Z (part 2)

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate
Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the
Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants

Geography - note:
landlocked in the Lesser Caucasus Mountains; Sevana Lich (Lake
Sevan) is the largest lake in this mountain range

People Armenia

Population:
2,991,360
note: Armenia's first census since independence was conducted in
October 2001 (July 2004 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 22.7% (male 357,094; female 323,396)
15-64 years: 66.7% (male 929,719; female 1,065,505)
65 years and over: 10.6% (male 128,027; female 187,619) (2004 est.)

Median age:
total: 29.7 years
male: 27.1 years
female: 32.4 years (2004 est.)

Population growth rate:
-0.32% (2004 est.)

Birth rate:
11.43 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Death rate:
8.12 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Net migration rate:
-6.47 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.18 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.1 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.87 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female
total population: 0.9 male(s)/female (2004 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 24.16 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 18.06 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
male: 29.32 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 71.23 years
male: 67.73 years
female: 75.36 years (2004 est.)

Total fertility rate:
1.31 children born/woman (2004 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
0.1% (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
2,600 (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
less than 200 (2003 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Armenian(s)
adjective: Armenian

Ethnic groups:
Armenian 93%, Azeri 1%, Russian 2%, other (mostly Yezidi Kurds) 4%
(2002)
note: as of the end of 1993, virtually all Azeris had emigrated from
Armenia

Religions:
Armenian Apostolic 94%, other Christian 4%, Yezidi
(Zoroastrian/animist) 2%

Languages:
Armenian 96%, Russian 2%, other 2%

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98.6%
male: 99.4%
female: 98% (2003 est.)

Government Armenia

Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of Armenia
conventional short form: Armenia
local short form: Hayastan
former: Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic; Armenian Republic
local long form: Hayastani Hanrapetut'yun

Government type:
republic

Capital:
Yerevan

Administrative divisions:
11 provinces (marzer, singular - marz); Aragatsotn, Ararat,
Armavir, Geghark'unik', Kotayk', Lorri, Shirak, Syunik', Tavush,
Vayots' Dzor, Yerevan

Independence:
21 September 1991 (from Soviet Union)

National holiday:
Independence Day, 21 September (1991)

Constitution:
adopted by nationwide referendum 5 July 1995

Legal system:
based on civil law system

Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
chief of state: President Robert KOCHARIAN (since 30 March 1998)
head of government: Prime Minister Andranik MARKARYAN (since 12 May
2000)
cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister
elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term;
election last held 19 February and 5 March 2003 (next to be held NA
2008); prime minister appointed by the president; the prime minister
and Council of Ministers must resign if the National Assembly
refuses to accept their program
election results: Robert KOCHARIAN reelected president; percent of
vote - Robert KOCHARIAN 67.5%, Stepan DEMIRCHYAN 32.5%

Legislative branch:
unicameral National Assembly (Parliament) or Azgayin Zhoghov (131
seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms; 75
members elected by party list, 56 by direct vote)
elections: last held 25 May 2003 (next to be held in the spring of
2007)
note: percent of vote by party - Republican Party 23.5%, Justice
Bloc 13.6%, Rule of Law 12.3%, ARF (Dashnak) 11.4%, National Unity
Party 8.8%, United Labor Party 5.7%; seats by party - Republican
Party 23, Justice Bloc 14, Rule of Law 12, ARF (Dashnak) 11,
National Unity 9, United Labor 6; note - seats by party change
frequently as deputies switch parties or announce themselves
independent

Judicial branch:
Constitutional Court; Court of Cassation (Appeals Court)

Political parties and leaders:
Agro-Industrial Party [Vladimir BADALIAN]; Armenia Party [Myasnik
MALKHASYAN]; Armenian National Movement or ANM [Alex ARZUMANYAN,
chairman]; Armenian Ramkavar Liberal Party or HRAK [Harutyun
MIRZAKHANYAN, chairman]; Armenian Revolutionary Federation
("Dashnak" Party) or ARF [Vahan HOVHANISSIAN]; Democratic Party
[Aram SARKISYAN]; Justice Bloc (comprised of the Democratic Party,
National Democratic Party, National Democratic Union, and the
People's Party); National Democratic Party [Shavarsh KOCHARIAN];
National Democratic Union or NDU [Vazgen MANUKIAN]; National Unity
Party [Artashes GEGAMIAN, chairman]; People's Party of Armenia
[Stepan DEMIRCHYAN]; Republic Party [Albert BAZEYAN and Aram
SARKISYAN, chairmen]; Republican Party or RPA [Andranik MARKARYAN];
Rule of Law Party [Artur BAGDASARIAN, chairman]; Union of
Constitutional Rights [Hrant KHACHATURYAN]; United Labor Party
[Gurgen ARSENIAN]

Political pressure groups and leaders:
Yerkrapah Union [Manvel GRIGORIAN]

International organization participation:
BSEC, CE, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory),
ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU,
MIGA, NAM (observer), OAS (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD,
UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Arman KIRAKOSSIAN consulate(s) general: Los Angeles FAX: (202) 319-2982 telephone: (202) 319-1976 chancery: 2225 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20008

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador John M. EVANS
embassy: 18 Baghramyan Ave., Yerevan 375019
mailing address: American Embassy Yerevan, Department of State, 7020
Yerevan Place, Washington, DC 20521-7020
telephone: (1) 521-611, 520-791, 542-117, 542-132, 524-661,
527-001, 524-840
FAX: (1) 520-800

Flag description:
three equal horizontal bands of red (top), blue, and orange

Economy Armenia

Economy - overview:
Under the old Soviet central planning system, Armenia had developed
a modern industrial sector, supplying machine tools, textiles, and
other manufactured goods to sister republics in exchange for raw
materials and energy. Since the implosion of the USSR in December
1991, Armenia has switched to small-scale agriculture away from the
large agroindustrial complexes of the Soviet era. The agricultural
sector has long-term needs for more investment and updated
technology. The privatization of industry has been at a slower pace,
but has been given renewed emphasis by the current administration.
Armenia is a food importer, and its mineral deposits (copper, gold,
bauxite) are small. The ongoing conflict with Azerbaijan over the
ethnic Armenian-dominated region of Nagorno-Karabakh and the breakup
of the centrally directed economic system of the former Soviet Union
contributed to a severe economic decline in the early 1990s. By
1994, however, the Armenian Government had launched an ambitious
IMF-sponsored economic liberalization program that resulted in
positive growth rates in 1995-2003. Armenia joined the WTrO in
January 2003. Armenia also has managed to slash inflation, stabilize
the local currency (the dram), and privatize most small- and
medium-sized enterprises. The chronic energy shortages Armenia
suffered in the early and mid-1990s have been offset by the energy
supplied by one of its nuclear power plants at Metsamor. Armenia is
now a net energy exporter, although it does not have sufficient
generating capacity to replace Metsamor, which is under
international pressure to close. The electricity distribution system
was privatized in 2002. Armenia's severe trade imbalance has been
offset somewhat by international aid and foreign direct investment.
Economic ties with Russia remain close, especially in the energy
sector.

GDP:
purchasing power parity - $11.79 billion (2003 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
9.9% (2003 est.)

GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $3,500 (2003 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 23.4% industry: 35.1% services: 41.5% (2003 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):
19.8% of GDP (2003)

Population below poverty line:
50% (2002 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 2.3% highest 10%: 46.2% (1999)

Distribution of family income - Gini index:
44.4 (1996)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
4.8% (2003 est.)

Labor force:
1.4 million (2001)

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture 45%, industry 25%, services 30% (2002 est.)

Unemployment rate:
20% (2001 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $425.9 million
expenditures: $460.3 million, including capital expenditures of $NA
(2003)

Agriculture - products:
fruit (especially grapes), vegetables; livestock

Industries:
diamond-processing, metal-cutting machine tools, forging-pressing
machines, electric motors, tires, knitted wear, hosiery, shoes, silk
fabric, chemicals, trucks, instruments, microelectronics, jewelry
manufacturing, software development, food processing, brandy

Industrial production growth rate:
15% (2002 est.)

Electricity - production:
6.479 billion kWh (2001)

Electricity - consumption:
5.784 billion kWh (2001)

Electricity - exports: 704 million kWh; note - exports an unknown quantity to Georgia; includes exports to Nagorno-Karabakh region in Azerbaijan (2001)

Electricity - imports:
463 million kWh; note - imports an unknown quantity from Iran (2001)

Oil - production:
0 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - consumption:
5,700 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - exports:
NA (2001)

Oil - imports:
NA (2001)

Natural gas - production:
0 cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:
1.4 billion cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - exports:
0 cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - imports:
1.4 billion cu m (2001 est.)

Current account balance:
$-210 million (2003)

Exports:
$735 million f.o.b. (2003 est.)

Exports - commodities:
diamonds, mineral products, foodstuffs, energy

Exports - partners:
Belgium 18.2%, UK 16.8%, Israel 15.7%, Russia 12.1%, Iran 7.9%, US
6.3%, Germany 5% (2003)

Imports:
$1.18 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)

Imports - commodities:
natural gas, petroleum, tobacco products, foodstuffs, diamonds

Imports - partners:
Belgium 11.6%, Russia 11.6%, Israel 11.3%, US 9.5%, Iran 8.8%,
Germany 6.7%, UAE 5.4%, Italy 4.7%, Ukraine 4.6% (2003)

Reserves of foreign exchange & gold:
$509.4 million (2003)

Debt - external:
$905 million (June 2001)

Economic aid - recipient:
ODA $170 million (2000)

Currency:
dram (AMD)

Currency code:
AMD

Exchange rates:
drams per US dollar - 578.763 (2002), 555.078 (2001), 539.526
(2000), 535.062 (1999)

Fiscal year:
calendar year

Communications Armenia

Telephones - main lines in use:
562,600 (2003)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
114,400 (2003)

Telephone system:
general assessment: system inadequate; now 90% privately owned and
undergoing modernization and expansion
domestic: the majority of subscribers and the most modern equipment
are in Yerevan (this includes paging and mobile cellular service)
international: country code - 374; Yerevan is connected to the
Trans-Asia-Europe fiber-optic cable through Iran; additional
international service is available by microwave radio relay and
landline connections to the other countries of the Commonwealth of
Independent States and through the Moscow international switch and
by satellite to the rest of the world; satellite earth stations - 1
Intelsat (2000)

Radio broadcast stations:
AM 9, FM 6, shortwave 1 (1998)

Radios:
850,000 (1997)

Television broadcast stations:
3 (plus an unknown number of repeaters); (1998)

Televisions:
825,000 (1997)

Internet country code:
.am

Internet hosts:
2,206 (2004)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
9 (2001)

Internet users:
150,000 (2003)

Transportation Armenia

Railways:
total: 845 km
broad gauge: 845 km 1.520-m gauge (828 km electrified)
note: some lines are out of service (2003)

Highways:
total: 15,918 km
paved: 15,329 km (includes 7,527 km of expressways)
unpaved: 589 km (2000)

Pipelines:
gas 1,871 km (2004)

Ports and harbors:
none

Airports:
17 (2003 est.)

Airports - with paved runways:
total: 11
over 3,047 m: 2
2,438 to 3,047: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 5
914 to 1,523 m: 3 (2003 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 6
over 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 2
under 914 m: 1 (2003 est.)

Military Armenia

Military branches:
Army, Air Force and Air Defense Force

Military manpower - military age and obligation: 18-27 years of age for compulsory military service, conscript service obligation - 12 months; 18 years of age for voluntary military service (May 2004)

Military manpower - availability:
males age 15-49: 812,140 (2004 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service:
males age 15-49: 649,568 (2004 est.)

Military manpower - reaching military age annually:
males: 31,926 (2004 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
$135 million (FY01)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
6.5% (FY01)

Transnational Issues Armenia

Disputes - international:
Armenia supports ethnic Armenian secessionists in Nagorno-Karabakh
and militarily occupies 16% of Azerbaijan - Organization for
Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) continues to mediate
dispute; border with Turkey remains closed over Nagorno-Karabakh
dispute; traditional demands regarding former Armenian lands in
Turkey have subsided; ethnic Armenian groups in Javakheti region of
Georgia seek greater autonomy from the new Georgian Government

Refugees and internally displaced persons:
refugees (country of origin): 236,306 (Azerbaijan)
IDPs: 50,000 (conflict with Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh) (2004)

Illicit drugs:
illicit cultivation of small amount of cannabis for domestic
consumption; used as a transit point for illicit drugs - mostly
opium and hashish - moving from Southwest Asia to Russia and to a
lesser extent the rest of Europe

This page was last updated on 10 February, 2005

@Aruba

Introduction Aruba

Background:
Discovered and claimed for Spain in 1499, Aruba was acquired by the
Dutch in 1636. The island's economy has been dominated by three main
industries. A 19th century gold rush was followed by prosperity
brought on by the opening in 1924 of an oil refinery. The last
decades of the 20th century saw a boom in the tourism industry.
Aruba seceded from the Netherlands Antilles in 1986 and became a
separate, autonomous member of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
Movement toward full independence was halted at Aruba's request in
1990.

Geography Aruba

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

Geographic coordinates:
12 30 N, 69 58 W

Map references:
Central America and the Caribbean

Area:
total: 193 sq km
water: 0 sq km
land: 193 sq km

Area - comparative:
slightly larger than Washington, DC

Land boundaries:
0 km

Coastline:
68.5 km

Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm

Climate:
tropical marine; little seasonal temperature variation

Terrain:
flat with a few hills; scant vegetation

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mount Jamanota 188 m

Natural resources:
NEGL; white sandy beaches

Land use:
arable land: 10.53% (including aloe 0.01%)
permanent crops: 0%
other: 89.47% (2001)

Irrigated land:
0.01 sq km (1998 est.)

Natural hazards:
lies outside the Caribbean hurricane belt

Environment - current issues:
NA

Geography - note:
a flat, riverless island renowned for its white sand beaches; its
tropical climate is moderated by constant trade winds from the
Atlantic Ocean; the temperature is almost constant at about 27
degrees Celsius (81 degrees Fahrenheit)

People Aruba

Population:
71,218 (July 2004 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 20.3% (male 7,429; female 7,051)
15-64 years: 68.2% (male 23,587; female 25,007)
65 years and over: 11.4% (male 3,347; female 4,797) (2004 est.)

Median age:
total: 37.5 years
male: 35.7 years
female: 39.1 years (2004 est.)

Population growth rate:
0.51% (2004 est.)

Birth rate:
11.53 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Death rate:
6.47 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Net migration rate:
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female
total population: 0.93 male(s)/female (2004 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 6.02 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 5.14 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
male: 6.85 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 78.98 years
male: 75.64 years
female: 82.49 years (2004 est.)

Total fertility rate:
1.79 children born/woman (2004 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
NA

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
NA

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
NA

Nationality: noun: Aruban(s) adjective: Aruban; Dutch

Ethnic groups:
mixed white/Caribbean Amerindian 80%

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

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

Literacy: definition: total population: 97% male: NA female: NA

Government Aruba

Country name: conventional long form: none conventional short form: Aruba

Dependency status:
part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands; full autonomy in internal
affairs obtained in 1986 upon separation from the Netherlands
Antilles; Dutch Government responsible for defense and foreign
affairs

Government type:
parliamentary democracy

Capital:
Oranjestad

Administrative divisions:
none (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands)

Independence:
none (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands)

National holiday:
Flag Day, 18 March

Constitution:
1 January 1986

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

Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
chief of state: Queen BEATRIX of the Netherlands (since 30 April
1980), represented by Governor General Fredis REFUNJOL (since 11 May
2004)
election results: Nelson O. ODUBER elected prime minister; percent
of legislative vote - NA
elections: the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed for
a six-year term by the monarch; prime minister and deputy prime
minister elected by the Staten for four-year terms; election last
held 28 September 2001 (next to be held by December 2005)
head of government: Prime Minister Nelson O. ODUBER (since 30
October 2001)
cabinet: Council of Ministers (elected by the Staten)

Legislative branch:
unicameral Legislature or Staten (21 seats; members elected by
direct, popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 28 September 2001 (next to be held by NA 2005)
election results: percent of vote by party - MEP 52.4%, AVP 26.7%,
PPA 9.6%, OLA 5.7%, Aliansa 3.5%, other 2.1%; seats by party - MEP
12, AVP 6, PPA 2, OLA 1

Judicial branch:
Joint High Court of Justice (judges are appointed by the monarch)

Political parties and leaders:
Aruba Solidarity Movement or MAS [leader NA]; Aruban Democratic
Alliance or Aliansa [leader NA]; Aruban Democratic Party or PDA [Leo
BERLINSKI]; Aruban Liberal Party or OLA [Glenbert CROES]; Aruban
Patriotic Party or PPA [Benny NISBET]; Aruban People's Party or AVP
[Jan (Henny) H. EMAN]; Concentration for the Liberation of Aruba or
CLA [leader NA]; People's Electoral Movement Party or MEP [Nelson O.
ODUBER]; For a Restructured Aruba Now or PARA [Urbana LOPEZ];
National Democratic Action or ADN [Pedro Charro KELLY]

Political pressure groups and leaders:
NA

International organization participation:
ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, UNESCO (associate), UPU, WCL, WToO
(associate)

Diplomatic representation in the US:
none (represented by the Kingdom of the Netherlands)

Diplomatic representation from the US:
the US does not have an embassy in Aruba; the Consul General to
Netherlands Antilles, Robert E. SORENSON, is accredited to Aruba

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

Economy Aruba

Economy - overview:
Tourism is the mainstay of the small, open Aruban economy, with
offshore banking and oil refining and storage also important. The
rapid growth of the tourism sector over the last decade has resulted
in a substantial expansion of other activities. Construction has
boomed, with hotel capacity five times the 1985 level. In addition,
the reopening of the country's oil refinery in 1993, a major source
of employment and foreign exchange earnings, has further spurred
growth. Aruba's small labor force and low unemployment rate have led
to a large number of unfilled job vacancies, despite sharp rises in
wage rates in recent years. Tourist arrivals have declined in the
aftermath of the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks on the US. The
government now must deal with a budget deficit and a negative trade
balance.

GDP:
purchasing power parity - $1.94 billion (2002 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
-1.5% (2002 est.)

GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $28,000 (2002 est.)

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

Population below poverty line:
NA

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
3.2% (2002 est.)

Labor force:
41,500 (1997 est.)

Labor force - by occupation: most employment is in wholesale and retail trade and repair, followed by hotels and restaurants; oil refining

Unemployment rate:
0.6% (2003 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $135.8 million
expenditures: $147 million, including capital expenditures of NA
(2000)

Agriculture - products:
aloes; livestock; fish

Industries:
tourism, transshipment facilities, oil refining

Industrial production growth rate:
NA (2002 est.)

Electricity - production:
531.9 million kWh (2001)

Electricity - consumption:
494.7 million kWh (2001)

Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2001)

Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2001)

Oil - production:
0 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - consumption:
6,500 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - exports:
NA (2001)

Oil - imports:
NA (2001)

Exports:
$128 million f.o.b. (including oil reexports) (2002 est.)

Exports - commodities:
live animals and animal products, art and collectibles, machinery
and electrical equipment, transport equipment

Exports - partners:
Netherlands 33.7%, Colombia 12%, Netherlands Antilles 12%, Panama
12%, Venezuela 10.8%, US 9.6% (2003)

Imports:
$841 million f.o.b. (2002 est.)

Imports - commodities:
machinery and electrical equipment, crude oil for refining and
reexport, chemicals; foodstuffs

Imports - partners:
US 55.3%, Netherlands 13%, Netherlands Antilles 3.1% (2003)

Debt - external:
$285 million (1996)

Economic aid - recipient:
$26 million (1995); note - the Netherlands provided a $127 million
aid package to Aruba and Suriname in 1996

Currency:
Aruban guilder/florin (AWG)

Currency code:
AWG

Exchange rates:
Aruban guilders/florins per US dollar - 1.79 (2003), 1.79 (2002),
1.79 (2001), 1.79 (2000), 1.79 (1999)

Fiscal year:
calendar year

Communications Aruba

Telephones - main lines in use:
37,100 (2002)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
53,000 (2001)

Telephone system:
general assessment: NA
domestic: more than adequate
international: country code - 297; 1 submarine cable to Sint Maarten
(Netherlands Antilles); extensive interisland microwave radio relay
links

Radio broadcast stations:
AM 4, FM 6, shortwave 0 (1998)

Radios:
50,000 (1997)

Television broadcast stations:
1 (1997)

Televisions:
20,000 (1997)

Internet country code:
.aw

Internet hosts:
923 (2001)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
NA

Internet users:
24,000 (2002)

Transportation Aruba

Highways:
total: 800 km
paved: 513 km
note: most coastal roads are paved, while unpaved roads serve large
tracts of the interior (1995)
unpaved: 287 km

Ports and harbors:
Barcadera, Oranjestad, Sint Nicolaas

Merchant marine:
total: 3 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 5,772 GRT/7,068 DWT
foreign-owned: Germany 1, Russia 1
registered in other countries: 1 (2003 est.)
by type: cargo 1, petroleum tanker 2

Airports:
1 (2003 est.)

Airports - with paved runways: total: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 (2004 est.)

Military Aruba

Military branches:
no regular indigenous military forces; Royal Dutch Navy and
Marines, Coast Guard

Military - note:
defense is the responsibility of the Kingdom of the Netherlands

Transnational Issues Aruba

Disputes - international:
none

Illicit drugs:
transit point for US- and Europe-bound narcotics with some
accompanying money-laundering activity

This page was last updated on 10 February, 2005

@Ashmore and Cartier Islands

Introduction Ashmore and Cartier Islands

Background:
These uninhabited islands came under Australian authority in 1931;
formal administration began two years later. Ashmore Reef supports a
rich and diverse avian and marine habitat; in 1983, it became a
National Nature Reserve. Cartier Island, a former bombing range, is
now a marine reserve.

Geography Ashmore and Cartier Islands

Location:
Southeastern Asia, islands in the Indian Ocean, midway between
north-western Australia and Timor island

Geographic coordinates:
12 14 S, 123 05 E

Map references:
Southeast Asia

Area:
total: 5 sq km
note: includes Ashmore Reef (West, Middle, and East Islets) and
Cartier Island
water: 0 sq km
land: 5 sq km

Area - comparative:
about eight times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC

Land boundaries:
0 km

Coastline:
74.1 km

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

Climate:
tropical

Terrain:
low with sand and coral

Elevation extremes: lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location 3 m

Natural resources: fish

Land use: arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (all grass and sand) (2001)

Irrigated land:
0 sq km (1998 est.)

Natural hazards:
surrounded by shoals and reefs that can pose maritime hazards

Environment - current issues:
NA

Geography - note:
Ashmore Reef National Nature Reserve established in August 1983

People Ashmore and Cartier Islands

Population:
no indigenous inhabitants
note: Indonesian fishermen are allowed access to the lagoon and
fresh water at Ashmore Reef's West Island (July 2004 est.)

People - note:
the landing of illegal immigrants from Indonesia's Rote Island has
become an ongoing problem

Government Ashmore and Cartier Islands

Country name:
conventional long form: Territory of Ashmore and Cartier Islands
conventional short form: Ashmore and Cartier Islands

Dependency status:
territory of Australia; administered by the Australian Department
of Transport and Regional Services

Legal system:
the laws of the Commonwealth of Australia and the laws of the
Northern Territory of Australia, where applicable, apply

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

Diplomatic representation from the US:
none (territory of Australia)

Flag description:
the flag of Australia is used

Economy Ashmore and Cartier Islands

Economy - overview: no economic activity

Transportation Ashmore and Cartier Islands

Ports and harbors: none; offshore anchorage only

Military Ashmore and Cartier Islands

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

Transnational Issues Ashmore and Cartier Islands

Disputes - international:
Indonesian groups challenge Australia's claim to Ashmore Reef;
Australia has closed the surrounding waters to Indonesian
traditional fishing and has created a national park in the region
while continuing to prospect for hydrocarbons in the vicinity

This page was last updated on 10 February, 2005

@Atlantic Ocean

Introduction Atlantic Ocean

Background:
The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceans
(after the Pacific Ocean, but larger than the Indian Ocean, Southern
Ocean, and Arctic Ocean). The Kiel Canal (Germany), Oresund
(Denmark-Sweden), Bosporus (Turkey), Strait of Gibraltar
(Morocco-Spain), and the Saint Lawrence Seaway (Canada-US) are
important strategic access waterways. The decision by the
International Hydrographic Organization in the spring of 2000 to
delimit a fifth world ocean, the Southern Ocean, removed the portion
of the Atlantic Ocean south of 60 degrees south.

Geography Atlantic Ocean

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

Geographic coordinates:
0 00 N, 25 00 W

Map references:
Political Map of the World

Area:
total: 76.762 million sq km
note: includes Baltic Sea, Black Sea, Caribbean Sea, Davis Strait,
Denmark Strait, part of the Drake Passage, Gulf of Mexico, Labrador
Sea, Mediterranean Sea, North Sea, Norwegian Sea, almost all of the
Scotia Sea, and other tributary water bodies

Area - comparative:
slightly less than 6.5 times the size of the US

Coastline:
111,866 km

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

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

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Milwaukee Deep in the Puerto Rico Trench -8,605 m
highest point: sea level 0 m

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

Natural hazards:
icebergs common in Davis Strait, Denmark Strait, and the
northwestern Atlantic Ocean from February to August and have been
spotted as far south as Bermuda and the Madeira Islands; ships
subject to superstructure icing in extreme northern Atlantic from
October to May; persistent fog can be a maritime hazard from May to
September; hurricanes (May to December)

Environment - current issues:
endangered marine species include the manatee, seals, sea lions,
turtles, and whales; drift net fishing is hastening the decline of
fish stocks and contributing to international disputes; municipal
sludge pollution off eastern US, southern Brazil, and eastern
Argentina; oil pollution in Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, Lake
Maracaibo, Mediterranean Sea, and North Sea; industrial waste and
municipal sewage pollution in Baltic Sea, North Sea, and
Mediterranean Sea

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

Economy Atlantic Ocean

Economy - overview:
The Atlantic Ocean provides some of the world's most heavily
trafficked sea routes, between and within the Eastern and Western
Hemispheres. Other economic activity includes the exploitation of
natural resources, e.g., fishing, the dredging of aragonite sands
(The Bahamas), and production of crude oil and natural gas
(Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, and North Sea).

Transportation Atlantic Ocean

Ports and harbors:
Alexandria (Egypt), Algiers (Algeria), Antwerp (Belgium), Barcelona
(Spain), Buenos Aires (Argentina), Casablanca (Morocco), Colon
(Panama), Copenhagen (Denmark), Dakar (Senegal), Gdansk (Poland),
Hamburg (Germany), Helsinki (Finland), Las Palmas (Canary Islands,
Spain), Le Havre (France), Lisbon (Portugal), London (UK), Marseille
(France), Montevideo (Uruguay), Montreal (Canada), Naples (Italy),
New Orleans (US), New York (US), Oran (Algeria), Oslo (Norway),
Peiraiefs or Piraeus (Greece), Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), Rotterdam
(Netherlands), Saint Petersburg (Russia), Stockholm (Sweden)

Transportation - note:
Kiel Canal and Saint Lawrence Seaway are two important waterways;
significant domestic commercial and recreational use of Intracoastal
Waterway on central and south Atlantic seaboard and Gulf of Mexico
coast of US

Transnational Issues Atlantic Ocean

Disputes - international: some maritime disputes (see littoral states)

This page was last updated on 10 February, 2005

@Australia

Introduction Australia

Background:
Aboriginal settlers arrived on the continent from Southeast Asia
about 40,000 years before the first Europeans began exploration in
the 17th century. No formal territorial claims were made until 1770,
when Capt. James COOK took possession in the name of Great Britain.
Six colonies were created in the late 18th and 19th centuries; they
federated and became the Commonwealth of Australia in 1901. The new
country took advantage of its natural resources to rapidly develop
its agricultural and manufacturing industries and to make a major
contribution to the British effort in World Wars I and II. In recent
decades, Australia has transformed itself into an internationally
competitive, advanced market economy. Long-term concerns include
pollution, particularly depletion of the ozone layer, and management
and conservation of coastal areas, especially the Great Barrier
Reef. A referendum to change Australia's status, from a commonwealth
headed by the British monarch to a republic, was defeated in 1999.

Geography Australia

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

Geographic coordinates:
27 00 S, 133 00 E

Map references:
Oceania

Area:
total: 7,686,850 sq km
water: 68,920 sq km
note: includes Lord Howe Island and Macquarie Island
land: 7,617,930 sq km

Area - comparative:
slightly smaller than the US contiguous 48 states

Land boundaries:
0 km

Coastline:
25,760 km

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

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

Terrain:
mostly low plateau with deserts; fertile plain in southeast

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Lake Eyre -15 m
highest point: Mount Kosciuszko 2,229 m

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

Land use:
arable land: 6.55% (includes about 27 million hectares of
cultivated grassland)
permanent crops: 0.04%
other: 93.41% (2001)

Irrigated land:
24,000 sq km (1998 est.)

Natural hazards:
cyclones along the coast; severe droughts; forest fires

Environment - current issues:
soil erosion from overgrazing, industrial development,
urbanization, and poor farming practices; soil salinity rising due
to the use of poor quality water; desertification; clearing for
agricultural purposes threatens the natural habitat of many unique
animal and plant species; the Great Barrier Reef off the northeast
coast, the largest coral reef in the world, is threatened by
increased shipping and its popularity as a tourist site; limited
natural fresh water resources

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living
Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate
Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental
Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping,
Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution,
Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol

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

People Australia

Population:
19,913,144 (July 2004 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 20.1% (male 2,044,449; female 1,948,574)
15-64 years: 67.2% (male 6,747,687; female 6,623,995)
65 years and over: 12.8% (male 1,121,522; female 1,426,917) (2004
est.)

Median age: total: 36.3 years male: 35.5 years female: 37.1 years (2004 est.)

Population growth rate:
0.9% (2004 est.)

Birth rate:
12.4 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Death rate:
7.38 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Net migration rate:
3.98 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.79 male(s)/female
total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2004 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 4.76 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 4.34 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
male: 5.16 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 80.26 years
male: 77.4 years
female: 83.27 years (2004 est.)

Total fertility rate:
1.76 children born/woman (2004 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
0.1% (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
14,000 (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
less than 200 (2003 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Australian(s)
adjective: Australian

Ethnic groups:
Caucasian 92%, Asian 7%, aboriginal and other 1%

Religions:
Anglican 26.1%, Roman Catholic 26%, other Christian 24.3%,
non-Christian 11%, other 12.6%

Languages:
English, native languages

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

Government Australia

Country name:
conventional long form: Commonwealth of Australia
conventional short form: Australia

Government type:
democratic, federal-state system recognizing the British monarch as
sovereign

Capital:
Canberra

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

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

Independence:
1 January 1901 (federation of UK colonies)

National holiday:
Australia Day, 26 January (1788)

Constitution:
9 July 1900, effective 1 January 1901

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

Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal and compulsory

Executive branch:
chief of state: Queen of Australia ELIZABETH II (since 6 February
1952), represented by Governor General Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Michael
JEFFERY (since 11 August 2003)
head of government: Prime Minister John Winston HOWARD (since 11
March 1996); Deputy Prime Minister John ANDERSON (since 20 July 1999)
cabinet: Parliament nominates and selects, from among its members, a
list of candidates to serve as government ministers; from this list,
the governor general swears in the final selections for the Cabinet
elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general
appointed by the monarch on the recommendation of the prime
minister; following legislative elections, the leader of the
majority party or leader of a majority coalition is sworn in as
prime minister by the governor general
note: government coalition - Liberal Party and National Party

Legislative branch:
bicameral Federal Parliament consists of the Senate (76 seats - 12
from each of the six states and two from each of the two mainland
territories; one-half of the members elected every three years by
popular vote to serve six-year terms) and the House of
Representatives (150 seats - this is up from 148 seats in 2001
election; members elected by popular vote on the basis of
preferential representation to serve three-year terms; no state can
have fewer than five representatives)
elections: Senate - last held 9 October 2004 (next to be held not
later than June 2008); House of Representatives - last held 9
October 2004 (next to be held not later than November 2007)
election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by
party (as of 1 July 2003) - Liberal Party-National Party coalition
34, Australian Labor Party 28, Australian Democrats 7, Green Party
2, One Nation Party 1, Country Liberal Party 1, Australian
Progressive Alliance 1, independent 2; House of Representatives -
percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Liberal
Party-National Party coalition 86, Australian Labor Party 60,
Country Liberal Party 1, independent and other 3

Judicial branch:
High Court (the chief justice and six other justices are appointed
by the governor general)

Political parties and leaders:
Australian Democrats [Andrew BARTLETT]; Australian Labor Party
[Mark LATHAM]; Australian Progressive Alliance [Meg LEES]; Country
Liberal Party [Terry MILLS]; Australian Greens [Bob BROWN]; Liberal
Party [John Winston HOWARD]; The Nationals [John ANDERSON]; One
Nation Party [Len HARRIS]

Political pressure groups and leaders:
Australian Monarchist League [leader NA]; Australian Republican
Movement [leader NA]

International organization participation:
ANZUS, APEC, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN (dialogue partner), Australia Group,
BIS, C, CP, EBRD, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM,
IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM,
ISO, ITU, MIGA, NAM (guest), NEA, NSG, OECD, OPCW, Paris Club, PCA,
PIF, Sparteca, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNMEE, UNMISET, UNTSO,
UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, WToO, ZC

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Michael J. THAWLEY
consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Chicago, Honolulu, Los Angeles, New
York, and San Francisco
FAX: (202) 797-3168
telephone: (202) 797-3000
chancery: 1601 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador J. Thomas SCHIEFFER
embassy: Moonah Place, Yarralumla, Canberra, Australian Capital
Territory 2600
mailing address: APO AP 96549
telephone: (02) 6214-5600
FAX: (02) 6214-5970
consulate(s) general: Melbourne, Perth, Sydney

Flag description:
blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and a
large seven-pointed star in the lower hoist-side quadrant known as
the Commonwealth Star, representing the federation of the colonies
of Australia in 1901; the star depicts one point for each of the six
original states and one representing all of Australia's internal and
external territories; the remaining half is a representation of the
Southern Cross constellation in white with one small five-pointed
star and four larger, seven-pointed stars

Economy Australia

Economy - overview:
Australia has an enviable Western-style capitalist economy, with a
per capita GDP on par with the four dominant West European
economies. Rising output in the domestic economy has been offsetting
the global slump, and business and consumer confidence remains
robust. Australia's emphasis on reforms, low inflation, and growing
ties with China are other key factors behind the economy's strength.
The impact of drought, weak foreign demand, and strong import demand
pushed the trade deficit up to $18 billion in 2003 and to $20
billion in 2004 from $8 billion in 2002. One other concern is the
domestic housing bubble.

GDP:
purchasing power parity - $571.4 billion (2003 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
3% (2003 est.)

GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $29,000 (2003 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 3.5% industry: 26.3% services: 70.2% (2003 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):
24.8% of GDP (2003)

Population below poverty line:
NA

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 2%
highest 10%: 25.4% (1994)

Distribution of family income - Gini index:
35.2 (1994)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
2.8% (2003 est.)

Labor force:
10.19 million (37256)

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture 5%, industry 22%, services 73% (1997 est.)

Unemployment rate:
6% (2003)

Budget:
revenues: $185 billion
expenditures: $181 billion, including capital expenditures of NA
(2003)

Public debt:
18.2% of GDP (2003)

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

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

Industrial production growth rate:
-0.1% (2003 est.)

Electricity - production:
198.2 billion kWh (2001)

Electricity - consumption:
184.4 billion kWh (2001)

Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2001)

Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2001)

Oil - production:
731,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - consumption:
796,500 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - exports:
523,400 bbl/day (2001)

Oil - imports:
530,800 bbl/day (2001)

Oil - proved reserves:
3.664 billion bbl (1 January 2002)

Natural gas - production:
33.08 billion cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:
23.33 billion cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - exports:
9.744 billion cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - imports:
0 cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - proved reserves:
2.407 trillion cu m (1 January 2002)

Current account balance:
$-30.14 billion (2003)

Exports:
$68.67 billion (2003 est.)

Exports - commodities:
coal, gold, meat, wool, alumina, iron ore, wheat, machinery and
transport equipment

Exports - partners:
Japan 18.1%, US 8.7%, China 8.4%, South Korea 7.4%, New Zealand
7.4%, UK 6.7% (2003)

Imports:
$82.91 billion (2003 est.)

Imports - commodities:
machinery and transport equipment, computers and office machines,
telecommunication equipment and parts; crude oil and petroleum
products

Imports - partners:
US 16%, Japan 12.5%, China 11%, Germany 6.1%, UK 4.2% (2003)

Reserves of foreign exchange & gold:
$33.26 billion (2003)

Debt - external:
$233.5 billion (2003 est.)

Economic aid - donor:
ODA, $894 million (FY99/00)

Currency:
Australian dollar (AUD)

Currency code:
AUD

Exchange rates:
Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.5419 (2003), 1.8406 (2002),
1.9334 (2001), 1.7248 (2000), 1.55 (1999)

Fiscal year:
1 July - 30 June

Communications Australia

Telephones - main lines in use:
10.815 million (2003)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
14.347 million (2003)

Telephone system:
general assessment: excellent domestic and international service
domestic: domestic satellite system; much use of radiotelephone in
areas of low population density; rapid growth of mobile cellular
telephones
international: country code - 61; submarine cables to New Zealand,
Papua New Guinea, and Indonesia; satellite earth stations - 10
Intelsat (4 Indian Ocean and 6 Pacific Ocean), 2 Inmarsat (Indian
and Pacific Ocean regions) (1998)

Radio broadcast stations:
AM 262, FM 345, shortwave 1 (1998)

Radios:
25.5 million (1997)

Television broadcast stations:
104 (1997)

Televisions:
10.15 million (1997)

Internet country code:
.au

Internet hosts:
2,847,763 (2003)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
571 (2002)

Internet users:
9.472 million (2002)

Transportation Australia

Railways:
total: 44,015 km (5,290 km electrified)
broad gauge: 1,957 km 1.600-m gauge
standard gauge: 27,095 km 1.435-m gauge (2,828 km electrified)
dual gauge: 213 km dual gauge (2003)
narrow gauge: 14,957 km 1.067-m gauge (2,462 km electrified)

Highways:
total: 811,603 km
paved: 314,090 km (including 18,619 km of expressways)
unpaved: 497,513 km (1999 est.)

Waterways:
2,000 km (mainly used for recreation on Murray and Murray-Darling
river systems) (2004)

Pipelines:
condensate/gas 492 km; gas 28,680 km; liquid petroleum gas 240 km;
oil 4,773 km; oil/gas/water 110 km (2004)

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

Merchant marine:
total: 52 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 1,531,461 GRT/1,999,409 DWT
foreign-owned: United Kingdom 2, United States 12
registered in other countries: 60 (2004 est.)
by type: bulk 20, cargo 5, chemical tanker 3, combination bulk 2,
container 3, liquefied gas 4, passenger 2, petroleum tanker 7, roll
on/roll off 6

Airports:
444 (2003 est.)

Airports - with paved runways: total: 305 over 3,047 m: 10 2,438 to 3,047 m: 12 1,524 to 2,437 m: 131 914 to 1,523 m: 139 under 914 m: 13 (2004 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 143 1,524 to 2,437 m: 17 914 to 1,523 m: 112 under 914 m: 14 (2004 est.)

Military Australia

Military branches:
Australian Army, Royal Australian Navy, Royal Australian Air Force,
new Special Operations Command (announced in December 2002)

Military manpower - military age and obligation:
16 years of age for voluntary service (2001)

Military manpower - availability:
males age 15-49: 5,061,810 (2004 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service:
males age 15-49: 4,356,671 (2004 est.)

Military manpower - reaching military age annually:
males: 140,182 (2004 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
$14,120.1 million (2003)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
2.8% (2003)

Transnational Issues Australia

Disputes - international:
the 1999 maritime delimitation established partial maritime
boundaries with East Timor over part of the Timor Gap but temporary
resource-sharing agreements over an unreconciled area grant
Australia 90% share of exploited gas reserves and hamper creation of
a southern maritime boundary with Indonesia (see Ashmore and Cartier
Islands disputes); Australia asserts a territorial claim to
Antarctica and to its continental shelf (see Antarctica)

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

This page was last updated on 10 February, 2005

@Austria

Introduction Austria

Background:
Once the center of power for the large Austro-Hungarian Empire,
Austria was reduced to a small republic after its defeat in World
War I. Following annexation by Nazi Germany in 1938 and subsequent
occupation by the victorious Allies in 1945, Austria's status
remained unclear for a decade. A State Treaty signed in 1955 ended
the occupation, recognized Austria's independence, and forbade
unification with Germany. A constitutional law that same year
declared the country's "perpetual neutrality" as a condition for
Soviet military withdrawal. Following the Soviet Union's collapse in
1991 and Austria's entry into the European Union in 1995, some
Austrian's have called into question this neutrality. A prosperous,
democratic country, Austria entered the European Monetary Union in
1999.

Geography Austria

Location:
Central Europe, north of Italy and Slovenia

Geographic coordinates:
47 20 N, 13 20 E

Map references:
Europe

Area:
total: 83,870 sq km
water: 1,426 sq km
land: 82,444 sq km

Area - comparative:
slightly smaller than Maine

Land boundaries:
total: 2,562 km
border countries: Czech Republic 362 km, Germany 784 km, Hungary 366
km, Italy 430 km, Liechtenstein 35 km, Slovakia 91 km, Slovenia 330
km, Switzerland 164 km

Coastline:
0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims:
none (landlocked)

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

Terrain:
in the west and south mostly mountains (Alps); along the eastern
and northern margins mostly flat or gently sloping

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Neusiedler See 115 m
highest point: Grossglockner 3,798 m

Natural resources:
oil, coal, lignite, timber, iron ore, copper, zinc, antimony,
magnesite, tungsten, graphite, salt, hydropower

Land use: arable land: 16.91% permanent crops: 0.86% other: 82.23% (2001)

Irrigated land:
457 sq km (2000 est.)

Natural hazards:
landslides; avalanches; earthquakes

Environment - current issues: some forest degradation caused by air and soil pollution; soil pollution results from the use of agricultural chemicals; air pollution results from emissions by coal- and oil-fired power stations and industrial plants and from trucks transiting Austria between northern and southern Europe

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air
Pollution-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air
Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic Treaty,
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol,
Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification,
Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship
Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants

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

People Austria

Population:
8,174,762 (July 2004 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 15.9% (male 665,680; female 633,560)
15-64 years: 68.1% (male 2,799,411; female 2,764,426)
65 years and over: 16% (male 518,748; female 792,937) (2004 est.)

Median age:
total: 40 years
male: 38.8 years
female: 41.2 years (2004 est.)

Population growth rate:
0.14% (2004 est.)

Birth rate:
8.9 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Death rate:
9.56 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Net migration rate:
2 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.65 male(s)/female
total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2004 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 4.68 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 3.55 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
male: 5.76 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 78.87 years
male: 76 years
female: 81.89 years (2004 est.)

Total fertility rate:
1.35 children born/woman (2004 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
0.3% (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
10,000 (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
less than 100 (2003 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Austrian(s)
adjective: Austrian

Ethnic groups:
German 88.5%, indigenous minorities 1.5% (includes Croatians,
Slovenes, Hungarians, Czechs, Slovaks, Roma), recent immigrant
groups 10% (includes Turks, Bosnians, Serbians, Croatians) (2001)

Religions:
Roman Catholic 73.6%, Protestant 4.7%, Muslim 4.2%, other 0.1%,
none 17.4%

Languages:
German (official nationwide), Slovene (official in Carinthia),
Croatian (official in Burgenland), Hungarian (official in Burgenland)

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98%
male: NA
female: NA

Government Austria

Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of Austria
conventional short form: Austria
local short form: Oesterreich
local long form: Republik Oesterreich

Government type:
federal republic

Capital:
Vienna

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

Independence:
1156 (Duchy of Austria founded); 12 November 1918 (republic
proclaimed)

National holiday:
National Day, 26 October (1955); note - commemorates the State
Treaty restoring national sovereignty and the end of occupation and
the passage of the law on permanent neutrality

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

Legal system:
civil law system with Roman law origin; judicial review of
legislative acts by the Constitutional Court; separate
administrative and civil/penal supreme courts; accepts compulsory
ICJ jurisdiction

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

Executive branch:
chief of state: President Heinz FISCHER (since 8 July 2004)
head of government: Chancellor Wolfgang SCHUESSEL (OeVP)(since 4
February 2000); Vice Chancellor Hubert GORBACH (since 21 October
2003)
cabinet: Council of Ministers chosen by the president on the advice
of the chancellor
elections: president elected by direct popular vote for a six-year
term; presidential election last held 25 April 2004 (next to be held
NA April 2010); chancellor traditionally chosen by the president
from the plurality party in the National Council; vice chancellor
chosen by the president on the advice of the chancellor
note: government coalition - OeVP and FPOe
election results: Heinz FISCHER elected president; percent of vote -
Heinz FISCHER (SPOe) 52.4%, Benita FERRERO-WALDNER (OeVP) 47.6%

Legislative branch:
bicameral Federal Assembly or Bundesversammlung consists of Federal
Council or Bundesrat (62 members; members represent each of the
states on the basis of population, but with each state having at
least three representatives; members serve a five- or six-year term)
and the National Council or Nationalrat (183 seats; members elected
by direct popular vote to serve four-year terms)
election results: National Council - percent of vote by party - OeVP
42.3%, SPOe 36.5%, FPOe 10.0%, Greens 9.5%; seats by party - OeVP
79, SPOe 69, FPOe 18, Greens 17
elections: National Council - last held 24 November 2002 (next to be
held in the fall of 2006)

Judicial branch:
Supreme Judicial Court or Oberster Gerichtshof; Administrative
Court or Verwaltungsgerichtshof; Constitutional Court or
Verfassungsgerichtshof

Political parties and leaders:
Austrian People's Party or OeVP [Wolfgang SCHUESSEL]; Freedom Party
of Austria or FPOe [Ursula HAUBNER]; Social Democratic Party of
Austria or SPOe [Alfred GUSENBAUER]; The Greens [Alexander VAN DER
BELLEN]

Political pressure groups and leaders:
Austrian Trade Union Federation (nominally independent but
primarily Socialist) or OeGB; Federal Economic Chamber;
OeVP-oriented League of Austrian Industrialists or VOeI; Roman
Catholic Church, including its chief lay organization, Catholic
Action; three composite leagues of the Austrian People's Party or
OeVP representing business, labor, and farmers and other
non-government organizations in the areas of environment and human
rights

International organization participation:
AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CE, CEI, CERN,
EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, G- 9, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO,
ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO,
Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MIGA, MINURSO, NAM (guest), NEA, NSG,
OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD,
UNDOF, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIK, UNOMIG,
UNTSO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU (observer), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO,
WTO, ZC

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Eva NOWOTNY
chancery: 3524 International Court NW, Washington, DC 20008-3035
consulate(s) general: Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York
FAX: (202) 895-6750
telephone: (202) 895-6700

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador William Lee LYONS BROWN, Jr.
embassy: Boltzmanngasse 16, A-1090, Vienna
mailing address: use embassy street address
telephone: (1) 31339-0, 31375, 31335
FAX: (1) 3100682

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

Economy Austria

Economy - overview:
Austria, with its well-developed market economy and high standard
of living, is closely tied to other EU economies, especially
Germany's. Membership in the EU has drawn an influx of foreign
investors attracted by Austria's access to the single European
market and proximity to EU aspirant economies. Slow growth in
Germany and elsewhere in the world held the economy to 0.7% growth
in 2001, 1.4% in 2002, and again less than 1% in 2003. However,
recent data signal that the recovery has started. The government
estimates economic growth in 2004 of 1.7-2.1% and of 2.5% in 2005.
The government is planning a EURO 500 billion income tax cut in
2004, though some economists doubt it will have stimulative effects
in 2004, because it will be offset by higher health insurance
contributions and higher taxes on energy. For 2005, Austria plans a
tax cut of EURO 2.5 billion and harmonization of the various pension
schemes. To meet increased competition from both EU and Central
European countries, particularly the new EU members, Austria will
need to emphasize knowledge-based sectors of the economy, continue
to deregulate the service sector, and lower its tax burden. A key
issue is the encouragement of much greater participation in the
labor market by its aging population.

GDP:
purchasing power parity - $245.3 billion (2003 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
0.7% (2003 est.)

GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $30,000 (2003 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 3.5% industry: 25.7% services: 70.9% (2003 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):
22.5% of GDP (2003)

Population below poverty line:
3.9% (1999)

Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 2.5% highest 10%: 22.5% (1995)

Distribution of family income - Gini index:
31 (1995)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
1.4% (2003 est.)

Labor force:
3.425 million (2003)

Labor force - by occupation: agriculture and forestry 4%, industry and crafts 29%, services 67% (2001 est.)

Unemployment rate:
4.4% (2003 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $67 billion
expenditures: $70 billion, including capital expenditures of NA
(2004 est.)

Public debt:
67.6% of GDP (2003)

Agriculture - products:
grains, potatoes, sugar beets, wine, fruit; dairy products, cattle,
pigs, poultry; lumber

Industries:
construction, machinery, vehicles and parts, food, chemicals,
lumber and wood processing, paper and paperboard, communications
equipment, tourism

Industrial production growth rate:
1.9% (2003 est.)

Electricity - production:
58.75 billion kWh (2001)

Electricity - consumption:
54.85 billion kWh (2001)

Electricity - exports:
14.25 billion kWh (2001)

Electricity - imports:
14.47 billion kWh (2001)

Oil - production:
20,670 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - consumption:
262,400 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - exports:
35,470 bbl/day (2001)

Oil - imports:
262,000 bbl/day (2001)

Oil - proved reserves:
85.69 million bbl (1 January 2002)

Natural gas - production:
1.731 billion cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:
7.81 billion cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - exports:
403 million cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - imports:
6.033 billion cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - proved reserves:
24.9 billion cu m (1 January 2002)

Current account balance:
$-1.353 billion (2003)

Exports:
$83.45 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)

Exports - commodities:
machinery and equipment, motor vehicles and parts, paper and
paperboard, metal goods, chemicals, iron and steel; textiles,
foodstuffs

Exports - partners:
Germany 31.9%, Italy 9.6%, Switzerland 5.2%, US 4.9%, France 4.8%,
UK 4.7% (2003)

Imports:
$81.59 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)

Imports - commodities:
machinery and equipment, motor vehicles, chemicals, metal goods,
oil and oil products; foodstuffs

Imports - partners:
Germany 43.2%, Italy 6.7%, Hungary 5.4%, Switzerland 5%,
Netherlands 4.2% (2003)

Reserves of foreign exchange & gold:
$12.73 billion (2003)

Debt - external:
$15.5 billion (2003 est.)

Economic aid - donor:
ODA, $520 million (2002)

Currency:
euro (EUR)
note: on 1 January 1999, the European Monetary Union introduced the
euro as a common currency to be used by the financial institutions
of member countries; as of 1 January 2002, the euro became the only
legal tender in EMU member countries, including Austria

Currency code:
EUR

Exchange rates:
euros per US dollar - 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001),
1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999)

Fiscal year:
calendar year

Communications Austria

Telephones - main lines in use:
3.881 million (2003)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
7,094,500 (2003)

Telephone system:
general assessment: highly developed and efficient
domestic: there are 48 main lines for every 100 persons; the fiber
optic net is very extensive; all telephone applications and Internet
services are available
international: country code - 43; satellite earth stations - 2
Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) and 1 Eutelsat; in
addition, there are about 600 VSAT (very small aperture terminals)
(2002)

Radio broadcast stations:
AM 2, FM 65 (plus several hundred repeaters), shortwave 1 (2001)

Radios:
6.08 million (1997)

Television broadcast stations:
10 (plus more than 1,000 repeaters) (2001)

Televisions:
4.25 million (1997)

Internet country code:
.at

Internet hosts:
387,006 (2004)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
37 (2000)

Internet users:
3.73 million (2003)

Transportation Austria

Railways:
total: 6,021 km (3,552 km electrified)
standard gauge: 5,565 km 1.435-m gauge (3,430 km electrified)
narrow gauge: 34 km 1.000-m gauge (28 km electrified); 422 km
0.760-m gauge (94 km electrified) (2003)

Highways:
total: 200,000 km
paved: 200,000 km (including 1,633 km of expressways)
unpaved: 0 km (2000)

Waterways:
358 km (2003)

Pipelines:
gas 2,722 km; oil 663 km; refined products 149 km (2004)

Ports and harbors:
Enns, Krems, Linz, Vienna

Merchant marine:
total: 6 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 29,624 GRT/37,425 DWT
by type: cargo 4, container 2
registered in other countries: 34 (2004 est.)
foreign-owned: Netherlands 1

Airports:
55 (2003 est.)

Airports - with paved runways: total: 24 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 14 (2004 est.) 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1

Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 31 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 27 (2004 est.)

Heliports: 1 (2003 est.)

Military Austria

Military branches:
Land Forces (KdoLdSK), Air Forces (KdoLuSK)

Military manpower - military age and obligation: 18 years of age for compulsory military service; 16 years of age for voluntary service; from 2007, at the earliest, compulsory military service obligation will be reduced from 8 months to 6 (June 2004)

Military manpower - availability:
males age 15-49: 2,066,467 (2004 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service:
males age 15-49: 1,699,384 (2004 est.)

Military manpower - reaching military age annually:
males: 48,981 (2004 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
$1.497 billion (FY01/02)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
0.85% (June 2004)

Transnational Issues Austria

Disputes - international:
minor disputes with the Czech Republic over the Temelin Nuclear
Power Plant

Illicit drugs:
transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin and South American
cocaine destined for Western Europe

This page was last updated on 10 February, 2005

@Azerbaijan

Introduction Azerbaijan

Background:
Azerbaijan - a nation with a Turkic and majority-Muslim population
- regained its independence after the collapse of the Soviet Union
in 1991. Despite a 1994 cease-fire, Azerbaijan has yet to resolve
its conflict with Armenia over the Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh
enclave (largely Armenian populated). Azerbaijan has lost 16% of its
territory and must support some 800,000 refugees and internally
displaced persons as a result of the conflict. Corruption is
ubiquitous and the promise of widespread wealth from Azerbaijan's
undeveloped petroleum resources remains largely unfulfilled.

Geography Azerbaijan

Location:
Southwestern Asia, bordering the Caspian Sea, between Iran and
Russia, with a small European portion north of the Caucasus range

Geographic coordinates:
40 30 N, 47 30 E

Map references:
Asia

Area:
total: 86,600 sq km
note: includes the exclave of Naxcivan Autonomous Republic and the
Nagorno-Karabakh region; the region's autonomy was abolished by
Azerbaijani Supreme Soviet on 26 November 1991
water: 500 sq km
land: 86,100 sq km

Area - comparative:
slightly smaller than Maine

Land boundaries:
total: 2,013 km
border countries: Armenia (with Azerbaijan-proper) 566 km, Armenia
(with Azerbaijan-Naxcivan exclave) 221 km, Georgia 322 km, Iran
(with Azerbaijan-proper) 432 km, Iran (with Azerbaijan-Naxcivan
exclave) 179 km, Russia 284 km, Turkey 9 km

Coastline:
0 km (landlocked); note - Azerbaijan borders the Caspian Sea (800
km, est.)

Climate:
dry, semiarid steppe

Terrain:
large, flat Kur-Araz Ovaligi (Kura-Araks Lowland) (much of it below
sea level) with Great Caucasus Mountains to the north, Qarabag
Yaylasi (Karabakh Upland) in west; Baku lies on Abseron Yasaqligi
(Apsheron Peninsula) that juts into Caspian Sea

Elevation extremes: lowest point: Caspian Sea -28 m highest point: Bazarduzu Dagi 4,485 m

Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, nonferrous metals, alumina

Land use: arable land: 19.63% permanent crops: 2.71% other: 77.66% (2001)

Irrigated land:
14,550 sq km (1998 est.)

Natural hazards:
droughts

Environment - current issues:
local scientists consider the Abseron Yasaqligi (Apsheron
Peninsula) (including Baku and Sumqayit) and the Caspian Sea to be
the ecologically most devastated area in the world because of severe
air, soil, and water pollution; soil pollution results from oil
spills, from the use of DDT as a pesticide, and from toxic
defoliants used in the production of cotton

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate
Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species,
Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note:
both the main area of the country and the Naxcivan exclave are
landlocked

People Azerbaijan

Population:
7,868,385 (July 2004 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 27% (male 1,081,579; female 1,046,270)
15-64 years: 65.2% (male 2,499,618; female 2,630,386)
65 years and over: 7.8% (male 242,253; female 368,279) (2004 est.)

Median age:
total: 27.3 years
male: 25.9 years
female: 28.8 years (2004 est.)

Population growth rate:
0.52% (2004 est.)

Birth rate:
19.81 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Death rate:
9.76 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Net migration rate:
-4.9 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.66 male(s)/female
total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2004 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 82.07 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 80.06 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
male: 83.99 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 63.25 years
male: 59.09 years
female: 67.62 years (2004 est.)

Total fertility rate:
2.39 children born/woman (2004 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
less than 0.1% (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
1,400 (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
less than 100 (2001 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Azerbaijani(s)
adjective: Azerbaijani

Ethnic groups:
Azeri 90%, Dagestani 3.2%, Russian 2.5%, Armenian 2%, other 2.3%
(1998 est.)
note: almost all Armenians live in the separatist Nagorno-Karabakh
region

Religions:
Muslim 93.4%, Russian Orthodox 2.5%, Armenian Orthodox 2.3%, other
1.8% (1995 est.)
note: religious affiliation is still nominal in Azerbaijan;
percentages for actual practicing adherents are much lower

Languages:
Azerbaijani (Azeri) 89%, Russian 3%, Armenian 2%, other 6% (1995
est.)

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 97%
male: 99%
female: 96% (1989 est.)

Government Azerbaijan

Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of Azerbaijan
conventional short form: Azerbaijan
local long form: Azarbaycan Respublikasi
former: Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic
local short form: none

Government type:
republic

Capital:
Baku (Baki)

Administrative divisions:
59 rayons (rayonlar; rayon - singular), 11 cities* (saharlar; sahar
- singular), 1 autonomous republic** (muxtar respublika)
: rayons: Abseron Rayonu, Agcabadi Rayonu, Agdam Rayonu, Agdas
Rayonu, Agstafa Rayonu, Agsu Rayonu, Astara Rayonu, Balakan Rayonu,
Barda Rayonu, Beylaqan Rayonu, Bilasuvar Rayonu, Cabrayil Rayonu,
Calilabad Rayonu, Daskasan Rayonu, Davaci Rayonu, Fuzuli Rayonu,
Gadabay Rayonu, Goranboy Rayonu, Goycay Rayonu, Haciqabul Rayonu,
Imisli Rayonu, Ismayilli Rayonu, Kalbacar Rayonu, Kurdamir Rayonu,
Lacin Rayonu, Lankaran Rayonu, Lerik Rayonu, Masalli Rayonu,
Neftcala Rayonu, Oguz Rayonu, Qabala Rayonu, Qax Rayonu, Qazax
Rayonu, Qobustan Rayonu, Quba Rayonu, Qubadli Rayonu, Qusar Rayonu,
Saatli Rayonu, Sabirabad Rayonu, Saki Rayonu, Salyan Rayonu, Samaxi
Rayonu, Samkir Rayonu, Samux Rayonu, Siyazan Rayonu, Susa Rayonu,
Tartar Rayonu, Tovuz Rayonu, Ucar Rayonu, Xacmaz Rayonu, Xanlar
Rayonu, Xizi Rayonu, Xocali Rayonu, Xocavand Rayonu, Yardimli
Rayonu, Yevlax Rayonu, Zangilan Rayonu, Zaqatala Rayonu, Zardab
Rayonu
: cities: Ali Bayramli Sahari, Baki Sahari, Ganca Sahari, Lankaran
Sahari, Mingacevir Sahari, Naftalan Sahari, Saki Sahari, Sumqayit
Sahari, Susa Sahari, Xankandi Sahari, Yevlax Sahari
: autonomous republic: Naxcivan Muxtar Respublikasi

Independence:
30 August 1991 (from Soviet Union)

National holiday:
Founding of the Democratic Republic of Azerbaidzhan, 28 May (1918)

Constitution:
adopted 12 November 1995

Legal system:
based on civil law system

Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
chief of state: President Ilham ALIYEV (since 31 October 2003)
cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president and
confirmed by the National Assembly
election results: Ilham ALIYEV elected president; percent of vote -
Ilham ALIYEV 76.8%, Isa GAMBAR 14%
elections: president elected by popular vote to a five-year term;
election last held 15 October 2003 (next to be held NA October
2008); prime minister and first deputy prime ministers appointed by
the president and confirmed by the National Assembly
head of government: Prime Minister Artur RASIZADE (since 4 November
2003); First Deputy Prime Minister Abbas ABBASOV (since 10 November
2003)

Legislative branch:
unicameral National Assembly or Milli Mejlis (125 seats; members
elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party -
NAP and allies 108, APF "Reform" 6, CSP 3, PNIA 2, Musavat Party 2,
CPA 2, APF "Classic" 1, Compatriot Party 1
elections: last held 4 November 2000 (next to be held NA November
2005)
note: 100 members of the current parliament were elected on the
basis of single mandate constituencies, while 25 were elected based
on proportional balloting; as a result of a 24 August 2002 national
referendum on changes to the constitution, all 125 members of the
next parliament will be elected from single mandate constituencies
note: PNIA, Musavat, and APF "Classic" parties refused to take their
seats

Judicial branch:
Supreme Court

Political parties and leaders:
Azerbaijan Popular Front or APF [Ali KARIMLI, leader of "Reform"
faction; Mirmahmud MIRALI-OGLU, leader of "Classic" faction]; Civic
Solidarity Party or CSP [Sabir RUSTAMKHANLY]; Civic Union Party
[Ayaz MUTALIBOV]; Communist Party of Azerbaijan or CPA [Ramiz
AHMADOV]; Compatriot Party [Mais SAFARLI]; Democratic Party for
Azerbaijan or DPA [Rasul QULIYEV, chairman]; Justice Party [Ilyas
ISMAILOV]; Liberal Party of Azerbaijan [Lala Shovkat HACIYEVA];
Musavat [Isa GAMBAR, chairman]; New Azerbaijan Party or NAP
[vacant]; Party for National Independence of Azerbaijan or PNIA
[Etibar MAMMADLI, chairman]; Social Democratic Party of Azerbaijan
or SDP [Araz ALIZADE and Ayaz MUTALIBOV]
note: opposition parties regularly factionalize and form new parties

Political pressure groups and leaders:
Sadval, Lezgin movement; self-proclaimed Armenian Nagorno-Karabakh
Republic; Talysh independence movement; Union of Pro-Azerbaijani
Forces (UPAF)

International organization participation:
AsDB, BSEC, CE, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECO, FAO, GUUAM, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO,
ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol,
IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MIGA, OAS (observer), OIC, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, UN,
UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
(observer)

Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Hafiz PASHAYEV chancery: 2741 34th Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 FAX: (202) 337-5911 telephone: (202) 337-3500

Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Reno L. HARNISH III embassy: 83 Azadlyg Prospecti, Baku AZ1007 mailing address: American Embassy Baku, Department of State, 7050 Baku Place, Washington, DC 20521-7050 telephone: (9412) 98-03-35, 36, 37 FAX: (9412) 656-671

Flag description:
three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), red, and green; a
crescent and eight-pointed star in white are centered in red band

Economy Azerbaijan

Economy - overview:
Azerbaijan's number one export is oil. Azerbaijan's oil production
declined through 1997 but has registered an increase every year
since. Negotiation of production-sharing arrangements (PSAs) with
foreign firms, which have thus far committed $60 billion to
long-term oilfield development, should generate the funds needed to
spur future industrial development. Oil production under the first
of these PSAs, with the Azerbaijan International Operating Company,
began in November 1997. Azerbaijan shares all the formidable
problems of the former Soviet republics in making the transition
from a command to a market economy, but its considerable energy
resources brighten its long-term prospects. Baku has only recently
begun making progress on economic reform, and old economic ties and
structures are slowly being replaced. One obstacle to economic
progress is the need for stepped up foreign investment in the
non-energy sector. A second obstacle is the continuing conflict with
Armenia over the Nagorno-Karabakh region. Trade with Russia and the
other former Soviet republics is declining in importance while trade
is building with Turkey and the nations of Europe. Long-term
prospects will depend on world oil prices, the location of new
pipelines in the region, and Azerbaijan's ability to manage its oil
wealth.

GDP:
purchasing power parity - $26.65 billion (2003 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
11.2% (2003 est.)

GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $3,400 (2003 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 14.1% industry: 45.7% services: 40.2% (2002 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):
50.4% of GDP (2003)

Population below poverty line:
49% (2002 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 2.8% highest 10%: 27.8% (1995)

Distribution of family income - Gini index:
36 (1995)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
2.1% (2003 est.)

Labor force:
4.99 million (2003)

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture and forestry 41%, industry 7%, services 52% (2001)

Unemployment rate:
1.1% (official rate is 1.2%) (2003 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $2.063 billion
expenditures: $2.202 billion, including capital expenditures of NA
(2003)

Public debt:
16.3% of GDP (2003 est.)

Agriculture - products:
cotton, grain, rice, grapes, fruit, vegetables, tea, tobacco;
cattle, pigs, sheep, goats

Industries:
petroleum and natural gas, petroleum products, oilfield equipment;
steel, iron ore, cement; chemicals and petrochemicals; textiles

Industrial production growth rate:
6.1% (2003 est.)

Electricity - production:
18.23 billion kWh (2001)

Electricity - consumption:
16.65 billion kWh (2001)

Electricity - exports:
700 million kWh (2001)

Electricity - imports:
400 million kWh (2001)

Oil - production:
307,200 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - consumption:
140,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - exports:
NA (2001)

Oil - imports:
NA (2001)

Oil - proved reserves:
589 million bbl (1 January 2002)

Natural gas - production:
5.72 billion cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:
6.72 billion cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - exports:
0 cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - imports:
1 billion cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - proved reserves:
62.3 billion cu m (1 January 2002)

Current account balance:
$-2.021 billion (2003)

Exports:
$2.605 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)

Exports - commodities:
oil and gas 90%, machinery, cotton, foodstuffs

Exports - partners:
Italy 34.1%, Czech Republic 11.4%, Germany 10.5%, France 8.2%,
Turkey 5.9%, Georgia 4.5%, Russia 4.5% (2003)

Imports:
$2.498 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)

Imports - commodities:
machinery and equipment, oil products, foodstuffs, metals, chemicals

Imports - partners:
Russia 15.5%, Turkey 12%, UK 8.7%, Germany 8.1%, China 7.8%,
Ukraine 5.4%, Italy 4.6%, US 4.6%, Kazakhstan 4.3% (2003)

Reserves of foreign exchange & gold:
$820.9 million (2003)

Debt - external:
$1.575 billion (2003)

Economic aid - recipient:
ODA, $140 million (2000 est.)

Currency:
Azerbaijani manat (AZM)

Currency code:
AZM

Exchange rates:
Azerbaijani manats per US dollar - 4,910.73 (2003), 4,860.82
(2002), 4,656.58 (2001), 4,474.15 (2000), 4,120.17 (1999)

Fiscal year:
calendar year

Communications Azerbaijan

Telephones - main lines in use:
923,800 (2002)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
870,000 (2002)

Telephone system:
general assessment: inadequate; requires considerable expansion and
modernization; teledensity of 10 main lines per 100 persons is low
(2002)
domestic: the majority of telephones are in Baku and other
industrial centers - about 700 villages still without public
telephone service; satellite service connects Baku to a modern
switch in its exclave of Naxcivan
international: country code - 994; the old Soviet system of cable
and microwave is still serviceable; a satellite connection to Turkey
enables Baku to reach about 200 additional countries, some of which
are directly connected to Baku by satellite providers other than
Turkey (1997)

Radio broadcast stations:
AM 10, FM 17, shortwave 1 (1998)

Radios:
175,000 (1997)

Television broadcast stations:
2 (1997)

Televisions:
170,000 (1997)

Internet country code:
.az

Internet hosts:
586 (2004)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
2 (2000)

Internet users:
300,000 (2002)

Transportation Azerbaijan

Railways: total: 2,957 km broad gauge: 2,957 km 1.520-m gauge (1,278 km electrified) (2003)

Highways: total: 24,981 km paved: 23,057 km unpaved: 1,924 km (2000)

Pipelines:
gas 4,451 km; oil 1,518 km (2004)

Ports and harbors:
Baku (Baki)

Merchant marine:
total: 56 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 253,004 GRT/318,922 DWT
by type: cargo 14, petroleum tanker 40, roll on/roll off 2
foreign-owned: Russia 1 (2004 est.)

Airports:
67 (2003 est.)

Airports - with paved runways: total: 27 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 6 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 1 (2003 est.) 1,524 to 2,437 m: 15

Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 40
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
under 914 m: 32 (2003 est.)
914 to 1,523 m: 6

Heliports:
2 (2003 est.)

Military Azerbaijan

Military branches:
Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces

Military manpower - military age and obligation: 18 years of age for compulsory and voluntary military service; law passed December 2001 raises maximum conscription age from 28 to 35 (December 2001)

Military manpower - availability:
males age 15-49: 2,187,847 (2004 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service:
males age 15-49: 1,748,567 (2004 est.)

Military manpower - reaching military age annually:
males: 83,131 (2004 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
$121 million (FY99)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
2.6% (FY99)

Transnational Issues Azerbaijan

Disputes - international:
Armenia supports ethnic Armenian secessionists in Nagorno-Karabakh
and militarily occupies about one-sixth of Azerbaijan - Organization
for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) continues to mediate
dispute; Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Russia ratify Caspian seabed
delimitation treaties based on equidistance, while Iran continues to
insist on an even one-fifth allocation and challenges Azerbaijan's
hydrocarbon exploration in disputed waters; talks resume with
Turkmenistan on dividing the seabed in 2004 as both sides await an
ICJ decision on contested oilfields in the middle of the Caspian;
Azerbaijan protests Georgian constructions at the Red Bridge
crossing and several other small segments of boundary, which remain
unresolved until delimitation

Refugees and internally displaced persons:
IDPs: 571,000 (conflict with Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh) (2004)

Illicit drugs:
limited illicit cultivation of cannabis and opium poppy, mostly for
CIS consumption; small government eradication program; transit point
for Southwest Asian opiates bound for Russia and to a lesser extent
the rest of Europe

This page was last updated on 10 February, 2005

@Bahamas, The

Introduction Bahamas, The

Background:
Arawak Indians inhabited the islands when Christopher Columbus
first set foot in the New World on San Salvador in 1492. British
settlement of the islands began in 1647; the islands became a colony
in 1783. Since attaining independence from the UK in 1973, The
Bahamas have prospered through tourism and international banking and
investment management. Because of its geography, the country is a
major transshipment point for illegal drugs, particularly shipments
to the US, and its territory is used for smuggling illegal migrants
into the US.

Geography Bahamas, The

Location:
Caribbean, chain of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean, southeast
of Florida, northeast of Cuba

Geographic coordinates:
24 15 N, 76 00 W

Map references:
Central America and the Caribbean

Area:
total: 13,940 sq km
water: 3,870 sq km
land: 10,070 sq km

Area - comparative:
slightly smaller than Connecticut

Land boundaries:
0 km

Coastline:
3,542 km

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

Climate:
tropical marine; moderated by warm waters of Gulf Stream

Terrain:
long, flat coral formations with some low rounded hills

Elevation extremes: lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Mount Alvernia, on Cat Island 63 m

Natural resources: salt, aragonite, timber, arable land

Land use: arable land: 0.8% permanent crops: 0.4% other: 98.8% (2001)

Irrigated land:
NA sq km

Natural hazards:
hurricanes and other tropical storms cause extensive flood and wind
damage

Environment - current issues:
coral reef decay; solid waste disposal

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto
Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law
of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note:
strategic location adjacent to US and Cuba; extensive island chain
of which 30 are inhabited

People Bahamas, The

Population:
299,697
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the
effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower
life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower
population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of
population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July
2004 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 28.3% (male 42,474; female 42,423)
15-64 years: 65.7% (male 96,825; female 99,985)
65 years and over: 6% (male 7,351; female 10,639) (2004 est.)

Median age:
total: 27.3 years
male: 26.5 years
female: 28 years (2004 est.)

Population growth rate:
0.72% (2004 est.)

Birth rate:
18.22 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Death rate:
8.82 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Net migration rate:
-2.2 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.02 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.69 male(s)/female
total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2004 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 25.7 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 19.55 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
male: 31.73 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 65.63 years
male: 62.21 years
female: 69.11 years (2004 est.)

Total fertility rate:
2.23 children born/woman (2004 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
3% (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
5,600 (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
less than 200 (2003 est.)

Nationality: noun: Bahamian(s) adjective: Bahamian

Ethnic groups:
black 85%, white 12%, Asian and Hispanic 3%

Religions:
Baptist 32%, Anglican 20%, Roman Catholic 19%, Methodist 6%, Church
of God 6%, other Protestant 12%, none or unknown 3%, other 2%

Languages:
English (official), Creole (among Haitian immigrants)

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 95.6%
male: 94.7%
female: 96.5% (2003 est.)

Government Bahamas, The

Country name:
conventional long form: Commonwealth of The Bahamas
conventional short form: The Bahamas

Government type:
constitutional parliamentary democracy

Capital:
Nassau

Administrative divisions:
21 districts; Acklins and Crooked Islands, Bimini, Cat Island,
Exuma, Freeport, Fresh Creek, Governor's Harbour, Green Turtle Cay,
Harbour Island, High Rock, Inagua, Kemps Bay, Long Island, Marsh
Harbour, Mayaguana, New Providence, Nichollstown and Berry Islands,
Ragged Island, Rock Sound, Sandy Point, San Salvador and Rum Cay

Independence:
10 July 1973 (from UK)

National holiday:
Independence Day, 10 July (1973)

Constitution:
10 July 1973

Legal system:
based on English common law

Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952),
represented by Governor General Dame Ivy DUMONT (since NA May 2002)
head of government: Prime Minister Perry CHRISTIE (since 3 May 2002)
and Deputy Prime Minister Cynthia PRATT (since 7 May 2002)
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the prime
minister's recommendation
elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general
appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the
leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition
is usually appointed prime minister by the governor general; the
prime minister recommends the deputy prime minister

Legislative branch:
bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (16-member body
appointed by the governor general upon the advice of the prime
minister and the opposition leader for five-year terms) and the
House of Assembly (40 seats; members elected by direct popular vote
to serve five-year terms); the government may dissolve the
parliament and call elections at any time
elections: last held 1 May 2002 (next to be held by May 2007)
election results: percent of vote by party - PLP 50.8%, FNM 41.1%,
independents 5.2%; seats by party - PLP 29, FNM 7, independents 4

Judicial branch:
Supreme Court; Court of Appeal; magistrates courts

Political parties and leaders:
Free National Movement or FNM [Tommy TURNQUEST]; Progressive
Liberal Party or PLP [Perry CHRISTIE]

Political pressure groups and leaders:
NA

International organization participation:
ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt
(signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOM,
IOC, ITU, LAES, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW (signatory), UN,
UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer)

Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Joshua SEARS consulate(s) general: Miami and New York FAX: (202) 319-2668 telephone: (202) 319-2660 chancery: 2220 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador John D. ROOD
embassy: 42 Queen Street, Nassau
mailing address: local or express mail address: P. O. Box N-8197,
Nassau; Department of State, 3370 Nassau Place, Washington, DC
20521-3370
telephone: (242) 322-1181, 328-2206 (after hours)
FAX: (242) 356-0222

Flag description:
three equal horizontal bands of aquamarine (top), gold, and
aquamarine, with a black equilateral triangle based on the hoist side

Economy Bahamas, The

Economy - overview:
The Bahamas is a stable, developing nation with an economy heavily
dependent on tourism and offshore banking. Tourism alone accounts
for more than 60% of GDP and directly or indirectly employs half of
the archipelago's labor force. Steady growth in tourism receipts and
a boom in construction of new hotels, resorts, and residences had
led to solid GDP growth in recent years, but the slowdown in the US
economy and the attacks of 11 September 2001 held back growth in
these sectors in 2001-03. Financial services constitute the
second-most important sector of the Bahamian economy, accounting for
about 15% of GDP. However, since December 2000, when the government
enacted new regulations on the financial sector, many international
businesses have left The Bahamas. Manufacturing and agriculture
together contribute approximately a tenth of GDP and show little
growth, despite government incentives aimed at those sectors.
Overall growth prospects in the short run rest heavily on the
fortunes of the tourism sector, which depends on growth in the US,
the source of more than 80% of the visitors. In addition to tourism
and banking, the government supports the development of a "third
pillar," e-commerce.

GDP:
purchasing power parity - $5.049 billion (2003 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
0% (2003 est.)

GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $16,700 (2003 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 3%
industry: 7%
services: 90% (2001 est.)

Population below poverty line:
NA

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
1.7% (2002 est.)

Labor force:
156,000 (1999)

Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 5%, industry 5%, tourism 50%, other services 40% (1999 est.)

Unemployment rate:
6.9% (2001 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $918.5 million
expenditures: $956.5 million, including capital expenditures of
$106.7 million (FY99/00)

Agriculture - products:
citrus, vegetables; poultry

Industries:
tourism, banking, e-commerce, cement, oil refining and
transshipment, salt, rum, aragonite, pharmaceuticals, spiral-welded
steel pipe

Industrial production growth rate:
NA (2002 est.)

Electricity - production:
1.56 billion kWh (2001)

Electricity - consumption:
1.451 billion kWh (2001)

Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2001)

Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2001)

Oil - production:
0 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - consumption:
23,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - exports:
NA (2001)

Oil - imports:
NA (2001)

Exports:
$617 million (2002 est.)

Exports - commodities:
fish and crawfish; rum, salt, chemicals; fruit and vegetables

Exports - partners:
US 35%, Spain 9.6%, Germany 7.8%, France 7.6%, Poland 5.3%,
Switzerland 4.8%, Peru 4.2%, Paraguay 4.2% (2003)

Imports:
$1.614 billion (2002 est.)

Imports - commodities:
machinery and transport equipment, manufactures, chemicals, mineral
fuels; food and live animals

Imports - partners:
US 20.8%, South Korea 17.4%, Italy 11.4%, France 9.1%, Brazil 7.5%,
Japan 5.6%, Venezuela 5.3% (2003)

Debt - external:
$308.5 million (2002)

Economic aid - recipient:
$9.8 million (1995)

Currency:
Bahamian dollar (BSD)

Currency code:
BSD

Exchange rates:
Bahamian dollars per US dollar - 1 (2003), 1 (2002), 1 (2001), 1
(2000), 1 (1999)

Fiscal year:
1 July - 30 June

Communications Bahamas, The

Telephones - main lines in use:
131,700 (2003)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
121,800 (2002)

Telephone system:
general assessment: modern facilities
domestic: totally automatic system; highly developed
international: country code - 1-242; tropospheric scatter and
submarine cable to Florida; 3 coaxial submarine cables; satellite
earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (1997)

Radio broadcast stations:
AM 3, FM 5, shortwave 0 (2004)

Radios:
215,000 (1997)

Television broadcast stations:
2 (2004)

Televisions:
67,000 (1997)

Internet country code:
.bs

Internet hosts:
302 (2003)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
19 (2000)

Internet users:
84,000 (2003)

Transportation Bahamas, The

Highways: total: 2,693 km paved: 1,546 km unpaved: 1,147 km (1999 est.)

Ports and harbors:
Freeport, Matthew Town, Nassau

Merchant marine:
total: 1,035 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 31,631,252 GRT/43,025,977 DWT
by type: bulk 165, cargo 188, chemical tanker 45, combination bulk
10, combination ore/oil 17, container 97, liquefied gas 27,
livestock carrier 2, multi-functional large load carrier 4,
passenger 108, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 163, refrigerated
cargo 133, roll on/roll off 34, short-sea/passenger 18, specialized
tanker 3, vehicle carrier 20
foreign-owned: Algeria 1, Australia 7, Belgium 14, Bermuda 1, Canada
4, Chile 1, China 4, Croatia 1, Cuba 3, Cyprus 14, Denmark 49,
Estonia 1, Faroe Islands 1, Finland 9, France 21, Germany 13,
Gibraltar 1, Greece 163, Hong Kong 9, India 1, Indonesia 3, Ireland
1, Israel 3, Italy 7, Japan 35, Kenya 2, South Korea 1, Latvia 1,
Liberia 1, Malaysia 11, Malta 1, Monaco 68, Netherlands 29, New
Zealand 1, Norway 231, Panama 2, Philippines 3, Poland 14, Reunion
1, Russia 1, Saudi Arabia 9, Singapore 13, Slovenia 1, Spain 6,
Sweden 9, Switzerland 1, Thailand 1, Trinidad and Tobago 2
registered in other countries: 11 (2004 est.)

Airports:
63 (2003 est.)

Airports - with paved runways: total: 29 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 9 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) 1,524 to 2,437 m: 14

Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 34 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 10 under 914 m: 21 (2004 est.)

Heliports: 1 (2003 est.)

Military Bahamas, The

Military branches:
Royal Bahamas Defense Force (including Coast Guard)

Military manpower - military age and obligation:
18 years of age (est.); no conscription (2001)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
NA

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
NA

Transnational Issues Bahamas, The

Disputes - international:
concerned about migrants fleeing Haiti's deteriorated economic and
political conditions

Illicit drugs:
transshipment point for cocaine and marijuana bound for US and
Europe; offshore financial center

This page was last updated on 10 February, 2005

@Bahrain

Introduction Bahrain

Background:
Bahrain's small size and central location among Persian Gulf
countries require it to play a delicate balancing act in foreign
affairs among its larger neighbors. Facing declining oil reserves,
Bahrain has turned to petroleum processing and refining and has
transformed itself into an international banking center. The new
amir, installed in 1999, has pushed economic and political reforms
and has worked to improve relations with the Shi'a community. In
February 2001, Bahraini voters approved a referendum on the National
Action Charter - the centerpiece of the amir's political
liberalization program. In February 2002, Amir HAMAD bin Isa Al
Khalifa proclaimed himself king. In October 2002, Bahrainis elected
members of the lower house of Bahrain's reconstituted bicameral
legislature, the National Assembly.

Geography Bahrain

Location:
Middle East, archipelago in the Persian Gulf, east of Saudi Arabia

Geographic coordinates:
26 00 N, 50 33 E

Map references:
Middle East

Area:
total: 665 sq km
water: 0 sq km
land: 665 sq km

Area - comparative:
3.5 times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries:
0 km

Coastline:
161 km

Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm
continental shelf: extending to boundaries to be determined
contiguous zone: 24 nm

Climate:
arid; mild, pleasant winters; very hot, humid summers

Terrain:
mostly low desert plain rising gently to low central escarpment

Elevation extremes: lowest point: Persian Gulf 0 m highest point: Jabal ad Dukhan 122 m

Natural resources: oil, associated and nonassociated natural gas, fish, pearls

Land use: arable land: 2.82% permanent crops: 5.63% other: 91.55% (2001)

Irrigated land:
50 sq km (1998 est.)

Natural hazards:
periodic droughts; dust storms

Environment - current issues:
desertification resulting from the degradation of limited arable
land, periods of drought, and dust storms; coastal degradation
(damage to coastlines, coral reefs, and sea vegetation) resulting
from oil spills and other discharges from large tankers, oil
refineries, and distribution stations; lack of freshwater resources,
groundwater and seawater are the only sources for all water needs

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Hazardous
Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note:
close to primary Middle Eastern petroleum sources; strategic
location in Persian Gulf, through which much of the Western world's
petroleum must transit to reach open ocean

People Bahrain

Population: 677,886 note: includes 235,108 non-nationals (July 2004 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 28.4% (male 97,179; female 95,043)
15-64 years: 68.4% (male 271,015; female 192,342)
65 years and over: 3.3% (male 11,426; female 10,881) (2004 est.)

Median age:
total: 29 years
male: 31.9 years
female: 25.3 years (2004 est.)

Population growth rate:
1.56% (2004 est.)

Birth rate:
18.54 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Death rate:
4.03 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Net migration rate:
1.05 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.41 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 1.05 male(s)/female
total population: 1.27 male(s)/female (2004 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 17.91 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 14.8 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
male: 20.93 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 73.98 years
male: 71.52 years
female: 76.51 years (2004 est.)

Total fertility rate:
2.67 children born/woman (2004 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
0.3% (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
less than 600 (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
less than 200 (2003 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Bahraini(s)
adjective: Bahraini

Ethnic groups:
Bahraini 63%, Asian 19%, other Arab 10%, Iranian 8%

Religions:
Shi'a Muslim 70%, Sunni Muslim 30%

Languages:
Arabic, English, Farsi, Urdu

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 89.1%
male: 91.9%
female: 85% (2003 est.)

Government Bahrain

Country name:
conventional long form: Kingdom of Bahrain
conventional short form: Bahrain
local short form: Al Bahrayn
former: Dilmun
local long form: Mamlakat al Bahrayn

Government type:
constitutional hereditary monarchy

Capital:
Manama

Administrative divisions:
12 municipalities (manatiq, singular - mintaqah); Al Hadd, Al
Manamah, Al Mintaqah al Gharbiyah, Al Mintaqah al Wusta, Al Mintaqah
ash Shamaliyah, Al Muharraq, Ar Rifa' wa al Mintaqah al Janubiyah,
Jidd Hafs, Madinat Hamad, Madinat 'Isa, Juzur Hawar, Sitrah
note: all municipalities administered from Manama

Independence:
15 August 1971 (from UK)

National holiday:
National Day, 16 December (1971); note - 15 August 1971 is the date
of independence from the UK, 16 December 1971 is the date of
independence from British protection

Constitution:
adopted late December 2000; Bahrani voters approved on 13-14
February 2001 a referendum on legislative changes (revised
constitution calls for a partially elected legislature, a
constitutional monarchy, and an independent judiciary)

Legal system:
based on Islamic law and English common law

Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
chief of state: King HAMAD bin Isa Al Khalifa (since 6 March 1999);
Heir Apparent Crown Prince SALMAN bin Hamad (son of the monarch,
born 21 October 1969)
head of government: Prime Minister KHALIFA bin Salman Al Khalifa
(since NA 1971)
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the monarch
elections: none; the monarchy is hereditary; prime minister
appointed by the monarch

Legislative branch:
bicameral Parliament consists of Shura Council (40 members
appointed by the King) and House of Deputies (40 members directly
elected to serve four-year terms)
elections: House of Deputies - last held 31 October 2002 (next
election to be held NA 2006)
note: first elections since 7 December 1973; unicameral National
Assembly dissolved 26 August 1975; National Action Charter created
bicameral legislature on 23 December 2000; approved by referendum 14
February 2001; first legislative session of Parliament held on 25
December 2002
election results: House of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA;
seats by party - independents 21, Sunni Islamists 9, other 10

Judicial branch:
High Civil Appeals Court

Political parties and leaders: political parties prohibited but politically oriented societies are allowed

Political pressure groups and leaders:
Shi'a activists fomented unrest sporadically in 1994-97, demanding
the return of an elected National Assembly and an end to
unemployment; several small, clandestine leftist and Islamic
fundamentalist groups are active

International organization participation:
ABEDA, AFESD, AMF, ESCWA, FAO, G-77, GCC, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt
(signatory), ICRM, IDB, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol,
IOC, ISO, ITU, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO,
UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador KHALIFA bin ALI bin Rashid Al Khalifa chancery: 3502 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008 consulate(s) general: New York FAX: (202) 362-2192 telephone: (202) 342-1111

Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador William T. MONROE embassy: Building #979, Road 3119 (next to Al-Ahli Sports Club), Block 331, Zinj District, Manama mailing address: American Embassy Manama, PSC 451, FPO AE 09834-5100; international mail: American Embassy, Box 26431, Manama telephone: 1724-2700 FAX: 1725-6242 (consular)

Flag description:
red, the traditional color for flags of Persian Gulf states, with a
white serrated band (five white points) on the hoist side; the five
points represent the five pillars of Islam

Economy Bahrain

Economy - overview:
In well-to-do Bahrain, petroleum production and refining account
for about 60% of export receipts, 60% of government revenues, and
30% of GDP. With its highly developed communication and transport
facilities, Bahrain is home to numerous multinational firms with
business in the Gulf. Bahrain is dependent on Saudi Arabia for oil
granted as aid. A large share of exports consist of petroleum
products made from refining imported crude. Construction proceeds on
several major industrial projects. Unemployment, especially among
the young, and the depletion of oil and underground water resources
are major long-term economic problems.

GDP:
purchasing power parity - $11.29 billion (2003 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
4.9% (2003 est.)

GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $16,900 (2003 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 0.7% industry: 42.1% services: 57.2% (2003 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):
11.9% of GDP (2003)

Population below poverty line:
NA

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
-0.2% (2003 est.)

Labor force:
350,000
note: 44% of the population in the 15-64 age group is non-national
(2003 est.)

Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 1%, industry, commerce, and services 79%, government 20% (1997 est.)

Unemployment rate:
15% (1998 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $2.981 billion
expenditures: $3.019 billion, including capital expenditures of $700
million (2003 est.)

Public debt:
57.5% of GDP (2003)

Agriculture - products:
fruit, vegetables; poultry, dairy products; shrimp, fish

Industries:
petroleum processing and refining, aluminum smelting, offshore
banking, ship repairing; tourism

Industrial production growth rate:
2% (2000 est.)

Electricity - production:
6.257 billion kWh (2001)

Electricity - consumption:
5.819 billion kWh (2001)

Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2001)

Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2001)

Oil - production:
43,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - consumption:
31,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - exports:
NA (2001)

Oil - imports:
NA (2001)

Oil - proved reserves:
125 million bbl (1 January 2003)

Natural gas - production:
8.9 billion cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:
8.9 billion cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - exports:
0 cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - imports:
0 cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - proved reserves:
46 billion cu m (1 January 2003)

Current account balance:
$53 million (2003)

Exports:
$6.492 billion (2003 est.)

Exports - commodities:
petroleum and petroleum products, aluminum, textiles

Exports - partners:
US 3.5%, India 3.3%, South Korea 2.2% (2003)

Imports:
$5.126 billion (2003 est.)

Imports - commodities:
crude oil, machinery, chemicals

Imports - partners:
Saudi Arabia 30.7%, US 11.4%, Japan 7.8%, UK 5.7%, Germany 5.4%
(2003)

Reserves of foreign exchange & gold:
$1.785 billion (2003)

Debt - external:
$4.682 billion (2003)

Economic aid - recipient:
$150 million; note - $50 million annually since 1992 from each of
Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Kuwait (2002)

Currency:
Bahraini dinar (BHD)

Currency code:
BHD

Exchange rates:
Bahraini dinars per US dollar - 0.376 (2003), 0.376 (2002), 0.376
(2001), 0.376 (2000), 0.376 (1999)

Fiscal year:
calendar year

Communications Bahrain

Telephones - main lines in use:
185,800 (2003)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
443,100 (2003)

Telephone system:
general assessment: modern system
domestic: modern fiber-optic integrated services; digital network
with rapidly growing use of mobile cellular telephones
international: country code - 973; tropospheric scatter to Qatar and
UAE; microwave radio relay to Saudi Arabia; submarine cable to
Qatar, UAE, and Saudi Arabia; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat
(1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) and 1 Arabsat (1997)

Radio broadcast stations:
AM 2, FM 3, shortwave 0 (1998)

Radios:
338,000 (1997)

Television broadcast stations:
4 (1997)

Televisions:
275,000 (1997)

Internet country code:
.bh

Internet hosts:
1,334 (2003)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
1 (2000)

Internet users:
195,700 (2003)

Transportation Bahrain

Highways: total: 3,261 km paved: 2,531 km unpaved: 730 km (2000)

Pipelines:
gas 20 km; oil 53 km (2004)

Ports and harbors:
Manama, Mina' Salman, Sitrah

Merchant marine:
total: 6 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 219,083 GRT/312,638 DWT
registered in other countries: 2 (2004 est.)
foreign-owned: Hong Kong 1, Kuwait 1
by type: bulk 3, container 2, petroleum tanker 1

Airports:
4 (2003 est.)

Airports - with paved runways:
total: 3
over 3,047 m: 2
1524 to 2437 m: 1 (2004 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2004 est.)

Heliports:
1 (2003 est.)

Military Bahrain

Military branches:
Bahrain Defense Forces (BDF): Ground Force (includes Air Defense),
Navy, Air Force, National Guard

Military manpower - military age and obligation:
18 years of age for voluntary military service (2001)

Military manpower - availability:
males age 15-49: 221,661 (2004 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service:
males age 15-49: 121,484 (2004 est.)

Military manpower - reaching military age annually:
males: 6,396 (2004 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
$618.1 million (2003)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
7.5% (2003)

Transnational Issues Bahrain

Disputes - international: none

This page was last updated on 10 February, 2005

@Baker Island

Introduction Baker Island

Background:
The US took possession of the island in 1857, and its guano
deposits were mined by US and British companies during the second
half of the 19th century. In 1935, a short-lived attempt at
colonization was begun on this island - as well as on nearby Howland
Island - but was disrupted by World War II and thereafter abandoned.
Presently the island is a National Wildlife Refuge run by the US
Department of the Interior; a day beacon is situated near the middle
of the west coast.

Geography Baker Island

Location:
Oceania, atoll in the North Pacific Ocean, about half way between
Hawaii and Australia

Geographic coordinates:
0 13 N, 176 31 W

Map references:
Oceania

Area:
total: 1.4 sq km
water: 0 sq km
land: 1.4 sq km

Area - comparative:
about 2.5 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC

Land boundaries:
0 km

Coastline:
4.8 km

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

Climate:
equatorial; scant rainfall, constant wind, burning sun

Terrain:
low, nearly level coral island surrounded by a narrow fringing reef

Elevation extremes: lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location 8 m

Natural resources: guano (deposits worked until 1891), terrestrial and aquatic wildlife

Land use: arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2001)

Irrigated land:
0 sq km (1998 est.)

Natural hazards:
the narrow fringing reef surrounding the island can be a maritime
hazard

Environment - current issues:
no natural fresh water resources

Geography - note:
treeless, sparse, and scattered vegetation consisting of grasses,
prostrate vines, and low growing shrubs; primarily a nesting,
roosting, and foraging habitat for seabirds, shorebirds, and marine
wildlife

People Baker Island

Population:
uninhabited
note: American civilians evacuated in 1942 after Japanese air and
naval attacks during World War II; occupied by US military during
World War II, but abandoned after the war; public entry is by
special-use permit from US Fish and Wildlife Service only and
generally restricted to scientists and educators; a cemetery and
remnants of structures from early settlement are located near the
middle of the west coast; visited annually by US Fish and Wildlife
Service (2004 est.)

Government Baker Island

Country name: conventional long form: none conventional short form: Baker Island

Dependency status:
unincorporated territory of the US; administered from Washington,
DC, by the Fish and Wildlife Service of the US Department of the
Interior as part of the National Wildlife Refuge system

Legal system:
the laws of the US, where applicable, apply

Flag description:
the flag of the US is used

Economy Baker Island

Economy - overview: no economic activity

Transportation Baker Island

Ports and harbors:
none; offshore anchorage only; note - there is one small boat
landing area along the middle of the west coast

Airports:
1 abandoned World War II runway of 1,665 m, completely covered with
vegetation and unusable (2003 est.)

Transportation - note:
there is a day beacon near the middle of the west coast

Military Baker Island

Military - note:
defense is the responsibility of the US; visited annually by the US
Coast Guard

Transnational Issues Baker Island

Disputes - international: none

This page was last updated on 10 February, 2005

@Bangladesh

Introduction Bangladesh

Background:
Bangladesh came into existence in 1971 when Bengali East Pakistan
seceded from its union with West Pakistan. About a third of this
extremely poor country floods annually during the monsoon rainy
season, hampering economic development.

Geography Bangladesh

Location:
Southern Asia, bordering the Bay of Bengal, between Burma and India

Geographic coordinates:
24 00 N, 90 00 E

Map references:
Asia

Area:
total: 144,000 sq km
land: 133,910 sq km
water: 10,090 sq km

Area - comparative:
slightly smaller than Iowa

Land boundaries: total: 4,246 km border countries: Burma 193 km, India 4,053 km

Coastline:
580 km

Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm
continental shelf: up to the outer limits of the continental margin
contiguous zone: 18 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

Climate:
tropical; mild winter (October to March); hot, humid summer (March
to June); humid, warm rainy monsoon (June to October)

Terrain:
mostly flat alluvial plain; hilly in southeast

Elevation extremes: lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: Keokradong 1,230 m

Natural resources: natural gas, arable land, timber, coal

Land use: arable land: 62.11% permanent crops: 3.07% other: 34.82% (2001)

Irrigated land:
38,440 sq km (1998 est.)

Natural hazards:
droughts, cyclones; much of the country routinely inundated during
the summer monsoon season

Environment - current issues:
many people are landless and forced to live on and cultivate
flood-prone land; water-borne diseases prevalent in surface water;
water pollution, especially of fishing areas, results from the use
of commercial pesticides; ground water contaminated by naturally
occurring arsenic; intermittent water shortages because of falling
water tables in the northern and central parts of the country; soil
degradation and erosion; deforestation; severe overpopulation

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto
Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental
Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer
Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note:
most of the country is situated on deltas of large rivers flowing
from the Himalayas: the Ganges unites with the Jamuna (main channel
of the Brahmaputra) and later joins the Meghna to eventually empty
into the Bay of Bengal

People Bangladesh

Population:
141,340,476 (July 2004 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 33.5% (male 24,359,149; female 23,013,811)
15-64 years: 63.1% (male 45,557,963; female 43,626,950)
65 years and over: 3.4% (male 2,575,519; female 2,207,084) (2004
est.)

Median age: total: 21.5 years male: 21.5 years female: 21.5 years (2004 est.)

Population growth rate:
2.08% (2004 est.)

Birth rate:
30.03 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Death rate:
8.52 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Net migration rate:
-0.71 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 1.17 male(s)/female
total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2004 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 64.32 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 63.16 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
male: 65.41 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 61.71 years
male: 61.8 years
female: 61.61 years (2004 est.)

Total fertility rate:
3.15 children born/woman (2004 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
less than 0.1% (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
13,000 (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
650 (2001 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Bangladeshi(s)
adjective: Bangladeshi

Ethnic groups:
Bengali 98%, tribal groups, non-Bengali Muslims (1998)

Religions:
Muslim 83%, Hindu 16%, other 1% (1998)

Languages:
Bangla (official, also known as Bengali), English

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 43.1%
male: 53.9%
female: 31.8% (2003 est.)

Government Bangladesh

Country name:
conventional long form: People's Republic of Bangladesh
conventional short form: Bangladesh
former: East Pakistan

Government type:
parliamentary democracy

Capital:
Dhaka

Administrative divisions:
6 divisions; Barisal, Chittagong, Dhaka, Khulna, Rajshahi, and
Sylhet

Independence:
16 December 1971 (from West Pakistan); note - 26 March 1971 is the
date of independence from West Pakistan, 16 December 1971 is known
as Victory Day and commemorates the official creation of the state
of Bangladesh

National holiday:
Independence Day, 26 March (1971); note - 26 March 1971 is the date
of independence from West Pakistan, 16 December 1971 is Victory Day
and commemorates the official creation of the state of Bangladesh

Constitution:
4 November 1972, effective 16 December 1972, suspended following
coup of 24 March 1982, restored 10 November 1986, amended many times

Legal system:
based on English common law

Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
chief of state: President Iajuddin AHMED (since 6 September 2002);
note - the president's duties are normally ceremonial, but with the
13th amendment to the constitution ("Caretaker Government
Amendment"), the president's role becomes significant at times when
Parliament is dissolved and a caretaker government is installed - at
presidential direction - to supervise the elections
head of government: Prime Minister Khaleda ZIA (since 10 October
2001)
cabinet: Cabinet selected by the prime minister and appointed by the
president
elections: president elected by National Parliament for a five-year
term; election scheduled for 16 September 2002 was not held since
Iajuddin AHMED was the only presidential candidate; he was sworn in
on 6 September 2002 (next election to be held by NA 2007); following
legislative elections, the leader of the party that wins the most
seats is usually appointed prime minister by the president
election results: Iajuddin AHMED declared by the Election Commission
elected unopposed as president; percent of National Parliament vote
- NA

Legislative branch:
unicameral National Parliament or Jatiya Sangsad; 300 seats elected
by popular vote from single territorial constituencies (the
constitutional amendment reserving 30 seats for women over and above
the 300 regular parliament seats expired in May 2001); members serve
five-year terms
elections: last held 1 October 2001 (next to be held before October
2006)
election results: percent of vote by party - BNP and alliance
partners 47%, AL 40%; seats by party - BNP 195, AL 58, JI 17, JP
(Ershad faction) 14, IOJ 3, JP (Naziur) 4, other 9; note - the
election of October 2001 brought a majority BNP government aligned
with three other smaller parties - Jamaat-i-Islami, Islami Oikya
Jote, and Jatiya Party (Manzur)

Judicial branch:
Supreme Court (the chief justices and other judges are appointed by
the president)

Political parties and leaders:
Awami League or AL [Sheikh HASINA]; Bangladesh Communist Party or
BCP [Saifuddin Ahmed MANIK]; Bangladesh Nationalist Party or BNP
[Khaleda ZIA, chairperson]; Islami Oikya Jote or IOJ [Mufti Fazlul
Haq AMINI]; Jamaat-e-Islami or JI [Motiur Rahman NIZAMI]; Jatiya
Party or JP (Ershad faction) [Hussain Mohammad ERSHAD]; Jatiya Party
(Manzur faction) [Naziur Rahman MANZUR]

Political pressure groups and leaders:
NA

International organization participation:
AsDB, C, CP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory),
ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO,
Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MIGA, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM, OIC, ONUB,
OPCW, SAARC, SACEP, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO,
UNMEE, UNMIK, UNMIL, UNMISET, UNOCI, UNOMIG, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU,
WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Syed Hasan AHMAD
consulate(s) general: Los Angeles and New York
FAX: (202) 244-5366
telephone: (202) 244-0183
chancery: 3510 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Harry K. THOMAS, Jr.
embassy: Madani Avenue, Baridhara, Dhaka 1212
mailing address: G. P. O. Box 323, Dhaka 1000
telephone: (2) 885-5500
FAX: (2) 882-3744

Flag description:
green with a large red disk slightly to the hoist side of center;
the red sun of freedom represents the blood shed to achieve
independence; the green field symbolizes the lush countryside, and
secondarily, the traditional color of Islam

Economy Bangladesh

Economy - overview:
Despite sustained domestic and international efforts to improve
economic and demographic prospects, Bangladesh remains a poor,
overpopulated, and ill-governed nation. Although half of GDP is
generated through the service sector, nearly two-thirds of
Bangladeshis are employed in the agriculture sector, with rice as
the single-most-important product. Major impediments to growth
include frequent cyclones and floods, inefficient state-owned
enterprises, inadequate port facilities, a rapidly growing labor
force that cannot be absorbed by agriculture, delays in exploiting
energy resources (natural gas), insufficient power supplies, and
slow implementation of economic reforms. Economic reform is stalled
in many instances by political infighting and corruption at all
levels of government. Progress also has been blocked by opposition
from the bureaucracy, public sector unions, and other vested
interest groups. The BNP government, led by Prime Minister Khaleda
ZIA, has the parliamentary strength to push through needed reforms,
but the party's political will to do so has been lacking in key
areas. One encouraging note: growth has been a steady 5% for the
past several years.

GDP:
purchasing power parity - $258.8 billion (2003 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
5.3% (2003 est.)

GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $1,900 (2003 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 21.7% industry: 26.6% services: 51.7% (2003 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):
23.2% of GDP (2003)

Population below poverty line:
35.6% (FY95/96 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 3.9% highest 10%: 28.6% (1995-96 est.)

Distribution of family income - Gini index:
33.6 (FY95/96)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
5.6% (2003 est.)

Labor force:
64.02 million
note: extensive export of labor to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, Oman,
Qatar, and Malaysia; workers' remittances estimated at $1.71 billion
in 1998-99 (2003)

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture 63%, industry 11%, services 26% (FY95/96)

Unemployment rate:
40% (includes underemployment) (2002 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $5.352 billion
expenditures: $7.55 billion, including capital expenditures of NA
(2003)

Public debt:
43.3% of GDP (2003)

Agriculture - products:
rice, jute, tea, wheat, sugarcane, potatoes, tobacco, pulses,
oilseeds, spices, fruit; beef, milk, poultry

Industries:
cotton textiles, jute, garments, tea processing, paper newsprint,
cement, chemical fertilizer, light engineering, sugar

Industrial production growth rate:
1.9% (2003 est.)

Electricity - production:
15.33 billion kWh (2001)

Electricity - consumption:
14.25 billion kWh (2001)

Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2001)

Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2001)

Oil - production:
3,581 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - consumption:
71,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - exports:
NA (2001)

Oil - imports:
NA (2001)

Oil - proved reserves:
28.45 million bbl (1 January 2002)

Natural gas - production:
9.9 billion cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:
9.9 billion cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - exports:
0 cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - imports:
0 cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - proved reserves:
150.3 billion cu m (1 January 2002)

Current account balance:
$393 million (2003)

Exports:
$6.713 billion (2003 est.)

Exports - commodities:
garments, jute and jute goods, leather, frozen fish and seafood
(2001)

Exports - partners:
US 23.9%, Germany 13.6%, UK 9.7%, France 5.9% (2003)

Imports:
$9.459 billion (2003 est.)

Imports - commodities:
machinery and equipment, chemicals, iron and steel, textiles,
foodstuffs, petroleum products, cement (2000)

Imports - partners:
India 15.4%, China 11.3%, Singapore 10.8%, Japan 5.9%, Hong Kong
4.5% (2003)

Reserves of foreign exchange & gold:
$2.624 billion (2003)

Debt - external:
$18.06 billion (2003)

Economic aid - recipient:
$1.575 billion (2000 est.)

Currency:
taka (BDT)

Currency code:
BDT

Exchange rates:
taka per US dollar - 58.15 (2003), 57.888 (2002), 55.8067 (2001),
52.1417 (2000), 49.0854 (1999)

Fiscal year:
1 July - 30 June

Communications Bangladesh

Telephones - main lines in use:
740,000 (2003)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
1.365 million (2003)

Telephone system:
general assessment: totally inadequate for a modern country
domestic: modernizing; introducing digital systems; trunk systems
include VHF and UHF microwave radio relay links, and some
fiber-optic cable in cities
international: country code - 880; satellite earth stations - 2
Intelsat (Indian Ocean); international radiotelephone communications
and landline service to neighboring countries (2000)

Radio broadcast stations:
AM 12, FM 12, shortwave 2 (1999)

Radios:
6.15 million (1997)

Television broadcast stations:
15 (1999)

Televisions:
770,000 (1997)

Internet country code:
.bd

Internet hosts:
1 (2003)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
10 (2000)

Internet users:
243,000 (2003)

Transportation Bangladesh

Railways:
total: 2,706 km
broad gauge: 884 km 1.676-m gauge
narrow gauge: 1,822 km 1.000-m gauge (2003)

Highways:
total: 207,486 km
paved: 19,773 km
unpaved: 187,713 km (1999)

Waterways: 8,372 km note: includes 2,575 km main cargo routes (2004)

Pipelines:
gas 2,012 km (2004)

Ports and harbors:
Chittagong, Dhaka, Mongla Port, Narayanganj

Merchant marine:
total: 40 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 319,897 GRT/440,575 DWT
by type: bulk 2, cargo 24, container 10, passenger 1, petroleum
tanker 2, refrigerated cargo 1
foreign-owned: China 1, Singapore 9
registered in other countries: 10 (2004 est.)

Airports:
16 (2003 est.)

Airports - with paved runways: total: 15 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 6 (2004 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2004 est.)

Military Bangladesh

Military branches:
Army, Navy, Air Force

Military manpower - military age and obligation: 16 years of age for voluntary military service; no conscription (2001)

Military manpower - availability:
males age 15-49: 39,523,128 (2004 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service:
males age 15-49: 23,441,482 (2004 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
$606.8 million (2003)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
1.2% (2003)

Transnational Issues Bangladesh

Disputes - international:
discussions with India remain stalled to delimit a small section of
river boundary, exchange 162 miniscule enclaves in both countries,
allocate divided villages, and stop illegal cross-border trade,
migration, and violence; Bangladesh protests India's attempts to
fence off high-traffic sections of the porous boundary; dispute with
India over New Moore/South Talpatty/Purbasha Island in the Bay of
Bengal deters maritime boundary delimitation; Burmese Muslim
refugees strain Bangladesh's meager resources

Refugees and internally displaced persons:
IDPs: 61,000 (land conflicts, religious persecution) (2004)

Illicit drugs:
transit country for illegal drugs produced in neighboring countries

This page was last updated on 10 February, 2005

@Barbados

Introduction Barbados

Background:
The island was uninhabited when first settled by the British in
1627. Slaves worked the sugar plantations established on the island
until 1834 when slavery was abolished. The economy remained heavily
dependent on sugar, rum, and molasses production through most of the
20th century. The gradual introduction of social and political
reforms in the 1940s and 1950s led to complete independence from the
UK in 1966. In the 1990s, tourism and manufacturing surpassed the
sugar industry in economic importance.

Geography Barbados

Location:
Caribbean, island in the North Atlantic Ocean, northeast of
Venezuela

Geographic coordinates:
13 10 N, 59 32 W

Map references:
Central America and the Caribbean

Area:
total: 431 sq km
water: 0 sq km
land: 431 sq km

Area - comparative:
2.5 times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries:
0 km

Coastline:
97 km

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

Climate:
tropical; rainy season (June to October)

Terrain:
relatively flat; rises gently to central highland region

Elevation extremes: lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Mount Hillaby 336 m

Natural resources: petroleum, fish, natural gas

Land use: arable land: 37.21% permanent crops: 2.33% other: 60.46% (2001)

Irrigated land:
10 sq km (1998 est.)

Natural hazards:
infrequent hurricanes; periodic landslides

Environment - current issues: pollution of coastal waters from waste disposal by ships; soil erosion; illegal solid waste disposal threatens contamination of aquifers

Environment - international agreements: party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note: easternmost Caribbean island

People Barbados

Population:
278,289 (July 2004 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 21% (male 29,294; female 29,020)
15-64 years: 70.3% (male 95,675; female 99,864)
65 years and over: 8.8% (male 9,370; female 15,066) (2004 est.)

Median age:
total: 33.7 years
male: 32.6 years
female: 34.9 years (2004 est.)

Population growth rate:
0.36% (2004 est.)

Birth rate:
12.98 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Death rate:
9.08 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Net migration rate:
-0.31 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.01 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.62 male(s)/female
total population: 0.93 male(s)/female (2004 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 12.61 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 10.94 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
male: 14.26 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 71.64 years
male: 69.51 years
female: 73.81 years (2004 est.)

Total fertility rate:
1.65 children born/woman (2004 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
1.5% (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
2,500 (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
less than 200 (2003 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Barbadian(s) or Bajan (colloquial)
adjective: Barbadian or Bajan (colloquial)

Ethnic groups:
black 90%, white 4%, Asian and mixed 6%

Religions:
Protestant 67% (Anglican 40%, Pentecostal 8%, Methodist 7%, other
12%), Roman Catholic 4%, none 17%, other 12%

Languages:
English

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school
total population: 97.4%
male: 98%
female: 96.8% (1995 est.)

Government Barbados

Country name:
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Barbados

Government type:
parliamentary democracy; independent sovereign state within the
Commonwealth

Capital:
Bridgetown

Administrative divisions:
11 parishes; Christ Church, Saint Andrew, Saint George, Saint
James, Saint John, Saint Joseph, Saint Lucy, Saint Michael, Saint
Peter, Saint Philip, Saint Thomas; note - the city of Bridgetown may
be given parish status

Independence:
30 November 1966 (from UK)

National holiday:
Independence Day, 30 November (1966)

Constitution:
30 November 1966

Legal system:
English common law; no judicial review of legislative acts

Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952),
represented by Governor General Sir Clifford Straughn HUSBANDS
(since 1 June 1996)
head of government: Prime Minister Owen Seymour ARTHUR (since 6
September 1994); Deputy Prime Minister Mia MOTTLEY (since 26 May
2003)
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of
the prime minister
elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general
appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the
leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition
is usually appointed prime minister by the governor general; the
prime minister recommends the deputy prime minister

Legislative branch:
bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (21-member body
appointed by the governor general) and the House of Assembly (30
seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve five-year
terms)
elections: House of Assembly - last held 21 May 2003 (next to be
held by May 2008)
election results: House of Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA;
seats by party - BLP 23, DLP 7

Judicial branch:
Supreme Court of Judicature (judges are appointed by the Service
Commissions for the Judicial and Legal Services)

Political parties and leaders:
Barbados Labor Party or BLP [Owen ARTHUR]; Democratic Labor Party
or DLP [Clyde Mascoll]

Political pressure groups and leaders:
Barbados Workers Union [Leroy TROTMAN]; Clement Payne Labor Union
[David COMMISSIONG]; People's Progressive Movement [Eric SEALY];
Worker's Party of Barbados [Dr. George BELLE]

International organization participation:
ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU,
ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU,
LAES, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO,
WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Michael Ian KING
consulate(s): Los Angeles
consulate(s) general: Miami and New York
FAX: (202) 332-7467
telephone: (202) 339-9200
chancery: 2144 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Mary E. KRAMER
embassy: Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce Building, Broad Street,
Bridgetown; (courier) ALICO Building-Cheapside, Bridgetown
mailing address: P. O. Box 302, Bridgetown; CMR 1014, APO AA 34055
telephone: (246) 436-4950
FAX: (246) 429-5246, 429-3379

Flag description:
three equal vertical bands of blue (hoist side), gold, and blue
with the head of a black trident centered on the gold band; the
trident head represents independence and a break with the past (the
colonial coat of arms contained a complete trident)

Economy Barbados

Economy - overview:
Historically, the Barbadian economy had been dependent on sugarcane
cultivation and related activities, but production in recent years
has diversified into light industry and tourism. Offshore finance
and information services are important foreign exchange earners. The
government continues its efforts to reduce unemployment, to
encourage direct foreign investment, and to privatize remaining
state-owned enterprises. The economy contracted in 2002-03 mainly
due to a decline in tourism. Growth should be positive in 2004, the
precise level largely dependent on economic conditions in the US and
Europe.

GDP:
purchasing power parity - $4.355 billion (2003 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
2.2% (2003 est.)

GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $15,700 (2003 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 6%
industry: 16%
services: 78% (2000 est.)

Population below poverty line:
NA

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
-0.5% (2003 est.)

Labor force:
128,500 (2001 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture 10%, industry 15%, services 75% (1996 est.)

Unemployment rate:
10.7% (2003 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $847 million (including grants)
expenditures: $886 million, including capital expenditures of NA
(2000 est.)

Agriculture - products:
sugarcane, vegetables, cotton

Industries:
tourism, sugar, light manufacturing, component assembly for export

Industrial production growth rate:
-3.2% (2000 est.)

Electricity - production:
780 million kWh (2001)

Electricity - consumption:
725.4 million kWh (2001)

Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2001)

Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2001)

Oil - production:
1,271 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - consumption:
10,900 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - exports:
NA (2001)

Oil - imports:
NA (2001)

Oil - proved reserves:
1.254 million bbl (1 January 2002)

Natural gas - production:
29.17 million cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:
29.17 million cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - exports:
0 cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - imports:
0 cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - proved reserves:
70.79 million cu m (1 January 2002)

Exports:
$206 million (2002)

Exports - commodities:
sugar and molasses, rum, other foods and beverages, chemicals,
electrical components

Exports - partners:
US 18.7%, Trinidad and Tobago 14.5%, UK 14%, Jamaica 7.8%, Saint
Lucia 6.2%, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 4.7% (2003)

Imports:
$1.039 billion (2002)

Imports - commodities:
consumer goods, machinery, foodstuffs, construction materials,
chemicals, fuel, electrical components

Imports - partners:
US 37.7%, Trinidad and Tobago 19.6%, UK 6.2%, Japan 4.4% (2003)

Debt - external:
$668 million (2003)

Economic aid - recipient:
$9.1 million (1995)

Currency:
Barbadian dollar (BBD)

Currency code:
BBD

Exchange rates:
Barbadian dollars per US dollar - 2 (2003), 2 (2002), 2 (2001), 2
(2000), 2 (1999)

Fiscal year:
1 April - 31 March

Communications Barbados

Telephones - main lines in use:
134,000 (2003)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
140,000 (2003)

Telephone system:
general assessment: NA
domestic: island-wide automatic telephone system
international: country code - 1-246; satellite earth stations - 4
Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); tropospheric scatter to Trinidad and
Saint Lucia

Radio broadcast stations:
AM 2, FM 3, shortwave 0 (1998)

Radios:
237,000 (1997)

Television broadcast stations:
1 (plus two cable channels) (1997)

Televisions:
76,000 (1997)

Internet country code:
.bb

Internet hosts:
204 (2003)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
19 (2000)

Internet users:
100,000 (2003)

Transportation Barbados

Highways: total: 1,793 km paved: 1,719 km unpaved: 74 km (1999)

Ports and harbors:
Bridgetown, Speightstown (Port Charles Marina)

Merchant marine:
total: 42 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 427,465 GRT/668,195 DWT
by type: bulk 11, cargo 20, chemical tanker 1, combination bulk 3,
petroleum tanker 6, roll on/roll off 1
registered in other countries: 3 (2004 est.)
foreign-owned: Australia 1, Bahamas 1, Bangladesh 1, Canada 5,
Greece 7, Hong Kong 7, Italy 2, Lebanon 1, Norway 9, United Kingdom
10

Airports:
1 (2003 est.)

Airports - with paved runways: total: 1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2004 est.)

Military Barbados

Military branches:
Royal Barbados Defense Force (Troops Command and Coast Guard)

Military manpower - military age and obligation: 18 years of age for voluntary military service; volunteers at earlier age with parental consent; no conscription (2001)

Military manpower - availability:
males age 15-49: 77,714 (2004 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service:
males age 15-49: 53,127 (2004 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
NA

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
NA

Transnational Issues Barbados

Disputes - international:
Barbados intends to take its claim before UNCLOS arbitration that
the northern limit of Trinidad and Tobago's maritime boundary with
Venezuela extends into its waters; joins other Caribbean states to
counter Venezuela's claim that Aves Island sustains human
habitation, a criterion under UNCLOS, which permits Venezuela to
extend its EEZ/continental shelf over a large portion of the
Caribbean Sea

Illicit drugs:
one of many Caribbean transshipment points for narcotics bound for
Europe and the US; offshore financial center

This page was last updated on 10 February, 2005

@Bassas da India

Introduction Bassas da India

Background:
This atoll is a volcanic rock surrounded by reefs and is awash at
high tide. A French possession since 1897, it was placed under the
administration of a commissioner residing in Reunion in 1968.

Geography Bassas da India

Location:
Southern Africa, islands in the southern Mozambique Channel, about
one-half of the way from Madagascar to Mozambique

Geographic coordinates:
21 30 S, 39 50 E

Map references:
Africa

Area:
total: 0.2 sq km
water: 0 sq km
land: 0.2 sq km

Area - comparative:
about one-third the size of The Mall in Washington, DC

Land boundaries:
0 km

Coastline:
35.2 km

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

Climate:
tropical

Terrain:
volcanic rock

Elevation extremes: lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location 2.4 m

Natural resources: none

Land use: arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (all rock) (2001)

Irrigated land:
0 sq km (1998 est.)

Natural hazards:
maritime hazard since it is usually under water during high tide
and surrounded by reefs; subject to periodic cyclones

Environment - current issues:
NA

Geography - note:
the islands emerge from a circular reef that sits atop a
long-extinct, submerged volcano

People Bassas da India

Population: uninhabited (July 2004 est.)

Government Bassas da India

Country name:
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Bassas da India

Dependency status:
possession of France; administered by a high commissioner of the
Republic, resident in Reunion

Legal system:
the laws of France, where applicable, apply

Flag description:
the flag of France is used

Economy Bassas da India

Economy - overview: no economic activity

Transportation Bassas da India

Ports and harbors: none; offshore anchorage only

Military Bassas da India

Military - note: defense is the responsibility of France

Transnational Issues Bassas da India

Disputes - international: claimed by Madagascar

This page was last updated on 10 February, 2005

@Belarus

Introduction Belarus

Background:
After seven decades as a constituent republic of the USSR, Belarus
attained its independence in 1991. It has retained closer political
and economic ties to Russia than any of the other former Soviet
republics. Belarus and Russia signed a treaty on a two-state union
on 8 December 1999 envisioning greater political and economic
integration. Although Belarus agreed to a framework to carry out the
accord, serious implementation has yet to take place.

Geography Belarus

Location:
Eastern Europe, east of Poland

Geographic coordinates:
53 00 N, 28 00 E

Map references:
Europe

Area:
total: 207,600 sq km
water: 0 sq km
land: 207,600 sq km

Area - comparative:
slightly smaller than Kansas

Land boundaries:
total: 2,900 km
border countries: Latvia 141 km, Lithuania 502 km, Poland 407 km,
Russia 959 km, Ukraine 891 km

Coastline:
0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims:
none (landlocked)

Climate:
cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between
continental and maritime

Terrain:
generally flat and contains much marshland

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Nyoman River 90 m
highest point: Dzyarzhynskaya Hara 346 m

Natural resources:
forests, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas,
granite, dolomitic limestone, marl, chalk, sand, gravel, clay

Land use: arable land: 29.55% permanent crops: 0.6% other: 69.85% (2001)

Irrigated land:
1,150 sq km (1998 est.)

Natural hazards:
NA

Environment - current issues: soil pollution from pesticide use; southern part of the country contaminated with fallout from 1986 nuclear reactor accident at Chornobyl' in northern Ukraine

Environment - international agreements: party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea

Geography - note:
landlocked; glacial scouring accounts for the flatness of
Belarusian terrain and for its 11,000 lakes; the country is
geologically well endowed with extensive deposits of granite,
dolomitic limestone, marl, chalk, sand, gravel, and clay

People Belarus

Population:
10,310,520 (July 2004 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 16.3% (male 859,219; female 823,839)
15-64 years: 69.2% (male 3,469,926; female 3,662,203)
65 years and over: 14.5% (male 496,204; female 999,129) (2004 est.)

Median age:
total: 36.9 years
male: 34.2 years
female: 39.5 years (2004 est.)

Population growth rate:
-0.11% (2004 est.)

Birth rate:
10.52 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Death rate:
14.1 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Net migration rate:
2.54 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.5 male(s)/female
total population: 0.88 male(s)/female (2004 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 13.62 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 12.47 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
male: 14.71 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 68.57 years
male: 62.79 years
female: 74.65 years (2004 est.)

Total fertility rate:
1.36 children born/woman (2004 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
0.3% (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
15,000 (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
1,000 (2001 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Belarusian(s)
adjective: Belarusian

Ethnic groups:
Belarusian 81.2%, Russian 11.4%, Polish, Ukrainian, and other 7.4%

Religions:
Eastern Orthodox 80%, other (including Roman Catholic, Protestant,
Jewish, and Muslim) 20% (1997 est.)

Languages:
Belarusian, Russian, other

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99.6%
male: 99.8%
female: 99.5% (2003 est.)

Government Belarus

Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of Belarus
conventional short form: Belarus
local short form: none
former: Belorussian (Byelorussian) Soviet Socialist Republic
local long form: Respublika Byelarus'

Government type:
republic in name, although in fact a dictatorship

Capital:
Minsk

Administrative divisions:
6 provinces (voblastsi, singular - voblasts') and 1 municipality*
(horad); Brest, Homyel', Horad Minsk*, Hrodna, Mahilyow, Minsk,
Vitsyebsk
note: administrative divisions have the same names as their
administrative centers

Independence:
25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union)

National holiday:
Independence Day, 3 July (1944); note - 3 July 1944 was the date
Minsk was liberated from German troops, 25 August 1991 was the date
of independence from the Soviet Union

Constitution:
30 March 1994; revised by national referendum of 24 November 1996
giving the presidency greatly expanded powers and became effective
27 November 1996; revised again 17 October 2004 removing
presidential term limits

Legal system:
based on civil law system

Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
chief of state: President Aleksandr LUKASHENKO (since 20 July 1994)
head of government: Prime Minister Sergei SIDORSKY (since 19
December 2003); First Deputy Prime Minister Vladimir SEMASHKO (since
December 2003); Deputy Prime Ministers Andrei KOBYAKOV (since
December 2003), Vladimir DRAZHIN (since 24 September 2001), Ivan
BAMBIZA (since 25 May 2004), Anatoly TYUTYUNOV (since July 2002)
cabinet: Council of Ministers
election results: Aleksandr LUKASHENKO reelected president; percent
of vote - Aleksandr LUKASHENKO 75.6%, Vladimir GONCHARIK 15.4%
elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term;
first election took place 23 June and 10 July 1994; according to the
1994 constitution, the next election should have been held in 1999,
however LUKASHENKO extended his term to 2001 via a November 1996
referendum; new election held 9 September 2001; October 2004
referendum ended presidential term limits allowing president to run
for a third term in September 2006; prime minister and deputy prime
ministers appointed by the president

Legislative branch:
bicameral Parliament or Natsionalnoye Sobranie consists of the
Council of the Republic or Soviet Respubliki (64 seats; 56 members
elected by regional councils and 8 members appointed by the
president, all for 4-year terms) and the Chamber of Representatives
or Palata Predstaviteliy (110 seats; members elected by universal
adult suffrage to serve 4-year terms)
election results: Soviet Respubliki - percent of vote by party -
NA%; seats by party - NA; Palata Pretsaviteley - percent of vote by
party - NA%; seats by party - NA
elections: last held 18 March and 1 April 2001 and 17 and 31 October
2004 (bi-election will be held March 2005 to fill one unfilled seat
in the Palata Predstaviteliy); international observers widely
denounced the October 2004 elections as flawed and undemocratic,
based on massive government falsification; pro-Lukashenko candidates
won every seat, after many opposition candidates were disqualified
for technical reasons

Judicial branch:
Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president);
Constitutional Court (half of the judges appointed by the president
and half appointed by the Chamber of Representatives)

Political parties and leaders:
Pro-government parties: Agrarian Party or AP; Belarusian Communist
Party or KPB; Belarusian Patriotic Movement (Belarusian Patriotic
Party) or BPR [Anatoliy BARANKEVICH, chairman]; Liberal Democratic
Party of Belarus [Sergei GAYDUKEVICH]; Social-Sports Party;
Opposition parties: Belarusian Popular Front or BNF [Vintsuk
VYACHORKA]; Belarusian Social-Democrat Party Narodnaya Gromada or
BSDP NG [Nikolay STATKEVICH, chairman]; Belarusian Social-Democratic
Party Hromada [Stanislav SHUSHKEVICH, chairman]; United Civic Party
or UCP [Anatol LEBEDKO]; Party of Communists Belarusian or PKB
[Sergei KALYAKIN, chairman]; Women's Party "Nadezhda" [Valentina
MATUSEVICH, chairperson]
note: the opposition Belarusian Party of Labor [Aleksandr
BUKHVOSTOV] was liquidated in August 2004, but remains active

Political pressure groups and leaders:
NA

International organization participation:
CEI, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS,
ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, MIGA, NAM, NSG,
OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU,
WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO (observer)

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Mikhail KHVOSTOV
FAX: (202) 986-1805
consulate(s) general: New York
telephone: (202) 986-1604
chancery: 1619 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador George A. KROL
embassy: 46 Starovilenskaya St., Minsk 220002
mailing address: PSC 78, Box B Minsk, APO 09723
telephone: (17) 210-12-83, 217-7347, 217-7348
FAX: (17) 234-7853

Flag description:
red horizontal band (top) and green horizontal band one-half the
width of the red band; a white vertical stripe on the hoist side
bears Belarusian national ornamention in red

Economy Belarus

Economy - overview:
Belarus' economy in 2003 posted 6.1 percent growth and is likely to
continue expanding through 2004, albeit at a slower growth rate. The
Belarusian economy in 2004 is likely to be hampered by high
inflation, persistent trade deficits, and ongoing rocky relations
with Russia, Belarus' largest trading partner and energy supplier.
Belarus has seen little structural reform since 1995, when President
LUKASHENKO launched the country on the path of "market socialism."
In keeping with this policy, LUKASHENKO reimposed administrative
controls over prices and currency exchange rates and expanded the
state's right to intervene in the management of private enterprises.
In addition, businesses have been subject to pressure on the part of
central and local governments, e.g., arbitrary changes in
regulations, numerous rigorous inspections, retroactive application
of new business regulations, and arrests of "disruptive" businessmen
and factory owners. A wide range of redistributive policies has
helped those at the bottom of the ladder. For the time being,
Belarus remains self-isolated from the West and its open-market
economies.

GDP:
purchasing power parity - $62.56 billion (2003 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
6.8% (2003 est.)

GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $6,100 (2003 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 11.1% industry: 36.4% services: 52.5% (2003 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):
21.7% of GDP (2003)

Population below poverty line:
22% (1995 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 5.1% highest 10%: 20% (1998)

Distribution of family income - Gini index:
21.7 (1998)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
28.2% (2003 est.)

Labor force:
4.8 million (2000 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:
NA

Unemployment rate:
2.1% officially registered unemployed (December 2000); large number
of underemployed workers (2003 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $2.976 billion
expenditures: $3.211 billion, including capital expenditures of $180
million (2003 est.)

Agriculture - products:
grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk

Industries:
metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earthmovers,
motorcycles, television sets, chemical fibers, fertilizer, textiles,
radios, refrigerators

Industrial production growth rate:
5% (2003 est.)

Electricity - production:
24.4 billion kWh (2001)

Electricity - consumption:
26.69 billion kWh (2001)

Electricity - exports:
300 million kWh (2001)

Electricity - imports:
4.3 billion kWh (2001)

Oil - production:
37,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - consumption:
230,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - exports:
NA (2001)

Oil - imports:
NA (2001)

Natural gas - production:
200 million cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:
18 billion cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - exports:
0 cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - imports:
17.8 billion cu m (2001 est.)

Current account balance:
$-945 million (2003)

Exports:
$9.413 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)

Exports - commodities:
machinery and equipment, mineral products, chemicals, metals;
textiles, foodstuffs

Exports - partners:
Russia 49.1%, UK 9.4%, Poland 4.4%, Germany 4.2%, Netherlands 4.2%
(2003)

Imports:
$11.09 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)

Imports - commodities:
mineral products, machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs,
metals

Imports - partners:
Russia 65.8%, Germany 7.1%, Ukraine 3.1% (2003)

Reserves of foreign exchange & gold:
$637 million (2003)

Debt - external:
$851 million (2001 est.)

Economic aid - recipient:
$194.3 million (1995)

Currency:
Belarusian ruble (BYB/BYR)

Currency code:
BYB/BYR

Exchange rates:
Belarusian rubles per US dollar - 1,790.92 (2003), 1,920 (2002),
1,390 (2001), 876.75 (2000), 248.795 (1999)

Fiscal year:
calendar year

Communications Belarus

Telephones - main lines in use:
3,071,300 (2003)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
1.118 million (2003)

Telephone system:
general assessment: the Ministry of Telecommunications controls all
telecommunications through its carrier (a joint stock company)
Beltelcom which is a monopoly
domestic: local - Minsk has a digital metropolitan network and a
cellular NMT-450 network; waiting lists for telephones are long;
local service outside Minsk is neglected and poor; intercity -
Belarus has a partly developed fiber-optic backbone system presently
serving at least 13 major cities (1998); Belarus' fiber optics form
synchronous digital hierarchy rings through other countries'
systems; an inadequate analog system remains operational
international: country code - 375; Belarus is a member of the
Trans-European Line (TEL), Trans-Asia-Europe (TAE) fiber-optic line,
and has access to the Trans-Siberia Line (TSL); three fiber-optic
segments provide connectivity to Latvia, Poland, Russia, and
Ukraine; worldwide service is available to Belarus through this
infrastructure; additional analog lines to Russia; Intelsat,
Eutelsat, and Intersputnik earth stations

Radio broadcast stations:
AM 28, FM 37, shortwave 11 (1998)

Radios:
3.02 million (1997)

Television broadcast stations:
47 (plus 27 repeaters) (1995)

Televisions:
2.52 million (1997)

Internet country code:
.by

Internet hosts:
5,308 (2004)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
23 (2002)

Internet users:
1,391,900 (2003)

Transportation Belarus

Railways: total: 5,523 km broad gauge: 5,523 km 1.520-m gauge (875 km electrified) (2003)

Highways: total: 74,385 km paved: 66,203 km unpaved: 8,182 km (2000)

Waterways:
2,500 km (use limited by location on perimeter of country and by
shallowness) (2003)

Pipelines:
gas 5,223 km; oil 2,443 km; refined products 1,686 km (2004)

Ports and harbors:
Mazyr

Airports:
135 (2003 est.)

Airports - with paved runways: total: 50 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 21 under 914 m: 21 (2003 est.) 1,524 to 2,437 m: 6

Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 85 under 914 m: 64 (2003 est.) 914 to 1,523 m: 11 over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5

Heliports: 1 (2003 est.)

Military Belarus

Military branches:
Army, Air and Air Defense Force

Military manpower - military age and obligation: 18-27 years of age for compulsory military service; conscript service obligation - 18 months (May 2004)

Military manpower - availability:
males age 15-49: 2,764,856 (2004 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service:
males age 15-49: 2,164,923 (2004 est.)

Military manpower - reaching military age annually:
males: 86,716 (2004 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
$176.1 million (FY02)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
1.4% (FY02)

Transnational Issues Belarus

Disputes - international:
1997 boundary treaty with Ukraine remains unratified over
unresolved financial claims, preventing demarcation and diminishing
border security; boundaries with Latvia and Lithuania remain
undemarcated despite European Union financial support

Illicit drugs:
limited cultivation of opium poppy and cannabis, mostly for the
domestic market; transshipment point for illicit drugs to and via
Russia, and to the Baltics and Western Europe; a small and lightly
regulated financial center; new anti-money-laundering legislation
does not meet international standards; few investigations or
prosecutions of money-laundering activities

This page was last updated on 10 February, 2005

@Belgium

Introduction Belgium

Background:
Belgium became independent from the Netherlands in 1830 and was
occupied by Germany during World Wars I and II. It has prospered in
the past half century as a modern, technologically advanced European
state and member of NATO and the EU. Tensions between the
Dutch-speaking Flemings of the north and the French-speaking
Walloons of the south have led in recent years to constitutional
amendments granting these regions formal recognition and autonomy.

Geography Belgium

Location:
Western Europe, bordering the North Sea, between France and the
Netherlands

Geographic coordinates:
50 50 N, 4 00 E

Map references:
Europe

Area:
total: 30,528 sq km
land: 30,278 sq km
water: 250 sq km

Area - comparative:
about the size of Maryland

Land boundaries:
total: 1,385 km
border countries: France 620 km, Germany 167 km, Luxembourg 148 km,
Netherlands 450 km

Coastline:
66.5 km

Maritime claims: territorial sea: 12 nm continental shelf: median line with neighbors exclusive economic zone: geographic coordinates define outer limit

Climate:
temperate; mild winters, cool summers; rainy, humid, cloudy

Terrain:
flat coastal plains in northwest, central rolling hills, rugged
mountains of Ardennes Forest in southeast

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: North Sea 0 m
highest point: Signal de Botrange 694 m

Natural resources:
coal, natural gas, construction materials, silica sand, carbonates

Land use:
arable land: 23.28%
permanent crops: 0.4%
note: includes Luxembourg (2001)
other: 76.32%

Irrigated land:
40 sq km (includes Luxembourg) (1998 est.)

Natural hazards:
flooding is a threat along rivers and in areas of reclaimed coastal
land, protected from the sea by concrete dikes

Environment - current issues:
the environment is exposed to intense pressures from human
activities: urbanization, dense transportation network, industry,
extensive animal breeding and crop cultivation; air and water
pollution also have repercussions for neighboring countries;
uncertainties regarding federal and regional responsibilities (now
resolved) have slowed progress in tackling environmental challenges

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air
Pollution-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile
Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol,
Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic
Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol,
Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification,
Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life
Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical
Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants

Geography - note:
crossroads of Western Europe; majority of West European capitals
within 1,000 km of Brussels, the seat of both the European Union and
NATO

People Belgium

Population:
10,348,276 (July 2004 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 17.1% (male 901,486; female 863,092)
15-64 years: 65.6% (male 3,424,438; female 3,364,057)
65 years and over: 17.3% (male 739,479; female 1,055,724) (2004 est.)

Median age:
total: 40.2 years
male: 38.9 years
female: 41.5 years (2004 est.)

Population growth rate:
0.16% (2004 est.)

Birth rate:
10.59 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Death rate:
10.2 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Net migration rate:
1.23 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female
total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2004 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 4.76 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 4.12 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
male: 5.36 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 78.44 years
male: 75.26 years
female: 81.75 years (2004 est.)

Total fertility rate:
1.64 children born/woman (2004 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
0.2% (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
10,000 (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
less than 100 (2003 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Belgian(s)
adjective: Belgian

Ethnic groups:
Fleming 58%, Walloon 31%, mixed or other 11%

Religions:
Roman Catholic 75%, Protestant or other 25%

Languages:
Dutch (official) 60%, French (official) 40%, German (official) less
than 1%, legally bilingual (Dutch and French)

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98%
male: NA
female: NA

Government Belgium

Country name:
conventional long form: Kingdom of Belgium
conventional short form: Belgium
local short form: Belgique/Belgie
local long form: Royaume de Belgique/Koninkrijk Belgie

Government type:
federal parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarch

Capital:
Brussels

Administrative divisions:
10 provinces (French: provinces, singular - province; Dutch:
provincies, singular - provincie) and 3 regions* (French: regions;
Dutch: gewesten); Antwerpen, Brabant Wallon, Brussels* (Bruxelles),
Flanders*, Hainaut, Liege, Limburg, Luxembourg, Namur,
Oost-Vlaanderen, Vlaams-Brabant, Wallonia*, West-Vlaanderen
note: as a result of the 1993 constitutional revision that furthered
devolution into a federal state, there are now three levels of
government (federal, regional, and linguistic community) with a
complex division of responsibilities

Independence:
4 October 1830 (a provisional government declares independence from
the Netherlands); 21 July 1831 (King Leopold I ascends to the throne)

National holiday:
21 July (1831) ascension to the Throne of King Leopold I

Constitution:
7 February 1831, last revised 14 July 1993; parliament approved a
constitutional package creating a federal state

Legal system:
civil law system influenced by English constitutional theory;
judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ
jurisdiction, with reservations

Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal and compulsory

Executive branch:
chief of state: King ALBERT II (since 9 August 1993); Heir Apparent
Prince PHILIPPE, son of the monarch
head of government: Prime Minister Guy VERHOFSTADT (since 13 July
1999)
cabinet: Council of Ministers formally appointed by the monarch
note: government coalition - VLD, MR, PS, SP.A-Spirit
elections: none; the monarchy is hereditary; following legislative
elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the
majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the
monarch and then approved by Parliament

Legislative branch:
bicameral Parliament consists of a Senate or Senaat in Dutch, Senat
in French (71 seats; 40 members are directly elected by popular
vote, 31 are indirectly elected; members serve four-year terms) and
a Chamber of Deputies or Kamer van Volksvertegenwoordigers in Dutch,
Chambre des Representants in French (150 seats; members are directly
elected by popular vote on the basis of proportional representation
to serve four-year terms)
election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - SP.A-Spirit
15.5%, VLD 15.4%, CD & V 12.7%, PS 12.8%, MR 12.1%, VB 9.4%, CDH
5.6%; seats by party - SP.A-Spirit 7, VLD 7, CD & V 6, PS 6, MR 5,
VB 5, CDH 2, other 2 (note - there are also 31 indirectly elected
senators); Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - VLD
15.4%, SP.A-Spirit 14.9%, CD & V 13.3%, PS 13.0%, VB 11.6%, MR
11.4%, CDH 5.5%, Ecolo 3.1%; seats by party - VLD 25, SP.A-Spirit
23, CD & V 21, PS 25, VB 18, MR 24, CDH 8 Ecolo 4, other 2
note: as a result of the 1993 constitutional revision that furthered
devolution into a federal state, there are now three levels of
government (federal, regional, and linguistic community) with a
complex division of responsibilities; this reality leaves six
governments each with its own legislative assembly; for other
acronyms of the listed parties see the Political parties and leaders
entry
elections: Senate and Chamber of Deputies - last held 18 May 2003
(next to be held no later than May 2007)

Judicial branch:
Supreme Court of Justice or Hof van Cassatie (in Dutch) or Cour de
Cassation (in French) (judges are appointed for life by the
Government; candidacies have to be submitted by the High Justice
Council)

Political parties and leaders:
Christian Democrats and Flemish or CD & V [Jo VANDEURZEN]; Ecolo
(Francophone Greens) [Jean-Michel JAVAUX, Evelyne HUYTEBROECK,
Claude BROUIR]; Flemish Liberal Democrats or VLD [Bart SOMERS];
Flemish Socialist Party.Alternative or SP.A [Steve STEVAERT];
Francophone Humanist and Democratic Center of CDH [Joelle MILQUET];
Francophone Reformist Movement or MR [Didier REYNDERS]; Francophone
Socialist Party or PS [Elio DI RUPO]; GROEN! (formerly AGALEV,
Flemish Greens) [Vera DUA]; National Front or FN [Daniel FERET]; New
Flemish Alliance or NVA [Bart DE WEVER]; Spirit [Els VAN WEERT];
note - new party now associated with SP.A; Vlaams Belang or VB
[Frank VANHECKE]; other minor parties

Political pressure groups and leaders:
Christian, Socialist, and Liberal Trade Unions; Federation of
Belgian Industries; numerous other associations representing
bankers, manufacturers, middle-class artisans, and the legal and
medical professions; various organizations represent the cultural
interests of Flanders and Wallonia; various peace groups such as Pax
Christi and groups representing immigrants

International organization participation:
ACCT, AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, Benelux, BIS, CE, CERN, EAPC,
EBRD, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, G- 9, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO,
ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF,
IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MIGA, MONUC, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS
(observer), OECD, ONUB, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, UN, UNCTAD,
UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIK, UNMOGIP, UNRWA, UNTSO, UPU, WADB
(nonregional), WCL, WCO, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Franciskus VAN DAELE
FAX: (202) 333-3079
consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Los Angeles, and New York
telephone: (202) 333-6900
chancery: 3330 Garfield Street NW, Washington, DC 20008

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Tom C. KOROLOGOS
embassy: Regentlaan 27 Boulevard du Regent, B-1000 Brussels
mailing address: PSC 82, Box 002, APO AE 09710
telephone: (2) 508-2111
FAX: (2) 511-2725

Flag description:
three equal vertical bands of black (hoist side), yellow, and red;
the design was based on the flag of France

Economy Belgium

Economy - overview:
This modern private enterprise economy has capitalized on its
central geographic location, highly developed transport network, and
diversified industrial and commercial base. Industry is concentrated
mainly in the populous Flemish area in the north. With few natural
resources, Belgium must import substantial quantities of raw
materials and export a large volume of manufactures, making its
economy unusually dependent on the state of world markets. Roughly
three-quarters of its trade is with other EU countries. Public debt
is about 100% of GDP, and the government has succeeded in balancing
its budget. Belgium, together with 11 of its EU partners, began
circulating the euro currency in January 2002. Economic growth in
2001-03 dropped sharply because of the global economic slowdown.
Prospects for 2004 again depend largely on recovery in the EU and
the US.

GDP:
purchasing power parity - $299.1 billion (2003 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
1.1% (2003 est.)

GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $29,100 (2003 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 1.9% industry: 26.3% services: 71.8% (2003)

Investment (gross fixed):
19.7% of GDP (2003)

Population below poverty line:
4% (1989 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 3.2% highest 10%: 23% (1996)

Distribution of family income - Gini index:
28.7 (1996)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
1.6% (2003 est.)

Labor force:
4.73 million (2003)

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture 1.3%, industry 24.5%, services 74.2% (2003 est.)

Unemployment rate:
8.1% (2003 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $151.6 billion
expenditures: $151.1 billion, including capital expenditures of
$1.56 billion (2003)

Public debt:
102% of GDP (2003 est.)

Agriculture - products:
sugar beets, fresh vegetables, fruits, grain, tobacco; beef, veal,
pork, milk

Industries:
engineering and metal products, motor vehicle assembly, processed
food and beverages, chemicals, basic metals, textiles, glass,
petroleum

Industrial production growth rate:
-1.5% (2003 est.)

Electricity - production:
74.28 billion kWh (2001)

Electricity - consumption:
78.18 billion kWh (2001)

Electricity - exports:
6.712 billion kWh (2001)

Electricity - imports:
15.82 billion kWh (2001)

Oil - production:
0 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - consumption:
595,100 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - exports:
450,000 bbl/day (2001)

Oil - imports:
1.042 million bbl/day (2001)

Natural gas - production:
0 cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:
15.5 billion cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - exports:
0 cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - imports:
15.4 billion cu m (2001 est.)

Current account balance:
$10.69 billion (2003)

Exports:
$182.9 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)

Exports - commodities:
machinery and equipment, chemicals, diamonds, metals and metal
products, foodstuffs

Exports - partners:
Germany 19.5%, France 17.4%, Netherlands 11.7%, UK 9%, US 6.7%,
Italy 5.4% (2003)

Imports:
$173 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)

Imports - commodities:
machinery and equipment, chemicals, diamonds, pharmaceuticals,
foodstuffs, transportation equipment, oil products

Imports - partners:
Germany 17.7%, Netherlands 16.5%, France 13.2%, UK 7.5%, US 5.9%,
Ireland 5.7% (2003)

Reserves of foreign exchange & gold:
$14.45 billion (2003)

Debt - external:
$28.3 billion (1999 est.)

Economic aid - donor:
ODA, $1.072 billion (2002)

Currency:
euro (EUR)
note: on 1 January 1999, the European Monetary Union introduced the
euro as a common currency to be used by financial institutions of
member countries; on 1 January 2002, the euro became the sole
currency for everyday transactions within the member countries

Currency code:
EUR

Exchange rates:
euros per US dollar - 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001),
1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999)

Fiscal year:
calendar year

Communications Belgium

Telephones - main lines in use:
5,120,400 (2002)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
8,135,500 (2002)

Telephone system:
general assessment: highly developed, technologically advanced, and
completely automated domestic and international telephone and
telegraph facilities
domestic: nationwide cellular telephone system; extensive cable
network; limited microwave radio relay network
international: country code - 32; 5 submarine cables; satellite
earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) and 1 Eutelsat

Radio broadcast stations:
FM 79, AM 7, shortwave 1 (1998)

Radios:
8.075 million (1997)

Television broadcast stations:
25 (plus 10 repeaters) (1997)

Televisions:
4.72 million (1997)

Internet country code:
.be

Internet hosts:
166,799 (2004)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
61 (2000)

Internet users:
3.4 million (2002)

Transportation Belgium

Railways: total: 3,518 km standard gauge: 3,518 km 1.435-m gauge (2,631 km electrified) (2003)

Highways:
total: 148,216 km
paved: 116,687 km (including 1,727 km of expressways)
unpaved: 31,529 km (2000)

Waterways:
2,043 km (1,528 km in regular commercial use) (2003)

Pipelines:
gas 1,485 km; oil 158 km; refined products 535 km (2004)

Ports and harbors:
Antwerp (one of the world's busiest ports), Brugge, Gent, Hasselt,
Liege, Mons, Namur, Oostende, Zeebrugge

Merchant marine:
total: 50 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 1,146,301 GRT/1,588,184 DWT
foreign-owned: Denmark 6, Finland 1, France 2, Netherlands 3
registered in other countries: 69 (2004 est.)
by type: bulk 1, cargo 8, chemical tanker 11, container 6, liquefied
gas 18, petroleum tanker 6

Airports:
42 (2003 est.)

Airports - with paved runways: total: 25 over 3,047 m: 6 2,438 to 3,047 m: 8 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 7 (2004 est.) 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3

Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 18 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 16 (2004 est.)

Heliports: 1 (2003 est.)

Military Belgium

Military branches:
Army, Naval, and Air Operations Commands

Military manpower - military age and obligation:
16 years of age for voluntary military service (2001)

Military manpower - availability:
males age 15-49: 2,509,538 (2004 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service:
males age 15-49: 2,068,221 (2004 est.)

Military manpower - reaching military age annually:
males: 61,270 (2004 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
$3.999 billion (2003)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
1.3% (2003)

Transnational Issues Belgium

Disputes - international:
none

Illicit drugs:
growing producer of synthetic drugs; transit point for US-bound
ecstasy; source of precursor chemicals for South American cocaine
processors; transshipment point for cocaine, heroin, hashish, and
marijuana entering Western Europe; despite a strengthening of
legislation, the country remains vulnerable to money laundering
related to narcotics, automobiles, alcohol and tobacco

This page was last updated on 10 February, 2005

@Belize

Introduction Belize

Background:
Territorial disputes between the UK and Guatemala delayed the
independence of Belize (formerly British Honduras) until 1981.
Guatemala refused to recognize the new nation until 1992. Tourism
has become the mainstay of the economy. The country remains plagued
by high unemployment, growing involvement in the South American drug
trade, and increased urban crime.

Geography Belize

Location:
Central America, bordering the Caribbean Sea, between Guatemala and
Mexico

Geographic coordinates:
17 15 N, 88 45 W

Map references:
Central America and the Caribbean

Area:
total: 22,966 sq km
water: 160 sq km
land: 22,806 sq km

Area - comparative:
slightly smaller than Massachusetts

Land boundaries: total: 516 km border countries: Guatemala 266 km, Mexico 250 km

Coastline:
386 km

Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm in the north, 3 nm in the south; note - from
the mouth of the Sarstoon River to Ranguana Cay, Belize's
territorial sea is 3 nm; according to Belize's Maritime Areas Act,
1992, the purpose of this limitation is to provide a framework for
the negotiation of a definitive agreement on territorial differences
with Guatemala
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

Climate:
tropical; very hot and humid; rainy season (May to November); dry
season (February to May)

Terrain:
flat, swampy coastal plain; low mountains in south

Elevation extremes: lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Victoria Peak 1,160 m

Natural resources: arable land potential, timber, fish, hydropower

Land use: arable land: 2.85% permanent crops: 1.71% other: 95.44% (2001)

Irrigated land:
30 sq km (1998 est.)

Natural hazards:
frequent, devastating hurricanes (June to November) and coastal
flooding (especially in south)

Environment - current issues:
deforestation; water pollution from sewage, industrial effluents,
agricultural runoff; solid and sewage waste disposal

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto
Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law
of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note:
only country in Central America without a coastline on the North
Pacific Ocean

People Belize

Population:
272,945 (July 2004 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 40.6% (male 56,530; female 54,322)
15-64 years: 55.8% (male 77,118; female 75,309)
65 years and over: 3.5% (male 4,674; female 4,992) (2004 est.)

Median age:
total: 19.1 years
male: 19 years
female: 19.3 years (2004 est.)

Population growth rate:
2.39% (2004 est.)

Birth rate:
29.89 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Death rate:
6.04 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Net migration rate:
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.94 male(s)/female
total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2004 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 26.37 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 22.82 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
male: 29.75 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 67.43 years
male: 65.11 years
female: 69.86 years (2004 est.)

Total fertility rate:
3.77 children born/woman (2004 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
2.4% (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
3,600 (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
less than 200 (2003 est.)

Nationality: noun: Belizean(s) adjective: Belizean

Ethnic groups:
mestizo 48.7%, Creole 24.9%, Maya 10.6%, Garifuna 6.1%, other 9.7%

Religions:
Roman Catholic 49.6%, Protestant 27% (Anglican 5.3%, Methodist
3.5%, Mennonite 4.1%, Seventh-Day Adventist 5.2%, Pentecostal 7.4%,
Jehovah's Witnesses 1.5%), none 9.4%, other 14% (2000)

Languages:
English (official), Spanish, Mayan, Garifuna (Carib), Creole

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 94.1%
male: 94.1%
female: 94.1% (2003 est.)

Government Belize

Country name: conventional long form: none conventional short form: Belize former: British Honduras

Government type:
parliamentary democracy

Capital:
Belmopan

Administrative divisions:
6 districts; Belize, Cayo, Corozal, Orange Walk, Stann Creek, Toledo

Independence:
21 September 1981 (from UK)

National holiday:
Independence Day, 21 September (1981)

Constitution:
21 September 1981

Legal system:
English law

Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952),
represented by Governor General Sir Colville YOUNG, Sr. (since 17
November 1993)
head of government: Prime Minister Said Wilbert MUSA (since 28
August 1998); Deputy Prime Minister John BRICENO (since 1 September
1998)
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of
the prime minister
elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general
appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the
leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition
is usually appointed prime minister by the governor general; prime
minister recommends the deputy prime minister

Legislative branch:
bicameral National Assembly consists of the Senate (12 members
appointed by the governor general - six on the advice of the prime
minister, three on the advice of the leader of the opposition, and
one each on the advice of the Belize Council of Churches and
Evangelical Association of Churches, the Belize Chamber of Commerce
and Industry and the Belize Better Business Bureau, and the National
Trade Union Congress and the Civil Society Steering Committee;
members are appointed for five-year terms) and the House of
Representatives (29 seats; members are elected by direct popular
vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: House of Representatives - last held 5 March 2003 (next
to be held NA March 2008)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party -
PUP 21, UDP 8

Judicial branch:
Supreme Court (the chief justice is appointed by the governor
general on the advice of the prime minister)

Political parties and leaders:
People's United Party or PUP [Said MUSA]; United Democratic Party
or UDP [Dean BARROW, party leader; Douglas SINGH, party chairman]

Political pressure groups and leaders:
Society for the Promotion of Education and Research or SPEAR [Adele
CATZIM]

International organization participation:
ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU,
ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU,
LAES, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO,
UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Lisa M. SHOMAN
consulate(s) general: Los Angeles
FAX: (202) 332-6888
telephone: (202) 332-9636
chancery: 2535 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Russell F. FREEMAN
embassy: 29 Gabourel Lane, Belize City
mailing address: P. O. Box 286, Belize City
telephone: 227-7161 through 7163
FAX: 2-30802

Flag description:
blue with a narrow red stripe along the top and the bottom edges;
centered is a large white disk bearing the coat of arms; the coat of
arms features a shield flanked by two workers in front of a mahogany
tree with the related motto SUB UMBRA FLOREO (I Flourish in the
Shade) on a scroll at the bottom, all encircled by a green garland

Economy Belize

Economy - overview:
In this small, essentially private enterprise economy the tourism
industry is the number one foreign exchange earner followed by cane
sugar, citrus, marine products, bananas, and garments. The
government's expansionary monetary and fiscal policies, initiated in
September 1998, led to GDP growth of 6.5% in 1999, 10.8% in 2000,
4.6% in 2001, and 3.7% in 2002. Major concerns continue to be the
sizable trade deficit and foreign debt. A key short-term objective
remains the reduction of poverty with the help of international
donors.

GDP:
purchasing power parity - $1.28 billion (2002 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
3.7% (2002 est.)

GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $4,900 (2002 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 22.7% industry: 24.5% services: 52.8% (2003 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):
33% of GDP (2003)

Population below poverty line:
33% (1999 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
2.6% (2003 est.)

Labor force:
90,000
note: shortage of skilled labor and all types of technical personnel
(2001 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture 27%, industry 18%, services 55% (2001 est.)

Unemployment rate:
9.1% (2002)

Budget:
revenues: $222 million
expenditures: $300 million, including capital expenditures of $70
million (2003 est.)

Agriculture - products: bananas, coca, citrus, sugar; fish, cultured shrimp; lumber; garments

Industries:
garment production, food processing, tourism, construction

Industrial production growth rate:
4.6% (1999)

Electricity - production:
199.5 million kWh (2001)

Electricity - consumption:
185.5 million kWh (2001)

Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2001)

Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2001)

Oil - production:
0 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - consumption:
5,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - exports:
NA (2001)

Oil - imports:
NA (2001)

Current account balance:
$-142 million (2003)

Exports:
$207.8 million f.o.b. (2003 est.)

Exports - commodities:
sugar, bananas, citrus, clothing, fish products, molasses, wood

Exports - partners:
US 39.1%, UK 25%, France 4% (2003)

Imports:
$500.6 million f.o.b. (2003 est.)

Imports - commodities:
machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods; fuels,
chemicals, pharmaceuticals; food, beverages, tobacco

Imports - partners:
US 41.9%, Mexico 12.4%, UK 5.9%, Cuba 5.5% (2003)

Reserves of foreign exchange & gold:
$84.7 million (2003)

Debt - external:
$475 million (2001 est.)

Economic aid - recipient:
NA

Currency:
Belizean dollar (BZD)

Currency code:
BZD

Exchange rates:
Belizean dollars per US dollar - 2 (2003), 2 (2002), 2 (2001), 2
(2000), 2 (1999)

Fiscal year:
1 April - 31 March

Communications Belize

Telephones - main lines in use:
33,300 (2003)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
60,400 (2003)

Telephone system:
general assessment: above-average system
domestic: trunk network depends primarily on microwave radio relay
international: country code - 501; satellite earth station - 1
Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations:
AM 1, FM 12, shortwave 0 (1998)

Radios:
133,000 (1997)

Television broadcast stations:
2 (1997)

Televisions:
41,000 (1997)

Internet country code:
.bz

Internet hosts:
2,613 (2003)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
2 (2000)

Internet users:
30,000 (2002)

Transportation Belize

Highways: total: 2,872 km paved: 488 km unpaved: 2,384 km (1999 est.)

Waterways:
825 km (navigable only by small craft) (2004)

Ports and harbors:
Belize City, Big Creek, Corozol, Punta Gorda

Merchant marine:
total: 336 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 1,015,270 GRT/1,336,890 DWT
registered in other countries: 25 (2004 est.)
by type: bulk 13, cargo 240, chemical tanker 11, combination bulk 4,
combination ore/oil 1, container 10, multi-functional large load
carrier 1, petroleum tanker 27, refrigerated cargo 18, roll on/roll
off 8, short-sea/passenger 1, specialized tanker 2
foreign-owned: Bahamas 2, Belgium 1, British Virgin Islands 11,
Cambodia 6, China 67, Cuba 2, Cyprus 1, Ecuador 1, Estonia 8,
Germany 5, Greece 2, Grenada 1, Honduras 1, Hong Kong 27, Indonesia
4, Italy 2, Japan 5, Jordan 1, South Korea 13, Latvia 5, Liberia 2,
Malaysia 4, Malta 1, Isle of Man 1, Marshall Islands 16, Mexico 1,
Netherlands 1, Nigeria 2, Panama 15, Philippines 4, Portugal 1,
Russia 9, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 3, Singapore 9, Spain 6,
Switzerland 2, Taiwan 1, Thailand 3, Tunisia 1, Turkey 2, Ukraine 3,
United Kingdom 1, United States 3, Yemen 1

Airports:
43 (2003 est.)

Airports - with paved runways:
total: 5
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 2
under 914 m: 2 (2004 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 38
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 11
under 914 m: 26 (2004 est.)

Military Belize

Military branches:
Belize Defense Force (includes Army, Maritime Wing, Air Wing, and
Volunteer Guard)

Military manpower - military age and obligation: 18 years of age for voluntary military service; laws allow for conscription only if volunteers are insufficient; conscription has never been implemented; volunteers typically outnumber available positions by 3:1 (2001)

Military manpower - availability:
males age 15-49: 68,518 (2004 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service:
males age 15-49: 40,619 (2004 est.)

Military manpower - reaching military age annually:
males: 3,122 (2004 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
$18 million (2003)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
2% (2003)

Transnational Issues Belize

Disputes - international:
Guatemalan squatters continue to settle along the border region; an
OAS brokered Differendum in 2002 created a small adjustment to the
land boundary, a large Guatemalan maritime corridor in Caribbean, a
joint ecological park for disputed Sapodilla Cays, and a substantial
US-UK financial package, but agreement was not brought to popular
referendum leaving Guatemala to continue to claim the southern half
of Belize

Illicit drugs:
major transshipment point for cocaine; small-scale illicit producer
of cannabis for the international drug trade; money-laundering
activity related to narcotics trafficking and offshore sector

This page was last updated on 10 February, 2005

@Benin

Introduction Benin

Background:
Present day Benin was the site of Dahomey, a prominent West African
kingdom that rose in the 15th century. The territory became a French
Colony in 1872 and achieved independence on 1 August 1960, as the
Republic of Benin. A succession of military governments ended in
1972 with the rise to power of Mathieu KEREKOU and the establishment
of a government based on Marxist-Leninist principles. A move to
representative government began in 1989. Two years later, free
elections ushered in former Prime Minister Nicephore SOGLO as
president, marking the first successful transfer of power in Africa
from a dictatorship to a democracy. KEREKOU was returned to power by
elections held in 1996 and 2001, though some irregularities were
alleged.

Geography Benin

Location:
Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Benin, between Nigeria and
Togo

Geographic coordinates:
9 30 N, 2 15 E

Map references:
Africa

Area:
total: 112,620 sq km
water: 2,000 sq km
land: 110,620 sq km

Area - comparative:
slightly smaller than Pennsylvania

Land boundaries:
total: 1,989 km
border countries: Burkina Faso 306 km, Niger 266 km, Nigeria 773 km,
Togo 644 km

Coastline:
121 km

Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 200 nm

Climate:
tropical; hot, humid in south; semiarid in north

Terrain:
mostly flat to undulating plain; some hills and low mountains

Elevation extremes: lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Mont Sokbaro 658 m

Natural resources: small offshore oil deposits, limestone, marble, timber

Land use: arable land: 18.08% permanent crops: 2.4% other: 79.52% (2001)

Irrigated land:
120 sq km (1998 est.)

Natural hazards:
hot, dry, dusty harmattan wind may affect north from December to
March

Environment - current issues:
inadequate supplies of potable water; poaching threatens wildlife
populations; deforestation; desertification

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto
Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental
Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer
Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note:
sandbanks create difficult access to a coast with no natural
harbors, river mouths, or islands

People Benin

Population:
7,250,033
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the
effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower
life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower
population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of
population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July
2004 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 46.8% (male 1,711,075; female 1,679,439)
15-64 years: 51% (male 1,802,990; female 1,890,915)
65 years and over: 2.3% (male 68,890; female 96,724) (2004 est.)

Median age:
total: 16.5 years
male: 16 years
female: 16.9 years (2004 est.)

Population growth rate:
2.89% (2004 est.)

Birth rate:
42.57 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Death rate:
13.69 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Net migration rate:
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female
total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2004 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 85.88 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 80.71 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
male: 90.89 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 50.81 years
male: 50.25 years
female: 51.39 years (2004 est.)

Total fertility rate:
5.95 children born/woman (2004 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
1.9% (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
68,000 (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
5,800 (2003 est.)

Major infectious diseases:
typhoid fever, malaria, yellow fever
overall degree of risk: very high (2004)

Nationality:
noun: Beninese (singular and plural)
adjective: Beninese

Ethnic groups:
African 99% (42 ethnic groups, most important being Fon, Adja,
Yoruba, Bariba), Europeans 5,500

Religions:
indigenous beliefs 50%, Christian 30%, Muslim 20%

Languages:
French (official), Fon and Yoruba (most common vernaculars in
south), tribal languages (at least six major ones in north)

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 40.9%
male: 56.2%
female: 26.5% (2000)

Government Benin

Country name: conventional long form: Republic of Benin conventional short form: Benin local short form: Benin former: Dahomey local long form: Republique du Benin

Government type:
republic under multiparty democratic rule; dropped Marxism-Leninism
December 1989; democratic reforms adopted February 1990; transition
to multiparty system completed 4 April 1991

Capital:
Porto-Novo is the official capital; Cotonou is the seat of
government

Administrative divisions:
12 departments; Alibori, Atakora, Atlantique, Borgou, Collines,
Kouffo, Donga, Littoral, Mono, Oueme, Plateau, Zou

Independence:
1 August 1960 (from France)

National holiday:
National Day, 1 August (1960)

Constitution:
December 1990

Legal system:
based on French civil law and customary law; has not accepted
compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
chief of state: President Mathieu KEREKOU (since 4 April 1996);
note - the president is both the chief of state and head of
government
head of government: President Mathieu KEREKOU (since 4 April 1996);
note - the president is both the chief of state and head of
government
cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president
elections: president reelected by popular vote for a five-year term;
runoff election held 22 March 2001 (next to be held NA March 2006)
note: the four top-ranking contenders following the first-round
presidential elections were: Mathieu KEREKOU (incumbent) 45.4%,
Nicephore SOGOLO (former president) 27.1%, Adrien HOUNGBEDJI
(National Assembly Speaker) 12.6%, and Bruno AMOUSSOU (Minister of
State) 8.6%; the second-round balloting, originally scheduled for 18
March 2001, was postponed four days because both SOGOLO and
HOUNGBEDJI withdrew alleging electoral fraud; this left KEREKOU to
run against his own Minister of State, AMOUSSOU, in what was termed
a "friendly match"
election results: Mathieu KEREKOU reelected president; percent of
vote - Mathieu KEREKOU 84.1%, Bruno AMOUSSOU 15.9%

Legislative branch:
unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (83 seats;
members are elected by direct popular vote to serve four-year terms)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party -
Presidential Movement 52, opposition (PRB, PRD, E'toile, and 5 other
small parties) 31
elections: last held 30 March 2003 (next to be held NA March 2007)

Judicial branch:
Constitutional Court or Cour Constitutionnelle; Supreme Court or
Cour Supreme; High Court of Justice

Political parties and leaders:
African Congress for Renewal or DUNYA [Saka SALEY]; African
Movement for Democracy and Progress or MADEP [Sefou FAGBOHOUN];
Alliance of the Social Democratic Party or PSD [Bruno AMOUSSOU];
Coalition of Democratic Forces [Gatien HOUNGBEDJI]; Democratic
Renewal Party or PRD [Adrien HOUNGBEDJI]; Front for Renewal and
Development or FARD-ALAFIA [Jerome Sakia KINA]; Impulse for Progress
and Democracy or IPD [Bertin BORNA]; Key Force or FC [leader NA];
Presidential Movement (UBF, MADEP, FC, IDP, and 4 other small
parties); Renaissance Party du Benin or PRB [Nicephore SOGLO]; The
Star Alliance (Alliance E'toile) [Sacca LAFIA]; Union of Tomorrow's
Benin or UBF [Bruno AMOUSSOU]
note: approximately 20 additional minor parties

Political pressure groups and leaders:
NA

International organization participation:
ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, ECOWAS, Entente, FAO, FZ, G-77, IAEA, IBRD,
ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO,
Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, MINUSTAH, MONUC,
NAM, OIC, ONUB, OPCW, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD,
UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNOCI, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCL, WCO,
WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Cyrille Segbe OGUIN FAX: (202) 265-1996 telephone: (202) 232-6656 chancery: 2124 Kalorama Road NW, Washington, DC 20008

Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Wayne NEILL embassy: Rue Caporal Bernard Anani, Cotonou mailing address: 01 B. P. 2012, Cotonou telephone: 30-06-50 FAX: 30-06-70

Flag description:
two equal horizontal bands of yellow (top) and red with a vertical
green band on the hoist side

Economy Benin

Economy - overview:
The economy of Benin remains underdeveloped and dependent on
subsistence agriculture, cotton production, and regional trade.
Growth in real output has averaged a stable 5% in the past six
years, but rapid population rise has offset much of this increase.
Inflation has subsided over the past several years. In order to
raise growth still further, Benin plans to attract more foreign
investment, place more emphasis on tourism, facilitate the
development of new food processing systems and agricultural
products, and encourage new information and communication
technology. The 2001 privatization policy should continue in
telecommunications, water, electricity, and agriculture in spite of
initial government reluctance. The Paris Club and bilateral
creditors have eased the external debt situation, while pressing for
speeded-up structural reforms.

GDP:
purchasing power parity - $7.742 billion (2003 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
5.5% (2003 est.)

GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $1,100 (2003 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 36.4% industry: 14.5% services: 49.1% (2003 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):
19.3% of GDP (2003)

Population below poverty line:
37% (2001 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
1.5% (2003 est.)

Labor force:
NA (1996)

Unemployment rate:
NA

Budget:
revenues: $698.9 million
expenditures: $613.2 million, including capital expenditures of NA
(2003)

Agriculture - products:
cotton, corn, cassava (tapioca), yams, beans, palm oil, peanuts,
livestock (2001)

Industries:
textiles, food processing, chemical production, construction
materials (2001)

Industrial production growth rate:
8.3% (2001 est.)

Electricity - production:
274.3 million kWh (2001)

Electricity - consumption:
631.1 million kWh (2001)

Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2001)

Electricity - imports:
376 million kWh (2001)

Oil - production:
700 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - consumption:
11,500 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - exports:
NA (2001)

Oil - imports:
NA (2001)

Oil - proved reserves:
4.105 million bbl (1 January 2002)

Natural gas - proved reserves:
608.8 million cu m (1 January 2002)

Current account balance:
$-112 million (2003)

Exports:
$485 million f.o.b. (2003 est.)

Exports - commodities:
cotton, crude oil, palm products, cocoa

Exports - partners:
China 21.1%, India 18%, Thailand 6.8%, Ghana 5.8%, Niger 4.4%,
Indonesia 4.1% (2003)

Imports:
$726 million f.o.b. (2003 est.)

Imports - commodities:
foodstuffs, capital goods, petroleum products

Imports - partners:
China 29.5%, France 14.9%, UK 4.7%, Cote d'Ivoire 4.7%, Thailand
4.6% (2003)

Reserves of foreign exchange & gold:
$636 million (2003)

Debt - external:
$1.6 billion (2000)

Economic aid - recipient:
$342.6 million (2000)

Currency:
Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF); note - responsible
authority is the Central Bank of the West African States

Currency code:
XOF

Exchange rates:
Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 581.2
(2003), 696.988 (2002), 733.039 (2001), 711.976 (2000), 615.699
(1999)

Fiscal year:
calendar year

Communications Benin

Telephones - main lines in use:
66,500 (2003)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
236,200 (2003)

Telephone system:
general assessment: NA
domestic: fair system of open-wire, microwave radio relay, and
cellular connections
international: country code - 229; satellite earth station - 1
Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); fiber optic submarine cable (SAT-3/WASC)
provides connectivity to Europe and Asia

Radio broadcast stations:
AM 2, FM 9, shortwave 4 (2000)

Radios:
660,000 (2000)

Television broadcast stations:
1 (2001)

Televisions:
66,000 (2000)

Internet country code:
.bj

Internet hosts:
879 (2004)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
4 (2002)

Internet users:
70,000 (2003)

Transportation Benin

Railways: total: 578 km narrow gauge: 578 km 1.000-m gauge (2003)

Highways:
total: 6,787 km
paved: 1,357 km (including 10 km of expressways)
unpaved: 5,430 km (1999 est.)

Waterways:
150 km (on River Niger along northern border) (2004)

Ports and harbors:
Cotonou, Porto-Novo

Merchant marine:
none

Airports:
5 (2003 est.)

Airports - with paved runways:
total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2004 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 4
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2004 est.)

Military Benin

Military branches:
Armed Forces: Army, Navy, Air Force

Military manpower - military age and obligation: 21 years of age for compulsory and voluntary military service; in practice, volunteers may be taken at the age of 18; both sexes are eligible for military service; conscript tour of duty - 18 months (2004)

Military manpower - availability:
males age 15-49: 1,638,010
females age 15-49: 1,647,850 (2004 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service:
males age 15-49: 835,561
females age 15-49: 835,633 (2004 est.)

Military manpower - reaching military age annually:
males: 77,552
females: 81,841 (2004 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
$98.3 million (2003)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
2.7% (2003)

Transnational Issues Benin

Disputes - international:
two villages remain in dispute along the border with Burkina Faso;
accuses Burkina Faso of moving boundary pillars; much of Benin-Niger
boundary, including tripoint with Nigeria, remains undemarcated, and
ICJ ad hoc judges have been selected to rule on disputed Niger and
Mekrou River islands; several villages along the Okpara River are in
dispute with Nigeria; a joint boundary commission continues to
resurvey the boundary with Togo to verify Benin's claim that Togo
moved boundary stones

Illicit drugs:
transshipment point for narcotics associated with Nigerian
trafficking organizations and most commonly destined for Western
Europe and the US; vulnerable to money laundering due to a poorly
regulated financial infrastructure

This page was last updated on 10 February, 2005

@Bermuda

Introduction Bermuda

Background:
Bermuda was first settled in 1609 by shipwrecked English colonists
headed for Virginia. Tourism to the island to escape North American
winters first developed in Victorian times. Tourism continues to be
important to the island's economy, although international business
has overtaken it in recent years. Bermuda has developed into a
highly successful offshore financial center. A referendum on
independence was soundly defeated in 1995.

Geography Bermuda

Location:
North America, group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean, east
of South Carolina (US)

Geographic coordinates:
32 20 N, 64 45 W

Map references:
North America

Area:
total: 53.3 sq km
water: 0 sq km
land: 53.3 sq km

Area - comparative:
about one-third the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries:
0 km

Coastline:
103 km

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

Climate:
subtropical; mild, humid; gales, strong winds common in winter

Terrain:
low hills separated by fertile depressions

Elevation extremes: lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Town Hill 76 m

Natural resources: limestone, pleasant climate fostering tourism

Land use: arable land: 20% permanent crops: 0% other: 80% (55% developed, 45% rural/open space) (2001)

Irrigated land:
NA sq km

Natural hazards:
hurricanes (June to November)

Environment - current issues:
asbestos disposal; water pollution; preservation of open space;
sustainable development

Geography - note:
consists of about 138 coral islands and islets with ample rainfall,
but no rivers or freshwater lakes; some land was leased by US
Government from 1941 to 1995

People Bermuda

Population:
64,935 (July 2004 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 19.1% (male 6,192; female 6,186)
15-64 years: 69.3% (male 22,268; female 22,703)
65 years and over: 11.7% (male 3,295; female 4,291) (2004 est.)

Median age:
total: 39.2 years
male: 38.3 years
female: 40.1 years (2004 est.)

Population growth rate:
0.68% (2004 est.)

Birth rate:
11.83 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Death rate:
7.55 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Net migration rate:
2.49 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.02 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.77 male(s)/female
total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2004 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 8.79 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 7.1 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
male: 10.45 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 77.6 years
male: 75.54 years
female: 79.7 years (2004 est.)

Total fertility rate:
1.9 children born/woman (2004 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
NA

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
NA

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
NA

Nationality: noun: Bermudian(s) adjective: Bermudian

Ethnic groups:
black 58%, white 36%, other 6%

Religions:
non-Anglican Protestant 39%, Anglican 27%, Roman Catholic 15%,
other 19%

Languages:
English (official), Portuguese

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98%
male: 98%
female: 99% (1970 est.)

Government Bermuda

Country name: conventional long form: none conventional short form: Bermuda former: Somers Islands

Dependency status:
overseas territory of the UK

Government type:
parliamentary British overseas territory with internal
self-government

Capital:
Hamilton

Administrative divisions:
9 parishes and 2 municipalities*; Devonshire, Hamilton, Hamilton*,
Paget, Pembroke, Saint George*, Saint George's, Sandys, Smith's,
Southampton, Warwick

Independence:
none (overseas territory of the UK)

National holiday:
Bermuda Day, 24 May

Constitution:
8 June 1968, amended 1989 and 2003

Legal system:
English law

Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952),
represented by Governor Sir John VEREKER (since NA April 2002)
head of government: Premier Alex SCOTT (since 24 July 2003); Deputy
Premier Ewart BROWN
cabinet: Cabinet nominated by the premier, appointed by the governor
elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor appointed by
the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the
majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually
appointed premier by the governor

Legislative branch:
bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (an 11-member body
appointed by the governor, the premier, and the opposition) and the
House of Assembly (36 seats; members are elected by popular vote to
serve up to five-year terms)
elections: last general election held 24 July 2003 (next to be held
NA July 2008)
election results: percent of vote by party - PLP 51.7%, UBP 48%;
seats by party - PLP 22, UBP 14

Judicial branch:
Supreme Court; Court of Appeal; Magistrate Courts

Political parties and leaders:
Gombey Liberation Party or GLP [Gavin Sundjata SMITH]; National
Liberal Party or NLP [Dessaline WALDRON]; Progressive Labor Party or
PLP [William Alexander SCOTT]; United Bermuda Party or UBP [Grant
GIBBONS];

Political pressure groups and leaders:
Bermuda Employer's Union [Eddie SAINTS]; Bermuda Industrial Union
or BIU [Derrick BURGESS]; Bermuda Public Services Union or BPSU [Ed
BALL]; Bermuda Union of Teachers [Michael CHARLES]

International organization participation:
Caricom (associate), ICFTU, Interpol (subbureau), IOC, UPU, WCO,
Egmont Group, Caribbean Financial Action Task Force

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

Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Deputy Chief of Mission Antoinette BOECKER consulate(s) general: Crown Hill, 16 Middle Road, Devonshire DVO3 mailing address: P. O. Box HM325, Hamilton HMBX; American Consulate General Hamilton, Department of State, 5300 Hamilton Place, Washington, DC 20520-5300 telephone: (441) 295-1342 FAX: (441) 295-1592, (441) 296-9233

Flag description:
red, with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and
the Bermudian coat of arms (white and green shield with a red lion
holding a scrolled shield showing the sinking of the ship Sea
Venture off Bermuda in 1609) centered on the outer half of the flag

Economy Bermuda

Economy - overview:
Bermuda enjoys one of the highest per capita incomes in the world,
equal to that of the US. Its economy is primarily based on providing
financial services for international business and luxury facilities
for tourists. The effects of 11 September 2001 have had both
positive and negative ramifications for Bermuda. On the positive
side, a number of new reinsurance companies have located on the
island, contributing to the expansion of an already robust
international business sector. On the negative side, Bermuda's
tourism industry - which derives over 80% of its visitors from the
US - was severely hit as American tourists chose not to travel.
Tourism rebounded somewhat in 2002-03. Most capital equipment and
food must be imported. Bermuda's industrial sector is small,
although construction continues to be important; the average cost of
a house in June 2003 had risen to $976,000. Agriculture is limited,
only 6% of the land being arable.

GDP:
purchasing power parity - $2.33 billion (2003 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
2% (2003 est.)

GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $36,000 (2003 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 1% industry: 10% services: 89% (2002 est.)

Population below poverty line:
19% (2000)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
3.3% (mid-2003 est.)

Labor force:
37,470 (2000)

Labor force - by occupation: agriculture and fishing 3%, laborers 17%, clerical 22%, professional and technical 17%, administrative and managerial 13%, sales 8%, services 20% (2000 est.)

Unemployment rate:
5% (2002 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $671.1 million
expenditures: $594.6 million, including capital expenditures of $55
million (FY03/04)

Agriculture - products:
bananas, vegetables, citrus, flowers; dairy products

Industries:
tourism, international business, light manufacturing

Industrial production growth rate:
NA

Electricity - production:
643.7 million kWh (2001)

Electricity - consumption:
598.6 million kWh (2001)

Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2001)

Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2001)

Oil - production:
0 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - consumption:
4,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - exports:
NA (2001)

Oil - imports:
NA (2001)

Exports:
$879 million (2002)

Exports - commodities:
reexports of pharmaceuticals

Exports - partners:
France 62%, Norway 13.8%, UK 7.5% (2003)

Imports:
$5.523 billion (2002)

Imports - commodities:
machinery and transport equipment, construction materials,
chemicals, food and live animals

Imports - partners:
Kazakhstan 46.7%, France 32.5%, US 8.5% (2003)

Debt - external:
$160 million (FY99/00)

Economic aid - recipient:
NA

Currency:
Bermudian dollar (BMD)

Currency code:
BMD

Exchange rates:
Bermudian dollar per US dollar - 1.0000 (fixed rate pegged to the
US dollar)

Fiscal year:
1 April - 31 March

Communications Bermuda

Telephones - main lines in use:
56,000 (2002)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
37,873 (2003)

Telephone system:
general assessment: good
domestic: modern, fully automatic telephone system
international: country code - 1-441; 3 submarine cables; satellite
earth stations - 3 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations:
AM 5, FM 3, shortwave 0 (1998)

Radios:
82,000 (1997)

Television broadcast stations:
4 (2003)

Televisions:
66,000 (1997)

Internet country code:
.bm

Internet hosts:
5,161 (2001)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
20 (2000)

Internet users:
34,500 (2003)

Transportation Bermuda

Highways:
total: 450 km
paved: 450 km
note: public roads - 209 km; private roads - 241 km (2002)
unpaved: 0 km

Ports and harbors:
Hamilton, Saint George's, Dockyard

Merchant marine:
total: 94 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 4,845,326 GRT/6,501,782 DWT
foreign-owned: Croatia 5, Germany 2, Greece 21, Hong Kong 9,
Indonesia 1, Sweden 6, Switzerland 1, United Kingdom 33, United
States 12
registered in other countries: 2 (2004 est.)
by type: bulk 25, cargo 4, container 17, liquefied gas 9, passenger
6, petroleum tanker 9, refrigerated cargo 11, roll on/roll off 10,
short-sea/passenger 3

Airports:
1 (2003 est.)

Airports - with paved runways: total: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 (2004 est.)

Military Bermuda

Military branches:
Bermuda Regiment

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
$4.03 million (2001)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
0.11% (FY00/01)

Military - note:
defense is the responsibility of the UK

Transnational Issues Bermuda

Disputes - international: none

This page was last updated on 10 February, 2005

@Bhutan

Introduction Bhutan

Background:
In 1865, Britain and Bhutan signed the Treaty of Sinchulu, under
which Bhutan would receive an annual subsidy in exchange for ceding
some border land. Under British influence, a monarchy was set up in
1907; three years later, a treaty was signed whereby the British
agreed not to interfere in Bhutanese internal affairs and Bhutan
allowed Britain to direct its foreign affairs. This role was assumed
by independent India after 1947. Two years later, a formal
Indo-Bhutanese accord returned the areas of Bhutan annexed by the
British, formalized the annual subsidies the country received, and
defined India's responsibilities in defense and foreign relations. A
refugee issue of some 100,000 Bhutanese in Nepal remains unresolved;
90% of the refugees are housed in seven United Nations Office of the
High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) camps.

Geography Bhutan

Location:
Southern Asia, between China and India

Geographic coordinates:
27 30 N, 90 30 E

Map references:
Asia

Area:
total: 47,000 sq km
water: 0 sq km
land: 47,000 sq km

Area - comparative:
about half the size of Indiana

Land boundaries: total: 1,075 km border countries: China 470 km, India 605 km

Coastline:
0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims:
none (landlocked)

Climate:
varies; tropical in southern plains; cool winters and hot summers
in central valleys; severe winters and cool summers in Himalayas

Terrain:
mostly mountainous with some fertile valleys and savanna

Elevation extremes: lowest point: Drangme Chhu 97 m highest point: Kula Kangri 7,553 m

Natural resources: timber, hydropower, gypsum, calcium carbide

Land use: arable land: 3.09% permanent crops: 0.43% other: 96.48% (2001)

Irrigated land:
400 sq km (1998 est.)

Natural hazards:
violent storms from the Himalayas are the source of the country's
name which translates as Land of the Thunder Dragon; frequent
landslides during the rainy season

Environment - current issues:
soil erosion; limited access to potable water

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto
Protocol, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea

Geography - note:
landlocked; strategic location between China and India; controls
several key Himalayan mountain passes

People Bhutan

Population: 2,185,569 note: other estimates range as low as 810,000 (July 2004 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 39.3% (male 445,548; female 414,338)
15-64 years: 56.6% (male 637,637; female 600,253)
65 years and over: 4% (male 44,298; female 43,495) (2004 est.)

Median age:
total: 20.2 years
male: 20 years
female: 20.3 years (2004 est.)

Population growth rate:
2.12% (2004 est.)

Birth rate:
34.41 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Death rate:
13.2 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Net migration rate:
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.08 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 1.02 male(s)/female
total population: 1.07 male(s)/female (2004 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 102.56 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 104.89 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
male: 100.35 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 53.99 years
male: 54.27 years
female: 53.68 years (2004 est.)

Total fertility rate:
4.87 children born/woman (2004 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
less than 0.1% (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
less than 100 (1999 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
NA

Nationality:
noun: Bhutanese (singular and plural)
adjective: Bhutanese

Ethnic groups:
Bhote 50%, ethnic Nepalese 35% (includes Lhotsampas - one of
several Nepalese ethnic groups), indigenous or migrant tribes 15%

Religions:
Lamaistic Buddhist 75%, Indian- and Nepalese-influenced Hinduism 25%

Languages:
Dzongkha (official), Bhotes speak various Tibetan dialects,
Nepalese speak various Nepalese dialects

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 42.2%
male: 56.2%
female: 28.1% (1995 est.)

Government Bhutan

Country name:
conventional long form: Kingdom of Bhutan
conventional short form: Bhutan

Government type:
monarchy; special treaty relationship with India

Capital:
Thimphu

Administrative divisions:
18 districts (dzongkhag, singular and plural); Bumthang, Chhukha,
Chirang, Dagana, Geylegphug, Ha, Lhuntshi, Mongar, Paro, Pemagatsel,
Punakha, Samchi, Samdrup Jongkhar, Shemgang, Tashigang, Thimphu,
Tongsa, Wangdi Phodrang
note: there may be two new districts named Gasa and Yangtse

Independence:
8 August 1949 (from India)

National holiday:
National Day (Ugyen WANGCHUCK became first hereditary king), 17
December (1907)

Constitution:
no written constitution or bill of rights; note - in 2001 the King
commissioned the drafting of a constitution, and in November 2004
presented a draft to the Council of Ministers

Legal system:
based on Indian law and English common law; has not accepted
compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage:
each family has one vote in village-level elections; note - in late
2003 Bhutan's legislature passed a new election law

Executive branch:
chief of state: King Jigme Singye WANGCHUCK (since 24 July 1972)
elections: none; the monarch is hereditary, but democratic reforms
in July 1998 grant the National Assembly authority to remove the
monarch with two-thirds vote
head of government: Chairman of the Council of Ministers Lyonpo
Yeshey ZIMBA (since 20 August 2004)
cabinet: Council of Ministers (Lhengye Shungtsog) nominated by the
monarch, approved by the National Assembly; members serve fixed,
five-year terms; note - there is also a Royal Advisory Council
(Lodoi Tsokde), members nominated by the monarch

Legislative branch:
unicameral National Assembly or Tshogdu (150 seats; 105 elected
from village constituencies, 10 represent religious bodies, and 35
are designated by the monarch to represent government and other
secular interests; members serve three-year terms)
elections: local elections last held November 2002 (next to be held
NA 2005)
election results: NA

Judicial branch:
Supreme Court of Appeal (the monarch); High Court (judges appointed
by the monarch)

Political parties and leaders:
no legal parties

Political pressure groups and leaders:
Buddhist clergy; ethnic Nepalese organizations leading militant
antigovernment campaign; Indian merchant community; United Front for
Democracy (exiled)

International organization participation:
AsDB, CP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IMF, IOC, IOM
(observer), ITU, NAM, OPCW (signatory), SAARC, SACEP, UN, UNCTAD,
UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer)

Diplomatic representation in the US: none; note - Bhutan has a Permanent Mission to the UN; address: 2 United Nations Plaza, 27th Floor, New York, NY 10017; telephone (212) 826-1919; FAX (212) 826-2998; the Bhutanese mission to the UN has consular jurisdiction in the US consulate(s) general: New York

Diplomatic representation from the US: the US and Bhutan have no formal diplomatic relations, although informal contact is maintained between the Bhutanese and US Embassy in New Delhi (India)

Flag description:
divided diagonally from the lower hoist side corner; the upper
triangle is yellow and the lower triangle is orange; centered along
the dividing line is a large black and white dragon facing away from
the hoist side

Economy Bhutan

Economy - overview:
The economy, one of the world's smallest and least developed, is
based on agriculture and forestry, which provide the main livelihood
for more than 90% of the population. Agriculture consists largely of
subsistence farming and animal husbandry. Rugged mountains dominate
the terrain and make the building of roads and other infrastructure
difficult and expensive. The economy is closely aligned with India's
through strong trade and monetary links and dependence on India's
financial assistance. The industrial sector is technologically
backward, with most production of the cottage industry type. Most
development projects, such as road construction, rely on Indian
migrant labor. Bhutan's hydropower potential and its attraction for
tourists are key resources. Model education, social, and environment
programs are underway with support from multilateral development
organizations. Each economic program takes into account the
government's desire to protect the country's environment and
cultural traditions. For example, the government in its cautious
expansion of the tourist sector encourages the visits of upscale,
environmentally conscientious visitors. Detailed controls and
uncertain policies in areas like industrial licensing, trade, labor,
and finance continue to hamper foreign investment.

GDP:
purchasing power parity - $2.7 billion (2002 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
7.7% (2002 est.)

GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $1,300 (2002 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 45%
industry: 10%
services: 45% (2002 est.)

Population below poverty line:
NA

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
3% (2002 est.)

Labor force:
NA
note: massive lack of skilled labor (1997 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture 93%, industry and commerce 2%, services 5%

Unemployment rate:
NA

Budget:
revenues: $146 million
note: the government of India finances nearly three-fifths of
Bhutan's budget expenditures (FY95/96 est.)
expenditures: $152 million, including capital expenditures of NA

Agriculture - products:
rice, corn, root crops, citrus, foodgrains; dairy products, eggs

Industries:
cement, wood products, processed fruits, alcoholic beverages,
calcium carbide

Industrial production growth rate:
9.3% (1996 est.)

Electricity - production:
1.896 billion kWh (2001)

Electricity - consumption:
379.5 million kWh (2001)

Electricity - exports:
1.4 billion kWh (2001)

Electricity - imports:
16 million kWh (2001)

Oil - production:
0 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - consumption:
1,020 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - exports:
NA (2001)

Oil - imports:
NA (2001)

Exports:
$154 million f.o.b. (2000 est.)

Exports - commodities:
electricity (to India), cardamom, gypsum, timber, handicrafts,
cement, fruit, precious stones, spices

Exports - partners:
Bangladesh 60.5%, US 11.7%, Malaysia 5.7% (2003)

Imports:
$196 million c.i.f. (2000 est.)

Imports - commodities:
fuel and lubricants, grain, machinery and parts, vehicles, fabrics,
rice

Imports - partners:
Japan 36.6%, Austria 14.2%, Sweden 8.3%, China 7.5%, Thailand 6%,
Bangladesh 6%, Germany 5.5%, Italy 4% (2003)

Debt - external:
$245 million (2000)

Economic aid - recipient:
substantial aid from India and other nations

Currency:
ngultrum (BTN); Indian rupee (INR)

Currency code:
BTN; INR

Exchange rates:
ngultrum per US dollar - 46.5806 (2003), 48.6103 (2002), 47.1864
(2001), 44.9416 (2000), 43.0554 (1999)

Fiscal year:
1 July - 30 June

Communications Bhutan

Telephones - main lines in use:
25,200 (2003)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
8,000 (2003)

Telephone system:
general assessment: NA
domestic: domestic telephone service is very poor with few
telephones in use
international: country code - 975; international telephone and
telegraph service is by landline through India; a satellite earth
station was planned (1990)

Radio broadcast stations:
AM 0, FM 1, shortwave 1 (1998)

Radios:
37,000 (1997)

Television broadcast stations:
0 (1997)

Televisions:
11,000 (1997)

Internet country code:
.bt

Internet hosts:
985 (2003)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
NA

Internet users:
15,000 (2003)

Transportation Bhutan

Highways: total: 3,690 km paved: 2,240 km unpaved: 1,450 km (1999 est.)

Ports and harbors:
none

Airports:
2 (2003 est.)

Airports - with paved runways:
total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2004 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2004 est.)

Military Bhutan

Military branches:
Royal Bhutan Army, Royal Bodyguard, National Militia

Military manpower - military age and obligation: 18 years of age for voluntary military service; no conscription (2001)

Military manpower - availability:
males age 15-49: 544,560 (2004 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service:
males age 15-49: 290,843 (2004 est.)

Military manpower - reaching military age annually:
males: 23,379 (2004 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
$11.2 million (2003)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
1.9% (2003)

Transnational Issues Bhutan

Disputes - international:
approximately 100,000 Bhutanese refugees living in Nepal, 90% of
whom reside in seven UN Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees
camps, place decades-long strains on Nepal

This page was last updated on 10 February, 2005

@Bolivia

Introduction Bolivia

Background:
Bolivia, named after independence fighter Simon BOLIVAR, broke away
from Spanish rule in 1825; much of its subsequent history has
consisted of a series of nearly 200 coups and counter-coups.
Comparatively democratic civilian rule was established in 1982, but
leaders have faced difficult problems of deep-seated poverty, social
unrest, and drug production. Current goals include attracting
foreign investment, strengthening the educational system, resolving
disputes with coca growers over Bolivia's counterdrug efforts, and
waging an anticorruption campaign.

Geography Bolivia

Location:
Central South America, southwest of Brazil

Geographic coordinates:
17 00 S, 65 00 W

Map references:
South America

Area:
total: 1,098,580 sq km
water: 14,190 sq km
land: 1,084,390 sq km

Area - comparative:
slightly less than three times the size of Montana

Land boundaries:
total: 6,743 km
border countries: Argentina 832 km, Brazil 3,400 km, Chile 861 km,
Paraguay 750 km, Peru 900 km

Coastline:
0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims:
none (landlocked)

Climate:
varies with altitude; humid and tropical to cold and semiarid

Terrain:
rugged Andes Mountains with a highland plateau (Altiplano), hills,
lowland plains of the Amazon Basin

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Rio Paraguay 90 m
highest point: Nevado Sajama 6,542 m

Natural resources:
tin, natural gas, petroleum, zinc, tungsten, antimony, silver,
iron, lead, gold, timber, hydropower

Land use: arable land: 2.67% permanent crops: 0.19% other: 97.54% (2001)

Irrigated land:
1,280 sq km (1998 est.)

Natural hazards:
flooding in the northeast (March-April)

Environment - current issues:
the clearing of land for agricultural purposes and the
international demand for tropical timber are contributing to
deforestation; soil erosion from overgrazing and poor cultivation
methods (including slash-and-burn agriculture); desertification;
loss of biodiversity; industrial pollution of water supplies used
for drinking and irrigation

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto
Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law
of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution,
Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification, Marine Life
Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection

Geography - note:
landlocked; shares control of Lago Titicaca, world's highest
navigable lake (elevation 3,805 m), with Peru

People Bolivia

Population:
8,724,156 (July 2004 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 36.4% (male 1,619,950; female 1,557,883)
15-64 years: 59.1% (male 2,522,086; female 2,631,944)
65 years and over: 4.5% (male 175,193; female 217,100) (2004 est.)

Median age:
total: 21.1 years
male: 20.4 years
female: 21.8 years (2004 est.)

Population growth rate:
1.56% (2004 est.)

Birth rate:
24.65 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Death rate:
7.77 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Net migration rate:
-1.32 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.81 male(s)/female
total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2004 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 54.58 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 50.75 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
male: 58.23 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 65.14 years
male: 62.54 years
female: 67.86 years (2004 est.)

Total fertility rate:
3.08 children born/woman (2004 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
0.1% (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
4,900 (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
less than 500 (2003 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Bolivian(s)
adjective: Bolivian

Ethnic groups:
Quechua 30%, mestizo (mixed white and Amerindian ancestry) 30%,
Aymara 25%, white 15%

Religions:
Roman Catholic 95%, Protestant (Evangelical Methodist)

Languages:
Spanish (official), Quechua (official), Aymara (official)

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 87.2%
male: 93.1%
female: 81.6% (2003 est.)

Government Bolivia

Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of Bolivia
conventional short form: Bolivia
local short form: Bolivia
local long form: Republica de Bolivia

Government type:
republic

Capital:
La Paz (seat of government); Sucre (legal capital and seat of
judiciary)

Administrative divisions:
9 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento); Chuquisaca,
Cochabamba, Beni, La Paz, Oruro, Pando, Potosi, Santa Cruz, Tarija

Independence:
6 August 1825 (from Spain)

National holiday:
Independence Day, 6 August (1825)

Constitution:
2 February 1967; revised in August 1994

Legal system:
based on Spanish law and Napoleonic Code; has not accepted
compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage:
18 years of age, universal and compulsory (married); 21 years of
age, universal and compulsory (single)

Executive branch:
chief of state: President Carlos Diego MESA Gisbert (since 17
October 2003); Vice President (vacant); note - the president is both
the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Carlos Diego MESA Gisbert (since 17
October 2003); Vice President (vacant); note - the president is both
the chief of state and head of government
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president
elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket
by popular vote for five-year terms; election last held 30 June 2002
(next to be held NA June 2007)
election results: as a result of no candidate winning a majority in
the 30 June 2002 election, Gonzalo SANCHEZ DE LOZADA Bustamante was
chosen president by Congress; Congressional votes - Gonzalo SANCHEZ
DE LOZADA Bustamante 84, Evo MORALES 43; note - following the
resignation of the elected president on 17 October 2003, Vice
President Carlos Diego MESA Gisbert assumed the presidency

Legislative branch:
bicameral National Congress or Congreso Nacional consists of
Chamber of Senators or Camara de Senadores (27 seats; members are
elected by proportional representation from party lists to serve
five-year terms) and Chamber of Deputies or Camara de Diputados (130
seats; 68 are directly elected from their districts and 62 are
elected by proportional representation from party lists to serve
five-year terms)
elections: Chamber of Senators and Chamber of Deputies - last held
30 June 2002 (next to be held NA June 2007)
election results: Chamber of Senators - percent of vote by party -
NA; seats by party - MNR 11, MAS 8, MIR 5, NFR 2, other 1; Chamber
of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - MNR
36, MAS 27, MIR 26, NFR 25, others 16

Judicial branch:
Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (judges appointed for 10-year terms
by National Congress); District Courts (one in each department);
provincial and local courts (to try minor cases)

Political parties and leaders:
Bolivian Socialist Falange or FSB [Romel PANTOJA]; Civic Solidarity
Union or UCS [Johnny FERNANDEZ]; Free Bolivia Movement or MBL [Franz
BARRIOS]; Marshal of Ayacucho Institutional Vanguard or VIMA [Freddy
ZABALA]; Movement of the Revolutionary Left or MIR [Jaime PAZ
Zamora]; Movement Toward Socialism or MAS [Evo MORALES]; Movement
Without Fear or MSM [Juan DEL GRANADO]; Nationalist Democratic
Action or ADN [Jorge Fernando QUIROGA Ramirez]; Nationalist
Revolutionary Movement or MNR [leader NA]; New Republican Force or
NFR [Manfred REYES-VILLA]; Pachakuti Indigenous Movement or MIP
[Felipe QUISPE]; Socialist Party or PS [Jeres JUSTINIANO]

Political pressure groups and leaders:
Cocalero Groups; indigenous organizations; labor unions; Sole
Confederation of Campesino Workers of Bolivia or CSUTCB [Roman
LOAYZA]

International organization participation:
CAN, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC,
IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU,
LAES, LAIA, Mercosur (associate), MIGA, MINUSTAH, MONUC, NAM, OAS,
ONUB, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO,
UNMIK, UNMIL, UNMISET, UNOCI, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO,
WToO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Jaime APARICIO Otero
consulate(s): Washington, DC
consulate(s) general: Miami, New York, and San Francisco
FAX: (202) 328-3712
telephone: (202) 483-4410
chancery: 3014 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador David N. GREENLEE embassy: Avenida Arce 2780, San Jorge, La Paz mailing address: P. O. Box 425, La Paz; APO AA 34032 telephone: (2) 2430120, 2430251 FAX: (2) 2433900

Flag description:
three equal horizontal bands of red (top), yellow, and green with
the coat of arms centered on the yellow band; similar to the flag of
Ghana, which has a large black five-pointed star centered in the
yellow band

Economy Bolivia

Economy - overview:
Bolivia, long one of the poorest and least developed Latin American
countries, made considerable progress in the 1990s toward the
development of a market-oriented economy. Successes under President
SANCHEZ DE LOZADA (1993-97) included the signing of a free trade
agreement with Mexico and becoming an associate member of the
Southern Cone Common Market (Mercosur), as well as the privatization
of the state airline, telephone company, railroad, electric power
company, and oil company. Growth slowed in 1999, in part due to
tight government budget policies, which limited needed
appropriations for anti-poverty programs, and the fallout from the
Asian financial crisis. In 2000, major civil disturbances held down
growth to 2.5%. Bolivia's GDP failed to grow in 2001 due to the
global slowdown and laggard domestic activity. Growth picked up
slightly in 2002, but the first quarter of 2003 saw extensive civil
riots and looting and loss of confidence in the government. Bolivia
will remain highly dependent on foreign aid unless and until it can
develop its substantial natural resources.

GDP:
purchasing power parity - $21.01 billion (2003 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
2.5% (2003 est.)

GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $2,400 (2003 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 15% industry: 33.2% services: 51.9% (2003 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):
12.4% of GDP (2003)

Population below poverty line:
70% (1999 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 1.3% highest 10%: 32% (1999)

Distribution of family income - Gini index:
44.7 (1999)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
3.3% (2003 est.)

Labor force:
4.1 million (2003)

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture NA, industry NA, services NA

Unemployment rate:
11.7%
note: widespread underemployment (2003)

Budget:
revenues: $2.346 billion
expenditures: $2.957 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA
(2003)

Agriculture - products:
soybeans, coffee, coca, cotton, corn, sugarcane, rice, potatoes;
timber

Industries:
mining, smelting, petroleum, food and beverages, tobacco,
handicrafts, clothing

Industrial production growth rate:
3.9% (1998)

Electricity - production:
3.901 billion kWh (2001)

Electricity - consumption:
3.634 billion kWh (2001)

Electricity - exports:
3 million kWh (2001)

Electricity - imports:
9 million kWh (2001)

Oil - production:
44,340 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - consumption:
49,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - exports:
NA (2001)

Oil - imports:
NA (2001)

Oil - proved reserves:
458.8 million bbl (1 January 2002)

Natural gas - production:
4.05 billion cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:
1.15 billion cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - exports:
2.9 billion cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - imports:
0 cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - proved reserves:
727.2 billion cu m (1 January 2002)

Current account balance:
$50 million (2003)

Exports:
$1.495 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)

Exports - commodities:
soybeans, natural gas, zinc, gold, wood (2000)

Exports - partners:
Brazil 37%, Venezuela 12.9%, Colombia 11.9%, US 11.5%, Peru 5.1%
(2003)

Imports:
$1.505 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)

Imports - commodities:
capital goods, raw materials and semi-manufactures, chemicals,
petroleum, food

Imports - partners:
Brazil 25.2%, Argentina 22.3%, US 12%, Chile 9.3%, Peru 5.8% (2003)

Reserves of foreign exchange & gold:
$1.096 billion (2003)

Debt - external:
$5.332 billion (2003 est.)

Economic aid - recipient:
$588 million (1997)

Currency:
boliviano (BOB)

Currency code:
BOB

Exchange rates:
bolivianos per US dollar - 7.6592 (2003), 7.17 (2002), 6.6069
(2001), 6.1835 (2000), 5.8124 (1999)

Fiscal year:
calendar year

Communications Bolivia

Telephones - main lines in use:
600,100 (2003)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
1,401,500 (2003)

Telephone system:
general assessment: new subscribers face bureaucratic difficulties;
most telephones are concentrated in La Paz and other cities; mobile
cellular telephone use expanding rapidly
domestic: primary trunk system, which is being expanded, employs
digital microwave radio relay; some areas are served by fiber-optic
cable; mobile cellular systems are being expanded
international: country code - 591; satellite earth station - 1
Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations:
AM 171, FM 73, shortwave 77 (1999)

Radios:
5.25 million (1997)

Television broadcast stations:
48 (1997)

Televisions:
900,000 (1997)

Internet country code:
.bo

Internet hosts:
7,080 (2003)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
9 (2000)

Internet users:
270,000 (2002)

Transportation Bolivia

Railways: total: 3,519 km narrow gauge: 3,519 km 1.000-m gauge (2003)

Highways:
total: 53,790 km
paved: 3,496 km (including 13 km of expressways)
unpaved: 50,294 km (2000 est.)

Waterways:
10,000 km (commercially navigable) (2004)

Pipelines:
gas 4,860 km; liquid petroleum gas 47 km; oil 2,457 km; refined
products 1,589 km; unknown (oil/water) 247 km (2004)

Ports and harbors:
Puerto Aguirre (on the Paraguay/Parana waterway, at the
Bolivia/Brazil border); also, Bolivia has free port privileges in
maritime ports in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Paraguay

Merchant marine:
total: 56 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 413,407 GRT/699,901 DWT
by type: bulk 3, cargo 26, chemical tanker 4, container 3, livestock
carrier 1, multi-functional large load carrier 1, petroleum tanker
10, refrigerated cargo 2, roll on/roll off 1, short-sea/passenger 3,
specialized tanker 2
registered in other countries: 1 (2004 est.)
foreign-owned: Argentina 1, British Virgin Islands 1, Cambodia 1,
China 1, Cyprus 1, Egypt 1, Eritrea 1, Germany 2, Greece 1, Hong
Kong 1, Indonesia 1, Iran 1, Italy 2, Latvia 2, Panama 3, Romania 1,
Russia 1, Saint Kitts and Nevis 1, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
1, Saudi Arabia 2, Singapore 3, Syria 1, Turkey 1, United Kingdom 1,
United States 3, Yemen 2

Airports:
1,067 (2003 est.)

Airports - with paved runways: total: 16 over 3,047 m: 4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 3 (2004 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 1,049 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 60 914 to 1,523 m: 207 under 914 m: 778 (2004 est.)

Military Bolivia

Military branches:
Army (Ejercito Boliviano), Navy (Fuerza Naval, includes Marines),
Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Boliviana)

Military manpower - military age and obligation: 18 years of age for voluntary military service; when annual number of volunteers falls short of goal, compulsory recruitment is effected, including conscription of boys as young as 14; one estimate holds that 40% of the armed forces are under the age of 18, with 50% of those under the age of 16; conscript tour of duty - 12 months (2002)

Military manpower - availability:
males age 15-49: 2,175,384 (2004 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service:
males age 15-49: 1,417,804 (2004 est.)

Military manpower - reaching military age annually:
males: 98,155 (2004 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
$127 million (2003)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
1.6% (2003)

Transnational Issues Bolivia

Disputes - international:
has reactivated its claim to restore the Atacama corridor, ceded to
Chile in 1884, to secure sovereign maritime access for Bolivian
natural gas

Illicit drugs:
world's third-largest cultivator of coca (after Colombia and Peru)
with an estimated 28,450 hectares under cultivation in June 2003, a
23% increase from June 2002; intermediate coca products and cocaine
exported mostly to or through Brazil, Argentina, and Chile to
European and US drug markets; eradication and alternative crop
programs under the MESA administration have been unable to keep pace
with farmers' attempts to increase cultivation; money-laundering
activity related to narcotics trade, especially along the borders
with Brazil and Paraguay

This page was last updated on 10 February, 2005

@Bosnia and Herzegovina

Introduction Bosnia and Herzegovina

Background:
Bosnia and Herzegovina's declaration of sovereignty in October
1991, was followed by a declaration of independence from the former
Yugoslavia on 3 March 1992 after a referendum boycotted by ethnic
Serbs. The Bosnian Serbs - supported by neighboring Serbia and
Montenegro - responded with armed resistance aimed at partitioning
the republic along ethnic lines and joining Serb-held areas to form
a "Greater Serbia." In March 1994, Bosniaks and Croats reduced the
number of warring factions from three to two by signing an agreement
creating a joint Bosniak/Croat Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
On 21 November 1995, in Dayton, Ohio, the warring parties initialed
a peace agreement that brought to a halt three years of interethnic
civil strife (the final agreement was signed in Paris on 14 December
1995). The Dayton Agreement retained Bosnia and Herzegovina's
international boundaries and created a joint multi-ethnic and
democratic government. This national government was charged with
conducting foreign, diplomatic, and fiscal policy. Also recognized
was a second tier of government comprised of two entities roughly
equal in size: the Bosniak/Croat Federation of Bosnia and
Herzegovina and the Bosnian Serb-led Republika Srpska (RS). The
Federation and RS governments were charged with overseeing most
government functions. The Office of the High Representative (OHR)
was established to oversee the implementation of the civilian
aspects of the agreement. In 1995-96, a NATO-led international
peacekeeping force (IFOR) of 60,000 troops served in Bosnia to
implement and monitor the military aspects of the agreement. IFOR
was succeeded by a smaller, NATO-led Stabilization Force (SFOR)
whose mission was to deter renewed hostilities. European Union
peacekeeping troops (EUFOR) replaced SFOR in December 2004; their
mission was to maintain peace and stability throughout the country.

Geography Bosnia and Herzegovina

Location:
Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea and Croatia

Geographic coordinates:
44 00 N, 18 00 E

Map references:
Europe

Area:
total: 51,129 sq km
water: 0 sq km
land: 51,129 sq km

Area - comparative:
slightly smaller than West Virginia

Land boundaries: total: 1,459 km border countries: Croatia 932 km, Serbia and Montenegro 527 km

Coastline:
20 km

Maritime claims:
No data available

Climate:
hot summers and cold winters; areas of high elevation have short,
cool summers and long, severe winters; mild, rainy winters along
coast

Terrain:
mountains and valleys

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Adriatic Sea 0 m
highest point: Maglic 2,386 m

Natural resources:
coal, iron ore, bauxite, copper, lead, zinc, chromite, cobalt,
manganese, nickel, clay, gypsum, salt, sand, forests, hydropower

Land use: arable land: 13.6% permanent crops: 2.96% other: 83.44% (2001)

Irrigated land:
20 sq km (1998 est.)

Natural hazards:
destructive earthquakes

Environment - current issues:
air pollution from metallurgical plants; sites for disposing of
urban waste are limited; water shortages and destruction of
infrastructure because of the 1992-95 civil strife; deforestation

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Hazardous
Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer
Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note:
within Bosnia and Herzegovina's recognized borders, the country is
divided into a joint Bosniak/Croat Federation (about 51% of the
territory) and the Bosnian Serb-led Republika Srpska or RS (about
49% of the territory); the region called Herzegovina is contiguous
to Croatia and Serbia and Montenegro (Montenegro), and traditionally
has been settled by an ethnic Croat majority in the west and an
ethnic Serb majority in the east

People Bosnia and Herzegovina

Population:
4,007,608 (July 2004 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 18.9% (male 389,062; female 368,721)
15-64 years: 70.6% (male 1,447,725; female 1,379,729)
65 years and over: 10.5% (male 180,801; female 241,570) (2004 est.)

Median age:
total: 35.9 years
male: 35.5 years
female: 36.2 years (2004 est.)

Population growth rate:
0.45% (2004 est.)

Birth rate:
12.56 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Death rate:
8.33 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Net migration rate:
0.31 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female
total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2004 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 21.88 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 19.08 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
male: 24.5 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 72.57 years
male: 69.82 years
female: 75.51 years (2004 est.)

Total fertility rate:
1.71 children born/woman (2004 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
less than 0.1% (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
900 (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
100 (2001 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Bosnian(s), Herzegovinian(s)
adjective: Bosnian, Herzegovinian

Ethnic groups:
Serb 37.1%, Bosniak 48%, Croat 14.3%, other 0.6% (2000)
note: Bosniak has replaced Muslim as an ethnic term in part to avoid
confusion with the religious term Muslim - an adherent of Islam

Religions:
Muslim 40%, Orthodox 31%, Roman Catholic 15%, other 14%

Languages:
Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian

Literacy: definition: NA total population: NA male: NA female: NA

Government Bosnia and Herzegovina

Country name:
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Bosnia and Herzegovina
local long form: none
former: People's Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Socialist
Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina
local short form: Bosna i Hercegovina

Government type:
emerging federal democratic republic

Capital:
Sarajevo

Administrative divisions:
2 first-order administrative divisions and 1 internationally
supervised district* - Brcko district (Brcko Distrikt)*, the
Bosniak/Croat Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Federacija Bosna
i Hercegovina) and the Bosnian Serb-led Republika Srpska; note -
Brcko district is in northeastern Bosnia and is an administrative
unit under the sovereignty of Bosnia and Herzegovina; the district
remains under international supervision

Independence:
1 March 1992 (from Yugoslavia; referendum for independence was
completed 1 March 1992; independence was declared 3 March 1992)

National holiday:
National Day, 25 November (1943)

Constitution:
the Dayton Agreement, signed 14 December 1995, included a new
constitution now in force; note - each of the entities also has its
own constitution

Legal system:
based on civil law system

Suffrage:
18 years of age, universal

Executive branch:
chief of state: Chairman of the Presidency Borislav PARAVAC
(chairman since 28 October 2004; presidency member since 10 April
2003 - Serb) other members of the three-member rotating (every eight
months) presidency: Dragan COVIC (since 5 October 2002 - Croat) and
Sulejman TIHIC (since 5 October 2002 - Bosniak); note - Mirko
SAROVIC resigned 2 April 2003
elections: the three members of the presidency (one Bosniak, one
Croat, one Serb) are elected by popular vote for a four-year term;
the member with the most votes becomes the chairman unless he or she
was the incumbent chairman at the time of the election, but the
chairmanship rotates every eight months; election last held 5
October 2002 (next to be held NA 2006); the chairman of the Council
of Ministers is appointed by the presidency and confirmed by the
National House of Representatives
head of government: Chairman of the Council of Ministers Adnan
TERZIC (since 20 December 2002)
cabinet: Council of Ministers nominated by the council chairman;
approved by the National House of Representatives
election results: percent of vote - Mirko SAROVIC with 35.5% of the
Serb vote was elected chairman of the collective presidency for the
first eight months; Dragan COVIC received 61.5% of the Croat vote;
Sulejman TIHIC received 37% of the Bosniak vote
note: President of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina: Niko
LOZANCIC (since 27 January 2003); Vice Presidents Sahbaz DZIHANOVIC
(since NA 2003) and Desnica RADIVOJEVIC (since NA 2003); President
of the Republika Srpska: Dragan CAVIC (since 28 November 2002)

Legislative branch:
bicameral Parliamentary Assembly or Skupstina consists of the
National House of Representatives or Predstavnicki Dom (42 seats -
elected by proportional representation, 28 seats allocated from the
Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and 14 seats from the Republika
Srpska; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
and the House of Peoples or Dom Naroda (15 seats - 5 Bosniak, 5
Croat, 5 Serb; members elected by the Bosniak/Croat Federation's
House of Representatives and the Republika Srpska's National
Assembly to serve four-year terms); note - Bosnia's election law
specifies four-year terms for the state and first-order
administrative division entity legislatures
election results: National House of Representatives - percent of
vote by party/coalition - SDA 21.9%, SDS 14.0%, SBiH 10.5%, SDP
10.4%, SNSD 9.8%, HDZ 9.5%, PDP 4.6%, others 19.3%; seats by
party/coalition - SDA 10, SDS 5, SBiH 6, SDP 4, SNSD 3, HDZ 5, PDP
2, others 7; House of Peoples - percent of vote by party/coalition -
NA; seats by party/coalition - NA
elections: National House of Representatives - elections last held 5
October 2002 (next to be held in NA 2006); House of Peoples - last
constituted NA January 2003 (next to be constituted in 2007)
note: the Bosniak/Croat Federation has a bicameral legislature that
consists of a House of Representatives (98 seats; members elected by
popular vote to serve four-year terms); elections last held 5
October 2002 (next to be held NA October 2006); percent of vote by
party - NA; seats by party/coalition - SDA 32, HDZ-BiH 16, SDP 15,
SBiH 15, other 20; and a House of Peoples (60 seats - 30 Bosniak, 30
Croat); last constituted December 2002; the Republika Srpska has a
National Assembly (83 seats; members elected by popular vote to
serve four-year terms); elections last held 5 October 2002 (next to
be held in the fall of 2006); percent of vote by party - NA; seats
by party/coalition - SDS 26, SNSD 19, PDP 9, SDA 6, SRS 4, SPRS 3,
DNZ 3, SBiH 4, SDP 3, others 6; as a result of the 2002
constitutional reform process, a 28-member Republika Srpska Council
of Peoples (COP) was established in the Republika Srpska National
Assembly; each constituent nation and "others" will have eight
delegates

Judicial branch:
BiH Constitutional Court (consists of nine members: four members
are selected by the Bosniak/Croat Federation's House of
Representatives, two members by the Republika Srpska's National
Assembly, and three non-Bosnian members by the president of the
European Court of Human Rights); BiH State Court (consists of nine
judges and three divisions - Administrative, Appellate and Criminal
- having jurisdiction over cases related to state-level law and
appellate jurisdiction over cases initiated in the entities; note -
a War Crimes Chamber may be added at a future date)
note: the entities each have a Supreme Court; each entity also has a
number of lower courts; there are 10 cantonal courts in the
Federation, plus a number of municipal courts; the Republika Srpska
has five municipal courts

Political parties and leaders:
Alliance of Independent Social Democrats or SNSD [Milorad DODIK];
Bosnian Party or BOSS [Mirnes AJANOVIC]; Civic Democratic Party or
GDS [Ibrahim SPAHIC]; Croatian Democratic Union of Bosnia and
Herzegovina or HDZ-BH [Barisa COLAK]; Croat Christian Democratic
Union of Bosnia and Herzegovina or HKDU [Mijo IVANIC-LONIC]; Croat
Party of Rights or HSP [Zdravko HRISTIC]; Croat Peasants Party or
HSS [Marko TADIC]; Democratic National Union or DNZ [Fikret ABDIC];
Liberal Democratic Party or LDS [Rasim KADIC]; New Croat Initiative
or NHI [Kresimir ZUBAK]; Party for Bosnia and Herzegovina or SBiH
[Safet HALILOVIC]; Party of Democratic Action or SDA [Sulejman
TIHIC]; Party of Democratic Progress or PDP [Mladen IVANIC]; Serb
Democratic Party or SDS [Dragan CAVIC - acting]; Serb Radical Party
of the Republika Srpska or SRS-RS [Milanko MIHAJLICA]; Serb Radical
Party-Dr. Vojislav Seselj or SRS-VS [Radislav KANJERIC]; Social
Democratic Party of BIH or SDP [Zlatko LAGUMDZIJA]; Social
Democratic Union or SDU [Miro LAZOVIC]; Socialist Party of Republika
Srpska or SPRS [Petar DJOKIC]

Political pressure groups and leaders:
NA

International organization participation:
BIS, CE, CEI, EBRD, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, IDA, IFAD,
IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU,
MIGA, MONUC, NAM (guest), OAS (observer), OIC (observer), OPCW,
OSCE, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMEE, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO,
WTrO (observer)

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Igor DAVIDOVIC
chancery: 2109 E Street NW, Washington, DC 20037
FAX: (202) 337-1502
consulate(s) general: New York
telephone: (202) 337-1500

Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Douglas L. McELHANEY embassy: Alipasina 43, 71000 Sarajevo mailing address: use street address telephone: (33) 445-700 FAX: (33) 659-722 branch office(s): Banja Luka, Mostar

Flag description:
a wide medium blue vertical band on the fly side with a yellow
isosceles triangle abutting the band and the top of the flag; the
remainder of the flag is medium blue with seven full five-pointed
white stars and two half stars top and bottom along the hypotenuse
of the triangle

Economy Bosnia and Herzegovina

Economy - overview:
Bosnia and Herzegovina ranked next to The Former Yugoslav Republic
of Macedonia as the poorest republic in the old Yugoslav federation.
Although agriculture is almost all in private hands, farms are small
and inefficient, and the republic traditionally is a net importer of
food. Industry has been greatly overstaffed, one reflection of the
socialist economic structure of Yugoslavia. TITO had pushed the
development of military industries in the republic with the result
that Bosnia hosted a number of Yugoslavia's defense plants. The
interethnic warfare in Bosnia caused production to plummet by 80%
from 1992 to 1995 and unemployment to soar. With an uneasy peace in
place, output recovered in 1996-99 at high percentage rates from a
low base; but output growth slowed in 2000-02. Part of the lag in
output was made up in 2003-04. National-level statistics are
limited. Moreover, official data do not capture the large share of
black market activity. The konvertibilna marka (convertible mark or
BAM)- the national currency introduced in 1998 - is now pegged to
the euro, and the Central Bank of Bosnia and Herzegovina has
dramatically increased its reserve holdings. Implementation of
privatization, however, has been slow, and local entities only
reluctantly support national-level institutions. Banking reform
accelerated in 2001 as all the Communist-era payments bureaus were
shut down. The country receives substantial amounts of
reconstruction assistance and humanitarian aid from the
international community but will have to prepare for an era of
declining assistance.

GDP:
purchasing power parity - $24.31 billion (2003 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
3.5% (2003 est.)

GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $6,100 (2003 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 13%
industry: 40.9%
services: 46.1% (2001 est.)

Population below poverty line:
NA (2004 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
0.9% (2003 est.)

Labor force:
1.026 million (2001)

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture NA, industry NA, services NA

Unemployment rate:
40% (2002 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $3.271 billion
expenditures: $3.242 billion, including capital expenditures of NA
(2003 est.)

Agriculture - products:
wheat, corn, fruits, vegetables; livestock

Industries:
steel, coal, iron ore, lead, zinc, manganese, bauxite, vehicle
assembly, textiles, tobacco products, wooden furniture, tank and
aircraft assembly, domestic appliances, oil refining (2001)

Industrial production growth rate:
5.5% (2003 est.)

Electricity - production:
9.979 billion kWh (2001)

Electricity - consumption:
8.116 billion kWh (2001)

Electricity - exports:
2.569 billion kWh (2001)

Electricity - imports:
1.405 billion kWh (2001)

Oil - production:
0 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - consumption:
20,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - exports:
NA (2001)

Oil - imports:
NA (2001)

Natural gas - production:
0 cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:
300 million cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - exports:
0 cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - imports:
300 million cu m (2001 est.)

Current account balance:
$-2.195 billion (2003)

Exports:
$1.28 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)

Exports - commodities:
metals, clothing, wood products

Exports - partners:
Italy 28.7%, Croatia 18.3%, Germany 17.1%, Austria 9.2%, Slovenia
7.1% (2003)

Imports:
$4.7 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)

Imports - commodities:
machinery and equipment, chemicals, fuels, foodstuffs

Imports - partners:
Croatia 24.5%, Slovenia 14.7%, Germany 13.7%, Italy 12.2%, Hungary
7.8%, Austria 6.7% (2003)

Reserves of foreign exchange & gold:
$1.796 billion (2003)

Debt - external:
$3.5 billion (2003)

Economic aid - recipient:
$650 million (2001 est.)

Currency:
marka (BAM)

Currency code:
BAM

Exchange rates:
marka per US dollar - 1.7329 (2003), 1.7329 (2002), 2.1857 (2001),
2.1244 (2000), 1.8371 (1999)

Fiscal year:
calendar year

Communications Bosnia and Herzegovina

Telephones - main lines in use:
938,000 (2003)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
1.05 million (2003)

Telephone system:
general assessment: telephone and telegraph network needs
modernization and expansion; many urban areas are below average as
contrasted with services in other former Yugoslav republics
domestic: NA
international: country code - 387; no satellite earth stations

Radio broadcast stations:
AM 8, FM 16, shortwave 1 (1998)

Radios:
940,000 (1997)

Television broadcast stations:
33 (plus 277 repeaters) (September 1995)

Televisions:
NA

Internet country code:
.ba