China
(also see separate Taiwan entry)
Geography
Total area: 9,596,960 km2; land area: 9,326,410 km2
Comparative area: slightly larger than the US
Land boundaries: 23,213.34 km total; Afghanistan 76 km, Bhutan 470 km,
Burma 2,185 km, Hong Kong 30 km, India 3,380 km, North Korea 1,416 km,
Laos 423 km, Macau 0.34 km, Mongolia 4,673 km, Nepal 1,236 km, Pakistan 523 km,
USSR 7,520 km, Vietnam 1,281 km
Coastline: 14,500 km
Maritime claims:
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Disputes: boundary with India; bilateral negotiations are under way
to resolve four disputed sections of the boundary with the USSR
(Pamir, Argun, Amur, and Khabarovsk areas); a short section of
the boundary with North Korea is indefinite; Hong Kong is
scheduled to become a Special Administrative Region in 1997; Portuguese
territory of Macau is scheduled to become a Special Administrative
Region in 1999; sporadic border clashes with Vietnam; involved in a
complex dispute over the Spratly Islands with Malaysia, Philippines,
Taiwan, and Vietnam; 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)
Climate: extremely diverse; tropical in south to subarctic in north
Terrain: mostly mountains, high plateaus, deserts in west; plains,
deltas, and hills in east
Natural resources: coal, iron ore, crude oil, mercury, tin, tungsten,
antimony, manganese, molybdenum, vanadium, magnetite, aluminum, lead,
zinc, uranium, world’s largest hydropower potential
Land use: 10% arable land; NEGL% permanent crops; 31% meadows and
pastures; 14% forest and woodland; 45% other; includes 5% irrigated
Environment: frequent typhoons (about five times per year along southern
and eastern coasts), damaging floods, tsunamis, earthquakes; deforestation; soil
erosion; industrial pollution; water pollution; desertification
Note: world’s third-largest country (after USSR and Canada)
People
Population: 1,118,162,727 (July 1990), growth rate 1.4% (1990)
Birth rate: 22 births/1,000 population (1990)
Death rate: 7 deaths/1,000 population (1990)
Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1990)
Infant mortality rate: 34 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)
Life expectancy at birth: 67 years male, 69 years female (1990)
Total fertility rate: 2.3 children born/woman (1990)
Nationality: noun–Chinese (sing., pl.); adjective–Chinese
Ethnic divisions: 93.3% Han Chinese; 6.7% Zhuang, Uygur, Hui, Yi,
Tibetan, Miao, Manchu, Mongol, Buyi, Korean, and other nationalities
Religion: officially atheist, but traditionally pragmatic and eclectic;
most important elements of religion are Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism;
about 2-3% Muslim, 1% Christian
Language: Standard Chinese (Putonghua) or Mandarin (based on the Beijing
dialect); also Yue (Cantonese), Wu (Shanghainese), Minbei (Fuzhou), Minnan
(Hokkien-Taiwanese), Xiang, Gan, Hakka dialects, and minority languages (see
ethnic divisions)
Literacy: over 75%
Labor force: 513,000,000; 61.1% agriculture and forestry, 25.2% industry
and commerce, 4.6% construction and mining, 4.5% social services, 4.6% other
(1986 est.)
Organized labor: All-China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU) follows the
leadership of the Chinese Communist Party; membership over 80 million or about
65% of the urban work force (1985)
Government
Long-form name: People’s Republic of China; abbreviated PRC
Type: Communist Party-led 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*, Yunnan,
Zhejiang; note–China considers Taiwan its 23rd province
Independence: unification under the Qin (Ch’in) Dynasty 221 BC,
Qing (Ch’ing or Manchu) Dynasty replaced by the Republic on 12 February 1912,
People’s Republic established 1 October 1949
Constitution: 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
National holiday: National Day, 1 October (1949)
Executive branch: president, vice president, premier, three vice premiers,
State Council, Central Military Commission (de facto)
Legislative branch: unicameral National People’s Congress (Quanguo
Renmin Daibiao Dahui)
Judicial branch: Supreme People’s Court
Leaders:
Chief of State and Head of Government (de facto)–DENG
Xiaoping (since mid-1977);
Chief of State–President YANG Shangkun (since 8 April 1988);
Vice President WANG Zhen (since 8 April 1988);
Head of Government–Premier LI Peng (Acting Premier since
24 November 1987, Premier since 9 April 1988);
Vice Premier YAO Yilin (since 2 July 1979);
Vice Premier TIAN Jiyun (since 20 June 1983);
Vice Premier WU Xueqian (since 12 April 1988)
Political parties and leaders: only party–Chinese Communist Party
(CCP), Jiang Zemin, general secretary of the Central Committee
Suffrage: universal at age 18
Elections:
President–last held 8 April 1988 (next to be held March 1993);
Yang Shangkun was elected by the Seventh National People’s Congress;
National People’s Congress–last held NA March 1988 (next to
be held March 1993); results–CCP is the only party;
seats–(2,970 total) CCP 2,970 (indirectly elected)
Communists: about 45,000,000 party members (1986)
Other political or pressure groups: such meaningful opposition as exists
consists of loose coalitions, usually within the party and government
organization, that vary by issue
Member of: ADB, CCC, ESCAP, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IHO,
ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, ITU, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO
Diplomatic representation: Ambassador ZHU Qizhen; Chancery at
2300 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008;
telephone (202) 328-2500 through 2502; there are Chinese Consulates General
in Chicago, Houston, New York, and San Francisco;
US–Ambassador James R. LILLEY; Embassy at Xiu Shui Bei Jie 3,
Beijing (mailing address is FPO San Francisco 96655); telephone Õ86å (1)
532-3831;
there are US Consulates General in Chengdu, Guangzhou, Shanghai, and 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
Overview: Beginning in late 1978 the Chinese leadership has been
trying to move the economy from the sluggish Soviet-style centrally planned
economy to a more productive and flexible economy with market elements–but
still within the framework of monolithic Communist control. To this
end the authorities have 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 foreign economic sector to increased trade and joint
ventures. The most gratifying result has been a strong spurt in production,
particularly in agriculture in the early 1980s. Otherwise, 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 and thereby undermining the
credibility of the reform process. Open inflation and excess demand continue to
plague the economy, and political repression, following the crackdown at
Tiananmen in mid-1989, has curtailed tourism, foreign aid, and new investment
by foreign firms. Popular resistance and changes in central policy have weakened
China’s population control program, which is essential to the nation’s long-term
economic viability.
GNP: $NA, per capita $NA; real growth rate 4% (1989 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 19.5% (1989)
Unemployment rate: 3.0% in urban areas (1989)
Budget: revenues $NA; expenditures $NA, including capital expenditures of
$NA
Exports: $52.5 billion (f.o.b., 1989);
commodities–manufactured goods, agricultural products, oilseeds, grain
(rice and corn), oil, minerals;
partners–Hong Kong, US, Japan, USSR, Singapore, FRG (1989)
Imports: $59.1 billion (c.i.f., 1989);
commodities–grain (mostly wheat), chemical fertilizer, steel,
industrial raw materials, machinery, equipment;
partners–Hong Kong, Japan, US, FRG, USSR (1989)
External debt: $51 billion (1989 est.)
Industrial production: growth rate 8.0% (1989)
Electricity: 110,000,000 kW capacity; 560,000 million kWh produced,
500 kWh per capita (1989)
Industries: iron, steel, coal, machine building, armaments,
textiles, petroleum
Agriculture: accounts for 26% of GNP; among the world’s largest producers
of rice, potatoes, sorghum, peanuts, tea, millet, barley, and pork; commercial
crops include cotton, other fibers, and oilseeds; produces variety of livestock
products; basically self-sufficient in food; fish catch of 8 million metric tons
in 1986
Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-87), $220.7 million;
Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87),
$11.1 billion
Currency: yuan (plural–yuan); 1 yuan (Y) = 10 jiao
Exchange rates: yuan (Y) per US$1–4.7221 (January 1990),
3.7651 (1989), 3.7221 (1988), 3.7221 (1987), 3.4528 (1986), 2.9367 (1985)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications
Railroads: total about 54,000 km common carrier lines; 53,400 km
1.435-meter standard gauge; 600 km 1.000-meter gauge;
all single track except 11,200 km double track on standard-gauge lines;
6,500 km electrified; 10,000 km industrial lines
(gauges range from 0.762 to 1.067 meters)
Highways: about 980,000 km all types roads; 162,000 km paved
roads, 617,200 km gravel/improved earth roads, 200,800 km unimproved
natural earth roads and tracks
Inland waterways: 138,600 km; about 109,800 km navigable
Pipelines: crude, 6,500 km; refined products, 1,100 km; natural gas,
6,200 km
Ports: Dalian, Guangzhou, Huangpu, Qingdao, Qinhuangdao, Shanghai,
Xingang, Zhanjiang, Ningbo
Merchant marine: 1,373 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 13,303,685 GRT/
20,092,833 DWT; includes 25 passenger, 41 short-sea passenger, 17
passenger-cargo, 7 cargo/training, 766 cargo, 10 refrigerated cargo,
65 container, 17 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 3 multifunction barge carriers,
173 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 9 chemical tanker, 237 bulk,
2 vehicle carrier, 1 liquefied gas; note–China beneficially owns an additional
175 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling approximately 5,380,415 DWT that operate
under the registry of Panama, UK, Hong Kong, Liberia, and Malta
Airports: 330 total, 330 usable; 260 with permanent-surface runways;
fewer than 10 with runways over 3,500 m; 90 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 200 with
runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications: domestic and international services are
increasingly available for private use; unevenly distributed internal
system serves principal cities, industrial centers, and most townships;
11,000,000 telephones (December 1989); stations–274 AM, unknown FM,
202 (2,050 relays) TV; more than 215 million radio receivers; 75 million
TVs; satellite earth stations–4 Pacific Ocean INTELSAT, 1 Indian Ocean
INTELSAT, and 55 domestic
Defense Forces
Branches: Chinese People’s Liberation Army (CPLA), CPLA Navy (including
Marines), CPLA Air Force
Military manpower: males 15-49, 330,353,665; 184,515,412 fit for military
service; 11,594,366 reach military age (18) annually
Defense expenditures: $5.28 billion (1988)
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Christmas Island
(territory of Australia)
Geography
Total area: 135 km2; land area: 135 km2
Comparative area: about 0.8 times the size of Washington, DC
Land boundaries: none
Coastline: 138.9 km
Maritime claims:
Contiguous zone: 12 nm;
Continental shelf: 200 meters or to depth of exploitation;
Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm;
Territorial sea: 3 nm
Climate: tropical; heat and humidity moderated by trade winds
Terrain: steep cliffs along coast rise abruptly to central plateau
Natural resources: phosphate
Land use: 0% arable land; 0% permanent crops; 0% meadows and pastures;
0% forest and woodland; 100% other
Environment: almost completely surrounded by a reef
Note: located along major sea lanes of Indian Ocean
People
Population: 2,278 (July 1990), growth rate 0.0% (1990)
Birth rate: NA births/1,000 population (1990)
Death rate: NA deaths/1,000 population (1990)
Net migration rate: NA migrants/1,000 population (1990)
Infant mortality rate: NA deaths/1,000 live births (1990)
Life expectancy at birth: NA years male, NA years female (1990)
Total fertility rate: NA children born/woman (1990)
Nationality: noun–Christmas Islander(s), adjective–Christmas Island
Ethnic divisions: 61% Chinese, 25% Malay, 11% European, 3% other; no
indigenous population
Religion: NA
Language: English
Literacy: NA%
Labor force: NA; all workers are employees of the Phosphate Mining
Company of Christmas Island, Ltd.
Organized labor: NA
Government
Long-form name: Territory of Christmas Island
Type: territory of Australia
Capital: The Settlement
Administrative divisions: none (territory of Australia)
Independence: none (territory of Australia)
Constitution: Christmas Island Act of 1958
Legal system: under the authority of the governor general of Australia
National holiday: NA
Executive branch: British monarch, governor general of Australia,
administrator, Advisory Council (cabinet)
Legislative branch: none
Judicial branch: none
Leaders:
Chief of State–Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952);
Head of Government–Administrator A. D. TAYLOR (since NA)
Communists: none
Diplomatic representation: none (territory of Australia)
Flag: the flag of Australia is used
Economy
Overview: Phosphate mining is the only significant economic
activity, but in November 1987 the Australian Government announced that
the mine would be closed because of labor unrest. Plans are under way to build a
casino and hotel to develop tourism.
GDP: $NA, per capita $NA; real growth rate NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA%
Unemployment rate: 0%
Budget: revenues $NA; expenditures $NA, including capital expenditures of
$NA
Exports: $NA; commodities–phosphate; partners–Australia, NZ
Imports: $NA; commodities–NA; partners–NA
External debt: $NA
Industrial production: growth rate NA%
Electricity: 11,000 kW capacity; 38 million kWh produced,
16,680 kWh per capita (1989)
Industries: phosphate extraction (near depletion)
Agriculture: NA
Aid: none
Currency: Australian dollar (plural–dollars); 1 Australian dollar
($A) = 100 cents
Exchange rates: Australian dollars ($A) per US$1–1.2784 (January 1990),
1.2618 (1989), 1.2752 (1988), 1.4267 (1987), 1.4905 (1986), 1.4269 (1985)
Fiscal year: 1 July-30 June
Communications
Ports: Flying Fish Cove
Airports: 1 usable with permanent-surface runway 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications: 4,000 radios (1982)
Defense Forces
Note: defense is the responsibility of Australia
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Clipperton Island
(French possession)
Geography
Total area: undetermined
Comparative area: undetermined
Land boundaries: none
Coastline: 11.1 km
Maritime claims:
Contiguous zone: 12 nm;
Continental shelf: 200 meters or to depth of exploitation;
Extended economic zone: 200 nm;
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: tropical
Terrain: coral atoll
Natural resources: none
Land use: 0% arable land; 0% permanent crops; 0% meadows and pastures;
0% forest and woodland; 100% other (coral)
Environment: reef about 8 km in circumference
Note: located 1,120 km southwest of Mexico in the North Pacific Ocean
People
Population: uninhabited
Government
Long-form name: none
Type: French possession administered by High Commissioner of the
Republic Jean MONTPEZAT, resident in French Polynesia
Economy
Overview: no economic activity
Communications
Ports: none; offshore anchorage only
Defense Forces
Note: defense is the responsibility of France
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Cocos (Keeling) Islands
(territory of Australia)
Geography
Total area: 14 km2; land area: 14 km2; main islands are West Island and
Home Island
Comparative area: about 24 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC
Land boundaries: none
Coastline: 42.6 km
Maritime claims:
Contiguous zone: 12 nm;
Continental shelf: 200 meters or to depth of exploitation;
Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm;
Territorial sea: 3 nm
Climate: pleasant, modified by the southeast trade winds for about nine
months of the year; moderate rainfall
Terrain: flat, low-lying coral atolls
Natural resources: fish
Land use: 0% arable land; 0% permanent crops; 0% meadows and
pastures; 0% forest and woodland; 100% other
Environment: two coral atolls thickly covered with coconut palms and
other vegetation
Note: located 1,070 km southwest of Sumatra (Indonesia) in the
Indian Ocean about halfway between Australia and Sri Lanka
People
Population: 670 (July 1990), growth rate 2.1% (1990)
Birth rate: NA births/1,000 population (1990)
Death rate: NA deaths/1,000 population (1990)
Net migration rate: NA migrants/1,000 population (1990)
Infant mortality rate: NA deaths/1,000 live births (1990)
Life expectancy at birth: NA years male, NA years female (1990)
Total fertility rate: NA children born/woman (1990)
Nationality: noun–Cocos Islander(s); adjective–Cocos Islander(s)
Ethnic divisions: mostly Europeans on West Island and Cocos Malays
on Home Island
Religion: NA
Language: English
Literacy: NA%
Labor force: NA
Organized labor: none
Government
Long-form name: Territory of Cocos (Keeling) Islands
Type: territory of Australia
Capital: West Island
Administrative divisions: none (territory of Australia)
Independence: none (territory of Australia)
Constitution: Cocos (Keeling) Islands Act of 1955
Legal system: based upon the laws of Australia and local laws
National holiday: NA
Executive branch: British monarch, governor general of Australia,
administrator, chairman of the Islands Council
Legislative branch: unicameral Islands Council
Judicial branch: Supreme Court
Leaders: Chief of State–Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952);
Head of Government–Administrator D. LAWRIE (since NA 1989);
Chairman of the Islands Council Parson Bin YAPAT (since NA)
Suffrage: NA
Elections: NA
Diplomatic representation: none (territory of Australia)
Flag: the flag of Australia is used
Economy
Overview: Grown throughout the islands, coconuts are the sole cash
crop. Copra and fresh coconuts are the major export earners. Small local
gardens and fishing contribute to the food supply, but additional food and most
other necessities must be imported from Australia.
GNP: $NA, per capita $NA; real growth rate NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA%
Unemployment: NA
Budget: revenues $NA; expenditures $NA, including capital expenditures of
$NA
Exports: $NA;
commodities–copra;
partners–Australia
Imports: $NA;
commodities–foodstuffs;
partners–Australia
External debt: $NA
Industrial production: growth rate NA%
Electricity: NA kW capacity; NA million kWh produced, NA kWh per
capita
Industries: copra products
Agriculture: gardens provide vegetables, bananas, pawpaws, coconuts
Aid: none
Currency: Australian dollar (plural–dollars); 1 Australian dollar
($A) = 100 cents
Exchange rates: Australian dollars ($A) per US$1–1.2784 (January 1990),
1.2618 (1989), 1.2752 (1988), 1.4267 (1987), 1.4905 (1986), 1.4269 (1985)
Fiscal year: 1 July-30 June
Communications
Ports: none; lagoon anchorage only
Airports: 1 airfield with permanent-surface runway, 2,440-3,659 m;
airport on West Island is a link in service between Australia and South Africa
Telecommunications: 250 radios (1985); linked by telephone,
telex, and facsimile communications via satellite with Australia;
stations–1 AM, no FM, no TV
Defense Forces
Note: defense is the responsibility of Australia
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Colombia
Geography
Total area: 1,138,910 km2; land area: 1,038,700 km2; includes Isla
de Malpelo, Roncador Cay, Serrana Bank, and Serranilla Bank
Comparative area: slightly less than three times the size of Montana
Land boundaries: 7,408 km total; Brazil 1,643 km, Ecuador 590 km,
Panama 225 km, Peru 2,900, Venezuela 2,050 km
Coastline: 3,208 km total (1,448 km North Pacific Ocean;
1,760 Caribbean Sea)
Maritime claims:
Continental shelf: not specified;
Extended economic zone: 200 nm;
Territorial sea: 12 nm
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: mixture of flat coastal lowlands, plains in east, central
highlands, some high mountains
Natural resources: crude oil, natural gas, coal, iron ore, nickel,
gold, copper, emeralds
Land use: 4% arable land; 2% permanent crops; 29% meadows and pastures;
49% forest and woodland; 16% other; includes NEGL% irrigated
Environment: highlands subject to volcanic eruptions;
deforestation; soil damage from overuse of pesticides; periodic droughts
Note: only South American country with coastlines on both
North Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea
People
Population: 33,076,188 (July 1990), growth rate 2.1% (1990)
Birth rate: 27 births/1,000 population (1990)
Death rate: 5 deaths/1,000 population (1990)
Net migration rate: NEGL migrants/1,000 population (1990)
Infant mortality rate: 38 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)
Life expectancy at birth: 68 years male, 73 years female (1990)
Total fertility rate: 2.9 children born/woman (1990)
Nationality: noun–Colombian(s); adjective–Colombian
Ethnic divisions: 58% mestizo, 20% white, 14% mulatto, 4% black, 3%
mixed black-Indian, 1% Indian
Religion: 95% Roman Catholic
Language: Spanish
Literacy: 88% (1987 est.), Indians about 40%
Labor force: 11,000,000 (1986); 53% services, 26% agriculture,
21% industry (1981)
Organized labor: 1,400,000 members (1987), about 12% of labor
force; the Communist-backed Unitary Workers Central or CUT is the largest
labor organization, with about 725,000 members (including all affiliate unions)
Government
Long-form name: Republic of Colombia
Type: republic; executive branch dominates government structure
Capital: Bogota
Administrative divisions: 23 departments (departamentos,
singular–departamento), 5 commissariats* (comisarias,
singular–comisaria), and 4 intendancies** (intendencias,
singular–intendencia); Amazonas*, Antioquia, Arauca**, Atlantico, 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*; note–there may be a new special district (distrito
especial) named Bogota
Independence: 20 July 1810 (from Spain)
Constitution: 4 August 1886, with amendments codified in 1946 and 1968
Legal system: based on Spanish law; judicial review of legislative acts
in the Supreme Court; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
National holiday: Independence Day, 20 July (1810)
Executive branch: president, presidential designate, cabinet
Legislative branch: bicameral Congress (Congreso) consists of an upper
chamber or Senate (Senado) and a lower chamber or Chamber of Representatives
(Camara de Representantes)
Judicial branch: Supreme Court of Justice (Corte Suprema de Justica)
Leaders:
Chief of State and Head of Government–Virgilio BARCO Vargas
(since 7 August 1986; term ends August 1990); Presidential Designate
Victor MOSQUERA Chaux (since 13 October 1986); President-elect Cesar
GAVIRIA Trujillo (since 27 May 1990, takes office 7 August 1990)
Political parties and leaders: Liberal Party–Cesar Gaviria
Trujillo, Virgilio Barco Vargas, Alfonso Lopez Michelson, Julio Cesar
Turbay;
Conservative Party–Misael Pastrana Borrero, Alvaro Gomez Hurtado;
Patriotic Union (UP), is a legal political party formed by
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and Colombian
Communist Party (PCC), Bernardo Jaramillo Ossa; 19th of April Movement
(M-19), Rodrigo Lloreda
Suffrage: universal at age 18
Elections:
President–last held 27 May 1990 (next to be held May 1994);
results–Cesar Gaviria Trujillo (Liberal) 47%, Alvaro Gomez Hurtado
(Conservative) 24%, Antonio Novarro Wolff (Conservative) 13%, Rodrigo
Lloreda (M-19) 12%;
Senate–last held 11 March 1990 (next to be held March 1994);
results–percent of vote by party NA;
seats–(114 total) Liberal 68, Conservative 45, UP 1;
House of Representatives last held 11 March 1990 (next to be held
March 1994); results–percent of vote by party NA;
seats–(199 total) Liberal 107, Conservative 82, UP 10
Communists: 18,000 members (est.), including Communist Party Youth
Organization (JUCO)
Other political or pressure groups: Colombian Communist Party (PCC),
Gilberto Vieira White; Communist Party/Marxist-Leninist (PCC/ML), Chinese-line
Communist Party; Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC);
National Liberation Army (ELN); People’s Liberation Army (EPL)
Member of: FAO, G-77, GATT, Group of Eight, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAC,
ICAO, ICO, IDA, IDB–Inter-American Development Bank, IFAD,
IFC, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IRC, ISO, ITU, LAIA,
NAM, OAS, PAHO, SELA, UN, UNESCO, UPEB, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO,
WSG, WTO
Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Victor MOSQUERA; Chancery at
2118 Leroy Place NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 387-8338; there are
Colombian Consulates General in Chicago, Houston, Miami, New Orleans, New York,
San Francisco, and San Juan (Puerto Rico), and Consulates in Atlanta, Boston,
Detroit, Ft. Lauderdale, Los Angeles, San Diego, and Tampa;
US–Ambassador Thomas E. McNAMARA; Embassy at Calle 38, No.8-61,
Bogota (mailing address is APO Miami 34038); telephone Õ57å (1) 285-1300 or
1688; there is a US Consulate in 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
Overview: Economic activity has slowed gradually since 1986, but
growth rates remain high by Latin American standards. Conservative
economic policies have encouraged investment and kept inflation
and unemployment under 30% and 10%, respectively. The rapid development
of oil, coal, and other nontraditional industries over the past four
years has helped to offset the decline in coffee prices–Colombia’s major
export. The collapse of the International Coffee Agreement in the summer
of 1989, a troublesome rural insurgency, and drug-related violence
dampen prospects for future growth.
GDP: $35.4 billion, per capita $1,110; real growth rate 3.7% (1988)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 27% (1989 est.)
Unemployment rate: 9.0% (1989 est.)
Budget: revenues $4.39 billion; current expenditures $3.93
billion, capital expenditures $l.03 billion (1989 est.)
Exports: $5.76 billion (f.o.b., 1989 est.);
commodities–coffee 30%, petroleum 24%, coal, bananas, fresh cut flowers;
partners–US 36%, EC 21%, Japan 5%, Netherlands 4%, Sweden 3%
Imports: $5.02 billion (c.i.f., 1989 est.);
commodities–industrial equipment, transportation equipment, foodstuffs,
chemicals, paper products;
partners–US 34%, EC 16%, Brazil 4%, Venezuela 3%, Japan 3%
External debt: $17.5 billion (1989)
Industrial production: growth rate 2.0% (1989 est.)
Electricity: 9,250,000 kW capacity; 35,364 million kWh produced,
1,110 kWh per capita (1989)
Industries: textiles, food processing, oil, clothing and footwear,
beverages, chemicals, metal products, cement; mining–gold, coal, emeralds,
iron, nickel, silver, salt
Agriculture: accounts for 22% of GDP; crops make up two-thirds and
livestock one-third of agricultural output; climate and soils permit a wide
variety of crops, such as coffee, rice, tobacco, corn, sugarcane, cocoa beans,
oilseeds, vegetables; forest products and shrimp farming are becoming more
important
Illicit drugs: major illicit producer of cannabis and coca for the
international drug trade; key supplier of marijuana and cocaine to
the US and other international drug markets; drug production and
trafficking accounts for an estimated 4% of GDP and 28% of foreign
exchange earnings
Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $1.6 billion; Western
(non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $2.9 billion;
Communist countries (1970-88), $399 million
Currency: Colombian peso (plural–pesos);
1 Colombian peso (Col$) = 100 centavos
Exchange rates: Colombian pesos (Col$) per US$1–439.68 (January 1990),
382.57 (1989), 299.17 (1988), 242.61 (1987), 194.26 (1986), 142.31 (1985)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications
Railroads: 3,563 km, all 0.914-meter gauge, single track
Highways: 75,450 km total; 9,350 km paved, 66,100 km earth and gravel
surfaces
Inland waterways: 14,300 km, navigable by river boats
Pipelines: crude oil, 3,585 km; refined products, 1,350 km; natural gas,
830 km; natural gas liquids, 125 km
Ports: Barranquilla, Buenaventura, Cartagena, Covenas, San Andres,
Santa Marta, Tumaco
Merchant marine: 34 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 334,854 GRT/487,438
DWT; includes 23 cargo, 1 chemical tanker, 1 petroleum, oils, and lubricants
(POL) tanker, 9 bulk
Civil air: 106 major transport aircraft
Airports: 673 total, 622 usable; 66 with permanent-surface runways;
1 with runways over 3,659 m; 10 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 124 with runways
1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications: nationwide radio relay system; 1,890,000 telephones;
stations–413 AM, no FM, 33 TV, 28 shortwave 2 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth
stations with 2 antennas and 11 domestic satellite stations
Defense Forces
Branches: armed forces include Police (Policia Nacional) and
military–Army (Ejercito Nacional), Air Force (Fuerza Aerea de Colombia),
Navy (Armada Nacional)
Military manpower: males 15-49, 8,768,072; 5,953,729 fit for military
service; 354,742 reach military age (18) annually
Defense expenditures: 1.9% of GDP, or $700 million (1990 est.)
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Comoros
Geography
Total area: 2,170 km2; land area: 2,170 km2
Comparative area: slightly more than 12 times the size of Washington, DC
Land boundaries: none
Coastline: 340 km
Maritime claims:
Extended economic zone: 200 nm;
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Disputes: claims French-administered Mayotte
Climate: tropical marine; rainy season (November to May)
Terrain: volcanic islands, interiors vary from steep mountains
to low hills
Natural resources: negligible
Land use: 35% arable land; 8% permanent crops; 7% meadows and pastures;
16% forest and woodland; 34% other
Environment: soil degradation and erosion; deforestation;
cyclones possible during rainy season
Note: important location at northern end of Mozambique Channel
People
Population: 460,188 (July 1990), growth rate 3.5% (1990)
Birth rate: 48 births/1,000 population (1990)
Death rate: 12 deaths/1,000 population (1990)
Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1990)
Infant mortality rate: 89 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)
Life expectancy at birth: 54 years male, 58 years female (1990)
Total fertility rate: 7.0 children born/woman (1990)
Nationality: noun–Comoran(s); adjective–Comoran
Ethnic divisions: Antalote, Cafre, Makoa, Oimatsaha, Sakalava
Religion: 86% Sunni Muslim, 14% Roman Catholic
Language: Shaafi Islam (a Swahili dialect), Malagasy, French
Literacy: 15%
Labor force: 140,000 (1982); 80% agriculture, 3% government; 51% of
population of working age (1985)
Organized labor: NA
Government
Long-form name: Federal Islamic Republic of the Comoros
Type: independent republic
Capital: Moroni
Administrative divisions: 3 islands; Anjouan, Grande Comore,
Moheli; note–there may also be 4 municipalities named Domoni, Fomboni,
Moroni, and Mutsamudu
Independence: 6 July 1975 (from France)
Constitution: 1 October 1978, amended October 1982 and January 1985
Legal system: French and Muslim law in a new consolidated code
National holiday: Independence Day, 6 July (1975)
Executive branch: president, Council of Ministers (cabinet)
Legislative branch: unicameral Federal Assembly (Assemblee Federale)
Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Cour Supreme)
Leaders:
Chief of State and Head of Government–President Said
Mohamed DJOHAR (since 11 March 1990)
Political parties: Comoran Union for Progress (Udzima), Said
Mohamed Djohar, president; National Union for Democracy (UNDC),
Mohamed Taki
Suffrage: universal at age 18
Elections:
President–last held 11 March 1990 (next to be held March 1996);
results–Said Mohamed Djohar (Udzima) 55%; Mohamed Taki Abdulkarim
(UNDC) 45%;
Federal Assembly–last held 22 March 1987 (next to be held March
1992);
results–percent of vote by party NA;
seats–(42 total) Udzima 42
Member of: ACP, AfDB, FAO, G-77, IBRD, IDA, IDB–Islamic Development Bank,
IFAD, ILO, IMF, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO
Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Amini Ali MOUMIN; Chancery
(temporary) at the Comoran Permanent Mission to the UN, 336 East 45th Street,
2nd Floor, New York, NY 10017; telephone (212) 972-8010;
US–Ambassador Howard K. WALKER, resides in Antananarivo (Madagascar);
Embassy at address NA, Moroni (mailing address B. P. 1318, Moroni);
telephone 73-12-03
Flag: green with a white crescent placed diagonally (closed side of the
crescent points to the upper hoist-side corner of the flag); 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 (which is a territorial collectivity of France, but claimed
by the Comoros)
Economy
Overview: One of the world’s poorest countries, Comoros is made up of
several islands that have poor transportation links, a young and rapidly
increasing population, and few natural resources. The low educational level
of the labor force contributes to a low level of economic activity, high
unemployment, and a heavy dependence on foreign technical assistance.
Agriculture, including fishing and forestry, is the leading sector of the
economy. It contributes about 40% to GDP, employs 80% of the labor
force, and provides most of the exports. The country is not self-sufficient in
food production, and rice, the main staple, accounts for 90% of imports.
During the period 1982-86 the industrial sector grew at an annual average rate
of 5.3%, but its contribution to GDP was less than 4% in 1986. Despite major
investment in the tourist industry, which accounts for about 25% of GDP, growth
has stagnated since 1983.
GDP: $207 million, per capita $475; real growth rate 0.1% (1988 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 8.3% (1986)
Unemployment rate: over 16% (1988 est.)
Budget: revenues $75.2 million; expenditures $77.9 million,
including capital expenditures of $4.8 million (1988 est.)
Exports: $12 million (f.o.b., 1987);
commodities–vanilla, cloves, perfume oil, copra;
partners–US 53%, France 41%, Africa 4%, FRG 2%
Imports: $52 million (c.i.f., 1987);
commodities–rice and other foodstuffs, cement, petroleum products,
consumer goods;
partners–Europe 62% (France 22%, other 40%), Africa 5%, Pakistan,
China
External debt: $238 million (December 1988)
Industrial production: growth rate 3.4% (1988 est.)
Electricity: 16,000 kW capacity; 24 million kWh produced,
55 kWh per capita (1989)
Industries: perfume distillation
Agriculture: accounts for 40% of GDP; most of population works in
subsistence agriculture and fishing; plantations produce cash crops for
export–vanilla, cloves, perfume essences, and copra; principal food
crops–coconuts, bananas, cassava; world’s leading producer of essence of
ylang-ylang (for perfumes) and second-largest producer of vanilla; large net
food importer
Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY80-88), $9 million; Western
(non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $371 million;
OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $22 million; Communist countries (1970-88),
$18 million
Currency: Comoran franc (plural–francs); 1 Comoran franc (CF) = 100
centimes
Exchange rates: Comoran francs (CF) per US$1–287.99 (January 1990),
319.01 (1989), 297.85 (1988), 300.54 (1987), 346.30 (1986), 449.26 (1985);
note–linked to the French franc at 50 to 1 French franc
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications
Highways: 750 km total; about 210 km bituminous, remainder crushed
stone or gravel
Ports: Mutsamudu, Moroni
Civil air: 4 major transport aircraft
Airports: 4 total, 4 usable; 4 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 3 with
runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications: sparse system of radio relay and high-frequency radio
communication stations for interisland and external communications to Madagascar
and Reunion; over 1,800 telephones; stations–2 AM, 1 FM, 1 TV
Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Presidential Guard, Gendarmerie
Military manpower: males 15-49, 97,504; 58,274 fit for military service
Defense expenditures: 3% of GDP (1981)
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Congo
Geography
Total area: 342,000 km2; land area: 341,500 km2
Comparative area: slightly smaller than Montana
Land boundaries: 5,504 km total; 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
Disputes: long section 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
Natural resources: petroleum, timber, potash, lead, zinc, uranium,
copper, phosphates, natural gas
Land use: 2% arable land; NEGL% permanent crops; 29% meadows and
pastures; 62% forest and woodland; 7% other
Environment: deforestation; about 70% of the population lives in
Brazzaville, Pointe Noire, or along the railroad between them
People
Population: 2,242,274 (July 1990), growth rate 3.0% (1990)
Birth rate: 43 births/1,000 population (1990)
Death rate: 14 deaths/1,000 population (1990)
Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1990)
Infant mortality rate: 110 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)
Life expectancy at birth: 52 years male, 55 years female (1990)
Total fertility rate: 5.8 children born/woman (1990)
Nationality: noun–Congolese (sing., pl.); adjective–Congolese or Congo
Ethnic divisions: about 15 ethnic groups divided into some 75 tribes,
almost all Bantu; most important ethnic groups are Kongo (48%) in the south,
Sangha (20%) and M’Bochi (12%) in the north, Teke (17%) in the center; about
8,500 Europeans, mostly French
Religion: 50% Christian, 48% animist, 2% Muslim
Language: French (official); many African languages with Lingala and
Kikongo most widely used
Literacy: 62.9%
Labor force: 79,100 wage earners; 75% agriculture, 25% commerce, industry,
and government; 51% of population of working age; 40% of population economically
active (1985)
Organized labor: 20% of labor force (1979 est.)
Government
Long-form name: People’s Republic of the Congo
Type: people’s republic
Capital: Brazzaville
Administrative divisions: 9 regions (regions, singular–region);
Bouenza, Cuvette, Kouilou, Lekoumou, Likouala, Niari, Plateaux, Pool, Sangha;
note–there may be a new capital district of Brazzaville
Independence: 15 August 1960 (from France; formerly Congo/Brazzaville)
Constitution: 8 July 1979
Legal system: based on French civil law system and customary law
National holiday: National Day, 15 August (1960)
Executive branch: president, prime minister, Council of Ministers
(cabinet)
Legislative branch: unicameral People’s National Assembly
(Assemblee Nationale Populaire)
Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Cour Supreme)
Leaders:
Chief of State and Head of Government–President Denis
SASSOU-NGUESSO (since 8 February 1979);
Prime Minister Alphonse POATY-SOUCHLATY (since 6 August 1989)
Political parties and leaders: only party–Congolese Labor Party
(PCT), President Denis Sassou-Nguesso, leader
Suffrage: universal at age 18
Elections:
President–last held 26-31 July 1989 (next to be held July 1993);
results–President Sassou-Nguesso unanimously reelected leader of the
PCT by the Party Congress, which automatically makes him president;
People’s National Assembly–last held 24 September 1989 (next
to be held 1993); results–PCT is the only party;
seats–(153 total) single list of candidates nominated by the PCT
Communists: unknown number of Communists and sympathizers
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)
Member of: ACP, AfDB, CCC, Conference of East and Central African
States, EAMA, ECA, EIB (associate), FAO, G-77, GATT, IBRD, ICAO, ICO,
IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, ITU, NAM, OAU, UDEAC,
UEAC, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO
Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Benjamin BOUNKOULOU; Chancery at
4891 Colorado Avenue NW, Washington DC 20011; telephone (202) 726-5500;
US–Ambassador-designate James Daniel PHILLIPS; Embassy at Avenue
Amilcar Cabral, Brazzaville (mailing address is B. P. 1015, Brazzaville,
or Box C, APO New York 09662-0006); telephone 83-20-70 or 83-26-24
Flag: red with the national emblem in the upper hoist-side corner; the
emblem includes a yellow five-pointed star above a crossed hoe and hammer (like
the hammer and sickle design) in yellow, flanked by two curved green palm
branches; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia
Economy
Overview: Oil has supplanted forestry as the mainstay of the
economy, providing about two-thirds of government revenues and
exports. In the early 1980s rapidly rising oil revenues enabled Congo
to finance large-scale development projects with growth averaging 5%
annually, one of the highest rates in Africa. The world decline in
oil prices, however, has forced the government to launch an austerity
program to cope with declining receipts and mounting foreign debts.
GDP: $2.2 billion, per capita $1,000; real growth rate – 3% (1988 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1.5% (1988)
Unemployment rate: NA%
Budget: revenues $382 million; expenditures $575 million,
including capital expenditures of $118 million (1988)
Exports: $912 million (f.o.b., 1987);
commodities–crude petroleum 72%, lumber, plywood, coffee, cocoa,
sugar, diamonds;
partners–US, France, other EC
Imports: $494.4 million (c.i.f., 1987);
commodities–foodstuffs, consumer goods, intermediate manufactures,
capital equipment;
partners–France, Italy, other EC, US, FRG, Spain, Japan, Brazil
External debt: $4.5 billion (December 1988)
Industrial production: growth rate – 5.9% (1987)
Electricity: 133,000 kW capacity; 300 million kWh produced,
130 kWh per capita (1989)
Industries: crude oil, cement, sawmills, brewery, sugar mill, palm
oil, soap, cigarettes
Agriculture: accounts for 11% of GDP (including fishing and
forestry); cassava accounts for 90% of food output; other crops–rice,
corn, peanuts, vegetables; cash crops include coffee and cocoa; forest
products important export earner; imports over 90% of food needs
Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $56 million; Western
(non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $2.1 billion;
OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $15 million; Communist countries (1970-88),
$338 million
Currency: Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (plural–francs);
1 CFA franc (CFAF) = 100 centimes
Exchange rates: Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (CFAF)
per US$1–287.99 (January 1990), 319.01 (1989), 297.85 (1988), 300.54 (1987),
346.30 (1986), 449.26 (1985)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications
Railroads: 797 km, 1.067-meter gauge, single track (includes 285 km
that are privately owned)
Highways: 12,000 km total; 560 km bituminous surface treated; 850 km
gravel, laterite; 5,350 km improved earth; 5,240 km unimproved roads
Inland waterways: the Congo and Ubangi (Oubangui) Rivers provide 1,120 km
of commercially navigable water transport; the rest are used for local traffic
only
Pipelines: crude oil 25 km
Ports: Pointe-Noire (ocean port), Brazzaville (river port)
Civil air: 4 major transport aircraft
Airports: 51 total, 46 usable; 5 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 17 with
runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications: services adequate for government use; primary network
is composed of radio relay routes and coaxial cables; key centers are
Brazzaville, Pointe-Noire, and Loubomo; 18,100 telephones; stations–3 AM, 1 FM,
4 TV; 1 Atlantic Ocean satellite station
Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, paramilitary National People’s Militia
Military manpower: males 15-49, 492,419; 250,478 fit for military
service; 23,622 reach military age (20) annually
Defense expenditures: 4.6% of GDP (1987)
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Cook Islands
(free association with New Zealand)
Geography
Total area: 240 km2; land area: 240 km2
Comparative area: slightly less than 1.5 times the size of Washington, DC
Land boundaries: none
Coastline: 120 km
Maritime claims:
Continental shelf: 200 meters or edge of continental margin;
Extended economic zone: 200 nm;
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: tropical; moderated by trade winds
Terrain: low coral atolls in north; volcanic, hilly islands in south
Natural resources: negligible
Land use: 4% arable land; 22% permanent crops; 0% meadows and pastures;
0% forest and woodland; 74% other
Environment: subject to typhoons from November to March
Note: located 4,500 km south of Hawaii in the South Pacific Ocean
People
Population: 18,187 (July 1990), growth rate 0.5% (1990)
Birth rate: 22 births/1,000 population (1990)
Death rate: 7 deaths/1,000 population (1990)
Net migration rate: – 10 migrants/1,000 population (1990)
Infant mortality rate: 24 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)
Life expectancy at birth: 66 years male, 72 years female (1990)
Total fertility rate: 3.5 children born/woman (1990)
Nationality: noun–Cook Islander(s); adjective–Cook Islander
Ethnic divisions: 81.3% Polynesian (full blood), 7.7% Polynesian and
European, 7.7% Polynesian and other, 2.4% European, 0.9% other
Religion: Christian, majority of populace members of Cook Islands
Christian Church
Language: English
Literacy: NA%
Labor force: 5,810; agriculture 29%, government 27%, services 25%,
industry 15%, and other 4% (1981)
Organized labor: NA
Government
Long-form name: none
Type: self-governing in free association with New Zealand; Cook Islands
fully responsible for internal affairs; New Zealand retains responsibility for
external affairs, in consultation with the Cook Islands
Capital: Avarua
Administrative divisions: none
Independence: 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
Constitution: 4 August 1965
National holiday: NA
Executive branch: British monarch, representative of the UK,
representative of New Zealand, prime minister, deputy prime minister, Cabinet
Legislative branch: unicameral Parliament; note–the unicameral
House of Arikis (chiefs) advises on traditional matters, but has no
legislative powers
Judicial branch: High Court
Leaders:
Chief of State–Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952);
Representative of the UK Sir Tangaroa TANGAROA (since NA);
Representative of New Zealand Adrian SINCOCK (since NA);
Head of Government–Prime Minister Geoffrey HENRY
(since NA February 1989); Deputy Prime Minister Inatio AKARURU (since NA)
Political parties and leaders: Cook Islands Party, Geoffrey Henry;
Democratic Tumu Party, Vincent Ingram; Democratic Party, Dr. Vincent Pupuke
Robati; Cook Islands Labor Party, Rena Jonassen; Cook Islands People’s Party,
Sadaraka Sadaraka
Suffrage: universal adult at age NA
Elections:
Parliament–last held 19 January 1989 (next to be held by
January 1994); results–percent of vote by party NA;
seats–(24 total) Cook Islands Party 12, Democratic
Tumu Party 2, opposition coalition (including Democratic Party) 9,
independent 1
Member of: ADB, ESCAP (associate member), IDA, IFC, IMF, SPEC,
SPF
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
Overview: Agriculture provides the economic base. The major export
earners are fruit, copra, and clothing. Manufacturing activities are limited to
a fruit-processing plant and several clothing factories. Economic development
is hindered by the isolation of the islands from foreign markets and a lack of
natural resources and good transportation links. A large trade deficit is
annually made up for by remittances from emigrants and from foreign aid. Current
economic development plans call for exploiting the tourism potential and
expanding the fishing industry.
GDP: $40.0 million, per capita $2,200 (1988 est.); real growth rate
5.3% (1986-88 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 8.0% (1988)
Unemployment rate: NA%
Budget: revenues $33.8 million; expenditures $34.4 million,
including capital expenditures of $NA (1990 est.)
Exports: $4.0 million (f.o.b., 1988);
commodities–copra, fresh and canned fruit, clothing;
partners–NZ 80%, Japan
Imports: $38.7 million (c.i.f., 1988);
commodities–foodstuffs, textiles, fuels, timber;
partners–NZ 49%, Japan, Australia, US
External debt: $NA
Industrial production: growth rate NA%
Electricity: 4,800 kW capacity; 15 million kWh produced,
830 kWh per capita (1989)
Industries: fruit processing, tourism
Agriculture: export crops–copra, citrus fruits, pineapples,
tomatoes, bananas; subsistence crops–yams, taro
Aid: Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments
(1970-89), $128 million
Currency: New Zealand dollar (plural–dollars); 1 New Zealand
dollar (NZ$) = 100 cents
Exchange rates: New Zealand dollars (NZ$) per US$1–1.6581 (January
1990), 1.6708 (1989), 1.5244 (1988), 1.6886 (1987), 1.9088 (1986), 2.0064 (1985)
Fiscal year: 1 April-31 March
Communications
Highways: 187 km total (1980); 35 km paved, 35 km gravel, 84 km improved
earth, 33 km unimproved earth
Ports: Avatiu
Civil air: no major transport aircraft
Airports: 7 total, 5 usable; 1 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 2,439 m; 3 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications: stations–2 AM, no FM, no TV; 10,000 radio receivers;
2,052 telephones; 1 Pacific Ocean INTELSAT earth station
Defense Forces
Note: defense is the responsibility of New Zealand
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Coral Sea Islands
(territory of Australia)
Geography
Total area: undetermined; includes numerous small islands and reefs
scattered over a sea area of about 1 million km2, with Willis Islets the
most important
Comparative area: undetermined
Land boundaries: none
Coastline: 3,095 km
Maritime claims:
Contiguous zone: 12 nm;
Continental shelf: 200 meters or to depth of exploitation;
Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm;
Territorial sea: 3 nm
Climate: tropical
Terrain: sand and coral reefs and islands (or cays)
Natural resources: negligible
Land use: 0% arable land; 0% permanent crops; 0% meadows and pastures;
0% forest and woodland; 100% other, mostly grass or scrub cover; Lihou Reef
Reserve and Coringa-Herald Reserve were declared National Nature Reserves
on 3 August 1982
Environment: subject to occasional tropical cyclones; no permanent
fresh water; important nesting area for birds and turtles
Note: the islands are located just off the northeast coast of
Australia in the Coral Sea
People
Population: 3 meteorologists
Government
Long-form name: Coral Sea Islands Territory
Type: territory of Australia administered by the Minister for
Arts, Sport, the Environment, Tourism, and Territories Graham
Richardson
Flag: the flag of Australia is used
Economy
Overview: no economic activity
Communications
Ports: none; offshore anchorages only
Defense Forces
Note: defense is the responsibility of Australia; visited regularly by
the Royal Australian Navy; Australia has control over the activities of visitors
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Costa Rica
Geography
Total area: 51,100 km2; land area: 50,660 km2; includes Isla del
Coco
Comparative area: slightly smaller than West Virginia
Land boundaries: 639 km total; Nicaragua 309 km, Panama 330 km
Coastline: 1,290 km
Maritime claims:
Continental shelf: 200 nm;
Extended economic zone: 200 nm;
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: tropical; dry season (December to April); rainy season (May to
November)
Terrain: coastal plains separated by rugged mountains
Natural resources: hydropower potential
Land use: 6% arable land; 7% permanent crops; 45% meadows and pastures;
34% forest and woodland; 8% other; includes 1% irrigated
Environment: subject to occasional earthquakes, hurricanes along Atlantic
coast; frequent flooding of lowlands at onset of rainy season; active volcanoes;
deforestation; soil erosion
People
Population: 3,032,795 (July 1990), growth rate 2.6% (1990)
Birth rate: 28 births/1,000 population (1990)
Death rate: 4 deaths/1,000 population (1990)
Net migration rate: 2 migrants/1,000 population (1990)
Infant mortality rate: 16 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)
Life expectancy at birth: 74 years male, 79 years female (1990)
Total fertility rate: 3.3 children born/woman (1990)
Nationality: noun–Costa Rican(s); adjective–Costa Rican
Ethnic divisions: 96% white (including mestizo), 2% black,
1% Indian, 1% Chinese
Religion: 95% Roman Catholic
Language: Spanish (official), English spoken around Puerto Limon
Literacy: 93%
Labor force: 868,300; industry and commerce 35.1%, government and
services 33%, agriculture 27%, other 4.9% (1985 est.)
Organized labor: 15.1% of labor force
Government
Long-form name: Republic of Costa Rica
Type: democratic republic
Capital: San Jose
Administrative divisions: 7 provinces (provincias, singular–provincia);
Alajuela, Cartago, Guanacaste, Heredia, Limon, Puntarenas, San Jose
Independence: 15 September 1821 (from Spain)
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
National holiday: Independence Day, 15 September (1821)
Executive branch: president, two vice presidents, Cabinet
Legislative branch: unicameral Legislative Assembly (Asamblea Legislativa)
Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Corte Suprema)
Leaders:
Chief of State and Head of Government–President Rafael Angel
CALDERON Fournier (since 8 May 1990); First Vice President German SERRANO
Pinto (since 8 May 1990); Second Vice President Arnoldo LOPEZ Echandi
(since 8 May 1990)
Political parties and leaders: National Liberation Party (PLN),
Carlos Manuel Castillo; Social Christian Unity Party (PUSC), Rafael Angel
Calderon Fournier; Marxist Popular Vanguard Party (PVP), Humberto Vargas
Carbonell; New Republic Movement (MNR), Sergio Erick Ardon;
Progressive Party (PP), Javier Solis; People’s Party of Costa Rica
(PPC), Lenin Chacon Vargas; Radical Democratic Party (PRD), Juan Jose
Echeverria Brealey
Suffrage: universal and compulsory at age 18
Elections:
President–last held 4 February 1990 (next to be held February
1994);
results–Rafael Calderon Fournier 51%, Carlos Manuel Castillo 47%;
Legislative Assembly–last held 4 February 1990 (next to be held
February 1994);
results–percent of vote by party NA;
seats–(57 total) PUSC 29, PLN 25, PVP/PPC 1, regional parties 2
Communists: 7,500 members and sympathizers
Other political or pressure groups: Costa Rican Confederation of
Democratic Workers (CCTD; Liberation Party affiliate), Confederated Union of
Workers (CUT; Communist Party affiliate), Authentic Confederation of
Democratic Workers (CATD; Communist Party affiliate), Chamber of Coffee
Growers, National Association for Economic Development (ANFE), Free Costa Rica
Movement (MCRL; rightwing militants), National Association of Educators (ANDE)
Member of: CACM, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICO, IDA,
IDB–Inter-American Development Bank, IFAD, IFC,
ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IPU, ITU, IWC–International Wheat Council,
OAS, ODECA, PAHO, SELA, UN, UNESCO, UPEB, UPU, WHO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Danilo JIMENEZ; Chancery at
Suite 211, 1825 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington DC 20009;
telephone (202) 234-2945 through 2947; there are Costa Rican Consulates General
at Albuquerque, Boston, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York,
San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, San Juan (Puerto Rico), and Tampa, and
Consulates in Austin, Buffalo, Honolulu, and Raleigh;
US–Ambassador (vacant); Embassy at Pavas Road, San Jose
(mailing address is APO Miami 34020); telephone Õ506å 33-11-55
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
Overview: In 1988 the economy grew at a 3.8% rate, a drop from the
5.1% of the previous year. Gains in agricultural production
(on the strength of good coffee and banana crops) and in construction,
were partially offset by declines in the rates of growth for the industry
and commerce sectors. In 1988 consumer prices rose by nearly 21%
followed by a 10% rise in 1989. Unemployment is officially reported at
about 6%, but much underemployment remains. External debt, on a
per capita basis, is among the world’s highest.
GDP: $4.7 billion, per capita $1,630; real growth rate 3.8% (1988)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 10% (1989)
Unemployment rate: 5.5% (March 1989)
Budget: revenues $719 million; expenditures $808 million, including
capital expenditures of $103 million (1988)
Exports: $1.3 billion (f.o.b., 1988);
commodities–coffee, bananas, textiles, sugar;
partners–US 75%, FRG, Guatemala, Netherlands, UK, Japan
Imports: $1.4 billion (c.i.f., 1988);
commodities–petroleum, machinery, consumer durables, chemicals,
fertilizer, foodstuffs;
partners–US 35%, Japan, Guatemala, FRG
External debt: $4.5 billion (1989)
Industrial production: growth rate 2.1% (1988)
Electricity: 909,000 kW capacity; 2,928 million kWh produced,
990 kWh per capita (1989)
Industries: food processing, textiles and clothing, construction
materials, fertilizer
Agriculture: accounts for 20-25% of GDP and 70% of exports; cash
commodities–coffee, beef, bananas, sugar; other food crops include corn, rice,
beans, potatotes; normally self-sufficient in food except for grain; depletion
of forest resources resulting in lower timber output
Illicit drugs: illicit production of cannabis on small scattered
plots; transshipment country for cocaine from South America
Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $1.3 billion; Western
(non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $706 million;
Communist countries (1971-88), $27 million
Currency: Costa Rican colon (plural–colones);
1 Costa Rican colon (C) = 100 centimos
Exchange rates: Costa Rican colones (C) per US$1–84.689 (January 1990),
81.504 (1989), 75.805 (1988), 62.776 (1987), 55.986 (1986), 50.453 (1985)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications
Railroads: 950 km total, all 1.067-meter gauge; 260 km electrified
Highways: 15,400 km total; 7,030 km paved, 7,010 km gravel, 1,360 km
unimproved earth
Inland waterways: about 730 km, seasonally navigable
Pipelines: refined products, 176 km
Ports: Puerto Limon, Caldera, Golfito, Moin, Puntarenas
Merchant marine: 2 cargo ships (1,000 GRT or over)
totaling 4,279 GRT/6,602 DWT
Civil air: 9 major transport aircraft
Airports: 193 total, 177 usable; 25 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m;
11 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications: very good domestic telephone service; 292,000
telephones; connection into Central American Microwave System; stations–71 AM,
no FM, 18 TV, 13 shortwave; 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station
Defense Forces
Branches: Civil Guard, Rural Assistance Guard; note–Constitution
prohibits armed forces
Military manpower: males 15-49, 785,429; 530,986 fit for military
service; 31,899 reach military age (18) annually
Defense expenditures: 0.6% of GDP (1987)
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Cuba
Geography
Total area: 110,860 km2; land area: 110,860 km2
Comparative area: slightly smaller than Pennsylvania
Land boundary: 29.1 km with US Naval Base at Guantanamo;
note–Guantanamo is leased and as such remains part of Cuba
Coastline: 3,735 km
Maritime claims:
Extended economic zone: 200 nm;
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Disputes: US Naval Base at Guantanamo 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
Natural resources: cobalt, nickel, iron ore, copper, manganese, salt,
timber, silica
Land use: 23% arable land; 6% permanent crops; 23% meadows and pastures;
17% forest and woodland; 31% other; includes 10% irrigated
Environment: averages one hurricane every other year
Note: largest country in Caribbean; 145 km south of Florida
People
Population: 10,620,099 (July 1990), growth rate 1.1% (1990)
Birth rate: 18 births/1,000 population (1990)
Death rate: 7 deaths/1,000 population (1990)
Net migration rate: – 1 migrant/1,000 population (1990)
Infant mortality rate: 12 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)
Life expectancy at birth: 73 years male, 78 years female (1990)
Total fertility rate: 1.9 children born/woman (1990)
Nationality: noun–Cuban(s); adjective–Cuban
Ethnic divisions: 51% mulatto, 37% white, 11% black, 1% Chinese
Religion: at least 85% nominally Roman Catholic before Castro assumed
power
Language: Spanish
Literacy: 98.5%
Labor force: 3,400,000 in state sector; 30% services and
government, 22% industry, 20% agriculture, 11% commerce,
10% construction, 7% transportation and communications (1988);
economically active population 4,500,000 (1987)
Organized labor: Workers Central Union of Cuba (CTC), only labor
federation approved by government; 2,910,000 members; the CTC is an
umbrella organization composed of 17 member unions
Government
Long-form name: Republic of Cuba
Type: Communist state
Capital: Havana
Administrative divisions: 14 provinces (provincias, singular–provincia)
and 1 special municipality* (municipio especial); Camaguey, Ciego de Avila,
Cienfuegos, Ciudad de La Habana, Granma, Guantanamo, Holguin,
Isla de la Juventud*, La Habana, Las Tunas, Matanzas, Pinar del Rio,
Sancti Spiritus, Santiago de Cuba, Villa Clara
Independence: 20 May 1902 (from Spain 10 December 1898; administered
by the US from 1898 to 1902)
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
National holiday: Revolution Day, 1 January (1959)
Executive branch: president of the Council of State, first vice
president of the Council of State, Council of State, president of the
Council of Ministers, first vice president of the Council of Ministers,
Council of Ministers
Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly of the People’s
Power (Asamblea Nacional del Poder Popular)
Judicial branch: People’s Supreme Court
Leaders:
Chief of State and Head of Government–President of the Council of
State and President of the Council of Ministers Fidel CASTRO Ruz
(became Prime Minister in January 1959 and President since 2 December
1976);
First Vice President of the Council of State and First Vice President
of the Council of Ministers Gen. Raul CASTRO Ruz (since 2 December
1976)
Political parties and leaders: only party–Cuban Communist Party
(PCC), Fidel Castro Ruz, first secretary
Suffrage: universal at age 16
Elections:
National Assembly of the People’s Power–last held NA December
1986 (next to be held December 1991);
results–PCC is the only party;
seats–(510 total) PCC 510 (indirectly elected)
Communists: about 600,000 full and candidate members
Member of: CEMA, ECLA, FAO, G-77, GATT, IADB (nonparticipant), IAEA,
IBEC, ICAO, IFAD, ICO, IHO, ILO, IMO, IRC, ISO, ITU, IWC–International
Wheat Council, NAM, OAS (nonparticipant), PAHO, SELA, UN, UNESCO, UNIDO,
UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WSG, WTO
Diplomatic representation: none; protecting power in the US is
Czechoslovakia–Cuban Interests Section; Counselor Jose Antonio Arbesu
FRAGA; 2630 and 2639 16th Street NW, Washington DC 20009; telephone (202)
797-8518 or 8519, 8520, 8609, 8610; US–protecting power in Cuba is
Switzerland–US Interests Section; Principal Officer John J. TAYLOR;
Calzada entre L y M, Vedado Seccion, Havana; telephone 320551 or 320543
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
Overview: The Soviet-style economy, centrally planned and largely
state owned, is highly dependent on the agricultural sector and foreign
trade. Sugar provides about 75% of export revenues and is mostly exported
to the USSR and other CEMA countries. The economy has stagnated since
1985 under a program that has deemphasized material incentives in the
workplace, abolished farmers’ informal produce markets, and raised prices
of government-supplied goods and services. Castro has complained that
the ongoing CEMA reform process has interfered with the regular flow of
goods to Cuba. Recently the government has been trying to increase
trade with Latin America and China. Cuba has had difficulty servicing
its foreign debt since 1982. The government currently is encouraging
foreign investment in tourist facilities. Other investment priorities
include sugar, basic foods, and nickel. The annual $4 billion Soviet
subsidy, a main prop to Cuba’s threadbare economy, may be cut in view
of the USSR’s mounting economic problems.
GNP: $20.9 billion, per capita $2,000; real growth rate – 1%
(1989 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA%
Unemployment: 6% overall, 10% for women (1989)
Budget: revenues $11.7 billion; expenditures $13.5 billion,
including capital expenditures of $NA (1989 est.)
Exports: $5.5 billion (f.o.b., 1988);
commodities–sugar, nickel, shellfish, citrus, tobacco, coffee;
partners–USSR 67%, GDR 6%, China 4% (1988)
Imports: $7.6 billion (c.i.f., 1988);
commodities–capital goods, industrial raw materials, food, petroleum;
partners–USSR 71%, other Communist countries 15% (1988)
External debt: $6.8 billion (convertible currency, July 1989)
Industrial production: 3% (1988)
Electricity: 3,991,000 kW capacity; 14,972 million kWh produced,
1,425 kWh per capita (1989)
Industries: sugar milling, petroleum refining, food and tobacco
processing, textiles, chemicals, paper and wood products, metals
(particularly nickel), cement, fertilizers, consumer goods, agricultural
machinery
Agriculture: accounts for 11% of GNP (including fishing and forestry); key
commercial crops–sugarcane, tobacco, and citrus fruits; other products–coffee,
rice, potatoes, meat, beans; world’s largest sugar exporter; not self-sufficient
in food
Aid: Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments
(1970-87), $657.5 million; Communist countries (1970-88), $13.5 billion
Currency: Cuban peso (plural–pesos); 1 Cuban peso (Cu$) = 100
centavos
Exchange rates: Cuban pesos (Cu$) per US$1–1.0000 (linked to the
US dollar)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications
Railroads: 14,925 km total; Cuban National Railways operates 5,295 km of
1.435-meter gauge track; 199 km electrified; 9,630 km of sugar plantation
lines of 0.914-1.435-meter gauge
Highways: about 21,000 km total; 9,000 km paved, 12,000 km gravel and
earth surfaced
Inland waterways: 240 km
Ports: Cienfuegos, Havana, Mariel, Matanzas, Santiago de Cuba;
7 secondary, 35 minor
Merchant marine: 91 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling
701,418 GRT/1,014,014 DWT; includes 62 cargo, 7 refrigerated cargo, 3
cargo/training, 10 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 1
chemical tanker, 2 liquefied gas, 6 bulk; note–Cuba beneficially owns
an additional 34 ships (1,000 GRT and over) totaling 475,864 DWT under
the registry of Panama, Cyprus, and Malta
Civil air: 59 major transport aircraft
Airports: 197 total, 168 usable; 72 with permanent-surface runways;
2 with runways over 3,659 m; 14 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 17 with runways
1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications: stations–150 AM, 5 FM, 58 TV; 1,530,000 TV sets;
2,140,000 radio receivers; 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station
Defense Forces
Branches: Revolutionary Armed Forces (Ground Forces, Revolutionary Navy,
Air and Air Defense Force), Ministry of Interior Special Troops, Border Guard
Troops, Territorial Militia Troops, Youth Labor Army
Military manpower: eligible 15-49, 6,027,131; of the 3,024,385 males
15-49, 1,897,175 are fit for military service; of the 3,002,746 females 15-49,
1,879,471 are fit for military service; 96,319 males and 92,765 females reach
military age (17) annually
Defense expenditures: about 6% of GNP, or $1.2-$1.4 billion
(1989 est.)
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Cyprus
Geography
Total area: 9,250 km2; land area: 9,240 km2
Comparative area: about 0.7 times the size of Connecticut
Land boundaries: none
Coastline: 648 km
Maritime claims:
Continental shelf: 200 meters or to depth of exploitation;
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Disputes: 1974 hostilities divided the island into two de facto
autonomous areas–a Greek area controlled by the Cypriot Government (60% of
the island’s land area) and a Turkish-Cypriot area (35% of the island) that
are separated by a narrow UN buffer zone; in addition, there are two UK
sovereign base areas (about 5% of the island’s land area)
Climate: temperate, Mediterranean with hot, dry summers and cool, wet
winters
Terrain: central plain with mountains to north and south
Natural resources: copper, pyrites, asbestos, gypsum, timber, salt,
marble, clay earth pigment
Land use: 40% arable land; 7% permanent crops; 10% meadows and pastures;
18% forest and woodland; 25% other; includes 10% irrigated (most
irrigated lands are in the Turkish-Cypriot area of the island)
Environment: moderate earthquake activity; water resource problems
(no natural reservoir catchments, seasonal disparity in rainfall, and most
potable resources concentrated in the Turkish-Cypriot area)
People
Population: 707,776 (July 1990), growth rate 1.0% (1990)
Birth rate: 19 births/1,000 population (1990)
Death rate: 8 deaths/1,000 population (1990)
Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1990)
Infant mortality rate: 10 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)
Life expectancy at birth: 73 years male, 78 years female (1990)
Total fertility rate: 2.4 children born/woman (1990)
Nationality: noun–Cypriot(s); adjective–Cypriot
Ethnic divisions: 78% Greek; 18% Turkish; 4% other
Religion: 78% Greek Orthodox; 18% Muslim; 4% Maronite, Armenian,
Apostolic, and other
Language: Greek, Turkish, English
Literacy: 99% (est.)
Labor force: Greek area–251,406; 42% services, 33% industry,
22% agriculture; Turkish area–NA (1986)
Organized labor: 156,000 (1985 est.)
Government
Long-form name: Republic of Cyprus
Type: republic; 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, 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
Administrative divisions: 6 districts; Famagusta, Kyrenia,
Larnaca, Limassol, Nicosia, Paphos
Independence: 16 August 1960 (from UK)
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
in May 1985
Legal system: based on common law, with civil law modifications
National holiday: Independence Day, 1 October
Executive branch: president, Council of Ministers (cabinet); note–there
is a president, prime minister, and Council of Ministers (cabinet) in the
Turkish area
Legislative branch: unicameral House of Representatives (Vouli
Antiprosopon); note–there is a unicameral Assembly of the Republic
(Cumhuriyet Meclisi) in the Turkish area
Judicial branch: Supreme Court; note–there is also a Supreme Court
in the Turkish area
Leaders:
Chief of State and Head of Government–President George VASSILIOU
(since February 1988); note–Rauf R. DENKTAS was proclaimed President of
the Turkish area on 13 February 1975
Political parties and leaders: Greek Cypriot–Progressive
Party of the Working People (AKEL; Communist Party), Dimitrios
Christotias, Democratic Rally (DESY), Glafkos Clerides; Democratic Party
(DEKO), Spyros Kyprianou; United Democratic Union of the Center (EDEK),
Vassos Lyssarides;
Turkish area–National Unity Party (NUP), Dervis Eroglu;
Communal Liberation Party (CLP), Ismail Bozkurt; Republican Turkish
Party (RTP), Ozker Ozgur; New Birth Party (NBP), Aytac Besheshler;
New Cyprus savey (NCP), Alpay Durduran
Suffrage: universal at age 18
Elections:
President–last held 14 February and 21 February 1988 (next
to be held February 1993);
results–George Vassiliou 52%, Glafkos Clerides 48%;
House of Representatives–last held 8 December 1985 (next to
be held December 1990);
results–Democratic Rally 33.56%, Democratic Party 27.65%, AKEL 27.43%,
EDEK 11.07%;
seats–(56 total) Democratic Rally 19, Democratic Party 16,
AKEL (Communist) 15, EDEK 6;
Turkish Area: President–last held 9 June 1985 (next to be
held June 1990);
results–Rauf Denktash 70%;
Turkish Area: Legislative Assembly–last held 23 June 1985
(next to be held June 1990);
results–percent of vote by party NA;
seats–(50 total) National Unity Party (conservative)
24, Republican Turkish Party (Communist) 12, Communal Liberation Party
(center-right) 10, New Birth Party 4
Communists: about 12,000
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)
Member of: CCC, Commonwealth, Council of Europe, FAO, G-77, GATT,
IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL,
ITU, NAM, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WTO; Turkish Federated State
of Cyprus–OIC (observer)
Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Michael E. SHERIFIS;
Chancery at 2211 R Street NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 462-5772;
there is a Cypriot Consulate General in New York;
US–(vacant); Embassy at the corner of Therissos Street
and Dositheos Street, Nicosia (mailing address is FPO New York 09530);
telephone Õ357å (2) 465151
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
Economy
Overview: These data are for the area controlled by the Republic of
Cyprus (information on the northern Turkish-Cypriot area is sparse).
The economy is small, diversified, and prosperous. Industry contributes
about 28% to GDP and employs 35% of the labor force, while the service
sector contributes about 55% to GDP and employs 40% of the labor force.
Rapid growth in exports of agricultural and manufactured products
and in tourism have played important roles in the average 6% rise in GDP
in recent years. While this growth put considerable pressure on prices
and the balance of payments, the inflation rate has remained low
and the balance-of-payments deficit manageable.
GDP: $4.2 billion, per capita $6,100; real growth rate 6.9%
(1988 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 3.9% (1989 est.)
Unemployment rate: 2.8% (1988)
Budget: revenues $1.2 billion; expenditures $1.4 billion, including
capital expenditures of $178 million (1989 est.)
Exports: $767 million (f.o.b., 1988);
commodities–citrus, potatoes, grapes, wine, cement, clothing and shoes;
partners–Middle East and North Africa 37%, UK 27%, other EC
11%, US 2%
Imports: $1.9 billion (c.i.f., 1988);
commodities–consumer goods 23%, petroleum and lubricants 12%, food and
feed grains, machinery;
partners–EC 60%, Middle East and North Africa 7%, US 4%
External debt: $2.8 billion (1988)
Industrial production: growth rate 6.5% (1988)
Electricity: 620,000 kW capacity; 1,770 million kWh produced,
2,530 kWh per capita (1989)
Industries: mining (iron pyrites, gypsum, asbestos);
manufactured products–beverages, footwear, clothing, and cement–are
principally for local consumption
Agriculture: accounts for 8% of GDP and employs 22% of labor force; major
crops–potatoes, vegetables, barley, grapes, olives, and citrus fruits;
vegetables and fruit provide 25% of export revenues
Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $272 million; Western
(non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $223 million;
OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $62 million; Communist countries (1970-88),
$24 million
Currency: Cypriot pound (plural–pounds) and in Turkish area, Turkish
lira (plural–liras); 1 Cypriot pound (LC) = 100 cents and 1 Turkish lira
(TL) = 100 kurus
Exchange rates: Cypriot pounds (LC) per US$1–0.4854 (January 1990),
0.4933 (1989), 0.4663 (1988), 0.4807 (1987), 0.5167 (1986), 0.6095 (1985);
in Turkish area, Turkish liras (TL) per US$1–2,314.7 (November 1989),
1,422.3 (1988), 857.2 (1987), 674.5 (1986), 522.0 (1985)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications
Highways: 10,780 km total; 5,170 km bituminous surface treated; 5,610 km
gravel, crushed stone, and earth
Ports: Famagusta, Kyrenia, Larnaca, Limassol, Paphos
Merchant marine: 1,100 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 18,093,340
GRT/32,148,550 DWT; includes 1 passenger, 12 short-sea passenger, 2
passenger-cargo, 434 cargo, 61 refrigerated cargo, 18 roll-on/roll-off cargo,
40 container, 94 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 1 specialized
cargo, 3 liquefied gas, 13 chemical tanker, 29 combination ore/oil,
341 bulk, 3 vehicle carrier, 48 combination bulk carrier;
note–a flag of convenience registry; Cuba owns at least 20 of these
ships and Yugoslavia owns 1
Civil air: 8 major transport aircraft
Airports: 13 total, 13 usable; 10 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; 7 with runways 2,440-3,659 m;
2 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications: excellent in the area controlled by the Cypriot
Government (Greek area), moderately good in the Turkish-Cypriot administered
area; 210,000 telephones; stations–13 AM, 7 (7 repeaters) FM, 2 (40
repeaters) TV; tropospheric scatter circuits to Greece and Turkey; 3 submarine
coaxial cables; satellite earth stations–INTELSAT, 1 Atlantic Ocean
and 1 Indian Ocean, and EUTELSAT systems
Defense Forces
Branches: Cyprus National Guard; Turkish area–Turkish Cypriot Security
Force
Military manpower: males 15-49, 180,946; 125,044 fit for military
service; 5,083 reach military age (18) annually
Defense expenditures: 2% of GDP, or $84 million (1990 est.)
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Czechoslovakia
Geography
Total area: 127,870 km2; land area: 125,460 km2
Comparative area: slightly larger than New York State
Land boundaries: 3,446 km total; Austria 548 km, GDR 459 km,
Hungary 676 km, Poland 1,309 km, USSR 98 km, FRG 356 km
Coastline: none–landlocked
Maritime claims: none–landlocked
Disputes: Nagymaros Dam dispute with Hungary
Climate: temperate; cool summers; cold, cloudy, humid winters
Terrain: mixture of hills and mountains separated by plains and basins
Natural resources: coal, timber, lignite, uranium, magnesite,
iron ore, copper, zinc
Land use: 40% arable land; 1% permanent crops; 13% meadows and pastures;
37% forest and woodland; 9% other; includes 1% irrigated
Environment: infrequent earthquakes; acid rain; water pollution;
air pollution
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: 15,683,234 (July 1990), growth rate 0.3% (1990)
Birth rate: 14 births/1,000 population (1990)
Death rate: 11 deaths/1,000 population (1990)
Net migration rate: NEGL migrants/1,000 population (1990)
Infant mortality rate: 11 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)
Life expectancy at birth: 69 years male, 76 years female (1990)
Total fertility rate: 2.0 children born/woman (1990)
Nationality: noun–Czechoslovak(s); adjective–Czechoslovak
Ethnic divisions: 64.3% Czech, 30.5% Slovak, 3.8% Hungarian, 0.4% German,
0.4% Polish, 0.3% Ukrainian, 0.1% Russian, 0.2% other (Jewish, Gypsy)
Religion: 50% Roman Catholic, 20% Protestant, 2% Orthodox, 28% other
Language: Czech and Slovak (official), Hungarian
Literacy: 99%
Labor force: 8,200,000 (1987); 36.9% industry, 12.3% agriculture,
50.8% construction, communications, and other (1982)
Organized labor: Revolutionary Trade Union Movement (ROH),
formerly regime-controlled; other industry-specific strike committees;
new independent trade unions forming
Government
Long-form name: Czechoslovak Socialist Republic; abbreviated CSSR;
note–on 23 March 1990 the name was changed to Czechoslovak Federative
Republic; because of Slovak concerns about their status in the
Federation, the Federal Assembly approved the name Czech and Slovak
Federative Republic on 20 April 1990
Type: in transition from Communist state to republic
Capital: Prague
Administrative divisions: 2 socialist republics (socialisticke
republiky, singular–socialisticka republika); Ceska Socialisticka
Republika, Slovenska Socialisticka Republika
Independence: 18 October 1918 (from Austro-Hungarian Empire)
Constitution: 11 July 1960; amended in 1968 and 1970; new
constitution under review (1 January 1990)
Legal system: civil law system based on Austro-Hungarian codes, modified
by Communist legal theory; no judicial review of legislative acts; has not
accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
National holiday: National Holiday of the Republic (Anniversary
of the Liberation), 9 May (1945)
Executive branch: president, prime minister, Cabinet
Legislative branch: bicameral Federal Assembly (Federalni
Shromazdeni) consists of an upper house or House of Nations
(Snemovna Narodu) and a lower house or House of the People
(Snemovna Lidu)
Judicial branch: Supreme Court
Leaders: Chief of State–President Vaclav HAVEL
(since 28 December 1989);
Head of Government–Premier Marian CALFA (since
10 December 1989); First Deputy Premier Valtr KOMAREK (since
7 December 1989); Jan CARNOGURSKY (since 7 December 1989)
Political parties and leaders: Civic Forum, since December 1989
leading political force, loose coalition of former oppositionists headed
by President Vaclav Havel; Communist Party of Czechoslovakia
(KSC), Ladislav Adamec, chairman (since 20 December 1989); KSC
toppled from power in November 1989 by massive antiregime
demonstrations, minority role in coalition government since 10
December 1989
Suffrage: universal at age 18
Elections:
President–last held 22 May 1985 (next to be held 8 June 1990;
will be a free election);
results–Gustav Husak was reelected without opposition;
Federal Assembly–last held 23 and 24 May 1986 (next to
be held 8 June 1990; will be a free election);
results–KSC was the only party;
seats–(350 total) KSC 350
Communists: 1.71 million party members (April 1988) and falling
Other political groups: Czechoslovak Socialist Party, Czechoslovak
People’s Party, Slovak Freedom Party, Slovak Revival Party, Christian
Democratic Party; more than 40 political groups are expected to field
candidates for the 8 June 1990 election
Member of: CCC, CEMA, FAO, GATT, IAEA, IBEC, ICAO, ICO, ILO, ILZSG,
IMO, IPU, ISO, ITC, ITU, UN, UNESCO, UPU, Warsaw Pact, WFTU, WHO, WIPO,
WMO, WSG, WTO
Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Rita KLIMOVA;
Chancery at 3900 Linnean Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202)
363-6315 or 6316;
US–Ambassador Shirley Temple BLACK; Embassy at Trziste 15-12548,
Prague (mailing address is APO New York 09213); telephone Õ42å (2) 53 6641
through 6649
Flag: two equal horizontal bands of white (top) and red with a blue
isosceles triangle based on the hoist side
Economy
Overview: Czechoslovakia is highly industrialized and has a
well-educated and skilled labor force. Its industry, transport, energy
sources, banking, and most other means of production are state owned. The
country is deficient, however, in energy and many raw materials.
Moreover, its aging capital plant lags well behind West European
standards. Industry contributes over 50% to GNP and construction 10%.
About 95% of agricultural land is in collectives or state farms. The
centrally planned economy has been tightly linked in trade (80%) to
the USSR and Eastern Europe. Growth has been sluggish, averaging
less than 2% in the period 1982-89. GNP per capita ranks
next to the GDR as the highest in the Communist countries.
As in the rest of Eastern Europe, the sweeping political changes of
1989 have been disrupting normal channels of supply and compounding
the government’s economic problems. Czechoslovakia is beginning
the difficult transition from a command to a market economy.
GNP: $123.2 billion, per capita $7,878; real growth rate 1.0%
(1989 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1.5% (1989)
Unemployment rate: 0.9% (1987)
Budget: revenues $22.4 billion; expenditures $21.9 billion, including
capital expenditures of $3.7 billion (1986 state budget)
Exports: $24.5 billion (f.o.b., 1988);
commodities–machinery and equipment 58.5%;
industrial consumer goods 15.2%;
fuels, minerals, and metals 10.6%;
agricultural and forestry products 6.1%, other products 15.2%;
partners–USSR, GDR, Poland, Hungary, FRG, Yugoslavia, Austria,
Bulgaria, Romania, US
Imports: $23.5 billion (f.o.b., 1988);
commodities–machinery and equipment 41.6%;
fuels, minerals, and metals 32.2%; agricultural and forestry
products 11.5%; industrial consumer goods 6.7%; other products 8.0%;
partners–USSR, GDR, Poland, Hungary, FRG, Yugoslavia, Austria,
Bulgaria, Romania, US
External debt: $7.4 billion, hard currency indebtedness (1989)
Industrial production: growth rate 2.1% (1988)
Electricity: 22,955,000 kW capacity; 85,000 million kWh produced,
5,410 kWh per capita (1989)
Industries: iron and steel, machinery and equipment, cement, sheet
glass, motor vehicles, armaments, chemicals, ceramics, wood, paper
products, footwear
Agriculture: accounts for 15% of GNP (includes forestry); largely
self-sufficient in food production; diversified crop and livestock production,
including grains, potatoes, sugar beets, hops, fruit, hogs, cattle, and poultry;
exporter of forest products
Aid: donor–$4.2 billion in bilateral aid to non-Communist less developed
countries (1954-88)
Currency: koruna (plural–koruny); 1 koruna (Kc) = 100 haleru
Exchange rates: koruny (Kcs) per US$1–17.00 (March 1990),
10.00 (1989), 5.63 (1988), 5.43 (1987), 5.95 (1986), 6.79 (1985), 6.65 (1984)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications
Railroads: 13,116 km total; 12,868 km 1.435-meter standard gauge, 102 km
1.524-meter broad gauge, 146 km 0.750- and 0.760-meter narrow gauge; 2,854 km
double track; 3,530 km electrified; government owned (1986)
Highways: 73,805 km total; including 489 km superhighway (1986)
Inland waterways: 475 km (1986); the Elbe (Labe) is the principal river
Pipelines: crude oil, 1,448 km; refined products, 1,500 km; natural gas,
8,000 km
Ports: maritime outlets are in Poland (Gdynia, Gdansk, Szczecin),
Yugoslavia (Rijeka, Koper), FRG (Hamburg), GDR (Rostock); principal river ports
are Prague on the Vltava, Decin on the Elbe (Labe), Komarno on the
Danube, Bratislava on the Danube
Merchant marine: 21 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 208,471 GRT/
308,072 DWT; includes 15 cargo, 6 bulk
Civil air: 40 major transport aircraft
Airports: 158 total, 158 usable; 40 with permanent-surface
runways; 19 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 37 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications: stations–58 AM, 16 FM, 45 TV; 14 Soviet TV relays;
4,360,000 TV sets; 4,208,538 radio receivers; at least 1 satellite earth
station
Defense Forces
Branches: Czechoslovak People’s Army, Frontier Guard, Air and Air Defense
Forces
Military manpower: males 15-49, 4,019,311; 3,076,735 fit for military
service; 137,733 reach military age (18) annually
Defense expenditures: 28.4 billion koruny, 7% of total budget (1989);
note–conversion of the military budget into US dollars using the official
administratively set exchange rate would produce misleading results
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Denmark
Geography
Total area: 43,070 km2; land area: 42,370 km2; includes the island of
Bornholm in the Baltic Sea and the rest of metropolitan Denmark, but excludes
the Faroe Islands and Greenland
Comparative area: slightly more than twice the size of Massachusetts
Land boundaries: 68 km with FRG
Coastline: 3,379 km
Maritime claims:
Contiguous zone: 4 nm;
Continental shelf: 200 meters or to depth of exploitation;
Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm;
Territorial sea: 3 nm
Disputes: Rockall continental shelf dispute involving Iceland, Ireland,
and the UK (Ireland and the UK have signed a boundary agreement in the
Rockall area); Denmark has challenged Norway’s maritime claims between
Greenland and Jan Mayen
Climate: temperate; humid and overcast; mild, windy winters and cool
summers
Terrain: low and flat to gently rolling plains
Natural resources: crude oil, natural gas, fish, salt, limestone
Land use: 61% arable land; NEGL% permanent crops; 6% meadows and
pastures; 12% forest and woodland; 21% other; includes 9% irrigated
Environment: air and water pollution
Note: controls Danish Straits linking Baltic and North Seas
People
Population: 5,131,217 (July 1990), growth rate NEGL% (1990)
Birth rate: 12 births/1,000 population (1990)
Death rate: 11 deaths/1,000 population (1990)
Net migration rate: NEGL migrants/1,000 population (1990)
Infant mortality rate: 6 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)
Life expectancy at birth: 73 years male, 79 years female (1990)
Total fertility rate: 1.6 children born/woman (1990)
Nationality: noun–Dane(s); adjective–Danish
Ethnic divisions: Scandinavian, Eskimo, Faroese, German
Religion: 97% Evangelical Lutheran, 2% other Protestant and Roman
Catholic, 1% other
Language: Danish, Faroese, Greenlandic (an Eskimo dialect); small
German-speaking minority
Literacy: 99%
Labor force: 2,760,000; 51% services, 34% industry, 8% government,
7% agriculture, forestry, and fishing (1988)
Organized labor: 65% of labor force
Government
Long-form name: Kingdom of Denmark
Type: constitutional monarchy
Capital: Copenhagen
Administrative divisions: metropolitan Denmark–14 counties (amter,
singular–amt) and 1 city* (stad); Arhus, Bornholm, Frederiksborg, Fyn,
Kobenhavn, Nordjylland, Ribe, Ringkobing, Roskilde, Sonderjylland,
Staden Kobenhavn*, Storstrom, Vejle, Vestsjaelland, Viborg; note–see
separate entries for the Faroe Islands and Greenland which are part of the
Danish realm and self-governing administrative divisions
Independence: became a constitutional monarchy in 1849
Constitution: 5 June 1953
Legal system: civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts;
accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
National holiday: Birthday of the Queen, 16 April (1940)
Executive branch: monarch, heir apparent, prime minister, Cabinet
Legislative branch: unicameral Parliament (Folketing)
Judicial branch: Supreme Court
Leaders:
Chief of State–Queen MARGRETHE II (since January 1972);
Heir Apparent Crown Prince FREDERIK, elder son of the Queen (born 26 May 1968);
Head of Government–Prime Minister Poul SCHLUTER (since 10 September
1982)
Political parties and leaders: Social Democratic, Svend Auken;
Liberal, Uffe Ellemann-Jensen; Conservative, Poul Schluter; Radical Liberal,
Niels Helveg Petersen; Socialist People’s, Gert Petersen; Communist, Ole
Sohn; Left Socialist, Elizabeth Brun Olesen; Center Democratic, Mimi
Stilling Jakobsen; Christian People’s, Flemming Kofoed-Svendsen;
Justice, Poul Gerhard Kristiansen; Progress Party, Aage Brusgaard;
Socialist Workers Party, leader NA; Communist Workers’ Party
(KAP); Common Course, Preben Moller Hansen; Green Party, Inger
Borlehmann
Suffrage: universal at age 21
Elections:
Parliament–last held 10 May 1988 (next to be held by May
1992);
results–Social Democrat 29.9%, Conservative 19.3%, Socialist
People’s 13.0%, Liberal 11.8%, Radical Liberal 9.0%, Center
Democratic 5.6%, Christian People’s 2.0%, Common Course 2.7%,
other 6.7%;
seats–(175 total; includes 2 from Greenland and 2 from the Faroe
Islands) Social Democratic 55, Conservative 35,
Socialist People’s 24, Liberal 22, Progress 16,
Radical Liberal 10, Center Democratic 9, Christian People’s 4
Member of: ADB, CCC, Council of Europe, DAC, EC, EMS, ESA, FAO, GATT,
IAEA, IBRD, ICAC, ICAO, ICES, ICO, IDA, IDB, Inter-American Development Bank,
IEA, IFAD, IFC, IHO, ILO, ILZSG, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IPU, ISO, ITC,
ITU, IWC–International Wheat Council, NATO, Nordic Council, OECD, UN, UNESCO,
UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WSG
Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Peter Pedersen DYVIG;
Chancery at 3200 Whitehaven Street NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone
(202) 234-4300; there are Danish Consulates General at Chicago, Houston,
Los Angeles, and New York;
US–Ambassador Keith L. BROWN; Embassy at Dag Hammarskjolds Alle 24,
2100 Copenhagen O (mailing address is APO New York 09170);
telephone Õ45å (31) 42 31 44
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
Overview: This 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. Growth in output, however, has been
sluggish in 1987-89, and unemployment in early 1989 stood at 9.6%
of the labor force. The government is trying to revitalize growth
in preparation for the economic integration of Europe in 1992.
GDP: $73.7 billion, per capita $14,300; real growth rate 1.4%
(1989 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 4.25% (1989 est.)
Unemployment rate: 9.6% (1989)
Budget: revenues $34 billion; expenditures $34 billion, including
capital expenditures of $19 billion (1988)
Exports: $27.7 billion (f.o.b., 1989 est.);
commodities–meat and meat products, dairy products, transport equipment,
fish, chemicals, industrial machinery;
partners–US 6.0%, FRG, Norway, Sweden, UK, other EC, Japan
Imports: $26.4 billion (c.i.f., 1989 est.);
commodities–petroleum, machinery and equipment, chemicals, grain and
foodstuffs, textiles, paper;
partners–US 7.0%, FRG, Netherlands, Sweden, UK, other EC
External debt: $41.1 billion (1989 est.)
Industrial production: growth rate 0.9% (1988)
Electricity: 11,215,000 kW capacity; 30,910 million kWh produced,
6,030 kWh per capita (1989)
Industries: food processing, machinery and equipment, textiles and
clothing, chemical products, electronics, construction, furniture, and other
wood products
Agriculture: accounts for 7% of GNP and employs 1.8% of labor force
(includes fishing); farm products account for nearly 16% of export revenues;
principal products–meat, dairy, grain, potatoes, rape, sugar beets, fish;
self-sufficient in food production
Aid: donor–ODA and OOF commitments (1970-87) $4.8 billion
Currency: Danish krone (plural–kroner); 1 Danish krone
(DKr) = 100 ore
Exchange rates: Danish kroner (DKr) per US$1–6.560 (January 1990),
7.310 (1989), 6.732 (1988), 6.840 (1987), 8.091 (1986), 10.596 (1985)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications
Railroads: 2,675 km 1.435-meter standard gauge; Danish State Railways
(DSB) operate 2,025 km (1,999 km rail line and 121 km rail ferry services);
188 km electrified, 730 km double tracked; 650 km of standard-gauge lines are
privately owned and operated
Highways: 66,482 km total; 64,551 km concrete, bitumen, or stone block;
1,931 km gravel, crushed stone, improved earth
Inland waterways: 417 km
Pipelines: crude oil, 110 km; refined products, 578 km; natural gas, 700
km
Ports: Alborg, Arhus, Copenhagen, Esbjerg, Fredericia; numerous
secondary and minor ports
Merchant marine: 252 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 4,498,611
GRT/6,711,011 DWT; includes 12 short-sea passenger, 82 cargo, 15 refrigerated
cargo, 28 container, 36 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 1 railcar carrier, 37 petroleum,
oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 13 chemical tanker, 12 liquefied gas, 4
livestock carrier, 12 bulk; note–Denmark has created a captive register
called the Danish International Ship Register (DIS) as its own internal
register; DIS ships do not have to meet Danish manning regulations,
and they amount to a flag of convenience within the Danish register;
by the end of 1990, most Danish flag ships will belong to the DIS
Civil air: 58 major transport aircraft
Airports: 130 total, 114 usable; 27 with permanent-surface
runways; none with runways over 3,659 m; 9 with runways 2,440-3,659 m;
6 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications: excellent telephone, telegraph, and broadcast
services; 4,237,000 telephones; stations–2 AM, 15 (39 repeaters) FM, 27
(25 repeaters) TV stations; 7 submarine coaxial cables; 1 satellite earth
station operating in INTELSAT, 4 Atlantic Ocean, EUTELSAT, and
domestic systems
Defense Forces
Branches: Royal Danish Army, Royal Danish Navy, Royal Danish Air
Force
Military manpower: males 15-49, 1,368,013; 1,180,865 fit for
military service; 37,228 reach military age (20) annually
Defense expenditures: 2.1% of GDP, or $1.5 billion (1989 est.)
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Djibouti
Geography
Total area: 22,000 km2; land area: 21,980 km2
Comparative area: slightly larger than Massachusetts
Land boundaries: 517 km total; Ethiopia 459 km, Somalia 58 km
Coastline: 314 km
Maritime claims:
Contiguous zone: 24 nm;
Extended economic zone: 200 nm;
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Disputes: possible claim by Somalia based on unification of ethnic Somalis
Climate: desert; torrid, dry
Terrain: coastal plain and plateau separated by central mountains
Natural resources: geothermal areas
Land use: 0% arable land; 0% permanent crops; 9% meadows and pastures;
NEGL% forest and woodland; 91% other
Environment: vast wasteland
Note: strategic location near world’s busiest shipping lanes
and close to Arabian oilfields; terminus of rail traffic into Ethiopia
People
Population: 337,386 (July 1990), growth rate 2.6% (1990)
Birth rate: 43 births/1,000 population (1990)
Death rate: 17 deaths/1,000 population (1990)
Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1990)
Infant mortality rate: 119 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)
Life expectancy at birth: 46 years male, 49 years female (1990)
Total fertility rate: 6.4 children born/woman (1990)
Nationality: noun–Djiboutian(s); adjective–Djiboutian
Ethnic divisions: 60% Somali (Issa); 35% Afar, 5% French, Arab,
Ethiopian, and Italian
Religion: 94% Muslim, 6% Christian
Language: French (official); Arabic, Somali, and Afar widely used
Literacy: 20%
Labor force: NA, but a small number of semiskilled laborers at the port
and 3,000 railway workers; 52% of population of working age (1983)
Organized labor: 3,000 railway workers
Government
Long-form name: Republic of Djibouti
Type: republic
Capital: Djibouti
Administrative divisions: 5 districts (cercles, singular–cercle);
Ali Sahih, Dikhil, Djibouti, Obock, Tadjoura
Independence: 27 June 1977 (from France; formerly French Territory of
the Afars and Issas)
Constitution: partial constitution ratified January 1981 by the
Chamber of Deputies
Legal system: based on French civil law system, traditional practices,
and Islamic law
National holiday: Independence Day, 27 June (1977)
Executive branch: president, prime minister, Council of Ministers
Legislative branch: Chamber of Deputies (Chambre des Deputes)
Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Cour Supreme)
Leaders:
Chief of State–President Hassan GOULED Aptidon (since 24 June 1977);
Head of Government–Prime Minister Barkat GOURAD Hamadou (since 30
September 1978)
Political parties and leaders: only party–People’s Progress
Assembly (RPP), Hassan Gouled Aptidon
Suffrage: universal adult at age NA
Elections:
President–last held 24 April 1987 (next to be held April 1993);
results–President Hassan Gouled Aptidon was reelected without
opposition;
Chamber of Deputies–last held 24 April 1987 (next to be
held April 1992); results–RPP is the only party; seats–(65 total) RPP 65
Communists: NA
Member of: ACP, AfDB, Arab League, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, IDA,
IDB–Islamic Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTERPOL, ITU,
NAM, OAU, OIC, UN, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO
Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Roble OLHAYE; Chancery
(temporary) at the Djiboutian Permanent Mission to the UN; 866 United Nations
Plaza, Suite 4011, New York, NY 10017; telephone (212) 753-3163;
US–Ambassador Robert S. BARRETT IV; Embassy at Villa Plateau du
Serpent Boulevard, Marechal Joffre, Djibouti (mailing address is B. P. 185,
Djibouti); telephone Õ253å 35-38-49 or 35-39-95, 35-29-16, 35-29-17
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
Overview: The economy is based on service activities connected with the
country’s strategic location and status as a free trade zone. 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
to help support its balance of payments and to finance development projects.
An unemployment rate of over 50% continues to be a major problem.
GNP: $333 million, $1,070 per capita; real growth rate – 0.7% (1986)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 8.0% (1987)
Unemployment rate: over 50% (1987)
Budget: revenues $117 million; expenditures $163 billion, including
capital expenditures of $52 million (1987 est.)
Exports: $128 million (f.o.b., 1986); commodities–hides and skins,
coffee (in transit); partners–Middle East 50%, Africa 43%, Western Europe
7%
Imports: $198 million (f.o.b., 1986); commodities–foods, beverages,
transport equipment, chemicals, petroleum products; partners–EC 36%,
Africa 21%, Bahrain 14%, Asia 12%, US 2%
External debt: $250 million (December 1988)
Industrial production: growth rate – 1.6% (1986)
Electricity: 110,000 kW capacity; 190 million kWh produced,
580 kWh per capita (1989)
Industries: limited to a few small-scale enterprises, such as
dairy products and mineral-water bottling
Agriculture: accounts for 30% of GDP; scanty rainfall limits crop
production to mostly fruit and vegetables; half of population pastoral nomads
herding goats, sheep, and camels; imports bulk of food needs
Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY78-88), $36 million;
Western (non-US) countries, including ODA and OOF bilateral commitments
(1970-87), $962 million; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $149 million; Communist
countries (1970-88), $35 million
Currency: Djiboutian franc (plural–francs); 1 Djiboutian franc
(DF) = 100 centimes
Exchange rates: Djiboutian francs (DF) per US$1–177.721 (fixed rate since
1973)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications
Railroads: the Ethiopian-Djibouti railroad extends for 97 km through
Djibouti
Highways: 2,900 km total; 280 km bituminous surface, 2,620 km
improved or unimproved earth (1982)
Ports: Djibouti
Civil air: 2 major transport aircraft
Airports: 12 total, 9 usable; none with runways over 3,659 m;
1 with permanent-surface runways; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m;
4 with runways
1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications: fair system of urban facilities in Djibouti and radio
relay stations at outlying places; 7,300 telephones; stations–2 AM, 1 FM, 2 TV;
1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT earth station and 1 ARABSAT; 1 submarine cable to Saudi
Arabia
Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force; paramilitary National Security Force
Military manpower: males 15-49, 88,132; 51,260 fit for military service
Defense expenditures: $29.9 million, 23% of central government budget
(1986)
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Dominica
Geography
Total area: 750 km2; land area: 750 km2
Comparative area: slightly more than four times the size of Washington, DC
Land boundaries: none
Coastline: 148 km
Maritime claims:
Contiguous zone: 24 nm;
Extended economic zone: 200 nm;
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: tropical; moderated by northeast trade winds; heavy rainfall
Terrain: rugged mountains of volcanic origin
Natural resources: timber
Land use: 9% arable land; 13% permanent crops; 3% meadows and pastures;
41% forest and woodland; 34% other
Environment: flash floods a constant hazard; occasional hurricanes
Note: located 550 km southeast of Puerto Rico in the Caribbean Sea
People
Population: 84,854 (July 1990), growth rate 1.7% (1990)
Birth rate: 26 births/1,000 population (1990)
Death rate: 5 deaths/1,000 population (1990)
Net migration rate: – 4 migrants/1,000 population (1990)
Infant mortality rate: 13 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)
Life expectancy at birth: 73 years male, 79 years female (1990)
Total fertility rate: 2.6 children born/woman (1990)
Nationality: noun–Dominican(s); adjective–Dominican
Ethnic divisions: mostly black; some Carib indians
Religion: 80% Roman Catholic; Anglican, Methodist
Language: English (official); French patois widely spoken
Literacy: 80% (est.)
Labor force: 25,000; 40% agriculture, 32% industry and commerce, 28%
services (1984)
Organized labor: 25% of labor force
Government
Long-form name: Commonwealth of Dominica
Type: parliamentary democracy
Capital: Roseau
Administrative divisions: 10 parishes; Saint Andrew, Saint David,
Saint George, Saint John, Saint Joseph, Saint Luke, Saint Mark, Saint Patrick,
Saint Paul, Saint Peter
Independence: 3 November 1978 (from UK)
Constitution: 3 November 1978
Legal system: based on English common law
National holiday: Independence Day, 3 November (1978)
Executive branch: president, prime minister, Cabinet
Legislative branch: unicameral House of Assembly (includes 9 appointed
senators and 21 elected representatives)
Judicial branch: Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court
Leaders:
Chief of State–President Sir Clarence Augustus SEIGNORET (since
19 December 1983);
Head of Government–Prime Minister (Mary) Eugenia CHARLES (since 21
July 1980)
Political parties and leaders: Dominica Freedom Party (DFP),
(Mary) Eugenia Charles; Labor Party of Dominica (LPD, a leftist-dominated
coalition), Michael Douglas; United Workers Party (UWP), Edison James
Suffrage: universal at age 18
Elections:
President–last held 20 December 1988 (next to be held December
1993); the president is elected by the House of Assembly;
House of Assembly–last held 1 July 1985 (next to be held July
1990); results–percent of vote by party NA;
seats–(21 total) DFP 17, LPD 4
Communists: negligible
Other political or pressure groups: Dominica Liberation Movement (DLM), a
small leftist group
Member of: ACP, CARICOM, Commonwealth, FAO, GATT (de facto), G-77, IBRD,
IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTERPOL, OAS, OECS, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO
Diplomatic representation: there is no Chancery in the US;
US–no official presence since the Ambassador resides in Bridgetown
(Barbados), but travels frequently to Dominica
Flag: green with a centered cross of three equal bands–the vertical part
is yellow (hoist side), black, and white–the horizontal part is yellow (top),
black, and white; superimposed in the center of the cross is a red disk bearing
a sisserou parrot encircled by 10 green five-pointed stars edged in yellow; the
10 stars represent the 10 administrative divisions (parishes)
Economy
Overview: The economy is dependent on agriculture and thus is highly
vulnerable to climatic conditions. Agriculture accounts for about 30%
of GDP and employs 40% of the labor force. Principal products include
bananas, coconuts, citrus, and root crops. In 1988 the economy achieved a
5.6% growth in real GDP on the strength of a boost in construction,
higher agricultural production, and growth of the small manufacturing
sector based on soap and garment industries. The tourist industry
remains undeveloped because of a rugged coastline and the lack of an
international-class airport.
GDP: $137 million, per capita $1,408; real growth rate 5.6% (1988 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 4.9% (1987)
Unemployment rate: 10% (1989 est.)
Budget: revenues $60 million; expenditures $52 million,
including capital expenditures of $18 million (FY88)
Exports: $46 million (f.o.b., 1987); commodities–bananas,
coconuts, grapefruit, soap, galvanized sheets;
partners–UK 72%, Jamaica 10%, OECS 6%, US 3%, other 9%
Imports: $66.0 million (c.i.f., 1987); commodities–food, oils and
fats, chemicals, fuels and lubricants, manufactured goods, machinery and
equipment;
partners–US 23%, UK 18%, CARICOM 15%, OECS 15%, Japan 5%,
Canada 3%, other 21%
External debt: $63.6 million (December 1987)
Industrial production: growth rate 5.9% in manufacturing (1987)
Electricity: 7,000 kW capacity; 16 million kWh produced,
190 kWh per capita (1989)
Industries: agricultural processing, tourism, soap and other
coconut-based products, cigars, pumice mining
Agriculture: accounts for 30% of GDP; principal crops–bananas, citrus
fruit, coconuts, root crops; bananas provide the bulk of export earnings;
forestry and fisheries potential not exploited
Aid: Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments
(1970-87), $109 million
Currency: East Caribbean dollar (plural–dollars); 1 EC dollar
(EC$) = 100 cents
Exchange rates: East Caribbean dollars (EC$) per US$1–2.70 (fixed rate
since 1976)
Fiscal year: 1 July-30 June
Communications
Highways: 750 km total; 370 km paved, 380 km gravel and earth
Ports: Roseau, Portsmouth
Civil air: NA
Airports: 2 total, 2 usable; 2 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 2,439 m; 1 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications: 4,600 telephones in fully automatic network; VHF and
UHF link to St. Lucia; new SHF links to Martinique and Guadeloupe;
stations–3 AM, 2 FM, 1 cable TV
Defense Forces
Branches: Commonwealth of Dominica Police Force
Military manpower: NA
Defense expenditures: NA
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Dominican Republic
Geography
Total area: 48,730 km2; land area: 48,380 km2
Comparative area: slightly more than twice the size of New Hampshire
Land boundary 275 km with Haiti
Coastline: 1,288 km
Maritime claims:
Contiguous zone: 24 nm;
Continental shelf: outer edge of continental margin or 200 nm;
Extended economic zone: 200 nm;
Territorial sea: 6 nm
Climate: tropical maritime; little seasonal temperature variation
Terrain: rugged highlands and mountains with fertile valleys
interspersed
Natural resources: nickel, bauxite, gold, silver
Land use: 23% arable land; 7% permanent crops; 43% meadows and pastures;
13% forest and woodland; 14% other; includes 4% irrigated
Environment: subject to occasional hurricanes (July to October);
deforestation
Note: shares island of Hispaniola with Haiti (western one-third is
Haiti, eastern two-thirds is the Dominican Republic)
People
Population: 7,240,793 (July 1990), growth rate 2.0% (1990)
Birth rate: 28 births/1,000 population (1990)
Death rate: 7 deaths/1,000 population (1990)
Net migration rate: – 1 migrant/1,000 population (1990)
Infant mortality rate: 62 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)
Life expectancy at birth: 65 years male, 69 years female (1990)
Total fertility rate: 3.2 children born/woman (1990)
Nationality: noun–Dominican(s); adjective–Dominican
Ethnic divisions: 73% mixed, 16% white, 11% black
Religion: 95% Roman Catholic
Language: Spanish
Literacy: 74%
Labor force: 2,300,000-2,600,000; 49% agriculture, 33% services,
18% industry (1986)
Organized labor: 12% of labor force (1989 est.)
Government
Long-form name: Dominican Republic (no short-form name)
Type: republic
Capital: Santo Domingo
Administrative divisions: 29 provinces (provincias, singular–provincia)
and 1 district* (distrito); Azua, Baoruco, Barahona, Dajabon,
Distrito Nacional*, Duarte, Elias Pina, El Seibo, Espaillat, Hato Mayor,
Independencia, La Altagracia, La Romana, La Vega, Maria Trinidad Sanchez,
Monsenor Nouel, Monte Cristi, Monte Plata, Pedernales, Peravia, Puerto Plata,
Salcedo, Samana, Sanchez Ramirez, San Cristobal, San Juan,
San Pedro De Macoris, Santiago, Santiago Rodriguez, Valverde
Independence: 27 February 1844 (from Haiti)
Constitution: 28 November 1966
Legal system: based on French civil codes
National holiday: Independence Day, 27 February (1844)
Executive branch: president, vice president, Cabinet
Legislative branch: bicameral National Congress (Congreso Nacional)
consists of an upper chamber or Senate (Senado) and lower chamber or
Chamber of Deputies (Camara de Diputados)
Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Corte Suprema)
Leaders:
Chief of State and Head of Government–President Joaquin BALAGUER
Ricardo (since 16 August 1986); Vice President Carlos A. MORALES Troncoso
(since 16 August 1986)
Political parties and leaders:
Major parties–Social Christian Reformist Party (PRSC),
Joaquin Balaguer Ricardo; Dominican Revolutionary
Party (PRD), which fractured in May 1989 with the understanding that
leading rivals Jacobo Majluta and Jose Francisco
Pena Gomez would run separately for president at the head of the
Independent Revolutionary Party (PRI) and the Social Democratic
Institutional Bloc (BIS), respectively, and try to reconstitute the
PRD after the election; Dominican Liberation Party (PLD), Juan Bosch
Gavino;
Minor parties–National Veterans and Civilian Party (PNVC),
Juan Rene Beauchanps Javier; The Structure (LE), Andres Van Der Horst;
Democratic Quisqueyan Party (PQD), Elias Wessin Chavez;
Constitutional Action Party (PAC), Luis Arzeno
Rodriguez; National Progressive Force (FNP), Marino Vinicio Castillo;
Popular Christian Party (PPC), Rogelio Delgado Bogaert; Dominican
Communist Party (PCD), Narciso Isa Conde; Anti-Imperialist Patriotic
Union (UPA), Ivan Rodriguez; in 1983 several leftist parties,
including the PCD, joined to form the Dominican Leftist Front (FID);
however, they still retain individual party structures
Suffrage: universal and compulsory at age 18 or if married; members of
the armed forces and police cannot vote
Elections:
President–last held 16 May 1986 (next to be held May 1990);
results–Joaquin Balaguer (PRSC) 41.8%, Jacobo Majluta (PRD) 39.7%,
Juan Bosch Gavino (PLD) 18.5%;
Senate–last held 16 May 1986 (next to be held May 1990);
results–percent of vote by party NA;
seats–(30 total) PRSC 21, PRD 7, PLD 2;
Chamber of Deputies–last held 16 May 1986 (next to be
held May 1990);
results–PRSC 40.6%, PRD 33.5%, PLD 18.3%, LE 5.3%, other 2.3%;
seats–(120 total) PRSC 56, PRD 48, PLD 16
Communists: an estimated 8,000 to 10,000 members in several legal and
illegal factions; effectiveness limited by ideological differences and
organizational inadequacies
Member of: FAO, G-77, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBA, IBRD, ICAO, ICO, IDA,
IDB–Inter-American Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT,
INTERPOL, IOOC, IRC, ISO, ITU, OAS, PAHO, SELA, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO,
WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Carlos A. MORALES Troncoso
(serves concurrently as Vice President); Chancery at
1715 22nd Street NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 332-6280;
there are Dominican Consulates General in Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles,
Mayaguez (Puerto Rico), Miami, New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia, San Juan
(Puerto Rico), and Consulates in Charlotte Amalie (Virgin Islands), Detroit,
Houston, Jacksonville, Minneapolis, Mobile, Ponce (Puerto Rico), and
San Francisco;
US–Ambassador Paul D. TAYLOR; Embassy at the corner of
Calle Cesar Nicolas Penson and Calle Leopoldo Navarro, Santo Domingo
(mailing address is APO Miami 34041-0008); telephone Õ809å 541-2171
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
Overview: The economy is largely dependent on the agricultural sector,
which employs 50% of the labor force and provides about half of export revenues.
The principal commercial crop is sugarcane, followed by coffee, cocoa, and
tobacco. Industry is based on the processing of agricultural products, durable
consumer goods, minerals, and chemicals. Rapid growth of free trade zones has
established a significant expansion of manufacturing for export, especially
wearing apparel. Over the past decade tourism has also increased in importance
and is a significant earner of foreign exchange and a source of new jobs.
Unemployment is officially reported at about 25%, but underemployment may
be much higher.
GDP: $5.1 billion, per capita $790; real growth rate 0.5% (1988)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 57.6% (1988)
Unemployment rate: 25% (1988)
Budget: revenues $413 million; expenditures $522 million,
including capital expenditures of $218 million (1988)
Exports: $711 million (f.o.b., 1988);
commodities–sugar, coffee, cocoa, gold, ferronickel;
partners–US, including Puerto Rico, 74%
Imports: $1.8 billion (c.i.f., 1988);
commodities–foodstuffs, petroleum, cotton and fabrics, chemicals and
pharmaceuticals;
partners–US, including Puerto Rico, 37% (1985)
External debt: $3.6 billion (1989) est.
Industrial production: growth rate 30% (1987 est.)
Electricity: 1,376,000 kW capacity; 4,000 million kWh produced,
560 kWh per capita (1989)
Industries: tourism, sugar processing, ferronickel and gold mining,
textiles, cement, tobacco
Agriculture: accounts for 18% of GDP and employs 49% of labor
force; sugarcane most important commercial crop, followed by coffee,
cotton, and cocoa; food crops–rice, beans, potatoes, corn, bananas;
animal output–cattle, hogs, dairy products, meat, eggs; not
self-sufficient in food
Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $1.1 billion; Western
(non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $529 million
Currency: Dominican peso (plural–pesos); 1 Dominican peso
(RD$) = 100 centavos
Exchange rates: Dominican pesos per US$1–6.3400 (January 1990),
6.3400 (1989), 6.1125 (1988), 3.8448 (1987), 2.9043 (1986), 3.1126 (1985)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications
Railroads: 1,655 km total in numerous segments; 4 different gauges
from 0.558 m to 1.435 m
Highways: 12,000 km total; 5,800 km paved, 5,600 km gravel and improved
earth, 600 km unimproved
Pipelines: crude oil, 96 km; refined products, 8 km
Ports: Santo Domingo, Haina, San Pedro de Macoris, Puerto Plata
Merchant marine: 4 cargo ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 23,335
GRT/40,297 DWT
Civil air: 14 major transport aircraft
Airports: 44 total, 30 usable; 14 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; 3 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 9 with
runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications: relatively efficient domestic system based on
islandwide radio relay network; 190,000 telephones; stations–120 AM, no
FM, 18 TV, 6 shortwave; 1 coaxial submarine cable; 1 Atlantic Ocean
INTELSAT earth station
Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force
Military manpower: males 15-49, 1,912,101; 1,210,172 fit for military
service; 80,290 reach military age (18) annually
Defense expenditures: 1.2% of GDP, or $61 million (1989 est.)
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Ecuador
Geography
Total area: 283,560 km2; land area: 276,840 km2; includes
Galapagos Islands
Comparative area: slightly smaller than Nevada
Land boundaries: 2,010 km total; Colombia 590 km, Peru 1,420 km
Coastline: 2,237 km
Maritime claims:
Continental shelf: 200 m;
Territorial sea: 200 nm
Disputes: two sections of the boundary with Peru are in dispute
Climate: tropical along coast becoming cooler inland
Terrain: coastal plain (Costa), inter-Andean central highlands (Sierra),
and flat to rolling eastern jungle (Oriente)
Natural resources: petroleum, fish, timber
Land use: 6% arable land; 3% permanent crops; 17% meadows and pastures;
51% forest and woodland; 23% other; includes 2% irrigated
Environment: subject to frequent earthquakes, landslides, volcanic
activity; deforestation; desertification; soil erosion; periodic droughts
Note: Cotopaxi in Andes is highest active volcano in world
People
Population: 10,506,668 (July 1990), growth rate 2.3% (1990)
Birth rate: 30 births/1,000 population (1990)
Death rate: 7 deaths/1,000 population (1990)
Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1990)
Infant mortality rate: 61 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)
Life expectancy at birth: 64 years male, 68 years female (1990)
Total fertility rate: 3.8 children born/woman (1990)
Nationality: noun–Ecuadorian(s); adjective–Ecuadorian
Ethnic divisions: 55% mestizo (mixed Indian and Spanish), 25% Indian, 10%
Spanish, 10% black
Religion: 95% Roman Catholic
Language: Spanish (official); Indian languages, especially Quechua
Literacy: 85% (1981)
Labor force: 2,800,000; 35% agriculture, 21% manufacturing,
16% commerce, 28% services and other activities (1982)
Organized labor: less than 15% of labor force
Government
Long-form name: Republic of Ecuador
Type: 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; Battle of Pichincha)
Constitution: 10 August 1979
Legal system: based on civil law system; has not accepted compulsory ICJ
jurisdiction
National holiday: Independence Day, 10 August (1809, independence
of Quito)
Executive branch: president, vice president, Cabinet
Legislative branch: unicameral Chamber of Representatives
(Camara de Representantes)
Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Corte Suprema)
Leaders:
Chief of State and Head of Government–President Rodrigo BORJA Cevallos
(since 10 August 1988); Vice President Luis PARODI Valverde (since
10 August 1988)
Political parties and leaders: Right to center
parties–Social Christian Party (PSC), Camilio Ponce, president;
Conservative Party (PC), Jose Teran Varea, director;
Radical Liberal Party (PLR), Blasco Penaherrera, director;
Centrist parties–Concentration of Popular Forces (CFP), Averroes
Bucaram Saxida, director; Radical Alfarist Front (FRA), Cecilia
Calderon de Castro, leader; People, Change, and Democracy (PCD), Aquiles
Rigail Santistevan, director; Revolutionary Nationalist Party (PNR),
Carlos Julio Arosemena Monroy, leader;
Center-left parties–Democratic Left (ID), President Rodrigo Borja,
leader; Roldosist Party of Ecuador (PRE), Abdala Bucaram, director;
Popular Democracy (DP), Vladimiro Alvarez, leader;
Christian Democratic (CD), Julio Cesar Trujillo;
Democratic Party (PD), Francisco Huerta Montalvo, leader;
Far-left parties–Broad Leftist Front (FADI), Rene Mauge
Mosquera, director; Socialist Party (PSE), Victor Granda Aguilar,
secretary general; Democratic Popular Movement (MPD), Jaime Hurtado
Gonzalez, leader; Ecuadorian National Liberation (LN), Alfredo Castillo;
Popular Revolutionary Action Party (APRE), Lt. Gen. Frank Vargas
Pazzos, leader
Suffrage: universal at age 18; compulsory for literate persons ages 18-65,
optional for other eligible voters
Elections:
President–first round held 31 January 1988 and second round on
8 May 1988 (next first round to be held January 1992 and second round
May 1992);
results–Rodrigo Borja Cevallos (ID) 54%, Abdala Bucaram Ortiz
(PRE) 46%;
Chamber of Representatives–last held 31 January 1988
(next to be held June 1990);
results–ID 42%, PSC 11%, PRE 11%, DP 9%, others 27%;
seats–(71 total) ID 30, PRE 8, PSC 8, DP 7, CFP 6, PSE 4,
FADI 2, MPD 2, FRA 2, PCE 1, PLR 1; note–with the addition of the
new province of Sucumbios there will be 72 seats in the August 1990
election
Communists: Communist Party of Ecuador (PCE, pro-Moscow), Rene
Mauge Mosquera, secretary general, 5,000 members; Communist Party of
Ecuador/Marxist Leninist (PCMLE, Maoist), 3,000 members; Socialist
Party of Ecuador (PSE, pro-Cuba), 5,000 members (est.); National
Liberation Party (PLN, Communist), 5,000 members (est.)
Member of: Andean Pact, ECOSOC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICO,
IDA, IDB–Inter-American Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO,
INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IRC, ITU, LAIA, NAM, OAS, OPEC, PAHO, SELA, UN, UNESCO,
UPEB, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Jaime MONCAYO; Chancery at
2535 15th Street NW, Washington DC 20009; telephone (202) 234-7200;
there are Ecuadorian Consulates General in Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami,
New Orleans, New York, and San Francisco, and a Consulate in San Diego;
US–Ambassador-designate Paul C. LAMBERT; Embassy at Avenida Patria
120, on the corner of Avenida 12 de Octubre, Quito (mailing address is P. O.
Box 538, Quito, or APO Miami 34039); telephone Õ593å (2) 562-890; there is a US
Consulate General in 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 which is shorter and does not bear a coat of arms
Economy
Overview: Ecuador continues to recover from a 1986 drop in international
oil prices and a major earthquake in 1987 that interrupted oil exports
for six months and forced Ecuador to suspend foreign debt payments.
In 1988-89 oil exports recovered–accounting for nearly half of
Ecuador’s total export revenues–and Quito resumed full interest
payments on its official debt, and partial payments on its commercial
debt. The Borja administration has pursued austere economic
policies that have helped reduce inflation and restore international
reserves. Ecuador was granted an IMF standby agreement worth $135
million in 1989, and Quito will seek to reschedule its foreign
commercial debt in 1990.
GDP: $9.8 billion, per capita $935; real growth rate 0.5% (1989)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 54% (1989)
Unemployment rate: 14.3% (1988)
Budget: revenues $2.2 billion; expenditures $2.7 billion,
including capital expenditures of $601 million (1988 est.)
Exports: $2.2 billion (f.o.b., 1988); commodities–petroleum 47%,
coffee, bananas, cocoa products, shrimp, fish products; partners–US 58%,
Latin America, Caribbean, EC countries
Imports: $1.6 billion (f.o.b., 1988); commodities–transport
equipment, vehicles, machinery, chemical, petroleum; partners–US 28%,
Latin America, Caribbean, EC, Japan
External debt: $10.9 billion (1989)
Industrial production: growth rate 0.7% (1988)
Electricity: 1,953,000 kW capacity; 5,725 million kWh produced,
560 kWh per capita (1989)
Industries: food processing, textiles, chemicals, fishing,
timber, petroleum
Agriculture: accounts for 18% of GDP and 35% of labor force (including
fishing and forestry); leading producer and exporter of bananas and balsawood;
other exports–coffee, cocoa, fish, shrimp; crop production–rice, potatoes,
manioc, plantains, sugarcane; livestock sector–cattle, sheep, hogs, beef,
pork, dairy products; net importer of foodgrain, dairy products, and sugar
Illicit drugs: relatively small producer of coca following the
successful eradication campaign of 1985-87; significant transit country,
however, for derivatives of coca originating in Colombia, Bolivia, and
Peru
Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $457 million; Western
(non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $1.4 billion;
Communist countries (1970-88), $64 million
Currency: sucre (plural–sucres); 1 sucre (S/) = 100 centavos
Exchange rates: sucres (S/) per US$1–526.35 (1989), 301.61 (1988),
170.46 (1987), 122.78 (1986), 69.56 (1985)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications
Railroads: 965 km total; all 1.067-meter-gauge single track
Highways: 28,000 km total; 3,600 km paved, 17,400 km gravel and improved
earth, 7,000 km unimproved earth
Inland waterways: 1,500 km
Pipelines: crude oil, 800 km; refined products, 1,358 km
Ports: Guayaquil, Manta, Puerto Bolivar, Esmeraldas
Merchant marine: 47 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 340,446
GRT/492,670 DWT; includes 1 passenger, 7 cargo, 17 refrigerated cargo,
2 container, 1 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 16 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL)
tanker, 1 chemical tanker, 1 liquefied gas, 1 bulk
Civil air: 44 major transport aircraft
Airports: 179 total, 178 usable; 43 with permanent-surface runways;
1 with runways over 3,659 m; 6 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 20 with runways
1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications: domestic facilities generally adequate; 318,000
telephones; stations–272 AM, no FM, 33 TV, 39 shortwave; 1 Atlantic Ocean
INTELSAT earth station
Defense Forces
Branches: Ecuadorean Army (Ejercito Ecuatoriano), Ecuadorean Air Force
(Fuerza Aerea Ecuatoriana), Ecuadorean Navy (Armada Ecuatoriana)
Military manpower: males 15-49, 2,635,543; 1,786,068 fit for military
service; 114,976 reach military age (20) annually
Defense expenditures: 1% of GDP, or $100 million (1988 est.)
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Egypt
Geography
Total area: 1,001,450 km2; land area: 995,450 km2
Comparative area: slightly more than three times the size of New Mexico
Land boundaries: 2,689 km total; Gaza Strip 11, Israel 255 km,
Libya 1,150 km, Sudan 1,273 km
Coastline: 2,450 km
Maritime claims:
Contiguous zone: 24 nm;
Continental shelf: 200 meters or to depth of exploitation;
Extended economic zone: undefined;
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Disputes: Administrative Boundary and international boundary with Sudan
Climate: desert; hot, dry summers with moderate winters
Terrain: vast desert plateau interrupted by Nile valley and delta
Natural resources: crude oil, natural gas, iron ore, phosphates,
manganese, limestone, gypsum, talc, asbestos, lead, zinc
Land use: 3% arable land; 2% permanent crops; 0% meadows and pastures;
NEGL% forest and woodland; 95% other; includes 5% irrigated
Environment: Nile is only perennial water source; increasing soil
salinization below Aswan High Dam; hot, driving windstorm called khamsin
occurs in spring; water pollution; desertification
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; size and juxtaposition to Israel
establish its major role in Middle Eastern geopolitics
People
Population: 54,705,746 (July 1990), growth rate 2.5% (1990)
Birth rate: 34 births/1,000 population (1990)
Death rate: 10 deaths/1,000 population (1990)
Net migration rate: NEGL migrants/1,000 population (1990)
Infant mortality rate: 90 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)
Life expectancy at birth: 60 years male, 61 years female (1990)
Total fertility rate: 4.7 children born/woman (1990)
Nationality: noun–Egyptian(s); adjective–Egyptian
Ethnic divisions: 90% Eastern Hamitic stock; 10% Greek, Italian,
Syro-Lebanese
Religion: (official estimate) 94% Muslim (mostly Sunni), 6% Coptic
Christian and other
Language: Arabic (official); English and French widely understood by
educated classes
Literacy: 45%
Labor force: 15,000,000 (1989 est.); 36% government,
public sector enterprises, and armed forces; 34% agriculture;
20% privately owned service and manufacturing enterprises (1984);
shortage of skilled labor; 2,500,000 Egyptians work abroad, mostly
in Iraq and the Gulf Arab states (1988 est.)
Organized labor: 2,500,000 (est.)
Government
Long-form name: Arab Republic of Egypt
Type: republic
Capital: Cairo
Administrative divisions: 26 governorates (muhafazat,
singular–muhafazah); Ad Daqahliyah, Al Bahr al Ahmar,
Al Buhayrah, Al Fayyum, Al Gharbiyah, Al Iskandariyah,
Al Ismailiyah, Al Jizah, Al Minufiyah, Al Minya,
Al Qahirah, Al Qalyubiyah, Al Wadi al Jadid, Ash Sharqiyah,
As Suways, Aswan, Asyut, Bani Suwayf, Bur Said, Dumyat,
Janub Sina, Kafr ash Shaykh, Matruh, Qina,
Shamal Sina, Suhaj
Independence: 28 February 1922 (from UK); formerly United Arab Republic
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
National holiday: Anniversary of the Revolution, 23 July (1952)
Executive branch: president, prime minister, Cabinet
Legislative branch: unicameral People’s Assembly (Majlis al-Shaab);
note–there is an Advisory Council (Majlis al-Shura) that functions in a
consultative role
Judicial branch: Supreme Constitutional Court
Leaders:
Chief of State–President Mohammed Hosni MUBARAK (was made acting
President on 6 October 1981 upon the assassination of President Sadat and
sworn in as President on 14 October 1981);
Head of Government–Prime Minister Atef Mohammed Najib SEDKY
(since 12 November 1986)
Political parties and leaders: formation of political parties must be
approved by government; National Democratic Party (NDP), President
Mohammed Hosni Mubarak, leader, is the dominant party; legal opposition
parties are Socialist Liberal Party (SLP), Kamal Murad; Socialist Labor
Party, Ibrahim Shukri; National Progressive Unionist Grouping, Khalid
Muhyi-al-Din; Umma Party, Ahmad al-Sabahi; and New Wafd Party (NWP),
Fuad Siraj al-Din
Suffrage: universal and compulsory at age 18
Elections:
President–last held 5 October 1987 (next to be held October
1993); results–President Hosni Mubarek was reelected;
People’s Assembly–last held 6 April 1987 (next to be held
April 1992); results–NDP 69.3%, Socialist Labor Party Coalition 17%,
NWP 10.9%;
seats–(458 total, 448 elected)–NDP 346, Socialist Labor Party
Coalition 60,
Labor-Liberal-Muslim Brotherhood Alliance 60 (37 belong to the
Muslim Brotherhood), NWP 36, independents 7;
Advisory Council (Majlis al-Shura)–last held October 1986
(next to be held October 1992);
results–percent of vote by party NA;
seats–(210 total, 140 elected)
Communists: about 500 party members
Other political or pressure groups: Islamic groups are illegal, but the
largest one, the Muslim Brotherhood, is tolerated by the government and
recently gained a sizable presence in the new People’s Assembly; trade
unions and professional associations are officially sanctioned
Member of: ACC, AfDB, Arab League, CCC, FAO, G-77, GATT,
IAEA, IBRD, ICAC, ICAO, IDA, IDB–Islamic Development Bank, IFAD, IFC,
IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOOC, IPU, IRC, ITU,
IWC–International Wheat Council, NAM, OAPEC, OAU, OIC, UN, UNESCO, UPU,
WHO, WIPO, WMO, WPC, WSG, WTO; Egypt was suspended from Arab League and
OAPEC in April 1979 and readmitted in May 1989
Diplomatic representation: Ambassador El Sayed Abdel Raouf EL REEDY;
Chancery at 2310 Decatur Place NW, Washington DC 20008;
telephone (202) 232-5400; there are Egyptian Consulates General in Chicago,
Houston, New York, and San Francisco;
US–Ambassador Frank G. WISNER; Embassy at 5 Sharia Latin America,
Garden City, Cairo (mailing address is FPO New York 09527);
telephone Õ20å Õ2å 355-7371; there is a US Consulate General in 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 flags of the YAR which has one star, Syria which has two
stars, and Iraq which has three stars–all green and five-pointed in a
horizontal line centered in the white band
Economy
Overview: Egypt has one of the largest public sectors of all
the Third World economies, 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. As part of
the 1987 agreement with the IMF, the government agreed to institute
a reform program to reduce inflation, promote economic growth, and
improve its external position. The reforms have been slow in coming,
however, and the economy has been largely stagnant for the past
three years. With 1 million people being added every eight months
to Egypt’s population, urban growth exerts enormous pressure on
the 5% of the total land area available for agriculture.
GDP: $38.3 billion, per capita $700; real growth rate 1.0% (1989 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 25% (1989 est.)
Unemployment rate: 15% (1989 est.)
Budget: revenues $7 billion; expenditures $11.5 billion,
including capital expenditures of $4 billion (FY89 est.)
Exports: $2.55 billion (f.o.b., 1989); commodities–raw cotton,
crude and refined petroleum, cotton yarn, textiles; partners–US,
EC, Japan, Eastern Europe
Imports: $10.1 billion (c.i.f., 1988); commodities–foods,
machinery and equipment, fertilizers, wood products, durable consumer goods,
capital goods; partners–US, EC, Japan, Eastern Europe
External debt: $45 billion (December 1989)
Industrial production: growth rate 2-4% (1989 est.)
Electricity: 11,273,000 kW capacity; 42,500 million kWh produced,
780 kWh per capita (1989)
Industries: textiles, food processing, tourism, chemicals,
petroleum, construction, cement, metals
Agriculture: accounts for 20% of GNP and employs more than one-third of
labor force; dependent on irrigation water from the Nile; world’s
fifth-largest cotton exporter; other crops produced include rice,
corn, wheat, beans, fruit, vegetables; not self-sufficient in food;
livestock–cattle, water buffalo, sheep, and goats; annual fish catch
about 140,000 metric tons
Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $14.7 billion; Western
(non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $7.8 billion;
OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $2.9 billion; Communist countries (1970-88),
$2.4 billion
Currency: Egyptian pound (plural–pounds); 1 Egyptian pound
(LE) = 100 piasters
Exchange rates: Egyptian pounds (LE) per US$1–2.5790 (January 1990),
2.5171 (1989), 2.2128 (1988), 1.5015 (1987), 1.3503 (1986), 1.3010 (1985)
Fiscal year: 1 July-30 June
Communications
Railroads: 5,110 km total; 4,763 km 1,435-meter standard gauge, 347 km
0.750-meter gauge; 951 km double track; 25 km electrified
Highways: 51,925 km total; 17,900 km paved, 2,500 km gravel, 13,500
km improved earth, 18,025 km unimproved earth
Inland waterways: 3,500 km (including the Nile, Lake Nasser,
Alexandria-Cairo Waterway, and numerous smaller canals in the delta);
Suez Canal, 193.5 km long (including approaches), used by oceangoing
vessels drawing up to 16.1 meters of water
Pipelines: crude oil, 1,171 km; refined products, 596 km; natural gas, 460
km
Ports: Alexandria, Port Said, Suez, Bur Safajah, Damietta
Merchant marine: 142 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,141,799
GRT/1,754,181 DWT; includes 1 passenger, 7 short-sea passenger,
2 passenger-cargo, 88 cargo, 2 refrigerated cargo, 13 roll-on/roll-off cargo,
14 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 15 bulk
Civil air: 43 major transport aircraft
Airports: 97 total, 87 usable; 67 with permanent-surface runways; 2 with
runways over 3,659 m; 46 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 21 with runways
1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications: system is large but still inadequate for needs;
principal centers are Alexandria, Cairo, Al Mansurah, Ismailia, and
Tanta; intercity connections by coaxial cable and microwave; extensive
upgrading in progress; 600,000 telephones (est.); stations–25 AM, 5 FM, 47 TV;
satellite earth stations–1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT, 1 Indian Ocean
INTELSAT, 1 INMARSAT; 4 submarine coaxial cables; tropospheric scatter
to Sudan; radio relay to Libya (may not be operational); new radio
relay to Jordan
Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Air Defense Command
Military manpower: males 15-49, 13,271,942; 8,642,075 fit for military
service; 547,084 reach military age (20) annually
Defense expenditures: 7.2% of GDP, or $2.8 billion (FY90 est.)
.pa
El Salvador
Geography
Total area: 21,040 km2; land area: 20,720 km2
Comparative area: slightly smaller than Massachusetts
Land boundaries: 545 km total; Guatemala 203 km, Honduras 342 km
Coastline: 307 km
Maritime claims:
Territorial sea: 200 nm (overflight and navigation permitted beyond 12 nm)
Disputes: several sections of the boundary with Honduras are in dispute
Climate: tropical; rainy season (May to October); dry season (November to
April)
Terrain: mostly mountains with narrow coastal belt and central plateau
Natural resources: hydropower and geothermal power, crude oil
Land use: 27% arable land; 8% permanent crops; 29% meadows and pastures;
6% forest and woodland; 30% other; includes 5% irrigated
Environment: The Land of Volcanoes; subject to frequent and sometimes
very destructive earthquakes; deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution
Note: smallest Central American country and only one without a
coastline on Caribbean Sea
People
Population: 5,309,865 (July 1990), growth rate 2.0% (1990)
Birth rate: 34 births/1,000 population (1990)
Death rate: 7 deaths/1,000 population (1990)
Net migration rate: – 7 migrants/1,000 population (1990)
Infant mortality rate: 49 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)
Life expectancy at birth: 62 years male, 68 years female (1990)
Total fertility rate: 4.1 children born/woman (1990)
Nationality: noun–Salvadoran(s); adjective–Salvadoran
Ethnic divisions: 89% mestizo, 10% Indian, 1% white
Religion: about 97% Roman Catholic, with activity by Protestant groups
throughout the country
Language: Spanish, Nahua (among some Indians)
Literacy: 65%
Labor force: 1,700,000 (1982 est.); 40% agriculture,
16% commerce, 15% manufacturing, 13% government, 9% financial services,
6% transportation; shortage of skilled labor and a large pool of unskilled
labor, but manpower training programs improving situation (1984 est.)
Organized labor: 15% total labor force; 10% agricultural labor force; 7%
urban labor force (1987 est.)
Government
Long-form name: Republic of El Salvador
Type: republic
Capital: San Salvador
Administrative divisions: 14 departments (departamentos,
singular–departamento); Ahuachapan, Cabanas, Chalatenango, Cuscatlan,
La Libertad, La Paz, La Union, Morazan, San Miguel, San Salvador, Santa Ana,
San Vicente, Sonsonate, Usulutan
Independence: 15 September 1821 (from Spain)
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
National holiday: Independence Day, 15 September (1821)
Executive branch: president, vice president, Council of Ministers
(cabinet)
Legislative branch: unicameral Legislative Assembly (Asamblea Legislativa)
Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Corte Suprema)
Leaders:
Chief of State and Head of Government–President Alfredo CRISTIANI (since
1 June 1989); Vice President Jose Francisco MERINO (since 1 June 1989)
Political parties and leaders: National Republican Alliance
(ARENA), Armando Calderon Sol; Christian Democratic Party (PDC), Jose
Antonio Morales Erlich; National Conciliation Party (PCN), Ciro Cruz
Zepeda; Democratic Action (AD), Ricardo Gonzalez Camacho; Salvadoran
Authentic Institutional Party (PAISA), Roberto Escobar Garcia; Patria
Libre (PL), Hugo Barrera; Authentic Christian Movement (MAC), Julio
Rey Prendes; Salvadoran Popular Party (PPS), Francisco Quinonez;
Democratic Convergence (CD), a coalition composed of the Social
Democratic Party (PSD), Mario Rene Roldan; the National Revolutionary
Movement (MNR), Guillermo Ungo; and the Popular Social Christian Movement
(MPSC), Ruben Zamora
Suffrage: universal at age 18
Elections:
President–last held 19 March 1989 (next to be held March 1994);
results–Alfredo Cristiani (ARENA) 53.8%, Fidel Chavez Mena (PDC) 36.6%,
other 9.6%;
Legislative Assembly–last held 20 March 1988 (next to be
held March 1991);
results–percent of vote by party NA;
seats–(60 total) ARENA 32, MAC 13, PDC 9, PCN 6
Other political or pressure groups:
Leftist revolutionary movement–Farabundo Marti National
Liberation Front (FMLN), leadership body of the insurgency;
Popular Liberation Forces (FPL), Armed Forces of National Resistance
(FARN), People’s Revolutionary Army (ERP), Salvadoran Communist
Party/Armed Forces of Liberation (PCES/FAL),
and Central American Workers’ Revolutionary Party (PRTC)/Popular
Liberation Revolutionary Armed Forces (FARLP);
Militant front organizations–Revolutionary Coordinator
of Masses (CRM; alliance of front groups), Popular Revolutionary
Bloc (BPR), Unified Popular Action Front (FAPU), Popular Leagues
of 28 February (LP-28), National Democratic Union (UDN), and
Popular Liberation Movement (MLP); Revolutionary Democratic Front (FDR),
coalition of CRM and Democratic Front (FD); FD consists of
moderate leftist groups–Independent Movement of Professionals and Technicians
of El Salvador (MIPTES), National Revolutionary Movement (MNR), and Popular
Social Christian Movement (MPSC);
Extreme rightist vigilante organizations–Anti-Communist Army (ESA);
Maximiliano Hernandez
Brigade; Organization for Liberation From Communism (OLC);
Labor organizations–Federation of Construction and Transport
Workers Unions (FESINCONSTRANS), independent; Salvadoran Communal
Union (UCS), peasant association; Unitary Federation of Salvadoran Unions
(FUSS), leftist; National Federation of Salvadoran Workers (FENASTRAS),
leftist; Democratic Workers Central (CTD), moderate; General
Confederation of Workers (CGT), moderate; Popular Democratic Unity (UPD),
moderate labor coalition which includes FESINCONSTRANS, and other
democratic labor organizations; National Unity of Salvadoran Workers
(UNTS), leftist; National Union of Workers and Peasants (UNOC),
moderate labor coalition of democratic labor organizations;
Business organizations–National Association of Private Enterprise
(ANEP), conservative; Productive Alliance (AP), conservative; National
Federation of Salvadoran Small Businessmen (FENAPES), conservative
Member of: CACM, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAC, ICAO, ICO, IDA,
IDB–Inter-American Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT,
INTERPOL, ITU, IWC–International Wheat Council, OAS, ODECA, PAHO, SELA, UN,
UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Miguel Angel SALAVERRIA;
Chancery at 2308 California Street NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone
(202) 265-3480 through 3482; there are Salvadoran Consulates General in
Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, and San Francisco,
US–Ambassador William G. WALKER; Embassy at 25 Avenida Norte No. 1230,
San Salvador (mailing address is APO Miami 34023); telephone Õ503å 26-7100
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
Overview: The economy experienced a modest recovery during the period
1983-86, after a sharp decline in the early 1980s. Real GDP grew by 1.5% a
year on the strength of value added by the manufacturing and service sectors.
In 1987 the economy expanded by 2.5% as agricultural output recovered from the
1986 drought. The agricultural sector accounts for 25% of GDP, employs about 40%
of the labor force, and contributes about 66% to total exports. Coffee is the
major commercial crop, contributing 60% to export earnings. The manufacturing
sector, based largely on food and beverage processing, accounts for 17% of GDP
and 16% of employment. Economic losses due to guerrilla sabotage total more
than $2.0 billion since 1979. The costs of maintaining a large military
seriously constrain the government’s ability to provide essential social
services.
GDP: $5.5 billion, per capita $1,020 (1988); real growth rate 0.9% (1989
est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 16.8% (September 1989)
Unemployment rate: 10% (1989)
Budget: revenues $688 million; expenditures $725 million, including
capital expenditures of $112 million (1988)
Exports: $497 million (f.o.b., 1989);
commodities–coffee 60%, sugar, cotton, shrimp;
partners–US 49%, FRG 24%, Guatemala 7%, Costa Rica 4%, Japan 4%
Imports: $1.1 billion (c.i.f., 1989);
commodities–petroleum products, consumer goods, foodstuffs, machinery,
construction materials, fertilizer;
partners–US 40%, Guatemala 12%, Venezuela 7%, Mexico 7%, FRG 5%, Japan 4%
External debt: $1.7 billion (December 1989)
Industrial production: growth rate 2.9% (1989)
Electricity: 669,000 kW capacity; 1,813 million kWh produced,
350 kWh per capita (1989)
Industries: food processing, textiles, clothing, petroleum
products, cement
Agriculture: accounts for 25% of GDP and 40% of labor force (including
fishing and forestry); coffee most important commercial crop; other
products–sugarcane, corn, rice, beans, oilseeds, beef, dairy products,
shrimp; not self-sufficient in food
Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $2.4 billion; Western
(non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $353 million
Currency: Salvadoran colon (plural–colones); 1 Salvadoran
colon (C) = 100 centavos
Exchange rates: Salvadoran colones (C) per US$1–5.0000 (fixed rate
since 1986)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications
Railroads: 602 km 0.914-meter gauge, single track
Highways: 10,000 km total; 1,500 km paved, 4,100 km gravel, 4,400 km
improved and unimproved earth
Inland waterways: Rio Lempa partially navigable
Ports: Acajutla, Cutuco
Civil air: 7 major transport aircraft
Airports: 125 total, 84 usable; 6 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m;
5 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications: nationwide trunk radio relay system; connection into
Central American Microwave System; 116,000 telephones; stations–77 AM, no FM,
5 TV, 2 shortwave; 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station
Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, National Guard, National Police,
Treasury Police
Military manpower: males 15-49, 1,180,751; 754,350 fit for military
service; 68,805 reach military age (18) annually
Defense expenditures: 4% of GDP, or $220 million (1990 est.)
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Equatorial Guinea
Geography
Total area: 28,050 km2; land area: 28,050 km2
Comparative area: slightly larger than Maryland
Land boundaries: 539 km total; Cameroon 189 km, Gabon 350 km
Coastline: 296 km
Maritime claims:
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm;
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Disputes: maritime boundary dispute with Gabon
Climate: tropical; always hot, humid
Terrain: coastal plains rise to interior hills; islands are
volcanic
Natural resources: timber, crude oil, small unexploited deposits
of gold, manganese, uranium
Land use: 8% arable land; 4% permanent crops; 4% meadows and pastures;
51% forest and woodland; 33% other
Environment: subject to violent windstorms
Note: insular and continental regions rather widely separated
People
Population: 368,935 (July 1990), growth rate 2.6% (1990)
Birth rate: 43 births/1,000 population (1990)
Death rate: 16 deaths/1,000 population (1990)
Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1990)
Infant mortality rate: 118 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)
Life expectancy at birth: 48 years male, 52 years female (1990)
Total fertility rate: 5.5 children born/woman (1990)
Nationality: noun–Equatorial Guinean(s) or Equatoguinean(s);
adjective–Equatorial Guinean or Equatoguinean
Ethnic divisions: indigenous population of Bioko, primarily Bubi, some
Fernandinos; Rio Muni, primarily Fang; less than 1,000 Europeans, mostly
Spanish
Religion: natives all nominally Christian and predominantly Roman
Catholic; some pagan practices retained
Language: Spanish (official), pidgin English, Fang, Bubi, Ibo
Literacy: 40%
Labor force: 172,000 (1986 est.); 66% agriculture, 23% services,
11% industry (1980); labor shortages on plantations; 58% of population
of working age (1985)
Organized labor: no formal trade unions
Government
Long-form name: Republic of Equatorial Guinea
Type: republic
Capital: Malabo
Administrative divisions: 2 provinces (provincias, singular–provincia);
Bioko, Rio Muni; note–there may now be 6 provinces named Bioko Norte,
Bioko Sur, Centro Sur, Kie-Ntem, Litoral, Wele Nzas
Independence: 12 October 1968 (from Spain; formerly Spanish Guinea)
Constitution: 15 August 1982
Legal system: in transition; partly based on Spanish civil law and
tribal custom
National holiday: Independence Day, 12 October (1968)
Executive branch: president, prime minister, deputy prime minister,
Council of Ministers (cabinet)
Legislative branch: unicameral Chamber of People’s Representatives
(Camara de Representantes del Pueblo)
Judicial branch: Supreme Tribunal
Leaders:
Chief of State–President Brig. Gen. Teodoro OBIANG NGUEMA
MBASOGO (since 3 August 1979);
Head of Government–Prime Minister Cristino SERICHE Bioko Malabo (since
15 August 1982); Deputy Prime Minister Isidoro Eyi Monsuy Andeme
(since 15 August 1989)
Political parties and leaders: only party–Democratic Party
for Equatorial Guinea (PDEG), Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, party leader
Suffrage: universal adult at age NA
Elections:
President–last held 25 June 1989 (next to be held 25 June 1996);
results–President Brig. Gen. Obiang Nguema Mbasogo was reelected without
opposition;
Chamber of Deputies–last held 10 July 1988 (next to be
held 10 July 1993);
results–PDEG is the only party;
seats–(41 total) PDEG 41
Communists: no significant number but some sympathizers
Member of: ACP, AfDB, Conference of East and Central African
States, ECA, FAO, G-77, GATT (de facto), IBRD, ICAO, ICO, IDA, IFAD,
IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTERPOL, IPU, ITU, NAM, OAU, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO
Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Damaso OBIANG NDONG; Chancery at
801 Second Avenue, Suite 1403, New York, NY 10017; telephone (212) 599-1523;
US–Ambassador Chester E. NORRIS, Jr.; Embassy at Calle de Los Ministros,
Malabo (mailing address is P. O. Box 597, Malabo); telephone 2406 or 2507
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
Overview: The economy, destroyed during the regime of former
President Macias Nguema, is now based on agriculture, forestry,
and fishing, which account for about 60% of GNP and nearly all exports.
Subsistence agriculture predominates, with cocoa, coffee, and wood
products providing income, foreign exchange, and government
revenues. There is little industry. Commerce accounts
for about 10% of GNP, and the construction, public works, and service
sectors for about 34%. Undeveloped natural resources include titanium,
iron ore, manganese, uranium, and alluvial gold. Oil exploration is
taking place under concessions offered to US, French, and Spanish firms.
GNP: $103 million, per capita $293; real growth rate NA% (1987)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): – 6.0% (1988 est.)
Unemployment rate: NA%
Budget: revenues $23 million; expenditures $31 million, including
capital expenditures of NA (1988)
Exports: $30 million (f.o.b., 1988 est.); commodities–coffee,
timber, cocoa beans;
partners–Spain 44%, FRG 19%, Italy 12%, Netherlands 11% (1987)
Imports: $50 million (c.i.f., 1988 est.); commodities–petroleum,
food, beverages, clothing, machinery;
partners–Spain 34%, Italy 16%, France 14%, Netherlands 8% (1987)
External debt: $191 million (December 1988)
Industrial production: growth rate NA%
Electricity: 23,000 kW capacity; 60 million kWh produced,
170 kWh per capita (1989)
Industries: fishing, sawmilling
Agriculture: cash crops–timber and coffee from Rio Muni, cocoa
from Bioko; food crops–rice, yams, cassava, bananas, oil palm nuts,
manioc, livestock
Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY81-88), $11 million; Western
(non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $100 million;
Communist countries (1970-88), $55 million
Currency: Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (plural–francs);
1 CFA franc (CFAF) = 100 centimes
Exchange rates: Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (CFAF)
per US$1–287.99 (January 1990), 319.01 (1989), 297.85 (1988), 300.54 (1987),
346.30 (1986), 449.26 (1985)
Fiscal year: 1 April-31 March
Communications
Highways: Rio Muni–1,024 km; Bioko–216 km
Ports: Malabo, Bata
Merchant marine: 2 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 6,413
GRT/6,699 DWT; includes 1 cargo and 1 passenger-cargo
Civil air: 1 major transport aircraft
Airports: 4 total, 3 usable; 2 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 1 with
runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications: poor system with adequate government services;
international communications from Bata and Malabo to African and European
countries; 2,000 telephones; stations–2 AM, no FM, 1 TV; 1 Indian Ocean
INTELSAT earth station
Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Navy, and possibly Air Force
Military manpower: males 15-49, 77,363; 39,174 fit for military service
Defense expenditures: 11% of GNP (FY81 est.)
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Ethiopia
Geography
Total area: 1,221,900 km2; land area: 1,101,000 km2
Comparative area: slightly less than twice the size of Texas
Land boundaries: 5,141 km total; Djibouti 459 km, Kenya 861 km,
Somalia 1,600 km, Sudan 2,221 km
Coastline: 1,094 km
Maritime claims:
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Disputes: southern half of the boundary with Somalia is a Provisional
Administrative Line; possible claim by Somalia based on unification of ethnic
Somalis; territorial dispute with Somalia over the Ogaden; separatist movement
in Eritrea; antigovernment insurgencies in Tigray and other areas
Climate: tropical monsoon with wide topographic-induced variation;
prone to extended droughts
Terrain: high plateau with central mountain range divided by Great
Rift Valley
Natural resources: small reserves of gold, platinum, copper, potash
Land use: 12% arable land; 1% permanent crops; 41% meadows and pastures;
24% forest and woodland; 22% other; includes NEGL% irrigated
Environment: geologically active Great Rift Valley susceptible to
earthquakes, volcanic eruptions; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion;
desertification; frequent droughts; famine
Note: strategic geopolitical position along world’s busiest
shipping lanes and close to Arabian oilfields; major resettlement
project ongoing in rural areas will significantly alter population distribution
and settlement patterns over the next several
decades
People
Population: 51,666,622 (July 1990), growth rate 3.5% (1990)
Birth rate: 45 births/1,000 population (1990)
Death rate: 15 deaths/1,000 population (1990)
Net migration rate: 5 migrants/1,000 population (1990)
Infant mortality rate: 116 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)
Life expectancy at birth: 49 years male, 52 years female (1990)
Total fertility rate: 7.0 children born/woman (1990)
Nationality: noun–Ethiopian(s); adjective–Ethiopian
Ethnic divisions: 40% Oromo, 32% Amhara and Tigrean, 9% Sidamo, 6%
Shankella, 6% Somali, 4% Afar, 2% Gurage, 1% other
Religion: 40-45% Muslim, 35-40% Ethiopian Orthodox, 15-20% animist, 5%
other
Language: Amharic (official), Tigrinya, Orominga, Arabic, English (major
foreign language taught in schools)
Literacy: 55.2%
Labor force: 18,000,000; 80% agriculture and animal
husbandry, 12% government and services, 8% industry and construction
(1985)
Organized labor: All Ethiopian Trade Union formed by the government in
January 1977 to represent 273,000 registered trade union members
Government
Long-form name: People’s Democratic Republic of Ethiopia
Type: Communist state
Capital: Addis Ababa
Administrative divisions: 14 administrative regions (plural–NA,
singular–kifle hager); Arsi, Bale, Eritrea, Gamo Gofa, Gojam,
Gonder, Harerge, Ilubabor, Kefa, Shewa, Sidamo, Tigray, Welega,
Welo; note–the administrative structure may be changing to 25
administrative regions (astedader akababiwach, singular–astedader
akababee) and 5 autonomous
regions* (rasgez akababiwach, singular–rasgez akababee); Addis Ababa,
Arsi, Aseb*, Asosa, Bale, Borena, Dire Dawa*, East Gojam,
East Harerge, Eritrea*, Gambela, Gamo Gofa, Ilubabor, Kefa, Metekel,
Nazaret, North Gonder, North Shewa, North Welo, Ogaden*, Omo, Sidamo,
South Gonder, South Shewa, South Welo, Tigray*, Welega, West Gojam,
West Harerge, West Shewa
Independence: oldest independent country in Africa and one of the oldest
in the world–at least 2,000 years
Constitution: 12 September 1987
Legal system: complex structure with civil, Islamic, common, and
customary law influences; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
National holiday: National Revolution Day, 12 September (1974)
Executive branch: president, vice president, Council of State
prime minister, five deputy prime ministers, Council of Ministers
Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly (Shengo)
Judicial branch: Supreme Court
Leaders:
Chief of State–President MENGISTU Haile-Mariam (Chairman from
11 September 1977 until becoming President on 10 September 1987);
Vice President FISSEHA Desta (since 10 September 1987);
Head of Government–Prime Minister (Acting) and Deputy Prime
Minister HAILU Yimenu (since 7 November 1989);
Deputy Prime Minister WOLLE Chekol (since 21 November 1989);
Deputy Prime Minister ALEMU Abebe (since 10 September 1987);
Deputy Prime Minister TESFAYE Dinka (since 10 September 1987);
Deputy Prime Minister ASHAGRE Yigletu (since 21 November 1989)
Political parties and leaders: only party–Workers’ Party of
Ethiopia (WPE), Mengistu Haile-Mariam, secretary general
Suffrage: universal at age 18
Elections:
President–last held 10 September 1987 (next to be held September
1992);
results–National Assembly elected President Mengistu Haile-Mariam;
National Assembly–last held 14 June 1987 (next to be
held June 1992);
results–WPE is the only party;
seats–(835 total) WPE 835
Other political or pressure groups: important dissident groups include
Eritrean People’s Liberation Front (EPLF) in Eritrea; Tigrean People’s
Liberation Front (TPLF) and Ethiopian Peoples Democratic Movement
in Tigray, Welo, and border regions; Oromo Liberation Front in Welega and
Harerge regions
Member of: ACP, AfDB, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICO, ICAO, IDA,
IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IPU, ITU, NAM, OAU, UN,
UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation: Counselor, Charge d’Affaires ad interim
GIRMA Amare; Chancery at 2134 Kalorama Road NW, Washington DC 20008;
telephone (202) 234-2281 or 2282;
US–Charge d’Affaires Robert G. HOUDEK; Embassy at Entoto Street,
Addis Ababa (mailing address is P.O. Box 1014, Addis Ababa);
telephone 254-233-4141
Flag: three equal horizontal bands of green (top), yellow, and red;
Ethiopia is the oldest independent country in Africa and the colors of her flag
were so often adopted by other African countries upon independence that they
became known as the pan-African colors
Economy
Overview: Ethiopia is one of the poorest and least developed countries in
Africa. Its economy is based on subsistence agriculture, which accounts for
about 45% of GDP, 90% of exports, and 80% of total employment; coffee generates
over 60% of export earnings. The manufacturing sector is heavily dependent on
inputs from the agricultural sector. The economy is centrally planned, and over
90% of large-scale industry is state run. Favorable agricultural weather
largely explains the 4.5% growth in output in FY89.
GDP: $6.6 billion, per capita $130, real growth rate 4.5% (FY89 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 9.6% (FY89)
Unemployment rate: NA; shortage of skilled manpower
Budget: revenues $1.4 billion; expenditures $1.9 billion, including
capital expenditures of $0.7 billion (FY87)
Exports: $418 million (f.o.b., FY88); commodities–coffee 60%,
hides;
partners–US, FRG, Djibouti, Japan, PDRY, France, Italy
Imports: $1.1 billion (c.i.f., FY88),
commodities–food, fuels, capital goods;
partners–USSR, Italy, FRG, Japan, UK, US, France
External debt: $2.6 billion (1988)
Industrial production: growth rate – 0.2% (FY88 est.)
Electricity: 330,000 kW capacity; 700 million kWh produced,
14 kWh per capita (1989)
Industries: cement, textiles, food processing, oil refinery
Agriculture: accounts for 45% of GDP and is the most important sector of
the economy even though frequent droughts, poor cultivation practices, and
state economic policies keep farm output low; famines not uncommon;
export crops of coffee and oilseeds grown partly on state farms;
estimated 50% of agricultural production at subsistence level;
principal crops and livestock–cereals, pulses, coffee, oilseeds,
potatoes, sugarcane, vegetables, hides and skins, cattle, sheep, goats
Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $471 million; Western
(non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $2.6 billion;
OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $8 million; Communist countries (1970-88),
$2.0 billion
Currency: birr (plural–birr); 1 birr (Br) = 100 cents
Exchange rates: birr (Br) per US$1–2.0700 (fixed rate)
Fiscal year: 8 July-7 July
Communications
Railroads: 988 km total; 681 km 1.000-meter gauge; 307 km 0.950-meter
gauge (nonoperational)
Highways: 44,300 km total; 3,650 km bituminous, 9,650 km gravel, 3,000 km
improved earth, 28,000 km unimproved earth
Ports: Aseb, Mitsiwa
Merchant marine: 14 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 71,837
GRT/92,067 DWT; includes 10 cargo, 1 roll-on/roll off cargo, 1 livestock
carrier, 2 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker
Civil air: 21 major transport aircraft
Airports: 152 total, 111 usable; 9 with permanent-surface runways;
2 with runways over 3,659 m; 10 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 51 with runways
1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications: open-wire and radio relay system adequate for
government use; open-wire to Sudan and Djibouti; radio relay to Kenya and
Djibouti; stations–4 AM, no FM, 1 TV; 45,000 TV sets; 3,300,000 radios;
1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station
Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Air Defense
Military manpower: males 15-49, 11,438,616; 5,922,555 fit for military
service; 589,231 reach military age (18) annually
Defense expenditures: 8.5% of GDP (1988)
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Europa Island
(French possession)
Geography
Total area: 28 km2; land area: 28 km2
Comparative area: about 0.2 times the size of Washington, DC
Land boundaries: none
Coastline: 22.2 km
Maritime claims:
Contiguous zone: 12 nm;
Continental shelf: 200 meters or to depth of exploitation;
Extended economic zone: 200 nm;
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Disputes: claimed by Madagascar
Climate: tropical
Terrain: NA
Natural resources: negligible
Land use: NA% arable land; NA% permanent crops; NA% meadows and pastures;
NA% forest and woodland; NA% other; heavily wooded
Environment: wildlife sanctuary
Note: located in the Mozambique Channel 340 km west of Madagascar
People
Population: uninhabited
Government
Long-form name: none
Type: French possession administered by Commissioner of
the Republic Daniel CONSTANTIN, resident in Reunion
Economy
Overview: no economic activity
Communications
Airports: 1 with runway 1,220 to 2,439 m
Ports: none; offshore anchorage only
Telecommunications: 1 meteorological station
Defense Forces
Note: defense is the responsibility of France
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Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas)
(dependent territory of the UK)
Geography
Total area: 12,170 km2; land area: 12,170 km2; includes the two
main islands of East and West Falkland and about 200 small islands
Comparative area: slightly smaller than Connecticut
Land boundaries: none
Coastline: 1,288 km
Maritime claims:
Continental shelf: 100 meter depth;
Exclusive fishing zone: 150 nm;
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Disputes: administered by the UK, claimed by Argentina
Climate: cold marine; strong westerly winds, cloudy, humid; rain occurs on
more than half of days in year; occasional snow all year, except in January
and February, but does not accumulate
Terrain: rocky, hilly, mountainous with some boggy, undulating plains
Natural resources: fish and wildlife
Land use: 0% arable land; 0% permanent crops; 99% meadows and pastures;
0% forest and woodland; 1% other
Environment: poor soil fertility and a short growing season
Note: deeply indented coast provides good natural harbors
People
Population: 1,958 (July 1990), growth rate 0.5% (1990)
Birth rate: NA births/1,000 population (1990)
Death rate: NA deaths/1,000 population (1990)
Net migration rate: NA migrants/1,000 population (1990)
Infant mortality rate: NA deaths/1,000 live births (1990)
Life expectancy at birth: NA years male, NA years female (1990)
Total fertility rate: NA children born/woman (1990)
Nationality: noun–Falkland Islander(s); adjective–Falkland Island
Ethnic divisions: almost totally British
Religion: primarily Anglican, Roman Catholic, and United Free Church;
Evangelist Church, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Lutheran, Seventh-Day Adventist
Language: English
Literacy: NA%, but compulsory education up to age 15
Labor force: 1,100 (est.); about 95% in agriculture, mostly sheepherding
Organized labor: Falkland Islands General Employees Union, 400 members
Government
Long-form name: Colony of the Falkland Islands
Type: dependent territory of the UK
Capital: Stanley
Administrative divisions: none (dependent territory of the UK)
Independence: none (dependent territory of the UK)
Constitution: 3 October 1985
Legal system: English common law
National holiday: Liberation Day, 14 June (1982)
Executive branch: British monarch, governor, Executive Council
Legislative branch: unicameral Legislative Council
Judicial branch: Supreme Court
Leaders:
Chief of State–Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952);
Head of Government–Governor William Hugh FULLERTON (since NA 1988)
Political parties: NA
Suffrage: universal at age 18
Elections:
Legislative Council–last held 3 October 1985 (next to be
held October 1990); results–percent of vote by party NA;
seats–(10 total, 8 elected) number of seats by party NA
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
Overview: The economy is based on sheep farming, which directly or
indirectly employs most of the work force. A few dairy herds are kept to meet
domestic consumption of milk and milk products, and crops grown are primarily
those for providing winter fodder. Major sources of income are from the export
of high-grade wool to the UK and the sale of stamps and coins. Rich stocks of
fish in the surrounding waters are not presently exploited by the islanders, but
development plans called for the islands to have six trawlers by 1989.
In 1987 the government began to sell fishing licenses to foreign trawlers
operating within the Falklands exclusive fishing zone. These license
fees amount to more than $25 million per year. To encourage tourism, the
Falkland Islands Development Corporation has built three lodges for
visitors who are attracted by the abundant wildlife and trout fishing.
GNP: $NA, per capita $NA; real growth rate NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA%
Unemployment rate: 0%
Budget: revenues $11 million; expenditures $11.8 million,
including capital expenditures of $1.2 million (FY87)
Exports: at least $14.7 million;
commodities–wool, hides and skins, and other;
partners–UK, Netherlands, Japan (1987 est.)
Imports: at least $13.9 million;
commodities–food, clothing, fuels, and machinery;
partners–UK, Netherlands Antilles (Curacao), Japan (1987 est.)
External debt: $NA
Industrial production: growth rate NA%
Electricity: 9,200 kW capacity; 17 million kWh produced, 8,700 kWh per
capita (1989)
Industries: wool processing
Agriculture: predominantly sheep farming; small dairy herds and
fodder crops
Aid: Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments
(1970-87), $102 million
Currency: Falkland pound (plural–pounds); 1 Falkland pound
(LF) = 100 pence
Exchange rates: Falkland pound (LF) per US$1–0.6055 (January 1990),
0.6099 (1989), 0.5614 (1988), 0.6102 (1987), 0.6817 (1986), 0.7714 (1985);
note–the Falkland pound is at par with the British pound
Fiscal year: 1 April-31 March
Communications
Highways: 510 km total; 30 km paved, 80 km gravel, and 400 km unimproved
earth
Ports: Port Stanley
Civil air: no major transport aircraft
Airports: 5 total, 5 usable; 2 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m;
none with runways 1,220 to 2,439 m
Telecommunications: government-operated radiotelephone and private
VHF/CB radio networks provide effective service to almost all points on
both islands; 590 telephones; stations–2 AM, 3 FM, no TV; 1 Atlantic Ocean
INTELSAT earth station with links through London to other countries
Defense Forces
Note: defense is the responsibility of the UK
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Faroe Islands
(part of the Danish realm)
Geography
Total area: 1,400 km2; land area: 1,400 km2
Comparative area: slightly less than eight times the size of
Washington, DC
Land boundaries: none
Coastline: 764 km
Maritime claims:
Contiguous zone: 4 nm;
Continental shelf: 200 meters or to depth of exploitation;
Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm;
Territorial sea: 3 nm
Climate: mild winters, cool summers; usually overcast; foggy, windy
Terrain: rugged, rocky, some low peaks; cliffs along most of coast
Natural resources: fish
Land use: 2% arable land; 0% permanent crops; 0% meadows and pastures;
0% forest and woodland; 98% other
Environment: precipitous terrain limits habitation to small coastal
lowlands; archipelago of 18 inhabited islands and a few uninhabited
islets
Note: strategically located along important sea lanes in
northeastern Atlantic about midway between Iceland and Shetland Islands
People
Population: 47,715 (July 1990), growth rate 0.9% (1990)
Birth rate: 17 births/1,000 population (1990)
Death rate: 8 deaths/1,000 population (1990)
Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1990)
Infant mortality rate: 9 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)
Life expectancy at birth: 74 years male, 81 years female (1990)
Total fertility rate: 2.2 children born/woman (1990)
Nationality: noun–Faroese (sing., pl.); adjective–Faroese
Ethnic divisions: homogeneous Scandinavian population
Religion: Evangelical Lutheran
Language: Faroese (derived from Old Norse), Danish
Literacy: 99%
Labor force: 17,585; largely engaged in fishing, manufacturing,
transportation, and commerce
Organized labor: NA
Government
Long-form name: none
Type: part of the Danish realm; self-governing overseas
administrative division of Denmark
Capital: Torshavn
Administrative divisions: none (self-governing overseas
administrative division of Denmark)
Independence: part of the Danish realm; self-governing overseas
administrative division of Denmark
Constitution: Danish
Legal system: Danish
National holiday: Birthday of the Queen, 16 April (1940)
Executive branch: Danish monarch, high commissioner, prime minister,
deputy prime minister, Cabinet (Landsstyri)
Legislative branch: unicameral Parliament (Logting)
Judicial branch: none
Leaders:
Chief of State–Queen MARGRETHE II (since 14 January 1972), represented by
High Commissioner Bent KLINTE (since NA);
Head of Government–Prime Minister Jogvan SUNDSTEIN (since 17 January
1989)
Political parties and leaders: four-party ruling
coalition–People’s Party, Jogvan Sundstein; Republican Party,
Signer Hansen; Progressive and Fishing Industry Party combined with the
Christian People’s Party (CPP-PFIP); Home Rule Party, Hilmar Kass;
opposition–Social Democratic Party, Atli P. Dam; Cooperation
Coalition Party, Pauli Ellefsen; Progress Party
Suffrage: universal at age 20
Elections:
Parliament–last held 8 November 1988 (next to be held November
1992); results–percent of vote by party NA;
seats–(32 total) three-party coalition 21 (People’s Party 8, Cooperation
Coalition Party 7, Republican Party 6);
Social Democrat 7, CPP-PFIP 2, Home Rule 2
Communists: insignificant number
Member of: Nordic Council
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
Overview: The Faroese enjoy the high standard of living
characteristic of the Danish and other Scandinavian economies.
Fishing is the dominant economic activity. It employs over
25% of the labor force, accounts for about 25% of GDP, and
contributes over 80% to export revenues. A handicraft industry
employs about 20% of the labor force. Because of cool summers
agricultural activities are limited to raising sheep and to
potato and vegetable cultivation. There is a labor shortage, and
immigrant workers accounted for 5% of the work force in 1989. Denmark
annually subsidizes the economy, perhaps on the order of 15% of GDP.
GDP: $662 million, per capita $14,000; real growth rate 3%
(1989 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.0% (1988)
Unemployment rate: labor shortage
Budget: revenues $176 million; expenditures $176 million, including
capital expenditures of NA (FY86)
Exports: $267 million (f.o.b., 1986);
commodities–fish and fish products 86%, animal feedstuffs, transport
equipment;
partners–Denmark 18%, US 14%, FRG, France, UK, Canada
Imports: $363 million (c.i.f., 1986);
commodities–machinery and transport equipment 38%, food and livestock
11%, fuels 10%, manufactures 10%, chemicals 5%;
partners: Denmark 46%, FRG, Norway, Japan, UK
External debt: $NA
Industrial production: growth rate NA%
Electricity: 80,000 kW capacity; 280 million kWh produced, 5,910 kWh
per capita (1989)
Industries: fishing, shipbuilding, handicrafts
Agriculture: accounts for 27% of GDP and employs 27% of labor force;
principal crops–potatoes and vegetables; livestock–sheep; annual fish catch
about 360,000 metric tons
Aid: none
Currency: Danish krone (plural–kroner); 1 Danish krone
(DKr) = 100 ore
Exchange rates: Danish kroner (DKr) per US$1–6.560 (January
1990), 7.310 (1989), 6.732 (1988), 6.840 (1987), 8.091 (1986), 10.596 (1985)
Fiscal year: 1 April-31 March
Communications
Highways: 200 km
Ports: Torshavn, Tvoroyri; 8 minor
Merchant marine: 7 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 17,249
GRT/11,887 DWT; includes 1 short-sea passenger, 2 cargo, 2 roll-on/roll-off
cargo, 2 refrigerated cargo; note–a subset of the Danish register
Airports: 1 with permanent-surface runway 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications: good international communications; fair domestic
facilities; 27,900 telephones; stations–1 AM, 3 (10 repeaters) FM,
3 (29 repeaters) TV; 3 coaxial submarine cables
Defense Forces
Note: defense is the responsibility of Denmark
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Fiji
Geography
Total area: 18,270 km2; land area: 18,270 km2
Comparative area: slightly smaller than New Jersey
Land boundaries: none
Coastline: 1,129 km
Maritime claims: (measured from claimed archipelagic baselines)
Continental shelf: 200 meters or to depth of exploitation;
Extended economic zone: 200 nm;
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: tropical marine; only slight seasonal temperature variation
Terrain: mostly mountains of volcanic origin
Natural resources: timber, fish, gold, copper; offshore oil
potential
Land use: 8% arable land; 5% permanent crops; 3% meadows and pastures;
65% forest and woodland; 19% other; includes NEGL% irrigated
Environment: subject to hurricanes from November to January;
includes 332 islands of which approximately 110 are inhabited
Note: located 2,500 km north of New Zealand in the South Pacific
Ocean
People
Population: 759,567 (July 1990), growth rate 1.5% (1990)
Birth rate: 28 births/1,000 population (1990)
Death rate: 6 deaths/1,000 population (1990)
Net migration rate: – 7 migrants/1,000 population (1990)
Infant mortality rate: 22 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)
Life expectancy at birth: 66 years male, 70 years female (1990)
Total fertility rate: 3.3 children born/woman (1990)
Nationality: noun–Fijian(s); adjective–Fijian
Ethnic divisions: 49% Indian, 46% Fijian, 5% European, other Pacific
Islanders, overseas Chinese, and others
Religion: Fijians are mainly Christian, Indians are Hindu with a Muslim
minority
Language: English (official); Fijian; Hindustani
Literacy: 80%
Labor force: 176,000; 60% subsistence agriculture, 40% wage earners (1979)
Organized labor: about 45,000 employees belong to some 46 trade
unions, which are organized along lines of work and ethnic origin (1983)
Government
Long-form
