguay NA, US 225, former USSR 313 (1989-90)
  Year-round stations: 42 total; Argentina 6, Australia 3, Brazil 1,
  Chile 3, China 2, Finland 1, France 1, Germany 1, India 1, Japan 2,
  South Korea 1, NZ 1, Poland 1, South Africa 3, UK 5, Uruguay 1, US
  3, former USSR 6 (1990-91)
  Summer-only stations: over 38 total; Argentina 7, Australia 3, Chile
  5, Germany 3, India 1, Italy 1, Japan 4, NZ 2, Norway 1, Peru 1,
  South Africa 1, Spain 1, Sweden 2, UK 1, US numerous, former USSR 5
  (1989-90); note - the disintegration of the former USSR has placed
  the status and future of its Antarctic facilities in doubt; stations
  may be subject to closings at any time because of ongoing economic
  difficulties



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: none
  conventional short form: Antarctica

Data code: AY

Type of government:
  Antarctic Treaty Summary: The Antarctic Treaty, signed on 1 December
  1959 and entered into force on 23 June 1961, establishes the legal
  framework for the management of Antarctica. Administration is
  carried out through consultative member meetings - the 18th
  Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting was in Japan in April 1993.
  Currently, there are 42 treaty member nations: 26 consultative and
  16 acceding. Consultative (voting) members include the seven nations
  that claim portions of Antarctica as national territory (some claims
  overlap) and 19 nonclaimant nations. The US and some other nations
  that have made no claims have reserved the right to do so. The US
  does not recognize the claims of others. The year in parentheses
  indicates when an acceding nation was voted to full consultative
  (voting) status, while no date indicates the country was an original
  1959 treaty signatory. Claimant nations are - Argentina, Australia,
  Chile, France, New Zealand, Norway, and the UK. Nonclaimant
  consultative nations are - Belgium, Brazil (1983), China (1985),
  Ecuador (1990), Finland (1989), Germany (1981), India (1983), Italy
  (1987), Japan, South Korea (1989), Netherlands (1990), Peru (1989),
  Poland (1977), South Africa, Spain (1988), Sweden (1988), Uruguay
  (1985), the US, and Russia. Acceding (nonvoting) members, with year
  of accession in parentheses, are - Austria (1987), Bulgaria (1978),
  Canada (1988), Colombia (1988), Cuba (1984), Czech Republic (1993),
  Denmark (1965), Greece (1987), Guatemala (1991), Hungary (1984),
  North Korea (1987), Papua New Guinea (1981), Romania (1971),
  Slovakia (1993), Switzerland (1990), and Ukraine (1992).
  Article 1: area to be used for peaceful purposes only; military
  activity, such as weapons testing, is prohibited, but military
  personnel and equipment may be used for scientific research or any
  other peaceful purpose
  Article 2: freedom of scientific investigation and cooperation shall
  continue
  Article 3: free exchange of information and personnel in cooperation
  with the UN and other international agencies
  Article 4: does not recognize, dispute, or establish territorial
  claims and no new claims shall be asserted while the treaty is in
  force
  Article 5: prohibits nuclear explosions or disposal of radioactive
  wastes
  Article 6: includes under the treaty all land and ice shelves south
  of 60 degrees 00 minutes south
  Article 7: treaty-state observers have free access, including aerial
  observation, to any area and may inspect all stations,
  installations, and equipment; advance notice of all activities and
  of the introduction of military personnel must be given
  Article 8: allows for jurisdiction over observers and scientists by
  their own states
  Article 9: frequent consultative meetings take place among member
  nations
  Article 10: treaty states will discourage activities by any country
  in Antarctica that are contrary to the treaty
  Article 11: disputes to be settled peacefully by the parties
  concerned or, ultimately, by the ICJ
  Articles 12 13 14: deal with upholding, interpreting, and amending
  the treaty among involved nations
  Other agreements: more than 170 recommendations adopted at treaty
  consultative meetings and ratified by governments include - Agreed
  Measures for the Conservation of Antarctic Fauna and Flora (1964);
  Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Seals (1972);
  Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources
  (1980); a mineral resources agreement was signed in 1988 but was
  subsequently rejected; in 1991 the Protocol on Environmental
  Protection to the Antarctic Treaty was signed and awaits
  ratification; this agreement provides for the protection of the
  Antarctic environment through five specific annexes on marine
  pollution, fauna, and flora, environmental impact assessments, waste
  management, and protected areas; it also prohibits all activities
  relating to mineral resources except scientific research; 21 parties
  have ratified Protocol as of April 1996

Legal system: US law, including certain criminal offenses by or
  against US nationals, such as murder, may apply to areas not under
  jurisdiction of other countries. Some US laws directly apply to
  Antarctica. For example, the Antarctic Conservation Act, 16 U.S.C.
  section 2401 et seq., provides civil and criminal penalties for the
  following activities, unless authorized by regulation of statute:
  The taking of native mammals or birds; the introduction of
  nonindigenous plants and animals; entry into specially protected or
  scientific areas; the discharge or disposal of pollutants; and the
  importation into the US of certain items from Antarctica. Violation
  of the Antarctic Conservation Act carries penalties of up to $10,000
  in fines and 1 year in prison. The Departments of Treasury,
  Commerce, Transportation, and Interior share enforcement
  responsibilities. Public Law 95-541, the US Antarctic Conservation
  Act of 1978, requires expeditions from the US to Antarctica to
  notify, in advance, the Office of Oceans and Polar Affairs, Room
  5801, Department of State, Washington, DC 20520, which reports such
  plans to other nations as required by the Antarctic Treaty. For more
  information contact Permit Office, Office of Polar Programs,
  National Science Foundation, Arlington, Virginia 22230 (703)
  306-1031.



Economy
-------


Economic overview: No economic activity at present except for
  fishing off the coast and small-scale tourism, both based abroad.



Transportation
--------------


Ports: none; offshore anchorage

Airports: 50 landing facilities at different locations operated by
  16 national governments party to the Treaty; one additional air
  facility operated by commercial (nongovernmental) tourist
  organization; helicopter pads at 25 of these locations; runways at
  13 locations are gravel, sea ice, glacier ice, or compacted snow
  surface suitable for wheeled fixed-wing aircraft; no paved runways;
  12 locations have snow-surface skiways limited to use by
  ski-equipped planes - 8 runways/skiways greater than 3,000 m,10
  runways/skiways 1,000 to 3,000 m, 3 runways/skiways less than 1,000
  m, and 4 of unspecified or variable length; airports generally
  subject to severe restrictions and limitations resulting from
  extreme seasonal and geographic conditions; airports do not meet
  ICAO standards; advance approval from the respective governmental or
  non-governmental operating organization required for landing (1995
  est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: NA

Telephone system:
  domestic: NA
  international: NA

Radio broadcast stations: AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA

Radios: NA

Television broadcast stations: NA

Televisions: NA



Defense
-------


Defense note: the Antarctic Treaty prohibits any measures of a
  military nature, such as the establishment of military bases and
  fortifications, the carrying out of military maneuvers, or the
  testing of any type of weapon; it permits the use of military
  personnel or equipment for scientific research or for any other
  peaceful purposes



======================================================================




@Antigua and Barbuda
-------------------




Map
---


Location: 17 03 N, 61 48 W -- Caribbean, islands between the
  Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east-southeast of Puerto
  Rico



Flag
----


Description: red with an inverted isosceles triangle based on the
  top edge of the flag; the triangle contains three horizontal bands
  of black (top), light blue, and white with a yellow rising sun in
  the black band





Geography
---------


Location: Caribbean, islands between the Caribbean Sea and the
  North Atlantic Ocean, east-southeast of Puerto Rico

Geographic coordinates: 17 03 N, 61 48 W

Map references: Central America and the Caribbean

Area:
  total area: 440 sq km
  land area: 440 sq km
  comparative area: 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC
  note: includes Redonda

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 153 km

Maritime claims:
  contiguous zone: 24 nm
  continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: none

Climate: tropical marine; little seasonal temperature variation

Terrain: mostly low-lying limestone and coral islands with some
  higher volcanic areas
  lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
  highest point: Boggy Peak 402 m

Natural resources: negligible; pleasant climate fosters tourism

Land use:
  arable land: 18%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 7%
  forest and woodland: 16%
  other: 59%

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Environment:
  current issues: water management - a major concern because of
  limited natural fresh water resources - is further hampered by the
  clearing of trees to increase crop production, causing rainfall to
  run off quickly
  natural hazards: hurricanes and tropical storms (July to October);
  periodic droughts
  international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
  Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine
  Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution,
  Whaling; signed, but not ratified - Desertification



People
------


Population: 65,647 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 25% (male 8,386; female 8,043)
  15-64 years: 69% (male 22,589; female 22,548)
  65 years and over: 6% (male 1,820; female 2,261) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 0.76% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 16.83 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 5.32 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: -3.9 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.8 male(s)/female
  all ages: 1 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 17.2 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 73.64 years
  male: 71.55 years
  female: 75.84 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.68 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Antiguan(s), Barbudan(s)
  adjective: Antiguan, Barbudan

Ethnic divisions: black, British, Portuguese, Lebanese, Syrian

Religions: Anglican (predominant), other Protestant sects, some
  Roman Catholic

Languages: English (official), local dialects

Literacy: age 15 and over has completed five or more years of
  schooling (1960 est.)
  total population: 89%
  male: 90%
  female: 88%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: none
  conventional short form: Antigua and Barbuda

Data code: AC

Type of government: parliamentary democracy

Capital: Saint John's

Administrative divisions: 6 parishes and 2 dependencies*;
  Barbuda*, Redonda*, Saint George, Saint John, Saint Mary, Saint
  Paul, Saint Peter, Saint Philip

Independence: 1 November 1981 (from UK)

National holiday: Independence Day, 1 November (1981)

Constitution: 1 November 1981

Legal system: based on English common law

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952) is a
  hereditary monarch, represented by Governor General James B.
  CARLISLE (since NA 1993) who was chosen by the queen on advice from
  the prime minister
  head of government: Prime Minister Lester Bryant BIRD (since 8 March
  1994) was appointed by the governor general
  cabinet: Council of Ministers was appointed by the governor general
  on the advice of the prime minister

Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament
  Senate: 17- member body appointed by the governor general
  House of Representatives: elections last held 8 March 1994 (next to
  be held NA 1999); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (17
  total) ALP 11, UPP 5, independent 1

Judicial branch: Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (based in Saint
  Lucia), one judge of the Supreme Court is a resident of the islands
  and presides over the Court of Summary Jurisdiction

Political parties and leaders: Antigua Labor Party (ALP), Lester
  Bryant BIRD; United Progressive Party (UPP), headed by Baldwin
  SPENCER, a coalition of three opposition political parties-the
  United National Democratic Party (UNDP); the Antigua Caribbean
  Liberation Movement (ACLM); and the Progressive Labor Movement (PLM)

Other political or pressure groups: Antigua Trades and Labor Union
  (ATLU), William ROBINSON; People's Democratic Movement (PDM), Hugh
  MARSHALL

International organization participation: ACP, C, Caricom, CDB,
  ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO,
  IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, ISO
  (subscriber), ITU, NAM (observer), OAS, OECS, OPANAL, UN, UNCTAD,
  UNESCO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Lionel Alexander HURST
  chancery: 3216 New Mexico Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20016
  telephone: [1] (202) 362-5211, 5166, 5122
  FAX: [1] (202) 362-5225
  consulate(s) general: Miami

US diplomatic representation: the US does not have an embassy in
  Antigua and Barbuda (embassy closed 30 June 1994); the US Ambassador
  to Barbados is accredited to Antigua and Barbuda

Flag: red with an inverted isosceles triangle based on the top
  edge of the flag; the triangle contains three horizontal bands of
  black (top), light blue, and white with a yellow rising sun in the
  black band



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Tourism continues to be by far the dominant
  activity in the economy but the combined share in GDP of transport
  and communications, trade, and public utilities has increased
  markedly in recent years. Tourism's direct contribution to output in
  1994 was about 20%. In addition, increased tourist arrivals helped
  spur growth in the construction and transport sectors. The dual
  island nation's agricultural production is mainly directed to the
  domestic market; the sector is constrained by the limited water
  supply and labor shortages that reflect the pull of higher wages in
  tourism and construction. Manufacturing - which accounts for 3.5% of
  GDP - comprises enclave-type assembly for export with major products
  being bedding, handicrafts, and electronic components. Prospects for
  economic growth in the medium term will continue to depend on income
  growth in the industrialized world, especially in the US, which
  accounts for about half of all tourist arrivals.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $425 million (1994 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 4.2% (1994 est.)

GDP per capita: $6,600 (1994 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 3.5%
  industry: 19.3%
  services: 77.2% (1994 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 3.5% (1994)

Labor force: 30,000
  by occupation: commerce and services 82%, agriculture 11%, industry
  7% (1983)

Unemployment rate: 5%-10%(1995 est.)

Budget:
  revenues: $134 million
  expenditures: $135.4 million, including capital expenditures of $NA
  (1995)

Industries: tourism, construction, light manufacturing (clothing,
  alcohol, household appliances)

Industrial production growth rate: -4.9% (1993 est.)

Electricity:
  capacity: 52,100 kW
  production: 95 million kWh
  consumption per capita: 1,242 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: cotton, fruits, vegetables, bananas, coconuts,
  cucumbers, mangoes, sugarcane; livestock

Illicit drugs: a long-time but relatively minor transshipment
  point for narcotics bound for the US and Europe and recent
  transshipment point for heroin from Europe to the US; more
  significant as a drug money laundering center

Exports: $40.9 million (f.o.b., 1994 est.)
  commodities: petroleum products 48%, manufactures 23%, food and live
  animals 4%, machinery and transport equipment 17%
  partners: OECS 26%, Barbados 15%, Guyana 4%, Trinidad and Tobago 2%,
  US 0.3%

Imports: $443.8 million (f.o.b., 1994 est.)
  commodities: food and live animals, machinery and transport
  equipment, manufactures, chemicals, oil
  partners: US 27%, UK 16%, Canada 4%, OECS 3%, other 50%

External debt: $377 million (1995 est.)

Economic aid: $NA

Currency: 1 EC dollar (EC$) = 100 cents

Exchange rates: East Caribbean dollars (EC$) per US$1 - 2.70
  (fixed rate since 1976)

Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 77 km
  narrow gauge: 64 km 0.760-m gauge; 13 km 0.610-m gauge (used almost
  exclusively for handling sugarcane)

Highways:
  total: 240 km
  paved: NA km
  unpaved: NA km

Ports: Saint John's

Merchant marine:
  total: 367 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,573,063
  GRT/2,147,243 DWT
  ships by type: bulk 6, cargo 247, chemical tanker 6, combination
  bulk 1, container 72, liquefied gas tanker 2, oil tanker 3,
  refrigerated cargo 14, roll-on/roll-off cargo 16
  note: a flag of convenience registry: Germany owns 12 ships,
  Slovenia 3, Croatia 2, Cyprus 1, and US 1 (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 3
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 1
  with paved runways under 914 m: 2 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 6,700

Telephone system:
  domestic: good automatic telephone system
  international: 1 coaxial submarine cable; satellite earth station -
  1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); tropospheric scatter to Saba
  (Netherlands Antilles) and Guadeloupe

Radio broadcast stations: AM 4, FM 2, shortwave 2

Radios: NA

Television broadcast stations: 2

Televisions: 28,000 (1993 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Royal Antigua and Barbuda Defense Force, Royal Antigua
  and Barbuda Police Force (includes the Coast Guard)

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: NA
  males fit for military service: NA

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $1.4 million, 1%
  of GDP (FY90/91)



======================================================================




@Arctic Ocean
------------



Map
---


Location: 90 00 N, 0 00 E -- body of water mostly north of the
  Arctic Circle





Geography
---------


Location: body of water mostly north of the Arctic Circle

Geographic coordinates: 90 00 N, 0 00 E

Map references: Arctic Region

Area:
  total area: 14.056 million sq km
  comparative area: slightly more than 1.5 times the size of the US;
  smallest of the world's four oceans (after Pacific Ocean, Atlantic
  Ocean, and Indian Ocean)
  note: includes Baffin Bay, Barents Sea, Beaufort Sea, Chukchi Sea,
  East Siberian Sea, Greenland Sea, Hudson Bay, Hudson Strait, Kara
  Sea, Laptev Sea, Northwest Passage, and other tributary water bodies

Coastline: 45,389 km

International disputes: some maritime disputes (see littoral
  states); Svalbard is the focus of a maritime boundary dispute
  between Norway and Russia

Climate: polar climate characterized by persistent cold and
  relatively narrow annual temperature ranges; winters characterized
  by continuous darkness, cold and stable weather conditions, and
  clear skies; summers characterized by continuous daylight, damp and
  foggy weather, and weak cyclones with rain or snow

Terrain: central surface covered by a perennial drifting polar
  icepack that averages about 3 meters in thickness, although pressure
  ridges may be three times that size; clockwise drift pattern in the
  Beaufort Gyral Stream, but nearly straight line movement from the
  New Siberian Islands (Russia) to Denmark Strait (between Greenland
  and Iceland); the icepack is surrounded by open seas during the
  summer, but more than doubles in size during the winter and extends
  to the encircling land masses; the ocean floor is about 50%
  continental shelf (highest percentage of any ocean) with the
  remainder a central basin interrupted by three submarine ridges
  (Alpha Cordillera, Nansen Cordillera, and Lomonsov Ridge)
  lowest point: Fram Basin -4,665 m
  highest point: sea level 0 m

Natural resources: sand and gravel aggregates, placer deposits,
  polymetallic nodules, oil and gas fields, fish, marine mammals
  (seals and whales)

Environment:
  current issues: endangered marine species include walruses and
  whales; fragile ecosystem slow to change and slow to recover from
  disruptions or damage
  natural hazards: ice islands occasionally break away from northern
  Ellesmere Island; icebergs calved from glaciers in western Greenland
  and extreme northeastern Canada; permafrost in islands; virtually
  icelocked from October to June; ships subject to superstructure
  icing from October to May
  international agreements: NA

Geographic note: major chokepoint is the southern Chukchi Sea
  (northern access to the Pacific Ocean via the Bering Strait);
  strategic location between North America and Russia; shortest marine
  link between the extremes of eastern and western Russia, floating
  research stations operated by the US and Russia; maximum snow cover
  in March or April about 20 to 50 centimeters over the frozen ocean;
  snow cover lasts about 10 months



Government
----------


Data code: none; the US Government has not approved a standard for
  hydrographic codes - see the Cross-Reference List of Hydrographic
  Data Codes appendix



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Economic activity is limited to the
  exploitation of natural resources, including petroleum, natural gas,
  fish, and seals.



Transportation
--------------


Ports: Churchill (Canada), Murmansk (Russia), Prudhoe Bay (US)

Transportation note: sparse network of air, ocean, river, and land
  routes; the Northwest Passage (North America) and Northern Sea Route
  (Eurasia) are important seasonal waterways



Communications
--------------


Telephone system:
  international: no submarine cables



======================================================================




@Argentina
---------




Map
---


Location: 34 00 S, 64 00 W -- Southern South America, bordering
  the South Atlantic Ocean, between Chile and Uruguay



Flag
----


Description: three equal horizontal bands of light blue (top),
  white, and light blue; centered in the white band is a radiant
  yellow sun with a human face known as the Sun of May





Geography
---------


Location: Southern South America, bordering the South Atlantic
  Ocean, between Chile and Uruguay

Geographic coordinates: 34 00 S, 64 00 W

Map references: South America

Area:
  total area: 2,766,890 sq km
  land area: 2,736,690 sq km
  comparative area: slightly less than three-tenths the size of the US

Land boundaries:
  total: 9,665 km
  border countries: Bolivia 832 km, Brazil 1,224 km, Chile 5,150 km,
  Paraguay 1,880 km, Uruguay 579 km

Coastline: 4,989 km

Maritime claims:
  contiguous zone: 24 nm
  continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: short section of the boundary with Uruguay
  is in dispute; short section of the boundary with Chile is
  indefinite; claims British-administered Falkland Islands (Islas
  Malvinas); claims British-administered South Georgia and the South
  Sandwich Islands; territorial claim in Antarctica

Climate: mostly temperate; arid in southeast; subantarctic in
  southwest

Terrain: rich plains of the Pampas in northern half, flat to
  rolling plateau of Patagonia in south, rugged Andes along western
  border
  lowest point: Salinas Chicas -40 m
  highest point: Cerro Aconcagua 6,962 m

Natural resources: fertile plains of the pampas, lead, zinc, tin,
  copper, iron ore, manganese, petroleum, uranium

Land use:
  arable land: 9%
  permanent crops: 4%
  meadows and pastures: 52%
  forest and woodland: 22%
  other: 13%

Irrigated land: 17,600 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
  current issues: erosion results from inadequate flood controls and
  improper land use practices; irrigated soil degradation;
  desertification; air pollution in Buenos Aires and other major
  cities; water pollution in urban areas; rivers becoming polluted due
  to increased pesticide and fertilizer use
  natural hazards: Tucuman and Mendoza areas in the Andes subject to
  earthquakes; pamperos are violent windstorms that can strike the
  Pampas and northeast; heavy flooding
  international agreements: party to - Antarctic-Environmental
  Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered
  Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the
  Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship
  Pollution, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Desertification,
  Marine Life Conservation

Geographic note: second-largest country in South America (after
  Brazil); strategic location relative to sea lanes between South
  Atlantic and South Pacific Oceans (Strait of Magellan, Beagle
  Channel, Drake Passage)



People
------


Population: 34,672,997 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 28% (male 4,904,380; female 4,707,293)
  15-64 years: 63% (male 10,851,004; female 10,834,593)
  65 years and over: 9% (male 1,414,412; female 1,961,315) (July 1996
  est.)

Population growth rate: 1.1% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 19.41 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 8.62 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 0.18 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.72 male(s)/female
  all ages: 0.98 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 28.3 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 71.66 years
  male: 68.37 years
  female: 75.12 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.62 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Argentine(s)
  adjective: Argentine

Ethnic divisions: white 85%, mestizo, Indian, or other nonwhite
  groups 15%

Religions: nominally Roman Catholic 90% (less than 20%
  practicing), Protestant 2%, Jewish 2%, other 6%

Languages: Spanish (official), English, Italian, German, French

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)
  total population: 96.2%
  male: 96.2%
  female: 96.2%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Argentine Republic
  conventional short form: Argentina
  local long form: Republica Argentina
  local short form: Argentina

Data code: AR

Type of government: republic

Capital: Buenos Aires

Administrative divisions: 23 provinces (provincias, singular -
  provincia), and 1 federal district* (distrito federal); Buenos
  Aires; Catamarca; Chaco; Chubut; Cordoba; Corrientes; Distrito
  Federal*; Entre Rios; Formosa; Jujuy; La Pampa; La Rioja; Mendoza;
  Misiones; Neuquen; Rio Negro; Salta; San Juan; San Luis; Santa Cruz;
  Santa Fe; Santiago del Estero; Tierra del Fuego, Antartida e Islas
  del Atlantico Sur; Tucuman
  note: the US does not recognize any claims to Antarctica or
  Argentina's claims to the Falkland Islands

Independence: 9 July 1816 (from Spain)

National holiday: Revolution Day, 25 May (1810)

Constitution: 1 May 1853; revised August 1994

Legal system: mixture of US and West European legal systems; has
  not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state and head of government: President Carlos Saul MENEM
  (since 8 July 1989) was elected for a four-year term by universal
  suffrage; election last held 14 May 1995 (next to be held May 1999);
  results - Carlos Saul MENEM was reelected; Vice President Carlos
  RUCKAUF
  cabinet: Cabinet was appointed by the president

Legislative branch: bicameral National Congress (Congreso Nacional)
  Senate: elections last held NA May 1995 (next to be held NA);
  results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (72 total) PJ 38,
  others 34
  Chamber of Deputies: one-half of the members elected every two years
  to four-year terms; elections last held 14 May 1995; (next to be
  held NA 1997); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (257
  total) PJ 132, UCR 68, Frepaso 26, other 31

Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Corte Suprema), the nine Supreme
  Court judges are appointed by the president with approval of the
  Senate

Political parties and leaders: Justicialist Party (PJ), Carlos
  Saul MENEM, Peronist umbrella political organization; Radical Civic
  Union (UCR), Rodolfo TERRAGNO, moderately left-of-center party;
  Union of the Democratic Center (UCD), conservative party; Dignity
  and Independence Political Party (MODIN), Aldo RICO, right-wing
  party; Grand Front (Frente Grande), Carlos ALVAREZ, center-left
  coalition; Front for a Country in Solidarity (Frepaso, a four party
  coalition), leader Jose Octavio BORDON; several provincial parties

Other political or pressure groups: Peronist-dominated labor
  movement; General Confederation of Labor (CGT), Peronist-leaning
  umbrella labor organization; Argentine Industrial Union
  (manufacturers' association); Argentine Rural Society (large
  landowners' association); business organizations; students; the
  Roman Catholic Church; the Armed Forces

International organization participation: AfDB, AG (observer),
  Australia Group, BCIE, CCC, ECLAC, FAO, G- 6, G-11, G-15, G-19,
  G-24, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD,
  IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM,
  ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, Mercosur, MINURSO, MTCR, NSG (observer), OAS,
  OPANAL, PCA, RG, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNAMIR, UNAVEM
  III, UNCRO, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNITAR,
  UNMIH, UNTSO, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Raul Enrique GRANILLO OCAMPO
  chancery: 1600 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009
  telephone: [1] (202) 939-6400 through 6403
  consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami,
  New Orleans, New York, San Francisco, and San Juan (Puerto Rico)

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador James R. CHEEK
  embassy: 4300 Colombia, 1425 Buenos Aires
  mailing address: Unit 4334, APO AA 34034
  telephone: [54] (1) 777-4533, 4534
  FAX: [54] (1) 777-0197

Flag: three equal horizontal bands of light blue (top), white, and
  light blue; centered in the white band is a radiant yellow sun with
  a human face known as the Sun of May



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Argentina, rich in natural resources, benefits
  also from a highly literate population, an export-oriented
  agricultural sector, and a diversified industrial base.
  Nevertheless, following decades of mismanagement and statist
  policies, the economy in the late 1980s was plagued with huge
  external debts and recurring bouts of hyperinflation. Elected in
  1989, in the depths of recession, President MENEM has implemented a
  comprehensive economic restructuring program that shows signs of
  putting Argentina on a path of stable, sustainable growth.
  Argentina's currency has traded at par with the US dollar since
  April 1991, and inflation has fallen to its lowest level in 20
  years. Argentines have responded to the relative price stability by
  repatriating flight capital and investing in domestic industry.
  After registering impressive 7.4% growth in 1994, based largely on
  inflows of foreign capital and strong domestic consumption, the
  Argentine economy stumbled in 1995 as financial pressures fueled by
  the Mexican peso crisis and political squabbling within the MENEM
  administration undermined investor confidence and triggered capital
  outflows. By yearend, GDP had contracted 4.4%, unemployment reached
  16%, and Buenos Aires struggled to meet fiscal targets. On the trade
  front, exports soared during the first half of 1995 - largely
  because of strong demand in Brazil and high commodity prices - while
  anemic domestic consumption lowered imports; the resulting yearend
  trade surplus was about $1.2 billion. However, because exports
  contribute only 7.5% to GDP, increased foreign sales had little
  impact on aggregate growth. High unemployment will continue to
  plague the MENEM administration for the next several years as
  provincial entities are readied for privatization and more public
  sector employees are laid off.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $278.5 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: -4.4%

GDP per capita: $8,100 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 6%
  industry: 31%
  services: 63% (1992 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1.7% (1995 est.)

Labor force: 10.9 million
  by occupation: agriculture 12%, industry 31%, services 57% (1985
  est.)

Unemployment rate: 16% (1995 est.)

Budget:
  revenues: $48.46 billion
  expenditures: $46.5 billion, including capital expenditures of $3.5
  billion (1994 est.)

Industries: food processing, motor vehicles, consumer durables,
  textiles, chemicals and petrochemicals, printing, metallurgy, steel

Industrial production growth rate: -4.6% (1995 est.)

Electricity:
  capacity: 17,330,000 kW
  production: 54.8 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 1,610 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: wheat, corn, sorghum, soybeans, sugar beets; livestock

Illicit drugs: increasing use as a transshipment country for
  cocaine headed for Europe and the US

Exports: $20.7 billion (f.o.b., 1995)
  commodities: meat, wheat, corn, oilseed, manufactures
  partners: US 9%, Brazil, Italy, Japan, Netherlands

Imports: $19.5 billion (c.i.f., 1995)
  commodities: machinery and equipment, chemicals, metals, fuels and
  lubricants, agricultural products
  partners: US 21%, Brazil, Germany, Bolivia, Japan, Italy, Netherlands

External debt: $90 billion (December 1995)

Economic aid: $NA

Currency: 1 nuevo peso argentino = 100 centavos

Exchange rates: pesos per US$1 - 1.00000 (January 1996), 0.99975
  (1995), 0.99901 (1994), 0.99895 (1993), 0.99064 (1992), 0.95355
  (1991)

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 37,910 km
  broad gauge: 24,124 km 1.676-m gauge (142 km electrified)
  standard gauge: 2,765 km 1.435-m gauge
  narrow gauge: 11,021 km 1.000-m gauge (26 km electrified)

Highways:
  total: 215,578 km
  paved: 61,440 km
  unpaved: 154,138 km

Waterways: 11,000 km navigable

Pipelines: crude oil 4,090 km; petroleum products 2,900 km;
  natural gas 9,918 km

Ports: Bahia Blanca, Buenos Aires, Comodoro Rivadavia, Concepcion
  del Uruguay, La Plata, Mar del Plata, Necochea, Rio Gallegos,
  Rosario, Santa Fe, Ushuaia

Merchant marine:
  total: 37 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 303,448 GRT/458,864 DWT
  ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 11, chemical tanker 1, container 3, oil
  tanker 14, railcar carrier 1, refrigerated cargo 5, roll-on/roll-off
  cargo 1 (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 1,253
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 5
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 25
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 54
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 46
  with paved runways under 914 m: 511
  with unpaved runways over 3 047 m: 1
  with unpaved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 2
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 60
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 549 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 2.7 million (1983 est.)

Telephone system: 12,000 public telephones; extensive modern
  system but many families do not have telephones; despite extensive
  use of microwave radio relay, the telephone system frequently
  grounds out during rainstorms, even in Buenos Aires
  domestic: microwave radio relay and a domestic satellite system with
  40 earth stations serve the trunk network
  international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 171, FM 0, shortwave 13

Radios: 22.3 million (1991 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 231

Televisions: 7.165 million (1991 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Argentine Army, Navy of the Argentine Republic,
  Argentine Air Force, National Gendarmerie, Argentine Naval
  Prefecture (Coast Guard only), National Aeronautical Police Force

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 8,707,014
  males fit for military service: 7,063,304
  males reach military age (20) annually: 310,107 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $4.7 billion,
  1.5% of GDP (1995)



======================================================================




@Armenia
-------




Map
---


Location: 40 00 N, 45 00 E -- Southwestern Asia, east of Turkey



Flag
----


Description: three equal horizontal bands of red (top), blue, and
  gold





Geography
---------


Location: Southwestern Asia, east of Turkey

Geographic coordinates: 40 00 N, 45 00 E

Map references: Commonwealth of Independent States

Area:
  total area: 29,800 sq km
  land area: 28,400 sq km
  comparative area: slightly larger than Maryland

Land boundaries:
  total: 1,254 km
  border countries: Azerbaijan-proper 566 km, Azerbaijan-Naxcivan
  exclave 221 km, Georgia 164 km, Iran 35 km, Turkey 268 km

Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims: none (landlocked)

International disputes: supports ethnic Armenians in
  Nagorno-Karabakh in their separatist conflict against the
  Azerbaijani Government; traditional demands on former Armenian lands
  in Turkey have subsided

Climate: highland continental, hot summers, cold winters

Terrain: high Armenian Plateau with mountains; little forest land;
  fast flowing rivers; good soil in Aras River valley
  lowest point: Debed River 400 m
  highest point: Aragats Lerr 4,095 m

Natural resources: small deposits of gold, copper, molybdenum,
  zinc, alumina

Land use:
  arable land: 17%
  permanent crops: 3%
  meadows and pastures: 20%
  forest and woodland: 0%
  other: 60%

Irrigated land: 3,050 sq km (1990)

Environment:
  current issues: soil pollution from toxic chemicals such as DDT;
  energy blockade, the result of conflict with Azerbaijan, has led to
  deforestation as citizens scavenge for firewood; pollution of
  Hrazdan (Razdan) and Aras Rivers; the draining of Sevana Lich, a
  result of its use as a source for hydropower, threatens drinking
  water supplies; restart of Metsamor nuclear power plant without
  adequate (IAEA-recommended) safety and backup systems
  natural hazards: occasionally severe earthquakes; droughts
  international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
  Nuclear Test Ban, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified -
  Desertification

Geographic note: landlocked



People
------


Population: 3,463,574 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 28% (male 497,461; female 476,649)
  15-64 years: 64% (male 1,085,935; female 1,132,282)
  65 years and over: 8% (male 111,661; female 159,586) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 0.02% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 16.27 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 7.73 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: -8.3 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female
  all ages: 0.96 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 38.9 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 69.06 years
  male: 64.44 years
  female: 73.92 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.06 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Armenian(s)
  adjective: Armenian

Ethnic divisions: Armenian 93%, Azeri 3%, Russian 2%, other
  (mostly Yezidi Kurds) 2% (1989)
  note: as of the end of 1993, virtually all Azeris had emigrated from
======================================================================




@Aruba
-----


(part of the Dutch realm)

Map
---


Location: 12 30 N, 69 58 W -- Caribbean, island in the Caribbean
  Sea, north of Venezuela



Flag
----


Description: blue with two narrow horizontal yellow stripes across
  the lower portion and a red, four-pointed star outlined in white in
  the upper hoist-side corner





Geography
---------


Location: Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, north of
  Venezuela

Geographic coordinates: 12 30 N, 69 58 W

Map references: Central America and the Caribbean

Area:
  total area: 193 sq km
  land area: 193 sq km
  comparative area: slightly larger than Washington, DC

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 68.5 km

Maritime claims:
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: none

Climate: tropical marine; little seasonal temperature variation

Terrain: flat with a few hills; scant vegetation
  lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
  highest point: Mount Jamanota 188 m

Natural resources: negligible; white sandy beaches

Land use:
  arable land: 0%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 0%
  forest and woodland: 0%
  other: 100%

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Environment:
  current issues: NA
  natural hazards: lies outside the Caribbean hurricane belt
  international agreements: NA



People
------


Population: 67,794 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 22% (male 7,850; female 7,155)
  15-64 years: 69% (male 22,499; female 24,596)
  65 years and over: 9% (male 2,353; female 3,341) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 0.31% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 14.62 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 6.24 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: -5.31 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.1 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female
  all ages: 0.93 male(s)/female

Infant mortality rate: 8.2 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 76.68 years
  male: 73 years
  female: 80.55 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.81 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Aruban(s)
  adjective: Aruban

Ethnic divisions: mixed European/Caribbean Indian 80%

Religions: Roman Catholic 82%, Protestant 8%, Hindu, Muslim,
  Confucian, Jewish

Languages: Dutch (official), Papiamento (a Spanish, Portuguese,
  Dutch, English dialect), English (widely spoken), Spanish

Literacy: NA



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: none
  conventional short form: Aruba

Data code: AA

Type of government: part of the Dutch realm; full autonomy in
  internal affairs obtained in 1986 upon separation from the
  Netherlands Antilles

Capital: Oranjestad

Administrative divisions: none (self-governing part of the
  Netherlands)

Independence: none (part of the Dutch realm; in 1990, Aruba
  requested and received from the Netherlands cancellation of the
  agreement to automatically give independence to the island in 1996)

National holiday: Flag Day, 18 March

Constitution: 1 January 1986

Legal system: based on Dutch civil law system, with some English
  common law influence

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: Queen BEATRIX Wilhelmina Armgard (of the Netherlands
  since 30 April 1980), a constitutional monarch, is represented by
  Governor General Olindo KOOLMAN (since 1 January 1992) who was
  appointed for a six-year term by the queen
  head of government: Prime Minister Jan (Henny) H. EMAN (since 29
  July 1994) and Deputy Prime Minister Glenbert F. CROES were
  appointed by the legislature
  cabinet: Council of Ministers was appointed by the legislature

Legislative branch: unicameral
  Legislature (Staten): elections last held 29 July 1994 (next to be
  held by NA July 1998); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats
  - (21 total) AVP 10, MEP 9, OLA 2

Judicial branch: Joint High Court of Justice

Political parties and leaders: Electoral Movement Party (MEP),
  Nelson ODUBER; Aruban People's Party (AVP), Jan (Henny) H. EMAN;
  National Democratic Action (ADN), Pedro Charro KELLY; New Patriotic
  Party (PPN), Eddy WERLEMEN; Aruban Patriotic Party (PPA), Benny
  NISBET; Aruban Democratic Party (PDA), Leo BERLINSKI; Democratic
  Action '86 (AD '86), Arturo ODUBER; Aruban Liberal Party (OLA),
  Glenbert CROES
  note: governing coalition includes the AVP and OLA

International organization participation: ECLAC (associate),
  Interpol, IOC, UNESCO (associate), WCL, WToO (associate)

Diplomatic representation in US: none (self-governing part of the
  Netherlands)

US diplomatic representation: none (self-governing part of the
  Netherlands)

Flag: blue with two narrow horizontal yellow stripes across the
  lower portion and a red, four-pointed star outlined in white in the
  upper hoist-side corner



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Tourism is the mainstay of the Aruban economy,
  although offshore banking and oil refining and storage are also
  important. The rapid growth of the tourism sector over the last
  decade has resulted in a substantial expansion of other activities.
  Construction has boomed, with hotel capacity five times the 1985
  level. In addition, the reopening of the country's oil refinery in
  1993, a major source of employment and foreign exchange earnings,
  has further spurred growth. Aruba's small labor force and less than
  1% unemployment rate have led to a large number of unfilled job
  vacancies despite sharp rises in wage rates in recent years.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $1.2 billion (1994 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 6.1% (1994 est.)

GDP per capita: $18,000 (1994 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: NA%
  industry: NA%
  services: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 6.1% (1994)

Labor force: NA
  by occupation: most employment is in the tourist industry (1995)

Unemployment rate: 0.5% (1994)

Budget:
  revenues: $145 million
  expenditures: $185 million, including capital expenditures of $42
  million (1988)

Industries: tourism, transshipment facilities, oil refining

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity:
  capacity: 90,000 kW
  production: 330 million kWh
  consumption per capita: 4,761 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: aloes; livestock; fishing

Illicit drugs: major drug money laundering center and minor
  transit point for narcotics bound for the US and Europe

Exports: $1.3 billion (including oil re-exports) (f.o.b., 1994)
  commodities: mostly refined petroleum products
  partners: US 64%, EU

Imports: $1.6 billion (f.o.b., 1994)
  commodities: food, consumer goods, manufactures, petroleum products,
  crude oil for refining and reexport
  partners: US 8%, EU

External debt: $669 million (December 1995)

Economic aid: $NA

Currency: 1 Aruban florin (Af.) = 100 cents

Exchange rates: Aruban florins (Af.) per US$1 - 1.7900 (fixed rate
  since 1986)

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways: 0 km

Highways:
  total: NA km
  paved: NA km
  unpaved: NA km

Ports: Barcadera, Oranjestad, Sint Nicolaas

Merchant marine: none

Airports:
  total: 2
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 1
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 1
  note: government-owned airport east of Oranjestad accepts
  transatlantic flights (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 22,922 (1993 est.)

Telephone system:
  domestic: more than adequate
  international: 1 submarine cable to Sint Maarten (Netherlands
  Antilles); extensive interisland microwave radio relay links

Radio broadcast stations: AM 4, FM 4, shortwave 0

Radios: NA

Television broadcast stations: 1

Televisions: 19,000 (1993 est.)



Defense
-------


Defense note: defense is the responsibility of the Netherlands



======================================================================




@Ashmore and Cartier Islands
---------------------------


(territory of Australia)

Map
---


Location: 12 14 S, 123 05 E -- Southeastern Asia, islands in the
  Indian Ocean, northwest of Australia



Flag
----


Description: the flag of Australia is used





Geography
---------


Location: Southeastern Asia, islands in the Indian Ocean,
  northwest of Australia

Geographic coordinates: 12 14 S, 123 05 E

Map references: Southeast Asia

Area:
  total area: 5 sq km
  land area: 5 sq km
  comparative area: about eight times the size of The Mall in
  Washington, DC
  note: includes Ashmore Reef (West, Middle, and East Islets) and
  Cartier Island

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 74.1 km

Maritime claims:
  contiguous zone: 12 nm
  continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
  exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 3 nm

International disputes: none

Climate: tropical

Terrain: low with sand and coral
  lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
  highest point: unnamed location 3 m

Natural resources: fish

Land use:
  arable land: 0%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 0%
  forest and woodland: 0%
  other: 100% (all grass and sand)

Irrigated land: 0 sq km

Environment:
  current issues: NA
  natural hazards: surrounded by shoals and reefs that can pose
  maritime hazards
  international agreements: NA

Geographic note: Ashmore Reef National Nature Reserve established
  in August 1983



People
------


Population: no indigenous inhabitants; note - there are only
  seasonal caretakers



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Territory of Ashmore and Cartier Islands
  conventional short form: Ashmore and Cartier Islands

Data code: AT

Type of government: territory of Australia administered by the
  Australian Ministry for the Environment, Sport, and Territories

Capital: none; administered from Canberra, Australia

Administrative divisions: none (territory of Australia)

Independence: none (territory of Australia)

Legal system: relevant laws of the Northern Territory of Australia

Diplomatic representation in US: none (territory of Australia)

US diplomatic representation: none (territory of Australia)

Flag: the flag of Australia is used



Economy
-------


Economic overview: no economic activity



Transportation
--------------


Ports: none; offshore anchorage only



Defense
-------


Defense note: defense is the responsibility of Australia; periodic
  visits by the Royal Australian Navy and Royal Australian Air Force



======================================================================




@Atlantic Ocean
--------------



Map
---


Location: 0 00 N, 25 00 W -- body of water between Africa, Europe,
  Antarctica, and the Western Hemisphere





Geography
---------


Location: body of water between Africa, Europe, Antarctica, and
  the Western Hemisphere

Geographic coordinates: 0 00 N, 25 00 W

Map references: World

Area:
  total area: 82.217 million sq km
  comparative area: slightly less than nine times the size of the US;
  second-largest of the world's four oceans (after the Pacific Ocean,
  but larger than Indian Ocean or Arctic Ocean)
  note: includes Baltic Sea, Black Sea, Caribbean Sea, Davis Strait,
  Denmark Strait, Drake Passage, Gulf of Mexico, Mediterranean Sea,
  North Sea, Norwegian Sea, Scotia Sea, Weddell Sea, and other
  tributary water bodies

Coastline: 111,866 km

International disputes: some maritime disputes (see littoral
  states)

Climate: tropical cyclones (hurricanes) develop off the coast of
  Africa near Cape Verde and move westward into the Caribbean Sea;
  hurricanes can occur from May to December, but are most frequent
  from August to November

Terrain: surface usually covered with sea ice in Labrador Sea,
  Denmark Strait, and Baltic Sea from October to June; clockwise warm
  water gyre (broad, circular system of currents) in the northern
  Atlantic, counterclockwise warm water gyre in the southern Atlantic;
  the ocean floor is dominated by the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, a rugged
  north-south centerline for the entire Atlantic basin
  lowest point: Puerto Rico Trench -8,605 m
  highest point: sea level 0 m

Natural resources: oil and gas fields, fish, marine mammals (seals
  and whales), sand and gravel aggregates, placer deposits,
  polymetallic nodules, precious stones

Environment:
  current issues: endangered marine species include the manatee,
  seals, sea lions, turtles, and whales; drift net fishing is
  hastening the decline of fish stocks and contributing to
  international disputes; municipal sludge pollution off eastern US,
  southern Brazil, and eastern Argentina; oil pollution in Caribbean
  Sea, Gulf of Mexico, Lake Maracaibo, Mediterranean Sea, and North
  Sea; industrial waste and municipal sewage pollution in Baltic Sea,
  North Sea, and Mediterranean Sea
  natural hazards: icebergs common in Davis Strait, Denmark Strait,
  and the northwestern Atlantic Ocean from February to August and have
  been spotted as far south as Bermuda and the Madeira Islands;
  icebergs from Antarctica occur in the extreme southern Atlantic
  Ocean; ships subject to superstructure icing in extreme northern
  Atlantic from October to May and extreme southern Atlantic from May
  to October; persistent fog can be a maritime hazard from May to
  September
  international agreements: NA

Geographic note: major choke points include the Dardanelles,
  Strait of Gibraltar, access to the Panama and Suez Canals; strategic
  straits include the Strait of Dover, Straits of Florida, Mona
  Passage, The Sound (Oresund), and Windward Passage; the Equator
  divides the Atlantic Ocean into the North Atlantic Ocean and South
======================================================================




@Australia
---------




Map
---


Location: 27 00 S, 133 00 E -- Oceania, continent between the
  Indian Ocean and the South Pacific Ocean



Flag
----


Description: blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side
  quadrant and a large seven-pointed star in the lower hoist-side
  quadrant; the remaining half is a representation of the Southern
  Cross constellation in white with one small five-pointed star and
  four, larger, seven-pointed stars





Geography
---------


Location: Oceania, continent between the Indian Ocean and the
  South Pacific Ocean

Geographic coordinates: 27 00 S, 133 00 E

Map references: Oceania

Area:
  total area: 7,686,850 sq km
  land area: 7,617,930 sq km
  comparative area: slightly smaller than the US
  note: includes Macquarie Island

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 25,760 km

Maritime claims:
  contiguous zone: 24 nm
  continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: territorial claim in Antarctica
  (Australian Antarctic Territory)

Climate: generally arid to semiarid; temperate in south and east;
  tropical in north

Terrain: mostly low plateau with deserts; fertile plain in
  southeast
  lowest point: Lake Eyre -15 m
  highest point: Mount Kosciusko 2,229 m

Natural resources: bauxite, coal, iron ore, copper, tin, silver,
  uranium, nickel, tungsten, mineral sands, lead, zinc, diamonds,
  natural gas, petroleum

Land use:
  arable land: 6%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 58%
  forest and woodland: 14%
  other: 22%

Irrigated land: 18,800 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
  current issues: soil erosion from overgrazing, industrial
  development, urbanization, and poor farming practices; soil salinity
  rising due to the use of poor quality water; desertification;
  clearing for agricultural purposes threatens the natural habitat of
  many unique animal and plant species; the Great Barrier Reef off the
  northeast coast, the largest coral reef in the world, is threatened
  by increased shipping and its popularity as a tourist site; limited
  natural fresh water resources
  natural hazards: cyclones along the coast; severe droughts
  international agreements: party to - Antarctic-Environmental
  Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered
  Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the
  Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban,
  Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83,
  Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Desertification

Geographic note: world's smallest continent but sixth-largest
  country; population concentrated along the eastern and southeastern
  coasts; regular, tropical, invigorating, sea breeze known as "the
  Doctor" occurs along the west coast in the summer



People
------


Population: 18,260,863 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 21% (male 2,009,915; female 1,912,605)
  15-64 years: 66% (male 6,129,285; female 5,980,315)
  65 years and over: 13% (male 967,291; female 1,261,452) (July 1996
  est.)

Population growth rate: 0.99% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 13.99 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 6.88 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 2.74 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.77 male(s)/female
  all ages: 1 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 5.5 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 79.39 years
  male: 76.44 years
  female: 82.5 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.84 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Australian(s)
  adjective: Australian

Ethnic divisions: Caucasian 95%, Asian 4%, aboriginal and other 1%

Religions: Anglican 26.1%, Roman Catholic 26%, other Christian
  24.3%

Languages: English, native languages

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1980 est.)
  total population: 100%
  male: 100%
  female: 100%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Commonwealth of Australia
  conventional short form: Australia

Data code: AS

Type of government: federal parliamentary state

Capital: Canberra

Administrative divisions: 6 states and 2 territories*; Australian
  Capital Territory*, New South Wales, Northern Territory*,
  Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia

Dependent areas: Ashmore and Cartier Islands, Christmas Island,
  Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Coral Sea Islands, Heard Island and
  McDonald Islands, Norfolk Island

Independence: 1 January 1901 (federation of UK colonies)

National holiday: Australia Day, 26 January (1788)

Constitution: 9 July 1900, effective 1 January 1901

Legal system: based on English common law; accepts compulsory ICJ
  jurisdiction, with reservations

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal and compulsory

Executive branch:
  chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952) is a
  hereditary monarch, represented by Governor General Sir William
  DEANE (since 16 February 1996) who was appointed by the queen
  head of government: Prime Minister John Winston HOWARD (since 11
  March 1996) was appointed by the governor general; Deputy Prime
  Minister Timothy Andrew FISCHER (since 11 March 1996)
  cabinet: Cabinet was selected from among the members of Federal
  Parliament by the governor general on the advice of the prime
  minister

Legislative branch: bicameral Federal Parliament
  Senate: elections last held 2 March 1996 (next to be held NA 1999);
  results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (76 total)
  Liberal-National 37, Labor 29, Australian Democrats 8, Greens 1,
  independent 1
  House of Representatives: elections last held 2 March 1996 (next to
  be held NA 1999); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats -
  (148 total) Liberal-National 94, Labor 49, independent 5

Judicial branch: High Court, the Chief Justice and six other
  justices are appointed by the governor general

Political parties and leaders:
  government: coalition of Liberal Party, John Winston HOWARD and
  National Party, Timothy Andrew FISCHER
  opposition: Australian Labor Party, Kim BEAZLEY; Australian
  Democratic Party, Cheryl KERNOT; Green Party, Bob BROWN

Other political or pressure groups: Australian Democratic Labor
  Party (anti-Communist Labor Party splinter group); Peace and Nuclear
  Disarmament Action (Nuclear Disarmament Party splinter group)

International organization participation: AG (observer), ANZUS,
  APEC, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, C, CCC, CP, EBRD, ESCAP, FAO, G-
  8, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS,
  ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MTCR, NAM
  (guest), NEA, NSG, OECD, PCA, Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UN, UNAMIR,
  UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNTSO, UNU, UPU, WFTU, WHO,
  WIPO, WMO, WTrO, ZC

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador John Phillip MCCARTHY
  chancery: 1601 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036
  telephone: [1] (202) 797-3000
  FAX: [1] (202) 797-3168
  consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Honolulu, Houston, Los Angeles, New
  York, Pago Pago (American Samoa), and San Francisco

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Edward J. PERKINS
  embassy: Moonah Place, Yarralumla, Canberra, Australian Capital
  Territory 2600
  mailing address: APO AP 96549
  telephone: [61] (6) 270-5000
  FAX: [61] (6) 270-5970
  consulate(s) general: Melbourne, Perth, and Sydney
  consulate(s): Brisbane

Flag: blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side
  quadrant and a large seven-pointed star in the lower hoist-side
  quadrant; the remaining half is a representation of the Southern
  Cross constellation in white with one small five-pointed star and
  four, larger, seven-pointed stars



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Australia has a prosperous Western-style
  capitalist economy, with a per capita GDP comparable to levels in
  highly industrialized West European countries. Rich in natural
  resources, Australia is a major exporter of agricultural products,
  minerals, metals, and fossil fuels. Commodities account for more
  than 80% of the value of total exports, so that, as in 1983-84, a
  downturn in world commodity prices can have a big impact on the
  economy. The government is pushing for increased exports of
  manufactured goods, but competition in international markets
  continues to be severe. Australia has suffered from the low growth
  and high unemployment characterizing the OECD countries in the early
  1990s. In 1992-93 the economy recovered slowly from the prolonged
  recession of 1990-91, a major restraining factor being weak world
  demand for Australia's exports. Growth picked up so strongly in 1994
  that the government felt the need for fiscal and monetary tightening
  by yearend. Australia's GDP grew 6.4% in 1994, largely due to
  increases in industrial output and business investment. A severe
  drought in 1994 reduced the value of Australia's net farm
  production, but rising world commodity prices are likely to boost
  commodity exports by 15% to $42.4 billion in 1995/96, according to
  government statistics. Short-term economic problems include a
  balancing of output growth and inflationary pressures and the
  stimulation of exports to offset rising imports.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $405.4 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 3.3% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $22,100 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 3.1%
  industry: 27.7%
  services: 69.2% (1994)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 4.75% (1995)

Labor force: 8.63 million (September 1991)
  by occupation: finance and services 33.8%, public and community
  services 22.3%, wholesale and retail trade 20.1%, manufacturing and
  industry 16.2%, agriculture 6.1% (1987)

Unemployment rate: 8.1% (December 1995)

Budget:
  revenues: $95.69 billion
  expenditures: $95.15 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA
  (FY95/96 est.)

Industries: mining, industrial and transportation equipment, food
  processing, chemicals, steel

Industrial production growth rate: 3.9% (FY93/94)

Electricity:
  capacity: 34,540,000 kW
  production: 155 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 8,021 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: wheat, barley, sugarcane, fruits; cattle, sheep,
  poultry

Illicit drugs: Tasmania is one of the world's major suppliers of
  licit opiate products; government maintains strict controls over
  areas of opium poppy cultivation and output of poppy straw
  concentrate

Exports: $51.57 billion (f.o.b., 1995)
  commodities: coal, gold, meat, wool, alumina, wheat, machinery and
  transport equipment
  partners: Japan 25%, US 11%, South Korea 6%, NZ 5.7%, UK, Taiwan,
  Singapore, Hong Kong (1992)

Imports: $57.41 billion (f.o.b., 1995)
  commodities: machinery and transport equipment, computers and office
  machines, crude oil and petroleum products
  partners: US 23%, Japan 18%, UK 6%, Germany 5.7%, NZ 4% (1992)

External debt: $147.2 billion (1994)

Economic aid:
  donor: ODA, $953 million (1993)

Currency: 1 Australian dollar ($A) = 100 cents

Exchange rates: Australian dollars ($A) per US$1 - 1.3477 (January
  1996), 1.3486 (1995), 1.3668 (1994), 1.4704 (1993), 1.3600 (1992),
  1.2835 (1991)

Fiscal year: 1 July - 30 June



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 38,563 km (2,914 km electrified; 172 km dual gauge)
  broad gauge: 6,083 km 1.600-m gauge
  standard gauge: 16,752 km 1.435-m gauge
  narrow gauge: 15,728 km 1.067-m gauge

Highways:
  total: 810,264 km
  paved: 283,592 km (including 1,200 km of expressways)
  unpaved: 526,672 km (1989 est.)

Waterways: 8,368 km; mainly by small, shallow-draft craft

Pipelines: crude oil 2,500 km; petroleum products 500 km; natural
  gas 5,600 km

Ports: Adelaide, Brisbane, Cairns, Darwin, Devonport, Fremantle,
  Geelong, Hobart (Tasmania), Launceton (Tasmania), Mackay, Melbourne,
  Sydney, Townsville

Merchant marine:
  total: 76 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,547,869 GRT/3,679,534
  DWT
  ships by type: bulk 30, cargo 4, chemical tanker 3, combination bulk
  1, container 6, liquefied gas tanker 6, oil tanker 18,
  roll-on/roll-off cargo 7, short-sea passenger 1 (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 442
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 9
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 13
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 106
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 116
  with paved runways under 914 m: 30
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 22
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 146 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 8.7 million (1987 est.)

Telephone system: good domestic and international service
  domestic: domestic satellite system
  international: submarine cables to New Zealand, Papua New Guinea,
  and Indonesia; satellite earth stations - 10 Intelsat (4 Indian
  Ocean and 6 Pacific Ocean), 2 Inmarsat (Indian and Pacific Ocean
  Regions)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 258, FM 67, shortwave 0

Radios: NA

Television broadcast stations: 134 (1987 est.)

Televisions: 9.2 million (1992 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Australian Army, Royal Australian Navy, Royal Australian
  Air Force

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 4,848,777
  males fit for military service: 4,192,250
  males reach military age (17) annually: 127,569 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $7.3 billion,
  2.0% of GDP (FY95/96)



======================================================================




@Austria
-------




Map
---


Location: 47 20 N, 13 20 E -- Central Europe, north of Italy



Flag
----


Description: three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and
  red





Geography
---------


Location: Central Europe, north of Italy

Geographic coordinates: 47 20 N, 13 20 E

Map references: Europe

Area:
  total area: 83,850 sq km
  land area: 82,730 sq km
  comparative area: slightly smaller than Maine

Land boundaries:
  total: 2,558 km
  border countries: Czech Republic 362 km, Germany 784 km, Hungary 366
  km, Italy 430 km, Liechtenstein 37 km, Slovakia 91 km, Slovenia 324
  km, Switzerland 164 km

Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims: none (landlocked)

International disputes: none

Climate: temperate; continental, cloudy; cold winters with
  frequent rain in lowlands and snow in mountains; cool summers with
  occasional showers

Terrain: in the west and south mostly mountains (Alps); along the
  eastern and northern margins mostly flat or gently sloping
  lowest point: Neusiedler See 115 m
  highest point: Grossglockner 3,797 m

Natural resources: iron ore, oil, timber, magnesite, lead, coal,
  lignite, copper, hydropower

Land use:
  arable land: 17%
  permanent crops: 1%
  meadows and pastures: 24%
  forest and woodland: 39%
  other: 19%

Irrigated land: 40 sq km (1989)

Environment:
  current issues: some forest degradation caused by air and soil
  pollution; soil pollution results from the use of agricultural
  chemicals; air pollution results from emissions by coal- and
  oil-fired power stations and industrial plants and from trucks
  transiting Austria between northern and southern Europe
  natural hazards: NA
  international agreements: party to - Air Pollution, Air
  Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air
  Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic Treaty,
  Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental
  Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban,
  Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83,
  Wetlands, Whaling; signed, but not ratified - Air Pollution-Sulphur
  94, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol

Geographic note: landlocked; strategic location at the crossroads
  of central Europe with many easily traversable Alpine passes and
  valleys; major river is the Danube; population is concentrated on
  eastern lowlands because of steep slopes, poor soils, and low
  temperatures elsewhere



People
------


Population: 8,023,244 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 18% (male 720,696; female 685,179)
  15-64 years: 67% (male 2,726,122; female 2,659,162)
  65 years and over: 15% (male 451,231; female 780,854) (July 1996
  est.)

Population growth rate: 0.41% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 11.19 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 10.43 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 3.34 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.58 male(s)/female
  all ages: 0.94 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 6.2 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 76.53 years
  male: 73.38 years
  female: 79.84 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.49 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Austrian(s)
  adjective: Austrian

Ethnic divisions: German 99.4%, Croatian 0.3%, Slovene 0.2%, other
  0.1%

Religions: Roman Catholic 85%, Protestant 6%, other 9%

Languages: German

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1974 est.)
  total population: 99%
  male: NA%
  female: NA%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Republic of Austria
  conventional short form: Austria
  local long form: Republik Oesterreich
  local short form: Oesterreich

Data code: AU

Type of government: federal republic

Capital: Vienna

Administrative divisions: 9 states (bundeslaender, singular -
  bundesland); Burgenland, Kaernten, Niederoesterreich,
  Oberoesterreich, Salzburg, Steiermark, Tirol, Vorarlberg, Wien

Independence: 12 November 1918 (from Austro-Hungarian Empire)

National holiday: National Day, 26 October (1955)

Constitution: 1920; revised 1929 (reinstated 1 May 1945)

Legal system: civil law system with Roman law origin; judicial
  review of legislative acts by the Constitutional Court; separate
  administrative and civil/penal supreme courts; has not accepted
  compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal; compulsory for presidential
  elections

Executive branch:
  chief of state: President Thomas KLESTIL (since 8 July 1992) was
  elected for a six-year term by popular vote; election last held 24
  May 1992 (next to be held 1998); results of second ballot - Thomas
  KLESTIL 57%, Rudolf STREICHER 43%
  head of government: Chancellor Franz VRANITZKY (since 16 June 1986)
  was chosen by the president from the majority party in the National
  Council; Vice Chancellor Wolfgang SCHUESSEL (since 22 April 1995)
  was chosen by the president on the advice of the chancellor
  cabinet: Council of Ministers was chosen by the president on the
  advice of the chancellor

Legislative branch: bicameral Federal Assembly (Bundesversammlung)
  Federal Council (Bundesrat): consists of 63 members representing
  each of the provinces on the basis of population, but with each
  province having at least three representatives
  National Council (Nationalrat): elections last held 17 December 1995
  (next to be held Fall 1999); results - SPOE 38.3%, OEVP 28.3%, FPOE
  22.1%, Greens 4.6%, LF 5.3%, other 1.4%; seats - (183 total) SPOE
  71, OEVP 53, FPOE 40, Greens 9, LF 10

Judicial branch: Supreme Judicial Court (Oberster Gerichtshof) for
  civil and criminal cases; Administrative Court
  (Verwaltungsgerichtshof) for bureaucratic cases; Constitutional
  Court (Verfassungsgerichtshof) for constitutional cases

Political parties and leaders: Social Democratic Party of Austria
  (SPOE), Franz VRANITZKY, chairman; Austrian People's Party (OEVP),
  Wolfgang SCHUESSEL, chairman; Freedom Movement (F, formerly the
  Freedom Party of Austria or FPOE), Joerg HAIDER, chairman; Communist
  Party (KPOE), Walter SILBERMAYER, chairman; The Greens, Madeleine
  PETROVIC; Liberal Forum (LF), Heide SCHMIDT

Other political or pressure groups: Federal Chamber of Commerce
  and Industry; Austrian Trade Union Federation (primarily Socialist);
  three composite leagues of the Austrian People's Party (OEVP)
  representing business, labor, and farmers; OEVP-oriented League of
  Austrian Industrialists; Roman Catholic Church, including its chief
  lay organization, Catholic Action

International organization participation: AfDB, AG (observer),
  AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, CCC, CE, CEI, CERN, EBRD, ECE, EIB, ESA,
  EU, FAO, G- 9, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA,
  IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO,
  ITU, MINURSO, MTCR, NACC, NAM (guest), NEA, NSG, OAS (observer),
  OECD, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNAMIR, UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNFICYP,
  UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMIH, UNMOT, UNOMIG, UNTSO, UPU, WCL, WEU
  (observer), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Helmut TUERK
  chancery: 3524 International Court NW, Washington, DC 20008-3035
  telephone: [1] (202) 895-6700
  FAX: [1] (202) 895-6750
  consulate(s) general: Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Swanee G. HUNT
  chancery: Boltzmanngasse 16, A-1091, Vienna
  mailing address: use embassy street address
  telephone: [43] (1) 313-39
  FAX: [43] (1) 310-0682

Flag: three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and red



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Austria has a well-developed market economy
  with a sizable - but falling - proportion of nationalized industry,
  an extensive social system, and a high standard of living. Austria's
  economy is closely integrated with Germany and other EU members -
  Austria joined the EU on 1 January 1995. Since the early 1980s, the
  Austrian economy has experienced stable growth. Following a mild
  recession in 1993, Austria's economy - driven by strong exports,
  investment, and private consumption - expanded 2.7% in 1994 and
  about 2.4% in 1995. The slowdown in 1995 was largely due to an
  appreciation of the Austrian schilling and its negative effect on
  exports and tourism. EU membership has had a positive impact on
  foreign investment and has helped to lower inflation. Despite
  Austria's generally favorable economic prospects, the government
  faces a number of economic challenges, especially budget
  consolidation. Smaller than expected revenues and rising welfare
  payments caused the budget deficit to climb to 7.1% of GDP in 1995.
  Austria also faces a growing unemployment problem. Although low by
  European standards, Austria's unemployment rate has risen gradually
  during the 1990s as companies restructured to meet competition from
  the EU single market and Eastern Europe.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $152 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 2.4% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $19,000 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 2%
  industry: 34%
  services: 64% (1994)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.3% (1995 est.)

Labor force: 3.47 million (1989)
  by occupation: services 56.4%, industry and crafts 35.4%,
  agriculture and forestry 8.1%
  note: an estimated 200,000 Austrians are employed in other European
  countries; foreign laborers in Austria number 177,840, about 5% of
  labor force (1988)

Unemployment rate: 4.6% (1995 est.)

Budget:
  revenues: $65 billion
  expenditures: $75.8 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA
  (1995 est.)

Industries: food, iron and steel, machines, textiles, chemicals,
  electrical, paper and pulp, tourism, mining, motor vehicles

Industrial production growth rate: 7.7% (first half 1995)

Electricity:
  capacity: 17,230,000 kW
  production: 50.2 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 5,824 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: grains, fruit, potatoes, sugar beets; cattle, pigs,
  poultry; sawn wood

Illicit drugs: transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin
  transiting the Balkan route and Eastern Europe

Exports: $45.2 billion (1994)
  commodities: machinery and equipment, iron and steel, lumber,
  textiles, paper products, chemicals
  partners: EU 64.8% (Germany 38.1%, Italy 8.1%), Eastern Europe
  11.8%, Japan 1.6%, US 3.5% (1994)

Imports: $55.3 billion (1994)
  commodities: petroleum, foodstuffs, machinery and equipment,
  vehicles, chemicals, textiles and clothing, pharmaceuticals
  partners: EU 68.4% (Germany 40%, Italy 8.8%), Eastern Europe 6.55%,
  Japan 4.3%, US 4.4% (1994)

External debt: $28.7 billion (1995 est.)

Economic aid:
  donor: ODA, $544 million (1993)

Currency: 1 Austrian schilling (S) = 100 groschen

Exchange rates: Austrian schillings (S) per US$1 - 10.314 (January
  1996), 10.081 (1995), 11.422 (1994), 11.632 (1993), 10.989 (1992),
  11.676 (1991)

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 5,624 km
  standard gauge: 5,269 km 1.435-m gauge (3,263 km electrified)
  narrow gauge: 355 km 1.000-m and 0.760-m gauge (86 km electrified)
  (1995)

Highways:
  total: 108,000 km
  paved: 22,000 km (including 1,800 km of expressways)
  unpaved: 86,000 km (1992 est.)

Waterways: 446 km

Pipelines: crude oil 554 km; petroleum products 171 km; natural
  gas 2,611 km

Ports: Linz, Vienna

Merchant marine:
  total: 29 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 88,617 GRT/122,475 DWT
  ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 23, combination bulk 2, container 1,
  refrigerated cargo 2 (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 55
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 1
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 5
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 1
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 3
  with paved runways under 914 m: 41
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 4 (1995 est.)

Heliports: 1 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 3.47 million (1986 est.)

Telephone system:
  domestic: highly developed and efficient
  international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Atlantic
  Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) and 2 Eutelsat

Radio broadcast stations: AM 6, FM 21 (repeaters 545), shortwave 0

Radios: NA

Television broadcast stations: 47 (repeaters 870)

Televisions: 2,418,584 (1984 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Army (includes Flying Division)

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 2,084,827
  males fit for military service: 1,741,068
  males reach military age (19) annually: 45,628 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $2.1 billion,
  1.0% of GDP (1995)



======================================================================




@Azerbaijan
----------


Azerbaijan continues to be plagued by an unresolved eight-year-old
conflict with Armenian separatists over its Nagorno-Karabakh region.
The Karabakh Armenians have declared independence and seized almost
20% of the country's territory, creating almost 1 million Azeri
refugees in the process. Both sides have generally observed a
Russian-mediated cease-fire in place since May 1994, and support the
OSCE-mediated peace process, now entering its fifth year.
Nevertheless, Baku and Xankandi (Stepanakert, Nagorno-Karabakh
region) remain far apart on most substantive issues from the
placement and composition of a peacekeeping force to the enclave's
ultimate political status, and prospects for a negotiated settlement
remain dim.

Map
---


Location: 40 30 N, 47 30 E -- Southwestern Asia, bordering the
  Caspian Sea, between Iran and Russia



Flag
----


Description: three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), red, and
  green; a crescent and eight-pointed star in white are centered in
  red band





Geography
---------


Location: Southwestern Asia, bordering the Caspian Sea, between
  Iran and Russia

Geographic coordinates: 40 30 N, 47 30 E

Map references: Commonwealth of Independent States

Area:
  total area: 86,600 sq km
  land area: 86,100 sq km
  comparative area: slightly larger than Maine
  note: includes the exclave of Naxcivan Autonomous Republic and the
  Nagorno-Karabakh region; the region's autonomy was abolished by
  Azerbaijani Supreme Soviet on 26 November 1991

Land boundaries:
  total: 2,013 km
  border countries: Armenia (with Azerbaijan-proper) 566 km, Armenia
  (with Azerbaijan-Naxcivan exclave) 221 km, Georgia 322 km, Iran
  (with Azerbaijan-proper) 432 km, Iran (with Azerbaijan-Naxcivan
  exclave) 179 km, Russia 284 km, Turkey 9 km

Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)
  note: Azerbaijan borders the Caspian Sea (800 km, est.)

Maritime claims: none (landlocked)

International disputes: violent and longstanding dispute with
  ethnic Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh over its status; Caspian Sea
  boundaries are not yet determined

Climate: dry, semiarid steppe

Terrain: large, flat Kur-Araz Lowland (much of it below sea level)
  with Great Caucasus Mountains to the north, Qarabag (Karabakh)
  Upland in west; Baku lies on Abseron (Apsheron) Peninsula that juts
  into Caspian Sea
  lowest point: Caspian Sea -28 m
  highest point: Bazarduzu Dagi 4,485 m

Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, nonferrous
  metals, alumina

Land use:
  arable land: 18%
  permanent crops: 4%
  meadows and pastures: 25%
  forest and woodland: 0%
  other: 53%

Irrigated land: 14,010 sq km (1990)

Environment:
  current issues: local scientists consider the Abseron (Apsheron)
  Peninsula (including Baku and Sumqayit) and the Caspian Sea to be
  the ecologically most devastated area in the world because of severe
  air, water, and soil pollution; soil pollution results from the use
  of DDT as a pesticide and also from toxic defoliants used in the
  production of cotton
  natural hazards: droughts; some lowland areas threatened by rising
  levels of the Caspian Sea
  international agreements: party to - Climate Change; signed, but not
  ratified - Biodiversity

Geographic note: landlocked



People
------


Population: 7,676,953 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 32% (male 1,270,812; female 1,215,781)
  15-64 years: 61% (male 2,293,688; female 2,423,222)
  65 years and over: 7% (male 179,048; female 294,402) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 0.78% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 22.28 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 8.69 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: -5.8 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.61 male(s)/female
  all ages: 0.95 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 74.5 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 64.84 years
  male: 60.13 years
  female: 69.78 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.64 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Azerbaijani(s)
  adjective: Azerbaijani

Ethnic divisions: Azeri 90%, Dagestani Peoples 3.2%, Russian 2.5%,
  Armenian 2.3%, other 2% (1995 est.)
  note: almost all Armenians live in the separatist Nagorno-Karabakh
  region

Religions: Muslim 93.4%, Russian Orthodox 2.5%, Armenian Orthodox
  2.3%, other 1.8% (1995 est.)
  note: religious affiliation is still nominal in Azerbaijan; actual
  practicing adherents are much lower

Languages: Azeri 89%, Russian 3%, Armenian 2%, other 6% (1995 est.)

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1989 est.)
  total population: 97%
  male: 99%
  female: 96%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Azerbaijani Republic
  conventional short form: Azerbaijan
  local long form: Azarbaycan Respublikasi
  local short form: none
  former: Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic

Data code: AJ

Type of government: republic

Capital: Baku (Baki)

Administrative divisions: 59 rayons (rayonlar; rayon - singular),
  11 cities* (saharlar; sahar - singular), 1 autonomous republic**
  (muxtar respublika); Abscron Rayonu, Agcabadi Rayonu, Agdam Rayonu,
  Agdas Rayonu, Agstafa Rayonu, Agsu Rayonu, AliBayramli Sahari*,
  Astara Rayonu, Baki Sahari*, Balakan Rayonu, Barda Rayonu, Beylaqan
  Rayonu, Bilasuvar Rayonu, Cabrayil Rayonu, Calilabad Rayonu,
  Daskasan Rayonu, Davaci Rayonu, Fuzuli Rayonu, Gadabay Rayonu, Ganca
  Sahari*, Goranboy Rayonu, Goycay Rayonu, Haciqabul Rayonu, Imisli
  Rayonu, Ismayilli Rayonu, Kalbacar Rayonu, Kurdamir Rayonu, Lacin
  Rayonu, Lankaran Rayonu, Lankaran Sahari*, Lerik Rayonu, Masalli
  Rayonu, Mingacevir Sahari*, Naftalan Sahari*, Naxcivan Muxtar
  Respublikasi**, Neftcala Rayonu, Oguz Rayonu, Qabala Rayonu, Qax
  Rayonu, Qazax Rayonu, Qobustan Rayonu, Quba Rayonu, Qubadli Rayonu,
  Qusar Rayonu, Saatli Rayonu, Sabirabad Rayonu, Saki Rayonu, Saki
  Sahari*, Salyan Rayonu, Samaxi Rayonu, Samkir Rayonu, Samux Rayonu,
  Siyazan Rayonu, Sumqayit Sahari*, Susa Rayonu, Susa Sahari*, Tartar
  Rayonu, Tovuz Rayonu, Ucar Rayonu, Xacmaz Rayonu, Xankandi Sahari*,
  Xanlar Rayonu, Xizi Rayonu, Xocali Rayonu, Xocavand Rayonu, Yardimb
  Rayonu, Yevlax Rayonu, Yevlax Sahari*, Zangilan Rayonu, Zaqatala
  Rayonu, Zardab Rayonu

Independence: 30 August 1991 (from Soviet Union)

National holiday: Independence Day, 28 May

Constitution: adopted 12 November 1995

Legal system: based on civil law system

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: President Heydar ALIYEV (since 18 June 1993) was
  elected by popular vote; election last held 3 October 1993 (next to
  be held 1997 or 1998); results - Heydar ALIYEV won 97% of vote
  head of government: Prime Minister Fuad QULIYEV (since 9 October
  1994), First Deputy Prime Ministers Abbas ABBASOV (since NA), Samed
  SADYKOV (since NA), Vahid AKHMEDOV (since NA), Elchin EFENDIYEV
  (since NA) were appointed by the president and confirmed by the
  Milli Mejlis
  cabinet: Council of Ministers was appointed by the president and
  confirmed by the Mejlis

Legislative branch: unicameral
  National Assembly (Milli Mejlis): elections last held 12 and 26
  November 1995 (next to be held NA); percent of vote by party NA;
  seats - (125 total) number of seats by party NA

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

Political parties and leaders: Azerbaijan Popular Front (APF),
  Ebulfez ELCIBEY, chairman; Musavat Party, Isa GAMBAR, chairman;
  National Independence Party, Etibar MAMEDOV, chairman; Social
  Democratic Party (SDP), Araz ALIZADE, chairman; Communist Party,
  Ramiz AKHMEDOV, chairman; People's Freedom Party, Yunus OGUZ,
  chairman; Independent Social Democratic Party, Arif YUNUSOV and
  Leila YUNOSOVA, cochairmen; New Azerbaijan Party, Heydar ALIYEV,
  chairman; Boz Gurd Party, Iskander HAMIDOV, chairman; Azerbaijan
  Democratic Independence Party, Qabil HUSEYNLI, chairman; Islamic
  Party of Azerbaijan, Ali Akram, chairman; Ana Veten Party, Fazail
  AGAMALIYEV; Azerbaijan Democratic Party, Sardar Jalaloglu MAMEDOV;
  Azerbaijan Democratic Party of Proprietors (DPOP), Makhmud MAMEDOV;
  Azerbaijan Patriotic Solidarity Party, Sabir RUSTAMHANLI; Azerbaijan
  Republic Reform Party, Fuad ASADOV; Communist Party of Azerbaijan
  (unregistered), Sayad SAYADOV; Equality of the Peoples Party,
  Faukhraddin AYDAYEV; Independent Azerbaijan Party, Nizami
  SULEYMANOV; Labor Party of Azerbaijan, Sabutai HAJIYEV;
  Liberal-Democratic Party of Azerbaijan, Lyudmila NIKOLAYEVNA;
  National Enlightenment Party, Hajy Osman EFENDIYEV; National
  Liberation Party, Panak SHAKHSEVEV; Peasant Party, Firuz MUSTAFAYEV;
  Radical Party of Azerbaijan, Malik SHARIFOV; United Azerbaijan
  Party, Kerrar ABILOV; Vetan Adzhagy Party, Zakir TAGIYEV

Other political or pressure groups: self-proclaimed Armenian
  Nagorno-Karabakh Republic; Talysh independence movement

International organization participation: BSEC, CCC, CIS, EBRD,
  ECE, ECO, ESCAP, FAO, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFRCS, ILO, IMF,
  IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ITU, NACC, NAM (observer), OIC, OSCE,
  PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO (observer)

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Hafiz Mir Jalal PASHAYEV
  chancery: (temporary) Suite 700, 927 15th Street NW, Washington, DC
  20005
  telephone: [1] (202) 842-0001
  FAX: [1] (202) 842-0004

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Richard D. KAUZLARICH
  embassy: Azadliq Prospekti 83, Baku
  mailing address: use embassy street address
  telephone: [9] (9412) 96-00-19, 98-03-37, 98-03-36, 93-64-80,
  96-36-21
  FAX: [9] (9412) 98-37-55

Flag: three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), red, and green;
  a crescent and eight-pointed star in white are centered in red band



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Azerbaijan is less developed industrially than
  either Armenia or Georgia, the other Transcaucasian states. It
  resembles the Central Asian states in its majority nominally Muslim
  population, high structural unemployment, and low standard of
  living. The economy's most prominent products are oil, cotton, and
  gas. Production from the Caspian oil and gas field has been in
  decline for several years, but the November 1994 ratification of the
  $7.5 billion oil deal with a consortium of Western companies should
  generate the funds needed to spur future industrial development.
  Azerbaijan shares all the formidable problems of the ex-Soviet
  republics in making the transition from a command to a market
  economy, but its considerable energy resources brighten its
  long-term prospects. Baku has only recently begun making progress on
  economic reform, and old economic ties and structures have yet to be
  replaced. Whereas the economies of most of the former Soviet
  republics had begun to bottom out in 1995, Azerbaijan's economy
  continued to plummet because of its late start on economic reform.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $11.5 billion (1995 estimate as
  extrapolated from World Bank estimate for 1994)

GDP real growth rate: -17% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $1,480 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: NA%
  industry: NA%
  services: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 85% (1995 est.)

Labor force: 2.789 million
  by occupation: agriculture and forestry 32%, industry and
  construction 26%, other 42% (1990)

Unemployment rate: 2.3% includes officially registered unemployed;
  also large numbers of unregistered unemployed and underemployed
  workers (December 1995)

Budget:
  revenues: $465 million
  expenditures: $488 million, including capital expenditures of $NA
  (1995 est.)

Industries: petroleum and natural gas, petroleum products,
  oilfield equipment; steel, iron ore, cement; chemicals and
  petrochemicals; textiles

Industrial production growth rate: -21% (1995 est.)

Electricity:
  capacity: 4,900,000 kW
  production: 17 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 2,200 kWh (1995 est.)

Agriculture: cotton, grain, rice, grapes, fruit, vegetables, tea,
  tobacco; cattle, pigs, sheep, goats

Illicit drugs: illicit cultivator of cannabis and opium poppy,
  mostly for CIS consumption; limited government eradication program;
  transshipment point for illicit drugs to Western Europe

Exports: $549.9 million (f.o.b., 1995)
  commodities: oil and gas, chemicals, oilfield equipment, textiles,
  cotton
  partners: mostly CIS and European countries

Imports: $681.5 million (c.i.f., 1995)
  commodities: machinery and parts, consumer durables, foodstuffs,
  textiles
  partners: European countries

External debt: $100 million (of which $75 million to Russia)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $14 million (1993)
  note: commitments, 1992-95, $1,000 million ($185 million in
  disbursements); wheat from Turkey

Currency: 1 manat = 100 gopik

Exchange rates: manats per US$1 - 4,375 (April 1996), 4,500 (April
  1995), 4,168 (end of December 1994)

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 2,125 km in common carrier service; does not include
  industrial lines
  broad gauge: 2,125 km 1.520-m gauge (1,278 km electrified) (1993)

Highways:
  total: 36,700 km
  paved: 31,800 km (includes graveled)
  unpaved: 4,900 km (1990 est.)

Pipelines: crude oil 1,130 km; petroleum products 630 km; natural
  gas 1,240 km

Ports: Baku (Baki)

Airports:
  total: 69
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 2
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 6
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 17
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 3
  with paved runways under 914 m: 1
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 7
  with unpaved runways under 914 m: 33 (1994 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 710,000 (1991 est.)

Telephone system: 202,000 persons waiting for telephone
  installations (January 1991 est.)
  domestic: telephone service is of poor quality and inadequate; a
  joint venture to establish a cellular telephone system in the Baku
  area was supposed to become operational in 1994
  international: cable and microwave radio relay connections to former
  Soviet republics; connection through Moscow international gateway
  switch to other countries; satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat and
  1 Intersputnik (Intelsat provides service to Turkey and through
  Turkey to 200 more countries; Intersputnik provides direct service
  to New York)

Radio broadcast stations: AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA (1
  state-owned radio broadcast station)

Radios: NA

Television broadcast stations: 2
  note: domestic and Russian TV programs are received locally and
  Turkish and Iranian TV is received from an Intelsat satellite
  through a receive-only earth station

Televisions: NA



Defense
-------


Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Maritime Border Guard

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 1,952,390
  males fit for military service: 1,574,813
  males reach military age (18) annually: 68,006 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: 33.5 billion manats, NA% of GDP (1994); note
  - conversion of defense expenditures into US dollars using the
  current exchange rate could produce misleading results



======================================================================




@Bahrain
-------




Map
---


Location: 26 00 N, 50 33 E -- Middle East, archipelago in the
  Persian Gulf, east of Saudi Arabia



Flag
----


Description: red with a white serrated band (eight white points)
  on the hoist side





Geography
---------


Location: Middle East, archipelago in the Persian Gulf, east of
  Saudi Arabia

Geographic coordinates: 26 00 N, 50 33 E

Map references: Middle East

Area:
  total area: 620 sq km
  land area: 620 sq km
  comparative area: 3.5 times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 161 km

Maritime claims:
  contiguous zone: 24 nm
  continental shelf: extending to boundaries to be determined
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: territorial dispute with Qatar over the
  Hawar Islands; maritime boundary with Qatar

Climate: arid; mild, pleasant winters; very hot, humid summers

Terrain: mostly low desert plain rising gently to low central
  escarpment
  lowest point: Persian Gulf 0 m
  highest point: Jabal ad Dukhan 122 m

Natural resources: oil, associated and nonassociated natural gas,
  fish

Land use:
  arable land: 2%
  permanent crops: 2%
  meadows and pastures: 6%
  forest and woodland: 0%
  other: 90%

Irrigated land: 10 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
  current issues: desertification resulting from the degradation of
  limited arable land, periods of drought, and dust storms; coastal
  degradation (damage to coastlines, coral reefs, and sea vegetation)
  resulting from oil spills and other discharges from large tankers,
  oil refineries, and distribution stations; no natural fresh water
  resources so that groundwater and sea water are the only sources for
  all water needs
  natural hazards: periodic droughts; dust storms
  international agreements: party to - Climate Change, Hazardous
  Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection; signed, but not
  ratified - Biodiversity

Geographic note: close to primary Middle Eastern petroleum
  sources; strategic location in Persian Gulf which much of Western
  world's petroleum must transit to reach open ocean



People
------


Population: 590,042 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 31% (male 92,455; female 89,554)
  15-64 years: 67% (male 236,048; female 156,556)
  65 years and over: 2% (male 7,956; female 7,473) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.27% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 23.58 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 3.29 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 2.42 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 1.51 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 1.06 male(s)/female
  all ages: 1.33 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 17.1 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 74.27 years
  male: 71.78 years
  female: 76.83 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 3.08 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Bahraini(s)
  adjective: Bahraini

Ethnic divisions: Bahraini 63%, Asian 13%, other Arab 10%, Iranian
  8%, other 6%

Religions: Shi'a Muslim 75%, Sunni Muslim 25%

Languages: Arabic, English, Farsi, Urdu

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)
  total population: 85.2%
  male: 89.1%
  female: 79.4%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: State of Bahrain
  conventional short form: Bahrain
  local long form: Dawlat al Bahrayn
  local short form: Al Bahrayn

Data code: BA

Type of government: traditional monarchy

Capital: Manama

Administrative divisions: 12 municipalites (manatiq, singular -
  mintaqah); Al Hadd, Al Manamah, Al Mintaqah al Gharbiyah, Al
  Mintaqah al Wusta, Al Mintaqah ash Shamaliyah, Al Muharraq, Ar
  Rifa'wa al Mintaqah al Janubiyah, Jidd Hafs, Madinat Hamad, Madinat
  'Isa, Juzur Hawar, Sitrah; note - all municipalities administered
  from Manama

Independence: 15 August 1971 (from UK)

National holiday: Independence Day, 16 December (1971)

Constitution: 26 May 1973, effective 6 December 1973

Legal system: based on Islamic law and English common law

Suffrage: none

Executive branch:
  chief of state: Amir ISA bin Salman Al Khalifa (since 2 November
  1961) is a traditional Arab monarch; Heir Apparent HAMAD bin Isa bin
  Salman Al Khalifa (son of the Amir, born 28 January 1949)
  head of government: Prime Minister KHALIFA bin Salman Al Khalifa
  (since 19 January 1970) was appointed by the amir
  cabinet: Cabinet was appointed by the amir

Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly was dissolved 26
  August 1975 and legislative powers were assumed by the Cabinet;
  appointed Advisory Council established 16 December 1992

Judicial branch: High Civil Appeals Court

Political parties and leaders: political parties prohibited

Other political or pressure groups: several small, clandestine
  leftist and Islamic fundamentalist groups are active; following the
  arrest of a popular Shi'a cleric, Shi'a activists fomented unrest
  sporadically from late 1994 to September 1995, demanding the return
  of an elected National Assembly and an end to unemployment

International organization participation: ABEDA, AFESD, AL, AMF,
  ESCWA, FAO, G-77, GCC, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDB, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO,
  Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM,
  OAPEC, OIC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO,
  WTrO

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Muhammad ABD AL-GHAFFAR al-Abdallah
  chancery: 3502 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008
  telephone: [1] (202) 342-0741, 342-0742
  FAX: [1] (202) 362-2192
  consulate(s) general: New York

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador David M. RANSOM
  embassy: Building No. 979, Road 3119 (next to Al-Ahli Sports Club),
  Zinj District, Manama
  mailing address: FPO AE 09834-5100; P.O. Box 26431, Manama
  (International Mail)
  telephone: [973] 273-300
  FAX: [973] 272-594

Flag: red with a white serrated band (eight white points) on the
  hoist side



Economy
-------


Economic overview: In Bahrain, petroleum production and processing
  account for about 80% of export receipts, 60% of government
  revenues, and 30% of GDP. Economic conditions have fluctuated with
  the changing fortunes of oil since 1985, for example, during and
  following the Gulf crisis of 1990-91. With its highly developed
  communication and transport facilities, Bahrain is home to numerous
  multinational firms with business in the Gulf. A large share of
  exports consists of petroleum products made from imported crude.
  Unemployment, especially among the young, and the depletion of both
  oil and underground water resources are major long-term economic
  problems.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $7.3 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: -2% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $12,000 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: NA%
  industry: NA%
  services: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 3% (1995 est.)

Labor force: 140,000
  by occupation: industry and commerce 85%, agriculture 5%, services
  5%, government 3% (1982)
  note: 42% of labor force is Bahraini

Unemployment rate: 25% (1994 est.)

Budget:
  revenues: $1.38 billion
  expenditures: $1.7 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA
  (1995 est.)

Industries: petroleum processing and refining, aluminum smelting,
  offshore banking, ship repairing

Industrial production growth rate: 13% (1992)

Electricity:
  capacity: 1,050,000 kW
  production: 3.3 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 5,453 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: fruit, vegetables; poultry, dairy products; shrimp,
  fish

Exports: $3.2 billion (f.o.b., 1995 est.)
  commodities: petroleum and petroleum products 80%, aluminum 7%
  partners: India 20%, Japan 14%, Saudi Arabia 7%, US 6%, UAE 5% (1994)

Imports: $3.29 billion (c.i.f., 1995 est.)
  commodities: nonoil 59%, crude oil 41%
  partners: Saudi Arabia 37%, US 12%, UK 6%, Japan 5%, Germany 4%
  (1994)

External debt: $2.6 billion (1993)

Economic aid: $NA

Currency: 1 Bahraini dinar (BD) = 1,000 fils

Exchange rates: Bahraini dinars (BD) per US$1 - 0.3760 (fixed rate)

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways: 0 km

Highways:
  total: 2,671 km
  paved: 2,011 km
  unpaved: 660 km (1991 est.)

Pipelines: crude oil 56 km; petroleum products 16 km; natural gas
  32 km

Ports: Manama, Mina' Salman, Sitrah

Merchant marine:
  total: 6 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 117,060 GRT/194,061 DWT
  ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 3, chemical tanker 1, oil tanker 1
  (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 3
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 2
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 1 (1995 est.)

Heliports: 1 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 73,552 (1987 est.)

Telephone system: modern system; good domestic services and
  excellent international connections
  domestic: NA
  international: tropospheric scatter to Qatar and UAE; microwave
  radio relay to Saudi Arabia; submarine cable to Qatar, UAE, and
  Saudi Arabia; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Atlantic
  Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) and 1 Arabsat

Radio broadcast stations: AM 2, FM 3, shortwave 0

Radios: 320,000 (1993 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 2 (1988 est.)

Televisions: 270,000 (1993 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Ground Force, Navy, Air Force, Air Defense, Coast Guard,
  Police Force

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 213,792
  males fit for military service: 118,702 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $247 million,
  5.5% of GDP (1994)



======================================================================




@Baker Island
------------


(territory of the US)

Map
---


Location: 0 13 N, 176 31 W -- Oceania, atoll in the North Pacific
  Ocean, about one-half of the way from Hawaii to Australia



Flag
----


Description: the flag of the US is used





Geography
---------


Location: Oceania, atoll in the North Pacific Ocean, about
  one-half of the way from Hawaii to Australia

Geographic coordinates: 0 13 N, 176 31 W

Map references: Oceania

Area:
  total area: 1.4 sq km
  land area: 1.4 sq km
  comparative area: about 2.5 times the size of The Mall in
  Washington, DC

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 4.8 km

Maritime claims:
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: none

Climate: equatorial; scant rainfall, constant wind, burning sun

Terrain: low, nearly level coral island surrounded by a narrow
  fringing reef
  lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
  highest point: unnamed location 8 m

Natural resources: guano (deposits worked until 1891)

Land use:
  arable land: 0%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 0%
  forest and woodland: 0%
  other: 100%

Irrigated land: 0 sq km

Environment:
  current issues: no natural fresh water resources
  natural hazards: the narrow fringing reef surrounding the island can
  be a maritime hazard
  international agreements: NA

Geographic note: treeless, sparse, and scattered vegetation
  consisting of grasses, prostrate vines, and low growing shrubs;
  primarily a nesting, roosting, and foraging habitat for seabirds,
  shorebirds, and marine wildlife



People
------


Population: uninhabited; note - American civilians evacuated in
  1942 after Japanese air and naval attacks during World War II;
  occupied by US military during World War II, but abandoned after the
  war; public entry is by special-use permit only and generally
  restricted to scientists and educators; a cemetery and cemetery
  ruins are located near the middle of the west coast



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: none
  conventional short form: Baker Island

Data code: FQ

Type of government: unincorporated territory of the US
  administered by the Fish and Wildlife Service of the US Department
  of the Interior as part of the National Wildlife Refuge system

Capital: none; administered from Washington, DC

Flag: the flag of the US is used



Economy
-------


Economic overview: no economic activity



Transportation
--------------


Ports: none; offshore anchorage only; note - there is one boat
  landing area along the middle of the west coast

Airports: 1 abandoned World War II runway of 1,665 m

Transportation note: there is a day beacon near the middle of the
  west coast



Defense
-------


Defense note: defense is the responsibility of the US; visited
  annually by the US Coast Guard



======================================================================




@Bangladesh
----------




Map
---


Location: 24 00 N, 90 00 E -- Southern Asia, bordering the Bay of
  Bengal, between Burma and India



Flag
----


Description: green with a large red disk slightly to the hoist
  side of center; green is the traditional color of Islam





Geography
---------


Location: Southern Asia, bordering the Bay of Bengal, between
  Burma and India

Geographic coordinates: 24 00 N, 90 00 E

Map references: Asia

Area:
  total area: 144,000 sq km
  land area: 133,910 sq km
  comparative area: slightly smaller than Wisconsin

Land boundaries:
  total: 4,246 km
  border countries: Burma 193 km, India 4,053 km

Coastline: 580 km

Maritime claims:
  contiguous zone: 18 nm
  continental shelf: up to the outer limits of the continental margin
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: a portion of the boundary with India in
  dispute; water-sharing problems with upstream riparian India over
  the Ganges

Climate: tropical; cool, dry winter (October to March); hot, humid
  summer (March to June); cool, rainy monsoon (June to October)

Terrain: mostly flat alluvial plain; hilly in southeast
  lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
  highest point: Reng Tlang 957 m

Natural resources: natural gas, arable land, timber

Land use:
  arable land: 67%
  permanent crops: 2%
  meadows and pastures: 4%
  forest and woodland: 16%
  other: 11%

Irrigated land: 27,380 sq km (1989)

Environment:
  current issues: many people are landless and forced to live on and
  cultivate flood-prone land; limited access to potable water;
  water-borne diseases prevalent; water pollution especially of
  fishing areas results from the use of commercial pesticides;
  intermittent water shortages because of falling water tables in the
  northern and central parts of the country; soil degradation;
  deforestation; severe overpopulation
  natural hazards: droughts, cyclones; much of the country routinely
  flooded during the summer monsoon season
  international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
  Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes,
  Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands; signed, but not
  ratified - Desertification, Law of the Sea



People
------


Population: 123,062,800 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 39% (male 24,434,219; female 23,436,359)
  15-64 years: 58% (male 36,607,942; female 34,603,628)
  65 years and over: 3% (male 2,175,017; female 1,805,635) (July 1996
  est.)

Population growth rate: 1.85% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 30.5 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 11.21 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: -0.78 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 1.2 male(s)/female
  all ages: 1.06 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 102.3 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 55.86 years
  male: 56.02 years
  female: 55.69 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 3.57 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Bangladeshi(s)
  adjective: Bangladesh

Ethnic divisions: Bengali 98%, Biharis 250,000, tribals less than
  1 million

Religions: Muslim 83%, Hindu 16%, Buddhist, Christian, other

Languages: Bangla (official), English

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)
  total population: 38.1%
  male: 49.4%
  female: 26.1%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: People's Republic of Bangladesh
  conventional short form: Bangladesh
  former: East Pakistan

Data code: BG

Type of government: republic

Capital: Dhaka

Administrative divisions: 4 divisions; Chittagong, Dhaka, Khulna,
  Rajshahi
  note: there may be two new divisions named Barisal and Sylhet

Independence: 16 December 1971 (from Pakistan)

National holiday: Independence Day, 26 March (1971)

Constitution: 4 November 1972, effective 16 December 1972,
  suspended following coup of 24 March 1982, restored 10 November
  1986, amended many times

Legal system: based on English common law

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: President Abdur Rahman BISWAS (since 8 October 1991)
  was elected for a five-year term by National Parliament; election
  last held 8 October 1991 (next to be held by NA October 1996);
  results - Abdur Rahman BISWAS received 52.1% of parliamentary vote
  head of government: Caretaker Prime Minister Muhammad Habibur RAHMAN
  (since 31 March 1996) was appointed by the president (see note under
  Legislative branch entry)
  cabinet: Advisory Council was appointed by the president on 3 April
  1996

Legislative branch: unicameral
  National Parliament (Jatiya Sangsad): elections last held 15
  February 1996 (next to be held NA); results - percent of vote by
  party NA; seats - (330 total, 300 elected and 30 seats reserved for
  women) seats by party NA; note - the election was held despite the
  fact that it was boycotted by the major opposition parties; Prime
  Minister Khaleda ZIAur RAHMAN's party won a landslide victory, but,
  under continuing pressure from the opposition, who called for an
  annulment of the results, National Parliament passed a bill that
  established a caretaker government to oversee new elections on a
  date yet to be determined; President BISWAS then dissolved
  Parliament and named a caretaker prime minister to replace Prime
  Minister ZIAur RAHMAN

Judicial branch: Supreme Court, the Chief Justices and other
  judges are appointed by the president

Political parties and leaders: Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP),
  Khaleda ZIAur RAHMAN; Awami League (AL), Sheikh Hasina WAJED; Jatiyo
  Party (JP), Hussain Mohammad ERSHAD (in jail); Jamaat-E-Islami (JI),
  Motiur Rahman NIZAMI; Bangladesh Communist Party (BCP), Saifuddin
  Ahmed MANIK; National Awami Party (Muzaffar); Workers Party, Rashid
  Khan MENON; Jatiyo Samajtantik Dal (JSD), Serajul ALAM KHAN;
  Ganotantri Party, leader NA; Islami Oikya Jote, leader NA; National
  Democratic Party (NDP), leader NA; Muslim League, Khan A. SABUR;
  Democratic League, Khondakar MUSHTAQUE Ahmed; United People's Party,
  Kazi ZAFAR Ahmed

International organization participation: AsDB, C, CCC, CP, ESCAP,
  FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC,
  IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO,
  ITU, MINURSO, NAM, OIC, SAARC, UN, UNAMIR, UNAVEM III, UNCRO,
  UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMIH, UNMOT, UNOMIG,
  UNPREDEP, UNPROFOR, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Humayun KABIR
  chancery: 2201 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007
  telephone: [1] (202) 342-8372 through 8376
  consulate(s) general: Los Angeles and New York

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador David N. MERRILL
  embassy: Diplomatic Enclave, Madani Avenue, Baridhara, Dhaka
  mailing address: G.P.O. Box 323, Dhaka 1000; Dhaka 1212
  telephone: [880] (2) 884700 through 884722
  FAX: [880] (2) 883-744

Flag: green with a large red disk slightly to the hoist side of
  center; green is the traditional color of Islam



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Despite sustained domestic and international
  efforts to improve economic and demographic prospects, Bangladesh
  remains one of the world's poorest, most densely populated, and
  least developed nations. Annual GDP growth has averaged over 4% in
  recent years from a low base. Its economy is overwhelmingly
  agricultural, with the cultivation of rice the single most important
  activity in the economy. Major impediments to growth include
  frequent cyclones and floods, the inefficiency of state-owned
  enterprises, a rapidly growing labor force that cannot be absorbed
  by agriculture, delays in exploiting energy resources (natural gas),
  inadequate power supplies, and, most recently, political
  disturbances. In 1995, progress on Bangladesh's development agenda
  has been slowed by frequent political unrest before and after
  national elections in early 1996. Opposition parties have challenged
  the government's authority by resigning from Parliament and
  sponsoring numerous countrywide strikes that have crippled
  transport, hindered business activity, and threatened to slow
  economic growth in 1996.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $144.5 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 4.6% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $1,130 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: NA%
  industry: NA%
  services: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 4.5% (1995 est.)

Labor force: 50.1 million
  by occupation: agriculture 65%, services 21%, industry and mining
  14% (1989)
  note: extensive export of labor to Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Oman (1991)

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget:
  revenues: $2.8 billion
  expenditures: $4.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $1.8
  billion (FY92/93)

Industries: jute manufacturing, cotton textiles, food processing,
  steel, fertilizer

Industrial production growth rate: 8.5% (1995 est.)

Electricity:
  capacity: 2,740,000 kW
  production: 9.2 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 70 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: jute, rice, wheat, tea, sugarcane, potatoes; beef,
  milk, poultry

Illicit drugs: transit country for illegal drugs produced in
  neighboring countries

Exports: $2.7 billion (1995 est.)
  commodities: garments, jute and jute goods, leather, shrimp
  partners: US 33%, Western Europe 39% (Germany 8.4%, Italy 6%)
  (FY91/92 est.)

Imports: $4.7 billion (1995 est.)
  commodities: capital goods, petroleum, food, textiles
  partners: Hong Kong 7.5%, Singapore 7.4%, China 7.4%, Japan 7.1%
  (FY91/92 est.)

External debt: $15.7 billion (1995 est.)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $1.099 billion (1993)

Currency: 1 taka (Tk) = 100 poiska

Exchange rates: taka (Tk) per US$1 - 40.933 (January 19965),
  40.278 (1995), 40.212 (1994), 39.567 (1993), 38.951 (1992), 36.596
  (1991)

Fiscal year: 1 July - 30 June



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 2,892 km
  broad gauge: 978 km 1.676-m gauge
  narrow gauge: 1,914 km 1.000-m gauge (1992)

Highways:
  total: 13,627 km
  paved: 8,546 km
  unpaved: 5,081 km (1992)

Waterways: 5,150-8,046 km navigable waterways (includes
  2,575-3,058 km main cargo routes)

Pipelines: natural gas 1,220 km

Ports: Chittagong, Dhaka, Chalna Port (Mongla)

Merchant marine:
  total: 37 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 296,503 GRT/423,274 DWT
  ships by type: bulk 3, cargo 29, oil tanker 2, refrigerated cargo 3
  (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 15
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 2
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 2
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 4
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 1
  with paved runways under 914 m: 6 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 249,800 (1994 est.)

Telephone system:
  domestic: poor domestic telephone service
  international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Indian Ocean);
  international radiotelephone communications and landline service to
  neighboring countries

Radio broadcast stations: AM 9, FM 6, shortwave 0

Radios: NA

Television broadcast stations: 11

Televisions: 350,000 (1993 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, paramilitary forces (includes
  Bangladesh Rifles, Bangladesh Ansars, Armed Police Reserve, Village
  Defense Parties, National Cadet Corps)

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 31,795,848
  males fit for military service: 18,814,818 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $481 million,
  1.7% of GDP (FY95/96)



======================================================================




@Barbados
--------




Map
---


Location: 13 10 N, 59 32 W -- Caribbean, island between the
  Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, northeast of Venezuela



Flag
----


Description: three equal vertical bands of blue (hoist side),
  gold, and blue with the head of a black trident centered on the gold
  band; the trident head represents independence and a break with the
  past (the colonial coat of arms contained a complete trident)





Geography
---------


Location: Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and the
  North Atlantic Ocean, northeast of Venezuela

Geographic coordinates: 13 10 N, 59 32 W

Map references: Central America and the Caribbean

Area:
  total area: 430 sq km
  land area: 430 sq km
  comparative area: 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 97 km

Maritime claims:
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: none

Climate: tropical; rainy season (June to October)

Terrain: relatively flat; rises gently to central highland region
  lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
  highest point: Mount Hillaby 336 m

Natural resources: petroleum, fish, natural gas

Land use:
  arable land: 77%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 9%
  forest and woodland: 0%
  other: 14%

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Environment:
  current issues: pollution of coastal waters from waste disposal by
  ships; soil erosion; illegal solid waste disposal threatens
  contamination of aquifers
  natural hazards: hurricanes (especially June to October); periodic
  landslides
  international agreements: party to - Climate Change, Endangered
  Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection,
  Ship Pollution, Whaling; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity,
  Hazardous Wastes

Geographic note: easternmost Caribbean island



People
------


Population: 257,030 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 24% (male 31,263; female 29,822)
  15-64 years: 66% (male 83,565; female 86,697)
  65 years and over: 10% (male 9,929; female 15,754) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 0.26% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 15.29 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 8.21 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: -4.49 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.08 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.63 male(s)/female
  all ages: 0.94 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 18.7 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 74.35 years
  male: 71.65 years
  female: 77.25 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.78 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Barbadian(s)
  adjective: Barbadian

Ethnic divisions: African 80%, European 4%, other 16%

Religions: Protestant 67% (Anglican 40%, Pentecostal 8%, Methodist
  7%, other 12%), Roman Catholic 4%, none 17%, unknown 3%, other 9%
  (1980)

Languages: English

Literacy: age 15 and over has ever attended school (1995 est.)
  total population: 97.4%
  male: 98%
  female: 96.8%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: none
  conventional short form: Barbados

Data code: BB

Type of government: parliamentary democracy

Capital: Bridgetown

Administrative divisions: 11 parishes; Christ Church, Saint
  Andrew, Saint George, Saint James, Saint John, Saint Joseph, Saint
  Lucy, Saint Michael, Saint Peter, Saint Philip, Saint Thomas
  note: the city of Bridgetown may be given parish status

Independence: 30 November 1966 (from UK)

National holiday: Independence Day, 30 November (1966)

Constitution: 30 November 1966

Legal system: English common law; no judicial review of
  legislative acts

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952) is a
  hereditary monarch, represented by Acting Governor General Denys
  WILLIAMS (since 21 December 1995) who was appointed by the queen
  head of government: Prime Minister Owen Seymour ARTHUR (since 6
  September 1994) was appointed by the governor general; Deputy Prime
  Minister Billie MILLER (since 6 September 1994)
  cabinet: Cabinet was appointed by the governor general on advice of
  the prime minister

Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament
  Senate: consists of a 21-member body appointed by the governor
  general
  House of Assembly: election last held 6 September 1994 (next to be
  held by January 1999); results - percentage vote by party NA; seats
  - (28 total) BLP 19, DLP 8,NDP 1

Judicial branch: Supreme Court of Judicature, judges are appointed
  by the Service Commissions for the Judicial and Legal Service

Political parties and leaders: Democratic Labor Party (DLP), David
  THOMPSON; Barbados Labor Party (BLP), Owen ARTHUR; National
  Democratic Party (NDP), Richard HAYNES

Other political or pressure groups: Barbados Workers Union, Leroy
  TROTMAN; People's Progressive Movement, Eric SEALY; Workers' Party
  of Barbados, Dr. George BELLE; Clement Payne Labor Union, David
  COMMISSIONG

International organization participation: ACP, C, Caricom, CDB,
  ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS,
  ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU,
  LAES, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIH, UPU, WHO,
  WIPO, WMO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Courtney N. BLACKMAN
  chancery: 2144 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
  telephone: [1] (202) 939-9218, 9219
  FAX: [1] (202) 332-7467
  consulate(s) general: Miami and New York
  consulate(s): Los Angeles

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Jeanette W. HYDE
  embassy: Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce Building, Broad Street,
  Bridgetown
  mailing address: P. O. Box 302, Bridgetown; FPO AA 34055
  telephone: [1] (809) 436-4950
  FAX: [1] (809) 429-5246

Flag: three equal vertical bands of blue (hoist side), gold, and
  blue with the head of a black trident centered on the gold band; the
  trident head represents independence and a break with the past (the
  colonial coat of arms contained a complete trident)



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Historically, the Barbadian economy has been
  dependent on sugarcane cultivation and related activities, but in
  recent years the production has diversified into manufacturing and
  tourism. Sluggish performances in the sugar and tourism sectors -
  which declined by 25% and 8% respectively - tempered economic
  expansion in 1995; output increased by 2% for the year, down from
  nearly 4% in 1994. Improved weather conditions in 1995 are expected
  to boost agriculture output in 1996. Since taking office in 1994,
  Prime Minister ARTHUR has aggressively moved to promote foreign
  direct investment as part of a policy designed to reduce nagging
  unemployment. The government has also been active in promoting
  regional integration initiatives.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $2.5 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 2% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $9,800 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 6.4%
  industry: 39.3%
  services: 54.3% (1994)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1.7% (1995 est.)

Labor force: 126,000 (1993)
  by occupation: services and government 41%, commerce 15%,
  manufacturing and construction 18%, transportation, storage,
  communications, and financial institutions 8%, agriculture 6%,
  utilities 2% (1992 est.)

Unemployment rate: 19.9% (September 1995)

Budget:
  revenues: $550 million
  expenditures: $710 million, including capital expenditures of $86
  million (FY95/96 est.)

Industries: tourism, sugar, light manufacturing, component
  assembly for export

Industrial production growth rate: 5% (1995 est.)

Electricity:
  capacity: 152,100 kW
  production: 510 million kWh
  consumption per capita: 1,841 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: sugarcane, vegetables, cotton

Illicit drugs: one of many Caribbean transshipment points for
  narcotics bound for the US and Europe

Exports: $158.6 million (f.o.b., 1995 est.)
  commodities: sugar and molasses, rum, other foods and beverages,
  chemicals, electrical components, clothing
  partners: US 13%, UK 10%, Trinidad and Tobago 9%, Windward Islands 8%

Imports: $693 million (c.i.f., 1995 est.)
  commodities: consumer goods, machinery, foodstuffs, construction
  materials, chemicals, fuel, electrical components
  partners: US 36%, UK 11%, Trinidad and Tobago 11%, Japan 3%

External debt: $408 million (1995 est.)

Economic aid: $NA

Currency: 1 Barbadian dollar (Bds$) = 100 cents

Exchange rates: Barbadian dollars (Bds$) per US$1 - 2.0113 (fixed
  rate)

Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March



Transportation
--------------


Railways: 0 km

Highways:
  total: 1,550 km
  paved: 1,550 km

Ports: Bridgetown

Merchant marine:
  total: 34 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 183,937 GRT/271,707 DWT
  ships by type: bulk 6, cargo 21, combination bulk 3, oil tanker 3,
  roll-on/roll-off cargo 1 (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 1
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 1 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 87,343 (1991 est.)

Telephone system:
  domestic: island wide automatic telephone system
  international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic
  Ocean); tropospheric scatter to Trinidad and Saint Lucia

Radio broadcast stations: AM 3, FM 2, shortwave 0

Radios: NA

Television broadcast stations: 2 (1 pay)

Televisions: 69,350 (1993 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Royal Barbados Defense Force (includes Ground Forces and
  Coast Guard), Royal Barbados Police Force

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 71,667
  males fit for military service: 49,726 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: $NA, NA% of GDP



======================================================================




@Bassas da India
---------------


(possession of France)

Map
---


Location: 21 30 S, 39 50 E -- Southern Africa, islands in the
  southern Mozambique Channel, about one-half of the way from
  Madagascar to Mozambique



Flag
----


Description: the flag of France is used





Geography
---------


Location: Southern Africa, islands in the southern Mozambique
  Channel, about one-half of the way from Madagascar to Mozambique

Geographic coordinates: 21 30 S, 39 50 E

Map references: Africa

Area:
  total area: 0.2 sq km
  land area: 0.2 sq km
  comparative area: about one-third the size of The Mall in
  Washington, DC

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 35.2 km

Maritime claims:
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: claimed by Madagascar

Climate: tropical

Terrain: a volcanic rock 2.4 meters high
  lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
  highest point: unnamed location 3 m

Natural resources: none

Land use:
  arable land: 0%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 0%
  forest and woodland: 0%
  other: 100% (all rock)

Irrigated land: 0 sq km

Environment:
  current issues: NA
  natural hazards: maritime hazard since it is usually under water
  during high tide and surrounded by reefs; subject to periodic
  cyclones
  international agreements: NA



People
------


Population: uninhabited



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: none
  conventional short form: Bassas da India

Data code: BS

Type of government: French possession administered by a
  Commissioner of the Republic, resident in Reunion

Capital: none; administered by France from Reunion

Independence: none (possession of France)

Flag: the flag of France is used



Economy
-------


Economic overview: no economic activity



Transportation
--------------


Ports: none; offshore anchorage only



Defense
-------


Defense note: defense is the responsibility of France



======================================================================




@Belarus
-------




Map
---


Location: 53 00 N, 28 00 E -- Eastern Europe, east of Poland



Flag
----


Description: red horizontal band (top) and green horizontal band
  one-half the width of the red band; a white vertical stripe of white
  on the hoist side bears in red the Belarusian national ornament





Geography
---------


Location: Eastern Europe, east of Poland

Geographic coordinates: 53 00 N, 28 00 E

Map references: Commonwealth of Independent States

Area:
  total area: 207,600 sq km
  land area: 207,600 sq km
  comparative area: slightly smaller than Kansas

Land boundaries:
  total: 3,098 km
  border countries: Latvia 141 km, Lithuania 502 km, Poland 605 km,
  Russia 959 km, Ukraine 891 km

Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims: none (landlocked)

International disputes: none

Climate: cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional
  between continental and maritime

Terrain: generally flat and contains much marshland
  lowest point: Nyoman River 90 m
  highest point: Dzyarzhynskaya Hara 346 m

Natural resources: forests, peat deposits, small quantities of oil
  and natural gas

Land use:
  arable land: 29%
  permanent crops: 1%
  meadows and pastures: 15%
  forest and woodland: 0%
  other: 55%

Irrigated land: 1,490 sq km (1990)

Environment:
  current issues: soil pollution from pesticide use; southern part of
  the country contaminated with fallout from 1986 nuclear reactor
  accident at Chornobyl'
  natural hazards: NA
  international agreements: party to - Air Pollution, Air
  Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Biodiversity,
  Environmental Modification, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone
  Layer Protection; signed, but not ratified - Climate Change, Law of
  the Sea

Geographic note: landlocked



People
------


Population: 10,415,973 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 21% (male 1,136,499; female 1,090,101)
  15-64 years: 66% (male 3,334,077; female 3,536,982)
  65 years and over: 13% (male 429,574; female 888,740) (July 1996
  est.)

Population growth rate: 0.2% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 12.15 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 13.64 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 3.51 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.48 male(s)/female
  all ages: 0.89 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 13.4 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 68.57 years
  male: 63.2 years
  female: 74.21 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.69 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Belarusian(s)
  adjective: Belarusian

Ethnic divisions: Byelorussian 77.9%, Russian 13.2%, Polish 4.1%,
  Ukrainian 2.9%, other 1.9%

Religions: Eastern Orthodox 60%, other (including Roman Catholic
  and Muslim) 40% (early 1990's)

Languages: Byelorussian, Russian, other

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1989 est.)
  total population: 98%
  male: 99%
  female: 97%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Republic of Belarus
  conventional short form: Belarus
  local long form: Respublika Byelarus'
  local short form: none
  former: Belorussian (Byelorussian) Soviet Socialist Republic

Data code: BO

Type of government: republic

Capital: Minsk

Administrative divisions: 6 voblastsi (singular - voblasts') and
  one municipality* (harady, singular - horad); Brestskaya (Brest),
  Homyel'skaya (Homyel'), Horad Minsk*, Hrodzyenskaya (Hrodna),
  Mahilyowskaya (Mahilyow), Minskaya, Vitsyebskaya (Vitsyebsk)
  note: the administrative centers of the voblastsi are included in
  parentheses

Independence: 25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union); the Belarussian
  Supreme Soviet issued a proclamation of independence; on 17 July
  1990 Belarus issued a declaration of sovereignty

National holiday: Independence Day, 27 July (1990)

Constitution: adopted 15 March 1994; replaces constitution of
  April 1978

Legal system: based on civil law system

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: President Aleksandr LUKASHENKO (since 20 July 1994)
  was elected for a five-year term by popular vote; election last held
  24 June and 10 July 1994 (next to be held NA 1999); results -
  Aleksandr LUKASHENKO 85%, Vyacheslav KEBICH 15%
  head of government: Prime Minister Mikhail CHIGIR (since NA July
  1994) was appointed by the president; Deputy Prime Ministers
  Vladimir GARKUN (since NA), Sergey LING (since NA), Leonid SINITSYN
  (since NA), Valeriy KOKAREV (since NA), Vladimir RUSAKEVICH (since
  NA)
  cabinet: Council of Ministers
  note: first presidential elections took place in June-July 1994

Legislative branch: unicameral
  Supreme Soviet: elections last held May, Nov-Dec 1995 (two rounds,
  each with a run-off; next to be held NA 2000); results - percent of
  vote by party NA; seats - (260 total) KPB 42, Agrarian 33, CAB 9,
  Party of People's Concord 8, UPNAZ 2, SDPB 2, BPR 1, Green Party 1,
  Republican Party of Labor and Justice 1, BSP 1, NFB 1, Social and
  Sports Party 1, Ecological Party 1, independents 95, vacant 62

Judicial branch: Supreme Court, judges are appointed by the
  president; Constitutional Court

Political parties and leaders: Belarusian Communist Party (KPB),
  Vasiliy NOVIKOV, Viktor CHIKIN, chairmen; Agrarian Party, Semen
  SHARETSKIY; Civic Accord Bloc (CAB); Party of People's Concord,
  Gennadiy KARPENKO; Party of All-Belarusian Unity and Concord
  (UPNAZ), Dmitriy BULAKOV; Belarusian Social-Democrat Hramada (SDBP),
  Alex TRUSOV; Belarusian Patriotic Movement (BPR), Anatol
  BARANKEVICH; Green Party of Belarus, Mikalay KARTASH; Republican
  Party of Labor and Justice, Anatol NETSILKIN; Belarus Peasants
  (BSP), Yevgeniy LUGIN, chairman; Belarusian Popular Front (NFB),
  Zenon POZNYAK, chairman; Belarusian Social Sports Party, Vladimir
  ALEKSANDROVICH; Ecological Party, Aleksiy MIKULICH; National
  Democratic Party of Belarus (NDPB), Victor NAVUMENKA; United
  Democratic Party of Belarus (ADPB), Aleksandr DOBROVOLSKIY;
  Belarusian Socialist Party (SPB), Vyacheslav KUZNETSOV; Slavic
  Assembly (SAB), Nikolai SYARECHEV; Liberal-Democratic Party (LDPB),
  Vasil KRIVENKA; Belarusian Christian-Democratic Unity (BKDZ), Petr
  SILKO; Polish Democratic Union (PDZ), Konstantin TARASEVICH; Party
  of Beer Lovers, Yuriy GONCHAR; Belarusian Labor Party (BPP),
  Aleksandr BUKHVOSTOV

International organization participation: CCC, CE (guest), CIS,
  EBRD, ECE, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Intelsat
  (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, NACC,
  OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO
  (applicant)

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Sergey Nikolayevich MARTYNOV
  chancery: 1619 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009
  telephone: [1] (202) 986-1604
  FAX: [1] (202) 986-1805
  consulate(s) general: New York

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Kenneth Spencer YALOWITZ
  embassy: Starovilenskaya #46-220002, Minsk
  mailing address: use embassy street address
  telephone: [375] (172) 31-50-00
  FAX: [375] (172) 34-78-53

Flag: red horizontal band (top) and green horizontal band one-half
  the width of the red band; a white vertical stripe of white on the
  hoist side bears in red the Belarusian national ornament



Economy
-------


Economic overview: At the time of independence in late 1991,
  Belarus was one of the most developed of the former Soviet states,
  inheriting a modern - by Soviet standards - machine building sector
  and robust agricultural sector. However, the breakup of the Soviet
  Union and its traditional trade ties, as well as the government's
  failure to embrace market reforms, has resulted in a sharp economic
  decline. Privatization is virtually nonexistent and the system of
  state orders and distribution persists. Although President
  LUKASHENKO pronounces his 1995 macro stabilization policies a
  success - annual inflation dropped from 2,220% in 1994 to 244% in
  1995 - the IMF has criticized his insistence on maintaining the
  steady exchange rate for Belarusian rubel, which has traded at
  11,500 to the dollar since late 1994. The IMF suspended Minsk's $300
  million standby program in November 1995 until the government would
  agree to a devaluation of the rubel. The overvalued rubel has
  especially hurt Belarusian exporters, most of which now operate at a
  loss. In addition, the January 1995 Customs Union agreement with
  Russia - which required Minsk to adjust its foreign trade practices
  to mirror Moscow's - has resulted in higher import tariffs for
  Belarusian consumers; tariffs have risen from 5%-20% to 20%-40%.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $49.2 billion (1995 estimate as
  extrapolated from World Bank estimate for 1994)

GDP real growth rate: -10% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $4,700 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 21%
  industry: 49%
  services: 30% (1991 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 244% (1995 est.)

Labor force: 4.259 million
  by occupation: industry and construction 40%, agriculture and
  forestry 21%, other 39% (1992)

Unemployment rate: 2.6% officially registered unemployed (December
  1994); large numbers of underemployed workers

Budget:
  revenues: $4.95 billion
  expenditures: $5.47 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA
  (1996 est.)

Industries: tractors, metal-cutting machine tools, off-highway
  dump trucks up to 110-metric-ton load capacity, wheel-type earth
  movers for construction and mining, eight-wheel-drive,
  high-flotation trucks with cargo capacity of 25 metric tons for use
  in tundra and roadless areas, equipment for animal husbandry and
  livestock feeding, motorcycles, television sets, chemical fibers,
  fertilizer, linen fabric, wool fabric, radios, refrigerators, other
  consumer goods

Industrial production growth rate: -11% (1995 est.)

Electricity:
  capacity: 7,010,000 kW
  production: 24.9 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 2,300 kWh (1995 est.)

Agriculture: grain, potatoes, vegetables; meat, milk

Illicit drugs: illicit cultivator of opium poppy and cannabis;
  mostly for the domestic market; transshipment point for illicit
  drugs to Western Europe

Exports: $4.2 billion (f.o.b., 1995)
  commodities: machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs
  partners: Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Germany

Imports: $4.6 billion (c.i.f., 1995)
  commodities: fuel, natural gas, industrial raw materials, textiles,
  sugar
  partners: Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Germany

External debt: $2 billion (September 1995 est.)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $186 million (1993)
  note: commitments, $3,930 million ($1,845 million disbursements),
  1992-95

Currency: Belarusian rubel (BR)

Exchange rates: Belarusian rubels per US$1 - 11,500 (yearend
  1995), 10,600 (yearend 1994)

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 5,488 km
  broad gauge: 5,488 km 1.520-m gauge (873 km electrified) (1993)

Highways:
  total: 92,200 km
  paved: 61,000 km (including graveled)
  unpaved: 31,200 km (1994 est.)

Waterways: NA km; note - Belarus has extensive and widely used
  canal and river systems

Pipelines: crude oil 1,470 km; refined products 1,100 km; natural
  gas 1,980 km (1992)

Ports: Mazyr

Merchant marine:
  note: claims 5% of former Soviet fleet (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 118
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 2
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 18
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 5
  with paved runways under 914 m: 11
  with unpaved runways over 3 047 m: 1
  with unpaved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 6
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 4
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 9
  with unpaved runways under 914 m: 62 (1994 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 1.849 million (1991 est.)

Telephone system: telephone service inadequate for the purposes of
  either business or the population; about 70% of the telephones are
  in homes; over 750,000 applications from households for telephones
  remain unsatisfied (1992 est.); new investment centers on
  international connections and business needs
  domestic: the new NMT-450 analog cellular system is now operating in
  Minsk
  international: international traffic is carried by the Moscow
  international gateway switch and also by satellite; satellite earth
  stations - 1 Intelsat (through Canada) and 1 Eutelsat (through the
  UK)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 35, FM 18, shortwave 0

Radios: 3.17 million (1991 est.) (5,615,000 with multiple speaker
  systems for program diffusion)

Television broadcast stations: 2 (one national and one private;
  the license of the private station was suspended during the
  parliamentary elections of 1994)

Televisions: 3.5 million (1992 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Army, Air Force, Air Defense Force, Republic Security
  Forces (internal and border troops)

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 2,635,570
  males fit for military service: 2,067,676
  males reach military age (18) annually: 76,006 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: 892 billion rubels, 1% of GDP (1995); note -
  conversion of defense expenditures into US dollars using the current
  exchange rate could produce misleading results



======================================================================




@Belgium
-------




Map
---


Location: 50 50 N, 4 00 E -- Western Europe, bordering the North
  Sea, between France and the Netherlands



Flag
----


Description: three equal vertical bands of black (hoist side),
  yellow, and red; the design was based on the flag of France





Geography
---------


Location: Western Europe, bordering the North Sea, between France
  and the Netherlands

Geographic coordinates: 50 50 N, 4 00 E

Map references: Europe

Area:
  total area: 30,510 sq km
  land area: 30,230 sq km
  comparative area: slightly larger than Maryland

Land boundaries:
  total: 1,385 km
  border countries: France 620 km, Germany 167 km, Luxembourg 148 km,
  Netherlands 450 km

Coastline: 64 km

Maritime claims:
  continental shelf: median line with neighbors
  exclusive fishing zone: median line with neighbors (extends about 68
  km from coast)
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: none

Climate: temperate; mild winters, cool summers; rainy, humid,
  cloudy

Terrain: flat coastal plains in northwest, central rolling hills,
  rugged mountains of Ardennes Forest in southeast
  lowest point: North Sea 0 m
  highest point: Signal de Botrange 694 m

Natural resources: coal, natural gas

Land use:
  arable land: 24%
  permanent crops: 1%
  meadows and pastures: 20%
  forest and woodland: 21%
  other: 34%

Irrigated land: 10 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
  current issues: Meuse River, a major source of drinking water,
  polluted from steel production wastes; other rivers polluted by
  animal wastes and fertilizers; industrial air pollution contributes
  to acid rain in neighboring countries
  natural hazards: flooding is a threat in areas of reclaimed coastal
  land, protected from the sea by concrete dikes
  international agreements: party to - Air Pollution, Air
  Pollution-Sulphur 85, Antarctic Treaty, Endangered Species,
  Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Marine
  Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship
  Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified -
  Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air
  Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental
  Protocol, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Law of the Sea

Geographic note: crossroads of Western Europe; majority of West
  European capitals within 1,000 km of Brussels which is the seat of
  the EU



People
------


Population: 10,170,241 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 18% (male 930,919; female 886,632)
  15-64 years: 66% (male 3,380,105; female 3,326,853)
  65 years and over: 16% (male 663,760; female 981,972) (July 1996
  est.)

Population growth rate: 0.33% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 12 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 10.3 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 1.63 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female
  all ages: 0.96 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 6.4 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 77.09 years
  male: 73.86 years
  female: 80.51 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.69 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Belgian(s)
  adjective: Belgian

Ethnic divisions: Fleming 55%, Walloon 33%, mixed or other 12%

Religions: Roman Catholic 75%, Protestant or other 25%

Languages: Dutch 56%, French 32%, German 1%, legally bilingual 11%
  (divided along ethnic lines)

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1980 est.)
  total population: 99%
  male: NA%
  female: NA%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Kingdom of Belgium
  conventional short form: Belgium
  local long form: Royaume de Belgique
  local short form: Belgique

Data code: BE

Type of government: constitutional monarchy

Capital: Brussels

Administrative divisions: 9 provinces (French: provinces, singular
  - province; Flemish: provincien, singular - provincie); Antwerpen,
  Brabant, Hainaut, Liege, Limburg, Luxembourg, Namur,
  Oost-Vlaanderen, West-Vlaanderen
  note: constitutional reforms passed by Parliament in 1993 increased
  the number of provinces to 10 by splitting the province of Brabant
  into two new provinces, Flemish Brabant and Walloon Brabant

Independence: 4 October 1830 (from the Netherlands)

National holiday: National Day, 21 July (ascension of King LEOPOLD
  to the throne in 1831)

Constitution: 7 February 1831, last revised 14 July 1993;
  parliament approved a constitutional package creating a federal state

Legal system: civil law system influenced by English
  constitutional theory; judicial review of legislative acts; accepts
  compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal and compulsory

Executive branch:
  chief of state: King ALBERT II (since 9 August 1993) is a
  constitutional monarch
  head of government: Prime Minister Jean-Luc DEHAENE (since 6 March
  1992) was appointed by the king and then approved by Parliament
  cabinet: Cabinet is appointed by the king and approved by Parliament

Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament
  Senate (Flemish - Senaat French - Senat): elections last held 21 May
  1995 (next to be held by the end of 1999); results - percent of vote
  by party NA; seats - (71 total, 40 directly elected; 31 will be
  indirectly elected at a later date) CVP 7, SP 6, VLD 6, VU 2, AGALEV
  1, VB 3, PS 5, PRL 5, PSC 3, ECOLO 2; note - before the 1995
  elections, there were 184 seats
  Chamber of Deputies(Flemish - Kamer van Volksvertegenwoordig:
  elections last held 21 May 1995 (next to be held by the end of
  1999); results - CVP 17.2%, PS 11.9%, SP 12.6%, VLD 13.1%, PRL
  10.3%, PSC 7.7%, VB 7.8%, VU 4.7%, ECOLO 4.0%, AGALEV 4.4%, FN 2.3%;
  seats - (150 total) CVP 29, PS 21, SP 20, VLD 21, PRL 18, PSC 12, VB
  11, VU 5, ECOLO 6, AGALEV 5, FN 2; note - before the 1995 elections,
  there were 212 seats

Judicial branch: Supreme Court of Justice (Flemish - Hof van
  Cassatie, French - Cour de Cassation), judges are appointed for life
  by the Belgian monarch

Political parties and leaders: Flemish Christian Democrats (CVP -
  Christian People's Party), Johan VAN HECKE, president; Francophone
  Christian Democrats (PSC - Social Christian Party), Gerard DEPREZ,
  president; Flemish Socialist Party (SP), Louis TOBBACK, president;
  Francophone Socialist Party (PS), Philippe BUSQUIN, president;
  Flemish Liberal Democrats (VLD), Herman DE CROO, president;
  Francophone Liberal Reformation Party (PRL), Louis MICHEL,
  president; Francophone Democratic Front (FDF), Olivier MAINGAIN,
  president; Volksunie (VU), Bert ANCIAUX, president; Vlaams Blok
  (VB), Karel DILLEN, chairman; National Front (FN), Daniel FERET,
  president; AGALEV (Flemish Greens), no president; ECOLO (Francophone
  Greens), no president; other minor parties

Other political or pressure groups: Christian and Socialist Trade
  Unions; Federation of Belgian Industries; numerous other
  associations representing bankers, manufacturers, middle-class
  artisans, and the legal and medical professions; various
  organizations represent the cultural interests of Flanders and
  Wallonia; various peace groups such as the Flemish Action Committee
  Against Nuclear Weapons and Pax Christi

International organization participation: ACCT, AfDB, AG
  (observer), AsDB, Australia Group, Benelux, BIS, CCC, CE, CERN,
  EBRD, ECE, EIB, ESA, EU, FAO, G- 9, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO,
  ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO,
  Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MINURSO, MTCR,
  NACC, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCRO,
  UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNMOGIP, UNPROFOR, UNRWA,
  UNTSO, UPU, WCL, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Andre ADAM
  chancery: 3330 Garfield Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
  telephone: [1] (202) 333-6900
  FAX: [1] (202) 333-3079
  consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Alan J. BLINKEN
  embassy: 27 Boulevard du Regent, B-1000 Brussels
  mailing address: APO AE 09724, PSC 82, Box 002, Brussels
  telephone: [32] (2) 508-2111
  FAX: [32] (2) 511-2725

Flag: three equal vertical bands of black (hoist side), yellow,
  and red; the design was based on the flag of France



Economy
-------


Economic overview: This small private enterprise economy has
  capitalized on its central geographic location, highly developed
  transport network, and diversified industrial and commercial base.
  Industry is concentrated mainly in the populous Flemish area in the
  north, although the government is encouraging reinvestment in the
  southern region of Walloon. With few natural resources, Belgium must
  import substantial quantities of raw materials and export a large
  volume of manufactures, making its economy unusually dependent on
  the state of world markets. Two-thirds of its trade is with other EU
  countries. The economy grew at a strong 4% annual pace during the
  period 1988-90, slowed to 1% in 1991-92, dropped by 1.5% in 1993,
  and recovered with moderate 2.3% growth in 1994 and 1995. Belgium's
  public debt has risen to 140% of GDP, and the government is trying
  to control its expenditures to bring the figure more into line with
  other industrialized countries.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $197 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 2.3% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $19,500 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 2%
  industry: 28%
  services: 70% (1994)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1.6% (1995 est.)

Labor force: 4.126 million
  by occupation: services 63.6%, industry 28%, construction 6.1%,
  agriculture 2.3% (1988)

Unemployment rate: 14% (1995 est.)

Budget:
  revenues: $NA
  expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA

Industries: engineering and metal products, motor vehicle
  assembly, processed food and beverages, chemicals, basic metals,
  textiles, glass, petroleum, coal

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity:
  capacity: 14,040,000 kW
  production: 66 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 6,334 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: sugar beets, fresh vegetables, fruits, grain,
  tobacco; beef, veal, pork, milk

Illicit drugs: source of precursor chemicals for South American
  cocaine processors; transshipment point for cocaine entering the
  European market

Exports: $108 billion (f.o.b., 1994) Belgium-Luxembourg Economic
  Union (BLEU)
  commodities: iron and steel, transportation equipment, tractors,
  diamonds, petroleum products
  partners: EU 67.2% (Germany 19%), US 5.8%, former Communist
  countries 1.4% (1994)

Imports: $140 billion (c.i.f., 1994) Belgium-Luxembourg Economic
  Union
  commodities: fuels, grains, chemicals, foodstuffs
  partners: EU 68% (Germany 22.1%), US 8.8%, former Communist
  countries 0.8% (1994)

External debt: $31.3 billion (1992 est.)

Economic aid:
  donor: ODA, $808 million (1993)

Currency: 1 Belgian franc (BF) = 100 centimes

Exchange rates: Belgian francs (BF) per US$1 - 30.036 (January
  1996), 29.480 (1995), 33.456 (1994), 34.597 (1993), 32.150 (1992),
  34.148 (1991)

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 3,396 km (2,363 km electrified; 2,563 km double track)
  standard gauge: 3,396 km 1.435-m gauge (1995)

Highways:
  total: 137,876 km
  paved: 129,603 km (including 1,667 km of expressways)
  unpaved: 8,273 km (1992 est.)

Waterways: 2,043 km (1,528 km in regular commercial use)

Pipelines: crude oil 161 km; petroleum products 1,167 km; natural
  gas 3,300 km

Ports: Antwerp, Brugge, Gent, Hasselt, Liege, Mons, Namur,
  Oostende, Zeebrugge

Merchant marine:
  total: 23 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 64,220 GRT/83,360 DWT
  ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 8, chemical tanker 5, liquefied gas
  tanker 3, oil tanker 6 (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 42
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 6
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 9
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 2
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 1
  with paved runways under 914 m: 21
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 3 (1995 est.)

Heliports: 1 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 5.691 million (1992 est.)

Telephone system: highly developed, technologically advanced, and
  completely automated domestic and international telephone and
  telegraph facilities
  domestic: nationwide cellular telephone system; extensive cable
  network; limited microwave radio relay network
  international: 5 submarine cables; satellite earth stations - 2
  Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) and 1 Eutelsat

Radio broadcast stations: AM 3, FM 39, shortwave 0

Radios: 100,000 (1992 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 32 (1987 est.)

Televisions: 3,315,662 (1993 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, National Gendarmerie

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 2,571,588
  males fit for military service: 2,135,375
  males reach military age (19) annually: 61,986 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $4.6 billion,
  1.7% of GDP (1995)



======================================================================




@Belize
------




Map
---


Location: 17 15 N, 88 45 W -- Middle America, bordering the
  Caribbean Sea, between Guatemala and Mexico



Flag
----


Description: blue with a narrow red stripe along the top and the
  bottom edges; centered is a large white disk bearing the coat of
  arms; the coat of arms features a shield flanked by two workers in
  front of a mahogany tree with the related motto SUB UMBRA FLOREO (I
  Flourish in the Shade) on a scroll at the bottom, all encircled by a
  green garland





Geography
---------


Location: Middle America, bordering the Caribbean Sea, between
  Guatemala and Mexico

Geographic coordinates: 17 15 N, 88 45 W

Map references: Central America and the Caribbean

Area:
  total area: 22,960 sq km
  land area: 22,800 sq km
  comparative area: slightly larger than Massachusetts

Land boundaries:
  total: 516 km
  border countries: Guatemala 266 km, Mexico 250 km

Coastline: 386 km

Maritime claims:
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm in the north, 3 nm in the south; note - from
  the mouth of the Sarstoon River to Ranguana Cay, Belize's
  territorial sea is 3 nm; according to Belize's Maritime Areas Act,
  1992, the purpose of this limitation is to provide a framework for
  the negotiation of a definitive agreement on territorial differences
  with Guatemala

International disputes: border with Guatemala in dispute; talks to
  resolve the dispute are stalled

Climate: tropical; very hot and humid; rainy season (May to
  February)

Terrain: flat, swampy coastal plain; low mountains in south
  lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
  highest point: Victoria Peak 1,160 m

Natural resources: arable land potential, timber, fish

Land use:
  arable land: 2%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 2%
  forest and woodland: 44%
  other: 52%

Irrigated land: 20 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
  current issues: deforestation; water pollution from sewage,
  industrial effluents, agricultural runoff
  natural hazards: frequent, devastating hurricanes (September to
  December) and coastal flooding (especially in south)
  international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
  Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Whaling

Geographic note: national capital moved 80 km inland from Belize
  City to Belmopan because of hurricanes; only country in Central
  America without a coastline on the North Pacific Ocean



People
------


Population: 219,296 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 43% (male 48,291; female 46,451)
  15-64 years: 53% (male 59,132; female 57,498)
  65 years and over: 4% (male 3,881; female 4,043) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.42% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 32.8 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 5.73 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: -2.89 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.96 male(s)/female
  all ages: 1.03 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 33.9 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 68.53 years
  male: 66.58 years
  female: 70.58 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 4.12 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Belizean(s)
  adjective: Belizean

Ethnic divisions: mestizo 44%, Creole 30%, Maya 11%, Garifuna 7%,
  other 8%

Religions: Roman Catholic 62%, Protestant 30% (Anglican 12%,
  Methodist 6%, Mennonite 4%, Seventh-Day Adventist 3%, Pentecostal
  2%, Jehovah's Witnesses 1%, other 2%), none 2%, other 6% (1980)

Languages: English (official), Spanish, Mayan, Garifuna (Carib)

Literacy: age 14 and over has ever attended school (1991 est.)
  total population: 70.3%
  male: 70.3%
  female: 70.3%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: none
  conventional short form: Belize
  former: British Honduras

Data code: BH

Type of government: parliamentary democracy

Capital: Belmopan

Administrative divisions: 6 districts; Belize, Cayo, Corozal,
  Orange Walk, Stann Creek, Toledo

Independence: 21 September 1981 (from UK)

National holiday: Independence Day, 21 September (1981)

Constitution: 21 September 1981

Legal system: English law

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), a
  hereditary monarch, is represented by Governor General Sir Colville
  YOUNG (since 17 November 1993), who, according to the constitution,
  must be a Belizean; was appointed by the queen
  head of government: Prime Minister Manuel ESQUIVEL (since July 1993)
  was appointed by the governor general; Deputy Prime Minister Dean
  BARROW (since NA 1993)
  cabinet: Cabinet was appointed by the governor general on the advice
  of the prime minister

Legislative branch: bicameral National Assembly
  Senate: consists of an eight-member appointed body; five members are
  appointed on the advice of the prime minister, two on the advice of
  the leader of the opposition, and one after consultation with the
  Belize Advisory Council (this council serves as an independent body
  to advise the governor general with respect to difficult decisions
  such as granting pardons, commutations, stays of execution, the
  removal of justices of appeal who appear to be incompetent, etc.)
  National Assembly: elections last held 30 June 1993 (next to be held
  NA June 1998); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (28
  total) PUP 13 UDP 15

Judicial branch: Supreme Court, the chief justice is appointed by
  the governor general on advice of the prime minister

Political parties and leaders: People's United Party (PUP), George
  PRICE, Florencio MARIN, Said MUSA; United Democratic Party (UDP),
  Manuel ESQUIVEL, Dean LINDO, Dean BARROW; National Alliance for
  Belizean Rights, Philip GOLDSON

Other political or pressure groups: Society for the Promotion of
  Education and Research (SPEAR), Assad SHOMAN; United Workers Front,
  leader NA

International organization participation: ACP, C, Caricom, CDB,
  ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC,
  IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC,
  IOM (observer), ITU, LAES, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO,
  UNIDO, UNMIH, UPU, WCL, WHO, WMO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Dean R. LINDO
  chancery: 2535 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
  telephone: [1] (202) 332-9636
  FAX: [1] (202) 332-6888
  consulate(s) general: Los Angeles
  consulate(s): New York

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador George Charles BRUNO
  embassy: Gabourel Lane and Hutson Street, Belize City
  mailing address: P. O. Box 286, Belize City; APO: Unit 7401, APO AA
  34025
  telephone: [501] (2) 77161 through 77163
  FAX: [501] (2) 30802

Flag: blue with a narrow red stripe along the top and the bottom
  edges; centered is a large white disk bearing the coat of arms; the
  coat of arms features a shield flanked by two workers in front of a
  mahogany tree with the related motto SUB UMBRA FLOREO (I Flourish in
  the Shade) on a scroll at the bottom, all encircled by a green
  garland



Economy
-------


Economic overview: The small, essentially private enterprise
  economy is based primarily on agriculture, agro-based industry, and
  merchandising, with tourism and construction assuming increasing
  importance. Agriculture accounts for about 30% of GDP and provides
  75% of export earnings, while sugar, the chief crop, accounts for
  almost 40% of hard currency earnings. The US, Belize's main trading
  partner, is assisting in efforts to reduce dependency on sugar with
  an agricultural diversification program.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $575 million (1994 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 2% (1994 est.)

GDP per capita: $2,750 (1994 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 30%
  industry: NA
  services: NA (1995 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.3% (1994 est.)

Labor force: 51,500
  by occupation: agriculture 30%, services 16%, government 15.4%,
  commerce 11.2%, manufacturing 10.3%
  note: shortage of skilled labor and all types of technical personnel
  (1985)

Unemployment rate: 10% (1993 est.)

Budget:
  revenues: $126.8 million
  expenditures: $123.1 million, including capital expenditures of
  $44.8 million (FY90/91 est.)

Industries: garment production, food processing, tourism,
  construction

Industrial production growth rate: 3.7% (1990)

Electricity:
  capacity: 34,532 kW
  production: 110 million kWh
  consumption per capita: 490 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: bananas, coca, citrus, sugarcane; lumber; fish,
  cultured shrimp

Illicit drugs: transshipment point for cocaine; an illicit
  producer of cannabis for the international drug trade; minor
  money-laundering center

Exports: $115 million (f.o.b., 1993)
  commodities: sugar, citrus fruits, bananas, clothing, fish products,
  molasses, wood
  partners: US 38%, UK, other EC (1994)

Imports: $281 million (c.i.f., 1993)
  commodities: machinery and transportation equipment, food,
  manufactured goods, fuels, chemicals, pharmaceuticals
  partners: US 53%, UK, other EC, Mexico (1994)

External debt: $167.5 million (1992)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $NA

Currency: 1 Belizean dollar (Bz$) = 100 cents

Exchange rates: Belizean dollars (Bz$) per US$1 - 2.00 (fixed rate)

Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March



Transportation
--------------


Railways: 0 km

Highways:
  total: 2,560 km
  paved: 336 km
  unpaved: 2,224 km (1987 est.)

Waterways: 825 km river network used by shallow-draft craft;
  seasonally navigable

Ports: Belize City, Big Creek, Corozol, Punta Gorda

Merchant marine:
  total: 89 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 311,731 GRT/470,272 DWT
  ships by type: bulk 9, cargo 60, container 6, liquefied gas tanker
  1, oil tanker 3, refrigerated cargo 4, roll-on/roll-off cargo 4,
  specialized tanker 1, vehicle carrier 1 (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 35
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 1
  with paved runways under 914 m: 25
  with unpaved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 1
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 8 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 15,917 (1990 est.)

Telephone system: above-average system
  domestic: trunk network depends primarily on microwave radio relay
  international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 6, FM 5, shortwave 1

Radios: NA

Television broadcast stations: 1

Televisions: 27,048 (1993 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Belize Defense Force (includes Army, Navy, Air Force,
  and Volunteer Guard), Belize National Police

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 52,290
  males fit for military service: 31,086
  males reach military age (18) annually: 2,390 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $8.1 million, NA%
  of GDP (FY95/96)



======================================================================




@Benin
-----




Map
---


Location: 9 30 N, 2 15 E -- Western Africa, bordering the North
  Atlantic Ocean, between Nigeria and Togo



Flag
----


Description: two equal horizontal bands of yellow (top) and red
  with a vertical green band on the hoist side





Geography
---------


Location: Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean,
  between Nigeria and Togo

Geographic coordinates: 9 30 N, 2 15 E

Map references: Africa

Area:
  total area: 112,620 sq km
  land area: 110,620 sq km
  comparative area: slightly smaller than Pennsylvania

Land boundaries:
  total: 1,989 km
  border countries: Burkina Faso 306 km, Niger 266 km, Nigeria 773 km,
  Togo 644 km

Coastline: 121 km

Maritime claims:
  territorial sea: 200 nm

International disputes: none

Climate: tropical; hot, humid in south; semiarid in north

Terrain: mostly flat to undulating plain; some hills and low
  mountains
  lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
  highest point: Mount Tanekas 641 m

Natural resources: small offshore oil deposits, limestone, marble,
  timber

Land use:
  arable land: 12%
  permanent crops: 4%
  meadows and pastures: 4%
  forest and woodland: 35%
  other: 45%

Irrigated land: 60 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
  current issues: recent droughts have severely affected marginal
  agriculture in north; inadequate supplies of potable water; poaching
  threatens wildlife populations; deforestation; desertification
  natural hazards: hot, dry, dusty harmattan wind may affect north in
  winter
  international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
  Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Nuclear Test Ban,
  Ozone Layer Protection; signed, but not ratified - Desertification,
  Law of the Sea

Geographic note: no natural harbors



People
------


Population: 5,709,529 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 48% (male 1,376,531; female 1,367,394)
  15-64 years: 50% (male 1,349,386; female 1,480,251)
  65 years and over: 2% (male 60,030; female 75,937) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 3.32% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 46.76 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 13.53 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 0.91 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.79 male(s)/female
  all ages: 0.95 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 105.1 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 52.69 years
  male: 50.74 years
  female: 54.7 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 6.64 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Beninese (singular and plural)
  adjective: Beninese

Ethnic divisions: African 99% (42 ethnic groups, most important
  being Fon, Adja, Yoruba, Bariba), Europeans 5,500

Religions: indigenous beliefs 70%, Muslim 15%, Christian 15%

Languages: French (official), Fon and Yoruba (most common
  vernaculars in south), tribal languages (at least six major ones in
  north)

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)
  total population: 37%
  male: 48.7%
  female: 25.8%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Republic of Benin
  conventional short form: Benin
  local long form: Republique du Benin
  local short form: Benin
  former: Dahomey

Data code: BN

Type of government: republic under multiparty democratic rule
  dropped Marxism-Leninism December 1989; democratic reforms adopted
  February 1990; transition to multiparty system completed 4 April 1991

Capital: Porto-Novo

Administrative divisions: 6 provinces; Atakora, Atlantique,
  Borgou, Mono, Oueme, Zou

Independence: 1 August 1960 (from France)

National holiday: National Day, 1 August (1990)

Constitution: 2 December 1990

Legal system: based on French civil law and customary law; has not
  accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state and head of government: President Mathieu KEREKOU
  (since 4 April 1996) was elected for a five-year term by popular
  vote; election last held 18 March 1996 (next to be held March 2001);
  results - Mathieu KEREKOU 52.49%, Nicephore SOGLO 47.51%
  cabinet: Executive Council, appointed by the president

Legislative branch: unicameral
  National Assembly (Assemblee Nationale): elections last held 28
  March 1995 (next to be held NA); results - percent of vote by party
  NA; seats - (83 total) Renaissance Party and allies 20, PRD 19,
  FARD-ALAFIA 10, PSD 7, NCC 3, RDL-VIVOTEN 3, Communist Party 2,
  Alliance Chameleon 1, RDP 1, ADP 1, other 16

Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Cour Supreme)

Political parties and leaders: as of February 1996, more than 80
  political parties were officially recognized; the following are
  represented in the National Assembly: Alliance of the National Party
  for Democracy and Development (PNDD) and the Democratic Renewal
  Party (PRD), Pascal Chabi KAO; Action for Renewal and Development
  (FARD-ALAFIA), Mathieu KEREKOU; Alliance of the Social Democratic
  Party (PSD) and the National Union for Solidarity and Progress
  (UNSP), Bruno AMOUSSOU; Alliance Chameleon; Alliance for Democracy
  and Progress (ADP), Adekpedjon AKINDES; Alliance for Social
  Democracy (ASD), Robert DOSSOU; Assembly of Liberal Democrats for
  National Reconstruction (RDL), Severin ADJOVI; Communist Party of
  Benin, Pascal FATONDJI, First Secretary; Our Common Cause (NCC),
  Albert TEVOEDJRE; Rally for Democracy and Progress (RDP); The
  Renaissance Party, Nicephore SOGLO

International organization participation: ACCT, ACP, AfDB, ECA,
  ECOWAS, Entente, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB,
  IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM,
  OAU, OIC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIH, UPU, WADB, WCL, WFTU,
  WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Lucien Edgar TONOUKOUIN
  chancery: 2737 Cathedral Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
  telephone: [1] (202) 232-6656, 6657, 6658
  FAX: [1] (202) 265-1996

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador John M. YATES
  embassy: Rue Caporal Bernard Anani, Cotonou
  mailing address: B. P. 2012, Cotonou
  telephone: [229] 30-06-50, 30-05-13, 30-17-92
  FAX: [229] 30-14-39, 30-19-74

Flag: two equal horizontal bands of yellow (top) and red with a
  vertical green band on the hoist side



Economy
-------


Economic overview: The economy of Benin remains underdeveloped and
  dependent on subsistence agriculture, cotton production, and
  regional trade. Growth in real output, which had averaged a sound 4%
  in 1990-94, rose to 6% in 1995. Rapid population growth, now 3.3%
  per year, offset much of this growth in output. Inflation jumped to
  55% in 1994 (compared to 3% in 1993) following the 50% currency
  devaluation in January 1994, but subsided gradually in 1995.
  Commercial and transport activities, which make up 37% of GDP, are
  extremely vulnerable to developments in Nigeria as evidenced by
  decreased reexport trade in 1994 due to a severe contraction in
  Nigerian demand. Support by the Paris Club and official bilateral
  creditors has eased the external debt situation in recent years. The
  government, still burdened with money-losing state enterprises and a
  bloated civil service, has been gradually implementing a World Bank
  supported structural adjustment program since 1991.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $7.6 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 6% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $1,380 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 36.8%
  industry: 12.6%
  services: 50.6% (1993)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 55% (1994 est.)

Labor force: 1.9 million (1987)
  by occupation: agriculture 60%, transport, commerce, and public
  services 38%, industry less than 2%

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget:
  revenues: $272 million (1993 est.)
  expenditures: $375 million, including capital expenditures of $84
  million (1993 est.)

Industries: textiles, cigarettes; beverages, food; construction
  materials, petroleum

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity:
  capacity: 30,000 kW
  production: 10 million kWh
  consumption per capita: 25 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: corn, sorghum, cassava (tapioca), yams, beans, rice,
  cotton, palm oil, peanuts; poultry, livestock

Illicit drugs: transshipment point for narcotics associated with
  Nigerian trafficking organizations and most commonly destined for
  Western Europe and the US

Exports: $310 million (f.o.b., 1994 est.)
  commodities: cotton, crude oil, palm products, cocoa
  partners: France, Morocco 37%, Portugal 14%, Spain, Italy, UK, US,
  Libya

Imports: $439 million (c.i.f., 1994 est.)
  commodities: foodstuffs, beverages, tobacco, petroleum products,
  intermediate goods, capital goods, light consumer goods
  partners: France 24%, Thailand 12%, Netherlands 7%, US 5%, China,
  Hong Kong

External debt: $1.5 billion (1993 est.)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $NA

Currency: 1 Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (CFAF) = 100
  centimes

Exchange rates: CFA francs (CFAF) per US$1 - 500.56 (January
  1996), 499.15 (1995), 555.20 (1994), 283.16 (1993), 264.69 (1992),
  282.11 (1991)
  note: beginning 12 January 1994 the CFA franc was devalued to CFAF
  100 per French franc from CFAF 50 at which it had been fixed since
  1948

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 578 km (single track) (1995 est.)
  narrow gauge: 578 km 1.000-m gauge

Highways:
  total: 6,070 km
  paved: 1,214 km
  unpaved: 4,856 km (1992 est.)

Waterways: navigable along small sections, important only locally

Ports: Cotonou, Porto-Novo

Merchant marine: none

Airports:
  total: 5
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 2
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 1
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 2 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 16,200 (1986 est.)

Telephone system:
  domestic: fair system of open wire and microwave radio relay
  international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic
  Ocean); submarine cable

Radio broadcast stations: AM 2, FM 2, shortwave 0

Radios: NA

Television broadcast stations: 2

Televisions: 20,000 (1993 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Armed Forces (includes Army, Navy, Air Force), National
  Gendarmerie

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 1,212,440
  females age 15-49: 1,290,773
  males fit for military service: 620,923
  females fit for military service: 653,094
  males reach military age (18) annually: 62,526
  females reach military age (18) annually: 60,968 (1996 est.)
  note: both sexes are liable for military service

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $33 million, 3.2%
  of GDP (1994)



======================================================================




@Bermuda
-------


(dependent territory of the UK)

Map
---


Location: 32 20 N, 64 45 W -- North America, group of islands in
  the North Atlantic Ocean, east of North Carolina (US)



Flag
----


Description: red with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side
  quadrant and the Bermudian coat of arms (white and blue shield with
  a red lion holding a scrolled shield showing the sinking of the ship
  Sea Venture off Bermuda in 1609) centered on the outer half of the
  flag





Geography
---------


Location: North America, group of islands in the North Atlantic
  Ocean, east of North Carolina (US)

Geographic coordinates: 32 20 N, 64 45 W

Map references: North America

Area:
  total area: 50 sq km
  land area: 50 sq km
  comparative area: about 0.3 times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 103 km

Maritime claims:
  exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: none

Climate: subtropical; mild, humid; gales, strong winds common in
  winter

Terrain: low hills separated by fertile depressions
  lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
  highest point: Town Hill 76 m

Natural resources: limestone, pleasant climate fostering tourism

Land use:
  arable land: 0%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 0%
  forest and woodland: 20%
  other: 80%

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Environment:
  current issues: NA
  natural hazards: hurricanes (June to November)
  international agreements: NA

Geographic note: consists of about 360 small coral islands with
  ample rainfall, but no rivers or freshwater lakes; some reclaimed
  land leased by US Government



People
------


Population: 62,099 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: NA
  15-64 years: NA
  65 years and over: NA

Population growth rate: 0.76% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 15 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 7.3 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: -0.13 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: NA male(s)/female
  under 15 years: NA male(s)/female
  15-64 years: NA male(s)/female
  65 years and over: NA male(s)/female
  all ages: NA male(s)/female

Infant mortality rate: 13.16 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 75.03 years
  male: 73.36 years
  female: 76.97 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.8 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Bermudian(s)
  adjective: Bermudian

Ethnic divisions: black 61%, white and other 39%

Religions: Anglican 37%, Roman Catholic 14%, African Methodist
  Episcopal (Zion) 10%, Methodist 6%, Seventh-Day Adventist 5%, other
  28%

Languages: English

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1970 est.)
  total population: 98%
  male: 98%
  female: 99%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: none
  conventional short form: Bermuda

Data code: BD

Type of government: dependent territory of the UK

Capital: Hamilton

Administrative divisions: 9 parishes and 2 municipalities*;
  Devonshire, Hamilton, Hamilton*, Paget, Pembroke, Saint George*,
  Saint Georges, Sandys, Smiths, Southampton, Warwick

Independence: none (dependent territory of the UK)

National holiday: Bermuda Day, 24 May

Constitution: 8 June 1968

Legal system: English law

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (of the United Kingdom since 6
  February 1952), a hereditary monarch, is represented by Governor
  Lord David WADDINGTON (since 25 August 1992), who was appointed by
  the queen
  head of government: Premier David SAUL (since 25 August 1995) was
  appointed by the governor; Deputy Premier Jerome DILL (since 1
  September 1995)
  cabinet: Cabinet was nominated by the premier, appointed by the
  governor

Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament
  Senate: consists of an 11-member body appointed by the governor
  House of Assembly: elections last held 5 October 1993 (next to be
  held by NA October 1998); results - UBP 50%, PLP 46%, independents
  4%; seats - (40 total) UBP 22, PLP 18

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

Political parties and leaders: United Bermuda Party (UBP), David
  SAUL; Progressive Labor Party (PLP), Frederick WADE; National
  Liberal Party (NLP), Gilbert DARRELL

Other political or pressure groups: Bermuda Industrial Union
  (BIU), Ottiwell SIMMONS

International organization participation: Caricom (observer), CCC,
  ICFTU, Interpol (subbureau), IOC

Diplomatic representation in US: none (dependent territory of the
  UK)

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Robert A. FARMER
  consulate general(s): Crown Hill, 16 Middle Road, Devonshire,
  Hamilton
  mailing address: P. O. Box HM325, Hamilton HMBX; American Consulate
  General Hamilton, Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-5300
  telephone: [1] (441) 295-1342
  FAX: [1] (441) 295-1592

Flag: red with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant
  and the Bermudian coat of arms (white and blue shield with a red
  lion holding a scrolled shield showing the sinking of the ship Sea
  Venture off Bermuda in 1609) centered on the outer half of the flag



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Bermuda enjoys one of the highest per capita
  incomes in the world, having successfully exploited its location by
  providing luxury tourist facilities and financial services. The
  tourist industry attracts more than 90% of its business from North
  America. The industrial sector is small, and agriculture is severely
  limited by a lack of suitable land. About 80% of food needs are
  imported. International business contributes over 60% of Bermuda's
  economic output; a failed independence vote in late 1995 can be
  partially attributed to Bermudian's fear of scaring away foreign
  firms. Hurricane Felix, which hit Bermuda twice over three days,
  caused an estimated $2.5 million in damages in August of 1995.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $1.7 billion (1994 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 2.5% (1994 est.)

GDP per capita: $28,000 (1994 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: NA%
  industry: NA%
  services: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.6% (1995 est.)

Labor force: 33,650 (1992)
  by occupation: clerical 25%, services 22%, laborers 21%,
  professional and technical 13%, administrative and managerial 10%,
  sales 7%, agriculture and fishing 2% (1984)

Unemployment rate: NEGL% (1995)

Budget:
  revenues: $327.5 million
  expenditures: $308.9 million, including capital expenditures of
  $35.4 million (FY90/91 est.)

Industries: tourism, finance, structural concrete products,
  paints, pharmaceuticals, ship repairing

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity:
  capacity: 140,000 kW
  production: 504 million kWh
  consumption per capita: 7,745 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: bananas, vegetables, citrus, flowers; dairy products

Exports: $60 million (f.o.b., 1991)
  commodities: semitropical produce, light manufactures, reexports of
  pharmaceuticals
  partners: US 62.4%, UK 20%

Imports: $519 million (f.o.b., 1993)
  commodities: fuel, foodstuffs, machinery
  partners: US 38%, UK 5%, Canada 5%

External debt: $NA

Economic aid: $NA

Currency: 1 Bermudian dollar (Bd$) = 100 cents

Exchange rates: Bermudian dollar (Bd$) per US$1 - 1.0000 (fixed
  rate)

Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March



Transportation
--------------


Railways: 0 km

Highways:
  total: 208 km
  paved: 208 km
  unpaved: 0 km (1986 est.)
  note: in addition, there are 400 km of paved and unpaved roads that
  are privately owned

Ports: Hamilton, Saint George

Merchant marine:
  total: 69 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 3,146,693 GRT/5,007,242
  DWT
  ships by type: bulk 10, cargo 3, container 7, liquefied gas tanker
  16, oil tanker 16, refrigerated cargo 10, roll-on/roll-off cargo 4,
  short-sea passenger 1, specialized tanker 1, vehicle carrier 1
  note: a flag of convenience registry; includes ships from 11
  countries among which are UK 17, US 13, Canada 10, Norway 9, Nigeria
  4, Sweden 3, Hong Kong 2, Syria 2, Mexico 1, and NZ 1 (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 1
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 1 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 54,000 (1991 est.)

Telephone system:
  domestic: modern, fully automatic telephone system
  international: 3 submarine cables; satellite earth stations - 2
  Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 5, FM 3, shortwave 0

Radios: 78,000 (1992 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 2

Televisions: 57,000 (1992 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Bermuda Regiment, Bermuda Police Force, Bermuda Reserve
  Constabulary

Defense expenditures: $NA, NA% of GDP

Defense note: defense is the responsibility of the UK



======================================================================




@Bhutan
------




Map
---


Location: 27 30 N, 90 30 E -- Southern Asia, between China and
  India



Flag
----


Description: divided diagonally from the lower hoist side corner;
  the upper triangle is yellow and the lower triangle is orange;
  centered along the dividing line is a large black and white dragon
  facing away from the hoist side





Geography
---------


Location: Southern Asia, between China and India

Geographic coordinates: 27 30 N, 90 30 E

Map references: Asia

Area:
  total area: 47,000 sq km
  land area: 47,000 sq km
  comparative area: slightly more than half the size of Indiana

Land boundaries:
  total: 1,075 km
  border countries: China 470 km, India 605 km

Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims: none (landlocked)

International disputes: none

Climate: varies; tropical in southern plains; cool winters and hot
  summers in central valleys; severe winters and cool summers in
  Himalayas

Terrain: mostly mountainous with some fertile valleys and savanna
  lowest point: Dangme Chu 97 m
  highest point: Khula Kangri I 7,553 m

Natural resources: timber, hydropower, gypsum, calcium carbide

Land use:
  arable land: 2%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 5%
  forest and woodland: 70%
  other: 23%

Irrigated land: 340 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
  current issues: soil erosion; limited access to potable water
  natural hazards: violent storms coming down from the Himalayas are
  the source of the country's name which translates as Land of the
  Thunder Dragon; frequent landslides during the rainy season
  international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
  Nuclear Test Ban; signed, but not ratified - Law of the Sea

Geographic note: landlocked; strategic location between China and
  India; controls several key Himalayan mountain passes



People
------


Population: 1,822,625 (July 1996 est.)
  note: other estimates range as low as 600,000

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 40% (male 378,407; female 351,146)
  15-64 years: 56% (male 524,972; female 496,715)
  65 years and over: 4% (male 36,304; female 35,081) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.32% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 38.48 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 15.28 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.08 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 1.04 male(s)/female
  all ages: 1.06 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 116.3 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 51.46 years
  male: 51.96 years
  female: 50.93 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 5.33 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Bhutanese (singular and plural)
  adjective: Bhutanese

Ethnic divisions: Bhote 50%, ethnic Nepalese 35%, indigenous or
  migrant tribes 15%

Religions: Lamaistic Buddhism 75%, Indian- and Nepalese-influenced
  Hinduism 25%

Languages: Dzongkha (official), Bhotes speak various Tibetan
  dialects, Nepalese speak various Nepalese dialects

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)
  total population: 42.2%
  male: 56.2%
  female: 28.1%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Kingdom of Bhutan
  conventional short form: Bhutan

Data code: BT

Type of government: monarchy; special treaty relationship with
  India

Capital: Thimphu

Administrative divisions: 18 districts (dzongkhag, singular and
  plural); Bumthang, Chhukha, Chirang, Daga, Geylegphug, Ha, Lhuntshi,
  Mongar, Paro, Pemagatsel, Punakha, Samchi, Samdrup Jongkhar,
  Shemgang, Tashigang, Thimphu, Tongsa, Wangdi Phodrang

Independence: 8 August 1949 (from India)

National holiday: National Day, 17 December (1907) (Ugyen
  Wangchuck became first hereditary king)

Constitution: no written constitution or bill of rights
  note: Bhutan uses 1953 Royal decree for the Constitution of the
  National Assembly

Legal system: based on Indian law and English common law; has not
  accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: each family has one vote in village-level elections

Executive branch:
  Chief of State and Head of Government (Druk Gyalpo): King Jigme
  Singye WANGCHUCK (since 24 July 1972) is a hereditary monarch
  Royal Advisory Council (Lodoi Tsokde): was nominated by the king
  cabinet: Council of Ministers (Lhengye Shungtsog) was appointed by
  the king

Legislative branch: unicameral
  National Assembly (Tshogdu): members serve for three years; seats -
  (150 total, 105 elected from village constituencies, 12 represent
  religious bodies, and 33 designated by the king to represent
  government and other secular interests)

Judicial branch: the Supreme Court of Appeal is the king; High
  Court, judges appointed by the king

Political parties and leaders: no legal parties

Other political or pressure groups: Buddhist clergy; Indian
  merchant community; ethnic Nepalese organizations leading militant
  antigovernment campaign

International organization participation: AsDB, CP, ESCAP, FAO,
  G-77, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, IMF, Intelsat, IOC, ITU, NAM, SAARC,
  UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO

Diplomatic representation in US: none; note - Bhutan has a
  Permanent Mission to the UN, headed by Ugyen TSERING; address: 2
  United Nations Plaza, 27th Floor, New York, NY 10017; telephone [1]
  (212) 826-1919; the Bhutanese mission to the UN has consular
  jurisdiction in the US
  consulate(s) general: New York
  honorary consulate(s): San Francisco; Washington, DC

US diplomatic representation: the US and Bhutan have no formal
  diplomatic relations, although informal contact is maintained
  between the Bhutanese and US Embassy in New Delhi (India)

Flag: divided diagonally from the lower hoist side corner; the
  upper triangle is yellow and the lower triangle is orange; centered
  along the dividing line is a large black and white dragon facing
  away from the hoist side



Economy
-------


Economic overview: The economy, one of the world's smallest and
  least developed, is based on agriculture and forestry, which provide
  the main livelihood for 90% of the population and account for about
  half of GDP. Agriculture consists largely of subsistence farming and
  animal husbandry. Rugged mountains dominate the terrain and make the
  building of roads and other infrastructure difficult and expensive.
  The economy is closely aligned with India's through strong trade and
  monetary links. The industrial sector is small and technologically
  backward, with most production of the cottage industry type. Most
  development projects, such as road construction, rely on Indian
  migrant labor. Bhutan's hydropower potential and its attraction for
  tourists are key resources; however, the government limits the
  number of tourists to 4,000 per year to minimize foreign influence.
  The Bhutanese Government has made some progress in expanding the
  nation's productive base and improving social welfare but growth
  continues to be constrained by the government's desire to protect
  the country's environment and cultural traditions. Growth picked up
  in 1995 and the country's balance of payments remained strong with
  comfortable reserves. The cautious fiscal stance planned for FY95/96
  suggests continued economic stability in 1996. However, excessive
  controls and uncertain policies in areas like industrial licensing,
  trade, labor, and finance continue to hamper foreign investment.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $1.3 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 6% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $730 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: NA%
  industry: NA%
  services: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 8.6% (FY94/95 est.)

Labor force: NA
  by occupation: agriculture 93%, services 5%, industry and commerce 2%
  note: massive lack of skilled labor

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget:
  revenues: $52 million
  expenditures: $150 million, including capital expenditures of $95
  million (FY93/94 est.)
  note: the government of India finances nearly three-fifths of
  Bhutan's budget expenditures

Industries: cement, wood products, processed fruits, alcoholic
  beverages, calcium carbide

Industrial production growth rate: 7.6% (1992 est.)

Electricity:
  capacity: 360,000 kW
  production: 1.7 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 143 kWh (1993)
  note: Bhutan exports electricity to India

Agriculture: rice, corn, root crops, citrus, foodgrains; dairy
  products, eggs

Exports: $70.9 million (f.o.b., FY94/95 est.)
  commodities: cardamon, gypsum, timber, handicrafts, cement, fruit,
  electricity (to India), precious stones, spices
  partners: India 94%, Bangladesh

Imports: $113.6 million (c.i.f., FY94/95 est.)
  commodities: fuel and lubricants, grain, machinery and parts,
  vehicles, fabrics, rice
  partners: India 77%, Japan, UK, Germany, US

External debt: $141 million (October 1994)

Economic aid:
  recipient: $NA

Currency: 1 ngultrum (Nu) = 100 chetrum; note - Indian currency is
  also legal tender

Exchange rates: ngultrum (Nu) per US$1 - 35.766 (January 1996),
  32.427 (1995), 31.374 (1994), 30.493 (1993), 25.918 (1992), 22.742
  (1991); note - the Bhutanese ngultrum is at par with the Indian rupee

Fiscal year: 1 July - 30 June



Transportation
--------------


Railways: 0 km

Highways:
  total: 1,296 km
  paved: 416 km
  unpaved: 880 km (1988 est.)

Ports: none

Airports:
  total: 2
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 1
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 1 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 4,620 (1991 est.)

Telephone system:
  domestic: domestic telephone service is very poor with very few
  telephones in use
  international: international telephone and telegraph service is by
  landline through India; a satellite earth station was planned (1990)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0 (1990)

Radios: 23,000 (1989 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 0 (1990 est.)

Televisions: 200 (1985 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Royal Bhutan Army, Palace Guard, Militia

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 444,875
  males fit for military service: 237,529
  males reach military age (18) annually: 17,634 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: $NA, NA% of GDP



======================================================================




@Bolivia
-------




Map
---


Location: 17 00 S, 65 00 W -- Central South America, southwest of
  Brazil



Flag
----


Description: three equal horizontal bands of red (top), yellow,
  and green with the coat of arms centered on the yellow band; similar
  to the flag of Ghana, which has a large black five-pointed star
  centered in the yellow band





Geography
---------


Location: Central South America, southwest of Brazil

Geographic coordinates: 17 00 S, 65 00 W

Map references: South America

Area:
  total area: 1,098,580 sq km
  land area: 1,084,390 sq km
  comparative area: slightly less than three times the size of Montana

Land boundaries:
  total: 6,743 km
  border countries: Argentina 832 km, Brazil 3,400 km, Chile 861 km,
  Paraguay 750 km, Peru 900 km

Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims: none (landlocked)

International disputes: has wanted a sovereign corridor to the
  South Pacific Ocean since the Atacama area was lost to Chile in
  1884; dispute with Chile over Rio Lauca water rights

Climate: varies with altitude; humid and tropical to cold and
  semiarid

Terrain: rugged Andes Mountains with a highland plateau
  (Altiplano), hills, lowland plains of the Amazon Basin
  lowest point: Rio Paraguay 90 m
  highest point: Cerro Illimani 6,882 m

Natural resources: tin, natural gas, petroleum, zinc, tungsten,
  antimony, silver, iron, lead, gold, timber

Land use:
  arable land: 3%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 25%
  forest and woodland: 52%
  other: 20%

Irrigated land: 1,650 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
  current issues: the clearing of land for agricultural purposes and
  the international demand for tropical timber are contributing to
  deforestation; soil erosion from overgrazing and poor cultivation
  methods (including slash-and-burn agriculture); desertification;
  loss of biodiversity; industrial pollution of water supplies used
  for drinking and irrigation
  natural hazards: cold, thin air of high plateau is obstacle to
  efficient fuel combustion, as well as to physical activity by those
  unaccustomed to it from birth; flooding in the northeast
  (March-April)
  international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
  Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Tropical
  Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified -
  Desertification, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes,
  Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection

Geographic note: landlocked; shares control of Lago Titicaca,
  world's highest navigable lake (elevation 3,805 m), with Peru



People
------


Population: 7,165,257 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 39% (male 1,422,313; female 1,390,885)
  15-64 years: 56% (male 1,959,989; female 2,042,135)
  65 years and over: 5% (male 153,111; female 196,824) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.82% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 32.37 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 10.75 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: -3.41 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female
  all ages: 0.97 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 67.5 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 59.81 years
  male: 56.94 years
  female: 62.82 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 4.25 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Bolivian(s)
  adjective: Bolivian

Ethnic divisions: Quechua 30%, Aymara 25%, mestizo (mixed European
  and Indian ancestry) 25%-30%, European 5%-15%

Religions: Roman Catholic 95%, Protestant (Evangelical Methodist)

Languages: Spanish (official), Quechua (official), Aymara
  (official)

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)
  total population: 83.1%
  male: 90.5%
  female: 76%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Republic of Bolivia
  conventional short form: Bolivia
  local long form: Republica de Bolivia
  local short form: Bolivia

Data code: BL

Type of government: republic

Capital: La Paz (seat of government); Sucre (legal capital and
  seat of judiciary)

Administrative divisions: 9 departments (departamentos, singular -
  departamento); Chuquisaca, Cochabamba, Beni, La Paz, Oruro, Pando,
  Potosi, Santa Cruz, Tarija

Independence: 6 August 1825 (from Spain)

National holiday: Independence Day, 6 August (1825)

Constitution: 2 February 1967

Legal system: based on Spanish law and Napoleonic Code; has not
  accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: 18 years of age, universal and compulsory (married); 21
  years of age, universal and compulsory (single)

Executive branch:
  chief of state and head of government: President Gonzalo SANCHEZ DE
  LOZADA Bustamente (since 6 August 1993) and Vice President Victor
  Hugo CARDENAS Conde (since 6 August 1993) were elected for four-year
  terms by popular vote; election last held 6 June 1993 (next to be
  held NA May 1997); results - Gonzalo SANCHEZ DE LOZADA (MNR) 34%,
  Hugo BANZER Suarez (ADN/MIR alliance) 20%, Carlos PALENQUE Aviles
  (CONDEPA) 14%, Max FERNANDEZ Rojas (UCS) 13%, Antonio ARANIBAR
  Quiroga (MBL) 5%; no candidate received a majority of the popular
  vote; Gonzalo SANCHEZ DE LOZADA won a congressional runoff election
  on 4 August 1993 after forming a coalition with Max FERNANDEZ and
  Antonio ARANIBAR; FERNANDEZ died in a plane crash 26 November 1995
  cabinet: Cabinet was appointed by the president from panel of
  candidates proposed by the Senate

Legislative branch: bicameral National Congress (Congreso Nacional)
  Chamber of Deputies (Camara de Diputados): elections last held 6
  June 1993 (next to be held NA May 1997); results - percent of vote
  by party NA; seats - (130 total) MNR 52, UCS 20, ADN 17, MIR 17,
  CONDEPA 13, MBL 7, ARBOL 1, ASD 1, EJE 1, PCD 1
  Chamber of Senators (Camara de Senadores): elections last held 6
  June 1993 (next to be held NA May 1997); results - percent of vote
  by party NA; seats - (27 total) MNR 17, ADN 4, MIR 4, CONDEPA 1, UCS
  1

Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Corte Suprema), judges appointed
  for a 10-year term by National Congress

Political parties and leaders:
  Left parties: Free Bolivia Movement (MBL), Antonio ARANIBAR; April 9
  Revolutionary Vanguard (VR-9), Carlos SERRATE; Alternative of
  Democratic Socialism (ASD), Jerjes JUSTINIANO; Revolutionary Front
  of the Left (FRI), Oscar ZAMORA; Bolivian Socialist Falange (FSB);
  Socialist Unzaguista Movement (MAS); Socialist Party One (PS-1);
  Bolivian Communist Party (PCB)
  Center-Left parties: Nationalist Revolutionary Movement (MNR),
  Gonzalo SANCHEZ DE LOZADA; Movement of the Revolutionary Left (MIR),
  Jaime PAZ Zamora, Oscar EID; Christian Democrat (PCD), Jorge AGREDA
  Center-Right party: Nationalist Democratic Action (ADN), Jorge
  LANDIVAR, Hugo BANZER
  Populist parties: Civic Solidarity Union (UCS), Johnny FERNANDEZ;
  Conscience of the Fatherland (CONDEPA), Carlos PALENQUE Aviles;
  Popular Patriotic Movement (MPP), Julio MANTILLA; Unity and Progress
  Movement (MUP), Ivo KULJIS
  Evangelical: Bolivian Renovating Alliance (ARBOL), Hugo VILLEGAS
  indigenous: Tupac Katari Revolutionary Liberation Movement (MRTK-L),
  Victor Hugo CARDENAS Conde; Patriotic Axis of Convergence (EJE-P),
  Ramiro BARRANCHEA; National Katarista Movement (MKN), Fernando UNTOJA

International organization participation: AG, ECLAC, FAO, G-11,
  G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF,
  IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, LAES, LAIA, NAM, OAS,
  OPANAL, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO,
  WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Fernando Alvaro COSSIO
  chancery: 3014 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
  telephone: [1] (202) 483-4410 through 4412
  FAX: [1] (202) 328-3712
  consulate(s) general: Los Angeles, Miami, New York, and San Francisco

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Curtis Warren KAMMAN
  embassy: Avenida Arce 2780, San Jorge, La Paz
  mailing address: P. O. Box 425, La Paz; APO AA 34032
  telephone: [591] (2) 430251
  FAX: [591] (2) 433900

Flag: three equal horizontal bands of red (top), yellow, and green
  with the coat of arms centered on the yellow band; similar to the
  flag of Ghana, which has a large black five-pointed star centered in
  the yellow band



Economy
-------


Economic overview: With its long history of semifeudal social
  controls, dependence on volatile prices for its mineral exports, and
  bouts of hyperinflation, Bolivia has remained one of the poorest and
  least developed Latin American countries. However, Bolivia has
  experienced generally improving economic conditions since the PAZ
  Estenssoro administration (1985-89) introduced market-oriented
  policies which reduced inflation from 11,700% in 1985 to about 20%
  in 1988. PAZ Estenssoro was followed as president by Jaime PAZ
  Zamora (1989-93) who continued the free-market policies of his
  predecessor, despite opposition from his own party and from
  Bolivia's once powerful labor movement. By maintaining fiscal
  discipline, PAZ Zamora helped reduce inflation to 9.3% in 1993,
  while GDP grew by an annual average of 3.25% during his tenure.
  Inaugurated in August 1993, President SANCHEZ DE LOZADA has vowed to
  advance the market-oriented economic reforms he helped launch as PAZ
  Estenssoro's planning minister. His successes so far have included
  the signing of a free trade agreement with Mexico and progress on
  his unique privatization plan. The main privatization bill was
  passed by the Bolivian legislature in late March 1994. Since that
  time, the administration has privatized the electric power
  generation sector, the state airline, the state telephone company,
  and the national railroad. The state mining and petroleum companies
  are expected to be privatized in 1996.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $20 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 3.7% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $2,530 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: NA%
  industry: NA%
  services: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 12% (1995 est.)

Labor force: 3.54 million
  by occupation: agriculture NA%, services and utilities 20%,
  manufacturing, mining and construction 7% (1993)

Unemployment rate: urban rate 8% (1995 est.)

Budget:
  revenues: $3.75 billion
  expenditures: $3.75 billion, including capital expenditures of
  $556.2 million (1995 est.)

Industries: mining, smelting, petroleum, food and beverages,
  tobacco, handicrafts, clothing

Industrial production growth rate: 5% (1994 est.)

Electricity:
  capacity: 756,200 kW
  production: 2.116 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 367 kWh (1994)

Agriculture: coffee, coca, cotton, corn, sugarcane, rice,
  potatoes; timber

Illicit drugs: world's third-largest cultivator of coca (after
  Peru and Colombia) with an estimated 48,600 hectares under
  cultivation in 1995, a one percent increase in overall cultivation
  of coca over 1994 levels; Bolivia, however, is the second-largest
  producer of harvested coca leaf; even so, voluntary and forced
  eradication programs resulted in leaf production dropping from
  89,800 metric tons in 1994 to 85,000 tons in 1995; government
  considers all but 12,000 hectares illicit; intermediate coca
  products and cocaine exported to or through Colombia and Brazil to
  the US and other international drug markets; alternative crop
  program aims to reduce illicit coca cultivation

Exports: $1.1 billion (f.o.b., 1994 est.)
  commodities: metals 39%, natural gas 9%, soybeans 11%, jewelry 11%,
  wood 8%
  partners: US 26%, Argentina 15% (1993 est.)

Imports: $1.21 billion (c.i.f., 1994 est.)
  commodities: capital goods 48%, chemicals 11%, petroleum 5%, food 5%
  (1993 est.)
  partners: US 24%, Argentina 13%, Brazil 11%, Japan 11% (1993 est.)

External debt: $4.4 billion (November 1995)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $362 million (1993)

Currency: 1 boliviano ($B) = 100 centavos

Exchange rates: bolivianos ($B) per US$1 - 4.9137 (December 1995),
  4.8003 (1995), 4.6205 (1994), 4.2651 (1993), 3.9005 (1992), 3.5806
  (1991)

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 3,691 km (single track)
  narrow gauge: 3,652 km 1.000-m gauge; 39 km 0.760-m gauge (13 km
  electrified) (1995)

Highways:
  total: 46,311 km
  paved: 1,940 km (including 27 km of expressways)
  unpaved: 44,371 km (1991 est.)

Waterways: 10,000 km of commercially navigable waterways

Pipelines: crude oil 1,800 km; petroleum products 580 km; natural
  gas 1,495 km

Ports: none; however, Bolivia has free port privileges in the
  maritime ports of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Paraguay

Merchant marine:
  total: 1 cargo ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 4,214 GRT/6,390 DWT
  (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 1,017
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 3
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 4
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 3
  with paved runways under 914 m: 750
  with unpaved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 2
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 69
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 186 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 144,300 (1987 est.)

Telephone system: new subscribers face bureaucratic difficulties;
  most telephones are concentrated in La Paz and other cities
  domestic: microwave radio relay system being expanded
  international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 129, FM 0, shortwave 68

Radios: NA

Television broadcast stations: 43

Televisions: 500,000 (1993 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Army (Ejercito Boliviano), Navy (Fuerza Naval Boliviana,
  includes Marines), Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Boliviana), National
  Police Force (Policia Nacional de Bolivia)

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 1,685,572
  males fit for military service: 1,098,948
  males reach military age (19) annually: 76,035 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $145 million;
  1.9% of GDP (1996)



======================================================================




@Bosnia and Herzegovina
----------------------


On 21 November 1995, in Dayton, Ohio, the former Yugoslavia's three
warring parties signed a peace agreement that brought to a halt over
three years of interethnic civil strife in Bosnia and Herzegovina
(the final agreement was signed in Paris on 14 December 1995). The
Dayton Agreement, signed by Bosnian President IZETBEGOVIC, Croatian
President TUDJMAN, and Serbian President MILOSEVIC, divides Bosnia
and Herzegovina roughly equally between the Muslim/Croat Federation
and the Bosnian Serbs while maintaining Bosnia's currently
recognized borders. An international peacekeeping force (IFOR) of
60,000 troops began to enter Bosnia in late 1995 to implement and
monitor the military aspects of the agreement and is scheduled to
depart the country within one year. A High Representative appointed
by the UN Security Council is responsible for civilian
implementation of the accord, including monitoring implementation,
facilitating any difficulties arising in connection with civilian
implementation, and coordinating activities of the civilian
organizations and agencies in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Bosnian
conflict began in the spring of 1992 when the Government of Bosnia
and Herzegovina held a referendum on independence and the Bosnian
Serbs - supported by neighboring Serbia - responded with armed
resistance aimed at partitioning the republic along ethnic lines and
joining Serb-held areas to form a "greater Serbia." In March 1994,
Bosnia's Muslims and Croats reduced the number of warring factions
from three to two by signing an agreement in Washington creating
their joint Muslim/Croat Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Map
---


Location: 44 00 N, 18 00 E -- Southeastern Europe, bordering the
  Adriatic Sea and Croatia



Flag
----


Description: white with a large blue shield; the shield contains
  white fleurs-de-lis with a white diagonal band running from the
  upper hoist corner to the lower outer side





Geography
---------


Location: Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea and
  Croatia

Geographic coordinates: 44 00 N, 18 00 E

Map references: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Europe

Area:
  total area: 51,233 sq km
  land area: 51,233 sq km
  comparative area: slightly smaller than West Virginia

Land boundaries:
  total: 1,459 km
  border countries: Croatia 932 km, Serbia and Montenegro 527 km (312
  km with Serbia, 215 km with Montenegro)

Coastline: 20 km

Maritime claims: NA

International disputes: none

Climate: hot summers and cold winters; areas of high elevation
  have short, cool summers and long, severe winters; mild, rainy
  winters along coast

Terrain: mountains and valleys
  lowest point: Adriatic Sea 0 m
  highest point: Maglic 2,386 m

Natural resources: coal, iron, bauxite, manganese, forests,
  copper, chromium, lead, zinc

Land use:
  arable land: 20%
  permanent crops: 2%
  meadows and pastures: 25%
  forest and woodland: 36%
  other: 17%

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Environment:
  current issues: air pollution from metallurgical plants; sites for
  disposing of urban waste are limited; widespread casualties, water
  shortages, and destruction of infrastructure because of civil strife
  natural hazards: frequent and destructive earthquakes
  international agreements: party to - Air Pollution, Law of the Sea,
  Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone
  Layer Protection

Geographic note: as of January 1996, Bosnian Serb leaders
  continued to demand revisions to the territorial aspects of the
  Dayton Agreement, especially in Sarajevo - designated to be under
  Federation control - and the Brcko/Posavina corridor area; members
  of the Bosnian Croat community also reject several territorial
  aspects of the agreement, citing that historically Bosnian Croat
  lands are to be transferred to Bosnian Serb control; despite
  disagreements, initial implementation of the agreement as of January
  1996 appeared on course with the warring parties meeting the
  deadline for withdrawal of forces from the front lines in Sarajevo



People
------


Population: 2,656,240 (July 1996 est.)
  note: all data dealing with population is subject to considerable
  error because of the dislocations caused by military action and
  ethnic cleansing

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 20% (male 276,530; female 248,519)
  15-64 years: 68% (male 892,807; female 915,686)
  65 years and over: 12% (male 133,081; female 189,617) (July 1996
  est.)

Population growth rate: -2.84% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 6.34 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 15.92 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: -18.82 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.11 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female
  all ages: 0.96 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 43.2 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 56.11 years
  male: 51.16 years
  female: 61.39 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Bosnian(s), Herzegovinian(s)
  adjective: Bosnian, Herzegovinian

Ethnic divisions: Serb 40%, Muslim 38%, Croat 22% (est.)

Religions: Muslim 40%, Orthodox 31%, Catholic 15%, Protestant 4%,
  other 10%

Languages: Serbo-Croatian 99%

Literacy: NA



Government
----------


Government note: The US recognizes the Republic of Bosnia and
  Herzegovina. The Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, formed by the
  Muslims and Croats in March 1994, remains in the implementation
  stages.

Name of country:
  conventional long form: Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina
  conventional short form: Bosnia and Herzegovina
  local long form: Republika Bosna i Hercegovina
  local short form: Bosna i Hercegovina
  note: under the new constitution initialed in Dayton, Ohio, on 21
  November 1995, the name of the country will be changed from Republic
  of Bosnia and Herzegovina to simply Bosnia and Herzegovina and will
  be made up of the Muslim/Croat Federation and the Bosnian Serb
  entity now called Republika Srpska

Data code: BK

Type of government: emerging democracy

Capital: Sarajevo

Administrative divisions: 109 districts (opstinas, singular -
  opstina) Banovici, Banja Luka, Bihac, Bijeljina, Bileca, Bosanska
  Dubica, Bosanska Gradiska, Bosanska Krupa, Bosanski Brod, Bosanski
  Novi, Bosanski Petrovac, Bosanski Samac, Bosansko Grahovo, Bratunac,
  Brcko, Breza, Bugojno, Busovaca, Cazin, Cajnice, Capljina, Celinac,
  Citluk, Derventa, Doboj, Donji Vakuf, Foca, Fojnica, Gacko, Glamoc,
  Gorazde, Gornji Vakuf, Gracanica, Gradacac, Grude, Han Pijesak,
  Jablanica, Jajce, Kakanj, Kalesija, Kalinovik, Kiseljak, Kladanj,
  Kljuc, Konjic, Kotor Varos, Kresevo, Kupres, Laktasi, Listica,
  Livno, Lopare, Lukavac, Ljubinje, Ljubuski, Maglaj, Modrica, Mostar,
  Mrkonjic-Grad, Neum, Nevesinje, Odzak, Olovo, Orasje, Posusje,
  Prijedor, Prnjavor, Prozor, (Pucarevo) Novi Travnik, Rogatica, Rudo,
  Sanski Most, Sarajevo-Centar, Sarajevo-Hadzici, Sarajevo-Ilidza,
  Sarajevo-Ilijas, Sarajevo-Novi Grad, Sarajevo-Novo, Sarajevo-Pale,
  Sarajevo-Stari Grad, Sarajevo-Trnovo, Sarajevo-Vogosca, Skender
  Vakuf, Sokolac, Srbac, Srebrenica, Srebrenik, Stolac, Sekovici,
  Sipovo, Teslic, Tesanj, Drvar, Duvno, Travnik, Trebinje, Tuzla,
  Ugljevik, Vares, Velika Kladusa, Visoko, Visegrad, Vitez, Vlasenica,
  Zavidovici, Zenica, Zvornik, Zepce, Zivinice
  note: administrative reorganization is currently under negotiation
  with the assistance of international mediators; spellings not yet
  approved by the US Board on Geographic Names

Independence: NA April 1992 (from Yugoslavia)

National holiday: NA

Constitution: first promulgated in 1974 (under the Communists),
  amended 1989, 1990, and 1991; constitution of Muslim/Croat
  Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina ratified April 1994; under the
  Dayton Agreement signed 21 November 1995, the Muslim/Croat
  Federation and the Serb republic government agreed to accept new
  basic principles in their constitutions

Legal system: based on civil law system

Suffrage: 16 years of age, if employed; 18 years of age, universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: President Alija IZETBEGOVIC (since 20 December 1990)
  was elected by a collective (seven-member) presidency (of which he
  is a member); other members of the collective presidency are: Ejup
  GANIC (since NA November 1990), Nijaz DURAKOVIC (since NA October
  1993), Stjepan KLJUJIC (since NA October 1993), Ivo KOMSIC (since NA
  October 1993), Mirko PEJANOVIC (since NA June 1992), Tatjana
  LJUJIC-MIJATOVIC (since NA December 1992); the collective presidency
  is elected from among the National Assembly with at least two
  members drawn from each of the three main ethnic groups
  head of government: Prime Minister Hasan MURATOVIC (since 30 January
  1996) was elected by the collective presidency and the National
  Assembly
  cabinet: there is an executive body of ministers with no formal name
  who are members of, and responsible to, the National Assembly
  note: the president of the Muslim/Croat Federation of Bosnia and
  Herzegovina is Kresimir ZUBAK (since 31 May 1994); Vice President
  Ejup GANIC (since 31 May 1994); elections for the Presidency of
  Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Presidency of the Republika Srpska
  will take place between six and nine months after the entry into
  force of the Dayton Agreement (14 December 1995)

Legislative branch: bicameral National Assembly
  Chamber of Municipalities (Vijece Opeina): elections last held
  November-December 1990 (next to be held NA); percent of vote by
  party NA; seats - (110 total) SDA 43, SDS BiH 38, HDZ BiH 23, Party
  of Democratic Changes 4, DSS 1, SPO 1
  Chamber of Citizens (Vijece Gradanstvo): elections last held
  November-December 1990 (next to be held NA); percent of vote by
  party NA; seats - (130 total) SDA 43, SDS BiH 34, HDZ BiH 21, Party
  of Democratic Changes 15, SRSJ BiH 12, LBO 2, DSS 1, DSZ 1, LS 1
  note: the new constitution signed as part of the Dayton agreement on
  21 November 1995 provides for a new bicameral Parliamentary assembly
  which will consist of a House of Peoples with 15 delegates,
  two-thirds from the Muslim/Croat Federation and one-third from the
  Serbian republic, and a House of Representatives with 42 members,
  two-thirds from the Muslim/Croat Federation and one-third from the
  Serbian republic; elections are scheduled to be held six to nine
  months after the entry into force of the Dayton Agreement

Judicial branch: Supreme Court; Constitutional Court

Political parties and leaders: Civic Democratic Party (GDS),
  Ibrahim SPAHIC; Party for Bosnia, Haris SILAJDZIC; Croatian
  Democratic Union of BiH (HDZ), Bozo RAJIC; Croatian Peasants' Party
  of BiH (HSS), Stanko STISKOVIC; Independent Serbian Democratic Party
  (NSDS), Petar DODIK; Liberal Bosniak Organization (LBO), Muhamed
  FILIPOVIC; Liberal Party (LS), Rasim KADIC, president;
  Muslim-Bosniac Organization (MBO), Adil ZULFIKARPASIC; Party of
  Democratic Action (SDA), Alija IZETBEGOVIC; Republican Party of
  Bosnia and Herzegovina, Stjepan KLUJIC; Serb Democratic Party (SDS),
  Radovan KARADZIC, president; Serbian Civic Council (SGV), Mirko
  PEJANOVIC; Serbian Consultative Council, Ljubomir BERBEROVIC; Social
  Democratic Party (SDP - formerly the Democratic Party of Socialists
  (DSS)), Nijaz DURAKOVIC, president; Socialist Party of Republika
  Srpska, Zivko RADISIC; Union of Social Democrats (SSDB), Salim
  BESLAGIC; United Left of the Bosnian Serb Republic (ULRS), Mile
  IVOSEVIC; Serbian Renewal Movement (SPO), Milan TRIVUNCIC, note -
  this party participated in the 1990 elections, but may not exist
  now; Party of Democratic Changes, leader NA, note - this party
  participated in the 1990 elections, but may not exist now; Alliance
  of Reform Forces of Yugoslavia for Bosnia and Herzegovina (SRSJ
  BiH), Dr. Nenad KECMANOVIC, president, note - this party
  participated in the 1990 elections, but may not exist now;
  Democratic League of Greens (DSZ), Drazen PETROVIC, note - this
  party participated in the 1990 elections, but may not exist now;
  Yugoslav United Left (JUL), CAREVIC; Serb Liberal Party, Miodrag
  ZIVANOVIC; Serb Radical Party; Serb Patriotic Party, Slavko
  ZUPLJANIN; Serb Homeland Party

Other political or pressure groups: NA

International organization participation: CE (guest), CEI, ECE,
  FAO, ICAO, IFAD, ILO, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol,
  IOC, IOM (observer), ITU, NAM (guest), OSCE, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO,
  UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Sven ALKALAJ
  chancery: Suite 760, 1707 L Street NW, Washington, DC 20036
  telephone: [1] (202) 833-3612, 3613, 3615
  FAX: [1] (202) 833-2061
  consulate(s) general: New York

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador John K. MENZIES
  embassy: 43 Ul. Djure Djakovica, Sarajevo
  mailing address: use street address
  telephone: [387] (71) 645-992, 445-700, 659-743

Flag: white with a large blue shield; the shield contains white
  fleurs-de-lis with a white diagonal band running from the upper
  hoist corner to the lower outer side



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Bosnia and Herzegovina ranked next to The
  Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia as the poorest republic in the
  old Yugoslav federation. Although agriculture has been almost all in
  private hands, farms have been small and inefficient, and the
  republic traditionally has been a net importer of food. Industry has
  been greatly overstaffed, one reflection of the rigidities of
  communist central planning and management. TITO had pushed the
  development of military industries in the republic with the result
  that Bosnia hosted a large share of Yugoslavia's defense plants. The
  bitter interethnic warfare in Bosnia caused production to plummet,
  unemployment and inflation to soar, and human misery to multiply. No
  economic statistics for 1992-95 are available, although output
  clearly has fallen substantially below the levels of earlier years
  and almost certainly is well below $1,000 per head. The country
  receives substantial amounts of humanitarian aid from the
  international community.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $1 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: NA%

GDP per capita: $300 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: NA%
  industry: NA%
  services: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA%

Labor force: 1,026,254
  by occupation: NA%

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget:
  revenues: $NA
  expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA

Industries: steel, coal, iron ore, lead, zinc, manganese, bauxite,
  vehicle assembly, textiles, tobacco products, wooden furniture, tank
  and aircraft assembly, domestic appliances, oil refining; much of
  capacity damaged or shut down (1995)

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity:
  capacity: 3,800,000 kW
  production: NA kWh
  consumption per capita: NA kWh (1993)

Agriculture: wheat, corn, fruits, vegetables; livestock

Illicit drugs: NA

Exports: $NA
  commodities: NA
  partners: NA

Imports: $NA
  commodities: NA
  partners: NA

External debt: $NA

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $NA

Currency: 1 dinar = 100 para; Croatian dinar used in Croat-held
  area, presumably to be replaced by new Croatian kuna; old and new
  Serbian dinars used in Serb-held area; hard currencies probably
  supplanting local currencies in areas held by Bosnian Government

Exchange rates: NA

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 1,021 km (electrified 795 km)
  standard gauge: 1,021 km 1.435-m gauge (1991)

Highways:
  total: 21,168 km
  paved: 11,436 km
  unpaved: 9,732 km (1991 est.)

Waterways: NA km

Pipelines: crude oil 174 km; natural gas 90 km (1992); note -
  pipelines now disrupted

Ports: Bosanski Brod

Merchant marine: none

Airports:
  total: 24
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 3
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 3
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 1
  with paved runways under 914 m: 7
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 1
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 9 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 727,000

Telephone system: telephone and telegraph network is in need of
  modernization and expansion; many urban areas are below average when
  compared with services in other former Yugoslav republics
  domestic: NA
  international: no satellite earth stations

Radio broadcast stations: AM 9, FM 2, shortwave 0

Radios: 840,000

Television broadcast stations: 6

Televisions: 1,012,094






Defense
-------


Branches: Army

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 654,326
  males fit for military service: 524,963
  males reach military age (19) annually: 22,902 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: $NA, NA% of GDP



======================================================================




@Botswana
--------




Map
---


Location: 22 00 S, 24 00 E -- Southern Africa, north of South
  Africa



Flag
----


Description: light blue with a horizontal white-edged black stripe
  in the center





Geography
---------


Location: Southern Africa, north of South Africa

Geographic coordinates: 22 00 S, 24 00 E

Map references: Africa

Area:
  total area: 600,370 sq km
  land area: 585,370 sq km
  comparative area: slightly smaller than Texas

Land boundaries:
  total: 4,013 km
  border countries: Namibia 1,360 km, South Africa 1,840 km, Zimbabwe
  813 km

Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims: none (landlocked)

International disputes: short section of boundary with Namibia is
  indefinite; quadripoint with Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe is in
  disagreement; dispute with Namibia over uninhabited Kasikili
  (Sidudu) Island in Linyanti (Chobe) River remained unresolved in
  January 1996 and the parties have agreed to refer the matter to the
  ICJ

Climate: semiarid; warm winters and hot summers

Terrain: predominately flat to gently rolling tableland; Kalahari
  Desert in southwest
  lowest point: junction of the Limpopo and Shashe Rivers 513 m
  highest point: Tsodilo Hill 1,489 m

Natural resources: diamonds, copper, nickel, salt, soda ash,
  potash, coal, iron ore, silver

Land use:
  arable land: 2%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 75%
  forest and woodland: 2%
  other: 21%

Irrigated land: 20 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
  current issues: overgrazing, primarily as a result of the expansion
  of the cattle population; desertification; limited natural fresh
  water resources
  natural hazards: periodic droughts; seasonal August winds blow from
  the west, carrying sand and dust across the country, which can
  obscure visibility
  international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
  Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer
  Protection; signed, but not ratified - Desertification

Geographic note: landlocked; population concentrated in eastern
  part of the country



People
------


Population: 1,477,630 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 42% (male 317,254; female 309,617)
  15-64 years: 54% (male 374,572; female 419,991)
  65 years and over: 4% (male 22,314; female 33,882) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.63% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 33.34 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 17.01 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 0.89 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.66 male(s)/female
  all ages: 0.94 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 54.2 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 46.01 years
  male: 44.94 years
  female: 47.11 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 4.26 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Motswana (singular), Batswana (plural)
  adjective: Motswana (singular), Batswana (plural)

Ethnic divisions: Batswana 95%, Kalanga, Basarwa, and Kgalagadi
  4%, white 1%

Religions: indigenous beliefs 50%, Christian 50%

Languages: English (official), Setswana

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)
  total population: 69.8%
  male: 80.5%
  female: 59.9%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Republic of Botswana
  conventional short form: Botswana
  former: Bechuanaland

Data code: BC

Type of government: parliamentary republic

Capital: Gaborone

Administrative divisions: 10 districts and four town councils*;
  Central, Chobe, Francistown*, Gaborone*,Ghanzi, Kgalagadi, Kgatleng,
  Kweneng, Lobatse*, Ngamiland, North-East, Selebi-Phikwe*,
  South-East, Southern,

Independence: 30 September 1966 (from UK)

National holiday: Independence Day, 30 September (1966)

Constitution: March 1965, effective 30 September 1966

Legal system: based on Roman-Dutch law and local customary law;
  judicial review limited to matters of interpretation; has not
  accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: 21 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state and head of government: President Sir Ketumile MASIRE
  (since 13 July 1980) was elected for a five-year term by the
  National Assembly; election last held 15 October 1994 (next to be
  held October 1999); Vice President Festus MOGAE (since 9 March 1992)
  was appointed by the president
  cabinet: Cabinet was appointed by the president

Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament
  House of Chiefs: is a largely advisory 15-member body consisting of
  the chiefs of the eight principal tribes, four elected subchiefs,
  and three members selected by the other 12
  National Assembly: elections last held 15 October 1994 (next to be
  held October 1999); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats -
  (44 total, 40 elected and 4 appointed by the majority party) BDP 27,
  BNF 13

Judicial branch: High Court; Court of Appeal

Political parties and leaders: Botswana Democratic Party (BDP),
  Sir Ketumile MASIRE; Botswana National Front (BNF), Kenneth KOMA;
  Botswana People's Party (BPP), Knight MARIPE; Botswana Independence
  Party (BIP), Motsamai MPHO

International organization participation: ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA,
  FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF,
  Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, SACU, SADC, UN, UN Security
  Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO,
  WMO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Archibald MOGWE
  chancery: Suite 7M, 3400 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008
  telephone: [1] (202) 244-4990, 4991
  FAX: [1] (202) 244-4164

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Howard F. JETER
  embassy: address NA, Gaborone
  mailing address: P. O. Box 90, Gaborone
  telephone: [267] 353982
  FAX: [267] 356947

Flag: light blue with a horizontal white-edged black stripe in the
  center



Economy
-------


Economic overview: The economy has historically been based on
  cattle raising and crops. Agriculture today provides a livelihood
  for more than 80% of the population but supplies only about 50% of
  food needs and accounts for only 5% of GDP. Subsistence farming and
  cattle raising predominate. The sector is plagued by erratic
  rainfall and poor soils. The driving force behind the rapid economic
  growth of the 1970s and 1980s has been the mining industry. This
  sector, mostly on the strength of diamonds, has gone from generating
  25% of GDP in 1980 to 39% in 1994. The unemployment rate remains a
  problem at 21%. Hampered by a still sluggish diamond market in 1994
  and 1995, GDP grew by only 1% in both years.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $4.5 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 1% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $3,200 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 5%
  industry: NA%
  services: NA% (1995 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 10% (1994 est.)

Labor force: 428,000 (1992)
  by occupation: 220,000 formal sector employees; 14,300 are employed
  in various mines in South Africa; most others are engaged in cattle
  raising and subsistence agriculture (1992 est.)

Unemployment rate: 21% (1995 est.)

Budget:
  revenues: $1.7 billion
  expenditures: $1.99 billion, including capital expenditures of $652
  million (FY93/94)

Industries: diamonds, copper, nickel, coal, salt, soda ash,
  potash; livestock processing

Industrial production growth rate: 4.6% (FY92/93)

Electricity:
  capacity: 220,000 kW
  production: 900 million kWh
  consumption per capita: 694 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: sorghum, maize, millet, pulses, groundnuts (peanuts),
  beans, cowpeas, sunflower seed; livestock

Exports: $1.8 billion (f.o.b. 1994)
  commodities: diamonds 78%, copper and nickel 6%, meat 5%
  partners: Switzerland, UK, Southern African Customs Union (SACU),

Imports: $1.8 billion (c.i.f., 1992)
  commodities: foodstuffs, vehicles and transport equipment, textiles,
  petroleum products
  partners: Switzerland, Southern African Customs Union (SACU), UK, US

External debt: $691 million (1994)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $189 million (1993)

Currency: 1 pula (P) = 100 thebe

Exchange rates: pula (P) per US$1 - 2.8305 (January 1996), 2.7716
  (1995), 2.6831 (1994), 2.4190 (1993), 2.1327 (1992), 2.0173 (1991)

Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 19,109 (1985 est.)

Telephone system: sparse system
  domestic: small system of open-wire lines, microwave radio relay
  links, and a few radiotelephone communication stations
  international: microwave radio relay links to Zambia, Zimbabwe and
  South Africa; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 7, FM 13, shortwave 0

Radios: NA

Television broadcast stations: 0 (1988 est.)

Televisions: 13,800 (1993 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Botswana Defense Force (includes Army and Air Wing),
  Botswana National Police

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 334,177
  males fit for military service: 175,471
  males reach military age (18) annually: 17,088 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $199 million,
  5.2% of GDP (FY93/94)



======================================================================




@Bouvet Island
-------------


(territory of Norway)

Map
---


Location: 54 26 S, 3 24 E -- Southern Africa, island in the South
  Atlantic Ocean, south-southwest of the Cape of Good Hope (South
  Africa)



Flag
----


Description: the flag of Norway is used





Geography
---------


Location: Southern Africa, island in the South Atlantic Ocean,
  south-southwest of the Cape of Good Hope (South Africa)

Geographic coordinates: 54 26 S, 3 24 E

Map references: Antarctic Region

Area:
  total area: 58 sq km
  land area: 58 sq km
  comparative area: about 0.3 times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 29.6 km

Maritime claims:
  territorial sea: 4 nm

International disputes: none

Climate: antarctic

Terrain: volcanic; maximum elevation about 800 meters; coast is
  mostly inaccessible
  lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
  highest point: unnamed location 780 m

Natural resources: none

Land use:
  arable land: 0%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 0%
  forest and woodland: 0%
  other: 100% (all ice)

Irrigated land: 0 sq km

Environment:
  current issues: NA
  natural hazards: NA
  international agreements: NA

Geographic note: covered by glacial ice



People
------


Population: uninhabited



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: none
  conventional short form: Bouvet Island

Data code: BV

Type of government: territory of Norway

Capital: none; administered from Oslo, Norway

Independence: none (territory of Norway)

Flag: the flag of Norway is used



Economy
-------


Economic overview: no economic activity



Transportation
--------------


Ports: none; offshore anchorage only



Communications
--------------


Communications note: automatic meteorological station



Defense
-------


Defense note: defense is the responsibility of Norway



======================================================================




@Brazil
------




Map
---


Location: 10 00 S, 55 00 W -- Eastern South America, bordering the
  Atlantic Ocean



Flag
----


Description: green with a large yellow diamond in the center
  bearing a blue celestial globe with 27 white five-pointed stars (one
  for each state and the Federal District) arranged in the same
  pattern as the night sky over Brazil; the globe has a white
  equatorial band with the motto ORDEM E PROGRESSO (Order and Progress)





Geography
---------


Location: Eastern South America, bordering the Atlantic Ocean

Geographic coordinates: 10 00 S, 55 00 W

Map references: South America

Area:
  total area: 8,511,965 sq km
  land area: 8,456,510 sq km
  comparative area: slightly smaller than the US
  note: includes Arquipelago de Fernando de Noronha, Atol das Rocas,
  Ilha da Trindade, Ilhas Martin Vaz, and Penedos de Sao Pedro e Sao
  Paulo

Land boundaries:
  total: 14,691 km
  border countries: Argentina 1,224 km, Bolivia 3,400 km, Colombia
  1,643 km, French Guiana 673 km, Guyana 1,119 km, Paraguay 1,290 km,
  Peru 1,560 km, Suriname 597 km, Uruguay 985 km, Venezuela 2,200 km

Coastline: 7,491 km

Maritime claims:
  contiguous zone: 24 nm
  continental shelf: 200 nm
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: short section of the boundary with
  Paraguay, just west of Salto das Sete Quedas (Guaira Falls) on the
  Rio Parana, is in dispute; two short sections of boundary with
  Uruguay are in dispute - Arroio Invernada (Arroyo de la Invernada)
  area of the Rio Quarai (Rio Cuareim) and the islands at the
  confluence of the Rio Quarai and the Uruguay River

Climate: mostly tropical, but temperate in south

Terrain: mostly flat to rolling lowlands in north; some plains,
  hills, mountains, and narrow coastal belt
  lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
  highest point: Pico da Neblina 3,014 m

Natural resources: bauxite, gold, iron ore, manganese, nickel,
  phosphates, platinum, tin, uranium, petroleum, hydropower, timber

Land use:
  arable land: 7%
  permanent crops: 1%
  meadows and pastures: 19%
  forest and woodland: 67%
  other: 6%

Irrigated land: 27,000 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
  current issues: deforestation in Amazon Basin destroys the habitat
  and endangers the existence of a multitude of plant and animal
  species indigenous to the area; air and water pollution in Rio de
  Janeiro, Sao Paulo, and several other large cities; land degradation
  and water pollution caused by improper mining activities
  natural hazards: recurring droughts in northeast; floods and
  occasional frost in south
  international agreements: party to - Antarctic-Environmental
  Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered
  Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the
  Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship
  Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Wetlands, Whaling; signed, but not
  ratified - Desertification

Geographic note: largest country in South America; shares common
  boundaries with every South American country except Chile and Ecuador



People
------


Population: 162,661,214 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 31% (male 25,286,278; female 24,422,897)
  15-64 years: 65% (male 52,232,435; female 53,094,724)
  65 years and over: 4% (male 3,072,720; female 4,552,160) (July 1996
  est.)

Population growth rate: 1.16% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 20.8 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 9.19 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female
  all ages: 0.98 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 55.3 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 61.62 years
  male: 56.67 years
  female: 66.81 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.34 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Brazilian(s)
  adjective: Brazilian

Ethnic divisions: white (includes Portuguese, German, Italian,
  Spanish, Polish) 55%, mixed white and African 38%, African 6%, other
  (includes Japanese, Arab, Amerindian) 1%

Religions: Roman Catholic (nominal) 70%

Languages: Portuguese (official), Spanish, English, French

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)
  total population: 83.3%
  male: 83.3%
  female: 83.2%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Federative Republic of Brazil
  conventional short form: Brazil
  local long form: Republica Federativa do Brasil
  local short form: Brasil

Data code: BR

Type of government: federal republic

Capital: Brasilia

Administrative divisions: 26 states (estados, singular - estado)
  and 1 federal district* (distrito federal); Acre, Alagoas, Amapa,
  Amazonas, Bahia, Ceara, Distrito Federal*, Espirito Santo, Goias,
  Maranhao, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Minas Gerais, Para,
  Paraiba, Parana, Pernambuco, Piaui, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande do
  Norte, Rio Grande do Sul, Rondonia, Roraima, Santa Catarina, Sao
  Paulo, Sergipe, Tocantins

Independence: 7 September 1822 (from Portugal)

National holiday: Independence Day, 7 September (1822)

Constitution: 5 October 1988

Legal system: based on Roman codes; has not accepted compulsory
  ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: voluntary between 16 and 18 years of age and over 70;
  compulsory over 18 and under 70 years of age

Executive branch:
  chief of state and head of government: President Fernando Henrique
  CARDOSO (since 1 January 1995) was elected for a four-year term by
  popular vote; election last held 3 October 1994; (next to be held
  October 1998); results - Fernando Henrique CARDOSO 53%, Luis Inacio
  LULA da Silva 26%, Eneas CARNEIRO 7%, Orestes QUERCIA 4%, Leonel
  BRIZOLA 3%, Espiridiao AMIN 3%; note - second direct presidential
  election since 1960; Vice President Marco MARCIEL (since NA)
  cabinet: Cabinet was appointed by the president

Legislative branch: bicameral National Congress (Congresso
  Nacional)
  Federal Senate (Senado Federal): election last held 3 October 1994
  for two-thirds of Senate (next to be held October 1996 for one-third
  of the Senate); results - PMBD 28%, PFL 22%, PSDB 12%, PPR 7%, PDT
  7%, PT 6%, PTB 6%, other 12%; seats - (81 total) seats by party NA
  Chamber of Deputies (Camara dos Deputados): election last held 3
  October 1994 (next to be held October 1998); results - PMDB 21%, PFL
  18%, PDT 7%, PSDB 12%, PPR 10%, PTB 6%, PT 10%, other 16%; seats -
  (517 total) seats by party NA
  note: party totals since Fall 1994 have changed considerably due to
  extensive party-switching

Judicial branch: Supreme Federal Tribunal, judges are appointed
  for life by the Senate

Political parties and leaders: National Reconstruction Party
  (PRN), Daniel TOURINHO, president; Brazilian Democratic Movement
  Party (PMDB), Paes DE ANDRADE, president; Liberal Front Party (PFL),
  Jorge BORNHAUSEN, president; Workers' Party (PT), Jose DIRCEU,
  president; Brazilian Workers' Party (PTB), Rodrigues PALMA,
  president; Democratic Labor Party (PDT), Leonel BRIZOLA, president;
  Brazilian Progressive Party (PPB), Espiridiao AMIN, president;
  Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB), Artur DA TAVOLA, president;
  Popular Socialist Party (PPS), Roberto FREIRE, president; Communist
  Party of Brazil (PCdoB), Joao AMAZONAS, chairman; Liberal Party
  (PL), Alvaro VALLE, president

Other political or pressure groups: left wing of the Catholic
  Church and labor unions allied to leftist Workers' Party are
  critical of government's social and economic policies

International organization participation: AfDB, AG (observer),
  CCC, ECLAC, FAO, G-11, G-15, G-19, G-24, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD,
  ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO,
  Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LAES,
  LAIA, Mercosur, MTCR, NAM (observer), OAS, OPANAL, PCA, RG, UN,
  UNAVEM III, UNCRO, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNPREDEP, UNPROFOR,
  UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Paulo Tarso FLECHA de LIMA
  chancery: 3006 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
  telephone: [1] (202) 745-2700
  FAX: [1] (202) 745-2827
  consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, New York,
  San Juan (Puerto Rico), and San Francisco
  consulate(s): Houston

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Melvyn LEVITSKY
  embassy: Avenida das Nacoes, Lote 3, Brasilia, Distrito Federal
  mailing address: Unit 3500, APO AA 34030
  telephone: [55] (61) 321-7272
  FAX: [55] (61) 225-9136
  consulate(s) general: Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo
  consulate(s): Porto Alegre, Recife

Flag: green with a large yellow diamond in the center bearing a
  blue celestial globe with 27 white five-pointed stars (one for each
  state and the Federal District) arranged in the same pattern as the
  night sky over Brazil; the globe has a white equatorial band with
  the motto ORDEM E PROGRESSO (Order and Progress)



Economy
-------


Economic overview: With its large and well-developed agricultural,
  mining, manufacturing, and service sectors, Brazil has South
  America's largest GDP by far and has the potential to become a major
  player in the world economy. Prior to the institution of a
  stabilization plan in mid-1994, stratospheric inflation rates had
  devastated the economy and discouraged foreign investment. Since
  then, tight monetary policy has apparently brought inflation under
  control - consumer prices increased by 23% in 1995 compared to more
  than 1,000% in 1994. At the same time, GDP growth slowed from 5.7%
  to 4.2% as credit was tightened and the steadily appreciating real
  encouraged imports while depressing export growth. The increased
  stability of the Brazilian economy allowed it to weather the fallout
  from the Mexican peso crisis relatively well, with foreign funds
  flowing in during the second half of 1995 to swell official foreign
  exchange reserves past the $50 billion mark. Stock market indices in
  Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, however, ended 26% lower in 1995.
  President CARDOSO remains committed to further reducing inflation in
  1996 while boosting growth, but he faces key challenges. Servicing
  domestic debt has become dramatically more burdensome for both
  public and private sector entities because of very high real
  interest rates which are contributing to growing budget deficits and
  a surge in bankruptcies. Fiscal reforms, many of which require
  constitutional amendments, are proceeding at a slow pace through the
  Brazilian legislature; in their absence, the government is
  maintaining its strict monetary policy. Brazil's natural resources
  remain a major, long-run economic strength.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $976.8 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 4.2% (1995)

GDP per capita: $6,100 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 16%
  industry: 25%
  services: 59% (1994)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 23% (1995)

Labor force: 57 million (1989 est.)
  by occupation: services 42%, agriculture 31%, industry 27%

Unemployment rate: 5% (1995 est.)

Budget:
  revenues: $58.7 billion
  expenditures: $54.9 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA
  (1994)

Industries: textiles, shoes, chemicals, cement, lumber, iron ore,
  tin, steel, aircraft, motor vehicles and parts, other machinery and
  equipment

Industrial production growth rate: 3.5% (1995 est.)

Electricity:
  capacity: 55,130,000 kW
  production: 241.4 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 1,589 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: coffee, soybeans, wheat, rice, corn, sugarcane,
  cocoa, citrus; beef

Illicit drugs: illicit producer of cannabis, coca cultivation in
  the Amazon region has diminished in recent years because of its low
  alkaloid content, mostly for domestic consumption; government has a
  large-scale eradication program to control cannabis; important
  transshipment country for Bolivian and Colombian cocaine headed for
  the US and Europe

Exports: $46.5 billion (f.o.b., 1995)
  commodities: iron ore, soybean bran, orange juice, footwear, coffee,
  motor vehicle parts
  partners: EU 27.6%, Latin America 21.8%, US 17.4%, Japan 6.3% (1993)

Imports: $49.7 billion (f.o.b., 1995)
  commodities: crude oil, capital goods, chemical products,
  foodstuffs, coal
  partners: US 23.3%, EU 22.5%, Middle East 13.0%, Latin America
  11.8%, Japan 6.5% (1993)

External debt: $94 billion (1995 est.)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $107 million (1993)

Currency: 1 real (R$) = 100 centavos

Exchange rates: R$ per US$1 - 0.975 (January 1996), 0.918 (1995),
  0.639 (1994); CR$ per US$1 - 390.845 (January 1994), 88.449 (1993),
  4.513 (1992), 0.407 (1991)
  note: on 1 August 1993 the cruzeiro real (CR$), equal to 1,000
  cruzeiros, was introduced; another new currency, the real (R$) was
  introduced on 1 July 1994, equal to 2,750 cruzeiro reals

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 27,418 km (1,750 km electrified)
  broad gauge: 5,730 km 1.600-m gauge
  standard gauge: 194 km 1.440-m gauge
  narrow gauge: 20,958 km 1.000-m gauge; 13 km 0.760-m gauge
  dual gauge: 523 km 1.000-m and 1.600-m gauges

Highways:
  total: 1,661,850 km
  paved: 142,919 km
  unpaved: 1,518,931 km (1992 est.)

Waterways: 50,000 km navigable

Pipelines: crude oil 2,000 km; petroleum products 3,804 km;
  natural gas 1,095 km

Ports: Belem, Fortaleza, Ilheus, Imbituba, Manaus, Paranagua,
  Porto Alegre, Recife, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande, Salvador, Santos,
  Vitoria

Merchant marine:
  total: 207 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 5,108,543
  GRT/8,477,760 DWT
  ships by type: bulk 48, cargo 29, chemical tanker 11, combination
  ore/oil 12, container 14, liquefied gas tanker 11, multifunction
  large-load carrier 1, oil tanker 64, passenger-cargo 5, refrigerated
  cargo 1, roll-on/roll-off cargo 11 (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 2,950
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 5
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 19
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 122
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 295
  with paved runways under 914 m: 1,298
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 66
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 1,145 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 14,426,673 (1992 est.)

Telephone system: good working system
  domestic: extensive microwave radio relay system and a domestic
  satellite system with 64 earth stations
  international: 3 coaxial submarine cables; satellite earth stations
  - 3 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean), 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic Ocean Region
  East)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 1,223, FM 0, shortwave 151

Radios: 60 million (1993 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 112
  note: Brazil has the world's fourth largest television broadcasting
  system

Televisions: 30 million (1993 est.)



======================================================================




@British Indian Ocean Territory
------------------------------


(dependent territory of the UK)

Map
---


Location: 6 00 S, 71 30 E -- Southern Asia, archipelago in the
  Indian Ocean, about one-half the way from Africa to Indonesia



Flag
----


Description: white with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side
  quadrant and six blue wavy horizontal stripes bearing a palm tree
  and yellow crown centered on the outer half of the flag





Geography
---------


Location: Southern Asia, archipelago in the Indian Ocean, about
  one-half the way from Africa to Indonesia

Geographic coordinates: 6 00 S, 71 30 E

Map references: World

Area:
  total area: 60 sq km
  land area: 60 sq km
  comparative area: about 0.5 times the size of Washington, DC
  note: includes the entire Chagos Archipelago

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 698 km

Maritime claims:
  exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 3 nm

International disputes: the island of Diego Garcia is claimed by
  Mauritius

Climate: tropical marine; hot, humid, moderated by trade winds

Terrain: flat and low (up to four meters in elevation)
  lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
  highest point: unnamed location on Diego Garcia 15 m

Natural resources: coconuts, fish

Land use:
  arable land: 0%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 0%
  forest and woodland: 0%
  other: 100%

Irrigated land: 0 sq km

Environment:
  current issues: NA
  natural hazards: NA
  international agreements: NA

Geographic note: archipelago of 2,300 islands; Diego Garcia,
  largest and southernmost island, occupies strategic location in
  central Indian Ocean; island is site of joint US-UK military facility



People
------


Population: no indigenous inhabitants
  note: there are UK-US military personnel and civilian contractors;
  civilian inhabitants, known as the Ilois, evacuated to Mauritius
  before construction of UK-US military facilities



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: British Indian Ocean Territory
  conventional short form: none
  abbreviation: BIOT

Data code: IO

Type of government: dependent territory of the UK

Capital: none

Independence: none (dependent territory of the UK)

Executive branch:
  chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (of the United Kingdom since 6
  February 1952) is a hereditary monarch
  head of government: Commissioner David Ross MACLENNAN (since NA
  1994); Administrator Don CAIRNS (since NA); note - both reside in
  the UK

Diplomatic representation in US: none (dependent territory of the
  UK)

US diplomatic representation: none (dependent territory of the UK)

Flag: white with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side
  quadrant and six blue wavy horizontal stripes bearing a palm tree
  and yellow crown centered on the outer half of the flag



Economy
-------


Economic overview: All economic activity is concentrated on the
  largest island of Diego Garcia, where joint UK-US defense facilities
  are located. Construction projects and various services needed to
  support the military installations are done by military and contract
  employees from the UK, Mauritius, the Philippines, and the US. There
  are no industrial or agricultural activities on the islands.

Electricity: provided by the US military



Transportation
--------------


Railways: 0 km

Highways:
  total: NA km
  paved: short stretch of paved road of NA km between port and
  airfield on Diego Garcia
  unpaved: NA km

Ports: Diego Garcia

Airports:
  total: 1
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 1 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: NA

Telephone system: facilities for military needs only
  domestic: NA
  international: NA

Radio broadcast stations: AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0

Radios: NA

Television broadcast stations: 1

Televisions: NA



Defense
-------


Defense note: defense is the responsibility of the UK



======================================================================




@British Virgin Islands
----------------------


(dependent territory of the UK)

Map
---


Location: 18 30 N, 64 30 W -- Caribbean, between the Caribbean Sea
  and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of Puerto Rico



Flag
----


Description: blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side
  quadrant and the Virgin Islander coat of arms centered in the outer
  half of the flag; the coat of arms depicts a woman flanked on either
  side by a vertical column of six oil lamps above a scroll bearing
  the Latin word VIGILATE (Be Watchful)





Geography
---------


Location: Caribbean, between the Caribbean Sea and the North
  Atlantic Ocean, east of Puerto Rico

Geographic coordinates: 18 30 N, 64 30 W

Map references: Central America and the Caribbean

Area:
  total area: 150 sq km
  land area: 150 sq km
  comparative area: about 0.9 times the size of Washington, DC
  note: includes the island of Anegada

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 80 km

Maritime claims:
  exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 3 nm

International disputes: none

Climate: subtropical; humid; temperatures moderated by trade winds

Terrain: coral islands relatively flat; volcanic islands steep,
  hilly
  lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
  highest point: Mount Sage 521 m

Natural resources: NEGL

Land use:
  arable land: 20%
  permanent crops: 7%
  meadows and pastures: 33%
  forest and woodland: 7%
  other: 33%

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Environment:
  current issues: limited natural fresh water resources (except for a
  few seasonal streams and springs on Tortola, most of the island's
  water supply comes from wells and rainwater catchment)
  natural hazards: hurricanes and tropical storms (July to October)
  international agreements: NA

Geographic note: strong ties to nearby US Virgin Islands and
  Puerto Rico



People
------


Population: 13,195 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: NA
  15-64 years: NA
  65 years and over: NA

Population growth rate: 1.29% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 20.19 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 6.05 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: -1.2 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: NA male(s)/female
  under 15 years: NA male(s)/female
  15-64 years: NA male(s)/female
  65 years and over: NA male(s)/female
  all ages: NA male(s)/female

Infant mortality rate: 19.16 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 72.78 years
  male: 70.93 years
  female: 74.75 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.26 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: British Virgin Islander(s)
  adjective: British Virgin Islander

Ethnic divisions: black 90%, white, Asian

Religions: Protestant 86% (Methodist 45%, Anglican 21%, Church of
  God 7%, Seventh-Day Adventist 5%, Baptist 4%, Jehovah's Witnesses
  2%, other 2%), Roman Catholic 6%, none 2%, other 6% (1981)

Languages: English (official)

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1991 est.)
  total population: 97.8%
  male: NA%
  female: NA%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: none
  conventional short form: British Virgin Islands
  abbreviation: BVI

Data code: VI

Type of government: dependent territory of the UK

Capital: Road Town

Administrative divisions: none (dependent territory of the UK)

Independence: none (dependent territory of the UK)

National holiday: Territory Day, 1 July

Constitution: 1 June 1977

Legal system: English law

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (of the United Kingdom since 6
  February 1952), hereditary monarch, is represented by Governor David
  MACKILLIGIN (since NA June 1995) who was appointed by the queen
  head of government: Chief Minister Ralph T. O'NEAL (since 15 May
  1995; appointed after the death of former Chief Minister H. Lavity
  STOUTT) was appointed by the governor from among the members of the
  Legislative Council
  cabinet: Executive Council is appointed by the governor

Legislative branch: unicameral
  Legislative Council: election last held 20 February 1995 (next to be
  held NA February 2000); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats
  - (13 total) VIP 6, CCM 2, UP 2, independents 3

Judicial branch: Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court

Political parties and leaders: United Party (UP), Conrad MADURO;
  Virgin Islands Party (VIP); Concerned Citizens Movement (CCM), E.
  Walwyln BREWLEY

International organization participation: Caricom (associate),
  CDB, ECLAC (associate), Interpol (subbureau), IOC, OECS (associate),
  UNESCO (associate)

Diplomatic representation in US: none (dependent territory of the
  UK)

US diplomatic representation: none (dependent territory of the UK)

Flag: blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side
  quadrant and the Virgin Islander coat of arms centered in the outer
  half of the flag; the coat of arms depicts a woman flanked on either
  side by a vertical column of six oil lamps above a scroll bearing
  the Latin word VIGILATE (Be Watchful)



Economy
-------


Economic overview: The economy, one of the most prosperous in the
  Caribbean, is highly dependent on tourism, which generates an
  estimated 45% of the national income. In 1985, the government began
  offering offshore registration to companies wishing to incorporate
  in the islands, and incorporation fees now generate substantial
  revenues. The adoption of a comprehensive insurance law in late
  1994, which provides a blanket of confidentiality with regulated
  statutory gateways for investigation of criminal offenses, is
  expected to make the British Virgin Islands even more attractive to
  international business. Livestock raising is the most important
  agricultural activity; poor soils limit the islands' ability to meet
  domestic food requirements. Because of traditional close links with
  the US Virgin Islands, the British Virgin Islands have used the
  dollar as their currency since 1959.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $133 million (1991 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 2% (1991 est.)

GDP per capita: $10,600 (1991 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: NA%
  industry: NA%
  services: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.5% (1990 est.)

Labor force: 4,911 (1980)
  by occupation: NA

Unemployment rate: NEGL% (1992)

Budget:
  revenues: $77.1 million
  expenditures: $76.4 million, including capital expenditures of $NA
  (FY93/94)

Industries: tourism, light industry, construction, rum, concrete
  block, offshore financial center

Industrial production growth rate: 4% (1985)

Electricity:
  capacity: 10,500 kW
  production: 50 million kWh
  consumption per capita: 3,148 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: fruits, vegetables; livestock, poultry; fish

Exports: $2.7 million (f.o.b., 1988)
  commodities: rum, fresh fish, gravel, sand, fruits, animals
  partners: Virgin Islands (US), Puerto Rico, US

Imports: $11.5 million (c.i.f., 1988)
  commodities: building materials, automobiles, foodstuffs, machinery
  partners: Virgin Islands (US), Puerto Rico, US

External debt: $4.5 million (1985)

Economic aid: $NA

Currency: 1 United States dollar (US$) = 100 cents

Exchange rates: US currency is used

Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March



Transportation
--------------


Railways: 0 km

Highways:
  total: 106 km (1983 est.)
  paved: NA km
  unpaved: NA km

Ports: Road Town

Merchant marine: none (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 3
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 1
  with paved runways under 914 m: 1
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 1 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 6,291 (1990 est.)

Telephone system: worldwide telephone service
  domestic: NA
  international: submarine cable to Bermuda

Radio broadcast stations: AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0

Radios: 9,000 (1992 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 1

Televisions: 4,000 (1992 est.)



Defense
-------


Defense note: defense is the responsibility of the UK



======================================================================




@Brunei
------




Map
---


Location: 4 30 N, 114 40 E -- Southeastern Asia, bordering the
  South China Sea and Malaysia



Flag
----


Description: yellow with two diagonal bands of white (top, almost
  double width) and black starting from the upper hoist side; the
  national emblem in red is superimposed at the center; the emblem
  includes a swallow-tailed flag on top of a winged column within an
  upturned crescent above a scroll and flanked by two upraised hands





Geography
---------


Location: Southeastern Asia, bordering the South China Sea and
  Malaysia

Geographic coordinates: 4 30 N, 114 40 E

Map references: Southeast Asia

Area:
  total area: 5,770 sq km
  land area: 5,270 sq km
  comparative area: slightly larger than Delaware

Land boundaries:
  total: 381 km
  border country: Malaysia 381 km

Coastline: 161 km

Maritime claims:
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm or to median line
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: may wish to purchase the Malaysian salient
  that divides the country; all of the Spratly Islands are claimed by
  China, Taiwan, and Vietnam; parts of them are claimed by Malaysia
  and the Philippines; in 1984, Brunei established an exclusive
  fishing zone that encompasses Louisa Reef, but has not publicly
  claimed the island

Climate: tropical; hot, humid, rainy

Terrain: flat coastal plain rises to mountains in east; hilly
  lowland in west
  lowest point: South China Sea 0 m
  highest point: Bukit Pagon 1,850 m

Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, timber

Land use:
  arable land: 1%
  permanent crops: 1%
  meadows and pastures: 1%
  forest and woodland: 79%
  other: 18%

Irrigated land: 10 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
  current issues: NA
  natural hazards: typhoons, earthquakes, and severe flooding are very
  rare
  international agreements: party to - Endangered Species, Ozone Layer
  Protection, Ship Pollution, Whaling; signed, but not ratified - Law
  of the Sea

Geographic note: close to vital sea lanes through South China Sea
  linking Indian and Pacific Oceans; two parts physically separated by
  Malaysia; almost an enclave of Malaysia



People
------


Population: 299,939 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 33% (male 51,266; female 49,194)
  15-64 years: 62% (male 98,806; female 88,323)
  65 years and over: 5% (male 6,843; female 5,507) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.56% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 25.5 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 5.1 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 5.18 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 1.12 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 1.24 male(s)/female
  all ages: 1.1 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 24.2 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 71.39 years
  male: 69.82 years
  female: 73.04 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 3.39 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Bruneian(s)
  adjective: Bruneian

Ethnic divisions: Malay 64%, Chinese 20%, other 16%

Religions: Muslim (official) 63%, Buddhism 14%, Christian 8%,
  indigenous beliefs and other 15% (1981)

Languages: Malay (official), English, Chinese

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)
  total population: 88.2%
  male: 92.6%
  female: 83.4%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Negara Brunei Darussalam
  conventional short form: Brunei

Data code: BX

Type of government: constitutional sultanate

Capital: Bandar Seri Begawan

Administrative divisions: 4 districts (daerah-daerah, singular -
  daerah); Belait, Brunei and Muara, Temburong, Tutong

Independence: 1 January 1984 (from UK)

National holiday: National Day, 23 February (1984)

Constitution: 29 September 1959 (some provisions suspended under a
  State of Emergency since December 1962, others since independence on
  1 January 1984)

Legal system: based on Islamic law

Suffrage: none

Executive branch:
  chief of state and head of government: Sultan and Prime Minister His
  Majesty Paduka Seri Baginda Sultan Haji HASSANAL Bolkiah Mu'izzaddin
  Waddaulah (since 5 October 1967) is a traditional Islamic monarch
  cabinet: Council of Cabinet Ministers is composed chiefly of members
  of the royal family, appointed and presided over by the sultan;
  deals with executive matters
  Religious Council: is appointed by the sultan; advises on religious
  matters
  Privy Council: is appointed by the sultan; deals with constitutional
  matters
  the Council of Succession: is appointed by the sultan; determines
  the succession to the throne if the need arises

Legislative branch: unicameral
  Legislative Council (Majlis Masyuarat Megeri): elections last held
  in March 1962; in 1970 the Council was changed to an appointive body
  by decree of the sultan; an elected Legislative Council is being
  considered as part of constitutional reform, but elections are
  unlikely for several years

Judicial branch: Supreme Court, chief justice and judges are sworn
  in by the sultan for a three-year term

Political parties and leaders: Brunei United National Party
  (inactive), Anak HASANUDDIN, chairman; Brunei National Solidarity
  Party (the first legal political party and now banned), leader NA;
  Brunei Peoples Party (banned), leader NA

International organization participation: APEC, ASEAN, C, ESCAP,
  FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, IDB, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO
  (correspondent), ITU, Mekong Group, NAM, OIC, UN, UNCTAD, UPU, WHO,
  WIPO, WMO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador JAYA bin Abdul Latif
  chancery: Watergate, Suite 300, 3rd floor, 2600 Virginia Avenue NW,
  Washington, DC 20037
  telephone: [1] (202) 342-0159
  FAX: [1] (202) 342-0158

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Theresa A. TULL
  embassy: Third Floor, Teck Guan Plaza, Jalan Sultan, Bandar Seri
  Begawan
  mailing address: American Embassy Box B, Bandar Seri Begawan, APO AP
  96440
  telephone: [673] (2) 229670
  FAX: [673] (2) 225293

Flag: yellow with two diagonal bands of white (top, almost double
  width) and black starting from the upper hoist side; the national
  emblem in red is superimposed at the center; the emblem includes a
  swallow-tailed flag on top of a winged column within an upturned
  crescent above a scroll and flanked by two upraised hands



Economy
-------


Economic overview: The economy is a mixture of foreign and
  domestic entrepreneurship, government regulation and welfare
  measures, and village tradition. It is almost totally supported by
  exports of crude oil and natural gas, with revenues from the
  petroleum sector accounting for more than 40% of GDP. Per capita GDP
  is among the highest in the Third World, and substantial income from
  overseas investment supplements domestic production. The government
  provides for all medical services and subsidizes food and housing.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $4.6 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 2% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $15,800 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 3%
  industry: 42%
  services: 55%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.4% (1994 est.)

Labor force: 119,000 (1993 est.); note - includes members of the
  Army
  by occupation: government 47.5%, production of oil, natural gas,
  services, and construction 41.9%, agriculture, forestry, and fishing
  3.8% (1986)
  note: 33% of labor force is foreign (1988)

Unemployment rate: 4.8% (1994 est.)

Budget:
  revenues: $2.1 billion
  expenditures: $2.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $427
  million (1993)

Industries: petroleum, petroleum refining, liquefied natural gas,
  construction

Industrial production growth rate: 12.9% (1987)

Electricity:
  capacity: 380,000 kW
  production: 1.2 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 3,971 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: rice, cassava (tapioca), bananas; water buffalo, pigs

Exports: $2.4 billion (f.o.b., 1994 est.)
  commodities: crude oil, liquefied natural gas, petroleum products
  partners: Japan 50%, UK 19%, Thailand 10%, Singapore 9% (1994 est.)

Imports: $1.8 billion (c.i.f., 1994 est.)
  commodities: machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods,
  food, chemicals
  partners: Singapore 29%, UK 19%, US 13%, Malaysia 9%, Japan 5% (1994
  est.)

External debt: 0

Economic aid: $NA

Currency: 1 Bruneian dollar (B$) = 100 cents

Exchange rates: Bruneian dollars (B$) per US$1 - 1.4214 (January
  1996), 1.4174 (1995), 1.5274 (1994), 1.6158 (1993), 1.6290 (1992),
  1.7276 (1991); note - the Bruneian dollar is at par with the
  Singapore dollar

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 13 km private line
  narrow gauge: 13 km 0.610-m gauge

Highways:
  total: 2,443 km
  paved: 1,296 km
  unpaved: 1,147 km (1993)

Waterways: 209 km; navigable by craft drawing less than 1.2 m

Pipelines: crude oil 135 km; petroleum products 418 km; natural
  gas 920 km

Ports: Bandar Seri Begawan, Kuala Belait, Muara, Seria, Tutong

Merchant marine:
  total: 7 liquefied gas tankers (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 348,476
  GRT/340,635 DWT (1994 est.)

Airports:
  total: 2
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 1
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 1 (1995 est.)

Heliports: 3 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 76,900 (1993)

Telephone system: service throughout country is adequate for
  present needs; international service good to adjacent Malaysia
  domestic: NA
  international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean
  and 1 Pacific Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 4, FM 4, shortwave 0

Radios: 115,000 (1993)

Television broadcast stations: 1 (1984 est.)

Televisions: 78,000 (1993 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Land Forces, Navy, Air Force, Royal Brunei Police

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 83,641
  males fit for military service: 48,559
  males reach military age (18) annually: 2,918 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $312 million,
  6.2% of GDP (1994)



======================================================================




@Bulgaria
--------




Map
---


Location: 43 00 N, 25 00 E -- Southeastern Europe, bordering the
  Black Sea, between Romania and Turkey



Flag
----


Description: three equal horizontal bands of white (top), green,
  and red; the national emblem formerly on the hoist side of the white
  stripe has been removed - it contained a rampant lion within a
  wreath of wheat ears below a red five-pointed star and above a
  ribbon bearing the dates 681 (first Bulgarian state established) and
  1944 (liberation from Nazi control)





Geography
---------


Location: Southeastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea, between
  Romania and Turkey

Geographic coordinates: 43 00 N, 25 00 E

Map references: Europe

Area:
  total area: 110,910 sq km
  land area: 110,550 sq km
  comparative area: slightly larger than Tennessee

Land boundaries:
  total: 1,808 km
  border countries: Greece 494 km, The Former Yugoslav Republic of
  Macedonia 148 km, Romania 608 km, Serbia and Montenegro 318 km (all
  with Serbia), Turkey 240 km

Coastline: 354 km

Maritime claims:
  contiguous zone: 24 nm
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: none

Climate: temperate; cold, damp winters; hot, dry summers

Terrain: mostly mountains with lowlands in north and southeast
  lowest point: Black Sea 0 m
  highest point: Musala 2,925 m

Natural resources: bauxite, copper, lead, zinc, coal, timber,
  arable land

Land use:
  arable land: 34%
  permanent crops: 3%
  meadows and pastures: 18%
  forest and woodland: 35%
  other: 10%

Irrigated land: 10 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
  current issues: air pollution from industrial emissions; rivers
  polluted from raw sewage, heavy metals, detergents; deforestation;
  forest damage from air pollution and resulting acid rain; soil
  contamination from heavy metals from metallurgical plants and
  industrial wastes
  natural hazards: earthquakes, landslides
  international agreements: party to - Air Pollution, Air
  Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Antarctic
  Treaty, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental
  Modification, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship
  Pollution, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Air
  Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds,
  Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Biodiversity, Law of the Sea

Geographic note: strategic location near Turkish Straits; controls
  key land routes from Europe to Middle East and Asia



People
------


Population: 8,612,757 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 17% (male 769,025; female 732,119)
  15-64 years: 68% (male 2,891,197; female 2,923,440)
  65 years and over: 15% (male 561,944; female 735,032) (July 1996
  est.)

Population growth rate: 0.46% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 8.33 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 13.55 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 9.81 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.76 male(s)/female
  all ages: 0.96 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 15.7 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 71 years
  male: 67.07 years
  female: 75.12 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.17 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Bulgarian(s)
  adjective: Bulgarian

Ethnic divisions: Bulgarian 85.3%, Turk 8.5%, Gypsy 2.6%,
  Macedonian 2.5%, Armenian 0.3%, Russian 0.2%, other 0.6%

Religions: Bulgarian Orthodox 85%, Muslim 13%, Jewish 0.8%, Roman
  Catholic 0.5%, Uniate Catholic 0.2%, Protestant, Gregorian-Armenian,
  and other 0.5%

Languages: Bulgarian, secondary languages closely correspond to
  ethnic breakdown

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1992 est.)
  total population: 98%
  male: 99%
  female: 97%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Republic of Bulgaria
  conventional short form: Bulgaria

Data code: BU

Type of government: emerging democracy

Capital: Sofia

Administrative divisions: 9 provinces (oblasti, singular -
  oblast); Burgas, Grad Sofiya, Khaskovo, Lovech, Montana, Plovdiv,
  Ruse, Sofiya, Varna

Independence: 22 September 1908 (from Ottoman Empire)

National holiday: Independence Day, 3 March (1878)

Constitution: adopted 12 July 1991

Legal system: based on civil law system with Soviet law influence;
  accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal and compulsory

Executive branch:
  chief of state: President Zhelyu Mitev ZHELEV (since 1 August 1990,
  when he was elected by the National Assembly); president and vice
  president elected for five-year terms by popular vote; election last
  held NA January 1992 (next to be held NA 1997); results - Zhelyu
  ZHELEV elected by popular vote; Vice President (vacant)
  head of government: Chairman of the Council of Ministers (Prime
  Minister) Zhan VIDENOV (since 25 January 1995) appointed by the
  president; Deputy Prime Ministers Doncho KONAKCHIEV (since 25
  January 1995), Atanas PAPAKIZOV (since NA), Rumen GECHEV (since 25
  January 1995), Svetoslav SHIVAROV (since 25 January 1995)
  cabinet: Council of Ministers elected by the National Assembly

Legislative branch: unicameral
  National Assembly (Narodno Sobranie): last held 18 December 1994
  (next to be held NA 1997); results - BSP 43.5%, UDF 24.2%, PU 6.5%,
  MRF 5.4%, BBB 4.7%; seats - (240 total) BSP 125, UDF 69, PU 18, MRF
  15, BBB 13

Judicial branch: Supreme Court, chairman appointed for a
  seven-year term by the president; Constitutional Court, 12 justices
  appointed or elected for a nine-year term

Political parties and leaders: Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP),
  Zhan VIDENOV, chairman; Union of Democratic Forces (UDF - an
  alliance of pro-Democratic parties), Ivan KOSTOV; People's Union
  (PU), Stefan SAVOV; Movement for Rights and Freedoms (mainly ethnic
  Turkish party) (MRF), Ahmed DOGAN; Bulgarian Business Bloc (BBB),
  George GANCHEV

Other political or pressure groups: Democratic Alliance for the
  Republic (DAR); New Union for Democracy (NUD); Ecoglasnost; Podkrepa
  Labor Confederation; Fatherland Union; Bulgarian Communist Party
  (BCP); Confederation of Independent Trade Unions of Bulgaria (KNSB);
  Bulgarian Agrarian National Union - United (BZNS); Bulgarian
  Democratic Center; "Nikola Petkov" Bulgarian Agrarian National
  Union; Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization - Union of
  Macedonian Societies (IMRO-UMS); numerous regional, ethnic, and
  national interest groups with various agendas

International organization participation: ACCT, BIS, BSEC, CCC,
  CE, EBRD, ECE, EU (applicant), FAO, G- 9, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU,
  ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarset, Intelsat (nonsignatory
  user), Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NACC, NAM (guest), NSG, OSCE,
  PCA, PFP, UN, UNAVEM III, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMOT, UPU, WEU
  (associate partner), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (applicant), ZC

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Snezhana Damianova BOTUSHAROVA
  chancery: 1621 22nd Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
  telephone: [1] (202) 387-7969
  FAX: [1] (202) 234-7973

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant)
  embassy: 1 Saborna Street, Sofia
  mailing address: Unit 1335, APO AE 09213-1335
  telephone: [359] (2) 88-48-01 through 05
  FAX: [359] (2) 80-19-77

Flag: three equal horizontal bands of white (top), green, and red;
  the national emblem formerly on the hoist side of the white stripe
  has been removed - it contained a rampant lion within a wreath of
  wheat ears below a red five-pointed star and above a ribbon bearing
  the dates 681 (first Bulgarian state established) and 1944
  (liberation from Nazi control)



Economy
-------


Economic overview: One of the poorest countries of central Europe,
  Bulgaria has continued the difficult process of moving from its old
  command economy to a modern, market-oriented economy. GDP rose a
  moderate 2.4% in 1995; inflation was down sharply; and unemployment
  fell from an estimated 16% to 12%. Despite this progress, structural
  reforms necessary to underpin macroeconomic stabilization were not
  pursued vigorously. Mass privatization of state-owned industry
  continued to move slowly, although privatization of small-scale
  industry, particularly in the retail and service sectors,
  accelerated. The Bulgarian economy will continue to grow in 1996,
  but economic reforms will remain politically difficult as the
  population has become weary of the process.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $43.2 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 2.4% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $4,920 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 12%
  industry: 36%
  services: 52% (1994)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 35% (1995)

Labor force: 3.1 million
  by occupation: industry 41%, agriculture 18%, other 41% (1992)

Unemployment rate: 11.9% (1995 est.)

Budget:
  revenues: $3.8 billion
  expenditures: $4.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA
  (1994)

Industries: machine building and metal working, food processing,
  chemicals, textiles, construction materials, ferrous and nonferrous
  metals

Industrial production growth rate: 2% (1995)

Electricity:
  capacity: 11,500,000 kW
  production: 38.1 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 4,342 kWh (1994)

Agriculture: grain, oilseed, vegetables, fruits, tobacco; livestock

Illicit drugs: important transshipment point for Southwest Asian
  heroin and, to a lesser degree, South American cocaine transiting
  the Balkan route; limited producer of precursor chemicals

Exports: $4.2 billion (f.o.b., 1994)
  commodities: machinery and equipment 12.8%; agriculture and food
  21.9%; textiles and apparel 14%; metals and ores 19.7%; chemicals
  16.9%; minerals and fuels 9.3%
  partners: former CEMA countries 35.7%; OECD 46.6% (EU 33.5%); Arab
  countries 5.1%; other 12.6%

Imports: $4 billion (c.i.f., 1994)
  commodities: fuels, minerals, and raw materials 30.1%; machinery and
  equipment 23.6%; textiles and apparel 11.6%; agricultural products
  10.8%; metals and ores 6.8%; chemicals 12.3%; other 4.8%
  partners: former CEMA countries 40.3%; OECD 48.3% (EU 34.1%); Arab
  countries 1.7%; other 9.7%

External debt: $10.4 billion (1995)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $39 million (1993)
  note: $700 million in balance of payments support from Western
  nations (1994)

Currency: 1 lev (Lv) = 100 stotinki

Exchange rates: leva (Lv) per US$1 - 70.5 (December 1995), 54.2
  (1994), 27.1 (1993), 23.3 (1992), 18.4 (1991); note - floating
  exchange rate since February 1991

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 4,292 km
  standard gauge: 4,047 km 1.435-m gauge (2,650 km electrified; 917
  double track)
  other: 245 km 0.760-m gauge (1995)

Highways:
  total: 36,932 km
  paved: 33,904 km (including 276 km of expressways)
  unpaved: 3,028 km (1992 est.)

Waterways: 470 km (1987)

Pipelines: crude oil 193 km; petroleum products 525 km; natural
  gas 1,400 km (1992)

Ports: Burgas, Lom, Nesebur, Ruse, Varna, Vidin

Merchant marine:
  total: 103 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,084,090
  GRT/1,596,735 DWT
  ships by type: bulk 45, cargo 27, chemical tanker 4, container 2,
  oil tanker 13, passenger-cargo 1, railcar carrier 2,
  roll-on/roll-off cargo 6, short-sea passenger 2, refrigerated cargo 1
  note: Bulgaria owns an additional 7 ships (1,000 GRT or over)
  totaling 135,016 DWT operating under the registries of Liberia and
  Malta (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 355
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 1
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 17
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 10
  with paved runways under 914 m: 88
  with unpaved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 2
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 1
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 10
  with unpaved runways under 914 m: 226 (1994 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 2,773,293 (1993 est.)

Telephone system: almost two-thirds of the lines are residential;
  67% of Sofia households have telephones (November 1988 est.)
  domestic: extensive but antiquated transmission system of coaxial
  cable and microwave radio relay; telephone service is available in
  most villages
  international: direct dialing to 36 countries; satellite earth
  stations - 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean Region); Intelsat
  available through a Greek earth station

Radio broadcast stations: AM 20, FM 15, shortwave 0

Radios: NA

Television broadcast stations: 29 (Russian repeater in Sofia 1)

Televisions: 2.1 million (May 1990 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces, Border Troops,
  Internal Troops

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 2,155,332
  males fit for military service: 1,797,318
  males reach military age (19) annually: 64,568 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $352 million,
  2.5% of GDP (1995)



======================================================================




@Burkina Faso
------------




Map
---


Location: 13 00 N, 2 00 W -- Western Africa, north of Ghana



Flag
----


Description: two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and green
  with a yellow five-pointed star in the center; uses the popular
  pan-African colors of Ethiopia





Geography
---------


Location: Western Africa, north of Ghana

Geographic coordinates: 13 00 N, 2 00 W

Map references: Africa

Area:
  total area: 274,200 sq km
  land area: 273,800 sq km
  comparative area: slightly larger than Colorado

Land boundaries:
  total: 3,192 km
  border countries: Benin 306 km, Ghana 548 km, Cote d'Ivoire 584 km,
  Mali 1,000 km, Niger 628 km, Togo 126 km

Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims: none (landlocked)

International disputes: following mutual acceptance of an
  International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling in December 1986 on
  their international boundary dispute, Burkina Faso and Mali are
  proceeding with boundary demarcation, including the tripoint with
  Niger

Climate: tropical; warm, dry winters; hot, wet summers

Terrain: mostly flat to dissected, undulating plains; hills in
  west and southeast
  lowest point: Black Volta River 200 m
  highest point: Tena Kourou 749 m

Natural resources: manganese, limestone, marble; small deposits of
  gold, antimony, copper, nickel, bauxite, lead, phosphates, zinc,
  silver

Land use:
  arable land: 10%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 37%
  forest and woodland: 26%
  other: 27%

Irrigated land: 160 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
  current issues: recent droughts and desertification severely
  affecting agricultural activities, population distribution, and the
  economy; overgrazing; soil degradation; deforestation
  natural hazards: recurring droughts
  international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
  Endangered Species, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer
  Protection, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Desertification,
  Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban

Geographic note: landlocked



People
------


Population: 10,623,323 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 48% (male 2,569,806; female 2,537,106)
  15-64 years: 49% (male 2,444,601; female 2,738,726)
  65 years and over: 3% (male 145,479; female 187,605) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.53% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 47.02 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 19.99 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: -1.74 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 0.89 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female
  all ages: 0.94 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 117.8 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 43.21 years
  male: 43.46 years
  female: 42.95 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 6.8 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Burkinabe (singular and plural)
  adjective: Burkinabe

Ethnic divisions: Mossi about 24%, Gurunsi, Senufo, Lobi, Bobo,
  Mande, Fulani

Religions: indigenous beliefs 40%, Muslim 50%, Christian (mainly
  Roman Catholic) 10%

Languages: French (official), tribal languages belonging to
  Sudanic family, spoken by 90% of the population

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)
  total population: 19.2%
  male: 29.5%
  female: 9.2%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: none
  conventional short form: Burkina Faso
  former: Upper Volta

Data code: UV

Type of government: parliamentary

Capital: Ouagadougou

Administrative divisions: 30 provinces; Bam, Bazega, Bougouriba,
  Boulgou, Boulkiemde, Ganzourgou, Gnagna, Gourma, Houet, Kadiogo,
  Kenedougou, Komoe, Kossi, Kouritenga, Mouhoun, Namentenga, Naouri,
  Oubritenga, Oudalan, Passore, Poni, Sanguie, Sanmatenga, Seno,
  Sissili, Soum, Sourou, Tapoa, Yatenga, Zoundweogo

Independence: 5 August 1960 (from France)

National holiday: Anniversary of the Revolution, 4 August (1983)

Constitution: 2 June 1991

Legal system: based on French civil law system and customary law

Suffrage: none

Executive branch:
  chief of state: President Captain Blaise COMPAORE (since 15 October
  1987) elected for a seven-year term by popular vote; election last
  held NA December 1991 (next to be held NA 1998)
  head of government: Prime Minister Roch KABORE (since NA March 1994)
  appointed by the president
  cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president

Legislative branch: unicameral
  Assembly of People's Deputies: elections last held 24 May 1992 (next
  to be held NA 1997); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats -
  (107 total), ODP-MT 78, CNPP-PSD 12, RDA 6, ADF 4, other 7
  note: the current law also provides for a second consultative
  chamber, which has not been formally constituted

Judicial branch: Appeals Court

Political parties and leaders: Organization for People's Democracy
  - Labor Movement (ODP-MT), ruling party, Secretary General Simon
  COMPAORE; National Convention of Progressive Patriots-Social
  Democratic Party (CNPP-PSD), Moussa BOLY; African Democratic Rally
  (RDA), Gerard Kango OUEDRAOGO; Alliance for Democracy and Federation
  (ADF), Amadou Michel NANA

Other political or pressure groups: committees for the defense of
  the revolution; watchdog/political action groups throughout the
  country in both organizations and communities

International organization participation: ACCT, ACP, AfDB, CCC,
  ECA, ECOWAS, Entente, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM,
  IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ITU,
  NAM, OAU, OIC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WADB, WCL, WFTU,
  WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Gaetan R. OUEDRAOGO
  chancery: 2340 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
  telephone: [1] (202) 332-5577, 6895

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Donald J. MCCONNELL
  embassy: Avenue Raoul Follerau, Ouagadougou
  mailing address: 01 B. P. 35, Ouagadougou
  telephone: [226] 306723 through 306725
  FAX: [226] 303890

Flag: two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and green with a
  yellow five-pointed star in the center; uses the popular pan-African
  colors of Ethiopia



Economy
-------


Economic overview: One of the poorest countries in the world,
  Burkina Faso has a high population density and a high population
  growth rate, few natural resources, and a fragile soil. Economic
  development is hindered by a poor communications network within a
  landlocked country. Agriculture is mainly subsistence farming.
  Industry remains dominated by unprofitable government-controlled
  corporations. Following the Communaute Financiere Africaine currency
  devaluation on 12 January 1994, exports appear to have risen, but no
  official figures have been released yet. The upswing apparently
  continued in 1995, with growth perhaps at 4%. The government has
  updated its development program in conjunction with international
  agencies, yet even with the best of plans, the government faces
  formidable problems on all sides.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $7.4 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 4% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $700 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 32%
  industry: 24%
  services: 44% (1990 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 5% (1995 est.)

Labor force: NA (most adults are employed in subsistence
  agriculture)
  by occupation: agriculture 80%, industry 15%, commerce, services,
  and government 5%
  note: 20% of male labor force migrates annually to neighboring
  countries for seasonal employment (1984)

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget:
  revenues: $483 million
  expenditures: $548 million, including capital expenditures of $189
  million (1992)

Industries: cotton lint, beverages, agricultural processing, soap,
  cigarettes, textiles, gold

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity:
  capacity: 60,000 kW
  production: 190 million kWh
  consumption per capita: 17 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: peanuts, shea nuts, sesame, cotton, sorghum, millet,
  corn, rice; livestock

Exports: $273 million (f.o.b., 1993)
  commodities: cotton, gold, animal products
  partners: EC, Cote d'Ivoire, Taiwan, Thailand

Imports: $636 million (f.o.b., 1993)
  commodities: machinery, food products, petroleum
  partners: EC, Africa, Japan

External debt: $1 billion (December 1993 est.)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $NA

Currency: 1 Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (CFAF) = 100
  centimes

Exchange rates: CFA francs (CFAF) per US$1 - 500.56 (January
  1996), 499.15 (1995), 555.20 (1994), 283.16 (1993), 264.69 (1992),
  282.11 (1991)
  note: beginning 12 January 1994 the CFA franc was devalued to CFAF
  100 per French franc from CFAF 50 at which it had been fixed since
  1948

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 622 km (1995 est.)
  narrow gauge: 622 km 1.000-m gauge (517 km Ouagadougou to Cote
  d'Ivoire border and 105 km opened in 1993 from Ouagadougou to Kaya)

Highways:
  total: 16,400 km
  paved: 1,280 km
  unpaved: 15,120 km (1987 est.)

Ports: none

Airports:
  total: 23
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 1
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 1
  with paved runways under 914 m: 8
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 3
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 10 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 21,000 (1993 est.)

Telephone system: all services only fair
  domestic: microwave radio relay, open wire, and radiotelephone
  communication stations
  international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 2, FM 1, shortwave 0

Radios: NA

Television broadcast stations: 2 (1987 est.)

Televisions: 49,000 (1991 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Army, Air Force, National Gendarmerie, National Police,
  People's Militia

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 2,149,485
  males fit for military service: 1,101,184 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $104 million,
  6.4% of GDP (1994)



======================================================================




@Burma
-----




Map
---


Location: 22 00 N, 98 00 E -- Southeastern Asia, bordering the
  Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal, between Bangladesh and Thailand



Flag
----


Description: red with a blue rectangle in the upper hoist-side
  corner bearing, all in white, 14 five-pointed stars encircling a
  cogwheel containing a stalk of rice; the 14 stars represent the 14
  administrative divisions





Geography
---------


Location: Southeastern Asia, bordering the Andaman Sea and the Bay
  of Bengal, between Bangladesh and Thailand

Geographic coordinates: 22 00 N, 98 00 E

Map references: Southeast Asia

Area:
  total area: 678,500 sq km
  land area: 657,740 sq km
  comparative area: slightly smaller than Texas

Land boundaries:
  total: 5,876 km
  border countries: Bangladesh 193 km, China 2,185 km, India 1,463 km,
  Laos 235 km, Thailand 1,800 km

Coastline: 1,930 km

Maritime claims:
  contiguous zone: 24 nm
  continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: none

Climate: tropical monsoon; cloudy, rainy, hot, humid summers
  (southwest monsoon, June to September); less cloudy, scant rainfall,
  mild temperatures, lower humidity during winter (northeast monsoon,
  December to April)

Terrain: central lowlands ringed by steep, rugged highlands
  lowest point: Andaman Sea 0 m
  highest point: Hkakabo Razi 5,881 m

Natural resources: petroleum, timber, tin, antimony, zinc, copper,
  tungsten, lead, coal, some marble, limestone, precious stones,
  natural gas

Land use:
  arable land: 15%
  permanent crops: 1%
  meadows and pastures: 1%
  forest and woodland: 49%
  other: 34%

Irrigated land: 10,180 sq km (1989)

Environment:
  current issues: deforestation; industrial pollution of air, soil,
  and water; inadequate sanitation and water treatment contribute to
  disease
  natural hazards: destructive earthquakes and cyclones; flooding and
  landslides common during rainy season (June to September); periodic
  droughts
  international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
  Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical
  Timber 83; signed, but not ratified - Law of the Sea, Tropical
  Timber 94

Geographic note: strategic location near major Indian Ocean
  shipping lanes



People
------


Population: 45,975,625 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 37% (male 8,637,102; female 8,308,282)
  15-64 years: 59% (male 13,577,232; female 13,571,312)
  65 years and over: 4% (male 853,403; female 1,028,294) (July 1996
  est.)

Population growth rate: 1.84% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 30.01 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 11.66 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.83 male(s)/female
  all ages: 1.01 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 80.7 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 56.14 years
  male: 54.46 years
  female: 57.92 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 3.83 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Burmese (singular and plural)
  adjective: Burmese

Ethnic divisions: Burman 68%, Shan 9%, Karen 7%, Rakhine 4%,
  Chinese 3%, Mon 2%, Indian 2%, other 5%

Religions: Buddhist 89%, Christian 4% (Baptist 3%, Roman Catholic
  1%), Muslim 4%, animist beliefs 1%, other 2%

Languages: Burmese, minority ethnic groups have their own languages

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)
  total population: 83.1%
  male: 88.7%
  female: 77.7%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Union of Burma
  conventional short form: Burma
  local long form: Pyidaungzu Myanma Naingngandaw (translated by the
  US Government as Union of Myanma and by the Burmese as Union of
  Myanmar)
  local short form: Myanma Naingngandaw
  former: Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma

Data code: BM

Type of government: military regime

Capital: Rangoon (regime refers to the capital as Yangon)

Administrative divisions: 7 divisions* (yin-mya, singular - yin)
  and 7 states (pyine-mya, singular - pyine); Chin State, Ayeyarwady*,
  Bago*, Kachin State, Kayin State, Kayah State, Magway*, Mandalay*,
  Mon State, Rakhine State, Sagaing*, Shan State, Tanintharyi*, Yangon*

Independence: 4 January 1948 (from UK)

National holiday: Independence Day, 4 January (1948)

Constitution: 3 January 1974 (suspended since 18 September 1988);
  national convention started on 9 January 1993 to draft a new
  constitution; chapter headings and three of 15 sections have been
  approved

Legal system: does not accept compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state and head of government: Prime Minister and Chairman
  of the State Law and Order Restoration Council Gen. THAN SHWE (since
  23 April 1992)
  State Law and Order Restoration Council: military junta which
  assumed power 18 September 1988

Legislative branch:
  People's Assembly (Pyithu Hluttaw): election last held 27 May 1990,
  but Assembly never convened; results - NLD 80%; seats - (485 total)
  NLD 396, NUP 10, other 79

Judicial branch: limited; remnants of the British-era legal system
  in place, but there is no guarantee of a fair public trial; the
  judiciary is not independent of the executive

Political parties and leaders: Union Solidarity and Development
  Association (USDA; pro-regime), THAN AUNG, secretary; National Unity
  Party (NUP), pro-regime, THA KYAW; National League for Democracy
  (NLD), AUNG SAN SUU KYI, general secretary; and eight minor legal
  parties

Other political or pressure groups: National Coalition Government
  of the Union of Burma (NCGUB), headed by the elected prime minister
  SEIN WIN - consists of individuals legitimately elected to the
  People's Assembly but not recognized by the military regime; the
  group fled to a border area and joined with insurgents in December
  1990 to form a parallel government; Kachin Independence Army (KIA);
  United Wa State Army (UWSA); Karen National Union (KNU); several
  Shan factions, including the Mong Tai Army (MTA); All Burma Student
  Democratic Front (ABSDF)

International organization participation: AsDB, CCC, CP, ESCAP,
  FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF,
  IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, ITU, Mekong Group,
  NAM, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WMO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador U THAUNG
  chancery: 2300 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
  telephone: [1] (202) 332-9044, 9045
  consulate(s) general: New York

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Marilyn A.
  MEYERS
  embassy: 581 Merchant Street, Rangoon (GPO 521)
  mailing address: Box B, APO AP 96546
  telephone: [95] (1) 82055, 82182 (operator assistance required)
  FAX: [95] (1) 80409

Flag: red with a blue rectangle in the upper hoist-side corner
  bearing, all in white, 14 five-pointed stars encircling a cogwheel
  containing a stalk of rice; the 14 stars represent the 14
  administrative divisions



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Burma has a mixed economy with about 75%
  private activity, mainly in agriculture, light industry, and
  transport, and with about 25% state-controlled activity, mainly in
  energy, heavy industry, and foreign trade. Government policy in the
  last seven years, 1989-95, has aimed at revitalizing the economy
  after three decades of tight central planning. Thus, private
  activity has markedly increased; foreign investment has been
  encouraged, so far with moderate success; and efforts continue to
  increase the efficiency of state enterprises. Published estimates of
  Burma's foreign trade are greatly understated because of the volume
  of black market trade. A major ongoing problem is the failure to
  achieve monetary and fiscal stability. Although Burma remains a poor
  Asian country, its rich resources furnish the potential for
  substantial long-term increases in income, exports, and living
  standards.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $47 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 6.8% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $1,000 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 60%
  industry: 10%
  services: 30% (1995 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 38% (1994 est.)

Labor force: 16.007 million (1992)
  by occupation: agriculture 65.2%, industry 14.3%, trade 10.1%,
  government 6.3%, other 4.1% (FY88/89 est.)

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget:
  revenues: $5.3 billion
  expenditures: $10 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA
  (1995 est.)

Industries: agricultural processing; textiles and footwear; wood
  and wood products; petroleum refining; copper, tin, tungsten, iron;
  construction materials; pharmaceuticals; fertilizer

Industrial production growth rate: 4.9% (FY92/93 est.)

Electricity:
  capacity: 845,000 kW
  production: 3.5 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 46 kWh (1995 est.)

Agriculture: paddy rice, corn, oilseed, sugarcane, pulses; hardwood

Illicit drugs: world's largest illicit producer of opium (2,340
  metric tons in 1995) and source for over 60% of US heroin imports;
  minor producer of cannabis for the international drug trade;
  Rangoon's antinarcotic programs hindered by lack of resources,
  government commitment; growing role in methamphetamine production
  for regional consumption

Exports: $879 million (FY94/95 est.)
  commodities: pulses and beans, teak, rice, hardwood
  partners: Singapore, China, Thailand, India, Hong Kong

Imports: $1.5 billion (FY94/95 est.)
  commodities: machinery, transport equipment, construction materials,
  food products, consumer goods
  partners: Japan, China, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia

External debt: $5.5 billion (FY94/95 est.)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $61 million (1993)

Currency: 1 kyat (K) = 100 pyas

Exchange rates: kyats (K) per US$1 - 5.8475 (January 1996), 5.9170
  (1995), 5.9749 (1994), 6.1570 (1993), 6.1045 (1992), 6.2837 (1991);
  unofficial - 120

Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 3,569 km
  narrow gauge: 3,569 km 1.000-m gauge (1995)

Highways:
  total: 26,861 km
  paved: 3,181 km
  unpaved: 23,680 km (1988 est.)

Waterways: 12,800 km; 3,200 km navigable by large commercial
  vessels

Pipelines: crude oil 1,343 km; natural gas 330 km

Ports: Bassein, Bhamo, Chauk, Mandalay, Moulmein, Myitkyina,
  Rangoon, Akyab (Sittwe), Tavoy

Merchant marine:
  total: 40 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 444,957 GRT/610,420 DWT
  ships by type: bulk 11, cargo 15, chemical tanker 5, container 1,
  oil tanker 3, passenger-cargo 3, vehicle carrier 2 (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 74
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 2
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 2
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 13
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 10
  with paved runways under 914 m: 28
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 2
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 17 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 122,195 (1993 est.)

Telephone system: meets minimum requirements for local and
  intercity service for business and government; international service
  is good
  domestic: NA
  international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 2, FM 1, shortwave 0 (1985 est.)
  note: radiobroadcast coverage is limited to the most populous areas

Radios: NA

Television broadcast stations: 1 (1988 est.)

Televisions: 88,000 (1992 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 11,759,636
  females age 15-49: 11,588,181
  males fit for military service: 6,291,986
  females fit for military service: 6,184,667
  males reach military age (18) annually: 473,255
  females reach military age (18) annually: 454,786 (1996 est.)
  note: both sexes liable for military service

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $135 million, NA%
  of GDP (FY95/96)



======================================================================




@Burundi
-------




Map
---


Location: 3 30 S, 30 00 E -- Central Africa, east of Zaire



Flag
----


Description: divided by a white diagonal cross into red panels
  (top and bottom) and green panels (hoist side and outer side) with a
  white disk superimposed at the center bearing three red six-pointed
  stars outlined in green arranged in a triangular design (one star
  above, two stars below)





Geography
---------


Location: Central Africa, east of Zaire

Geographic coordinates: 3 30 S, 30 00 E

Map references: Africa

Area:
  total area: 27,830 sq km
  land area: 25,650 sq km
  comparative area: slightly larger than Maryland

Land boundaries:
  total: 974 km
  border countries: Rwanda 290 km, Tanzania 451 km, Zaire 233 km

Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims: none (landlocked)

International disputes: none

Climate: temperate; warm; occasional frost in uplands; dry season
  from June to September

Terrain: hilly and mountainous, dropping to a plateau in east,
  some plains
  lowest point: Lake Tanganyika 772 m
  highest point: Mount Heha 2,760 m

Natural resources: nickel, uranium, rare earth oxides, peat,
  cobalt, copper, platinum (not yet exploited), vanadium

Land use:
  arable land: 43%
  permanent crops: 8%
  meadows and pastures: 35%
  forest and woodland: 2%
  other: 12%

Irrigated land: 720 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
  current issues: soil erosion as a result of overgrazing and the
  expansion of agriculture into marginal lands; deforestation (little
  forested land remains because of uncontrolled cutting of trees for
  fuel); habitat loss threatens wildlife populations
  natural hazards: flooding, landslides
  international agreements: party to - Endangered Species; signed, but
  not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Law of
  the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban

Geographic note: landlocked; straddles crest of the Nile-Congo
  watershed



People
------


Population: 5,943,057 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 47% (male 1,404,375; female 1,398,228)
  15-64 years: 50% (male 1,454,545; female 1,527,644)
  65 years and over: 3% (male 62,955; female 95,310) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.54% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 43.02 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 15.15 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: -12.47 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)
  note: in a number of waves since October 1993, hundreds of thousands
  of refugees have fled the civil strife between the Hutu and Tutsi
  factions in Burundi and crossed into Rwanda, Tanzania, and Zaire;
  the refugee flows are continuing in 1996 as the ethnic violence
  persists

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.66 male(s)/female
  all ages: 0.97 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 102.2 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 49.33 years
  male: 48.28 years
  female: 50.42 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 6.55 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Burundian(s)
  adjective: Burundi

Ethnic divisions:
  Africans: Hutu (Bantu) 85%, Tutsi (Hamitic) 14%, Twa (Pygmy) 1%
  non-Africans: Europeans 3,000, South Asians 2,000

Religions: Christian 67% (Roman Catholic 62%, Protestant 5%),
  indigenous beliefs 32%, Muslim 1%

Languages: Kirundi (official), French (official), Swahili (along
  Lake Tanganyika and in the Bujumbura area)

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)
  total population: 35.3%
  male: 49.3%
  female: 22.5%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Republic of Burundi
  conventional short form: Burundi
  local long form: Republika y'u Burundi
  local short form: Burundi

Data code: BY

Type of government: republic

Capital: Bujumbura

Administrative divisions: 15 provinces; Bubanza, Bujumbura,
  Bururi, Cankuzo, Cibitoke, Gitega, Karuzi, Kayanza, Kirundo,
  Makamba, Muramvya, Muyinga, Ngozi, Rutana, Ruyigi

Independence: 1 July 1962 (from UN trusteeship under Belgian
  administration)

National holiday: Independence Day, 1 July (1962)

Constitution: 13 March 1992; provides for establishment of a
  plural political system

Legal system: based on German and Belgian civil codes and
  customary law; does not accept compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: NA years of age; universal adult

Executive branch:
  chief of state: President Sylvestre NTIBANTUNGANYA (acting president
  from 8 April 1994 to 30 September 1994, president since 1 October
  1994); note - NTIBANTUNGANYA, in his capacity as President of the
  National Assembly, became acting president upon the death of
  President Cyprien NTARYAMIRE in an airplane crash on 6 April 1994;
  NTIBANTUNGANYA was sworn in on 1 October 1994 as president by the
  "Convention on Government" to serve a four year transitional term
  head of government: Prime Minister Antoine NDUWAYO (since February
  1995)
  cabinet: Council of Ministers; appointed by prime minister

Legislative branch: unicameral
  National Assembly (Assemblee Nationale): election last held 29 June
  1993 (next to be held NA); results - FRODEBU 71%, UPRONA 21.4%;
  seats - (81 total) FRODEBU 65, UPRONA 16; other parties won too
  small shares of the vote to win seats in the assembly

Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Cour Supreme)

Political parties and leaders: Unity for National Progress
  (UPRONA); Burundi Democratic Front (FRODEBU); Organization of the
  People of Burundi (RBP); Socialist Party of Burundi (PSB); People's
  Reconciliation Party (PRP); opposition parties, legalized in March
  1992, include Burundi African Alliance for the Salvation (ABASA);
  Rally for Democracy and Economic and Social Development (RADDES);
  and Party for National Redress (PARENA)

Other political or pressure groups: NA

International organization participation: ACCT, ACP, AfDB, CCC,
  CEEAC, CEPGL, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC,
  IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, ISO
  (subscriber), ITU, NAM, OAU, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO,
  WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Severin NTAHOMVUKIYE
  chancery: Suite 212, 2233 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007
  telephone: [1] (202) 342-2574

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Charles YELLIN
  embassy: Avenue des Etats-Unis, Bujumbura
  mailing address: B. P. 1720, Bujumbura
  telephone: [257] (2) 23454
  FAX: [257] (2) 22926

Flag: divided by a white diagonal cross into red panels (top and
  bottom) and green panels (hoist side and outer side) with a white
  disk superimposed at the center bearing three red six-pointed stars
  outlined in green arranged in a triangular design (one star above,
  two stars below)



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Burundi is a landlocked, resource-poor country
  in an early stage of economic development. The economy is
  predominately agricultural with roughly 90% of the population
  dependent on subsistence agriculture. Its economic health depends on
  the coffee crop, which accounts for 80% of foreign exchange
  earnings. The ability to pay for imports therefore rests largely on
  the vagaries of the climate and the international coffee market. As
  part of its economic reform agenda, launched in February 1991 with
  IMF and World Bank support, Burundi is trying to diversify its
  agricultural exports, attract foreign investment in industry, and
  modernize government budgetary practices. Since October 1993 the
  nation has suffered from massive ethnic-based violence which has
  resulted in the death of perhaps 100,000 persons and the
  displacement of a million others; production has fallen sharply, and
  an impoverished and disorganized government can hardly implement
  these needed reform programs.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $4 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 2.7% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $600 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 54.1%
  industry: 16.8%
  services: 29.1% (1993 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 10% (1993 est.)

Labor force: 1.9 million (1983 est.)
  by occupation: agriculture 93.0%, government 4.0%, industry and
  commerce 1.5%, services 1.5%

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget:
  revenues: $318 million
  expenditures: $326 million, including capital expenditures of $150
  million (1991 est.)

Industries: light consumer goods such as blankets, shoes, soap;
  assembly of imported components; public works construction; food
  processing

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity:
  capacity: 55,000 kW
  production: 100 million kWh
  consumption per capita: 20 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: coffee, cotton, tea, corn, sorghum, sweet potatoes,
  bananas, manioc; meat, milk, hides

Exports: $68 million (f.o.b., 1993)
  commodities: coffee 81%, tea, cotton, hides
  partners: EC 57%, US 19%, Asia 1%

Imports: $203 million (c.i.f., 1993)
  commodities: capital goods 31%, petroleum products 15%, foodstuffs,
  consumer goods
  partners: EC 45%, Asia 29%, US 2%

External debt: $1.05 billion (1994 est.)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $NA

Currency: 1 Burundi franc (FBu) = 100 centimes

Exchange rates: Burundi francs (FBu) per US$1 - 268.13 (November
  1995), 252.66 (1994), 242.78 (1993), 208.30 (1992), 181.51 (1991),
  171.26 (1990)

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways: 0 km

Highways:
  total: 14,473 km
  paved: 1,028 km
  unpaved: 13,445 km (1992 est.)

Waterways: Lake Tanganyika

Ports: Bujumbura

Airports:
  total: 3
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 1
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 2 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 7,200 (1987 est.)

Telephone system: primitive system
  domestic: sparse system of open wire, radiotelephone communications,
  and low-capacity microwave radio relay
  international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 2, FM 2, shortwave 0

Radios: NA

Television broadcast stations: 1

Televisions: 4,500 (1993 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Army (includes naval and air units), paramilitary
  Gendarmerie

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 1,312,458
  males fit for military service: 683,073
  males reach military age (16) annually: 67,990 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $25 million, 2.6%
  of GDP (1993)



======================================================================




@Cambodia
--------




Map
---


Location: 13 00 N, 105 00 E -- Southeastern Asia, bordering the
  Gulf of Thailand, between Thailand and Vietnam



Flag
----


Description: three horizontal bands of blue (top), red (double
  width), and blue with a white three-towered temple representing
  Angkor Wat outlined in black in the center of the red band





Geography
---------


Location: Southeastern Asia, bordering the Gulf of Thailand,
  between Thailand and Vietnam

Geographic coordinates: 13 00 N, 105 00 E

Map references: Southeast Asia

Area:
  total area: 181,040 sq km
  land area: 176,520 sq km
  comparative area: slightly smaller than Oklahoma

Land boundaries:
  total: 2,572 km
  border countries: Laos 541 km, Thailand 803 km, Vietnam 1,228 km

Coastline: 443 km

Maritime claims:
  contiguous zone: 24 nm
  continental shelf: 200 nm
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: offshore islands and sections of the
  boundary with Vietnam are in dispute; maritime boundary with Vietnam
  not defined; parts of border with Thailand in dispute; maritime
  boundary with Thailand not clearly defined

Climate: tropical; rainy, monsoon season (May to November); dry
  season (December to April); little seasonal temperature variation

Terrain: mostly low, flat plains; mountains in southwest and north
  lowest point: Gulf of Thailand 0 m
  highest point: Phnum Aoral 1,810 m

Natural resources: timber, gemstones, some iron ore, manganese,
  phosphates, hydropower potential

Land use:
  arable land: 16%
  permanent crops: 1%
  meadows and pastures: 3%
  forest and woodland: 76%
  other: 4%

Irrigated land: 920 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
  current issues: logging activities throughout the country and strip
  mining for gems in the western region along the border with Thailand
  are resulting in habitat loss and declining biodiversity (in
  particular, destruction of mangrove swamps threatens natural
  fisheries); deforestation; soil erosion; in rural areas, a majority
  of the population does not have access to potable water
  natural hazards: monsoonal rains (June to November); flooding;
  occasional droughts
  international agreements: party to - Marine Life Conservation, Ship
  Pollution; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
  Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping,
  Tropical Timber 94

Geographic note: a land of paddies and forests dominated by the
  Mekong River and Tonle Sap



People
------


Population: 10,861,218 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 45% (male 2,505,998; female 2,432,620)
  15-64 years: 51% (male 2,579,986; female 3,007,838)
  65 years and over: 4% (male 143,759; female 191,017) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.77% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 43.5 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 15.78 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 0.86 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female
  all ages: 0.93 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 107.8 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 49.86 years
  male: 48.39 years
  female: 51.39 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 5.81 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Cambodian(s)
  adjective: Cambodian

Ethnic divisions: Khmer 90%, Vietnamese 5%, Chinese 1%, other 4%

Religions: Theravada Buddhism 95%, other 5%

Languages: Khmer (official), French

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
  total population: 35%
  male: 48%
  female: 22%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Kingdom of Cambodia
  conventional short form: Cambodia
  local long form: Preahreacheanachakr Kampuchea
  local short form: Kampuchea

Data code: CB

Type of government: multiparty liberal democracy under a
  constitutional monarchy established in September 1993

Capital: Phnom Penh

Administrative divisions: 21 provinces (khett, singular and
  plural); Banteay Mean Cheay, Batdambang, Kampong Cham, Kampong
  Chhnang, Kampong Spoe, Kampong Thum, Kampot, Kandal, Kaoh Kong,
  Kracheh, Mondol Kiri, Phnum Penh, Pouthisat, Preah Seihanu
  (Sihanoukville), Preah Vihear, Prey Veng, Rotanah Kiri, Siem Reab,
  Stoeng Treng, Svay Rieng, Takev
  note: a new province of Otdar Mean Cheay may have been created from
  parts of Banteay Mean Cheay and Siem Reab

Independence: 9 November 1949 (from France)

National holiday: Independence Day, 9 November 1949

Constitution: promulgated 21 September 1993

Legal system: currently being defined

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: King Norodom SIHANOUK (reinstated 24 September 1993)
  is a constitutional monarch
  head of government: power shared between First Prime Minister Prince
  Norodom RANARIDDH (since NA 1993) and Second Prime Minister HUN SEN
  (since NA 1993) who were appointed by the king
  cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the king

Legislative branch: unicameral
  National Assembly: members elected for five-year terms; elections
  last held 23 May 1993 (next to be held NA 1998); results - percent
  of vote by party NA; seats - (120 total) FUNCINPEC 58, CPP 51,
  Buddhist Liberal Democratic Party 10, Molinaka 1
  note: the May 1993 elections were for the Constituent Assembly which
  became the National Assembly after the new constitution was
  promulgated in September 1993

Judicial branch: Supreme Court provided for by the constitution
  has not yet been established and the future judicial system is yet
  to be defined by law

Political parties and leaders: National United Front for an
  Independent, Neutral, Peaceful, and Cooperative Cambodia
  (FUNCINPEC), Prince NORODOM RANARIDDH; Cambodian Pracheachon Party
  or Cambodian People's Party (CPP), CHEA SIM; Buddhist Liberal
  Democratic Party, SON SANN faction; Buddhist Liberal Democratic
  Party, IENG MOULY faction; Democratic Kampuchea (DK, also known as
  the Khmer Rouge), KHIEU SAMPHAN; Molinaka, PROM NEAKAREACH

International organization participation: ACCT, AsDB, CP, ESCAP,
  FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO,
  Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, ITU, Mekong Group, NAM, PCA,
  UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
  (applicant)

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador VAR HUOTH
  chancery: 4500 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20011
  telephone: [1] (202) 726-7742
  FAX: [1] (202) 726-8381

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Kenneth M. QUINN
  embassy: 27 EO Street 240, Phnom Penh
  mailing address: Box P, APO AP 96546
  telephone: [855] (23) 426436, 426438
  FAX: [855] (23) 426437

Flag: three horizontal bands of blue (top), red (double width),
  and blue with a white three-towered temple representing Angkor Wat
  outlined in black in the center of the red band



Economy
-------


Economic overview: The Cambodian economy - virtually destroyed by
  decades of war - is slowly recovering. Government leaders are moving
  toward restoring fiscal and monetary discipline and have established
  good working relations with international financial institutions.
  Growth, starting from a low base, has been strong in 1991-95.
  Despite such positive developments, the reconstruction effort faces
  many tough challenges because of the persistence of internal
  political divisions and the related lack of confidence of foreign
  investors. Rural Cambodia, where 90% of about 9.5 million Khmer
  live, remains mired in poverty. The almost total lack of basic
  infrastructure in the countryside will hinder development and will
  contribute to a growing imbalance in growth between urban and rural
  areas over the near term. Moreover, the government's lack of
  experience in administering economic and technical assistance
  programs and rampant corruption among officials will slow the growth
  of critical public sector investment. The decline of inflation from
  the 1992 rate of more than 50% is one of the bright spots.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $7 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 6.7% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $660 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 52%
  industry: 13.5%
  services: 34.5% (1993)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 6% (1995 est.)

Labor force: 2.5 million to 3 million
  by occupation: agriculture 80% (1988 est.)

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget:
  revenues: $210 million
  expenditures: $346 million, including capital expenditures of $NA
  (1994 est.)

Industries: rice milling, fishing, wood and wood products, rubber,
  cement, gem mining

Industrial production growth rate: 7.9% (1993 est.)

Electricity:
  capacity: 40,000 kW
  production: 160 million kWh
  consumption per capita: 14 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: rice, rubber, corn, vegetables

Illicit drugs: key transshipment country for Golden Triangle
  heroin en route to West; possibly becoming money-laundering center;
  high-level narcotics-related corruption in government, military, and
  police; possible small-scale opium, heroin, and amphetamine
  production; large producer of cannabis

Exports: $240.7 million (1995 est.)
  commodities: timber, rubber, soybeans, sesame
  partners: Singapore, Japan, Thailand, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia

Imports: $630.5 million (1995 est.)
  commodities: cigarettes, construction materials, petroleum products,
  machinery, motor vehicles
  partners: Singapore, Vietnam, Japan, Australia, Hong Kong, Indonesia

External debt: $383 million to OECD members (1993)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $NA
  note: IMF pledged $120 million in aid for 1995-98

Currency: 1 new riel (CR) = 100 sen

Exchange rates: riels (CR) per US$1 - 2,585 (December 1994), 2,470
  (December 1993), 2,800 (September 1992), 500 (December 1991), 560
  (1990)

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 603 km
  narrow gauge: 603 km 1.000-m gauge

Highways:
  total: 34,100 km
  paved: 3,000 km
  unpaved: 31,100 km (1994 est.)

Waterways: 3,700 km navigable all year to craft drawing 0.6 m; 282
  km navigable to craft drawing 1.8 m

Ports: Kampong Saom (Sihanoukville), Kampot, Krong Kaoh Kong,
  Phnom Penh

Merchant marine:
  total: 5 cargo ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 17,451 GRT/18,280
  DWT (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 14
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 2
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 2
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 2
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 1
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 7 (1995 est.)

Heliports: 2 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 7,000 (1981 est.)

Telephone system: service barely adequate for government
  requirements and virtually nonexistent for general public
  domestic: NA
  international: landline international service limited to Vietnam and
  other adjacent countries; satellite earth station - 1 Intersputnik
  (Indian Ocean Region)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0

Radios: NA

Television broadcast stations: 1 (1986 est.)

Televisions: 70,000 (1993 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches:
  Khmer Royal Armed Forces (KRAF): created in 1993 by the merger of
  the Cambodian People's Armed Forces and the two noncommunist
  resistance armies; note - the KRAF is also known as the Royal
  Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF)
  Resistance forces: National Army of Democratic Kampuchea (Khmer
  Rouge)

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 2,336,606
  males fit for military service: 1,302,234
  males reach military age (18) annually: 79,514 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $85 million, 1.4%
  of GDP (1995)



======================================================================




@Cameroon
--------




Map
---


Location: 6 00 N, 12 00 E -- Western Africa, bordering the North
  Atlantic Ocean, between Equatorial Guinea and Nigeria



Flag
----


Description: three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side),
  red, and yellow with a yellow five-pointed star centered in the red
  band; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia





Geography
---------


Location: Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean,
  between Equatorial Guinea and Nigeria

Geographic coordinates: 6 00 N, 12 00 E

Map references: Africa

Area:
  total area: 475,440 sq km
  land area: 469,440 sq km
  comparative area: slightly larger than California

Land boundaries:
  total: 4,591 km
  border countries: Central African Republic 797 km, Chad 1,094 km,
  Congo 523 km, Equatorial Guinea 189 km, Gabon 298 km, Nigeria 1,690
  km

Coastline: 402 km

Maritime claims:
  territorial sea: 50 nm

International disputes: demarcation of international boundaries in
  vicinity of Lake Chad, the lack of which led to border incidents in
  the past, is completed and awaits ratification by Cameroon, Chad,
  Niger, and Nigeria; dispute with Nigeria over land and maritime
  boundaries in the vicinity of the Bakasi Peninsula has been referred
  to the International Court of Justice

Climate: varies with terrain, from tropical along coast to
  semiarid and hot in north

Terrain: diverse, with coastal plain in southwest, dissected
  plateau in center, mountains in west, plains in north
  lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
  highest point: Fako 4,095 m

Natural resources: petroleum, bauxite, iron ore, timber,
  hydropower potential

Land use:
  arable land: 13%
  permanent crops: 2%
  meadows and pastures: 18%
  forest and woodland: 54%
  other: 13%

Irrigated land: 280 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
  current issues: water-borne diseases are prevalent; deforestation;
  overgrazing; desertification; poaching; overfishing
  natural hazards: recent volcanic activity with release of poisonous
  gases
  international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
  Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical
  Timber 83; signed, but not ratified - Desertification, Nuclear Test
  Ban, Tropical Timber 94

Geographic note: sometimes referred to as the hinge of Africa



People
------


Population: 14,261,557 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 46% (male 3,295,924; female 3,266,429)
  15-64 years: 51% (male 3,602,037; female 3,627,625)
  65 years and over: 3% (male 213,176; female 256,366) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.89% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 42.49 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 13.56 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.83 male(s)/female
  all ages: 1 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 78.7 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 52.6 years
  male: 51.55 years
  female: 53.68 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 5.99 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Cameroonian(s)
  adjective: Cameroonian

Ethnic divisions: Cameroon Highlanders 31%, Equatorial Bantu 19%,
  Kirdi 11%, Fulani 10%, Northwestern Bantu 8%, Eastern Nigritic 7%,
  other African 13%, non-African less than 1%

Religions: indigenous beliefs 51%, Christian 33%, Muslim 16%

Languages: 24 major African language groups, English (official),
  French (official)

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)
  total population: 63.4%
  male: 75%
  female: 52.1%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Republic of Cameroon
  conventional short form: Cameroon
  former: French Cameroon

Data code: CM

Type of government: unitary republic; multiparty presidential
  regime (opposition parties legalized 1990)

Capital: Yaounde

Administrative divisions: 10 provinces; Adamaoua, Centre, Est,
  Extreme-Nord, Littoral, Nord, Nord-Ouest, Ouest, Sud, Sud-Ouest

Independence: 1 January 1960 (from UN trusteeship under French
  administration)

National holiday: National Day, 20 May (1972)

Constitution: 20 May 1972

Legal system: based on French civil law system, with common law
  influence; does not accept compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: 21 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: President Paul BIYA (since 6 November 1982) elected
  for a five-year term by universal suffrage; election last held 11
  October 1992 (next to be held NA October 1997); results - President
  Paul BIYA reelected with about 40% of the vote amid widespread
  allegations of fraud; SDF candidate John FRU NDI got 36% of the
  vote; UNDP candidate Bello Bouba MAIGARI got 19% of the vote
  head of government: Prime Minister Simon ACHIDI ACHU (since 9 April
  1992) appointed by the president
  cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president

Legislative branch: unicameral
  National Assembly (Assemblee Nationale): elections last held 1 March
  1992 (next to be held NA March 1997); results - percent of vote by
  party NA; seats (180 total) CPDM 88, UNDP 68, UPC 18, MDR 6

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

Political parties and leaders: Cameroon People's Democratic
  Movement (CPDM) (government-controlled and the only party until
  legalization of opposition parties in 1990), Paul BIYA, president
  major opposition parties: National Union for Democracy and Progress
  (UNDP); Social Democratic Front (SDF); Cameroonian Democratic Union
  (UDC); Union of Cameroonian Populations (UPC); Movement for the
  Defense of the Republic (MDR)

Other political or pressure groups: Alliance for Change (FAC),
  Cameroon Anglophone Movement (CAM)

International organization participation: ACCT, ACP, AfDB, BDEAC,
  CCC, CEEAC, ECA, FAO, FZ, G-19, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU,
  ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat,
  Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, PCA, UDEAC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO,
  UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Jerome MENDOUGA
  chancery: 2349 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
  telephone: [1] (202) 265-8790 through 8794

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Charles H. TWINING
  embassy: Rue Nachtigal, Yaounde
  mailing address: B. P. 817, Yaounde
  telephone: [237] 23-40-14, 23-05-12
  FAX: [237] 23-07-53

Flag: three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), red, and
  yellow with a yellow five-pointed star centered in the red band;
  uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Because of its offshore oil resources and
  favorable agricultural conditions, Cameroon has one of the
  best-endowed, most diversified primary commodity economies in
  sub-Saharan Africa. Still, it faces many of the serious problems
  facing other underdeveloped countries, such as political
  instability, a top-heavy civil service, and a generally unfavorable
  climate for business enterprise. The development of the oil sector
  led to rapid economic growth between 1970 and 1985. Growth came to
  an abrupt halt in 1986, precipitated by steep declines in the prices
  of major exports: coffee, cocoa, and petroleum. Export earnings were
  cut by almost one-third, and inefficiencies in fiscal management
  were exposed. In 1990-93, with support from the IMF and World Bank,
  the government began to introduce reforms designed to spur business
  investment, increase efficiency in agriculture, and recapitalize the
  nation's banks. Political instability, following suspect elections
  in 1992, brought IMF/WB structural adjustment to a halt; currently
  Cameroon receives only minimal assistance from those Bretton Woods
  institutions. Although the 50% devaluation of the currency of 12
  January 1994 improved the potential for export growth, mismanagement
  remains the main barrier to economic improvement. The devaluation
  led to a spurt in inflation, to 48% in 1994, but inflation moderated
  in 1995. Progress toward privatization of remaining state industry
  remains slow.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $16.5 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 1.8% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $1,200 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 29%
  industry: 24%
  services: 47% (1994 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 48% (1994)

Labor force: NA
  by occupation: agriculture 74.4%, industry and transport 11.4%,
  other services 14.2% (1983)

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget:
  revenues: $1.6 billion
  expenditures: $2.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $226
  million (FY92/93 est.)

Industries: petroleum production and refining, food processing,
  light consumer goods, textiles, lumber

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity:
  capacity: 630,000 kW
  production: 2.7 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 196 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: coffee, cocoa, cotton, rubber, bananas, oilseed,
  grains, root starches; livestock; timber

Exports: $1.2 billion (f.o.b., 1994)
  commodities: crude oil and petroleum products, lumber, aluminum,
  cocoa beans, coffee, cotton
  partners: EU (particularly France) about 50%, African countries, US

Imports: $810 million (f.o.b., 1994)
  commodities: machines and electrical equipment, food, consumer
  goods, transport equipment, petroleum products
  partners: EU (France 38%, Germany), African countries, Japan 5%, US
  5%

External debt: $6.6 billion (1993)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $449 million (1993)

Currency: 1 Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (CFAF) = 100
  centimes

Exchange rates: CFA francs (CFAF) per US$1 - 500.56 (January
  1996), 499.15 (1995), 555.20 (1994), 283.16 (1993), 264.69 (1992),
  282.11 (1991)
  note: beginning 12 January 1994, the CFA franc was devalued to CFAF
  100 per French franc from CFAF 50 at which it had been fixed since
  1948

Fiscal year: 1 July - 30 June



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 1,104 km (1995 est.)
  narrow gauge: 1,104 km 1.000-m gauge

Highways:
  total: 64,626 km
  paved: 2,666 km
  unpaved: 61,960 km (1987 est.)

Waterways: 2,090 km; of decreasing importance

Ports: Bonaberi, Douala, Garoua, Kribi, Tiko

Merchant marine:
  total: 2 cargo ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 24,122 GRT/33,509
  DWT (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 45
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 2
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 4
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 3
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 1
  with paved runways under 914 m: 13
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 7
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 15 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 36,737 (1991 est.)

Telephone system: available only to business and government
  domestic: cable, microwave radio relay, and tropospheric scatter
  international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 11, FM 11, shortwave 0

Radios: 2 million (1993 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 1 (1995)

Televisions: NA



Defense
-------


Branches: Army, Navy (includes Naval Infantry), Air Force,
  National Gendarmerie, Presidential Guard

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 3,112,339
  males fit for military service: 1,572,150
  males reach military age (18) annually: 151,300 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $102 million, NA%
  of GDP (FY93/94)



======================================================================




@Canada
------




Map
---


Location: 60 00 N, 95 00 W -- Northern North America, bordering
  the North Atlantic Ocean and North Pacific Ocean, north of the
  conterminous US



Flag
----


Description: three vertical bands of red (hoist side), white
  (double width, square), and red with a red maple leaf centered in
  the white band





Geography
---------


Location: Northern North America, bordering the North Atlantic
  Ocean and North Pacific Ocean, north of the conterminous US

Geographic coordinates: 60 00 N, 95 00 W

Map references: North America

Area:
  total area: 9,976,140 sq km
  land area: 9,220,970 sq km
  comparative area: slightly larger than US

Land boundaries:
  total: 8,893 km
  border country: US 8,893 km (includes 2,477 km with Alaska)

Coastline: 243,791 km

Maritime claims:
  continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
  exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: maritime boundary disputes with the US;
  Saint Pierre and Miquelon is focus of maritime boundary dispute
  between Canada and France

Climate: varies from temperate in south to subarctic and arctic in
  north

Terrain: mostly plains with mountains in west and lowlands in
  southeast
  lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
  highest point: Mount Logan 5,950 m

Natural resources: nickel, zinc, copper, gold, lead, molybdenum,
  potash, silver, fish, timber, wildlife, coal, petroleum, natural gas

Land use:
  arable land: 9%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 3%
  forest and woodland: 45%
  other: 43%

Irrigated land: 8,400 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
  current issues: air pollution and resulting acid rain severely
  affecting lakes and damaging forests; metal smelting, coal-burning
  utilities, and vehicle emissions impacting on agricultural and
  forest productivity; ocean waters becoming contaminated due to
  agricultural, industrial, mining, and forestry activities
  natural hazards: continuous permafrost in north is a serious
  obstacle to development; cyclonic storms form east of the Rocky
  Mountains, a result of the mixing of air masses from the Arctic,
  Pacific, and North American interior, and produce most of the
  country's rain and snow
  international agreements: party to - Air Pollution, Air
  Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Antarctic
  Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered
  Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine
  Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution,
  Tropical Timber 83, Wetlands, Whaling; signed, but not ratified -
  Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds,
  Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Law of the Sea, Tropical Timber 94

Geographic note: second-largest country in world (after Russia);
  strategic location between Russia and US via north polar route;
  nearly 90% of the population is concentrated within 161 km of the
  US/Canada border



People
------


Population: 28,820,671 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 21% (male 3,032,458; female 2,889,603)
  15-64 years: 67% (male 9,663,955; female 9,660,648)
  65 years and over: 12% (male 1,501,542; female 2,072,465) (July 1996
  est.)

Population growth rate: 1.06% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 13.33 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 7.17 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 4.47 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.72 male(s)/female
  all ages: 0.97 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 6.1 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 79.07 years
  male: 75.67 years
  female: 82.65 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.81 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Canadian(s)
  adjective: Canadian

Ethnic divisions: British Isles origin 40%, French origin 27%,
  other European 20%, indigenous Indian and Eskimo 1.5%, other, mostly
  Asian 11.5%

Religions: Roman Catholic 45%, United Church 12%, Anglican 8%,
  other 35% (1991)

Languages: English (official), French (official)

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1986 est.)
  total population: 97%
  male: NA%
  female: NA%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: none
  conventional short form: Canada

Data code: CA

Type of government: confederation with parliamentary democracy

Capital: Ottawa

Administrative divisions: 10 provinces and 2 territories*;
  Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland,
  Northwest Territories*, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island,
  Quebec, Saskatchewan, Yukon Territory*

Independence: 1 July 1867 (from UK)

National holiday: Canada Day, 1 July (1867)

Constitution: amended British North America Act 1867 patriated to
  Canada 17 April 1982; charter of rights and unwritten customs

Legal system: based on English common law, except in Quebec, where
  civil law system based on French law prevails; accepts compulsory
  ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), a
  hereditary monarch, is represented by Governor General Romeo LeBLANC
  (since 8 February 1995), who was appointed by the queen
  head of government: Prime Minister Jean CHRETIEN (since 4 November
  1993) was appointed by the governor general; on 25 October 1993;
  Deputy Prime Minister Sheila COPPS (since NA); note - the prime
  minister is the leader of the political party commanding a majority
  in the House of Commons
  cabinet: Federal Ministry was chosen by the prime minister from
  members of his own party sitting in Parliament

Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament (Parlement)
  Senate (Senat): consisting of a body whose members are appointed to
  serve until 75 years of age by the governor general and selected on
  the advice of the prime minister; its normal limit is 104 senators
  House of Commons (Chambre des Communes): elections last held 25
  October 1993 (next to be held by NA October 1998); results - percent
  of votes by party NA; seats - (295 total) Liberal Party 179, Bloc
  Quebecois 53, Reform Party 52, New Democratic Party 8, Progressive
  Conservative Party 2, independents 1

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

Political parties and leaders: Liberal Party, Jean CHRETIEN; Bloc
  Quebecois, Michel GAUTHIER; Reform Party, Preston MANNING; New
  Democratic Party, Alexa MCDONOUGH; Progressive Conservative Party,
  Jean CHAREST

International organization participation: ACCT, AfDB, AG
  (observer), APEC, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, C, CCC, CDB
  (non-regional), EBRD, ECE, ECLAC, ESA (cooperating state), FAO, G-
  7, G- 8, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA,
  IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC,
  IOM, ISO, ITU, MTCR, NACC, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS, OECD,
  OSCE, PCA, UN, UNAMIR, UNCRO, UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR,
  UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNITAR, UNPREDEP, UNPROFOR, UNTSO, UNU, UPU, WCL,
  WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Raymond A. J. CHRETIEN
  chancery: 501 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20001
  telephone: [1] (202) 682-1740
  FAX: [1] (202) 682-7726
  consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Boston, Buffalo, Chicago, Dallas,
  Detroit, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, New York, and Seattle
  consulate(s): Cincinnati, Cleveland, Miami, Philadelphia,
  Pittsburgh, Princeton, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, and San
  Juan (Puerto Rico)

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant)
  embassy: 100 Wellington Street, K1P 5T1, Ottawa
  mailing address: P. O. Box 5000, Ogdensburg, NY 13669-0430
  telephone: [1] (613) 238-5335, 4470
  FAX: [1] (613) 238-5720
  consulate(s) general: Calgary, Halifax, Montreal, Quebec, Toronto,
  and Vancouver

Flag: three vertical bands of red (hoist side), white (double
  width, square), and red with a red maple leaf centered in the white
  band



Economy
-------


Economic overview: As an affluent, high-tech industrial society,
  Canada today closely resembles the US in per capita output,
  market-oriented economic system, and pattern of production. Since
  World War II, the impressive growth of the manufacturing, mining,
  and service sectors has transformed the nation from a largely rural
  economy into one primarily industrial and urban. Canada started the
  1990s in recession, and real rates of growth have averaged only 1.1%
  so far this decade. Because of slower growth, Canada still faces
  high unemployment and a large public sector debt. With its great
  natural resources, skilled labor force, and modern capital plant,
  however, Canada will enjoy better economic prospects in the future.
  The continuing constitutional impasse between English- and
  French-speaking areas is raising the possibility of a split in the
  confederation, making foreign investors somewhat edgy.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $694 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 2.1% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $24,400 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 2%
  industry: 26%
  services: 72% (1994)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.4% (1995 est.)

Labor force: 13.38 million
  by occupation: services 75%, manufacturing 14%, agriculture 4%,
  construction 3%, other 4% (1988)

Unemployment rate: 9.5% (1995)

Budget:
  revenues: $90.4 billion
  expenditures: $114.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA
  (FY94/95 est.)

Industries: processed and unprocessed minerals, food products,
  wood and paper products, transportation equipment, chemicals, fish
  products, petroleum and natural gas

Industrial production growth rate: 5.9% (1994)

Electricity:
  capacity: 108,090,000 kW
  production: 511 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 16,133 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: wheat, barley, oilseed, tobacco, fruits, vegetables;
  dairy products; forest products; commercial fisheries provide annual
  catch of 1.5 million metric tons, of which 75% is exported

Illicit drugs: illicit producer of cannabis for the domestic drug
  market; use of hydroponics technology permits growers to plant large
  quantities of high-quality marijuana indoors; growing role as a
  transit point for heroin and cocaine entering the US market

Exports: $185 billion (f.o.b., 1995 est.)
  commodities: newsprint, wood pulp, timber, crude petroleum,
  machinery, natural gas, aluminum, motor vehicles and parts;
  telecommunications equipment
  partners: US, Japan, UK, Germany, South Korea, Netherlands, China

Imports: $166.7 billion (c.i.f., 1995 est.)
  commodities: crude oil, chemicals, motor vehicles and parts, durable
  consumer goods, electronic computers; telecommunications equipment
  and parts
  partners: US, Japan, UK, Germany, France, Mexico, Taiwan, South Korea

External debt: $233 billion (1994)

Economic aid:
  donor: ODA, $2.373 billion (1993)
  note: ODA and OOF commitments, $10.1 billion (1986-91)

Currency: 1 Canadian dollar (Can$) = 100 cents

Exchange rates: Canadian dollars (Can$) per US$1 - 1.3666 (January
  1996), 1.3724 (1995), 1.3656 (1994), 1.2901 (1993), 1.2087 (1992),
  1.1457 (1991)

Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 70,176 km; note - there are two major transcontinental
  freight railway systems: Canadian National (privatized November
  1995) and Canadian Pacific Railway; passenger service provided by
  government-operated firm VIA, which has no trackage of its own
  standard gauge: 70,000 km 1.435-m gauge (63 km electrified)
  narrow gauge: 176 km 0.914-m gauge (1995)

Highways:
  total: 849,404 km
  paved: 297,291 km (including 15,983 km of expressways)
  unpaved: 552,113 km (1991 est.)

Waterways: 3,000 km, including Saint Lawrence Seaway

Pipelines: crude and refined oil 23,564 km; natural gas 74,980 km

Ports: Becancour (Quebec), Churchill, Halifax, Montreal, New
  Westminister, Prince Rupert, Quebec, Saint John (New Brunswick),
  Saint John's (Newfoundland), Seven Islands, Sydney, Three Rivers,
  Thunder Bay, Toronto, Vancouver, Windsor

Merchant marine:
  total: 62 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 573,089 GRT/804,436 DWT
  ships by type: bulk 17, cargo 9, chemical tanker 4, oil tanker 15,
  passenger 2, passenger-cargo 1, railcar carrier 2, roll-on/roll-off
  cargo 7, short-sea passenger 3, specialized tanker 2
  note: does not include ships used exclusively in the Great Lakes
  (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 1,138
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 17
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 15
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 136
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 226
  with paved runways under 914 m: 422
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 53
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 269 (1995 est.)

Heliports: 14 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 15.3 million (1990)

Telephone system: excellent service provided by modern technology
  domestic: domestic satellite system with about 300 earth stations
  international: 5 coaxial submarine cables; satellite earth stations
  - 5 Intelsat (4 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Pacific Ocean) and 2
  Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean Region)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 900, FM 29, shortwave 0

Radios: NA

Television broadcast stations: 70 (repeaters 1,400) (1991)

Televisions: 11.53 million (1983 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Canadian Armed Forces (includes Land Forces Command or
  LC, Maritime Command or MC, Air Command or AC, Communications
  Command or CC, Training Command or TC), Royal Canadian Mounted
  Police (RCMP)

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 7,645,245
  males fit for military service: 6,575,057
  males reach military age (17) annually: 197,688 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $9.0 billion,
  1.6% of GDP (FY95/96)



======================================================================




@Cape Verde
----------




Map
---


Location: 16 00 N, 24 00 W -- Western Africa, group of Islands in
  the North Atlantic Ocean, west of Senegal



Flag
----


Description: three horizontal bands of light blue (top, double
  width), white (with a horizontal red stripe in the middle third),
  and light blue; a circle of 10 yellow five-pointed stars is centered
  on the hoist end of the red stripe and extends into the upper and
  lower blue bands





Geography
---------


Location: Western Africa, group of Islands in the North Atlantic
  Ocean, west of Senegal

Geographic coordinates: 16 00 N, 24 00 W

Map references: World

Area:
  total area: 4,030 sq km
  land area: 4,030 sq km
  comparative area: slightly larger than Rhode Island

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 965 km

Maritime claims: measured from claimed archipelagic baselines
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: none

Climate: temperate; warm, dry summer; precipitation meager and
  very erratic

Terrain: steep, rugged, rocky, volcanic
  lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
  highest point: Pico 2,829 m

Natural resources: salt, basalt rock, pozzolana, limestone,
  kaolin, fish

Land use:
  arable land: 9%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 6%
  forest and woodland: 0%
  other: 85%

Irrigated land: 20 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
  current issues: overgrazing of livestock and improper land use such
  as the cultivation of crops on steep slopes has led to soil erosion;
  demand for wood used as fuel has resulted in deforestation;
  desertification; environmental damage has threatened several
  indigenous species of birds and reptiles; overfishing
  natural hazards: prolonged droughts; harmattan wind can obscure
  visibility; volcanically and seismically active
  international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
  Desertification, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Marine
  Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban

Geographic note: strategic location 500 km from west coast of
  Africa near major north-south sea routes; important communications
  station; important sea and air refueling site



People
------


Population: 449,066 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 50% (male 114,206; female 110,276)
  15-64 years: 46% (male 90,593; female 117,485)
  65 years and over: 4% (male 6,450; female 10,056) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.93% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 44.31 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 8.29 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: -6.68 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 0.77 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.64 male(s)/female
  all ages: 0.89 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 54.3 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 63.39 years
  male: 61.47 years
  female: 65.41 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 6.12 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Cape Verdean(s)
  adjective: Cape Verdean

Ethnic divisions: Creole (mulatto) 71%, African 28%, European 1%

Religions: Roman Catholicism fused with indigenous beliefs

Languages: Portuguese, Crioulo, a blend of Portuguese and West
  African words

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)
  total population: 71.6%
  male: 81.4%
  female: 63.8%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Republic of Cape Verde
  conventional short form: Cape Verde
  local long form: Republica de Cabo Verde
  local short form: Cabo Verde

Data code: CV

Type of government: republic

Capital: Praia

Administrative divisions: 14 districts (concelhos, singular -
  concelho); Boa Vista, Brava, Fogo, Maio, Paul, Praia, Porto Novo,
  Ribeira Grande, Sal, Santa Catarina, Santa Cruz, Sao Nicolau, Sao
  Vicente, Tarrafal

Independence: 5 July 1975 (from Portugal)

National holiday: Independence Day, 5 July (1975)

Constitution: new constitution came into force 25 September 1992

Legal system: NA

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: President Antonio MASCARENHAS Monteiro (since 22
  March 1991) elected for a five-year term by universal suffrage;
  election last held 18 February 1996 (next to be held NA February
  2001); results - Antonio Monteiro MASCARENHAS (independent) received
  80.1% of vote
  head of government: Prime Minister Carlos Alberto Wahnon de Carvalho
  VEIGA (since 13 January 1991) nominated by the People'sNational
  Assembly and appointed by the president
  cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by prime minister from
  members of the Peoples National Assembly

Legislative branch: unicameral
  People's National Assembly (Assembleia Nacional Popular): elections
  last held 17 December 1995 (next to be held NA); results - MPD 59%,
  PAICV 28%, PCD 6%; seats - (72 total) MPD 50, PAICV 21, PCD 1

Judicial branch: Supreme Tribunal of Justice (Supremo Tribunal de
  Justia)

Political parties and leaders: Movement for Democracy (MPD), Prime
  Minister Carlos VEIGA, founder and chairman; African Party for
  Independence of Cape Verde (PAICV), Pedro Verona Rodrigues PIRES,
  chairman; Party for Democratic Convergence (PCD)

International organization participation: ACP, AfDB, CCC, ECA,
  ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS,
  ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ITU, NAM,
  OAU, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WMO, WTrO (applicant)

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Alberto Santos SILVA-CARLOS
  chancery: 3415 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007
  telephone: [1] (202) 965-6820
  FAX: [1] (202) 965-1207
  consulate(s) general: Boston

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Joseph M. SEGARS
  embassy: Rua Abilio Macedo 81, Praia
  mailing address: C. P. 201, Praia
  telephone: [238] 61 56 16
  FAX: [238] 61 13 55

Flag: three horizontal bands of light blue (top, double width),
  white (with a horizontal red stripe in the middle third), and light
  blue; a circle of 10 yellow five-pointed stars is centered on the
  hoist end of the red stripe and extends into the upper and lower
  blue bands



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Cape Verde's low per capita GDP reflects a poor
  natural resource base, serious water shortages exacerbated by cycles
  of long-term drought, and a high birthrate. The economy is service
  oriented, with commerce, transport, and public services accounting
  for 60% of GDP. Although nearly 70% of the population lives in rural
  areas, the share of agriculture in GNP is only 13%, of which fishing
  accounts for 4%. About 90% of food must be imported. The fishing
  potential, mostly lobster and tuna, is not fully exploited. Cape
  Verde annually runs a high trade deficit, financed by remittances
  from emigrants and foreign aid, which form important supplements to
  GDP. Economic reforms, launched by the new democratic government in
  1991, are aimed at developing the private sector and attracting
  foreign investment to diversify the economy. Prospects for 1996
  depend heavily on the maintenance of aid flows, remittances, and the
  momentum of the government's development program.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $440 million (1994 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 4.6% (1994 est.)

GDP per capita: $1,040 (1994 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 13%
  industry: 17%
  services: 70% (1992 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 5% (1994 est.)

Labor force: 102,000 (1985 est.)
  by occupation: agriculture (mostly subsistence) 57%, services 29%,
  industry 14% (1981)

Unemployment rate: 35% (1994 est.)

Budget:
  revenues: $174 million
  expenditures: $235 million, including capital expenditures of $165
  million (1993 est.)

Industries: fish processing, salt mining, garments, ship repair,
  food and beverages

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity:
  capacity: 15,000 kW
  production: 40 million kWh
  consumption per capita: 73 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: bananas, corn, beans, sweet potatoes, sugarcane,
  coffee, peanuts; fish

Illicit drugs: increasingly used as a transshipment point for
  illicit drugs moving from Latin America and Africa destined for
  Western Europe

Exports: $4.4 million (f.o.b., 1992 est.)
  commodities: fish, bananas
  partners: Netherlands, Portugal, Angola, Spain

Imports: $173 million (f.o.b., 1992 est.)
  commodities: foodstuffs, consumer goods, industrial products,
  transport equipment
  partners: Portugal, Netherlands, Germany, Spain, Brazil, France,
  Cote d'Ivoire

External debt: $156 million (1991)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $NA

Currency: 1 Cape Verdean escudo (CVEsc) = 100 centavos

Exchange rates: Cape Verdean escudos (CVEsc) per US$1 - 77.860
  (December 1995), 76.853 (1995), 81.891 (1994), 80.427 (1993), 68.018
  (1992), 71.408 (1991)

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways: 0 km

Highways:
  total: 1,100 km
  paved: 680 km
  unpaved: 420 km (1992 est.)

Ports: Mindelo, Praia, Tarrafal

Merchant marine: cargo 3, chemical tanker 1 (1995 est.)
  total: 4 (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 5,632 GRT/8,872 DWT

Airports:
  total: 6
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 1
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 5 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 1,740 (1987 est.)

Telephone system:
  domestic: interisland microwave radio relay system
  international: 2 coaxial submarine cables; HF radiotelephone to
  Senegal and Guinea-Bissau; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat
  (Atlantic Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 1, FM 6, shortwave 0

Radios: NA

Television broadcast stations: 1 (1987 est.)

Televisions: 7,000 (1991 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: People's Revolutionary Armed Forces (FARP; includes Army
  and Navy), Security Service

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 84,003
  males fit for military service: 48,885 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $3.4 million, NA%
  of GDP (1994)



======================================================================




@Cayman Islands
--------------


(dependent territory of the UK)

Map
---


Location: 19 30 N, 80 30 W -- Caribbean, island group in Caribbean
  Sea, nearly one-half of the way from Cuba to Honduras



Flag
----


Description: blue, with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side
  quadrant and the Caymanian coat of arms on a white disk centered on
  the outer half of the flag; the coat of arms includes a pineapple
  and turtle above a shield with three stars (representing the three
  islands) and a scroll at the bottom bearing the motto HE HATH
  FOUNDED IT UPON THE SEAS





Geography
---------


Location: Caribbean, island group in Caribbean Sea, nearly
  one-half of the way from Cuba to Honduras

Geographic coordinates: 19 30 N, 80 30 W

Map references: Central America and the Caribbean

Area:
  total area: 260 sq km
  land area: 260 sq km
  comparative area: 1.5 times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 160 km

Maritime claims:
  exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: none

Climate: tropical marine; warm, rainy summers (May to October) and
  cool, relatively dry winters (November to April)

Terrain: low-lying limestone base surrounded by coral reefs
  lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
  highest point: The Bluff 43 m

Natural resources: fish, climate and beaches that foster tourism

Land use:
  arable land: 0%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 8%
  forest and woodland: 23%
  other: 69%

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Environment:
  current issues: no natural fresh water resources, drinking water
  supplies must be met by rainwater catchment
  natural hazards: hurricanes (July to November)
  international agreements: NA

Geographic note: important location between Cuba and Central
  America



People
------


Population: 34,646 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: NA
  15-64 years: NA
  65 years and over: NA

Population growth rate: 4.27% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 14.52 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 4.98 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 33.2 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)
  note: major destination for Cubans trying to migrate to the US

Sex ratio:
  at birth: NA male(s)/female
  under 15 years: NA male(s)/female
  15-64 years: NA male(s)/female
  65 years and over: NA male(s)/female
  all ages: NA male(s)/female

Infant mortality rate: 8.4 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 77.1 years
  male: 75.37 years
  female: 78.81 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.4 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Caymanian(s)
  adjective: Caymanian

Ethnic divisions: mixed 40%, white 20%, black 20%, expatriates of
  various ethnic groups 20%

Religions: United Church (Presbyterian and Congregational),
  Anglican, Baptist, Roman Catholic, Church of God, other Protestant
  denominations

Languages: English

Literacy: age 15 and over has ever attended school (1970 est.)
  total population: 98%
  male: 98%
  female: 98%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: none
  conventional short form: Cayman Islands

Data code: CJ

Type of government: dependent territory of the UK

Capital: George Town

Administrative divisions: 8 districts; Creek, Eastern, Midland,
  South Town, Spot Bay, Stake Bay, West End, Western

Independence: none (dependent territory of the UK)

National holiday: Constitution Day (first Monday in July)

Constitution: 1959, revised 1972 and 1992

Legal system: British common law and local statutes

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (of the United Kingdom since 6
  February 1952) is a hereditary monarch
  head of government: Governor and President of the Executive Council
  John OWEN (since 15 September 1995)
  cabinet: Executive Council - three members are appointed by the
  governor, four members are elected by the Legislative Assembly

Legislative branch: unicameral
  Legislative Assembly: election last held 18 November 1992 (next to
  be held NA November 1996); results - percent of vote by party NA;
  seats - (15 total, 12 elected) independents 12

Judicial branch: Grand Court; Cayman Islands Court of Appeal

Political parties and leaders: no formal political parties

International organization participation: Caricom (observer), CDB,
  Interpol (subbureau), IOC

Diplomatic representation in US: none (dependent territory of the
  UK)

US diplomatic representation: none (dependent territory of the UK)

Flag: blue, with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side
  quadrant and the Caymanian coat of arms on a white disk centered on
  the outer half of the flag; the coat of arms includes a pineapple
  and turtle above a shield with three stars (representing the three
  islands) and a scroll at the bottom bearing the motto HE HATH
  FOUNDED IT UPON THE SEAS



Economy
-------


Economic overview: With no direct taxation, the Islands are a
  thriving offshore financial center. Tourism is also a mainstay,
  accounting for about 70% of GDP and 75% of foreign currency
  earnings. The tourist industry is aimed at the luxury market and
  caters mainly to visitors from North America. Total tourist arrivals
  exceeded one million visitors in 1995 for the first time. About 90%
  of the islands' food and consumer goods must be imported. The
  Caymanians enjoy one of the highest outputs per capita and one of
  the highest standards of living in the world.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $750 million (1994 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 4.5% (1994 est.)

GDP per capita: $22,500 (1994 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 1.4%
  industry: 3.2%
  services: 95.4% (1994 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1.8% (1995 est.)

Labor force: 8,061
  by occupation: service workers 18.7%, clerical 18.6%, construction
  12.5%, finance and investment 6.7%, directors and business managers
  5.9% (1979)

Unemployment rate: 7% (1992)

Budget:
  revenues: $141.5 million
  expenditures: $160.7 million, including capital expenditures of $NA
  (1991)

Industries: tourism, banking, insurance and finance, construction,
  construction materials, furniture

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity:
  capacity: 80,000 kW
  production: 230 million kWh
  consumption per capita: 6,899 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: vegetables, fruit; livestock; turtle farming

Illicit drugs: a major money-laundering center for illicit drug
  profits; transshipment point for narcotics bound for the US and
  Europe

Exports: $10 million (f.o.b., 1993 est.)
  commodities: turtle products, manufactured consumer goods
  partners: mostly US

Imports: $312 million (c.i.f., 1993 est.)
  commodities: foodstuffs, manufactured goods
  partners: US, Trinidad and Tobago, UK, Netherlands Antilles, Japan

External debt: $15 million (1986)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $NA

Currency: 1 Caymanian dollar (CI$) = 100 cents

Exchange rates: Caymanian dollars (CI$) per US$1 - 0.83 (18
  November 1993), 0.85 (22 November 1993)

Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March



Transportation
--------------


Railways: 0 km

Highways:
  total: 406 km
  paved: 304 km
  unpaved: 102 km

Ports: Cayman Brac, George Town

Merchant marine:
  total: 19 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 283,734 GRT/432,610 DWT
  ships by type: bulk 3, cargo 6, chemical tanker 2, container 1, oil
  tanker 3, roll-on/roll-off cargo 4
  note: a flag of convenience registry; UK owns 1 ship, India 1,
  Norway 1, US 3, Sweden 1, and UAE 1 (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 3
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 2
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 1 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 21,584 (1993 est.)

Telephone system:
  domestic: NA
  international: 1 submarine coaxial cable; satellite earth station -
  1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 2, FM 1, shortwave 0

Radios: 28,200 (1992 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 0

Televisions: 6,000 (1992 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Royal Cayman Islands Police Force (RCIPF)

Defense note: defense is the responsibility of the UK



======================================================================




@Central African Republic
------------------------




Map
---


Location: 7 00 N, 21 00 E -- Central Africa, north of Zaire



Flag
----


Description: four equal horizontal bands of blue (top), white,
  green, and yellow with a vertical red band in center; there is a
  yellow five-pointed star on the hoist side of the blue band





Geography
---------


Location: Central Africa, north of Zaire

Geographic coordinates: 7 00 N, 21 00 E

Map references: Africa

Area:
  total area: 622,980 sq km
  land area: 622,980 sq km
  comparative area: slightly smaller than Texas

Land boundaries:
  total: 5,203 km
  border countries: Cameroon 797 km, Chad 1,197 km, Congo 467 km,
  Sudan 1,165 km, Zaire 1,577 km

Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims: none (landlocked)

International disputes: none

Climate: tropical; hot, dry winters; mild to hot, wet summers

Terrain: vast, flat to rolling, monotonous plateau; scattered
  hills in northeast and southwest
  lowest point: Oubangui River 335 m
  highest point: Mount Gaou 1,420 m

Natural resources: diamonds, uranium, timber, gold, oil

Land use:
  arable land: 3%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 5%
  forest and woodland: 64%
  other: 28%

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Environment:
  current issues: tap water is not potable; poaching has diminished
  reputation as one of last great wildlife refuges; desertification
  natural hazards: hot, dry, dusty harmattan winds affect northern
  areas; floods are common
  international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
  Endangered Species, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection;
  signed, but not ratified - Desertification, Law of the Sea

Geographic note: landlocked; almost the precise center of Africa



People
------


Population: 3,274,426 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 44% (male 724,914; female 718,423)
  15-64 years: 52% (male 839,118; female 877,069)
  65 years and over: 4% (male 53,418; female 61,484) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.08% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 39.97 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 17.64 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: -1.53 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.87 male(s)/female
  all ages: 0.98 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 111.7 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 45.86 years
  male: 45.03 years
  female: 46.71 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 5.41 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Central African(s)
  adjective: Central African

Ethnic divisions: Baya 34%, Banda 27%, Sara 10%, Mandjia 21%,
  Mboum 4%, M'Baka 4%, Europeans 6,500 (including 3,600 French)

Religions: indigenous beliefs 24%, Protestant 25%, Roman Catholic
  25%, Muslim 15%, other 11%
  note: animistic beliefs and practices strongly influence the
  Christian majority

Languages: French (official), Sangho (lingua franca and national
  language), Arabic, Hunsa, Swahili

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)
  total population: 60%
  male: 68.5%
  female: 52.4%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Central African Republic
  conventional short form: none
  local long form: Republique Centrafricaine
  local short form: none
  former: Central African Empire
  abbreviation: CAR

Data code: CT

Type of government: republic;

Capital: Bangui

Administrative divisions: 14 prefectures (prefectures, singular -
  prefecture), 2 economic prefectures* (prefectures economiques,
  singular - prefecture economique), and 1 commune**;
  Bamingui-Bangoran, Bangui**, Basse-Kotto, Gribingui*, Haute-Kotto,
  Haute-Sangha, Haut-Mbomou, Kemo-Gribingui, Lobaye, Mbomou,
  Nana-Mambere, Ombella-Mpoko, Ouaka, Ouham, Ouham-Pende, Sangha*,
  Vakaga

Independence: 13 August 1960 (from France)

National holiday: National Day, 1 December (1958) (proclamation of
  the republic)

Constitution: passed by referendum 29 December 1994; adopted 7
  January 1995

Legal system: based on French law

Suffrage: 21 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: President Ange PATASSE (since 22 October 1993)
  elected for a five-year term by universal suffrage; election last
  held 19 September 1993 (next to be held NA 1998); results - PATASSE
  received 52.45% of the votes and Abel GOUMBA received 45.62%
  head of government: Prime Minister Jean-Paul NGOUPANDE (since 6 June
  1996); appointed by the president
  cabinet: Council of Ministers; appointed by the president

Legislative branch: unicameral
  National Assembly (Assemblee Nationale): elections last held 19
  September 1993 (next to be held NA); results - percent of vote by
  party NA; seats - (85 total) MLPC 33, RDC 14, PLD 7, ADP 6, PSD 3,
  others 22
  note: the National Assembly is advised by the Economic and Regional
  Council (Conseil Economique et Regional); when they sit together
  they are called the Congress (Congres)

Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Cour Supreme), judges appointed by
  the president; Constitutional Court, judges appointed by the
  president

Political parties and leaders: Alliance for Democracy and Progress
  (ADP), Tchapka BREDE; Central African Democratic Assembly (RDC),
  Andre KOLINGBA; Civic Forum (FC), Gen. Timothee MALENDOMA; Liberal
  Democratic Party (PLD), Nestor KOMBO-NAGUEMON; Movement for the
  Liberation of the Central African People (MLPC), the party of the
  president, Ange Felix PATASSE; Movement for Democracy and
  Development (MDD), David DACKO; Marginal Movement for Democracy,
  Renaissance and Evolution (MDREC), Joseph BENDOUNGA; Patriotic Front
  for Progress (FFP), Abel GOUMBA; Social Democratic Party (PSD),
  Enoch Derant LAKOUE

International organization participation: ACCT, ACP, AfDB, BDEAC,
  CCC, CEEAC, ECA, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC,
  IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, UDEAC, UN,
  UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Henri KOBA
  chancery: 1618 22nd Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
  telephone: [1] (202) 483-7800, 7801
  FAX: [1] (202) 332-9893

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Mosina H. JORDAN
  embassy: Avenue David Dacko, Bangui
  mailing address: B. P. 924, Bangui
  telephone: [236] 61 02 00, 61 25 78, 61 02 10
  FAX: [236] 61 44 94

Flag: four equal horizontal bands of blue (top), white, green, and
  yellow with a vertical red band in center; there is a yellow
  five-pointed star on the hoist side of the blue band



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Subsistence agriculture, together with
  forestry, remains the backbone of the economy of the Central African
  Republic (CAR), with more than 70% of the population living in
  outlying areas. The agricultural sector generates half of GDP.
  Timber has accounted for about 13% of export earnings and the
  diamond industry for nearly 80%. Important constraints to economic
  development include the CAR's landlocked position, a poor
  transportation system, a largely unskilled work force, and a legacy
  of misdirected macroeconomic policies. A major plus is the large
  forest reserves, which the government is moving to protect from
  overexploitation. The 50% devaluation of the currencies of 14
  Francophone African nations on 12 January 1994 had mixed effects on
  the CAR's economy. While diamond, timber, coffee, and cotton exports
  increased - leading GDP to increase by 5.5% - inflation rose to 45%,
  fueled by the rising prices of imports on which the economy depends;
  inflation dropped back rapidly in 1995. The CAR's poor resource base
  and primitive infrastructure will keep it dependent on multilateral
  donors and France for the foreseeable future.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $2.5 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 4.1% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $800 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 50%
  industry: 14%
  services: 36% (1993)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 45% (1994 est.)

Labor force: 775,413 (1986 est.)
  by occupation: agriculture 85%, commerce and services 9%, industry
  3%, government 3%
  note: about 64,000 salaried workers (1985)

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget:
  revenues: $NA
  expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA

Industries: diamond mining, sawmills, breweries, textiles,
  footwear, assembly of bicycles and motorcycles

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity:
  capacity: 40,000 kW
  production: 100 million kWh
  consumption per capita: 29 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: cotton, coffee, tobacco, manioc (tapioca), yams,
  millet, corn, bananas; timber

Exports: $154 million (f.o.b., 1994 est.)
  commodities: diamonds, timber, cotton, coffee, tobacco
  partners: France, Belgium, Italy, Japan, US, Spain, Iran

Imports: $215 million (f.o.b., 1994 est.)
  commodities: food, textiles, petroleum products, machinery,
  electrical equipment, motor vehicles, chemicals, pharmaceuticals,
  consumer goods, industrial products
  partners: France, other EC countries, Japan, Algeria, Cameroon,
  Namibia

External debt: $904.3 million (1993 est.)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $NA

Currency: 1 Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (CFAF) = 100
  centimes

Exchange rates: CFA francs (CFAF) per US$1 - 500.56 (January
  1996), 499.15 (1995), 555.20 (1994), 283.16 (1993), 264.69 (1992),
  282.11 (1991)
  note: beginning 12 January 1994, the CFA franc was devalued to CFAF
  100 per French franc from CFAF 50 at which it had been fixed since
  1948

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways: 0 km

Highways:
  total: 23,738 km
  paved: 427 km
  unpaved: 23,311 km (1991 est.)

Waterways: 800 km; traditional trade carried on by means of
  shallow-draft dugouts; Oubangui is the most important river

Ports: Bangui, Nola

Airports:
  total: 48
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 1
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 2
  with paved runways under 914 m: 11
  with unpaved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 1
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 9
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 24 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 16,867 (1992 est.)

Telephone system: fair system
  domestic: network consists principally of microwave radio relay and
  low-capacity, low-powered radiotelephone communication
  international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0

Radios: NA

Television broadcast stations: 1 (1987 est.)

Televisions: 7,500 (1993 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Central African Army (includes Republican Guard), Air
  Force, National Gendarmerie, Police Force

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 737,330
  males fit for military service: 384,134 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $30 million, 2.3%
  of GDP (1994)



======================================================================




@Chad
----




Map
---


Location: 15 00 N, 19 00 E -- Central Africa, south of Libya



Flag
----


Description: three equal vertical bands of blue (hoist side),
  yellow, and red; similar to the flag of Romania; also similar to the
  flag of Andorra, which has a national coat of arms featuring a
  quartered shield centered in the yellow band; design was based on
  the flag of France





Geography
---------


Location: Central Africa, south of Libya

Geographic coordinates: 15 00 N, 19 00 E

Map references: Africa

Area:
  total area: 1.284 million sq km
  land area: 1,259,200 sq km
  comparative area: slightly more than three times the size of
  California

Land boundaries:
  total: 5,968 km
  border countries: Cameroon 1,094 km, Central African Republic 1,197
  km, Libya 1,055 km, Niger 1,175 km, Nigeria 87 km, Sudan 1,360 km

Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims: none (landlocked)

International disputes: the International Court of Justice (ICJ)
  ruled in February 1994 that the 100,000 sq km Aozou Strip between
  Chad and Libya belongs to Chad and that Libya must withdraw from it
  by 31 May 1994; Libya has withdrawn some of its forces in response
  to the ICJ ruling, but still maintains part of the airfield and a
  small military presence at the airfield's water supply located in
  Chad; demarcation of international boundaries in vicinity of Lake
  Chad, the lack of which has led to border incidents in the past, is
  completed and awaiting ratification by Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and
  Nigeria

Climate: tropical in south, desert in north

Terrain: broad, arid plains in center, desert in north, mountains
  in northwest, lowlands in south
  lowest point: Djourab Depression 175 m
  highest point: Emi Koussi 3,415 m

Natural resources: petroleum (unexploited but exploration under
  way), uranium, natron, kaolin, fish (Lake Chad)

Land use:
  arable land: 2%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 36%
  forest and woodland: 11%
  other: 51%

Irrigated land: 100 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
  current issues: inadequate supplies of potable water; improper waste
  disposal in rural areas contributes to soil and water pollution;
  desertification
  natural hazards: hot, dry, dusty harmattan winds occur in north;
  periodic droughts; locust plagues
  international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
  Endangered Species, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection,
  Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Desertification, Law of the
  Sea, Marine Dumping

Geographic note: landlocked; Lake Chad is the most significant
  water body in the Sahel



People
------


Population: 6,976,845 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 44% (male 1,543,688; female 1,535,729)
  15-64 years: 53% (male 1,807,361; female 1,881,930)
  65 years and over: 3% (male 91,998; female 116,139) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.68% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 44.25 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 17.44 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.79 male(s)/female
  all ages: 0.97 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 120.4 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 47.55 years
  male: 45.18 years
  female: 50.01 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 5.84 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Chadian(s)
  adjective: Chadian

Ethnic divisions: nonindigenous 150,000, of whom 1,000 are French
  north and center: Muslims (Arabs, Toubou, Hadjerai, Fulbe, Kotoko,
  Kanembou, Baguirmi, Boulala, Zaghawa, and Maba)
  south: non-Muslims (Sara, Ngambaye, Mbaye, Goulaye, Moundang,
  Moussei, Massa)

Religions: Muslim 50%, Christian 25%, indigenous beliefs (mostly
  animism) 25%

Languages: French (official), Arabic (official), Sara and Sango
  (in south), more than 100 different languages and dialects

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write in French or Arabic
  (1995 est.)
  total population: 48.1%
  male: 62.1%
  female: 34.7%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Republic of Chad
  conventional short form: Chad
  local long form: Republique du Tchad
  local short form: Tchad

Data code: CD

Type of government: republic

Capital: N'Djamena

Administrative divisions: 14 prefectures (prefectures, singular -
  prefecture); Batha, Biltine, Borkou-Ennedi-Tibesti, Chari-Baguirmi,
  Guera, Kanem, Lac, Logone Occidental, Logone Oriental, Mayo-Kebbi,
  Moyen-Chari, Ouaddai, Salamat, Tandjile

Independence: 11 August 1960 (from France)

National holiday: Independence Day, 11 August (1960)

Constitution: 31 March 1995, passed by referendum

Legal system: based on French civil law system and Chadian
  customary law; does not accept compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: NA years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: President Lt. Gen. Idriss DEBY (since 4 December
  1990, after seizing power on 3 December 1990); note - transitional
  government's mandate was scheduled to expire in May 1996; the first
  round of presidential elections was scheduled for 2 June 1996, with
  a runoff on 23 June if necessary
  head of government: Prime Minister Djimasta KOIBLA (since 9 April
  1995) elected by the Sovereign National Conference
  cabinet: Council of State appointed by the president on
  recommendation of the prime minister

Legislative branch: unicameral
  Higher Transitional Council (Conseil Superieur de Transition:
  popular elections to the former National Consultative Council
  (Conceil National Consultatif) were last held 8 July 1990; this body
  was disbanded on 3 December 1990 by President DEBY and on 8 March
  1991 replaced with the Provisional Council of the Republic having 30
  members whom he appointed; this body, in turn, was replaced on 6
  April 1993 by a 57-member Higher Transitional Council (Conseil
  Superieur de Transition) elected by a specially convened Sovereign
  National Conference; popular elections, formerly scheduled for April
  1995, were initially postponed by mutual agreement of the parties
  concerned until at least May 1996 and subsequently postponed until
  after the rainy season (as late as October 1996); note - the name of
  the anticipated new legislative body has not been announced

Judicial branch: Court of Appeal

Political parties and leaders: Patriotic Salvation Movement (MPS),
  former dissident group, Idriss DEBY, chairman
  note: President DEBY, who promised political pluralism, a new
  constitution, and free elections by April 1994, subsequently twice
  postponed these initiatives; there are numerous dissident groups and
  at least 45 opposition political parties

Other political or pressure groups: NA

International organization participation: ACCT, ACP, AfDB, BDEAC,
  CEEAC, ECA, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD,
  IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, UDEAC,
  UN, UNAMIR, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Mahamat Saleh AHMAT
  chancery: 2002 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20009
  telephone: [1] (202) 462-4009
  FAX: [1] (202) 265-1937

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Laurence E. POPE II
  embassy: Avenue Felix Eboue, N'Djamena
  mailing address: B. P. 413, N'Djamena
  telephone: [235] (51) 70-09, (51) 90-52, (51) 92-33
  FAX: [235] (51) 56-54

Flag: three equal vertical bands of blue (hoist side), yellow, and
  red; similar to the flag of Romania; also similar to the flag of
  Andorra, which has a national coat of arms featuring a quartered
  shield centered in the yellow band; design was based on the flag of
  France



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Climate, geographic remoteness, poor resource
  endowment, and lack of infrastructure make Chad one of the most
  underdeveloped countries in the world. Its economy is hobbled by
  political turmoil, drought, and food shortages. Consequently the
  economy has shown little progress in recent years in overcoming a
  severe setback brought on by civil war in the late 1980s. More than
  80% of the work force is involved in subsistence farming and
  fishing. Cotton is the major cash crop, accounting for at least half
  of exports. Chad is highly dependent on foreign aid, especially food
  credits, given chronic shortages in several regions. Of all the
  Francophone countries in Africa, Chad has benefited the least from
  the 50% devaluation of their currencies on 12 January 1994. Despite
  an increase in external financial aid and favorable price increases
  for cotton - the primary source of foreign exchange - the corrupt
  and enfeebled government bureaucracy continues to postpone payment
  of public sector salaries and to dampen economic enterprise by
  neglecting payments to domestic suppliers. The devaluation resulted
  in stepped-up inflation of 41% in 1994; in contrast to other
  Francophone countries, Chad continued to suffer high inflation in
  1995 because of the government's lack of financial discipline. Oil
  production in the Lake Chad area remains a distant prospect and the
  subsistence-driven economy probably will continue to limp along in
  the near term.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $3.3 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 4% (1994 est.)

GDP per capita: $600 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 49%
  industry: 17%
  services: 34%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 41% (1994 est.)

Labor force: NA
  by occupation: agriculture 85% (subsistence farming, herding, and
  fishing)

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget:
  revenues: $120 million
  expenditures: $363 million, including capital expenditures of $104
  million (1992 est.)

Industries: cotton textiles, meat packing, beer brewing, natron
  (sodium carbonate), soap, cigarettes, construction materials

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity:
  capacity: 40,000 kW
  production: 80 million kWh
  consumption per capita: 13 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: cotton, sorghum, millet, peanuts, rice, potatoes,
  manioc (tapioca); cattle, sheep, goats, camels

Exports: $132 million (f.o.b., 1993)
  commodities: cotton, cattle, textiles, fish
  partners: France, Nigeria, Cameroon, Zaire, Sudan, Central African
  Republic

Imports: $201 million (f.o.b., 1993)
  commodities: machinery and transportation equipment 39%, industrial
  goods 20%, petroleum products 13%, foodstuffs 9%; textiles; note -
  excludes military equipment
  partners: US, France, Nigeria, Cameroon, Italy, Germany

External debt: $757 million (December 1993 )

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $NA

Currency: 1 Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (CFAF) = 100
  centimes

Exchange rates: CFA Francs (CFAF) per US$1 - 500.56 (January
  1996), 499.15 (1995), 555.20 (1994), 283.16 (1993), 264.69 (1992),
  282.11 (1991)
  note: beginning 12 January 1994 the CFA franc was devalued to CFAF
  100 per French franc from CFAF 50 at which it had been fixed since
  1948

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways: 0 km

Highways:
  total: 31,141 km
  paved: 32 km
  unpaved: 31,109 km (1987 est.)

Waterways: 2,000 km navigable

Ports: none

Airports:
  total: 47
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 3
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 1
  with paved runways under 914 m: 11
  with unpaved runways over 3 047 m: 1
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 13
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 18 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 5,000 (1987 est.)

Telephone system: primitive system
  domestic: fair system of radiotelephone communication stations
  international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 6, FM 1, shortwave 0

Radios: NA

Television broadcast stations: 1 (1987 est.)
  note: limited TV service; many facilities are inoperative

Televisions: 7,000 (1991 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Armed Forces (includes Ground Force, Air Force, and
  Gendarmerie), Republican Guard, Police

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 1,562,052
  males fit for military service: 809,210
  males reach military age (20) annually: 63,254 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $74 million,
  11.1% of GDP (1994)



======================================================================




@Chile
-----




Map
---


Location: 30 00 S, 71 00 W -- Southern South America, bordering
  the South Atlantic Ocean and South Pacific Ocean, between Argentina
  and Peru



Flag
----


Description: two equal horizontal bands of white (top) and red;
  there is a blue square the same height as the white band at the
  hoist-side end of the white band; the square bears a white
  five-pointed star in the center; design was based on the US flag





Geography
---------


Location: Southern South America, bordering the South Atlantic
  Ocean and South Pacific Ocean, between Argentina and Peru

Geographic coordinates: 30 00 S, 71 00 W

Map references: South America

Area:
  total area: 756,950 sq km
  land area: 748,800 sq km
  comparative area: slightly smaller than twice the size of Montana
  note: includes Isla de Pascua (Easter Island) and Isla Sala y Gomez

Land boundaries:
  total: 6,171 km
  border countries: Argentina 5,150 km, Bolivia 861 km, Peru 160 km

Coastline: 6,435 km

Maritime claims:
  contiguous zone: 24 nm
  continental shelf: 200 nm
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: short section of the southern boundary
  with Argentina is indefinite; Bolivia has wanted a sovereign
  corridor to the South Pacific Ocean since the Atacama area was lost
  to Chile in 1884; dispute with Bolivia over Rio Lauca water rights;
  territorial claim in Antarctica (Chilean Antarctic Territory)
  partially overlaps Argentine and British claims

Climate: temperate; desert in north; cool and damp in south

Terrain: low coastal mountains; fertile central valley; rugged
  Andes in east
  lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
  highest point: Cerro Aconcagua 6,962 m

Natural resources: copper, timber, iron ore, nitrates, precious
  metals, molybdenum

Land use:
  arable land: 7%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 16%
  forest and woodland: 21%
  other: 56%

Irrigated land: 12,650 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
  current issues: air pollution from industrial and vehicle emissions;
  water pollution from raw sewage; deforestation contributing to loss
  of biodiversity; soil erosion; desertification
  natural hazards: severe earthquakes; active volcanism; tsunamis
  international agreements: party to - Antarctic-Environmental
  Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered
  Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine
  Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution,
  Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Desertification, Law of the Sea

Geographic note: strategic location relative to sea lanes between
  Atlantic and Pacific Oceans (Strait of Magellan, Beagle Channel,
  Drake Passage); Atacama Desert is one of world's driest regions



People
------


Population: 14,333,258 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 29% (male 2,071,816; female 2,041,417)
  15-64 years: 65% (male 4,599,173; female 4,651,030)
  65 years and over: 6% (male 403,019; female 566,803) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.24% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 18.09 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 5.68 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female
  all ages: 0.97 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 13.6 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 74.49 years
  male: 71.26 years
  female: 77.72 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.23 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Chilean(s)
  adjective: Chilean

Ethnic divisions: European and European-Indian 95%, Indian 3%,
  other 2%

Religions: Roman Catholic 89%, Protestant 11%, Jewish

Languages: Spanish

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)
  total population: 95.2%
  male: 95.4%
  female: 95%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Republic of Chile
  conventional short form: Chile
  local long form: Republica de Chile
  local short form: Chile

Data code: CI

Type of government: republic

Capital: Santiago

Administrative divisions: 13 regions (regiones, singular -
  region); Aisen del General Carlos Ibanez del Campo, Antofagasta,
  Araucania, Atacama, Bio-Bio, Coquimbo, Libertador General Bernardo
  O'Higgins, Los Lagos, Magallanes y de la Antartica Chilena, Maule,
  Region Metropolitana, Tarapaca, Valparaiso
  note: the US does not recognize claims to Antarctica

Independence: 18 September 1810 (from Spain)

National holiday: Independence Day, 18 September (1810)

Constitution: 11 September 1980, effective 11 March 1981; amended
  30 July 1989

Legal system: based on Code of 1857 derived from Spanish law and
  subsequent codes influenced by French and Austrian law; judicial
  review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court; does not accept
  compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal and compulsory

Executive branch:
  chief of state and head of government: President Eduardo FREI
  Ruiz-Tagle (since 11 March 1994) elected for a four-year term by
  popular vote; election last held 11 December 1993 (next to be held
  NA December 1997); results - Eduardo FREI Ruiz-Tagle (PDC) 58%,
  Arturo ALESSANDRI 24.4%, other 17.6%
  cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president

Legislative branch: bicameral National Congress (Congreso Nacional)
  Senate (Senado): election last held 11 December 1993 (next to be
  held NA December 1997); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats
  - (46 total, 38 elected) Coalition of Parties for Democracy 21 (PDC
  13, PS 4, PPD 3, PR 1), Union for the Progress of Chile 15 (RN 11,
  UDI 3, UCC 1), right-wing independents 10
  Chamber of Deputies (Camara de Diputados): election last held 11
  December 1993 (next to be held NA December 1997); results -
  Coalition of Parties for Democracy 53.95% (PDC 27.16%, PS 12.01%,
  PPD 11.82%, PR 2.96%), Union for the Progress of Chile 30.57% (RN
  15.25%, UDI 12.13%, UCC 3.19%); seats - (120 total) Coalition of
  Parties for Democracy 70 (PDC 37, PPD 15, PR 2, PS 15, left-wing
  independent 1), Union for the Progress of Chile 47 (RN 30, UDI 15,
  UCC 2), right-wing independents 3

Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Corte Suprema), judges are
  appointed by the president, the president of the Supreme Court is
  elected by the 17-member court

Political parties and leaders: Coalition of Parties for Democracy
  (CPD) consists mainly of: Christian Democratic Party (PDC),
  Alejandro FOXLEY; Socialist Party (PS), Camilo ESCALONA; Party for
  Democracy (PPD), Jorge SCHAULSOHN, Radical Party (PR); Union for the
  Progress of Chile (UPP) consists mainly of three parties: National
  Renewal (RN), Andres ALLAMAND; Independent Democratic Union (UDI),
  Jovino NOVOA; Center Center Union (UCCP), Francisco Javier ERRAZURIZ

Other political or pressure groups: revitalized university student
  federations at all major universities; labor - United Labor Central
  (CUT) includes trade unionists from the country's five largest labor
  confederations; Roman Catholic Church

International organization participation: APEC, CCC, ECLAC, FAO,
  G-11, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC,
  IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO,
  ITU, LAES, LAIA, Mercosur (associate member), NAM, OAS, OPANAL, PCA,
  RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMOGIP, UNTSO, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU,
  WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador John BIEHL del Rio
  chancery: 1732 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036
  telephone: [1] (202) 785-1746
  FAX: [1] (202) 887-5579
  consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New
  York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and San Juan (Puerto Rico)

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Gabriel GUERRA-MONDRAGON
  embassy: Avenida Andres Bello 2800, Santiago
  mailing address: use street address
  telephone: [56] (2) 232-2600
  FAX: [56] (2) 330-3710

Flag: two equal horizontal bands of white (top) and red; there is
  a blue square the same height as the white band at the hoist-side
  end of the white band; the square bears a white five-pointed star in
  the center; design was based on the US flag



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Chile has a prosperous, essentially free market
  economy, with the degree of government intervention varying
  according to the philosophy of the different regimes. Under the
  center-left government of President AYLWIN, which took power in
  March 1990, spending on social welfare rose steadily. At the same
  time business investment, exports, and consumer spending also grew
  substantially. The new president, FREI, who took office in March
  1994, has emphasized social spending even more. Growth in real GDP
  in 1991-95 has averaged more than 6.5% annually, with an estimated
  one million Chileans having moved out of poverty in the last four
  years. Copper remains vital to the health of the economy; Chile is
  the world's largest producer and exporter of copper. Success in
  meeting the government's goal of sustained annual economic growth of
  5% depends on world copper prices, the level of confidence of
  foreign investors and creditors, and the government's own ability to
  maintain a conservative fiscal stance.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $113.2 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 8.5% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $8,000 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 7.4%
  industry: 36.4%
  services: 56.2% (1985)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 8.1% (1995 est.)

Labor force: 4.728 million
  by occupation: services 38.3% (includes government 12%), industry
  and commerce 33.8%, agriculture, forestry, and fishing 19.2%, mining
  2.3%, construction 6.4% (1990)

Unemployment rate: 5.4% (1995 est.)

Budget:
  revenues: $17 billion
  expenditures: $17 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA
  (1996 est.)

Industries: copper, other minerals, foodstuffs, fish processing,
  iron and steel, wood and wood products, transport equipment, cement,
  textiles

Industrial production growth rate: 4.3% (1993 est.)

Electricity:
  capacity: 4,810,000 kW
  production: 22 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 1,499 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: wheat, corn, grapes, beans, sugar beets, potatoes,
  fruit; beef, poultry, wool; timber; 1991 fish catch of 6.6 million
  metric tons

Illicit drugs: a minor transshipment country for cocaine destined
  for the US and Europe; booming economy has made it more attractive
  to traffickers seeking to launder drug profits

Exports: $15.9 billion (f.o.b., 1995 est.)
  commodities: copper 41%, other metals and minerals 8.7%, wood
  products 7.1%, fish and fishmeal 9.8%, fruits 8.4% (1991)
  partners: EU 25%, US 15%, Asia 34%, Latin America 20% (1995 est.)

Imports: $14.3 billion (f.o.b., 1995 est.)
  commodities: capital goods 25.2%, spare parts 24.8%, raw materials
  15.4%, petroleum 10%, foodstuffs 5.7%
  partners: EU 18%, US 25%, Asia 16%, Latin America 26% (1995 est.)

External debt: $21.1 billion (1995 est.)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $62 million (1993)

Currency: 1 Chilean peso (Ch$) = 100 centavos

Exchange rates: Chilean pesos (Ch$) per US$1 - 408.64 (December
  1995), 396.78 (1995), 420.08 (1994), 404.35 (1993), 362.59 (1992),
  349.37 (1991)

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 6,782 km
  broad gauge: 3,743 km 1.676-m gauge (1,653 km electrified)
  narrow gauge: 116 km 1.067-m gauge; 2,923 km 1.000-m gauge (40 km
  electrified) (1995)

Highways:
  total: 79,593 km
  paved: 10,984 km
  unpaved: 68,609 km (1991 est.)

Waterways: 725 km

Pipelines: crude oil 755 km; petroleum products 785 km; natural
  gas 320 km

Ports: Antofagasta, Arica, Chanarol, Coquimbo, Iquique, Puerto
  Montt, Punta Arenas, San Antonio, San Vicente, Talcahuano, Valparaiso

Merchant marine:
  total: 37 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 529,512 GRT/925,364 DWT
  ships by type: bulk 11, cargo 8, chemical tanker 4, combination
  ore/oil 2, container 1, liquefied gas tanker 2, oil tanker 4,
  roll-on/roll-off cargo 3, vehicle carrier 2 (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 344
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 5
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 5
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 17
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 16
  with paved runways under 914 m: 220
  with unpaved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 3
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 10
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 68 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 1.5 million (1994 est.)

Telephone system: modern system based on extensive microwave radio
  relay facilities
  domestic: extensive microwave radio relay links; domestic satellite
  system with 3 earth stations
  international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 159, FM 0, shortwave 11

Radios: NA

Television broadcast stations: 131

Televisions: 2.85 million (1992 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Army of the Nation, National Navy (includes Naval Air,
  Coast Guard, and Marines), Air Force of the Nation, Carabineros of
  Chile (National Police), Investigations Police

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 3,808,655
  males fit for military service: 2,832,198
  males reach military age (19) annually: 123,443 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $970 million,
  2.0% of GDP (1994 est.)



======================================================================




@China
-----


(also see separate Taiwan entry)

Map
---


Location: 35 00 N, 105 00 E -- Eastern Asia, bordering the East
  China Sea, Korea Bay, Yellow Sea, and South China Sea, between North
  Korea and Vietnam



Flag
----


Description: red with a large yellow five-pointed star and four
  smaller yellow five-pointed stars (arranged in a vertical arc toward
  the middle of the flag) in the upper hoist-side corner





Geography
---------


Location: Eastern Asia, bordering the East China Sea, Korea Bay,
  Yellow Sea, and South China Sea, between North Korea and Vietnam

Geographic coordinates: 35 00 N, 105 00 E

Map references: Asia

Area:
  total area: 9,596,960 sq km
  land area: 9,326,410 sq km
  comparative area: slightly larger than the US

Land boundaries:
  total: 22,143.34 km
  border countries: Afghanistan 76 km, Bhutan 470 km, Burma 2,185 km,
  Hong Kong 30 km, India 3,380 km, Kazakstan 1,533 km, North Korea
  1,416 km, Kyrgyzstan 858 km, Laos 423 km, Macau 0.34 km, Mongolia
  4,673 km, Nepal 1,236 km, Pakistan 523 km, Russia (northeast) 3,605
  km, Russia (northwest) 40 km, Tajikistan 414 km, Vietnam 1,281 km

Coastline: 14,500 km

Maritime claims:
  continental shelf: claim to shallow areas of East China Sea and
  Yellow Sea
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: boundary with India in dispute; disputed
  sections of the boundary with Russia remain to be settled; boundary
  with Tajikistan in dispute; short section of the boundary with North
  Korea is indefinite; involved in a complex dispute over the Spratly
  Islands with Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam, and possibly
  Brunei; maritime boundary dispute with Vietnam in the Gulf of
  Tonkin; Paracel Islands occupied by China, but claimed by Vietnam
  and Taiwan; claims Japanese-administered Senkaku-shoto (Senkaku
  Islands/Diaoyu Tai), as does Taiwan

Climate: extremely diverse; tropical in south to subarctic in north

Terrain: mostly mountains, high plateaus, deserts in west; plains,
  deltas, and hills in east
  lowest point: Turpan Pendi -154 m
  highest point: Mount Everest 8,848 m

Natural resources: coal, iron ore, petroleum, mercury, tin,
  tungsten, antimony, manganese, molybdenum, vanadium, magnetite,
  aluminum, lead, zinc, uranium, hydropower potential (world's largest)

Land use:
  arable land: 10%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 31%
  forest and woodland: 14%
  other: 45%

Irrigated land: 478,220 sq km (1991)

Environment:
  current issues: air pollution from the overwhelming use of
  high-sulfur coal as a fuel, produces acid rain which is damaging
  forests; water shortages experienced throughout the country,
  particularly in urban areas; future growth in water usage threatens
  to outpace supplies; water pollution from industrial effluents; much
  of the population does not have access to potable water; less than
  10% of sewage receives treatment; deforestation; estimated loss of
  one-fifth of agricultural land since 1957 to soil erosion and
  economic development; desertification; trade in endangered species
  natural hazards: frequent typhoons (about five per year along
  southern and eastern coasts); damaging floods; tsunamis;
  earthquakes; droughts
  international agreements: party to - Antarctic-Environmental
  Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered
  Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone
  Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Wetlands;
  signed, but not ratified - Desertification, Law of the Sea

Geographic note: world's third-largest country (after Russia and
  Canada)



People
------


Population: 1,210,004,956 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 26% (male 167,448,148; female 151,601,650)
  15-64 years: 67% (male 421,455,418; female 393,913,510)
  65 years and over: 7% (male 35,056,409; female 40,529,821) (July
  1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 0.98% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 17.01 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 6.92 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: -0.34 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.11 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.1 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 1.07 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.86 male(s)/female
  all ages: 1.06 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 39.6 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 69.62 years
  male: 68.33 years
  female: 71.06 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.81 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Chinese (singular and plural)
  adjective: Chinese

Ethnic divisions: Han Chinese 91.9%, Zhuang, Uygur, Hui, Yi,
  Tibetan, Miao, Manchu, Mongol, Buyi, Korean, and other nationalities
  8.1%

Religions: Daoism (Taoism), Buddhism, Muslim 2%-3%, Christian 1%
  (est.)
  note: officially atheist, but traditionally pragmatic and eclectic

Languages: Standard Chinese or Mandarin (Putonghua, based on the
  Beijing dialect), Yue (Cantonese), Wu (Shanghaiese), Minbei
  (Fuzhou), Minnan (Hokkien-Taiwanese), Xiang, Gan, Hakka dialects,
  minority languages (see Ethnic divisions entry)

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)
  total population: 81.5%
  male: 89.9%
  female: 72.7%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: People's Republic of China
  conventional short form: China
  local long form: Zhonghua Renmin Gongheguo
  local short form: Zhong Guo
  abbreviation: PRC

Data code: CH

Type of government: Communist state

Capital: Beijing

Administrative divisions: 23 provinces (sheng, singular and
  plural), 5 autonomous regions* (zizhiqu, singular and plural), and 3
  municipalities** (shi, singular and plural); Anhui, Beijing**,
  Fujian, Gansu, Guangdong, Guangxi*, Guizhou, Hainan, Hebei,
  Heilongjiang, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Jilin,
  Liaoning, Nei Mongol*, Ningxia*, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Shandong,
  Shanghai**, Shanxi, Sichuan, Tianjin**, Xinjiang*, Xizang* (Tibet),
  Yunnan, Zhejiang
  note: China considers Taiwan its 23rd province

Independence: 221 BC (unification under the Qin or Ch'in Dynasty
  221 BC; Qing or Ch'ing Dynasty replaced by the Republic on 12
  February 1912; People's Republic established 1 October 1949)

National holiday: National Day, 1 October (1949)

Constitution: most recent promulgated 4 December 1982

Legal system: a complex amalgam of custom and statute, largely
  criminal law; rudimentary civil code in effect since 1 January 1987;
  new legal codes in effect since 1 January 1980; continuing efforts
  are being made to improve civil, administrative, criminal, and
  commercial law

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: President JIANG Zemin (since 27 March 1993) and Vice
  President RONG Yiren (since 27 March 1993) elected by the National
  People's Congress; election last held 27 March 1993 (next to be held
  NA 1998); results - JIANG Zemin was nominally elected by the Eighth
  National People's Congress
  head of government: Premier LI Peng (Acting Premier since 24
  November 1987, Premier since 9 April 1988) nominated by the
  president, decided by the National People's Congress; Vice Premiers
  ZHU Rongji (since 8 April 1991), ZOU Jiahua (since 8 April 1991),
  QIAN Qichen (since 29 March 1993), LI Lanqing (29 March 1993), WU
  Bangguo (since 17 March 1995), and JIANG Chunyun (since 17 March
  1995) nominated by the president, decided by the National People's
  Congress
  cabinet: State Council appointed by the National People's Congress
  (NPC)

Legislative branch: unicameral
  National People's Congress (Quanguo Renmin Daibiao Dahui): elections
  last held NA March 1993 (next to be held NA March 1998); results -
  CCP is the only party but there are also independents; seats -
  (2,977 total) (elected at county or xian level)

Judicial branch: Supreme People's Court, judges appointed by the
  National People's Congress

Political parties and leaders: Chinese Communist Party (CCP),
  JIANG Zemin, general secretary of the Central Committee; eight
  registered small parties controlled by CCP

Other political or pressure groups: such meaningful opposition as
  exists consists of loose coalitions, usually within the party and
  government organization, that vary by issue

International organization participation: AfDB, APEC, AsDB, CCC,
  ESCAP, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS,
  ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, LAIA (observer),
  Mekong Group, MINURSO, NAM (observer), PCA, UN, UN Security Council,
  UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNITAR, UNOMIL, UNTSO, UNU,
  UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (applicant)

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador LI Daoyu
  chancery: 2300 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
  telephone: [1] (202) 328-2500 through 2502
  consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, and
  San Francisco

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador James R. SASSER
  embassy: Xiu Shui Bei Jie 3, 100600 Beijing
  mailing address: PSC 461, Box 50, FPO AP 96521-0002
  telephone: [86] (10) 5323831
  FAX: [86] (10) 5326422
  consulate(s) general: Chengdu, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Shenyang

Flag: red with a large yellow five-pointed star and four smaller
  yellow five-pointed stars (arranged in a vertical arc toward the
  middle of the flag) in the upper hoist-side corner



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Beginning in late 1978 the Chinese leadership
  has been trying to move the economy from a sluggish Soviet-style
  centrally planned economy to one that is more market-oriented, but
  still within a rigid political framework of Communist Party control.
  To this end the authorities switched to a system of household
  responsibility in agriculture in place of the old collectivization,
  increased the authority of local officials and plant managers in
  industry, permitted a wide variety of small-scale enterprise in
  services and light manufacturing, and opened the economy to
  increased foreign trade and investment. The result has been a strong
  surge in production. Agricultural output doubled in the 1980s, and
  industry also posted major gains, especially in coastal areas near
  Hong Kong and opposite Taiwan, where foreign investment and modern
  production methods helped spur output of both domestic and export
  goods. GDP has more than tripled since 1978. On the darker side, the
  leadership has often experienced in its hybrid system the worst
  results of socialism (bureaucracy, lassitude, corruption) and of
  capitalism (windfall gains and stepped-up inflation). Beijing thus
  has periodically backtracked, retightening central controls at
  intervals. In 1992-95 annual growth of GDP accelerated, particularly
  in the coastal areas - averaging more than 10% annually according to
  official figures. In late 1993 China's leadership approved
  additional long-term reforms aimed at giving still more play to
  market-oriented institutions and at strengthening the center's
  control over the financial system; state enterprises would continue
  to dominate many key industries in what was now termed "a socialist
  market economy." In 1995 inflation dropped sharply, reflecting
  tighter monetary policies and stronger measures to control food
  prices. At the same time, the government struggled to (a) collect
  revenues due from provinces, businesses, and individuals; (b) reduce
  extortion and other economic crimes; and (c) keep afloat the large
  state-owned enterprises, most of which had not participated in the
  vigorous expansion of the economy. From 60 to 100 million surplus
  rural workers are adrift between the villages and the cities, many
  subsisting through part-time low-pay jobs. Popular resistance,
  changes in central policy, and loss of authority by rural cadres
  have weakened China's population control program, which is essential
  to the nation's long-term economic viability. One of the most
  dangerous long-term threats to continued rapid economic growth is
  the deterioration in the environment, notably air pollution, soil
  erosion, and the steady fall of the water table especially in the
  north. The amount of arable land continues to decline because of
  erosion and economic development, the cumulative loss since the
  Communist takeover in 1949 being more than 15%. The next few years
  will witness increasing tensions between a highly centralized
  political system and an increasingly decentralized economic system.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $3.5 trillion (1995 estimate as
  extrapolated from World Bank estimate with use of official Chinese
  growth figures for 1993-95; the result may overstate China's GDP by
  as much as 25%)

GDP real growth rate: 10.3% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $2,900 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 19%
  industry: 48%
  services: 33% (1994 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 10.1% (December 1995 over
  December 1994)

Labor force: 583.6 million (1991)
  by occupation: agriculture and forestry 60%, industry and commerce
  25%, construction and mining 5%, social services 5%, other 5% (1990
  est.)

Unemployment rate: 5.2% in urban areas (1995 est.); substantial
  underemployment

Budget:
  revenues: $NA
  expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA

Industries: iron and steel, coal, machine building, armaments,
  textiles and apparel, petroleum, cement, chemical fertilizers,
  consumer durables, food processing, autos, consumer electronics,
  telecommunications

Industrial production growth rate: 13.4% (1995 est.)

Electricity:
  capacity: 162,000,000 kW
  production: 746 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 593 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: rice, potatoes, sorghum, peanuts, tea, millet,
  barley, cotton, other fibers, oilseed; pork and other livestock
  products; fish

Illicit drugs: major transshipment point for heroin produced in
  the Golden Triangle; growing domestic drug abuse problem

Exports: $148.8 billion (f.o.b., 1995)
  commodities: garments, textiles, footwear, toys, machinery and
  equipment (1994)
  partners: Hong Kong, Japan, US, Germany, South Korea, Singapore
  (1994)

Imports: $132.1 billion (c.i.f., 1995)
  commodities: industrial machinery, textiles, plastics,
  telecommunications equipment, steel bars, aircraft (1994)
  partners: Japan, Taiwan, US, Hong Kong, South Korea, Germany (1994)

External debt: $92 billion (1994 est.)

Economic aid:
  donor: to less developed countries (1970-89) $NA
  recipient: ODA, $1.977 billion (1993)

Currency: 1 yuan (Y) = 10 jiao

Exchange rates: yuan (Y) per US$1 - 8.3186 (January 1996), 8.3514
  (1995), 8.6187 (1994), 5.7620 (1993), 5.5146 (1992), 5.3234 (1991)
  note: beginning 1 January 1994, the People's Bank of China quotes
  the midpoint rate against the US dollar based on the previous day's
  prevailing rate in the interbank foreign exchange market

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 58,399 km
  standard gauge: 54,799 km 1.435-m gauge (7,174 km electrified; more
  than 11,000 km double track)
  narrow gauge: 3,600 km 0.762-m gauge local industrial lines (1995)

Highways:
  total: 1.029 million km
  paved: 170,000 km
  unpaved: 859,000 km (1990 est.)

Waterways: 138,600 km; about 109,800 km navigable

Pipelines: crude oil 9,700 km; petroleum products 1,100 km;
  natural gas 6,200 km (1990)

Ports: Aihui, Changsha, Dalian, Fuzhou, Guangzhou, Hangzhou,
  Harbin, Huangpu, Nanning, Ningbo, Qingdao, Qinhuangdao, Shanghai,
  Shantou, Tanggu, Xiamen, Xingang, Zhanjiang

Merchant marine:
  total: 1,700 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 16,663,260
  GRT/25,026,090 DWT
  ships by type: barge carrier 2, bulk 316, cargo 876, chemical tanker
  15, combination bulk 11, container 103, liquefied gas tanker 4,
  multifunction large-load carrier 3, oil tanker 227, passenger 24,
  passenger-cargo 28, refrigerated cargo 22, roll-on/roll-off cargo
  24, short-sea passenger 45
  note: China owns an additional 267 ships (1,000 GRT or over)
  totaling 9,044,039 DWT operating under the registries of Panama,
  Hong Kong, Malta, Liberia, Vanuatu, Cyprus, Saint Vincent and the
  Grenadines, The Bahamas, Marshall Islands, and Singapore (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 204
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 17
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 69
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 89
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 9
  with paved runways under 914 m: 7
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 7
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 3
  with unpaved runways under 914 m: 3 (1994 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 20 million (1994 est.)

Telephone system: domestic and international services are
  increasingly available for private use; unevenly distributed
  domestic system serves principal cities, industrial centers, and
  most townships
  domestic: telephone lines are being expanded; interprovincial
  fiber-optic trunk lines and cellular telephone systems have been
  installed; a domestic satellite system with 55 earth stations is in
  place
  international: satellite earth stations - 5 Intelsat (4 Pacific
  Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean), 1 Intersputnik (Indian Ocean Region) and
  1 Inmarsat (Pacific and Indian Ocean Regions); several international
  fiber-optic links to Japan, South Korea, and Hong Kong

Radio broadcast stations: AM 274, FM NA, shortwave 0

Radios: 216.5 million (1992 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 202 (repeaters 2,050)

Televisions: 75 million



Defense
-------


Branches: People's Liberation Army (PLA), which includes the
  Ground Forces, Navy (includes Marines and Naval Aviation), Air
  Force, Second Artillery Corps (the strategic missile force),
  People's Armed Police (internal security troops, nominally
  subordinate to Ministry of Public Security, but included by the
  Chinese as part of the "armed forces" and considered to be an
  adjunct to the PLA in wartime)

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 352,506,948
  males fit for military service: 194,589,216
  males reach military age (18) annually: 9,763,916 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: the officially announced but suspect figure
  is 70.2 billion yuan, NA% of GDP (1995 est.); note - conversion of
  the defense budget into US dollars using the current exchange rate
  could produce misleading results



======================================================================




@Christmas Island
----------------


(territory of Australia)

Map
---


Location: 10 30 S, 105 40 E -- Southeastern Asia, island in the
  Indian Ocean, south of Indonesia



Flag
----


Description: the flag of Australia is used





Geography
---------


Location: Southeastern Asia, island in the Indian Ocean, south of
  Indonesia

Geographic coordinates: 10 30 S, 105 40 E

Map references: Southeast Asia

Area:
  total area: 135 sq km
  land area: 135 sq km
  comparative area: about 0.7 times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 138.9 km

Maritime claims:
  contiguous zone: 12 nm
  exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 3 nm

International disputes: none

Climate: tropical; heat and humidity moderated by trade winds

Terrain: steep cliffs along coast rise abruptly to central plateau
  lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
  highest point: Murray Hill 361 m

Natural resources: phosphate

Land use:
  arable land: 0%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 0%
  forest and woodland: 0%
  other: 100%

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Environment:
  current issues: NA
  natural hazards: the narrow fringing reef surrounding the island can
  be a maritime hazard
  international agreements: NA

Geographic note: located along major sea lanes of Indian Ocean



People
------


Population: 813 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: NA
  15-64 years: NA
  65 years and over: NA

Population growth rate: -8.98% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: NA births/1,000 population

Death rate: NA deaths/1,000 population

Net migration rate: NA migrant(s)/1,000 population

Sex ratio:
  at birth: NA male(s)/female
  under 15 years: NA male(s)/female
  15-64 years: NA male(s)/female
  65 years and over: NA male(s)/female
  all ages: NA male(s)/female

Infant mortality rate: NA deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: NA years
  male: NA years
  female: NA years

Total fertility rate: NA children born/woman

Nationality:
  noun: Christmas Islander(s)
  adjective: Christmas Island

Ethnic divisions: Chinese 61%, Malay 25%, European 11%, other 3%,
  no indigenous population

Religions: Buddhist 55%, Christian 15%, Muslim 10%, other 20%
  (1991)

Languages: English



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Territory of Christmas Island
  conventional short form: Christmas Island

Data code: KT

Type of government: territory of Australia

Capital: The Settlement

Administrative divisions: none (territory of Australia)

Independence: none (territory of Australia)

National holiday: NA

Constitution: Christmas Island Act of 1958

Legal system: under the authority of the governor general of
  Australia

Executive branch:
  chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (of the United Kingdom since 6
  February 1952) is a hereditary monarch
  head of government: Administrator Danny Ambrose GILLESPIE (since NA)
  was appointed by the governor general of Australia and represents
  the queen and Australia
  cabinet: Christmas Island Shire Council

Legislative branch: none

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

Political parties and leaders: none

International organization participation: none

Diplomatic representation in US: none (territory of Australia)

US diplomatic representation: none (territory of Australia)

Flag: the flag of Australia is used



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Phosphate mining had been the only significant
  economic activity, but in December 1987 the Australian Government
  closed the mine as no longer economically viable. Private operators
  reopened the mine in 1990 under strict environmental controls, in
  particular to preserve the rain forest. A hotel and casino complex
  opened in 1993, and tourism is a likely growth sector.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $NA

GDP real growth rate: NA%

GDP per capita: $NA

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: NA%
  industry: NA%
  services: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA%

Labor force: NA
  by occupation: all workers are employees of the Phosphate Mining
  Company of Christmas Island, Ltd.

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget:
  revenues: $NA
  expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA

Industries: phosphate extraction (near depletion)

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity:
  capacity: 11,000 kW
  production: 30 million kWh
  consumption per capita: 17,800 kWh (1990)

Agriculture: NA

Exports: $NA
  commodities: phosphate
  partners: Australia, NZ

Imports: $NA
  commodities: consumer goods
  partners: principally Australia

External debt: $NA

Economic aid: none

Currency: 1 Australian dollar ($A) = 100 cents

Exchange rates: Australian dollars ($A) per US$1 - 1.3477 (January
  1996),1.3486 (1995), 1.3667 (1994), 1.4704, (1993), 1.3600 (1992),
  1.2836 (1991)

Fiscal year: 1 July - 30 June



Transportation
--------------


Railways: 24 km to serve phosphate mines

Highways:
  total: NA km
  paved: NA km
  unpaved: NA km

Ports: Flying Fish Cove

Merchant marine: none

Airports:
  total: 1
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 1 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: NA

Telephone system:
  domestic: NA
  international: NA

Radio broadcast stations: AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0

Radios: 500 (1992)

Television broadcast stations: 1

Televisions: 350 (1992)



Defense
-------


Defense note: defense is the responsibility of Australia






======================================================================




@Clipperton Island
-----------------


(possession of France)

Map
---


Location: 10 17 N, 109 13 W -- Middle America, atoll in the North
  Pacific Ocean, 1,120 km southwest of Mexico



Flag
----


Description: the flag of France is used





Geography
---------


Location: Middle America, atoll in the North Pacific Ocean, 1,120
  km southwest of Mexico

Geographic coordinates: 10 17 N, 109 13 W

Map references: World

Area:
  total area: 7 sq km
  land area: 7 sq km
  comparative area: about 12 times the size of The Mall in Washington,
  DC

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 11.1 km

Maritime claims:
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: claimed by Mexico

Climate: tropical, humid, average temperature 20-32 degrees C,
  rains May-October

Terrain: coral atoll
  lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
  highest point: Rocher Clipperton 21 m

Natural resources: none

Land use:
  arable land: 0%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 0%
  forest and woodland: 0%
  other: 100% (all coral)

Irrigated land: 0 sq km

Environment:
  current issues: NA
  natural hazards: subject to tornadoes
  international agreements: NA

Geographic note: reef about 8 km in circumference



People
------


Population: uninhabited



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: none
  conventional short form: Clipperton Island
  local long form: none
  local short form: Ile Clipperton
  former: sometimes called Ile de la Passion

Data code: IP

Type of government: French possession administered by France from
  French Polynesia by the High Commissioner of the Republic

Capital: none; administered by France from French Polynesia

Independence: none (possession of France)

Flag: the flag of France is used



Economy
-------


Economic overview: The only economic activity is a tuna fishing
  station.



Transportation
--------------


Ports: none; offshore anchorage only



Defense
-------


Defense note: defense is the responsibility of France



======================================================================




@Cocos (Keeling) Islands
-----------------------


(territory of Australia)

Map
---


Location: 12 30 S, 96 50 E -- Southeastern Asia, group of islands
  in the Indian Ocean, south of Indonesia, about one-half of the way
  from Australia to Sri Lanka



Flag
----


Description: the flag of Australia is used





Geography
---------


Location: Southeastern Asia, group of islands in the Indian Ocean,
  south of Indonesia, about one-half of the way from Australia to Sri
  Lanka

Geographic coordinates: 12 30 S, 96 50 E

Map references: Southeast Asia

Area:
  total area: 14 sq km
  land area: 14 sq km
  comparative area: about 24 times the size of The Mall in Washington,
  DC
  note: includes the two main islands of West Island and Home Island

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 2.6 km

Maritime claims:
  exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 3 nm

International disputes: none

Climate: pleasant, modified by the southeast trade wind for about
  nine months of the year; moderate rainfall

Terrain: flat, low-lying coral atolls
  lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
  highest point: unnamed location 5 m

Natural resources: fish

Land use:
  arable land: NA%
  permanent crops: NA%
  meadows and pastures: NA%
  forest and woodland: NA%
  other: NA%

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Environment:
  current issues: fresh water resources are limited to rainwater
  accumulations in natural underground reservoirs
  natural hazards: cyclones may occur in the early months of the year
  international agreements: NA

Geographic note: two coral atolls thickly covered with coconut
  palms and other vegetation



People
------


Population: 609 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: NA
  15-64 years: NA
  65 years and over: NA

Population growth rate: 0.94% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: NA births/1,000 population

Death rate: NA deaths/1,000 population

Net migration rate: NA migrant(s)/1,000 population

Sex ratio:
  at birth: NA male(s)/female
  under 15 years: NA male(s)/female
  15-64 years: NA male(s)/female
  65 years and over: NA male(s)/female
  all ages: NA male(s)/female

Infant mortality rate: NA deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: NA years
  male: NA years
  female: NA years

Total fertility rate: NA children born/woman

Nationality:
  noun: Cocos Islander(s)
  adjective: Cocos Islander

Ethnic divisions:
  West Island: Europeans
  Home Island: Cocos Malays

Religions: Sunni Muslim 57%, Christian 22%, other 21% (1981 est.)

Languages: English



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Territory of Cocos (Keeling) Islands
  conventional short form: Cocos (Keeling) Islands

Data code: CK

Type of government: territory of Australia

Capital: West Island

Administrative divisions: none (territory of Australia)

Independence: none (territory of Australia)

National holiday: NA

Constitution: Cocos (Keeling) Islands Act of 1955

Legal system: based upon the laws of Australia and local laws

Suffrage: NA

Executive branch:
  chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (of the United Kingdom since 6
  February 1952) is a hereditary monarch
  head of government: Administrator John Bell READ (since NA) was
  appointed by the governor general of Australia and represents the
  queen and Australia

Legislative branch: unicameral Cocos (Keeling) Islands Shire
  Council; President of the Islands Council Ronald GRANT (since NA)

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

Political parties and leaders: none

International organization participation: WMO

Diplomatic representation in US: none (territory of Australia)

US diplomatic representation: none (territory of Australia)

Flag: the flag of Australia is used



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Grown throughout the islands, coconuts are the
  sole cash crop. Copra and fresh coconuts are the major export
  earners. Small local gardens and fishing contribute to the food
  supply, but additional food and most other necessities must be
  imported from Australia.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $NA

GDP real growth rate: NA%

GDP per capita: $NA

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: NA%
  industry: NA%
  services: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA%

Labor force: NA

Budget:
  revenues: $NA
  expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA

Industries: copra products

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity:
  capacity: 1,000 kW
  production: 2 million kWh
  consumption per capita: 2,980 kWh (1990)

Agriculture: vegetables, bananas, pawpaws, coconuts

Exports: $NA
  commodities: copra
  partners: Australia

Imports: $NA
  commodities: foodstuffs
  partners: Australia

External debt: $NA

Economic aid: none

Currency: 1 Australian dollar ($A) = 100 cents

Exchange rates: Australian dollars ($A) per US$1 - 1.3477 (January
  1996), 1.3486 (1995), 1.3667 (1994), 1.4704 (1993), 1.3600 (1992),
  1.2836 (1991)

Fiscal year: 1 July - 30 June



Transportation
--------------


Railways: 0 km

Highways:
  total: NA km
  paved: NA km
  unpaved: NA km

Ports: none; lagoon anchorage only

Merchant marine: none

Airports:
  total: 1
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 1 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: NA

Telephone system:
  domestic: NA
  international: telephone, telex, and facsimile communications with
  Australia via satellite; 1 satellite earth station of NA type

Radio broadcast stations: AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0

Radios: 300 (1992 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 0
  note: intermittent television service via satellite

Televisions: NA



Defense
-------


Defense note: defense is the responsibility of Australia



======================================================================




@Colombia
--------




Map
---


Location: 4 00 N, 72 00 W -- Northern South America, bordering the
  Caribbean Sea, between Panama and Venezuela, and bordering the North
  Pacific Ocean, between Ecuador and Panama



Flag
----


Description: three horizontal bands of yellow (top, double-width),
  blue, and red; similar to the flag of Ecuador, which is longer and
  bears the Ecuadorian coat of arms superimposed in the center





Geography
---------


Location: Northern South America, bordering the Caribbean Sea,
  between Panama and Venezuela, and bordering the North Pacific Ocean,
  between Ecuador and Panama

Geographic coordinates: 4 00 N, 72 00 W

Map references: South America

Area:
  total area: 1,138,910 sq km
  land area: 1,038,700 sq km
  comparative area: slightly less than three times the size of Montana
  note: includes Isla de Malpelo, Roncador Cay, Serrana Bank, and
  Serranilla Bank

Land boundaries:
  total: 7,408 km
  border countries: Brazil 1,643 km, Ecuador 590 km, Panama 225 km,
  Peru 2,900 km, Venezuela 2,050 km

Coastline: 3,208 km (Caribbean Sea 1,760 km, North Pacific Ocean
  1,448 km)

Maritime claims:
  continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: maritime boundary dispute with Venezuela
  in the Gulf of Venezuela; territorial dispute with Nicaragua over
  Archipelago de San Andres y Providencia and Quita Sueno Bank

Climate: tropical along coast and eastern plains; cooler in
  highlands

Terrain: flat coastal lowlands, central highlands, high Andes
  Mountains, eastern lowland plains
  lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
  highest point: Nevado del Huila 5,750 m

Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, coal, iron ore, nickel,
  gold, copper, emeralds

Land use:
  arable land: 4%
  permanent crops: 2%
  meadows and pastures: 29%
  forest and woodland: 49%
  other: 16%

Irrigated land: 5,150 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
  current issues: deforestation; soil damage from overuse of
  pesticides; air pollution, especially in Bogota, from vehicle
  emissions
  natural hazards: highlands subject to volcanic eruptions; occasional
  earthquakes; periodic droughts
  international agreements: party to - Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity,
  Climate Change, Endangered Species, Marine Life Conservation,
  Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical
  Timber 83; signed, but not ratified - Antarctic-Environmental
  Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine
  Dumping, Tropical Timber 94

Geographic note: only South American country with coastlines on
  both North Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea



People
------


Population: 36,813,161 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 32% (male 5,948,599; female 5,806,450)
  15-64 years: 64% (male 11,496,931; female 11,890,875)
  65 years and over: 4% (male 741,788; female 928,518) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.66% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 21.34 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 4.65 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: -0.13 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.8 male(s)/female
  all ages: 0.98 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 25.8 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 72.81 years
  male: 69.97 years
  female: 75.73 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.35 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Colombian(s)
  adjective: Colombian

Ethnic divisions: mestizo 58%, white 20%, mulatto 14%, black 4%,
  mixed black-Indian 3%, Indian 1%

Religions: Roman Catholic 95%

Languages: Spanish

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)
  total population: 91.3%
  male: 91.2%
  female: 91.4%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Republic of Colombia
  conventional short form: Colombia
  local long form: Republica de Colombia
  local short form: Colombia

Data code: CO

Type of government: republic; executive branch dominates
  government structure

Capital: Bogota

Administrative divisions: 32 departments (departamentos, singular
  - departamento) and 1 capital district* (distrito capital);
  Amazonas, Antioquia, Arauca, Atlantico, Bogota*, Bolivar, Boyaca,
  Caldas, Caqueta, Casanare, Cauca, Cesar, Choco, Cordoba,
  Cundinamarca, Guainia, Guaviare, Huila, La Guajira, Magdalena, Meta,
  Narino, Norte de Santander, Putumayo, Quindio, Risaralda, San Andres
  y Providencia, Santander, Sucre, Tolima, Valle del Cauca, Vaupes,
  Vichada

Independence: 20 July 1810 (from Spain)

National holiday: Independence Day, 20 July (1810)

Constitution: 5 July 1991

Legal system: based on Spanish law; a new criminal code modeled
  after US procedures was enacted in 1992-93; judicial review of
  executive and legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction,
  with reservations

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal and compulsory

Executive branch:
  chief of state and head of government: President Ernesto SAMPER
  Pizano (since 7 August 1994) elected for a four-year term by popular
  vote; election last held 29 May 1994 (next to be held NA May 1998)
  results - no candidate received more than 50% of the total vote; a
  run-off election to select a president from the two leading
  candidates was held 19 June 1994; results - Ernesto SAMPER Pizano
  (Liberal Party) 50.4%, Andres PASTRANA Arango (Conservative Party)
  48.6%, blank votes 1%; Humberto de la CALLE Lombana elected vice
  president for a four-year term by popular vote in a new procedure
  that replaces the traditional designation of vice presidents by
  newly elected presidents
  cabinet: Cabinet

Legislative branch: bicameral Congress (Congreso)
  Senate (Senado): elections last held 13 March 1994 (next to be held
  NA March 1998); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (102
  total) Liberal Party 59, conservatives (includes PC, MSN, and NDF)
  31, other 12
  House of Representatives (Camara de Representantes): elections last
  held 13 March 1994 (next to be held NA March 1998); seats - (161
  total) Liberal Party 89, conservatives (includes PC, MSN, and NDF)
  53, AD/M-19 2, other 17

Judicial branch: Supreme Court of Justice (Corte Suprema de
  Justical), highest court of criminal law, judges are selected from
  the nominees of the Higher Council of Justice for eight-year terms;
  Council of State, highest court of administrative law, judges are
  selected from the nominees of the Higher Council of Justice for
  eight-year terms; Constitutional Court, guards integrity and
  supremacy of the constitution, rules on constitutionality of laws,
  amendments to the constitution, and international treaties

Political parties and leaders: Liberal Party (PL), Luis Fernando
  JARAMILLO; Conservative Party (PC), Jaime ARIAS; New Democratic
  Force (NDF), Andres PASTRANA Arango; Democratic Alliance M-19
  (AD/M-19) is a coalition of small leftist parties and dissident
  liberals and conservatives; Patriotic Union (UP) is a legal
  political party formed by Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia
  (FARC) and Colombian Communist Party (PCC), Aida ABELLA; National
  Salvation Movement (MSN) Alvaro GOMEZ Hurtado

Other political or pressure groups: three insurgent groups are
  active in Colombia - Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC);
  National Liberation Army (ELN); and dissidents of the recently
  demobilized People's Liberation Army (EPL/D)

International organization participation: AG, CCC, CDB, ECLAC,
  FAO, G- 3, G-11, G-24, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU,
  ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC,
  IOM, ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD,
  UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Carlos LLERAS de la Fuente
  chancery: 2118 Leroy Place NW, Washington, DC 20008
  telephone: [1] (202) 387-8338
  FAX: [1] (202) 232-8643
  consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami,
  New Orleans, New York, San Francisco, San Juan (Puerto Rico), and
  Washington, DC
  consulate(s): Atlanta and Tampa

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Myles R. R. FRECHETTE
  embassy: Calle 22D-BIS, No. 47-51, Apartado Aereo 3831
  mailing address: APO AA 34038
  telephone: [57] (1) 315-0811
  FAX: [57] (1) 315-2197
  consulate(s): Barranquilla

Flag: three horizontal bands of yellow (top, double-width), blue,
  and red; similar to the flag of Ecuador, which is longer and bears
  the Ecuadorian coat of arms superimposed in the center



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Boasting a diversified and stable economy,
  Colombia has enjoyed Latin America's most consistent record of
  growth over the last several decades. Gross domestic product (GDP)
  has expanded every year for more than 25 years, and unlike many
  other South American countries, Colombia did not default on any of
  its official debts during the "lost decade" of the 1980s. Since
  1990, when Bogota introduced a comprehensive reform program that
  opened the economy to foreign trade and investment, GDP growth has
  averaged more than 4% annually. Growth has been fueled in recent
  years by the expansion of the construction and financial service
  industries and an influx of foreign capital. Some foreign investors
  have been deterred by an inadequate energy and transportation
  infrastructure and the violence stemming from drug trafficking and
  persistent rural guerrilla warfare, but direct foreign investment,
  especially in the oil industry, is still rising at a rapid rate.
  Although oil consequently is overtaking coffee as the main legal
  export, earnings from illicit drugs probably exceed those from any
  other export. Non-petroleum economic growth has been slowing,
  however, in part because the tight monetary policies adopted to
  offset the inflationary impact of high capital inflows and rising
  government spending have slowed local sales and investment. Business
  confidence also has been damaged by a political crisis stemming from
  allegations that senior government officials, including President
  SAMPER, solicited contributions from drug traffickers during the
  1994 election campaign. The slowdown in the growth of
  labor-intensive industries such as manufacturing has caused a small
  rise in unemployment and interfered with President SAMPER'S plans to
  lower the country's poverty rate, which has remained at about 40%
  despite the expanding economy. Nevertheless, the booming oil sector,
  growing foreign investment, and the fundamental stability of the
  economy promise to keep growth positive for the foreseeable future,
  barring severe, unpredictable shocks from developments in the
  political or international arenas.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $192.5 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 5.3% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $5,300 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 21.5%
  industry: 29%
  services: 49.5%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 19.5% (1995 est.)

Labor force: 12 million (1990)
  by occupation: services 46%, agriculture 30%, industry 24% (1990)

Unemployment rate: 9.5% (1995)

Budget:
  revenues: $NA
  expenditures: $24 billion including capital expenditures of $NA
  (1996 est.)

Industries: textiles, food processing, oil, clothing and footwear,
  beverages, chemicals, cement; gold, coal, emeralds

Industrial production growth rate: 3.5% (1995 est.)

Electricity:
  capacity: 10,220,000 kW
  production: 33 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 890 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: coffee, cut flowers, bananas, rice, tobacco, corn,
  sugarcane, cocoa beans, oilseed, vegetables; forest products; shrimp
  farming

Illicit drugs: illicit producer of coca, opium poppies, and
  cannabis; about 50,900 hectares of coca under cultivation in 1995;
  the world's largest processor of coca derivatives into cocaine;
  supplier of cocaine to the US and other international drug markets;
  active aerial eradication program seeks to virtually eliminate coca
  and opium crops by 1997

Exports: $10.5 billion (f.o.b., 1995 est.)
  commodities: petroleum, coffee, coal, bananas, fresh cut flowers
  partners: US 39%, EC 25.7%, Japan 2.9%, Venezuela 8.5% (1992)

Imports: $13.5 billion (c.i.f., 1995 est.)
  commodities: industrial equipment, transportation equipment,
  consumer goods, chemicals, paper products
  partners: US 36%, EC 18%, Brazil 4%, Venezuela 6.5%, Japan 8.7%
  (1992)

External debt: $14 billion (1995 est.)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $30 million (1993)

Currency: 1 Colombian peso (Col$) = 100 centavos

Exchange rates: Colombian pesos (Col$) per US$1 - 1,011.11
  (January 1996), 912.83 (1995), 844.84 (1994), 863.06 (1993), 759.28
  (1992), 633.05 (1991)

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 3,386 km
  standard gauge: 150 km 1.435-m gauge (connects Cerrejon coal mines
  to maritime port at Bahia Portete)
  narrow gauge: 3,236 km 0.914-m gauge (1830 km in use) (1995)

Highways:
  total: 107,200 km
  paved: 12,600 km
  unpaved: 94,600 km

Waterways: 14,300 km, navigable by river boats

Pipelines: crude oil 3,585 km; petroleum products 1,350 km;
  natural gas 830 km; natural gas liquids 125 km

Ports: Barranquilla, Buenaventura, Cartagena, Leticia, Puerto
  Bolivar, San Andres, Santa Marta, Tumaco, Turbo

Merchant marine:
  total: 19 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 97,037 GRT/129,404 DWT
  ships by type: bulk 5, cargo 8, container 3, oil tanker 3 (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 989
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 2
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 9
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 33
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 35
  with paved runways under 914 m: 557
  with unpaved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 1
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 41
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 311 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 1.89 million (1986 est.)

Telephone system: modern system in many respects
  domestic: nationwide microwave radio relay system; domestic
  satellite system with 11 earth stations
  international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 413 (licensed), FM 217 (licensed),
  shortwave 28

Radios: NA

Television broadcast stations: 33

Televisions: 5.5 million (1993 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Army (Ejercito Nacional), Navy (Armada Nacional,
  includes Marines and Coast Guard), Air Force (Fuerza Aerea
  Colombiana), National Police (Policia Nacional)

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 10,067,538
  males fit for military service: 6,774,105
  males reach military age (18) annually: 346,372 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $2 billion, 2.8%
  of GDP (1995)



======================================================================




@Comoros
-------




Map
---


Location: 12 10 S, 44 15 E -- Southern Africa, group of islands in
  the Mozambique Channel, about two-thirds of the way between northern
  Madagascar and northern Mozambique



Flag
----


Description: green with a white crescent in the center of the
  field, its points facing downward; there are four white five-pointed
  stars placed in a line between the points of the crescent; the
  crescent, stars, and color green are traditional symbols of Islam;
  the four stars represent the four main islands of the archipelago -
  Mwali, Njazidja, Nzwani, and Mayotte (a territorial collectivity of
  France, but claimed by Comoros); the design, the most recent of
  several, is described in the constitution approved by referendum on
  7 June 1992





Geography
---------


Location: Southern Africa, group of islands in the Mozambique
  Channel, about two-thirds of the way between northern Madagascar and
  northern Mozambique

Geographic coordinates: 12 10 S, 44 15 E

Map references: Africa

Area:
  total area: 2,170 sq km
  land area: 2,170 sq km
  comparative area: slightly more than 12 times the size of
  Washington, DC

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 340 km

Maritime claims:
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: claims French-administered Mayotte

Climate: tropical marine; rainy season (November to May)

Terrain: volcanic islands, interiors vary from steep mountains to
  low hills
  lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
  highest point: Mount Kartala 2,360 m

Natural resources: negligible

Land use:
  arable land: 35%
  permanent crops: 8%
  meadows and pastures: 7%
  forest and woodland: 16%
  other: 34%

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Environment:
  current issues: soil degradation and erosion results from crop
  cultivation on slopes without proper terracing; deforestation
  natural hazards: cyclones and tsunamis possible during rainy season
  (December to April); Mount Kartala on Grand Comore is an active
  volcano
  international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
  Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer
  Protection; signed, but not ratified - Desertification

Geographic note: important location at northern end of Mozambique
  Channel



People
------


Population: 569,237 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 48% (male 137,235; female 136,207)
  15-64 years: 49% (male 138,447; female 142,058)
  65 years and over: 3% (male 7,242; female 8,048) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 3.55% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 45.82 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 10.28 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.9 male(s)/female
  all ages: 0.99 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 75.3 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 58.7 years
  male: 56.43 years
  female: 61.05 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 6.65 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Comoran(s)
  adjective: Comoran

Ethnic divisions: Antalote, Cafre, Makoa, Oimatsaha, Sakalava

Religions: Sunni Muslim 86%, Roman Catholic 14%

Languages: Arabic (official), French (official), Comoran (a blend
  of Swahili and Arabic)

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)
  total population: 57.3%
  male: 64.2%
  female: 50.4%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Federal Islamic Republic of the Comoros
  conventional short form: Comoros
  local long form: Republique Federale Islamique des Comores
  local short form: Comores

Data code: CN

Type of government: independent republic

Capital: Moroni

Administrative divisions: three islands; Grand Comore (Njazidja),
  Anjouan (Nzwani), and Moheli (Mwali)
  note: there are also four municipalities named Domoni, Fomboni,
  Moroni, and Mutsamudu

Independence: 6 July 1975 (from France)

National holiday: Independence Day, 6 July (1975)

Constitution: 7 June 1992

Legal system: French and Muslim law in a new consolidated code

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: President Mohamed TAKI Abdulkarim (since 16 March
  1996) was elected by popular vote; election last held 16 March 1996
  (next to be held March 2001)
  head of government: Prime Minister MASSOUNDI Tadjidine Ben Said
  (since March 1996) was appointed by the president
  cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president

Legislative branch: unicameral
  Federal Assembly (Assemblee Federale): elections last held 12-20
  December 1993 (next to be held by NA January 1998); results -
  percent of vote by party NA; seats - (42 total) ruling coalition:
  RDR 15, UNDC 5, MWANGAZA 2; opposition: UDZIMA 8; other smaller
  parties: 10; two seats remained unfilled

Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Cour Supreme), two members are
  appointed by the president, two members are elected by the Federal
  Assembly, one by the Council of each island, plus all the former
  presidents of the republic

Political parties and leaders: Islands' Fraternity and Unity Party
  (CHUMA), Said Ali KEMAL; over 20 political parties are currently
  active, the most important of which are Comoran Union for Progress
  (UDZIMA), Omar TAMOU; Comoran Party for Democracy and Progress
  (PCDP), Ali MROUDJAE; Realizing Freedom's Capability (UWEZO),
  Mouazair ABDALLAH; Democratic Front of the Comoros (FDR), Moustapha
  CHELKH; Dialogue Proposition Action (DPA/MWANGAZA), Said MCHAWGAMA;
  Rally for Change and Democracy (RACHADE), Hassan HACHIM; Union for
  Democracy and Decentralization (UNDC), Mohamed Taki Halidi IBRAHAM;
  Rally for Democracy and Renewal (RDR); Comoran Popular Front (FPC),
  Mohamed HASSANALI, Mohamed El Arif OUKACHA, Abdou MOUSTAKIM
  (Secretary General)

International organization participation: ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AL,
  CCC, ECA, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF,
  Intelsat (nonsignatory user), IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, UN, UNCTAD,
  UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WMO

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Mohamed Ahamada DJIMBANAOU (ambassador
  to the US and Canada)
  chancery: (temporary) care of the Permanent Mission of the Federal
  and Islamic Republic of the Comoros to the United Nations, 336 East
  45th Street, 2nd Floor, New York, NY 10017
  telephone: [1] (212) 972-8010
  FAX: [1] (212) 983-4712

US diplomatic representation: the US does not have an embassy in
  Comoros; the ambassador to Mauritius is accredited to Comoros

Flag: green with a white crescent in the center of the field, its
  points facing downward; there are four white five-pointed stars
  placed in a line between the points of the crescent; the crescent,
  stars, and color green are traditional symbols of Islam; the four
  stars represent the four main islands of the archipelago - Mwali,
  Njazidja, Nzwani, and Mayotte (a territorial collectivity of France,
  but claimed by Comoros); the design, the most recent of several, is
  described in the constitution approved by referendum on 7 June 1992



Economy
-------


Economic overview: One of the world's poorest countries, Comoros
  is made up of several islands that have poor transportation links, a
  young and rapidly increasing population, and few natural resources.
  The low educational level of the labor force contributes to a
  subsistence level of economic activity, high unemployment, and a
  heavy dependence on foreign grants and technical assistance.
  Agriculture, including fishing, hunting, and forestry, is the
  leading sector of the economy. It contributes 40% to GDP, employs
  80% of the labor force, and provides most of the exports. The
  country is not self-sufficient in food production; rice, the main
  staple, accounts for 90% of imports. The government is struggling to
  upgrade education and technical training, to privatize commercial
  and industrial enterprises, to improve health services, to diversify
  exports, and to reduce the high population growth rate. Continued
  foreign support is essential if the goal of 4% annual GDP growth is
  to be reached in the late 1990s.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $370 million (1994 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 0.9% (1994 est.)

GDP per capita: $700 (1994 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: NA%
  industry: NA%
  services: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 15% (1993 est.)

Labor force: 140,000 (1982)
  by occupation: agriculture 80%, government 3%

Unemployment rate: 15.8% (1989)

Budget:
  revenues: $83 million
  expenditures: $92 million, including capital expenditures of $32
  million (1992)

Industries: tourism, perfume distillation, textiles, furniture,
  jewelry, construction materials, soft drinks

Industrial production growth rate: -6.5% (1989 est.)

Electricity:
  capacity: 16,000 kW
  production: 17 million kWh
  consumption per capita: 27 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: vanilla, cloves, perfume essences, copra, coconuts,
  bananas, cassava (tapioca)

Exports: $13.7 million (f.o.b., 1993 est.)
  commodities: vanilla, ylang-ylang, cloves, perfume oil, copra
  partners: US 44%, France 40%, Germany 6%, Africa 5% (1992)

Imports: $40.9 million (f.o.b., 1993 est.)
  commodities: rice and other foodstuffs, petroleum products, cement,
  consumer goods
  partners: France 34%, South Africa 14%, Kenya 8%, Japan 4% (1992)

External debt: $160 million (1992 est.)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $NA

Currency: 1 Comoran franc (CF) = 100 centimes

Exchange rates: Comoran francs (CF) per US$1 - 375.42 (January
  1996), 374.36 (1995), 416.40 (1994), 283.16 (1993), 264.69 (1992),
  282.11 (1991)
  note: beginning 12 January 1994, the Comoran franc was devalued to
  75 per French franc from 50 per French franc at which it had been
  fixed since 1948

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways: 0 km

Highways:
  total: 1,104 km
  paved: 400 km
  unpaved: 704 km (1988 est.)

Ports: Fomboni, Moroni, Mutsamudu

Merchant marine: none

Airports:
  total: 4
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 1
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 3 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 3,770 (1991 est.)

Telephone system: sparse system of microwave radio relay and HF
  radiotelephone communication stations
  domestic: HF radiotelephone communications and microwave radio relay
  international: HF radiotelephone communications to Madagascar and
  Reunion

Radio broadcast stations: AM 2, FM 1, shortwave 0

Radios: NA

Television broadcast stations: 0

Televisions: 200 (1991 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Comoran Security Force

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 121,854
  males fit for military service: 72,873 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: $NA, NA% of GDP



======================================================================




@Congo
-----




Map
---


Location: 1 00 S, 15 00 E -- Western Africa, bordering the South
  Atlantic Ocean, between Angola and Gabon



Flag
----


Description: divided diagonally from the lower hoist side by a
  yellow band; the upper triangle (hoist side) is green and the lower
  triangle is red; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia





Geography
---------


Location: Western Africa, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean,
  between Angola and Gabon

Geographic coordinates: 1 00 S, 15 00 E

Map references: Africa

Area:
  total area: 342,000 sq km
  land area: 341,500 sq km
  comparative area: slightly smaller than Montana

Land boundaries:
  total: 5,504 km
  border countries: Angola 201 km, Cameroon 523 km, Central African
  Republic 467 km, Gabon 1,903 km, Zaire 2,410 km

Coastline: 169 km

Maritime claims:
  territorial sea: 200 nm

International disputes: long segment of boundary with Zaire along
  the Congo River is indefinite (no division of the river or its
  islands has been made)

Climate: tropical; rainy season (March to June); dry season (June
  to October); constantly high temperatures and humidity; particularly
  enervating climate astride the Equator

Terrain: coastal plain, southern basin, central plateau, northern
  basin
  lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
  highest point: Mount Berongou 903 m

Natural resources: petroleum, timber, potash, lead, zinc, uranium,
  copper, phosphates, natural gas

Land use:
  arable land: 2%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 29%
  forest and woodland: 62%
  other: 7%

Irrigated land: 40 sq km (1989)

Environment:
  current issues: air pollution from vehicle emissions; water
  pollution from the dumping of raw sewage; tap water is not potable;
  deforestation
  natural hazards: seasonal flooding
  international agreements: party to - Endangered Species, Ozone Layer
  Protection, Tropical Timber 83; signed, but not ratified -
  Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Law of the Sea,
  Tropical Timber 94

Geographic note: about 70% of the population lives in Brazzaville,
  Pointe Noire, or along the railroad between them



People
------


Population: 2,527,841 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 43% (male 550,971; female 545,096)
  15-64 years: 53% (male 657,035; female 688,441)
  65 years and over: 4% (male 34,973; female 51,325) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.19% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 39.19 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 17.35 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female
  all ages: 0.97 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 108.1 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 45.77 years
  male: 44.21 years
  female: 47.37 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 5.15 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Congolese (singular and plural)
  adjective: Congolese or Congo

Ethnic divisions:
  south: Kongo 48%
  north: Sangha 20%, M'Bochi 12%
  center: Teke 17%, Europeans 8,500 (mostly French)

Religions: Christian 50%, animist 48%, Muslim 2%

Languages: French (official), African languages (Lingala and
  Kikongo are the most widely used)

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)
  total population: 74.9%
  male: 83.1%
  female: 67.2%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Republic of the Congo
  conventional short form: Congo
  local long form: Republique Populaire du Congo
  local short form: Congo
  former: Congo/Brazzaville

Data code: CF

Type of government: republic

Capital: Brazzaville

Administrative divisions: 9 regions (regions, singular - region)
  and 1 commune*; Bouenza, Brazzaville*, Cuvette, Kouilou, Lekoumou,
  Likouala, Niari, Plateaux, Pool, Sangha

Independence: 15 August 1960 (from France)

National holiday: Congolese National Day, 15 August (1960)

Constitution: new constitution approved by referendum March 1992

Legal system: based on French civil law system and customary law

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: President Pascal LISSOUBA (since August 1992);
  elected for a five-year term by universal suffrage; election last
  held NA August 1992 (next to be held NA August 1997); results -
  President Pascal LISSOUBA won 61% of the vote
  head of government: Prime Minister Jacques Joachim YHOMBI-OPANGO
  (since 23 June 1993) appointed by the president
  cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president

Legislative branch: bicameral
  National Assembly (Assemblee Nationale): election last held 3
  October 1993 (next to be held NA); results - percent of vote by
  party NA; seats - (125 total) UPADS 64, URD/PCT 58, others 3
  Senate: election last held 26 July 1992 (next to be held NA July
  1998); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (60 total)
  UPADS 23, MCDDI 14, RDD 8, RDPS 5, PCT 2, others 8

Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Cour Supreme)

Political parties and leaders: of Congo's many political parties,
  the most important are Congolese Labor Party (PCT), Denis
  SASSOU-NGUESSO, president; Association for Democracy and Development
  (RDD), Joachim Yhombi OPANGO, president; Association for Democracy
  and Social Progress (RDPS), Jean-Pierre Thystere TCHICAYA,
  president; Congolese Movement for Democracy and Integral Development
  (MCDDI), Bernard KOLELAS, leader; Pan-African Union for Social
  Development (UPADS), Pascal LISSOUBA, leader; Union of Democratic
  Forces (UFD), David Charles GANAO, leader; Union for Democratic
  Renewal (URD); Union for Development and Social Progress (UDPS),
  Jean-Michael BOKAMBA-YANGOUMA, leader

Other political or pressure groups: Union of Congolese Socialist
  Youth (UJSC); Congolese Trade Union Congress (CSC); Revolutionary
  Union of Congolese Women (URFC); General Union of Congolese Pupils
  and Students (UGEEC)

International organization participation: ACCT, ACP, AfDB, BDEAC,
  CCC, CEEAC, ECA, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC,
  IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, UDEAC,
  UN, UNAMIR, UNAVEM III, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO,
  WMO, WToO

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Daniel
  MOUELLET
  chancery: 4891 Colorado Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20011
  telephone: [1] (202) 726-0825
  FAX: [1] (202) 726-1860

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador William C. RAMSEY
  embassy: Avenue Amilcar Cabral, Brazzaville
  mailing address: B. P. 1015, Brazzaville
  telephone: [242] 83 20 70
  FAX: [242] 83 63 38

Flag: divided diagonally from the lower hoist side by a yellow
  band; the upper triangle (hoist side) is green and the lower
  triangle is red; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Congo's economy is a mixture of village
  agriculture and handicrafts, an industrial sector based largely on
  oil, support services, and a government characterized by budget
  problems and overstaffing. Oil has supplanted forestry as the
  mainstay of the economy, providing about 90% of government revenues
  and exports. In the early 1980s, rapidly rising oil revenues enabled
  Congo to finance large-scale development projects with GDP growth
  averaging 5% annually, one of the highest rates in Africa.
  Subsequently, falling oil prices cut GDP growth by half. Moreover,
  the Congolese Government has mortgaged a substantial portion of its
  oil earnings, contributing to the government's shortage of revenues.
  The 12 January 1994 devaluation of Franc Zone currencies by 50%
  resulted in inflation of 61% in 1994. Recent efforts to implement
  economic reforms have begun to show progress; the IMF has
  recommended approval of an Enhanced Structural Adjustment Facility
  agreement in 1996.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $7.7 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 3.3% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $3,100 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 11.4%
  industry: 35.2%
  services: 53.4% (1993)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 61% (1994 est.)

Labor force: 79,100 wage earners
  by occupation: agriculture 75%, commerce, industry, and government
  25%

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget:
  revenues: $2.18 billion (1994 est.)
  expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA

Industries: petroleum extraction, cement kilning, lumbering,
  brewing, sugar milling, palm oil, soap, cigarette making

Industrial production growth rate: 3.7% (estimated average annual
  growth rate for 1980-92)

Electricity:
  capacity: 120,000 kW
  production: 400 million kWh
  consumption per capita: 201 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: cassava (tapioca) accounts for 90% of food output,
  sugar, rice, corn, peanuts, vegetables, coffee, cocoa; forest
  products

Exports: $1 billion (f.o.b., 1995)
  commodities: crude oil 90%, lumber, plywood, sugar, cocoa, coffee,
  diamonds
  partners: Italy, France, Spain, other EU countries, US, Taiwan

Imports: $600 million (c.i.f., 1995)
  commodities: intermediate manufactures, capital equipment,
  construction materials, foodstuffs, petroleum products
  partners: France, Italy, other EU countries, US, Japan, Thailand

External debt: $5 billion (1993)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $NA

Currency: 1 Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (CFAF) = 100
  centimes

Exchange rates: CFA francs (CFAF) per US$1 - 500.56 (January
  1996), 499.15 (1995), 555.20 (1994), 283.16 (1993), 264.69 (1992),
  282.11 (1991)
  note: beginning 12 January 1994, the CFA franc was devalued to CFAF
  100 per French franc from CFAF 50 at which it had been fixed since
  1948

Fiscal year: calendar year






Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 795 km (1995 est.)
  narrow gauge: 795 km 1.067-m gauge (includes 285 km that are
  privately owned)

Highways:
  total: 12,745 km
  paved: 1,236 km
  unpaved: 11,509 km (1992 est.)

Waterways: the Congo and Ubangi (Oubangui) Rivers provide 1,120 km
  of commercially navigable water transport; other rivers are used for
  local traffic only

Pipelines: crude oil 25 km

Ports: Brazzaville, Impfondo, Ouesso, Oyo, Pointe-Noire

Merchant marine:
  total: 1 cargo ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,218 GRT/4,100 DWT
  (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 34
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 1
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 3
  with paved runways under 914 m: 9
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 7
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 14 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 18,000 (1983 est.)

Telephone system: services adequate for government use; key
  exchanges are in Brazzaville, Pointe-Noire, and Loubomo
  domestic: primary network consists of microwave radio relay and
  coaxial cable
  international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 4, FM 1, shortwave 0

Radios: NA

Television broadcast stations: 4 (1987 est.)

Televisions: 8,500 (1993 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Army, Navy (includes Marines), Air Force, National Police

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 582,103
  males fit for military service: 296,602
  males reach military age (20) annually: 25,247 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $110 million,
  3.8% of GDP (1993)



======================================================================




@Cook Islands
------------


(free association with New Zealand)

Map
---


Location: 21 14 S, 159 46 W -- Oceania, group of islands in the
  South Pacific Ocean, about one-half of the way from Hawaii to New
  Zealand



Flag
----


Description: blue, with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side
  quadrant and a large circle of 15 white five-pointed stars (one for
  every island) centered in the outer half of the flag





Geography
---------


Location: Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean,
  about one-half of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand

Geographic coordinates: 21 14 S, 159 46 W

Map references: Oceania

Area:
  total area: 240 sq km
  land area: 240 sq km
  comparative area: slightly more than one times the size of
  Washington, DC

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 120 km

Maritime claims:
  continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: none

Climate: tropical; moderated by trade winds

Terrain: low coral atolls in north; volcanic, hilly islands in
  south
  lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
  highest point: Te Manga 652 m

Natural resources: negligible

Land use:
  arable land: 4%
  permanent crops: 22%
  meadows and pastures: 0%
  forest and woodland: 0%
  other: 74%

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Environment:
  current issues: NA
  natural hazards: typhoons (November to March)
  international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
  Law of the Sea



People
------


Population: 19,561 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: NA
  15-64 years: NA
  65 years and over: NA

Population growth rate: 1.11% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 22.87 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 5.2 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: -6.58 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: NA male(s)/female
  under 15 years: NA male(s)/female
  15-64 years: NA male(s)/female
  65 years and over: NA male(s)/female
  all ages: NA male(s)/female

Infant mortality rate: 24.7 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 71.14 years
  male: 69.2 years
  female: 73.1 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 3.25 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Cook Islander(s)
  adjective: Cook Islander

Ethnic divisions: Polynesian (full blood) 81.3%, Polynesian and
  European 7.7%, Polynesian and non-European 7.7%, European 2.4%,
  other 0.9%

Religions: Christian (majority of populace members of Cook Islands
  Christian Church)

Languages: English (official), Maori

Literacy: NA



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: none
  conventional short form: Cook Islands

Data code: CW

Type of government: self-governing parliamentary government in
  free association with New Zealand; Cook Islands is fully responsible
  for internal affairs; New Zealand retains responsibility for
  external affairs, in consultation with the Cook Islands

Capital: Avarua

Administrative divisions: none

Independence: none (became self-governing in free association with
  New Zealand on 4 August 1965 and has the right at any time to move
  to full independence by unilateral action)

National holiday: Constitution Day, 4 August

Constitution: 4 August 1965

Legal system: NA

Suffrage: NA years of age; universal adult

Executive branch:
  chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (of the United Kingdom since 6
  February 1952), a hereditary monarch, is represented by Apenera
  SHORT (since NA); New Zealand High Commissioner Darryl DUNN (since
  NA 1994), representative of New Zealand was appointed by the New
  Zealand Government
  head of government: Prime Minister Sir Geoffrey A. HENRY (since 1
  February 1989); Deputy Prime Minister Inatio AKARURU (since 1
  February 1989)
  cabinet: Cabinet; collectively responsible to Parliament

Legislative branch: unicameral
  Parliament: elections last held 6 March 1994 (next to be held NA
  1999); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (25 total)
  Cook Islands Party 20, Democratic Party 3, Democratic Alliance Party
  2
  note: the House of Arikis (chiefs) advises on traditional matters,
  but has no legislative powers

Judicial branch: High Court

Political parties and leaders: Cook Islands Party, Geoffrey HENRY;
  Democratic Party, Sir Thomas DAVIS; Democratic Alliance Party,
  Norman GEORGE

International organization participation: AsDB, ESCAP (associate),
  ICAO, ICFTU, IFAD, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), IOC, Sparteca, SPC,
  SPF, UNESCO, WHO

Diplomatic representation in US: none (self-governing in free
  association with New Zealand)

US diplomatic representation: none (self-governing in free
  association with New Zealand)

Flag: blue, with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side
  quadrant and a large circle of 15 white five-pointed stars (one for
  every island) centered in the outer half of the flag



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Agriculture provides the economic base. The
  major export earners are fruit, copra, and clothing. Manufacturing
  activities are limited to a fruit-processing plant and several
  clothing factories. Economic development is hindered by the
  isolation of the islands from foreign markets and a lack of natural
  resources and good transportation links. A large trade deficit is
  annually made up for by remittances from emigrants and by foreign
  aid, largely from New Zealand. Current economic development plans
  call for exploiting the tourism potential and expanding the mining
  and fishing industries. Despite these plans, the Cook Islands will
  continue to face severe financial problems.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $57 million (1993 est.)

GDP real growth rate: NA%

GDP per capita: $3,000 (1993 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: NA%
  industry: NA%
  services: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 6.2% (1990)

Labor force: 5,810
  by occupation: agriculture 29%, government 27%, services 25%,
  industry 15%, other 4% (1981)

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget:
  revenues: $NA
  expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA

Industries: fruit processing, tourism

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity:
  capacity: 14,000 kW
  production: 21 million kWh
  consumption per capita: 741 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: copra, citrus, pineapples, tomatoes, bananas, yams,
  taro

Exports: $3.4 million (f.o.b., 1990)
  commodities: copra, fresh and canned fruit, clothing
  partners: NZ 80%, Japan

Imports: $50 million (c.i.f., 1990)
  commodities: foodstuffs, textiles, fuels, timber
  partners: NZ 49%, Japan, Australia, US

External debt: $160 million (1994)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $NA
  note: in 1994, Cook Islands received $5.4 million in budget support
  and $3.3 million in project aid from New Zealand, the country's
  largest source of aid

Currency: 1 New Zealand dollar (NZ$) = 100 cents

Exchange rates: New Zealand dollars (NZ$) per US$1 - 1.5138
  (January 1996), 1.5235 (1995), 1.6844 (1994), 1.8495 (1993), 1.8584
  (1992), 1.7265 (1991)

Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March



Transportation
--------------


Railways: 0 km

Highways:
  total: 187 km
  paved: 35 km
  unpaved: 152 km (1980 est.)

Ports: Avarua, Avatiu

Merchant marine:
  total: 1 cargo ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,464 GRT/2,181 DWT
  (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 7
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 1
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 3
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 3 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 4,180 (1994)

Telephone system:
  domestic: the individual islands are connected by a combination of
  satellite earth stations, microwave systems, and VHF and HF
  radiotelephone; within the islands, service is provided by small
  exchanges connected to subscribers by open wire, cable, and
  fiber-optic cable
  international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 1

Radios: 13,000 (1992 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 1 studio and 8 low-powered
  repeaters to achieve good coverage on the island of Rarotonga

Televisions: 3,500 (1995 est.)



Defense
-------


Defense note: defense is the responsibility of New Zealand



======================================================================




@Coral Sea Islands
-----------------


(territory of Australia)

Map
---


Location: 18 00 S, 152 00 E -- Oceania, islands in the Coral Sea,
  northeast of Australia



Flag
----


Description: the flag of Australia is used





Geography
---------


Location: Oceania, islands in the Coral Sea, northeast of Australia

Geographic coordinates: 18 00 S, 152 00 E

Map references: Oceania

Area:
  total area: less than 3 sq km
  land area: less than 3 sq km
  comparative area: NA
  note: includes numerous small islands and reefs scattered over a sea
  area of about 1 million sq km, with Willis Islets the most important

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 3,095 km

Maritime claims:
  exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 3 nm

International disputes: none

Climate: tropical

Terrain: sand and coral reefs and islands (or cays)
  lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
  highest point: unnamed location on Cato Island 6 m

Natural resources: negligible

Land use:
  arable land: 0%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 0%
  forest and woodland: 0%
  other: 100% (mostly grass or scrub cover)

Irrigated land: 0 sq km

Environment:
  current issues: no permanent fresh water resources
  natural hazards: occasional, tropical cyclones
  international agreements: NA

Geographic note: important nesting area for birds and turtles



People
------


Population: no indigenous inhabitants; note - there are three
  meteorologists



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Coral Sea Islands Territory
  conventional short form: Coral Sea Islands

Data code: CR

Type of government: territory of Australia administered by the
  Ministry for Environment, Sport, and Territories

Capital: none; administered from Canberra, Australia

Independence: none (territory of Australia)

Flag: the flag of Australia is used



Economy
-------


Economic overview: no economic activity



Transportation
--------------


Ports: none; offshore anchorage only



Defense
-------


Defense note: defense is the responsibility of Australia; visited
  regularly by the Royal Australian Navy; Australia has control over
  the activities of visitors



======================================================================




@Costa Rica
----------




Map
---


Location: 10 00 N, 84 00 W -- Middle America, bordering both the
  Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Nicaragua and
  Panama



Flag
----


Description: five horizontal bands of blue (top), white, red
  (double width), white, and blue, with the coat of arms in a white
  disk on the hoist side of the red band





Geography
---------


Location: Middle America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the
  North Pacific Ocean, between Nicaragua and Panama

Geographic coordinates: 10 00 N, 84 00 W

Map references: Central America and the Caribbean

Area:
  total area: 51,100 sq km
  land area: 50,660 sq km
  comparative area: slightly smaller than West Virginia
  note: includes Isla del Coco

Land boundaries:
  total: 639 km
  border countries: Nicaragua 309 km, Panama 330 km

Coastline: 1,290 km

Maritime claims:
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: none

Climate: tropical; dry season (December to April); rainy season
  (May to November)

Terrain: coastal plains separated by rugged mountains
  lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
  highest point: Cerro Chirripo 3,810 m

Natural resources: hydropower potential

Land use:
  arable land: 6%
  permanent crops: 7%
  meadows and pastures: 45%
  forest and woodland: 34%
  other: 8%

Irrigated land: 1,180 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
  current issues: deforestation, largely a result of the clearing of
  land for cattle ranching; soil erosion
  natural hazards: occasional earthquakes, hurricanes along Atlantic
  coast; frequent flooding of lowlands at onset of rainy season;
  active volcanoes
  international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
  Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test
  Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified -
  Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation



People
------


Population: 3,463,083 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 35% (male 612,624; female 582,566)
  15-64 years: 61% (male 1,061,703; female 1,038,403)
  65 years and over: 4% (male 77,773; female 90,014) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.06% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 23.84 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 4.14 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 0.92 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.86 male(s)/female
  all ages: 1.02 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 13.5 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 75.72 years
  male: 73.31 years
  female: 78.24 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.9 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Costa Rican(s)
  adjective: Costa Rican

Ethnic divisions: white (including mestizo) 96%, black 2%, Indian
  1%, Chinese 1%

Religions: Roman Catholic 95%

Languages: Spanish (official), English spoken around Puerto Limon

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)
  total population: 94.8%
  male: 94.7%
  female: 95%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Republic of Costa Rica
  conventional short form: Costa Rica
  local long form: Republica de Costa Rica
  local short form: Costa Rica

Data code: CS

Type of government: democratic republic

Capital: San Jose

Administrative divisions: 7 provinces (provincias, singular -
  provincia); Alajuela, Cartago, Guanacaste, Heredia, Limon,
  Puntarenas, San Jose

Independence: 15 September 1821 (from Spain)

National holiday: Independence Day, 15 September (1821)

Constitution: 9 November 1949

Legal system: based on Spanish civil law system; judicial review
  of legislative acts in the Supreme Court; has not accepted
  compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal and compulsory

Executive branch:
  chief of state and head of government: President Jose Maria FIGUERES
  Olsen (since 8 May 1994), First Vice President Rodrigo OREAMUNO
  Blanco (since 8 May 1994), Second Vice President Rebeca GRYNSPAN
  Mayufis (since 8 May 1994) were elected for four-year terms by
  universal suffrage; election last held 6 February 1994 (next to be
  held NA February 1998); results - President FIGUERES (PLN) 49.7%,
  Miquel Angel RODRIGUEZ (PUSC) 47.5%
  cabinet: Cabinet selected by the president

Legislative branch: unicameral
  Legislative Assembly (Asamblea Legislativa): elections last held 6
  February 1994 (next to be held NA February 1998); results - percent
  of vote by party NA; seats - (61 total) PLN 28, PUSC 29, minority
  parties 4

Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Corte Suprema), justices are
  elected for eight-year terms by the Legislative Assembly

Political parties and leaders: National Liberation Party (PLN),
  Rolando ARAYA; Social Christian Unity Party (PUSC), Rafael Angel
  CALDERON Fournier; Marxist Popular Vanguard Party (PVP), Humberto
  VARGAS Carbonell; New Republic Movement (MNR), Sergio Erick ARDON
  Ramirez; People's Party of Costa Rica (PPC), Lenin CHACON Vargas;
  Radical Democratic Party (PRD), Juan Jose ECHEVERRIA Brealey;
  Democratic Force Party (FD), Isaac Felipe AZOFEIFA Bolanos

Other political or pressure groups: Costa Rican Confederation of
  Democratic Workers (CCTD), Liberation Party affiliate; Confederated
  Union of Workers (CUT), Communist Party affiliate; Authentic
  Confederation of Democratic Workers (CATD), Communist Party
  affiliate; Chamber of Coffee Growers; National Association for
  Economic Development (ANFE); Free Costa Rica Movement (MCRL),
  rightwing militants; National Association of Educators (ANDE);
  Federation of Public Service Workers (FTSP)

International organization participation: AG (observer), BCIE,
  CACM, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA,
  IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU,
  LAES, LAIA (observer), NAM (observer), OAS, OPANAL, UN, UNCTAD,
  UNESCO, UNIDO, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Sonia PICADO
  chancery: 2114 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
  telephone: [1] (202) 234-2945
  FAX: [1] (202) 265-4795
  consulate(s) general: Albuquerque, Atlanta, Chicago, Durham,
  Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia,
  San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, and San Juan (Puerto Rico)
  consulate(s): Austin

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Peter Jon DE VOS
  embassy: Pavas Road, San Jose
  mailing address: APO AA 34020
  telephone: [506] 220-3939
  FAX: [506] 220-2305

Flag: five horizontal bands of blue (top), white, red (double
  width), white, and blue, with the coat of arms in a white disk on
  the hoist side of the red band



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Costa Rica's basically stable and progressive
  economy depends especially on tourism and the export of bananas,
  coffee, and other agricultural products. Recent trends have been
  disappointing. Economic growth slipped from 4.3% in 1994 to 2.5% in
  1995, the lowest rate of growth since 1991's 2.1%. Inflation rose
  dramatically to 22.5% from 13.5% in 1994, well above the
  government's own projection of 18%. Unemployment rose from 4.0% in
  1994 to 5.2% in 1995, and substantial underemployment continues.
  These economic woes are likely to be exacerbated in 1996 by a
  standby arrangement reached with the IMF on 29 November 1995. To
  restore fiscal balance, the government agreed to curb inflation,
  reduce the fiscal deficit, increase domestic savings, and improve
  public sector efficiency while increasing the role of the private
  sector. Costa Rica signed a free trade agreement with Mexico in 1994.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $18.4 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 2.5% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $5,400 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: NA%
  industry: NA%
  services: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 22.5% (1995 est.)

Labor force: 868,300
  by occupation: industry and commerce 35.1%, government and services
  33%, agriculture 27%, other 4.9% (1985 est.)

Unemployment rate: 5.2% (1995 est.); much underemployment

Budget:
  revenues: $1.1 billion
  expenditures: $1.34 billion, including capital expenditures of $110
  million (1991 est.)

Industries: food processing, textiles and clothing, construction
  materials, fertilizer, plastic products

Industrial production growth rate: 10.5% (1992)

Electricity:
  capacity: 1,040,000 kW
  production: 4.1 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 1,164 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: coffee, bananas, sugar, corn, rice, beans, potatoes;
  beef; timber (depletion of forest resources has resulted in
  declining timber output)

Illicit drugs: transshipment country for cocaine and heroin from
  South America; illicit production of cannabis on small, scattered
  plots

Exports: $2.4 billion (f.o.b., 1995 est.)
  commodities: coffee, bananas, textiles, sugar
  partners: US, Germany, Italy, Guatemala, El Salvador, Netherlands,
  UK, France

Imports: $3 billion (c.i.f., 1995 est.)
  commodities: raw materials, consumer goods, capital equipment,
  petroleum
  partners: US, Japan, Mexico, Guatemala, Venezuela, Germany

External debt: $4 billion (1995 est.)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $NA

Currency: 1 Costa Rican colon (C) = 100 centimos

Exchange rates: Costa Rican colones (C) per US$1 - 193.93
  (December 1995), 179.73 (1995), 157.07 (1994), 142.17 (1993), 134.51
  (1992), 122.43 (1991)

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 950 km
  narrow gauge: 950 km 1.067-m gauge (260 km electrified)
  note: the entire system was scheduled to be shut down on 31 June
  1995 because of insolvency

Highways:
  total: 35,560 km
  paved: 5,608 km
  unpaved: 29,952 km (1992 est.)

Waterways: about 730 km, seasonally navigable

Pipelines: petroleum products 176 km

Ports: Caldera, Golfito, Moin, Puerto Limon, Puerto Quepos,
  Puntarenas

Merchant marine: none

Airports:
  total: 145
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 2
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 1
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 16
  with paved runways under 914 m: 97
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 29 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 281,042 (1983 est.)

Telephone system: very good domestic telephone service
  domestic: NA
  international: connected to Central American Microwave System;
  satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 71, FM 0, shortwave 13

Radios: NA

Television broadcast stations: 18

Televisions: 340,000 (1993 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Civil Guard, Coast Guard, Air Section, Rural Assistance
  Guard; note - the Constitution prohibits armed forces

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 917,566
  males fit for military service: 616,420
  males reach military age (18) annually: 33,504 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $55 million, 2.0%
  of GDP (1995)



======================================================================




@Cote d'Ivoire
-------------


(also known as Ivory Coast)

Map
---


Location: 8 00 N, 5 00 W -- Western Africa, bordering the North
  Atlantic Ocean, between Ghana and Liberia



Flag
----


Description: three equal vertical bands of orange (hoist side),
  white, and green; similar to the flag of Ireland, which is longer
  and has the colors reversed - green (hoist side), white, and orange;
  also similar to the flag of Italy, which is green (hoist side),
  white, and red; design was based on the flag of France





Geography
---------


Location: Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean,
  between Ghana and Liberia

Geographic coordinates: 8 00 N, 5 00 W

Map references: Africa

Area:
  total area: 322,460 sq km
  land area: 318,000 sq km
  comparative area: slightly larger than New Mexico

Land boundaries:
  total: 3,110 km
  border countries: Burkina Faso 584 km, Ghana 668 km, Guinea 610 km,
  Liberia 716 km, Mali 532 km

Coastline: 515 km

Maritime claims:
  continental shelf: 200 nm
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: none

Climate: tropical along coast, semiarid in far north; three
  seasons - warm and dry (November to March), hot and dry (March to
  May), hot and wet (June to October)

Terrain: mostly flat to undulating plains; mountains in northwest
  lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
  highest point: Mont Nimba 1,752 m

Natural resources: petroleum, diamonds, manganese, iron ore,
  cobalt, bauxite, copper

Land use:
  arable land: 9%
  permanent crops: 4%
  meadows and pastures: 9%
  forest and woodland: 26%
  other: 52%

Irrigated land: 620 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
  current issues: deforestation (most of the country's forests - once
  the largest in West Africa - have been cleared by the timber
  industry); water pollution from sewage and industrial and
  agricultural effluents
  natural hazards: coast has heavy surf and no natural harbors; during
  the rainy season torrential flooding is possible
  international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
  Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine
  Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution,
  Tropical Timber 83; signed, but not ratified - Desertification



People
------


Population: 14,762,445 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 48% (male 3,552,270; female 3,462,462)
  15-64 years: 50% (male 3,828,538; female 3,599,920)
  65 years and over: 2% (male 164,358; female 154,897) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.92% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 42.48 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 15.7 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 2.43 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)
  note: since 1989, over 350,000 refugees have fled to Cote d'Ivoire
  to escape the civil war in Liberia

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 1.06 male(s)/female
  all ages: 1.04 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 82.4 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 46.73 years
  male: 46.23 years
  female: 47.25 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 6.15 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Ivorian(s)
  adjective: Ivorian

Ethnic divisions: Baoule 23%, Bete 18%, Senoufou 15%, Malinke 11%,
  Agni, foreign Africans (mostly Burkinabe and Malians, about 3
  million), non-Africans 130,000 to 330,000 (French 30,000 and
  Lebanese 100,000 to 300,000)

Religions: indigenous 25%, Muslim 60%, Christian 12%

Languages: French (official), 60 native dialects with Dioula the
  most widely spoken

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)
  total population: 40.1%
  male: 49.9%
  female: 30%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Republic of Cote d'Ivoire
  conventional short form: Cote d'Ivoire
  local long form: Republique de Cote d'Ivoire
  local short form: Cote d'Ivoire
  former: Ivory Coast

Data code: IV

Type of government: republic; multiparty presidential regime
  established 1960

Capital: Yamoussoukro
  note: although Yamoussoukro has been the capital since 1983, Abidjan
  remains the administrative center; foreign governments, including
  the US, maintain official presences in Abidjan

Administrative divisions: 50 departments (departements, singular -
  departement); Abengourou, Abidjan, Aboisso, Adzope, Agboville,
  Agnibilekrou, Bangolo, Beoumi, Biankouma, Bondoukou, Bongouanou,
  Bouafle, Bouake, Bouna, Boundiali, Dabakala, Daloa, Danane, Daoukro,
  Dimbokro, Divo, Duekoue, Ferkessedougou, Gagnoa, Grand-Lahou,
  Guiglo, Issia, Katiola, Korhogo, Lakota, Man, Mankono, Mbahiakro,
  Odienne, Oume, Sakassou, San-Pedro, Sassandra, Seguela, Sinfra,
  Soubre, Tabou, Tanda, Tingrela, Tiassale, Touba, Toumodi, Vavoua,
  Yamoussoukro, Zuenoula

Independence: 7 August 1960 (from France)

National holiday: National Day, 7 August

Constitution: 3 November 1960; has been amended numerous times,
  last time November 1990

Legal system: based on French civil law system and customary law;
  judicial review in the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court;
  has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: 21 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: President Henri Konan BEDIE (since 7 December 1993)
  served the remainder of the term of former President Felix
  HOUPHOUET-BOIGNY, who died in office after continuous service from
  November 1960; President BEDIE was elected with 96% of the vote at
  the last election on 22 October 1995 (next election October 2000);
  the president is elected for a five-year term by popular vote
  head of government: Prime Minister Daniel Kablan DUNCAN (since 10
  December 1993), appointed by the president
  cabinet: Council of Ministers, appointed by the prime minister

Legislative branch: unicameral
  National Assembly (Assemblee Nationale): elections last held 27
  November 1995 (next to be held November 2000); results - percent of
  vote by party NA; seats - (175 total) PDCI 147, RDR 14, FPI 10,
  unfilled 4; note - of the unfilled seats, elections for 3 were
  postponed because of violence in the electoral districts and 1 seat
  remains contested

Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Cour Supreme)

Political parties and leaders: Democratic Party of the Cote
  d'Ivoire (PDCI), Henri Konan BEDIE; Rally of the Republicans (RDR),
  Djeny KOBINA; Ivorian Popular Front (FPI), Laurent GBAGBO; Ivorian
  Worker's Party (PIT), Francis WODIE; Ivorian Socialist Party (PSI),
  Morifere BAMBA; over 20 smaller parties

International organization participation: ACCT, ACP, AfDB, CCC,
  ECA, ECOWAS, Entente, FAO, FZ, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC,
  ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC,
  ITU, NAM, OAU, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNITAR, UPU, WADB, WCL,
  WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Moise KOUMOUE-KOFFI
  chancery: 2424 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
  telephone: [1] (202) 797-0300

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Lannon WALKER
  embassy: 5 Rue Jesse Owens, Abidjan
  mailing address: 01 B. P. 1712, Abidjan
  telephone: [225] 21 09 79
  FAX: [225] 22 32 59

Flag: three equal vertical bands of orange (hoist side), white,
  and green; similar to the flag of Ireland, which is longer and has
  the colors reversed - green (hoist side), white, and orange; also
  similar to the flag of Italy, which is green (hoist side), white,
  and red; design was based on the flag of France



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Cote d'Ivoire is among the world's largest
  producers and exporters of coffee, cocoa beans, and palm-kernel oil.
  Consequently, the economy is highly sensitive to fluctuations in
  international prices for coffee and cocoa and to weather conditions.
  Despite attempts by the government to diversify, the economy is
  still largely dependent on agriculture and related industries. After
  several years of lagging performance, the Ivorian economy began a
  comeback in 1994, due to improved prices for cocoa and coffee,
  growth in nontraditional primary exports such as pineapples and
  rubber, trade and banking liberalization, offshore oil and gas
  discoveries, and generous external financing and debt rescheduling
  by multilateral lenders and France. The 50% devaluation of Franc
  Zone currencies on 12 January 1994 caused a one-time jump in the
  inflation rate to 32% for 1994, but this rate fell to perhaps 10% in
  1995, in part as the economy adjusted to the devaluation. Moreover,
  government adherence to donor-mandated reforms led to a budget
  surplus in 1994. Real growth of GDP in 1994 was 1.7%, a significant
  improvement following several years of negative growth. In 1995
  growth picked up to 5%.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $21.9 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 5% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $1,500 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 37%
  industry: 24%
  services: 39% (1993)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 10% (1995 est.)

Labor force: 5.718 million
  by occupation: over 85% of population engaged in agriculture,
  forestry, livestock raising; about 11% of labor force are wage
  earners, nearly half in agriculture and the remainder in government,
  industry, commerce, and professions

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget:
  revenues: $1.9 billion
  expenditures: $3.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $408
  million (1993)

Industries: foodstuffs, beverages; wood products, oil refining,
  automobile assembly, textiles, fertilizer, construction materials,
  electricity

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity:
  capacity: 1,170,000 kW
  production: 1.8 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 123 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: coffee, cocoa beans, bananas, palm kernels, corn,
  rice, manioc, sweet potatoes, sugar; cotton, rubber; timber

Illicit drugs: illicit producer of cannabis; mostly for local
  consumption; some international drug trade; transshipment point for
  Southwest and Southeast Asian heroin to Europe and occasionally to
  the US

Exports: $2.9 billion (f.o.b., 1994 est.)
  commodities: cocoa 55%, coffee 12%, tropical woods 11%, petroleum,
  cotton, bananas, pineapples, palm oil, cotton, fish
  partners: France, Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Burkina Faso, US, UK

Imports: $1.6 billion (f.o.b., 1994 est.)
  commodities: food, capital goods, consumer goods, fuel
  partners: France, Nigeria, Japan, Netherlands, US, Italy

External debt: $19 billion (1993)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $552 million (1993)

Currency: 1 Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (CFAF) = 100
  centimes

Exchange rates: CFA francs (CFAF) per US$1 - 500.56 (January
  1996), 499.15 (1995), 555.20 (1994), 283.16 (1993), 264.69 (1992),
  282.11 (1991)
  note: beginning 12 January 1994, the CFA franc was devalued to CFAF
  100 per French franc from CFAF 50 at which it had been fixed since
  1948

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 660 km (1995 est.)
  narrow gauge: 660 km 1.000-meter gauge; 25 km double track

Highways:
  total: 46,331 km
  paved: 3,579 km
  unpaved: 42,752 km (1984 est.)

Waterways: 980 km navigable rivers, canals, and numerous coastal
  lagoons

Ports: Abidjan, Aboisso, Dabou, San-Pedro

Merchant marine:
  total: 3 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 27,726 GRT/34,711 DWT
  ships by type: container 2, oil tanker 1 (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 35
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 1
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 2
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 4
  with paved runways under 914 m: 10
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 6
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 12 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 87,700 (1987 est.)

Telephone system: well-developed by African standards but
  operating well below capacity
  domestic: open-wire lines and microwave radio relay
  international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Atlantic
  Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean); 2 coaxial submarine cables

Radio broadcast stations: AM 71, FM 0, shortwave 13

Radios: NA

Television broadcast stations: 18

Televisions: 810,000 (1993 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, paramilitary Gendarmerie,
  Presidential Guard

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 3,386,638
  males fit for military service: 1,762,412
  males reach military age (18) annually: 157,712 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $140 million,
  1.4% of GDP (1993)



======================================================================




@Croatia
-------




Map
---


Location: 45 10 N, 15 30 E -- Southeastern Europe, bordering the
  Adriatic Sea, between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Slovenia



Flag
----


Description: red, white, and blue horizontal bands with Croatian
  coat of arms (red and white checkered)





Geography
---------


Location: Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea, between
  Bosnia and Herzegovina and Slovenia

Geographic coordinates: 45 10 N, 15 30 E

Map references: Europe

Area:
  total area: 56,538 sq km
  land area: 56,410 sq km
  comparative area: slightly smaller than West Virginia

Land boundaries:
  total: 2,073 km
  border countries: Bosnia and Herzegovina 932 km, Hungary 329 km,
  Serbia and Montenegro 266 km (241 km with Serbia; 25 km with
  Montenego), Slovenia 546 km

Coastline: 5,790 km (mainland 1,778 km, islands 4,012 km)

Maritime claims:
  continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation

International disputes: Eastern Slavonia, which was held by ethnic
  Serbs during the war, is currently being overseen by the UN
  Transitional Administration for Eastern Slavonia; reintegration of
  Eastern Slavonia into Croatia will occur in 1997; although Croatia
  does not recognize the "Federal Republic of Yugoslavia," both
  countries have agreed to open consular sections in each other's
  capitals; Croatia and Italy have not resolved a bilateral issue
  dating from WWII over property and ethnic minority rights; a border
  dispute with Slovenia is unresolved

Climate: Mediterranean and continental; continental climate
  predominant with hot summers and cold winters; mild winters, dry
  summers along coast

Terrain: geographically diverse; flat plains along Hungarian
  border, low mountains and highlands near Adriatic coast, coastline,
  and islands
  lowest point: Adriatic Sea 0 m
  highest point: Dinara 1,830 m

Natural resources: oil, some coal, bauxite, low-grade iron ore,
  calcium, natural asphalt, silica, mica, clays, salt

Land use:
  arable land: 32%
  permanent crops: 20%
  meadows and pastures: 18%
  forest and woodland: 15%
  other: 15%

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Environment:
  current issues: air pollution (from metallurgical plants) and
  resulting acid rain is damaging the forests; coastal pollution from
  industrial and domestic waste; widespread casualties and destruction
  of infrastructure in border areas affected by civil strife
  natural hazards: frequent and destructive earthquakes
  international agreements: party to - Air Pollution, Hazardous
  Wastes, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection,
  Ship Pollution, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Air
  Pollution-Sulphur 94, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification,
  Law of the Sea

Geographic note: controls most land routes from Western Europe to
  Aegean Sea and Turkish Straits



People
------


Population: 5,004,112 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 18% (male 453,142; female 431,118)
  15-64 years: 69% (male 1,731,200; female 1,716,824)
  65 years and over: 13% (male 252,897; female 418,931) (July 1996
  est.)

Population growth rate: 0.58% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 9.83 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 11.33 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 7.31 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.6 male(s)/female
  all ages: 0.95 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 10.2 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 72.81 years
  male: 69.13 years
  female: 76.72 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.4 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Croat(s)
  adjective: Croatian

Ethnic divisions: Croat 78%, Serb 12%, Muslim 0.9%, Hungarian
  0.5%, Slovenian 0.5%, others 8.1% (1991)

Religions: Catholic 76.5%, Orthodox 11.1%, Slavic Muslim 1.2%,
  Protestant 0.4%, others and unknown 10.8%

Languages: Serbo-Croatian 96%, other 4% (including Italian,
  Hungarian, Czechoslovak, and German)

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1991 est.)
  total population: 97%
  male: 99%
  female: 95%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Republic of Croatia
  conventional short form: Croatia
  local long form: Republika Hrvatska
  local short form: Hrvatska

Data code: HR

Type of government: parliamentary democracy

Capital: Zagreb

Administrative divisions: 21 counties (zupanijas, zupanija -
  singular): Bjelovar-Bilogora, City of Zagreb, Dubrovnik-Neretva,
  Istra, Karlovac, Koprivnica-Krizevci, Krapina-Zagorje, Lika-Senj,
  Medimurje, Osijek-Baranja, Pozega-Slavonija, Primorje-Gorski Kotar,
  Sibenik, Sisak-Moslavina, Slavonski Brod-Posavina, Split-Dalmatia,
  Varazdin, Virovitica-Podravina, Vukovar-Srijem, Zadar-Knin, Zagreb

Independence: 25 June 1991 (from Yugoslavia)

National holiday: Statehood Day, 30 May (1990)

Constitution: adopted on 22 December 1990

Legal system: based on civil law system

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal (16 years of age, if employed)

Executive branch:
  chief of state: President Franjo TUDJMAN (since 30 May 1990) was
  elected for a five-year term by universal suffrage; election last
  held 4 August 1992 (next to be held NA 1997); results - Franjo
  TUDJMAN reelected with about 56% of the vote; his opponent Dobroslav
  PARAGA received 5% of the vote
  head of government: Prime Minister Zlatko MATESA (since NA November
  1995) and Deputy Prime Ministers Mate GRANIC (since 8 September
  1992), Ivica KOSTOVIC (since 14 October 1993), Jure RADIC (since NA
  October 1994), Borislav SKEGRO (since 3 April 1993), and Ljerka
  MINTAS-HODAS (since November 1995) were appointed by the president
  cabinet: Council of Ministers was appointed by the president

Legislative branch: bicameral parliament Assembly (Sabor)
  House of Districts (Zupanije Dom): elections last held 7 and 21
  February 1993 (next to be held NA February 1997); results - percent
  of vote by party NA; seats - (68 total; 63 elected, 5 presidentially
  appointed) HDZ 37, HSLS 16, HSS 5, Istrian Democratic Assembly 3,
  SPH-SDP 1, HNS 1
  House of Representatives (Zastupnicki Dom): elections last held 29
  October 1995 (next to be held NA 1999); results - HDZ 45.23%,
  HSS/IDS/HNS/HKDU/SBHS 18.26%, HSLS 11.55%, SDP 8.93%, HSP 5.01%;
  seats - (127 total) HDZ 75, HSLS 12, HSS 10, SDP 10, IDS 4, HSP 4,
  HNS 2, SNS 2, HND 1, ASH 1, HKDU 1, SBHS 1, independents 4

Judicial branch: Supreme Court, judges appointed for eight-year
  terms by the Judicial Council of the Republic, which is elected by
  the Chamber of Representatives; Constitutional Court, judges
  appointed for eight-year terms by the Judicial Council of the
  Republic, which is elected by the Chamber of Representatives

Political parties and leaders: Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ),
  Franjo TUDJMAN, president; Croatian Democratic Independents (HND),
  Stjepan MESIC, president; Croatian Social Liberal Party (HSLS),
  Vlado GOTOVAC, president; Social Democratic Party of Croatia (SDP),
  Ivica RACAN; Croatian Party of Rights (HSP), Ante DAPIC; Croatian
  Peasants' Party (HSS), Josip PANKRETIC; Croatian People's Party
  (HNS), Radimir CACIC, president; Serbian National Party (SNS), Milan
  DJUKIC; Action of the Social Democrats of Croatia (ASH), Miko
  TRIPALO; Croatian Christian Democratic Union (HKDU), Marko VASELICA,
  president; Istrian Democratic Assembly (IDS), Ivan JACKOVIC;
  Slanvonsko-Baranja Croatian Party (SBHS)

Other political or pressure groups: NA

International organization participation: CCC, CE (guest), CEI,
  EBRD, ECE, FAO, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS,
  ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NAM
  (observer), OSCE, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO,
  WToO, WTrO (applicant)

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Miomir ZUZUL
  chancery: 2343 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
  telephone: [1] (202) 588-5899
  FAX: [1] (202) 588-8936
  consulate(s) general: New York

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Peter W. GALBRAITH
  embassy: Andrije Hebranga 2, Zagreb
  mailing address: US Embassy, Zagreb, Unit 1345, APO AE 09213-1345
  telephone: [385] (41) 455-55-00
  FAX: [385] (41) 455-85-85

Flag: red, white, and blue horizontal bands with Croatian coat of
  arms (red and white checkered)



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Before the dissolution of Yugoslavia, the
  Republic of Croatia, after Slovenia, was the most prosperous and
  industrialized area, with a per capita output perhaps one-third
  above the Yugoslav average. Croatia faces considerable economic
  problems stemming from: the legacy of longtime communist
  mismanagement of the economy; large foreign debt; damage during the
  internecine fighting to bridges, factories, power lines, buildings,
  and houses; the large refugee population, both Croatian and Bosnian;
  and the disruption of economic ties to Serbia and the other former
  Yugoslav republics, as well as within its own territory. Western aid
  and investment, especially in the tourist and oil industries, would
  help restore the economy. The government has been successful in some
  reform efforts including stabilization policies and has normalized
  relations with creditors. Yet it still is struggling with
  privatization of large state enterprises and with bank reform. The
  draft 1996 budget, which had raised concerns about inflation,
  capitalizes on the "peace dividend" to boost expenditures on the
  repair and upgrading of infrastructure.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $20.1 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 1.5% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $4,300 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 12.7%
  industry: 30.6%
  services: 56.7% (1993 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 3.7% (1995)

Labor force: 1.444 million (1995)
  by occupation: industry and mining 31.1%, agriculture 4.3%,
  government 19.1% (including education and health), other 45.5% (1993)

Unemployment rate: 18.1% (January 1996)

Budget:
  revenues: $3.86 billion
  expenditures: $3.72 billion, including capital expenditures of $320
  million (1994 est.)

Industries: chemicals and plastics, machine tools, fabricated
  metal, electronics, pig iron and rolled steel products, aluminum,
  paper, wood products, construction materials, textiles,
  shipbuilding, petroleum and petroleum refining, food and beverages

Industrial production growth rate: 0.9% (1995 est.)

Electricity:
  capacity: 3,630,000 kW
  production: 11.234 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 2,000 kWh (1993 est.)

Agriculture: wheat, corn, sugar beets, sunflower seed, alfalfa,
  clover, olives, citrus, grapes, vegetables; livestock breeding,
  dairy farming

Illicit drugs: transit point for Southwest Asian heroin to Western
  Europe

Exports: $4.3 billion (f.o.b., 1994)
  commodities: machinery and transport equipment 13.6%, miscellaneous
  manufactures 27.6%, chemicals 14.2%, food and live animals 12.2%,
  raw materials 6.1%, fuels and lubricants 9.4%, beverages and tobacco
  2.7% (1993)
  partners: Germany 22.9%, Italy 21.2%, Slovenia 18.3% (1993)

Imports: $5.2 billion (c.i.f., 1994)
  commodities: machinery and transport equipment 23.1%, fuels and
  lubricants 8.8%, food and live animals 9.0%, chemicals 14.2%,
  miscellaneous manufactured articles 16.0%, raw materials 3.5%,
  beverages and tobacco 1.4% (1993)
  partners: Germany, Italy, Slovenia, Iran

External debt: $3.15 billion (September 1995)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $NA
  note: IMF has given Croatia $192 million; World Bank has given
  Croatia $100 million

Currency: 1 Croatian kuna (HRK) = 100 paras

Exchange rates: Croatian kuna per US$1 - 5.405 (January 1996),
  5.230 (1995), 5.996 (1994), 3.577 (1993)

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 2,699 km
  standard gauge: 2,699 km 1.435-m gauge (1213 km electrified)
  note: disrupted by territorial dispute with Serbia (1994)

Highways:
  total: 27,378 km
  paved: 22,176 km (including 302 km of expressways)
  unpaved: 5,202 km (1991 est.)

Waterways: 785 km perennially navigable

Pipelines: crude oil 670 km; petroleum products 20 km; natural gas
  310 km (1992); note - under repair following territorial dispute

Ports: Dubrovnik, Omisalj, Ploce, Pula, Rijeka, Sibenik, Split,
  Zadar

Merchant marine:
  total: 39 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 203,495 GRT/252,818 DWT
  ships by type: bulk 2, cargo 23, chemical tanker 1, container 3, oil
  tanker 1, passenger 2, refrigerated cargo 1, roll-on/roll-off cargo
  2, short-sea passenger 4
  note: Croatia owns an additional 140 ships (1,000 GRT or over)
  totaling 3,368,035 DWT operating under the registries of Malta,
  Liberia, Cyprus, Panama, Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, and Saint
  Vincent and the Grenadines (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 68
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 2
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 6
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 2
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 3
  with paved runways under 914 m: 47
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 1
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 7 (1995 est.)

Heliports: 2 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 1.216 million (1993 est.)

Telephone system:
  domestic: NA
  international: no satellite earth stations

Radio broadcast stations: AM 14, FM 8, shortwave 0

Radios: 1.1 million

Television broadcast stations: 12 (repeaters 2)

Televisions: 1.52 million (1992 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Ground Forces, Naval Forces, Air and Air Defense Forces,
  Frontier Guard, Home Guard

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 1,314,718
  males fit for military service: 1,046,490
  males reach military age (19) annually: 34,914 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: 337 billion to 393 billion dinars, NA% of
  GDP (1993 est.); note - conversion of defense expenditures into US
  dollars using the current exchange rate could produce misleading
  results



======================================================================




@Cuba
----




Map
---


Location: 21 30 N, 80 00 W -- Caribbean, island between the
  Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, south of Florida



Flag
----


Description: five equal horizontal bands of blue (top and bottom)
  alternating with white; a red equilateral triangle based on the
  hoist side bears a white five-pointed star in the center





Geography
---------


Location: Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and the
  North Atlantic Ocean, south of Florida

Geographic coordinates: 21 30 N, 80 00 W

Map references: Central America and the Caribbean

Area:
  total area: 110,860 sq km
  land area: 110,860 sq km
  comparative area: slightly smaller than Pennsylvania

Land boundaries:
  total: 29 km
  border country: US Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay 29 km
  note: Guantanamo Naval Base is leased by the US and thus remains
  part of Cuba

Coastline: 3,735 km

Maritime claims:
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: US Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay is leased
  to US and only mutual agreement or US abandonment of the area can
  terminate the lease

Climate: tropical; moderated by trade winds; dry season (November
  to April); rainy season (May to October)

Terrain: mostly flat to rolling plains with rugged hills and
  mountains in the southeast
  lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
  highest point: Pico Turquino 2,005 m

Natural resources: cobalt, nickel, iron ore, copper, manganese,
  salt, timber, silica, petroleum

Land use:
  arable land: 23%
  permanent crops: 6%
  meadows and pastures: 23%
  forest and woodland: 17%
  other: 31%

Irrigated land: 8,960 sq km (1989)

Environment:
  current issues: pollution of Havana Bay; overhunting threatens
  wildlife populations; deforestation
  natural hazards: the east coast is subject to hurricanes from August
  to October (in general, the country averages about one hurricane
  every other year); droughts are common
  international agreements: party to - Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity,
  Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification,
  Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer
  Protection, Ship Pollution; signed, but not ratified -
  Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Desertification, Marine Life
  Conservation

Geographic note: largest country in Caribbean



People
------


Population: 10,951,334 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 22% (male 1,256,674; female 1,191,652)
  15-64 years: 68% (male 3,753,343; female 3,736,043)
  65 years and over: 10% (male 478,630; female 534,992) (July 1996
  est.)

Population growth rate: 0.44% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 13.37 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 7.39 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: -1.54 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.9 male(s)/female
  all ages: 1 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 9 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 75.05 years
  male: 72.71 years
  female: 77.54 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.52 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Cuban(s)
  adjective: Cuban

Ethnic divisions: mulatto 51%, white 37%, black 11%, Chinese 1%

Religions: nominally Roman Catholic 85% prior to CASTRO assuming
  power; Protestants, Jehovah's Witnesses, Jews, and Santeria are also
  represented

Languages: Spanish

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)
  total population: 95.7%
  male: 96.2%
  female: 95.3%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Republic of Cuba
  conventional short form: Cuba
  local long form: Republica de Cuba
  local short form: Cuba

Data code: CU

Type of government: Communist state

Capital: Havana

Administrative divisions: 14 provinces (provincias, singular -
  provincia) and 1 special municipality* (municipio especial);
  Camaguey, Ciego de Avila, Cienfuegos, Ciudad de La Habana, Granma,
  Guantanamo, Holguin, Isla de la Juventud*, La Habana, Las Tunas,
  Matanzas, Pinar del Rio, Sancti Spiritus, Santiago de Cuba, Villa
  Clara

Independence: 20 May 1902 (from Spain 10 December 1898;
  administered by the US from 1898 to 1902)

National holiday: Rebellion Day, 26 July (1953); Liberation Day, 1
  January (1959)

Constitution: 24 February 1976

Legal system: based on Spanish and American law, with large
  elements of Communist legal theory; does not accept compulsory ICJ
  jurisdiction

Suffrage: 16 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state and head of government: President of the Council of
  State and President of the Council of Ministers Fidel CASTRO Ruz
  (prime minister from February 1959 until 24 February 1976 when
  office was abolished; president since 2 December 1976) and First
  Vice President of the Council of State and First Vice President of
  the Council of Ministers Gen. Raul CASTRO Ruz (since 2 December
  1976) were elected by the National Assembly
  cabinet: Council of Ministers were proposed by the president of the
  Council of State, appointed by the National Assembly
  Council of State: members elected by the National Assembly

Legislative branch: unicameral
  National Assembly of People's Power (Asemblea Nacional del P:
  elections last held NA February 1993 (next to be held NA 1998);
  seats - 589 total, elected directly from slates approved by special
  candidacy commissions

Judicial branch: People's Supreme Court (Tribunal Supremo
  Popular), president, vice president, and other judges are elected by
  the National Assembly

Political parties and leaders: only party - Cuban Communist Party
  (PCC), Fidel CASTRO Ruz, first secretary

International organization participation: CCC, ECLAC, FAO, G-77,
  IAEA, ICAO, ICRM, IFAD, IFRCS, ILO, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat
  (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA (observer),
  NAM, OAS (excluded from formal participation since 1962), PCA, UN,
  UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNOMIG, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO,
  WTrO

Diplomatic representation in US: none; note - Cuba has an
  Interests Section in the Swiss Embassy, headed by Principal Officer
  Fernando REMIREZ DE ESTENOZ; address: Cuban Interests Section, Swiss
  Embassy, 2639 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009; telephone: [1]
  (202) 797-8518 through 8520

US diplomatic representation: none; note - the US does have an
  Interests Section in the Swiss Embassy, headed by Principal Officer
  Joseph G. SULLIVAN; address: USINT, Swiss Embassy, Calzada Entre L Y
  M, Vedado Seccion, Havana; telephone: 33-3551 through 3559, 33-3543
  through 3547 (operator assistance required); FAX: 33-3700;
  protecting power in Cuba is Switzerland

Flag: five equal horizontal bands of blue (top and bottom)
  alternating with white; a red equilateral triangle based on the
  hoist side bears a white five-pointed star in the center



Economy
-------


Economic overview: The state retains a primary role in the economy
  and controls practically all foreign trade. The government has
  undertaken several reforms in recent years designed to stem excess
  liquidity, raise labor incentives, and increase the availability of
  food, consumer goods, and services from depressed levels. The
  liberalized agricultural markets introduced in October 1994, where
  state and private farms are authorized to sell any above-quota
  production at unrestricted prices, have broadened legal consumption
  alternatives and reduced black market prices. The government's
  efforts to reduce subsidies to loss-making enterprises and shrink
  the money supply caused the black market exchange rate to move from
  a peak of 120 pesos to the dollar in the summer of 1994 to 25-30
  pesos to the dollar at yearend 1995. The number of self-employed
  workers licensed by the government increased more slowly in 1995,
  from 160,000 at yearend 1994 to 190,000 in July 1995 and to about
  210,000 in January 1996. Discussions continue within the leadership
  over the relative affluence of self-employed workers and the growing
  inequality of income in what has historically been a strictly
  egalitarian society. The government released new economic data in
  1995 which showed a 35% decline in GDP during 1989-1993, a drop
  precipitated by the withdrawal of massive Soviet aid and prolonged
  by Cuba's own economic inefficiencies. The decline in GDP apparently
  was halted in 1994, and government officials claim that GDP
  increased by 2.5% in 1995. Export earnings rose by 20% in 1995 to
  $1.6 billion, largely on the strength of higher world prices for key
  commodities and increased production of nickel through joint
  ventures with a Canadian firm. Higher export revenues and new
  credits from European firms and Mexico enabled Havana to increase
  its imports for the first time in six years. Imports rose 21% to
  almost $2.4 billion, or 30% of the 1989 level. Officials have
  sharply criticized provisions of legislation under consideration in
  the US Congress, which aims to curtail third-country investment in
  expropriated US properties in Cuba and deny official assistance to
  Havana.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $14.7 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 2.5% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $1,300 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 7%
  industry: 30%
  services: 63% (1994)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA%

Labor force: 4.71 million economically active population (1989);
  3,527,000 employed in state civilian sector (1989)
  by occupation: services and government 30%, industry 22%,
  agriculture 20%, commerce 11%, construction 10%, transportation and
  communications 7% (June 1990)

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget:
  revenues: $NA
  expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA

Industries: sugar, petroleum, food, tobacco, textiles, chemicals,
  paper and wood products, metals (particularly nickel), cement,
  fertilizers, consumer goods, agricultural machinery

Industrial production growth rate: 6% (1995 est.)

Electricity:
  capacity: 3,990,000 kW
  production: 12 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 1,022 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: sugarcane, tobacco, citrus, coffee, rice, potatoes
  and other tubers, beans; livestock

Exports: $1.6 billion (f.o.b., 1995 est.)
  commodities: sugar, nickel, shellfish, tobacco, medical products,
  citrus, coffee
  partners: Canada 15%, China 15%, Russia 15% (1995 est.)

Imports: $2.4 billion (c.i.f., 1995 est.)
  commodities: petroleum, food, machinery, chemicals
  partners: Spain 15%, Mexico 15%, Russia 10%, (1995 est.)

External debt: $9.1 billion (convertible currency,1995); another
  $20 billion owed to Russia (1995)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $NA

Currency: 1 Cuban peso (Cu$) = 100 centavos

Exchange rates: Cuban pesos (Cu$) per US$1 - 1.0000
  (non-convertible, official rate, linked to the US dollar)

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 4,677 km
  standard gauge: 4,677 km 1.435-m gauge (132 km electrified)
  note: a large amount of track is in private use by sugar plantations

Highways:
  total: 26,500 km
  paved: 14,575 km
  unpaved: 11,925 km (1996 est.)

Waterways: 240 km

Ports: Cienfuegos, La Habana, Manzanillo, Mariel, Matanzas,
  Nuevitas, Santiago de Cuba

Merchant marine:
  total: 41 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 220,870 GRT/310,169 DWT
  ships by type: cargo 17, chemical tanker 1, liquefied gas tanker 4,
  oil tanker 9, passenger-cargo 1, refrigerated cargo 9
  note: Cuba owns an additional 47 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling
  462,517 DWT operating under the registries of Panama, Cyprus, Malta,
  Belize, and Mauritius (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 156
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 7
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 7
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 14
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 9
  with paved runways under 914 m: 87
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 1
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 31 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 430,000 (1987 est.)

Telephone system: among the world's least developed telephone
  systems
  domestic: NA
  international: satellite earth station - 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic
  Ocean Region)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 150, FM 5, shortwave 0

Radios: 2.14 million (1993 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 58

Televisions: 2.5 million (1993 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR) includes ground forces,
  Revolutionary Navy (MGR), Air and Air Defense Force (DAAFAR),
  Territorial Troops Militia (MTT), and Youth Labor Army (EJT);
  Interior Ministry Border Guards (TGF)

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 3,053,431
  females age 15-49: 3,009,852
  males fit for military service: 1,898,644
  females fit for military service: 1,866,313
  males reach military age (17) annually: 65,182
  females reach military age (17) annually: 61,960 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $NA, roughly 4%
  of GDP (1995 est.)

Defense note: Moscow, for decades the key military supporter and
  supplier of Cuba, cut off almost all military aid by 1993



======================================================================




@Cyprus
------




Map
---


Location: 35 00 N, 33 00 E -- Middle East, island in the
  Mediterranean Sea, south of Turkey



Flag
----


Description: white with a copper-colored silhouette of the island
  (the name Cyprus is derived from the Greek word for copper) above
  two green crossed olive branches in the center of the flag; the
  branches symbolize the hope for peace and reconciliation between the
  Greek and Turkish communities





Geography
---------


Location: Middle East, island in the Mediterranean Sea, south of
  Turkey

Geographic coordinates: 35 00 N, 33 00 E

Map references: Middle East

Area:
  total area: 9,250 sq km (note - 3,355 sq km are in the Turkish area)
  land area: 9,240 sq km
  comparative area: about 0.7 times the size of Connecticut

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 648 km

Maritime claims:
  continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: 1974 hostilities divided the island into
  two de facto autonomous areas, a Greek area controlled by the
  Cypriot Government (59% of the island's land area) and a
  Turkish-Cypriot area (37% of the island), that are separated by a UN
  buffer zone (4% of the island); there are two UK sovereign base
  areas within the Greek Cypriot portion of the island

Climate: temperate, Mediterranean with hot, dry summers and cool,
  wet winters

Terrain: central plain with mountains to north and south;
  scattered but significant plains along southern coast
  lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m
  highest point: Olympus 1,952 m

Natural resources: copper, pyrites, asbestos, gypsum, timber,
  salt, marble, clay earth pigment

Land use:
  arable land: 40%
  permanent crops: 7%
  meadows and pastures: 10%
  forest and woodland: 18%
  other: 25%

Irrigated land: 350 sq km (1989)

Environment:
  current issues: water resource problems (no natural reservoir
  catchments, seasonal disparity in rainfall, and most potable
  resources concentrated in the Turkish Cypriot area); water pollution
  from sewage and industrial wastes; coastal degradation; loss of
  wildlife habitats from urbanization
  natural hazards: moderate earthquake activity
  international agreements: party to - Air Pollution, Endangered
  Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the
  Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship
  Pollution, Whaling; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate
  Change



People
------


Population: 744,609 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 25% (male 97,400; female 92,110)
  15-64 years: 64% (male 240,716; female 238,039)
  65 years and over: 11% (male 33,340; female 43,004) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.11% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 15.39 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 7.66 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 3.38 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female
  all ages: 1 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 8.4 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 76.26 years
  male: 74.11 years
  female: 78.52 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.19 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Cypriot(s)
  adjective: Cypriot

Ethnic divisions:
  total: Greek 78% (99.5% of the Greeks live in the Greek area; 0.5%
  of the Greeks live in the Turkish area), Turkish 18% (1.3% of the
  Turks live in the Greek area; 98.7% of the Turks live in the Turkish
  area), other 4% (99.2% of the other ethnic groups live in the Greek
  area; 0.8% of the other ethnic groups live in the Turkish area)

Religions: Greek Orthodox 78%, Muslim 18%, Maronite, Armenian
  Apostolic, and other 4%

Languages: Greek, Turkish, English

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1987 est.)
  total population: 94%
  male: 98%
  female: 91%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Republic of Cyprus
  conventional short form: Cyprus
  note: the Turkish area refers to itself as the "Turkish Republic" or
  the "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus" (TRNC)

Data code: CY

Type of government: republic
  note: a disaggregation of the two ethnic communities inhabiting the
  island began after the outbreak of communal strife in 1963; this
  separation was further solidified following the Turkish invasion of
  the island in July 1974, which gave the Turkish Cypriots de facto
  control in the north; Greek Cypriots control the only
  internationally recognized government; on 15 November 1983 Turkish
  Cypriot "President" Rauf DENKTASH declared independence and the
  formation of a "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus" (TRNC), which
  has been recognized only by Turkey; both sides publicly call for the
  resolution of intercommunal differences and creation of a new
  federal system of government

Capital: Nicosia
  note: the Turkish area's capital is Lefkosa (Nicosia)

Administrative divisions: 6 districts; Famagusta, Kyrenia,
  Larnaca, Limassol, Nicosia, Paphos; note - Turkish area
  administrative divisions include Kyrenia, all but a small part of
  Famagusta, and small parts of Nicosia and Larnaca

Independence: 16 August 1960 (from UK)
  note: Turkish area proclaimed self-rule on NA February 1975 from
  Republic of Cyprus

National holiday: Independence Day, 1 October
  note: Turkish area celebrates 15 November as Independence Day

Constitution: 16 August 1960; negotiations to create the basis for
  a new or revised constitution to govern the island and to better
  relations between Greek and Turkish Cypriots have been held
  intermittently; in 1975 Turkish Cypriots created their own
  constitution and governing bodies within the "Turkish Federated
  State of Cyprus," which was renamed the "Turkish Republic of
  Northern Cyprus" in 1983; a new constitution for the Turkish area
  passed by referendum on 5 May 1985

Legal system: based on common law, with civil law modifications

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state and head of government: President Glafcos CLERIDES
  (since 28 February 1993) was elected for a five-year term by
  universal suffrage; election last held 14 February 1993 (next to be
  held NA February 1998); results - Glafcos CLERIDES 50.3%, Yeoryios
  VASSILIOU 49.7%
  cabinet: Council of Ministers was appointed jointly by the president
  and vice president
  note: Rauf R. DENKTASH has been "president" of the Turkish area
  since 13 February 1975 (president is elected for a five-year term by
  universal suffrage); Hakki ATUN has been "prime minister" of the
  Turkish area since 1 January 1994; there is a Council of Ministers
  (cabinet) in the Turkish area; elections last held 15 and 22 April
  1995 (next to be held NA April 2000); results - Rauf R. DENKTASH
  62.5%, Dervis EROGLU 37.5%

Legislative branch: unicameral
  Greek area: House of Representatives (Vouli Antiprosopon): elections
  last held 19 May 1991 (next to be held May 1996); results - DISY
  35.8%, AKEL (Communist) 30.6%, DIKO 19.5%, EDEK 10.9%; others 3.2%;
  seats - (56 total) DISY 20, AKEL (Communist) 18, DIKO 11, EDEK 7
  Turkish area: Assembly of the Republic (Cumhuriyet Meclisi):
  elections last held 12 December 1993 (next to be held NA); results -
  UBP 29.9%, DP 29.2%, CTP 24.2% TKP 13.3%, others 3.4%; seats - (50
  total) UBP (conservative) 15, DP 16, CTP 13, TKP 5, UDP 1

Judicial branch: Supreme Court, judges are appointed by the
  Supreme Council of Judicature
  note: there is also a Supreme Court in the Turkish area

Political parties and leaders:
  Greek area: Progressive Party of the Working People (AKEL, Communist
  Party), Dimitrios CHRISTOFIAS; Democratic Rally (DISY), Ioannis
  MATSIS; Democratic Party (DIKO), Spyros KYPRIANOU; United Democratic
  Union of the Center (EDEK), Vassos LYSSARIDIS; Socialist Democratic
  Renewal Movement (ADISOK), Mikhalis PAPAPETROU; Liberal Party,
  Nikolaos ROLANDIS; Free Democrats, Yeoryios VASSILIOU; New Horizons,
  Nikolaos KOUTSOU, secretary general
  Turkish area: National Unity Party (UBP), Dervis EROGLU; Communal
  Liberation Party (TKP), Mustafa AKINCI; Republican Turkish Party
  (CTP), Mehmet ALI TALAT; New Cyprus Party (YKP), Alpay DURDURAN;
  Free Democratic Party (HDP), Ismet KOTAK; Nationalist Justice Party
  (MAP), Zorlu TORE; Unity and Sovereignty Party (BEP), Arif Salih
  KIRDAG; Democratic Party (DP), Serdar DENKTASH; National Birth Party
  (UDP), Enver EMIN; the HDP, MAP, and VP merged under the label
  National Struggle Unity Party (MMBP) to compete in the 12 December
  1993 legislative election

Other political or pressure groups: United Democratic Youth
  Organization (EDON, Communist controlled); Union of Cyprus Farmers
  (EKA, Communist controlled); Cyprus Farmers Union (PEK, pro-West);
  Pan-Cyprian Labor Federation (PEO, Communist controlled);
  Confederation of Cypriot Workers (SEK, pro-West); Federation of
  Turkish Cypriot Labor Unions (Turk-Sen); Confederation of
  Revolutionary Labor Unions (Dev-Is)

International organization participation: C, CCC, CE, EBRD, ECE,
  EU (applicant), FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD,
  IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarset, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO,
  ITU, NAM, OAS (observer), OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU,
  WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Andreas J. JACOVIDES
  chancery: 2211 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
  telephone: [1] (202) 462-5772
  consulate(s) general: New York
  note: Representative of the Turkish area in the US is Namik KORMAN,
  office at 1667 K Street NW, Washington, DC, telephone [1] (202)
  887-6198

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Richard A. BOUCHER
  embassy: corner of Metochiou and Ploutarchou Streets, Engomi, Nicosia
  mailing address: P. O. Box 4536, FPO AE 09836
  telephone: [357] (2) 476100
  FAX: [357] (2) 465944

Flag: white with a copper-colored silhouette of the island (the
  name Cyprus is derived from the Greek word for copper) above two
  green crossed olive branches in the center of the flag; the branches
  symbolize the hope for peace and reconciliation between the Greek
  and Turkish communities
  note: the Turkish Cypriot flag has a horizontal red stripe at the
  top and bottom between which is a red crescent and red star on a
  white field



Economy
-------


Economic overview: The Greek Cypriot economy is small and
  prosperous, but highly susceptible to external shocks. Industry
  contributes 25% to GDP and employs 26% of the labor force, while the
  service sector contributes 70% to GDP and employs 62% of the labor
  force. After surging 9.7% in 1992, economic growth slowed to 1.6% in
  1993 - its lowest level in two decades - because of the decline in
  tourist arrivals associated with the recession in Western Europe,
  Cyprus' main trading partner, and the loss in export competitiveness
  due to a sharp rise in unit labor costs. However, real GDP picked up
  in 1994 and 1995, as inflation fell from 4.7% to about 3%. Economic
  prospects appear favorable for 1996: real GDP is likely to grow
  between 3% and 4%, and inflation is likely to rise slightly to
  3.5%-4.5%. The Turkish Cypriot economy has less than one-third the
  per capita GDP of the south. Because it is recognized only by
  Turkey, it has had much difficulty arranging foreign financing, and
  foreign firms have hesitated to invest there. The economy remains
  heavily dependent on agriculture and government service, which
  together employ about half of the work force. Moreover, the small,
  vulnerable economy has suffered because the Turkish lira is legal
  tender. Economic growth sharply dropped during 1994 because of the
  severe economic crisis affecting the mainland, and inflation soared
  to 215%. To compensate for the economy's weakness, Turkey provides
  direct and indirect aid to nearly every sector; financial support
  has risen and now equals in value about one-third of Turkish Cypriot
  GDP.

GDP:
  Greek area: purchasing power parity - $7.8 billion (1995 est.)
  Turkish area: purchasing power parity - $520 million (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate:
  Greek area: 5% (1995 est.)
  Turkish area: 0.5% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita:
  Greek area: $13,000 (1995 est.)
  Turkish area: $3,900 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  Greek area - agriculture: 5.6%
  Greek area - industry: 24.9%
  Greek area - services: 69.5% (1994)
  Turkish area - agriculture: 11.4%
  Turkish area - industry: 22.9%
  Turkish area - services: 65.7% (1994)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
  Greek area: 3% (1995 est.)
  Turkish area: 215% (1994)

Labor force:
  Greek area: 294,100
  by occupation: services 61.5%, industry 26%, agriculture 12.5% (1994)
  Turkish area: 75,320
  by occupation: services 52.9%, industry 23.6%, agriculture 23.5%
  (1994)

Unemployment rate:
  Greek area: 2.7% (1994)
  Turkish area: 1.6% (1994)

Budget:
  revenues: Greek area - $2.3 billion, Turkish area - $246 million
  expenditures: Greek area - $3.4 billion, including capital
  expenditures of $500 million, Turkish area - $350 million, including
  capital expenditures of $75 million (1996 est.)

Industries: food, beverages, textiles, chemicals, metal products,
  tourism, wood products

Industrial production growth rate:
  Greek area: 3.7% (1994)
  Turkish area: 2.6% (1992)

Electricity:
  capacity: 550,000 kW
  production: 2.3 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 2,903 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: potatoes, vegetables, barley, grapes, olives, citrus,
  vegetables

Illicit drugs: transit point for heroin via air routes and
  container traffic to Europe, especially from Lebanon and Turkey,
  also some cocaine transits en route to Russia

Exports:
  Greek area: $968 million (f.o.b., 1994)
  commodities: citrus, potatoes, grapes, wine, cement, clothing and
  shoes
  partners: UK 16%, Lebanon 9%, Greece 8%, Russia 12%
  Turkish area: $59 million (f.o.b., 1994)
  commodities: citrus, potatoes, textiles
  partners: UK 48%, Turkey 22%

Imports:
  Greek area: $2.7 billion (f.o.b., 1994)
  commodities: consumer goods, petroleum and lubricants, food and feed
  grains, machinery
  partners: UK 12%, Japan 9%, Italy 10%, Germany 9%, US 8%
  Turkish area: $330 million (f.o.b., 1994)
  commodities: food, minerals, chemicals, machinery
  partners: Turkey 48%, UK 19%

External debt:
  Greek area: $1.4 billion (1994)

Economic aid:
  Greek area - recipient: ODA, $NA
  Turkish area: during 1977-93, received substantial grants and loans
  from Turkey

Currency: 1 Cypriot pound (LC) = 100 cents; 1 Turkish lira (TL) =
  100 kurus

Exchange rates: Cypriot pounds per US1$ - 0.4628 (January 1996),
  0.4522 (1995), 0.4915 (1994), 0.4970 (1993), 0.4502 (1992), 0.4633
  (1991); Turkish liras (TL) per US$1 - 60,502.1 (January 1996),
  45,845.1 (1995), 29,608.7 (1994), 10,984.6 (1993), 6,872.4 (1992),
  4,171.8 (1991)

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways: 0 km

Highways:
  Greek area - total: 10,448 km
  Greek area - paved: 5,694 km
  Greek area - unpaved: 4,754 km
  Turkish area - total: 6,116 km
  Turkish area - paved: 5,278 km
  Turkish area - unpaved: 838 km

Ports: Famagusta, Kyrenia, Larnaca, Limassol, Vasilikos Bay

Merchant marine:
  total: 1,524 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 23,949,242
  GRT/40,236,638 DWT
  ships by type: bulk 490, cargo 562, chemical tanker 27, combination
  bulk 53, combination ore/oil 22, container 115, liquefied gas tanker
  3, multifunction large-load carrier 4, oil tanker 129, passenger 6,
  passenger-cargo 1, refrigerated cargo 62, roll-on/roll-off cargo 28,
  short-sea passenger 17, specialized tanker 3, vehicle carrier 2
  note: a flag of convenience registry; includes ships from 48
  countries among which are Greece 706, Germany 171, Russia 44,
  Netherlands 31, Belgium 30, Japan 29, Cuba 21, UK 17, Spain 14, and
  Hong Kong 13 (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 15
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 8
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 3
  with paved runways under 914 m: 3
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 1 (1995 est.)

Heliports: 4 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 331,000 (1995 est.)

Telephone system: excellent in both the Greek and Turkish areas
  domestic: open wire, fiber-optic cable, and microwave radio relay
  international: tropospheric scatter; 3 coaxial and 5 fiber-optic
  submarine cables; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (1 Atlantic
  Ocean and 2 Indian Ocean), 2 Eutelsat, 2 Intersputnik, and 1 Arabsat

Radio broadcast stations:
  Greek area: AM 11, FM 8, shortwave 0
  Turkish area: AM 2, FM 6, shortwave 0

Radios:
  Greek area: 270,000 (1993 est.)
  Turkish area: 42,170 (1985 est.)

Television broadcast stations:
  Greek area: 1 (repeaters 34)
  Turkish area: 1

Televisions:
  Greek area: 107,000 (1992 est.)
  Turkish area: 75,000 (1993 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches:
  Greek area: Greek Cypriot National Guard (GCNG; includes air and
  naval elements), Greek Cypriot Police
  Turkish area: Turkish Cypriot Security Force

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 190,372
  males fit for military service: 130,880
  males reach military age (18) annually: 5,749 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $493 million,
  5.6% of GDP (1995)



======================================================================




@Czech Republic
--------------




Map
---


Location: 49 45 N, 15 30 E -- Central Europe, southeast of Germany



Flag
----


Description: two equal horizontal bands of white (top) and red
  with a blue isosceles triangle based on the hoist side (almost
  identical to the flag of the former Czechoslovakia)





Geography
---------


Location: Central Europe, southeast of Germany

Geographic coordinates: 49 45 N, 15 30 E

Map references: Europe

Area:
  total area: 78,703 sq km
  land area: 78,645 sq km
  comparative area: slightly smaller than South Carolina

Land boundaries:
  total: 1,880 km
  border countries: Austria 362 km, Germany 646 km, Poland 658 km,
  Slovakia 214 km

Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims: none (landlocked)

International disputes: Liechtenstein claims restitution for 1,600
  sq km of Czech territory confiscated from its royal family in 1918;
  Sudeten German claims for restitution of property confiscated in
  connection with their expulsion after World War II versus the Czech
  Republic claims that restitution does not precede February 1948 when
  the Communists seized power; unresolved property issues with
  Slovakia over redistribution of property of the former Czechoslovak
  federal government

Climate: temperate; cool summers; cold, cloudy, humid winters

Terrain: Bohemia in the west consists of rolling plains, hills,
  and plateaus surrounded by low mountains; Moravia in the east
  consists of very hilly country
  lowest point: Elbe River 115 m
  highest point: Snezka 1,602 m

Natural resources: hard coal, soft coal, kaolin, clay, graphite

Land use:
  arable land: NA%
  permanent crops: NA%
  meadows and pastures: NA%
  forest and woodland: NA%
  other: NA%

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Environment:
  current issues: air and water pollution in areas of northwest
  Bohemia and in northern Moravia around Ostrava present health risks;
  acid rain damaging forests
  natural hazards: NA
  international agreements: party to - Air Pollution, Air
  Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Antarctic
  Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species,
  Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban,
  Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands; signed, but not
  ratified - Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Antarctic-Environmental
  Protocol, Law of the Sea

Geographic note: landlocked; strategically located astride some of
  oldest and most significant land routes in Europe; Moravian Gate is
  a traditional military corridor between the North European Plain and
  the Danube in central Europe



People
------


Population: 10,321,120 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 18% (male 965,861; female 918,745)
  15-64 years: 68% (male 3,519,753; female 3,524,913)
  65 years and over: 14% (male 526,841; female 865,007) (July 1996
  est.)

Population growth rate: -0.03% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 10.39 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 10.89 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 0.24 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.61 male(s)/female
  all ages: 0.94 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 8.4 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 73.76 years
  male: 70.08 years
  female: 77.65 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.38 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Czech(s)
  adjective: Czech
  note: 300,000 Slovaks declared themselves Czech citizens in 1994

Ethnic divisions: Czech 94.4%, Slovak 3%, Polish 0.6%, German
  0.5%, Gypsy 0.3%, Hungarian 0.2%, other 1%

Religions: atheist 39.8%, Roman Catholic 39.2%, Protestant 4.6%,
  Orthodox 3%, other 13.4%

Languages: Czech, Slovak

Literacy: age NA and over can read and write (est.)
  total population: 99%
  male: NA%
  female: NA%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Czech Republic
  conventional short form: Czech Republic
  local long form: Ceska Republika
  local short form: Cechy

Data code: EZ

Type of government: parliamentary democracy

Capital: Prague

Administrative divisions: 8 regions (kraje, kraj - singular);
  Jihocesky, Jihomoravsky, Praha, Severocesky, Severomoravsky,
  Stredocesky, Vychodocesky, Zapadocesky

Independence: 1 January 1993 (from Czechoslovakia)

National holiday: National Liberation Day, 8 May; Founding of the
  Republic, 28 October

Constitution: ratified 16 December 1992; effective 1 January 1993

Legal system: civil law system based on Austro-Hungarian codes;
  has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction; legal code modified to
  bring it in line with Organization on Security and Cooperation in
  Europe (OSCE) obligations and to expunge Marxist-Leninist legal
  theory

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: President Vaclav HAVEL (since 26 January 1993) was
  elected for a five-year term by the Parliament; election last held
  26 January 1993 (next to be held NA January 1998); results - Vaclav
  HAVEL was elected
  head of government: Prime Minister Vaclav KLAUS (since NA June 1992)
  was appointed by the president; Deputy Prime Ministers Ivan KOCARNIK
  (since NA June 1992), Josef LUX (since NA June 1992), Jan KALVODA
  (since NA June 1992)
  cabinet: Cabinet was appointed by the president on recommendation of
  the prime minister

Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament (Parlament)
  Senate (Senate): elections to be held 15-16 November 1996 (next to
  be held NA); seats (81 total)
  Chamber of Deputies (Snemovna Poslancu): elections last held 5-6
  June 1992 (next to be held 31 May-1 June 1996); results - percent of
  vote by party NA given breakup and realignment of all parliamentary
  opposition parties since 1992; seats - (200 total) governing
  coalition (ODS 65, KDS 10, ODA 16, KDU-CSL 15), opposition (CSSD 18,
  LB 25, KSCM 10, LSU 9, LSNS 5, CMUS 9, SPR-RSC 6, independents 12)

Judicial branch: Supreme Court, chairman and deputy chairmen are
  appointed by the president; Constitutional Court, chairman and
  deputy chairmen are appointed by the president

Political parties and leaders:
  governing coalition: Civic Democratic Party (ODS), Vaclav KLAUS,
  chairman; Christian Democratic Party (KDS), Ivan PILIP, chairman;
  Civic Democratic Alliance (ODA), Jan KALVODA, chairman; Christian
  Democratic Union/Czech People's Party (KDU-CSL), Josef LUX,
  chairman; note - KDS was to merge with ODS in March 1996
  opposition: Czech Social Democrats (CSSD - left opposition), Milos
  ZEMAN, chairman; Left Bloc (LB - left opposition), Jaroslav ORTMAN,
  chairman; Communist Party (KSCM - left opposition), Miroslav
  GREBENICEK, chairman; Liberal Social Union (LSU - left opposition),
  Frantisek TRNKA, chairman, note - may not still be in existence;
  Liberal National Social Party (LSNS - center party), Vavrinec
  BODENLOS, chairman; Bohemian-Moravian Center Union (CMUS - center
  party), Jan JEGLA, chairman; Assembly for the Republic (SPR-RSC -
  right radical), Miroslav SLADEK, chairman

Other political or pressure groups: Czech-Moravian Chamber of
  Trade Unions; Civic Movement

International organization participation: Australia Group, BIS,
  CCC, CE (guest), CEI, CERN, EBRD, ECE, EU (applicant), FAO, IAEA,
  IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol,
  IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, NACC, NSG, OECD, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN,
  UN Security Council (temporary), UNCRO, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO,
  UNOMIG, UNOMIL, UNPROFOR, UPU, WEU (associate partner), WFTU, WHO,
  WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Michael ZANTOVSKY
  chancery: 3900 Spring of Freedom Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
  telephone: [1] (202) 363-6315, 6316
  FAX: [1] (202) 966-8540

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Jenonne R. WALKER
  embassy: Trziste 15, 11801 Prague 1
  mailing address: Unit 1330, APO AE 09213-1330
  telephone: [42] (2) 2451-0847
  FAX: [42] (2) 2451-1001

Flag: two equal horizontal bands of white (top) and red with a
  blue isosceles triangle based on the hoist side (almost identical to
  the flag of the former Czechoslovakia)



Economy
-------


Economic overview: The Czech Republic, which separated from
  Slovakia on 1 January 1993, emerged from recession with 2.6% growth
  in 1994 and 5% growth in 1995. Inflation in 1994-95 was cut in half;
  unemployment was kept at about 3%; the budget was balanced; and
  exports were reoriented to the EU. Prague's mass privatization
  program, including its innovative distribution of ownership shares
  to Czech citizens via "coupon vouchers," has made the most rapid
  progress in Eastern Europe. About 80% of the economy is wholly or
  partially in private hands. Because of its progress on reform, the
  Czech Republic in 1995 became the first post-Communist member of the
  OECD. Its solid economic performance also led Standard and Poor's to
  upgrade the country's sovereign credit rating to "A" and attracted
  nearly $5.3 billion in direct foreign investment to Czech industry
  between 1990 and September 1995. The Czech crown became convertible
  for current account transactions in October 1995. Czech companies
  increasingly are using the international capital market to fund
  capital investment, and foreign currency reserves totaled $13.9
  billion at the end of 1995. Prague's biggest macroeconomic concern
  now is limiting the inflationary effect of these large capital
  inflows. The Czech economy also still faces microeconomic problems.
  Prague has promised to strengthen its bankruptcy law and improve the
  transparency of stock market operations in 1996, but some changes
  probably will not take effect until some time after the
  parliamentary elections of mid-1996 and will depend largely on
  voluntary compliance. Prague forecasts a balanced budget, 5.5% GDP
  growth, 2.8% unemployment, and 8.1% inflation for 1996.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $106.2 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 5% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $10,200 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 5.8%
  industry: 40.7%
  services: 53.5%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 9.1% (1995 est.)

Labor force: 5.389 million
  by occupation: industry 37.9%, agriculture 8.1%, construction 8.8%,
  communications and other 45.2% (1990)

Unemployment rate: 2.9% (1995 est.)

Budget:
  revenues: $16.5 billion
  expenditures: $16.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA
  (1995 est.)

Industries: fuels, ferrous metallurgy, machinery and equipment,
  coal, motor vehicles, glass, armaments

Industrial production growth rate: 12.9% (January-November 1995)

Electricity:
  capacity: 14.470,000 kW
  production: 56.3 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 4,842 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: grains, potatoes, sugar beets, hops, fruit; pigs,
  cattle, poultry; forest products

Illicit drugs: transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin and
  Latin American cocaine to Western Europe

Exports: $17.4 billion (f.o.b., 1995 est.)
  commodities: manufactured goods, machinery and transport equipment,
  chemicals, fuels, minerals, metals, agricultural products
  partners: Germany 32.4%, Slovakia 16.1%, Austria 6.7%, Poland 5.3%,
  Italy 4%, Russia 3.3%, Netherlands 2.8%, France 2.6%, UK 2.2%,
  Hungary 2.1%, US 1.8%, Belgium 1.5% (January-September 1995)

Imports: $21.3 billion (f.o.b., 1995 est.)
  commodities: machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods,
  chemicals, fuels and lubricants, raw materials, agricultural products
  partners: Germany 26%, Slovakia 13.2%, Russia 9.2%, Austria 7%,
  Italy 5.6%, France 4.1%, US 3.8%, Poland 3.1%, Netherlands 2.9%, UK
  2.9%, Switzerland 2.1%, Belgium 2.0% (January-September 1995)

External debt: $14.9 billion (June 1995)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $27 million (1993)

Currency: 1 koruna (Kc) = 100 haleru

Exchange rates: koruny (Kcs) per US$1 - 26.967 (January 1996),
  26.541 (1995), 28.785 (1994), 29.153 (1993), 28.26 (1992), 29.53
  (1991), 17.95 (1990)
  note: values before 1993 reflect Czechoslovak exchange rates

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 9,413 km
  standard gauge: 9,316 km 1.435-m standard gauge (2640 km electrified)
  narrow gauge: 97 km several narrow gauges (1995)

Highways:
  total: 55,557 km (1994 est.)
  paved: NA km
  unpaved: NA km

Waterways: NA km; the Elbe (Labe) is the principal river

Pipelines: natural gas 5,400 km

Ports: Decin, Prague, Usti nad Labem

Merchant marine:
  total: 10 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 155,946 GRT/251,624 DWT
  ships by type: bulk 5, cargo 5 (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 116
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 2
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 9
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 13
  with paved runways under 914 m: 5
  with unpaved runways over 3 047 m: 1
  with unpaved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 3
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 10
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 32
  with unpaved runways under 914 m: 41 (1994 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 3,349,539 (1993 est.)

Telephone system:
  domestic: NA
  international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intersputnik (Atlantic
  and Indian Ocean Regions)

Radio broadcast stations: AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA

Radios: NA

Television broadcast stations: NA

Televisions: NA



Defense
-------


Branches: Army, Air and Air Defense Forces, Civil Defense,
  Railroad Units

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 2,724,607
  males fit for military service: 2,074,331
  males reach military age (18) annually: 88,418 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $931 million,
  2.5% of GDP (1995)



======================================================================




@Denmark
-------




Map
---


Location: 56 00 N, 10 00 E -- Northern Europe, bordering the
  Baltic Sea and the North Sea, on a peninsula north of Germany



Flag
----


Description: red with a white cross that extends to the edges of
  the flag; the vertical part of the cross is shifted to the hoist
  side, and that design element of the Dannebrog (Danish flag) was
  subsequently adopted by the other Nordic countries of Finland,
  Iceland, Norway, and Sweden





Geography
---------


Location: Northern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and the North
  Sea, on a peninsula north of Germany

Geographic coordinates: 56 00 N, 10 00 E

Map references: Europe

Area:
  total area: 43,070 sq km
  land area: 42,370 sq km
  comparative area: slightly more than twice the size of Massachusetts
  note: includes the island of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea and the rest
  of metropolitan Denmark, but excludes the Faroe Islands and Greenland

Land boundaries:
  total: 68 km
  border country: Germany 68 km

Coastline: 3,379 km

Maritime claims:
  contiguous zone: 4 nm
  continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
  exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 3 nm

International disputes: Rockall continental shelf dispute
  involving Iceland, Ireland, and the UK (Ireland and the UK have
  signed a boundary agreement in the Rockall area)

Climate: temperate; humid and overcast; mild, windy winters and
  cool summers

Terrain: low and flat to gently rolling plains
  lowest point: Lammefjord -7 m
  highest point: Ejer Bavnehoj 173 m

Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, fish, salt, limestone

Land use:
  arable land: 61%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 6%
  forest and woodland: 12%
  other: 21%

Irrigated land: 4,300 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
  current issues: air pollution, principally from vehicle emissions;
  nitrogen and phosphorus pollution of the North Sea; drinking and
  surface water becoming polluted from animal wastes
  natural hazards: flooding is a threat in some areas of the country
  (e.g., parts of Jutland, along the southern coast of the island of
  Lolland) that are protected from the sea by a system of dikes
  international agreements: party to - Air Pollution, Air
  Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Antarctic
  Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species,
  Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Marine
  Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship
  Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Wetlands, Whaling; signed, but not
  ratified - Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic
  Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Desertification, Law of
  the Sea

Geographic note: controls Danish Straits linking Baltic and North
  Seas; about one-quarter of the population lives in Copenhagen



People
------


Population: 5,249,632 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 17% (male 469,672; female 446,907)
  15-64 years: 67% (male 1,789,552; female 1,738,870)
  65 years and over: 16% (male 330,396; female 474,235) (July 1996
  est.)

Population growth rate: 0.38% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 12.24 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 10.42 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 2 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female
  all ages: 0.97 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 4.8 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 77.3 years
  male: 73.78 years
  female: 81.01 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.67 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Dane(s)
  adjective: Danish

Ethnic divisions: Scandinavian, Eskimo, Faroese, German

Religions: Evangelical Lutheran 91%, other Protestant and Roman
  Catholic 2%, other 7% (1988)

Languages: Danish, Faroese, Greenlandic (an Eskimo dialect),
  German (small minority)

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1980 est.)
  total population: 99%
  male: NA%
  female: NA%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Kingdom of Denmark
  conventional short form: Denmark
  local long form: Kongeriget Danmark
  local short form: Danmark

Data code: DA

Type of government: constitutional monarchy

Capital: Copenhagen

Administrative divisions: metropolitan Denmark - 14 counties
  (amter, singular - amt) and 1 city* (stad); Arhus, Bornholms,
  Frederiksborg, Fyns, Kobenhavns, Nordjyllands, Ribe, Ringkobing,
  Roskilde, Sonderjyllands, Staden Kobenhavn*, Storstroms, Vejle,
  Vestsjaellands, Viborg
  note: see separate entries for the Faroe Islands and Greenland,
  which are part of the Danish realm and self-governing administrative
  divisions

Independence: 10th century first organized as a unified state; in
  1849 became a constitutional monarchy

National holiday: Birthday of the Queen, 16 April (1940)

Constitution: 1849 was the original constitution; there was a
  major overhaul 5 June 1953, allowing for a unicameral legislature
  and a female chief of state

Legal system: civil law system; judicial review of legislative
  acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: Queen MARGRETHE II (since NA January 1972) is a
  constitutional monarch; Heir Apparent Crown Prince FREDERIK, elder
  son of the queen (born 26 May 1968)
  head of government: Prime Minister Poul Nyrup RASMUSSEN (since NA
  January 1993) was appointed by the queen
  cabinet: Cabinet was appointed by the queen

Legislative branch: unicameral
  Parliament (Folketing): elections last held 21 September 1994 (next
  to be held by December 1998); results - Social Democrats 34.6%,
  Liberals 23.3%, Conservatives 15.0%, Social People's Party 7.3%,
  Progress Party 6.4%, Radical Liberals 4.6%, Unity Party 3.1%, Center
  Democrats 2.8%, Christian People's Party 1.8%; seats - (179 total)
  Social Democrats 63, Liberals 44, Conservatives 28, Social People's
  Party 13, Progress Party 11, Radical Liberals 8, Unity Party 6,
  Center Democrats 5, independent 1

Judicial branch: Supreme Court, judges are appointed by the
  monarch for life

Political parties and leaders: Social Democratic Party, Poul Nyrup
  RASMUSSEN; Conservative Party, Hans ENGELL; Liberal Party, Uffe
  ELLEMANN-JENSEN; Socialist People's Party, Holger K. NIELSEN;
  Progress Party, Group Chairman Kim BEHNKE and Policy Spokesman Jan
  Kopke CHRISTENSEN; Center Democratic Party, Mimi Stilling JAKOBSEN;
  Radical Liberal Party, Marianne JELVED; Christian People's Party,
  Jann SJURSEN; Danish Workers' Party, Common Cause, Preben Moller
  HANSEN; Unity Party

International organization participation: AfDB, AG (observer),
  AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, CBSS, CCC, CE, CERN, EBRD, ECE, EIB,
  ESA, EU, FAO, G- 9, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA,
  IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM,
  ISO, ITU, MTCR, NACC, NATO, NC, NEA, NIB, NSG, OECD, OSCE, PCA, UN,
  UNCRO, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMOGIP, UNMOT, UNOMIG,
  UNPREDEP, UNPROFOR, UNTSO, UPU, WEU (observer), WFTU, WHO, WIPO,
  WMO, WTrO, ZC

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Knud-Erik TYGESEN
  chancery: 3200 Whitehaven Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
  telephone: [1] (202) 234-4300
  FAX: [1] (202) 328-1470
  consulate(s) general: Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Edward E. ELSON
  embassy: Dag Hammarskjolds Alle 24, 2100 Copenhagen
  mailing address: APO AE 09716, PSC 73
  telephone: [45] (31) 42 31 44
  FAX: [45] (35) 43 02 23

Flag: red with a white cross that extends to the edges of the
  flag; the vertical part of the cross is shifted to the hoist side,
  and that design element of the Dannebrog (Danish flag) was
  subsequently adopted by the other Nordic countries of Finland,
  Iceland, Norway, and Sweden



Economy
-------


Economic overview: This thoroughly modern economy features
  high-tech agriculture, up-to-date small-scale and corporate
  industry, extensive government welfare measures, comfortable living
  standards, and high dependence on foreign trade. Denmark is
  self-sufficient in food production. The new center-left coalition
  government will concentrate on reducing the persistently high
  unemployment rate and the budget deficit as well as following the
  previous government's policies of maintaining low inflation and a
  current account surplus. In the face of recent international market
  pressure on the Danish krone, the coalition has also vowed to
  maintain a stable currency. The coalition hopes to lower marginal
  income taxes while maintaining overall tax revenues; boost
  industrial competitiveness through labor market and tax reforms and
  increased research and development funds; and improve welfare
  services for the neediest while cutting paperwork and delays. Prime
  Minister RASMUSSEN's reforms will focus on adapting Denmark to the
  criteria for European integration by 1999; Copenhagen has won from
  the European Union (EU) the right to opt out of the European
  Monetary Union (EMU) if a national referendum rejects it. Denmark
  is, in fact, one of the few EU countries likely to fit into the EMU
  on time. Denmark is weathering the current worldwide slump better
  than many West European countries. Although unemployment is high, it
  remains stable compared to most European countries.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $112.8 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 3.1% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $21,700 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 3%
  industry: 23.5%
  services: 73.5% (1994)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.4% (1995 est.)

Labor force: 2,553,900
  by occupation: private services 37.1%, government services 30.4%,
  manufacturing and mining 20%, construction 6.3%, agriculture,
  forestry, and fishing 5.6%, electricity/gas/water 0.6% (1991)

Unemployment rate: 9.5% (1995)

Budget:
  revenues: $56.5 billion
  expenditures: $64.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA
  (1994 est.)

Industries: food processing, machinery and equipment, textiles and
  clothing, chemical products, electronics, construction, furniture,
  and other wood products, shipbuilding

Industrial production growth rate: -2.5% (1993 est.)

Electricity:
  capacity: 10,030,000 kW
  production: 32 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 5,835 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: grain, potatoes, rape, sugar beets; meat, dairy
  products; fish

Exports: $39.6 billion (f.o.b., 1994)
  commodities: meat and meat products, dairy products, transport
  equipment (shipbuilding), fish, chemicals, industrial machinery
  partners: EU 49.4% (Germany 22.4%, UK 8.2%), Sweden 10.4%, Norway
  6.5%, US 5.5%, Japan 4.1%, FSU 1.7% (1994)

Imports: $34 billion (c.i.f., 1994 est.)
  commodities: petroleum, machinery and equipment, chemicals, grain
  and foodstuffs, textiles, paper
  partners: EU 51% (Germany 22%, UK 6.5%), Sweden 11.6%, Norway 5.1%,
  US 5.2%, Japan 3.5%, FSU 1.7% (1994)

External debt: $40.9 billion (1994 est.)

Economic aid:
  donor: ODA, $1.34 billion (1993)

Currency: 1 Danish krone (DKr) = 100 oere

Exchange rates: Danish kroner (DKr) per US$1 - 5.652 (January
  1996), 5.602 (1995), 6.361 (1994), 6.484 (1993), 6.036 (1992), 6.396
  (1991)

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 2,848 km (499 km privately owned and operated)
  standard gauge: 2,848 km 1.435-m gauge (326 km electrified; 760 km
  double track) (1995)

Highways:
  total: 71,042 km
  paved: 71,042 km (including 696 km of expressways)
  unpaved: 0 km (1992 est.)

Waterways: 417 km

Pipelines: crude oil 110 km; petroleum products 578 km; natural
  gas 700 km

Ports: Alborg, Arhus, Copenhagen, Esbjerg, Fredericia, Grenaa,
  Koge, Odense, Struer

Merchant marine:
  total: 334 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 5,013,054
  GRT/7,171,871 DWT
  ships by type: bulk 13, cargo 114, chemical tanker 25, container 65,
  liquefied gas tanker 27, livestock carrier 5, oil tanker 31, railcar
  carrier 1, refrigerated cargo 17, roll-on/roll-off cargo 26,
  short-sea passenger 9, specialized tanker 1
  note: Denmark has created its own internal register, called the
  Danish International Ship register (DIS); DIS ships do not have to
  meet Danish manning regulations, and they amount to a flag of
  convenience within the Danish register (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 109
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 2
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 7
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 3
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 13
  with paved runways under 914 m: 77
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 1
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 6 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 4.005 million (1985 est.)

Telephone system: excellent telephone and telegraph services
  domestic: buried and submarine cables and microwave radio relay form
  trunk network
  international: 19 submarine coaxial cables; satellite earth stations
  - 7 Intelsat, NA Eutelsat, and 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic and Indian Ocean
  Regions); note - Denmark shares the Inmarsat earth station with the
  other Nordic countries (Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 3, FM 2, shortwave 0

Radios: NA

Television broadcast stations: 2

Televisions: 2.04 million (1992 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Royal Danish Army, Royal Danish Navy, Royal Danish Air
  Force, Home Guard

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 1,338,791
  males fit for military service: 1,150,996
  males reach military age (20) annually: 34,324 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $3.2 billion,
  1.8% of GDP (1995)



======================================================================




@Djibouti
--------




Map
---


Location: 11 30 N, 43 00 E -- Eastern Africa, bordering the Gulf
  of Aden and the Red Sea, between Eritrea and Somalia



Flag
----


Description: two equal horizontal bands of light blue (top) and
  light green with a white isosceles triangle based on the hoist side
  bearing a red five-pointed star in the center





Geography
---------


Location: Eastern Africa, bordering the Gulf of Aden and the Red
  Sea, between Eritrea and Somalia

Geographic coordinates: 11 30 N, 43 00 E

Map references: Africa

Area:
  total area: 22,000 sq km
  land area: 21,980 sq km
  comparative area: slightly larger than Massachusetts

Land boundaries:
  total: 508 km
  border countries: Eritrea 113 km, Ethiopia 337 km, Somalia 58 km

Coastline: 314 km

Maritime claims:
  contiguous zone: 24 nm
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: none

Climate: desert; torrid, dry

Terrain: coastal plain and plateau separated by central mountains
  lowest point: Asal -155 m
  highest point: Mousa Alli 2,028 m

Natural resources: geothermal areas

Land use:
  arable land: 0%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 9%
  forest and woodland: 0%
  other: 91%

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Environment:
  current issues: inadequate supplies of potable water; desertification
  natural hazards: earthquakes; droughts; occasional cyclonic
  disturbances from the Indian Ocean bring heavy rains and flash floods
  international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
  Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Ship Pollution; signed, but not
  ratified - Desertification

Geographic note: strategic location near world's busiest shipping
  lanes and close to Arabian oilfields; terminus of rail traffic into
  Ethiopia; a vast wasteland



People
------


Population: 427,642 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 43% (male 91,687; female 91,242)
  15-64 years: 55% (male 123,699; female 110,530)
  65 years and over: 2% (male 5,389; female 5,095) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.5% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 42.5 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 15.26 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: -12.28 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 1.12 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 1.06 male(s)/female
  all ages: 1.07 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 106.7 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 50.15 years
  male: 48.24 years
  female: 52.12 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 6.08 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Djiboutian(s)
  adjective: Djiboutian

Ethnic divisions: Somali 60%, Afar 35%, French, Arab, Ethiopian,
  and Italian 5%

Religions: Muslim 94%, Christian 6%

Languages: French (official), Arabic (official), Somali, Afar

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)
  total population: 46.2%
  male: 60.3%
  female: 32.7%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Republic of Djibouti
  conventional short form: Djibouti
  former: French Territory of the Afars and Issas, French Somaliland

Data code: DJ

Type of government: republic

Capital: Djibouti

Administrative divisions: 5 districts (cercles, singular -
  cercle); 'Ali Sabih, Dikhil, Djibouti, Obock, Tadjoura

Independence: 27 June 1977 (from France)

National holiday: Independence Day, 27 June (1977)

Constitution: multiparty constitution approved in referendum 4
  September 1992

Legal system: based on French civil law system, traditional
  practices, and Islamic law

Suffrage: NA years of age; universal adult

Executive branch:
  chief of state: President HASSAN GOULED Aptidon (since 24 June
  1977); election last held 7 May 1993 (next to be held NA 1999);
  results - President HASSAN GOULED reelected to a six-year term by
  universal suffrage
  head of government: Prime Minister BARKAT Gourad Hamadou (since 30
  September 1978)
  cabinet: Council of Ministers is responsible to the president

Legislative branch: unicameral
  Chamber of Deputies (Chambre des Deputes): elections last held 18
  December 1992; results - RPP (the ruling party) dominated; seats -
  (65 total) RPP 65

Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Cour Supreme)

Political parties and leaders:
  ruling party: People's Progress Assembly (RPP), Hassan GOULED Aptidon
  other parties: Democratic Renewal Party (PRD), Mohamed Jama ELABE;
  Democratic National Party (PND), ADEN Robleh Awaleh

Other political or pressure groups: Front for the Restoration of
  Unity and Democracy (FRUD) and affiliates; Movement for Unity and
  Democracy (MUD)

International organization participation: ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AFESD,
  AL, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS,
  IGADD, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC,
  ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, UN, UNAMIR, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIH, UPU,
  WFTU, WHO, WMO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador ROBLE Olhaye Oudine
  chancery: Suite 515, 1156 15th Street NW, Washington, DC 20005
  telephone: [1] (202) 331-0270
  FAX: [1] (202) 331-0302

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Martin L. CHESHES
  embassy: Plateau du Serpent, Boulevard Marechal Joffre, Djibouti
  mailing address: B. P. 185, Djibouti
  telephone: [253] 35 39 95
  FAX: [253] 35 39 40

Flag: two equal horizontal bands of light blue (top) and light
  green with a white isosceles triangle based on the hoist side
  bearing a red five-pointed star in the center



Economy
-------


Economic overview: The economy is based on service activities
  connected with the country's strategic location and status as a free
  trade zone in northeast Africa. Two-thirds of the inhabitants live
  in the capital city, the remainder being mostly nomadic herders.
  Scanty rainfall limits crop production to fruits and vegetables, and
  most food must be imported. Djibouti provides services as both a
  transit port for the region and an international transshipment and
  refueling center. It has few natural resources and little industry.
  The nation is, therefore, heavily dependent on foreign assistance
  (an important supplement to GDP) to help support its balance of
  payments and to finance development projects. An unemployment rate
  of over 30% continues to be a major problem. Per capita consumption
  dropped an estimated 35% over the last six years because of
  recession, civil war, and a high population growth rate (including
  immigrants and refugees).

GDP: purchasing power parity - $500 million (1994 est.)

GDP real growth rate: -3% (1994 est.)

GDP per capita: $1,200 (1994 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 3%
  industry: 21%
  services: 76% (1993 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 6% (1993 est.)

Labor force: 282,000
  by occupation: agriculture 75%, industry 11%, services 14% (1991
  est.)

Unemployment rate: over 30% (1994 est.)

Budget:
  revenues: $164 million
  expenditures: $201 million, including capital expenditures of $16
  million (1993 est.)

Industries: limited to a few small-scale enterprises, such as
  dairy products and mineral-water bottling

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity:
  capacity: 90,000 kW
  production: 170 million kWh
  consumption per capita: 398 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: fruits, vegetables; goats, sheep, camels

Exports: $184 million (f.o.b., 1994 est.)
  commodities: hides and skins, coffee (in transit)
  partners: Somalia 48%, Yemen 42%

Imports: $384 million (f.o.b., 1994 est.)
  commodities: foods, beverages, transport equipment, chemicals,
  petroleum products
  partners: France, UK, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, South Korea

External debt: $227 million (1993 est.)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $NA

Currency: 1 Djiboutian franc (DF) = 100 centimes

Exchange rates: Djiboutian francs (DF) per US$1 - 177.721 (fixed
  rate since 1973)

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 97 km (Djibouti segment of the Addis Ababa-Djibouti railroad)
  narrow gauge: 97 km 1.000-m gauge

Highways:
  total: 2,879 km
  paved: 363 km
  unpaved: 2,516 km (1991 est.)

Ports: Djibouti

Merchant marine:
  total: 1 cargo ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,369 GRT/3,030 DWT
  (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 11
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 1
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 1
  with paved runways under 914 m: 2
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 2
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 5 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 7,200 (1986 est.)

Telephone system: telephone facilities in the city of Djibouti are
  adequate as are the microwave radio relay connections to outlying
  areas of the country
  domestic: microwave radio relay network
  international: submarine cable to Saudi Arabia; satellite earth
  stations - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) and 1 Arabsat

Radio broadcast stations: AM 2, FM 2, shortwave 0

Radios: NA

Television broadcast stations: 1

Televisions: 17,000 (1993 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Djibouti National Army (includes Navy and Air Force),
  National Security Force (Force Nationale de Securite), National
  Police Force

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 102,528
  males fit for military service: 60,076 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $26 million, NA%
  of GDP (1989)



======================================================================




@Dominica
--------




Map
---


Location: 13 30 N, 61 20 W -- Caribbean, island between the
  Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, about one-half of the
  way from Puerto Rico to Trinidad and Tobago



Flag
----


Description: green with a centered cross of three equal bands -
  the vertical part is yellow (hoist side), black, and white - the
  horizontal part is yellow (top), black, and white; superimposed in
  the center of the cross is a red disk bearing a sisserou parrot
  encircled by 10 green five-pointed stars edged in yellow; the 10
  stars represent the 10 administrative divisions (parishes)





Geography
---------


Location: Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and the
  North Atlantic Ocean, about one-half of the way from Puerto Rico to
  Trinidad and Tobago

Geographic coordinates: 13 30 N, 61 20 W

Map references: Central America and the Caribbean

Area:
  total area: 750 sq km
  land area: 750 sq km
  comparative area: more than four times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 148 km

Maritime claims:
  contiguous zone: 24 nm
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: none

Climate: tropical; moderated by northeast trade winds; heavy
  rainfall

Terrain: rugged mountains of volcanic origin
  lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
  highest point: Morne Diablatins 1,447 m

Natural resources: timber

Land use:
  arable land: 9%
  permanent crops: 13%
  meadows and pastures: 3%
  forest and woodland: 41%
  other: 34%

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Environment:
  current issues: NA
  natural hazards: flash floods are a constant threat; destructive
  hurricanes can be expected during the late summer months
  international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
  Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection,
  Whaling



People
------


Population: 82,926 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 28% (male 11,986; female 11,521)
  15-64 years: 64% (male 27,206; female 25,841)
  65 years and over: 8% (male 2,608; female 3,764) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 0.38% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 18.38 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 5.31 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: -9.32 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.69 male(s)/female
  all ages: 1.02 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 9.6 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 77.4 years
  male: 74.55 years
  female: 80.4 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.93 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Dominican(s)
  adjective: Dominican

Ethnic divisions: black, Carib Indians

Religions: Roman Catholic 77%, Protestant 15% (Methodist 5%,
  Pentecostal 3%, Seventh-Day Adventist 3%, Baptist 2%, other 2%),
  none 2%, unknown 1%, other 5%

Languages: English (official), French patois

Literacy: age 15 and over has ever attended school (1970 est.)
  total population: 94%
  male: 94%
  female: 94%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Commonwealth of Dominica
  conventional short form: Dominica

Data code: DO

Type of government: parliamentary democracy

Capital: Roseau

Administrative divisions: 10 parishes; Saint Andrew, Saint David,
  Saint George, Saint John, Saint Joseph, Saint Luke, Saint Mark,
  Saint Patrick, Saint Paul, Saint Peter

Independence: 3 November 1978 (from UK)

National holiday: Independence Day, 3 November (1978)

Constitution: 3 November 1978

Legal system: based on English common law

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: President Crispin Anselm SORHAINDO (since 25 October
  1993) was elected for a five-year term by the House of Assembly;
  election last held 4 October 1993 (next to be held NA October 1998);
  results - percent of vote NA
  head of government: Prime Minister Edison C. JAMES (since 12 June
  1995); prime minister is appointed by the president
  cabinet: Cabinet was appointed by the president on the advice of the
  prime minister

Legislative branch: unicameral
  House of Assembly: elections last held 12 June 1995 (next to be held
  by October 2000); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (30
  total; 9 appointed senators and 21 elected representatives) UWP 11,
  DLP 5, DFP 5

Judicial branch: Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (located in Santa
  Lucia), one of the six judges must reside in Dominica and preside
  over the Court of Summary Jurisdiction

Political parties and leaders: Dominica Freedom Party (DFP), Brian
  ALLEYNE; Dominica Labor Party (DLP), Rosie DOUGLAS; United Workers
  Party (UWP), Edison JAMES

Other political or pressure groups: Dominica Liberation Movement
  (DLM), a small leftist group

International organization participation: ACCT, ACP, C, Caricom,
  CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS,
  ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, NAM (observer), OAS, OECS, OPANAL, UN,
  UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WMO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in US: Dominica does not have an embassy
  in the US
  consulate(s) general: New York

US diplomatic representation: the US does not have an embassy in
  Dominica; the Ambassador to Dominica resides in Bridgetown
  (Barbados), but travels frequently to Dominica

Flag: green with a centered cross of three equal bands - the
  vertical part is yellow (hoist side), black, and white - the
  horizontal part is yellow (top), black, and white; superimposed in
  the center of the cross is a red disk bearing a sisserou parrot
  encircled by 10 green five-pointed stars edged in yellow; the 10
  stars represent the 10 administrative divisions (parishes)



Economy
-------


Economic overview: The economy is dependent on agriculture and
  thus is highly vulnerable to climatic conditions. Agriculture
  accounts for 26% of GDP and employs 40% of the labor force.
  Development of the tourist industry remains difficult because of the
  rugged coastline and the lack of an international airport. Hurricane
  Luis devastated the country's banana crop in September 1995;
  tropical storms had wiped out one-quarter of the crop in 1994 as
  well. The newly elected government is attempting to develop an
  offshore financial industry in order to diversify the island's
  production base.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $200 million (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: -1% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $2,450 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 26%
  industry: NA%
  services: NA% (1995)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 0.4% (1995)

Labor force: 25,000
  by occupation: agriculture 40%, industry and commerce 32%, services
  28% (1984)

Unemployment rate: 15% (1992 est.)

Budget:
  revenues: $80 million
  expenditures: $95.8 million, including capital expenditures of $NA
  (FY95/96 est.)

Industries: soap, coconut oil, tourism, copra, furniture, cement
  blocks, shoes

Industrial production growth rate: -10% (1994 est.)

Electricity:
  capacity: 7,000 kW
  production: 30 million kWh
  consumption per capita: 347 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: bananas, citrus, mangoes, root crops, coconuts;
  forestry and fisheries potential not exploited

Illicit drugs: transshipment point for narcotics bound for the US
  and Europe; minor cannabis producer

Exports: $48.3 million (f.o.b., 1993)
  commodities: bananas, soap, bay oil, vegetables, grapefruit, oranges
  partners: UK 55%, Caricom countries, Italy, US

Imports: $98.8 million (f.o.b., 1993)
  commodities: manufactured goods, machinery and equipment, food,
  chemicals
  partners: US 25%, Caricom, UK, Japan, Canada

External debt: $92.8 million (1992)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $NA

Currency: 1 EC dollar (EC$) = 100 cents

Exchange rates: East Caribbean dollars (EC$) per US$1 - 2.70
  (fixed rate since 1976)

Fiscal year: 1 July - 30 June



Transportation
--------------


Railways: 0 km

Highways:
  total: 800 km
  paved: 500 km
  unpaved: 300 km

Ports: Portsmouth, Roseau

Merchant marine: none

Airports:
  total: 2
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 1
  with paved runways under 914 m: 1 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 14,613 (1993 est.)

Telephone system:
  domestic: fully automatic network
  international: microwave radio relay and SHF radiotelephone links to
  Martinique and Guadeloupe; VHF and UHF radiotelephone links to Saint
  Lucia

Radio broadcast stations: AM 3, FM 2, shortwave 0

Radios: 45,000 (1993 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 1 cable

Televisions: 5,200 (1993 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Commonwealth of Dominica Police Force (includes Special
  Service Unit, Coast Guard)

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: NA
  males fit for military service: NA

Defense expenditures: $NA, NA% of GDP



======================================================================




@Dominican Republic
------------------




Map
---


Location: 19 00 N, 70 40 W -- Caribbean, eastern two-thirds of the
  island of Hispaniola, between the Caribbean Sea and the North
  Atlantic Ocean, east of Haiti



Flag
----


Description: a centered white cross that extends to the edges,
  divides the flag into four rectangles - the top ones are blue (hoist
  side) and red, the bottom ones are red (hoist side) and blue; a
  small coat of arms is at the center of the cross





Geography
---------


Location: Caribbean, eastern two-thirds of the island of
  Hispaniola, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean,
  east of Haiti

Geographic coordinates: 19 00 N, 70 40 W

Map references: Central America and the Caribbean

Area:
  total area: 48,730 sq km
  land area: 48,380 sq km
  comparative area: slightly more than twice the size of New Hampshire

Land boundaries:
  total: 275 km
  border country: Haiti 275 km

Coastline: 1,288 km

Maritime claims:
  contiguous zone: 24 nm
  continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 6 nm

International disputes: none

Climate: tropical maritime; little seasonal temperature variation;
  seasonal variation in rainfall

Terrain: rugged highlands and mountains with fertile valleys
  interspersed
  lowest point: Lago Enriquillo -46 m
  highest point: Pico Duarte 3,175 m

Natural resources: nickel, bauxite, gold, silver

Land use:
  arable land: 23%
  permanent crops: 7%
  meadows and pastures: 43%
  forest and woodland: 13%
  other: 14%

Irrigated land: 2,250 sq km (1989)

Environment:
  current issues: water shortages; soil eroding into the sea damages
  coral reefs; deforestation
  natural hazards: occasional hurricanes (July to October)
  international agreements: party to - Endangered Species, Marine
  Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer
  Protection; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
  Law of the Sea

Geographic note: shares island of Hispaniola with Haiti (eastern
  two-thirds is the Dominican Republic, western one-third is Haiti)



People
------


Population: 8,088,881 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 34% (male 1,401,322; female 1,355,530)
  15-64 years: 62% (male 2,541,356; female 2,460,509)
  65 years and over: 4% (male 156,238; female 173,926) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.73% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 23.51 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 5.66 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: -0.53 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.9 male(s)/female
  all ages: 1.03 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 47.7 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 69.06 years
  male: 66.89 years
  female: 71.34 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.66 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Dominican(s)
  adjective: Dominican

Ethnic divisions: white 16%, black 11%, mixed 73%

Religions: Roman Catholic 95%

Languages: Spanish

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)
  total population: 82.1%
  male: 82%
  female: 82.2%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Dominican Republic
  conventional short form: none
  local long form: Republica Dominicana
  local short form: none

Data code: DR

Type of government: republic

Capital: Santo Domingo

Administrative divisions: 29 provinces (provincias, singular -
  provincia) and 1 district* (distrito); Azua, Baoruco, Barahona,
  Dajabon, Distrito Nacional*, Duarte, Elias Pina, El Seibo,
  Espaillat, Hato Mayor, Independencia, La Altagracia, La Romana, La
  Vega, Maria Trinidad Sanchez, Monsenor Nouel, Monte Cristi, Monte
  Plata, Pedernales, Peravia, Puerto Plata, Salcedo, Samana, Sanchez
  Ramirez, San Cristobal, San Juan, San Pedro de Macoris, Santiago,
  Santiago Rodriguez, Valverde

Independence: 27 February 1844 (from Haiti)

National holiday: Independence Day, 27 February (1844)

Constitution: 28 November 1966

Legal system: based on French civil codes

Suffrage: 18 years of age, universal and compulsory; married
  persons regardless of age
  note: members of the armed forces and police cannot vote

Executive branch:
  chief of state and head of government: President Joaquin BALAGUER
  Ricardo (since 16 August 1986, sixth elected term began 16 August
  1994); Vice President Jacinto PEYNADO Garrigoza (since 16 August
  1994); president is elected for a four-year term by direct vote;
  election last held 16 May 1994 (next to be held 16 May 1996);
  results - Joaquin BALAGUER (PRSC) 42.6%, Juan BOSCH Gavino (PLD)
  13.2%, Jose Francisco PENA Gomez (PRD) 41.9%, Jacobo MAJLUTA (PRI)
  2.3%
  cabinet: Cabinet was nominated by the president

Legislative branch: bicameral National Congress (Congreso Nacional)
  Senate (Senado): elections last held 16 May 1994 (next to be held NA
  May 1998); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (30 total)
  PRSC 15, PLD 1, PRD 14
  Chamber of Deputies (Camara de Diputados): elections last held 16
  May 1994 (next to be held NA May 1998); results - percent of vote by
  party NA; seats - (120 total) PLD 13, PRSC 50, PRD 57

Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Corte Suprema), judges are elected
  by the Senate

Political parties and leaders:
  major parties: Social Christian Reformist Party (PRSC), Joaquin
  BALAGUER Ricardo; Dominican Liberation Party (PLD), Lidio CADET;
  Dominican Revolutionary Party (PRD), Jose Franciso PENA Gomez;
  Independent Revolutionary Party (PRI), Jacobo MAJLUTA
  minor parties: National Veterans and Civilian Party (PNVC), Juan
  Rene BEAUCHAMPS Javier; Liberal Party of the Dominican Republic
  (PLRD), Andres Van Der HORST; Democratic Quisqueyan Party (PQD),
  Elias WESSIN Chavez; National Progressive Force (FNP), Marino
  VINICIO Castillo; Popular Christian Party (PPC), Rogelio DELGADO
  Bogaert; Dominican Communist Party (PCD), Narciso ISA Conde;
  Dominican Workers' Party (PTD), Ivan RODRIGUEZ; Anti-Imperialist
  Patriotic Union (UPA), Ignacio RODRIGUEZ Chiappini; Alliance for
  Democracy Party (APD), Maximilano Rabelais PUIG Miller, Nelsida
  MARMOLEJOS, Vicente BENGOA; Democratic Union (UD), Fernando ALVAREZ
  Bogaert
  note: in 1983 several leftist parties, including the PCD, joined to
  form the Dominican Leftist Front (FID); however, they still retain
  individual party structures

Other political or pressure groups: Collective of Popular
  Organizations (COP)

International organization participation: ACP, Caricom (observer),
  ECLAC, FAO, G-11, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA,
  IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU,
  LAES, LAIA (observer), NAM (guest), OAS, OPANAL, PCA, UN, UNCTAD,
  UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Jose del Carmen ARIZA Gomez
  chancery: 1715 22nd Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
  telephone: [1] (202) 332-6280
  FAX: [1] (202) 265-8057
  consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Mayaguez (Puerto
  Rico), Miami, New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco,
  and San Juan (Puerto Rico)
  consulate(s): Charlotte Amalie (Virgin Islands), Detroit, Houston,
  Jacksonville, Mobile, and Ponce (Puerto Rico)

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Donna Jean HRINAK
  embassy: corner of Calle Cesar Nicolas Penson and Calle Leopoldo
  Navarro, Santo Domingo
  mailing address: Unit 5500, APO AA 34041
  telephone: [1] (809) 221-2171, 221-8100
  FAX: [1] (809) 686-7437

Flag: a centered white cross that extends to the edges, divides
  the flag into four rectangles - the top ones are blue (hoist side)
  and red, the bottom ones are red (hoist side) and blue; a small coat
  of arms is at the center of the cross



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Economic reforms launched in late 1994
  contributed to exchange rate stabilization, reduced inflation, and
  relatively strong GDP growth in 1995. Output growth was concentrated
  in the tourism and free trade zone (ftz) sectors while sugar and
  non-ftz manufacturing declined last year. Drought in early 1995 hurt
  agricultural production but favorable world prices for export
  commodities helped mitigate the impact. Sugar refining was
  devastated by a disastrous harvest resulting from the drought and
  ongoing problems at the state-owned sugar company. Unreliable
  electric supplies continue to hamper expansion in manufacturing;
  small and medium-sized retail firms also suffer due to the dismal
  power situation. A presidential election scheduled for May 1996
  could lead to increased government spending before and in the
  immediate aftermath of the vote, raising the potential for rising
  inflation and increased pressure on the Dominican peso.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $26.8 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 3.5% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $3,400 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 13%
  industry: 32%
  services: 55% (1995)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 9.5% (1995)

Labor force: 2.3 million to 2.6 million
  by occupation: agriculture 50%, services and government 32%,
  industry 18% (1991 est.)

Unemployment rate: 30% (1995 est.)

Budget:
  revenues: $1.8 billion
  expenditures: $2.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA
  (1994 est.)

Industries: tourism, sugar processing, ferronickel and gold
  mining, textiles, cement, tobacco

Industrial production growth rate: 6.3% (1995 est.)

Electricity:
  capacity: 1,450,000 kW
  production: 5.4 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 651 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: sugarcane, coffee, cotton, cocoa, tobacco, rice,
  beans, potatoes, corn, bananas; cattle, pigs, dairy products, meat,
  eggs

Illicit drugs: transshipment point for South American drugs
  destined for the US and Europe

Exports: $837.7 million (f.o.b., 1995)
  commodities: ferronickel, sugar, gold, coffee, cocoa
  partners: US 47.5%, EC 22%, Puerto Rico 8.4%, Asia 6.7% (1994)

Imports: $2.867 billion (f.o.b., 1995)
  commodities: foodstuffs, petroleum, cotton and fabrics, chemicals
  and pharmaceuticals
  partners: US 60% (1993)

External debt: $4.6 billion (1994)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $21 million (1993)

Currency: 1 Dominican peso (RD$) = 100 centavos

Exchange rates: Dominican pesos (RD$) per US$1 - 13.589 (December
  1995), 13.617 (1995), 13.160 (1994), 12.676 (1993), 12.774 (1992),
  12.692 (1991)

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 757 km
  standard gauge: 375 km 1.435-m gauge (Central Romana Railroad)
  narrow gauge: 142 km 0.762-m gauge (Dominica Government Railway);
  240 km operated by sugar companies in various gauges (0.558-m,
  0.762-m, 1.067-m gauges) (1995)

Highways:
  total: 11,931 km
  paved: 5,766 km
  unpaved: 6,165 km (1987 est.)

Pipelines: crude oil 96 km; petroleum products 8 km

Ports: Barahona, La Romana, Puerto Plata, San Pedro de Macoris,
  Santo Domingo

Merchant marine:
  total: 1 cargo ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,587 GRT/1,165 DWT
  (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 31
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 2
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 6
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 3
  with paved runways under 914 m: 14
  with unpaved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 1
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 1
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 4 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 190,000 (1987 est.)

Telephone system:
  domestic: relatively efficient system based on islandwide microwave
  radio relay network
  international: 1 coaxial submarine cable; satellite earth station -
  1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 120, FM 0, shortwave 6

Radios: NA

Television broadcast stations: 18 (1987 est.)

Televisions: 728,000 (1993 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, National Police

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 2,212,012
  males fit for military service: 1,391,472
  males reach military age (18) annually: 83,611 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $116 million,
  1.4% of GDP (1994)



======================================================================




@Ecuador
-------




Map
---


Location: 2 00 S, 77 30 W -- Western South America, bordering the
  Pacific Ocean at the Equator, between Colombia and Peru



Flag
----


Description: three horizontal bands of yellow (top, double width),
  blue, and red with the coat of arms superimposed at the center of
  the flag; similar to the flag of Colombia that is shorter and does
  not bear a coat of arms





Geography
---------


Location: Western South America, bordering the Pacific Ocean at
  the Equator, between Colombia and Peru

Geographic coordinates: 2 00 S, 77 30 W

Map references: South America

Area:
  total area: 283,560 sq km
  land area: 276,840 sq km
  comparative area: slightly smaller than Nevada
  note: includes Galapagos Islands

Land boundaries:
  total: 2,010 km
  border countries: Colombia 590 km, Peru 1,420 km

Coastline: 2,237 km

Maritime claims:
  continental shelf: claims continental shelf between mainland and
  Galapagos Islands
  territorial sea: 200 nm

International disputes: three sections of the boundary with Peru
  are in dispute

Climate: tropical along coast becoming cooler inland

Terrain: coastal plain (costa), inter-Andean central highlands
  (sierra), and flat to rolling eastern jungle (oriente)
  lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
  highest point: Chimborazo 6,267 m

Natural resources: petroleum, fish, timber

Land use:
  arable land: 6%
  permanent crops: 3%
  meadows and pastures: 17%
  forest and woodland: 51%
  other: 23%

Irrigated land: 5,500 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
  current issues: deforestation; soil erosion; desertification; water
  pollution
  natural hazards: frequent earthquakes, landslides, volcanic
  activity; periodic droughts
  international agreements: party to - Antarctic-Environmental
  Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change,
  Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test
  Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83,
  Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling

Geographic note: Cotopaxi in Andes is highest active volcano in
  world



People
------


Population: 11,466,291 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 35% (male 2,062,468; female 1,996,679)
  15-64 years: 60% (male 3,403,197; female 3,489,728)
  65 years and over: 5% (male 241,217; female 273,002) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.96% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 25.06 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 5.5 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.88 male(s)/female
  all ages: 0.99 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 34.8 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 71.09 years
  male: 68.49 years
  female: 73.82 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.89 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Ecuadorian(s)
  adjective: Ecuadorian

Ethnic divisions: mestizo (mixed Indian and Spanish) 55%, Indian
  25%, Spanish 10%, black 10%

Religions: Roman Catholic 95%

Languages: Spanish (official), Indian languages (especially
  Quechua)

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)
  total population: 90.1%
  male: 92%
  female: 88.2%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Republic of Ecuador
  conventional short form: Ecuador
  local long form: Republica del Ecuador
  local short form: Ecuador

Data code: EC

Type of government: republic

Capital: Quito

Administrative divisions: 21 provinces (provincias, singular -
  provincia); Azuay, Bolivar, Canar, Carchi, Chimborazo, Cotopaxi, El
  Oro, Esmeraldas, Galapagos, Guayas, Imbabura, Loja, Los Rios,
  Manabi, Morona-Santiago, Napo, Pastaza, Pichincha, Sucumbios,
  Tungurahua, Zamora-Chinchipe

Independence: 24 May 1822 (from Spain)

National holiday: Independence Day, 10 August (1809) (independence
  of Quito)

Constitution: 10 August 1979

Legal system: based on civil law system; has not accepted
  compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal, compulsory for literate
  persons ages 18-65, optional for other eligible voters

Executive branch:
  chief of state and head of government: President Sixto DURAN-BALLEN
  Cordovez (since 10 August 1992); Vice President Eduardo PENA Trivino
  (since 18 October 1995); president and vice president were elected
  for four-year terms by universal suffrage; runoff election held 5
  July 1992; results - Sixto DURAN-BALLEN elected as president (next
  election was held 19 May 1996; no presidential candidate received
  more than 50% of the vote; a runoff election between BUCARAM and
  NEBOT will be held on 7 July 1996); note - former Vice President
  DAHIK resigned 11 October 1995 and left the country to escape arrest
  on corruption charges; National Congress chose PENA as his successor
  in accordance with the constitution
  cabinet: Cabinet was appointed by the president

Legislative branch: unicameral
  National Congress (Congreso Nacional): elections last held 19 May
  1996; results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (82 total) PSC
  27, PRE 21, DP 10, Pachakutik Movement 7, ID 5, PLRE 3, MPD 2, APRE
  2, CFP 1, independent and other 4

Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Corte Suprema), judges are elected
  by the Chamber of Representatives

Political parties and leaders:
  Center-Right parties: Republican Unity Party (PUR); Social Christian
  Party (PSC), Jaime NEBOT Saadi, president; Ecuadorian Conservative
  Party (PCE), President Sixto DURAN-BALLEN (two parties merged in
  1995)
  Center-Left parties: Democratic Left (ID), Andres VALLEJO Arcos,
  Rodrigo BORJA Cevallos, leaders; Popular Democracy (DP), Rodrigo
  PAZ, leader; Ecuadorian Radical Liberal Party (PLRE), Medardo MORA,
  leader; Radical Alfarista Front (FRA), Jaime ASPIAZU Seminario,
  director
  Populist parties: Roldosist Party (PRE), Abdala BUCARAM Ortiz,
  director; Concentration of Popular Forces (CFP), Rodolfo BAQUERIZO
  Nazur, leader; Popular Revolutionary Action (APRE), Frank VARGAS
  Passos, leader
  Far-Left parties: Popular Democratic Movement (MPD), Juan Jose
  CASTELLO, leader; Ecuadorian Socialist Party (PSE), Leon ROLDOS,
  leader; Broad Leftist Front (FADI), Rene Mauge MOSQUERA, chairman;
  Ecuadorian National Liberation (LN), Alfredo CASTILLO, director
  Communists: Communist Party of Ecuador (PCE, pro-North Korea), Rene
  Mauge MOSQUERA, Secretary General; Communist Party of
  Ecuador/Marxist-Leninist (PCMLE, Maoist)

International organization participation: AG, ECLAC, FAO, G-11,
  G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC,
  IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, LAES, LAIA,
  NAM, OAS, OPANAL, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL,
  WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (applicant)

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Edgar TERAN Teran
  chancery: 2535 15th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009
  telephone: [1] (202) 234-7200
  consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New
  Orleans, New York, and San Francisco
  consulate(s): Newark

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Peter F. ROMERO
  embassy: Avenida 12 de Octubre y Avenida Patria, Quito
  mailing address: APO AA 34039
  telephone: [593] (2) 562-890
  FAX: [593] (2) 502-052
  consulate(s) general: Guayaquil

Flag: three horizontal bands of yellow (top, double width), blue,
  and red with the coat of arms superimposed at the center of the
  flag; similar to the flag of Colombia that is shorter and does not
  bear a coat of arms



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Ecuador has substantial oil resources and rich
  agricultural areas. Growth has been uneven in recent years because
  of fluctuations in prices for Ecuador's primary exports - oil and
  bananas - as well as because of government policies designed to curb
  inflation. President Sixto DURAN-BALLEN launched a series of
  macroeconomic reforms when he came into office in August 1992, which
  included raising domestic fuel prices and utility rates, eliminating
  most subsidies, and bringing the government budget into balance.
  These measures helped to reduce inflation from 55% in 1992 to 25% in
  1995. DURAN-BALLEN has a much more favorable attitude toward foreign
  investment than his predecessor and has supported several laws
  designed to encourage foreign investment. Ecuador has implemented
  free or complementary trade agreements with Bolivia, Chile,
  Colombia, Peru, and Venezuela, as well as joined the World Trade
  Organization. Growth slowed to 2.3% in 1995 due in part to high
  domestic interest rates and shortages of electric power.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $44.6 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 2.3% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $4,100 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 13%
  industry: 39%
  services: 48% (1992 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 25% (1995)

Labor force: 2.8 million
  by occupation: agriculture 35%, manufacturing 21%, commerce 16%,
  services and other activities 28% (1982)

Unemployment rate: 7.1% (1994)

Budget:
  revenues: $3.3 billion
  expenditures: $3.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA
  (1996 est.)

Industries: petroleum, food processing, textiles, metal work,
  paper products, wood products, chemicals, plastics, fishing, lumber

Industrial production growth rate: 6.4% (1993)

Electricity:
  capacity: 2,230,000 kW
  production: 6.9 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 612 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: bananas, coffee, cocoa, rice, potatoes, manioc,
  plantains, sugarcane; cattle, sheep, pigs, beef, pork, dairy
  products; balsa wood; fish, shrimp

Illicit drugs: significant transit country for derivatives of coca
  originating in Colombia, Bolivia, and Peru; minor illicit producer
  of coca; importer of precursor chemicals used in production of
  illicit narcotics; important money-laundering hub

Exports: $4 billion (f.o.b., 1994)
  commodities: petroleum 39%, bananas 17%, shrimp 16%, cocoa 3%,
  coffee 6%
  partners: US 42%, Latin America 29%, Caribbean, EU countries 17%

Imports: $3.7 billion (c.i.f., 1994)
  commodities: transport equipment, consumer goods, vehicles,
  machinery, chemicals
  partners: US 28%, EU 17%, Latin America 31%, Caribbean, Japan

External debt: $12.6 billion (1995 est.)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $153 million (1993)
  note: received $12.7 million from the US and $160 million from other
  countries in 1995

Currency: 1 sucre (S/) = 100 centavos

Exchange rates: sucres (S/) per US$1 - 2914.8 (31 December 1995),
  2,564.5 (1995), 2,196.7 (1994), 1,919.1 (1993), 1,534.0 (1992),
  1,046.25 (1991)

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 965 km (single track)
  narrow gauge: 965 km 1.067-m gauge

Highways:
  total: 43,709 km
  paved: 5,245 km
  unpaved: 38,464 km (1991 est.)

Waterways: 1,500 km

Pipelines: crude oil 800 km; petroleum products 1,358 km

Ports: Esmeraldas, Guayaquil, La Libertad, Manta, Puerto Bolivar,
  San Lorenzo

Merchant marine:
  total: 19 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 114,701 GRT/171,240 DWT
  ships by type: container 2, liquefied gas tanker 1, oil tanker 12,
  passenger 3, refrigerated cargo 1 (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 188
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 2
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 7
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 8
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 13
  with paved runways under 914 m: 121
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 5
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 32 (1995 est.)

Heliports: 1 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 586,300 (1994 est.)

Telephone system:
  domestic: facilities generally inadequate and unreliable
  international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 272, FM 0, shortwave 39

Radios: NA

Television broadcast stations: 33

Televisions: 940,000 (1992 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Army (Ejercito Ecuatoriano), Navy (Armada Ecuatoriana,
  includes Marines), Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Ecuatoriana), National
  Police

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 2,968,361
  males fit for military service: 2,006,509
  males reach military age (20) annually: 121,241 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $386 million,
  2.1% of GDP (1995)



======================================================================




@Egypt
-----




Map
---


Location: 27 00 N, 30 00 E -- Northern Africa, bordering the
  Mediterranean Sea, between Libya and the Gaza Strip



Flag
----


Description: three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and
  black with the national emblem (a shield superimposed on a golden
  eagle facing the hoist side above a scroll bearing the name of the
  country in Arabic) centered in the white band; similar to the flag
  of Yemen, which has a plain white band; also similar to the flag of
  Syria that has two green stars and to the flag of Iraq, which has
  three green stars (plus an Arabic inscription) in a horizontal line
  centered in the white band





Geography
---------


Location: Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea,
  between Libya and the Gaza Strip

Geographic coordinates: 27 00 N, 30 00 E

Map references: Africa

Area:
  total area: 1,001,450 sq km
  land area: 995,450 sq km
  comparative area: slightly more than three times the size of New
  Mexico

Land boundaries:
  total: 2,689 km
  border countries: Gaza Strip 11 km, Israel 255 km, Libya 1,150 km,
  Sudan 1,273 km

Coastline: 2,450 km

Maritime claims:
  contiguous zone: 24 nm
  continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: administrative boundary with Sudan does
  not coincide with international boundary creating the "Hala'ib
  Triangle," a barren area of 20,580 sq km, tensions over this
  disputed area began to escalate in 1992 and remain high

Climate: desert; hot, dry summers with moderate winters

Terrain: vast desert plateau interrupted by Nile valley and delta
  lowest point: Qattara Depression -133 m
  highest point: Mount Catherine 2,629 m

Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, phosphates,
  manganese, limestone, gypsum, talc, asbestos, lead, zinc

Land use:
  arable land: 3%
  permanent crops: 2%
  meadows and pastures: 0%
  forest and woodland: 0%
  other: 95%

Irrigated land: 25,850 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
  current issues: agricultural land being lost to urbanization and
  windblown sands; increasing soil salinization below Aswan High Dam;
  desertification; oil pollution threatening coral reefs, beaches, and
  marine habitats; other water pollution from agricultural pesticides,
  raw sewage, and industrial effluents; very limited natural fresh
  water resources away from the Nile which is the only perennial water
  source; rapid growth in population overstraining natural resources
  natural hazards: periodic droughts; frequent earthquakes, flash
  floods, landslides, volcanic activity; hot, driving windstorm called
  khamsin occurs in spring; dust storms, sandstorms
  international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
  Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification,
  Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban,
  Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83,
  Wetlands, Whaling; signed, but not ratified - Tropical Timber 94

Geographic note: controls Sinai Peninsula, only land bridge
  between Africa and remainder of Eastern Hemisphere; controls Suez
  Canal, shortest sea link between Indian Ocean and Mediterranean Sea;
  size, and juxtaposition to Israel, establish its major role in
  Middle Eastern geopolitics



People
------


Population: 63,575,107 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 37% (male 11,970,197; female 11,462,689)
  15-64 years: 60% (male 19,127,696; female 18,738,304)
  65 years and over: 3% (male 1,028,916; female 1,247,305) (July 1996
  est.)

Population growth rate: 1.91% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 28.18 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 8.7 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: -0.35 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.82 male(s)/female
  all ages: 1.02 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 72.8 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 61.43 years
  male: 59.51 years
  female: 63.46 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 3.58 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Egyptian(s)
  adjective: Egyptian

Ethnic divisions: Eastern Hamitic stock (Egyptians, Bedouins, and
  Berbers) 99%, Greek, Nubian, Armenian, other European (primarily
  Italian and French) 1%

Religions: Muslim (mostly Sunni) 94% (official estimate), Coptic
  Christian and other 6% (official estimate)

Languages: Arabic (official), English and French widely understood
  by educated classes

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)
  total population: 51.4%
  male: 63.6%
  female: 38.8%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Arab Republic of Egypt
  conventional short form: Egypt
  local long form: Jumhuriyat Misr al-Arabiyah
  local short form: none
  former: United Arab Republic (with Syria)

Data code: EG

Type of government: republic

Capital: Cairo

Administrative divisions: 26 governorates (muhafazat, singular -
  muhafazah); Ad Daqahliyah, Al Bahr al Ahmar, Al Buhayrah, Al Fayyum,
  Al Gharbiyah, Al Iskandariyah, Al Isma'iliyah, Al Jizah, Al
  Minufiyah, Al Minya, Al Qahirah, Al Qalyubiyah, Al Wadi al Jadid,
  Ash Sharqiyah, As Suways, Aswan, Asyut, Bani Suwayf, Bur Sa'id,
  Dumyat, Janub Sina, Kafr ash Shaykh, Matruh, Qina, Shamal Sina, Suhaj

Independence: 28 February 1922 (from UK)

National holiday: Anniversary of the Revolution, 23 July (1952)

Constitution: 11 September 1971

Legal system: based on English common law, Islamic law, and
  Napoleonic codes; judicial review by Supreme Court and Council of
  State (oversees validity of administrative decisions); accepts
  compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal and compulsory

Executive branch:
  chief of state: President Mohammed Hosni MUBARAK (sworn in as
  president 14 October 1981, eight days after the assassination of
  President SADAT); national referendum held 4 October 1993 validated
  MUBARAK's nomination by the People's Assembly to a third six-year
  presidential term; note - the president is nominated by the People's
  Assembly and that nomination must then be validated by a national,
  popular referendum
  head of government: Prime Minister Kamal Ahmed al-GANZOURI (since 4
  January 1996) was appointed by the president
  cabinet: Cabinet was appointed by the president

Legislative branch: bicameral
  People's Assembly (Majlis al-Cha'b): elections last held 29 November
  1995 (next to be held NA 2000); results - NDP 72%, idependents 25%,
  opposition 3%; seats - (454 total, 444 elected, 10 appointed by the
  president) NDP 317, independents 114, NWP 6, NPUG 5, Nasserist Arab
  Democratic Party 1, Liberals 1
  Advisory Council (Majlis al-Shura): functions only in a consultative
  role; elections last held 7 June 1995 (next to be held NA); results
  - NDP 99%, independents 1%; seats - (264 total, 176 elected, 88
  appointed by the president) seats by party NA

Judicial branch: Supreme Constitutional Court

Political parties and leaders: National Democratic Party (NDP),
  President Mohammed Hosni MUBARAK, leader, is the dominant party;
  legal opposition parties are as follows: New Wafd Party (NWP), Fu'ad
  SIRAJ AL-DIN; Socialist Labor Party (SLP), Ibrahim SHUKRI; National
  Progressive Unionist Grouping (NPUG), Khalid Muhi al-DIN; Socialist
  Liberal Party, Mustafa Kamal MURAD; Democratic Unionist Party,
  Mohammed 'Abd-al-Mun'im TURK; Umma Party, Ahmad al-SABAHI; Misr
  al-Fatah Party (Young Egypt Party), leader NA; Nasserist Arab
  Democratic Party, Dia' al-din DAWUD; Democratic Peoples' Party,
  Anwar AFIFI; The Greens Party, Kamal KIRAH; Social Justice Party,
  Muhammad 'ABD-AL-'AL
  note: formation of political parties must be approved by government

Other political or pressure groups: despite a constitutional ban
  against religious-based parties, the technically illegal Muslim
  Brotherhood constitutes MUBARAK's potentially most significant
  political opposition; MUBARAK tolerated limited political activity
  by the Brotherhood for his first two terms, but has moved more
  aggressively in the past year to block its influence; trade unions
  and professional associations are officially sanctioned

International organization participation: ABEDA, ACC, ACCT
  (associate), AfDB, AFESD, AG (observer), AL, AMF, BSEC (observer),
  CAEU, CCC, EBRD, ECA, ESCWA, FAO, G-15, G-19, G-24, G-77, IAEA,
  IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO,
  Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MINURSO, NAM, OAPEC, OAS
  (observer), OAU, OIC, OSCE (partner), PCA, UN, UNAVEM III, UNCRO,
  UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNOMIG, UNOMIL, UNPREDEP, UNPROFOR, UNRWA,
  UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Ahmed Maher El SAYED
  chancery: 3521 International Court NW, Washington, DC 20008
  telephone: [1] (202) 895-5400
  FAX: [1] (202) 244-4319, 5131
  consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, New York, and San Francisco

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Edward S. WALKER, Jr.
  embassy: (North Gate) 8, Kamel El-Din Salah Street, Garden City,
  Cairo
  mailing address: APO AE 09839-4900, Unit 64900, Cairo
  telephone: [20] (2) 3557371
  FAX: [20] (2) 3573200
  branch office: Alexandria

Flag: three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black
  with the national emblem (a shield superimposed on a golden eagle
  facing the hoist side above a scroll bearing the name of the country
  in Arabic) centered in the white band; similar to the flag of Yemen,
  which has a plain white band; also similar to the flag of Syria that
  has two green stars and to the flag of Iraq, which has three green
  stars (plus an Arabic inscription) in a horizontal line centered in
  the white band



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Half of Egypt's GDP originates in the public
  sector, most industrial plants being owned by the government.
  Overregulation holds back technical modernization and foreign
  investment. Even so, the economy grew rapidly during the late 1970s
  and early 1980s, but in 1986 the collapse of world oil prices and an
  increasingly heavy burden of debt servicing led Egypt to begin
  negotiations with the IMF for balance-of-payments support. Egypt's
  first IMF standby arrangement, concluded in mid-1987, was suspended
  in early 1988 because of the government's failure to adopt promised
  reforms. Egypt signed a follow-on program with the IMF and also
  negotiated a structural adjustment loan with the World Bank in 1991.
  In 1991-93 the government made solid progress on administrative
  reforms such as liberalizing exchange and interest rates, but
  resisted implementing major structural reforms like streamlining the
  public sector. As a result, the economy has not gained enough
  momentum to tackle the growing problem of unemployment. Egypt made
  uneven progress in implementing the successor programs it signed
  onto in late 1993 with the IMF and World Bank; currently it is
  negotiating another successor program with the IMF. President
  MUBARAK has cited population growth as the main cause of the
  country's economic troubles. The addition of about 1.2 million
  people a year to the already huge population of 63 million exerts
  enormous pressure on the 5% of the land area available for
  agriculture along the Nile.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $171 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 4% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $2,760 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: NA%
  industry: NA%
  services: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 9.4% (yearend 1995)

Labor force: 16 million (1994 est.)
  by occupation: government, public sector enterprises, and armed
  forces 36%, agriculture 34%, privately owned service and
  manufacturing enterprises 20% (1984)
  note: shortage of skilled labor; 2.5 million Egyptians work abroad,
  mostly in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Arab states (1993 est.)

Unemployment rate: 20% (1995 est.)

Budget:
  revenues: $18 billion
  expenditures: $19.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $3.8
  billion (FY94/95 est.)

Industries: textiles, food processing, tourism, chemicals,
  petroleum, construction, cement, metals

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity:
  capacity: 11,830,000 kW
  production: 44.5 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 695 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: cotton, rice, corn, wheat, beans, fruits, vegetables;
  cattle, water buffalo, sheep, goats; annual fish catch about 140,000
  metric tons

Illicit drugs: a transit point for Southwest Asian and Southeast
  Asian heroin and opium moving to Europe and the US; popular transit
  stop for Nigerian couriers; large domestic consumption of hashish
  from Lebanon and Syria

Exports: $5.4 billion (f.o.b., FY94/95 est.)
  commodities: crude oil and petroleum products, cotton yarn, raw
  cotton, textiles, metal products, chemicals
  partners: EU, US, Japan

Imports: $15.2 billion (c.i.f., FY94/95 est.)
  commodities: machinery and equipment, foods, fertilizers, wood
  products, durable consumer goods, capital goods
  partners: US, EU, Japan

External debt: $33.6 billion (FY93/94 est.)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $1.713 billion (1993)

Currency: 1 Egyptian pound (LE) = 100 piasters

Exchange rates: Egyptian pounds (LE) per US$1 - 3.4 (November
  1994), 3.369 (November 1993), 3.345 (November 1992), 2.7072 (1990);
  market rate: 3.3920 (January 1996), 3.3900 (1995), 3.3910 (1994),
  3.3718 (1993), 3.3386 (1992), 3.3322 (1991)

Fiscal year: 1 July - 30 June



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 4,751 km
  standard gauge: 4,751 km 1,435-m gauge (42 km electrified; 951 km
  double track)

Highways:
  total: 47,387 km
  paved: 34,593 km
  unpaved: 12,794 km (1992 est.)

Waterways: 3,500 km (including the Nile, Lake Nasser,
  Alexandria-Cairo Waterway, and numerous smaller canals in the
  delta); Suez Canal, 193.5 km long (including approaches), used by
  oceangoing vessels drawing up to 16.1 m of water

Pipelines: crude oil 1,171 km; petroleum products 596 km; natural
  gas 460 km

Ports: Alexandria, Al Ghardaqah, Aswan, Asyut, Bur Safajah,
  Damietta, Marsa Matruh, Port Said, Suez

Merchant marine:
  total: 164 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,187,290
  GRT/1,833,108 DWT
  ships by type: bulk 22, cargo 74, liquefied gas tanker 1, oil tanker
  14, passenger 33, refrigerated cargo 1, roll-on/roll-off cargo 15,
  short-sea passenger 4 (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 80
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 11
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 34
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 16
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 2
  with paved runways under 914 m: 9
  with unpaved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 2
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 2
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 4 (1995 est.)

Heliports: 2 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 2.2 million (1993)

Telephone system: large system by Third World standards but
  inadequate for present requirements and undergoing extensive
  upgrading
  domestic: principal centers at Alexandria, Cairo, Al Mansurah,
  Ismailia, Suez, and Tanta are connected by coaxial cable and
  microwave radio relay
  international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean
  and Indian Ocean), 1 Arabsat, and 1 Inmarsat; 5 coaxial submarine
  cables; tropospheric scatter to Sudan; microwave radio relay to
  Israel; participant in Medarabtel

Radio broadcast stations: AM 39, FM 6, shortwave 0

Radios: NA

Television broadcast stations: 41

Televisions: 5 million (1993 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Air Defense Command

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 16,530,460
  males fit for military service: 10,723,011
  males reach military age (20) annually: 660,453 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $3.5 billion,
  8.2% of GDP (FY94/95 est.)



======================================================================




@El Salvador
-----------




Map
---


Location: 13 50 N, 88 55 W -- Middle America, bordering the North
  Pacific Ocean, between Guatemala and Honduras



Flag
----


Description: three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), white,
  and blue with the national coat of arms centered in the white band;
  the coat of arms features a round emblem encircled by the words
  REPUBLICA DE EL SALVADOR EN LA AMERICA CENTRAL; similar to the flag
  of Nicaragua, which has a different coat of arms centered in the
  white band - it features a triangle encircled by the words REPUBLICA
  DE NICARAGUA on top and AMERICA CENTRAL on the bottom; also similar
  to the flag of Honduras, which has five blue stars arranged in an X
  pattern centered in the white band





Geography
---------


Location: Middle America, bordering the North Pacific Ocean,
  between Guatemala and Honduras

Geographic coordinates: 13 50 N, 88 55 W

Map references: Central America and the Caribbean

Area:
  total area: 21,040 sq km
  land area: 20,720 sq km
  comparative area: slightly smaller than Massachusetts

Land boundaries:
  total: 545 km
  border countries: Guatemala 203 km, Honduras 342 km

Coastline: 307 km

Maritime claims:
  territorial sea: 200 nm

International disputes: land boundary dispute with Honduras mostly
  resolved by 11 September 1992 International Court of Justice (ICJ)
  decision; with respect to the maritime boundary in the Golfo de
  Fonseca, ICJ referred to an earlier agreement in this century and
  advised that some tripartite resolution among El Salvador, Honduras
  and Nicaragua likely would be required

Climate: tropical; rainy season (May to October); dry season
  (November to April)

Terrain: mostly mountains with narrow coastal belt and central
  plateau
  lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
  highest point: Cerro El Pital 2,730 m

Natural resources: hydropower, geothermal power, petroleum

Land use:
  arable land: 27%
  permanent crops: 8%
  meadows and pastures: 29%
  forest and woodland: 6%
  other: 30%

Irrigated land: 1,200 sq km (1989)

Environment:
  current issues: deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution;
  contamination of soils from disposal of toxic wastes
  natural hazards: known as the Land of Volcanoes; frequent and
  sometimes very destructive earthquakes and volcanic activity
  international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
  Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer
  Protection; signed, but not ratified - Law of the Sea

Geographic note: smallest Central American country and only one
  without a coastline on Caribbean Sea



People
------


Population: 5,828,987 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 38% (male 1,137,804; female 1,097,774)
  15-64 years: 57% (male 1,627,519; female 1,716,261)
  65 years and over: 5% (male 115,973; female 133,656) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.81% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 28.3 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 5.81 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: -4.4 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.87 male(s)/female
  all ages: 0.98 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 31.9 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 68.88 years
  male: 65.44 years
  female: 72.5 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 3.2 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Salvadoran(s)
  adjective: Salvadoran

Ethnic divisions: mestizo 94%, Indian 5%, white 1%

Religions: Roman Catholic 75%
  note: there is extensive activity by Protestant groups throughout
  the country; by the end of 1992, there were an estimated 1 million
  Protestant evangelicals in El Salvador

Languages: Spanish, Nahua (among some Indians)

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)
  total population: 71.5%
  male: 73.5%
  female: 69.8%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Republic of El Salvador
  conventional short form: El Salvador
  local long form: Republica de El Salvador
  local short form: El Salvador

Data code: ES

Type of government: republic

Capital: San Salvador

Administrative divisions: 14 departments (departamentos, singular
  - departamento); Ahuachapan, Cabanas, Chalatenango, Cuscatlan, La
  Libertad, La Paz, La Union, Morazan, San Miguel, San Salvador, Santa
  Ana, San Vicente, Sonsonate, Usulutan

Independence: 15 September 1821 (from Spain)

National holiday: Independence Day, 15 September (1821)

Constitution: 20 December 1983

Legal system: based on civil and Roman law, with traces of common
  law; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court;
  accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state and head of government: President Armando CALDERON
  Sol (since 1 June 1994) and Vice President Enrique BORGO Bustamante
  (since 1 June 1994) were elected for five-year terms by universal
  suffrage; election last held 20 March 1994 (next to be held NA March
  1999); results - Armando CALDERON SOL (ARENA) 49.03%, Ruben ZAMORA
  Rivas (CD/FMLN/MNR) 24.09%, Fidel CHAVEZ Mena (PDC) 16.39%, other
  10.49%; because no candidate received a majority, a run-off election
  was held 24 April 1994; results - Armando CALDERON SOL (ARENA)
  68.35%, Ruben ZAMORA Rivas (CD/FMLN/MNR) 31.65%
  cabinet: Council of Ministers

Legislative branch: unicameral
  Legislative Assembly (Asamblea Legislativa): elections last held 20
  March 1994 (next to be held NA March 1997); results - ARENA 46.4%,
  FMLN 25.0%, PDC 21.4%, PCN 4.8%, other 2.4%; seats - (84 total)
  ARENA 39, FMLN 21, PDC 18, PCN 4, other 2

Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Corte Suprema), judges are
  selected by the Legislative Assembly

Political parties and leaders: National Republican Alliance
  (ARENA), Juan Jose DOMENECH, president; Farabundo Marti National
  Liberation Front (FMLN), Salvador SANCHEZ Ceren (aka Leonel
  GONZALEZ), general coordinator; Christian Democratic Party (PDC),
  Ronal UMANA, secretary general; National Conciliation Party (PCN),
  Ciro CRUZ Zepeda, secretary general; Democratic Convergence (CD),
  Juan Jose MARTEL, secretary general; Unity Movement, Jorge MARTINEZ
  Menendez, president
  note: newly formed parties not yet officially recognized by the
  Supreme Electoral Tribunal: Liberal Democratic Party (PLD), Kirio
  Waldo SALGADO, founder; Social Democratic Party (breakaway from
  FMLN), Joaquin VILLALOBOS, founder; Social Christian Renovation
  Movement (MRSC) (breakaway from PDC), Abraham RODRIGUEZ, founder

Other political or pressure groups:
  labor organizations: Salvadoran Communal Union (UCS), peasant
  association; General Confederation of Workers (CGT), moderate;
  United Workers Front (FUT)
  business organizations: Productive Alliance (AP), conservative;
  National Federation of Salvadoran Small Businessmen (FENAPES),
  conservative

International organization participation: BCIE, CACM, ECLAC, FAO,
  G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS,
  ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, LAES, LAIA
  (observer), MINURSO, NAM (observer), OAS, OPANAL, PCA, UN, UNCTAD,
  UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Ana Cristina SOL
  chancery: 2308 California Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
  telephone: [1] (202) 265-9671, 9672
  consulate(s) general: Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami,
  New Orleans, New York, and San Francisco

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Alan H. FLANIGAN
  embassy: Final Boulevard Santa Elena, Station Antiguo Cuscatlan, San
  Salvador
  mailing address: Unit 3116, APO AA 34023
  telephone: [503] 278-4444
  FAX: [503] 278-6011

Flag: three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), white, and blue
  with the national coat of arms centered in the white band; the coat
  of arms features a round emblem encircled by the words REPUBLICA DE
  EL SALVADOR EN LA AMERICA CENTRAL; similar to the flag of Nicaragua,
  which has a different coat of arms centered in the white band - it
  features a triangle encircled by the words REPUBLICA DE NICARAGUA on
  top and AMERICA CENTRAL on the bottom; also similar to the flag of
  Honduras, which has five blue stars arranged in an X pattern
  centered in the white band



Economy
-------


Economic overview: El Salvador possesses a fast-growing
  entrepreneurial economy in which 90% of economic activity is in
  private hands, with growth averaging 5% since 1990. Yet, because the
  1980s were a decade of civil war and stagnation, per capita GDP has
  not regained the level of the late 1970s. The rebound in the 1990s
  stems from the government program, in conjunction with the IMF, of
  privatization, deregulation, and fiscal stabilization. The economy
  now is oriented more toward manufacturing and services compared with
  agriculture. The sizable trade deficits are in the main covered by
  remittances from the large number of Salvadorans abroad.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $11.4 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 6.3% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $1,950 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: NA%
  industry: NA%
  services: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 11.4% (1995 est.)

Labor force: 1.7 million (1982 est.)
  by occupation: agriculture 40%, commerce 16%, manufacturing 15%,
  government 13%, financial services 9%, transportation 6%, other 1%

Unemployment rate: 6.7% (1993)

Budget:
  revenues: $846 million
  expenditures: $890 million, including capital expenditures of $NA
  (1992 est.)

Industries: food processing, beverages, petroleum, tobacco,
  chemicals, textiles, furniture

Industrial production growth rate: 7.6% (1993)

Electricity:
  capacity: 750,000 kW
  production: 2.4 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 408 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: coffee, sugarcane, corn, rice, beans, oilseed; beef,
  dairy products; shrimp

Illicit drugs: transshipment point for cocaine; marijuana produced
  for local consumption

Exports: $1.6 billion (f.o.b., 1995 est.)
  commodities: coffee, sugarcane, shrimp
  partners: US, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Germany

Imports: $3.3 billion (c.i.f., 1995 est.)
  commodities: raw materials, consumer goods, capital goods
  partners: US, Guatemala, Mexico, Venezuela, Germany

External debt: $2.6 billion (December 1992)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $777 million (1993)
  note: US has committed $250 million in aid to El Salvador for 1992-96

Currency: 1 Salvadoran colon (C) = 100 centavos

Exchange rates: Salvadoran colones (C) per US$1 - 8.755 (December
  1995), 8.755 (1995), 8.750 (1994), 8.670 (1993), 9.170 (1992), 8.080
  (1991)

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 602 km (single track; note - some sections abandoned,
  unusable, or operating at reduced capacity)
  narrow gauge: 602 km 0.914-m gauge

Highways:
  total: 12,251 km
  paved: 1,740 km (including 107 km of expressways)
  unpaved: 10,511 km (1992 est.)

Waterways: Rio Lempa partially navigable

Ports: Acajutla, Puerto Cutuco, La Libertad, La Union, Puerto El
  Triunfo

Merchant marine: none

Airports:
  total: 73
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 1
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 1
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 2
  with paved runways under 914 m: 48
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 21 (1995 est.)

Heliports: 1 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 116,000 (1984 est.)

Telephone system:
  domestic: nationwide microwave radio relay system
  international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic
  Ocean); connected to Central American Microwave System

Radio broadcast stations: AM 77, FM 0, shortwave 2

Radios: NA

Television broadcast stations: 5 (1986 est.)

Televisions: 500,700 (1993 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 1,415,691
  males fit for military service: 905,938
  males reach military age (18) annually: 78,660 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $100 million, 1%
  of GDP (1995)



======================================================================




@Equatorial Guinea
-----------------




Map
---


Location: 2 00 N, 10 00 E -- Western Africa, bordering the North
  Atlantic Ocean, between Cameroon and Gabon



Flag
----


Description: three equal horizontal bands of green (top), white,
  and red with a blue isosceles triangle based on the hoist side and
  the coat of arms centered in the white band; the coat of arms has
  six yellow six-pointed stars (representing the mainland and five
  offshore islands) above a gray shield bearing a silk-cotton tree and
  below which is a scroll with the motto UNIDAD, PAZ, JUSTICIA (Unity,
  Peace, Justice)





Geography
---------


Location: Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean,
  between Cameroon and Gabon

Geographic coordinates: 2 00 N, 10 00 E

Map references: Africa

Area:
  total area: 28,050 sq km
  land area: 28,050 sq km
  comparative area: slightly larger than Maryland

Land boundaries:
  total: 539 km
  border countries: Cameroon 189 km, Gabon 350 km

Coastline: 296 km

Maritime claims:
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: maritime boundary dispute with Gabon
  because of disputed sovereignty over islands in Corisco Bay

Climate: tropical; always hot, humid

Terrain: coastal plains rise to interior hills; islands are
  volcanic
  lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
  highest point: Mount Malabo 3,008 m

Natural resources: timber, petroleum, small unexploited deposits
  of gold, manganese, uranium

Land use:
  arable land: 8%
  permanent crops: 4%
  meadows and pastures: 4%
  forest and woodland: 51%
  other: 33%

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Environment:
  current issues: tap water is not potable; desertification
  natural hazards: violent windstorms
  international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Endangered
  Species, Nuclear Test Ban; signed, but not ratified -
  Desertification, Law of the Sea

Geographic note: insular and continental regions rather widely
  separated



People
------


Population: 431,282 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 43% (male 93,319; female 92,753)
  15-64 years: 53% (male 108,706; female 120,129)
  65 years and over: 4% (male 7,235; female 9,140) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.58% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 39.77 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 14.01 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 0.9 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.79 male(s)/female
  all ages: 0.94 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 98 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 53.01 years
  male: 50.79 years
  female: 55.29 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 5.17 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Equatorial Guinean(s) or Equatoguinean(s)
  adjective: Equatorial Guinean or Equatoguinean

Ethnic divisions: Bioko (primarily Bubi, some Fernandinos), Rio
  Muni (primarily Fang), Europeans less than 1,000, mostly Spanish

Religions: nominally Christian and predominantly Roman Catholic,
  pagan practices

Languages: Spanish (official), pidgin English, Fang, Bubi, Ibo

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)
  total population: 78.5%
  male: 89.6%
  female: 68.1%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Republic of Equatorial Guinea
  conventional short form: Equatorial Guinea
  local long form: Republica de Guinea Ecuatorial
  local short form: Guinea Ecuatorial
  former: Spanish Guinea

Data code: EK

Type of government: republic in transition to multiparty democracy

Capital: Malabo

Administrative divisions: 7 provinces (provincias, singular -
  provincia); Annobon, Bioko Norte, Bioko Sur, Centro Sur, Kie-Ntem,
  Litoral, Wele-Nzas

Independence: 12 October 1968 (from Spain)

National holiday: Independence Day, 12 October (1968)

Constitution: new constitution 17 November 1991

Legal system: partly based on Spanish civil law and tribal custom

Suffrage: NA years of age; universal adult

Executive branch:
  chief of state: President Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Teodoro OBIANG NGUEMA
  MBASOGO (since 3 August 1979) election last held 25 February 1996
  (next to be held NA February 2003); results - President OBIANG
  NGUEMA MBASOGO reelected to a seven-year term without opposition
  head of government: Prime Minister Silvestre SIALE BILEKA (since 17
  January 1992); Vice Prime Minister Anatolio NDONG MBA (since
  November 1993)
  cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president

Legislative branch: unicameral
  House of People's Representatives: (Camara de Representantes del
  Pueblo) elections last held 21 November 1993 (next to be held NA);
  results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (82 total) PDGE 72,
  various opposition parties 10

Judicial branch: Supreme Tribunal

Political parties and leaders:
  ruling party: Democratic Party for Equatorial Guinea (PDGE), Brig.
  Gen. (Ret.) Teodoro OBIANG NGUEMA MBASOGO, party leader
  opposition parties: Progressive Democratic Alliance (ADP),
  Antonio-Ebang Mbele Abang, president; Popular Action of Equatorial
  Guinea (APGE),Casiano Masi Edu, leader; Liberal Democratic
  Convention (CLD), Alfonso Nsue MIFUMU, president; Convergence for
  Social Democracy (CPDS), Santiago Obama Ndong, president; Social
  Democratic and Popular Convergence (CSDP), Secundino Oyono Agueng
  Ada, general secretary; Party of the Social Democratic Coalition
  (PCSD), Buenaventura Moswi M'Asumu, general coordinater; Liberal
  Party (PL), Santos PASCUAL; Party of Progress (PP), Severo MOTO Nsa,
  president; Social Democratic Party (PSD), Benjamin-Gabriel Balingha
  Balinga Alene, general secretary; Socialist Party of Equatorial
  Guinea (PSGE), Tomas MICHEBE Fernandez, general secretary; National
  Democratic Union (UDENA), Jose MECHEBA Ikaka, president; Democratic
  Social Union (UDS), Camelo Modu, general secretary; Popular Union
  (UP), Juan Bitui, president

International organization participation: ACCT, ACP, AfDB, BDEAC,
  CEEAC, ECA, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO,
  IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAS
  (observer), OAU, UDEAC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WTrO
  (applicant)

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Pastor Micha ONDO BILE
  chancery: (temporary) 57 Magnolia Avenue, Mount Vernon, NY 10553
  telephone: [1] (914) 738-9584, 667-6913
  FAX: [1] (914) 667-6838

US diplomatic representation: the US does not have an embassy in
  Equatorial Guinea (embassy closed September 1995); US relations with
  Equatorial Guinea are handled through the US Embassy in Yaounde,
  Cameroon

Flag: three equal horizontal bands of green (top), white, and red
  with a blue isosceles triangle based on the hoist side and the coat
  of arms centered in the white band; the coat of arms has six yellow
  six-pointed stars (representing the mainland and five offshore
  islands) above a gray shield bearing a silk-cotton tree and below
  which is a scroll with the motto UNIDAD, PAZ, JUSTICIA (Unity,
  Peace, Justice)



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Agriculture, forestry, and fishing account for
  about half of GDP and nearly all exports. Subsistence farming
  predominates. Although pre-independence Equatorial Guinea counted on
  cocoa production for hard currency earnings, the deterioration of
  the rural economy under successive brutal regimes has diminished
  potential for agriculture-led growth. A number of aid programs
  sponsored by the World Bank and the IMF have been cut off since 1993
  because of the government's gross corruption and mismanagement.
  Businesses, for the most part, are owned by government officials and
  their family members. Undeveloped natural resources include
  titanium, iron ore, manganese, uranium, and alluvial gold. Oil
  exploration, taking place under concessions offered to US, French,
  and Spanish firms, has been moderately successful. In 1995, exports
  responded to the devaluation of 12 January 1994, apparently
  resulting in a sizable surplus and strong GDP growth. Increased
  production from recently discovered oil and natural gas fields will
  provide a greater share of exports in 1996-97.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $325 million (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 10% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $800 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 47%
  industry: 26%
  services: 27% (1993 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 41% (1994 est.)

Labor force: 172,000 (1986 est.)
  by occupation: agriculture 66%, services 23%, industry 11% (1980)
  note: labor shortages on plantations

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget:
  revenues: $32.5 million
  expenditures: $35.9 million, including capital expenditures of $3
  million (1992 est.)

Industries: fishing, sawmilling

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity:
  capacity: 23,000 kW
  production: 20 million kWh
  consumption per capita: 50 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: coffee, cocoa, rice, yams, cassava (tapioca),
  bananas, palm oil nuts, manioc; livestock; timber

Exports: $62 million (f.o.b., 1993)
  commodities: coffee, cocoa beans, timber, petroleum
  partners: Spain, Nigeria, Cameroon, Japan, Portugal

Imports: $60 million (f.o.b., 1993)
  commodities: petroleum, food, beverages, clothing, machinery
  partners: Cameroon, Spain, France, US, Italy, Netherlands

External debt: $268 million (1993 est.)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $NA

Currency: 1 Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (CFAF) = 100
  centimes

Exchange rates: CFA francs (CFAF) per US$1 - 500.56 (January
  1996), 499.15 (1995), 555.20 (1994), 283.16 (1993), 264.69 (1992),
  282.11 (1991)
  note: beginning 12 January 1994, the CFA franc was devalued to CFAF
  100 per French franc from CFAF 50 at which it had been fixed since
  1948

Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March






Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 0 km

Highways:
  total: 2,744 km
  paved: 330 km
  unpaved: 2,414 km (1988 est.)

Ports: Bata, Luba, Malabo

Merchant marine:
  total: 2 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 6,412 GRT/6,699 DWT
  ships by type: cargo 1, passenger-cargo 1 (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 3
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 1
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 1
  with paved runways under 914 m: 1 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 2,000 (1987 est.)

Telephone system: poor system with adequate government services
  domestic: NA
  international: international communications from Bata and Malabo to
  African and European countries; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat
  (Indian Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 2, FM 0, shortwave 0

Radios: NA

Television broadcast stations: 1

Televisions: 4,000 (1992 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Rapid Intervention Force,
  National Police

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 92,704
  males fit for military service: 47,124 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $2.5 million, NA%
  of GDP (FY93/94)



======================================================================




@Eritrea
-------




Map
---


Location: 15 00 N, 39 00 E -- Eastern Africa, bordering the Red
  Sea, between Djibouti and Sudan



Flag
----


Description: red isosceles triangle (based on the hoist side)
  dividing the flag into two right triangles; the upper triangle is
  green, the lower one is blue; a gold wreath encircling a gold olive
  branch is centered on the hoist side of the red triangle





Geography
---------


Location: Eastern Africa, bordering the Red Sea, between Djibouti
  and Sudan

Geographic coordinates: 15 00 N, 39 00 E

Map references: Africa

Area:
  total area: 121,320 sq km
  land area: 121,320 sq km
  comparative area: slightly larger than Pennsylvania

Land boundaries:
  total: 1,630 km
  border countries: Djibouti 113 km, Ethiopia 912 km, Sudan 605 km

Coastline: 1,151 km (land and island coastline is 2,234 km)

Maritime claims: NA

International disputes: a dispute with Yemen over sovereignty of
  the Hanish Islands in the southern Red Sea has been submitted to
  arbitration under the auspices of the ICJ

Climate: hot, dry desert strip along Red Sea coast; cooler and
  wetter in the central highlands (up to 61 cm of rainfall annually);
  semiarid in western hills and lowlands; rainfall heaviest during
  June-September except on coastal desert

Terrain: dominated by extension of Ethiopian north-south trending
  highlands, descending on the east to a coastal desert plain, on the
  northwest to hilly terrain and on the southwest to flat-to-rolling
  plains
  lowest point: Kobar Sink -75 m
  highest point: Soira 3,013 m

Natural resources: gold, potash, zinc, copper, salt, probably oil
  (petroleum geologists are prospecting for it), fish

Land use:
  arable land: 3%
  permanent crops: 2% (coffee)
  meadows and pastures: 40%
  forest and woodland: 5%
  other: 50%

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Environment:
  current issues: famine; deforestation; desertification; soil
  erosion; overgrazing; loss of infrastructure from civil warfare
  natural hazards: frequent droughts
  international agreements: party to - Endangered Species; signed, but
  not ratified - Climate Change, Desertification

Geographic note: strategic geopolitical position along world's
  busiest shipping lanes; Eritrea retained the entire coastline of
  Ethiopia along the Red Sea upon de jure independence from Ethiopia
  on 27 April 1993



People
------


Population: 3,427,883 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 44% (male 755,417; female 743,135)
  15-64 years: 53% (male 910,976; female 913,531)
  65 years and over: 3% (male 54,310; female 50,514) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.79% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 43.32 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 15.44 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)
  note: it is estimated that between 300,000 and 500,000 Eritrean
  refugees were still living in Sudan at the end of 1995; their
  repatriation is being facilitated by the UNHCR

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 1.08 male(s)/female
  all ages: 1.01 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 118.9 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 50.31 years
  male: 48.57 years
  female: 52.1 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 6.5 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Eritrean(s)
  adjective: Eritrean

Ethnic divisions: ethnic Tigrinya 50%, Tigre and Kunama 40%, Afar
  4%, Saho (Red Sea coast dwellers) 3%

Religions: Muslim, Coptic Christian, Roman Catholic, Protestant

Languages: Afar, Amharic, Arabic, Italian, Tigre and Kunama,
  Tigrinya, minor tribal languages



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: State of Eritrea
  conventional short form: Eritrea
  local long form: none
  local short form: none
  former: Eritrea Autonomous Region in Ethiopia

Data code: ER

Type of government: transitional government
  note: on 29 May 1991 ISAIAS Afworke, secretary general of the
  Peoples' Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ), which then served
  and still serves as the country's legislative body, announced the
  formation of the Provisional Government in Eritrea (PGE) in
  preparation for the 23-25 April 1993 referendum on independence for
  the autonomous region of Eritrea; the result was a landslide vote
  for independence, which was proclaimed on 27 April 1993

Capital: Asmara (formerly Asmera)

Administrative divisions: 8 provinces (singular - awraja); Akele
  Guzay, Barka, Denkel, Hamasen, Sahil, Semhar, Senhit, Seraye; note -
  information issued by the Eritrean government indicates that the
  administrative structure of Eritrea, which had been established by
  former colonial powers, will consist of only six regions when the
  new constitution, presently being drafted, goes into effect sometime
  in 1996

Independence: 27 May 1993 (from Ethiopia; formerly the Eritrea
  Autonomous Region)

National holiday: National Day (independence from Ethiopia), 24
  May (1993)

Constitution: transitional "constitution" decreed 19 May 1993; the
  promulgation of a draft constitution is expected in 1996

Legal system: NA

Suffrage: NA; note - the transitional constitution of 19 May 1993
  did not provide rules for suffrage, but it seems likely that the
  final version of the constitution, to be promulgated some time in
  1996, will follow the example set in the referendum of 1993 in which
  suffrage was universal for persons 18 years of age or older

Executive branch:
  chief of state and head of government: President ISAIAS Afworki
  (since 22 May 1993) is head of the State Council and National
  Assembly
  cabinet: State Council is the collective executive authority
  note: election to be held in 1997

Legislative branch: unicameral
  National Assembly: 75 members of the PFDJ Central Committee (the old
  Central Committee of the EPLF) and 75 directly elected members serve
  as the country's legislative body until country-wide elections are
  held in 1997

Judicial branch: Judiciary

Political parties and leaders: People's Front for Democracy and
  Justice (PFDJ), ISAIAS Afworki, PETROS Solomon (the only party
  recognized by the government)

Other political or pressure groups: Eritrean Islamic Jihad (EIJ);
  Eritrean Liberation Front (ELF), ABDULLAH Muhammed; Eritrean
  Liberation Front - United Organization (ELF-UO), Mohammed Said
  NAWUD; Eritrean Liberation Front - Revolutionary Council (ELF-RC),
  Ahmed NASSER

International organization participation: ACP, AfDB, ECA, FAO,
  IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, IGADD, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory
  user), ITU, NAM, OAU, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador AMDEMICHAEL Berhane Khasai
  chancery: Suite 400, 910 17th Street NW, Washington, DC 20006
  telephone: [1] (202) 429-1991
  FAX: [1] (202) 429-9004

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Robert G. HOUDEK
  embassy: Franklin D. Roosevelt St., Asmara
  mailing address: P.O. Box 211, Asmara
  telephone: [291] (1) 120004
  FAX: [291] (1) 127584

Flag: red isosceles triangle (based on the hoist side) dividing
  the flag into two right triangles; the upper triangle is green, the
  lower one is blue; a gold wreath encircling a gold olive branch is
  centered on the hoist side of the red triangle



Economy
-------


Economic overview: With independence from Ethiopia on 27 April
  1993, Eritrea faces the bitter economic problems of a small,
  desperately poor African country. Most of the population will
  continue to depend on subsistence farming. Domestic output is
  substantially augmented by worker remittances from abroad.
  Government revenues come from custom duties and income and sales
  taxes. Eritrea has inherited the entire coastline of Ethiopia and
  has long-term prospects for revenues from the development of
  offshore oil, offshore fishing, and tourism. For the time being,
  Ethiopia will be largely dependent on Eritrean ports for its foreign
  trade.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $2 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 10% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $570 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: NA%
  industry: NA%
  services: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 10% (1995 est.)

Labor force: NA

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget:
  revenues: $NA
  expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA

Industries: food processing, beverages, clothing and textiles

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity:
  capacity: NA kW
  production: NA kWh
  consumption per capita: NA kWh

Agriculture: sorghum, lentils, vegetables, maize, cotton, tobacco,
  coffee, sisal (for making rope); livestock (including goats); fish

Exports: $33 million (1995 est.)
  commodities: livestock, sorghum, textiles
  partners: Ethiopia, Italy, Saudi Arabia, UK, US, Yemen

Imports: $420 million (1995 est.)
  commodities: processed goods, machinery, petroleum products
  partners: NA

External debt: $NA

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $NA

Currency: 1 birr (Br) = 100 cents; at present, Ethiopian currency
  used

Exchange rates: birr (Br) per US$1 - 6.2 (1995 est.), 5.600
  (September 1994), 5.000 (fixed rate 1992-93); note - following
  independence from Ethiopia, Eritrea continued to use Ethiopian
  currency, the official rate of which was pegged to US$1 = 5.000 birr

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 307 km; note - nonoperational since 1978 except for about 5
  km that was reopened in Massawa in 1994; rehabilitation of the
  remainder and of the rolling stock is under way; links Ak'ordat and
  Asmara (formerly Asmera) with the port of Massawa (formerly Mits'iwa)
  narrow gauge: 307 km 0.950-m gauge (1995 est.)

Highways:
  total: 3,845 km
  paved: 807 km
  unpaved: 3,038 km (1993 est.)

Ports: Assab (Aseb), Massawa (Mits'iwa)

Merchant marine:
  total: 1 cargo ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 11,573 GRT/13,593
  DWT (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 14
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 1
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 1
  with paved runways under 914 m: 2
  with unpaved runways over 3 047 m: 1
  with unpaved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 1
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 4
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 4 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: NA

Telephone system:
  domestic: very inadequate; about 4 telephones per 100 families, most
  of which are in Asmara; government is seeking international tenders
  to improve the system
  international: NA

Radio broadcast stations: AM NA, FM NA, shortwave 0

Radios: NA

Television broadcast stations: 1 (government controlled)

Televisions: NA



Defense
-------


Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: NA
  males fit for military service: NA

Defense expenditures: $NA, NA% of GDP



======================================================================




@Estonia
-------




Map
---


Location: 59 00 N, 26 00 E -- Eastern Europe, bordering the Baltic
  Sea and Gulf of Finland, between Latvia and Russia



Flag
----


Description: pre-1940 flag restored by Supreme Soviet in May 1990
  - three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), black, and white





Geography
---------


Location: Eastern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and Gulf of
  Finland, between Latvia and Russia

Geographic coordinates: 59 00 N, 26 00 E

Map references: Europe

Area:
  total area: 45,100 sq km
  land area: 43,200 sq km
  comparative area: slightly larger than New Hampshire and Vermont
  combined
  note: includes 1,520 islands in the Baltic Sea

Land boundaries:
  total: 557 km
  border countries: Latvia 267 km, Russia 290 km

Coastline: 1,393 km

Maritime claims:
  exclusive economic zone: limits to be fixed in coordination with
  neighboring states
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: claims over 2,000 sq km of Russian
  territory in the Narva and Pechora regions - based on boundary
  established under the 1921 Peace Treaty of Tartu; disputes maritime
  border with Latvia - primary concern is fishing rights around Ruhne
  Island in the Gulf of Riga

Climate: maritime, wet, moderate winters, cool summers

Terrain: marshy, lowlands
  lowest point: Baltic Sea 0 m
  highest point: Suur Munamagi 318 m

Natural resources: shale oil, peat, phosphorite, amber

Land use:
  arable land: 22%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 11%
  forest and woodland: 31%
  other: 36%

Irrigated land: 110 sq km (1990)

Environment:
  current issues: air heavily polluted with sulfur dioxide from
  oil-shale burning power plants in northeast; contamination of soil
  and groundwater with petroleum products, chemicals at former Soviet
  military bases
  natural hazards: flooding occurs frequently in the spring
  international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
  Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ship Pollution, Wetlands



People
------


Population: 1,459,428 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 20% (male 148,683; female 143,563)
  15-64 years: 66% (male 467,759; female 501,519)
  65 years and over: 14% (male 63,976; female 133,928) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: -1.13% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 10.74 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 14.12 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: -7.96 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 0.93 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.48 male(s)/female
  all ages: 0.87 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 17.4 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 68.13 years
  male: 62.5 years
  female: 74.05 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.55 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Estonian(s)
  adjective: Estonian

Ethnic divisions: Estonian 61.5%, Russian 30.3%, Ukrainian 3.2%,
  Byelorussian 1.8%, Finn 1.1%, other 2.1% (1989)

Religions: Lutheran, Orthodox Christian

Languages: Estonian (official), Latvian, Lithuanian, Russian, other

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1989 est.)
  total population: 100%
  male: 100%
  female: 100%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Republic of Estonia
  conventional short form: Estonia
  local long form: Eesti Vabariik
  local short form: Eesti
  former: Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic

Data code: EN

Type of government: republic

Capital: Tallinn

Administrative divisions: 15 counties (maakonnad, singular -
  maakond): Harju maakond (Tallinn), Hiiu maakond (Kardla), Ida-Viru
  maakond (Johvi), Jarva maakond (Paide), Jogeva maakond (Jogeva),
  Laane maakond (Haapsalu), Laane-Viru maakond (Rakvere), Parnu
  maakond (Parnu), Polva maakond (Polva), Rapla maakond (Rapla), Saare
  maakond (Kuessaare), Tartu maakond (Tartu), Valga maakond (Valga),
  Viljandi maakond (Viljandi), Voru maakond (Voru)
  note: county centers are in parentheses

Independence: 6 September 1991 (from Soviet Union)

National holiday: Independence Day, 24 February (1918)

Constitution: adopted 28 June 1992

Legal system: based on civil law system; no judicial review of
  legislative acts

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: President Lennart MERI (since 21 October 1992) was
  elected for a five-year term by Parliament; election last held 20
  September 1992 (next to be held fall 1996); results - no candidate
  received majority; Parliament elected Lennart MERI
  head of government: Acting Prime Minister Tiit VAHI (since NA March
  1995); the president nominated and Parliament authorized the
  candidate for prime minister
  cabinet: Council of Ministers was appointed by the prime minister,
  approved by Parliament

Legislative branch: unicameral
  Parliament (Riigikogu): elections last held 5 March 1995 (next to be
  held NA 1999); results - KMU 32.22%, RE 16.18%, K 14.17%, Pro Patria
  and ERSP 7.85%, M 5.98%, Our Home is Estonia and Right-Wingers 5.0%;
  seats - (101 total) KMU 41, RE 19, K 16, Pro Patria 8, Our Home is
  Estonia 6, M 6, Right-Wingers 5

Judicial branch: National Court

Political parties and leaders: Coalition Party and Rural Union
  (KMU), Tiit VAHI, chairman, made up of 4 parties: Coalition Party,
  Country People's Party, Farmer's Assembly, and Pensioners' and
  Families' League; Reform Party-Liberals (RE), Siim KALLAS, chairman;
  Center Party (K), Edgar SAVISAAR, chairman; Union of Pro Patria or
  Fatherland Alliance (Isamaa of Fatherland), Toivo JURGENSON,
  chairman; National Independence Party (ERSP), Kelam TUNNE, chairman,
  note - may have disappeared since the last election; Our Home is
  Estonia made up of 2 parties: United Peoples Party and the Russian
  People's Party of Estonia; United Peoples Party, Viktor ANDREJEV,
  chairman; Russian People's Party of Estonia, Sergei KUZNETSOV,
  chairman; Moderates (M) made up of 2 parties: Social Democratic
  Party and Rural Center Party; Social Democratic Party, Eiki NESTOR,
  chairman; Rural Center Party, Vambo KAAL, chairman; Right-Wingers,
  Ulo NUGIS, chairman

International organization participation: BIS, CBSS, CCC, CE,
  EBRD, ECE, EU (applicant), FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IFC,
  IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NACC,
  OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCRO, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WEU (associate partner),
  WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO (applicant)

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Toomas Hendrik ILVES
  chancery: 2131 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
  telephone: [1] (202) 588-0101
  FAX: [1] (202) 789-0471
  consulate(s) general: New York

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Lawrence P. TAYLOR
  embassy: Kentmanni 20, Tallinn EE 0001
  mailing address: use embassy street address
  telephone: [372] (6) 312-021
  FAX: [372] (6) 312-025

Flag: pre-1940 flag restored by Supreme Soviet in May 1990 - three
  equal horizontal bands of blue (top), black, and white



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Estonia continues to experience strong economic
  growth after its economy bottomed out in 1993. Bolstered by a
  widespread national desire to reintegrate into Western Europe,
  Estonia has adhered to disciplined fiscal and financial policies and
  has led the FSU countries in pursuing economic reform. Monthly
  inflation has been held to under 5% since the beginning of 1992,
  with monthly inflation in 1995 at 2%. Following four years of
  decline, Estonia's GDP grew 5% in 1994 and 6% in 1995 - among the
  highest rates in Europe, according to estimates of the IMF and
  Estonia's own Economic Ministry. Despite these positive economic
  indicators, unemployment - 8% in 1994 - is on the rise, and wages -
  especially for teachers and law enforcement personnel - have not
  kept pace with inflation. Small- and medium-scale privatization is
  essentially complete, and large-scale privatization is progressing,
  but slowly. Estonia has successfully reoriented it trade toward the
  West, two-thirds of exports now going to Western markets. Estonia's
  free trade policies were the cornerstone of its negotiations with
  the European Union, and led to the signing of an association
  agreement in June 1995. Estonia was the only Baltic state not to
  have a transition period imposed by the EU prior to its
  implementation of a free trade agreement.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $12.3 billion (1995 estimate as
  extrapolated from World Bank estimate for 1994)

GDP real growth rate: 6% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $7,600 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 10%
  industry: 37%
  services: 53% (1993 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 29% (1995 est.)

Labor force: 750,000 (1992)
  by occupation: industry and construction 42%, agriculture and
  forestry 20%, other 38% (1990)

Unemployment rate: 8% (1994 est.)

Budget:
  revenues: $620 million
  expenditures: $582 million, including capital expenditures of $NA
  (January-October 1995)

Industries: oil shale, shipbuilding, phosphates, electric motors,
  excavators, cement, furniture, clothing, textiles, paper, shoes,
  apparel

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity:
  capacity: 3,420,000 kW
  production: 11.3 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 6,528 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: potatoes, fruits, vegetables; livestock and dairy
  products; fish

Illicit drugs: transshipment point for illicit drugs from Central
  and Southwest Asia and Latin America to Western Europe; very limited
  illicit opium producer; mostly for domestic consumption

Exports: $1.8 billion (f.o.b., 1995)
  commodities: textile 14%, food products 11%, vehicles 11%, metals
  11% (1993)
  partners: Russia, Finland, Sweden, Germany

Imports: $2.5 billion (c.i.f., 1995)
  commodities: machinery 18%, fuels 15%, vehicles 14%, textiles 10%
  (1993)
  partners: Finland, Russia, Germany, Sweden

External debt: $270 million (January 1996)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $147 million (1993)
  note: Western commitments $285 million (including international
  financial institutions)

Currency: 1 Estonian kroon (EEK) = 100 cents (introduced in August
  1992)

Exchange rates: krooni (EEK) per US$1 - 11.523 (December 1995),
  11.465 (1995), 12.991 (1994), 13.223 (1993); note - krooni are tied
  to the German deutsche mark at a fixed rate of 8 to 1

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 1,018 km common carrier lines only; does not include
  dedicated industrial lines
  broad gauge: 1,018 km 1.520-m gauge (132 km electrified) (1995)

Highways:
  total: 14,771 km
  paved: 8,124 km (including 62 km of expressways)
  unpaved: 6,647 km (1993)

Waterways: 500 km perennially navigable

Pipelines: natural gas 420 km (1992)

Ports: Haapsalu, Narva, Paldiski, Parnu, Tallinn

Merchant marine:
  total: 52 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 353,140 GRT/467,086 DWT
  ships by type: bulk 6, cargo 33, oil tanker 3, roll-on/roll-off
  cargo 6, short-sea passenger 4 (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 22
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 7
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 3
  with unpaved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 1
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 2
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 4
  with unpaved runways under 914 m: 5 (1994 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 400,000

Telephone system: system is antiquated; improvements are being
  made piecemeal, with emphasis on business needs and international
  connections; there are still about 150,000 unfulfilled requests for
  subscriber service
  domestic: substantial investment has been made in cellular systems
  which are operational throughout Estonia
  international: international traffic is carried to the other former
  Soviet republics by landline or microwave radio relay and to other
  countries partly by leased connection to the Moscow international
  gateway switch and partly by a new Tallinn-Helsinki fiber-optic,
  submarine cable which gives Estonia access to international circuits
  everywhere; access to the international packet-switched digital
  network via Helsinki

Radio broadcast stations: AM NA, FM NA, shortwave 0

Radios: 710,000 (1992 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 3
  note: provide Estonian programs as well as Moscow Ostenkino's first
  and second programs

Televisions: 600,000 (1993 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Ground Forces, Navy, Air and Air Defense Force (not
  officially sanctioned), Maritime Border Guard, Volunteer Defense
  League (Kaitseliit), Security Forces (internal and border troops),
  Coast Guard

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 357,835
  males fit for military service: 280,757
  males reach military age (18) annually: 10,525 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $35 million, 1.5%
  of GDP (1995)



======================================================================




@Ethiopia
--------




Map
---


Location: 8 00 N, 38 00 E -- Eastern Africa, west of Somalia



Flag
----


Description: three equal horizontal bands of green (top), yellow,
  and red with a yellow pentagram and single yellow rays emanating
  from the angles between the points on a light blue disk centered on
  the three bands; Ethiopia is the oldest independent country in
  Africa, and the colors of her flag were so often adopted by other
  African countries upon independence that they became known as the
  pan-African colors





Geography
---------


Location: Eastern Africa, west of Somalia

Geographic coordinates: 8 00 N, 38 00 E

Map references: Africa

Area:
  total area: 1,127,127 sq km
  land area: 1,119,683 sq km
  comparative area: slightly less than twice the size of Texas

Land boundaries:
  total: 5,311 km
  border countries: Djibouti 337 km, Eritrea 912 km, Kenya 830 km,
  Somalia 1,626 km, Sudan 1,606 km

Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims: none (landlocked)

International disputes: southern half of the boundary with Somalia
  is a Provisional Administrative Line; territorial dispute with
  Somalia over the Ogaden

Climate: tropical monsoon with wide topographic-induced variation

Terrain: high plateau with central mountain range divided by Great
  Rift Valley
  lowest point: Denakil -125 m
  highest point: Ras Dashen Terara 4,620 m

Natural resources: small reserves of gold, platinum, copper, potash

Land use:
  arable land: 12%
  permanent crops: 1%
  meadows and pastures: 41%
  forest and woodland: 24%
  other: 22%

Irrigated land: 1,620 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
  current issues: deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion;
  desertification; famine
  natural hazards: geologically active Great Rift Valley susceptible
  to earthquakes, volcanic eruptions; frequent droughts
  international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
  Endangered Species, Ozone Layer Protection; signed, but not ratified
  - Desertification, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea,
  Nuclear Test Ban

Geographic note: landlocked - entire coastline along the Red Sea
  was lost with the de jure independence of Eritrea on 27 April 1993



People
------


Population: 57,171,662 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 46% (male 13,116,158; female 13,080,276)
  15-64 years: 51% (male 14,782,995; female 14,624,779)
  65 years and over: 3% (male 728,808; female 838,646) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.72% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 46.05 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 17.53 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: -1.36 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)
  note: repatriation of Ethiopians who fled to Sudan, Kenya and
  Somalia for refuge from war and famine in earlier years, is expected
  to continue in 1996; entry into Ethiopia of Sudanese and Somalis
  fleeing the fighting in their own countries is also continuing in
  1996

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.87 male(s)/female
  all ages: 1 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 122.8 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 46.85 years
  male: 45.71 years
  female: 48.02 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 7 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Ethiopian(s)
  adjective: Ethiopian

Ethnic divisions: Oromo 40%, Amhara and Tigrean 32%, Sidamo 9%,
  Shankella 6%, Somali 6%, Afar 4%, Gurage 2%, other 1%

Religions: Muslim 45%-50%, Ethiopian Orthodox 35%-40%, animist
  12%, other 5%

Languages: Amharic (official), Tigrinya, Orominga, Guaraginga,
  Somali, Arabic, English (major foreign language taught in schools)

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)
  total population: 35.5%
  male: 45.5%
  female: 25.3%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia
  conventional short form: Ethiopia
  local long form: none
  local short form: Ityop'iya
  abbreviation: FDRE

Data code: ET

Type of government: federal republic
  note: on 28 May 1991 the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic
  Front (EPRDF) toppled the authoritarian government of MENGISTU
  Haile-Mariam and took control in Addis Ababa; a new constitution was
  promulgated in December 1994 and national and regional popular
  elections were held in May and June 1995

Capital: Addis Ababa

Administrative divisions: 9 ethnically-based administrative
  regions (astedader akababiwach, singular - astedader akababi) and 1
  federal capital*: Addis Ababa*; Afar; Amhara; Benshangul/Gumaz;
  Gambela; Harar; Oromia; Somali; Southern Nations, Nationalities and
  Peoples; Tigray

Independence: oldest independent country in Africa and one of the
  oldest in the world - at least 2,000 years

National holiday: National Day, 28 May (1991) (defeat of Mengistu
  regime)

Constitution: new constitution promulgated in December 1994

Legal system: NA

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: President NEGASSO Gidada (since NA August 1995)
  elected by the Council of People's Representatives following the
  elections of legislators in May and June 1995
  head of government: Prime Minister MELES Zenawi (since NA August
  1995) designated by the party in power, EPRDF, following the
  elections of legislators in May and June 1995
  cabinet: Council of Ministers as provided in the December 1994
  constitution; ministers are selected by the prime minister and
  approved by the Council of People's Representatives

Legislative branch: bicameral legislature
  Federal Council: upper chamber, having NA members, represents the
  ethnic interests of the regional governments and is elected by the
  regional assemblies
  Council of People's Representatives: lower chamber, having 550
  members, elected by popular vote
  note: both bodies have five-year terms of office; regional and
  national popular elections were held in May and June 1995; results -
  EPRDF swept nearly all seats

Judicial branch: Supreme Court, judges are elected by the national
  legislature

Political parties and leaders: Ethiopian People's Revolutionary
  Democratic Front (EPRDF), MELES Zenawi

Other political or pressure groups: Oromo Liberation Front (OLF);
  All Amhara People's Organization; Southern Ethiopia People's
  Democratic Coalition; numerous small, ethnic-based groups have
  formed since MENGISTU'S resignation, including several Islamic
  militant groups

International organization participation: ACP, AfDB, CCC, ECA,
  FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS,
  IGADD, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, NAM, OAU,
  UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNU, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WToO,
  WTrO (observer)

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador BERHANE Gebre-Christos
  chancery: 2134 Kalorama Road NW, Washington, DC 20008
  telephone: [1] (202) 234-2281, 2282
  FAX: [1] (202) 328-7950

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Irvin HICKS
  embassy: Entoto Street, Addis Ababa
  mailing address: P. O. Box 1014, Addis Ababa
  telephone: [251] (1) 550666
  FAX: [251] (1) 552191

Flag: three equal horizontal bands of green (top), yellow, and red
  with a yellow pentagram and single yellow rays emanating from the
  angles between the points on a light blue disk centered on the three
  bands; Ethiopia is the oldest independent country in Africa, and the
  colors of her flag were so often adopted by other African countries
  upon independence that they became known as the pan-African colors



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Ethiopia continues to face difficult economic
  problems as one of the poorest and least developed countries in
  Africa. Its economy is based on agriculture, which accounts for
  about half of GDP, 90% of exports, and 80% of total employment;
  coffee generates 60% of export earnings. The agricultural sector
  suffers from frequent periods of drought, poor cultivation
  practices, and deterioration of internal security conditions. The
  manufacturing sector is heavily dependent on inputs from the
  agricultural sector. Over 90% of large-scale industry, but less than
  10% of agriculture, is state-run. The government is considering
  selling off a portion of state-owned plants and is implementing
  reform measures that are gradually liberalizing the economy. A major
  medium-term problem is the improvement of roads, water supply, and
  other parts of an infrastructure badly neglected during years of
  civil strife.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $24.2 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 2.7% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $400 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 48%
  industry: 15%
  services: 37% (1993 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 10% (FY93/94)

Labor force: 18 million
  by occupation: agriculture and animal husbandry 80%, government and
  services 12%, industry and construction 8% (1985)

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget:
  revenues: $1.2 billion
  expenditures: $1.7 billion, including capital expenditures of $707
  million (FY93/94)

Industries: food processing, beverages, textiles, chemicals,
  metals processing, cement

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity:
  capacity: 460,000 kW
  production: 1.3 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 23 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: cereals, pulses, coffee, oilseed, sugarcane,
  potatoes, other vegetables; hides, cattle, sheep, goats

Illicit drugs: transit hub for heroin originating in Southwest and
  Southeast Asia and destined for Europe and North America as well as
  cocaine destined for markets in southern Africa; cultivates qat
  (chat) for local use and regional export

Exports: $296 million (f.o.b., 1994 est.)
  commodities: coffee, leather products, gold
  partners: Germany, Japan, Saudi Arabia, France, Italy

Imports: $972 million (c.i.f., 1994 est.)
  commodities: capital goods, consumer goods, fuel
  partners: US, Germany, Italy, Saudi Arabia, Japan

External debt: $3.7 billion (1993 est.)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $1.036 billion (1993)

Currency: 1 birr (Br) = 100 cents

Exchange rates: birr (Br) per US$1 - 6.3200 (December 1995),
  6.3200 (1995), 5.9500 (1994), 5.0000 (fixed rate 1992-93); fixed at
  2.070 before 1992; note - official rate pegged to the US$

Fiscal year: 8 July - 7 July



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 681 km (Ethiopian segment of the Addis Ababa-Djibouti
  railroad)
  narrow gauge: 681 km 1.000-m gauge

Highways:
  total: 24,127 km
  paved: 3,289 km
  unpaved: 20,838 km (1993 est.)

Ports: none; Ethiopia is landlocked but by agreement with Eritrea
  may use the ports of Assab and Massawa

Merchant marine:
  total: 12 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 62,627 GRT/88,908 DWT
  ships by type: cargo 8, oil tanker 2, roll-on/roll-off cargo 2 (1995
  est.)

Airports:
  total: 58
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 2
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 3
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 1
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 1
  with paved runways under 914 m: 6
  with unpaved runways over 3 047 m: 2
  with unpaved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 5
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 9
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 29 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 100,000 (1983 est.)

Telephone system: open wire and microwave radio relay system
  adequate for government use
  domestic: open wire and microwave radio relay
  international: open wire to Sudan and Djibouti; microwave radio
  relay to Kenya and Djibouti; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat
  (1 Atlantic Ocean and 2 Pacific Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 4, FM 0, shortwave 0

Radios: 9.9 million (1992 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 1

Televisions: 100,000 (1993 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Ground Forces, Air Force, Police
  note: following the secession of Eritrea, Ethiopia's naval
  facilities remained in Eritrea's possession; current reorganization
  plans do not include a navy

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 12,912,144
  males fit for military service: 6,707,180
  males reach military age (18) annually: 583,724 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $140 million,
  4.1% of GDP (FY93/94)



======================================================================




@Europa Island
-------------


(possession of France)

Map
---


Location: 22 20 S, 40 22 E -- Southern Africa, island in the
  Mozambique Channel, about one-half of the way from southern
  Madagascar to southern Mozambique



Flag
----


Description: the flag of France is used





Geography
---------


Location: Southern Africa, island in the Mozambique Channel, about
  one-half of the way from southern Madagascar to southern Mozambique

Geographic coordinates: 22 20 S, 40 22 E

Map references: Africa

Area:
  total area: 28 sq km
  land area: 28 sq km
  comparative area: about 0.1 times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 22.2 km

Maritime claims:
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: claimed by Madagascar

Climate: tropical

Terrain: NA
  lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
  highest point: unnamed location 24 m

Natural resources: negligible

Land use:
  arable land: NA%
  permanent crops: NA%
  meadows and pastures: NA%
  forest and woodland: NA% (heavily wooded)
  other: NA%

Irrigated land: 0 sq km

Environment:
  current issues: NA
  natural hazards: NA
  international agreements: NA

Geographic note: wildlife sanctuary



People
------


Population: uninhabited



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: none
  conventional short form: Europa Island
  local long form: none
  local short form: Ile Europa

Data code: EU

Type of government: French possession administered by Commissioner
  of the Republic; resident in Reunion

Capital: none; administered by France from Reunion

Independence: none (possession of France)

Flag: the flag of France is used



Economy
-------


Economic overview: no economic activity



Transportation
--------------


Ports: none; offshore anchorage only

Airports:
  total: 1
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 1 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Communications note: 1 meteorological station



Defense
-------


Defense note: defense is the responsibility of France



======================================================================




@Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas)
---------------------------------


(dependent territory of the UK)

Map
---


Location: 51 45 S, 59 00 W -- Southern South America, islands in
  the South Atlantic Ocean, east of southern Argentina



Flag
----


Description: blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side
  quadrant and the Falkland Island coat of arms in a white disk
  centered on the outer half of the flag; the coat of arms contains a
  white ram (sheep raising is the major economic activity) above the
  sailing ship Desire (whose crew discovered the islands) with a
  scroll at the bottom bearing the motto DESIRE THE RIGHT





Geography
---------


Location: Southern South America, islands in the South Atlantic
  Ocean, east of southern Argentina

Geographic coordinates: 51 45 S, 59 00 W

Map references: South America

Area:
  total area: 12,170 sq km
  land area: 12,170 sq km
  comparative area: slightly smaller than Connecticut
  note: includes the two main islands of East and West Falkland and
  about 200 small islands

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 1,288 km

Maritime claims:
  continental shelf: 200 nm
  exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: administered by the UK, claimed by
  Argentina

Climate: cold marine; strong westerly winds, cloudy, humid; rain
  occurs on more than half of days in year; occasional snow all year,
  except in January and February, but does not accumulate

Terrain: rocky, hilly, mountainous with some boggy, undulating
  plains
  lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
  highest point: Mount Usborne 705 m

Natural resources: fish, wildlife

Land use:
  arable land: 0%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 99%
  forest and woodland: 0%
  other: 1%

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Environment:
  current issues: NA
  natural hazards: strong winds persist throughout the year
  international agreements: NA

Geographic note: deeply indented coast provides good natural
  harbors; short growing season



People
------


Population: 2,374 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: NA
  15-64 years: NA
  65 years and over: NA

Population growth rate: 2.43% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: NA births/1,000 population

Death rate: NA deaths/1,000 population

Net migration rate: NA migrant(s)/1,000 population

Sex ratio:
  at birth: NA male(s)/female
  under 15 years: NA male(s)/female
  15-64 years: NA male(s)/female
  65 years and over: NA male(s)/female
  all ages: NA male(s)/female

Infant mortality rate: NA deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: NA years
  male: NA years
  female: NA years

Total fertility rate: NA children born/woman

Nationality:
  noun: Falkland Islander(s)
  adjective: Falkland Island

Ethnic divisions: British

Religions: primarily Anglican, Roman Catholic, United Free Church,
  Evangelist Church, Jehovah's Witnesses, Lutheran, Seventh-Day
  Adventist

Languages: English



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Colony of the Falkland Islands
  conventional short form: Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas)

Data code: FA

Type of government: dependent territory of the UK

Capital: Stanley

Administrative divisions: none (dependent territory of the UK)

Independence: none (dependent territory of the UK)

National holiday: Liberation Day, 14 June (1982)

Constitution: 3 October 1985

Legal system: English common law

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (of the UK since 6 February 1952)
  is a hereditary monarch
  head of government: Governor R. RALPH (since NA) was appointed by
  the queen
  cabinet: Executive Council; three members elected by the Legislative
  Council, two ex-officio members (chief executive and the financial
  secretary), and the governor

Legislative branch: unicameral
  Legislative Council: elections last held 11 October 1989 (next was
  to be held NA October 1994); results - percent of vote by party NA;
  seats - (10 total, 8 elected) independents 8

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

Political parties and leaders: NA

International organization participation: ICFTU

Diplomatic representation in US: none (dependent territory of the
  UK)

US diplomatic representation: none (dependent territory of the UK)

Flag: blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side
  quadrant and the Falkland Island coat of arms in a white disk
  centered on the outer half of the flag; the coat of arms contains a
  white ram (sheep raising is the major economic activity) above the
  sailing ship Desire (whose crew discovered the islands) with a
  scroll at the bottom bearing the motto DESIRE THE RIGHT



Economy
-------


Economic overview: The economy was formerly based on agriculture,
  mainly sheep farming, which directly or indirectly employs most of
  the work force. Dairy farming supports domestic consumption; crops
  furnish winter fodder. Exports feature shipments of high-grade wool
  to the UK and the sale of postage stamps and coins. Rich stocks of
  fish in the surrounding waters are not presently exploited by the
  islanders. So far, efforts to establish a domestic fishing industry
  have been unsuccessful. The economy has diversified since 1987, when
  the government began selling fishing licenses to foreign trawlers
  operating within the Falklands exclusive fishing zone. These license
  fees total more than $40 million per year and support the island's
  health, education, and welfare system. To encourage tourism, the
  Falkland Islands Development Corporation has built three lodges for
  visitors attracted by the abundant wildlife and trout fishing. The
  islands are now self-financing except for defense. The British
  Geological Survey announced a 200-mile oil exploration zone around
  the islands in 1993, and early seismic surveys suggest substantial
  reserves capable of producing 500,000 barrels per day. An agreement
  between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1995 seeks to defuse
  licensing and sovereignty conflicts that would dampen foreign
  interest in exploiting potential oil reserves.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $NA

GDP real growth rate: NA%

GDP per capita: $NA

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: NA%
  industry: NA%
  services: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA%

Labor force: 1,100 (est.)
  by occupation: agriculture 95% (mostly sheepherding)

Unemployment rate: NA%; labor shortage

Budget:
  revenues: $42.7 million
  expenditures: $28.5 million, including capital expenditures of $NA
  (1993-94 est.)

Industries: wool and fish processing

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity:
  capacity: 9,200 kW
  production: 17 million kWh
  consumption per capita: 7,253 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: fodder and vegetable crops; sheep farming, small
  dairy herds

Exports: $5.4 million
  commodities: wool, hides, meat
  partners: UK, Netherlands, Japan (1992)

Imports: $26.2 million
  commodities: food, clothing, timber, and machinery
  partners: UK, Netherlands Antilles (Curacao), Japan (1992)

External debt: $NA

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $NA
  note: UK, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments totaled $18 million
  (1993-94)

Currency: 1 Falkland pound (LF) = 100 pence

Exchange rates: Falkland pound (LF) per US$1 - 0.6535 (January
  1996), 0.6335 (1995), 0.6529 (1994), 0.6658 (1993), 0.5664 (1992),
  0.5652 (1991); note - the Falkland pound is at par with the British
  pound

Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March



Transportation
--------------


Railways: 0 km

Highways:
  total: 510 km
  paved: 30 km
  unpaved: 480 km

Ports: Stanley

Merchant marine: none

Airports:
  total: 5
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 1
  with paved runways under 914 m: 4 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 1,180 (1991 est.)

Telephone system:
  domestic: government-operated radiotelephone and private VHF/CB
  radiotelephone networks provide effective service to almost all
  points on both islands
  international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
  with links through London to other countries

Radio broadcast stations: AM 2, FM 3, shortwave 0

Radios: 1,000 (1992 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 1 (government operated)

Televisions: NA



Defense
-------


Branches: British Forces Falkland Islands (includes Army, Royal
  Air Force, Royal Navy, and Royal Marines), Police Force

Defense expenditures: $NA, NA% of GDP

Defense note: defense is the responsibility of the UK



======================================================================




@Faroe Islands
-------------


(part of the Danish realm)

Map
---


Location: 62 00 N, 7 00 W -- Northern Europe, island group between
  the Norwegian Sea and the north Atlantic Ocean, about one-half of
  the way from Iceland to Norway



Flag
----


Description: white with a red cross outlined in blue that extends
  to the edges of the flag; the vertical part of the cross is shifted
  to the hoist side in the style of the Dannebrog (Danish flag)





Geography
---------


Location: Northern Europe, island group between the Norwegian Sea
  and the north Atlantic Ocean, about one-half of the way from Iceland
  to Norway

Geographic coordinates: 62 00 N, 7 00 W

Map references: Europe

Area:
  total area: 1,400 sq km
  land area: 1,400 sq km
  comparative area: eight times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 764 km

Maritime claims:
  exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 3 nm

International disputes: none

Climate: mild winters, cool summers; usually overcast; foggy, windy

Terrain: rugged, rocky, some low peaks; cliffs along most of coast
  lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
  highest point: Slaettaratindur 882 m

Natural resources: fish

Land use:
  arable land: 2%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 0%
  forest and woodland: 0%
  other: 98%

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Environment:
  current issues: NA
  natural hazards: NA
  international agreements: NA

Geographic note: archipelago of 18 inhabited islands and a few
  uninhabited islets; strategically located along important sea lanes
  in northeastern Atlantic; precipitous terrain limits habitation to
  small coastal lowlands



People
------


Population: 43,857 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 24% (male 5,461; female 5,280)
  15-64 years: 62% (male 14,488; female 12,617)
  65 years and over: 14% (male 2,661; female 3,350) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: -1.8% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 13.91 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 8.69 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: -23.19 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 0.99 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 1.15 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.79 male(s)/female
  all ages: 1.06 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 7.2 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 77.83 years
  male: 74.75 years
  female: 80.88 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.38 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Faroese (singular and plural)
  adjective: Faroese

Ethnic divisions: Scandinavian

Religions: Evangelical Lutheran

Languages: Faroese (derived from Old Norse), Danish

Literacy: NA



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: none
  conventional short form: Faroe Islands
  local long form: none
  local short form: Foroyar

Data code: FO

Type of government: part of the Danish realm; self-governing
  overseas administrative division of Denmark

Capital: Torshavn

Administrative divisions: none (self-governing overseas
  administrative division of Denmark)

Independence: none (part of the Danish realm; self-governing
  overseas administrative division of Denmark)

National holiday: Birthday of the Queen, 16 April (1940)

Constitution: 5 June 1953 (Danish constitution)

Legal system: Danish

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: Queen MARGRETHE II (of Denmark since 14 January
  1972), who is a constitutional monarch, is represented by High
  Commissioner Bent KLINTE, chief administrative officer (since NA)
  head of government: Prime Minister Edmund JOENSEN (since 15
  September 1994) was elected by the Logting
  cabinet: Landsstyri was elected by the Logting

Legislative branch: unicameral
  Faroese Parliament (Logting): elections last held 8 July 1994 (next
  to be held by July 1998); results - percent of vote by party NA;
  seats - (32 total) Liberal Party 8, People's Party 6, Social
  Democrats 5, Republicans 4, Workers' Party 3, Christian Democrats 2,
  Center Party 2, Home Rule Party 2
  Danish Parliament: elections last held on 21 September 1994 (next to
  be held by September 1998); results - percent of vote by party NA;
  seats - (2 total) Liberals 2

Judicial branch: none

Political parties and leaders: Social Democratic Party, Marita
  PETERSEN; Workers Front, Oli JACOBSEN; Home Rule Party, Helena Dam A
  NEYSTABO; The "Coalition Party," Edmund JOENSEN; Republican Party,
  Finnbogi ISAKSON; Centrist Party, Tordur NICLASEN; Christian
  People's Party, Niels Pauli DANIELSEN; People's Party, Arnfinn
  KALLSBERG; Liberal Party, Jorgen ESTRUP; Christian Democratic Party

International organization participation: none

Diplomatic representation in US: none (self-governing overseas
  administrative division of Denmark)

US diplomatic representation: none (self-governing overseas
  administrative division of Denmark)

Flag: white with a red cross outlined in blue that extends to the
  edges of the flag; the vertical part of the cross is shifted to the
  hoist side in the style of the Dannebrog (Danish flag)



Economy
-------


Economic overview: The Faroese economy is experiencing a moderate
  upturn after several years of decline brought on by over-fishing and
  declining fish prices, large budget deficits by the Faroese Home
  Rule Government (FHRG), plummeting property values, and a bail-out
  merger of the two largest Faroese banks. Near-term forecasts suggest
  continued economic recovery, and oil finds close to the Faroese area
  may lay the basis for an eventual economic rebound. Aided by a
  substantial annual subsidy from Denmark, the Faroese have enjoyed a
  standard of living comparable to the Danes and other Scandinavians.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $733 million (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: NA%

GDP per capita: $15,000 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: NA%
  industry: NA%
  services: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 6.8% (1993 est.)

Labor force: 17,585
  by occupation: largely engaged in fishing, manufacturing,
  transportation, and commerce

Unemployment rate: 23% (1993)

Budget:
  revenues: $407.2 million
  expenditures: $482.7 million, including capital expenditures of $NA
  (1993 est.)

Industries: fishing, shipbuilding, handicrafts

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity:
  capacity: 90,000 kW
  production: 200 million kWh
  consumption per capita: 3,953 kWh (1992)

Agriculture: potatoes, vegetables; sheep; annual fish catch about
  360,000 metric tons

Exports: $345.3 million (f.o.b., 1993 est.)
  commodities: fish and fish products 88%, animal feedstuffs,
  transport equipment (ships) (1989)
  partners: Denmark 20%, Germany 18.3%, UK 14.2%, France 11.2%, Spain
  7.9%, US 4.5%

Imports: $234.4 million (c.i.f., 1993 est.)
  commodities: machinery and transport equipment 24.4%, manufactures
  24%, food and livestock 19%, fuels 12%, chemicals 6.5%
  partners: Denmark 43.8%, Norway 19.8%, Sweden 4.9%, Germany 4.2%, US
  1.3%

External debt: $1.2 billion (1993 est.)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $NA
  note: receives an annual subsidy from Denmark of about $130 million

Currency: 1 Danish krone (DKr) = 100 oere

Exchange rates: Danish kroner (DKr) per US$1 - 5.652 (January
  1996), 5.602 (1995), 6.361 (1994), 6.484 (1993), 6.036 (1992), 6.396
  (1991)

Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March



Transportation
--------------


Railways: 0 km

Highways:
  total: 443 km
  paved: NA km
  unpaved: NA km

Ports: Klaksvick, Torshavn, Tvoroyri

Merchant marine:
  total: 7 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 19,879 GRT/18,444 DWT
  ships by type: cargo 5, roll-on/roll-off cargo 1, short-sea
  passenger 1 (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 1
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 1 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 27,900 (1984 est.)

Telephone system: good international communications; fair domestic
  facilities
  domestic: NA
  international: 3 coaxial submarine cables

Radio broadcast stations: AM 1, FM 3 (repeaters 10), shortwave 0

Radios: 24,000 (1992 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 3 (repeaters 29)

Televisions: 14,000 (1992 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: no organized native military forces; only a small Police
  Force and Coast Guard are maintained

Defense expenditures: $NA, NA% of GDP

Defense note: defense is the responsibility of Denmark



======================================================================




@Fiji
----




Map
---


Location: 18 00 S, 175 00 E -- Oceania, island group in the South
  Pacific Ocean, about two-thirds of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand



Flag
----


Description: light blue with the flag of the UK in the upper
  hoist-side quadrant and the Fijian shield centered on the outer half
  of the flag; the shield depicts a yellow lion above a white field
  quartered by the cross of Saint George featuring stalks of
  sugarcane, a palm tree, bananas, and a white dove





Geography
---------


Location: Oceania, island group in the South Pacific Ocean, about
  two-thirds of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand

Geographic coordinates: 18 00 S, 175 00 E

Map references: Oceania

Area:
  total area: 18,270 sq km
  land area: 18,270 sq km
  comparative area: slightly smaller than New Jersey

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 1,129 km

Maritime claims: measured from claimed archipelagic baselines
  continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation;
  rectilinear shelf claim added
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: none

Climate: tropical marine; only slight seasonal temperature
  variation

Terrain: mostly mountains of volcanic origin
  lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
  highest point: Tomanivi 1,324 m

Natural resources: timber, fish, gold, copper, offshore oil
  potential

Land use:
  arable land: 8%
  permanent crops: 5%
  meadows and pastures: 3%
  forest and woodland: 65%
  other: 19%

Irrigated land: 10 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
  current issues: deforestation; soil erosion
  natural hazards: cyclonic storms can occur from November to January
  international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
  Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone
  Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Whaling

Geographic note: includes 332 islands of which approximately 110
  are inhabited



People
------


Population: 782,381 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 35% (male 141,652; female 135,829)
  15-64 years: 62% (male 240,621; female 240,620)
  65 years and over: 3% (male 11,235; female 12,424) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.28% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 23.37 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 6.35 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: -4.22 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.9 male(s)/female
  all ages: 1.01 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 17.4 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 65.71 years
  male: 63.39 years
  female: 68.14 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.83 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Fijian(s)
  adjective: Fijian

Ethnic divisions: Fijian 49%, Indian 46%, European, other Pacific
  Islanders, overseas Chinese, and other 5%

Religions: Christian 52% (Methodist 37%, Roman Catholic 9%), Hindu
  38%, Muslim 8%, other 2%
  note: Fijians are mainly Christian, Indians are Hindu, and there is
  a Muslim minority (1986)

Languages: English (official), Fijian, Hindustani

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)
  total population: 91.6%
  male: 93.8%
  female: 89.3%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Republic of Fiji
  conventional short form: Fiji

Data code: FJ

Type of government: republic
  note: military coup leader Maj. Gen. Sitiveni RABUKA formally
  declared Fiji a republic on 6 October 1987

Capital: Suva

Administrative divisions: 4 divisions and 1 dependency*; Central,
  Eastern, Northern, Rotuma*, Western

Independence: 10 October 1970 (from UK)

National holiday: Independence Day, 10 October (1970)

Constitution: 10 October 1970 (suspended 1 October 1987); a new
  Constitution was proposed on 23 September 1988 and promulgated on 25
  July 1990; the 1990 Constitution is under review; the review is
  scheduled to be complete by 1997

Legal system: based on British system

Suffrage: 21 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: President Ratu Sir Kamisese MARA (Acting President
  since 15 December 1993, President since 12 January 1994) was
  appointed for a five-year term by the Great Council of Chiefs; First
  Vice President Ratu Sir Josaia TAIVAIQIA (since 12 January 1994);
  Second Vice President Ratu Inoke TAKIVEIKATA (since 12 January 1994)
  head of government: Prime Minister Sitiveni RABUKA (since 2 June
  1992) was appointed by the president; Deputy Prime Minister Timoci
  VESIKULA (since NA)
  Presidential Council: advises the president on matters of national
  importance
  Great Council of Chiefs: highest ranking members of the traditional
  chiefly system
  cabinet: Cabinet was appointed by the prime minister from among the
  members of Parliament and is responsible to Parliament

Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament
  Senate: nonelective body, members are appointed by the president and
  serve five-year terms; seats - (34 total, 24 reserved for ethnic
  Fijians, 9 for Indians and others, and 1 for the island of Rotuma)
  House of Representatives: members serve five-year terms; elections
  last held 18-25 February 1994 (next to be held NA 1999); results -
  percent of vote by party NA; seats - (70 total, with ethnic Fijians
  allocated 37 seats, ethnic Indians 27 seats, and independents and
  other 6 seats) SVT 31, NFP 20, FLP 7, FAP 5, GVP 4, independents 2,
  ANC 1

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

Political parties and leaders: Fijian Political Party (SVT -
  primarily Fijian), leader Maj. Gen. Sitivini RABUKA; National
  Federation Party (NFP; primarily Indian), Jai Ram REDDY; Fijian
  Nationalist Party (FNP), Sakeasi BUTADROKA; Fiji Labor Party (FLP),
  Mahendra CHAUDHRY; General Voters Party (GVP), Leo SMITH; Fiji
  Conservative Party (FCP), leader NA; Conservative Party of Fiji
  (CPF), leader NA; Fiji Indian Liberal Party, leader NA; Fiji Indian
  Congress Party, leader NA; Fiji Independent Labor (Muslim), leader
  NA; Four Corners Party, leader NA; Fijian Association Party (FAP),
  Josevata KAMIKAMICA; General Electors' Association, leader NA
  note: in early 1995, ethnic Fijian members of the All National
  Congress (ANC) merged with the Fijian Association (FA); the
  remaining members of the ANC have renamed their party the General
  Electors' Association

International organization participation: ACP, AsDB, CP, ESCAP,
  FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF,
  IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ITU, PCA, Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UN,
  UNAMIR, UNAVEM III, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNIKOM, UPU,
  WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Pita Kewa NACUVA
  chancery: Suite 240, 2233 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007
  telephone: [1] (202) 337-8320
  FAX: [1] (202) 337-1996
  consulate(s): New York

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Don Lee GEVIRTZ
  embassy: 31 Loftus Street, Suva
  mailing address: P. O. Box 218, Suva
  telephone: [679] 314466
  FAX: [679] 300081

Flag: light blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side
  quadrant and the Fijian shield centered on the outer half of the
  flag; the shield depicts a yellow lion above a white field quartered
  by the cross of Saint George featuring stalks of sugarcane, a palm
  tree, bananas, and a white dove



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Fiji, richly endowed with forest, mineral, and
  fish resources, is one of the most developed of the Pacific island
  economies, though still with a large subsistence sector. Sugar
  exports and tourism are the major sources of foreign exchange.
  Industry contributes 17% to GDP; sugar processing makes up one-third
  of industrial activity. Roughly 250,000 tourists visit each year.
  Political uncertainty and drought, however, contribute to
  substantial fluctuations in earnings from tourism and sugar and to
  the emigration of skilled workers. In 1992, growth was approximately
  3%, based on growth in tourism and a lessening of labor-management
  disputes in the sugar and gold-mining sectors. In 1993, the
  government's budgeted growth rate of 3% was not achieved because of
  a decline in non-sugar agricultural output and damage from Cyclone
  Kina. Growth in 1994 of 5% was largely attributable to increased
  tourism and expansion in the manufacturing sector.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $4.7 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 2.2% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $6,100 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 22%
  industry: 17%
  services: 61% (1994)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2% (1995)

Labor force: 235,000
  by occupation: subsistence agriculture 67%, wage earners 18%, salary
  earners 15% (1987)

Unemployment rate: 5.4% (1992)

Budget:
  revenues: $495.6 million
  expenditures: $591.2 million, including capital expenditures of $NA
  (1995 est.)

Industries: sugar, tourism, copra, gold, silver, clothing, lumber,
  small cottage industries

Industrial production growth rate: 0% (1993 est.)

Electricity:
  capacity: 200,000 kW
  production: 480 million kWh
  consumption per capita: 581 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: sugarcane, coconuts, cassava (tapioca), rice, sweet
  potatoes, bananas; cattle, pigs, horses, goats; fish catch nearly
  33,000 tons (1989)

Exports: $571.8 million (f.o.b., 1995)
  commodities: sugar 40%, clothing, gold, processed fish, lumber
  partners: EC 26%, Australia 15%, Pacific Islands 11%, Japan 6%

Imports: $864.3 million (c.i.f., 1995)
  commodities: machinery and transport equipment, petroleum products,
  food, consumer goods, chemicals
  partners: Australia 30%, NZ 17%, Japan 13%, EC 6%, US 6%

External debt: $670 million (1994 est.)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $NA

Currency: 1 Fijian dollar (F$) = 100 cents

Exchange rates: Fijian dollars (F$) per US$1 - 1.4347 (January
  1996), 1.4063 (1995), 1.4641 (1994), 1.5418 (1993), 1.5030 (1992),
  1.4756 (1991)

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 597 km; note - belongs to the government-owned Fiji Sugar
  Corporation
  narrow gauge: 597 km 0.610-m gauge (1995)

Highways:
  total: 4,800 km
  paved: NA km
  unpaved: NA km

Waterways: 203 km; 122 km navigable by motorized craft and
  200-metric-ton barges

Ports: Labasa, Lautoka, Levuka, Savusavu, Suva

Merchant marine:
  total: 5 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 16,267 GRT/17,884 DWT
  ships by type: chemical tanker 2, oil tanker 1, roll-on/roll-off
  cargo 2 (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 21
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 1
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 1
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 1
  with paved runways under 914 m: 15
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 3 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 60,017 (1987 est.)

Telephone system: modern local, interisland, and international
  (wire/radio integrated) public and special-purpose telephone,
  telegraph, and teleprinter facilities; regional radio communications
  center
  domestic: NA
  international: access to important cable link between US and Canada
  and NZ and Australia; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific
  Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 7, FM 1, shortwave 0

Radios: NA

Television broadcast stations: 0

Televisions: 12,000 (1992 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Republic of Fiji Military Forces (RFMF; includes army,
  navy, and air elements)

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 205,616
  males fit for military service: 113,339
  males reach military age (18) annually: 8,746 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $28 million, 2.5%
  of GDP (1995)



======================================================================




@Finland
-------




Map
---


Location: 64 00 N, 26 00 E -- Northern Europe, bordering the
  Baltic Sea, Gulf of Bothnia, and Gulf of Finland, between Sweden and
  Russia



Flag
----


Description: white with a blue cross that extends to the edges of
  the flag; the vertical part of the cross is shifted to the hoist
  side in the style of the Dannebrog (Danish flag)





Geography
---------


Location: Northern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, Gulf of
  Bothnia, and Gulf of Finland, between Sweden and Russia

Geographic coordinates: 64 00 N, 26 00 E

Map references: Europe

Area:
  total area: 337,030 sq km
  land area: 305,470 sq km
  comparative area: slightly smaller than Montana

Land boundaries:
  total: 2,628 km
  border countries: Norway 729 km, Sweden 586 km, Russia 1,313 km

Coastline: 1,126 km (excludes islands and coastal indentations)

Maritime claims:
  contiguous zone: 6 nm
  continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
  exclusive fishing zone: 12 nm
  territorial sea: 4 nm

International disputes: none

Climate: cold temperate; potentially subarctic, but comparatively
  mild because of moderating influence of the North Atlantic Current,
  Baltic Sea, and more than 60,000 lakes

Terrain: mostly low, flat to rolling plains interspersed with
  lakes and low hills
  lowest point: Baltic Sea 0 m
  highest point: Haltiatunturi 1,328 m

Natural resources: timber, copper, zinc, iron ore, silver

Land use:
  arable land: 8%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 0%
  forest and woodland: 76%
  other: 16%

Irrigated land: 620 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
  current issues: air pollution from manufacturing and power plants
  contributing to acid rain; water pollution from industrial wastes,
  agricultural chemicals; habitat loss threatens wildlife populations
  natural hazards: NA
  international agreements: party to - Air Pollution, Air
  Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air
  Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic Treaty,
  Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental
  Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Marine Life
  Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship
  Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Wetlands, Whaling; signed, but not
  ratified - Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Antarctic-Environmental
  Protocol, Desertification, Law of the Sea

Geographic note: long boundary with Russia; Helsinki is
  northernmost national capital on European continent; population
  concentrated on small southwestern coastal plain



People
------


Population: 5,105,230 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 19% (male 492,616; female 471,736)
  15-64 years: 67% (male 1,725,113; female 1,687,974)
  65 years and over: 14% (male 275,927; female 451,864) (July 1996
  est.)

Population growth rate: 0.1% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 11.32 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 10.92 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 0.58 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.61 male(s)/female
  all ages: 0.96 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 4.9 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 75.47 years
  male: 73.82 years
  female: 77.18 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.68 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Finn(s)
  adjective: Finnish

Ethnic divisions: Finn, Swede, Lapp, Gypsy, Tatar

Religions: Evangelical Lutheran 89%, Greek Orthodox 1%, none 9%,
  other 1%

Languages: Finnish 93.5% (official), Swedish 6.3% (official),
  small Lapp- and Russian-speaking minorities

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1980 est.)
  total population: 100%
  male: NA%
  female: NA%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Republic of Finland
  conventional short form: Finland
  local long form: Suomen Tasavalta
  local short form: Suomi

Data code: FI

Type of government: republic

Capital: Helsinki

Administrative divisions: 12 provinces (laanit, singular - laani);
  Ahvenanmaa, Hame, Keski-Suomi, Kuopio, Kymi, Lappi, Mikkeli, Oulu,
  Pohjois-Karjala, Turku ja Pori, Uusimaa, Vaasa

Independence: 6 December 1917 (from Soviet Union)

National holiday: Independence Day, 6 December (1917)

Constitution: 17 July 1919

Legal system: civil law system based on Swedish law; Supreme Court
  may request legislation interpreting or modifying laws; accepts
  compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: President Martti AHTISAARI (since 1 March 1994) was
  elected for a six-year term by popular vote; election last held 31
  January-6 February 1994 (next to be held NA January 2000); results -
  Martti AHTISAARI 54%, Elisabeth REHN 46%
  head of government: Prime Minister Paavo LIPPONEN (since 13 April
  1995) and Deputy Prime Minister Sauli NIINISTO (since 13 April 1995)
  were appointed by the president
  cabinet: Council of State (Valtioneuvosto) was appointed by the
  president, responsible to Parliament

Legislative branch: unicameral
  Parliament (Eduskunta): elections last held 19 March 1995 (next to
  be held NA March 1999); results - Social Democratic Party 28.3%,
  Center Party 19.9%, National Coalition (Conservative) Party 17.9%,
  Leftist Alliance (Communist) 11.2%, Swedish People's Party 5.1%,
  Green League 6.5%, Ecology Party 0.3%, Rural 1.3%, Finnish Christian
  League 3.0%, Liberal People's Party 0.6%, Young Finns 2.8%; seats -
  (200 total) Social Democratic Party 63, Center Party 44, National
  Coalition (Conservative) Party 39, Leftist Alliance (Communist) 22,
  Swedish People's Party 11, Green League 9, Ecology Party 1, Rural 1,
  Finnish Christian League 7, Young Finns 2, Aaland Islands 1

Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Korkein Oikeus), judges appointed
  by the president

Political parties and leaders:
  government coalition: Social Democratic Party, Paavo LIPPONEN;
  National Coalition (conservative) Party, Sauli NIINISTO; Leftist
  Alliance (Communist) People's Democratic League and Democratic
  Alternative, Claes ANDERSSON; Swedish People's Party, (Johan) Ole
  NORRBACK; Green League, Pekka HAAVISTO
  other: Center Party, Esko AHO; Finnish Christian League, Toimi
  KANKAANNIEMI; Rural Party, Raimo VISTBACKA; Liberal People's Party,
  Tuulikki UKKOLA; Greens Ecological Party (EPV); Young Finns, Risto
  PENTTILAE

Other political or pressure groups: Finnish Communist Party-Unity,
  Yrjo HAKANEN; Constitutional Rightist Party; Finnish Pensioners
  Party; Communist Workers Party, Timo LAHDENMAKI

International organization participation: AfDB, AG (observer),
  AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, CBSS, CCC, CE, CERN, EBRD, ECE, EIB,
  ESA, EU, FAO, G- 9, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA,
  IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol,
  IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MTCR, NACC, NAM (guest), NC, NEA, NIB, NSG, OAS
  (observer), OECD, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCRO, UNCTAD, UNESCO,
  UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNIKOM, UNMOGIP, UNPREDEP, UNPROFOR,
  UNTSO, UPU, WEU (observer), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Jaakko LAAJAVA
  chancery: 3301 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
  telephone: [1] (202) 298-5800
  FAX: [1] (202) 298-6030
  consulate(s) general: Los Angeles and New York

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Derek N. SHEARER
  embassy: Itainen Puistotie 14A, FIN-00140, Helsinki
  mailing address: APO AE 09723
  telephone: [358] (0) 171931
  FAX: [358] (0) 174681

Flag: white with a blue cross that extends to the edges of the
  flag; the vertical part of the cross is shifted to the hoist side in
  the style of the Dannebrog (Danish flag)



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Finland has a highly industrialized, largely
  free-market economy, with per capita output equaling that of the UK,
  France and Italy. Its key economic sector is manufacturing -
  principally the wood, metals, and engineering industries. Trade is
  important, with the export of goods representing about 30% of GDP.
  Except for timber and several minerals, Finland depends on imports
  of raw materials, energy, and some components for manufactured
  goods. Because of the climate, agricultural development is limited
  to maintaining self-sufficiency in basic products. Forestry, an
  important export earner, provides a secondary occupation for the
  rural population. The economy, which experienced an average of 4.9%
  annual growth between 1987 and 1989, sank into deep recession in
  1991 as GDP contracted by 6.5%. The recession - which continued in
  1992 with GDP contracting by 4.1% - has been caused by economic
  overheating, depressed foreign markets, and the dismantling of the
  barter system between Finland and the former Soviet Union under
  which Soviet oil and gas had been exchanged for Finnish manufactured
  goods. The Finnish Government has proposed efforts to increase
  industrial competitiveness and efficiency by an increase in exports
  to Western markets, cuts in public expenditures, partial
  privatization of state enterprises, and changes in monetary policy.
  In June 1991 Helsinki had tied the markka to the European Union's
  (EU) European Currency Unit (ECU) to promote stability. Ongoing
  speculation resulting from a lack of confidence in the government's
  policies forced Helsinki to devalue the markka by about 12% in
  November 1991 and to indefinitely break the link in September 1992.
  The devaluations have boosted the competitiveness of Finnish
  exports. The recession bottomed out in 1993, and Finland
  participated in the general European upturn of 1994. Unemployment
  probably will remain a serious problem during the next few years;
  the majority of Finnish firms face a weak domestic market and the
  troubled German and Swedish export markets. The Finns voted in an
  October 1994 referendum to enter the EU, and Finland officially
  joined the Union on 1 January 1995. Increasing integration with
  Western Europe will dominate the economic picture over the next few
  years.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $92.4 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 5% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $18,200 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 4.6%
  industry: 28%
  services: 67.4% (1994)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2% (1995 est.)

Labor force: 2.533 million
  by occupation: public services 30.4%, industry 20.9%, commerce
  15.0%, finance, insurance, and business services 10.2%, agriculture
  and forestry 8.6%, transport and communications 7.7%, construction
  7.2%

Unemployment rate: 17% (1995)

Budget:
  revenues: $21.7 billion
  expenditures: $31.7 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA
  (1993 est.)

Industries: metal products, shipbuilding, pulp and paper, copper
  refining, foodstuffs, chemicals, textiles, clothing

Industrial production growth rate: 5% (1993 est.)

Electricity:
  capacity: 13,360,000 kW
  production: 58 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 12,196 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: cereals, sugar beets, potatoes; dairy cattle; annual
  fish catch about 160,000 metric tons

Illicit drugs: transshipment point for Latin American cocaine for
  the West European market

Exports: $29.7 billion (f.o.b., 1994)
  commodities: paper and pulp, machinery, chemicals, metals, timber
  partners: EU 46.5% (Germany 13.4%, UK 10.3%), Sweden 11%, US 7.2%,
  Japan 2.1%, FSU 8.6% (1994)

Imports: $23.2 billion (c.i.f., 1994)
  commodities: foodstuffs, petroleum and petroleum products,
  chemicals, transport equipment, iron and steel, machinery, textile
  yarn and fabrics, fodder grains
  partners: EU 44% (Germany 15%, UK 8.3%), Sweden 10.4%, US 7.6%,
  Japan 6.5%, FSU 10.3 (1994)

External debt: $30 billion (December 1993)

Economic aid:
  donor: ODA, $355 million (1993)

Currency: 1 markka (FMk) or Finmark = 100 pennia

Exchange rates: markkaa (FMk) per US$1 - 4.4425 (January 1996),
  4.3667 (1995), 5.2235 (1994), 5.7123 (1993), 4.4794 (1992), 4.0440
  (1991)

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 5,895 km
  broad gauge: 5,895 km 1.524-m gauge (1,993 km electrified; 480 km
  double- or more-track) (1995)

Highways:
  total: 76,755 km
  paved: 47,588 km (including 318 km of expressways)
  unpaved: 29,167 km (1992 est.)

Waterways: 6,675 km total (including Saimaa Canal); 3,700 km
  suitable for steamers

Pipelines: natural gas 580 km

Ports: Hamina, Helsinki, Kokkola, Kotka, Loviisa, Oulu, Pori,
  Rauma, Turku, Uusikaupunki, Varkaus

Merchant marine:
  total: 92 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,051,231 GRT/1,075,397
  DWT
  ships by type: bulk 8, cargo 20, chemical tanker 5, oil tanker 12,
  passenger 2, refrigerated cargo 1, roll-on/roll-off cargo 31,
  short-sea passenger 12, vehicle carrier 1 (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 157
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 3
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 23
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 13
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 21
  with paved runways under 914 m: 92
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 5 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 2.78 million (1986 est.)

Telephone system: good service from cable and microwave radio
  relay network
  domestic: cable and microwave radio relay
  international: 1 submarine cable; satellite earth stations - access
  to Intelsat transmission service via a Swedish satellite earth
  station, 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic and Indian Ocean Regions); note -
  Finland shares the Inmarsat earth station with the other Nordic
  countries (Denmark, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 6, FM 105, shortwave 0

Radios: 4.98 million (1991 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 235

Televisions: 2.1 million (1983 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Frontier Guard (includes Sea
  Guard)

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 1,307,128
  males fit for military service: 1,074,540
  males reach military age (17) annually: 32,760 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $1.9 billion,
  1.6% of GDP (1995)



======================================================================




@France
------




Map
---


Location: 46 00 N, 2 00 E -- Western Europe, bordering the Bay of
  Biscay and English Channel, between Belgium and Spain southeast of
  the UK; bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Italy and Spain



Flag
----


Description: three equal vertical bands of blue (hoist side),
  white, and red; known as the French Tricouleur (Tricolor); the
  design and colors are similar to a number of other flags, including
  those of Belgium, Chad, Ireland, Cote d'Ivoire, and Luxembourg; the
  official flag for all French dependent areas





Geography
---------


Location: Western Europe, bordering the Bay of Biscay and English
  Channel, between Belgium and Spain southeast of the UK; bordering
  the Mediterranean Sea, between Italy and Spain

Geographic coordinates: 46 00 N, 2 00 E

Map references: Europe

Area:
  total area: 547,030 sq km
  land area: 545,630 sq km
  comparative area: slightly more than twice the size of Colorado
  note: includes only metropolitan France (which includes Corsica),
  but excludes the overseas administrative divisions

Land boundaries:
  total: 2,892.4 km
  border countries: Andorra 60 km, Belgium 620 km, Germany 451 km,
  Italy 488 km, Luxembourg 73 km, Monaco 4.4 km, Spain 623 km,
  Switzerland 573 km

Coastline: 3,427 km (mainland 2,783 km, Corsica 644 km)

Maritime claims:
  contiguous zone: 24 nm
  continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: Madagascar claims Bassas da India, Europa
  Island, Glorioso Islands, Juan de Nova Island, and Tromelin Island;
  Comoros claims Mayotte; Mauritius claims Tromelin Island; Seychelles
  claims Tromelin Island; Suriname claims part of French Guiana;
  Mexico claims Clipperton Island; territorial claim in Antarctica
  (Adelie Land); Saint Pierre and Miquelon is focus of maritime
  boundary dispute between Canada and France; claims Matthew and
  Hunter Islands east of New Caledonia

Climate: generally cool winters and mild summers, but mild winters
  and hot summers along the Mediterranean

Terrain: mostly flat plains or gently rolling hills in north and
  west; remainder is mountainous, especially Pyrenees in south, Alps
  in east
  lowest point: Rhone River delta -2 m
  highest point: Mont Blanc 4,807 m

Natural resources: coal, iron ore, bauxite, fish, timber, zinc,
  potash

Land use:
  arable land: 32%
  permanent crops: 2%
  meadows and pastures: 23%
  forest and woodland: 27%
  other: 16%
  note: includes Corsica

Irrigated land: 14,850 sq km (1993 est.); note - includes Corsica

Environment:
  current issues: some forest damage from acid rain; air pollution
  from industrial and vehicle emissions; water pollution from urban
  wastes, agricultural runoff
  natural hazards: flooding
  international agreements: party to - Air Pollution, Air
  Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85,
  Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity,
  Climate Change, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine
  Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship
  Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Wetlands, Whaling; signed, but not
  ratified - Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic
  Compounds, Desertification, Law of the Sea

Geographic note: largest West European nation; occasional strong,
  cold, dry, north-to-northwesterly wind known as mistral



People
------


Population: 58,317,450 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 19.04% (male 5,688,505; female 5,417,355)
  15-64 years: 65.62% (male 19,147,369; female 19,120,935)
  65 years and over: 15.34% (male 3,589,100; female 5,354,186) (July
  1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 0.34% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 10.82 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 9.27 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 1.88 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.67 male(s)/female
  all ages: 0.95 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 5.3 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 77.93 years
  male: 73.98 years
  female: 82.11 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.49 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Frenchman(men), Frenchwoman(women)
  adjective: French

Ethnic divisions: Celtic and Latin with Teutonic, Slavic, North
  African, Indochinese, Basque minorities

Religions: Roman Catholic 90%, Protestant 2%, Jewish 1%, Muslim
  (North African workers) 1%, unaffiliated 6%

Languages: French 100%, rapidly declining regional dialects and
  languages (Provencal, Breton, Alsatian, Corsican, Catalan, Basque,
  Flemish)

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1980 est.)
  total population: 99%
  male: NA%
  female: NA%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: French Republic
  conventional short form: France
  local long form: Republique Francaise
  local short form: France

Data code: FR

Type of government: republic

Capital: Paris

Administrative divisions: 22 regions (regions, singular - region);
  Alsace, Aquitaine, Auvergne, Basse-Normandie, Bourgogne, Bretagne,
  Centre, Champagne-Ardenne, Corse, Franche-Comte, Haute-Normandie,
  Ile-de-France, Languedoc-Roussillon, Limousin, Lorraine,
  Midi-Pyrenees, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, Pays de la Loire, Picardie,
  Poitou-Charentes, Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur, Rhone-Alpes
  note: metropolitan France is divided into 22 regions (including the
  "territorial collectivity" of Corse or Corsica) and are subdivided
  into 96 departments; see separate entries for the overseas
  departments (French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Reunion) and the
  territorial collectivities (Mayotte, Saint Pierre and Miquelon)

Dependent areas: Bassas da India, Clipperton Island, Europa
  Island, French Polynesia, French Southern and Antarctic Lands,
  Glorioso Islands, Juan de Nova Island, New Caledonia, Tromelin
  Island, Wallis and Futuna
  note: the US does not recognize claims to Antarctica

Independence: 486 (unified by Clovis)

National holiday: National Day, Taking of the Bastille, 14 July
  (1789)

Constitution: 28 September 1958, amended concerning election of
  president in 1962, amended to comply with provisions of EC
  Maastricht Treaty in 1992; amended to tighten immigration laws 1993

Legal system: civil law system with indigenous concepts; review of
  administrative but not legislative acts

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: President Jacques CHIRAC (since 17 May 1995) was
  elected for a seven-year term by direct universal suffrage; election
  last held 17 May 1995 (next to be held by May 2002); results -
  Second Ballot Jacques CHIRAC 52.64%, Lionel JOSPIN 47.36%
  head of government: Prime Minister Alain JUPPE (since 18 May 1995)
  was appointed by the president
  cabinet: the Council of Ministers was appointed by the president on
  the suggestion of the prime minister

Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament (Parlement)
  Senate (Senat): elections last held 24 September 1995 (next to be
  held September 1998; nine-year term, elected by thirds every three
  years); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (321 total;
  296 metropolitan France, 13 for overseas departments and
  territories, and 12 for French nationals abroad) RPR 91, UDF 132, PS
  75, PCF 16, other 7
  National Assembly (Assemblee Nationale): elections last held 21 and
  28 March 1993 (next to be held NA 1998); results - percent of vote
  by party NA; seats - (577 total) RPR 247, UDF 213, PS 67, PCF 24,
  independents 26; note - seating as of 24 September 1995: RPR 247,
  UDF 208, PS 71, PCF 24, independents 27

Judicial branch: Supreme Court of Appeals (Cour de Cassation),
  judges are appointed by the president from nominations of the High
  Council of the Judiciary

Political parties and leaders: Rally for the Republic (RPR), Alain
  JUPPE, president; Union for French Democracy (UDF - coalition of PR,
  FD, RAD, PSD), Francois LEOTARD; Republican Party (PR), Francois
  LEOTARD; Democratic Force (FD), Francois BAYROU; Radical (RAD),
  Andre ROSSINOT; Socialist Party (PS), Lionel JOSPIN; Left Radical
  Movement (MRG); Communist Party (PCF), Robert HUE; National Front
  (FN), Jean-Marie LE PEN; The Greens, Dominique VOYNET; Generation
  Ecology (GE), Brice LALONDE; Citizens Movement (MDC), Jean Pierre
  CHEVENEMENT

Other political or pressure groups: Communist-controlled labor
  union (Confederation Generale du Travail - CGT) nearly 2.4 million
  members (claimed); Socialist-leaning labor union (Confederation
  Francaise Democratique du Travail - CFDT) about 800,000 members
  (est.); independent labor union (Force Ouvriere) 1 million members
  (est.); independent white-collar union (Confederation Generale des
  Cadres) 340,000 members (claimed); National Council of French
  Employers (Conseil National du Patronat Francais - CNPF or Patronat)

International organization participation: ACCT, AfDB, AG
  (observer), AsDB, Australia Group, BDEAC, BIS, CCC, CDB
  (non-regional), CE, CERN, EBRD, ECA (associate), ECE, ECLAC, EIB,
  ESA, ESCAP, EU, FAO, FZ, G- 5, G- 7, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO,
  ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO,
  Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MINURSO, MTCR,
  NACC, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OSCE, PCA, SPC, UN, UN
  Security Council, UNAVEM III, UNCRO, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO,
  UNIFIL, UNIKOM, UNITAR, UNMIH, UNOMIG, UNPREDEP, UNPROFOR, UNRWA,
  UNTSO, UNU, UPU, WCL, WEU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Francois BUJON DE L'ESTANG
  chancery: 4101 Reservoir Road NW, Washington, DC 20007
  telephone: [1] (202) 944-6000
  consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Honolulu, Houston,
  Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, San Francisco, and San
  Juan (Puerto Rico)

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Pamela C. HARRIMAN
  embassy: 2 Avenue Gabriel, 75382 Paris Cedex 08
  mailing address: PSC 116, APO AE 09777
  telephone: [33] (1) 43-12-22-22
  FAX: [33] (1) 42 66 97 83
  consulate(s) general: Marseille, Strasbourg

Flag: three equal vertical bands of blue (hoist side), white, and
  red; known as the French Tricouleur (Tricolor); the design and
  colors are similar to a number of other flags, including those of
  Belgium, Chad, Ireland, Cote d'Ivoire, and Luxembourg; the official
  flag for all French dependent areas



Economy
-------


Economic overview: One of the four West European trillion-dollar
  economies, the French economy features considerable - albeit
  diminishing - state control over its capitalistic market system. In
  running important industrial segments (railways, airlines,
  electricity, telecommunications), administrating an exceptionally
  generous social welfare system, and staffing an enormous
  bureaucracy, the state spends about 55% of GDP. France has
  substantial agricultural resources and a diversified modern
  industrial sector. Large tracts of fertile land, the application of
  modern technology, and subsidies have combined to make it the
  leading agricultural producer in Western Europe. Largely
  self-sufficient in agricultural products, France is a major exporter
  of wheat and dairy products. The industrial sector generates about
  one-quarter of GDP, and the growing services sector has become
  crucial to the economy. Following stagnation and recession in
  1991-93, French GDP expanded 2.4% in 1994 and in 1995. Persistently
  high unemployment still poses a major problem for the government, as
  will the need to cut back on welfare benefits and bureaucratic
  budgets. Paris remains committed to maintaining the franc-deutsche
  mark parity, which has kept French interest rates high at the
  expense of jobs. Although the pace of economic and financial
  integration within the European Union has slowed down, integration
  will remain a major force in France, shaping the fortunes of the
  various economic sectors over the next few years.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $1.173 trillion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 2.4% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $20,200 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 2.4%
  industry: 26.5%
  services: 71.1% (1994)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1.7% (1995)

Labor force: 24.17 million
  by occupation: services 61.5%, industry 31.3%, agriculture 7.2%
  (1987)
  note: includes Corsica

Unemployment rate: 11.7% (yearend 1995)

Budget:
  revenues: $220.5 billion
  expenditures: $249.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $47
  billion (1993 budget)

Industries: steel, machinery, chemicals, automobiles, metallurgy,
  aircraft, electronics, mining, textiles, food processing, tourism

Industrial production growth rate: 2.6% (1994 est.)

Electricity:
  capacity: 105,250,000 kW
  production: 447 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 6,149 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: wheat, cereals, sugar beets, potatoes, wine grapes;
  beef, dairy products; fish catch of 850,000 metric tons ranks among
  world's top 20 countries and is all used domestically

Illicit drugs: transshipment point for South American cocaine and
  Southwest Asian heroin

Exports: $235.5 billion (f.o.b., 1994)
  commodities: machinery and transportation equipment, chemicals,
  foodstuffs, agricultural products, iron and steel products, textiles
  and clothing
  partners: Germany 17.1%, Italy 9.3%, Spain 7.1%, Belgium-Luxembourg
  8.7%, UK 9.9%, Netherlands 4.6%, US 7.0%, Japan 2.0%, Russia 0.5%

Imports: $229.3 billion (c.i.f., 1994)
  commodities: crude oil, machinery and equipment, agricultural
  products, chemicals, iron and steel products
  partners: Germany 17.8%, Italy 10.1%, US 8.5%, Netherlands 4.9%,
  Spain 8.8%, Belgium-Luxembourg 9.1%, UK 7.9%, Japan 3.7%, Russia 1.2%

External debt: $300 billion (1993 est.)

Economic aid:
  donor: ODA, $7.915 billion (1993)

Currency: 1 French franc (F) = 100 centimes

Exchange rates: French francs (F) per US$1 - 5.0056 (January
  1996), 4.9915 (1995), 5.5520 (1994), 5.6632 (1993), 5.2938 (1992),
  5.6421 (1991)

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 33,891 km
  standard gauge: 33,524 km 1.435-m gauge; 32,275 km are operated by
  French National Railways (SNCF); 13,741 km of SNCF routes are
  electrified and 12,132 km are double- or multiple-tracked
  narrow gauge: 367 km 1.000-m gauge
  note: includes Corsica; does not include 33 tourist railroads,
  totalling 469 km, many being of very narrow gauge (1995)

Highways:
  total: 1,511,200 km
  paved: 811,200 km (including 7,700 km of expressways)
  unpaved: 700,000 km (1992 est.)
  note: includes Corsica

Waterways: 14,932 km; 6,969 km heavily traveled

Pipelines: crude oil 3,059 km; petroleum products 4,487 km;
  natural gas 24,746 km

Ports: Bordeaux, Boulogne, Cherbourg, Dijon, Dunkerque, La
  Pallice, Le Havre, Lyon, Marseille, Mullhouse, Nantes, Paris, Rouen,
  Saint Nazaire, Saint Malo, Strasbourg

Merchant marine:
  total: 55 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,203,086 GRT/1,779,263
  DWT
  ships by type: bulk 6, cargo 5, chemical tanker 5, container 7,
  liquefied gas tanker 3, oil tanker 16, passenger 1, roll-on/roll-off
  cargo 6, short-sea passenger 5, specialized tanker 1
  note: France also maintains a captive register for French-owned
  ships in the Kerguelen Islands (French Southern and Antarctic Lands)
  (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 460
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 13
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 26
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 91
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 73
  with paved runways under 914 m: 179
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 3
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 75 (1995 est.)
  note: includes Corsica

Heliports: 3 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 35 million (1987 est.)

Telephone system: highly developed
  domestic: extensive cable and microwave radio relay; extensive
  introduction of fiber-optic cable; domestic satellite system
  international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (with total of
  5 antennas - 2 for Indian Ocean and 3 for Atlantic Ocean), NA
  Eutelsat, 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic Ocean Region); HF radiotelephone
  communications with more than 20 countries

Radio broadcast stations: AM 41, FM 800 (mostly repeaters),
  shortwave 0

Radios: 49 million (1993 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 846 (mostly repeaters)
  note: Eutelsat receive-only TV service

Televisions: 29.3 million (1993 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Army, Navy (includes Naval Air), Air Force and Air
  Defense, National Gendarmerie

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 14,782,577
  males fit for military service: 12,299,651
  males reach military age (18) annually: 383,252 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $47.7 billion,
  2.5% of GDP (1995)



======================================================================




@French Guiana
-------------


(overseas department of France)

Map
---


Location: 4 00 N, 53 00 W -- Northern South America, bordering the
  North Atlantic Ocean, between Brazil and Suriname



Flag
----


Description: the flag of France is used





Geography
---------


Location: Northern South America, bordering the North Atlantic
  Ocean, between Brazil and Suriname

Geographic coordinates: 4 00 N, 53 00 W

Map references: South America

Area:
  total area: 91,000 sq km
  land area: 89,150 sq km
  comparative area: slightly smaller than Indiana

Land boundaries:
  total: 1,183 km
  border countries: Brazil 673 km, Suriname 510 km

Coastline: 378 km

Maritime claims:
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: Suriname claims area between Riviere
  Litani and Riviere Marouini (both headwaters of the Lawa)

Climate: tropical; hot, humid; little seasonal temperature
  variation

Terrain: low-lying coastal plains rising to hills and small
  mountains
  lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
  highest point: Bellevue de l'Inini 851 m

Natural resources: bauxite, timber, gold (widely scattered),
  cinnabar, kaolin, fish

Land use:
  arable land: NEGL%
  permanent crops: NEGL%
  meadows and pastures: NEGL%
  forest and woodland: 88%
  other: 12% (1992)

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Environment:
  current issues: NA
  natural hazards: high frequency of heavy showers and severe
  thunderstorms; flooding
  international agreements: NA

Geographic note: mostly an unsettled wilderness



People
------


Population: 151,187 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 32% (male 24,447; female 23,378)
  15-64 years: 63% (male 52,061; female 43,726)
  65 years and over: 5% (male 3,784; female 3,791) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 3.86% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 24.68 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 4.59 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 18.52 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 1.19 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 1 male(s)/female
  all ages: 1.13 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 14.6 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 75.79 years
  male: 72.55 years
  female: 79.19 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 3.42 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: French Guianese (singular and plural)
  adjective: French Guianese

Ethnic divisions: black or mulatto 66%, white 12%, East Indian,
  Chinese, Amerindian 12%, other 10%

Religions: Roman Catholic

Languages: French

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1982 est.)
  total population: 83%
  male: 84%
  female: 82%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Department of Guiana
  conventional short form: French Guiana
  local long form: none
  local short form: Guyane

Data code: FG

Type of government: overseas department of France

Capital: Cayenne

Administrative divisions: none (overseas department of France)

Independence: none (overseas department of France)

National holiday: National Day, Taking of the Bastille, 14 July
  (1789)

Constitution: 28 September 1958 (French Constitution)

Legal system: French legal system

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: President (of France) Jacques CHIRAC (since 17 May
  1995); represented by Prefect Pierre DARTOUT who was appointed by
  the French Ministry of Interior
  head of government: President of the General Council Stephan
  PHINERA-HORTH (since March 1994)

Legislative branch: unicameral General Council and a unicameral
  Regional Council
  General Council: elections last held NA March 1994 (next to be held
  NA); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (19 total) PSG
  8, RPR 2, UDF 1, other right 1, other 7
  Regional Council: elections last held 22 March 1992 (next to be held
  NA); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (31 total) PSG
  16, FDG 10, RPR 2, independents 3
  French Senate: elections last held 24 September 1989 (next to be
  held September 1998); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats -
  (1 total) PSG 1
  French National Assembly: elections last held 21 and 28 March 1993
  (next to be held NA 1998); results - percent of vote by party NA;
  seats - (2 total) RPR 1, independent 1

Judicial branch: Court of Appeals (highest local court based in
  Martinique with jurisdiction over Martinique, Guadeloupe, and French
  Guiana)

Political parties and leaders: Guianese Socialist Party (PSG),
  Raymond TRACY; Conservative Union for the Republic (UPR), Leon
  BERTRAND; Rally for the Center Right (URC); Rally for the Republic
  (RPR); Guyana Democratic Front (FDG), Georges OTHILY; Walwari
  Committee, Christine TAUBIRA-DELANON; Socialist Party (PS), Jean
  BART; Union for French Democracy (UDF), R. CHOW-CHINE

International organization participation: FZ, WCL, WFTU

Diplomatic representation in US: none (overseas department of
  France)

US diplomatic representation: none (overseas department of France)

Flag: the flag of France is used



Economy
-------


Economic overview: The economy is tied closely to that of France
  through subsidies and imports. Besides the French space center at
  Kourou, fishing and forestry are the most important economic
  activities, with exports of fish and fish products (mostly shrimp)
  accounting for more than 60% of total revenue in 1992. The large
  reserves of tropical hardwoods, not fully exploited, support an
  expanding sawmill industry that provides sawn logs for export.
  Cultivation of crops is limited to the coastal area, where the
  population is largely concentrated. French Guiana is heavily
  dependent on imports of food and energy. Unemployment is a serious
  problem, particularly among younger workers.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $800 million (1993 est.)

GDP real growth rate: NA%

GDP per capita: $6,000 (1993 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: NA%
  industry: NA%
  services: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.5% (1992)

Labor force: 36,597 (1993)
  by occupation: services, government, and commerce 60.6%, industry
  21.2%, agriculture 18.2% (1980)

Unemployment rate: 24.1% (1993 est.)

Budget:
  revenues: $133 million
  expenditures: $284 million, including capital expenditures of $NA
  (1992 est.)

Industries: construction, shrimp processing, forestry products,
  rum, gold mining

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity:
  capacity: 180,000 kW
  production: 450 million kWh
  consumption per capita: 3,149 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: rice, corn, manioc, cocoa, vegetables, bananas,
  sugar; cattle, pigs, poultry

Illicit drugs: small amount of marijuana grown for local
  consumption; minor transshipment point to Europe

Exports: $110 million (f.o.b., 1993)
  commodities: shrimp, timber, rum, rosewood essence
  partners: France 52%, Spain 15%, US 5% (1992)

Imports: $719 million (c.i.f., 1992)
  commodities: food (grains, processed meat), other consumer goods,
  producer goods, petroleum
  partners: France 77%, Germany 11%, US 5% (1992)

External debt: $1.2 billion (1988)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $NA

Currency: 1 French franc (F) = 100 centimes

Exchange rates: French francs (F) per US$1 - 5.0056 (January
  1996), 4.9915 (1995), 5.5520 (1994), 5.6632 (1993), 5.2938 (1992),
  5.6421 (1991)

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways: 0 km (1995)

Highways:
  total: 1,817 km (national 432 km, departmental 385 km, community
  1,000 km)
  paved: 727 km
  unpaved: 1,090 km (1995 est.)

Waterways: 460 km, navigable by small oceangoing vessels and river
  and coastal steamers; 3,300 km navigable by native craft

Ports: Cayenne, Degrad des Cannes, Saint-Laurent du Maroni

Merchant marine: none

Airports:
  total: 10
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 1
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 2
  with paved runways under 914 m: 4
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 3 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 31,000 (1990 est.)

Telephone system:
  domestic: fair open wire and microwave radio relay system
  international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 5, FM 7, shortwave 0

Radios: 79,000 (1992 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 9

Televisions: 22,000 (1992 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: French Forces, Gendarmerie

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 43,412
  males fit for military service: 28,171 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: $NA, NA% of GDP

Defense note: defense is the responsibility of France



======================================================================




@French Polynesia
----------------


(overseas territory of France)

Map
---


Location: 15 00 S, 140 00 W -- Oceania, archipelago in the South
  Pacific Ocean, about one-half of the way from South America to
  Australia



Flag
----


Description: two narrow red horizontal bands encase a wide white
  band; centered on the white band is a disk with blue and white wave
  pattern on the lower half and gold and white ray pattern on the
  upper half; a stylized red, blue and white ship rides on the wave
  pattern; the French flag is used for official occasions





Geography
---------


Location: Oceania, archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean, about
  one-half of the way from South America to Australia

Geographic coordinates: 15 00 S, 140 00 W

Map references: Oceania

Area:
  total area: 4,167 sq km (118 islands and atolls)
  land area: 3,660 sq km
  comparative area: slightly less than one-third the size of
  Connecticut

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 2,525 km

Maritime claims:
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: none

Climate: tropical, but moderate

Terrain: mixture of rugged high islands and low islands with reefs
  lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
  highest point: Mount Orohena 2,241 m

Natural resources: timber, fish, cobalt

Land use:
  arable land: 1%
  permanent crops: 19%
  meadows and pastures: 5%
  forest and woodland: 31%
  other: 44%

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Environment:
  current issues: NA
  natural hazards: occasional cyclonic storms in January
  international agreements: NA

Geographic note: includes five archipelagoes; Makatea in French
  Polynesia is one of the three great phosphate rock islands in the
  Pacific Ocean - the others are Banaba (Ocean Island) in Kiribati and
  Nauru



People
------


Population: 224,911 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 35% (male 40,450; female 39,038)
  15-64 years: 61% (male 70,506; female 65,620)
  65 years and over: 4% (male 4,636; female 4,661) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.19% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 27.15 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 5.27 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 1.07 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 1 male(s)/female
  all ages: 1.06 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 14.4 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 70.94 years
  male: 68.49 years
  female: 73.5 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 3.26 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: French Polynesian(s)
  adjective: French Polynesian

Ethnic divisions: Polynesian 78%, Chinese 12%, local French 6%,
  metropolitan French 4%

Religions: Protestant 54%, Roman Catholic 30%, other 16%

Languages: French (official), Tahitian (official)

Literacy: age 14 and over can read and write, but definition of
  literacy not available (1977 est.)
  total population: 98%
  male: 98%
  female: 98%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Territory of French Polynesia
  conventional short form: French Polynesia
  local long form: Territoire de la Polynesie Francaise
  local short form: Polynesie Francaise

Data code: FP

Type of government: overseas territory of France since 1946

Capital: Papeete

Administrative divisions: none (overseas territory of France);
  there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the
  US Government, but there are 5 archipelagic divisions named Archipel
  des Marquises, Archipel des Tuamotu, Archipel des Tubuai, Iles du
  Vent, and Iles Sous-le-Vent
  note: Clipperton Island is administered by France from French
  Polynesia

Independence: none (overseas territory of France)

National holiday: National Day, Taking of the Bastille, 14 July
  (1789)

Constitution: 28 September 1958 (French Constitution)

Legal system: based on French system

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: President (of France) Jacques CHIRAC (since 17 May
  1995); represented by High Commissioner of the Republic Paul
  RONCIERE (since 8 August 1994) who was appointed by the French
  Ministry of Interior
  head of government: President of the Territorial Government of
  French Polynesia Gaston FLOSSE (since 4 April 1991); President of
  the Territorial Assembly Tinomana EBB (since NA)
  cabinet: Council of Ministers; president submits a list of members
  of the Territorial Assembly for approval by them to serve as
  ministers

Legislative branch: unicameral
  Territorial Assembly: elections last held 17 March 1991 (next to be
  held NA March 1996); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats -
  (41 total) People's Rally for the Republic (Gaullist) 18, Polynesian
  Union Party 12, New Fatherland Party 7, other 4
  French Senate: elections last held 24 September 1989 (next to be
  held NA September 1998); results - percent of vote by party NA;
  seats - (1 total) party NA
  French National Assembly: elections last held 21 and 28 March 1993
  (next to be held NA March 1998); results - percent of vote by party
  NA; seats - (2 total) People's Rally for the Republic (Gaullist) 2

Judicial branch: Court of Appeal; Court of the First Instance;
  Court of Administrative Law

Political parties and leaders: People's Rally for the Republic
  (Tahoeraa Huiraatira), Gaston FLOSSE; Polynesian Union Party
  (includes Te Tiarama and Here Ai'a Party), Jean JUVENTIN; New
  Fatherland Party (Ai'a Api), Emile VERNAUDON; Independent Party (Ia
  Mana Te Nunaa), Jacques DROLLET; Te Aratia Ote Nunaa, Tinomana EBB;
  Haere i Mua, Alexandre LEONTIEFF; other small parties

International organization participation: ESCAP (associate), FZ,
  ICFTU, SPC, WMO

Diplomatic representation in US: none (overseas territory of
  France)

US diplomatic representation: none (overseas territory of France)

Flag: two narrow red horizontal bands encase a wide white band;
  centered on the white band is a disk with blue and white wave
  pattern on the lower half and gold and white ray pattern on the
  upper half; a stylized red, blue and white ship rides on the wave
  pattern; the French flag is used for official occasions



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Since 1962, when France stationed military
  personnel in the region, French Polynesia has changed from a
  subsistence economy to one in which a high proportion of the work
  force is either employed by the military or supports the tourist
  industry. Tourism accounts for about 20% of GDP and is a primary
  source of hard currency earnings. The territory will continue to
  benefit from a five-year (1994-98) development agreement with France
  aimed principally at creating new jobs.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $1.76 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: NA%

GDP per capita: $8,000 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 4%
  industry: 18%
  services: 78% (1992 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1.5% (1994)

Labor force: 76,630 employed (1988)
  by occupation: agriculture 13%, industry 19%, services 68% (1992
  est.)

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget:
  revenues: $686 million
  expenditures: $884 million, including capital expenditures of $NA
  (1989)

Industries: tourism, pearls, agricultural processing, handicrafts

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity:
  capacity: 75,000 kW
  production: 334 million kWh
  consumption per capita: 1,189 kWh (1994)

Agriculture: coconuts, vanilla, vegetables, fruits; poultry, beef,
  dairy products

Exports: $230 million (f.o.b., 1994)
  commodities: cultured pearls 41.6%, coconut products,
  mother-of-pearl, vanilla, shark meat (1992)
  partners: France 34%, US 10% (1992)

Imports: $912 million (c.i.f., 1994)
  commodities: fuels, foodstuffs, equipment
  partners: ECE 64% (France 45.4%), US 13.6%, Australia 6.9%, NZ 5.8%,
  Japan 5% (1992)

External debt: $NA

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $NA

Currency: 1 CFP franc (CFPF) = 100 centimes

Exchange rates: Comptoirs Francais du Pacifique francs (CFPF) per
  US$1 - 91.00 (January 1996), 90.75 (1995), 100.94 (1994), 102.96
  (1993), 96.24 (1992), 102.57 (1991); note - linked at the rate of
  18.18 to the French franc

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways: 0 km

Highways:
  total: 792 km
  paved: 792 km (1995 est.)

Ports: Mataura, Papeete, Rikitea, Uturoa

Merchant marine:
  total: 3 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 4,127 GRT/6,710 DWT
  ships by type: passenger-cargo 2, refrigerated cargo 1 (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 41
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 2
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 5
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 13
  with paved runways under 914 m: 15
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 6 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 33,200 (1983 est.)

Telephone system:
  domestic: NA
  international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 5, FM 2, shortwave 0

Radios: 116,000 (1992 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 6

Televisions: 35,000 (1992 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: French Forces (includes Army, Navy, Air Force),
  Gendarmerie

Defense note: defense is the responsibility of France



======================================================================




@French Southern and Antarctic Lands
-----------------------------------


(overseas territory of France)

Map
---


Location: 43 00 S, 67 00 E -- Southern Africa, islands in the
  southern Indian Ocean, about equidistant between Africa, Antarctica,
  and Australia; note - French Southern and Antarctic Lands includes
  Ile Amsterdam, Ile Saint-Paul, Iles Crozet, and Iles Kerguelen in
  the southern Indian Ocean, along with the French-claimed sector of
  Antarctica, "Adelie Land"; the US does not recognize the French
  claim to "Adelie Land"



Flag
----


Description: the flag of France is used





Geography
---------


Location: Southern Africa, islands in the southern Indian Ocean,
  about equidistant between Africa, Antarctica, and Australia; note -
  French Southern and Antarctic Lands includes Ile Amsterdam, Ile
  Saint-Paul, Iles Crozet, and Iles Kerguelen in the southern Indian
  Ocean, along with the French-claimed sector of Antarctica, "Adelie
  Land"; the US does not recognize the French claim to "Adelie Land"

Geographic coordinates: 43 00 S, 67 00 E

Map references: Antarctic Region

Area:
  total area: 7,781 sq km
  land area: 7,781 sq km
  comparative area: slightly less than 1.5 times the size of Delaware
  note: includes Ile Amsterdam, Ile Saint-Paul, Iles Crozet and Iles
  Kerguelen; excludes "Adelie Land" claim of about 500,000 sq km in
  Antarctica that is not recognized by the US

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 1,232 km

Maritime claims:
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm from Iles Kerguelen only
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: "Adelie Land" claim in Antarctica is not
  recognized by the US

Climate: antarctic

Terrain: volcanic
  lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
  highest point: Mont Ross on Kerguelen 1,850 m

Natural resources: fish, crayfish

Land use:
  arable land: 0%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 0%
  forest and woodland: 0%
  other: 100%

Irrigated land: 0 sq km

Environment:
  current issues: NA
  natural hazards: Ile Amsterdam and Ile Saint-Paul are extinct
  volcanoes
  international agreements: NA

Geographic note: remote location in the southern Indian Ocean



People
------


Population: no indigenous inhabitants; note - there were 145
  (1995) mostly researchers whose numbers vary from winter (July) to
  summer (January)



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Territory of the French Southern and
  Antarctic Lands
  conventional short form: French Southern and Antarctic Lands
  local long form: Territoire des Terres Australes et Antarctiques
  Francaises
  local short form: Terres Australes et Antarctiques Francaises

Data code: FS

Type of government: overseas territory of France since 1955;
  governed by High Administrator Christian DORS (since 4 December 1991)

Capital: none; administered from Paris, France

Administrative divisions: none (overseas territory of France);
  there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the
  US Government, but there are 3 districts named Ile Crozet, Iles
  Kerguelen, and Iles Saint-Paul et Amsterdam; excludes "Adelie Land"
  claim in Antarctica that is not recognized by the US

Independence: none (overseas territory of France)

Flag: the flag of France is used



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Economic activity is limited to servicing
  meteorological and geophysical research stations and French and
  other fishing fleets. The fish catches landed on Iles Kerguelen by
  foreign ships are exported to France and Reunion.

Budget:
  revenues: $22.6 million
  expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA (1995)



Transportation
--------------


Ports: none; offshore anchorage only

Merchant marine:
  total: 66 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,133,942 GRT/3,617,863
  DWT
  ships by type: bulk 2, cargo 6, chemical tanker 7, container 10,
  liquefied gas tanker 4, multifunction large-load carrier 1, oil
  tanker 18, refrigerated cargo 4, roll-on/roll-off cargo 13,
  specialized tanker 1
  note: a subset of the French register allowing French-owned ships to
  operate under more liberal taxation and manning regulations than
  permissable under the main French register (1995 est.)

Airports: none (1994 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: NA

Telephone system:
  domestic: NA
  international: NA

Radio broadcast stations: AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA

Radios: NA

Television broadcast stations: NA

Televisions: NA



Defense
-------


Defense note: defense is the responsibility of France



======================================================================




@Gabon
-----




Map
---


Location: 1 00 S, 11 45 E -- Western Africa, bordering the
  Atlantic Ocean at the Equator, between Congo and Equatorial Guinea



Flag
----


Description: three equal horizontal bands of green (top), yellow,
  and blue





Geography
---------


Location: Western Africa, bordering the Atlantic Ocean at the
  Equator, between Congo and Equatorial Guinea

Geographic coordinates: 1 00 S, 11 45 E

Map references: Africa

Area:
  total area: 267,670 sq km
  land area: 257,670 sq km
  comparative area: slightly smaller than Colorado

Land boundaries:
  total: 2,551 km
  border countries: Cameroon 298 km, Congo 1,903 km, Equatorial Guinea
  350 km

Coastline: 885 km

Maritime claims:
  contiguous zone: 24 nm
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: maritime boundary dispute with Equatorial
  Guinea because of disputed sovereignty over islands in Corisco Bay

Climate: tropical; always hot, humid

Terrain: narrow coastal plain; hilly interior; savanna in east and
  south
  lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
  highest point: Mont Iboundji 1,575 m

Natural resources: petroleum, manganese, uranium, gold, timber,
  iron ore

Land use:
  arable land: 1%
  permanent crops: 1%
  meadows and pastures: 18%
  forest and woodland: 78%
  other: 2%

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Environment:
  current issues: deforestation; poaching
  natural hazards: NA
  international agreements: party to - Endangered Species, Marine
  Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution,
  Tropical Timber 83, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified -
  Biodiversity, Climate Change, Law of the Sea, Tropical Timber 94



People
------


Population: 1,172,798 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 34% (male 197,188; female 196,562)
  15-64 years: 61% (male 364,033; female 353,451)
  65 years and over: 5% (male 30,270; female 31,294) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.47% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 28.22 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 13.56 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.97 male(s)/female
  all ages: 1.02 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 90.1 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 55.59 years
  male: 52.72 years
  female: 58.56 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 3.89 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Gabonese (singular and plural)
  adjective: Gabonese

Ethnic divisions: Bantu tribes including four major tribal
  groupings (Fang, Eshira, Bapounou, Bateke), other Africans and
  Europeans 100,000, including 27,000 French

Religions: Christian 55%-75%, Muslim less than 1%, animist

Languages: French (official), Fang, Myene, Bateke,
  Bapounou/Eschira, Bandjabi

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)
  total population: 63.2%
  male: 73.7%
  female: 53.3%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Gabonese Republic
  conventional short form: Gabon
  local long form: Republique Gabonaise
  local short form: Gabon

Data code: GB

Type of government: republic; multiparty presidential regime
  (opposition parties legalized 1990)

Capital: Libreville

Administrative divisions: 9 provinces; Estuaire, Haut-Ogooue,
  Moyen-Ogooue, Ngounie, Nyanga, Ogooue-Ivindo, Ogooue-Lolo,
  Ogooue-Maritime, Woleu-Ntem

Independence: 17 August 1960 (from France)

National holiday: Renovation Day, 12 March (1968) (Gabonese
  Democratic Party established)

Constitution: adopted 14 March 1991

Legal system: based on French civil law system and customary law;
  judicial review of legislative acts in Constitutional Chamber of the
  Supreme Court; compulsory ICJ jurisdiction not accepted

Suffrage: 21 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: President El Hadj Omar BONGO (since 2 December 1967)
  was elected for a five-year term by universal suffrage on 5 December
  1993 (next election to be held 1998); results - President Omar BONGO
  received 51% of the vote
  head of government: Prime Minister Paulin OBAME Nguema (since 9
  December 1994) was appointed by the president
  cabinet: Council of Ministers was appointed by the prime minister in
  consultation with the president

Legislative branch: unicameral; note - the provision of the
  constitution for the establishment of a senate has not been
  implemented
  National Assembly (Assemblee Nationale): elections last held on 5
  December 1993 (next to be held by July 1996, according to the
  October 1994 Paris Accords; however, President BONGO has indicated
  that date might slip); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats
  - (120 total) PDG 64, National Recovery Movement - Lumberjacks
  (Morena-Bucherons/RNB) 17, PGP 12, National Recovery Movement
  (Morena-Original) 2, PUP 4, CLR 1, FAR 4, UPG 1, independents 15

Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Cour Supreme)

Political parties and leaders: Gabonese Democratic Party (PDG,
  former sole party), Simplice Guedet MANZELA, secretary general;
  Circle of Liberal Reformers (CLR), General Jean Boniface ASSELE;
  People's Unity Party (PUP), Louis Gaston MAYILA; Gabonese Socialist
  Union (USG), Dr. Serge Mba BEKALE; National Recovery Movement -
  Lumberjacks (Morena-Bucherons/RNB), Fr. Paul M'BA-ABESSOLE; Gabonese
  Party for Progress (PGP), Pierre-Louis AGONDHO-OKAWE, president;
  National Recovery Movement (Morena-Origina), note - this party won 2
  seats in the 5 December 1993 elections for the National Assembly but
  is no longer very active; Gabonese Party for Progress (PGP), Pierre
  Louis AGONDJO OKAWE; African Forum for Reconstruction (FAR), Leon
  MBOU-YEMBI, secretary general; Gabonese People's Union (UPG), Pierre
  MAMBOUNDOU

International organization participation: ACCT, ACP, AfDB, BDEAC,
  CCC, CEEAC, ECA, FAO, FZ, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU,
  IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol,
  IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPEC, UDEAC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO,
  UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Paul BOUNDOUKOU-LATHA
  chancery: Suite 200, 2034 20th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009
  telephone: [1] (202) 797-1000
  FAX: [1] (202) 332-0668

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Elizabeth RASPOLIC
  embassy: Boulevard de la Mer, Libreville
  mailing address: B. P. 4000, Libreville
  telephone: [241] 76 20 03 through 76 20 04, 74 34 92
  FAX: [241] 74 55 07

Flag: three equal horizontal bands of green (top), yellow, and blue



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Notwithstanding its serious ongoing economic
  problems, Gabon enjoys a per capita income more than three times
  that of most nations of sub-Saharan Africa. Gabon depended on timber
  and manganese until oil was discovered offshore in the early 1970s.
  The oil sector now accounts for 50% of GDP. Real GDP growth has been
  feeble since 1992 and Gabon continues to face the problem of
  fluctuating prices for its oil, timber, manganese, and uranium
  exports. Despite an abundance of natural wealth, and a manageable
  rate of population growth, the economy is hobbled by poor fiscal
  management. In 1992, the fiscal deficit widened to 2.4% of GDP, and
  Gabon failed to settle arrears on its bilateral debt, leading to a
  cancellation of rescheduling agreements with official and private
  creditors. Devaluation of its Francophone currency by 50% on 12
  January 1994 sparked a one-time inflationary surge, to 35%; the rate
  dropped to 15% in 1995. Nevertheless, the government must continue
  to keep a tight rein on spending and wage increases. The IMF and
  France are considering offering financial assistance in 1996 if
  Gabon shows progress in privatization and fiscal discipline.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $6 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 2% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $5,200 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 8.2%
  industry: 44.7%
  services: 47.1% (1993 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 15% (1995 est.)

Labor force: 120,000 salaried
  by occupation: agriculture 65.0%, industry and commerce 30.0%,
  services 2.5%, government 2.5%

Unemployment rate: 10%-14% (1993 est.)

Budget:
  revenues: $1.3 billion
  expenditures: $1.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $311
  million (1993 est.)

Industries: food and beverage; textile; lumbering and plywood;
  cement; petroleum extraction and refining; manganese, uranium, and
  gold mining; chemicals; ship repair

Industrial production growth rate: -3% (1991)

Electricity:
  capacity: 315,000 kW
  production: 910 million kWh
  consumption per capita: 757 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: cocoa, coffee, sugar, palm oil; rubber; okoume (a
  tropical softwood); cattle; small fishing operations (provide a
  catch of about 20,000 metric tons)

Exports: $2.1 billion (f.o.b., 1994 est.)
  commodities: crude oil 80%, timber 14%, manganese 6%, uranium
  partners: US 50%, France 16%, Japan 8%, Spain 6%, Germany NA (1994
  est.)

Imports: $800 million (f.o.b., 1994 est.)
  commodities: foodstuffs, chemical products, petroleum products,
  construction materials, manufactures, machinery
  partners: France 35%, African countries, US, Japan, Netherlands
  (1994)

External debt: $3.8 billion (1993 )

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $75 million (1993)

Currency: 1 Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (CFAF) = 100
  centimes

Exchange rates: CFA francs (CFAF) per US$1 - 500.56 (January
  1996), 499.15 (1995), 555.20 (1994), 283.16 (1993), 264.69 (1992),
  282.11 (1991)
  note: beginning 12 January 1994, the CFA franc was devalued to CFAF
  100 per French franc from CFAF 50 at which it had been fixed since
  1948

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 649 km Gabon State Railways (OCTRA)
  standard gauge: 649 km 1.435-m gauge; single track (1994)

Highways:
  total: 7,456 km
  paved: 560 km
  unpaved: 6,896 km (1988 est.)

Waterways: 1,600 km perennially navigable

Pipelines: crude oil 270 km; petroleum products 14 km

Ports: Cape Lopez, Kango, Lambarene, Libreville, Mayumba, Owendo,
  Port-Gentil

Merchant marine:
  total: 3 bulk (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 36,976 GRT/60,319 DWT
  (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 54
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 1
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 1
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 7
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 1
  with paved runways under 914 m: 21
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 8
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 15 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 22,000 (1991 est.)

Telephone system:
  domestic: adequate system of cable, microwave radio relay,
  tropospheric scatter, radiotelephone communication stations, and a
  domestic satellite system with 12 earth stations
  international: satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 6, FM 6, shortwave 0

Radios: 250,000 (1993 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 3 (repeaters 5)

Televisions: 40,000 (1993 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Presidential Guard, National
  Gendarmerie, National Police

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 273,662
  males fit for military service: 139,439
  males reach military age (20) annually: 10,966 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $154 million,
  2.4% of GDP (1993)



======================================================================




@Gaza Strip
----------

The Israel-PLO Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government
Arrangements ("the DOP"), signed in Washington on 13 September 1993,
provides for a transitional period not exceeding five years of
Palestinian interim self-government in the Gaza Strip and the West
Bank. Permanent status negotiations began on 5 May 1996.

Map
---


Location: 31 25 N, 34 20 E -- Middle East, bordering the
  Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Israel





Geography
---------


Location: Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between
  Egypt and Israel

Geographic coordinates: 31 25 N, 34 20 E

Map references: Middle East

Area:
  total area: 360 sq km
  land area: 360 sq km
  comparative area: slightly more than twice the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries:
  total: 62 km
  border countries: Egypt 11 km, Israel 51 km

Coastline: 40 km

Maritime claims: Israeli occupied with current status subject to
  the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement - permanent status to be
  determined through further negotiation

International disputes: West Bank and Gaza Strip are Israeli
  occupied with current status subject to the Israeli-Palestinian
  Interim Agreement - permanent status to be determined through
  further negotiation

Climate: temperate, mild winters, dry and warm to hot summers

Terrain: flat to rolling, sand- and dune-covered coastal plain
  lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m
  highest point: Abu 'Awdah (Joz Abu 'Auda) 105 m

Natural resources: NEGL

Land use:
  arable land: 13%
  permanent crops: 32%
  meadows and pastures: 0%
  forest and woodland: 0%
  other: 55%

Irrigated land: 115 sq km (1992 est.)

Environment:
  current issues: desertification
  natural hazards: NA
  international agreements: NA

Geographic note: there are 24 Israeli settlements and civilian
  land use sites in the Gaza Strip (August 1995 est.)



People
------


Population: 923,940 (July 1996 est.)
  note: in addition, there are 5,000 Israeli settlers in the Gaza
  Strip (August 1995 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 52% (male 244,026; female 231,976)
  15-64 years: 46% (male 210,706; female 210,764)
  65 years and over: 2% (male 11,553; female 14,915) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 6.79% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 50.67 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 4.4 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 21.65 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female
  all ages: 1.02 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 27.5 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 71.98 years
  male: 70.69 years
  female: 73.34 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 7.79 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: NA
  adjective: NA

Ethnic divisions: Palestinian Arab and other 99.4%, Jewish 0.6%

Religions: Muslim (predominantly Sunni) 98.7%, Christian 0.7%,
  Jewish 0.6%

Languages: Arabic, Hebrew (spoken by Israeli settlers), English
  (widely understood)

Literacy: NA



Government
----------


Government note: Under the Israeli-PLO Declaration of Principles
  on Interim Self-Government Arrangements ("the DOP"), Israel agreed
  to transfer certain powers and responsibilities to the Palestinian
  Authority, which includes a Palestinian Legislative Council elected
  in January 1996, as part of interim self-governing arrangements in
  the West Bank and Gaza Strip. A transfer of powers and
  responsibilities for the Gaza Strip and Jericho has taken place
  pursuant to the Israel-PLO 4 May 1994 Cairo Agreement on the Gaza
  Strip and the Jericho Area and in additional areas of the West Bank
  pursuant to the Israel-PLO 28 September 1995 Interim Agreement. The
  DOP provides that Israel will retain responsibility during the
  transitional period for external security and for internal security
  and public order of settlements and Israelis. Permanent status is to
  be determined through direct negotiations within five years.

Name of country:
  conventional long form: none
  conventional short form: Gaza Strip
  local long form: none
  local short form: Qita Ghazzah

Data code: GZ



Economy
-------


Economic overview: In 1991 roughly 40% of Gaza Strip workers were
  employed across the border by Israeli industrial, construction, and
  agricultural enterprises, with worker remittances supplementing GDP
  by roughly 50%. Gaza has depended upon Israel for nearly 90% of its
  external trade. Aggravating the impact of Israeli military
  administration, unrest in the territory from 1988 to 1993
  (intifadah) raised unemployment and lowered the standard of living
  of Gazans. The Persian Gulf crisis and its aftershocks also dealt
  blows to Gaza since August 1990. Worker remittances from the Gulf
  states have dropped, unemployment has increased, and exports have
  fallen. The withdrawal of Israel from the Gaza Strip in May 1994 has
  brought a new set of adjustment problems. The stringent border
  restrictions have held back economic growth in 1995 and 1996.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $1 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 3%-4% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $1,200 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 33%
  industry: 7%
  services: 60% (1995 est., includes West Bank)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 14% (1995 est.)

Labor force: NA
  by occupation: construction 33.4%, agriculture 20.0%, commerce,
  restaurants, and hotels 14.9%, industry 10.0%, other services 21.7%
  (1991)
  note: excluding Israeli settlers

Unemployment rate: 30%-45% (1995 est.)

Budget: $NA

Industries: generally small family businesses that produce
  textiles, soap, olive-wood carvings, and mother-of-pearl souvenirs;
  the Israelis have established some small-scale modern industries in
  an industrial center

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity: power supplied by Israel

Agriculture: olives, citrus, other fruits, vegetables; beef, dairy
  products

Exports: $49 million (f.o.b., 1994 est.)
  commodities: citrus
  partners: Israel, Egypt

Imports: $339 million (c.i.f., 1994 est.)
  commodities: food, consumer goods, construction materials
  partners: Israel, Egypt

External debt: $NA

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $NA
  note: $410 million (est.) disbursed from international aid pledges
  in 1995 (includes aid to West Bank)

Currency: 1 new Israeli shekel (NIS) = 100 new agorot

Exchange rates: new Israeli shekels (NIS) per US$1 - 3.1295
  (January 1996), 3.0113 (1995), 3.0111 (1994), 2.8301 (1993), 2.4591
  (1992), 2.2791 (1991)

Fiscal year: calendar year (since 1 January 1992)



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: NA km; note - one line, abandoned and in disrepair, little
  trackage remains

Highways:
  total: NA km
  paved: NA km
  unpaved: NA km
  note: small, poorly developed road network

Ports: Gaza

Airports:
  total: 1
  with paved runways under 914 m: 1 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: NA
  note: 10% of Palestinian households have telephones (1992 est.)

Telephone system:
  domestic: NA
  international: NA

Radio broadcast stations: AM 0, FM 0, shortwave 0

Radios: NA; note - 95% of Palestinian households have radios (1992
  est.)

Television broadcast stations: 0

Televisions: NA; note - 59% of Palestinian households have
  televisions (1992 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: NA

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: NA
  males fit for military service: NA

Defense expenditures: $NA, NA% of GDP



======================================================================




@Georgia
-------


Beset by ethnic and civil strife since independence in 1991, Georgia
began to stabilize in 1994. Separatist conflicts in Abkhazia and
South Ossetia have been dormant for more than two years, although
political settlements remain elusive. Russian peacekeepers are
deployed in both regions and a UN Observer Mission is operating in
Abkhazia. As a result of these conflicts, Georgia still has about
250,000 internally displaced people. In November 1995, Georgia held
peaceful, generally free and fair nationwide presidential and
parliamentary elections. Although the country continues to suffer
from a crippling economic crisis, aggravated by a severe energy
shortage, some progress has been made and the Georgian Government
remains committed to economic reform in cooperation with the IMF and
the World Bank. Violence and organized crime were sharply curtailed
in 1995.

Map
---


Location: 42 00 N, 43 30 E -- Southwestern Asia, bordering the
  Black Sea, between Turkey and Russia



Flag
----


Description: maroon field with small rectangle in upper hoist side
  corner; rectangle divided horizontally with black on top, white below





Geography
---------


Location: Southwestern Asia, bordering the Black Sea, between
  Turkey and Russia

Geographic coordinates: 42 00 N, 43 30 E

Map references: Commonwealth of Independent States

Area:
  total area: 69,700 sq km
  land area: 69,700 sq km
  comparative area: slightly larger than South Carolina

Land boundaries:
  total: 1,461 km
  border countries: Armenia 164 km, Azerbaijan 322 km, Russia 723 km,
  Turkey 252 km

Coastline: 310 km

Maritime claims: NA

International disputes: none

Climate: warm and pleasant; Mediterranean-like on Black Sea coast

Terrain: largely mountainous with Great Caucasus Mountains in the
  north and Lesser Caucasus Mountains in the south; Kolkhida Lowland
  opens to the Black Sea in the west; Mtkvari River Basin in the east;
  good soils in river valley flood plains, foothills of Kolkhida
  Lowland
  lowest point: Black Sea 0 m
  highest point: Mt'a Mqinvartsveri (Gora Kazbek) 5,048 m

Natural resources: forests, hydropower, manganese deposits, iron
  ore, copper, minor coal and oil deposits; coastal climate and soils
  allow for important tea and citrus growth

Land use:
  arable land: 11%
  permanent crops: 4%
  meadows and pastures: 29%
  forest and woodland: 38%
  other: 18%

Irrigated land: 4,660 sq km (1990)

Environment:
  current issues: air pollution, particularly in Rust'avi; heavy
  pollution of Mtkvari River and the Black Sea; inadequate supplies of
  potable water; soil pollution from toxic chemicals
  natural hazards: NA
  international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
  Ship Pollution; signed, but not ratified - Desertification



People
------


Population: 5,219,810 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 22% (male 595,524; female 571,207)
  15-64 years: 66% (male 1,643,506; female 1,784,286)
  65 years and over: 12% (male 229,910; female 395,377) (July 1996
  est.)

Population growth rate: -1.02% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 12.81 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 12.21 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: -10.82 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.58 male(s)/female
  all ages: 0.9 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 22.5 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 68.09 years
  male: 63.43 years
  female: 72.98 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.69 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Georgian(s)
  adjective: Georgian

Ethnic divisions: Georgian 70.1%, Armenian 8.1%, Russian 6.3%,
  Azeri 5.7%, Ossetian 3%, Abkhaz 1.8%, other 5%

Religions: Christian Orthodox 75% (Georgian Orthodox 65%, Russian
  Orthodox 10%), Muslim 11%, Armenian Apostolic 8%, unknown 6%

Languages: Armenian 7%, Azeri 6%, Georgian 71% (official), Russian
  9%, other 7%

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1989 est.)
  total population: 99%
  male: 100%
  female: 98%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Republic of Georgia
  conventional short form: Georgia
  local long form: Sak'art'velos Respublika
  local short form: Sak'art'velo
  former: Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic

Data code: GG

Type of government: republic

Capital: T'bilisi

Administrative divisions: 2 autonomous republics (avtomnoy
  respubliki, singular - avtom respublika); Abkhazia (Sokhumi), Ajaria
  (Bat'umi)
  note: the administrative centers of the autonomous republics are
  included in parentheses; there are no oblasts - the rayons around
  T'bilisi are under direct republic jurisdiction

Independence: 9 April 1991 (from Soviet Union)

National holiday: Independence Day, 26 May (1991)

Constitution: adopted 17 October 1995

Legal system: based on civil law system

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state and head of government: President Eduard
  Amvrosiyevich SHEVARDNADZE (previously elected Chairman of the
  Government Council 10 March 1992, Council has since been disbanded;
  previously elected Chairman of Parliament 11 October 1992);
  presidential election last held 5 November 1995 (next to be held NA
  April 2001); results - Eduard SHEVARDNADZE 74%; president's term to
  last five years
  cabinet: Cabinet of Ministers

Legislative branch: unicameral
  Georgian Parliament: elections last held 5 November 1995 (next to be
  held NA November 2000); results - CUG 24%, NDP 8%, All Georgia
  Revival Union 7%, all other parties received less than 5% each;
  seats - (235 total) number of seats by party NA

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

Political parties and leaders: Citizens Union of Georgia (CUG),
  Eduard SHEVARDNADZE, Zurab ZHVANIA, general secretary; National
  Democratic Party (NDP), Irina SARISHVILI-CHANTARIA; United
  Republican Party, umbrella organization for parties including the
  GPF and the Charter 1991 Party, Notar NATADZE, chairman; Georgian
  Popular Front (GPF), Nodar NATADZE, chairman; Charter 1991 Party,
  Tedo PAATASHVILI; Georgian Social Democratic Party (GSDP), Guram
  MUCHAIDZE, secretary general; All Georgia Union for Revival, Alsan
  ABASHIDZE; Christian Democratic Union (CDU), Irakli SHENGELAYA;
  Democratic Georgia Union (DGU), Avtandil MARGIANI; National
  Independence Party (NIP), Irakliy TSERETELI, chairman; Georgian
  Monarchists' Party (GMP), Temur ZHORZHOLIANI; Greens Party; Agrarian
  Party of Georgia (APG), Roin LIPARTELIANI; United Communist Party of
  Georgia (UCP), Panteleimon GIORGADZE, chairman

Other political or pressure groups: supporters of ousted President
  Zviad GAMSAKHURDIA (deceased 1 January 1994) remain a source of
  opposition; separatist elements in the breakaway region of Abkhazia

International organization participation: BSEC, CCC, CIS, EBRD,
  ECE, FAO, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat,
  Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ITU, NACC, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD,
  UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Tedo JAPARIDZE
  chancery: (temporary) Suite 424, 1511 K Street NW, Washington, DC
  20005
  telephone: [1] (202) 393-5959
  FAX: [1] (202) 393-6060

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador William H. COURTNEY
  embassy: #25 Antoneli Street, T'bilisi 380026
  mailing address: use embassy street address
  telephone: [7] (8832) 98-99-67, 93-38-03
  FAX: [7] (8832) 93-37-59

Flag: maroon field with small rectangle in upper hoist side
  corner; rectangle divided horizontally with black on top, white below



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Georgia's economy has traditionally revolved
  around Black Sea tourism; cultivation of citrus fruits, tea, and
  grapes; mining of manganese and copper; and a small industrial
  sector producing wine, metals, machinery, chemicals, and textiles.
  The country imports the bulk of its energy needs, including natural
  gas and oil products. Its only sizable internal energy resource is
  hydropower. Since 1991 the economy has sustained severe damage from
  civil strife. Georgia has been suffering from acute energy
  shortages, as it is having problems paying for even minimal imports.
  Georgia is pinning its hopes for long-term recovery largely on
  reestablishing trade ties with Russia and on developing
  international transportation through the key Black Sea ports of
  P'ot'i and Bat'umi. Statistical estimates on Georgia are subject to
  a particularly wide margin of error, even compared with other FSU
  countries. The GDP estimate below probably does not reflect much of
  its grass roots economic activity. GDP is supplemented by
  considerable EU and US humanitarian aid.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $6.2 billion (1995 estimate as
  extrapolated from World Bank estimate for 1994)

GDP real growth rate: -11% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $1,080 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 70.4%
  industry: 10.2%
  services: 19.4% (1993 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.2% monthly average (first half
  1995 est.)

Labor force: 2.763 million
  by occupation: industry and construction 31%, agriculture and
  forestry 25%, other 44% (1990)

Unemployment rate: officially less than 5% but real unemployment
  may be more than 20%, with even larger numbers of underemployed
  workers

Budget:
  revenues: $NA
  expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA

Industries: steel, aircraft, machine tools, foundry equipment,
  electric locomotives, tower cranes, electric welding equipment,
  machinery for food preparation and meat packing, electric motors,
  process control equipment, trucks, tractors, textiles, shoes,
  chemicals, wood products, wine

Industrial production growth rate: -10% (1995)

Electricity:
  capacity: 4,410,000 kW
  production: 9.1 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 1,526 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: citrus, grapes, tea, vegetables, potatoes; small
  livestock sector

Illicit drugs: illicit cultivator of cannabis and opium poppy;
  mostly for domestic consumption; used as transshipment point for
  illicit drugs to Western Europe

Exports: $140 million (c.i.f., 1995)
  commodities: citrus fruits, tea, wine, other agricultural products;
  diverse types of machinery; ferrous and nonferrous metals; textiles;
  chemicals; fuel re-exports
  partners: Russia, Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan

Imports: $250 million (f.o.b., 1995)
  commodities: fuel, grain and other foods, machinery and parts,
  transport equipment
  partners: Russia, Azerbaijan, Turkey; note - EU and US send
  humanitarian food shipments

External debt: $1.2 billion (of which $135 million to Russia)
  (1995 est.)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $28 million (1993)
  note: commitments, 1992-95, $1,200 million ($675 million
  disbursements)

Currency: lari introduced September 1995 replacing the coupon

Exchange rates: laris per US$1 - 1.24 (end December 1995)

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 1,570 km in common carrier service; does not include
  industrial lines
  broad gauge: 1,570 km 1.520-m gauge (1990)

Highways:
  total: 35,100 km
  paved: 31,200 km
  unpaved: 3,900 km (1990 est.)

Pipelines: crude oil 370 km; refined products 300 km; natural gas
  440 km (1992)

Ports: Bat'umi, P'ot'i, Sokhumi

Merchant marine:
  total: 23 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 307,765 GRT/483,567 DWT
  ships by type: bulk 8, cargo 2, oil tanker 12, short-sea passenger 1
  (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 28
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 1
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 7
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 4
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 1
  with paved runways under 914 m: 1
  with unpaved runways over 3 047 m: 1
  with unpaved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 1
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 1
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 5
  with unpaved runways under 914 m: 6 (1994 est.)

Transportation note: transportation network is in poor condition
  and disrupted by ethnic conflict, criminal activities, and fuel
  shortages; network lacks maintenance and repair



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 672,000 (1993 est.)

Telephone system: poor service; 339,000 unsatisfied applications
  for telephones (December 1990 est.)
  domestic: NA
  international: landline to CIS members and Turkey; satellite earth
  station - 1 Eutelsat; leased connections with other countries via
  the Moscow international gateway switch; international electronic
  mail and telex service available

Radio broadcast stations: AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA

Radios: NA

Television broadcast stations: 3

Televisions: NA



Defense
-------


Branches: Ground Forces, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces,
  Republic Security Forces (internal and border troops)

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 1,288,291
  males fit for military service: 1,021,632
  males reach military age (18) annually: 40,654 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $60 million to
  $65 million, NA% of GDP (1995)



======================================================================




@Germany
-------




Map
---


Location: 51 00 N, 9 00 E -- Central Europe, bordering the Baltic
  Sea and the North Sea, between the Netherlands and Poland, south of
  Denmark



Flag
----


Description: three equal horizontal bands of black (top), red, and
  yellow





Geography
---------


Location: Central Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and the North
  Sea, between the Netherlands and Poland, south of Denmark

Geographic coordinates: 51 00 N, 9 00 E

Map references: Europe

Area:
  total area: 356,910 sq km
  land area: 349,520 sq km
  comparative area: slightly smaller than Montana
  note: includes the formerly separate Federal Republic of Germany,
  the German Democratic Republic, and Berlin, following formal
  unification on 3 October 1990

Land boundaries:
  total: 3,621 km
  border countries: Austria 784 km, Belgium 167 km, Czech Republic 646
  km, Denmark 68 km, France 451 km, Luxembourg 138 km, Netherlands 577
  km, Poland 456 km, Switzerland 334 km

Coastline: 2,389 km

Maritime claims:
  continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: none

Climate: temperate and marine; cool, cloudy, wet winters and
  summers; occasional warm, tropical foehn wind; high relative humidity

Terrain: lowlands in north, uplands in center, Bavarian Alps in
  south
  lowest point: Freepsum Lake -2 m
  highest point: Zugspitze 2,962 m

Natural resources: iron ore, coal, potash, timber, lignite,
  uranium, copper, natural gas, salt, nickel

Land use:
  arable land: 34%
  permanent crops: 1%
  meadows and pastures: 16%
  forest and woodland: 30%
  other: 19%

Irrigated land: 4,800 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
  current issues: emissions from coal-burning utilities and industries
  and lead emissions from vehicle exhausts (the result of continued
  use of leaded fuels) contribute to air pollution; acid rain,
  resulting from sulfur dioxide emissions, is damaging forests; heavy
  pollution in the Baltic Sea from raw sewage and industrial effluents
  from rivers in eastern Germany
  natural hazards: NA
  international agreements: party to - Air Pollution, Air
  Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air
  Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental
  Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered
  Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the
  Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship
  Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified -
  Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Desertification, Tropical Timber 94

Geographic note: strategic location on North European Plain and
  along the entrance to the Baltic Sea



People
------


Population: 83,536,115 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 16.15% (male 6,928,750; female 6,563,026)
  15-64 years: 68.52% (male 29,339,780; female 27,902,549)
  65 years and over: 15.33% (male 4,658,014; female 8,143,996) (July
  1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 0.67% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 9.66 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 12.21 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 8.25 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.57 male(s)/female
  all ages: 0.96 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 6 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 75.95 years
  male: 72.8 years
  female: 79.27 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.3 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: German(s)
  adjective: German

Ethnic divisions: German 95.1%, Turkish 2.3%, Italians 0.7%,
  Greeks 0.4%, Poles 0.4%, other 1.1% (made up largely of people
  fleeing the war in the former Yugoslavia)

Religions: Protestant 45%, Roman Catholic 37%, unaffiliated or
  other 18%

Languages: German

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1977 est.)
  total population: 99%
  male: NA%
  female: NA%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Federal Republic of Germany
  conventional short form: Germany
  local long form: Bundesrepublik Deutschland
  local short form: Deutschland

Data code: GM

Type of government: federal republic

Capital: Berlin
  note: the shift from Bonn to Berlin will take place over a period of
  years, with Bonn retaining many administrative functions and several
  ministries

Administrative divisions: 16 states (laender, singular - land);
  Baden-Wuerttemberg, Bayern, Berlin, Brandenburg, Bremen, Hamburg,
  Hessen, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Niedersachsen, Nordrhein-Westfalen,
  Rheinland-Pfalz, Saarland, Sachsen, Sachsen-Anhalt,
  Schleswig-Holstein, Thueringen

Independence: 18 January 1871 (German Empire unification); divided
  into four zones of occupation (UK, US, USSR, and later, France) in
  1945 following World War II; Federal Republic of Germany (FRG or
  West Germany) proclaimed 23 May 1949 and included the former UK, US,
  and French zones; German Democratic Republic (GDR or East Germany)
  proclaimed 7 October 1949 and included the former USSR zone;
  unification of West Germany and East Germany took place 3 October
  1990; all four power rights formally relinquished 15 March 1991

National holiday: German Unity Day (Day of Unity), 3 October (1990)

Constitution: 23 May 1949, known as Basic Law; became constitution
  of the united German people 3 October 1990

Legal system: civil law system with indigenous concepts; judicial
  review of legislative acts in the Federal Constitutional Court; has
  not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: President Roman HERZOG (since 1 July 1994) was
  elected by the Federal Convention including members of the Bundestag
  and an equal number of members elected by the Land Parliaments
  head of government: Chancellor Dr. Helmut KOHL (since 4 October
  1982) was elected by an absolute majority of the Bundestag
  cabinet: Cabinet was appointed by the president upon the proposal of
  the chancellor

Legislative branch: bicameral chamber (no official name for the
  two chambers as a whole)
  Federal Assembly (Bundestag): election last held 16 October 1994
  (next to be held by NA 1998); results - CDU 34.2%, SPD 36.4%,
  Alliance 90/Greens 7.3%, CSU 7.3%, FDP 6.9%, PDS 4.4%, Republicans
  1.9%; seats - (usually 656 total, but 672 for the 1994 term) CDU
  244, SPD 252, Alliance 90/Greens 49, CSU 50, FDP 47, PDS 30; elected
  by direct popular vote under a system combining direct and
  proportional representation; a party must win 5% of the national
  vote or three direct mandates to gain representation
  Federal Council (Bundesrat): State governments are directly
  represented by votes; each has 3 to 6 votes depending on size and
  are required to vote as a block; current composition: votes - (68
  total) SPD-led states 41, CDU-led states 27

Judicial branch: Federal Constitutional Court
  (Bundesverfassungsgericht), half the judges are elected by the
  Bundestag and half by the Bundesrat

Political parties and leaders: Christian Democratic Union (CDU),
  Helmut KOHL, chairman; Christian Social Union (CSU), Theo WAIGEL,
  chairman; Free Democratic Party (FDP), Wolfgang GERHARDT, chairman;
  Social Democratic Party (SPD), Oskar LA FONTAINE, chairman; Alliance
  '90/Greens, Krista SAGER, Juergen TRITTIN, cochairpersons; Party of
  Democratic Socialism (PDS), Lothar BISKY, chairman; Republikaner,
  Rolf SCHLIERER, chairman; National Democratic Party (NPD),
  Ellen-Doris SCHERER; Communist Party (DKP), Rolf PRIEMER and Heinz
  STEHR, cochairpersons

Other political or pressure groups: expellee, refugee, and
  veterans groups

International organization participation: AfDB, AG (observer),
  AsDB, Australia Group, BDEAC, BIS, CBSS, CCC, CDB (non-regional),
  CE, CERN, EBRD, ECE, EIB, ESA, EU, FAO, G- 5, G- 7, G-10, IADB,
  IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO,
  IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MINURSO,
  MTCR, NACC, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OSCE,
  PCA, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNAMIR, UNCRO, UNCTAD,
  UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNOMIG, UNPROFOR, UPU, WEU, WHO, WIPO,
  WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Juergen CHROBOG
  chancery: 4645 Reservoir Road NW, Washington, DC 20007
  telephone: [1] (202) 298-4000
  FAX: [1] (202) 298-4249
  consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Houston,
  Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco, Seattle

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Charles E. REDMAN
  embassy: Deichmanns Aue 29, 53170 Bonn
  mailing address: APO AE 09080, PSC 117, Bonn
  telephone: [49] (228) 3391
  FAX: [49] (228) 339-2663
  branch office: Berlin
  consulate(s) general: Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Leipzig,
  Munich, and Stuttgart

Flag: three equal horizontal bands of black (top), red, and yellow



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Germany, the world's third-most powerful
  economy, faces its own unique problem of bringing its eastern area
  up to scratch after 45 years of communist rule. Despite substantial
  progress toward economic integration, the eastern states will
  continue to rely on subsidies from the federal government into the
  next century. Assistance to the east of about $100 billion annually
  has helped the region average nearly 8% annual economic growth since
  1991, even though the overall German economy has averaged less than
  2% growth. The economic recovery in the east has been led by the
  construction industries, with growth increasingly supported by the
  service sectors and light manufacturing industries. Western Germany,
  which accounts for 90% of overall German GDP and has three times the
  per capita income of eastern Germany, is perennially the first- or
  second-largest exporter, after the US, in the world. Nonetheless,
  business and political leaders have in recent years become
  increasingly concerned about Germany's apparent decline in
  attractiveness as a business location. They cite the increasing
  preference of German companies to locate manufacturing facilities -
  long the strength of the postwar economy - to foreign countries,
  including the US, rather than in Germany, so they can be closer to
  their markets and avoid Germany's high production costs. The
  conditions under which European economic integration - especially
  movement toward a single European currency - will proceed will be
  another key issue facing Germany in the next few years.

GDP:
  Germany: purchasing power parity - $1.4522 trillion (1995 est.)
  western: purchasing power parity - $1.3318 trillion (1995 est.)
  eastern: purchasing power parity - $120.4 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate:
  Germany: 1.8% (1995 est.)
  western: 1.5% (1995 est.)
  eastern: 6.3% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita:
  Germany: $17,900 (1995 est.)
  western: $21,100 (1995 est.)
  eastern: $6,600 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 1%
  industry: 34.2%
  services: 64.8% (1994)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
  western: 2% (1995 est.)
  eastern: 2% (1995 est.)

Labor force: 36.75 million
  by occupation: industry 41%, agriculture 6%, other 53% (1987)

Unemployment rate:
  western: 8.7% (December 1995)
  eastern: 14.9% (December 1995)

Budget:
  revenues: $690 billion
  expenditures: $780 billion, including capital expenditures of $96.5
  billion (1994)

Industries:
  western: among world's largest and technologically advanced
  producers of iron, steel, coal, cement, chemicals, machinery,
  vehicles, machine tools, electronics, food and beverages
  eastern: metal fabrication, chemicals, brown coal, shipbuilding,
  machine building, food and beverages, textiles, petroleum refining

Industrial production growth rate:
  western: 2.8% (1994)
  eastern: NA%

Electricity:
  capacity: 115,430,000 kW
  production: 493 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 5,683 kWh (1993)

Agriculture:
  western: potatoes, wheat, barley, sugar beets, fruit, cabbage;
  cattle, pigs, poultry
  eastern: wheat, rye, barley, potatoes, sugar beets, fruit; pork,
  beef, chicken, milk, hides

Illicit drugs: source of precursor chemicals for South American
  cocaine processors; transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin
  and Latin American cocaine for West European markets

Exports: $437 billion (f.o.b., 1994)
  commodities: manufactures 89.3% (including machines and machine
  tools, chemicals, motor vehicles, iron and steel products),
  agricultural products 5.5%, raw materials 2.7%, fuels 1.3% (1993)
  partners: EC 47.9% (France 11.7%, Netherlands 7.4%, Italy 7.5%, UK
  7.7%, Belgium-Luxembourg 6.6%), EFTA 15.5%, US 7.7%, Eastern Europe
  5.2%, OPEC 3.0% (1993)

Imports: $362 billion (f.o.b., 1994)
  commodities: manufactures 75.1%, agricultural products 10.0%, fuels
  8.3%, raw materials 5.0% (1993)
  partners: EC 46.4% (France 11.3%, Netherlands 8.4%, Italy 8.1%, UK
  6.0%, Belgium-Luxembourg 5.7%), EFTA 14.3%, US 7.3%, Japan 6.3%,
  Eastern Europe 5.1%, OPEC 2.6% (1993)

External debt: $NA

Economic aid:
  donor: ODA, $6.954 billion (1993)

Currency: 1 deutsche mark (DM) = 100 pfennige

Exchange rates: deutsche marks (DM) per US$1 - 1.4617 (January
  1996), 1.4331 (1995), 1.6228 (1994), 1.6533 (1993), 1.5617 (1992),
  1.6595 (1991)

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 43,966 km
  standard gauge: 43,531 km 1.435-m; 40,355 km are owned by Deutsche
  Bahn AG (DB); 17,015 km of the DB system are electrified and 16,941
  km are double- or more-tracked
  narrow gauge: 389 km 1.000-m gauge (DB operates 146 km of 1.000-m
  gauge); 7 km 0.900-m gauge; 39 km 0.750-m gauge
  note: in addition to the DB system there are 54 privately-owned
  industrial or excursion railways, ranging in route length from 2 km
  to 632 km, with a total length of 3,465 km (1995)

Highways:
  total: 636,282 km
  paved: 531,018 km (including 10,955 km of expressways)
  unpaved: 105,264 km (1991 est.)

Waterways:
  western: 5,222 km, of which almost 70% are usable by craft of
  1,000-metric-ton capacity or larger; major rivers include the Rhine
  and Elbe; Kiel Canal is an important connection between the Baltic
  Sea and North Sea
  eastern: 2,319 km (1988)

Pipelines: crude oil 3,644 km; petroleum products 3,946 km;
  natural gas 97,564 km (1988)

Ports: Berlin, Bonn, Brake, Bremen, Bremerhaven, Cologne, Dresden,
  Duisburg, Emden, Hamburg, Karlsruhe, Kiel, Lubeck, Magdeburg,
  Mannheim, Rostock, Stuttgart

Merchant marine:
  total: 452 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 5,054,327
  GRT/6,367,036 DWT
  ships by type: bulk 6, cargo 193, chemical tanker 15, combination
  bulk 4, combination ore/oil 5, container 166, liquefied gas tanker
  12, multifunction large-load carrier 6, oil tanker 11, passenger 3,
  railcar carrier 3, refrigerated cargo 7, roll-on/roll-off cargo 14,
  short-sea passenger 7 (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 617
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 13
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 65
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 67
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 51
  with paved runways under 914 m: 351
  with unpaved runways over 3 047 m: 2
  with unpaved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 6
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 7
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 55 (1995 est.)

Heliports: 55 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 44 million

Telephone system: Germany has one of the world's most
  technologically advanced telecommunications systems; as a result of
  intensive capital expenditures since reunification, the formerly
  backward system of the eastern part of the country is being rapidly
  modernized and integrated with that of the western part
  domestic: the region which was formerly West Germany is served by an
  extensive system of automatic telephone exchanges connected by
  modern networks of fiber-optic cable, coaxial cable, microwave radio
  relay, and a domestic satellite system; cellular telephone service
  is widely available and includes roaming service to many foreign
  countries; since the reunification of Germany, the telephone system
  of the eastern region has been upgraded and enjoys many of the
  advantages of the national system
  international: satellite earth stations - 14 Intelsat (12 Atlantic
  Ocean and 2 Indian Ocean), 1 Eutelsat, 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic Ocean
  region), 2 Intersputnik (1 Atlantic Ocean region and 1 Indian Ocean
  region); 6 submarine cable connections; 2 HF radiotelephone
  communication centers; tropospheric scatter links

Radio broadcast stations:
  western: AM 80, FM 470, shortwave 0
  eastern: AM 23, FM 17, shortwave 0

Radios: 70 million (1991 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 246 (repeaters 6,000); note - there
  are 15 Russian repeaters in eastern Germany

Televisions: 44.8 million (1992 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Army, Navy (includes Naval Air Arm), Air Force, Border
  Police, Coast Guard

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 21,540,919
  males fit for military service: 18,537,347
  males reach military age (18) annually: 449,292 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $42.8 billion,
  1.5% of GDP (1995)



======================================================================




@Ghana
-----




Map
---


Location: 8 00 N, 2 00 W -- Western Africa, bordering the North
  Atlantic Ocean, between Cote d'Ivoire and Togo



Flag
----


Description: three equal horizontal bands of red (top), yellow,
  and green with a large black five-pointed star centered in the
  yellow band; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia;
  similar to the flag of Bolivia, which has a coat of arms centered in
  the yellow band





Geography
---------


Location: Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean,
  between Cote d'Ivoire and Togo

Geographic coordinates: 8 00 N, 2 00 W

Map references: Africa

Area:
  total area: 238,540 sq km
  land area: 230,020 sq km
  comparative area: slightly smaller than Oregon

Land boundaries:
  total: 2,093 km
  border countries: Burkina Faso 548 km, Cote d'Ivoire 668 km, Togo
  877 km

Coastline: 539 km

Maritime claims:
  contiguous zone: 24 nm
  continental shelf: 200 nm
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: none

Climate: tropical; warm and comparatively dry along southeast
  coast; hot and humid in southwest; hot and dry in north

Terrain: mostly low plains with dissected plateau in south-central
  area
  lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
  highest point: Mount Afadjato 880 m

Natural resources: gold, timber, industrial diamonds, bauxite,
  manganese, fish, rubber

Land use:
  arable land: 5%
  permanent crops: 7%
  meadows and pastures: 15%
  forest and woodland: 37%
  other: 36%

Irrigated land: 80 sq km (1989)

Environment:
  current issues: recent drought in north severely affecting
  agricultural activities; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion;
  poaching and habitat destruction threatens wildlife populations;
  water pollution; inadequate supplies of potable water
  natural hazards: dry, dusty, harmattan winds occur from January to
  March; droughts
  international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
  Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea,
  Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical
  Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling; signed, but not
  ratified - Desertification, Marine Life Conservation

Geographic note: Lake Volta is the world's largest artificial
  lake; northeasterly harmattan wind (January to March)



People
------


Population: 17,698,271 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 43% (male 3,856,673; female 3,819,946)
  15-64 years: 54% (male 4,658,142; female 4,814,060)
  65 years and over: 3% (male 262,159; female 287,291) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.29% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 35 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 11.15 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: -0.94 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.91 male(s)/female
  all ages: 0.98 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 80.3 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 56.17 years
  male: 54.18 years
  female: 58.22 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 4.59 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Ghanaian(s)
  adjective: Ghanaian

Ethnic divisions: black African 99.8% (major tribes - Akan 44%,
  Moshi-Dagomba 16%, Ewe 13%, Ga 8%), European and other 0.2%

Religions: indigenous beliefs 38%, Muslim 30%, Christian 24%,
  other 8%

Languages: English (official), African languages (including Akan,
  Moshi-Dagomba, Ewe, and Ga)

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)
  total population: 64.5%
  male: 75.9%
  female: 53.5%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Republic of Ghana
  conventional short form: Ghana
  former: Gold Coast

Data code: GH

Type of government: constitutional democracy

Capital: Accra

Administrative divisions: 10 regions; Ashanti, Brong-Ahafo,
  Central, Eastern, Greater Accra, Northern, Upper East, Upper West,
  Volta, Western

Independence: 6 March 1957 (from UK)

National holiday: Independence Day, 6 March (1957)

Constitution: new constitution approved 28 April 1992

Legal system: based on English common law and customary law; has
  not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state and head of government: President Jerry John RAWLINGS
  (since 3 November 1992); elected for a four-year term by direct
  universal suffrage; the president can appoint a vice president;
  election last held 3 November 1992 (next to be held NA December 1996)
  cabinet: Cabinet; president nominates members subject to approval by
  the Parliament

Legislative branch: unicameral
  Parliament: elections last held 29 December 1992 (next to be held NA
  December 1996); results - opposition boycotted the election, the
  National Democratic Congress won 198 of the total 200 seats and 2
  seats were won by independents; because of interim bye-elections,
  the National Democratic Congress and its remaining coalition
  partner, Every Ghanian Living Everywhere (EGLE), now control 189
  seats; former coalition partner, NCP, has 8 seats; independents hold
  3

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

Political parties and leaders: National Democratic Congress (NDC),
  Jerry John RAWLINGS; New Patriotic Party (NPP), Peter Ala ADJETY;
  People's Heritage Party (PHP), Alex ERSKINE; National Convention
  Party (NCP), Kow ARKAAH; Every Ghanian Living Everywhere (EGLE),
  Ashang OKINE; Peoples Convention Party (PCP), B.K. NKETSIA; Peoples
  National Convention (PNC), Alhaji Asuma BANDA

International organization participation: ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA,
  ECOWAS, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD,
  IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer),
  ITU, MINURSO, NAM, OAU, UN, UNAMIR, UNCRO, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO,
  UNIFIL, UNIKOM, UNPREDEP, UNPROFOR, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO,
  WMO, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Ekwow SPIO-GARBRAH
  chancery: 3512 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008
  telephone: [1] (202) 686-4520
  FAX: [1] (202) 686-4527
  consulate(s) general: New York

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Edward BRYNN
  embassy: Ring Road East, East of Danquah Circle, Accra
  mailing address: P. O. Box 194, Accra
  telephone: [233] (21) 775348
  FAX: [233] (21) 775747

Flag: three equal horizontal bands of red (top), yellow, and green
  with a large black five-pointed star centered in the yellow band;
  uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia; similar to the flag
  of Bolivia, which has a coat of arms centered in the yellow band



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Well endowed with natural resources, Ghana has
  twice the per capita output of the poorer countries in West Africa.
  Heavily reliant on international assistance, Ghana has made steady
  progress in liberalizing its economy since 1983. Overall growth
  continued at a rate of approximately 5% in 1995, due largely to
  increased gold, timber, and cocoa production - major sources of
  foreign exchange. The economy, however, continues to revolve around
  subsistence agriculture, which accounts for almost half of GDP and
  employs 55% of the work force, mainly small landholders. Public
  sector wage increases, regional peacekeeping commitments, and the
  containment of internal unrest in the underdeveloped north have
  placed substantial demands on the government's budget and have led
  to inflationary deficit financing, depreciation of the cedi, and
  rising public discontent with Ghana's austerity program.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $25.1 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 5% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $1,400 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 47%
  industry: 16%
  services: 37% (1994 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 69% (1995 est.)

Labor force: 3.7 million
  by occupation: agriculture and fishing 54.7%, industry 18.7%, sales
  and clerical 15.2%, professional 3.7%, services, transportation, and
  communications 7.7%

Unemployment rate: 10% (1993 est.)

Budget:
  revenues: $1.05 billion
  expenditures: $1.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $178
  million (1993)

Industries: mining, lumbering, light manufacturing, aluminum, food
  processing

Industrial production growth rate: 2.8% (1994 est.)

Electricity:
  capacity: 1,180,000 kW
  production: 6.1 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 323 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: cocoa, rice, coffee, cassava (tapioca), peanuts,
  corn, shea nuts, bananas; timber

Illicit drugs: illicit producer of cannabis for the international
  drug trade; transit hub for Southwest and Southeast Asian heroin
  destined for Europe and the US

Exports: $1 billion (f.o.b., 1993 est.)
  commodities: cocoa 40%, gold, timber, tuna, bauxite, aluminum,
  manganese ore, and diamonds
  partners: Germany , US , UK , Netherlands , Japan (1995)

Imports: $1.7 billion (f.o.b., 1993 est.)
  commodities: petroleum, consumer goods, foods, intermediate goods,
  capital equipment
  partners: UK, US, Germany, Japan, Netherlands (1995)

External debt: $4.6 billion (December 1993 est.)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $472 million (1993)

Currency: 1 new cedi (C) = 100 pesewas

Exchange rates: new cedis per US$1 - 1,246.11 (September 1995),
  956.71 (1994), 649.06 (1993), 437.09 (1992), 367.83 (1991)

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 953 km; note - undergoing major renovation (1995 est.)
  narrow gauge: 953 km 1.067-m gauge; 32 km double track

Highways:
  total: 38,145 km
  paved: 7,476 km (including 21 km of expressways)
  unpaved: 30,669 km (1990 est.)

Waterways: Volta, Ankobra, and Tano Rivers provide 168 km of
  perennial navigation for launches and lighters; Lake Volta provides
  1,125 km of arterial and feeder waterways

Pipelines: none

Ports: Takoradi, Tema

Merchant marine:
  total: 3 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 27,427 GRT/35,894 DWT
  ships by type: cargo 2, refrigerated cargo 1 (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 12
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 3
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 1
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 2
  with paved runways under 914 m: 2
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 2
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 2 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 70,000 (1988 est.)

Telephone system: poor to fair system
  domestic: primarily microwave radio relay
  international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 4, FM 1, shortwave 0

Radios: NA

Television broadcast stations: 4 (repeaters 8)

Televisions: 250,000 (1993 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Police Force, Palace Guard, Civil
  Defense

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 4,135,538
  males fit for military service: 2,303,423
  males reach military age (18) annually: 176,332 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $30 million, 0.8%
  of GDP (1994)



======================================================================




@Gibraltar
---------


(dependent territory of the UK)

Map
---


Location: 36 11 N, 5 22 W -- Southwestern Europe, bordering the
  Strait of Gibraltar, which links the Mediterranean Sea and the North
  Atlantic Ocean, on the southern coast of Spain



Flag
----


Description: two horizontal bands of white (top, double width) and
  red with a three-towered red castle in the center of the white band;
  hanging from the castle gate is a gold key centered in the red band





Geography
---------


Location: Southwestern Europe, bordering the Strait of Gibraltar,
  which links the Mediterranean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, on
  the southern coast of Spain

Geographic coordinates: 36 11 N, 5 22 W

Map references: Europe

Area:
  total area: 6.5 sq km
  land area: 6.5 sq km
  comparative area: about 11 times the size of The Mall in Washington,
  DC

Land boundaries:
  total: 1.2 km
  border country: Spain 1.2 km

Coastline: 12 km

Maritime claims:
  territorial sea: 3 nm

International disputes: source of friction between Spain and the UK

Climate: Mediterranean with mild winters and warm summers

Terrain: a narrow coastal lowland borders the Rock of Gibraltar
  lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m
  highest point: Rock of Gibraltar 426 m

Natural resources: NEGL

Land use:
  arable land: 0%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 0%
  forest and woodland: 0%
  other: 100%

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Environment:
  current issues: limited natural freshwater resources, so large
  concrete or natural rock water catchments collect rain water
  natural hazards: NA
  international agreements: NA

Geographic note: strategic location on Strait of Gibraltar that
  links the North Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea



People
------


Population: 28,765 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 20% (male 3,109; female 2,728)
  15-64 years: 66% (male 10,668; female 8,292)
  65 years and over: 14% (male 1,582; female 2,386) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 0.54% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 13.94 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 8.73 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 0.21 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.14 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 1.29 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.66 male(s)/female
  all ages: 1.15 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 6.9 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 77.83 years
  male: 74.5 years
  female: 81.31 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.26 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Gibraltarian(s)
  adjective: Gibraltar

Ethnic divisions: Italian, English, Maltese, Portuguese, Spanish

Religions: Roman Catholic 74%, Protestant 11% (Church of England
  8%, other 3%), Muslim 8%, Jewish 2%, none or other 5% (1981)

Languages: English (used in schools and for official purposes),
  Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Russian

Literacy: NA



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: none
  conventional short form: Gibraltar

Data code: GI

Type of government: dependent territory of the UK

Capital: Gibraltar

Administrative divisions: none (dependent territory of the UK)

Independence: none (dependent territory of the UK)

National holiday: Commonwealth Day (second Monday of March)

Constitution: 30 May 1969

Legal system: English law

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal, plus other UK subjects
  resident six months or more

Executive branch:
  chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (of the United Kingdom since 6
  February 1952), a hereditary monarch, is represented by Governor and
  Commander in Chief Field Marshal Sir John CHAPPLE (since NA March
  1993)
  head of government: Chief Minister Joe BOSSANO (since 25 March 1988)
  was appointed by the governor
  Gibraltar Council: advises the governor
  cabinet: Council of Ministers was appointed from the elected members
  of the House of Assembly by the governor in consultation with the
  chief minister

Legislative branch: unicameral
  House of Assembly: elections last held 16 January 1992 (next to be
  held NA January 1996); results - SL 73.3%, SD 20.2%, NP 4.7%,
  independents 1.8%; seats - (18 total, 15 elected) SL 8, SD 7

Judicial branch: Supreme Court; Court of Appeal

Political parties and leaders: Gibraltar Socialist Labor Party
  (SL), Joe BOSSANO; Gibraltar Labor Party/Association for the
  Advancement of Civil Rights (GCL/AACR), leader Adolfo CANEPA;
  Gibraltar Social Democrats (SD), Peter CARUANA; Gibraltar National
  Party (NP), Joe GARCIA

Other political or pressure groups: Housewives Association;
  Chamber of Commerce; Gibraltar Representatives Organization

International organization participation: Interpol (subbureau)

Diplomatic representation in US: none (dependent territory of the
  UK)

US diplomatic representation: none (dependent territory of the UK)

Flag: two horizontal bands of white (top, double width) and red
  with a three-towered red castle in the center of the white band;
  hanging from the castle gate is a gold key centered in the red band



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Gibraltar benefits from an extensive shipping
  trade and offshore banking. The British military presence has been
  sharply reduced and now contributes about 11% to the local economy.
  The financial sector accounts for 15% of GDP; tourism, shipping
  services fees, and duties on consumer goods also generate revenue.
  Because more than 70% of the economy is in the public sector,
  changes in government spending have a major impact on the level of
  employment.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $205 million (1993 est.)

GDP real growth rate: NA%

GDP per capita: $6,600 (1993 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: NA%
  industry: NA%
  services: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA%

Labor force: 14,800 (including non-Gibraltar laborers)
  note: UK military establishments and civil government employ nearly
  50% of the labor force

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget:
  revenues: $116 million
  expenditures: $124 million, including capital expenditures of $NA
  (1992-93)

Industries: tourism, banking and finance, construction, commerce;
  support to large UK naval and air bases; tobacco, mineral waters,
  beer, canned fish

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity:
  capacity: 47,000 kW
  production: 90 million kWh
  consumption per capita: 2,539 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: none

Exports: $57 million (f.o.b., 1992)
  commodities: (principally reexports) petroleum 51%, manufactured
  goods 41%, other 8%
  partners: UK, Morocco, Portugal, Netherlands, Spain, US, FRG

Imports: $420 million (c.i.f., 1992)
  commodities: fuels, manufactured goods, and foodstuffs
  partners: UK, Spain, Japan, Netherlands

External debt: $318 million (1987)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $NA

Currency: 1 Gibraltar pound (LG) = 100 pence

Exchange rates: Gibraltar pounds (LG) per US$1 - 0.6535 (January
  1996), 0.6335 (1995), 0.6529 (1994), 0.6658 (1993), 0.5664 (1992),
  0.5652 (1991); note - the Gibraltar pound is at par with the British
  pound

Fiscal year: 1 July - 30 June



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: NA km; 1.000-m gauge system in dockyard area only

Highways:
  total: 49.9 km (including 12.9 km public highways)
  paved: 49.9 km
  unpaved: 0 km

Pipelines: none

Ports: Gibraltar

Merchant marine:
  total: 19 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 357,730 GRT/635,769 DWT
  ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 3, chemical tanker 1, container 1, oil
  tanker 13 (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 1
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 1 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 19,529 (1993 est.)

Telephone system: adequate, automatic domestic system and adequate
  international facilities
  domestic: automatic exchange facilities
  international: radiotelephone; microwave radio relay; satellite
  earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 1, FM 6, shortwave 0

Radios: NA

Television broadcast stations: 4

Televisions: NA



Defense
-------


Branches: British Army, Royal Navy, Royal Air Force

Defense note: defense is the responsibility of the UK



======================================================================




@Glorioso Islands
----------------


(possession of France)

Map
---


Location: 11 30 S, 47 20 E -- Southern Africa, group of islands in
  the Indian Ocean, northwest of Madagascar



Flag
----


Description: the flag of France is used





Geography
---------


Location: Southern Africa, group of islands in the Indian Ocean,
  northwest of Madagascar

Geographic coordinates: 11 30 S, 47 20 E

Map references: Africa

Area:
  total area: 5 sq km
  land area: 5 sq km
  comparative area: about eight times the size of The Mall in
  Washington, DC
  note: includes Ile Glorieuse, Ile du Lys, Verte Rocks, Wreck Rock,
  and South Rock

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 35.2 km

Maritime claims:
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: claimed by Madagascar

Climate: tropical

Terrain: NA
  lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
  highest point: unnamed location 12 m

Natural resources: guano, coconuts

Land use:
  arable land: 0%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 0%
  forest and woodland: 0%
  other: 100% (all lush vegetation and coconut palms)

Irrigated land: 0 sq km

Environment:
  current issues: NA
  natural hazards: periodic cyclones
  international agreements: NA



People
------


Population: uninhabited



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: none
  conventional short form: Glorioso Islands
  local long form: none
  local short form: Iles Glorieuses

Data code: GO

Type of government: French possession administered by Commissioner
  of the Republic, resident in Reunion

Capital: none; administered by France from Reunion

Independence: none (possession of France)

Flag: the flag of France is used



Economy
-------


Economic overview: no economic activity



Transportation
--------------


Ports: none; offshore anchorage only

Airports:
  total: 1
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 1 (1995 est.)



Defense
-------


Defense note: defense is the responsibility of France



======================================================================




@Greece
------




Map
---


Location: 39 00 N, 22 00 E -- Southern Europe, bordering the
  Aegean Sea, Ionian Sea, and the Mediterranean Sea, between Albania
  and Turkey



Flag
----


Description: nine equal horizontal stripes of blue alternating
  with white; there is a blue square in the upper hoist-side corner
  bearing a white cross; the cross symbolizes Greek Orthodoxy, the
  established religion of the country





Geography
---------


Location: Southern Europe, bordering the Aegean Sea, Ionian Sea,
  and the Mediterranean Sea, between Albania and Turkey

Geographic coordinates: 39 00 N, 22 00 E

Map references: Europe

Area:
  total area: 131,940 sq km
  land area: 130,800 sq km
  comparative area: slightly smaller than Alabama

Land boundaries:
  total: 1,210 km
  border countries: Albania 282 km, Bulgaria 494 km, Turkey 206 km,
  The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 228 km

Coastline: 13,676 km

Maritime claims:
  continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
  territorial sea: 6 nm

International disputes: complex maritime, air, and territorial
  disputes with Turkey in Aegean Sea; Cyprus question; dispute with
  The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia over name; border
  demarcation with Albania, the treatment of Albania's ethnic Greek
  minority, and migrant Albanian workers in Greece remain unresolved
  issues

Climate: temperate; mild, wet winters; hot, dry summers

Terrain: mostly mountains with ranges extending into sea as
  peninsulas or chains of islands
  lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m
  highest point: Mount Olympus 2,917 m

Natural resources: bauxite, lignite, magnesite, petroleum, marble

Land use:
  arable land: 23%
  permanent crops: 8%
  meadows and pastures: 40%
  forest and woodland: 20%
  other: 9%

Irrigated land: 11,900 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
  current issues: air pollution; water pollution
  natural hazards: severe earthquakes
  international agreements: party to - Air Pollution,
  Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity,
  Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification,
  Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban,
  Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83,
  Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides,
  Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds,
  Desertification

Geographic note: strategic location dominating the Aegean Sea and
  southern approach to Turkish Straits; a peninsular country,
  possessing an archipelago of about 2,000 islands



People
------


Population: 10,538,594 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 16% (male 899,029; female 837,308)
  15-64 years: 68% (male 3,571,918; female 3,542,556)
  65 years and over: 16% (male 736,818; female 950,965) (July 1996
  est.)

Population growth rate: 0.42% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 9.78 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 9.53 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 3.98 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.07 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female
  all ages: 0.98 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 7.4 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 78.1 years
  male: 75.6 years
  female: 80.78 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.37 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Greek(s)
  adjective: Greek

Ethnic divisions: Greek 98%, other 2%
  note: the Greek Government states there are no ethnic divisions in
======================================================================




@Greenland
---------


(part of the Danish realm)

Map
---


Location: 72 00 N, 40 00 W -- Northern North America, island
  between the Arctic Ocean and the North Atlantic Ocean, northeast of
  Canada



Flag
----


Description: two equal horizontal bands of white (top) and red
  with a large disk slightly to the hoist side of center - the top
  half of the disk is red, the bottom half is white





Geography
---------


Location: Northern North America, island between the Arctic Ocean
  and the North Atlantic Ocean, northeast of Canada

Geographic coordinates: 72 00 N, 40 00 W

Map references: Arctic Region

Area:
  total area: 2,175,600 sq km
  land area: 383,600 sq km (ice free)
  comparative area: slightly more than three times the size of Texas

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 44,087 km

Maritime claims:
  exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 3 nm

International disputes: none

Climate: arctic to subarctic; cool summers, cold winters

Terrain: flat to gradually sloping icecap covers all but a narrow,
  mountainous, barren, rocky coast
  lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
  highest point: Gunnbjorn 3,700 m

Natural resources: zinc, lead, iron ore, coal, molybdenum,
  cryolite, uranium, fish

Land use:
  arable land: 0%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 1%
  forest and woodland: 0%
  other: 99%

Irrigated land: 0 sq km

Environment:
  current issues: NA
  natural hazards: continuous permafrost over northern two-thirds of
  the island
  international agreements: NA

Geographic note: dominates North Atlantic Ocean between North
  America and Europe; sparse population confined to small settlements
  along coast



People
------


Population: 58,203 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 27% (male 7,871; female 7,723)
  15-64 years: 68% (male 21,755; female 17,961)
  65 years and over: 5% (male 1,307; female 1,586) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 1% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 17.06 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 7.11 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 1.21 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.82 male(s)/female
  all ages: 1.13 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 23.8 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 68.24 years
  male: 63.97 years
  female: 72.53 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.22 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Greenlander(s)
  adjective: Greenlandic

Ethnic divisions: Greenlander 86% (Eskimos and Greenland-born
  whites), Danish 14%

Religions: Evangelical Lutheran

Languages: Eskimo dialects, Danish

Literacy: NA



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: none
  conventional short form: Greenland
  local long form: none
  local short form: Kalaallit Nunaat

Data code: GL

Type of government: part of the Danish realm; self-governing
  overseas administrative division

Capital: Nuuk (Godthab)

Administrative divisions: 3 municipalities (kommuner, singular -
  kommun); Nordgronland, Ostgronland, Vestgronland

Independence: none (part of the Danish realm; self-governing
  overseas administrative division)

National holiday: Birthday of the Queen, 16 April (1940)

Constitution: 5 June 1953 (Danish constitution)

Legal system: Danish

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: Queen MARGRETHE II (of Denmark since 14 January
  1972), a constitutional monarch, is represented by High Commissioner
  Steen SPORE (since NA 1993)
  head of government: Prime Minister Lars Emil JOHANSEN (since 15
  March 1991) was elected by the Landsting
  cabinet: Landsstyre is formed from the Landsting on basis of
  strength of parties

Legislative branch: unicameral
  Parliament (Landsting): election last held on 4 March 1995 (next to
  be held NA 5 March 1999); results - Siumut 38.5%, Inuit Ataqatigiit
  20.3%, Atassut Party 29.7%; seats - (31 total) Siumut 12, Atassut
  Party 10, Inuit Ataqatigiit 6, conservative splinter grouping 2,
  independent 1
  Danish Folketing: election last held on 21 September 1994 (next to
  be held by NA September 1998); Greenland elects two representatives
  to the Folketing; results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (2
  total) Liberals 1, Social Democrats 1; note - Greenlandic
  representatives are affiliated with Danish political parties

Judicial branch: High Court (Landsret)

Political parties and leaders: two-party ruling coalition; Siumut
  (Forward Party, a moderate socialist party that advocates more
  distinct Greenlandic identity and greater autonomy from Denmark),
  Lars Emil JOHANSEN, chairman; Inuit Ataqatigiit (IA) (Eskimo
  Brotherhood, a Marxist-Leninist party that favors complete
  independence from Denmark rather than home rule), Josef MOTZFELDT;
  Atassut Party (Solidarity, a more conservative party that favors
  continuing close relations with Denmark), Daniel SKIFTE; Akulliit
  Party, Bjarne KREUTZMANN; Issituup (Polar Party), Nicolai HEINRICH

Diplomatic representation in US: none (self-governing overseas
  administrative division of Denmark)

US diplomatic representation: none (self-governing overseas
  administrative division of Denmark)

Flag: two equal horizontal bands of white (top) and red with a
  large disk slightly to the hoist side of center - the top half of
  the disk is red, the bottom half is white



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Greenland's economic situation at present is
  difficult. Unemployment is increasing, and prospects for economic
  growth in the immediate future are dim. Following the closing of the
  Black Angel lead and zinc mine in 1989, Greenland became almost
  completely dependent on fishing and fish processing, the sector
  accounting for 95% of exports. Prospects for fisheries are not
  bright, as the important shrimp catches will at best stabilize and
  cod catches have dropped. Resumption of mining and hydrocarbon
  activities is not around the corner, thus leaving only tourism with
  some potential for the near future. The public sector, i.e., the
  central government and its commercial entities and the
  municipalities, plays a dominant role in Greenland, accounting for
  about two-thirds of total employment. About half the government's
  revenues come from grants from the Danish Government, an important
  supplement of GDP.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $892 million (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: NA%

GDP per capita: $15,500 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: NA%
  industry: NA%
  services: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1.3% (1993 est.)

Labor force: 22,800

Unemployment rate: 6.6% (1993 est.)

Budget:
  revenues: $667 million
  expenditures: $635 million, including capital expenditures of $103.8
  million (1993 est.)

Industries: fish processing (mainly shrimp), lead, zinc,
  handicrafts, small shipyards

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity:
  capacity: 84,000 kW
  production: 210 million kWh
  consumption per capita: 3,361 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: forage crops, small garden vegetables; sheep; 1988
  fish catch of 133,500 metric tons

Exports: $330.5 million (f.o.b., 1993 est.)
  commodities: fish and fish products 95%
  partners: Denmark 79%, Benelux 9%, Germany 5%

Imports: $369.6 million (c.i.f., 1993 est.)
  commodities: manufactured goods 28%, machinery and transport
  equipment 24%, food and live animals 12.4%, petroleum products 12%
  partners: Denmark 65%, Norway 8.8%, US 4.6%, Germany 3.8%, Japan
  3.8%, Sweden 2.4%

External debt: $297.1 million (1993)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $NA
  note: substantial annual subsidy from Denmark

Currency: 1 Danish krone (DKr) = 100 oere

Exchange rates: Danish kroner (DKr) per US$1 - 5.652 (January
  1996), 5.602 (1995), 6.361 (1994), 6.484 (1993), 6.036 (1992), 6.396
  (1991)

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways: 0 km

Highways:
  total: 150 km
  paved: 60 km
  unpaved: 90 km

Ports: Faeringehavn, Frederikshaab, Holsteinsborg, Nanortalik,
  Narsaq, Nuuk (Godthaab), Sondre Stromfjord

Merchant marine:
  total: 1 short-sea passenger (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,162
  GRT/610 DWT (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 8
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 1
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 1
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 1
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 1
  with paved runways under 914 m: 1
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 1
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 2 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 17,900 (1984 est.)

Telephone system: adequate domestic and international service
  provided by cables and microwave radio relay
  domestic: microwave radio relay
  international: 2 coaxial submarine cables; satellite earth station -
  1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 5, FM 7 (repeaters 35), shortwave 0

Radios: 23,000 (1991 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 4 (repeaters 9)

Televisions: 12,000 (1991 est.)



Defense
-------


Defense note: defense is the responsibility of Denmark



======================================================================




@Grenada
-------




Map
---


Location: 12 07 N, 61 40 W -- Caribbean, island in the Caribbean
  Sea, north of Trinidad and Tobago



Flag
----


Description: a rectangle divided diagonally into yellow triangles
  (top and bottom) and green triangles (hoist side and outer side)
  with a red border around the flag; there are seven yellow
  five-pointed stars with three centered in the top red border, three
  centered in the bottom red border, and one on a red disk
  superimposed at the center of the flag; there is also a symbolic
  nutmeg pod on the hoist-side triangle (Grenada is the world's
  second-largest producer of nutmeg, after Indonesia); the seven stars
  represent the seven administrative divisions





Geography
---------


Location: Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, north of
  Trinidad and Tobago

Geographic coordinates: 12 07 N, 61 40 W

Map references: Central America and the Caribbean

Area:
  total area: 340 sq km
  land area: 340 sq km
  comparative area: twice the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 121 km

Maritime claims:
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: none

Climate: tropical; tempered by northeast trade winds

Terrain: volcanic in origin with central mountains
  lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
  highest point: Mount Saint Catherine 840 m

Natural resources: timber, tropical fruit, deepwater harbors

Land use:
  arable land: 15%
  permanent crops: 26%
  meadows and pastures: 3%
  forest and woodland: 9%
  other: 47%

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Environment:
  current issues: NA
  natural hazards: lies on edge of hurricane belt; hurricane season
  lasts from June to November
  international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
  Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Whaling

Geographic note: the administration of the islands of the
  Grenadines group is divided between Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
  and Grenada



People
------


Population: 94,961 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 43% (male 20,975; female 20,246)
  15-64 years: 52% (male 26,089; female 23,068)
  65 years and over: 5% (male 2,112; female 2,471) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 0.55% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 29.13 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 5.74 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: -17.87 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.02 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 1.13 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.86 male(s)/female
  all ages: 1.07 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 11.9 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 70.89 years
  male: 68.39 years
  female: 73.44 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 3.78 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Grenadian(s)
  adjective: Grenadian

Ethnic divisions: black African

Religions: Roman Catholic, Anglican, other Protestant sects

Languages: English (official), French patois

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1970 est.)
  total population: 98%
  male: 98%
  female: 98%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: none
  conventional short form: Grenada

Data code: GJ

Type of government: parliamentary democracy

Capital: Saint George's

Administrative divisions: 6 parishes and 1 dependency*; Carriacou
  and Petit Martinique*, Saint Andrew, Saint David, Saint George,
  Saint John, Saint Mark, Saint Patrick

Independence: 7 February 1974 (from UK)

National holiday: Independence Day, 7 February (1974)

Constitution: 19 December 1973

Legal system: based on English common law

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), a
  hereditary monarch, is represented by Governor General Reginald
  Oswald PALMER (since 6 August 1992)
  head of government: Prime Minister Keith MITCHELL (since 22 June
  1995) was appointed from members of the House of Assembly by the
  governor general
  cabinet: Cabinet was appointed by the governor general on advice of
  the prime minister

Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament
  Senate: consists of a 13-member body, 10 appointed by the government
  and three by the leader of the opposition
  House of Representatives: elections last held on 20 June 1995 (next
  to be held by NA October 2000); results - percent of vote by party
  NA; seats - (15 total) NDC 5, GULP 2, NNP 8

Judicial branch: West Indies Associate States Supreme Court

Political parties and leaders: National Democratic Congress (NDC),
  George BRIZAN; Grenada United Labor Party (GULP), Sir Eric GAIRY;
  The National Party (TNP), Ben JONES; New National Party (NNP), Keith
  MITCHELL; Maurice Bishop Patriotic Movement (MBPM), Terrence
  MARRYSHOW; New Democratic Party (NDP), James MITCHELL; Unity Labor
  Party (ULP), Vincent BEACHE

International organization participation: ACP, C, Caricom, CDB,
  ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS,
  ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, ISO (subscriber), ITU, LAES, NAM, OAS,
  OECS, OPANAL, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WToO

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Denneth MODESTE
  chancery: 1701 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009
  telephone: [1] (202) 265-2561

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: the ambassador to Barbados is accredited to
  Grenada; Charge d'Affaires Dennis CARTER
  embassy: Point Salines, Saint George's
  mailing address: P. O. Box 54, Saint George's, Grenada, W.I.
  telephone: [1] (809) 444-1173 through 1178
  FAX: [1] (809) 444-4820

Flag: a rectangle divided diagonally into yellow triangles (top
  and bottom) and green triangles (hoist side and outer side) with a
  red border around the flag; there are seven yellow five-pointed
  stars with three centered in the top red border, three centered in
  the bottom red border, and one on a red disk superimposed at the
  center of the flag; there is also a symbolic nutmeg pod on the
  hoist-side triangle (Grenada is the world's second-largest producer
  of nutmeg, after Indonesia); the seven stars represent the seven
  administrative divisions



Economy
-------


Economic overview: The economy is essentially agricultural and
  centers on the traditional production of spices and tropical plants.
  Agriculture accounts for about 10% of GDP and 80% of exports and
  employs 24% of the labor force. Tourism is the leading foreign
  exchange earner, followed by agricultural exports. Manufacturing
  remains relatively undeveloped, but is growing due to a favorable
  private investment climate since 1983. The economy achieved an
  impressive average annual growth rate of 5.5% in 1986-91 but has
  slowed since 1992. The new MITCHELL government has moved forward
  with a plan to eliminate personal income tax in the hope of spurring
  domestic consumption.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $284 million (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 3% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $3,000 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 10.2%
  industry: 40.3%
  services: 49.5% (1994 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 3% (1995 est.)

Labor force: 36,000
  by occupation: services 31%, agriculture 24%, construction 8%,
  manufacturing 5%, other 32% (1985)

Unemployment rate: 14% (1995 est.)

Budget:
  revenues: $75.7 million (1996 est.)
  expenditures: $126.7 million, including capital expenditures of $51
  million (1996 est.)

Industries: food and beverages, textiles, light assembly
  operations, tourism, construction

Industrial production growth rate: 1.8% (1992 est.)

Electricity:
  capacity: 12,500 kW
  production: 60 million kWh
  consumption per capita: 639 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: bananas, cocoa, nutmeg, mace, citrus, avocados, root
  crops, sugarcane, corn, vegetables

Illicit drugs: produces and exports marijuana for US markets

Exports: $24.2 million (f.o.b., 1995 est.)
  commodities: bananas, cocoa, nutmeg, fruit and vegetables, clothing,
  mace
  partners: Caricom 32.3%, UK 20%, US 13%, Netherlands 8.8% (1991)

Imports: $162.2 million (f.o.b., 1995 est.)
  commodities: food 25%, manufactured goods 22%, machinery 20%,
  chemicals 10%, fuel 6% (1989)
  partners: US 31.2%, Caricom 23.6%, UK 13.8%, Japan 7.1% (1991)

External debt: $89.1 million (1995 est.)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $NA

Currency: 1 EC dollar (EC$) = 100 cents

Exchange rates: East Caribbean dollars (EC$) per US$1 - 2.70
  (fixed rate since 1976)

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways: 0 km

Highways:
  total: 994 km
  paved: 597 km
  unpaved: 397 km (1988 est.)

Ports: Grenville, Saint George's

Merchant marine: none

Airports:
  total: 3
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 1
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 1
  with paved runways under 914 m: 1 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 5,650 (1988 est.)

Telephone system: automatic, islandwide telephone system
  domestic: interisland VHF and UHF radiotelephone links
  international: new SHF radiotelephone links to Trinidad and Tobago
  and Saint Vincent; VHF and UHF radio links to Trinidad

Radio broadcast stations: AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0

Radios: 80,000 (1993 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 1 (1988 est.)

Televisions: 30,000 (1993 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Royal Grenada Police Force, Coast Guard

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: NA
  males fit for military service: NA

Defense expenditures: $NA, NA% of GDP



======================================================================




@Guadeloupe
----------


(overseas department of France)

Map
---


Location: 16 15 N, 61 35 W -- Caribbean, islands in the eastern
  Caribbean Sea, southeast of Puerto Rico



Flag
----


Description: three horizontal bands, a narrow green band (top), a
  wide red band, and a narrow green band; the green bands are
  separated from the red band by two narrow white stripes; a
  five-pointed gold star is centered in the red band toward the hoist
  side; the flag of France is used for official occasions





Geography
---------


Location: Caribbean, islands in the eastern Caribbean Sea,
  southeast of Puerto Rico

Geographic coordinates: 16 15 N, 61 35 W

Map references: Central America and the Caribbean

Area:
  total area: 1,780 sq km
  land area: 1,706 sq km
  comparative area: 10 times the size of Washington, DC
  note: Guadeloupe is an archipelago of nine inhabited islands, of
  which Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, and Marie-Galante are the three
  largest

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 306 km

Maritime claims:
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: none

Climate: subtropical tempered by trade winds; moderately high
  humidity

Terrain: Basse-Terre is volcanic in origin with interior
  mountains; Grand-Terre is low limestone formation; most of the seven
  other islands are volcanic in origin
  lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
  highest point: Soufriere 1,467 m

Natural resources: cultivable land, beaches and climate that
  foster tourism

Land use:
  arable land: 18%
  permanent crops: 5%
  meadows and pastures: 13%
  forest and woodland: 40%
  other: 24%

Irrigated land: 30 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
  current issues: NA
  natural hazards: hurricanes (June to October); La Soufriere is an
  active volcano
  international agreements: NA



People
------


Population: 407,768 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 26% (male 53,118; female 51,219)
  15-64 years: 66% (male 132,846; female 136,147)
  65 years and over: 8% (male 14,617; female 19,821) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.2% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 17.78 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 5.59 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: -0.16 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.74 male(s)/female
  all ages: 0.97 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 8.3 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 77.4 years
  male: 74.37 years
  female: 80.58 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.92 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Guadeloupian(s)
  adjective: Guadeloupe

Ethnic divisions: black or mulatto 90%, white 5%, East Indian,
  Lebanese, Chinese less than 5%

Religions: Roman Catholic 95%, Hindu and pagan African 4%,
  Protestant sects 1%

Languages: French (official) 99%, Creole patois

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1982 est.)
  total population: 90%
  male: 90%
  female: 90%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Department of Guadeloupe
  conventional short form: Guadeloupe
  local long form: Departement de la Guadeloupe
  local short form: Guadeloupe

Data code: GP

Type of government: overseas department of France

Capital: Basse-Terre

Administrative divisions: none (overseas department of France)

Independence: none (overseas department of France)

National holiday: National Day, Taking of the Bastille, 14 July
  (1789)

Constitution: 28 September 1958 (French Constitution)

Legal system: French legal system

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: President (of France) Jacques CHIRAC (since 17 May
  1995), represented by Prefect Michel DIEFENBACHER (since NA March
  1995), who was appointed by the French Ministry of Interior
  head of government: President of the General Council Dominique
  LARIFLA (since NA); President of the Regional Council Lucette
  MICHAUX-CHEVRY (since 22 March 1992)

Legislative branch: unicameral General Council and unicameral
  Regional Council
  General Council: elections last held 22 March 1992 (next to be held
  by NA 1996); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (43
  total) FRUI.G 13, RPR/DUD 13, PPDG 8, FGPS 3, PCG 3, UPLG 1, PSG 1,
  independent 1
  Regional Council: elections last held 31 January 1994 (next to be
  held by 16 March 1998); results - RPR/FGPS-dissadents 48.30%, FGPS
  17.09%, FRUI.G 7.44%, PPDG 8.90%, UPLG 7.75% PCG 6.05%; seats - (41
  total) RPR/FGPS-dissadents 22, FGPS/FRUI.G 9, PPDG 5, PCG 3, UPLG 2
  French Senate: elections last held in September 1995 (next to be
  held NA September 2004); Guadeloupe elects two representatives;
  results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (2 total) PPDG 1,
  FGPS 1
  French National Assembly: elections last held on 21 and 28 March
  1993 (next to be held NA March 1998); Guadeloupe elects four
  representatives; results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (4
  total) FGPS 1, RPR 1, PPDG 1, independent 1

Judicial branch: Court of Appeal (Cour d'Appel) with jurisdiction
  over Guadeloupe, French Guiana, and Martinique

Political parties and leaders: Rally for the Republic (RPR),
  Daniel BEAUBRUN; Communist Party of Guadeloupe (PCG), Christian
  Medard CELESTE; Socialist Party (FGPS), Georges LOUISOR; Popular
  Union for the Liberation of Guadeloupe (UPLG), Claude MAKOUKE; FGPS
  Dissidents (FRUI.G), Dominique LARIFLA; Union for French Democracy
  (UDF), Marcel ESDRAS; Progressive Democratic Party (PPDG), Henri
  BANGOU

Other political or pressure groups: Movement for Independent
  Guadeloupe (MPGI); General Union of Guadeloupe Workers (UGTG);
  General Federation of Guadeloupe Workers (CGT-G); Christian Movement
  for the Liberation of Guadeloupe (KLPG)

International organization participation: FZ, WCL, WFTU

Diplomatic representation in US: none (overseas department of
  France)

US diplomatic representation: none (overseas department of France)

Flag: three horizontal bands, a narrow green band (top), a wide
  red band, and a narrow green band; the green bands are separated
  from the red band by two narrow white stripes; a five-pointed gold
  star is centered in the red band toward the hoist side; the flag of
  France is used for official occasions



Economy
-------


Economic overview: The economy depends on agriculture, tourism,
  light industry, and services. It is also dependent upon France for
  large subsidies and imports. Tourism is a key industry, with most
  tourists from the US. In addition, an increasingly large number of
  cruise ships visit the islands. The traditionally important
  sugarcane crop is slowly being replaced by other crops, such as
  bananas (which now supply about 50% of export earnings), eggplant,
  and flowers. Other vegetables and root crops are cultivated for
  local consumption, although Guadeloupe is still dependent on
  imported food, which comes mainly from France. Light industry
  consists mostly of sugar and rum production. Most manufactured goods
  and fuel are imported. Unemployment is especially high among the
  young.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $3.7 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: NA%

GDP per capita: $9,200 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 6%
  industry: 9%
  services: 85% (1993 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 3.7% (1990)

Labor force: 129,700
  by occupation: agriculture 15%, industry 20%, services 65% (1993)

Unemployment rate: 31.3% (1995)

Budget:
  revenues: $395 million
  expenditures: $407 million, including capital expenditures of $NA
  (1995)

Industries: construction, cement, rum, sugar, tourism

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity:
  capacity: 320,000 kW
  production: 650 million kWh
  consumption per capita: 1,421 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: bananas, sugarcane, tropical fruits and vegetables;
  cattle, pigs, goats

Exports: $130 million (f.o.b., 1993)
  commodities: bananas, sugar, rum
  partners: France 70%, Martinique 17% (1991)

Imports: $1.4 billion (c.i.f., 1993)
  commodities: foodstuffs, fuels, vehicles, clothing and other
  consumer goods, construction materials
  partners: France 60%, EC, US, Japan (1991)

External debt: $NA

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $NA
  note: substantial annual French subsidies

Currency: 1 French franc (F) = 100 centimes

Exchange rates: French francs (F) per US$1 - 5.0056 (January
  1996), 4.9915 (1995), 5.5520 (1994), 5.6632 (1993), 5.2938 (1992),
  5.6421 (1991)

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: NA km; privately owned, narrow-gauge plantation lines

Highways:
  total: 2,082 km (national 329 km, regional 582 km, community/local
  1171 km)
  paved: 1,742 km
  unpaved: 340 km (1985 est.)

Ports: Basse-Terre, Gustavia, Marigot, Pointe-a-Pitre

Merchant marine: none

Airports:
  total: 9
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 1
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 2
  with paved runways under 914 m: 6 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 64,916 (1984 est.)

Telephone system: domestic facilities inadequate
  domestic: NA
  international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic
  Ocean); microwave radio relay to Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, and
  Martinique

Radio broadcast stations: AM 2, FM 8 (private stations licensed to
  broadcast FM 30), shortwave 0

Radios: 100,000 (1993 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 9

Televisions: 150,000 (1993 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: French Forces, Gendarmerie

Defense note: defense is the responsibility of France



======================================================================




@Guam
----


(territory of the US)

Map
---


Location: 13 28 N, 144 47 E -- Oceania, island in the North
  Pacific Ocean, about three-quarters of the way from Hawaii to the
  Philippines



Flag
----


Description: territorial flag is dark blue with a narrow red
  border on all four sides; centered is a red-bordered, pointed,
  vertical ellipse containing a beach scene, outrigger canoe with
  sail, and a palm tree with the word GUAM superimposed in bold red
  letters; US flag is the national flag





Geography
---------


Location: Oceania, island in the North Pacific Ocean, about
  three-quarters of the way from Hawaii to the Philippines

Geographic coordinates: 13 28 N, 144 47 E

Map references: Oceania

Area:
  total area: 541.3 sq km
  land area: 541.3 sq km
  comparative area: three times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 125.5 km

Maritime claims:
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: none

Climate: tropical marine; generally warm and humid, moderated by
  northeast trade winds; dry season from January to June, rainy season
  from July to December; little seasonal temperature variation

Terrain: volcanic origin, surrounded by coral reefs; relatively
  flat coralline limestone plateau (source of most fresh water) with
  steep coastal cliffs and narrow coastal plains in north, low-rising
  hills in center, mountains in south
  lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
  highest point: Mount Lamlam 406 m

Natural resources: fishing (largely undeveloped), tourism
  (especially from Japan)

Land use:
  arable land: 11%
  permanent crops: 11%
  meadows and pastures: 15%
  forest and woodland: 18%
  other: 45%

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Environment:
  current issues: NA
  natural hazards: frequent squalls during rainy season; relatively
  rare, but potentially very destructive typhoons (especially in
  August)
  international agreements: NA

Geographic note: largest and southernmost island in the Mariana
  Islands archipelago; strategic location in western North Pacific
  Ocean



People
------


Population: 156,974 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: NA
  15-64 years: NA
  65 years and over: NA

Population growth rate: 2.34% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 24.24 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 3.86 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 3 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: NA male(s)/female
  under 15 years: NA male(s)/female
  15-64 years: NA male(s)/female
  65 years and over: NA male(s)/female
  all ages: NA male(s)/female

Infant mortality rate: 15.17 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 74.29 years
  male: 72.42 years
  female: 76.13 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.25 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Guamanian(s)
  adjective: Guamanian

Ethnic divisions: Chamorro 47%, Filipino 25%, white 10%, Chinese,
  Japanese, Korean, and other 18%

Religions: Roman Catholic 98%, other 2%

Languages: English, Chamorro, Japanese

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
  total population: 99%
  male: 99%
  female: 99%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Territory of Guam
  conventional short form: Guam

Data code: GQ

Type of government: organized, unincorporated territory of the US
  with policy relations between Guam and the US under the jurisdiction
  of the Office of Territorial and International Affairs, US
  Department of the Interior

Capital: Agana

Administrative divisions: none (territory of the US)

Independence: none (territory of the US)

National holiday: Guam Discovery Day (first Monday in March)
  (1521); Liberation Day, 21 July

Constitution: Organic Act of 1 August 1950

Legal system: modeled on US; federal laws apply

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal; US citizens, but do not vote
  in US presidential elections

Executive branch:
  chief of state: President (of the United States) William Jefferson
  CLINTON (since 20 January 1993); Vice President Albert GORE, Jr.
  (since 20 January 1993)
  head of government: Governor Carl GUTIERREZ (since 8 November 1994)
  and Lieutenant Governor Madeleine BORDALLO (since 8 November 1994)
  were elected for a four-year term by popular vote; election last
  held 8 November 1994 (next to be held NA November 1998); results -
  Carl GUTIERREZ (Democrat) defeated Tommy TANAKA (Republican) with
  54.6% of the vote
  cabinet: executive departments; heads appointed by the governor with
  the consent of the Guam legislature

Legislative branch: unicameral
  Legislature: elections last held 8 November 1994 (next to be held NA
  November 1996); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (21
  total) Democrats 14, Republican 7
  US House of Representatives: elections last held 8 November 1994
  (next to be held NA November 1996); Guam elects one delegate;
  results - Robert UNDERWOOD was reelected as delegate; seats - (1
  total) Democrat 1

Judicial branch: Federal District Court, judge is appointed by the
  president; Territorial Superior Court, judges appointed for
  eight-year terms by the governor

Political parties and leaders: Democratic Party (controls the
  legislature); Republican Party (party of the Governor)

International organization participation: ESCAP (associate), IOC,
  SPC

Diplomatic representation in US: none (territory of the US)

US diplomatic representation: none (territory of the US)

Flag: territorial flag is dark blue with a narrow red border on
  all four sides; centered is a red-bordered, pointed, vertical
  ellipse containing a beach scene, outrigger canoe with sail, and a
  palm tree with the word GUAM superimposed in bold red letters; US
  flag is the national flag



Economy
-------


Economic overview: The economy depends mainly on US military
  spending and on revenues from tourism. Over the past 20 years, the
  tourist industry has grown rapidly, creating a construction boom for
  new hotels and the expansion of older ones. Visitors numbered about
  900,000 in 1992. The slowdown in Japanese economic growth has been
  reflected in less vigorous growth in the tourism sector. About 60%
  of the labor force works for the private sector and the rest for
  government. Most food and industrial goods are imported, with about
  75% from the US. Guam faces the problem of building up the civilian
  economic sector to offset the impact of military downsizing.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $2 billion (1991 est.)

GDP real growth rate: NA%

GDP per capita: $14,000 (1991 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: NA%
  industry: NA%
  services: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 4% (1992 est.)

Labor force: 46,930 (1990)
  by occupation: federal and territorial government 40%, private 60%
  (trade 18%, services 15.6%, construction 13.8%, other 12.6%) (1990)

Unemployment rate: 2% (1992 est.)

Budget:
  revenues: $525 million
  expenditures: $395 million, including capital expenditures of $NA
  (1991)

Industries: US military, tourism, construction, transshipment
  services, concrete products, printing and publishing, food
  processing, textiles

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity:
  capacity: 300,000 kW
  production: 750 million kWh
  consumption per capita: 4,797 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: fruits, copra, vegetables; eggs, pork, poultry, beef

Exports: $34 million (f.o.b., 1984)
  commodities: mostly transshipments of refined petroleum products,
  construction materials, fish, food and beverage products
  partners: US 25%, Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands 63%, other
  12%

Imports: $493 million (c.i.f., 1984)
  commodities: petroleum and petroleum products, food, manufactured
  goods
  partners: US 23%, Japan 19%, other 58%

External debt: $NA

Economic aid:
  recipient: although Guam receives no foreign aid, it does receive
  large transfer payments from the general revenues of the US Federal
  Treasury into which Guamanians pay no income or excise taxes; under
  the provisions of a special law of Congress, the Guamanian Treasury,
  rather than the US Treasury, receives federal income taxes paid by
  military and civilian Federal employees stationed in Guam

Currency: 1 United States dollar (US$) = 100 cents

Exchange rates: US currency is used

Fiscal year: 1 October - 30 September



Transportation
--------------


Railways: 0 km

Highways:
  total: 674 km (all-weather roads)
  paved: NA km
  unpaved: NA km

Ports: Apra Harbor

Merchant marine: none

Airports:
  total: 4
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 2
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 1
  with paved runways under 914 m: 1 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 26,317 (1989 est.)

Telephone system:
  domestic: NA
  international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Pacific
  Ocean); submarine cables to US and Japan

Radio broadcast stations: AM 3, FM 3, shortwave 0

Radios: NA

Television broadcast stations: 3

Televisions: 75,000 (1993 est.)



Defense
-------


Defense note: defense is the responsibility of the US



======================================================================




@Guatemala
---------




Map
---


Location: 15 30 N, 90 15 W -- Middle America, bordering the
  Caribbean Sea, between Honduras and Belize and bordering the North
  Pacific Ocean, between El Salvador and Mexico



Flag
----


Description: three equal vertical bands of light blue (hoist
  side), white, and light blue with the coat of arms centered in the
  white band; the coat of arms includes a green and red quetzal (the
  national bird) and a scroll bearing the inscription LIBERTAD 15 DE
  SEPTIEMBRE DE 1821 (the original date of independence from Spain)
  all superimposed on a pair of crossed rifles and a pair of crossed
  swords and framed by a wreath





Geography
---------


Location: Middle America, bordering the Caribbean Sea, between
  Honduras and Belize and bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between
  El Salvador and Mexico

Geographic coordinates: 15 30 N, 90 15 W

Map references: Central America and the Caribbean

Area:
  total area: 108,890 sq km
  land area: 108,430 sq km
  comparative area: slightly smaller than Tennessee

Land boundaries:
  total: 1,687 km
  border countries: Belize 266 km, El Salvador 203 km, Honduras 256
  km, Mexico 962 km

Coastline: 400 km

Maritime claims:
  continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: border with Belize in dispute; talks to
  resolve the dispute are stalled

Climate: tropical; hot, humid in lowlands; cooler in highlands

Terrain: mostly mountains with narrow coastal plains and rolling
  limestone plateau (Peten)
  lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
  highest point: Volcan Tajumulco 4,211 m

Natural resources: petroleum, nickel, rare woods, fish, chicle

Land use:
  arable land: 12%
  permanent crops: 4%
  meadows and pastures: 12%
  forest and woodland: 40%
  other: 32%

Irrigated land: 780 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
  current issues: deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution
  natural hazards: numerous volcanoes in mountains, with frequent
  violent earthquakes; Caribbean coast subject to hurricanes and other
  tropical storms
  international agreements: party to - Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity,
  Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification,
  Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer
  Protection, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified -
  Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Law of the Sea

Geographic note: no natural harbors on west coast



People
------


Population: 11,277,614 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 43% (male 2,464,498; female 2,362,457)
  15-64 years: 54% (male 3,026,834; female 3,031,278)
  65 years and over: 3% (male 184,927; female 207,620) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.48% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 33.96 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 7.15 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: -1.98 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.89 male(s)/female
  all ages: 1.01 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 50.7 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 65.24 years
  male: 62.64 years
  female: 67.97 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 4.5 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Guatemalan(s)
  adjective: Guatemalan

Ethnic divisions: Mestizo - mixed Amerindian-Spanish ancestry (in
  local Spanish called Ladino) 56%, Amerindian or predominantly
  Amerindian 44%

Religions: Roman Catholic, Protestant, traditional Mayan

Languages: Spanish 60%, Indian language 40% (23 Indian dialects,
  including Quiche, Cakchiquel, Kekchi)

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)
  total population: 55.6%
  male: 62.5%
  female: 48.6%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Republic of Guatemala
  conventional short form: Guatemala
  local long form: Republica de Guatemala
  local short form: Guatemala

Data code: GT

Type of government: republic

Capital: Guatemala

Administrative divisions: 22 departments (departamentos, singular
  - departamento); Alta Verapaz, Baja Verapaz, Chimaltenango,
  Chiquimula, El Progreso, Escuintla, Guatemala, Huehuetenango,
  Izabal, Jalapa, Jutiapa, Peten, Quetzaltenango, Quiche, Retalhuleu,
  Sacatepequez, San Marcos, Santa Rosa, Solola, Suchitepequez,
  Totonicapan, Zacapa

Independence: 15 September 1821 (from Spain)

National holiday: Independence Day, 15 September (1821)

Constitution: 31 May 1985, effective 14 January 1986
  note: suspended 25 May 1993 by President SERRANO; reinstated 5 June
  1993 following ouster of president

Legal system: civil law system; judicial review of legislative
  acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state and head of government: President Alvaro Enrique ARZU
  Irigoyen (since 14 January 1996); Vice President Luis Alberto FLORES
  Asturias (since 14 January 1996); results - Alvaro Enrique ARZU
  Irigoyen (PAN) 51.2%, Jorge PORTILLO Cabrera (FRG) 48.8%; ARZU was
  elected for a four-year term by universal suffrage; election runoff
  held on 14 January 1996 (next to be held November 2000)
  cabinet: Council of Ministers was named by the president

Legislative branch: unicameral
  Congress of the Republic (Congreso de la Republica): elections were
  held on 12 November 1995 to select 80 new congressmen (next election
  will be held in November 2000); results - seats (80 total) PAN 43,
  FRG 21, FDNG 6, DCG 4, UCN 3, UD 2, MLN 1
  note: on 11 November 1993 the congress approved a procedure that
  reduced its number from 116 seats to 80; the procedure provided for
  a special election in mid-1994 to elect an interim congress of 80
  members to serve until replaced in the November 1995 general
  election; the plan was approved in a general referendum in January
  1994 and the special election was held on 14 August 1994

Judicial branch: Supreme Court of Justice (Corte Suprema de
  Justicia); additionally the Court of Constitutionality is presided
  over by the President of the Supreme Court, judges are elected for a
  five-year term by Congress

Political parties and leaders: National Centrist Union (UCN),
  (vacant); Solidarity Action Movement (MAS), Oliverio GARCIA Rodas;
  Christian Democratic Party (DCG), Alfonso CABRERA Hidalgo; National
  Advancement Party (PAN), Alvaro ARZU Irigoyen; National Liberation
  Movement (MLN), Mario SANDOVAL Alarcon; Social Democratic Party
  (PSD), Mario SOLORZANO Martinez; Revolutionary Party (PR), Carlos
  CHAVARRIA Perez; Guatemalan Republican Front (FRG), Efrain RIOS
  Montt; Democratic Union (UD), Jose CHEA Urruela; New Guatemalan
  Democratic Front (FDNG), Jorge GONZALEZ del Valle

Other political or pressure groups: Coordinating Committee of
  Agricultural, Commercial, Industrial, and Financial Associations
  (CACIF); Mutual Support Group (GAM); Agrarian Owners Group (UNAGRO);
  Committee for Campesino Unity (CUC); leftist guerrilla movement
  known as Guatemalan National Revolutionary Union (URNG) has four
  main factions - Guerrilla Army of the Poor (EGP); Revolutionary
  Organization of the People in Arms (ORPA); Rebel Armed Forces (FAR);
  Guatemalan Labor Party (PGT/O)

International organization participation: BCIE, CACM, CCC, ECLAC,
  FAO, G-24, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD,
  IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, LAES,
  LAIA (observer), NAM, OAS, OPANAL, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO,
  UNMIH, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Pedro LAMPORT Kelsall
  chancery: 2220 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
  telephone: [1] (202) 745-4952 through 4954
  FAX: [1] (202) 745-1908
  consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New
  York, and San Francisco

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Marilyn McAFEE
  embassy: 7-01 Avenida de la Reforma, Zone 10, Guatemala City
  mailing address: APO AA 34024
  telephone: [502] (2) 311541
  FAX: [502] (2) 318885

Flag: three equal vertical bands of light blue (hoist side),
  white, and light blue with the coat of arms centered in the white
  band; the coat of arms includes a green and red quetzal (the
  national bird) and a scroll bearing the inscription LIBERTAD 15 DE
  SEPTIEMBRE DE 1821 (the original date of independence from Spain)
  all superimposed on a pair of crossed rifles and a pair of crossed
  swords and framed by a wreath



Economy
-------


Economic overview: The economy is based on family and corporate
  agriculture, which accounts for 25% of GDP, employs about 60% of the
  labor force, and supplies two-thirds of exports. Manufacturing,
  predominantly in private hands, accounts for about 20% of GDP and
  12% of the labor force. In both 1990 and 1991, the economy grew by
  3%, the fourth and fifth consecutive years of mild growth. In 1992
  growth picked up to almost 5% as government policies favoring
  competition and foreign trade and investment took stronger hold. In
  1993-94, despite political unrest, this momentum continued, foreign
  investment held up, and annual growth averaged 4%. Strong
  international prices for Guatemala's traditional commodity exports
  featured 4.9% growth in 1995. Given the markedly uneven distribution
  of land and income, the government faces major obstacles in its
  program of economic modernization and the reduction of poverty.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $36.7 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 4.9% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $3,300 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 25%
  industry: 20%
  services: 55%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 9% (1995 est.)

Labor force: 3.2 million (1994 est.)
  by occupation: agriculture 60%, services 13%, manufacturing 12%,
  commerce 7%, construction 4%, transport 3%, utilities 0.7%, mining
  0.3% (1985)

Unemployment rate: 4.9%; underemployment 30%-40% (1994 est.)

Budget:
  revenues: $1.6 billion
  expenditures: $1.88 billion, including capital expenditures of $570
  million (1996 est.)

Industries: sugar, textiles and clothing, furniture, chemicals,
  petroleum, metals, rubber, tourism

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity:
  capacity: 700,000 kW
  production: 2.3 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 211 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: sugarcane, corn, bananas, coffee, beans, cardamom;
  cattle, sheep, pigs, chickens

Illicit drugs: transit country for cocaine shipments; illicit
  producer of opium poppy and cannabis for the international drug
  trade; the government has an active eradication program for cannabis
  and opium poppy

Exports: $2.3 billion (f.o.b., 1995 est.)
  commodities: coffee, sugar, bananas, cardamom, beef
  partners: US 30%, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Germany, Honduras

Imports: $2.85 billion (c.i.f., 1995 est.)
  commodities: fuel and petroleum products, machinery, grain,
  fertilizers, motor vehicles
  partners: US 44%, Mexico, Venezuela, Japan, Germany

External debt: $3.1 billion (1995 est.)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $84 million (1993)

Currency: 1 quetzal (Q) = 100 centavos

Exchange rates: free market quetzales (Q) per US$1 - 5.9346
  (December 1995), 5.8103 (1995), 5.7512 (1994), 5,6354 (1993), 5.1706
  (1992), 5.0289 (1991); note - black-market rate 2.800 (May 1989)

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 884 km (102 km privately owned)
  narrow gauge: 884 km 0.914-m gauge (single track)

Highways:
  total: 12,033 km
  paved: 3,117 km (including 125 km of expressways)
  unpaved: 8,916 km (1992 est.)

Waterways: 260 km navigable year round; additional 730 km
  navigable during high-water season

Pipelines: crude oil 275 km

Ports: Champerico, Puerto Barrios, Puerto Quetzal, San Jose, Santo
  Tomas de Castilla

Merchant marine: none

Airports:
  total: 463
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 1
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 1
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 2
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 5
  with paved runways under 914 m: 320
  with unpaved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 1
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 9
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 124 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 210,000 (1993 est.)

Telephone system: fairly modern network centered in the city of
======================================================================




@Guernsey
--------


(British crown dependency)

Map
---


Location: 49 28 N, 2 35 W -- Western Europe, islands in the
  English Channel, northwest of France



Flag
----


Description: white with the red cross of Saint George (patron
  saint of England) extending to the edges of the flag





Geography
---------


Location: Western Europe, islands in the English Channel,
  northwest of France

Geographic coordinates: 49 28 N, 2 35 W

Map references: Europe

Area:
  total area: 194 sq km
  land area: 194 sq km
  comparative area: slightly larger than Washington, DC
  note: includes Alderney, Guernsey, Herm, Sark, and some other
  smaller islands

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 50 km

Maritime claims:
  exclusive fishing zone: 12 nm
  territorial sea: 3 nm

International disputes: none

Climate: temperate with mild winters and cool summers; about 50%
  of days are overcast

Terrain: mostly level with low hills in southwest
  lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
  highest point: unnamed location on Sark 114 m

Natural resources: cropland

Land use:
  arable land: NA%
  permanent crops: NA%
  meadows and pastures: NA%
  forest and woodland: NA%
  other: NA%

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Environment:
  current issues: NA
  natural hazards: NA
  international agreements: NA

Geographic note: large, deepwater harbor at Saint Peter Port



People
------


Population: 62,920 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 18% (male 5,592; female 5,439)
  15-64 years: 67% (male 20,636; female 21,472)
  65 years and over: 15% (male 3,925; female 5,856) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.28% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 13.06 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 9.73 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 9.44 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.67 male(s)/female
  all ages: 0.92 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 9.2 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 78.22 years
  male: 75.28 years
  female: 81.27 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.56 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Channel Islander(s)
  adjective: Channel Islander

Ethnic divisions: UK and Norman-French descent

Religions: Anglican, Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, Baptist,
  Congregational, Methodist

Languages: English, French, Norman-French dialect spoken in
  country districts

Literacy: NA



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Bailiwick of Guernsey
  conventional short form: Guernsey

Data code: GK

Type of government: British crown dependency

Capital: Saint Peter Port

Administrative divisions: none (British crown dependency)

Independence: none (British crown dependency)

National holiday: Liberation Day, 9 May (1945)

Constitution: unwritten; partly statutes, partly common law and
  practice

Legal system: English law and local statute; justice is
  administered by the Royal Court

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (of the United Kingdom since 6
  February 1952) is a hereditary monarch
  head of government: Lieutenant Governor and Commander in Chief
  Vice-Admiral Sir John COWARD (since NA 1994) and Bailiff Mr. Graham
  Martyn DOREY (since February 1992) were appointed by the queen
  cabinet: Advisory and Finance Committee (other committees);
  appointed by the Assembly of the States

Legislative branch: unicameral
  Assembly of the States: elections last held NA (next to be held NA);
  results - no percent of vote by party since all are independents;
  seats - (60 total, 33 elected), all independents

Judicial branch: Royal Court

Political parties and leaders: none; all independents

International organization participation: none

Diplomatic representation in US: none (British crown dependency)

US diplomatic representation: none (British crown dependency)

Flag: white with the red cross of Saint George (patron saint of
  England) extending to the edges of the flag



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Financial services account for about 55% of
  total income. Tourism, manufacturing, and horticulture, mainly
  tomatoes and cut flowers, have been declining. Bank profits (1992)
  registered a record 26% growth. Fund management and insurance are
  the two other major income generators.

GDP: $NA

GDP real growth rate: NA%

GDP per capita: $NA

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: NA%
  industry: NA%
  services: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 7% (1988)

Labor force: NA

Unemployment rate: 3%-4% (1994 est.)

Budget:
  revenues: $238.3 million
  expenditures: $223.7 million, including capital expenditures of $NA
  (1993 est.)

Industries: tourism, banking

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity:
  capacity: 173,000 kW
  production: 525 million kWh
  consumption per capita: 9,060 kWh (1992)

Agriculture: tomatoes, greenhouse flowers, sweet peppers,
  eggplant, other vegetables, fruit; Guernsey cattle

Exports: $NA
  commodities: tomatoes, flowers and ferns, sweet peppers, eggplant,
  other vegetables
  partners: UK (regarded as internal trade)

Imports: $NA
  commodities: coal, gasoline, and oil
  partners: UK (regarded as internal trade)

External debt: $NA

Economic aid: none

Currency: 1 Guernsey (LG) pound = 100 pence

Exchange rates: Guernsey pounds (LG) per US$1 - 0.6535 (January
  1996), 0.6335 (1995), 0.6529 (1994), 0.6658 (1993), 0.5664 (1992),
  0.5652 (1991); note - the Guernsey pound is at par with the British
  pound

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways: 0 km

Highways:
  total: NA km
  paved: NA km
  unpaved: NA km

Ports: Saint Peter Port, Saint Sampson

Merchant marine: none

Airports:
  total: 2
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 1
  with paved runways under 914 m: 1 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 41,850 (1983 est.)

Telephone system:
  domestic: NA
  international: 1 submarine cable

Radio broadcast stations: AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0

Radios: NA

Television broadcast stations: 1

Televisions: NA



Defense
-------


Defense note: defense is the responsibility of the UK



======================================================================




@Guinea
------




Map
---


Location: 11 00 N, 10 00 W -- Western Africa, bordering the North
  Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea-Bissau and Sierra Leone



Flag
----


Description: three equal vertical bands of red (hoist side),
  yellow, and green; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia;
  similar to the flag of Rwanda, which has a large black letter R
  centered in the yellow band





Geography
---------


Location: Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean,
  between Guinea-Bissau and Sierra Leone

Geographic coordinates: 11 00 N, 10 00 W

Map references: Africa

Area:
  total area: 245,860 sq km
  land area: 245,860 sq km
  comparative area: slightly smaller than Oregon

Land boundaries:
  total: 3,399 km
  border countries: Guinea-Bissau 386 km, Cote d'Ivoire 610 km,
  Liberia 563 km, Mali 858 km, Senegal 330 km, Sierra Leone 652 km

Coastline: 320 km

Maritime claims:
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: none

Climate: generally hot and humid; monsoonal-type rainy season
  (June to November) with southwesterly winds; dry season (December to
  May) with northeasterly harmattan winds

Terrain: generally flat coastal plain, hilly to mountainous
  interior
  lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
  highest point: Mont Nimba 1,752 m

Natural resources: bauxite, iron ore, diamonds, gold, uranium,
  hydropower, fish

Land use:
  arable land: 6%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 12%
  forest and woodland: 42%
  other: 40%

Irrigated land: 240 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
  current issues: deforestation; inadequate supplies of potable water;
  desertification; soil contamination and erosion; overfishing
  natural hazards: hot, dry, dusty harmattan haze may reduce
  visibility during dry season
  international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
  Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection,
  Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Desertification, Hazardous
  Wastes



People
------


Population: 7,411,981 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 44% (male 1,632,414; female 1,637,007)
  15-64 years: 53% (male 1,928,586; female 2,013,343)
  65 years and over: 3% (male 84,005; female 116,626) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.85% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 42.59 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 18.71 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: -5.4 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)
  note: in prior years Guinea received several hundred thousand
  refugees from the civil wars in Liberia and Sierra Leone, many of
  whom are now returning to their own countries

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.72 male(s)/female
  all ages: 0.97 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 134.1 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 45.06 years
  male: 42.73 years
  female: 47.47 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 5.72 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Guinean(s)
  adjective: Guinean

Ethnic divisions: Peuhl 40%, Malinke 30%, Soussou 20%, smaller
  tribes 10%

Religions: Muslim 85%, Christian 8%, indigenous beliefs 7%

Languages: French (official), each tribe has its own language

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)
  total population: 35.9%
  male: 49.9%
  female: 21.9%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Republic of Guinea
  conventional short form: Guinea
  local long form: Republique de Guinee
  local short form: Guinee
  former: French Guinea

Data code: GV

Type of government: republic

Capital: Conakry

Administrative divisions: 33 administrative regions (regions
  administratives, singular - region administrative); Beyla, Boffa,
  Boke, Conakry, Coyah, Dabola, Dalaba, Dinguiraye, Faranah,
  Forecariah, Fria, Gaoual, Gueckedou, Kankan, Kerouane, Kindia,
  Kissidougou, Koubia, Koundara, Kouroussa, Labe, Lelouma, Lola,
  Macenta, Mali, Mamou, Mandiana, Nzerekore, Pita, Siguiri, Telimele,
  Tougue, Yomou

Independence: 2 October 1958 (from France)

National holiday: Anniversary of the Second Republic, 3 April
  (1984)

Constitution: 23 December 1990 (Loi Fundamentale)

Legal system: based on French civil law system, customary law, and
  decree; legal codes currently being revised; has not accepted
  compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state and head of government: President Lansana CONTE,
  elected in the first multiparty election 19 December 1993 (president
  must be elected by a majority of the votes cast); prior to the
  election he had ruled as head of military government since 5 April
  1984
  cabinet: Council of Ministers was appointed by the president

Legislative branch: unicameral
  People's National Assembly (Assemblee Nationale Populaire): the
  People's National Assembly was dissolved after the 3 April 1984
  coup; framework established in December 1991 for a new National
  Assembly with 114 seats; legislative elections were held on 11 June
  1995; results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (114 total) PUP
  71, RPG 19, PRP 9, UNR 9, UPG 2, PDG 1, UNP 1, PDG/RDA 1, other 1

Judicial branch: Court of Appeal (Cour d'Appel)

Political parties and leaders: political parties were legalized on
  1 April 1992; of the more than 40 with legal status, the following
  won seats in the legislature in the 11 June 1995 elections
  pro-government: Party for Unity and Progress (PUP)
  other: Rally for the Guinean People (RPG), Alpha CONDE; Union for a
  New Republic (UNR), Mamadou BAH; Party for Renewal and Progress
  (PRP), Siradiou DIALLO; Union for Progress of Guinea (UPG),
  Secretary-General Jean-Marie DORE; Democratic Party of Guinea (DPG),
  Ahmed Sekou TOURE; National Union for the Prosperity of Guinea
  (UNPG), Lt.Col. Facine TOURE, leader; Democratic Party of Guinea
  (PDG), El Hadj Ismael Mohamed Gassim GUSHEIN, leader

International organization participation: ACCT, ACP, AfDB, CCC,
  ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC,
  IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ITU, MINURSO, NAM,
  OAU, OIC, UN, UNAMIR, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO,
  WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Bangoura Mahawa CAMARA
  chancery: 2112 Leroy Place NW, Washington, DC 20008
  telephone: [1] (202) 483-9420
  FAX: [1] (202) 483-8688

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Joseph A. SALOOM III
  embassy: Rue KA 038, Conakry
  mailing address: B. P. 603, Conakry
  telephone: [224] 41 15 20, 41 15 21, 41 15 23
  FAX: [224] 44 15 22

Flag: three equal vertical bands of red (hoist side), yellow, and
  green; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia; similar to
  the flag of Rwanda, which has a large black letter R centered in the
  yellow band



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Although possessing major mineral, hydropower,
  and agricultural resources, Guinea remains one of the poorest
  countries in the world. The agricultural sector employs 80% of the
  work force. Guinea possesses over 25% of the world's bauxite
  reserves. The mining sector accounted for 85% of exports in 1991.
  Long-run improvements in literacy, financial institutions, and the
  legal framework are needed if the country is to move out of poverty.
  Except in the bauxite industry, foreign investment remains minimal.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $6.5 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 4% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $1,020 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 24%
  industry: 31%
  services: 45% (1995 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 4.1% (1994 est.)

Labor force: 2.4 million (1983)
  by occupation: agriculture 80.0%, industry and commerce 11.0%,
  services 5.4%, civil service 3.6%

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget:
  revenues: $449 million
  expenditures: $708 million, including capital expenditures of $361
  million (1990 est.)

Industries: bauxite, gold, diamonds; alumina refining; light
  manufacturing and agricultural processing industries

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity:
  capacity: 180,000 kW
  production: 520 million kWh
  consumption per capita: 77 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: rice, coffee, pineapples, palm kernels, cassava
  (tapioca), bananas, sweet potatoes; cattle, sheep, goats; timber

Exports: $562 million (1994 est.)
  commodities: bauxite, alumina, diamonds, gold, coffee, pineapples,
  bananas, palm kernels
  partners: US 23%, Belgium 12%, Ireland 12%, Spain 12%

Imports: $688 million (1994 est.)
  commodities: petroleum products, metals, machinery, transport
  equipment, textiles, grain and other foodstuffs
  partners: France 26%, Cote d'Ivoire 12%, Hong Kong 6%, Germany 6%

External debt: $3.02 billion (1994)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $NA

Currency: 1 Guinean franc (FG) = 100 centimes

Exchange rates: Guinean francs (FG) per US$1 - 995.3 (August
  1995), 976.6 (1994), 955.5 (1993), 902.0 (1992), 753.9 (1991)
  note: the official exchange rate of the Guinean franc was set and
  quoted weekly against the US dollar until end-October 1993; since 1
  November 1994, the exchange rate is determined in the interbank
  market for foreign exchange

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 1,086 km
  standard gauge: 279 km 1.435-m gauge
  narrow gauge: 807 km 1.000-m gauge; note - includes 662 km in common
  carrier service from Kankan to Conakry

Highways:
  total: 29,750 km
  paved: 4,490 km
  unpaved: 25,260 km (1991 est.)

Waterways: 1,295 km navigable by shallow-draft native craft

Ports: Boke, Conakry, Kamsar

Merchant marine: none

Airports:
  total: 14
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 1
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 2
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 1
  with paved runways under 914 m: 1
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 6
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 3 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 18,000 (1994 est.)

Telephone system: poor to fair system of open-wire lines, small
  radiotelephone communication stations, and new microwave radio relay
  system
  domestic: microwave radio relay and radiotelephone communication
  international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 3, FM 1, shortwave 0

Radios: 257,000 (1992 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 1

Televisions: 65,000 (1993 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Army, Navy (acts primarily as a coast guard), Air Force,
  Republican Guard, Presidential Guard, paramilitary National
  Gendarmerie, National Police Force (Surete National)

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 1,684,264
  males fit for military service: 849,404 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $50 million, 1.6%
  of GDP (1994)



======================================================================




@Guinea-Bissau
-------------




Map
---


Location: 12 00 N, 15 00 W -- Western Africa, bordering the North
  Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Senegal



Flag
----


Description: two equal horizontal bands of yellow (top) and green
  with a vertical red band on the hoist side; there is a black
  five-pointed star centered in the red band; uses the popular
  pan-African colors of Ethiopia





Geography
---------


Location: Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean,
  between Guinea and Senegal

Geographic coordinates: 12 00 N, 15 00 W

Map references: Africa

Area:
  total area: 36,120 sq km
  land area: 28,000 sq km
  comparative area: slightly less than three times the size of
  Connecticut

Land boundaries:
  total: 724 km
  border countries: Guinea 386 km, Senegal 338 km

Coastline: 350 km

Maritime claims:
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: none

Climate: tropical; generally hot and humid; monsoonal-type rainy
  season (June to November) with southwesterly winds; dry season
  (December to May) with northeasterly harmattan winds

Terrain: mostly low coastal plain rising to savanna in east
  lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
  highest point: unnamed location in the northeast corner of the
  country 300 m

Natural resources: phosphates, bauxite, unexploited deposits of
  petroleum, fish, timber

Land use:
  arable land: 11%
  permanent crops: 1%
  meadows and pastures: 43%
  forest and woodland: 38%
  other: 7%

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Environment:
  current issues: deforestation; soil erosion; overgrazing; overfishing
  natural hazards: hot, dry, dusty harmattan haze may reduce
  visibility during dry season; brush fires
  international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
  Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test
  Ban, Wetlands



People
------


Population: 1,151,330 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 43% (male 247,471; female 246,725)
  15-64 years: 54% (male 295,132; female 329,681)
  65 years and over: 3% (male 15,603; female 16,718) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.35% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 39.7 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 16.23 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 0.9 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.93 male(s)/female
  all ages: 0.94 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 115.8 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 48.28 years
  male: 46.63 years
  female: 49.99 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 5.34 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Guinea-Bissauan(s)
  adjective: Guinea-Bissauan

Ethnic divisions: African 99% (Balanta 30%, Fula 20%, Manjaca 14%,
  Mandinga 13%, Papel 7%), European and mulatto less than 1%

Religions: indigenous beliefs 65%, Muslim 30%, Christian 5%

Languages: Portuguese (official), Criolo, African languages

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)
  total population: 54.9%
  male: 68%
  female: 42.5%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Republic of Guinea-Bissau
  conventional short form: Guinea-Bissau
  local long form: Republica de Guine-Bissau
  local short form: Guine-Bissau
  former: Portuguese Guinea

Data code: PU

Type of government: republic, formerly highly centralized,
  multiparty since mid-1991

Capital: Bissau

Administrative divisions: 9 regions (regioes, singular - regiao);
  Bafata, Biombo, Bissau, Bolama, Cacheu, Gabu, Oio, Quinara, Tombali

Independence: 10 September 1974 (from Portugal)

National holiday: Independence Day, 10 September (1974)

Constitution: 16 May 1984, amended 4 May 1991 (currently
  undergoing revision to liberalize popular participation in the
  government)

Legal system: NA

Suffrage: 15 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: President of the Republic of Guinea-Bissau Joao
  Bernardo VIEIRA (assumed power 14 November 1980) was elected for a
  five-year term by universal suffrage; election last held August 1994
  (next to be held 1999); results - Joao Bernardo VIEIRA 52%, Kumba
  YALLA 48%
  head of government: Prime Minister Manuel SATURNINO (since 5
  November 1994) was appointed by the president
  cabinet: Council of Ministers was appointed by the president

Legislative branch: unicameral
  National People's Assembly: (Assembleia Nacional Popular) elections
  last held 3 July and 7 August 1994 (next to be held 1999); results -
  percent of vote by party NA; seats - (100 total) PAIGC 62, RGB 19,
  PRS 12, Union for Change Coalition 6, FLING 1

Judicial branch: none; there is a Ministry of Justice in the
  Council of Ministers

Political parties and leaders: African Party for the Independence
  of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde (PAIGC), President Joao Bernardo
  VIEIRA, leader; Guinea-Bissau Resistance (RGB), Helder Jorge VAZ
  Gomes Lopes, leader; Democratic Front (FD); Social Renovation Party
  (PRS), Koumba YALLA, leader; Union for Change Coalition; Front for
  the Liberation and Independence of Guinea (FLING); Democratic Social
  Front (FDS), Rafael BARBOSA, leader; Bafata Movement, Domingos
  Fernandes GARNER, leader; Guinea-Bissau Resistance (RGB); Union for
  Change Coalition

International organization participation: ACCT (associate), ACP,
  AfDB, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC,
  IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOM
  (observer), ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, UN, UNAMIR, UNAVEM III, UNCTAD,
  UNESCO, UNIDO, UNOMIL, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Alfredo Lopes CABRAL
  chancery: 918 16th Street NW, Mezzanine Suite, Washington, DC 20006
  telephone: [1] (202) 872-4222
  FAX: [1] (202) 872-4226

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Peggy BLACKFORD
  embassy: Bairro de Penha, Bissau
  mailing address: C.P. 297, 1067 Bissau Codex, Bissau, Guinea-Bissau
  telephone: [245] 252273, 252274, 252275, 252276
  FAX: [245] 252282

Flag: two equal horizontal bands of yellow (top) and green with a
  vertical red band on the hoist side; there is a black five-pointed
  star centered in the red band; uses the popular pan-African colors
  of Ethiopia



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Guinea-Bissau ranks among the poorest countries
  in the world. Agriculture and fishing are the main economic
  activities. Cashew nuts, peanuts, and palm kernels are the primary
  exports. Exploitation of known mineral deposits is unlikely at
  present because of a weak infrastructure and the high cost of
  development. With IMF support, the country is committed to an
  economic reform program emphasizing monetary stability and private
  sector growth. This process will continue at a slow pace because of
  a heavy foreign debt burden and internal constraints.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $1 billion (1994 est.)

GDP real growth rate: NA%

GDP per capita: $900 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 44%
  industry: 8%
  services: 48% (1993 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 15% (1994 est.)

Labor force: 403,000 (est.)
  by occupation: agriculture 90%, industry, services, and commerce 5%,
  government 5%

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget:
  revenues: $NA
  expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA

Industries: agricultural products processing, beer, soft drinks

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity:
  capacity: 22,000 kW
  production: 40 million kWh
  consumption per capita: 37 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: rice, corn, beans, cassava (tapioca), cashew nuts,
  peanuts, palm kernels, cotton; fishing and forest potential not
  fully exploited

Exports: $32 million (f.o.b., 1994)
  commodities: cashews, fish, peanuts, palm kernels
  partners: Portugal, Spain, Senegal, India, Nigeria, Cote d'Ivoire

Imports: $63 million (f.o.b., 1994)
  commodities: foodstuffs, transport equipment, petroleum products,
  machinery and equipment
  partners: Portugal, Netherlands, China, Germany, Senegal

External debt: $692 million (December 1993 est.)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $NA

Currency: 1 Guinea-Bissauan peso (PG) = 100 centavos

Exchange rates: Guinea-Bissauan pesos (PG) per US$1 - 17,659
  (December 1995), 12,892 (1994), 10,082 (1993), 6,934 (1992), 3,659
  (1991), 2,185 (1990)

Fiscal year: calendar year



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 3,000 (1988 est.)

Telephone system: poor system
  domestic: combination of microwave radio relay, open-wire lines, and
  radiotelephone communications
  international: NA

Radio broadcast stations: AM 2, FM 3, shortwave 0

Radios: 40,000 (1992 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 1

Televisions: NA



Defense
-------


Branches: People's Revolutionary Armed Force (FARP; includes Army,
  Navy, and Air Force), paramilitary force

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 259,738
  males fit for military service: 148,291 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $9 million, 4.5%
  of GDP (1994)



======================================================================




@Guyana
------




Map
---


Location: 5 00 N, 59 00 W -- Northern South America, bordering the
  North Atlantic Ocean, between Suriname and Venezuela



Flag
----


Description: green with a red isosceles triangle (based on the
  hoist side) superimposed on a long yellow arrowhead; there is a
  narrow black border between the red and yellow, and a narrow white
  border between the yellow and the green





Geography
---------


Location: Northern South America, bordering the North Atlantic
  Ocean, between Suriname and Venezuela

Geographic coordinates: 5 00 N, 59 00 W

Map references: South America

Area:
  total area: 214,970 sq km
  land area: 196,850 sq km
  comparative area: slightly smaller than Idaho

Land boundaries:
  total: 2,462 km
  border countries: Brazil 1,119 km, Suriname 600 km, Venezuela 743 km

Coastline: 459 km

Maritime claims:
  continental shelf: 200 nm or to the outer edge of the continental
  margin
  exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: all of the area west of the Essequibo
  River claimed by Venezuela; Suriname claims area between New (Upper
  Courantyne) and Courantyne/Kutari Rivers (all headwaters of the
  Courantyne)

Climate: tropical; hot, humid, moderated by northeast trade winds;
  two rainy seasons (May to mid-August, mid-November to mid-January)

Terrain: mostly rolling highlands; low coastal plain; savanna in
  south
  lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
  highest point: Mount Roraima 2,835 m

Natural resources: bauxite, gold, diamonds, hardwood timber,
  shrimp, fish

Land use:
  arable land: 3%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 6%
  forest and woodland: 83%
  other: 8%

Irrigated land: 1,300 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
  current issues: water pollution from sewage and agricultural and
  industrial chemicals; deforestation
  natural hazards: flash floods are a constant threat during rainy
  seasons
  international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
  Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical
  Timber 83, Whaling



People
------


Population: 712,091 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 33% (male 118,796; female 114,327)
  15-64 years: 63% (male 224,219; female 222,562)
  65 years and over: 4% (male 14,582; female 17,605) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: -0.9% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 19.03 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 9.55 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: -18.47 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.83 male(s)/female
  all ages: 1.01 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 51.4 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 60.1 years
  male: 57.55 years
  female: 62.78 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.19 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Guyanese (singular and plural)
  adjective: Guyanese

Ethnic divisions: East Indian 51%, black and mixed 43%, Amerindian
  4%, European and Chinese 2%

Religions: Christian 57%, Hindu 33%, Muslim 9%, other 1%

Languages: English, Amerindian dialects

Literacy: age 15 and over has ever attended school (1995 est.)
  total population: 98.1%
  male: 98.6%
  female: 97.5%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Co-operative Republic of Guyana
  conventional short form: Guyana
  former: British Guiana

Data code: GY

Type of government: republic

Capital: Georgetown

Administrative divisions: 10 regions; Barima-Waini,
  Cuyuni-Mazaruni, Demerara-Mahaica, East Berbice-Corentyne, Essequibo
  Islands-West Demerara, Mahaica-Berbice, Pomeroon-Supenaam,
  Potaro-Siparuni, Upper Demerara-Berbice, Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo

Independence: 26 May 1966 (from UK)

National holiday: Republic Day, 23 February (1970)

Constitution: 6 October 1980

Legal system: based on English common law with certain admixtures
  of Roman-Dutch law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: Executive President Cheddi JAGAN (since 9 October
  1992); the president is elected by the majority party in the
  National Assembly after legislative elections, which must be held
  within five years; legislative elections last held 5 October 1992
  (next to be held NA 1997); results - Cheddi JAGAN was elected
  president by the PPP
  head of government: Prime Minister Sam HINDS (since 9 October 1992)
  was appointed by the president
  cabinet: Cabinet of Ministers was appointed by the president; is
  responsible to the legislature

Legislative branch: unicameral
  National Assembly: elections last held on 5 October 1992 (next to be
  held in 1997); results - PPP 53.4%, PNC 42.3%, WPA 2%, TUF 1.2%;
  seats - (65 total, 53 elected) PPP 36, PNC 26, WPA 2, TUF 1

Judicial branch: Supreme Court of Judicature

Political parties and leaders: People's Progressive Party (PPP),
  Cheddi JAGAN; People's National Congress (PNC), Hugh Desmond HOYTE;
  Good and Green Georgetown (GGG), Hamilton GREEN; Working People's
  Alliance (WPA), Eusi KWAYANA, Rupert ROOPNARINE; Democratic Labor
  Movement (DLM), Paul TENNASSEE; People's Democratic Movement (PDM),
  Llewellyn JOHN; National Democratic Front (NDF), Joseph BACCHUS; The
  United Force (TUF), Manzoor NADIR; United Republican Party (URP),
  Leslie RAMSAMMY; National Republican Party (NRP), Robert GANGADEEN;
  Guyana Labor Party (GLP), Nanda GOPAUL

Other political or pressure groups: Trades Union Congress (TUC);
  Guyana Council of Indian Organizations (GCIO); Civil Liberties
  Action Committee (CLAC)
  note: the latter two organizations are small and active but not well
  organized

International organization participation: ACP, C, Caricom, CCC,
  CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD,
  IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol,
  IOC, ITU, LAES, NAM, OAS, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIH, UPU,
  WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Dr. Ali Odeen ISHMAEL
  chancery: 2490 Tracy Place NW, Washington, DC 20008
  telephone: [1] (202) 265-6900, 6901
  consulate(s) general: New York

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador David L. HOBBS
  embassy: 99-100 Young and Duke Streets, Kingston, Georgetown
  mailing address: P. O. Box 10507, Georgetown
  telephone: [592] (2) 54900 through 54909, 57960 through 57969
  FAX: [592] (2) 58497

Flag: green with a red isosceles triangle (based on the hoist
  side) superimposed on a long yellow arrowhead; there is a narrow
  black border between the red and yellow, and a narrow white border
  between the yellow and the green



Economy
-------


Economic overview: In 1995, Guyana, one of the poorest countries
  in the Western Hemisphere, posted its fifth straight year of
  economic growth of 5% or better, with the advance led by gold mining
  and by production of rice, sugar, and forestry products for export.
  Favorable factors include recovery in the key agricultural and
  mining sectors, a more favorable atmosphere for business initiative,
  a more realistic exchange rate, a sharp drop in the inflation rate,
  and the continued support of international organizations. Serious
  underlying economic problems will continue. Electric power has been
  in short supply and constitutes a major barrier to future gains in
  national output. The government must persist in efforts to manage
  its $2 billion external debt, control inflation, and extend the
  privatization program.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $1.6 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 5.1% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $2,200 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 26.5%
  industry: 27.8%
  services: 45.7% (1993 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 8.1% (1995)

Labor force: 268,000
  by occupation: industry and commerce 44.5%, agriculture 33.8%,
  services 21.7%
  note: public-sector employment amounts to 60%-80% of the total labor
  force (1985)

Unemployment rate: 12% (1992 est.)

Budget:
  revenues: $209 million
  expenditures: $303 million, including capital expenditures of $109
  million (1995 est.)

Industries: bauxite, sugar, rice milling, timber, fishing
  (shrimp), textiles, gold mining

Industrial production growth rate: 5.6% (1994 est.)

Electricity:
  capacity: 110,000 kW
  production: 230 million kWh
  consumption per capita: 286 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: sugar, rice, wheat, vegetable oils; beef, pork,
  poultry, dairy products; development potential exists for fishing
  and forestry

Illicit drugs: transshipment point for narcotics from South
  America - primarily Venezuela - to the US and Europe; producer of
  cannabis

Exports: $453 million (f.o.b., 1994)
  commodities: sugar, bauxite/alumina, rice, shrimp, molasses
  partners: UK 33%, US 31%, Canada 9%, France 5%, Japan 3% (1992)

Imports: $456 million (c.i.f., 1994 est.)
  commodities: manufactures, machinery, petroleum, food
  partners: US 37%, Trinidad and Tobago 13%, UK 11%, Italy 8%, Japan
  5% (1992)

External debt: $2.2 billion (1994 est.)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $NA

Currency: 1 Guyanese dollar (G$) = 100 cents

Exchange rates: Guyanese dollars (G$) per US$1 - 140.3 (January
  1996), 142.0 (1995), 138.3 (1994), 126.7 (1993), 125.0 (1992), 111.8
  (1991)

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 88 km
  standard gauge: 40 km 1.435-m gauge (dedicated to ore transport)
  narrow gauge: 48 km 0.914-m gauge (dedicated to ore transport)

Highways:
  total: 7,621 km
  paved: 547 km
  unpaved: 7,074 km (1987 est.)

Waterways: 6,000 km total of navigable waterways; Berbice,
  Demerara, and Essequibo Rivers are navigable by oceangoing vessels
  for 150 km, 100 km, and 80 km, respectively

Ports: Bartica, Georgetown, Linden, New Amsterdam, Parika

Merchant marine:
  total: 1 cargo ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,317 GRT/2,558 DWT
  (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 47
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 3
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 1
  with paved runways under 914 m: 32
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 2
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 9 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 33,000 (1987 est.)

Telephone system: fair system for long-distance calling
  domestic: microwave radio relay network for trunk lines
  international: tropospheric scatter to Trinidad; satellite earth
  station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 4, FM 3, shortwave 1

Radios: 398,000 (1992 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 0 (1987 est.)

Televisions: 32,000 (1992 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Guyana Defense Force (GDF; includes Ground Forces, Coast
  Guard, and Air Corps), Guyana People's Militia (GPM), Guyana
  National Service (GNS)

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 197,548
  males fit for military service: 149,646 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $7 million, 1.7%
  of GDP (1994)



======================================================================




@Haiti
-----




Map
---


Location: 19 00 N, 72 25 W -- Caribbean, western one-third of the
  island of Hispaniola, between the Caribbean Sea and the North
  Atlantic Ocean, west of the Dominican Republic



Flag
----


Description: two equal horizontal bands of blue (top) and red with
  a centered white rectangle bearing the coat of arms, which contains
  a palm tree flanked by flags and two cannons above a scroll bearing
  the motto L'UNION FAIT LA FORCE (Union Makes Strength)





Geography
---------


Location: Caribbean, western one-third of the island of
  Hispaniola, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean,
  west of the Dominican Republic

Geographic coordinates: 19 00 N, 72 25 W

Map references: Central America and the Caribbean

Area:
  total area: 27,750 sq km
  land area: 27,560 sq km
  comparative area: slightly larger than Maryland

Land boundaries:
  total: 275 km
  border country: Dominican Republic 275 km

Coastline: 1,771 km

Maritime claims:
  contiguous zone: 24 nm
  continental shelf: to depth of exploitation
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: claims US-administered Navassa Island

Climate: tropical; semiarid where mountains in east cut off trade
  winds

Terrain: mostly rough and mountainous
  lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
  highest point: Chaine de la Selle 2,680 m

Natural resources: bauxite

Land use:
  arable land: 20%
  permanent crops: 13%
  meadows and pastures: 18%
  forest and woodland: 4%
  other: 45%

Irrigated land: 750 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
  current issues: extensive deforestation (much of the remaining
  forested land is being cleared for agriculture and use as fuel);
  soil erosion; inadequate supplies of potable water
  natural hazards: lies in the middle of the hurricane belt and
  subject to severe storms from June to October; occasional flooding
  and earthquakes; periodic droughts
  international agreements: party to - Marine Dumping, Marine Life
  Conservation; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate
  Change, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear
  Test Ban

Geographic note: shares island of Hispaniola with Dominican
  Republic (western one-third is Haiti, eastern two-thirds is the
  Dominican Republic)



People
------


Population: 6,731,539 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 46% (male 1,568,943; female 1,523,406)
  15-64 years: 50% (male 1,614,679; female 1,758,388)
  65 years and over: 4% (male 132,460; female 133,663) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.77% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 38.15 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 15.96 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: -4.52 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.99 male(s)/female
  all ages: 0.97 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 103.8 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 49.26 years
  male: 47.26 years
  female: 51.35 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 5.69 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Haitian(s)
  adjective: Haitian

Ethnic divisions: black 95%, mulatto and European 5%

Religions: Roman Catholic 80% (of which an overwhelming majority
  also practice Voodoo), Protestant 16% (Baptist 10%, Pentecostal 4%,
  Adventist 1%, other 1%), none 1%, other 3% (1982)

Languages: French (official) 10%, Creole

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)
  total population: 45%
  male: 48%
  female: 42.2%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Republic of Haiti
  conventional short form: Haiti
  local long form: Republique d'Haiti
  local short form: Haiti

Data code: HA

Type of government: republic

Capital: Port-au-Prince

Administrative divisions: 9 departments, (departements, singular -
  departement); Artibonite, Centre, Grand'Anse, Nord, Nord-Est,
  Nord-Ouest, Ouest, Sud, Sud-Est

Independence: 1 January 1804 (from France)

National holiday: Independence Day, 1 January (1804)

Constitution: approved March 1987, suspended June 1988, most
  articles reinstated March 1989; in October 1991, government claimed
  to be observing the constitution; return to constitutional rule,
  October 1994

Legal system: based on Roman civil law system; accepts compulsory
  ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: President Rene Garcia PREVAL (since 7 February
  1996), was elected for a five-year term by universal suffrage;
  election last held 17 December 1995 (next to be held by December
  2000); results - Rene PREVAL 88%, Leon JEUNE 2.5%, Victor BENOIT 2.3%
  head of government: Prime Minister Rosny SMARTH (since March 1996)
  was appointed by the president
  cabinet: Cabinet; was chosen by prime minister in consultation with
  the president

Legislative branch: bicameral National Assembly (Assemblee
  Nationale)
  Senate: elections last held 25 June 1995 with reruns on 13 August
  and runoffs on 17 September (next to be held 25 June 1999); results
  - percent of vote by party NA; seats - 27 total
  Chamber of Deputies: elections last held 25 June 1995 with reruns on
  13 August and runoffs on 17 September; results - percent of vote by
  party NA; seats - 83 total

Judicial branch: Court of Appeal (Cour de Cassation)

Political parties and leaders: National Front for Change and
  Democracy (FNCD), Evans PAUL and Turneb DELPE; National Cooperative
  Action Movement (MKN), Volvick Remy JOSEPH; National Congress of
  Democratic Movements (CONACOM), Victor BENOIT; Movement for the
  Installation of Democracy in Haiti (MIDH), Marc BAZIN; National
  Progressive Revolutionary Party (PANPRA), Serge GILLES; National
  Patriotic Movement of November 28 (MNP-28), Dejean BELIZAIRE;
  National Agricultural and Industrial Party (PAIN), Louis DEJOIE;
  Movement for National Reconstruction (MRN), Rene THEODORE; Haitian
  Christian Democratic Party (PDCH), Fritz PIERRE; Assembly of
  Progressive National Democrats (RDNP), Leslie MANIGAT; National
  Labor Party (PNT), Remy ZAMOR; Mobilization for National Development
  (MDN), Hubert DE RONCERAY; Democratic Movement for the Liberation of
  Haiti (MODELH), Francois LATORTUE; Haitian Social Christian Party
  (PSCH), Gregoire EUGENE; Movement for the Organization of the
  Country (MOP), Gesner COMEAU and Jean MOLIERE; Democratic Unity
  Confederation (KID), Evans PAUL; National Lavalas Political
  Organization (OPL), Gerard PIERRE-CHARLES; Open the Gate Party
  (PLB), Renaud BERNARDIN; Haitian National Democratic Progressive
  Party (PNDPH), Turneb DELPE

Other political or pressure groups: Roman Catholic Church;
  Confederation of Haitian Workers (CTH); Federation of Workers Trade
  Unions (FOS); Autonomous Haitian Workers (CATH); National Popular
  Assembly (APN); Papaye Peasants Movement (MPP)

International organization participation: ACCT, ACP, Caricom
  (observer), CCC, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM,
  IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM,
  ITU, LAES, OAS, OPANAL, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL,
  WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Jean CASIMIR
  chancery: 2311 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
  telephone: [1] (202) 332-4090 through 4092
  FAX: [1] (202) 745-7215
  consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, Miami, New York, and San Juan
  (Puerto Rico)

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador William Lacy SWING
  embassy: 5 Harry Truman Boulevard, Port-au-Prince
  mailing address: P. O. Box 1761, Port-au-Prince
  telephone: [509] 22-0354, 22-0368, 22-0200, 22-0612
  FAX: [509] 23-1641

Flag: two equal horizontal bands of blue (top) and red with a
  centered white rectangle bearing the coat of arms, which contains a
  palm tree flanked by flags and two cannons above a scroll bearing
  the motto L'UNION FAIT LA FORCE (Union Makes Strength)



Economy
-------


Economic overview: About 75% of the population lives in abject
  poverty. Nearly 70% of all Haitians depend on the agriculture
  sector, which consists mainly of small-scale subsistence farming and
  employs about two-thirds of the economically active work force. The
  country has experienced only moderate job creation since President
  ARISTIDE was returned to power in October 1994. Failure to reach
  agreement with multilateral lenders in late 1995 led to rising
  deficit spending and subsequently increasing inflation and a drop in
  the value of the Haitian currency in the final months of 1995.
  Potential investors, both foreign and domestic, have been reluctant
  to risk their capital, planning to "wait and see" what happens in
  the months following the inauguration of newly elected President
  Rene PREVAL and the drawdown of UN peacekeeping forces. The PREVAL
  government will have to grapple with implementing necessary,
  although unpopular, economic reforms in order to obtain badly needed
  foreign aid and improve Haiti's ability to attract foreign capital
  if the Haitian economy is to gain momentum. Haiti will continue to
  depend heavily on foreign aid in the medium term.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $6.5 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 4.5% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $1,000 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 34.8%
  industry: 23%
  services: 42.2% (1991 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 14.5% (FY 94/95)

Labor force: 2.3 million
  by occupation: agriculture 66%, services 25%, industry 9%
  note: shortage of skilled labor, unskilled labor abundant (1982)

Unemployment rate: 60% (1995 est.)

Budget:
  revenues: $242 million
  expenditures: $299.4 million including capital expenditures of $NA
  (FY94/95)

Industries: sugar refining, flour milling, textiles, cement,
  tourism, light assembly industries based on imported parts

Industrial production growth rate: 2.5% (1995 est.)

Electricity:
  capacity: 150,000 kW
  production: 590 million kWh
  consumption per capita: 86 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: coffee, mangoes, sugarcane, rice, corn, sorghum; wood

Illicit drugs: transshipment point for cocaine and marijuana en
  route to the US and Europe

Exports: $161 million (f.o.b., 1995 est.)
  commodities: light manufactures 65%, coffee 19%, other agriculture
  8%, other 8%
  partners: US 81%, Europe 12% (1993)

Imports: $537 million (f.o.b., 1995 est.)
  commodities: machines and manufactures 34%, food and beverages 22%,
  petroleum products 14%, chemicals 10%, fats and oils 9%
  partners: US 51%, Europe 16%, Latin America 18% (1993)

External debt: $827 million (September 1995 est.)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $NA

Currency: 1 gourde (G) = 100 centimes

Exchange rates: gourdes (G) per US$1 - 16.783 (January 1996),
  16.160 (1995), 12.947 (1994), 12.805 (1993), 10.953 (1992), 8.240
  (1991)

Fiscal year: 1 October - 30 September



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 40 km (single track; privately owned industrial line)-closed
  in early 1990's
  narrow gauge: 40 km 0.760-m gauge

Highways:
  total: 3,978 km
  paved: 944 km
  unpaved: 3,034 km (1987 est.)

Waterways: negligible; less than 100 km navigable

Ports: Cap-Haitien, Gonaives, Jacmel, Jeremie, Cayes, Miragoane,
  Port-au-Prince, Port-de-Paix, Saint-Marc

Merchant marine: none

Airports:
  total: 11
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 2
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 1
  with paved runways under 914 m: 4
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 4 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 50,000 (1990 est.)

Telephone system: domestic facilities barely adequate,
  international facilities slightly better
  domestic: NA
  international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 33, FM 0, shortwave 2

Radios: 320,000 (1992 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 4 (1987 est.)

Televisions: 32,000 (1992 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Haitian National Police

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 1,379,116
  males fit for military service: 746,617
  males reach military age (18) annually: 67,287 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: $NA, NA% of GDP



======================================================================




@Heard Island and McDonald Islands
---------------------------------


(territory of Australia)

Map
---


Location: 53 06 S, 72 31 E -- Southern Africa, islands in the
  Indian Ocean, about two-thirds of the way from Madagascar to
  Antarctica



Flag
----


Description: the flag of Australia is used





Geography
---------


Location: Southern Africa, islands in the Indian Ocean, about
  two-thirds of the way from Madagascar to Antarctica

Geographic coordinates: 53 06 S, 72 31 E

Map references: Antarctic Region

Area:
  total area: 412 sq km
  land area: 412 sq km
  comparative area: 1.5 times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 101.9 km

Maritime claims:
  exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 3 nm

International disputes: none

Climate: antarctic

Terrain: Heard Island - bleak and mountainous, with a quiescent
  volcano; McDonald Islands - small and rocky
  lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
  highest point: Big Ben 2,745 m

Natural resources: none

Land use:
  arable land: 0%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 0%
  forest and woodland: 0%
  other: 100%

Irrigated land: 0 sq km

Environment:
  current issues: NA
  natural hazards: Heard Island is dominated by a dormant volcano
  called Big Ben
  international agreements: NA

Geographic note: primarily used for research stations



People
------


Population: uninhabited



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Territory of Heard Island and McDonald
  Islands
  conventional short form: Heard Island and McDonald Islands

Data code: HM

Type of government: territory of Australia administered by the
  Ministry for Environment, Sport, and Territories

Capital: none; administered from Canberra, Australia

Independence: none (territory of Australia)

Flag: the flag of Australia is used



Economy
-------


Economic overview: no economic activity



Transportation
--------------


Ports: none; offshore anchorage only



Defense
-------


Defense note: defense is the responsibility of Australia



======================================================================




@Holy See (Vatican City)
-----------------------




Map
---


Location: 41 54 N, 12 27 E -- Southern Europe, an enclave of Rome
  (Italy)



Flag
----


Description: two vertical bands of yellow (hoist side) and white
  with the crossed keys of Saint Peter and the papal miter centered in
  the white band





Geography
---------


Location: Southern Europe, an enclave of Rome (Italy)

Geographic coordinates: 41 54 N, 12 27 E

Map references: Europe

Area:
  total area: 0.44 sq km
  land area: 0.44 sq km
  comparative area: about 0.7 times the size of The Mall in
  Washington, DC

Land boundaries:
  total: 3.2 km
  border country: Italy 3.2 km

Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims: none (landlocked)

International disputes: none

Climate: temperate; mild, rainy winters (September to mid-May)
  with hot, dry summers (May to September)

Terrain: low hill
  lowest point: unnamed location 19 m
  highest point: unnamed location 75 m

Natural resources: none

Land use:
  arable land: 0%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 0%
  forest and woodland: 0%
  other: 100%

Irrigated land: 0 sq km

Environment:
  current issues: NA
  natural hazards: NA
  international agreements: signed, but not ratified - Air Pollution,
  Environmental Modification

Geographic note: urban; landlocked; enclave of Rome, Italy;
  world's smallest state; outside the Vatican City, 13 buildings in
  Rome and Castel Gandolfo (the pope's summer residence) enjoy
  extraterritorial rights



People
------


Population: 840 (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.15% (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: none
  adjective: none

Ethnic divisions: Italians, Swiss

Religions: Roman Catholic

Languages: Italian, Latin, various other languages



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: The Holy See (State of the Vatican City)
  conventional short form: Holy See (Vatican City)
  local long form: Santa Sede (Stato della Citta del Vaticano)
  local short form: Santa Sede (Citta del Vaticano)

Data code: VT

Type of government: monarchical-sacerdotal state

Capital: Vatican City

Independence: 11 February 1929 (from Italy)

National holiday: Installation Day of the Pope, 22 October (1978)
  (John Paul II)
  note: Pope John Paul II was elected on 16 October 1978

Constitution: Apostolic Constitution of 1967 (effective 1 March
  1968)

Legal system: NA

Suffrage: limited to cardinals less than 80 years old

Executive branch:
  chief of state: Pope JOHN PAUL II (Karol WOJTYLA; since 16 October
  1978) was elected for life by the College of Cardinals; election
  last held 16 October 1978 (next to be held after the death of the
  current pope); results - Karol WOJTYLA was elected for life by the
  College of Cardinals
  head of government: Secretary of State Archbishop Angelo Cardinal
  SODANO (since NA 1991) was appointed by the pope
  cabinet: Pontifical Commission was appointed by Pope

Legislative branch: unicameral Pontifical Commission

Judicial branch: none; normally handled by Italy

Political parties and leaders: none

Other political or pressure groups: none (exclusive of influence
  exercised by church officers)

International organization participation: IAEA, ICFTU, Intelsat,
  IOM (observer), ITU, OAS (observer), OSCE, UN (observer), UNCTAD,
  UNHCR, UPU, WIPO, WToO (observer)

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Apostolic Pro-Nuncio Archbishop Agostino
  CACCIAVILLAN
  chancery: 3339 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
  telephone: [1] (202) 333-7121

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Raymond L. FLYNN
  embassy: Villa Domiziana, Via Delle Terme Deciane 26, Rome 00153
  mailing address: PSC 59, APO AE 09624
  telephone: [39] (6) 46741
  FAX: [39] (6) 5758346, 57300682

Flag: two vertical bands of yellow (hoist side) and white with the
  crossed keys of Saint Peter and the papal miter centered in the
  white band



Economy
-------


Economic overview: This unique, noncommercial economy is supported
  financially by contributions (known as Peter's Pence) from Roman
  Catholics throughout the world, the sale of postage stamps and
  tourist mementos, fees for admission to museums, and the sale of
  publications. The incomes and living standards of lay workers are
  comparable to, or somewhat better than, those of counterparts who
  work in the city of Rome.

Labor force: NA
  by occupation: dignitaries, priests, nuns, guards, and 3,000 lay
  workers who live outside the Vatican

Budget:
  revenues: $175.5 million
  expenditures: $175 million, including capital expenditures of $NA
  (1994)

Industries: printing and production of a small amount of mosaics
  and staff uniforms; worldwide banking and financial activities

Electricity:
  capacity: 5,000 kW standby
  production: power supplied by Italy
  consumption per capita: NA kWh (1992)

Currency: 1 Vatican lira (VLit) = 100 centesimi

Exchange rates: Vatican lire (VLit) per US$1 - 1,583.8 (January
  1996), 1,629.6 (1995), 1,612.4 (1994), 1,573.7 (1993), 1,232.4
  (1992), 1,240.6 (1991); note - the Vatican lira is at par with the
  Italian lira which circulates freely

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 862 meters; note - connects to Italy's network at Rome's
  Saint Peter's station
  narrow gauge: 862 meters 1.435-m gauge

Highways: none; all city streets

Ports: none

Airports: none



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 2,000

Telephone system: automatic exchange
  domestic: tied into Italian system
  international: uses Italian system

Radio broadcast stations: AM 3, FM 4, shortwave 0

Radios: NA

Television broadcast stations: 0

Televisions: NA



Defense
-------


Defense note: defense is the responsibility of Italy; Swiss Papal
  Guards are posted at entrances to Vatican City



======================================================================




@Honduras
--------




Map
---


Location: 15 00 N, 86 30 W -- Middle America, bordering the
  Caribbean Sea, between Guatemala and Nicaragua and bordering the
  North Pacific Ocean, between El Salvador and Nicaragua



Flag
----


Description: three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), white,
  and blue with five blue five-pointed stars arranged in an X pattern
  centered in the white band; the stars represent the members of the
  former Federal Republic of Central America - Costa Rica, El
  Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua; similar to the flag of
  El Salvador, which features a round emblem encircled by the words
  REPUBLICA DE EL SALVADOR EN LA AMERICA CENTRAL centered in the white
  band; also similar to the flag of Nicaragua, which features a
  triangle encircled by the word REPUBLICA DE NICARAGUA on top and
  AMERICA CENTRAL on the bottom, centered in the white band





Geography
---------


Location: Middle America, bordering the Caribbean Sea, between
  Guatemala and Nicaragua and bordering the North Pacific Ocean,
  between El Salvador and Nicaragua

Geographic coordinates: 15 00 N, 86 30 W

Map references: Central America and the Caribbean

Area:
  total area: 112,090 sq km
  land area: 111,890 sq km
  comparative area: slightly larger than Tennessee

Land boundaries:
  total: 1,520 km
  border countries: Guatemala 256 km, El Salvador 342 km, Nicaragua
  922 km

Coastline: 820 km

Maritime claims:
  contiguous zone: 24 nm
  continental shelf: natural extension of territory or to 200 nm
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: land boundary dispute with El Salvador
  mostly resolved by 11 September 1992 International Court of Justice
  (ICJ) decision; with respect to the maritime boundary in the Golfo
  de Fonseca, ICJ referred to an earlier agreement in this century and
  advised that some tripartite resolution among El Salvador, Honduras,
  and Nicaragua likely would be required; maritime boundary dispute
  with Nicaragua

Climate: subtropical in lowlands, temperate in mountains

Terrain: mostly mountains in interior, narrow coastal plains
  lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
  highest point: Cerro Las Minas 2,870 m

Natural resources: timber, gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, iron
  ore, antimony, coal, fish

Land use:
  arable land: 14%
  permanent crops: 2%
  meadows and pastures: 30%
  forest and woodland: 34%
  other: 20%

Irrigated land: 900 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
  current issues: urban population expanding; deforestation results
  from logging and the clearing of land for agricultural purposes;
  further land degradation and soil erosion hastened by uncontrolled
  development and improper land use practices such as farming of
  marginal lands; mining activities polluting Lago de Yojoa (the
  country's largest source of freshwater) with heavy metals as well as
  several rivers and streams
  natural hazards: frequent, but generally mild, earthquakes; damaging
  hurricanes and floods along Caribbean coast
  international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
  Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test
  Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83, Wetlands; signed,
  but not ratified - Desertification, Tropical Timber 94



People
------


Population: 5,605,193 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 43% (male 1,220,188; female 1,177,725)
  15-64 years: 54% (male 1,496,625; female 1,520,918)
  65 years and over: 3% (male 91,126; female 98,611) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.6% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 33.38 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 5.83 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: -1.53 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.92 male(s)/female
  all ages: 1 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 41.8 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 68.42 years
  male: 66.01 years
  female: 70.96 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 4.41 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Honduran(s)
  adjective: Honduran

Ethnic divisions: mestizo (mixed Indian and European) 90%, Indian
  7%, black 2%, white 1%

Religions: Roman Catholic 97%, Protestant minority

Languages: Spanish, Indian dialects

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)
  total population: 72.7%
  male: 72.6%
  female: 72.7%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Republic of Honduras
  conventional short form: Honduras
  local long form: Republica de Honduras
  local short form: Honduras

Data code: HO

Type of government: republic

Capital: Tegucigalpa

Administrative divisions: 18 departments (departamentos, singular
  - departamento); Atlantida, Choluteca, Colon, Comayagua, Copan,
  Cortes, El Paraiso, Francisco Morazan, Gracias a Dios, Intibuca,
  Islas de la Bahia, La Paz, Lempira, Ocotepeque, Olancho, Santa
  Barbara, Valle, Yoro

Independence: 15 September 1821 (from Spain)

National holiday: Independence Day, 15 September (1821)

Constitution: 11 January 1982, effective 20 January 1982

Legal system: rooted in Roman and Spanish civil law; some
  influence of English common law; accepts ICJ jurisdiction, with
  reservations

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal and compulsory

Executive branch:
  chief of state and head of government: President Carlos Roberto
  REINA Idiaquez (since 27 January 1994) was elected for a four-year
  term by a simple majority of the people; First Vice President
  General (Ret.) Walter LOPEZ; Second Vice President Juan DE LA CRUZ
  Avelar; Third Vice President Guadeloupe JEREZANO; election last held
  28 November 1993 (next to be held November 1997); results - Carlos
  Roberto REINA Idiaquez (PLH) 53%, Oswaldo RAMOS Soto (PNH) 41%,
  other 6%
  cabinet: Cabinet

Legislative branch: unicameral
  National Congress (Congreso Nacional): elections last held on 27
  November 1993 (next to be held November 1997); results - PNH 53%,
  PLH 41%, PDCH 1.0%, PINU-SD 2.5%, other 2.5%; seats - (134 total)
  PNH 55, PLH 77, PINU-SD 2

Judicial branch: Supreme Court of Justice (Corte Suprema de
  Justica), judges are elected for four-year terms by the National
  Assembly

Political parties and leaders: Liberal Party (PLH), Rafael PINEDA
  Ponce, president; National Party of Honduras (PNH), Oswaldo RAMOS
  Soto, president; National Innovation and Unity Party (PINU), Olban
  VALLADARES, president; Christian Democratic Party (PDCH), Efrain
  DIAZ Arrivillaga, president

Other political or pressure groups: National Association of
  Honduran Campesinos (ANACH); Honduran Council of Private Enterprise
  (COHEP); Confederation of Honduran Workers (CTH); National Union of
  Campesinos (UNC); General Workers Confederation (CGT); United
  Federation of Honduran Workers (FUTH); Committee for the Defense of
  Human Rights in Honduras (CODEH); Coordinating Committee of Popular
  Organizations (CCOP)

International organization participation: BCIE, CACM, ECLAC, FAO,
  G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO,
  IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, LAES, LAIA (observer),
  MINURSO, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, PCA, UN, UN Security Council (temporary),
  UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIH, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Roberto FLORES Bermudez
  chancery: 3007 Tilden Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
  telephone: [1] (202) 966-7702, 2604, 5008, 4596
  FAX: [1] (202) 966-9751
  consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New
  Orleans, New York, San Francisco, and San Juan (Puerto Rico)
  consulate(s): Boston, Detroit, and Jacksonville

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador William T. PRYCE
  embassy: Avenida La Paz, Apartado Postal No 3453, Tegucigalpa
  mailing address: American Embassy, APO AA 34022, Tegucigalpa
  telephone: [504] 36-9320, 38-5114
  FAX: [504] 36-9037

Flag: three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), white, and blue
  with five blue five-pointed stars arranged in an X pattern centered
  in the white band; the stars represent the members of the former
  Federal Republic of Central America - Costa Rica, El Salvador,
  Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua; similar to the flag of El
  Salvador, which features a round emblem encircled by the words
  REPUBLICA DE EL SALVADOR EN LA AMERICA CENTRAL centered in the white
  band; also similar to the flag of Nicaragua, which features a
  triangle encircled by the word REPUBLICA DE NICARAGUA on top and
  AMERICA CENTRAL on the bottom, centered in the white band



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Honduras is one of the poorest countries in the
  Western Hemisphere. Agriculture, the most important sector of the
  economy, employs nearly two-thirds of the labor force and produces
  two-thirds of exports. Productivity remains low. Manufacturing,
  still in its early stages, employs about 9% of the labor force, and
  generates 20% of exports. Many basic problems face the economy,
  including rapid population growth, high unemployment, inflation, a
  lack of basic services, a large and inefficient public sector, and
  the dependence of the export sector mostly on coffee and bananas,
  which are subject to sharp price fluctuations. A far-reaching reform
  program, initiated by former President CALLEJAS in 1990 and scaled
  back by President REINA, is beginning to take hold.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $10.8 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 4% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $1,980 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 30%
  industry: 20%
  services: 50% (1995 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 30% (1994 est.)

Labor force: 1.3 million
  by occupation: agriculture 62%, services 20%, manufacturing 9%,
  construction 3%, other 6% (1985)

Unemployment rate: 10%; underemployed 30%-40% (1992)

Budget:
  revenues: $527 million
  expenditures: $668 million, including capital expenditures of $166
  million (1993 est.)

Industries: sugar, coffee, textiles, clothing, wood products

Industrial production growth rate: 10% (1992 est.)

Electricity:
  capacity: 290,000 kW
  production: 2.3 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 445 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: bananas, coffee, citrus; beef; timber; shrimp;

Illicit drugs: transshipment point for narcotics; illicit producer
  of cannabis, cultivated on small plots and used principally for
  local consumption

Exports: $843 million (f.o.b., 1994)
  commodities: bananas, coffee, shrimp, lobster, minerals, meat, lumber
  partners: US 53%, Germany 11%, Belgium 8%, UK 5%

Imports: $1.1 billion (c.i.f. 1994)
  commodities: machinery and transport equipment, chemical products,
  manufactured goods, fuel and oil, foodstuffs
  partners: US 50%, Mexico 8%, Guatemala 6%

External debt: $3.7 billion (1994)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $NA

Currency: 1 lempira (L) = 100 centavos

Exchange rates: lempiras (L) per US$1 - 10.3432 (December 1994),
  10.3432 (1995), 9.4001 (1994), 7.2600 (1993), 5.8300 (1992), 5.4000
  (1991); the lempira was allowed to float in 1992

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 595 km
  narrow gauge: 190 km 1.067-m gauge; 128 km 1.057-m gauge; 277 km
  0.914-m gauge
  note: in 1993, there was a total of 988 km of track (1995)

Highways:
  total: 14,203 km
  paved: 2,533 km
  unpaved: 11,670 km (1993 est.)

Waterways: 465 km navigable by small craft

Ports: La Ceiba, Puerto Castilla, Puerto Cortes, San Lorenzo,
  Tela, Puerto Lempira

Merchant marine:
  total: 257 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 769,518 GRT/1,148,423
  DWT
  ships by type: bulk 29, cargo 165, chemical tanker 2, combination
  bulk 1, container 7, liquefied gas tanker 1, livestock carrier 3,
  oil tanker 19, passenger 1, passenger-cargo 3, refrigerated cargo
  16, roll-on/roll-off cargo 7, short-sea passenger 2, vehicle carrier
  1
  note: a flag of convenience registry; Russia owns 8 ships, Vietnam
  4, North Korea 2, Greece 1, Japan 1, US 1, Iran 1 (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 111
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 3
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 2
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 5
  with paved runways under 914 m: 79
  with unpaved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 1
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 21 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 105,000 (1992 est.)

Telephone system: inadequate system
  domestic: NA
  international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic
  Ocean); connected to Central American Microwave System

Radio broadcast stations: AM 176, FM 0, shortwave 7

Radios: 2.115 million (1992 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 28

Televisions: 400,000 (1992 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Army, Navy (includes Marines), Air Force, Public
  Security Forces (FUSEP)

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 1,322,525
  males fit for military service: 787,889
  males reach military age (18) annually: 64,378 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $41 million,
  about 0.4% of GDP (1994)



======================================================================




@Hong Kong
---------


(dependent territory of the UK)

Map
---


Location: 22 15 N, 114 10 E -- Eastern Asia, bordering the South
  China Sea and China



Flag
----


Description: blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side
  quadrant with the Hong Kong coat of arms on a white disk centered on
  the outer half of the flag; the coat of arms contains a shield
  (bearing two junks below a crown) held by a lion (representing the
  UK) and a dragon (representing China) with another lion above the
  shield and a banner bearing the words HONG KONG below the shield





Geography
---------


Location: Eastern Asia, bordering the South China Sea and China

Geographic coordinates: 22 15 N, 114 10 E

Map references: Southeast Asia

Area:
  total area: 1,040 sq km
  land area: 990 sq km
  comparative area: six times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries:
  total: 30 km
  border country: China 30 km

Coastline: 733 km

Maritime claims:
  territorial sea: 3 nm

International disputes: none

Climate: tropical monsoon; cool and humid in winter, hot and rainy
  from spring through summer, warm and sunny in fall

Terrain: hilly to mountainous with steep slopes; lowlands in north
  lowest point: South China Sea 0 m
  highest point: Tai Mo Shan 958 m

Natural resources: outstanding deepwater harbor, feldspar

Land use:
  arable land: 7%
  permanent crops: 1%
  meadows and pastures: 1%
  forest and woodland: 12%
  other: 79%

Irrigated land: 20 sq km (1989)

Environment:
  current issues: air and water pollution from rapid urbanization
  natural hazards: occasional typhoons
  international agreements: NA

Geographic note: more than 200 islands



People
------


Population: 6,305,413 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 19% (male 609,493; female 593,687)
  15-64 years: 70% (male 2,312,141; female 2,094,156)
  65 years and over: 11% (male 307,186; female 388,750) (July 1996
  est.)

Population growth rate: 1.77% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 10.5 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 5.23 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 12.42 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 1.1 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.79 male(s)/female
  all ages: 1.05 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 5.1 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 82.19 years
  male: 78.88 years
  female: 85.71 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.3 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Chinese
  adjective: Chinese

Ethnic divisions: Chinese 95%, other 5%

Religions: eclectic mixture of local religions 90%, Christian 10%

Languages: Chinese (Cantonese), English

Literacy: age 15 and over has ever attended school (1995 est.)
  total population: 92.2%
  male: 96%
  female: 88.2%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: none
  conventional short form: Hong Kong
  abbreviation: HK

Data code: HK

Type of government: dependent territory of the UK scheduled to
  revert to China on 1 July 1997

Capital: Victoria

Administrative divisions: none (dependent territory of the UK)

Independence: none (dependent territory of the UK; the UK signed
  an agreement with China on 19 December 1984 to return Hong Kong to
  China on 1 July 1997; in the joint declaration, China promises to
  respect Hong Kong's existing social and economic systems and
  lifestyle)

National holiday: Liberation Day, 29 August (1945)

Constitution: unwritten; partly statutes, partly common law and
  practice; new Basic Law approved in March 1990 in preparation for
  1997

Legal system: based on English common law

Suffrage: direct election 18 years of age; universal for permanent
  residents living in the territory of Hong Kong for the past seven
  years; indirect election limited to about 100,000 professionals of
  electoral college and functional constituencies

Executive branch:
  chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (of the United Kingdom since 6
  February 1952) is a hereditary monarch
  head of government: Governor and President of the Executive Council
  Christopher Francis PATTEN (since 9 July 1992) was appointed by the
  Queen; Chief Secretary Anson CHAN Fang On-Sang (since 29 November
  1993)
  cabinet: Executive Council was appointed by the Governor

Legislative branch: unicameral
  Legislative Council: indirect and direct elections last held 17
  September 1995 (next to be held NA 1999); results - percent of vote
  by party NA; seats - (60 total, 30 indirectly elected by functional
  constituencies, 20 directly elected, 10 elected by election
  committee) Democratic Party 21, Liberal Party 10, Democratic
  Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong 6, other parties and
  independents 23

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

Political parties and leaders: Democratic Party, Martin LEE,
  chairman; Liberal Party, Allen LEE, chairman; Democratic Alliance
  for the Betterment of Hong Kong, TSANG Yuk-shing, chairman; Hong
  Kong Democratic Foundation, Dr. Patrick SHIU Kin-ying, chairman

Other political or pressure groups: Association for Democracy and
  People's Livelihood (ADPL), Frederick FUNG Kin Kee, chairman;
  Liberal Democratic Federation, HU Fa-kuang, chairman; Federation of
  Trade Unions (pro-China), LEE Chark-tim, president; Hong Kong and
  Kowloon Trade Union Council (pro-Taiwan); Confederation of Trade
  Unions (pro-democracy), LEE Cheuk-yan, chairman; Hong Kong General
  Chamber of Commerce; Chinese General Chamber of Commerce
  (pro-China); Federation of Hong Kong Industries; Chinese
  Manufacturers' Association of Hong Kong; Hong Kong Professional
  Teachers' Union, CHEUNG Man-kwong, president; Hong Kong Alliance in
  Support of the Patriotic Democratic Movement in China, Szeto WAH,
  chairman

International organization participation: APEC, AsDB, CCC, ESCAP
  (associate), ICFTU, IMO (associate), Interpol (subbureau), IOC, ISO
  (correspondent), WCL, WMO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in US: none (dependent territory of the
  UK)

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Consul General Richard W. MUELLER
  consulate general(s): 26 Garden Road, Hong Kong
  mailing address: PSC 464, Box 30, FPO AP 96522-0002
  telephone: [852] 2523-9011
  FAX: [852] 2845-1598

Flag: blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side
  quadrant with the Hong Kong coat of arms on a white disk centered on
  the outer half of the flag; the coat of arms contains a shield
  (bearing two junks below a crown) held by a lion (representing the
  UK) and a dragon (representing China) with another lion above the
  shield and a banner bearing the words HONG KONG below the shield



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Hong Kong has a bustling free market economy
  with few tariffs or nontariff barriers. Natural resources are
  limited, and food and raw materials must be imported. Manufacturing
  and construction account for about 18% of GDP. Goods and services
  exports account for about 50% of GDP. Real GDP growth averaged a
  remarkable 8% in 1987-88, slowed to 3.0% in 1989-90, and picked up
  to 4.2% in 1991, 5.0% in 1992, 5.2% in 1993, 5.5% in 1994, and 5.0%
  in 1995. Unemployment, which has been declining since the mid-1980s,
  edged up from 2% to 3.5% in 1995. Notwithstanding, a shortage of
  labor continues to put upward pressure on prices and the cost of
  living. Prospects for 1996 remain bright so long as major trading
  partners continue to be reasonably prosperous and so long as
  investors feel China will support free market practices after the
  takeover in 1997.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $152.4 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 5% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $27,500 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 0.2%
  industry: 18.4%
  services: 81.4% (1995 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 8.4% (1995)

Labor force: 2,915,400 (1994)
  by occupation: manufacturing 28.5%, wholesale and retail trade,
  restaurants, and hotels 27.9%, services 17.7%, financing, insurance,
  and real estate 9.2%, transport and communications 4.5%,
  construction 2.5%, other 9.7% (1989)

Unemployment rate: 3.5% (1995 est.)

Budget:
  revenues: $19 billion
  expenditures: $14.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $289
  million (FY94/95)

Industries: textiles, clothing, tourism, electronics, plastics,
  toys, watches, clocks

Industrial production growth rate: 2% (1993 est.)

Electricity:
  capacity: 8,930,000 kW
  production: 33 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 4,628 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: fresh vegetables; poultry

Illicit drugs: a hub for Southeast Asian heroin trade;
  transshipment and money-laundering center; increasing indigenous
  amphetamine abuse

Exports: $177.1 billion (including re-exports)(f.o.b., 1995 est.)
  commodities: clothing, textiles, yarn and fabric, footwear,
  electrical appliances, watches and clocks, toys
  partners: China 33%, US 22%, Germany 5%, Japan 5%, UK 3% (1993)

Imports: $195.4 billion (c.i.f., 1995)
  commodities: foodstuffs, transport equipment, raw materials,
  semimanufactures, petroleum; a large share is re-exported
  partners: China 38%, Japan 17%, Taiwan 9%, US 7% (1993)

External debt: none (1995)

Economic aid: $NA

Currency: 1 Hong Kong dollar (HK$) = 100 cents

Exchange rates: Hong Kong dollars (HK$) per US$ - 7.800 (1995),
  7.800 (1994), 7.800 (1993), 7.741 (1992), 7.771 (1991); note -
  linked to the US dollar at the rate of about 7.8 HK$ per 1 US$ since
  1985

Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 35 km
  standard gauge: 35 km 1.435-m gauge

Highways:
  total: 1,661 km
  paved: 1,661 km
  unpaved: 0 km (1994 est.)

Ports: Hong Kong

Merchant marine:
  total: 238 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 8,632,224
  GRT/14,820,657 DWT
  ships by type: bulk 129, cargo 32, chemical tanker 1, combination
  bulk 4, combination ore/oil 3, container 39, liquefied gas tanker 3,
  multifunction large load carrier 1, oil tanker 17, refrigerated
  cargo 5, short-sea passenger 1, vehicle carrier 3
  note: a flag of convenience registry; includes ships from 17
  countries among which are UK 51, China 11, Belgium 8, South Africa
  8, US 8, Japan 7, Bermuda 6, Switzerland 6, Germany 3, and Israel 3
  (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 2
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 1
  with paved runways under 914 m: 1 (1995 est.)
  note: new international airport to be commissioned in 1997/98

Heliports: 1 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 4.13 million (1995 est.)

Telephone system: modern facilities provide excellent domestic and
  international services
  domestic: microwave radio relay links and extensive fiber-optic
  network
  international: satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (1 Pacific
  Ocean and 2 Indian Ocean); coaxial cable to Guangzhou, China; access
  to 5 international submarine cables providing connections to ASEAN
  member nations, Japan, Taiwan, Australia, Middle East, and Western
  Europe

Radio broadcast stations: AM 6, FM 6, shortwave 0

Radios: 3 million (1992 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 4 (British Broadcasting Corporation
  repeater 1; British Forces Broadcasting Service repeater 1)

Televisions: 1.75 million (1992 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Headquarters of British Forces, Army, Royal Navy, Royal
  Air Force, Royal Hong Kong Auxiliary Air Force, Royal Hong Kong
  Police Force

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 1,895,535
  males fit for military service: 1,442,072
  males reach military age (18) annually: 46,248 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $207 million,
  0.2% of GDP (FY92/93); this represents 65% of the total cost of
  defending the colony, the remainder being paid by the UK

Defense note: defense is the responsibility of the UK until 1 July
  1997, when China will assume command



======================================================================




@Howland Island
--------------


(territory of the US)

Map
---


Location: 0 48 N, 176 38 W -- Oceania, island in the North Pacific
  Ocean, about one-half of the way from Hawaii to Australia



Flag
----


Description: the flag of the US is used





Geography
---------


Location: Oceania, island in the North Pacific Ocean, about
  one-half of the way from Hawaii to Australia

Geographic coordinates: 0 48 N, 176 38 W

Map references: Oceania

Area:
  total area: 1.6 sq km
  land area: 1.6 sq km
  comparative area: about three times the size of The Mall in
  Washington, DC

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 6.4 km

Maritime claims:
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: none

Climate: equatorial; scant rainfall, constant wind, burning sun

Terrain: low-lying, nearly level, sandy, coral island surrounded
  by a narrow fringing reef; depressed central area
  lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
  highest point: unnamed location 3 m

Natural resources: guano (deposits worked until late 1800s)

Land use:
  arable land: 0%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 0%
  forest and woodland: 5%
  other: 95%

Irrigated land: 0 sq km

Environment:
  current issues: no natural fresh water resources
  natural hazards: the narrow fringing reef surrounding the island can
  be a maritime hazard
  international agreements: NA

Geographic note: almost totally covered with grasses, prostrate
  vines, and low-growing shrubs; small area of trees in the center;
  primarily a nesting, roosting, and foraging habitat for seabirds,
  shorebirds, and marine wildlife; feral cats



People
------


Population: uninhabited; note - American civilians evacuated in
  1942 after Japanese air and naval attacks during World War II;
  occupied by US military during World War II, but abandoned after the
  war; public entry is by special-use permit only and generally
  restricted to scientists and educators



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: none
  conventional short form: Howland Island

Data code: HQ

Type of government: unincorporated territory of the US
  administered by the Fish and Wildlife Service of the US Department
  of the Interior as part of the National Wildlife Refuge System

Capital: none; administered from Washington, DC

Flag: the flag of the US is used






Economy
-------


Economic overview: no economic activity



Transportation
--------------


Ports: none; offshore anchorage only; note - there is one boat
  landing area along the middle of the west coast

Airports: airstrip constructed in 1937 for scheduled refueling
  stop on the round-the-world flight of Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan
  - they left Lae, New Guinea, for Howland Island, but were never seen
  again; the airstrip is no longer serviceable

Transportation note: Earhart Light is a day beacon near the middle
  of the west coast that was partially destroyed during World War II,
  but has since been rebuilt; named in memory of famed aviatrix Amelia
  Earhart



Defense
-------


Defense note: defense is the responsibility of the US; visited
  annually by the US Coast Guard



======================================================================




@Hungary
-------




Map
---


Location: 47 00 N, 20 00 E -- Central Europe, northwest of Romania



Flag
----


Description: three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and
  green





Geography
---------


Location: Central Europe, northwest of Romania

Geographic coordinates: 47 00 N, 20 00 E

Map references: Europe

Area:
  total area: 93,030 sq km
  land area: 92,340 sq km
  comparative area: slightly smaller than Indiana

Land boundaries:
  total: 2,009 km
  border countries: Austria 366 km, Croatia 329 km, Romania 443 km,
  Serbia and Montenegro 151 km (all with Serbia), Slovakia 515 km,
  Slovenia 102 km, Ukraine 103 km

Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims: none (landlocked)

International disputes: Gabcikovo Dam dispute with Slovakia

Climate: temperate; cold, cloudy, humid winters; warm summers

Terrain: mostly flat to rolling plains; hills and low mountains on
  the Slovakian border
  lowest point: Tisza River 78 m
  highest point: Kekes 1,014 m

Natural resources: bauxite, coal, natural gas, fertile soils

Land use:
  arable land: 51%
  permanent crops: 6%
  meadows and pastures: 13%
  forest and woodland: 18%
  other: 12%

Irrigated land: 1,750 sq km (1989)

Environment:
  current issues: an early-1996 government study identified 179 areas
  that suffer from air pollution, 54 areas with polluted soil, and 32
  areas with polluted underground water; the study estimated clean-up
  costs at $350 million, but the 1996 government budget allocates only
  about $7 million for this purpose
  international agreements: party to - Air Pollution, Air
  Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air
  Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic Treaty,
  Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental
  Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban,
  Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands; signed, but not
  ratified - Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Antarctic-Environmental
  Protocol, Law of the Sea

Geographic note: landlocked; strategic location astride main land
  routes between Western Europe and Balkan Peninsula as well as
  between Ukraine and Mediterranean basin



People
------


Population: 10,002,541 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 18% (male 907,963; female 867,536)
  15-64 years: 68% (male 3,325,529; female 3,464,588)
  65 years and over: 14% (male 538,106; female 898,819) (July 1996
  est.)

Population growth rate: -0.68% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 10.72 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 15.06 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: -2.48 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.6 male(s)/female
  all ages: 0.91 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 12.3 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 69.02 years
  male: 64.23 years
  female: 74.04 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.51 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Hungarian(s)
  adjective: Hungarian

Ethnic divisions: Hungarian 89.9%, Gypsy 4%, German 2.6%, Serb 2%,
  Slovak 0.8%, Romanian 0.7%

Religions: Roman Catholic 67.5%, Calvinist 20%, Lutheran 5%,
  atheist and other 7.5%

Languages: Hungarian 98.2%, other 1.8%

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1980 est.)
  total population: 99%
  male: 99%
  female: 98%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Republic of Hungary
  conventional short form: Hungary
  local long form: Magyar Koztarsasag
  local short form: Magyarorszag

Data code: HU

Type of government: republic

Capital: Budapest

Administrative divisions: 38 counties (megyek, singular - megye)
  and 1 capital city* (fovaros); Bacs-Kiskun, Baranya, Bekes,
  Bekescsaba, Borsod-Abauj-Zemplen, Budapest*, Csongrad, Debrecen,
  Dunaujvaros, Eger, Fejer, Gyor, Gyor-Moson-Sopron, Hajdu-Bihar,
  Heves, Hodmezovasarhely, Jasz-Nagykun-Szolnok, Kaposvar, Kecskemet,
  Komarom-Esztergom, Miskolc, Nagykanizsa, Nograd, Nyiregyhaza, Pecs,
  Pest, Somogy, Sopron, Szabolcs-Szatmar-Bereg, Szeged,
  Szekesfehervar, Szolnok, Szombathely, Tatabanya, Tolna, Vas,
  Veszprem, Zala, Zalaegerszeg

Independence: 1001 (unification by King Stephen I)

National holiday: St. Stephen's Day (National Day), 20 August
  (commemorates the founding of Hungarian state circa 1000 AD)

Constitution: 18 August 1949, effective 20 August 1949, revised 19
  April 1972; 18 October 1989 revision ensured legal rights for
  individuals and constitutional checks on the authority of the prime
  minister and also established the principle of parliamentary
  oversight

Legal system: in process of revision, moving toward rule of law
  based on Western model

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: President Arpad GONCZ (since 3 August 1990;
  previously interim president from 2 May 1990) was elected for a
  four-year term by the National Assembly; election last held 19 June
  1995 (next to be held NA 1999); results - President GONCZ elected by
  parliamentary vote with a total of 259 votes out of 335
  head of government: Prime Minister Gyula HORN (since 15 July 1994)
  was elected by the National Assembly on the recommendation of the
  president
  cabinet: Council of Ministers was elected by the National Assembly
  on recommendation of the president

Legislative branch: unicameral
  National Assembly (Orszaggyules): elections last held on 8 and 29
  May 1994 (next to be held spring 1998); results - percent of vote by
  party NA; seats - (386 total) MSzP 209, SzDSz 70, MDF 37, FKgP 26,
  KDNP 22, FiDeSz 20, other 2

Judicial branch: Constitutional Court, judges are elected by the
  National Assembly

Political parties and leaders: Hungarian Democratic Forum (MDF),
  Lajos FUR, chairman; Independent Smallholders (FKgP), Jozsef
  TORGYAN, president; Hungarian Socialist Party (MSzP), Gyula HORN,
  president; Christian Democratic People's Party (KDNP), Gyorgy GICZY,
  president; Federation of Young Democrats (FiDeSz), Viktor ORBAN,
  chairman; Alliance of Free Democrats (SzDSz), Ivan PETO, chairman
  note: the Hungarian Socialist (Communist) Workers' Party (MSzMP)
  renounced Communism and became the Hungarian Socialist Party (MSzP)
  in October 1989; there is still a small MMP

International organization participation: Australia Group, BIS,
  CCC, CE, CEI, CERN, EBRD, ECE, EU (applicant), FAO, G- 9, IAEA,
  IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat,
  Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MINURSO, MTCR, NACC, NAM (guest), NSG,
  OAS (observer), OECD, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNAVEM III, UNCTAD,
  UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMOT, UNOMIG, UNU, UPU, WEU
  (associate partner), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Gyorgy BANLAKI
  chancery: 3910 Shoemaker Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
  telephone: [1] (202) 362-6730
  FAX: [1] (202) 966-8135
  consulate(s) general: Los Angeles and New York

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Donald M. BLINKEN
  embassy: V. Szabadsag Ter 12, Budapest
  mailing address: Am Embassy, Unit 1320, APO AE 09213-1320
  telephone: [36] (1) 267-4400, 269-9331
  FAX: [36] (1) 269-9326

Flag: three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and green



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Hungary, probably the most Western-oriented
  economy in East Europe before the transition to a market system
  began in 1990, made good progress in the initial years of
  transition. The reform process slowed in 1993-94, however, in part
  because of the May 1994 elections and the resulting change in
  government. By 1994 the privatization of state firms had ground to a
  halt, while both the budget and current account deficits soared to
  unsustainable levels - about 8% and 10% of GDP, respectively. The
  situation improved sharply in 1995; an austerity program introduced
  in March reduced both deficits, and a renewed privatization effort
  later in 1995 resulted in more than $3 billion worth of sales of
  state firms to foreign investors - money that will be used to reduce
  Hungary's large foreign debt. As for other macroeconomic
  developments, real GDP increased 2.9% in 1994 - following several
  years of steep decline - and about 1.5% in 1995. Unemployment
  reached 14% in early 1993 before gradually falling back to 10% in
  1995. Inflation has oscillated; it reached 40% in mid-1991, dropped
  to 17% in early 1994, and then jumped back to 31% by mid-1995.
  Prospects for 1996 are good. With the government still committed to
  austerity, both the budget and current account deficits should fall
  to about 4% of GDP. Economic growth is expected to be about 2% and
  unemployment at about 10%, with inflation falling to 20% by yearend.
  In March 1996 the IMF signed a new standby loan agreement with
  Budapest, and the OECD approved Hungary's application for admission.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $72.5 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 1.5% (1995)

GDP per capita: $7,000 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 7.3%
  industry: 37.5%
  services: 55.2%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 28.3% (1995)

Labor force: 4.8 million (1995)
  by occupation: services, trade, government, and other 47.2%,
  industry 29.7%, agriculture 16.1%, construction 7.0% (1991)

Unemployment rate: 10.4% (yearend 1995)

Budget:
  revenues: $12.6 billion
  expenditures: $13.8 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA
  (1995)

Industries: mining, metallurgy, construction materials, processed
  foods, textiles, chemicals (especially pharmaceuticals), motor
  vehicles

Industrial production growth rate: 6% (1995 est.)

Electricity:
  capacity: 6,740,000 kW
  production: 31 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 3,012 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: wheat, corn, sunflower seed, potatoes, sugar beets;
  pigs, cattle, poultry, dairy products

Illicit drugs: major transshipment point for Southwest Asian
  heroin and transit point for South American cocaine destined for
  Western Europe; limited producer of precursor chemicals

Exports: $13 billion (f.o.b., 1995 est.)
  commodities: raw materials and semi-finished goods 36.4%, consumer
  goods 26.7%, food and agriculture 20.5%, capital goods 13.1%, fuels
  and energy 3.3% (1994)
  partners: Germany 28.2%, Austria 10.9%, Italy 8.5%, Russia 7.5%, US
  4.0% (1994)

Imports: $15 billion (f.o.b., 1995 est.)
  commodities: fuels and energy 11.0%, raw materials and semi-finished
  goods 36.9%, capital goods 23.3%, consumer goods 22.0%, food and
  agriculture 6.8% (1994)
  partners: Germany 23.4%, Austria 12.0%, Russia 12.0%, Italy 7.0%, UK
  4.0% (1994)

External debt: $32.7 billion (October 1995)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $136 million (1993)
  note: assistance received from OECD countries and international
  organizations, $3,700 million (1990-93)

Currency: 1 forint (Ft) = 100 filler

Exchange rates: forints per US$1 - 144 (January 1996), 125.681
  (1995),105.160 (1994), 91.933 (1993), 78.988 (1992), 74.735 (1991)

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 7,685 km
  broad gauge: 35 km 1.524-m gauge
  standard gauge: 7,474 km 1.435-m gauge (2,162 km electrified; 1,236
  km double track)
  narrow gauge: 176 km mostly 0.760-m gauge (1995)
  note: Hungry and Austria jointly manage the cross-border
  standard-gauge railway between Gyor, Sopron, Ebenfurti, and Vasut, a
  distance of about 100 km

Highways:
  total: 158,711 km
  paved: 69,992 km (including 441 km of expressways)
  unpaved: 88,719 km (1992 est.)

Waterways: 1,622 km (1988)

Pipelines: crude oil 1,204 km; natural gas 4,387 km (1991)

Ports: Budapest, Dunaujvaros

Merchant marine:
  total: 10 cargo ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 46,121 GRT/61,613
  DWT (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 78
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 2
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 7
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 4
  with paved runways under 914 m: 1
  with unpaved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 7
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 9
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 14
  with unpaved runways under 914 m: 34 (1994 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 1.52 million (1993 est.)

Telephone system: 14,213 telex lines; automatic telephone network
  based on microwave radio relay system; 608,000 telephones on order;
  12-15 year wait for a telephone; 49% of all telephones are in
  Budapest (1991 est.); note - the former state-owned
  telecommunications firm MATAV - now privatized and managed by a
  US/German consortium - has ambitious plans to upgrade the inadequate
  system, including a contract with the German firm Siemens and the
  Swedish firm Ericsson to provide 600,000 new phone lines during
  1996-98
  domestic: microwave radio relay
  international: satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat and 1
  Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean Region)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 32, FM 15, shortwave 0

Radios: 6 million (1993 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 41 (Russian repeaters 8)

Televisions: 4.38 million (1993 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Ground Forces, Air and Air Defense Forces, Border Guard,
  Territorial Defense

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 2,552,794
  males fit for military service: 2,036,399
  males reach military age (18) annually: 82,040 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $620 million,
  1.7% of GDP (1995)



======================================================================




@Iceland
-------




Map
---


Location: 65 00 N, 18 00 W -- Northern Europe, island between the
  Greenland Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, northwest of the UK



Flag
----


Description: blue with a red cross outlined in white that extends
  to the edges of the flag; the vertical part of the cross is shifted
  to the hoist side in the style of the Dannebrog (Danish flag)





Geography
---------


Location: Northern Europe, island between the Greenland Sea and
  the North Atlantic Ocean, northwest of the UK

Geographic coordinates: 65 00 N, 18 00 W

Map references: Arctic Region

Area:
  total area: 103,000 sq km
  land area: 100,250 sq km
  comparative area: slightly smaller than Kentucky

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 4,988 km

Maritime claims:
  continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: Rockall continental shelf dispute
  involving Denmark, Ireland, and the UK (Ireland and the UK have
  signed a boundary agreement in the Rockall area)

Climate: temperate; moderated by North Atlantic Current; mild,
  windy winters; damp, cool summers

Terrain: mostly plateau interspersed with mountain peaks,
  icefields; coast deeply indented by bays and fiords
  lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
  highest point: Hvannadalshnukur 2,119 m

Natural resources: fish, hydropower, geothermal power, diatomite

Land use:
  arable land: 1%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 20%
  forest and woodland: 1%
  other: 78%

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Environment:
  current issues: water pollution from fertilizer runoff; inadequate
  wastewater treatment
  natural hazards: earthquakes and volcanic activity
  international agreements: party to - Air Pollution, Biodiversity,
  Climate Change, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban,
  Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands; signed, but not
  ratified - Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life
  Conservation

Geographic note: strategic location between Greenland and Europe;
  westernmost European country; more land covered by glaciers than in
  all of continental Europe



People
------


Population: 270,292 (July 1996 est.)
  note: population data estimates based on average growth rate may
  differ slightly from official population data because of volatile
  migration rates

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 24% (male 33,605; female 31,933)
  15-64 years: 64% (male 88,064; female 85,724)
  65 years and over: 12% (male 13,916; female 17,050) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 0.83% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 16.94 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 6.17 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: -2.5 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.82 male(s)/female
  all ages: 1.01 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 4.3 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 80.08 years
  male: 77.68 years
  female: 82.6 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.24 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Icelander(s)
  adjective: Icelandic

Ethnic divisions: homogeneous mixture of descendants of Norwegians
  and Celts

Religions: Evangelical Lutheran 96%, other Protestant and Roman
  Catholic 3%, none 1% (1988)

Languages: Icelandic

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1976 est.)
  total population: 100%
  male: NA%
  female: NA%






Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Republic of Iceland
  conventional short form: Iceland
  local long form: Lyoveldio Island
  local short form: Island

Data code: IC

Type of government: republic

Capital: Reykjavik

Administrative divisions: 23 counties (syslar, singular - sysla)
  and 14 independent towns* (kaupstadhir, singular - kaupstadhur);
  Akranes*, Akureyri*, Arnessysla, Austur-Bardhastrandarsysla,
  Austur-Hunavatnssysla, Austur-Skaftafellssysla, Borgarfjardharsysla,
  Dalasysla, Eyjafjardharsysla, Gullbringusysla, Hafnarfjordhur*,
  Husavik*, Isafjordhur*, Keflavik*, Kjosarsysla, Kopavogur*,
  Myrasysla, Neskaupstadhur*, Nordhur-Isafjardharsysla,
  Nordhur-Mulasys-la, Nordhur-Thingeyjarsysla, Olafsfjordhur*,
  Rangarvallasysla, Reykjavik*, Saudharkrokur*, Seydhisfjordhur*,
  Siglufjordhur*, Skagafjardharsysla, Snaefellsnes-og Hnappadalssysla,
  Strandasysla, Sudhur-Mulasysla, Sudhur-Thingeyjarsysla,
  Vesttmannaeyjar*, Vestur-Bardhastrandarsysla, Vestur-Hunavatnssysla,
  Vestur-Isafjardharsysla, Vestur-Skaftafellssysla

Independence: 17 June 1944 (from Denmark)

National holiday: Anniversary of the Establishment of the
  Republic, 17 June (1944)

Constitution: 16 June 1944, effective 17 June 1944

Legal system: civil law system based on Danish law; does not
  accept compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: President Vigdis FINNBOGADOTTIR (since 1 August
  1980) was elected for a four-year term by universal suffrage;
  election last held 29 June 1988 (next to be held June 1996); results
  - there was no election in 1992 as President Vigdis FINNBOGADOTTIR
  was unopposed
  head of government: Prime Minister David ODDSSON (since 30 April
  1991) was appointed by the president
  cabinet: Cabinet was appointed by the president

Legislative branch: unicameral
  Parliament (Althing): elections last held on 8 April 1995 (next to
  be held by April 1999); results - Independence Party 37.1%,
  Progressive Party 23.3%, Social Democratic Party 11.4%, Socialists
  14.3%, People's Movement 7.2%, Women's Party 4.9%; seats - (63
  total) Independence 25, Progressive 15, Social Democratic 7,
  Socialists 9, People's Movement 4, Women's Party 3

Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Haestirettur), justices are
  appointed for life by the president

Political parties and leaders: Independence Party (conservative),
  David ODDSSON; Progressive Party (liberal), Halldor ASGRIMSSON;
  Social Democratic Party, Jon Baldvin HANNIBALSSON; People's Alliance
  (left socialist), Margret FRIMANNSDOTTIR; Women's Party, Kristin
  ASTGEIRSDOTTIR; People's Movement (centrist); National Awakening
  (People's Revival Party), Johanna SIGURDARDOTTIR

International organization participation: Australia Group, BIS,
  CCC, CE, EBRD, ECE, EFTA, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM,
  IDA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC,
  ISO, ITU, MTCR, NACC, NATO, NC, NEA, NIB, OECD, OSCE, PCA, UN,
  UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNU, UPU, WEU (associate), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Einar BENEDIKTSSON
  chancery: Suite 1200, 1156 15th Street NW, Washington, DC 20005
  telephone: [1] (202) 265-6653 through 6655
  FAX: [1] (202) 265-6656
  consulate(s) general: New York

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Parker W. BORG
  embassy: Laufasvegur 21, Reykjavik
  mailing address: US Embassy, PSC 1003, Box 40, FPO AE 09728-0340
  telephone: [354] 5629100
  FAX: [354] 5629139

Flag: blue with a red cross outlined in white that extends to the
  edges of the flag; the vertical part of the cross is shifted to the
  hoist side in the style of the Dannebrog (Danish flag)



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Iceland's Scandinavian-type economy is
  basically capitalistic, but with an extensive welfare system, low
  unemployment, and comparatively even distribution of income. The
  economy is heavily dependent on the fishing industry, which provides
  nearly 75% of export earnings and employs 12% of the work force. In
  the absence of other natural resources - except energy - Iceland's
  economy is vulnerable to changing world fish prices. The economy, in
  recession since 1988, began to recover in 1993, posting 0.4% growth,
  but was still hampered by cutbacks in fish quotas as well as falling
  world prices for its main exports: fish and fish products, aluminum,
  and ferrosilicon. The center-right government plans to continue its
  policies of reducing the budget and current account deficits,
  limiting foreign borrowing, containing inflation, revising
  agricultural and fishing policies, diversifying the economy, and
  privatizing state-owned industries. The government, however, remains
  divided on the issue of EU membership, primarily because of
  Icelanders' concern about losing control over their fishing
  resources.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $5 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 3.2% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $18,800 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 9.6%
  industry: 22.1%
  services: 68.3% (1994)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.5% (1995 est.)

Labor force: 127,900
  by occupation: commerce, transportation, and services 60.0%,
  manufacturing 12.5%, fishing and fish processing 11.8%, construction
  10.8%, agriculture 4.0%, other 0.9% (1990)

Unemployment rate: 3.9% (December 1995)

Budget:
  revenues: $1.9 billion
  expenditures: $2.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $297
  million (1994 est.)

Industries: fish processing, aluminum smelting, ferrosilicon
  production, geothermal power

Industrial production growth rate: 1.75% (1991 est.)

Electricity:
  capacity: 1,070,000 kW
  production: 4.7 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 16,458 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: potatoes, turnips; cattle, sheep; fish catch of about
  1.1 million metric tons in 1992

Exports: $1.6 billion (f.o.b., 1994)
  commodities: fish and fish products, animal products, aluminum,
  ferrosilicon, diatomite
  partners: EC 68% (UK 25%, Germany 12%), US 11%, Japan 8% (1992)

Imports: $1.5 billion (c.i.f., 1994)
  commodities: machinery and transportation equipment, petroleum
  products, foodstuffs, textiles
  partners: EC 53% (Germany 14%, Denmark 10%, UK 9%), Norway 14%, US
  9% (1992)

External debt: $2.5 billion (1993 est.)

Economic aid: $NA

Currency: 1 Icelandic krona (IKr) = 100 aurar

Exchange rates: Icelandic kronur (IKr) per US$1 - 65.970 (January
  1996), 64.692 (1995), 69.944 (1994), 67.603 (1993), 57.546 (1992),
  58.996 (1991)

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways: 0 km

Highways:
  total: 11,373 km
  paved: 2,513 km
  unpaved: 8,860 km (1992 est.)

Ports: Akureyri, Hornafjordur, Isafjordur, Keflavik, Raufarhofn,
  Reykjavik, Seydhisfjordhur, Straumsvik, Vestmannaeyjar

Merchant marine:
  total: 6 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 30,025 GRT/40,410 DWT
  ships by type: cargo 1, chemical tanker 1, oil tanker 1,
  refrigerated cargo 1, roll-on/roll-off cargo 2 (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 84
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 1
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 3
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 5
  with paved runways under 914 m: 49
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 4
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 22 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 143,600 (1993 est.)

Telephone system: adequate domestic service
  domestic: the trunk network consists of coaxial and fiber-optic
  cables and microwave radio relay links
  international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic
  Ocean), 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic and Indian Ocean Regions); note -
  Iceland shares the Inmarsat earth station with the other Nordic
  countries (Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 5, FM 147 (transmitters and
  repeaters), shortwave 0

Radios: 91,500 licensed (1993 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 202 (transmitters and repeaters)

Televisions: 96,100 licensed (1993 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: no regular armed forces; Police, Coast Guard; note -
  Iceland's defense is provided by the US-manned Icelandic Defense
  Force (IDF) headquartered at Keflavik

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 71,317
  males fit for military service: 63,126 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: none



======================================================================




@India
-----




Map
---


Location: 20 00 N, 77 00 E -- Southern Asia, bordering the Arabian
  Sea and the Bay of Bengal, between Burma and Pakistan



Flag
----


Description: three equal horizontal bands of orange (top), white,
  and green with a blue chakra (24-spoked wheel) centered in the white
  band; similar to the flag of Niger, which has a small orange disk
  centered in the white band





Geography
---------


Location: Southern Asia, bordering the Arabian Sea and the Bay of
  Bengal, between Burma and Pakistan

Geographic coordinates: 20 00 N, 77 00 E

Map references: Asia

Area:
  total area: 3,287,590 sq km
  land area: 2,973,190 sq km
  comparative area: slightly more than one-third the size of the US

Land boundaries:
  total: 14,103 km
  border countries: Bangladesh 4,053 km, Bhutan 605 km, Burma 1,463
  km, China 3,380 km, Nepal 1,690 km, Pakistan 2,912 km

Coastline: 7,000 km

Maritime claims:
  contiguous zone: 24 nm
  continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: boundaries with Bangladesh and China in
  dispute; status of Kashmir with Pakistan; water-sharing problems
  with downstream riparians, Bangladesh over the Ganges and Pakistan
  over the Indus (Wular Barrage)

Climate: varies from tropical monsoon in south to temperate in
  north

Terrain: upland plain (Deccan Plateau) in south, flat to rolling
  plain along the Ganges, deserts in west, Himalayas in north
  lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
  highest point: Kanchenjunga 8,598 m

Natural resources: coal (fourth-largest reserves in the world),
  iron ore, manganese, mica, bauxite, titanium ore, chromite, natural
  gas, diamonds, petroleum, limestone

Land use:
  arable land: 55%
  permanent crops: 1%
  meadows and pastures: 4%
  forest and woodland: 23%
  other: 17%

Irrigated land: 430,390 sq km (1989)

Environment:
  current issues: deforestation; soil erosion; overgrazing;
  desertification; air pollution from industrial effluents and vehicle
  emissions; water pollution from raw sewage and runoff of
  agricultural pesticides; tap water is not potable throughout the
  country; huge and rapidly growing population is overstraining
  natural resources
  natural hazards: droughts, flash floods, severe thunderstorms
  common; earthquakes
  international agreements: party to - Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity,
  Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification,
  Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer
  Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber, Wetlands; signed, but
  not ratified - Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Desertification

Geographic note: dominates South Asian subcontinent; near
  important Indian Ocean trade routes



People
------


Population: 952,107,694 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 34% (male 168,030,766; female 159,283,151)
  15-64 years: 62% (male 304,805,787; female 281,311,834)
  65 years and over: 4% (male 19,148,385; female 19,527,771) (July
  1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.64% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 25.94 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 9.61 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 0.04 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 1.08 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.98 male(s)/female
  all ages: 1.07 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 71.1 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 59.71 years
  male: 59.12 years
  female: 60.32 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 3.2 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Indian(s)
  adjective: Indian

Ethnic divisions: Indo-Aryan 72%, Dravidian 25%, Mongoloid and
  other 3%

Religions: Hindu 80%, Muslim 14%, Christian 2.4%, Sikh 2%,
  Buddhist 0.7%, Jains 0.5%, other 0.4%

Languages: English enjoys associate status but is the most
  important language for national, political, and commercial
  communication, Hindi the national language and primary tongue of 30%
  of the people, Bengali (official), Telugu (official), Marathi
  (official), Tamil (official), Urdu (official), Gujarati (official),
  Malayalam (official), Kannada (official), Oriya (official), Punjabi
  (official), Assamese (official), Kashmiri (official), Sindhi
  (official), Sanskrit (official), Hindustani a popular variant of
  Hindu/Urdu, is spoken widely throughout northern India
  note: 24 languages each spoken by a million or more persons;
  numerous other languages and dialects, for the most part mutually
  unintelligible

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)
  total population: 52%
  male: 65.5%
  female: 37.7%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Republic of India
  conventional short form: India

Data code: IN

Type of government: federal republic

Capital: New Delhi

Administrative divisions: 25 states and 7 union territories*;
  Andaman and Nicobar Islands*, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh,
  Assam, Bihar, Chandigarh*, Dadra and Nagar Haveli*, Daman and Diu*,
  Delhi*, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachel Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir,
  Karnataka, Kerala, Lakshadweep*, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra,
  Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Orissa, Pondicherry*, Punjab,
  Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal

Independence: 15 August 1947 (from UK)

National holiday: Anniversary of the Proclamation of the Republic,
  26 January (1950)

Constitution: 26 January 1950

Legal system: based on English common law; limited judicial review
  of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with
  reservations

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: President Shankar Dayal SHARMA (since 25 July 1992)
  was elected for a five-year term by an electoral college consisting
  of elected members of both houses of Parliament and the legislatures
  of the states; Vice President Kicheril Raman NARAYANAN (since 21
  August 1992) was elected by both houses of Parliament
  head of government: Prime Minister P. V. Narasimha RAO (since 21
  June 1991) was appointed by the president
  cabinet: Council of Ministers was appointed by the president on
  recommendation of the prime minister

Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament (Sansad)
  Council of States (Rajya Sabha): body consisting of not more than
  250 members, up to 12 appointed by the president, the remainder
  chosen by the elected members of the state and territorial assemblies
  People's Assembly (Lok Sabha): elections last held 21 May, 12 and 15
  June 1991 (next to be held 27 April through May 1996); results -
  percent of vote by party NA; seats - (545 total, 543 elected, 2
  appointed) Congress (I) Party 245, BJP 119, Janata Dal Party 39,
  Janata Dal (Ajit Singh) 20, CPI/M 35, CPI 14, Telugu Desam 13,
  AIADMK 11, Samajwadi Janata Party 5, Shiv Sena 4, RSP 4, BSP 1,
  Congress (S) Party 1, other 23, vacant 9; note - the distribution of
  seats as of 18 January 1995 is as follows: Congress (I) Party 260,
  BJP 117, CPI/M 36, Janata Dal Party 24, Samata Party 14, CPI 14,
  AIADMK 12, Janata Dal (Ajit) 7, Telugu Desam 7, RSP 4, Janata Dal
  (Ex-Ajit) 3, Samajwadi Party 3, BSP 3, AIFB 3, Shiv Sena 2, Congress
  (S) Party 1, Kerala Congress (Mani faction) 1, Bihar Peoples Party
  1, India National League 1, other 14, vacant 16

Judicial branch: Supreme Court, judges are appointed by the
  president

Political parties and leaders: Congress (I) Party, P. V. Narasimha
  RAO, president; Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), L.K. ADVANI; Janata
  Dal Party, Laloo Prasad YADAV; Janata Dal (Ajit), Ajit SINGH; Janata
  Dal (Ex-Ajit), leader NA; Communist Party of India/Marxist (CPI/M),
  Harkishan Singh SURJEET; Communist Party of India (CPI), Indrajit
  GUPTA; Telugu Desam (Naidu) (a regional party in Andhra Pradesh),
  Chandrababu NAIDU; All-India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazagham (AIADMK;
  a regional party in Tamil Nadu), Jayaram JAYALALITHA; Samajwadi
  Party (SP), Mulayam Singh YADAV (president), Om Prakash CHAUTALA,
  Devi LAL; Shiv Sena, Bal THACKERAY; Revolutionary Socialist Party
  (RSP), Tridip CHOWDHURY; Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Kanshi RAM;
  Congress (S) Party, leader NA; Communist Party of
  India/Marxist-Leninist (CPI/ML), Vinod MISHRA; Dravida Munnetra
  Kazagham (a regional party in Tamil Nadu), M. KARUNANIDHI; Akali Dal
  factions representing Sikh religious community in the Punjab;
  National Conference (NC; a regional party in Jammu and Kashmir),
  Farooq ABDULLAH; Bihar Peoples Party, Lovely ANAND; Samata Party
  (formerly Janata Dal members), George FERNANDES; Indian National
  League, Suliaman SAIT; Kerala Congress (Mani faction), K.M. MANI;
  All India Forward Bloc (AIFB), Prem Dutta PALIWAL (chairman), Chitta
  BASU (general secretary); Congress (Tiwari), Arjun SINGH and N.D.
  TIWARI

Other political or pressure groups: various separatist groups
  seeking greater communal and/or regional autonomy; numerous
  religious or militant/chauvinistic organizations, including Adam
  Sena, Ananda Marg, Vishwa Hindu Parishad, and Rashtriya Swayamsevak
  Sangh

International organization participation: AfDB, AG (observer),
  AsDB, C, CCC, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G- 6, G-15, G-19, G-24, G-77, IAEA,
  IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO,
  Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, NAM,
  OAS (observer), PCA, SAARC, UN, UNAMIR, UNAVEM III, UNCTAD, UNESCO,
  UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNITAR, UNMIH, UNOMIL, UNU, UPU, WFTU, WHO,
  WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Naresh CHANDRA
  chancery: 2107 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008; note -
  Embassy located at 2536 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
  telephone: [1] (202) 939-7000
  consulate(s) general: Chicago, New York, and San Francisco

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Frank G. WISNER
  embassy: Shanti Path, Chanakyapuri 110021, New Delhi
  mailing address: use embassy street address
  telephone: [91] (11) 600651
  FAX: [91] (11) 6872028
  consulate(s) general: Calcutta, Madras, Mumbai (Bombay)

Flag: three equal horizontal bands of orange (top), white, and
  green with a blue chakra (24-spoked wheel) centered in the white
  band; similar to the flag of Niger, which has a small orange disk
  centered in the white band



Economy
-------


Economic overview: India's economy is a mixture of traditional
  village farming, modern agriculture, handicrafts, a wide range of
  modern industries, and a multitude of support services. Faster
  economic growth in the 1980s permitted a significant increase in
  real per capita private consumption. A large share of the
  population, perhaps as much as 40%, remains too poor to afford an
  adequate diet. Financial strains in 1990 and 1991 prompted
  government austerity measures that slowed industrial growth but
  permitted India to meet its international payment obligations
  without rescheduling its debt. Production, trade, and investment
  reforms since 1991 have provided new opportunities for Indian
  businessmen and an estimated 200 million plus middle class
  consumers. New Delhi has always paid its foreign debts on schedule
  and has stimulated exports, attracted foreign investment, and
  revived confidence in India's economic prospects. GDP growth in
  1992-95 has averaged nearly 5%. Most of the country's external
  fundamentals - including the current account balance and reserves
  (now nearly $17 billion) are healthy. Party politics is increasingly
  shaping the debate over economic reforms. In addition, the 25 Indian
  states and several union territories, which are playing a more
  active role in determining economic policy, are further complicating
  the economic climate. The Indian Government will also have to watch
  closely rising government expenditures and higher debt servicing
  which could create a debt trap by the turn of the century.
  Nevertheless, India should achieve economic growth of 5.5%-6.5%
  annually through the next several years. Even if a weak coalition
  government comes to power in 1996 and is unable to push reforms
  aggressively, parts of the economy that have already benefited from
  deregulation will continue to grow. Moreover, the country can build
  on other strengths, including its diverse industrial base, large
  scientific and technical pool, well-developed legal system, and its
  large middle class to achieve higher growth.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $1.4087 trillion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 5.5% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $1,500 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: NA%
  industry: NA%
  services: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 9% (1995)

Labor force: 314.751 million (1990)
  by occupation: agriculture 65% (1993 est.)

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget:
  revenues: $36.5 billion
  expenditures: $54.9 billion, including capital expenditures of $11.4
  billion (FY94/95)

Industries: textiles, chemicals, food processing, steel,
  transportation equipment, cement, mining, petroleum, machinery

Industrial production growth rate: 10% (1995 est.)

Electricity:
  capacity: 81,200,000 kW (March 1995)
  production: 314 billion kWh (1993)
  consumption per capita: 324 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: rice, wheat, oilseed, cotton, jute, tea, sugarcane,
  potatoes; cattle, water buffalo, sheep, goats, poultry; fish catch
  of about 3 million metric tons ranks India among the world's top 10
  fishing nations

Illicit drugs: licit producer of opium for the pharmaceutical
  trade, but an undetermined quantity of opium is diverted to illicit
  international drug markets; major transit country for illicit
  narcotics produced in neighboring countries; illicit producer of
  hashish and methaqualone; produced 70 metric tons of illicit opium
  in 1995

Exports: $29.96 billion (f.o.b., 1995)
  commodities: clothing, gems and jewelry, engineering goods,
  chemicals, leather manufactures, cotton yarn, and fabric
  partners: US, Japan, Germany, UK, Hong Kong

Imports: $33.5 billion (c.i.f., 1995)
  commodities: crude oil and petroleum products, machinery, gems,
  fertilizer, chemicals
  partners: US, Germany, Saudi Arabia, UK, Belgium, Japan

External debt: $97.9 billion (March 1995)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $1.237 billion (1993); US ODA bilateral commitments
  $171 million; US Ex-Im bilateral commitments $680 million; Western
  (non-US) countries, ODA bilateral commitments $2.48 billion; OPEC
  bilateral aid $200 million; World Bank (IBRD) multilateral
  commitments $2.8 billion; Asian Development Bank (AsDB) multilateral
  commitments $760 million; International Finance Corporation (IFC)
  multilateral commitments $200 million; other multilateral
  commitments $554 million (1995-96)

Currency: 1 Indian rupee (Re) = 100 paise

Exchange rates: Indian rupees (Rs) per US$1 - 35.766 (January
  1996), 32.427 (1995), 31.374 (1994), 30.493 (1993), 25.918 (1992),
  22.742 (1991)

Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 62,462 km (11,793 km electrified; 12,617 km double track)
  broad gauge: 37,824 km 1.676-m gauge
  narrow gauge: 20,653 km 1.000-m gauge; 3,985 km 0.762-m and 0.610-m
  gauge (1995 est.)

Highways:
  total: 2.037 million km
  paved: 981,834 km
  unpaved: 1,055,166 km (1995 est.)

Waterways: 16,180 km; 3,631 km navigable by large vessels

Pipelines: crude oil 3,005 km; petroleum products 2,687 km;
  natural gas 1,700 km (1995)

Ports: Calcutta, Cochin, Jawaharal Nehru, Kandla, Madras, Mumbai
  (Bombay), Vishakhapatnam

Merchant marine:
  total: 310 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 6,787,834
  GRT/11,296,222 DWT
  ships by type: bulk 133, cargo 65, chemical tanker 10, combination
  bulk 2, combination ore/oil 3, container 11, liquefied gas tanker 6,
  oil tanker 73, passenger-cargo 5, roll-on/roll-off cargo 1,
  short-sea passenger 1 (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 288
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 11
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 48
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 59
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 68
  with paved runways under 914 m: 62
  with unpaved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 2
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 2
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 36 (1995 est.)

Heliports: 15 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 9.8 million (1995)

Telephone system: probably the least adequate telephone system of
  any of the industrializing countries; three of every four villages
  have no telephone service; only 5% of India's villages have
  long-distance service; poor telephone service significantly impedes
  commercial and industrial growth and penalizes India in global
  markets; slow improvement is taking place with the recent admission
  of private and private-public investors, but demand for
  communication services is also growing rapidly
  domestic: local service is provided mostly by open wire and obsolete
  electromechanical and manual switchboard systems; within the last 10
  years a substantial amount of digital switch gear has been
  introduced for local service; long-distance traffic is carried
  mostly by open wire, coaxial cable, and low-capacity microwave radio
  relay; since 1985, however, significant trunk capacity has been
  added in the form of fiber-optic cable and a domestic satellite
  system with over 100 earth stations
  international: satellite earth stations - 8 Intelsat (Indian Ocean)
  and 1 Inmarsat (Indian Ocean Region); submarine cables to Malaysia
  and UAE

Radio broadcast stations: AM 96, FM 4, shortwave 0

Radios: 70 million (1992 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 274 (government controlled)

Televisions: 33 million (1992 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, various security or paramilitary
  forces (includes Border Security Force, Assam Rifles, and Coast
  Guard)

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 260,624,007
  males fit for military service: 153,176,413
  males reach military age (17) annually: 9,770,331 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $8.0 billion,
  2.7% of GDP (FY95/96)



======================================================================




@Indian Ocean
------------



Map
---


Location: 30 00 S, 80 00 E -- body of water between Africa,
  Antarctica, Asia, and Australia





Geography
---------


Location: body of water between Africa, Antarctica, Asia, and
  Australia

Geographic coordinates: 30 00 S, 80 00 E

Map references: World

Area:
  total area: 73.6 million sq km
  comparative area: slightly less than eight times the size of the US;
  third-largest ocean (after the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Ocean, but
  larger than the Arctic Ocean)
  note: includes Arabian Sea, Bass Straight, Bay of Bengal, Great
  Australian Bight, Gulf of Oman, Persian Gulf, Red Sea, Strait of
  Malacca, and other tributary water bodies

Coastline: 66,526 km

International disputes: some maritime disputes (see littoral
  states)

Climate: northeast monsoon (December to April), southwest monsoon
  (June to October); tropical cyclones occur during May/June and
  October/November in the northern Indian Ocean and January/February
  in the southern Indian Ocean

Terrain: surface dominated by counterclockwise gyre (broad,
  circular system of currents) in the southern Indian Ocean; unique
  reversal of surface currents in the northern Indian Ocean; low
  atmospheric pressure over southwest Asia from hot, rising, summer
  air results in the southwest monsoon and southwest-to-northeast
  winds and currents, while high pressure over northern Asia from
  cold, falling, winter air results in the northeast monsoon and
  northeast-to-southwest winds and currents; ocean floor is dominated
  by the Mid-Indian Ocean Ridge and subdivided by the Southeast Indian
  Ocean Ridge, Southwest Indian Ocean Ridge, and Ninety East Ridge
  lowest point: Java Trench -7,258 m
  highest point: sea level 0 m

Natural resources: oil and gas fields, fish, shrimp, sand and
  gravel aggregates, placer deposits, polymetallic nodules

Environment:
  current issues: endangered marine species include the dugong, seals,
  turtles, and whales; oil pollution in the Arabian Sea, Persian Gulf,
  and Red Sea
  natural hazards: ships subject to superstructure icing in extreme
  south near Antarctica from May to October
  international agreements: NA

Geographic note: major chokepoints include Bab el Mandeb, Strait
  of Hormuz, Strait of Malacca, southern access to the Suez Canal, and
  the Lombok Strait



Government
----------


Data code: none; the US Government has not approved a standard for
  hydrographic codes - see the Cross-Reference List of Hydrographic
  Codes appendix



Economy
-------


Economic overview: The Indian Ocean provides major sea routes
  connecting the Middle East, Africa, and East Asia with Europe and
  the Americas. It carries a particularly heavy traffic of petroleum
  and petroleum products from the oilfields of the Persian Gulf and
  Indonesia. Its fish are of great and growing importance to the
  bordering countries for domestic consumption and export. Fishing
  fleets from Russia, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan also exploit the Indian
  Ocean, mainly for shrimp and tuna. Large reserves of hydrocarbons
  are being tapped in the offshore areas of Saudi Arabia, Iran, India,
  and western Australia. An estimated 40% of the world's offshore oil
  production comes from the Indian Ocean. Beach sands rich in heavy
  minerals and offshore placer deposits are actively exploited by
  bordering countries, particularly India, South Africa, Indonesia,
  Sri Lanka, and Thailand.



Transportation
--------------


Ports: Calcutta (India), Colombo (Sri Lanka), Durban (South
  Africa), Jakarta (Indonesia), Madras (India), Melbourne (Australia),
  Mumbai (Bombay; India), Richard's Bay (South Africa)



Communications
--------------


Telephone system:
  international: submarine cables from India to UAE and Malaysia and
  from Sri Lanka to Djibouti and Indonesia



======================================================================




@Indonesia
---------




Map
---


Location: 5 00 S, 120 00 E -- Southeastern Asia, archipelago
  between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean



Flag
----


Description: two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and white;
  similar to the flag of Monaco, which is shorter; also similar to the
  flag of Poland, which is white (top) and red





Geography
---------


Location: Southeastern Asia, archipelago between the Indian Ocean
  and the Pacific Ocean

Geographic coordinates: 5 00 S, 120 00 E

Map references: Southeast Asia

Area:
  total area: 1,919,440 sq km
  land area: 1,826,440 sq km
  comparative area: slightly less than three times the size of Texas

Land boundaries:
  total: 2,602 km
  border countries: Malaysia 1,782 km, Papua New Guinea 820 km

Coastline: 54,716 km

Maritime claims: measured from claimed archipelagic baselines
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: sovereignty over Timor Timur (East Timor
  Province) disputed with Portugal and not recognized by the UN; two
  islands in dispute with Malaysia

Climate: tropical; hot, humid; more moderate in highlands

Terrain: mostly coastal lowlands; larger islands have interior
  mountains
  lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
  highest point: Puncak Jaya 5,030 m

Natural resources: petroleum, tin, natural gas, nickel, timber,
  bauxite, copper, fertile soils, coal, gold, silver

Land use:
  arable land: 8%
  permanent crops: 3%
  meadows and pastures: 7%
  forest and woodland: 67%
  other: 15%

Irrigated land: 75,500 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
  current issues: deforestation; water pollution from industrial
  wastes, sewage; air pollution in urban areas
  natural hazards: occasional floods, severe droughts, and tsunamis
  international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
  Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test
  Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83,
  Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified -
  Desertification, Marine Life Conservation

Geographic note: archipelago of 13,500 islands (6,000 inhabited);
  straddles Equator; strategic location astride or along major sea
  lanes from Indian Ocean to Pacific Ocean



People
------


Population: 206,611,600 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 32% (male 33,354,840; female 32,414,363)
  15-64 years: 64% (male 66,385,852; female 66,827,085)
  65 years and over: 4% (male 3,380,567; female 4,248,893) (July 1996
  est.)

Population growth rate: 1.53% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 23.67 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 8.38 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.8 male(s)/female
  all ages: 1 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 63.1 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 61.64 years
  male: 59.51 years
  female: 63.88 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.7 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Indonesian(s)
  adjective: Indonesian

Ethnic divisions: Javanese 45%, Sundanese 14%, Madurese 7.5%,
  coastal Malays 7.5%, other 26%

Religions: Muslim 87%, Protestant 6%, Roman Catholic 3%, Hindu 2%,
  Buddhist 1%, other 1% (1985)

Languages: Bahasa Indonesia (official, modified form of Malay),
  English, Dutch, local dialects the most widely spoken of which is
  Javanese

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)
  total population: 83.8%
  male: 89.6%
  female: 78%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Republic of Indonesia
  conventional short form: Indonesia
  local long form: Republik Indonesia
  local short form: Indonesia
  former: Netherlands East Indies; Dutch East Indies

Data code: ID

Type of government: republic

Capital: Jakarta

Administrative divisions: 24 provinces (propinsi-propinsi,
  singular - propinsi), 2 special regions* (daerah-daerah istimewa,
  singular - daerah istimewa), and 1 special capital city district**
  (daerah khusus ibukota); Aceh*, Bali, Bengkulu, Irian Jaya, Jakarta
  Raya**, Jambi, Jawa Barat, Jawa Tengah, Jawa Timur, Kalimantan
  Barat, Kalimantan Selatan, Kalimantan Tengah, Kalimantan Timur,
  Lampung, Maluku, Nusa Tenggara Barat, Nusa Tenggara Timur, Riau,
  Sulawesi Selatan, Sulawesi Tengah, Sulawesi Tenggara, Sulawesi
  Utara, Sumatera Barat, Sumatera Selatan, Sumatera Utara, Timor
  Timur, Yogyakarta*

Independence: 17 August 1945 (proclaimed independence; on 27
  December 1949, Indonesia became legally independent from the
  Netherlands)

National holiday: Independence Day, 17 August (1945)

Constitution: August 1945, abrogated by Federal Constitution of
  1949 and Provisional Constitution of 1950, restored 5 July 1959

Legal system: based on Roman-Dutch law, substantially modified by
  indigenous concepts and by new criminal procedures code; has not
  accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: 17 years of age; universal and married persons
  regardless of age

Executive branch:
  chief of state and head of government: President Gen. (Ret.)
  SOEHARTO (since 27 March 1968) and Vice President Gen. (Ret.) Try
  SUTRISNO (since 11 March 1993) were elected for five-year terms by
  the People's Consultative Assembly
  cabinet: Cabinet

Legislative branch: unicameral
  House of Representatives (Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat or DPR): elections
  last held 8 June 1992 (next to be held NA 1997); results - GOLKAR
  68%, PPP 17%, PDI 15%; seats - (500 total, 400 elected, 100 military
  representatives appointed) GOLKAR 282, PPP 62, PDI 56
  note: the People's Consultative Assembly (Majelis Permusyawaratan
  Rakyat or MPR) includes the DPR plus 500 indirectly elected members
  who meet every five years to elect the president and vice president
  and, theoretically, to determine national policy

Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Mahkamah Agung), the judges are
  appointed by the president

Political parties and leaders: GOLKAR (quasi-official party based
  on functional groups), HARMOKO, general chairman; Indonesia
  Democracy Party (PDI - federation of former Nationalist and
  Christian Parties), Megawati SUKARNOPUTRI, chairman; Development
  Unity Party (PPP, federation of former Islamic parties), Ismail
  Hasan METAREUM, chairman

International organization participation: APEC, AsDB, ASEAN, CCC,
  CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-15, G-19, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU,
  ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat,
  Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, Mekong Group, NAM, OIC,
  OPEC, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCRO, UNCTAD, UNESCO,
  UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNOMIG, UNPREDEP, UNPROFOR, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO,
  WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Arifin Mohamad SIREGAR
  chancery: 2020 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036
  telephone: [1] (202) 775-5200
  FAX: [1] (202) 775-5365
  consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, San
  Francisco

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador J. Stapleton ROY
  embassy: Medan Merdeka Selatan 5, Jakarta
  mailing address: Box 1, APO AP 96520
  telephone: [62] (21) 360360
  FAX: [62] (21) 3862259
  consulate(s) general: Medan, Surabaya

Flag: two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and white; similar
  to the flag of Monaco, which is shorter; also similar to the flag of
  Poland, which is white (top) and red



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Indonesia is a mixed economy with some central
  planning but with an emphasis on rapid deregulation and private
  enterprise. Real GDP growth in 1985-95 averaged about 7%, quite
  impressive, but not sufficient to both slash underemployment and
  absorb the 2.3 million workers annually entering the labor force.
  Plantation crops - rubber and palm oil - and textiles and plywood
  are being encouraged for both export and job generation. Industrial
  output is based on a supply of diverse natural resources, including
  crude oil, natural gas, timber, metals, and coal. Foreign investment
  has also boosted manufacturing output and exports in recent years.
  Indeed, the economy's growth is highly dependent on the continuing
  expansion of nonoil exports. Japan remains Indonesia's most
  important customer and supplier of aid. Like some other rapidly
  developing countries in Southeast Asia, Indonesia is struggling to
  keep the economy from overheating.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $710.9 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 7.5% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $3,500 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 17%
  industry: 32.6%
  services: 50.4%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 8.6% (1995 est.)

Labor force: 67 million
  by occupation: agriculture 55%, manufacturing 10%, construction 4%,
  transport and communications 3% (1985 est.)

Unemployment rate: 3% official rate; underemployment 40% (1994
  est.)

Budget:
  revenues: $38.1 billion
  expenditures: $38.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $14.5
  billion (FY96/97 est.)

Industries: petroleum and natural gas, textiles, mining, cement,
  chemical fertilizers, plywood, food, rubber

Industrial production growth rate: 13.9% (1995 est.)

Electricity:
  capacity: 12,100,000 kW
  production: 44 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 207 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: rice, cassava (tapioca), peanuts, rubber, cocoa,
  coffee, palm oil, copra, other tropical products; poultry, beef,
  pork, eggs

Illicit drugs: illicit producer of cannabis largely for domestic
  use; government actively eradicating plantings and prosecuting
  traffickers; minor role as transshipment point for Golden Triangle
  heroin

Exports: $39.9 billion (f.o.b., 1994)
  commodities: manufactures 51.9%, fuels 26.4%, foodstuffs 12.7%, raw
  materials 9.0%
  partners: Japan 27.4%, US 14.6%, Singapore 10.1%, South Korea 6.5%,
  Taiwan 4.1%, Netherlands 3.3%, China 3.3%, Hong Kong 3.3%, Germany
  3.2%

Imports: $32 billion (f.o.b., 1994)
  commodities: manufactures 75.3%, raw materials 9.0%, foodstuffs
  7.8%, fuels 7.7%
  partners: Japan 24.2%, US 11.2%, Germany 7.7%, South Korea 6.8%,
  Singapore 5.9%, Australia 4.8%, Taiwan 4.5%, China 4.3%

External debt: $97.6 billion (1995 est.)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $1.542 billion (1993)

Currency: Indonesian rupiah (Rp)

Exchange rates: Indonesian rupiahs (Rp) per US$1 - 2,306.3
  (January 1996), 2,248.6 (1995), 2,160.8 (1994), 2,087.1 (1993),
  2,029.9 (1992), 1,950.3 (1991)

Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 6,458 km
  narrow gauge: 5,961 km 1.067-m gauge (101 km electrified; 101 km
  double track); 497 km 0.750-m gauge (1995)

Highways:
  total: 283,516 km
  paved: 125,051 km
  unpaved: 158,465 km (1995 est.)

Waterways: 21,579 km total; Sumatra 5,471 km, Java and Madura 820
  km, Kalimantan 10,460 km, Celebes 241 km, Irian Jaya 4,587 km

Pipelines: crude oil 2,505 km; petroleum products 456 km; natural
  gas 1,703 km (1989)

Ports: Cilacap, Cirebon, Jakarta, Kupang, Palembang, Semarang,
  Surabaya, Ujungpandang

Merchant marine:
  total: 457 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,098,958
  GRT/3,056,040 DWT
  ships by type: bulk 30, cargo 265, chemical tanker 6, container 11,
  liquefied gas tanker 5, livestock carrier 1, oil tanker 98,
  passenger 5, passenger-cargo 12, roll-on/roll-off cargo 7, short-sea
  passenger 6, specialized tanker 7, vehicle carrier 4 (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 414
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 4
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 9
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 35
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 41
  with paved runways under 914 m: 299
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 3
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 23 (1995 est.)

Heliports: 4 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 1,276,600 (1993 est.)

Telephone system: domestic service fair, international service good
  domestic: interisland microwave system and HF radio police net;
  domestic satellite communications system
  international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean
  and 1 Pacific Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 618, FM 38, shortwave 0

Radios: 28.1 million (1992 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 9

Televisions: 11.5 million (1992 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, National Police

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 57,222,025
  males fit for military service: 33,702,395
  males reach military age (18) annually: 2,280,360 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $2.7 billion,
  1.4% of GNP (FY95/96)



======================================================================




@Iran
----




Map
---


Location: 32 00 N, 53 00 E -- Middle East, bordering the Gulf of
  Oman, the Persian Gulf, and the Caspian Sea, between Iraq and
  Pakistan



Flag
----


Description: three equal horizontal bands of green (top), white,
  and red; the national emblem (a stylized representation of the word
  Allah) in red is centered in the white band; ALLAH AKBAR (God is
  Great) in white Arabic script is repeated 11 times along the bottom
  edge of the green band and 11 times along the top edge of the red
  band





Geography
---------


Location: Middle East, bordering the Gulf of Oman, the Persian
  Gulf, and the Caspian Sea, between Iraq and Pakistan

Geographic coordinates: 32 00 N, 53 00 E

Map references: Middle East

Area:
  total area: 1.648 million sq km
  land area: 1.636 million sq km
  comparative area: slightly larger than Alaska

Land boundaries:
  total: 5,440 km
  border countries: Afghanistan 936 km, Armenia 35 km,
  Azerbaijan-proper 432 km, Azerbaijan-Naxcivan exclave 179 km, Iraq
  1,458 km, Pakistan 909 km, Turkey 499 km, Turkmenistan 992 km

Coastline: 2,440 km
  note: Iran also borders the Caspian Sea (740 km)

Maritime claims:
  contiguous zone: 24 nm
  continental shelf: natural prolongation
  exclusive economic zone: bilateral agreements, or median lines in
  the Persian Gulf
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: Iran and Iraq restored diplomatic
  relations in 1990 but are still trying to work out written
  agreements settling outstanding disputes from their eight-year war
  concerning border demarcation, prisoners-of-war, and freedom of
  navigation and sovereignty over the Shatt al-Arab waterway; Iran
  occupies two islands in the Persian Gulf claimed by the UAE: Lesser
  Tunb (called Tunb as Sughra in Arabic by UAE and Jazireh-ye Tonb-e
  Kuchek in Persian by Iran) and Greater Tunb (called Tunb al Kubra in
  Arabic by UAE and Jazireh-ye Tonb-e Bozorg in Persian by Iran); it
  jointly administers with the UAE an island in the Persian Gulf
  claimed by the UAE (called Abu Musa in Arabic by UAE and Jazireh-ye
  Abu Musa in Persian by Iran); in 1992 the dispute over Abu Musa and
  the Tunb islands became more acute when Iran unilaterally tried to
  control the entry of third country nationals into the UAE portion of
  Abu Musa island, Tehran subsequently backed off in the face of
  significant diplomatic support for the UAE in the region, but in
  1994 it increased its military presence on the disputed islands;
  periodic disputes with Afghanistan over Helmand water rights;
  Caspian Sea boundaries are not yet determined; support to clients in
  Afghanistan

Climate: mostly arid or semiarid, subtropical along Caspian coast

Terrain: rugged, mountainous rim; high, central basin with
  deserts, mountains; small, discontinuous plains along both coasts
  lowest point: Caspian Sea -28 m
  highest point: Qolleh-ye Damavand 5,671 m

Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, coal, chromium, copper,
  iron ore, lead, manganese, zinc, sulfur

Land use:
  arable land: 8%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 27%
  forest and woodland: 11%
  other: 54%

Irrigated land: 57,500 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
  current issues: air pollution, especially in urban areas, from
  vehicle emissions, refinery operations, and industrial effluents;
  deforestation; overgrazing; desertification; oil pollution in the
  Persian Gulf; inadequate supplies of potable water
  natural hazards: periodic droughts, floods; dust storms, sandstorms;
  earthquakes along the Western border
  international agreements: party to - Endangered Species, Hazardous
  Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands; signed,
  but not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification,
  Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation



People
------


Population: 66,094,264 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 45% (male 15,166,131; female 14,289,283)
  15-64 years: 52% (male 17,326,388; female 16,731,470)
  65 years and over: 3% (male 1,327,718; female 1,253,274) (July 1996
  est.)

Population growth rate: 2.21% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 33.67 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 6.61 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: -5 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 1.06 male(s)/female
  all ages: 1.05 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 52.7 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 67.39 years
  male: 66.12 years
  female: 68.72 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 4.72 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Iranian(s)
  adjective: Iranian

Ethnic divisions: Persian 51%, Azerbaijani 24%, Gilaki and
  Mazandarani 8%, Kurd 7%, Arab 3%, Lur 2%, Baloch 2%, Turkmen 2%,
  other 1%

Religions: Shi'a Muslim 89%, Sunni Muslim 10%, Zoroastrian,
  Jewish, Christian, and Baha'i 1%

Languages: Persian and Persian dialects 58%, Turkic and Turkic
  dialects 26%, Kurdish 9%, Luri 2%, Baloch 1%, Arabic 1%, Turkish 1%,
  other 2%

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1994 est.)
  total population: 72.1%
  male: 78.4%
  female: 65.8%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Islamic Republic of Iran
  conventional short form: Iran
  local long form: Jomhuri-ye Eslami-ye Iran
  local short form: Iran

Data code: IR

Type of government: theocratic republic

Capital: Tehran

Administrative divisions: 25 provinces (ostanha, singular -
  ostan); Ardabil, Azarbayjan-e Gharbi, Azarbayjan-e Sharqi, Bushehr,
  Chahar Mahall va Bakhtiari, Esfahan, Fars, Gilan, Hamadan,
  Hormozgan, Ilam, Kerman, Kermanshahan, Khorasan, Khuzestan,
  Kohkiluyeh va Buyer Ahmadi, Kordestan, Lorestan, Markazi,
  Mazandaran, Semnan, Sistan va Baluchestan, Tehran, Yazd, Zanjan

Independence: 1 April 1979 (Islamic Republic of Iran proclaimed)

National holiday: Islamic Republic Day, 1 April (1979)

Constitution: 2-3 December 1979; revised 1989 to expand powers of
  the presidency and eliminate the prime ministership

Legal system: the Constitution codifies Islamic principles of
  government

Suffrage: 15 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  supreme leader (rahbar-e moazam) and functional chief of sta: Leader
  of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ali Hoseini-KHAMENEI (since 4
  June 1989) was appointed for life by Council of Experts
  head of government: President Ali Akbar Hashemi-RAFSANJANI (since 3
  August 1989) was elected for a four-year term by universal suffrage;
  First Vice President Hasan Ebrahim HABIBI (since NA August 1989);
  election last held 11 June 1993 (next to be held NA May 1997);
  results - Ali Akbar Hashemi-RAFSANJANI was elected with 63% of the
  vote
  cabinet: Council of Ministers was selected by the president with
  legislative approval

Legislative branch: unicameral
  Islamic Consultative Assembly (Majles-e-Shura-ye-Eslami): elections
  last held 8 March and 19 April 1996 (next to be held NA March 2000);
  results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (270 seats total)
  number of seats by party NA

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

Political parties and leaders: there are at least 76 licensed
  parties, none are, as yet, openly active; the most important
  groupings are - Tehran Militant Clergy Association, leader NA;
  Militant Clerics Association, Mehdi MAHDAVI-KARUBI and Mohammad
  Asqar MUSAVI-KHOINIHA; Servants of Reconstruction (G-6), leader NA

Other political or pressure groups: groups that generally support
  the Islamic Republic include Ansar-e Hizballah, Mojahedin of the
  Islamic Revolution, Muslim Students Following the Line of the Imam,
  and the Islamic Coalition Association; opposition groups include the
  Liberation Movement of Iran and the Nation of Iran party; armed
  political groups that have been almost completely repressed by the
  government include Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MEK), People's
  Fedayeen, Kurdish Democratic Party of Iran; the Society for the
  Defense of Freedom

International organization participation: CCC, CP, ECO, ESCAP,
  FAO, G-19, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD,
  IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM
  (observer), ISO, ITU, NAM, OIC, OPEC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO,
  UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO

Diplomatic representation in US: none; note - Iran has an
  Interests Section in the Pakistani Embassy, headed by Faramarz
  FATH-NEJAD; address: Iranian Interests Section, Pakistani Embassy,
  2209 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007; telephone: [1] (202)
  965-4990

US diplomatic representation: none; note - protecting power in
  Iran is Switzerland

Flag: three equal horizontal bands of green (top), white, and red;
  the national emblem (a stylized representation of the word Allah) in
  red is centered in the white band; ALLAH AKBAR (God is Great) in
  white Arabic script is repeated 11 times along the bottom edge of
  the green band and 11 times along the top edge of the red band



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Iran's economy is a mixture of central
  planning, state ownership of oil and other large enterprises,
  village agriculture, and small-scale private trading and service
  ventures. Over the past several years, the government has introduced
  several measures to liberalize the economy and reduce government
  intervention, but most of these changes have moved slowly or have
  been reversed because of political opposition. Iran has faced
  increasingly severe financial difficulties since mid-1992 due to an
  import surge that began in 1989 and general financial mismanagement.
  At yearend 1993 the Iranian Government estimated that it owed
  foreign creditors about $30 billion; an estimated $8 billion of this
  debt was in arrears. At yearend 1994, Iran rescheduled $12 billion
  in debt. Earnings from oil exports - which provide 85% of Iran's
  export revenues - are providing less relief to Iran than usual
  because of reduced oil prices. Iran's financial situation will
  remain tight in 1996 because the bulk of payments due under its
  rescheduling agreements in 1993-94 will be coming due.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $323.5 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: -2% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $4,700 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 21%
  industry: 37%
  services: 42% (1994 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 60% (1995 est.)

Labor force: 15.4 million
  by occupation: agriculture 33%, manufacturing 21%
  note: shortage of skilled labor (1988 est.)

Unemployment rate: over 30% (1995 est.)

Budget:
  revenues: $NA
  expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA

Industries: petroleum, petrochemicals, textiles, cement and other
  construction materials, food processing (particularly sugar refining
  and vegetable oil production), metal fabricating, armaments

Industrial production growth rate: 4.3% (1994 est.)

Electricity:
  capacity: 19,080,000 kW
  production: 50.8 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 745 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: wheat, rice, other grains, sugar beets, fruits, nuts,
  cotton; dairy products, wool; caviar

Illicit drugs: illicit producer of opium poppy for the domestic
  and international drug trade; produced 35-70 metric tons in 1993;
  net opiate importer but also a key transshipment point for Southwest
  Asian heroin to Europe

Exports: $16 billion (f.o.b., 1994 est.)
  commodities: petroleum 85%, carpets, fruits, nuts, hides, iron, steel
  partners: Japan, Italy, France, Netherlands, Belgium/Luxembourg,
  Spain, and Germany

Imports: $13 billion (c.i.f., 1994 est.)
  commodities: machinery, military supplies, metal works, foodstuffs,
  pharmaceuticals, technical services, refined oil products
  partners: Germany, Japan, Italy, UK, UAE

External debt: $30 billion (1995 est.)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $40 million (1993)

Currency: 10 Iranian rials (IR) = 1 toman; note - domestic figures
  are generally referred to in terms of the toman

Exchange rates: Iranian rials (IR) per US$1 - 1,750 (January
  1996), 1,747.93 (1995), 1,748.75 (1994), 1,267.77 (1993), 65.55
  (1992), 67.51 (1991); black market rate: 4,000 rials per US$1
  (December 1995); note - as of May 1995, the "official rate" of 1,750
  rials per US$1 is used for imports of essential goods and services
  and for oil exports, wheras the "official export rate" of 3,000
  rials per US$1 is used for non-oil exports and imports not covered
  by the official rate

Fiscal year: 21 March - 20 March



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 5,093 km
  broad gauge: 96 km 1.676-m gauge
  standard gauge: 4,997 km 1.432-m gauge (146 km electrified) (1995)

Highways:
  total: 140,200 km
  paved: 42,700 km
  unpaved: 97,500 km (1995 est.)

Waterways: 904 km; the Shatt al Arab is usually navigable by
  maritime traffic for about 130 km; channel has been dredged to 3 m
  and is in use

Pipelines: crude oil 5,900 km; petroleum products 3,900 km;
  natural gas 4,550 km

Ports: Abadan (largely destroyed in fighting during 1980-88 war),
  Ahvaz, Bandar Beheshti, Bandar-e 'Abbas, Bandar-e Anzali, Bandar-e
  Bushehr, Bandar-e Khomeyni, Bandar-e Mah Shahr, Bandar-e Torkeman,
  Jazireh-ye Khark, Jazireh-ye Lavan, Jazireh-ye Sirri, Khorramshahr
  (limited operation since November 1992), Now Shahr

Merchant marine:
  total: 130 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,791,892
  GRT/4,891,615 DWT
  ships by type: bulk 47, cargo 41, chemical tanker 5, combination
  bulk 2, liquefied gas tanker 1, multifunction large-load carrier 1,
  oil tanker 19, refrigerated cargo 3, roll-on/roll-off cargo 9,
  short-sea passenger 1, specialized tanker 1 (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 212
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 30
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 11
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 31
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 17
  with paved runways under 914 m: 22
  with unpaved runways over 3 047 m: 1
  with unpaved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 2
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 10
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 88 (1995 est.)

Heliports: 12 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 3.02 million (1992 est.)

Telephone system:
  domestic: microwave radio relay extends throughout country; system
  centered in Tehran
  international: satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (2 Atlantic
  Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) and 1 Inmarsat (Indian Ocean Region); HF
  radio and microwave radio relay to Turkey, Pakistan, Syria, Kuwait,
  Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan; submarine fiber-optic cable to UAE

Radio broadcast stations: AM 77, FM 3, shortwave 0

Radios: 14.3 million (1992 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 28

Televisions: 3.9 million (1992 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Islamic Republic of Iran regular forces (includes Ground
  Forces, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces), Revolutionary Guards
  (includes Ground, Air, Navy, Qods, and Basij-mobilization-forces),
  Law Enforcement Forces

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 15,157,796
  males fit for military service: 9,010,648
  males reach military age (21) annually: 632,602 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: according to official Iranian data, Iran in
  1994 budgeted 4,377 billion rials and in 1993 spent 2,182 billion
  rials, including $850 million in hard currency; note - conversion of
  defense expenditures into US dollars using current exchange rates
  could produce misleading results



======================================================================




@Iraq
----




Map
---


Location: 33 00 N, 44 00 E -- Middle East, bordering the Persian
  Gulf, between Iran and Kuwait



Flag
----


Description: three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and
  black with three green five-pointed stars in a horizontal line
  centered in the white band; the phrase ALLAHU AKBAR (God is Great)
  in green Arabic script - Allahu to the right of the middle star and
  Akbar to the left of the middle star - was added in January 1991
  during the Persian Gulf crisis; similar to the flag of Syria that
  has two stars but no script and the flag of Yemen that has a plain
  white band; also similar to the flag of Egypt that has a symbolic
  eagle centered in the white band





Geography
---------


Location: Middle East, bordering the Persian Gulf, between Iran
  and Kuwait

Geographic coordinates: 33 00 N, 44 00 E

Map references: Middle East

Area:
  total area: 437,072 sq km
  land area: 432,162 sq km
  comparative area: slightly more than twice the size of Idaho

Land boundaries:
  total: 3,631 km
  border countries: Iran 1,458 km, Jordan 181 km, Kuwait 242 km, Saudi
  Arabia 814 km, Syria 605 km, Turkey 331 km

Coastline: 58 km

Maritime claims:
  continental shelf: not specified
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: Iran and Iraq restored diplomatic
  relations in 1990 but are still trying to work out written
  agreements settling outstanding disputes from their eight-year war
  concerning border demarcation, prisoners-of-war, and freedom of
  navigation and sovereignty over the Shatt al Arab waterway; in
  November 1994, Iraq formally accepted the UN-demarcated border with
  Kuwait which had been spelled out in Security Council Resolutions
  687 (1991), 773 (1993), and 883 (1993); this formally ends earlier
  claims to Kuwait and to Bubiyan and Warbah islands; dispute over
  water development plans by Turkey for the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers

Climate: mostly desert; mild to cool winters with dry, hot,
  cloudless summers; northern mountainous regions along Iranian and
  Turkish borders experience cold winters with occasionally heavy
  snows which melt in early spring, sometimes causing extensive
  flooding in central and southern Iraq

Terrain: mostly broad plains; reedy marshes along Iranian border
  in south; mountains along borders with Iran and Turkey
  lowest point: Persian Gulf 0 m
  highest point: Gundah Zhur 3,608 m

Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, phosphates, sulfur

Land use:
  arable land: 12%
  permanent crops: 1%
  meadows and pastures: 9%
  forest and woodland: 3%
  other: 75%

Irrigated land: 25,500 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
  current issues: government water control projects have drained most
  of the inhabited marsh areas east of An Nasiriyah by drying up or
  diverting the feeder streams and rivers; a once sizable population
  of Shi'a Muslims, who have inhabited these areas for thousands of
  years, has been displaced; furthermore, the destruction of the
  natural habitat poses serious threats to the area's wildlife
  populations; inadequate supplies of potable water; development of
  Tigris-Euphrates Rivers system contingent upon agreements with
  upstream riparian Turkey; air and water pollution; soil degradation
  (salinization) and erosion; desertification
  natural hazards: dust storms, sandstorms, floods
  international agreements: party to - Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test
  Ban; signed, but not ratified - Environmental Modification



People
------


Population: 21,422,292 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 48% (male 5,179,240; female 5,014,141)
  15-64 years: 49% (male 5,342,529; female 5,228,802)
  65 years and over: 3% (male 307,097; female 350,483) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 3.69% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 43.07 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 6.57 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 0.37 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.88 male(s)/female
  all ages: 1.02 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 60 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 66.95 years
  male: 65.92 years
  female: 68.03 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 6.41 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Iraqi(s)
  adjective: Iraqi

Ethnic divisions: Arab 75%-80%, Kurdish 15%-20%, Turkoman,
  Assyrian or other 5%

Religions: Muslim 97% (Shi'a 60%-65%, Sunni 32%-37%), Christian or
  other 3%

Languages: Arabic, Kurdish (official in Kurdish regions),
  Assyrian, Armenian

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)
  total population: 58%
  male: 70.7%
  female: 45%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Republic of Iraq
  conventional short form: Iraq
  local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Iraqiyah
  local short form: Al Iraq

Data code: IZ

Type of government: republic

Capital: Baghdad

Administrative divisions: 18 provinces (muhafazat, singular -
  muhafazah); Al Anbar, Al Basrah, Al Muthanna, Al Qadisiyah, An
  Najaf, Arbil, As Sulaymaniyah, At Ta'mim, Babil, Baghdad, Dahuk, Dhi
  Qar, Diyala, Karbala', Maysan, Ninawa, Salah ad Din, Wasit

Independence: 3 October 1932 (from League of Nations mandate under
  British administration)

National holiday: Anniversary of the Revolution, 17 July (1968)

Constitution: 22 September 1968, effective 16 July 1970
  (provisional Constitution); new constitution drafted in 1990 but not
  adopted

Legal system: based on Islamic law in special religious courts,
  civil law system elsewhere; has not accepted compulsory ICJ
  jurisdiction

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: President SADDAM Husayn (since 16 July 1979); Vice
  President Taha Muhyi al-Din MARUF (since 21 April 1974); Vice
  President Taha Yasin RAMADAN (since 23 March 1991) were elected by a
  two-thirds majority of the Revolutionary Command Council
  head of government: Prime Minister SADDAM Husayn (since NA May
  1994); Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Mikhail AZIZ (since NA 1979)
  Revolutionary Command Council: Chairman SADDAM Husayn, Vice Chairman
  Izzat IBRAHIM al-Duri
  cabinet: Council of Ministers

Legislative branch: unicameral
  National Assembly (Majlis al-Watani): elections last held 24 March
  1996 (next to be held NA); results - percent of vote NA; seats -
  (250 total, 30 appointed by SADDAM Husayn to represent three
  northern provonces of Dahuk, Arbil, and As Sulaymaniyah)
  note: in northern Iraq, a "Kurdish Assembly" was elected in May 1992
  and calls for Kurdish self-determination within a federated Iraq;
  the assembly is not recognized by the Baghdad government

Judicial branch: Court of Cassation

Political parties and leaders: Ba'th Party, SADDAM Husayn, central
  party leader

Other political or pressure groups: political parties and activity
  severely restricted; opposition to regime from disaffected members
  of the Ba'th Party, Army officers, tribes, and Shi'a religious and
  ethnic Kurdish dissidents; the Green Party (government-controlled)

International organization participation: ABEDA, ACC, AFESD, AL,
  AMF, CAEU, CCC, ESCWA, FAO, G-19, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA,
  IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol,
  IOC, ITU, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, OPEC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO,
  UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO

Diplomatic representation in US: none; note - Iraq has an Interest
  Section in the Algerian Embassy; address: Iraqi Interests Section,
  Algerian Embassy, 1801 P Street NW, Washington, DC 20036; telephone:
  [1] (202) 483-7500; FAX: [1] (202) 462-5066

US diplomatic representation: none; note - the US has an Interests
  Section in the Polish Embassy in Baghdad, which is in the Masbah
  Quarter (opposite the Foreign Ministry Club); address: P. O. Box
  2447 Alwiyah, Baghdad; telephone: [964] (1) 719-6138, 719-6139,
  718-1840, 719-3791; Telex 212287

Flag: three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black
  with three green five-pointed stars in a horizontal line centered in
  the white band; the phrase ALLAHU AKBAR (God is Great) in green
  Arabic script - Allahu to the right of the middle star and Akbar to
  the left of the middle star - was added in January 1991 during the
  Persian Gulf crisis; similar to the flag of Syria that has two stars
  but no script and the flag of Yemen that has a plain white band;
  also similar to the flag of Egypt that has a symbolic eagle centered
  in the white band



Economy
-------


Economic overview: The Ba'thist regime engages in extensive
  central planning and management of industrial production and foreign
  trade while leaving some small-scale industry and services and most
  agriculture to private enterprise. The economy has been dominated by
  the oil sector, which has traditionally provided about 95% of
  foreign exchange earnings. In the 1980s, financial problems caused
  by massive expenditures in the eight-year war with Iran and damage
  to oil export facilities by Iran, led the government to implement
  austerity measures and to borrow heavily and later reschedule
  foreign debt payments; Iraq suffered economic losses of at least
  $100 billion from the war. After the end of hostilities in 1988, oil
  exports gradually increased with the construction of new pipelines
  and restoration of damaged facilities. Agricultural development
  remained hampered by labor shortages, salinization, and dislocations
  caused by previous land reform and collectivization programs. The
  industrial sector, although accorded high priority by the
  government, also was under financial constraints. Iraq's seizure of
  Kuwait in August 1990, subsequent international economic embargoes,
  and military action by an international coalition beginning in
  January 1991 drastically changed the economic picture. Industrial
  and transportation facilities, which suffered severe damage, have
  been partially restored. Oil exports remain at less than 5% of the
  previous level. Shortages of spare parts continue. Living standards
  deteriorated even further in 1994 and 1995; consumer prices have
  more than doubled in both 1994 and 1995. The UN-sponsored economic
  embargo has reduced exports and imports and has contributed to the
  sharp rise in prices. The Iraqi Government has been unwilling to
  abide by UN resolutions so that the economic embargo can be removed.
  The government's policies of supporting large military and internal
  security forces and of allocating resources to key supporters of the
  regime have exacerbated shortages. In brief, per capita output for
  1994-95 is well below the 1989-90 level, but any estimate has a wide
  range of error.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $41.1 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: NA%

GDP per capita: $2,000 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: NA%
  industry: NA%
  services: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA%

Labor force: 4.4 million (1989)
  by occupation: services 48%, agriculture 30%, industry 22%
  note: severe labor shortage; expatriate labor force was about
  1,600,000 (July 1990); since then, it has declined substantially

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget:
  revenues: $NA
  expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA

Industries: petroleum, chemicals, textiles, construction
  materials, food processing

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity:
  capacity: 7,170,000 kW
  production: 25.7 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 1,247 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: wheat, barley, rice, vegetables, dates, other fruit,
  cotton; cattle, sheep

Exports: $NA
  commodities: crude oil and refined products, fertilizer, sulfur
  partners: US, Brazil, Turkey, Japan, Netherlands, Spain (1990)

Imports: $NA
  commodities: manufactures, food
  partners: Germany, US, Turkey, France, UK (1990)

External debt: $50 billion (1989 est.), excluding debt of about
  $35 billion owed to Gulf Arab states

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $NA

Currency: 1 Iraqi dinar (ID) = 1,000 fils

Exchange rates: Iraqi dinars (ID) per US$1 - 3.2169 (fixed
  official rate since 1982); black-market rate (December 1995) US$1 =
  2,900 Iraqi dinars; semi-official rate US$1 = 1,000 Iraqi dinars

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 2,032 km
  standard gauge: 2,032 km 1.435-m gauge

Highways:
  total: 45,554 km
  paved: 38,402 km (including 976 km of expressways)
  unpaved: 7,152 km (1989 est.)

Waterways: 1,015 km; Shatt al Arab is usually navigable by
  maritime traffic for about 130 km; channel has been dredged to 3
  meters and is in use; Tigris and Euphrates Rivers have navigable
  sections for shallow-draft watercraft; Shatt al Basrah canal was
  navigable by shallow-draft craft before closing in 1991 because of
  the Persian Gulf war

Pipelines: crude oil 4,350 km; petroleum products 725 km; natural
  gas 1,360 km

Ports: Umm Qasr, Khawr az Zubayr, and Al Basrah have limited
  functionality

Merchant marine:
  total: 36 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 795,346 GRT/1,432,292
  DWT
  ships by type: cargo 14, oil tanker 16, passenger 1, passenger-cargo
  1, refrigerated cargo 1, roll-on/roll-off cargo 3 (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 102
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 21
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 34
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 8
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 6
  with paved runways under 914 m: 16
  with unpaved runways over 3 047 m: 2
  with unpaved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 3
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 3
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 9 (1995 est.)

Heliports: 5 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 632,000 (1987 est.)

Telephone system: reconstitution of damaged telecommunication
  facilities began after the Gulf war; most damaged facilities have
  been rebuilt
  domestic: the network consists of coaxial cables and microwave radio
  relay links
  international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Atlantic
  Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean), 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean Region)
  and 1 Arabsat; coaxial cable and microwave radio relay to Jordan,
  Kuwait, Syria, and Turkey; Kuwait line is probably nonoperational

Radio broadcast stations: AM 16, FM 1, shortwave 0

Radios: 4.02 million (1991 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 13

Televisions: 1 million (1992 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Army, Republican Guard and Special Republican Guard,
  Navy, Air Force, Air Defense Force, Border Guard Force, Internal
  Security Forces

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 4,832,001
  males fit for military service: 2,711,312
  males reach military age (18) annually: 237,843 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: $NA, NA% of GDP



======================================================================




@Ireland
-------




Map
---


Location: 53 00 N, 8 00 W -- Western Europe, occupying five-sixths
  of the island of Ireland in the North Atlantic Ocean, west of Great
  Britain



Flag
----


Description: three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side),
  white, and orange; similar to the flag of Cote d'Ivoire, which is
  shorter and has the colors reversed - orange (hoist side), white,
  and green; also similar to the flag of Italy, which is shorter and
  has colors of green (hoist side), white, and red





Geography
---------


Location: Western Europe, occupying five-sixths of the island of
  Ireland in the North Atlantic Ocean, west of Great Britain

Geographic coordinates: 53 00 N, 8 00 W

Map references: Europe

Area:
  total area: 70,280 sq km
  land area: 68,890 sq km
  comparative area: slightly larger than West Virginia

Land boundaries:
  total: 360 km
  border country: UK 360 km

Coastline: 1,448 km

Maritime claims:
  continental shelf: not specified
  exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: Northern Ireland question with the UK;
  Rockall continental shelf dispute involving Denmark, Iceland, and
  the UK (Ireland and the UK have signed a boundary agreement in the
  Rockall area)

Climate: temperate maritime; modified by North Atlantic Current;
  mild winters, cool summers; consistently humid; overcast about half
  the time

Terrain: mostly level to rolling interior plain surrounded by
  rugged hills and low mountains; sea cliffs on west coast
  lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
  highest point: Carrauntoohill 1,041 m

Natural resources: zinc, lead, natural gas, petroleum, barite,
  copper, gypsum, limestone, dolomite, peat, silver

Land use:
  arable land: 14%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 71%
  forest and woodland: 5%
  other: 10%

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Environment:
  current issues: water pollution, especially of lakes, from
  agricultural runoff
  natural hazards: NA
  international agreements: party to - Air Pollution, Air
  Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Climate Change, Environmental
  Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban,
  Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83, Wetlands, Whaling;
  signed, but not ratified - Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Biodiversity,
  Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Life
  Conservation

Geographic note: strategic location on major air and sea routes
  between North America and northern Europe; over 40% of the
  population resides within 60 miles of Dublin



People
------


Population: 3,566,833 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 23% (male 424,558; female 402,062)
  15-64 years: 65% (male 1,175,383; female 1,157,960)
  65 years and over: 12% (male 173,150; female 233,720) (July 1996
  est.)

Population growth rate: -0.22% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 13.22 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 8.93 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: -6.46 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.74 male(s)/female
  all ages: 0.99 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 6.4 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 75.58 years
  male: 72.88 years
  female: 78.46 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.83 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Irishman(men), Irishwoman(men), Irish (collective plural)
  adjective: Irish

Ethnic divisions: Celtic, English

Religions: Roman Catholic 93%, Anglican 3%, none 1%, unknown 2%,
  other 1% (1981)

Languages: Irish (Gaelic), spoken mainly in areas located along
  the western seaboard, English is the language generally used

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1981 est.)
  total population: 98%
  male: NA%
  female: NA%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: none
  conventional short form: Ireland

Data code: EI

Type of government: republic

Capital: Dublin

Administrative divisions: 26 counties; Carlow, Cavan, Clare, Cork,
  Donegal, Dublin, Galway, Kerry, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, Leitrim,
  Limerick, Longford, Louth, Mayo, Meath, Monaghan, Offaly, Roscommon,
  Sligo, Tipperary, Waterford, Westmeath, Wexford, Wicklow

Independence: 6 December 1921 (from UK)

National holiday: Saint Patrick's Day, 17 March

Constitution: 29 December 1937; adopted 1 July 1937 by plebiscite

Legal system: based on English common law, substantially modified
  by indigenous concepts; judicial review of legislative acts in
  Supreme Court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: President Mary Bourke ROBINSON (since 9 November
  1990) was elected for a seven-year term by popular vote; election
  last held 9 November 1990 (next to be held NA November 1997);
  results - Mary Bourke ROBINSON 52.8%, Brian LENIHAN 47.2%
  head of government: Prime Minister John BRUTON (since 15 December
  1994) was nominated by the House of Representatives and appointed by
  the president
  cabinet: Cabinet was appointed by president with previous nomination
  of the prime minister and approval of the House of Representatives

Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament (Oireachtas)
  Senate (Seanad Eireann): elections last held NA February 1992 (next
  to be held NA February 1997); results - percent of vote by party NA;
  seats - (60 total, 49 elected) Fianna Fail 26, Fine Gael 16, Labor
  9, Progressive Democrats 2, Democratic Left 1, independents 6
  House of Representatives (Dail Eireann): elections last held 25
  November 1992 (next to be held by NA November 1997); results -
  Fianna Fail 39.1%, Fine Gael 24.5%, Labor Party 19.3%, Progressive
  Democrats 4.7%, Democratic Left 2.8%, Sinn Fein 1.6%, Workers' Party
  0.7%, independents 5.9%; seats - (166 total) Fianna Fail 68, Fine
  Gael 45, Labor Party 33, Progressive Democrats 10, Democratic Left
  4, Greens 1, independents 5

Judicial branch: Supreme Court, judges appointed by the president
  on the advice of the government (prime minister and cabinet)

Political parties and leaders: Democratic Left, Proinsias DE
  ROSSA; Fianna Fail, Bertie AHERN; Labor Party, Richard SPRING; Fine
  Gael, John BRUTON; Communist Party of Ireland, Michael O'RIORDAN;
  Sinn Fein, Gerry ADAMS; Progressive Democrats, Mary HARNEY; The
  Workers' Party, Marion DONNELLY; Green Alliance, Bronwen MAHER
  note: Prime Minister BRUTON heads a three-party coalition consisting
  of the Fine Gael, the Labor Party, and the Democratic Left

International organization participation: Australia Group, BIS,
  CCC, CE, EBRD, ECE, EIB, ESA, EU, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM,
  IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC,
  ISO, ITU, MINURSO, MTCR, NEA, NSG, OECD, OSCE, UN, UNCRO, UNCTAD,
  UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNIKOM, UNMIH, UNPREDEP, UNPROFOR,
  UNTSO, UPU, WEU (observer), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO, ZC

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Dermot A. GALLAGHER
  chancery: 2234 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
  telephone: [1] (202) 462-3939
  consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, New York, and San Francisco

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Jean Kennedy SMITH
  embassy: 42 Elgin Road, Ballsbridge, Dublin
  mailing address: use embassy street address
  telephone: [353] (1) 6688777
  FAX: [353] (1) 6689946

Flag: three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and
  orange; similar to the flag of Cote d'Ivoire, which is shorter and
  has the colors reversed - orange (hoist side), white, and green;
  also similar to the flag of Italy, which is shorter and has colors
  of green (hoist side), white, and red



Economy
-------


Economic overview: The economy is small and trade dependent.
  Agriculture, once the most important sector, is now dwarfed by
  industry, which accounts for 38% of GDP, about 80% of exports, and
  employs 28% of the labor force. Although exports remain the primary
  engine for Ireland's robust growth, the economy is also benefiting
  from a rise in consumer spending and recovery in both construction
  and business investment. Ireland has substantially reduced its
  external debt since 1987, to 40% of GDP in 1994. Over the same
  period, inflation has fallen sharply and chronic trade deficits have
  been transformed into annual surpluses. Unemployment remains a
  serious problem, however, and job creation is the main focus of
  government policy. To ease unemployment, Dublin aggressively courts
  foreign investors and recently created a new industrial development
  agency to aid small indigenous firms. Government assistance is
  constrained by Dublin's continuing deficit reduction measures.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $54.6 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 7% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $15,400 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 6.8%
  industry: 35.3%
  services: 57.9% (1994)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.8% (1995 est.)

Labor force: 1.37 million
  by occupation: services 57.0%, manufacturing and construction 28%,
  agriculture, forestry, and fishing 13.5%, energy and mining 1.5%
  (1992)

Unemployment rate: 13.5% (1995 est.)

Budget:
  revenues: $19.3 billion
  expenditures: $20.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $3.6
  billion (1994)

Industries: food products, brewing, textiles, clothing, chemicals,
  pharmaceuticals, machinery, transportation equipment, glass and
  crystal

Industrial production growth rate: 8.9% (1995 est.)

Electricity:
  capacity: 3,930,000 kW
  production: 14.9 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 3,938 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: turnips, barley, potatoes, sugar beets, wheat; meat
  and dairy products

Illicit drugs: transshipment point for hashish from North Africa
  to the UK and Netherlands

Exports: $29.9 billion (f.o.b., 1994)
  commodities: chemicals, data processing equipment, industrial
  machinery, live animals, animal products
  partners: EU 73% (UK 27%, Germany 14%, France 9%), US 9%

Imports: $25.3 billion (c.i.f., 1994)
  commodities: food, animal feed, data processing equipment, petroleum
  and petroleum products, machinery, textiles, clothing
  partners: EU 58% (UK 36%, Germany 7%, France 4%), US 18%

External debt: $19.5 billion (1994 est.)

Economic aid:
  donor: ODA, $81 million (1993)

Currency: 1 Irish pound (LIr) = 100 pence

Exchange rates: Irish pounds (LIr) per US$1 - 0.6315 (January
  1996), 0.6235 (1995), 0.6676 (1994), 0.6816 (1993), 0.5864 (1992),
  0.6190 (1991)

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 1,944 km
  broad gauge: 1,944 km 1.600-m gauge (37 km electrified; 485 km
  double track) (1995)

Highways:
  total: 92,327 km
  paved: 86,787 km (including 32 km of expressways)
  unpaved: 5,540 km (1992 est.)

Waterways: limited for commercial traffic

Pipelines: natural gas 225 km

Ports: Arklow, Cork, Drogheda, Dublin, Foynes, Galway, Limerick,
  New Ross, Waterford

Merchant marine:
  total: 42 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 129,027 GRT/155,371 DWT
  ships by type: bulk 4, cargo 27, chemical tanker 1, container 3, oil
  tanker 2, short-sea passenger 3, specialized tanker 2 (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 40
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 1
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 1
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 3
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 3
  with paved runways under 914 m: 29
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 3 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 900,000 (1987 est.)

Telephone system: modern digital system using cable and microwave
  radio relay
  domestic: microwave radio relay
  international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 9, FM 45, shortwave 0

Radios: 2.2 million (1991 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 86 (1987 est.)

Televisions: 1.025 million (1990 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Army (includes Naval Service and Air Corps), National
  Police (Garda Siochana)

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 939,237
  males fit for military service: 761,048
  males reach military age (17) annually: 35,904 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $618 million,
  1.3% of GDP (1994)



======================================================================




@Israel
------


(also see separate Gaza Strip and West Bank entries)


Note: The territories occupied by Israel since the 1967 war are
  not included in the data below. In keeping with the framework
  established at the Madrid Conference in October 1991, bilateral
  negotiations are being conducted between Israel and Palestinian
  representatives, and Israel and Syria, to achieve a permanent
  settlement between them. On 25 April 1982, Israel withdrew from the
  Sinai pursuant to the 1979 Israel-Egypt Peace treaty. Outstanding
  territorial and other disputes with Jordan were resolved in the 26
  October 1994 Israel-Jordan Treaty of Peace.

Map
---


Location: 31 30 N, 34 45 E -- Middle East, bordering the
  Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Lebanon



Flag
----


Description: white with a blue hexagram (six-pointed linear star)
  known as the Magen David (Shield of David) centered between two
  equal horizontal blue bands near the top and bottom edges of the flag





Geography
---------


Location: Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between
  Egypt and Lebanon

Geographic coordinates: 31 30 N, 34 45 E

Map references: Middle East

Area:
  total area: 20,770 sq km
  land area: 20,330 sq km
  comparative area: slightly larger than New Jersey

Land boundaries:
  total: 1,006 km
  border countries: Egypt 255 km, Gaza Strip 51 km, Jordan 238 km,
  Lebanon 79 km, Syria 76 km, West Bank 307 km

Coastline: 273 km

Maritime claims:
  continental shelf: to depth of exploitation
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: West Bank and Gaza Strip are Israeli
  occupied with current status subject to the Israeli-Palestinian
  Interim Agreement - permanent status to be determined through
  further negotiation; Golan Heights is Israeli occupied; Israeli
  troops in southern Lebanon since June 1982

Climate: temperate; hot and dry in southern and eastern desert
  areas

Terrain: Negev desert in the south; low coastal plain; central
  mountains; Jordan Rift Valley
  lowest point: Dead Sea -408 m
  highest point: Har Meron 1,208 m

Natural resources: copper, phosphates, bromide, potash, clay,
  sand, sulfur, asphalt, manganese, small amounts of natural gas and
  crude oil

Land use:
  arable land: 17%
  permanent crops: 5%
  meadows and pastures: 40%
  forest and woodland: 6%
  other: 32%

Irrigated land: 2,140 sq km (1989)

Environment:
  current issues: limited arable land and natural fresh water
  resources pose serious constraints; desertification; air pollution
  from industrial and vehicle emissions; groundwater pollution from
  industrial and domestic waste, chemical fertilizers, and pesticides
  natural hazards: sandstorms may occur during spring and summer
  international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Endangered
  Species, Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection,
  Ship Pollution; signed, but not ratified - Climate Change,
  Desertification, Marine Life Conservation

Geographic note: there are 202 Israeli settlements and civilian
  land use sites in the West Bank, 42 in the Israeli-occupied Golan
  Heights, 24 in the Gaza Strip, and 26 in East Jerusalem (August 1995
  est.)



People
------


Population: 5,421,995 (July 1996 est.)
  note: includes 127,600 Israeli settlers in the West Bank, 14,800 in
  the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, 5,000 in the Gaza Strip, and
  153,700 in East Jerusalem (August 1995 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 29% (male 793,712; female 756,735)
  15-64 years: 62% (male 1,670,082; female 1,669,481)
  65 years and over: 9% (male 230,082; female 301,903) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.11% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 20.31 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 6.26 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 7.03 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.76 male(s)/female
  all ages: 0.99 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 8.5 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 78.01 years
  male: 76.16 years
  female: 79.96 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.77 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Israeli(s)
  adjective: Israeli

Ethnic divisions: Jewish 82% (Israel-born 50%,
  Europe/Americas/Oceania-born 20%, Africa-born 7%, Asia-born 5%),
  non-Jewish 18% (mostly Arab) (1993 est.)

Religions: Judaism 82%, Islam 14% (mostly Sunni Muslim), Christian
  2%, Druze and other 2%

Languages: Hebrew (official), Arabic used officially for Arab
  minority, English most commonly used foreign language

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1992 est.)
  total population: 95%
  male: 97%
  female: 93%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: State of Israel
  conventional short form: Israel
  local long form: Medinat Yisra'el
  local short form: Yisra'el

Data code: IS

Type of government: republic

Capital: Jerusalem
  note: Israel proclaimed Jerusalem as its capital in 1950, but the
  US, like nearly all other countries, maintains its Embassy in Tel
  Aviv

Administrative divisions: 6 districts (mehozot, singular - mehoz);
  Central, Haifa, Jerusalem, Northern, Southern, Tel Aviv

Independence: 14 May 1948 (from League of Nations mandate under
  British administration)

National holiday: Independence Day, 14 May 1948 (Israel declared
  independence on 14 May 1948, but the Jewish calendar is lunar and
  the holiday may occur in April or May)

Constitution: no formal constitution; some of the functions of a
  constitution are filled by the Declaration of Establishment (1948),
  the basic laws of the parliament (Knesset), and the Israeli
  citizenship law

Legal system: mixture of English common law, British Mandate
  regulations, and, in personal matters, Jewish, Christian, and Muslim
  legal systems; in December 1985, Israel informed the UN Secretariat
  that it would no longer accept compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: President Ezer WEIZMAN (since 13 May 1993) was
  elected for a five-year term by the Knesset; election last held 24
  March 1993 (next to be held NA March 1998); results - Ezer WEIZMAN
  elected by Knesset
  head of government: Prime Minister Shimon PERES (since 15 November
  1995) was appointed by the president following the assassination of
  Prime Minister Yitzhak RABIN
  cabinet: Cabinet was selected from and approved by the Knesset

Legislative branch: unicameral
  parliament (Knesset): elections last held NA June 1992 (next to be
  held 29 May 1996); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats -
  (120 total) Labor 44, Likud 32, MERETZ 12, Tzomet 8, National
  Religious Party 6, SHAS 6, United Torah Jewry 4, Democratic Front
  for Peace and Equality (Hadash) 3, Moledet 3, Arab Democratic Party
  2; note - the distribution of seats as of January 1996 is as follows
  - Labor Party 45, Likud bloc 33, MERETZ 12, National Religious Party
  6, SHAS 6, Tzomet 5, United Torah Jewry 4, Democratic Front for
  Peace and Equality (Hadash) 3, Moledet 2, Arab Democratic Party 2,
  Yi'ud 1 (in coalition), Right of Israel 1

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

Political parties and leaders:
  members of the government: Labor Party, Prime Minister Shimon PERES;
  MERETZ, Minister of Environment Yossi SARID; Yi'ud, Gonen SEGEV
  not in coalition but voting with the government: Democratic Front
  for Peace and Equality (Hadash), Hashim MAHAMID; Arab Democratic
  Party, Abd al Wahab DARAWSHAH
  opposition parties: Likud Party, Binyamin NETANYAHU; Tzomet, Rafael
  EITAN; National Religious Party, Zevulun HAMMER; United Torah Jewry,
  Avraham SHAPIRA; Moledet, Rehavam ZEEVI; Peace Guard (independent),
  Shaul GUTMAN; SHAS, Arieh DERI; Right of Israel, leader NA
  note: Israel currently has a coalition government comprising three
  parties that hold 58 seats of the Knesset's 120 seats

Other political or pressure groups: Gush Emunim, Israeli
  nationalists advocating Jewish settlement on the West Bank and Gaza
  Strip; Peace Now supports territorial concessions in the West Bank
  and is critical of government's Lebanon policy

International organization participation: AG (observer), BSEC
  (observer), CCC, CE (observer), CERN (observer), EBRD, ECE, FAO,
  IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO,
  Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, OAS (observer), OSCE
  (partner), PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO,
  WMO, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Itamar RABINOVICH
  chancery: 3514 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008
  telephone: [1] (202) 364-5500
  FAX: [1] (202) 364-5610
  consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los
  Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, and San Francisco

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Martin S. INDYK
  embassy: 71 Hayarkon Street, Tel Aviv
  mailing address: PSC 98, Box 100, APO AE 09830
  telephone: [972] (3) 519-7575
  FAX: [972] (3) 517-3227
  consulate(s) general: Jerusalem

Flag: white with a blue hexagram (six-pointed linear star) known
  as the Magen David (Shield of David) centered between two equal
  horizontal blue bands near the top and bottom edges of the flag



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Israel has a market economy with substantial
  government participation. It depends on imports of crude oil,
  grains, raw materials, and military equipment. Despite limited
  natural resources, Israel has intensively developed its agricultural
  and industrial sectors over the past 20 years. Industry employs
  about 22% of Israeli workers, agriculture, forestry, and fishing
  3.5%, and services the rest. Israel is largely self-sufficient in
  food production except for grains. Diamonds, high-technology
  equipment, and agricultural products (fruits and vegetables) are
  leading exports. Israel usually posts current account deficits,
  which are covered by large transfer payments from abroad and by
  foreign loans. Roughly half of the government's external debt is
  owed to the US, which is its major source of economic and military
  aid. To earn needed foreign exchange, Israel has been targeting
  high-technology niches in international markets, such as medical
  scanning equipment. The influx of Jewish immigrants from the former
  USSR, which topped 525,000 during the period 1990-95, increased
  unemployment, intensified housing problems, and strained the
  government budget. At the same time, the immigrants bring to the
  economy valuable scientific and professional expertise.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $80.1 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 7.1% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $15,500 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 3.5%
  industry: 22%
  services: 74.5%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 10.1% (1995)

Labor force: 1.9 million (1992)
  by occupation: public services 29.3%, industry 22.1%, commerce
  13.9%, finance and business 10.4%, personal and other services 7.4%,
  construction 6.5%, transport, storage, and communications 6.3%,
  agriculture, forestry, and fishing 3.5%, other 0.6% (1992)

Unemployment rate: 6.3% (1995 est.)

Budget:
  revenues: $41 billion
  expenditures: $53 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA
  (1996)

Industries: food processing, diamond cutting and polishing,
  textiles and apparel, chemicals, metal products, military equipment,
  transport equipment, electrical equipment, potash mining,
  high-technology electronics, tourism

Industrial production growth rate: 10.3% (1995 est.)

Electricity:
  capacity: 4,140,000 kW
  production: 23 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 4,290 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: citrus and other fruits, vegetables, cotton; beef,
  poultry, dairy products

Illicit drugs: increasingly concerned about cocaine and heroin
  abuse and trafficking

Exports: $28.4 billion (f.o.b., 1995 est.)
  commodities: machinery and equipment, cut diamonds, chemicals,
  textiles and apparel, agricultural products, metals
  partners: US, EU, Japan

Imports: $40.1 billion (c.i.f., 1995 est.)
  commodities: military equipment, investment goods, rough diamonds,
  oil, other productive inputs, consumer goods
  partners: EU, US, Japan

External debt: $18.5 billion (1995 est.)

Economic aid:
  recipient: total receipts $12.14 billion of which $11.38 billion
  from the US (1990-93)

Currency: 1 new Israeli shekel (NIS) = 100 new agorot

Exchange rates: new Israeli shekels (NIS) per US$1 - 3.1295
  (January 1996), 3.0113 (1995), 3.0111 (1994), 2.8301 (1993), 2.4591
  (1992), 2.2791 (1991)

Fiscal year: calendar year (since 1 January 1992)



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 526 km
  standard gauge: 526 km 1.435-m gauge

Highways:
  total: 13,461 km
  paved: 13,461 km (including 56 km of expressways)
  unpaved: 0 km (1992 est.)

Pipelines: crude oil 708 km; petroleum products 290 km; natural
  gas 89 km

Ports: Ashdod, Ashqelon, Elat, Hadera, Haifa, Tel Aviv-Yafo

Merchant marine:
  total: 28 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 577,747 GRT/701,459 DWT
  ships by type: cargo 5, container 20, refrigerated cargo 2,
  roll-on/roll-off cargo 1 (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 50
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 2
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 6
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 7
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 8
  with paved runways under 914 m: 22
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 2
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 3 (1995 est.)

Heliports: 2 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 2.425 million (1990 est.)

Telephone system: most highly developed system in the Middle East
  although not the largest
  domestic: good system of coaxial cable and microwave radio relay
  international: 3 submarine cables; satellite earth stations - 3
  Intelsat (2 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 9, FM 45, shortwave 0

Radios: 2.25 million (1993 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 20

Televisions: 1.5 million (1993 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Israel Defense Forces (includes ground, naval, and air
  components), Pioneer Fighting Youth (Nahal), Frontier Guard, Chen
  (women); note - historically there have been no separate Israeli
  military services

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 1,390,603
  females age 15-49: 1,363,986
  males fit for military service: 1,139,137
  females fit for military service: 1,112,947
  males reach military age (18) annually: 50,508
  females reach military age (18) annually: 48,176 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $9.2 billion,
  about 9.8% of GDP (1996)



======================================================================




@Italy
-----




Map
---


Location: 42 50 N, 12 50 E -- Southern Europe, a peninsula
  extending into the central Mediterranean Sea, northeast of Tunisia



Flag
----


Description: three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side),
  white, and red; similar to the flag of Ireland, which is longer and
  is green (hoist side), white, and orange; also similar to the flag
  of the Cote d'Ivoire, which has the colors reversed - orange (hoist
  side), white, and green





Geography
---------


Location: Southern Europe, a peninsula extending into the central
  Mediterranean Sea, northeast of Tunisia

Geographic coordinates: 42 50 N, 12 50 E

Map references: Europe

Area:
  total area: 301,230 sq km
  land area: 294,020 sq km
  comparative area: slightly larger than Arizona
  note: includes Sardinia and Sicily

Land boundaries:
  total: 1,935.2 km
  border countries: Austria 430 km, France 488 km, Holy See (Vatican
  City) 3.2 km, San Marino 39 km, Slovenia 235 km, Switzerland 740 km

Coastline: 7,600 km

Maritime claims:
  continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: Italy is negotiating with Slovenia over
  property and minority rights issues dating from World War II

Climate: predominantly Mediterranean; Alpine in far north; hot,
  dry in south

Terrain: mostly rugged and mountainous; some plains, coastal
  lowlands
  lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m
  highest point: Mont Blanc 4,807 m

Natural resources: mercury, potash, marble, sulfur, dwindling
  natural gas and crude oil reserves, fish, coal

Land use:
  arable land: 32%
  permanent crops: 10%
  meadows and pastures: 17%
  forest and woodland: 22%
  other: 19%

Irrigated land: 31,000 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
  current issues: air pollution from industrial emissions such as
  sulfur dioxide; coastal and inland rivers polluted from industrial
  and agricultural effluents; acid rain damaging lakes; inadequate
  industrial waste treatment and disposal facilities
  natural hazards: regional risks include landslides, mudflows,
  avalanches, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, flooding; land
  subsidence in Venice
  international agreements: party to - Air Pollution, Air
  Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air
  Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental
  Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered
  Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the
  Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship
  Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Wetlands, Whaling; signed, but not
  ratified - Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Desertification

Geographic note: strategic location dominating central
  Mediterranean as well as southern sea and air approaches to Western
  Europe



People
------


Population: 57,460,274 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 15% (male 4,419,636; female 4,167,860)
  15-64 years: 68% (male 19,656,546; female 19,629,291)
  65 years and over: 17% (male 3,902,426; female 5,684,515) (July 1996
  est.)

Population growth rate: 0.13% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 9.87 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 9.82 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 1.25 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.69 male(s)/female
  all ages: 0.95 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 6.9 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 78.06 years
  male: 74.85 years
  female: 81.48 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.27 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Italian(s)
  adjective: Italian

Ethnic divisions: Italian (includes small clusters of German-,
  French-, and Slovene-Italians in the north and Albanian-Italians and
  Greek-Italians in the south), Sicilians, Sardinians

Religions: Roman Catholic 98%, other 2%

Languages: Italian, German (parts of Trentino-Alto Adige region
  are predominantly German speaking), French (small French-speaking
  minority in Valle d'Aosta region), Slovene (Slovene-speaking
  minority in the Trieste-Gorizia area)

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
  total population: 97%
  male: 98%
  female: 96%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Italian Republic
  conventional short form: Italy
  local long form: Repubblica Italiana
  local short form: Italia
  former: Kingdom of Italy

Data code: IT

Type of government: republic

Capital: Rome

Administrative divisions: 20 regions (regioni, singular -
  regione); Abruzzi, Basilicata, Calabria, Campania, Emilia-Romagna,
  Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Lazio, Liguria, Lombardia, Marche, Molise,
  Piemonte, Puglia, Sardegna, Sicilia, Toscana, Trentino-Alto Adige,
  Umbria, Valle d'Aosta, Veneto

Independence: 17 March 1861 (Kingdom of Italy proclaimed)

National holiday: Anniversary of the Republic, 2 June (1946)

Constitution: 1 January 1948

Legal system: based on civil law system, with ecclesiastical law
  influence; appeals treated as trials de novo; judicial review under
  certain conditions in Constitutional Court; has not accepted
  compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal (except in senatorial
  elections, where minimum age is 25)

Executive branch:
  chief of state: President Oscar Luigi SCALFARO (since 28 May 1992)
  was elected for a seven-year term by an electoral college consisting
  of both houses of Parliament and 58 regional representatives
  head of government: Prime Minister (referred to in Italy as the
  President of the Council of Ministers) Romano PRODI (since 18 May
  1996) was appointed by the president
  cabinet: Council of Ministers was nominated by the President of the
  Council (i.e., Prime Minister) and approved by the President of the
  Republic

Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament (Parlamento)
  Senate (Senato della Repubblica): elections last held 22 April 1996
  (next to be held by NA); results - percent of vote by party NA;
  seats - (326 total, 315 elected, 11 appointed senators-for-life)
  Olive Tree 157, Freedom Alliance 116, Northern League 27, Refounded
  Communists 10, regional lists 3, Social Movement-Tricolor Flames 1,
  Panella Reformers 1
  Chamber of Deputies (Camera dei Deputati): elections last held 22
  April 1996 (next to be held NA); results - percent of vote by party
  NA; seats - (630 total) Olive Tree 284, Freedom Alliance 246,
  Northern League 59, Refounded Communists 35, Southern Tyrol List 3,
  Autonomous List 2, other 1

Judicial branch: Constitutional Court (Corte Costituzionale),
  composed of 15 judges (one-third appointed by the president,
  one-third elected by Parliament, one-third elected by the ordinary
  and administrative supreme courts)

Political parties and leaders:
  Olive Tree: Democratic Party of the Left (PDS), Massimo D'ALEMA;
  Greens, Carlo RIPA DI MEANA; Italian Renewal, Lamberto DINI;
  Southern Tyrols List (German speakers)
  Freedom Alliance: Forza Italia (FI), Silvio BERLUSCONI; National
  Alliance (AN), Gianfranco FINI; Christian Democratic Center (CCD),
  Pier Ferdinando CASINI; Democratic Union Party, Antonio MACCANICO
  other: Northern League (NL), Umberto BOSSI; Italian Social Movement,
  Pino RAUTI; Communist Refoundation (RC), Fausto BERTINOTTI; Italian
  Socialists, Enrico BOSELLI; Rete (The Network), Leoluca ORLANDO;
  Christian Socialists, Luciano GUERZONI; Democratic Pact for Italy,
  Mario SEGNI; Italian Popular Party (PPI), Gerardo BIANCO; Pannella's
  Reformers, Marco PANNELLA; Christian Democratic Union (United
  Christian Democrats - CDU), Rocco BUTTIGLIONE; Democratic Alliance,
  Willer BORDON; Union for the New Republic, Raffaele COSTA; Unitary
  Communists, Famiano CRUCIANELLI; Autonomous List (a group of minor
  parties); Social Movement-Tricolor Flames

Other political or pressure groups: the Roman Catholic Church;
  three major trade union confederations (Confederazione Generale
  Italiana del Lavoro or CGIL which is PDS-dominated, Confederazione
  Italiana dei Sindacati Lavoratori or CISL which is centrist, and
  Unione Italiana del Lavoro or UIL which is center-left); Italian
  manufacturers and merchants associations (Confindustria,
  Confcommercio); organized farm groups (Confcoltivatori,
  Confagricoltura)

International organization participation: AfDB, AG (observer),
  AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, CCC, CDB (non-regional), CE, CEI, CERN,
  EBRD, ECE, ECLAC, EIB, ESA, EU, FAO, G- 7, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD,
  ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO,
  Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAIA (observer),
  MINURSO, MTCR, NACC, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer),
  OECD, OSCE, PCA, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD,
  UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNIKOM, UNITAR, UNMOGIP, UNTSO, UPU,
  WCL, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Ferdinando SALLEO
  chancery: 1601 Fuller Street NW, Washington, DC 20009
  telephone: [1] (202) 328-5500
  FAX: [1] (202) 483-2187
  consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, Houston, Miami, New York, Los
  Angeles, Philadelphia, San Francisco
  consulate(s): Detroit and New Orleans

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Reginald BARTHOLOMEW
  embassy: Via Veneto 119/A, 00187-Rome
  mailing address: PSC 59, Box 100, Rome; APO AE 09624
  telephone: [39] (6) 46741
  FAX: [39] (6) 488-2672
  consulate(s) general: Florence, Milan, Naples

Flag: three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and
  red; similar to the flag of Ireland, which is longer and is green
  (hoist side), white, and orange; also similar to the flag of the
  Cote d'Ivoire, which has the colors reversed - orange (hoist side),
  white, and green



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Since World War II, the Italian economy has
  changed from one based on agriculture into a ranking industrial
  economy, with approximately the same total and per capita output as
  France and the UK. The country is still divided into a developed
  industrial north, dominated by private companies, and an undeveloped
  agricultural south, dominated by large public enterprises. Most raw
  materials needed by industry and over 75% of energy requirements
  must be imported. In the second half of 1992, Rome became unsettled
  by the prospect of not qualifying to participate in EU plans for
  economic and monetary union later in the decade; thus, it finally
  began to address its huge fiscal imbalances. Subsequently, the
  government has adopted fairly stringent budgets, abandoned its
  inflationary wage indexation system, and started to scale back its
  generous social welfare programs, including pension and health care
  benefits. Monetary officials were forced to withdraw the lira from
  the European monetary system in September 1992, when it came under
  extreme pressure in currency markets. For the 1990s, Italy faces the
  problems of pushing ahead with fiscal reform, refurbishing a
  tottering communications system, curbing pollution in major
  industrial centers, and adjusting to the new competitive forces
  accompanying the ongoing expansion and economic integration of the
  EU.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $1.0886 trillion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 3.2% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $18,700 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 2.9%
  industry: 31.6%
  services: 65.5% (1994)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 5.4% (1995)

Labor force: 23.988 million
  by occupation: services 58%, industry 32.2%, agriculture 9.8% (1988)

Unemployment rate: 12.2% (January 1995)

Budget:
  revenues: $339 billion
  expenditures: $431 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA
  (1994 est.)

Industries: tourism, machinery, iron and steel, chemicals, food
  processing, textiles, motor vehicles, clothing, footwear, ceramics

Industrial production growth rate: 5.5% (1995 est.)

Electricity:
  capacity: 61,630,000 kW
  production: 209 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 4,033 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: fruits, vegetables, grapes, potatoes, sugar beets,
  soybeans, grain, olives; meat and dairy products; fish catch of
  525,000 metric tons in 1990

Illicit drugs: important gateway country for Latin American
  cocaine and Southwest Asian heroin entering the European market

Exports: $190.8 billion (f.o.b., 1994)
  commodities: metals, textiles and clothing, production machinery,
  motor vehicles, transportation equipment, chemicals
  partners: EU 53.4%, US 7.8%, OPEC 3.8% (1994)

Imports: $168.7 billion (c.i.f., 1994)
  commodities: industrial machinery, chemicals, transport equipment,
  petroleum, metals, food, agricultural products
  partners: EU 56.3%, OPEC 5.3%, US 4.6% (1994)

External debt: $67 billion (1993 est.)

Economic aid:
  donor: ODA, $3.043 billion (1993)

Currency: 1 Italian lira (Lit) = 100 centesimi

Exchange rates: Italian lire (Lit) per US$1 - 1,583.8 (January
  1996), 1,629.6 (1995), 1,612.4 (1994), 1,573.7 (1993), 1,232.4
  (1992), 1,240.6 (1991)

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 18,961 km
  standard gauge: 17,981 km 1.435-m gauge; Italian Railways (FS)
  operates 16,118 km of the total standard gauge routes (10,560 km
  electrified)
  narrow gauge: 113 km 1.000-m gauge (113 km electrified); 867 km
  0.950-m gauge (144 km electrified)

Highways:
  total: 305,388 km (including 45,076 km major roads, 112,111 km
  secondary roads, 6,301 km motorways)
  paved: 271,674 km
  unpaved: 33,714 km (1991 est.)

Waterways: 2,400 km for various types of commercial traffic,
  although of limited overall value

Pipelines: crude oil 1,703 km; petroleum products 2,148 km;
  natural gas 19,400 km

Ports: Ancona, Augusta, Bari, Cagliari (Sardinia), Catania, Gaeta,
  Genoa, La Spezia, Livorno, Naples, Oristano (Sardinia), Palermo
  (Sicily), Piombino, Porto Torres (Sardinia), Ravenna, Savona,
  Trieste, Venice

Merchant marine:
  total: 419 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 5,480,320
  GRT/7,919,064 DWT
  ships by type: bulk 35, cargo 57, chemical tanker 39, combination
  bulk 1, combination ore/oil 3, container 16, liquefied gas tanker
  37, multifunction large-load carrier 1, oil tanker 123, passenger 5,
  roll-on/roll-off cargo 53, short-sea passenger 31, specialized
  tanker 11, vehicle carrier 7 (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 132
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 5
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 34
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 15
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 24
  with paved runways under 914 m: 32
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 2
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 20 (1995 est.)

Heliports: 2 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 25.6 million (1987 est.)

Telephone system: modern, well-developed, fast; fully automated
  telephone, telex, and data services
  domestic: high-capacity cable and microwave radio relay trunks
  international: satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (with a total
  of 5 antennas - 3 for Atlantic Ocean and 2 for Indian Ocean), 1
  Inmarsat (Atlantic Ocean Region), and NA Eutelsat; 21 submarine
  cables

Radio broadcast stations: AM 135, FM 28 (repeaters 1,840),
  shortwave 0

Radios: 45.7 million (1992 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 83 (repeaters 1,000)

Televisions: 24.35 million (1992 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Carabinieri

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 14,739,097
  males fit for military service: 12,769,628
  males reach military age (18) annually: 358,884 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $20.4 billion,
  1.9% of GDP (1995)



======================================================================




@Jamaica
-------




Map
---


Location: 18 15 N, 77 30 W -- Caribbean, island in the Caribbean
  Sea, south of Cuba



Flag
----


Description: diagonal yellow cross divides the flag into four
  triangles - green (top and bottom) and black (hoist side and outer
  side)





Geography
---------


Location: Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, south of Cuba

Geographic coordinates: 18 15 N, 77 30 W

Map references: Central America and the Caribbean

Area:
  total area: 10,990 sq km
  land area: 10,830 sq km
  comparative area: slightly smaller than Connecticut

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 1,022 km

Maritime claims:
  continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: none

Climate: tropical; hot, humid; temperate interior

Terrain: mostly mountains with narrow, discontinuous coastal plain
  lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
  highest point: Blue Mountain Peak 2,256 m

Natural resources: bauxite, gypsum, limestone

Land use:
  arable land: 19%
  permanent crops: 6%
  meadows and pastures: 18%
  forest and woodland: 28%
  other: 29%

Irrigated land: 350 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
  current issues: deforestation; coastal waters polluted by industrial
  waste, sewage, and oil spills; damage to coral reefs; air pollution
  in Kingston results from vehicle emissions
  natural hazards: hurricanes (especially July to November)
  international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
  Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear
  Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Whaling

Geographic note: strategic location between Cayman Trench and
  Jamaica Channel, the main sea lanes for Panama Canal



People
------


Population: 2,595,275 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 32% (male 430,609; female 411,966)
  15-64 years: 61% (male 781,626; female 795,808)
  65 years and over: 7% (male 77,725; female 97,541) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 0.8% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 22.19 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 5.57 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: -8.58 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.8 male(s)/female
  all ages: 0.99 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 15.6 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 74.88 years
  male: 72.6 years
  female: 77.29 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.45 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Jamaican(s)
  adjective: Jamaican

Ethnic divisions: African 76.3%, Afro-European 15.1%, East Indian
  and Afro-East Indian 3%, white 3.2%, Chinese and Afro-Chinese 1.2%,
  other 1.2%

Religions: Protestant 55.9% (Church of God 18.4%, Baptist 10%,
  Anglican 7.1%, Seventh-Day Adventist 6.9%, Pentecostal 5.2%,
  Methodist 3.1%, United Church 2.7%, other 2.5%), Roman Catholic 5%,
  other, including some spiritual cults 39.1% (1982)

Languages: English, Creole

Literacy: age 15 and over has ever attended school (1995 est.)
  total population: 85%
  male: 80.8%
  female: 89.1%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: none
  conventional short form: Jamaica

Data code: JM

Type of government: parliamentary democracy

Capital: Kingston

Administrative divisions: 14 parishes; Clarendon, Hanover,
  Kingston, Manchester, Portland, Saint Andrew, Saint Ann, Saint
  Catherine, Saint Elizabeth, Saint James, Saint Mary, Saint Thomas,
  Trelawny, Westmoreland

Independence: 6 August 1962 (from UK)

National holiday: Independence Day (first Monday in August) (1962)

Constitution: 6 August 1962

Legal system: based on English common law; has not accepted
  compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), a
  hereditary monarch, is represented by Governor General Sir Howard
  COOKE (since 1 August 1991) who was appointed by the queen on
  recommendation of the prime minister
  head of government: Prime Minister Percival James PATTERSON (since
  30 March 1992) and the Deputy Prime Minister Seymour MULLINGS (since
  NA 1993) were appointed by the governor general
  cabinet: Cabinet was appointed by the governor general on the advice
  of the prime minister

Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament
  Senate: consists of a 21-member body appointed by the governor
  general
  House of Representatives: elections last held 30 March 1993 (next to
  be held by March 1998); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats
  - (60 total) PNP 52, JLP 8

Judicial branch: Supreme Court, judges appointed by the governor
  general on advice of the prime minister

Political parties and leaders: People's National Party (PNP), P.
  J. PATTERSON; Jamaica Labor Party (JLP), Edward SEAGA; National
  Democratic Movement (NDM), Bruce GOLDING

Other political or pressure groups: Rastafarians (black
  religious/racial cultists, pan-Africanists); New Beginnings Movement
  (NBM)

International organization participation: ACP, C, Caricom, CCC,
  CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-15, G-19, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU,
  ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO,
  ITU, LAES, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNITAR,
  UNMIH, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Richard Leighton BERNAL
  chancery: 1520 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036
  telephone: [1] (202) 452-0660
  FAX: [1] (202) 452-0081
  consulate(s) general: Miami and New York

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador J. Gary COOPER
  embassy: Jamaica Mutual Life Center, 2 Oxford Road, 3rd floor,
  Kingston
  mailing address: use embassy street address
  telephone: [1] (809) 929-4850 through 4859
  FAX: [1] (809) 926-6743

Flag: diagonal yellow cross divides the flag into four triangles -
  green (top and bottom) and black (hoist side and outer side)



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Key sectors in this island economy are bauxite
  (alumina and bauxite account for more than half of exports) and
  tourism. Since assuming office in 1992, Prime Minister PATTERSON has
  consolidated the market-oriented reforms initiated by his
  predecessor, Michael MANLEY, to make Jamaica a regional leader in
  economic reform. PATTERSON has eliminated most price controls,
  streamlined tax schedules, and privatized government enterprises.
  Tight monetary and fiscal policies under an IMF program have helped
  slow inflation and stabilize the exchange rate, but, as a result,
  economic growth has slowed down and unemployment remains high.
  Jamaica's medium-term prospects depend largely on its ability to
  continue to attract foreign capital and limit speculation against
  the Jamaican dollar.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $8.2 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 0.8% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $3,200 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 7.9%
  industry: 28.1%
  services: 64% (1993 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 25.5% (1995)

Labor force: 1,062,100
  by occupation: services 41%, agriculture 22.5%, industry 19%,
  unemployed 17.5% (1989)

Unemployment rate: 15.4% (1994 est.)

Budget:
  revenues: $1.45 billion
  expenditures: $2 billion, including capital expenditures of $732
  million (FY95/96 est.)

Industries: bauxite, tourism, textiles, food processing, light
  manufactures

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity:
  capacity: 730,000 kW
  production: 2.6 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 988 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: sugarcane, bananas, coffee, citrus, potatoes,
  vegetables; poultry, goats, milk

Illicit drugs: transshipment point for cocaine from Central and
  South America to North America and Europe; illicit cultivation of
  cannabis; government has an active cannabis eradication program

Exports: $2 billion (f.o.b., 1995 est.)
  commodities: alumina, bauxite, sugar, bananas, rum
  partners: US 47%, UK 11%, Canada 9%, Norway 7%, France 4% (1993)

Imports: $2.7 billion (f.o.b., 1995 est.)
  commodities: machinery and transport equipment, construction
  materials, fuel, food, chemicals
  partners: US 54%, Japan 4.0%, Mexico 6%, UK 4%, Venezuela 3% (1993)

External debt: $3.6 billion (1994 est.)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $239 million (1993)

Currency: 1 Jamaican dollar (J$) = 100 cents

Exchange rates: Jamaican dollars (J$) per US$1 - 39.86 (December
  1995), 33.086 (1994), 24.949 (1993), 22.960 (1992), 12.116 (1991)

Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 272 km
  standard gauge: 272 km 1.435-m gauge; note - 207 km belonging to the
  Jamaica Railway Corporation which were in common carrier service are
  no longer operational; the remaining track is privately owned and
  used to transport bauxite

Highways:
  total: 18,094 km
  paved: 12,528 km
  unpaved: 5,566 km (1988 est.)

Pipelines: petroleum products 10 km

Ports: Alligator Pond, Discovery Bay, Kingston, Montego Bay, Ocho
  Rios, Port Antonio, Longs Wharf, Rocky Point

Merchant marine:
  total: 2 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 3,435 GRT/6,105 DWT
  ships by type: oil tanker 1, roll-on/roll-off cargo 1 (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 27
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 2
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 3
  with paved runways under 914 m: 21
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 1 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 212,257 (1991 est.)

Telephone system: fully automatic domestic telephone network
  domestic: NA
  international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic
  Ocean); 3 coaxial submarine cables

Radio broadcast stations: AM 10, FM 17, shortwave 0

Radios: 1.04 million (1992 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 8

Televisions: 330,000 (1992 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Jamaica Defense Force (includes Ground Forces, Coast
  Guard and Air Wing), Jamaica Constabulary Force

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 680,965
  males fit for military service: 481,616
  males reach military age (18) annually: 25,810 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $30 million, NA%
  of GDP (FY95/96)



======================================================================




@Jan Mayen
---------


(territory of Norway)

Map
---


Location: 71 00 N, 8 00 W -- Northern Europe, island between the
  Greenland Sea and the Norwegian Sea, northeast of Iceland



Flag
----


Description: the flag of Norway is used





Geography
---------


Location: Northern Europe, island between the Greenland Sea and
  the Norwegian Sea, northeast of Iceland

Geographic coordinates: 71 00 N, 8 00 W

Map references: Arctic Region

Area:
  total area: 373 sq km
  land area: 373 sq km
  comparative area: slightly more than twice the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 124.1 km

Maritime claims:
  contiguous zone: 10 nm
  continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 4 nm

International disputes: none

Climate: arctic maritime with frequent storms and persistent fog

Terrain: volcanic island, partly covered by glaciers
  lowest point: Norwegian Sea 0 m
  highest point: Haakon VII Toppen (Beerenberg) 2,277 m

Natural resources: none

Land use:
  arable land: 0%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 0%
  forest and woodland: 0%
  other: 100%

Irrigated land: 0 sq km

Environment:
  current issues: NA
  natural hazards: dominated by the volcano Beerenberg; volcanic
  activity resumed in 1970
  international agreements: NA

Geographic note: barren volcanic island with some moss and grass



People
------


Population: no permanent inhabitants; note - there are personnel
  who man the Long Range Navigation (LORAN) C base and the weather and
  coastal services radio station



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: none
  conventional short form: Jan Mayen

Data code: JN

Type of government: territory of Norway

Capital: none

Independence: none (territory of Norway)

Executive branch: administered from Oslo, Norway, through a
  governor (sysselmann) resident in Longyearbyen (Svalbard); however,
  authority has been delegated to a station commander of the Norwegian
  Defense Communication Service

Flag: the flag of Norway is used



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Jan Mayen is a volcanic island with no
  exploitable natural resources. Economic activity is limited to
  providing services for employees of Norway's radio and
  meteorological stations located on the island.

Electricity:
  capacity: 15,000 kW
  production: 40 million kWh
  consumption per capita: NA kWh (1992)



Transportation
--------------


Highways:
  total: NA km
  paved: NA km
  unpaved: NA km

Ports: none; offshore anchorage only

Airports:
  total: 1
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 1 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephone system:
  domestic: NA
  international: NA

Radio broadcast stations: AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA
  note: radio and meteorological station

Radios: NA

Television broadcast stations: NA

Televisions: NA



Defense
-------


Defense note: defense is the responsibility of Norway



======================================================================




@Japan
-----




Map
---


Location: 36 00 N, 138 00 E -- Eastern Asia, island chain between
  the North Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Japan, east of the Korean
  Peninsula



Flag
----


Description: white with a large red disk (representing the sun
  without rays) in the center





Geography
---------


Location: Eastern Asia, island chain between the North Pacific
  Ocean and the Sea of Japan, east of the Korean Peninsula

Geographic coordinates: 36 00 N, 138 00 E

Map references: Asia

Area:
  total area: 377,835 sq km
  land area: 374,744 sq km
  comparative area: slightly smaller than California
  note: includes Bonin Islands (Ogasawara-gunto), Daito-shoto,
  Minami-jima, Okinotori-shima, Ryukyu Islands (Nansei-shoto), and
  Volcano Islands (Kazan-retto)

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 29,751 km

Maritime claims:
  exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm; 3 nm in the international straits - La
  Perouse or Soya, Tsugaru, Osumi, and Eastern and Western Channels of
  the Korea or Tsushima Strait

International disputes: islands of Etorofu, Kunashiri, Shikotan,
  and the Habomai group occupied by the Soviet Union in 1945, now
  administered by Russia, claimed by Japan; Liancourt Rocks disputed
  with South Korea; Senkaku-shoto (Senkaku Islands) claimed by China
  and Taiwan

Climate: varies from tropical in south to cool temperate in north

Terrain: mostly rugged and mountainous
  lowest point: Hachiro-gata -4 m
  highest point: Fujiyama 3,776 m

Natural resources: negligible mineral resources, fish

Land use:
  arable land: 13%
  permanent crops: 1%
  meadows and pastures: 1%
  forest and woodland: 67%
  other: 18%

Irrigated land: 28,680 sq km (1989)

Environment:
  current issues: air pollution from power plant emissions results in
  acid rain; acidification of lakes and reservoirs degrading water
  quality and threatening aquatic life; Japan's appetite for fish and
  tropical timber is contributing to the depletion of these resources
  in Asia and elsewhere
  natural hazards: many dormant and some active volcanoes; about 1,500
  seismic occurrences (mostly tremors) every year; tsunamis
  international agreements: party to - Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity,
  Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification,
  Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer
  Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94,
  Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Antarctic-Environmental
  Protocol, Desertification, Law of the Sea, Tropical Timber 94

Geographic note: strategic location in northeast Asia



People
------


Population: 125,449,703 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 16% (male 10,121,414; female 9,644,243)
  15-64 years: 69% (male 43,624,464; female 43,359,249)
  65 years and over: 15% (male 7,737,781; female 10,962,552) (July
  1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 0.21% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 10.19 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 7.71 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: -0.4 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female
  all ages: 0.96 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 4.4 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 79.55 years
  male: 76.57 years
  female: 82.68 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.46 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Japanese (singular and plural)
  adjective: Japanese

Ethnic divisions: Japanese 99.4%, other 0.6% (mostly Korean)

Religions: observe both Shinto and Buddhist 84%, other 16%
  (including Christian 0.7%)

Languages: Japanese

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1970 est.)
  total population: 99%
  male: NA%
  female: NA%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: none
  conventional short form: Japan

Data code: JA

Type of government: constitutional monarchy

Capital: Tokyo

Administrative divisions: 47 prefectures; Aichi, Akita, Aomori,
  Chiba, Ehime, Fukui, Fukuoka, Fukushima, Gifu, Gumma, Hiroshima,
  Hokkaido, Hyogo, Ibaraki, Ishikawa, Iwate, Kagawa, Kagoshima,
  Kanagawa, Kochi, Kumamoto, Kyoto, Mie, Miyagi, Miyazaki, Nagano,
  Nagasaki, Nara, Niigata, Oita, Okayama, Okinawa, Osaka, Saga,
  Saitama, Shiga, Shimane, Shizuoka, Tochigi, Tokushima, Tokyo,
  Tottori, Toyama, Wakayama, Yamagata, Yamaguchi, Yamanashi

Independence: 660 BC (traditional founding by Emperor Jimmu)

National holiday: Birthday of the Emperor, 23 December (1933)

Constitution: 3 May 1947

Legal system: modeled after European civil law system with
  English-American influence; judicial review of legislative acts in
  the Supreme Court; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with
  reservations

Suffrage: 20 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: Emperor AKIHITO (since 7 January 1989) is a
  constitutional monarch
  head of government: Prime Minister Ryutaro HASHIMOTO (since 11
  January 1996) and Deputy Prime Minister Wataru KUBO (since 11
  January 1996) were designated by the Diet and appointed by the
  emperor
  cabinet: Cabinet was appointed by the prime minister

Legislative branch: bicameral Diet (Kokkai)
  House of Councillors (Sangi-in): half of the members elected every
  three years to six-year terms; elections last held 23 July 1995
  (next to be held NA 1998); results - percent of vote by party NA;
  seats - (252 total, with 126 up for election) LDP 110 (49 newly
  won), Shinshinto 56 (40 newly won), SDP 38 (16 newly won), JCP 14 (8
  newly won), Sakigate 3 (3 newly won), others 19 (4 newly won),
  independents 12 (6 newly won); note - the distribution of seats as
  of 1 March 1996 is as follows - LDP 111, Heisei-kai 69, SDP 35, JCP
  14, Sakigake 3, others and independents 19, vacancies 1
  House of Representatives (Shugi-in): all members elected every four
  years to four-year terms; elections last held 18 July 1993 (next to
  be held by July 1997); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats
  - (511 total) LDP 223, SDP 70, Shinseito 55, Komeito 51, JNP 35, JCP
  15, DSP 15, Sakigake 13, others 4, independents 30; note - the
  distribution of seats as of 1 March 1996 is as follows - LDP 207,
  Shinshinto 170, SDP 63, Sakigake 22, JCP 15, others and independents
  19, vacant 15

Judicial branch: Supreme Court, chief justice is appointed by the
  emperor after designation by the cabinet, all other justices are
  appointed by the cabinet

Political parties and leaders: Liberal Democratic Party (LDP),
  Ryutaro HASHIMOTO, president and Koichi KATO, secretary general;
  Social Democratic Party (SDP), Tomiichi MURAYAMA, president and
  Kanju SATO, secretary general; Sakigake (Harbinger), Masayoshi
  TAKEMURA, chairman and Yukio HATOYAMA, secretary general; Shinshinto
  (New Frontier Party, NFP), Ichiro OZAWA, chairman and Takashi
  YONEZAWA, secretary general; Japan Communist Party (JCP), Tetsuzo
  FUWA, presidium chairman
  note: Shinshinto was formed in December 1994 by the merger of
  Shinseito (Japan Renewal Party, JRP), Komeito (Clean Government
  Party, CGP), Japan New Party (JNP), Democratic Socialist Party
  (DSP), and several minor groups; Heisei-kai is a joint bloc of
  Shinshinto and Komei members; Komei is a group formed from what
  remains of Komeito in the upper house

International organization participation: AfDB, AG (observer),
  APEC, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, CCC, CP, EBRD, ESCAP, FAO, G- 2,
  G- 5, G- 7, G- 8, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM,
  IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC,
  IOM, ISO, ITU, MTCR, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OSCE (partner),
  PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNRWA, UNU, UPU,
  WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Kunihiko SAITO
  chancery: 2520 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
  telephone: [1] (202) 939-6700
  FAX: [1] (202) 328-2187
  consulate(s) general: Agana (Guam), Anchorage, Atlanta, Boston,
  Chicago, Detroit, Honolulu, Houston, Kansas City (Missouri), Los
  Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Portland (Oregon), San
  Francisco, and Seattle
  consulate(s): Saipan (Northern Mariana Islands)

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Walter F. MONDALE
  embassy: 10-5, Akasaka 1-chome, Minato-ku (107), Tokyo
  mailing address: Unit 45004, Box 258, APO AP 96337-0001
  telephone: [81] (3) 3224-5000
  FAX: [81] (3) 3505-1862
  consulate(s) general: Naha (Okinawa), Osaka-Kobe, Sapporo
  consulate(s): Fukuoka, Nagoya

Flag: white with a large red disk (representing the sun without
  rays) in the center



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Government-industry cooperation, a strong work
  ethic, mastery of high technology, and a comparatively small defense
  allocation (roughly 1% of GDP) have helped Japan advance with
  extraordinary rapidity to the rank of second most powerful economy
  in the world. One notable characteristic of the economy is the
  working together of manufacturers, suppliers, and distributors in
  closely knit groups called keiretsu. A second basic feature has been
  the guarantee of lifetime employment for a substantial portion of
  the urban labor force; this guarantee is slowly eroding. Industry,
  the most important sector of the economy, is heavily dependent on
  imported raw materials and fuels. The much smaller agricultural
  sector is highly subsidized and protected, with crop yields among
  the highest in the world. Usually self-sufficient in rice, Japan
  must import about 50% of its requirements of other grain and fodder
  crops. Japan maintains one of the world's largest fishing fleets and
  accounts for nearly 15% of the global catch. For three decades
  overall economic growth had been spectacular: a 10% average in the
  1960s, a 5% average in the 1970s and 1980s. Growth came to a halt in
  1992-95 largely because of the aftereffects of overinvestment during
  the late 1980s and contractionary domestic policies intended to
  wring speculative excesses from the stock and real estate markets.
  At yearend 1995, the financial structure is shaky with banks holding
  hundreds of billions of dollars of suspect assets. At the same time,
  the continued basic strength of the economy has been reflected in
  substantial trade surpluses, sizable foreign investments, and
  remarkably low rates of unemployment, inflation, and social
  disorder. The crowding of the habitable land area and the aging of
  the population are two major long-run problems.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $2.6792 trillion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 0.3% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $21,300 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 2.1%
  industry: 40.2%
  services: 57.7% (1994)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): -0.1% (1995)

Labor force: 65.87 million (December 1994)
  by occupation: trade and services 54%, manufacturing, mining, and
  construction 33%, agriculture, forestry, and fishing 7%, government
  3%, other 3% (1988)

Unemployment rate: 3.1% (1995)

Budget:
  revenues: $595 billion
  expenditures: $829 billion, including capital expenditures (public
  works only) of about $122 billion (1995 est.)

Industries: among world's largest and technologically advanced
  producers of steel and non-ferrous metallurgy, heavy electrical
  equipment, construction and mining equipment, motor vehicles and
  parts, electronic and telecommunication equipment, machine tools,
  automated production systems, locomotives and railroad rolling
  stock, ships, chemicals; textiles, processed foods

Industrial production growth rate: 3.3% (1995)

Electricity:
  capacity: 205,140,000 kW (1993)
  production: 915 billion kWh (1995)
  consumption per capita: 7,293 kWh (1995)

Agriculture: rice, sugar beets, vegetables, fruit; pork, poultry,
  dairy products, eggs; world's largest fish catch of 10 million
  metric tons in 1991

Exports: $442.84 billion (f.o.b., 1995)
  commodities: manufactures 97% (including machinery 46%, motor
  vehicles 20%, consumer electronics 10%)
  partners: Southeast Asia 38%, US 27%, Western Europe 17%, China 5%

Imports: $336.09 billion (c.i.f., 1995)
  commodities: manufactures 52%, fossil fuels 20%, foodstuffs and raw
  materials 28%
  partners: Southeast Asia 25%, US 22%, Western Europe 16%, China 11%

External debt: $NA

Economic aid:
  donor: ODA, $11.259 billion (1993)
  note: ODA and OOF commitments (1970-95), $143 billion

Currency: yen (Y)

Exchange rates: yen (Y) per US$1 - 105.84 (January 1996), 94.06
  (1995), 102.21 (1994), 111.20 (1993), 126.65 (1992), 134.71 (1991)

Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 26,506 km
  standard gauge: 3,233 km 1.435-m gauge (entirely electrified)
  narrow gauge: 72 km 1.372-m gauge (72 km electrified); 23,154 km
  1.067-m gauge (13,835 km electrified); 47 km 0.762-m gauge (47 km
  electrified) (1994)

Highways:
  total: 1,112,844 km
  paved: 790,119 km (including 5,054 km of expressways)
  unpaved: 322,725 km (1992 est.)

Waterways: about 1,770 km; seagoing craft ply all coastal inland
  seas

Pipelines: crude oil 84 km; petroleum products 322 km; natural gas
  1,800 km

Ports: Akita, Amagasaki, Chiba, Hachinohe, Hakodate,
  Higashi-Harima, Himeji, Hiroshima, Kawasaki, Kinuura, Kobe, Kushiro,
  Mizushima, Moji, Nagoya, Osaka, Sakai, Sakaide, Shimizu, Tokyo,
  Tomakomai

Merchant marine:
  total: 796 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 15,944,137
  GRT/23,662,930 DWT
  ships by type: bulk 192, cargo 57, chemical tanker 6, combination
  bulk 2, combination ore/oil 6, container 38, liquefied gas tanker
  39, oil tanker 259, passenger 9, passenger-cargo 3, refrigerated
  cargo 35, roll-on/roll-off cargo 43, short-sea passenger 28,
  specialized tanker 2, vehicle carrier 77
  note: Japan owns an additional 1,587 ships (1,000 GRT or over)
  totaling 50,072,815 DWT operating under the registries of Panama,
  Liberia, Vanuatu, The Bahamas, Singapore, Cyprus, Philippines, Hong
  Kong, and Malta (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 164
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 6
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 32
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 34
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 30
  with paved runways under 914 m: 60
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 2 (1995 est.)

Heliports: 11 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 64 million (1987 est.)

Telephone system: excellent domestic and international service
  domestic: NA
  international: satellite earth stations - 5 Intelsat (4 Pacific
  Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean), 1 Intersputnik (Indian Ocean Region), and
  1 Inmarsat (Pacific and Indian Ocean Regions); submarine cables to
  China, Philippines, Russia, and US (via Guam)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 318, FM 58, shortwave 0

Radios: 97 million (1993 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 12,350 (1 kW or greater 196)

Televisions: 100 million (1993 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (Army), Japan Maritime
  Self-Defense Force (Navy), Japan Air Self-Defense Force (Air Force)

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 31,833,691
  males fit for military service: 27,322,517
  males reach military age (18) annually: 858,912 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $50.2 billion, 1%
  of GDP (FY95/96)



======================================================================




@Jarvis Island
-------------


(territory of the US)

Map
---


Location: 0 22 S, 160 03 W -- Oceania, island in the South Pacific
  Ocean, about one-half of the way from Hawaii to the Cook Islands



Flag
----


Description: the flag of the US is used





Geography
---------


Location: Oceania, island in the South Pacific Ocean, about
  one-half of the way from Hawaii to the Cook Islands

Geographic coordinates: 0 22 S, 160 03 W

Map references: Oceania

Area:
  total area: 4.5 sq km
  land area: 4.5 sq km
  comparative area: about eight times the size of The Mall in
  Washington, DC

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 8 km

Maritime claims:
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: none

Climate: tropical; scant rainfall, constant wind, burning sun

Terrain: sandy, coral island surrounded by a narrow fringing reef
  lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
  highest point: unnamed location 23 m

Natural resources: guano (deposits worked until late 1800s)

Land use:
  arable land: 0%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 0%
  forest and woodland: 0%
  other: 100%

Irrigated land: 0 sq km

Environment:
  current issues: no natural fresh water resources
  natural hazards: the narrow fringing reef surrounding the island can
  be a maritime hazard
  international agreements: NA

Geographic note: sparse bunch grass, prostrate vines, and
  low-growing shrubs; primarily a nesting, roosting, and foraging
  habitat for seabirds, shorebirds, and marine wildlife; feral cats



People
------


Population: uninhabited; note - Millersville settlement on western
  side of island occasionally used as a weather station from 1935
  until World War II, when it was abandoned; reoccupied in 1957 during
  the International Geophysical Year by scientists who left in 1958;
  public entry is by special-use permit only and generally restricted
  to scientists and educators



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: none
  conventional short form: Jarvis Island

Data code: DQ

Type of government: unincorporated territory of the US
  administered by the Fish and Wildlife Service of the US Department
  of the Interior as part of the National Wildlife Refuge System

Capital: none; administered from Washington, DC

Flag: the flag of the US is used



Economy
-------


Economic overview: no economic activity



Transportation
--------------


Ports: none; offshore anchorage only; note - there is one boat
  landing area in the middle of the west coast and another near the
  southwest corner of the island

Transportation note: there is a day beacon near the middle of the
  west coast



Defense
-------


Defense note: defense is the responsibility of the US; visited
  annually by the US Coast Guard



======================================================================




@Jersey
------


(British crown dependency)

Map
---


Location: 49 15 N, 2 10 W -- Western Europe, island in the English
  Channel, northwest of France



Flag
----


Description: white with the diagonal red cross of Saint Patrick
  (patron saint of Ireland) extending to the corners of the flag





Geography
---------


Location: Western Europe, island in the English Channel, northwest
  of France

Geographic coordinates: 49 15 N, 2 10 W

Map references: Europe

Area:
  total area: 117 sq km
  land area: 117 sq km
  comparative area: about 0.7 times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 70 km

Maritime claims:
  exclusive fishing zone: 12 nm
  territorial sea: 3 nm

International disputes: none

Climate: temperate; mild winters and cool summers

Terrain: gently rolling plain with low, rugged hills along north
  coast
  lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
  highest point: unnamed location 143 m

Natural resources: agricultural land

Land use:
  arable land: 57%
  permanent crops: NA%
  meadows and pastures: NA%
  forest and woodland: NA%
  other: NA%

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Environment:
  current issues: NA
  natural hazards: NA
  international agreements: NA

Geographic note: largest and southernmost of Channel Islands;
  about 30% of population concentrated in Saint Helier



People
------


Population: 87,848 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 17% (male 7,787; female 7,284)
  15-64 years: 69% (male 29,928; female 30,395)
  65 years and over: 14% (male 5,107; female 7,347) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 0.77% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 12.93 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 9.21 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 4.01 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.11 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.07 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female
  all ages: 0.95 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 2.7 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 78.36 years
  male: 75.63 years
  female: 81.39 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.5 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Channel Islander(s)
  adjective: Channel Islander

Ethnic divisions: UK and Norman-French descent

Religions: Anglican, Roman Catholic, Baptist, Congregational New
  Church, Methodist, Presbyterian

Languages: English (official), French (official), Norman-French
  dialect spoken in country districts

Literacy: NA



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Bailiwick of Jersey
  conventional short form: Jersey

Data code: JE

Type of government: British crown dependency

Capital: Saint Helier

Administrative divisions: none (British crown dependency)

Independence: none (British crown dependency)

National holiday: Liberation Day, 9 May (1945)

Constitution: unwritten; partly statutes, partly common law and
  practice

Legal system: English law and local statute

Suffrage: NA years of age; universal adult

Executive branch:
  Chief of State: Queen ELIZABETH II (of the United Kingdom since 6
  February 1952) is a hereditary monarch
  Head of Government: Lieutenant Governor and Commander in Chief Sir
  Michael WILKES (since NA 1995) and Bailiff Philip Martin BAILHACHE
  (since NA 1995) were appointed by the queen
  cabinet: committees were appointed by the Assembly of the States

Legislative branch: unicameral
  Assembly of the States: elections last held NA (next to be held NA);
  results - no percent of vote by party since all are independents;
  seats - (56 total, 52 elected) independents 52

Judicial branch: Royal Court, judges elected by an electoral
  college and the bailiff

Political parties and leaders: none; all independents

International organization participation: none

Diplomatic representation in US: none (British crown dependency)

US diplomatic representation: none (British crown dependency)

Flag: white with the diagonal red cross of Saint Patrick (patron
  saint of Ireland) extending to the corners of the flag



Economy
-------


Economic overview: The economy is based largely on financial
  services, agriculture, and tourism. Potatoes, cauliflower, tomatoes,
  and especially flowers are important export crops, shipped mostly to
  the UK. The Jersey breed of dairy cattle is known worldwide and
  represents an important export earner. Milk products go to the UK
  and other EU countries. In 1986 the finance sector overtook tourism
  as the main contributor to GDP, accounting for 40% of the island's
  output. In recent years, the government has encouraged light
  industry to locate in Jersey, with the result that an electronics
  industry has developed alongside the traditional manufacturing of
  knitwear. All raw material and energy requirements are imported, as
  well as a large share of Jersey's food needs.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $NA

GDP real growth rate: NA%

GDP per capita: $NA

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: NA%
  industry: NA%
  services: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA%

Labor force: NA

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget:
  revenues: $643.7 million
  expenditures: $597.2 million, including capital expenditures of $NA
  (1995 est.)

Industries: tourism, banking and finance, dairy

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity:
  capacity: 50,000 kW standby
  production: power supplied by France
  consumption per capita: NA kWh (1992)

Agriculture: potatoes, cauliflowers, tomatoes; meat, dairy products

Exports: $NA
  commodities: light industrial and electrical goods, foodstuffs,
  textiles
  partners: UK

Imports: $NA
  commodities: machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods,
  foodstuffs, mineral fuels, chemicals
  partners: UK

External debt: $NA

Economic aid: none

Currency: 1 Jersey pound (LJ) = 100 pence

Exchange rates: Jersey pounds (LJ) per US$1 - 0.6535 (January
  1996), 0.6335 (1995), 0.6529 (1994), 0.6658 (1993), 0.5664 (1992),
  0.5652 (1991); the Jersey pound is at par with the British pound

Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March



Transportation
--------------


Railways: 0 km

Highways:
  total: NA km
  paved: NA km
  unpaved: NA km

Ports: Gorey, Saint Aubin, Saint Helier

Merchant marine: none

Airports:
  total: 1
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 1 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 61,447 (1983 est.)

Telephone system:
  domestic: NA
  international: 3 submarine cables

Radio broadcast stations: AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0

Radios: NA

Television broadcast stations: 1

Televisions: NA



Defense
-------


Defense note: defense is the responsibility of the UK



======================================================================




@Johnston Atoll
--------------


(territory of the US)

Map
---


Location: 16 45 N, 169 30 W -- Oceania, atoll in the North Pacific
  Ocean, about one-third of the way from Hawaii to the Marshall Islands



Flag
----


Description: the flag of the US is used





Geography
---------


Location: Oceania, atoll in the North Pacific Ocean, about
  one-third of the way from Hawaii to the Marshall Islands

Geographic coordinates: 16 45 N, 169 30 W

Map references: Oceania

Area:
  total area: 2.8 sq km
  land area: 2.8 sq km
  comparative area: about 4.7 times the size of The Mall in
  Washington, DC

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 10 km

Maritime claims:
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: none

Climate: tropical, but generally dry; consistent northeast trade
  winds with little seasonal temperature variation

Terrain: mostly flat
  lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
  highest point: Summit Peak 5 m

Natural resources: NA; guano deposits worked until depletion about
  1890

Land use:
  arable land: 0%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 0%
  forest and woodland: 0%
  other: 100%

Irrigated land: 0 sq km

Environment:
  current issues: no natural fresh water resources
  natural hazards: NA
  international agreements: NA

Geographic note: strategic location in the North Pacific Ocean;
  Johnston Island and Sand Island are natural islands, which have been
  expanded by coral dredging; North Island (Akau) and East Island
  (Hikina) are manmade islands formed from coral dredging; closed to
  the public; former nuclear weapons test site; site of Johnston Atoll
  Chemical Agent Disposal System (JACADS); some low-growing vegetation



People
------


Population: no indigenous inhabitants; note - there are 1,200 US
  military and civilian contractor personnel (July 1996 est.)



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: none
  conventional short form: Johnston Atoll

Data code: JQ

Type of government: unincorporated territory of the US
  administered by the US Defense Nuclear Agency (DNA) and managed
  cooperatively by DNA and the Fish and Wildlife Service of the US
  Department of the Interior as part of the National Wildlife Refuge
  system

Capital: none

Diplomatic representation in US: none (territory of the US)

US diplomatic representation: none (territory of the US)

Flag: the flag of the US is used



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Economic activity is limited to providing
  services to US military personnel and contractors located on the
  island. All food and manufactured goods must be imported.

Electricity: supplied by the management and operations contractor



Transportation
--------------


Railways: 0 km

Highways:
  total: NA km
  paved: NA km
  unpaved: NA km

Ports: Johnston Island

Airports:
  total: 1
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 1 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: NA

Telephone system: 52 telephone lines; excellent system
  domestic: 60-channel submarine cable, 22 DSN circuits by satellite,
  Autodin with standard remote terminal, digital telephone switch,
  Military Affiliated Radio System (MARS station), UHF/VHF air-ground
  radio, a link to the Pacific Consolidated Telecommunications Network
  (PCTN) satellite, and amateur radio
  international: NA

Radio broadcast stations: AM NA, FM 5, shortwave NA

Radios: NA

Television broadcast stations: NA

Televisions: NA



Defense
-------


Defense note: defense is the responsibility of the US



======================================================================




@Jordan
------




Map
---


Location: 31 00 N, 36 00 E -- Middle East, northwest of Saudi
  Arabia



Flag
----


Description: three equal horizontal bands of black (top), white,
  and green with a red isosceles triangle based on the hoist side
  bearing a small white seven-pointed star; the seven points on the
  star represent the seven fundamental laws of the Koran





Geography
---------


Location: Middle East, northwest of Saudi Arabia

Geographic coordinates: 31 00 N, 36 00 E

Map references: Middle East

Area:
  total area: 89,213 sq km
  land area: 88,884 sq km
  comparative area: slightly smaller than Indiana

Land boundaries:
  total: 1,619 km
  border countries: Iraq 181 km, Israel 238 km, Saudi Arabia 728 km,
  Syria 375 km, West Bank 97 km

Coastline: 26 km

Maritime claims:
  territorial sea: 3 nm

International disputes: none

Climate: mostly arid desert; rainy season in west (November to
  April)

Terrain: mostly desert plateau in east, highland area in west;
  Great Rift Valley separates East and West Banks of the Jordan River
  lowest point: Dead Sea -408 m
  highest point: Jabal Ram 1,754 m

Natural resources: phosphates, potash, shale oil

Land use:
  arable land: 4%
  permanent crops: 0.5%
  meadows and pastures: 1%
  forest and woodland: 0.5%
  other: 94%

Irrigated land: 570 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
  current issues: limited natural fresh water resources;
  deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification
  natural hazards: NA
  international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
  Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test
  Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified -
  Desertification, Law of the Sea



People
------


Population: 4,212,152 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 44% (male 949,822; female 903,043)
  15-64 years: 53% (male 1,153,360; female 1,091,416)
  65 years and over: 3% (male 57,783; female 56,728) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.65% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 36.67 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 3.95 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: -6.23 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 1.02 male(s)/female
  all ages: 1.05 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 31.5 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 72.48 years
  male: 70.62 years
  female: 74.45 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 5.1 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Jordanian(s)
  adjective: Jordanian

Ethnic divisions: Arab 98%, Circassian 1%, Armenian 1%

Religions: Sunni Muslim 92%, Christian 8%

Languages: Arabic (official), English widely understood among
  upper and middle classes

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)
  total population: 86.6%
  male: 93.4%
  female: 79.4%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
  conventional short form: Jordan
  local long form: Al Mamlakah al Urduniyah al Hashimiyah
  local short form: Al Urdun
  former: Transjordan

Data code: JO

Type of government: constitutional monarchy

Capital: Amman

Administrative divisions: 8 governorates (muhafazat, singular -
  muhafazah); Al Balqa', Al Karak, Al Mafraq, 'Amman, At Tafilah, Az
  Zarqa', Irbid, Ma'an

Independence: 25 May 1946 (from League of Nations mandate under
  British administration)

National holiday: Independence Day, 25 May (1946)

Constitution: 8 January 1952

Legal system: based on Islamic law and French codes; judicial
  review of legislative acts in a specially provided High Tribunal;
  has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: 20 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: King HUSSEIN Bin Talal Al Hashimi (since 2 May 1953)
  is a constitutional monarch
  head of government: Prime Minister Abd al-Karim al-KABARITI (since 4
  February 1996) was appointed by the king
  cabinet: Cabinet was appointed by the king

Legislative branch: bicameral National Assembly (Majlis al-'Umma)
  House of Notables (Majlis al-A'ayan): consists of a 40-member body
  appointed by the king from designated categories of public figures
  House of Representatives: elections last held 8 November 1993 (next
  to be held NA November 1997); results - percent of vote by party NA;
  seats - (80 total) IAF 16, Jordanian National Alliance Party 4,
  Al-Yaqazah Party 2, Al-Watan Party 2, Al-'Ahd Party 2, Jordanian
  Arab Democratic Party 2, Al-Mustaqbal Party 1, Jordanian Arab
  Socialist Ba'th Party 1, Jordanian Democratic Progressive Party 1,
  Jordanian People's Democratic Party-Hashd 1, Jordanian Socialist
  Democratic Party 1, independents 47
  note: the House of Representatives has been convened and dissolved
  by the king several times since 1974; in November 1989 the first
  parliamentary elections in 22 years were held

Judicial branch: Court of Cassation

Political parties and leaders: Al-'Ahd (Pledge) Party, 'Abd
  al-Hadi al-MAJALI, secretary general; Al-Ahrar (Liberals) Party,
  Ahmad al-ZU'BI, secretary general; Al-Taqaddumi (Progressive) Party,
  Fawwaz al-ZUBI, secretary general; Al-Watan (Homeland) Party, 'Akif
  al-FAYIZ; Al-Yaqazah (Awakening) Party, 'Abd al-Ra'uf al-RAWABIDAH,
  secretary general; Constitutional Jordanian Arab Front Party, Milhim
  al-TALL; Democratic Arab Islamic Movement Party-Du'a', Yusuf Abu
  BAKR, secretary general; Democratic Arab Unionist Party-Wad, Anis
  al-MU'ASHIR, secretary general; Islamic Action Front (IAF), Ishaq
  al-FARHAN, secretary general; Jordanian Arab Masses Party, 'Abd
  al-Khaliq SHATAT, secretary general; Jordanian Arab Socialist Ba'th
  Party, Taysir al-HIMSI, command first secretary; Jordanian Communist
  Party (JCP), Ya'qub ZAYADIN, secretary general; Jordanian Democratic
  Popular Unity Party, 'Azmi al-KHAWAJA, secretary general; Jordanian
  National Alliance Party, Mijhim al-KHURAYSHAH, secretary general;
  Jordanian People's Democratic Party-Hashd, Salim al-NAHHAS,
  secretary general; Jordanian Unionist Democratic Party, 'Isa MADANAT
  (secretary general), Ali AMIR (secretary general), Munis al-RAZZAZ
  (secretary general); Pan-Arab Action Front Party, Muhammad al-ZU'BI,
  secretary general; Popular Unity Party-the Unionists, Mustafa
  AL-'ISAWI, secretary general; Progress and Justice Party, 'Ali
  al-SA'D, secretary general; Progressive Arab Ba'th Party, Mahmud
  al-MA'AYITAH, command secretary; Al-Mustaqbal (Future) Party,
  Sulayman 'ARAR, secretary general; Jordanian Arab Partisans Party,
  Muhammad al-MAJALI, leader, Muhammad SHURAYDAH, secretary general
  note: in 1995, the Jordanian Arab Democratic Party, the Jordanian
  Democratic Progressive Party, and the Jordanian Socialist Democratic
  Party merged to form the Jordanian Unionist Democratic Party

International organization participation: ABEDA, ACC, AFESD, AL,
  AMF, CAEU, CCC, ESCWA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA,
  IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM
  (observer), ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OIC, PCA, UN, UNAMIR,
  UNAVEM III, UNCRO, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIH, UNMOT, UNOMIG,
  UNOMIL, UNPREDEP, UNPROFOR, UNRWA, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO,
  WTrO (applicant)

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Fayiz A. TARAWNEH
  chancery: 3504 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008
  telephone: [1] (202) 966-2664
  FAX: [1] (202) 966-3110

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Wesley W. EGAN, Jr.
  embassy: Jabel Amman, Amman
  mailing address: P. O. Box 354, Amman 11118 Jordan; APO AE 09892-0200
  telephone: [962] (6) 820101
  FAX: [962] (6) 820159

Flag: three equal horizontal bands of black (top), white, and
  green with a red isosceles triangle based on the hoist side bearing
  a small white seven-pointed star; the seven points on the star
  represent the seven fundamental laws of the Koran



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Jordan is a small Arab country with inadequate
  supplies of water and other natural resources such as oil and coal.
  Jordan benefited from increased Arab aid during the oil boom of the
  late 1970s and early 1980s, when its annual real GNP growth averaged
  more than 10%. In the remainder of the 1980s, however, reductions in
  both Arab aid and worker remittances slowed real economic growth to
  an average of roughly 2% per year. Imports - mainly oil, capital
  goods, consumer durables, and food - outstripped exports, with the
  difference covered by aid, remittances, and borrowing. In mid-1989,
  the Jordanian Government began debt-rescheduling negotiations and
  agreed to implement an IMF-supported program designed to gradually
  reduce the budget deficit and implement badly needed structural
  reforms. The Persian Gulf crisis that began in August 1990, however,
  aggravated Jordan's already serious economic problems, forcing the
  government to shelve the IMF program, stop most debt payments, and
  suspend rescheduling negotiations. Aid from Gulf Arab states, worker
  remittances, and trade contracted; and refugees flooded the country,
  producing serious balance-of-payments problems, stunting GDP growth,
  and straining government resources. The economy rebounded in 1992,
  largely due to the influx of capital repatriated by workers
  returning from the Gulf, but the recovery was uneven throughout 1994
  and 1995. The government is implementing the reform program adopted
  in 1992 and continues to secure rescheduling and write-offs of its
  heavy foreign debt. Debt, poverty, and unemployment remain Jordan's
  biggest on-going problems.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $19.3 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 6.5% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $4,700 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 11%
  industry: 25%
  services: 64% (1994)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 3% (1995 est.)

Labor force: 600,000 (1992)
  by occupation: industry 11.4%, commerce, restaurants, and hotels
  10.5%, construction 10.0%, transport and communications 8.7%,
  agriculture 7.4%, other services 52.0% (1992)

Unemployment rate: 16% (1994 est.)

Budget:
  revenues: $2.5 billion
  expenditures: $2.5 billion, including capital expenditures of $640
  million (1996 est.)

Industries: phosphate mining, petroleum refining, cement, potash,
  light manufacturing

Industrial production growth rate: 5.6% (1994 est.)

Electricity:
  capacity: 1,050,000 kW
  production: 4.2 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 1,072 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: wheat, barley, citrus, tomatoes, melons, olives;
  sheep, goats, poultry

Exports: $1.7 billion (f.o.b., 1994)
  commodities: phosphates, fertilizers, potash, agricultural products,
  manufactures
  partners: India, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, EU, Indonesia, UAE

Imports: $3.8 billion (c.i.f., 1994)
  commodities: crude oil, machinery, transport equipment, food, live
  animals, manufactured goods
  partners: EU, US, Iraq, Japan, Turkey

External debt: $6.9 billion (1995 est.)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $238 million (1993)

Currency: 1 Jordanian dinar (JD) = 1,000 fils

Exchange rates: Jordanian dinars (JD) per US$1 - 0.7090 (January
  1996), 0.7005 (1995), 0.6987 (1994), 0.6928 (1993), 0.6797 (1992),
  0.6808 (1991)

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 676 km
  narrow gauge: 676 km 1.050-m gauge; note - an additional 110 km
  stretch of the old Hedjaz railroad is out of use

Highways:
  total: 5,680 km
  paved: 5,680 km (including 1,712 km of expressways)
  unpaved: 0 km (1991 est.)

Pipelines: crude oil 209 km

Ports: Al'Aqabah

Merchant marine:
  total: 3 bulk ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 41,960 GRT/67,515
  DWT (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 14
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 10
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 3
  with paved runways under 914 m: 1 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 81,500 (1987 est.)

Telephone system: adequate telephone system
  domestic: microwave radio relay, cable, and radiotelephone links
  international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Atlantic
  Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) and 1 Arabsat; coaxial cable and microwave
  radio relay to Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Syria; microwave radio relay
  to Lebanon is inactive; participant in Medarabtel

Radio broadcast stations: AM 5, FM 7, shortwave 0

Radios: 1.1 million (1992 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 8 and 1 TV receive-only satellite
  link

Televisions: 350,000 (1992 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Jordanian Armed Forces (JAF; includes Royal Jordanian
  Land Force, Royal Naval Force, and Royal Jordanian Air Force);
  Ministry of the Interior's Public Security Force (falls under JAF
  only in wartime or crisis situations)

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 1,011,588
  males fit for military service: 721,460
  males reach military age (18) annually: 45,406 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $589 million,
  8.2% of GDP (1996)



======================================================================




@Juan de Nova Island
-------------------


(possession of France)

Map
---


Location: 17 03 S, 42 45 E -- Southern Africa, island in the
  Mozambique Channel, about one-third of the way between Madagascar
  and Mozambique



Flag
----


Description: the flag of France is used





Geography
---------


Location: Southern Africa, island in the Mozambique Channel, about
  one-third of the way between Madagascar and Mozambique

Geographic coordinates: 17 03 S, 42 45 E

Map references: Africa

Area:
  total area: 4.4 sq km
  land area: 4.4 sq km
  comparative area: about seven times the size of The Mall in
  Washington, DC

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 24.1 km

Maritime claims:
  contiguous zone: 12 nm
  continental shelf: 200-m depth or to depth the of exploitation
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: claimed by Madagascar

Climate: tropical

Terrain: NA
  lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
  highest point: unnamed location 10 m

Natural resources: guano deposits and other fertilizers

Land use:
  arable land: 0%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 0%
  forest and woodland: 90%
  other: 10%

Irrigated land: 0 sq km

Environment:
  current issues: NA
  natural hazards: periodic cyclones
  international agreements: NA

Geographic note: wildlife sanctuary



People
------


Population: uninhabited



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: none
  conventional short form: Juan de Nova Island
  local long form: none
  local short form: Ile Juan de Nova

Data code: JU

Type of government: French possession administered by Commissioner
  of the Republic, resident in Reunion

Capital: none; administered by France from Reunion

Independence: none (possession of France)

Flag: the flag of France is used



Economy
-------


Economic overview: no economic activity



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: NA km; short line going to a jetty

Ports: none; offshore anchorage only

Airports:
  total: 1
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 1 (1995 est.)



Defense
-------


Defense note: defense is the responsibility of France



======================================================================




@Kazakstan
---------




Map
---


Location: 48 00 N, 68 00 E -- Central Asia, northwest of China



Flag
----


Description: sky blue background representing the endless sky and
  a gold sun with 32 rays soaring above a golden steppe eagle in the
  center; on the hoist side is a "national ornamentation" in yellow





Geography
---------


Location: Central Asia, northwest of China

Geographic coordinates: 48 00 N, 68 00 E

Map references: Commonwealth of Independent States

Area:
  total area: 2,717,300 sq km
  land area: 2,669,800 sq km
  comparative area: slightly less than four times the size of Texas

Land boundaries:
  total: 12,012 km
  border countries: China 1,533 km, Kyrgyzstan 1,051 km, Russia 6,846
  km, Turkmenistan 379 km, Uzbekistan 2,203 km

Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)
  note: Kazakstan borders the Aral Sea (1,015 km) and the Caspian Sea
  (1,894 km)

Maritime claims: none (landlocked)

International disputes: Caspian Sea boundaries are not yet
  determined

Climate: continental, cold winters and hot summers, arid and
  semiarid

Terrain: extends from the Volga to the Altai Mountains and from
  the plains in western Siberia to oasis and desert in Central Asia
  lowest point: Vpadina Kaundy -132 m
  highest point: Zhengis Shingy 7,439 m

Natural resources: major deposits of petroleum, coal, iron ore,
  manganese, chrome ore, nickel, cobalt, copper, molybdenum, lead,
  zinc, bauxite, gold, uranium

Land use:
  arable land: 15%
  permanent crops: NEGL%
  meadows and pastures: 57%
  forest and woodland: 4%
  other: 24%

Irrigated land: 23,080 sq km (1990)

Environment:
  current issues: radioactive or toxic chemical sites associated with
  its former defense industries and test ranges are found throughout
  the country and pose health risks for humans and animals; industrial
  pollution is severe in some cities; because the two main rivers
  which flowed into the Aral Sea have been diverted for irrigation, it
  is drying up and leaving behind a harmful layer of chemical
  pesticides and natural salts; these substances are then picked up by
  the wind and blown into noxious dust storms; pollution in the
  Caspian Sea; soil pollution from overuse of agricultural chemicals
  and salinization from faulty irrigation practices
  natural hazards: NA
  international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
  Ship Pollution; signed, but not ratified - Desertification

Geographic note: landlocked



People
------


Population: 16,916,463 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 30% (male 2,576,204; female 2,486,937)
  15-64 years: 63% (male 5,203,035; female 5,451,404)
  65 years and over: 7% (male 384,341; female 814,542) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: -0.15% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 19.02 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 9.65 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: -10.88 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.47 male(s)/female
  all ages: 0.93 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 63.2 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 64.09 years
  male: 58.56 years
  female: 69.9 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.36 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Kazakstani(s)
  adjective: Kazakstani

Ethnic divisions: Kazak (Qazaq) 41.9%, Russian 37%, Ukrainian
  5.2%, German 4.7%, Uzbek 2.1%, Tatar 2%, other 7.1% (1991 official
  data)

Religions: Muslim 47%, Russian Orthodox 44%, Protestant 2%, other
  7%

Languages: Kazak (Qazaqz) official language spoken by over 40% of
  population, Russian (language of interethnic communication) spoken
  by two-thirds of population and used in everyday business

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1989 est.)
  total population: 98%
  male: 99%
  female: 96%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Republic of Kazakstan
  conventional short form: Kazakstan
  local long form: Qazaqstan Respublikasy
  local short form: none
  former: Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic

Data code: KZ

Type of government: republic

Capital: Almaty

Administrative divisions: 19 oblystar (singular - oblys) and 1
  city (qalalar, singular - qala)*; Almaty Qalasy*, Almaty Oblysy,
  Aqmola Oblysy, Aqtobe Oblysy, Atyrau Oblysy, Batys Qazaqstan Oblysy
  (Oral), Kokshetau Oblysy, Mangghystau Oblysy (Aqtau), Ongtustik
  Qazaqstan Oblysy (Shymkent), Pavlodar Oblysy, Qaraghandy Oblysy,
  Qostanay Oblysy, Qyzylorda Oblysy, Semey Oblysy, Shyghys Qazaqstan
  Oblysy (Oskemen; formerly Ust'-Kamenogorsk), Soltustik Qazaqstan
  Oblysy (Petropavl), Taldyqorghan Oblysy, Torghay Oblysy, Zhambyl
  Oblysy, Zhezqazghan Oblysy
  note: names in parentheses are administrative centers when name
  differs from oblys name

Independence: 16 December 1991 (from the Soviet Union)

National holiday: Independence Day, 16 December (1991)

Constitution: adopted 28 January 1993; has been amended in April
  1995 and August 1995

Legal system: based on civil law system

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: President Nursultan A. NAZARBAYEV (since 22 February
  1990) was elected chairman of the Supreme Soviet 22 February 1990,
  and president by popular election 1 December 1991; was elected for a
  five-year term by universal suffrage; election last held 1 December
  1991 (next to be held NA 2000); results - Nursultan A. NAZARBAYEV
  ran unopposed; note - President NAZARBAYEV's term was extended to
  the year 2000 by a nationwide referendum held 30 April 1995
  head of government: Prime Minister Akezhan KAZHEGELDIN (since 12
  October 1994) and First Deputy Prime Ministers Nigmatzhan ISINGARIN
  (since 12 October 1994) were appointed by the president
  cabinet: Council of Ministers was appointed by the prime minister
  note: President NAZARBAYEV has expanded his presidential powers by
  decree: only he can initiate constitutional amendments, appoint and
  dismiss the government, dissolve parliament, call referenda at his
  discretion, and appoint administrative heads of regions and cities

Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament
  Senate: elections (indirect) last held 5 December 1995 (next to be
  held NA 1999); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (47
  total) "independent" state officials 25, progovernment parties 11,
  other parties 2, vacant 9 (of which 7 are to be nominated by the
  president)
  Majilis: elections last held 9 December and 23 December 1995 (next
  to be held NA); percent of vote by party NA; seats - (67 total)
  seats by party NA; note - 172 candidates were forwarded by parties
  and social organizations and 113 candidates were independents

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

Political parties and leaders: ALASH party; People's Unity Party
  (PUP; was Union of People's Unity), Akhan BIZHANOV, chairman;
  Democratic Party, Tulegen ZHUKEYEV and Altynbek SARSENBAYEV,
  cochairmen; People's Congress of Kazakstan (PCK), Olzhas SULEYMENOV,
  chairman; Socialist Party of Kazakstan (SPK; former Communist
  Party), Petr SVOIK, chairman; Communist Party, Baidabek TULEPBAYEV;
  National Democratic Party, Kamal ORMANTAYEV, chairman; AZAT party,
  Khasen KOZH-AKHMET, chairman; Confederation of Trade Unions of the
  Republic of Kazakstan; Peasant Union of the Republic Kazakstan
  (KPU); Slavic Movement LAD, Aleksandra DOKUCHAYEVA, chairman; Party
  for Social Justice and Economic Revival "Tagibat"; Social Democratic
  Party, Dos KUSHIMOV, cochairman; People's Cooperative Party, Umirzak
  SARSENOV, chairman; Organization of Veterans; Republican Party

Other political or pressure groups: Independent Trade Union
  Center, Leonid SOLOMIN, president; Kazakstani-American Bureau on
  Human Rights, Yevgeniy ZHOVTIS, executive director; Democratic
  Committee on Human Rights; Independent Miners Union

International organization participation: AsDB, CCC, CIS, EBRD,
  ECE, ECO, ESCAP, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IDB, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO,
  Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ITU, NACC, OIC, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD,
  UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer)

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Bolat NURGALIYEV
  chancery: (temporary) 3421 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, DC
  20008
  telephone: [1] (202) 333-4504 through 4507
  FAX: [1] (202) 333-4509

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador A. Elizabeth JONES
  embassy: 99/97 Furmanova Street, Almaty, Republic of Kazakstan 480012
  mailing address: use embassy street address
  telephone: [7] (3272) 63-39-05, 63-13-75, 63-24-26
  FAX: [7] (3272) 63-29-42

Flag: sky blue background representing the endless sky and a gold
  sun with 32 rays soaring above a golden steppe eagle in the center;
  on the hoist side is a "national ornamentation" in yellow



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Kazakstan, the second largest of the former
  Soviet states in territory, possesses enormous untapped fossil-fuel
  reserves as well as plentiful supplies of other minerals and metals.
  It also has considerable agricultural potential with its vast steppe
  lands accommodating both livestock and grain production. Kazakstan's
  industrial sector rests on the extraction and processing of these
  natural resources and also on a relatively large machine building
  sector specializing in construction equipment, tractors,
  agricultural machinery, and some defense items. The breakup of the
  USSR and the collapse of demand for Kazakstan's traditional heavy
  industry products have resulted in a sharp contraction of the
  economy since 1991, with the steepest annual decline occurring in
  1994. The government has pursued a moderate program of economic
  reform and privatization, resulting in a gradual lifting of state
  controls over economic activity and a shifting of assets into the
  private sector. Nevertheless, government control over key sectors of
  the economy remains strong. Moreover, continued lack of pipeline
  transportation for expanded oil exports has closed off a likely
  source of economic recovery.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $46.9 billion (1995 estimate as
  extrapolated from World Bank estimate for 1994)

GDP real growth rate: -8.9% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $2,700 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 28.5%
  industry: 41.5%
  services: 30% (1991 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 60.3% (1995 est.)

Labor force: 7.356 million
  by occupation: industry and construction 31%, agriculture and
  forestry 26%, other 43% (1992)

Unemployment rate: 1.4% includes only officially registered
  unemployed; also large numbers of underemployed workers (September
  1995 est.)

Budget:
  revenues: $NA
  expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA

Industries: oil, coal, iron ore, manganese, chromite, lead, zinc,
  copper, titanium, bauxite, gold, silver, phosphates, sulfur, iron
  and steel, nonferrous metal, tractors and other agricultural
  machinery, electric motors, construction materials; much of
  industrial capacity is shut down and/or is in need of repair

Industrial production growth rate: -8% (1995)

Electricity:
  capacity: 17,380,000 kW
  production: 65.7 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 3,700 kWh (1995 est.)

Agriculture: grain, mostly spring wheat, cotton; wool, meat

Illicit drugs: illicit cultivation of cannabis and opium poppy;
  mostly for CIS consumption; government eradication program; used as
  transshipment point for illicit drugs to Western Europe and North
  America from Southwest Asia

Exports: $5.1 billion (1995)
  commodities: oil, ferrous and nonferrous metals, chemicals, grain,
  wool, meat, coal
  partners: Russia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan

Imports: $3.9 billion (1995)
  commodities: machinery and parts, industrial materials, oil and gas
  partners: Russia and other former Soviet republics, China

External debt: $2.5 billion (of which $1.3 billion to Russia)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $10 million (1993)
  note: commitments, 1992-95, $4,780 million ($1,795 million
  disbursements)

Currency: national currency, the tenge, introduced on 15 November
  1993

Exchange rates: tenges per US$1 - 64 (yearend 1995), 54 (yearend
  1994)

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 13,841 km in common carrier service; does not include
  industrial lines
  broad gauge: 13,841 km 1.520-m gauge (3,299 km electrified) (1992)

Highways:
  total: 87,873 km public roads
  paved: 82,568 km
  unpaved: 5,305 km (1994)

Waterways: 4,002 km on the Syrdariya River and Ertis River

Pipelines: crude oil 2,850 km; refined products 1,500 km; natural
  gas 3,480 km (1992)

Ports: Aqtau (Shevchenko), Atyrau (Gur'yev), Oskemen
  (Ust-Kamenogorsk), Pavlodar, Semey (Semipalatinsk)

Airports:
  total: 352
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 7
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 23
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 11
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 5
  with paved runways under 914 m: 9
  with unpaved runways over 3 047 m: 9
  with unpaved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 8
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 25
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 65
  with unpaved runways under 914 m: 190 (1994 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 2.2 million

Telephone system: service is poor
  domestic: landline and microwave radio relay
  international: international traffic with other former Soviet
  republics and China carried by landline and microwave radio relay
  and with other countries by satellite and through 8 international
  telecommunications circuits at the Moscow international gateway
  switch; satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat and a new satellite
  earth station established at Almaty of unknown type

Radio broadcast stations: AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA

Radios: 4.088 million (with multiple speakers for program
  diffusion 6.082 million)

Television broadcast stations: NA; Orbita (TV receive only) earth
  station

Televisions: 4.75 million



Defense
-------


Branches: Army, Air Force, Air Defense Force, National Guard,
  Security Forces (internal and border troops); Kazakstan may also be
  establishing a maritime force - navy or coast guard - on the Caspian
  Sea

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 4,399,356
  males fit for military service: 3,516,583
  males reach military age (18) annually: 154,750 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: 18.9 billion tenges, NA% of GDP (1995); note
  - conversion of defense expenditures into US dollars using the
  current exchange rate could produce misleading results



======================================================================




@Kenya
-----




Map
---


Location: 1 00 N, 38 00 E -- Eastern Africa, bordering the Indian
  Ocean, between Somalia and Tanzania



Flag
----


Description: three equal horizontal bands of black (top), red, and
  green; the red band is edged in white; a large warrior's shield
  covering crossed spears is superimposed at the center





Geography
---------


Location: Eastern Africa, bordering the Indian Ocean, between
  Somalia and Tanzania

Geographic coordinates: 1 00 N, 38 00 E

Map references: Africa

Area:
  total area: 582,650 sq km
  land area: 569,250 sq km
  comparative area: slightly more than twice the size of Nevada

Land boundaries:
  total: 3,446 km
  border countries: Ethiopia 830 km, Somalia 682 km, Sudan 232 km,
  Tanzania 769 km, Uganda 933 km

Coastline: 536 km

Maritime claims:
  continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: administrative boundary with Sudan does
  not coincide with international boundary; possible claim by Somalia
  based on unification of ethnic Somalis

Climate: varies from tropical along coast to arid in interior

Terrain: low plains rise to central highlands bisected by Great
  Rift Valley; fertile plateau in west
  lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
  highest point: Mount Kenya 5,199 m

Natural resources: gold, limestone, soda ash, salt barytes,
  rubies, fluorspar, garnets, wildlife

Land use:
  arable land: 3%
  permanent crops: 1%
  meadows and pastures: 7%
  forest and woodland: 4%
  other: 85%

Irrigated land: 520 sq km (1989)

Environment:
  current issues: water pollution from urban and industrial wastes;
  degradation of water quality from increased use of pesticides and
  fertilizers; deforestation; soil erosion; desertification; poaching
  natural hazards: NA
  international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
  Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life
  Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship
  Pollution, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Desertification

Geographic note: the Kenyan Highlands comprise one of the most
  successful agricultural production regions in Africa; glaciers on
  Mt. Kenya; unique physiography supports abundant and varied wildlife
  of scientific and economic value



People
------


Population: 28,176,686 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 45% (male 6,362,160; female 6,226,333)
  15-64 years: 53% (male 7,413,876; female 7,448,733)
  65 years and over: 2% (male 328,649; female 396,935) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.27% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 33.38 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 10.3 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: -0.35 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.83 male(s)/female
  all ages: 1 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 55.3 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 55.61 years
  male: 55.53 years
  female: 55.69 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 4.45 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Kenyan(s)
  adjective: Kenyan

Ethnic divisions: Kikuyu 22%, Luhya 14%, Luo 13%, Kalenjin 12%,
  Kamba 11%, Kisii 6%, Meru 6%, Asian, European, and Arab 1%, other 15%

Religions: Protestant (including Anglican) 38%, Roman Catholic
  28%, indigenous beliefs 26%, other 8%

Languages: English (official), Swahili (official), numerous
  indigenous languages

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)
  total population: 78.1%
  male: 86.3%
  female: 70%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Republic of Kenya
  conventional short form: Kenya
  former: British East Africa

Data code: KE

Type of government: republic

Capital: Nairobi

Administrative divisions: 7 provinces and 1 area*; Central, Coast,
  Eastern, Nairobi Area*, North Eastern, Nyanza, Rift Valley, Western

Independence: 12 December 1963 (from UK)

National holiday: Independence Day, 12 December (1963)

Constitution: 12 December 1963, amended as a republic 1964;
  reissued with amendments 1979, 1983, 1986, 1988, 1991, and 1992

Legal system: based on English common law, tribal law, and Islamic
  law; judicial review in High Court; accepts compulsory ICJ
  jurisdiction, with reservations; constitutional amendment of 1982
  making Kenya a de jure one-party state repealed in 1991

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state and head of government: President Daniel Toroitich
  arap MOI (since 14 October 1978) elected for a five-year term from
  the National Assembly by direct popular vote; election last held 29
  December 1992 (next to be held by early 1998); results - President
  Daniel T. arap MOI was reelected with 37% of the vote; Kenneth
  MATIBA (FORD-ASILI) 26%; Mwai KIBAKI (DP) 19%, Oginga ODINGA
  (FORD-Kenya) 17%; Vice President George SAITOTI (since 10 May 1989)
  was appointed by the president
  cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president

Legislative branch: unicameral
  National Assembly (Bunge): election last held 29 December 1992 (next
  to be held NA); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (188
  total) KANU 100, FORD-Kenya 31, FORD-Asili 31, DP 23, smaller
  parties 3; president nominates 12 additional members; note - as of 9
  April 1996 seat distribution was: KANU 106, FORD-Kenya 32,
  FORD-Asili 22, DP 22, smaller parties and vacancies 6
  note: first multiparty election since repeal of one-party state law
  in 1991

Judicial branch: Court of Appeal; High Court

Political parties and leaders: ruling party is Kenya African
  National Union (KANU), President Daniel Toroitich arap MOI;
  opposition parties include Forum for the Restoration of Democracy
  (FORD-Kenya), Michael WAMALWA; Forum for the Restoration of
  Democracy (FORD-Asili), Kenneth MATIBA; Democratic Party of Kenya
  (DP), Mwai KIBAKI

Other political or pressure groups: labor unions; Roman Catholic
  Church; unregistered SAFINA party with which prominent naturalist
  Richard Leakey is associated

International organization participation: ACP, C, CCC, EADB, ECA,
  FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS,
  IGADD, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU,
  MINURSO, NAM, OAU, UN, UNAVEM III, UNCRO, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO,
  UNIKOM, UNOMIL, UNPREDEP, UNPROFOR, UNU, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO,
  WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Benjamin Edgar KIPKORIR
  chancery: 2249 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
  telephone: [1] (202) 387-6101
  FAX: [1] (202) 462-3829
  consulate(s) general: Los Angeles and New York

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Aurelia E. BRAZEAL
  embassy: corner of Moi Avenue and Haile Selassie Avenue, Nairobi
  mailing address: P. O. Box 30137, Unit 64100, APO AE 09831
  telephone: [254] (2) 334141
  FAX: [254] (2) 340838

Flag: three equal horizontal bands of black (top), red, and green;
  the red band is edged in white; a large warrior's shield covering
  crossed spears is superimposed at the center



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Kenya in recent years has had one of the
  highest natural rates of growth in population, but the statistics
  have been complicated by the large-scale movement of nomadic groups
  and of Somalis back and forth across the border. Population growth
  has been accompanied by deforestation, deterioration in the road
  system, the water supply, and other parts of the infrastructure. In
  industry and services, Nairobi's reluctance to embrace IMF-supported
  reforms had held back investment and growth in 1991-93. Nairobi's
  push on economic reform in 1994, however, helped support a 3.3%
  increase in output. The strong economy continued into 1995 with
  inflation cut sharply and GDP growth at 5%.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $36.8 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 5% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $1,300 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 27%
  industry: 19%
  services: 54% (1992 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1.7% (1995 est.)

Labor force:
  by occupation: agriculture 75%-80% (1993 est.), non-agriculture
  20%-25% (1993 est.)

Unemployment rate: 35% urban (1994 est.)

Budget:
  revenues: $2.4 billion
  expenditures: $2.8 billion, including capital expenditures of $740
  million (1990 est.)

Industries: small-scale consumer goods (plastic, furniture,
  batteries, textiles, soap, cigarettes, flour), agricultural
  processing; oil refining, cement; tourism

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity:
  capacity: 810,000 kW
  production: 3.3 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 117 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: coffee, tea, corn, wheat, sugarcane, fruit,
  vegetables; dairy products, beef, pork, poultry, eggs

Illicit drugs: widespread harvesting of small, wild plots of
  marijuana and qat (chat); most locally consumed; transit country for
  Southwest Asian heroin moving to West Africa and onward to Europe
  and North America; Indian methaqualone also transits on way to South
  Africa

Exports: $1.6 billion (f.o.b., 1994)
  commodities: tea 25%, coffee 18%, petroleum products 11% (1990)
  partners: EC 47%, Africa 23%, Asia 11%, US 4%, Middle East 3% (1991)

Imports: $2.2 billion (f.o.b., 1994)
  commodities: machinery and transportation equipment 29%, petroleum
  and petroleum products 15%, iron and steel 7%, raw materials, food
  and consumer goods (1989)
  partners: EC 46%, Asia 23%, Middle East 20%, US 5% (1991)

External debt: $7 billion (1994 est.)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $589 million (1993)

Currency: 1 Kenyan shilling (KSh) = 100 cents

Exchange rates: Kenyan shillings (KSh) per US$1 - 56.715 (January
  1996), 51.430 (1995), 56.051 (1994), 58.001 (1993), 32.217 (1992),
  27.508 (1991)

Fiscal year: 1 July - 30 June



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 2,652 km
  narrow gauge: 2,652 km 1.000-m gauge

Highways:
  total: 62,573 km
  paved: 8,322 km
  unpaved: 54,251 km (1991 est.)

Waterways: part of Lake Victoria system is within boundaries of
======================================================================




@Kingman Reef
------------


(territory of the US)

Map
---


Location: 6 24 N, 162 24 W -- Oceania, reef in the North Pacific
  Ocean, about one-half of the way from Hawaii to American Samoa



Flag
----


Description: the flag of the US is used





Geography
---------


Location: Oceania, reef in the North Pacific Ocean, about one-half
  of the way from Hawaii to American Samoa

Geographic coordinates: 6 24 N, 162 24 W

Map references: Oceania

Area:
  total area: 1 sq km
  land area: 1 sq km
  comparative area: about 1.7 times the size of The Mall in
  Washington, DC

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 3 km

Maritime claims:
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: none

Climate: tropical, but moderated by prevailing winds

Terrain: low and nearly level
  lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
  highest point: unnamed location 1 m

Natural resources: none

Land use:
  arable land: 0%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 0%
  forest and woodland: 0%
  other: 100%

Irrigated land: 0 sq km

Environment:
  current issues: NA
  natural hazards: wet or awash most of the time, maximum elevation of
  about 1 meter makes Kingman Reef a maritime hazard
  international agreements: NA

Geographic note: barren coral atoll with deep interior lagoon;
  closed to the public



People
------


Population: uninhabited



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: none
  conventional short form: Kingman Reef

Data code: KQ

Type of government: unincorporated territory of the US
  administered by the US Navy; however, it is awash the majority of
  the time, so it is not usable and is uninhabited

Capital: none; administered from Washington, DC

Flag: the flag of the US is used



Economy
-------


Economic overview: no economic activity



Transportation
--------------


Ports: none; offshore anchorage only

Airports: lagoon was used as a halfway station between Hawaii and
  American Samoa by Pan American Airways for flying boats in 1937 and
  1938



Defense
-------


Defense note: defense is the responsibility of the US



======================================================================




@Kiribati
--------




Map
---


Location: 1 25 N, 173 00 E -- Oceania, group of islands in the
  Pacific Ocean, straddling the equator and the International Date
  Line, about one-half of the way from Hawaii to Australia



Flag
----


Description: the upper half is red with a yellow frigate bird
  flying over a yellow rising sun, and the lower half is blue with
  three horizontal wavy white stripes to represent the ocean





Geography
---------


Location: Oceania, group of islands in the Pacific Ocean,
  straddling the equator and the International Date Line, about
  one-half of the way from Hawaii to Australia

Geographic coordinates: 1 25 N, 173 00 E

Map references: Oceania

Area:
  total area: 717 sq km
  land area: 717 sq km
  comparative area: four times the size of Washington, DC
  note: includes three island groups - Gilbert Islands, Line Islands,
  Phoenix Islands

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 1,143 km

Maritime claims:
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: none

Climate: tropical; marine, hot and humid, moderated by trade winds

Terrain: mostly low-lying coral atolls surrounded by extensive
  reefs
  lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
  highest point: unnamed location on Banaba 81 m

Natural resources: phosphate (production discontinued in 1979)

Land use:
  arable land: 0%
  permanent crops: 51%
  meadows and pastures: 0%
  forest and woodland: 3%
  other: 46%

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Environment:
  current issues: heavy pollution in lagoon of south Tarawa atoll due
  to heavy migration mixed with traditional practices such as lagoon
  latrines and open-pit dumping; ground water at risk
  natural hazards: typhoons can occur any time, but usually November
  to March; occasional tornadoes
  international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
  Endangered Species, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Whaling

Geographic note: 20 of the 33 islands are inhabited; Banaba (Ocean
  Island) in Kiribati is one of the three great phosphate rock islands
  in the Pacific Ocean - the others are Makatea in French Polynesia
  and Nauru



People
------


Population: 80,919 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: NA
  15-64 years: NA
  65 years and over: NA

Population growth rate: 1.89% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 27.13 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 7.9 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: -0.31 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: NA male(s)/female
  under 15 years: NA male(s)/female
  15-64 years: NA male(s)/female
  65 years and over: NA male(s)/female
  all ages: NA male(s)/female

Infant mortality rate: 52.9 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 62.02 years
  male: 60.25 years
  female: 64.03 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 3.21 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: I-Kiribati (singular and plural)
  adjective: I-Kiribati

Ethnic divisions: Micronesian

Religions: Roman Catholic 52.6%, Protestant (Congregational)
  40.9%, Seventh-Day Adventist, Baha'i, Church of God, Mormon 6% (1985)

Languages: English (official), Gilbertese

Literacy: NA



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Republic of Kiribati
  conventional short form: Kiribati
  note: pronounced kiribas
  former: Gilbert Islands

Data code: KR

Type of government: republic

Capital: Tarawa

Administrative divisions: 3 units; Gilbert Islands, Line Islands,
  Phoenix Islands
  note: in addition, there are 6 districts (Banaba, Central Gilberts,
  Line Islands, Northern Gilberts, Southern Gilberts, Tarawa) and 21
  island councils (Abaiang, Abemama, Aranuka, Arorae, Banaba, Beru,
  Butaritari, Kanton, Kiritimati, Kuria, Maiana, Makin, Marakei,
  Nikunau, Nonouti, Onotoa, Tabiteuea, Tabuaeran, Tamana, Tarawa,
  Teraina; note - one council for each of the inhabited islands)

Independence: 12 July 1979 (from UK)

National holiday: Independence Day, 12 July (1979)

Constitution: 12 July 1979

Legal system: NA

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state and head of government: President (Beretitenti)
  Teburoro TITO (since 1 October 1994) was elected by popular vote;
  note - the House of Assembly chooses the presidential candidates
  from among their members and then those candidates compete in a
  general election; election last held 30 September 1994 (next to be
  held by NA 1999); results - Teburoro TITO 51.2%, Tewareka TENTOA
  18.3%, Roniti TEIWAKI 16.0%, Peter Taberannang TIMEON 14.5%; Vice
  President (Kauoman-ni-Beretitenti) Tewareka TENTOA (since 12 October
  1994) was appointed by the president
  cabinet: Cabinet was appointed by the president from among the
  members of the House of Assembly

Legislative branch: unicameral
  House of Assembly (Maneaba Ni Maungatabu): elections last held 22
  July 1994 (next to be held by NA 1999); results - percent of vote by
  party NA; seats - (40 total, 39 elected) Maneaban Te Mauri 13,
  National Progressive Party 7, independents 19

Judicial branch: Court of Appeal, judges at all levels are
  appointed by the president; High Court, judges at all levels are
  appointed by the president

Political parties and leaders: National Progressive Party, Teatao
  TEANNAKI; Christian Democratic Party, Teburoro TITO; New Movement
  Party, leader NA; Liberal Party, Tewareka TENTOA; Maneaban Te Mauri
  Party, Roniti TEIWAKI
  note: there is no tradition of formally organized political parties
  in Kiribati; they more closely resemble factions or interest groups
  because they have no party headquarters, formal platforms, or party
  structures

International organization participation: ACP, AsDB, C, ESCAP,
  IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, IDA, IFC, IMF, Intelsat (nonsignatory user),
  Interpol, ITU, Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UNESCO, UPU, WHO

Diplomatic representation in US: Kiribati does not have an embassy
  in the US

US diplomatic representation: the US does not have an embassy in
  Kiribati; the ambassador to Fiji is accredited to Kiribati

Flag: the upper half is red with a yellow frigate bird flying over
  a yellow rising sun, and the lower half is blue with three
  horizontal wavy white stripes to represent the ocean



Economy
-------


Economic overview: A remote country of 33 scattered coral atolls,
  Kiribati has few national resources. Commercially viable phosphate
  deposits were exhausted at the time of independence in 1979. Copra
  and fish now represent the bulk of production and exports. The
  economy has fluctuated widely in recent years. Real GDP growth has
  declined from about 10% in 1988 to about 2.6% in 1995. Economic
  development is constrained by a shortage of skilled workers, weak
  infrastructure, and remoteness from international markets. The
  financial sector is at an early stage of development. Foreign
  financial aid, largely from the UK and Japan, is a critical
  supplement to GDP, equal in amount to 25%-50% of GDP in recent years.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $68 million (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 2.6% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $860 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: NA%
  industry: NA%
  services: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 5.5% (1994 est.)

Labor force: 7,870 economically active, not including subsistence
  farmers (1985 est.)

Unemployment rate: 2%; underemployment 70% (1992 est.)

Budget:
  revenues: $32.5 million
  expenditures: $54.3 million, including capital expenditures of $NA
  (1995 est.)

Industries: fishing, handicrafts

Industrial production growth rate: 0.7% (1992 est.)

Electricity:
  capacity: 5,000 kW
  production: 13 million kWh
  consumption per capita: 131 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: copra, taro, breadfruit, sweet potatoes, vegetables;
  fish

Exports: $6.3 million (f.o.b., 1995 est.)
  commodities: copra 50%, seaweed 16%, fish 15%
  partners: Denmark, Fiji, US

Imports: $38.6 million (c.i.f., 1995 est.)
  commodities: foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, miscellaneous
  manufactured goods, fuel
  partners: Australia 40%, Japan 18%, Fiji 17%, NZ 6%, US 4% (1991)

External debt: $2 million (December 1989 est.)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $NA

Currency: 1 Australian dollar ($A) = 100 cents

Exchange rates: Australian dollars ($A) per US$1 - 1.3477 (January
  1996), 1.3486 (1995), 1.3667 (1994), 1.4704 (1993), 1.3600 (1992),
  1.2835 (1991)

Fiscal year: NA



Transportation
--------------


Railways: 0 km

Highways:
  total: 640 km (1987 est.)
  paved: NA km
  unpaved: NA km

Waterways: small network of canals, totaling 5 km, in Line Islands

Ports: Banaba, Betio, English Harbor, Kanton

Merchant marine:
  total: 2 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 3,248 GRT/4,496 DWT
  ships by type: oil tanker 1, short-sea passenger 1 (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 20
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 4
  with paved runways under 914 m: 5
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 11 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 1,400 (1984 est.)

Telephone system:
  domestic: NA
  international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0

Radios: 15,000 (1992 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 0 (1988 est.)

Televisions: 0 (1988 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: no regular military forces; Police Force (carries out
  law enforcement functions and paramilitary duties; small police
  posts are on all islands)

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: NA
  males fit for military service: NA

Defense expenditures: $NA, NA% of GDP



======================================================================




@Korea, North
------------




Map
---


Location: 40 00 N, 127 00 E -- Eastern Asia, northern half of the
  Korean Peninsula bordering the Korea Bay and the Sea of Japan,
  between China and South Korea



Flag
----


Description: three horizontal bands of blue (top), red (triple
  width), and blue; the red band is edged in white; on the hoist side
  of the red band is a white disk with a red five-pointed star





Geography
---------


Location: Eastern Asia, northern half of the Korean Peninsula
  bordering the Korea Bay and the Sea of Japan, between China and
  South Korea

Geographic coordinates: 40 00 N, 127 00 E

Map references: Asia

Area:
  total area: 120,540 sq km
  land area: 120,410 sq km
  comparative area: slightly smaller than Mississippi

Land boundaries:
  total: 1,673 km
  border countries: China 1,416 km, South Korea 238 km, Russia 19 km

Coastline: 2,495 km

Maritime claims:
  territorial sea: 12 nm
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  military boundary line: 50 nm in the Sea of Japan and the exclusive
  economic zone limit in the Yellow Sea where all foreign vessels and
  aircraft without permission are banned

International disputes: short section of boundary with China is
  indefinite; Demarcation Line with South Korea

Climate: temperate with rainfall concentrated in summer

Terrain: mostly hills and mountains separated by deep, narrow
  valleys; coastal plains wide in west, discontinuous in east
  lowest point: Sea of Japan 0 m
  highest point: Paektu-san 2,744 m

Natural resources: coal, lead, tungsten, zinc, graphite,
  magnesite, iron ore, copper, gold, pyrites, salt, fluorspar,
  hydropower

Land use:
  arable land: 18%
  permanent crops: 1%
  meadows and pastures: 0%
  forest and woodland: 74%
  other: 7%

Irrigated land: 14,000 sq km (1989)

Environment:
  current issues: localized air pollution attributable to inadequate
  industrial controls; water pollution; inadequate supplies of potable
  water
  natural hazards: late spring droughts often followed by severe
  flooding; occasional typhoons during the early fall
  international agreements: party to - Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity,
  Climate Change, Environmental Modification, Ship Pollution; signed,
  but not ratified - Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Law of the Sea,
  Ozone Layer Protection

Geographic note: strategic location bordering China, South Korea,
  and Russia; mountainous interior is isolated, nearly inaccessible,
  and sparsely populated



People
------


Population: 23,904,124 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 30% (male 3,605,972; female 3,465,038)
  15-64 years: 66% (male 7,871,783; female 7,956,935)
  65 years and over: 4% (male 355,284; female 649,112) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.74% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 22.86 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 5.45 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.55 male(s)/female
  all ages: 0.98 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 25.9 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 70.32 years
  male: 67.23 years
  female: 73.57 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.31 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Korean(s)
  adjective: Korean

Ethnic divisions: racially homogeneous

Religions: Buddhism and Confucianism, some Christianity and
  syncretic Chondogyo
  note: autonomous religious activities now almost nonexistent;
  government-sponsored religious groups exist to provide illusion of
  religious freedom

Languages: Korean

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write Korean (1990 est.)
  total population: 99%
  male: 99%
  female: 99%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Democratic People's Republic of Korea
  conventional short form: North Korea
  local long form: Choson-minjujuui-inmin-konghwaguk
  local short form: none
  note: the North Koreans generally use the term "Choson" to refer to
  their country
  abbreviation: DPRK

Data code: KN

Type of government: Communist state; Stalinist dictatorship

Capital: P'yongyang

Administrative divisions: 9 provinces (do, singular and plural)
  and 3 special cities* (si, singular and plural); Chagang-do (Chagang
  Province), Hamgyong-bukto (North Hamgyong Province), Hamgyong-namdo
  (South Hamgyong Province), Hwanghae-bukto (North Hwanghae Province),
  Hwanghae-namdo (South Hwanghae Province), Kaesong-si* (Kaesong
  City), Kangwon-do (Kangwon Province), Namp'o-si* (Namp'o City),
  P'yongan-bukto (North P'yongan Province), P'yongan-namdo (South
  P'yongan Province), P'yongyang-si* (P'yongyang City), Yanggang-do
  (Yanggang Province)

Independence: 9 September 1948
  note: 15 August 1945, date of independence from the Japanese and
  celebrated in North Korea as National Liberation Day

National holiday: DPRK Foundation Day, 9 September (1948)

Constitution: adopted 1948, completely revised 27 December 1972,
  revised again in April 1992

Legal system: based on German civil law system with Japanese
  influences and Communist legal theory; no judicial review of
  legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: 17 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: KIM Chong-il [defacto]; note - President KIM Il-song
  was reelected without opposition 24 May 1990 and died 8 July 1994
  leaving his son KIM Chong-il as designated successor; however the
  son has not assumed the titles that his father held and no new
  elections have been held or scheduled
  head of government: Premier KANG Song-san (since NA December 1992)
  was elected by the Supreme People's Assembly
  cabinet: State Administration Council was appointed by the Supreme
  People's Assembly

Legislative branch: unicameral
  Supreme People's Assembly (Ch'oego Inmin Hoeui): elections last held
  7-9 April 1990 (next to be held NA); results - percent of vote by
  party NA; seats - (687 total) the KWP approves a single list of
  candidates who are elected without opposition; minor parties hold a
  few seats

Judicial branch: Central Court, judges are elected by the Supreme
  People's Assembly

Political parties and leaders: major party - Korean Workers' Party
  (KWP), KIM Chong-il, secretary, Central Committee; Korean Social
  Democratic Party, KIM Pyong-sik, chairman; Chondoist Chongu Party,
  YU Mi-yong, chairwoman

International organization participation: ESCAP, FAO, G-77, ICAO,
  ICRM, IFAD, IFRCS, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), IOC, ISO, ITU,
  NAM, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO

Diplomatic representation in US: none; note - North Korea has a
  Permanent Mission to the UN in New York, headed by PAK Kil-yon

US diplomatic representation: none

Flag: three horizontal bands of blue (top), red (triple width),
  and blue; the red band is edged in white; on the hoist side of the
  red band is a white disk with a red five-pointed star



Economy
-------


Economic overview: More than 90% of this command economy is
  socialized; agricultural land is collectivized; and state-owned
  industry produces 95% of manufactured goods. State control of
  economic affairs is unusually tight even for a communist country
  because of the small size and homogeneity of the society and the
  strict rule of KIM Il-song in the past and now his son, KIM
  Chong-il. Economic growth during the period 1984-88 averaged 2%-3%,
  but output declined by an average of 4%-5% annually during 1989-95
  because of systemic problems and disruptions in socialist-style
  economic relations and technological links with the former USSR and
  China. The leadership has insisted on maintaining its high level of
  military outlays from a shrinking economic pie. Moreover, a serious
  drawdown in inventories and critical shortages in the energy sector
  have led to increasing interruptions in industrial production.
  Abundant mineral resources and hydropower have formed the basis of
  industrial development since World War II. Manufacturing is centered
  on heavy industry, including military industry, with light industry
  lagging far behind. Despite the use of improved seed varieties,
  expansion of irrigation, and the heavy use of fertilizers, North
  Korea has not yet become self-sufficient in food production. Indeed,
  a shortage of arable lands, several years of poor harvests, and a
  cumbersome distribution system have resulted in chronic food
  shortages. The year 1995 was marked by serious summer floods that
  worsened an already tenuous food situation. Substantial grain
  shipments from Japan and South Korea offset a portion of the losses.
  North Korea remains far behind South Korea in economic development
  and living standards.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $21.5 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: -5% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $920 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 25%
  industry: 60%
  services: 15% (1995 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA%

Labor force: 9.615 million
  by occupation: agricultural 36%, nonagricultural 64%

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget:
  revenues: $19.3 billion
  expenditures: $19.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA
  (1992 est.)

Industries: military products; machine building, electric power,
  chemicals; mining (coal, iron ore, magnesite, graphite, copper,
  zinc, lead, and precious metals), metallurgy; textiles, food
  processing

Industrial production growth rate: -7% to -9% (1992 est.)

Electricity:
  capacity: 9,500,000 kW
  production: 50 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 2,053 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: rice, corn, potatoes, soybeans, pulses; cattle, pigs,
  pork, eggs

Exports: $840 million (f.o.b., 1994 est.)
  commodities: minerals, metallurgical products, agricultural and
  fishery products, manufactures (including armaments)
  partners: China, Japan, South Korea, Germany, Hong Kong, Russia

Imports: $1.27 billion (f.o.b., 1994 est.)
  commodities: petroleum, grain, coking coal, machinery and equipment,
  consumer goods
  partners: China, Japan, Hong Kong, Germany, Russia, Singapore

External debt: $8 billion (1992 est.)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $NA
  note: small amounts of grant aid from Japan and other countries

Currency: 1 North Korean won (Wn) = 100 chon

Exchange rates: North Korean won (Wn) per US$1 - 2.15 (May 1994),
  2.13 (May 1992), 2.14 (September 1991), 2.1 (January 1990), 2.3
  (December 1989)

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 4,915 km
  standard gauge: 4,250 km 1.435-m gauge (3,397 km electrified; 159 km
  double track)
  narrow gauge: 665 km 0.762-m gauge (1989)

Highways:
  total: 30,000 km
  paved: 4,500 km
  unpaved: 25,500 km

Waterways: 2,253 km; mostly navigable by small craft only

Pipelines: crude oil 37 km

Ports: Ch'ongjin, Haeju, Hungnam (Hamhung), Kimch'aek, Kosong,
  Najin, Namp'o, Sinuiju, Songnim, Sonbong (formerly Unggi), Ungsang,
  Wonsan

Merchant marine:
  total: 88 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 712,480 GRT/1,140,923
  DWT
  ships by type: bulk 9, cargo 71, combination bulk 1, oil tanker 3,
  passenger 2, passenger-cargo 1, short-sea passenger 1
  note: North Korea owns an additional 4 ships (1,000 GRT or over)
  totaling approximately 34,782 DWT operating under the registries of
  Hondurus and Poland (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 49
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 2
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 15
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 2
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 1
  with paved runways under 914 m: 2
  with unpaved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 4
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 5
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 12
  with unpaved runways under 914 m: 6 (1994 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 30,000 (1990 est.)

Telephone system: system is believed to be available principally
  for government business
  domestic: NA
  international: satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean)
  and 1 Intersputnik (Indian Ocean Region); other international
  connections through Moscow and Beijing

Radio broadcast stations: AM 18, FM 0, shortwave 0

Radios: 3.5 million

Television broadcast stations: 11

Televisions: 400,000 (1992 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Korean People's Army (includes Army, Navy, Air Force),
  Civil Security Forces

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 6,844,035
  males fit for military service: 4,143,713
  males reach military age (18) annually: 194,922 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $5 billion to $7
  billion, 25% to 33% of GDP (1995 est.)



======================================================================




@Korea, South
------------




Map
---


Location: 37 00 N, 127 30 E -- Eastern Asia, southern half of the
  Korean Peninsula bordering the Sea of Japan and the Yellow Sea,
  south of North Korea



Flag
----


Description: white with a red (top) and blue yin-yang symbol in
  the center; there is a different black trigram from the ancient I
  Ching (Book of Changes) in each corner of the white field





Geography
---------


Location: Eastern Asia, southern half of the Korean Peninsula
  bordering the Sea of Japan and the Yellow Sea, south of North Korea

Geographic coordinates: 37 00 N, 127 30 E

Map references: Asia

Area:
  total area: 98,480 sq km
  land area: 98,190 sq km
  comparative area: slightly larger than Indiana

Land boundaries:
  total: 238 km
  border country: North Korea 238 km

Coastline: 2,413 km

Maritime claims:
  continental shelf: not specified
  territorial sea: 12 nm; 3 nm in the Korea Strait

International disputes: Demarcation Line with North Korea;
  Liancourt Rocks claimed by Japan

Climate: temperate, with rainfall heavier in summer than winter

Terrain: mostly hills and mountains; wide coastal plains in west
  and south
  lowest point: Sea of Japan 0 m
  highest point: Halla-san 1,950 m

Natural resources: coal, tungsten, graphite, molybdenum, lead,
  hydropower

Land use:
  arable land: 21%
  permanent crops: 1%
  meadows and pastures: 1%
  forest and woodland: 67%
  other: 10%

Irrigated land: 13,530 sq km (1989)

Environment:
  current issues: air pollution in large cities; water pollution from
  the discharge of sewage and industrial effluents; drift net fishing
  natural hazards: occasional typhoons bring high winds and floods;
  earthquakes in southwest
  international agreements: party to - Antarctic-Environmental
  Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered
  Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test
  Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83,
  Tropical Timber 94; signed, but not ratified - Desertification, Law
  of the Sea



People
------


Population: 45,482,291 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 23% (male 5,531,032; female 4,962,915)
  15-64 years: 71% (male 16,374,678; female 15,910,846)
  65 years and over: 6% (male 1,014,649; female 1,688,171) (July 1996
  est.)

Population growth rate: 1.02% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 16.24 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 5.66 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: -0.35 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.14 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.11 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.6 male(s)/female
  all ages: 1.02 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 8.2 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 73.26 years
  male: 69.65 years
  female: 77.39 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.77 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Korean(s)
  adjective: Korean

Ethnic divisions: homogeneous (except for about 20,000 Chinese)

Religions: Christianity 48.6%, Buddhism 47.4%, Confucianism 3%,
  pervasive folk religion (shamanism), Chondogyo (Religion of the
  Heavenly Way) 0.2%

Languages: Korean, English widely taught in high school

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)
  total population: 98%
  male: 99.3%
  female: 96.7%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Republic of Korea
  conventional short form: South Korea
  local long form: Taehan-min'guk
  local short form: none
  note: the South Koreans generally use the term "Hanguk" to refer to
  their country
  abbreviation: ROK

Data code: KS

Type of government: republic

Capital: Seoul

Administrative divisions: 9 provinces (do, singular and plural)
  and 6 special cities* (gwangyoksi, singular and plural); Cheju-do,
  Cholla-bukto, Cholla-namdo, Ch'ungch'ong-bukto, Ch'ungch'ong-namdo,
  Inch'on-gwangyoksi*, Kangwon-do, Kwangju-gwangyoksi*, Kyonggi-do,
  Kyongsang-bukto, Kyongsang-namdo, Pusan-gwangyoksi*,
  Soul-t'ukpyolsi*, Taegu-gwangyoksi*, Taejon-gwangyoksi*

Independence: 15 August 1948

National holiday: Independence Day, 15 August (1948)

Constitution: 25 February 1988

Legal system: combines elements of continental European civil law
  systems, Anglo-American law, and Chinese classical thought

Suffrage: 20 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: President KIM Yong-sam (since 25 February 1993) was
  elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 18
  December 1992 (next to be held NA December 1997); results - KIM
  Yong-sam (DLP) 41.9%, KIM Tae-chung (DP) 33.8%, CHONG Chu-yong (UPP)
  16.3%, other 8%
  head of government: Prime Minister YI Su-song (since 15 December
  1995) was appointed by the president with the consent of the
  National Assembly; Deputy Prime Ministers NA Ung-pae (since 20
  December 1995) and KWON O-ki (since 20 December 1995) were appointed
  by the president on the prime minister's recommendation
  cabinet: State Council was appointed by the president on the prime
  minister's recommendation

Legislative branch: unicameral
  National Assembly (Kukhoe): members elected for four-year terms;
  elections last held 11 April 1996 (next to be held NA 2000); results
  - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (299 total) NKP 139, NCNP 79,
  ULD 50, DP 15, independents 16

Judicial branch: Supreme Court, justices are appointed by the
  president subject to the consent of the National Assembly

Political parties and leaders:
  majority party: New Korea Party (NKP), KIM Yong-sam, president
  opposition: United Liberal Democratic Party (ULD), KIM Chong-p'il,
  president; Democratic Party (DP), KIM Won-ki, co-chairman and CHANG
  Ul-pyong, co-chairman; National Congress for New Politics (NCNP),
  KIM Tae-chung, president

Other political or pressure groups: Korean National Council of
  Churches; National Democratic Alliance of Korea; National Federation
  of Student Associations; National Federation of Farmers'
  Associations; National Council of Labor Unions; Federation of Korean
  Trade Unions; Korean Veterans' Association; Federation of Korean
  Industries; Korean Traders Association

International organization participation: AfDB, APEC, AsDB, CCC,
  CP, EBRD, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA,
  IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO,
  ITU, MINURSO, OAS (observer), OSCE (partner), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO,
  UNIDO, UNMOGIP, UNOMIG, UNU, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador PAK Kun-u
  chancery: 2450 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
  telephone: [1] (202) 939-5600, 524-9273
  consulate(s) general: Agana (Guam), Anchorage, Atlanta, Boston,
  Chicago, Honolulu, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San
  Francisco, and Seattle

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador James T. LANEY
  embassy: 82 Sejong-Ro, Chongro-ku, Seoul
  mailing address: American Embassy, Unit 15550, APO AP 96205-0001
  telephone: [82] (2) 397-4114
  FAX: [82] (2) 738-8845
  consulate(s): Pusan

Flag: white with a red (top) and blue yin-yang symbol in the
  center; there is a different black trigram from the ancient I Ching
  (Book of Changes) in each corner of the white field



Economy
-------


Economic overview: As one of the Four Dragons of East Asia, South
  Korea has achieved an incredible record of growth. Three decades ago
  its GDP per capita was comparable with levels in the poorer
  countries of Africa and Asia. Today its GDP per capita is nine times
  India's, 14 times North Korea's, and already up with the lesser
  economies of the European Union. This success has been achieved by a
  unique combination of authoritarian government guidance of what is
  at bottom an essentially entrepreneurial process. The government has
  sponsored large-scale adoption of technology and management from
  Japan and other modern nations; has successfully pushed the
  development of export industries while encouraging the import of
  machinery and materials at the expense of consumer goods; and has
  pushed its labor force to a work effort seldom matched anywhere even
  in wartime. Real GDP grew by an average 10% in 1986-91, then paused
  to a "mere" 5% in 1992-93, only to move back up to 8% in 1994 and 9%
  in 1995. With a much higher standard of living and with a
  considerable easing of authoritarian controls, the work pace has
  softened. Growth rates will probably slow down over the medium term
  because of the exhaustion of former growth opportunities and the
  need to deal with pollution and the other problems of success.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $590.7 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 9% (1995)

GDP per capita: $13,000 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 8%
  industry: 45%
  services: 47% (1991 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 4.3% (1995 est.)

Labor force: 20 million
  by occupation: services and other 52%, mining and manufacturing 27%,
  agriculture, fishing, forestry 21% (1991)

Unemployment rate: 2% (1995 est.)

Budget:
  revenues: $69 billion
  expenditures: $67 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA
  (1995 est.)

Industries: electronics, automobile production, chemicals,
  shipbuilding, steel, textiles, clothing, footwear, food processing

Industrial production growth rate: 12.2% (1995 est.)

Electricity:
  capacity: 28,750,000 kW
  production: 165 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 2,899 kWh (1994)

Agriculture: rice, root crops, barley, vegetables, fruit; cattle,
  pigs, chickens, milk, eggs; fish catch of 2.9 million metric tons,
  seventh largest in world

Exports: $125.4 billion (f.o.b., 1995)
  commodities: electronic and electrical equipment, machinery, steel,
  automobiles, ships; textiles, clothing, footwear; fish
  partners: US 19%, Japan 14%, EU 13%

Imports: $135.1 billion (c.i.f., 1995)
  commodities: machinery, electronics and electronic equipment, oil,
  steel, transport equipment, textiles, organic chemicals, grains
  partners: Japan 24%, US 22%, EU 13%

External debt: $77 billion (1995 est.)

Economic aid: $NA

Currency: 1 South Korean won (W) = 100 chun (theoretical)

Exchange rates: South Korean won (W) per US$1 - 787.27 (January
  1996), 771.27 (1995), 803.45 (1994), 802.67 (1993), 780.65 (1992),
  733.35 (1991)

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 3,101 km
  standard gauge: 3,081 km 1.435-m gauge (560 km electrified)
  narrow gauge: 20 km 0.762-m gauge

Highways:
  total: 61,296 km
  paved: 51,918 km (including 1,550 km of expressways)
  unpaved: 9,378 km (1993)

Waterways: 1,609 km; use restricted to small native craft

Pipelines: petroleum products 455 km

Ports: Chinhae, Inch'on, Kunsan, Masan, Mokp'o, Pohang, Pusan,
  Ulsan, Yosu

Merchant marine:
  total: 428 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 6,076,981
  GRT/9,822,089 DWT
  ships by type: bulk 124, cargo 122, chemical tanker 21, combination
  bulk 3, combination ore/oil 1, container 59, liquefied gas tanker
  12, multifunction large-load carrier 1, oil tanker 61, refrigerated
  cargo 13, short-sea passenger 1, vehicle carrier 10
  note: South Korea owns an additional 231 ships (1,000 GRT or over)
  totaling 10,128,506 DWT operating under the registries of Panama,
  Liberia, Cyprus, Malta, The Bahamas, and Thailand (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 105
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 1
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 20
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 13
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 14
  with paved runways under 914 m: 54
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 3 (1995 est.)

Heliports: 201 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 16.6 million (1993)

Telephone system: excellent domestic and international services
  domestic: NA
  international: fiber-optic submarine cable to China; satellite earth
  stations - 3 Intelsat (2 Pacific Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) and 1
  Inmarsat (Pacific Ocean Region)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 79, FM 46, shortwave 0

Radios: 42 million (1993 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 256 (57 of which are 1 kW or
  greater) (1987 est.)

Televisions: 9.3 million (1992 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, National Maritime
  Police (Coast Guard)

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 13,602,115
  males fit for military service: 8,706,545
  males reach military age (18) annually: 398,322 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $17.4 billion,
  3.3% of GNP (1996)



======================================================================




@Kuwait
------




Map
---


Location: 29 30 N, 45 45 E -- Middle East, bordering the Persian
  Gulf, between Iraq and Saudi Arabia



Flag
----


Description: three equal horizontal bands of green (top), white,
  and red with a black trapezoid based on the hoist side





Geography
---------


Location: Middle East, bordering the Persian Gulf, between Iraq
  and Saudi Arabia

Geographic coordinates: 29 30 N, 45 45 E

Map references: Middle East

Area:
  total area: 17,820 sq km
  land area: 17,820 sq km
  comparative area: slightly smaller than New Jersey

Land boundaries:
  total: 464 km
  border countries: Iraq 242 km, Saudi Arabia 222 km

Coastline: 499 km

Maritime claims:
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: in November 1994, Iraq formally accepted
  the UN-demarcated border with Kuwait which had been spelled out in
  Security Council Resolutions 687 (1991), 773 (1993), and 883 (1993);
  this formally ends earlier claims to Kuwait and to Bubiyan and
  Warbah islands; ownership of Qaruh and Umm al Maradim islands
  disputed by Saudi Arabia

Climate: dry desert; intensely hot summers; short, cool winters

Terrain: flat to slightly undulating desert plain
  lowest point: Persian Gulf 0 m
  highest point: unnamed location 306 m

Natural resources: petroleum, fish, shrimp, natural gas

Land use:
  arable land: 0%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 8%
  forest and woodland: 0%
  other: 92%

Irrigated land: 20 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
  current issues: limited natural fresh water resources; some of
  world's largest and most sophisticated desalination facilities
  provide much of the water; air and water pollution; desertification
  natural hazards: sudden cloudbursts are common from October to
  April, they bring inordinate amounts of rain which can damage roads
  and houses; sandstorms and dust storms occur throughout the year,
  but are most common between March and August
  international agreements: party to - Climate Change, Environmental
  Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban,
  Ozone Layer Protection; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity,
  Desertification, Endangered Species, Marine Dumping

Geographic note: strategic location at head of Persian Gulf



People
------


Population: 1,950,047 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 33% (male 334,778; female 317,241)
  15-64 years: 65% (male 757,535; female 507,064)
  65 years and over: 2% (male 18,459; female 14,970) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 6.65% (1996 est.)
  note: this rate reflects the continued post-Gulf crisis return of
  nationals and expatriates

Birth rate: 20.28 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 2.2 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 48.46 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 1.49 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 1.23 male(s)/female
  all ages: 1.32 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 11.1 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 75.92 years
  male: 73.59 years
  female: 78.38 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.82 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Kuwaiti(s)
  adjective: Kuwaiti

Ethnic divisions: Kuwaiti 45%, other Arab 35%, South Asian 9%,
  Iranian 4%, other 7%

Religions: Muslim 85% (Shi'a 30%, Sunni 45%, other 10%),
  Christian, Hindu, Parsi, and other 15%

Languages: Arabic (official), English widely spoken

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)
  total population: 78.6%
  male: 82.2%
  female: 74.9%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: State of Kuwait
  conventional short form: Kuwait
  local long form: Dawlat al Kuwayt
  local short form: Al Kuwayt

Data code: KU

Type of government: nominal constitutional monarchy

Capital: Kuwait

Administrative divisions: 5 governorates (muhafazat, singular -
  muhafazah); Al Ahmadi, Al Jahrah, Al Kuwayt, Hawalli, Al Farwaniyah

Independence: 19 June 1961 (from UK)

National holiday: National Day, 25 February (1950)

Constitution: approved and promulgated 11 November 1962

Legal system: civil law system with Islamic law significant in
  personal matters; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: adult males who have been naturalized for 30 years or
  more or have resided in Kuwait since before 1920 and their male
  descendants at age 21
  note: only 10% of all citizens are eligible to vote; in 1996,
  naturalized citizens who do not meet the pre-1920 qualification but
  have been naturalized for 30 years will be eligible to vote

Executive branch:
  chief of state: Amir JABIR al-Ahmad al-Jabir Al Sabah (since 31
  December 1977) is a hereditary monarch of the MUBARAK line of the
  ruling Sabah family
  head of government: Prime Minister and Crown Prince SAAD al-Abdallah
  al-Salim Al Sabah (since 8 February 1978), First Deputy Prime
  Minister SABAH al-Ahmad al-Jabir Al Sabah (since 17 October 1992),
  and Second Deputy Prime Minister Nasir Abdallah al-RUDAN (since NA)
  were appointed by the Amir
  cabinet: Council of Ministers was appointed by the prime minister
  and approved by the amir

Legislative branch: unicameral
  National Assembly (Majlis al-umma): elected members serve four-year
  terms; elections last held 5 October 1992 (next to be held NA
  September 1996); results - percent of vote NA; seats - (50 total)
  independents 50; note - all cabinet ministers are also ex officio
  members of the National Assembly

Judicial branch: High Court of Appeal

Political parties and leaders: none

Other political or pressure groups: several political groups act
  as de facto parties: Bedouins, merchants, Sunni and Shi'a activists,
  and secular leftists and nationalists

International organization participation: ABEDA, AfDB, AFESD, AL,
  AMF, BDEAC, CAEU, CCC, ESCWA, FAO, G-77, GCC, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC,
  ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat,
  Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, OPEC, UN,
  UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador MUHAMMAD al-Sabah al-Salim Al SABAH
  chancery: 2940 Tilden Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
  telephone: [1] (202) 966-0702
  FAX: [1] (202) 966-0517

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Ryan C. CROCKER
  embassy: Bneid al-Gar (opposite the Kuwait International Hotel),
  Kuwait City
  mailing address: P.O. Box 77, SAFAT, 13001 SAFAT, Kuwait; Unit 6900,
  APO AE 09880-9000
  telephone: [965] 2424151 through 2424159
  FAX: [965] 2442855

Flag: three equal horizontal bands of green (top), white, and red
  with a black trapezoid based on the hoist side



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Kuwait is a small and relatively open economy
  with proved crude oil reserves of about 94 billion barrels - 10% of
  world reserves. Kuwait has rebuilt its war-ravaged petroleum sector;
  its crude oil production averaged 2.0 million barrels per day in
  1994. The government continues to record large fiscal deficits.
  Petroleum accounts for nearly half of GDP, 90% of export revenues,
  and 70% of government income. Kuwait lacks water and has practically
  no arable land, thus preventing development of agriculture. With the
  exception of fish, it depends almost wholly on food imports. About
  75% of potable water must be distilled or imported. Because of its
  high per capita income, comparable with Western European incomes,
  Kuwait provides its citizens with extensive health, educational, and
  retirement benefits. Per capita military expenditures are among the
  highest in the world. The economy improved moderately in 1994-95,
  with the growth in industry and finance. The World Bank has urged
  Kuwait to push ahead with privatization, including in the oil
  industry, but the government will move slowly on this front.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $30.8 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 3% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $17,000 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 0%
  industry: 55%
  services: 45%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 5% (1994 est.)

Labor force: 1 million (1994 est.)
  by occupation: industry and agriculture 25.0%, services 25.0%,
  government and social services 50.0%
  note: 80% of labor force non-Kuwaiti (1994 est.)

Unemployment rate: NEGL% (1992 est.)

Budget:
  revenues: $9.7 billion
  expenditures: $14.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA
  (FY95/96 est.)

Industries: petroleum, petrochemicals, desalination, food
  processing, construction materials, salt, construction

Industrial production growth rate: 1% (1995 est.)

Electricity:
  capacity: 7,070,000 kW
  production: 11 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 6,007 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: practically no crops; extensive fishing in
  territorial waters

Exports: $11.9 billion (f.o.b., 1994)
  commodities: oil
  partners: US 23%, Japan 13%, Germany 10%, UK 9%, France 8%

Imports: $6.7 billion (f.o.b., 1994)
  commodities: food, construction materials, vehicles and parts,
  clothing
  partners: US 14%, Japan 12%, Germany 8%, UK 7%, France 6% (1994 est.)

External debt: $NA

Economic aid: $NA

Currency: 1 Kuwaiti dinar (KD) = 1,000 fils

Exchange rates: Kuwaiti dinars (KD) per US$1 - 0.2993 (January
  1996), 0.2984 (1995), 0.2976 (1994), 0.3017 (1993), 0.2934 (1992),
  0.2843 (1991)

Fiscal year: 1 July - 30 June



Transportation
--------------


Railways: 0 km

Highways:
  total: 4,273 km
  paved: NA km (including 280 km of expressways) (1989 est.)
  unpaved: NA km

Pipelines: crude oil 877 km; petroleum products 40 km; natural gas
  165 km

Ports: Ash Shu'aybah, Ash Shuwaykh, Kuwait, Mina' 'Abd Allah,
  Mina' al Ahmadi, Mina' Su'ud

Merchant marine:
  total: 46 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,053,667 GRT/3,242,305
  DWT
  ships by type: cargo 10, container 3, liquefied gas tanker 7,
  livestock carrier 4, oil tanker 21, vehicle carrier 1 (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 4
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 3
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 1 (1995 est.)

Heliports: 1 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 548,000 (1991 est.)

Telephone system: the civil network suffered some damage as a
  result of the Gulf war, but most of the telephone exchanges were
  left intact and, by the end of 1994, domestic and international
  telecommunications had been restored to normal operation; the
  quality of service is excellent
  domestic: new telephone exchanges provide a large capacity for new
  subscribers; trunk traffic is carried by microwave radio relay,
  coaxial cable, open wire and fiber-optic cable; a cellular telephone
  system operates throughout Kuwait and the country is well supplied
  with pay telephones
  international: coaxial cable and microwave radio relay to Saudi
  Arabia; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean, 2
  Indian Ocean), 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic Ocean), and 1 Arabsat

Radio broadcast stations: AM 3, FM 0, shortwave 0

Radios: 720,000 (1992 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 3 (1986 est.)

Televisions: 800,000 (1993 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, National Guard, Ministry of
  Interior Forces, Coast Guard

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 658,270
  males fit for military service: 391,586
  males reach military age (18) annually: 17,544 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $3.5 billion,
  12.8% of GDP (FY95/96)



======================================================================




@Kyrgyzstan
----------




Map
---


Location: 41 00 N, 75 00 E -- Central Asia, west of China



Flag
----


Description: red field with a yellow sun in the center having 40
  rays representing the 40 Kirghiz tribes; on the obverse side the
  rays run counterclockwise, on the reverse, clockwise; in the center
  of the sun is a red ring crossed by two sets of three lines, a
  stylized representation of the roof of the traditional Kirghiz yurt





Geography
---------


Location: Central Asia, west of China

Geographic coordinates: 41 00 N, 75 00 E

Map references: Commonwealth of Independent States

Area:
  total area: 198,500 sq km
  land area: 191,300 sq km
  comparative area: slightly smaller than South Dakota

Land boundaries:
  total: 3,878 km
  border countries: China 858 km, Kazakstan 1,051 km, Tajikistan 870
  km, Uzbekistan 1,099 km

Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims: none (landlocked)

International disputes: territorial dispute with Tajikistan on
  southwestern boundary in Isfara Valley area

Climate: dry continental to polar in high Tien Shan; subtropical
  in southwest (Fergana Valley); temperate in northern foothill zone

Terrain: peaks of Tien Shan and associated valleys and basins
  encompass entire nation
  lowest point: Kara-Daryya 132 m
  highest point: Jengish Chokusu 7,439 m

Natural resources: abundant hydroelectric potential; significant
  deposits of gold and rare earth metals; locally exploitable coal,
  oil, and natural gas; other deposits of nepheline, mercury, bismuth,
  lead, and zinc

Land use:
  arable land: 7%
  permanent crops: NEGL%
  meadows and pastures: 42%
  forest and woodland: 0%
  other: 51%

Irrigated land: 10,320 sq km (1990)

Environment:
  current issues: water pollution; many people get their water
  directly from contaminated streams and wells; as a result,
  water-borne diseases are prevalent; increasing soil salinity from
  faulty irrigation practices
  natural hazards: NA
  international agreements: NA

Geographic note: landlocked



People
------


Population: 4,529,648 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 37% (male 847,859; female 828,889)
  15-64 years: 57% (male 1,263,044; female 1,312,040)
  65 years and over: 6% (male 100,524; female 177,292) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 0.07% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 26.02 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 8.83 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: -16.5 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.57 male(s)/female
  all ages: 0.95 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 77.8 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 63.86 years
  male: 59.18 years
  female: 68.77 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 3.22 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Kyrgyz(s)
  adjective: Kyrgyz

Ethnic divisions: Kirghiz 52.4%, Russian 21.5%, Uzbek 12.9%,
  Ukrainian 2.5%, German 2.4%, other 8.3%

Religions: Muslim NA%, Russian Orthodox NA%

Languages: Kirghiz (Kyrgyz) - official language, Russian -
  official language
  note: in March 1996, the Kyrgyz legislature amended the constitution
  to make Russian an official language, along with Kyrgyz, in
  territories and work places where Russian-speaking citizens
  predominate

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1989 est.)
  total population: 97%
  male: 99%
  female: 96%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Kyrgyz Republic
  conventional short form: Kyrgyzstan
  local long form: Kyrgyz Respublikasy
  local short form: none
  former: Kirghiz Soviet Socialist Republic

Data code: KG

Type of government: republic

Capital: Bishkek

Administrative divisions: 6 oblasttar (singular - oblast) and 1
  city* (singular - shaar); Bishkek Shaary*, Chuy Oblasty (Bishkek),
  Jalal-Abad Oblasty, Naryn Oblasty, Osh Oblasty, Talas Oblasty,
  Ysyk-Kol Oblasty (Karakol)
  note: names in parentheses are administrative centers when name
  differs from oblast name

Independence: 31 August 1991 (from Soviet Union)

National holiday: National Day, 2 December; Independence Day, 31
  August (1991)

Constitution: adopted 5 May 1993
  note: amendment proposed by President AKAYEV and passed in a
  national referendum on 10 February 1996 significantly expands the
  powers of the president at the expense of the legislature

Legal system: based on civil law system

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: President Askar AKAYEV (since 28 October 1990) was
  elected for a five-year term by popular vote; elections last held 24
  December 1995 (next to be held NA); results - Askar AKAYEV won
  election with 75% of vote with 86% of electorate voting; note -
  elections were held early which gave the two opposition candidates
  little time to campaign; AKAYEV may have orchestrated the
  "deregistration" of two other candidates, one of whom was a major
  rival
  head of government: Prime Minister Apas JUMAGULOV (since NA December
  1993) was appointed by the president and reappointed February 1996
  cabinet: Cabinet of Ministers was appointed by the president on the
  recommendation of the prime minister

Legislative branch: bicameral Supreme Council (Zhogorku Kenesh)
  Assembly of People's Representatives: elections last held 5 February
  1995 (next to be held NA 2000); results - percent of vote by party
  NA; seats - (70 total) seats by party NA; note - not all the 70
  seats were filled at the 5 February elections; as a result, run-off
  elections were held at later dates; the assembly meets twice yearly
  Legislative Assembly: elections last held 5 February 1995 (next to
  be held NA 2000); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (35
  total) seats by party NA; note - not all the 35 seats were filled at
  the 5 February elections; as a result, run-off elections were held
  note: the legislature became bicameral for the 5 February 1995
  elections

Judicial branch: Supreme Court, judges are appointed for a 10-year
  term by the Zhogorku Kenesh on recommendation of the president;
  Constitutional Court; Higher Court of Arbitration

Political parties and leaders: Social Democratic Party (SDP);
  Democratic Movement of Kyrgyzstan (DDK), Jypar JEKSHEYEV, chairman;
  National Unity; Communist Party of Kyrgyzstan (PCK), Absamat
  MASALIYEV, chairman; Democratic Movement of Free Kyrgyzstan (ErK),
  Tursunbay Bakir UULU, chairman; Republican Popular Party of
  Kyrgyzstan; Agrarian Party of Kyrgyzstan; Atu Meken Party, Omurbek
  TEKEBAYEV; ASABA

Other political or pressure groups: National Unity Democratic
  Movement; Peasant Party; Council of Free Trade Unions; Union of
  Entrepreneurs; Agrarian Party

International organization participation: AsDB, CIS, EBRD, ECE,
  ECO, ESCAP, FAO, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF,
  Intelsat, IOC, IOM (observer), ITU, NACC, OIC, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN,
  UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer)

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Acting Ambassador Almas CHUKIN
  chancery: (temporary) Suite 706, 1511 K Street NW, Washington, DC
  20005
  telephone: [1] (202) 347-3732
  FAX: [1] (202) 347-3718

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Eileen A. MALLOY
  embassy: Erkindik Prospekt #66, Bishkek 720002
  mailing address: use embassy street address
  telephone: [7] (3312) 22-29-20, 22-27-77, 22-26-31, 22-24-73
  FAX: [7] (3312) 22-35-51

Flag: red field with a yellow sun in the center having 40 rays
  representing the 40 Kirghiz tribes; on the obverse side the rays run
  counterclockwise, on the reverse, clockwise; in the center of the
  sun is a red ring crossed by two sets of three lines, a stylized
  representation of the roof of the traditional Kirghiz yurt



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Kyrgyzstan is a small, poor, mountainous
  country with a predominantly agricultural economy. Cotton, wool, and
  meat are the main agricultural products and exports. Industrial
  exports included gold, mercury, uranium, and hydropower. Kyrgyzstan
  has been one of the most progressive countries of the former Soviet
  Union in carrying out market reforms. Following a successful
  stabilization program, which has lowered inflation from 88% in 1994
  to 32% for 1995, attention is turning toward stimulating growth.
  About half of government stock in enterprises has been sold. Drops
  in production have been severe since the break up of the Soviet
  Union, but by mid-1995 production began to level off as exports
  began to increase. The level of hardship for pensioners, unemployed
  workers, and government workers with salaries arrears continues to
  be very high. Foreign assistance plays a substantial role in the
  country's budget. In early 1996, the economy apparently is slowly
  beginning to restore previous levels of output.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $5.4 billion (1995 estimate as
  extrapolated from World Bank estimate for 1994)

GDP real growth rate: -6% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $1,140 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: NA%
  industry: NA%
  services: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 32% (1995 est.)

Labor force: 1.836 million
  by occupation: agriculture and forestry 38%, industry and
  construction 21%, other 41% (1990)

Unemployment rate: 4.8% includes officially registered unemployed;
  also large numbers of unregistered unemployed and underemployed
  workers (December 1995)

Budget:
  revenues: $NA
  expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA

Industries: small machinery, textiles, food processing, cement,
  shoes, sawn logs, refrigerators, furniture, electric motors, gold,
  rare earth metals

Industrial production growth rate: -12.5% (1995)

Electricity:
  capacity: 3,660,000 kW
  production: 12.3 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 2,500 kWh (1995 est.)

Agriculture: wool, tobacco, cotton, potatoes, vegetables, grapes,
  fruits and berries; sheep, goats, cattle

Illicit drugs: illicit cultivator of cannabis and opium poppy;
  mostly for CIS consumption; government eradication program; used as
  transshipment point for illicit drugs to Western Europe and North
  America from Southwest Asia

Exports: $380 million (1995)
  commodities: cotton, wool, meat, tobacco; gold, mercury, uranium,
  hydropower; machinery; shoes
  partners: Russia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Kazakstan, Turkey, Cuba, and
  Germany

Imports: $439 million (1995)
  commodities: grain, lumber, industrial products, ferrous metals,
  fuel, machinery, textiles, footwear
  partners: Russia, Uzbekistan, Kazakstan, China, and UK

External debt: $480 million (of which $115 million to Russia)
  (1995 est.)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $56 million (1993)
  note: commitments, 1992-95, $1,695 million ($390 million
  disbursements)

Currency: introduced national currency, the som (10 May 1993)

Exchange rates: soms per US$1 - 11.2 (yearend 1995), 10.6 (yearend
  1994)

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 370 km in common carrier service; does not include industrial
  lines
  broad gauge: 370 km 1.520-m gauge (1990)

Highways:
  total: 28,400 km
  paved: 22,400 km
  unpaved: 6,000 km (1990)

Pipelines: natural gas 200 km

Ports: Balykchy (Ysyk-Kol or Rybach'ye)

Airports:
  total: 54
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 1
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 3
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 9
  with paved runways under 914 m: 1
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 4
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 4
  with unpaved runways under 914 m: 32 (1994 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 342,000 (1991 est.)

Telephone system: poorly developed; about 100,000 unsatisfied
  applications for household telephones
  domestic: principally microwave radio relay
  international: connections with other CIS countries by landline or
  microwave radio relay and with other countries by leased connections
  with Moscow international gateway switch and by satellite; satellite
  earth stations - 1 Intersputnik and 1 Intelsat

Radio broadcast stations: AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA; note -1
  state-run radio broadcast station

Radios: 825,000 (radio receiver systems with multiple speakers for
  program diffusion 748,000)

Television broadcast stations: 1
  note: receives Turkish broadcasts

Televisions: 875,000



Defense
-------


Branches: Army, National Guard, Security Forces (internal and
  border troops), Civil Defense

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 1,096,985
  males fit for military service: 890,901
  males reach military age (18) annually: 44,159 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: 151 million soms, NA% of GDP (1995); note -
  conversion of defense expenditures into US dollars using the current
  exchange rate could produce misleading results



======================================================================




@Laos
----




Map
---


Location: 18 00 N, 105 00 E -- Southeastern Asia, northeast of
  Thailand



Flag
----


Description: three horizontal bands of red (top), blue (double
  width), and red with a large white disk centered in the blue band





Geography
---------


Location: Southeastern Asia, northeast of Thailand

Geographic coordinates: 18 00 N, 105 00 E

Map references: Southeast Asia

Area:
  total area: 236,800 sq km
  land area: 230,800 sq km
  comparative area: slightly larger than Utah

Land boundaries:
  total: 5,083 km
  border countries: Burma 235 km, Cambodia 541 km, China 423 km,
  Thailand 1,754 km, Vietnam 2,130 km

Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims: none (landlocked)

International disputes: boundary dispute with Thailand

Climate: tropical monsoon; rainy season (May to November); dry
  season (December to April)

Terrain: mostly rugged mountains; some plains and plateaus
  lowest point: Mekong River 70 m
  highest point: Phou Bia 2,817 m

Natural resources: timber, hydropower, gypsum, tin, gold, gemstones

Land use:
  arable land: 4%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 3%
  forest and woodland: 58%
  other: 35%

Irrigated land: 1,554 sq km (1992 est.)

Environment:
  current issues: deforestation; soil erosion; a majority of the
  population does not have access to potable water
  natural hazards: floods, droughts, and blight
  international agreements: party to - Environmental Modification,
  Nuclear Test Ban; signed, but not ratified - Climate Change,
  Desertification, Law of the Sea

Geographic note: landlocked



People
------


Population: 4,975,772 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 45% (male 1,142,825; female 1,114,628)
  15-64 years: 51% (male 1,237,660; female 1,316,591)
  65 years and over: 4% (male 75,748; female 88,320) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.81% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 41.94 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 13.83 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.86 male(s)/female
  all ages: 0.98 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 96.8 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 52.69 years
  male: 51.14 years
  female: 54.31 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 5.87 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Lao(s) or Laotian(s)
  adjective: Lao or Laotian

Ethnic divisions: Lao Loum (lowland) 68%, Lao Theung (upland) 22%,
  Lao Soung (highland) including the Hmong ("Meo") and the Yao (Mien)
  9%, ethnic Vietnamese/Chinese 1%

Religions: Buddhist 60%, animist and other 40%

Languages: Lao (official), French, English, and various ethnic
  languages

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)
  total population: 56.6%
  male: 69.4%
  female: 44.4%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Lao People's Democratic Republic
  conventional short form: Laos
  local long form: Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao
  local short form: none

Data code: LA

Type of government: Communist state

Capital: Vientiane

Administrative divisions: 16 provinces (khoueng, singular and
  plural) and 1 municipality* (kampheng nakhon, singular and plural);
  Attapu, Bokeo, Bolikhamxai, Champasak, Houaphan, Khammouan,
  Louangnamtha, Louangphabang, Oudomxai, Phongsali, Salavan,
  Savannakhet, Viangchan*, Viangchan, Xaignabouli, Xekong, Xiangkhoang

Independence: 19 July 1949 (from France)

National holiday: National Day, 2 December (1975) (proclamation of
  the Lao People's Democratic Republic)

Constitution: promulgated 14 August 1991

Legal system: based on traditional customs, French legal norms and
  procedures, and Socialist practice

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: President NOUHAK PHOUMSAVAN (since 25 November 1992)
  was elected for a five-year term by the National Assembly
  head of government: Prime Minister Gen. KHAMTAI SIPHANDON (since 15
  August 1991) was appointed for a five-year term by the president
  with the approval of the National Assembly; Deputy Prime Minister
  KHAMPHOUI KEOBOUALAPHA (since NA)
  cabinet: Council of Ministers was appointed by the president,
  approved by the National Assembly

Legislative branch: unicameral
  National Assembly: members elected for five-year terms; elections
  last held 20 December 1992 (next to be held NA 1997); results -
  percent of vote NA; seats - (85 total) LPRP 85

Judicial branch: People's Supreme Court, the president of the
  People's Supreme Court is elected by the National Assembly on the
  recommendation of the National Assembly Standing Committee, the vice
  president of the People's Supreme Court and the judges are appointed
  by the National Assembly Standing Committee

Political parties and leaders: Lao People's Revolutionary Party
  (LPRP), KHAMTAI Siphandon, party president; other parties proscribed

Other political or pressure groups: noncommunist political groups
  proscribed; most opposition leaders fled the country in 1975

International organization participation: ACCT, AsDB, ASEAN
  (observer), CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC,
  IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, ITU,
  Mekong Group, NAM, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO,
  WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer)

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador HIEM PHOMMACHANH
  chancery: 2222 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
  telephone: [1] (202) 332-6416, 6417
  FAX: [1] (202) 332-4923

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Victor L. TOMSETH
  embassy: Rue Bartholonie, B.P. 114, Vientiane
  mailing address: American Embassy, Box V, APO AP 96546
  telephone: [856] (21) 212581, 212582, 212585
  FAX: [856] (21) 212584

Flag: three horizontal bands of red (top), blue (double width),
  and red with a large white disk centered in the blue band



Economy
-------


Economic overview: The government of Laos - one of the few
  remaining official communist states - has been decentralizing
  control and encouraging private enterprise since 1986. The results,
  starting from an extremely low base, have been striking - growth has
  averaged 7.5% annually since 1988. Even so, Laos is a landlocked
  country with a primitive infrastructure. It has no railroads, a
  rudimentary road system, and limited external and internal
  telecommunications. Electricity is available in only a few urban
  areas. Subsistence agriculture accounts for half of GDP and provides
  80% of total employment. The predominant crop is rice. In
  non-drought years, Laos is self-sufficient overall in food, but each
  year flood, pests, and localized drought cause shortages in various
  parts of the country. For the foreseeable future the economy will
  continue to depend on aid from the IMF and other international
  sources; aid from the former USSR/Eastern Europe has been cut
  sharply. As in many developing countries, deforestation and soil
  erosion will hamper efforts to maintain the high rate of GDP growth.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $5.2 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 8% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $1,100 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 50%
  industry: 17%
  services: 33% (1993)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 20% (1995 est.)

Labor force: 1 million-1.5 million
  by occupation: agriculture 80% (1992 est.)

Unemployment rate: 21% (1992 est.)

Budget:
  revenues: $198 million
  expenditures: $351 million, including capital expenditures of $NA
  (1994)

Industries: tin and gypsum mining, timber, electric power,
  agricultural processing, construction

Industrial production growth rate: 7.5% (1992 est.)

Electricity:
  capacity: 260,000 kW
  production: 870 million kWh
  consumption per capita: 44 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: sweet potatoes, vegetables, corn, coffee, sugarcane,
  cotton; water buffalo, pigs, cattle, poultry

Illicit drugs: world's third largest opium producer (180 metric
  tons from nearly 20,000 hectares in 1995); heroin producer;
  increasingly used as transshipment point for heroin produced in
  Burma; illicit producer of cannabis

Exports: $278 million (f.o.b., 1994)
  commodities: electricity, wood products, coffee, tin, garments
  partners: Thailand, Japan, France, Germany, Netherlands

Imports: $486 million (c.i.f., 1994)
  commodities: food, fuel oil, consumer goods, manufactures
  partners: Thailand, China, Japan, France, US

External debt: $2 billion (1995 est.)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $NA

Currency: 1 new kip (NK) = 100 at

Exchange rates: new kips (NK) per US$1 - 920 (1995), 717 (1994
  est.), 720 (July 1993), 710 (May 1992), 710 (December 1991), 700
  (September 1990), 576 (1989)

Fiscal year: 1 October - 30 September



Transportation
--------------


Railways: 0 km

Highways:
  total: 14,130 km
  paved: 2,261 km
  unpaved: 11,869 km (1992 est.)

Waterways: about 4,587 km, primarily Mekong and tributaries; 2,897
  additional kilometers are sectionally navigable by craft drawing
  less than 0.5 m

Pipelines: petroleum products 136 km

Ports: none

Merchant marine:
  total: 1 cargo ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,370 GRT/3,000 DWT
  (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 39
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 1
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 5
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 3
  with paved runways under 914 m: 16
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 1
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 13 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 6,600 (1991 est.)

Telephone system: service to general public very poor;
  radiotelephone communications network provides generally erratic
  service to government users
  domestic: radiotelephone communications
  international: satellite earth station - 1 Intersputnik (Indian
  Ocean Region)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 10, FM 0, shortwave 0

Radios: 560,000 (1992 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 2

Televisions: 32,000 (1993 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Lao People's Army (LPA; includes riverine naval and
  militia elements), Air Force, National Police Department

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 1,087,264
  males fit for military service: 586,664
  males reach military age (18) annually: 53,250 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $105 million,
  8.1% of GDP (FY92/93)



======================================================================




@Latvia
------




Map
---


Location: 57 00 N, 25 00 E -- Eastern Europe, bordering the Baltic
  Sea, between Estonia and Lithuania



Flag
----


Description: two horizontal bands of maroon (top and bottom),
  white (middle, narrower than other two bands)





Geography
---------


Location: Eastern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, between
  Estonia and Lithuania

Geographic coordinates: 57 00 N, 25 00 E

Map references: Europe

Area:
  total area: 64,100 sq km
  land area: 64,100 sq km
  comparative area: slightly larger than West Virginia

Land boundaries:
  total: 1,078 km
  border countries: Belarus 141 km, Estonia 267 km, Lithuania 453 km,
  Russia 217 km

Coastline: 531 km

Maritime claims:
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm
  continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation

International disputes: the Abrene/Pytalovo section of border
  ceded by the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic to Russia in 1944;
  the maritime borders with Lithuania and Estonia

Climate: maritime; wet, moderate winters

Terrain: low plain
  lowest point: Baltic Sea 0 m
  highest point: Gaizinkalns 312 m

Natural resources: minimal; amber, peat, limestone, dolomite

Land use:
  arable land: 27%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 13%
  forest and woodland: 39%
  other: 21%

Irrigated land: 160 sq km (1990)

Environment:
  current issues: air and water pollution because of a lack of waste
  conversion equipment; Gulf of Riga and Daugava River heavily
  polluted; contamination of soil and groundwater with chemicals and
  petroleum products at military bases
  natural hazards: NA
  international agreements: party to - Air Pollution, Biodiversity,
  Climate Change, Hazardous Wastes, Ship Pollution, Whaling; signed,
  but not ratified - Ozone Layer Protection



People
------


Population: 2,468,982 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 20% (male 254,664; female 244,502)
  15-64 years: 66% (male 775,690; female 848,128)
  65 years and over: 14% (male 108,814; female 237,184) (July 1996
  est.)

Population growth rate: -1.39% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 10.94 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 15.19 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: -9.69 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.46 male(s)/female
  all ages: 0.86 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 21.2 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 66.91 years
  male: 60.84 years
  female: 73.27 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.62 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Latvian(s)
  adjective: Latvian

Ethnic divisions: Latvian 51.8%, Russian 33.8%, Byelorussian 4.5%,
  Ukrainian 3.4%, Polish 2.3%, other 4.2%

Religions: Lutheran, Roman Catholic, Russian Orthodox

Languages: Lettish (official), Lithuanian, Russian, other

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1989 est.)
  total population: 100%
  male: 100%
  female: 99%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Republic of Latvia
  conventional short form: Latvia
  local long form: Latvijas Republika
  local short form: Latvija
  former: Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic

Data code: LG

Type of government: republic

Capital: Riga

Administrative divisions: 26 counties (singular - rajons) and 7
  municipalities*: Aizkraukles Rajons, Aluksnes Rajons, Balvu Rajons,
  Bauskas Rajons, Cesu Rajons, Daugavpils*, Daugavpils Rajons, Dobeles
  Rajons, Gulbenes Rajons, Jekabpils Rajons, Jelgava*, Jelgavas
  Rajons, Jurmala*, Kraslavas Rajons, Kuldigas Rajons, Leipaja*,
  Liepajas Rajons, Limbazu Rajons, Ludzas Rajons, Madonas Rajons,
  Ogres Rajons, Preiju Rajons, Rezekne*, Rezeknes Rajons, Riga*, Rigas
  Rajons, Saldus Rajons, Talsu Rajons, Tukuma Rajons, Valkas Rajons,
  Valmieras Rajons, Ventspils*, Ventspils Rajons

Independence: 6 September 1991 (from Soviet Union)

National holiday: Independence Day, 18 November (1918)

Constitution: newly elected Parliament in 1993 restored the 1933
  constitution

Legal system: based on civil law system

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: President Guntis ULMANIS (since 7 July 1993) was
  elected by Parliament (Saeima) in the third round of balloting;
  election last held 7 July 1993 (next to be held NA June 1996)
  head of government: Prime Minister Andris SKELE (since 21 December
  1995) was appointed by the president
  cabinet: Council of Ministers was nominated by the prime minister
  and appointed by the Supreme Council

Legislative branch: unicameral
  Parliament (Saeima): elections last held 30 September-1 October 1995
  (next to be held NA October 1998); results - Saimnieks 18%, LC 17%,
  For Latvia 16%, TB 14%, LNNK 8%, Unity 8%, LSZ/LKDS 7%, Harmony 6%,
  Socialist 6%; seats - (100 total) Saimnieks 18, LC 17, For Latvia
  16, TB 14, LNNK 8, Unity 8, LSZ/LKDS 7, Harmony 6, Socialist 6

Judicial branch: Supreme Court, judges' appointments are confirmed
  by the Saeima

Political parties and leaders: Democratic Party "Saimnieks" (DPS),
  Ziedonis CEVERS, chairman; Latvia's Way (LC), Valdis BIRKAVS;
  People's Movement For Latvia, Joachim SIEGERIST; Fatherland and
  Freedom (TB), Maris GRINBLATS; Latvian Unity Party (LVP), A. KAULS;
  Latvian National Conservative Party (LNNK), A. SEILE; Green Party
  (LSZ), O. BATAREVSK; Latvian Farmers Union (LZS), A. ROZENTALS;
  Christian Democrat Union (LKDS), P. KLAVINS; National Harmony Party
  (TSP), Janis JURKANS; Latvian Socialist Party (LSP), F. STROGANOVS;
  Latvian Liberal Party (LLP), J. DANOSS; Political Association of the
  Underprivileged (MPA), B. PELSE, V. DIMANTS, J. KALNINS; Latvian
  Democratic Labor Party (LDDP), J. BOJARS; Party of Russian Citizens
  (LKPP), V. SOROCHIN, V. IVANOV; Popular Front of Latvia (LTF), Uldis
  AUGSTKALNS; Political Union of Economists (TPA), E. KIDE; Latvian
  National Democratic Party (LNDP), A. MALINS; "Our Land" (MZ), M.
  DAMBEKALNE; Anticommunist Union (PA), P. MUCENIEKS; Latvian
  Social-Democratic Workers Party (LSDSP); Party for the Defense of
  Latvia's Defrauded People; Latvian Independence Party (LNP), V.
  KONOVALOUS

International organization participation: BIS, CBSS, CCC, CE,
  EBRD, ECE, EU (applicant), FAO, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS,
  ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, IOM
  (observer), ITU, NACC, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU,
  WEU (associate partner), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO (applicant)

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Ojars Eriks KALNINS
  chancery: 4325 17th Street NW, Washington, DC 20011
  telephone: [1] (202) 726-8213, 8214
  FAX: [1] (202) 726-6785

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Larry C. NAPPER
  embassy: Raina Boulevard 7, LV-1510, Riga
  mailing address: PSC 78, Box R, APO AE 09723
  telephone: [371] (2) 210-005
  FAX: [371] (2) 226-530

Flag: two horizontal bands of maroon (top and bottom), white
  (middle, narrower than other two bands)



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Latvia's economic transformation to a modern
  market economy - rivaled only by Estonia among the former Soviet
  states - faltered in 1995 as a result of banking and budget crises.
  Latvia's largely unregulated financial sector suffered a series of
  bank failures, including the collapse of the country's largest
  commercial bank - Bank Baltija - due largely to criminal activity by
  the owners. The government's attempts to compensate depositors of
  failed banks exacerbated an existing budget shortfall; poor revenue
  collection and a soft treasury bill market had already caused the
  government to incur a larger than expected deficit early in the
  year. As a result of the crises, Latvia's budget deficit for 1995
  was $168 million, double that originally planned. In addition, GDP
  growth came to a halt. The Central Bank maintained its tough
  monetary policies - severely limiting credits to the state, despite
  the budget problems - helping to keep annual inflation the lowest
  among the Baltic states, at about 20%. New Prime Minister SKELE
  wants to invigorate the privatization of industry; agriculture
  already is mainly in private hands.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $14.7 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: -1.5% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $5,300 (1995 estimate as extrapolated from World
  Bank estimate for 1994)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 9%
  industry: 31%
  services: 60% (1994 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 20% (1995 est.)

Labor force: 1.407 million
  by occupation: industry and construction 41%, agriculture and
  forestry 16%, other 43% (1990)

Unemployment rate: 6.5% (1995 est.)

Budget:
  revenues: $NA
  expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA

Industries: buses, vans, street and railroad cars, synthetic
  fibers, agricultural machinery, fertilizers, washing machines,
  radios, electronics, pharmaceuticals, processed foods, textiles;
  dependent on imports for energy, raw materials, and intermediate
  products

Industrial production growth rate: -9.5% (1994 est.)

Electricity:
  capacity: 2,080,000 kW
  production: 5.5 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 1,864 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: grain, sugar beets, potatoes, vegetables; meat, milk,
  eggs; fish

Illicit drugs: transshipment point for illicit drugs from Central
  and Southwest Asia and Latin America to Western Europe; limited
  producer of illicit opium; mostly for domestic consumption; also
  produces illicit amphetamines for export

Exports: $1.3 billion (f.o.b., 1995 est.)
  commodities: timber, textiles, dairy products
  partners: Russia, Germany, Sweden, UK, Lithuania

Imports: $1.7 billion (c.i.f., 1995 est.)
  commodities: fuels, cars, chemicals
  partners: Russia, Germany, Sweden, Ukraine, UK, Lithuania, Finland

External debt: $NA

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $122 million (1993)
  note: commitments from the West and international institutions, $525
  million (1992-95)

Currency: 1 lat = 100 cents; introduced NA March 1993

Exchange rates: lats per US$1 - 0.544 (January 1996), 0.528
  (1995), 0.560 (1994), 0.675 (1993), 0.736 (1992)

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 2,412 km
  broad gauge: 2,379 km 1.520-m gauge (271 km electrified) (1992)
  narrow gauge: 33 km 0.750-m gauge (1994)

Highways:
  total: 66,718 km
  paved: 12,076 km
  unpaved: 54,642 km (1992 est.)

Waterways: 300 km perennially navigable

Pipelines: crude oil 750 km; refined products 780 km; natural gas
  560 km (1992)

Ports: Daugavpils, Liepaja, Riga, Ventspils

Merchant marine:
  total: 56 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 519,859 GRT/678,987 DWT
  ships by type: cargo 7, oil tanker 24, refrigerated cargo 18,
  roll-on/roll-off cargo 7 (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 50
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 6
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 2
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 1
  with paved runways under 914 m: 27
  with unpaved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 2
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 2
  with unpaved runways under 914 m: 10 (1994 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 660,000 (1993 est.)

Telephone system: service is better than in most of the other
  former Soviet republics
  domestic: an NMT-450 analog cellular telephone network covers 75% of
  Latvia's population
  international: international traffic carried by leased connection to
  the Moscow international gateway switch, through the new Ericsson
  digital telephone exchange in Riga, and through the Finnish cellular
  net; Sprint data network carries electronic mail

Radio broadcast stations: AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA; note - there
  are 25 radio broadcast stations of unknown type

Radios: 1.4 million (1993 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 30

Televisions: 1.1 million (1993 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Ground Forces, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces,
  Security Forces, Border Guard, Home Guard (Zemessardze)

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 583,134
  males fit for military service: 457,067
  males reach military age (18) annually: 16,180 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: 176 million rubles, 3% to 5% of GDP (1994);
  note - conversion of defense expenditures into US dollars using the
  prevailing exchange rate could produce misleading results



======================================================================




@Lebanon
-------


Lebanon has made progress toward rebuilding its political
institutions and regaining its national sovereignty since the end of
the devastating 16-year civil war which began in 1975. Under the
Ta'if accord - the blueprint for national reconciliation - the
Lebanese have established a more equitable political system,
particularly by giving Muslims a greater say in the political
process. Since December 1990, the Lebanese have formed four cabinets
and conducted the first legislative election in 20 years. Most of
the militias have been weakened or disbanded. The Lebanese Armed
Forces (LAF) has seized vast quantities of weapons used by the
militias during the war and extended central government authority
over about one-half of the country. Hizballah, the radical Shi'a
party, retains most of its weapons. Foreign forces still occupy
areas of Lebanon. Israel maintains troops in southern Lebanon and
continues to support a proxy militia, The Army of South Lebanon
(ASL), along a narrow stretch of territory contiguous to its border.
The ASL's enclave encompasses this self-declared security zone and
about 20 kilometers north to the strategic town of Jazzin. Syria
maintains about 30,000 troops in Lebanon. These troops are based
mainly in Beirut, North Lebanon, and the Bekaa Valley. Syria's
deployment was legitimized by the Arab League early in Lebanon's
civil war and in the Ta'if accord. Citing the continued weakness of
the LAF, Beirut's requests, and failure of the Lebanese Government
to implement all of the constitutional reforms in the Ta'if accord,
Damascus has so far refused to withdraw its troops from Beirut.

Map
---


Location: 33 50 N, 35 50 E -- Middle East, bordering the
  Mediterranean Sea, between Israel and Syria



Flag
----


Description: three horizontal bands of red (top), white (double
  width), and red with a green and brown cedar tree centered in the
  white band





Geography
---------


Location: Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between
  Israel and Syria

Geographic coordinates: 33 50 N, 35 50 E

Map references: Middle East

Area:
  total area: 10,400 sq km
  land area: 10,230 sq km
  comparative area: about 0.8 times the size of Connecticut

Land boundaries:
  total: 454 km
  border countries: Israel 79 km, Syria 375 km

Coastline: 225 km

Maritime claims:
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: Israeli troops in southern Lebanon since
  June 1982; Syrian troops in northern, central, and eastern Lebanon
  since October 1976

Climate: Mediterranean; mild to cool, wet winters with hot, dry
  summers; Lebanon mountains experience heavy winter snows

Terrain: narrow coastal plain; Al Biqa' (Bekaa Valley) separates
  Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon Mountains
  lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m
  highest point: Jabal al Makmal 3,087 m

Natural resources: limestone, iron ore, salt, water-surplus state
  in a water-deficit region

Land use:
  arable land: 21%
  permanent crops: 9%
  meadows and pastures: 1%
  forest and woodland: 8%
  other: 61%

Irrigated land: 860 sq km (1990 est.)

Environment:
  current issues: deforestation; soil erosion; desertification; air
  pollution in Beirut from vehicular traffic and the burning of
  industrial wastes; pollution of coastal waters from raw sewage and
  oil spills
  natural hazards: dust storms, sandstorms
  international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
  Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer
  Protection, Ship Pollution; signed, but not ratified -
  Desertification, Environmental Modification, Marine Dumping, Marine
  Life Conservation

Geographic note: Nahr al Litani only major river in Near East not
  crossing an international boundary; rugged terrain historically
  helped isolate, protect, and develop numerous factional groups based
  on religion, clan, and ethnicity



People
------


Population: 3,776,317 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 36% (male 687,631; female 662,100)
  15-64 years: 59% (male 1,049,689; female 1,163,255)
  65 years and over: 5% (male 98,406; female 115,236) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.16% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 27.93 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 6.35 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 0.9 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.85 male(s)/female
  all ages: 0.95 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 36.7 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 69.99 years
  male: 67.49 years
  female: 72.62 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 3.24 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Lebanese (singular and plural)
  adjective: Lebanese

Ethnic divisions: Arab 95%, Armenian 4%, other 1%

Religions: Islam 70% (5 legally recognized Islamic groups -
  Alawite or Nusayri, Druze, Isma'ilite, Shi'a, Sunni), Christian 30%
  (11 legally recognized Christian groups - 4 Orthodox Christian, 6
  Catholic, 1 Protestant), Judaism NEGL%

Languages: Arabic (official), French (official), Armenian, English

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)
  total population: 92.4%
  male: 94.7%
  female: 90.3%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Republic of Lebanon
  conventional short form: Lebanon
  local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Lubnaniyah
  local short form: none

Data code: LE

Type of government: republic

Capital: Beirut

Administrative divisions: 5 governorates (muhafazat, singular -
  muhafazah); Al Biqa', Al Janub, Ash Shamal, Bayrut, Jabal Lubnan

Independence: 22 November 1943 (from League of Nations mandate
  under French administration)

National holiday: Independence Day, 22 November (1943)

Constitution: 23 May 1926, amended a number of times

Legal system: mixture of Ottoman law, canon law, Napoleonic code,
  and civil law; no judicial review of legislative acts; has not
  accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: 21 years of age; compulsory for all males; authorized
  for women at age 21 with elementary education

Executive branch:
  chief of state: President Ilyas HARAWI (since 24 November 1989) was
  elected for a six-year term by the National Assembly and in 1995 the
  National Assembly amended the constitution to extend his term by
  three years; note - by custom, the president is a Maronite
  Christian, the prime minister is a Sunni Muslim, and the speaker of
  the legislature is a Shi'a Muslim
  head of government: Prime Minister Rafiq al-HARIRI (since 22 October
  1992) and Deputy Prime Minister Michel al-MURR (since NA) were
  appointed by the president in consultation with the National Assembly
  cabinet: Cabinet was chosen by the prime minister in consultation
  with the members of the National Assembly; the current Cabinet was
  formed in 1995

Legislative branch: unicameral
  National Assembly (Arabic - Majlis Alnuwab French - Assembl:
  elections last held in the summer of 1992 (next to be held NA 1996);
  results - percent of vote NA; seats - (128 total, one-half Christian
  and one-half Muslim) independents 128

Judicial branch: four Courts of Cassation (three courts for civil
  and commercial cases and one court for criminal cases)

Political parties and leaders: political party activity is
  organized along largely sectarian lines; numerous political
  groupings exist, consisting of individual political figures and
  followers motivated by religious, clan, and economic considerations

International organization participation: ABEDA, ACCT, AFESD, AL,
  AMF, CCC, ESCWA, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU,
  ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol,
  IOC, ITU, NAM, OIC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNRWA,
  UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Riyad TABBARAH
  chancery: 2560 28th Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
  telephone: [1] (202) 939-6300
  FAX: [1] (202) 939-6324
  consulate(s) general: Detroit, New York, and Los Angeles

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Richard H. JONES
  embassy: Antelias, Beirut
  mailing address: P. O. Box 70-840, Beirut; PSC 815, Box 2, FPO AE
  09836-0002
  telephone: [961] (1) 402200, 403300, 406650, 406651, 426183, 417774,
  889926
  FAX: [961] (1) 407112

Flag: three horizontal bands of red (top), white (double width),
  and red with a green and brown cedar tree centered in the white band



Economy
-------


Economic overview: The 1975-91 civil war seriously damaged
  Lebanon's economic infrastructure, cut national output by half, and
  all but ended Lebanon's position as a Middle Eastern entrepot and
  banking hub. Peace has enabled the central government to restore
  control in Beirut, begin collecting taxes, and regain access to key
  port and government facilities. Economic recovery has been helped by
  a financially sound banking system and resilient small- and
  medium-scale manufacturers. Family remittances, banking services,
  manufactured and farm exports, and international aid are the main
  sources of foreign exchange. In the relatively settled year of 1991,
  industrial production, agricultural output, and exports showed
  substantial gains. The rebuilding of the war-ravaged country was
  delayed in 1992 because of an upturn in political wrangling. In
  October 1992, Rafiq al-HARIRI was appointed prime minister. A
  billionaire entrepreneur, al-HARIRI, announced ambitious plans for
  Lebanon's reconstruction, which involve a substantial influx of
  foreign aid and investment. The economy has posted considerable
  gains since 1992, with GDP rebounding, inflation falling, and
  foreign capital inflows jumping. Signs of strain have emerged in
  recent years, however, as the government budget deficit has risen
  and grassroots economic dissatisfaction has grown. Meantime, the
  future fate of Lebanon and its economy is being determined largely
  by outside forces - in Syria, other Arab nations, Israel, and the
  West.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $18.3 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 6.5% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $4,900 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 13%
  industry: 28%
  services: 59% (1995 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 9% (1995 est.)

Labor force: 650,000
  by occupation: services 60%, industry 28%, agriculture 12% (1990
  est.)

Unemployment rate: 30% (1995 est.)

Budget:
  revenues: $1.4 billion
  expenditures: $3.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA
  (1994 est.)

Industries: banking, food processing, textiles, cement, oil
  refining, chemicals, jewelry, some metal fabricating

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity:
  capacity: 1,220,000 kW
  production: 2.5 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 676 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: citrus, vegetables, potatoes, olives, tobacco, hemp
  (hashish); sheep, goats

Illicit drugs: illicit producer of hashish and heroin for the
  international drug trade; hashish production is shipped to Western
  Europe, the Middle East, and North and South America; a key locus of
  cocaine processing and trafficking; a Lebanese/Syrian 1994
  eradication campaign practically eliminated the opium crop and
  caused a 50% decrease in the cannabis crop

Exports: $1 billion (f.o.b., 1995 est.)
  commodities: agricultural products, chemicals, textiles, precious
  and semiprecious metals and jewelry, metals and metal products
  partners: Saudi Arabia 13%, Switzerland 12%, UAE 11%, Syria 9%, US 5%

Imports: $7.3 billion (c.i.f., 1995 est.)
  commodities: consumer goods, machinery and transport equipment,
  petroleum products
  partners: Italy 14%, France 9%, US 8%, Turkey 5%, Saudi Arabia 3%

External debt: $1.2 billion (July 1995)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $NA

Currency: 1 Lebanese pound (LL) = 100 piasters

Exchange rates: Lebanese pounds (LL) per US$1 - 1,584.0 (March
  1996), 1,621.4 (1995), 1,680.1 (1994), 1,741.4 (1993), 1,712.8
  (1992), 928.2 (1991)

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 222 km
  standard gauge: 222 km 1.435-m (from Beirut to the Syrian border)

Highways:
  total: 7,370 km
  paved: 6,265 km
  unpaved: 1,105 km (1990 est.)

Pipelines: crude oil 72 km (none in operation)

Ports: Al Batrun, Al Mina, An Naqurah, Antilyas, Az Zahrani,
  Beirut, Jubayl, Juniyah, Shikka, Sidon, Tripoli, Tyre

Merchant marine:
  total: 58 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 192,075 GRT/296,256 DWT
  ships by type: bulk 4, cargo 39, chemical tanker 1, combination bulk
  1, combination ore/oil 1, container 2, livestock carrier 4,
  refrigerated cargo 1, roll-on/roll-off cargo 2, specialized tanker
  1, vehicle carrier 2 (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 7
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 1
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 2
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 1
  with paved runways under 914 m: 2
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 1 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 150,000 (1990 est.)

Telephone system: telecommunications system severely damaged by
  civil war; rebuilding still underway
  domestic: primarily microwave radio relay and cable
  international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean
  and 1 Atlantic Ocean) (erratic operations); coaxial cable to Syria;
  microwave radio relay to Syria but inoperable beyond Syria to
  Jordan; 3 submarine coaxial cables

Radio broadcast stations: AM 5, FM 3, shortwave 1
  note: more than 100 AM and FM stations are operated sporadically by
  various factions

Radios: 2.37 million (1992 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 13

Televisions: 1.1 million (1993 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF; includes Army, Navy, and Air
  Force)

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 889,517
  males fit for military service: 553,538 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $278 million,
  5.5% of GDP (1994)



======================================================================




@Lesotho
-------




Map
---


Location: 29 30 S, 28 30 E -- Southern Africa, an enclave of South
  Africa



Flag
----


Description: divided diagonally from the lower hoist side corner;
  the upper half is white bearing the brown silhouette of a large
  shield with crossed spear and club; the lower half is a diagonal
  blue band with a green triangle in the corner





Geography
---------


Location: Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa

Geographic coordinates: 29 30 S, 28 30 E

Map references: Africa

Area:
  total area: 30,350 sq km
  land area: 30,350 sq km
  comparative area: slightly larger than Maryland

Land boundaries:
  total: 909 km
  border country: South Africa 909 km

Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims: none (landlocked)

International disputes: none

Climate: temperate; cool to cold, dry winters; hot, wet summers

Terrain: mostly highland with plateaus, hills, and mountains
  lowest point: junction of the Orange and Makhaleng Rivers 1,400 m
  highest point: Mount Thabana Ntlenyana 3,482 m

Natural resources: water, agricultural and grazing land, some
  diamonds and other minerals

Land use:
  arable land: 10%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 66%
  forest and woodland: 0%
  other: 24%

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Environment:
  current issues: population pressure forcing settlement in marginal
  areas results in overgrazing, severe soil erosion, soil exhaustion;
  desertification; Highlands Water Project will control, store, and
  redirect water to South Africa
  natural hazards: periodic droughts
  international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
  Desertification, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection,
  Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Endangered Species, Law of the
  Sea, Marine Dumping

Geographic note: landlocked; surrounded by South Africa



People
------


Population: 1,970,781 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 41% (male 404,733; female 402,813)
  15-64 years: 54% (male 519,493; female 553,618)
  65 years and over: 5% (male 37,237; female 52,887) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.9% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 32.7 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 13.74 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female
  all ages: 0.95 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 81.6 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 52.08 years
  male: 50.08 years
  female: 54.14 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 4.32 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Mosotho (singular), Basotho (plural)
  adjective: Basotho

Ethnic divisions: Sotho 99.7%, Europeans 1,600, Asians 800

Religions: Christian 80%, rest indigenous beliefs

Languages: Sesotho (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu,
  Xhosa

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)
  total population: 71.3%
  male: 81.1%
  female: 62.3%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Kingdom of Lesotho
  conventional short form: Lesotho
  former: Basutoland

Data code: LT

Type of government: modified constitutional monarchy

Capital: Maseru

Administrative divisions: 10 districts; Berea, Butha-Buthe,
  Leribe, Mafeteng, Maseru, Mohale's Hoek, Mokhotlong, Qacha's Nek,
  Quthing, Thaba-Tseka

Independence: 4 October 1966 (from UK)

National holiday: Independence Day, 4 October (1966)

Constitution: 2 April 1993

Legal system: based on English common law and Roman-Dutch law;
  judicial review of legislative acts in High Court and Court of
  Appeal; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: 21 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: King LETSIE III (since 7 February 1996); the king is
  the former Crown Prince David Monato BERENG Seeiso and succeeded his
  father King MOSHOESHOE II, who died in an automobile accident on 16
  January 1996; King LETSIE III formerly occupied the throne (November
  1990 to February 1995) while his father was in exile
  note: the king is a hereditary monarch, but, under the terms of the
  constitution which came into effect after the March 1993 election,
  he has no executive or legislative powers; moreover, under
  traditional law the king can be elected or deposed by a majority
  vote of the College of Chiefs
  head of government: Prime Minister Ntsu MOKHEHLE (since 2 April 1993)
  cabinet: Cabinet

Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament
  Senate: consists of 33 members (the 22 principal chiefs and 11 other
  members appointed by the ruling party)
  Assembly: members elected by popular vote; election last held NA
  March 1993 (next to be held NA); results - percent of vote by party
  NA; seats (65 total) BCP 65

Judicial branch: High Court; Court of Appeal; Magistrate's Court;
  customary or traditional court

Political parties and leaders: Basotho National Party (BNP),
  Evaristus SEKHONYANA; Basotho Congress Party (BCP), Ntsu MOKHEHLE;
  National Independent Party (NIP), A. C. MANYELI; Marematlou Freedom
  Party (MFP), Vincent MALEBO; United Democratic Party, Charles
  MOFELI; Communist Party of Lesotho (CPL), Jacob M. KENA

International organization participation: ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA,
  FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF,
  Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, SACU,
  SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO,
  WMO, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Dr. Eunice M. BULANE
  chancery: 2511 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
  telephone: [1] (202) 797-5533 through 5536
  FAX: [1] (202) 234-6815

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Bismarck MYRICK
  embassy: address NA, Maseru
  mailing address: P. O. Box 333, Maseru 100, Lesotho
  telephone: [266] 312666
  FAX: [266] 310116

Flag: divided diagonally from the lower hoist side corner; the
  upper half is white bearing the brown silhouette of a large shield
  with crossed spear and club; the lower half is a diagonal blue band
  with a green triangle in the corner



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Small, landlocked, and mountainous, Lesotho has
  no important natural resources other than water. Its economy is
  based on agriculture, light manufacturing, and remittances from
  laborers employed in South Africa (these remittances supplement
  domestic income by as much as 45%). The great majority of households
  gain their livelihoods from subsistence farming and migrant labor; a
  large portion of the adult male work force is employed in South
  African mines. Manufacturing depends largely on farm products which
  support the milling, canning, leather, and jute industries. Although
  drought has decreased agricultural activity over the past few years,
  improvement of a major hydropower facility will permit the sale of
  water to South Africa and will support the economy's continued
  expansion.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $2.8 billion (1994 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 13.5% (1994 est.)

GDP per capita: $1,430 (1994 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 10.4%
  industry: 48.8%
  services: 40.8% (1993)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 9.5% (January 1995)

Labor force: 689,000 economically active
  by occupation: 86.2% of resident population engaged in subsistence
  agriculture; roughly 60% of the active male wage earners work in
  South Africa

Unemployment rate: substantial unemployment and underemployment

Budget:
  revenues: $445 million
  expenditures: $400 million, including capital expenditures of $128
  million (FY94/95 est.)

Industries: food, beverages, textiles, handicrafts; construction;
  tourism

Industrial production growth rate: 12.5% (1994 est.)

Electricity: power supplied by South Africa

Agriculture: corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock

Exports: $142 million (f.o.b., 1994 est.)
  commodities: clothing, furniture, footwear, wool
  partners: South Africa 39%, EC 22%, North and South America 33%
  (1993)

Imports: $1 billion (c.i.f., 1994 est.)
  commodities: mainly corn, building materials, clothing, vehicles,
  machinery, medicines, petroleum products
  partners: South Africa 83%, Asia 12%, EC 3% (1993)

External debt: $512 million (1993)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $NA

Currency: 1 loti (L) = 100 lisente

Exchange rates: maloti (M) per US$1 - 3.6417 (January 1996),
  3.6266 (1995), 3.5490 (1994), 3.2636 (1993), 2.8497 (1992), 2.7563
  (1991); note - the Basotho loti is at par with the South African rand

Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 2.6 km; note - owned by, operated by, and included in the
  statistics of South Africa
  narrow gauge: 2.6 km 1.067-m gauge

Highways:
  total: 5,324 km
  paved: 799 km
  unpaved: 4,525 km (1993 est.)

Ports: none

Airports:
  total: 29
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 1
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 1
  with paved runways under 914 m: 23
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 4 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 12,000 (1991 est.)

Telephone system: rudimentary system
  domestic: consists of a few landlines, a small microwave radio relay
  system, and a minor radiotelephone communication system
  international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 3, FM 4, shortwave 0

Radios: 66,000

Television broadcast stations: 1

Televisions: 11,000 (1992 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Lesotho Defense Force (LDF; includes Army and Air Wing),
  Lesotho Mounted Police

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 455,218
  males fit for military service: 245,774 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: $NA, NA% of GDP



======================================================================




@Liberia
-------


Years of civil strife have destroyed much of Liberia's economic
infrastructure, made civil administration nearly impossible, and
brought economic activity virtually to a halt. The deterioration of
economic conditions has been greatly exacerbated by the flight of
most business people with their expertise and capital. Civil order
ended in 1990 when President Samuel Kanyon DOE was killed by rebel
forces. The ensuing civil war persisted until August 1995 when the
major factions signed the Abuja peace accord and, in September 1995,
formed a transitional coalition government under Wilton SANKAWULO.
The war was resumed in April 1996, when forces loyal to faction
leaders Charles TAYLOR and Alhaji KROMAH attacked rival factions in
Monrovia, further damaging the capital's already dilapidated
infrastructure and causing panic among the remaining foreign
residents, thousands of whom sought refuge in US facilities.
Prospects for peace became extremely uncertain again.

Map
---


Location: 6 30 N, 9 30 W -- Western Africa, bordering the North
  Atlantic Ocean, between Cote d'Ivoire and Sierra Leone



Flag
----


Description: 11 equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom)
  alternating with white; there is a white five-pointed star on a blue
  square in the upper hoist-side corner; the design was based on the
  US flag





Geography
---------


Location: Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean,
  between Cote d'Ivoire and Sierra Leone

Geographic coordinates: 6 30 N, 9 30 W

Map references: Africa

Area:
  total area: 111,370 sq km
  land area: 96,320 sq km
  comparative area: slightly larger than Tennessee

Land boundaries:
  total: 1,585 km
  border countries: Guinea 563 km, Cote d'Ivoire 716 km, Sierra Leone
  306 km

Coastline: 579 km

Maritime claims:
  territorial sea: 200 nm

International disputes: none

Climate: tropical; hot, humid; dry winters with hot days and cool
  to cold nights; wet, cloudy summers with frequent heavy showers

Terrain: mostly flat to rolling coastal plains rising to rolling
  plateau and low mountains in northeast
  lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
  highest point: Mount Wuteve 1,380 m

Natural resources: iron ore, timber, diamonds, gold

Land use:
  arable land: 1%
  permanent crops: 3%
  meadows and pastures: 2%
  forest and woodland: 39%
  other: 55%

Irrigated land: 20 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
  current issues: tropical rain forest subject to deforestation; soil
  erosion; loss of biodiversity; pollution of rivers from the dumping
  of iron ore tailings and of coastal waters from oil residue and raw
  sewage
  natural hazards: dust-laden harmattan winds blow from the Sahara
  (December to March)
  international agreements: party to - Endangered Species, Nuclear
  Test Ban, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94;
  signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
  Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine
  Life Conservation



People
------


Population: 2,109,789 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 45% (male 475,138; female 470,970)
  15-64 years: 52% (male 557,855; female 532,143)
  65 years and over: 3% (male 35,544; female 38,139) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.13% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 42.72 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 11.95 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: -9.48 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)
  note: until the Ghanaian-led peace negotiations are successful, many
  Liberian refugees will be unable to return from exile

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.93 male(s)/female
  all ages: 1.03 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 108.1 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 58.59 years
  male: 56.05 years
  female: 61.22 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 6.23 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Liberian(s)
  adjective: Liberian

Ethnic divisions: indigenous African tribes 95% (including Kpelle,
  Bassa, Gio, Kru, Grebo, Mano, Krahn, Gola, Gbandi, Loma, Kissi, Vai,
  and Bella), Americo-Liberians 5% (descendants of former slaves)

Religions: traditional 70%, Muslim 20%, Christian 10%

Languages: English 20% (official), Niger-Congo language group
  about 20 local languages come from this group

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)
  total population: 38.3%
  male: 53.9%
  female: 22.4%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Republic of Liberia
  conventional short form: Liberia

Data code: LI

Type of government: republic

Capital: Monrovia

Administrative divisions: 13 counties; Bomi, Bong, Grand Bassa,
  Grand Cape Mount, Grand Gedeh, Grand Kru, Lofa, Margibi, Maryland,
  Montserrado, Nimba, River Cess, Sinoe

Independence: 26 July 1847

National holiday: Independence Day, 26 July (1847)

Constitution: 6 January 1986

Legal system: dual system of statutory law based on Anglo-American
  common law for the modern sector and customary law based on
  unwritten tribal practices for indigenous sector

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state and head of government: Chairman of the Council of
  State Wilton SANKAWULO (since NA September 1995); president was to
  be elected for a six-year term by universal suffrage at the end of
  1995; election last held 15 October 1985 (next to be held NA August
  1996); results - Samuel Kanyon DOE (NDPL) 50.9%, Jackson DOE (LAP)
  26.4%, other 22.7%
  note: constitutional government ended in September 1990 when
  President Samuel Kanyon DOE was killed by rebel forces; civil war
  ensued and in August 1995 the Abuja peace accord was signed by the
  major warring factions; a transitional coalition government under
  Wilton SANKAWULO was formed in September 1995; presidential
  elections are scheduled for August 1996
  cabinet: Cabinet was selected by the leaders of the major factions
  in the civil war

Legislative branch: unicameral Transitional Legislative Assembly,
  the members of which are appointed by the leaders of the major
  factions in the civil war
  note: the former bicameral legislature no longer exists and is
  unlikely to be reconstituted soon

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

Political parties and leaders: National Democratic Party of
  Liberia (NDPL), Augustus CAINE, chairman; Liberian Action Party
  (LAP), Emmanuel KOROMAH, chairman; Unity Party (UP), Joseph KOFA,
  chairman; United People's Party (UPP), Gabriel Baccus MATTHEWS,
  chairman; National Patriotic Party (NPP), Charles TAYLOR, chairman;
  Liberian Peoples Party (LPP), Dusty WOLOKOLLIE, chairman

International organization participation: ACP, AfDB, CCC, ECA,
  ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC,
  IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat (nonsignatory user),
  Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ITU, NAM, OAU, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO,
  UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Konah K.
  BLACKETT
  chancery: 5201 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20011
  telephone: [1] (202) 723-0437
  consulate(s) general: New York

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Chief of Mission William MILAM
  embassy: 111 United Nations Drive, Monrovia
  mailing address: P. O. Box 100098, Mamba Point, Monrovia
  telephone: [231] 226-370
  FAX: [231] 226-148

Flag: 11 equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom)
  alternating with white; there is a white five-pointed star on a blue
  square in the upper hoist-side corner; the design was based on the
  US flag



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Civil war since 1990 has destroyed much of
  Liberia's economy, especially the infrastructure in and around
  Monrovia. Businessmen have fled the country, taking capital and
  expertise with them. Many will not return. Richly endowed with
  water, mineral resources, forests, and a climate favorable to
  agriculture, Liberia had been a producer and exporter of basic
  products, while local manufacturing, mainly foreign owned, had been
  small in scope. Political instability threatens prospects for
  economic reconstruction and repatriation of some 750,000 Liberian
  refugees who have fled to neighboring countries. The continued
  political turmoil has prevented restoration of normal economic life,
  including the re-establishment of a strong central government with
  effective economic development programs. The economy deteriorated
  further in 1995.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $2.3 billion (1994 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 0% (1994 est.)

GDP per capita: $770 (1994 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: NA%
  industry: NA%
  services: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 50% (1994 est.)

Labor force: 510,000 including 220,000 in the monetary economy
  by occupation: agriculture 70.5%, services 10.8%, industry and
  commerce 4.5%, other 14.2%
  note: non-African foreigners hold about 95% of the top-level
  management and engineering jobs

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget:
  revenues: $225 million
  expenditures: $285 million, including capital expenditures of $NA
  (1994 est.)

Industries: rubber processing, food processing, construction
  materials, furniture, palm oil processing, iron ore, diamonds

Industrial production growth rate: NA% (1993-94)

Electricity:
  capacity: 330,000 kW
  production: 440 million kWh
  consumption per capita: 143 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: rubber, coffee, cocoa, rice, cassava (tapioca), palm
  oil, sugarcane, bananas; sheep, goats; timber

Illicit drugs: increasingly a transshipment point for heroin and
  cocaine

Exports: $530 million (f.o.b., 1994 est.)
  commodities: iron ore 61%, rubber 20%, timber 11%, coffee
  partners: US, EC, Netherlands, Singapore

Imports: NA (c.i.f., 1994 est.)
  commodities: mineral fuels, chemicals, machinery, transportation
  equipment, manufactured goods; rice and other foodstuffs
  partners: US, EC, Japan, China, Netherlands, ECOWAS, South Korea

External debt: $1.9 billion (1993 est.)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $NA

Currency: 1 Liberian dollar (L$) = 100 cents

Exchange rates: Liberian dollars (L$) per US$1 - 1.0000
  (officially fixed rate since 1940); market exchange rate of US$1 -
  L$50 (October 1995), L$7 (January 1992), market rate floats against
  the US dollar

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 490 km (single track); note - three rail systems owned and
  operated by foreign steel and financial interests in conjunction
  with Liberian Government; one of these, the Lamco Railroad, closed
  in 1989 after iron ore production ceased; the other two have been
  shut down by the civil war
  standard gauge: 345 km 1.435-m gauge
  narrow gauge: 145 km 1.067-m gauge

Highways:
  total: 10,029 km
  paved: 600 km
  unpaved: 9,429 km (1987 est.)

Ports: Buchanan, Greenville, Harper, Monrovia

Merchant marine:
  total: 1,601 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 59,449,296
  GRT/98,819,081 DWT
  ships by type: barge carrier 2, bulk 411, cargo 121, chemical tanker
  108, combination bulk 28, combination ore/oil 56, container 143,
  liquefied gas tanker 77, multifunction large-load carrier 1, oil
  tanker 463, passenger 42, passenger-cargo 1, refrigerated cargo 64,
  roll-on/roll-off cargo 23, short-sea passenger 4, specialized tanker
  9, vehicle carrier 48
  note: a flag of convenience registry; includes ships from 59
  countries among which are US 253, Japan 172, Norway 165, Germany
  149, Greece 137, Hong Kong 114, UK 78, China 49, Monaco 41, and
  Cyprus 34 (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 39
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 1
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 1
  with paved runways under 914 m: 29
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 2
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 6 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: less than 25,000 (1991 est.)

Telephone system: telephone and telegraph service via microwave
  radio relay network; main center is Monrovia; most
  telecommunications services inoperable due to insurgency movement
  domestic: NA
  international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 3, FM 4, shortwave 0

Radios: 622,000 (1992 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 5 (1987 est.)

Televisions: 51,000 (1992 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: NA; the ultimate structure of the Liberian military
  force will depend on who is the victor in the ongoing civil war

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 479,274
  males fit for military service: 256,200 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $14 million, 2.9%
  of GDP (1993)



======================================================================




@Libya
-----




Map
---


Location: 25 00 N, 17 00 E -- Northern Africa, bordering the
  Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Tunisia



Flag
----


Description: plain green; green is the traditional color of Islam
  (the state religion)





Geography
---------


Location: Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea,
  between Egypt and Tunisia

Geographic coordinates: 25 00 N, 17 00 E

Map references: Africa

Area:
  total area: 1,759,540 sq km
  land area: 1,759,540 sq km
  comparative area: slightly larger than Alaska

Land boundaries:
  total: 4,383 km
  border countries: Algeria 982 km, Chad 1,055 km, Egypt 1,150 km,
  Niger 354 km, Sudan 383 km, Tunisia 459 km

Coastline: 1,770 km

Maritime claims:
  territorial sea: 12 nm
  Gulf of Sidra closing line: 32 degrees 30 minutes north

International disputes: the International Court of Justice (ICJ)
  ruled in February 1994 that the 100,000 sq km Aozou Strip between
  Chad and Libya belongs to Chad and that Libya must withdraw from it
  by 31 May 1994; Libya has withdrawn some of its forces in response
  to the ICJ ruling, but still maintains part of the airfield and a
  small military presence at the airfield's water supply located in
  Chad; maritime boundary dispute with Tunisia; claims part of
  northern Niger and part of southeastern Algeria

Climate: Mediterranean along coast; dry, extreme desert interior

Terrain: mostly barren, flat to undulating plains, plateaus,
  depressions
  lowest point: Sabkhat Ghuzayyil -47 m
  highest point: Bikku Bitti 2,267 m

Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, gypsum

Land use:
  arable land: 2%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 8%
  forest and woodland: 0%
  other: 90%

Irrigated land: 2,420 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
  current issues: desertification; very limited natural fresh water
  resources; the Great Manmade River Project, the largest water
  development scheme in the world, is being built to bring water from
  large aquifers under the Sahara to coastal cities
  natural hazards: hot, dry, dust-laden ghibli is a southern wind
  lasting one to four days in spring and fall; dust storms, sandstorms
  international agreements: party to - Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test
  Ban, Ozone Layer Protection; signed, but not ratified -
  Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Law of the Sea



People
------


Population: 5,445,436 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 48% (male 1,319,696; female 1,274,865)
  15-64 years: 49% (male 1,375,441; female 1,308,613)
  65 years and over: 3% (male 87,434; female 79,387) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 3.67% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 44.42 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 7.7 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 1.1 male(s)/female
  all ages: 1.04 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 59.5 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 64.67 years
  male: 62.48 years
  female: 66.97 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 6.26 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Libyan(s)
  adjective: Libyan

Ethnic divisions: Berber and Arab 97%, Greeks, Maltese, Italians,
  Egyptians, Pakistanis, Turks, Indians, Tunisians

Religions: Sunni Muslim 97%

Languages: Arabic, Italian, English, all are widely understood in
  the major cities

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)
  total population: 76.2%
  male: 87.9%
  female: 63%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya
  conventional short form: Libya
  local long form: Al Jumahiriyah al Arabiyah al Libiyah ash Shabiyah
  al Ishtirakiyah
  local short form: none

Data code: LY

Type of government: Jamahiriya (a state of the masses) in theory,
  governed by the populace through local councils; in fact, a military
  dictatorship

Capital: Tripoli

Administrative divisions: 25 municipalities (baladiyah, singular -
  baladiyat); Ajdabiya, Al 'Aziziyah, Al Fatih, Al Jabal al Akhdar, Al
  Jufrah, Al Khums, Al Kufrah, An Nuqat al Khams, Ash Shati', Awbari,
  Az Zawiyah, Banghazi, Darnah, Ghadamis, Gharyan, Misratah, Murzuq,
  Sabha, Sawfajjin, Surt, Tarabulus, Tarhunah, Tubruq, Yafran, Zlitan
  note: the 25 muncipalities may have been replaced by 1,500 communes
  in 1992

Independence: 24 December 1951 (from Italy)

National holiday: Revolution Day, 1 September (1969)

Constitution: 11 December 1969, amended 2 March 1977

Legal system: based on Italian civil law system and Islamic law;
  separate religious courts; no constitutional provision for judicial
  review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ
  jurisdiction

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal and compulsory

Executive branch:
  chief of state: Revolutionary Leader Col. Muammar Abu Minyar
  al-QADHAFI (since 1 September 1969) was elected by the General
  People's Congress
  head of government: Secretary of the General People's Committee
  (Premier) Abd al Majid al-QA'UD (since 29 January 1994)
  cabinet: General People's Committee was established by the General
  People's Congress
  note: national elections are indirect through a hierarchy of
  peoples' committees

Legislative branch: unicameral
  General People's Congress: national elections are indirect through a
  hierarchy of peoples' committees

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

Political parties and leaders: none

Other political or pressure groups: various Arab nationalist
  movements with almost negligible memberships may be functioning
  clandestinely, as well as some Islamic elements

International organization participation: ABEDA, AfDB, AFESD, AL,
  AMF, AMU, CAEU, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA,
  IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO,
  ITU, NAM, OAPEC, OAU, OIC, OPEC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNITAR,
  UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer)

Diplomatic representation in US: Libya does not have an embassy in
  the US

US diplomatic representation: the US suspended all embassy
  activities in Tripoli on 2 May 1980

Flag: plain green; green is the traditional color of Islam (the
  state religion)



Economy
-------


Economic overview: The socialist-oriented economy depends
  primarily upon revenues from the oil sector, which contributes
  practically all export earnings and about one-third of GDP. In 1990
  per capita GDP was the highest in Africa at $5,410, but subsequently
  GDP growth has slowed on average and has fluctuated sharply in
  response to changes in the world oil market. Import restrictions and
  inefficient resource allocations have led to periodic shortages of
  basic goods and foodstuffs. The nonoil manufacturing and
  construction sectors, which account for about 20% of GDP, have
  expanded from processing mostly agricultural products to include the
  production of petrochemicals, iron, steel, and aluminum. Although
  agriculture accounts for only 5% of GDP, it employs 18% of the labor
  force. Climatic conditions and poor soils severely limit farm
  output, and Libya imports about 75% of its food requirements. The UN
  sanctions imposed in April 1992 have not yet had a major impact on
  the economy because Libya's oil revenues generate sufficient foreign
  exchange to sustain imports of food, consumer goods, and equipment
  for the oil industry and ongoing development projects.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $32.9 billion (1994 est.)

GDP real growth rate: -0.9% (1994 est.)

GDP per capita: $6,510 (1994 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: NA%
  industry: NA%
  services: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 25% (1993 est.)

Labor force: 1 million (includes about 280,000 resident foreigners)
  by occupation: industry 31%, services 27%, government 24%,
  agriculture 18%

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget:
  revenues: $8.1 billion
  expenditures: $9.8 billion, including capital expenditures of $3.1
  billion (1989 est.)

Industries: petroleum, food processing, textiles, handicrafts,
  cement

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity:
  capacity: 4,600,000 kW
  production: 16.1 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 3,078 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: wheat, barley, olives, dates, citrus, vegetables,
  peanuts; meat, eggs

Exports: $7.2 billion (f.o.b., 1994 est.)
  commodities: crude oil, refined petroleum products, natural gas
  partners: Italy, Germany, Spain, France, UK, Turkey, Greece, Egypt

Imports: $6.9 billion (f.o.b., 1994 est.)
  commodities: machinery, transport equipment, food, manufactured goods
  partners: Italy, Germany, UK, France, Spain, Turkey, Tunisia,
  Eastern Europe

External debt: $3.5 billion excluding military debt (1991 est.)

Economic aid: $NA

Currency: 1 Libyan dinar (LD) = 1,000 dirhams

Exchange rates: Libyan dinars (LD) per US$1 - 0.3617 (January
  1996), 0.3532 (1995), 0.3596 (1994), 0.3250 (1993), 0.3013 (1992),
  0.2684 (1991)

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  note: Libya has had no railroad in operation since 1965, all
  previous systems having been dismantled; current plans are to
  construct a 1.435-m standard gauge line from the Tunisian frontier
  to Tripoli and Misratah, then inland to Sabha, center of a
  mineral-rich area, but there has been no progress; other plans made
  jointly with Egypt would establish a rail line from As Sallum,
  Egypt, to Tobruk with completion set for mid-1994; no progress has
  been reported

Highways:
  total: 19,189 km
  paved: 10,738 km
  unpaved: 8,451 km (1987 est.)

Waterways: none

Pipelines: crude oil 4,383 km; petroleum products 443 km (includes
  liquefied petroleum gas 256 km); natural gas 1,947 km

Ports: Al Khums, Banghazi, Darnah, Marsa al Burayqah, Misratah,
  Ra's Lanuf, Tobruk, Tripoli, Zuwarah

Merchant marine:
  total: 30 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 686,834 GRT/1,209,263
  DWT
  ships by type: cargo 10, chemical tanker 1, liquefied gas tanker 2,
  oil tanker 10, roll-on/roll-off cargo 3, short-sea passenger 4
  note: Libya owns an additional 6 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling
  38,260 DWT operating under the registries of Algeria and Turkey
  (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 130
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 24
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 5
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 22
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 6
  with paved runways under 914 m: 13
  with unpaved runways over 3 047 m: 4
  with unpaved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 3
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 15
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 38 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 370,000

Telephone system: modern telecommunications system
  domestic: microwave radio relay, coaxial cable, tropospheric
  scatter, and a domestic satellite system with 14 earth stations
  international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Atlantic
  Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean); planned Arabsat and Intersputnik
  satellite earth stations; submarine cables to France and Italy;
  microwave radio relay to Tunisia and Egypt; tropospheric scatter to
  Greece; participant in Medarabtel

Radio broadcast stations: AM 17, FM 3, shortwave 0

Radios: 1 million (1993 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 12 (1987 est.)

Televisions: 500,000 (1993 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Armed Peoples of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriyah (includes
  Army, Navy, and Air and Air Defense Command), Police

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 1,170,100
  males fit for military service: 696,288
  males reach military age (17) annually: 56,834 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $1.4 billion,
  6.1% of GDP (1994 est.)



======================================================================




@Liechtenstein
-------------




Map
---


Location: 47 10 N, 9 32 E -- Central Europe, between Austria and
  Switzerland



Flag
----


Description: two equal horizontal bands of blue (top) and red with
  a gold crown on the hoist side of the blue band





Geography
---------


Location: Central Europe, between Austria and Switzerland

Geographic coordinates: 47 10 N, 9 32 E

Map references: Europe

Area:
  total area: 160 sq km
  land area: 160 sq km
  comparative area: about 0.9 times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries:
  total: 78 km
  border countries: Austria 37 km, Switzerland 41 km

Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims: none (landlocked)

International disputes: claims 1,600 square kilometers of Czech
  territory confiscated from its royal family in 1918; the Czech
  Republic insists that restitution does not go back before February
  1948, when the communists seized power

Climate: continental; cold, cloudy winters with frequent snow or
  rain; cool to moderately warm, cloudy, humid summers

Terrain: mostly mountainous (Alps) with Rhine Valley in western
  third
  lowest point: Ruggleller Riet 430 m
  highest point: Grauspitz 2,599 m

Natural resources: hydroelectric potential

Land use:
  arable land: 25%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 38%
  forest and woodland: 19%
  other: 18%

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Environment:
  current issues: NA
  natural hazards: NA
  international agreements: party to - Air Pollution, Air
  Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air
  Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Climate Change, Endangered
  Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands; signed,
  but not ratified - Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Biodiversity, Law of
  the Sea

Geographic note: landlocked; variety of microclimatic variations
  based on elevation



People
------


Population: 31,122 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 19% (male 2,961; female 2,871)
  15-64 years: 70% (male 10,775; female 11,113)
  65 years and over: 11% (male 1,366; female 2,036) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.08% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 11.47 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 6.81 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 6.11 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.14 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.67 male(s)/female
  all ages: 0.94 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 5.3 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 78.84 years
  male: 75.92 years
  female: 82.17 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.37 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Liechtensteiner(s)
  adjective: Liechtenstein

Ethnic divisions: Alemannic 95%, Italian and other 5%

Religions: Roman Catholic 87.3%, Protestant 8.3%, unknown 1.6%,
  other 2.8% (1988)

Languages: German (official), Alemannic dialect

Literacy: age 10 and over can read and write (1981 est.)
  total population: 100%
  male: 100%
  female: 100%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Principality of Liechtenstein
  conventional short form: Liechtenstein
  local long form: Furstentum Liechtenstein
  local short form: Liechtenstein

Data code: LS

Type of government: hereditary constitutional monarchy

Capital: Vaduz

Administrative divisions: 11 communes (gemeinden, singular -
  gemeinde); Balzers, Eschen, Gamprin, Mauren, Planken, Ruggell,
  Schaan, Schellenberg, Triesen, Triesenberg, Vaduz

Independence: 23 January 1719 (Imperial Principality of
  Liechtenstein established)

National holiday: Assumption Day, 15 August

Constitution: 5 October 1921

Legal system: local civil and penal codes; accepts compulsory ICJ
  jurisdiction, with reservations

Suffrage: 20 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: Prince Hans ADAM II (since 13 November 1989, who is
  a hereditary monarch, assumed executive powers 26 August 1984); Heir
  Apparent Prince ALOIS von und zu Liechtenstein (born 11 June 1968)
  head of government: Mario FRICK (since 15 December 1993) and Deputy
  Head of Government Dr. Thomas BUECHEL (since 15 December 1993) were
  elected by the Landtag for a four-year term and confirmed by the
  prince
  cabinet: Cabinet was elected by the Diet; confirmed by the prince

Legislative branch: unicameral
  Diet (Landtag): elections last held on 24 October 1993 (next to be
  held by March 1997); results - VU 50.1%, FBP 41.3%, FL 8.5%; seats -
  (25 total) VU 13, FBP 11, FL 1

Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Oberster Gerichtshof) for criminal
  cases; Superior Court (Obergericht) for civil cases

Political parties and leaders: Fatherland Union (VU), Dr. Oswald
  KRANTZ; Progressive Citizens' Party (FBP), Otmar HASLER; The Free
  List (FL)

International organization participation: CE, EBRD, ECE, EFTA,
  IAEA, ICRM, IFRCS, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ITU, OSCE, PCA, UN,
  UNCTAD, UPU, WCL, WIPO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in US: Liechtenstein does not have an
  embassy in the US, but is represented by the Swiss embassy in
  routine diplomatic matters

US diplomatic representation: the US does not have an embassy in
  Liechtenstein, but the US Consul General at Zurich (Switzerland) has
  consular accreditation in Vaduz

Flag: two equal horizontal bands of blue (top) and red with a gold
  crown on the hoist side of the blue band



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Despite its small size and limited natural
  resources, Liechtenstein has developed into a prosperous, highly
  industrialized, free-enterprise economy with a vital service sector
  and living standards on par with the urban areas of its large
  European neighbors. Low business taxes - the maximum tax rate is 18%
  - and easy incorporation rules have induced about 25,000 holding or
  so-called letter box companies to establish nominal offices in
  Liechtenstein, providing 30% of state revenues. The country
  participates in a customs union with Switzerland and uses the Swiss
  franc as its national currency. Liechtenstein plans to join the
  European Economic Area (an organization serving as a bridge between
  EFTA and EU) in 1995.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $630 million (1990 est.)

GDP real growth rate: NA%

GDP per capita: $22,300 (1990 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: NA%
  industry: NA%
  services: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 5.4% (1990)

Labor force: 20,000 of which 12,000 are foreigners; 6,885 commute
  from Austria and Switzerland to work each day
  by occupation: industry, trade, and building 48.1%, services 50.2%,
  agriculture, fishing, forestry, and horticulture 1.7% (1993)

Unemployment rate: 0.9% (1995)

Budget:
  revenues: $455 million
  expenditures: $442 million, including capital expenditures of $NA
  (1995 est.)

Industries: electronics, metal manufacturing, textiles, ceramics,
  pharmaceuticals, food products, precision instruments, tourism

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity:
  capacity: 23,000 kW
  production: 150 million kWh
  consumption per capita: 5,230 kWh (1992)

Agriculture: vegetables, corn, wheat, potatoes, grapes; livestock

Exports: $1.636 billion (1993)
  commodities: small specialty machinery, dental products, stamps,
  hardware, pottery
  partners: EC countries 42.7%, EFTA countries 20.9% (Switzerland
  15.4%), other 36.4% (1990)

Imports: $NA
  commodities: machinery, metal goods, textiles, foodstuffs, motor
  vehicles
  partners: NA

External debt: $NA

Economic aid: none

Currency: 1 Swiss franc, franken, or franco (SwF) = 100 centimes,
  rappen, or centesimi

Exchange rates: Swiss francs, franken, or franchi (SwF) per US$1 -
  1.1810 (January 1996), 1.1825 (1995), 1.3677 (1994), 1.4776 (1993),
  1.4062 (1992), 1.4340 (1991)

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 18.5 km; note - owned, operated, and included in statistics
  of Austrian Federal Railways
  standard gauge: 18.5 km 1.435-m gauge (electrified)

Highways:
  total: 238 km
  paved: 238 km
  unpaved: 0 km (1986 est.)

Ports: none

Airports: none



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 18,916 (1993 est.)

Telephone system: limited, but sufficient automatic telephone
  system
  domestic: NA
  international: linked to Swiss networks by cable and microwave radio
  relay

Radio broadcast stations: AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA
  note: linked to Swiss networks

Radios: 11,000 (1993 est.)

Television broadcast stations: NA
  note: linked to Swiss networks

Televisions: 10,620 (1993 est.)



Defense
-------


Defense note: defense is the responsibility of Switzerland



======================================================================




@Lithuania
---------




Map
---


Location: 56 00 N, 24 00 E -- Eastern Europe, bordering the Baltic
  Sea, between Latvia and Russia



Flag
----


Description: three equal horizontal bands of yellow (top), green,
  and red





Geography
---------


Location: Eastern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, between Latvia
  and Russia

Geographic coordinates: 56 00 N, 24 00 E

Map references: Europe

Area:
  total area: 65,200 sq km
  land area: 65,200 sq km
  comparative area: slightly larger than West Virginia

Land boundaries:
  total: 1,273 km
  border countries: Belarus 502 km, Latvia 453 km, Poland 91 km,
  Russia (Kaliningrad) 227 km

Coastline: 108 km

Maritime claims:
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: dispute with Russia (Kaliningrad Oblast)
  over the position of the Nemunas (Nemen) River border presently
  located on the Lithuanian bank and not in midriver as by
  international standards; disputes maritime border with Latvia
  (primary concern is oil exploration rights); treaty with Belarus
  defining the border awaits ratification

Climate: maritime; wet, moderate winters and summers

Terrain: lowland, many scattered small lakes, fertile soil
  lowest point: Baltic Sea 0 m
  highest point: Juozapine Kalnas 292 m

Natural resources: peat

Land use:
  arable land: 49%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 22%
  forest and woodland: 16%
  other: 13%

Irrigated land: 430 sq km (1990)

Environment:
  current issues: contamination of soil and groundwater with petroleum
  products and chemicals at military bases
  natural hazards: NA
  international agreements: party to - Climate Change, Ship Pollution,
  Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Ozone Layer
  Protection



People
------


Population: 3,646,041 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 22% (male 400,823; female 384,592)
  15-64 years: 66% (male 1,162,626; female 1,244,103)
  65 years and over: 12% (male 154,862; female 299,035) (July 1996
  est.)

Population growth rate: -0.35% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 12.93 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 13.33 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: -3.09 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.52 male(s)/female
  all ages: 0.89 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 17 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 68.03 years
  male: 62.15 years
  female: 74.21 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.78 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Lithuanian(s)
  adjective: Lithuanian

Ethnic divisions: Lithuanian 80.1%, Russian 8.6%, Polish 7.7%,
  Byelorussian 1.5%, other 2.1%

Religions: Roman Catholic, Lutheran, other

Languages: Lithuanian (official), Polish, Russian

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1989 est.)
  total population: 98%
  male: 99%
  female: 98%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Republic of Lithuania
  conventional short form: Lithuania
  local long form: Lietuvos Respublika
  local short form: Lietuva
  former: Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic

Data code: LH

Type of government: republic

Capital: Vilnius

Administrative divisions: 44 regions (rajonai, singular - rajonas)
  and 11 municipalities*: Akmenes Rajonas, Alytaus Rajonas, Alytus*,
  Anyksciu Rajonas, Birsionas*, Birzu Rajonas, Druskininkai*,
  Ignalinos Rajonas, Jonavos Rajonas, Joniskio Rajonas, Jurbarko
  Rajonas, Kaisiadoriu Rajonas, Marijampoles Rajonas, Kaunas*, Kauno
  Rajonas, Kedainiu Rajonas, Kelmes Rajonas, Klaipeda*, Klaipedos
  Rajonas, Kretingos Rajonas, Kupiskio Rajonas, Lazdiju Rajonas,
  Marijampole*, Mazeikiu Rajonas, Moletu Rajonas, Neringa* Pakruojo
  Rajonas, Palanga*, Panevezio Rajonas, Panevezys*, Pasvalio Rajonas,
  Plunges Rajonas, Prienu Rajonas, Radviliskio Rajonas, Raseiniu
  Rajonas, Rokiskio Rajonas, Sakiu Rajonas, Salcininky Rajonas,
  Siauliai*, Siauliu Rajonas, Silales Rajonas, Siltues Rajonas,
  Sirvinty Rajonas, Skuodo Rajonas, Svencioniu Rajonas, Taurages
  Rajonas, Telsiu Rajonas, Traky Rajonas, Ukmerges Rajonas, Utenos
  Rajonas, Varenos Rajonas, Vilkaviskio Rajonas, Vilniaus Rajonas,
  Vilnius*, Zarasu Rajonas

Independence: 6 September 1991 (from Soviet Union)

National holiday: Independence Day, 16 February (1918)

Constitution: adopted 25 October 1992

Legal system: based on civil law system; no judicial review of
  legislative acts

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: President Algirdas Mykolas BRAZAUSKAS (since 25
  November 1992; elected acting president by Parliament 25 November
  1992 and elected by direct vote 15 February 1993) was elected for a
  five-year term by universal suffrage; election last held 14 February
  1993 (next to be held spring 1997); results - Algirdas BRAZAUSKAS
  was elected; percent of vote NA
  head of government: Premier Mindaugas STANKEVICIUS (since 15
  February 1996) was appointed by the president on approval of the
  Seimas
  cabinet: Council of Ministers was appointed by the president on the
  nomination of the prime minister

Legislative branch: unicameral
  Seimas (parliament): elections last held 26 October and 25 November
  1992 (next to be held NA October 1996); results - LDDP 51%; seats -
  (141 total) LDDP 73, Conservative Party 30, LKDP 17, LTS 8, Farmers'
  Union 4, LLS 4, Center Union 2, others 3

Judicial branch: Supreme Court, judges appointed by the Seimas;
  Court of Appeal, judges appointed by the Seimas

Political parties and leaders: Christian Democratic Party (LKDP),
  Algirdas SAUDARGAS, chairman; Democratic Labor Party of Lithuania
  (LDDP), Mindaugas STANKEVICIUS , chairman; Lithuanian Nationalist
  Union (LTS), Rimantas SMETONA, chairman; Lithuanian Social
  Democratic Party (LSDP), Aloyzas SAKALAS, chairman; Farmers' Union,
  Jonas CIULEVICIUS, chairman; Center Union, Romualdas OZOLAS,
  chairman; Homeland Union/Conservative Party, Vytautas LANDSBERGIS,
  chairman; Lithuanian Polish Union (LLS), Rytardas MACIEKIANIEC,
  chairman

Other political or pressure groups: Lithuanian Future Forum

International organization participation: BIS, CBSS, CCC, CE,
  EBRD, ECE, EU (applicant), FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS,
  ILO, IMF, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, ISO
  (correspondent), ITU, NACC, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCRO, UNCTAD, UNESCO,
  UPU, WEU (associate partner), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO (applicant)

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Alfonsas EIDINTAS
  chancery: 2622 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009
  telephone: [1] (202) 234-5860, 2639
  FAX: [1] (202) 328-0466
  consulate(s) general: New York

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador James W. SWIHART, Jr.
  embassy: Akmenu 6, Vilnius 2600
  mailing address: PSC 78, Box V, APO AE 09723
  telephone: [78] (8) 973-0000, 227-224
  FAX: [78] (8) 670-6084

Flag: three equal horizontal bands of yellow (top), green, and red



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Since declaring independence in 1990, Lithuania
  has implemented reforms aimed at eliminating the vestiges of the
  former socialist system. With the help of the IMF and other
  international institutions, the government has adopted a disciplined
  program to restrain inflation, reduce price controls, lower the
  budget deficit and privatize the economy. Lithuania has embarked on
  a series of price liberalizations; most price controls have been
  abolished. More than two-thirds of its industrial facilities as well
  as most housing and agricultural enterprises have been privatized,
  although important "strategic" enterprises have been exempted from
  privatization - namely energy and telecommunications. While
  Lithuania has reduced its trade dependence on Russia and other
  republics of the FSU from 85% in 1991 to about 40% in 1995, Russia
  remains Lithuania's leading trading partner. Lithuania has made
  great strides in reducing its annual rate of inflation - from over
  1,100% in 1992 to about 35% in 1995. Production bottomed out in
  1994-95. A banking crisis beginning in September, during which
  central bank reserves dropped one-third, held back growth in 1995.
  If the government can stay the course on economic reform and fiscal
  discipline - which may be politically difficult in the election year
  of 1996 - Lithuania could be set for strong economic growth in the
  near term. As for real resources, Lithuania's growth depends largely
  on its ability to exploit its strategic location - with its ice-free
  port at Klaipeda and its rail and highway hub in Vilnius connecting
  it with Eastern Europe, Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine. Lacking
  important natural resources, it will remain dependent on imports of
  fuels and raw materials.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $13.3 billion (1995 estimate as
  extrapolated from World Bank estimate for 1994)

GDP real growth rate: 1% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $3,400 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 20%
  industry: 42%
  services: 38% (1993 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 35% (1995 est.)

Labor force: 1.836 million
  by occupation: industry and construction 42%, agriculture and
  forestry 18%, other 40% (1990)

Unemployment rate: 6.1% (January 1996)

Budget:
  revenues: $NA
  expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA

Industries: metal-cutting machine tools, electric motors,
  television sets, refrigerators and freezers, petroleum refining,
  shipbuilding (small ships), furniture making, textiles, food
  processing, fertilizers, agricultural machinery, optical equipment,
  electronic components, computers, amber

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity:
  capacity: 6,190,000 kW
  production: 18.9 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 4,608 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: grain, potatoes, sugar beets, vegetables; meat, milk,
  eggs; fish

Illicit drugs: transshipment point for illicit drugs from Central
  and Southwest Asia and Latin America to Western Europe; limited
  producer of illicit opium; mostly for domestic consumption

Exports: $2.2 billion (1994)
  commodities: electronics 18%, food 10%, chemicals 6%, petroleum
  products 5% (1989)
  partners: Russia, Ukraine, Germany

Imports: $2.7 billion (1994)
  commodities: oil 24%, machinery 14%, chemicals 8%, grain NA% (1989)
  partners: Russia, Germany, Belarus

External debt: $895 million

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $144 million (1993)
  note: commitments from the West and international financial
  institutions, $765 million (1992-95)

Currency: introduced the convertible litas in June 1993

Exchange rates: litai per US$1 - 4.000 (January 1996), 4.000
  (1995), 3.978 (1994), 4.344 (1993), 1.773 (1992); note - fixed rate
  since 1 May 1994

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 2,002 km
  broad gauge: 2,002 km 1.524-m gauge (122 km electrified) (1994)

Highways:
  total: 55,603 km
  paved: 42,209 km (including 382 km of expressways)
  unpaved: 13,394 km (1994)

Waterways: 600 km perennially navigable

Pipelines: crude oil, 105 km; natural gas 760 km (1992)

Ports: Kaunas, Klaipeda

Merchant marine:
  total: 43 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 264,639 GRT/303,649 DWT
  ships by type: cargo 26, combination bulk 11, oil tanker 2, railcar
  carrier 1, roll-on/roll-off cargo 1, short-sea passenger 2 (1995
  est.)

Airports:
  total: 96
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 3
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 2
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 4
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 2
  with paved runways under 914 m: 14
  with unpaved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 1
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 1
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 6
  with unpaved runways under 914 m: 63 (1994 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 900,000

Telephone system: telecommunications system ranks among the most
  modern of the former Soviet republics
  domestic: an NMT-450 analog cellular telephone network operates in
  Vilnius and other cities; landlines and microwave radio relay
  connect switching centers
  international: international connections no longer depend on the
  Moscow international gateway switch, but are established by
  satellite through Oslo from Vilnius and through Copenhagen from
  Kaunas; satellite earth stations - 1 Eutelsat and 1 Intelsat
  (Atlantic Ocean); cellular network linked internationally through
  Copenhagen by Eutelsat; international electronic mail is available;
  landlines or microwave radio relay to former Soviet republics

Radio broadcast stations: AM 13, FM 26, shortwave 1, longwave 1

Radios: 1.42 million (1993 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 3

Televisions: 1.77 million (1993 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Ground Forces, Navy, Air and Air Defense Force, Security
  Forces (internal and border troops), National Guard (Skat)

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 903,437
  males fit for military service: 712,875
  males reach military age (18) annually: 26,162 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $31.7 million, 1%
  of GDP (1995)



======================================================================




@Luxembourg
----------




Map
---


Location: 49 45 N, 6 10 E -- Western Europe, between France and
  Germany



Flag
----


Description: three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and
  light blue; similar to the flag of the Netherlands, which uses a
  darker blue and is shorter; design was based on the flag of France





Geography
---------


Location: Western Europe, between France and Germany

Geographic coordinates: 49 45 N, 6 10 E

Map references: Europe

Area:
  total area: 2,586 sq km
  land area: 2,586 sq km
  comparative area: slightly smaller than Rhode Island

Land boundaries:
  total: 359 km
  border countries: Belgium 148 km, France 73 km, Germany 138 km

Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims: none (landlocked)

International disputes: none

Climate: modified continental with mild winters, cool summers

Terrain: mostly gently rolling uplands with broad, shallow
  valleys; uplands to slightly mountainous in the north; steep slope
  down to Moselle floodplain in the southeast
  lowest point: Moselle River 133 m
  highest point: Burgplatz 559 m

Natural resources: iron ore (no longer exploited)

Land use:
  arable land: 24%
  permanent crops: 1%
  meadows and pastures: 20%
  forest and woodland: 21%
  other: 34%

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Environment:
  current issues: deforestation; air and water pollution in urban areas
  natural hazards: NA
  international agreements: party to - Air Pollution, Air
  Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air
  Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Biodiversity, Climate Change,
  Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test
  Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83;
  signed, but not ratified - Air Pollution-Sulphur 94,
  Desertification, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea

Geographic note: landlocked



People
------


Population: 415,870 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 18% (male 39,199; female 37,239)
  15-64 years: 68% (male 142,394; female 138,349)
  65 years and over: 14% (male 23,118; female 35,571) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.57% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 13.14 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 8.32 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 10.93 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.09 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.65 male(s)/female
  all ages: 0.97 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 4.7 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 78.26 years
  male: 75.24 years
  female: 81.56 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.76 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Luxembourger(s)
  adjective: Luxembourg

Ethnic divisions: Celtic base (with French and German blend),
  Portuguese, Italian, and European (guest and worker residents)

Religions: Roman Catholic 97%, Protestant and Jewish 3%

Languages: Luxembourgisch, German, French, English

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1980 est.)
  total population: 100%
  male: 100%
  female: 100%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Grand Duchy of Luxembourg
  conventional short form: Luxembourg
  local long form: Grand-Duche de Luxembourg
  local short form: Luxembourg

Data code: LU

Type of government: constitutional monarchy

Capital: Luxembourg

Administrative divisions: 3 districts; Diekirch, Grevenmacher,
======================================================================




@Macau
-----


(overseas territory of Portugal)

Map
---


Location: 22 10 N, 113 33 E -- Eastern Asia, bordering the South
  China Sea and China



Flag
----


Description: the flag of Portugal is used





Geography
---------


Location: Eastern Asia, bordering the South China Sea and China

Geographic coordinates: 22 10 N, 113 33 E

Map references: Southeast Asia

Area:
  total area: 16 sq km
  land area: 16 sq km
  comparative area: about 0.1 times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries:
  total: 0.34 km
  border country: China 0.34 km

Coastline: 40 km

Maritime claims: not specified

International disputes: none

Climate: subtropical; marine with cool winters, warm summers

Terrain: generally flat
  lowest point: South China Sea 0 m
  highest point: Coloane Alto 174 m

Natural resources: NEGL

Land use:
  arable land: 0%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 0%
  forest and woodland: 0%
  other: 100%

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Environment:
  current issues: NA
  natural hazards: NA
  international agreements: party to - Ozone Layer Protection
  (extended from Portugal)

Geographic note: essentially urban; one causeway and one bridge
  connect the two islands to the peninsula on mainland



People
------


Population: 496,837 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 24% (male 60,709; female 57,004)
  15-64 years: 68% (male 167,466; female 169,486)
  65 years and over: 8% (male 17,569; female 24,603) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.15% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 14.16 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 4.31 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 1.66 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female
  all ages: 0.98 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 5.3 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 79.95 years
  male: 77.49 years
  female: 82.54 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.51 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Macanese (singular and plural)
  adjective: Macau

Ethnic divisions: Chinese 95%, Portuguese 3%, other 2%

Religions: Buddhist 45%, Roman Catholic 7%, Protestant 1%, none
  45.8%, other 1.2% (1981)

Languages: Portuguese (official) 4%, Chinese (Cantonese) is the
  language of commerce

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1981 est.)
  total population: 90%
  male: 93%
  female: 86%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: none
  conventional short form: Macau
  local long form: none
  local short form: Ilha de Macau

Data code: MC

Type of government: overseas territory of Portugal scheduled to
  revert to China in 1999

Capital: Macau

Administrative divisions: 2 districts (concelhos, singular -
  concelho); Ilhas, Macau

Independence: none (territory of Portugal; Portugal signed an
  agreement with China on 13 April 1987 to return Macau to China on 20
  December 1999; in the joint declaration, China promises to respect
  Macau's existing social and economic systems and lifestyle for 50
  years after transition)

National holiday: Day of Portugal, 10 June (1580)

Constitution: 17 February 1976, Organic Law of Macau; basic law
  drafted primarily by Beijing promulgated 31 March 1993

Legal system: Portuguese civil law system

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: President (of Portugal) Mario Alberto SOARES (since
  9 March 1986)
  head of government: Governor Gen. Vasco Joachim Rocha VIEIRA (since
  20 March 1991) was appointed by the President of Portugal after
  consultation with the Legislative Assembly
  cabinet: Consultative Council consists of a total of 15 members -
  five appointed by the governor, two nominated by the governor, five
  elected for a four-year term (two represent administrative bodies,
  one represents moral, cultural, and welfare interests, and two
  represent economic interests), and three statutory members

Legislative branch: unicameral
  Legislative Assembly: elections last held 10 March 1991 (next to be
  held NA); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (23 total,
  8 elected by direct vote, 8 by indirect vote, and 7 appointed by the
  governor) number of seats by party NA

Judicial branch: Supreme Court, consisting of five magistrates
  including the president; lower court judges appointed for three
  years by governor

Political parties and leaders: Association to Defend the Interests
  of Macau; Macau Democratic Center; Group to Study the Development of
  Macau; Macau Independent Group

Other political or pressure groups: wealthy Macanese and Chinese
  representing local interests, wealthy procommunist merchants
  representing China's interests; in January 1967 the Macau Government
  acceded to Chinese demands that gave China veto power over
  administration

International organization participation: CCC, ESCAP (associate),
  IMO (associate), Interpol (subbureau), UNESCO (associate), WToO
  (associate), WTrO

Diplomatic representation in US: none (Chinese territory under
  Portuguese administration)

US diplomatic representation: the US has no offices in Macau, and
  US interests are monitored by the US Consulate General in Hong Kong

Flag: the flag of Portugal is used



Economy
-------


Economic overview: The economy is based largely on tourism
  (including gambling) and textile and fireworks manufacturing.
  Efforts to diversify have spawned other small industries - toys,
  artificial flowers, and electronics. The tourist sector has
  accounted for roughly 25% of GDP, and the clothing industry has
  provided about two-thirds of export earnings; the gambling industry
  probably represents over 40% of GDP. Macau depends on China for most
  of its food, fresh water, and energy imports. Japan and Hong Kong
  are the main suppliers of raw materials and capital goods.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $6.4 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 4% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $13,000 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: NA%
  industry: NA%
  services: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 8.6% (1995 est.)

Labor force: 180,000 (1986)
  by occupation: NA

Unemployment rate: 2% (1992 est.)

Budget:
  revenues: $305 million
  expenditures: $298 million, including capital expenditures of $NA
  (1989 est.)

Industries: clothing, textiles, toys, plastic products, furniture,
  tourism

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity:
  capacity: 258,000 kW
  production: 950 million kWh
  consumption per capita: 2,093 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: rice, vegetables

Exports: $1.9 billion (1995 est.)
  commodities: textiles, clothing, toys
  partners: US 35%, Hong Kong 12.5%, Germany 12%, China 9.9%, France
  8% (1992 est.)

Imports: $2 billion (1992 est.)
  commodities: raw materials, foodstuffs, capital goods
  partners: Hong Kong 33%, China 20%, Japan 18% (1992 est.)

External debt: $0 (1995)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $NA

Currency: 1 pataca (P) = 100 avos

Exchange rates: patacas (P) per US$1 - 8.034 (1991-95), 8.024
  (1990), 8.030 (1989); note - linked to the Hong Kong dollar at the
  rate of 1.03 patacas per Hong Kong dollar

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways: 0 km

Highways:
  total: 90 km
  paved: 42 km
  unpaved: 48 km (1987 est.)

Ports: Macau

Merchant marine: none

Airports: new international airport completed in 1995; 1 seaplane
  station



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 170,021 (1994 est.)

Telephone system: fairly modern communication facilities
  maintained for domestic and international services
  domestic: NA
  international: HF radiotelephone communication facility; access to
  international communications carriers provided via Hong Kong and
  China; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 4, FM 3, shortwave 0

Radios: 135,000 (1992 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 0
  note: TV programs received from Hong Kong

Televisions: 34,000 (1992 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: NA

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 142,704
  males fit for military service: 79,225 (1996 est.)

Defense note: defense is the responsibility of Portugal



======================================================================




@Macedonia, The Former Yugoslav Republic of
------------------------------------------




Map
---


Location: 41 50 N, 22 00 E -- Southeastern Europe, north of Greece



Flag
----


Description: a rising yellow sun with 8 rays extending to the
  edges of the red field





Geography
---------


Location: Southeastern Europe, north of Greece

Geographic coordinates: 41 50 N, 22 00 E

Map references: Europe

Area:
  total area: 25,333 sq km
  land area: 24,856 sq km
  comparative area: slightly larger than Vermont

Land boundaries:
  total: 748 km
  border countries: Albania 151 km, Bulgaria 148 km, Greece 228 km,
  Serbia and Montenegro 221 km (all with Serbia)

Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims: none (landlocked)

International disputes: dispute with Greece over name; in
  September 1995, Skopje and Athens signed an interim accord resolving
  their dispute over symbols and certain constitutional provisions;
  Athens also lifted its economic embargo on the Former Yugoslav
  Republic of Macedonia

Climate: hot, dry summers and autumns and relatively cold winters
  with heavy snowfall

Terrain: mountainous territory covered with deep basins and
  valleys; there are three large lakes, each divided by a frontier
  line; country bisected by the Vardar River
  lowest point: Vardar River 50 m
  highest point: Korab 2,753 m

Natural resources: chromium, lead, zinc, manganese, tungsten,
  nickel, low-grade iron ore, asbestos, sulfur, timber

Land use:
  arable land: 5%
  permanent crops: 5%
  meadows and pastures: 20%
  forest and woodland: 30%
  other: 40%

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Environment:
  current issues: air pollution from metallurgical plants
  natural hazards: high seismic risks
  international agreements: party to - Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer
  Protection

Geographic note: landlocked; major transportation corridor from
  Western and Central Europe to Aegean Sea and Southern Europe to
  Western Europe



People
------


Population: 2,104,035 (July 1996 est.)
  note: the Macedonian government census of July 1994 put the
  population at 1.94 million, but ethnic allocations were likely
  undercounted

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 22% (male 242,593; female 228,563)
  15-64 years: 68% (male 728,969; female 703,665)
  65 years and over: 10% (male 90,363; female 109,882) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 0.46% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 13.31 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 8.47 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: -0.2 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.08 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.82 male(s)/female
  all ages: 1.02 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 29.7 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 71.94 years
  male: 69.86 years
  female: 74.18 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.82 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Macedonian(s)
  adjective: Macedonian

Ethnic divisions: Macedonian 65%, Albanian 22%, Turkish 4%, Serb
  2%, Gypsies 3%, other 4%

Religions: Eastern Orthodox 67%, Muslim 30%, other 3%

Languages: Macedonian 70%, Albanian 21%, Turkish 3%,
  Serbo-Croatian 3%, other 3%

Literacy: NA



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
  conventional short form: none
  local long form: Republika Makedonija
  local short form: Makedonija
  abbreviation: FYROM

Data code: MK

Type of government: emerging democracy

Capital: Skopje

Administrative divisions: 34 counties (opstinas, singular -
  opstina) Berovo, Bitola, Brod, Debar, Delcevo, Gevgelija, Gostivar,
  Kavadarci, Kicevo, Kocani, Kratovo, Kriva Palanka, Krusevo,
  Kumanovo, Murgasevo, Negotino, Ohrid, Prilep, Probistip, Radovis,
  Resen, Skopje-Centar, Skopje-Cair, Skopje-Karpos, Skopje-Kisela
  Voda, Skopje-Gazi Baba, Stip, Struga, Strumica, Sveti Nikole,
  Tetovo, Titov Veles, Valandovo, Vinica

Independence: 17 September 1991 (from Yugoslavia)

National holiday: 8 September

Constitution: adopted 17 November 1991, effective 20 November 1991

Legal system: based on civil law system; judicial review of
  legislative acts

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: President Kiro GLIGOROV (since 27 January 1991) was
  elected by the Assembly in 1991 and reelected by popular vote in
  1994; election last held 16 October 1994 (next to be held NA 1997);
  results - percent of vote NA; note - following a failed
  assassination attempt on the president in October 1995, then
  Parliamentary Speaker Stojan ANDOV was acting president; GLIGOROV
  resumed his duties in early 1996
  head of government: Prime Minister Branko CRVENKOVSKI (since 4
  September 1992) was appointed by the president
  cabinet: Council of Ministers were elected by the majority vote of
  all the deputies in the Assembly; note - after the withdrawal of the
  Liberal Party from the ruling coalition in early 1996, the Council
  of Ministers was reorganized without LP participation

Legislative branch: unicameral
  Assembly (Sobranje): elections last held 16 and 30 October 1994
  (next to be held NA November 1998); results - percent of vote by
  party NA; seats - (120 total) SDSM 58, LP 29, SPM 8, PDP 10, NDP 4,
  independents 7, other 4

Judicial branch: Constitutional Court, judges are elected by the
  Judicial Council; Judicial Court of the Republic, judges are elected
  by the Judicial Council

Political parties and leaders: Social-Democratic Alliance of
  Macedonia (SDSM; former Communist Party), Branko CRVENKOVSKI,
  president; Party for Democratic Prosperity (PDP), Abdurahman HALITI,
  president; National Democratic Party (NDP), Ilijas HALINI,
  president; Alliance of Reform Forces of Macedonia - Liberal Party
  (SRSM-LP), Stojan ANDOV, president; Socialist Party of Macedonia
  (SPM), Kiro POPOVSKI, president; Internal Macedonian Revolutionary
  Organization - Democratic Party for Macedonian National Unity
  (VMRO-DPMNE), Ljupco GEORGIEVSKI, president; Party of Yugoslavs in
  Macedonia (SJM), Milan DURCINOV, president; Democratic Party (DP),
  Petar GOSEV, president; Party for Democratic Prosperity of Albanians
  (PDPA), Arben XHAFFERI, president

Other political or pressure groups: Movement for All Macedonian
  Action (MAAK); Democratic Party of Serbs; Democratic Party of Turks;
  Party for Democratic Action (Slavic Muslim)

International organization participation: CCC, CE, CEI, EBRD, ECE,
  FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO,
  Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, ITU, UN, UNCTAD,
  UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO (observer)

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Ljubica ACEVSKA
  chancery: 3050 K Street, NW, Suite 210, Washington, DC 20007
  telephone: [1] (202) 337 3063
  FAX: [1] (202) 337 3093

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador-designate Christopher HILL; Charge
  d'Affaires Victor D. COMRAS
  embassy: ul. 27 Mart No. 5, 9100 Skopje
  mailing address: United States Liaison Office Skopje, Department of
  State, Washington, DC 20521-7120 (pouch)
  telephone: [389] (91) 116-180
  FAX: [389] (91) 117-103
  note: the US agreed to establish full diplomatic relations with the
  Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia in September 1995, and to
  upgrade the Liaison Office to an Embassy

Flag: a rising yellow sun with 8 rays extending to the edges of
  the red field



Economy
-------


Economic overview: The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia,
  although the poorest republic in the former Yugoslav federation, can
  meet basic food and energy needs through its own agricultural and
  coal resources. Its economic decline will continue unless ties are
  reforged or enlarged with its neighbors Serbia and Montenegro,
  Albania, Greece, and Bulgaria. The economy depends on outside
  sources for all of its oil and gas and most of its modern machinery
  and parts. An important supplement of GDP is the remittances from
  thousands of Macedonians working in Germany and other West European
  nations. The end of sanctions on Serbia and the lifting of the Greek
  embargo on Macedonia have reopened its natural trade corridors, but
  the country has been slow to capitalize on these opportunities.
  Moreover, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia's geographical
  isolation, technological underdevelopment, and potential political
  instability place it far down the list of countries of interest to
  Western investors. An internal commitment to economic reform would
  encourage foreign investment over the long run.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $1.9 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 4%

GDP per capita: $880 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 24%
  industry: 44%
  services: 32%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 14.8% (1995 est.)

Labor force: 591,773 (June 1994)
  by occupation: manufacturing and mining 40% (1992)

Unemployment rate: 37% (1995 est.)

Budget:
  revenues: $NA
  expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA

Industries: coal, metallic chromium, lead, zinc, ferronickel,
  textiles, wood products, tobacco

Industrial production growth rate: -14% (1993)

Electricity:
  capacity: 1,600,000 kW
  production: 6.046 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 2,941 kWh (1992)

Agriculture: rice, tobacco, wheat, corn, millet, cotton, sesame,
  mulberry leaves, citrus, vegetables; beef, pork, poultry, mutton

Illicit drugs: limited illicit opium cultivation; transshipment
  point for Southwest Asian heroin

Exports: $916.2 million (1995)
  commodities: manufactured goods 40%, machinery and transport
  equipment 14%, miscellaneous manufactured articles 23%, raw
  materials 7.6%, food (rice) and live animals 5.7%, beverages and
  tobacco 4.5%, chemicals 4.7% (1990)
  partners: principally Serbia and Montenegro and the other former
  Yugoslav republics, Germany, Greece, Albania

Imports: $199 million (1995)
  commodities: fuels and lubricants 19%, manufactured goods 18%,
  machinery and transport equipment 15%, food and live animals 14%,
  chemicals 11.4%, raw materials 10%, miscellaneous manufactured
  articles 8.0%, beverages and tobacco 3.5% (1990)
  partners: other former Yugoslav republics, Greece, Albania, Germany,
  Bulgaria

External debt: $737.1 million (1994)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $NA
  note: US, $10 million (for humanitarian and technical assistance);
  in December 1995, the EU agreed to provide a credit line of ECU 21.7
  million for investment projects

Currency: the denar, which was adopted by the Macedonian
  legislature 26 April 1992, was initially issued in the form of a
  coupon pegged to the German mark; subsequently repegged to a basket
  of seven currencies

Exchange rates: denar per US$1 - 38.8 (December 1995), 39
  (November 1994), 865 (October 1992)

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 699 km
  standard gauge: 699 km 1.435-m gauge (232 km electrified) (1995)

Highways:
  total: 10,591 km
  paved: 5,091 km
  unpaved: 5,500 km (1991 est.)

Waterways: none, lake transport only

Pipelines: none

Ports: none

Airports:
  total: 16
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 2
  with paved runways under 914 m: 12
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 2 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 125,000

Telephone system:
  domestic: NA
  international: NA

Radio broadcast stations: AM 6, FM 2, shortwave 0

Radios: 369,000 (1992 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 5 (relays 2)

Televisions: 327,011 (1992 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces, Police Force

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 571,927
  males fit for military service: 458,231
  males reach military age (19) annually: 16,698 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: 7 billion denars, NA% of GDP (1993 est.);
  note - conversion of defense expenditures into US dollars using the
  current exchange rate could produce misleading results



======================================================================




@Madagascar
----------




Map
---


Location: 20 00 S, 47 00 E -- Southern Africa, island in the
  Indian Ocean, east of Mozambique



Flag
----


Description: two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and green
  with a vertical white band of the same width on hoist side





Geography
---------


Location: Southern Africa, island in the Indian Ocean, east of
  Mozambique

Geographic coordinates: 20 00 S, 47 00 E

Map references: Africa

Area:
  total area: 587,040 sq km
  land area: 581,540 sq km
  comparative area: slightly less than twice the size of Arizona

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 4,828 km

Maritime claims:
  contiguous zone: 24 nm
  continental shelf: 200 nm or 100 nm from the 2,500-m isobath
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: claims Bassas da India, Europa Island,
  Glorioso Islands, Juan de Nova Island, and Tromelin Island (all
  administered by France)

Climate: tropical along coast, temperate inland, arid in south

Terrain: narrow coastal plain, high plateau and mountains in center
  lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
  highest point: Maromokotro 2,876 m

Natural resources: graphite, chromite, coal, bauxite, salt,
  quartz, tar sands, semiprecious stones, mica, fish

Land use:
  arable land: 4%
  permanent crops: 1%
  meadows and pastures: 58%
  forest and woodland: 26%
  other: 11%

Irrigated land: 9,000 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
  current issues: soil erosion results from deforestation and
  overgrazing; desertification; surface water contaminated with raw
  sewage and other organic wastes; several species of flora and fauna
  unique to the island are endangered
  natural hazards: periodic cyclones
  international agreements: party to - Endangered Species, Marine Life
  Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban; signed, but not ratified -
  Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Law of the Sea

Geographic note: world's fourth-largest island; strategic location
  along Mozambique Channel



People
------


Population: 13,670,507 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 45% (male 3,105,958; female 3,034,279)
  15-64 years: 52% (male 3,499,021; female 3,573,052)
  65 years and over: 3% (male 224,710; female 233,487) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.83% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 42.63 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 14.38 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.96 male(s)/female
  all ages: 1 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 93.5 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 52.19 years
  male: 51.11 years
  female: 53.3 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 5.89 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Malagasy (singular and plural)
  adjective: Malagasy

Ethnic divisions: Malayo-Indonesian (Merina and related Betsileo),
  Cotiers (mixed African, Malayo-Indonesian, and Arab ancestry -
  Betsimisaraka, Tsimihety, Antaisaka, Sakalava), French, Indian,
  Creole, Comoran

Religions: indigenous beliefs 52%, Christian 41%, Muslim 7%

Languages: French (official), Malagasy (official)

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
  total population: 80%
  male: 88%
  female: 73%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Republic of Madagascar
  conventional short form: Madagascar
  local long form: Republique de Madagascar
  local short form: Madagascar
  former: Malagasy Republic

Data code: MA

Type of government: republic

Capital: Antananarivo

Administrative divisions: 6 provinces (faritany); Antananarivo,
  Antsiranana, Fianarantsoa, Mahajanga, Toamasina, Toliary

Independence: 26 June 1960 (from France)

National holiday: Independence Day, 26 June (1960)

Constitution: 19 August 1992 by national referendum

Legal system: based on French civil law system and traditional
  Malagasy law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: President Albert ZAFY (since 9 March 1993) was
  elected for a five-year term by popular vote; election last held 10
  February 1993 (next to be held NA 1998); results - Albert ZAFY
  (UNDD) 67%; Didier RATSIRAKA (AREMA) 33%
  head of government: Prime Minister Emmanuel RAKOTOVAHINY (since 30
  October 1995) was elected by the National Assembly
  cabinet: Council of Ministers was appointed by the prime minister

Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament
  Senate (Senat): two-thirds of upper house seats are to be filled
  from popularly elected regional assemblies; the remaining third is
  to be filled by presidential appointment; decentralization and
  formation of regional assemblies is not expected before 1997
  National Assembly (Assemblee Nationale): elections last held 16 June
  1993 (next to be held NA June 1997); results - percent of vote by
  party NA; seats - (138 total) CFV coalition 76, PMDM/MFM 16, CSCD
  11, Famima 10, RPSD 7, various pro-Ratsiraka groups 10, others 8

Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Cour Supreme); High Constitutional
  Court (Haute Cour Constitutionnelle)

Political parties and leaders: Committee of Living Forces (CFV),
  an alliance of National Union for Development and Democracy (UNDD),
  Support Group for Democracy and Development in Madagascar (CSDDM),
  Action and Reflection Group for the Development of Madagascar
  (GRAD), Congress Party for Madagascar Independence - Renewal
  (AKFM-Fanavaozana), and some 12 other parties, trade unions, and
  religious groups; Militant Party for the Development of Madagascar
  (PMDM/MFM), formerly the Movement for Proletarian Power, Manandafy
  RAKOTONIRINA; Confederation of Civil Societies for Development
  (CSCD), Guy Willy RAZANAMASY; Association of United Malagasys
  (Famima); Rally for Social Democracy (RPSD), Pierre TSIRANANA

Other political or pressure groups: National Council of Christian
  Churches (FFKM); Federalist Movement

International organization participation: ACCT, ACP, AfDB, CCC,
  ECA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC,
  IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, UN,
  UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO,
  WTrO

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Pierrot Jocelyn RAJAONARIVELO
  chancery: 2374 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
  telephone: [1] (202) 265-5525, 5526
  consulate(s) general: New York

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Vicki J. HUDDLESTON
  embassy: 14-16 Rue Rainitovo, Antsahavola, Antananarivo
  mailing address: B. P. 620, Antananarivo
  telephone: [261] (2) 212-57, 200-89, 207-18
  FAX: [261] (2) 234-539

Flag: two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and green with a
  vertical white band of the same width on hoist side



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Madagascar is one of the poorest countries in
  the world, suffering from chronic malnutrition, underfunded health
  and education facilities, a roughly 3% annual population growth
  rate, and severe loss of forest cover, accompanied by erosion.
  Agriculture, including fishing and forestry, is the mainstay of the
  economy, accounting for 35% of GDP and contributing more than 70% of
  export earnings. Industry is largely confined to the processing of
  agricultural products and textile manufacturing; it accounts for 15%
  of GDP. In 1986, the government introduced a five-year development
  plan that stressed self-sufficiency in food (mainly rice) by 1990,
  increased production for export, and reduced energy imports.
  Subsequently, growth in output has been held back because of
  protracted antigovernment strikes and demonstrations for political
  reform. Since 1993, corruption and political instability have caused
  the economy and infrastructure to decay further. Since April 1994,
  the government commitment to economic reforms has been erratic.
  Enormous obstacles stand in the way of Madagascar's realizing its
  considerable growth potential.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $11.4 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 2.7% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $820 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 35%
  industry: 15%
  services: 50% (1995 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 35% (1994 est.)

Labor force:
  total workers: 4.9 million
  workers not receiving money wages: 4.7 million (96% of total labor
  force); note - 4.3 million workers are in subsistence agriculture
  wage earners: 175,400 (3.6% of total work force)
  wage earners by occupation: agriculture 45,500, domestic service
  29,750, industry 26,250, commerce 24,500, construction 19,250,
  service 15,750, transportation 10,500, other 3,500 (1985 est.)

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget:
  revenues: $250 million
  expenditures: $265 million, including capital expenditures of $180
  million (1991 est.)

Industries: meat processing, soap, breweries, tanneries, sugar,
  textiles, glassware, cement, automobile assembly plant, paper,
  petroleum

Industrial production growth rate: 3.8% (1993 est.)

Electricity:
  capacity: 220,000 kW
  production: 560 million kWh
  consumption per capita: 40 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: coffee, vanilla, sugarcane, cloves, cocoa, rice,
  cassava (tapioca), beans, bananas, peanuts; livestock products

Illicit drugs: illicit producer of cannabis (cultivated and wild
  varieties) used mostly for domestic consumption; transshipment point
  for heroin

Exports: $240 million (f.o.b., 1993 est.)
  commodities: coffee 45%, vanilla 20%, cloves 11%, shellfish, sugar,
  petroleum products
  partners: France, US, Germany, Japan, Russia

Imports: $510 million (f.o.b., 1993 est.)
  commodities: intermediate manufactures 30%, capital goods 28%,
  petroleum 15%, consumer goods 14%, food 13%
  partners: France, Germany, Japan, UK, Italy, Netherlands

External debt: $4.3 billion (1993 est.)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $318 million (1993)

Currency: 1 Malagasy franc (FMG) = 100 centimes

Exchange rates: Malagasy francs (FMG) per US$1 - 4,239.5 (November
  1995), 3,067.3 (1994), 1,913.8 (1993), 1,864.0 (1992), 1,835.4 (1991)

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 883 km
  narrow gauge: 883 km 1.000-m gauge (1994)

Highways:
  total: 34,750 km
  paved: 5,352 km
  unpaved: 29,398 km (1991 est.)

Waterways: of local importance only; isolated streams and small
  portions of Canal des Pangalanes

Ports: Antsiranana, Antsohimbondrona, Mahajanga, Toamasina,
  Toliaria

Merchant marine:
  total: 11 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 22,132 GRT/31,261 DWT
  ships by type: cargo 5, chemical tanker 1, liquefied gas tanker 1,
  oil tanker 2, roll-on/roll-off cargo 2 (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 105
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 1
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 2
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 3
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 21
  with paved runways under 914 m: 31
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 2
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 45 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 96,000 (1988 est.)

Telephone system: system is above average for Africa
  domestic: open-wire lines, coaxial cables, microwave radio relay,
  and tropospheric scatter links
  international: submarine cable to Bahrain; satellite earth stations
  - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) and 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean
  Region)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 17, FM 3, shortwave 0

Radios: 2.565 million (1992 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 1 (repeaters 36)

Televisions: 260,000 (1992 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Popular Armed Forces (includes Intervention Forces,
  Development Forces, Aeronaval Forces - includes Navy and Air Force),
  Gendarmerie, Presidential Security Regiment

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 3,103,022
  males fit for military service: 1,843,732
  males reach military age (20) annually: 132,146 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $29 million, 1.0%
  of GDP (1994)



======================================================================




@Malawi
------




Map
---


Location: 13 30 S, 34 00 E -- Southern Africa, east of Zambia



Flag
----


Description: three equal horizontal bands of black (top), red, and
  green with a radiant, rising, red sun centered in the black band





Geography
---------


Location: Southern Africa, east of Zambia

Geographic coordinates: 13 30 S, 34 00 E

Map references: Africa

Area:
  total area: 118,480 sq km
  land area: 94,080 sq km
  comparative area: slightly larger than Pennsylvania

Land boundaries:
  total: 2,881 km
  border countries: Mozambique 1,569 km, Tanzania 475 km, Zambia 837 km

Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims: none (landlocked)

International disputes: dispute with Tanzania over the boundary in
  Lake Nyasa (Lake Malawi)

Climate: tropical; rainy season (November to May); dry season (May
  to November)

Terrain: narrow elongated plateau with rolling plains, rounded
  hills, some mountains
  lowest point: junction of the Shire River and international boundary
  with Mozambique 37 m
  highest point: Mount Mlanje Sapitwa 3,002 m

Natural resources: limestone, unexploited deposits of uranium,
  coal, and bauxite

Land use:
  arable land: 25%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 20%
  forest and woodland: 50%
  other: 5%

Irrigated land: 200 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
  current issues: deforestation; land degradation; water pollution
  from agricultural runoff, sewage, industrial wastes; siltation of
  spawning grounds endangers fish populations
  natural hazards: NA
  international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
  Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes,
  Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection;
  signed, but not ratified - Desertification, Law of the Sea

Geographic note: landlocked



People
------


Population: 9,452,844 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 46% (male 2,189,223; female 2,168,317)
  15-64 years: 51% (male 2,371,518; female 2,472,245)
  65 years and over: 3% (male 107,701; female 143,840) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.71% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 41.56 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 24.48 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)
  note: the return of refugees to Mozambique is apparently complete

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female
  all ages: 0.98 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 139.9 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 36.16 years
  male: 35.87 years
  female: 36.46 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 5.91 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Malawian(s)
  adjective: Malawian

Ethnic divisions: Chewa, Nyanja, Tumbuko, Yao, Lomwe, Sena, Tonga,
  Ngoni, Ngonde, Asian, European

Religions: Protestant 55%, Roman Catholic 20%, Muslim 20%,
  traditional indigenous beliefs

Languages: English (official), Chichewa (official), other
  languages important regionally

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)
  total population: 56.4%
  male: 71.9%
  female: 41.8%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Republic of Malawi
  conventional short form: Malawi
  former: Nyasaland

Data code: MI

Type of government: multiparty democracy

Capital: Lilongwe

Administrative divisions: 24 districts; Blantyre, Chikwawa,
  Chiradzulu, Chitipa, Dedza, Dowa, Karonga, Kasungu, Lilongwe,
  Machinga (Kasupe), Mangochi, Mchinji, Mulanje, Mwanza, Mzimba,
  Ntcheu, Nkhata Bay, Nkhotakota, Nsanje, Ntchisi, Rumphi, Salima,
  Thyolo, Zomba

Independence: 6 July 1964 (from UK)

National holiday: Independence Day 6 July (1964); Republic Day 6
  July (1966)

Constitution: 18 May 1995; most recent revision

Legal system: based on English common law and customary law;
  judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court of Appeal;
  has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state and head of government: President Bakili MULUZI
  (since 21 May 1994), leader of the UDF, was elected for a five-year
  term by universal suffrage
  cabinet: Cabinet was named by the president

Legislative branch: unicameral
  National Assembly: elections last held 17 May 1994 (next to be held
  NA 1999); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (177 total)
  UDF 84, AFORD 33, MCP 55, others 5; note - because of defections and
  a bi-election of 18 December 1995, the seats in the National
  Assembly were held at the end of the year as follows: UDF 87, MCP
  55, AFORD 35
  note: the constitution of 18 May 1995, in addition to reducing the
  age at which universal suffrage is conferred from 21 to 18 years,
  provided for a bicameral legislature; by 1999, in addition to the
  existing National Assembly, a Senate of 80 seats is to be elected

Judicial branch: High Court; Supreme Court of Appeal

Political parties and leaders:
  ruling party: United Democratic Front (UDF), Bakili MULUZI
  opposition groups: Malawi Congress Party (MCP), Green MUNLO,
  secretary general (top party position); Alliance for Democracy
  (AFORD), Chakufwa CHIHANA; Christian Democratic Party (CDP), Eston
  KAKHOME, president; Malawi Democratic Party (MDP), Kampelo KALUA,
  president

International organization participation: ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA,
  FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF,
  IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OAU,
  SADC, UN, UNAMIR, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO,
  WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Willie CHOKANI
  chancery: 2408 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
  telephone: [1] (202) 797-1007

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Peter R. CHAVEAS
  embassy: address NA, in new capital city development area in Lilongwe
  mailing address: P. O. Box 30016, Lilongwe 3, Malawi
  telephone: [265] 783 166
  FAX: [265] 780 471

Flag: three equal horizontal bands of black (top), red, and green
  with a radiant, rising, red sun centered in the black band



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Landlocked Malawi ranks among the world's least
  developed countries. The economy is predominately agricultural, with
  about 90% of the population living in rural areas. Agriculture
  accounts for 31% of GDP and 90% of export revenues. The economy
  depends on substantial inflows of economic assistance from the IMF,
  the World Bank, and individual donor nations. The new government
  faces strong challenges, e.g., to spur exports, to improve
  educational and health facilities, and to deal with environmental
  problems of deforestation and erosion. Drought hurt the 1994
  economy, with GDP down by 12.4%. Good weather and a strong tobacco
  crop resulted in an upturn in 1995. In December 1995, donors pledged
  $332 million in aid for 1996.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $6.9 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 9.9% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $700 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 31%
  industry: 14%
  services: 55% (1994)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 83.3% (1995 est.)

Labor force: 428,000 wage earners
  by occupation: agriculture 43%, manufacturing 16%, personal services
  15%, commerce 9%, construction 7%, miscellaneous services 4%, other
  permanently employed 6% (1986)

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget:
  revenues: $530 million
  expenditures: $674 million, including capital expenditures of $129
  million (1993)

Industries: tea, tobacco, sugar, sawmill products, cement,
  consumer goods

Industrial production growth rate: 3.5% (1992 est.)

Electricity:
  capacity: 190,000 kW
  production: 905 million kWh (1993)
  consumption per capita: 92 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: tobacco, sugarcane, cotton, tea, corn, potatoes,
  cassava (tapioca), sorghum, pulses; cattle, goats

Exports: $365 million (f.o.b., 1994)
  commodities: tobacco, tea, sugar, coffee, peanuts, wood products
  partners: US, South Africa, Germany, Japan (1994)

Imports: $240 million (c.i.f., 1994)
  commodities: food, petroleum products, semimanufactures, consumer
  goods, transportation equipment
  partners: South Africa, Japan, US, UK, Zimbabwe

External debt: $1.95 billion (December 1994 est.)

Economic aid:
  recipient: in December 1995, donors pledged for 1996, $332 million

Currency: 1 Malawian kwacha (MK) = 100 tambala

Exchange rates: Malawian kwacha (MK) per US$1 - 16.3516 (November
  1995), 8.7364 (1994), 4.4028 (1993), 3.6033 (1992), 2.8033 (1991)

Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 789 km
  narrow gauge: 789 km 1.067-m gauge

Highways:
  total: 27,294 km (1990 est.)
  paved: NA km
  unpaved: NA km

Waterways: Lake Nyasa (Lake Malawi); Shire River, 144 km

Ports: Chipoka, Monkey Bay, Nkhata Bay, Nkhotakota

Airports:
  total: 41
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 1
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 1
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 4
  with paved runways under 914 m: 20
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 1
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 14 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 43,000 (1985 est.)

Telephone system:
  domestic: fair system of open-wire lines, microwave radio relay
  links, and radiotelephone communications stations
  international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean
  and 1 Atlantic Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 10, FM 17, shortwave 0

Radios: 1.011 million (1995)

Television broadcast stations: 0 (1987 est.)

Televisions: NA



Defense
-------


Branches: Army (includes Air Wing and Naval Detachment), Police
  (includes paramilitary Mobile Force Unit)

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 2,106,905
  males fit for military service: 1,076,788 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $10.4 million,
  NA% of GDP (FY94/95)



======================================================================




@Malaysia
--------




Map
---


Location: 2 30 N, 112 30 E -- Southeastern Asia, peninsula and
  northern one-third of the island of Borneo, bordering Indonesia and
  the South China Sea, south of Vietnam



Flag
----


Description: 14 equal horizontal stripes of red (top) alternating
  with white (bottom); there is a blue rectangle in the upper
  hoist-side corner bearing a yellow crescent and a yellow
  fourteen-pointed star; the crescent and the star are traditional
  symbols of Islam; the design was based on the flag of the US





Geography
---------


Location: Southeastern Asia, peninsula and northern one-third of
  the island of Borneo, bordering Indonesia and the South China Sea,
  south of Vietnam

Geographic coordinates: 2 30 N, 112 30 E

Map references: Southeast Asia

Area:
  total area: 329,750 sq km
  land area: 328,550 sq km
  comparative area: slightly larger than New Mexico

Land boundaries:
  total: 2,669 km
  border countries: Brunei 381 km, Indonesia 1,782 km, Thailand 506 km

Coastline: 4,675 km (Peninsular Malaysia 2,068 km, East Malaysia
  2,607 km)

Maritime claims:
  continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation;
  specified boundary in the South China Sea
  exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: involved in a complex dispute over the
  Spratly Islands with China, Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam, and
  possibly Brunei; State of Sabah claimed by the Philippines; Brunei
  may wish to purchase the Malaysian salient that divides Brunei into
  two parts; two islands in dispute with Singapore; two islands in
  dispute with Indonesia

Climate: tropical; annual southwest (April to October) and
  northeast (October to February) monsoons

Terrain: coastal plains rising to hills and mountains
  lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
  highest point: Mount Kinabalu 4,100 m

Natural resources: tin, petroleum, timber, copper, iron ore,
  natural gas, bauxite

Land use:
  arable land: 3%
  permanent crops: 10%
  meadows and pastures: 0%
  forest and woodland: 63%
  other: 24%

Irrigated land: 3,420 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
  current issues: air pollution from industrial and vehicular
  emissions; water pollution from raw sewage; deforestation
  natural hazards: flooding
  international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
  Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation,
  Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83,
  Tropical Timber 94, Whaling; signed, but not ratified -
  Desertification, Law of the Sea

Geographic note: strategic location along Strait of Malacca and
  southern South China Sea



People
------


Population: 19,962,893 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 36% (male 3,684,510; female 3,483,893)
  15-64 years: 60% (male 5,996,369; female 6,017,327)
  65 years and over: 4% (male 342,742; female 438,052) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.07% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 26.2 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 5.49 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female
  all ages: 1.01 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 24 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 69.75 years
  male: 66.82 years
  female: 72.89 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 3.27 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Malaysian(s)
  adjective: Malaysian

Ethnic divisions: Malay and other indigenous 59%, Chinese 32%,
  Indian 9%

Religions:
  Peninsular Malaysia: Muslim (Malays), Buddhist (Chinese), Hindu
  (Indians)
  Sabah: Muslim 38%, Christian 17%, other 45%
  Sarawak: tribal religion 35%, Buddhist and Confucianist 24%, Muslim
  20%, Christian 16%, other 5%

Languages:
  Peninsular Malaysia: Malay (official), English, Chinese dialects,
  Tamil
  Sabah: English, Malay, numerous tribal dialects, Chinese (Mandarin
  and Hakka dialects predominate)
  Sarawak: English, Malay, Mandarin, numerous tribal languages

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)
  total population: 83.5%
  male: 89.1%
  female: 78.1%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: none
  conventional short form: Malaysia
  former: Malayan Union

Data code: MY

Type of government: constitutional monarchy
  note: Federation of Malaysia formed 9 July 1963; nominally headed by
  the paramount ruler (king) and a bicameral Parliament; Peninsular
  Malaysian states - hereditary rulers in all but Melaka, where
  governors are appointed by Malaysian Pulau Pinang Government; powers
  of state governments are limited by federal Constitution; Sabah -
  self-governing state, holds 20 seats in House of Representatives,
  with foreign affairs, defense, internal security, and other powers
  delegated to federal government; Sarawak - self-governing state,
  holds 27 seats in House of Representatives, with foreign affairs,
  defense, internal security, and other powers delegated to federal
  government

Capital: Kuala Lumpur

Administrative divisions: 13 states (negeri-negeri, singular -
  negeri) and 2 federal territories* (wilayah-wilayah persekutuan,
  singular - wilayah persekutuan); Johor, Kedah, Kelantan, Labuan*,
  Melaka, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, Perak, Perlis, Pulau Pinang, Sabah,
  Sarawak, Selangor, Terengganu, Wilayah Persekutuan*

Independence: 31 August 1957 (from UK)

National holiday: National Day, 31 August (1957)

Constitution: 31 August 1957, amended 16 September 1963

Legal system: based on English common law; judicial review of
  legislative acts in the Supreme Court at request of supreme head of
  the federation; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: 21 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: Paramount Ruler TUANKU JA'AFAR ibni Al-Marhum Tuanku
  Abdul Rahman (since 26 April 1994) and Deputy Paramount Ruler Sultan
  TUNKU SALAHUDDIN Abdul Aziz Shah ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Hisammuddin
  Alam Shah (since 26 April 1994) were elected for five-year terms by
  and from the hereditary rulers of nine of the states
  head of government: Prime Minister Dr. MAHATHIR bin Mohamad (since
  16 July 1981) was appointed by the paramount ruler; Deputy Prime
  Minister ANWAR bin Ibrahim (since 1 December 1993)
  cabinet: Cabinet was appointed by the paramount ruler from among the
  members of Parliament

Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament (Parlimen)
  Senate (Dewan Negara): elected members serve six-year terms;
  elections last held NA (next to be held NA); results - percent of
  vote by party NA; seats - (58 total, 32 appointed by the paramount
  ruler and 26 elected by the state legislatures) seats by party NA
  House of Representatives (Dewan Rakyat): members elected for
  five-year terms; elections last held NA April 1995 (next to be held
  NA 2000); results - National Front 63%, other 37%; seats - (192
  total) National Front 162, DAP 9, PBS 8, PAS 7, Semangat'46 6

Judicial branch: Supreme Court, judges appointed by the paramount
  ruler

Political parties and leaders:
  Peninsular Malaysia: National Front, a confederation of 13 political
  parties dominated by United Malays National Organization Baru (UMNO
  Baru), MAHATHIR bin Mohamad; Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA),
  LING Liong Sik; Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia, LIM Keng Yaik; Malaysian
  Indian Congress (MIC), S. Samy VELLU; Spirit of '46 (Semangat '46),
  Tengku Tan Sri RAZALEIGH, president
  Sabah: National Front, SALLEH Said Keruak, Sabah Chief Minister,
  Sakaran DANDAI, head of Sabah State; United Sabah National
  Organizaton (USNO), leader NA; Sabah United Party (Parti Bersatu
  Sabah, PBS), Datuk Seri Joseph PAIRIN Kitingan
  Sarawak: coalition Sarawak National Front composed of the Party
  Pesaka Bumiputra Bersatu (PBB), Datuk Patinggi Amar Haji Abdul TAIB
  Mahmud; Sarawak United People's Party (SUPP), Datuk Amar James WONG
  Soon Kai; Sarawak National Party (SNAP), Datuk Amar James WONG;
  Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak (PBDS), Datuk Leo MOGGIE; major opposition
  parties are Democratic Action Party (DAP), LIM Kit Siang and
  Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS), Fadzil NOOR

International organization participation: APEC, AsDB, ASEAN, C,
  CCC, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-15, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA,
  IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol,
  IOC, ISO, ITU, Mekong Group, MINURSO, NAM, OIC, UN, UNAVEM III,
  UNCRO, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNOMIL, UNPREDEP, UNPROFOR,
  UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador DALI Mahmud Hashim
  chancery: 2401 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
  telephone: [1] (202) 328-2700
  FAX: [1] (202) 483-7661
  consulate(s) general: Los Angeles and New York

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador John R. MALOTT
  embassy: 376 Jalan Tun Razak, 50400 Kuala Lumpur
  mailing address: P. O. Box No. 10035, 50700 Kuala Lumpur, APO AP
  96535-8152
  telephone: [60] (3) 2489011
  FAX: [60] (3) 2422207

Flag: 14 equal horizontal stripes of red (top) alternating with
  white (bottom); there is a blue rectangle in the upper hoist-side
  corner bearing a yellow crescent and a yellow fourteen-pointed star;
  the crescent and the star are traditional symbols of Islam; the
  design was based on the flag of the US



Economy
-------


Economic overview: The Malaysian economy, a mixture of private
  enterprise and public management, has posted a remarkable record of
  9% average annual growth in 1988-95. The official growth target for
  1996 is 8.3%. This growth has resulted in a substantial reduction in
  poverty and a marked rise in real wages. Manufactured goods exports
  expanded rapidly, and foreign investors continued to commit large
  sums in the economy. The government is aware of the inflationary
  potential of this rapid development and is closely monitoring fiscal
  and monetary policies.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $193.6 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 9.5% (1995)

GDP per capita: $9,800 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 8%
  industry: 25%
  services: 67%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 5.3% (1995)

Labor force: 7.627 million (1993)

Unemployment rate: 2.8% (1995 est.)

Budget:
  revenues: $20.2 billion
  expenditures: $19.9 billion, including capital expenditures of $4.8
  billion (1995 est.)

Industries:
  Peninsular Malaysia: rubber and oil palm processing and
  manufacturing, light manufacturing industry, electronics, tin mining
  and smelting, logging and processing timber
  Sabah: logging, petroleum production
  Sarawak: agriculture processing, petroleum production and refining,
  logging

Industrial production growth rate: 12% (1994)

Electricity:
  capacity: 6,700,000 kW
  production: 31 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 1,528 kWh (1993)

Agriculture:
  Peninsular Malaysia: natural rubber, palm oil, rice
  Sabah: subsistence crops, rubber, timber, coconut, rice
  Sarawak: rubber, pepper; timber

Illicit drugs: transit point for Golden Triangle heroin going to
  the US, Western Europe, and the Third World despite severe penalties
  for drug trafficking

Exports: $72 billion (1995)
  commodities: electronic equipment, petroleum and petroleum products,
  palm oil, wood and wood products, rubber, textiles
  partners: Singapore 21%, US 20%, Japan 12%, UK 4%, Thailand 4%,
  Germany 3% (1994)

Imports: $72.2 billion (1995)
  commodities: machinery and equipment, chemicals, food, petroleum
  products
  partners: Japan 26%, US 17%, Singapore 14%, Taiwan 5%, Germany 4%,
  UK 3%, South Korea 3% (1993)

External debt: $27.4 billion (1995 est.)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $45 million (1993)

Currency: 1 ringgit (M$) = 100 sen

Exchange rates: ringgits (M$) per US$1 - 2.5567 (January 1996),
  2.5044 (1995), 2.6243 (1994), 2.5741 (1993), 2.5474 (1992), 2.7501
  (1991)

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 1,806 km (Peninsular Malaysia 1,672 km; Sabah 134 km; Sarawak
  0 km)
  narrow gauge: 1,806 km 1.000-m gauge (Peninsular Malaysia 1,672 km;
  Sabah 134 km)

Highways:
  total: 92,545 km
  paved: 69,409 km (including 574 km of expressways)
  unpaved: 23,136 km (1992 est.)

Waterways:
  Peninsular Malaysia: 3,209 km
  Sabah: 1,569 km
  Sarawak: 2,518 km

Pipelines: crude oil 1,307 km; natural gas 379 km

Ports: Kota Kinabalu, Kuantan, Kuching, Kudat, Lahad Datu, Labuan,
  Lumut, Miri, Pasir Gudang, Penang, Port Dickson, Port Kelang,
  Sandakan, Sibu, Tanjong Berhala, Tanjong Kidurong, Tawau

Merchant marine:
  total: 248 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 3,035,684
  GRT/4,494,476 DWT
  ships by type: bulk 43, cargo 83, chemical tanker 13, container 31,
  liquefied gas tanker 12, livestock carrier 1, oil tanker 55,
  roll-on/roll-off cargo 5, short-sea passenger 1, vehicle carrier 4
  (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 105
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 3
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 5
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 11
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 6
  with paved runways under 914 m: 74
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 1
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 5 (1995 est.)

Heliports: 2 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 2,550,957 (1992 est.)

Telephone system: international service good
  domestic: good intercity service provided on Peninsular Malaysia
  mainly by microwave radio relay; adequate intercity microwave radio
  relay network between Sabah and Sarawak via Brunei; domestic
  satellite system with 2 earth stations
  international: submarine cables to India, Hong Kong and Singapore;
  satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean and 1 Pacific
  Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 28, FM 3, shortwave 0

Radios: 8.08 million (1992 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 33

Televisions: 2 million (1993 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Malaysian Army, Royal Malaysian Navy, Royal Malaysian
  Air Force, Royal Malaysian Police Force, Marine Police, Sarawak
  Border Scouts

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 5,160,884
  males fit for military service: 3,129,626
  males reach military age (21) annually: 184,236 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $2.4 billion,
  2.9% of GDP (1995)



======================================================================




@Maldives
--------




Map
---


Location: 3 15 N, 73 00 E -- Southern Asia, group of atolls in the
  Indian Ocean, south-southwest of India



Flag
----


Description: red with a large green rectangle in the center
  bearing a vertical white crescent; the closed side of the crescent
  is on the hoist side of the flag





Geography
---------


Location: Southern Asia, group of atolls in the Indian Ocean,
  south-southwest of India

Geographic coordinates: 3 15 N, 73 00 E

Map references: Asia

Area:
  total area: 300 sq km
  land area: 300 sq km
  comparative area: nearly twice the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 644 km

Maritime claims:
  exclusive economic zone: 35-310 nm as defined by geographic
  coordinates; segment of zone coincides with maritime boundary with
  India
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: none

Climate: tropical; hot, humid; dry, northeast monsoon (November to
  March); rainy, southwest monsoon (June to August)

Terrain: flat
  lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
  highest point: unnamed location on Wilingili 24 m

Natural resources: fish

Land use:
  arable land: 10%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 3%
  forest and woodland: 3%
  other: 84%

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Environment:
  current issues: depletion of freshwater aquifers threatens water
  supplies
  natural hazards: low level of islands makes them very sensitive to
  sea level rise
  international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
  Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection; signed, but not ratified -
  Law of the Sea

Geographic note: 1,190 coral islands grouped into 26 atolls;
  archipelago of strategic location astride and along major sea lanes
  in Indian Ocean



People
------


Population: 270,758 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 47% (male 65,559; female 62,399)
  15-64 years: 50% (male 69,071; female 65,659)
  65 years and over: 3% (male 4,336; female 3,734) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 3.52% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 41.88 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 6.64 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 1.16 male(s)/female
  all ages: 1.05 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 47 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 66.17 years
  male: 64.6 years
  female: 67.82 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 6.06 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Maldivian(s)
  adjective: Maldivian

Ethnic divisions: Sinhalese, Dravidian, Arab, African

Religions: Sunni Muslim

Languages: Maldivian Divehi (dialect of Sinhala, script derived
  from Arabic), English spoken by most government officials

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)
  total population: 93.2%
  male: 93.3%
  female: 93%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Republic of Maldives
  conventional short form: Maldives

Data code: MV

Type of government: republic

Capital: Male

Administrative divisions: 19 districts (atolls); Aliff, Baa,
  Daalu, Faafu, Gaafu Aliff, Gaafu Daalu, Haa Aliff, Haa Daalu, Kaafu,
  Laamu, Laviyani, Meemu, Naviyani, Noonu, Raa, Seenu, Shaviyani,
  Thaa, Waavu

Independence: 26 July 1965 (from UK)

National holiday: Independence Day, 26 July (1965)

Constitution: 4 June 1968

Legal system: based on Islamic law with admixtures of English
  common law primarily in commercial matters; has not accepted
  compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: 21 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state and head of government: President Maumoon Abdul
  GAYOOM (since 11 November 1978) was reelected for a five-year term
  by secret ballot of the Majlis; election last held 1 October 1993
  (next to be held NA 1998); results - President Maumoon Abdul GAYOOM
  was reelected with 92.76% of the vote
  cabinet: Ministry of Atolls was appointed by the president; note -
  need not be members of Majilis

Legislative branch: unicameral; members elected for five-year
  terms or appointed by the president
  Citizens' Council (Majlis): elections last held 2 December 1994
  (next to be held NA December 1999); results - percent of vote NA;
  seats - (48 total, 40 elected, 8 appointed by the president)
  independents 40

Judicial branch: High Court

Political parties and leaders: although political parties are not
  banned, none exist

International organization participation: AsDB, C, CP, ESCAP, FAO,
  G-77, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IMF, IMO, Intelsat
  (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OIC, SAARC, UN,
  UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in US: Maldives does not have an embassy
  in the US, but does have a Permanent Mission to the UN in New York,
  headed by Ahmed ZAKI

US diplomatic representation: the US does not have an embassy in
  Maldives; the US Ambassador to Sri Lanka is accredited to Maldives
  and makes periodic visits there

Flag: red with a large green rectangle in the center bearing a
  vertical white crescent; the closed side of the crescent is on the
  hoist side of the flag



Economy
-------


Economic overview: During the 1980s tourism became one of the most
  important and highest growth sectors of the economy. In 1994,
  tourism, Maldives largest industry, accounted for about 18% of GDP
  and more than 60% of the Maldives' foreign exchange receipts.
  Fishing is a second leading growth sector. Over 90% of government
  tax revenue comes from import duties and tourism-related taxes. The
  Maldivian Government initiated an economic reform program in 1989
  initially by lifting import quotas and opening some exports to the
  private sector. Subsequently, it has liberalized regulations to
  allow more foreign investment. Agriculture and manufacturing
  continue to play a minor role in the economy, constrained by the
  limited availability of cultivable land and the shortage of domestic
  labor. Most staple foods must be imported. In 1994, industry which
  consisted mainly of garment production, boat building, and
  handicrafts accounted for about 15% of GDP.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $390 million (1994 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 6.6% (1994 est.)

GDP per capita: $1,560 (1994 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 21.5%
  industry: 15.3%
  services: 63.2% (1994 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 16.5% (1994 est.)

Labor force: 66,000 (est.)
  by occupation: fishing industry 25%

Unemployment rate: NEGL%

Budget:
  revenues: $88 million (excluding foreign grants)
  expenditures: $141 million, including capital expenditures of $NA
  (1995 est.)

Industries: fish processing, tourism, shipping, boat building,
  coconut processing, garments, woven mats, rope, handicrafts, coral
  and sand mining

Industrial production growth rate: 6.3% (1994 est.)

Electricity:
  capacity: 5,000 kW
  production: 30 million kWh
  consumption per capita: 123 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: coconuts, corn, sweet potatoes; fishing

Exports: $75.3 million (f.o.b., 1994 est.)
  commodities: fish, clothing
  partners: Sri Lanka, US, Germany, Singapore, UK

Imports: $195.1 million (f.o.b., 1994 est.)
  commodities: consumer goods, intermediate and capital goods,
  petroleum products
  partners: Singapore, India, Sri Lanka, Hong Kong, Japan, Thailand

External debt: $137.5 million (1994 est.)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $NA

Currency: 1 rufiyaa (Rf) = 100 laari

Exchange rates: rufiyaa (Rf) per US$1 - 11.770 (January 1996),
  11.770 (1995), 11.586 (1994), 10.957 (1993), 10.569 (1992), 10.253
  (1991)

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways: 0 km

Highways:
  total: NA km
  paved: NA km
  unpaved: NA km; note - Male has 9.6 km of coral highways within the
  city (1988 est.)

Ports: Gan, Male

Merchant marine:
  total: 20 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 73,284 GRT/113,669 DWT
  ships by type: cargo 17, container 2, oil tanker 1 (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 2
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 1
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 1 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 8,523 (1992 est.)

Telephone system: minimal domestic and international facilities
  domestic: NA
  international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 2, FM 1, shortwave 0

Radios: 28,284 (1992 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 1

Televisions: 7,309 (1992 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: National Security Service (paramilitary police force)

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 59,179
  males fit for military service: 33,016 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: $NA, NA% of GDP



======================================================================




@Mali
----




Map
---


Location: 17 00 N, 4 00 W -- Western Africa, southwest of Algeria



Flag
----


Description: three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side),
  yellow, and red; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia





Geography
---------


Location: Western Africa, southwest of Algeria

Geographic coordinates: 17 00 N, 4 00 W

Map references: Africa

Area:
  total area: 1.24 million sq km
  land area: 1.22 million sq km
  comparative area: slightly less than twice the size of Texas

Land boundaries:
  total: 7,243 km
  border countries: Algeria 1,376 km, Burkina Faso 1,000 km, Guinea
  858 km, Cote d'Ivoire 532 km, Mauritania 2,237 km, Niger 821 km,
  Senegal 419 km

Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims: none (landlocked)

International disputes: the disputed international boundary
  between Burkina Faso and Mali was submitted to the International
  Court of Justice (ICJ) in October 1983 and the ICJ issued its final
  ruling in December 1986, which both sides agreed to accept; Burkina
  Faso and Mali are proceeding with boundary demarcation, including
  the tripoint with Niger

Climate: subtropical to arid; hot and dry February to June; rainy,
  humid, and mild June to November; cool and dry November to February

Terrain: mostly flat to rolling northern plains covered by sand;
  savanna in south, rugged hills in northeast
  lowest point: Senegal River 23 m
  highest point: Hombori Tondo 1,155 m

Natural resources: gold, phosphates, kaolin, salt, limestone,
  uranium, bauxite, iron ore, manganese, tin, and copper deposits are
  known but not exploited

Land use:
  arable land: 2%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 25%
  forest and woodland: 7%
  other: 66%

Irrigated land: 50 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
  current issues: deforestation; soil erosion; desertification;
  inadequate supplies of potable water; poaching
  natural hazards: hot, dust-laden harmattan haze common during dry
  seasons; recurring droughts
  international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
  Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer
  Protection, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Nuclear Test Ban

Geographic note: landlocked



People
------


Population: 9,653,261 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 48% (male 2,310,294; female 2,308,941)
  15-64 years: 49% (male 2,231,244; female 2,488,276)
  65 years and over: 3% (male 149,370; female 165,136) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.95% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 51.38 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 19.49 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: -2.37 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 0.9 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.9 male(s)/female
  all ages: 0.94 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 102.7 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 46.84 years
  male: 45.12 years
  female: 48.6 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 7.25 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Malian(s)
  adjective: Malian

Ethnic divisions: Mande 50% (Bambara, Malinke, Sarakole), Peul
  17%, Voltaic 12%, Songhai 6%, Tuareg and Moor 10%, other 5%

Religions: Muslim 90%, indigenous beliefs 9%, Christian 1%

Languages: French (official), Bambara 80%, numerous African
  languages

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)
  total population: 31%
  male: 39.4%
  female: 23.1%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Republic of Mali
  conventional short form: Mali
  local long form: Republique de Mali
  local short form: Mali
  former: French Sudan

Data code: ML

Type of government: republic

Capital: Bamako

Administrative divisions: 8 regions (regions, singular - region);
  Gao, Kayes, Kidal, Koulikoro, Mopti, Segou, Sikasso, Tombouctou

Independence: 22 September 1960 (from France)

National holiday: Anniversary of the Proclamation of the Republic,
  22 September (1960)

Constitution: adopted 12 January 1992

Legal system: based on French civil law system and customary law;
  judicial review of legislative acts in Constitutional Court (which
  was formally established on 9 March 1994); has not accepted
  compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: 21 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: President Alpha Oumar KONARE (since 8 June 1992) was
  elected for a five-year term by universal suffrage; election last
  held NA April 1992 (next to be held NA April 1997); Alpha KONARE was
  elected in runoff race against Montaga TALL
  head of government: Prime Minister Ibrahima Boubacar KEITA (since NA
  March 1994) was appointed by the president
  cabinet: Council of Ministers was appointed by the prime minister

Legislative branch: unicameral
  National Assembly: elections last held 8 March 1992 (next to be held
  NA February 1997); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats -
  (116 total) Adema 76, CNID 9, US/RAD 8, Popular Movement for the
  Development of the Republic of West Africa 6, RDP 4, UDD 4, RDT 3,
  UFDP 3, PDP 2, UMDD 1

Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Cour Supreme)

Political parties and leaders: Alliance for Democracy (Adema),
  Ibrahim Baubacar KEITA; National Congress for Democratic Initiative
  (CNID), Mountaga TALL; Sudanese Union/African Democratic Rally
  (US/RDA), Mamadou Madeira KEITA; Popular Movement for the
  Development of the Republic of West Africa; Rally for Democracy and
  Progress (RDP), Almamy SYLLA; Union for Democracy and Development
  (UDD), Moussa Balla COULIBALY; Rally for Democracy and Labor (RDT);
  Union of Democratic Forces for Progress (UFDP), Dembo DIALLO; Party
  for Democracy and Progress (PDP), Idrissa TRAORE; Malian Union for
  Democracy and Development (UMDD); Movement for the Independence, the
  Renaissance and Integration of Africa (MIRIA), Mohammed Lamine TRAORE

Other political or pressure groups: United Movement and Fronts of
  Azawad (MFUA); Patriotic Movement of the Ghanda Kaye (MPGK)

International organization participation: ACCT, ACP, AfDB, CCC,
  ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, FZ, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB,
  IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU,
  OIC, UN, UNAMIR, UNAVEM III, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIH, UPU,
  WADB, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Cheick Oumar DIARRAH
  chancery: 2130 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
  telephone: [1] (202) 332-2249, 939-8950

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador David RAWSON
  embassy: Rue Rochester NY and Rue Mohamed V, Bamako
  mailing address: B. P. 34, Bamako
  telephone: [223] 22 54 70
  FAX: [223] 22 37 12

Flag: three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), yellow,
  and red; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Mali is among the poorest countries in the
  world, with 65% of its land area desert or semidesert. Economic
  activity is largely confined to the riverine area irrigated by the
  Niger. About 10% of the population is nomadic and some 80% of the
  labor force is engaged in agriculture and fishing. Industrial
  activity is concentrated on processing farm commodities. The economy
  is beginning to turn around after contracting through 1992-93,
  largely because of enhanced exports and import substitute production
  in the wake of the 50% devaluation of 12 January 1994.
  Post-devaluation inflation peaked at 35% in 1994, and the government
  appears to be keeping on track with its IMF structural adjustment
  program.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $5.4 billion (1994 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 2.4% (1994 est.)

GDP per capita: $600 (1994 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 42.4%
  industry: 15.4%
  services: 42.2%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 8% (1995 est.)

Labor force: 2.666 million (1986 est.)
  by occupation: agriculture 80%, services 19%, industry and commerce
  1% (1981)

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget:
  revenues: $376 million
  expenditures: $697 million, including capital expenditures of $NA
  (1992 est.)

Industries: minor local consumer goods production and food
  processing; construction; phosphate and gold mining

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity:
  capacity: 90,000 kW
  production: 310 million kWh
  consumption per capita: 33 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: cotton, millet, rice, corn, vegetables, peanuts;
  cattle, sheep, goats

Exports: $415 million (f.o.b., 1993)
  commodities: cotton, livestock, gold
  partners: mostly franc zone and Western Europe

Imports: $842 million (f.o.b., 1993)
  commodities: machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, construction
  materials, petroleum, textiles
  partners: mostly franc zone and Western Europe

External debt: $2.8 billion (1995 est.)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $NA

Currency: 1 Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (CFAF) = 100
  centimes

Exchange rates: CFA francs (CFAF) per US$1 - 500.56 (January
  1996), 499.15 (1995), 555.20 (1994), 283.16 (1993), 264.69 (1992),
  282.11 (1991)
  note: beginning 12 January 1994, the CFA franc was devalued to CFAF
  100 per French franc from CFAF 50 at which it had been fixed since
  1948

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 641 km; note - linked to Senegal's rail system through Kayes
  narrow gauge: 641 km 1.000-m gauge (1995)

Highways:
  total: 15,610 km
  paved: 1,661 km
  unpaved: 13,949 km (1987 est.)

Waterways: 1,815 km navigable

Ports: Koulikoro

Airports:
  total: 24
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 4
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 2
  with paved runways under 914 m: 7
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 3
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 8 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 11,000 (1982 est.)

Telephone system: domestic system poor but improving; provides
  only minimal service
  domestic: network consists of microwave radio relay, open wire, and
  radiotelephone communications stations; expansion of microwave radio
  relay in progress
  international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Atlantic
  Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 2, FM 2, shortwave 0

Radios: 430,000 (1992 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 2 (1987 est.)

Televisions: 11,000 (1992 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Army, Air Force, Gendarmerie, Republican Guard, National
  Guard, National Police (Surete Nationale)

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 1,925,205
  males fit for military service: 1,100,599 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $66 million, 2.2%
  of GDP (1994)



======================================================================




@Malta
-----




Map
---


Location: 35 50 N, 14 35 E -- Southern Europe, islands in the
  Mediterranean Sea, south of Sicily (Italy)



Flag
----


Description: two equal vertical bands of white (hoist side) and
  red; in the upper hoist-side corner is a representation of the
  George Cross, edged in red





Geography
---------


Location: Southern Europe, islands in the Mediterranean Sea, south
  of Sicily (Italy)

Geographic coordinates: 35 50 N, 14 35 E

Map references: Europe

Area:
  total area: 320 sq km
  land area: 320 sq km
  comparative area: less than twice the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 140 km

Maritime claims:
  contiguous zone: 24 nm
  continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
  exclusive fishing zone: 25 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: Malta and Tunisia are discussing the
  commercial exploitation of the continental shelf between their
  countries, particularly for oil exploration

Climate: Mediterranean with mild, rainy winters and hot, dry
  summers

Terrain: mostly low, rocky, flat to dissected plains; many coastal
  cliffs
  lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m
  highest point: Dingli Cliffs 245 m

Natural resources: limestone, salt

Land use:
  arable land: 38%
  permanent crops: 3%
  meadows and pastures: 0%
  forest and woodland: 0%
  other: 59%

Irrigated land: 10 sq km (1989)

Environment:
  current issues: very limited natural fresh water resources;
  increasing reliance on desalination
  natural hazards: NA
  international agreements: party to - Climate Change, Endangered
  Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone
  Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling; signed, but not
  ratified - Biodiversity, Desertification

Geographic note: the country comprises an archipelago, with only
  the three largest islands (Malta, Gozo, and Comino) being inhabited;
  numerous bays provide good harbors



People
------


Population: 375,576 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 22% (male 42,067; female 39,958)
  15-64 years: 67% (male 126,179; female 125,321)
  65 years and over: 11% (male 17,766; female 24,285) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.01% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 14.79 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 6.83 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 2.12 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.73 male(s)/female
  all ages: 0.98 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 6.9 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 78.11 years
  male: 75.77 years
  female: 80.6 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.17 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Maltese (singular and plural)
  adjective: Maltese

Ethnic divisions: Arab, Sicilian, Norman, Spanish, Italian, English

Religions: Roman Catholic 98%

Languages: Maltese (official), English (official)

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1985 est.)
  total population: 84%
  male: 86%
  female: 82%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Republic of Malta
  conventional short form: Malta

Data code: MT

Type of government: parliamentary democracy

Capital: Valletta

Administrative divisions: none (administered directly from
  Valletta)

Independence: 21 September 1964 (from UK)

National holiday: Independence Day, 21 September (1964)

Constitution: 1964 constitution substantially amended on 13
  December 1974

Legal system: based on English common law and Roman civil law; has
  accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: President Ugo MIFSUD BONNICI (since 4 April 1994)
  was elected for a five-year term by the House of Representatives
  head of government: Prime Minister Dr. Edward (Eddie) FENECH ADAMI
  (since 12 May 1987) was appointed by the president; Deputy Prime
  Minister (since 14 May 1987) and Foreign Minister (since 1990) Dr.
  Guido DE MARCO
  cabinet: Cabinet was appointed by the president on advice of the
  prime minister

Legislative branch: unicameral
  House of Representatives: elections last held 22 February 1992 (next
  to be held by February 1997); results - NP 51.8%, MLP 46.5%; seats -
  (usually 65 total) MLP 36, NP 29; note - additional seats are given
  to the party with the largest popular vote to ensure a legislative
  majority; current total: 69 (NP 36, MLP 33 after adjustment)

Judicial branch: Constitutional Court, judges are appointed by the
  president on the advice of the prime minister; Court of Appeal,
  judges are appointed by the president on the advice of the prime
  minister

Political parties and leaders: Nationalist Party (NP), Edward
  FENECH ADAMI; Malta Labor Party (MLP), Alfred SANT

International organization participation: C, CCC, CE, EBRD, ECE,
  EU (applicant), FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IFAD, IFRCS,
  ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarset, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer),
  ISO (correspondent), ITU, NACC, NAM, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD,
  UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Albert Borg Olivier DE PUGET
  chancery: 2017 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
  telephone: [1] (202) 462-3611, 3612
  FAX: [1] (202) 387-5470
  consulate(s): New York

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Joseph R. PAOLINO, Jr.
  embassy: 2nd Floor, Development House, Saint Anne Street, Floriana,
======================================================================




@Man, Isle of
------------


(British crown dependency)

Map
---


Location: 54 15 N, 4 30 W -- Western Europe, island in the Irish
  Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland



Flag
----


Description: red with the Three Legs of Man emblem (Trinacria), in
  the center; the three legs are joined at the thigh and bent at the
  knee; in order to have the toes pointing clockwise on both sides of
  the flag, a two-sided emblem is used





Geography
---------


Location: Western Europe, island in the Irish Sea, between Great
  Britain and Ireland

Geographic coordinates: 54 15 N, 4 30 W

Map references: Europe

Area:
  total area: 588 sq km
  land area: 588 sq km
  comparative area: slightly more than three times the size of
  Washington, DC

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 113 km

Maritime claims:
  exclusive fishing zone: 12 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: none

Climate: cool summers and mild winters; humid; overcast about half
  the time

Terrain: hills in north and south bisected by central valley
  lowest point: Irish Sea 0 m
  highest point: Snaefell 620 m

Natural resources: lead, iron ore

Land use:
  arable land: NA%
  permanent crops: NA%
  meadows and pastures: NA%
  forest and woodland: NA%
  other: NA% (extensive arable land and forests)

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Environment:
  current issues: NA
  natural hazards: NA
  international agreements: NA

Geographic note: one small islet, the Calf of Man, lies to the
  southwest, and is a bird sanctuary



People
------


Population: 73,837 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 18% (male 6,606; female 6,348)
  15-64 years: 65% (male 23,917; female 23,815)
  65 years and over: 17% (male 5,239; female 7,912) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 0.94% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 12.43 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 12.09 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 9.02 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.66 male(s)/female
  all ages: 0.94 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 2.4 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 77.15 years
  male: 73.56 years
  female: 80.91 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.68 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Manxman, Manxwoman
  adjective: Manx

Ethnic divisions: Manx (Norse-Celtic descent), Briton

Religions: Anglican, Roman Catholic, Methodist, Baptist,
  Presbyterian, Society of Friends

Languages: English, Manx Gaelic

Literacy: NA



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: none
  conventional short form: Isle of Man

Data code: IM

Type of government: British crown dependency

Capital: Douglas

Administrative divisions: none (British crown dependency)

Independence: none (British crown dependency)

National holiday: Tynwald Day, 5 July

Constitution: 1961, Isle of Man Constitution Act

Legal system: English law and local statute

Suffrage: 21 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: Lord of Mann Queen ELIZABETH II (of the United
  Kingdom since 6 February 1952), represented by Lieutenant Governor
  His Excellency Sir Timothy DAUNT (since NA 1995) who was appointed
  for a five-year term by the queen
  head of government: President of the Legislative Council Sir Charles
  KERRUISH (since NA 1990); was elected by the Tynwald
  cabinet: Council of Ministers

Legislative branch: bicameral Tynwald
  Legislative Council: consists of a 10-member body composed of the
  Lord Bishop of Sodor and Man, a nonvoting attorney general, and 8
  others named by the House of Keys
  House of Keys: elections last held NA November 1991 (next to be held
  NA 1996); results - percent of vote NA; seats - (24 total)
  independents 24

Judicial branch: High Court of Justice, justices are appointed by
  the Lord Chancellor of England on the nomination of the lieutenant
  governor

Political parties and leaders: there is no party system; members
  sit as independents

International organization participation: none

Diplomatic representation in US: none (British crown dependency)

US diplomatic representation: none (British crown dependency)

Flag: red with the Three Legs of Man emblem (Trinacria), in the
  center; the three legs are joined at the thigh and bent at the knee;
  in order to have the toes pointing clockwise on both sides of the
  flag, a two-sided emblem is used



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Offshore banking, manufacturing, and tourism
  are key sectors of the economy. The government's policy of offering
  incentives to high-technology companies and financial institutions
  to locate on the island has paid off in expanding employment
  opportunities in high-income industries. As a result, agriculture
  and fishing, once the mainstays of the economy, have declined in
  their shares of GDP. Banking now contributes about 45% to GDP. Trade
  is mostly with the UK. The Isle of Man enjoys free access to EU
  markets.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $780 million (1994 est.)

GDP real growth rate: NA%

GDP per capita: $10,800 (1994 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: NA%
  industry: NA%
  services: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 7% (1992 est.)

Labor force: 31,829 (1991)
  by occupation: manufacturing 11%, construction 11%, transport and
  communication 6%, retail distribution 9%, professional and
  scientific services 17%, public administration 7%, banking and
  finance 8%

Unemployment rate: 1% (1992 est.)

Budget:
  revenues: $130.4 million
  expenditures: $114.4 million, including capital expenditures of
  $18.1 million (1985 est.)

Industries: financial services, light manufacturing, tourism

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity:
  capacity: 61,000 kW
  production: 190 million kWh
  consumption per capita: 2,965 kWh (1992)

Agriculture: cereals, vegetables; cattle, sheep, pigs, poultry

Exports: $NA
  commodities: tweeds, herring, processed shellfish, beef, lamb
  partners: UK

Imports: $NA
  commodities: timber, fertilizers, fish
  partners: UK

External debt: $NA

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $NA

Currency: 1 Manx pound (LM) = 100 pence

Exchange rates: Manx pounds (LM) per US$1 - 0.6537 (January 1996),
  0.6335 (1995), 0.6529 (1994), 0.6658 (1993), 0.5664 (1992), 0.5652
  (1991); the Manx pound is at par with the British pound

Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 52 km (27 km electrified)

Highways:
  total: 640 km
  paved: 320 km
  unpaved: 320 km

Ports: Castletown, Douglas, Peel, Ramsey

Merchant marine:
  total: 83 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,099,888 GRT/3,569,632
  DWT
  ships by type: bulk 13, cargo 10, chemical tanker 4, container 12,
  liquefied gas tanker 8, oil tanker 18, passenger 2, roll-on/roll-off
  cargo 13, short-sea passenger 1, vehicle carrier 2
  note: a flag of convenience registry; UK owns 10 ships, Switzerland
  2, South Africa 2, Denmark 1, and Netherlands 1 (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 1
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 1 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 41,000 (1995)

Telephone system:
  domestic: NA
  international: NA

Radio broadcast stations: AM 1, FM 4, shortwave 0

Radios: NA

Television broadcast stations: 4

Televisions: NA



Defense
-------


Defense note: defense is the responsibility of the UK



======================================================================




@Marshall Islands
----------------




Map
---


Location: 9 00 N, 168 00 E -- Oceania, group of atolls and reefs
  in the North Pacific Ocean, about one-half of the way from Hawaii to
  Papua New Guinea



Flag
----


Description: blue with two stripes radiating from the lower
  hoist-side corner - orange (top) and white; there is a white star
  with four large rays and 20 small rays on the hoist side above the
  two stripes





Geography
---------


Location: Oceania, group of atolls and reefs in the North Pacific
  Ocean, about one-half of the way from Hawaii to Papua New Guinea

Geographic coordinates: 9 00 N, 168 00 E

Map references: Oceania

Area:
  total area: 181.3 sq km
  land area: 181.3 sq km
  comparative area: about the size of Washington, DC
  note: includes the atolls of Bikini, Enewetak, and Kwajalein

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 370.4 km

Maritime claims:
  contiguous zone: 24 nm
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: claims US territory of Wake Island

Climate: wet season May to November; hot and humid; islands border
  typhoon belt

Terrain: low coral limestone and sand islands
  lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
  highest point: unnamed location on Likiep 10 m

Natural resources: phosphate deposits, marine products, deep
  seabed minerals

Land use:
  arable land: 0%
  permanent crops: 60%
  meadows and pastures: 0%
  forest and woodland: 0%
  other: 40%

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Environment:
  current issues: inadequate supplies of potable water
  natural hazards: occasional typhoons
  international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
  Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution

Geographic note: two archipelagic island chains of 30 atolls and
  1,152 islands; Bikini and Enewetak are former US nuclear test sites;
  Kwajalein, the famous World War II battleground, is now used as a US
  missile test range



People
------


Population: 58,363 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 51% (male 15,043; female 14,435)
  15-64 years: 47% (male 14,084; female 13,399)
  65 years and over: 2% (male 657; female 745) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 3.85% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 45.75 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 7.28 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.88 male(s)/female
  all ages: 1.04 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 46.9 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 63.81 years
  male: 62.25 years
  female: 65.45 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 6.83 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Marshallese (singular and plural)
  adjective: Marshallese

Ethnic divisions: Micronesian

Religions: Christian (mostly Protestant)

Languages: English (universally spoken and is the official
  language), two major Marshallese dialects from the Malayo-Polynesian
  family, Japanese

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1980 est.)
  total population: 93%
  male: 100%
  female: 88%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Republic of the Marshall Islands
  conventional short form: Marshall Islands
  former: Marshall Islands District (Trust Territory of the Pacific
  Islands)

Data code: RM

Type of government: constitutional government in free association
  with the US; the Compact of Free Association entered into force 21
  October 1986

Capital: Majuro

Administrative divisions: none

Independence: 21 October 1986 (from the US-administered UN
  trusteeship)

National holiday: Proclamation of the Republic of the Marshall
  Islands, 1 May (1979)

Constitution: 1 May 1979

Legal system: based on adapted Trust Territory laws, acts of the
  legislature, municipal, common, and customary laws

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state and head of government: President Amata KABUA (since
  NA 1979) was elected for a four-year term by the Nitijela from among
  its own members; election last held 20 November 1995 (next to be
  held NA 1999); results - President Amata KABUA was reelected
  cabinet: Cabinet; president selects from among the members of
  Parliament

Legislative branch: unicameral
  Parliament (Nitijela): elections last held 20 November 1995 (next to
  be held NA November 1999); results - percent of vote NA; seats - (33
  total) seats by party NA

Judicial branch: Supreme Court; High Court

Political parties and leaders:
  government: Our Islands Party, President Amata KABUA
  opposition: Ralik/Ratak Democratic Party (RRDP), Ramsey REIMERS

International organization participation: AsDB, ESCAP, IAEA, IBRD,
  ICAO, IDA, IFC, IMF, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol,
  Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, WHO

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant)
  chancery: 2433 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
  telephone: [1] (202) 234-5414
  FAX: [1] (202) 232-3236
  consulate(s) general: Honolulu and Los Angeles

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Joan PLAISTED
  embassy: Oceanside, Long Island, Majuro
  mailing address: P. O. Box 1379, Majuro, Republic of the Marshall
  Islands 96960-1379; Majuro, 20521-4380 (pouch)
  telephone: [692] 247-4011
  FAX: [692] 247-4012

Flag: blue with two stripes radiating from the lower hoist-side
  corner - orange (top) and white; there is a white star with four
  large rays and 20 small rays on the hoist side above the two stripes



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Agriculture and tourism are the mainstays of
  the economy. Agricultural production is concentrated on small farms,
  and the most important commercial crops are coconuts, tomatoes,
  melons, and breadfruit. A few cattle ranches supply the domestic
  meat market. Small-scale industry is limited to handicrafts, fish
  processing, and copra. The tourist industry is the primary source of
  foreign exchange and employs about 10% of the labor force. The
  islands have few natural resources, and imports far exceed exports.
  The government is drafting economic reforms designed to increase
  revenue and compensate for reductions in US Government grants - in
  1994, the US Government provided grants of $50 million, equal to 55%
  of the Marshall Islands' GDP. About 25% of the government's 1995/96
  budget is devoted to debt repayment.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $94 million (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 1.5% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $1,680 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: NA%
  industry: NA%
  services: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 4% (1995 est.)

Labor force: 4,800 (1986)
  by occupation: NA

Unemployment rate: 16% (1991 est.)

Budget:
  revenues: $67.2 million
  expenditures: $79.6 million, including capital expenditures of $NA
  (FY94/95 est.)

Industries: copra, fish, tourism, craft items from shell, wood,
  and pearls, offshore banking (embryonic)

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity:
  capacity: 42,000 kW
  production: 80 million kWh
  consumption per capita: 1,840 kWh (1990)

Agriculture: coconuts, cacao, taro, breadfruit, fruits; pigs,
  chickens

Exports: $21.3 million (f.o.b., 1995 est.)
  commodities: coconut oil, fish, live animals, trochus shells
  partners: US, Japan, Australia

Imports: $69.9 million (c.i.f., 1995 est.)
  commodities: foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, beverages and
  tobacco, fuels
  partners: US, Japan, Australia

External debt: $170 million (1994)

Economic aid:
  recipient: under the terms of the Compact of Free Association, the
  US is to provide approximately $40 million in aid annually

Currency: 1 United States dollar (US$) = 100 cents

Exchange rates: US currency is used

Fiscal year: 1 October - 30 September



Transportation
--------------


Railways: 0 km

Highways:
  total: NA km
  paved: NA km
  unpaved: NA km
  note: paved roads on major islands (Majuro, Kwajalein), otherwise
  stone-, coral-, or laterite-surfaced roads and tracks

Ports: Majuro

Merchant marine:
  total: 78 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 3,068,782 GRT/5,073,125
  DWT
  ships by type: bulk carrier 43, cargo 4, combination ore/oil 1,
  container 17, oil tanker 11, refrigerated cargo 1, vehicle carrier 1
  (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 16
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 3
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 1
  with paved runways under 914 m: 5
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 7 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 800 (1988 est.)

Telephone system: telex services
  domestic: islands interconnected by shortwave radiotelephone (used
  mostly for government purposes)
  international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Pacific
  Ocean); US Government satellite communications system on Kwajalein

Radio broadcast stations: AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1

Radios: NA

Television broadcast stations: 1

Televisions: NA



Defense
-------


Branches: no regular military forces (a coast guard may be
  established); Police Force

Defense note: defense is the responsibility of the US



======================================================================




@Martinique
----------


(overseas department of France)

Map
---


Location: 14 40 N, 61 00 W -- Caribbean, island in the Caribbean
  Sea, north of Trinidad and Tobago



Flag
----


Description: a light blue background is divided into four
  quadrants by a white cross; in the center of each rectangle is a
  white snake; the flag of France is used for official occasions





Geography
---------


Location: Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, north of
  Trinidad and Tobago

Geographic coordinates: 14 40 N, 61 00 W

Map references: Central America and the Caribbean

Area:
  total area: 1,100 sq km
  land area: 1,060 sq km
  comparative area: slightly more than six times the size of
  Washington, DC

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 350 km

Maritime claims:
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: none

Climate: tropical; moderated by trade winds; rainy season (June to
  October); vulnerable to devastating cyclones (hurricanes) every
  eight years on average; average temperature 17.3 degrees C; humid

Terrain: mountainous with indented coastline; dormant volcano
  lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
  highest point: Montagne Pelee 1,397 m

Natural resources: coastal scenery and beaches, cultivable land

Land use:
  arable land: 10%
  permanent crops: 8%
  meadows and pastures: 30%
  forest and woodland: 26%
  other: 26%

Irrigated land: 60 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
  current issues: NA
  natural hazards: hurricanes, flooding, and volcanic activity (an
  average of one major natural disaster every five years)
  international agreements: NA



People
------


Population: 399,151 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 23% (male 46,851; female 45,300)
  15-64 years: 67% (male 132,161; female 135,707)
  65 years and over: 10% (male 16,542; female 22,590) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.1% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 16.92 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 5.85 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: -0.1 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.73 male(s)/female
  all ages: 0.96 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 7.1 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 78.81 years
  male: 76.07 years
  female: 81.68 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.81 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Martiniquais (singular and plural)
  adjective: Martiniquais

Ethnic divisions: African and African-white-Indian mixture 90%,
  white 5%, East Indian, Lebanese, Chinese less than 5%

Religions: Roman Catholic 95%, Hindu and pagan African 5%

Languages: French, Creole patois

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1982 est.)
  total population: 93%
  male: 92%
  female: 93%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Department of Martinique
  conventional short form: Martinique
  local long form: Departement de la Martinique
  local short form: Martinique

Data code: MB

Type of government: overseas department of France

Capital: Fort-de-France

Administrative divisions: none (overseas department of France)

Independence: none (overseas department of France)

National holiday: National Day, Taking of the Bastille, 14 July
  (1789)

Constitution: 28 September 1958 (French Constitution)

Legal system: French legal system

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: President (of France) Jacques CHIRAC (since 17 May
  1995); Prefect Jean-Francois CORDET (since NA) was appointed by the
  French Ministry of the Interior
  head of government: President of the General Council Claude LISE
  (since 22 March 1992); President of the Regional Council Emile
  CAPGRAS (since 22 March 1992);

Legislative branch: unicameral General Council and a unicameral
  Regional Assembly
  General Council: elections last held NA March 1994 (next to be held
  NA); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (44 total)
  number of seats by party NA; note - the PPM won a plurality
  Regional Assembly: elections last held on 22 March 1992 (next to be
  held by March 1998); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats -
  (41 total) RPR-UDF 16, MIM 9, PPM 9, PCM 5, independents 2
  French Senate: elections last held 24 September 1989 (next to be
  held September 1998); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats -
  (2 total) UDF 1, PPM 1
  French National Assembly: elections last held 21 March 1993 (next to
  be held NA June 1998); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats
  - (4 total) RPR 2, UDF 1, PPM 1

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

Political parties and leaders: Rally for the Republic (RPR), Alex
  URSULET; Union for a Martinique of Progress (UMP); Martinique
  Progressive Party (PPM), Aime CESAIRE; Socialist Federation of
  Martinique (FSM), Jean CRUSOL; Martinique Communist Party (PCM),
  George ERICHOT; Martinique Patriots (PM); Union for French Democracy
  (UDF), Miguel LAVENTURE; Martinique Independence Movement (MIM),
  Alfred MARIE-JEANNE; Republican Party (PR), Jean BAILLY

Other political or pressure groups: Proletarian Action Group
  (GAP); Alhed Marie-Jeanne Socialist Revolution Group (GRS);
  Caribbean Revolutionary Alliance (ARC); Central Union for Martinique
  Workers (CSTM), Marc PULVAR; Frantz Fanon Circle; League of Workers
  and Peasants; Parti Martiniquais Socialiste (PMS); Association for
  the Protection of Martinique's Heritage (ecologist)

International organization participation: FZ, WCL, WFTU

Diplomatic representation in US: none (overseas department of
  France)

US diplomatic representation: none (overseas department of France)

Flag: a light blue background is divided into four quadrants by a
  white cross; in the center of each rectangle is a white snake; the
  flag of France is used for official occasions



Economy
-------


Economic overview: The economy is based on sugarcane, bananas,
  tourism, and light industry. Agriculture accounts for about 6% of
  GDP and the small industrial sector for 11%. Sugar production has
  declined, with most of the sugarcane now used for the production of
  rum. Banana exports are increasing, going mostly to France. The bulk
  of meat, vegetable, and grain requirements must be imported,
  contributing to a chronic trade deficit that requires large annual
  transfers of aid from France. Tourism has become more important than
  agricultural exports as a source of foreign exchange. The majority
  of the work force is employed in the service sector and in
  administration. Banana workers launched protests late in 1992
  because of falling banana prices and fears of greater competition in
  the European market from other producers.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $3.95 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: NA%

GDP per capita: $10,000 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 6%
  industry: 11%
  services: 83% (1992 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 3.9% (1990)

Labor force: 121,600
  by occupation: agriculture 10%, industry 17%, services 73% (1992)

Unemployment rate: 32.1% (1990)

Budget:
  revenues: $657 million
  expenditures: $2.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA
  (1992 est.)

Industries: construction, rum, cement, oil refining, sugar, tourism

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity:
  capacity: 113,100 kW
  production: 761 million kWh
  consumption per capita: 1,677 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: pineapples, avocados, bananas, flowers, vegetables,
  sugarcane for rum

Illicit drugs: transshipment point for cocaine and marijuana bound
  for the US and Europe

Exports: $218 million (f.o.b., 1993)
  commodities: refined petroleum products, bananas, rum, pineapples
  partners: France 57%, Guadeloupe 31%, French Guiana (1991)

Imports: $1.76 billion (c.i.f., 1993)
  commodities: petroleum products, crude oil, foodstuffs, construction
  materials, vehicles, clothing and other consumer goods
  partners: France 62%, UK, Italy, Germany, Japan, US (1991)

External debt: $180 million (1994)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $NA
  note: French aid $600 million (1989-93); EU aid $137 million

Currency: 1 French franc (F) = 100 centimes

Exchange rates: French francs (F) per US$1 - 5.0056 (January
  1996), 4.9915 (1995), 5.5520 (1994), 5.6632 (1993), 5.2938 (1992),
  5.6421 (1991)

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways: 0 km

Highways:
  total: 1,690 km
  paved: 1,300 km
  unpaved: 390 km

Ports: Fort-de-France, La Trinite

Merchant marine: none

Airports:
  total: 2
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 1
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 1 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 159,000 (1990 est.)

Telephone system: domestic facilities are adequate
  domestic: NA
  international: microwave radio relay to Guadeloupe, Dominica, and
  Saint Lucia; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 1, FM 6, shortwave 0

Radios: 74,000 (1992 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 10

Televisions: 65,000 (1993 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: French forces (Army, Navy, Air Force), Gendarmerie

Defense note: defense is the responsibility of France



======================================================================




@Mauritania
----------




Map
---


Location: 20 00 N, 12 00 W -- Northern Africa, bordering the North
  Atlantic Ocean, between Senegal and Western Sahara



Flag
----


Description: green with a yellow five-pointed star above a yellow,
  horizontal crescent; the closed side of the crescent is down; the
  crescent, star, and color green are traditional symbols of Islam





Geography
---------


Location: Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean,
  between Senegal and Western Sahara

Geographic coordinates: 20 00 N, 12 00 W

Map references: Africa

Area:
  total area: 1,030,700 sq km
  land area: 1,030,400 sq km
  comparative area: slightly larger than three times the size of New
  Mexico

Land boundaries:
  total: 5,074 km
  border countries: Algeria 463 km, Mali 2,237 km, Senegal 813 km,
  Western Sahara 1,561 km

Coastline: 754 km

Maritime claims:
  contiguous zone: 24 nm
  continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: boundary with Senegal in dispute

Climate: desert; constantly hot, dry, dusty

Terrain: mostly barren, flat plains of the Sahara; some central
  hills
  lowest point: Sebkha de Ndrhamcha -3 m
  highest point: Kediet Ijill 910 m

Natural resources: iron ore, gypsum, fish, copper, phosphate

Land use:
  arable land: 1%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 38%
  forest and woodland: 5%
  other: 56%

Irrigated land: 120 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
  current issues: overgrazing, deforestation, and soil erosion
  aggravated by drought are contributing to desertification; very
  limited natural fresh water resources away from the Senegal which is
  the only perennial river
  natural hazards: hot, dry, dust/sand-laden sirocco wind blows
  primarily in March and April; periodic droughts
  international agreements: party to - Climate Change, Nuclear Test
  Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified -
  Biodiversity, Desertification, Law of the Sea

Geographic note: most of the population concentrated along the
  Senegal River in the southern part of the country



People
------


Population: 2,336,048 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 48% (male 568,828; female 562,342)
  15-64 years: 49% (male 560,540; female 592,914)
  65 years and over: 3% (male 21,753; female 29,671) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 3.17% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 46.92 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 15.24 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.73 male(s)/female
  all ages: 0.97 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 81.7 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 49.01 years
  male: 46.09 years
  female: 52.06 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 6.84 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Mauritanian(s)
  adjective: Mauritanian

Ethnic divisions: mixed Maur/black 40%, Maur 30%, black 30%

Religions: Muslim 100%

Languages: Hasaniya Arabic (official), Pular, Soninke, Wolof
  (official)

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)
  total population: 37.7%
  male: 49.6%
  female: 26.3%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Islamic Republic of Mauritania
  conventional short form: Mauritania
  local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Islamiyah al Muritaniyah
  local short form: Muritaniyah

Data code: MR

Type of government: republic

Capital: Nouakchott

Administrative divisions: 12 regions (regions, singular - region);
  Adrar, Assaba, Brakna, Dakhlet Nouadhibou, Gorgol, Guidimaka, Hodh
  ech Chargui, Hodh el Gharbi, Inchiri, Tagant, Tiris Zemmour, Trarza
  note: there may be a new capital district of Nouakchott

Independence: 28 November 1960 (from France)

National holiday: Independence Day, 28 November (1960)

Constitution: 12 July 1991

Legal system: three-tier system: Islamic (Shari'a) courts, special
  courts, and state security courts (in the process of being
  eliminated)

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: President Col. Maaouya Ould Sid Ahmed TAYA (since 12
  December 1984) was reelected for a six-year term by universal
  suffrage; election last held 17 January 1992 (next to be held NA
  January 1998); results - President Col. Maaouya Ould Sid Ahmed TAYA
  was reelected
  head of government: Prime Minister Cheikh El Afia Ould Mohamed
  KHOUNA (since NA January 1996) was appointed by the president
  cabinet: Council of Ministers

Legislative branch: bicameral legislature
  Senate (Majlis al-Shuyukh): elections last held 15 April 1994 (next
  to be held 12 April 1996); results - percent of vote by party NA;
  seats (56 total, with 17 up for election every two years) PRDS 16,
  UFD/NE 1
  National Assembly (Majlis al-Watani): elections last held 6 and 13
  March 1992 (next to be held NA March 1997); results - percent of
  vote by party NA; seats - (79 total) UFD/NE 67, PMR 1, RDU 1,
  independents 10

Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Cour Supreme)

Political parties and leaders: legalized by constitution passed 12
  July 1991, however, politics continue to be tribally based; emerging
  parties include Democratic and Social Republican Party (PRDS), led
  by President Col. Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed TAYA; Union of Democratic
  Forces-New Era (UFD/NE), headed by Ahmed Ould DADDAH; Assembly for
  Democracy and Unity (RDU), Ahmed Ould SIDI BABA; Popular Social and
  Democratic Union (UPSD), Mohamed Mahmoud Ould MAH; Mauritanian Party
  for Renewal (PMR), Hameida BOUCHRAYA; National Avant-Garde Party
  (PAN), Khattry Ould JIDDOU; Mauritanian Party of the Democratic
  Center (PCDM), Bamba Ould SIDI BADI

Other political or pressure groups: Mauritanian Workers Union (UTM)

International organization participation: ABEDA, ACCT (associate),
  ACP, AfDB, AFESD, AL, AMF, AMU, CAEU, CCC, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77,
  IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO,
  Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO,
  UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Ismail Ould IYAHI
  chancery: 2129 Leroy Place NW, Washington, DC 20008
  telephone: [1] (202) 232-5700

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Dorothy Myers SAMPAS
  embassy: address NA, Nouakchott
  mailing address: B. P. 222, Nouakchott
  telephone: [222] (2) 526-60, 526-63
  FAX: [222] (2) 515-92

Flag: green with a yellow five-pointed star above a yellow,
  horizontal crescent; the closed side of the crescent is down; the
  crescent, star, and color green are traditional symbols of Islam



Economy
-------


Economic overview: A majority of the population still depends on
  agriculture and livestock for a livelihood, even though most of the
  nomads and many subsistence farmers were forced into the cities by
  recurrent droughts in the 1970s and 1980s. Mauritania has extensive
  deposits of iron ore, which account for almost 50% of total exports.
  The decline in world demand for this ore, however, has led to
  cutbacks in production. The nation's coastal waters are among the
  richest fishing areas in the world, but overexploitation by
  foreigners threatens this key source of revenue. The country's first
  deepwater port opened near Nouakchott in 1986. In recent years,
  drought and economic mismanagement have resulted in a substantial
  buildup of foreign debt. The government has begun the second stage
  of an economic reform program in consultation with the World Bank,
  the IMF, and major donor countries. Short-term growth prospects are
  gloomy because of the heavy debt service burden, rapid population
  growth, and vulnerability to climatic conditions.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $2.8 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 4% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $1,200 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 27.1%
  industry: 29.5%
  services: 43.4% (1993 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 3.5% (1995 est.)

Labor force: 465,000 (1981 est.); 45,000 wage earners (1980)
  by occupation: agriculture 47%, services 29%, industry and commerce
  14%, government 10%

Unemployment rate: 20% (1991 est.)

Budget:
  revenues: $254 million
  expenditures: $280 million, including capital expenditures of $94
  million (1994 est.)

Industries: fish processing, mining of iron ore and gypsum

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity:
  capacity: 110,000 kW
  production: 135 million kWh
  consumption per capita: 61 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: dates, millet, sorghum, root crops; cattle, sheep;
  fish products

Exports: $390 million (f.o.b., 1994 est.)
  commodities: iron ore, fish and fish products
  partners: Japan 27%, Italy, Belgium, Luxembourg

Imports: $355 million (c.i.f., 1994 est.)
  commodities: foodstuffs, consumer goods, petroleum products, capital
  goods
  partners: Algeria 15%, China 6%, US 3%, France, Germany, Spain, Italy

External debt: $1.9 billion (1992 est.)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $NA

Currency: 1 ouguiya (UM) = 5 khoums

Exchange rates: ouguiyas (UM) per US$1 - 135.690 (January 1996),
  129.768 (1995), 123.575 (1994), 120.806 (1993), 87.027 (1992),
  81.946 (1991)

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 704 km (single track); note - owned and operated by
  government mining company
  standard gauge: 704 km 1.435-m gauge (1995)

Highways:
  total: 7,496 km
  paved: 1,342 km
  unpaved: 6,154 km (1987 est.)

Waterways: mostly ferry traffic on the Senegal River

Ports: Bogue, Kaedi, Nouadhibou, Nouakchott, Rosso

Merchant marine: none

Airports:
  total: 24
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 3
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 4
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 1
  with paved runways under 914 m: 2
  with unpaved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 1
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 4
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 9 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 17,000 (1991 est.)

Telephone system: poor system of cable and open-wire lines, minor
  microwave radio relay links, and radiotelephone communications
  stations (improvements being made)
  domestic: mostly cable and open-wire lines
  international: satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic
  Ocean) and 2 Arabsat

Radio broadcast stations: AM 2, FM 0, shortwave 0

Radios: 300,000 (1993 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 1 (1987 est.)

Televisions: 50,000 (1992 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, National Gendarmerie, National
  Guard, National Police, Presidential Guard

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 500,754
  males fit for military service: 244,546 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $33 million, 2.5%
  of GDP (1995)



======================================================================




@Mauritius
---------




Map
---


Location: 20 17 S, 57 33 E -- Southern Africa, island in the
  Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar



Flag
----


Description: four equal horizontal bands of red (top), blue,
  yellow, and green





Geography
---------


Location: Southern Africa, island in the Indian Ocean, east of
  Madagascar

Geographic coordinates: 20 17 S, 57 33 E

Map references: World

Area:
  total area: 1,860 sq km
  land area: 1,850 sq km
  comparative area: almost 11 times the size of Washington, DC
  note: includes Agalega Islands, Cargados Carajos Shoals (Saint
  Brandon), and Rodrigues

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 177 km

Maritime claims:
  continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: claims the island of Diego Garcia in
  UK-administered British Indian Ocean Territory; claims
  French-administered Tromelin Island

Climate: tropical, modified by southeast trade winds; warm, dry
  winter (May to November); hot, wet, humid summer (November to May)

Terrain: small coastal plain rising to discontinuous mountains
  encircling central plateau
  lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
  highest point: Piton de la Petite Riviere Noire 828 m

Natural resources: arable land, fish

Land use:
  arable land: 54%
  permanent crops: 4%
  meadows and pastures: 4%
  forest and woodland: 31%
  other: 7%

Irrigated land: 170 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
  current issues: water pollution
  natural hazards: cyclones (November to April); almost completely
  surrounded by reefs that may pose maritime hazards
  international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
  Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes,
  Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone
  Layer Protection, Whaling; signed, but not ratified - Desertification



People
------


Population: 1,140,256 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 27% (male 157,174; female 152,980)
  15-64 years: 67% (male 379,840; female 383,295)
  65 years and over: 6% (male 27,429; female 39,538) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.23% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 18.97 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 6.67 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.69 male(s)/female
  all ages: 0.98 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 17.2 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 70.53 years
  male: 66.72 years
  female: 74.33 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.24 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Mauritian(s)
  adjective: Mauritian

Ethnic divisions: Indo-Mauritian 68%, Creole 27%, Sino-Mauritian
  3%, Franco-Mauritian 2%

Religions: Hindu 52%, Christian 28.3% (Roman Catholic 26%,
  Protestant 2.3%), Muslim 16.6%, other 3.1%

Languages: English (official), Creole, French, Hindi, Urdu, Hakka,
  Bojpoori

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)
  total population: 82.9%
  male: 87.1%
  female: 78.8%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Republic of Mauritius
  conventional short form: Mauritius

Data code: MP

Type of government: parliamentary democracy

Capital: Port Louis

Administrative divisions: 9 districts and 3 dependencies*; Agalega
  Islands*, Black River, Cargados Carajos*, Flacq, Grand Port, Moka,
  Pamplemousses, Plaines Wilhems, Port Louis, Riviere du Rempart,
  Rodrigues*, Savanne

Independence: 12 March 1968 (from UK)

National holiday: Independence Day, 12 March (1968)

Constitution: 12 March 1968; amended 12 March 1992

Legal system: based on French civil law system with elements of
  English common law in certain areas

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: President Cassam UTEEM (since 1 July 1992) and Vice
  President Rabindranath GHURBURRON (since 1 July 1992) were elected
  for five-year terms by the National Assembly
  head of government: Prime Minister Navin RAMGOOLAM (since 27
  December 1995) and Deputy Prime Minister Paul BERENGER (since 27
  December 1995) were appointed by the president and are responsible
  to the National Assembly
  cabinet: Council of Ministers was appointed by the president on
  recommendation of the prime minister

Legislative branch: unicameral
  Legislative Assembly: elections last held on 20 December 1995 (next
  to be held by December 2000); results - MMM/MLP 65%, MSM/RMM 20%,
  other 15%; seats - (66 total; 62 elected, 4 appointed) MLP 35, MMM
  25, allies of MLP and MMM on Rodrigues Island 2; appointed were
  Rodrigues Movement 2, Gaetan Duval Party 1, Hizballah 1

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

Political parties and leaders:
  government coalition: MLP/MMM alliance - Mauritian Labor Party
  (MLP), Navin RAMGOOLAM; Mauritian Militant Movement (MMM), Paul
  BERENGER
  opposition: Organization of the People of Rodrigues (OPR), Louis
  Serge CLAIR; Rodrigues Movement, Nicolas VONMALLY; Gaetan Duval
  Party, Gaetan DUVAL; Hizbullah, Imam Mustapha BEEHARRY; Militant
  Socialist Movement (MSM); Mauritian Militant Resurgence (MMR)

Other political or pressure groups: various labor unions

International organization participation: ACCT, ACP, AfDB, C, CCC,
  ECA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC,
  IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO
  (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OAU, PCA, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO,
  UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Anund Priyay NEEWOOR
  chancery: Suite 441, 4301 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
  telephone: [1] (202) 244-1491, 1492
  FAX: [1] (202) 966-0983

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Leslie M. ALEXANDER
  embassy: 4th Floor, Rogers House, John Kennedy Street, Port Louis
  mailing address: use embassy street address
  telephone: [230] 208-2347, 208-2354, 208-9763 through 9767
  FAX: [230] 208-9534

Flag: four equal horizontal bands of red (top), blue, yellow, and
  green



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Since independence in 1968, Mauritius has
  developed from a low income, agriculturally based economy to middle
  income diversified economy with growing industrial and tourist
  sectors. For most of the period, annual growth has been of the order
  of 5% to 6%. This remarkable achievement has been reflected in
  increased life expectancy, lowered infant mortality, and a much
  improved infrastructure. Sugarcane is grown on about 90% of the
  cultivated land area and accounts for 40% of export earnings. The
  government's development strategy centers on industrialization (with
  a view to modernization and to exports), agricultural
  diversification, and tourism. Economic performance in 1991-93
  continued strong with solid real growth and low unemployment.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $10.9 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 2.7% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $9,600 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: NA%
  industry: NA%
  services: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 9.4% (1993 est.)

Labor force: 335,000
  by occupation: government services 29%, agriculture and fishing 27%,
  manufacturing 22%, other 22%

Unemployment rate: 2.4% (1991 est.)

Budget:
  revenues: $653 million
  expenditures: $567 million, including capital expenditures of $143
  million (FY92/93 est.)

Industries: food processing (largely sugar milling), textiles,
  wearing apparel, chemicals, metal products, transport equipment,
  nonelectrical machinery, tourism

Industrial production growth rate: 5.8% (1992)

Electricity:
  capacity: 340,000 kW
  production: 920 million kWh
  consumption per capita: 777 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: sugarcane, tea, corn, potatoes, bananas, pulses;
  cattle, goats; fish

Illicit drugs: illicit producer of cannabis for the international
  drug trade; heroin consumption and transshipment are growing problems

Exports: $1.3 billion (f.o.b., 1994)
  commodities: textiles 44%, sugar 40%, light manufactures 10%
  partners: EU and US have preferential treatment, EU 77%, US 15%

Imports: $1.9 billion (f.o.b., 1994)
  commodities: manufactured goods 50%, capital equipment 17%,
  foodstuffs 13%, petroleum products 8%, chemicals 7%
  partners: EU, US, South Africa, Japan

External debt: $996.8 million (1993 est.)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $NA

Currency: 1 Mauritian rupee (MauR) = 100 cents

Exchange rates: Mauritian rupees (MauRs) per US$1 - 17.842
  (January 1996), 17.386 (1995), 17.960 (1994), 17.648 (1993), 15.563
  (1992), 15.652 (1991)

Fiscal year: 1 July - 30 June



Transportation
--------------


Railways: 0 km

Highways:
  total: 1,831 km
  paved: 1,703 km (including 29 km of expressways)
  unpaved: 128 km (1991 est.)

Ports: Port Louis

Merchant marine:
  total: 17 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 221,446 GRT/308,478 DWT
  ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 9, container 4, liquefied gas tanker 1,
  oil tanker 1, passenger-cargo 1 (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 4
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 1
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 1
  with paved runways under 914 m: 2 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 65,000 (1985 est.)

Telephone system: small system with good service
  domestic: primarily microwave radio relay
  international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean);
  new microwave link to Reunion; HF radiotelephone links to several
  countries

Radio broadcast stations: AM 2, FM 0, shortwave 0

Radios: 395,000 (1992 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 4 (1987 est.)

Televisions: 151,096 (1991 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: National Police Force (includes the paramilitary Special
  Mobile Force or SMF, Special Support Units or SSU, and National
  Coast Guard)

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 327,403
  males fit for military service: 166,466 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $11.2 million,
  0.4% of GDP (FY92/93)



======================================================================




@Mayotte
-------


(territorial collectivity of France)

Map
---


Location: 12 50 S, 45 10 E -- Southern Africa, island in the
  Mozambique Channel, about one-half of the way from northern
  Madagascar to northern Mozambique



Flag
----


Description: the flag of France is used





Geography
---------


Location: Southern Africa, island in the Mozambique Channel, about
  one-half of the way from northern Madagascar to northern Mozambique

Geographic coordinates: 12 50 S, 45 10 E

Map references: Africa

Area:
  total area: 375 sq km
  land area: 375 sq km
  comparative area: slightly more than twice the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 185.2 km

Maritime claims:
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: claimed by Comoros

Climate: tropical; marine; hot, humid, rainy season during
  northeastern monsoon (November to May); dry season is cooler (May to
  November)

Terrain: generally undulating, with deep ravines and ancient
  volcanic peaks
  lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
  highest point: Benara 660 m

Natural resources: NEGL

Land use:
  arable land: NA%
  permanent crops: NA%
  meadows and pastures: NA%
  forest and woodland: NA%
  other: NA%

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Environment:
  current issues: NA
  natural hazards: cyclones during rainy season
  international agreements: NA

Geographic note: part of Comoro Archipelago



People
------


Population: 100,838 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 50% (male 25,099; female 24,881)
  15-64 years: 48% (male 24,790; female 23,727)
  65 years and over: 2% (male 1,152; female 1,189) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 3.78% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 47.93 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 10.12 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.97 male(s)/female
  all ages: 1.02 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 75.3 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 58.7 years
  male: 56.43 years
  female: 61.05 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 6.63 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Mahorais (singular and plural)
  adjective: Mahoran

Ethnic divisions: NA

Religions: Muslim 99%, Christian (mostly Roman Catholic)

Languages: Mahorian (a Swahili dialect), French

Literacy: NA



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Territorial Collectivity of Mayotte
  conventional short form: Mayotte

Data code: MF

Type of government: territorial collectivity of France

Capital: Mamoutzou

Administrative divisions: none (territorial collectivity of France)

Independence: none (territorial collectivity of France)

National holiday: National Day, Taking of the Bastille, 14 July
  (1789)

Constitution: 28 September 1958 (French Constitution)

Legal system: French law

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: President (of France) Jacques CHIRAC (since 17 May
  1995) represented by Prefect Alain WEIL (since NA), who was
  appointed by the French Ministry of the Interior
  head of government: President of the General Council Younoussa
  BAMANA (since NA 1976)

Legislative branch: unicameral
  General Council (Conseil General): elections last held NA March 1994
  (next to be held NA); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats -
  (19 total) MPM 12, RPR 4, independents 3
  French Senate: elections last held 24 September 1995 (next to be
  held 24 September 2001); results - percent of vote by party NA;
  seats - (1 total) MPM 1
  French National Assembly: elections last held 21 and 28 March 1993
  (next to be held NA 1998); results - UDF-CDS 54.3%, RPR 44.3%; seats
  - (1 total) UDF-CDS 1

Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Tribunal Superieur d'Appel)

Political parties and leaders: Mahoran Popular Movement (MPM),
  Younoussa BAMANA; Party for the Mahoran Democratic Rally (PRDM),
  Daroueche MAOULIDA; Mahoran Rally for the Republic (RPR), Mansour
  KAMARDINE; Union for French Democracy (UDF), Maoulida AHMED; Center
  of Social Democrats (CDS)

International organization participation: FZ

Diplomatic representation in US: none (territorial collectivity of
  France)

US diplomatic representation: none (territorial collectivity of
  France)

Flag: the flag of France is used



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Economic activity is based primarily on the
  agricultural sector, including fishing and livestock raising.
  Mayotte is not self-sufficient and must import a large portion of
  its food requirements, mainly from France. The economy and future
  development of the island are heavily dependent on French financial
  assistance. Mayotte's remote location is an obstacle to the
  development of tourism.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $54 million (1993 est.)

GDP real growth rate: NA%

GDP per capita: $600 (1993 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: NA%
  industry: NA%
  services: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA%

Labor force: NA

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget:
  revenues: $NA
  expenditures: $37.3 million, including capital expenditures of $NA
  (1985 est.)

Industries: newly created lobster and shrimp industry

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity:
  capacity: NA kW
  production: NA kWh
  consumption per capita: NA kWh

Agriculture: vanilla, ylang-ylang, coffee, copra

Exports: $2.9 million (f.o.b., 1992)
  commodities: ylang-ylang (perfume essence), vanilla, copra
  partners: France 80%, Comoros 15%, Reunion

Imports: $87.5 million (f.o.b., 1992)
  commodities: building materials, transportation equipment, rice,
  clothing, flour
  partners: France 63%, South Africa 11%, Thailand 9%, Singapore

External debt: $NA

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $NA

Currency: 1 French franc (F) = 100 centimes

Exchange rates: French francs (F) per US$1 - 5.0056 (January
  1996), 4.9915 (1995), 5.5520 (1994), 5.6632 (1993), 5.2938 (1992),
  5.6421 (1991)

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways: 0 km

Highways:
  total: 93 km
  paved: 72 km
  unpaved: 21 km

Ports: Dzaoudzi

Merchant marine: none

Airports:
  total: 1
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 1 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 450

Telephone system: small system administered by French Department
  of Posts and Telecommunications
  domestic: NA
  international: microwave radio relay and HF radiotelephone
  communications to Comoros and other international connections

Radio broadcast stations: AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0

Radios: 30,000 (1994 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 0

Televisions: 3,500 (1994 est.)



Defense
-------


Defense note: defense is the responsibility of France



======================================================================




@Mexico
------




Map
---


Location: 23 00 N, 102 00 W -- Middle America, bordering the
  Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico, between Belize and the US and
  bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between Guatemala and the US



Flag
----


Description: three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side),
  white, and red; the coat of arms (an eagle perched on a cactus with
  a snake in its beak) is centered in the white band





Geography
---------


Location: Middle America, bordering the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf
  of Mexico, between Belize and the US and bordering the North Pacific
  Ocean, between Guatemala and the US

Geographic coordinates: 23 00 N, 102 00 W

Map references: North America

Area:
  total area: 1,972,550 sq km
  land area: 1,923,040 sq km
  comparative area: slightly less than three times the size of Texas

Land boundaries:
  total: 4,538 km
  border countries: Belize 250 km, Guatemala 962 km, US 3,326 km

Coastline: 9,330 km

Maritime claims:
  contiguous zone: 24 nm
  continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: claims Clipperton Island (French
  possession)

Climate: varies from tropical to desert

Terrain: high, rugged mountains, low coastal plains, high
  plateaus, and desert
  lowest point: Laguna Salada -10 m
  highest point: Volcan Pico de Orizaba 5,700 m

Natural resources: petroleum, silver, copper, gold, lead, zinc,
  natural gas, timber

Land use:
  arable land: 12%
  permanent crops: 1%
  meadows and pastures: 39%
  forest and woodland: 24%
  other: 24%

Irrigated land: 51,500 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
  current issues: natural fresh water resources scarce and polluted in
  north, inaccessible and poor quality in center and extreme
  southeast; raw sewage and industrial effluents polluting rivers in
  urban areas; deforestation; widespread erosion; desertification;
  serious air pollution in the national capital and urban centers
  along US-Mexico border
  natural hazards: tsunamis along the Pacific coast, destructive
  earthquakes in the center and south, and hurricanes on the Gulf and
  Caribbean coasts
  international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
  Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the
  Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban,
  Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling

Geographic note: strategic location on southern border of US



People
------


Population: 95,772,462 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 36% (male 17,732,725; female 17,125,562)
  15-64 years: 59% (male 27,562,285; female 29,165,138)
  65 years and over: 5% (male 1,911,968; female 2,274,784) (July 1996
  est.)

Population growth rate: 1.87% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 26.24 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 4.58 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: -2.97 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.84 male(s)/female
  all ages: 0.97 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 25 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 73.67 years
  male: 70.07 years
  female: 77.45 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 3.03 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Mexican(s)
  adjective: Mexican

Ethnic divisions: mestizo (Indian-Spanish) 60%, Amerindian or
  predominantly Amerindian 30%, Caucasian or predominantly Caucasian
  9%, other 1%

Religions: nominally Roman Catholic 89%, Protestant 6%

Languages: Spanish, various Mayan dialects

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)
  total population: 89.6%
  male: 91.8%
  female: 87.4%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: United Mexican States
  conventional short form: Mexico
  local long form: Estados Unidos Mexicanos
  local short form: Mexico

Data code: MX

Type of government: federal republic operating under a centralized
  government

Capital: Mexico

Administrative divisions: 31 states (estados, singular - estado)
  and 1 federal district* (distrito federal); Aguascalientes, Baja
  California, Baja California Sur, Campeche, Chiapas, Chihuahua,
  Coahuila de Zaragoza, Colima, Distrito Federal*, Durango,
  Guanajuato, Guerrero, Hidalgo, Jalisco, Mexico, Michoacan de Ocampo,
  Morelos, Nayarit, Nuevo Leon, Oaxaca, Puebla, Queretaro de Arteaga,
  Quintana Roo, San Luis Potosi, Sinaloa, Sonora, Tabasco, Tamaulipas,
  Tlaxcala, Veracruz-Llave, Yucatan, Zacatecas

Independence: 16 September 1810 (from Spain)

National holiday: Independence Day, 16 September (1810)

Constitution: 5 February 1917

Legal system: mixture of US constitutional theory and civil law
  system; judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ
  jurisdiction, with reservations

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal and compulsory (but not
  enforced)

Executive branch:
  chief of state and head of government: President Ernesto ZEDILLO
  Ponce de Leon (since 1 December 1994) was elected for a six-year
  term by popular vote; election last held 21 August 1994 (next to be
  held NA 2000); results - Ernesto ZEDILLO Ponce de Leon (PRI) 50.18%,
  Cuauhtemoc CARDENAS Solorzano (PRD) 17.08%, Diego FERNANDEZ DE
  CEVALLOS (PAN) 26.69%; other 6.049%
  cabinet: Cabinet was appointed by the president

Legislative branch: bicameral National Congress (Congreso de la
  Union)
  Senate (Camara de Senadores): elections last held 21 August 1994
  (next to be held NA July 1997 for one-quarter of the seats); results
  - percent of vote by party NA; seats in full Senate - (128 total;
  Senate expanded from 64 seats at the last election) PRI 93, PRD 25,
  PAN 10
  Chamber of Deputies (Camara de Diputados): elections last held 24
  August 1994 (next to be held NA July 1997); results - percent of
  vote by party NA; seats - (500 total) PRI 300, PAN 119, PRD 71, PT 10

Judicial branch: Supreme Court of Justice (Corte Suprema de
  Justicia), judges are appointed by the president with consent of the
  Senate

Political parties and leaders: (recognized parties) Institutional
  Revolutionary Party (PRI), Santiago ONATE Laborde; National Action
  Party (PAN), Carlos CASTILLO; Popular Socialist Party (PPS),
  Indalecio SAYAGO Herrera; Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD),
  Porfirio MUNOZ Ledo; Cardenist Front for the National Reconstruction
  Party (PFCRN), Rafael AGUILAR Talamantes; Democratic Forum Party
  (PFD), Pablo Emilio MADERO; Mexican Green Ecologist Party (PVEM),
  Jorge GONZALEZ Torres; Workers Party (PT), Alberto ANYA Gutierrez

Other political or pressure groups: Roman Catholic Church;
  Confederation of Mexican Workers (CTM); Confederation of Industrial
  Chambers (CONCAMIN); Confederation of National Chambers of Commerce
  (CONCANACO); National Peasant Confederation (CNC); Revolutionary
  Workers Party (PRT); Revolutionary Confederation of Workers and
  Peasants (CROC); Regional Confederation of Mexican Workers (CROM);
  Confederation of Employers of the Mexican Republic (COPARMEX);
  National Chamber of Transformation Industries (CANACINTRA);
  Coordinator for Foreign Trade Business Organizations (COECE);
  Federation of Unions Providing Goods and Services (FESEBES)

International organization participation: AG (observer), APEC,
  BCIE, Caricom (observer), CCC, CDB, EBRD, ECLAC, FAO, G- 6, G-11,
  G-15, G-19, G-24, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA,
  IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC,
  IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, NAM (observer), OAS, OECD,
  OPANAL, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNU, UPU, WCL,
  WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Jesus SILVA Herzog Flores
  chancery: 1911 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20006
  telephone: [1] (202) 728-1600
  consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, El Paso,
  Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Phoenix, San
  Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, San Juan (Puerto Rico)
  consulate(s): Albuquerque, Austin, Boston, Brownsville (Texas),
  Calexico (California), Corpus Christi, Del Rio (Texas), Detroit,
  Eagle Pass (Texas), Fresno (California), Loredo, McAllen (Texas),
  Midland (Texas), Nogales (Arizona), Oxnard (California),
  Philadelphia, Sacramento, St. Louis, Salt Lake City, San Bernardino,
  San Jose, Santa Ana, Seattle

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador James R. JONES
  embassy: Paseo de la Reforma 305, Colonia Cuauhtemoc, 06500 Mexico,
  Distrito Federal
  mailing address: P. O. Box 3087, Laredo, TX 78044-3087
  telephone: [52] (5) 211-0042
  FAX: [52] (5) 511-9980, 208-3373
  consulate(s) general: Ciudad Juarez, Guadalajara, Monterrey, Tijuana
  consulate(s): Hermosillo, Matamoros, Merida, Nuevo Laredo

Flag: three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and
  red; the coat of arms (an eagle perched on a cactus with a snake in
  its beak) is centered in the white band



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Mexico has a free market economy with a mixture
  of modern and outmoded industry and agriculture, increasingly
  dominated by the private sector. Mexico entered 1996 on the heels of
  its worst recession since the 1930s. Economic activity contracted
  about 7% in 1995 in the aftermath of the peso devaluation in late
  1994. Although Mexico City was able to correct imbalances in its
  external accounts, meet international payments obligations, and
  dramatically improve its trade balance in 1995, the domestic economy
  suffered harshly as the ZEDILLO administration stuck to a strict
  austerity program. The tight monetary and fiscal policies helped
  prevent spiraling inflation and kept government spending under
  control but drove interest rates to record heights, making it
  difficult for most Mexicans to service their debts. At the same
  time, consumers' reduced purchasing power made buying even
  necessities difficult for some. Many small- and medium-sized firms
  were unable to survive under the twin burdens of high interest rates
  and depressed domestic demand for their goods. Business closures and
  cutbacks fueled unemployment; more than 1 million Mexicans lost
  their jobs. According to the government and most private sector
  observers, the recession bottomed out in the third quarter of 1995,
  but the difficult year fed growing dissatisfaction with the ruling
  party, led to a crisis of confidence in President ZEDILLO'S ability
  to lead, and spurred increased tensions within the ruling party.
  While the ZEDILLO administration is optimistic that 1996 will bring
  some recovery - the government is forecasting 3% growth and 21%
  inflation - Mexico will face several key vulnerabilities, including
  the financial health of the banking sector, shaky investor
  confidence that could be easily jarred by more political or economic
  shocks, and increasingly emboldened dissenters within the ruling
  party.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $721.4 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: -6.9% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $7,700 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 8.5%
  industry: 28.4%
  services: 63.1%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 52% (1995 est.)

Labor force: 33.6 million (1994)
  by occupation: services 31.7%, agriculture, forestry, hunting, and
  fishing 28%, commerce 14.6%, manufacturing 11.1%, construction 8.4%,
  transportation 4.7%, mining and quarrying 1.5%

Unemployment rate: 10% (1995 est.) plus considerable
  underemployment

Budget:
  revenues: $56 billion (1995 est.)
  expenditures: $54 billion (1995 est.), including capital
  expenditures of $NA

Industries: food and beverages, tobacco, chemicals, iron and
  steel, petroleum, mining, textiles, clothing, motor vehicles,
  consumer durables, tourism

Industrial production growth rate: -7.5% (1995 est.)

Electricity:
  capacity: 28,780,000 kW
  production: 122 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 1,239 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: corn, wheat, soybeans, rice, beans, cotton, coffee,
  fruit, tomatoes; beef, poultry, dairy products; wood products

Illicit drugs: illicit cultivation of opium poppy and cannabis
  continues in spite of increasing government eradication; major
  supplier of heroin and marijuana to the US market; continues as the
  primary transshipment country for US-bound cocaine from South
  America; increasingly involved in the production and distribution of
  methamphetamine

Exports: $80 billion (f.o.b., 1995 est.), includes in-bond
  industries
  commodities: crude oil, oil products, coffee, silver, engines, motor
  vehicles, cotton, consumer electronics
  partners: US 85%, Japan 1.6%, EU 4.6% (1994 est.)

Imports: $72 billion (f.o.b., 1995 est.), includes in-bond
  industries
  commodities: metal-working machines, steel mill products,
  agricultural machinery, electrical equipment, car parts for
  assembly, repair parts for motor vehicles, aircraft, and aircraft
  parts
  partners: US 69%, Japan 6%, EU 12% (1994 est.)

External debt: $155 billion (1995 est.)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $85 million (1993)
  note: US commitments, (Emergency Stabilization Fund), $13.5 billion;
  IMF, $13 billion (1995-96)

Currency: 1 New Mexican peso (Mex$) = 100 centavos

Exchange rates: market rate of Mexican pesos (Mex$) per US$1 -
  7.6647 (December 1995), 6.4194 (1995), 3.3751 (1994), 3.1156 (1993),
  3,094.9 (1992), 3,018.4 (1991)
  note: the new peso replaced the old peso on 1 January 1993; 1 new
  peso = 1,000 old pesos

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 20,567 km
  standard gauge: 20,477 km 1.435-m gauge (246 km electrified)
  narrow gauge: 90 km 0.914-m gauge (1994)

Highways:
  total: 245,433 km
  paved: 88,601 km (including 4,286 km of expressways)
  unpaved: 156,832 km (1993 est.)

Waterways: 2,900 km navigable rivers and coastal canals

Pipelines: crude oil 28,200 km; petroleum products 10,150 km;
  natural gas 13,254 km; petrochemical 1,400 km

Ports: Acapulco, Altamira, Coatzacoalcos, Ensenada, Guaymas, La
  Paz, Lazaro Cardenas, Manzanillo, Mazatlan, Progreso, Salina Cruz,
  Tampico, Topolobampo, Tuxpan, Veracruz

Merchant marine:
  total: 51 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 875,314 GRT/1,245,932
  DWT
  ships by type: cargo 1, chemical tanker 4, container 4, liquefied
  gas tanker 7, oil tanker 29, refrigerated cargo 1, roll-on/roll-off
  cargo 2, short-sea passenger 3 (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 1,411
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 9
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 25
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 88
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 66
  with paved runways under 914 m: 815
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 50
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 358 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 11,890,868 (1993 est.)

Telephone system: highly developed system with extensive microwave
  radio relay links; privatized in December 1990
  domestic: adequate telephone service for business and government,
  but the population is poorly served; domestic satellite system with
  120 earth stations; extensive microwave radio relay network
  international: satellite earth stations - 5 Intelsat (4 Atlantic
  Ocean and 1 Pacific Ocean); launched Solidaridad I satellite in
  November 1993 and Solidaridad II in October 1994, giving Mexico
  improved access to South America, Central America and much of the US
  as well as enhancing domestic communications; linked to Central
  American Microwave System of trunk connections

Radio broadcast stations: AM 679, FM 0, shortwave 22

Radios: 22.5 million (1992 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 238

Televisions: 13.1 million (1992 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: National Defense (includes Army and Air Force), Navy
  (includes Naval Air and Marines)

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 23,945,962
  males fit for military service: 17,451,706
  males reach military age (18) annually: 1,057,538 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $2.24 billion,
  0.9% of GDP (1996)



======================================================================




@Micronesia, Federated States of
-------------------------------




Map
---


Location: 6 55 N, 158 15 E -- Oceania, island group in the North
  Pacific Ocean, about three-quarters of the way from Hawaii to
  Indonesia



Flag
----


Description: light blue with four white five-pointed stars
  centered; the stars are arranged in a diamond pattern





Geography
---------


Location: Oceania, island group in the North Pacific Ocean, about
  three-quarters of the way from Hawaii to Indonesia

Geographic coordinates: 6 55 N, 158 15 E

Map references: Oceania

Area:
  total area: 702 sq km
  land area: 702 sq km
  comparative area: four times the size of Washington, DC
  note: includes Pohnpei (Ponape), Truk (Chuuk) Islands, Yap Islands,
  and Kosrae

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 6,112 km

Maritime claims:
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: none

Climate: tropical; heavy year-round rainfall, especially in the
  eastern islands; located on southern edge of the typhoon belt with
  occasional severe damage

Terrain: islands vary geologically from high mountainous islands
  to low, coral atolls; volcanic outcroppings on Pohnpei, Kosrae, and
  Truk
  lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
  highest point: Totolom 791 m

Natural resources: forests, marine products, deep-seabed minerals

Land use:
  arable land: NA%
  permanent crops: NA%
  meadows and pastures: NA%
  forest and woodland: NA%
  other: NA%

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Environment:
  current issues: NA
  natural hazards: typhoons (June to December)
  international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
  Law of the Sea; signed, but not ratified - Desertification,
  Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection

Geographic note: four major island groups totaling 607 islands



People
------


Population: 125,377 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: NA
  15-64 years: 35% (est.)
  65 years and over: NA

Population growth rate: 3.34% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 27.94 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 6.22 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 11.65 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: NA male(s)/female
  under 15 years: NA male(s)/female
  15-64 years: NA male(s)/female
  65 years and over: NA male(s)/female
  all ages: NA male(s)/female

Infant mortality rate: 35.8 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 67.99 years
  male: 66.02 years
  female: 69.99 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 3.96 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Micronesian(s)
  adjective: Micronesian; Kosrae(s), Pohnpeian(s), Trukese, Yapese

Ethnic divisions: nine ethnic Micronesian and Polynesian groups

Religions: Roman Catholic 50%, Protestant 47%, other and none 3%

Languages: English (official and common language), Trukese,
  Pohnpeian, Yapese, Kosrean

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1980 est.)
  total population: 89%
  male: 91%
  female: 88%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Federated States of Micronesia
  conventional short form: none
  former: Kosrae, Ponape, Truk, and Yap Districts (Trust Territory of
  the Pacific Islands)
  abbreviation: FSM

Data code: FM

Type of government: constitutional government in free association
  with the US; the Compact of Free Association entered into force 3
  November 1986

Capital: Kolonia (on the island of Pohnpei)
  note: a new capital is being built about 10 km southwest in the
  Palikir valley

Administrative divisions: 4 states; Kosrae, Pohnpei, Chuuk (Truk),
  Yap

Independence: 3 November 1986 (from the US-administered UN
  Trusteeship)

National holiday: Proclamation of the Federated States of
  Micronesia, 10 May (1979)

Constitution: 10 May 1979

Legal system: based on adapted Trust Territory laws, acts of the
  legislature, municipal, common, and customary laws

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state and head of government: President Bailey OLTER (since
  21 May 1991) and Vice President Jacob NENA (since 21 May 1991) were
  elected by the Congress from among the four Senators-at-Large;
  election last held 11 May 1995 (next to be held NA May 1999);
  results - Bailey OLTER reelected to a second term as president;
  Jacob NENA reelected to a second term as vice president
  cabinet: Cabinet

Legislative branch: unicameral
  Congress: elections last held 7 March 1995 (next to be held NA March
  1999); results - percent of vote NA; seats - (14 total) independents
  14

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

Political parties and leaders: no formal parties

International organization participation: AsDB, ESCAP, IBRD, ICAO,
  IDA, IFC, IMF, Intelsat, ITU, Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UN, UNCTAD, WHO,
  WMO

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Jesse B. MAREHALAU
  chancery: 1725 N Street NW, Washington, DC 20036
  telephone: [1] (202) 223-4383
  FAX: [1] (202) 223-4391
  consulate(s) general: Honolulu and Tamuning (Guam)

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador March Fong EU
  embassy: address NA, Kolonia
  mailing address: P. O. Box 1286, Pohnpei, Federated States of
  Micronesia 96941
  telephone: [691] 320-2187
  FAX: [691] 320-2186

Flag: light blue with four white five-pointed stars centered; the
  stars are arranged in a diamond pattern



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Economic activity consists primarily of
  subsistence farming and fishing. The islands have few mineral
  deposits worth exploiting, except for high-grade phosphate. The
  potential for a tourist industry exists, but the remoteness of the
  location and a lack of adequate facilities hinder development.
  Financial assistance from the US is the primary source of revenue,
  with the US pledged to spend $1 billion in the islands in the 1990s.
  Geographical isolation and a poorly developed infrastructure are
  major impediments to long-term growth.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $205 million (1994 est.)
  note: GDP is supplemented by grant aid, averaging perhaps $100
  million annually

GDP real growth rate: 1.4% (1994 est.)

GDP per capita: $1,700 (1994 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: NA%
  industry: NA%
  services: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 4% (1994 est.)

Labor force: NA
  by occupation: two-thirds are government employees

Unemployment rate: 27% (1989)

Budget:
  revenues: $45 million
  expenditures: $31 million, including capital expenditures of $NA
  (FY94/95 est.)

Industries: tourism, construction, fish processing, craft items
  from shell, wood, and pearls

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity:
  capacity: 18,000 kW
  production: 40 million kWh
  consumption per capita: 380 kWh (1990)

Agriculture: black pepper, tropical fruits and vegetables,
  coconuts, cassava (tapioca), sweet potatoes; pigs, chickens

Exports: $29.1 million (f.o.b., 1994 est.)
  commodities: fish, garments, bananas, black pepper
  partners: Japan, US, Guam

Imports: $141.1 million (c.i.f., 1994 est.)
  commodities: food, manufactured goods, machinery and equipment,
  beverages
  partners: US, Japan, Australia

External debt: $129 million

Economic aid:
  recipient: under terms of the Compact of Free Association, the US
  will provide $1.3 billion in grant aid during the period 1986-2001

Currency: 1 United States dollar (US$) = 100 cents

Exchange rates: US currency is used

Fiscal year: 1 October - 30 September



Transportation
--------------


Railways: 0 km

Highways:
  total: 226 km
  paved: 39 km
  unpaved: 187 km

Ports: Colonia (Yap), Kolonia (Pohnpei), Lele, Moen

Merchant marine: none

Airports:
  total: 5
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 4
  with paved runways under 914 m: 1 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 960

Telephone system:
  domestic: islands interconnected by shortwave radiotelephone (used
  mostly for government purposes)
  international: satellite earth stations - 4 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 5, FM 1, shortwave 1

Radios: 17,000 (1993 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 6

Televisions: 1,290 (1993 est.)



Defense
-------


Defense note: defense is the responsibility of the US



======================================================================




@Midway Islands
--------------


(territory of the US)

Map
---


Location: 28 13 N, 177 22 W -- Oceania, atoll in the North Pacific
  Ocean, about one-third of the way from Honolulu to Tokyo



Flag
----


Description: the flag of the US is used





Geography
---------


Location: Oceania, atoll in the North Pacific Ocean, about
  one-third of the way from Honolulu to Tokyo

Geographic coordinates: 28 13 N, 177 22 W

Map references: Oceania

Area:
  total area: 5.2 sq km
  land area: 5.2 sq km
  comparative area: about nine times the size of The Mall in
  Washington, DC
  note: includes Eastern Island and Sand Island

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 15 km

Maritime claims:
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: none

Climate: tropical, but moderated by prevailing easterly winds

Terrain: low, nearly level
  lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
  highest point: unnamed location 4 m

Natural resources: fish, wildlife

Land use:
  arable land: 0%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 0%
  forest and woodland: 0%
  other: 100%

Irrigated land: 0 sq km

Environment:
  current issues: NA
  natural hazards: NA
  international agreements: NA

Geographic note: a coral atoll; closed to the public



People
------


Population: no indigenous inhabitants; note - there are 453 US
  military personnel (July 1995 est.)



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: none
  conventional short form: Midway Islands

Data code: MQ

Type of government: unincorporated territory of the US formerly
  administered by the US Navy, under Naval Facilities Engineering
  Command, Pacific Division; this facility has been operationally
  closed since 10 September 1993 and is currently undergoing transfer
  of accountability and responsibility to the US Department of the
  Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service

Capital: none; administered from Washington, DC

Flag: the flag of the US is used



Economy
-------


Economic overview: The economy is based on providing support
  services for remaining activities located on the islands. All food
  and manufactured goods must be imported.

Electricity: supplied by US Military



Transportation
--------------


Railways: 0 km

Highways:
  total: 32 km
  paved: NA km
  unpaved: NA km

Pipelines: 7.8 km

Ports: Sand Island

Airports:
  total: 2
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 1
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 1 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: NA

Telephone system:
  domestic: NA
  international: NA

Radio broadcast stations: AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA

Radios: NA

Television broadcast stations: NA

Televisions: NA



Defense
-------


Defense note: defense is the responsibility of the US



======================================================================




@Moldova
-------




Map
---


Location: 47 00 N, 29 00 E -- Eastern Europe, northeast of Romania



Flag
----


Description: same color scheme as Romania - three equal vertical
  bands of blue (hoist side), yellow, and red; emblem in center of
  flag is of a Roman eagle of gold outlined in black with a red beak
  and talons carrying a yellow cross in its beak and a green olive
  branch in its right talons and a yellow scepter in its left talons;
  on its breast is a shield divided horizontally red over blue with a
  stylized ox head, star, rose, and crescent all in black-outlined
  yellow





Geography
---------


Location: Eastern Europe, northeast of Romania

Geographic coordinates: 47 00 N, 29 00 E

Map references: Commonwealth of Independent States

Area:
  total area: 33,700 sq km
  land area: 33,700 sq km
  comparative area: slightly more than twice the size of Hawaii

Land boundaries:
  total: 1,389 km
  border countries: Romania 450 km, Ukraine 939 km

Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims: none (landlocked)

International disputes: certain territory of Moldova and Ukraine -
  including Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina - are considered by
  Bucharest as historically a part of Romania; this territory was
  incorporated into the former Soviet Union following the
  Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact in 1940

Climate: moderate winters, warm summers

Terrain: rolling steppe, gradual slope south to Black Sea
  lowest point: Nistru River 2 m
  highest point: Mount Balaneshty 430 m

Natural resources: lignite, phosphorites, gypsum

Land use:
  arable land: 50%
  permanent crops: 13%
  meadows and pastures: 9%
  forest and woodland: 0%
  other: 28%

Irrigated land: 2,920 sq km (1990)

Environment:
  current issues: heavy use of agricultural chemicals, including
  banned pesticides such as DDT, has contaminated soil and
  groundwater; extensive soil erosion from poor farming methods
  natural hazards: NA
  international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change;
  signed, but not ratified - Air Pollution

Geographic note: landlocked



People
------


Population: 4,463,847 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 26% (male 592,245; female 573,452)
  15-64 years: 64% (male 1,381,017; female 1,496,428)
  65 years and over: 10% (male 155,908; female 264,797) (July 1996
  est.)

Population growth rate: 0.18% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 16.3 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 11.75 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: -2.77 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.59 male(s)/female
  all ages: 0.91 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 47.6 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 65.14 years
  male: 60.77 years
  female: 69.73 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.17 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Moldovan(s)
  adjective: Moldovan

Ethnic divisions: Moldavian/Romanian 64.5%, Ukrainian 13.8%,
  Russian 13%, Gagauz 3.5%, Jewish 1.5%, Bulgarian 2%, other 1.7%
  (1989 figures)
  note: internal disputes with ethnic Russians and Ukrainians in the
  Dniester region and Gagauz Turks in the south

Religions: Eastern Orthodox 98.5%, Jewish 1.5%, Baptist (only
  about 1,000 members) (1991)
  note: the large majority of churchgoers are ethnic Moldavian

Languages: Moldovan (official, virtually the same as the Romanian
  language), Russian, Gagauz (a Turkish dialect)

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1989 est.)
  total population: 96%
  male: 99%
  female: 94%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Republic of Moldova
  conventional short form: Moldova
  local long form: Republica Moldova
  local short form: none
  former: Soviet Socialist Republic of Moldova; Moldavia

Data code: MD

Type of government: republic

Capital: Chisinau

Administrative divisions: previously divided into 40 rayons; new
  districts possible under new constitution in 1994

Independence: 27 August 1991 (from Soviet Union)

National holiday: Independence Day, 27 August 1991

Constitution: new constitution adopted 28 July 1994; replaces old
  Soviet constitution of 1979

Legal system: based on civil law system; Constitutional Court
  reviews legality of legislative acts and governmental decisions of
  resolution; it is unclear if Moldova accepts compulsory ICJ
  jurisdiction but accepts many UN and OSCE documents

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: President Mircea SNEGUR (since 3 September 1990) was
  elected for a four-year term by popular vote; election last held 8
  December 1991 (next to be held NA December 1996); results - Mircea
  SNEGUR ran unopposed and won 98.17% of vote; note - President SNEGUR
  was named executive president by the Supreme Soviet on 3 September
  1990 and was confirmed by popular election on 8 December 1991
  head of government: Prime Minister Andrei SANGHELI (since 1 July
  1992; reappointed 5 April 1994 after elections for new legislature)
  was appointed by Parliament; First Deputy Prime Minister Ion GUTU
  (since NA April 1994)
  cabinet: Council of Ministers was appointed by the president on
  recommendation of the prime minister

Legislative branch: unicameral
  Parliament: elections last held 27 February 1994 (next to be held NA
  1999); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (104 total)
  PDAM 56, Socialist/Yedinstvo Bloc 28, Peasants and Intellectuals
  Bloc 11, FPCDM 9; note - seats as of June-July 1995 were as follows:
  PDAM 45, PSM/UN 28, Peasants and Intellectuals Bloc 11, PRCM 11,
  FPCDM 9
  note: the comparative breakdown of seats by faction is approximate

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

Political parties and leaders: Christian Democratic Popular Front
  (FPCDM - formerly Moldovan Popular Front), Iurie ROSCA, chairman;
  Socialist Unity Faction (US) of the Socialist Party of Moldova
  (PSM), Vladimir SOLONARI, leader; Social Democratic Party of Moldova
  (PSDM), Anatol TARAN, chairman; Agrarian Democratic Party of Moldova
  (PDAM), Dumitru MOTPAN, chairman; Peasants and Intellectuals Bloc,
  Mihai GHIMPU, leader; Liberal Party of Modova (PLM), Mircea RUSU,
  chairman; Socialist Party of Moldova (PSM), Valeriu SENIC and Victor
  MOREV, cochairmen; Party of Rivival and Conciliation of Moldova
  (PRCM), Mircea SNEGUR, chairman; Moldovan Party of Democratic Forces
  (PFDM), Valeriu MATEI, chairman; Party for Social Progress (PPSM),
  Eugen SOBOR, chairman; Communist Party (PCM), Vladimir VORONIN,
  first chairman; Yedinstvo Intermovement, Vladimir SOLONARI,
  chairman, note - this party may not be in existence now

Other political or pressure groups: United Council of Labor
  Collectives (UCLC), Igor SMIRNOV, chairman; The Ecology Movement of
  Moldova (EMM), G. MALARCHUK, chairman; The Christian Democratic
  League of Women of Moldova (CDLWM), L. LARI, chairman; National
  Christian Party of Moldova (NCPM), D. TODIKE, M. BARAGA, V. NIKU,
  leaders; The Peoples Movement Gagauz Khalky (GKh), S. GULGAR,
  leader; The Democratic Party of Gagauzia (DPG), G. SAVOSTIN,
  chairman; The Alliance of Working People of Moldova (AWPM), G.
  POLOGOV, president; Christian Alliance for Greater Romania; Stefan
  the Great Movement; Liberal Convention of Moldova; Association of
  Victims of Repression; Christian Democratic Youth League

International organization participation: BSEC, CCC, CE, CIS,
  EBRD, ECE, FAO, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFC, ILO, IMF, Intelsat
  (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ITU, NACC, OSCE,
  PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
  (applicant)

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Nicolae TAU
  chancery: Suites 329, 333, 1511 K Street NW, Washington, DC 20005
  telephone: [1] (202) 783-3012
  FAX: [1] (202) 783-3342

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador John Todd STEWART
  embassy: Strada Alexei Mateevich #103, Chisinau 277014
  mailing address: use embassy street address
  telephone: [373] (2) 23-37-72
  FAX: [373] (2) 23-30-44

Flag: same color scheme as Romania - three equal vertical bands of
  blue (hoist side), yellow, and red; emblem in center of flag is of a
  Roman eagle of gold outlined in black with a red beak and talons
  carrying a yellow cross in its beak and a green olive branch in its
  right talons and a yellow scepter in its left talons; on its breast
  is a shield divided horizontally red over blue with a stylized ox
  head, star, rose, and crescent all in black-outlined yellow



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Moldova enjoys a favorable climate and good
  farmland but has no major mineral deposits. As a result, the economy
  depends heavily on agriculture, featuring fruits, vegetables, wine,
  and tobacco. Moldova must import all of its supplies of oil, coal,
  and natural gas. Energy shortages have contributed to sharp
  production declines since the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991.
  The Moldovan Government has been making steady progress on an
  ambitious economic reform agenda, and the IMF has called Moldova a
  model for the region. As part of its reform efforts, Chisinau has
  introduced a stable convertible currency, freed all prices, stopped
  issuing preferential credits to state enterprises and backed their
  steady privatization, removed export controls, and freed interest
  rates. Chisinau appears strongly committed to continuing these
  reforms in 1996. Published estimates probably overstated the decline
  in output in 1991-94; the $2,310 per capita figure for GDP thus is a
  minimum estimate.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $10.4 billion (1995 estimate
  extrapolated from World Bank estimate for 1994)

GDP real growth rate: -3% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $2,310 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 33%
  industry: 36%
  services: 31% (1993 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 24% (1995 est.)

Labor force: 2.03 million (January 1994)
  by occupation: agriculture 34.4%, industry 20.1%, other 45.5% (1985
  figures)

Unemployment rate: 1.2% (includes only officially registered
  unemployed; large numbers of underemployed workers) (December 1995)

Budget:
  revenues: $NA
  expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA
  note: budget deficit for 1995 approximately 5% of GDP

Industries: food processing, agricultural machinery, foundry
  equipment, refrigerators and freezers, washing machines, hosiery,
  sugar, vegetable oil, shoes, textiles

Industrial production growth rate: -6% (1995 est.)

Electricity:
  capacity: 3,000,000 kW
  production: 8.2 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 1,830 kWh (1994)

Agriculture: vegetables, fruits, wine, grain, sugar beets,
  sunflower seed, tobacco; meat, milk

Illicit drugs: illicit cultivator of opium poppy and cannabis;
  mostly for CIS consumption; transshipment point for illicit drugs to
  Western Europe

Exports: $720 million (1995)
  commodities: foodstuffs, wine, tobacco, textiles and footwear,
  machinery, chemicals
  partners: Russia, Kazakstan, Ukraine, Romania, Germany

Imports: $822 million (1995)
  commodities: oil, gas, coal, steel, machinery, foodstuffs,
  automobiles, and other consumer durables
  partners: Russia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Romania, Germany

External debt: $550 million (of which $250 million to Russia)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $46 million (1993)
  note: commitments, $1,335 million ($500 million disbursements),
  1992-95

Currency: the leu (plural lei) was introduced in late 1993

Exchange rates: lei per US$1 - 4.5460 (January 1996), 4.4990
  (1995), 4.2700 (1994), 3.6400 (1993), 0.4145 (1992), 0.0017 (1991)

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 1,328 km
  broad gauge: 1,328 km 1.520-m gauge (1992)

Highways:
  total: 14,508 km
  paved: 12,346 km
  unpaved: 2,162 km (1992 est.)

Waterways: 424 km (1994)

Pipelines: natural gas 310 km (1992)

Ports: none

Airports:
  total: 26
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 1
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 2
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 2
  with paved runways under 914 m: 3
  with unpaved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 3
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 2
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 5
  with unpaved runways under 914 m: 8 (1994 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 577,000 (1991 est.)

Telephone system: telecommunication system not well developed;
  215,000 unsatisfied requests for telephone service (1991 est.)
  domestic: NA
  international: international connections to other former Soviet
  republics by landline and microwave radio relay through Ukraine and
  to other countries by leased connections to the Moscow international
  gateway switch; satellite earth stations - 1 Eutelsat and 1 Intelsat

Radio broadcast stations: AM 9, FM 5, shortwave NA (1994)

Radios: NA

Television broadcast stations: 2 (one national and one private)
  (1995)

Televisions: NA



Defense
-------


Branches: Ground Forces, Air and Air Defense Forces, Republic
  Security Forces (internal and border troops)

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 1,125,538
  males fit for military service: 888,757
  males reach military age (18) annually: 37,183 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: 203 million lei, 2.5% of GDP (1995); note -
  conversion of defense expenditures into US dollars using the current
  exchange rate could produce misleading results



======================================================================




@Monaco
------




Map
---


Location: 43 44 N, 7 24 E -- Western Europe, bordering the
  Mediterranean Sea, on the southern coast of France, near the border
  with Italy



Flag
----


Description: two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and white;
  similar to the flag of Indonesia which is longer and the flag of
  Poland which is white (top) and red





Geography
---------


Location: Western Europe, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, on the
  southern coast of France, near the border with Italy

Geographic coordinates: 43 44 N, 7 24 E

Map references: Europe

Area:
  total area: 1.9 sq km
  land area: 1.9 sq km
  comparative area: about three times the size of The Mall in
  Washington, DC

Land boundaries:
  total: 4.4 km
  border country: France 4.4 km

Coastline: 4.1 km

Maritime claims:
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: none

Climate: Mediterranean with mild, wet winters and hot, dry summers

Terrain: hilly, rugged, rocky
  lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m
  highest point: Mont Agel 140 m

Natural resources: none

Land use:
  arable land: 0%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 0%
  forest and woodland: 0%
  other: 100%

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Environment:
  current issues: NA
  natural hazards: NA
  international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
  Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer
  Protection, Ship Pollution, Whaling; signed, but not ratified - Law
  of the Sea

Geographic note: second smallest independent state in world (after
  Holy See); almost entirely urban



People
------


Population: 31,719 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 17% (male 2,737; female 2,685)
  15-64 years: 63% (male 9,746; female 10,318)
  65 years and over: 20% (male 2,288; female 3,945) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 0.59% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 10.66 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 12.11 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 7.38 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.58 male(s)/female
  all ages: 0.87 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 6.9 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 78.07 years
  male: 74.38 years
  female: 81.93 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.7 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Monacan(s) or Monegasque(s)
  adjective: Monacan or Monegasque

Ethnic divisions: French 47%, Monegasque 16%, Italian 16%, other
  21%

Religions: Roman Catholic 95%

Languages: French (official), English, Italian, Monegasque

Literacy: NA



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Principality of Monaco
  conventional short form: Monaco
  local long form: Principaute de Monaco
  local short form: Monaco

Data code: MN

Type of government: constitutional monarchy

Capital: Monaco

Administrative divisions: 4 quarters (quartiers, singular -
  quartier); Fontvieille, La Condamine, Monaco-Ville, Monte-Carlo

Independence: 1419 (rule by the House of Grimaldi)

National holiday: National Day, 19 November

Constitution: 17 December 1962

Legal system: based on French law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ
  jurisdiction

Suffrage: 21 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: Prince RAINIER III (since NA November 1949) is a
  hereditary monarch; Heir Apparent Prince ALBERT Alexandre Louis
  Pierre (born 14 March 1958)
  head of government: Minister of State Jaques DUPONT (since NA 1995)
  was appointed by the prince from a list of three candidates
  presented by the French Government
  cabinet: Council of Government is under the authority of the prince

Legislative branch: unicameral
  National Council (Conseil National): elections last held 24 and 31
  January 1993 (next to be held NA); results - percent of vote by
  party NA; seats - (18 total) Campora List 15, Medecin List 2,
  independent 1

Judicial branch: Supreme Tribunal (Tribunal Supreme)

Political parties and leaders: National and Democratic Union
  (UND); Campora List, Anne-Marie CAMPORA; Medecin List, Jean-Louis
  MEDECIN

International organization participation: ACCT, ECE, IAEA, ICAO,
  ICRM, IFRCS, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ITU, OSCE, UN,
  UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WIPO

Diplomatic representation in US: Monaco does not have an embassy
  in the US
  consulate(s): New York
  honorary consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New
  Orleans, San Francisco, San Juan (Puerto Rico)
  honorary consulate(s): Dallas, Palm Beach, Philadelphia, and
  Washington, DC

US diplomatic representation: the US does not have an embassy in
  Monaco; the US Consul General in Marseille (France) is accredited to
======================================================================




@Mongolia
--------




Map
---


Location: 46 00 N, 105 00 E -- Northern Asia, between China and
  Russia



Flag
----


Description: three equal, vertical bands of red (hoist side),
  blue, and red, centered on the hoist-side red band in yellow is the
  national emblem ("soyombo" - a columnar arrangement of abstract and
  geometric representation for fire, sun, moon, earth, water, and the
  yin-yang symbol)





Geography
---------


Location: Northern Asia, between China and Russia

Geographic coordinates: 46 00 N, 105 00 E

Map references: Asia

Area:
  total area: 1.565 million sq km
  land area: 1.565 million sq km
  comparative area: slightly larger than Alaska

Land boundaries:
  total: 8,114 km
  border countries: China 4,673 km, Russia 3,441 km

Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims: none (landlocked)

International disputes: none

Climate: desert; continental (large daily and seasonal temperature
  ranges)

Terrain: vast semidesert and desert plains; mountains in west and
  southwest; Gobi Desert in southeast
  lowest point: Hoh Nuur 518 m
  highest point: Nayramadlin Orgil 4,374 m

Natural resources: oil, coal, copper, molybdenum, tungsten,
  phosphates, tin, nickel, zinc, wolfram, fluorspar, gold

Land use:
  arable land: 1%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 79%
  forest and woodland: 10%
  other: 10%

Irrigated land: 770 sq km (1989)

Environment:
  current issues: limited natural fresh water resources; policies of
  the former communist regime promoting rapid urbanization and
  industrial growth have raised concerns about their negative effects
  on the environment; the burning of soft coal and the concentration
  of factories in Ulaanbaatar have severely polluted the air;
  deforestation, overgrazing, the converting of virgin land to
  agricultural production have increased soil erosion from wind and
  rain; desertification
  natural hazards: dust storms can occur in the spring
  international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
  Environmental Modification, Nuclear Test Ban; signed, but not
  ratified - Desertification, Law of the Sea

Geographic note: landlocked; strategic location between China and
  Russia



People
------


Population: 2,496,617 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 38% (male 486,321; female 471,931)
  15-64 years: 58% (male 722,485; female 723,065)
  65 years and over: 4% (male 39,704; female 53,111) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.69% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 25.55 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 8.65 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female
  all ages: 1 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 69.7 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 60.75 years
  male: 58.8 years
  female: 62.8 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 3.04 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Mongolian(s)
  adjective: Mongolian

Ethnic divisions: Mongol 90%, Kazak 4%, Chinese 2%, Russian 2%,
  other 2%

Religions: predominantly Tibetan Buddhist, Muslim 4%
  note: previously limited religious activity because of communist
  regime

Languages: Khalkha Mongol 90%, Turkic, Russian, Chinese

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1988 est.)
  total population: 82.9%
  male: 88.6%
  female: 77.2%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: none
  conventional short form: Mongolia
  local long form: none
  local short form: Mongol Uls
  former: Outer Mongolia

Data code: MG

Type of government: republic

Capital: Ulaanbaatar

Administrative divisions: 18 provinces (aymguud, singular - aymag)
  and 3 municipalities* (hotuud, singular - hot); Arhangay,
  Bayanhongor, Bayan-Olgiy, Bulgan, Darhan*, Dornod, Dornogovi,
  Dundgovi, Dzavhan, Erdenet*, Govi-Altay, Hentiy, Hovd, Hovsgol,
  Omnogovi, Ovorhangay, Selenge, Suhbaatar, Tov, Ulaanbaatar*, Uvs

Independence: 13 March 1921 (from China)

National holiday: National Day, 11 July (1921)

Constitution: adopted 13 January 1992

Legal system: blend of Russian, Chinese, and Turkish systems of
  law; no constitutional provision for judicial review of legislative
  acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: President Punsalmaagiyn OCHIRBAT (since 3 September
  1990) was nominated by parties in the State Great Hural and elected
  in general presidential elections for a four-year term; election
  last held 6 June 1993 (next to be held NA 1997); results -
  Punsalmaagiyn OCHIRBAT (MNDP and MSDP) elected directly with 57.8%
  of the vote, other candidate Lodongiyn TUDEV (MPRP)
  head of government: Prime Minister Putsagiyn JASRAY (since 3 August
  1992) and Deputy Prime Ministers Lhamsuren ENEBISH (since NA October
  1992) and Choijilsurengiyn PUREVDORJ (since NA September 1990) were
  appointed by the State Great Hural
  cabinet: Cabinet was appointed by the State Great Hural

Legislative branch: unicameral
  State Great Hural: elections held for the first time 28 June 1992
  (next to be held NA June 1996); results - percent of vote by party
  NA; seats - (76 total) MPRP 71, United Party of Mongolia 4, MSDP 1
  note: the People's Small Hural no longer exists

Judicial branch: Supreme Court, serves as appeals court for
  people's and provincial courts, but to date rarely overturns
  verdicts of lower courts, judges are nominated by the General
  Council of Courts for approval of the Great Hural

Political parties and leaders: Mongolian People's Revolutionary
  Party (MPRP), Budragchagiin DASH-YONDON, secretary general;
  Mongolian National Democratic Party (MNDP), D. GANBOLD, chairman;
  Mongolian Social Democratic Party (MSDP), B. BATBAYAR, chairman;
  United Party of Mongolia, leader NA
  note: opposition parties were legalized in May 1990

International organization participation: AsDB, CCC, ESCAP, FAO,
  G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF,
  Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, NAM
  (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO,
  WToO, WTrO (applicant)

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Jalbuugiyn CHOINHOR
  chancery: 2833 M Street NW, Washington, DC 20007
  telephone: [1] (202) 333-7117
  FAX: [1] (202) 298-9227
  consulate(s) general: New York

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Donald C. JOHNSON
  embassy: inner north side of the Big Ring, just west of the Selbe
  Gol, Ulaanbaatar
  mailing address: c/o American Embassy Beijing, Micro Region 11, Big
  Ring Road; PSC 461, Box 300, FPO AP 96521-0002
  telephone: [976] (1) 329095, 329606
  FAX: [976] (1) 320776

Flag: three equal, vertical bands of red (hoist side), blue, and
  red, centered on the hoist-side red band in yellow is the national
  emblem ("soyombo" - a columnar arrangement of abstract and geometric
  representation for fire, sun, moon, earth, water, and the yin-yang
  symbol)



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Mongolia's severe climate, scattered
  population, and wide expanses of unproductive land have constrained
  economic development. Economic activity traditionally has been based
  on agriculture and the breeding of livestock. In past years
  extensive mineral resources had been developed with Soviet support;
  total Soviet assistance at its height amounted to 30% of GDP. The
  mining and processing of coal, copper, molybdenum, tin, tungsten,
  and gold account for a large part of industrial production. Timber
  and fishing are also important sectors. The Mongolian leadership has
  been gradually making the transition from Soviet-style central
  planning to a market economy through privatization and price reform
  and has been soliciting support from international financial
  agencies and foreign investors. The economy, however, has still not
  recovered from the loss of Soviet aid. The country continues to
  suffer substantial economic hardships, with one-fourth of the
  population below the poverty line.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $4.9 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 6% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $1,970 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 28%
  industry: 35%
  services: 37% (1993 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 53% (1995 est.)

Labor force: 1.115 million (mid-1993 est.)
  by occupation: primarily herding/agricultural
  note: over half the adult population is in the labor force,
  including a large percentage of women; shortage of skilled labor

Unemployment rate: 15% (1991 est.)

Budget:
  revenues: $1.5 billion
  expenditures: $1.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA
  (1995 est.)

Industries: copper, construction materials, mining (particularly
  coal); food and beverage, processing of animal products

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity:
  capacity: 900,000 kW
  production: 3.1 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 1,267 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: wheat, barley, potatoes, forage crops; sheep, goats,
  cattle, camels, horses

Exports: $400 million (f.o.b., 1995 est.)
  commodities: copper, livestock, animal products, cashmere, wool,
  hides, fluorspar, other nonferrous metals
  partners: former CMEA countries 62%, China 17%, EC 8% (1992)

Imports: $223 million (f.o.b., 1994)
  commodities: machinery and equipment, fuels, food products,
  industrial consumer goods, chemicals, building materials, sugar, tea
  partners: USSR 75%, Austria 5%, China 5% (1991)

External debt: $473.7 million (1994)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $NA

Currency: 1 tughrik (Tug) = 100 mongos

Exchange rates: tughriks (Tug) per US$1 - 4465.39 (October 1995),
  412.72 (1994), 42.56 (1992), 9.52 (1991), 5.63 (1990)

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 1,928 km
  broad gauge: 1,928 km 1.524-m gauge (1994)

Highways:
  total: 46,700 km
  paved: 1,000 km
  unpaved: 45,700 km (1988 est.)

Waterways: 397 km of principal routes (1988)

Ports: none

Airports:
  total: 34
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 7
  with paved runways under 914 m: 1
  with unpaved runways over 3 047 m: 3
  with unpaved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 5
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 10
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 3
  with unpaved runways under 914 m: 5 (1994 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 89,000 (1995 est.)

Telephone system:
  domestic: NA
  international: satellite earth station - 1 Intersputnik (Indian
  Ocean Region)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 12, FM 1, shortwave 0

Radios: 220,000

Television broadcast stations: 1 (provincial repeaters 18)

Televisions: 120,000 (1993 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Mongolian People's Army (includes Internal Security
  Forces and Frontier Guards), Air Force

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 638,560
  males fit for military service: 417,620
  males reach military age (18) annually: 27,386 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $22.8 million, 1%
  of GDP (1992)



======================================================================




@Montserrat
----------


(dependent territory of the UK)

Map
---


Location: 16 45 N, 62 12 W -- Caribbean, island in the Caribbean
  Sea, southeast of Puerto Rico



Flag
----


Description: blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side
  quadrant and the Montserratian coat of arms centered in the outer
  half of the flag; the coat of arms features a woman standing beside
  a yellow harp with her arm around a black cross





Geography
---------


Location: Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, southeast of
  Puerto Rico

Geographic coordinates: 16 45 N, 62 12 W

Map references: Central America and the Caribbean

Area:
  total area: 100 sq km
  land area: 100 sq km
  comparative area: about 0.6 times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 40 km

Maritime claims:
  exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 3 nm

International disputes: none

Climate: tropical; little daily or seasonal temperature variation

Terrain: volcanic islands, mostly mountainous, with small coastal
  lowland
  lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
  highest point: Chances Peak 914 m

Natural resources: NEGL

Land use:
  arable land: 20%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 10%
  forest and woodland: 40%
  other: 30%

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Environment:
  current issues: land erosion occurs on slopes that have been cleared
  for cultivation
  natural hazards: severe hurricanes (June to November); volcanic
  eruptions (there are seven active volcanoes on the island)
  international agreements: NA



People
------


Population: 12,771 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: NA
  15-64 years: NA
  65 years and over: NA

Population growth rate: 0.28% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 15.08 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 9.83 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: -2.47 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: NA male(s)/female
  under 15 years: NA male(s)/female
  15-64 years: NA male(s)/female
  65 years and over: NA male(s)/female
  all ages: NA male(s)/female

Infant mortality rate: 11.78 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 75.65 years
  male: 73.89 years
  female: 77.46 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.93 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Montserratian(s)
  adjective: Montserratian

Ethnic divisions: black, Europeans

Religions: Anglican, Methodist, Roman Catholic, Pentecostal,
  Seventh-Day Adventist, other Christian denominations

Languages: English

Literacy: age 15 and over has ever attended school (1970 est.)
  total population: 97%
  male: 97%
  female: 97%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: none
  conventional short form: Montserrat

Data code: MH

Type of government: dependent territory of the UK

Capital: Plymouth

Administrative divisions: 3 parishes; Saint Anthony, Saint
  Georges, Saint Peter's

Independence: none (dependent territory of the UK)

National holiday: Celebration of the Birthday of the Queen (second
  Saturday of June)

Constitution: present constitution came into force 19 December 1989

Legal system: English common law and statute law

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (of the United Kingdom since 6
  February 1952), represented by Governor Frank SAVAGE (since NA
  February 1993) was appointed by the queen
  head of government: Chief Minister Reuben T. MEADE (since NA October
  1991)
  cabinet: Executive Council consists of the governor, the chief
  minister, three other ministries, the attorney general, and the
  finance secretary

Legislative branch: unicameral
  Legislative Council: elections last held 8 October 1991 (next to be
  held NA); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (11 total,
  7 elected) NPP 4, NDP 1, PLM 1, independent 1

Judicial branch: Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (based in Saint
  Lucia)

Political parties and leaders: National Progressive Party (NPP),
  Reuben T. MEADE; People's Liberation Movement (PLM), Noel TUITT;
  National Development Party (NDP), Bertrand OSBORNE

International organization participation: Caricom, CDB, ECLAC
  (associate), ICFTU, Interpol (subbureau), OECS, WCL

Diplomatic representation in US: none (dependent territory of the
  UK)

US diplomatic representation: none (dependent territory of the UK)

Flag: blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side
  quadrant and the Montserratian coat of arms centered in the outer
  half of the flag; the coat of arms features a woman standing beside
  a yellow harp with her arm around a black cross



Economy
-------


Economic overview: The economy is small and open, with economic
  activity centered on tourism and related services. Tourism accounts
  for roughly one-quarter of Montserrat's national income. The
  island's main export is electronic components which are mainly
  shipped to the US. The agriculture sector is small; cabbages,
  carrots, cucumbers, and onions are grown for the domestic market;
  additionally, some hot peppers and live plants are exported to the
  US and Europe. The threat of a volcanic eruption in late 1995 led to
  the repeated evacuation of Montserrat's capital, Plymouth, and deep
  ash from the volcano destroyed much of the yearend crops. As a
  result, production in 1995 dropped precipitously. The likely slow
  recovery of tourism and the continued danger of an eruption dim the
  prospects for rapid recovery in 1996.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $55.6 million (1994 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 0.5% (1994 est.)

GDP per capita: $4,500 (1994 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 4.8%
  industry: 18.4%
  services: 76.8% (1990 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 9.6% (1994)

Labor force: 5,100
  by occupation: community, social, and personal services 40.5%,
  construction 13.5%, trade, restaurants, and hotels 12.3%,
  manufacturing 10.5%, agriculture, forestry, and fishing 8.8%, other
  14.4% (1983 est.)

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget:
  revenues: $15.7 million
  expenditures: $15.6 million including capital expenditures of $NA
  (1994)

Industries: tourism, rum, textiles, electronic appliances

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity:
  capacity: 5,271 kW
  production: 17 million kWh
  consumption per capita: 1,106 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: tomatoes, onions, peppers; livestock products

Exports: $2.3 million (f.o.b., 1994)
  commodities: electronic components, plastic bags, apparel, hot
  peppers, live plants, cattle
  partners: US, Ireland

Imports: $80.6 million (f.o.b., 1992)
  commodities: machinery and transportation equipment, foodstuffs,
  manufactured goods, fuels, lubricants, and related materials
  partners: NA

External debt: $10.2 million (December 1994)

Economic aid: $NA

Currency: 1 EC dollar (EC$) = 100 cents

Exchange rates: East Caribbean dollars (EC$) per US$1 - 2.70
  (fixed rate since 1976)

Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March



Transportation
--------------


Railways: 0 km

Highways:
  total: 280 km
  paved: 200 km
  unpaved: 80 km

Ports: Plymouth

Merchant marine: none

Airports:
  total: 1
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 1 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 3,000

Telephone system:
  domestic: NA
  international: NA

Radio broadcast stations: AM 8, FM 4, shortwave 0

Radios: 6,000 (1992 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 1

Televisions: 2,000 (1992 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Police Force

Defense note: defense is the responsibility of the UK



======================================================================




@Morocco
-------




Map
---


Location: 32 00 N, 5 00 W -- Northern Africa, bordering the North
  Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, between Algeria and
  Western Sahara



Flag
----


Description: red with a green pentacle (five-pointed, linear star)
  known as Solomon's seal in the center of the flag; green is the
  traditional color of Islam





Geography
---------


Location: Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean and
  the Mediterranean Sea, between Algeria and Western Sahara

Geographic coordinates: 32 00 N, 5 00 W

Map references: Africa

Area:
  total area: 446,550 sq km
  land area: 446,300 sq km
  comparative area: slightly larger than California

Land boundaries:
  total: 2,002 km
  border countries: Algeria 1,559 km, Western Sahara 443 km
  note: excludes the length of the boundary between the places of
  sovereignty and Morocco

Coastline: 1,835 km

Maritime claims:
  contiguous zone: 24 nm
  continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: claims and administers Western Sahara, but
  sovereignty is unresolved and the UN is attempting to hold a
  referendum on the issue; the UN-administered cease-fire has been in
  effect since September 1991; Spain controls five places of
  sovereignty (plazas de soberania) on and off the coast of Morocco -
  the coastal enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla which Morocco contests as
  well as the islands of Penon de Alhucemas, Penon de Velez de la
  Gomera, and Islas Chafarinas

Climate: Mediterranean, becoming more extreme in the interior

Terrain: northern coast and interior are mountainous with large
  areas of bordering plateaus, intermontane valleys, and rich coastal
  plains
  lowest point: Sebkha Tah -55 m
  highest point: Jebel Toubkal 4,165 m

Natural resources: phosphates, iron ore, manganese, lead, zinc,
  fish, salt

Land use:
  arable land: 18%
  permanent crops: 1%
  meadows and pastures: 28%
  forest and woodland: 12%
  other: 41%

Irrigated land: 12,650 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
  current issues: land degradation/desertification (soil erosion
  resulting from farming of marginal areas, overgrazing, destruction
  of vegetation); water supplies contaminated by raw sewage; siltation
  of reservoirs; oil pollution of coastal waters
  natural hazards: northern mountains geologically unstable and
  subject to earthquakes; periodic droughts
  international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
  Endangered Species, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation,
  Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands;
  signed, but not ratified - Desertification, Environmental
  Modification, Law of the Sea

Geographic note: strategic location along Strait of Gibraltar



People
------


Population: 29,779,156 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 38% (male 5,696,731; female 5,522,077)
  15-64 years: 58% (male 8,577,918; female 8,700,521)
  65 years and over: 4% (male 613,712; female 668,197) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.05% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 27.39 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 5.77 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: -1.08 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.92 male(s)/female
  all ages: 1 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 43.2 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 69.52 years
  male: 67.53 years
  female: 71.61 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 3.58 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Moroccan(s)
  adjective: Moroccan

Ethnic divisions: Arab-Berber 99.1%, other 0.7%, Jewish 0.2%

Religions: Muslim 98.7%, Christian 1.1%, Jewish 0.2%

Languages: Arabic (official), Berber dialects, French often the
  language of business, government, and diplomacy

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)
  total population: 43.7%
  male: 56.6%
  female: 31%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Kingdom of Morocco
  conventional short form: Morocco
  local long form: Al Mamlakah al Maghribiyah
  local short form: Al Maghrib

Data code: MO

Type of government: constitutional monarchy

Capital: Rabat

Administrative divisions: 36 provinces and 5 wilayas*; Agadir, Al
  Hoceima, Assa-Zag, Azilal, Beni Mellal, Ben Slimane, Boulemane,
  Casablanca*, Chaouen, El Jadida, El Kelaa des Srarhna, Er Rachidia,
  Essaouira, Es Smara, Fes*, Figuig, Guelmim, Ifrane, Kenitra,
  Khemisset, Khenifra, Khouribga, Laayoune, Larache, Marrakech*,
  Meknes*, Nador, Ouarzazate, Oujda, Rabat-Sale*, Safi, Settat, Sidi
  Kacem, Tanger, Tan-Tan, Taounate, Taroudannt, Tata, Taza, Tetouan,
  Tiznit

Independence: 2 March 1956 (from France)

National holiday: National Day, 3 March (1961) (anniversary of
  King HASSAN II's accession to the throne)

Constitution: 10 March 1972, revised 4 September 1992

Legal system: based on Islamic law and French and Spanish civil
  law system; judicial review of legislative acts in Constitutional
  Chamber of Supreme Court

Suffrage: 21 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: King HASSAN II (since 3 March 1961) is a hereditary
  monarch
  head of government: Prime Minister Abdellatif FILALI (since 29 May
  1994) was appointed by the king
  cabinet: Council of Ministers was appointed by the king

Legislative branch: unicameral
  Chamber of Representatives (Majlis Nawab): two-thirds elected by
  direct, universal suffrage and one-third by an electoral college of
  government, professional, and labor representatives; direct, popular
  elections last held 15 June 1993 (next to be held NA 1999); results
  - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (333 total, 222 directly
  elected) USFP 48, IP 43, MP 33, RNI 28, UC 27, PND 14, MNP 14, PPS
  6, PDI 3, SAP 2, PA 2, OADP 2; indirect, special interest elections
  last held 17 September 1993 (next to be held NA 1999); results -
  percent of vote by party NA; seats - (333 total, 111 indirectly
  elected) UC 27, MP 18, RNI 13, MNP 11, PND 10, IP 7, Party of Shura
  and Istiqlal 6, USFP 4, PPS 4, CDT 4, UTM 3, UGTM 2, SAP 2

Judicial branch: Supreme Court, judges are appointed on the
  recommendation of the Supreme Council of the Judiciary, presided
  over by the king

Political parties and leaders:
  opposition: Socialist Union of Popular Forces (USFP), Mohammad
  al-YAZGHI; Istiqlal Party (IP), M'Hamed BOUCETTA; Party of Progress
  and Socialism (PPS), Ali YATA; Organization of Democratic and
  Popular Action (OADP), Mohamed Ben SAID
  pro-government: Constitutional Union (UC), Maati BOUABID; Popular
  Movement (MP), Mohamed LAENSER; National Democratic Party (PND),
  Mohamed Arsalane EL-JADIDI; National Popular Movement (MNP),
  Mahjoubi AHARDANE
  independents: National Rally of Independents (RNI), Ahmed OSMAN;
  Democracy and Istiqlal Party (PDI), leader NA; Action Party (PA),
  Abdullah SENHAJI; Non-Obedience Candidates (SAP), leader NA
  labor unions and community organizations (indirect elections:
  Democratic Confederation of Labor (CDT), Nabir AMAOUI; General Union
  of Moroccan Workers (UGTM), Abderrazzak AFILAL; Moroccan Union of
  Workers (UTM), leader NA; Party of Shura and Istiqlal, leader NA

International organization participation: ABEDA, ACCT (associate),
  AfDB, AFESD, AL, AMF, AMU, CCC, EBRD, ECA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD,
  ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO,
  Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, NAM, OAS
  (observer), OIC, OSCE (partner), UN, UNAVEM III, UNCTAD, UNESCO,
  UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Mohamed BENAISSA
  chancery: 1601 21st Street NW, Washington, DC 20009
  telephone: [1] (202) 462-7979 through 7982
  FAX: [1] (202) 265-0161
  consulate(s) general: New York

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Marc C. GINSBERG
  embassy: 2 Avenue de Marrakech, Rabat
  mailing address: PSC 74, Box 003, APO AE 09718
  telephone: [212] (7) 76 22 65
  FAX: [212] (7) 76 56 61
  consulate(s) general: Casablanca

Flag: red with a green pentacle (five-pointed, linear star) known
  as Solomon's seal in the center of the flag; green is the
  traditional color of Islam



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Morocco faces the typical problems of
  developing countries - restraining government spending, reducing
  constraints on private activity and foreign trade, and keeping
  inflation within bounds. Since the early 1980s the government has
  pursued an economic program toward these objectives with the support
  of the IMF, the World Bank, and the Paris Club of creditors. The
  economy has substantial assets to draw on: the world's largest
  phosphate reserves, diverse agricultural and fishing resources, a
  sizable tourist industry, a growing manufacturing sector, and
  remittances from Moroccans working abroad. A severe drought in
  1992-93 depressed economic activity and held down exports. Real GDP
  contracted by 4.4% in 1992 and 1.1% in 1993. Despite these setbacks,
  initiatives to relax capital controls, strengthen the banking
  sector, and privatize state enterprises went forward in 1993-94.
  Favorable rainfall in 1994 boosted agricultural production by 40%.
  In 1995, Morocco suffered from a drought said to be the worst in 30
  years. Servicing the large debt, high unemployment, and
  vulnerability to external economic forces remain long-term problems
  for Morocco.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $87.4 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: -6.5% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $3,000 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 14.3%
  industry: 32.2%
  services: 53.5% (1993 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 5.4% (1994)

Labor force: 7.4 million
  by occupation: agriculture 50%, services 26%, industry 15%, other 9%
  (1985)

Unemployment rate: 16% (1994 est.)

Budget:
  revenues: $8.1 billion
  expenditures: $8.9 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA
  (1994 est.)

Industries: phosphate rock mining and processing, food processing,
  leather goods, textiles, construction, tourism

Industrial production growth rate: 0.1%

Electricity:
  capacity: 2,620,000 kW
  production: 9.9 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 361 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: barley, wheat, citrus, wine, vegetables, olives;
  livestock

Illicit drugs: illicit producer of hashish; trafficking on the
  increase for both domestic and international drug markets; shipments
  of hashish mostly directed to Western Europe; transit point for
  cocaine from South America destined for Western Europe

Exports: $4 billion (f.o.b., 1994)
  commodities: food and beverages 30%, semiprocessed goods 23%,
  consumer goods 21%, phosphates 17%
  partners: EC 70%, Japan 5%, US 4%, Libya 3%, India 2% (1993)

Imports: $7.2 billion (c.i.f., 1994)
  commodities: capital goods 24%, semiprocessed goods 22%, raw
  materials 16%, fuel and lubricants 16%, food and beverages 13%,
  consumer goods 9%
  partners: EC 59%, US 8%, Saudi Arabia 5%, UAE 3%, Russia 2% (1993)

External debt: $20.5 billion (1994 est.)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $297 million (1993)
  note: $2.8 billion debt canceled by Saudi Arabia (1991)

Currency: 1 Moroccan dirham (DH) = 100 centimes

Exchange rates: Moroccan dirhams (DH) per US$1 - 8.607 (January
  1996), 8.540 (1995), 9.203 (1994), 9.299 (1993), 8.538 (1992), 8.707
  (1991)

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 1,907 km
  standard gauge: 1,907 km 1.435-m gauge (1003 km electrified; 246 km
  double track) (1994)

Highways:
  total: 59,474 km
  paved: 29,440 km (including 73 km of expressways)
  unpaved: 30,034 km (1991 est.)

Pipelines: crude oil 362 km; petroleum products 491 km
  (abandoned); natural gas 241 km

Ports: Agadir, Al Jadida, Casablanca, El Jorf Lasfar, Kenitra,
  Mohammedia, Nador, Rabat, Safi, Tangier; also Spanish-controlled
  Ceuta and Melilla

Merchant marine:
  total: 37 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 175,962 GRT/257,449 DWT
  ships by type: cargo 8, chemical tanker 7, container 2, oil tanker
  4, refrigerated cargo 9, roll-on/roll-off cargo 6, short-sea
  passenger 1 (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 63
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 11
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 4
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 7
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 2
  with paved runways under 914 m: 12
  with unpaved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 1
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 11
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 15 (1995 est.)

Heliports: 1 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 270,100 (1987 est.)

Telephone system:
  domestic: good system composed of open-wire lines, cables, and
  microwave radio relay links; principal centers are Casablanca and
  Rabat; secondary centers are Fes, Marrakech, Oujda, Tangier, and
  Tetouan
  international: 5 submarine cables; satellite earth stations - 2
  Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) and 1 Arabsat; microwave radio relay to
  Gibraltar, Spain, and Western Sahara; coaxial cable and microwave
  radio relay to Algeria; participant in Medarabtel

Radio broadcast stations: AM 20, FM 7, shortwave 0

Radios: 5.527 million (1992 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 26 (repeaters 26)

Televisions: 1.21 million (1993 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Royal Moroccan Army, Royal Moroccan Navy, Royal Moroccan
  Air Force, Royal Gendarmerie, Auxiliary Forces

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 7,541,745
  males fit for military service: 4,782,028
  males reach military age (18) annually: 330,344 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $1.38 billion,
  4.1% of GDP (1995)



======================================================================




@Mozambique
----------




Map
---


Location: 18 15 S, 35 00 E -- Southern Africa, bordering the
  Mozambique Channel, between South Africa and Tanzania



Flag
----


Description: three equal horizontal bands of green (top), black,
  and yellow with a red isosceles triangle based on the hoist side;
  the black band is edged in white; centered in the triangle is a
  yellow five-pointed star bearing a crossed rifle and hoe in black
  superimposed on an open white book





Geography
---------


Location: Southern Africa, bordering the Mozambique Channel,
  between South Africa and Tanzania

Geographic coordinates: 18 15 S, 35 00 E

Map references: Africa

Area:
  total area: 801,590 sq km
  land area: 784,090 sq km
  comparative area: slightly less than twice the size of California

Land boundaries:
  total: 4,571 km
  border countries: Malawi 1,569 km, South Africa 491 km, Swaziland
  105 km, Tanzania 756 km, Zambia 419 km, Zimbabwe 1,231 km

Coastline: 2,470 km

Maritime claims:
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: none

Climate: tropical to subtropical

Terrain: mostly coastal lowlands, uplands in center, high plateaus
  in northwest, mountains in west
  lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
  highest point: Monte Binga 2,436 m

Natural resources: coal, titanium, natural gas

Land use:
  arable land: 4%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 56%
  forest and woodland: 20%
  other: 20%

Irrigated land: 1,150 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
  current issues: civil strife and recurrent drought in the
  hinterlands have resulted in increased migration to urban and
  coastal areas with adverse environmental consequences;
  desertification; pollution of surface and coastal waters
  natural hazards: severe droughts and floods occur in central and
  southern provinces; devastating cyclones
  international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
  Endangered Species, Ozone Layer Protection; signed, but not ratified
  - Desertification, Law of the Sea



People
------


Population: 17,877,927 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 46% (male 4,141,915; female 4,115,191)
  15-64 years: 51% (male 4,324,102; female 4,868,518)
  65 years and over: 3% (male 184,606; female 243,595) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.65% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 45.51 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 18.97 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)
  note: by the end of 1994, an estimated 1.6 million Mozambican
  refugees, who fled to Malawi, Zimbabwe, and South Africa in earlier
  years from the civil war, had returned; an estimated 100,000
  refugees remain to be repatriated from those countries

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 0.89 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.76 male(s)/female
  all ages: 0.94 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 125.6 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 44.34 years
  male: 43.21 years
  female: 45.5 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 6.23 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Mozambican(s)
  adjective: Mozambican

Ethnic divisions: indigenous tribal groups 99.66% (Shangaan,
  Chokwe, Manyika, Sena, Makua, and others), Europeans 0.06%,
  Euro-Africans 0.2%, Indians 0.08%

Religions: indigenous beliefs 50%, Christian 30%, Muslim 20%

Languages: Portuguese (official), indigenous dialects

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)
  total population: 40.1%
  male: 57.7%
  female: 23.3%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Republic of Mozambique
  conventional short form: Mozambique
  local long form: Republica Popular de Mocambique
  local short form: Mocambique

Data code: MZ

Type of government: republic

Capital: Maputo

Administrative divisions: 10 provinces (provincias, singular -
  provincia); Cabo Delgado, Gaza, Inhambane, Manica, Maputo, Nampula,
  Niassa, Sofala, Tete, Zambezia

Independence: 25 June 1975 (from Portugal)

National holiday: Independence Day, 25 June (1975)

Constitution: 30 November 1990

Legal system: based on Portuguese civil law system and customary
  law

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: President Joaquim Alberto CHISSANO (since 6 November
  1986) was elected for a five-year term by popular vote
  head of government: Prime Minister Pascoal MOCUMBI (since December
  1994) was appointed by the president
  cabinet: Cabinet

Legislative branch: unicameral
  Assembly of the Republic (Assembleia da Republica): the members are
  elected by direct, universal, adult suffrage on a secret ballot for
  a term of five years; election last held 27-29 October 1994 (next to
  be held NA October 1999); results - percent vote by party NA, seats
  (250 total) FRELIMO won a slim majority
  note: the presidential and legislative elections took place as
  called for in the 1992 peace accords; RENAMO participated in the
  elections

Judicial branch: Supreme Court, judges appointed by the president
  and judges elected by the Assembly

Political parties and leaders: Front for the Liberation of
  Mozambique (FRELIMO), Joaquim Alberto CHISSANO, chairman; Mozambique
  National Resistance (RENAMO), Afonso DHLAKAMA, president; Democratic
  Union (DU), Antonio PALANGE, General Secretary

International organization participation: ACP, AfDB, CCC, ECA,
  FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF,
  IMO, Inmarset, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ITU, NAM,
  OAU, OIC, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Hipolito Pereira Zozimo PATRICIO
  chancery: Suite 570, 1990 M Street NW, Washington, DC 20036
  telephone: [1] (202) 293-7146
  FAX: [1] (202) 835-0245

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Dennis Coleman JETT
  embassy: Avenida Kenneth Kuanda 193, Maputo
  mailing address: P. O. Box 783, Maputo
  telephone: [258] (1) 492797
  FAX: [258] (1) 490114

Flag: three equal horizontal bands of green (top), black, and
  yellow with a red isosceles triangle based on the hoist side; the
  black band is edged in white; centered in the triangle is a yellow
  five-pointed star bearing a crossed rifle and hoe in black
  superimposed on an open white book



Economy
-------


Economic overview: One of Africa's poorest countries, Mozambique
  has failed to exploit the economic potential of its sizable
  agricultural, hydropower, and transportation resources. Indeed,
  national output, consumption, and investment declined throughout the
  first half of the 1980s because of internal disorders, lack of
  government administrative control, and a growing foreign debt. A
  sharp increase in foreign aid, attracted by an economic reform
  policy, resulted in successive years of economic growth in the late
  1980s, but aid has declined steadily since 1989. Agricultural output
  is at only 75% of its 1981 level, and grain has to be imported.
  Industry operates at only 20%-40% of capacity. The economy depends
  heavily on foreign assistance to keep afloat. Peace accords between
  civil warring factions, signed in October 1992, improved chances of
  foreign investment, aided IMF-supported economic reforms, and
  supported continued economic recovery. Elections held in 1994
  diverted government attention from the economy, resulting in
  slippage and delays in the economic reform program. Nonetheless,
  growth continued in 1994-95, and the economy should move forward in
  the late 1990s, given continued foreign help in meeting debt
  obligations. One key event in 1995 was the conclusion of
  negotiations with Enron of Houston, Texas, for a $700 million
  project to exploit the Pande natural gas fields.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $12.2 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: -2.5% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $700 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 33%
  industry: 12%
  services: 55% (1993 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 50% (1994 est.)

Labor force: NA
  by occupation: 90% engaged in agriculture

Unemployment rate: 50% (1989 est.)

Budget:
  revenues: $252 million
  expenditures: $607 million, including capital expenditures of $NA
  (1992 est.)

Industries: food, beverages, chemicals (fertilizer, soap, paints),
  petroleum products, textiles, cement, glass, asbestos, tobacco

Industrial production growth rate: 5.8% (1993 est.)

Electricity:
  capacity: 2,360,000 kW
  production: 1.7 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 58 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: cotton, cashew nuts, sugarcane, tea, cassava
  (tapioca), corn, rice, tropical fruits; beef, poultry

Exports: $170 million (f.o.b., 1995 est.)
  commodities: shrimp 40%, cashews, cotton, sugar, copra, citrus
  partners: Spain, South Africa, US, Portugal, Japan

Imports: $1.14 billion (c.i.f., 1994 est.)
  commodities: food, clothing, farm equipment, petroleum
  partners: South Africa, UK, France, Japan, Portugal

External debt: $5 billion (1992 est.)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $NA

Currency: 1 metical (Mt) = 100 centavos

Exchange rates: meticais (Mt) per US$1 - 10,908.0 (December 1995),
  9,024.3 (1995), 6,038.6 (1994), 3,874.2 (1993), 2,516.5 (1992),
  1,434.5 (1991)

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 3,131 km
  narrow gauge: 2,988 km 1.067-m gauge; 143 km 0.762-m gauge (1994)

Highways:
  total: 27,287 km
  paved: 4,693 km
  unpaved: 22,594 km (1991 est.)
  note: highway traffic impeded by land mines not removed at end of
  civil war

Waterways: about 3,750 km of navigable routes

Pipelines: crude oil (not operating) 306 km; petroleum products
  289 km

Ports: Beira, Inhambane, Maputo, Nacala, Pemba

Merchant marine:
  total: 4 cargo ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 5,694 GRT/9,724
  DWT (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 131
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 1
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 4
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 10
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 5
  with paved runways under 914 m: 67
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 12
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 32 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 59,000 (1983 est.)

Telephone system: fair system of tropospheric scatter, open-wire
  lines, and microwave radio relay
  domestic: microwave radio relay and tropospheric scatter
  international: satellite earth stations - 5 Intelsat (2 Atlantic
  Ocean and 3 Indian Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 29, FM 4, shortwave 0

Radios: 700,000 (1992 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 1

Televisions: 44,000 (1992 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Army, Naval Command, Air and Air Defense Forces, Militia

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 3,767,855
  males fit for military service: 2,162,388 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $84 million, 5.3%
  of GDP (1994)



======================================================================




@Namibia
-------




Map
---


Location: 22 00 S, 17 00 E -- Southern Africa, bordering the South
  Atlantic Ocean, between Angola and South Africa



Flag
----


Description: a large blue triangle with a yellow sunburst fills
  the upper left section, and an equal green triangle (solid) fills
  the lower right section; the triangles are separated by a red stripe
  that is contrasted by two narrow white-edge borders





Geography
---------


Location: Southern Africa, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean,
  between Angola and South Africa

Geographic coordinates: 22 00 S, 17 00 E

Map references: Africa

Area:
  total area: 825,418 sq km
  land area: 825,418 sq km
  comparative area: slightly more than half the size of Alaska

Land boundaries:
  total: 3,824 km
  border countries: Angola 1,376 km, Botswana 1,360 km, South Africa
  855 km, Zambia 233 km

Coastline: 1,572 km

Maritime claims:
  contiguous zone: 24 nm
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: short section of boundary with Botswana is
  indefinite; quadripoint with Botswana, Zambia, and Zimbabwe is in
  disagreement; dispute with Botswana over uninhabited Kasikili
  (Sidudu) Island in Linyanti (Chobe) River remained unresolved in
  December 1995, and the parties agreed to refer the matter to the ICJ

Climate: desert; hot, dry; rainfall sparse and erratic

Terrain: mostly high plateau; Namib Desert along coast; Kalahari
  Desert in east
  lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
  highest point: Konigstein 2,606 m

Natural resources: diamonds, copper, uranium, gold, lead, tin,
  lithium, cadmium, zinc, salt, vanadium, natural gas, fish; suspected
  deposits of oil, natural gas, coal, iron ore

Land use:
  arable land: 1%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 64%
  forest and woodland: 22%
  other: 13%

Irrigated land: 40 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
  current issues: very limited natural fresh water resources;
  desertification
  natural hazards: prolonged periods of drought
  international agreements: party to - Climate Change, Endangered
  Species, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection; signed, but not
  ratified - Biodiversity, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes



People
------


Population: 1,677,243 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 44% (male 370,090; female 362,185)
  15-64 years: 52% (male 428,488; female 449,726)
  65 years and over: 4% (male 28,599; female 38,155) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.93% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 37.29 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 7.98 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female
  all ages: 0.97 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 47.2 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 64.48 years
  male: 62.85 years
  female: 66.16 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 5.1 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Namibian(s)
  adjective: Namibian

Ethnic divisions: black 86%, white 6.6%, mixed 7.4%
  note: about 50% of the population belong to the Ovambo tribe and 9%
  to the Kavangos tribe; other ethnic groups are: Herero 7%, Damara
  7%, Nama 5%, Caprivian 4%, Bushmen 3%, Baster 2%, Tswana 0.5%

Religions: Christian 80% to 90%, Lutheran 50% at least, other
  Christian denominations 30%, native religions 10% to 20%

Languages: English 7% (official), Afrikaans common language of
  most of the population and about 60% of the white population, German
  32%, indigenous languages: Oshivambo, Herero, Nama

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1960 est.)
  total population: 38%
  male: 45%
  female: 31%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Republic of Namibia
  conventional short form: Namibia

Data code: WA

Type of government: republic

Capital: Windhoek

Administrative divisions: 13 regions; Erongo, Hardap, Karas,
  Khomas, Kunene, Caprivi (Liambezi), Ohangwena, Okavango, Omaheke,
  Omusati, Oshana, Oshikoto, Otjozondjupa

Independence: 21 March 1990 (from South African mandate)

National holiday: Independence Day, 21 March (1990)

Constitution: ratified 9 February 1990; effective 12 March 1990

Legal system: based on Roman-Dutch law and 1990 constitution

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state and head of government: President Sam NUJOMA (since
  21 March 1990) was elected for a five-year term by universal
  suffrage; election last held 7-8 December 1994 (next to be held NA
  December 1999); results - Sam NUJOMA elected president; percent of
  vote NA
  cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president from the members of
  National Assembly

Legislative branch: bicameral legislature
  National Council: elections last held 30 November-3 December 1992
  (next to be held by December 1998); results - percent of vote by
  party NA; seats - (26 total) SWAPO 19, DTA 6, UDF 1
  National Assembly: elections last held 7-8 December 1994 (next to be
  held NA December 1999); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats
  - (72 total) SWAPO 53, DTA 15, UDF 2, MAG 1, DCN 1

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

Political parties and leaders: South West Africa People's
  Organization (SWAPO), Sam NUJOMA; SWAPO for Justice, Zacharia
  NJOMBA; DTA of Namibia (formerly Democratic Turnhalle Alliance)
  (DTA), Mishake MUYONGO; United Democratic Front (UDF), Justus
  GAROEB; Federal Convention of Namibia (FCN), Keiphas CONRADIE;
  Monitor Action Group (MAG), Kosie PRETORIUS; Workers Revolutionary
  Party (WRP); Southwest African National Union (SWANU), Hitjevi VEII;
  Democratic Coalition of Namibia (DCN), Moses K. KATJIUONGUA;
  National Patriotic Front (NPF), Moses K. KATJIUONGUA

Other political or pressure groups: NA

International organization participation: ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA,
  FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO,
  Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ITU, NAM, OAU, SACU, SADC,
  UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Tuliameni KALOMOH
  chancery: 1605 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009
  telephone: [1] (202) 986-0540
  FAX: [1] (202) 986-0443

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Marshall F. McCALLIE
  embassy: Ausplan Building, 14 Lossen St., Windhoek
  mailing address: Private Bag 12029 Ausspannplatz, Windhoek
  telephone: [264] (61) 221601
  FAX: [264] (61) 229792

Flag: a large blue triangle with a yellow sunburst fills the upper
  left section, and an equal green triangle (solid) fills the lower
  right section; the triangles are separated by a red stripe that is
  contrasted by two narrow white-edge borders



Economy
-------


Economic overview: The economy is heavily dependent on the
  extraction and processing of minerals for export. Mining accounts
  for almost 25% of GDP. Namibia is the fourth-largest exporter of
  nonfuel minerals in Africa and the world's fifth-largest producer of
  uranium. Rich alluvial diamond deposits make Namibia a primary
  source for gem-quality diamonds. Namibia also produces large
  quantities of lead, zinc, tin, silver, and tungsten. More than half
  the population depends on agriculture (largely subsistence
  agriculture) for its livelihood. Namibia must import some of its
  food.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $5.8 billion (1994 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 6.6% (1994 est.)

GDP per capita: $3,600 (1994 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: NA%
  industry: NA%
  services: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 11% (1994)

Labor force: 500,000
  by occupation: agriculture 60%, industry and commerce 19%, services
  8%, government 7%, mining 6% (1981 est.)

Unemployment rate: 35% in urban areas (1993 est.)

Budget:
  revenues: $941 million
  expenditures: $1.05 billion, including capital expenditures of $157
  million (FY93/94)

Industries: meat packing, fish processing, dairy products; mining
  (diamond, lead, zinc, tin, silver, tungsten, uranium, copper)

Industrial production growth rate: 10% (1994)

Electricity:
  capacity: 406,000 kW
  production: 1.29 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 658 kWh (1991)

Agriculture: millet, sorghum, peanuts; livestock; fish catch
  potential of over 1 million metric tons not being fulfilled

Exports: $1.3 billion (f.o.b., 1993)
  commodities: diamonds, copper, gold, zinc, lead, uranium, cattle,
  processed fish, karakul skins
  partners: Switzerland, South Africa, Germany, UK

Imports: $1.2 billion (f.o.b., 1993)
  commodities: foodstuffs, petroleum products and fuel, machinery and
  equipment
  partners: South Africa, Germany, US, Japan

External debt: about $385 million (1994 est.)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $NA

Currency: 1 South African rand (R) = 100 cents

Exchange rates: South African rand (R) per US$1 - 3.6417 (January
  1996), 3.6266 (1995), 3.5490 (1994), 3.2636 (1993), 2.8497 (1992),
  2.7653 (1991)

Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 2,382 km (1995)
  narrow gauge: 2,382 km 1.067-m gauge; single track

Highways:
  total: 54,186 km
  paved: 4,056 km
  unpaved: 50,130 km (1987 est.)

Ports: Luderitz, Walvis Bay

Merchant marine: none

Airports:
  total: 108
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 2
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 2
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 14
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 3
  with paved runways under 914 m: 10
  with unpaved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 2
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 17
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 58 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 89,722 (1992 est.)

Telephone system:
  domestic: good urban services; fair rural service; microwave radio
  relay links major towns; connections to other populated places are
  by open wire
  international: NA

Radio broadcast stations: AM 4, FM 40, shortwave 0

Radios: 195,000 (1992 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 3

Televisions: 27,000 (1993 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: National Defense Force (Army), Police

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 377,687
  males fit for military service: 224,682 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $64 million, 2.1%
  of GDP (FY95/96)



======================================================================




@Nauru
-----




Map
---


Location: 0 32 S, 166 55 E -- Oceania, island in the South Pacific
  Ocean, south of the Marshall Islands



Flag
----


Description: blue with a narrow, horizontal, yellow stripe across
  the center and a large white 12-pointed star below the stripe on the
  hoist side; the star indicates the country's location in relation to
  the Equator (the yellow stripe) and the 12 points symbolize the 12
  original tribes of Nauru





Geography
---------


Location: Oceania, island in the South Pacific Ocean, south of the
  Marshall Islands

Geographic coordinates: 0 32 S, 166 55 E

Map references: Oceania

Area:
  total area: 21 sq km
  land area: 21 sq km
  comparative area: about 0.1 times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 30 km

Maritime claims:
  exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: none

Climate: tropical; monsoonal; rainy season (November to February)

Terrain: sandy beach rises to fertile ring around raised coral
  reefs with phosphate plateau in center
  lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
  highest point: unnamed location along plateau rim 61 m

Natural resources: phosphates

Land use:
  arable land: 0%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 0%
  forest and woodland: 0%
  other: 100%

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Environment:
  current issues: limited natural fresh water resources, roof storage
  tanks collect rainwater; phosphate mining threatens limited
  remaining land resources
  natural hazards: periodic droughts
  international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
  Marine Dumping; signed, but not ratified - Law of the Sea

Geographic note: Nauru is one of the three great phosphate rock
  islands in the Pacific Ocean - the others are Banaba (Ocean Island)
  in Kiribati and Makatea in French Polynesia; only 53 km south of
  Equator



People
------


Population: 10,273 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: NA
  15-64 years: NA
  65 years and over: NA

Population growth rate: 1.33% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 18.03 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 5.1 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 0.4 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: NA male(s)/female
  under 15 years: NA male(s)/female
  15-64 years: NA male(s)/female
  65 years and over: NA male(s)/female
  all ages: NA male(s)/female

Infant mortality rate: 40.6 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 66.68 years
  male: 64.3 years
  female: 69.18 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.08 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Nauruan(s)
  adjective: Nauruan

Ethnic divisions: Nauruan 58%, other Pacific Islander 26%, Chinese
  8%, European 8%

Religions: Christian (two-thirds Protestant, one-third Roman
  Catholic)

Languages: Nauruan (official, a distinct Pacific Island language),
  English widely understood, spoken, and used for most government and
  commercial purposes

Literacy: NA



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Republic of Nauru
  conventional short form: Nauru
  former: Pleasant Island

Data code: NR

Type of government: republic

Capital: no official capital; government offices in Yaren District

Administrative divisions: 14 districts; Aiwo, Anabar, Anetan,
  Anibare, Baiti, Boe, Buada, Denigomodu, Ewa, Ijuw, Meneng, Nibok,
  Uaboe, Yaren

Independence: 31 January 1968 (from the Australia-, New Zealand-,
  and UK-administered UN trusteeship)

National holiday: Independence Day, 31 January (1968)

Constitution: 29 January 1968

Legal system: acts of the Nauru Parliament and British common law

Suffrage: 20 years of age; universal and compulsory

Executive branch:
  chief of state and head of government: President Lagumot HARRIS
  (since 22 November 1995) was elected by Parliament; election last
  held 18 November 1995 (next to be held NA November 1998)
  cabinet: Cabinet was appointed by the president from among members
  of Parliament

Legislative branch: unicameral
  Parliament: election last held 18 November 1995 (next to be held NA
  November 1998); results - percent of vote NA; seats - (18 total)
  independents 18

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

Political parties and leaders: none

International organization participation: AsDB, C (special),
  ESCAP, ICAO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, ITU, Sparteca,
  SPC, SPF, UPU, WHO

Diplomatic representation in US: Nauru does not have an embassy in
  the US

US diplomatic representation: the US does not have an embassy in
  Nauru; the US Ambassador to Fiji is accredited to Nauru

Flag: blue with a narrow, horizontal, yellow stripe across the
  center and a large white 12-pointed star below the stripe on the
  hoist side; the star indicates the country's location in relation to
  the Equator (the yellow stripe) and the 12 points symbolize the 12
  original tribes of Nauru



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Revenues come from the export of phosphates,
  the reserves of which are expected to be exhausted by the year 2000.
  Phosphates have given Nauruans one of the highest per capita incomes
  in the Third World. Few other resources exist, so most necessities
  must be imported, including fresh water from Australia. The
  rehabilitation of mined land and the replacement of income from
  phosphates are serious long-term problems. Substantial amounts of
  phosphate income are invested in trust funds to help cushion the
  transition. However, dividends from the trusts have declined sharply
  since 1990 and the government has been borrowing from the trusts to
  finance fiscal deficits.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $100 million (1993 est.)

GDP real growth rate: NA%

GDP per capita: $10,000 (1993 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: NA%
  industry: NA%
  services: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): -3.6% (1993)

Labor force:
  by occupation: NA

Unemployment rate: 0%

Budget:
  revenues: $23.8 million
  expenditures: $69.2 million, including capital expenditures of $NA
  (FY92/93)

Industries: phosphate mining, financial services, coconut products

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity:
  capacity: 14,000 kW
  production: 30 million kWh
  consumption per capita: 3,036 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: coconuts predominate

Exports: $25.3 million (f.o.b., 1991)
  commodities: phosphates
  partners: Australia, NZ

Imports: $21.1 million (c.i.f., 1991)
  commodities: food, fuel, manufactures, building materials, machinery
  partners: Australia, UK, NZ, Japan

External debt: $33.3 million

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $NA

Currency: 1 Australian dollar ($A) = 100 cents

Exchange rates: Australian dollars ($A) per US$1 - 1.3477 (January
  1996), 1.3486 (1995), 1.3667 (1994), 1.4704 (1993), 1.3600 (1992),
  1.2834 (1991)

Fiscal year: 1 July - 30 June



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 3.9 km; note - used to haul phosphates from the center of the
  island to processing facilities on the southwest coast

Highways:
  total: 27 km
  paved: 21 km
  unpaved: 6 km (1986 est.)

Ports: Nauru

Merchant marine: none

Airports:
  total: 1
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 1 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 2,000 (1989 est.)

Telephone system: adequate local and international radiotelephone
  communications provided via Australian facilities
  domestic: NA
  international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0

Radios: 4,000 (1993 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 0 (1986 est.)

Televisions: NA



Defense
-------


Branches: no regular armed forces; Directorate of the Nauru Police
  Force

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: NA
  males fit for military service: NA

Defense expenditures: $NA, NA% of GDP



======================================================================




@Navassa Island
--------------


(territory of the US)

Map
---


Location: 18 25 N, 75 02 W -- Caribbean, island in the Caribbean
  Sea, about one-fourth of the way from Haiti to Jamaica



Flag
----


Description: the flag of the US is used





Geography
---------


Location: Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, about one-fourth
  of the way from Haiti to Jamaica

Geographic coordinates: 18 25 N, 75 02 W

Map references: Central America and the Caribbean

Area:
  total area: 5.2 sq km
  land area: 5.2 sq km
  comparative area: about nine times the size of The Mall in
  Washington, DC

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 8 km

Maritime claims:
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: claimed by Haiti

Climate: marine, tropical

Terrain: raised coral and limestone plateau, flat to undulating;
  ringed by vertical white cliffs (9 to 15 meters high)
  lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
  highest point: unnamed location on southwest side 77 m

Natural resources: guano

Land use:
  arable land: 0%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 10%
  forest and woodland: 0%
  other: 90%

Irrigated land: 0 sq km

Environment:
  current issues: NA
  natural hazards: NA
  international agreements: NA

Geographic note: strategic location 160 km south of the US Naval
  Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba; mostly exposed rock, but enough
  grassland to support goat herds; dense stands of fig-like trees,
  scattered cactus



People
------


Population: uninhabited; note - transient Haitian fishermen and
  others camp on the island



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: none
  conventional short form: Navassa Island

Data code: BQ

Type of government: unincorporated territory of the US
  administered by the US Coast Guard

Capital: none; administered from Washington, DC

Flag: the flag of the US is used



Economy
-------


Economic overview: no economic activity



Transportation
--------------


Ports: none; offshore anchorage only



Defense
-------


Defense note: defense is the responsibility of the US



======================================================================




@Nepal
-----




Map
---


Location: 28 00 N, 84 00 E -- Southern Asia, between China and
  India



Flag
----


Description: red with a blue border around the unique shape of two
  overlapping right triangles; the smaller, upper triangle bears a
  white stylized moon and the larger, lower triangle bears a white
  12-pointed sun





Geography
---------


Location: Southern Asia, between China and India

Geographic coordinates: 28 00 N, 84 00 E

Map references: Asia

Area:
  total area: 140,800 sq km
  land area: 136,800 sq km
  comparative area: slightly larger than Arkansas

Land boundaries:
  total: 2,926 km
  border countries: China 1,236 km, India 1,690 km

Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims: none (landlocked)

International disputes: none

Climate: varies from cool summers and severe winters in north to
  subtropical summers and mild winters in south

Terrain: Terai or flat river plain of the Ganges in south, central
  hill region, rugged Himalayas in north
  lowest point: Kanchan Kalan 70 m
  highest point: Mount Everest 8,848 m

Natural resources: quartz, water, timber, hydropower potential,
  scenic beauty, small deposits of lignite, copper, cobalt, iron ore

Land use:
  arable land: 17%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 13%
  forest and woodland: 33%
  other: 37%

Irrigated land: 9,430 sq km (1989)

Environment:
  current issues: the almost total dependence on wood for fuel and
  cutting down trees to expand agricultural land without replanting
  has resulted in widespread deforestation; soil erosion; water
  pollution (use of contaminated water presents human health risks)
  natural hazards: severe thunderstorms, flooding, landslides,
  drought, and famine depending on the timing, intensity, and duration
  of the summer monsoons
  international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
  Endangered Species, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection,
  Tropical Timber 83, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified -
  Desertification, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life
  Conservation

Geographic note: landlocked; strategic location between China and
  India; contains eight of world's 10 highest peaks



People
------


Population: 22,094,033 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 42% (male 4,776,245; female 4,563,000)
  15-64 years: 55% (male 6,172,821; female 5,945,626)
  65 years and over: 3% (male 320,350; female 315,991) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.45% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 37 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 12.56 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 1.01 male(s)/female
  all ages: 1.04 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 79 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 53.63 years
  male: 53.35 years
  female: 53.93 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 5.06 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Nepalese (singular and plural)
  adjective: Nepalese

Ethnic divisions: Newars, Indians, Tibetans, Gurungs, Magars,
  Tamangs, Bhotias, Rais, Limbus, Sherpas

Religions: Hindu 90%, Buddhist 5%, Muslim 3%, other 2% (1981)
  note: only official Hindu state in world, although no sharp
  distinction between many Hindu and Buddhist groups

Languages: Nepali (official), 20 other languages divided into
  numerous dialects

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)
  total population: 27.5%
  male: 40.9%
  female: 14%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Kingdom of Nepal
  conventional short form: Nepal

Data code: NP

Type of government: parliamentary democracy as of 12 May 1991

Capital: Kathmandu

Administrative divisions: 14 zones (anchal, singular and plural);
  Bagmati, Bheri, Dhawalagiri, Gandaki, Janakpur, Karnali, Kosi,
  Lumbini, Mahakali, Mechi, Narayani, Rapti, Sagarmatha, Seti

Independence: 1768 (unified by Prithvi Narayan Shah)

National holiday: Birthday of His Majesty the King, 28 December
  (1945)

Constitution: 9 November 1990

Legal system: based on Hindu legal concepts and English common
  law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: King BIRENDRA Bir Bikram Shah Dev (succeeded to the
  throne 31 January 1972 following the death of his father King
  MAHENDRA Bir Bikram Shah Dev, crowned king 24 February 1975) is a
  constitutional monarch; Heir Apparent Crown Prince DIPENDRA Bir
  Bikram
  head of government: Prime Minister Sher Bahadur DEUBA (since 12
  September 1995); note - in 1994, the king appointed Man Mohan
  ADHIKARI to be prime minister using the standard criterion - he was
  the leader of the majority party in the House of Representatives
  following the last election; however, in September 1995, a
  parliamentary coalition of the Nepali Congress Party, the Rastriya
  Prajantra Party, the Nepal Sadbhavana Party, and independents voted
  against Prime Minister ADHIKARI; Sher Bahadur DEUBA, the leader of
  the Nepali Congress Party, then formed the new government and was
  appointed the new prime minister by the king
  cabinet: Cabinet was appointed by the king on recommendation of the
  prime minister

Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament
  National Council: consists of 60 members (50 appointed by House of
  Representatives and 10 by the king)
  House of Representatives: elections last held 15 November 1994 (next
  to be held NA); results - NCP 33%, CPN/UML 31%, NDP 18%, Terai
  Rights Sadbhavana Party 3%, NWPP 1%; seats - (205 total) CPN/UML 88,
  NCP 83, NDP 20, NWPP 4, Terai Rights Sadbhavana Party 3,
  independents 7

Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Sarbochha Adalat), chief justice
  is appointed by the king on recommendation of the Constitutional
  Council, the other judges are appointed by the king on the
  recommendation of the Judicial Council

Political parties and leaders: Communist Party of Nepal/United
  Marxist and Leninist (CPN/UML), Man Mohan ADHIKARI, president;
  Nepali Congress Party (NCP), Krishna Prasad BHATTARAI (president),
  Girija Prasad KOIRALA, Prime Minister Sher Bahadur DEUBA; National
  Democratic Party (NDP), leader NA; Terai Rights Sadbhavana
  (Goodwill) Party, Gajendra Narayan SINGH; Nepal Workers and Peasants
  Party (NWPP), leader NA; Nepal Sadbhavana Party, leader NA; Rastriya
  Prajantra Party, leader NA

Other political or pressure groups: numerous small, left-leaning
  student groups in the capital; several small, radical Nepalese
  antimonarchist groups

International organization participation: AsDB, CCC, CP, ESCAP,
  FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO,
  Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, SAARC, UN,
  UNCRO, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNMIH, UNPROFOR, UPU, WFTU,
  WHO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (applicant)

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Basudev Prasad DHUNGANA
  chancery: 2131 Leroy Place NW, Washington, DC 20008
  telephone: [1] (202) 667-4550
  consulate(s) general: New York

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Sandra L. VOGELGESANG
  embassy: Pani Pokhari, Kathmandu
  mailing address: use embassy street address
  telephone: [977] (1) 411179
  FAX: [977] (1) 419963

Flag: red with a blue border around the unique shape of two
  overlapping right triangles; the smaller, upper triangle bears a
  white stylized moon and the larger, lower triangle bears a white
  12-pointed sun



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Nepal is among the poorest and least developed
  countries in the world. Agriculture is the mainstay of the economy,
  providing a livelihood for over 80% of the population and accounting
  for about one-half of GDP. Industrial activity is limited, mainly
  involving the processing of agricultural produce (jute, sugarcane,
  tobacco, and grain). Production of textiles and carpets has expanded
  recently and accounted for 85% of foreign exchange earnings in
  FY93/94. Apart from agricultural land and forests, exploitable
  natural resources are mica, hydropower, and tourism. Agricultural
  production in the late 1980s grew by about 5%, as compared with
  annual population growth of 2.6%. More than 40% of the population is
  undernourished. Since May 1991, the government has been moving
  forward with economic reforms particularly those that encourage
  trade and foreign investment, e.g., by eliminating business licenses
  and registration requirements in order to simplify investment
  procedures. The government has also been cutting public expenditures
  by reducing subsidies, privatizing state industries, and laying off
  civil servants. (In 1995 little progress was made in these areas
  because the communist government had trouble formulating and
  implementing policies.) The new coalition government is planning to
  pick up the pace of reforms in 1996, focusing primarily on raising
  revenues to develop the rural sector by increasing taxation and
  privatization. Prospects for foreign trade and investment,
  particularly in areas other than power development and tourism, will
  continue to remain poor because of the small size of the economy,
  its technological backwardness, its remoteness, and its
  susceptibility to natural disaster. The international community
  provides funding for 62% of Nepal's developmental budget and for 34%
  of total budgetary expenditures.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $25.2 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 2.3% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $1,200 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 49.3%
  industry: 18.4%
  services: 32.3% (1993)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 6.7% (FY94/95)

Labor force: 8.5 million (1991 est.)
  by occupation: agriculture 93%, services 5%, industry 2%
  note: severe lack of skilled labor

Unemployment rate: NA%; substantial underemployment (1995)

Budget:
  revenues: $645 million
  expenditures: $1.05 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA
  (FY94/95 est.)

Industries: tourism, carpet, textile; small rice, jute, sugar, and
  oilseed mills; cigarette; cement and brick production

Industrial production growth rate: 14.7% (FY94/95 est.)

Electricity:
  capacity: 280,000 kW
  production: 920 million kWh
  consumption per capita: 41 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: rice, corn, wheat, sugarcane, root crops; milk, water
  buffalo meat

Illicit drugs: illicit producer of cannabis for the domestic and
  international drug markets; transit point for heroin from Southeast
  Asia to the West

Exports: $430 million (f.o.b., 1995 est.) but does not include
  unrecorded border trade with India
  commodities: carpets, clothing, leather goods, jute goods, grain
  partners: India, US, Germany, UK

Imports: $1.4 billion (c.i.f., 1995 est.)
  commodities: petroleum products 20%, fertilizer 11%, machinery 10%
  partners: India, Singapore, Japan, Germany

External debt: $2.3 billion (FY94/95 est.)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $310 million (1993)
  note: western and Japanese bilateral aid $215 million; multilateral
  aid $43 million (1994-95)

Currency: 1 Nepalese rupee (NR) = 100 paisa

Exchange rates: Nepalese rupees (NRs) per US$1 - 56.636 (January
  1996), 51.890 (1995), 49.398 (1994), 48.607 (1993), 42.718 (1992),
  37.255 (1991)

Fiscal year: 16 July - 15 July



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 101 km; note - all in Terai close to Indian border
  narrow gauge: 101 km 0.762-m gauge

Highways:
  total: 9,933 km
  paved: 3,421 km
  unpaved: 6,512 km (1995 est.)

Ports: none

Airports:
  total: 43
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 1
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 3
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 1
  with paved runways under 914 m: 27
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 1
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 10 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 82,774 (1995 est.)

Telephone system: poor telephone and telegraph service; fair
  radiotelephone communication service
  domestic: NA
  international: radiotelephone communications; satellite earth
  station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 88, FM 0, shortwave 0

Radios: 690,000 (1992 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 1 (1988 est.)

Televisions: 45,000 (1992 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Royal Nepalese Army, Royal Nepalese Army Air Service,
  Nepalese Police Force

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 5,329,345
  males fit for military service: 2,768,887
  males reach military age (17) annually: 254,590 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $36 million, 1.2%
  of GDP (FY92/93)



======================================================================




@Netherlands
-----------




Map
---


Location: 52 30 N, 5 45 E -- Western Europe, bordering the North
  Sea, between Belgium and Germany



Flag
----


Description: three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and
  blue; similar to the flag of Luxembourg, which uses a lighter blue
  and is longer





Geography
---------


Location: Western Europe, bordering the North Sea, between Belgium
  and Germany

Geographic coordinates: 52 30 N, 5 45 E

Map references: Europe

Area:
  total area: 37,330 sq km
  land area: 33,920 sq km
  comparative area: slightly less than twice the size of New Jersey

Land boundaries:
  total: 1,027 km
  border countries: Belgium 450 km, Germany 577 km

Coastline: 451 km

Maritime claims:
  exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: none

Climate: temperate; marine; cool summers and mild winters

Terrain: mostly coastal lowland and reclaimed land (polders); some
  hills in southeast
  lowest point: Prins Alexanderpolder -7 m
  highest point: Vaalserberg 321 m

Natural resources: natural gas, petroleum, fertile soil

Land use:
  arable land: 26%
  permanent crops: 1%
  meadows and pastures: 32%
  forest and woodland: 9%
  other: 32%

Irrigated land: 5,500 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
  current issues: water pollution in the form of heavy metals, organic
  compounds, and nutrients such as nitrates and phosphates; air
  pollution from vehicles and refining activities; acid rain
  natural hazards: the extensive system of dikes and dams, protects
  nearly one-half of the total area from being flooded
  international agreements: party to - Air Pollution, Air
  Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air
  Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental
  Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered
  Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine
  Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer
  Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Wetlands, Whaling;
  signed, but not ratified - Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Biodiversity,
  Desertification, Law of the Sea, Tropical Timber 94

Geographic note: located at mouths of three major European rivers
  (Rhine, Maas or Meuse, and Schelde)



People
------


Population: 15,568,034 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 18% (male 1,457,694; female 1,393,402)
  15-64 years: 68% (male 5,412,402; female 5,228,579)
  65 years and over: 14% (male 836,934; female 1,239,023) (July 1996
  est.)

Population growth rate: 0.56% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 12.08 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 8.7 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 2.25 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female
  all ages: 0.98 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 4.9 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 77.73 years
  male: 74.91 years
  female: 80.68 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.51 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Dutchman(men), Dutchwoman(women)
  adjective: Dutch

Ethnic divisions: Dutch 96%, Moroccans, Turks, and other 4% (1988)

Religions: Roman Catholic 34%, Protestant 25%, Muslim 3%, other
  2%, unaffiliated 36% (1991)

Languages: Dutch

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1979 est.)
  total population: 99%
  male: NA%
  female: NA%






Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Kingdom of the Netherlands
  conventional short form: Netherlands
  local long form: Koninkrijk de Nederlanden
  local short form: Nederland

Data code: NL

Type of government: constitutional monarchy

Capital: Amsterdam; The Hague is the seat of government

Administrative divisions: 12 provinces (provincien, singular -
  provincie); Drenthe, Flevoland, Friesland, Gelderland, Groningen,
  Limburg, Noord-Brabant, Noord-Holland, Overijssel, Utrecht, Zeeland,
  Zuid-Holland

Dependent areas: Aruba, Netherlands Antilles

Independence: 1579 (from Spain)

National holiday: Queen's Day, 30 April (1938)

Constitution: 17 February 1983

Legal system: civil law system incorporating French penal theory;
  judicial review in the Supreme Court of legislation of lower order
  rather than Acts of the States General; accepts compulsory ICJ
  jurisdiction, with reservations

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: Queen BEATRIX Wilhelmina Armgard (since 30 April
  1980) is a constitutional monarch; Heir Apparent WILLEM-ALEXANDER
  (born 27 April 1967), Prince of Orange, son of Queen BEATRIX
  head of government: Prime Minister Willem (Wim) KOK (since 22 August
  1994) and Vice Prime Ministers Hans DIJKSTAL (since 22 August 1994)
  and Hans VAN MIERLO (since 22 August 1994) were appointed by the
  queen
  cabinet: Cabinet was appointed by the prime minister

Legislative branch: bicameral legislature (Staten Generaal)
  First Chamber (Eerste Kamer): members indirectly elected by the
  country's 12 provincial councils for four-year terms; election last
  held 9 June 1995 (next to be held 9 June 1999); results - percent of
  vote by party NA; seats - (75 total) number of seats by party NA
  Second Chamber (Tweede Kamer): members directly elected for
  four-year terms; elections last held 3 May 1994 (next to be held in
  1998); results - PvdA 24.3%, CDA 22.3%, VVD 20.4%, D'66 16.5%, other
  16.5%; seats - (150 total) PvdA 37, CDA 34, VVD 31, D'66 24, other 24

Judicial branch: Supreme Court (De Hoge Raad), justices are
  nominated for life by the crown from a list compiled by the Second
  Chamber of the Staten Generaal

Political parties and leaders: Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA),
  Hans HELGERS; Labor (PvdA), Felix ROTTENBERG; Liberal (VVD), Frits
  BOLKESTEIN; Democrats '66 (D66), Hans VAN MIERLO; a host of minor
  parties

Other political or pressure groups: large multinational firms;
  Federation of Netherlands Trade Union Movement (comprising Socialist
  and Catholic trade unions) and a Protestant trade union; Federation
  of Catholic and Protestant Employers Associations; the
  nondenominational Federation of Netherlands Enterprises; and
  Interchurch Peace Council (IKV)

International organization participation: AfDB, AG (observer),
  AsDB, Australia Group, Benelux, BIS, CCC, CE, CERN, EBRD, ECE,
  ECLAC, EIB, ESA, ESCAP, EU, FAO, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC,
  ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat,
  Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MTCR, NACC, NAM (guest),
  NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNAVEM III,
  UNCRO, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNMIH, UNPREDEP,
  UNPROFOR, UNTSO, UNU, UPU, WCL, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Adriaan JACOBOVITS DE SZEGED
  chancery: (temporary) 4200 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20016
  telephone: [1] (202) 244-5300
  FAX: [1] (202) 362-3430
  consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Kirk Terry DORNBUSH
  embassy: Lange Voorhout 102, 2514 EJ The Hague
  mailing address: PSC 71, Box 1000, APO AE 09715
  telephone: [31] (70) 310-9209
  FAX: [31] (70) 361-4688
  consulate(s) general: Amsterdam

Flag: three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and blue;
  similar to the flag of Luxembourg, which uses a lighter blue and is
  longer



Economy
-------


Economic overview: This highly developed and affluent economy is
  based on private enterprise. The government makes its presence felt,
  however, through many regulations, permit requirements, and welfare
  programs affecting most aspects of economic activity. The trade and
  financial services sector contributes over 50% of GDP. Industrial
  activity provides about 25% of GDP and is led by the
  food-processing, oil-refining, and metalworking industries. The
  highly mechanized agricultural sector employs only 4% of the labor
  force, but provides large surpluses for export and the domestic
  food-processing industry. Indeed, the Netherlands ranks third
  worldwide in value of agricultural exports, behind the US and
  France. High unemployment and a sizable budget deficit are currently
  the most serious economic problems. Many of the economic issues of
  the 1990s will reflect the course of European economic integration.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $301.9 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 2.5% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $19,500 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 3.4%
  industry: 26.9%
  services: 69.7% (1994)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.25% (1995)

Labor force: 6.4 million (1993)
  by occupation: services 73%, manufacturing and construction 23%,
  agriculture 4% (1994)

Unemployment rate: 7.1% (fourth quarter 1995)

Budget:
  revenues: $109.9 billion
  expenditures: $122.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA
  (1992 est.)

Industries: agroindustries, metal and engineering products,
  electrical machinery and equipment, chemicals, petroleum, fishing,
  construction, microelectronics

Industrial production growth rate: 1% (1995 est.)

Electricity:
  capacity: 17,520,000 kW
  production: 72.4 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 5,100 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: grains, potatoes, sugar beets, fruits, vegetables;
  livestock

Illicit drugs: important gateway for cocaine, heroin, and hashish
  entering Europe; European producer of illicit amphetamines and other
  synthetic drugs

Exports: $146 billion (f.o.b., 1995)
  commodities: metal products, chemicals, processed food and tobacco,
  agricultural products
  partners: EU 73% (Germany 28%, Belgium-Luxembourg 13%, UK 9%),
  Central and Eastern Europe 2%, US 5% (1994)

Imports: $133 billion (c.i.f., 1995)
  commodities: raw materials and semifinished products, consumer
  goods, transportation equipment, crude oil, food products
  partners: EU 56% (Germany 21%, Belgium-Luxembourg 11%, UK 8.5%), US
  8.6% (1994)

External debt: 0

Economic aid:
  donor: ODA, $2.525 billion (1993)

Currency: 1 Netherlands guilder, gulden, or florin (f.) = 100 cents

Exchange rates: Netherlands guilders, gulden, or florins (f.) per
  US$1 - 1.6365 (January 1996), 1.6057 (1995), 1.8200 (1994), 1.8573
  (1993), 1.7585 (1992), 1.8697 (1991)

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 2,891 km
  standard gauge: 2,891 km 1.435-m gauge; 2857 km are in common
  carrier service (1,991 km electrified) and 34 km serve tourists

Highways:
  total: 104,831 km
  paved: 92,251 km (including 2,118 km of expressways)
  unpaved: 12,580 km (1992 est.)

Waterways: 6,340 km, of which 35% is usable by craft of 1,000
  metric ton capacity or larger

Pipelines: crude oil 418 km; petroleum products 965 km; natural
  gas 10,230 km

Ports: Amsterdam, Delfzijl, Dordrecht, Eemshaven, Groningen,
  Haarlem, Ijmuiden, Maastricht, Rotterdam, Terneuzen, Utrecht

Merchant marine:
  total: 352 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,681,133
  GRT/3,379,762 DWT
  ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 206, chemical tanker 21, combination
  bulk 3, container 34, liquefied gas tanker 13, livestock carrier 1,
  multifunction large-load carrier 2, oil tanker 38, railcar carrier
  1, refrigerated cargo 16, roll-on/roll-off cargo 11, short-sea
  passenger 3, specialized tanker 2
  note: many Dutch-owned ships are operating under the registry of
  Netherlands Antilles (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 28
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 1
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 8
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 6
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 3
  with paved runways under 914 m: 7
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 3 (1995 est.)

Heliports: 1 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 8.272 million (1983 est.)

Telephone system: highly developed and well maintained; extensive
  redundant system of multiconductor cables, supplemented by microwave
  radio relay
  domestic: nationwide cellular telephone system; microwave radio relay
  international: 5 submarine cables; satellite earth stations - 3
  Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean and 2 Atlantic Ocean), 1 Eutelsat, and 1
  Inmarsat (Atlantic and Indian Ocean Regions)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 3 (relays 3), FM 12 (repeaters 39),
  shortwave 0

Radios: 13.755 million (1992 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 8 (repeaters 7)

Televisions: 7.4 million (1992 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Royal Netherlands Army, Royal Netherlands Navy (includes
  Naval Air Service and Marine Corps), Royal Netherlands Air Force,
  Royal Constabulary

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 4,191,998
  males fit for military service: 3,670,253
  males reach military age (20) annually: 94,013 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $8.2 billion,
  2.1% of GDP (1995)



======================================================================




@Netherlands Antilles
--------------------


(part of the Dutch realm)

Map
---


Location: 12 15 N, 68 45 W -- Caribbean, two island groups in the
  Caribbean Sea - one includes Curacao and Bonaire north of Venezuela
  and the other is east of the Virgin Islands



Flag
----


Description: white with a horizontal blue stripe in the center
  superimposed on a vertical red band also centered; five white
  five-pointed stars are arranged in an oval pattern in the center of
  the blue band; the five stars represent the five main islands of
  Bonaire, Curacao, Saba, Sint Eustatius, and Sint Maarten





Geography
---------


Location: Caribbean, two island groups in the Caribbean Sea - one
  includes Curacao and Bonaire north of Venezuela and the other is
  east of the Virgin Islands

Geographic coordinates: 12 15 N, 68 45 W

Map references: Central America and the Caribbean

Area:
  total area: 960 sq km
  land area: 960 sq km
  comparative area: more than five times the size of Washington, DC
  note: includes Bonaire, Curacao, Saba, Sint Eustatius, and Sint
  Maarten (Dutch part of the island of Saint Martin)

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 364 km

Maritime claims:
  exclusive fishing zone: 12 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: none

Climate: tropical; ameliorated by northeast trade winds

Terrain: generally hilly, volcanic interiors
  lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
  highest point: Mount Scenery 862 m

Natural resources: phosphates (Curacao only), salt (Bonaire only)

Land use:
  arable land: 8%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 0%
  forest and woodland: 0%
  other: 92%

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Environment:
  current issues: NA
  natural hazards: Curacao and Bonaire are south of Caribbean
  hurricane belt, so are rarely threatened; Sint Maarten, Saba, and
  Sint Eustatius are subject to hurricanes from July to October
  international agreements: party to - Whaling (extended from
  Netherlands)



People
------


Population: 208,968 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: NA
  15-64 years: NA
  65 years and over: NA

Population growth rate: 1.03% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 15.98 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 5.29 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: -0.37 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.72 male(s)/female
  all ages: 0.96 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 8.9 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 77.06 years
  male: 74.78 years
  female: 79.46 years (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Netherlands Antillean(s)
  adjective: Netherlands Antillean

Ethnic divisions: mixed African 85%, Carib Indian, European,
  Latin, Oriental

Religions: Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Seventh-Day
  Adventist

Languages: Dutch (official), Papiamento a
  Spanish-Portuguese-Dutch-English dialect predominates, English
  widely spoken, Spanish

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1981 est.)
  total population: 98%
  male: 98%
  female: 99%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: none
  conventional short form: Netherlands Antilles
  local long form: none
  local short form: Nederlandse Antillen

Data code: NT

Type of government: part of the Dutch realm; full autonomy in
  internal affairs granted in 1954

Capital: Willemstad

Administrative divisions: none (part of the Dutch realm)

Independence: none (part of the Dutch realm)

National holiday: Queen's Day, 30 April (1938)

Constitution: 29 December 1954, Statute of the Realm of the
  Netherlands, as amended

Legal system: based on Dutch civil law system, with some English
  common law influence

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: Queen BEATRIX Wilhelmina Armgard (of the Netherlands
  since 30 April 1980) is a constitutional monarch, represented by
  Governor General Jaime SALEH (since NA October 1989), who was
  appointed for a six-year term by the queen
  head of government: Prime Minister Miguel POURIER (since 25 February
  1994) was appointed by the Staten
  cabinet: Council of Ministers was appointed by the Staten

Legislative branch: unicameral
  Staten: elections last held 25 February 1994 (next to be held NA
  March 1998); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (23
  total) PAR 8, PNP 3, SPA 2, PDB 2, UPB 1, MAN 2, DP 1, WIPM 1,
  DP-St.E 1, DP-St.M 1, Nos Patria 1
  note: the government of Prime Minister Miguel POURIER is a coalition
  of several parties

Judicial branch: Joint High Court of Justice

Political parties and leaders: political parties are indigenous to
  each island
  Bonaire: Patriotic Union of Bonaire (UPB), Rudy ELLIS; Democratic
  Party of Bonaire (PDB), Broertje JANJA
  Curacao: Antillean Restructuring Party (PAR), Miguel POURIER;
  National People's Party (PNP), Maria LIBERIA-PETERS; New Antilles
  Movement (MAN), Domenico Felip Don MARTINA; Workers' Liberation
  Front (FOL), Wilson (Papa) GODETT; Socialist Independent (SI),
  George HUECK and Nelson MONTE; Democratic Party of Curacao (DP),
  Augustin DIAZ; Nos Patria, Chin BEHILIA
  Saba: Windward Islands People's Movement (WIPM Saba), Ray HASSELL;
  Saba Democratic Labor Movement, Steve HASSELL; Saba Unity Party,
  Carmen SIMMONDS
  Sint Eustatius: Democratic Party of Sint Eustatius (DP-St.E), Julian
  WOODLEY; Windward Islands People's Movement (WIPM); St. Eustatius
  Alliance (SEA), Ingrid WHITFIELD
  Sint Maarten: Democratic Party of Sint Maarten (DP-St.M), Sarah
  WESTCOTT-WILLIAMS; Patriotic Movement of Sint Maarten (SPA), Vance
  JAMES; Serious Alternative People's Party (SAPP) Julian ROLLOCKS

International organization participation: Caricom (observer),
  ECLAC (associate), Interpol, IOC, UNESCO (associate), UPU, WMO, WToO
  (associate)

Diplomatic representation in US: none (self-governing part of the
  Netherlands)

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Consul General James L. WILLIAMS
  consulate general(s): J.B. Gorsiraweg #1, Curacao
  mailing address: P. O. Box 158, Willemstad, Curacao
  telephone: [599] (9) 61-3066
  FAX: [599] (9) 61-6489

Flag: white with a horizontal blue stripe in the center
  superimposed on a vertical red band also centered; five white
  five-pointed stars are arranged in an oval pattern in the center of
  the blue band; the five stars represent the five main islands of
  Bonaire, Curacao, Saba, Sint Eustatius, and Sint Maarten



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Tourism and offshore finance are the mainstays
  of this small economy, which is closely tied to the outside world.
  The islands enjoy a high per capita income and a well-developed
  infrastructure as compared with other countries in the region.
  Almost all consumer and capital goods are imported, with Venezuela
  and the US being the major suppliers. Poor soils and inadequate
  water supplies hamper the development of agriculture.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $1.92 billion (1994 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 1.8% (1994 est.)

GDP per capita: $10,400 (1994 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: NA%
  industry: NA%
  services: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1.5% (1994 est.)

Labor force: 89,000
  by occupation: government 65%, industry and commerce 28% (1983)

Unemployment rate: 13.4% (1993 est.)

Budget:
  revenues: $209 million
  expenditures: $232 million, including capital expenditures of $8
  million (1992 est.)

Industries: tourism (Curacao and Sint Maarten), petroleum refining
  (Curacao), petroleum transshipment facilities (Curacao and Bonaire),
  light manufacturing (Curacao)

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity:
  capacity: 200,000 kW
  production: 810 million kWh
  consumption per capita: 4,054 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: aloes, sorghum, peanuts, vegetables, tropical fruit

Illicit drugs: money-laundering center; transshipment point for
  South American cocaine and marijuana bound for the US and Europe

Exports: $1.3 billion (f.o.b., 1993)
  commodities: petroleum products 98%
  partners: US 39%, Brazil 9%, Colombia 6%

Imports: $1.8 billion (f.o.b., 1993)
  commodities: crude petroleum 64%, food, manufactures
  partners: Venezuela 26%, US 18%, Colombia 6%, Netherlands 6%, Japan
  5%

External debt: $1.95 billion (December 1995)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $NA

Currency: 1 Netherlands Antillean guilder, gulden, or florin
  (NAf.) = 100 cents

Exchange rates: Netherlands Antillean guilders, gulden, or florins
  (NAf.) per US$1 - 1.790 (fixed rate since 1989)

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways: 0 km

Highways:
  total: 944 km
  paved: 299 km
  unpaved: 645 km (1985 est.)

Ports: Kralendijk, Philipsburg, Willemstad

Merchant marine:
  total: 119 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,141,003
  GRT/1,490,958 DWT
  ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 38, chemical tanker 7, combination bulk
  1, container 2, liquefied gas tanker 4, multifunction large-load
  carrier 18, oil tanker 9, passenger 4, refrigerated cargo 27,
  roll-on/roll-off cargo 8 (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 4
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 1
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 2
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 1 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: NA

Telephone system: generally adequate facilities
  domestic: extensive interisland microwave radio relay links
  international: 2 submarine cables; satellite earth stations - 2
  Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 9, FM 4, shortwave 0

Radios: 205,000 (1992 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 1

Televisions: 64,000 (1992 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Royal Netherlands Navy, Marine Corps, Royal Netherlands
  Air Force, National Guard, Police Force

Defense note: defense is the responsibility of the Netherlands



======================================================================




@New Caledonia
-------------


(overseas territory of France)

Map
---


Location: 21 30 S, 165 30 E -- Oceania, islands in the South
  Pacific Ocean, east of Australia



Flag
----


Description: three horizontal bands, blue (top), red, and green,
  with a yellow disk enclosing a black symbol centered to the hoist
  side; the flag of France is used for official occasions





Geography
---------


Location: Oceania, islands in the South Pacific Ocean, east of
  Australia

Geographic coordinates: 21 30 S, 165 30 E

Map references: Oceania

Area:
  total area: 19,060 sq km
  land area: 18,575 sq km
  comparative area: slightly smaller than New Jersey

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 2,254 km

Maritime claims:
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: Matthew and Hunter Islands claimed by
  France and Vanuatu

Climate: tropical; modified by southeast trade winds; hot, humid

Terrain: coastal plains with interior mountains
  lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
  highest point: Mont Panie 1,628 m

Natural resources: nickel, chrome, iron, cobalt, manganese,
  silver, gold, lead, copper

Land use:
  arable land: 0%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 14%
  forest and woodland: 51%
  other: 35%

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Environment:
  current issues: NA
  natural hazards: typhoons most frequent from November to March
  international agreements: NA



People
------


Population: 187,784 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 30% (male 28,941; female 27,929)
  15-64 years: 64% (male 61,263; female 59,673)
  65 years and over: 6% (male 4,750; female 5,228) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.72% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 21.75 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 4.88 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 0.31 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.91 male(s)/female
  all ages: 1.02 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 13.8 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 74.35 years
  male: 71.06 years
  female: 77.8 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.53 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: New Caledonian(s)
  adjective: New Caledonian

Ethnic divisions: Melanesian 42.5%, European 37.1%, Wallisian
  8.4%, Polynesian 3.8%, Indonesian 3.6%, Vietnamese 1.6%, other 3%

Religions: Roman Catholic 60%, Protestant 30%, other 10%

Languages: French, 28 Melanesian-Polynesian dialects

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1976 est.)
  total population: 91%
  male: 92%
  female: 90%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Territory of New Caledonia and Dependencies
  conventional short form: New Caledonia
  local long form: Territoire des Nouvelle-Caledonie et Dependances
  local short form: Nouvelle-Caledonie

Data code: NC

Type of government: overseas territory of France since 1956

Capital: Noumea

Administrative divisions: none (overseas territory of France);
  there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the
  US Government, but there are 3 provinces named Iles Loyaute, Nord,
  and Sud

Independence: none (overseas territory of France; a referendum on
  independence will be held in 1998)

National holiday: National Day, Taking of the Bastille, 14 July
  (1789)

Constitution: 28 September 1958 (French Constitution)

Legal system: the 1988 Matignon Accords grant substantial autonomy
  to the islands; formerly under French law

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: President (of France) Jacques CHIRAC (since 17 May
  1995) represented by High Commissioner and President of the Council
  of Government Dominque BUR (since NA), who was appointed by the
  French Ministry of the Interior
  head of government: President of the Territorial Assembly Pierre
  FROGIER (since NA) was elected by the members of the Assembly
  cabinet: Consultative Committee

Legislative branch: unicameral
  Territorial Assembly: elections last held 9 July 1995 (next to be
  held NA July 2001); results - percent by party NA; seats - (54
  total) RPCR 22, NCPT 7, other anti-independence parties 6, FLNKS 12,
  other pro-independence parties 7
  French Senate: elections last held 27 September 1992 (next to be
  held NA September 2001); results - percent of vote by party NA;
  seats - (1 total) RPCR 1
  French National Assembly: elections last held 21 March 1993 (next to
  be held 21 and 28 March 1998); results - percent of vote by party
  NA; seats - (2 total) RPCR 2

Judicial branch: Court of Appeal

Political parties and leaders: white-dominated Rassemblement pour
  la Caledonie dans la Republique (RPCR), conservative, Jacques
  LAFLEUR, president - affiliated to France's Rassemblement pour la
  Republique (RPR; also called South Province Party); Melanesian
  proindependence Kanaka Socialist National Liberation Front (FLNKS),
  Rock WAMYTAN; Melanesian moderate Kanak Socialist Liberation (LKS),
  Nidoish NAISSELINE; National Front (FN), extreme right, Guy GEORGE;
  Caledonie Demain (CD), right-wing, Bernard MARANT; Union Oceanienne
  (UO), conservative, Michel HEMA; Front Uni de Liberation Kanak
  (FULK), proindependence, Clarence UREGEI; Union Caledonian (UC),
  Francois BURCK, president; "1999" (new party calling for an
  autonomous state), Philippe PENTECOST; Nouvelle-Caledonie Pour Toute
  (NCPT)

International organization participation: ESCAP (associate), FZ,
  ICFTU, SPC, WFTU, WMO

Diplomatic representation in US: none (overseas territory of
  France)

US diplomatic representation: none (overseas territory of France)

Flag: three horizontal bands, blue (top), red, and green, with a
  yellow disk enclosing a black symbol centered to the hoist side; the
  flag of France is used for official occasions



Economy
-------


Economic overview: New Caledonia has more than 20% of the world's
  known nickel resources. In recent years, the economy has suffered
  because of depressed international demand for nickel, the principal
  source of export earnings. Only a negligible amount of the land is
  suitable for cultivation, and food accounts for about 25% of imports.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $1.5 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: NA%

GDP per capita: $8,000 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 5%
  industry: 35%
  services: 60% (1992 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1.4% (1990)

Labor force: 70,044 (1988)
  by occupation: agriculture 32%, industry 20%, services 40%, mines 8%
  (1992)

Unemployment rate: 15% (1994)

Budget:
  revenues: $540 million
  expenditures: $540 million, including capital expenditures of $NA
  (1991 est.)

Industries: nickel mining and smelting

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity:
  capacity: 250,000 kW
  production: 1.2 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 6,178 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: vegetables; beef, other livestock products

Exports: $477 million (f.o.b., 1992)
  commodities: nickel metal 22%, nickel ore
  partners: France 32.2%, Japan 23.5%, Germany 6.7%, US 3.6%, India
  1.2%

Imports: $926 million (c.i.f., 1992)
  commodities: foods, fuels, minerals, machines, electrical equipment
  partners: France 46.3%, ECE 14.9%, Australia 10.2%, Japan 6.3%, New
  Zealand 4.4%

External debt: $NA

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $NA

Currency: 1 CFP franc (CFPF) = 100 centimes

Exchange rates: Comptoirs Francais du Pacifique francs (CFPF) per
  US$1 - 91.00 (January 1996), 90.75 (1995), 100.93 (1994), 102.96
  (1993), 96.24 (1992), 102.57 (1991); note - linked at the rate of
  18.18 to the French franc

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways: 0 km

Highways:
  total: 6,340 km
  paved: 634 km
  unpaved: 5,706 km (1987 est.)

Ports: Mueo, Noumea, Thio

Merchant marine:
  total: 1 roll-on/roll-off ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 3,079
  GRT/724 DWT (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 28
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 1
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 3
  with paved runways under 914 m: 12
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 12 (1995 est.)

Heliports: 7 (1995 est.)






Communications
--------------


Telephones: 38,748 (1993 est.)

Telephone system:
  domestic: NA
  international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 5, FM 3, shortwave 0

Radios: 97,000 (1992 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 7

Televisions: 47,000 (1992 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: French Armed Forces (Army, Navy, Air Force,
  Gendarmerie); Police Force

Defense expenditures: $NA, NA% of GDP

Defense note: defense is the responsibility of France



======================================================================




@New Zealand
-----------




Map
---


Location: 41 00 S, 174 00 E -- Oceania, islands in the South
  Pacific Ocean, southeast of Australia



Flag
----


Description: blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side
  quadrant with four red five-pointed stars edged in white centered in
  the outer half of the flag; the stars represent the Southern Cross
  constellation





Geography
---------


Location: Oceania, islands in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast
  of Australia

Geographic coordinates: 41 00 S, 174 00 E

Map references: Oceania

Area:
  total area: 268,680 sq km
  land area: 268,670 sq km
  comparative area: about the size of Colorado
  note: includes Antipodes Islands, Auckland Islands, Bounty Islands,
  Campbell Island, Chatham Islands, and Kermadec Islands

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 15,134 km

Maritime claims:
  continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: territorial claim in Antarctica (Ross
  Dependency)

Climate: temperate with sharp regional contrasts

Terrain: predominately mountainous with some large coastal plains
  lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
  highest point: Mount Cook 3,764 m

Natural resources: natural gas, iron ore, sand, coal, timber,
  hydropower, gold, limestone

Land use:
  arable land: 2%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 53%
  forest and woodland: 38%
  other: 7%

Irrigated land: 2,800 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
  current issues: deforestation; soil erosion; native flora and fauna
  hard-hit by species introduced from outside
  natural hazards: earthquakes are common, though usually not severe;
  volcanic activity
  international agreements: party to - Antarctic-Environmental
  Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered
  Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine
  Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber
  83, Wetlands, Whaling; signed, but not ratified - Law of the Sea,
  Marine Life Conservation, Tropical Timber 94

Geographic note: about 80% of the population lives in cities



People
------


Population: 3,547,983 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 23% (male 420,900; female 400,159)
  15-64 years: 65% (male 1,161,522; female 1,154,536)
  65 years and over: 12% (male 177,182; female 233,684) (July 1996
  est.)

Population growth rate: 1.12% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 15.78 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 7.72 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 3.17 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.76 male(s)/female
  all ages: 0.98 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 6.7 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 77.01 years
  male: 73.96 years
  female: 80.21 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.01 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: New Zealander(s)
  adjective: New Zealand

Ethnic divisions: European 88%, Maori 8.9%, Pacific Islander 2.9%,
  other 0.2%

Religions: Anglican 24%, Presbyterian 18%, Roman Catholic 15%,
  Methodist 5%, Baptist 2%, other Protestant 3%, unspecified or none
  33% (1986)

Languages: English (official), Maori

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1980 est.)
  total population: 99%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: none
  conventional short form: New Zealand
  abbreviation: NZ

Data code: NZ

Type of government: parliamentary democracy

Capital: Wellington

Administrative divisions: 93 counties, 9 districts*, and 3 town
  districts**; Akaroa, Amuri, Ashburton, Bay of Islands, Bruce,
  Buller, Chatham Islands, Cheviot, Clifton, Clutha, Cook, Dannevirke,
  Egmont, Eketahuna, Ellesmere, Eltham, Eyre, Featherston, Franklin,
  Golden Bay, Great Barrier Island, Grey, Hauraki Plains, Hawera*,
  Hawke's Bay, Heathcote, Hikurangi**, Hobson, Hokianga, Horowhenua,
  Hurunui, Hutt, Inangahua, Inglewood, Kaikoura, Kairanga, Kiwitea,
  Lake, Mackenzie, Malvern, Manaia**, Manawatu, Mangonui, Maniototo,
  Marlborough, Masterton, Matamata, Mount Herbert, Ohinemuri, Opotiki,
  Oroua, Otamatea, Otorohanga*, Oxford, Pahiatua, Paparua, Patea,
  Piako, Pohangina, Raglan, Rangiora*, Rangitikei, Rodney, Rotorua*,
  Runanga, Saint Kilda, Silverpeaks, Southland, Stewart Island,
  Stratford, Strathallan, Taranaki, Taumarunui, Taupo, Tauranga,
  Thames-Coromandel*, Tuapeka, Vincent, Waiapu, Waiheke, Waihemo,
  Waikato, Waikohu, Waimairi, Waimarino, Waimate, Waimate West,
  Waimea, Waipa, Waipawa*, Waipukurau*, Wairarapa South, Wairewa,
  Wairoa, Waitaki, Waitomo*, Waitotara, Wallace, Wanganui, Waverley**,
  Westland, Whakatane*, Whangarei, Whangaroa, Woodville
  note: there may be a new administrative structure of 16 regions
  (Auckland, Bay of Plenty, Canterbury, Gisborne, Hawke's Bay,
  Marlborough, Nelson, Northland, Otago, Southland, Taranaki, Tasman,
  Waikato, Wanganui-Manawatu, Wellington, West Coast) that are
  subdivided into 57 districts and 16 cities* (Ashburton, Auckland*,
  Banks Peninsula, Buller, Carterton, Central Hawke's Bay, Central
  Otago, Christchurch*, Clutha, Dunedin*, Far North, Franklin,
  Gisborne, Gore, Grey, Hamilton*, Hastings, Hauraki, Horowhenua,
  Hurunui, Hutt*, Invercargill*, Kaikoura, Kaipara, Kapiti Coast,
  Kawerau, Mackenzie, Manawatu, Manukau*, Marlborough, Masterton,
  Matamata Piako, Napier*, Nelson*, New Plymouth, North Shore*,
  Opotiki, Otorohanga, Palmerston North*, Papakura*, Porirua*,
  Queenstown Lakes, Rangitikei, Rodney, Rotorua, Ruapehu, Selwyn,
  Southland, South Taranaki, South Waikato, South Wairarapa,
  Stratford, Tararua, Tasman, Taupo, Tauranga, Thames Coromandel,
  Timaru, Upper Hutt*, Waikato, Waimakariri, Waimate, Waipa, Wairoa,
  Waitakere*, Waitaki, Waitomo, Wanganui, Wellington*, Western Bay of
  Plenty, Westland, Whakatane, Whangarei)

Dependent areas: Cook Islands, Niue, Tokelau

Independence: 26 September 1907 (from UK)

National holiday: Waitangi Day, 6 February (1840) (Treaty of
  Waitangi established British sovereignty)

Constitution: no formal, written constitution; consists of various
  documents, including certain acts of the UK and New Zealand
  Parliaments; Constitution Act 1986 was to have come into force 1
  January 1987, but has not been enacted

Legal system: based on English law, with special land legislation
  and land courts for Maoris; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction,
  with reservations

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952) is a
  hereditary monarch, represented by Governor General Sir Michael
  HARDIE BOYS (since 21 March 1996)
  head of government: Prime Minister James BOLGER (since 29 October
  1990) and Deputy Prime Minister Donald McKINNON (since 2 November
  1990) were appointed by the governor general
  cabinet: Executive Council was appointed by the governor general on
  the recommendation of the prime minister

Legislative branch: unicameral
  House of Representatives (commonly called Parliament): elections
  last held 6 November 1993 (next must be called by November 1996);
  results - NP 35.2%, NZLP 34.7%, Alliance 18.3%, New Zealand First
  8.3%; seats - (99 total) NP 50, NZLP 45, Alliance 2, New Zealand
  First Party 2

Judicial branch: High Court; Court of Appeal

Political parties and leaders: National Party (NP, government),
  James BOLGER; New Zealand Labor Party (NZLP, opposition), Helen
  CLARK; Alliance, Jim ANDERTON; Democratic Party, Dick RYAN; New
  Zealand Liberal Party, Hanmish MACINTYRE and Gilbert MYLES; Green
  Party, no official leader; Mana Motuhake, Sandra LEE; Socialist
  Unity Party (SUP, pro-Soviet), leader NA; New Zealand First, Winston
  PETERS; United New Zealand (UNZ), Clive MATTHEWSON; Conservative
  Party (formerly Right of Centre Party), Trevor ROGERS; Association
  of Consumers and Taxpayers, New Zealand (ACT), Richard PREBBLE;
  Christian Democrats, Graeme LEE; Christian Heritage Party (CH), Rev.
  Graham CAPILL
  note: the New Zealand Liberal, New Labor, Democratic, and Mana
  Motuhake parties formed a coalition called the Alliance Party in
  September 1991; the Green Party joined the coalition in May 1992;
  the National Party government formed a coalition with the United New
  Zealand Party in February 1996; the coalition will be valid through
  the 1996 elections

International organization participation: ANZUS (US suspended
  security obligations to NZ on 11 August 1986), APEC, AsDB, Australia
  Group, C, CCC, CP, EBRD, ESCAP, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM,
  IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat,
  Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, MTCR, NAM (guest), OECD,
  PCA, Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UN, UNAVEM III, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO,
  UNPREDEP, UNPROFOR, UNTSO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Lionel John WOOD
  chancery: 37 Observatory Circle NW, Washington, DC 20008
  telephone: [1] (202) 328-4800
  consulate(s) general: Apia (Western Samoa), Los Angeles

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Josiah Horton BEEMAN
  embassy: 29 Fitzherbert Terrace, Thorndon, Wellington
  mailing address: P. O. Box 1190, Wellington; PSC 467, Box 1, FPO AP
  96531-1001
  telephone: [64] (4) 472-2068
  FAX: [64] (4) 472-3537
  consulate(s) general: Auckland

Flag: blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side
  quadrant with four red five-pointed stars edged in white centered in
  the outer half of the flag; the stars represent the Southern Cross
  constellation



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Since 1984 the government has been reorienting
  an agrarian economy dependent on a guaranteed British market toward
  a more industrialized, open, free market economy that can compete on
  the global scene. The government has hoped that dynamic growth would
  boost real incomes, broaden and deepen the technological
  capabilities of the industrial sector, reduce inflationary
  pressures, and permit the expansion of welfare benefits. The initial
  results were mixed: inflation is down from double-digit levels, but
  growth was sluggish in 1988-91. In 1992-93, growth picked up to 3%
  annually, a sign that the new economic approach was beginning to pay
  off. Business confidence strengthened in 1994, and export demand
  picked up in the Asia-Pacific region, resulting in 6.2% growth.
  Growth continued strong in 1995, and inflation remains among the
  lowest in the industrial world. The government announced its first
  budget surplus in 16 years in FY94/95 and forecasts a surplus of
  $5.0 billion in FY97/98. The government intends to use the surplus
  to reduce the debt, increase social spending, and cut taxes - by
  $1.35 billion over two years beginning in 1996. Per capita GDP now
  is up to the levels of the big West European economies.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $62.3 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 5.5% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $18,300 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 7.3%
  industry: 25.9%
  services: 66.8% (1990)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2% (FY95/96)

Labor force: 1,634,500 (September 1995)
  by occupation: services 64.6%, industry 25.0%, agriculture 10.4%
  (1994)

Unemployment rate: 6.1% (October 1995)

Budget:
  revenues: $22.18 billion
  expenditures: $20.28 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA
  (FY95/96 est.)

Industries: food processing, wood and paper products, textiles,
  machinery, transportation equipment, banking and insurance, tourism,
  mining

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity:
  capacity: 7,520,000 kW
  production: 30.5 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 8,401 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: wheat, barley, potatoes, pulses, fruits, vegetables;
  wool, meat, dairy products; fish catch reached a record 503,000
  metric tons in 1988

Exports: $13.41 billion (1995)
  commodities: wool, lamb, mutton, beef, fish, cheese, chemicals,
  forestry products, fruits and vegetables, manufactures
  partners: Australia 20%, Japan 15%, US 12%, UK 6%

Imports: $13.62 billion (1995)
  commodities: machinery and equipment, vehicles and aircraft,
  petroleum, consumer goods
  partners: Australia 21%, US 18%, Japan 16%, UK 6%

External debt: $38.5 billion (September 1994)

Economic aid:
  donor: ODA, $98 million (1993)

Currency: 1 New Zealand dollar (NZ$) = 100 cents

Exchange rates: New Zealand dollars (NZ$) per US$1 - 1.5138
  (January 1996), 1.5235 (1995), 1.6844 (1994), 1.8495 (1993), 1.8584
  (1992), 1.7265 (1991)

Fiscal year: 1 July - 30 June



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 3,973 km
  narrow gauge: 3,973 km 1.067-m gauge (504 km electrified)

Highways:
  total: 93,348 km
  paved: 54,142 km (including 141 km of expressways)
  unpaved: 39,206 km (1992 est.)

Waterways: 1,609 km; of little importance to transportation

Pipelines: petroleum products 160 km; natural gas 1,000 km;
  condensate (liquefied petroleum gas - LPG) 150 km

Ports: Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin, Tauranga, Wellington

Merchant marine:
  total: 17 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 162,220 GRT/213,749 DWT
  ships by type: bulk 6, cargo 1, liquefied gas tanker 1, oil tanker
  3, railcar carrier 1, roll-on/roll-off cargo 5 (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 113
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 2
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 8
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 31
  with paved runways under 914 m: 50
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 1
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 21 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 1.7 million (1986 est.)

Telephone system: excellent international and domestic systems
  domestic: NA
  international: submarine cables to Australia and Fiji; satellite
  earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 64, FM 2, shortwave 0

Radios: 3.215 million (1992 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 14 (1986 est.)

Televisions: 1.53 million (1992 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: New Zealand Army, Royal New Zealand Navy, Royal New
  Zealand Air Force

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 927,212
  males fit for military service: 780,976
  males reach military age (20) annually: 27,433 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $556 million, 1%
  of GDP (FY93/94)



======================================================================




@Nicaragua
---------




Map
---


Location: 13 00 N, 85 00 W -- Middle America, bordering both the
  Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Costa Rica and
  Honduras



Flag
----


Description: three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), white,
  and blue with the national coat of arms centered in the white band;
  the coat of arms features a triangle encircled by the words
  REPUBLICA DE NICARAGUA on the top and AMERICA CENTRAL on the bottom;
  similar to the flag of El Salvador, which features a round emblem
  encircled by the words REPUBLICA DE EL SALVADOR EN LA AMERICA
  CENTRAL centered in the white band; also similar to the flag of
  Honduras, which has five blue stars arranged in an X pattern
  centered in the white band





Geography
---------


Location: Middle America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the
  North Pacific Ocean, between Costa Rica and Honduras

Geographic coordinates: 13 00 N, 85 00 W

Map references: Central America and the Caribbean

Area:
  total area: 129,494 sq km
  land area: 120,254 sq km
  comparative area: slightly larger than New York State

Land boundaries:
  total: 1,231 km
  border countries: Costa Rica 309 km, Honduras 922 km

Coastline: 910 km

Maritime claims:
  contiguous zone: 25-nm security zone
  continental shelf: natural prolongation
  territorial sea: 200 nm

International disputes: territorial disputes with Colombia over
  the Archipelago de San Andres y Providencia and Quita Sueno Bank;
  with respect to the maritime boundary question in the Golfo de
  Fonseca, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) referred the
  disputants to an earlier agreement in this century and advised that
  some tripartite resolution among El Salvador, Honduras, and
  Nicaragua likely would be required; maritime boundary dispute with
  Honduras

Climate: tropical in lowlands, cooler in highlands

Terrain: extensive Atlantic coastal plains rising to central
  interior mountains; narrow Pacific coastal plain interrupted by
  volcanoes
  lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
  highest point: Mogoton 2,438 m

Natural resources: gold, silver, copper, tungsten, lead, zinc,
  timber, fish

Land use:
  arable land: 9%
  permanent crops: 1%
  meadows and pastures: 43%
  forest and woodland: 35%
  other: 12%

Irrigated land: 850 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
  current issues: deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution
  natural hazards: destructive earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides, and
  occasionally severe hurricanes
  international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
  Endangered Species, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection,
  Whaling; signed, but not ratified - Desertification, Environmental
  Modification, Law of the Sea



People
------


Population: 4,272,352 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 44% (male 951,254; female 938,599)
  15-64 years: 53% (male 1,105,069; female 1,164,144)
  65 years and over: 3% (male 49,027; female 64,259) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.67% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 33.83 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 6.01 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: -1.17 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.76 male(s)/female
  all ages: 0.97 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 45.8 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 65.72 years
  male: 63.41 years
  female: 68.13 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 4.03 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Nicaraguan(s)
  adjective: Nicaraguan

Ethnic divisions: mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white) 69%, white
  17%, black 9%, Indian 5%

Religions: Roman Catholic 95%, Protestant 5%

Languages: Spanish (official)
  note: English- and Indian-speaking minorities on Atlantic coast

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)
  total population: 65.7%
  male: 64.6%
  female: 66.6%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Republic of Nicaragua
  conventional short form: Nicaragua
  local long form: Republica de Nicaragua
  local short form: Nicaragua

Data code: NU

Type of government: republic

Capital: Managua

Administrative divisions: 15 departments (departamentos, singular
  - departamento), 2 autonomous regions* (regions autonomista,
  singular - region autonomista); Boaco, Carazo, Chinandega,
  Chontales, Esteli, Granada, Jinotega, Leon, Madriz, Managua, Masaya,
  Matagalpa, Nueva Segovia, Atlantica Norte*, Atlantica Sur*, Rio San
  Juan, Rivas

Independence: 15 September 1821 (from Spain)

National holiday: Independence Day, 15 September (1821)

Constitution: 9 January 1987

Legal system: civil law system; Supreme Court may review
  administrative acts

Suffrage: 16 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state and head of government: President Violeta Barrios de
  CHAMORRO (since 25 April 1990) was elected for a six-year term
  (amended to a five-year term in July 1995) by universal suffrage;
  Vice President Julia MENA Rivera (since 22 October 1995) replaced
  Virgilio GODOY, who resigned to run for the presidency in 1996 as
  required by law; election last held 25 February 1990 (next to be
  held 20 October 1996); results - Violeta Barrios de CHAMORRO (UNO)
  54.7%, Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra (FSLN) 40.8%, other 4.5%
  cabinet: Cabinet

Legislative branch: unicameral
  National Assembly (Asamblea Nacional): elections last held 25
  February 1990 (next to be held NA October 1996); results - UNO
  coalition 53.9%, Sandinista bloc 40.8%, PSC 1.6%, MUR 1.0%; seats -
  (92 total) UNO coalition 53 (Center Group 9, UDC 6, PSD 5, APC 5,
  PLC 5, PLI 4, PND 3, PAN 3, PNC 3, MDN 2, PCdeN 2, independents 6)
  and Sandinista bloc 39 (MRS 16, BUS-Sandinista 9, FSLN 8, Sandinista
  Group of Reflection 4, FSLN-independents 2)

Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Corte Suprema), judges elected for
  a six-year term (amended to a seven-year term in July 1995) by the
  National Assembly

Political parties and leaders:
  right: Liberal Constitutionalist Party (PLC), Arnold ALEMAN;
  Conservative Popular Alliance Party (APC), Myriam ARGUELLO;
  Independent Liberal Party for National Unity (PLIUN), Carlos GUERRA
  Gallardo; Conservative Action Movement (MAC); Conservative Party of
  Nicaragua (PCN - formed in 1992 by the merger of the Conservative
  Social Party or PSC with the Democratic Conservative Party or PCD
  and the Conservative party of Labor or PCL), Fernando AGUERO;
  National Conservative Party (PNC), Adolfo CALERO, Noel VIDUARRE
  center right: Neoliberal Party (PALI), Ricardo VEGA Garcia;
  Nicaraguan Resistance Party (PRN), Fabio GADEA, Enrique QUINONEZ;
  Independent Liberal Party (PLI), Wilfredo NAVARRO; National Project
  (PRONAL), Antonio LACAYO Oyanguren; Nicaraguan Democratic Alliance
  Party (PADENIC), Pedro MAYORGA Knilands; Nationalist Liberal Party
  (PLN), Roberto CASTILLO Quant; Party for Liberal Unity (PUL),
  Haroldo MONTEALEGRE; Fuerza '96, Francesco MAYORGA
  center left: Christian Democratic Union (UDC), Luis Humberto GUZMAN;
  Nicaraguan Democratic Movement (MDN), Alfredo GUZMAN; Social
  Democratic Party (PSD), Adolfo JARQUIN; National Justice Party
  (PJN), Jorge DIAZ Cruz; National Action Party (PAN), Delvis MONTIEL;
  Renovating Action Movement (MAR), Pablo HERNANDEZ; Sandinista
  Renovation Movement (MRS), Sergio RAMIREZ; Social Christian Party
  (PCS), Erick RAMIREZ; Democratic Action Party (PAD), Eden PASTORA;
  "Up with Nicaragua" (Arriba Nicaragua), Alvaro ROBELO; National
  Democratic Party (PND), Alfredo CESAR Aquirre; Communist Party of
  Nicaragua (PCdeN), Eli ALTIMIRANO Perez
  left: Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN), Daniel ORTEGA;
  Revolutionary Workers' Party (PRT), Bonifacio MIRANDA; Popular
  Action Movement-Marxist-Leninist (MAP-ML), Isidro TELLEZ; Nicaraguan
  Socialist Party (PSN), Gustavo TABLADA; Unidad Nicaraguense de
  Obreros, Campesinos, y Profesionales (UNOCP), Rosalio GONZALEZ
  Urbina; Central American Unionist Party (PUCA), Blanca ROJAS
  Echaverry
  note: the UNO coalition that won the 1990 elections no longer
  exists; the different blocs that formerly were united under the UNO
  umbrella and their opposition to the Sandinistas now act and vote
  independently

Other political or pressure groups: National Workers Front (FNT)
  is a Sandinista umbrella group of eight labor unions: Sandinista
  Workers' Central (CST); Farm Workers Association (ATC); Health
  Workers Federation (FETASALUD); National Union of Employees (UNE);
  National Association of Educators of Nicaragua (ANDEN); Union of
  Journalists of Nicaragua (UPN); Heroes and Martyrs Confederation of
  Professional Associations (CONAPRO); and the National Union of
  Farmers and Ranchers (UNAG); Permanent Congress of Workers (CPT) is
  an umbrella group of four non-Sandinista labor unions: Confederation
  of Labor Unification (CUS); Autonomous Nicaraguan Workers' Central
  (CTN-A); Independent General Confederation of Labor (CGT-I); and
  Labor Action and Unity Central (CAUS); Nicaraguan Workers' Central
  (CTN) is an independent labor union; Superior Council of Private
  Enterprise (COSEP) is a confederation of business groups

International organization participation: BCIE, CACM, ECLAC, FAO,
  G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS,
  ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, LAES, LAIA
  (observer), NAM, OAS, OPANAL, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO,
  UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Roberto Genaro MAYORGA Cortes
  chancery: 1627 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009
  telephone: [1] (202) 939-6570
  consulate(s) general: Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New
  York, San Francisco

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador John F. MAISTO
  embassy: Kilometer 4.5 Carretera Sur., Managua
  mailing address: APO AA 34021
  telephone: [505] (2) 666010 through 666013, 666015 through 18,
  666026, 666027, 666032 through 33
  FAX: [505] (2) 669074

Flag: three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), white, and blue
  with the national coat of arms centered in the white band; the coat
  of arms features a triangle encircled by the words REPUBLICA DE
  NICARAGUA on the top and AMERICA CENTRAL on the bottom; similar to
  the flag of El Salvador, which features a round emblem encircled by
  the words REPUBLICA DE EL SALVADOR EN LA AMERICA CENTRAL centered in
  the white band; also similar to the flag of Honduras, which has five
  blue stars arranged in an X pattern centered in the white band



Economy
-------


Economic overview: The Nicaraguan economy, devastated during the
  1980s by economic mismanagement and civil war, is beginning to
  rebound. Since March 1991, when President CHAMORRO launched an
  ambitious economic stabilization program, Nicaragua has had
  considerable success in reducing inflation and obtaining substantial
  economic aid from abroad. Annual inflation fell from more than 750%
  in 1991 to less than 5% in 1992. After rising again to an estimated
  20% in 1993, the annual inflation rate was 11.7% in 1994 and 11.4%
  in 1995. While economic growth was flat in 1992 and negative in
  1993, the 1995 growth rate is about 4%, thanks to surges in most
  export categories. Recent legislation (November 1995) authorizing
  the privatization of the TELCOR telecommunications company and
  resolving the issue of property confiscated by the previous
  Sandinista government may reassure potential investors. The
  government's efforts to liberalize trade include a December 1995
  decision to stop requiring exporters to bring their foreign exchange
  earnings into Nicaragua. On the debt front, the Nicaraguan
  Government launched a successful debt buyback program in 1995,
  purchasing 73% of its $1.373 billion commercial debt inherited from
  previous governments. Progress also occurred on reducing bilateral
  debt in November 1995 as Nicaragua reached an agreement with
  Germany, reducing Nicaragua's $616 million debt to the former GDR by
  80%. Debt reduction agreements with Paris Club creditors and
  rescheduling with the US also took place. Unemployment remains a
  pressing problem, however, with roughly half the country's
  population unemployed or underemployed.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $7.1 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 4.2% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $1,700 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: NA%
  industry: NA%
  services: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 11.4% (1995 est.)

Labor force: 1.086 million
  by occupation: services 43%, agriculture 44%, industry 13% (1986)

Unemployment rate: 20% substantial underemployment (1995 est.)

Budget:
  revenues: $389 million
  expenditures: $551 million, including capital expenditures of $NA
  (1996 est.)

Industries: food processing, chemicals, metal products, textiles,
  clothing, petroleum refining and distribution, beverages, footwear

Industrial production growth rate: 1.4% (1994 est.)

Electricity:
  capacity: 460,000 kW
  production: 1.64 billion kWh (1994)
  consumption per capita: 376 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: coffee, bananas, sugarcane, cotton, rice, corn,
  cassava (tapioca), citrus, beans; beef, veal, pork, poultry, dairy
  products

Illicit drugs: transshipment point for cocaine destined for the US

Exports: $525.5 million (f.o.b., 1995 est.)
  commodities: meat, coffee, cotton, sugar, seafood, gold, bananas
  partners: US, Central America, Canada, Germany

Imports: $870 million (c.i.f., 1995 est.)
  commodities: consumer goods, machinery and equipment, petroleum
  products
  partners: Central America, US, Venezuela, Japan

External debt: $11.7 billion (1994)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $NA

Currency: 1 gold cordoba (C$) = 100 centavos

Exchange rates: gold cordobas (C$) per US$1 - 7.98 (December
  1995), 6.72 (1994), 5.62 (1993), 5.00 (1992), 4.27 (1991)

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 0 km
  narrow gauge: 0 km 1.067-m gauge; note - part of the previous 376 km
  system was closed and dismantled in 1993 and, in 1994, the remainder
  was closed, the track and rolling stock being sold for scrap

Highways:
  total: 26,000 km
  paved: 4,000 km
  unpaved: 22,000 km (1993 est.)
  note: there is a 368.5 km portion of the Pan-American Highway which
  is not included in the total

Waterways: 2,220 km, including 2 large lakes

Pipelines: crude oil 56 km

Ports: Bluefields, Corinto, El Bluff, Puerto Cabezas, Puerto
  Sandino, Rama, San Juan del Sur

Merchant marine: none

Airports:
  total: 148
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 1
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 1
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 3
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 3
  with paved runways under 914 m: 107
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 1
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 32 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 66,810 (1993 est.)

Telephone system: low-capacity microwave radio relay and wire
  system being expanded; connected to Central American Microwave System
  domestic: wire and microwave radio relay
  international: satellite earth stations - 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic
  Ocean Region) and 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 45, FM 0, shortwave 3

Radios: 1.037 million (1992 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 7 (1994 est.)

Televisions: 260,000 (1992 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Ground Forces, Navy, Air Force

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 988,883
  males fit for military service: 608,753
  males reach military age (18) annually: 47,786 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $28.1 million,
  NA% of GDP (1996)



======================================================================




@Niger
-----




Map
---


Location: 16 00 N, 8 00 E -- Western Africa, southeast of Algeria



Flag
----


Description: three equal horizontal bands of orange (top), white,
  and green with a small orange disk (representing the sun) centered
  in the white band; similar to the flag of India, which has a blue
  spoked wheel centered in the white band





Geography
---------


Location: Western Africa, southeast of Algeria

Geographic coordinates: 16 00 N, 8 00 E

Map references: Africa

Area:
  total area: 1.267 million sq km
  land area: 1,266,700 sq km
  comparative area: slightly less than twice the size of Texas

Land boundaries:
  total: 5,697 km
  border countries: Algeria 956 km, Benin 266 km, Burkina Faso 628 km,
  Chad 1,175 km, Libya 354 km, Mali 821 km, Nigeria 1,497 km

Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims: none (landlocked)

International disputes: Libya claims about 19,400 sq km in
  northern Niger; demarcation of international boundaries in Lake
  Chad, the lack of which has led to border incidents in the past, is
  completed and awaiting ratification by Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and
  Nigeria; Burkina Faso and Mali are proceeding with boundary
  demarcation, including the tripoint with Niger

Climate: desert; mostly hot, dry, dusty; tropical in extreme south

Terrain: predominately desert plains and sand dunes; flat to
  rolling plains in south; hills in north
  lowest point: Niger River 200 m
  highest point: Mont Greboun 1,944 m

Natural resources: uranium, coal, iron ore, tin, phosphates

Land use:
  arable land: 3%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 7%
  forest and woodland: 2%
  other: 88%

Irrigated land: 320 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
  current issues: overgrazing; soil erosion; deforestation;
  desertification; wildlife populations (such as elephant,
  hippopotamus, and lion) threatened because of poaching and habitat
  destruction
  natural hazards: recurring droughts
  international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
  Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Nuclear Test Ban,
  Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified -
  Desertification, Law of the Sea

Geographic note: landlocked



People
------


Population: 9,113,001 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 48% (male 2,233,157; female 2,138,096)
  15-64 years: 50% (male 2,202,413; female 2,317,188)
  65 years and over: 2% (male 117,337; female 104,810) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.99% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 54.46 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 24.57 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 1.12 male(s)/female
  all ages: 1 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 117.6 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 40.66 years
  male: 41.05 years
  female: 40.25 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 7.44 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Nigerien(s)
  adjective: Nigerien

Ethnic divisions: Hausa 56%, Djerma 22%, Fula 8.5%, Tuareg 8%,
  Beri Beri (Kanouri) 4.3%, Arab, Toubou, and Gourmantche 1.2%, about
  4,000 French expatriates

Religions: Muslim 80%, remainder indigenous beliefs and Christians

Languages: French (official), Hausa, Djerma

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)
  total population: 13.6%
  male: 20.9%
  female: 6.6%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Republic of Niger
  conventional short form: Niger
  local long form: Republique du Niger
  local short form: Niger

Data code: NG

Type of government: republic

Capital: Niamey

Administrative divisions: 7 departments (departements, singular -
  departement), and 1 capital district* (capitale district); Agadez,
  Diffa, Dosso, Maradi, Niamey*, Tahoua, Tillaberi, Zinder

Independence: 3 August 1960 (from France)

National holiday: Republic Day, 18 December (1958)

Constitution: the constitution of January 1993 was revised by
  national referendum on 12 May 1996

Legal system: based on French civil law system and customary law;
  has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: President Colonel Ibrahim BARE Mainassara (since 28
  January 1996 when he ousted President Mahamane OUSMANE in a coup);
  Mahamane OUSMANE had been elected for a five-year term by universal
  suffrage; election last held 17 March 1993 (next to be held 7 July
  1996)
  head of government: Prime Minister Boukary ADJI (since NA January
  1996) appointed by President BARE
  cabinet: National Salvation Council was appointed by President BARE

Legislative branch: unicameral
  National Assembly: elected by proportional representation for a
  five-year term; election last held 12 January 1995 (next to be held
  NA September 1996); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats -
  (83 total) MNSD-NASSARA 29, CDS 24, PNDS 12, ANDP-Z 9, UDFP 3, UDPS
  2, PADN 2, PPN-RDA 1, UPDP 1; note - this National Assembly
  dissolved by President BARE after the coup on 28 January 1996

Judicial branch: State Court (Cour d'Etat); Court of Appeal (Cour
  d'Apel)

Political parties and leaders: National Movement of the
  Development Society (MNSD-NASSARA), Mamadou TANDJA, chairman;
  Democratic and Social Convention (CDS), Jacoub SANOUSSI; Nigerien
  Party for Democracy and Socialism (PNDS), Mahamadou ISSOUFOU;
  Nigerien Alliance for Democracy and Progress-Zamanlahia (ANDP-Z),
  Moumouni Adamou DJERMAKOYE; Union of Popular Forces for Democracy
  and Progress-Sawaba (UDFP), Djibo BAKARY, chairman; Union for
  Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS), Akoli DAOUEL; Niger Social
  Democrat Party (PADN), Malam Adji WAZIRI; Niger Progressive
  Party-African Democratic Rally (PPN-RDA), Dori ABDOULAI, chairman;
  Union of Patriots, Democrats, and Progressives (UPDP), Professor
  Andre SALIFOU, chairman

International organization participation: ACCT, ACP, AfDB, CCC,
  ECA, ECOWAS, Entente, FAO, FZ, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA,
  IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM,
  OAU, OIC, UN, UNAMIR, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WADB, WCL, WFTU,
  WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Adamou SEYDOU
  chancery: 2204 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
  telephone: [1] (202) 483-4224 through 4227

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador John S. DAVISON
  embassy: Rue Des Ambassades, Niamey
  mailing address: B. P. 11201, Niamey
  telephone: [227] 72 26 61 through 72 26 64
  FAX: [227] 73 31 67

Flag: three equal horizontal bands of orange (top), white, and
  green with a small orange disk (representing the sun) centered in
  the white band; similar to the flag of India, which has a blue
  spoked wheel centered in the white band



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Niger is one of the world's poorest countries,
  with recent GDP growth barely matching the rapid growth of
  population. The economy is centered on subsistence agriculture,
  animal husbandry, and reexport trade, and increasingly less on
  uranium, its major export throughout the 1970s and 1980s. Uranium
  revenues dropped by almost 50% between 1983 and 1990 with the end of
  the uranium boom. Terms of trade with Nigeria, Niger's largest
  regional trade partner, have improved dramatically since the 50%
  devaluation of the African franc in January 1994; this devaluation
  boosted exports of livestock, peas, onions, and the products of
  Niger's small cotton industry. The government relies on bilateral
  and multilateral aid for operating expenses and public investment
  and is strongly induced to adhere to structural adjustment programs
  designed by the IMF and the World Bank.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $5.5 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 6.7% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $600 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 38.5%
  industry: 17.9%
  services: 43.6% (1993)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 35.6% (1994 est.)

Labor force: 2.5 million wage earners (1982)
  by occupation: agriculture 90%, industry and commerce 6%, government
  4%

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget:
  revenues: $188 million
  expenditures: $400 million, including capital expenditures of $125
  million (1993 est.)

Industries: cement, brick, textiles, food processing, chemicals,
  slaughterhouses, and a few other small light industries; uranium
  mining

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity:
  capacity: 60,000 kW
  production: 200 million kWh
  consumption per capita: 42 kWh (1992)

Agriculture: cowpeas, cotton, peanuts, millet, sorghum, cassava
  (tapioca), rice; cattle, sheep, goats

Exports: $232 million (f.o.b., 1994 est.)
  commodities: uranium ore 67%, livestock products 20%, cowpeas, onions
  partners: France 77%, Nigeria 8%, Cote d'Ivoire, Italy

Imports: $234 million (c.i.f., 1994 est.)
  commodities: consumer goods, primary materials, machinery, vehicles
  and parts, petroleum, cereals
  partners: France 23%, Cote d'Ivoire, Germany, Italy, Japan

External debt: $1.41 billion (1995 est.)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $NA

Currency: 1 Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (CFAF) = 100
  centimes

Exchange rates: CFA francs (CFAF) per US$1 - 500.56 (January
  1996), 499.15 (1995), 555.20 (1994), 283.16 (1993), 264.69 (1992),
  282.11 (1991)
  note: beginning 12 January 1994, the CFA franc was devalued to CFAF
  100 per French franc from CFAF 50 at which it had been fixed since
  1948

Fiscal year: 1 October - 30 September



Transportation
--------------


Railways: 0 km

Highways:
  total: 11,258 km
  paved: 3,265 km
  unpaved: 7,993 km (1990 est.)

Waterways: Niger river is navigable 300 km from Niamey to Gaya on
  the Benin frontier from mid-December through March

Ports: none

Airports:
  total: 23
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 2
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 6
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 1
  with paved runways under 914 m: 2
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 1
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 11 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 14,000 (1991 est.)

Telephone system: small system of wire, radiotelephone
  communications, and microwave radio relay links concentrated in
  southwestern area
  domestic: wire, radiotelephone communications, and microwave radio
  relay; domestic satellite system with 3 earth stations and 1 planned
  international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Atlantic
  Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 15, FM 5, shortwave 0

Radios: 500,000 (1992 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 18

Televisions: 38,000 (1992 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Army, Air Force, National Gendarmerie, Republican Guard,
  National Police

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 1,920,244
  males fit for military service: 1,035,218
  males reach military age (18) annually: 92,132 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $32 million, 1.3%
  of GDP (FY92/93)



======================================================================




@Nigeria
-------




Map
---


Location: 10 00 N, 8 00 E -- Western Africa, bordering the Gulf of
  Guinea, between Benin and Cameroon



Flag
----


Description: three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side),
  white, and green





Geography
---------


Location: Western Africa, bordering the Gulf of Guinea, between
  Benin and Cameroon

Geographic coordinates: 10 00 N, 8 00 E

Map references: Africa

Area:
  total area: 923,770 sq km
  land area: 910,770 sq km
  comparative area: slightly more than twice the size of California

Land boundaries:
  total: 4,047 km
  border countries: Benin 773 km, Cameroon 1,690 km, Chad 87 km, Niger
  1,497 km

Coastline: 853 km

Maritime claims:
  continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 30 nm

International disputes: demarcation of international boundaries in
  vicinity of Lake Chad, the lack of which led to border incidents in
  the past, is completed and awaits ratification by Cameroon, Chad,
  Niger, and Nigeria; dispute with Cameroon over land and maritime
  boundaries in the vicinity of the Bakasi Peninsula has been referred
  to the ICJ

Climate: varies; equatorial in south, tropical in center, arid in
  north

Terrain: southern lowlands merge into central hills and plateaus;
  mountains in southeast, plains in north
  lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
  highest point: Chappal Waddi 2,419 m

Natural resources: petroleum, tin, columbite, iron ore, coal,
  limestone, lead, zinc, natural gas

Land use:
  arable land: 31%
  permanent crops: 3%
  meadows and pastures: 23%
  forest and woodland: 15%
  other: 28%

Irrigated land: 8,650 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
  current issues: soil degradation; rapid deforestation;
  desertification; recent droughts in north severely affecting
  marginal agricultural activities
  natural hazards: periodic droughts
  international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
  Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine
  Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer
  Protection, Whaling; signed, but not ratified - Desertification



People
------


Population: 103,912,489 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 45% (male 23,455,266; female 23,245,099)
  15-64 years: 52% (male 27,645,106; female 26,553,135)
  65 years and over: 3% (male 1,522,862; female 1,491,021) (July 1996
  est.)

Population growth rate: 3.05% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 42.89 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 12.71 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 0.34 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 1.02 male(s)/female
  all ages: 1.03 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 72.4 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 54.34 years
  male: 53.06 years
  female: 55.65 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 6.24 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Nigerian(s)
  adjective: Nigerian

Ethnic divisions: non-Africans 27,000
  north: Hausa and Fulani
  note: Hausa and Fulani, Yoruba, and Ibos together make up 65% of
  population
  southwest: Yoruba
  southeast: Ibos

Religions: Muslim 50%, Christian 40%, indigenous beliefs 10%

Languages: English (official), Hausa, Yoruba, Ibo, Fulani

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)
  total population: 57.1%
  male: 67.3%
  female: 47.3%






Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Federal Republic of Nigeria
  conventional short form: Nigeria

Data code: NI

Type of government: military government; Nigeria has been ruled by
  one military regime after another since 31 December 1983; on 1
  October 1995, the present military government announced it will turn
  power over to democratically elected civilian authorities in October
  1998

Capital: Abuja
  note: on 12 December 1991 the capital was officially moved from
  Lagos to Abuja; many government offices remain in Lagos pending
  completion of facilities in Abuja

Administrative divisions: 30 states and 1 territory*; Abia, Abuja
  Capital Territory*, Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Bauchi, Benue,
  Borno, Cross River, Delta, Edo, Enugu, Imo, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano,
  Katsina, Kebbi, Kogi, Kwara, Lagos, Niger, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, Oyo,
  Plateau, Rivers, Sokoto, Taraba, Yobe; note - some new
  administrative units may have been created

Independence: 1 October 1960 (from UK)

National holiday: Independence Day, 1 October (1960)

Constitution: 1979 constitution still in force; plan for 1989
  constitution to take effect in 1993 was not implemented

Legal system: based on English common law, Islamic law, and tribal
  law

Suffrage: 21 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state and head of government: Chairman of the Provisional
  Ruling Council and Commander in Chief of Armed Forces and Defense
  Minister Gen. Sani ABACHA (since 17 November 1993); Vice Chairman of
  the Provisional Ruling Council Oladipo DIYA (since 17 November 1993)
  cabinet: Federal Executive Council

Legislative branch: bicameral National Assembly
  Senate: suspended after military takeover of 17 November 1993
  House of Representatives: suspended after military takeover of 17
  November 1993

Judicial branch: Supreme Court, judges appointed by the Armed
  Forces Ruling Council; Federal Court of Appeal, judges are appointed
  by the federal government on the advice of the Advisory Judicial
  Committee

Political parties and leaders:
  note: political party system suspended after the military takeover
  of 17 November 1993; the military regime has made successive
  promises to allow political parties to register at various times in
  1996

International organization participation: ACP, AfDB, C
  (suspended), CCC, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, G-15, G-19, G-24, G-77, IAEA,
  IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO,
  Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ITU, MINURSO, NAM, OAU, OPEC,
  PCA, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNAMIR, UNAVEM III, UNCRO,
  UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNPREDEP, UNPROFOR, UNU, UPU,
  WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Zubair Mahmud KAZAURE
  chancery: 1333 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20036
  telephone: [1] (202) 986-8400
  consulate(s) general: New York

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Walter C. CARRINGTON
  embassy: 2 Eleke Crescent, Lagos
  mailing address: P. O. Box 554, Lagos
  telephone: [234] (1) 261-0097
  FAX: [234] (1) 261-0257

Flag: three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and
  green



Economy
-------


Economic overview: The oil-rich Nigerian economy continues to be
  hobbled by political instability, corruption, and poor macroeconomic
  management. Nigeria's unpopular military rulers failed to make
  significant progress in diversifying the economy away from
  overdependence on the capital intensive oil sector which provides
  almost all foreign exchange earnings and about 80% of budgetary
  revenues. Regime officials also appear divided on how to redress
  fundamental economic imbalances that result in troublesome
  inflation, the steady depreciation of the naira, and the
  discouragement of investors. The government's domestic and
  international arrears continue to limit economic growth and prevent
  an agreement with the IMF and bilateral creditors on debt relief.
  The largely subsistence agricultural sector has failed to keep up
  with rapid population growth, and Nigeria, once a large net exporter
  of food, now must import food.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $135.9 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 2.6% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $1,300 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 38%
  industry: 22%
  services: 40% (1994 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 57% (1994 est.)

Labor force: 42.844 million
  by occupation: agriculture 54%, industry, commerce, and services
  19%, government 15%

Unemployment rate: 28% (1992 est.)

Budget:
  revenues: $2.7 billion
  expenditures: $6.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $1.8
  billion (1994 est.)

Industries: crude oil, coal, tin, columbite, palm oil, peanuts,
  cotton, rubber, wood, hides and skins, textiles, cement and other
  construction materials, food products, footwear, chemicals,
  fertilizer, printing, ceramics, steel

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity:
  capacity: 4,570,000 kW
  production: 11.3 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 109 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: cocoa, peanuts, palm oil, rubber, corn, rice,
  sorghum, millet, cassava (tapioca), yams; cattle, sheep, goats,
  pigs; fishing and forest resources extensively exploited

Illicit drugs: passenger and cargo air hub for West Africa;
  facilitates movement of heroin en route from Southeast and Southwest
  Asia to Western Europe and North America; increasingly a transit
  route for cocaine from South America intended for West European,
  East Asian, and North American markets

Exports: $9.9 billion (f.o.b., 1993)
  commodities: oil 98%, cocoa, rubber
  partners: US 52%, EC 34%

Imports: $7.5 billion (c.i.f., 1993)
  commodities: machinery, transportation equipment, manufactured
  goods, chemicals, food and animals
  partners: EC 50%, US 13%, Japan 7%

External debt: $32.5 billion (1993)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $NA

Currency: 1 naira (N) = 100 kobo

Exchange rates: naira (N) per US$1 - 21.886 (January 1996), 21.895
  (1995), 21.996 (1994), 22.065 (1993), 17.298 (1992), 9.909 (1991)

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 3,557 km (1995)
  narrow gauge: 3,505 km 1.067-m gauge
  standard gauge: 52 km 1.435-m gauge

Highways:
  total: 112,140 km
  paved: 31,500 km
  unpaved: 80,640 km (1991 est.)

Waterways: 8,575 km consisting of the Niger and Benue rivers and
  smaller rivers and creeks

Pipelines: crude oil 2,042 km; petroleum products 3,000 km;
  natural gas 500 km

Ports: Calabar, Lagos, Onne, Port Harcourt, Sapele, Warri

Merchant marine:
  total: 33 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 387,552 GRT/636,578 DWT
  ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 16, chemical tanker 3, oil tanker 12,
  roll-on/roll-off cargo 1 (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 66
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 6
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 10
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 10
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 8
  with paved runways under 914 m: 18
  with unpaved runways over 3 047 m: 1
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 1
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 12 (1995 est.)

Heliports: 1 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 492,204 (1990 est.)

Telephone system: average system limited by poor maintenance;
  major expansion in progress
  domestic: microwave radio relay, coaxial cable, and 20 domestic
  satellite earth stations carry intercity traffic
  international: satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (2 Atlantic
  Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean); 1 coaxial submarine cable

Radio broadcast stations: AM 35, FM 17, shortwave 0

Radios: 20 million (1992 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 28

Televisions: 3.8 million (1992 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, paramilitary Police Force

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 23,739,192
  males fit for military service: 13,587,780
  males reach military age (18) annually: 1,065,410 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $172 million,
  about 1% of GDP (1992)



======================================================================




@Niue
----


(free association with New Zealand)

Map
---


Location: 19 02 S, 169 52 W -- Oceania, island in the South
  Pacific Ocean, east of Tonga



Flag
----


Description: yellow with the flag of the UK in the upper
  hoist-side quadrant; the flag of the UK bears five yellow
  five-pointed stars - a large one on a blue disk in the center and a
  smaller one on each arm of the bold red cross





Geography
---------


Location: Oceania, island in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Tonga

Geographic coordinates: 19 02 S, 169 52 W

Map references: Oceania

Area:
  total area: 260 sq km
  land area: 260 sq km
  comparative area: 1.5 times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 64 km

Maritime claims:
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: none

Climate: tropical; modified by southeast trade winds

Terrain: steep limestone cliffs along coast, central plateau
  lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
  highest point: unnamed location near Mutalau settlement 68 m

Natural resources: fish, arable land

Land use:
  arable land: 61%
  permanent crops: 4%
  meadows and pastures: 4%
  forest and woodland: 19%
  other: 12%

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Environment:
  current issues: traditional methods of burning brush and trees to
  clear land for agriculture have threatened soil supplies which are
  not naturally very abundant
  natural hazards: typhoons
  international agreements: signed, but not ratified - Law of the Sea

Geographic note: one of world's largest coral islands



People
------


Population: 2,174 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: NA
  15-64 years: NA
  65 years and over: NA

Population growth rate: -0.62% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: NA births/1,000 population

Death rate: NA deaths/1,000 population

Net migration rate: NA migrant(s)/1,000 population

Sex ratio:
  at birth: NA male(s)/female
  under 15 years: NA male(s)/female
  15-64 years: NA male(s)/female
  65 years and over: NA male(s)/female
  all ages: NA male(s)/female

Infant mortality rate: NA deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: NA years
  male: NA years
  female: NA years

Total fertility rate: NA children born/woman

Nationality:
  noun: Niuean(s)
  adjective: Niuean

Ethnic divisions: Polynesian (with some 200 Europeans, Samoans,
  and Tongans)

Religions: Ekalesia Nieue (Niuean Church) 75% - a Protestant
  church closely related to the London Missionary Society, Morman 10%,
  other 15% (mostly Roman Catholic, Jehovah's Witnesses, Seventh-Day
  Adventist)

Languages: Polynesian closely related to Tongan and Samoan, English



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: none
  conventional short form: Niue

Data code: NE

Type of government: self-governing territory in free association
  with New Zealand; Niue fully responsible for internal affairs; New
  Zealand retains responsibility for external affairs

Capital: Alofi

Administrative divisions: none

Independence: 19 October 1974 (became a self-governing territory
  in free association with New Zealand on 19 October 1974)

National holiday: Waitangi Day, 6 February (1840) (Treaty of
  Waitangi established British sovereignty)

Constitution: 19 October 1974 (Niue Constitution Act)

Legal system: English common law

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (of the UK since 6 February 1952)
  is a hereditary monarch; the queen and New Zealand are represented
  by New Zealand High Commissioner Warren SEARELL (since NA August
  1993)
  head of government: Premier Frank Fakaotimanava LUI (acting premier
  since NA December 1992, premier since 12 March 1993) was reelected
  by the Legislative Assembly; election last held 23 February 1996
  (next to be held NA March 1999)
  cabinet: Cabinet consists of the premier and three ministers

Legislative branch: unicameral
  Legislative Assembly: elections last held 23 February 1996 (next to
  be held NA March 1999); results - percent of vote NA; seats - (20
  total, 6 elected) NPP 9, independents 11

Judicial branch: Appeal Court of New Zealand; High Court

Political parties and leaders: Niue Peoples Party (NPP), Young
  VIVIAN

International organization participation: ESCAP (associate),
  Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UNESCO, WHO

Diplomatic representation in US: none (self-governing territory in
  free association with New Zealand)

US diplomatic representation: none (self-governing territory in
  free association with New Zealand)

Flag: yellow with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side
  quadrant; the flag of the UK bears five yellow five-pointed stars -
  a large one on a blue disk in the center and a smaller one on each
  arm of the bold red cross



Economy
-------


Economic overview: The economy is heavily dependent on aid from
  New Zealand. Government expenditures regularly exceed revenues, with
  the shortfall made up by grants from New Zealand - the grants are
  used to pay wages to public employees. The agricultural sector
  consists mainly of subsistence gardening, although some cash crops
  are grown for export. Industry consists primarily of small factories
  to process passion fruit, lime oil, honey, and coconut cream. The
  sale of postage stamps to foreign collectors is an important source
  of revenue. The island in recent years has suffered a serious loss
  of population because of migration of Niueans to New Zealand.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $2.4 million (1993 est.)

GDP real growth rate: NA%

GDP per capita: $1,200 (1993 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: NA%
  industry: NA%
  services: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 5% (1992)

Labor force: 1,000 (1981 est.)
  by occupation: most work on family plantations; paid work exists
  only in government service, small industry, and the Niue Development
  Board

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget:
  revenues: $5.5 million
  expenditures: $6.3 million, including capital expenditures of $NA
  (1985 est.)

Industries: tourism, handicrafts, food processing

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity:
  capacity: 1,500 kW
  production: 2.7 million kWh
  consumption per capita: 1,490 kWh (1992)

Agriculture: coconuts, passion fruit, honey, limes, taro, yams,
  cassava (tapioca), sweet potatoes; pigs, poultry, beef cattle

Exports: $117,500 (f.o.b., 1989)
  commodities: canned coconut cream, copra, honey, passion fruit
  products, pawpaw, root crops, limes, footballs, stamps, handicrafts
  partners: NZ 89%, Fiji, Cook Islands, Australia

Imports: $4.1 million (c.i.f., 1989)
  commodities: food, live animals, manufactured goods, machinery,
  fuels, lubricants, chemicals, drugs
  partners: NZ 59%, Fiji 20%, Japan 13%, Western Samoa, Australia, US

External debt: $NA

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $NA

Currency: 1 New Zealand dollar (NZ$) = 100 cents

Exchange rates: New Zealand dollars (NZ$) per US$1 - 1.5138
  (January 1996), 1.5235 (1995), 1.6844 (1994), 1.8495 (1993), 1.8584
  (1992), 1.7265 (1991)

Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March



Transportation
--------------


Railways: 0 km

Highways:
  total: 229 km
  unpaved: 229 km

Ports: none; offshore anchorage only

Merchant marine: none

Airports:
  total: 1
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 1 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 276 (1992 est.)

Telephone system:
  domestic: single-line telephone system connects all villages on
  island
  international: NA

Radio broadcast stations: AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0 (1987 est.)

Radios: 1,000

Television broadcast stations: 0

Televisions: 312 (1991 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Police Force

Defense note: defense is the responsibility of New Zealand



======================================================================




@Norfolk Island
--------------


(territory of Australia)

Map
---


Location: 29 02 S, 167 57 E -- Oceania, island in the South
  Pacific Ocean, east of Australia



Flag
----


Description: three vertical bands of green (hoist side), white,
  and green with a large green Norfolk Island pine tree centered in
  the slightly wider white band





Geography
---------


Location: Oceania, island in the South Pacific Ocean, east of
  Australia

Geographic coordinates: 29 02 S, 167 57 E

Map references: Oceania

Area:
  total area: 34.6 sq km
  land area: 34.6 sq km
  comparative area: about 0.2 times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 32 km

Maritime claims:
  exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 3 nm

International disputes: none

Climate: subtropical, mild, little seasonal temperature variation

Terrain: volcanic formation with mostly rolling plains
  lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
  highest point: Mount Bates 319 m

Natural resources: fish

Land use:
  arable land: 0%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 25%
  forest and woodland: 0%
  other: 75%

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Environment:
  current issues: NA
  natural hazards: typhoons (especially May to July)
  international agreements: NA



People
------


Population: 2,209 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: NA
  15-64 years: NA
  65 years and over: NA

Population growth rate: -0.68% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: NA births/1,000 population

Death rate: NA deaths/1,000 population

Net migration rate: NA migrant(s)/1,000 population

Sex ratio:
  at birth: NA male(s)/female
  under 15 years: NA male(s)/female
  15-64 years: NA male(s)/female
  65 years and over: NA male(s)/female
  all ages: NA male(s)/female

Infant mortality rate: NA deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: NA years
  male: NA years
  female: NA years

Total fertility rate: NA children born/woman

Nationality:
  noun: Norfolk Islander(s)
  adjective: Norfolk Islander(s)

Ethnic divisions: descendants of the Bounty mutineers, Australian,
  New Zealander

Religions: Anglican 39%, Roman Catholic 11.7%, Uniting Church in
  Australia 16.4%, Seventh-Day Adventist 4.4%, none 9.2%, unknown
  16.9%, other 2.4% (1986)

Languages: English (official), Norfolk a mixture of 18th century
  English and ancient Tahitian



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Territory of Norfolk Island
  conventional short form: Norfolk Island

Data code: NF

Type of government: territory of Australia

Capital: Kingston (administrative center); Burnt Pine (commercial
  center)

Administrative divisions: none (territory of Australia)

Independence: none (territory of Australia)

National holiday: Pitcairners Arrival Day Anniversary, 8 June
  (1856)

Constitution: Norfolk Island Act of 1979

Legal system: based on the laws of Australia, local ordinances and
  acts; English common law applies in matters not covered by either
  Australian or Norfolk Island law

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (of the United Kingdom since 6
  February 1952) is a hereditary monarch; the queen and Australia are
  represented by Administrator Alan Gardner KERR (since NA April 1992)
  who was appointed by the governor general of Australia
  head of government: Assembly President and Chief Minister John
  Terrence BROWN (since NA) was elected for not more than three years
  by the Legislative Assembly
  cabinet: Executive Council is made up of executive members of the
  Legislative Assembly

Legislative branch: unicameral
  Legislative Assembly: elections last held 20 May 1992 (next to be
  held NA May 1995); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (9
  total) independents 9

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

Political parties and leaders: none

International organization participation: none

Diplomatic representation in US: none (territory of Australia)

US diplomatic representation: none (territory of Australia)

Flag: three vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and green
  with a large green Norfolk Island pine tree centered in the slightly
  wider white band



Economy
-------


Economic overview: The primary economic activity is tourism, which
  has brought a level of prosperity unusual among inhabitants of the
  Pacific islands. The number of visitors has increased steadily over
  the years and reached 29,000 in FY88/89. Revenues from tourism have
  given the island a favorable balance of trade and helped the
  agricultural sector to become self-sufficient in the production of
  beef, poultry, and eggs.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $NA

GDP real growth rate: NA%

GDP per capita: $NA

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: NA%
  industry: NA%
  services: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA%

Labor force: 1,395 (1991 est.)

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget:
  revenues: $4.6 million
  expenditures: $4.8 million, including capital expenditures of $NA
  (FY92/93)

Industries: tourism

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity:
  capacity: 7,000 kW
  production: 8 million kWh
  consumption per capita: 3,160 kWh (1990)

Agriculture: Norfolk Island pine seed, Kentia palm seed, cereals,
  vegetables, fruit; cattle, poultry

Exports: $1.5 million (f.o.b., FY91/92)
  commodities: postage stamps, seeds of the Norfolk Island pine and
  Kentia palm, small quantities of avocados
  partners: Australia, Pacific Islands, NZ, Asia, Europe

Imports: $17.9 million (c.i.f., FY91/92)
  commodities: NA
  partners: Australia, Pacific Islands, NZ, Asia, Europe

External debt: $NA

Economic aid: none

Currency: 1 Australian dollar ($A) = 100 cents

Exchange rates: Australian dollars ($A) per US$1 - 1.3477 (January
  1996), 1.3486 (1995), 1.3667 (1994), 1.4704 (1993), 1.3600 (1992),
  1.2835 (1991), 1.2799 (1990)

Fiscal year: 1 July - 30 June



Transportation
--------------


Railways: 0 km

Highways:
  total: 80 km
  paved: 53 km
  unpaved: 27 km

Ports: none; loading jetties at Kingston and Cascade

Merchant marine: none

Airports:
  total: 1
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 1 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 1,087 (1983 est.)

Telephone system:
  domestic: NA
  international: radiotelephone service with Sydney (Australia)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0

Radios: 2,000 (1991 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 0

Televisions: 900 (1991 est.)



Defense
-------


Defense note: defense is the responsibility of Australia



======================================================================




@Northern Mariana Islands
------------------------


(commonwealth in political union with the US)

Map
---


Location: 15 12 N, 145 45 E -- Oceania, islands in the North
  Pacific Ocean, about three-quarters of the way from Hawaii to the
  Philippines



Flag
----


Description: blue with a white five-pointed star superimposed on
  the gray silhouette of a latte stone (a traditional foundation stone
  used in building) in the center, surrounded by a wreath





Geography
---------


Location: Oceania, islands in the North Pacific Ocean, about
  three-quarters of the way from Hawaii to the Philippines

Geographic coordinates: 15 12 N, 145 45 E

Map references: Oceania

Area:
  total area: 477 sq km
  land area: 477 sq km
  comparative area: 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC
  note: includes 14 islands including Saipan, Rota, and Tinian

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 1,482 km

Maritime claims:
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: none

Climate: tropical marine; moderated by northeast trade winds,
  little seasonal temperature variation; dry season December to June,
  rainy season July to October

Terrain: southern islands are limestone with level terraces and
  fringing coral reefs; northern islands are volcanic
  lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
  highest point: unnamed location on Agrihan 965 m

Natural resources: arable land, fish

Land use:
  arable land: 5% on Saipan
  permanent crops: NA%
  meadows and pastures: 19%
  forest and woodland: NA%
  other: NA%

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Environment:
  current issues: contamination of groundwater on Saipan by raw sewage
  contributes to disease
  natural hazards: active volcanoes on Pagan and Agrihan; typhoons
  (especially August to November)
  international agreements: NA

Geographic note: strategic location in the North Pacific Ocean



People
------


Population: 52,284 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: NA
  15-64 years: NA
  65 years and over: NA

Population growth rate: 3.04% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 33.05 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 4.61 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: NA male(s)/female
  under 15 years: NA male(s)/female
  15-64 years: NA male(s)/female
  65 years and over: NA male(s)/female
  all ages: NA male(s)/female

Infant mortality rate: 37.96 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 67.43 years
  male: 65.53 years
  female: 69.48 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.69 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: NA
  adjective: NA

Ethnic divisions: Chamorro, Carolinians and other Micronesians,
  Caucasian, Japanese, Chinese, Korean

Religions: Christian (Roman Catholic majority, although
  traditional beliefs and taboos may still be found)

Languages: English, Chamorro, Carolinian
  note: 86% of population speaks a language other than English at home

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1980 est.)
  total population: 97%
  male: 97%
  female: 96%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands
  conventional short form: Northern Mariana Islands

Data code: CQ

Type of government: commonwealth in political union with the US;
  self-governing with locally elected governor, lieutenant governor,
  and legislature; federal funds to the Commonwealth administered by
  the US Department of the Interior, Office of Territorial and
  International Affairs

Capital: Saipan

Administrative divisions: none

Independence: none (commonwealth in political union with the US)

National holiday: Commonwealth Day, 8 January (1978)

Constitution: Covenant Agreement effective 3 November 1986 and the
  Constitution of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands

Legal system: based on US system except for customs, wages,
  immigration laws, and taxation

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal; indigenous inhabitants are
  US citizens but do not vote in US presidential elections

Executive branch:
  chief of state: President (of the United States) William Jefferson
  CLINTON (since 20 January 1993); Vice President Albert GORE, Jr.
  (since 20 January 1993)
  head of government: Governor Froilan C. TENORIO (since NA January
  1994) and Lieutenant Governor Jesus C. BORJA (since NA January 1994)
  were elected for four-year terms by universal suffrage; election
  last held in NA November 1993 (next to be held NA November 1997);
  results - Froilan C. TENORIO (Democrat) was elected governor with
  56% of the vote

Legislative branch: bicameral Legislature
  Senate: elections last held NA November 1993 (next to be held NA
  November 1995); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (9
  total) Republicans retained a majority of the seats
  House of Representatives: elections last held NA November 1993 (next
  to be held NA November 1995); results - percent of vote by party NA;
  seats - (18 total) Republicans retained a majority of the seats
  US House of Representatives: the Commonwealth does not have a
  nonvoting delegate in Congress; instead, it has an elected official
  "resident representative" located in Washington, DC; seats - (1
  total) Juan N. BABAUTA (Republican)

Judicial branch: Commonwealth Supreme Court; Superior Court;
  Federal District Court

Political parties and leaders: Republican Party, Benigno R.
  FITIAL, leader; Democratic Party, Dr. Carlos S. CAMACHO, chairman

International organization participation: ESCAP (associate), SPC

Flag: blue with a white five-pointed star superimposed on the gray
  silhouette of a latte stone (a traditional foundation stone used in
  building) in the center, surrounded by a wreath



Economy
-------


Economic overview: The economy benefits substantially from
  financial assistance from the US. The rate of funding has declined
  as locally generated government revenues have grown. An agreement
  for the years 1986 to 1992 entitled the islands to $228 million for
  capital development, government operations, and special programs. A
  rapidly growing major source of income is the tourist industry,
  which now employs about 50% of the work force. Japanese tourists
  predominate. The agricultural sector is of minor importance and is
  made up of cattle ranches and small farms producing coconuts,
  breadfruit, tomatoes, and melons. Industry is small scale, mostly
  handicrafts, light manufacturing, and garment production.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $524 million (1994 est.)
  note: GDP numbers reflect US spending

GDP real growth rate: NA%

GDP per capita: $10,500 (1994 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: NA%
  industry: NA%
  services: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 6.5% (1994 est.)

Labor force: 7,476 total indigenous labor force; 2,699 unemployed;
  21,188 foreign workers (1990)
  by occupation: NA

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget:
  revenues: $190.4 million
  expenditures: $190.4 million, including capital expenditures of
  $19.1 million (FY94/95)

Industries: tourism, construction, light industry, handicrafts

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity:
  capacity: 105,000 kW
  production: NA kWh
  consumption per capita: NA kWh

Agriculture: coconuts, fruits, vegetables; cattle

Exports: $263.4 million (f.o.b. 1991 est.)
  commodities: garments
  partners: NA

Imports: $392.4 million (c.i.f. 1991 est.)
  commodities: food, construction equipment and materials, petroleum
  products
  partners: US, Japan

External debt: $NA

Economic aid: none

Currency: 1 United States dollar (US$) = 100 cents

Exchange rates: US currency is used

Fiscal year: 1 October - 30 September



Transportation
--------------


Railways: 0 km

Highways:
  total: 381.5 km (1991 est.)
  paved: NA km
  unpaved: NA km

Waterways: none

Ports: Saipan, Tinian

Merchant marine: none

Airports:
  total: 5
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 1
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 2
  with paved runways under 914 m: 1
  with unpaved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 1 (1995 est.)

Heliports: 1 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 13,618 (1993 est.)

Telephone system:
  domestic: NA
  international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 2, FM 1, shortwave 0 (1984)

Radios: 15,350 (1987 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 1
  note: there are 2 cable TV stations

Televisions: 10,650 (1993 est.)



Defense
-------


Defense note: defense is the responsibility of the US



======================================================================




@Norway
------




Map
---


Location: 62 00 N, 10 00 E -- Northern Europe, bordering the North
  Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, west of Sweden



Flag
----


Description: red with a blue cross outlined in white that extends
  to the edges of the flag; the vertical part of the cross is shifted
  to the hoist side in the style of the Dannebrog (Danish flag)





Geography
---------


Location: Northern Europe, bordering the North Sea and the North
  Atlantic Ocean, west of Sweden

Geographic coordinates: 62 00 N, 10 00 E

Map references: Europe

Area:
  total area: 324,220 sq km
  land area: 307,860 sq km
  comparative area: slightly larger than New Mexico

Land boundaries:
  total: 2,515 km
  border countries: Finland 729 km, Sweden 1,619 km, Russia 167 km

Coastline: 21,925 km (includes mainland 3,419 km, large islands
  2,413 km, long fjords, numerous small islands, and minor
  indentations 16,093 km)

Maritime claims:
  contiguous zone: 10 nm
  continental shelf: 200 nm
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 4 nm

International disputes: territorial claim in Antarctica (Queen
  Maud Land); maritime boundary dispute with Russia over portion of
  Barents Sea

Climate: temperate along coast, modified by North Atlantic
  Current; colder interior; rainy year-round on west coast

Terrain: glaciated; mostly high plateaus and rugged mountains
  broken by fertile valleys; small, scattered plains; coastline deeply
  indented by fjords; arctic tundra in north
  lowest point: Norwegian Sea 0 m
  highest point: Glittertinden 2,472 m

Natural resources: petroleum, copper, natural gas, pyrites,
  nickel, iron ore, zinc, lead, fish, timber, hydropower

Land use:
  arable land: 3%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 0%
  forest and woodland: 27%
  other: 70%

Irrigated land: 950 sq km (1989)

Environment:
  current issues: water pollution; acid rain damaging forests and
  adversely affecting lakes, threatening fish stocks; air pollution
  from vehicle emissions
  natural hazards: NA
  international agreements: party to - Air Pollution, Air
  Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air
  Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds,
  Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity,
  Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification,
  Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer
  Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94,
  Wetlands, Whaling; signed, but not ratified - Desertification, Law
  of the Sea

Geographic note: about two-thirds mountains; some 50,000 islands
  off its much indented coastline; strategic location adjacent to sea
  lanes and air routes in North Atlantic; one of most rugged and
  longest coastlines in world; Norway and Turkey only NATO members
  having a land boundary with Russia



People
------


Population: 4,383,807 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 19% (male 434,848; female 411,668)
  15-64 years: 65% (male 1,446,746; female 1,396,150)
  65 years and over: 16% (male 288,789; female 405,606) (July 1996
  est.)

Population growth rate: 0.48% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 11.96 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 10.68 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 3.57 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female
  all ages: 0.98 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 4.9 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 77.53 years
  male: 74.63 years
  female: 80.61 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.63 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Norwegian(s)
  adjective: Norwegian

Ethnic divisions: Germanic (Nordic, Alpine, Baltic), Lapps (Sami)
  20,000

Religions: Evangelical Lutheran 87.8% (state church), other
  Protestant and Roman Catholic 3.8%, none 3.2%, unknown 5.2% (1980)

Languages: Norwegian (official)
  note: small Lapp- and Finnish-speaking minorities

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1976 est.)
  total population: 99%
  male: NA%
  female: NA%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Kingdom of Norway
  conventional short form: Norway
  local long form: Kongeriket Norge
  local short form: Norge

Data code: NO

Type of government: constitutional monarchy

Capital: Oslo

Administrative divisions: 19 provinces (fylker, singular - fylke);
  Akershus, Aust-Agder, Buskerud, Finnmark, Hedmark, Hordaland, More
  og Romsdal, Nordland, Nord-Trondelag, Oppland, Oslo, Ostfold,
  Rogaland, Sogn og Fjordane, Sor-Trondelag, Telemark, Troms,
  Vest-Agder, Vestfold

Dependent areas: Bouvet Island, Jan Mayen, Svalbard

Independence: 26 October 1905 (from Sweden)

National holiday: Constitution Day, 17 May (1814)

Constitution: 17 May 1814, modified in 1884

Legal system: mixture of customary law, civil law system, and
  common law traditions; Supreme Court renders advisory opinions to
  legislature when asked; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with
  reservations

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: King HARALD V (since 17 January 1991) is a
  hereditary monarch; Heir Apparent Crown Prince HAAKON MAGNUS (born
  20 July 1973)
  head of government: Prime Minister Gro Harlem BRUNDTLAND (since 3
  November 1990) was appointed by the king with the approval of the
  Storting
  cabinet: State Council was appointed by the king with the approval
  of the Storting

Legislative branch: modified unicameral Parliament (Storting)
  which, for certain purposes, divides itself into two chambers
  Storting: elections last held 13 September 1993 (next to be held NA
  September 1997); results - Labor 37.1%, Center Party 18.5%,
  Conservatives 15.6%, Christian People's 8.4%, Socialist Left 7.9%,
  Progress 6%, Left Party 3.6%, Red Electoral Alliance 1.2%; seats -
  (165 total) Labor 67, Center Party 32, Conservatives 18, Christian
  People's 13, Socialist Left 13, Progress 10, Left Party 1, Red
  Electoral Alliance 1, unawarded 10
  note: for certain purposes, the Storting divides itself into two
  chambers and elects one-fourth of its membership to an upper house
  or Lagting

Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Hoyesterett), justices appointed
  by the king

Political parties and leaders: Labor Party, Thorbjorn JAGLAND;
  Conservative Party, Jan PETERSEN; Center Party, Anne ENGER
  LAHNSTEIN; Christian People's Party, Valgerd HAUGLAND; Socialist
  Left, Erik SOLHEIM; Norwegian Communist, Kare Andre NILSEN; Progress
  Party, Carl I. HAGEN; Liberal, Odd Einar DORUM; Left Party; Red
  Electoral Alliance, Erling FOLKVORD

International organization participation: AfDB, AsDB, Australia
  Group, BIS, CBSS, CCC, CE, CERN, EBRD, ECE, EFTA, ESA, FAO, IADB,
  IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO,
  IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MINURSO,
  MTCR, NACC, NAM (guest), NATO, NC, NEA, NIB, NSG, OECD, OSCE, PCA,
  UN, UNAVEM III, UNCRO, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNITAR,
  UNPREDEP, UNPROFOR, UNTSO, UPU, WEU (associate), WHO, WIPO, WMO,
  WTrO, ZC

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Kjeld VIBE
  chancery: 2720 34th Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
  telephone: [1] (202) 333-6000
  FAX: [1] (202) 337-0870
  consulate(s) general: Houston, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, New York,
  and San Francisco
  consulate(s): Miami

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Thomas A. LOFTUS
  embassy: Drammensveien 18, 0244 Oslo
  mailing address: PSC 69, Box 1000, APO AE 09707
  telephone: [47] 22 44 85 50
  FAX: [47] 22 44 33 63

Flag: red with a blue cross outlined in white that extends to the
  edges of the flag; the vertical part of the cross is shifted to the
  hoist side in the style of the Dannebrog (Danish flag)



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Norway has a mixed economy involving a
  combination of free market activity and government intervention. The
  government controls key areas, such as the vital petroleum sector
  (through large-scale state enterprises), and extensively subsidizes
  agriculture, fishing, and areas with sparse resources. Norway also
  maintains an extensive welfare system that helps propel public
  sector expenditures to more than 50% of GDP and results in one of
  the highest average tax burdens in the world (46%). A small country
  with a high dependence on international trade, Norway is basically
  an exporter of raw materials and semiprocessed goods, with an
  abundance of small- and medium-sized firms, and is ranked among the
  major shipping nations. The country is richly endowed with natural
  resources - petroleum, hydropower, fish, forests, and minerals - and
  is highly dependent on its oil sector. Norway imports more than half
  its food needs. Economic growth, only 1.6% in 1993, moved up to 5.5%
  in 1994 and remained strong in 1995. Oslo opted to stay out of the
  EU during a referendum in November 1994.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $106.2 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 4.5% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $24,500 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 2.9%
  industry: 34.7%
  services: 62.4% (1991)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.5% (1995 est.)

Labor force: 2.13 million
  by occupation: services 71%, industry 23%, agriculture, forestry,
  and fishing 6% (1993)

Unemployment rate: 8% (including people in job-training programs;
  November 1995)

Budget:
  revenues: $48.6 billion
  expenditures: $53 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA
  (1994 est.)

Industries: petroleum and gas, food processing, shipbuilding, pulp
  and paper products, metals, chemicals, timber, mining, textiles,
  fishing

Industrial production growth rate: 7.4% (1994)

Electricity:
  capacity: 27,280,000 kW
  production: 118 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 23,735 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: oats, other grains; beef, milk; livestock output
  exceeds value of crops; among world's top 10 fishing nations; fish
  catch of 1.76 million metric tons in 1989

Illicit drugs: transshipment point for drugs shipped via the CIS
  and Baltic states for the European market

Exports: $34.7 billion (f.o.b., 1994)
  commodities: petroleum and petroleum products 43%, metals and
  products 11%, foodstuffs (mostly fish) 9%, chemicals and raw
  materials 25%, natural gas 6.0%, ships 5.4%
  partners: EU 77.8% (UK 20.8%, Germany 12.4%, France 8.12%), Sweden
  9.4%, US 6.7%, Japan 1.9% (1994)

Imports: $27.3 billion (c.i.f., 1994)
  commodities: machinery and equipment and manufactured consumer goods
  54%, chemicals and other industrial inputs 39%, foodstuffs 6%
  partners: EU 68.9% (Germany 13.9%, UK 10.4%, Denmark 7.4%), Sweden
  15%, US 7.4%, Japan 6.0% (1994)

External debt: $NA

Economic aid:
  donor: ODA, $1.014 billion (1993)

Currency: 1 Norwegian krone (NKr) = 100 oere

Exchange rates: Norwegian kroner (NKr) per US$1 - 6.4160 (January
  1996), 6.3352 (1995), 7.0576 (1994), 7.0941 (1993), 6.2145 (1992),
  6.4829 (1991)

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 4,027 km
  standard gauge: 4,027 km 1.435-m gauge (2422 km electrified; 96 km
  double track) (1995)

Highways:
  total: 88,922 km
  paved: 61,356 km (including 75 km of expressways)
  unpaved: 27,566 km (1990 est.)

Waterways: 1,577 km along west coast; 2.4 m draft vessels maximum

Pipelines: refined products 53 km

Ports: Bergen, Drammen, Flora, Hammerfest, Harstad, Haugesund,
  Kristiansand, Larvik, Narvik, Oslo, Porsgrunn, Stavanger, Tromso,
  Trondheim

Merchant marine:
  total: 712 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 19,278,205
  GRT/32,209,679 DWT
  ships by type: bulk 114, cargo 98, chemical tanker 83, combination
  bulk 10, combination ore/oil 31, container 15, liquefied gas tanker
  87, oil tanker 148, passenger 10, passenger-cargo 2, railcar carrier
  1, refrigerated cargo 13, roll-on/roll-off cargo 49, short-sea
  passenger 21, vehicle carrier 30
  note: the government has created an internal register, the Norwegian
  International Ship Register (NIS), as a subset of the Norwegian
  register; ships on the NIS enjoy many benefits of flags of
  convenience and do not have to be crewed by Norwegians (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 102
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 1
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 12
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 13
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 11
  with paved runways under 914 m: 60
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 5 (1995 est.)

Heliports: 1 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 2.39 million (1986 est.)

Telephone system: high-quality domestic and international
  telephone, telegraph, and telex services
  domestic: NA domestic satellite earth stations
  international: 2 buried coaxial cable systems; 4 coaxial submarine
  cables; satellite earth stations - NA Eutelsat, NA Intelsat
  (Atlantic Ocean), and 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic and Indian Ocean
  Regions); note - Norway shares the Inmarsat earth station with the
  other Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, and Sweden)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 46, FM 493 (350 private and 143
  government), shortwave 0

Radios: 3.3 million (1993 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 54 (repeaters 2,100)

Televisions: 1.5 million (1993 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Norwegian Army, Royal Norwegian Navy (includes Coast
  Artillery and Coast Guard), Royal Norwegian Air Force, Home Guard

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 1,125,302
  males fit for military service: 937,309
  males reach military age (20) annually: 28,328 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $3.7 billion,
  2.9% of GDP (1995)



======================================================================




@Oman
----




Map
---


Location: 21 00 N, 57 00 E -- Middle East, bordering the Arabian
  Sea, Gulf of Oman, and Persian Gulf, between Yemen and UAE



Flag
----


Description: three horizontal bands of white (top, double width),
  red, and green (double width) with a broad, vertical, red band on
  the hoist side; the national emblem (a khanjar dagger in its sheath
  superimposed on two crossed swords in scabbards) in white is
  centered at the top of the vertical band





Geography
---------


Location: Middle East, bordering the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Oman,
  and Persian Gulf, between Yemen and UAE

Geographic coordinates: 21 00 N, 57 00 E

Map references: Middle East

Area:
  total area: 212,460 sq km
  land area: 212,460 sq km
  comparative area: slightly smaller than Kansas

Land boundaries:
  total: 1,374 km
  border countries: Saudi Arabia 676 km, UAE 410 km, Yemen 288 km

Coastline: 2,092 km

Maritime claims:
  contiguous zone: 24 nm
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: no defined boundary with most of UAE, but
  Administrative Line in far north

Climate: dry desert; hot, humid along coast; hot, dry interior;
  strong southwest summer monsoon (May to September) in far south

Terrain: vast central desert plain, rugged mountains in north and
  south
  lowest point: Arabian Sea 0 m
  highest point: Jabal ash Sham 2,980 m

Natural resources: petroleum, copper, asbestos, some marble,
  limestone, chromium, gypsum, natural gas

Land use:
  arable land: 2%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 5%
  forest and woodland: 0%
  other: 93%

Irrigated land: 410 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
  current issues: rising soil salinity; beach pollution from oil
  spills; very limited natural fresh water resources
  natural hazards: summer winds often raise large sandstorms and dust
  storms in interior; periodic droughts
  international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
  Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ship Pollution; signed, but not
  ratified - Hazardous Wastes

Geographic note: strategic location with small foothold on
  Musandam Peninsula controlling Strait of Hormuz, a vital transit
  point for world crude oil



People
------


Population: 2,186,548 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 46% (male 511,664; female 493,369)
  15-64 years: 51% (male 609,423; female 513,042)
  65 years and over: 3% (male 26,623; female 32,427) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 3.53% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 37.86 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 4.44 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 1.84 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 1.19 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.82 male(s)/female
  all ages: 1.1 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 27.3 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 70.53 years
  male: 68.59 years
  female: 72.57 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 6.09 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Omani(s)
  adjective: Omani

Ethnic divisions: Arab, Baluchi, South Asian (Indian, Pakistani,
  Sri Lankan, Bangladeshi), African

Religions: Ibadhi Muslim 75%, Sunni Muslim, Shi'a Muslim, Hindu

Languages: Arabic (official), English, Baluchi, Urdu, Indian
  dialects

Literacy: NA



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Sultanate of Oman
  conventional short form: Oman
  local long form: Saltanat Uman
  local short form: Uman

Data code: MU

Type of government: monarchy

Capital: Muscat

Administrative divisions: 6 regions (mintaqah, singular -
  mintaqat) and 2 governorates* (muhafazah, singular - muhafazat) Ad
  Dakhiliyah, Al Batinah, Al Wusta, Ash Sharqiyah, Az Zahirah, Masqat,
  Musandam*, Zufar*

Independence: 1650 (expulsion of the Portuguese)

National holiday: National Day, 18 November (1940)

Constitution: none

Legal system: based on English common law and Islamic law;
  ultimate appeal to the sultan; has not accepted compulsory ICJ
  jurisdiction

Suffrage: none

Executive branch:
  chief of state and head of government: Sultan and Prime Minister
  QABOOS bin Said Al Said (since 23 July 1970) is a hereditary monarch;
  cabinet: Cabinet was appointed by the sultan

Legislative branch: unicameral
  Consultative Council (Majlis ash Shura): a 60-member body with
  advisory powers only

Judicial branch: none; traditional Islamic judges and a nascent
  civil court system, administered by region

Political parties and leaders: none

Other political or pressure groups: NA

International organization participation: ABEDA, AFESD, AL, AMF,
  ESCWA, FAO, G-77, GCC, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF,
  IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU,
  NAM, OIC, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO,
  UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Abdallah bin Muhammad bin Aqil al-DHAHAB
  chancery: 2535 Belmont Road, NW, Washington, DC 20008
  telephone: [1] (202) 387-1980 through 1982
  FAX: [1] (202) 745-4933

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Frances D. COOK
  embassy: address NA, Muscat
  mailing address: P. O. Box 202, Code No. 115, Medinat Qaboos, Muscat
  telephone: [968] 698989
  FAX: [968] 699779

Flag: three horizontal bands of white (top, double width), red,
  and green (double width) with a broad, vertical, red band on the
  hoist side; the national emblem (a khanjar dagger in its sheath
  superimposed on two crossed swords in scabbards) in white is
  centered at the top of the vertical band



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Economic performance is closely tied to the
  fortunes of the oil industry. Petroleum accounts for nearly 90% of
  export earnings, about 75% of government revenues, and roughly 40%
  of GDP. Oman has proved oil reserves of 4 billion barrels,
  equivalent to about 20 years' supply at the current rate of
  extraction. Agriculture is carried on at a subsistence level and the
  general population depends on imported food. The government is
  encouraging private investment, both domestic and foreign, as a
  prime force for further economic development.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $19.1 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 3.5% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $10,800 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 3%
  industry: 60%
  services: 37%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): -0.7% (1994 est.)

Labor force: 454,000
  by occupation: agriculture 37% (1993 est.)

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget:
  revenues: $4.7 billion
  expenditures: $5.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA
  (1995 est.)

Industries: crude oil production and refining, natural gas
  production, construction, cement, copper

Industrial production growth rate: 3% (1994 est.)

Electricity:
  capacity: 1,540,000 kW
  production: 6 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 3,407 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: dates, limes, bananas, alfalfa, vegetables; camels,
  cattle; annual fish catch averages 100,000 metric tons

Exports: $4.8 billion (f.o.b., 1994 est.)
  commodities: petroleum 87%, reexports, fish, processed copper,
  textiles
  partners: Japan 35%, South Korea 15.8%, US 9%, China 8%, Thailand 5%
  (1994)

Imports: $4 billion (c.i.f., 1994 est.)
  commodities: machinery, transportation equipment, manufactured
  goods, food, livestock, lubricants
  partners: UAE 27% (largely reexports), Japan 20%, UK 15%, US 5%,
  Germany 4% (1993)

External debt: $3 billion (1993)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $82 million (1993)

Currency: 1 Omani rial (RO) = 1,000 baiza

Exchange rates: Omani rials (RO) per US$1 - 0.3845 (fixed rate
  since 1986)

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways: 0 km

Highways:
  total: 25,948 km
  paved: 4,930 km (including 413 km of expressways)
  unpaved: 21,018 km (1992 est.)

Pipelines: crude oil 1,300 km; natural gas 1,030 km

Ports: Matrah, Mina' al Fahl, Mina' Raysut

Merchant marine:
  total: 3 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 16,306 GRT/8,210 DWT
  ships by type: cargo 1, passenger 1, passenger-cargo 1 (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 129
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 4
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 1
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 1
  with paved runways under 914 m: 34
  with unpaved runways over 3 047 m: 3
  with unpaved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 3
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 57
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 26 (1995 est.)

Heliports: 1 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 150,000 (1994 est.)

Telephone system: modern system consisting of open wire,
  microwave, and radiotelephone communication stations; limited
  coaxial cable
  domestic: open wire, microwave, radiotelephone communications, and a
  domestic satellite system with 8 earth stations
  international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Indian Ocean)
  and 1 Arabsat

Radio broadcast stations: AM 2, FM 4, shortwave 1

Radios: 1.043 million (1992 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 9

Televisions: 1.195 million (1992 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, paramilitary (includes Royal Oman
  Police)

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 532,113
  males fit for military service: 301,747 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $1.82 billion,
  13.7% of GDP (1996)



======================================================================




@Pacific Ocean
-------------



Map
---


Location: 0 00 N, 160 00 W -- body of water between Antarctica,
  Asia, Australia, and the Western Hemisphere





Geography
---------


Location: body of water between Antarctica, Asia, Australia, and
  the Western Hemisphere

Geographic coordinates: 0 00 N, 160 00 W

Map references: World

Area:
  total area: 165.384 million sq km
  comparative area: about 18 times the size of the US; the largest
  ocean (followed by the Atlantic Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and the
  Arctic Ocean); covers about one-third of the global surface; larger
  than the total land area of the world
  note: includes Bali Sea, Bellingshausen Sea, Bering Sea, Bering
  Strait, Coral Sea, East China Sea, Flores Sea, Gulf of Alaska, Gulf
  of Tonkin, Java Sea, Philippine Sea, Ross Sea, Savu Sea, Sea of
  Japan, Sea of Okhotsk, South China Sea, Tasman Sea, Timor Sea, and
  other tributary water bodies

Coastline: 135,663 km

International disputes: some maritime disputes (see littoral
  states)

Climate: planetary air pressure systems and resultant wind
  patterns exhibit remarkable uniformity in the south and east; trade
  winds and westerly winds are well-developed patterns, modified by
  seasonal fluctuations; tropical cyclones (hurricanes) may form south
  of Mexico from June to October and affect Mexico and Central
  America; continental influences cause climatic uniformity to be much
  less pronounced in the eastern and western regions at the same
  latitude in the North Pacific Ocean; the western Pacific is
  monsoonal - a rainy season occurs during the summer months, when
  moisture-laden winds blow from the ocean over the land, and a dry
  season during the winter months, when dry winds blow from the Asian
  land mass back to the ocean; tropical cyclones (typhoons) may strike
  southeast and East Asia from May to December

Terrain: surface currents in the northern Pacific are dominated by
  a clockwise, warm-water gyre (broad circular system of currents) and
  in the southern Pacific by a counterclockwise, cool-water gyre; in
  the northern Pacific, sea ice forms in the Bering Sea and Sea of
  Okhotsk in winter; in the southern Pacific, sea ice from Antarctica
  reaches its northernmost extent in October; the ocean floor in the
  eastern Pacific is dominated by the East Pacific Rise, while the
  western Pacific is dissected by deep trenches, including the
  Marianas Trench, which is the world's deepest
  lowest point: Marianas Trench -10,924 m
  highest point: sea level 0 m

Natural resources: oil and gas fields, polymetallic nodules, sand
  and gravel aggregates, placer deposits, fish

Environment:
  current issues: endangered marine species include the dugong, sea
  lion, sea otter, seals, turtles, and whales; oil pollution in
  Philippine Sea and South China Sea
  natural hazards: surrounded by a zone of violent volcanic and
  earthquake activity sometimes referred to as the "Pacific Ring of
  Fire"; subject to tropical cyclones (typhoons) in southeast and east
  Asia from May to December (most frequent from July to October);
  tropical cyclones (hurricanes) may form south of Mexico and strike
  Central America and Mexico from June to October (most common in
  August and September); southern shipping lanes subject to icebergs
  from Antarctica; occasional El Nino phenomenon occurs off the coast
  of Peru, when the trade winds slacken and the warm Equatorial
  Countercurrent moves south, killing the plankton that is the primary
  food source for anchovies; consequently, the anchovies move to
  better feeding grounds, causing resident marine birds to starve by
  the thousands because of the loss of their food source; ships
  subject to superstructure icing in extreme north from October to May
  and in extreme south from May to October; persistent fog in the
  northern Pacific can be a maritime hazard from June to December
  international agreements: NA

Geographic note: the major choke points are the Bering Strait,
  Panama Canal, Luzon Strait, and the Singapore Strait; the Equator
  divides the Pacific Ocean into the North Pacific Ocean and the South
  Pacific Ocean; dotted with low coral islands and rugged volcanic
  islands in the southwestern Pacific Ocean



Government
----------


Data code: none; the US Government has not approved a standard for
  hydrographic codes - see the Cross-Reference List of Hydrographic
  Codes appendix



Economy
-------


Economic overview: The Pacific Ocean is a major contributor to the
  world economy and particularly to those nations its waters directly
  touch. It provides low-cost sea transportation between East and
  West, extensive fishing grounds, offshore oil and gas fields,
  minerals, and sand and gravel for the construction industry. In 1985
  over half (54%) of the world's fish catch came from the Pacific
  Ocean, which is the only ocean where the fish catch has increased
  every year since 1978. Exploitation of offshore oil and gas reserves
  is playing an ever-increasing role in the energy supplies of
  Australia, NZ, China, US, and Peru. The high cost of recovering
  offshore oil and gas, combined with the wide swings in world prices
  for oil since 1985, has slowed but not stopped new drillings.



Transportation
--------------


Ports: Bangkok (Thailand), Hong Kong, Kao-hsiung (Taiwan), Los
  Angeles (US), Manila (Philippines), Pusan (South Korea), San
  Francisco (US), Seattle (US), Shanghai (China), Singapore, Sydney
  (Australia), Vladivostok (Russia), Wellington (NZ), Yokohama (Japan)



Communications
--------------


Telephone system:
  international: several submarine cables with network nodal points on
  Guam and Hawaii



======================================================================




@Pakistan
--------




Map
---


Location: 30 00 N, 70 00 E -- Southern Asia, bordering the Arabian
  Sea, between India and Iran



Flag
----


Description: green with a vertical white band (symbolizing the
  role of religious minorities) on the hoist side; a large white
  crescent and star are centered in the green field; the crescent,
  star, and color green are traditional symbols of Islam





Geography
---------


Location: Southern Asia, bordering the Arabian Sea, between India
  and Iran

Geographic coordinates: 30 00 N, 70 00 E

Map references: Asia

Area:
  total area: 803,940 sq km
  land area: 778,720 sq km
  comparative area: slightly less than twice the size of California

Land boundaries:
  total: 6,774 km
  border countries: Afghanistan 2,430 km, China 523 km, India 2,912
  km, Iran 909 km

Coastline: 1,046 km

Maritime claims:
  contiguous zone: 24 nm
  continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: status of Kashmir with India; border
  dispute with Afghanistan (Durand Line); water-sharing problems over
  the Indus (Wular Barrage) with upstream riparian India

Climate: mostly hot, dry desert; temperate in northwest; arctic in
  north

Terrain: flat Indus plain in east; mountains in north and
  northwest; Balochistan plateau in west
  lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
  highest point: K2 (Mt. Godwin-Austen) 8,611 m

Natural resources: land, extensive natural gas reserves, limited
  petroleum, poor quality coal, iron ore, copper, salt, limestone

Land use:
  arable land: 23%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 6%
  forest and woodland: 4%
  other: 67% (1993)

Irrigated land: 170,000 sq km (1992)

Environment:
  current issues: water pollution from raw sewage, industrial wastes,
  and agricultural runoff; limited natural fresh water resources; a
  majority of the population does not have access to potable water;
  deforestation; soil erosion; desertification
  natural hazards: frequent earthquakes, occasionally severe
  especially in north and west; flooding along the Indus after heavy
  rains (July and August)
  international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
  Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes,
  Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands;
  signed, but not ratified - Desertification, Law of the Sea, Marine
  Life Conservation

Geographic note: controls Khyber Pass and Bolan Pass, traditional
  invasion routes between Central Asia and the Indian Subcontinent



People
------


Population: 129,275,660 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 42% (male 28,286,823; female 26,640,019)
  15-64 years: 53% (male 35,396,281; female 33,733,798)
  65 years and over: 5% (male 2,621,721; female 2,597,018) (July 1996
  est.)

Population growth rate: 2.24% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 36.16 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 11.22 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: -2.6 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 1.01 male(s)/female
  all ages: 1.05 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 96.8 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 58.46 years
  male: 57.7 years
  female: 59.25 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 5.25 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Pakistani(s)
  adjective: Pakistani

Ethnic divisions: Punjabi, Sindhi, Pashtun (Pathan), Baloch,
  Muhajir (immigrants from India and their descendants)

Religions: Muslim 97% (Sunni 77%, Shi'a 20%), Christian, Hindu,
  and other 3%

Languages: Punjabi 48%, Sindhi 12%, Siraiki (a Punjabi variant)
  10%, Pashtu 8%, Urdu (official) 8%, Balochi 3%, Hindko 2%, Brahui
  1%, English (official and lingua franca of Pakistani elite and most
  government ministries), Burushaski, and other 8%

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)
  total population: 37.8%
  male: 50%
  female: 24.4%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Islamic Republic of Pakistan
  conventional short form: Pakistan
  former: West Pakistan

Data code: PK

Type of government: republic

Capital: Islamabad

Administrative divisions: 4 provinces, 1 territory*, and 1 capital
  territory**; Balochistan, Federally Administered Tribal Areas*,
  Islamabad Capital Territory**, North-West Frontier, Punjab, Sindh
  note: the Pakistani-administered portion of the disputed Jammu and
  Kashmir region includes Azad Kashmir and the Northern Areas

Independence: 14 August 1947 (from UK)

National holiday: Pakistan Day, 23 March (1956) (proclamation of
  the republic)

Constitution: 10 April 1973, suspended 5 July 1977, restored with
  amendments 30 December 1985

Legal system: based on English common law with provisions to
  accommodate Pakistan's stature as an Islamic state; accepts
  compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

Suffrage: 21 years of age; universal; separate electorates and
  reserved parliamentary seats for non-Muslims

Executive branch:
  chief of state: President Sardar Farooq LEGHARI (since 13 November
  1993) was elected for a five-year term by Parliament; election last
  held 13 November 1993 (next to be held no later than 14 October
  1998); results - LEGHARI was elected by Parliament and the four
  provincial assemblies
  head of government: Prime Minister Benazir BHUTTO (since 19 October
  1993) was elected by the National Assembly
  cabinet: Cabinet was elected by the National Assembly

Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament (Majlis-e-Shoora)
  Senate: elections last held NA March 1994 (next to be held NA March
  1997); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (87 total) PPP
  22, PML/N 17; Tribal Area Representatives (nonparty) 8, ANP 6, PML/J
  5, JWP 5, MQM/A 5, JUI/F 2, PKMAP 2, JI 2, NPP 2, BNM/H 1, BNM/M 1,
  JUP/NI 1, JUP/NO 1, JAH 1, JUI/S 1, PML/F 1, PNP 1, independents 2,
  vacant 1
  National Assembly: elections last held 6 October 1993 (next to be
  held by October 1998); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats
  - (217 total) PPP 92, PML/N 75, PML/J 6, IJM-Islamic Democratic
  Front 4, ANP 3, PKMAP 4, PIF 3, JWP 2, MDM 2, BNM/H 1, BNM/M 1, NDA
  1, NPP 1, PKQP 1, religious minorities 10 reserved seats,
  independents 9, results pending 2

Judicial branch: Supreme Court, judicial chiefs are appointed by
  the president; Federal Islamic (Shari'at) Court

Political parties and leaders:
  government: Pakistan People's Party (PPP), Benazir BHUTTO; Pakistan
  Muslim League, Junejo faction (PML/J), Hamid Nasir CHATTHA; National
  People's Party (NPP), Ghulam Mustapha JATOI; Pakhtun Khwa Milli
  Awami Party (PKMAP), Mahmood Khan ACHAKZAI; Balochistan National
  Movement, Hayee Group (BNM/H), Dr. HAYEE Baluch; National Democratic
  Alliance (NDA); Pakhtun Quami Party (PKQP), Mohammed AFZAL Khan
  opposition: Pakistan Muslim League, Nawaz Sharif faction (PML/N),
  Nawaz SHARIF; Awami National Party (ANP), Ajmal Khan KHATTAK;
  Pakistan Islamic Front (PIF); Balochistan National Movement, Mengal
  Group (BNM/M), Sardar Akhtar MENGAL; Mohajir Quami Movement, Altaf
  faction (MQM/A), Altaf HUSSAIN; Jamiat-al-Hadith (JAH); Jamhoori
  Watan Party (JWP), Akbar Khan BUGTI
  frequently shifting: Mutaheda Deeni Mahaz (MDM), Maulana
  Sami-ul-HAQ, the MDM includes Jamiat Ulema-i-Pakistan, Niazi faction
  (JUP/NI) and Anjuman Sepah-i-Sahaba Pakistan (ASSP);
  Islami-Jamhoori-Mahaz (IJM-Islamic Democratic Front) includes Jamiat
  Ulema-i-Islami, Fazlur Rehman group (JUI/F); Pakistan Muslim League,
  Functional Group (PML/F), Pir PAGARO; Pakistan National Party (PNP);
  Milli Yakjheti Council (MYC) is an umbrella organization which
  includes Jamaat-i-Islami (JI), Qazi Hussain AHMED, Jamiat
  Ulema-i-Islam, Sami-ul-Haq faction (JUI/S), Tehrik-I-Jafria Pakistan
  (TJP), Allama Sajid NAQVI, and Jamiat Ulema-i-Pakistan, Noorani
  faction (JUP/NO)
  note: political alliances in Pakistan can shift frequently

Other political or pressure groups: military remains important
  political force; ulema (clergy), landowners, industrialists, and
  small merchants also influential

International organization participation: AsDB, C, CCC, CP, ECO,
  ESCAP, FAO, G-19, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM,
  IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat,
  Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MINURSO, NAM, OAS (observer), OIC,
  PCA, SAARC, UN, UNAMIR, UNAVEM III, UNCRO, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR,
  UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNITAR, UNMIH, UNOMIG, UNOMIL, UNPREDEP, UNPROFOR,
  UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Maleeha LODHI
  chancery: 2315 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
  telephone: [1] (202) 939-6200
  FAX: [1] (202) 387-0484
  consulate(s) general: Los Angeles and New York

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Thomas SIMONS, Jr.
  embassy: Diplomatic Enclave, Ramna 5, Islamabad
  mailing address: P. O. Box 1048, Unit 6220, APO AE 09812-2200
  telephone: [92] (51) 826161 through 826179
  FAX: [92] (51) 214222
  consulate(s) general: Karachi, Lahore
  consulate(s): Peshawar

Flag: green with a vertical white band (symbolizing the role of
  religious minorities) on the hoist side; a large white crescent and
  star are centered in the green field; the crescent, star, and color
  green are traditional symbols of Islam



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Pakistan is a poor, highly populated Third
  World country struggling to make the difficult transition to the
  modern world of high technology and internationalized markets. Prime
  Minister Benazir BHUTTO has been under pressure from the IMF and
  other donors to continue the economic reforms and austerity measures
  begun by her predecessor, caretaker Prime Minister Moeen QURESHI
  (July-October 1993). The IMF suspended a $1.5 billion Enhanced
  Structural Adjustment Facility (ESAF) in mid-1995 because Pakistan
  slowed the pace of economic reform. Islamabad's most recent budget -
  announced in June 1995 - reversed some reforms agreed to by the IMF
  earlier that year, including a slowing of tariff reform. In
  mid-December 1995, however, the IMF approved a $600 million standby
  arrangement and urged Pakistan to move forward with economic
  liberalization. Islamabad has agreed to new economic targets with
  the IMF, which could lay the basis for a return to an ESAF in 1996.
  Little progress was made in the privatization of large state-owned
  units in 1995. The sale of the power plant Kot Addu - scheduled for
  April 1995 - was stalled by opposition from labor unions. The sale
  of a 26% share of United Bank Limited and the Pakistan
  Telecommunications Corporation to strategic investors was due to
  take place in 1995 but has been pushed back to 1996. On the plus
  side real GDP grew 4.7% in 1995, up from 3.9% in 1994: GDP should
  grow even faster in 1996 as a result of an above average cotton
  crop. Secondly, Islamabad reduced the budget deficit to 5.6% of GDP
  at the end of FY94/95, down from 8% two years earlier. Thirdly,
  Pakistan attracted $1.6 billion in foreign direct and portfolio
  investment in FY94/95, more than double inflows of $650 million in
  the previous fiscal year; financial agreements were reached on five
  power projects in 1995, including the 1,300-MW $1.8 billion Hab
  River project. Despite these improvements, the economy remains
  vulnerable to crisis. Foreign exchange reserves fell dramatically in
  1995, reaching a low of about $1 billion in early December 1995 -
  only five weeks of import cover - before rising to $1.5 billion by
  yearend. The trade deficit rose to $2 billion for the first six
  months of FY94/95, triple the deficit of $600 million during the
  same period in FY93/94. The government responded to this situation
  with a package of stabilization reforms on 28 October 1995 which
  included a 7% devaluation of the rupee, supplementary duties of 10%
  on many imports, and higher petroleum prices. Islamabad hopes these
  moves will help make its exports more competitive. For the long run,
  Pakistan must deal with serious problems of deteriorating
  infrastructure, low literacy levels, and persistent law and order
  problems in Karachi.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $274.2 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 4.7% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $2,100 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 24%
  industry: 27%
  services: 49% (1995 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 13% (1995 est.)

Labor force: 36 million
  by occupation: agriculture 46%, mining and manufacturing 18%,
  services 17%, other 19%
  note: extensive export of labor

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget:
  revenues: $11.9 billion
  expenditures: $12.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA
  (FY94/95)

Industries: textiles, food processing, beverages, construction
  materials, clothing, paper products, shrimp

Industrial production growth rate: 5% (1995 est.)

Electricity:
  capacity: 12,530,000 kW (1995)
  production: 43.3 billion kWh (1995)
  consumption per capita: 389 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: cotton, wheat, rice, sugarcane, fruits, vegetables;
  milk, beef, mutton, eggs

Illicit drugs: major illicit producer of opium and hashish for the
  international drug trade; remains world's fourth largest opium
  producer (155 metric tons in 1995); major center for processing
  Afghan heroin and key transit area for Southwest Asian heroin moving
  to Western market

Exports: $8.7 billion (1995 est.)
  commodities: cotton, textiles, clothing, rice, leather, carpets
  partners: US, Japan, Hong Kong, Germany, UK, UAE, France

Imports: $10.7 billion (1995 est.)
  commodities: petroleum, petroleum products, machinery,
  transportation equipment, vegetable oils, animal fats, chemicals
  partners: Japan, US, Germany, UK, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, South Korea

External debt: $26 billion (1995 est.)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $697 million (1993)
  note: $2.5 billion (includes bilateral and multilateral aid but no
  US commitments) (FY93/94); $3 billion (includes bilateral and
  multilateral aid but no US commitments) (FY94/95)

Currency: 1 Pakistani rupee (PRe) = 100 paisa

Exchange rates: Pakistani rupees (PRs) per US$1 - 34.339 (January
  1996), 31.643 (1995), 30.567 (1994), 28.107 (1993), 25.083 (1992),
  23.801 (1991)

Fiscal year: 1 July - 30 June



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 8,163 km
  broad gauge: 7,718 km 1.676-m gauge (293 km electrified; 1,037 km
  double track)
  narrow gauge: 445 km 1.000-m gauge; 661 km less than 1.000-m gauge
  (1995 est.)

Highways:
  total: 205,304 km
  paved: 104,735 km
  unpaved: 100,569 km (1995 est.)

Pipelines: crude oil 250 km; petroleum products 885 km; natural
  gas 4,044 km (1987)

Ports: Karachi, Port Muhammad bin Qasim

Merchant marine:
  total: 24 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 345,606 GRT/560,641 DWT
  ships by type: bulk 3, cargo 19, oil tanker 1, passenger-cargo 1
  (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 100
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 12
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 19
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 25
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 11
  with paved runways under 914 m: 18
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 7
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 8 (1995 est.)

Heliports: 6 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 1.572 million (1993 est.)

Telephone system: the domestic system is mediocre, but adequate
  for government and business use, in part because major businesses
  have established their own private systems; since 1988, the
  government has promoted investment in the national
  telecommunications system on a priority basis; despite major
  improvements in trunk and urban systems, telecommunication services
  are still not readily available to the major portion of the
  population
  domestic: microwave radio relay
  international: satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (1 Atlantic
  Ocean and 2 Indian Ocean); microwave radio relay to neighboring
  countries

Radio broadcast stations: AM 26, FM 8, shortwave 11

Radios: 11.3 million (1992 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 29

Televisions: 2.08 million (1993 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Civil Armed Forces, National Guard

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 30,519,339
  males fit for military service: 18,720,175
  males reach military age (17) annually: 1,437,208 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $3.1 billion,
  5.3% of GDP (FY95/96)



======================================================================




@Palau
-----




Map
---


Location: 7 30 N, 134 30 E -- Oceania, group of islands in the
  North Pacific Ocean, southeast of the Philippines



Flag
----


Description: light blue with a large yellow disk (representing the
  moon) shifted slightly to the hoist side





Geography
---------


Location: Oceania, group of islands in the North Pacific Ocean,
  southeast of the Philippines

Geographic coordinates: 7 30 N, 134 30 E

Map references: Oceania

Area:
  total area: 458 sq km
  land area: 458 sq km
  comparative area: slightly more than 2.5 times the size of
  Washington, DC

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 1,519 km

Maritime claims:
  continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
  exclusive fishing zone: 12 nm
  extended fishing zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 3 nm

International disputes: none

Climate: wet season May to November; hot and humid

Terrain: varying geologically from the high, mountainous main
  island of Babelthuap to low, coral islands usually fringed by large
  barrier reefs
  lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
  highest point: Mount Ngerchelchauus 242 m

Natural resources: forests, minerals (especially gold), marine
  products, deep-seabed minerals

Land use:
  arable land: NA%
  permanent crops: NA%
  meadows and pastures: NA%
  forest and woodland: NA%
  other: NA%

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Environment:
  current issues: inadequate facilities for disposal of solid waste;
  threats to the marine ecosystem from sand and coral dredging and
  illegal fishing practices that involve the use of dynamite
  natural hazards: typhoons (June to December)
  international agreements: NA

Geographic note: includes World War II battleground of Beliliou
  (Peleliu) and world-famous rock islands; archipelago of six island
  groups totaling over 200 islands in the Caroline chain



People
------


Population: 16,952 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: NA
  15-64 years: NA
  65 years and over: NA

Population growth rate: 1.71% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 21.61 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 6.61 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 2.12 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: NA male(s)/female
  under 15 years: NA male(s)/female
  15-64 years: NA male(s)/female
  65 years and over: NA male(s)/female
  all ages: NA male(s)/female

Infant mortality rate: 25.07 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 71.01 years
  male: 69.14 years
  female: 73.02 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.79 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Palauan(s)
  adjective: Palauan

Ethnic divisions: Palauans are a composite of Polynesian, Malayan,
  and Melanesian races

Religions: Christian (Catholics, Seventh-Day Adventists, Jehovah's
  Witnesses, the Assembly of God, the Liebenzell Mission, and
  Latter-Day Saints), Modekngei religion (one-third of the population
  observes this religion which is indigenous to Palau)

Languages: English (official in all of Palau's 16 states),
  Sonsorolese (official in the state of Sonsoral), Angaur and Japanese
  (in the state of Anguar), Tobi (in the state of Tobi), Palauan (in
  the other 13 states)

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1980 est.)
  total population: 92%
  male: 93%
  female: 90%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Republic of Palau
  conventional short form: Palau
  local long form: Beluu er a Belau
  local short form: Belau
  former: Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands

Data code: PS

Type of government: constitutional government in free association
  with the US; the Compact of Free Association entered into force 1
  October 1994

Capital: Koror
  note: a new capital is being built about 20 km northeast in eastern
  Babelthuap

Administrative divisions: there are no first-order administrative
  divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 16 states:
  Aimeliik, Airai, Angaur, Kayangel, Koror, Melekeok, Ngaraard,
  Ngardmau, Ngaremlengui, Ngatpang, Ngchesar, Ngerchelong, Ngiwal,
  Peleliu, Sonsorol, Tobi

Independence: 1 October 1994 (from the US-administered UN
  Trusteeship)

National holiday: Constitution Day, 9 July (1979)

Constitution: 1 January 1981

Legal system: based on Trust Territory laws, acts of the
  legislature, municipal, common, and customary laws

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state and head of government: President Kuniwo NAKAMURA
  (since 1 January 1993) and Vice President Tommy E. REMENGESAU Jr.
  (since 1 January 1993) were elected for four-year terms by popular
  vote; election last held 4 November 1992 (next to be held NA
  November 1996); results - Kuniwo NAKAMURA 50.7%, Johnson TORIBIONG
  49.3%
  cabinet: Cabinet

Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament (Olbiil Era Kelulau or
  OEK)
  Senate: elections last held 4 November 1992 (next to be held NA
  November 1996); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (14
  total) number of seats by party NA
  House of Delegates: elections last held 4 November 1992 (next to be
  held NA November 1996); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats
  - (16 total) number of seats by party NA

Judicial branch: Supreme Court; National Court; Court of Common
  Pleas

Political parties and leaders: Palau Nationalist Party, Polycarp
  BASILIUS

International organization participation: ESCAP (associate), SPC,
  SPF, UN, WHO

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires ad interim
  Isaac Ngewakl SOALADAOB
  chancery: 2000 L Street NW, Suite 407, Washington, DC 20036
  telephone: [1] (202) 452-6814
  FAX: [1] (202) 452-6281

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Richard G.
  WATKINS
  embassy: address NA, Koror
  mailing address: P.O. Box 6028, Republic of Palau 96940
  telephone: [680] 488-2920, 2990
  FAX: [680] 488-2911

Flag: light blue with a large yellow disk (representing the moon)
  shifted slightly to the hoist side



Economy
-------


Economic overview: The economy consists primarily of subsistence
  agriculture and fishing. The government is the major employer of the
  work force, relying heavily on financial assistance from the US. The
  population, in effect, enjoys a per capita income of $5,000, twice
  that of the Philippines and much of Micronesia. Long-run prospects
  for the tourist sector have been greatly bolstered by the expansion
  of air travel in the Pacific and the rapidly rising prosperity of
  leading East Asian countries. Reducing budgeted operating
  expenditures - which have increased 56% from 1989 to 1993 - will be
  the biggest challenge for the government over the next several years.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $81.8 million (1994 est.)
  note: GDP numbers reflect US spending

GDP real growth rate: NA%

GDP per capita: $5,000 (1994 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: NA%
  industry: NA%
  services: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA%

Labor force: NA
  by occupation: NA

Unemployment rate: 20% (1986)

Budget:
  revenues: $17 million
  expenditures: $57 million, including capital expenditures of $NA
  (1995 est.)

Industries: tourism, craft items (from shell, wood, pearls), some
  commercial fishing and agriculture

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity:
  capacity: 16,000 kW
  production: 22 million kWh
  consumption per capita: 1,540 kWh (1990)

Agriculture: coconuts, copra, cassava (tapioca), sweet potatoes

Exports: $600,000 (f.o.b., 1989)
  commodities: trochus (type of shellfish), tuna, copra, handicrafts
  partners: US, Japan

Imports: $24.6 million (c.i.f., 1989)
  commodities: NA
  partners: US

External debt: about $100 million (1989)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $NA
  note: the compact of "free association" with the US, entered into
  after the end of the UN trusteeship on 1 October 1994, provides
  Palau with $500 million in US aid over 15 years in return for
  furnishing military facilities

Currency: 1 United States dollar (US$) = 100 cents

Exchange rates: US currency is used

Fiscal year: 1 October - 30 September



Transportation
--------------


Railways: 0 km

Highways:
  total: 61 km
  paved: 36 km
  unpaved: 25 km

Ports: Koror

Merchant marine: none

Airports:
  total: 3
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 1
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 2 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 1,500 (1988 est.)

Telephone system:
  domestic: NA
  international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0

Radios: 9,000 (1993 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 2

Televisions: 1,600 (1993 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: NA

Defense expenditures: $NA, NA% of GDP

Defense note: defense is the responsibility of the US



======================================================================




@Palmyra Atoll
-------------


(territory of the US)

Map
---


Location: 5 52 N, 162 06 W -- Oceania, atoll in the North Pacific
  Ocean, about one-half of the way from Hawaii to American Samoa



Flag
----


Description: the flag of the US is used





Geography
---------


Location: Oceania, atoll in the North Pacific Ocean, about
  one-half of the way from Hawaii to American Samoa

Geographic coordinates: 5 52 N, 162 06 W

Map references: Oceania

Area:
  total area: 11.9 sq km
  land area: 11.9 sq km
  comparative area: about 20 times the size of The Mall in Washington,
  DC

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 14.5 km

Maritime claims:
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: none

Climate: equatorial, hot, and very rainy

Terrain: very low
  lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
  highest point: unnamed location 2 m

Natural resources: none

Land use:
  arable land: 0%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 0%
  forest and woodland: 100%
  other: 0%

Irrigated land: 0 sq km

Environment:
  current issues: NA
  natural hazards: NA
  international agreements: NA

Geographic note: about 50 islets covered with dense vegetation,
  coconut trees, and balsa-like trees up to 30 meters tall



People
------


Population: uninhabited



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: none
  conventional short form: Palmyra Atoll

Data code: LQ

Type of government: incorporated territory of the US; privately
  owned, but administered by the Office of Territorial and
  International Affairs, US Department of the Interior

Capital: none; administered from Washington, DC

Flag: the flag of the US is used



Economy
-------


Economic overview: no economic activity



Transportation
--------------


Highways: much of the road and many causeways built during World
  War II are unserviceable and overgrown

Ports: West Lagoon

Airports: airstrip has been overgrown by vegetation and is no
  longer serviceable



Defense
-------


Defense note: defense is the responsibility of the US



======================================================================




@Panama
------




Map
---


Location: 9 00 N, 80 00 W -- Middle America, bordering both the
  Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Colombia and
  Costa Rica



Flag
----


Description: divided into four, equal rectangles; the top
  quadrants are white (hoist side) with a blue five-pointed star in
  the center and plain red, the bottom quadrants are plain blue (hoist
  side) and white with a red five-pointed star in the center





Geography
---------


Location: Middle America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the
  North Pacific Ocean, between Colombia and Costa Rica

Geographic coordinates: 9 00 N, 80 00 W

Map references: Central America and the Caribbean

Area:
  total area: 78,200 sq km
  land area: 75,990 sq km
  comparative area: slightly smaller than South Carolina

Land boundaries:
  total: 555 km
  border countries: Colombia 225 km, Costa Rica 330 km

Coastline: 2,490 km

Maritime claims:
  territorial sea: 200 nm

International disputes: none

Climate: tropical; hot, humid, cloudy; prolonged rainy season (May
  to January), short dry season (January to May)

Terrain: interior mostly steep, rugged mountains and dissected,
  upland plains; coastal areas largely plains and rolling hills
  lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
  highest point: Volcan de Chiriqui 3,475 m

Natural resources: copper, mahogany forests, shrimp

Land use:
  arable land: 6%
  permanent crops: 2%
  meadows and pastures: 15%
  forest and woodland: 54%
  other: 23%

Irrigated land: 320 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
  current issues: water pollution from agricultural runoff threatens
  fishery resources; deforestation of tropical rain forest; land
  degradation
  natural hazards: NA
  international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
  Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test
  Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83,
  Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Desertification, Law of the
  Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Tropical Timber 94

Geographic note: strategic location on eastern end of isthmus
  forming land bridge connecting North and South America; controls
  Panama Canal that links North Atlantic Ocean via Caribbean Sea with
  North Pacific Ocean



People
------


Population: 2,655,094 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 33% (male 445,382; female 426,111)
  15-64 years: 62% (male 828,384; female 806,205)
  65 years and over: 5% (male 71,823; female 77,189) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.64% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 23.2 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 5.42 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: -1.42 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.93 male(s)/female
  all ages: 1.03 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 29.7 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 73.92 years
  male: 71.19 years
  female: 76.75 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.71 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Panamanian(s)
  adjective: Panamanian

Ethnic divisions: mestizo (mixed Indian and European ancestry)
  70%, West Indian 14%, white 10%, Indian 6%

Religions: Roman Catholic 85%, Protestant 15%

Languages: Spanish (official), English 14%
  note: many Panamanians bilingual

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)
  total population: 90.8%
  male: 91.4%
  female: 90.2%






Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Republic of Panama
  conventional short form: Panama
  local long form: Republica de Panama
  local short form: Panama

Data code: PM

Type of government: constitutional republic

Capital: Panama

Administrative divisions: 9 provinces (provincias, singular -
  provincia) and 1 territory* (comarca); Bocas del Toro, Chiriqui,
  Cocle, Colon, Darien, Herrera, Los Santos, Panama, San Blas*,
  Veraguas

Independence: 3 November 1903 (from Colombia; became independent
  from Spain 28 November 1821)

National holiday: Independence Day, 3 November (1903)

Constitution: 11 October 1972; major reforms adopted April 1983

Legal system: based on civil law system; judicial review of
  legislative acts in the Supreme Court of Justice; accepts compulsory
  ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal and compulsory

Executive branch:
  chief of state and head of government: President Ernesto PEREZ
  BALLADARES Gonzalez Revilla (since 1 September 1994), First Vice
  President Tomas Gabriel ALTAMIRANO DUQUE (since 1 September 1994),
  Second Vice President Felipe Alejandro VIRZI Lopez (since 1
  September 1994) were elected for five-year terms by popular vote;
  election last held 8 May 1994 (next to be held 9 May 1999); results
  - Ernesto PEREZ BALLADARES (PRD) 33%, Mireya MOSCOSO DE GRUBER (PA)
  29%, Ruben BLADES (MPE) 17%, Ruben Dario CARLES (MOLIRENA) 16%
  cabinet: Cabinet was appointed by the president

Legislative branch: unicameral
  Legislative Assembly (Asamblea Legislativa): legislators from
  outlying rural districts are chosen on a plurality basis while
  districts located in more populous towns and cities elect multiple
  legislators by means of a proportion-based formula; elections last
  held 8 May 1994 (next to be held 9 May 1999); results - percent of
  vote by party NA; seats - (72 total) PRD 32, PS 4, PALA 1, PA 14,
  MPE 6, MOLIRENA 4, PLA 3, PRC 3, PL 2, PDC 1, UDI 1, MORENA 1

Judicial branch: Supreme Court of Justice (Corte Suprema de
  Justicia), nine judges appointed for 10-year terms; five superior
  courts; three courts of appeal

Political parties and leaders:
  governing coalition: Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD), Gerardo
  GONZALEZ; Liberal Republican Party (PLR), Rodolfo CHIARI; Labor
  Party (PALA), Carlos Lopez GUEVARA
  other parties: Solidarity Party (PS), Samuel LEWIS GALINDO;
  Nationalist Republican Liberal Movement (MOLIRENA), Delia CARDENAS;
  Authentic Liberal Party (PLA), Arnulfo ESCALONA; Arnulfista Party
  (PA), Mireya MOSCOSO DE GRUBER; Christian Democratic Party (PDC),
  Ruben AROSEMENA; Liberal Party (PL), Roberto ALEMAN Zubieta; Papa
  Egoro Movement (MPE), Gloria YOUNG; Civic Renewal Party (PRC), Tomas
  HERRERA; National Unity Mission Party (MUN), Jose Manuel PAREDES;
  Independent Democratic Union (UDI), Jacinto CARDENAS; National
  Renovation Movement (MORENA), Pedro VALLERINO

Other political or pressure groups: National Council of Organized
  Workers (CONATO); National Council of Private Enterprise (CONEP);
  Panamanian Association of Business Executives (APEDE); National
  Civic Crusade; Chamber of Commerce; Panamanian Industrialists
  Society (SIP); Workers Confederation of the Republic of Panama (CTRP)

International organization participation: AG (associate), ECLAC,
  FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC,
  IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, LAES, LAIA
  (observer), NAM, OAS, OPANAL, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU,
  WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (applicant)

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Ricardo Alberto ARIAS
  chancery: 2862 McGill Terrace NW, Washington, DC 20008
  telephone: [1] (202) 483-1407
  consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Houston, Miami, New Orleans, New
  York, San Francisco, San Juan (Puerto Rico), Tampa

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador William John HUGHES
  embassy: Avenida Balboa and Calle 38, Apartado 6959, Panama City 5
  mailing address: American Embassy Panama, Unit 0945, APO AA 34002
  telephone: [507] 227-1377
  FAX: [507] 227-1964

Flag: divided into four, equal rectangles; the top quadrants are
  white (hoist side) with a blue five-pointed star in the center and
  plain red, the bottom quadrants are plain blue (hoist side) and
  white with a red five-pointed star in the center



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Because of its key geographic location,
  Panama's economy is service-based, heavily weighted toward banking,
  commerce, and tourism. The manufacturing and agriculture sectors
  have become inefficient under protectionist policies. After fast
  growth during the early 1990s, the economy has slowed down in the
  last two years, with GDP growth at 2.8% in 1994 and in 1995. The
  slowdown has been due mostly to a reduction in construction
  activities and stagnation in the Colon Free Zone and financial
  services, the three fastest growing sectors early in the decade. To
  counter the slowdown, the PEREZ BALLADARES administration has
  launched an economic reform program designed to reverse
  unemployment, attract foreign investment, cut back the size of
  government, and modernize the economy. In 1995, Panama reached an
  agreement in principle to reschedule its commercial debt - one of
  the highest in the world in per capita terms - which will allow the
  country to reenter international financial markets. Panama should
  complete all requirements to join the World Trade Organization
  (WTrO) in 1996.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $13.6 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 2.8% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $5,100 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 10%
  industry: 16%
  services: 74% (1995 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1.1% (1995)

Labor force: 979,000 (1994 est.)
  by occupation: government and community services 31.8%, agriculture,
  hunting, and fishing 26.8%, commerce, restaurants, and hotels 16.4%,
  manufacturing and mining 9.4%, construction 3.2%, transportation and
  communications 6.2%, finance, insurance, and real estate 4.3%
  note: shortage of skilled labor, but an oversupply of unskilled labor

Unemployment rate: 13.8% (1995)

Budget:
  revenues: $1.86 billion
  expenditures: $1.86 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA
  (1995)

Industries: construction, petroleum refining, brewing, cement and
  other construction materials, sugar milling

Industrial production growth rate: 0.4% (1995 est.)

Electricity:
  capacity: 960,000 kW
  production: 2.8 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 1,047 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: bananas, rice, corn, coffee, sugarcane, vegetables;
  livestock; fishing (shrimp)

Illicit drugs: major cocaine transshipment point and major drug
  money laundering center; minor producer of coca leaf; active
  eradication program

Exports: $548 million (f.o.b., 1995)
  commodities: bananas 43%, shrimp 11%, sugar 4%, clothing 5%, coffee
  2%
  partners: US 39%, EU, Central America and Caribbean

Imports: $2.45 billion (c.i.f., 1995)
  commodities: capital goods 21%, crude oil 11%, foodstuffs 9%,
  consumer goods, chemicals
  partners: US 40%, EU, Central America and Caribbean, Japan

External debt: $6.7 billion (yearend 1993 est.)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $58 million (1993)

Currency: 1 balboa (B) = 100 centesimos

Exchange rates: balboas (B) per US$1 - 1.000 (fixed rate)

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 355 km
  broad gauge: 76 km 1.524-m gauge
  narrow gauge: 279 km 0.914-m gauge

Highways:
  total: 10,103 km
  paved: 3,233 km
  unpaved: 6,870 km (1992 est.)

Waterways: 800 km navigable by shallow draft vessels; 82 km Panama
  Canal

Pipelines: crude oil 130 km

Ports: Balboa, Cristobal, Coco Solo North, Vacamonte

Merchant marine:
  total: 3,758 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 69,960,500
  GRT/107,632,713 DWT
  ships by type: bulk 902, cargo 1,050, chemical tanker 168,
  combination bulk 40, combination ore/oil 19, container 307,
  liquefied gas tanker 155, livestock carrier 7, multifunction
  large-load carrier 3, oil tanker 488, passenger 31, passenger-cargo
  5, refrigerated cargo 295, roll-on/roll-off cargo 93, short-sea
  passenger 34, specialized tanker 11, vehicle carrier 150
  note: a flag of convenience registry; includes ships from 83
  countries among which are Japan 1,212, Greece 360, Hong Kong 263,
  Taiwan 203, South Korea 198, US 160, China 152, Singapore 118, UK
  79, Switzerland 67, and Norway 58 (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 99
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 1
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 1
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 5
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 14
  with paved runways under 914 m: 60
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 18 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 273,000 (1991 est.)

Telephone system: domestic and international facilities well
  developed
  domestic: NA
  international: 1 coaxial submarine cable; satellite earth stations -
  2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); connected to the Central American
  Microwave System

Radio broadcast stations: AM 91, FM 0, shortwave 0

Radios: 564,000 (1992 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 23

Televisions: 420,000 (1992 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Panamanian Public Forces (PPF; includes the National
  Police, National Maritime Service, National Air Service, and
  Institutional Protective Service); Judicial Technical Police

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 705,427
  males fit for military service: 484,571 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $78 million, NA%
  of GDP (1995); note - for police and security forces



======================================================================




@Papua New Guinea
----------------




Map
---


Location: 6 00 S, 147 00 E -- Southeastern Asia, group of islands
  including the eastern half of the island of New Guinea between the
  Coral Sea and the South Pacific Ocean, east of Indonesia



Flag
----


Description: divided diagonally from upper hoist-side corner; the
  upper triangle is red with a soaring yellow bird of paradise
  centered; the lower triangle is black with five white five-pointed
  stars of the Southern Cross constellation centered





Geography
---------


Location: Southeastern Asia, group of islands including the
  eastern half of the island of New Guinea between the Coral Sea and
  the South Pacific Ocean, east of Indonesia

Geographic coordinates: 6 00 S, 147 00 E

Map references: Oceania

Area:
  total area: 461,690 sq km
  land area: 451,710 sq km
  comparative area: slightly larger than California

Land boundaries:
  total: 820 km
  border country: Indonesia 820 km

Coastline: 5,152 km

Maritime claims: measured from claimed archipelagic baselines
  continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
  exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: none

Climate: tropical; northwest monsoon (December to March),
  southeast monsoon (May to October); slight seasonal temperature
  variation

Terrain: mostly mountains with coastal lowlands and rolling
  foothills
  lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
  highest point: Mount Wilhelm 4,509 m

Natural resources: gold, copper, silver, natural gas, timber, oil
  potential

Land use:
  arable land: 0%
  permanent crops: 1%
  meadows and pastures: 0%
  forest and woodland: 71%
  other: 28%

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Environment:
  current issues: rain forest subject to deforestation as a result of
  growing commercial demand for tropical timber; pollution from mining
  projects
  natural hazards: active volcanism; situated along the Pacific "Rim
  of Fire"; the country is subject to frequent and sometimes severe
  earthquakes; mud slides
  international agreements: party to - Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity,
  Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification,
  Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship
  Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified -
  Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Tropical Timber 94

Geographic note: shares island of New Guinea with Indonesia; one
  of world's largest swamps along southwest coast



People
------


Population: 4,394,537 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 40% (male 906,709; female 860,534)
  15-64 years: 57% (male 1,303,084; female 1,195,245)
  65 years and over: 3% (male 59,513; female 69,452) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.29% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 32.93 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 10.01 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 1.09 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.86 male(s)/female
  all ages: 1.07 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 60.1 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 57.25 years
  male: 56.4 years
  female: 58.15 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 4.45 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Papua New Guinean(s)
  adjective: Papua New Guinean

Ethnic divisions: Melanesian, Papuan, Negrito, Micronesian,
  Polynesian

Religions: Roman Catholic 22%, Lutheran 16%,
  Presbyterian/Methodist/London Missionary Society 8%, Anglican 5%,
  Evangelical Alliance 4%, Seventh-Day Adventist 1%, other Protestant
  sects 10%, indigenous beliefs 34%

Languages: English spoken by 1%-2%, pidgin English widespread,
  Motu spoken in Papua region
  note: 715 indigenous languages

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)
  total population: 72.2%
  male: 81%
  female: 62.7%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Independent State of Papua New Guinea
  conventional short form: Papua New Guinea
  abbreviation: PNG

Data code: PP

Type of government: parliamentary democracy

Capital: Port Moresby

Administrative divisions: 20 provinces; Central, Chimbu, Eastern
  Highlands, East New Britain, East Sepik, Enga, Gulf, Madang, Manus,
  Milne Bay, Morobe, National Capital, New Ireland, Northern, North
  Solomons, Sandaun, Southern Highlands, Western, Western Highlands,
  West New Britain

Independence: 16 September 1975 (from the Australian-administered
  UN trusteeship)

National holiday: Independence Day, 16 September (1975)

Constitution: 16 September 1975

Legal system: based on English common law

Suffrage: 19 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952) is a
  hereditary monarch, represented by Governor General Wiwa KOROWI
  (since 11 November 1991), who was appointed by the National
  Executive Council
  head of government: Prime Minister Sir Julius CHAN (since 30 August
  1994) and Deputy Prime Minister Chris HAIVETA (since 7 September
  1994) were appointed by the governor general
  cabinet: National Executive Council was appointed by the governor
  general on recommendation of the prime minister

Legislative branch: unicameral
  National Parliament (sometimes referred to as the House of A:
  elections last held 13-26 June 1992 (next to be held NA 1997);
  results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (109 total) Pangu
  Party 24, PDM 17, PPP 10, PAP 10, independents 30, others 18; note -
  association with political parties is fluid

Judicial branch: Supreme Court, the chief justice is appointed by
  the governor general on the proposal of the National Executive
  Council after consultation with the minister responsible for
  justice, other judges are appointed by the Judicial and Legal
  Services Commission

Political parties and leaders: Papua New Guinea United Party
  (Pangu Party), Chris HAIVETA; People's Democratic Movement (PDM),
  Paias WINGTI; People's Action Party (PAP), Akoka DOI; People's
  Progress Party (PPP), Sir Julius CHAN; United Party (UP), Paul
  TORATO; Papua Party (PP), Galeva KWARARA; National Party (NP), Paul
  PORA; Melanesian Alliance (MA), Fr. John MOMIS

International organization participation: ACP, APEC, AsDB, C, CP,
  ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS,
  ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU,
  NAM, Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO,
  WMO

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Kepas Isimel WATANGIA
  chancery: 3rd floor, 1615 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC
  20009
  telephone: [1] (202) 745-3680
  FAX: [1] (202) 745-3679

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Richard W. TEARE
  embassy: Douglas Street, Port Moresby
  mailing address: P. O. Box 1492, Port Moresby
  telephone: [675] 321-1455
  FAX: [675] 321-3423

Flag: divided diagonally from upper hoist-side corner; the upper
  triangle is red with a soaring yellow bird of paradise centered; the
  lower triangle is black with five white five-pointed stars of the
  Southern Cross constellation centered



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Papua New Guinea is richly endowed with natural
  resources, but exploitation has been hampered by the rugged terrain
  and the high cost of developing an infrastructure. Agriculture
  provides a subsistence livelihood for the bulk of the population.
  Mining of numerous deposits, including copper and gold, accounts for
  about 60% of export earnings. Budgetary support from Australia and
  development aid under World Bank auspices have helped sustain the
  economy. In 1995, Port Moresby reached agreement with the IMF and
  World Bank on a structural adjustment program. PNG will receive
  loans totaling $350 million over the next two years from a variety
  of lenders including the Fund, the Bank, the Australian Government,
  and the Japanese Export-Import Bank. The loans will be provided only
  if Port Moresby implements significant reforms to liberalize trade
  and investment policies, reduce the public sector, and promote
  sustainable development of the forestry sector. At the start of
  1996, Port Moresby is looking primarily to the exploitation of
  mineral and petroleum resources to drive economic development but
  new prospecting in Papua New Guinea has slumped as other
  mineral-rich countries have stepped up their competition for
  international investment. Output from current projects will probably
  begin to taper off in 1996, but no new large ventures are being
  developed to succeed them.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $10.2 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: -3% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $2,400 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: NA%
  industry: NA%
  services: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 15% (1995)

Labor force: 1.941 million
  by occupation: agriculture 64% (1993 est.)

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget:
  revenues: $1.86 billion
  expenditures: $1.9 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA
  (1995 est.)

Industries: copra crushing, palm oil processing, plywood
  production, wood chip production; mining of gold, silver, and
  copper; construction, tourism

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity:
  capacity: 490,000 kW
  production: 1.8 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 390 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: coffee, cocoa, coconuts, palm kernels, tea, rubber,
  sweet potatoes, fruit, vegetables; poultry, pork

Exports: $2.4 billion (f.o.b., 1995 est.)
  commodities: gold, copper ore, oil, logs, palm oil, coffee, cocoa,
  lobster
  partners: Australia, Japan, US, Singapore, New Zealand

Imports: $1.4 billion (c.i.f., 1995 est.)
  commodities: machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods,
  food, fuels, chemicals
  partners: Australia, Japan, UK, New Zealand, Netherlands

External debt: $3.2 billion (1995)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $291 million (1993)

Currency: 1 kina (K) = 100 toea

Exchange rates: kina (K) per US$1 - 0.7552 (October 1995), 0.9950
  (1994), 1.0221 (1993), 1.0367 (1992), 1.0504 (1991); note - the
  government floated the kina on 10 October 1994

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways: 0 km

Highways:
  total: 19,088 km
  paved: 640 km
  unpaved: 18,448 km (1988 est.)

Waterways: 10,940 km

Ports: Kieta, Lae, Madang, Port Moresby, Rabaul

Merchant marine:
  total: 12 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 22,565 GRT/27,114 DWT
  ships by type: bulk 2, cargo 3, combination ore/oil 5, container 1,
  roll-on/roll-off 1 (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 451
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 1
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 12
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 5
  with paved runways under 914 m: 371
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 11
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 51 (1995 est.)

Heliports: 2 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 63,212 (1986 est.)

Telephone system: services are adequate and being improved;
  facilities provide radiotelephone and telegraph, coastal radio,
  aeronautical radio, and international radio communication services
  domestic: mostly radiotelephone
  international: submarine cables to Australia and Guam; satellite
  earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean); international radio
  communication service

Radio broadcast stations: AM 31, FM 2, shortwave 0

Radios: 298,000 (1992 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 2 (1987 est.)

Televisions: 10,000 (1992 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Papua New Guinea Defense Force (includes Army, Navy, Air
  Force, and Special Operations Unit)

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 1,143,015
  males fit for military service: 635,923 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $40 million, 0.9%
  of GDP (1995)



======================================================================




@Paracel Islands
---------------



Map
---


Location: 16 30 N, 112 00 E -- Southeastern Asia, group of small
  islands and reefs in the South China Sea, about one-third of the way
  from central Vietnam to the northern Philippines





Geography
---------


Location: Southeastern Asia, group of small islands and reefs in
  the South China Sea, about one-third of the way from central Vietnam
  to the northern Philippines

Geographic coordinates: 16 30 N, 112 00 E

Map references: Southeast Asia

Area:
  total area: NA sq km
  land area: NA sq km
  comparative area: NA

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 518 km

Maritime claims: NA

International disputes: occupied by China, but claimed by Taiwan
  and Vietnam

Climate: tropical

Terrain: NA
  lowest point: South China Sea 0 m
  highest point: unnamed location on Rocky Island 14 m

Natural resources: none

Land use:
  arable land: 0%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 0%
  forest and woodland: 0%
  other: 100%

Irrigated land: 0 sq km

Environment:
  current issues: NA
  natural hazards: typhoons
  international agreements: NA



People
------


Population: no indigenous inhabitants; note - there are scattered
  Chinese garrisons



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: none
  conventional short form: Paracel Islands

Data code: PF



Economy
-------


Economic overview: no economic activity



Transportation
--------------


Ports: small Chinese port facilities on Woody Island and Duncan
  Island being expanded

Airports:
  total: 1
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 1 (on Woody Island) (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephone system:
  domestic: NA
  international: NA

Radio broadcast stations: AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA

Radios: NA

Television broadcast stations: NA

Televisions: NA



Defense
-------


Defense note: occupied by China



======================================================================




@Paraguay
--------




Map
---


Location: 23 00 S, 58 00 W -- Central South America, northeast of
  Argentina



Flag
----


Description: three equal, horizontal bands of red (top), white,
  and blue with an emblem centered in the white band; unusual flag in
  that the emblem is different on each side; the obverse (hoist side
  at the left) bears the national coat of arms (a yellow five-pointed
  star within a green wreath capped by the words REPUBLICA DEL
  PARAGUAY, all within two circles); the reverse (hoist side at the
  right) bears the seal of the treasury (a yellow lion below a red Cap
  of Liberty and the words Paz y Justicia (Peace and Justice) capped
  by the words REPUBLICA DEL PARAGUAY, all within two circles)





Geography
---------


Location: Central South America, northeast of Argentina

Geographic coordinates: 23 00 S, 58 00 W

Map references: South America

Area:
  total area: 406,750 sq km
  land area: 397,300 sq km
  comparative area: slightly smaller than California

Land boundaries:
  total: 3,920 km
  border countries: Argentina 1,880 km, Bolivia 750 km, Brazil 1,290 km

Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims: none (landlocked)

International disputes: short section of the boundary with Brazil,
  just west of Salto del Guaira (Guaira Falls) on the Rio Parana, has
  not been determined

Climate: subtropical; substantial rainfall in the eastern
  portions, becoming semiarid in the far west

Terrain: grassy plains and wooded hills east of Rio Paraguay; Gran
  Chaco region west of Rio Paraguay mostly low, marshy plain near the
  river, and dry forest and thorny scrub elsewhere
  lowest point: junction of Rio Paraguay and Rio Parana 46 m
  highest point: Cerro San Rafael 850 m

Natural resources: hydropower, timber, iron ore, manganese,
  limestone

Land use:
  arable land: 20%
  permanent crops: 1%
  meadows and pastures: 39%
  forest and woodland: 35%
  other: 5%

Irrigated land: 670 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
  current issues: deforestation (an estimated 2 million hectares of
  forest land have been lost from 1958-85); water pollution;
  inadequate means for waste disposal present health risks for many
  urban residents
  natural hazards: local flooding in southeast (early September to
  June); poorly drained plains may become boggy (early October to June)
  international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
  Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection; signed,
  but not ratified - Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test
  Ban, Wetlands

Geographic note: landlocked; lies between Argentina, Bolivia, and
  Brazil



People
------


Population: 5,504,146 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 41% (male 1,144,644; female 1,096,430)
  15-64 years: 55% (male 1,518,661; female 1,513,577)
  65 years and over: 4% (male 106,121; female 124,713) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.67% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 30.97 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 4.31 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.85 male(s)/female
  all ages: 1.01 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 23.2 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 73.84 years
  male: 72.33 years
  female: 75.43 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 4.15 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Paraguayan(s)
  adjective: Paraguayan

Ethnic divisions: mestizo (mixed Spanish and Indian) 95%, whites
  plus Amerindians 5%

Religions: Roman Catholic 90%, Mennonite and other Protestant
  denominations

Languages: Spanish (official), Guarani

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)
  total population: 92.1%
  male: 93.5%
  female: 90.6%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Republic of Paraguay
  conventional short form: Paraguay
  local long form: Republica del Paraguay
  local short form: Paraguay

Data code: PA

Type of government: republic

Capital: Asuncion

Administrative divisions: 17 departments (departamentos, singular
  - departamento); Alto Paraguay, Alto Parana, Amambay, Boqueron,
  Caaguazu, Caazapa, Canindeyu, Central, Concepcion, Cordillera,
  Guaira, Itapua, Misiones, Neembucu, Paraguari, Presidente Hayes, San
  Pedro

Independence: 14 May 1811 (from Spain)

National holiday: Independence Days, 14-15 May (1811)

Constitution: promulgated 20 June 1992

Legal system: based on Argentine codes, Roman law, and French
  codes; judicial review of legislative acts in Supreme Court of
  Justice; does not accept compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal and compulsory up to age 60

Executive branch:
  chief of state and head of government: President Juan Carlos WASMOSY
  (since 15 August 1993) and Vice President Roberto Angel SEIFART
  (since 15 August 1993) were elected for five-year terms by popular
  vote; election last held 9 May 1993 (next to be held NA May 1998);
  results - Juan Carlos WASMOSY 40.09%, Domingo LAINO 32.06%,
  Guillermo CABALLERO VARGAS 23.04%
  cabinet: Council of Ministers was nominated by the president

Legislative branch: bicameral Congress (Congreso)
  Chamber of Senators (Camara de Senadores): elections last held 9 May
  1993 (next to be held NA May 1998); results - percent of vote by
  party NA; seats - (45 total) Colorado Party 20, PLRA 17, EN 8
  Chamber of Deputies (Camara de Diputados): elections last held 9 May
  1993 (next to be held by May 1998); results - percent of vote by
  party NA; seats - (80 total) Colorado Party 38, PLRA 33, EN 9

Judicial branch: Supreme Court of Justice (Corte Suprema de
  Justicia), judges appointed on the proposal of the Counsel of
  Magistrates (Consejo de la Magistratura)

Political parties and leaders: Colorado Party, Luis Maria ARGANA,
  president; Authentic Radical Liberal Party (PLRA), Domingo LAINO;
  National Encounter (EN), Guillermo CABALLERO VARGAS; Christian
  Democratic Party (PDC), Miguel MONTANER; Febrerista Revolutionary
  Party (PRF), Euclides ACEVEDO; Popular Democratic Party (PDP), Hugo
  RICHER

Other political or pressure groups: Confederation of Workers
  (CUT); Roman Catholic Church

International organization participation: AG (observer), CCC,
  ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD,
  IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, LAES,
  LAIA, Mercosur, OAS, OPANAL, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO,
  UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Jorge PRIETO CONTI
  chancery: 2400 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
  telephone: [1] (202) 483-6960 through 6962
  FAX: [1] (202) 234-4508
  consulate(s) general: Miami and New York

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Robert E. SERVICE
  embassy: 1776 Avenida Mariscal Lopez, Casilla Postal 402, Asuncion
  mailing address: Unit 4711, APO AA 34036-0001
  telephone: [595] (21) 213-715
  FAX: [595] (21) 213-728

Flag: three equal, horizontal bands of red (top), white, and blue
  with an emblem centered in the white band; unusual flag in that the
  emblem is different on each side; the obverse (hoist side at the
  left) bears the national coat of arms (a yellow five-pointed star
  within a green wreath capped by the words REPUBLICA DEL PARAGUAY,
  all within two circles); the reverse (hoist side at the right) bears
  the seal of the treasury (a yellow lion below a red Cap of Liberty
  and the words Paz y Justicia (Peace and Justice) capped by the words
  REPUBLICA DEL PARAGUAY, all within two circles)



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Paraguay has a market economy marked by a large
  informal sector. The formal economy is largely oriented toward
  services, but 45% of the population derive their living from
  agricultural activity, often on a subsistence basis. The economy has
  grown an average of 3% to 4% over the past five years. Population
  has increased at 3% a year over the same period leaving per capita
  income nearly stagnant. The informal sector is marked by both
  reexport of imported consumer goods (electronics, whiskeys,
  perfumes, cigarettes and office equipment) to neighboring countries
  as well as by the activities of thousands of microenterprises and
  urban street vendors. The Paraguayan Government has stated publicly
  that it will continue its economic reform agenda in close
  coordination with its Mercosur (Southern Cone Common Market)
  partners. In 1995, the government also promised to undertake efforts
  to formalize the financial sector, after a financial shock forced
  the bail-out of the second and third largest banks. Paraguay's
  continued integration into Mercosur also offers potential for
  growth; it is closely linked with the success of foreign investment
  promotion. Non-traditional exports, such as finished agricultural
  products, light manufactures, and small consumer items, are growing
  rapidly. Government reform efforts, including privatization, have
  continued, but with little success in 1995.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $17 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 4.2% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $3,200 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 25.7%
  industry: 25.8%
  services: 48.5% (1994)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 10.5% (1995)

Labor force: 1.692 million (1993 est.)
  by occupation: agriculture 45%

Unemployment rate: 12% (1995)

Budget:
  revenues: $1.25 billion (1995 est.)
  expenditures: $1.66 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA
  (1995 est.)

Industries: meat packing, oilseed crushing, milling, brewing,
  textiles, other light consumer goods, cement, construction

Industrial production growth rate: 1.3% (1995 est.)

Electricity:
  capacity: 6,530,000 kW
  production: 26.5 billion kWh (1992)
  consumption per capita: NA
  note: much of the electricity produced in Paraguay is exported to
  Brazil and domestic consumption cannot be determined

Agriculture: cotton, sugarcane, soybeans, corn, wheat, tobacco,
  cassava (tapioca), fruits, vegetables; beef, pork, eggs, milk; timber

Illicit drugs: illicit producer of cannabis for the international
  drug trade; transshipment point for Bolivian cocaine headed for
  Europe and the US

Exports: $819.5 million (f.o.b., 1995)
  commodities: cotton, soybeans, timber, vegetable oils, meat
  products, coffee, tung oil
  partners: EU 37%, Brazil 25%, Argentina 10%, Chile 6%, US 6%

Imports: $2.871 billion (c.i.f., 1995)
  commodities: capital goods, foodstuffs, consumer goods, raw
  materials, fuels
  partners: Brazil 30%, EU 20%, US 18%, Argentina 8%, Japan 7%

External debt: $1.38 billion (yearend 1995)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $38 million (1993)

Currency: 1 guarani (G) = 100 centimos

Exchange rates: guaranies (G) per US$ - 2,003.8 (January 1996),
  1,970.4 (1995), 1,911.5 (1994), 1,744.3 (1993), 1,500.3 (1992),
  1,325.2 (1991)

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 971 km
  standard gauge: 441 km 1.435-m gauge
  narrow gauge: 60 km 1.000-m gauge
  other: 470 km various gauges (privately owned)

Highways:
  total: 21,834 km
  paved: 1,778 km
  unpaved: 20,056 km (1987 est.)

Waterways: 3,100 km

Ports: Asuncion, Villeta, San Antonio, Encarnacion

Merchant marine:
  total: 16 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 21,323 GRT/23,907 DWT
  ships by type: cargo 13, oil tanker 2, roll-on/roll-off 1 (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 739
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 3
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 2
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 4
  with paved runways under 914 m: 438
  with unpaved runways over 3 047 m: 1
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 25
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 266 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 88,730 (1985 est.)

Telephone system: meager telephone service; principal switching
  center is Asuncion
  domestic: fair microwave radio relay network
  international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 40, FM 0, shortwave 7

Radios: 775,000 (1992 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 5

Televisions: 370,000 (1992 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Army, Navy (includes Naval Air and Marines), Air Force

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 1,334,638
  males fit for military service: 968,297
  males reach military age (17) annually: 58,398 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $94 million, 0.6%
  of GDP (1994)



======================================================================




@Peru
----




Map
---


Location: 10 00 S, 76 00 W -- Western South America, bordering the
  South Pacific Ocean, between Chile and Ecuador



Flag
----


Description: three equal, vertical bands of red (hoist side),
  white, and red with the coat of arms centered in the white band; the
  coat of arms features a shield bearing a llama, cinchona tree (the
  source of quinine), and a yellow cornucopia spilling out gold coins,
  all framed by a green wreath





Geography
---------


Location: Western South America, bordering the South Pacific
  Ocean, between Chile and Ecuador

Geographic coordinates: 10 00 S, 76 00 W

Map references: South America

Area:
  total area: 1,285,220 sq km
  land area: 1.28 million sq km
  comparative area: slightly smaller than Alaska

Land boundaries:
  total: 6,940 km
  border countries: Bolivia 900 km, Brazil 1,560 km, Chile 160 km,
  Colombia 2,900 km, Ecuador 1,420 km

Coastline: 2,414 km

Maritime claims:
  continental shelf: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 200 nm

International disputes: three sections of the boundary with
  Ecuador are in dispute

Climate: varies from tropical in east to dry desert in west

Terrain: western coastal plain (costa), high and rugged Andes in
  center (sierra), eastern lowland jungle of Amazon Basin (selva)
  lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
  highest point: Nevado Huascaran 6,768 m

Natural resources: copper, silver, gold, petroleum, timber, fish,
  iron ore, coal, phosphate, potash

Land use:
  arable land: 3%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 21%
  forest and woodland: 55%
  other: 21%

Irrigated land: 12,500 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
  current issues: deforestation; overgrazing of the slopes of the
  costa and sierra leading to soil erosion; desertification; air
  pollution in Lima; pollution of rivers and coastal waters from
  municipal and mining wastes
  natural hazards: earthquakes, tsunamis, flooding, landslides, mild
  volcanic activity
  international agreements: party to - Antarctic-Environmental
  Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change,
  Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test
  Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83,
  Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands

Geographic note: shares control of Lago Titicaca, world's highest
  navigable lake, with Bolivia



People
------


Population: 24,523,408 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 35% (male 4,360,379; female 4,214,970)
  15-64 years: 61% (male 7,480,747; female 7,375,825)
  65 years and over: 4% (male 497,775; female 593,712) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.74% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 24.33 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 6.13 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: -0.76 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.84 male(s)/female
  all ages: 1.01 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 52.2 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 69.13 years
  male: 66.97 years
  female: 71.39 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 3.04 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Peruvian(s)
  adjective: Peruvian

Ethnic divisions: Indian 45%, mestizo (mixed Indian and European
  ancestry) 37%, white 15%, black, Japanese, Chinese, and other 3%

Religions: Roman Catholic

Languages: Spanish (official), Quechua (official), Aymara

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)
  total population: 88.7%
  male: 94.5%
  female: 83%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Republic of Peru
  conventional short form: Peru
  local long form: Republica del Peru
  local short form: Peru

Data code: PE

Type of government: republic

Capital: Lima

Administrative divisions: 24 departments (departamentos, singular
  - departamento) and 1 constitutional province* (provincia
  constitucional); Amazonas, Ancash, Apurimac, Arequipa, Ayacucho,
  Cajamarca, Callao*, Cusco, Huancavelica, Huanuco, Ica, Junin, La
  Libertad, Lambayeque, Lima, Loreto, Madre de Dios, Moquegua, Pasco,
  Piura, Puno, San Martin, Tacna, Tumbes, Ucayali
  note: the 1979 constitution mandated the creation of regions
  (regiones, singular - region) to function eventually as autonomous
  economic and administrative entities; so far, 12 regions have been
  constituted from 23 of the 24 departments - Amazonas (from Loreto),
  Andres Avelino Caceres (from Huanuco, Pasco, Junin), Arequipa (from
  Arequipa), Chavin (from Ancash), Grau (from Tumbes, Piura), Inca
  (from Cusco, Madre de Dios, Apurimac), La Libertad (from La
  Libertad), Los Libertadores-Huari (from Ica, Ayacucho,
  Huancavelica), Mariategui (from Moquegua, Tacna, Puno), Nor Oriental
  del Maranon (from Lambayeque, Cajamarca, Amazonas), San Martin (from
  San Martin), Ucayali (from Ucayali); formation of another region has
  been delayed by the reluctance of the constitutional province of
  Callao to merge with the department of Lima; because of inadequate
  funding from the central government and organizational and political
  difficulties, the regions have yet to assume major responsibilities;
  the 1993 constitution retains the regions but limits their
  authority; the 1993 constitution also reaffirms the roles of
  departmental and municipal governments

Independence: 28 July 1821 (from Spain)

National holiday: Independence Day, 28 July (1821)

Constitution: 31 December 1993

Legal system: based on civil law system; has not accepted
  compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state and head of government: President Alberto Kenyo
  FUJIMORI Fujimori (since 28 July 1990) was elected for a five-year
  term by universal suffrage; election last held 9 April 1995 (next to
  be held NA 2000); results - Alberto FUJIMORI 64.42%, Javier PEREZ de
  CUELLAR 21.80%, Mercedes CABANILLAS 4.11%, other 9.67%
  cabinet: Council of Ministers was appointed by the president
  note: Prime Minister Alberto PANDOLFI Arbulu (since 3 April 1996)
  does not exercise executive power; this power is in the hands of the
  president

Legislative branch: unicameral
  Congress: elections last held 9 April 1995 (next to be held NA April
  2000); results - C90/NM 52.1%, UPP 14%, 11 other parties 33.9%;
  seats - (120 total, when installed on 28 July 1995) C90/NM 67, UPP
  17, APRA 8, FIM 6, (CODE)-Pais Posible 5, AP 4, PPC 3, Renovacion 3,
  IU 2, OBRAS 2, MIA 1, FRENATRACA 1, FREPAP 1

Judicial branch: Supreme Court of Justice (Corte Suprema de
  Justicia), judges are appointed by the National Council of the
  Judiciary

Political parties and leaders: Change 90-New Majority (C90/NM),
  Alberto FUJIMORI; Union for Peru (UPP), Javier PEREZ de CUELLAR;
  American Popular Revolutionary Alliance (APRA), Agustin MANTILLA
  Campos; Independent Moralizing Front (FIM), Fernando OLIVERA Vega;
  Democratic Coordinator (CODE) - Pais Posible, Jose BARBA Caballero
  and Alejandro TOLEDO; Popular Action Party (AP), Raul DIEZ CANSECO;
  Popular Christian Party (PPC), Luis BEDOYA Reyes; Renovacion, Rafael
  REY Rey; Civic Works Movement (OBRAS), Ricardo BELMONT; United Left
  (IU), Agustin HAYA de la TORRE; Independent Agrarian Movement (MIA),
  Rolando SALVATERRIE; Peru 2000-National Front of Workers and
  Peasants (FRENATRACA), Roger CACARES; Popular Agricultural Front
  (FREPAP), Ezequiel ATAUCUSI

Other political or pressure groups: leftist guerrilla groups
  include Shining Path, Abimael GUZMAN Reynoso (imprisoned); Tupac
  Amaru Revolutionary Movement, Nestor SERPA and Victor POLAY
  (imprisoned)

International organization participation: AG, CCC, ECLAC, FAO,
  G-11, G-15, G-19, G-24, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM,
  IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM,
  ISO (correspondent), ITU, LAES, LAIA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, PCA, RG, UN,
  UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Ricardo V. LUNA MENDOZA
  chancery: 1700 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036
  telephone: [1] (202) 833-9860 through 9869
  FAX: [1] (202) 659-8124
  consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New
  York, Paterson (New Jersey), and San Francisco

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Alvin P. ADAMS, Jr.
  embassy: Avenida Encalada, Cuadra 17, Monterrico, Lima
  mailing address: P. O. Box 1995, Lima 1; American Embassy (Lima),
  APO AA 34031
  telephone: [51] (12) 21-1202
  FAX: [51] (12) 21-3543

Flag: three equal, vertical bands of red (hoist side), white, and
  red with the coat of arms centered in the white band; the coat of
  arms features a shield bearing a llama, cinchona tree (the source of
  quinine), and a yellow cornucopia spilling out gold coins, all
  framed by a green wreath



Economy
-------


Economic overview: The Peruvian economy has become increasingly
  market-oriented, with major privatizations completed since 1990 in
  the mining, electricity, and telecommunications industries. In the
  1980s, the economy suffered from hyperinflation, declining per
  capita output, and mounting external debt. Peru was shut off from
  IMF and World Bank support in the mid-1980s because of its huge debt
  arrears. An austerity program implemented shortly after the FUJIMORI
  government took office in July 1990 contributed to a third
  consecutive yearly contraction of economic activity, but the slide
  came to a halt late that year, and in 1991 output rose 2.4%. After a
  burst of inflation as the austerity program eliminated government
  price subsidies, monthly price increases eased to the single-digit
  level and by December 1991 dropped to the lowest increase since
  mid-1987. Lima obtained a financial rescue package from multilateral
  lenders in September 1991, although it faced $14 billion in arrears
  on its external debt. By working with the IMF and World Bank on new
  financial conditions and arrangements, the government succeeded in
  ending its arrears by March 1993. In 1992, GDP fell by 2.8%, in part
  because a warmer-than-usual El Nino current resulted in a 30% drop
  in the fish catch, but the economy rebounded as strong foreign
  investment helped push growth to 6% in 1993, about 13% in 1994, and
  6.8% in 1995.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $87 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 6.8% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $3,600 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: NA%
  industry: NA%
  services: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 10.2% (1995 est.)

Labor force: 8 million (1992)
  by occupation: agriculture, mining and quarrying, manufacturing,
  construction, transport, services

Unemployment rate: 15%; extensive underemployment (1992 est.)

Budget:
  revenues: $8.5 billion
  expenditures: $9.3 billion including capital expenditures of $NA
  (1996 est.)

Industries: mining of metals, petroleum, fishing, textiles,
  clothing, food processing, cement, auto assembly, steel,
  shipbuilding, metal fabrication

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity:
  capacity: 4,190,000 kW
  production: 11.2 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 448 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: coffee, cotton, sugarcane, rice, wheat, potatoes,
  plantains, coca; poultry, red meats, dairy products, wool; fish
  catch of 6.9 million metric tons (1990)

Illicit drugs: world's largest coca leaf producer with about
  115,300 hectares under cultivation in 1995; source of supply for
  most of the world's coca paste and cocaine base; at least 85% of
  coca cultivation is for illicit production; most of cocaine base is
  shipped to Colombian drug dealers for processing into cocaine for
  the international drug market, but exports of finished cocaine are
  increasing

Exports: $5.6 billion (f.o.b., 1995 est.)
  commodities: copper, zinc, fishmeal, crude petroleum and byproducts,
  lead, refined silver, coffee, cotton
  partners: US 19%, Japan 9%, Italy, Germany

Imports: $7.4 billion (f.o.b., 1995 est.)
  commodities: machinery, transport equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum,
  iron and steel, chemicals, pharmaceuticals
  partners: US 21%, Colombia, Argentina, Japan, Germany, Brazil

External debt: $22.4 billion (1994 est.)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $363 million (1993)

Currency: 1 nuevo sol (S/.) = 100 centimos

Exchange rates: nuevo sol (S/.) per US$1 - 2.350 (January 1996),
  2.253 (1995), 2.195 (1994), 1.988 (1993), 1.246 (1992), 0.773 (1991)

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 2,041 km
  standard gauge: 1,726 km 1.435-m gauge
  narrow gauge: 315 km 0.914-m gauge (1994)

Highways:
  total: 69,942 km
  paved: 13,538 km
  unpaved: 56,404 km (1987 est.)

Waterways: 8,600 km of navigable tributaries of Amazon system and
  208 km of Lago Titicaca

Pipelines: crude oil 800 km; natural gas and natural gas liquids
  64 km

Ports: Callao, Chimbote, Ilo, Matarani, Paita, Puerto Maldonado,
  Salaverry, San Martin, Talara, Iquitos, Pucallpa, Yurimaguas
  note: Iquitos, Pucallpa, and Yurimaguas are all on the upper reaches
  of the Amazon and its tributaries

Merchant marine:
  total: 9 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 77,584 GRT/144,030 DWT
  ships by type: bulk 2, cargo 7 (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 230
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 5
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 15
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 12
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 6
  with paved runways under 914 m: 96
  with unpaved runways over 3 047 m: 1
  with unpaved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 2
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 22
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 71 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 779,306 (1990 est.)

Telephone system: adequate for most requirements
  domestic: nationwide microwave radio relay system and a domestic
  satellite system with 12 earth stations
  international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 273, FM 0, shortwave 144

Radios: 5.7 million (1992 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 140

Televisions: 2 million (1993 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Army (Ejercito Peruano), Navy (Marina de Guerra del
  Peru; includes Naval Air, Marines, and Coast Guard), Air Force
  (Fuerza Aerea del Peru), National Police

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 6,441,513
  males fit for military service: 4,347,460
  males reach military age (20) annually: 255,067 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $998 million,
  1.6% of GDP (1996)



======================================================================




@Philippines
-----------




Map
---


Location: 13 00 N, 122 00 E -- Southeastern Asia, archipelago
  between the Philippine Sea and the South China Sea, east of Vietnam



Flag
----


Description: two equal horizontal bands of blue (top) and red with
  a white equilateral triangle based on the hoist side; in the center
  of the triangle is a yellow sun with eight primary rays (each
  containing three individual rays) and in each corner of the triangle
  is a small yellow five-pointed star





Geography
---------


Location: Southeastern Asia, archipelago between the Philippine
  Sea and the South China Sea, east of Vietnam

Geographic coordinates: 13 00 N, 122 00 E

Map references: Southeast Asia

Area:
  total area: 300,000 sq km
  land area: 298,170 sq km
  comparative area: slightly larger than Arizona

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 36,289 km

Maritime claims: measured from claimed archipelagic baselines
  continental shelf: to depth of exploitation
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: irregular polygon extending up to 100 nm from
  coastline as defined by 1898 treaty; since late 1970s has also
  claimed polygonal-shaped area in South China Sea up to 285 nm in
  breadth

International disputes: involved in a complex dispute over the
  Spratly Islands with China, Malaysia, Taiwan, Vietnam, and possibly
  Brunei; claims Malaysian state of Sabah

Climate: tropical marine; northeast monsoon (November to April);
  southwest monsoon (May to October)

Terrain: mostly mountains with narrow to extensive coastal lowlands
  lowest point: Philippine Sea 0 m
  highest point: Mount Apo 2,954 m

Natural resources: timber, petroleum, nickel, cobalt, silver,
  gold, salt, copper

Land use:
  arable land: 26%
  permanent crops: 11%
  meadows and pastures: 4%
  forest and woodland: 40%
  other: 19%

Irrigated land: 16,200 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
  current issues: uncontrolled deforestation in watershed areas; soil
  erosion; air and water pollution in Manila; increasing pollution of
  coastal mangrove swamps which are important fish breeding grounds
  natural hazards: astride typhoon belt, usually affected by 15 and
  struck by five to six cyclonic storms per year; landslides, active
  volcanoes, destructive earthquakes, tsunamis
  international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
  Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine
  Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber
  83, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Desertification, Tropical
  Timber 94



People
------


Population: 74,480,848 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 38% (male 14,486,214; female 14,026,873)
  15-64 years: 58% (male 21,403,784; female 21,968,259)
  65 years and over: 4% (male 1,165,810; female 1,429,908) (July 1996
  est.)

Population growth rate: 2.18% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 29.51 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 6.66 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: -1.06 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.82 male(s)/female
  all ages: 0.99 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 35.9 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 65.91 years
  male: 63.14 years
  female: 68.83 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 3.69 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Filipino(s)
  adjective: Philippine

Ethnic divisions: Christian Malay 91.5%, Muslim Malay 4%, Chinese
  1.5%, other 3%

Religions: Roman Catholic 83%, Protestant 9%, Muslim 5%, Buddhist
  and other 3%

Languages: Pilipino (official, based on Tagalog), English
  (official)

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)
  total population: 94.6%
  male: 95%
  female: 94.3%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Republic of the Philippines
  conventional short form: Philippines
  local long form: Republika ng Pilipinas
  local short form: Pilipinas

Data code: RP

Type of government: republic

Capital: Manila

Administrative divisions: 72 provinces and 61 chartered cities*;
  Abra, Agusan del Norte, Agusan del Sur, Aklan, Albay, Angeles*,
  Antique, Aurora, Bacolod*, Bago*, Baguio*, Bais*, Basilan, Basilan
  City*, Bataan, Batanes, Batangas, Batangas City*, Benguet, Bohol,
  Bukidnon, Bulacan, Butuan*, Cabanatuan*, Cadiz*, Cagayan, Cagayan de
  Oro*, Calbayog*, Caloocan*, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur,
  Camiguin, Canlaon*, Capiz, Catanduanes, Cavite, Cavite City*, Cebu,
  Cebu City*, Cotabato*, Dagupan*, Danao*, Dapitan*, Davao City*
  Davao, Davao del Sur, Davao Oriental, Dipolog*, Dumaguete*, Eastern
  Samar, General Santos*, Gingoog*, Ifugao, Iligan*, Ilocos Norte,
  Ilocos Sur, Iloilo, Iloilo City*, Iriga*, Isabela, Kalinga-Apayao,
  La Carlota*, Laguna, Lanao del Norte, Lanao del Sur, Laoag*,
  Lapu-Lapu*, La Union, Legaspi*, Leyte, Lipa*, Lucena*, Maguindanao,
  Mandaue*, Manila*, Marawi*, Marinduque, Masbate, Mindoro Occidental,
  Mindoro Oriental, Misamis Occidental, Misamis Oriental, Mountain,
  Naga*, Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental, North Cotabato, Northern
  Samar, Nueva Ecija, Nueva Vizcaya, Olongapo*, Ormoc*, Oroquieta*,
  Ozamis*, Pagadian*, Palawan, Palayan*, Pampanga, Pangasinan, Pasay*,
  Puerto Princesa*, Quezon, Quezon City*, Quirino, Rizal, Romblon,
  Roxas*, Samar, San Carlos* (in Negros Occidental), San Carlos* (in
  Pangasinan), San Jose*, San Pablo*, Silay*, Siquijor, Sorsogon,
  South Cotabato, Southern Leyte, Sultan Kudarat, Sulu, Surigao*,
  Surigao del Norte, Surigao del Sur, Tacloban*, Tagaytay*,
  Tagbilaran*, Tangub*, Tarlac, Tawitawi, Toledo*, Trece Martires*,
  Zambales, Zamboanga*, Zamboanga del Norte, Zamboanga del Sur

Independence: 4 July 1946 (from US)

National holiday: Independence Day, 12 June (1898) (from Spain)

Constitution: 2 February 1987, effective 11 February 1987

Legal system: based on Spanish and Anglo-American law; accepts
  compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state and head of government: President Fidel Valdes RAMOS
  (since 30 June 1992) and Vice President Joseph Ejercito ESTRADA
  (since 30 June 1992) were elected for six-year terms by popular
  vote; election last held 11 May 1992 (next to be held NA May 1998);
  results - Fidel Valdes RAMOS won 23.6% of the vote, a narrow
  plurality
  cabinet: Executive Secretary was appointed by the president with the
  consent of the Commission of Appointments

Legislative branch: bicameral Congress (Kongreso)
  Senate (Senado): elections last held 8 May 1995 (next to be held NA
  1998); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (24 total) LDP
  14, Lakas/NUCD 5, NPC 2, LP 1, PRP 1, independent 1
  House of Representatives (Kapulungan Ng Mga Kinatawan): elections
  last held 8 May 1995 (next to be held NA 1998); results - percent of
  vote by party NA; seats - (204 total) Lakas/NUCD 129, LDP 29, NPC
  (opposition) 25, LP 6, PDP 3, KBL/NPC 1, results pending 11

Judicial branch: Supreme Court, justices are appointed for
  four-year terms by the president on recommendation of the Judicial
  and Bar Council

Political parties and leaders: Democratic Filipino Struggle (Laban
  ng Demokratikong Pilipino, LDP), Edgardo ANGARA; People
  Power-National Union of Christian Democrats (Lakas ng EDSA-NUCD or
  Lakas-NUCD); Raul MANGLAPUS, president and Jose DE VENECIA,
  secretary general; Liberal Party (LP), Raul DAZA; National People's
  Coalition (NPC), Eduardo COJUANGCO; People's Reform Party (PRP),
  Miriam DEFENSOR-SANTIAGO; New Society Movement (Kilusan Bagong
  Lipunan, KBL), Imelda MARCOS; Nacionalista Party (NP), Salvador H.
  LAUREL, president; Filipino Democratic Party (Partido Demokratikong
  Philipinas or PDP), Jose COJUANGCO, is part of the ruling coalition
  with the LDP

International organization participation: APEC, AsDB, ASEAN, CCC,
  CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA,
  IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC,
  IOM, ISO, ITU, Mekong Group, NAM, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO,
  UNMIH, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Raul Chaves RABE
  chancery: 1600 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036
  telephone: [1] (202) 467-9300
  FAX: [1] (202) 328-7614
  consulate(s) general: Agana (Guam), Chicago, Honolulu, Los Angeles,
  New York, San Francisco, and Seattle
  consulate(s): San Diego and San Jose (Saipan)

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador-designate Thomas C. HUBBARD
  embassy: 1201 Roxas Boulevard, Ermita Manila 1000
  mailing address: APO AP 96440
  telephone: [63] (2) 521-71-16
  FAX: [63] (2) 522-43-61

Flag: two equal horizontal bands of blue (top) and red with a
  white equilateral triangle based on the hoist side; in the center of
  the triangle is a yellow sun with eight primary rays (each
  containing three individual rays) and in each corner of the triangle
  is a small yellow five-pointed star



Economy
-------


Economic overview: The Philippine economy, primarily a mixture of
  agriculture and light industry, continued its third year of recovery
  in 1995, led by growth in exports and investments. Officials have
  targeted 5%-6% growth for 1996 after achieving 4.8% growth in 1995.
  The government is continuing its economic reforms to enable the
  Philippines to move closer to the development of the newly
  industrialized countries of East Asia. The strategy includes
  improving infrastructure and plans to overhaul the tax system to
  bolster government revenues.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $179.7 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 4.8% (1995)

GDP per capita: $2,530 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 22%
  industry: 30%
  services: 48%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 8.1% (1995)

Labor force: 24.12 million
  by occupation: agriculture 46%, industry and commerce 16%, services
  18.5%, government 10%, other 9.5% (1989)

Unemployment rate: 9.5% (1995 est.)

Budget:
  revenues: $14.1 billion
  expenditures: $13.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA
  (1995)

Industries: textiles, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, wood products,
  food processing, electronics assembly, petroleum refining, fishing

Industrial production growth rate: 1.4% (1993)

Electricity:
  capacity: 6,770,000 kW
  production: 20.4 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 278 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: rice, coconuts, corn, sugarcane, bananas, pineapples,
  mangoes; pork, eggs, beef; fish catch of 2 million metric tons
  annually

Illicit drugs: illicit producer of cannabis for the international
  drug trade; growers are producing more and better quality cannabis
  despite government eradication efforts; transit point for Southwest
  Asian and Golden Triangle heroin bound for the US

Exports: $17.4 billion (f.o.b., 1995)
  commodities: electronics, textiles, coconut products, copper, fish
  partners: US 39%, Japan 15%, Germany 5%, Hong Kong 5%, UK 5% (1994)

Imports: $26.5 billion (f.o.b., 1995)
  commodities: raw materials 40%, capital goods 25%, petroleum
  products 10%
  partners: Japan 24%, US 18%, Singapore 7%, Taiwan 6%, South Korea 5%
  (1994)

External debt: $41 billion (1995 est.)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $934 million (1993)

Currency: 1 Philippine peso (P) = 100 centavos

Exchange rates: Philippine pesos (P) per US$1 - 26.206 (December
  1995), 25.714 (1995), 26.417 (1994), 27.120 (1993), 25.512 (1992),
  27.479 (1991)

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 499 km
  narrow gauge: 499 km 1.067-m gauge (1993)

Highways:
  total: 160,633 km
  paved: 22,489 km
  unpaved: 138,144 km (1992 est.)

Waterways: 3,219 km; limited to shallow-draft (less than 1.5 m)
  vessels

Pipelines: petroleum products 357 km

Ports: Batangas, Cagayan de Oro, Cebu, Davao, Guimaras Island,
  Iligan, Iloilo, Jolo, Legaspi, Manila, Masao, Puerto Princesa, San
  Fernando, Subic Bay, Zamboanga

Merchant marine:
  total: 535 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 8,033,849
  GRT/13,101,188 DWT
  ships by type: bulk 230, cargo 126, chemical tanker 3, combination
  bulk 11, container 12, liquefied gas tanker 9, livestock carrier 12,
  oil tanker 44, passenger 2, passenger-cargo 12, refrigerated cargo
  19, roll-on/roll-off cargo 12, short-sea passenger 18, vehicle
  carrier 25
  note: a flag of convenience registry; Japan owns 22 ships, Hong Kong
  4, Switzerland 1, Taiwan 1, Denmark 1, and UK 1 (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 235
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 2
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 7
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 25
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 31
  with paved runways under 914 m: 104
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 3
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 63 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 887,229 (1993 est.)

Telephone system: good international radiotelephone and submarine
  cable services; domestic and interisland service adequate
  domestic: domestic satellite system with 11 earth stations
  international: submarine cables to Hong Kong, Guam, Singapore,
  Taiwan, and Japan; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (1 Indian
  Ocean and 2 Pacific Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 261, FM 55, shortwave 0

Radios: 9.03 million (1992 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 29

Televisions: 7 million (1993 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Army, Navy (includes Coast Guard and Marine Corps), Air
  Force

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 18,722,509
  males fit for military service: 13,221,513
  males reach military age (20) annually: 767,056 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $1 billion, 1.4%
  of GDP (1995)



======================================================================




@Pitcairn Islands
----------------


(dependent territory of the UK)

Map
---


Location: 25 04 S, 130 06 W -- Oceania, islands in the South
  Pacific Ocean, about one-half of the way from Peru to New Zealand



Flag
----


Description: blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side
  quadrant and the Pitcairn Islander coat of arms centered on the
  outer half of the flag; the coat of arms is yellow, green, and light
  blue with a shield featuring a yellow anchor





Geography
---------


Location: Oceania, islands in the South Pacific Ocean, about
  one-half of the way from Peru to New Zealand

Geographic coordinates: 25 04 S, 130 06 W

Map references: Oceania

Area:
  total area: 47 sq km
  land area: 47 sq km
  comparative area: about 0.3 times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 51 km

Maritime claims:
  exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 3 nm

International disputes: none

Climate: tropical, hot, humid, modified by southeast trade winds;
  rainy season (November to March)

Terrain: rugged volcanic formation; rocky coastline with cliffs
  lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
  highest point: Pawala Valley Ridge 347 m

Natural resources: miro trees (used for handicrafts), fish

Land use:
  arable land: NA%
  permanent crops: NA%
  meadows and pastures: NA%
  forest and woodland: NA%
  other: NA%

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Environment:
  current issues: deforestation (only a small portion of the original
  forest remains because of burning and clearing for settlement)
  natural hazards: typhoons (especially November to March)
  international agreements: NA



People
------


Population: 56 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: NA
  15-64 years: NA
  65 years and over: NA

Population growth rate: 0% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: NA births/1,000 population

Death rate: NA deaths/1,000 population

Net migration rate: NA migrant(s)/1,000 population

Sex ratio:
  at birth: NA male(s)/female
  under 15 years: NA male(s)/female
  15-64 years: NA male(s)/female
  65 years and over: NA male(s)/female
  all ages: NA male(s)/female

Infant mortality rate: NA deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: NA years
  male: NA years
  female: NA years

Total fertility rate: NA children born/woman

Nationality:
  noun: Pitcairn Islander(s)
  adjective: Pitcairn Islander

Ethnic divisions: descendants of the Bounty mutineers

Religions: Seventh-Day Adventist 100%

Languages: English (official), Tahitian/English dialect



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie, and Oeno Islands
  conventional short form: Pitcairn Islands

Data code: PC

Type of government: dependent territory of the UK

Capital: Adamstown

Administrative divisions: none (dependent territory of the UK)

Independence: none (dependent territory of the UK)

National holiday: Celebration of the Birthday of the Queen (second
  Saturday in June)

Constitution: Local Government Ordinance of 1964

Legal system: local island by-laws

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal with three years residency

Executive branch:
  chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (of the United Kingdom since 6
  February 1952) is a hereditary monarch, represented by UK High
  Commissioner to New Zealand and Governor (non-resident) of the
  Pitcairn Islands Robert John ALSTON (since NA August 1994);
  Commissioner (non-resident) G. D. HARRAWAY (since NA; is the liaison
  person between the governor and the Island Council)
  head of government: Island Magistrate and Chairman of the Island
  Council Jay WARREN (since NA); the island magistrate is elected
  every three years

Legislative branch: unicameral
  Island Council: elections take place each December; election last
  held NA December 1995 (next to be held NA December 1996); results -
  percent of vote NA; seats - (11 total, 5 elected) all independents

Judicial branch: Island Court, island magistrate presides over the
  court and is elected every three years

Political parties and leaders: none

Other political or pressure groups: NA

International organization participation: SPC

Diplomatic representation in US: none (dependent territory of the
  UK)

US diplomatic representation: none (dependent territory of the UK)

Flag: blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side
  quadrant and the Pitcairn Islander coat of arms centered on the
  outer half of the flag; the coat of arms is yellow, green, and light
  blue with a shield featuring a yellow anchor



Economy
-------


Economic overview: The inhabitants exist on fishing and
  subsistence farming. The fertile soil of the valleys produces a wide
  variety of fruits and vegetables, including citrus, sugarcane,
  watermelons, bananas, yams, and beans. Bartering is an important
  part of the economy. The major sources of revenue are the sale of
  postage stamps to collectors and the sale of handicrafts to passing
  ships.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $NA

GDP real growth rate: NA%

GDP per capita: $NA

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: NA%
  industry: NA%
  services: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA%

Labor force: 14 able-bodied men (1993)
  by occupation: no business community in the usual sense; some public
  works; subsistence farming and fishing

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget:
  revenues: $588,000
  expenditures: $583,000, including capital expenditures of $NA
  (1993/94 est.)

Industries: postage stamps, handicrafts

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity:
  capacity: 110 kW
  production: 300,000 kWh
  consumption per capita: 5,360 kWh (1990)

Agriculture: wide variety of fruits and vegetables

Exports: $NA
  commodities: fruits, vegetables, curios
  partners: NA

Imports: $NA
  commodities: fuel oil, machinery, building materials, flour, sugar,
  other foodstuffs
  partners: NA

External debt: $NA

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA bilateral commitments (1992-93), $84,000

Currency: 1 New Zealand dollar (NZ$) = 100 cents

Exchange rates: New Zealand dollars (NZ$) per US$1 - 1.5138
  (January 1996), 1.5235 (1995), 1.6844 (1994), 1.8495 (1993), 1.8584
  (1992), 1.7265 (1991)

Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March



Transportation
--------------


Railways: 0 km

Highways:
  total: 6.4 km
  paved: 0 km
  unpaved: 6.4 km

Ports: Bounty Bay

Merchant marine: none

Airports: none



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 24

Telephone system: party line telephone service on the island
  domestic: NA
  international: radiotelephone

Radio broadcast stations: AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0

Radios: NA

Television broadcast stations: 0

Televisions: NA



Defense
-------


Defense note: defense is the responsibility of the UK



======================================================================




@Poland
------




Map
---


Location: 52 00 N, 20 00 E -- Central Europe, east of Germany



Flag
----


Description: two equal horizontal bands of white (top) and red;
  similar to the flags of Indonesia and Monaco which are red (top) and
  white





Geography
---------


Location: Central Europe, east of Germany

Geographic coordinates: 52 00 N, 20 00 E

Map references: Europe

Area:
  total area: 312,683 sq km
  land area: 304,510 sq km
  comparative area: slightly smaller than New Mexico

Land boundaries:
  total: 2,888 km
  border countries: Belarus 605 km, Czech Republic 658 km, Germany 456
  km, Lithuania 91 km, Russia (Kaliningrad Oblast) 206 km, Slovakia
  444 km, Ukraine 428 km

Coastline: 491 km

Maritime claims:
  exclusive economic zone: defined by international treaties
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: none

Climate: temperate with cold, cloudy, moderately severe winters
  with frequent precipitation; mild summers with frequent showers and
  thundershowers

Terrain: mostly flat plain; mountains along southern border
  lowest point: Raczki Elblaskie -2 m
  highest point: Rysy 2,499 m

Natural resources: coal, sulfur, copper, natural gas, silver,
  lead, salt

Land use:
  arable land: 48%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 13%
  forest and woodland: 29%
  other: 10% (1992)

Irrigated land: 1,000 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
  current issues: situation has improved since 1989 due to decline in
  heavy industry and increased environmental concern by postcommunist
  governments; air pollution nonetheless remains serious because of
  sulfur dioxide emissions from coal-fired power plants, and the
  resulting acid rain has caused forest damage; water pollution from
  industrial and municipal sources is also a problem, as is disposal
  of hazardous wastes
  natural hazards: NA
  international agreements: party to - Air Pollution,
  Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Climate Change,
  Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes,
  Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship
  Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling; signed, but not ratified - Air
  Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Biodiversity,
  Law of the Sea

Geographic note: historically, an area of conflict because of flat
  terrain and the lack of natural barriers on the North European Plain



People
------


Population: 38,642,565 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 22% (male 4,399,649; female 4,188,824)
  15-64 years: 66% (male 12,754,272; female 12,930,275)
  65 years and over: 12% (male 1,654,526; female 2,715,019) (July 1996
  est.)

Population growth rate: 0.14% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 11.92 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 10.08 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: -0.4 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.61 male(s)/female
  all ages: 0.95 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 12.4 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 72.1 years
  male: 68.02 years
  female: 76.41 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.69 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Pole(s)
  adjective: Polish

Ethnic divisions: Polish 97.6%, German 1.3%, Ukrainian 0.6%,
  Byelorussian 0.5% (1990 est.)

Religions: Roman Catholic 95% (about 75% practicing), Eastern
  Orthodox, Protestant, and other 5%

Languages: Polish

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1978 est.)
  total population: 99%
  male: 99%
  female: 98%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Republic of Poland
  conventional short form: Poland
  local long form: Rzeczpospolita Polska
  local short form: Polska

Data code: PL

Type of government: democratic state

Capital: Warsaw

Administrative divisions: 49 provinces (wojewodztwa, singular -
  wojewodztwo); Biala Podlaska, Bialystok, Bielsko Biala, Bydgoszcz,
  Chelm, Ciechanow, Czestochowa, Elblag, Gdansk, Gorzow, Jelenia Gora,
  Kalisz, Katowice, Kielce, Konin, Koszalin, Krakow, Krosno, Legnica,
  Leszno, Lodz, Lomza, Lublin, Nowy Sacz, Olsztyn, Opole, Ostroleka,
  Pila, Piotrkow, Plock, Poznan, Przemysl, Radom, Rzeszow, Siedlce,
  Sieradz, Skierniewice, Slupsk, Suwalki, Szczecin, Tarnobrzeg,
  Tarnow, Torun, Walbrzych, Warszawa, Wloclawek, Wroclaw, Zamosc,
  Zielona Gora

Independence: 11 November 1918 (independent republic proclaimed)

National holiday: Constitution Day, 3 May (1791)

Constitution: interim "small constitution" came into effect in
  December 1992 replacing the communist-imposed constitution of 22
  July 1952; new democratic constitution being drafted

Legal system: mixture of Continental (Napoleonic) civil law and
  holdover communist legal theory; changes being gradually introduced
  as part of broader democratization process; limited judicial review
  of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: President Aleksander KWASNIEWSKI (since 23 December
  1995) was elected for a five-year term by popular vote; election
  first round held 5 November 1995, second round held 19 November 1995
  (next to be held NA November 2000); results - second round
  Aleksander KWASNIEWSKI 51.7%, Lech WALESA 48.3%
  head of government: Prime Minister Wlodimierz CIMOSZEWICZ (since 7
  February 1996), Deputy Prime Ministers Roman JAGIELINSKI (since NA),
  Grzegorz KOLODKO (since NA), and Miroslaw PIETRIEWICZ (since NA)
  were appointed by the Sejm
  cabinet: Council of Ministers is responsible to the president and
  the Sejm; the prime minister appointed and the Sejm approved the
  Council of Ministers

Legislative branch: bicameral National Assembly (Zgromadzenie
  Narodowe) post-communist parties (PSL 34, SLD 37), post-Solidarity
  parties (UW 6, NSZZ 12, BBWR 2), non-communist, non-Solidarity
  (independents 7, unaffiliated 1, vacant 1) post-communist parties
  (SLD 171, PSL 132), post-Solidarity parties (UW 74, UP 41, BBWR 16),
  non-communist, non-Solidarity (KPN 22)
  note: four seats are constitutionally assigned to ethnic German
  parties
  Sejm: elections last held 19 September 1993 (next to be held no
  later than 19 September 1997); results - percent of vote by party
  NA; seats - (460 total)
  Senate (Senat): elections last held 19 September 1993 (next to be
  held no later than 19 September 1997); results - percent of vote by
  party NA; seats - (100 total)

Judicial branch: Supreme Court, judges are appointed by the
  president on the recommendation of the National Council of Judiciary

Political parties and leaders:
  post-Communist: Democratic Left Alliance (SLD) (Social Democracy of
  Poland), Jozef OLEKSY; Polish Peasant Party (PSL), Waldemar PAWLAK
  post-Solidarity parties: Freedom Union (UW; Democratic Union and
  Liberal Democratic Congress merged to form Freedom Union), Leszek
  BALCEROWICZ; Christian-National Union (ZCHN), Marian PILKA; Center
  Alliance Party (PC), Jaroslaw KACZYNSKI; Peasant Alliance (PL),
  Gabriel JANOWSKI; Solidarity Caucus (NSZZ), Marian KRZAKLEWSKI;
  Union of Labor (UP), Ryszard BUGAJ; Christian-Democratic Party
  (PCHD), Pawel LACZKOWSKI; Conservative Party, Aleksander HALL;
  Nonparty Reform Bloc (BBWR)
  non-Communist non-Solidarity: Confederation for an Independent
  Poland (KPN), Leszek MOCZULSKI; German Minority (MN), Georg PORYLKA;
  Union of Real Politics (UPR), Janusz KORWIN-MIKKE; Democratic Party
  (SD), Antoni MACKIEWICZ

Other political or pressure groups: powerful Roman Catholic
  Church; Solidarity (trade union); All Poland Trade Union Alliance
  (OPZZ), trade union

International organization participation: Australia Group, BIS,
  BSEC (observer), CBSS, CCC, CE, CEI, CERN, EBRD, ECE, EU
  (applicant), FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS,
  ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarset, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU,
  MINURSO, NACC, NAM (guest), NSG, OAS (observer), OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN,
  UNAVEM III, UNCRO, UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNIKOM,
  UNMOT, UNOMIG, UNPREDEP, UNPROFOR, UPU, WCL, WEU (associate
  partner), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Jerzy KOZMINSKI
  chancery: 2640 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009
  telephone: [1] (202) 234-3800 through 3802
  FAX: [1] (202) 328-6271
  consulate(s) general: Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Nicholas Andrew REY
  embassy: Aleje Ujazdowskie 29/31, Warsaw
  mailing address: American Embassy Warsaw, Unit 1340, APO AE
  09213-1340
  telephone: [48] (2) 628-30-41
  FAX: [48] (2) 628-82-98
  consulate(s) general: Krakow

Flag: two equal horizontal bands of white (top) and red; similar
  to the flags of Indonesia and Monaco which are red (top) and white



Economy
-------


Economic overview: In 1995, Poland continued to make good progress
  in the difficult transition to a market economy that began on 1
  January 1990, when the new democratic government instituted "shock
  therapy" by decontrolling prices, slashing subsidies, and
  drastically reducing import barriers. Although real GDP fell sharply
  in 1990 and 1991, in 1992 Poland became the first country in the
  region to resume economic growth with a 2.6% increase. Growth
  advanced to 3.8% in 1993, 5.2% in 1994, and 6.5% in 1995. Most of
  the growth since 1991 had come from the booming private sector,
  which now accounts for about 60% of GDP, due in large part to the
  creation of new private firms. The slow pace of privatization picked
  up somewhat in 1995, as 512 smaller state enterprises were
  transferred to private National Investment Funds under the Mass
  Privatization Program, but large-scale industry remains largely in
  state hands. Industrial production increased 10.2% in 1995,
  following a 13.2% rise in 1994, yet remains about 13% below the 1989
  level. Inflation, which had approached 1,200% annually in early
  1990, fell to 21.6% in December 1995, as the government held the
  1995 budget deficit to less than 3% of GDP. After peaking at 16.9%
  in July 1994, unemployment gradually fell to 14.9% in December 1995
  - although the rate still approaches 30% in some regions. The trade
  and current account balances officially are in deficit but in fact
  both have comfortable surpluses because of large, unrecorded sales
  to cross-border visitors. Prospects for 1996 are good, with the
  government promising to push privatization and social welfare
  reform. Economic growth should remain above 5%, with inflation
  dropping below 20% by yearend 1996 and unemployment continuing its
  slow decline. As for external debt, the burden was sharply reduced
  by reschedulings and write-offs of both private and official debt
  during 1991-94.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $226.7 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 6.5% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $5,800 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 7%
  industry: 38%
  services: 55% (1993)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 21.6% (December 1995)

Labor force: 17.743 million (1994 annual average)
  by occupation: industry and construction 32.0%, agriculture 27.6%,
  trade, transport, and communications 14.7%, government and other
  25.7% (1992)

Unemployment rate: 14.9% (December 1995)

Budget:
  revenues: $34.5 billion
  expenditures: $37.8 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA
  (1995 est.)

Industries: machine building, iron and steel, coal mining,
  chemicals, shipbuilding, food processing, glass, beverages, textiles

Industrial production growth rate: 10.2% (1995)

Electricity:
  capacity: 31,120,000 kW
  production: 133.7 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 3,000 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: potatoes, milk, fruits, vegetables, wheat; poultry
  and eggs; pork, beef

Illicit drugs: illicit producer of opium for domestic consumption
  and amphetamines for the international market; transshipment point
  for Asian and Latin American illicit drugs to Western Europe;
  producer of precursor chemicals

Exports: $22.2 billion (f.o.b., 1995 est.)
  commodities: intermediate goods 27.5%, machinery and transport
  equipment 19.8%, miscellaneous manufactures 20.5%, foodstuffs 11.6%,
  fuels 9.1% (1994)
  partners: Germany 35.7%, Netherlands 5.9%, Russia 5.4%, Italy 4.9%
  (1994)

Imports: $23.4 billion (f.o.b., 1995 est.)
  commodities: machinery and transport equipment 28.9%, intermediate
  goods 20.2%, chemicals 14.7%, fuels 10.4%, miscellaneous
  manufactures 9.9%
  partners: Germany 27.5%, Italy 8.4%, Russia 6.8%, UK 5.3% (1994)

External debt: $42.1 billion (yearend 1995 est.)

Economic aid:
  recipient: Western governments and institutions pledged $22 billion
  in grants and loans during 1990-94, but much of the money has not
  been disbursed

Currency: 1 zloty (Zl) = 100 groszy

Exchange rates: zlotych (Zl) per US$1 - 2.55 (January 1996) 2.4250
  (1995); note - a currency reform on 1 January 1995 replaced 10,000
  old zlotys with 1 new zloty; 22,723 (1994), 18,115 (1993), 13,626
  (1992), 10,576 (1991)

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 25,166 km
  broad gauge: 656 km 1.520-m gauge
  standard gauge: 22,655 km 1.435-m gauge (11,496 km electrified;
  8,978 km double track)
  narrow gauge: 1,855 km various gauges including 1.000-m, 0.785-m,
  0.750-m, and 0.600-m (1995)

Highways:
  total: 367,000 km (excluding farm, factory, and forest roads)
  paved: 235,247 km (including 257 km of expressways)
  unpaved: 131,753 km (1992 est.)

Waterways: 3,997 km navigable rivers and canals (1991)

Pipelines: crude oil 1,986 km; petroleum products 360 km; natural
  gas 4,600 km (1992)

Ports: Gdansk, Gdynia, Gliwice, Kolobrzeg, Szczecin, Swinoujscie,
  Ustka, Warsaw, Wrocaw

Merchant marine:
  total: 131 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,093,491
  GRT/3,167,660 DWT
  ships by type: bulk 73, cargo 36, chemical tanker 4, container 7,
  oil tanker 1, passenger 1, roll-on/roll-off cargo 4, short-sea
  passenger 5
  note: Poland owns an additional 18 ships (1,000 GRT or over)
  totaling 179,913 DWT operating under the registries of The Bahamas,
  Liberia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Vanuatu, and Cyprus (1995
  est.)

Airports:
  total: 134
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 2
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 30
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 27
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 3
  with paved runways under 914 m: 7
  with unpaved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 5
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 10
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 32
  with unpaved runways under 914 m: 18 (1994 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 5 million (1994)

Telephone system: underdeveloped and outmoded system; government
  aims to have 10 million phones in service by the year 2000
  domestic: cable, open wire, and microwave radio relay
  international: satellite earth stations - NA Intelsat, NA Eutelsat,
  1 Inmarsat (Atlantic and Indian Ocean Regions), and 1 Intersputnik
  (Atlantic Ocean Region)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 27, FM 27, shortwave 0

Radios: 10.9 million (1993 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 40 (Russian repeaters 5)

Televisions: 9.6 million



Defense
-------


Branches: Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Force

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 10,267,551
  males fit for military service: 7,994,460
  males reach military age (19) annually: 324,960 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $2.4 billion,
  2.4% of GDP (1995)



======================================================================




@Portugal
--------




Map
---


Location: 39 30 N, 8 00 W -- Southwestern Europe, bordering the
  North Atlantic Ocean, west of Spain



Flag
----


Description: two vertical bands of green (hoist side, two-fifths)
  and red (three-fifths) with the Portuguese coat of arms centered on
  the dividing line





Geography
---------


Location: Southwestern Europe, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean,
  west of Spain

Geographic coordinates: 39 30 N, 8 00 W

Map references: Europe

Area:
  total area: 92,080 sq km
  land area: 91,640 sq km
  comparative area: slightly smaller than Indiana
  note: includes Azores and Madeira Islands

Land boundaries:
  total: 1,214 km
  border country: Spain 1,214 km

Coastline: 1,793 km

Maritime claims:
  continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: sovereignty over Timor Timur (East Timor
  Province) disputed with Indonesia and not recognized by the UN

Climate: maritime temperate; cool and rainy in north, warmer and
  drier in south

Terrain: mountainous north of the Tagus, rolling plains in south
  lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
  highest point: Ponta do Pico in Azores 2,351 m

Natural resources: fish, forests (cork), tungsten, iron ore,
  uranium ore, marble

Land use:
  arable land: 32%
  permanent crops: 6%
  meadows and pastures: 6%
  forest and woodland: 40%
  other: 16%

Irrigated land: 6,340 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
  current issues: soil erosion; air pollution caused by industrial and
  vehicle emissions; water pollution, especially in coastal areas
  natural hazards: Azores subject to severe earthquakes
  international agreements: party to - Air Pollution, Biodiversity,
  Climate Change, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine
  Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship
  Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified -
  Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Desertification,
  Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban

Geographic note: Azores and Madeira Islands occupy strategic
  locations along western sea approaches to Strait of Gibraltar



People
------


Population: 9,865,114 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 18% (male 888,157; female 843,309)
  15-64 years: 68% (male 3,249,973; female 3,414,793)
  65 years and over: 14% (male 601,913; female 866,969) (July 1996
  est.)

Population growth rate: 0.02% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 10.53 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 10.2 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: -0.18 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.69 male(s)/female
  all ages: 0.92 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 7.6 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 75.31 years
  male: 71.52 years
  female: 79.31 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.36 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Portuguese (singular and plural)
  adjective: Portuguese

Ethnic divisions: homogeneous Mediterranean stock in mainland,
  Azores, Madeira Islands; citizens of black African descent who
  immigrated to mainland during decolonization number less than 100,000

Religions: Roman Catholic 97%, Protestant denominations 1%, other
  2%

Languages: Portuguese

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
  total population: 85%
  male: 89%
  female: 82%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Portuguese Republic
  conventional short form: Portugal
  local long form: Republica Portuguesa
  local short form: Portugal

Data code: PO

Type of government: republic

Capital: Lisbon

Administrative divisions: 18 districts (distritos, singular -
  distrito) and 2 autonomous regions* (regioes autonomas, singular -
  regiao autonoma); Aveiro, Acores (Azores)*, Beja, Braga, Braganca,
  Castelo Branco, Coimbra, Evora, Faro, Guarda, Leiria, Lisboa,
  Madeira*, Portalegre, Porto, Santarem, Setubal, Viana do Castelo,
  Vila Real, Viseu

Dependent areas: Macau (scheduled to become a Special
  Administrative Region of China on 20 December 1999)

Independence: 1140 (independent republic proclaimed 5 October 1910)

National holiday: Day of Portugal, 10 June (1580)

Constitution: 25 April 1976, revised 30 October 1982 and 1 June
  1989

Legal system: civil law system; the Constitutional Tribunal
  reviews the constitutionality of legislation; accepts compulsory ICJ
  jurisdiction, with reservations

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: President Jorge SAMPAIO (since 9 March 1996) was
  elected for a five-year term by universal suffrage; election last
  held 14 January 1996 (next to be held NA January 2001); results -
  Jorge SAMPAIO (Socialist) 53.8%, Anibal CAVACO SILVA (Conservative)
  46.2%
  head of government: Prime Minister Antonio Manuel de Oliviera
  GUTERRES (since 28 October 1995) was appointed by the president
  following the October 1995 legislative elections
  Council of State: acts as a consultative body to the president
  cabinet: Council of Ministers was appointed by the president on
  recommendation of the prime minister

Legislative branch: unicameral
  Assembly of the Republic (Assembleia da Republica): elections last
  held 1 October 1995 (next to be held NA October 1999); results - PSD
  34.0%, PS 43.8%, CDU 8.6%, CDS/PP 9.1%; seats - (230 total) PSD 88,
  PS 112, CDU 15, CDS/PP 15

Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Supremo Tribunal de Justica),
  judges appointed for life by the Conselho Superior da Magistratura

Political parties and leaders: Social Democratic Party (PSD),
  Marcelo Rebelo DE SOUSA; Portuguese Socialist Party (PS), Antonio
  GUTERRES; Party of Democratic Renewal (PRD), Pedro CANAVARRO;
  Portuguese Communist Party (PCP), Carlos CARVALHAS; Social
  Democratic Center (CDS), Manuel MONTEIRO; National Solidarity Party
  (PSN), Manuel SERGIO; Center Democratic Party (CDS); United
  Democratic Coalition (CDU; communists)

International organization participation: AfDB, Australia Group,
  BIS, CCC, CE, CERN, EBRD, ECE, ECLAC, EIB, EU, FAO, IADB, IAEA,
  IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF,
  IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAIA
  (observer), MTCR, NACC, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer),
  OECD, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNAVEM III, UNCRO, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO,
  UNPREDEP, UNPROFOR, UPU, WCL, WEU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO,
  ZC

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Fernando Antonio de Lacerda ANDRESEN
  GUIMARAES
  chancery: 2125 Kalorama Road NW, Washington, DC 20008
  telephone: [1] (202) 328-8610
  FAX: [1] (202) 462-3726
  consulate(s) general: Boston, New York, Newark (New Jersey), and San
  Francisco
  consulate(s): Los Angeles, New Bedford (Massachusetts), Providence
  (Rhode Island)

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Elizabeth Frawley BAGLEY
  embassy: Avenida das Forcas Armadas, 1600 Lisbon
  mailing address: PSC 83, APO AE 09726
  telephone: [351] (1) 7266600, 7266659, 7268670, 7268880
  FAX: [351] (1) 7269109
  consulate(s): Ponta Delgada (Azores)

Flag: two vertical bands of green (hoist side, two-fifths) and red
  (three-fifths) with the Portuguese coat of arms centered on the
  dividing line



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Portugal's short-term economic fundamentals are
  strong - the economy grew by 2.8% in 1995, with similar growth
  expected in 1996 and 1997, and unemployment is among the lowest in
  the EU. The Socialist government has pledged its dedication both to
  meeting the Maastricht monetary convergence criteria and to
  increasing social spending, including provision of a guaranteed
  minimum income. The government's 1996 budget, passed in March 1996,
  includes a budget deficit target of 4.2%, to be attained largely
  through cuts in non-social-service government spending and income
  from an ambitious privatization program. As for the long run,
  Portugal hopes for a steady modernization of its capital plant, its
  work force, and its infrastructure in order to catch up with the
  productivity and income levels of the Big Four economies of Western
  Europe.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $116.2 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 2.8% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $11,000 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 6%
  industry: 35.8%
  services: 58.2% (1995 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 4.6% (1995 est.)

Labor force: 4.24 million (1994 est.)
  by occupation: services 54.5%, manufacturing 24.4%, agriculture,
  forestry, fisheries 11.2%, construction 8.3%, utilities 1.0%, mining
  0.5% (1992)

Unemployment rate: 7.1% (1995 est.)

Budget:
  revenues: $31 billion
  expenditures: $41 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA
  (1994)

Industries: textiles and footwear; wood pulp, paper, and cork;
  metalworking; oil refining; chemicals; fish canning; wine; tourism

Industrial production growth rate: 2.1% (1995 est.)

Electricity:
  capacity: 8,220,000 kW
  production: 29.5 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 2,642 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: grain, potatoes, olives, grapes; sheep, cattle,
  goats, poultry, meat, dairy products

Illicit drugs: important gateway country for Latin American
  cocaine entering the European market; transshipment point for
  hashish from North Africa to Europe

Exports: $18.9 billion (f.o.b., 1995)
  commodities: clothing and footwear, machinery, cork and paper
  products, hides
  partners: EU 75.1%, other developed countries 12.4% (US 5.2%) (1995)

Imports: $24.1 billion (c.i.f., 1995)
  commodities: machinery and transport equipment, agricultural
  products, chemicals, petroleum, textiles
  partners: EU 71%, other developed countries 10.9% (US 2.5%), less
  developed countries 12.9% (1995)

External debt: $11.8 billion (1995 est.)

Economic aid:
  donor: ODA, $248 million (1993)
  recipient: ODA, $70 million (1993)

Currency: 1 Portuguese escudo (Esc) = 100 centavos

Exchange rates: Portuguese escudos (Esc) per US$1 - 151.61
  (January 1996), 149.97 (1995), 165.99 (1994), 160.80 (1993), 135.00
  (1992), 144.48 (1991)

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 3,068 km
  broad gauge: 2,761 km 1.668-m gauge (464 km electrified; 426 km
  double track)
  narrow gauge: 307 km 1.000-m gauge
  note: in 1992, Portugal had 3,588 km of track of which 464 km were
  electrified

Highways:
  total: 70,176 km (statistics for continental Portugal only)
  paved: 60,351 km (including 519 km of expressways)
  unpaved: 9,825 km (1992 est.)

Waterways: 820 km navigable; relatively unimportant to national
  economy, used by shallow-draft craft limited to 300 metric-ton cargo
  capacity

Pipelines: crude oil 22 km; petroleum products 58 km

Ports: Aveiro, Funchal (Madeira Islands), Horta (Azores), Leixoes,
  Lisbon, Porto, Ponta Delgada (Azores), Praia da Vitoria (Azores),
  Setubal, Viana do Castelo

Merchant marine:
  total: 72 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 795,725 GRT/1,418,538
  DWT
  ships by type: bulk 7, cargo 35, chemical tanker 5, container 5,
  liquefied gas tanker 4, oil tanker 12, passenger-cargo 1,
  refrigerated cargo 1, roll-on/roll-off cargo 1, short-sea passenger 1
  note: Portugal has created a captive register on Madeira for
  Portuguese-owned ships; ships on the Madeira Register (MAR) will
  have taxation and crewing benefits of a flag of convenience;
  Portugal owns an additional 25 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling
  155,776 DWT operating under the registries of Panama and Malta (1995
  est.)

Airports:
  total: 67
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 5
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 8
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 3
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 18
  with paved runways under 914 m: 30
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 3 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 2,236,411 (1993 est.)

Telephone system:
  domestic: generally adequate integrated network of coaxial cables,
  open wire, microwave radio relay, and domestic satellite earth
  stations
  international: 6 submarine cables; satellite earth stations - 3
  Intelsat (2 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean), NA Eutelsat;
  tropospheric scatter to Azores; note - an earth station for Inmarsat
  (Atlantic Ocean Region) is planned

Radio broadcast stations: AM 57, FM 66 (repeaters 22), shortwave 0

Radios: 2.2 million (1993 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 66 (repeaters 23)

Televisions: 2,970,892 (1993 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Army, Navy (includes Marines), Air Force, National
  Republican Guard, Fiscal Guard, Public Security Police

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 2,498,965
  males fit for military service: 2,014,653
  males reach military age (20) annually: 83,427 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $1.9 billion,
  2.4% of GDP (1995)



======================================================================




@Puerto Rico
-----------


(commonwealth associated with the US)

Map
---


Location: 18 15 N, 66 30 W -- Caribbean, island between the
  Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of the Dominican
  Republic



Flag
----


Description: five equal horizontal bands of red (top and bottom)
  alternating with white; a blue isosceles triangle based on the hoist
  side bears a large white five-pointed star in the center; design
  based on the US flag





Geography
---------


Location: Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and the
  North Atlantic Ocean, east of the Dominican Republic

Geographic coordinates: 18 15 N, 66 30 W

Map references: Central America and the Caribbean

Area:
  total area: 9,104 sq km
  land area: 8,959 sq km
  comparative area: slightly less than three times the size of Rhode
  Island

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 501 km

Maritime claims:
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: none

Climate: tropical marine, mild, little seasonal temperature
  variation

Terrain: mostly mountains with coastal plain belt in north;
  mountains precipitous to sea on west coast; sandy beaches along most
  coastal areas
  lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
  highest point: Cerro de Punta 1,338 m

Natural resources: some copper and nickel, potential for onshore
  and offshore oil

Land use:
  arable land: 8%
  permanent crops: 9%
  meadows and pastures: 41%
  forest and woodland: 20%
  other: 22%

Irrigated land: 390 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
  current issues: the recent drought has caused water levels in
  reservoirs to drop and prompted water rationing for more than
  one-half of the population
  natural hazards: periodic droughts
  international agreements: NA

Geographic note: important location along the Mona Passage - a key
  shipping lane to the Panama Canal; San Juan is one of the biggest
  and best natural harbors in the Caribbean; many small rivers and
  high central mountains ensure land is well watered; south coast
  relatively dry; fertile coastal plain belt in north



People
------


Population: 3,819,023 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 25% (male 484,038; female 461,175)
  15-64 years: 65% (male 1,201,841; female 1,279,707)
  65 years and over: 10% (male 174,274; female 217,988) (July 1996
  est.)

Population growth rate: 0.18% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 15.56 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 7.46 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: -6.35 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.8 male(s)/female
  all ages: 0.95 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 12.4 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 75.38 years
  male: 71.13 years
  female: 79.89 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.94 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Puerto Rican(s) (US citizens)
  adjective: Puerto Rican

Ethnic divisions: Hispanic

Religions: Roman Catholic 85%, Protestant denominations and other
  15%

Languages: Spanish, English

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1980 est.)
  total population: 89%
  male: 90%
  female: 88%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Commonwealth of Puerto Rico
  conventional short form: Puerto Rico

Data code: RQ

Type of government: commonwealth associated with the US

Capital: San Juan

Administrative divisions: none (commonwealth associated with the
  US); note - there are 78 municipalities

Independence: none (commonwealth associated with the US)

National holiday: US Independence Day, 4 July (1776)

Constitution: ratified 3 March 1952; approved by US Congress 3
  July 1952; effective 25 July 1952

Legal system: based on Spanish civil code

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal; indigenous inhabitants are
  US citizens but do not vote in US presidential elections

Executive branch:
  chief of state: President (of the US) William Jefferson CLINTON
  (since 20 January 1993); Vice President Albert GORE, Jr. (since 20
  January 1993)
  head of government: Governor Pedro ROSSELLO (since 2 January 1993)
  was elected for a four-year term by direct suffrage; election last
  held 3 November 1992 (next to be held 5 November 1996); results -
  Pedro ROSSELLO (PNP) 50%, Victoria MUNOZ (PPD) 46%, Fernando MARTIN
  (PIP) 4%

Legislative branch: bicameral Legislative Assembly
  Senate: elections last held 3 November 1992 (next to be held 5
  November 1996); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (29
  total) PNP 20, PPD 8, PIP 1
  House of Representatives: elections last held 3 November 1992 (next
  to be held NA November 1996); results - percent of vote by party NA;
  seats - (53 total) PNP 36, PPD 16, PIP 1
  US House of Representatives: elections last held 3 November 1992
  (next to be held 5 November 1996); results - percent of vote by
  party NA; seats - (1 total) PNP 1 (Carlos Romero BARCELO); note -
  Puerto Rico elects one representative to the US House of
  Representatives

Judicial branch: Supreme Court, justices appointed by the governor
  with the consent of the Senate; Superior Courts, justices appointed
  by the governor with the consent of the Senate; Municipal Courts,
  justices appointed by the governor with the consent of the Senate

Political parties and leaders: National Republican Party of Puerto
  Rico, Luis FERRE; Popular Democratic Party (PPD), Hector ACEVEDO;
  New Progressive Party (PNP), Pedro ROSSELLO; Puerto Rican Socialist
  Party (PSP) has been disbanded (1994); Puerto Rican Independence
  Party (PIP), Ruben BERRIOS Martinez; Puerto Rican Communist Party
  (PCP), leader(s) unknown

Other political or pressure groups: Armed Forces for National
  Liberation (FALN); Volunteers of the Puerto Rican Revolution;
  Boricua Popular Army (also known as the Macheteros); Armed Forces of
  Popular Resistance

International organization participation: Caricom (observer),
  ECLAC (associate), FAO (associate), ICFTU, Interpol (subbureau),
  IOC, WCL, WFTU, WHO (associate), WToO (associate)

Diplomatic representation in US: none (commonwealth associated
  with the US)

US diplomatic representation: none (commonwealth associated with
  the US)

Flag: five equal horizontal bands of red (top and bottom)
  alternating with white; a blue isosceles triangle based on the hoist
  side bears a large white five-pointed star in the center; design
  based on the US flag



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Puerto Rico has one of the most dynamic
  economies in the Caribbean region. Industry has surpassed
  agriculture as the primary sector of economic activity and income.
  Encouraged by duty-free access to the US and by tax incentives, US
  firms have invested heavily in Puerto Rico since the 1950s. US
  minimum wage laws apply. Important industries include
  pharmaceuticals, electronics, textiles, petrochemicals, and
  processed foods. Sugar production has lost out to dairy production
  and other livestock products as the main source of income in the
  agricultural sector. Tourism has traditionally been an important
  source of income for the island, with estimated arrivals of nearly
  3.9 million tourists in 1993.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $29.7 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 3.3% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $7,800 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: NA%
  industry: NA%
  services: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.9% (1994)

Labor force: 1.2 million (1993)
  by occupation: government 22%, manufacturing 17%, trade 20%,
  construction 6%, communications and transportation 5%, other 30%
  (1993)

Unemployment rate: 16% (1994)

Budget:
  revenues: $5.1 billion
  expenditures: $5.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA
  (FY94/95)

Industries: pharmaceuticals, electronics, apparel, food products,
  instruments, tourism

Industrial production growth rate: 5% (1994 est.)

Electricity:
  capacity: 4.230,000 kW
  production: 15.6 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 3,819 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: sugarcane, coffee, pineapples, plantains, bananas;
  cattle, chickens

Exports: $21.8 billion (1994)
  commodities: pharmaceuticals, electronics, apparel, canned tuna,
  rum, beverage concentrates, medical equipment, instruments
  partners: US 86.2% (1993)

Imports: $16.7 billion (1994)
  commodities: chemicals, clothing, food, fish, petroleum products
  partners: US 69.2% (1993)

External debt: $NA

Economic aid: none

Currency: 1 US dollar (US$) = 100 cents

Exchange rates: US currency is used

Fiscal year: 1 July - 30 June



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 96 km
  narrow gauge: 96 km 1.000-m gauge, rural, narrow-gauge system for
  hauling sugarcane; no passenger service

Highways:
  total: NA km
  paved: 13,762 km (1982 est.)
  unpaved: NA km

Ports: Guanica, Guayanilla, Guayama, Playa de Ponce, San Juan

Merchant marine: none

Airports:
  total: 23
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 3
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 3
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 8
  with paved runways under 914 m: 7
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 2 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 1,166,231 (1992 est.)

Telephone system: modern system, integrated with that of the US by
  high-capacity submarine cable and Intelsat with high-speed data
  capability
  domestic: digital telephone system with about 1 million lines (1990
  est.); cellular telephone service
  international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat; submarine cable
  to US

Radio broadcast stations: AM 50, FM 63, shortwave 0

Radios: 2.565 million (1992 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 9
  note: cable television available with US programs (1990 est.)

Televisions: 952,000 (1992 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: paramilitary National Guard, Police Force

Defense note: defense is the responsibility of the US



======================================================================




@Qatar
-----




Map
---


Location: 25 30 N, 51 15 E -- Middle East, peninsula bordering the
  Persian Gulf and Saudi Arabia



Flag
----


Description: maroon with a broad white serrated band (nine white
  points) on the hoist side





Geography
---------


Location: Middle East, peninsula bordering the Persian Gulf and
  Saudi Arabia

Geographic coordinates: 25 30 N, 51 15 E

Map references: Middle East

Area:
  total area: 11,000 sq km
  land area: 11,000 sq km
  comparative area: slightly smaller than Connecticut

Land boundaries:
  total: 60 km
  border country: Saudi Arabia 60 km

Coastline: 563 km

Maritime claims:
  contiguous zone: 24 nm
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: territorial dispute with Bahrain over the
  Hawar Islands; maritime boundary with Bahrain; 1965 boundary with
  Saudi Arabia, renegotiated and revised in 1992, but not official
  depiction

Climate: desert; hot, dry; humid and sultry in summer

Terrain: mostly flat and barren desert covered with loose sand and
  gravel
  lowest point: Persian Gulf 0 m
  highest point: Qurayn Aba al Bawl 103 m

Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, fish

Land use:
  arable land: 0%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 5%
  forest and woodland: 0%
  other: 95%

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Environment:
  current issues: limited natural fresh water resources are increasing
  dependence on large-scale desalination facilities
  natural hazards: haze, dust storms, sandstorms common
  international agreements: signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity,
  Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea

Geographic note: strategic location in central Persian Gulf near
  major petroleum deposits



People
------


Population: 547,761 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 30% (male 82,147; female 83,552)
  15-64 years: 68% (male 263,107; female 109,177)
  65 years and over: 2% (male 6,609; female 3,169) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.39% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 21.03 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 3.6 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 6.43 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 0.96 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 0.98 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 2.41 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 2.09 male(s)/female
  all ages: 1.8 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 19.6 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 73.35 years
  male: 70.75 years
  female: 75.84 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 4.28 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Qatari(s)
  adjective: Qatari

Ethnic divisions: Arab 40%, Pakistani 18%, Indian 18%, Iranian
  10%, other 14%

Religions: Muslim 95%

Languages: Arabic (official), English commonly used as a second
  language

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)
  total population: 79.4%
  male: 79.2%
  female: 79.9%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: State of Qatar
  conventional short form: Qatar
  local long form: Dawlat Qatar
  local short form: Qatar
  note: pronounced gutter

Data code: QA

Type of government: traditional monarchy

Capital: Doha

Administrative divisions: 9 municipalities (baladiyat, singular -
  baladiyah); Ad Dawhah, Al Ghuwayriyah, Al Jumayliyah, Al Khawr, Al
  Wakrah, Ar Rayyan, Jarayan al Batnah, Ash Shamal, Umm Salal

Independence: 3 September 1971 (from UK)

National holiday: Independence Day, 3 September (1971)

Constitution: provisional constitution enacted 2 April 1970

Legal system: discretionary system of law controlled by the amir,
  although civil codes are being implemented; Islamic law is
  significant in personal matters

Suffrage: none

Executive branch:
  chief of state and head of government: Amir and Prime Minister HAMAD
  bin Khalifa Al Thani (since 27 June 1995 when, as crown prince, he
  ousted his father, Amir KHALIFA bin Hamad Al Thani, in a bloodless
  coup) is an absolute monarch; Deputy Prime Minister ABDALLAH bin
  Khalifa Al Thani (since NA July 1995); note - Amir HAMAD who also
  holds the positions of minister of defense and commander-in-chief of
  the armed forces, has not yet selected a new crown prince
  cabinet: Council of Ministers was appointed by the amir

Legislative branch: unicameral
  Advisory Council (Majlis al-Shura): the constitution calls for
  elections for part of this consultative body, but no elections have
  been held since 1970, when there were partial elections to the body;
  Council members have had their terms extended every four years
  since; seats - (30 total)

Judicial branch: Court of Appeal

Political parties and leaders: none

International organization participation: ABEDA, AFESD, AL, AMF,
  CCC, ESCWA, FAO, G-77, GCC, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDB, IFAD,
  IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO
  (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, OPEC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO,
  UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador ABD AL-RAHMAN bin Saud bin Fahd Al Thani
  chancery: Suite 1180, 600 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC
  20037
  telephone: [1] (202) 338-0111

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Patrick N. THEROS
  embassy: 149 Armed Bin Ali St., Fariq Bin Omran (opposite the
  television station), Doha
  mailing address: P. O. Box 2399, Doha
  telephone: [974] 864701 through 864703
  FAX: [974] 861669

Flag: maroon with a broad white serrated band (nine white points)
  on the hoist side



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Oil is the backbone of the economy and accounts
  for more than 30% of GDP, roughly 75% of export earnings, and 70% of
  government revenues. Proved oil reserves of 3.3 billion barrels
  should ensure continued output at current levels for about 25 years.
  Oil has given Qatar a per capita GDP comparable to the leading West
  European industrial countries. Production and export of natural gas
  are becoming increasingly important. Long-term goals feature the
  development of off-shore petroleum and the diversification of the
  economy.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $10.7 billion (1994 est.)

GDP real growth rate: -1% (1994 est.)

GDP per capita: $20,820 (1994 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 1%
  industry: 50%
  services: 49% (1993 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 3% (1993 est.)

Labor force: 233,000 (1993 est.)

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget:
  revenues: $2.5 billion
  expenditures: $3.5 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA
  (FY95/96)

Industries: crude oil production and refining, fertilizers,
  petrochemicals, steel reinforcing bars, cement

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity:
  capacity: 1,520,000 kW
  production: 4.5 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 8,415 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: fruits, vegetables; poultry, dairy products, beef;
  fish (all on small scale)

Exports: $2.9 billion (f.o.b., 1994 est.)
  commodities: petroleum products 75%, steel, fertilizers
  partners: Japan 61%, Australia 5%, UAE 4%, Singapore 4% (1994)

Imports: $2 billion (c.i.f., 1994 est.)
  commodities: machinery and equipment, consumer goods, food, chemicals
  partners: Germany 14%, Japan 12%, UK 11%, US 9%, Italy 5% (1994)

External debt: $1.5 billion (1993 est.)

Economic aid: $NA

Currency: 1 Qatari riyal (QR) = 100 dirhams

Exchange rates: Qatari riyals (QR) per US$1 - 3.6400 riyals (fixed
  rate)

Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March



Transportation
--------------


Railways: 0 km

Highways:
  total: 1,191 km
  paved: 1,028 km
  unpaved: 163 km (1988 est.)

Pipelines: crude oil 235 km; natural gas 400 km

Ports: Doha, Halul Island, Umm Sa'id

Merchant marine:
  total: 19 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 467,447 GRT/771,483 DWT
  ships by type: combination ore/oil 2, container 3, cargo 11, oil
  tanker 3 (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 3
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 1
  with paved runways under 914 m: 1
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 1 (1995 est.)

Heliports: 1 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 160,717 (1992 est.)

Telephone system: modern system centered in Doha
  domestic: NA
  international: tropospheric scatter to Bahrain; microwave radio
  relay to Saudi Arabia and UAE; submarine cable to Bahrain and UAE;
  satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian
  Ocean) and 1 Arabsat

Radio broadcast stations: AM 2, FM 3, shortwave 0

Radios: 201,000 (1992 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 3 (1988 est.)

Televisions: 205,000 (1992 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Public Security

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 220,635
  males fit for military service: 115,403
  males reach military age (18) annually: 4,115 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: $NA, NA% of GDP



======================================================================




@Reunion
-------


(overseas department of France)

Map
---


Location: 21 06 S, 55 36 E -- Southern Africa, island in the
  Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar



Flag
----


Description: the flag of France is used





Geography
---------


Location: Southern Africa, island in the Indian Ocean, east of
  Madagascar

Geographic coordinates: 21 06 S, 55 36 E

Map references: World

Area:
  total area: 2,510 sq km
  land area: 2,500 sq km
  comparative area: slightly smaller than Rhode Island

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 201 km

Maritime claims:
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: none

Climate: tropical, but moderates with elevation; cool and dry from
  May to November, hot and rainy from November to April

Terrain: mostly rugged and mountainous; fertile lowlands along
  coast
  lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
  highest point: Piton des Neiges 3,069 m

Natural resources: fish, arable land

Land use:
  arable land: 16%
  permanent crops: 3%
  meadows and pastures: 5%
  forest and woodland: 35%
  other: 41% (1993)

Irrigated land: 60 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
  current issues: NA
  natural hazards: periodic, devastating cyclones (December to April);
  Piton de la Fournaise on the southeastern coast is an active volcano
  international agreements: NA



People
------


Population: 679,198 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 32% (male 112,413; female 107,187)
  15-64 years: 62% (male 207,386; female 214,308)
  65 years and over: 6% (male 15,610; female 22,294) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.93% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 24.01 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 4.75 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female
  all ages: 0.98 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 7.5 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 74.77 years
  male: 71.71 years
  female: 77.98 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.72 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Reunionese (singular and plural)
  adjective: Reunionese

Ethnic divisions: French, African, Malagasy, Chinese, Pakistani,
  Indian

Religions: Roman Catholic 94%, Hindu, Islam, Buddhist

Languages: French (official), Creole widely used

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1982 est.)
  total population: 79%
  male: 76%
  female: 80%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Department of Reunion
  conventional short form: Reunion
  local long form: none
  local short form: Ile de la Reunion

Data code: RE

Type of government: overseas department of France

Capital: Saint-Denis

Administrative divisions: overseas department of France; there are
  no first-order divisions as defined by the US Government but there
  are four arrondissements, 24 communes, and 47 cantons

Independence: none (overseas department of France)

National holiday: National Day, Taking of the Bastille, 14 July
  (1789)

Constitution: 28 September 1958 (French Constitution)

Legal system: French law

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: President (of France) Jacques CHIRAC (since 17 May
  1995) represented by Prefect Pierre STEINMETZ (since NA) who was
  appointed by the French Ministry of the Interior
  head of government: President of the General Council Christophe
  PAYET (since NA)

Legislative branch: unicameral General Council and unicameral
  Regional Council
  General Council: elections last held NA March 1994 (next to be held
  NA); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (47 total) PCR
  12, PS 12, UDF 11, RPR 5, others 7
  Regional Council: elections last held 25 June 1993 (next to be held
  NA); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (45 total) UPF
  17, Free-Dom Movement 13, PCR 9, PS 6
  French Senate: elections last held 24 September 1992 (next to be
  held NA); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (3 total)
  RPR 1, FRA 1, independent 1
  French National Assembly: elections last held 21 and 28 March 1993
  (next to be held NA 1998); results - percent of vote by party NA;
  seats - (5 total) PS 1, PCR 1, UPF 1, RPR 1, UDF-CDS 1

Judicial branch: Court of Appeals (Cour d'Appel)

Political parties and leaders: Rally for the Republic (RPR), Alain
  DEFAUD; Union for French Democracy (UDF), Gilbert GERARD; Communist
  Party of Reunion (PCR), Elie HOARAU; France-Reunion Future (FRA),
  Andre THIEN AH KOON; Socialist Party (PS), Jean-Claude FRUTEAU;
  Social Democrats (CDS), leader NA; Union for France (UPF - includes
  RPR and UDF); Free-Dom Movement, Marguerite SUDRE

International organization participation: FZ, IOC, WFTU

Diplomatic representation in US: none (overseas department of
  France)

US diplomatic representation: none (overseas department of France)

Flag: the flag of France is used



Economy
-------


Economic overview: The economy has traditionally been based on
  agriculture. Sugarcane has been the primary crop for more than a
  century, and in some years it accounts for 85% of exports. The
  government has been pushing the development of a tourist industry to
  relieve high unemployment, which recently amounted to one-third of
  the labor force. The gap in Reunion between the well-off and the
  poor is extraordinary and accounts for the persistent social
  tensions. The white and Indian communities are substantially better
  off than other segments of the population, often approaching
  European standards, whereas indigenous groups suffer the poverty and
  unemployment typical of the poorer nations of the African continent.
  The outbreak of severe rioting in February 1991 illustrates the
  seriousness of socioeconomic tensions. The economic well-being of
  Reunion depends heavily on continued financial assistance from
  France.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $2.9 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 2.7% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $4,300 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: NA%
  industry: NA%
  services: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA%

Labor force: 242,169 (1993)
  by occupation: agriculture 30%, industry 21%, services 49% (1981)

Unemployment rate: 35% (February 1991)

Budget:
  revenues: $NA
  expenditures: $NA

Industries: sugar, rum, cigarettes, handicraft items

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity:
  capacity: 180,000 kW
  production: 1 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 1,454 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: sugarcane, vanilla, tobacco, tropical fruits,
  vegetables, corn

Exports: $174 million (f.o.b., 1993)
  commodities: sugar 63%, rum and molasses 4%, perfume essences 2%,
  lobster 3%, (1993)
  partners: France, Mauritius, Bahrain, South Africa, Italy, Madagascar

Imports: $2.08 billion (c.i.f., 1993)
  commodities: manufactured goods, food, beverages, tobacco, machinery
  and transportation equipment, raw materials, and petroleum products
  partners: France, Mauritius, Bahrain, South Africa, Italy, Madagascar

External debt: $NA

Economic aid:
  recipient: substantial annual subsidies from France

Currency: 1 French franc (F) = 100 centimes

Exchange rates: French francs (F) per US$1 - 5.0056 (January
  1996), 4.9915 (1995), 5.5520 (1994), 5.6632 (1993), 5.2938 (1992),
  5.6421 (1991)

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways: 0 km

Highways:
  total: 2,784 km
  paved: 2,187 km
  unpaved: 597 km (1987 est.)

Ports: Le Port, Pointe des Galets

Merchant marine: none

Airports:
  total: 2
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 1
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 1 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 191,647 (1993 est.)

Telephone system: adequate system; principal center is Saint-Denis
  domestic: modern open wire and microwave radio relay network
  international: radiotelephone communication to Comoros, France,
  Madagascar; new microwave route to Mauritius; satellite earth
  station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 3, FM 13, shortwave 0

Radios: 151,000 (1992 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 1 (repeaters 18)

Televisions: 116,181 (1992 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: French forces (Army, Navy, Air Force, and Gendarmerie)

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 176,609
  males fit for military service: 90,784
  males reach military age (18) annually: 5,728 (1996 est.)

Defense note: defense is the responsibility of France



======================================================================




@Romania
-------




Map
---


Location: 46 00 N, 25 00 E -- Southeastern Europe, bordering the
  Black Sea, between Bulgaria and Ukraine



Flag
----


Description: three equal vertical bands of blue (hoist side),
  yellow, and red; the national coat of arms that used to be centered
  in the yellow band has been removed; now similar to the flags of
  Andorra and Chad





Geography
---------


Location: Southeastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea, between
  Bulgaria and Ukraine

Geographic coordinates: 46 00 N, 25 00 E

Map references: Europe

Area:
  total area: 237,500 sq km
  land area: 230,340 sq km
  comparative area: slightly smaller than Oregon

Land boundaries:
  total: 2,508 km
  border countries: Bulgaria 608 km, Hungary 443 km, Moldova 450 km,
  Serbia and Montenegro 476 km (all with Serbia), Ukraine (north) 362
  km, Ukraine (south) 169 km

Coastline: 225 km

Maritime claims:
  contiguous zone: 24 nm
  continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: certain territory of Moldova and Ukraine -
  including Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina - are considered by
  Bucharest as historically a part of Romania; this territory was
  incorporated into the former Soviet Union following the
  Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact in 1940

Climate: temperate; cold, cloudy winters with frequent snow and
  fog; sunny summers with frequent showers and thunderstorms

Terrain: central Transylvanian Basin is separated from the Plain
  of Moldavia on the east by the Carpathian Mountains and separated
  from the Walachian Plain on the south by the Transylvanian Alps
  lowest point: Black Sea 0 m
  highest point: Moldoveanu 2,544 m

Natural resources: petroleum (reserves declining), timber, natural
  gas, coal, iron ore, salt

Land use:
  arable land: 43%
  permanent crops: 3%
  meadows and pastures: 19%
  forest and woodland: 28%
  other: 7%

Irrigated land: 34,500 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
  current issues: soil erosion and degradation; water pollution; air
  pollution in south from industrial effluents; contamination of
  Danube delta wetlands
  natural hazards: earthquakes most severe in south and southwest;
  geologic structure and climate promote landslides
  international agreements: party to - Air Pollution, Antarctic
  Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species,
  Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban,
  Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands; signed, but not
  ratified - Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Law of the Sea

Geographic note: controls most easily traversable land route
  between the Balkans, Moldova, and Ukraine



People
------


Population: 21,657,162 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 20% (male 2,180,023; female 2,088,496)
  15-64 years: 68% (male 7,261,160; female 7,393,531)
  65 years and over: 12% (male 1,138,583; female 1,595,369) (July 1996
  est.)

Population growth rate: -1.21% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 9.77 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 12.27 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: -9.6 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female
  all ages: 0.96 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 23.2 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 69.42 years
  male: 65.51 years
  female: 73.57 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.25 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Romanian(s)
  adjective: Romanian

Ethnic divisions: Romanian 89.1%, Hungarian 8.9%, German 0.4%,
  Ukrainian, Serb, Croat, Russian, Turk, and Gypsy 1.6%

Religions: Romanian Orthodox 70%, Roman Catholic 6% (of which 3%
  are Uniate), Protestant 6%, unaffiliated 18%

Languages: Romanian, Hungarian, German

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1992 est.)
  total population: 97%
  male: 98%
  female: 95%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: none
  conventional short form: Romania
  local long form: none
  local short form: Romania

Data code: RO

Type of government: republic

Capital: Bucharest

Administrative divisions: 40 counties (judete, singular - judet)
  and 1 municipality* (municipiu); Alba, Arad, Arges, Bacau, Bihor,
  Bistrita-Nasaud, Botosani, Braila, Brasov, Bucuresti*, Buzau,
  Calarasi, Caras-Severin, Cluj, Constanta, Covasna, Dimbovita, Dolj,
  Galati, Gorj, Giurgiu, Harghita, Hunedoara, Ialomita, Iasi,
  Maramures, Mehedinti, Mures, Neamt, Olt, Prahova, Salaj, Satu Mare,
  Sibiu, Suceava, Teleorman, Timis, Tulcea, Vaslui, Vilcea, Vrancea

Independence: 1881 (from Turkey; republic proclaimed 30 December
  1947)

National holiday: National Day of Romania, 1 December (1990)

Constitution: 8 December 1991

Legal system: former mixture of civil law system and communist
  legal theory; is now based on the Constitution of France's Fifth
  Republic

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: President Ion ILIESCU (since 20 June 1990,
  previously President of Provisional Council of National Unity since
  23 December 1989) was elected for a four-year term by universal
  suffrage; election last held 27 September 1992, with runoff between
  top two candidates on 11 October 1992 (next to be held NA 1996);
  results - Ion ILIESCU 61.4%, Emil CONSTANTINESCU 38.6%
  head of government: Prime Minister Nicolae VACAROIU (since NA
  November 1992) was appointed by the president
  cabinet: Council of Ministers was appointed by the prime minister

Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament
  Senate (Senat): elections last held 27 September 1992 (next to be
  held NA 1996); results - PSDR 34.3%, CDR 18.2%, DP-FSN 12.6%, others
  34.9%; seats - (143 total) PSDR 49, CDR 26, DP-FSN 18, PUNR 13, UDMR
  12, PRM 6, PAC 6, PDAR 5, PSM 5, PL-93 2, other 1
  House of Deputies (Adunarea Deputatilor): elections last held 27
  September 1992 (next to be held NA 1996); results - PSDR 34.0%, CDR
  16.4%, DP-FSN 12.3%, others 37.3%; seats - (341 total) PSDR 116, CDR
  56, DP-FSN 42, PUNR 29, UDMR 27, PL-93 19, PRM 15, PSM 13, PAC 5,
  other 19

Judicial branch: Supreme Court of Justice, judges are appointed by
  the president on recommendation of the Superior Council of
  Magistrates

Political parties and leaders: Democratic Party (DP-FSN), Petre
  ROMAN; Social Democratic Party of Romania (PSDR), Adrian NASTASE;
  Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania (UDMR), Bela MARKO;
  National Liberal Party (PNL), Mircea IONESCU-QUINTUS; National
  Peasants' Christian and Democratic Party (PNTCD), Ion DIACONESCU;
  Romanian National Unity Party (PUNR), Gheorghe FUNAR; Socialist
  Labor Party (PSM), Ilie VERDET; Agrarian Democratic Party of Romania
  (PDAR), Victor SURDU; The Democratic Convention (CDR), Emil
  CONSTANTINESCU; Romania Mare Party (PRM), Corneliu Vadim TUDOR;
  Civic Alliance Party (PAC), Nicolae MANOLESCU, chairman; Liberal
  Party 1993 (PL-93)
  note: numerous other small parties exist but almost all failed to
  gain representation in the most recent election

Other political or pressure groups: various human rights and
  professional associations

International organization participation: ACCT, BIS, BSEC, CCC,
  CE, EBRD, ECE, EU (applicant), FAO, G- 9, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO,
  ICFTU, ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarset, Intelsat,
  Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, NACC, NAM (guest), NSG, OAS
  (observer), OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNAVEM III, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO,
  UNIKOM, UPU, WCL, WEU (associate partner), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO,
  WToO, WTrO, ZC

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Mircea Dan GEOANA
  chancery: 1607 23rd Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
  telephone: [1] (202) 332-4846, 4848, 4851
  FAX: [1] (202) 232-4748
  consulate(s) general: Los Angeles and New York

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Alfred H. MOSES
  embassy: Strada Tudor Arghezi 7-9, Bucharest
  mailing address: American Consulate General (Bucharest), Unit 1315,
  APO AE 09213-1315
  telephone: [40] (1) 210 01 49, 210 40 42
  FAX: [40] (1) 210 03 95
  branch office: Cluj-Napoca

Flag: three equal vertical bands of blue (hoist side), yellow, and
  red; the national coat of arms that used to be centered in the
  yellow band has been removed; now similar to the flags of Andorra
  and Chad



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Romania, one of the poorer East European
  countries moving away from the command economy, posted its third
  straight year of growth in 1995. Bucharest also was successful in
  reducing its inflation rate to 25% - less than half the 1994 rate -
  because of tight monetary and fiscal policies, while unemployment
  fell to 9% as the private sector hired more workers. Despite these
  successes on the economic front, Romania has lagged much of Central
  and Eastern Europe in the restructuring process. The private sector
  accounted for only 40% of GDP in 1995 with over 90% of industry
  remaining in state hands. Privatization is slated to pick up in
  1996, but Bucharest faces other economic problems that could stall
  recovery, including a growing budget deficit, limited reform of the
  agricultural and energy sectors, and accumulated decay of the
  infrastructure.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $105.7 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 5.4% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $4,600 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 19.6%
  industry: 36.3%
  services: 44.1% (1994)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 25% (1995)

Labor force: 11.3 million (1992)
  by occupation: industry 38%, agriculture 28%, other 34% (1989)

Unemployment rate: 8.9% (December 1995)

Budget:
  revenues: $5.35 billion
  expenditures: $6.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA
  (1995 est.)

Industries: mining, timber, construction materials, metallurgy,
  chemicals, machine building, food processing, petroleum production
  and refining

Industrial production growth rate: 3.3% (1994 est.)

Electricity:
  capacity: 22,180,000 kW
  production: 50.8 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 2,076 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: wheat, corn, sugar beets, sunflower seed, potatoes,
  grapes; milk, eggs, meat

Illicit drugs: transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin and
  Latin American cocaine transiting the Balkan route

Exports: $6.2 billion (f.o.b., 1994)
  commodities: textiles and footwear 23.8%, metals and metal products
  17.3%, fuels and mineral products 11.6%, machinery and transport
  equipment 14.8%, chemicals 7.9%, food and agricultural goods 6.5%,
  other 18.1% (1994)
  partners: developing countries 30.3%, East and Central Europe 8.4%,
  Russia 3.4%, OECD 57.9% (EU 50%, US 3.1%) (1994)

Imports: $7.1 billion (c.i.f., 1994)
  commodities: fuels and minerals 26.8%, machinery and transport
  equipment 25.1%, textiles and footwear 12.3%, food and agricultural
  goods 9.3%, chemicals 7.9%, other 18.6% (1994)
  partners: OECD 60% (EU 44.5%, US 6.5%), East and Central Europe
  6.1%, developing countries 16.6%, Russia 13.8%, other 3.5% (1994)

External debt: $4.7 billion (1995)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $81 million (1993)

Currency: 1 leu (L) = 100 bani

Exchange rates: lei (L) per US$1 - 2,599.24 (January 1996),
  2,033.28 (1995), 1,655.09 (1994), 760.05 (1993), 307.95 (1992),
  76.39 (1991)

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 11,374 km
  broad gauge: 60 km 1.524-m gauge
  standard gauge: 10,887 km 1.435-m gauge (3,866 km electrified; 3,060
  km double track)
  narrow gauge: 427 km 0.760-m gauge (1994)

Highways:
  total: 153,014 km
  paved: 78,037 km (including 113 km of expressways)
  unpaved: 74,977 km (1992 est.)

Waterways: 1,724 km (1984)

Pipelines: crude oil 2,800 km; petroleum products 1,429 km;
  natural gas 6,400 km (1992)

Ports: Braila, Constanta, Galatz, Mangalia, Sulina, Tulcea

Merchant marine:
  total: 233 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,425,729
  GRT/3,641,741 DWT
  ships by type: bulk 39, cargo 166, container 2, oil tanker 13,
  passenger 1, passenger-cargo 1, railcar carrier 2, roll-on/roll-off
  cargo 9
  note: Romania owns an additional 15 ships (1,000 GRT or over)
  totaling 1,078,490 DWT operating under the registries of Liberia,
  Malta, Cyprus, and The Bahamas (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 156
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 4
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 9
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 14
  with unpaved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 3
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 1
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 17
  with unpaved runways under 914 m: 108 (1994 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 2.3 million (1990 est.)

Telephone system:
  domestic: poor service; 89% of telephone network is automatic; trunk
  network is microwave radio relay; roughly 3,300 villages with no
  service (February 1990 est.)
  international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat; new digital
  international direct-dial exchanges are in Bucharest (1993 est.)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 12, FM 5, shortwave 0

Radios: 4.64 million (1992 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 13 (1990 est.)

Televisions: 4.58 million (1992 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces, Paramilitary
  Forces, Civil Defense

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 5,572,383
  males fit for military service: 4,693,376
  males reach military age (20) annually: 198,125 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $885 million,
  3.0% of GDP (1995)



Original publicaton at
http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/nsolo/wfb-all.htm (June 17,
1997).
======================================================================




@Russia
------




Map
---


Location: 60 00 N, 100 00 E -- Northern Asia (that part west of
  the Urals is sometimes included with Europe), bordering the Arctic
  Ocean, between Europe and the North Pacific Ocean



Flag
----


Description: three equal horizontal bands of white (top), blue,
  and red





Geography
---------


Location: Northern Asia (that part west of the Urals is sometimes
  included with Europe), bordering the Arctic Ocean, between Europe
  and the North Pacific Ocean

Geographic coordinates: 60 00 N, 100 00 E

Map references: Asia

Area:
  total area: 17,075,200 sq km
  land area: 16,995,800 sq km
  comparative area: slightly more than 1.8 times the size of the US

Land boundaries:
  total: 19,913 km
  border countries: Azerbaijan 284 km, Belarus 959 km, China
  (southeast) 3,605 km, China (south) 40 km, Estonia 290 km, Finland
  1,313 km, Georgia 723 km, Kazakstan 6,846 km, North Korea 19 km,
  Latvia 217 km, Lithuania (Kaliningrad Oblast) 227 km, Mongolia 3,441
  km, Norway 167 km, Poland (Kaliningrad Oblast) 206 km, Ukraine 1,576
  km

Coastline: 37,653 km

Maritime claims:
  continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: inherited disputes from former USSR
  including sections of the boundary with China; islands of Etorofu,
  Kunashiri, and Shikotan and the Habomai group occupied by the Soviet
  Union in 1945, administered by Russia, claimed by Japan; maritime
  dispute with Norway over portion of the Barents Sea; Caspian Sea
  boundaries are not yet determined; potential dispute with Ukraine
  over Crimea; Estonia claims over 2,000 sq km of Russian territory in
  the Narva and Pechora regions; the Abrene section of the border
  ceded by the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic to Russia in 1944;
  has made no territorial claim in Antarctica (but has reserved the
  right to do so) and does not recognize the claims of any other nation

Climate: ranges from steppes in the south through humid
  continental in much of European Russia; subarctic in Siberia to
  tundra climate in the polar north; winters vary from cool along
  Black Sea coast to frigid in Siberia; summers vary from warm in the
  steppes to cool along Arctic coast

Terrain: broad plain with low hills west of Urals; vast coniferous
  forest and tundra in Siberia; uplands and mountains along southern
  border regions
  lowest point: Caspian Sea -28 m
  highest point: Mount El'brus 5,633 m

Natural resources: wide natural resource base including major
  deposits of oil, natural gas, coal, and many strategic minerals,
  timber
  note: formidable obstacles of climate, terrain, and distance hinder
  exploitation of natural resources

Land use:
  arable land: 8%
  permanent crops: NEGL%
  meadows and pastures: 5%
  forest and woodland: 45%
  other: 42%

Irrigated land: 56,000 sq km (1992)

Environment:
  current issues: air pollution from heavy industry, emissions of
  coal-fired electric plants, and transportation in major cities;
  industrial and agricultural pollution of inland waterways and sea
  coasts; deforestation; soil erosion; soil contamination from
  improper application of agricultural chemicals; scattered areas of
  sometimes intense radioactive contamination
  natural hazards: permafrost over much of Siberia is a major
  impediment to development; volcanic activity in the Kuril Islands;
  volcanoes and earthquakes on the Kamchatka Peninsula
  international agreements: party to - Air Pollution, Air
  Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Antarctic
  Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species,
  Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping,
  Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical
  Timber 83, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Air
  Pollution-Sulphur 94, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Law of the
  Sea

Geographic note: largest country in the world in terms of area but
  unfavorably located in relation to major sea lanes of the world;
  despite its size, much of the country lacks proper soils and
  climates (either too cold or too dry) for agriculture



People
------


Population: 148,178,487 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 21% (male 15,792,573; female 15,213,854)
  15-64 years: 67% (male 48,145,679; female 51,125,902)
  65 years and over: 12% (male 5,403,066; female 12,497,413) (July
  1996 est.)

Population growth rate: -0.07% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 10.15 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 16.34 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 5.47 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.43 male(s)/female
  all ages: 0.88 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 24.7 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 63.24 years
  male: 56.51 years
  female: 70.31 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.42 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Russian(s)
  adjective: Russian

Ethnic divisions: Russian 81.5%, Tatar 3.8%, Ukrainian 3%, Chuvash
  1.2%, Bashkir 0.9%, Byelorussian 0.8%, Moldavian 0.7%, other 8.1%

Religions: Russian Orthodox, Muslim, other

Languages: Russian, other

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1989 est.)
  total population: 98%
  male: 100%
  female: 97%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Russian Federation
  conventional short form: Russia
  local long form: Rossiyskaya Federatsiya
  local short form: Rossiya
  former: Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic

Data code: RS

Type of government: federation

Capital: Moscow

Administrative divisions: 21 autonomous republics (avtomnykh
  respublik, singular - avtomnaya respublika); Adygea (Maykop),
  Bashkortostan (Ufa), Buryatia (Ulan-Ude), Chechnya (Groznyy),
  Chuvashia (Cheboksary), Dagestan (Makhachkala), Gorno-Altay
  (Gorno-Altaysk), Ingushetia (Nazran'), Kabardino-Balkaria
  (Nal'chik), Kalmykia (Elista), Karachay-Cherkessia (Cherkessk),
  Karelia (Petrozavodsk), Khakassia (Abakan), Komi (Syktyvkar), Mari
  El (Yoshkar-Ola), Mordovia (Saransk), North Ossetia (Vladikavkaz),
  Tatarstan (Kazan'), Tuva (Kyzyl), Udmurtia (Izhevsk), Yakutia - also
  known as Sakha (Yakutsk); 49 oblasts (oblastey, singular - oblast');
  Amur (Blagoveshchensk), Arkhangel'sk, Astrakhan', Belgorod, Bryansk,
  Chelyabinsk, Chita, Irkutsk, Ivanovo, Kaliningrad, Kaluga, Kamchatka
  (Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy), Kemerovo, Kirov, Kostroma, Kurgan,
  Kursk, Leningrad (St. Petersburg), Lipetsk, Magadan, Moscow,
  Murmansk, Nizhniy Novgorod, Novgorod, Novosibirsk, Omsk, Orel,
  Orenburg, Penza, Perm', Pskov, Rostov, Ryazan', Sakhalin
  (Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk), Samara, Saratov, Smolensk, Sverdlovsk
  (Yekaterinburg), Tambov, Tomsk, Tula, Tver', Tyumen', Ul'yanovsk,
  Vladimir, Volgograd, Vologda, Voronezh, Yaroslavl'; 6 krays (krayev,
  singular - kray); Altay (Barnaul), Khabarovsk, Krasnodar,
  Krasnoyarsk, Primorskiy (Vladivostok), Stavropol'; 10 autonomous
  okrugs; Aga (Aginskoye), Chukotka (Anadyr'), Evenkia (Tura),
  Khantia-Mansia (Khanty-Mansiysk), Koryakia (Palana), Nenetsia
  (Nar'yan-Mar), Permyakia (Kudymkar), Taymyria (Dudinka), Ust'-Onda
  (Ust'-Ordynskiy), Yamalia (Salekhard); 1 autonomous oblast
  (avtomnykh oblast'); Birobijan
  note: the autonomous republics of Chechnya and Ingushetia were
  formerly the autonomous republic of Checheno-Ingushetia (the
  boundary between Chechnya and Ingushetia has yet to be determined);
  the cities of Moscow and St. Petersburg are federal cities; an
  administrative division has the same name as its administrative
  center (exceptions have the administrative center name following in
  parentheses)

Independence: 24 August 1991 (from Soviet Union)

National holiday: Independence Day, June 12 (1990)

Constitution: adopted 12 December 1993

Legal system: based on civil law system; judicial review of
  legislative acts

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: President Boris Nikolayevich YEL'TSIN (since 12 June
  1991) was elected for a five-year term by universal suffrage under
  the constitution of 12 December 1993, but subsequent presidents,
  beginning with the 16 June 1996 election, will serve a four-year
  term; election last held 12 June 1991 (next to be held 16 June
  1996); results - percent of vote NA; note - no vice president; if
  the president dies in office, cannot exercise his powers because of
  ill health, is impeached, or resigns, the premier succeeds him; the
  premier serves as acting president until a new presidential election
  is held, which must be within three months
  head of government: Premier and Chairman of the Russian Federation
  Government Viktor Stepanovich CHERNOMYRDIN (since 14 December 1992),
  First Deputy Premiers and First Deputy Chairmen of the Government
  Oleg SOSKOVETS (since 30 April 1993) and Vladimir KADANNIKOV (since
  25 January 1996) were appointed by the president on approval of the
  Dumas
  Security Council: originally established as a presidential advisory
  body in June 1991, but restructured in March 1992, with
  responsibility for managing individual and state security
  Presidential Administration: drafts presidential edicts and provides
  staff and policy support to the entire executive branch
  cabinet: Ministries of the Government or "Government" was appointed
  by the president
  Group of Assistants: schedules president's appointments, processes
  presidential edicts and other official documents, and houses the
  president's press service and primary speechwriters
  Council of Heads of Republics: includes the leaders of the 21
  ethnic-based Republics
  Council of Heads of Administrations: includes the leaders of the 66
  autonomous territories and regions, and the mayors of Moscow and St.
  Petersburg
  Presidential Council: prepares policy papers for the president

Legislative branch: bicameral Federal Assembly
  Federation Council: 178 seats, filled ex-officio by the top
  executive and legislative officials in each of the 89 federal
  administrative units (oblasts, krays, republics, autonomous okrugs
  and oblasts, and the cities of Moscow and St. Petersburg)
  State Duma: elections last held 17 December 1995 (next to be held NA
  December 1999); results - percent of vote received by parties
  clearing the 5% threshold entitling them to a proportional share of
  the 225 party list seats: Communist Party of the Russian Federation
  22.3%, Liberal Democratic Party of Russia 11.2%, Our Home Is Russia
  10.1%, Yabloko Bloc 6.9%; seats - (450 total - half elected in
  single-member districts and half elected from national party lists)
  Communist Party of the Russian Federation 157, Independents 78, Our
  Home Is Russia 55, Liberal Democratic Party of Russia 51, Yabloko
  Bloc 45, Agrarian Party of Russia 20, Russia's Democratic Choice 9,
  Power To the People 9, Congress of Russian Communities 5, Forward,
  Russia! 3, Women of Russia 3, other parties 15

Judicial branch: Constitutional Court, judges are appointed by the
  Federation Council on recommendation of the president; Supreme Court
  (highest court for criminal, civil, and administrative cases),
  judges are appointed by the Federation Council on recommendation of
  the president; Superior Court of Arbitration (highest court that
  resolves economic disputes), judges are appointed by the Federation
  Council on recommendation of the president

Political parties and leaders:
  pro-market democrats: Our Home Is Russia, Viktor CHERNOMYRDIN;
  Yabloko Bloc, Grigoriy YAVLINSKIY; Russia's Democratic Choice Party,
  Yegor GAYDAR; Forward, Russia!, Boris FEDOROV
  centrists/special interest parties: Congress of Russian Communities,
  Yuriy SKOKOV; Women of Russia, Alevtina FEDULOVA and Yekaterina
  LAKHOVA
  anti-market and/or ultranationalist parties: Communist Party of the
  Russian Federation, Gennadiy ZYUGANOV; Liberal Democratic Party of
  Russia, Vladimir ZHIRINOVSKIY; Agrarian Party, Mikhail LAPSHIN;
  Power To the People, Nikolay RYZHKOV and Sergey BABURIN; Russian
  Communist Workers' Party, Viktor ANPILOV and Viktor TYULKIN
  note: some 269 political parties, blocs, and associations tried to
  gather enough signatures to run slates of candidates in the 17
  December 1995 Duma elections; 43 succeeded

Other political or pressure groups: NA

International organization participation: BSEC, CBSS, CCC, CE,
  CERN (observer), CIS, EBRD, ECE, ESCAP, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA,
  IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarset, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM
  (observer), ISO, ITU, MINURSO, MTCR, NACC, NSG, OAS (observer),
  OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UN Security Council, UNAMIR, UNAVEM III, UNCRO,
  UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNITAR, UNMIH, UNOMIG,
  UNPREDEP, UNPROFOR, UNTSO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
  (applicant), ZC

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Yuliy Mikhaylovich VORONTSOV
  chancery: 2650 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007
  telephone: [1] (202) 298-5700 through 5704
  FAX: [1] (202) 298-5735
  consulate(s) general: New York, San Francisco, and Seattle

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Thomas R. PICKERING
  embassy: Novinskiy Bul'var 19/23, Moscow
  mailing address: APO AE 09721
  telephone: [7] (095) 252-24-51 through 59
  FAX: [7] (095) 956-42-61
  consulate(s) general: St. Petersburg, Vladivostok, Yekaterinburg

Flag: three equal horizontal bands of white (top), blue, and red



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Russia, a vast country with a wealth of natural
  resources, a well-educated population, and a diverse industrial
  base, continues to experience formidable difficulties in moving from
  its old centrally planned economy to a modern-market economy. The
  break-up of the USSR into 15 successor states in late 1991 destroyed
  major economic links that have been only partially replaced. As a
  result of these dislocations and the failure of the government to
  implement a rigorous and consistent reform program, output in Russia
  has dropped by one-third since 1990 (instead of the one-half
  previously estimated). On the one hand, President YEL'TSIN's
  government has made substantial strides in converting to a market
  economy since launching its economic reform program in January 1992
  by freeing nearly all prices, slashing defense spending, eliminating
  the old centralized distribution system, completing an ambitious
  voucher privatization program in 1994, establishing private
  financial institutions, and decentralizing foreign trade. On the
  other hand, Russia has made little progress in a number of key areas
  that are needed to provide a solid foundation for the transition to
  a market economy; and the strong showing of the communists and
  nationalists in the Duma elections in December 1995 casts a shadow
  over prospects for further reforms. In 1995, the new cash
  privatization program went slower than planned. The state claims
  that the nonstate sector produced approximately 70% of GDP in 1995,
  up from 62% in 1994, although these figures apparently include many
  enterprises that have only nominally moved out of state control.
  Moscow has been slow to develop the legal framework necessary to
  fully support a market economy and to encourage foreign investment.
  Stockholder rights remain ill-defined and the Duma has yet to adopt
  a land code that would allow development of land markets as sources
  of needed capital. Russia's securities market remains largely
  unregulated and suffers from the lack of a comprehensive securities
  law. In addition, Moscow has yet to develop a social safety net that
  would allow faster restructuring by relieving enterprises of the
  burden of providing social benefits for their workers. Most
  rank-and-file Russians perceive they are worse off because of
  growing crime and health problems, the drop in real wages, the great
  rise in wage arrears, and the widespread threat of unemployment. The
  number of Russians living below the official poverty level rose by
  10% to 36.6 million people, or 25% of the population. The decline in
  output slowed during 1995, and some sectors showed signs of a
  turnaround; analysts forecast the resumption of growth in 1996 - at
  a low rate. Russian official data, which fail to capture a
  considerable portion of private sector output and employment, show
  that GDP declined by 4% in 1995, as compared with a 15% decline in
  1994. Despite continued declines in agricultural and industrial
  production, unemployment climbed only slowly to about 8% of the work
  force by yearend because government policies aimed at softening the
  impact of reforms have created incentives for enterprises to keep
  workers on the rolls even as production slowed to a crawl. Moscow
  renewed tightened financial policies in early 1995 and succeeded in
  reducing monthly consumer price inflation from 18% in January to
  about 3% in December, the lowest monthly rate since the beginning of
  reform. According to official trade statistics, Russia ran a $19.9
  billion trade surplus for 1995, up from $15.9 billion in 1994. It
  continued to shift its trade away from the other former Soviet
  republics toward the West, with the CIS countries' share of Russian
  trade falling to 22% in 1995. Russia made good progress with
  official and commercial creditors in 1995 in resolving the issue of
  its $105 billion in Soviet-era debts. When completed, these Paris
  Club and London Club rescheduling agreements will reduce Russia's
  repayment liabilities from $20 billion to less than $5 billion
  annually through the end of the decade. Capital flight reportedly
  continued to be a problem in 1995, with billions of additional
  dollars in assets being moved abroad, primarily to bank accounts in
  Europe.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $796 billion (1995 estimate as
  extrapolated from World Bank estimate for 1994)

GDP real growth rate: -4% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $5,300 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 6%
  industry: 41%
  services: 53%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 7% monthly average (1995 est.)

Labor force: 85 million (1993)
  by occupation: production and economic services 83.9%, government
  16.1%

Unemployment rate: 8.2% (December 1995) with considerable
  additional underemployment

Budget:
  revenues: $NA
  expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA

Industries: complete range of mining and extractive industries
  producing coal, oil, gas, chemicals, and metals; all forms of
  machine building from rolling mills to high-performance aircraft and
  space vehicles; shipbuilding; road and rail transportation
  equipment; communications equipment; agricultural machinery,
  tractors, and construction equipment; electric power generating and
  transmitting equipment; medical and scientific instruments; consumer
  durables, textiles, foodstuffs, handicrafts

Industrial production growth rate: -3% (1995 est.)

Electricity:
  capacity: 213,100,000 kW
  production: 876 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 5,800 kWh (1994)

Agriculture: grain, sugar beets, sunflower seed, vegetables,
  fruits (because of its northern location does not grow citrus,
  cotton, tea, and other warm climate products); meat, milk

Illicit drugs: illicit cultivator of cannabis and opium poppy;
  mostly for domestic consumption; government has active eradication
  program; used as transshipment point for Asian and Latin American
  illicit drugs to Western Europe and Latin America

Exports: $77.8 billion (f.o.b., 1995)
  commodities: petroleum and petroleum products, natural gas, wood and
  wood products, metals, chemicals, and a wide variety of civilian and
  military manufactures
  partners: Europe, North America, Japan, Third World countries, Cuba

Imports: $57.9 billion (c.i.f., 1995)
  commodities: machinery and equipment, consumer goods, medicines,
  meat, grain, sugar, semifinished metal products
  partners: Europe, North America, Japan, Third World countries, Cuba

External debt: $130 billion (yearend 1995)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $2.8 billion (1993)
  note: US commitments, including Ex-Im (1990-95), $14 billion
  (1990-95); other countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments
  (1990-95), $125 billion

Currency: 1 ruble (R) = 100 kopeks

Exchange rates: rubles per US$1 - 4,640 (29 December 1995), 3,550
  (29 December 1994), 1,247 (27 December 1993)

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 154,000 km; note - 87,000 km in common carrier service
  (38,000 km electrified); 67,000 km serve specific industries and are
  not available for common carrier use
  broad gauge: 154,000 km 1.520-m gauge (1 January 1994)

Highways:
  total: 934,000 km (including 445,000 km which serve specific
  industries or farms and are not available for common carrier use)
  paved: NA km
  unpaved: NA km (1994 est.)

Waterways: total navigable routes in general use 101,000 km;
  routes with navigation guides serving the Russian River Fleet 95,900
  km; routes with night navigational aids 60,400 km; man-made
  navigable routes 16,900 km (1 January 1994)

Pipelines: crude oil 48,000 km; petroleum products 15,000 km;
  natural gas 140,000 km (30 June 1993)

Ports: Arkhangel'sk, Astrakhan', Kaliningrad, Kazan', Khabarovsk,
  Kholmsk, Krasnoyarsk, Moscow, Murmansk, Nakhodka, Nevel'sk,
  Novorossiysk, Petropavlovsk, St. Petersburg, Rostov, Sochi, Tuapse,
  Vladivostok, Volgograd, Vostochnyy, Vyborg

Merchant marine:
  total: 745 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 6,730,178
  GRT/9,385,565 DWT
  ships by type: barge carrier 2, bulk 25, cargo 406, chemical tanker
  6, combination bulk 21, combination ore/oil 17, container 31,
  multifunction large-load carrier 3, oil tanker 134, passenger 4,
  passenger-cargo 5, refrigerated cargo 19, roll-on/roll-off cargo 54,
  short-sea passenger 16, specialized tanker 2
  note: Russia owns an additional 163 ships (1,000 GRT or over)
  totaling 2,276,829 DWT operating under the registries of Malta,
  Cyprus, Liberia, Panama, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Honduras,
  The Bahamas, and Vanuatu (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 2,517
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 54
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 202
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 108
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 115
  with paved runways under 914 m: 151
  with unpaved runways over 3 047 m: 25
  with unpaved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 45
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 134
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 291
  with unpaved runways under 914 m: 1,392 (1994 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 25.4 million (1993 est.)

Telephone system: total pay phones for long distant calls 34,100;
  enlisting foreign help, by means of joint ventures, to speed up the
  modernization of its telecommunications system; in 1992, only
  661,000 new telephones were installed compared with 855,000 in 1991,
  and in 1992 the number of unsatisfied applications for telephones
  reached 11,000,000; expanded access to international electronic mail
  service available via Sprint network; the inadequacy of Russian
  telecommunications is a severe handicap to the economy, especially
  with respect to international connections
  domestic: NMT-450 analog cellular telephone networks are operational
  and growing in Moscow and St. Petersburg; intercity fiber-optic
  cable installation remains limited
  international: international traffic is inadequately handled by a
  system of satellites, landlines, microwave radio relay, and outdated
  submarine cables; much of this traffic passes through the
  international gateway switch in Moscow which carries most of the
  international traffic for the other countries of the Commonwealth of
  Independent States; a new Russian Intersputnik satellite will link
  Moscow and St. Petersburg with Rome from whence calls will be
  relayed to destinations in Europe and overseas; satellite earth
  stations - NA Intelsat, 4 Intersputnik (2 Atlantic Ocean Region and
  2 Indian Ocean Region), NA Eutelsat, 1 Inmarsat (Pacific Ocean
  Region), and NA Orbita

Radio broadcast stations: AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA; note - there
  are about 1,050 (including AM, FM, and shortwave) radio broadcast
  stations throughout the country

Radios: 50 million (1993 est.)(radio receivers with multiple
  speaker systems for program diffusion 74,300,000)

Television broadcast stations: 7,183

Televisions: 54.85 million (1992 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Ground Forces, Navy, Air Forces, Air Defense Forces,
  Strategic Rocket Forces

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 38,673,991
  males fit for military service: 30,224,738
  males reach military age (18) annually: 1,105,004 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: $NA, NA% of GDP
  note: the Intelligence Community estimates that defense spending in
  Russia fell by about 20% in real terms in 1995, reducing Russian
  defense outlays to about one-fifth of peak Soviet levels in the late
  1980s






======================================================================




@Rwanda
------




Map
---


Location: 2 00 S, 30 00 E -- Central Africa, east of Zaire



Flag
----


Description: three equal vertical bands of red (hoist side),
  yellow, and green with a large black letter R centered in the yellow
  band; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia; similar to
  the flag of Guinea, which has a plain yellow band





Geography
---------


Location: Central Africa, east of Zaire

Geographic coordinates: 2 00 S, 30 00 E

Map references: Africa

Area:
  total area: 26,340 sq km
  land area: 24,950 sq km
  comparative area: slightly smaller than Maryland

Land boundaries:
  total: 893 km
  border countries: Burundi 290 km, Tanzania 217 km, Uganda 169 km,
  Zaire 217 km

Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims: none (landlocked)

International disputes: none

Climate: temperate; two rainy seasons (February to April, November
  to January); mild in mountains with frost and snow possible

Terrain: mostly grassy uplands and hills; relief is mountainous
  with altitude declining from west to east
  lowest point: Rusizi River 950 m
  highest point: Volcan Karisimbi 4,519 m

Natural resources: gold, cassiterite (tin ore), wolframite
  (tungsten ore), natural gas, hydropower

Land use:
  arable land: 29%
  permanent crops: 11%
  meadows and pastures: 18%
  forest and woodland: 10%
  other: 32%

Irrigated land: 40 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
  current issues: deforestation results from uncontrolled cutting of
  trees for fuel; overgrazing; soil exhaustion; soil erosion
  natural hazards: periodic droughts; the volcanic Virunga mountains
  are in the northwest along the border with Zaire
  international agreements: party to - Endangered Species, Nuclear
  Test Ban; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
  Desertification, Law of the Sea

Geographic note: landlocked; predominantly rural population



People
------


Population: 6,853,359 (July 1996 est.)
  note: genocide and civil war in 1994 killed more than 1 million
  Rwandans and forced more than 2 million to flee to neighboring
  countries

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 46% (male 1,582,928; female 1,573,536)
  15-64 years: 51% (male 1,734,716; female 1,772,722)
  65 years and over: 3% (male 78,854; female 110,603) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 16.49% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 38.83 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 20.33 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 146.43 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)
  note: since April 1994, more than two million refugees have fled the
  civil strife between the Hutu and Tutsi factions in Rwanda and
  crossed into Zaire, Burundi, and Tanzania; close to 800,000 Rwandan
  Tutsis who fled civil strife in earlier years have returned to
  Rwanda, and 90,000 of the Hutu refugees are going home despite the
  perceived danger of doing so; the ethnic violence continues and in
  1996 could produce further refugee flows as well as discourage
  returns

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female
  all ages: 0.98 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 118.8 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 40.12 years
  male: 39.72 years
  female: 40.53 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 5.99 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Rwandan(s)
  adjective: Rwandan

Ethnic divisions: Hutu 80%, Tutsi 19%, Twa (Pygmoid) 1%

Religions: Roman Catholic 65%, Protestant 9%, Muslim 1%,
  indigenous beliefs and other 25%

Languages: Kinyarwanda (official), French (official), Kiswahili
  (Swahili) used in commercial centers

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)
  total population: 60.5%
  male: 69.8%
  female: 51.6%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Republic of Rwanda
  conventional short form: Rwanda
  local long form: Republika y'u Rwanda
  local short form: Rwanda

Data code: RW

Type of government: republic; presidential system

Capital: Kigali

Administrative divisions: 10 prefectures (prefectures, singular -
  prefecture in French; plural - NA, singular - prefegitura in
  Kinyarwanda); Butare, Byumba, Cyangugu, Gikongoro, Gisenyi,
  Gitarama, Kibungo, Kibuye, Kigali, Ruhengeri

Independence: 1 July 1962 (from Belgium-administered UN
  trusteeship)

National holiday: Independence Day, 1 July (1962)

Constitution: 18 June 1991

Legal system: based on German and Belgian civil law systems and
  customary law; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme
  Court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: NA years of age; universal adult

Executive branch:
  chief of state: President Pasteur BIZIMUNGU (since 19 July 1994);
  installed by force by the Tutsi Rwandan Patriotic Front; no date set
  for elections; president is normally elected for a five-year term by
  universal suffrage; Vice President Maj. Gen. Paul KAGAME (since NA)
  head of government: Prime Minister Celestin RWIGEMA (since NA
  September 1995) was appointed by the president
  cabinet: Council of Ministers was appointed by the president

Legislative branch: unicameral
  National Assembly (Assemblee Nationale): sworn in on 25 November
  1994; seats - (70 total) RPF 19, MDR 13, PSD 13, PL 13, PDC 6, PSR
  2, PDI 2, other 2

Judicial branch: Constitutional Court, consists of the Court of
  Cassation and the Council of State in joint session

Political parties and leaders: significant parties include:
  Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), Alexis KANYARENGWE, chairman;
  Democratic Republican Movement (MDR); Liberal Party (PL); Democratic
  and Socialist Party (PSD); Christian Democratic Party (PDC); Islamic
  Democratic Party (PDI); Rwandan Socialist Party (PSR); National
  Movement for Democracy and Development (MRND), former ruling party

Other political or pressure groups: Rwanda Patriotic Army (RPA),
  the RPF military wing, Maj. Gen. Paul KAGAME, commander; Rally for
  the Democracy and Return (RDR)

International organization participation: ACCT, ACP, AfDB, CCC,
  CEEAC, CEPGL, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD,
  IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ITU,
  NAM, OAU, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO,
  UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Theogene RUDASINGWA
  chancery: 1714 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009
  telephone: [1] (202) 232-2882
  FAX: [1] (202) 232-4544

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Robert GRIBBIN III
  embassy: Boulevard de la Revolution, Kigali
  mailing address: B. P. 28, Kigali
  telephone: [250] 756 01 through 03, 721 26, 771 47
  FAX: [250] 721 28

Flag: three equal vertical bands of red (hoist side), yellow, and
  green with a large black letter R centered in the yellow band; uses
  the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia; similar to the flag of
  Guinea, which has a plain yellow band



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Rwanda is a poor African nation suffering
  bitterly from ethnic-based civil war. The agricultural sector
  dominates the economy; coffee and tea normally make up 80%-90% of
  total exports. The amount of fertile land is limited, however, and
  deforestation and soil erosion continue to create problems.
  Manufacturing focuses mainly on the processing of agricultural
  products. Weak international prices since 1986 have caused the
  economy to contract and per capita GDP to decline. A structural
  adjustment program with the World Bank began in October 1990.
  Ethnic-based insurgency since 1990 has devastated wide areas,
  especially in the north, and displaced hundreds of thousands of
  people. A peace accord in mid-1993 temporarily ended most of the
  fighting, but resumption of large-scale civil warfare in April 1994
  in the capital city Kigali and elsewhere has been taking thousands
  of lives and severely affecting short-term economic prospects. The
  economy suffers massively from failure to maintain the
  infrastructure, looting, neglect of important cash crops, and lack
  of health care facilities. GDP in 1994 may have dropped by as much
  as half. The further decline of GDP in 1995 was much smaller and was
  more than offset by aid from the outside. Because of the severe
  damage to real property and the decline in public discipline,
  recovery of domestic production toward previous levels is proceeding
  slowly.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $3.8 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: -2.7% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $400 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 52%
  industry: 13%
  services: 35% (1994 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 64% (1994 est.)

Labor force: 3.6 million
  by occupation: agriculture 93%, government and services 5%, industry
  and commerce 2%

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget:
  revenues: $NA
  expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA (1992 est.)

Industries: mining of cassiterite (tin ore) and wolframite
  (tungsten ore), tin, cement, agricultural processing, small-scale
  beverage production, soap, furniture, shoes, plastic goods,
  textiles, cigarettes

Industrial production growth rate: -50% (1994 est.)

Electricity:
  capacity: 60,000 kW
  production: 190 million kWh
  consumption per capita: 23 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: coffee, tea, pyrethrum (insecticide made from
  chrysanthemums), bananas, beans, sorghum, potatoes; livestock

Exports: $52 million (f.o.b., 1994 est.)
  commodities: coffee 63%, tea, cassiterite, wolframite, pyrethrum
  partners: Germany, Belgium, Italy, Uganda, UK, France, US

Imports: $37 million (1994 est.)
  commodities: textiles, foodstuffs, machines and equipment, capital
  goods, steel, petroleum products, cement and construction material
  partners: US, Belgium, Germany, Kenya, Japan

External debt: $873 million (1993 est.)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $NA
  note: in October 1990 Rwanda launched a Structural Adjustment
  Program with the IMF; since September 1991, the EC has given $46
  million and the US $25 million in support of this program (1993)

Currency: 1 Rwandan franc (RF) = 100 centimes

Exchange rates: Rwandan francs (RF) per US$1 - 401.27 (2nd quarter
  1994), 168.20 (1993), 133.35 (1992), 125.14 (1991)

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways: 0 km

Highways:
  total: 13,173 km
  paved: 1,186 km
  unpaved: 11,987 km (1990 est.)

Waterways: Lac Kivu navigable by shallow-draft barges and native
  craft

Ports: Cyangugu, Gisenyi, Kibuye

Airports:
  total: 7
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 1
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 2
  with paved runways under 914 m: 3
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 1 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 6,400 (1983 est.)

Telephone system: telephone system does not provide service to the
  general public but is intended for business and government use
  domestic: the capital, Kigali, is connected to the centers of the
  prefectures by microwave radio relay; the remainder of the network
  depends on wire and HF radiotelephone
  international: international connections employ microwave radio
  relay to neighboring countries and satellite communications to more
  distant countries; satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Indian
  Ocean) in Kigali (includes telex and telefax service)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0

Radios: 630,000 (1993 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 1

Televisions: NA



Defense
-------


Branches: Army, Gendarmerie

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 1,582,656
  males fit for military service: 805,722 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $112.5 million,
  7% of GDP (1992)



======================================================================




@Saint Helena
------------


(dependent territory of the UK)

Map
---


Location: 15 56 S, 5 42 W -- Southern Africa, island in the South
  Atlantic Ocean, west of Angola, about two-thirds of the way from
  South America to Africa



Flag
----


Description: blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side
  quadrant and the Saint Helenian shield centered on the outer half of
  the flag; the shield features a rocky coastline and three-masted
  sailing ship





Geography
---------


Location: Southern Africa, island in the South Atlantic Ocean,
  west of Angola, about two-thirds of the way from South America to
  Africa

Geographic coordinates: 15 56 S, 5 42 W

Map references: Africa

Area:
  total area: 410 sq km
  land area: 410 sq km
  comparative area: nearly two times the size of Washington, DC
  note: includes Ascension, Gough Island, Inaccessible Island,
  Nightingale Island, and Tristan da Cunha

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 60 km

Maritime claims:
  exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: none

Climate: tropical; marine; mild, tempered by trade winds

Terrain: rugged, volcanic; small scattered plateaus and plains
  lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
  highest point: Queen Mary's Peak 2,060 m

Natural resources: fish

Land use:
  arable land: 7%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 7%
  forest and woodland: 3%
  other: 83%

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Environment:
  current issues: NA
  natural hazards: active volcanism on Tristan da Cunha
  international agreements: NA

Geographic note: Napoleon Bonaparte's place of exile and burial
  (his remains were taken to Paris in 1840); harbors at least 40
  species of plants unknown anywhere else in the world; Ascension is a
  breeding ground for sea turtles and sooty terns



People
------


Population: 6,782 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: NA
  15-64 years: NA
  65 years and over: NA

Population growth rate: 0.31% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 9.39 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 6.33 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: NA male(s)/female
  under 15 years: NA male(s)/female
  15-64 years: NA male(s)/female
  65 years and over: NA male(s)/female
  all ages: NA male(s)/female

Infant mortality rate: 35.14 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 75.34 years
  male: 73.28 years
  female: 77.16 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.12 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Saint Helenian(s)
  adjective: Saint Helenian

Ethnic divisions: NA

Religions: Anglican (majority), Baptist, Seventh-Day Adventist,
  Roman Catholic

Languages: English

Literacy: age 20 and over can read and write (1987 est.)
  total population: 97%
  male: 97%
  female: 98%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: none
  conventional short form: Saint Helena

Data code: SH

Type of government: dependent territory of the UK

Capital: Jamestown

Administrative divisions: 1 administrative area and 2
  dependencies*; Ascension*, Saint Helena, Tristan da Cunha*

Independence: none (dependent territory of the UK)

National holiday: Celebration of the Birthday of the Queen, 10
  June 1989 (second Saturday in June)

Constitution: 1 January 1989

Legal system: NA

Suffrage: NA years of age

Executive branch:
  chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (of the UK since 6 February 1952)
  is a hereditary monarch
  head of government: Governor and Commander in Chief David Leslie
  SMALLMAN (since NA 1995)
  cabinet: Executive Council consists of the governor, three
  ex-officio officers, and five elected members of the Legislative
  Council

Legislative branch: unicameral
  Legislative Council: elections last held NA July 1993 (next to be
  held NA); results - percent of vote NA; seats - (15 total, 12
  elected) independents 15

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

Political parties and leaders: none

International organization participation: ICFTU

Diplomatic representation in US: none (dependent territory of the
  UK)

US diplomatic representation: none (dependent territory of the UK)

Flag: blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side
  quadrant and the Saint Helenian shield centered on the outer half of
  the flag; the shield features a rocky coastline and three-masted
  sailing ship



Economy
-------


Economic overview: The economy depends primarily on financial
  assistance from the UK. The local population earns some income from
  fishing, the raising of livestock, and sales of handicrafts. Because
  there are few jobs, a large proportion of the work force has left to
  seek employment overseas.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $NA

GDP real growth rate: NA%

GDP per capita: $NA

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: NA%
  industry: NA%
  services: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA%

Labor force: 2,416 (1991 est.)
  by occupation: professional, technical, and related workers 8.7%,
  managerial, administrative, and clerical 12.8%, sales people 8.1%,
  farmer, fishermen, etc. 5.4%, craftspersons, production process
  workers 14.7%, others 50.3% (1987)
  note: a large proportion of the work force has left to seek
  employment overseas

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget:
  revenues: $11.2 million
  expenditures: $11 million, including capital expenditures of $NA
  (FY92/93)

Industries: crafts (furniture, lacework, fancy woodwork), fishing

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity:
  capacity: 9,800 kW
  production: 10 million kWh
  consumption per capita: NA kWh (1993)

Agriculture: maize, potatoes, vegetables; timber production being
  developed; crawfishing on Tristan da Cunha

Exports: $27,400 (f.o.b., FY92/93)
  commodities: fish (frozen and salt-dried skipjack, tuna), handicrafts
  partners: South Africa, UK

Imports: $9.8 million (c.i.f., FY92/93)
  commodities: food, beverages, tobacco, fuel oils, animal feed,
  building materials, motor vehicles and parts, machinery and parts
  partners: UK, South Africa

External debt: $NA

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $NA

Currency: 1 Saint Helenian pound (LS) = 100 pence

Exchange rates: Saint Helenian pounds (LS) per US$1 - 0.6535
  (January 1996), 0.6335 (1995), 0.6529 (1994), 0.6658 (1993), 0.5664
  (1992), 0.5652 (1991); note - the Saint Helenian pound is at par
  with the British pound

Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March



Transportation
--------------


Railways: 0 km

Highways:
  total: NA km (mainland 118 km, Ascension NA km, Tristan da Cunha NA
  km)
  paved: 180.7 km (mainland 98 km, Ascension 80 km, Tristan da Cunha
  2.70 km)
  unpaved: NA km (mainland 20 km, Ascension NA km, Tristan da Cunha NA
  km)

Ports: Georgetown, Jamestown

Merchant marine: none

Airports:
  total: 1
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 1 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 550

Telephone system:
  domestic: automatic network; HF radiotelephone to Ascension, then
  into worldwide submarine cable and satellite networks
  international: major coaxial submarine cable relay point between
  South Africa, Portugal, and UK at Ascension; satellite earth
  stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0

Radios: 2,500 (1993 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 0

Televisions: NA



Defense
-------


Defense note: defense is the responsibility of the UK



======================================================================




@Saint Kitts and Nevis
---------------------




Map
---


Location: 17 20 N, 62 45 W -- Caribbean, islands in the Caribbean
  Sea, about one-third of the way from Puerto Rico to Trinidad and
  Tobago



Flag
----


Description: divided diagonally from the lower hoist side by a
  broad black band bearing two white five-pointed stars; the black
  band is edged in yellow; the upper triangle is green, the lower
  triangle is red





Geography
---------


Location: Caribbean, islands in the Caribbean Sea, about one-third
  of the way from Puerto Rico to Trinidad and Tobago

Geographic coordinates: 17 20 N, 62 45 W

Map references: Central America and the Caribbean

Area:
  total area: 269 sq km
  land area: 269 sq km
  comparative area: twice the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 135 km

Maritime claims:
  contiguous zone: 24 nm
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental
  margin
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: none

Climate: subtropical tempered by constant sea breezes; little
  seasonal temperature variation; rainy season (May to November)

Terrain: volcanic with mountainous interiors
  lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
  highest point: Mount Liamuiga 1,156 m

Natural resources: NEGL

Land use:
  arable land: 22%
  permanent crops: 17%
  meadows and pastures: 3%
  forest and woodland: 17%
  other: 41%

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Environment:
  current issues: NA
  natural hazards: hurricanes (July to October)
  international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
  Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer
  Protection, Whaling



People
------


Population: 41,369 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 35% (male 7,371; female 7,026)
  15-64 years: 58% (male 12,090; female 12,057)
  65 years and over: 7% (male 1,162; female 1,663) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 0.98% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 23.28 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 9.21 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: -4.28 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.06 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
  all ages: 0.99 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 18.9 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 66.86 years
  male: 63.84 years
  female: 70.06 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.52 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Kittsian(s), Nevisian(s)
  adjective: Kittsian, Nevisian

Ethnic divisions: black African

Religions: Anglican, other Protestant sects, Roman Catholic

Languages: English

Literacy: age 15 and over has ever attended school (1980 est.)
  total population: 97%
  male: 97%
  female: 98%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis
  conventional short form: Saint Kitts and Nevis
  former: Federation of Saint Christopher and Nevis

Data code: SC

Type of government: constitutional monarchy

Capital: Basseterre

Administrative divisions: 14 parishs; Christ Church Nichola Town,
  Saint Anne Sandy Point, Saint George Basseterre, Saint George
  Gingerland, Saint James Windward, Saint John Capisterre, Saint John
  Figtree, Saint Mary Cayon, Saint Paul Capisterre, Saint Paul
  Charlestown, Saint Peter Basseterre, Saint Thomas Lowland, Saint
  Thomas Middle Island, Trinity Palmetto Point

Independence: 19 September 1983 (from UK)

National holiday: Independence Day, 19 September (1983)

Constitution: 19 September 1983

Legal system: based on English common law

Suffrage: NA years of age; universal adult

Executive branch:
  chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), a
  hereditary monarch, is represented by Governor General Dr. Cuthbert
  Montraville SEBASTIAN (since 1 January 1996), previously Governor
  General of the West Indies Associated States (since NA November 1981)
  head of government: Prime Minister Dr. Denzil DOUGLAS (since 6 July
  1995) and Deputy Prime Minister Sam CONDOR (since 6 July 1995) were
  appointed by the governor general
  cabinet: Cabinet was appointed by the governor general in
  consultation with the prime minister

Legislative branch: unicameral
  House of Assembly: elections last held 3 July 1995 (next to be held
  by July 2000); results - SKLNP 58%, PAM 41%; seats - (14 total, 11
  elected) SKNLP 7, PAM 1, NRP 1, CCM 2

Judicial branch: Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (based on Saint
  Lucia)

Political parties and leaders: People's Action Movement (PAM), Dr.
  Kennedy SIMMONDS; Saint Kitts and Nevis Labor Party (SKNLP), Dr.
  Denzil DOUGLAS; Nevis Reformation Party (NRP), Joseph PARRY;
  Concerned Citizens Movement (CCM), Vance AMORY

International organization participation: ACP, C, Caricom, CDB,
  ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFRCS, IMF,
  Interpol, IOC, OAS, OECS, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIH, UPU,
  WCL, WHO, WIPO

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Erstein Mallet EDWARDS
  chancery: 3216 New Mexico Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20016
  telephone: [1] (202) 686-2636
  FAX: [1] (202) 686-5740

US diplomatic representation: the US does not have an embassy in
  Saint Kitts and Nevis; US interests are monitored by the embassy in
  Bridgetown, Barbados

Flag: divided diagonally from the lower hoist side by a broad
  black band bearing two white five-pointed stars; the black band is
  edged in yellow; the upper triangle is green, the lower triangle is
  red



Economy
-------


Economic overview: The economy has traditionally depended on the
  growing and processing of sugarcane; decreasing world prices have
  hurt the industry in recent years. Tourism and export-oriented
  manufacturing have begun to assume larger roles. Most food is
  imported. The newly elected government has undertaken a program
  designed to revitalize the faltering sugar sector. It is also
  working to improve revenue collection in order to better fund social
  programs.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $220 million (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 3% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $5,380 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 6.2%
  industry: 35.7%
  services: 58.1% (1994 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): -0.9% (1995)

Labor force: 18,172 (June 1995); by occupation - services 69%,
  manufacturing 31%

Unemployment rate: 4.3% (May 1995)

Budget:
  revenues: $100.2 million
  expenditures: $100.1 million, including capital expenditures of
  $41.4 million (1996 est.)

Industries: sugar processing, tourism, cotton, salt, copra,
  clothing, footwear, beverages

Industrial production growth rate: 5.9% (1992 est.)

Electricity:
  capacity: 15,800 kW
  production: 45 million kWh
  consumption per capita: 990 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: sugarcane, rice, yams, vegetables, bananas; fishing
  potential not fully exploited

Illicit drugs: transshipment point for South American drugs
  destined for the US

Exports: $35.4 million (f.o.b., 1994 est.)
  commodities: machinery, food, electronics, beverages and tobacco
  partners: US 46.6%, UK 26.4%, Caricom nations 9.8% (1994)

Imports: $112.4 million (f.o.b., 1994 est.)
  commodities: machinery, manufactures, food, fuels
  partners: US 45%, Caricom nations 18.8%, UK 12.5%, Canada 4.2%,
  Japan 4.2%, (1994)

External debt: $45.3 million (1994 est.)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $NA

Currency: 1 EC dollar (EC$) = 100 cents

Exchange rates: East Caribbean dollars (EC$) per US$1 - 2.7000
  (fixed rate since 1976)

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 58 km
  narrow gauge: 58 km 0.762-m gauge on Saint Kitts to serve sugarcane
  plantations (1995)

Highways:
  total: 300 km
  paved: 125 km
  unpaved: 175 km

Ports: Basseterre, Charlestown

Merchant marine: none

Airports:
  total: 2
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 1
  with paved runways under 914 m: 1 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 3,800 (1986 est.)

Telephone system: good interisland VHF/UHF/SHF radiotelephone
  connections and international link via Antigua and Barbuda and Saint
  Martin (Guadeloupe and Netherlands Antilles)
  domestic: interisland links are handled by VHF/UHF/SHF radiotelephone
  international: international calls are carried by radiotelephone to
  Antigua and Barbuda and from there switched to submarine cable or to
  Intelsat, or carried to Saint Martin (Guadeloupe and Netherlands
  Antilles) by radiotelephone and switched to Intelsat

Radio broadcast stations: AM 2, FM 0, shortwave 0

Radios: 25,000 (1993 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 4

Televisions: 9,500 (1993 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Royal Saint Kitts and Nevis Police Force, Coast Guard

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: NA
  males fit for military service: NA

Defense expenditures: $NA, NA% of GDP



======================================================================




@Saint Lucia
-----------




Map
---


Location: 13 53 N, 60 68 W -- Caribbean, island in the Caribbean
  Sea, north of Trinidad and Tobago



Flag
----


Description: blue with a gold isosceles triangle below a black
  arrowhead; the upper edges of the arrowhead have a white border





Geography
---------


Location: Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, north of
  Trinidad and Tobago

Geographic coordinates: 13 53 N, 60 68 W

Map references: Central America and the Caribbean

Area:
  total area: 620 sq km
  land area: 610 sq km
  comparative area: 3.5 times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 158 km

Maritime claims:
  contiguous zone: 24 nm
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental
  margin
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: none

Climate: tropical, moderated by northeast trade winds; dry season
  from January to April, rainy season from May to August

Terrain: volcanic and mountainous with some broad, fertile valleys
  lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
  highest point: Mount Gimie 950 m

Natural resources: forests, sandy beaches, minerals (pumice),
  mineral springs, geothermal potential

Land use:
  arable land: 8%
  permanent crops: 20%
  meadows and pastures: 5%
  forest and woodland: 13%
  other: 54%

Irrigated land: 10 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
  current issues: deforestation; soil erosion, particularly in the
  northern region
  natural hazards: hurricanes and volcanic activity
  international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
  Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes,
  Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Whaling



People
------


Population: 157,862 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 34% (male 27,068; female 26,491)
  15-64 years: 61% (male 47,470; female 48,612)
  65 years and over: 5% (male 3,136; female 5,085) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.14% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 22.03 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 6.02 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: -4.62 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.62 male(s)/female
  all ages: 0.97 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 20 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 70.09 years
  male: 66.52 years
  female: 73.91 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.31 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Saint Lucian(s)
  adjective: Saint Lucian

Ethnic divisions: African descent 90.3%, mixed 5.5%, East Indian
  3.2%, white 0.8%

Religions: Roman Catholic 90%, Protestant 7%, Anglican 3%

Languages: English (official), French patois

Literacy: age 15 and over has ever attended school (1980 est.)
  total population: 67%
  male: 65%
  female: 69%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: none
  conventional short form: Saint Lucia

Data code: ST

Type of government: parliamentary democracy

Capital: Castries

Administrative divisions: 11 quarters; Anse La Raye, Castries,
  Choiseul, Dauphin, Dennery, Gros Islet, Laborie, Micoud, Praslin,
  Soufriere, Vieux Fort

Independence: 22 February 1979 (from UK)

National holiday: Independence Day, 22 February (1979)

Constitution: 22 February 1979

Legal system: based on English common law

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), a
  hereditary monarch, is represented by Governor General Sir
  Stanislaus Anthony JAMES (since 10 October 1988)
  head of government: Prime Minister John George Melvin COMPTON (since
  3 May 1982) was appointed by the governor general
  cabinet: Cabinet was appointed by the governor general on advice of
  the prime minister

Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament
  Senate: consists of an 11-member body, six appointed on the advice
  of the prime minister, three on the advice of the leader of the
  opposition, and two after consultation with religious, economic, and
  social groups
  House of Assembly: elections last held 27 April 1992 (next to be
  held by April 1997); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats -
  (17 total) UWP 11, SLP 6

Judicial branch: Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, jurisdiction
  extends to Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, the British Virgin
  Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint
  Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Political parties and leaders: United Workers' Party (UWP), Vaughn
  LEWIS; Saint Lucia Labor Party (SLP), Julian HUNTE; Progressive
  Labor Party (PLP), Jon ODLUM; Citizen's Democratic Party (CDP)
  Calixte GEORGE

International organization participation: ACCT (associate), ACP,
  C, Caricom, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA,
  IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user),
  Interpol, IOC, ISO (subscriber), NAM, OAS, OECS, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO,
  UNIDO, UNMIH, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Dr. Joseph Edsel EDMUNDS
  chancery: 3216 New Mexico Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20016
  telephone: [1] (202) 364-6792 through 6795
  FAX: [1] (202) 364-6728
  consulate(s) general: New York

US diplomatic representation: the US does not have an embassy in
  Saint Lucia; the Ambassador to Saint Lucia resides in Bridgetown
  (Barbados)

Flag: blue with a gold isosceles triangle below a black arrowhead;
  the upper edges of the arrowhead have a white border



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Though foreign investment in manufacturing and
  information processing in recent years has increased Saint Lucia's
  industrial base, the economy remains vulnerable due to its heavy
  dependence on banana production, which is subject to periodic
  droughts and tropical storms. Indeed, the destructive effect of
  Tropical Storm Iris in mid-1995 caused the loss of 20% of the year's
  banana crop. Increased competition from Latin American bananas will
  probably further reduce market prices, exacerbating Saint Lucia's
  need to diversify its economy in coming years, e.g., by expanding
  tourism, manufacturing, and construction.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $640 million (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 2% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $4,080 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 13.8%
  industry: 17.4%
  services: 68.8% (1992 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 0.8% (1993)

Labor force: 43,800
  by occupation: agriculture 43.4%, services 38.9%, industry and
  commerce 17.7% (1983 est.)

Unemployment rate: 25% (1993 est.)

Budget:
  revenues: $121 million
  expenditures: $127 million, including capital expenditures of $104
  million (1992 est.)

Industries: clothing, assembly of electronic components,
  beverages, corrugated cardboard boxes, tourism, lime processing,
  coconut processing

Industrial production growth rate: 3.5% (1990 est.)

Electricity:
  capacity: 20,000 kW
  production: 112 million kWh
  consumption per capita: 693 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: bananas, coconuts, vegetables, citrus, root crops,
  cocoa

Illicit drugs: transit country for South American drugs destined
  for the US and Europe

Exports: $122.8 million (f.o.b., 1992)
  commodities: bananas 60%, clothing, cocoa, vegetables, fruits,
  coconut oil
  partners: UK 56%, US 22%, Caricom countries19% (1991)

Imports: $276 million (f.o.b., 1992)
  commodities: manufactured goods 21%, machinery and transportation
  equipment 21%, food and live animals, chemicals, fuels
  partners: US 34%, Caricom countries 17%, UK 14%, Japan 7%, Canada 4%
  (1991)

External debt: $222.7 million (1995 est.)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $NA

Currency: 1 EC dollar (EC$) = 100 cents

Exchange rates: East Caribbean dollars (EC$) per US$1 - 2.7000
  (fixed rate since 1976)

Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March



Transportation
--------------


Railways: 0 km

Highways:
  total: 760 km
  paved: 500 km
  unpaved: 260 km

Ports: Castries, Vieux Fort

Merchant marine: none

Airports:
  total: 3
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 1
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 1
  with paved runways under 914 m: 1 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 26,000 (1992 est.)

Telephone system:
  domestic: system is automatically switched
  international: direct microwave radio relay link with Martinique and
  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; tropospheric scatter to Barbados;
  international calls beyond these countries are carried by Intelsat
  from Martinique

Radio broadcast stations: AM 4, FM 1, shortwave 0

Radios: 104,000 (1992 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 1 cable

Televisions: 26,000 (1992 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Royal Saint Lucia Police Force, Coast Guard

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: NA
  males fit for military service: NA

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $5.0 million,
  2.0% of GDP (1991); note - for police forces



======================================================================




@Saint Pierre and Miquelon
-------------------------


(territorial collectivity of France)

Map
---


Location: 46 50 N, 56 20 E -- Northern North America, islands in
  the North Atlantic Ocean, south of Newfoundland (Canada)



Flag
----


Description: a yellow sailing ship rides on a dark blue background
  with a black wave line under the ship; on the hoist side, a vertical
  band is divided into three parts: the top part is red with a green
  diagonal cross extending to the corners overlaid by a white cross
  dividing the square into four sections; the middle part has a white
  background with an ermine pattern; the third part has a red
  background with two stylized yellow lions outlined in black, one on
  top of the other; the flag of France is used for official occasions





Geography
---------


Location: Northern North America, islands in the North Atlantic
  Ocean, south of Newfoundland (Canada)

Geographic coordinates: 46 50 N, 56 20 E

Map references: North America

Area:
  total area: 242 sq km
  land area: 242 sq km
  comparative area: 1.5 times the size of Washington, DC
  note: includes eight small islands in the Saint Pierre and the
  Miquelon groups

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 120 km

Maritime claims:
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: focus of maritime boundary dispute between
  Canada and France; in 1992 an arbitration panel awarded the islands
  an exclusive economic zone area of 12,348 sq km to settle the dispute

Climate: cold and wet, with much mist and fog; spring and autumn
  are windy

Terrain: mostly barren rock
  lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
  highest point: Morne de la Grande Montagne 240 m

Natural resources: fish, deepwater ports

Land use:
  arable land: 13%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 0%
  forest and woodland: 4%
  other: 83%

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Environment:
  current issues: NA
  natural hazards: persistent fog throughout the year can be a
  maritime hazard
  international agreements: NA

Geographic note: vegetation scanty



People
------


Population: 6,809 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: NA
  15-64 years: NA
  65 years and over: NA

Population growth rate: 0.77% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 12.82 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 5.7 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 0.59 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: NA male(s)/female
  under 15 years: NA male(s)/female
  15-64 years: NA male(s)/female
  65 years and over: NA male(s)/female
  all ages: NA male(s)/female

Infant mortality rate: 9.95 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 76.34 years
  male: 74.76 years
  female: 78.25 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.65 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Frenchman(men), Frenchwoman(women)
  adjective: French

Ethnic divisions: Basques and Bretons (French fishermen)

Religions: Roman Catholic 99%

Languages: French

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1982 est.)
  total population: 99%
  male: 99%
  female: 99%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Territorial Collectivity of Saint Pierre and
  Miquelon
  conventional short form: Saint Pierre and Miquelon
  local long form: Departement de Saint-Pierre et Miquelon
  local short form: Saint-Pierre et Miquelon

Data code: SB

Type of government: territorial collectivity of France

Capital: Saint-Pierre

Administrative divisions: none (territorial collectivity of France)

Independence: none (territorial collectivity of France; has been
  under French control since 1763)

National holiday: National Day, Taking of the Bastille, 14 July

Constitution: 28 September 1958 (French Constitution)

Legal system: French law

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: President (of France) Jacques CHIRAC (since 17 May
  1995) represented by Prefect Rene MAURICE (since NA) who was
  appointed by the French Ministry of the Interior
  head of government: President of the General Council Gerard GRIGNON
  (since NA)

Legislative branch: unicameral
  General Council: elections last held NA April 1994 (next to be held
  NA April 2000); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (19
  total, 15 from Saint Pierre, 4 from Miquelon) Socialist Party (PS)
  holds majority of seats
  French Senate: elections last held NA September 1995 (next to be
  held NA September 2004); results - percent of vote by party NA;
  seats - (1 total) RPR 1
  French National Assembly: elections last held 21 and 28 March 1993
  (next to be held NA June 1998); results - percent of vote by party
  NA; seats - (1 total) UDF 1

Judicial branch: Superior Tribunal of Appeals (Tribunal Superieur
  d'Appel)

Political parties and leaders: Socialist Party (PS); Rassemblement
  pour la Republique (RPR); Union pour la Democratie Francaise (UDF)

International organization participation: FZ, WFTU

Diplomatic representation in US: none (territorial collectivity of
  France)

US diplomatic representation: none (territorial collectivity of
  France)

Flag: a yellow sailing ship rides on a dark blue background with a
  black wave line under the ship; on the hoist side, a vertical band
  is divided into three parts: the top part is red with a green
  diagonal cross extending to the corners overlaid by a white cross
  dividing the square into four sections; the middle part has a white
  background with an ermine pattern; the third part has a red
  background with two stylized yellow lions outlined in black, one on
  top of the other; the flag of France is used for official occasions



Economy
-------


Economic overview: The inhabitants have traditionally earned their
  livelihood by fishing and by servicing fishing fleets operating off
  the coast of Newfoundland. The economy has been declining, however,
  because the number of ships stopping at Saint Pierre has dropped
  steadily over the years. In 1992, an arbitration panel awarded the
  islands an exclusive economic zone of 12,348 sq km to settle a
  longstanding territorial dispute with Canada, although it represents
  only 25% of what France had sought. The islands are heavily
  subsidized by France. Imports come primarily from Canada and France.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $68 million (1994 est.)

GDP real growth rate: NA%

GDP per capita: $10,000 (1994 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: NA%
  industry: NA%
  services: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA%

Labor force: 2,980 (1994)
  by occupation: NA

Unemployment rate: 9.6% (1994)

Budget:
  revenues: $28 million
  expenditures: $28 million, including capital expenditures of $7.8
  million (1992 est.)

Industries: fish processing and supply base for fishing fleets;
  tourism

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity:
  capacity: 10,000 kW
  production: 50 million kWh
  consumption per capita: 6,013 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: vegetables; cattle, sheep, pigs; fish catch of 20,500
  metric tons (1989)

Exports: $13.74 million (f.o.b., 1994)
  commodities: fish and fish products, fox and mink pelts
  partners: US 58%, France 17%, UK 11%, Canada, Portugal (1990)

Imports: $42 million (c.i.f., 1994)
  commodities: meat, clothing, fuel, electrical equipment, machinery,
  building materials
  partners: Canada, France, US, Netherlands, UK

External debt: $NA

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $NA

Currency: 1 French franc (F) = 100 centimes

Exchange rates: French francs (F) per US$1 - 5.0056 (January
  1996), 4.9915 (1995), 5.520 (1994), 5.6632 (1993), 5.2938 (1992),
  5.6421 (1991)

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways: 0 km

Highways:
  total: 120 km
  paved: 60 km
  unpaved: 60 km (1985 est.)

Ports: Saint Pierre

Merchant marine: none

Airports:
  total: 2
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 2
  note: new airport to open June 1996 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 3,300 (1992 est.)

Telephone system:
  domestic: NA
  international: radiotelephone communication with most countries in
  the world; 1 earth station in French domestic satellite system

Radio broadcast stations: AM 1, FM 3, shortwave 0

Radios: 6,300 (1990 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 0

Televisions: 2,000 (1992 est.)



Defense
-------


Defense note: defense is the responsibility of France



======================================================================




@Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
--------------------------------




Map
---


Location: 13 15 N, 61 12 W -- Caribbean, islands in the Caribbean
  Sea, north of Trinidad and Tobago



Flag
----


Description: three vertical bands of blue (hoist side), gold
  (double width), and green; the gold band bears three green diamonds
  arranged in a V pattern





Geography
---------


Location: Caribbean, islands in the Caribbean Sea, north of
  Trinidad and Tobago

Geographic coordinates: 13 15 N, 61 12 W

Map references: Central America and the Caribbean

Area:
  total area: 340 sq km
  land area: 340 sq km
  comparative area: twice the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 84 km

Maritime claims:
  contiguous zone: 24 nm
  continental shelf: 200 nm
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: none

Climate: tropical; little seasonal temperature variation; rainy
  season (May to November)

Terrain: volcanic, mountainous
  lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
  highest point: Soufriere 1,234 m

Natural resources: NEGL

Land use:
  arable land: 38%
  permanent crops: 12%
  meadows and pastures: 6%
  forest and woodland: 41%
  other: 3%

Irrigated land: 10 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
  current issues: pollution of coastal waters and shorelines from
  discharges by pleasure yachts and other effluents; in some areas
  pollution is severe enough to make swimming prohibitive
  natural hazards: hurricanes; Soufriere volcano on the island of
  Saint Vincent is a constant threat
  international agreements: party to - Endangered Species, Law of the
  Sea, Ship Pollution, Whaling; signed, but not ratified -
  Desertification

Geographic note: the administration of the islands of the
  Grenadines group is divided between Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
  and Grenada



People
------


Population: 118,344 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 33% (male 19,742; female 19,106)
  15-64 years: 62% (male 36,576; female 36,381)
  65 years and over: 5% (male 2,702; female 3,837) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 0.64% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 19.36 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 5.4 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: -7.56 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female
  all ages: 1 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 16.8 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 72.94 years
  male: 71.43 years
  female: 74.49 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.04 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Saint Vincentian(s) or Vincentian(s)
  adjective: Saint Vincentian or Vincentian

Ethnic divisions: African descent, white, East Indian, Carib Indian

Religions: Anglican, Methodist, Roman Catholic, Seventh-Day
  Adventist

Languages: English, French patois

Literacy: age 15 and over has ever attended school (1970 est.)
  total population: 96%
  male: 96%
  female: 96%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: none
  conventional short form: Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Data code: VC

Type of government: constitutional monarchy

Capital: Kingstown

Administrative divisions: 6 parishes; Charlotte, Grenadines, Saint
  Andrew, Saint David, Saint George, Saint Patrick

Independence: 27 October 1979 (from UK)

National holiday: Independence Day, 27 October (1979)

Constitution: 27 October 1979

Legal system: based on English common law

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), a
  hereditary monarch, represented by Governor General David JACK
  (since 29 September 1989)
  head of government: Prime Minister James F. MITCHELL (since 30 July
  1984); the governor general appoints the leader of the majority
  party to the position of prime minister; Deputy Prime Minister
  Carlyle DOUGAN (since 17 September 1995) was appointed by the
  governor general on the advice of the prime minister
  cabinet: Cabinet was appointed by the governor general on the advice
  of the prime minister

Legislative branch: unicameral
  House of Assembly: elections last held 21 February 1994 (next to be
  held NA July 1999); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats -
  (21 total, 15 elected representatives and 6 appointed senators) NDP
  12, ULP 3

Judicial branch: Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (based on Saint
  Lucia)

Political parties and leaders: New Democratic Party (NDP), James
  F. MITCHELL; United People's Movement (UPM), Adrian SAUNDERS;
  National Reform Party (NRP), Joel MIGUEL; Unity Labor Party
  (ULP),Vincent BEACHE - formed by the coalition of Saint Vincent
  Labor Party (SVLP) and the Movement for National Unity (MNU)

International organization participation: ACP, C, Caricom, CDB,
  ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFRCS, ILO,
  IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, ITU, OAS,
  OECS, OPANAL, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Kingsley C.A. LAYNE
  chancery: 1717 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Suite 102, Washington, DC
  20036
  telephone: [1] (202) 462-7806, 7846
  FAX: [1] (202) 462-7807

US diplomatic representation: the US does not have an embassy in
  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; the Ambassador to Saint Vincent
  and the Grenadines resides in Bridgetown (Barbados)

Flag: three vertical bands of blue (hoist side), gold (double
  width), and green; the gold band bears three green diamonds arranged
  in a V pattern



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Agriculture, dominated by banana production, is
  the most important sector of the economy. The services sector, based
  mostly on a growing tourist industry, is also important. The
  government has been relatively unsuccessful at introducing new
  industries, and high unemployment rates of 35%-40% continue. The
  continuing dependence on a single crop represents the biggest
  obstacle to the islands' development; tropical storms wiped out
  substantial portions of crops in both 1994 and 1995.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $240 million (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 0.4% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $2,060 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 24%
  industry: 33.1%
  services: 42.9% (1994 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): -0.2% (1995)

Labor force: 67,000 (1984 est.)
  by occupation: agriculture, industry, services, other (1980 est.)

Unemployment rate: 35%-40% (1994 est.)

Budget:
  revenues: $80 million
  expenditures: $118 million, including capital expenditures of $39
  million (1996 est.)

Industries: food processing, cement, furniture, clothing, starch

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity:
  capacity: 16,600 kW
  production: 50 million kWh
  consumption per capita: 436 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: bananas, coconuts, sweet potatoes, spices; small
  numbers of cattle, sheep, pigs, goats; small fish catch used locally

Illicit drugs: transshipment point for South American drugs
  destined for the US and Europe

Exports: $57.1 million (f.o.b., 1993)
  commodities: bananas, eddoes and dasheen (taro), arrowroot starch,
  tennis racquets
  partners: UK 54%, Caricom countries 34%, US 10%

Imports: $134.6 million (f.o.b., 1993)
  commodities: foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, chemicals and
  fertilizers, minerals and fuels
  partners: US 36%, Caricom countries 21%, UK 18%, Trinidad and Tobago
  13%

External debt: $74.9 million (1993)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $NA

Currency: 1 EC dollar (EC$) = 100 cents

Exchange rates: East Caribbean dollars (EC$) per US$1 - 2.7000
  (fixed rate since 1976)

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways: 0 km

Highways:
  total: 1,100 km
  paved: 330 km
  unpaved: 770 km

Ports: Kingstown

Merchant marine:
  total: 611 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 5,690,104
  GRT/9,367,014 DWT
  ships by type: bulk 106, cargo 305, chemical tanker 20, combination
  bulk 9, combination ore/oil 4, container 33, liquefied gas tanker 4,
  livestock carrier 5, oil tanker 58, passenger 1, passenger-cargo 1,
  refrigerated cargo 35, roll-on/roll-off cargo 25, short-sea
  passenger 2, specialized tanker 1, vehicle carrier 2
  note: a flag of convenience registry; includes ships from 24
  countries among which are Croatia 42, Russia 14, Slovenia 9, China
  9, Germany 2, Serbia 2, Hong Kong 2, Latvia 1, Ukraine 1, and Poland
  1 (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 6
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 2
  with paved runways under 914 m: 4 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 6,189 (1983 est.)

Telephone system:
  domestic: islandwide, fully automatic telephone system; VHF/UHF
  radiotelephone from Saint Vincent to the other islands of the
  Grenadines
  international: VHF/UHF radiotelephone from Saint Vincent to
  Barbados; new SHF radiotelephone to Grenada and to Saint Lucia;
  access to Intelsat earth station in Martinique through Saint Lucia

Radio broadcast stations: AM 2, FM 0, shortwave 0

Radios: 76,000 (1992 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 1 cable

Televisions: 20,600 (1992 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Royal Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force,
  Coast Guard

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: NA
  males fit for military service: NA

Defense expenditures: $NA, NA% of GDP



======================================================================




@San Marino
----------




Map
---


Location: 43 46 N, 12 25 E -- Southern Europe, an enclave in
  central Italy



Flag
----


Description: two equal horizontal bands of white (top) and light
  blue with the national coat of arms superimposed in the center; the
  coat of arms has a shield (featuring three towers on three peaks)
  flanked by a wreath, below a crown and above a scroll bearing the
  word LIBERTAS (Liberty)





Geography
---------


Location: Southern Europe, an enclave in central Italy

Geographic coordinates: 43 46 N, 12 25 E

Map references: Europe

Area:
  total area: 60 sq km
  land area: 60 sq km
  comparative area: about 0.3 times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries:
  total: 39 km
  border country: Italy 39 km

Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims: none (landlocked)

International disputes: none

Climate: Mediterranean; mild to cool winters; warm, sunny summers

Terrain: rugged mountains
  lowest point: Fiume Ausa 55 m
  highest point: Monte Titano 749 m

Natural resources: building stone

Land use:
  arable land: 17%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 0%
  forest and woodland: 0%
  other: 83%

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Environment:
  current issues: NA
  natural hazards: NA
  international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
  Nuclear Test Ban; signed, but not ratified - Air Pollution

Geographic note: landlocked; smallest independent state in Europe
  after the Holy See and Monaco; dominated by the Apennines



People
------


Population: 24,521 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 16% (male 1,978; female 1,967)
  15-64 years: 68% (male 8,401; female 8,249)
  65 years and over: 16% (male 1,648; female 2,278) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 0.82% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 10.81 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 7.79 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 5.14 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.72 male(s)/female
  all ages: 0.96 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 5.5 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 81.32 years
  male: 77.34 years
  female: 85.3 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.52 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Sammarinese (singular and plural)
  adjective: Sammarinese

Ethnic divisions: Sammarinese, Italian

Religions: Roman Catholic

Languages: Italian

Literacy: age 10 and over can read and write (1976 est.)
  total population: 96%
  male: 97%
  female: 95%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Republic of San Marino
  conventional short form: San Marino
  local long form: Repubblica di San Marino
  local short form: San Marino

Data code: SM

Type of government: republic

Capital: San Marino

Administrative divisions: 9 municipalities (castelli, singular -
  castello); Acquaviva, Borgo Maggiore, Chiesanuova, Domagnano,
  Faetano, Fiorentino, Monte Giardino, San Marino, Serravalle

Independence: 301 AD (by tradition)

National holiday: Anniversary of the Foundation of the Republic, 3
  September

Constitution: 8 October 1600; electoral law of 1926 serves some of
  the functions of a constitution

Legal system: based on civil law system with Italian law
  influences; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  co-chiefs of state: Captain Regent Piero Paolo GASPERONI and Captain
  Regent Pietro BUGLI (for the period 1 April-30 September 1996) were
  elected by the Great and General Council for a six-month term
  head of government: Secretary of State for Foreign and Political
  Affairs Gabriele GATTI (since NA July 1986) was elected for a
  five-year term by the Great and General Council; election last held
  NA 1993 (next to be held NA 1998)
  cabinet: Congress of State was elected for a five-year term by the
  Great and General Council
  note: the popularly elected parliament (Great and General Council)
  selects two of its members to serve as the Captains Regent
  (Co-Chiefs of State) for a six-month period; they preside over
  meetings of the Great and General Council and its cabinet (Congress
  of State) which has ten other members, all selected by the Great and
  General Council; assisting the Captains Regent are three Secretaries
  of State - Foreign Affairs, Internal Affairs, and Finance - and
  several additional secretaries; the Secretary of State for Foreign
  Affairs has assumed many of the prerogatives of a prime minister

Legislative branch: unicameral
  Great and General Council: (Consiglio Grande e Generale) elections
  last held 30 May 1993 (next to be held by NA May 1998); results -
  PDCS 41.4%, PSS 23.7%, PDP 18.6%, AP 7.7%, MD 5.3%, RC 3.3%; seats -
  (60 total) PDCS 26, PSS 14, PDP 11, AP 4, MD 3, RC 2

Judicial branch: Council of Twelve (Consiglio dei XII)

Political parties and leaders: Christian Democratic Party (PDCS),
  Cesare GASPERONI, secretary general; Democratic Progressive Party
  (PDP - formerly San Marino Communist Party (PSS)), Stefano MACINA,
  secretary general; San Marino Socialist Party (PSS), Maurizio
  RATTINI, secretary general; Democratic Movement (MD), Massimo TONTI;
  Popular Alliance (AP), Tito MASI; Communist Refoundation (RC), Paolo
  GIOVAGNOLI

International organization participation: CE, ECE, ICAO, ICFTU,
  ICRM, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IOC, IOM (observer), ITU, NAM (guest), OSCE,
  UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WToO

Diplomatic representation in US: San Marino does not have an
  embassy in the US
  honorary consulate(s) general: Washington and New York
  honorary consulate(s): Detroit

US diplomatic representation: the US does not have an embassy in
  San Marino; the US Consul General in Florence (Italy) is accredited
  to San Marino

Flag: two equal horizontal bands of white (top) and light blue
  with the national coat of arms superimposed in the center; the coat
  of arms has a shield (featuring three towers on three peaks) flanked
  by a wreath, below a crown and above a scroll bearing the word
  LIBERTAS (Liberty)



Economy
-------


Economic overview: The tourist sector contributes over 50% of GDP.
  In 1993 more than 3 million tourists visited San Marino. The key
  industries are banking, wearing apparel, electronics, and ceramics.
  Main agricultural products are wine and cheeses. The per capita
  level of output and standard of living are comparable to those of
  Italy, which supplies much of its food.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $380 million (1993 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 2.4% (1993 est.)

GDP per capita: $15,800 (1993 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: NA%
  industry: NA%
  services: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 5.5% (1993)

Labor force: 14,874 (1993 est.)
  by occupation: industry 40%, agriculture 2%

Unemployment rate: 4.9% (December 1993)

Budget:
  revenues: $320 million
  expenditures: $320 million, including capital expenditures of $NA
  (1995 est.)

Industries: tourism, textiles, electronics, ceramics, cement, wine

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity: supplied by Italy

Agriculture: wheat, grapes, maize, olives; cattle, pigs, horses,
  meat, cheese, hides

Exports: trade data are included with the statistics for Italy;
  commodities: building stone, lime, wood, chestnuts, wheat, wine,
  baked goods, hides, and ceramics

Imports: trade data are included with the statistics for Italy;
  commodities: wide variety of consumer manufactures, food

External debt: $NA

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $NA

Currency: 1 Italian lire (Lit) = 100 centesimi; note - also mints
  its own coins

Exchange rates: Italian lire (Lit) per US$1 - 1,583.8 (January
  1996), 1,629.2 (1995), 1,612.4 (1994), 1,573.7 (1993), 1,232.4
  (1992), 1,240.6 (1991)

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways: 0 km; note - there is a 1.5 km cable railway connecting
  the city of San Marino to Borgo Maggiore

Highways:
  total: 220 km
  paved: NA km
  unpaved: NA km

Ports: none

Airports: none



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 22,300 (1992 est.)

Telephone system:
  domestic: automatic telephone system completely integrated into
  Italian system
  international: microwave radio relay and cable connections to
  Italian network; no satellite earth stations

Radio broadcast stations: AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA (1 private
  radio broadcast station)

Radios: 12,535 (1991 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 1 (1991 est.)
  note: receives broadcasts from Italy

Televisions: 7,500 (1992 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Voluntary Military Force, Police Force

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: NA
  males fit for military service: NA

Defense expenditures: $3.7 million (1% of GDP) (1992 est.)



======================================================================




@Sao Tome and Principe
---------------------




Map
---


Location: 1 00 N, 7 00 E -- Western Africa, island in the Atlantic
  Ocean, straddling the Equator, west of Gabon



Flag
----


Description: three horizontal bands of green (top), yellow (double
  width), and green with two black five-pointed stars placed side by
  side in the center of the yellow band and a red isosceles triangle
  based on the hoist side; uses the popular pan-African colors of
  Ethiopia





Geography
---------


Location: Western Africa, island in the Atlantic Ocean, straddling
  the Equator, west of Gabon

Geographic coordinates: 1 00 N, 7 00 E

Map references: Africa

Area:
  total area: 960 sq km
  land area: 960 sq km
  comparative area: more than five times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 209 km

Maritime claims: measured from claimed archipelagic baselines
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: none

Climate: tropical; hot, humid; one rainy season (October to May)

Terrain: volcanic, mountainous
  lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
  highest point: Pico de Sao Tome 2,024 m

Natural resources: fish

Land use:
  arable land: 1%
  permanent crops: 20%
  meadows and pastures: 1%
  forest and woodland: 75%
  other: 3%

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Environment:
  current issues: deforestation; soil erosion and exhaustion
  natural hazards: NA
  international agreements: party to - Environmental Modification, Law
  of the Sea; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
  Desertification



People
------


Population: 144,128 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 40% (male 29,103; female 28,633)
  15-64 years: 55% (male 39,749; female 39,960)
  65 years and over: 5% (male 2,973; female 3,710) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.58% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 34.39 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 8.55 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.8 male(s)/female
  all ages: 0.99 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 61.1 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 63.87 years
  male: 61.95 years
  female: 65.83 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 4.33 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Sao Tomean(s)
  adjective: Sao Tomean

Ethnic divisions: mestico, angolares (descendants of Angolan
  slaves), forros (descendants of freed slaves), servicais (contract
  laborers from Angola, Mozambique, and Cape Verde), tongas (children
  of servicais born on the islands), Europeans (primarily Portuguese)

Religions: Roman Catholic, Evangelical Protestant, Seventh-Day
  Adventist

Languages: Portuguese (official)

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1991 est.)
  total population: 73%
  male: 85%
  female: 62%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe
  conventional short form: Sao Tome and Principe
  local long form: Republica Democratica de Sao Tome e Principe
  local short form: Sao Tome e Principe

Data code: TP

Type of government: republic

Capital: Sao Tome

Administrative divisions: 2 districts (concelhos, singular -
  concelho); Principe, Sao Tome

Independence: 12 July 1975 (from Portugal)

National holiday: Independence Day, 12 July (1975)

Constitution: approved March 1990; effective 10 September 1990

Legal system: based on Portuguese law system and customary law;
  has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: President Miguel TROVOADA (since 4 April 1991) was
  elected for a five-year term by universal suffrage; election last
  held 3 March 1991 (next to be held 30 June 1996); results - Miguel
  TROVOADA was elected without opposition in Sao Tome's first
  multiparty presidential election
  head of government: Prime Minister Armindo UAZ de ALMEIDA (since 29
  December 1995) was appointed by the president
  cabinet: Council of Ministers was appointed by the president on the
  proposal of the prime minister

Legislative branch: unicameral
  National People's Assembly: (Assembleia Popular Nacional) parliament
  dissolved by President TROVOADA in July 1994; early elections held 2
  October 1994 (next to be held NA); results - MLSTP 27%, PCD-GR
  25.5%, ADI 25.5%; seats - (55 total) MLSTP 27, PCD-GR 14, ADI 14

Judicial branch: Supreme Court, judges are appointed by the
  National Peoples Assembly

Political parties and leaders: Party for Democratic
  Convergence-Reflection Group (PCD-GR), Daniel Lima Dos Santos DAIO,
  secretary general; Movement for the Liberation of Sao Tome and
  Principe (MLSTP), Carlos da GRACA; Christian Democratic Front (FDC),
  Alphonse Dos SANTOS; Democratic Opposition Coalition (CODO), leader
  NA; Independent Democratic Action (ADI), Patrice TROVOADA; other
  small parties

International organization participation: ACP, AfDB, CEEAC, ECA,
  FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO,
  Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ITU,
  NAM, OAU, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
  (applicant)

Diplomatic representation in US: Sao Tome and Principe does not
  have an embassy in the US, but does have a Permanent Mission to the
  UN, headed by First Secretary Domingos AUGUSTO Ferreira, located at
  122 East 42nd Street, Suite 1604, New York, NY 10168, telephone [1]
  (212) 697-4211

US diplomatic representation: the US does not have an embassy in
  Sao Tome and Principe; the Ambassador to Gabon is accredited to Sao
  Tome and Principe on a nonresident basis and makes periodic visits
  to the islands

Flag: three horizontal bands of green (top), yellow (double
  width), and green with two black five-pointed stars placed side by
  side in the center of the yellow band and a red isosceles triangle
  based on the hoist side; uses the popular pan-African colors of
  Ethiopia



Economy
-------


Economic overview: This small poor island economy has remained
  dependent on cocoa since independence 20 years ago. Since then,
  however, cocoa production has gradually declined because of drought
  and mismanagement, so that by 1987 annual output had fallen from
  10,000 tons to 3,900 tons. As a result, a shortage of cocoa for
  export has created a serious balance-of-payments problem. Production
  of less important crops, such as coffee, copra, and palm kernels,
  has also declined. The value of imports generally exceeds that of
  exports by a ratio of 3 to 1 or more. The emphasis on cocoa
  production at the expense of other food crops has meant that Sao
  Tome has to import 90% of food needs. It also has to import all
  fuels and most manufactured goods. Over the years, Sao Tome has been
  unable to service its external debt and has had to depend on
  concessional aid and debt rescheduling. Considerable potential
  exists for development of a tourist industry, and the government has
  taken steps to expand facilities in recent years. The government
  also has attempted to reduce price controls and subsidies and to
  encourage market-based mechanisms, e.g., to facilitate the
  distribution of imported food. Annual GDP growth has hovered around
  1.5% since 1991.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $138 million (1994 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 1.5% (1994 est.)

GDP per capita: $1,000 (1994 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 28%
  industry: 14%
  services: 58% (1994 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 38% (1994 est.)

Labor force: most of population mainly engaged in subsistence
  agriculture and fishing; shortages of plantation labor and of
  skilled workers

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget:
  revenues: $58 million
  expenditures: $114 million, including capital expenditures of $54
  million (1993 est.)

Industries: light construction, textiles, soap, beer; fish
  processing; timber

Industrial production growth rate: 1% (1991)

Electricity:
  capacity: 5,000 kW
  production: 17 million kWh
  consumption per capita: 105 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: cocoa, coconuts, palm kernels, copra, cinnamon,
  pepper, coffee, bananas, papaya, beans; poultry; fish

Exports: $7.1 million (f.o.b., 1994 est.)
  commodities: cocoa 85%-90%, copra, coffee, palm oil
  partners: Netherlands, Germany, China, Portugal

Imports: $23.8 million (c.i.f., 1994 est.)
  commodities: machinery and electrical equipment, food products,
  petroleum
  partners: France, Belgium, Japan, Angola, Italy, US

External debt: $250 million (1995 est.)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $NA

Currency: 1 dobra (Db) = 100 centimos

Exchange rates: dobras (Db) per US$1 - 1,610 (May 1995), 129.59 (1
  July 1993), 230 (1992), 260.0 (November 1991), 122.48 (December
  1988), 72.827 (1987)

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways: 0 km

Highways:
  total: 298 km
  paved: 198 km
  unpaved: 100 km (1987 est.)
  note: roads on Principe are mostly unpaved and in need of repair

Ports: Santo Antonio, Sao Tome

Merchant marine:
  total: 1 cargo ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,096 GRT/1,105 DWT
  (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 2
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 1
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 1 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 2,200 (1986 est.)

Telephone system:
  domestic: minimal system
  international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0

Radios: 33,000 (1992 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 1 (1992 est.)

Televisions: NA



Defense
-------


Branches: Army, Navy, Security Police

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 34,986
  males fit for military service: 18,343 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: $NA, NA% of GDP



======================================================================




@Saudi Arabia
------------




Map
---


Location: 25 00 N, 45 00 E -- Middle East, bordering the Persian
  Gulf and the Red Sea, north of Yemen



Flag
----


Description: green with large white Arabic script (that may be
  translated as There is no God but God; Muhammad is the Messenger of
  God) above a white horizontal saber (the tip points to the hoist
  side); green is the traditional color of Islam





Geography
---------


Location: Middle East, bordering the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea,
  north of Yemen

Geographic coordinates: 25 00 N, 45 00 E

Map references: Middle East

Area:
  total area: 1,960,582 sq km
  land area: 1,960,582 sq km
  comparative area: slightly less than one-fourth the size of the US

Land boundaries:
  total: 4,415 km
  border countries: Iraq 814 km, Jordan 728 km, Kuwait 222 km, Oman
  676 km, Qatar 60 km, UAE 457 km, Yemen 1,458 km

Coastline: 2,640 km

Maritime claims:
  contiguous zone: 18 nm
  continental shelf: not specified
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: large section of boundary with Yemen not
  defined; location and status of boundary with UAE is not final,
  defacto boundary reflects 1974 agreement; Kuwaiti ownership of Qaruh
  and Umm al Maradim islands is disputed by Saudi Arabia; 1965
  boundary with Qatar, renegotiated and revised in 1992, but not
  official depiction

Climate: harsh, dry desert with great extremes of temperature

Terrain: mostly uninhabited, sandy desert
  lowest point: Persian Gulf 0 m
  highest point: Jabal Sawda' 3,133 m

Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, gold, copper

Land use:
  arable land: 1%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 39%
  forest and woodland: 1%
  other: 59%

Irrigated land: 4,350 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
  current issues: desertification; depletion of underground water
  resources; the lack of perennial rivers or permanent water bodies
  has prompted the development of extensive seawater desalination
  facilities; coastal pollution from oil spills
  natural hazards: frequent sand and dust storms
  international agreements: party to - Climate Change, Hazardous
  Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection; signed, but not ratified - Law of
  the Sea

Geographic note: extensive coastlines on Persian Gulf and Red Sea
  provide great leverage on shipping (especially crude oil) through
  Persian Gulf and Suez Canal



People
------


Population: 19,409,058 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 43% (male 4,228,660; female 4,103,622)
  15-64 years: 55% (male 6,393,384; female 4,240,535)
  65 years and over: 2% (male 227,789; female 215,068) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 3.45% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 38.32 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 5.36 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 1.55 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 1.51 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 1.06 male(s)/female
  all ages: 1.27 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 46.4 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 69 years
  male: 67.25 years
  female: 70.84 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 6.45 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Saudi(s)
  adjective: Saudi or Saudi Arabian

Ethnic divisions: Arab 90%, Afro-Asian 10%

Religions: Muslim 100%

Languages: Arabic

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)
  total population: 62.8%
  male: 71.5%
  female: 50.2%






Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
  conventional short form: Saudi Arabia
  local long form: Al Mamlakah al Arabiyah as Suudiyah
  local short form: Al Arabiyah as Suudiyah

Data code: SA

Type of government: monarchy

Capital: Riyadh

Administrative divisions: 13 provinces (mintaqah, singular -
  mintaqat); Al Bahah, Al Hudud Ash Shamaliyah, Al Jawf, Al Madinah,
  Al Qasim, Ar Riyad, Ash Sharqiyah (Eastern Province), 'Asir, Hail,
  Jizan, Makkah, Najran, Tabuk

Independence: 23 September 1932 (unification)

National holiday: Unification of the Kingdom, 23 September (1932)

Constitution: none; governed according to Shari'a (Islamic law)

Legal system: based on Islamic law, several secular codes have
  been introduced; commercial disputes handled by special committees;
  has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: none

Executive branch:
  chief of state and head of government: King and Prime Minister FAHD
  bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud (since 13 June 1982) is an absolute monarch;
  Crown Prince and First Deputy Prime Minister ABDALLAH bin Abd
  al-Aziz Al Saud (half-brother to the king, heir to the throne since
  13 June 1982, regent from 1 January to 22 February 1996)
  cabinet: Council of Ministers is dominated by royal family members
  appointed by the king

Legislative branch: a consultative council composed of 60 members
  and a chairman who are appointed by the king for a term of four years

Judicial branch: Supreme Council of Justice

Political parties and leaders: none allowed

International organization participation: ABEDA, AfDB, AFESD, AL,
  AMF, CCC, ESCWA, FAO, G-19, G-77, GCC, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM,
  IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC,
  ISO, ITU, NAM, OAPEC, OAS (observer), OIC, OPEC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO,
  UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO (applicant)

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador BANDAR bin Sultan Abd al-Aziz Al Saud
  chancery: 601 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20037
  telephone: [1] (202) 342-3800
  consulate(s) general: Houston, Los Angeles, and New York

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Raymond E. MABUS, Jr.
  embassy: Collector Road M, Diplomatic Quarter, Riyadh
  mailing address: American Embassy-Riyadh, Unit 61307, APO AE
  09803-1307; International Mail: P. O. Box 94309, Riyadh 11693
  telephone: [966] (1) 488-3800
  FAX: [966] (1) 488-7360
  consulate(s) general: Dhahran, Jiddah (Jeddah)

Flag: green with large white Arabic script (that may be translated
  as There is no God but God; Muhammad is the Messenger of God) above
  a white horizontal saber (the tip points to the hoist side); green
  is the traditional color of Islam



Economy
-------


Economic overview: This is a well-to-do oil-based economy with
  strong government controls over major economic activities. About 40%
  of GDP comes from the private sector. Economic (as well as
  political) ties with the US are especially strong. The petroleum
  sector accounts for roughly 75% of budget revenues, 35% of GDP, and
  90% of export earnings. Saudi Arabia has the largest reserves of
  petroleum in the world (26% of the proved total), ranks as the
  largest exporter of petroleum, and plays a leading role in OPEC. For
  the 1990s the government intends to bring its budget, which has been
  in deficit since 1983, back into balance, and to encourage private
  economic activity. Roughly four million foreign workers play an
  important role in the Saudi economy, for example, in the oil and
  banking sectors. For over a decade, Saudi Arabia's domestic and
  international outlays have outstripped its income, and the
  government has cut its foreign assistance and is beginning to rein
  in domestic programs. For 1996, the country looks to its policies of
  maintaining moderate fiscal reforms, restraining public spending,
  and encouraging non-oil exports.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $189.3 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 0% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $10,100 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 9%
  industry: 50%
  services: 41% (1994 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 5% (1995 est.)

Labor force: 6 million-7 million
  by occupation: government 40%, industry, construction, and oil 25%,
  services 30%, agriculture 5%

Unemployment rate: 6.5% (1992 est.)

Budget:
  revenues: $35.1 billion
  expenditures: $40 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA
  (1996 est.)

Industries: crude oil production, petroleum refining, basic
  petrochemicals, cement, two small steel-rolling mills, construction,
  fertilizer, plastics

Industrial production growth rate: 17% (1994 est.)

Electricity:
  capacity: 17,550,000 kW
  production: 46 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 2,430 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: wheat, barley, tomatoes, melons, dates, citrus;
  mutton, chickens, eggs, milk

Illicit drugs: death penalty for traffickers; increasing
  consumption of heroin and cocaine

Exports: $41.7 billion (f.o.b., 1994 est.)
  commodities: petroleum and petroleum products 90%
  partners: US 17%, Japan 17%, South Korea 8%, Singapore 7%, France 5%
  (1994)

Imports: $21.3 billion (f.o.b., 1994 est.)
  commodities: machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs, motor
  vehicles, textiles
  partners: US 21%, Japan 12%, UK 8%, Germany 8%, Italy 5% (1994)

External debt: $18.9 billion (December 1989 est., includes
  short-term trade credits)

Economic aid:
  donor: pledged $100 million in 1993 to fund reconstruction of Lebanon

Currency: 1 Saudi riyal (SR) = 100 halalah

Exchange rates: Saudi riyals (SR) per US$1 - 3.7450 (fixed rate
  since late 1986)

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 1,390 km
  standard gauge: 1,390 km 1.435-m gauge (448 km double track) (1992)

Highways:
  total: 151,532 km
  paved: 60,613 km
  unpaved: 90,919 km (1992 est.)

Pipelines: crude oil 6,400 km; petroleum products 150 km; natural
  gas 2,200 km (includes natural gas liquids 1,600 km)

Ports: Ad Dammam, Al Jubayl, Duba, Jiddah, Jizan, Rabigh, Ra's al
  Khafji, Al Mishab, Ras Tanura, Yanbu' al Bahr, Yanbu' al Sinaiyah

Merchant marine:
  total: 76 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 944,946 GRT/1,322,167
  DWT
  ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 13, chemical tanker 5, container 3,
  liquefied gas tanker 1, livestock carrier 4, oil tanker 22,
  passenger 1, refrigerated cargo 4, roll-on/roll-off cargo 13,
  short-sea passenger 9 (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 175
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 30
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 11
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 22
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 4
  with paved runways under 914 m: 13
  with unpaved runways over 3 047 m: 1
  with unpaved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 4
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 66
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 24 (1995 est.)

Heliports: 4 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 1.46 million (1993)

Telephone system: modern system
  domestic: extensive microwave radio relay and coaxial and
  fiber-optic cable systems
  international: microwave radio relay to Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait,
  Qatar, UAE, Yemen, and Sudan; coaxial cable to Kuwait and Jordan;
  submarine cable to Djibouti, Egypt and Bahrain; satellite earth
  stations - 5 Intelsat (3 Atlantic Ocean and 2 Indian Ocean), 1
  Arabsat, and 1 Inmarsat (Indian Ocean region)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 43, FM 13, shortwave 0

Radios: 5 million (1993 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 80

Televisions: 4.5 million (1993 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Land Force (Army), Navy, Air Force, Air Defense Force,
  National Guard, Coast Guard, Frontier Forces, Public Security Force

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 5,405,828
  males fit for military service: 3,005,900
  males reach military age (18) annually: 165,010 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $12.1 billion,
  8.5% of GDP (1996)



======================================================================




@Senegal
-------




Map
---


Location: 14 00 N, 14 00 W -- Western Africa, bordering the North
  Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea-Bissau and Mauritania



Flag
----


Description: three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side),
  yellow, and red with a small green five-pointed star centered in the
  yellow band; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia





Geography
---------


Location: Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean,
  between Guinea-Bissau and Mauritania

Geographic coordinates: 14 00 N, 14 00 W

Map references: Africa

Area:
  total area: 196,190 sq km
  land area: 192,000 sq km
  comparative area: slightly smaller than South Dakota

Land boundaries:
  total: 2,640 km
  border countries: The Gambia 740 km, Guinea 330 km, Guinea-Bissau
  338 km, Mali 419 km, Mauritania 813 km

Coastline: 531 km

Maritime claims:
  contiguous zone: 24 nm
  continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: short section of the boundary with The
  Gambia is indefinite; boundary with Mauritania in dispute

Climate: tropical; hot, humid; rainy season (December to April)
  has strong southeast winds; dry season (May to November) dominated
  by hot, dry, harmattan wind

Terrain: generally low, rolling, plains rising to foothills in
  southeast
  lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
  highest point: unnamed location in the Futa Jaldon foothills 581 m

Natural resources: fish, phosphates, iron ore

Land use:
  arable land: 27%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 30%
  forest and woodland: 31%
  other: 12%

Irrigated land: 1,800 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
  current issues: wildlife populations threatened by poaching;
  deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification;
  overfishing
  natural hazards: lowlands seasonally flooded; periodic droughts
  international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
  Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the
  Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer
  Protection, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Marine Dumping

Geographic note: The Gambia is almost an enclave of Senegal



People
------


Population: 9,092,749 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 48% (male 2,188,338; female 2,197,015)
  15-64 years: 49% (male 2,111,330; female 2,336,987)
  65 years and over: 3% (male 128,939; female 130,140) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 3.37% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 45.46 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 11.76 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 0.9 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.99 male(s)/female
  all ages: 0.95 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 64 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 56.49 years
  male: 53.75 years
  female: 59.3 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 6.31 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Senegalese (singular and plural)
  adjective: Senegalese

Ethnic divisions: Wolof 36%, Fulani 17%, Serer 17%, Toucouleur 9%,
  Diola 9%, Mandingo 9%, European and Lebanese 1%, other 2%

Religions: Muslim 92%, indigenous beliefs 6%, Christian 2% (mostly
  Roman Catholic)

Languages: French (official), Wolof, Pulaar, Diola, Mandingo

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)
  total population: 33.1%
  male: 43%
  female: 23.2%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Republic of Senegal
  conventional short form: Senegal
  local long form: Republique du Senegal
  local short form: Senegal

Data code: SG

Type of government: republic under multiparty democratic rule

Capital: Dakar

Administrative divisions: 10 regions (regions, singular - region);
  Dakar, Diourbel, Fatick, Kaolack, Kolda, Louga, Saint-Louis,
  Tambacounda, Thies, Ziguinchor

Independence: 20 August 1960 (from France; The Gambia and Senegal
  signed an agreement on 12 December 1981 that called for the creation
  of a loose confederation to be known as Senegambia, but the
  agreement was dissolved on 30 September 1989)

National holiday: Independence Day, 4 April (1960)

Constitution: 3 March 1963, revised 1991

Legal system: based on French civil law system; judicial review of
  legislative acts in Supreme Court, which also audits the
  government's accounting office; has not accepted compulsory ICJ
  jurisdiction

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: President Abdou DIOUF (since 1 January 1981) was
  elected for a seven-year term by universal suffrage; election last
  held 21 February 1993 (next to be held NA February 2000); results -
  Abdou DIOUF (PS) 58.4%, Abdoulaye WADE (PDS) 32.03%, other 9.57%
  head of government: Prime Minister Habib THIAM (since 7 April 1991)
  was appointed by the president
  cabinet: Council of Ministers was appointed by the prime minister in
  consultation with the president

Legislative branch: unicameral
  National Assembly (Assemblee Nationale): elections last held 9 May
  1993 (next to be held NA May 1998); results - PS 70%, PDS 23%, other
  7%; seats - (120 total) PS 84, PDS 27, LD-MPT 3, Let Us Unite
  Senegal 3, PIT 2, UDS-R 1

Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Cour Supreme)

Political parties and leaders: Socialist Party (PS), President
  Abdou DIOUF; Senegalese Democratic Party (PDS), Abdoulaye WADE;
  Democratic League-Labor Party Movement (LD-MPT), Dr. Abdoulaye
  BATHILY; Independent Labor Party (PIT), Amath DANSOKHO; Senegalese
  Democratic Union-Renewal (UDS-R), Mamadou Puritain FALL; Let Us
  Unite Senegal (coalition of African Party for Democracy and
  Socialism and National Democratic Rally); other small uninfluential
  parties

Other political or pressure groups: students; teachers; labor;
  Muslim Brotherhoods

International organization participation: ACCT, ACP, AfDB, CCC,
  ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, FZ, G-15, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU,
  ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat,
  Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, PCA, UN, UNAMIR, UNAVEM III,
  UNCRO, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UPU, WADB, WCL, WFTU, WHO,
  WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Mamadou Mansour SECK
  chancery: 2112 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
  telephone: [1] (202) 234-0540, 0541

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Mark JOHNSON
  embassy: Avenue Jean XXIII at the corner of Avenue Kleber, Dakar
  mailing address: B. P. 49, Dakar
  telephone: [221] 23 42 96, 23 34 24
  FAX: [221] 22 29 91

Flag: three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), yellow,
  and red with a small green five-pointed star centered in the yellow
  band; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia



Economy
-------


Economic overview: In 1994 Senegal embarked on its most concerted
  structural adjustment effort yet to exploit the 50% devaluation of
  the currencies of the 14 Francophone African nations on 12 January
  of that year. After years of foot-dragging, the government has
  passed a liberalized labor code which should lower the cost of labor
  and improve the manufacturing sector's competitiveness. Inroads also
  have been made in closing tax loopholes, eliminating monopoly power
  in several sectors, and privatizing state owned firms. At the same
  time, the government is holding the line on current fiscal
  expenditure under the watchful eyes of international organizations
  on which it depends for substantial support. The IMF, in mid-1995,
  announced that the government met most economic targets as called
  for in its Enhanced Structural Adjustment Facility agreement and
  released the second $50 million tranche. The country's narrow
  resource base, environmental degradation, and untamed population
  growth will continue to hold back improvement in living standards
  over the medium term.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $14.5 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 4.5% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $1,600 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: NA%
  industry: NA%
  services: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 6.1% (1995)

Labor force: 2.509 million (77% are engaged in subsistence
  farming; 175,000 wage earners)
  by occupation: private sector 40%, government and parapublic 60%

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget:
  revenues: $876 million
  expenditures: $197.7 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA
  (1996 est.)

Industries: agricultural and fish processing, phosphate mining,
  petroleum refining, construction materials

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity:
  capacity: 230,000 kW
  production: 720 million kWh
  consumption per capita: 79 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: peanuts, millet, corn, sorghum, rice, cotton,
  tomatoes, green vegetables; cattle, poultry, pigs; fish catch of
  409,000 metric tons in 1992

Illicit drugs: transshipment point for Southwest and Southeast
  Asian heroin moving to Europe and North America; illicit cultivator
  of cannabis

Exports: $940 million (f.o.b., 1994 est.)
  commodities: fish, ground nuts (peanuts), petroleum products,
  phosphates, cotton
  partners: France, other EU countries, Cote d'Ivoire, Mali

Imports: $1.1 billion (c.i.f., 1994 est.)
  commodities: foods and beverages, consumer goods, capital goods,
  petroleum
  partners: France, other EU countries, Nigeria, Cote d'Ivoire,
  Algeria, China, Japan

External debt: $3.8 billion (1993)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $439 million (1993)

Currency: 1 Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (CFAF) = 100
  centimes

Exchange rates: CFA francs (CFAF) per US$1 - 500.56 (January
  1996), 499.15 (1995), 555.20 (1994), 283.16 (1993), 264.69 (1992),
  282.11 (1991)
  note: beginning 12 January 1994, the CFA franc was devalued to CFAF
  100 per French franc from CFAF 50 at which it had been fixed since
  1948

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 904 km
  narrow gauge: 904 km 1.000-meter gauge (70 km double track) (1995)

Highways:
  total: 13,850 km
  paved: 3,900 km
  unpaved: 9,950 km (1990 est.)

Waterways: 897 km total; 785 km on the Senegal river, and 112 km
  on the Saloum

Ports: Dakar, Kaolack, Matam, Podor, Richard-Toll, Saint-Louis,
  Ziguinchor

Merchant marine:
  total: 1 bulk ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,995 GRT/3,775 DWT
  (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 17
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 1
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 8
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 1
  with paved runways under 914 m: 1
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 4
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 2 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 55,000 (1993 est.)

Telephone system:
  domestic: above-average urban system; microwave radio relay and
  cable trunk system
  international: 3 submarine cables; satellite earth station - 1
  Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 8, FM 0, shortwave 0

Radios: 850,000 (1993 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 1

Televisions: 61,000 (1993 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, National Gendarmerie, National
  Police (Surete Nationale)

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 1,864,239
  males fit for military service: 973,170
  males reach military age (18) annually: 90,154 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $82 million, 2.1%
  of GDP (1996 est.)



======================================================================




@Serbia and Montenegro
---------------------

Serbia and Montenegro have asserted the formation of a joint
independent state, but this entity has not been formally recognized
as a state by the US; the US view is that the Socialist Federal
Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY) has dissolved and that none of the
successor republics represents its continuation.

Map
---


Location: 44 00 N, 21 00 E -- Southeastern Europe, bordering the
  Adriatic Sea, between Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina





Geography
---------


Location: Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea, between
  Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina

Geographic coordinates: 44 00 N, 21 00 E

Map references: Europe

Area:
  total area: 102,350 sq km
  land area: 102,136 sq km
  comparative area: slightly larger than Kentucky
  note: Serbia has a total area and a land area of 88,412 sq km making
  it slightly larger than Maine; Montenegro has a total area of 13,938
  sq km and a land area of 13,724 sq km making it slightly larger than
  Connecticut

Land boundaries:
  total: 2,246 km
  border countries: Albania 287 km (114 km with Serbia, 173 km with
  Montenegro), Bosnia and Herzegovina 527 km (312 km with Serbia, 215
  km with Montenegro), Bulgaria 318 km, Croatia (north) 241 km,
  Croatia (south) 25 km, Hungary 151 km, The Former Yugoslav Republic
  of Macedonia 221 km, Romania 476 km
  note: the internal boundary between Montenegro and Serbia is 211 km

Coastline: 199 km (Montenegro 199 km, Serbia 0 km)

Maritime claims: NA

International disputes: disputes with Bosnia and Herzegovina and
  Croatia over Serbian populated areas; Albanian majority in Kosovo
  seeks independence from Serbian republic

Climate: in the north, continental climate (cold winter and hot,
  humid summers with well distributed rainfall); central portion,
  continental and Mediterranean climate; to the south, Adriatic
  climate along the coast, hot, dry summers and autumns and relatively
  cold winters with heavy snowfall inland

Terrain: extremely varied; to the north, rich fertile plains; to
  the east, limestone ranges and basins; to the southeast, ancient
  mountain and hills; to the southwest, extremely high shoreline with
  no islands off the coast
  lowest point: Adriatic Sea 0 m
  highest point: Daravica 2,656 m

Natural resources: oil, gas, coal, antimony, copper, lead, zinc,
  nickel, gold, pyrite, chrome

Land use:
  arable land: 30%
  permanent crops: 5%
  meadows and pastures: 20%
  forest and woodland: 25%
  other: 20%

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Environment:
  current issues: pollution of coastal waters from sewage outlets,
  especially in tourist-related areas such as Kotor; air pollution
  around Belgrade and other industrial cities; water pollution from
  industrial wastes dumped into the Sava which flows into the Danube
  natural hazards: destructive earthquakes
  international agreements: NA

Geographic note: controls one of the major land routes from
  Western Europe to Turkey and the Near East; strategic location along
  the Adriatic coast



People
------


Population:
  total population: 10,614,558 (July 1996 est.)
  Montenegro: 635,442 (July 1996 est.)
  Serbia: 9,979,116 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  Montenegro - 0-14 years: 22% (male 71,075; female 67,402)
  Montenegro - 15-64 years: 67% (male 215,889; female 213,290)
  Montenegro - 65 years and over: 11% (male 27,868; female 39.918)
  (July 1996 est.)
  Serbia - 0-14 years: 21% (male 1,104,274; female 1,026,994)
  Serbia - 15-64 years: 66% (male 3,332,809; female 3,293,788)
  Serbia - 65 years and over: 13% (male 515,001; female 706,250) (July
  1996 est.)

Population growth rate:
  Montenegro: 0.39% (1996 est.)
  Serbia: 0.39% (1996 est.)

Birth rate:
  Montenegro: 11.86 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)
  Serbia: 13.98 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate:
  Montenegro: 7.76 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)
  Serbia: 10.25 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate:
  Montenegro: -0.2 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)
  Serbia: 0.12 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  Montenegro - at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
  Montenegro - under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
  Montenegro - 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
  Montenegro - 65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female
  Montenegro - all ages: 0.98 male(s)/female (1996 est.)
  Serbia - at birth: 1.08 male(s)/female
  Serbia - under 15 years: 1.08 male(s)/female
  Serbia - 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
  Serbia - 65 years and over: 0.73 male(s)/female
  Serbia - all ages: 0.98 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
  Montenegro: 27.5 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)
  Serbia: 22.9 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  Montenegro - total population: 74.88 years
  Montenegro - male: 70.86 years
  Montenegro - female: 79.11 years (1996 est.)
  Serbia - total population: 71.98 years
  Serbia - male: 68.97 years
  Serbia - female: 75.22 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate:
  Montenegro: 1.53 children born/woman (1996 est.)
  Serbia: 2 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Serb(s) and Montenegrin(s)
  adjective: Serbian and Montenegrin

Ethnic divisions: Serbs 63%, Albanians 14%, Montenegrins 6%,
  Hungarians 4%, other 13%

Religions: Orthodox 65%, Muslim 19%, Roman Catholic 4%, Protestant
  1%, other 11%

Languages: Serbo-Croatian 95%, Albanian 5%

Literacy: NA



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: none
  conventional short form: Serbia and Montenegro
  local long form: none
  local short form: Srbija-Crna Gora
  note: Serbia and Montenegro has self-proclaimed itself the "Federal
  Republic of Yugoslavia," but the US view is that the Socialist
  Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY) has dissolved and that none of
  the successor republics represents its continuation

Data code:
  Serbia: SR
  Montenegro: MW

Type of government: republic

Capital: Belgrade

Administrative divisions: 2 republics (pokajine, singular -
  pokajina); and 2 nominally autonomous provinces*; Kosovo*,
  Montenegro, Serbia, Vojvodina*

Independence: 11 April 1992 (Federal Republic of Yugoslavia formed
  as self-proclaimed successor to the Socialist Federal Republic of
  Yugoslavia - SFRY)

National holiday: St. Vitus Day, 28 June

Constitution: 27 April 1992

Legal system: based on civil law system

Suffrage: 16 years of age, if employed; 18 years of age, universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: President Zoran LILIC (since 25 June 1993) was
  elected for a four-year term by the Federal Assembly; note -
  Slobodan MILOSEVIC is president of Serbia (since 9 December 1990);
  Momir BULATOVIC is president of Montenegro (since 23 December 1990);
  Federal Assembly elected Zoran LILIC on 25 June 1993
  head of government: Prime Minister Radoje KONTIC (since 29 December
  1992) was nominated by the president; Deputy Prime Ministers Jovan
  ZEBIC (since NA March 1993), Uros KLIKOVAC (since 15 September
  1994), and Nikola SAINOVIC (since 15 September 1995)
  cabinet: Federal Executive Council

Legislative branch: bicameral Federal Assembly
  Chamber of Republics: elections last held 20 December 1992 (next to
  be held NA 1996); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (40
  total, 20 Serbian, 20 Montenegrin) seats by party NA; note - seats
  are filled on a proportional basis to reflect the composition of the
  legislatures of the republics of Montenegro and Serbia
  Chamber of Citizens: elections last held 20 December 1992 (next to
  be held NA 1996); results - percent of votes by party NA; seats -
  (138 total, 108 Serbian, 30 Montenegrin) SPS 47, SRS 34, Depos 20,
  DPSCG 17, DS 5, SP 5, NS 4, DZVM 3, other 3

Judicial branch: Savezni Sud (Federal Court), judges are elected
  by the Federal Assembly; Constitutional Court, judges are elected by
  the Federal Assembly

Political parties and leaders: Serbian Socialist Party (SPS,
  former Communist Party), Slobodan MILOSEVIC; Serbian Radical Party
  (SRS), Vojislav SESELJ; Serbian Renewal Movement (SPO), Vuk
  DRASKOVIC, president; Democratic Party (DS), Zoran DJINDJIC;
  Democratic Party of Serbia (Depos), Vojlslav KOSTUNICA; Democratic
  Party of Socialists of Montenegro (DPSCG), Momir BULATOVIC,
  president; People's Party of Montenegro (NS), Milan PAROSKI; Liberal
  Alliance of Montenegro, Slavko PEROVIC; Democratic Community of
  Vojvodina Hungarians (DZVM), Andras AGOSTON; League of
  Communists-Movement for Yugoslavia (SK-PJ), Dragan ATANASOVSKI;
  Democratic Alliance of Kosovo (LDK), Dr. Ibrahim RUGOVA, president;
  Party of Democratic Action (SDA), Sulejman UGLJANIN; Civic Alliance
  of Serbia (GSS), Vesna PESIC, chairman; Socialist Party of
  Montenegro (SP), leader NA

Other political or pressure groups: NA

Diplomatic representation in US: the US and Serbia and Montenegro
  do not maintain full diplomatic relations; the Embassy of the former
  Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia continues to function in
  the US
  chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Counselor, Charge d'Affaires
  ad interim Zoran POPOVIC
  chancery: 2410 California St. NW, Washington, DC 20008
  telephone: [1] (202) 462-6566

US diplomatic representation: the US and Serbia and Montenegro do
  not maintain full diplomatic relations
  chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Chief of Mission Rudolf V.
  PERINA
  embassy: address NA, Belgrade
  mailing address: Unit 1310, APO AE 09213-1310
  telephone: [381] (11) 645655
  FAX: [381] (11) 645332



Economy
-------


Economic overview: The swift collapse of the Yugoslav federation
  in 1991 has been followed by highly destructive warfare, the
  destabilization of republic boundaries, and the breakup of important
  interrepublic trade flows. Serbia and Montenegro faces major
  economic problems; output has dropped sharply, particularly in 1993.
  Like the other former Yugoslav republics, it depended on its sister
  republics for large amounts of energy supplies and manufactures.
  Wide differences in climate, mineral resources, and levels of
  technology among the republics accentuated this interdependence, as
  did the communist practice of concentrating much industrial output
  in a small number of giant plants. The breakup of many of the trade
  links, the sharp drop in output as industrial plants lost suppliers
  and markets, and the destruction of physical assets in the fighting
  all have contributed to the economic difficulties of the republics.
  One singular factor in the economic situation of Serbia and
  Montenegro is the continuation in office of a communist government
  that is primarily interested in political and military mastery, not
  economic reform. Hyperinflation ended with the establishment of a
  new currency unit in June 1993; prices were relatively stable in
  1994. Reliable statistics are hard to come by; the GDP estimate of
  $2,000 per capita is extremely rough. The economy is recovering
  extremely slowly following the suspension of UN sanctions in
  December 1995.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $20.6 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 4% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $2,000 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: NA%
  industry: NA%
  services: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 20% (1994 est.)

Labor force: 2,640,909
  by occupation: industry, mining 40% (1990)

Unemployment rate: more than 40% (1994 est.)

Budget:
  revenues: $NA
  expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA

Industries: machine building (aircraft, trucks, and automobiles;
  armored vehicles and weapons; electrical equipment; agricultural
  machinery), metallurgy (steel, aluminum, copper, lead, zinc,
  chromium, antimony, bismuth, cadmium), mining (coal, bauxite,
  nonferrous ore, iron ore, limestone), consumer goods (textiles,
  footwear, foodstuffs, appliances), electronics, petroleum products,
  chemicals, and pharmaceuticals

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity:
  capacity: 10,400,000 kW
  production: 34 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 2,400 kWh (1994 est.)

Agriculture: cereals, fruits, vegetables, tobacco, olives; cattle,
  sheep, goats

Illicit drugs: transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin
  moving to Western Europe on the Balkan route

Exports: $NA
  commodities: prior to the breakup of the federation, Yugoslavia
  exported machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods,
  chemicals, food and live animals, raw materials
  partners: prior to the imposition of UN sanctions trade partners
  were the other former Yugoslav republics, Italy, Germany, other EC,
  the FSU countries, East European countries, US

Imports: $NA
  commodities: prior to the breakup of the federation, Yugoslavia
  imported machinery and transport equipment, fuels and lubricants,
  manufactured goods, chemicals, food and live animals, raw materials
  including coking coal for the steel industry
  partners: prior to the imposition of UN sanctions trade partners
  were the other former Yugoslav republics, the FSU countries, EC
  countries (mainly Italy and Germany), East European countries, US

External debt: $4.2 billion (1993 est.)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $NA

Currency: 1 Yugoslav New Dinar (YD) = 100 paras

Exchange rates: Yugoslav New Dinars (YD) per US $1 - official
  rate: 1.5; black market rate: 2 to 3 (early 1995)

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 3,960 km
  standard gauge: 3,960 km 1.435-m gauge (1,341 km electrified) (1992)

Highways:
  total: 46,019 km
  paved: 26,949 km
  unpaved: 19,070 km (1990 est.)

Waterways: NA km

Pipelines: crude oil 415 km; petroleum products 130 km; natural
  gas 2,110 km

Ports: Bar, Belgrade, Kotor, Novi Sad, Pancevo, Tivat

Merchant marine:
  Montenegro: total 21 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 326,133
  GRT/544,600 DWT (controlled by Montenegrin beneficial owners)
  ships by type: bulk 9, cargo 8, container 3, short-sea passenger
  ferry 1
  note: ships operate under the flags of Malta, Panama, and Cyprus; no
  ships remain under Yugoslav flag (1995 est.)
  Serbia: total 2 bulk ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 42,916
  GRT/77,103 DWT (controlled by Serbian beneficial owners)
  note: all under the flag of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; no
  ships remain under Yugoslav flag (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 44 (Serbia 39, Montenegro 5)
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 2 (Serbia 2, Montenegro 0)
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 5 (Serbia 3, Montenegro 2)
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 5 (Serbia 4, Montenegro 1)
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 2 (Serbia 2, Montenegro 0)
  with paved runways under 914 m: 14 (Serbia 14, Montenegro 0)
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 2 (Serbia 2, Montenegro 0)
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 14 (Serbia 12, Montenegro 2)
  (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 700,000

Telephone system:
  domestic: NA
  international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 26, FM 9, shortwave 0

Radios: 2.015 million

Television broadcast stations: 18

Televisions: 1 million



Defense
-------


Branches: People's Army (includes Ground Forces with internal and
  border troops, Naval Forces, and Air and Air Defense Forces), Civil
  Defense

Manpower availability:
  Montenegro - males age 15-49: 173,942
  Montenegro - males fit for military service: 140,728
  Montenegro - males reach military age (19) annually: 5,226
  Serbia - males age 15-49: 2,546,549
  Serbia - males fit for military service: 2,041,239 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: 245 billion dinars, 4% to 6% of GDP (1992
  est.); note - conversion of defense expenditures into US dollars
  using the current exchange rate could produce misleading results



======================================================================




@Seychelles
----------




Map
---


Location: 4 35 S, 55 40 E -- Eastern Africa, group of islands in
  the Indian Ocean, northeast of Madagascar



Flag
----


Description: five oblique bands of blue (hoist side), yellow, red,
  white, and green (bottom) radiating from the bottom of the hoist side





Geography
---------


Location: Eastern Africa, group of islands in the Indian Ocean,
  northeast of Madagascar

Geographic coordinates: 4 35 S, 55 40 E

Map references: Africa

Area:
  total area: 455 sq km
  land area: 455 sq km
  comparative area: 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 491 km

Maritime claims:
  continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: claims Tromelin Island

Climate: tropical marine; humid; cooler season during southeast
  monsoon (late May to September); warmer season during northwest
  monsoon (March to May)

Terrain: Mahe Group is granitic, narrow coastal strip, rocky,
  hilly; others are coral, flat, elevated reefs
  lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
  highest point: Morne Seychellois 905 m

Natural resources: fish, copra, cinnamon trees

Land use:
  arable land: 4%
  permanent crops: 18%
  meadows and pastures: 0%
  forest and woodland: 18%
  other: 60%

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Environment:
  current issues: no natural fresh water resources, catchments collect
  rain water
  natural hazards: lies outside the cyclone belt, so severe storms are
  rare; short droughts possible
  international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
  Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine
  Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution,
  Whaling; signed, but not ratified - Desertification

Geographic note: 40 granitic and about 50 coralline islands



People
------


Population: 77,575 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 31% (male 12,005; female 11,835)
  15-64 years: 63% (male 24,003; female 24,946)
  65 years and over: 6% (male 1,669; female 3,117) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 0.76% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 21.02 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 7.31 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: -6.14 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.54 male(s)/female
  all ages: 0.94 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 12.5 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 69.24 years
  male: 64.23 years
  female: 74.39 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.09 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Seychellois (singular and plural)
  adjective: Seychelles

Ethnic divisions: Seychellois (mixture of Asians, Africans,
  Europeans)

Religions: Roman Catholic 90%, Anglican 8%, other 2%

Languages: English (official), French (official), Creole

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1971 est.)
  total population: 58%
  male: 56%
  female: 60%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Republic of Seychelles
  conventional short form: Seychelles

Data code: SE

Type of government: republic

Capital: Victoria

Administrative divisions: 23 administrative districts; Anse aux
  Pins, Anse Boileau, Anse Etoile, Anse Louis, Anse Royale, Baie
  Lazare, Baie Sainte Anne, Beau Vallon, Bel Air, Bel Ombre, Cascade,
  Glacis, Grand' Anse (on Mahe Island), Grand' Anse (on Praslin
  Island), La Digue, La Riviere Anglaise, Mont Buxton, Mont Fleuri,
  Plaisance, Pointe Larue, Port Glaud, Saint Louis, Takamaka

Independence: 29 June 1976 (from UK)

National holiday: National Day, 18 June (1993) (adoption of new
  constitution)

Constitution: 18 June 1993

Legal system: based on English common law, French civil law, and
  customary law

Suffrage: 17 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state and head of government: President France Albert RENE
  (since 5 June 1977) was elected for a five-year term by popular
  vote; election last held 20-23 July 1993 (next to be held NA 1998);
  results - President France Albert RENE (SPPF) reelected with 59.5%
  of the vote, Sir James MANCHAM (DP) 36.72%
  cabinet: Council of Ministers was appointed by the president

Legislative branch: unicameral
  People's Assembly (Assemblee du Peuple): elections last held 20-23
  July 1993 (next to be held NA); results - SPPF 82%, DP 15%, UO 3%;
  seats - (33 total, 22 elected, 11 awarded) seats elected - SPPF 21,
  DP 1; seats awarded - SPPF 6, DP 4, UO 1
  note: the 11 awarded seats are apportioned according to the share of
  each party in the total vote

Judicial branch: Court of Appeal; Supreme Court

Political parties and leaders: ruling party - Seychelles People's
  Progressive Front (SPPF), France Albert RENE; Democratic Party (DP),
  Sir James MANCHAM; United Opposition (UO), Wavel RAMKALAWAN - a
  coalition of the following parties: Seychelles Party (PS), Wavel
  RAMKALAWAN; Seychelles Democratic Movement (MSPD), Jacques HONDOUL;
  Seychelles Liberal Party (SLP), Ogilvie BERLOUIS; New Democratic
  Party , Christopher GILL (former member of DP)

Other political or pressure groups: trade unions; Roman Catholic
  Church

International organization participation: ACCT, ACP, AfDB, C, ECA,
  FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO,
  Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, NAM, OAU, UN, UNCTAD,
  UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (applicant)

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Marc Michael R. MARENGO
  chancery: (temporary) 820 Second Avenue, Suite 900F, New York, NY
  10017
  telephone: [1] (212) 687-9766, 9767
  FAX: [1] (212) 922-9177

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Carl Burton STOKES
  embassy: 4th Floor, Victoria House, Box 251, Victoria, Mahe
  mailing address: Box 148, Victoria; Unit 62501, APO AE 09815-2501
  telephone: [248] 225256
  FAX: [248] 225189

Flag: five oblique bands of blue (hoist side), yellow, red, white,
  and green (bottom) radiating from the bottom of the hoist side



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Since independence in 1976, per capita output
  has grown to roughly seven times the old near-subsistence level, led
  by the tourist sector, which employs about 30% of the labor force
  and provides more than 70% of hard currency earnings. In recent
  years the government has encouraged foreign investment in order to
  upgrade hotels and other services. At the same time, the government
  has moved to reduce the high dependence on tourism by promoting the
  development of farming, fishing, and small-scale manufacturing. The
  vulnerability of the tourist sector was illustrated by the sharp
  drop in 1991-92 due largely to the Gulf war. Although the industry
  has rebounded, the government recognizes the continuing need for
  upgrading the sector in the face of stiff international competition.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $430 million (1993 est.)

GDP real growth rate: -2% (1993 est.)

GDP per capita: $6,000 (1993 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: NA%
  industry: NA%
  services: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 3.9% (1993 est.)

Labor force: 27,700 (1985)
  by occupation: industry and commerce 31%, services 21%, government
  20%, agriculture, forestry, and fishing 12%, other 16% (1985)

Unemployment rate: 9% (1987)

Budget:
  revenues: $227.4 million
  expenditures: $263 million, including capital expenditures of $54
  million (1993 est.)

Industries: tourism, processing of coconut and vanilla, fishing,
  coir (coconut fiber) rope factory, boat building, printing,
  furniture, beverage

Industrial production growth rate: 4% (1992)

Electricity:
  capacity: 30,000 kW
  production: 110 million kWh
  consumption per capita: 1,399 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: coconuts, cinnamon, vanilla, sweet potatoes, cassava
  (tapioca), bananas; broiler chickens; expansion of tuna fishing
  under way

Exports: $50 million (f.o.b., 1993 est.)
  commodities: fish, cinnamon bark, copra, petroleum products
  (re-exports)
  partners: France 43%, UK 22%, Reunion 11%, (1992)

Imports: $261 million (f.o.b., 1993 est.)
  commodities: manufactured goods, food, petroleum products, tobacco,
  beverages, machinery and transportation equipment
  partners: Singapore 16%, Bahrain 16%, South Africa, 14%, UK 13%
  (1992)

External debt: $181 million (1993 est.)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $NA

Currency: 1 Seychelles rupee (SRe) = 100 cents

Exchange rates: Seychelles rupees (SRe) per US$1 - 4.9257 (January
  1996), 4.7620 (1995), 5.0559 (1994), 5.1815 (1993), 5.1220 (1992),
  5.2893 (1991)

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways: 0 km

Highways:
  total: 269 km
  paved: 187 km
  unpaved: 82 km (1988 est.)

Ports: Victoria

Merchant marine: none

Airports:
  total: 14
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 1
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 5
  with paved runways under 914 m: 6
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 2 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 8,300 (1982 est.)

Telephone system:
  domestic: radiotelephone communications between islands in the
  archipelago
  international: direct radiotelephone communications with adjacent
  island countries and African coastal countries; satellite earth
  station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 2, FM 0, shortwave 0

Radios: 34,000 (1992 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 2

Televisions: 8,200 (1991 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Army, Coast Guard, Marines, National Guard, Presidential
  Protection Unit, Police Force

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 21,547
  males fit for military service: 10,883 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: $NA, NA% of GDP



======================================================================




@Sierra Leone
------------




Map
---


Location: 8 30 N, 11 30 W -- Western Africa, bordering the North
  Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Liberia



Flag
----


Description: three equal horizontal bands of light green (top),
  white, and light blue





Geography
---------


Location: Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean,
  between Guinea and Liberia

Geographic coordinates: 8 30 N, 11 30 W

Map references: Africa

Area:
  total area: 71,740 sq km
  land area: 71,620 sq km
  comparative area: slightly smaller than South Carolina

Land boundaries:
  total: 958 km
  border countries: Guinea 652 km, Liberia 306 km

Coastline: 402 km

Maritime claims:
  territorial sea: 200 nm
  continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation

International disputes: none

Climate: tropical; hot, humid; summer rainy season (May to
  December); winter dry season (December to April)

Terrain: coastal belt of mangrove swamps, wooded hill country,
  upland plateau, mountains in east
  lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
  highest point: Loma Mansa (Bintimani) 1,948 m

Natural resources: diamonds, titanium ore, bauxite, iron ore,
  gold, chromite

Land use:
  arable land: 25%
  permanent crops: 2%
  meadows and pastures: 31%
  forest and woodland: 29%
  other: 13%

Irrigated land: 340 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
  current issues: rapid population growth pressuring the environment;
  overharvesting of timber, expansion of cattle grazing, and
  slash-and-burn agriculture have resulted in deforestation and soil
  exhaustion; civil war depleting natural resources; overfishing
  natural hazards: dry, sand-laden harmattan winds blow from the
  Sahara (November to May); sandstorms, dust storms
  international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
  Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation,
  Nuclear Test Ban, Whaling; signed, but not ratified -
  Desertification, Environmental Modification



People
------


Population: 4,793,121 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 45% (male 1,057,824; female 1,092,291)
  15-64 years: 52% (male 1,197,547; female 1,298,834)
  65 years and over: 3% (male 75,066; female 71,559) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 4.14% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 47.13 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 18.24 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 12.52 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 0.97 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 1.05 male(s)/female
  all ages: 0.95 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 135.6 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 47.47 years
  male: 44.56 years
  female: 50.47 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 6.36 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Sierra Leonean(s)
  adjective: Sierra Leonean

Ethnic divisions: 13 native African tribes 99% (Temne 30%, Mende
  30%, other 39%), Creole, European, Lebanese, and Asian 1%

Religions: Muslim 60%, indigenous beliefs 30%, Christian 10%

Languages: English (official, regular use limited to literate
  minority), Mende (principal vernacular in the south), Temne
  (principal vernacular in the north), Krio (the language of the
  re-settled ex-slave population of the Freetown area and is lingua
  franca)

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write in English, Mende,
  Temne, or Arabic (1995 est.)
  total population: 31.4%
  male: 45.4%
  female: 18.2%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Republic of Sierra Leone
  conventional short form: Sierra Leone

Data code: SL

Type of government: constitutional democracy

Capital: Freetown

Administrative divisions: 3 provinces and 1 area*; Eastern,
  Northern, Southern, Western*

Independence: 27 April 1961 (from UK)

National holiday: Republic Day, 27 April (1961)

Constitution: 1 October 1991; subsequently amended several times

Legal system: based on English law and customary laws indigenous
  to local tribes; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state and head of government: President Ahmad Tejan KABBAH
  (inaugurated 29 March 1996); election held 26-27 February 1996 (next
  to be held NA 2000)
  cabinet: Ministers of State appointed by the president with the
  approval of the House of Representatives; the cabinet is responsible
  to the president

Legislative branch: unicameral
  House of Representatives: elections last held NA February 1996 (next
  to be held NA); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats (80
  total, 68 elected, 12 filled by paramount chiefs elected in separate
  elections) SLPP 27, UNPP 17, PDP 12, APC 5, NUP 4, DCP 3; note -
  first elections since the former House of Representatives was shut
  down by the military coup of 29 April 1992

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

Political parties and leaders: 15 parties registered for the
  February 1996 elections; National Peoples Party (NPP), Andrew TURAY;
  Democratic Center Party (DCP), Abu KOROMA; Peoples Progressive Party
  (PPP), Edward KAMARA, chairman; Coalition for Progress Party (CPP),
  Geredine WILLIAMS-SARHO; National Unity Movement (NUM); United
  National Peoples Party (UNPP); Peoples Democratic Party (PDP),
  Thaimu BANGURA, chairman; All Peoples Congress (APC), S. A. T.
  KOROMA, chairman; National Republican Party (NRP); Social Democratic
  Party (SDP); Peoples National Convention (PNC), I. B. KARGBO,
  chairman; National Unity Party (NUP), A. O. D. GEORGE, chairman;
  Sierra Leone Peoples Party (SLPP), Paul DUNBAR, chairman; National
  Democratic Alliance (NDA); National Alliance for Democracy Party
  (NADP)

International organization participation: ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA,
  ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD,
  IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol,
  IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU,
  WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: (vacant)
  chancery: 1701 19th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009
  telephone: [1] (202) 939-9261

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador John L. HIRSCH
  embassy: Corner of Walpole and Siaka Stevens Streets, Freetown
  mailing address: use embassy street address
  telephone: [232] (22) 226481 through 226485
  FAX: [232] (22) 225471

Flag: three equal horizontal bands of light green (top), white,
  and light blue



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Sierra Leone has substantial mineral,
  agricultural, and fishery resources. However, the economic and
  social infrastructure is not well developed, and serious social
  disorders continue to push down production, exports, and the value
  of the leone. Agriculture employs about two-thirds of the working
  population, with subsistence agriculture dominating the sector.
  Manufacturing consists mainly of the processing of raw materials and
  of light manufacturing for the domestic market. The mining of
  diamonds, bauxite, and rutile is the major source of hard currency.
  The government has worked hard to meet its IMF- and World
  Bank-mandated stabilization targets, holding down fiscal deficits,
  and retiring much of its domestic debt - but at a steep cost in
  terms of forgone capital investments and social spending. Moreover,
  the economic infrastructure has nearly collapsed due to neglect and
  war-related disruptions in the mining and agricultural export
  sectors. The continuing civil war in Liberia has led to a large
  influx of refugees, who place additional burdens on Sierra Leone's
  fragile economy.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $4.4 billion (1994 est.)

GDP real growth rate: -4% (1994 est.)

GDP per capita: $960 (1994 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 40%
  industry: 17%
  services: 43% (1994)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 24% (1994 est.)

Labor force: 1.369 million (1981 est.)
  by occupation: agriculture 65%, industry 19%, services 16% (1981
  est.)
  note: only about 65,000 wage earners (1985)

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget:
  revenues: $75 million
  expenditures: $128 million, including capital expenditures of $NA
  (FY94/95 est.)

Industries: mining (diamonds, bauxite, rutile); small-scale
  manufacturing (beverages, textiles, cigarettes, footwear); petroleum
  refining

Industrial production growth rate: $NA

Electricity:
  capacity: 130,000 kW
  production: 220 million kWh
  consumption per capita: 44 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: rice, coffee, cocoa, palm kernels, palm oil, peanuts;
  poultry, cattle, sheep, pigs; fish catch was 65,000 metric tons in
  1994

Exports: $115 million (f.o.b., 1994)
  commodities: rutile 51%, bauxite 20%, diamonds 16%, coffee 6%, cocoa
  7%, fish (1989)
  partners: US, UK, Belgium, Germany, other Western Europe

Imports: $150 million (c.i.f., 1994)
  commodities: foodstuffs 38%, machinery and equipment 44%, fuels and
  lubricants 18% (1989)
  partners: US, EU countries, Japan, China, Nigeria

External debt: $1.4 billion (yearend 1993)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $NA

Currency: 1 leone (Le) = 100 cents

Exchange rates: leones (Le) per US$1 - 951.63 (January 1996),
  755.22 (1995), 586.74 (1994), 567.46 (1993), 499.44 (1992), 295.34
  (1991)

Fiscal year: 1 July - 30 June



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 84 km used on a limited basis because the mine at Marampa is
  closed
  narrow gauge: 84 km 1.067-m gauge

Highways:
  total: 11,674 km
  paved: 1,284 km
  unpaved: 10,390 km (1992 est.)

Waterways: 800 km; 600 km navigable year round

Ports: Bonthe, Freetown, Pepel

Merchant marine: none

Airports:
  total: 5
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 1
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 2
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 2 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 17,526 (1991 est.)

Telephone system: marginal telephone and telegraph service
  domestic: national microwave radio relay system made unserviceable
  by military activities
  international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0

Radios: 980,000 (1992 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 1

Televisions: 45,000 (1992 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Army, Navy, Police, Security Forces

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 1,019,093
  males fit for military service: 494,451 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $14 million, 2.6%
  of GDP (FY92/93)



======================================================================




@Singapore
---------




Map
---


Location: 1 22 N, 103 48 E -- Southeastern Asia, islands between
  Malaysia and Indonesia



Flag
----


Description: two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and white;
  near the hoist side of the red band, there is a vertical, white
  crescent (closed portion is toward the hoist side) partially
  enclosing five white five-pointed stars arranged in a circle





Geography
---------


Location: Southeastern Asia, islands between Malaysia and Indonesia

Geographic coordinates: 1 22 N, 103 48 E

Map references: Southeast Asia

Area:
  total area: 632.6 sq km
  land area: 622.6 sq km
  comparative area: slightly more than three times the size of
  Washington, DC

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 193 km

Maritime claims:
  exclusive fishing zone: within and beyond territorial sea, as
  defined in treaties and practice
  territorial sea: 3 nm

International disputes: two islands in dispute with Malaysia

Climate: tropical; hot, humid, rainy; no pronounced rainy or dry
  seasons; thunderstorms occur on 40% of all days (67% of days in
  April)

Terrain: lowland; gently undulating central plateau contains water
  catchment area and nature preserve
  lowest point: Singapore Strait 0 m
  highest point: Bukit Timah 166 m

Natural resources: fish, deepwater ports

Land use:
  arable land: 4%
  permanent crops: 7%
  meadows and pastures: 0%
  forest and woodland: 5%
  other: 84%

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Environment:
  current issues: industrial pollution; limited natural fresh water
  resources; limited land availability presents waste disposal problems
  natural hazards: NA
  international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Endangered
  Species, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection,
  Ship Pollution; signed, but not ratified - Climate Change

Geographic note: focal point for Southeast Asian sea routes



People
------


Population: 3,396,924 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 22% (male 379,076; female 358,739)
  15-64 years: 72% (male 1,220,131; female 1,219,412)
  65 years and over: 6% (male 97,882; female 121,684) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.9% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 16.28 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 4.56 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 7.29 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.8 male(s)/female
  all ages: 1 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 4.7 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 78.13 years
  male: 75.07 years
  female: 81.39 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.65 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Singaporean(s)
  adjective: Singapore

Ethnic divisions: Chinese 76.4%, Malay 14.9%, Indian 6.4%, other
  2.3%

Religions: Buddhist (Chinese), Muslim (Malays), Christian, Hindu,
  Sikh, Taoist, Confucianist

Languages: Chinese (official), Malay (official and national),
  Tamil (official), English (official)

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)
  total population: 91.1%
  male: 95.9%
  female: 86.3%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Republic of Singapore
  conventional short form: Singapore

Data code: SN

Type of government: republic within Commonwealth

Capital: Singapore

Administrative divisions: none

Independence: 9 August 1965 (from Malaysia)

National holiday: National Day, 9 August (1965)

Constitution: 3 June 1959, amended 1965 (based on preindependence
  State of Singapore Constitution)

Legal system: based on English common law; has not accepted
  compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: 20 years of age; universal and compulsory

Executive branch:
  chief of state: President ONG Teng Cheong (since 1 September 1993)
  was elected for a six-year term by popular vote; election last held
  28 August 1993 (next to be held NA August 1999); results - ONG Teng
  Cheong was elected with 59% of the vote in the country's first
  popular election for president
  head of government: Prime Minister GOH Chok Tong (since 28 November
  1990) and Deputy Prime Ministers LEE Hsien Loong (since 28 November
  1990) and Tony TAN Keng Yam (since 1 August 1995) were appointed by
  the president
  cabinet: Cabinet was appointed by the president, responsible to
  Parliament

Legislative branch: unicameral
  Parliament: elections last held 31 August 1991 (next to be held by
  31 August 1996); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (81
  total) PAP 77, SDP 3, WP 1

Judicial branch: Supreme Court, chief justice is appointed by the
  president with the advice of the prime minister, other judges are
  appointed by the president with the advice of the chief justice

Political parties and leaders:
  government: People's Action Party (PAP), GOH Chok Tong, secretary
  general
  opposition: Singapore Democratic Party (SDP), CHEE Soon Juan;
  Workers' Party (WP), J. B. JEYARETNAM; National Solidarity Party
  (NSP), leader NA; Barisan Sosialis (BS, Socialist Front), leader NA;
  Singapore People's Party (SPP), SIN Kek Tong

International organization participation: APEC, AsDB, ASEAN, C,
  CCC, CP, ESCAP, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IFC,
  IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU,
  Mekong Group, NAM, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNIKOM, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Sellapan Rama NATHAN
  chancery: 3501 International Place NW, Washington, DC 20008
  telephone: [1] (202) 537-3100
  FAX: [1] (202) 537-0876

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Timothy A. CHORBA
  embassy: 30 Hill Street, Singapore 0617
  mailing address: FPO AP 96534
  telephone: [65] 3380251
  FAX: [65] 3384550

Flag: two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and white; near the
  hoist side of the red band, there is a vertical, white crescent
  (closed portion is toward the hoist side) partially enclosing five
  white five-pointed stars arranged in a circle



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Singapore has an open entrepreneurial economy
  with strong service and manufacturing sectors and excellent
  international trading links derived from its entrepot history. The
  economy registered 8.9% growth in 1995, with prospects for 7%-8%
  growth in 1996. In 1995, the manufacturing and financial and
  business services sectors led economic growth. Rising labor costs
  continue to be a threat to Singapore's competitiveness, and the
  government's strategy to address this problem includes increasing
  productivity, improving infrastructure, and encouraging higher
  value-added industries. In applied technology, per capita output,
  investment, and labor discipline, Singapore has key attributes of a
  developed country.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $66.1 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 8.9% (1995)

GDP per capita: $22,900 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: NEGL%
  industry: 28%
  services: 72%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1.7% (1995)

Labor force: 1.649 million (1994)
  by occupation: financial, business, and other services 33.5%,
  manufacturing 25.6%, commerce 22.9%, construction 6.6%, other 11.4%
  (1994)

Unemployment rate: 2.6% (1995 est.)

Budget:
  revenues: $17.3 billion
  expenditures: $12.9 billion, including capital expenditures of $4.5
  billion (FY95/96 est.)

Industries: petroleum refining, electronics, oil drilling
  equipment, rubber processing and rubber products, processed food and
  beverages, ship repair, entrepot trade, financial services,
  biotechnology

Industrial production growth rate: 10% (1995)

Electricity:
  capacity: 4,510,000 kW
  production: 17 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 5,590 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: rubber, copra, fruit, vegetables; poultry

Illicit drugs: transit point for Golden Triangle heroin going to
  the US, Western Europe, and the Third World; also a money-laundering
  center

Exports: $119.6 billion (1995)
  commodities: computer equipment, rubber and rubber products,
  petroleum products, telecommunications equipment
  partners: Malaysia 20%, US 19%, Hong Kong 9%, Japan 7%, Thailand 6%
  (1994)

Imports: $125.9 billion (1995)
  commodities: aircraft, petroleum, chemicals, foodstuffs
  partners: Japan 22%, Malaysia 16%, US 15%, Taiwan 4%, Saudi Arabia
  4% (1994)

External debt: $3.2 million (1994)

Economic aid: $NA

Currency: 1 Singapore dollar (S$) = 100 cents

Exchange rates: Singapore dollars (S$) per US$1 - 1.4214 (January
  1996), 1.4174 (1995), 1.5274 (1994), 1.6158 (1993), 1.6290 (1992),
  1.7276 (1991)

Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 38.6 km
  narrow gauge: 38.6 km 1.000-m gauge

Highways:
  total: 2,989 km
  paved: 2,905 km (including 111.6 km of expressways)
  unpaved: 84 km (1994 est.)

Ports: Singapore

Merchant marine:
  total: 646 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 12,915,788
  GRT/20,292,580 DWT
  ships by type: bulk 110, cargo 118, chemical tanker 18, combination
  bulk 3, combination ore/oil 8, container 92, liquefied gas tanker
  13, multifunction large-load carrier 4, oil tanker 234, refrigerated
  cargo 5, roll-on/roll-off cargo 13, short-sea passenger 1,
  specialized tanker 3, vehicle carrier 24
  note: a flag of convenience registry; includes ships from 22
  countries among which are Japan 39, Hong Kong 27, Denmark 24,
  Germany 20, Sweden 14, Thailand 14, Belgium 12, Norway 9, Indonesia
  7, and US 7 (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 8
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 2
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 1
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 3
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 1
  with paved runways under 914 m: 1 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 1.23 million (1993 est.)

Telephone system: good domestic facilities; good international
  service
  domestic: NA
  international: submarine cables to Malaysia (Sabah and Peninsular
  Malaysia), Indonesia, and the Philippines; satellite earth stations
  - 2 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean and 1 Pacific Ocean), and 1 Inmarsat
  (Pacific Ocean region)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 13, FM 4, shortwave 0

Radios: NA

Television broadcast stations: 2 (1987 est.)

Televisions: 1.05 million (1992 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, People's Defense Force, Police
  Force

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 1,025,300
  males fit for military service: 752,382 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $3.9 billion,
  4.3% of GDP (1995 est.)



======================================================================




@Slovakia
--------




Map
---


Location: 48 40 N, 19 30 E -- Central Europe, south of Poland



Flag
----


Description: three equal horizontal bands of white (top), blue,
  and red superimposed with the Slovak cross in a shield centered on
  the hoist side; the cross is white centered on a background of red
  and blue





Geography
---------


Location: Central Europe, south of Poland

Geographic coordinates: 48 40 N, 19 30 E

Map references: Europe

Area:
  total area: 48,845 sq km
  land area: 48,800 sq km
  comparative area: about twice the size of New Hampshire

Land boundaries:
  total: 1,355 km
  border countries: Austria 91 km, Czech Republic 215 km, Hungary 515
  km, Poland 444 km, Ukraine 90 km

Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims: none (landlocked)

International disputes: Gabcikovo Dam dispute with Hungary;
  unresolved property issues with Czech Republic over redistribution
  of former Czechoslovak federal property

Climate: temperate; cool summers; cold, cloudy, humid winters

Terrain: rugged mountains in the central and northern part and
  lowlands in the south
  lowest point: Bodrok River 94 m
  highest point: Gerlachovka 2,655 m

Natural resources: brown coal and lignite; small amounts of iron
  ore, copper and manganese ore; salt

Land use:
  arable land: NA%
  permanent crops: NA%
  meadows and pastures: NA%
  forest and woodland: NA%
  other: NA%

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Environment:
  current issues: air pollution from metallurgical plants presents
  human health risks; acid rain damaging forests
  natural hazards: NA
  international agreements: party to - Air Pollution, Air
  Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Antarctic
  Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species,
  Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban,
  Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling; signed,
  but not ratified - Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Antarctic-Environmental
  Protocol, Law of the Sea

Geographic note: landlocked



People
------


Population: 5,374,362 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 22% (male 605,379; female 579,232)
  15-64 years: 67% (male 1,777,100; female 1,812,555)
  65 years and over: 11% (male 234,377; female 365,719) (July 1996
  est.)

Population growth rate: 0.34% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 12.62 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 9.35 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 0.12 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.64 male(s)/female
  all ages: 0.95 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 10.7 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 73.01 years
  male: 69.01 years
  female: 77.21 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.65 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Slovak(s)
  adjective: Slovak

Ethnic divisions: Slovak 85.7%, Hungarian 10.7%, Gypsy 1.5% (the
  1992 census figures underreport the Gypsy/Romany community, which
  could reach 500,000 or more), Czech 1%, Ruthenian 0.3%, Ukrainian
  0.3%, German 0.1%, Polish 0.1%, other 0.3%

Religions: Roman Catholic 60.3%, atheist 9.7%, Protestant 8.4%,
  Orthodox 4.1%, other 17.5%

Languages: Slovak (official), Hungarian

Literacy: NA



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Slovak Republic
  conventional short form: Slovakia
  local long form: Slovenska Republika
  local short form: Slovensko

Data code: LO

Type of government: parliamentary democracy

Capital: Bratislava

Administrative divisions: 4 departments (kraje, singular - kraj)
  Bratislava, Zapadoslovensky, Stredoslovensky, Vychodoslovensky

Independence: 1 January 1993 (from Czechoslovakia)

National holiday: Slovak Constitution Day, 1 September (1992)

Constitution: ratified 1 September 1992, fully effective 1 January
  1993

Legal system: civil law system based on Austro-Hungarian codes;
  has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction; legal code modified to
  comply with the obligations of Organization on Security and
  Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and to expunge Marxist-Leninist legal
  theory

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: President Michal KOVAC (since 8 February 1993) was
  elected for a five-year term by the National Parliament; election
  last held 8 February 1993 (next to be held NA 1998)
  head of government: Prime Minister Vladimir MECIAR (since 12
  December 1994) was appointed by the president
  cabinet: Cabinet was appointed by the president on recommendation of
  the prime minister

Legislative branch: unicameral
  National Parliament (Narodni Rada): elections last held 30
  September-1 October 1994 (next to be held by October 1998); results
  - HZDS 35%, SDL 10.4%, Hungarian coalition (Hungarian Christian
  Democrats, Hungarian Civic Party, Coexistence) 10.2%, KDH 10.1%, DU
  8.6%, ZRS 7.3%, SNS 5.4%; seats - (150 total) governing coalition 83
  (HZDS 61, ZRS 13, SNS 9), opposition 67 (SDL 18, Hungarian coalition
  17, KDH 17, DU 15)

Judicial branch: Supreme Court, judges are elected by the National
  Parliament

Political parties and leaders: Movement for a Democratic Slovakia
  (HZDS), Vladimir MECIAR, chairman; Common Choice/Party of the
  Democratic Left (SDL), Peter WEISS, chairman; Hungarian Christian
  Democrats, Vojtech BUGAR; Hungarian Civic Party; Coexistence, Miklos
  DURAY, chairman; Christian Democratic Movement (KDH), Jan
  CARNOGURSKY; Democratic Union (DU), Jozef MORAVCIK, chairman;
  Association of Slovak Workers (ZRS), Jan LUPTAK, chairman; Slovak
  National Party (SNS), Jan SLOTA, chairman

Other political or pressure groups: Green Party; Social Democratic
  Party of Slovakia; Slovak Christian Union

International organization participation: Australia Group, BIS,
  BSEC (observer), CCC, CE (guest), CEI, CERN, EBRD, ECE, EU
  (applicant), FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS,
  ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarset, Intelsat, Intelsat (nonsignatory user),
  IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, NACC, NSG, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNAVEM
  III, UNCRO, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WEU (associate partner),
  WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Branislav LICHARDUS
  chancery: (temporary) Suite 380, 2201 Wisconsin Avenue NW,
  Washington, DC 20007
  telephone: [1] (202) 965-5161
  FAX: [1] (202) 965-5166

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Ralph JOHNSON
  embassy: Hviezdoslavovo Namestie 4, 81102 Bratislava
  mailing address: use embassy street address
  telephone: [42] (7) 533-0861, 533-3338
  FAX: [42] (7) 533-5439

Flag: three equal horizontal bands of white (top), blue, and red
  superimposed with the Slovak cross in a shield centered on the hoist
  side; the cross is white centered on a background of red and blue



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Since its separation from the Czech Republic on
  1 January 1993, Slovakia has continued the difficult transformation
  from a centrally controlled economy to a modern market-oriented
  economy. Macroeconomic performance improved steadily in 1994 and
  1995 - with 4.8% and 6% growth, respectively. But privatization
  progressed only in fits and starts. Strong export performance
  boosted growth in both years, with consumption and investment
  rebounding. Unemployment fell to 12.8% in November 1995, the lowest
  level since mid-1993, and inflation dropped from 26% in 1993 to 7.5%
  in 1995. The federal government deficit fell from 7% of GDP in 1993
  to less than 2% in 1994-95, as growth boosted revenues. Positive
  international financial performance led Standard & Poor's to raise
  its rating of the National Bank of Slovakia's foreign currency debt
  to just one step below investment grade. The trade and current
  accounts are both in surplus, and foreign currency reserves held by
  the central bank have climbed to $3.5 billion. Foreign debt of $4.6
  billion - about the same as Romania's - is the lowest in Central and
  Eastern Europe and the second lowest per capita. Bratislava made the
  Slovak crown convertible for current account transactions on 1
  October 1995. Slovakia continued to have difficulty attracting
  foreign investment, however, because of perceived political
  uncertainty and vacillations in privatization policy. The government
  as well as the OECD projects 5% growth in 1996 and 1997.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $39 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 6% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $7,200 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 6.7%
  industry: 47.6%
  services: 45.7% (1993 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 7.5% (1995 est.)

Labor force: 2.484 million
  by occupation: industry 33.2%, agriculture 12.2%, construction
  10.3%, communication and other 44.3% (1990)

Unemployment rate: 13% (1995 est.)

Budget:
  revenues: $6.1 billion
  expenditures: $6.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA
  (1995 est.)

Industries: metal and metal products; food and beverages;
  electricity, gas, coke, oil, and nuclear fuel; chemicals and manmade
  fibers; machinery; paper and printing; earthenware and ceramics;
  transport vehicles; textiles; electrical and optical apparatus;
  rubber products

Industrial production growth rate: 7.8% (January-August 1995)

Electricity:
  capacity: 6,300,000 kW
  production: 20.9 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 3,609 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: grains, potatoes, sugar beets, hops, fruit; hogs,
  cattle, poultry; forest products

Illicit drugs: transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin
  bound for Western Europe

Exports: $8.8 billion (f.o.b., January-November 1995)
  commodities: machinery and transport equipment; chemicals; fuels,
  minerals, and metals; agricultural products
  partners: Czech Republic 35.4%, Germany 18.9%, Austria 5.0%, Italy
  4.7%, Hungary 4.6%, Poland 4.4%, Russia 3.6%, Ukraine 2.1%, France
  2.0%, Netherlands 1.7% (January-October 1995)

Imports: $8.7 billion (f.o.b., January-November 1995)
  commodities: machinery and transport equipment; fuels and
  lubricants; manufactured goods; raw materials; chemicals;
  agricultural products
  partners: Czech Republic 28.1%, Russia 16.8%, Germany 14.3%, Austria
  5.2%, Italy 4.5%, Poland 2.9%, US 2.3%, France 2.3%, Hungary 2.2%,
  Netherlands 1.7%, Ukraine 1.5% (January-October 1995)

External debt: $4.6 billion hard currency indebtedness (1995 est.)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $104 million (1993)

Currency: 1 koruna (Sk) = 100 halierov

Exchange rates: koruny (Sk) per US$1 - 29.587 (August 1995),
  29.447 (November 1994), 32.045 (1994), 30.770 (1993), 28.26 (1992),
  29.53 (1991); note - values before 1993 reflect Czechoslovak
  exchange rate

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 3,660 km
  broad gauge: 102 km 1.520-m gauge
  standard gauge: 3,507 km 1.435-m gauge (1378 km electrified)
  narrow gauge: 51 km (46 km 1,000-m gauge; 5 km 0.750-m gauge) (1995)

Highways:
  total: 17,737 km
  paved: NA km
  unpaved: NA km (1993 est.)

Waterways: 172 km on the Danube

Pipelines: petroleum products NA km; natural gas 2,700 km

Ports: Bratislava, Komarno

Merchant marine:
  total: 4 cargo ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 17,010 GRT/22,039
  DWT (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 37
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 1
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 3
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 2
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 2
  with paved runways under 914 m: 4
  with unpaved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 2
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 2
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 10
  with unpaved runways under 914 m: 11 (1994 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 1,362,178 (1992 est.)

Telephone system:
  domestic: NA
  international: NA

Radio broadcast stations: AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA; note - there
  is 1 station of NA type

Radios: 1.1 million (1992 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 1

Televisions: 1.6 million (1994 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Army, Air and Air Defense Forces, Civil Defense,
  Railroad Units

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 1,442,321
  males fit for military service: 1,104,901
  males reach military age (18) annually: 48,695 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $430 million,
  3.0% of GDP (1995)



======================================================================




@Slovenia
--------




Map
---


Location: 46 00 N, 15 00 E -- Southeastern Europe, bordering the
  Adriatic Sea, between Croatia and Italy



Flag
----


Description: three equal horizontal bands of white (top), blue,
  and red with the Slovenian seal (a shield with the image of Triglav
  in white against a blue background at the center, beneath it are two
  wavy blue lines depicting seas and rivers, and around it, there are
  three six-sided stars arranged in an inverted triangle); the seal is
  located in the upper hoist side of the flag centered in the white
  and blue bands





Geography
---------


Location: Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea, between
  Croatia and Italy

Geographic coordinates: 46 00 N, 15 00 E

Map references: Europe

Area:
  total area: 20,256 sq km
  land area: 20,256 sq km
  comparative area: slightly larger than New Jersey

Land boundaries:
  total: 1,207 km
  border countries: Austria 324 km, Croatia 546 km, Italy 235 km,
  Hungary 102 km

Coastline: 46.6 km

Maritime claims: NA

International disputes: maritime border dispute with Croatia over
  direct access to the sea in the Adriatic; the border issue is
  currently under negotiation

Climate: Mediterranean climate on the coast, continental climate
  with mild to hot summers and cold winters in the plateaus and
  valleys to the east

Terrain: a short coastal strip on the Adriatic, an alpine mountain
  region adjacent to Italy, mixed mountain and valleys with numerous
  rivers to the east
  lowest point: Adriatic Sea 0 m
  highest point: Triglav 2,864 m

Natural resources: lignite coal, lead, zinc, mercury, uranium,
  silver

Land use:
  arable land: 10%
  permanent crops: 2%
  meadows and pastures: 20%
  forest and woodland: 45%
  other: 23%

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Environment:
  current issues: Sava River polluted with domestic and industrial
  waste; pollution of coastal waters with heavy metals and toxic
  chemicals; forest damage near Koper from air pollution (originating
  at metallurgical and chemical plants) and resulting acid rain
  natural hazards: flooding and earthquakes
  international agreements: party to - Air Pollution, Climate Change,
  Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer
  Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Air
  Pollution-Sulphur 94, Biodiversity, Law of the Sea



People
------


Population: 1,951,443 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 17% (male 172,778; female 163,695)
  15-64 years: 70% (male 682,501; female 678,781)
  65 years and over: 13% (male 91,819; female 161,869) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: -0.27% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 8.27 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 9.4 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: -1.57 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.57 male(s)/female
  all ages: 0.94 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 7.3 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 75.09 years
  male: 71.4 years
  female: 79 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.13 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Slovene(s)
  adjective: Slovenian

Ethnic divisions: Slovene 91%, Croat 3%, Serb 2%, Muslim 1%, other
  3%

Religions: Roman Catholic 96% (including 2% Uniate), Muslim 1%,
  other 3%

Languages: Slovenian 91%, Serbo-Croatian 7%, other 2%

Literacy: NA



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Republic of Slovenia
  conventional short form: Slovenia
  local long form: Republika Slovenije
  local short form: Slovenija

Data code: SI

Type of government: emerging democracy

Capital: Ljubljana

Administrative divisions: 60 provinces (pokajine, singular -
  pokajina) Ajdovscina, Brezice, Celje, Cerknica, Crnomelj, Dravograd,
  Gornja Radgona, Grosuplje, Hrastnik Lasko, Idrija, Ilirska Bistrica,
  Izola, Jesenice, Kamnik, Kocevje, Koper, Kranj, Krsko, Lenart,
  Lendava, Litija, Ljubljana-Bezigrad, Ljubljana-Center,
  Ljubljana-Moste-Polje, Ljubljana-Siska, Ljubljana-Vic-Rudnik,
  Ljutomer, Logatec, Maribor, Metlika, Mozirje, Murska Sobota, Nova
  Gorica, Novo Mesto, Ormoz, Pesnica, Piran, Postojna, Ptuj, Radlje Ob
  Dravi, Radovljica, Ravne Na Koroskem, Ribnica, Ruse, Sentjur Pri
  Celju, Sevnica, Sezana, Skofja Loka, Slovenj Gradec, Slovenska
  Bistrica, Slovenske Konjice, Smarje Pri Jelsah, Tolmin, Trbovlje,
  Trebnje, Trzic, Velenje, Vrhnika, Zagorje Ob Savi, Zalec

Independence: 25 June 1991 (from Yugoslavia)

National holiday: National Statehood Day, 25 June (1991)

Constitution: adopted 23 December 1991, effective 23 December 1991

Legal system: based on civil law system

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal (16 years of age, if employed)

Executive branch:
  chief of state: President Milan KUCAN (since 22 April 1990) was
  reelected for a five-year term by universal suffrage; election last
  held 6 December 1992 (next to be held NA 1997); results - Milan
  KUCAN reelected
  head of government: Prime Minister Janez DRNOVSEK (since 14 May
  1992) was nominated by the president and elected by the National
  Assembly
  cabinet: Council of Ministers was nominated by the prime minister
  and elected by the National Assembly

Legislative branch: unicameral; advisory National Council
  National Assembly: elections last held 6 December 1992 (next to be
  held Fall 1996); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (90
  total) LDS 22, SKD 15, ZLSD 14, SNS 12, SLS 10, DSS 6, ZS 5, SDSS 4,
  Hungarian minority 1, Italian minority 1; note - seating as of
  January 1996 is as follows: LDS 30, SKD 15, ZLSD 14, SLS 12, DSS 4,
  SDSS 4, SNS 4, SND 3, Hungarian minority 1, Italian minority 1,
  independents 2
  National Council: the Council is an advisory body with no direct
  legislative powers; in the election of 6 December 1992, 40 members
  were elected to represent local, professional, and socioeconomic
  interests (next election to be held NA Fall 1996)

Judicial branch: Supreme Court, judges are elected by the National
  Assembly on recommendation of the Judicial Council; Constitutional
  Court, judges elected for nine-year terms by the National Assembly
  and nominated by the president

Political parties and leaders: Liberal Democratic (LDS), Janez
  DRNOVSEK, chairman; Slovene Christian Democrats (SKD), Lozje
  PETERLE, chairman; Social Democratic Party of Slovenia (SDSS), Janez
  JANSA, chairman; Slovene People's Party (SLS), Marjan PODOBNIK,
  chairman; United List (former Communists and allies - ZLSD), Janez
  KOCIJANCIC, chairman; Slovene National Party (SNS), Zmago JELINCIC,
  chairman; Democratic Party (DSS), Tone PERSAK, chairman; Greens of
  Slovenia (ZS), Dusan PLUT, chairman, note - Greens merged with the
  LDS; Slovene National Right (SND), Saso LAP, chairman
  note: parties have changed as of the December 1992 elections

Other political or pressure groups: none

International organization participation: CCC, CE, CEI, EBRD, ECE,
  FAO, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO,
  Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO,
  ITU, NACC, NAM (guest), OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU,
  WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Ernest PETRIC
  chancery: 1525 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036
  telephone: [1] (202) 667-5363
  FAX: [1] (202) 667-4563
  consulate(s) general: New York

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Victor JACKOVICH
  embassy: address NA, Ljubljana
  mailing address: P.O. Box 254, Prazakova 4, 61000 Ljubljana;
  American Embassy, Ljubljana, Department of State, Washington, DC
  20521-7140
  telephone: [386] (61) 301-427, 472, 485
  FAX: [386] (61) 301-401

Flag: three equal horizontal bands of white (top), blue, and red
  with the Slovenian seal (a shield with the image of Triglav in white
  against a blue background at the center, beneath it are two wavy
  blue lines depicting seas and rivers, and around it, there are three
  six-sided stars arranged in an inverted triangle); the seal is
  located in the upper hoist side of the flag centered in the white
  and blue bands



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Slovenia appears to be making a solid economic
  recovery, fulfilling the promise it showed at the time of
  Yugoslavia's breakup. Its per capita GDP is now the highest in
  Central and Eastern Europe and not far below the levels in the
  poorer West European countries. Slovenia has benefited from strong
  ties to Western Europe and suffered comparatively small physical
  damage during Yugoslavia's breakup. The beginning was difficult,
  however. Real GDP fell 15% in 1991-92, while inflation soared to
  200% in 1992 and unemployment reached 9%. The turning point came in
  1993, when real GDP grew 1%, unemployment leveled off, and inflation
  slowed dramatically. In 1994, real GDP rose 5.5%, tapering off to an
  estimated 4.8% in 1995, while inflation and unemployment both were
  down to about 8% by late 1995. The government gets good marks from
  foreign observers for fiscal policy - the budget deficit has not
  exceeded 1% of GDP in any year since 1991, and the current account
  balance has remained in surplus throughout the transition period,
  with the exception of 1995. The Slovene privatization program, which
  began in 1994, involves about 1,400 firms, but only 412 have been
  privatized. The rest are expected to reach private hands by
  end-1996, but that does not include firms in so-called strategic
  industries, such as telecommunications and energy. Foreign
  investment jumped to an estimated $150 million in 1995 from $83.7
  million in 1994. With inflation and unemployment expected to
  continue edging down, the outlook for 1996 is generally good. A
  slowdown in Western Europe - which buys 70% of Slovenia's exports -
  could hurt exports, however, lowering GDP growth to about 4% and
  perhaps pushing the current account into a small deficit.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $22.6 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 4.8% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $11,000 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 5.3%
  industry: 39.9%
  services: 54.8% (1992 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 8% (December 1995 est.)

Labor force: 786,036
  by occupation: agriculture 2%, manufacturing and mining 46%

Unemployment rate: 8% (December 1995 est.)

Budget:
  revenues: $6.6 billion
  expenditures: $6.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA
  (1993)

Industries: ferrous metallurgy and rolling mill products, aluminum
  reduction and rolled products, lead and zinc smelting, electronics
  (including military electronics), trucks, electric power equipment,
  wood products, textiles, chemicals, machine tools

Industrial production growth rate: 2% (1995 est.)

Electricity:
  capacity: 2,700,000 kW
  production: 8.9 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 4,470 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: potatoes, hops, wheat, sugar beets, corn, grapes;
  cattle, sheep, poultry

Illicit drugs: transit point for Southwest Asian heroin bound for
  Western Europe

Exports: $8.3 billion (f.o.b., 1995 est.)
  commodities: machinery and transport equipment 27%, intermediate
  manufactured goods 26%, chemicals 9%, food 4.8%, raw materials 3%,
  consumer goods 26% (1993)
  partners: Germany 30.9%, former Yugoslavia 14.0%, Italy 14.1%,
  France 8.9%, Austria 6.4%, CEFTA (Central European Free Trade
  Agreement) countries 5% (January-August 1995 est.)

Imports: $9.1 billion (f.o.b., 1995 est.)
  commodities: machinery and transport equipment 30%, intermediate
  manufactured goods 17.6%, chemicals 11.5%, raw materials 5.3%, fuels
  and lubricants 10.8%, food 8.4% (1993)
  partners: Germany 23.3%, Italy 16.8%, former Yugoslavia 7.0%, France
  8.5%, Austria 9.7% (January-August 1995 est.)

External debt: $2.9 billion (1995)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $5 million (1993)

Currency: 1 tolar (SlT) = 100 stotins

Exchange rates: tolars (SlT) per US$1 - 121.27 (November 1995),
  118.9 (1995), 128.81 (1994), 113.24 (1993), 81.29 (1992), 27.57
  (1991)

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 1,201 km
  standard gauge: 1,201 km 1.435-m gauge (electrified 499 km) (1994)

Highways:
  total: 14,794 km
  paved: 13,314 km (including 187 km of expressways)
  unpaved: 1,480 km (1994 est.)

Waterways: NA

Pipelines: crude oil 290 km; natural gas 305 km

Ports: Izola, Koper, Piran

Merchant marine:
  total: 14 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 229,727 GRT/290,456 DWT
  (controlled by Slovenian owners)
  ships by type: bulk 9, cargo 1, container 4
  note: ships operate under the flags of Saint Vincent and the
  Grenadines, Singapore, Liberia, and Antigua and Barbuda; no ships
  remain under the Slovenian flag (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 14
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 1
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 1
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 1
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 2
  with paved runways under 914 m: 5
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 2
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 2 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 527,800 (1993 est.)

Telephone system:
  domestic: NA
  international: NA

Radio broadcast stations: AM 6, FM 5, shortwave 0
  note: there are more than 20 regional and local radio broadcast
  stations

Radios: 596,100 (1993 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 7
  note: there are more than 20 local cable television broadcast
  stations

Televisions: 454,400 (1993 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Slovene Defense Forces

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 525,925
  males fit for military service: 419,456
  males reach military age (19) annually: 15,350 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: 13.5 billion tolars, 3.6% of GDP (1995
  est.); note - conversion of the military budget into US dollars
  using the current exchange rate could produce misleading results



======================================================================




@Solomon Islands
---------------




Map
---


Location: 8 00 S, 159 00 E -- Oceania, group of islands in the
  South Pacific Ocean, east of Papua New Guinea



Flag
----


Description: divided diagonally by a thin yellow stripe from the
  lower hoist-side corner; the upper triangle (hoist side) is blue
  with five white five-pointed stars arranged in an X pattern; the
  lower triangle is green





Geography
---------


Location: Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean,
  east of Papua New Guinea

Geographic coordinates: 8 00 S, 159 00 E

Map references: Oceania

Area:
  total area: 28,450 sq km
  land area: 27,540 sq km
  comparative area: slightly larger than Maryland

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 5,313 km

Maritime claims: measured from claimed archipelagic baselines
  continental shelf: 200 nm
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: none

Climate: tropical monsoon; few extremes of temperature and weather

Terrain: mostly rugged mountains with some low coral atolls
  lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
  highest point: Mount Makarakomburu 2,447 m

Natural resources: fish, forests, gold, bauxite, phosphates, lead,
  zinc, nickel

Land use:
  arable land: 1%
  permanent crops: 1%
  meadows and pastures: 1%
  forest and woodland: 93%
  other: 4%

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Environment:
  current issues: deforestation; soil erosion; much of the surrounding
  coral reefs are dead or dying
  natural hazards: typhoons, but they are rarely destructive;
  geologically active region with frequent earth tremors; volcanic
  activity
  international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
  Environmental Modification, Marine Dumping, Marine Life
  Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Whaling; signed, but not
  ratified - Law of the Sea



People
------


Population: 412,902 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 46% (male 96,241; female 92,722)
  15-64 years: 51% (male 107,482; female 104,293)
  65 years and over: 3% (male 6,129; female 6,035) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 3.35% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 37.91 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 4.41 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 1.02 male(s)/female
  all ages: 1.03 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 25.8 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 71.14 years
  male: 68.67 years
  female: 73.74 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 5.43 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Solomon Islander(s)
  adjective: Solomon Islander

Ethnic divisions: Melanesian 93%, Polynesian 4%, Micronesian 1.5%,
  European 0.8%, Chinese 0.3%, other 0.4%

Religions: Anglican 34%, Roman Catholic 19%, Baptist 17%, United
  (Methodist/Presbyterian) 11%, Seventh-Day Adventist 10%, other
  Protestant 5%, traditional beliefs 4%

Languages: Melanesian pidgin in much of the country is lingua
  franca, English spoken by 1%-2% of population
  note: 120 indigenous languages

Literacy: NA



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: none
  conventional short form: Solomon Islands
  former: British Solomon Islands

Data code: BP

Type of government: parliamentary democracy

Capital: Honiara

Administrative divisions: 7 provinces and 1 town*; Central,
  Guadalcanal, Honiara*, Isabel, Makira, Malaita, Temotu, Western
  note: there may be two new provinces of Choiseul (Lauru) and
  Rennell/Bellona and the administrative unit of Honiara may have been
  abolished

Independence: 7 July 1978 (from UK)

National holiday: Independence Day, 7 July (1978)

Constitution: 7 July 1978

Legal system: common law

Suffrage: 21 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952) is a
  hereditary monarch, represented by Governor General Moses PITAKAKA
  (since 10 June 1994) who was appointed for up to five years by the
  queen on the advice of Parliament
  head of government: Prime Minister Solomon MAMALONI (since 7
  November 1994) was elected by and from Parliament; Deputy Prime
  Minister Danny PHILIP (since NA October 1995) was appointed by the
  governor general on the advice of the prime minister from among the
  members of Parliament
  cabinet: Cabinet was appointed by the governor general on the advice
  of the prime minister from among the members of Parliament

Legislative branch: unicameral
  National Parliament: elections last held 26 May 1993 (next to be
  held NA 1997); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (47
  total) GNUR 21, PAP 7, NAPSI 5, SILP 4, UP 4, independents 6

Judicial branch: High Court

Political parties and leaders: National Unity and Reconciliation
  Group (GNUR), Solomon MAMALONI; People's Alliance Party (PAP);
  National Action Party (NAPSI), leader NA; Solomon Islands Labor
  Party (SILP), leader NA; United Party (UP), leader NA; Nationalist
  Front for Progress (NFP), Andrew NORI; Labor Party (LP), Joses
  TUHANUKU; Christian Fellowship, leader NA

International organization participation: ACP, AsDB, C, ESCAP,
  FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO,
  Intelsat (nonsignatory user), IOC, ITU, Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UN,
  UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO

Diplomatic representation in US: Solomon Islands do not have an
  embassy in the US; the ambassador to the US traditionally resides in
  Honiara (Solomon Islands)

US diplomatic representation: the US does not have an embassy in
  Solomon Islands (embassy closed July 1993); the ambassador to Papua
  New Guinea is accredited to the Solomon Islands

Flag: divided diagonally by a thin yellow stripe from the lower
  hoist-side corner; the upper triangle (hoist side) is blue with five
  white five-pointed stars arranged in an X pattern; the lower
  triangle is green



Economy
-------


Economic overview: The bulk of the population depend on
  subsistence agriculture, fishing, and forestry for at least part of
  their livelihood. Most manufactured goods and petroleum products
  must be imported. The islands are rich in undeveloped mineral
  resources such as lead, zinc, nickel, and gold. The government of
  the Solomon Islands is nearing financial insolvency. In mid-1995 the
  central bank suspended interest and principal payments on government
  bonds and treasury bills held by financial institutions and the
  general public. The government has taken no steps to restrain
  expenditure or address the deficit, which is expected to be
  considerably higher than the $20 million forecasted in the 1996
  budget.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $1 billion (1992 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 8% (1992 est.)

GDP per capita: $2,590 (1992 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: NA%
  industry: NA%
  services: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 13% (1994)

Labor force: 26,842
  by occupation: services 41.5%, agriculture, forestry, and fishing
  23.7%, commerce, transport, and finance 21.7%, construction,
  manufacturing, and mining 13.1% (1992 est.)

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget:
  revenues: $81.3 million
  expenditures: $101.9 million, including capital expenditures of $NA
  (1995 est.)

Industries: copra, fish (tuna)

Industrial production growth rate: -3.8% (1991 est.)

Electricity:
  capacity: 21,000 kW
  production: 30 million kWh
  consumption per capita: 80 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: cocoa, beans, coconuts, palm kernels, rice, potatoes,
  vegetables, fruit; cattle, pigs; timber; fish

Exports: $94 million (f.o.b., 1993)
  commodities: fish 46%, timber 31%, palm oil 5%, cocoa, copra
  partners: Japan 39%, UK 23%, Thailand 9%, Australia 5%, US 2% (1991)

Imports: $101 million (c.i.f., 1993)
  commodities: plant and machinery, manufactured goods, food and live
  animals, fuel
  partners: Australia 34%, Japan 16%, Singapore 14%, NZ 9%

External debt: $128 million (1988 est.)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $NA

Currency: 1 Solomon Islands dollar (SI$) = 100 cents

Exchange rates: Solomon Islands dollars (SI$) per US$1 - 3.3713
  (2d quarter 1995), 3.2914 (1994), 3.1877 (1993), 2.9281 (1992),
  2.7148 (1991)

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways: 0 km

Highways:
  total: 1,300 km
  paved: 30 km
  unpaved: 1,270 km
  note: in addition, there are 800 km of private logging and
  plantation roads of varied surface (1982 est.)

Ports: Aola Bay, Honiara, Lofung, Noro, Viru Harbor, Yandina

Merchant marine: none

Airports:
  total: 30
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 1
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 1
  with paved runways under 914 m: 18
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 1
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 9 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 5,000 (1991 est.)

Telephone system:
  domestic: NA
  international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 4, FM 0, shortwave 0

Radios: 38,000 (1993 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 0 (1987 est.)

Televisions: 2,000 (1992 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: no regular military forces; Solomon Islands National
  Reconnaissance and Surveillance Force; Royal Solomon Islands Police
  (RSIP)

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: NA
  males fit for military service: NA

Defense expenditures: $NA, NA% of GDP



======================================================================




@Somalia
-------




Map
---


Location: 10 00 N, 49 00 E -- Eastern Africa, bordering the Gulf
  of Aden and the Indian Ocean, east of Ethiopia



Flag
----


Description: light blue with a large white five-pointed star in
  the center; design based on the flag of the UN (Italian Somaliland
  was a UN trust territory)





Geography
---------


Location: Eastern Africa, bordering the Gulf of Aden and the
  Indian Ocean, east of Ethiopia

Geographic coordinates: 10 00 N, 49 00 E

Map references: Africa

Area:
  total area: 637,660 sq km
  land area: 627,340 sq km
  comparative area: slightly smaller than Texas

Land boundaries:
  total: 2,366 km
  border countries: Djibouti 58 km, Ethiopia 1,626 km, Kenya 682 km

Coastline: 3,025 km

Maritime claims:
  territorial sea: 200 nm

International disputes: southern half of boundary with Ethiopia is
  a Provisional Administrative Line; territorial dispute with Ethiopia
  over the Ogaden

Climate: principally desert; December to February - northeast
  monsoon, moderate temperatures in north and very hot in south; May
  to October - southwest monsoon, torrid in the north and hot in the
  south, irregular rainfall, hot and humid periods (tangambili)
  between monsoons

Terrain: mostly flat to undulating plateau rising to hills in north
  lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
  highest point: Shimbiris 2,450 m

Natural resources: uranium and largely unexploited reserves of
  iron ore, tin, gypsum, bauxite, copper, salt

Land use:
  arable land: 2%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 46%
  forest and woodland: 14%
  other: 38%

Irrigated land: 1,600 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
  current issues: famine; use of contaminated water contributes to
  human health problems; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion;
  desertification
  natural hazards: recurring droughts; frequent dust storms over
  eastern plains in summer
  international agreements: party to - Endangered Species, Law of the
  Sea; signed, but not ratified - Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban

Geographic note: strategic location on Horn of Africa along
  southern approaches to Bab el Mandeb and route through Red Sea and
  Suez Canal



People
------


Population: 9,639,151 (July 1996 est.)
  note: this estimate was derived from an official census taken in
  1987 by the Somali Government with the cooperation of the UN and the
  US Bureau of the Census; population estimates are updated year by
  year between census years by factoring growth rates into them, and
  by taking account of refugee movements, and of losses due to famine;
  lower estimates of Somalia's population in mid-1996 (on the order of
  6.0 to 6.5 million) have been made by aid and relief agencies, based
  on the number of persons being fed; population counting in Somalia
  is complicated by the large numbers of nomads and by refugee
  movements in response to famine and clan warfare

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 44% (male 2,143,775; female 2,139,104)
  15-64 years: 52% (male 2,609,911; female 2,387,620)
  65 years and over: 4% (male 182,991; female 175,750) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 3.1% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 44.17 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 13.22 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 1.09 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 1.04 male(s)/female
  all ages: 1.05 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 121.1 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 55.49 years
  male: 55.18 years
  female: 55.8 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 7.01 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Somali(s)
  adjective: Somali

Ethnic divisions: Somali 85%, Bantu, Arabs 30,000

Religions: Sunni Muslim

Languages: Somali (official), Arabic, Italian, English

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
  total population: 24%
  male: 36%
  female: 14%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: none
  conventional short form: Somalia
  former: Somali Republic

Data code: SO

Type of government: none

Capital: Mogadishu

Administrative divisions: 18 regions (plural - NA, singular -
  gobolka); Awdal, Bakool, Banaadir, Bari, Bay, Galguduud, Gedo,
  Hiiraan, Jubbada Dhexe, Jubbada Hoose, Mudug, Nugaal, Sanaag,
  Shabeellaha Dhexe, Shabeellaha Hoose, Sool, Togdheer, Woqooyi Galbeed

Independence: 1 July 1960 (from a merger of British Somaliland,
  which became independent from the UK on 26 June 1960, and Italian
  Somaliland, which became independent from the Italian-administered
  UN trusteeship on 1 July 1960, to form the Somali Republic)

National holiday: NA

Constitution: 25 August 1979, presidential approval 23 September
  1979

Legal system: NA

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch: Somalia has no functioning government; the
  United Somali Congress (USC) ousted the regime of Major General
  Mohamed SIAD Barre on 27 January 1991; the present political
  situation is one of anarchy, marked by interclan fighting and random
  banditry

Legislative branch: unicameral People's Assembly
  People's Assembly (Golaha Shacbiga): not functioning

Judicial branch: Supreme Court (not functioning)

Political parties and leaders: the United Somali Congress (USC)
  ousted the former regime on 27 January 1991; formerly the only party
  was the Somali Revolutionary Socialist Party (SRSP), headed by
  former President and Commander in Chief of the Army Major General
  Mohamed SIAD Barre

Other political or pressure groups: numerous clan and subclan
  factions are currently vying for power

International organization participation: ACP, AfDB, AFESD, AL,
  AMF, CAEU, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC,
  IFRCS, IGADD, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM
  (observer), ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO,
  UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO (observer)

Diplomatic representation in US: Somalia does not have an embassy
  in the US (ceased operations on 8 May 1991)

US diplomatic representation: the US does not have an embassy in
  Somalia; US interests are represented by the US Embassy in Nairobi
  at Moi Avenue and Haile Selassie Avenue; mail address: P. O. Box
  30137, Unit 64100, Nairobi; APO AE 09831; telephone: [254] (2)
  334141; FAX [254] (2) 340838

Flag: light blue with a large white five-pointed star in the
  center; design based on the flag of the UN (Italian Somaliland was a
  UN trust territory)



Economy
-------


Economic overview: One of the world's poorest and least developed
  countries, Somalia has few resources. Moreover, much of the economy
  has been devastated by the civil war. Agriculture is the most
  important sector, with livestock accounting for about 40% of GDP and
  about 65% of export earnings. Nomads and seminomads, who are
  dependent upon livestock for their livelihood, make up a large
  portion of the population. Crop production generates only 10% of GDP
  and employs about 20% of the work force. The main export crop is
  bananas; sugar, sorghum, and corn are grown for the domestic market.
  The small industrial sector is based on the processing of
  agricultural products and accounts for less than 10% of GDP; most
  facilities have been shut down because of the civil strife. The
  greatly increased political turmoil of 1991-93 resulted in a
  substantial drop in agricultural output, with widespread famine. In
  1994 economic conditions stabilized in the countryside, followed in
  1995 by slight improvements. However, ongoing civil strife in
  Mogadishu and outlying areas is interfering with any substantial
  recovery.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $3.6 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 2% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $500 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: NA%
  industry: NA%
  services: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA

Labor force: 3.7 million (very few are skilled laborers)(1993 est.)
  by occupation: agriculture (mostly pastoral nomadism) 71%, industry
  and services 29%

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget:
  revenues: $NA
  expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA

Industries: a few small industries, including sugar refining,
  textiles, petroleum refining (mostly shut down)

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity:
  capacity: 75,000 kW prior to the civil war, but now largely shut
  down due to war damage; some localities operate their own generating
  plants, providing limited municipal power; note - UN and relief
  organizations use their own portable power systems
  production: NA kWh
  consumption per capita: NA kWh

Agriculture: bananas, sorghum, corn, mangoes, sugarcane; cattle,
  sheep, goats; fishing potential largely unexploited

Exports: $100 million (1995 est.)
  commodities: bananas, live animals, fish, hides
  partners: Saudi Arabia, other Gulf states, Italy, US (bananas)

Imports: $249 million (1990 est.)
  commodities: petroleum products, foodstuffs, construction materials
  partners: US 13%, Italy, FRG, Kenya, UK, Saudi Arabia (1986)

External debt: $1.9 billion (1989)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $NA

Currency: 1 Somali shilling (So. Sh.) = 100 cents

Exchange rates: Somali shillings (So. Sh.) per US$1 -
  approximately 7,000 (January 1996), 5,000 (1 January 1995), 2,616 (1
  July 1993), 4,200 (December 1992), 3,800.00 (December 1990), 490.7
  (1989),

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways: 0 km

Highways:
  total: 22,500 km
  paved: 2,700 km
  unpaved: 19,800 km (1992 est.)

Pipelines: crude oil 15 km

Ports: Bender Cassim (Boosaaso), Berbera, Chisimayu (Kismaayo),
  Merca, Mogadishu

Merchant marine:
  total: 2 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 5,529 GRT/6,892 DWT
  ships by type: cargo 1, refrigerated cargo 1 (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 52
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 3
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 1
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 2
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 1
  with paved runways under 914 m: 6
  with unpaved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 4
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 15
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 20 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 9,000 (1991 est.)

Telephone system: the public telecommunications system was
  completely destroyed or dismantled by the civil war factions; all
  relief organizations depend on their own private systems
  domestic: recently, local cellular telephone systems have been
  established in Mogadishu and in several other population centers
  international: international connections are available from
  Mogadishu by satellite

Radio broadcast stations: AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA (there are at
  least five radio broadcast stations of NA type)

Radios: 350,000 (1992 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 0 (Somalia's only TV station was
  demolished during the civil strife, sometime in 1991)

Televisions: 113,000 (1992 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: NA; note - no functioning central government military
  forces; clan militias continue to battle for control of key economic
  or political prizes

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 2,333,994
  males fit for military service: 1,301,954 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: $NA, NA% of GDP



======================================================================




@South Africa
------------




Map
---


Location: 29 00 S, 24 00 E -- Southern Africa, at the southern tip
  of the continent of Africa



Flag
----


Description: two equal width horizontal bands of red (top) and
  blue separated by a central green band which splits into a
  horizontal Y, the arms of which end at the corners of the hoist
  side, embracing a black isoceles triangle from which the arms are
  separated by narrow yellow bands; the red and blue bands are
  separated from the green band and its arms by narrow white stripes





Geography
---------


Location: Southern Africa, at the southern tip of the continent of
  Africa

Geographic coordinates: 29 00 S, 24 00 E

Map references: Africa

Area:
  total area: 1,219,912 sq km
  land area: 1,219,912 sq km
  comparative area: slightly less than twice the size of Texas
  note: includes Prince Edward Islands (Marion Island and Prince
  Edward Island)

Land boundaries:
  total: 4,750 km
  border countries: Botswana 1,840 km, Lesotho 909 km, Mozambique 491
  km, Namibia 855 km, Swaziland 430 km, Zimbabwe 225 km

Coastline: 2,798 km

Maritime claims:
  continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
  exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: Swaziland has asked South Africa to open
  negotiations on reincorporating some nearby South African
  territories that are populated by ethnic Swazis or that were long
  ago part of the Swazi Kingdom

Climate: mostly semiarid; subtropical along east coast; sunny
  days, cool nights

Terrain: vast interior plateau rimmed by rugged hills and narrow
  coastal plain
  lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
  highest point: Njesuthi 3,408 m

Natural resources: gold, chromium, antimony, coal, iron ore,
  manganese, nickel, phosphates, tin, uranium, gem diamonds, platinum,
  copper, vanadium, salt, natural gas

Land use:
  arable land: 10%
  permanent crops: 1%
  meadows and pastures: 65%
  forest and woodland: 3%
  other: 21%

Irrigated land: 11,280 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
  current issues: lack of important arterial rivers or lakes requires
  extensive water conservation and control measures; growth in water
  usage threatens to outpace supply; pollution of rivers from
  agricultural runoff and urban discharge; air pollution resulting in
  acid rain; soil erosion; desertification
  natural hazards: prolonged droughts
  international agreements: party to - Antarctic-Environmental
  Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Endangered Species,
  Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear
  Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling;
  signed, but not ratified - Climate Change, Desertification, Law of
  the Sea

Geographic note: South Africa completely surrounds Lesotho and
  almost completely surrounds Swaziland



People
------


Population: 41,743,459 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 36% (male 7,578,639; female 7,428,123)
  15-64 years: 60% (male 12,356,753; female 12,516,467)
  65 years and over: 4% (male 744,806; female 1,118,671) (July 1996
  est.)

Population growth rate: 1.76% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 27.91 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 10.32 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.67 male(s)/female
  all ages: 0.98 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 48.8 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 59.47 years
  male: 57.21 years
  female: 61.8 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 3.43 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: South African(s)
  adjective: South African

Ethnic divisions: black 75.2%, white 13.6%, Colored 8.6%, Indian
  2.6%

Religions: Christian (most whites and Coloreds and about 60% of
  blacks), Hindu (60% of Indians), Muslim 2%

Languages: 11 official languages, including Afrikaans, English,
  Ndebele, Pedi, Sotho, Swazi, Tsonga, Tswana, Venda, Xhosa, Zulu

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)
  total population: 81.8%
  male: 81.9%
  female: 81.7%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Republic of South Africa
  conventional short form: South Africa
  abbreviation: RSA

Data code: SF

Type of government: republic

Capital: Pretoria (administrative); Cape Town (legislative);
  Bloemfontein (judicial)

Administrative divisions: 9 provinces; Eastern Cape, Free State,
  Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, North-West, Northern Cape,
  Northern Province, Western Cape

Independence: 31 May 1910 (from UK)

National holiday: Freedom Day, 27 April (1994)

Constitution: 27 April 1994 (interim constitution, replacing the
  constitution of 3 September 1984); note - on 8 May 1996, the
  Constitutional Assembly voted 421 to two to pass a new constitution
  which, after certification by the Constitutional Court, will
  gradually go into effect over a three-year period and come into full
  force with the next national elections in April 1999

Legal system: based on Roman-Dutch law and English common law;
  accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state and head of government: President Nelson MANDELA
  (since 10 May 1994); Deputy Executive Presidents Thabo MBEKI (since
  10 May 1994) and Frederik W. DE KLERK (since 10 May 1994) were
  elected by the National Assembly
  note: any political party that wins 20% or more of the National
  Assembly votes in a general election is entitled to name a deputy
  executive president; moreover, any party that wins 20 or more seats
  in the National Assembly is entitled to become a member of the
  governing coalition; currently, the ANC, the IFP, and the NP
  constitute a Government of National Unity (GNU)
  cabinet: Cabinet was appointed by the president

Legislative branch: bicameral
  National Assembly: elections last held 26-29 April 1994 (next to be
  held NA April 1999); results - ANC 62.6%, NP 20.4%, IFP 10.5%, FF
  2.2%, DP 1.7%, PAC 1.2%, ACDP 0.5%, other 0.9%; seats - (400 total)
  ANC 252, NP 82, IFP 43, FF 9, DP 7, PAC 5, ACDP 2
  Senate: the Senate is composed of members who are nominated by the
  nine provincial parliaments (which are elected in parallel with the
  National Assembly) and has special powers to protect regional
  interests, including the right to limited self-determination for
  ethnic minorities; seats - (90 total) ANC 61, NP 17, FF 4, IFP 5, DP
  3
  note: when the National Assembly meets in joint session with the
  Senate to consider the provisions of the constitution, the combined
  group is referred to as the Constitutional Assembly

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

Political parties and leaders: African National Congress (ANC),
  Nelson MANDELA, president; National Party (NP), Frederik W. DE
  KLERK, president; Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), Mangosuthu BUTHELEZI,
  president; Freedom Front (FF), Constand VILJOEN, president;
  Democratic Party (DP), Tony LEON, president; Pan-Africanist Congress
  (PAC), Clarence MAKWETU, president; African Christian Democratic
  Party (ACDP), Kenneth MESHOE, president
  note: in addition to these seven parties which received seats in the
  National Assembly, 11 other parties won votes in the national
  elections in April 1994

Other political or pressure groups: NA

International organization participation: BIS, C, CCC, ECA, FAO,
  G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO,
  Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, MTCR, NAM, OAU, SACU,
  SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO, ZC

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Franklin SONN
  chancery: 3051 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
  telephone: [1] (202) 232-4400
  consulate(s) general: Beverly Hills (California), Chicago, and New
  York

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador James A. JOSEPH
  embassy: 877 Pretorius St., Arcadia 0083
  mailing address: P.O. Box 9536, Pretoria 0001
  telephone: [27] (12) 342-1048
  FAX: [27] (12) 342-2244
  consulate(s) general: Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg

Flag: two equal width horizontal bands of red (top) and blue
  separated by a central green band which splits into a horizontal Y,
  the arms of which end at the corners of the hoist side, embracing a
  black isoceles triangle from which the arms are separated by narrow
  yellow bands; the red and blue bands are separated from the green
  band and its arms by narrow white stripes
  note: prior to 26 April 1994, the flag was actually four flags in
  one - three miniature flags reproduced in the center of the white
  band of the former flag of the Netherlands, which has three equal
  horizontal bands of orange (top), white, and blue; the miniature
  flags are a vertically hanging flag of the old Orange Free State
  with a horizontal flag of the UK adjoining on the hoist side and a
  horizontal flag of the old Transvaal Republic adjoining on the other
  side



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Many of the white one-seventh of the South
  African population enjoy incomes, material comforts, and health and
  educational standards equal to those of Western Europe. In contrast,
  most of the remaining population suffers from the poverty patterns
  of the Third World, including unemployment and lack of job skills.
  The main strength of the economy lies in its rich mineral resources,
  which provide two-thirds of exports. Economic developments for the
  remainder of the 1990s will be driven largely by the new
  government's attempts to improve black living conditions, to set the
  country on a steady export-led growth path, and to cut back the
  enormous numbers of unemployed. The economy in recent years has
  absorbed less than 5% of the more than 300,000 workers entering the
  labor force annually. Local economists estimate that the economy
  must grow between 5% and 6% in real terms annually to absorb all of
  the new entrants, much less reduce the accumulated total.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $215 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 3.3% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $4,800 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: NA%
  industry: NA%
  services: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 8.7% (1995)

Labor force: 14.2 million economically active (1996)
  by occupation: services 35%, agriculture 30%, industry 20%, mining
  9%, other 6%

Unemployment rate: 32.6% (1996 est.); an additional 11%
  underemployment

Budget:
  revenues: $30.5 billion
  expenditures: $38 billion, including capital expenditures of $2.6
  billion (FY94/95 est.)

Industries: mining (world's largest producer of platinum, gold,
  chromium), automobile assembly, metalworking, machinery, textile,
  iron and steel, chemical, fertilizer, foodstuffs

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity:
  capacity: 39,750,000 kW
  production: 163 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 3,482 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: corn, wheat, sugarcane, fruits, vegetables; cattle,
  poultry, sheep, wool, milk, beef

Illicit drugs: transshipment center for heroin and cocaine;
  cocaine consumption on the rise; world's largest market for illicit
  methaqualone, usually imported illegally from India through various
  east African countries; illicit cultivation of marijuana

Exports: $27.9 billion (f.o.b., 1995)
  commodities: gold 27%, other minerals and metals 20%-25%, food 5%,
  chemicals 3% (1994)
  partners: Italy, Japan, US, Germany, UK, other EU countries, Hong
  Kong

Imports: $27 billion (f.o.b., 1995)
  commodities: machinery 32%, transport equipment 15%, chemicals 11%,
  oil, textiles, scientific instruments (1994)
  partners: Germany, US, Japan, UK, Italy

External debt: $22 billion (1995 est.)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $NA
  note: current aid pledges include US $600 million over three years
  ending in 1996; UK $150 million over three years; Australia $21
  million over three years; Japan $1.3 billion over two years ending
  in 1996; EU $833 million over five years

Currency: 1 rand (R) = 100 cents

Exchange rates: rand (R) per US$1 - 3.6417 (January 1996), 3.6266
  (1995), 3.5490 (1994), 3.2636 (1993), 2.8497 (1992), 2.7563 (1991)

Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 21,431 km
  narrow gauge: 20,995 km 1.067-m gauge (9,087 km electrified); 436 km
  0.610-m gauge (1995)

Highways:
  total: 182,329 km
  paved: 55,428 km (including 2,040 km of expressways)
  unpaved: 126,901 km (1991 est.)

Pipelines: crude oil 931 km; petroleum products 1,748 km; natural
  gas 322 km

Ports: Cape Town, Durban, East London, Mosselbaai, Port Elizabeth,
  Richards Bay, Saldanha

Merchant marine:
  total: 4 container ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 211,276
  GRT/198,602 DWT (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 667
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 10
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 4
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 44
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 75
  with paved runways under 914 m: 221
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 33
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 280 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 5,206,235 (1993 est.)

Telephone system: the system is the best developed, most modern,
  and has the highest capacity in Africa
  domestic: consists of carrier-equipped open-wire lines, coaxial
  cables, microwave radio relay links, fiber-optic cable, and
  radiotelephone communication stations; key centers are Bloemfontein,
  Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg, Port Elizabeth, and Pretoria
  international: 1 submarine cable; satellite earth stations - 3
  Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean and 2 Atlantic Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 14, FM 286, shortwave 0

Radios: 12.1 million (1992 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 67 (1987 est.)

Televisions: 3.45 million (1990 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: South African National Defense Force (SANDF; includes
  Army, Navy, Air Force, and Medical Services), South African Police
  Service (SAPS)

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 10,686,976
  males fit for military service: 6,502,265
  males reach military age (18) annually: 424,854 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $2.9 billion,
  2.2% of GDP (FY95/96)



======================================================================




@South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
--------------------------------------------


(dependent territory of the UK)

Map
---


Location: 54 30 S, 37 00 W -- Southern South America, islands in
  the South Atlantic Ocean, east of the tip of South America



Flag
----


Description: the flag of the UK is used





Geography
---------


Location: Southern South America, islands in the South Atlantic
  Ocean, east of the tip of South America

Geographic coordinates: 54 30 S, 37 00 W

Map references: Antarctic Region

Area:
  total area: 4,066 sq km
  land area: 4,066 sq km
  comparative area: slightly larger than Rhode Island
  note: includes Shag Rocks, Clerke Rocks, Bird Island

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: NA km

Maritime claims:
  exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: administered by the UK, claimed by
  Argentina

Climate: variable, with mostly westerly winds throughout the year,
  interspersed with periods of calm; nearly all precipitation falls as
  snow

Terrain: most of the islands, rising steeply from the sea, are
  rugged and mountainous; South Georgia is largely barren and has
  steep, glacier-covered mountains; the South Sandwich Islands are of
  volcanic origin with some active volcanoes
  lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
  highest point: Mount Paget 2,915 m

Natural resources: fish

Land use:
  arable land: 0%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 0%
  forest and woodland: 0%
  other: 100% (largely covered by permanent ice and snow with some
  sparse vegetation consisting of grass, moss, and lichen)

Irrigated land: 0 sq km

Environment:
  current issues: NA
  natural hazards: the South Sandwich Islands have prevailing weather
  conditions that generally make them difficult to approach by ship;
  they are also subject to active volcanism
  international agreements: NA

Geographic note: the north coast of South Georgia has several
  large bays, which provide good anchorage; reindeer, introduced early
  in this century, live on South Georgia



People
------


Population: no indigenous population; there is a small military
  garrison on South Georgia, and the British Antarctic Survey has a
  biological station on Bird Island; the South Sandwich Islands are
  uninhabited



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
  conventional short form: none

Data code: SX

Type of government: dependent territory of the UK

Capital: none; Grytviken on South Georgia is the garrison town

Administrative divisions: none (dependent territory of the UK)

Independence: none (dependent territory of the UK)

National holiday: Liberation Day, 14 June (1982)

Constitution: 3 October 1985

Legal system: English common law

Executive branch:
  chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (of the United Kingdom since 6
  February 1952), a hereditary monarch, is represented by Commissioner
  David Everard TATHAM (since August 1992; resident at Stanley,
  Falkland Islands)

Legislative branch: no elections

Judicial branch: none

Flag: the flag of the UK is used



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Some fishing takes place in adjacent waters.
  There is a potential source of income from harvesting fin fish and
  krill. The islands receive income from postage stamps produced in
  the UK.

Budget:
  revenues: $291,777
  expenditures: $451,000, including capital expenditures of $NA (1988
  est.)

Electricity:
  capacity: 900 kW
  production: 2 million kWh
  consumption per capita: NA kWh (1992)



Transportation
--------------


Highways:
  total: NA km
  paved: NA km
  unpaved: NA km

Ports: Grytviken

Airports: none



Communications
--------------


Telephones: NA

Telephone system:
  domestic: NA
  international: coastal radiotelephone station at Grytviken

Radio broadcast stations: AM 0, FM 0, shortwave 0

Radios: NA

Television broadcast stations: 0

Televisions: NA



Defense
-------


Defense note: defense is the responsibility of the UK



======================================================================




@Spain
-----




Map
---


Location: 40 00 N, 4 00 W -- Southwestern Europe, bordering the
  Bay of Biscay, Mediterranean Sea, and North Atlantic Ocean,
  southwest of France



Flag
----


Description: three horizontal bands of red (top), yellow (double
  width), and red with the national coat of arms on the hoist side of
  the yellow band; the coat of arms includes the royal seal framed by
  the Pillars of Hercules, which are the two promontories (Gibraltar
  and Ceuta) on either side of the eastern end of the Strait of
  Gibraltar





Geography
---------


Location: Southwestern Europe, bordering the Bay of Biscay,
  Mediterranean Sea, and North Atlantic Ocean, southwest of France

Geographic coordinates: 40 00 N, 4 00 W

Map references: Europe

Area:
  total area: 504,750 sq km
  land area: 499,400 sq km
  comparative area: slightly more than twice the size of Oregon
  note: includes Balearic Islands, Canary Islands, and five places of
  sovereignty (plazas de soberania) on and off the coast of Morocco -
  Ceuta, Mellila, Islas Chafarinas, Penon de Alhucemas, and Penon de
  Velez de la Gomera

Land boundaries:
  total: 1,903.2 km
  border countries: Andorra 65 km, France 623 km, Gibraltar 1.2 km,
  Portugal 1,214 km
  note: excludes the length of the boundary between the places of
  sovereignty and Morocco

Coastline: 4,964 km

Maritime claims:
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: Gibraltar question with UK; Spain controls
  five places of sovereignty (plazas de soberania) on and off the
  coast of Morocco - the coastal enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla, which
  Morocco contests, as well as the islands of Penon de Alhucemas,
  Penon de Velez de la Gomera, and Islas Chafarinas

Climate: temperate; clear, hot summers in interior, more moderate
  and cloudy along coast; cloudy, cold winters in interior, partly
  cloudy and cool along coast

Terrain: large, flat to dissected plateau surrounded by rugged
  hills; Pyrenees in north
  lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
  highest point: Pico de Teide on Canary Islands 3,718 m

Natural resources: coal, lignite, iron ore, uranium, mercury,
  pyrites, fluorspar, gypsum, zinc, lead, tungsten, copper, kaolin,
  potash, hydropower

Land use:
  arable land: 31%
  permanent crops: 10%
  meadows and pastures: 21%
  forest and woodland: 31%
  other: 7%

Irrigated land: 33,600 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
  current issues: pollution of the Mediterranean Sea from raw sewage
  and effluents from the offshore production of oil and gas; air
  pollution; deforestation; desertification
  natural hazards: periodic droughts
  international agreements: party to - Air Pollution, Air
  Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds,
  Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity,
  Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification,
  Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear
  Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber
  83, Wetlands, Whaling; signed, but not ratified - Air
  Pollution-Sulphur 94, Desertification, Law of the Sea

Geographic note: strategic location along approaches to Strait of
  Gibraltar



People
------


Population: 39,181,114 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 16% (male 3,237,942; female 3,055,881)
  15-64 years: 68% (male 13,380,956; female 13,352,582)
  65 years and over: 16% (male 2,566,728; female 3,587,025) (July 1996
  est.)

Population growth rate: 0.16% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 10.04 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 8.86 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 0.44 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.72 male(s)/female
  all ages: 0.96 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 6.3 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 78.26 years
  male: 74.95 years
  female: 81.81 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.26 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Spaniard(s)
  adjective: Spanish

Ethnic divisions: composite of Mediterranean and Nordic types

Religions: Roman Catholic 99%, other sects 1%

Languages: Castilian Spanish, Catalan 17%, Galician 7%, Basque 2%

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1986 est.)
  total population: 96%
  male: 98%
  female: 94%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Kingdom of Spain
  conventional short form: Spain
  local short form: Espana

Data code: SP

Type of government: parliamentary monarchy

Capital: Madrid

Administrative divisions: 17 autonomous communities (comunidades
  autonomas, singular - comunidad autonoma); Andalucia, Aragon,
  Asturias, Canarias, Cantabria, Castilla-La Mancha, Castilla y Leon,
  Cataluna, Communidad Valencia, Extremadura, Galicia, Islas Baleares,
  La Rioja, Madrid, Murcia, Navarra, Pais Vasco
  note: there are five places of sovereignty on and off the coast of
  Morocco (Ceuta, Mellila, Islas Chafarinas, Penon de Alhucemas, and
  Penon de Velez de la Gomera) with administrative status unknown

Independence: 1492 (expulsion of the Moors and unification)

National holiday: National Day, 12 October

Constitution: 6 December 1978, effective 29 December 1978

Legal system: civil law system, with regional applications; does
  not accept compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: King JUAN CARLOS I (since 22 November 1975) is a
  hereditary monarch
  head of government: Prime Minister Jose Maria AZNAR (since 5 May
  1996) was proposed by the king and voted into office by the National
  Assembly on 4 May 1996; AZNAR's Popular Party defeated Felipe
  GONZALEZ Marques's Socialist Workers Party in the 3 March 1996
  legislative election; Deputy Prime Minister (vacant)
  cabinet: Council of Ministers was designated by the prime minister
  Council of State: is the supreme consultative organ of the government

Legislative branch: bicameral The General Courts or National
  Assembly (Las Cortes Generales)
  Senate (Senado): elections last held 3 March 1996 (next to be held
  by March 2000); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (256
  total) PP 132, PSOE 96, CiU 11, PNV 6, IU 2, others 9
  Congress of Deputies (Congreso de los Diputados): elections last
  held 3 March 1996 (next to be held by March 2000); results - PP
  38.9%, PSOE 37.5%, IU 10.7%, CiU 4.6%; seats - (350 total) PSOE 141,
  PP 156, IU 21, CiU 16, other 16

Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Tribunal Supremo)

Political parties and leaders:
  principal national parties from right to left: Popular Party (PP),
  Jose Maria AZNAR Lopez; Spanish Socialist Workers Party (PSOE),
  Felipe GONZALEZ Marquez, secretary general; Spanish Communist Party
  (PCE), Julio ANGUITA Gonzalez; United Left (IU - a coalition of
  parties including the PCE, a branch of the PSOE, and other small
  parties), Julio ANGUITA Gonzalez
  chief regional parties: Convergence and Union (CiU), Jordi PUJOL,
  secretary general (a coalition of the Democratic Convergence of
  Catalonia (CDC), Pere ESTEVE, and the Democratic Union of Catalonia
  (UDC), Josep Antoni DURAN LLEIDA); Basque Nationalist Party (PNV),
  Xabier ARZALLUS Antia and Jose Antonio ARDANZA; Basque United People
  (HB or Herri Batasuna, ETA's political wing), Juan Cruz IDIGORAS;
  Canarian Coalition (CC), a coalition of five parties

Other political or pressure groups: on the extreme left, the
  Basque Fatherland and Liberty (ETA) and the First of October
  Antifascist Resistance Group (GRAPO) use terrorism to oppose the
  government; free labor unions (authorized in April 1977); Workers
  Confederation (CC.OO); the Socialist General Union of Workers (UGT),
  and the smaller independent Workers Syndical Union (USO); business
  and landowning interests; the Catholic Church; Opus Dei; university
  students

International organization participation: AfDB, AG (observer),
  AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, CCC, CE, CERN, EBRD, ECE, ECLAC, EIB,
  ESA, EU, FAO, G- 8, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA,
  IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol,
  IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LAIA (observer), MTCR, NACC, NAM
  (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCRO,
  UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNPREDEP, UNPROFOR, UNU, UPU, WCL,
  WEU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Jaime De OJEDA Eiseley
  chancery: 2375 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20037
  telephone: [1] (202) 452-0100, 728-2340
  FAX: [1] (202) 833-5670
  consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami,
  New Orleans, New York, San Francisco, and San Juan (Puerto Rico)

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Richard N. GARDNER
  embassy: Serrano 75, 28006 Madrid
  mailing address: APO AE 09642
  telephone: [34] (1) 577-4000, 577-2301
  FAX: [34] (1) 577-5735
  consulate(s) general: Barcelona

Flag: three horizontal bands of red (top), yellow (double width),
  and red with the national coat of arms on the hoist side of the
  yellow band; the coat of arms includes the royal seal framed by the
  Pillars of Hercules, which are the two promontories (Gibraltar and
  Ceuta) on either side of the eastern end of the Strait of Gibraltar



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Spain, with a mixed capitalist economy and a
  per capita GDP two-thirds that of the four leading economies of
  Western Europe, has shared with these countries the recession of the
  early 1990s, the gradual upturn of 1994-95, and the ongoing
  controversies over the timing and terms of European economic union.
  Reduction of the budget deficit - at 5.9% of GDP in 1995 - to meet
  the Maastricht monetary convergence criterion of 3% by 1997 remains
  the primary goal of Spanish economic policy, but political pressures
  had kept the Socialist government from implementing the full range
  of reforms necessary to meet this goal. Spain's official
  unemployment rate of 23% is the highest in the EU, and the troubled
  Socialists had been reluctant to cut social spending. Parliament
  rejected the administration's proposed 1996 budget because of
  political wrangling - not because of great differences with the
  substance of the spending plan - forcing the government to continue
  spending at 1995 levels and use piecemeal decrees to raise
  consumption taxes to a level consistent with inflation. The
  conservative opposition Popular Party, now in power after ending 13
  years of Socialist rule in the spring of 1996, has promised to cut
  government spending, loosen regulations on financial markets, and
  lower taxes to spur job creation. The conservatives have stated
  support for Spain's role in the EU but also have cautioned against
  harming Spain's economy by moving too quickly to meet the criteria
  for monetary union.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $565 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 3% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $14,300 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 3.6%
  industry: 33.6%
  services: 62.8% (1995 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 4.3% (1995)

Labor force: 11.837 million
  by occupation: services 59%, industry 21%, agriculture 11%,
  construction 9% (1993 est.)

Unemployment rate: 22.8% (yearend 1995)

Budget:
  revenues: $96.8 billion
  expenditures: $122.5 billion, including capital expenditures of $5.7
  billion (1994 est.)

Industries: textiles and apparel (including footwear), food and
  beverages, metals and metal manufactures, chemicals, shipbuilding,
  automobiles, machine tools, tourism

Industrial production growth rate: 7% (1995 est.)

Electricity:
  capacity: 43,800,000 kW
  production: 148 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 3,545 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: grain, vegetables, olives, wine grapes, sugar beets,
  citrus; beef, pork, poultry, dairy products; fish catch of 1.4
  million metric tons is among top 20 nations

Illicit drugs: key European gateway country for Latin American
  cocaine and North African hashish entering the European market;
  transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin

Exports: $85 billion (f.o.b., 1995)
  commodities: cars and trucks, semifinished manufactured goods,
  foodstuffs, machinery
  partners: EU 68.7%, US 4.9%, other developed countries 7.9% (1994)

Imports: $110 billion (c.i.f., 1995)
  commodities: machinery, transport equipment, fuels, semifinished
  goods, foodstuffs, consumer goods, chemicals
  partners: EU 60.9%, US 7.3%, other developed countries 11.5%, Middle
  East 6.2% (1994)

External debt: $90 billion (1993 est.)

Economic aid:
  donor: ODA, $1.213 billion (1993)

Currency: 1 peseta (Pta) = 100 centimos

Exchange rates: pesetas (Ptas) per US$1 - 123.19 (January 1996),
  124.69 (1995), 133.96 (1994), 127.26 (1993), 102.38 (1992), 103.91
  (1991)

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 14,343 km
  broad gauge: 12,139 km 1.668-m gauge (6,510 km electrified; 2,295 km
  double track)
  standard gauge: 488 km 1.435-m gauge (488 km electrified)
  narrow gauge: 1,716 km (privately owned: 1,669 km 1.000-m gauge, 489
  km electrified; 28 km 0.914-m gauge, 28 km electrified; government
  owned: 19 km 1.000-m gauge, all electrified)

Highways:
  total: 331,961 km
  paved: 328,641 km (including 2,700 km of expressways)
  unpaved: 3,320 km (1991 est.)

Waterways: 1,045 km, but of minor economic importance

Pipelines: crude oil 265 km; petroleum products 1,794 km; natural
  gas 1,666 km

Ports: Aviles, Barcelona, Bilbao, Cadiz, Cartagena, Castellon de
  la Plana, Ceuta, Huelva, La Coruna, Las Palmas (Canary Islands),
  Malaga, Melilla, Pasajes, Puerto de Gijon, Santa Cruz de Tenerife
  (Canary Islands), Santander, Tarragona, Valencia, Vigo

Merchant marine:
  total: 147 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 874,688 GRT/1,391,421
  DWT
  ships by type: bulk 9, cargo 36, chemical tanker 11, combination
  ore/oil 1, container 8, liquefied gas tanker 4, oil tanker 25,
  passenger 2, refrigerated cargo 12, roll-on/roll-off cargo 32,
  short-sea passenger 6, specialized tanker 1 (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 96
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 15
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 11
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 15
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 13
  with paved runways under 914 m: 28
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 2
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 12 (1995 est.)

Heliports: 2 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 12.6 million (1990 est.)

Telephone system: generally adequate, modern facilities
  domestic: NA
  international: 22 coaxial submarine cables; satellite earth stations
  - 2 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean), NA Eutelsat, NA
  Inmarsat, and NA Marecs; tropospheric scatter to adjacent countries

Radio broadcast stations: AM 190, FM 406 (repeaters 134),
  shortwave 0

Radios: 12 million (1992 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 100 (repeaters 1,297)

Televisions: 15.7 million (1992 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Civil Guard, National
  Police, Coastal Civil Guard

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 10,360,209
  males fit for military service: 8,370,197
  males reach military age (20) annually: 341,670 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $6.3 billion,
  1.4% of GDP (1995)



======================================================================




@Spratly Islands
---------------



Map
---


Location: 8 38 N, 111 55 E -- Southeastern Asia, group of reefs in
  the South China Sea, about two-thirds of the way from southern
  Vietnam to the southern Philippines





Geography
---------


Location: Southeastern Asia, group of reefs in the South China
  Sea, about two-thirds of the way from southern Vietnam to the
  southern Philippines

Geographic coordinates: 8 38 N, 111 55 E

Map references: Southeast Asia

Area:
  total area: NA sq km but less than 5 sq km
  land area: less than 5 sq km
  comparative area: NA
  note: includes 100 or so islets, coral reefs, and sea mounts
  scattered over the South China Sea

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 926 km

Maritime claims: NA

International disputes: all of the Spratly Islands are claimed by
  China, Taiwan, and Vietnam; parts of them are claimed by Malaysia
  and the Philippines; in 1984, Brunei established an exclusive
  economic zone, which encompasses Louisa Reef, but has not publicly
  claimed the island

Climate: tropical

Terrain: flat
  lowest point: South China Sea 0 m
  highest point: unnamed location on Southwest Cay 4 m

Natural resources: fish, guano, undetermined oil and natural gas
  potential

Land use:
  arable land: 0%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 0%
  forest and woodland: 0%
  other: 100%

Irrigated land: 0 sq km

Environment:
  current issues: NA
  natural hazards: typhoons; serious maritime hazard because of
  numerous reefs and shoals
  international agreements: NA

Geographic note: strategically located near several primary
  shipping lanes in the central South China Sea; includes numerous
  small islands, atolls, shoals, and coral reefs



People
------


Population: no indigenous inhabitants; note - there are scattered
  garrisons



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: none
  conventional short form: Spratly Islands

Data code: PG



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Economic activity is limited to commercial
  fishing. The proximity to nearby oil- and gas-producing sedimentary
  basins suggests the potential for oil and gas deposits, but the
  region is largely unexplored, and there are no reliable estimates of
  potential reserves; commercial exploitation has yet to be developed.

Industries: none



Transportation
--------------


Ports: none

Airports:
  total: 4
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 1
  with paved runways under 914 m: 2
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 1 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephone system:
  domestic: NA
  international: NA

Radio broadcast stations: AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA

Radios: NA

Television broadcast stations: NA

Televisions: NA



Defense
-------


Defense note: about 50 small islands or reefs are occupied by
  China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam



======================================================================




@Sri Lanka
---------




Map
---


Location: 7 00 N, 81 00 E -- Southern Asia, island in the Indian
  Ocean, south of India



Flag
----


Description: yellow with two panels; the smaller hoist-side panel
  has two equal vertical bands of green (hoist side) and orange; the
  other panel is a large dark red rectangle with a yellow lion holding
  a sword, and there is a yellow bo leaf in each corner; the yellow
  field appears as a border that goes around the entire flag and
  extends between the two panels





Geography
---------


Location: Southern Asia, island in the Indian Ocean, south of India

Geographic coordinates: 7 00 N, 81 00 E

Map references: Asia

Area:
  total area: 65,610 sq km
  land area: 64,740 sq km
  comparative area: slightly larger than West Virginia

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 1,340 km

Maritime claims:
  contiguous zone: 24 nm
  continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: none

Climate: tropical monsoon; northeast monsoon (December to March);
  southwest monsoon (June to October)

Terrain: mostly low, flat to rolling plain; mountains in
  south-central interior
  lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
  highest point: Pidurutalagala 2,524 m

Natural resources: limestone, graphite, mineral sands, gems,
  phosphates, clay

Land use:
  arable land: 16%
  permanent crops: 17%
  meadows and pastures: 7%
  forest and woodland: 37%
  other: 23%

Irrigated land: 5,600 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
  current issues: deforestation; soil erosion; wildlife populations
  threatened by poaching; coastal degradation from mining activities
  and increased pollution; freshwater resources being polluted by
  industrial wastes and sewage runoff
  natural hazards: occasional cyclones and tornadoes
  international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
  Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes,
  Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands,
  Whaling; signed, but not ratified - Marine Life Conservation

Geographic note: strategic location near major Indian Ocean sea
  lanes



People
------


Population: 18,553,074 (July 1996 est.)
  note: since the outbreak of hostilities between the government and
  armed Tamil separatists in the mid-1980s, several hundred thousand
  Tamil civilians have fled the island; as of late 1992, nearly
  115,000 were housed in refugee camps in south India, another 95,000
  lived outside the Indian camps, and more than 200,000 Tamils have
  sought political asylum in the West

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 28% (male 2,673,943; female 2,559,569)
  15-64 years: 66% (male 6,023,759; female 6,171,964)
  65 years and over: 6% (male 553,940; female 569,899) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.13% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 17.89 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 5.8 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: -0.78 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.97 male(s)/female
  all ages: 1 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 20.8 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 72.35 years
  male: 69.77 years
  female: 75.06 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.05 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Sri Lankan(s)
  adjective: Sri Lankan

Ethnic divisions: Sinhalese 74%, Tamil 18%, Moor 7%, Burgher,
  Malay, and Vedda 1%

Religions: Buddhist 69%, Hindu 15%, Christian 8%, Muslim 8%

Languages: Sinhala (official and national language) 74%, Tamil
  (national language) 18%
  note: English is commonly used in government and is spoken by about
  10% of the population

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)
  total population: 90.2%
  male: 93.4%
  female: 87.2%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka
  conventional short form: Sri Lanka
  former: Ceylon

Data code: CE

Type of government: republic

Capital: Colombo

Administrative divisions: 8 provinces; Central, North Central,
  North Eastern, North Western, Sabaragamuwa, Southern, Uva, Western

Independence: 4 February 1948 (from UK)

National holiday: Independence and National Day, 4 February (1948)

Constitution: adopted 16 August 1978

Legal system: a highly complex mixture of English common law,
  Roman-Dutch, Muslim, Sinhalese, and customary law; has not accepted
  compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state and head of government: President Chandrika
  Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA (since 12 November 1994) was elected for a
  six-year term by popular vote; note - Sirimavo BANDARANAIKE is the
  prime minister; in Sri Lanka the president is considered to be both
  the chief of state and the head of the government, this is in
  contrast to the more common practice of dividing the roles between
  the president and the prime minister when both offices exist;
  election last held 9 November 1994 (next to be held NA November
  2000); results - Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA (People's
  Alliance) 62%, Srima DISSANAYAKE (United National Party) 37%, other
  1%
  cabinet: Cabinet was appointed by the president in consultation with
  the prime minister

Legislative branch: unicameral
  Parliament: elections last held 16 August 1994 (next to be held by
  August 2000); results - PA 49.0%, UNP 44.0%, SLMC 1.8%, TULF 1.7%,
  SLPF 1.1%, EPDP 0.3%, UPF 0.3%, PLOTE 0.1%, other 1.7%; seats - (225
  total) PA 105, UNP 94, EPDP 9, SLMC 7, TULF 5, PLOTE 3, SLPF 1, UPF 1

Judicial branch: Supreme Court, judges are appointed by the
  Judicial Service Commission

Political parties and leaders: All Ceylon Tamil Congress (ACTC),
  C. G. Kumar PONNAMBALAM; Ceylon Workers Congress (CLDC), S.
  THONDAMAN; Communist Party, K. P. SILVA; Communist Party/Beijing
  (CP/B), N. SHANMUGATHASAN; Democratic People's Liberation Front
  (DPLF), leader NA; Democratic United National Front (DUNF), G. M.
  PREMACHANDRA; Eelam People's Democratic Party (EPDP), Douglas
  DEVANANDA; Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRL),
  Suresh PREMACHANDRAN; Eelam Revolutionary Organization of Students
  (EROS), Shankar RAJI; Lanka Socialist Party/Trotskyite (LSSP, or
  Lanka Sama Samaja Party), Colin R. DE SILVA; Liberal Party (LP),
  Chanaka AMARATUNGA; New Socialist Party (NSSP, or Nava Sama Samaja
  Party), Vasudeva NANAYAKKARA; People's Alliance (PA), Chandrika
  Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA; People's Liberation Organization of Tamil
  Eelam (PLOTE), Dharmalingam SIDARTHAN; People's United Front (MEP,
  or Mahajana Eksath Peramuna), Dinesh GUNAWARDENE; Sri Lanka Freedom
  Party (SLFP), Sirimavo BANDARANAIKE; Sri Lanka Muslim Congress
  (SLMC), M. H. M. ASHRAFF; Sri Lanka People's Party (SLMP, or Sri
  Lanka Mahajana Party), Ossie ABEYGUNASEKERA; Sri Lanka Progressive
  Front (SLPF), leader NA; Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization (TELO),
  leader NA; Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF), M. SIVASITHAMBARAM;
  United National Party (UNP), Dingiri Banda WIJETUNGA; Upcountry
  People's Front (UPF), leader NA; several ethnic Tamil and Muslim
  parties, represented in either parliament or provincial councils
  note: the United Socialist Alliance (USA), which was formed in 1987
  and included the NSSP, LSSP, SLMP, CP/M, and CP/B, was defunct as of
  1993, following the formation of the People's Alliance Party (PA)

Other political or pressure groups: Liberation Tigers of Tamil
  Eelam (LTTE) and other smaller Tamil separatist groups; other
  radical chauvinist Sinhalese groups; Buddhist clergy; Sinhalese
  Buddhist lay groups; labor unions

International organization participation: AsDB, C, CCC, CP, ESCAP,
  FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC,
  IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO,
  ITU, NAM, PCA, SAARC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNU, UPU, WCL,
  WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Jayantha Cudah Bandara DHANAPALA
  chancery: 2148 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
  telephone: [1] (202) 483-4025 through 4028
  FAX: [1] (202) 232-7181
  consulate(s): New York

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador A. Peter BURLEIGH
  embassy: 210 Galle Road, Colombo 3
  mailing address: P. O. Box 106, Colombo
  telephone: [94] (1) 448007
  FAX: [94] (1) 437345

Flag: yellow with two panels; the smaller hoist-side panel has two
  equal vertical bands of green (hoist side) and orange; the other
  panel is a large dark red rectangle with a yellow lion holding a
  sword, and there is a yellow bo leaf in each corner; the yellow
  field appears as a border that goes around the entire flag and
  extends between the two panels



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Industry - dominated by the fast-growing
  apparel industry - has surpassed agriculture as the main source of
  export earnings. The economy has been plagued by high rates of
  unemployment since the late 1970s. Economic growth accelerated in
  1991-94 as domestic conditions began to improve and conditions for
  foreign investment brightened. In 1995, however, the government's
  emphasis on populist measures and its preoccupation with the
  stepped-up Tamil insurgency have clouded Sri Lanka's economic
  prospects and discouraged foreign investors. A further problem for
  1996 is the need to curb government overspending.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $65.6 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 5% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $3,600 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 24%
  industry: 24%
  services: 52% (1994 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 8.4% (1994 est.)

Labor force: 6.1 million
  by occupation: agriculture 45%, services 37%, industry 18% (1993
  est.)

Unemployment rate: 13% (1994 est.)

Budget:
  revenues: $2.7 billion
  expenditures: $3.7 billion, including capital expenditures of $851
  million (1995)

Industries: processing of rubber, tea, coconuts, and other
  agricultural commodities; clothing, cement, petroleum refining,
  textiles, tobacco

Industrial production growth rate: 9% (1994 est.)

Electricity:
  capacity: 1,410,000 kW
  production: 3.2 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 168 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: rice, sugarcane, grains, pulses, oilseed, roots,
  spices, tea, rubber, coconuts; milk, eggs, hides, meat

Exports: $3.2 billion (f.o.b., 1994)
  commodities: garments and textiles, teas, diamonds, other gems,
  petroleum products, rubber products, other agricultural products,
  marine products, graphite
  partners: US 34.7%, UK, Germany, Japan, Netherlands, France (1994)

Imports: $4.8 billion (c.i.f., 1994)
  commodities: textiles and textile materials, machinery and
  equipment, transport equipment, food, petroleum, building materials
  partners: Japan, India, UK, Hong Kong, South Korea, Taiwan,
  Singapore, China (1994)

External debt: $8.8 billion (1994 est.)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $423 million (1993)

Currency: 1 Sri Lankan rupee (SLRe) = 100 cents

Exchange rates: Sri Lankan rupees (SLRes) per US$1 - 54.158
  (January 1996), 51.252 (1995), 49.415 (1994), 48.322 (1993), 43.830
  (1992), 41.372 (1991)

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 1,484 km
  broad gauge: 1,459 km 1.676-m gauge
  narrow gauge: 25 km .762-m gauge (1995)

Highways:
  total: 94,651 km
  paved: 25,749 km
  unpaved: 68,902 km (1990)

Waterways: 430 km; navigable by shallow-draft craft

Pipelines: crude oil and petroleum products 62 km (1987)

Ports: Colombo, Galle, Jaffna, Trincomalee

Merchant marine:
  total: 26 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 220,508 GRT/329,410 DWT
  ships by type: bulk 2, cargo 13, container 1, oil tanker 2,
  refrigerated cargo 8 (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 13
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 1
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 6
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 6 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 175,000 (1991 est.)

Telephone system: very inadequate domestic service, good
  international service
  domestic: NA
  international: submarine cables to Indonesia and Djibouti; satellite
  earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Indian Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 12, FM 5, shortwave 0

Radios: 3.525 million (1992 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 5

Televisions: 865,000 (1992 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Police Force

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 5,085,306
  males fit for military service: 3,960,070
  males reach military age (18) annually: 180,825 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $640 million,
  4.4% of GDP (1996)



======================================================================




@Sudan
-----




Map
---


Location: 15 00 N, 30 00 E -- Northern Africa, bordering the Red
  Sea, between Egypt and Eritrea



Flag
----


Description: three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and
  black with a green isosceles triangle based on the hoist side





Geography
---------


Location: Northern Africa, bordering the Red Sea, between Egypt
  and Eritrea

Geographic coordinates: 15 00 N, 30 00 E

Map references: Africa

Area:
  total area: 2,505,810 sq km
  land area: 2.376 million sq km
  comparative area: slightly more than one-quarter the size of the US

Land boundaries:
  total: 7,687 km
  border countries: Central African Republic 1,165 km, Chad 1,360 km,
  Egypt 1,273 km, Eritrea 605 km, Ethiopia 1,606 km, Kenya 232 km,
  Libya 383 km, Uganda 435 km, Zaire 628 km

Coastline: 853 km

Maritime claims:
  contiguous zone: 18 nm
  continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: administrative boundary with Kenya does
  not coincide with international boundary; administrative boundary
  with Egypt does not coincide with international boundary creating
  the "Hala'ib Triangle," a barren area of 20,580 sq km, tensions over
  this disputed area began to escalate in 1992 and remain high

Climate: tropical in south; arid desert in north; rainy season
  (April to October)

Terrain: generally flat, featureless plain; mountains in east and
  west
  lowest point: Red Sea 0 m
  highest point: Kinyeti 3,187 m

Natural resources: petroleum; small reserves of iron ore, copper,
  chromium ore, zinc, tungsten, mica, silver, gold

Land use:
  arable land: 5%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 24%
  forest and woodland: 20%
  other: 51%

Irrigated land: 18,900 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
  current issues: inadequate supplies of potable water; wildlife
  populations threatened by excessive hunting; soil erosion;
  desertification
  natural hazards: dust storms
  international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
  Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test
  Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Whaling

Geographic note: largest country in Africa; dominated by the Nile
  and its tributaries



People
------


Population: 31,547,543 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 46% (male 7,389,616; female 7,080,044)
  15-64 years: 52% (male 8,219,080; female 8,172,544)
  65 years and over: 2% (male 387,961; female 298,298) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 3.48% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 41.08 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 11.46 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 5.17 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 1.3 male(s)/female
  all ages: 1.03 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 76 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 55.12 years
  male: 54.2 years
  female: 56.09 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 5.89 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Sudanese (singular and plural)
  adjective: Sudanese

Ethnic divisions: black 52%, Arab 39%, Beja 6%, foreigners 2%,
  other 1%

Religions: Sunni Muslim 70% (in north), indigenous beliefs 25%,
  Christian 5% (mostly in south and Khartoum)

Languages: Arabic (official), Nubian, Ta Bedawie, diverse dialects
  of Nilotic, Nilo-Hamitic, Sudanic languages, English
  note: program of Arabization in process

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)
  total population: 46.1%
  male: 57.7%
  female: 34.6%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Republic of the Sudan
  conventional short form: Sudan
  local long form: Jumhuriyat as-Sudan
  local short form: As-Sudan
  former: Anglo-Egyptian Sudan

Data code: SU

Type of government: transitional - previously ruling military
  junta; presidential and National Assembly elections held in March
  1996; new constitution to be drafted by the National Assembly

Capital: Khartoum

Administrative divisions: 9 states (wilayat, singular - wilayat or
  wilayah*); A'ali an Nil (Upper Nile), Al Wusta*, Al Istiwa'iyah*
  (Equatoria), Al Khartum, Ash Shamaliyah*, Ash Sharqiyah*, Bahr al
  Ghazal, Darfur, Kurdufan
  note: on 14 February 1994, the 9 states comprising Sudan were
  divided into 26 new states; the following spellings have been
  reported but not approved by the US Board on Geographic Names (Bahr
  Aljebal, Blue Nile, Bohayrat, East Equatoria, Gedarif, Gezira,
  Jungle, Kassala, Khartoum, North, North Bahr Alghazal, North Darfur,
  North Kordofan, Red Sea, River Nile, Sinnar, South Darfur, South
  Kordofan, Unity, Upper Nile, Warab, West Bahr Alghazal, West Darfur,
  West Kordofan, West Equatoria, White Nile)

Independence: 1 January 1956 (from Egypt and UK)

National holiday: Independence Day, 1 January (1956)

Constitution: 12 April 1973, suspended following coup of 6 April
  1985; interim constitution of 10 October 1985 suspended following
  coup of 30 June 1989; new constitution to be drafted following
  national elections held in March 1996

Legal system: based on English common law and Islamic law; as of
  20 January 1991, the now defunct Revolutionary Command Council
  imposed Islamic law in the northern states; the council is still
  studying criminal provisions under Islamic law; Islamic law applies
  to all residents of the northern states regardless of their
  religion; some separate religious courts; accepts compulsory ICJ
  jurisdiction, with reservations

Suffrage: NA years of age; universal, but noncompulsary

Executive branch:
  chief of state and head of government: President Lt. General Umar
  Hasan Ahmad al-BASHIR (since 16 October 1993) was elected to a
  five-year term by popular vote; election last held 6-17 March 1996
  (next to be held NA 2001); results - President al-BASHIR won 75.7%
  of the vote and defeated about forty other candidates; First Vice
  President Major General al-Zubayr Muhammad SALIH (since 19 October
  1993), Second Vice President (Police) Maj. General George KONGOR
  AROP (since NA February 1994)
  note: al-BASHIR, as chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council
  for National Salvation (RCC), assumed power on 30 June 1989 and
  served concurrently as chief of state, chairman of the RCC, prime
  minister, and minister of defense until 16 October 1993 when he was
  appointed president by the RCC; upon its dissolution on 16 October
  1993, the RCC's executive and legislative powers were devolved to
  the president and the Transitional National Assembly (TNA), Sudan's
  appointed legislative body, which has since been replaced by the
  National Assembly which was elected in March 1996
  cabinet: Cabinet was appointed by the president; note - on 30
  October 1993, President al-BASHIR announced a new, predominantly
  civilian cabinet, consisting of 20 federal ministers, most of whom
  retained their previous cabinet positions; on 9 February 1995, he
  abolished three ministries and redivided their portfolios to create
  several new ministries; these changes increased National Islamic
  Front presence at the ministerial level and consolidated its control
  over the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; President al-BASHIR's
  government is dominated by members of Sudan's National Islamic
  Front, a fundamentalist political organization formed from the
  Muslim Brotherhood in 1986; front leader Hasan al-TURABI dominates
  much of Khartoum's overall domestic and foreign policies; President
  al-BASHIR is expected to name a new cabinet following the elections
  held in March 1996

Legislative branch: unicameral
  National Assembly: elections last held 6-17 March 1996 (next to be
  held NA); results - percent of vote NA; seats - (400 total, 275
  directly elected, and 125 elected by a supra assembly of interest
  groups known as the National Congress); note - March 1996 elections
  were held on a nonparty basis and parties are to be banned in the
  new National Assembly

Judicial branch: Supreme Court; Special Revolutionary Courts

Political parties and leaders: none; banned following 30 June 1989
  coup

Other political or pressure groups: National Islamic Front, Hasan
  al-TURABI

International organization participation: ABEDA, ACP, AfDB, AFESD,
  AL, AMF, CAEU, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA,
  IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGADD, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol,
  IOC, IOM (observer), ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO,
  UNHCR, UNIDO, UNU, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer)

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador-designate Mahdi IBRAHIM
  chancery: 2210 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
  telephone: [1] (202) 338-8565 through 8570
  FAX: [1] (202) 667-2406

US diplomatic representation: operations in Khartoum were
  suspended in February 1996; Ambassador to Sudan Timothy M. CARNEY
  and several members of the mission have relocated to Nairobi, Kenya
  and operate out of the US Embassy there; the embassy is located at
  the corner of Moi Avenue and Haile Selassie Avenue; mailing address:
  P. O. Box 30137, Unit 64100, APO AE 09831; telephone: [254] (2)
  334141; FAX: [254] (2) 340838

Flag: three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black
  with a green isosceles triangle based on the hoist side



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Sudan is buffeted by civil war, chronic
  political instability, adverse weather, high inflation, a drop in
  remittances from abroad, and counterproductive economic policies.
  The private sector's main areas of activity are agriculture and
  trading, with most private industrial investment predating 1980.
  Agriculture employs 80% of the work force. Industry mainly processes
  agricultural items. Sluggish economic performance over the past
  decade, attributable largely to declining annual rainfall, has
  reduced levels of per capita income and consumption. A large foreign
  debt and huge arrearages continue to cause difficulties. In 1990 the
  International Monetary Fund took the unusual step of declaring Sudan
  noncooperative because of its nonpayment of arrearages to the Fund.
  After Sudan backtracked on promised reforms in 1992-93, the IMF
  threatened to expel Sudan from the Fund. To avoid expulsion,
  Khartoum agreed to make payments on its arrears to the Fund,
  liberalize exchange rates, and reduce subsidies, measures it has
  partially implemented. The government's continued prosecution of the
  civil war and its growing international isolation continued to
  inhibit growth in the nonagricultural sectors of the economy during
  1995. Agricultural production in 1995, while fairly good, was not up
  to the bumper crop level of 1994.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $25 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 0% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $800 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 33%
  industry: 17%
  services: 50% (1992 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 66% (1995 est.)

Labor force: 8.9 million (1993 est.)
  by occupation: agriculture 80%, industry and commerce 10%,
  government 6%
  note: labor shortages for almost all categories of skilled
  employment (1983 est.)

Unemployment rate: 30% (FY92/93 est.)

Budget:
  revenues: $382 million
  expenditures: $1.06 billion, including capital expenditures of $91
  million (1995 est.)

Industries: cotton ginning, textiles, cement, edible oils, sugar,
  soap distilling, shoes, petroleum refining

Industrial production growth rate: 6.8% (FY92/93 est.)

Electricity:
  capacity: 500,000 kW
  production: 1.3 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 42 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: cotton, oilseed, sorghum, millet, wheat, gum arabic;
  sheep

Exports: $535 million (f.o.b., 1995 est.)
  commodities: cotton 24%, livestock/meat 13%, gum arabic 11%
  partners: EU 39%, Saudi Arabia 19%, Japan 9%, US 3% (1993)

Imports: $1.1 billion (c.i.f., 1995 est.)
  commodities: foodstuffs, petroleum products, manufactured goods,
  machinery and equipment, medicines and chemicals, textiles
  partners: EU 31%, Libya 19%, Egypt 5%, Saudi Arabia 5%, US 5% (1993)

External debt: $18 billion (yearend 1995 est.)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $387 million (1993)

Currency: 1 Sudanese pound (LSd) = 100 piastres

Exchange rates: Sudanese pounds (LSd) per US$1 - official rate:
  750.0 (November 1995), 277.8 (1994), 153.8 (1993), 69.4 (1992),
  5.4288 (1991); market rate: 571.02 (August 1995), 289.61 (1994),
  159.31 (1993), 97.43 (1992), 6.96 (1991)
  note: the market rate is a unified exchange rate determined by a
  committee of local bankers, without official intervention, and is
  quoted uniformly by all commercial banks

Fiscal year: calendar year
  note: prior to July 1995, Sudan had a fiscal year that began on 1
  July and ended on 30 June; as a transition to their new fiscal year,
  a six-month budget was implemented for 1 July - 31 December 1995;
  the new calendar year (1 January - 31 December) fiscal year became
  effective 1 January 1996



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 5,516 km
  narrow gauge: 4,800 km 1.067-m gauge; 716 km 1.6096-m gauge
  plantation line

Highways:
  total: 19,885 km
  paved: 1,989 km
  unpaved: 17,896 km (1986 est.)

Waterways: 5,310 km navigable

Pipelines: refined products 815 km

Ports: Juba, Khartoum, Kusti, Malakal, Nimule, Port Sudan, Sawakin

Merchant marine:
  total: 5 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 43,024 GRT/57,985 DWT
  ships by type: cargo 3, roll-on/roll-off cargo 2 (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 56
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 8
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 3
  with paved runways under 914 m: 7
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 13
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 25 (1995 est.)

Heliports: 1 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 77,215 (1983 est.)

Telephone system: large, well-equipped system by African
  standards, but barely adequate and poorly maintained by modern
  standards
  domestic: consists of microwave radio relay, cable, radiotelephone
  communications, tropospheric scatter, and a domestic satellite
  system with 14 earth stations
  international: satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic
  Ocean) and 1 Arabsat

Radio broadcast stations: AM 11, FM 0, shortwave 0

Radios: 6.67 million (1992 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 3

Televisions: 2.06 million (1992 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Popular Defense Force Militia

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 7,152,884
  males fit for military service: 4,399,445
  males reach military age (18) annually: 329,460 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: $NA, NA% of GDP



======================================================================




@Suriname
--------




Map
---


Location: 4 00 N, 56 00 W -- Northern South America, bordering the
  North Atlantic Ocean, between French Guiana and Guyana



Flag
----


Description: five horizontal bands of green (top, double width),
  white, red (quadruple width), white, and green (double width); there
  is a large yellow five-pointed star centered in the red band





Geography
---------


Location: Northern South America, bordering the North Atlantic
  Ocean, between French Guiana and Guyana

Geographic coordinates: 4 00 N, 56 00 W

Map references: South America

Area:
  total area: 163,270 sq km
  land area: 161,470 sq km
  comparative area: slightly larger than Georgia

Land boundaries:
  total: 1,707 km
  border countries: Brazil 597 km, French Guiana 510 km, Guyana 600 km

Coastline: 386 km

Maritime claims:
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: claims area in French Guiana between
  Litani Rivier and Riviere Marouini (both headwaters of the Lawa
  Rivier); claims area in Guyana between New (Upper Courantyne) and
  Courantyne/Koetari Rivers (all headwaters of the Courantyne)

Climate: tropical; moderated by trade winds

Terrain: mostly rolling hills; narrow coastal plain with swamps
  lowest point: unnamed location in the coastal plain -2 m
  highest point: Wilhelmina Gebergte 1,286 m

Natural resources: timber, hydropower potential, fish, shrimp,
  bauxite, iron ore, and small amounts of nickel, copper, platinum,
  gold

Land use:
  arable land: NEGL%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 0%
  forest and woodland: 97%
  other: 3%

Irrigated land: 590 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
  current issues: deforestation as foreign producers obtain timber
  concessions
  natural hazards: NA
  international agreements: party to - Endangered Species, Marine
  Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling;
  signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Law of the
  Sea

Geographic note: mostly tropical rain forest; great diversity of
  flora and fauna which for the most part is not threatened because of
  the lack of development; relatively small population most of which
  lives along the coast



People
------


Population: 436,418 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 34% (male 74,959; female 71,500)
  15-64 years: 62% (male 136,287; female 132,407)
  65 years and over: 4% (male 9,930; female 11,335) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.6% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 24.15 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 5.84 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: -2.36 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.88 male(s)/female
  all ages: 1.03 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 29.3 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 70.04 years
  male: 67.51 years
  female: 72.7 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.68 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Surinamer(s)
  adjective: Surinamese

Ethnic divisions: Hindustani (also known locally as "East"
  Indians; their ancestors emigrated from northern India in the latter
  part of the 19th century) 37%, Creole (mixed European and African
  ancestry) 31%, Javanese 15.3%, "Bush Black" (also known as "Bush
  Creole" whose ancestors were brought to the country in the 17th and
  18th centuries as slaves) 10.3%, Amerindian 2.6%, Chinese 1.7%,
  Europeans 1%, other 1.1%

Religions: Hindu 27.4%, Muslim 19.6%, Roman Catholic 22.8%,
  Protestant 25.2% (predominantly Moravian), indigenous beliefs 5%

Languages: Dutch (official), English (widely spoken), Sranang
  Tongo (Surinamese, sometimes called Taki-Taki, is native language of
  Creoles and much of the younger population and is lingua franca
  among others), Hindustani (a dialect of Hindi), Javanese

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)
  total population: 93%
  male: 95.1%
  female: 91%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Republic of Suriname
  conventional short form: Suriname
  local long form: Republiek Suriname
  local short form: Suriname
  former: Netherlands Guiana, Dutch Guiana

Data code: NS

Type of government: republic

Capital: Paramaribo

Administrative divisions: 10 districts (distrikten, singular -
  distrikt); Brokopondo, Commewijne, Coronie, Marowijne, Nickerie,
  Para, Paramaribo, Saramacca, Sipaliwini, Wanica

Independence: 25 November 1975 (from Netherlands)

National holiday: Independence Day, 25 November (1975)

Constitution: ratified 30 September 1987

Legal system: NA

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state and head of government: President Ronald R. VENETIAAN
  (since 16 September 1991) and Prime Minister Jules R. AJODHIA (since
  16 September 1991), who is also the vice president, were elected for
  five-year terms by the National Assembly; election last held 6
  September 1991 (next to be held NA May 1996); results - elected by
  the National Assembly - Ronald VENETIAAN (NF) 80% (645 votes), Jules
  WIJDENBOSCH (NDP) 14% (115 votes), Hans PRADE (DA '91) 6% (49 votes)
  cabinet: Cabinet of Ministers was appointed by the president from
  among the members of the National Assembly
  note: Commander in Chief of the National Army maintains significant
  power

Legislative branch: unicameral
  National Assembly (Assemblee Nationale): elections last held 25 May
  1991 (next to be held NA May 1996); results - percent of vote by
  party NA; seats - (51 total) NF 30, NDP 10, DA '91 9, independents 2

Judicial branch: Supreme Court, justices nominated for life

Political parties and leaders: The New Front (NF), a coalition of
  four parties (NPS, VHP, KTPI, SPA), leader Ronald R. VENETIAAN;
  Progressive Reform Party (VHP), Jaggernath LACHMON; National Party
  of Suriname (NPS), Ronald VENETIAAN; Party of National Unity and
  Solidarity (KTPI), Willy SOEMITA; Suriname Labor Party (SPA), Fred
  DERBY; Democratic Alternative '91 (DA '91), a coalition of two
  parties (AF, and BEP) formed in January 1991, Winston JESSURUN;
  Alternative Forum (AF), Gerard BRUNINGS; Party for Brotherhood and
  Unity in Politics (BEP), Caprino ALLENDY; Pendawa Lima, Marsha
  JAMIN; National Democratic Party (NDP), Desire BOUTERSE; Progressive
  Workers' and Farm Laborers' Union (PALU), Ir Iwan KROLIS; The
  Alliance, a combination of three parties (DP, HPP, PVF), Ernie
  BRUNINGS; Democratic Party (DP), Ernie BRUNINGS; Reformed
  Progressive Party (HPP), Harry KISOENSINGH; Party of the Federation
  of Land Workers PVF), Jwan SITAL

Other political or pressure groups: Surinamese Liberation Army
  (SLA), Ronnie BRUNSWIJK, Johan "Castro" WALLY; Union for Liberation
  and Democracy, Kofi AFONGPONG; Mandela Bushnegro Liberation
  Movement, Leendert ADAMS; Tucayana Amazonica, Alex JUBITANA, Thomas
  SABAJO

International organization participation: ACP, Caricom, ECLAC,
  FAO, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IFAD, IFRCS, ILO, IMF,
  IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, ITU, LAES, NAM,
  OAS, OPANAL, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIH, UPU, WCL, WHO,
  WIPO, WMO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Willem A. UDENHOUT
  chancery: Suite 108, 4301 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
  telephone: [1] (202) 244-7488, 7490 through 7492
  FAX: [1] (202) 244-5878
  consulate(s) general: Miami

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Roger R. GAMBLE
  embassy: Dr. Sophie Redmondstraat 129, Paramaribo
  mailing address: P. O. Box 1821, American Embassy Paramaribo,
  Department of State, Washington, DC, 20521-3390
  telephone: [597] 472900, 477881, 476459
  FAX: [597] 420800

Flag: five horizontal bands of green (top, double width), white,
  red (quadruple width), white, and green (double width); there is a
  large yellow five-pointed star centered in the red band



Economy
-------


Economic overview: The economy is dominated by the bauxite
  industry, which accounts for upwards of 15% of GDP and more than 65%
  of export earnings. Following a dismal year in 1994 which saw the
  value of the Surinamese currency plummet by about 80%, inflation
  rise to more than 600%, and national output fall for the fifth
  consecutive year, nearly all economic indicators improved in 1995.
  The VENETIAAN government unified the exchange rate and the currency
  gained some of its lost value. In addition, inflation fell to double
  digits and tax revenues increased sufficiently to nearly erase the
  budget deficit. The release of substantial development aid from the
  Netherlands - which had been held up due to the government's failure
  to initiate economic reforms - also helped buoy the economy.
  Suriname's economic prospects for the medium term will depend on
  continued implementation of needed economic restructuring; the
  outcome of the national elections in May 1996 will be an important
  factor in determining future government policy.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $1.3 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 0.7% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $2,950 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 21.6%
  industry: 23.7%
  services: 54.7% (1994 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 62% (1995)

Labor force: 98,240
  by occupation: agriculture, industry, services

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget:
  revenues: $300 million
  expenditures: $700 million, including capital expenditures of $70
  million (1994 est.)

Industries: bauxite mining, alumina and aluminum production,
  lumbering, food processing, fishing

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity:
  capacity: 420,000 kW
  production: 1.4 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 3,123 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: paddy rice, bananas, palm kernels, coconuts,
  plantains, peanuts; beef, chicken; forest products and shrimp of
  increasing importance

Illicit drugs: transshipment point for South American drugs
  destined for the US and Europe

Exports: $293.6 million (f.o.b., 1994 est.)
  commodities: alumina, aluminum, shrimp and fish, rice, bananas
  partners: Norway 33%, Netherlands 26%, US 13%, Japan 6%, Brazil 6%,
  UK 3% (1992)

Imports: $194.3 million (f.o.b., 1994 est.)
  commodities: capital equipment, petroleum, foodstuffs, cotton,
  consumer goods
  partners: US 42%, Netherlands 22%, Trinidad and Tobago 10%, Brazil
  5% (1992)

External debt: $180 million (March 1993 est.)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $NA

Currency: 1 Surinamese guilder, gulden, or florin (Sf.) = 100 cents

Exchange rates: Surinamese guilders, gulden, or florins (Sf.) per
  US$1 - central bank midpoint rate: 402.32 (December 1995), 442.23
  (1995), 134.12 (1994); parallel rate: 412 (December 1995), 510
  (December 1994), 109 (January 1994)
  note: beginning July 1994, the central bank midpoint exchange rate
  was unified and became market determined

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 166 km (single track)
  standard gauge: 80 km 1.435-m gauge
  narrow gauge: 86 km 1.000-m gauge

Highways:
  total: 4,470 km
  paved: 1,162 km
  unpaved: 3,308 km (1990)

Waterways: 1,200 km; most important means of transport; oceangoing
  vessels with drafts ranging up to 7 m can navigate many of the
  principal waterways

Ports: Albina, Moengo, New Nickerie, Paramaribo, Paranam,
  Wageningen

Merchant marine:
  total: 2 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,421 GRT/2,990 DWT
  ships by type: cargo 1, container 1 (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 38
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 1
  with paved runways under 914 m: 31
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 6 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 43,522 (1992 est.)

Telephone system: international facilities good
  domestic: microwave radio relay network
  international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 5, FM 14, shortwave 1

Radios: 290,256 (1993 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 6 (1987 est.)

Televisions: 59,598 (1993 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: National Army (includes small Navy and Air Force
  elements), Civil Police

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 119,010
  males fit for military service: 70,400 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: $NA, NA% of GDP



======================================================================




@Svalbard
--------


(territory of Norway)

Map
---


Location: 78 00 N, 20 00 E -- Northern Europe, islands between the
  Arctic Ocean, Barents Sea, Greenland Sea, and Norwegian Sea, north
  of Norway



Flag
----


Description: the flag of Norway is used





Geography
---------


Location: Northern Europe, islands between the Arctic Ocean,
  Barents Sea, Greenland Sea, and Norwegian Sea, north of Norway

Geographic coordinates: 78 00 N, 20 00 E

Map references: Arctic Region

Area:
  total area: 62,049 sq km
  land area: 62,049 sq km
  comparative area: slightly smaller than West Virginia
  note: includes Spitsbergen and Bjornoya (Bear Island)

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 3,587 km

Maritime claims:
  exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm unilaterally claimed by Norway but
  not recognized by Russia
  territorial sea: 4 nm

International disputes: focus of maritime boundary dispute in the
  Barents Sea between Norway and Russia

Climate: arctic, tempered by warm North Atlantic Current; cool
  summers, cold winters; North Atlantic Current flows along west and
  north coasts of Spitsbergen, keeping water open and navigable most
  of the year

Terrain: wild, rugged mountains; much of high land ice covered;
  west coast clear of ice about one-half of the year; fjords along
  west and north coasts
  lowest point: Arctic Ocean 0 m
  highest point: Newtontoppen 1,717 m

Natural resources: coal, copper, iron ore, phosphate, zinc,
  wildlife, fish

Land use:
  arable land: 0%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 0%
  forest and woodland: 0%
  other: 100% (no trees and the only bushes are crowberry and
  cloudberry)

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Environment:
  current issues: NA
  natural hazards: ice floes often block up the entrance to Bellsund
  (a transit point for coal export) on the west coast and occasionally
  make parts of the northeastern coast inaccessible to maritime traffic
  international agreements: NA

Geographic note: northernmost part of the Kingdom of Norway;
  consists of nine main islands; glaciers and snowfields cover 60% of
  the total area



People
------


Population: 2,715 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: NA
  15-64 years: NA
  65 years and over: NA

Population growth rate: -4.01% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: NA births/1,000 population

Death rate: NA deaths/1,000 population

Net migration rate: NA migrant(s)/1,000 population

Sex ratio:
  at birth: NA male(s)/female
  under 15 years: NA male(s)/female
  15-64 years: NA male(s)/female
  65 years and over: NA male(s)/female
  all ages: NA male(s)/female

Infant mortality rate: NA deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: NA years
  male: NA years
  female: NA years

Total fertility rate: NA children born/woman

Ethnic divisions: Russian and Ukrainian 62%, Norwegian 38%, other
  NEGL% (1994)

Languages: Russian, Norwegian



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: none
  conventional short form: Svalbard

Data code: SV

Type of government: territory of Norway administered by the
  Ministry of Industry, Oslo, through a governor (sysselmann) residing
  in Longyearbyen, Spitsbergen; by treaty (9 February 1920)
  sovereignty was given to Norway

Capital: Longyearbyen

Independence: none (territory of Norway)

National holiday: NA

Legal system: NA

Executive branch:
  Chief of State: King HARALD V (of Norway since 17 January 1991) is a
  hereditary monarch
  Head of Government: Governor Ann-Krisitin OLSEN (since NA) and
  Assistant Governor Jan-Atle HANSEN (since NA September 1993) are
  responsible to the Polar Department of the Ministry of Justice
  note: Norwegian inhabitants participate in Norwegian national
  elections

International organization participation: none

Flag: the flag of Norway is used



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Coal mining is the major economic activity on
  Svalbard. By treaty (9 February 1920), the nationals of the treaty
  powers have equal rights to exploit mineral deposits, subject to
  Norwegian regulation. Although US, UK, Dutch, and Swedish coal
  companies have mined in the past, the only companies still mining
  are Norwegian and Russian. The settlements on Svalbard are
  essentially company towns. The Norwegian state-owned coal company
  employs nearly 60% of the Norwegian population on the island, runs
  many of the local services, and provides most of the local
  infrastructure. There is also some trapping of seal, polar bear,
  fox, and walrus.

Labor force: NA

Budget:
  revenues: $11.6 million
  expenditures: $11.6 million, including capital expenditures of $NA
  (1995 est.)

Electricity:
  capacity: 21,000 kW
  production: 45 million kWh
  consumption per capita: 13,860 kWh (1992)

Currency: 1 Norwegian krone (NKr) = 100 oere

Exchange rates: Norwegian kroner (NKr) per US$1 - 6.4160 (January
  1996), 6.3352 (1995), 7.0576 (1994), 7.0941 (1993), 6.2145 (1992),
  6.4829 (1991)



Transportation
--------------


Railways: 0 km

Highways:
  total: NA km
  paved: NA km
  unpaved: NA km

Ports: Barentsburg, Longyearbyen, Ny-Alesund, Pyramiden

Merchant marine: none

Airports:
  total: 4
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 1
  with paved runways under 914 m: 3 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: NA

Telephone system:
  domestic: local telephone service
  international: satellite earth station - 1 of NA type (for
  communication with Norwegian mainland only)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 1, FM 1 (repeaters 2), shortwave 0
  note: there are five meteorological/radio stations

Radios: NA

Television broadcast stations: 1

Televisions: NA



Defense
-------


Defense note: demilitarized by treaty (9 February 1920)



======================================================================




@Swaziland
---------




Map
---


Location: 26 30 S, 31 30 E -- Southern Africa, between Mozambique
  and South Africa



Flag
----


Description: three horizontal bands of blue (top), red (triple
  width), and blue; the red band is edged in yellow; centered in the
  red band is a large black and white shield covering two spears and a
  staff decorated with feather tassels, all placed horizontally





Geography
---------


Location: Southern Africa, between Mozambique and South Africa

Geographic coordinates: 26 30 S, 31 30 E

Map references: Africa

Area:
  total area: 17,360 sq km
  land area: 17,200 sq km
  comparative area: slightly smaller than New Jersey

Land boundaries:
  total: 535 km
  border countries: Mozambique 105 km, South Africa 430 km

Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims: none (landlocked)

International disputes: Swaziland has asked South Africa to open
  negotiations on reincorporating some nearby South African
  territories that are populated by ethnic Swazis or that were long
  ago part of the Swazi Kingdom

Climate: varies from tropical to near temperate

Terrain: mostly mountains and hills; some moderately sloping plains
  lowest point: Great Usutu River 21 m
  highest point: Emlembe 1,862 m

Natural resources: asbestos, coal, clay, cassiterite, hydropower,
  forests, small gold and diamond deposits, quarry stone, and talc

Land use:
  arable land: 11%
  permanent crops: NEGL
  meadows and pastures: 62%
  forest and woodland: 7%
  other: 20%

Irrigated land: 640 sq km (1993 est.)

Environment:
  current issues: limited access to potable water; wildlife
  populations being depleted because of excessive hunting;
  overgrazing; soil degradation; soil erosion
  natural hazards: NA
  international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Nuclear Test Ban,
  Ozone Layer Protection; signed, but not ratified - Climate Change,
  Desertification, Law of the Sea

Geographic note: landlocked; almost completely surrounded by South
  Africa



People
------


Population: 998,730 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 46% (male 227,634; female 229,129)
  15-64 years: 52% (male 247,156; female 271,096)
  65 years and over: 2% (male 9,864; female 13,851) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 3.24% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 42.91 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 10.56 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 0.99 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 0.91 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female
  all ages: 0.94 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 88.4 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 57.26 years
  male: 53.25 years
  female: 61.4 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 6.05 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Swazi(s)
  adjective: Swazi

Ethnic divisions: African 97%, European 3%

Religions: Christian 60%, indigenous beliefs 40%

Languages: English (official, government business conducted in
  English), siSwati (official)

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)
  total population: 76.7%
  male: 78%
  female: 75.6%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Kingdom of Swaziland
  conventional short form: Swaziland

Data code: WZ

Type of government: monarchy; independent member of Commonwealth

Capital: Mbabane (administrative); Lobamba (legislative)

Administrative divisions: 4 districts; Hhohho, Lubombo, Manzini,
  Shiselweni

Independence: 6 September 1968 (from UK)

National holiday: Somhlolo (Independence) Day, 6 September (1968)

Constitution: none; constitution of 6 September 1968 was suspended
  12 April 1973; a new constitution was promulgated 13 October 1978,
  but has not been formally presented to the people

Legal system: based on South African Roman-Dutch law in statutory
  courts and Swazi traditional law and custom in traditional courts;
  has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: NA; note - no suffrage before September 1993; 55 of the
  65 seats in the House of Assembly were filled by popular vote in the
  elections of September and October 1993; of a population of less
  than 1 million, the electorate numbered 283,693

Executive branch:
  chief of state: King MSWATI III (since 25 April 1986) is a
  hereditary monarch
  head of government: Prime Minister Prince Jameson Mbilini DLAMINI
  (since 12 November 1993); appointed by the king
  cabinet: Cabinet; designated by the king

Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament is advisory
  Senate: consists of 30 members (10 appointed by the House of
  Assembly and 20 appointed by the king)
  House of Assembly: elections last held 26 September and 11 October
  1993 (next to be held NA); results - balloting is done on a nonparty
  basis; of the total of 65 seats, 10 are appointed by the king and 55
  are elected by secret, popular vote; candidates for election are
  nominated by the local council of each constituency and for each
  constituency the three candidates with the most votes in the first
  round of voting are narrowed to a single winner by a second round

Judicial branch: High Court, judges are appointed by the king;
  Court of Appeal, judges are appointed by the king

Political parties and leaders:
  note: political parties are banned by the constitution promulgated
  on 13 October 1978; illegal parties are prohibited from holding
  large public gatherings
  illegal parties: Peoples' United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO), Mario
  MASUKU; Swaziland Youth Congress (SWAYOCO), Benedict TSABEDZE;
  Swaziland Communist Party (SWACOPA), Mphandlana SHONGWE; Swaziland
  Liberation Front (FROLISA); Convention for Full Democracy in
  Swaziland (COFUDESWA), Sabelo DLAMINI; Swaziland National Front
  (SWANAFRO); Ngwane Socialist Revolutionary Party (NGWASOREP)

International organization participation: ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA,
  FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF,
  Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, PCA, SACU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD,
  UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Mary Madzandza KHANYA
  chancery: 3400 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008
  telephone: [1] (202) 362-6683, 6685
  FAX: [1] (202) 244-8059

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador John T. SPROTT
  embassy: Central Bank Building, Warner Street, Mbabane
  mailing address: P. O. Box 199, Mbabane
  telephone: [268] 46441 through 46445
  FAX: [268] 45959

Flag: three horizontal bands of blue (top), red (triple width),
  and blue; the red band is edged in yellow; centered in the red band
  is a large black and white shield covering two spears and a staff
  decorated with feather tassels, all placed horizontally



Economy
-------


Economic overview: This small landlocked economy is based largely
  on subsistence agriculture, which occupies more than 60% of the
  population. Manufacturing features a number of agroprocessing
  factories. Mining has declined in importance in recent years;
  high-grade iron ore deposits were depleted by 1978, and health
  concerns cut world demand for asbestos. Exports of sugar and
  forestry products are the main earners of hard currency. Surrounded
  by South Africa, except for a short border with Mozambique,
  Swaziland is heavily dependent on South Africa, from which it
  receives 90% of its imports and to which it sends about half of its
  exports. Remittances from Swazi workers in South African mines
  supplement domestically produced income by as much as 20%.
  Overgrazing, soil depletion, and drougth persist as problems for the
  future.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $3.6 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 2.6% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $3,700 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 25%
  industry: 40%
  services: 35% (1995 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 14.7% (1995 est.)

Labor force: 160,355 (1986 est.)
  by occupation: private sector about 65%, public sector 35%

Unemployment rate: 15% (1992 est.)

Budget:
  revenues: $342 million
  expenditures: $410 million, including capital expenditures of $130
  million (1994 est.)

Industries: mining (coal and asbestos), wood pulp, sugar

Industrial production growth rate: 4.2% (1993 est.)

Electricity:
  capacity: 120,000 kW
  production: 410 million kWh
  consumption per capita: 1,003 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: sugarcane, cotton, maize, tobacco, rice, citrus,
  pineapples, corn, sorghum, peanuts; cattle, goats, sheep

Exports: $798 million (f.o.b., 1994 est.)
  commodities: sugar, edible concentrates, wood pulp, cotton yarn,
  asbestos
  partners: South Africa 50%, EU countries, Canada

Imports: $827 million (f.o.b., 1994 est.)
  commodities: motor vehicles, machinery, transport equipment,
  petroleum products, foodstuffs, chemicals
  partners: South Africa 90%, Switzerland, UK 2.6%

External debt: $240 million (1992)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $NA

Currency: 1 lilangeni (E) = 100 cents

Exchange rates: emalangeni (E) per US$1 - 3.6417 (January 1996),
  3.6266 (1995), 3.5490 (1994), 3.2636 (1993), 2.8497 (1992), 2.7563
  (1991), 2.5863 (1990); note - the Swazi emalangeni is at par with
  the South African rand

Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 297 km; note - includes 71 km which are not in use
  narrow gauge: 297 km 1.067-m gauge (single track)

Highways:
  total: 2,960 km
  paved: 804 km
  unpaved: 2,156 km (1993 est.)

Ports: none

Airports:
  total: 17
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 1
  with paved runways under 914 m: 10
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 6 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 30,364 (1993 est.)

Telephone system:
  domestic: system consists of carrier-equipped, open-wire lines and
  low-capacity, microwave radio relay
  international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 7, FM 6, shortwave 0

Radios: 129,000 (1992 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 10

Televisions: 12,500 (1992 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Umbutfo Swaziland Defense Force (Army), Royal Swaziland
  Police Force

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 220,097
  males fit for military service: 127,285 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $22 million, NA%
  of GDP (FY93/94)



======================================================================




@Sweden
------




Map
---


Location: 62 00 N, 15 00 E -- Northern Europe, bordering the
  Baltic Sea, Gulf of Bothnia, and Skagerrak, between Finland and
  Norway



Flag
----


Description: blue with a yellow cross that extends to the edges of
  the flag; the vertical part of the cross is shifted to the hoist
  side in the style of the Dannebrog (Danish flag)





Geography
---------


Location: Northern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, Gulf of
  Bothnia, and Skagerrak, between Finland and Norway

Geographic coordinates: 62 00 N, 15 00 E

Map references: Europe

Area:
  total area: 449,964 sq km
  land area: 410,928 sq km
  comparative area: slightly smaller than California

Land boundaries:
  total: 2,205 km
  border countries: Finland 586 km, Norway 1,619 km

Coastline: 3,218 km

Maritime claims:
  continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
  exclusive economic zone: agreed boundaries or midlines
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: none

Climate: temperate in south with cold, cloudy winters and cool,
  partly cloudy summers; subarctic in north

Terrain: mostly flat or gently rolling lowlands; mountains in west
  lowest point: Baltic Sea 0 m
  highest point: Kebnekaise 2,111 m

Natural resources: zinc, iron ore, lead, copper, silver, timber,
  uranium, hydropower potential

Land use:
  arable land: 7%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 2%
  forest and woodland: 64%
  other: 27%

Irrigated land: 1,120 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
  current issues: acid rain damaging soils and lakes; pollution of the
  North Sea and the Baltic Sea
  natural hazards: ice floes in the surrounding waters, especially in
  the Gulf of Bothnia, can interfere with maritime traffic
  international agreements: party to - Air Pollution, Air
  Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air
  Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds,
  Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity,
  Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental
  Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban,
  Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83,
  Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Law of the Sea

Geographic note: strategic location along Danish Straits linking
  Baltic and North Seas



People
------


Population: 8,900,954 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 19% (male 860,940; female 815,967)
  15-64 years: 64% (male 2,884,687; female 2,794,593)
  65 years and over: 17% (male 654,439; female 890,328) (July 1996
  est.)

Population growth rate: 0.56% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 11.55 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 11.43 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 5.48 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.74 male(s)/female
  all ages: 0.98 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 4.5 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 78.06 years
  male: 75.62 years
  female: 80.63 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.72 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Swede(s)
  adjective: Swedish

Ethnic divisions: white, Lapp (Sami), foreign-born or
  first-generation immigrants 12% (Finns, Yugoslavs, Danes,
  Norwegians, Greeks, Turks)

Religions: Evangelical Lutheran 94%, Roman Catholic 1.5%,
  Pentecostal 1%, other 3.5% (1987)

Languages: Swedish
  note: small Lapp- and Finnish-speaking minorities

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1979 est.)
  total population: 99%
  male: NA%
  female: NA%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Kingdom of Sweden
  conventional short form: Sweden
  local long form: Konungariket Sverige
  local short form: Sverige

Data code: SW

Type of government: constitutional monarchy

Capital: Stockholm

Administrative divisions: 24 provinces (lan, singular and plural);
  Alvsborgs Lan, Blekinge Lan, Gavleborgs Lan, Goteborgs och Bohus
  Lan, Gotlands Lan, Hallands Lan, Jamtlands Lan, Jonkopings Lan,
  Kalmar Lan, Kopparbergs Lan, Kristianstads Lan, Kronobergs Lan,
  Malmohus Lan, Norrbottens Lan, Orebro Lan, Ostergotlands Lan,
  Skaraborgs Lan, Sodermanlands Lan, Stockholms Lan, Uppsala Lan,
  Varmlands Lan, Vasterbottens Lan, Vasternorrlands Lan, Vastmanlands
  Lan

Independence: 6 June 1523, Gustav VASA was elected king; 6 June
  1809, a constitutional monarchy was established

National holiday: Day of the Swedish Flag, 6 June

Constitution: 1 January 1975

Legal system: civil law system influenced by customary law;
  accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: King CARL XVI GUSTAF (since 19 September 1973) is a
  constitutional monarch; Heir Apparent Princess VICTORIA Ingrid Alice
  Desiree, daughter of the King (born 14 July 1977)
  head of government: Prime Minister Goran PERSSON (since 21 March
  1996) was elected by the Riksdag
  cabinet: Cabinet was appointed by the prime minister

Legislative branch: unicameral
  Parliament (Riksdag): elections last held 18 September 1994 (next to
  be held NA September 1998); results - Social Democrats 45.4%,
  Moderate Party (Conservatives) 22.3%, Center Party 7.7%, Liberals
  7.2%, Left Party 6.2%, Greens 5.8%, Christian Democrats 4.1%, New
  Democracy Party 1.2%; seats - (349 total) Social Democrats 162,
  Moderate Party (Conservatives) 80, Center Party 27, Liberals 26,
  Left Party 22, Greens 18, Christian Democrats 14; note - the New
  Democracy Party did not receive a seat because parties require a
  minimum of 4.0% of votes for a seat in parliament

Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Hogsta Domstolen), judges are
  appointed by the government (prime minister and cabinet)

Political parties and leaders: Social Democratic Party, Goran
  PERSSON; Moderate Party (conservative), Carl BILDT; Liberal People's
  Party, Maria LEISSNER; Center Party, Olof JOHANSSON; Christian
  Democratic Party, Alf SVENSSON; New Democracy Party, Vivianne
  FRANZEN; Left Party (VP; Communist), Gudrun SCHYMAN; Communist
  Workers' Party, Rolf HAGEL; Green Party, no formal leader but party
  spokesperson is Briger SCHLAUG

International organization participation: AfDB, AG (observer),
  AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, CBSS, CCC, CE, CERN, EBRD, ECE, EIB,
  ESA, EU, FAO, G- 6, G- 8, G- 9, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC,
  ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat,
  Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MTCR, NACC, NAM (guest), NC,
  NEA, NIB, NSG, OECD, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNAVEM III, UNCRO, UNCTAD,
  UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNITAR, UNMOGIP, UNOMIG, UNPREDEP,
  UNPROFOR, UNTSO, UPU, WEU (observer), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO, ZC

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Carl Henrik Sihver LILJEGREN
  chancery: 1501 M Street NW, Washington, DC 20005
  telephone: [1] (202) 467-2600
  FAX: [1] (202) 467-2699
  consulate(s) general: Los Angeles and New York

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Thomas L. SIEBERT
  embassy: Strandvagen 101, S-115 89 Stockholm
  mailing address: use embassy street address
  telephone: [46] (8) 783 53 00
  FAX: [46] (8) 661 19 64

Flag: blue with a yellow cross that extends to the edges of the
  flag; the vertical part of the cross is shifted to the hoist side in
  the style of the Dannebrog (Danish flag)



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Aided by peace and neutrality during World War
  I through World War II, Sweden has achieved an enviable standard of
  living under a mixed system of high-tech capitalism and extensive
  welfare benefits. It has a modern distribution system, excellent
  internal and external communications, and a skilled labor force.
  Timber, hydropower, and iron ore constitute the resource base of an
  economy heavily oriented toward foreign trade. Privately-owned firms
  account for about 90% of industrial output, of which the engineering
  sector accounts for 50% of output and exports. In 1993, agriculture
  accounted for only 2% of GDP and 2% of the jobs. In recent years,
  however, this extraordinarily favorable picture has been clouded by
  budgetary difficulties, inflation, growing unemployment, and a
  gradual loss of competitiveness in international markets. In
  November 1992, Sweden broke its tie to the EC's ECU (European
  Currency Unit), and depreciation of the krona has boosted export
  competitiveness and helped lift Sweden out of its 1991-93 recession.
  To curb the budget deficit and bolster confidence in the economy,
  the government adopted an adjustment program in November 1994 that
  aims to eliminate the government budget deficit and to stabilize the
  debt to GDP ratio. Sweden has harmonized its economic policies with
  those of the EU, which it joined at the start of 1995.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $177.3 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 3.5% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $20,100 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 2%
  industry: 27%
  services: 71% (1993)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.6% (1995)

Labor force: 4.552 million (84% unionized, 1992)
  by occupation: community, social and personal services 38.3%, mining
  and manufacturing 21.2%, commerce, hotels, and restaurants 14.1%,
  banking, insurance 9.0%, communications 7.2%, construction 7.0%,
  agriculture, fishing, and forestry 3.2% (1991)

Unemployment rate: 7.8% (December 1995) plus about 6% in training
  programs

Budget:
  revenues: $109.4 billion
  expenditures: $146.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA
  (FY95/96)

Industries: iron and steel, precision equipment (bearings, radio
  and telephone parts, armaments), wood pulp and paper products,
  processed foods, motor vehicles

Industrial production growth rate: 11.7% (1994)

Electricity:
  capacity: 34,560,000 kW
  production: 141 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 14,891 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: grains, sugar beets, potatoes; meat, milk

Illicit drugs: transshipment point for narcotics shipped via the
  former Soviet Republics and Baltic states for the European market

Exports: $61.2 billion (f.o.b., 1994)
  commodities: machinery, motor vehicles, paper products, pulp and
  wood, iron and steel products, chemicals, petroleum and petroleum
  products
  partners: EU 59.1% (Germany 13.2%, UK 10.2%, Denmark 6.9%, France
  5.1%), Norway 8.1%, Finland 4.8%, US 8.0% (1994)

Imports: $51.8 billion (c.i.f., 1994)
  commodities: machinery, petroleum and petroleum products, chemicals,
  motor vehicles, foodstuffs, iron and steel, clothing
  partners: EU 62.6% (Germany 18.4%, UK 9.5%, Denmark 6.6%, France
  5.5%), Finland 6.3%, Norway 6.1%, US 8.5% (1994)

External debt: $66.5 billion (1994)

Economic aid:
  donor: ODA, $1.769 billion (1993)

Currency: 1 Swedish krona (SKr) = 100 oere

Exchange rates: Swedish kronor (SKr) per US$1 - 6.7240 (January
  1996), 7.1333 (1995), 7.7160 (1994), 7.7834 (1993), 5.8238 (1992),
  6.0475 (1991)

Fiscal year: 1 January - 31 December (Sweden changed its fiscal
  year from 1 July - 30 June in 1995)



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 12,624 km (includes 953 km of privately-owned railways)
  standard gauge: 11,767 km 1.435-m gauge (7,320 km electrified and
  1,152 km double track)
  other: 857 km NA-m gauge (1995)

Highways:
  total: 135,859 km
  paved: 97,818 km (including 936 km of expressways)
  unpaved: 38,041 km (1991 est.)

Waterways: 2,052 km navigable for small steamers and barges

Pipelines: natural gas 84 km

Ports: Gavle, Goteborg, Halmstad, Helsingborg, Hudiksvall, Kalmar,
  Karlshamn, Malmo, Solvesborg, Stockholm, Sundsvall

Merchant marine:
  total: 169 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,993,422
  GRT/2,183,215 DWT
  ships by type: bulk 10, cargo 35, chemical tanker 24, combination
  ore/oil 1, liquefied gas tanker 1, oil tanker 32, railcar carrier 2,
  refrigerated cargo 1, roll-on/roll-off cargo 38, short-sea passenger
  7, specialized tanker 4, vehicle carrier 14 (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 251
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 2
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 7
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 85
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 26
  with paved runways under 914 m: 127
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 4 (1995 est.)

Heliports: 1 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 7.41 million (1986 est.)

Telephone system: excellent domestic and international facilities;
  automatic system
  domestic: coaxial and multiconductor cable carry most voice traffic;
  parallel microwave radio relay network carries some additional
  telephone channels
  international: 5 submarine coaxial cables; satellite earth stations
  - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean), 1 Eutelsat, and 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic
  and Indian Ocean regions); note - Sweden shares the Inmarsat earth
  station with the other Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland,
  and Norway)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 5, FM 360 (mostly repeaters),
  shortwave 0

Radios: 7.272 million (1993 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 880 (mostly repeaters)

Televisions: 3.5 million



Defense
-------


Branches: Swedish Army, Royal Swedish Navy, Swedish Air Force

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 2,133,816
  males fit for military service: 1,867,031
  males reach military age (19) annually: 51,357 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $5.8 billion,
  2.5% of GDP (FY94/95)



======================================================================




@Switzerland
-----------




Map
---


Location: 47 00 N, 8 00 E -- Central Europe, east of France



Flag
----


Description: red square with a bold, equilateral white cross in
  the center that does not extend to the edges of the flag





Geography
---------


Location: Central Europe, east of France

Geographic coordinates: 47 00 N, 8 00 E

Map references: Europe

Area:
  total area: 41,290 sq km
  land area: 39,770 sq km
  comparative area: slightly more than twice the size of New Jersey

Land boundaries:
  total: 1,852 km
  border countries: Austria 164 km, France 573 km, Italy 740 km,
  Liechtenstein 41 km, Germany 334 km

Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims: none (landlocked)

International disputes: none

Climate: temperate, but varies with altitude; cold, cloudy,
  rainy/snowy winters; cool to warm, cloudy, humid summers with
  occasional showers

Terrain: mostly mountains (Alps in south, Jura in northwest) with
  a central plateau of rolling hills, plains, and large lakes
  lowest point: Lake Maggiore 195 m
  highest point: Dufourspitze 4,634 m

Natural resources: hydropower potential, timber, salt

Land use:
  arable land: 10%
  permanent crops: 1%
  meadows and pastures: 40%
  forest and woodland: 26%
  other: 23%

Irrigated land: 250 sq km (1989)

Environment:
  current issues: air pollution from vehicle emissions and open-air
  burning; acid rain; water pollution from increased use of
  agricultural fertilizers; loss of biodiversity
  natural hazards: avalanches, landslides, flash floods
  international agreements: party to - Air Pollution, Air
  Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air
  Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic Treaty,
  Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental
  Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Marine Life
  Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship
  Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Wetlands, Whaling; signed, but not
  ratified - Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Antarctic-Environmental
  Protocol, Desertification, Law of the Sea, Tropical Timber 94

Geographic note: landlocked; crossroads of northern and southern
  Europe; along with southeastern France and northern Italy, contains
  the highest elevations in Europe



People
------


Population: 7,207,060 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 17% (male 638,728; female 610,546)
  15-64 years: 68% (male 2,495,325; female 2,405,226)
  65 years and over: 15% (male 424,394; female 632,841) (July 1996
  est.)

Population growth rate: 0.59% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 11.35 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 9.64 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 4.2 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.67 male(s)/female
  all ages: 0.98 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 5.4 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 77.62 years
  male: 74.58 years
  female: 80.82 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.47 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Swiss (singular and plural)
  adjective: Swiss

Ethnic divisions:
  total population: German 65%, French 18%, Italian 10%, Romansch 1%,
  other 6%
  Swiss nationals: German 74%, French 20%, Italian 4%, Romansch 1%,
  other 1%

Religions: Roman Catholic 47.6%, Protestant 44.3%, other 8.1%
  (1980)

Languages: German 65%, French 18%, Italian 12%, Romansch 1%, other
  4%
  note: figures for Swiss nationals only: German 74%, French 20%,
  Italian 4%, Romansch 1%, other 1%

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1980 est.)
  total population: 99%
  male: NA%
  female: NA%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Swiss Confederation
  conventional short form: Switzerland
  local long form: Schweizerische Eidgenossenschaft (German),
  Confederation Suisse (French), Confederazione Svizzera (Italian)
  local short form: Schweiz (German), Suisse (French), Svizzera
  (Italian)

Data code: SZ

Type of government: federal republic

Capital: Bern

Administrative divisions: 26 cantons (cantons, singular - canton
  in French; cantoni, singular - cantone in Italian; kantone, singular
  - kanton in German); Aargau, Ausser-Rhoden, Basel-Landschaft,
  Basel-Stadt, Bern, Fribourg, Geneve, Glarus, Graubunden,
  Inner-Rhoden, Jura, Luzern, Neuchatel, Nidwalden, Obwalden, Sankt
  Gallen, Schaffhausen, Schwyz, Solothurn, Thurgau, Ticino, Uri,
  Valais, Vaud, Zug, Zurich

Independence: 1 August 1291

National holiday: Anniversary of the Founding of the Swiss
  Confederation, 1 August (1291)

Constitution: 29 May 1874

Legal system: civil law system influenced by customary law;
  judicial review of legislative acts, except with respect to federal
  decrees of general obligatory character; accepts compulsory ICJ
  jurisdiction, with reservations

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state and head of government: President Jean-Pascal
  DELAMURAZ (1996 calendar year; presidency rotates annually); Vice
  President Arnold KOLLER (term runs concurrently with that of
  president); the president is appointed each year from the Federal
  Council by the Federal Assembly
  cabinet: Federal Council (German - Bundesrat, French - Censeil
  Federal, Italian - Consiglio Federale) was elected for a four-year
  term by the Federal Assembly from among its own members

Legislative branch: bicameral Federal Assembly (German -
  Bundesversammlung, French - Assemblee Federale, Italian - Assemblea
  Federale)
  Council of States: (German - Standerat, French - Conseil des Etats,
  Italian - Consiglio degli Stati); elections last held throughout
  1995 (next to be held NA 1999); results - percent of vote by party
  NA; seats - (46 total) PRD 17, PDC 17, UDC 4, PSS 3, LPS 3, LdU 1,
  Ticino League 1
  National Council: (German - Nationalrat, French - Conseil National,
  Italian - Consiglio Nazionale); elections last held 20 October 1995
  (next to be held NA October 1999); results - percent of vote by
  party NA; seats - (200 total) PRD 45, PSS 54, PDC 34, UDC 30, GPS 8,
  LPS 7, FPS 6, LdU 6, SD 3, EVP 3, PdA 2, Ticino League 2

Judicial branch: Federal Supreme Court, judges elected for
  six-year terms by the Federal Assembly

Political parties and leaders: Radical Free Democratic Party
  (PRD), Franz STEINEGGER, president; Social Democratic Party (PSS),
  Peter BODENMANN, president; Christian Democratic People's Party
  (PDC), Anton COTTIER, president; Swiss People's Party (UDC), Hans
  UHLMANN, president; Green Party (GPS), Verena DIENER, president;
  Freedom Party (FPS), Roland BORER; Liberal Party (LPS), Christoph
  EYMANN, president; Alliance of Independents' Party (LdU), Monica
  WEBER, president; Ticino League, Giuliano BIGNASCA, president; and
  other minor parties including Swiss Democratic Party (SD), Workers'
  Party (PdA), and the Evangelical People's Party (EVP); note - see
  elections

International organization participation: AfDB, AG (observer),
  AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, CCC, CE, CERN, EBRD, ECE, EFTA, ESA,
  FAO, G- 8, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA,
  IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC,
  IOM, ISO, ITU, MTCR, NAM (guest), NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD,
  OSCE, PCA, UN (observer), UNAMIR, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO,
  UNITAR, UNMOT, UNOMIG, UNPREDEP, UNPROFOR, UNTSO, UNU, UPU, WCL,
  WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Carlo JAGMETTI
  chancery: 2900 Cathedral Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
  telephone: [1] (202) 745-7900
  FAX: [1] (202) 387-2564
  consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New
  York, Pago Pago (American Samoa), and San Francisco

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant)
  embassy: Jubilaeumstrasse 93, 3005 Bern
  mailing address: use embassy street address
  telephone: [41] (31) 357 70 11
  FAX: [41] (31) 357 73 44
  consulate(s) general: Zurich

Flag: red square with a bold, equilateral white cross in the
  center that does not extend to the edges of the flag



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Switzerland, a fundamentally prosperous and
  stable modern economy with a per capita GDP roughly 10% above that
  of the big West European economies, is experiencing short-term
  difficulties. After recovering slowly in 1994-95 from recession, the
  Swiss economy remains weak, mainly because of the strong Swiss franc
  and weak growth in Swiss export market, especially in other European
  countries. Over the near term, growth may average barely 1%, with
  more than one-half of this increase resulting from growth in
  inventories. Weak domestic consumer demand is the principal culprit;
  stagnation in real disposable income is combining with a reluctance
  to reduce saving rates in the face of an uncertain employment
  outlook. Switzerland's leading sectors, including financial
  services, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, and special-purpose
  machines, will therefore be more reliant on export markets at the
  same time they are being squeezed by the strong franc. Consequently,
  growth in machinery and equipment investment, for example, is
  expected to taper off. On the other side, import growth has been
  fueled by the strong franc; there are growing indications that Swiss
  manufacturers are substituting imported inputs for domestic ones.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $158.5 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 1.2% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $22,400 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 3%
  industry: 33.5%
  services: 63.5% (1991)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1.8% (1995 est.)

Labor force: 3.48 million (900,000 foreign workers, mostly Italian)
  by occupation: services 50%, industry and crafts 34%, government
  10%, agriculture and forestry 6% (1992)

Unemployment rate: 3.3% (1995)

Budget:
  revenues: $31 billion
  expenditures: $36.9 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA
  (1995)

Industries: machinery, chemicals, watches, textiles, precision
  instruments

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity:
  capacity: 15,430,000 kW
  production: 58 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 6,699 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: grains, fruits, vegetables; meat, eggs

Illicit drugs: money-laundering center; transit country for South
  American cocaine and Southwest Asian heroin

Exports: $69.6 billion (f.o.b., 1994 est.)
  commodities: machinery and equipment, precision instruments, metal
  products, foodstuffs, textiles and clothing
  partners: Western Europe 63.1% (EU countries 56%, other 7.1%), US
  8.8%, Japan 3.4%

Imports: $68.2 billion (c.i.f., 1994 est.)
  commodities: agricultural products, machinery and transportation
  equipment, chemicals, textiles, construction materials
  partners: Western Europe 79.2% (EU countries 72.3%, other 6.9%), US
  6.4%

External debt: $NA

Economic aid:
  donor: ODA, $793 million (1993)

Currency: 1 Swiss franc, franken, or franco (SwF) = 100 centimes,
  rappen, or centesimi

Exchange rates: Swiss francs, franken, or franchi (SwF) per US$1 -
  1.1810 (January 1996), 1.1825 (1995), 1.3677 (1994), 1.4776 (1993),
  1.4062 (1992), 1.4340 (1991)

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 5,719 km (1,432 km double track)
  standard gauge: 3,283 km 1.435-m gauge (99% electrified; 310 km
  nongovernment owned)
  narrow gauge: 1,255 km 1.000-m gauge (99% electrified; 1,181 km
  nongovernment owned)
  other: 1,181 km NA-m gauge (1995)

Highways:
  total: 71,118 km
  paved: 71,118 km (including 1,514 km of expressways)
  unpaved: 0 km (1992 est.)

Waterways: 65 km; Rhine (Basel to Rheinfelden, Schaffhausen to
  Bodensee); 12 navigable lakes

Pipelines: crude oil 314 km; natural gas 1,506 km

Ports: Basel

Merchant marine:
  total: 23 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 410,581 GRT/727,744 DWT
  ships by type: bulk 14, cargo 1, chemical tanker 4, oil tanker 2,
  roll-on/roll-off cargo 1, specialized tanker 1 (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 67
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 4
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 4
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 13
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 5
  with paved runways under 914 m: 40
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 1 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 5,622,976 (1986 est.)

Telephone system: excellent domestic and international services
  domestic: extensive cable and microwave radio relay networks
  international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean
  and Indian Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 7, FM 265, shortwave 0

Radios: NA

Television broadcast stations: 18 (repeaters 1,322)

Televisions: 2.513 million (1994 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Army, Air Force and Antiaircraft Command, Frontier
  Guards, Fortification Guards

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 1,893,587
  males fit for military service: 1,623,414
  males reach military age (20) annually: 41,425 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $3.74 billion,
  1.4% of GDP (1995)



======================================================================




@Syria
-----




Map
---


Location: 35 00 N, 38 00 E -- Middle East, bordering the
  Mediterranean Sea, between Lebanon and Turkey



Flag
----


Description: three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and
  black with two small green five-pointed stars in a horizontal line
  centered in the white band; similar to the flag of Yemen, which has
  a plain white band and of Iraq, which has three green stars (plus an
  Arabic inscription) in a horizontal line centered in the white band;
  also similar to the flag of Egypt, which has a symbolic eagle
  centered in the white band





Geography
---------


Location: Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between
  Lebanon and Turkey

Geographic coordinates: 35 00 N, 38 00 E

Map references: Middle East

Area:
  total area: 185,180 sq km
  land area: 184,050 sq km
  comparative area: slightly larger than North Dakota
  note: includes 1,295 sq km of Israeli-occupied territory

Land boundaries:
  total: 2,253 km
  border countries: Iraq 605 km, Israel 76 km, Jordan 375 km, Lebanon
  375 km, Turkey 822 km

Coastline: 193 km

Maritime claims:
  contiguous zone: 41 nm
  territorial sea: 35 nm

International disputes: Golan Heights is Israeli occupied; Hatay
  question with Turkey; dispute over Turkey's water development plans
  for the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers; Syrian troops in northern,
  central, and eastern Lebanon since October 1976

Climate: mostly desert; hot, dry, sunny summers (June to August)
  and mild, rainy winters (December to February) along coast; cold
  weather with snow or sleet periodically hitting Damascus

Terrain: primarily semiarid and desert plateau; narrow coastal
  plain; mountains in west
  lowest point: unnamed location near Lake Tiberias -200 m
  highest point: Mount Hermon 2,814 m

Natural resources: petroleum, phosphates, chrome and manganese
  ores, asphalt, iron ore, rock salt, marble, gypsum

Land use:
  arable land: 28%
  permanent crops: 3%
  meadows and pastures: 46%
  forest and woodland: 3%
  other: 20%

Irrigated land: 10,000 sq km (1992)

Environment:
  current issues: deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion;
  desertification; water pollution from dumping of raw sewage and
  wastes from petroleum refining; inadequate supplies of potable water
  natural hazards: dust storms, sandstorms
  international agreements: party to - Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test
  Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution; signed, but not
  ratified - Biodiversity, Desertification, Environmental Modification

Geographic note: there are 42 Israeli settlements and civilian
  land use sites in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights (August 1995
  est.)



People
------


Population: 15,608,648 (July 1996 est.)
  note: in addition, there are 31,300 people living in the
  Israeli-occupied Golan Heights - 16,500 Arabs (15,000 Druze and
  1,500 Alawites) and 14,800 Israeli settlers (August 1995 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 47% (male 3,738,671; female 3,557,474)
  15-64 years: 50% (male 4,013,355; female 3,843,466)
  65 years and over: 3% (male 227,249; female 228,433) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 3.37% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 39.56 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 5.86 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 1 male(s)/female
  all ages: 1.05 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 40 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 67.13 years
  male: 65.94 years
  female: 68.38 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 5.91 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Syrian(s)
  adjective: Syrian

Ethnic divisions: Arab 90.3%, Kurds, Armenians, and other 9.7%

Religions: Sunni Muslim 74%, Alawite, Druze, and other Muslim
  sects 16%, Christian (various sects) 10%, Jewish (tiny communities
  in Damascus, Al Qamishli, and Aleppo)

Languages: Arabic (official), Kurdish, Armenian, Aramaic,
  Circassian, French widely understood

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)
  total population: 70.8%
  male: 85.7%
  female: 55.8%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Syrian Arab Republic
  conventional short form: Syria
  local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Arabiyah as Suriyah
  local short form: Suriyah
  former: United Arab Republic (with Egypt)

Data code: SY

Type of government: republic under military regime since March 1963

Capital: Damascus

Administrative divisions: 14 provinces (muhafazat, singular -
  muhafazah); Al Hasakah, Al Ladhiqiyah, Al Qunaytirah, Ar Raqqah, As
  Suwayda', Dar'a, Dayr az Zawr, Dimashq, Halab, Hamah, Hims, Idlib,
  Rif Dimashq, Tartus

Independence: 17 April 1946 (from League of Nations mandate under
  French administration)

National holiday: National Day, 17 April (1946)

Constitution: 13 March 1973

Legal system: based on Islamic law and civil law system; special
  religious courts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: President Hafiz al-ASAD (since 22 February 1971; see
  note) was reelected for a seven-year term by universal suffrage;
  election last held 2 December 1991 (next to be held NA December
  1998); results - President Hafiz al-ASAD was reelected for a fourth
  seven-year term with 99.98% of the vote; note - President ASAD
  seized power in the November 1970 coup, assumed presidential powers
  22 February 1971, and was confirmed as president in the 12 March
  1971 national elections; Vice Presidents 'Abd al-Halim ibn Said
  KHADDAM (since NA), Rifaat al-ASAD (since NA), and Muhammad Zuhayr
  MASHARIQA (since 11 March 1984) were appointed by the president
  head of government: Prime Minister Mahmud ZUBI (since 1 November
  1987), Deputy Prime Ministers Lt. Gen. Mustafa TALAS (since 11 March
  1984), Salim YASIN (since NA December 1981), and Rashid AKHTARINI
  (since 4 July 1992) were appointed by the president
  cabinet: Council of Ministers was appointed by the president

Legislative branch: unicameral
  People's Council (Majlis al-Chaab): elections last held 24-25 August
  1994 (next to be held NA 1998); results - percent of vote by party
  NA; seats - (250 total) National Progressive Front 167, independents
  83

Judicial branch: Supreme Constitutional Court, justices are
  appointed for four-year terms by the president; High Judicial
  Council; Court of Cassation; State Security Courts

Political parties and leaders:
  National Progressive Front includes: the ruling Arab Socialist
  Renaissance (Ba'th) Party, Hafiz al-ASAD, president of the republic,
  secretary general of the party, and chairman of the National
  Progressive Front; Syrian Arab Socialist Party (ASP), 'Abd al-Ghani
  KANNUT; Arab Socialist Union (ASU), Jamal ATASSI; Syrian Communist
  Party (SCP), Wisal FARHAH; Arab Socialist Unionist Movement, Sami
  SOUFAN; and Democratic Socialist Union Party, Ghassan UTHMAN

Other political or pressure groups: non-Ba'th parties have little
  effective political influence; Communist party ineffective;
  conservative religious leaders; Muslim Brotherhood

International organization participation: ABEDA, AFESD, AL, AMF,
  CAEU, CCC, ESCWA, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA,
  IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO,
  ITU, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNRWA, UPU, WFTU,
  WHO, WMO, WToO

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Walid MUALEM
  chancery: 2215 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
  telephone: [1] (202) 232-6313
  FAX: [1] (202) 234-9548

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Christopher W. S. ROSS
  embassy: Abou Roumaneh, Al-Mansur Street No. 2, Damascus
  mailing address: P. O. Box 29, Damascus
  telephone: [963] (11) 333-2814, 333-0788, 332-0783
  FAX: [963] (11) 224-7938

Flag: three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black
  with two small green five-pointed stars in a horizontal line
  centered in the white band; similar to the flag of Yemen, which has
  a plain white band and of Iraq, which has three green stars (plus an
  Arabic inscription) in a horizontal line centered in the white band;
  also similar to the flag of Egypt, which has a symbolic eagle
  centered in the white band



Economy
-------


Economic overview: During 1990-92 Syria's state-dominated economy
  benefited from the Gulf war, increased oil production, good weather,
  and economic reform. Economic growth averaged roughly 10%. The war
  led to a Syrian aid windfall of nearly $5 billion from Arab,
  European, and Japanese donors. Most positive economic trends ended
  in 1993 due to the dissipation of the Gulf war boom, a domestic
  financial crisis, and economic policy missteps. Economic growth has
  dropped below 5%, income inequality is increasing, the government
  budget deficit is growing, and international accounts are weakening.
  For the long run, Syria's economy is saddled with a large number of
  poorly performing public sector firms and low industrial
  productivity. Oil production is likely to ebb by the end of the
  decade. Unemployment will likely rise as the more than 60% of the
  population under age 20 moves into the labor force. The economic
  benefits of any peace treaty with Israel will depend in large part
  on the pace of economic reform.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $91.2 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 4.4% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $5,900 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 30%
  industry: 25%
  services: 45% (1994 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 15.1% (1994 est.)

Labor force: 4.7 million (1995 est.)
  by occupation: services 42%, industry 36%, agriculture 22% (1990
  est.)

Unemployment rate: 8% (1994 est.)

Budget:
  revenues: $2.5 billion
  expenditures: $3.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA
  (1994 est.)

Industries: textiles, food processing, beverages, tobacco,
  phosphate rock mining, petroleum

Industrial production growth rate: 5% (1994 est.)

Electricity:
  capacity: 4,160,000 kW
  production: 13.2 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 865 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: wheat, barley, cotton, lentils, chickpeas; beef,
  lamb, eggs, poultry, milk

Illicit drugs: a transit point for Lebanese and Turkish refined
  cocaine going to Europe and heroin and hashish bound for regional
  and Western markets

Exports: $3.5 billion (f.o.b., 1994)
  commodities: petroleum 66%, cotton, fruits and vegetables 14%,
  textiles 9%, animal products 4%, industrial products 3%
  partners: EU 61%, Arab countries 24%, former CEMA countries, China,
  Yugoslavia 5%, US and Canada 3% (1993 est.)

Imports: $5.4 billion (c.i.f., 1994)
  commodities: machinery 25%, metal products 16%, transport equipment
  15%, foodstuffs 12%, textiles 10%
  partners: EU 37%, former CEMA countries, China, Yugoslavia 17%, US
  and Canada 7%, Arab countries 6% (1993 est.)

External debt: $21.2 billion (1995 est.)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $259 million (1993)

Currency: 1 Syrian pound (LS) = 100 piastres

Exchange rates: Syrian pounds (LS) per US$1 - 11.225 (official
  fixed rate), 26.6 ("blended rate" used by the UN and diplomatic
  missions), 42.0 ("neighboring country rate" - applies to most state
  enterprise imports), 48.0 - 52.0 (offshore rate) (1994)

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 1,998 km
  broad gauge: 1,766 km 1.435-m gauge
  narrow gauge: 232 km 1.050-m gauge

Highways:
  total: 31,569 km
  paved: 24,308 km (including 712 km of expressways)
  unpaved: 7,261 km (1991 est.)

Waterways: 870 km; minimal economic importance

Pipelines: crude oil 1,304 km; petroleum products 515 km

Ports: Baniyas, Jablah, Latakia, Tartus

Merchant marine:
  total: 99 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 294,355 GRT/454,990 DWT
  ships by type: bulk 12, cargo 85, livestock carrier 1, vehicle
  carrier 1 (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 99
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 5
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 15
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 1
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 1
  with paved runways under 914 m: 62
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 2
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 13 (1995 est.)

Heliports: 2 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 541,465 (1992 est.)

Telephone system: fair system currently undergoing significant
  improvement and digital upgrades, including fiber-optic technology
  domestic: coaxial cable and microwave radio relay network
  international: satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean)
  and 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region); 1 submarine cable;
  coaxial cable and microwave radio relay to Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon,
  and Turkey; participant in Medarabtel

Radio broadcast stations: AM 9, FM 1, shortwave 0

Radios: 3.392 million (1992 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 17

Televisions: 700,000 (1993 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Syrian Arab Army, Syrian Arab Navy, Syrian Arab Air
  Force, Syrian Arab Air Defense Forces, Police and Security Force

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 3,590,557
  males fit for military service: 2,011,610
  males reach military age (19) annually: 164,598 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $875 million, 8%
  of GDP (1994 est.); note - based on official budget data that
  understate actual spending



======================================================================




@Taiwan
------




Map
---


Location: 23 30 N, 121 00 E -- Eastern Asia, islands bordering the
  East China Sea, Philippine Sea, South China Sea, and Taiwan Strait,
  north of the Philippines, off the southeastern coast of China



Flag
----


Description: red with a dark blue rectangle in the upper
  hoist-side corner bearing a white sun with 12 triangular rays





Geography
---------


Location: Eastern Asia, islands bordering the East China Sea,
  Philippine Sea, South China Sea, and Taiwan Strait, north of the
  Philippines, off the southeastern coast of China

Geographic coordinates: 23 30 N, 121 00 E

Map references: Southeast Asia

Area:
  total area: 35,980 sq km
  land area: 32,260 sq km
  comparative area: slightly smaller than Maryland and Delaware
  combined
  note: includes the Pescadores, Matsu, and Quemoy

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 1,448 km

Maritime claims:
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: involved in complex dispute over the
  Spratly Islands with China, Malaysia, Philippines, Vietnam, and
  possibly Brunei; Paracel Islands occupied by China, but claimed by
  Vietnam and Taiwan; Japanese-administered Senkaku-shoto (Senkaku
  Islands/Diaoyu Tai) claimed by China and Taiwan

Climate: tropical; marine; rainy season during southwest monsoon
  (June to August); cloudiness is persistent and extensive all year

Terrain: eastern two-thirds mostly rugged mountains; flat to
  gently rolling plains in west
  lowest point: South China Sea 0 m
  highest point: Yu Shan 3,997 m

Natural resources: small deposits of coal, natural gas, limestone,
  marble, and asbestos

Land use:
  arable land: 24%
  permanent crops: 1%
  meadows and pastures: 5%
  forest and woodland: 55%
  other: 15%

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Environment:
  current issues: water pollution from industrial emissions, raw
  sewage; air pollution; contamination of drinking water supplies;
  trade in endangered species
  natural hazards: earthquakes and typhoons
  international agreements: signed, but not ratified - Marine Life
  Conservation



People
------


Population: 21,465,881 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 23% (male 2,605,495; female 2,436,864)
  15-64 years: 69% (male 7,505,344; female 7,252,188)
  65 years and over: 8% (male 907,310; female 758,680) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 0.89% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 15.01 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 5.52 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: -0.61 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.08 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.07 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 1.2 male(s)/female
  all ages: 1.06 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 7 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 76.02 years
  male: 73.43 years
  female: 78.82 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.76 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Chinese (singular and plural)
  adjective: Chinese

Ethnic divisions: Taiwanese 84%, mainland Chinese 14%, aborigine 2%

Religions: mixture of Buddhist, Confucian, and Taoist 93%,
  Christian 4.5%, other 2.5%

Languages: Mandarin Chinese (official), Taiwanese (Min), Hakka
  dialects

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1980 est.)
  total population: 86%
  male: 93%
  female: 79%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: none
  conventional short form: Taiwan
  local long form: none
  local short form: T'ai-wan

Data code: TW

Type of government: multiparty democratic regime; opposition
  political parties legalized in March 1989

Capital: Taipei

Administrative divisions: some of the ruling party in Taipei claim
  to be the government of all China; in keeping with that claim, the
  central administrative divisions include 2 provinces (sheng,
  singular and plural) and 2 municipalities* (shih, singular and
  plural) - Fu-chien (some 20 offshore islands of Fujian Province
  including Quemoy and Matsu), Kao-hsiung*, T'ai-pei*, and Taiwan (the
  island of Taiwan and the Pescadores islands); note - the more
  commonly referenced administrative divisions are those of Taiwan
  Province - 16 counties (hsien, singular and plural), 5
  municipalities* (shih, singular and plural), and 2 special
  municipalities** (chuan-shih, singular and plural); Chang-hua,
  Chia-i, Chia-i*, Chi-lung*, Hsin-chu, Hsin-chu*, Hua-lien, I-lan,
  Kao-hsiung, Kao-hsiung**, Miao-li, Nan-t'ou, P'eng-hu, P'ing-tung,
  T'ai-chung, T'ai-chung*, T'ai-nan, T'ai-nan*, T'ai-pei, T'ai-pei**,
  T'ai-tung, T'ao-yuan, and Yun-lin; the provincial capital is at
  Chung-hsing-hsin-ts'un
  note: Taiwan uses the Wade-Giles system for romanization

National holiday: National Day, 10 October (1911) (Anniversary of
  the Revolution)

Constitution: 1 January 1947, amended in 1992, presently
  undergoing revision

Legal system: based on civil law system; accepts compulsory ICJ
  jurisdiction, with reservations

Suffrage: 20 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: President LI Teng-hui (succeeded to the presidency
  following the death of President CHIANG Ching-kuo 13 January 1988,
  elected by the National Assembly 21 March 1990, reelected by popular
  vote in the first-ever direct elections for president 23 March
  1996); election last held 23 March 1996 (next to be held NA 2000);
  results - LI Teng-hui 54%, PENG Ming-min 21%, LIN Yang-kang 15%, and
  CHEN Li-an 10%; Vice President-elect LIEN Chan (to be inaugurated 20
  May 1996)
  head of government: Premier (President of the Executive Yuan) LIEN
  Chan (since 23 February 1993) and Vice Premier (Vice President of
  the Executive Yuan) HSU Li-teh (since 23 February 1993) were
  appointed by the president; note - LIEN Chan will continue to serve
  as premier until 20 May 1996 when he will be inaugurated as vice
  president; a new premier is expected to be appointed sometime in May
  1996
  cabinet: Executive Yuan was appointed by the president

Legislative branch: unicameral Legislative Yuan and unicameral
  National Assembly
  Legislative Yuan: elections last held 2 December 1995 (next to be
  held NA December 1998); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats
  - (164 total) KMT 85, DPP 54, CNP 21, independents 4; note - since
  the election, there has been a change in the distribution of seats -
  KMT 83, DPP 54, CNP 21, independents 6
  National Assembly: elections last held 23 March 1996 (next to be
  held NA 2000); results - KMT 55%, DPP 30%, CNP 14%, other 1%; seats
  - (334 total) KMT 183, DPP 99, CNP 46, other 6

Judicial branch: Judicial Yuan, justices nominated and appointed
  for nine-year terms by the president

Political parties and leaders: Kuomintang (KMT, Nationalist
  Party), LI Teng-hui, chairman; Democratic Progressive Party (DPP),
  leader NA; Chinese New Party (CNP), leader NA; Labor Party (LP),
  leader NA

Other political or pressure groups: Taiwan independence movement,
  various environmental groups
  note: debate on Taiwan independence has become acceptable within the
  mainstream of domestic politics on Taiwan; political liberalization
  and the increased representation of the opposition Democratic
  Progressive Party in Taiwan's legislature have opened public debate
  on the island's national identity; advocates of Taiwan independence,
  both within the DPP and the ruling Kuomintang, oppose the ruling
  party's traditional stand that the island will eventually unify with
  mainland China; the aims of the Taiwan independence movement include
  establishing a sovereign nation on Taiwan and entering the UN; other
  organizations supporting Taiwan independence include the World
  United Formosans for Independence and the Organization for Taiwan
  Nation Building

International organization participation: APEC, AsDB, BCIE, ICC,
  IOC, WCL, WTrO (applicant)

Diplomatic representation in US: none; unofficial commercial and
  cultural relations with the people of the US are maintained through
  a private instrumentality, the Taipei Economic and Cultural
  Representative Office (TECRO) with headquarters in Taipei and field
  offices in Washington and 10 other US cities

US diplomatic representation: none; unofficial commercial and
  cultural relations with the people of Taiwan are maintained through
  a private institution, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), which
  has offices in Taipei at #7, Lane 134, Hsin Yi Road, Section 3,
  telephone [886] (2) 709-2000, FAX [886] (2) 702-7675, and in
  Kao-hsiung at #2 Chung Cheng 3d Road, telephone [886] (7) 224-0154
  through 0157, FAX [886] (7) 223-8237, and the American Trade Center
  at Room 3207 International Trade Building, Taipei World Trade
  Center, 333 Keelung Road Section 1, Taipei 10548, telephone [886]
  (2) 720-1550

Flag: red with a dark blue rectangle in the upper hoist-side
  corner bearing a white sun with 12 triangular rays



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Taiwan has a dynamic capitalist economy with
  considerable government guidance of investment and foreign trade and
  partial government ownership of some large banks and industrial
  firms. Real growth in GDP has averaged about 9% a year during the
  past three decades. Export growth has been even faster and has
  provided the impetus for industrialization. Inflation and
  unemployment are low. Agriculture contributes about 4% to GDP, down
  from 35% in 1952. Taiwan currently ranks as number 13 among major
  trading countries. Traditional labor-intensive industries are
  steadily being replaced with more capital- and technology-intensive
  industries. Taiwan has become a major investor in China, Thailand,
  Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Vietnam. The tightening of
  labor markets has led to an influx of foreign workers, both legal
  and illegal.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $290.5 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 6% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $13,510 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 3.6%
  industry: 37.3%
  services: 59.1% (1994 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 4% (1995 est.)

Labor force: 8.874 million
  by occupation: services 49%, industry 39%, agriculture 11% (1993
  est.)

Unemployment rate: 1.6% (1995)

Budget:
  revenues: $30.3 billion
  expenditures: $30.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA
  (1991 est.)

Industries: electronics, textiles, chemicals, clothing, food
  processing, plywood, sugar milling, cement, shipbuilding, petroleum
  refining

Industrial production growth rate: 4.5% (1994 est.)

Electricity:
  capacity: 21,460,000 kW
  production: 108 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 4,789 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: rice, wheat, corn, soybeans, vegetables, fruit, tea;
  pigs, poultry, beef, milk; fish catch increasing, reached 1.4
  million metric tons in 1988

Illicit drugs: an important heroin transit point; also a drug
  money laundering center

Exports: $93 billion (f.o.b., 1994)
  commodities: electrical machinery 19.7%, electronic products 19.6%,
  textiles 10.9%, footwear 3.3%, foodstuffs 1.0%, plywood and wood
  products 0.9% (1993 est.)
  partners: US 27.6%, Hong Kong 21.7%, EU countries 15.2%, Japan 10.5%
  (1994 est.)

Imports: $85.1 billion (c.i.f., 1994)
  commodities: machinery and equipment 15.7%, electronic products
  15.6%, chemicals 9.8%, iron and steel 8.5%, crude oil 3.9%,
  foodstuffs 2.1% (1993 est.)
  partners: Japan 30.1%, US 21.7%, EU countries 17.6% (1993 est.)

External debt: $620 million (1992 est.)

Economic aid: $NA

Currency: 1 New Taiwan dollar (NT$) = 100 cents

Exchange rates: New Taiwan dollars per US$1 - 27.4 (1995), 26.2
  (1994), 26.6 (1993), 25.4 (1992), 25.748 (1991)

Fiscal year: 1 July - 30 June



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 4,600 km; note - 1,075 km in common carrier service and about
  3,525 km is dedicated to industrial use
  narrow gauge: 4,600 km 1.067-m

Highways:
  total: 19,860 km
  paved: 17,119 km (including 382 km of expressways)
  unpaved: 2,741 km (1990 est.)

Pipelines: petroleum products 615 km; natural gas 97 km

Ports: Chi-lung (Keelung), Hua-lien, Kao-hsiung, Su-ao, T'ai-chung

Merchant marine:
  total: 198 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 5,812,534
  GRT/8,885,092 DWT
  ships by type: bulk 50, cargo 29, combination bulk 3, combination
  ore/oil 1, container 83, oil tanker 19, refrigerated cargo 11,
  roll-on/roll-off cargo 2 (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 38
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 8
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 12
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 4
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 6
  with paved runways under 914 m: 7
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 1 (1995 est.)

Heliports: 1 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 10,253,773 (1993 est.)

Telephone system: best developed system in Asia outside of Japan
  domestic: extensive microwave radio relay trunk system on east and
  west coasts
  international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Pacific
  Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean); submarine cables to Japan (Okinawa),
  Philippines, Guam, Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Australia,
  Middle East, and Western Europe

Radio broadcast stations: AM 91, FM 23, shortwave 0

Radios: 8.62 million

Television broadcast stations: 15 (repeaters 13)

Televisions: 6.66 million (1993 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Army, Navy (includes Marines), Air Force, Coastal Patrol
  and Defense Command, Armed Forces Reserve Command, Combined Service
  Forces

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 6,278,159
  males fit for military service: 4,849,057
  males reach military age (19) annually: 204,313 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $11.5 billion,
  3.6% of GDP (FY96/97)



======================================================================




@Tajikistan
----------


Tajikistan has experienced three changes of government since it
gained independence in September 1991. The current president,
Emomali RAHMONOV, was elected in November 1994, yet has been in
power since 1992. The country is suffering through its third year of
a civil conflict, with no clear end in sight. Underlying the
conflict are deeply rooted regional and clan-based animosities that
pit a government consisting of people primarily from the Kulob
(Kulyab), Khujand (Leninabad), and Hisor (Hissar) regions against a
secular and Islamic-led opposition from the Gharm, Gorno-Badakhshan,
and Qurghonteppa (Kurgan-Tyube) regions. Government and opposition
representatives have held periodic rounds of UN-mediated peace talks
and agreed in September 1994 to a cease-fire which has been
periodically extended. Russian-led peacekeeping troops are deployed
throughout the country, and Russian-commanded border guards are
stationed along the Tajik-Afghan border.

Map
---


Location: 39 00 N, 71 00 E -- Central Asia, west of China



Flag
----


Description: three horizontal stripes of red (top), a wider stripe
  of white, and green; a gold crown surmounted by seven five-pointed
  gold stars is located in the center of the white stripe





Geography
---------


Location: Central Asia, west of China

Geographic coordinates: 39 00 N, 71 00 E

Map references: Commonwealth of Independent States

Area:
  total area: 143,100 sq km
  land area: 142,700 sq km
  comparative area: slightly smaller than Wisconsin

Land boundaries:
  total: 3,651 km
  border countries: Afghanistan 1,206 km, China 414 km, Kyrgyzstan 870
  km, Uzbekistan 1,161 km

Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims: none (landlocked)

International disputes: boundary with China in dispute;
  territorial dispute with Kyrgyzstan on northern boundary in Isfara
  Valley area; Afghanistan's and other foreign support to Islamic
  fighters in Tajikistan's civil war based in northern Afghanistan

Climate: midlatitude continental, hot summers, mild winters;
  semiarid to polar in Pamir Mountains

Terrain: Pamir and Altai Mountains dominate landscape; western
  Fergana Valley in north, Kofarnihon and Vakhsh Valleys in southwest
  lowest point: Syrdariya 300 m
  highest point: Qullai Kommunizm 7,495 m

Natural resources: significant hydropower potential, some
  petroleum, uranium, mercury, brown coal, lead, zinc, antimony,
  tungsten

Land use:
  arable land: 6%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 23%
  forest and woodland: 0%
  other: 71%

Irrigated land: 6,940 sq km (1990)

Environment:
  current issues: inadequate sanitation facilities; increasing levels
  of soil salinity; industrial pollution; excessive pesticides; part
  of the basin of the shrinking Aral Sea suffers from severe
  overutilization of available water for irrigation and associated
  pollution
  natural hazards: NA
  international agreements: NA

Geographic note: landlocked



People
------


Population: 5,916,373 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 43% (male 1,282,846; female 1,258,302)
  15-64 years: 53% (male 1,546,264; female 1,566,365)
  65 years and over: 4% (male 110,705; female 151,891) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.54% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 33.78 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 8.43 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: -9.93 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.73 male(s)/female
  all ages: 0.99 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 113.1 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 64.45 years
  male: 60.84 years
  female: 68.24 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 4.38 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Tajik(s)
  adjective: Tajik

Ethnic divisions: Tajik 64.9%, Uzbek 25%, Russian 3.5% (declining
  because of emigration), other 6.6%

Religions: Sunni Muslim 80%, Shi'a Muslim 5%

Languages: Tajik (official), Russian widely used in government and
  business

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1989 est.)
  total population: 98%
  male: 99%
  female: 97%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Republic of Tajikistan
  conventional short form: Tajikistan
  local long form: Jumhurii Tojikistan
  local short form: none
  former: Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic

Data code: TI

Type of government: republic

Capital: Dushanbe

Administrative divisions: 2 oblasts (viloyatho, singular -
  viloyat) and one autonomous oblast* (viloyati avtonomii); Viloyati
  Avtonomii Badakhshoni Kuni* (Khorugh - formerly Khorog), Viloyati
  Khatlon (Qurghonteppa - formerly Kurgan-Tyube), Viloyati Leninobod
  (Khujand - formerly Leninabad)
  note: the administrative center names are in parentheses

Independence: 9 September 1991 (from Soviet Union)

National holiday: National Day, 9 September (1991)

Constitution: new constitution adopted 6 November 1994

Legal system: based on civil law system; no judicial review of
  legislative acts

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: President Emomali RAHMONOV (since 6 November 1994;
  was Head of State and Assembly Chairman since NA November 1992) was
  elected for a five-year term by universal suffrage; election last
  held 6 November 1994 (next to be held NA 1999); results - Emomali
  RAHMONOV 58%, Abdumalik ABDULLAJANOV 40%
  head of government: Prime Minister Yahyo AZIMOV (since 8 February
  1996) was appointed by the president
  cabinet: Council of Ministers was appointed by the president who
  proposes them to the Supreme Assembly for approval

Legislative branch: unicameral
  National Assembly (Majlisi Oli): elections last held 26 February and
  12 March 1995 (next to be held NA 2000); results - percent of vote
  by party NA; estimated seats - (181 total) Communist Party and
  affiliates 100, People's Party 10, Party of People's Unity 6, Party
  of Economic and Political Renewal 1, other 64

Judicial branch: Supreme Court, judges are appointed by the
  president

Political parties and leaders: People's Party of Tajikistan,
  Abdumajid DOSTIYEV; Party of People's Unity, Abdumalik ABDULLOJONOR;
  Tajik Communist Party, Shodi SHABDOLOV; Democratic Party, Jumaboy
  NIYAZOV, chairman; Islamic Renaissance Party (IRP), Mohammed Sharif
  HIMMATZODA, chairman; Rebirth (Rastokhez), Takhir ABDUZHABOROV; Lali
  Badakhshan Society, Atobek AMIRBEK; Tajikistan Party of Economic and
  Political Renewal (TPEPR); Citizenship, Patriotism, Unity Party,
  Bobokhon MAHMADOV; Adolatho "Justices" Party, Abdurahmon KARIMOV,
  chairman

Other political or pressure groups: Tajikistan Opposition Movement
  based in northern Afghanistan, Seyed Abdullah NURI, chairman

International organization participation: CIS, EBRD, ECE, ECO,
  ESCAP, FAO, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, Intelsat
  (nonsignatory user), IOC, IOM, ITU, NACC, OIC, OSCE, UN, UNCTAD,
  UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO (observer)

Diplomatic representation in US: Tajikistan does not have an
  embassy in the US, but has a mission at the UN: address - 136 East
  67th Street, New York, NY 10021, telephone - [1] (212) 472-7645, FAX
  - [1] (212) 628-0252

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador R. Grant SMITH
  embassy: interim chancery, Oktyabrskaya Hotel, 105A Prospect Rudaki,
  Dushanbe 734001
  mailing address: Octyabrskaya Hotel, 105A Prospect Rudaki, Dushanbe,
  Tajikistan 734001
  telephone: [7] (3772) 21-03-56
  FAX: Telex (787) 20116

Flag: three horizontal stripes of red (top), a wider stripe of
  white, and green; a gold crown surmounted by seven five-pointed gold
  stars is located in the center of the white stripe



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Tajikistan had the next-to-lowest per capita
  GDP in the former USSR, the highest rate of population growth, and
  an extremely low standard of living. Agriculture dominates the
  economy, with cotton being the most important crop. Mineral
  resources, varied but limited in amount, include silver, gold,
  uranium, and tungsten. Industry is limited to a large aluminum
  plant, hydropower facilities, and small obsolete factories mostly in
  light industry and food processing. The Tajik economy has been
  gravely weakened by four years of civil conflict and by the loss of
  subsidies and markets for its products, which has left Tajikistan
  dependent on Russia and Uzbekistan and on international humanitarian
  assistance for much of its basic subsistence needs. Moreover,
  constant political turmoil and the continued dominance by former
  communist officials have impeded the introduction of meaningful
  economic reforms. The regime has made only halfhearted efforts to
  stabilize the economy and promote reform.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $6.4 billion (1995 estimate as
  extrapolated from World Bank estimate for 1994)

GDP real growth rate: -12.4% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $1,040 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: NA%
  industry: NA%
  services: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 28% monthly average (1995 est.)

Labor force: 1.95 million (1992)
  by occupation: agriculture and forestry 43%, government and services
  24%, industry 14%, trade and communications 11%, construction 8%
  (1990)

Unemployment rate: 3.3% includes only officially registered
  unemployed; also large numbers of underemployed workers and
  unregistered unemployed people (December 1995)

Budget:
  revenues: $NA
  expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA

Industries: aluminum, zinc, lead, chemicals and fertilizers,
  cement, vegetable oil, metal-cutting machine tools, refrigerators
  and freezers

Industrial production growth rate: -5% (1995)

Electricity:
  capacity: 3,800,000 kW
  production: 14.8 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 2,400 kWh (1995)

Agriculture: cotton, grain, fruits, grapes, vegetables; cattle,
  sheep, goats

Illicit drugs: illicit cultivation of cannabis and opium poppy;
  mostly for CIS consumption; used as transshipment point for illicit
  drugs from Southwest Asia to Western Europe and North America

Exports: $707 million (1995)
  commodities: cotton, aluminum, fruits, vegetable oil, textiles
  partners: Russia, Kazakstan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan

Imports: $690 million (1995)
  commodities: fuel, chemicals, machinery and transport equipment,
  textiles, foodstuffs
  partners: Russia, Uzbekistan, Kazakstan

External debt: $635 million (of which $250 million to Russia)
  (1995 est.)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $22 million (1993)
  note: commitments, $885 million (disbursements $115 million)
  (1992-95)

Currency: introduced its own currency, the Tajik ruble, in May 1995

Exchange rates: Tajik rubles per US$1 - 284 (January 1996)

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 480 km in common carrier service; does not include industrial
  lines (1990)

Highways:
  total: 32,752 km
  paved: 21,119 km
  unpaved: 11,633 km (1992 est.)

Pipelines: natural gas 400 km (1992)

Ports: none

Airports:
  total: 59
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 1
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 5
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 7
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 1
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 9
  with unpaved runways under 914 m: 36 (1994 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 303,000 (1991 est.)

Telephone system: poorly developed and not well maintained; many
  towns are not reached by the national network
  domestic: cable and microwave radio relay
  international: linked by cable and microwave radio relay to other
  CIS republics, and by leased connections to the Moscow international
  gateway switch; Dushanbe linked by Intelsat to international gateway
  switch in Ankara (Turkey); satellite earth stations - 1 Orbita and 2
  Intelsat

Radio broadcast stations: AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA; note - there
  is one state-owned radio broadcast station

Radios: NA

Television broadcast stations: 1
  note: 1 Intelsat earth station provides TV receive-only service from
  Turkey

Televisions: NA



Defense
-------


Branches: Army (being formed), Presidential National Guard,
  Security Forces (internal and border troops)

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 1,358,106
  males fit for military service: 1,115,149
  males reach military age (18) annually: 58,691 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: 180 billion rubles, 3.4% of GDP (1995)



======================================================================




@Tanzania
--------




Map
---


Location: 6 00 S, 35 00 E -- Eastern Africa, bordering the Indian
  Ocean, between Kenya and Mozambique



Flag
----


Description: divided diagonally by a yellow-edged black band from
  the lower hoist-side corner; the upper triangle (hoist side) is
  green and the lower triangle is blue





Geography
---------


Location: Eastern Africa, bordering the Indian Ocean, between
  Kenya and Mozambique

Geographic coordinates: 6 00 S, 35 00 E

Map references: Africa

Area:
  total area: 945,090 sq km
  land area: 886,040 sq km
  comparative area: slightly larger than twice the size of California
  note: includes the islands of Mafia, Pemba, and Zanzibar

Land boundaries:
  total: 3,402 km
  border countries: Burundi 451 km, Kenya 769 km, Malawi 475 km,
  Mozambique 756 km, Rwanda 217 km, Uganda 396 km, Zambia 338 km

Coastline: 1,424 km

Maritime claims:
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: boundary dispute with Malawi in Lake
  Nyasa; Tanzania-Zaire-Zambia tripoint in Lake Tanganyika may no
  longer be indefinite since it has been informally reported that the
  indefinite section of the Zaire-Zambia boundary has been settled

Climate: varies from tropical along coast to temperate in highlands

Terrain: plains along coast; central plateau; highlands in north,
  south
  lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
  highest point: Kilimanjaro 5,895 m

Natural resources: hydropower potential, tin, phosphates, iron
  ore, coal, diamonds, gemstones, gold, natural gas, nickel

Land use:
  arable land: 5%
  permanent crops: 1%
  meadows and pastures: 40%
  forest and woodland: 47%
  other: 7%

Irrigated land: 1,530 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
  current issues: soil degradation; deforestation; desertification;
  destruction of coral reefs threatens marine habitats; recent
  droughts affected marginal agriculture
  natural hazards: the tsetse fly and lack of water limit agriculture;
  flooding on the central plateau during the rainy season
  international agreements: party to - Endangered Species, Hazardous
  Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection,
  Whaling; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
  Desertification

Geographic note: Kilimanjaro is highest point in Africa



People
------


Population: 29,058,470 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 45% (male 6,536,911; female 6,576,752)
  15-64 years: 52% (male 7,360,370; female 7,739,500)
  65 years and over: 3% (male 396,128; female 448,809) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.15% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 41.31 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 19.47 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: -10.36 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)
  note: the total number of Rwandan and Burundian refugees in Tanzania
  is about 750,000

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 0.99 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.88 male(s)/female
  all ages: 0.97 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 105.9 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 42.34 years
  male: 40.95 years
  female: 43.78 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 5.67 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Tanzanian(s)
  adjective: Tanzanian

Ethnic divisions:
  mainland: native African (95% Bantu, consisting of well over 100
  tribes) 99%, Asian, European, and Arab 1%
  Zanzibar: Arab, mixed Arab and native African, native African

Religions:
  mainland: Christian 45%, Muslim 35%, indigenous beliefs 20%
  Zanzibar: Muslim more than 99%

Languages: Kiswahili or Swahili (official), Kiunguju (name for
  Swahili in Zanzibar), English (official, primary language of
  commerce, administration, and higher education), Arabic (widely
  spoken in Zanzibar), many local languages
  note: Kiswahili (Swahili) is the mother tongue of Bantu people
  living in Zanzibar and nearby coastal Tanzania; although Kiswahili
  is Bantu in structure and origin, its vocabulary draws on a variety
  of sources, including Arabic and English, and it has become the
  lingua franca of central and eastern Africa; the first language of
  most people is one of the local languages

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write Kiswahili (Swahili),
  English, or Arabic (1995 est.)
  total population: 67.8%
  male: 79.4%
  female: 56.8%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: United Republic of Tanzania
  conventional short form: Tanzania
  former: United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar

Data code: TZ

Type of government: republic

Capital: Dar es Salaam
  note: some government offices have been transferred to Dodoma, which
  is planned as the new national capital by the end of the 1990s

Administrative divisions: 25 regions; Arusha, Dar es Salaam,
  Dodoma, Iringa, Kigoma, Kilimanjaro, Lindi, Mara, Mbeya, Morogoro,
  Mtwara, Mwanza, Pemba North, Pemba South, Pwani, Rukwa, Ruvuma,
  Shinyanga, Singida, Tabora, Tanga, Zanzibar Central/South, Zanzibar
  North, Zanzibar Urban/West, Ziwa Magharibi

Independence: 26 April 1964; Tanganyika became independent 9
  December 1961 (from UK-administered UN trusteeship); Zanzibar became
  independent 19 December 1963 (from UK); Tanganyika united with
  Zanzibar 26 April 1964 to form the United Republic of Tanganyika and
  Zanzibar; renamed United Republic of Tanzania 29 October 1964

National holiday: Union Day, 26 April (1964)

Constitution: 25 April 1977; major revisions October 1984

Legal system: based on English common law; judicial review of
  legislative acts limited to matters of interpretation; has not
  accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: President Benjamin MKARA (since 22 November 1995)
  was elected for a five-year term by popular vote; election last held
  29 October-19 November 1995 (next to be held 29 October 2000);
  results - Benjamin MKARA 62%, MREMA 28%, LIPUMBA 6%, CHEYO 4%; Vice
  President Omar Ali JUMA (since 22 November 1995); President of
  Zanzibar Salmin AMOUR (since 27 October 1995); election last held 22
  October 1995 (next to be held 22 October 2000); results - Salmin
  AMOUR 50.2%, HAMAD 49.8%
  head of government: Prime Minister Fredrick SUMAYE (since 27
  November 1995) was appointed by the president
  cabinet: Cabinet was appointed by the president from the members of
  the National Assembly

Legislative branch: unicameral
  National Assembly (Bunge): elections last held 29 October-19
  November 1995 (next to be held 29 October 2000); results - percent
  of total vote by party NA; seats - (274 total, 232 elected) CCM 186,
  opposition parties 46; of the 42 seats which are not elected some
  are filled by presidential appointment and others are designated by
  law for specific officials

Judicial branch: Court of Appeal; High Court

Political parties and leaders: Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM or
  Revolutionary Party), Ali Hassan MWINYI; Civic United Front (CUF),
  Seif Sharif HAMAD; National Convention for Construction and Reform
  (NCCR), Lyatonga (Augustine) MREMA; Union for Multiparty Democracy
  (UMD), Abdullah FUNDIKIRA; Chama Cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo
  (CHADEMA), Edwin I. M. MTEI, chairman; Democratic Party
  (unregistered), Reverend MTIKLA; United Democratic Party (UDP), John
  CHEYO

International organization participation: ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, EADB,
  ECA, FAO, G- 6, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS,
  ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, NAM, OAU, SADC,
  UN, UNAVEM III, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO,
  WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Mustafa Salim NYANG'ANYI
  chancery: 2139 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
  telephone: [1] (202) 939-6125
  FAX: [1] (202) 797-7408

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador J. Brady ANDERSON
  embassy: 36 Laibon Road (off Bagamoyo Road), Dar es Salaam
  mailing address: P. O. Box 9123, Dar es Salaam
  telephone: [255] (51) 66010 through 66015
  FAX: [255] (51) 66701

Flag: divided diagonally by a yellow-edged black band from the
  lower hoist-side corner; the upper triangle (hoist side) is green
  and the lower triangle is blue



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Tanzania is one of the poorest countries in the
  world. The economy is heavily dependent on agriculture, which
  accounts for 58% of GDP, provides 85% of exports, and employs 90% of
  the work force. Topography and climatic conditions, however, limit
  cultivated crops to only 5% of the land area. Industry accounts for
  8% of GDP and is mainly limited to processing agricultural products
  and light consumer goods. The economic recovery program announced in
  mid-1986 has generated notable increases in agricultural production
  and financial support for the program by bilateral donors. The World
  Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and bilateral donors have
  provided funds to rehabilitate Tanzania's deteriorated economic
  infrastructure. Growth in 1991-94 has featured a pickup in
  industrial production and a substantial increase in output of
  minerals, led by gold. Recent banking reforms have helped increase
  private sector growth and investment.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $23.1 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 2.7% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $800 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 58%
  industry: 8%
  services: 34% (1995 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 25% (1994 est.)

Labor force: 13.495 million
  by occupation: agriculture 90%, industry and commerce 10% (1986 est.)

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget:
  revenues: $495 million
  expenditures: $631 million, including capital expenditures of $118
  million (1990 est.)

Industries: primarily agricultural processing (sugar, beer,
  cigarettes, sisal twine), diamond and gold mining, oil refining,
  shoes, cement, textiles, wood products, fertilizer

Industrial production growth rate: 9.3% (1990)

Electricity:
  capacity: 440,000 kW
  production: 880 million kWh
  consumption per capita: 30 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: coffee, sisal, tea, cotton, pyrethrum (insecticide
  made from chrysanthemums), cashews, tobacco, cloves (Zanzibar),
  corn, wheat, cassava (tapioca), bananas, fruits, vegetables; cattle,
  sheep, goats

Illicit drugs: growing role in transshipment of Southwest Asian
  heroin destined for European and US markets

Exports: $462 million (f.o.b., 1994)
  commodities: coffee, cotton, tobacco, tea, cashew nuts, sisal
  partners: Germany, UK, Japan, Netherlands, Kenya, Hong Kong, US

Imports: $1.4 billion (c.i.f., 1994)
  commodities: manufactured goods, machinery and transportation
  equipment, cotton piece goods, crude oil, foodstuffs
  partners: Germany, UK, US, Japan, Italy, Denmark

External debt: $6.7 billion (1993)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $NA

Currency: 1 Tanzanian shilling (TSh) = 100 cents

Exchange rates: Tanzanian shillings (TSh) per US$1 - 558.18
  (December 1995), 574.76 (1995), 509.63 (1994), 405.27 (1993), 297.71
  (1992), 219.16 (1991)

Fiscal year: 1 July - 30 June



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 3,569 km (1995)
  narrow gauge: 2,600 km 1.000-m gauge; 969 km 1.067-m gauge
  note:: the Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority (TAZARA), which
  operates 1,860 km of 1.067-m narrow gauge track between Dar es
  Salaam and New Kapiri M'poshi in Zambia is not a part of Tanzania
  Railways Corporation; 969 km are in Tanzania and 891 km are in
  Zambia; because of the difference in gauge, this system does not
  connect to Tanzania Railways

Highways:
  total: 55,600 km
  paved: 20,572 km (including 50 km of expressways)
  unpaved: 35,028 km (1992 est.)

Waterways: Lake Tanganyika, Lake Victoria, Lake Nyasa

Pipelines: crude oil 982 km

Ports: Bukoba, Dar es Salaam, Kigoma, Lindi, Mkoani, Mtwara,
  Musoma, Mwanza, Tanga, Wete, Zanzibar

Merchant marine:
  total: 8 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 30,371 GRT/41,269 DWT
  ships by type: cargo 3, oil tanker 2, passenger-cargo 2,
  roll-on/roll-off cargo 1 (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 111
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 2
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 2
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 6
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 1
  with paved runways under 914 m: 28
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 15
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 57 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 137,000 (1989 est.)

Telephone system: fair system operating below capacity
  domestic: open wire, microwave radio relay, tropospheric scatter
  international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean
  and 1 Atlantic Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 12, FM 4, shortwave 0

Radios: 640,000 (1992 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 2 (1987 est.)

Televisions: 45,000 (1992 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Tanzanian People's Defense Force (TPDF; includes Army,
  Navy, and Air Force), paramilitary Police Field Force Unit, Militia

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 6,499,244
  males fit for military service: 3,765,193 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $69 million, NA%
  of GDP (FY94/95)



======================================================================




@Thailand
--------




Map
---


Location: 15 00 N, 100 00 E -- Southeastern Asia, bordering the
  Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand, southeast of Burma



Flag
----


Description: five horizontal bands of red (top), white, blue
  (double width), white, and red





Geography
---------


Location: Southeastern Asia, bordering the Andaman Sea and the
  Gulf of Thailand, southeast of Burma

Geographic coordinates: 15 00 N, 100 00 E

Map references: Southeast Asia

Area:
  total area: 514,000 sq km
  land area: 511,770 sq km
  comparative area: slightly more than twice the size of Wyoming

Land boundaries:
  total: 4,863 km
  border countries: Burma 1,800 km, Cambodia 803 km, Laos 1,754 km,
  Malaysia 506 km

Coastline: 3,219 km

Maritime claims:
  continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: boundary dispute with Laos; unresolved
  maritime boundary with Vietnam; parts of border with Cambodia in
  dispute; maritime boundary with Cambodia not clearly defined

Climate: tropical; rainy, warm, cloudy southwest monsoon (mid-May
  to September); dry, cool northeast monsoon (November to mid-March);
  southern isthmus always hot and humid

Terrain: central plain; Khorat Plateau in the east; mountains
  elsewhere
  lowest point: Gulf of Thailand 0 m
  highest point: Doi Inthanon 2,576 m

Natural resources: tin, rubber, natural gas, tungsten, tantalum,
  timber, lead, fish, gypsum, lignite, fluorite

Land use:
  arable land: 34%
  permanent crops: 4%
  meadows and pastures: 1%
  forest and woodland: 30%
  other: 31%

Irrigated land: 42,300 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
  current issues: air pollution from vehicle emissions; water
  pollution from organic and factory wastes; deforestation; soil
  erosion; wildlife populations threatened by illegal hunting
  natural hazards: land subsidence in Bangkok area resulting from the
  depletion of the water table; droughts
  international agreements: party to - Climate Change, Endangered
  Species, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer
  Protection, Tropical Timber 83; signed, but not ratified -
  Biodiversity, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea

Geographic note: controls only land route from Asia to Malaysia
  and Singapore



People
------


Population: 58,851,357 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 25% (male 7,627,916; female 7,351,264)
  15-64 years: 69% (male 19,994,884; female 20,576,141)
  65 years and over: 6% (male 1,468,814; female 1,832,338) (July 1996
  est.)

Population growth rate: 1.03% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 17.29 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 7 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.8 male(s)/female
  all ages: 0.98 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 33.4 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 68.6 years
  male: 64.89 years
  female: 72.49 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.89 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Thai (singular and plural)
  adjective: Thai

Ethnic divisions: Thai 75%, Chinese 14%, other 11%

Religions: Buddhism 95%, Muslim 3.8%, Christianity 0.5%, Hinduism
  0.1%, other 0.6% (1991)

Languages: Thai, English the secondary language of the elite,
  ethnic and regional dialects

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)
  total population: 93.8%
  male: 96%
  female: 91.6%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Kingdom of Thailand
  conventional short form: Thailand

Data code: TH

Type of government: constitutional monarchy

Capital: Bangkok

Administrative divisions: 76 provinces (changwat, singular and
  plural); Amnat Charoen, Ang Thong, Buriram, Chachoengsao, Chai Nat,
  Chaiyaphum, Chanthaburi, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Chon Buri,
  Chumphon, Kalasin, Kamphaeng Phet, Kanchanaburi, Khon Kaen, Krabi,
  Krung Thep Mahanakhon (Bangkok), Lampang, Lamphun, Loei, Lop Buri,
  Mae Hong Son, Maha Sarakham, Mukdahan, Nakhon Nayok, Nakhon Pathom,
  Nakhon Phanom, Nakhon Ratchasima, Nakhon Sawan, Nakhon Si Thammarat,
  Nan, Narathiwat, Nong Bua Lamphu, Nong Khai, Nonthaburi, Pathum
  Thani, Pattani, Phangnga, Phatthalung, Phayao, Phetchabun,
  Phetchaburi, Phichit, Phitsanulok, Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya, Phrae,
  Phuket, Prachin Buri, Prachuap Khiri Khan, Ranong, Ratchaburi,
  Rayong, Roi Et, Sa Kaeo, Sakon Nakhon, Samut Prakan, Samut Sakhon,
  Samut Songkhram, Sara Buri, Satun, Sing Buri, Sisaket, Songkhla,
  Sukhothai, Suphan Buri, Surat Thani, Surin, Tak, Trang, Trat, Ubon
  Ratchathani, Udon Thani, Uthai Thani, Uttaradit, Yala, Yasothon

Independence: 1238 (traditional founding date; never colonized)

National holiday: Birthday of His Majesty the King, 5 December
  (1927)

Constitution: new constitution approved 7 December 1991; amended
  10 June 1992

Legal system: based on civil law system, with influences of common
  law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction; martial law in
  effect since 23 February 1991 military coup

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: King PHUMIPHON Adunyadet (since 9 June 1946) is a
  constitutional monarch; Heir Apparent Crown Prince WACHIRALONGKON
  (born 28 July 1952)
  head of government: Prime Minister BANHAN Sinlapa-acha (since 13
  July 1995); prime minister must be appointed from among the members
  of the House of Representatives
  cabinet: Council of Ministers
  Privy Council: NA

Legislative branch: bicameral National Assembly (Rathasapha)
  Senate (Wuthisapha): consists of a 270-member appointed body
  House of Representatives (Sapha Phuthaen Ratsadon): elections last
  held 2 July 1995 (next to be held 2 July 1999); results - percent of
  vote by party NA; seats - (391 total) TNP 93, DP 86, NAP 56, NDP 53,
  PDP 23, SAP 23, NTP 18, TCP 18, LDP 10, SP 8, MP 3

Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Sandika), judges appointed by the
  king

Political parties and leaders: Thai Nation Party (TNP or Chat Thai
  Party), BANHAN Sinlapa-acha; Democratic Party (DP or Prachathipat
  Party), CHUAN Likphai; New Aspiration Party (NAP or Khwamwang Mai),
  Gen. CHAWALIT Yongchaiyut; National Development Party (NDP or Chat
  Phattana), CHATCHAI Chunhawan; Phalang Dharma Party (PDP or Phalang
  Tham), THAKSIN Chinnawat; Social Action Party (SAP or Kitsangkhom
  Party), MONTRI Phongphanit; Thai Leadership Party (NTP or Nam Thai),
  Amnuai Wirawan; Thai Citizen's Party (TCP or Prachakon Thai), SAMAK
  Sunthonwet; Liberal Democratic Party (LDP or Seri Tham), ATHIT
  Urairat; Solidarity Party (SP or Ekkaphap Party), UTHAI
  Phimchaichon; Mass Party (MP or Muanchon), Pol. Cpt. CHALOEM
  Yubamrung

International organization participation: APEC, AsDB, ASEAN, CCC,
  CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC,
  IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, Mekong
  Group, NAM, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNU, UPU,
  WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador NIT Phibunsongkhram
  chancery: 1024 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007
  telephone: [1] (202) 944-3600
  FAX: [1] (202) 944-3611
  consulate(s) general: Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador William H. ITOH
  embassy: 95 Wireless Road, Bangkok
  mailing address: APO AP 96546
  telephone: [66] (2) 252-5040
  FAX: [66] (2) 254-2990
  consulate(s) general: Chiang Mai
  consulate(s): Udorn

Flag: five horizontal bands of red (top), white, blue (double
  width), white, and red



Economy
-------


Economic overview: One of the more advanced developing countries
  in Asia, Thailand depends on exports of manufactures - including
  high-technology goods - and the development of the service sector to
  fuel the country's rapid growth, averaging 9% since 1989. Most of
  Thailand's recent imports have been for capital equipment and raw
  materials, although imports of consumer goods are beginning to rise.
  Thailand's 35% domestic savings rate is a key source of capital for
  the economy, and the country is also benefiting from rising
  investment from abroad. Prime Minister BANHAN's government -
  Thailand's sixth government in five years - undoubtedly will
  continue Bangkok's probusiness policies despite some concerns that
  it is relaxing Bangkok's traditional fiscal austerity. BANHAN is
  beginning to address Thailand's serious infrastructure bottlenecks,
  especially in the transport and telecommunications sectors. Over the
  longer term, Bangkok must produce more college graduates with
  technical training and upgrade workers' skills to continue its rapid
  economic development.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $416.7 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 8.6% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $6,900 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 10.2%
  industry: 30.6%
  services: 59.2% (1994 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 5.8% (1995)

Labor force: 32,152,600
  by occupation: agriculture 57%, industry 17%, commerce 11%, services
  (including government) 15% (1993 est.)

Unemployment rate: 2.7% (1995 est.)

Budget:
  revenues: $28.4 billion
  expenditures: $28.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $6.1
  billion (FY94/95)

Industries: tourism; textiles and garments, agricultural
  processing, beverages, tobacco, cement, light manufacturing, such as
  jewelry; electric appliances and components, integrated circuits,
  furniture, plastics; world's second-largest tungsten producer and
  third-largest tin producer

Industrial production growth rate: 13.3% (1995 est.)

Electricity:
  capacity: 12,810,000 kW
  production: 56.8 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 909 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: rice, cassava (tapioca), rubber, corn, sugarcane,
  coconuts, soybeans

Illicit drugs: a minor producer of opium, heroin, and marijuana;
  major illicit transit point for heroin en route to the international
  drug market from Burma and Laos; eradication efforts have reduced
  the area of cannabis cultivation and shifted some production to
  neighboring countries; opium poppy cultivation has been reduced by
  eradication efforts; also a drug money laundering center; rapidly
  growing role in amphetamine production for regional consumption;
  increasing indigenous abuse of methamphetamine and heroin

Exports: $45.1 billion (f.o.b., 1994)
  commodities: manufactures 73%, agricultural products and fisheries
  21%, raw materials 5%, fuels 1%
  partners: US 21.0%, Japan 17.1%, Singapore 13.6%, Hong Kong 5.3%,
  Germany 3.5%, UK 3.0%, Netherlands 2.8%, Malaysia 2.4%

Imports: $53.9 billion (c.i.f., 1994)
  commodities: manufactures 80%, fuels 6.9%, raw materials 6.6%,
  foodstuffs 4.3%
  partners: Japan 30.4%, US 11.9%, Singapore 6.3%, Germany 5.8%,
  Taiwan 5.1%, Malaysia 4.9%, South Korea 3.7%, China 2.6%

External debt: $53.7 billion (1994)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $624 million (1993)

Currency: 1 baht (B) = 100 satang

Exchange rates: baht (B) per US$1 - 25.300 (January 1996), 25.000
  (1995 est.), 25.150 (1994), 25.319 (1993), 25.400 (1992), 25.517
  (1991)

Fiscal year: 1 October - 30 September



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 4,623 km
  narrow gauge: 4,623 km 1.000-m gauge (99 km double track)

Highways:
  total: 54,388 km
  paved: 48,786 km (including 171 km of expressways)
  unpaved: 5,602 km (1992 est.)

Waterways: 3,999 km principal waterways; 3,701 km with navigable
  depths of 0.9 m or more throughout the year; numerous minor
  waterways navigable by shallow-draft native craft

Pipelines: petroleum products 67 km; natural gas 350 km

Ports: Bangkok, Laem Chabang, Pattani, Phuket, Sattahip, Si Racha,
  Songkhla

Merchant marine:
  total: 259 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,559,037
  GRT/2,498,812 DWT
  ships by type: bulk 32, cargo 143, chemical tanker 3, container 11,
  liquefied gas tanker 12, oil tanker 45, passenger 1, refrigerated
  cargo 7, roll-on/roll-off cargo 2, short-sea passenger 1,
  specialized tanker 2 (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 98
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 6
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 9
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 12
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 22
  with paved runways under 914 m: 36
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 1
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 12 (1995 est.)

Heliports: 2 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 1,553,200 (1994 est.)

Telephone system: service to general public inadequate; bulk of
  service to government activities provided by multichannel cable and
  microwave radio relay network
  domestic: microwave radio relay and multichannel cable; domestic
  satellite system being developed
  international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean
  and 1 Pacific Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 200 (in government-controlled
  network), FM 100 (in government-controlled network), shortwave 0

Radios: 10.75 million (1992 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 11 (in government-controlled
  network)

Televisions: 3.3 million (1993 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Royal Thai Army, Royal Thai Navy (includes Royal Thai
  Marine Corps), Royal Thai Air Force, Paramilitary Forces

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 16,835,334
  males fit for military service: 10,182,904
  males reach military age (18) annually: 592,268 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $4.0 billion,
  2.5% of GDP (FY94/95)



======================================================================




@The Bahamas
-----------




Map
---


Location: 24 15 N, 76 00 W -- Caribbean, chain of islands in the
  North Atlantic Ocean, southeast of Florida



Flag
----


Description: three equal horizontal bands of aquamarine (top),
  gold, and aquamarine with a black equilateral triangle based on the
  hoist side





Geography
---------


Location: Caribbean, chain of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean,
  southeast of Florida

Geographic coordinates: 24 15 N, 76 00 W

Map references: Central America and the Caribbean

Area:
  total area: 13,940 sq km
  land area: 10,070 sq km
  comparative area: slightly larger than Connecticut

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 3,542 km

Maritime claims:
  continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
  exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 3 nm

International disputes: none

Climate: tropical marine; moderated by warm waters of Gulf Stream

Terrain: long, flat coral formations with some low rounded hills
  lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
  highest point: Mount Alvernia 63 m

Natural resources: salt, aragonite, timber

Land use:
  arable land: 1%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 0%
  forest and woodland: 32%
  other: 67%

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Environment:
  current issues: coral reef decay
  natural hazards: hurricanes and other tropical storms that cause
  extensive flood and wind damage
  international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
  Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test
  Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Whaling

Geographic note: strategic location adjacent to US and Cuba;
  extensive island chain



People
------


Population: 259,367 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 28% (male 36,331; female 35,771)
  15-64 years: 67% (male 84,107; female 89,193)
  65 years and over: 5% (male 5,449; female 8,516) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.05% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 18.73 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 5.74 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: -2.54 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.02 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.64 male(s)/female
  all ages: 0.94 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 23.3 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 72.53 years
  male: 67.98 years
  female: 77.16 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.97 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Bahamian(s)
  adjective: Bahamian

Ethnic divisions: black 85%, white 15%

Religions: Baptist 32%, Anglican 20%, Roman Catholic 19%,
  Methodist 6%, Church of God 6%, other Protestant 12%, none or
  unknown 3%, other 2%

Languages: English, Creole (among Haitian immigrants)

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write but definition of
  literacy not available (1995 est.)
  total population: 98.2%
  male: 98.5%
  female: 98%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Commonwealth of The Bahamas
  conventional short form: The Bahamas

Data code: BF

Type of government: commonwealth

Capital: Nassau

Administrative divisions: 21 districts; Acklins and Crooked
  Islands, Bimini, Cat Island, Exuma, Freeport, Fresh Creek,
  Governor's Harbour, Green Turtle Cay, Harbour Island, High Rock,
  Inagua, Kemps Bay, Long Island, Marsh Harbour, Mayaguana, New
  Providence, Nicholls Town and Berry Islands, Ragged Island, Rock
  Sound, Sandy Point, San Salvador and Rum Cay

Independence: 10 July 1973 (from UK)

National holiday: National Day, 10 July (1973)

Constitution: 10 July 1973

Legal system: based on English common law

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952) is a
  hereditary monarch, represented by Governor General Sir Orville
  TURNQUEST (since 2 January 1995) who was appointed by the queen
  head of government: Prime Minister Hubert Alexander INGRAHAM (since
  19 August 1992) and Deputy Prime Minister Frank WATSON (since NA)
  were appointed by the governor general
  cabinet: Cabinet was appointed by the governor general on the prime
  minister's recommendation

Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament
  Senate: a 16-member body appointed by the governor general
  House of Assembly: elections last held 19 August 1992 (next to be
  held by August 1997); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats -
  (49 total) FNM 32, PLP 17

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

Political parties and leaders: Progressive Liberal Party (PLP),
  Sir Lynden O. PINDLING; Free National Movement (FNM), Hubert
  Alexander INGRAHAM

International organization participation: ACP, C, Caricom, CCC,
  CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS,
  ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAS,
  OPANAL, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIH, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Timothy Baswell DONALDSON
  chancery: 2220 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
  telephone: [1] (202) 319-2660
  FAX: [1] (202) 319-2668
  consulate(s) general: Miami and New York

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Sidney WILLIAMS
  embassy: Mosmar Building, Queen Street, Nassau
  mailing address: P. O. Box N-8197, Nassau; P.O. Box 9009, Miami, FL
  33159; Nassau, Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-3370 (pouch)
  telephone: [1] (809) 322-1181, 328-2206
  FAX: [1] (809) 328-7838

Flag: three equal horizontal bands of aquamarine (top), gold, and
  aquamarine with a black equilateral triangle based on the hoist side



Economy
-------


Economic overview: The Bahamas is a stable, developing nation with
  an economy heavily dependent on tourism and offshore banking.
  Tourism alone accounts for more than 50% of GDP and directly or
  indirectly employs 40% of the archipelago's labor force. A slowdown
  in the expansion of the tourism sector - especially stopover travel
  from Europe - led to a reduction in the country's GDP growth rate in
  1995, down to an estimated 2% from 3.5% in 1994. The construction
  sector benefited from hotel rehabilitation and the government's
  ongoing housing development program. Earnings from exports of
  vegetable and citrus production have been decreasing since 1993 but
  are expected to increase in 1996 due to storm damage to crops in
  Florida. The overall growth prospects through 1996 will depend
  heavily on the fortunes of the tourism sector and continued income
  growth in the US, which accounts for the majority of tourist visits.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $4.8 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 2% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $18,700 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 3%
  industry: 35%
  services: 62% (1994)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1.5% (1994)

Labor force: 136,900 (1993)
  by occupation: government 30%, tourism 40%, business services 10%,
  agriculture 5% (1995 est.)

Unemployment rate: 15% (1995 est.)

Budget:
  revenues: $665 million
  expenditures: $725 million, including capital expenditures of $94
  million (FY95/96 est.)

Industries: tourism, banking, cement, oil refining and
  transshipment, salt production, rum, aragonite, pharmaceuticals,
  spiral-welded steel pipe

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity:
  capacity: 424,000 kW
  production: 929 million kWh
  consumption per capita: 3,200 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: citrus, vegetables; poultry

Illicit drugs: transshipment point for cocaine and marijuana bound
  for US and Europe; also a money-laundering center

Exports: $224.257 million (f.o.b., 1994)
  commodities: pharmaceuticals, cement, rum, crawfish, refined
  petroleum products
  partners: US 51%, UK 7%, Norway 7%, France 6%, Italy 5%

Imports: $1.08 billion (c.i.f., 1994)
  commodities: foodstuffs, manufactured goods, crude oil, vehicles,
  electronics
  partners: US 55%, Japan 17%, Nigeria 12%, Denmark 7%, Norway 6%

External debt: $407.8 million (December 1994)

Economic aid: $NA

Currency: 1 Bahamian dollar (B$) = 100 cents

Exchange rates: Bahamian dollar (B$) per US$1 - 1.00 (fixed rate)

Fiscal year: 1 July - 30 June



Transportation
--------------


Railways: 0 km

Highways:
  total: 2,386 km
  paved: 1,342 km
  unpaved: 1,044 km (1986 est.)

Ports: Freeport, Matthew Town, Nassau

Merchant marine:
  total: 956 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 22,592,285
  GRT/35,765,965 DWT
  ships by type: bulk 176, cargo 182, chemical tanker 43, combination
  bulk 9, combination ore/oil 19, container 53, liquefied gas tanker
  20, oil tanker 180, passenger 53, refrigerated cargo 147,
  roll-on/roll-off cargo 47, short-sea passenger 13, vehicle carrier 14
  note: a flag of convenience registry; includes ships from 48
  countries among which are Norway 155, Greece 124, US 84, Denmark 63,
  Netherlands 44, Sweden 36, Finland 34, France 29, Japan 29, and
  Belgium 24 (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 55
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 2
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 1
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 16
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 11
  with paved runways under 914 m: 17
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 8 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 119,000 (1987 est.)

Telephone system:
  domestic: totally automatic system; highly developed
  international: tropospheric scatter and submarine cable to Florida;
  3 coaxial submarine cables; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat
  (Atlantic Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 3, FM 2, shortwave 0

Radios: 200,000 (1993 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 1 (1986 est.)

Televisions: 60,000 (1993 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Royal Bahamas Defense Force (Coast Guard only), Royal
  Bahamas Police Force

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: NA
  males fit for military service: NA

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $20 million, 3.8%
  of GDP (FY95/96)



======================================================================




@The Gambia
----------




Map
---


Location: 13 28 N, 16 34 W -- Western Africa, bordering the North
  Atlantic Ocean and Senegal



Flag
----


Description: three equal horizontal bands of red (top), blue with
  white edges, and green





Geography
---------


Location: Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean and
  Senegal

Geographic coordinates: 13 28 N, 16 34 W

Map references: Africa

Area:
  total area: 11,300 sq km
  land area: 10,000 sq km
  comparative area: slightly more than twice the size of Delaware

Land boundaries:
  total: 740 km
  border country: Senegal 740 km

Coastline: 80 km

Maritime claims:
  contiguous zone: 18 nm
  continental shelf: not specified
  exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: short section of boundary with Senegal is
  indefinite

Climate: tropical; hot, rainy season (June to November); cooler,
  dry season (November to May)

Terrain: flood plain of the Gambia River flanked by some low hills
  lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
  highest point: unnamed location 53 m

Natural resources: fish

Land use:
  arable land: 16%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 9%
  forest and woodland: 20%
  other: 55%

Irrigated land: 120 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
  current issues: deforestation; desertification; water-borne diseases
  prevalent
  natural hazards: rainfall has dropped by 30% in the last 30 years
  international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
  Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer
  Protection, Ship Pollution, Whaling; signed, but not ratified -
  Desertification

Geographic note: almost an enclave of Senegal; smallest country on
  the continent of Africa



People
------


Population: 1,204,984 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 46% (male 276,782; female 275,683)
  15-64 years: 51% (male 307,405; female 312,736)
  65 years and over: 3% (male 17,278; female 15,100) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 3.55% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 44.44 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 13.66 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 4.72 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 1.14 male(s)/female
  all ages: 1 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 80.5 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 52.96 years
  male: 50.74 years
  female: 55.24 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 6.06 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Gambian(s)
  adjective: Gambian

Ethnic divisions: African 99% (Mandinka 42%, Fula 18%, Wolof 16%,
  Jola 10%, Serahuli 9%, other 4%), non-Gambian 1%

Religions: Muslim 90%, Christian 9%, indigenous beliefs 1%

Languages: English (official), Mandinka, Wolof, Fula, other
  indigenous vernaculars

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)
  total population: 38.6%
  male: 52.8%
  female: 24.9%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Republic of The Gambia
  conventional short form: The Gambia

Data code: GA

Type of government: republic under multiparty democratic rule
  note:: nominally a republic, The Gambia has had a military
  government since 22 July 1994; the military authority has promised
  to return control to a democratically-elected government in July 1996

Capital: Banjul

Administrative divisions: 5 divisions and 1 city*; Banjul*, Lower
  River, MacCarthy Island, North Bank, Upper River, Western

Independence: 18 February 1965 (from UK; The Gambia and Senegal
  signed an agreement on 12 December 1981 that called for the creation
  of a loose confederation to be known as Senegambia, but the
  agreement was dissolved on 30 September 1989)

National holiday: Independence Day, 18 February (1965)

Constitution: 24 April 1970; suspended July 1994

Legal system: based on a composite of English common law, Koranic
  law, and customary law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with
  reservations

Suffrage: 21 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state and head of government: Chairman of the Armed Forces
  Provisional Ruling Council Capt. Yahya A. J. J. JAMMEH (since the
  military coup of 22 July 1994); Vice Chairman of the Armed Forces
  Provisional Ruling Council Capt. Edward SINGHATEH (since March
  1995); last popular election held on 29 April 1992; results - Sir
  Dawda JAWARA (PPP) 58.5%, Sherif Mustapha DIBBA (NCP) 22.2%, Assan
  Musa CAMARA (GPP) 8.0% (prior to the 22 July 1994 coup, next
  election had been scheduled for April 1997)
  cabinet: Cabinet normally is appointed by the president from members
  of the House of Representatives (present cabinet appointed by
  Chairman of the Armed Forces Provisional Ruling Council)

Legislative branch: unicameral
  House of Representatives: last popular election held on 29 April
  1992 (next to be held NA April 1997); results - PPP won 58.1% of
  votes; seats - (43 total, 36 elected) PPP 30, NCP 6
  note: following the military coup on 22 July 1994, all elective
  offices were dissolved; in April 1996, the military government
  announced that voter registrations would begin in May and democratic
  elections would be held in October 1996

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

Political parties and leaders: the following political parties
  were active on 22 July 1994, after which time political activity was
  banned by the military government: People's Progressive Party (PPP),
  Dawda K. JAWARA (in exile), secretary general; National Convention
  Party (NCP), Sheriff DIBBA (in exile); Gambian People's Party (GPP),
  Hassan Musa CAMARA; United Party (UP), leader NA; People's
  Democratic Organization of Independence and Socialism (PDOIS),
  leader NA; People's Democratic Party (PDP), Jabel SALLAH

International organization participation: ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA,
  ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC,
  IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC,
  ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO,
  WIPO, WMO, WToO

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Counselor, Charge d'Affaires
  ad interim Tombong SAIDY
  chancery: Suite 1000, 1155 15th Street NW, Washington, DC 20005
  telephone: [1] (202) 785-1399, 1379, 1425
  FAX: [1] (202) 785-1430

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Gerald A. SCOTT
  embassy: Fajara, Kairaba Avenue, Banjul
  mailing address: P. M. B. No. 19, Banjul
  telephone: [220] 392856, 392858, 391970, 391971
  FAX: [220] 392475

Flag: three equal horizontal bands of red (top), blue with white
  edges, and green



Economy
-------


Economic overview: The Gambia has no important mineral or other
  natural resources and has a limited agricultural base. About 75% of
  the population is engaged in crop production and livestock raising.
  Small-scale manufacturing activity features the processing of
  peanuts, fish, and hides. A sustained structural adjustment program,
  including a liberalized trade policy, had fostered a respectable 4%
  annual rate of growth in 1990-93. Reexport trade normally
  constitutes one-third of economic activity; however, border closures
  associated with Senegal's monetary crisis in late 1993 led to a
  halving of reexport trade, reducing government revenues in turn. The
  50% devaluation of the CFA franc in January 1994 has made Senegalese
  goods more competitive and apparently prompted a relaxation of
  Senegalese controls, paving the way for a comeback in reexports.
  But, in response to the military's takeover in July 1994, cuts in
  foreign trade and a decline in tourism have undermined economic
  growth.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $1.1 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 2% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $1,100 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 27%
  industry: 15%
  services: 58% (1993)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1.7% (1994)

Labor force: 400,000 (1986 est.)
  by occupation: agriculture 75.0%, industry, commerce, and services
  18.9%, government 6.1%

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget:
  revenues: $91.4 million
  expenditures: $90 million, including capital expenditures of $NA
  (FY95/96 est.)

Industries: processing peanuts, fish, and hides; tourism;
  beverages; agricultural machinery assembly, woodworking,
  metalworking; clothing

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity:
  capacity: 30,000 kW
  production: 70 million kWh
  consumption per capita: 64 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: peanuts, millet, sorghum, rice, corn, cassava
  (tapioca), palm kernels; cattle, sheep, goats; forest and fishing
  resources not fully exploited

Exports: $35 million (f.o.b., 1994 est.)
  commodities: peanuts and peanut products, fish, cotton lint, palm
  kernels
  partners: Japan 60%, Europe 29%, Africa 5%, US 1%, other 5% (1989)

Imports: $209 million (f.o.b., 1994 est.)
  commodities: foodstuffs, manufactures, raw materials, fuel,
  machinery and transport equipment
  partners: Europe 57%, Asia 25%, USSR and Eastern Europe 9%, US 6%,
  other 3% (1989)

External debt: $386 million (1993 est.)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $NA

Currency: 1 dalasi (D) = 100 butut

Exchange rates: dalasi (D) per US$1 - 9.555 (August 1996), 9.576
  (1994), 9.129 (1993), 8.888 (1992), 8.803 (1991)

Fiscal year: 1 July - 30 June



Transportation
--------------


Railways: 0 km

Highways:
  total: 2,386 km
  paved: 764 km
  unpaved: 1,622 km (1990 est.)

Waterways: 400 km

Ports: Banjul

Merchant marine: none

Airports:
  total: 1
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 1 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 11,000 (1991 est.)

Telephone system:
  domestic: adequate network of microwave radio relay and open wire
  international: microwave radio relay links to Senegal and
  Guinea-Bissau; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 3, FM 2, shortwave 0

Radios: 180,000 (1993 est.)

Television broadcast stations: NA

Televisions: NA



Defense
-------


Branches: Army, Navy, National Police

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 267,188
  males fit for military service: 134,611 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $14 million, 3.8%
  of GDP (FY93/94)



======================================================================




@Togo
----




Map
---


Location: 8 00 N, 1 10 E -- Western Africa, bordering the North
  Atlantic Ocean, between Benin and Ghana



Flag
----


Description: five equal horizontal bands of green (top and bottom)
  alternating with yellow; there is a white five-pointed star on a red
  square in the upper hoist-side corner; uses the popular pan-African
  colors of Ethiopia





Geography
---------


Location: Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean,
  between Benin and Ghana

Geographic coordinates: 8 00 N, 1 10 E

Map references: Africa

Area:
  total area: 56,790 sq km
  land area: 54,390 sq km
  comparative area: slightly smaller than West Virginia

Land boundaries:
  total: 1,647 km
  border countries: Benin 644 km, Burkina Faso 126 km, Ghana 877 km

Coastline: 56 km

Maritime claims:
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 30 nm

International disputes: none

Climate: tropical; hot, humid in south; semiarid in north

Terrain: gently rolling savanna in north; central hills; southern
  plateau; low coastal plain with extensive lagoons and marshes
  lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
  highest point: Pic Baumann 986 m

Natural resources: phosphates, limestone, marble

Land use:
  arable land: 25%
  permanent crops: 1%
  meadows and pastures: 4%
  forest and woodland: 28%
  other: 42%

Irrigated land: 70 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
  current issues: deforestation attributable to slash-and-burn
  agriculture and the use of wood for fuel; recent droughts affecting
  agriculture
  natural hazards: hot, dry harmattan wind can reduce visibility in
  north during winter; periodic droughts
  international agreements: party to - Endangered Species, Law of the
  Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution,
  Tropical Timber 83; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate
  Change, Desertification, Tropical Timber 94



People
------


Population: 4,570,530 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 49% (male 1,116,030; female 1,105,957)
  15-64 years: 49% (male 1,085,774; female 1,163,374)
  65 years and over: 2% (male 46,089; female 53,306) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 3.56% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 46.23 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 10.66 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 0.93 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.86 male(s)/female
  all ages: 0.97 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 84.3 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 57.87 years
  male: 55.7 years
  female: 60.1 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 6.75 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Togolese (singular and plural)
  adjective: Togolese

Ethnic divisions: native African (37 tribes; largest and most
  important are Ewe, Mina, and Kabre) 99%, European and
  Syrian-Lebanese less than 1%

Religions: indigenous beliefs 70%, Christian 20%, Muslim 10%

Languages: French (official and the language of commerce), Ewe and
  Mina (the two major African languages in the south), Dagomba and
  Kabye (sometimes spelled Kabiye; the two major African languages in
  the north)

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)
  total population: 51.7%
  male: 67%
  female: 37%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Republic of Togo
  conventional short form: Togo
  local long form: Republique Togolaise
  local short form: none
  former: French Togo

Data code: TO

Type of government: republic under transition to multiparty
  democratic rule

Capital: Lome

Administrative divisions: 23 circumscriptions (circonscriptions,
  singular - circonscription); Amlame (Amou), Aneho (Lacs), Atakpame
  (Ogou), Badou (Wawa), Bafilo (Assoli), Bassar (Bassari), Dapango
  (Tone), Kande (Keran), Klouto (Kloto), Pagouda (Binah), Lama-Kara
  (Kozah), Lome (Golfe), Mango (Oti), Niamtougou (Doufelgou), Notse
  (Haho), Pagouda, Sotouboua, Tabligbo (Yoto), Tchamba, Nyala,
  Tchaoudjo, Tsevie (Zio), Vogan (Vo)
  note: the 23 units may now be called prefectures (singular -
  prefecture) and reported name changes for individual units are
  included in parentheses

Independence: 27 April 1960 (from French-administered UN
  trusteeship)

National holiday: Independence Day, 27 April (1960)

Constitution: multiparty draft constitution approved by High
  Council of the Republic 1 July 1992; adopted by public referendum 27
  September 1992

Legal system: French-based court system

Suffrage: NA years of age; universal adult

Executive branch:
  chief of state: President Gen. Gnassingbe EYADEMA (since 14 April
  1967) reelected for a five-year term by universal suffrage; election
  last held 25 August 1993 (next to be held NA 1998); all major
  opposition parties boycotted the election; Gen. EYADEMA won 96.5% of
  the vote
  head of government: Prime Minister Edem KODJO (since April 1994)
  appointed by the president
  cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president and the
  prime minister

Legislative branch: unicameral
  National Assembly: elections last held 6 and 20 February 1994 (next
  to be held NA); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (81
  total) CAR 36, RPT 35, UTD 7, UJD 2, CFN 1
  note: the Supreme Court ordered new elections for three seats of the
  Action Committee for Renewal (CAR) and the Togolese Union for
  Democracy (UTD), lowering their total to 34 and six seats,
  respectively; the remaining three seats have not been filled

Judicial branch: Court of Appeal (Cour d'Appel); Supreme Court
  (Cour Supreme)

Political parties and leaders: Rally of the Togolese People (RPT),
  President Gen. Gnassingbe EYADEMA; Coordination des Forces Nouvelles
  (CFN), Joseph KOFFIGOH; Togolese Union for Democracy (UTD), Edem
  KODJO; Action Committee for Renewal (CAR), Yao AGBOYIBOR; Union for
  Democracy and Solidarity (UDS), Antoine FOLLY; Pan-African
  Sociodemocrats Group (GSP), an alliance of three radical parties:
  CDPA, PDR, and PSP; Democratic Convention of African Peoples (CDPA),
  Leopold GNININVI; Party for Democracy and Renewal (PDR), Zarifou
  AYEVA; Pan-African Social Party (PSP), Francis AGBAGLI; Union of
  Forces for Change (UFC), Gilchrist OLYMPIO (in exile); Union of
  Justice and Democracy (UJD), Lal TAXPANDJAN
  note: Rally of the Togolese People (RPT), led by President EYADEMA,
  was the only party until the formation of multiple parties was
  legalized 12 April 1991

International organization participation: ACCT, ACP, AfDB, CCC,
  ECA, ECOWAS, Entente, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM,
  IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ITU,
  MINURSO, NAM, OAU, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIH, UPU, WADB, WCL,
  WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Kossivi OSSEYI
  chancery: 2208 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
  telephone: [1] (202) 234-4212
  FAX: [1] (202) 232-3190

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Johnny YOUNG
  embassy: Rue Pelletier Caventou and Rue Vauban, Lome
  mailing address: B. P. 852, Lome
  telephone: [228] 21 77 17, 21 29 91 through 21 29 94
  FAX: [228] 21 79 52

Flag: five equal horizontal bands of green (top and bottom)
  alternating with yellow; there is a white five-pointed star on a red
  square in the upper hoist-side corner; uses the popular pan-African
  colors of Ethiopia



Economy
-------


Economic overview: This small sub-Saharan economy is heavily
  dependent on subsistence agriculture, which provides employment for
  more than 60% of the labor force. Cocoa, coffee, and cotton together
  generate about 30% of export earnings. Togo is self-sufficient in
  basic foodstuffs when harvests are normal. In the industrial sector,
  phosphate mining is by far the most important activity, although it
  has suffered from the collapse of world phosphate prices and
  increased foreign competition. Togo serves as a regional commercial
  and trade center. The government's decade-long effort, supported by
  the World Bank and the IMF, to implement economic reform measures,
  encourage foreign investment, and bring revenues in line with
  expenditures has stalled. Political unrest, including private and
  public sector strikes throughout 1992 and 1993, has jeopardized the
  reform program, shrunk the tax base, and disrupted vital economic
  activity. Although strikes had ended in 1994, political unrest and
  lack of funds prevented the government from taking advantage of the
  50% currency devaluation of 12 January 1994. Resumption of World
  Bank and IMF flows will depend on implementation of several
  controversial moves toward privatization and on downsizing the
  military, on which the regime depends to stay in power.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $4.1 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 6% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $900 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 49.2%
  industry: 17.7%
  services: 33.1% (1993 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 8.8% (1995 est.)

Labor force: 1.538 million (1993 est.)
  by occupation: agriculture 64%, industry 9%, services 21%.
  unemployed 6% (1981 est.)

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget:
  revenues: $165 million
  expenditures: $274 million, including capital expenditures of $NA
  (1995 est.)

Industries: phosphate mining, agricultural processing, cement;
  handicrafts, textiles, beverages

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity:
  capacity: 34,000 kW
  production: 41.004 million kWh
  consumption per capita: 9 kWh (1990)

Agriculture: coffee, cocoa, cotton, yams, cassava (tapioca), corn,
  beans, rice, millet, sorghum; meat; annual fish catch of
  10,000-14,000 tons

Illicit drugs: increasingly used as transit hub by heroin
  traffickers

Exports: $162.2 (f.o.b., 1994)
  commodities: phosphates, cotton, cocoa, coffee
  partners: EC 40%, Africa 16%, US 1% (1990)

Imports: $212 million (c.i.f., 1994)
  commodities: machinery and equipment, consumer goods, food, chemical
  products
  partners: EC 57%, Africa 17%, US 5%, Japan 4% (1990)

External debt: $1.3 billion (1991)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $NA

Currency: 1 Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (CFAF) = 100
  centimes

Exchange rates: CFA francs (CFAF) per US$1 - 500.56 (January
  1996), 499.15 (1995), 555.20 (1994), 283.16 (1993), 264.69 (1992),
  282.11 (1991)
  note: beginning 12 January 1994, the CFA franc was devalued to CFAF
  100 per French franc from CFAF 50 at which it had been fixed since
  1948

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 525 km (1995)
  narrow gauge: 525 km 1.000-m gauge

Highways:
  total: 7,545 km
  paved: 1,833 km
  unpaved: 5,712 km (1993 est.)

Waterways: 50 km Mono river

Ports: Kpeme, Lome

Merchant marine: none

Airports:
  total: 8
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 2
  with paved runways under 914 m: 2
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 4 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 12,000 (1987 est.)

Telephone system: fair system based on network of microwave radio
  relay routes supplemented by open-wire lines
  domestic: microwave radio relay and open-wire lines
  international: satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic
  Ocean) and 1 Symphonie

Radio broadcast stations: AM 2, FM 0, shortwave 0

Radios: 795,000 (1992 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 3 (relays 2)

Televisions: 24,000 (1992 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Gendarmerie

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 975,746
  males fit for military service: 512,196 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $48 million, 2.9%
  of GDP (1993)



======================================================================




@Tokelau
-------


(territory of New Zealand)

Map
---


Location: 9 00 S, 172 00 W -- Oceania, group of islands in the
  South Pacific Ocean, about one-half of the way from Hawaii to New
  Zealand



Flag
----


Description: the flag of New Zealand is used





Geography
---------


Location: Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean,
  about one-half of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand

Geographic coordinates: 9 00 S, 172 00 W

Map references: Oceania

Area:
  total area: 10 sq km
  land area: 10 sq km
  comparative area: about 17 times the size of The Mall in Washington,
  DC

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 101 km

Maritime claims:
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: none

Climate: tropical; moderated by trade winds (April to November)

Terrain: coral atolls enclosing large lagoons
  lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
  highest point: unnamed location 5 m

Natural resources: NEGL

Land use:
  arable land: 0%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 0%
  forest and woodland: 0%
  other: 100%

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Environment:
  current issues: very limited natural resources and overcrowding are
  contributing to emigration to New Zealand
  natural hazards: lies in Pacific typhoon belt
  international agreements: NA



People
------


Population: 1,482 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: NA
  15-64 years: NA
  65 years and over: NA

Population growth rate: -1.35% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: NA births/1,000 population

Death rate: NA deaths/1,000 population

Net migration rate: NA migrant(s)/1,000 population

Sex ratio:
  at birth: NA male(s)/female
  under 15 years: NA male(s)/female
  15-64 years: NA male(s)/female
  65 years and over: NA male(s)/female
  all ages: NA male(s)/female

Infant mortality rate: NA deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: NA years
  male: NA years
  female: NA years

Total fertility rate: NA children born/woman

Nationality:
  noun: Tokelauan(s)
  adjective: Tokelauan

Ethnic divisions: Polynesian

Religions: Congregational Christian Church 70%, Roman Catholic
  28%, other 2%
  note: on Atafu, all Congregational Christian Church of Samoa; on
  Nukunonu, all Roman Catholic; on Fakaofo, both denominations, with
  the Congregational Christian Church predominant

Languages: Tokelauan (a Polynesian language), English



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: none
  conventional short form: Tokelau

Data code: TL

Type of government: territory of New Zealand

Capital: none; each atoll has its own administrative center

Administrative divisions: none (territory of New Zealand)

Independence: none (territory of New Zealand)

National holiday: Waitangi Day, 6 February (1840) (Treaty of
  Waitangi established British sovereignty over New Zealand)

Constitution: administered under the Tokelau Islands Act of 1948,
  as amended in 1970

Legal system: British and local statutes

Suffrage: NA

Executive branch:
  chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (of the United Kingdom since 6
  February 1952) is a hereditary monarch; the queen and New Zealand
  are represented by Administrator Lindsay WATT (since NA March 1993)
  who was appointed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade in
  New Zealand
  head of government: Official Secretary Casimilo J. PEREZ (since NA),
  Tokelau Apia Liaison Office

Legislative branch: unicameral
  General Fono: seats - (45 total, 15 chosen by each of the three
  atoll's Council of Elders or Taupulega)

Judicial branch: High Court in Niue; Supreme Court in New Zealand

Political parties and leaders: none

International organization participation: SPC, WHO (associate)

Diplomatic representation in US: none (territory of New Zealand)

US diplomatic representation: none (territory of New Zealand)

Flag: the flag of New Zealand is used



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Tokelau's small size, isolation, and lack of
  resources greatly restrain economic development and confine
  agriculture to the subsistence level. The people must rely on aid
  from New Zealand to maintain public services, annual aid being
  substantially greater than GDP. The principal sources of revenue
  come from sales of copra, postage stamps, souvenir coins, and
  handicrafts. Money is also remitted to families from relatives in
  New Zealand.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $1.5 million (1993 est.)

GDP real growth rate: NA%

GDP per capita: $1,000 (1993 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: NA%
  industry: NA%
  services: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA%

Labor force: NA

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget:
  revenues: $430,830
  expenditures: $2.8 million, including capital expenditures of
  $37,300 (1987 est.)

Industries: small-scale enterprises for copra production, wood
  work, plaited craft goods; stamps, coins; fishing

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity:
  capacity: 200 kW
  production: 300,000 kWh
  consumption per capita: 180 kWh (1990)

Agriculture: coconuts, copra, breadfruit, papaya, bananas; pigs,
  poultry, goats

Exports: $98,000 (f.o.b., 1983)
  commodities: stamps, copra, handicrafts
  partners: NZ

Imports: $323,400 (c.i.f., 1983)
  commodities: foodstuffs, building materials, fuel
  partners: NZ

External debt: 0

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $NA

Currency: 1 New Zealand dollar (NZ$) = 100 cents

Exchange rates: New Zealand dollars (NZ$) per US$1 - 1.5138
  (January 1996), 1.5235 (1995), 1.6844 (1994), 1.8495 (1993), 1.8584
  (1992), l.7265 (1991)

Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March



Transportation
--------------


Railways: 0 km

Highways:
  total: NA km
  paved: NA km
  unpaved: NA km

Ports: none; offshore anchorage only

Merchant marine: none

Airports: none; lagoon landings by amphibious aircraft from
  Western Samoa



Communications
--------------


Telephones: NA

Telephone system:
  domestic: radiotelephone service between islands
  international: radiotelephone service to Western Samoa

Radio broadcast stations: AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA
  note: each atoll has a radio broadcast station of NA type that
  broadcasts shipping and weather reports

Radios: 1,000 (1992 est.)

Television broadcast stations: NA

Televisions: NA



Defense
-------


Defense note: defense is the responsibility of New Zealand



======================================================================




@Tonga
-----




Map
---


Location: 20 00 S, 175 00 W -- Oceania, archipelago in the South
  Pacific Ocean, about two-thirds of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand



Flag
----


Description: red with a bold red cross on a white rectangle in the
  upper hoist-side corner





Geography
---------


Location: Oceania, archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean, about
  two-thirds of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand

Geographic coordinates: 20 00 S, 175 00 W

Map references: Oceania

Area:
  total area: 748 sq km
  land area: 718 sq km
  comparative area: four times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 419 km

Maritime claims:
  continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: none

Climate: tropical; modified by trade winds; warm season (December
  to May), cool season (May to December)

Terrain: most islands have limestone base formed from uplifted
  coral formation; others have limestone overlying volcanic base
  lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
  highest point: on Kao Island 1,033 m

Natural resources: fish, fertile soil

Land use:
  arable land: 25%
  permanent crops: 55%
  meadows and pastures: 6%
  forest and woodland: 12%
  other: 2%

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Environment:
  current issues: deforestation results as more and more land is being
  cleared for agriculture and settlement; some damage to coral reefs
  from starfish and indiscriminate coral and shell collectors;
  overhunting threatens native sea turtle populations
  natural hazards: cyclones (October to April); earthquakes and
  volcanic activity on Fonuafo'ou
  international agreements: party to - Marine Life Conservation,
  Nuclear Test Ban, Whaling; signed, but not ratified - Law of the Sea

Geographic note: archipelago of 170 islands (36 inhabited)



People
------


Population: 106,466 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: NA
  15-64 years: NA
  65 years and over: NA

Population growth rate: 0.82% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 27.33 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 6.26 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: -1.29 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: NA male(s)/female
  under 15 years: NA male(s)/female
  15-64 years: NA male(s)/female
  65 years and over: NA male(s)/female
  all ages: NA male(s)/female

Infant mortality rate: 40.26 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 69.04 years
  male: 67.03 years
  female: 71.4 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 3.75 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Tongan(s)
  adjective: Tongan

Ethnic divisions: Polynesian, Europeans about 300

Religions: Christian (Free Wesleyan Church claims over 30,000
  adherents)

Languages: Tongan, English

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write a simple message in
  Tongan or English (1976 est.)
  total population: 100%
  male: 100%
  female: 100%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Kingdom of Tonga
  conventional short form: Tonga
  former: Friendly Islands

Data code: TN

Type of government: hereditary constitutional monarchy

Capital: Nuku'alofa

Administrative divisions: three island groups; Ha'apai, Tongatapu,
  Vava'u

Independence: 4 June 1970 (emancipation from UK protectorate)

National holiday: Emancipation Day, 4 June (1970)

Constitution: 4 November 1875, revised 1 January 1967

Legal system: based on English law

Suffrage: 21 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: King Taufa'ahau TUPOU IV (since 16 December 1965) is
  a constitutional monarch
  head of government: Prime Minister Baron VAEA (since 22 August 1991)
  and Deputy Prime Minister S. Langi KAVALIKU (since 22 August 1991)
  were appointed for life by the king
  cabinet: Cabinet was appointed by the king
  Privy Council: consists of the king and the Cabinet

Legislative branch: unicameral
  Legislative Assembly (Fale Alea): elections last held 3-4 February
  1993 (next to be held NA February 1996); results - percent of vote
  NA; seats - (30 total, 12 reserved for cabinet ministers sitting ex
  officio, nine for nobles selected by the country's 33 nobles, and
  nine for elected people's representatives) 6 proreform, 3
  traditionalist

Judicial branch: Supreme Court, judges are appointed by the king

Political parties and leaders: Tonga People's Party, Viliami
  FUKOFUKA

International organization participation: ACP, AsDB, C, ESCAP,
  FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IMF,
  Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, ITU, Sparteca, SPC,
  SPF, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO

Diplomatic representation in US: Tonga does not have an embassy in
  the US; Ambassador Sione KITE, resides in London
  consulate(s) general: San Francisco

US diplomatic representation: the US does not have an embassy in
  Tonga; the ambassador to Fiji is accredited to Tonga

Flag: red with a bold red cross on a white rectangle in the upper
  hoist-side corner



Economy
-------


Economic overview: The economy's base is agriculture, which
  contributes 40% to GDP. Squash, coconuts, bananas, and vanilla beans
  are the main crops, and agricultural exports make up two-thirds of
  total exports. The country must import a high proportion of its
  food, mainly from New Zealand. The manufacturing sector accounts for
  only 11% of GDP. Tourism is the primary source of hard currency
  earnings, but the country also remains dependent on sizable external
  aid and remittances to offset its trade deficit. The economy
  continued to grow in 1993-95 largely because of a rise in squash
  exports, increased aid flows, and several large construction
  projects. The government is now turning its attention to further
  development of the private sector and the reduction of the budget
  deficit.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $228 million (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 4% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $2,160 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 40% (1995 est.)
  industry: NA%
  services: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 3% (1993)

Labor force: 32,013 (1990 est.)
  by occupation: agriculture 70% (1995 est.)

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget:
  revenues: $44 million
  expenditures: $86 million, including capital expenditures of $NA
  (1995 est.)

Industries: tourism, fishing

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity:
  capacity: 6,000 kW
  production: 30 million kWh
  consumption per capita: 231 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: coconuts, copra, bananas, vanilla beans, cocoa,
  coffee, ginger, black pepper

Exports: $20.3 million (f.o.b., FY93/94)
  commodities: squash, vanilla, fish, root crops, coconut oil
  partners: Japan 59%, US 14%, Australia 6%, NZ 6% (FY93/94)

Imports: $57.8 million (c.i.f., FY93/94)
  commodities: food products, machinery and transport equipment,
  manufactures, fuels, chemicals
  partners: NZ 44%, Australia 22%, US 8%, Japan 7% (FY93/94)

External debt: $48.4 million (FY93/94)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $NA

Currency: 1 pa'anga (T$) = 100 seniti

Exchange rates: pa'anga (T$) per US$1 - 1.2753 (December 1995),
  1.2709 (1995), 1.3202 (1994), 1.3841 (1993), 1.3471 (1992), 1.2961
  (1991)

Fiscal year: 1 July - 30 June



Transportation
--------------


Railways: 0 km

Highways:
  total: 432 km
  paved: 280 km
  unpaved: 152 km (1987 est.)

Ports: Neiafu, Nuku'alofa, Pangai

Merchant marine:
  total: 4 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 9,990 GRT/14,884 DWT
  ships by type: cargo 1, liquefied gas tanker 2, roll-on/roll-off
  cargo 1 (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 6
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 1
  with paved runways under 914 m: 2
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 1
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 2 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 3,500 (1986 est.)

Telephone system:
  domestic: NA
  international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0

Radios: 66,000 (1993 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 0

Televisions: 1,000 (1992 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Tonga Defense Services, Maritime Division, Royal Tongan
  Marines, Tongan Royal Guards, Police

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: NA
  males fit for military service: NA

Defense expenditures: $NA, NA% of GDP



======================================================================




@Trinidad and Tobago
-------------------




Map
---


Location: 11 00 N, 61 00 W -- Caribbean, islands between the
  Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, northeast of Venezuela



Flag
----


Description: red with a white-edged black diagonal band from the
  upper hoist side





Geography
---------


Location: Caribbean, islands between the Caribbean Sea and the
  North Atlantic Ocean, northeast of Venezuela

Geographic coordinates: 11 00 N, 61 00 W

Map references: Central America and the Caribbean

Area:
  total area: 5,130 sq km
  land area: 5,130 sq km
  comparative area: slightly smaller than Delaware

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 362 km

Maritime claims:
  contiguous zone: 24 nm
  continental shelf: 200 nm or to the outer edge of the continental
  margin
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: none

Climate: tropical; rainy season (June to December)

Terrain: mostly plains with some hills and low mountains
  lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
  highest point: El Cerro del Aripo 940 m

Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, asphalt

Land use:
  arable land: 14%
  permanent crops: 17%
  meadows and pastures: 2%
  forest and woodland: 44%
  other: 23%

Irrigated land: 220 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
  current issues: water pollution from agricultural chemicals,
  industrial wastes, and raw sewage; oil pollution of beaches;
  deforestation; soil erosion
  natural hazards: outside usual path of hurricanes and other tropical
  storms
  international agreements: party to - Climate Change, Endangered
  Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation,
  Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83,
  Wetlands, Whaling; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity



People
------


Population: 1,272,385 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 30% (male 193,134; female 186,649)
  15-64 years: 64% (male 413,426; female 404,175)
  65 years and over: 6% (male 33,791; female 41,210) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 0.08% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 16.25 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 6.9 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: -8.58 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.82 male(s)/female
  all ages: 1.01 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 18.2 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 70.3 years
  male: 67.91 years
  female: 72.77 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.99 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Trinidadian(s), Tobagonian(s)
  adjective: Trinidadian, Tobagonian

Ethnic divisions: black 43%, East Indian (a local term - primarily
  immigrants from northern India) 40%, mixed 14%, white 1%, Chinese
  1%, other 1%

Religions: Roman Catholic 32.2%, Hindu 24.3%, Anglican 14.4%,
  other Protestant 14%, Muslim 6%, none or unknown 9.1%

Languages: English (official), Hindi, French, Spanish

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)
  total population: 97.9%
  male: 98.8%
  female: 97%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Republic of Trinidad and Tobago
  conventional short form: Trinidad and Tobago

Data code: TD

Type of government: parliamentary democracy

Capital: Port-of-Spain

Administrative divisions: 8 counties, 3 municipalities*, and 1
  ward**; Arima*, Caroni, Mayaro, Nariva, Port-of-Spain*, Saint
  Andrew, Saint David, Saint George, Saint Patrick, San Fernando*,
  Tobago**, Victoria

Independence: 31 August 1962 (from UK)

National holiday: Independence Day, 31 August (1962)

Constitution: 1 August 1976

Legal system: based on English common law; judicial review of
  legislative acts in the Supreme Court; has not accepted compulsory
  ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: President Noor Mohammed HASSANALI (since 18 March
  1987) was elected by an electoral college of members of the Senate
  and House of Representatives
  head of government: Prime Minister Basdeo PANDAY (since 9 November
  1995) was appointed from among the members of Parliament
  cabinet: Cabinet was appointed from among the members of Parliament

Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament
  Senate: consists of a 31-member body appointed by the president
  House of Representatives: elections last held 6 November 1995 (next
  to be held by December 2001); results - PNM 52%, UNC 42.2%, NAR
  5.2%; seats - (36 total) PNM 17, UNC 17, NAR 2; the UNC formed a
  coalition with the NAR

Judicial branch: Court of Appeal, judges are appointed by the
  president on the advice of the prime minister; Supreme Court, judges
  are appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister

Political parties and leaders: People's National Movement (PNM),
  Patrick MANNING; United National Congress (UNC), Basdeo PANDAY;
  National Alliance for Reconstruction (NAR), A. N. R. ROBINSON;
  Movement for Social Transformation (MOTION), David ABDULLAH;
  National Joint Action Committee (NJAC), Makandal DAAGA; Republican
  Party, Nello MITCHELL; National Development Party (NDP), Carson
  CHARLES; Movement for Unity and Progress (MUP), Hulsie BHAGGAN

International organization participation: ACP, C, Caricom, CCC,
  CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-24, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA,
  IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU,
  LAES, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIH, UNU, UPU,
  WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Corinne Averille McKNIGHT
  chancery: 1708 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036
  telephone: [1] (202) 467-6490
  FAX: [1] (202) 785-3130
  consulate(s) general: New York

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Brian J. DONNELLY
  embassy: 15 Queen's Park West, Port-of-Spain
  mailing address: P. O. Box 752, Port-of-Spain
  telephone: [1] (809) 622-6372 through 6376, 6176
  FAX: [1] (809) 628-5462

Flag: red with a white-edged black diagonal band from the upper
  hoist side



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Trinidad and Tobago's oil- and
  petrochemical-dependent economy enjoys a high per capita income,
  although living standards have declined since the boom years of
  1973-82. The country managed to record a second successive year of
  economic growth in 1995, the first period of substantial expansion
  since the early 1980s. A broad economic reform program, including
  the floating of the exchange rate, trade and capital market
  liberalization, and an extensive privatization program by the
  previous administration has left the incoming PANDAY government in a
  relatively sound economic position. Trinidad and Tobago's economic
  prospects continue to depend heavily on world petroleum prices,
  however, and further progress toward diversification will be an
  important challenge in the medium term.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $16.2 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 3.5% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $12,100 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 4.8%
  industry: 44.5%
  services: 50.7% (1995 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 5.4% (1995)

Labor force: 404,500
  by occupation: construction and utilities 13%, manufacturing,
  mining, and quarrying 14%, agriculture 11%, services 62% (1993 est.)

Unemployment rate: 17.8% (December 1995)

Budget:
  revenues: $1.65 billion
  expenditures: $1.61 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA
  (1996 est.)

Industries: petroleum, chemicals, tourism, food processing,
  cement, beverage, cotton textiles

Industrial production growth rate: 1% (1994 est.)

Electricity:
  capacity: 1,150,000 kW
  production: 3.9 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 2,740 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: cocoa, sugarcane, rice, citrus, coffee, vegetables;
  poultry

Illicit drugs: transshipment point for South American drugs
  destined for the US and Europe and producer of cannabis

Exports: $2.2 billion (f.o.b., 1995)
  commodities: petroleum and petroleum products, chemicals, steel
  products, fertilizer, sugar, cocoa, coffee, citrus, flowers
  partners: US 48%, Caricom countries15%, Latin America 9%, EU 5%
  (1994)

Imports: $996 million (c.i.f., 1994)
  commodities: machinery, transportation equipment, manufactured
  goods, food, live animals
  partners: US 47.7%, Venezuela 10%, UK 8.3%, other EU 8% (1994)

External debt: $2 billion (1994)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $10 million (1993)

Currency: 1 Trinidad and Tobago dollar (TT$) = 100 cents

Exchange rates: Trinidad and Tobago dollars (TT$) per US$1 -
  5.9412 (January 1996), 5.9192 (1995), 5.9249 (1994), 5.3511 (1993),
  4.2500 (fixed rate 1989-1992); note - effective 13 April 1993, the
  exchange rate of the TT$ is market-determined as opposed to the
  prior fixed relationship to the US dollar

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  note: minimal agricultural railroad system near San Fernando;
  railway service was discontinued in 1968

Highways:
  total: 8,352 km
  paved: 3,978 km
  unpaved: 4,374 km (1987 est.)

Pipelines: crude oil 1,032 km; petroleum products 19 km; natural
  gas 904 km

Ports: Pointe-a-Pierre, Point Fortin, Point Lisas, Port-of-Spain,
  Scarborough, Tembladora

Merchant marine:
  total: 2 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,928 GRT/5,571 DWT
  ships by type: cargo 1, oil tanker 1 (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 5
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 1
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 1
  with paved runways under 914 m: 2
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 1 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 170,000 (1992 est.)

Telephone system: excellent international service; good local
  service
  domestic: NA
  international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic
  Ocean); tropospheric scatter to Barbados and Guyana

Radio broadcast stations: AM 2, FM 4, shortwave 0

Radios: 700,000 (1993 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 5 (1987 est.)

Televisions: 400,000 (1992 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Trinidad and Tobago Defense Force (includes Ground
  Forces, Coast Guard, and Air Wing), Trinidad and Tobago Police
  Service

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 351,835
  males fit for military service: 252,532 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $83 million, NA%
  of GDP (1994)



======================================================================




@Tromelin Island
---------------


(possession of France)

Map
---


Location: 15 52 S, 54 25 E -- Southern Africa, island in the
  Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar



Flag
----


Description: the flag of France is used





Geography
---------


Location: Southern Africa, island in the Indian Ocean, east of
  Madagascar

Geographic coordinates: 15 52 S, 54 25 E

Map references: Africa

Area:
  total area: 1 sq km
  land area: 1 sq km
  comparative area: about 1.7 times the size of The Mall in
  Washington, DC

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 3.7 km

Maritime claims:
  contiguous zone: 12 nm
  continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: claimed by Madagascar, Mauritius, and
  Seychelles

Climate: tropical

Terrain: sandy
  lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
  highest point: unnamed location 7 m

Natural resources: fish

Land use:
  arable land: 0%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 0%
  forest and woodland: 0%
  other: 100% (scattered bushes)

Irrigated land: 0 sq km

Environment:
  current issues: NA
  natural hazards: NA
  international agreements: NA

Geographic note: climatologically important location for
  forecasting cyclones; wildlife sanctuary



People
------


Population: uninhabited



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: none
  conventional short form: Tromelin Island
  local long form: none
  local short form: Ile Tromelin

Data code: TE

Type of government: French possession administered by Commissioner
  of the Republic, resident in Reunion

Capital: none; administered by France from Reunion

Independence: none (possession of France)

Flag: the flag of France is used



Economy
-------


Economic overview: no economic activity



Transportation
--------------


Ports: none; offshore anchorage only

Airports:
  total: 1
  with paved runways under 914 m: 1 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Communications note: important meteorological station



Defense
-------


Defense note: defense is the responsibility of France



======================================================================




@Tunisia
-------




Map
---


Location: 34 00 N, 9 00 E -- Northern Africa, bordering the
  Mediterranean Sea, between Algeria and Libya



Flag
----


Description: red with a white disk in the center bearing a red
  crescent nearly encircling a red five-pointed star; the crescent and
  star are traditional symbols of Islam





Geography
---------


Location: Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea,
  between Algeria and Libya

Geographic coordinates: 34 00 N, 9 00 E

Map references: Africa

Area:
  total area: 163,610 sq km
  land area: 155,360 sq km
  comparative area: slightly larger than Georgia

Land boundaries:
  total: 1,424 km
  border countries: Algeria 965 km, Libya 459 km

Coastline: 1,148 km

Maritime claims:
  contiguous zone: 24 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: maritime boundary dispute with Libya; land
  boundary dispute with Algeria settled in 1993; Malta and Tunisia are
  discussing the commercial exploitation of the continental shelf
  between their countries, particularly for oil exploration

Climate: temperate in north with mild, rainy winters and hot, dry
  summers; desert in south

Terrain: mountains in north; hot, dry central plain; semiarid
  south merges into the Sahara
  lowest point: Shatt al Gharsah -17 m
  highest point: Jabal ash Shanabi 1,544 m

Natural resources: petroleum, phosphates, iron ore, lead, zinc,
  salt

Land use:
  arable land: 20%
  permanent crops: 10%
  meadows and pastures: 19%
  forest and woodland: 4%
  other: 47%

Irrigated land: 2,750 sq km (1989)

Environment:
  current issues: toxic and hazardous waste disposal is ineffective
  and presents human health risks; water pollution from raw sewage;
  limited natural fresh water resources; deforestation; overgrazing;
  soil erosion; desertification
  natural hazards: NA
  international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
  Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Law
  of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer
  Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified -
  Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation

Geographic note: strategic location in central Mediterranean



People
------


Population: 9,019,687 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 34% (male 1,583,636; female 1,489,784)
  15-64 years: 61% (male 2,738,013; female 2,719,998)
  65 years and over: 5% (male 254,403; female 233,853) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.81% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 24.03 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 5.18 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: -0.74 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.08 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 1.09 male(s)/female
  all ages: 1.03 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 35.1 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 72.6 years
  male: 71.27 years
  female: 74.03 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.92 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Tunisian(s)
  adjective: Tunisian

Ethnic divisions: Arab-Berber 98%, European 1%, Jewish less than 1%

Religions: Muslim 98%, Christian 1%, Jewish 1%

Languages: Arabic (official and one of the languages of commerce),
  French (commerce)

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)
  total population: 66.7%
  male: 78.6%
  female: 54.6%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Republic of Tunisia
  conventional short form: Tunisia
  local long form: Al Jumhuriyah at Tunisiyah
  local short form: Tunis

Data code: TS

Type of government: republic

Capital: Tunis

Administrative divisions: 23 governorates; Beja, Ben Arous,
  Bizerte, Gabes, Gafsa, Jendouba, Kairouan, Kasserine, Kebili,
  L'Ariana, Le Kef, Mahdia, Medenine, Monastir, Nabeul, Sfax, Sidi Bou
  Zid, Siliana, Sousse, Tataouine, Tozeur, Tunis, Zaghouan

Independence: 20 March 1956 (from France)

National holiday: National Day, 20 March (1956)

Constitution: 1 June 1959; amended 12 July 1988

Legal system: based on French civil law system and Islamic law;
  some judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court in
  joint session

Suffrage: 20 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: President Zine El Abidine BEN ALI (since 7 November
  1987) was reelected for a five-year term by universal suffrage;
  election last held 20 March 1994 (next to be held NA 1999); results
  - President Zine El Abidine BEN ALI was reelected without opposition
  head of government: Prime Minister Hamed KAROUI (since 26 September
  1989) was appointed by the president
  cabinet: Council of Ministers was appointed by the president

Legislative branch: unicameral
  Chamber of Deputies (Majlis al-Nuwaab): elections last held 20 March
  1994 (next to be held NA 1999); results - RCD 97.7%, MDS 1.0%,
  others 1.3%; seats - (163 total) RCD 144, MDS 10, others 9; note -
  the government changed the electoral code to guarantee that the
  opposition won seats

Judicial branch: Court of Cassation (Cour de Cassation)

Political parties and leaders: Constitutional Democratic Rally
  Party (RCD), President BEN ALI (official ruling party); Movement of
  Democratic Socialists (MDS), Mohammed MOUAADA; five other political
  parties are legal, including the Communist Party

Other political or pressure groups: the Islamic fundamentalist
  party, An Nahda (Rebirth), is outlawed

International organization participation: ABEDA, ACCT, AfDB,
  AFESD, AL, AMF, AMU, BSEC (observer), CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IAEA,
  IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF,
  IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, MINURSO, NAM, OAS
  (observer), OAU, OIC, OSCE (partner), UN, UNAMIR, UNCRO, UNCTAD,
  UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Mohamed Azzouz ENNAIFER
  chancery: 1515 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20005
  telephone: [1] (202) 862-1850

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Mary Ann CASEY
  embassy: 144 Avenue de la Liberte, 1002 Tunis-Belvedere
  mailing address: use embassy street address
  telephone: [216] (1) 782-566
  FAX: [216] (1) 789-719

Flag: red with a white disk in the center bearing a red crescent
  nearly encircling a red five-pointed star; the crescent and star are
  traditional symbols of Islam



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Tunisia has a diverse economy, with important
  agricultural, mining, energy, tourism, and manufacturing sectors.
  Detailed governmental control of economic affairs has gradually
  lessened over the past decade, including increasing privatization of
  trade and commerce, simplification of the tax structure, and a
  cautious approach to debt. Real growth has averaged 4.2% in 1991-95,
  and inflation has been moderate. Growth in tourism and IMF support
  have been key elements in this solid record. Drought, especially in
  the south, held back GDP growth in 1995. Further privatization and
  further improvements in government administrative efficiency are
  among the challenges for the future.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $37.1 billion (1994 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 4.4% (1994 est.)

GDP per capita: $4,250 (1994 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 15%
  industry: 30%
  services: 55% (1995 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 5.5% (1995 est.)

Labor force: 2.917 million (1993 est.)
  by occupation: services 55%, industry 23%, agriculture 22% (1995
  est.)
  note: shortage of skilled labor

Unemployment rate: 16.2% (1993 est.)

Budget:
  revenues: $4.3 billion
  expenditures: $5.5 billion, including capital expenditures to $NA
  (1993 est.)

Industries: petroleum, mining (particularly phosphate and iron
  ore), tourism, textiles, footwear, food, beverages

Industrial production growth rate: 5% (1989)

Electricity:
  capacity: 1,410,000 kW
  production: 5.4 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 595 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: olives, dates, oranges, almonds, grain, sugar beets,
  grapes; poultry, beef, dairy products

Exports: $4.7 billion (f.o.b., 1994)
  commodities: hydrocarbons, agricultural products, phosphates and
  chemicals
  partners: EU countries 75%, Middle East 10%, Algeria 2%, India 2%,
  US 1%

Imports: $6.6 billion (c.i.f., 1994)
  commodities: industrial goods and equipment 57%, hydrocarbons 13%,
  food 12%, consumer goods
  partners: EU countries 70%, US 5%, Middle East 2%, Japan 2%,
  Switzerland 1%, Algeria 1%

External debt: $7.7 billion (1993 est.)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $221 million (1993)

Currency: 1 Tunisian dinar (TD) = 1,000 millimes

Exchange rates: Tunisian dinars (TD) per US$1 - 0.9635 (January
  1996), 0.9458 (1995), 1.0116 (1994), 1.0037 (1993), 0.8844 (1992),
  0.9246 (1991)

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 2,260 km
  standard gauge: 492 km 1.435-m gauge
  narrow gauge: 1,758 km 1.000-m gauge
  dual gauge: 10 km 1.000-m and 1.435-m gauges (1993 est.)

Highways:
  total: 29,183 km
  paved: 17,510 km (including 52 km of expressways)
  unpaved: 11,673 km (1989 est.)

Pipelines: crude oil 797 km; petroleum products 86 km; natural gas
  742 km

Ports: Bizerte, Gabes, La Goulette, Sfax, Sousse, Tunis, Zarzis

Merchant marine:
  total: 19 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 125,840 GRT/164,277 DWT
  ships by type: bulk 6, cargo 4, chemical tanker 3, oil tanker 2,
  roll-on/roll-off cargo 3, short-sea passenger 1 (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 29
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 3
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 6
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 3
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 3
  with paved runways under 914 m: 6
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 2
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 6 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 233,000 (1987 est.)

Telephone system: the system is above the African average; key
  centers are Sfax, Sousse, Bizerte, and Tunis
  domestic: trunk facilities consist of open-wire lines, coaxial
  cable, and microwave radio relay
  international: 5 submarine cables; satellite earth stations - 1
  Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) and 1 Arabsat with back-up control
  station; coaxial cable and microwave radio relay to Algeria and
  Libya; participant in Medarabtel

Radio broadcast stations: AM 7, FM 8, shortwave 0

Radios: 1,693,527 (1991 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 19

Televisions: 670,000 (1992 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, paramilitary forces, National
  Guard

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 2,354,513
  males fit for military service: 1,349,728
  males reach military age (20) annually: 91,866 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $535 million,
  2.8% of GDP (1995)



======================================================================




@Turkey
------




Map
---


Location: 39 00 N, 35 00 E -- Southwestern Asia (that part west of
  the Bosporus is sometimes included with Europe), bordering the Black
  Sea, between Bulgaria and Georgia, and bordering the Aegean Sea and
  the Mediterranean Sea, between Greece and Syria



Flag
----


Description: red with a vertical white crescent (the closed
  portion is toward the hoist side) and white five-pointed star
  centered just outside the crescent opening





Geography
---------


Location: Southwestern Asia (that part west of the Bosporus is
  sometimes included with Europe), bordering the Black Sea, between
  Bulgaria and Georgia, and bordering the Aegean Sea and the
  Mediterranean Sea, between Greece and Syria

Geographic coordinates: 39 00 N, 35 00 E

Map references: Middle East

Area:
  total area: 780,580 sq km
  land area: 770,760 sq km
  comparative area: slightly larger than Texas

Land boundaries:
  total: 2,627 km
  border countries: Armenia 268 km, Azerbaijan 9 km, Bulgaria 240 km,
  Georgia 252 km, Greece 206 km, Iran 499 km, Iraq 331 km, Syria 822 km

Coastline: 7,200 km

Maritime claims:
  exclusive economic zone: in Black Sea only - to the maritime
  boundary agreed upon with the former USSR
  territorial sea: 6 nm in the Aegean Sea,; 12 nm in the Black Sea and
  in the Mediterranean Sea

International disputes: complex maritime, air and territorial
  disputes with Greece in Aegean Sea; Cyprus question; Hatay question
  with Syria; dispute with downstream riparians (Syria and Iraq) over
  water development plans for the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers

Climate: temperate; hot, dry summers with mild, wet winters;
  harsher in interior

Terrain: mostly mountains; narrow coastal plain; high central
  plateau (Anatolia)
  lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m
  highest point: Mount Ararat 5,166 m

Natural resources: antimony, coal, chromium, mercury, copper,
  borate, sulfur, iron ore

Land use:
  arable land: 30%
  permanent crops: 4%
  meadows and pastures: 12%
  forest and woodland: 26%
  other: 28%

Irrigated land: 22,200 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
  current issues: water pollution from dumping of chemicals and
  detergents; air pollution, particularly in urban areas; deforestation
  natural hazards: very severe earthquakes, especially in northern
  Turkey, along an arc extending from the Sea of Marmara to Lake Van
  international agreements: party to - Air Pollution, Hazardous
  Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution,
  Wetlands, Whaling; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity,
  Desertification, Environmental Modification

Geographic note: strategic location controlling the Turkish
  Straits (Bosporus, Sea of Marmara, Dardanelles) that link Black and
  Aegean Seas



People
------


Population: 62,484,478 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 32% (male 10,192,195; female 9,836,045)
  15-64 years: 62% (male 19,859,717; female 19,187,769)
  65 years and over: 6% (male 1,571,451; female 1,837,301) (July 1996
  est.)

Population growth rate: 1.67% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 22.26 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 5.52 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.86 male(s)/female
  all ages: 1.02 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 43.2 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 71.92 years
  male: 69.53 years
  female: 74.43 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.58 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Turk(s)
  adjective: Turkish

Ethnic divisions: Turkish 80%, Kurdish 20%

Religions: Muslim 99.8% (mostly Sunni), other 0.2% (Christian and
  Jews)

Languages: Turkish (official), Kurdish, Arabic

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)
  total population: 82.3%
  male: 91.7%
  female: 72.4%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Republic of Turkey
  conventional short form: Turkey
  local long form: Turkiye Cumhuriyeti
  local short form: Turkiye

Data code: TU

Type of government: republican parliamentary democracy

Capital: Ankara

Administrative divisions: 79 provinces (iller, singular - il);
  Adana, Adiyaman, Afyon, Agri, Aksaray, Amasya, Ankara, Antalya,
  Ardahan, Artvin, Aydin, Balikesir, Bartin, Batman, Bayburt, Bilecik,
  Bingol, Bitlis, Bolu, Burdur, Bursa, Canakkale, Cankiri, Corum,
  Denizli, Diyarbakir, Edirne, Elazig, Erzincan, Erzurum, Eskisehir,
  Gazi Antep, Giresun, Gumushane, Hakkari, Hatay, Icel, Iggdir,
  Isparta, Istanbul, Izmir, Kahraman Maras, Karabuk, Karaman, Kars,
  Kastamonu, Kayseri, Kilis, Kirikkale, Kirklareli, Kirsehir, Kocaeli,
  Konya, Kutahya, Malatya, Manisa, Mardin, Mugla, Mus, Nevsehir,
  Nigde, Ordu, Rize, Sakarya, Samsun, Sanli Urfa, Siirt, Sinop,
  Sirnak, Sivas, Tekirdag, Tokat, Trabzon, Tunceli, Usak, Van, Yalova,
  Yozgat, Zonguldak
  note: Karabuk, Kilis, and Yalova are three new Turkish provinces
  mentioned in the 24 December 1995 election results

Independence: 29 October 1923 (successor state to the Ottoman
  Empire)

National holiday: Anniversary of the Declaration of the Republic,
  29 October (1923)

Constitution: 7 November 1982

Legal system: derived from various continental legal systems;
  accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: President Suleyman DEMIREL (since 16 May 1993) was
  elected for a seven-year term by the National Assembly
  head of government: Prime Minister Mesut YILMAZ (since 12 March
  1996) and Deputy Prime Minister Nahit MENTESE (since 12 March 1996)
  were appointed by the president
  National Security Council: advisory body to the president and the
  cabinet
  cabinet: Council of Ministers was appointed by the president on
  nomination of the prime minister

Legislative branch: unicameral
  Grand National Assembly of Turkey: (Turkiye Buyuk Millet Meclisi)
  elections last held 24 December 1995 (next to be held by December
  2000); results - RP 21.38%, DYP 19.18%, ANAP 19.65%, DSP 14.64%, CHP
  10.71%, independent 0.48%; seats - 550 total) RP 158, DYP 135, ANAP
  133, DSP 75, CHP 49
  note: seats held by various parties are subject to change due to
  defections, creation of new parties, and ouster or death of sitting
  deputies; current seats by party are as follows: RP 158, DYP 135,
  ANAP 126, DSP 75, CHP 49, BBP 7

Judicial branch: Constitutional Court, judges appointed by the
  president; Court of Appeals, judges are elected by the Supreme
  Council of Judges and Prosecutors

Political parties and leaders: True Path Party (DYP), Tansu
  CILLER; Motherland Party (ANAP), Mesut YILMAZ; Welfare Party (RP),
  Necmettin ERBAKAN; Democratic Left Party (DSP), Bulent ECEVIT;
  Nationalist Action Party (MHP), Alparslan TURKES; New Party (YP),
  Yusuf Bozkurt OZAL; Republican People's Party (CHP), Deniz BAYKAL;
  Workers' Party (IP), Dogu PERINCEK; Nation Party (MP), Aykut
  EDIBALI; Democrat Party (DP), Murat UZMAN; Grand Unity Party (BBP),
  Muhsin YAZICIOGLU; Rebirth Party (YDP), Hasan Celal GUZEL; People's
  Democracy Party (HADEP), Murat BOZLAK; Main Path Party (ANAYOL),
  Gurcan BASER; Democratic Target Party (DHP), Abdulkadir Yasar TURK;
  Liberal Party (LP), Besim TIBUK; New Democracy Movement (YDH), Cem
  BOYNER; Labor Party (EP), Abdullah Levent TUZER; Democracy and Peace
  Party (DBP), Refik KARAKOC; Freedom and Solidarity Praty (ODP), Ufuk
  URAS

Other political or pressure groups: Turkish Confederation of Labor
  (Turk-Is), Bayram MERAL; Confederation of Revolutionary Workers
  Unions (DISK), Ridvan BUDAK; Moral Rights Workers Union (Hak-Is),
  Salim USLU; Turkish Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association
  (TUSIAD), Halis KOMILI; Turkish Union of Chambers of Commerce and
  Commodity Exchanges (TOBB), Ali Osman ULUSOY; Turkish Confederation
  of Employers' Unions (TISK), Refik BAYDUR; Independent
  Industrialists and Businessmen's Association (MUSIAD), Erol YARAR

International organization participation: AsDB, BIS, BSEC, CCC,
  CE, CERN (observer), EBRD, ECE, ECO, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC,
  ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO,
  Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, NACC,
  NATO, NEA, OECD, OIC, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCRO, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR,
  UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNOMIG, UNRWA, UPU, WEU (associate), WFTU, WHO, WIPO,
  WMO, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Nuzhet KANDEMIR
  chancery: 1714 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036
  telephone: [1] (202) 659-8200
  consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, and New York

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Marc GROSSMAN
  embassy: 110 Ataturk Boulevard, Ankara
  mailing address: PSC 93, Box 5000, APO AE 09823
  telephone: [90] (312) 468-6110
  FAX: [90] (312) 467-0019
  consulate(s) general: Istanbul
  consulate(s): Adana

Flag: red with a vertical white crescent (the closed portion is
  toward the hoist side) and white five-pointed star centered just
  outside the crescent opening



Economy
-------


Economic overview: The Turkish economy consists of a mixture, on
  the one hand, of modern industry and commerce, and, on the other
  hand, of time-honored village agriculture and crafts. Since World
  War II, it has become increasingly integrated into the West European
  economic arena, for example, as a member of OECD. The economy has
  improved significantly since the 1994 crisis, when the economy
  experienced a sharp drop and inflation hit triple digits. The crisis
  - sparked by the downgrading in January 1994 of Turkey's
  international credit rating by two US rating agencies - stemmed from
  years of loose monetary and fiscal policies that had exacerbated
  inflation and allowed the public debt, money supply, and current
  account deficit to explode. In April 1994, then Prime Minister
  CILLER introduced a stabilization package that paved the way for a
  $950 million IMF standby loan. However, because the government
  missed key macroeconomic targets in 1995 and the December national
  election produced months of political wrangling, the IMF put the
  agreement - and release of remaining funds - on hold. The new
  center-right minority government that finally has emerged will find
  it difficult to balance the need for new austerity measures and
  tough structural reforms with the pressure for continued buoyant
  growth. Ankara is also likely to face internal opposition to
  policies it must implement as part of the Turkey-EU customs union
  agreement - which came into force on 1 January 1996 - because many
  industries are unfit for EU competition and much-needed revenues
  will decline with the elimination of import tariffs and surcharges.
  Meanwhile, Ankara's heavy debt repayment schedule in 1996 makes it
  necessary for Turkish leaders to bolster the confidence of both
  domestic and foreign investors.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $345.7 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 6.8% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $5,500 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 15.5%
  industry: 33.2%
  services: 51.3% (1994)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 94% (1995)

Labor force: 20.9 million
  by occupation: agriculture 46%, services 31%, industry 23%
  note: about 1.5 million Turks work abroad (1994)

Unemployment rate: 10.2% (1995 est.)

Budget:
  revenues: $30.2 billion
  expenditures: $35 billion, including capital expenditures of $2.8
  billion (1995)

Industries: textiles, food processing, mining (coal, chromite,
  copper, boron), steel, petroleum, construction, lumber, paper

Industrial production growth rate: 8.8% (1995)

Electricity:
  capacity: 18,710,000 kW
  production: 71 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 1,079 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: tobacco, cotton, grain, olives, sugar beets, pulses,
  citrus; livestock

Illicit drugs: major transit route for Southwest Asian heroin and
  hashish to Western Europe and the US via air, land, and sea routes;
  major Turkish, Iranian, and other international trafficking
  organizations operate out of Istanbul; laboratories to convert
  imported morphine base into heroin are in remote regions of Turkey
  as well as near Istanbul; government maintains strict controls over
  areas of legal opium poppy cultivation and output of poppy straw
  concentrate

Exports: $20.7 billion (f.o.b., 1995 est.)
  commodities: textiles and apparel 37%, steel products 12%, fruits
  and vegetables 11% (1994)
  partners: Germany 22%, Russia 8%, US 8%, Italy 6% (1994)

Imports: $32.6 billion (f.o.b., 1995 est.)
  commodities: machinery 25%, fuels 17%, raw materials 11%, foodstuffs
  5% (1994)
  partners: Germany 16%, US 10%, Italy 9%, Russia 8% (1994)

External debt: $73.8 billion (1995 est.)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $195 million (1993)
  note: aid for Gulf war efforts from coalition allies (1991), $4.1
  billion; aid pledged for Turkish Defense Fund, $2.5 billion

Currency: Turkish lira (TL)

Exchange rates: Turkish liras (TL) per US$1 - 60,502.1 (January
  1996), 45,845.1 (1995), 29,608.7 (1994), 10,984.6 (1993), 6,872.4
  (1992), 4,171.8 (1991)

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 10,386 km
  standard gauge: 10,386 km 1.435-m gauge (1,088 km electrified)

Highways:
  total: 386,704 km
  paved: 45,683 km (including 862 km of expressways)
  unpaved: 341,021 km (1992 est.)

Waterways: about 1,200 km

Pipelines: crude oil 1,738 km; petroleum products 2,321 km;
  natural gas 708 km

Ports: Gemlik, Hopa, Iskenderun, Istanbul, Izmir, Izmit, Mersin,
  Samsun, Trabzon

Merchant marine:
  total: 465 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 5,509,741
  GRT/9,494,434 DWT
  ships by type: bulk 139, cargo 212, chemical tanker 18, combination
  bulk 7, combination ore/oil 12, container 2, liquefied gas tanker 4,
  livestock carrier 1, oil tanker 43, passenger-cargo 1, refrigerated
  cargo 2, roll-on/roll-off cargo 15, short-sea passenger 7,
  specialized tanker 2
  note: Turkey owns an additional 18 ships (1,000 GRT or over)
  totaling 247,369 DWT operating under the registries of Malta,
  Panama, Libya, and Greece (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 104
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 17
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 19
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 12
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 18
  with paved runways under 914 m: 28
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 2
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 8 (1995 est.)

Heliports: 2 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 6.89 million (1990 est.)

Telephone system: fair domestic and international systems
  domestic: trunk microwave radio relay network; limited open-wire
  network
  international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic
  Ocean), 1 Eutelsat, and 2 Inmarsat (Indian and Atlantic Ocean
  regions); 1 submarine cable

Radio broadcast stations: AM 15, FM 94, shortwave 0

Radios: 9.4 million (1992 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 357

Televisions: 10.53 million (1993 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Land Forces, Navy (includes Naval Air and Naval
  Infantry), Air Force, Coast Guard, Gendarmerie

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 16,937,828
  males fit for military service: 10,312,010
  males reach military age (20) annually: 637,456 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $6.0 billion, 4%
  of GDP (1995); note - figures do not include about $7 billion for
  the government's counterinsurgency effort against the separatist
  Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK)



======================================================================




@Turkmenistan
------------




Map
---


Location: 40 00 N, 60 00 E -- Central Asia, bordering the Caspian
  Sea, between Iran and Kazakstan



Flag
----


Description: green field, including a vertical stripe on the hoist
  side, with a claret vertical stripe in between containing five
  white, black, and orange carpet guls (an asymmetrical design used in
  producing rugs) associated with five different tribes; a white
  crescent and five white stars in the upper left corner to the right
  of the carpet guls





Geography
---------


Location: Central Asia, bordering the Caspian Sea, between Iran
  and Kazakstan

Geographic coordinates: 40 00 N, 60 00 E

Map references: Commonwealth of Independent States

Area:
  total area: 488,100 sq km
  land area: 488,100 sq km
  comparative area: slightly larger than California

Land boundaries:
  total: 3,736 km
  border countries: Afghanistan 744 km, Iran 992 km, Kazakstan 379 km,
  Uzbekistan 1,621 km

Coastline: 0 km
  note: Turkmenistan borders the Caspian Sea (1,768 km)

Maritime claims: none (landlocked)

International disputes: Caspian Sea boundaries are not yet
  determined

Climate: subtropical desert

Terrain: flat-to-rolling sandy desert with dunes rising to
  mountains in the south; low mountains along border with Iran;
  borders Caspian Sea in west
  lowest point: Sarygamysh Koli -110 m
  highest point: Ayrybaba 3,139 m

Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, coal, sulfur, salt

Land use:
  arable land: 2%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 69%
  forest and woodland: 0%
  other: 29%

Irrigated land: 12,450 sq km (1990)

Environment:
  current issues: contamination of soil and groundwater with
  agricultural chemicals, pesticides; salinization, water-logging of
  soil due to poor irrigation methods; Caspian Sea pollution;
  diversion of a large share of the flow of the Amu Darya into
  irrigation contributes to that river's inability to replenish the
  Aral Sea; desertification
  natural hazards: NA
  international agreements: party to - Ozone Layer Protection; signed,
  but not ratified - Climate Change, Desertification

Geographic note: landlocked



People
------


Population: 4,149,283 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 39% (male 826,637; female 804,385)
  15-64 years: 56% (male 1,154,415; female 1,188,173)
  65 years and over: 5% (male 65,447; female 110,226) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.82% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 29.12 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 8.89 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: -2.08 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.59 male(s)/female
  all ages: 0.97 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 81.6 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 61.48 years
  male: 56.68 years
  female: 66.52 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 3.62 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Turkmen(s)
  adjective: Turkmen

Ethnic divisions: Turkmen 73.3%, Russian 9.8%, Uzbek 9%, Kazak 2%,
  other 5.9%

Religions: Muslim 87%, Eastern Orthodox 11%, unknown 2%

Languages: Turkmen 72%, Russian 12%, Uzbek 9%, other 7%

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1989 est.)
  total population: 98%
  male: 99%
  female: 97%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: none
  conventional short form: Turkmenistan
  local long form: none
  local short form: Turkmenistan
  former: Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic

Data code: TX

Type of government: republic

Capital: Ashgabat

Administrative divisions: 5 welayatlar (singular - welayat): Ahal
  Welayaty (Ashgabat), Balkan Welayaty (Nebitdag), Dashhowuz Welayaty
  (formerly Tashauz), Lebap Welayaty (Charjew), Mary Welayaty
  note: names in parentheses are administrative centers when name
  differs from welayat name

Independence: 27 October 1991 (from the Soviet Union)

National holiday: Independence Day, 27 October (1991)

Constitution: adopted 18 May 1992

Legal system: based on civil law system

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: President Saparmurat NIYAZOV (since 27 October 1990,
  when the first direct presidential election occured) was elected to
  a five-year term by universal suffrage; election last held 21 June
  1992 (next to be held NA 2002); results - Saparmurad NIYAZOV 99.5%
  (ran unopposed); note - a 15 January 1994 referendum extended
  NIYAZOV's term an additional five years until 2002 (99.99% approval)
  head of government: Prime Minister (vacant); Deputy Prime Ministers
  Mukhamed ABALAKOV (since NA), Babamurad BAZAROV (since NA), Hekim
  ISHANOV (since NA), Valeriy OTCHERTSOV (since NA), Yagmur OVEZOV
  (since NA), Matkarim RAJAPOV (since NA), Pirkuly ODEYEV (since NA),
  Rejep SAPAROV (since NA), Boris SHIKHMURADOV (since NA), Batyr
  SARJAYEV (since NA), Amannazar ILAMANOV (since NA), Ilaman SHYKHYYEV
  (since NA) were appointed by the president
  cabinet: Council of Ministers was appointed by the president
  note: NIYAZOV has been asked by various local groups, most recently
  on 26 October 1995 at the annual elders meeting, to be "president
  for life," but that would require an amendment to the constitution

Legislative branch: under the 1992 constitution, there are two
  parliamentary bodies, a unicameral People's Council (Halk Maslahaty
  - having more than 100 members and meeting infrequently) and a
  50-member unicameral Assembly (Majlis)
  Assembly (Majlis): elections last held 11 December 1994 (next to be
  held NA 1999); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (50
  total) Democratic Party 45, other 5; note - all 50 preapproved by
  President NIYAZOV

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

Political parties and leaders: Democratic Party of Turkmenistan,
  Saparmurat NIYAZOV; Party for Democratic Development, Durdymurat
  HOJA-MUHAMEDOV, chairman; Agzybirlik, Nurberdy NURMAMEDOV,
  cochairman, Hubayberdi HALLIYEV, cochairman
  note: formal opposition parties are outlawed; unofficial, small
  opposition movements exist underground or in foreign countries

International organization participation: CCC, CIS, EBRD, ECE,
  ECO, ESCAP, FAO, IBRD, ICAO, IDB, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat
  (nonsignatory user), IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NACC, OIC, OSCE,
  PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer)

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Halil UGUR
  chancery: 1511 K Street NW, Suite 412, Washington, DC 20005
  telephone: [1] (202) 737-4800
  FAX: [1] (202) 737-1152

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Michael W. COTTER
  embassy: 9 Pushkin Street, Ashgabat
  mailing address: use embassy street address
  telephone: [7] (3632) 35-00-45, 35-00-46, 35-00-42, Tie Line [8]
  962-0000
  FAX: [7] (3632) 51-13-05

Flag: green field, including a vertical stripe on the hoist side,
  with a claret vertical stripe in between containing five white,
  black, and orange carpet guls (an asymmetrical design used in
  producing rugs) associated with five different tribes; a white
  crescent and five white stars in the upper left corner to the right
  of the carpet guls



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Turkmenistan is largely desert country with
  nomadic cattle raising, intensive agriculture in irrigated oases,
  and huge gas and oil resources. One-half of its irrigated land is
  planted in cotton making it the world's tenth largest producer. It
  also has the world's fifth largest reserves of natural gas and
  substantial oil resources. Until the end of 1993, Turkmenistan had
  experienced less economic disruption than other former Soviet states
  because its economy received a boost from higher prices for oil and
  gas and a sharp increase in hard currency earnings. In 1994,
  Russia's refusal to export Turkmen gas to hard currency markets and
  mounting debts of its major customers in the former USSR for gas
  deliveries contributed to a sharp fall in industrial production and
  caused the budget to shift from a surplus to a slight deficit. The
  economy remained depressed through 1995 while inflation soared.
  Furthermore, with an authoritarian ex-communist regime in power and
  a tribally based social structure, Turkmenistan has taken a cautious
  approach to economic reform, hoping to use gas and cotton sales to
  sustain its inefficient economy. For 1996, Turkmenistan will face
  continuing constraints on its earnings because of its customers'
  inability to pay for their gas and a below average cotton crop in
  1995. Turkmenistan is working hard to open new gas export channels
  through Iran and Turkey, but these will take many years to realize.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $11.5 billion (1995 estimate as
  extrapolated from World Bank estimate for 1994)

GDP real growth rate: -10% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $2,820 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 32.5%
  industry: 33.4%
  services: 34.1% (1991 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 25% monthly average (1994 est.)

Labor force: 1.642 million (January 1994)
  by occupation: agriculture and forestry 44%, industry and
  construction 20%, other 36% (1992)

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget:
  revenues: $NA
  expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA

Industries: natural gas, oil, petroleum products, textiles, food
  processing

Industrial production growth rate: -7% (1995)

Electricity:
  capacity: 2,480,000 kW
  production: 9.8 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 2,400 kWh (1995)

Agriculture: cotton, grain; livestock

Illicit drugs: illicit cultivator of cannabis and opium poppy;
  mostly for CIS consumption; limited government eradication program;
  used as transshipment point for illicit drugs from Southwest Asia to
  Western Europe

Exports: $1.9 billion to states outside the FSU (1995)
  commodities: natural gas, cotton, petroleum products, electricity,
  textiles, carpets
  partners: Ukraine, Russia, Kazakstan, Uzbekistan, Georgia,
  Azerbaijan, Armenia, Eastern Europe, Turkey, Argentina

Imports: $777 million from states outside the FSU (1995)
  commodities: machinery and parts, grain and food, plastics and
  rubber, consumer durables, textiles
  partners: Russia, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Kazakstan, Turkey

External debt: $400 million (of which $275 million to Russia)
  (1995 est.)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $10 million (1993)
  note: commitments, $1,830 million ($375 million drawn), 1992-95

Currency: Turkmenistan introduced its national currency, the
  manat, on 1 November 1993

Exchange rates: manats per US$1 - 2,400 (January 1996)
  note: government established a unified rate in mid-January 1996

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 2,120 km in common carrier service; does not include
  industrial lines
  broad gauge: 2,120 km 1.520-m gauge (1990)

Highways:
  total: 23,000 km
  paved: NA km
  unpaved: NA km (1990 est.)

Waterways: the Amu Darya is an important inland waterway

Pipelines: crude oil 250 km; natural gas 4,400 km

Ports: Turkmenbashi (formerly Krasnowodsk)

Airports:
  total: 64
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 13
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 8
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 1
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 7
  with unpaved runways under 914 m: 35 (1994 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: NA

Telephone system: poorly developed
  domestic: NA
  international: linked by cable and microwave radio relay to other
  CIS republics and to other countries by leased connections to the
  Moscow international gateway switch; a new telephone link from
  Ashgabat to Iran has been established; a new exchange in Ashgabat
  switches international traffic through Turkey via Intelsat;
  satellite earth stations - 1 Orbita and 1 Intelsat

Radio broadcast stations: AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA; note - there
  is at least one state-owned radio broadcast station of NA type

Radios: NA

Television broadcast stations: NA

Televisions: NA



Defense
-------


Branches: Army, Air and Air Defense, Republic Security Forces
  (internal and border troops), National Guard

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 1,024,398
  males fit for military service: 834,803
  males reach military age (18) annually: 41,697 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: 4.5 billion manats, 3.0% of GDP (1995); note
  - conversion of defense expenditures into US dollars using the
  current exchange rate could produce misleading results



======================================================================




@Turks and Caicos Islands
------------------------


(dependent territory of the UK)

Map
---


Location: 21 45 N, 71 35 W -- Caribbean, two island groups in the
  North Atlantic Ocean, southeast of The Bahamas



Flag
----


Description: blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side
  quadrant and the colonial shield centered on the outer half of the
  flag; the shield is yellow and contains a conch shell, lobster, and
  cactus





Geography
---------


Location: Caribbean, two island groups in the North Atlantic
  Ocean, southeast of The Bahamas

Geographic coordinates: 21 45 N, 71 35 W

Map references: Central America and the Caribbean

Area:
  total area: 430 sq km
  land area: 430 sq km
  comparative area: 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 389 km

Maritime claims:
  exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: none

Climate: tropical; marine; moderated by trade winds; sunny and
  relatively dry

Terrain: low, flat limestone; extensive marshes and mangrove swamps
  lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
  highest point: Blue Hills 49 m

Natural resources: spiny lobster, conch

Land use:
  arable land: 2%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 0%
  forest and woodland: 0%
  other: 98%

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Environment:
  current issues: limited natural fresh water resources, private
  cisterns collect rainwater
  natural hazards: frequent hurricanes
  international agreements: NA

Geographic note: 30 islands (eight inhabited)



People
------


Population: 14,302 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: NA
  15-64 years: NA
  65 years and over: NA

Population growth rate: 2.14% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 12.85 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 5.15 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 13.74 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: NA male(s)/female
  under 15 years: NA male(s)/female
  15-64 years: NA male(s)/female
  65 years and over: NA male(s)/female
  all ages: NA male(s)/female

Infant mortality rate: 12.57 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 75.4 years
  male: 73.46 years
  female: 77.07 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.86 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: none
  adjective: none

Ethnic divisions: African

Religions: Baptist 41.2%, Methodist 18.9%, Anglican 18.3%,
  Seventh-Day Adventist 1.7%, other 19.9% (1980)

Languages: English (official)

Literacy: age 15 and over has ever attended school (1970 est.)
  total population: 98%
  male: 99%
  female: 98%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: none
  conventional short form: Turks and Caicos Islands

Data code: TK

Type of government: dependent territory of the UK

Capital: Grand Turk

Administrative divisions: none (dependent territory of the UK)

Independence: none (dependent territory of the UK)

National holiday: Constitution Day, 30 August (1976)

Constitution: introduced 30 August 1976, suspended in 1986,
  restored and revised 5 March 1988

Legal system: based on laws of England and Wales with a small
  number adopted from Jamaica and The Bahamas

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (of the United Kingdom since 6
  February 1953) is a hereditary monarch, represented by Governor
  Martin BOURKE (since NA February 1993) who was appointed by the queen
  head of government: Chief Minister Derek H. TAYLOR (since 31 January
  1995) was appointed by the governor
  cabinet: Executive Council consists of three ex officio members and
  five appointed by the governor from the Legislative Council

Legislative branch: unicameral
  Legislative Council: elections last held 31 January 1995 (next to be
  held by NA 2000); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (20
  total, 13 elected) PDM 8, PNP 4, independent (Norman SAUNDERS) 1

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

Political parties and leaders: Progressive National Party (PNP),
  Washington MISSICK; People's Democratic Movement (PDM), Derek H.
  TAYLOR; United Democratic Party (UDP), Wendal SWANN

International organization participation: Caricom (associate),
  CDB, Interpol (subbureau)

Diplomatic representation in US: none (dependent territory of the
  UK)

US diplomatic representation: none (dependent territory of the UK)

Flag: blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side
  quadrant and the colonial shield centered on the outer half of the
  flag; the shield is yellow and contains a conch shell, lobster, and
  cactus



Economy
-------


Economic overview: The Turks and Caicos economy is based on
  tourism, fishing, and offshore financial services. Most food for
  domestic consumption is imported; there is some subsistence farming
  - mainly corn, cassava, citrus, and beans - on the Caicos Islands.
  The tourism sector expanded in 1995, posting a 10% increase in the
  first quarter as compared to the same period in 1994. The US was the
  leading source of tourists in 1995, accounting for upward of 70% of
  arrivals or about 60,000 visitors. Major sources of government
  revenue include fees from offshore financial activities and customs
  receipts as the Islands rely on imports for nearly all consumption
  and capital goods.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $80.8 million (1992 est.)

GDP real growth rate: -1.5% (1992 est.)

GDP per capita: $6,000 (1992 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: NA%
  industry: NA%
  services: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA%

Labor force: 4,848 (1990 est.)
  by occupation: majority engaged in fishing and tourist industries;
  some subsistence agriculture

Unemployment rate: 12% (1992)

Budget:
  revenues: $31.9 million (1995)
  expenditures: $30.4 million (1995), including capital expenditures
  of $NA

Industries: fishing, tourism, offshore financial services

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity:
  capacity: 9,050 kW
  production: 11.1 million kWh
  consumption per capita: 860 kWh (1992)

Agriculture: corn, beans; fish

Illicit drugs: transshipment point for South American narcotics
  destined for the US

Exports: $6.8 million (f.o.b., 1993)
  commodities: lobster, dried and fresh conch, conch shells
  partners: US, UK

Imports: $42.8 million (1993)
  commodities: food and beverages, tobacco, clothing, manufactures,
  construction materials
  partners: US, UK

External debt: $NA

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $NA

Currency: 1 United States dollar (US$) = 100 cents

Exchange rates: US currency is used

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways: 0 km

Highways:
  total: 121 km
  paved: 24 km
  unpaved: 97 km

Ports: Grand Turk, Providenciales

Merchant marine: none

Airports:
  total: 7
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 3
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 1
  with paved runways under 914 m: 1
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 2 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 1,359 (1988 est.)

Telephone system: fair cable and radiotelephone services
  domestic: NA
  international: 2 submarine cables; satellite earth station - 1
  Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 3, FM 0, shortwave 0

Radios: 7,000 (1992 est.)

Television broadcast stations: television programs are available
  from a cable network, and broadcasts from the Bahamas can be
  received in the islands

Televisions: NA



Defense
-------


Defense note: defense is the responsibility of the UK



======================================================================




@Tuvalu
------




Map
---


Location: 8 00 S, 178 00 E -- Oceania, island group consisting of
  nine coral atolls in the South Pacific Ocean, about one-half of the
  way from Hawaii to Australia



Flag
----


Description: light blue with the flag of the UK in the upper
  hoist-side quadrant; the outer half of the flag represents a map of
  the country with nine yellow five-pointed stars symbolizing the nine
  islands





Geography
---------


Location: Oceania, island group consisting of nine coral atolls in
  the South Pacific Ocean, about one-half of the way from Hawaii to
  Australia

Geographic coordinates: 8 00 S, 178 00 E

Map references: Oceania

Area:
  total area: 26 sq km
  land area: 26 sq km
  comparative area: 0.1 times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 24 km

Maritime claims:
  contiguous zone: 24 nm
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: none

Climate: tropical; moderated by easterly trade winds (March to
  November); westerly gales and heavy rain (November to March)

Terrain: very low-lying and narrow coral atolls
  lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
  highest point: unnamed location 5 m

Natural resources: fish

Land use:
  arable land: 0%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 0%
  forest and woodland: 0%
  other: 100%
  note: Tuvalu's nine coral atolls have enough soil to grow coconuts
  and support subsistence agriculture

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Environment:
  current issues: since there are no streams or rivers and groundwater
  is not potable, all water needs must be met by catchment systems
  with storage facilities; beachhead erosion because of the use of
  sand for building materials; excessive clearance of forest
  undergrowth for use as fuel; damage to coral reefs from the spread
  of the crown of thorns starfish
  natural hazards: severe tropical storms are rare
  international agreements: party to - Climate Change, Endangered
  Species, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution,
  Whaling; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Law of the Sea



People
------


Population: 10,146 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 36% (male 1,865; female 1,798)
  15-64 years: 59% (male 2,831; female 3,162)
  65 years and over: 5% (male 227; female 263) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.51% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 23.95 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 8.87 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 0.9 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.86 male(s)/female
  all ages: 0.94 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 27.6 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 63.34 years
  male: 62.15 years
  female: 64.59 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 3.11 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Tuvaluan(s)
  adjective: Tuvaluan

Ethnic divisions: Polynesian 96%

Religions: Church of Tuvalu (Congregationalist) 97%, Seventh-Day
  Adventist 1.4%, Baha'i 1%, other 0.6%

Languages: Tuvaluan, English

Literacy: NA



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: none
  conventional short form: Tuvalu
  former: Ellice Islands

Data code: TV

Type of government: democracy; began debating republic status in
  1992

Capital: Funafuti

Administrative divisions: none

Independence: 1 October 1978 (from UK)

National holiday: Independence Day, 1 October (1978)

Constitution: 1 October 1978

Legal system: NA

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952) is a
  hereditary monarch, represented by Governor General Manuella TULAGA
  (since NA June 1994) who was appointed by the queen on
  recommendation of the prime minister
  head of government: Prime Minister Kamuta LATASI (since 10 December
  1993) and Deputy Prime Minister Otinielu TAUSI (since 10 December
  1993) were elected by and from the members of Parliament
  cabinet: Cabinet was appointed by the governor general on
  recommendation of the prime minister

Legislative branch: unicameral
  Parliament (Fale I Fono): members elected for four-year terms;
  elections last held 25 November 1993 (next to be held by NA 1997);
  results - percent of vote NA; seats - (12 total) independents 12

Judicial branch: High Court

Political parties and leaders: none

International organization participation: ACP, AsDB, C (special),
  ESCAP, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UNESCO,
  UPU, WHO

Diplomatic representation in US: Tuvalu does not have an embassy
  in the US

US diplomatic representation: the US does not have an embassy in
======================================================================




@Uganda
------




Map
---


Location: 1 00 N, 32 00 E -- Eastern Africa, west of Kenya



Flag
----


Description: six equal horizontal bands of black (top), yellow,
  red, black, yellow, and red; a white disk is superimposed at the
  center and depicts a red-crested crane (the national symbol) facing
  the hoist side





Geography
---------


Location: Eastern Africa, west of Kenya

Geographic coordinates: 1 00 N, 32 00 E

Map references: Africa

Area:
  total area: 236,040 sq km
  land area: 199,710 sq km
  comparative area: slightly smaller than Oregon

Land boundaries:
  total: 2,698 km
  border countries: Kenya 933 km, Rwanda 169 km, Sudan 435 km,
  Tanzania 396 km, Zaire 765 km

Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims: none (landlocked)

International disputes: none

Climate: tropical; generally rainy with two dry seasons (December
  to February, June to August); semiarid in northeast

Terrain: mostly plateau with rim of mountains
  lowest point: Lake Albert 621 m
  highest point: Margherita (Mount Stanley) 5,110 m

Natural resources: copper, cobalt, limestone, salt

Land use:
  arable land: 23%
  permanent crops: 9%
  meadows and pastures: 25%
  forest and woodland: 30%
  other: 13%

Irrigated land: 90 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
  current issues: draining of wetlands for agricultural use;
  deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; poaching is widespread
  natural hazards: NA
  international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
  Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation,
  Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands; signed, but not
  ratified - Desertification, Environmental Modification

Geographic note: landlocked



People
------


Population: 20,158,176 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 50% (male 5,006,615; female 4,972,831)
  15-64 years: 48% (male 4,842,908; female 4,874,471)
  65 years and over: 2% (male 231,156; female 230,195) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.24% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 45.92 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 20.72 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: -2.8 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)
  note: Uganda is host to refugees from a number of neighboring
  countries, including Zaire, Sudan, and Rwanda; probably in excess of
  100,000 southern Sudanese fled to Uganda during the past year; many
  of the 8,000 Rwandans who took refuge in Uganda have returned home

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 1 male(s)/female
  all ages: 1 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 99.4 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 40.29 years
  male: 39.98 years
  female: 40.6 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 6.61 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Ugandan(s)
  adjective: Ugandan

Ethnic divisions: Baganda 17%, Karamojong 12%, Basogo 8%, Iteso
  8%, Langi 6%, Rwanda 6%, Bagisu 5%, Acholi 4%, Lugbara 4%, Bunyoro
  3%, Batobo 3%, European, Asian, Arab 1%, other 23%

Religions: Roman Catholic 33%, Protestant 33%, Muslim 16%,
  indigenous beliefs 18%

Languages: English (official), Luganda, Swahili, Bantu languages,
  Nilotic languages

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)
  total population: 61.8%
  male: 73.7%
  female: 50.2%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Republic of Uganda
  conventional short form: Uganda

Data code: UG

Type of government: republic

Capital: Kampala

Administrative divisions: 39 districts; Apac, Arua, Bundibugyo,
  Bushenyi, Gulu, Hoima, Iganga, Jinja, Kabale, Kabarole, Kalangala,
  Kampala, Kamuli, Kapchorwa, Kasese, Kibale, Kiboga, Kisoro, Kitgum,
  Kotido, Kumi, Lira, Luwero, Masaka, Masindi, Mbale, Mbarara, Moroto,
  Moyo, Mpigi, Mubende, Mukono, Nebbi, Ntungamo, Pallisa, Rakai,
  Rukungiri, Soroti, Tororo

Independence: 9 October 1962 (from UK)

National holiday: Independence Day, 9 October (1962)

Constitution: 8 October 1995; adopted by the interim, 284-member
  Constituent Assembly, charged with debating the draft constitution
  that had been proposed in May 1993; the Constituent Assembly was
  dissolved on promulgation of the constitution in October 1995

Legal system: in 1995, the government restored the legal system to
  one based on English common law and customary law and reinstituted a
  normal judicial system; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with
  reservations

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: President Lt. Gen. Yoweri Kaguta MUSEVENI (since
  seizing power 29 January 1986); election last held 9 May 1996 (next
  to be held NA); results - Yoweri Kaguta MUSEVENI 74%, Paul K.
  SSEMOGERERE 24%, Muhammad MAYANJA 2%; note - this was the first
  popular direct presidential election since independence in 1962
  head of government: Prime Minister Kintu MUSOKE (since 18 November
  1994);
  cabinet: Cabinet, appointed by the president

Legislative branch: unicameral
  National Assembly: elections last held in 1980; note - the National
  Assembly was dissolved in July 1985 following a military coup and
  was succeeded on 1 February 1986 by the interim National Resistance
  Council, initially consisting of 23 appointed members, but by
  early-1989 enlarged to 278 members, of whom 210 were indirectly
  elected; the National Resistance Council, which had served as
  Uganda's acting legislature for more than 10 years, was dissolved on
  15 June 1996 to prepare for the popular election of a new
  legislature on 27 June 1996 in keeping with the provisions of the
  new constitution

Judicial branch: Court of Appeal; High Court

Political parties and leaders: only officially recognized party -
  National Resistance Movement (NRM), Yoweri MUSEVENI
  note: Ugandan People's Congress (UPC), Milton OBOTE; Democratic
  Party (DP), Paul SSEMOGEERE; and Conservative Party (CP), Joshua S.
  MAYANJA-NKANGI continue to exist but the new constitution confirms
  the suspension of political party activity until 2001

Other political or pressure groups: Lord's Resistance Army (LRA);
  West Nile Bank Front (WNBF)

International organization participation: ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, EADB,
  ECA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC,
  IFRCS, IGADD, ILO, IMF, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO
  (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR,
  UNIDO, UNITAR, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Stephen Kapimpina KATENTA-APULI
  chancery: 5911 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20011
  telephone: [1] (202) 726-7100 through 7102, 0416
  FAX: [1] (202) 726-1727

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador E. Michael SOUTHWICK
  embassy: Parliament Avenue, Kampala
  mailing address: P. O. Box 7007, Kampala
  telephone: [256] (41) 259792, 259793, 259795
  FAX: [256] (41) 259794

Flag: six equal horizontal bands of black (top), yellow, red,
  black, yellow, and red; a white disk is superimposed at the center
  and depicts a red-crested crane (the national symbol) facing the
  hoist side



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Uganda has substantial natural resources,
  including fertile soils, regular rainfall, and sizable mineral
  deposits of copper and cobalt. Agriculture is the most important
  sector of the economy, employing over 80% of the work force. Coffee
  is the major export crop and accounts for the bulk of export
  revenues. Since 1986 the government - with the support of foreign
  countries and international agencies - has acted to rehabilitate and
  stabilize the economy by undertaking currency reform, raising
  producer prices on export crops, increasing prices of petroleum
  products, and improving civil service wages. The policy changes are
  especially aimed at dampening inflation and boosting production and
  export earnings. In 1990-94, the economy turned in a solid
  performance based on continued investment in the rehabilitation of
  infrastructure, improved incentives for production and exports, and
  gradually improving domestic security. The economy again prospered
  in 1995 with rapid growth, low inflation, growing foreign
  investment, a trimmed bureaucracy, and the continued return of
  exiled Indian-Ugandan entrepreneurs.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $16.8 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 7.1% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $900 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 55%
  industry: 12%
  services: 33% (1995)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 6.1% (1995)

Labor force: 8.361 million (1993 est.)
  by occupation: agriculture 86%, industry 4%, services 10% (1980 est.)

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget:
  revenues: $574 million
  expenditures: $1.07 billion, including capital expenditures of $328
  million (1994/95 est.)

Industries: sugar, brewing, tobacco, cotton textiles, cement

Industrial production growth rate: 15% (1994)

Electricity:
  capacity: 162,000 kW
  production: 603 million kWh
  consumption per capita: 30 kWh (1990)

Agriculture: coffee, tea, cotton, tobacco, cassava (tapioca),
  potatoes, corn, millet, pulses; beef, goat meat, milk, poultry

Exports: $424 million (f.o.b., 1994)
  commodities: coffee 97%, cotton, tea
  partners: US 25%, UK 18%, France 11%, Spain 10%

Imports: $870 million (c.i.f., 1994)
  commodities: petroleum products, machinery, cotton piece goods,
  metals, transportation equipment, food
  partners: Kenya 25%, UK 14%, Italy 13%

External debt: $3.2 billion (1994)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $NA

Currency: 1 Ugandan shilling (USh) = 100 cents

Exchange rates: Ugandan shillings (USh) per US$1 - 1,032.6
  (November 1995), 979.4 (1994), 1,195.0 (1993), 1,133.8 (1992), 734.0
  (1991)

Fiscal year: 1 July - 30 June



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 1,241 km single track
  narrow gauge: 1,241 km 1.000-m gauge
  note:: a program to rehabilitate the railroad is underway (1995)

Highways:
  total: 30,320 km
  paved: 3,480 km
  unpaved: 26,840 km (1987 est.)

Waterways: Lake Victoria, Lake Albert, Lake Kyoga, Lake George,
  Lake Edward; Victoria Nile, Albert Nile

Ports: Entebbe, Jinja, Port Bell

Merchant marine:
  total: 3 roll-on/roll-off cargo ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling
  5,091 GRT/2,743 DWT (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 21
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 2
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 1
  with paved runways under 914 m: 7
  with unpaved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 1
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 5
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 5 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 54,900 (1989 est.)

Telephone system: fair system
  domestic: microwave radio relay and radiotelephone communications
  stations
  international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 10, FM 0, shortwave 0

Radios: 2.04 million (1992 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 9 (1987 est.)

Televisions: 193,000 (1992 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Army, Navy, Air Wing

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 4,359,286
  males fit for military service: 2,365,157 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $56 million, 1.7%
  of budget (FY93/94)



======================================================================




@Ukraine
-------




Map
---


Location: 49 00 N, 32 00 E -- Eastern Europe, bordering the Black
  Sea, between Poland and Russia



Flag
----


Description: two equal horizontal bands of azure (top) and golden
  yellow represent grainfields under a blue sky





Geography
---------


Location: Eastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea, between Poland
  and Russia

Geographic coordinates: 49 00 N, 32 00 E

Map references: Commonwealth of Independent States

Area:
  total area: 603,700 sq km
  land area: 603,700 sq km
  comparative area: slightly smaller than Texas

Land boundaries:
  total: 4,558 km
  border countries: Belarus 891 km, Hungary 103 km, Moldova 939 km,
  Poland 428 km, Romania (southwest) 169 km, Romania (west) 362 km,
  Russia 1,576 km, Slovakia 90 km

Coastline: 2,782 km

Maritime claims:
  continental shelf: 200-m or to the depth of exploitation
  exclusive economic zone: undefined
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: certain territory of Moldova and Ukraine -
  including Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina - are considered by
  Bucharest as historically a part of Romania; this territory was
  incorporated into the former Soviet Union following the
  Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact in 1940; dispute with Romania over
  continental shelf of the Black Sea under which signifcant gas and
  oil deposits may exist; potential dispute with Russia over Crimea;
  has made no territorial claim in Antarctica (but has reserved the
  right to do so) and does not recognize the claims of any other nation

Climate: temperate continental; Mediterranean only on the southern
  Crimean coast; precipitation disproportionately distributed, highest
  in west and north, lesser in east and southeast; winters vary from
  cool along the Black Sea to cold farther inland; summers are warm
  across the greater part of the country, hot in the south

Terrain: most of Ukraine consists of fertile plains (steppes) and
  plateaux, mountains being found only in the west (the Carpathians),
  and in the Crimean Peninsula in the extreme south
  lowest point: Black Sea 0 m
  highest point: Hora Hoverla 2,061 m

Natural resources: iron ore, coal, manganese, natural gas, oil,
  salt, sulfur, graphite, titanium, magnesium, kaolin, nickel,
  mercury, timber

Land use:
  arable land: 56%
  permanent crops: 2%
  meadows and pastures: 12%
  forest and woodland: 0%
  other: 30%

Irrigated land: 26,000 sq km (1990)

Environment:
  current issues: inadequate supplies of potable water; air and water
  pollution; deforestation; radiation contamination in the northeast
  from 1986 accident at Chornobyl' Nuclear Power Plant
  natural hazards: NA
  international agreements: party to - Air Pollution, Air
  Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Antarctic
  Treaty, Biodiversity, Environmental Modification, Marine Dumping,
  Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution; signed,
  but not ratified - Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile
  Organic Compounds, Climate Change, Law of the Sea

Geographic note: strategic position at the crossroads between
  Europe and Asia; second-largest country in Europe



People
------


Population: 50,864,009 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 20% (male 5,139,034; female 4,936,901)
  15-64 years: 66% (male 16,135,671; female 17,433,600)
  65 years and over: 14% (male 2,318,629; female 4,900,174) (July 1996
  est.)

Population growth rate: -0.4% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 11.17 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 15.16 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 0.03 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 0.93 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.47 male(s)/female
  all ages: 0.86 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 22.5 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 66.8 years
  male: 61.54 years
  female: 72.32 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.6 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Ukrainian(s)
  adjective: Ukrainian

Ethnic divisions: Ukrainian 73%, Russian 22%, Jewish 1%, other 4%

Religions: Ukrainian Orthodox - Moscow Patriarchate, Ukrainian
  Orthodox - Kiev Patriarchate, Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox,
  Ukrainian Catholic (Uniate), Protestant, Jewish

Languages: Ukrainian, Russian, Romanian, Polish, Hungarian

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1989 est.)
  total population: 98%
  male: 100%
  female: 97%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: none
  conventional short form: Ukraine
  local long form: none
  local short form: Ukrayina
  former: Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic

Data code: UP

Type of government: republic

Capital: Kiev (Kyyiv)

Administrative divisions: 24 oblasti (singular - oblast'), 1
  autonomous republic* (avtomnaya respublika), and 2 municipalites
  (mista, singular - misto) with oblast status**; Cherkas'ka
  (Cherkasy), Chernihivs'ka (Chernihiv), Chernivets'ka (Chernivtsi),
  Dnipropetrovs'ka (Dnipropetrovs'k), Donets'ka (Donets'k),
  Ivano-Frankivs'ka (Ivano-Frankivs'k), Kharkivs'ka (Kharkiv),
  Khersons'ka (Kherson), Khmel'nyts'ka (Khmel'nyts'kyy),
  Kirovohrads'ka (Kirovohrad), Kyyiv**, Kyyivs'ka (Kiev), Luhans'ka
  (Luhans'k), L'vivs'ka (L'viv), Mykolayivs'ka (Mykolayiv), Odes'ka
  (Odesa), Poltavs'ka (Poltava), Respublika Krym* (Simferopol'),
  Rivnens'ka (Rivne), Sevastopol'**, Sums'ka (Sevastopol'),
  Ternopil's'ka (Ternopil'), Vinnyts'ka (Vinnytsya), Volyns'ka
  (Luts'k), Zakarpats'ka (Uzhhorod), Zaporiz'ka (Zaporizhzhya),
  Zhytomyrs'ka (Zhytomyr)
  note: names in parentheses are administrative centers when name
  differs from oblast' name

Independence: 1 December 1991 (from Soviet Union)

National holiday: Independence Day, 24 August (1991)

Constitution: adopted 28 June 1996

Legal system: based on civil law system; judicial review of
  legislative acts

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: President Leonid D. KUCHMA (since 19 July 1994) was
  elected for a five-year term by direct popular vote; election last
  held 26 June and 10 July 1994 (next to be held NA 1999); results -
  Leonid KUCHMA 52.15%, Leonid KRAVCHUK 45.06%
  head of government: Prime Minister Yevhen MARCHUK (since NA June
  1995), First Deputy Prime Minister Pavlo LAZARENKO (since NA), and
  eight deputy prime ministers were appointed by the president and
  approved by the Supreme Council
  cabinet: Council of Ministers was appointed by the president and
  approved by the Supreme Council
  National Security Council: originally created in 1992, but
  significantly revamped and strengthened under President KUCHMA;
  members include the president, prime minister, ministers of finance,
  environment, justice, internal affairs, foreign economic relations,
  economic and foreign affairs; the NSC staff is tasked with
  developing national security policy on domestic and international
  matters and advising the president
  Presidential Administration: helps draft presidential edicts and
  provides policy support to the president
  Council of Regions: advisory body created by President KUCHMA in
  September 1994; includes the chairmen of Oblast and Kiev and
  Sevastopol City Supreme Councils

Legislative branch: unicameral
  Supreme Council: elections last held 27 March 1994 with repeat
  elections continuing through December 1998 to fill empty seats (next
  to be held NA); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (450
  total) Communists 91, Rukh 22, Agrarians 18, Socialists 15,
  Republicans 11, Congress of Ukrainian Nationalists 5, Labor 5, Party
  of Democratic Revival 4, Democrats 2, Social Democrats 2, Civil
  Congress 2, Conservative Republicans 1, Party of Economic Revival of
  Crimea 1, Christian Democrats 1, independents 225; note - most
  recent repeat election held in April 1996 filling 422 of 450 seats
  as follows: independents 238, Communist 95, Rukh 22, Agrarians 18,
  Socialist 15, Republicans 11, Congress of Ukrainian Nationalists 5,
  Labor 5, Party of Democratic Revival 4, Democratic Party of Ukraine
  2, Social Democrats 2, Civil Congress 2, Conservative Republicans 1,
  Party of Economic Rivival of Crimea 1, Christian Democrats 1, vacant
  28

Judicial branch: Supreme Court is the highest judicial body;
  Constitutional Court has exclusive jurisdiction over interpretation
  of the constitution and laws

Political parties and leaders: Green Party of Ukraine, Vitaliy
  KONONOV, leader; Liberal Party of Ukraine, Volodymyr SHCHERBAN;
  Liberal Democratic Party of Ukraine, Volodymyr KLYMCHUK, chairman;
  Democratic Party of Ukraine, Volodymyr Oleksandrovych YAVORIVSKIY,
  chairman; People's Party of Ukraine; Peasants' Party of Ukraine;
  Party of Democratic Rebirth (Revival) of Ukraine, Volodymyr FILENKO,
  chairman; Social Democratic Party of Ukraine, Vasyl ONOPENKO,
  chairman; Socialist Party of Ukraine, Oleksandr MOROZ, chairman;
  Ukrainian Christian Democratic Party, Vitaliy ZHURAVSKYY, chairman;
  Ukrainian Conservative Republican Party, Stepan KHMARA, chairman;
  Ukrainian Labor Party, Valentyn LANDYK, chairman; Ukrainian Party of
  Justice, Yuriy ZUBKO, chairman; Ukrainian Peasants' Democratic
  Party, Serhiy PLACHINDA, chairman; Ukrainian Republican Party,
  Bondan YAROSHPSKYY, chairman; Ukrainian National Conservative Party;
  Ukrainian People's Movement for Restructuring (Rukh), Vyacheslav
  CHORNOVIL, chairman; Ukrainian Communist Party, Petr SYMONENKO;
  Agrarian Party; Congress of Ukrainian Nationalists, Slava STESTKO;
  Civil Congress, O. BAZYLUK; Party of Economic Revival of Crimea;
  Progressive Socialist Party of Ukraine, Nataliya VITRENKO and
  Volodymyr MARCHENKO, leaders; People's Democratic Party, Anatoliy
  MATVIYENKO, chairman

Other political or pressure groups: New Ukraine (Nova Ukrayina);
  Congress of National Democratic Forces

International organization participation: BSEC, CCC, CE, CIS,
  EBRD, ECE, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO,
  Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO,
  ITU, NACC, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCRO, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMOT,
  UNPREDEP, UNPROFOR, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO (applicant)

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Yuriy Mikolayevych SHCHERBAK
  chancery: 3350 M Street NW, Washington, DC 20007
  telephone: [1] (202) 333-0606
  FAX: [1] (202) 333-0817
  consulate(s) general: Chicago and New York

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador William Green MILLER
  embassy: 10 Yuria Kotsyubinskovo, 252053 Kiev 53
  mailing address: use embassy street address
  telephone: [380] (44) 244-7345
  FAX: [380] (44) 244-7350

Flag: two equal horizontal bands of azure (top) and golden yellow
  represent grainfields under a blue sky



Economy
-------


Economic overview: After Russia, the Ukrainian republic was far
  and away the most important economic component of the former Soviet
  Union, producing about four times the output of the next-ranking
  republic. Its fertile black soil generated more than one-fourth of
  Soviet agricultural output, and its farms provided substantial
  quantities of meat, milk, grain, and vegetables to other republics.
  Likewise, its diversified heavy industry supplied equipment and raw
  materials to industrial and mining sites in other regions of the
  former USSR. In early 1992, the Ukrainian Government liberalized
  most prices and erected a legal framework for privatization, but
  widespread resistance to reform within the government and the
  legislature soon stalled reform efforts and led to some
  backtracking. Loose monetary policies pushed inflation to
  hyperinflationary levels in late 1993. Since his election in July
  1994, President KUCHMA has developed a comprehensive economic reform
  program, maintained financial discipline, and removed almost all
  controls over prices and foreign trade. Implementation of KUCHMA's
  economic agenda is encountering considerable resistance from
  parliament, entrenched bureaucrats, and industrial interests.
  However, should KUCHMA succeed in implementing aggressive market
  reforms during 1996, the economy may stabilize and possibly achieve
  real growth in the range of 0.5%-1%.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $174.6 billion (1995 estimate as
  extrapolated from World Bank estimate for 1994)

GDP real growth rate: -4% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $3,370 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 31%
  industry: 43%
  services: 26% (1993 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 9% monthly average (1995)

Labor force: 23.55 million (January 1994)
  by occupation: industry and construction 33%, agriculture and
  forestry 21%, health, education, and culture 16%, trade and
  distribution 7%, transport and communication 7%, other 16% (1992)

Unemployment rate: 0.7% officially registered; large number of
  unregistered or underemployed workers (December 1995)

Budget:
  revenues: $NA
  expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA

Industries: coal, electric power, ferrous and nonferrous metals,
  machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, food-processing
  (especially sugar)

Industrial production growth rate: -11% (1995 est.)

Electricity:
  capacity: 54,380,000 kW
  production: 192.1 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 3,200 kWh (1995 est.)

Agriculture: grain, sugar beets, vegetables; meat, milk

Illicit drugs: illicit cultivator of cannabis and opium poppy;
  mostly for CIS consumption; limited government eradication program;
  used as transshipment point for illicit drugs to Western Europe

Exports: $11.3 billion (1995)
  commodities: coal, electric power, ferrous and nonferrous metals,
  chemicals, machinery and transport equipment, grain, meat
  partners: other FSU countries, China, Italy, Switzerland

Imports: $10.7 billion (1995)
  commodities: energy, machinery and parts, transportation equipment,
  chemicals, textiles
  partners: other FSU countries, Germany, Poland, Czech Republic

External debt: $8.8 billion (including $4.5 billion to Russia)
  (late 1995 est.)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $220 million (1993)
  note: commitments, 1992-95, $4.5 billion ($4.1 billion drawn)

Currency: on 2 September 1996, Ukraine introduced the long-awaited
  hryvnia (plural hryvni) as its national currency, replacing the
  karbovanets (in circulation since 12 November 1992) at a rate of
  100,000 karbovantsi to 1 hryvnia

Exchange rates: hryvnia per US$1 - 1.76 (2 September 1996)

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 23,350 km
  broad gauge: 23,350 km 1.524-m gauge (8,600 km electrified)

Highways:
  total: 169,964 km
  paved: 168,094 km (including 1,767 km of expressways)
  unpaved: 1,870 km (1992 est.)

Waterways: 4,400 km navigable waterways, of which 1,672 km were on
  the Pryp''yat' and Dnipro (1990)

Pipelines: crude oil 2,010 km; petroleum products 1,920 km;
  natural gas 7,800 km (1992)

Ports: Berdyans'k, Illichivs'k, Izmayil, Kerch, Kherson, Kiev
  (Kyyiv), Mariupol', Mykolayiv, Odesa, Pivdenne, Reni

Merchant marine:
  total: 353 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 3,262,341
  GRT/4,356,374 DWT
  ships by type: barge carrier 5, bulk 39, cargo 217, chemical tanker
  2, combination bulk 1, container 11, multifunction large-load
  carrier 3, oil tanker 21, passenger 7, passenger-cargo 5, railcar
  carrier 2, refrigerated cargo 5, roll-on/roll-off cargo 32,
  short-sea passenger 3 (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 706
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 14
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 55
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 34
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 3
  with paved runways under 914 m: 57
  with unpaved runways over 3 047 m: 7
  with unpaved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 7
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 16
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 37
  with unpaved runways under 914 m: 476 (1994 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: NA

Telephone system: system is unsatisfactory both for business and
  for personal use; 3.56 million applications for telephones had not
  been satisfied as of January 1991; electronic mail services have
  been established in Kiev, Odessa, and Luhans'k by Sprint
  domestic: an NMT-450 analog cellular telephone network operates in
  Kiev (Kyyiv) and allows direct dialing of international calls
  through Kiev's digital exchange
  international: calls to other CIS countries are carried by landline
  or microwave radio relay; calls to 167 other countries are carried
  by satellite or by the 150 leased lines through the Moscow
  international gateway switch; satellite earth stations - NA
  Intelsat, 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic and Indian Ocean Regions), and NA
  Intersputnik

Radio broadcast stations: AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA; note - there
  are at least two radio broadcast stations of NA type

Radios: 15 million (1990)

Television broadcast stations: at least 2

Televisions: 17.3 million (1992)



Defense
-------


Branches: Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces, Internal Troops,
  National Guard, Border Troops

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 12,388,788
  males fit for military service: 9,716,127
  males reach military age (18) annually: 362,000 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: 1.35 billion hryvni, less than 2% of GDP
  (Ukrainian Government's forecast for 1996); note - conversion of
  defense expenditures into US dollars using the current exchange rate
  could produce misleading results



======================================================================




@United Arab Emirates
--------------------




Map
---


Location: 24 00 N, 54 00 E -- Middle East, bordering the Gulf of
  Oman and the Persian Gulf, between Oman and Saudi Arabia



Flag
----


Description: three equal horizontal bands of green (top), white,
  and black with a thicker vertical red band on the hoist side





Geography
---------


Location: Middle East, bordering the Gulf of Oman and the Persian
  Gulf, between Oman and Saudi Arabia

Geographic coordinates: 24 00 N, 54 00 E

Map references: Middle East

Area:
  total area: 75,581 sq km
  land area: 75,581 sq km
  comparative area: slightly smaller than Maine

Land boundaries:
  total: 867 km
  border countries: Oman 410 km, Saudi Arabia 457 km

Coastline: 1,318 km

Maritime claims:
  contiguous zone: 24 nm
  continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: location and status of boundary with Saudi
  Arabia is not final, defacto boundary reflects 1974 agreement; no
  defined boundary with most of Oman, but Administrative Line in far
  north; claims two islands in the Persian Gulf occupied by Iran:
  Lesser Tunb (called Tunb as Sughra in Arabic by UAE and Jazireh-ye
  Tonb-e Kuchek in Persian by Iran) and Greater Tunb (called Tunb al
  Kubra in Arabic by UAE and Jazireh-ye Tonb-e Bozorg in Persian by
  Iran); claims island in the Persian Gulf jointly administered with
  Iran (called Abu Musa in Arabic by UAE and Jazireh-ye Abu Musa in
  Persian by Iran); in 1992, the dispute over Abu Musa and the Tunb
  islands became more acute when Iran unilaterally tried to control
  the entry of third country nationals into the UAE portion of Abu
  Musa island, Tehran subsequently backed off in the face of
  significant diplomatic support for the UAE in the region

Climate: desert; cooler in eastern mountains

Terrain: flat, barren coastal plain merging into rolling sand
  dunes of vast desert wasteland; mountains in east
  lowest point: Persian Gulf 0 m
  highest point: Jabal Yibir 1,527 m

Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas

Land use:
  arable land: 0%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 2%
  forest and woodland: 0%
  other: 98%

Irrigated land: 50 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
  current issues: lack of natural freshwater resources being overcome
  by desalination plants; desertification; beach pollution from oil
  spills
  natural hazards: frequent sand and dust storms
  international agreements: party to - Endangered Species, Hazardous
  Wastes, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection; signed, but not
  ratified - Biodiversity, Law of the Sea

Geographic note: strategic location along southern approaches to
  Strait of Hormuz, a vital transit point for world crude oil



People
------


Population: 3,057,337 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 35% (male 542,848; female 519,952)
  15-64 years: 64% (male 1,277,829; female 683,282)
  65 years and over: 1% (male 22,246; female 11,180) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 4.33% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 26.43 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 3.03 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 19.91 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 1.87 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 1.99 male(s)/female
  all ages: 1.52 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 20.4 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 72.74 years
  male: 70.64 years
  female: 74.94 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 4.46 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Emiri(s)
  adjective: Emiri

Ethnic divisions: Emiri 19%, other Arab and Iranian 23%, South
  Asian 50%, other expatriates (includes Westerners and East Asians)
  8% (1982)
  note: less than 20% are UAE citizens (1982)

Religions: Muslim 96% (Shi'a 16%), Christian, Hindu, and other 4%

Languages: Arabic (official), Persian, English, Hindi, Urdu

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write but definition of
  literacy not available (1995 est.)
  total population: 79.2%
  male: 78.9%
  female: 79.8%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: United Arab Emirates
  conventional short form: none
  local long form: Al Imarata al Arabiyah al Muttahidah
  local short form: none
  former: Trucial States
  abbreviation: UAE

Data code: TC

Type of government: federation with specified powers delegated to
  the UAE central government and other powers reserved to member
  emirates

Capital: Abu Dhabi

Administrative divisions: 7 emirates (imarat, singular - imarah);
  Abu Zaby (Abu Dhabi), 'Ajman, Al Fujayrah, Ash Shariqah (Sharjah),
  Dubayy (Dubai), Ra's al Khaymah, Umm al Qaywayn

Independence: 2 December 1971 (from UK)

National holiday: National Day, 2 December (1971)

Constitution: 2 December 1971 (provisional)

Legal system: federal court system introduced in 1971; all
  emirates except Dubayy (Dubai) and Ra's al Khaymah have joined the
  federal system; all emirates have secular and Islamic law for civil,
  criminal, and high courts

Suffrage: none

Executive branch:
  chief of state: President ZAYID bin Sultan Al Nuhayyan (since 2
  December 1971), ruler of Abu Zaby (Abu Dhabi) (since NA 1966) and
  Vice President MAKTUM bin Rashid al-Maktum (since 8 October 1990),
  ruler of Dubayy (Dubai) were elected by the Supreme Council of Rulers
  head of government: Prime Minister MAKTUM bin Rashid al-Maktum
  (since 8 October 1990), ruler of Dubayy (Dubai) and Deputy Prime
  Minister SULTAN bin Zayid Al Nuhayyan (since 20 November 1990) were
  appointed by the president
  Supreme Council of Rulers: composed of the seven emirate rulers, the
  council is the highest constitutional authority in the UAE;
  establishes general policies and sanctions federal legislation, Abu
  Zaby (Abu Dhabi) and Dubayy (Dubai) rulers have effective veto
  power; council meets four times a year
  cabinet: Council of Ministers was appointed by the president

Legislative branch: unicameral Federal National Council (Majlis
  Watani Itihad); no elections; reviews legislation, but cannot change
  or veto

Judicial branch: Union Supreme Court, judges appointed by the
  president

Political parties and leaders: none

Other political or pressure groups: NA

International organization participation: ABEDA, AfDB, AFESD, AL,
  AMF, CAEU, CCC, ESCWA, FAO, G-77, GCC, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA,
  IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO
  (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, OPEC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO,
  UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Muhammad bin Husayn al-SHAALI
  chancery: Suite 600, 3000 K Street NW, Washington, DC 20007
  telephone: [1] (202) 338-6500

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador David C. LITT
  embassy: Al-Sudan Street, Abu Dhabi
  mailing address: P. O. Box 4009, Abu Dhabi; American Embassy Abu
  Dhabi, Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-6010 (pouch)
  telephone: [971] (2) 436691, 436692
  FAX: [971] (2) 434771
  consulate(s) general: Dubai

Flag: three equal horizontal bands of green (top), white, and
  black with a thicker vertical red band on the hoist side



Economy
-------


Economic overview: The UAE has an open economy with one of the
  world's highest incomes per capita and with a sizable annual trade
  surplus. Its wealth is based on oil and gas output (about 33% of
  GDP), and the fortunes of the economy fluctuate with the prices of
  those commodities. Since 1973, the UAE has undergone a profound
  transformation from an impoverished region of small desert
  principalities to a modern state with a high standard of living. At
  present levels of production, crude oil reserves should last for
  over 100 years. Although much stronger economically than most Gulf
  states, the UAE faces similar problems with weak international oil
  prices and the pressures for cuts in OPEC oil production quotas. The
  UAE Government is encouraging increased privatization within the
  economy.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $70.1 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 3.3% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $24,000 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 2%
  industry: 55%
  services: 43% (1994 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 4.6% (1994 est.)

Labor force: 794,400 (1993 est.)
  by occupation: industry and commerce 56%, services 38%, agriculture
  6% (1990 est.)
  note: 80% of labor force is foreign (est.)

Unemployment rate: NEGL% (1988)

Budget:
  revenues: $4.6 billion
  expenditures: $4.9 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA
  (1995 est.)

Industries: petroleum, fishing, petrochemicals, construction
  materials, some boat building, handicrafts, pearling

Industrial production growth rate: -1.1% (1994 est.)

Electricity:
  capacity: 4,760,000 kW
  production: 16.5 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 5,796 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: dates, vegetables, watermelons; poultry, eggs, dairy
  products; fish

Illicit drugs: growing role as heroin transshipment and
  money-laundering center

Exports: $25.3 billion (f.o.b., 1994 est.)
  commodities: crude oil 66%, natural gas, reexports, dried fish, dates
  partners: Japan 45%, India 6%, Oman 6%, South Korea 5%, Iran 5%
  (1994)

Imports: $21.7 billion (f.o.b., 1994)
  commodities: manufactured goods, machinery and transport equipment,
  food
  partners: Japan 11%, UK 8%, Germany 8%, US 8%, Italy 7% (1994)

External debt: $11.6 billion (1994 est.)

Economic aid: $NA

Currency: 1 Emirian dirham (Dh) = 100 fils

Exchange rates: Emirian dirhams (Dh) per US$1 - 3.6710 (fixed rate)

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways: 0 km

Highways:
  total: 3,000 km
  paved: 3,000 km
  unpaved: 0 km (1993 est.)

Pipelines: crude oil 830 km; natural gas, including natural gas
  liquids, 870 km

Ports: 'Ajman, Al Fujayrah, Das Island, Khawr Fakkan, Mina' Jabal
  'Ali, Mina' Khalid, Mina' Rashid, Mina' Saqr, Mina' Zayid, Umm al
  Qaywayn

Merchant marine:
  total: 57 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,068,980 GRT/1,876,504
  DWT
  ships by type: bulk 2, cargo 17, chemical tanker 2, container 7,
  liquefied gas tanker 1, livestock carrier 1, oil tanker 22,
  refrigerated cargo 2, roll-on/roll-off cargo 3 (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 36
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 9
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 3
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 2
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 3
  with paved runways under 914 m: 10
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 2
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 7 (1995 est.)

Heliports: 2 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 677,793 (1993 est.)

Telephone system: modern system consisting of microwave radio
  relay and coaxial cable; key centers are Abu Dhabi and Dubai
  domestic: microwave radio relay and coaxial cable
  international: satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (1 Atlantic
  Ocean and 2 Indian Ocean) and 1 Arabsat; submarine cables to Qatar,
  Bahrain, India, and Pakistan; tropospheric scatter to Bahrain;
  microwave radio relay to Saudi Arabia

Radio broadcast stations: AM 8, FM 3, shortwave 0

Radios: 545,000 (1992 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 12

Televisions: 170,000 (1993 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, paramilitary (includes Federal
  Police Force)

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 1,102,080
  males fit for military service: 599,439
  males reach military age (18) annually: 21,250 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $1.59 billion,
  4.3% of GDP (1994)



======================================================================




@United Kingdom
--------------




Map
---


Location: 54 00 N, 2 00 W -- Western Europe, islands including the
  northern one-sixth of the island of Ireland between the North
  Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea, northwest of France



Flag
----


Description: blue with the red cross of Saint George (patron saint
  of England) edged in white superimposed on the diagonal red cross of
  Saint Patrick (patron saint of Ireland) which is superimposed on the
  diagonal white cross of Saint Andrew (patron saint of Scotland);
  known as the Union Flag or Union Jack; the design and colors
  (especially the Blue Ensign) have been the basis for a number of
  other flags including dependencies, Commonwealth countries, and
  others





Geography
---------


Location: Western Europe, islands including the northern one-sixth
  of the island of Ireland between the North Atlantic Ocean and the
  North Sea, northwest of France

Geographic coordinates: 54 00 N, 2 00 W

Map references: Europe

Area:
  total area: 244,820 sq km
  land area: 241,590 sq km
  comparative area: slightly smaller than Oregon
  note: includes Rockall and Shetland Islands

Land boundaries:
  total: 360 km
  border country: Ireland 360 km

Coastline: 12,429 km

Maritime claims:
  continental shelf: as defined in continental shelf orders or in
  accordance with agreed upon boundaries
  exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: Northern Ireland question with Ireland;
  Gibraltar question with Spain; Argentina claims Falkland Islands
  (Islas Malvinas); Argentina claims South Georgia and the South
  Sandwich Islands; Mauritius claims island of Diego Garcia in British
  Indian Ocean Territory; Rockall continental shelf dispute involving
  Denmark, Iceland, and Ireland (Ireland and the UK have signed a
  boundary agreement in the Rockall area); territorial claim in
  Antarctica (British Antarctic Territory)

Climate: temperate; moderated by prevailing southwest winds over
  the North Atlantic Current; more than one-half of the days are
  overcast

Terrain: mostly rugged hills and low mountains; level to rolling
  plains in east and southeast
  lowest point: Fenland -4 m
  highest point: Ben Nevis 1,343 m

Natural resources: coal, petroleum, natural gas, tin, limestone,
  iron ore, salt, clay, chalk, gypsum, lead, silica

Land use:
  arable land: 29%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 48%
  forest and woodland: 9%
  other: 14%

Irrigated land: 1,570 sq km (1989)

Environment:
  current issues: sulfur dioxide emissions from power plants
  contribute to air pollution; some rivers polluted by agricultural
  wastes and coastal waters polluted because of large-scale disposal
  of sewage at sea
  natural hazards: NA
  international agreements: party to - Air Pollution, Air
  Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds,
  Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity,
  Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification,
  Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear
  Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber
  83, Wetlands, Whaling; signed, but not ratified - Air
  Pollution-Sulphur 94, Desertification

Geographic note: lies near vital North Atlantic sea lanes; only 35
  km from France and now linked by tunnel under the English Channel;
  because of heavily indented coastline, no location is more than 125
  km from tidal waters



People
------


Population: 58,489,975 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 20% (male 5,853,545; female 5,565,153)
  15-64 years: 65% (male 19,050,420; female 18,797,406)
  65 years and over: 15% (male 3,753,361; female 5,470,090) (July 1996
  est.)

Population growth rate: 0.22% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 13.12 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 11.24 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 0.3 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.69 male(s)/female
  all ages: 0.96 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 6.4 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 76.41 years
  male: 73.78 years
  female: 79.17 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.82 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Briton(s), British (collective plural)
  adjective: British

Ethnic divisions: English 81.5%, Scottish 9.6%, Irish 2.4%, Welsh
  1.9%, Ulster 1.8%, West Indian, Indian, Pakistani, and other 2.8%

Religions: Anglican 27 million, Roman Catholic 9 million, Muslim 1
  million, Presbyterian 800,000, Methodist 760,000, Sikh 400,000,
  Hindu 350,000, Jewish 300,000 (1991 est.)
  note: the UK does not include a question on religion in its census

Languages: English, Welsh (about 26% of the population of Wales),
  Scottish form of Gaelic (about 60,000 in Scotland)

Literacy: age 15 and over has completed five or more years of
  schooling (1978 est.)
  total population: 99%
  male: NA%
  female: NA%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern
  Ireland
  conventional short form: United Kingdom
  abbreviation: UK

Data code: UK

Type of government: constitutional monarchy

Capital: London

Administrative divisions: 47 counties, 7 metropolitan counties, 26
  districts, 9 regions, and 3 islands areas
  England: 39 counties, 7 metropolitan counties*; Avon, Bedford,
  Berkshire, Buckingham, Cambridge, Cheshire, Cleveland, Cornwall,
  Cumbria, Derby, Devon, Dorset, Durham, East Sussex, Essex,
  Gloucester, Greater London*, Greater Manchester*, Hampshire,
  Hereford and Worcester, Hertford, Humberside, Isle of Wight, Kent,
  Lancashire, Leicester, Lincoln, Merseyside*, Norfolk, Northampton,
  Northumberland, North Yorkshire, Nottingham, Oxford, Shropshire,
  Somerset, South Yorkshire*, Stafford, Suffolk, Surrey, Tyne and
  Wear*, Warwick, West Midlands*, West Sussex, West Yorkshire*,
  Wiltshire
  Northern Ireland: 26 districts; Antrim, Ards, Armagh, Ballymena,
  Ballymoney, Banbridge, Belfast, Carrickfergus, Castlereagh,
  Coleraine, Cookstown, Craigavon, Down, Dungannon, Fermanagh, Larne,
  Limavady, Lisburn, Londonderry, Magherafelt, Moyle, Newry and
  Mourne, Newtownabbey, North Down, Omagh, Strabane
  Scotland: 9 regions, 3 islands areas*; Borders, Central, Dumfries
  and Galloway, Fife, Grampian, Highland, Lothian, Orkney*, Shetland*,
  Strathclyde, Tayside, Western Isles*
  Wales: 8 counties; Clwyd, Dyfed, Gwent, Gwynedd, Mid Glamorgan,
  Powys, South Glamorgan, West Glamorgan

Dependent areas: Anguilla, Bermuda, British Indian Ocean
  Territory, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands,
  Gibraltar, Guernsey, Hong Kong (scheduled to become a Special
  Administrative Region of China on 1 July 1997), Jersey, Isle of Man,
  Montserrat, Pitcairn Islands, Saint Helena, South Georgia and the
  South Sandwich Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands

Independence: 1 January 1801 (United Kingdom established)

National holiday: Celebration of the Birthday of the Queen (second
  Saturday in June)

Constitution: unwritten; partly statutes, partly common law and
  practice

Legal system: common law tradition with early Roman and modern
  continental influences; no judicial review of Acts of Parliament;
  accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952) is a
  hereditary monarch; Heir Apparent Prince CHARLES (son of the queen,
  born 14 November 1948)
  head of government: Prime Minister John MAJOR (since 28 November
  1990) is the leader of the party which holds the majority in the
  House of Commons and must have the consent of the monarch
  cabinet: Cabinet of Ministers was appointed by the prime minister

Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament
  House of Lords: consists of a 1,200-member body, four-fifths are
  hereditary peers, two archbishops, 24 other senior bishops, serving
  and retired Lords of Appeal in Ordinary, other life peers, Scottish
  peers
  House of Commons: elections last held 9 April 1992 (next to be held
  by NA April 1997); results - Conservative 41.9%, Labor 34.5%,
  Liberal Democratic 17.9%, other 5.7%; seats - (651 total)
  Conservative 336, Labor 271, Liberal Democratic 20, other 24

Judicial branch: House of Lords, several Lords of Appeal in
  Ordinary are appointed by the monarch for life

Political parties and leaders: Conservative and Unionist Party,
  John MAJOR; Labor Party, Anthony (Tony) Blair; Liberal Democrats
  (LD), Jeremy (Paddy) ASHDOWN; Scottish National Party, Alex SALMOND;
  Welsh National Party (Plaid Cymru), Dafydd Iwan WIGLEY; Ulster
  Unionist Party (Northern Ireland), David TRIMBLE; Democratic
  Unionist Party (Northern Ireland), Rev. Ian PAISLEY; Social
  Democratic and Labor Party (SDLP, Northern Ireland), John HUME; Sinn
  Fein (Northern Ireland), Gerry ADAMS; Alliance Party (Northern
  Ireland), John ALDERDICE

Other political or pressure groups: Trades Union Congress;
  Confederation of British Industry; National Farmers' Union; Campaign
  for Nuclear Disarmament

International organization participation: AfDB, AG (observer),
  AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, C, CCC, CDB (non-regional), CE, CERN,
  EBRD, ECA (associate), ECE, ECLAC, EIB, ESA, ESCAP, EU, FAO, G- 5,
  G- 7, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA,
  IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC,
  IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, MTCR, NACC, NATO, NEA, NSG, OECD, OSCE,
  PCA, SPC, UN, UN Security Council, UNAVEM III, UNCRO, UNCTAD,
  UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNITAR, UNOMIG, UNPREDEP, UNPROFOR,
  UNRWA, UNU, UPU, WCL, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO, ZC

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Sir John Olav KERR
  chancery: 3100 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
  telephone: [1] (202) 462-1340
  FAX: [1] (202) 898-4255
  consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Houston,
  Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco
  consulate(s): Dallas, Miami, and Seattle

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador William J. CROWE, Jr.
  embassy: 24/31 Grosvenor Square, London, W. 1A1AE
  mailing address: PSC 801, Box 40, London; FPO AE 09498-4040
  telephone: [44] (71) 499-9000
  FAX: [44] (71) 409-1637
  consulate(s) general: Belfast, Edinburgh

Flag: blue with the red cross of Saint George (patron saint of
  England) edged in white superimposed on the diagonal red cross of
  Saint Patrick (patron saint of Ireland) which is superimposed on the
  diagonal white cross of Saint Andrew (patron saint of Scotland);
  known as the Union Flag or Union Jack; the design and colors
  (especially the Blue Ensign) have been the basis for a number of
  other flags including dependencies, Commonwealth countries, and
  others



Economy
-------


Economic overview: The UK is one of the world's great trading
  powers and financial centers, and its economy ranks among the four
  largest in Western Europe. The economy is essentially capitalistic;
  over the past 13 years the ruling Tories have greatly reduced public
  ownership and contained the growth of social welfare programs.
  Agriculture is intensive, highly mechanized, and efficient by
  European standards, producing about 60% of food needs with only
  about 1% of the labor force. The UK has large coal, natural gas, and
  oil reserves, and primary energy production accounts for 12% of GDP,
  one of the highest shares of any industrial nation. Services,
  particularly banking, insurance, and business services, account by
  far for the largest proportion of GDP while industry continues to
  decline in importance, now employing only 25% of the work force. The
  economy registered 3.9% GDP growth in 1994, the best rate for six
  years, but slipped back to 2.7% in 1995. Exports and manufacturing
  output have been the primary engines of growth. Unemployment is
  gradually falling. Inflation is at a tolerable 3%. A major economic
  policy question for the UK in the 1990s is the terms on which it
  participates in the financial and economic integration of Europe.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $1.1384 trillion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 2.7% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $19,500 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 1.7%
  industry: 27.7%
  services: 70.6% (1993)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 3.1% (November 1995)

Labor force: 28.048 million
  by occupation: services 62.8%, manufacturing and construction 25.0%,
  government 9.1%, energy 1.9%, agriculture 1.2% (June 1992)

Unemployment rate: 8% (December 1995)

Budget:
  revenues: $388.9 billion
  expenditures: $447.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA
  (FY94/95 est.)

Industries: production machinery including machine tools, electric
  power equipment, automation equipment, railroad equipment,
  shipbuilding, aircraft, motor vehicles and parts, electronics and
  communications equipment, metals, chemicals, coal, petroleum, paper
  and paper products, food processing, textiles, clothing, and other
  consumer goods

Industrial production growth rate: 1.9% (1995 est.)

Electricity:
  capacity: 65,360,000 kW
  production: 303 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 5,123 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: cereals, oilseed, potatoes, vegetables; cattle,
  sheep, poultry; fish

Illicit drugs: gateway country for Latin American cocaine entering
  the European market; producer of synthetic drugs; transshipment
  point for Southwest Asian heroin; money-laundering center

Exports: $200.4 billion (f.o.b., 1994)
  commodities: manufactured goods, machinery, fuels, chemicals,
  semifinished goods, transport equipment
  partners: EU countries 56.4% (Germany 12.7%, France 9.9%,
  Netherlands 7.0%), US 13.1%

Imports: $221.9 billion (c.i.f., 1994)
  commodities: manufactured goods, machinery, semifinished goods,
  foodstuffs, consumer goods
  partners: EU countries 54.9% (Germany 14.6%, France 10.0%,
  Netherlands 6.7%), US 12.2%

External debt: $16.2 billion (June 1992)

Economic aid:
  donor: ODA, $2.908 billion (1993)

Currency: 1 British pound (L) = 100 pence

Exchange rates: British pounds (L) per US$1 - 0.6535 (January
  1996), 0.6335 (1995), 0.6529 (1994), 0.6658 (1993), 0.5664 (1992),
  0.5652 (1991)

Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 17,561 km
  broad gauge: 434 km 1.600-m gauge (190 km double track); note - all
  1.600-m gauge track, of which 357 km is in common carrier use, is in
  Northern Ireland
  standard gauge: 16,892 km 1.435-m gauge (4,928 km electrified;
  12,591 km double or multiple track); note - 16,532 km of 1.435-m
  routes are in common carrier service; the remaining 360 km are
  operated by a total of 40 tourist or other private companies
  narrow gauge: 235 km 0.260-m, 0.311-m, 0.381-m, 0.600-m, 0.610-m,
  0.686-m, 0.760-m, 0.762-m, 0.800-m, 0.825-m, 0.914-m and 1.067-m
  gauges; note - these short, narrow-gage lines are operated by a
  total of 25 tourist and other private firms (1995)

Highways:
  total: 386,243 km (1993 est.)
  paved: NA km (including 3,237 km of expressways in Great Britain)
  unpaved: NA km

Waterways: 3,200 km under British Waterways Board

Pipelines: crude oil (almost all insignificant) 933 km; petroleum
  products 2,993 km; natural gas 12,800 km

Ports: Aberdeen, Belfast, Bristol, Cardiff, Grangemouth, Hull,
  Leith, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Medway, Sullom Voe, Tees, Tyne

Merchant marine:
  total: 151 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 3,191,969
  GRT/3,861,239 DWT
  ships by type: bulk 10, cargo 21, chemical tanker 2, container 24,
  liquefied gas tanker 2, oil tanker 56, passenger 8, passenger-cargo
  1, roll-on/roll-off cargo 12, short-sea passenger 14, specialized
  tanker 1 (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 388
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 9
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 29
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 103
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 59
  with paved runways under 914 m: 166
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 22 (1995 est.)

Heliports: 10 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 29.5 million (1987 est.)

Telephone system: technologically advanced domestic and
  international system
  domestic: equal mix of buried cables, microwave radio relay, and
  fiber-optic systems
  international: 40 coaxial submarine cables; satellite earth stations
  - 10 Intelsat (7 Atlantic Ocean and 3 Indian Ocean), 1 Inmarsat
  (Atlantic Ocean region), and 1 Eutelsat; at least 8 large
  international switching centers

Radio broadcast stations: AM 225, FM 525 (mostly repeaters),
  shortwave 0

Radios: 70 million

Television broadcast stations: 207 (repeaters 3,210)

Televisions: 20 million



Defense
-------


Branches: Army, Royal Navy (includes Royal Marines), Royal Air
  Force

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 14,515,077
  males fit for military service: 12,102,431 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $35.1 billion,
  3.1% of GDP (FY95/96)



======================================================================




@United States
-------------




Map
---


Location: 38 00 N, 97 00 W -- North America, bordering both the
  North Atlantic Ocean and the North Pacific Ocean, between Canada and
  Mexico



Flag
----


Description: thirteen equal horizontal stripes of red (top and
  bottom) alternating with white; there is a blue rectangle in the
  upper hoist-side corner bearing 50 small white five-pointed stars
  arranged in nine offset horizontal rows of six stars (top and
  bottom) alternating with rows of five stars; the 50 stars represent
  the 50 states, the 13 stripes represent the 13 original colonies;
  known as Old Glory; the design and colors have been the basis for a
  number of other flags including Chile, Liberia, Malaysia, and Puerto
  Rico





Geography
---------


Location: North America, bordering both the North Atlantic Ocean
  and the North Pacific Ocean, between Canada and Mexico

Geographic coordinates: 38 00 N, 97 00 W

Map references: North America

Area:
  total area: 9,372,610 sq km
  land area: 9,166,600 sq km
  comparative area: about one-half the size of Russia; about
  three-tenths the size of Africa; about one-half the size of South
  America (or slightly larger than Brazil); slightly smaller than
  China; about two and one-half times the size of Western Europe
  note: includes only the 50 states and District of Columbia

Land boundaries:
  total: 12,248 km
  border countries: Canada 8,893 km (including 2,477 km with Alaska),
  Cuba 29 km (US Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay), Mexico 3,326 km
  note: Guantanamo Naval Base is leased by the US and thus remains
  part of Cuba

Coastline: 19,924 km

Maritime claims:
  contiguous zone: 12 nm
  continental shelf: not specified
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: maritime boundary disputes with Canada
  (Dixon Entrance, Beaufort Sea, Strait of Juan de Fuca, Machias Seal
  Island); US Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay is leased from Cuba and
  only mutual agreement or US abandonment of the area can terminate
  the lease; Haiti claims Navassa Island; US has made no territorial
  claim in Antarctica (but has reserved the right to do so) and does
  not recognize the claims of any other nation; Republic of Marshall
  Islands claims Wake Island

Climate: mostly temperate, but tropical in Hawaii and Florida and
  arctic in Alaska, semiarid in the great plains west of the
  Mississippi River and arid in the Great Basin of the southwest; low
  winter temperatures in the northwest are ameliorated occasionally in
  January and February by warm chinook winds from the eastern slopes
  of the Rocky Mountains

Terrain: vast central plain, mountains in west, hills and low
  mountains in east; rugged mountains and broad river valleys in
  Alaska; rugged, volcanic topography in Hawaii
  lowest point: Death Valley -86 m
  highest point: Mount McKinley 6,194 m

Natural resources: coal, copper, lead, molybdenum, phosphates,
  uranium, bauxite, gold, iron, mercury, nickel, potash, silver,
  tungsten, zinc, petroleum, natural gas, timber

Land use:
  arable land: 20%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 26%
  forest and woodland: 29%
  other: 25%

Irrigated land: 181,020 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
  current issues: air pollution resulting in acid rain in both the US
  and Canada; the US is the largest single emitter of carbon dioxide
  from the burning of fossil fuels; water pollution from runoff of
  pesticides and fertilizers; very limited natural fresh water
  resources in much of the western part of the country require careful
  management; desertification
  natural hazards: tsunamis, volcanoes, and earthquake activity around
  Pacific Basin; hurricanes along the Atlantic coast; tornadoes in the
  midwest; mud slides in California; forest fires in the west;
  flooding; permafrost in northern Alaska is a major impediment to
  development
  international agreements: party to - Air Pollution, Air
  Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Antarctic Treaty, Climate Change,
  Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Marine Dumping,
  Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection,
  Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Wetlands, Whaling; signed, but
  not ratified - Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds,
  Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Biodiversity, Desertification,
  Hazardous Wastes, Tropical Timber 94

Geographic note: world's fourth-largest country (after Russia,
  Canada, and China)



People
------


Population: 266,476,278 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 22% (male 29,718,390; female 28,335,934)
  15-64 years: 65% (male 86,225,056; female 87,411,573)
  65 years and over: 13% (male 13,850,234; female 20,021,655) (July
  1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 0.91% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 14.8 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 8.8 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 3.1 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.69 male(s)/female
  all ages: 0.96 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 6.7 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 75.95 years
  male: 72.65 years
  female: 79.41 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.06 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: American(s)
  adjective: American

Ethnic divisions: white 83.4%, black 12.4%, Asian 3.3%, Native
  American 0.8% (1992)

Religions: Protestant 56%, Roman Catholic 28%, Jewish 2%, other
  4%, none 10% (1989)

Languages: English, Spanish (spoken by a sizable minority)

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1979 est.)
  total population: 97%
  male: 97%
  female: 97%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: United States of America
  conventional short form: United States
  abbreviation: US or USA

Data code: US

Type of government: federal republic; strong democratic tradition

Capital: Washington, DC

Administrative divisions: 50 states and 1 district*; Alabama,
  Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut,
  Delaware, District of Columbia*, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho,
  Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine,
  Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri,
  Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico,
  New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon,
  Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee,
  Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia,
  Wisconsin, Wyoming

Dependent areas: American Samoa, Baker Island, Guam, Howland
  Island, Jarvis Island, Johnston Atoll, Kingman Reef, Midway Islands,
  Navassa Island, Northern Mariana Islands, Palmyra Atoll, Puerto
  Rico, Virgin Islands, Wake Island
  note: from 18 July 1947 until 1 October 1994, the US administered
  the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, but recently entered
  into a new political relationship with all four political units: the
  Northern Mariana Islands is a Commonwealth in political union with
  the US (effective 3 November 1986); Palau concluded a Compact of
  Free Association with the US (effective 1 October 1994); the
  Federated States of Micronesia signed a Compact of Free Association
  with the US (effective 3 November 1986); the Republic of the
  Marshall Islands signed a Compact of Free Association with the US
  (effective 21 October 1986)

Independence: 4 July 1776 (from England)

National holiday: Independence Day, 4 July (1776)

Constitution: 17 September 1787, effective 4 March 1789

Legal system: based on English common law; judicial review of
  legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with
  reservations

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state and head of government: President William Jefferson
  CLINTON (since 20 January 1993) and Vice President Albert GORE, Jr.
  (since 20 January 1993) were elected for four-year terms by a
  college of representatives elected directly from each state;
  election last held 3 November 1992 (next to be held 5 November
  1996); results - William Jefferson CLINTON (Democratic Party) 43.2%,
  George BUSH (Republican Party) 37.7%, Ross PEROT (independent)
  19.0%, other 0.1%
  cabinet: Cabinet was appointed by the president with Senate approval

Legislative branch: bicameral Congress
  Senate: elections last held 8 November 1994 (next to be held 5
  November 1996); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (100
  total) Republican Party 54, Democratic Party 46
  House of Representatives: elections last held 8 November 1994 (next
  to be held 5 November 1996); results - percent of vote by party NA;
  seats - (435 total) Republican Party 231, Democratic Party 203,
  independent 1

Judicial branch: Supreme Court, justices are appointed for life by
  the president with confirmation by the Senate

Political parties and leaders: Republican Party, Haley BARBOUR,
  national committee chairman and Jeanie AUSTIN, co-chairman;
  Democratic Party, David C. WILHELM, national committee chairman;
  several other groups or parties of minor political significance

International organization participation: AfDB, AG (observer),
  ANZUS, APEC, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, CCC, CP, EBRD, ECE, ECLAC,
  ESCAP, FAO, G- 2, G- 5, G- 7, G- 8, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO,
  ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO,
  Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MINURSO, MTCR,
  NACC, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS, OECD, OSCE, PCA, SPC, UN, UN Security
  Council, UNCRO, UNCTAD, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNITAR, UNMIH, UNOMIG,
  UNPREDEP, UNPROFOR, UNRWA, UNTSO, UNU, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO,
  WToO, WTrO, ZC

Flag: thirteen equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom)
  alternating with white; there is a blue rectangle in the upper
  hoist-side corner bearing 50 small white five-pointed stars arranged
  in nine offset horizontal rows of six stars (top and bottom)
  alternating with rows of five stars; the 50 stars represent the 50
  states, the 13 stripes represent the 13 original colonies; known as
  Old Glory; the design and colors have been the basis for a number of
  other flags including Chile, Liberia, Malaysia, and Puerto Rico



Economy
-------


Economic overview: The US has the most powerful, diverse, and
  technologically advanced economy in the world, with a per capita GDP
  of $27,500, the largest among major industrial nations. In this
  market-oriented economy, private individuals and business firms make
  most of the decisions, and government purchases of goods and
  services are made predominantly in the marketplace. US business
  firms enjoy considerably greater flexibility than their counterparts
  in Western Europe and Japan in decisions to expand capital plant,
  lay off surplus workers, and develop new products. At the same time,
  they face higher barriers to entry in their rivals' home markets
  than the barriers to entry of foreign firms in US markets. In all
  economic sectors, US firms are at or near the forefront in
  technological advances, especially in computers, medical equipment,
  and aerospace, although their advantage has steadily narrowed since
  the end of World War II. The onrush of technology largely explains
  the gradual development of a "two-tier labor market" in which those
  at the bottom lack the education and professional/technical skills
  of those at the top and, more and more, fail to get pay raises,
  health insurance coverage, and other benefits. The years 1994-95
  witnessed moderate gains in real output, low inflation rates, and a
  drop in unemployment below 6%. The capture of both houses of
  Congress by the Republicans in the elections of 8 November 1994 has
  intensified the debate over how the US should address its major
  economic problems. These problems include inadequate investment in
  economic infrastructure, rapidly rising medical costs of an aging
  population, sizable budget and trade deficits, and stagnation of
  family income in the lower economic groups. The outlook for 1996 is
  for continued moderate growth, low inflation, and about the same
  level of unemployment.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $7.2477 trillion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 2.1% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $27,500 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 2%
  industry: 23%
  services: 75% (1995 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.5% (1995)

Labor force: 132.304 million (includes unemployed) (1995)
  by occupation: managerial and professional 28.3%, technical, sales
  and administrative support 30.0%, services 13.5%, manufacturing,
  mining, transportation, and crafts 25.3%, farming, forestry, and
  fishing 2.8%

Unemployment rate: 5.6% (December 1995)

Budget:
  revenues: $1.258 trillion
  expenditures: $1.461 trillion, including capital expenditures of $NA
  (1994)

Industries: leading industrial power in the world, highly
  diversified and technologically advanced; petroleum, steel, motor
  vehicles, aerospace, telecommunications, chemicals, electronics,
  food processing, consumer goods, lumber, mining

Industrial production growth rate: 5.4% (1994 est.)

Electricity:
  capacity: 695,120,000 kW
  production: 3.1 trillion kWh
  consumption per capita: 11,236 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: wheat, other grains, corn, fruits, vegetables,
  cotton; beef, pork, poultry, dairy products; forest products; fish

Illicit drugs: illicit producer of cannabis for domestic
  consumption with 1987 production estimated at 3,500 metric tons or
  about 25% of the available marijuana; ongoing eradication program
  aimed at small plots and greenhouses has not reduced production

Exports: $578 billion (f.o.b., 1995 est.)
  commodities: capital goods, automobiles, industrial supplies and raw
  materials, consumer goods, agricultural products
  partners: Western Europe 24.3%, Canada 22.1%, Japan 10.5% (1993)

Imports: $751 billion (c.i.f., 1995 est.)
  commodities: crude oil and refined petroleum products, machinery,
  automobiles, consumer goods, industrial raw materials, food and
  beverages
  partners: Canada, 19.3%, Western Europe 18.1%, Japan 18.1% (1993)

External debt: $NA

Economic aid:
  donor: ODA, $9.721 billion (1993)

Currency: 1 United States dollar (US$) = 100 cents

Exchange rates:
  British pounds: (L) per US$ - 0.6535 (January 1996), 0.6335 (1995),
  0.6529 (1994), 0.6658 (1993), 0.5664 (1992), 0.5652 (1991)
  Canadian dollars: (Can$) per US$ - 1.3666 (January 1996), 1.3724
  (1995), 1.3656 (1994), 1.2901 (1993), 1.2087 (1992), 1.1457 (1991)
  French francs: (F) per US$ - 5.0056 (January 1996), 4.9915 (1995),
  5.5520 (1994), 5.6632 (1993), 5.2938 (1992), 5.6421 (1991)
  Italian lire: (Lit) per US$ - 1,583.8 (January 1996), 1,629.6
  (1995), 1,612.4 (1994), 1,573.7 (1993), 1,232.4 (1992), 1,240.6
  (1991)
  Japanese yen: (Y) per US$ - 105.84 (January 1996), 94.06 (1995),
  102.21 (1994), 111.20 (1993), 126.65 (1992), 134.71 (1991)
  German deutsche marks: (DM) per US$ - 1.4617 (January 1996), 1.4331
  (1995), 1.6228 (1994), 1.6533 (1993), 1.5617 (1992), 1.6595 (1991)

Fiscal year: 1 October - 30 September



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 240,000 km mainline routes (nongovernment owned)
  standard gauge: 240,000 km 1.435-m gauge (1989)

Highways:
  total: 6,284,488 km
  paved: 5,574,341 km (in 1991, included 85,267 km of expressways)
  unpaved: 710,147 km (1993 est.)

Waterways: 41,009 km of navigable inland channels, exclusive of
  the Great Lakes

Pipelines: petroleum 276,000 km; natural gas 331,000 km (1991)

Ports: Anchorage, Baltimore, Boston, Charleston, Chicago, Duluth,
  Hampton Roads, Honolulu, Houston, Jacksonville, Los Angeles, New
  Orleans, New York, Philadelphia, Port Canaveral, Portland (Oregon),
  Prudhoe Bay, San Francisco, Savannah, Seattle, Tampa, Toledo

Merchant marine:
  total: 322 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 10,716,000
  GRT/15,259,000 DWT
  ships by type: bulk 21, cargo 20, chemical tanker 17, intermodal
  125, liquefied gas tanker 14, passenger-cargo 2, tanker 110, tanker
  tug-barge 13
  note: in addition, there are 190 government-owned vessels (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 13,387
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 179
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 201
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 1,204
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 2,361
  with paved runways under 914 m: 7,720
  with unpaved runways over 3 047 m: 1
  with unpaved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 7
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 151
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 1,563 (1995 est.)

Heliports: 63 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 182.558 million (1987 est.)

Telephone system:
  domestic: large system of fiber-optic cable, microwave radio relay,
  coaxial cable, and domestic satellites
  international: 24 ocean cable systems in use; satellite earth
  stations - 61 Intelsat (45 Atlantic Ocean and 16 Pacific Ocean)
  (1990 est.), 5 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region), and 4 Inmarsat
  (Pacific and Atlantic Ocean regions)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 4,987, FM 4,932, shortwave 0

Radios: 540.5 million (1992 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 1,092 (in addition, there are about
  9,000 cable TV systems)

Televisions: 215 million (1993 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Department of the Army, Department of the Navy (includes
  Marine Corps), Department of the Air Force
  note: the Coast Guard falls under the Department of Transportation,
  but in wartime reports to the Department of the Navy

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 69,302,573
  males fit for military service: NA
  males reach military age (18) annually: 1,864,580 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: $272.2 billion, 3.8% of GDP (1995 est.)



======================================================================




@Uruguay
-------




Map
---


Location: 33 00 S, 56 00 W -- Southern South America, bordering
  the South Atlantic Ocean, between Argentina and Brazil



Flag
----


Description: nine equal horizontal stripes of white (top and
  bottom) alternating with blue; there is a white square in the upper
  hoist-side corner with a yellow sun bearing a human face known as
  the Sun of May and 16 rays alternately triangular and wavy





Geography
---------


Location: Southern South America, bordering the South Atlantic
  Ocean, between Argentina and Brazil

Geographic coordinates: 33 00 S, 56 00 W

Map references: South America

Area:
  total area: 176,220 sq km
  land area: 173,620 sq km
  comparative area: slightly smaller than Washington State

Land boundaries:
  total: 1,564 km
  border countries: Argentina 579 km, Brazil 985 km

Coastline: 660 km

Maritime claims:
  continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
  territorial sea: 200 nm; overflight and navigation guaranteed beyond
  12 nm

International disputes: short section of boundary with Argentina
  is in dispute; two short sections of the boundary with Brazil are in
  dispute - Arroyo de la Invernada (Arroio Invernada) area of the Rio
  Cuareim (Rio Quarai) and the islands at the confluence of the Rio
  Cuareim (Rio Quarai) and the Uruguay River

Climate: warm temperate; freezing temperatures almost unknown

Terrain: mostly rolling plains and low hills; fertile coastal
  lowland
  lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
  highest point: Cerro Catedral 514 m

Natural resources: fertile soil, hydropower potential, minor
  minerals

Land use:
  arable land: 8%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 78%
  forest and woodland: 4%
  other: 10%

Irrigated land: 1,100 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
  current issues: substantial pollution from Brazilian industry along
  border; one-fifth of country affected by acid rain generated by
  Brazil; water pollution from meat packing/tannery industry;
  inadequate solid/hazardous waste disposal
  natural hazards: seasonally high winds (the pampero is a chilly and
  occasional violent wind which blows north from the Argentine
  pampas), droughts, floods; because of the absence of mountains,
  which act as weather barriers, all locations are particularly
  vulnerable to rapid changes in weather fronts
  international agreements: party to - Antarctic-Environmental
  Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered
  Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the
  Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution,
  Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Marine Dumping, Marine Life
  Conservation



People
------


Population: 3,238,952 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 24% (male 405,041; female 386,155)
  15-64 years: 63% (male 1,004,089; female 1,035,336)
  65 years and over: 13% (male 170,109; female 238,222) (July 1996
  est.)

Population growth rate: 0.7% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 17.02 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 9.05 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: -0.99 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female
  all ages: 0.95 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 15.4 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 74.94 years
  male: 71.8 years
  female: 78.25 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.32 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Uruguayan(s)
  adjective: Uruguayan

Ethnic divisions: white 88%, mestizo 8%, black 4%

Religions: Roman Catholic 66% (less than one-half of the adult
  population attends church regularly), Protestant 2%, Jewish 2%,
  nonprofessing or other 30%

Languages: Spanish, Brazilero (Portuguese-Spanish mix on the
  Brazilian frontier)

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)
  total population: 97.3%
  male: 96.9%
  female: 97.7%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Oriental Republic of Uruguay
  conventional short form: Uruguay
  local long form: Republica Oriental del Uruguay
  local short form: Uruguay

Data code: UY

Type of government: republic

Capital: Montevideo

Administrative divisions: 19 departments (departamentos, singular
  - departamento); Artigas, Canelones, Cerro Largo, Colonia, Durazno,
  Flores, Florida, Lavalleja, Maldonado, Montevideo, Paysandu, Rio
  Negro, Rivera, Rocha, Salto, San Jose, Soriano, Tacuarembo, Treinta
  y Tres

Independence: 25 August 1828 (from Brazil)

National holiday: Independence Day, 25 August (1828)

Constitution: 27 November 1966, effective February 1967, suspended
  27 June 1973, new constitution rejected by referendum 30 November
  1980

Legal system: based on Spanish civil law system; accepts
  compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal and compulsory

Executive branch:
  chief of state and head of government: President Julio Maria
  SANGUINETTI (since 1 March 1995) and Vice President Hugo BATALLA
  (since 1 March 1995) were elected for five-year terms by popular
  vote; election last held 27 November 1994 (next to be held NA
  November 1999)
  cabinet: Council of Ministers was appointed by the president

Legislative branch: bicameral General Assembly (Asamblea General)
  Chamber of Senators (Camara de Senadores): elections last held 27
  November 1994 (next to be held NA November 1999); results - Colorado
  36%, Blanco 34 %, Encuentro Progresista 27%, New Sector 3%; seats -
  (30 total) Colorado 11, Blanco 10, Encuentro Progresista 8, New
  Sector 1
  Chamber of Representatives (Camara de Representantes): elections
  last held 27 November 1994 (next to be held NA November 1999);
  results - Colorado 32%, Blanco 31%, Encuentro Progresista 31%, New
  Sector 5%; seats - (99 total) Colorado 32, Blanco 31, Encuentro
  Progresista 31, New Sector 5

Judicial branch: Supreme Court, judges are nominated by the
  president and elected for 10-year terms by the General Assembly

Political parties and leaders: National (Blanco) Party, Alberto
  VOLONTE Berro; Colorado Party, Jorge BATLLE; Broad Front Coalition,
  12 member Executive Secretariat (as of 11 March 1996); New Sector
  Coalition, Hugo BATALLA; Encuentro Progresista (EP), Tabare VAZQUEZ

International organization participation: AG (observer), CCC,
  ECLAC, FAO, G-11, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IFAD,
  IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU,
  LAES, LAIA, Mercosur, MINURSO, NAM (observer), OAS, OPANAL, PCA, RG,
  UN, UNAMIR, UNAVEM III, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMOGIP,
  UNMOT, UNOMIG, UNOMIL, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Alvaro DIEZ DE MEDINA SUAREZ
  chancery: 1918 F Street NW, Washington, DC 20006
  telephone: [1] (202) 331-1313 through 1316
  consulate(s) general: Los Angeles, Miami, and New York

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Thomas J. DODD
  embassy: Lauro Muller 1776, Montevideo
  mailing address: APO AA 34035
  telephone: [598] (2) 23 60 61, 48 77 77
  FAX: [598] (2) 48 86 11

Flag: nine equal horizontal stripes of white (top and bottom)
  alternating with blue; there is a white square in the upper
  hoist-side corner with a yellow sun bearing a human face known as
  the Sun of May and 16 rays alternately triangular and wavy



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Uruguay's small economy benefits from a
  favorable climate for agriculture and substantial hydropower
  potential. Economic development has been restrained in recent years
  by high - though declining - inflation and extensive government
  regulation. The SANGUINETTI government's conservative monetary and
  fiscal policies are aimed at continuing to reduce inflation,
  currently at 35.4%; other priorities include extensive reform of the
  social security system and increased investment in education.
  Uruguay went into recession during second quarter 1995 and ended the
  year with an estimated 2% fall in GDP and a two percentage point
  rise in unemployment to 11%. This was partly due to Argentina's
  recession and the slowdown in Brazilian growth in 1995, which
  contributed to declines in the Uruguayan manufacturing,
  construction, and service sectors. However, despite its Mercosur
  (Southern Cone Common Market) partners' troubles, Uruguayan trade
  expanded and potential new markets are being explored through
  Mercosur negotiations with neighboring countries and the European
  Union (EU). Uruguay also recently augmented its transport and
  agricultural sector ties with the US. The economy is expected to
  come out of recession as regional growth prospects improve.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $24.4 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: -2.4% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $7,600 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 10.5%
  industry: 27.5%
  services: 62% (1994)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 35.4% (1995 est.)

Labor force: 1.355 million (1991 est.)
  by occupation: government 25%, manufacturing 19%, agriculture 11%,
  commerce 12%, utilities, construction, transport, and communications
  12%, other services 21% (1988 est.)

Unemployment rate: 11% (1995)

Budget:
  revenues: $3.03 billion
  expenditures: $3.37 billion with capital expenditures of $NA (1994
  est.)

Industries: meat processing, wool and hides, sugar, textiles,
  footwear, leather apparel, tires, cement, petroleum refining, wine

Industrial production growth rate: -19% (1995 est.)

Electricity:
  capacity: 2,070,000 kW
  production: 9 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 1,575 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: wheat, rice, corn, sorghum; livestock; fishing

Exports: $2.3 billion (f.o.b., 1995 est.)
  commodities: wool and textile manufactures, beef and other animal
  products, leather, rice
  partners: Brazil, Argentina, US, China, Italy

Imports: $3.1 billion (c.i.f., 1995 est.)
  commodities: machinery and equipment, vehicles, chemicals, minerals,
  plastics
  partners: Brazil, Argentina, US, Nigeria

External debt: $4.95 billion (1995)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $91 million (1993)

Currency: 1 Uruguayan peso ($Ur) = 100 centesimos

Exchange rates: Uruguayan pesos ($Ur) per US$1 - 7.12 (January
  1996), 5.6 (January 1995), 5.0529 (1994), 3.9484 (1993), 3.0270
  (1992), 2.0188 (1991)
  note: on 1 March 1993 the former new peso (N$Ur) was replaced as
  Uruguay's unit of currency by the peso which is equal to 1,000 of
  the new pesos

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 2,070 km (461 km closed; additional 460 km only partially
  operational)
  standard gauge: 2,070 km 1.435-m gauge

Highways:
  total: 49,600 km
  paved: 6,656 km
  unpaved: 42,944 km (1988 est.)

Waterways: 1,600 km; used by coastal and shallow-draft river craft

Ports: Fray Bentos, Montevideo, Nueva Palmira, Paysandu, Punta del
  Este

Merchant marine:
  total: 3 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 71,405 GRT/110,939 DWT
  ships by type: cargo 1, container 1, oil tanker 1 (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 66
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 1
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 5
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 8
  with paved runways under 914 m: 36
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 2
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 14 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 451,000 (1991 est.)

Telephone system: some modern facilities
  domestic: most modern facilities concentrated in Montevideo; new
  nationwide microwave radio relay network
  international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 99, FM 0, shortwave 9

Radios: 1.89 million (1992 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 26

Televisions: 725,000 (1992 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Army, Navy (includes Naval Air Arm, Coast Guard,
  Marines), Air Force, Grenadier Guards, Coracero Guard, Police

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 783,890
  males fit for military service: 636,454 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $256 million,
  1.5% of GDP (1994)



======================================================================




@Uzbekistan
----------




Map
---


Location: 41 00 N, 64 00 E -- Central Asia, north of Afghanistan



Flag
----


Description: three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), white,
  and green separated by red fimbriations with a crescent moon and 12
  stars in the upper hoist-side quadrant





Geography
---------


Location: Central Asia, north of Afghanistan

Geographic coordinates: 41 00 N, 64 00 E

Map references: Commonwealth of Independent States

Area:
  total area: 447,400 sq km
  land area: 425,400 sq km
  comparative area: slightly larger than California

Land boundaries:
  total: 6,221 km
  border countries: Afghanistan 137 km, Kazakstan 2,203 km, Kyrgyzstan
  1,099 km, Tajikistan 1,161 km, Turkmenistan 1,621 km

Coastline: 0 km
  note: Uzbekistan borders the Aral Sea (420 km)

Maritime claims: none (landlocked)

International disputes: none

Climate: mostly midlatitude desert, long, hot summers, mild
  winters; semiarid grassland in east

Terrain: mostly flat-to-rolling sandy desert with dunes; broad,
  flat intensely irrigated river valleys along course of Amu Darya and
  Sirdaryo; Fergana Valley in east surrounded by mountainous
  Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan; shrinking Aral Sea in west
  lowest point: Saryqamish Kuli -12 m
  highest point: Adelunga Toghi 4,301 m

Natural resources: natural gas, petroleum, coal, gold, uranium,
  silver, copper, lead and zinc, tungsten, molybdenum

Land use:
  arable land: 10%
  permanent crops: 1%
  meadows and pastures: 47%
  forest and woodland: 0%
  other: 42%

Irrigated land: 41,550 sq km (1990)

Environment:
  current issues: drying up of the Aral Sea is resulting in growing
  concentrations of chemical pesticides and natural salts; these
  substances are then blown from the increasingly exposed lake bed and
  contribute to desertification; water pollution from industrial
  wastes and the heavy use of fertilizers and pesticides is the cause
  of many human health disorders; increasing soil salinization; soil
  contamination from agricultural chemicals, including DDT
  natural hazards: NA
  international agreements: party to - Climate Change,
  Desertification, Environmental Modification, Ozone Layer Protection;
  signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity

Geographic note: landlocked



People
------


Population: 23,418,381 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 40% (male 4,732,585; female 4,618,503)
  15-64 years: 55% (male 6,441,052; female 6,540,479)
  65 years and over: 5% (male 416,571; female 669,191) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.87% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 29.86 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 8.02 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: -3.13 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.62 male(s)/female
  all ages: 0.98 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 79.6 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 64.6 years
  male: 60.44 years
  female: 68.97 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 3.69 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Uzbek(s)
  adjective: Uzbek

Ethnic divisions: Uzbek 71.4%, Russian 8.3%, Tajik 4.7%, Kazak
  4.1%, Tatar 2.4%, Karakalpak 2.1%, other 7%

Religions: Muslim 88% (mostly Sunnis), Eastern Orthodox 9%, other
  3%

Languages: Uzbek 74.3%, Russian 14.2%, Tajik 4.4%, other 7.1%

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1989 est.)
  total population: 97%
  male: 98%
  female: 96%






Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Republic of Uzbekistan
  conventional short form: Uzbekistan
  local long form: Uzbekiston Respublikasi
  local short form: none
  former: Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic

Data code: UZ

Type of government: republic

Capital: Tashkent (Toshkent)

Administrative divisions: 12 wiloyatlar (singular - wiloyat), 1
  autonomous republic* (respublikasi), and 1 city** (shahri); Andijon
  Wiloyati, Bukhoro Wiloyati, Jizzakh Wiloyati, Farghona Wiloyati,
  Qoraqalpoghiston* (Nukus), Qashqadaryo Wiloyati (Qarshi), Khorazm
  Wiloyati (Urganch), Namangan Wiloyati, Nawoiy Wiloyati, Samarqand
  Wiloyati, Sirdaryo Wiloyati (Guliston), Surkhondaryo Wiloyati
  (Termiz), Toshkent Shahri**, Toshkent Wiloyati
  note: an administrative division has the same name as its
  administrative center (exceptions have the administrative center
  name following in parentheses)

Independence: 31 August 1991 (from Soviet Union)

National holiday: Independence Day, 1 September (1991)

Constitution: new constitution adopted 8 December 1992

Legal system: evolution of Soviet civil law; still lacks
  independent judicial system

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: President Islom KARIMOV (since 24 March 1990, when
  he was elected president by the then Supreme Soviet) was elected for
  a five-year term by popular vote; election last held 29 December
  1991 (next to be held NA 2000); results - Islam KARIMOV 86%,
  Mukhammad SOLIKH 12%, other 2%; note - the 26 March 1995 referendum
  extended KARIMOV's term until 2000 (99.6% approval)
  head of government: Prime Minister Otkir SULTONOV (since December
  1995), First Deputy Prime Minister Ismoil JURABEKOV (since NA),
  Deputy Prime Ministers Viktor CHIZHEN (since NA), Bakhtiyor HAMIDOV
  (since NA), Kayim HAQQULOV (since NA), Rim GINIYATULLIN (since NA),
  Saidmukhtor SAIDQOSIMOV (since NA), Mirabror USMONOV (since NA),
  Murat SHARIFKHOJAYEV (since NA), Uktam ISMAILOV (since NA), Rustam
  YUNUSOV (since NA) were appointed by the president
  cabinet: Cabinet of Ministers was appointed by the president with
  approval of the Supreme Assembly

Legislative branch: unicameral
  Supreme Assembly (Oliy Majlis): elections last held 25 December 1994
  (next to be held NA 1999); results - percent of vote by party NA;
  seats - (250 total) People's Democratic Party 207, Fatherland
  Progress Party 12, other 31; note - final runoffs were held 22
  January 1995; seating was as follows: People's Democratic Party 69,
  Fatherland Progress Party 14, Social Democratic Party 47, local
  government 120

Judicial branch: Supreme Court, judges are nominated by the
  president and confirmed by the Supreme Assembly

Political parties and leaders: People's Democratic Party (PDP;
  formerly Communist Party), Islom A. KARIMOV, chairman; Fatherland
  Progress Party (FPP), Anwar YULDASHEV, chairman; Social Democratic
  Party, Anvar JORABAYEV, chairman

Other political or pressure groups: Birlik (Unity) People's
  Movement (BPM), Ibrahim BURIYEV, chairman; Islamic Rebirth Party
  (IRP), Abdullah UTAYEV, chairman; Erk (Freedom) Democratic Party was
  banned 9 December 1992
  note: UTAYEV (IRP) is either in prison or in exile

International organization participation: AsDB, CCC, CIS, EBRD,
  ECE, ECO, ESCAP, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF,
  Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, NACC, NAM, OIC (observer), OSCE, PFP, UN,
  UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (applicant)

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Fatiq TESHABAYEV
  chancery: (temporary) Suites 619 and 623, 1511 K Street NW,
  Washington, DC 20005
  telephone: [1] (202) 638-4266, 4267
  FAX: [1] (202) 638-4268

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Stanley T. ESCUDERO
  embassy: 82 Chilanzarskaya, Tashkent
  mailing address: use embassy street address
  telephone: [7] (3712) 77-14-07, 77-10-81, 77-69-86
  FAX: [7] (3712) 89-13-35

Flag: three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), white, and green
  separated by red fimbriations with a crescent moon and 12 stars in
  the upper hoist-side quadrant



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Uzbekistan is a dry, landlocked country of
  which 10% consists of intensely cultivated, irrigated river valleys.
  It was one of the poorest republics of the former Soviet Union with
  more than 60% of its population living in overpopulated rural
  communities. At the same time, Uzbekistan is the world's third
  largest cotton exporter, a major producer of gold and natural gas,
  and a regionally significant producer of chemicals and machinery.
  Following independence, the government sought to prop up its
  Soviet-style command economy with subsidies and tight controls on
  production and prices. Faced with high rates of inflation, however,
  the government stepped up the pace of reform in mid-1994, by
  introducing tighter monetary policies, expanding privatization,
  reducing the role of the state in the economy, and improving the
  environment for foreign investors. Nevertheless, the state continues
  to be a dominating influence in the economy, and reforms have so far
  failed to induce far-reaching structural changes.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $54.7 billion (1995 estimate as
  extrapolated from World Bank estimate for 1994)

GDP real growth rate: -1% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $2,370 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: NA%
  industry: NA%
  services: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 7.7% monthly average
  (January-October 1995 est.)

Labor force: 8.234 million
  by occupation: agriculture and forestry 43%, industry and
  construction 22%, other 35% (1992)

Unemployment rate: 0.4% includes only officially registered
  unemployed; large numbers of underemployed workers (December 1995)

Budget:
  revenues: $NA
  expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA

Industries: textiles, food processing, machine building,
  metallurgy, natural gas

Industrial production growth rate: 0% (1995 est.)

Electricity:
  capacity: 11,690,000 kW
  production: 47.5 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 2,130 kWh (1994)

Agriculture: cotton, vegetables, fruits, grain; livestock

Illicit drugs: illicit cultivator of cannabis and opium poppy;
  mostly for CIS consumption; government eradication programs; used as
  transshipment point for illicit drugs to Western Europe

Exports: $3.1 billion (1995)
  commodities: cotton, gold, natural gas, mineral fertilizers, ferrous
  metals, textiles, food products
  partners: Russia, Ukraine, Eastern Europe, US

Imports: $2.9 billion (1995)
  commodities: grain, machinery and parts, consumer durables, other
  foods
  partners: principally other FSU countries, Czech Republic

External debt: $1.285 billion (of which $510 million to Russia)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $71 million (1993)
  note: commitments, $2,915 million ($135 million in disbursements)
  (1992-95)

Currency: introduced provisional som-coupons 10 November 1993
  which circulated parallel to the Russian rubles; became the sole
  legal currency 31 January 1994; was replaced in July 1994 by the som
  currency

Exchange rates: soms per US$1 - 35.8 (end December 1995), 25
  (yearend 1994)

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 3,460 km in common carrier service; does not include
  industrial lines
  broad gauge: 3,460 km 1.520-m gauge (1990)

Highways:
  total: 78,400 km
  paved: NA km
  unpaved: NA km (1990 est.)

Pipelines: crude oil 250 km; petroleum products 40 km; natural gas
  810 km (1992)

Ports: Termiz

Airports:
  total: 261
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 6
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 14
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 2
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 8
  with paved runways under 914 m: 5
  with unpaved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 2
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 1
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 7
  with unpaved runways under 914 m: 216 (1994 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 1.458 million (1995 est.)

Telephone system: poorly developed
  domestic: NMT-450 analog cellular network established in Tashkent
  international: linked by landline or microwave radio relay with CIS
  member states and to other countries by leased connection via the
  Moscow international gateway switch; new Intelsat links to Tokyo and
  Ankara give Uzbekistan international access independent of Russian
  facilities; satellite earth stations - NA Orbita and NA Intelsat

Radio broadcast stations: AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA; note - there
  is at least one state-owned broadcast station of NA type

Radios: NA

Television broadcast stations: 2

Televisions: NA



Defense
-------


Branches: Army, Air and Air Defense, Security Forces (internal and
  border troops), National Guard

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 5,672,621
  males fit for military service: 4,623,960
  males reach military age (18) annually: 231,293 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: 164 million soms, 3.7% of GDP (1993); note -
  conversion of defense expenditures into US dollars using the current
  exchange rate could produce misleading results



======================================================================




@Vanuatu
-------




Map
---


Location: 16 00 S, 167 00 E -- Oceania, group of islands in the
  South Pacific Ocean, about three-quarters of the way from Hawaii to
  Australia



Flag
----


Description: two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and green
  with a black isosceles triangle (based on the hoist side) all
  separated by a black-edged yellow stripe in the shape of a
  horizontal Y (the two points of the Y face the hoist side and
  enclose the triangle); centered in the triangle is a boar's tusk
  encircling two crossed namele leaves, all in yellow





Geography
---------


Location: Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean,
  about three-quarters of the way from Hawaii to Australia

Geographic coordinates: 16 00 S, 167 00 E

Map references: Oceania

Area:
  total area: 14,760 sq km
  land area: 14,760 sq km
  comparative area: slightly larger than Connecticut
  note: includes more than 80 islands

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 2,528 km

Maritime claims: measured from claimed archipelagic baselines
  contiguous zone: 24 nm
  continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: claims Matthew and Hunter Islands east of
  New Caledonia

Climate: tropical; moderated by southeast trade winds

Terrain: mostly mountains of volcanic origin; narrow coastal plains
  lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
  highest point: Mount Tabwemasana 1,877 m

Natural resources: manganese, hardwood forests, fish

Land use:
  arable land: 1%
  permanent crops: 5%
  meadows and pastures: 2%
  forest and woodland: 1%
  other: 91%

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Environment:
  current issues: a majority of the population does not have access to
  a potable and reliable supply of water
  natural hazards: tropical cyclones or typhoons (January to April);
  volcanism causes minor earthquakes
  international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
  Endangered Species, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship
  Pollution; signed, but not ratified - Desertification, Law of the Sea



People
------


Population: 177,504 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 40% (male 36,409; female 35,105)
  15-64 years: 57% (male 51,969; female 48,901)
  65 years and over: 3% (male 2,802; female 2,318) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.17% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 30.57 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 8.84 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 1.21 male(s)/female
  all ages: 1.06 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 64.6 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 60.13 years
  male: 58.27 years
  female: 62.09 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 4.01 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Ni-Vanuatu (singular and plural)
  adjective: Ni-Vanuatu

Ethnic divisions: indigenous Melanesian 94%, French 4%,
  Vietnamese, Chinese, Pacific Islanders

Religions: Presbyterian 36.7%, Anglican 15%, Catholic 15%,
  indigenous beliefs 7.6%, Seventh-Day Adventist 6.2%, Church of
  Christ 3.8%, other 15.7%

Languages: English (official), French (official), pidgin (known as
  Bislama or Bichelama)

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1979 est.)
  total population: 53%
  male: 57%
  female: 48%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Republic of Vanuatu
  conventional short form: Vanuatu
  former: New Hebrides

Data code: NH

Type of government: republic

Capital: Port-Vila

Administrative divisions: 6 provinces; Malampa, Penama, Sanma,
  Shefa, Tafea, Torba

Independence: 30 July 1980 (from France and UK)

National holiday: Independence Day, 30 July (1980)

Constitution: 30 July 1980

Legal system: unified system being created from former dual French
  and British systems

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: President Jean Marie LEYE (since 2 March 1994) was
  elected for a five-year term by an electoral college consisting of
  Parliament and the presidents of the regional councils
  head of government: Prime Minister Maxime Carlot KORMAN (since 23
  February 1996) was elected by Parliament from among its members;
  Deputy Prime Minister Donald KALPOKAS (since 23 February 1996) was
  appointed by the prime minister from among members of Parliament;
  note - Prime Minister VOHOR resigned 7 February 1996 when faced with
  a no-confidence vote in Parliament; Parliament then convened an
  extraordinary session and voted 30 to 20 to elect Maxime Carlot
  KORMAN as the new prime minister
  cabinet: Council of Ministers was appointed by the prime minister,
  responsible to Parliament

Legislative branch: unicameral
  Parliament: elections last held 30 November 1995 (next to be held NA
  November 1999); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (50
  total) UMP 17, VP 14, NUP 9, MPP 5, TU 2, Na-Griamel Movement 1,
  Friend Melanesian Party 1, independent 1; note - after the election,
  a coalition was formed by the Union of Moderate Parties and the
  National United Party to form a new government on 14 December 1995,
  but political party associations are fluid
  note: the National Council of Chiefs advises on matters of custom
  and land

Judicial branch: Supreme Court, chief justice is appointed by the
  president after consultation with the prime minister and the leader
  of the opposition, three other justices are appointed by the
  president on the advice of the Judicial Service Commission

Political parties and leaders: Union of Moderate Parties (UMP),
  Serge VOHOR; National United Party (NUP), Walter LINI; Unity Front
  (UF) includes the Vanuatu Party (VP), Donald KALPOKAS, Melanesian
  Progressive Party (MPP), Barak SOPE, Tan Union (TU), Vincent
  BOULEKONE, and the Na-Griamel Movement, Frankie STEVENS; Friend
  Melanesian Party, leader NA; People's Democratic Party (PDP), Sethy
  REGENVANU; Independence Front (IF), Patrick CROWBY

International organization participation: ACCT, ACP, AsDB, C,
  ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, IMF, IMO,
  Intelsat (nonsignatory user), IOC, ITU, NAM, Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UN,
  UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO

Diplomatic representation in US: Vanuatu does not have an embassy
  in the US

US diplomatic representation: the US does not have an embassy in
  Vanuatu; the ambassador to Papua New Guinea is accredited to Vanuatu

Flag: two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and green with a
  black isosceles triangle (based on the hoist side) all separated by
  a black-edged yellow stripe in the shape of a horizontal Y (the two
  points of the Y face the hoist side and enclose the triangle);
  centered in the triangle is a boar's tusk encircling two crossed
  namele leaves, all in yellow



Economy
-------


Economic overview: The economy is based primarily on subsistence
  farming which provides a living for the bulk of the population.
  Fishing and tourism are the other mainstays of the economy, with
  43,000 visitors in 1992. Mineral deposits are negligible; the
  country has no known petroleum deposits. A small light industry
  sector caters to the local market. Tax revenues come mainly from
  import duties.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $210 million (1994 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 2% (1994 est.)

GDP per capita: $1,220 (1994 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: NA%
  industry: NA%
  services: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 7% (1995 est.)

Labor force: 66,597 (1989 est.)
  by occupation: agriculture 65%, services 32%, industry 3% (1995 est.)

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget:
  revenues: $74.8 million
  expenditures: $76.1 million, including capital expenditures of $NA
  (1994 est.)

Industries: food and fish freezing, wood processing, meat canning

Industrial production growth rate: 3.4% (1993 est.)

Electricity:
  capacity: 17,000 kW
  production: 30 million kWh
  consumption per capita: 181 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: coconuts, cocoa, coffee, taro, yams, coconuts,
  fruits, vegetables; fish

Exports: $24.6 million (f.o.b., 1994 est.)
  commodities: copra, beef, cocoa, timber, coffee
  partners: EU 32%, Japan 29%, Australia 11%, New Caledonia 7% (1993)

Imports: $78.6 million (f.o.b., 1994 est.)
  commodities: machines and vehicles, food and beverages, basic
  manufactures, raw materials and fuels, chemicals
  partners: Australia 41%, France 15%, NZ 11%, Japan 9%, Fiji 6% (1992)

External debt: $38.2 million (yearend 1993)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $NA

Currency: 1 vatu (VT) = 100 centimes

Exchange rates: vatu (VT) per US$1 - 114.40 (January 1996), 112.11
  (1995), 116.41 (1994), 121.58 (1993), 113.39 (1992), 111.68 (1991)

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways: 0 km

Highways:
  total: 1,021 km
  paved: 238 km
  unpaved: 783 km (1987 est.)

Ports: Forari, Port-Vila, Santo (Espiritu Santo)

Merchant marine:
  total: 112 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,587,286
  GRT/2,173,970 DWT
  ships by type: bulk 38, cargo 29, chemical tanker 3, combination
  bulk 1, container 3, liquefied gas tanker 5, livestock carrier 1,
  oil tanker 6, refrigerated cargo 16, vehicle carrier 10
  note: a flag of convenience registry; includes ships from 20
  countries among which are Japan 37, US 19, Netherlands 10, Greece 6,
  Hong Kong 6, China 4, Canada 4, UAE 3, Russia 2, and Australia 2
  (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 31
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 1
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 1
  with paved runways under 914 m: 17
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 1
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 11 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 3,000 (1987 est.)

Telephone system:
  domestic: NA
  international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 2, FM 0, shortwave 0

Radios: NA

Television broadcast stations: 0 (1987 est.)

Televisions: 2,000 (1992 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: no regular military forces; Vanuatu Police Force (VPF;
  includes the paramilitary Vanuatu Mobile Force or VMF)

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: NA
  males fit for military service: NA

Defense expenditures: $NA, NA% of GDP



======================================================================




@Venezuela
---------




Map
---


Location: 8 00 N, 66 00 W -- Northern South America, bordering the
  Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, between Colombia and
  Guyana



Flag
----


Description: three equal horizontal bands of yellow (top), blue,
  and red with the coat of arms on the hoist side of the yellow band
  and an arc of seven white five-pointed stars centered in the blue
  band





Geography
---------


Location: Northern South America, bordering the Caribbean Sea and
  the North Atlantic Ocean, between Colombia and Guyana

Geographic coordinates: 8 00 N, 66 00 W

Map references: South America

Area:
  total area: 912,050 sq km
  land area: 882,050 sq km
  comparative area: slightly more than twice the size of California

Land boundaries:
  total: 4,993 km
  border countries: Brazil 2,200 km, Colombia 2,050 km, Guyana 743 km

Coastline: 2,800 km

Maritime claims:
  contiguous zone: 15 nm
  continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: claims all of Guyana west of the Essequibo
  River; maritime boundary dispute with Colombia in the Gulf of
======================================================================




@Vietnam
-------




Map
---


Location: 16 00 N, 106 00 E -- Southeastern Asia, bordering the
  Gulf of Thailand, Gulf of Tonkin, and South China Sea, between China
  and Cambodia



Flag
----


Description: red with a large yellow five-pointed star in the
  center





Geography
---------


Location: Southeastern Asia, bordering the Gulf of Thailand, Gulf
  of Tonkin, and South China Sea, between China and Cambodia

Geographic coordinates: 16 00 N, 106 00 E

Map references: Southeast Asia

Area:
  total area: 329,560 sq km
  land area: 325,360 sq km
  comparative area: slightly larger than New Mexico

Land boundaries:
  total: 3,818 km
  border countries: Cambodia 982 km, China 1,281 km, Laos 1,555 km

Coastline: 3,444 km (excludes islands)

Maritime claims:
  contiguous zone: 24 nm
  continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: maritime boundary with Cambodia not
  defined; involved in a complex dispute over the Spratly Islands in
  the South China Sea with China, Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan, and
  possibly Brunei; unresolved maritime boundary with Thailand;
  maritime boundary dispute with China in the Gulf of Tonkin; Paracel
  Islands in the South China Sea occupied by China but claimed by
  Vietnam and Taiwan; offshore islands and sections of boundary with
  Cambodia are in dispute

Climate: tropical in south; monsoonal in north with hot, rainy
  season (mid-May to mid-September) and warm, dry season (mid-October
  to mid-March)

Terrain: low, flat delta in south and north; central highlands;
  hilly, mountainous in far north and northwest
  lowest point: South China Sea 0 m
  highest point: Ngoc Linh 3,143 m

Natural resources: phosphates, coal, manganese, bauxite, chromate,
  offshore oil deposits, forests

Land use:
  arable land: 22%
  permanent crops: 2%
  meadows and pastures: 1%
  forest and woodland: 40%
  other: 35%

Irrigated land: 18,300 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
  current issues: logging and slash-and-burn agricultural practices
  are contributing to deforestation; soil degradation; water pollution
  and overfishing threatening marine life populations; inadequate
  supplies of potable water because of groundwater contamination
  natural hazards: occasional typhoons (May to January) with extensive
  flooding
  international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
  Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea,
  Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands; signed, but not
  ratified - Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban



People
------


Population: 73,976,973 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 36% (male 13,739,304; female 12,988,929)
  15-64 years: 59% (male 20,956,735; female 22,448,944)
  65 years and over: 5% (male 1,548,513; female 2,294,548) (July 1996
  est.)

Population growth rate: 1.57% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 23 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 6.95 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: -0.35 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 0.93 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female
  all ages: 0.96 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 38.4 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 67.02 years
  male: 64.69 years
  female: 69.48 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.69 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Vietnamese (singular and plural)
  adjective: Vietnamese

Ethnic divisions: Vietnamese 85%-90%, Chinese 3%, Muong, Thai,
  Meo, Khmer, Man, Cham

Religions: Buddhist, Taoist, Roman Catholic, indigenous beliefs,
  Islam, Protestant

Languages: Vietnamese (official), French, Chinese, English, Khmer,
  tribal languages (Mon-Khmer and Malayo-Polynesian)

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)
  total population: 93.7%
  male: 96.5%
  female: 91.2%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Socialist Republic of Vietnam
  conventional short form: Vietnam
  local long form: Cong Hoa Chu Nghia Viet Nam
  local short form: Viet Nam
  abbreviation: SRV

Data code: VM

Type of government: Communist state

Capital: Hanoi

Administrative divisions: 50 provinces (tinh, singular and
  plural), 3 municipalities* (thu do, singular and plural); An Giang,
  Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Bac Thai, Ben Tre, Binh Dinh, Binh Thuan, Can Tho,
  Cao Bang, Dac Lac, Dong Nai, Dong Thap, Gia Lai, Ha Bac, Ha Giang,
  Ha Noi*, Ha Tay, Ha Tinh, Hai Hung, Hai Phong*, Ho Chi Minh*, Hoa
  Binh, Khanh Hoa, Kien Giang, Kon Tum, Lai Chau, Lam Dong, Lang Son,
  Lao Cai, Long An, Minh Hai, Nam Ha, Nghe An, Ninh Binh, Ninh Thuan,
  Phu Yen, Quang Binh, Quang Nam-Da Nang, Quang Ngai, Quang Ninh,
  Quang Tri, Soc Trang, Son La, Song Be, Tay Ninh, Thai Binh, Thanh
  Hoa, Thua Thien-Hue, Tien Giang, Tra Vinh, Tuyen Quang, Vinh Long,
  Vinh Phu, Yen Bai

Independence: 2 September 1945 (from France)

National holiday: Independence Day, 2 September (1945)

Constitution: 15 April 1992

Legal system: based on communist legal theory and French civil law
  system

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: President Le Duc ANH (since 23 September 1992) was
  elected for a five-year term by the National Assembly from among its
  members
  head of government: Prime Minister Vo Van KIET (since 9 August 1991)
  was appointed by the president from among the members of the
  National Assembly; First Deputy Prime Minister Phan Van KHAI (since
  10 August 1991) and Deputy Prime Ministers Nguyen KHANH (since NA
  February 1987) and Tran Duc LUONG (since NA February 1987) were
  appointed by the prime minister
  cabinet: Cabinet was appointed by the president on proposal of the
  prime minister and ratification of the National Assembly

Legislative branch: unicameral
  National Assembly (Quoc-Hoi): elections last held 19 July 1992 (next
  to be held NA July 1997); results - CPV is the only party; seats -
  (395 total) CPV or CPV-approved 395

Judicial branch: Supreme People's Court, chief justice is elected
  for a five-year term by the National Assembly on the recommendation
  of the president

Political parties and leaders: only party - Communist Party of
  Vietnam (CPV), DO MUOI, general secretary

International organization participation: ACCT, AsDB, ASEAN, CCC,
  ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS,
  ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU,
  Mekong Group, NAM, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO,
  WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (applicant)

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires ad interim
  Le Van BANG
  chancery: 1233 20th Street NW, Washington, DC 20036, Suite 501
  telephone: [1] (202) 861-0737
  FAX: [1] (202) 861-0917
  note: on 11 July 1995, President CLINTON announced the normalization
  of diplomatic relations with Vietnam; the liaison offices in both
  countries were upgraded to full embassies on 5 August 1995

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires L. Desaix
  ANDERSON
  embassy: 7 Lang Ha Road, Ba Dinh District, Hanoi
  mailing address: PSC 461, Box 400, FPO AP 96521-0002
  telephone: [84] (4) 431500
  FAX: [84] (4) 350484
  note: on 11 July 1995, President CLINTON announced the normalization
  of diplomatic relations with Vietnam; the liaison offices in both
  countries were upgraded to full embassies on 5 August 1995

Flag: red with a large yellow five-pointed star in the center



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Vietnam's economic performance has been
  impressive in 1990-95, with real growth averaging over 8% annually.
  Much of this growth comes from a surge in foreign investment outlays
  which are estimated at $750 million in 1995, up 50% from 1993
  levels. Utilization rates for official development assistance are
  also increasing, rising to an estimated $535 million in 1995.
  Foreign capital is contributing to a boom in commercial construction
  and strong growth in services and industrial output. Crude oil
  remains the country's largest single export but now accounts for
  only one-quarter of total exports, slightly more than manufactures.
  Imports are dominated by capital and intermediate goods closely
  related to investment outlays. Vietnamese authorities may not be
  moving quickly enough to establish the financial and legal
  infrastructure needed to sustain growth through the remainder of the
  decade. Reform of the banking sector is proceeding slowly, raising
  concerns that the country will be unable to tap sufficient domestic
  savings to maintain rapid growth. Administrative and legal barriers
  are leading to costly delays for foreign investors, raising doubts
  about Vietnam's ability to maintain the inflow of foreign capital.
  While government officials are leading an effort to accelerate
  reform, their continuing ideological bias in favor of state
  intervention and control of the economy may slow progress toward a
  more liberalized investment environment. Even with the strong growth
  of the economy, unemployment at 25% remains a major problem.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $97 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 9.5% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $1,300 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 28%
  industry: 28%
  services: 44% (1995 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 14% (1995)

Labor force: 32.7 million
  by occupation: agricultural 65%, industrial and service 35% (1990
  est.)

Unemployment rate: 25% (1995 est.)

Budget:
  revenues: $4.67 billion
  expenditures: $5 billion, including capital expenditures of $1.36
  billion (1995 est.)

Industries: food processing, textiles, machine building, mining,
  cement, chemical fertilizer, glass, tires, oil

Industrial production growth rate: 14% (1995 est.)

Electricity:
  capacity: 4,470,000 kW
  production: 20 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 200 kWh (1995 est.)

Agriculture: paddy rice, corn, potatoes, rubber, soybeans, coffee,
  tea, bananas; poultry, pigs; fish catch of 943,100 metric tons (1989
  est.)

Illicit drugs: opium producer and increasingly important transit
  point for Southeast Asian heroin destined for the US and Europe;
  growing opium addiction; possible small-scale heroin production

Exports: $5.3 billion (f.o.b., 1995 est.)
  commodities: crude oil, rice, marine products, coffee, rubber, tea,
  and garments
  partners: Japan, Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong, France, South Korea

Imports: $7.5 billion (f.o.b., 1995 est.)
  commodities: petroleum products, machinery and equipment, steel
  products, fertilizer, raw cotton, grain
  partners: Singapore, South Korea, Japan, France, Hong Kong, Taiwan

External debt: $7.3 billion Western countries; $4.5 billion CEMA
  debts primarily to Russia; $9 billion to $18 billion nonconvertible
  debt (former CEMA, Iraq, Iran)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $57 million (1993)
  note: $2.31 billion in credits and grants pledged by international
  donors for 1996

Currency: 1 new dong (D) = 100 xu

Exchange rates: new dong (D) per US$1 - 11,193 (1995 average),
  11,000 (October 1994), 10,800 (November 1993), 8,100 (July 1991),
  7,280 (December 1990), 3,996 (March 1990)

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 2,835 km (in addition, there are 224 km not restored to
  service after war damage)
  standard gauge: 151 km 1.435-m gauge
  narrow gauge: 2,454 km 1.000-m gauge
  other gauge: 230 km NA-m dual gauge (three rails)

Highways:
  total: 105,000 km
  paved: 10,500 km
  unpaved: 94,500 km (1993 est.)

Waterways: 17,702 km navigable; more than 5,149 km navigable at
  all times by vessels up to 1.8 m draft

Pipelines: petroleum products 150 km

Ports: Da Nang, Haiphong, Ho Chi Minh City, Hon Gai, Qui Nhon, Nha
  Trang

Merchant marine:
  total: 112 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 569,269 GRT/947,938 DWT
  ships by type: bulk 3, cargo 95, oil tanker 10, refrigerated cargo
  3, roll-on/roll-off cargo 1
  note: Vietnam owns an additional 9 ships (1,000 GRT or over)
  totaling 120,320 DWT operating under the registries of Honduras,
  Panama, The Bahamas, and Malta (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 48
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 8
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 3
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 5
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 13
  with paved runways under 914 m: 7
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 2
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 5
  with unpaved runways under 914 m: 5 (1994 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 800,000 (1995 est.)

Telephone system: while Vietnam's telecommunication sector lags
  far behind other countries in Southeast Asia, Hanoi has made
  considerable progress since 1991 in upgrading the system; Vietnam
  has digitized fully 100% of provincial switch boards, while
  fiber-optic and microwave transmission systems have been extended
  from Hanoi, Da Nang, and Ho Chi Minh City to all provinces; the
  density of telephone receivers nationwide doubled from 1993 to 1995,
  but is still far behind other countries in the region; Vietnam's
  telecommunications strategy aims to increase telephone density to 30
  per 1,000 inhabitants by the year 2000 and authorities estimate that
  approximately $2.7 billion will be spent on telecommunications
  upgrades through the end of the decade
  domestic: NA
  international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intersputnik (Indian
  Ocean region)

Radio broadcast stations: AM NA, FM 228, shortwave 0

Radios: 7.215 million (1992 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 36 (repeaters 77)

Televisions: 2.9 million (1992 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) (includes Ground Forces,
  Navy, and Air Force)

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 18,593,129
  males fit for military service: 11,769,955
  males reach military age (17) annually: 796,312 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $544 million,
  2.7% of GDP (1995)



======================================================================




@Virgin Islands
--------------


(territory of the US)

Map
---


Location: 18 20 N, 64 50 W -- Caribbean, islands between the
  Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of Puerto Rico



Flag
----


Description: white with a modified US coat of arms in the center
  between the large blue initials V and I; the coat of arms shows a
  yellow eagle holding an olive branch in one talon and three arrows
  in the other with a superimposed shield of vertical red and white
  stripes below a blue panel





Geography
---------


Location: Caribbean, islands between the Caribbean Sea and the
  North Atlantic Ocean, east of Puerto Rico

Geographic coordinates: 18 20 N, 64 50 W

Map references: Central America and the Caribbean

Area:
  total area: 352 sq km
  land area: 349 sq km
  comparative area: twice the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 188 km

Maritime claims:
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: none

Climate: subtropical, tempered by easterly trade winds, relatively
  low humidity, little seasonal temperature variation; rainy season
  May to November

Terrain: mostly hilly to rugged and mountainous with little level
  land
  lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
  highest point: Crown Mountain 474 m

Natural resources: sun, sand, sea, surf

Land use:
  arable land: 15%
  permanent crops: 6%
  meadows and pastures: 26%
  forest and woodland: 6%
  other: 47%

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Environment:
  current issues: lack of natural freshwater resources
  natural hazards: rarely affected by hurricanes; frequent and severe
  droughts, floods, and earthquakes
  international agreements: NA

Geographic note: important location along the Anegada Passage - a
  key shipping lane for the Panama Canal; Saint Thomas has one of the
  best natural, deepwater harbors in the Caribbean



People
------


Population: 97,120 (July 1996 est.)
  note: West Indian (45% born in the Virgin Islands and 29% born
  elsewhere in the West Indies) 74%, US mainland 13%, Puerto Rican 5%,
  other 8%

Age structure:
  0-14 years: NA
  15-64 years: NA
  65 years and over: NA

Population growth rate: -0.06% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 17.57 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 5.2 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: -12.94 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: NA male(s)/female
  under 15 years: NA male(s)/female
  15-64 years: NA male(s)/female
  65 years and over: NA male(s)/female
  all ages: NA male(s)/female

Infant mortality rate: 12.54 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 75.29 years
  male: 73.6 years
  female: 77.2 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.29 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Virgin Islander(s)
  adjective: Virgin Islander

Ethnic divisions: black 80%, white 15%, other 5%

Religions: Baptist 42%, Roman Catholic 34%, Episcopalian 17%,
  other 7%

Languages: English (official), Spanish, Creole

Literacy: NA



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Virgin Islands of the United States
  conventional short form: Virgin Islands
  former: Danish West Indies

Data code: VQ

Type of government: organized, unincorporated territory of the US
  administered by the Office of Territorial and International Affairs,
  US Department of the Interior

Capital: Charlotte Amalie

Administrative divisions: none (territory of the US)

National holiday: Transfer Day, 31 March (1917) (from Denmark to
  US)

Constitution: Revised Organic Act of 22 July 1954

Legal system: based on US laws

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal; note - indigenous
  inhabitants are US citizens but do not vote in US presidential
  elections

Executive branch:
  chief of state: President (of the United States) William Jefferson
  CLINTON (since 20 January 1993); Vice President Albert GORE, Jr.
  (since 20 January 1993)
  head of government: Governor Dr. Roy L. SCHNEIDER (since 5 January
  1995) and Lieutenant Governor Kenneth E. MAPP (since 5 January 1995)
  were elected for four-year terms by universal suffrage; election
  last held 22 November 1994 (next to be held NA November 1998);
  results - Dr. Roy L. SCHNEIDER (ICM) 54.7%, former Lieutenant
  Governor Derek HODGE 42.6%

Legislative branch: unicameral
  Senate: elections last held 8 November 1994 (next to be held 5
  November 1996); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (15
  total) Democrats 7, independents 7, Republican 1
  US House of Representatives: elections last held 8 November 1994
  (next to be held 5 November 1996); results - Victor O. FRAZER (ICM)
  54.5%, Eileen R. PETERSON (Democrat) 45.5%; seats - (1 total) ICM 1;
  note - the Virgin Islands elects one representative to the US House
  of Representatives

Judicial branch: US District Court, handles civil matters over
  $50,000, felonies (persons 15 years of age and over), and federal
  cases, judges are appointed by the president; Territorial Court,
  handles civil matters up to $50,000, small claims, juvenile,
  domestic, misdemeanors, and traffic cases, judges appointed by the
  governor

Political parties and leaders: Democratic Party, Marilyn
  STAPLETON; Independent Citizens' Movement (ICM), Virdin C. BROWN;
  Republican Party, Charlotte-Poole DAVIS

International organization participation: ECLAC (associate), IOC

Diplomatic representation in US: none (territory of the US)

US diplomatic representation: none (territory of the US)

Flag: white with a modified US coat of arms in the center between
  the large blue initials V and I; the coat of arms shows a yellow
  eagle holding an olive branch in one talon and three arrows in the
  other with a superimposed shield of vertical red and white stripes
  below a blue panel



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Tourism is the primary economic activity,
  accounting for more than 70% of GDP and 70% of employment. The
  manufacturing sector consists of textile, electronics,
  pharmaceutical, and watch assembly plants. The agricultural sector
  is small, most food being imported. International business and
  financial services are a small but growing component of the economy.
  One of the world's largest petroleum refineries is at Saint Croix.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $1.2 billion (1987 est.)

GDP real growth rate: NA%

GDP per capita: $12,500 (1987 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: NA%
  industry: NA%
  services: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA%

Labor force: 47,443 (1990 est.)
  by occupation: agriculture, industry, services, other (1990 est.)

Unemployment rate: 3.7% (1992)

Budget:
  revenues: $364.4 million
  expenditures: $364.4 million, including capital expenditures of $NA
  (1990 est.)

Industries: tourism, petroleum refining, watch assembly, rum
  distilling, construction, pharmaceuticals, textiles, electronics

Industrial production growth rate: 12% (year NA)

Electricity:
  capacity: 320,000 kW
  production: 970 million kWh
  consumption per capita: 9,172 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: truck garden products, fruit, vegetables, sorghum;
  Senepol cattle

Exports: $2.8 billion (f.o.b., 1990)
  commodities: refined petroleum products
  partners: US, Puerto Rico

Imports: $3.3 billion (c.i.f., 1990)
  commodities: crude oil, foodstuffs, consumer goods, building
  materials
  partners: US, Puerto Rico

External debt: $NA

Economic aid: $NA

Currency: 1 United States dollar (US$) = 100 cents

Exchange rates: US currency is used

Fiscal year: 1 October - 30 September



Transportation
--------------


Railways: 0 km

Highways:
  total: 856 km
  paved: NA km
  unpaved: NA km

Ports: Charlotte Amalie, Christiansted, Cruz Bay, Port Alucroix

Merchant marine: none

Airports:
  total: 2
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 2
  note: international airports on Saint Thomas and Saint Croix (1995
  est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 60,000 (1990 est.)

Telephone system:
  domestic: modern, uses fiber-optic cable and microwave radio relay
  international: submarine cable and satellite communications;
  satellite earth stations - NA

Radio broadcast stations: AM 4, FM 8, shortwave 0 (1988)

Radios: 105,000 (1992 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 4 (1988 est.)

Televisions: 65,000 (1992 est.)



Defense
-------


Defense note: defense is the responsibility of the US



======================================================================




@Wake Island
-----------


(territory of the US)

Map
---


Location: 19 17 N, 166 36 E -- Oceania, island in the North
  Pacific Ocean, about two-thirds of the way from Hawaii to the
  Northern Mariana Islands



Flag
----


Description: the flag of the US is used





Geography
---------


Location: Oceania, island in the North Pacific Ocean, about
  two-thirds of the way from Hawaii to the Northern Mariana Islands

Geographic coordinates: 19 17 N, 166 36 E

Map references: Oceania

Area:
  total area: 6.5 sq km
  land area: 6.5 sq km
  comparative area: about 11 times the size of The Mall in Washington,
  DC

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 19.3 km

Maritime claims:
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: claimed by the Republic of the Marshall
  Islands

Climate: tropical

Terrain: atoll of three coral islands built up on an underwater
  volcano; central lagoon is former crater, islands are part of the rim
  lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
  highest point: unnamed location 6 m

Natural resources: none

Land use:
  arable land: 0%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 0%
  forest and woodland: 0%
  other: 100%

Irrigated land: 0 sq km

Environment:
  current issues: NA
  natural hazards: occasional typhoons
  international agreements: NA

Geographic note: strategic location in the North Pacific Ocean;
  emergency landing location for transpacific flights



People
------


Population: no indigenous inhabitants; there are 302 US military
  and contract personnel (July 1995 est.)

Population growth rate: 0% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: NA births/1,000 population

Death rate: NA deaths/1,000 population

Net migration rate: NA migrant(s)/1,000 population

Infant mortality rate: NA deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: NA years
  male: NA years
  female: NA years

Total fertility rate: NA children born/woman



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: none
  conventional short form: Wake Island

Data code: WQ

Type of government: unincorporated territory of the US
  administered by the US Army and Strategic Defense Command since 1
  October 1994

Capital: none; administered from Washington, DC

Independence: none (territory of the US)

Flag: the flag of the US is used



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Economic activity is limited to providing
  services to US military personnel and contractors located on the
  island. All food and manufactured goods must be imported.

Electricity: supplied by US military



Transportation
--------------


Railways: 0 km

Ports: none; two offshore anchorages for large ships

Merchant marine: none

Airports:
  total: 1
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 1 (1995 est.)

Transportation note: formerly an important commercial aviation
  base, now used by US military, some commercial cargo planes, as well
  as the US Army Space and Strategic Defense Command for missile
  launches



Communications
--------------


Telephones: NA

Telephone system: satellite communications; 1 DSN circuit off the
  Overseas Telephone System (OTS)
  domestic: NA
  international: NA

Radio broadcast stations: AM 0, FM NA, shortwave NA
  note: Armed Forces Radio/Television Service (AFRTS) radio service
  provided by satellite

Radios: NA

Television broadcast stations: NA
  note: Armed Forces Radio/Television Service (AFRTS) television
  service provided by satellite

Televisions: NA



Defense
-------


Defense note: defense is the responsibility of the US



======================================================================




@Wallis and Futuna
-----------------


(overseas territory of France)

Map
---


Location: 13 18 S, 176 12 W -- Oceania, islands in the South
  Pacific Ocean, about two-thirds of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand



Flag
----


Description: a white modified Maltese cross centered on a red
  background; the flag of France outlined in white on two sides is in
  the upper hoist quadrant; the flag of France is used for official
  occasions





Geography
---------


Location: Oceania, islands in the South Pacific Ocean, about
  two-thirds of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand

Geographic coordinates: 13 18 S, 176 12 W

Map references: Oceania

Area:
  total area: 274 sq km
  land area: 274 sq km
  comparative area: slightly larger than Washington, DC
  note: includes Ile Uvea (Wallis Island), Ile Futuna (Futuna Island),
  Ile Alofi, and 20 islets

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 129 km

Maritime claims:
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: none

Climate: tropical; hot, rainy season (November to April); cool,
  dry season (May to October); rains 2,500-3,000 mm per year (80%
  humidity); average temperature 26.6 degrees C

Terrain: volcanic origin; low hills
  lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
  highest point: Mount Singavi 765 m

Natural resources: NEGL

Land use:
  arable land: 5%
  permanent crops: 20%
  meadows and pastures: 0%
  forest and woodland: 0%
  other: 75%

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Environment:
  current issues: deforestation (only small portions of the original
  forests remain) largely as a result of the continued use of wood as
  the main fuel source; as a consequence of cutting down the forests,
  the mountainous terrain of Futuna is particularly prone to erosion;
  there are no permanent settlements on Alofi because of the lack of
  natural fresh water resources
  natural hazards: NA
  international agreements: NA

Geographic note: both island groups have fringing reefs



People
------


Population: 14,659 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: NA
  15-64 years: NA
  65 years and over: NA

Population growth rate: 1.11% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 24.38 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 5.02 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: -8.23 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: NA male(s)/female
  under 15 years: NA male(s)/female
  15-64 years: NA male(s)/female
  65 years and over: NA male(s)/female
  all ages: NA male(s)/female

Infant mortality rate: 23.59 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 72.76 years
  male: 72.16 years
  female: 73.4 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 3 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Wallisian(s), Futunan(s), or Wallis and Futuna Islanders
  adjective: Wallisian, Futunan, or Wallis and Futuna Islander

Ethnic divisions: Polynesian

Religions: Roman Catholic 100%

Languages: French, Wallisian (indigenous Polynesian language)

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1969 est.)
  total population: 50%
  male: 50%
  female: 50%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Territory of the Wallis and Futuna Islands
  conventional short form: Wallis and Futuna
  local long form: Territoire des Iles Wallis et Futuna
  local short form: Wallis et Futuna

Data code: WF

Type of government: overseas territory of France

Capital: Mata-Utu (on Ile Uvea)

Administrative divisions: none (overseas territory of France);
  there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the
  US Government, but there are three kingdoms named Wallis, Sigave, Alo

Independence: none (overseas territory of France)

Constitution: 28 September 1958 (French Constitution)

Legal system: French legal system

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: President (of France) Jacques CHIRAC (since 17 May
  1995), represented by High Administrator Leon-Alexandre LEGRAND
  (since NA) was appointed by the French Ministry of the Interior
  head of government: President of the Territorial Assembly Mikaele
  TAUHAVILI (since NA)
  cabinet: Council of the Territory consists of three kings and three
  members appointed by the high administrator on advice of the
  Territorial Assembly
  note: there are three traditional kings with limited powers

Legislative branch: unicameral
  Territorial Assembly (Assemblee Territoriale): elections last held
  22 March 1992 (next to be held NA March 1997); results - percent of
  vote by party NA; seats - (20 total) RPR 9, Taumu'a Lelei 11
  French Senate: elections last held 24 September 1989 (next to be
  held by NA September 1998); results - percent of vote by party NA;
  seats - (1 total) RPR 1
  French National Assembly: elections last held 21 and 28 March 1992
  (next to be held by NA September 1996); results - percent of vote by
  party NA; seats - (1 total) MRG 1; note - Wallis and Futuna elect
  one deputy

Judicial branch: none; justice generally administered under French
  law by the high administrator, but the three traditional kings
  administer customary law and there is a magistrate in Mata-Utu

Political parties and leaders: Rally for the Republic (RPR); Union
  Populaire Locale (UPL); Union Pour la Democratie Francaise (UDF);
  Lua kae tahi (Giscardians); Mouvement des Radicaux de Gauche (MRG);
  Taumu'a Lelei

International organization participation: FZ, SPC

Diplomatic representation in US: none (overseas territory of
  France)

US diplomatic representation: none (overseas territory of France)

Flag: a white modified Maltese cross centered on a red background;
  the flag of France outlined in white on two sides is in the upper
  hoist quadrant; the flag of France is used for official occasions



Economy
-------


Economic overview: The economy is limited to traditional
  subsistence agriculture, with about 80% of the labor force earning
  its livelihood from agriculture (coconuts and vegetables), livestock
  (mostly pigs), and fishing. About 4% of the population is employed
  in government. Revenues come from French Government subsidies,
  licensing of fishing rights to Japan and South Korea, import taxes,
  and remittances from expatriate workers in New Caledonia. Wallis and
  Futuna imports food - particularly sugar, rice, and beef - fuel,
  clothing, machinery, and transport equipment, but its exports are
  negligible, consisting of copra and handicrafts.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $28.7 million (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: NA%

GDP per capita: $2,500 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: NA%
  industry: NA%
  services: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA%

Labor force: NA
  by occupation: agriculture, livestock, and fishing 80%, government
  4% (est.)

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget:
  revenues: $14.04 million
  expenditures: $14.04 million, including capital expenditures of $NA
  (1994 est.)

Industries: copra, handicrafts, fishing, lumber

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity:
  capacity: 1,200 kW
  production: 1 million kWh
  consumption per capita: 70 kWh (1990)

Agriculture: yams, taro, bananas; pigs, goats

Exports: $370,000 (f.o.b., 1995 est.)
  commodities: copra, handicrafts
  partners: NA

Imports: $13.5 million (c.i.f., 1995 est.)
  commodities: foodstuffs, manufactured goods, transportation
  equipment, fuel, clothing
  partners: France, Australia, New Zealand

External debt: $NA

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $NA

Currency: 1 CFP franc (CFPF) = 100 centimes

Exchange rates: Comptoirs Francais du Pacifique francs (CFPF) per
  US$1 - 91.00 (January 1996), 90.75 (1995), 100.94 (1994), 102.96
  (1993), 96.24 (1992), 102.57 (1991); note - linked at the rate of
  18.18 to the French franc

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways: 0 km

Highways:
  total: 120 km (Ile Uvea 100 km, Ile Futuna 20 km)
  paved: 16 km (all on Ile Uvea)
  unpaved: 104 km (Ile Uvea 84 km, Ile Futuna 20 km)

Waterways: none

Ports: Leava, Mata-Utu

Merchant marine:
  total: 1 oil tanker (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 26,000 GRT/40,000
  DWT (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 2
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 1
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 1 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 340 (1985 est.)

Telephone system:
  domestic: NA
  international: NA

Radio broadcast stations: AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0

Radios: NA

Television broadcast stations: 0

Televisions: NA



Defense
-------


Defense note: defense is the responsibility of France



======================================================================




@West Bank
---------

The Israel-PLO Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government
Arrangements ("the DOP"), signed in Washington on 13 September 1993,
provides for a transitional period not exceeding five years of
Palestinian interim self-government in the Gaza Strip and the West
Bank. Permanent status negotiations began on 5 May 1996.

Map
---


Location: 32 00 N, 35 15 E -- Middle East, west of Jordan





Geography
---------


Location: Middle East, west of Jordan

Geographic coordinates: 32 00 N, 35 15 E

Map references: Middle East

Area:
  total area: 5,860 sq km
  land area: 5,640 sq km
  comparative area: slightly smaller than Delaware
  note: includes West Bank, Latrun Salient, and the northwest quarter
  of the Dead Sea, but excludes Mt. Scopus; East Jerusalem and
  Jerusalem No Man's Land are also included only as a means of
  depicting the entire area occupied by Israel in 1967

Land boundaries:
  total: 404 km
  border countries: Israel 307 km, Jordan 97 km

Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims: none (landlocked)

International disputes: West Bank and Gaza Strip are Israeli
  occupied with current status subject to the Israeli-Palestinian
  Interim Agreement - permanent status to be determined through
  further negotiation

Climate: temperate, temperature and precipitation vary with
  altitude, warm to hot summers, cool to mild winters

Terrain: mostly rugged dissected upland, some vegetation in west,
  but barren in east
  lowest point: Dead Sea -408 m
  highest point: Tall Asur 1,022 m

Natural resources: NEGL

Land use:
  arable land: 27%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 32%
  forest and woodland: 1%
  other: 40%

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Environment:
  current issues: NA
  natural hazards: NA
  international agreements: NA

Geographic note: landlocked; highlands are main recharge area for
  Israel's coastal aquifers; there are 202 Israeli settlements and
  civilian land use sites in the West Bank and 26 in East Jerusalem
  (August 1995 est.)



People
------


Population: 1,427,741 (July 1996 est.)
  note: in addition, there are 127,600 Israeli settlers in the West
  Bank and 153,700 in East Jerusalem (August 1995 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 45% (male 332,628; female 315,968)
  15-64 years: 51% (male 368,180; female 362,880)
  65 years and over: 4% (male 20,495; female 27,590) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 4.99% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 38.78 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 4.66 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 15.76 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.74 male(s)/female
  all ages: 1.02 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 28.6 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 71.76 years
  male: 70.17 years
  female: 73.44 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 5.2 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: NA
  adjective: NA

Ethnic divisions: Palestinian Arab and other 83%, Jewish 17%

Religions: Muslim 75% (predominantly Sunni), Jewish 17%, Christian
  and other 8%

Languages: Arabic, Hebrew (spoken by Israeli settlers), English
  (widely understood)

Literacy: NA



Government
----------


Government note: Under the Israeli-PLO Declaration of Principles
  on Interim Self-Government Arrangements ("the DOP"), Israel agreed
  to transfer certain powers and responsibilities to the Palestinian
  Authority, a Palestinian Legislative Council, elected in January
  1996, as part of interim self-governing arrangements in the West
  Bank and Gaza Strip. A transfer of powers and responsibilities for
  the Gaza Strip and Jericho has taken place pursuant to the
  Israel-PLO 4 May 1994 Cairo Agreement on the Gaza Strip and the
  Jericho Area. A transfer of powers and responsibilities in certain
  spheres for the rest of the West Bank has taken place pursuant to
  the Israel-PLO 29 August 1994 Agreement on Preparatory Transfer of
  Powers and Responsibilities. A transfer of powers and
  responsibilities in additional areas of the West Bank has taken
  place pursuant to the Israel-PLO 28 September 1995 Interim
  Agreement. The DOP provides that Israel will retain responsibility
  during the transitional period for external security and for
  internal security and public order of settlements and Israelis.
  Permanent status is to be determined through direct negotiations
  within five years.

Name of country:
  conventional long form: none
  conventional short form: West Bank

Data code: WE



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Economic progress in the West Bank has been
  hampered by Israeli military administration and the effects of the
  Palestinian uprising (intifadah). Industries using advanced
  technology or requiring sizable investment have been discouraged by
  a lack of local capital and restrictive Israeli policies. Capital
  investment consists largely of residential housing, not productive
  assets that would enable local Palestinian firms to compete with
  Israeli industry. GDP has been substantially supplemented by
  remittances of workers employed in Israel and Persian Gulf states.
  Such transfers from the Gulf dropped after Iraq invaded Kuwait in
  August 1990. In the wake of the Persian Gulf crisis, many
  Palestinians have returned to the West Bank, increasing
  unemployment, and export revenues have dropped because of the
  decline of markets in Jordan and the Gulf states. The area's
  economic situation has worsened since Israel imposed stringent
  border restrictions in 1995 and 1996.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $3.7 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 3%-4% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $2,500 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 33%
  industry: 7%
  services: 60% (1995 est., includes Gaza Strip)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 14% (1995 est.)

Labor force: NA
  by occupation: construction 28.2%, agriculture 21.8%, industry
  14.5%, commerce, restaurants, and hotels 12.6%, other services 22.9%
  (1991)
  note: excluding Israeli settlers

Unemployment rate: 25%-30% (1995 est.)

Budget: $NA

Industries: generally small family businesses that produce cement,
  textiles, soap, olive-wood carvings, and mother-of-pearl souvenirs;
  the Israelis have established some small-scale, modern industries in
  the settlements and industrial centers

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity:
  capacity: NA kW
  production: NA kWh
  consumption per capita: NA kWh
  note: most electricity imported from Israel; East Jerusalem Electric
  Company buys and distributes electricity to Palestinians in East
  Jerusalem and its concession in the West Bank; the Israel Electric
  Company directly supplies electricity to most Jewish residents and
  military facilities; at the same time, some Palestinian
  municipalities, such as Nabulus and Janin, generate their own
  electricity from small power plants

Agriculture: olives, citrus and other fruits, vegetables; beef,
  dairy products

Exports: $116 million (f.o.b., 1994 est.)
  commodities: olives, fruit, vegetables
  partners: Jordan, Israel

Imports: $791 million (c.i.f., 1994 est.)
  commodities: food, consumer goods, construction materials
  partners: Jordan, Israel

External debt: $NA

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $NA
  note: $410 million (est.) disbursed from international aid pledged
  in 1995 (includes aid to Gaza Strip)

Currency: 1 new Israeli shekel (NIS) = 100 new agorot; 1 Jordanian
  dinar (JD) = 1,000 fils

Exchange rates: new Israeli shekels (NIS) per US$1 - 3.1295
  (January 1996), 3.0113 (1995), 3.0111 (1994), 2.8301 (1993), 2.4591
  (1992), 2.2791 (1991); Jordanian dinars (JD) per US$1 - 0.7090
  (January 1996), 0.7005 (1995), 0.6987 (1994), 0.6928 (1993), 0.6797
  (1992), 0.6808 (1991)

Fiscal year: calendar year (since 1 January 1992)



Transportation
--------------


Railways: 0 km

Highways:
  total: NA km
  paved: NA km
  unpaved: NA km
  note: small road network; Israelis have developed many highways to
  service Jewish settlements

Ports: none

Airports:
  total: 2
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 1
  with paved runways under 914 m: 1 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: NA
  note: 8% of Palestinian households have telephones (1992 est.)

Telephone system:
  domestic: NA
  international: NA
  note: Israeli company BEZEK is responsible for communication
  services in the West Bank

Radio broadcast stations: AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0

Radios: NA; note - 82% of Palestinian households have radios (1992
  est.)

Television broadcast stations: 0
  note: 1 broadcast station is planned for Jericho

Televisions: NA; note - 54% of Palestinian households have
  televisions (1992 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: NA

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: NA
  males fit for military service: NA

Defense expenditures: $NA, NA% of GDP



======================================================================




@Western Sahara
--------------



Map
---


Location: 24 30 N, 13 00 W -- Northern Africa, bordering the North
  Atlantic Ocean, between Mauritania and Morocco





Geography
---------


Location: Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean,
  between Mauritania and Morocco

Geographic coordinates: 24 30 N, 13 00 W

Map references: Africa

Area:
  total area: 266,000 sq km
  land area: 266,000 sq km
  comparative area: about the size of Colorado

Land boundaries:
  total: 2,046 km
  border countries: Algeria 42 km, Mauritania 1,561 km, Morocco 443 km

Coastline: 1,110 km

Maritime claims: contingent upon resolution of sovereignty issue

International disputes: claimed and administered by Morocco, but
  sovereignty is unresolved and the UN is attempting to hold a
  referendum on the issue; the UN-administered cease-fire has been in
  effect since September 1991

Climate: hot, dry desert; rain is rare; cold offshore air currents
  produce fog and heavy dew

Terrain: mostly low, flat desert with large areas of rocky or
  sandy surfaces rising to small mountains in south and northeast
  lowest point: Sebjet Tah -55 m
  highest point: unnamed location 463 m

Natural resources: phosphates, iron ore

Land use:
  arable land: 0%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 19%
  forest and woodland: 0%
  other: 81%

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Environment:
  current issues: sparse water and arable land
  natural hazards: hot, dry, dust/sand-laden sirocco wind can occur
  during winter and spring; widespread harmattan haze exists 60% of
  time, often severely restricting visibility
  international agreements: NA



People
------


Population: 222,631 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: NA
  15-64 years: NA
  65 years and over: NA

Population growth rate: 2.46% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 46.51 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 18.02 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: -3.94 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: NA male(s)/female
  under 15 years: NA male(s)/female
  15-64 years: NA male(s)/female
  65 years and over: NA male(s)/female
  all ages: NA male(s)/female

Infant mortality rate: 145.82 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 47.01 years
  male: 46 years
  female: 48.34 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 6.85 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Sahrawi(s), Sahraoui(s)
  adjective: Sahrawian, Sahraouian

Ethnic divisions: Arab, Berber

Religions: Muslim

Languages: Hassaniya Arabic, Moroccan Arabic

Literacy: NA



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: none
  conventional short form: Western Sahara

Data code: WI

Type of government: legal status of territory and question of
  sovereignty unresolved; territory contested by Morocco and Polisario
  Front (Popular Front for the Liberation of the Saguia el Hamra and
  Rio de Oro), which in February 1976 formally proclaimed a
  government-in-exile of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR);
  territory partitioned between Morocco and Mauritania in April 1976,
  with Morocco acquiring northern two-thirds; Mauritania, under
  pressure from Polisario guerrillas, abandoned all claims to its
  portion in August 1979; Morocco moved to occupy that sector shortly
  thereafter and has since asserted administrative control; the
  Polisario's government-in-exile was seated as an OAU member in 1984;
  guerrilla activities continued sporadically, until a UN-monitored
  cease-fire was implemented 6 September 1991

Capital: none

Administrative divisions: none (under defacto control of Morocco)

Executive branch: none

International organization participation: none

Diplomatic representation in US: none

US diplomatic representation: none



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Western Sahara, a territory poor in natural
  resources and having little rainfall, depends on pastoral nomadism,
  fishing, and phosphate mining as the principal sources of income for
  the population. Most of the food for the urban population must be
  imported. All trade and other economic activities are controlled by
  the Moroccan Government. Incomes and standards of living are
  substantially below the Moroccan level.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $NA

GDP real growth rate: NA%

GDP per capita: $NA

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: NA%
  industry: NA%
  services: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA%

Labor force: 12,000
  by occupation: animal husbandry and subsistence farming 50%

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget:
  revenues: $NA
  expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA

Industries: phosphate mining, handicrafts

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity:
  capacity: 60,000 kW
  production: 79 million kWh
  consumption per capita: 339 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: fruits and vegetables (grown in the few oases);
  camels, sheep, goats (kept by the nomads)

Exports: $NA
  commodities: phosphates 62%
  partners: Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so trade
  partners are included in overall Moroccan accounts

Imports: $NA
  commodities: fuel for fishing fleet, foodstuffs
  partners: Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so trade
  partners are included in overall Moroccan accounts

External debt: $NA

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $NA

Currency: 1 Moroccan dirham (DH) = 100 centimes

Exchange rates: Moroccan dirhams (DH) per US$1 - 8.607 (January
  1996), 8.540 (1995), 9.203 (1994), 9.299 (1993), 8.538 (1992), 8.707
  (1991)

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways: 0 km

Highways:
  total: 6,200 km
  paved: 0 km
  unpaved: 6,200 km

Ports: Ad Dakhla, Cabo Bojador, El Aaiun

Airports:
  total: 12
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 3
  with paved runways under 914 m: 3
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 1
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 5 (1995 est.)

Heliports: 1 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 2,000

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

Radio broadcast stations: AM 2, FM 0, shortwave 0

Radios: NA

Television broadcast stations: 2

Televisions: NA



Defense
-------


Branches: NA

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: NA
  males fit for military service: NA

Defense expenditures: $NA, NA% of GDP



======================================================================




@Western Samoa
-------------




Map
---


Location: 13 35 S, 172 20 W -- Oceania, group of islands in the
  South Pacific Ocean, about one-half of the way from Hawaii to New
  Zealand



Flag
----


Description: red with a blue rectangle in the upper hoist-side
  quadrant bearing five white five-pointed stars representing the
  Southern Cross constellation





Geography
---------


Location: Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean,
  about one-half of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand

Geographic coordinates: 13 35 S, 172 20 W

Map references: Oceania

Area:
  total area: 2,860 sq km
  land area: 2,850 sq km
  comparative area: slightly smaller than Rhode Island

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 403 km

Maritime claims:
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: none

Climate: tropical; rainy season (October to March), dry season
  (May to October)

Terrain: narrow coastal plain with volcanic, rocky, rugged
  mountains in interior
  lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
  highest point: Mauga Silisili 1,857 m

Natural resources: hardwood forests, fish

Land use:
  arable land: 19%
  permanent crops: 24%
  meadows and pastures: 0%
  forest and woodland: 47%
  other: 10%

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Environment:
  current issues: soil erosion
  natural hazards: occasional typhoons; active volcanism
  international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
  Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection



People
------


Population: 214,384 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 40% (male 43,540; female 42,185)
  15-64 years: 56% (male 62,742; female 57,323)
  65 years and over: 4% (male 4,089; female 4,505) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.37% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 31.12 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 5.75 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: -1.67 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 1.1 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.91 male(s)/female
  all ages: 1.06 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 34.3 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 68.73 years
  male: 66.35 years
  female: 71.24 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 3.93 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Western Samoan(s)
  adjective: Western Samoan

Ethnic divisions: Samoan 92.6%, Euronesians 7% (persons of
  European and Polynesian blood), Europeans 0.4%

Religions: Christian 99.7% (about one-half of population
  associated with the London Missionary Society; includes
  Congregational, Roman Catholic, Methodist, Latter-Day Saints,
  Seventh-Day Adventist)

Languages: Samoan (Polynesian), English

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1971 est.)
  total population: 97%
  male: 97%
  female: 97%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Independent State of Western Samoa
  conventional short form: Western Samoa

Data code: WS

Type of government: constitutional monarchy under native chief

Capital: Apia

Administrative divisions: 11 districts; A'ana, Aiga-i-le-Tai,
  Atua, Fa'asaleleaga, Gaga'emauga, Gagaifomauga, Palauli,
  Satupa'itea, Tuamasaga, Va'a-o-Fonoti, Vaisigano

Independence: 1 January 1962 (from New Zealand-administered UN
  trusteeship)

National holiday: National Day, 1 June (1962)

Constitution: 1 January 1962

Legal system: based on English common law and local customs;
  judicial review of legislative acts with respect to fundamental
  rights of the citizen; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: 21 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: Chief Susuga MALIETOA Tanumafili II (co-chief of
  state from 1 January 1962 until becoming sole chief of state 5 April
  1963); upon his death, a new chief of state will be elected by the
  Legislative Assembly to serve a five-year term
  head of government: Prime Minister TOFILAU Eti Alesana (since 7
  April 1988) was appointed by the chief of state with approval of the
  Legislative Assembly
  cabinet: Cabinet was appointed by the chief of state with the prime
  minister's advice

Legislative branch: unicameral
  Legislative Assembly (Fono): elections last held 5 April 1991 (next
  to be held 26 April 1996); results - percent of vote by party NA;
  seats - (47 total) HRPP 28, SNDP 18, independents 1
  note: only matai (head of family) are able to run for the
  Legislative Assembly

Judicial branch: Supreme Court; Court of Appeal

Political parties and leaders: Human Rights Protection Party
  (HRPP), TOFILAU Eti Alesana, chairman; Samoan National Development
  Party (SNDP), TAPUA Tamasese Efi, chairman; Samoan Progressive
  Conservative Party, LEOTA Ituau Ale; Samoa All People's Party
  (SAPP), Matatumua MAIMOAGA

International organization participation: ACP, AsDB, C, ESCAP,
  FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IMF, Intelsat
  (nonsignatory user), IOC, ITU, Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UN, UNCTAD,
  UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Tuiloma Neroni SLADE
  chancery: 820 Second Avenue, Suite 800, New York, NY 10017
  telephone: [1] (212) 599-6196, 6197
  FAX: [1] (212) 599-0797

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Josiah Horton BEEMAN (Ambassador to New
  Zealand and Western Samoa, resides in Wellington, New Zealand)
  embassy: 5th floor, Beach Road, Apia
  mailing address: P.O. Box 3430, Apia
  telephone: [685] 21631
  FAX: [685] 22030

Flag: red with a blue rectangle in the upper hoist-side quadrant
  bearing five white five-pointed stars representing the Southern
  Cross constellation



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Agriculture employs more than one-half of the
  labor force, contributes 50% to GDP, and furnishes 90% of exports.
  The bulk of export earnings comes from the sale of coconut oil and
  copra. The economy depends on emigrant remittances and foreign aid
  to supplement GDP and to support a level of imports much greater
  than export earnings. Tourism has become the most important growth
  industry. The economy continued to falter in 1994, as remittances
  and tourist earnings remained low. Production of taro, the primary
  food export crop, dropped 97% in 1993/94 when a fungal disease
  threatened the country's basic food crops. Nevertheless, the
  government is relying on recovery and further expansion in
  agricultural production to sustain economic growth of around 5% over
  the next several years.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $415 million (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 5% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $1,900 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 50%
  industry: NA%
  services: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 18% (1994)

Labor force: 45,635 (1986 est.)
  by occupation: agriculture 65%, services 30%, industry 5% (1995 est.)

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget:
  revenues: $78.6 million
  expenditures: $81.9 million, including capital expenditures of $NA
  (1995 est.)

Industries: timber, tourism, food processing, fishing

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity:
  capacity: 29,000 kW
  production: 50 million kWh
  consumption per capita: 200 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: coconuts, bananas, taro, yams

Exports: $6.4 million (f.o.b., 1993)
  commodities: coconut oil and cream, taro, copra, cocoa
  partners: New Zealand 34%, American Samoa 21%, Germany 18%,
  Australia 11%

Imports: $11.5 million (c.i.f., 1992 est.)
  commodities: intermediate goods 58%, food 17%, capital goods 12%
  partners: New Zealand 37%, Australia 25%, Japan 11%, Fiji 9%

External debt: $141 million (June 1993)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $NA

Currency: 1 tala (WS$) = 100 sene

Exchange rates: tala (WS$) per US$1 - 2.5195 (January 1996),
  2.4722 (1995), 2.5349 (1994), 2.5681 (1993), 2.4655 (1992), 2.3975
  (1991)

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways: 0 km

Highways:
  total: 2,030 km
  paved: 373 km
  unpaved: 1,657 km (1988 est.)

Ports: Apia, Asau, Mulifanua, Salelologa

Merchant marine:
  total: 1 roll-on/roll-off cargo ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling
  3,838 GRT/5,536 DWT (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 3
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 1
  with paved runways under 914 m: 2 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 7,500 (1988 est.)

Telephone system:
  domestic: NA
  international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0

Radios: 76,000 (1992 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 0 (1987 est.)

Televisions: 6,000 (1992 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: no regular armed services; Western Samoa Police Force

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: NA
  males fit for military service: NA

Defense expenditures: $NA, NA% of GDP



======================================================================




@World
-----



Map
---





Geography
---------


Map references: World, Time Zones

Area:
  total area: 510.072 million sq km
  land area: 148.94 million sq km
  water area: 361.132 million sq km
  comparative area: land area about 15 times the size of the US
  note: 70.8% of the world is water, 29.2% is land

Land boundaries: the land boundaries in the world total 250,883.64
  km (not counting shared boundaries twice)

Coastline: 356,000 km

Maritime claims:
  contiguous zone: 24 nm claimed by most but can vary
  continental shelf: 200-m depth claimed by most or to depth of
  exploitation, others claim 200 nm or to the edge of the continental
  margin
  exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm claimed by most but can vary
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm claimed by most but can vary
  territorial sea: 12 nm claimed by most but can vary
  note: boundary situations with neighboring states prevent many
  countries from extending their fishing or economic zones to a full
  200 nm; 43 nations and other areas that are landlocked include
  Afghanistan, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bhutan,
  Bolivia, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Central African Republic,
  Chad, Czech Republic, Ethiopia, Holy See (Vatican City), Hungary,
  Kazakstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lesotho, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg,
  Malawi, Mali, Moldova, Mongolia, Nepal, Niger, Paraguay, Rwanda, San
  Marino, Slovakia, Swaziland, Switzerland, Tajikistan, The Former
  Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Uzbekistan,
  West Bank, Zambia, Zimbabwe

Climate: two large areas of polar climates separated by two rather
  narrow temperate zones from a wide equatorial band of tropical to
  subtropical climates

Terrain: the greatest ocean depth is the Marianas Trench at 10,924
  m in the Pacific Ocean
  lowest point: Dead Sea -408 m
  highest point: Mount Everest 8,848 m

Natural resources: the rapid using up of nonrenewable mineral
  resources, the depletion of forest areas and wetlands, the
  extinction of animal and plant species, and the deterioration in air
  and water quality (especially in Eastern Europe and the former USSR)
  pose serious long-term problems that governments and peoples are
  only beginning to address

Land use:
  arable land: 10%
  permanent crops: 1%
  meadows and pastures: 24%
  forest and woodland: 31%
  other: 34%

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Environment:
  current issues: large areas subject to overpopulation, industrial
  disasters, pollution (air, water, acid rain, toxic substances), loss
  of vegetation (overgrazing, deforestation, desertification), loss of
  wildlife, soil degradation, soil depletion, erosion
  natural hazards: large areas subject to severe weather (tropical
  cyclones), natural disasters (earthquakes, landslides, tsunamis,
  volcanic eruptions)
  international agreements: selected international environmental
  agreements are included under the Environment entry for each country
  and in the Selected International Environmental Agreements appendix



People
------


Population: 5,771,939,007 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 31% (male 919,402,570; female 874,330,478)
  15-64 years: 62% (male 1,824,524,365; female 1,776,639,084)
  65 years and over: 7% (male 162,216,128; female 213,712,993)

Population growth rate: 1.4% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 23 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 9 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.76 male(s)/female
  all ages: 1.01 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 60 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 62 years
  male: 61 years
  female: 64 years

Total fertility rate: 2.9 children born/woman (1996 est.)



Government
----------


Data code: none; there is no FIPS 10-4 country code for the World,
  so the Factbook uses the "W" data code from DIAM 65-18 "Geopolitical
  Data Elements and Related Features," Data Standard No. 3, March
  1984, published by the Defense Intelligence Agency; see the
  Cross-Reference List of Country Data Codes appendix

Administrative divisions: 266 nations, dependent areas, other, and
  miscellaneous entries

Legal system: varies by individual country; 186 (not including
  Yugoslavia) are parties to the UN International Court of Justice
  (ICJ or World Court)



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Real global output - gross world product (GWP)
  - again rose 3% in 1995, with the newly industrializing Third World
  countries setting the pace. And once more, results varied widely
  among regions and countries. Average growth of 2.5% in the GDP of
  industrialized countries (56% of GWP in 1995) and average growth of
  5% in the GDP of less developed countries (38% of GWP) were partly
  offset by a small 1.5% drop in the GDP of the former USSR/Eastern
  Europe area (only 6% of GWP). With the notable exception of Japan at
  3.1%, unemployment was typically 6%-12% in the industrial world. The
  US accounted for 22% of GWP in 1995; Western Europe accounted for
  21%; and Japan accounted for 8%. These are the three "economic
  superpowers" presumably destined to compete for mastery in
  international markets on into the 21st century. As for the less
  developed countries: China, India, and the Four Dragons - South
  Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore - once again posted records
  of 5% growth or better; however, many other countries, especially in
  Africa, continued to suffer from drought, rapid population growth,
  inflation, and civil strife. Central Europe continued its progress
  in moving toward "market-friendly" economies. The 15 ex-Soviet
  countries typically experienced further declines in output, although
  considerably less than in 1992-94. Externally, the nation-state, as
  a bedrock economic-political institution, is steadily losing control
  over international flows of people, goods, funds, and technology.
  Internally, the central government in a number of cases is losing
  control over resources as separatist regional movements - typically
  based on ethnicity - gain momentum, e.g., in the successor states of
  the former Soviet Union, in the former Yugoslavia, in India, and in
  Canada. In Western Europe, governments face the difficult political
  problem of channeling resources away from welfare programs in order
  to increase investment and strengthen incentives to seek employment.
  The addition of nearly 100 million people each year to an already
  overcrowded globe is exacerbating the problems of pollution,
  desertification, underemployment, epidemics, and famine. Because of
  their own internal problems, the industrialized countries have
  inadequate resources to deal effectively with the poorer areas of
  the world, which, at least from the economic point of view, are
  becoming further marginalized. (For specific economic developments
  in each country, see the individual country entries in this volume.)

GDP: GWP (gross world product) - purchasing power parity - $33.7
  trillion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 3% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $5,900 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: NA%
  industry: NA%
  services: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
  all countries: 25%
  developed countries: 2% to 6% typically
  developing countries: 10% to 60% typically (1995 est.)
  note: national inflation rates vary widely in individual cases, from
  stable prices in Japan to hyperinflation in a number of Third World
  countries

Labor force: 2.24 billion (1992)
  by occupation: NA

Unemployment rate: 30% combined unemployment and underemployment
  in many non-industrialized countries; developed countries typically
  6%-12% unemployment (1995 est.)

Industries: dominated by the onrush of technology, especially in
  computers, robotics, telecommunications, and medicines and medical
  equipment; most of these advances take place in OECD nations; only a
  small portion of non-OECD countries have succeeded in rapidly
  adjusting to these technological forces; the rapid development of
  new industrial (and agricultural) technology is complicating already
  grim environmental problems

Industrial production growth rate: 5% (1995 est.)

Electricity:
  capacity: 2,773,000,000 kW
  production: 11.601 trillion kWh
  consumption per capita: 1,937 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: the whole gamut of crops, livestock, forest products,
  and fish

Exports: $4.3 trillion (f.o.b., 1995 est.)
  commodities: the whole range of industrial and agricultural goods
  and services
  partners: in value, about 75% of exports from the developed countries

Imports: $4.4 trillion (c.i.f., 1995 est.)
  commodities: the whole range of industrial and agricultural goods
  and services
  partners: in value, about 75% of imports by the developed countries

External debt: $2 trillion for less developed countries (1995 est.)

Economic aid: worldwide traditional foreign aid $50 billion (1995
  est.)



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 1,201,337 km includes about 190,000 to 195,000 km of
  electrified routes of which 147,760 km are in Europe, 24,509 km in
  the Far East, 11,050 km in Africa, 4,223 km in South America, and
  4,160 km in North America; note - fastest speed in daily service is
  300 km/hr attained by France's Societe Nationale des Chemins-de-Fer
  Francais (SNCF) Le Train a Grande Vitesse (TGV) - Atlantique line
  broad gauge: 251,153 km
  standard gauge: 710,754 km
  narrow gauge: 239,430 km

Highways:
  total: NA km
  paved: NA km
  unpaved: NA km

Ports: Chiba, Houston, Kawasaki, Kobe, Marseille, Mina' al Ahmadi
  (Kuwait), New Orleans, New York, Rotterdam, Yokohama

Merchant marine:
  total: 25,521 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 442,276,527
  GRT/701,647,274 DWT
  ships by type: barge carrier 22, bulk 5,308, cargo 8,089, chemical
  tanker 920, combination bulk 307, combination ore/oil 279, container
  1,938, liquefied gas tanker 709, livestock carrier 52, multifunction
  large-load carrier 62, oil tanker 4,320, passenger 298,
  passenger-cargo 117, railcar carrier 21, refrigerated cargo 1,022,
  roll-on/roll-off cargo 1,034, short-sea passenger 484, specialized
  tanker 81, vehicle carrier 458 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: NA

Telephone system:
  domestic: NA
  international: NA

Radio broadcast stations: AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA

Radios: NA

Television broadcast stations: NA

Televisions: NA



Defense
-------


Branches: ground, maritime, and air forces at all levels of
  technology

Defense expenditures: probably a small decline in 1995 in
  aggregate real expenditure on arms worldwide and somewhat less than
  three-quarters of a trillion dollars in money terms, or roughly 2%
  of gross world product (1995 est.)



======================================================================




@Yemen
-----




Map
---


Location: 15 00 N, 48 00 E -- Middle East, bordering the Arabian
  Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Red Sea, between Oman and Saudi Arabia



Flag
----


Description: three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and
  black; similar to the flag of Syria which has two green stars and of
  Iraq which has three green stars (plus an Arabic inscription) in a
  horizontal line centered in the white band; also similar to the flag
  of Egypt which has a symbolic eagle centered in the white band





Geography
---------


Location: Middle East, bordering the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Aden,
  and Red Sea, between Oman and Saudi Arabia

Geographic coordinates: 15 00 N, 48 00 E

Map references: Middle East

Area:
  total area: 527,970 sq km
  land area: 527,970 sq km
  comparative area: slightly larger than twice the size of Wyoming
  note: includes Perim, Socotra, the former Yemen Arab Republic (YAR
  or North Yemen), and the former People's Democratic Republic of
  Yemen (PDRY or South Yemen)

Land boundaries:
  total: 1,746 km
  border countries: Oman 288 km, Saudi Arabia 1,458 km

Coastline: 1,906 km

Maritime claims:
  contiguous zone: 18 nm in the North; 24 nm in the South
  continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: large section of boundary with Saudi
  Arabia not defined; a dispute with Eritrea over sovereignty of the
  Hanish Islands in the southern Red Sea has been submitted to
  arbitration under the auspices of the International Court of Justice

Climate: mostly desert; hot and humid along west coast; temperate
  in western mountains affected by seasonal monsoon; extraordinarily
  hot, dry, harsh desert in east

Terrain: narrow coastal plain backed by flat-topped hills and
  rugged mountains; dissected upland desert plains in center slope
  into the desert interior of the Arabian Peninsula
  lowest point: Arabian Sea 0 m
  highest point: Jabal an Nabi Shu'ayb 3,760 m

Natural resources: petroleum, fish, rock salt, marble, small
  deposits of coal, gold, lead, nickel, and copper, fertile soil in
  west

Land use:
  arable land: 6%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 30%
  forest and woodland: 7%
  other: 57%

Irrigated land: 3,100 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
  current issues: very limited natural fresh water resources;
  inadequate supplies of potable water; overgrazing; soil erosion;
  desertification
  natural hazards: sandstorms and dust storms in summer
  international agreements: party to - Environmental Modification, Law
  of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban; signed, but not ratified -
  Biodiversity, Climate Change

Geographic note: controls Bab el Mandeb, the strait linking the
  Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, one of world's most active shipping
  lanes



People
------


Population: 13,483,178 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 48% (male 3,302,489; female 3,122,246)
  15-64 years: 50% (male 3,327,682; female 3,364,787)
  65 years and over: 2% (male 158,018; female 207,956) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 3.56% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 45.22 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 9.59 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.76 male(s)/female
  all ages: 1.01 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 71.5 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 59.58 years
  male: 58.23 years
  female: 60.99 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 7.29 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Yemeni(s)
  adjective: Yemeni

Ethnic divisions: predominantly Arab; Afro-Arab concentrations in
  western coastal locations; South Asians in southern regions; small
  European communities in major metropolitan areas

Religions: Muslim including Sha'fi (Sunni) and Zaydi (Shi'a),
  small numbers of Jewish, Christian, and Hindu

Languages: Arabic

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
  total population: 38%
  male: 53%
  female: 26%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Republic of Yemen
  conventional short form: Yemen
  local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Yamaniyah
  local short form: Al Yaman

Data code: YM

Type of government: republic

Capital: Sanaa

Administrative divisions: 17 governorates (muhafazat, singular -
  muhafazah); Abyan, Aden, Al Bayda, Al Hudaydah, Al Jawf, Al Mahrah,
  Al Mahwit, Ataq, Dhamar, Hadhramaut, Hajjah, Ibb, Lahij, Ma'rib,
  Sa'dah, San'a', Ta'izz
  note: there may be a new governorate for the capital city of Sanaa

Independence: 22 May 1990 Republic of Yemen was established on 22
  May 1990 with the merger of the Yemen Arab Republic {Yemen (Sanaa)
  or North Yemen} and the Marxist-dominated People's Democratic
  Republic of Yemen {Yemen (Aden) or South Yemen}; previously North
  Yemen had become independent on NA November 1918 (from the Ottoman
  Empire) and South Yemen had become independent on 30 November 1967
  (from the UK)

National holiday: Proclamation of the Republic, 22 May (1990)

Constitution: 16 May 1991; amended 29 September 1994

Legal system: based on Islamic law, Turkish law, English common
  law, and local tribal customary law; does not accept compulsory ICJ
  jurisdiction

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: President Lt. Gen. Ali Abdallah SALIH (since 22 May
  1990, the former president of North Yemen, assumed office upon the
  merger of North and South Yemen) was elected for a five-year term by
  the House of Representatives; election last held 1 October 1994
  (next to be held NA 1999); Vice President Maj. Gen. Abd al-Rab
  Mansur al-HADI (since NA October 1994) was appointed by the president
  head of government: Prime Minister Abd al-Aziz ABD AL-GHANI (since
  NA October 1994) was appointed by the president; Deputy Prime
  Ministers Abd al-Wahhab al-ANISI (since NA October 1994), Dr. Abd
  al-Karim Ali al-IRYANI (since NA October 1994), Dr. Muhammad Said
  al-ATTAR (since NA October 1994), and Abd al-Qadir al-BA JAMAL
  (since NA October 1994)
  cabinet: Council of Ministers was appointed by the president on
  advice of the prime minister

Legislative branch: unicameral
  House of Representatives: elections last held 27 April 1993 (next to
  be held NA May 1997); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats -
  (301 total) GPC 124, Islaah 61, YSP 55, others 13, independents 47,
  election nullified 1

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

Political parties and leaders: over 40 political parties are
  active in Yemen, but only three project significant influence; since
  the May-July 1994 civil war, President SALIH's General People's
  Congress (GPC) and Shaykh Abdallah bin Husayn al-AHMAR's Yemeni
  Grouping for Reform, or Islaah, have joined to form a coalition
  government; the Yemeni Socialist Party (YSP), headed by Ali Salih
  UBAYD, has regrouped as a loyal opposition

Other political or pressure groups: NA

International organization participation: ACC, AFESD, AL, AMF,
  CAEU, CCC, ESCWA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD,
  IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OIC,
  UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
  (applicant)

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Muhsin Ahmad al-AYNI
  chancery: Suite 705, 2600 Virginia Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20037
  telephone: [1] (202) 965-4760, 4761
  FAX: [1] (202) 337-2017

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador David G. NEWTON
  embassy: Dhahr Himyar Zone, Sheraton Hotel District, Sanaa
  mailing address: P. O. Box 22347, Sanaa
  telephone: [967] (1) 238843 through 238852
  FAX: [967] (1) 251563

Flag: three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black;
  similar to the flag of Syria which has two green stars and of Iraq
  which has three green stars (plus an Arabic inscription) in a
  horizontal line centered in the white band; also similar to the flag
  of Egypt which has a symbolic eagle centered in the white band



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Whereas the northern city Sanaa is the
  political capital of a united Yemen, the southern city Aden, with
  its refinery and port facilities, is the economic and commercial
  capital. Future economic development depends heavily on
  Western-assisted development of the country's moderate oil
  resources. Former South Yemen's willingness to merge stemmed partly
  from the steady decline in Soviet economic support. The low level of
  domestic industry and agriculture has made northern Yemen dependent
  on imports for practically all of its essential needs. Once
  self-sufficient in food production, northern Yemen has become a
  major importer. Land once used for export crops - cotton, fruit, and
  vegetables - has been turned over to growing a shrub called qat,
  whose leaves are chewed for their stimulant effect by Yemenis and
  which has no significant export market. Economic growth in former
  South Yemen has been constrained by a lack of incentives, partly
  stemming from centralized control over production decisions,
  investment allocation, and import choices. Yemen's large trade
  deficits have been compensated for by remittances from Yemenis
  working abroad and by foreign aid. Since the Gulf crisis,
  remittances have dropped substantially. High inflation and political
  divisions hinder the development of a forward-looking economic
  policy.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $37.1 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 3.6% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $2,520 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 21%
  industry: 24%
  services: 55%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 71.3% (1994 est.)

Labor force: no reliable estimates exist, most people are employed
  in agriculture and herding or as expatriate laborers; services,
  construction, industry, and commerce account for less than one-half
  of the labor force

Unemployment rate: 30% (1995 est.)

Budget:
  revenues: $1.4 billion
  expenditures: $1.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA
  (1996 est.)

Industries: crude oil production and petroleum refining;
  small-scale production of cotton textiles and leather goods; food
  processing; handicrafts; small aluminum products factory; cement

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity:
  capacity: 810,000 kW
  production: 1.8 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 149 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: grain, fruits, vegetables, qat (mildly narcotic
  shrub), coffee, cotton; dairy products, poultry, meat; fish

Exports: $1.1 billion (f.o.b., 1994 est.)
  commodities: crude oil, cotton, coffee, hides, vegetables, dried and
  salted fish
  partners: US 17%, Japan 16%, Singapore 15%, China 13% (1994)

Imports: $1.8 billion (c.i.f., 1994 est.)
  commodities: textiles and other manufactured consumer goods,
  petroleum products, sugar, grain, flour, other foodstuffs, cement,
  machinery, chemicals
  partners: US 11%, UK 7%, France 7%, Germany 5%, Japan 5% (1994)

External debt: $8 billion (1996)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $148 million (1993)

Currency: Yemeni rial (new currency)

Exchange rates: Yemeni rials per US$1 - 12.010 (official fixed
  rate); 90 (market rate, December 1994)

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways: 0 km

Highways:
  total: 51,392 km
  paved: 4,831 km
  unpaved: 46,561 km (1992 est.)

Pipelines: crude oil 644 km; petroleum products 32 km

Ports: Aden, Al Hudaydah, Al Mukalla, Mocha, Nishtun

Merchant marine:
  total: 3 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 12,059 GRT/18,563 DWT
  ships by type: cargo 1, oil tanker 2 (1995 est.)

Airports:
  total: 41
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 2
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 6
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 1
  with paved runways under 914 m: 3
  with unpaved runways over 3 047 m: 2
  with unpaved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 8
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 9
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 10 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 131,655 (1992 est.)

Telephone system: since unification in 1990, efforts have been
  made to create a national telecommunications network
  domestic: the network consists of microwave radio relay, cable, and
  tropospheric scatter
  international: satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (2 Indian Ocean
  and 1 Atlantic Ocean), 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region), and 2
  Arabsat; microwave radio relay to Saudi Arabia and Djibouti

Radio broadcast stations: AM 4, FM 1, shortwave 0

Radios: NA

Television broadcast stations: 10

Televisions: 350,000 (1992 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, paramilitary (includes Police)

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 2,985,764
  males fit for military service: 1,685,517
  males reach military age (18) annually: 145,161 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: $NA, NA% of GDP



======================================================================




@Zaire
-----




Map
---


Location: 0 00 N, 25 00 E -- Central Africa, northeast of Angola



Flag
----


Description: light green with a yellow disk in the center bearing
  a black arm holding a red flaming torch; the flames of the torch are
  blowing away from the hoist side; uses the popular pan-African
  colors of Ethiopia





Geography
---------


Location: Central Africa, northeast of Angola

Geographic coordinates: 0 00 N, 25 00 E

Map references: Africa

Area:
  total area: 2,345,410 sq km
  land area: 2,267,600 sq km
  comparative area: slightly more than one-fourth the size of US

Land boundaries:
  total: 10,271 km
  border countries: Angola 2,511 km, Burundi 233 km, Central African
  Republic 1,577 km, Congo 2,410 km, Rwanda 217 km, Sudan 628 km,
  Uganda 765 km, Zambia 1,930 km

Coastline: 37 km

Maritime claims:
  exclusive economic zone: boundaries with neighbors
  territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: Tanzania-Zaire-Zambia tripoint in Lake
  Tanganyika may no longer be indefinite since it has been informally
  reported that the indefinite section of the Zaire-Zambia boundary
  has been settled; long section with Congo along the Congo river is
  indefinite (no division of the river or its islands has been made)

Climate: tropical; hot and humid in equatorial river basin; cooler
  and drier in southern highlands; cooler and wetter in eastern
  highlands; north of Equator - wet season April to October, dry
  season December to February; south of Equator - wet season November
  to March, dry season April to October

Terrain: vast central basin is a low-lying plateau; mountains in
  east
  lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
  highest point: Margherita Peak (Mount Stanley) 5,110 m

Natural resources: cobalt, copper, cadmium, petroleum, industrial
  and gem diamonds, gold, silver, zinc, manganese, tin, germanium,
  uranium, radium, bauxite, iron ore, coal, hydropower potential

Land use:
  arable land: 3%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 4%
  forest and woodland: 78%
  other: 15%

Irrigated land: 100 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
  current issues: poaching threatens wildlife populations; water
  pollution; deforestation; 1.2 million Rwandan refugees are
  responsible for significant deforestation, soil erosion, and
  wildlife poaching in eastern Zaire
  natural hazards: periodic droughts in south; volcanic activity
  international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
  Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine
  Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber
  83; signed, but not ratified - Desertification, Environmental
  Modification

Geographic note: straddles Equator; very narrow strip of land that
  controls the lower Congo river and is only outlet to South Atlantic
  Ocean; dense tropical rain forest in central river basin and eastern
  highlands



People
------


Population: 46,498,539 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 48% (male 11,161,347; female 11,124,583)
  15-64 years: 49% (male 11,197,097; female 11,783,524)
  65 years and over: 3% (male 539,775; female 692,213) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.67% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 48.1 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 16.9 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: -14.56 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)
  note: in 1994, more than one million refugees fled into Zaire to
  escape the fighting between the Hutus and the Tutsis in Rwanda and
  Burundi; a small number of these returned to their homes in 1995
  despite fear of the ongoing violence; additionally, Zaire is host to
  about 100,000 Angolan, and about 100,000 Sudanese refugees

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female
  all ages: 0.97 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 108 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 46.7 years
  male: 44.97 years
  female: 48.47 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 6.64 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Zairian(s)
  adjective: Zairian

Ethnic divisions: over 200 African ethnic groups, the majority are
  Bantu; four largest tribes - Mongo, Luba, Kongo (all Bantu), and the
  Mangbetu-Azande (Hamitic) make up about 45% of the population

Religions: Roman Catholic 50%, Protestant 20%, Kimbanguist 10%,
  Muslim 10%, other syncretic sects and traditional beliefs 10%

Languages: French (official), Lingala (a lingua franca trade
  language), Kingwana (a dialect of Kiswahili or Swahili), Kikongo,
  Tshiluba

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write in French, Lingala,
  Kingwana, or Tshiluba (1995 est.)
  total population: 77.3%
  male: 86.6%
  female: 67.7%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Republic of Zaire
  conventional short form: Zaire
  local long form: Republique du Zaire
  local short form: Zaire
  former: Belgian Congo Congo/Leopoldville Congo/Kinshasa

Data code: CG

Type of government: republic with a strong presidential system

Capital: Kinshasa

Administrative divisions: 10 regions (regions, singular - region)
  and 1 town* (ville); Bandundu, Bas-Zaire, Equateur, Haut-Zaire,
  Kasai-Occidental, Kasai-Oriental, Kinshasa*, Maniema, Nord-Kivu,
  Shaba, Sud-Kivu

Independence: 30 June 1960 (from Belgium)

National holiday: Anniversary of the Regime (Second Republic), 24
  November (1965)

Constitution: 24 June 1967, amended August 1974, revised 15
  February 1978; amended April 1990; new transitional constitution
  promulgated in April 1994

Legal system: based on Belgian civil law system and tribal law;
  has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal and compulsory

Executive branch:
  chief of state: President Marshal MOBUTU Sese Seko Kuku Ngbendu wa
  Za Banga (since 24 November 1965) elected for a seven-year term by
  popular vote; election last held 29 July 1984 (next to be held by 9
  July 1997); results - President MOBUTU was reelected without
  opposition
  head of government: Prime Minister Leon KENGO wa Dondo (since 14
  June 1994) elected by the High Council of the Republic
  cabinet: National Executive Council, appointed by mutual agreement
  of the president and the prime minister

Legislative branch: unicameral
  parliament: a single body consisting of the High Council of the
  Republic and the Parliament of the Transition with membership
  equally divided between presidential supporters and opponents

Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Cour Supreme)

Political parties and leaders: sole legal party until January 1991
  - Popular Movement of the Revolution (MPR); other parties include
  Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS), Etienne TSHISEKEDI
  wa Mulumba; Democratic Social Christian Party (PDSC); Union of
  Federalists and Independent Republicans (UFERI); Unified Lumumbast
  Party (PALU), Antoine GIZENGA; Union of Independent Democrats (UDI),
  Leon KENGO wa Dondo

International organization participation: ACCT, ACP, AfDB, CCC,
  CEEAC, CEPGL, ECA, FAO, G-19, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC,
  ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC,
  ITU, NAM, OAU, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL,
  WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador TATANENE Manata
  chancery: 1800 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009
  telephone: [1] (202) 234-7690, 7691

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Daniel H. SIMPSON
  embassy: 310 Avenue des Aviateurs, Kinshasa
  mailing address: Unit 31550, APO AE 09828
  telephone: [243] (12) 21533 through 21535
  FAX: [243] (88) 43805, ext. 2308 or 43467

Flag: light green with a yellow disk in the center bearing a black
  arm holding a red flaming torch; the flames of the torch are blowing
  away from the hoist side; uses the popular pan-African colors of
  Ethiopia



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Zaire's economy has continued to disintegrate,
  although Prime Minister KENGO has had some success in slowing the
  rate of economic decline. While meaningful economic figures are
  difficult to come by, Zaire's hyperinflation, chronic large
  government deficits, and plunging mineral production have made the
  country one of the world's poorest. Most formal transactions are
  conducted in hard currency as indigenous bank notes have lost almost
  all value, and a barter economy now flourishes in all but the
  largest cities. Most individuals and families hang on grimly through
  subsistence farming and petty trade. The government has not been
  able to meet its financial obligations to the IMF nor put in place
  the financial measures advocated by it. Although short-term
  prospects for improvement remain doubtful, improved political
  stability would boost Zaire's long-term potential to effectively
  exploit its vast mineral and agricultural resources.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $16.5 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: -7.4% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $400 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: NA%
  industry: NA%
  services: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 12% monthly average (1995 est.)

Labor force: 14.51 million (1993 est.)
  by occupation: agriculture 65%, industry 16%, services 19% (1991
  est.)

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget:
  revenues: $479 million
  expenditures: $479 million, including capital expenditures of $NA
  (1996 est.)

Industries: mining, mineral processing, consumer products
  (including textiles, footwear, cigarettes, processed foods and
  beverages), cement, diamonds

Industrial production growth rate: -20% (1993)

Electricity:
  capacity: 2,830,000 kW
  production: 6.2 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 133 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: coffee, sugar, palm oil, rubber, tea, quinine,
  cassava (tapioca), palm oil, bananas, root crops, corn, fruits; wood
  products

Illicit drugs: illicit producer of cannabis, mostly for domestic
  consumption

Exports: $419 million (f.o.b., 1994)
  commodities: copper, coffee, diamonds, cobalt, crude oil
  partners: US, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, UK, Japan, South
  Africa

Imports: $382 million (c.i.f., 1994)
  commodities: consumer goods, foodstuffs, mining and other machinery,
  transport equipment, fuels
  partners: South Africa, US, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Japan,
  UK

External debt: $11.3 billion (December 1993 est.)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $NA

Currency: 1 zaire (Z) = 100 makuta

Exchange rates: new zaires (Z) per US$1 - 10,618 (October 1995),
  1,194 (1994), 3 (1993); zaire (Z) per US$1 - 645,549 (1992), 15,587
  (1991)
  note: on 22 October 1993 the new zaire, equal to 3,000,000 old
  zaires, was introduced

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 5,138 km (1995); note - severely reduced trackage in use
  because of civil strife
  narrow gauge: 3,987 km 1.067-m gauge (858 km electrified); 125 km
  1.000-m gauge; 1,026 km 0.600-m gauge

Highways:
  total: 145,000 km
  paved: 290 km
  unpaved: 144,710 km (1991 est.)

Waterways: 15,000 km including the Congo, its tributaries, and
  unconnected lakes

Pipelines: petroleum products 390 km

Ports: Banana, Boma, Bukavu, Bumba, Goma, Kalemie, Kindu,
  Kinshasa, Kisangani, Matadi, Mbandaka

Merchant marine: none

Airports:
  total: 217
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 4
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 3
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 15
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 2
  with paved runways under 914 m: 82
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 17
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 94 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 34,000 (1991 est.)

Telephone system:
  domestic: barely adequate wire and microwave radio relay service in
  and between urban areas; domestic satellite system with 14 earth
  stations
  international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 10, FM 4, shortwave 0

Radios: 3.87 million (1992 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 18

Televisions: 55,000 (1992 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, National Gendarmerie,
  paramilitary Civil Guard, Special Presidential Division

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 10,025,536
  males fit for military service: 5,108,385 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $46 million, 1.5%
  of GDP (1990)



======================================================================




@Zambia
------




Map
---


Location: 15 00 S, 30 00 E -- Southern Africa, east of Angola



Flag
----


Description: green with a panel of three vertical bands of red
  (hoist side), black, and orange below a soaring orange eagle, on the
  outer edge of the flag





Geography
---------


Location: Southern Africa, east of Angola

Geographic coordinates: 15 00 S, 30 00 E

Map references: Africa

Area:
  total area: 752,610 sq km
  land area: 740,720 sq km
  comparative area: slightly larger than Texas

Land boundaries:
  total: 5,664 km
  border countries: Angola 1,110 km, Malawi 837 km, Mozambique 419 km,
  Namibia 233 km, Tanzania 338 km, Zaire 1,930 km, Zimbabwe 797 km

Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims: none (landlocked)

International disputes: quadripoint with Botswana, Namibia, and
  Zimbabwe is in disagreement; Tanzania-Zaire-Zambia tripoint in Lake
  Tanganyika may no longer be indefinite since it has been informally
  reported that the indefinite section of the Zaire-Zambia boundary
  has been settled

Climate: tropical; modified by altitude; rainy season (October to
  April)

Terrain: mostly high plateau with some hills and mountains
  lowest point: Zambezi river 329 m
  highest point: in Mafinga Hills 2,301 m

Natural resources: copper, cobalt, zinc, lead, coal, emeralds,
  gold, silver, uranium, hydropower potential

Land use:
  arable land: 7%
  permanent crops: 0%
  meadows and pastures: 47%
  forest and woodland: 27%
  other: 19%

Irrigated land: 320 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
  current issues: air pollution and resulting acid rain in the mineral
  extraction and refining region; poaching seriously threatens
  rhinoceros and elephant populations; deforestation; soil erosion;
  desertification; lack of adequate water treatment presents human
  health risks
  natural hazards: tropical storms (November to April)
  international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
  Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test
  Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified -
  Desertification

Geographic note: landlocked



People
------


Population: 9,159,072 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 49% (male 2,272,981; female 2,244,403)
  15-64 years: 48% (male 2,157,106; female 2,256,935)
  65 years and over: 3% (male 110,433; female 117,214) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.11% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 44.73 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 23.65 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.94 male(s)/female
  all ages: 0.98 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 96.1 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 36.31 years
  male: 36.15 years
  female: 36.46 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 6.55 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Zambian(s)
  adjective: Zambian

Ethnic divisions: African 98.7%, European 1.1%, other 0.2%

Religions: Christian 50%-75%, Muslim and Hindu 24%-49%, indigenous
  beliefs 1%

Languages: English (official), major vernaculars - Bemba, Kaonda,
  Lozi, Lunda, Luvale, Nyanja, Tonga, and about 70 other indigenous
  languages

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write in English (1995 est.)
  total population: 78.2%
  male: 85.6%
  female: 71.3%



Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Republic of Zambia
  conventional short form: Zambia
  former: Northern Rhodesia

Data code: ZA

Type of government: republic

Capital: Lusaka

Administrative divisions: 9 provinces; Central, Copperbelt,
  Eastern, Luapula, Lusaka, Northern, North-Western, Southern, Western

Independence: 24 October 1964 (from UK)

National holiday: Independence Day, 24 October (1964)

Constitution: 2 August 1991

Legal system: based on English common law and customary law;
  judicial review of legislative acts in an ad hoc constitutional
  council; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state and head of government: President Frederick CHILUBA
  (since 31 October 1991) elected for a five-year term by popular
  vote; Vice President General Godfrey MIYANDA (since NA August 1994)
  appointed by the president; election last held 31 October 1991 (next
  to be held October 1996); results - Frederick CHILUBA 84%, Kenneth
  KAUNDA 16%
  cabinet: Cabinet, appointed by the president from among the members
  of the National Assembly

Legislative branch: unicameral
  National Assembly: elections last held 31 October 1991 (next to be
  held October 1996); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats -
  (150 total) MMD 125, UNIP 25; note - the MMD's majority was weakened
  by the defection of 13 of its parliamentary members during 1993 and
  the defeat of its candidates in four of the resulting byelections

Judicial branch: Supreme Court, justices are appointed by the
  president

Political parties and leaders: Movement for Multiparty Democracy
  (MMD), Frederick CHILUBA; United National Independence Party (UNIP),
  Kenneth KAUNDA; National Party (NP), Humphrey MULEMBIA; Labor Party
  (LP), Chibiza MFUNI; Zambia Democratic Congress (ZDC), Dean
  MUNG'OMBA; Liberal Progressive Front (LPF), Roger CHONGWE, president

International organization participation: ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA,
  FAO, G-19, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC,
  IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, NAM, OAU, SADC,
  UN, UNAMIR, UNAVEM III, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO,
  WMO, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Dunstan Weston KAMANA
  chancery: 2419 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
  telephone: [1] (202) 265-9717 through 9719
  FAX: [1] (202) 332-0826

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Roland K. KUCHEL
  embassy: corner of Independence Avenue and United Nations Avenue,
  Lusaka
  mailing address: P. O. Box 31617, Lusaka
  telephone: [260] (1) 250-955, 252-230
  FAX: [260] (1) 252-225

Flag: green with a panel of three vertical bands of red (hoist
  side), black, and orange below a soaring orange eagle, on the outer
  edge of the flag



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Despite continuing progress in privatization
  and budgetary reform, Zambia's economy is showing little
  improvement. Inflation, while slowing somewhat, continues to be a
  major concern to the CHILUBA government. Four of Zambia's 20 banks
  collapsed in 1995, and the nation's debt stood at about $7 billion.
  Zambia's copper mining sector, which accounts for over 80% of the
  nation's foreign currency intake, is struggling. Production rates
  are down as are world copper prices. Food production is insufficient
  to meet the country's needs due to previous droughts and an end to
  government subsidization of agriculture. While the government's
  economic program aims for 6% growth in each of the next three years,
  a growth rate of 3-5% is more likely.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $8.9 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: NA%

GDP per capita: $900 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 32%
  industry: 22%
  services: 46% (1994 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 55% (1994 est.)

Labor force: 3.4 million
  by occupation: agriculture 85%, mining, manufacturing, and
  construction 6%, transport and services 9%

Unemployment rate: 22% (1991)

Budget:
  revenues: $665 million
  expenditures: $767 million, including capital expenditures of $300
  million (1991 est.)

Industries: copper mining and processing, construction,
  foodstuffs, beverages, chemicals, textiles, fertilizer

Industrial production growth rate: -1% (1992)

Electricity:
  capacity: 2,440,000 kW
  production: 7.8 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 650 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: corn, sorghum, rice, peanuts, sunflower seed,
  tobacco, cotton, sugarcane, cassava (tapioca); cattle, goats, beef,
  eggs

Illicit drugs: increasingly a regional transshipment center for
  methaqualone and heroin

Exports: $1.075 billion (f.o.b., 1994 est.)
  commodities: copper, zinc, cobalt, lead, tobacco
  partners: EU countries, Japan, South Africa, US, India, Thailand,
  Malaysia

Imports: $845 million (f.o.b., 1994 est.)
  commodities: machinery, transportation equipment, foodstuffs, fuels,
  manufactures
  partners: EU countries, Japan, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, US

External debt: $7 billion (1995 est.)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $734 million (1993)

Currency: 1 Zambian kwacha (ZK) = 100 ngwee

Exchange rates: Zambian kwacha (ZK) per US$1 - 909.09 (December
  1995), 833.33 (1995), 769.23 (1994), 434.78 (1993), 156.25 (1992),
  61.7284 (1991)

Fiscal year: calendar year



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 2,164 km (1995)
  narrow gauge: 2,164 km 1.067-m gauge (13 km double track)
  note: the total includes 891 km of the Tanzania-Zambia Railway
  Authority (TAZARA), which operates 1,860 km of 1.067-m narrow gauge
  track between Dar es Salaam and New Kapiri M'poshi where it connects
  to the Zambia Railways system; TAZARA is not a part of Zambia
  Railways

Highways:
  total: 37,359 km
  paved: 6,575 km (including 56 km of expressways)
  unpaved: 30,784 km (1992 est.)

Waterways: 2,250 km, including Zambezi and Luapula rivers, Lake
  Tanganyika

Pipelines: crude oil 1,724 km

Ports: Mpulungu

Airports:
  total: 104
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 1
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 3
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 4
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 2
  with paved runways under 914 m: 35
  with unpaved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 1
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 4
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 54 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 80,900 (1987 est.)

Telephone system: facilities are among the best in Sub-Saharan
  Africa
  domestic: high-capacity microwave radio relay connects most larger
  towns and cities
  international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean
  and 1 Atlantic Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 11, FM 5, shortwave 0

Radios: 1,889,140

Television broadcast stations: 9

Televisions: 215,000 (1995 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Army, Air Force, paramilitary forces, Police

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 1,934,845
  males fit for military service: 1,020,851 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $96 million, 2.7%
  of GDP (1995)



======================================================================




@Zimbabwe
--------




Map
---


Location: 20 00 S, 30 00 E -- Southern Africa, northeast of
  Botswana



Flag
----


Description: seven equal horizontal bands of green, yellow, red,
  black, red, yellow, and green with a white equilateral triangle
  edged in black based on the hoist side; a yellow Zimbabwe bird is
  superimposed on a red five-pointed star in the center of the triangle





Geography
---------


Location: Southern Africa, northeast of Botswana

Geographic coordinates: 20 00 S, 30 00 E

Map references: Africa

Area:
  total area: 390,580 sq km
  land area: 386,670 sq km
  comparative area: slightly larger than Montana

Land boundaries:
  total: 3,066 km
  border countries: Botswana 813 km, Mozambique 1,231 km, South Africa
  225 km, Zambia 797 km

Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims: none (landlocked)

International disputes: quadripoint with Botswana, Namibia, and
  Zambia is in disagreement

Climate: tropical; moderated by altitude; rainy season (November
  to March)

Terrain: mostly high plateau with higher central plateau (high
  veld); mountains in east
  lowest point: junction of the Lundi and Savi rivers 162 m
  highest point: Inyangani 2,592 m

Natural resources: coal, chromium ore, asbestos, gold, nickel,
  copper, iron ore, vanadium, lithium, tin, platinum group metals

Land use:
  arable land: 7%
  permanent crops: NEGL (coffee)
  meadows and pastures: 13%
  forest and woodland: 49%
  other: 31%

Irrigated land: 2,250 sq km (1993 est.)

Environment:
  current issues: deforestation; soil erosion; land degradation; air
  and water pollution; the black rhinoceros herd - once the largest
  concentration of the species in the world - has been significantly
  reduced by poaching
  natural hazards: recurring droughts; floods and severe storms are
  rare
  international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
  Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection; signed,
  but not ratified - Desertification

Geographic note: landlocked



People
------


Population: 11,271,314 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 44% (male 2,513,606; female 2,481,478)
  15-64 years: 53% (male 2,935,188; female 3,030,270)
  65 years and over: 3% (male 152,244; female 158,528) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.41% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 32.34 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 18.2 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: NA migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)
  note: there is a small but steady flow of Zimbabweans into South
  Africa in search of better paid employment

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.96 male(s)/female
  all ages: 0.99 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 72.8 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 41.85 years
  male: 41.91 years
  female: 41.78 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 4.09 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Zimbabwean(s)
  adjective: Zimbabwean

Ethnic divisions: African 98% (Shona 71%, Ndebele 16%, other 11%),
  white 1%, mixed and Asian 1%

Religions: syncretic (part Christian, part indigenous beliefs)
  50%, Christian 25%, indigenous beliefs 24%, Muslim and other 1%

Languages: English (official), Shona, Sindebele (the language of
  the Ndebele, sometimes called Ndebele), numerous but minor tribal
  dialects

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write in English (1995 est.)
  total population: 85%
  male: 90%
  female: 80%






Government
----------


Name of country:
  conventional long form: Republic of Zimbabwe
  conventional short form: Zimbabwe
  former: Southern Rhodesia

Data code: ZI

Type of government: parliamentary democracy

Capital: Harare

Administrative divisions: 8 provinces and 2 cities* with
  provincial status; Bulawayo*, Harare*, Manicaland, Mashonaland
  Central, Mashonaland East, Mashonaland West, Masvingo (Victoria),
  Matabeleland North, Matabeleland South, Midlands

Independence: 18 April 1980 (from UK)

National holiday: Independence Day, 18 April (1980)

Constitution: 21 December 1979

Legal system: mixture of Roman-Dutch and English common law

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state and head of government: Executive President Robert
  Gabriel MUGABE (since 31 December 1987) was nominated by the House
  of Assembly (if more than one nomination, electoral college of
  members of the House of Assembly elect the president); election last
  held 26-27 March 1996 (next to be held NA March 2002); results -
  Robert MUGABE 92.7%, Abel MUZOREWA 4.8%; Ndabaningi SITHOLE 2.4%;
  Co-Vice President Simon Vengai MUZENDA (since 31 December 1987);
  Co-Vice President Joshua M. NKOMO (since 6 August 1990) was
  appointed by the president
  cabinet: Cabinet was appointed by the president; responsible to
  Parliament

Legislative branch: unicameral
  Parliament: elections last held 8-9 April 1995 (next to be held NA
  March 2000); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (150
  total, 120 elected) ZANU-PF 118, ZANU-Ndonga 2

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

Political parties and leaders: Zimbabwe African National
  Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF), Robert MUGABE; Zimbabwe African
  National Union-NDONGA (ZANU-NDONGA), Ndabaningi SITHOLE; Zimbabwe
  Unity Movement (ZUM), Edgar TEKERE; Democratic Party (DP), Emmanuel
  MAGOCHE; Forum Party of Zimbabwe, Enock DUMBUTSHENA; United Parties,
  Abel MUZOREWA

International organization participation: ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA,
  FAO, G-15, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC,
  IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU,
  NAM, OAU, PCA, SADC, UN, UNAMIR, UNAVEM III, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO,
  UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Amos Bernard Muvengwa MIDZI
  chancery: 1608 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009
  telephone: [1] (202) 332-7100
  FAX: [1] (202) 483-9326

US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Johnnie CARSON
  embassy: 172 Herbert Chitepo Avenue, Harare
  mailing address: P. O. Box 3340, Harare
  telephone: [263] (4) 794521
  FAX: [263] (4) 796488

Flag: seven equal horizontal bands of green, yellow, red, black,
  red, yellow, and green with a white equilateral triangle edged in
  black based on the hoist side; a yellow Zimbabwe bird is
  superimposed on a red five-pointed star in the center of the triangle



Economy
-------


Economic overview: Agriculture employs 70% of the labor force of
  this landlocked nation and supplies almost 40% of exports. Mining
  accounts for only 5% of both GDP and employment, but minerals and
  metals account for about 40% of exports. Severe drought caused GDP
  to drop 8% in 1992, with growth rebounding to 2% in 1993 and 4.5% in
  1994, only to drop by 2.4% in 1995. The government is continuing to
  push its IMF/World Bank structural adjustment program aimed at
  encouraging exports and foreign investment. Officials face the
  difficult task of restraining expenditures in their effort to keep
  inflation within bounds.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $18.1 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: -2.4% (1995)

GDP per capita: $1,620 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
  agriculture: 18.3%
  industry: 35.3%
  services: 46.4% (1993 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 25.8% (1995)

Labor force: 4.228 million (1993 est.)
  by occupation: agriculture 70%, transport and services 22%, industry
  8%

Unemployment rate: at least 45% (1994 est.)

Budget:
  revenues: $1.7 billion
  expenditures: $2.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $253
  million (FY92/93)

Industries: mining, steel, clothing and footwear, chemicals,
  foodstuffs, fertilizer, beverage, transportation equipment, wood
  products

Industrial production growth rate: 10% (1994)

Electricity:
  capacity: 2,040,000 kW
  production: 9 billion kWh
  consumption per capita: 913 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: corn, cotton, tobacco, wheat, coffee, sugarcane,
  peanuts; cattle, sheep, goats, pigs

Exports: $2.2 billion (f.o.b., 1995 est.)
  commodities: agricultural 35% (tobacco 30%, other 5%), manufactures
  25%, gold 12%, ferrochrome 10%, textiles 8% (1992)
  partners: UK 14%, Germany 11%, South Africa 10%, Japan 7%, US 5%
  (1991)

Imports: $1.8 billion (c.i.f., 1995 est.)
  commodities: machinery and transportation equipment 41%, other
  manufactures 23%, chemicals 16%, fuels 12% (1991)
  partners: South Africa 25%, UK 15%, Germany 9%, US 6%, Japan 5%
  (1991)

External debt: $4.4 billion (1994)

Economic aid:
  recipient: ODA, $362 million (1993)

Currency: 1 Zimbabwean dollar (Z$) = 100 cents

Exchange rates: Zimbabwean dollars (Z$) per US$1 -9.3633 (January
  1996), 8.6580 (1995), 8.1500 (1994), 6.4725 (1993), 5.0942 (1992),
  3.4282 (1991)

Fiscal year: 1 July - 30 June



Transportation
--------------


Railways:
  total: 2,759 km (1995)
  narrow gauge: 2,759 km 1.067-m gauge (313 km electrified; 42 km
  double track) (1995 est.)

Highways:
  total: 91,078 km
  paved: 14,572 km
  unpaved: 76,506 km (1992 est.)

Waterways: Lake Kariba is a potential line of communication

Pipelines: petroleum products 212 km

Ports: Binga, Kariba

Airports:
  total: 403
  with paved runways over 3 047 m: 3
  with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 2
  with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 6
  with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 8
  with paved runways under 914 m: 185
  with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 1
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 198 (1995 est.)



Communications
--------------


Telephones: 301,000 (1990 est.)

Telephone system: system was once one of the best in Africa, but
  now suffers from poor maintenance
  domestic: consists of microwave radio relay links, open-wire lines,
  and radiotelephone communication stations
  international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 8, FM 18, shortwave 0

Radios: 890,000 (1992 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 8 (1986 est.)

Televisions: 280,000 (1992 est.)



Defense
-------


Branches: Zimbabwe National Army, Air Force of Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe
  Republic Police (includes Police Support Unit, Paramilitary Police)

Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49: 2,629,880
  males fit for military service: 1,632,391 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $236 million,
  3.4% of GDP (FY95/96)



======================================================================