Z (part 6)

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:
almost an enclave of Senegal; smallest country on the continent of
Africa

People Gambia, The

Population:
1,546,848 (July 2004 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 44.7% (male 347,349; female 344,264)
15-64 years: 52.6% (male 403,297; female 410,382)
65 years and over: 2.7% (male 21,459; female 20,097) (2004 est.)

Median age:
total: 17.5 years
male: 17.4 years
female: 17.7 years (2004 est.)

Population growth rate:
2.98% (2004 est.)

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

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

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

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 1.07 male(s)/female
total population: 1 male(s)/female (2004 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 73.48 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 66.62 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
male: 80.14 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 54.79 years
male: 52.76 years
female: 56.87 years (2004 est.)

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

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
1.2% (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
6,800 (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
600 (2003 est.)

Major infectious diseases: typhoid fever, dengue fever, malaria, yellow fever, Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever, schistosomiasis overall degree of risk: very high (2004)

Nationality:
noun: Gambian(s)
adjective: Gambian

Ethnic groups:
African 99% (Mandinka 42%, Fula 18%, Wolof 16%, Jola 10%, Serahuli
9%, other 4%), non-African 1%

Religions:
Muslim 90%, Christian 9%, indigenous beliefs 1%

Languages:
English (official), Mandinka, Wolof, Fula, other indigenous
vernaculars

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 40.1%
male: 47.8%
female: 32.8% (2003 est.)

Government Gambia, The

Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of The Gambia
conventional short form: The Gambia

Government type:
republic under multiparty democratic rule

Capital:
Banjul

Administrative divisions:
5 divisions and 1 city*; Banjul*, Central River, Lower River, North
Bank, Upper River, Western

Independence:
18 February 1965 (from UK)

National holiday:
Independence Day, 18 February (1965)

Constitution:
24 April 1970; suspended July 1994; rewritten and approved by
national referendum 8 August 1996; reestablished January 1997

Legal system:
based on a composite of English common law, Koranic law, and
customary law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
chief of state: President Yahya A. J. J. JAMMEH (since 18 October
1996; note - from 1994 to 1996 he was Chairman of the Junta); Vice
President Isatou Njie SAIDY (since 20 March 1997); note - the
president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Yahya A. J. J. JAMMEH (since 18
October 1996; note - from 1994 to 1996 was he Chairman of the
Junta); Vice President Isatou Njie SAIDY (since 20 March 1997); note
- the president is both the chief of state and head of government
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president
elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term;
the number of terms is not restricted; election last held 18 October
2001 (next to be held October 2006)
election results: Yahya A. J. J. JAMMEH reelected president; percent
of vote - Yahya A. J. J. JAMMEH 52.9%, Ousainou DARBOE 32.7%

Legislative branch:
unicameral National Assembly (53 seats; 48 elected by popular vote,
five appointed by the president; members serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 17 January 2002 (next to be held NA January
2007)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party -
APRC 45, PDOIS 2, NRP 1,

Judicial branch:
Supreme Court

Political parties and leaders:
Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction or APRC
[Yahya A. J. J. JAMMEH]; Gambian People's Party-Progressive People's
Party-United Democratic Party or GPP-PPP-UDP Coalition [Ousainou
DARBOE]; National Convention Party or NCP [Sheriff DIBBA]; National
Reconciliation Party or NRP [Hamat N. K. BAH]; People's Democratic
Organization for Independence and Socialism or PDOIS [Sidia JATTA]
note: in August 2001, an independent electoral commission allowed
the reregistration of the GPP, NCP, and PPP, three parties banned
since 1996

Political pressure groups and leaders:
NA

International organization participation:
ACP, AfDB, AU, C, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM,
IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU,
MIGA, NAM, OIC, ONUB, OPCW, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO,
UNMEE, UNMIL, UNOCI, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Lena Manga
Sagnia SECK
chancery: Suite 905, 1156 15th Street NW, Washington, DC 20005
FAX: (202) 785-1430
telephone: (202) 785-1379

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Jackson McDONALD
embassy: Kairaba Avenue, Fajara, Banjul
mailing address: P. M. B. No. 19, Banjul
telephone: 392856, 392858, 391971
FAX: 392475

Flag description:
three equal horizontal bands of red (top), blue with white edges,
and green

Economy Gambia, The

Economy - overview:
The Gambia has no important mineral or other natural resources and
has a limited agricultural base. About 75% of the population depends
on crops and livestock for its livelihood. Small-scale manufacturing
activity features the processing of peanuts, fish, and hides.
Reexport trade normally constitutes a major segment of economic
activity, but a 1999 government-imposed preshipment inspection plan,
and instability of the Gambian dalasi (currency) have drawn some of
the reexport trade away from The Gambia. The government's 1998
seizure of the private peanut firm Alimenta eliminated the largest
purchaser of Gambian groundnuts; the following two marketing seasons
have seen substantially lower prices and sales. A decline in tourism
in 2000 has also held back growth. Unemployment and underemployment
rates are extremely high. Shortrun economic progress remains highly
dependent on sustained bilateral and multilateral aid, on
responsible government economic management as forwarded by IMF
technical help and advice, and on expected growth in the
construction sector.

GDP:
purchasing power parity - $2.56 billion (2003 est.)

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

GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $1,700 (2003 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 46.8% industry: 9.3% services: 43.8% (2003 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):
20% 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):
14% (2003 est.)

Labor force:
400,000 (1996)

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture 75%, industry, commerce, and services 19%, government 6%

Unemployment rate:
NA (2002 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $58.63 million
expenditures: $62.64 million, including capital expenditures of $4.1
million (2003 est.)

Agriculture - products:
rice, millet, sorghum, peanuts, corn, sesame, cassava (tapioca),
palm kernels; cattle, sheep, goats

Industries:
processing peanuts, fish, and hides; tourism; beverages;
agricultural machinery assembly, woodworking, metalworking; clothing

Industrial production growth rate:
NA

Electricity - production:
85.33 million kWh (2001)

Electricity - consumption:
79.36 million kWh (2001)

Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2001)

Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2001)

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

Oil - consumption:
1,900 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - exports:
NA (2001)

Oil - imports:
NA (2001)

Current account balance:
$-42 million (2003)

Exports:
$156 million f.o.b. (2003 est.)

Exports - commodities:
peanut products, fish, cotton lint, palm kernels, re-exports

Exports - partners:
UK 26.7%, Belgium 6.7%, China 6.7%, Germany 6.7%, Italy 6.7%,
Malaysia 6.7%, Thailand 6.7% (2003)

Imports:
$271 million f.o.b. (2003 est.)

Imports - commodities:
foodstuffs, manufactures, fuel, machinery and transport equipment

Imports - partners:
China 24.9%, Senegal 8.9%, Brazil 6.8%, UK 6.6%, US 5.6%,
Netherlands 5%, India 4.9% (2003)

Reserves of foreign exchange & gold:
$118 million (2003)

Debt - external:
$476 million (2001 est.)

Economic aid - recipient:
$45.4 million (1995)

Currency:
dalasi (GMD)

Currency code:
GMD

Exchange rates:
dalasi per US dollar - NA (2003), 19.9182 (2002), 15.6872 (2001),
12.7876 (2000), 11.3951 (1999)

Fiscal year:
calendar year

Communications Gambia, The

Telephones - main lines in use:
38,400 (2002)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
100,000 (2002)

Telephone system:
general assessment: adequate; a packet switched data network is
available
domestic: adequate network of microwave radio relay and open-wire
international: country code - 220; microwave radio relay links to
Senegal and Guinea-Bissau; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat
(Atlantic Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations:
AM 3, FM 2, shortwave 0 (2001)

Radios:
196,000 (1997)

Television broadcast stations:
1 (government-owned) (1997)

Televisions:
5,000 (2000)

Internet country code:
.gm

Internet hosts:
568 (2004)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
2 (2001)

Internet users:
25,000 (2002)

Transportation Gambia, The

Highways: total: 2,700 km paved: 956 km unpaved: 1,744 km (1999)

Waterways:
390 km (on River Gambia; small ocean-going vessels can reach 190
km) (2004)

Ports and harbors:
Banjul

Merchant marine:
none (2004 est.)

Airports:
1 (2003 est.)

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

Military Gambia, The

Military branches:
Gambian National Army (GNA) (including Naval Unit), Presidential
Guard

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

Military manpower - availability:
males age 15-49: 350,256 (2004 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service:
males age 15-49: 176,733 (2004 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
$900,000 (2003)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
0.3% (2003)

Transnational Issues Gambia, The

Disputes - international:
attempts to stem refugees, cross-border raids, arms smuggling,
other illegal activities, and political instability from separatist
movement in southern Senegal's Casamance region

This page was last updated on 10 February, 2005

@Gaza Strip

Introduction Gaza Strip

Background:
The Israel-PLO Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government
Arrangements (the DOP), signed in Washington on 13 September 1993,
provided for a transitional period not exceeding five years of
Palestinian interim self-government in the Gaza Strip and the West
Bank. Under the DOP, Israel agreed to transfer certain powers and
responsibilities to the Palestinian Authority, which includes the
Palestinian Legislative Council elected in January 1996, as part of
the interim self-governing arrangements in the West Bank and Gaza
Strip. A transfer of powers and responsibilities for the Gaza Strip
and Jericho took place pursuant to the Israel-PLO 4 May 1994 Cairo
Agreement on the Gaza Strip and the Jericho Area and in additional
areas of the West Bank pursuant to the Israel-PLO 28 September 1995
Interim Agreement, the Israel-PLO 15 January 1997 Protocol
Concerning Redeployment in Hebron, the Israel-PLO 23 October 1998
Wye River Memorandum, and the 4 September 1999 Sharm el-Sheikh
Agreement. The DOP provides that Israel will retain responsibility
during the transitional period for external and internal security
and for public order of settlements and Israeli citizens. Direct
negotiations to determine the permanent status of Gaza and West Bank
that began in September 1999 after a three-year hiatus, were
derailed by a second intifadah that broke out in September 2000. The
resulting widespread violence in the West Bank and Gaza Strip,
Israel's military response, and instability within the Palestinian
Authority continue to undermine progress toward a permanent
agreement. Following the death of longtime Palestinian leader Yasir
ARAFAT in November 2004, the election of his successor Mahmud ABBAS
in January 2005 could bring a turning point in the conflict.

Geography Gaza Strip

Location:
Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and
Israel

Geographic coordinates:
31 25 N, 34 20 E

Map references:
Middle East

Area:
total: 360 sq km
water: 0 sq km
land: 360 sq km

Area - comparative:
slightly more than twice the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries: total: 62 km border countries: Egypt 11 km, Israel 51 km

Coastline:
40 km

Maritime claims:
Israeli-occupied with current status subject to the
Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement - permanent status to be
determined through further negotiation

Climate:
temperate, mild winters, dry and warm to hot summers

Terrain:
flat to rolling, sand- and dune-covered coastal plain

Elevation extremes: lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m highest point: Abu 'Awdah (Joz Abu 'Auda) 105 m

Natural resources:
arable land, natural gas

Land use:
arable land: 28.95%
permanent crops: 21.05%
other: 50% (2001)

Irrigated land:
120 sq km (1998 est.)

Natural hazards:
droughts

Environment - current issues:
desertification; salination of fresh water; sewage treatment;
water-borne disease; soil degradation; depletion and contamination
of underground water resources

Geography - note:
there are 25 Israeli settlements and civilian land use sites in the
Gaza Strip (February 2002 est.)

People Gaza Strip

Population:
1,324,991
note: in addition, there are more than 5,000 Israeli settlers in the
Gaza Strip (July 2004 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 49% (male 332,582; female 316,606)
15-64 years: 48.3% (male 326,450; female 314,098)
65 years and over: 2.7% (male 14,847; female 20,408) (2004 est.)

Median age:
total: 15.5 years
male: 15.3 years
female: 15.6 years (2004 est.)

Population growth rate:
3.83% (2004 est.)

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

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

Net migration rate:
1.6 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: 1.04 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.73 male(s)/female
total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2004 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 23.54 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 22.31 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
male: 24.71 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 71.59 years
male: 70.31 years
female: 72.94 years (2004 est.)

Total fertility rate:
6.04 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: NA
adjective: NA

Ethnic groups:
Palestinian Arab and other 99.4%, Jewish 0.6%

Religions:
Muslim (predominantly Sunni) 98.7%, Christian 0.7%, Jewish 0.6%

Languages:
Arabic, Hebrew (spoken by Israeli settlers and many Palestinians),
English (widely understood)

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

Government Gaza Strip

Country name: conventional long form: none conventional short form: Gaza Strip local long form: none local short form: Qita Ghazzah

Economy Gaza Strip

Economy - overview:
Economic output in the Gaza Strip - under the responsibility of the
Palestinian Authority since the Cairo Agreement of May 1994 -
declined by about one-third between 1992 and 1996. The downturn was
largely the result of Israeli closure policies - the imposition of
generalized border closures in response to security incidents in
Israel - which disrupted previously established labor and commodity
market relationships between Israel and the WBGS (West Bank and Gaza
Strip). The most serious negative social effect of this downturn was
the emergence of high unemployment; unemployment in the WBGS during
the 1980s was generally under 5%; by 1995 it had risen to over 20%.
Israel's use of comprehensive closures decreased during the next few
years and, in 1998, Israel implemented new policies to reduce the
impact of closures and other security procedures on the movement of
Palestinian goods and labor. These changes fueled an almost
three-year-long economic recovery in the West Bank and Gaza Strip;
real GDP grew by 5% in 1998 and 6% in 1999. Recovery was upended in
the last quarter of 2000 with the outbreak of violence, triggering
tight Israeli closures of Palestinian self-rule areas and a severe
disruption of trade and labor movements. In 2001, and even more
severely in 2002, Israeli military measures in Palestinian Authority
areas resulted in the destruction of capital plant and
administrative structure, widespread business closures, and a sharp
drop in GDP. Including West Bank, the UN estimates that more than
100,000 Palestinians out of the 125,000 who used to work in Israel,
in Israeli settlements, or in joint industrial zones have lost their
jobs. In addition, about 80,000 Palestinian workers inside the
Territories are losing their jobs. International aid of $2 billion
in 2001-02 to the West Bank and Gaza Strip prevented the complete
collapse of the economy and allowed Finance Minister Salam FAYYAD to
implement several financial and economic reforms. Budgetary support,
however, was not as forthcoming in 2003.

GDP:
purchasing power parity - $768 million (2003 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
4.5% (2003 est.)

GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $600 (2003 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 9% industry: 28% services: 63% (includes West Bank) (2002 est.)

Population below poverty line:
60% (2003 est.)

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
2.2% (includes West Bank) (2001 est.)

Labor force:
NA (1997)

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture 13%, industry 21%, services 66% (1996)

Unemployment rate:
50% (includes West Bank) (2003 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $676.6 million
expenditures: $1.155 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA
(includes West Bank) (2003)

Agriculture - products:
olives, citrus, vegetables; beef, dairy products

Industries:
generally small family businesses that produce textiles, soap,
olive-wood carvings, and mother-of-pearl souvenirs; the Israelis
have established some small-scale modern industries in an industrial
center

Industrial production growth rate:
NA

Electricity - production:
NA kWh; note - electricity supplied by Israel

Electricity - consumption:
NA kWh

Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2001)

Electricity - imports:
NA kWh; note - electricity supplied by Israel (2001)

Exports:
$603 million f.o.b., includes West Bank

Exports - commodities:
citrus, flowers

Exports - partners:
Israel, Egypt, West Bank

Imports:
$1.9 billion c.i.f., includes West Bank

Imports - commodities:
food, consumer goods, construction materials

Imports - partners:
Israel, Egypt, West Bank

Debt - external:
$108 million (includes West Bank) (1997 est.)

Economic aid - recipient:
$800 million (includes West Bank) (2001 est.)

Currency:
new Israeli shekel (ILS)

Currency code:
ILS

Exchange rates:
new Israeli shekels per US dollar - 4.55 (2003), 4.74 (2002), 4.21
(2001), 4.08 (2000), 4.14 (1999)

Fiscal year:
calendar year

Communications Gaza Strip

Telephones - main lines in use: 95,729 (total for Gaza Strip and West Bank) (1997)

Telephones - mobile cellular: 320,000 (cellular subscribers in both Gaza Strip and West Bank) (2002)

Telephone system:
general assessment: NA
domestic: rudimentary telephone services provided by an open-wire
system
international: NA

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

Radios:
NA; note - most Palestinian households have radios (1999)

Television broadcast stations:
2 (operated by the Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation) (1997)

Televisions:
NA; note - most Palestinian households have televisions (1997)

Internet country code:
.ps

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
3 (1999)

Internet users:
60,000 (includes West Bank) (2001)

Transportation Gaza Strip

Highways: total: NA km paved: NA km unpaved: NA km note: small, poorly developed road network

Ports and harbors:
Gaza

Airports:
2 (2001)
note: includes Gaza International Airport (GIA), inaugurated on 24
November 1998 as part of agreements stipulated in the September 1995
Oslo II Accord and the 23 October 1998 Wye River Memorandum; GIA has
been largely closed since October 2000 by Israeli orders and its
runway was destroyed by the Israeli Defense Forces in December 2001
(2003 est.)

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

Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.)

Heliports:
1 (2003 est.)

Military Gaza Strip

Military branches:
in accordance with the peace agreement, the Palestinian Authority
is not permitted conventional military forces; there are, however, a
Public Security Force and a civil Police Force

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
NA

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
NA

Transnational Issues Gaza Strip

Disputes - international:
West Bank and Gaza Strip are Israeli-occupied with current status
subject to the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement - permanent
status to be determined through further negotiation

Refugees and internally displaced persons:
refugees (country of origin): 922,674 (Palestinian Refugees
(UNRWA)) (2004)

This page was last updated on 10 February, 2005

@Georgia

Introduction Georgia

Background:
The region of present-day Georgia contained the ancient kingdoms of
Colchis and Kartli-Iberia. The area came under Roman influence in
the first centuries AD and Christianity became the state religion in
the 330s. Domination by Persians, Arabs, and Turks was followed by a
Georgian golden age (11th to the 13th centuries) that was cut short
by the Mongol invasion of 1236. Subsequently, the Ottoman and
Persian empires competed for influence in the region. Georgia was
absorbed into the Russian Empire in the 19th century. Independent
for three years (1918-1921) following the Russian revolution, it was
forcibly incorporated into the USSR until the Soviet Union dissolved
in 1991. Despite myriad problems, some progress on market reforms
and democratization has been made since then. An attempt by the
government to manipulate legislative elections in November 2003
touched off widespread protests that led to the resignation of
Eduard SHEVARDNADZE, president since 1995. New elections in early
2004 swept Mikheil SAAKASHVILI into power along with his National
Movement Party.

Geography Georgia

Location:
Southwestern Asia, bordering the Black Sea, between Turkey and
Russia

Geographic coordinates:
42 00 N, 43 30 E

Map references:
Asia

Area:
total: 69,700 sq km
water: 0 sq km
land: 69,700 sq km

Area - comparative:
slightly smaller than South Carolina

Land boundaries:
total: 1,461 km
border countries: Armenia 164 km, Azerbaijan 322 km, Russia 723 km,
Turkey 252 km

Coastline:
310 km

Maritime claims:
No data available

Climate:
warm and pleasant; Mediterranean-like on Black Sea coast

Terrain:
largely mountainous with Great Caucasus Mountains in the north and
Lesser Caucasus Mountains in the south; Kolkhet'is Dablobi (Kolkhida
Lowland) opens to the Black Sea in the west; Mtkvari River Basin in
the east; good soils in river valley flood plains, foothills of
Kolkhida Lowland

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Black Sea 0 m
highest point: Mt'a Shkhara 5,201 m

Natural resources:
forests, hydropower, manganese deposits, iron ore, copper, minor
coal and oil deposits; coastal climate and soils allow for important
tea and citrus growth

Land use:
arable land: 11.44%
permanent crops: 3.86%
other: 84.7% (2001)

Irrigated land:
4,700 sq km (1998 est.)

Natural hazards:
earthquakes

Environment - current issues:
air pollution, particularly in Rust'avi; heavy pollution of Mtkvari
River and the Black Sea; inadequate supplies of potable water; soil
pollution from toxic chemicals

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Air Pollution, 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:
strategically located east of the Black Sea; Georgia controls much
of the Caucasus Mountains and the routes through them

People Georgia

Population:
4,693,892 (July 2004 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 18.7% (male 461,967; female 416,898)
15-64 years: 65.8% (male 1,480,217; female 1,607,509)
65 years and over: 15.5% (male 290,534; female 436,767) (2004 est.)

Median age:
total: 37 years
male: 34.5 years
female: 39.2 years (2004 est.)

Population growth rate:
-0.36% (2004 est.)

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

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

Net migration rate:
-4.7 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.16 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.11 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.67 male(s)/female
total population: 0.91 male(s)/female (2004 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 19.34 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 16.84 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
male: 21.5 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 75.62 years
male: 72.35 years
female: 79.44 years (2004 est.)

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

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

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
3,000 (2003 est.)

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

Nationality:
noun: Georgian(s)
adjective: Georgian

Ethnic groups:
Georgian 70.1%, Armenian 8.1%, Russian 6.3%, Azeri 5.7%, Ossetian
3%, Abkhaz 1.8%, other 5%

Religions:
Georgian Orthodox 65%, Muslim 11%, Russian Orthodox 10%, Armenian
Apostolic 8%, unknown 6%

Languages:
Georgian 71% (official), Russian 9%, Armenian 7%, Azeri 6%, other 7%
note: Abkhaz is the official language in Abkhazia

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99%
male: 100%
female: 98% (1999 est.)

Government Georgia

Country name:
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Georgia
local long form: none
former: Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic
local short form: Sak'art'velo

Government type:
republic

Capital:
T'bilisi

Administrative divisions:
9 regions (mkharebi, singular - mkhare), 9 cities (k'alak'ebi,
singular - k'alak'i), and 2 autonomous republics (avtomnoy
respubliki, singular - avtom respublika)
: regions: Guria, Imereti, Kakheti, Kvemo Kartli, Mtskheta-Mtianeti,
Racha-Lechkhumi and Kvemo Svaneti, Samegrelo and Zemo Svaneti,
Samtskhe-Javakheti, Shida Kartli
: cities: Chiat'ura, Gori, K'ut'aisi, P'ot'i, Rust'avi, T'bilisi,
Tqibuli, Tsqaltubo, Zugdidi
note: the administrative centers of the 2 autonomous republics are
shown in parentheses
: autonomous republics: Abkhazia or Ap'khazet'is Avtonomiuri
Respublika (Sokhumi), Ajaria or Acharis Avtonomiuri Respublika
(Bat'umi)

Independence:
9 April 1991 (from Soviet Union)

National holiday:
Independence Day, 26 May (1918); note - 26 May 1918 is the date of
independence from Soviet Russia, 9 April 1991 is the date of
independence from the Soviet Union

Constitution:
adopted 17 October 1995

Legal system:
based on civil law system

Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
chief of state: President Mikheil SAAKASHVILI (since 25 January
2004); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of
government for the power ministries: state security (includes
interior) and defense
elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term;
election last held 4 January 2004 (next to be held NA 2009)
election results: Mikheil SAAKASHVILI elected president; percent of
vote - Mikheil SAAKASHVILI 96.3%, Temur SHASHIASHVILI 1.9%
cabinet: Cabinet of Ministers
head of government: President Mikheil SAAKASHVILI (since 25 January
2004); Prime Minister Zurab ZHVANIA (since 9 February 2004); note -
the president is the chief of state and head of government for the
power ministries: state security (includes interior) and defense;
the prime minister is head of the remaining ministries of government

Legislative branch:
unicameral Supreme Council (commonly referred to as Parliament) or
Umaghiesi Sabcho (235 seats - 150 elected by party lists); members
are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 28 March 2004 (next to be held spring 2008)
election results: percent of vote by party - National
Movement-Democrats 67.6%, Rightist Opposition 7.6%, all other
parties received less than 7% each; seats by party - National
Movement-Democrats 135, Rightist Opposition 15

Judicial branch:
Supreme Court (judges elected by the Supreme Council on the
president's recommendation); Constitutional Court; first and second
instance courts

Political parties and leaders:
Burjanadze-Democrats [Nino BURJANADZE]; Georgian People's Front
[Nodar NATADZE]; Georgian United Communist Party or UCPG
[Panteleimon GIORGADZE]; Greens [Giorgi GACHECHILADZE]; Industry
Will Save Georgia (Industrialists) or IWSG [Georgi TOPADZE]; Labor
Party [Shalva NATELASHVILI]; National Democratic Party or NDP
[Bachuki KARDAVA]; National Movement Democratic Front [Mikheil
SAAKASHVILI] bloc composed of National Movement and
Burjanadze-Democrats; National Movement [Mikheil SAAKASHVILI]; New
Right [Levaii GACHECHILADZE]; Republican Party [David
BERDZENISHVILI]; Rightist Opposition [Davit GAMKRELIDZE] bloc
composed of Industrialists and New Right Party; Socialist Party or
SPG [Irakli MINDELI]; Traditionalists [Akaki ASATIANI]; Union of
National Forces-Conservatives [Koba DAVITASHVILI and Zviad
DZIDZIGURI]

Political pressure groups and leaders:
Georgian independent deputies from Abkhaz government in exile;
separatists in the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia;
supporters of the late ousted President Zviad GAMSAKHURDYA

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

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Levan MIKELADZE
FAX: (202) 393-4537
telephone: (202) 387-4537
chancery: Suite 602, 1101 15th Street NW, Washington, DC 20005

Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Richard M. MILES embassy: #25 Atoneli Street, T'bilisi 0105 mailing address: 7060 Tbilisi Place, Washington, DC 20521-7060 telephone: (32) 989-967/68 FAX: (32) 933-759

Flag description:
white rectangle, in its central portion a red cross connecting all
four sides of the flag; in each of the four corners is a small red
bolnur-katskhuri cross; the five-cross flag appears to date back to
the 14th century

Economy Georgia

Economy - overview:
Georgia's main economic activities include the cultivation of
agricultural products such as citrus fruits, tea, hazelnuts, and
grapes; mining of manganese and copper; and output of a small
industrial sector producing alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages,
metals, machinery, and chemicals. The country imports the bulk of
its energy needs, including natural gas and oil products. Its only
sizable internal energy resource is hydropower. Despite the severe
damage the economy has suffered due to civil strife, Georgia, with
the help of the IMF and World Bank, has made substantial economic
gains since 1995, achieving positive GDP growth and curtailing
inflation. However, the Georgian Government suffers from limited
resources due to a chronic failure to collect tax revenues. Georgia
also suffers from energy shortages; it privatized the T'bilisi
distribution network in 1998, but collection rates are low, making
the venture unprofitable. The country is pinning its hopes for
long-term growth on its role as a transit state for pipelines and
trade. The start of construction on the Baku-T'bilisi-Ceyhan oil
pipeline and the Baku-T'bilisi-Erzerum gas pipeline will bring
much-needed investment and job opportunities.

GDP:
purchasing power parity - $12.18 billion (2003 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
5.5% (2003 est.)

GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $2,500 (2003 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 20.5% industry: 22.6% services: 56.9% (2003 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):
18% of GDP (2003)

Population below poverty line:
54% (2001 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 2.3% highest 10%: 27.9% (1996)

Distribution of family income - Gini index:
37.1 (1996)

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

Labor force:
2.1 million (2001 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture 40%, industry 20%, services 40% (1999 est.)

Unemployment rate:
17% (2001 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $603.5 million
expenditures: $700.5 million, including capital expenditures of NA
(2003 est.)

Agriculture - products:
citrus, grapes, tea, hazelnuts, vegetables; livestock

Industries:
steel, aircraft, machine tools, electrical appliances, mining
(manganese and copper), chemicals, wood products, wine

Industrial production growth rate:
3% (2000)

Electricity - production:
7.27 billion kWh (2001)

Electricity - consumption:
7.611 billion kWh (2001)

Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2001)

Electricity - imports:
850 million kWh (2001)

Oil - production:
2,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - consumption:
31,500 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - exports:
NA (2001)

Oil - imports:
NA (2001)

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

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

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

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

Current account balance:
$-365 million (2003)

Exports:
$615 million (2003 est.)

Exports - commodities:
scrap metal, machinery, chemicals; fuel reexports; citrus fruits,
tea, wine

Exports - partners:
Russia 17.7%, Turkey 17.3%, Turkmenistan 12.2%, Armenia 8.6%,
Switzerland 6.9%, Ukraine 6.3%, UK 5.9% (2003)

Imports:
$1.25 billion (2003 est.)

Imports - commodities:
fuels, machinery and parts, transport equipment, grain and other
foods, pharmaceuticals

Imports - partners:
Russia 14%, UK 12.9%, Turkey 9.9%, Azerbaijan 8.3%, US 8%, Germany
7.3%, Ukraine 7%, France 4.9% (2003)

Reserves of foreign exchange & gold:
$190.7 million (2003)

Debt - external:
$1.8 billion (2002)

Economic aid - recipient:
ODA $150 million (2000 est.)

Currency:
lari (GEL)

Currency code:
GEL

Exchange rates:
lari per US dollar - 2.1457 (2003), 2.1957 (2002), 2.073 (2001),
1.9762 (2000), 2.0245 (1999)

Fiscal year:
calendar year

Communications Georgia

Telephones - main lines in use:
650,500 (2003)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
522,300 (2003)

Telephone system:
general assessment: NA
domestic: local - T'bilisi and K'ut'aisi have cellular telephone
networks; urban telephone density is about 20 per 100 people; rural
telephone density is about 4 per 100 people; intercity facilities
include a fiber-optic line between T'bilisi and K'ut'aisi;
nationwide pager service is available
international: country code - 995; Georgia and Russia are working on
a fiber-optic line between P'ot'i and Sochi (Russia); present
international service is available by microwave, landline, and
satellite through the Moscow switch; international electronic mail
and telex service are available

Radio broadcast stations:
AM 7, FM 12, shortwave 4 (1998)

Radios:
3.02 million (1997)

Television broadcast stations:
12 (plus repeaters) (1998)

Televisions:
2.57 million (1997)

Internet country code:
.ge

Internet hosts:
5,160 (2004)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
6 (2000)

Internet users:
150,500 (2003)

Transportation Georgia

Railways:
total: 1,612 km (1,612 km electrified)
broad gauge: 1,575 km 1.520-m gauge (1,575 electrified)
narrow gauge: 37 km 0.912-m gauge (37 electrified) (2003)

Highways:
total: 20,363 km
paved: 19,038 km
unpaved: 1,325 km (2000)

Pipelines:
gas 1,697 km; oil 1,027 km; refined products 232 km (2004)

Ports and harbors:
Bat'umi, P'ot'i, Sokhumi

Merchant marine:
total: 144 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 855,908 GRT/1,288,812 DWT
by type: bulk 20, cargo 95, chemical tanker 1, container 11,
liquefied gas 1, multi-functional large load carrier 1, passenger 1,
petroleum tanker 9, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 2,
short-sea/passenger 1, specialized tanker 1
foreign-owned: Albania 2, Belize 2, British Virgin Islands 2,
Bulgaria 1, Cyprus 5, Ecuador 1, Egypt 3, Estonia 1, Germany 1,
Gibraltar 1, Greece 13, Israel 1, Italy 1, Latvia 4, Lebanon 3,
Liberia 2, Madagascar 1, Malta 1, Netherlands 2, Norway 1, Panama 8,
Romania 6, Russia 10, Saint Kitts and Nevis 3, Saint Vincent and the
Grenadines 4, Saudi Arabia 1, Syria 31, Turkey 10, Ukraine 16,
registered in other countries: 1 (2004 est.)

Airports:
31 (2003 est.)

Airports - with paved runways: total: 17 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 7 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 under 914 m: 2 (2003 est.) 914 to 1,523 m: 2

Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 13 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 10 (2004 est.)

Heliports:
2 (2003 est.)

Transportation - note:
transportation network is in poor condition resulting from ethnic
conflict, criminal activities, and fuel shortages; network lacks
maintenance and repair

Military Georgia

Military branches:
Ground Forces (including National Guard), Air and Air Defense
Forces, Maritime Defense Force

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

Military manpower - availability:
males age 15-49: 1,156,302 (2004 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service:
males age 15-49: 906,400 (2004 est.)

Military manpower - reaching military age annually:
males: 39,570 (2004 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
$23 million (FY00)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
0.59% (FY00)

Military - note:
a CIS peacekeeping force of Russian troops is deployed in the
Abkhazia region of Georgia together with a UN military observer
group; a Russian peacekeeping battalion is deployed in South Ossetia

Transnational Issues Georgia

Disputes - international:
about a third of the boundary with Russia remains undelimited, and
none of it demarcated, with several small, strategic segments
remaining in dispute; OSCE observers monitor volatile areas such as
the Pankisi Gorge in the Akhmeti region and the Argun Gorge in
Abkhazia; Meshkheti Turks scattered throughout the former Soviet
Union seek to return to Georgia; boundary with Armenia remains
undemarcated; ethnic Armenian groups in Javakheti region of Georgia
seek greater autonomy from the Georgian government; Azerbaijan
protests Georgian construction at the Red Bridge crossing and
several other small segments of boundary, which remain unresolved
until delimitation

Refugees and internally displaced persons:
IDPs: 260,000 (displaced from Abkhazia and South Ossetia) (2004)

Illicit drugs:
limited cultivation of cannabis and opium poppy, mostly for
domestic consumption; used as transshipment point for opiates via
Central Asia to Western Europe and Russia

This page was last updated on 10 February, 2005

@Germany

Introduction Germany

Background:
As Europe's largest economy and most populous nation, Germany
remains a key member of the continent's economic, political, and
defense organizations. European power struggles immersed Germany in
two devastating World Wars in the first half of the 20th century and
left the country occupied by the victorious Allied powers of the US,
UK, France, and the Soviet Union in 1945. With the advent of the
Cold War, two German states were formed in 1949: the western Federal
Republic of Germany (FRG) and the eastern German Democratic Republic
(GDR). The democratic FRG embedded itself in key Western economic
and security organizations, the EC, which became the EU, and NATO,
while the Communist GDR was on the front line of the Soviet-led
Warsaw Pact. The decline of the USSR and the end of the Cold War
allowed for German unification in 1990. Since then, Germany has
expended considerable funds to bring Eastern productivity and wages
up to Western standards. In January 1999, Germany and 10 other EU
countries introduced a common European exchange currency, the euro.

Geography Germany

Location:
Central Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, between
the Netherlands and Poland, south of Denmark

Geographic coordinates:
51 00 N, 9 00 E

Map references:
Europe

Area:
total: 357,021 sq km
water: 7,798 sq km
land: 349,223 sq km

Area - comparative:
slightly smaller than Montana

Land boundaries:
total: 3,621 km
border countries: Austria 784 km, Belgium 167 km, Czech Republic 646
km, Denmark 68 km, France 451 km, Luxembourg 138 km, Netherlands 577
km, Poland 456 km, Switzerland 334 km

Coastline:
2,389 km

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

Climate:
temperate and marine; cool, cloudy, wet winters and summers;
occasional warm mountain (foehn) wind

Terrain:
lowlands in north, uplands in center, Bavarian Alps in south

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Neuendorf bei Wilster -3.54 m
highest point: Zugspitze 2,963 m

Natural resources:
coal, lignite, natural gas, iron ore, copper, nickel, uranium,
potash, salt, construction materials, timber, arable land

Land use: arable land: 33.85% permanent crops: 0.59% other: 65.56% (2001)

Irrigated land:
4,850 sq km (1998 est.)

Natural hazards:
flooding

Environment - current issues:
emissions from coal-burning utilities and industries contribute to
air pollution; acid rain, resulting from sulfur dioxide emissions,
is damaging forests; pollution in the Baltic Sea from raw sewage and
industrial effluents from rivers in eastern Germany; hazardous waste
disposal; government established a mechanism for ending the use of
nuclear power over the next 15 years; government working to meet EU
commitment to identify nature preservation areas in line with the
EU's Flora, Fauna, and Habitat directive

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, Ozone Layer
Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94,
Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants

Geography - note:
strategic location on North European Plain and along the entrance
to the Baltic Sea

People Germany

Population:
82,424,609 (July 2004 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 14.7% (male 6,197,490; female 5,879,052)
15-64 years: 67% (male 28,119,536; female 27,132,713)
65 years and over: 18.3% (male 6,096,106; female 8,999,712) (2004
est.)

Median age: total: 41.7 years male: 40.4 years female: 43.2 years (2004 est.)

Population growth rate:
0.02% (2004 est.)

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

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

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

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female
total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2004 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 4.2 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 3.73 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
male: 4.64 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 78.54 years
male: 75.56 years
female: 81.68 years (2004 est.)

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

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

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
41,000 (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
less than 1,000 (2003 est.)

Nationality:
noun: German(s)
adjective: German

Ethnic groups:
German 91.5%, Turkish 2.4%, other 6.1% (made up largely of Greek,
Italian, Polish, Russian, Serbo-Croatian, Spanish)

Religions:
Protestant 34%, Roman Catholic 34%, Muslim 3.7%, unaffiliated or
other 28.3%

Languages:
German

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99% (1997 est.)
male: NA
female: NA

Government Germany

Country name:
conventional long form: Federal Republic of Germany
conventional short form: Germany
local short form: Deutschland
former: German Empire, German Republic, German Reich
local long form: Bundesrepublik Deutschland

Government type:
federal republic

Capital:
Berlin

Administrative divisions:
13 states (Laender, singular - Land) and 3 free states*
(Freistaaten, singular - Freistaat); Baden-Wuerttemberg, Bayern*,
Berlin, Brandenburg, Bremen, Hamburg, Hessen,
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Niedersachsen, Nordrhein-Westfalen,
Rheinland-Pfalz, Saarland, Sachsen*, Sachsen-Anhalt,
Schleswig-Holstein, Thueringen*

Independence:
18 January 1871 (German Empire unification); divided into four
zones of occupation (UK, US, USSR, and later, France) in 1945
following World War II; Federal Republic of Germany (FRG or West
Germany) proclaimed 23 May 1949 and included the former UK, US, and
French zones; German Democratic Republic (GDR or East Germany)
proclaimed 7 October 1949 and included the former USSR zone;
unification of West Germany and East Germany took place 3 October
1990; all four powers formally relinquished rights 15 March 1991

National holiday:
Unity Day, 3 October (1990)

Constitution:
23 May 1949, known as Basic Law; became constitution of the united
German people 3 October 1990

Legal system:
civil law system with indigenous concepts; judicial review of
legislative acts in the Federal Constitutional Court; has not
accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
chief of state: President Horst KOEHLER (since 1 July 2004)
elections: president elected for a five-year term by a Federal
Convention including all members of the Federal Assembly and an
equal number of delegates elected by the state parliaments; election
last held 23 May 2004 (next to be held 23 May 2009); chancellor
elected by an absolute majority of the Federal Assembly for a
four-year term; election last held 22 September 2002 (next to be
held September 2006)
head of government: Chancellor Gerhard SCHROEDER (since 27 October
1998); Vice Chancellor Joschka FISCHER (since 17 October 1998)
cabinet: Cabinet or Bundesminister (Federal Ministers) appointed by
the president on the recommendation of the chancellor
election results: Horst KOEHLER elected president; received 604
votes of the Federal Convention against 589 for Gesine SCHWAN;
Gerhard SCHROEDER elected chancellor; percent of Federal Assembly
vote 50.7%

Legislative branch:
bicameral Parliament or Parlament consists of the Federal Assembly
or Bundestag (603 seats; elected by popular vote under a system
combining direct and proportional representation; a party must win
5% of the national vote or three direct mandates to gain
representation; members serve four-year terms) and the Federal
Council or Bundesrat (69 votes; state governments are directly
represented by votes; each has 3 to 6 votes depending on population
and are required to vote as a block)
elections: Federal Assembly - last held 22 September 2002 (next to
be held NA September 2006); note - there are no elections for the
Bundesrat; composition is determined by the composition of the
state-level governments; the composition of the Bundesrat has the
potential to change any time one of the 16 states holds an election
election results: Federal Assembly - percent of vote by party - SPD
38.5%, CDU/CSU 38.5%, Alliance '90/Greens 8.6%, FDP 7.4%, PDS 4%;
seats by party - SPD 251, CDU/CSU 248, Alliance '90/Greens 55, FDP
47, PDS 2; Federal Council - current composition - NA

Judicial branch:
Federal Constitutional Court or Bundesverfassungsgericht (half the
judges are elected by the Bundestag and half by the Bundesrat)

Political parties and leaders:
Alliance '90/Greens [Angelika BEER and Reinhard BUETIKOFER];
Christian Democratic Union or CDU [Angela MERKEL]; Christian Social
Union or CSU [Edmund STOIBER, chairman]; Free Democratic Party or
FDP [Guido WESTERWELLE, chairman]; Party of Democratic Socialism or
PDS [Lothar BISKY]; Social Democratic Party or SPD [Franz
MUENTEFERING]

Political pressure groups and leaders:
business associations, employers' organizations; expellee, refugee,
trade unions, and veterans groups

International organization participation:
AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CBSS, CDB, CE,
CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, G- 5, G- 7, G- 8, 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, NAM
(guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Paris
Club, PCA, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIK,
UNMOVIC, UNOMIG, UPU, WADB (nonregional), WCO, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO,
WToO, WTO, ZC

Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Wolfgang Friedrich ISCHINGER consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco FAX: (202) 298-4249 telephone: (202) 298-8140 chancery: 4645 Reservoir Road NW, Washington, DC 20007

Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Daniel R. COATS embassy: Neustaedtische Kirchstrasse 4-5, 10117 Berlin; note - a new embassy will be built near the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin; ground was broken in October 2004 and completion is scheduled for 2008 mailing address: PSC 120, Box 1000, APO AE 09265 telephone: (030) 8305-0 FAX: (030) 8305-1215 consulate(s) general: Duesseldorf, Frankfurt am Main, Hamburg, Leipzig, Munich

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

Economy Germany

Economy - overview:
Germany's affluent and technologically powerful economy- the fifth
largest national economy in the world - has become one of the
slowest growing economies in the entire euro zone, and a quick
turnaround is not in the offing in the foreseeable future. Growth in
2001-03 fell short of 1%. The modernization and integration of the
eastern German economy continues to be a costly long-term process,
with annual transfers from west to east amounting to roughly $70
billion. Germany's ageing population, combined with high
unemployment, has pushed social security outlays to a level
exceeding contributions from workers. Structural rigidities in the
labor market - including strict regulations on laying off workers
and the setting of wages on a national basis - have made
unemployment a chronic problem. Corporate restructuring and growing
capital markets are setting the foundations that could allow Germany
to meet the long-term challenges of European economic integration
and globalization, particularly if labor market rigidities are
further addressed. The government is also starting long-needed
structural reforms designed to revitalize the country's economy. In
the short run, however, the fall in government revenues and the rise
in expenditures have raised the deficit above the EU's 3% debt limit.

GDP:
purchasing power parity - $2.271 trillion (2003 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
-0.1% (2003 est.)

GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $27,600 (2003 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 1% industry: 31% services: 68% (2002 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):
17.7% of GDP (2003)

Population below poverty line:
NA

Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 3.6% highest 10%: 25.1% (1997)

Distribution of family income - Gini index:
30 (1994)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
1.1% (2003 est.)

Labor force:
42.63 million (2003)

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture 2.8%, industry 33.4%, services 63.8% (1999)

Unemployment rate:
10.5% (2003 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $1.079 trillion
expenditures: $1.173 trillion, including capital expenditures of NA
(2003 est.)

Public debt:
64.2% of GDP (2003)

Agriculture - products:
potatoes, wheat, barley, sugar beets, fruit, cabbages; cattle,
pigs, poultry

Industries:
among the world's largest and most technologically advanced
producers of iron, steel, coal, cement, chemicals, machinery,
vehicles, machine tools, electronics, food and beverages;
shipbuilding; textiles

Industrial production growth rate:
0.2% (2003 est.)

Electricity - production:
544.8 billion kWh (2001)

Electricity - consumption:
506.8 billion kWh (2001)

Electricity - exports:
43.9 billion kWh (2001)

Electricity - imports:
44 billion kWh (2001)

Oil - production:
85,860 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - consumption:
2.813 million bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - exports:
404,300 bbl/day (2001)

Oil - imports:
3.081 million bbl/day (2001)

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

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

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

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

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

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

Current account balance:
$57.24 billion (2003)

Exports:
$696.9 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)

Exports - commodities:
machinery, vehicles, chemicals, metals and manufactures,
foodstuffs, textiles

Exports - partners:
France 10.6%, US 9.3%, UK 8.4%, Italy 7.4%, Netherlands 6.2%,
Austria 5.3%, Belgium 5.1%, Spain 4.9%, Switzerland 4% (2003)

Imports:
$585 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)

Imports - commodities:
machinery, vehicles, chemicals, foodstuffs, textiles, metals

Imports - partners:
France 9.2%, Netherlands 8.4%, US 7.3%, Italy 6.3%, UK 6%, Belgium
4.9%, China 4.7%, Austria 4% (2003)

Reserves of foreign exchange & gold:
$96.84 billion (2003)

Debt - external:
NA (2000 est.)

Economic aid - donor:
ODA, $5.6 billion (1998)

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 Germany

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

Telephones - mobile cellular:
64.8 million (2003)

Telephone system:
general assessment: Germany has one of the world's most
technologically advanced telecommunications systems; as a result of
intensive capital expenditures since reunification, the formerly
backward system of the eastern part of the country, dating back to
World War II, has been modernized and integrated with that of the
western part
domestic: Germany is served by an extensive system of automatic
telephone exchanges connected by modern networks of fiber-optic
cable, coaxial cable, microwave radio relay, and a domestic
satellite system; cellular telephone service is widely available,
expanding rapidly, and includes roaming service to many foreign
countries
international: country code - 49; Germany's international service is
excellent worldwide, consisting of extensive land and undersea cable
facilities as well as earth stations in the INMARSAT, INTELSAT,
EUTELSAT, and INTERSPUTNIK satellite systems (2001)

Radio broadcast stations:
AM 51, FM 787, shortwave 4 (1998)

Radios:
77.8 million (1997)

Television broadcast stations:
373 (plus 8,042 repeaters) (1995)

Televisions:
51.4 million (1998)

Internet country code:
.de

Internet hosts:
2,686,119 (2004)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
200 (2001)

Internet users:
39 million (2003)

Transportation Germany

Railways:
total: 46,039 km (20,100 km electrified)
standard gauge: 45,801 km 1.435-m gauge (20,084 km electrified)
narrow gauge: 214 km 1.000-m gauge (16 km electrified); 24 km
0.750-m gauge (2003)

Highways:
total: 230,735 km
paved: 230,735 km (including 11,515 km of expressways)
unpaved: 0 km (1999)

Waterways:
7,300 km
note: Rhine River carries most goods; Main-Danube Canal links North
Sea and Black Sea (2004)

Pipelines:
condensate 325 km; gas 25,293 km; oil 3,540 km; refined products
3,827 km (2004)

Ports and harbors:
Berlin, Bonn, Brake, Bremen, Bremerhaven, Cologne, Dresden,
Duisburg, Emden, Hamburg, Karlsruhe, Kiel, Luebeck, Magdeburg,
Mannheim, Rostock, Stuttgart

Merchant marine:
total: 278 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 5,721,495 GRT/6,810,631 DWT
by type: cargo 71, chemical tanker 14, container 169, liquefied gas
3, multi-functional large load carrier 1, passenger 3, petroleum
tanker 5, rail car carrier 2, roll on/roll off 3,
short-sea/passenger 7
registered in other countries: 2,295 (2004 est.)
foreign-owned: Finland 4, Iceland 1, Netherlands 3

Airports:
550 (2003 est.)

Airports - with paved runways: total: 331 over 3,047 m: 13 2,438 to 3,047 m: 51 914 to 1,523 m: 71 under 914 m: 134 (2004 est.) 1,524 to 2,437 m: 62

Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 219 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 under 914 m: 185 (2004 est.) 914 to 1,523 m: 31

Heliports: 34 (2003 est.)

Military Germany

Military branches:
Army (Heer), Navy (Deutsche Marine; including Naval Air arm), Air
Force (Luftwaffe), Joint Support Service, Central Medical Service

Military manpower - military age and obligation:
18 years of age (conscripts serve a nine-month tour of compulsory
military service) (2004 est.)

Military manpower - availability:
males age 15-49: 20,468,942 (2004 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service:
males age 15-49: 17,338,435 (2004 est.)

Military manpower - reaching military age annually:
males: 484,837 (2004 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
$35.063 billion (2003)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
1.5% (2003)

Transnational Issues Germany

Disputes - international:
none

Illicit drugs:
source of precursor chemicals for South American cocaine
processors; transshipment point for and consumer of Southwest Asian
heroin, Latin American cocaine, and European-produced synthetic
drugs; major financial center

This page was last updated on 10 February, 2005

@Ghana

Introduction Ghana

Background:
Formed from the merger of the British colony of the Gold Coast and
the Togoland trust territory, Ghana in 1957 became the first
sub-Saharan country in colonial Africa to gain its independence. A
long series of coups resulted in the suspension of the constitution
in 1981 and the banning of political parties. A new constitution,
restoring multiparty politics, was approved in 1992. Lt. Jerry
RAWLINGS, head of state since 1981, won presidential elections in
1992 and 1996, but was constitutionally prevented from running for a
third term in 2000. He was succeeded by John KUFUOR, who defeated
former Vice President Atta MILLS in a free and fair election.

Geography Ghana

Location:
Western Africa, bordering the Gulf of Guinea, between Cote d'Ivoire
and Togo

Geographic coordinates:
8 00 N, 2 00 W

Map references:
Africa

Area:
total: 239,460 sq km
land: 230,940 sq km
water: 8,520 sq km

Area - comparative:
slightly smaller than Oregon

Land boundaries:
total: 2,094 km
border countries: Burkina Faso 549 km, Cote d'Ivoire 668 km, Togo
877 km

Coastline:
539 km

Maritime claims: territorial sea: 12 nm continental shelf: 200 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

Climate:
tropical; warm and comparatively dry along southeast coast; hot and
humid in southwest; hot and dry in north

Terrain:
mostly low plains with dissected plateau in south-central area

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Afadjato 880 m

Natural resources:
gold, timber, industrial diamonds, bauxite, manganese, fish,
rubber, hydropower

Land use: arable land: 16.26% permanent crops: 9.67% other: 74.07% (2001)

Irrigated land:
110 sq km (1998 est.)

Natural hazards:
dry, dusty, northeastern harmattan winds occur from January to
March; droughts

Environment - current issues: recurrent drought in north severely affects agricultural activities; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; poaching and habitat destruction threatens wildlife populations; water pollution; inadequate supplies of potable water

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, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94,
Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Marine Life Conservation

Geography - note:
Lake Volta is the world's largest artificial lake

People Ghana

Population:
20,757,032
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: 38% (male 3,988,800; female 3,904,989)
15-64 years: 58.3% (male 6,030,151; female 6,071,725)
65 years and over: 3.7% (male 359,042; female 402,325) (2004 est.)

Median age:
total: 20 years
male: 19.8 years
female: 20.3 years (2004 est.)

Population growth rate:
1.36% (2004 est.)

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

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

Net migration rate:
-0.64 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: 0.99 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.89 male(s)/female
total population: 1 male(s)/female (2004 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 52.22 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 49.25 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
male: 55.1 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 56.27 years
male: 55.36 years
female: 57.22 years (2004 est.)

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

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
3.1% (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
350,000 (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
30,000 (2003 est.)

Major infectious diseases:
typhoid fever, malaria, yellow fever, schistosomiasis
overall degree of risk: very high (2004)

Nationality:
noun: Ghanaian(s)
adjective: Ghanaian

Ethnic groups:
black African 98.5% (major tribes - Akan 44%, Moshi-Dagomba 16%,
Ewe 13%, Ga 8%, Gurma 3%, Yoruba 1%), European and other 1.5% (1998)

Religions:
Christian 63%, Muslim 16%, indigenous beliefs 21%

Languages:
English (official), African languages (including Akan,
Moshi-Dagomba, Ewe, and Ga)

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
female: 67.1% (2003 est.)
male: 82.7%
total population: 74.8%

People - note:
there are 9,500 Liberians, 2,000 Sierra Leoneans, and 1,000
Togolese refugees residing in Ghana (2002)

Government Ghana

Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of Ghana
conventional short form: Ghana
former: Gold Coast

Government type:
constitutional democracy

Capital:
Accra

Administrative divisions:
10 regions; Ashanti, Brong-Ahafo, Central, Eastern, Greater Accra,
Northern, Upper East, Upper West, Volta, Western

Independence:
6 March 1957 (from UK)

National holiday:
Independence Day, 6 March (1957)

Constitution:
approved 28 April 1992

Legal system:
based on English common law and customary law; has not accepted
compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
chief of state: President John Agyekum KUFUOR (since 7 January
2001); Vice President Alhaji Aliu MAHAMA (since 7 January 2001);
note - the president is both the chief of state and head of
government
head of government: President John Agyekum KUFUOR (since 7 January
2001); Vice President Alhaji Aliu MAHAMA (since 7 January 2001);
note - the president is both the chief of state and head of
government
cabinet: Council of Ministers; president nominates members subject
to approval by Parliament
elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket
by popular vote for four-year terms; election last held 7 December
2004 (next to be held December 2008)
election results: John Agyekum KUFUOR reelected president in
election; percent of vote - John KUFUOR 53.4%, John Atta MILLS 43.7%

Legislative branch:
unicameral Parliament (230 seats; note - increased from 200 seats
in last election; members are elected by direct, popular vote to
serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 7 December 2004 (next to be held December 2008)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party -
NPP 128, NDC 92, other 10

Judicial branch:
Supreme Court

Political parties and leaders:
Convention People's Party or CPP [Nii Noi DOWUONA, general
secretary]; Every Ghanaian Living Everywhere or EGLE [Owuraku AMOFA,
chairman]; Great Consolidated Popular Party or GCPP [Dan LARTY];
National Convention Party or NCP [Sarpong KUMA-KUMA]; National
Democratic Congress or NDC [Dr. Huudu YAHAYA, general secretary];
New Patriotic Party or NPP [Samuel Arthur ODOI-SYKES]; People's
Convention Party or PCP [P. K. DONKOH-AYIFI, acting chairman];
People's Heritage Party or PHP [Emmanuel Alexander ERSKINE];
People's National Convention or PNC [Edward MAHAMA]; Reform Party
[Kyeretwie OPUKU, general secretary]

Political pressure groups and leaders:
NA

International organization participation:
ACP, AfDB, AU, C, ECOWAS, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC,
ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol,
IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, MIGA, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM, OAS
(observer), ONUB, OPCW, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIFIL,
UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIK, UNMIL, UNOCI, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO,
WMO, WToO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Alan J. KYEREMATEN
consulate(s) general: New York
FAX: (202) 686-4527
telephone: (202) 686-4520
chancery: 3512 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Mary Carlin YATES
embassy: 6th and 10th Lanes, 798/1 Osu, Accra
mailing address: P. O. Box 194, Accra
telephone: (21) 775-347, 775-348
FAX: (21) 701-813

Flag description:
three equal horizontal bands of red (top), yellow, and green with a
large black five-pointed star centered in the yellow band; uses the
popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia; similar to the flag of
Bolivia, which has a coat of arms centered in the yellow band

Economy Ghana

Economy - overview:
Well endowed with natural resources, Ghana has roughly twice the
per capita output of the poorer countries in West Africa. Even so,
Ghana remains heavily dependent on international financial and
technical assistance. Gold, timber, and cocoa production are major
sources of foreign exchange. The domestic economy continues to
revolve around subsistence agriculture, which accounts for 35% of
GDP and employs 60% of the work force, mainly small landholders.
Ghana opted for debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Country
(HIPC) program in 2002. Policy priorities include tighter monetary
and fiscal policies, accelerated privatization, and improvement of
social services. Receipts from the gold sector should help sustain
GDP growth in 2004. Inflation should ease, but remain a major
internal problem.

GDP:
purchasing power parity - $44.44 billion (2003 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
4.7% (2003 est.)

GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $2,200 (2003 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 35.4% industry: 25.4% services: 39.2% (2003 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):
24.5% of GDP (2003)

Population below poverty line:
31.4% (1992 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 2.2% highest 10%: 30.1% (1999)

Distribution of family income - Gini index:
40.7 (1999)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
26.7% (2003 est.)

Labor force:
10 million (2003 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture 60%, industry 15%, services 25% (1999 est.)

Unemployment rate:
20% (1997 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $1.943 billion
expenditures: $2.192 billion, including capital expenditures of NA
(2003 est.)

Agriculture - products:
cocoa, rice, coffee, cassava (tapioca), peanuts, corn, shea nuts,
bananas; timber

Industries:
mining, lumbering, light manufacturing, aluminum smelting, food
processing

Industrial production growth rate:
3.8% (2000 est.)

Electricity - production:
8.801 billion kWh (2001)

Electricity - consumption:
8.835 billion kWh (2001)

Electricity - exports:
300 million kWh (2001)

Electricity - imports:
950 million kWh (2001)

Oil - production:
7,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - consumption:
38,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - exports:
NA (2001)

Oil - imports:
NA (2001)

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

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

Current account balance:
$110 million (2003)

Exports:
$2.642 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)

Exports - commodities:
gold, cocoa, timber, tuna, bauxite, aluminum, manganese ore,
diamonds

Exports - partners:
Netherlands 11.2%, UK 10.7%, France 7.7%, Germany 6.2%, Japan 5.2%,
Italy 4.6%, Turkey 4.4%, US 4.3% (2003)

Imports:
$3.24 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)

Imports - commodities:
capital equipment, petroleum, foodstuffs

Imports - partners:
Nigeria 13.2%, China 9.3%, UK 7.2%, US 6.1%, Germany 4.8%, France
4.5%, South Africa 4% (2003)

Reserves of foreign exchange & gold:
$1.469 billion (2003)

Debt - external:
$7.398 billion (2003 est.)

Economic aid - recipient:
$6.9 billion (1999)

Currency:
cedi (GHC)

Currency code:
GHC

Exchange rates:
cedis per US dollar - NA (2003), 7,932.7 (2002), 7,170.76 (2001),
5,455.06 (2000), 2,669.3 (1999)

Fiscal year:
calendar year

Communications Ghana

Telephones - main lines in use:
302,300 (2003)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
799,900 (2003)

Telephone system:
general assessment: poor to fair system; Internet accessible; many
rural communities not yet connected; expansion of services is
underway
domestic: primarily microwave radio relay; wireless local loop has
been installed
international: country code - 233; satellite earth stations - 4
Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); microwave radio relay link to Panaftel
system connects Ghana to its neighbors; fiber optic submarine cable
(SAT-3/WASC) provides connectivity to Europe and Asia

Radio broadcast stations:
AM 0, FM 49, shortwave 3 (2001)

Radios:
12.5 million (2001)

Television broadcast stations:
10 (2001)

Televisions:
1.9 million (2001)

Internet country code:
.gh

Internet hosts:
407 (2004)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
12 (2000)

Internet users:
170,000 (2002)

Transportation Ghana

Railways: total: 953 km narrow gauge: 953 km 1.067-m gauge (2003)

Highways: total: 39,409 km paved: 11,665 km unpaved: 27,744 km (1999 est.)

Waterways:
1,293 km
note: 168 km for launches and lighters on Volta, Ankobra, and Tano
rivers; 1,125 km of arterial and feeder waterways on Lake Volta
(2003)

Pipelines:
refined products 74 km (2004)

Ports and harbors:
Takoradi, Tema

Merchant marine:
total: 8 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 19,086 GRT/26,185 DWT
foreign-owned: Brazil 1, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1, Spain 1
(2004 est.)
by type: petroleum tanker 3, refrigerated cargo 5

Airports:
12 (2003 est.)

Airports - with paved runways:
total: 7
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 4
914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2004 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 5
914 to 1,523 m: 3
under 914 m: 2 (2004 est.)

Military Ghana

Military branches:
Army, Navy, Air Force

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

Military manpower - availability:
males age 15-49: 5,391,378 (2004 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service:
males age 15-49: 2,994,600 (2004 est.)

Military manpower - reaching military age annually:
males: 244,809 (2004 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
$44 million (2003)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
0.6% (2003)

Transnational Issues Ghana

Disputes - international: Ghana must still deal with refugees and returning nationals escaping rebel fighting in Cote d'Ivoire

Refugees and internally displaced persons:
refugees (country of origin): 42,466 (Liberia) (2004)

Illicit drugs:
illicit producer of cannabis for the international drug trade;
major transit hub for Southwest and Southeast Asian heroin and, to a
lesser extent, South American cocaine destined for Europe and the
US; widespread crime and corruption have made money laundering a
problem, but the lack of a well-developed financial infrastructure
limits the country's utility as a money-laundering center

This page was last updated on 10 February, 2005

@Gibraltar

Introduction Gibraltar

Background:
Strategically important, Gibraltar was ceded to Great Britain by
Spain in the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht; the British garrison was
formally declared a colony in 1830. In referendums held in 1967 and
2002, Gibraltarians ignored Spanish pressure and voted
overwhelmingly to remain a British dependency.

Geography Gibraltar

Location:
Southwestern Europe, bordering the Strait of Gibraltar, which links
the Mediterranean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, on the southern
coast of Spain

Geographic coordinates:
36 8 N, 5 21 W

Map references:
Europe

Area:
total: 6.5 sq km
water: 0 sq km
land: 6.5 sq km

Area - comparative:
about 11 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC

Land boundaries: total: 1.2 km border countries: Spain 1.2 km

Coastline:
12 km

Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 3 nm

Climate:
Mediterranean with mild winters and warm summers

Terrain:
a narrow coastal lowland borders the Rock of Gibraltar

Elevation extremes: lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m highest point: Rock of Gibraltar 426 m

Natural resources: none

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

Irrigated land:
NA sq km

Natural hazards:
NA

Environment - current issues:
limited natural freshwater resources: large concrete or natural
rock water catchments collect rainwater (no longer used for drinking
water) and adequate desalination plant

Geography - note:
strategic location on Strait of Gibraltar that links the North
Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea

People Gibraltar

Population:
27,833 (July 2004 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 18% (male 2,554; female 2,452)
15-64 years: 66.2% (male 9,460; female 8,965)
65 years and over: 15.8% (male 1,939; female 2,463) (2004 est.)

Median age:
total: 39 years
male: 38.8 years
female: 39.2 years (2004 est.)

Population growth rate:
0.19% (2004 est.)

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

Death rate:
9.05 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: 1.06 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.79 male(s)/female
total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2004 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 5.22 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 4.59 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
male: 5.81 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 79.52 years
male: 76.65 years
female: 82.54 years (2004 est.)

Total fertility rate:
1.65 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: Gibraltarian(s)
adjective: Gibraltar

Ethnic groups:
Spanish, Italian, English, Maltese, Portuguese, German, North
Africans

Religions:
Roman Catholic 76.9%, Church of England 6.9%, Muslim 6.9%, Jewish
2.3%, none or other 7% (1991)

Languages:
English (used in schools and for official purposes), Spanish,
Italian, Portuguese

Literacy: definition: NA total population: above 80% male: NA female: NA

Government Gibraltar

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

Dependency status:
overseas territory of the UK

Government type:
NA

Capital:
Gibraltar

Administrative divisions:
none (overseas territory of the UK)

Independence:
none (overseas territory of the UK)

National holiday:
National Day, 10 September (1967); note - day of the national
referendum to decide whether to remain with the UK or go with Spain

Constitution:
30 May 1969

Legal system:
English law

Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal, plus other UK subjects who have been
residents six months or more

Executive branch:
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952),
represented by Governor and Commander-in-Chief Sir Francis RICHARDS
(since 27 May 2003)
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 chief minister by the governor
head of government: Chief Minister Peter CARUANA (since 17 May 1996)
cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed from among the 15 elected
members of the House of Assembly by the governor in consultation
with the chief minister

Legislative branch:
unicameral House of Assembly (18 seats - 15 elected by popular
vote, one appointed for the Speaker, and two ex officio members;
members serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 27 November 2003 (next to be held not later
than February 2008)
election results: percent of vote by party - GSD 58%, GSLP 41%;
seats by party - GSD 8, GSLP 7

Judicial branch:
Supreme Court; Court of Appeal

Political parties and leaders:
Gibraltar Liberal Party [Joseph GARCIA]; Gibraltar Social Democrats
or GSD [Peter CARUANA]; Gibraltar Socialist Labor Party or GSLP
[Joseph John BOSSANO]

Political pressure groups and leaders:
Chamber of Commerce; Gibraltar Representatives Organization;
Women's Association

International organization participation:
Interpol (subbureau), UPU

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

Diplomatic representation from the US:
none (overseas territory of the UK)

Flag description:
two horizontal bands of white (top, double width) and red with a
three-towered red castle in the center of the white band; hanging
from the castle gate is a gold key centered in the red band

Economy Gibraltar

Economy - overview:
Gibraltar benefits from an extensive shipping trade, offshore
banking, and its position as an international conference center. The
British military presence has been sharply reduced and now
contributes about 7% to the local economy, compared with 60% in
1984. The financial sector, tourism (almost 5 million visitors in
1998), shipping services fees, and duties on consumer goods also
generate revenue. The financial sector, the shipping sector, and
tourism each contribute 25%-30% of GDP. Telecommunications accounts
for another 10%. In recent years, Gibraltar has seen major
structural change from a public to a private sector economy, but
changes in government spending still have a major impact on the
level of employment.

GDP:
purchasing power parity - $500 million (1997 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
NA

GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $17,500 (1997 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: NA
industry: NA
services: NA (2002 est.)

Population below poverty line:
NA

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
1.5% (1998)

Labor force:
14,800 (including non-Gibraltar laborers) (1999)

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture negligible, industry 40%, services 60%

Unemployment rate:
2% (2001 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $307 million
expenditures: $284 million, including capital expenditures of NA
(FY00/01 est.)

Agriculture - products:
none

Industries:
tourism, banking and finance, ship repairing, tobacco

Industrial production growth rate:
NA

Electricity - production:
100 million kWh (2001)

Electricity - consumption:
93 million kWh (2001)

Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2001)

Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2001)

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

Oil - consumption:
42,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - exports:
NA (2001)

Oil - imports:
NA (2001)

Exports:
$136 million f.o.b. (2002)

Exports - commodities:
(principally reexports) petroleum 51%, manufactured goods 41%,
other 8%

Exports - partners:
Germany 25.6%, France 24.8%, UK 14.3%, Turkmenistan 9.4%,
Switzerland 7.5%, Spain 5.6% (2003)

Imports:
$1.743 billion c.i.f. (2002)

Imports - commodities:
fuels, manufactured goods, and foodstuffs

Imports - partners:
Spain 26.5%, UK 14.8%, Russia 8.2%, Italy 6.6%, Netherlands 6.5%,
France 5.3%, Germany 4.6%, Romania 4.2% (2003)

Debt - external:
NA (2000 est.)

Economic aid - recipient:
NA

Currency:
Gibraltar pound (GIP)

Currency code:
GIP

Exchange rates:
Gibraltar pounds per US dollar - 0.6661 (2002), 0.6944 (2001),
0.6596 (2000), 0.6180 (1999), 0.6037 (1998); note - the Gibraltar
pound is at par with the British pound

Fiscal year:
1 July - 30 June

Communications Gibraltar

Telephones - main lines in use:
24,512 (2002)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
9,797 (2002)

Telephone system:
general assessment: adequate, automatic domestic system and
adequate international facilities
domestic: automatic exchange facilities
international: country code - 350; radiotelephone; microwave radio
relay; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations:
AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 0 (1998)

Radios:
37,000 (1997)

Television broadcast stations:
1 (plus three low-power repeaters) (1997)

Televisions:
10,000 (1997)

Internet country code:
.gi

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
2 (2000)

Internet users:
6,200 (2002)

Transportation Gibraltar

Highways: total: 29 km paved: 29 km unpaved: 0 km (2002)

Ports and harbors:
Gibraltar

Merchant marine:
total: 133 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 980,636 GRT/1,254,661 DWT
by type: bulk 3, cargo 69, chemical tanker 14, container 27,
multi-functional large load carrier 3, passenger 2, petroleum tanker
13, roll on/roll off 2
registered in other countries: 4 (2004 est.)
foreign-owned: Belgium 1, Cyprus 3, Denmark 1, Estonia 1, France 1,
Germany 92, Greece 11, Hong Kong 2, Iceland 1, Monaco 4, Norway 6,
Spain 1, United Kingdom 6, United States 2

Airports:
1 (2003 est.)

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

Military Gibraltar

Military branches:
Royal Gibraltar Regiment

Military - note:
defense is the responsibility of the UK; the last British regular
infantry forces left Gibraltar in 1992, replaced by the Royal
Gibraltar Regiment

Transnational Issues Gibraltar

Disputes - international:
since Gibraltar residents voted overwhelmingly by referendum in
2003 against a "total shared sovereignty" arrangement, talks between
the UK and Spain over the fate of the 300-year-old UK colony have
stalled; Spain disapproves of UK plans to grant Gibraltar greater
autonomy

This page was last updated on 10 February, 2005

@Glorioso Islands

Introduction Glorioso Islands

Background:
A French possession since 1892, the Glorioso Islands are composed
of two lushly vegetated coral islands (Ile Glorieuse and Ile du Lys)
and three rock islets. A military garrison operates a weather and
radio station on Ile Glorieuse.

Geography Glorioso Islands

Location:
Southern Africa, group of islands in the Indian Ocean, northwest of
Madagascar

Geographic coordinates:
11 30 S, 47 20 E

Map references:
Africa

Area:
total: 5 sq km
note: includes Ile Glorieuse, Ile du Lys, Verte Rocks, Wreck Rock,
and South Rock
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:
35.2 km

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

Climate:
tropical

Terrain:
low and flat

Elevation extremes: lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location 12 m

Natural resources: guano, coconuts

Land use: arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (all lush vegetation and coconut palms) (2001)

Irrigated land:
0 sq km (1998 est.)

Natural hazards:
periodic cyclones

Environment - current issues:
NA

Geography - note:
the islands and rocks are surrounded by an extensive reef system

People Glorioso Islands

Population:
no indigenous inhabitants
note: there is a small French military garrison along with a few
meteorologists; visited by scientists (July 2004 est.)

Government Glorioso Islands

Country name:
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Glorioso Islands
local short form: Iles Glorieuses
local long form: none

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

Diplomatic representation in the US:
none (possession of France)

Diplomatic representation from the US:
none (possession of France)

Flag description:
the flag of France is used

Economy Glorioso Islands

Economy - overview: no economic activity

Communications Glorioso Islands

Communications - note: 1 meteorological station

Transportation Glorioso Islands

Ports and harbors:
none; offshore anchorage only

Airports:
1 (2003 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2004 est.)

Military Glorioso Islands

Military - note: defense is the responsibility of France

Transnational Issues Glorioso Islands

Disputes - international: claimed by Madagascar

This page was last updated on 10 February, 2005

@Greece

Introduction Greece

Background:
Greece achieved its independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1829.
During the second half of the 19th century and the first half of the
20th century, it gradually added neighboring islands and
territories, most with Greek-speaking populations. In World War II,
Greece was first invaded by Italy (1940) and subsequently occupied
by Germany (1941-44); fighting endured in a protracted civil war
between royalist supporters of the king and communist rebels.
Following the latter's defeat in 1949, Greece was able to join NATO
in 1952. A military dictatorship, which in 1967 suspended many
political liberties and forced the king to flee the country, lasted
seven years. The 1974 democratic elections and a referendum created
a parliamentary republic and abolished the monarchy. Greece joined
the European Community or EC in 1981 (which became the EU in 1992);
it became the 12th member of the euro zone in 2001.

Geography Greece

Location:
Southern Europe, bordering the Aegean Sea, Ionian Sea, and the
Mediterranean Sea, between Albania and Turkey

Geographic coordinates:
39 00 N, 22 00 E

Map references:
Europe

Area:
total: 131,940 sq km
water: 1,140 sq km
land: 130,800 sq km

Area - comparative:
slightly smaller than Alabama

Land boundaries:
total: 1,228 km
border countries: Albania 282 km, Bulgaria 494 km, Turkey 206 km,
Macedonia 246 km

Coastline:
13,676 km

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

Climate:
temperate; mild, wet winters; hot, dry summers

Terrain:
mostly mountains with ranges extending into the sea as peninsulas
or chains of islands

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mount Olympus 2,917 m

Natural resources:
lignite, petroleum, iron ore, bauxite, lead, zinc, nickel,
magnesite, marble, salt, hydropower potential

Land use: arable land: 21.1% permanent crops: 8.78% other: 70.12% (2001)

Irrigated land:
14,220 sq km (1998 est.)

Natural hazards:
severe earthquakes

Environment - current issues:
air pollution; water pollution

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

Geography - note:
strategic location dominating the Aegean Sea and southern approach
to Turkish Straits; a peninsular country, possessing an archipelago
of about 2,000 islands

People Greece

Population:
10,647,529 (July 2004 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 14.5% (male 792,938; female 746,119)
15-64 years: 67% (male 3,563,703; female 3,566,549)
65 years and over: 18.6% (male 873,540; female 1,104,680) (2004 est.)

Median age:
total: 40.2 years
male: 39.1 years
female: 41.3 years (2004 est.)

Population growth rate:
0.2% (2004 est.)

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

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

Net migration rate:
2.35 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 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.79 male(s)/female
total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2004 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 5.63 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 6.19 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 5.04 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 78.94 years
female: 81.59 years (2004 est.)
male: 76.44 years

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

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
0.2% (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
8,800 (2001 est.)

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

Nationality:
noun: Greek(s)
adjective: Greek

Ethnic groups:
Greek 98%, other 2%
note: the Greek Government states there are no ethnic divisions in
Greece

Religions:
Greek Orthodox 98%, Muslim 1.3%, other 0.7%

Languages:
Greek 99% (official), English, French

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
female: 96.5% (2003 est.)
total population: 97.5%
male: 98.6%

People - note:
women, men, and children are trafficked to and within Greece for
the purposes of sexual exploitation and forced labor

Government Greece

Country name:
conventional long form: Hellenic Republic
conventional short form: Greece
local short form: Ellas or Ellada
former: Kingdom of Greece
local long form: Elliniki Dhimokratia

Government type:
parliamentary republic; monarchy rejected by referendum 8 December
1974

Capital:
Athens

Administrative divisions:
51 prefectures (nomoi, singular - nomos) and 1 autonomous region*;
Agion Oros* (Mt. Athos), Achaia, Aitolia kai Akarmania, Argolis,
Arkadia, Arta, Attiki, Chalkidiki, Chanion, Chios, Dodekanisos,
Drama, Evros, Evrytania, Evvoia, Florina, Fokidos, Fthiotis,
Grevena, Ileia, Imathia, Ioannina, Irakleion, Karditsa, Kastoria,
Kavala, Kefallinia, Kerkyra, Kilkis, Korinthia, Kozani, Kyklades,
Lakonia, Larisa, Lasithi, Lefkas, Lesvos, Magnisia, Messinia, Pella,
Pieria, Preveza, Rethynnis, Rodopi, Samos, Serrai, Thesprotia,
Thessaloniki, Trikala, Voiotia, Xanthi, Zakynthos

Independence:
1829 (from the Ottoman Empire)

National holiday:
Independence Day, 25 March (1821)

Constitution:
11 June 1975; amended March 1986 and April 2001

Legal system:
based on codified Roman law; judiciary divided into civil,
criminal, and administrative courts

Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal and compulsory

Executive branch:
chief of state: President Konstandinos (Kostis) STEPHANOPOULOS
(since 10 March 1995)
elections: president elected by Parliament for a five-year term;
election last held 8 February 2000 (next to be held by February
2005); according to the Greek Constitution, presidents may only
serve two terms; president appoints leader of the party securing
plurality of vote in election to become prime minister and form a
government
head of government: Prime Minister Konstandinos KARAMANLIS (since 7
March 2004)
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president on the recommendation of
the prime minister
election results: Konstandinos STEPHANOPOULOS reelected president;
percent of Parliament vote - 90%

Legislative branch:
unicameral Parliament or Vouli ton Ellinon (300 seats; members are
elected by direct popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: elections last held 7 March 2004 (next to be held by
March 2008)
election results: percent of vote by party - ND 45.4%, PASOK 40.6%,
KKE 5.9%, Synaspismos 3.3%; seats by party - ND 165, PASOK 117, KKE
12, Synaspismos 6

Judicial branch:
Supreme Judicial Court; Special Supreme Tribunal; all judges
appointed for life by the president after consultation with a
judicial council

Political parties and leaders:
Coalition of the Left and Progress (Synaspismos) [Alekos ALAVANOS];
Communist Party of Greece or KKE [Aleka PAPARIGA]; New Democracy or
ND (conservative) [Konstandinos KARAMANLIS]; Panhellenic Socialist
Movement or PASOK [Yiorgos PAPANDREOU]; Popular Orthodox Rally
[Yeoryios KARATZAFERIS]

Political pressure groups and leaders:
General Confederation of Greek Workers or GSEE [Khristos
POLYZOGOPOLOS]; Federation of Greek Industries or SEV [Odysseas
KYRIAKOPOULOS]; Civil Servants Confederation or ADEDY [Spyros
PAPASPYROS]

International organization participation:
Australia Group, BIS, BSEC, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EMU, EU,
FAO, G- 6, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD,
IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MIGA,
MINURSO, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW,
OSCE, PCA, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO,
UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIK, UNOMIG, UPU, WCO, WEU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO,
WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Yeoryios SAVVAIDIS
consulate(s): Atlanta, Houston, and Tampa
consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, and
San Francisco
FAX: (202) 939-1324
telephone: (202) 939-1300
chancery: 2221 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Charles RIES embassy: 91 Vasilissis Sophias Avenue, 10160 Athens mailing address: PSC 108, APO AE 09842-0108 telephone: (210) 721-2951 FAX: (210) 645-6282 consulate(s) general: Thessaloniki

Flag description:
nine equal horizontal stripes of blue alternating with white; there
is a blue square in the upper hoist-side corner bearing a white
cross; the cross symbolizes Greek Orthodoxy, the established
religion of the country

Economy Greece

Economy - overview:
Greece has a mixed capitalist economy with the public sector
accounting for about 40% of GDP and with per capita GDP 70% of the
leading euro-zone economies. Tourism provides 15% of GDP. Immigrants
make up nearly one-fifth of the work force, mainly in menial jobs.
Greece is a major beneficiary of EU aid, equal to about 3.3% of
annual GDP. The Greek economy grew by about 4.0% for the past two
years, largely because of an investment boom and infrastructure
upgrades for the 2004 Athens Olympic Games. Despite strong growth,
Greece has failed to meet the EU's Growth and Stability Pact budget
deficit criteria of 3% of GDP since 2000; public debt, inflation,
and unemployment are also above the eurozone average. Further
restructuring of the economy include privatizing several state
enterprises, undertaking pension and other reforms, and minimizing
bureaucratic inefficiencies.

GDP:
purchasing power parity - $213.6 billion (2003 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
4.7% (2003 est.)

GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $20,000 (2003 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 6.7% industry: 22% services: 71.2% (2003 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):
25.5% of GDP (2003)

Population below poverty line:
NA

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 3%
highest 10%: 25.3% (1993 est.)

Distribution of family income - Gini index:
32.7 (1993)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
3.6% (2003 est.)

Labor force:
4.39 million (2003 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture 20%, industry 20%, services 60% (2000 est.)

Unemployment rate:
9.4% (2003 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $76.84 billion
expenditures: $79.48 billion, including capital expenditures of NA
(2003 est.)

Public debt:
100.9% of GDP (2003)

Agriculture - products:
wheat, corn, barley, sugar beets, olives, tomatoes, wine, tobacco,
potatoes; beef, dairy products

Industries:
tourism; food and tobacco processing, textiles; chemicals, metal
products; mining, petroleum

Industrial production growth rate:
0.7% (2003 est.)

Electricity - production:
49.79 billion kWh (2001)

Electricity - consumption:
48.8 billion kWh (2001)

Electricity - exports:
1.062 billion kWh (2001)

Electricity - imports:
3.562 billion kWh (2001)

Oil - production:
5,992 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - consumption:
405,700 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - exports:
84,720 bbl/day (2001)

Oil - imports:
468,300 bbl/day (2001)

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

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

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

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

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

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

Current account balance:
$-11.33 billion (2003)

Exports:
$5.899 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)

Exports - commodities:
food and beverages, manufactured goods, petroleum products,
chemicals, textiles

Exports - partners:
Germany 12.6%, Italy 10.5%, UK 7%, US 6.5%, Bulgaria 6.2%, Cyprus
4.8%, France 4.2%, Turkey 4% (2003)

Imports:
$33.27 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)

Imports - commodities:
machinery, transport equipment, fuels, chemicals

Imports - partners:
Germany 12.5%, Italy 12.2%, France 6.6%, Russia 6.1%, South Korea
5.4%, US 5.2%, Netherlands 5.2%, Japan 4.3%, UK 4.2% (2003)

Reserves of foreign exchange & gold:
$5.802 billion (2003)

Debt - external:
$65.51 billion (2003 est.)

Economic aid - recipient:
$5.4 billion from EU (1995)

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),
365.399 (2000), 305.647 (1999)

Fiscal year:
calendar year

Communications Greece

Telephones - main lines in use:
5,205,100 (2003)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
8,936,200 (2003)

Telephone system:
general assessment: adequate, modern networks reach all areas; good
mobile telephone and international service
domestic: microwave radio relay trunk system; extensive open-wire
connections; submarine cable to offshore islands
international: country code - 30; tropospheric scatter; 8 submarine
cables; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and
1 Indian Ocean), 1 Eutelsat, and 1 Inmarsat (Indian Ocean region)

Radio broadcast stations:
AM 26, FM 88, shortwave 4 (1998)

Radios:
5.02 million (1997)

Television broadcast stations:
36 (plus 1,341 low-power repeaters); also two stations in the US
Armed Forces Radio and Television Service (1995)

Televisions:
2.54 million (1997)

Internet country code:
.gr

Internet hosts:
208,977 (2004)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
27 (2000)

Internet users:
1,718,400 (2003)

Transportation Greece

Railways:
total: 2,571 km (764 km electrified)
standard gauge: 1,565 km 1.435-m gauge
narrow gauge: 961 km 1.000-m gauge; 22 km 0.750-m gauge
dual gauge: 23 km combined 1.435-m and 1.000-m gauges (three rail
system) (2003)

Highways:
total: 117,000 km
paved: 107,406 km (including 470 km of expressways)
unpaved: 9,594 km (1999 est.)

Waterways:
6 km
note: Corinth Canal (6 km) crosses the Isthmus of Corinth; shortens
sea voyage by 325 km (2004)

Pipelines:
gas 1,166 km; oil 94 km (2004)

Ports and harbors:
Alexandroupolis, Elefsis, Irakleion (Crete), Kavala, Kerkyra,
Chalkis, Igoumenitsa, Lavrion, Patrai, Peiraiefs (Piraeus),
Thessaloniki, Volos

Merchant marine:
total: 793 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 30,186,624 GRT/52,943,968 DWT
registered in other countries: 2,443 (2004 est.)
foreign-owned: Belgium 1, Cyprus 1, Israel 1, Italy 1, Liberia 3,
Malta 1, Marshall Islands 1, Norway 2, Panama 3, Singapore 1, Sweden
1, United Kingdom 2, United States 5
by type: bulk 298, cargo 57, chemical tanker 38, combination bulk 5,
combination ore/oil 3, container 49, liquefied gas 5, passenger 10,
petroleum tanker 267, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 19,
short-sea/passenger 38, specialized tanker 3

Airports:
79 (note - new Athens airport at Spata opened in March 2001) (2003
est.)

Airports - with paved runways: total: 66 over 3,047 m: 5 2,438 to 3,047 m: 16 914 to 1,523 m: 16 under 914 m: 9 (2004 est.) 1,524 to 2,437 m: 20

Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 14 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 11 (2004 est.)

Heliports: 7 (2003 est.)

Military Greece

Military branches:
Hellenic Army, Hellenic Navy, Hellenic Air Force (EPA), National
Guard

Military manpower - military age and obligation: 18 years of age for compulsory military service; during wartime the law allows for recruitment after reaching January of the year of inductee's 18th birthday, thus including 17 year olds; 17 years of age for volunteers; conscript service obligation - 12 months for the Army, 14 months for the Air Force, 15 months for the Navy (April 2003)

Military manpower - availability:
males age 15-49: 2,638,949 (2004 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service:
males age 15-49: 2,004,343 (2004 est.)

Military manpower - reaching military age annually:
males: 63,496 (2004 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
$7,288.9 million (2003)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
4.3% (2003)

Transnational Issues Greece

Disputes - international:
Greece and Turkey have resumed discussions to resolve their complex
maritime, air, territorial, and boundary disputes in the Aegean Sea;
Cyprus question with Turkey; dispute with the Republic of Macedonia
over its name

Illicit drugs:
a gateway to Europe for traffickers smuggling cannabis and heroin
from the Middle East and Southwest Asia to the West and precursor
chemicals to the East; some South American cocaine transits or is
consumed in Greece; money laundering related to drug trafficking and
organized crime

This page was last updated on 10 February, 2005

@Greenland

Introduction Greenland

Background:
The world's largest island, Greenland is about 81% ice-capped.
Vikings reached the island in the 10th century from Iceland; Danish
colonization began in the 18th century and Greenland was made an
integral part of Denmark in 1953. It joined the European Community
(now the European Union) with Denmark in 1973 but withdrew in 1985
over a dispute over stringent fishing quotas. Greenland was granted
self-government in 1979 by the Danish parliament. The law went into
effect the following year. Denmark continues to exercise control of
Greenland's foreign affairs.

Geography Greenland

Location:
Northern North America, island between the Arctic Ocean and the
North Atlantic Ocean, northeast of Canada

Geographic coordinates:
72 00 N, 40 00 W

Map references:
Arctic Region

Area:
total: 2,166,086 sq km
land: 2,166,086 sq km (410,449 sq km ice-free, 1,755,637 sq km
ice-covered) (2000 est.)

Area - comparative:
slightly more than three times the size of Texas

Land boundaries:
0 km

Coastline:
44,087 km

Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 3 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm or agreed boundaries or median line
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm or agreed boundaries or median line

Climate:
arctic to subarctic; cool summers, cold winters

Terrain:
flat to gradually sloping icecap covers all but a narrow,
mountainous, barren, rocky coast

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Gunnbjorn 3,700 m

Natural resources:
coal, iron ore, lead, zinc, molybdenum, gold, platinum, uranium,
fish, seals, whales, hydropower, possible oil and gas

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

Irrigated land:
NA sq km

Natural hazards:
continuous permafrost over northern two-thirds of the island

Environment - current issues:
protection of the arctic environment; preservation of the Inuit
traditional way of life, including whaling and seal hunting

Geography - note:
dominates North Atlantic Ocean between North America and Europe;
sparse population confined to small settlements along coast, but
close to one-quarter of the population lives in the capital, Nuuk;
world's second largest ice cap

People Greenland

Population:
56,384 (July 2004 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 25.5% (male 7,344; female 7,029)
15-64 years: 68.5% (male 20,894; female 17,715)
65 years and over: 6% (male 1,585; female 1,817) (2004 est.)

Median age:
total: 33.5 years
male: 34.8 years
female: 31.9 years (2004 est.)

Population growth rate:
-0.01% (2004 est.)

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

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

Net migration rate:
-8.37 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.02 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.18 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.87 male(s)/female
total population: 1.12 male(s)/female (2004 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 16.31 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 14.96 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
male: 17.62 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 69.32 years
male: 65.75 years
female: 72.98 years (2004 est.)

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

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
NA

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
100 (1999)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
NA

Nationality:
noun: Greenlander(s)
adjective: Greenlandic

Ethnic groups:
Greenlander 88% (Inuit and Greenland-born whites), Danish and
others 12% (January 2000)

Religions:
Evangelical Lutheran

Languages:
Greenlandic (East Inuit), Danish, English

Literacy: definition: NA total population: NA male: NA female: NA note: similar to Denmark proper

Government Greenland

Country name:
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Greenland
local short form: Kalaallit Nunaat
local long form: none

Dependency status:
part of the Kingdom of Denmark; self-governing overseas
administrative division of Denmark since 1979

Government type:
parliamentary democracy within a constitutional monarchy

Capital:
Nuuk (Godthab)

Administrative divisions:
3 districts (landsdele); Avannaa (Nordgronland), Tunu
(Ostgronland), Kitaa (Vestgronland)
note: there are 18 municipalities in Greenland

Independence:
none (part of the Kingdom of Denmark; foreign affairs is the
responsibility of Denmark, but Greenland actively participates in
international agreements relating to Greenland)

National holiday:
June 21 (longest day)

Constitution:
5 June 1953 (Danish constitution)

Legal system:
Danish

Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
chief of state: Queen MARGRETHE II of Denmark (since 14 January
1972), represented by High Commissioner Peter LAURITEEN (since NA
2002)
note: government coalition - Siumut and Inuit Ataqatigiit
election results: Hans ENOKSEN elected prime minister
head of government: Prime Minister Hans ENOKSEN (since 14 December
2002)
cabinet: Home Rule Government is elected by the Parliament
(Landstinget) on the basis of the strength of parties
elections: the monarchy is hereditary; high commissioner appointed
by the monarch; prime minister is elected by Parliament (usually the
leader of the majority party); election last held 3 December 2002
(next to be held December 2006)

Legislative branch:
unicameral Parliament or Landstinget (31 seats; members are elected
by popular vote on the basis of proportional representation to serve
four-year terms)
note: two representatives were elected to the Danish Parliament or
Folketing on 20 November 2001 (next to be held 8 February 2005);
percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Siumut 1, Inuit
Ataqatigiit 1
election results: percent of vote by party - Siumut 28.7%, Inuit
Ataqatigiit 25.5%, Atassut Party 20.4%, Demokratiit 15.6%,
Katusseqatigiit 5.3%; seats by party - Siumut 10, Inuit Ataqatigiit
8, Atassut 7, Demokratiit 5, Katusseqatigiit 1
elections: last held on 3 December 2002 (next to be held by NA
December 2006)

Judicial branch:
High Court or Landsret (appeals can be made to the Ostre Landsret
or Eastern Division of the High Court or Supreme Court in Copenhagen)

Political parties and leaders:
Atassut Party (Solidarity, a conservative party favoring continuing
close relations with Denmark) [Augusta SALLING]; Demokratiit [Per
BERTHELSEN]; Inuit Ataqatigiit or IA (Eskimo Brotherhood, a leftist
party favoring complete independence from Denmark rather than home
rule) [Josef MOTZFELDT]; Issituup (Polar Party) [Nicolai HEINRICH];
Kattusseqatigiit (Candidate List, an independent right-of-center
party with no official platform [leader NA]; Siumut (Forward Party,
a social democratic party advocating more distinct Greenlandic
identity and greater autonomy from Denmark) [Hans ENOKSEN]

Political pressure groups and leaders:
NA

International organization participation:
NC, NIB, UPU

Diplomatic representation in the US:
none (self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark)

Diplomatic representation from the US:
none (self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark)

Flag description:
two equal horizontal bands of white (top) and red with a large disk
slightly to the hoist side of center - the top half of the disk is
red, the bottom half is white

Economy Greenland

Economy - overview:
The economy remains critically dependent on exports of fish and
substantial support from the Danish Government, which supplies about
half of government revenues. The public sector, including
publicly-owned enterprises and the municipalities, plays the
dominant role in the economy. Despite several interesting
hydrocarbon and minerals exploration activities, it will take
several years before production can materialize. Tourism is the only
sector offering any near-term potential, and even this is limited
due to a short season and high costs.

GDP:
purchasing power parity - $1.1 billion (2001 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
1.8% (2001 est.)

GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $20,000 (2001 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):
1.6% (1999 est.)

Labor force:
24,500 (1999 est.)

Unemployment rate:
10% (2000 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $646 million
expenditures: $629 million, including capital expenditures of $85
million (1999)

Agriculture - products:
forage crops, garden and greenhouse vegetables; sheep, reindeer;
fish

Industries:
fish processing (mainly shrimp and Greenland halibut), handicrafts,
hides and skins, small shipyards, mining

Industrial production growth rate:
NA

Electricity - production:
245 million kWh (2001)

Electricity - consumption:
227.9 million kWh (2001)

Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2001)

Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2001)

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

Oil - consumption:
3,700 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - exports:
NA (2001)

Oil - imports:
NA (2001)

Exports:
$388 million f.o.b. (2002)

Exports - commodities:
fish and fish products 94% (prawns 63%)

Exports - partners:
Denmark 64.7%, Japan 14.2%, China 4.4% (2003)

Imports:
$445 million c.i.f. (2002)

Imports - commodities:
machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods, food,
petroleum products

Imports - partners:
Denmark 82.6%, Norway 7.5%, Sweden 3.5% (2003)

Debt - external:
$25 million (1999)

Economic aid - recipient:
$380 million subsidy from Denmark (1997)

Currency:
Danish krone (DKK) is the official legal tender.

Currency code:
DKK

Exchange rates:
Danish kroner per US dollar - 6.5877 (2003), 7.8947 (2002), 8.323
(2001), 8.083 (2000), 6.976 (1999)

Fiscal year:
calendar year

Communications Greenland

Telephones - main lines in use:
26,000 (2001)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
16,747 (2001)

Telephone system:
general assessment: adequate domestic and international service
provided by satellite, cables and microwave radio relay; totally
digitalized in 1995
domestic: microwave radio relay and satellite
international: country code - 299; satellite earth stations - 12
Intelsat, 1 Eutelsat, 2 Americom GE-2 (all Atlantic Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations:
AM 5, FM 12, shortwave 0 (1998)

Radios:
30,000 (1998 est.)

Television broadcast stations:
1 publicly-owned station, some local low-power stations, and three
AFRTS (US Air Force) stations (1997)

Televisions:
30,000 (1998 est.)

Internet country code:
.gl

Internet hosts:
2,642 (2004)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
1 (2000)

Internet users:
20,000 (2002)

Transportation Greenland

Highways:
total: NA (there are no roads between towns) (2003)

Ports and harbors:
Aasiaat (Egedesminde), Ilulissat (Jakobshavn), Kangerlussuaq,
Nanortalik, Narsarsuaq, Nuuk (Godthab), Qaqortoq (Julianehab),
Sisimiut (Holsteinsborg), Tasiilaq

Merchant marine:
total: 3 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 4,593 GRT/3,640 DWT
foreign-owned: Denmark 1 (2004 est.)
by type: cargo 2, passenger 1

Airports:
14 (2003 est.)

Airports - with paved runways: total: 9 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 5 (2004 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 5
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 2
under 914 m: 2 (2004 est.)

Military Greenland

Military - note: defense is the responsibility of Denmark

Transnational Issues Greenland

Disputes - international: uncontested dispute between Canada and Denmark over Hans Island in the Kennedy Channel between Canada's Ellesmere Island and Greenland

This page was last updated on 10 February, 2005

@Grenada

Introduction Grenada

Background:
One of the smallest independent countries in the western
hemisphere, Grenada was seized by a Marxist military council on 19
October 1983. Six days later the island was invaded by US forces and
those of six other Caribbean nations, which quickly captured the
ringleaders and their hundreds of Cuban advisers. Free elections
were reinstituted the following year.

Geography Grenada

Location:
Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean,
north of Trinidad and Tobago

Geographic coordinates:
12 07 N, 61 40 W

Map references:
Central America and the Caribbean

Area:
total: 344 sq km
water: 0 sq km
land: 344 sq km

Area - comparative:
twice the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries:
0 km

Coastline:
121 km

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

Climate:
tropical; tempered by northeast trade winds

Terrain:
volcanic in origin with central mountains

Elevation extremes: lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Mount Saint Catherine 840 m

Natural resources: timber, tropical fruit, deepwater harbors

Land use: arable land: 5.88% permanent crops: 29.41% other: 64.71% (2001)

Irrigated land:
NA sq km

Natural hazards:
lies on edge of hurricane belt; hurricane season lasts from June to
November

Environment - current issues:
NA

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

Geography - note:
the administration of the islands of the Grenadines group is
divided between Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada

People Grenada

Population:
89,357 (July 2004 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 34.5% (male 15,580; female 15,212)
15-64 years: 62% (male 29,321; female 26,104)
65 years and over: 3.5% (male 1,467; female 1,673) (2004 est.)

Median age:
total: 20.9 years
male: 21.4 years
female: 20.4 years (2004 est.)

Population growth rate:
0.14% (2004 est.)

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

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

Net migration rate:
-13.92 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.12 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.88 male(s)/female
total population: 1.08 male(s)/female (2004 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 14.62 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 15.07 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
male: 14.18 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 64.52 years
male: 62.74 years
female: 66.31 years (2004 est.)

Total fertility rate:
2.41 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: Grenadian(s)
adjective: Grenadian

Ethnic groups:
black 82%, mixed black and European 13%, European and East Indian
5% , and trace of Arawak/Carib Amerindian

Religions:
Roman Catholic 53%, Anglican 13.8%, other Protestant 33.2%

Languages:
English (official), French patois

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98%
male: 98%
female: 98% (1970 est.)

Government Grenada

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

Government type:
constitutional monarchy with Westminster-style parliament

Capital:
Saint George's

Administrative divisions:
6 parishes and 1 dependency*; Carriacou and Petit Martinique*,
Saint Andrew, Saint David, Saint George, Saint John, Saint Mark,
Saint Patrick

Independence:
7 February 1974 (from UK)

National holiday:
Independence Day, 7 February (1974)

Constitution:
19 December 1973

Legal system:
based on English common law

Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952),
represented by Governor General Daniel WILLIAMS (since 9 August 1996)
head of government: Prime Minister Keith MITCHELL (since 22 June
1995)
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

Legislative branch:
bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (a 13-member body, 10
appointed by the government and three by the leader of the
opposition) and the House of Representatives (15 seats; members are
elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held on 27 November 2003 (next to be held by NA
November 2008)
election results: House of Representatives - percent of vote by
party - NA; seats by party - NNP 8, NDC 7

Judicial branch:
West Indies Associate States Supreme Court (an associate judge
resides in Grenada)

Political parties and leaders:
Grenada United Labor Party or GULP [Herbert PREUDHOMME]; National
Democratic Congress or NDC [leader vacant]; New National Party or
NNP [George McGUIRE]; People Labor Movement or PLM [leader NA]

Political pressure groups and leaders:
NA

International organization participation:
ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA,
IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO (subscriber),
ITU, LAES, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OECS, OPANAL, OPCW (signatory), UN,
UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Denis G. ANTOINE consulate(s) general: New York FAX: (202) 265-2468 telephone: (202) 265-2561 chancery: 1701 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009

Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: the US Ambassador to Barbados, Ambassador Mary E. KRAMER, is accredited to Grenada embassy: Lance-aux-Epines Stretch, Saint George's mailing address: P. O. Box 54, Saint George's, Grenada, West Indies telephone: (473) 444-1173 through 1176 FAX: (473) 444-4820

Flag description:
a rectangle divided diagonally into yellow triangles (top and
bottom) and green triangles (hoist side and outer side), with a red
border around the flag; there are seven yellow, five-pointed stars
with three centered in the top red border, three centered in the
bottom red border, and one on a red disk superimposed at the center
of the flag; there is also a symbolic nutmeg pod on the hoist-side
triangle (Grenada is the world's second-largest producer of nutmeg,
after Indonesia); the seven stars represent the seven administrative
divisions

Economy Grenada

Economy - overview:
Grenada relies on tourism as its main source of foreign exchange,
especially since the construction of an international airport in
1985. Strong performances in construction and manufacturing,
together with the development of an offshore financial industry,
have also contributed to growth in national output.

GDP:
purchasing power parity - $440 million (2002 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
2.5% (2002 est.)

GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $5,000 (2002 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 7.7% industry: 23.9% services: 68.4% (2000)

Population below poverty line:
32% (2000)

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
2.8% (2001 est.)

Labor force:
42,300 (1996)

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture 24%, industry 14%, services 62% (1999 est.)

Unemployment rate:
12.5% (2000)

Budget:
revenues: $85.8 million
expenditures: $102.1 million, including capital expenditures of $28
million (1997)

Agriculture - products:
bananas, cocoa, nutmeg, mace, citrus, avocados, root crops,
sugarcane, corn, vegetables

Industries:
food and beverages, textiles, light assembly operations, tourism,
construction

Industrial production growth rate:
0.7% (1997 est.)

Electricity - production:
138 million kWh (2001)

Electricity - consumption:
128.3 million kWh (2001)

Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2001)

Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2001)

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

Oil - consumption:
1,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - exports:
NA (2001)

Oil - imports:
NA (2001)

Exports:
$46 million (2002 est.)

Exports - commodities:
bananas, cocoa, nutmeg, fruit and vegetables, clothing, mace

Exports - partners:
US 14.9%, Germany 12.8%, Netherlands 8.5%, Saint Lucia 8.5%,
Antigua and Barbuda 6.4%, UK 6.4%, Belgium 4.3%, Dominica 4.3%,
France 4.3%, Saint Kitts and Nevis 4.3%, Trinidad and Tobago 4.3%
(2003)

Imports:
$208 million (2002 est.)

Imports - commodities:
food, manufactured goods, machinery, chemicals, fuel

Imports - partners:
US 30%, Trinidad and Tobago 26.8%, UK 5.2%, Japan 4.4% (2003)

Debt - external:
$196 million (2000)

Economic aid - recipient:
$8.3 million (1995)

Currency:
East Caribbean dollar (XCD)

Currency code:
XCD

Exchange rates:
East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7 (2003), 2.7 (2002), 2.7
(2001), 2.7 (2000), 2.7 (1999)

Fiscal year:
calendar year

Communications Grenada

Telephones - main lines in use:
33,500 (2002)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
7,600 (2002)

Telephone system:
general assessment: automatic, islandwide telephone system
domestic: interisland VHF and UHF radiotelephone links
international: country code - 1-473; new SHF radiotelephone links to
Trinidad and Tobago and Saint Vincent; VHF and UHF radio links to
Trinidad

Radio broadcast stations:
AM 2, FM 13, shortwave 0 (1998)

Radios:
57,000 (1997)

Television broadcast stations:
2 (1997)

Televisions:
33,000 (1997)

Internet country code:
.gd

Internet hosts:
18 (2003)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
14 (2000)

Internet users:
15,000 (2002)

Transportation Grenada

Highways: total: 1,040 km paved: 638 km unpaved: 402 km (1999 est.)

Ports and harbors:
Grenville, Saint George's

Merchant marine:
none

Airports:
3 (2003 est.)

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

Military Grenada

Military branches:
no regular military forces; Royal Grenada Police Force

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
NA

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
NA

Transnational Issues Grenada

Disputes - international:
none

Illicit drugs:
small-scale cannabis cultivation; lesser transshipment point for
marijuana and cocaine to US

This page was last updated on 10 February, 2005

@Guadeloupe

Introduction Guadeloupe

Background:
Guadeloupe has been a French possession since 1635. The island of
Saint Martin is shared with the Netherlands; its southern portion is
named Sint Maarten and is part of the Netherlands Antilles and its
northern portion is named Saint-Martin and is part of Guadeloupe

Geography Guadeloupe

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

Geographic coordinates:
16 15 N, 61 35 W

Map references:
Central America and the Caribbean

Area:
total: 1,780 sq km
note: Guadeloupe is an archipelago of nine inhabited islands,
including Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Marie-Galante, La Desirade,
Iles des Saintes (2), Saint-Barthelemy, Iles de la Petite Terre, and
Saint-Martin (French part of the island of Saint Martin)
water: 74 sq km
land: 1,706 sq km

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

Land boundaries: total: 10.2 km border countries: Netherlands Antilles (Sint Maarten) 10.2 km

Coastline: 306 km

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

Climate:
subtropical tempered by trade winds; moderately high humidity

Terrain:
Basse-Terre is volcanic in origin with interior mountains;
Grande-Terre is low limestone formation; most of the seven other
islands are volcanic in origin

Elevation extremes: lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Soufriere 1,484 m

Natural resources: cultivable land, beaches and climate that foster tourism

Land use: arable land: 11.24% permanent crops: 3.55% other: 85.21% (2001)

Irrigated land:
20 sq km (1998 est.)

Natural hazards:
hurricanes (June to October); Soufriere de Guadeloupe is an active
volcano

Environment - current issues:
NA

Geography - note:
a narrow channel, the Riviere Salee, divides Guadeloupe proper into
two islands: the larger, western Basse-Terre and the smaller,
eastern Grande-Terre

People Guadeloupe

Population:
444,515 (July 2004 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 24.4% (male 55,386; female 52,977)
15-64 years: 66.6% (male 146,772; female 149,314)
65 years and over: 9% (male 16,730; female 23,336) (2004 est.)

Median age:
total: 31.4 years
male: 30.6 years
female: 32.3 years (2004 est.)

Population growth rate:
0.96% (2004 est.)

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

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

Net migration rate:
-0.15 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: 0.98 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.72 male(s)/female
total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2004 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 8.83 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 7.53 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
male: 10.07 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 77.71 years
male: 74.56 years
female: 81.03 years (2004 est.)

Total fertility rate:
1.91 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: Guadeloupian(s)
adjective: Guadeloupe

Ethnic groups:
black or mulatto 90%, white 5%, East Indian, Lebanese, Chinese less
than 5%

Religions:
Roman Catholic 95%, Hindu and pagan African 4%, Protestant 1%

Languages:
French (official) 99%, Creole patois

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 90%
male: 90%
female: 90% (1982 est.)

Government Guadeloupe

Country name:
conventional long form: Department of Guadeloupe
conventional short form: Guadeloupe
local short form: Guadeloupe
local long form: Departement de la Guadeloupe

Dependency status:
overseas department of France

Government type:
NA

Capital:
Basse-Terre

Administrative divisions:
none (overseas department of France)

Independence:
none (overseas department of France)

National holiday:
Bastille Day, 14 July (1789)

Constitution:
28 September 1958 (French Constitution)

Legal system:
French legal system

Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
chief of state: President Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May
1995), represented by Prefect Paul GIROT DE LANGLADE (since 17
August 2004)
election results: NA
elections: French president elected by popular vote for a five-year
term; prefect appointed by the French president on the advice of the
French Ministry of Interior; the presidents of the General and
Regional Councils are elected by the members of those councils
head of government: President of the General Council Jacques GILLOT
(since 26 March 2001); President of the Regional Council Victorin
LUREL (since 2 April 2004)
cabinet: NA

Legislative branch:
unicameral General Council or Conseil General (42 seats; members
are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms) and the
unicameral Regional Council or Conseil Regional (41 seats; members
are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms)
elections: General Council - last held 22 March 1998 (next to be
held by NA 2004); Regional Council - last held 28 March 2004 (next
to be held NA 2010)
note: Guadeloupe elects two representatives to the French Senate;
elections last held NA September 1995 (next to be held NA September
2004); percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - RPR 1, FGPS
1; Guadeloupe elects four representatives to the French National
Assembly; elections last held 9 June-16 June 2002 (next to be held
NA 2007); percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - RPR 2, PS
1, different right parties 1
election results: General Council - percent of vote by party - NA;
seats by party - left-wing candidates 11, PS 8, RPR 8, PPDG 6,
right-wing candidates 5, PCG 3, UDF 1; Regional Council (second
round) - percent of vote by party - PS 58.4%, UMP 41.6%; seats by
party - PS 29, UMP 12

Judicial branch:
Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel with jurisdiction over Guadeloupe,
French Guiana, and Martinique

Political parties and leaders:
Communist Party of Guadeloupe or PCG [Mona CADOCE]; FGPS [Dominique
LARIFLA]; Left Radical Party or PRG [Flavien FERRANT]; Progressive
Democratic Party or PPDG [Henri BANGOU]; Socialist Party or PS
[Marlene MELISSE and Favrot DAVRAIN]; Union for French Democracy or
UDF [Marcel ESDRAS]; Union for a Popular Movement or UMP [Robert
JOYEUX]

Political pressure groups and leaders:
Christian Movement for the Liberation of Guadeloupe or KLPG;
General Federation of Guadeloupe Workers or CGT-G; General Union of
Guadeloupe Workers or UGTG; Movement for Independent Guadeloupe or
MPGI; The Socialist Renewal Movement

International organization participation:
WCL, WFTU

Diplomatic representation in the US:
none (overseas department of France)

Diplomatic representation from the US:
none (overseas department of France)

Flag description:
the flag of France is used

Economy Guadeloupe

Economy - overview:
The Caribbean economy depends on agriculture, tourism, light
industry, and services. It also depends on France for large
subsidies and imports. Tourism is a key industry, with most tourists
from the US; an increasingly large number of cruise ships visit the
islands. The traditional sugarcane crop is slowly being replaced by
other crops, such as bananas (which now supply about 50% of export
earnings), eggplant, and flowers. Other vegetables and root crops
are cultivated for local consumption, although Guadeloupe is still
dependent on imported food, mainly from France. Light industry
features sugar and rum production. Most manufactured goods and fuel
are imported. Unemployment is especially high among the young.
Hurricanes periodically devastate the economy.

GDP:
purchasing power parity - $3.513 billion (2003 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
NA

GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $8,000 (2001 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 15%
industry: 17%
services: 68% (1997 est.)

Population below poverty line:
NA

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
NA (2003 est.)

Labor force:
125,900 (1997)

Labor force - by occupation:
NA

Unemployment rate:
27.8% (1998)

Budget:
revenues: $225 million
expenditures: $390 million, including capital expenditures of $105
million (1996)

Agriculture - products: bananas, sugarcane, tropical fruits and vegetables; cattle, pigs, goats

Industries:
construction, cement, rum, sugar, tourism

Industrial production growth rate:
NA

Electricity - production:
1.155 billion kWh (2001)

Electricity - consumption:
1.074 billion kWh (2001)

Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2001)

Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2001)

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

Oil - consumption:
13,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - exports:
NA (2001)

Oil - imports:
NA (2001)

Exports:
$140 million f.o.b. (1997)

Exports - commodities:
bananas, sugar, rum

Exports - partners:
France 60%, Martinique 18%, US 4% (1999)

Imports:
$1.7 billion c.i.f. (1997)

Imports - commodities:
foodstuffs, fuels, vehicles, clothing and other consumer goods,
construction materials

Imports - partners:
France 63%, Germany 4%, US 3%, Japan 2%, Netherlands Antilles 2%
(1999)

Debt - external:
NA (yearend 2003 est.)

Economic aid - recipient:
$NA; note - substantial annual French subsidies (1995)

Currency:
euro (EUR); French franc (FRF)

Currency code:
EUR; FRF

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 Guadeloupe

Telephones - main lines in use:
210,000 (2001)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
323,500 (2002)

Telephone system:
general assessment: domestic facilities inadequate
domestic: NA
international: country code - 590; satellite earth station - 1
Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); microwave radio relay to Antigua and
Barbuda, Dominica, and Martinique

Radio broadcast stations:
AM 1, FM 17, shortwave 0 (1998)

Radios:
113,000 (1997)

Television broadcast stations:
5 (plus several low-power repeaters) (1997)

Televisions:
118,000 (1997)

Internet country code:
.gp

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
3 (2000)

Internet users:
20,000 (2002)

Transportation Guadeloupe

Highways: total: 2,467 km paved: NA km unpaved: NA km (1998)

Ports and harbors:
Basse-Terre, Gustavia (on Saint Barthelemy), Marigot, Pointe-a-Pitre

Merchant marine:
total: 1 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 1,240 GRT/109 DWT
registered in other countries: 1 (2004 est.)
foreign-owned: France 1
by type: passenger 1

Airports:
9 (2003 est.)

Airports - with paved runways: total: 8 over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 5 (2004 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.)

Military Guadeloupe

Military branches:
no regular military forces

Military - note:
defense is the responsibility of France

Transnational Issues Guadeloupe

Disputes - international: none

This page was last updated on 10 February, 2005

@Guam

Introduction Guam

Background:
Guam was ceded to the US by Spain in 1898. Captured by the Japanese
in 1941, it was retaken by the US three years later. The military
installation on the island is one of the most strategically
important US bases in the Pacific.

Geography Guam

Location:
Oceania, island in the North Pacific Ocean, about three-quarters of
the way from Hawaii to the Philippines

Geographic coordinates:
13 28 N, 144 47 E

Map references:
Oceania

Area:
total: 549 sq km
water: 0 sq km
land: 549 sq km

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

Land boundaries:
0 km

Coastline:
125.5 km

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

Climate:
tropical marine; generally warm and humid, moderated by northeast
trade winds; dry season from January to June, rainy season from July
to December; little seasonal temperature variation

Terrain:
volcanic origin, surrounded by coral reefs; relatively flat
coralline limestone plateau (source of most fresh water), with steep
coastal cliffs and narrow coastal plains in north, low hills in
center, mountains in south

Elevation extremes: lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Mount Lamlam 406 m

Natural resources: fishing (largely undeveloped), tourism (especially from Japan)

Land use: arable land: 9.09% permanent crops: 16.36% other: 74.55% (2001)

Irrigated land:
NA sq km

Natural hazards:
frequent squalls during rainy season; relatively rare, but
potentially very destructive typhoons (June - December)

Environment - current issues:
extirpation of native bird population by the rapid proliferation of
the brown tree snake, an exotic, invasive species

Geography - note:
largest and southernmost island in the Mariana Islands archipelago;
strategic location in western North Pacific Ocean

People Guam

Population:
166,090 (July 2004 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 29.8% (male 25,577; female 23,850)
15-64 years: 64% (male 54,220; female 52,026)
65 years and over: 6.3% (male 4,912; female 5,505) (2004 est.)

Median age:
total: 28.2 years
male: 28 years
female: 28.4 years (2004 est.)

Population growth rate:
1.5% (2004 est.)

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

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

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

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.07 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.89 male(s)/female
total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2004 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 7.15 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 6.46 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
male: 7.8 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 78.12 years
male: 75.08 years
female: 81.34 years (2004 est.)

Total fertility rate:
2.61 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: Guamanian(s)
adjective: Guamanian

Ethnic groups:
Chamorro 37%, Filipino 26%, white 10%, Chinese, Japanese, Korean,
and other 27%

Religions:
Roman Catholic 85%, other 15% (1999 est.)

Languages:
English, Chamorro, Japanese

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99%
male: 99%
female: 99% (1990 est.)

Government Guam

Country name:
conventional long form: Territory of Guam
conventional short form: Guam
local long form: Guahan

Dependency status:
organized, unincorporated territory of the US with policy relations
between Guam and the US under the jurisdiction of the Office of
Insular Affairs, US Department of the Interior

Government type:
NA

Capital:
Hagatna (Agana)

Administrative divisions:
none (territory of the US)

Independence:
none (territory of the US)

National holiday:
Discovery Day, first Monday in March (1521)

Constitution:
Organic Act of 1 August 1950

Legal system:
modeled on US; US federal laws apply

Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal; US citizens, but do not vote in US
presidential elections

Executive branch:
chief of state: President George W. BUSH of the US (since 20
January 2001); Vice President Richard B. CHENEY (since 20 January
2001)
election results: Felix P. P. CAMACHO elected governor; percent of
vote - Felix P. P. CAMACHO (Republican Party) 55.4%, Robert A.
UNDERWOOD (Democratic Party) 44.6%
elections: US president and vice president elected on the same
ticket for a four-year term; governor and lieutenant governor
elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year term;
election last held 5 November 2002 (next to be held NA November 2006)
head of government: Governor Felix P. P. CAMACHO (since 6 January
2003) and Lieutenant Governor Kaleo MOYLAN (since 6 January 2003)
cabinet: executive departments; heads appointed by the governor with
the consent of the Guam legislature

Legislative branch:
unicameral Legislature (15 seats; members are elected by popular
vote to serve two-year terms)
elections: last held 5 November 2002 (next to be held 2 November
2004)
note: Guam elects one nonvoting delegate to the US House of
Representatives; election last held 5 November 2002 (next to be held
2 November 2004); results - Madeleine BORDALLO (Democratic Party)
was elected as delegate; percent of vote by party - Democratic Party
64.6%, Republican Party 35.4%; seats by party - Democratic Party 1
election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party -
Democratic Party 9, Republican Party 6

Judicial branch:
Federal District Court (judge is appointed by the president);
Territorial Superior Court (judges appointed for eight-year terms by
the governor)

Political parties and leaders:
Democratic Party (controls the legislature) [speaker, Vicente (Ben)
PANGELINAN]; Republican Party (party of Governor CAMACHO) [leader NA]

Political pressure groups and leaders:
NA

International organization participation:
Interpol (subbureau), IOC, UPU

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

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

Flag description:
territorial flag is dark blue with a narrow red border on all four
sides; centered is a red-bordered, pointed, vertical ellipse
containing a beach scene, outrigger canoe with sail, and a palm tree
with the word GUAM superimposed in bold red letters; US flag is the
national flag

Economy Guam

Economy - overview:
The economy depends on US military spending, tourism, and the
export of fish and handicrafts. Total US grants, wage payments, and
procurement outlays amounted to $1 billion in 1998. Over the past 20
years, the tourist industry has grown rapidly, creating a
construction boom for new hotels and the expansion of older ones.
More than 1 million tourists visit Guam each year. The industry had
recently suffered setbacks because of the continuing Japanese
slowdown; the Japanese normally make up almost 90% of the tourists.
Most food and industrial goods are imported. Guam faces the problem
of building up the civilian economic sector to offset the impact of
military downsizing.

GDP:
purchasing power parity - $3.2 billion (2000 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
NA

GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $21,000 (2000 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 7% industry: 15% services: 78% (2002 est.)

Population below poverty line:
23% (2001 est.)

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
0% (1999 est.)

Labor force:
60,000 (2000 est.)

Labor force - by occupation: private 74% (industry 10%, trade 24%, other services 40%), federal and territorial government 26% (2000 est.)

Unemployment rate:
15% (2000 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $340 million
expenditures: $445 million, including capital expenditures of NA
(2000 est.)

Agriculture - products:
fruits, copra, vegetables; eggs, pork, poultry, beef

Industries:
US military, tourism, construction, transshipment services,
concrete products, printing and publishing, food processing, textiles

Industrial production growth rate:
NA

Electricity - production:
830 million kWh (2001)

Electricity - consumption:
771.9 million kWh (2001)

Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2001)

Electricity - imports:
0 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)

Exports:
$38 million f.o.b. (2002 est.)

Exports - commodities:
mostly transshipments of refined petroleum products; construction
materials, fish, food and beverage products

Exports - partners:
Japan 70.1%, South Korea 17.9%, Singapore 6% (2003)

Imports:
$462 million f.o.b. (2002 est.)

Imports - commodities:
petroleum and petroleum products, food, manufactured goods

Imports - partners:
Singapore 35.8%, Japan 22.2%, South Korea 17.5%, Hong Kong 11.4%
(2003)

Debt - external:
NA (2003 est.)

Economic aid - recipient:
Guam receives large transfer payments from the US Federal Treasury
($143 million in 1997) into which Guamanians pay no income or excise
taxes; under the provisions of a special law of Congress, the Guam
Treasury, rather than the US Treasury, receives federal income taxes
paid by military and civilian Federal employees stationed in Guam
(2001 est.)

Currency:
US dollar (USD)

Currency code:
USD

Exchange rates:
the US dollar is used

Fiscal year:
1 October - 30 September

Communications Guam

Telephones - main lines in use:
84,134 (2001)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
32,600 (2001)

Telephone system:
general assessment: modern system, integrated with US facilities
for direct dialing, including free use of 800 numbers
domestic: modern digital system, including cellular mobile service
and local access to the Internet
international: country code - 1-671; satellite earth stations - 2
Intelsat (Pacific Ocean); submarine cables to US and Japan (Guam is
a trans-Pacific communications hub for MCI, Sprint, AT&T, IT&E, and
GTE, linking the US and Asia)

Radio broadcast stations:
AM 4, FM 7, shortwave 2 (2003)

Radios:
221,000 (1997)

Television broadcast stations:
5 (1997)

Televisions:
106,000 (1997)

Internet country code:
.gu

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
20 (2000)

Internet users:
50,000 (2002)

Transportation Guam

Highways:
total: 885 km
paved: 675 km
unpaved: 210 km
note: there are also 685 km of roads classified non-public,
including roads located on federal government installations

Ports and harbors:
Apra Harbor

Merchant marine:
none

Airports:
5 (2003 est.)

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

Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.)

Military Guam

Military - note: defense is the responsibility of the US

Transnational Issues Guam

Disputes - international: none

This page was last updated on 10 February, 2005

@Guatemala

Introduction Guatemala

Background:
The Maya civilization flourished in Guatemala and surrounding
regions during the first millennium A.D. After almost three
centuries as a Spanish colony, Guatemala won its independence in
1821. During the second half of the 20th century, it experienced a
variety of military and civilian governments as well as a 36-year
guerrilla war. In 1996, the government signed a peace agreement
formally ending the conflict, which had led to the death of more
than 100,000 people and had created some 1 million refugees.

Geography Guatemala

Location:
Central America, bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between El
Salvador and Mexico, and bordering the Gulf of Honduras (Caribbean
Sea) between Honduras and Belize

Geographic coordinates:
15 30 N, 90 15 W

Map references:
Central America and the Caribbean

Area:
total: 108,890 sq km
water: 460 sq km
land: 108,430 sq km

Area - comparative:
slightly smaller than Tennessee

Land boundaries:
total: 1,687 km
border countries: Belize 266 km, El Salvador 203 km, Honduras 256
km, Mexico 962 km

Coastline:
400 km

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

Climate:
tropical; hot, humid in lowlands; cooler in highlands

Terrain:
mostly mountains with narrow coastal plains and rolling limestone
plateau (Peten)

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Volcan Tajumulco 4,211 m

Natural resources:
petroleum, nickel, rare woods, fish, chicle, hydropower

Land use: arable land: 12.54% permanent crops: 5.03% other: 82.43% (2001)

Irrigated land:
1,250 sq km (1998 est.)

Natural hazards:
numerous volcanoes in mountains, with occasional violent
earthquakes; Caribbean coast extremely susceptible to hurricanes and
other tropical storms

Environment - current issues:
deforestation in the Peten rainforest; soil erosion; water pollution

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

Geography - note: no natural harbors on west coast

People Guatemala

Population:
14,280,596 (July 2004 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 42.6% (male 3,118,396; female 2,970,729)
15-64 years: 54% (male 3,898,939; female 3,817,435)
65 years and over: 3.3% (male 221,154; female 253,943) (2004 est.)

Median age:
total: 18.4 years
male: 18.1 years
female: 18.6 years (2004 est.)

Population growth rate:
2.61% (2004 est.)

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

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

Net migration rate:
-1.67 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: 0.87 male(s)/female
total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2004 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 36.91 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 36.07 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
male: 37.71 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 65.19 years
male: 64.3 years
female: 66.13 years (2004 est.)

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

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
1.1% (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
78,000 (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
5,800 (2003 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Guatemalan(s)
adjective: Guatemalan

Ethnic groups:
Mestizo (mixed Amerindian-Spanish or assimilated Amerindian - in
local Spanish called Ladino), approximately 55%, Amerindian or
predominantly Amerindian, approximately 43%, whites and others 2%

Religions:
Roman Catholic, Protestant, indigenous Mayan beliefs

Languages:
Spanish 60%, Amerindian languages 40% (23 officially recognized
Amerindian languages, including Quiche, Cakchiquel, Kekchi, Mam,
Garifuna, and Xinca)

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 70.6%
male: 78%
female: 63.3% (2003 est.)

Government Guatemala

Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of Guatemala
conventional short form: Guatemala
local short form: Guatemala
local long form: Republica de Guatemala

Government type:
constitutional democratic republic

Capital:
Guatemala

Administrative divisions:
22 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento); Alta
Verapaz, Baja Verapaz, Chimaltenango, Chiquimula, El Progreso,
Escuintla, Guatemala, Huehuetenango, Izabal, Jalapa, Jutiapa, Peten,
Quetzaltenango, Quiche, Retalhuleu, Sacatepequez, San Marcos, Santa
Rosa, Solola, Suchitepequez, Totonicapan, Zacapa

Independence:
15 September 1821 (from Spain)

National holiday:
Independence Day, 15 September (1821)

Constitution:
31 May 1985, effective 14 January 1986; note - suspended 25 May
1993 by former President SERRANO; reinstated 5 June 1993 following
ouster of president; amended November 1993

Legal system:
civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts; has not
accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal (active duty members of the armed forces
may not vote and are restricted to their barracks on election day)

Executive branch:
chief of state: President Oscar Jose Rafael BERGER Perdomo (since
14 January 2004); Vice President Eduardo STEIN Barillas (since 14
January 2004); note - the president is both the chief of state and
head of government
head of government: President Oscar Jose Rafael BERGER Perdomo
(since 14 January 2004); Vice President Eduardo STEIN Barillas
(since 14 January 2004); note - the president is both the chief of
state and head of government
cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president
elections: president elected by popular vote for a four-year term;
election last held 9 November 2003; runoff held 28 December 2003
(next to be held NA November 2007)
election results: Oscar BERGER Perdomo elected president; percent of
vote - Oscar BERGER Perdomo (GANA) 54.1%, Alvaro COLOM (UNE) 45.9%

Legislative branch:
unicameral Congress of the Republic or Congreso de la Republica
(158 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year
terms)
elections: last held 9 November 2003 (next to be held NA November
2007)
note: for the 9 November 2003 election, the number of congressional
seats increased from 113 to 158
election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party -
GANA 49, FRG 41, UNE 33, PAN 17, other 18

Judicial branch:
Constitutional Court or Corte de Constitutcionalidad is Guatemala's
highest court (five judges are elected for concurrent five-year
terms by Congress, each serving one year as president of the
Constitutional Court; one is elected by Congress, one elected by the
Supreme Court of Justice, one appointed by the President, one
elected by Superior Counsel of Universidad San Carlos de Guatemala,
and one by Colegio de Abogados); Supreme Court of Justice or Corte
Suprema de Justicia (thirteen members serve concurrent five-year
terms and elect a president of the Court each year from among their
number; the president of the Supreme Court of Justice also
supervises trial judges around the country, who are named to
five-year terms)

Political parties and leaders:
Authentic Integral Development or DIA [Eduardo SUGER]; Democratic
Union or UD [Rodolfo PAIZ Andrade]; Grand National Alliance or GANA
[Oscar BERGER Perdomo]; Green Party or LOV [Rodolfo ROSALES
Garcis-Salaz]; Guatemalan Christian Democracy or DCG [Vinicio CEREZO
Arevalo]; Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity or URNG [Alba
ESTELA Maldonado, secretary general]; Guatemalan Republican Front or
FRG [Efrain RIOS Montt]; Movement for Guatemalan Unity or MGU
[Jacobo ARBENZ Villanueva]; Movement for Principals and Values or
MPV [Francisco BIANCHI]; National Advancement Party or PAN [Leonel
LOPEZ Rodas, secretary general]; National Unity for Hope or UNE
[Alvarado COLOM Caballeros]; New Nation Alliance or ANN, formed by
an alliance of DIA, URNG, and several splinter groups most of whom
subsequently defected [led by three co-equal partners - Nineth
Varenca MONTENEGRO Cottom, Rodolfo BAUER Paiz, and Jorge Antonio
BALSELLS TUT]; Patriot Party or PP [retired General Otto PEREZ
Molina]; Progressive Liberator Party or PLP [Acisclo VALLADARES
Molina]; Reform Movement or MR [Alfredo SKINNER-KLEE, secretary
general]; Unionista Party [leader NA]

Political pressure groups and leaders:
Agrarian Owners Group or UNAGRO; Alliance Against Impunity or AAI;
Committee for Campesino Unity or CUC; Coordinating Committee of
Agricultural, Commercial, Industrial, and Financial Associations or
CACIF; Mutual Support Group or GAM

International organization participation:
BCIE, CACM, FAO, G-24, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM,
IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO
(correspondent), ITU, LAES, LAIA (observer), MIGA, MINUSTAH, NAM,
OAS, ONUB, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNOCI, UPU,
WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Guillermo CASTILLO chancery: 2220 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, and San Francisco FAX: (202) 745-1908 telephone: (202) 745-4952

Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador John R. HAMILTON embassy: 7-01 Avenida Reforma, Zone 10, Guatemala City mailing address: APO AA 34024 telephone: 2331-1541/55 FAX: 2334-8477

Flag description:
three equal vertical bands of light blue (hoist side), white, and
light blue with the coat of arms centered in the white band; the
coat of arms includes a green and red quetzal (the national bird)
and a scroll bearing the inscription LIBERTAD 15 DE SEPTIEMBRE DE
1821 (the original date of independence from Spain) all superimposed
on a pair of crossed rifles and a pair of crossed swords and framed
by a wreath

Economy Guatemala

Economy - overview:
Guatemala is the largest and most populous of the Central American
countries with a GDP per capita roughly one-half that of Brazil,
Argentina, and Chile. The agricultural sector accounts for about
one-fourth of GDP, two-thirds of exports, and half of the labor
force. Coffee, sugar, and bananas are the main products. The 1996
signing of peace accords, which ended 36 years of civil war, removed
a major obstacle to foreign investment, but widespread political
violence and corruption scandals continue to dampen investor
confidence. The distribution of income remains highly unequal, with
perhaps 75% of the population below the poverty line. Ongoing
challenges include increasing government revenues, negotiating
further assistance from international donors, upgrading both
government and private financial operations, curtailing drug
trafficking, and narrowing the trade deficit.

GDP:
purchasing power parity - $56.5 billion (2003 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
2.1% (2003 est.)

GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $4,100 (2003 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 22.5% industry: 18.9% services: 58.5% (2003 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):
15.2% of GDP (2003)

Population below poverty line:
75% (2002 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 1.6% highest 10%: 46% (1998)

Distribution of family income - Gini index:
55.8 (1998)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
5.5% (2003 est.)

Labor force:
3.84 million (2003 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture 50%, industry 15%, services 35% (1999 est.)

Unemployment rate:
7.5% (2003 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $2.741 billion
expenditures: $3.316 billion, including capital expenditures of $750
million (2003 est.)

Public debt:
30.8% of GDP (2003)

Agriculture - products:
sugarcane, corn, bananas, coffee, beans, cardamom; cattle, sheep,
pigs, chickens

Industries:
sugar, textiles and clothing, furniture, chemicals, petroleum,
metals, rubber, tourism

Industrial production growth rate:
4.1% (1999)

Electricity - production:
6.237 billion kWh (2001)

Electricity - consumption:
5.559 billion kWh (2001)

Electricity - exports:
336 million kWh (2001)

Electricity - imports:
95 million kWh (2001)

Oil - production:
21,080 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - consumption:
61,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - exports:
NA (2001)

Oil - imports:
NA (2001)

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

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

Current account balance:
$-1.106 billion (2003)

Exports:
$2.763 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)

Exports - commodities:
coffee, sugar, bananas, fruits and vegetables, cardamom, meat,
apparel, petroleum, electricity

Exports - partners:
US 56.7%, El Salvador 10.8%, Nicaragua 3.6% (2003)

Imports:
$5.749 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)

Imports - commodities:
fuels, machinery and transport equipment, construction materials,
grain, fertilizers, electricity

Imports - partners:
US 34.1%, Mexico 8.8%, South Korea 7.8%, El Salvador 6.4%, China
4.6% (2003)

Reserves of foreign exchange & gold:
$2.843 billion (2003)

Debt - external:
$4.957 billion (2003 est.)

Economic aid - recipient:
$250 million (2000 est.)

Currency:
quetzal (GTQ), US dollar (USD), others allowed

Currency code:
GTQ; USD

Exchange rates:
quetzales per US dollar - 7.9409 (2003), 7.8216 (2002), 7.8586
(2001), 7.7632 (2000), 7.3856 (1999)

Fiscal year:
calendar year

Communications Guatemala

Telephones - main lines in use:
846,000 (2002)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
1,577,100 (2002)

Telephone system:
general assessment: fairly modern network centered in the city of
Guatemala
domestic: NA
international: country code - 502; connected to Central American
Microwave System; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic
Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations:
AM 130, FM 487, shortwave 15 (2000)

Radios:
835,000 (1997)

Television broadcast stations:
26 (plus 27 repeaters) (1997)

Televisions:
1.323 million (1997)

Internet country code:
.gt

Internet hosts:
20,360 (2003)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
5 (2000)

Internet users:
400,000 (2002)

Transportation Guatemala

Railways: total: 886 km narrow gauge: 886 km 0.914-m gauge (2003)

Highways:
total: 14,118 km
paved: 4,871 km (including 74 km of expressways)
unpaved: 9,247 km (1999)

Waterways:
990 km
note: 260 km navigable year round; additional 730 km navigable
during high-water season (2004)

Pipelines:
oil 480 km (2004)

Ports and harbors:
Champerico, Puerto Barrios, Puerto Quetzal, San Jose, Santo Tomas
de Castilla

Merchant marine:
none

Airports:
452 (2003 est.)

Airports - with paved runways:
total: 11
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 4
under 914 m: 2 (2004 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 441
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 8
914 to 1,523 m: 109
under 914 m: 323 (2004 est.)

Military Guatemala

Military branches:
Army, Navy (includes Marines), Air Force

Military manpower - military age and obligation: 18 years of age for compulsory and voluntary military service; conscript service obligation - 30 months (2004)

Military manpower - availability:
males age 15-49: 3,421,682 (2004 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service:
males age 15-49: 2,233,562 (2004 est.)

Military manpower - reaching military age annually:
males: 156,865 (2004 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
$202.6 million (2003)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
0.8% (2003)

Transnational Issues Guatemala

Disputes - international:
Guatemalan squatters continue to settle in Belize border region;
OAS brokered Differendum in 2002 creating small adjustment to land
boundary, large Guatemalan maritime corridor in Caribbean, joint
ecological park for disputed Sapodilla Cays, and substantial US-UK
financial package, but agreement was not brought to popular
referendum leaving Guatemala to continue to claim the southern half
of Belize intact; numbers of Guatemalans enter Mexico seeking work
or transit to the US

Refugees and internally displaced persons:
IDPs: 250,000 (government's scorched-earth offensive in 1980s
against indigenous people) (2004)

Illicit drugs:
major transit country for cocaine and heroin; minor producer of
illicit opium poppy and cannabis for mostly domestic consumption;
proximity to Mexico makes Guatemala a major staging area for drugs
(particularly for cocaine); money laundering is a serious problem;
corruption is a major problem; remains on Financial Action Task
Force Non-Cooperative Countries and Territories List for continued
failure to address deficiencies in money-laundering control regime

This page was last updated on 10 February, 2005

@Guernsey

Introduction Guernsey

Background:
The island of Guernsey and the other Channel Islands represent the
last remnants of the medieval Dukedom of Normandy, which held sway
in both France and England. The islands were the only British soil
occupied by German troops in World War II.

Geography Guernsey

Location:
Western Europe, islands in the English Channel, northwest of France

Geographic coordinates:
49 28 N, 2 35 W

Map references:
Europe

Area:
total: 78 sq km
note: includes Alderney, Guernsey, Herm, Sark, and some other
smaller islands
water: 0 sq km
land: 78 sq km

Area - comparative:
about one-half the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries:
0 km

Coastline:
50 km

Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 3 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 12 nm

Climate:
temperate with mild winters and cool summers; about 50% of days are
overcast

Terrain:
mostly level with low hills in southwest

Elevation extremes: lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location on Sark 114 m

Natural resources: cropland

Land use: arable land: NA permanent crops: NA other: NA (2001)

Irrigated land:
NA sq km

Natural hazards:
NA

Environment - current issues:
NA

Geography - note:
large, deepwater harbor at Saint Peter Port

People Guernsey

Population:
65,031 (July 2004 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 15.6% (male 5,161; female 5,013)
15-64 years: 66.7% (male 21,497; female 21,897)
65 years and over: 17.6% (male 4,812; female 6,651) (2004 est.)

Median age:
total: 40.6 years
male: 39.6 years
female: 41.5 years (2004 est.)

Population growth rate:
0.31% (2004 est.)

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

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

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

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.72 male(s)/female
total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2004 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 4.78 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 4.19 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
male: 5.35 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 80.17 years
male: 77.17 years
female: 83.27 years (2004 est.)

Total fertility rate:
1.38 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: Channel Islander(s)
adjective: Channel Islander

Ethnic groups:
UK and Norman-French descent with small percentages from other
European countries

Religions:
Anglican, Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, Baptist, Congregational,
Methodist

Languages:
English, French, Norman-French dialect spoken in country districts

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

Government Guernsey

Country name:
conventional long form: Bailiwick of Guernsey
conventional short form: Guernsey

Dependency status:
British crown dependency

Government type:
NA

Capital:
Saint Peter Port

Administrative divisions:
none (British crown dependency); there are no first-order
administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there
are 10 parishes including Saint Peter Port, Saint Sampson, Vale,
Castel, Saint Saviour, Saint Pierre du Bois, Torteval, Forest, Saint
Martin, Saint Andrew

Independence:
none (British crown dependency)

National holiday:
Liberation Day, 9 May (1945)

Constitution:
unwritten; partly statutes, partly common law and practice

Legal system:
English law and local statute; justice is administered by the Royal
Court

Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952),
represented by Lieutenant Governor and Commander-in-Chief Lt. Gen.
Sir John FOLEY (since NA 2000)
election results: Laurie MORGAN elected chief minister, percent of
vote of the States of Deliberation NA
elections: the monarch is hereditary; lieutenant governor appointed
by the monarch; chief minister is elected by States of Delibertion
head of government: Chief Minister Laurie MORGAN (since 1 May 2004)
cabinet: Policy Council elected by the States of Deliberation

Legislative branch:
unicameral States of Deliberation (45 seats; members are elected by
popular vote for 4 years); note - Alderney and Sark have their own
parliaments
elections: last held 21 April 2004 (next to be held NA 2008)
election results: percent of vote - NA; seats - all independents

Judicial branch:
Royal Court

Political parties and leaders:
none; all independents

Political pressure groups and leaders:
none

International organization participation:
UPU

Diplomatic representation in the US:
none (British crown dependency)

Diplomatic representation from the US:
none (British crown dependency)

Flag description:
white with the red cross of Saint George (patron saint of England)
extending to the edges of the flag and a yellow equal-armed cross of
William the Conqueror superimposed on the Saint George cross

Economy Guernsey

Economy - overview:
Financial services - banking, fund management, insurance, etc. -
account for about 55% of total income in this tiny Channel Island
economy. Tourism, manufacturing, and horticulture, mainly tomatoes
and cut flowers, have been declining. Light tax and death duties
make Guernsey a popular tax haven. The evolving economic integration
of the EU nations is changing the environment under which Guernsey
operates.

GDP:
purchasing power parity - $1.3 billion (1999 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
5.7% (1999 est.)

GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $20,000 (1999 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 3%
industry: 10%
services: 87% (2000)

Population below poverty line:
NA

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
4% (2000 est.)

Labor force:
31,320 (2000)

Unemployment rate:
0.5% (1999 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $381.3 million
expenditures: $368.8 million, including capital expenditures of NA
(2000 est.)

Agriculture - products:
tomatoes, greenhouse flowers, sweet peppers, eggplant, fruit;
Guernsey cattle

Industries:
tourism, banking

Industrial production growth rate:
NA

Electricity - production:
NA kWh

Electricity - consumption:
NA kWh

Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2002)

Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2002)

Exports:
NA

Exports - commodities:
tomatoes, flowers and ferns, sweet peppers, eggplant, other
vegetables

Exports - partners:
UK (regarded as internal trade)

Imports:
NA

Imports - commodities:
coal, gasoline, oil, machinery and equipment

Imports - partners:
UK (regarded as internal trade)

Debt - external:
NA

Economic aid - recipient:
NA

Currency:
British pound (GBP); note - there is also a Guernsey pound

Currency code:
GBP

Exchange rates:
Guernsey pounds per US dollar - 0.6661 (2002), 0.6944 (2001),
0.6596 (2000), 0.6180 (1999), 0.6037 (1998); note - the Guernsey
pound is at par with the British pound

Fiscal year:
calendar year

Communications Guernsey

Telephones - main lines in use:
55,000 (2001)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
31,500 (2001)

Telephone system:
general assessment: NA
domestic: NA
international: 1 submarine cable

Radio broadcast stations:
AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0 (1998)

Radios:
NA

Television broadcast stations:
1 (1997)

Televisions:
NA

Internet country code:
.gg

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
NA

Internet users:
NA

Transportation Guernsey

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

Ports and harbors:
Saint Peter Port, Saint Sampson

Merchant marine:
none

Airports:
2 (2003 est.)

Airports - with paved runways: total: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.)

Military Guernsey

Military - note: defense is the responsibility of the UK

Transnational Issues Guernsey

Disputes - international: none

This page was last updated on 10 February, 2005

@Guinea

Introduction Guinea

Background:
Guinea has had only two presidents since gaining its independence
from France in 1958. Lansana CONTE came to power in 1984, when the
military seized the government after the death of the first
president Sekou TOURE. Guinea did not hold democratic elections
until 1993 when Gen. CONTE (head of the military government) was
elected president of the civilian government. He was reelected in
1998 and again in 2003. Unrest in Sierra Leone and Liberia has
spilled over into Guinea on several occasions over the past decade,
threatening stability and creating humanitarian emergencies.

Geography Guinea

Location:
Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between
Guinea-Bissau and Sierra Leone

Geographic coordinates:
11 00 N, 10 00 W

Map references:
Africa

Area:
total: 245,857 sq km
water: 0 sq km
land: 245,857 sq km

Area - comparative:
slightly smaller than Oregon

Land boundaries: total: 3,399 km border countries: Cote d'Ivoire 610 km, Guinea-Bissau 386 km, Liberia 563 km, Mali 858 km, Senegal 330 km, Sierra Leone 652 km

Coastline: 320 km

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

Climate:
generally hot and humid; monsoonal-type rainy season (June to
November) with southwesterly winds; dry season (December to May)
with northeasterly harmattan winds

Terrain:
generally flat coastal plain, hilly to mountainous interior

Elevation extremes: lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Mont Nimba 1,752 m

Natural resources: bauxite, iron ore, diamonds, gold, uranium, hydropower, fish

Land use: arable land: 3.63% permanent crops: 2.58% other: 93.79% (2001)

Irrigated land:
950 sq km (1998 est.)

Natural hazards:
hot, dry, dusty harmattan haze may reduce visibility during dry
season

Environment - current issues:
deforestation; inadequate supplies of potable water;
desertification; soil contamination and erosion; overfishing,
overpopulation in forest region; poor mining practices have led to
environmental damage

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

Geography - note:
the Niger and its important tributary the Milo have their sources
in the Guinean highlands

People Guinea

Population:
9,246,462 (July 2004 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 44.4% (male 2,075,652; female 2,032,936)
15-64 years: 52.4% (male 2,417,440; female 2,428,085)
65 years and over: 3.2% (male 127,654; female 164,695) (2004 est.)

Median age:
total: 17.7 years
male: 17.4 years
female: 17.9 years (2004 est.)

Population growth rate:
2.37% (2004 est.)

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

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

Net migration rate:
-3.06 migrant(s)/1,000 population
note: as a result of conflict in neighboring countries, Guinea is
host to approximately 150,000 Liberian and Sierra Leonean refugees
(2004 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female
total population: 1 male(s)/female (2004 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 91.82 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 86.18 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
male: 97.3 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 49.7 years
male: 48.45 years
female: 50.99 years (2004 est.)

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

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
3.2% (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
140,000 (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
9,000 (2003 est.)

Major infectious diseases:
typhoid fever, malaria, yellow fever, schistosomiasis
overall degree of risk: very high (2004)

Nationality:
noun: Guinean(s)
adjective: Guinean

Ethnic groups:
Peuhl 40%, Malinke 30%, Soussou 20%, smaller ethnic groups 10%

Religions:
Muslim 85%, Christian 8%, indigenous beliefs 7%

Languages:
French (official), each ethnic group has its own language

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 35.9%
male: 49.9%
female: 21.9% (1995 est.)

Government Guinea

Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of Guinea
conventional short form: Guinea
local short form: Guinee
former: French Guinea
local long form: Republique de Guinee

Government type:
republic

Capital:
Conakry

Administrative divisions:
33 prefectures and 1 special zone (zone special)*; Beyla, Boffa,
Boke, Conakry*, Coyah, Dabola, Dalaba, Dinguiraye, Dubreka, Faranah,
Forecariah, Fria, Gaoual, Gueckedou, Kankan, Kerouane, Kindia,
Kissidougou, Koubia, Koundara, Kouroussa, Labe, Lelouma, Lola,
Macenta, Mali, Mamou, Mandiana, Nzerekore, Pita, Siguiri, Telimele,
Tougue, Yomou

Independence:
2 October 1958 (from France)

National holiday:
Independence Day, 2 October (1958)

Constitution:
23 December 1990 (Loi Fundamentale)

Legal system:
based on French civil law system, customary law, and decree; legal
codes currently being revised; has not accepted compulsory ICJ
jurisdiction

Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
chief of state: President Lansana CONTE (head of military
government since 5 April 1984, elected president 19 December 1993)
head of government: Prime Minister Cellou Dalein DIALLO (since 9
December 2004)
cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president
elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term;
candidate must receive a majority of the votes cast to be elected
president; election last held 21 December 2003 (next to be held NA
December 2008); the prime minister is appointed by the president
election results: Lansana CONTE reelected president; percent of vote
- Lansana CONTE (PUP) 95.3%, Mamadou Boye BARRY (UPR) 4.6%

Legislative branch:
unicameral People's National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale
Populaire (114 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to
serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 30 June 2002 (next to be held NA 2007)
election results: percent of vote by party - PUP 61.6%, UPR 26.6%,
other 11.8%; seats by party - PUP 85, UPR 20, other 9

Judicial branch:
Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel

Political parties and leaders:
Democratic Party of Guinea-African Democratic Rally or PDG-RDA [El
Hadj Ismael Mohamed Gassim GUSHEIN]; National Union for Progress or
UPN [Mamadou Bhoye BARRY]; Party for Unity and Progress or PUP
[Lansana CONTE] - the governing party; People's Party of Guinea or
PPG [Pascal TOLNO]; Rally for the Guinean People or RPG [Alpha
CONDE]; Union for Progress and Renewal or UPR [Siradiou DIALLO];
Union for Progress of Guinea or UPG [Jean-Marie DORE,
secretary-general]; Union of Republican Forces or UFR [Sidya TOURE]

Political pressure groups and leaders:
NA

International organization participation:
ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU,
ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM,
ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, MINURSO, NAM, OIC, ONUB, OPCW, UN,
UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNOCI, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU,
WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Rafiou Alpha Oumar BARRY FAX: (202) 478-3010 telephone: (202) 986-4300 chancery: 2112 Leroy Place NW, Washington, DC 20008

Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Barrie R. WALKLEY embassy: Rue Ka 038, Conakry mailing address: B. P. 603, Conakry telephone: 41 15 20, 41 15 21, 41 15 23 FAX: 41 15 22

Flag description:
three equal vertical bands of red (hoist side), yellow, and green;
uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia

Economy Guinea

Economy - overview:
Guinea possesses major mineral, hydropower, and agricultural
resources, yet remains an underdeveloped nation. The country
possesses over 30% of the world's bauxite reserves and is the
second-largest bauxite producer. The mining sector accounted for
about 75% of exports in 1999. Long-run improvements in government
fiscal arrangements, literacy, and the legal framework are needed if
the country is to move out of poverty. Fighting along the Sierra
Leonean and Liberian borders, as well as refugee movements, have
caused major economic disruptions, including a loss in investor
confidence. Foreign mining companies have reduced expatriate staff,
while panic buying has created food shortages and inflation in local
markets. Guinea is not receiving multilateral aid. The IMF and World
Bank cut off most assistance in 2003. Growth should strengthen in
2004, however, because of a slowly improving security situation and
increased investor confidence.

GDP:
purchasing power parity - $19.02 billion (2003 est.)

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

GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $2,100 (2003 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 24.9% industry: 38.2% services: 36.9% (2003 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):
21.2% of GDP (2003)

Population below poverty line:
40% (2003 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 2.6% highest 10%: 32% (1994)

Distribution of family income - Gini index:
40.3 (1994)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
14.8% (2003 est.)

Labor force:
3 million (1999)

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture 80%, industry and services 20% (2000 est.)

Unemployment rate:
NA (2002 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $410.7 million
expenditures: $708.5 million, including capital expenditures of $NA
million (2003 est.)

Agriculture - products:
rice, coffee, pineapples, palm kernels, cassava (tapioca), bananas,
sweet potatoes; cattle, sheep, goats; timber

Industries:
bauxite, gold, diamonds; alumina refining; light manufacturing and
agricultural processing industries

Industrial production growth rate:
3.2% (1994)

Electricity - production:
790.6 million kWh (2001)

Electricity - consumption:
735.2 million kWh (2001)

Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2001)

Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2001)

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

Oil - consumption:
8,600 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - exports:
NA (2001)

Oil - imports:
NA (2001)

Current account balance:
$-252 million (2003)

Exports:
$726 million f.o.b. (2003 est.)

Exports - commodities:
bauxite, alumina, gold, diamonds, coffee, fish, agricultural
products

Exports - partners:
South Korea 14.8%, Spain 10.7%, US 10.1%, France 9.2%, Russia 9%,
Ireland 7.9%, Belgium 6.4%, Germany 5.6%, Ukraine 5.3% (2003)

Imports:
$646 million f.o.b. (2003 est.)

Imports - commodities:
petroleum products, metals, machinery, transport equipment,
textiles, grain and other foodstuffs

Imports - partners:
France 16.8%, China 9.3%, Belgium 7.1%, Italy 6.6%, Netherlands
5.4%, UK 5.4%, Cote d'Ivoire 4.8%, US 4.5% (2003)

Reserves of foreign exchange & gold:
$191 million (2003)

Debt - external:
$3.25 billion (2001 est.)

Economic aid - recipient:
$359.2 million (1998)

Currency:
Guinean franc (GNF)

Currency code:
GNF

Exchange rates:
Guinean francs per US dollar - NA (2003), 1,975.84 (2002), 1,950.56
(2001), 1,746.87 (2000), 1,387.4 (1999)

Fiscal year:
calendar year

Communications Guinea

Telephones - main lines in use:
26,200 (2003)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
111,500 (2003)

Telephone system:
general assessment: poor to fair system of open-wire lines, small
radiotelephone communication stations, and new microwave radio relay
system
domestic: microwave radio relay and radiotelephone communication
international: country code - 224; satellite earth station - 1
Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations:
AM 4 (one station is inactive), FM 1 (plus 7 repeaters), shortwave
3 (2001)

Radios:
357,000 (1997)

Television broadcast stations:
6 low-power stations (2001)

Televisions:
85,000 (1997)

Internet country code:
.gn

Internet hosts:
380 (2004)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
4 (2001)

Internet users:
40,000 (2003)

Transportation Guinea

Railways:
total: 837 km
standard gauge: 175 km 1.435-m gauge
narrow gauge: 662 km 1.000-m gauge (2003)

Highways:
total: 30,500 km
paved: 5,033 km
unpaved: 25,467 km (1999 est.)

Waterways:
1,295 km (navigable by shallow-draft native craft) (2003)

Ports and harbors:
Boke, Conakry, Kamsar

Merchant marine:
total: 3 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 5,344 GRT/5,003 DWT
by type: cargo 1, petroleum tanker 1, roll on/roll off 1
foreign-owned: Iraq 1 (2003 est.)

Airports:
16 (2003 est.)

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

Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 11
1,524 to 2,437 m: 6
914 to 1,523 m: 3
under 914 m: 2 (2004 est.)

Military Guinea

Military branches:
Army, Navy, Air Force, Republican Guard, Presidential Guard,
National Gendarmerie, General Directorate of National Police

Military manpower - military age and obligation:
18 years of age for compulsory military service; conscript service
obligation - 2 years (2004)

Military manpower - availability:
males age 15-49: 2,108,948 (2004 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service:
males age 15-49: 1,064,965 (2004 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
$58.5 million (2003)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
1.7% (2003)

Transnational Issues Guinea

Disputes - international:
domestic fighting among disparate rebel groups in Guinea, domestic
fighting among disparate rebel groups, warlords, and youth gangs in
Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone have created insurgencies, street
violence, looting, arms trafficking, ethnic conflicts skirmishes,
deaths, and refugees in border areas; in 2003, Guinea and Sierra
Leone established a boundary commission to resolve a dispute over
the town of Yenga

Refugees and internally displaced persons:
refugees (country of origin): 133,175 (Liberia), 13,633 (Sierra
Leone), 7,064 (Cote d'Ivoire)
IDPs: 100,000 (cross-border incursions from Liberia, Sierra Leone,
Cote d'Ivoire) (2004)

This page was last updated on 10 February, 2005

@Guinea-Bissau

Introduction Guinea-Bissau

Background:
Since independence from Portugal in 1974, Guinea-Bissau has
experienced considerable upheaval. The founding government consisted
of a single party system and command economy. In 1980, a military
coup established Joao VIEIRA as president and a path to a market
economy and multiparty system was implemented. A number of coup
attempts through the 1980s and early 1990s failed to unseat him and
in 1994 he was elected president in the country's first free
elections. A military coup attempt and civil war in 1998 eventually
led to VIERA's ouster in 1999. In February 2000, an interim
government turned over power when opposition leader Kumba YALA took
office following two rounds of transparent presidential elections.
YALA was ousted in a bloodless coup in September 2003, and Henrique
ROSA was sworn in as President. Guinea-Bissau's transition back to
democracy will be complicated by its crippled economy, devastated in
the civil war.

Geography Guinea-Bissau

Location:
Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea
and Senegal

Geographic coordinates:
12 00 N, 15 00 W

Map references:
Africa

Area:
total: 36,120 sq km
water: 8,120 sq km
land: 28,000 sq km

Area - comparative:
slightly less than three times the size of Connecticut

Land boundaries: total: 724 km border countries: Guinea 386 km, Senegal 338 km

Coastline: 350 km

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

Climate:
tropical; generally hot and humid; monsoonal-type rainy season
(June to November) with southwesterly winds; dry season (December to
May) with northeasterly harmattan winds

Terrain:
mostly low coastal plain rising to savanna in east

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location in the northeast corner of the
country 300 m

Natural resources:
fish, timber, phosphates, bauxite, unexploited deposits of petroleum

Land use: arable land: 10.67% permanent crops: 8.82% other: 80.51% (2001)

Irrigated land:
170 sq km (1998 est.)

Natural hazards:
hot, dry, dusty harmattan haze may reduce visibility during dry
season; brush fires

Environment - current issues:
deforestation; soil erosion; overgrazing; overfishing

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered
Species, Law of the Sea, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note:
this small country is swampy along its western coast and low-lying
further inland

People Guinea-Bissau

Population:
1,388,363 (July 2004 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 41.7% (male 288,760; female 289,975)
15-64 years: 55.4% (male 367,728; female 400,996)
65 years and over: 2.9% (male 17,570; female 23,334) (2004 est.)

Median age:
total: 18.9 years
male: 18.3 years
female: 19.5 years (2004 est.)

Population growth rate:
1.99% (2004 est.)

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

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

Net migration rate:
-1.57 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female
total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2004 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 108.72 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 97.74 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
male: 119.37 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 46.98 years
male: 45.09 years
female: 48.92 years (2004 est.)

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

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
10% (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
17,000 (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
1,200 (2001 est.)

Major infectious diseases:
typhoid fever, malaria, yellow fever, schistosomiasis
overall degree of risk: very high (2004)

Nationality:
noun: Guinean(s)
adjective: Guinean

Ethnic groups:
African 99% (Balanta 30%, Fula 20%, Manjaca 14%, Mandinga 13%,
Papel 7%), European and mulatto less than 1%

Religions:
indigenous beliefs 50%, Muslim 45%, Christian 5%

Languages:
Portuguese (official), Crioulo, African languages

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 42.4%
male: 58.1%
female: 27.4% (2003 est.)

Government Guinea-Bissau

Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of Guinea-Bissau
conventional short form: Guinea-Bissau
local short form: Guine-Bissau
local long form: Republica da Guine-Bissau
former: Portuguese Guinea

Government type:
republic, multiparty since mid-1991

Capital:
Bissau

Administrative divisions:
9 regions (regioes, singular - regiao); Bafata, Biombo, Bissau,
Bolama, Cacheu, Gabu, Oio, Quinara, Tombali; note - Bolama may have
been renamed Bolama/Bijagos

Independence:
24 September 1973 (unilaterally declared by Guinea-Bissau); 10
September 1974 (recognized by Portugal)

National holiday:
Independence Day, 24 September (1973)

Constitution:
16 May 1984, amended 4 May 1991, 4 December 1991, 26 February 1993,
9 June 1993, and 1996

Legal system:
NA

Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
chief of state: President Henrique ROSA (interim; since 28
September 2003); note - a September 2003 coup overthrew the elected
government of Kumba YALA; General Verissimo Correia SEABRA served as
interim president from 14 to 28 September 2003
elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term;
election last held 28 November 1999 and 16 January 2000 (next to be
held NA 2004); prime minister appointed by the president after
consultation with party leaders in the legislature
note: a bloodless coup led to the dissolution of the elected
government of Kumba YALA in September 2003; General Verissimo
Correia SEABRA served as interim president from 14 September 2003
until stepping aside on 28 September 2003 with the establishment of
a caretaker government
election results: Kumba YALA elected president; percent of vote,
second ballot - Kumba YALA (PRS) 72%, Malan Bacai SANHA (PAIGC) 28%
cabinet: NA
head of government: Prime Minister Carlos GOMES Junior (since 9 May
2004)

Legislative branch:
unicameral National People's Assembly or Assembleia Nacional
Popular (100 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve a
maximum of four years); note - President YALA dissolved the National
People's Assembly in November 2002, elections for a new legislature
were scheduled to fall in February 2003 but were then postponed to
April, then July, then September, and were last scheduled to occur
in March 2004
elections: last held 28 March 2004 (next to be held NA 2009)
election results: percent of vote by party - PAIGC 31.5%, PRS 24.8%,
PUSD 16.1%, UE 4.1%, APU 1.3%, 13 other parties 22.2% ; seats by
party - PAIGC 45, PRS 35, PUSD 17, UE 2, APU 1

Judicial branch:
Supreme Court or Supremo Tribunal da Justica (consists of nine
justices who are appointed by the president and serve at his
pleasure; final court of appeals in criminal and civil cases);
Regional Courts (one in each of nine regions; first court of appeals
for Sectoral Court decisions; hear all felony cases and civil cases
valued at over $1,000); 24 Sectoral Courts (judges are not
necessarily trained lawyers; they hear civil cases under $1,000 and
misdemeanor criminal cases)

Political parties and leaders:
African Party for the Independence of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde
or PAIGC [Carlos GOMES Junior]; Front for the Liberation and
Independence of Guinea or FLING [Francois MENDY]; Guinea-Bissau
Resistance-Ba Fata Movement or RGB-MB [Helder Vaz LOPES]; Guinean
Civic Forum or FCG [Antonieta Rosa GOMES]; International League for
Ecological Protection or LIPE [Alhaje Bubacar DJALO, president];
National Union for Democracy and Progress or UNDP [Abubacer BALDE,
secretary general]; Party for Democratic Convergence or PCD [Victor
MANDINGA]; Social Renovation Party or PRS [Kumba YALA]; Union for
Change or UM [Jorge MANDINGA, president, Dr. Anne SAAD, secretary
general]; United Platform or UP [coalition formed by PCD, FDS,
FLING, and RGB-MB]; United Social Democratic Party or PUSD
[Francisco Jose FADUL]

Political pressure groups and leaders:
NA

International organization participation:
ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, ECOWAS, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt
(signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO,
Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, NAM, OIC, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD,
UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO,
WToO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Henrique
Adriano DA SILVA
chancery: 1511 K Street NW, Suite 519, Washington, DC 20005
FAX: (202) 347-3954
telephone: (202) 347-3950

Diplomatic representation from the US:
the US Embassy suspended operations on 14 June 1998 in the midst of
violent conflict between forces loyal to then President VIEIRA and
military-led junta; US embassy Dakar is responsible for covering
Guinea-Bissau: telephone - 823-4296; FAX - 822-5903

Flag description:
two equal horizontal bands of yellow (top) and green with a
vertical red band on the hoist side; there is a black five-pointed
star centered in the red band; uses the popular pan-African colors
of Ethiopia

Economy Guinea-Bissau

Economy - overview:
One of the 10 poorest countries in the world, Guinea-Bissau depends
mainly on farming and fishing. Cashew crops have increased
remarkably in recent years, and the country now ranks sixth in
cashew production. Guinea-Bissau exports fish and seafood along with
small amounts of peanuts, palm kernels, and timber. Rice is the
major crop and staple food. However, intermittent fighting between
Senegalese-backed government troops and a military junta destroyed
much of the country's infrastructure and caused widespread damage to
the economy in 1998; the civil war led to a 28% drop in GDP that
year, with partial recovery in 1999-2002. Before the war, trade
reform and price liberalization were the most successful part of the
country's structural adjustment program under IMF sponsorship. The
tightening of monetary policy and the development of the private
sector had also begun to reinvigorate the economy. Because of high
costs, the development of petroleum, phosphate, and other mineral
resources is not a near-term prospect. However, unexploited offshore
oil reserves could provide much-needed revenue in the long run. The
inequality of income distribution is one of the most extreme in the
world. The government and international donors continue to work out
plans to forward economic development from a lamentably low base.
Government drift and indecision, however, have resulted in low
growth in 2002-03 and dim prospects for 2004.

GDP:
purchasing power parity - $1.063 billion (2003 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
-7% (2003 est.)

GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $800 (2003 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 62%
industry: 12%
services: 26% (1999 est.)

Population below poverty line:
NA

Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 0.5% highest 10%: 42.4% (1991)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
4% (2002 est.)

Labor force:
480,000 (1999)

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture 82% (2000 est.)

Unemployment rate:
NA (1998)

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

Agriculture - products:
rice, corn, beans, cassava (tapioca), cashew nuts, peanuts, palm
kernels, cotton; timber; fish

Industries:
agricultural products processing, beer, soft drinks

Industrial production growth rate:
2.6% (1997 est.)

Electricity - production:
55 million kWh (2001)

Electricity - consumption:
51.15 million kWh (2001)

Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2001)

Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2001)

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

Oil - consumption:
2,500 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - exports:
NA (2001)

Oil - imports:
NA (2001)

Exports:
$54 million f.o.b. (2002 est.)

Exports - commodities:
cashew nuts, shrimp, peanuts, palm kernels, sawn lumber

Exports - partners:
India 76.8%, Nigeria 12.1%, Italy 5.1% (2003)

Imports:
$104 million f.o.b. (2002 est.)

Imports - commodities:
foodstuffs, machinery and transport equipment, petroleum products

Imports - partners:
Senegal 18.1%, India 14.6%, Portugal 14.6%, China 9.7%, Italy 9%,
Spain 4.9% (2003)

Debt - external:
$941.5 million (2000 est.)

Economic aid - recipient:
$115.4 million (1995)

Currency:
Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF); note - responsible
authority is the Central Bank of the West African States; previously
the Guinea-Bissau peso (GWP) was used

Currency code:
XOF; GWP

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)
note: as of 1 May 1997, Guinea-Bissau adopted the XOF franc as the
national currency; since 1 January 1999, the XOF franc is pegged to
the euro at a rate of 655.957 XOF francs per euro

Fiscal year:
calendar year

Communications Guinea-Bissau

Telephones - main lines in use:
10,600 (2003)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
1,300 (2003)

Telephone system:
general assessment: small system
domestic: combination of microwave radio relay, open-wire lines,
radiotelephone, and cellular communications
international: country code - 245

Radio broadcast stations:
AM 1 (transmitter out of service), FM 4, shortwave 0 (2002)

Radios:
49,000 (1997)

Television broadcast stations:
NA (1997)

Televisions:
NA

Internet country code:
.gw

Internet hosts:
2 (2004)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
2 (2002)

Internet users:
19,000 (2003)

Transportation Guinea-Bissau

Highways: total: 4,400 km paved: 453 km unpaved: 3,947 km (1999 est.)

Waterways:
4 largest rivers are navigable for some distance; many inlets and
creeks give shallow-water access to much of interior (2004)

Ports and harbors:
Bissau, Buba, Cacheu, Farim

Merchant marine:
none

Airports:
28 (2003 est.)

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

Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 25
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 4
under 914 m: 20 (2004 est.)

Military Guinea-Bissau

Military branches:
People's Revolutionary Armed Force (FARP; includes Army, Navy, and
Air Force), paramilitary force

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

Military manpower - availability:
males age 15-49: 326,864 (2004 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service:
males age 15-49: 185,801 (2004 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
$8.4 million (2003)

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

Transnational Issues Guinea-Bissau

Disputes - international:
attempts to stem refugees and cross-border raids, arms smuggling,
and political instability from a separatist movement in Senegal's
Casamance region

This page was last updated on 10 February, 2005

@Guyana

Introduction Guyana

Background:
Originally a Dutch colony in the 17th century, by 1815 Guyana had
become a British possession. The abolition of slavery led to black
settlement of urban areas and the importation of indentured servants
from India to work the sugar plantations. This ethnocultural divide
has persisted and has led to turbulent politics. Guyana achieved
independence from the UK in 1966, but until the early 1990s it was
ruled mostly by socialist-oriented governments. In 1992, Cheddi
JAGAN was elected president, in what is considered the country's
first free and fair election since independence. Upon his death five
years later, he was succeeded by his wife Janet, who resigned in
1999 due to poor health. Her successor, Bharrat JAGDEO, was
reelected in 2001.

Geography Guyana

Location:
Northern South America, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between
Suriname and Venezuela

Geographic coordinates:
5 00 N, 59 00 W

Map references:
South America

Area:
total: 214,970 sq km
water: 18,120 sq km
land: 196,850 sq km

Area - comparative:
slightly smaller than Idaho

Land boundaries: total: 2,462 km border countries: Brazil 1,119 km, Suriname 600 km, Venezuela 743 km

Coastline:
459 km

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

Climate:
tropical; hot, humid, moderated by northeast trade winds; two rainy
seasons (May to mid-August, mid-November to mid-January)

Terrain:
mostly rolling highlands; low coastal plain; savanna in south

Elevation extremes: lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Mount Roraima 2,835 m

Natural resources: bauxite, gold, diamonds, hardwood timber, shrimp, fish

Land use: arable land: 2.44% permanent crops: 0.15% other: 97.41% (2001)

Irrigated land:
1,500 sq km (1998 est.)

Natural hazards:
flash floods are a constant threat during rainy seasons

Environment - current issues:
water pollution from sewage and agricultural and industrial
chemicals; deforestation

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, Tropical Timber
83, Tropical Timber 94
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note:
the third-smallest country in South America after Suriname and
Uruguay; substantial portions of its western and eastern territories
are claimed by Venezuela and Suriname respectively

People Guyana

Population:
705,803
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: 26.5% (male 95,431; female 91,806)
15-64 years: 68.3% (male 243,224; female 239,047)
65 years and over: 5.1% (male 16,000; female 20,295) (2004 est.)

Median age:
total: 26.2 years
male: 25.6 years
female: 26.8 years (2004 est.)

Population growth rate:
0.61% (2004 est.)

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

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

Net migration rate:
-2.07 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: 0.79 male(s)/female
total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2004 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 37.22 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 32.95 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
male: 41.28 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 62.43 years
male: 60.12 years
female: 64.84 years (2004 est.)

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

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
2.5% (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
11,000 (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
1,100 (2003 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Guyanese (singular and plural)
adjective: Guyanese

Ethnic groups:
East Indian 50%, black 36%, Amerindian 7%, white, Chinese, and
mixed 7%

Religions:
Christian 50%, Hindu 35%, Muslim 10%, other 5%

Languages:
English, Amerindian dialects, Creole, Hindi, Urdu

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school
total population: 98.8%
male: 99.1%
female: 98.5% (2003 est.)

Government Guyana

Country name:
conventional long form: Co-operative Republic of Guyana
conventional short form: Guyana
former: British Guiana

Government type:
republic within the Commonwealth

Capital:
Georgetown

Administrative divisions:
10 regions; Barima-Waini, Cuyuni-Mazaruni, Demerara-Mahaica, East
Berbice-Corentyne, Essequibo Islands-West Demerara, Mahaica-Berbice,
Pomeroon-Supenaam, Potaro-Siparuni, Upper Demerara-Berbice, Upper
Takutu-Upper Essequibo

Independence:
26 May 1966 (from UK)

National holiday:
Republic Day, 23 February (1970)

Constitution:
6 October 1980

Legal system:
based on English common law with certain admixtures of Roman-Dutch
law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
chief of state: President Bharrat JAGDEO (since 11 August 1999);
note - assumed presidency after resignation of President Janet JAGAN
head of government: Prime Minister Samuel HINDS (since NA December
1997)
cabinet: Cabinet of Ministers appointed by the president,
responsible to the legislature
elections: president elected by the majority party in the National
Assembly following legislative elections, which must be held at
least every five years; elections last held 19 March 2001 (next to
be held by March 2006); prime minister appointed by the president
election results: President Bharrat JAGDEO reelected; percent of
legislative vote - NA

Legislative branch:
unicameral National Assembly (68 seats, 65 elected by popular vote,
1 elected Speaker of the National Assembly, and 2 nonvoting members
appointed by the president; members serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 19 March 2001 (next to be held NA March 2006)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party -
PPP/C 34, PNC 27, GAP and WPA 2, ROAR 1, TUF 1

Judicial branch:
Supreme Court of Judicature; Judicial Court of Appeal; High Court

Political parties and leaders:
Alliance for Guyana or AFG (includes Guyana Labor Party or GLP and
Working People's Alliance or WPA) [Rupert ROOPNARAINE]; Guyana
Action Party or GAP [Paul HARDY]; Guyana Labor Party or GLP [leader
NA]; People's National Congress or PNC/R [Robert Herman Orlando
CORBIN]; People's Progressive Party/Civic or PPP/C [Bharrat JAGDEO];
Rise, Organize, and Rebuild or ROAR [Ravi DEV]; The United Force or
TUF [Manzoor NADIR]; Working People's Alliance or WPA [Rupert
ROOPNARAINE]

Political pressure groups and leaders:
Civil Liberties Action Committee or CLAC; Guyana Council of Indian
Organizations or GCIO; Trades Union Congress or TUC
note: the GCIO and the CLAC are small and active but not well
organized

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
(subscriber), ITU, LAES, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OIC, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG,
UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Bayney KARRAN
chancery: 2490 Tracy Place NW, Washington, DC 20008
consulate(s) general: New York
FAX: (202) 232-1297
telephone: (202) 265-6900

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Roland BULLEN
embassy: 100 Young and Duke Streets, Kingston, Georgetown
mailing address: P. O. Box 10507, Georgetown
telephone: 225-4900 through 4909
FAX: 225-8497

Flag description:
green, with a red isosceles triangle (based on the hoist side)
superimposed on a long, yellow arrowhead; there is a narrow, black
border between the red and yellow, and a narrow, white border
between the yellow and the green

Economy Guyana

Economy - overview:
The Guyanese economy exhibited moderate economic growth in 2001-02,
based on expansion in the agricultural and mining sectors, a more
favorable atmosphere for business initiatives, a more realistic
exchange rate, fairly low inflation, and the continued support of
international organizations. Growth then slowed in 2003. Chronic
problems include a shortage of skilled labor and a deficient
infrastructure. The government is juggling a sizable external debt
against the urgent need for expanded public investment. The bauxite
mining sector should benefit in the near term by restructuring and
partial privatization.

GDP:
purchasing power parity - $2.797 billion (2003 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
0.5% (2003 est.)

GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $4,000 (2003 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 37.2% industry: 22.7% services: 40.1% (2003 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):
38.5% 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):
5.7% (2003 est.)

Labor force:
418,000 (2001 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture NA, industry NA, services NA

Unemployment rate:
9.1% (understated) (2000)

Budget:
revenues: $263.4 million
expenditures: $326.7 million, including capital expenditures of
$93.4 million (2003)

Agriculture - products: sugar, rice, wheat, vegetable oils; beef, pork, poultry, dairy products; fish (shrimp)

Industries:
bauxite, sugar, rice milling, timber, textiles, gold mining

Industrial production growth rate:
7.1% (1997 est.)

Electricity - production:
852 million kWh (2001)

Electricity - consumption:
792.4 million kWh (2001)

Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2001)

Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2001)

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

Oil - consumption:
11,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - exports:
NA (2001)

Oil - imports:
NA (2001)

Current account balance:
$-158 million (2003)

Exports:
$512 million f.o.b. (2003 est.)

Exports - commodities:
sugar, gold, bauxite/alumina, rice, shrimp, molasses, rum, timber

Exports - partners:
Canada 23.2%, US 21.8%, UK 13.5%, Portugal 6.7%, Belgium 6.5%,
Jamaica 6.1% (2003)

Imports:
$612 million f.o.b. (2003 est.)

Imports - commodities:
manufactures, machinery, petroleum, food

Imports - partners:
US 22.6%, Trinidad and Tobago 19.2%, Italy 11.2%, UK 7.2%, Cuba
5.2% (2003)

Reserves of foreign exchange & gold:
$257 million (2003)

Debt - external:
$1.2 billion (2002)

Economic aid - recipient:
$84 million (1995), Heavily Indebted Poor Country Initiative (HIPC)
$253 million (1997) (2000 est.)

Currency:
Guyanese dollar (GYD)

Currency code:
GYD

Exchange rates:
Guyanese dollars per US dollar - NA (2003), 190.665 (2002), 187.321
(2001), 182.43 (2000), 177.995 (1999)

Fiscal year:
calendar year

Communications Guyana

Telephones - main lines in use:
80,400 (2002)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
87,300 (2002)

Telephone system:
general assessment: fair system for long-distance calling
domestic: microwave radio relay network for trunk lines
international: country code - 592; tropospheric scatter to Trinidad;
satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations:
AM 3, FM 3, shortwave 1 (1998)

Radios:
420,000 (1997)

Television broadcast stations: 3 (one public station; two private stations which relay US satellite services) (1997)

Televisions:
46,000 (1997)

Internet country code:
.gy

Internet hosts:
613 (2003)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
3 (2000)

Internet users:
125,000 (2002)

Transportation Guyana

Railways:
total: 187 km
standard gauge: 139 km 1.435-m gauge
note: all dedicated to ore transport (2001 est.)
narrow gauge: 48 km 0.914-m gauge

Highways:
total: 7,970 km
paved: 590 km
unpaved: 7,380 km (1999 est.)

Waterways:
1,077 km
note: Berbice, Demerara, and Essequibo rivers are navigable by
oceangoing vessels for 150 km, 100 km, and 80 km respectively (2004)

Ports and harbors:
Bartica, Georgetown, Linden, New Amsterdam, Parika

Merchant marine:
total: 5 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 7,475 GRT/8,758 DWT
foreign-owned: Barbados 1, Panama 1
registered in other countries: 8 (2004 est.)
by type: cargo 3, container 1, refrigerated cargo 1

Airports:
49 (2003 est.)

Airports - with paved runways:
total: 8
1,524 to 2,437 m: 3
under 914 m: 5 (2004 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 41 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 8 under 914 m: 32 (2004 est.)

Military Guyana

Military branches:
Guyana Defense Force: Ground Forces, Coast Guard, Air Corps; Guyana
People's Militia

Military manpower - availability:
males age 15-49: 209,545 (2004 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service:
males age 15-49: 157,264 (2004 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
$6.5 million (2003)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
0.8% (2003)

Transnational Issues Guyana

Disputes - international:
all of the area west of the Essequibo (river) is claimed by
Venezuela preventing any discussion of a maritime boundary; Guyana
has expressed its intention to join Barbados in asserting claims
before UNCLOS that Trinidad and Tobago's maritime boundary with
Venezuela extends into their waters; Suriname claims a triangle of
land between the New and Kutari/Koetari rivers in a historic dispute
over the headwaters of the Courantyne; Guyana seeks UNCLOS
arbitration to resolve the long-standing dispute with Suriname over
the axis of the territorial sea boundary in potentially oil-rich
waters

Illicit drugs:
transshipment point for narcotics from South America - primarily
Venezuela - to Europe and the US; producer of cannabis

This page was last updated on 10 February, 2005

@Haiti

Introduction Haiti

Background:
The native Arawak Amerindians - who inhabited the island of
Hispaniola when it was discovered by Columbus in 1492 - were
virtually annihilated by Spanish settlers within 25 years. In the
early 17th century, the French established a presence on Hispaniola,
and in 1697, Spain ceded to the French the western third of the
island - Haiti. The French colony, based on forestry and
sugar-related industries, became one of the wealthiest in the
Caribbean, but only through the heavy importation of African slaves
and considerable environmental degradation. In the late 18th
century, Haiti's nearly half million slaves revolted under Toussaint
L'OUVERTURE and after a prolonged struggle, became the first black
republic to declare its independence in 1804. Haiti has been plagued
by political violence for most of its history. It is the poorest
country in the Western Hemisphere.

Geography Haiti

Location:
Caribbean, western one-third of the island of Hispaniola, between
the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, west of the
Dominican Republic

Geographic coordinates:
19 00 N, 72 25 W

Map references:
Central America and the Caribbean

Area:
total: 27,750 sq km
land: 27,560 sq km
water: 190 sq km

Area - comparative:
slightly smaller than Maryland

Land boundaries: total: 360 km border countries: Dominican Republic 360 km

Coastline: 1,771 km

Maritime claims: territorial sea: 12 nm continental shelf: to depth of exploitation contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

Climate:
tropical; semiarid where mountains in east cut off trade winds

Terrain:
mostly rough and mountainous

Elevation extremes: lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Chaine de la Selle 2,680 m

Natural resources: bauxite, copper, calcium carbonate, gold, marble, hydropower

Land use: arable land: 28.3% permanent crops: 11.61% other: 60.09% (2001)

Irrigated land:
750 sq km (1998 est.)

Natural hazards:
lies in the middle of the hurricane belt and subject to severe
storms from June to October; occasional flooding and earthquakes;
periodic droughts

Environment - current issues:
extensive deforestation (much of the remaining forested land is
being cleared for agriculture and used as fuel); soil erosion;
inadequate supplies of potable water

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Law of the
Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: Hazardous Wastes

Geography - note:
shares island of Hispaniola with Dominican Republic (western
one-third is Haiti, eastern two-thirds is the Dominican Republic)

People Haiti

Population:
7,656,166
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: 42.2% (male 1,646,216; female 1,583,294)
15-64 years: 54.1% (male 2,018,914; female 2,124,287)
65 years and over: 3.7% (male 133,241; female 150,214) (2004 est.)

Median age:
total: 18.1 years
male: 17.6 years
female: 18.7 years (2004 est.)

Population growth rate:
1.71% (2004 est.)

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

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

Net migration rate:
-3.4 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: 0.89 male(s)/female
total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2004 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 74.38 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 68.65 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
male: 79.83 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 51.78 years
male: 50.52 years
female: 53.12 years (2004 est.)

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

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
5.6% (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
280,000 (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
24,000 (2003 est.)

Nationality: noun: Haitian(s) adjective: Haitian

Ethnic groups:
black 95%, mulatto and white 5%

Religions:
Roman Catholic 80%, Protestant 16% (Baptist 10%, Pentecostal 4%,
Adventist 1%, other 1%), none 1%, other 3% (1982)
note: roughly half of the population practices Voodoo

Languages:
French (official), Creole (official)

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 52.9%
male: 54.8%
female: 51.2% (2003 est.)

Government Haiti

Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of Haiti
conventional short form: Haiti
local short form: Haiti
local long form: Republique d'Haiti

Government type:
elected government

Capital:
Port-au-Prince

Administrative divisions:
9 departments (departements, singular - departement); Artibonite,
Centre, Grand 'Anse, Nord, Nord-Est, Nord-Ouest, Ouest, Sud, Sud-Est

Independence:
1 January 1804 (from France)

National holiday:
Independence Day, 1 January (1804)

Constitution:
approved March 1987; suspended June 1988 with most articles
reinstated March 1989; in October 1991 government claimed to be
observing the constitution; returned to constitutional rule in
October 1994

Legal system:
based on Roman civil law system; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
chief of state: Interim President Boniface ALEXANDRE (since 29
February 2004)
note: Jean-Bertrand ARISTIDE resigned as president on 29 February
2004; ALEXANDRE, as Chief of the Supreme Court, constitutionally
succeeded Aristide
head of government: Interim Prime Minister Gerald LATORTUE (since 12
March 2004), chosen by extraconstitutional Council of Eminent
Persons representing cross-section of political and civic interests
cabinet: Cabinet chosen by the prime minister in consultation with
the president
election results: Jean-Bertrand ARISTIDE elected president; percent
of vote - Jean-Bertrand ARISTIDE 92%
elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term;
election last held 26 November 2000 (next to be held in November
2005); prime minister appointed by the president, ratified by the
National Assembly

Legislative branch:
bicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale consists of the
Senate (27 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve six-year
terms; one-third elected every two years) and the Chamber of
Deputies (83 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve
four-year terms); note - the National Assembly stopped functioning
in January 2004 when the terms of all Deputies and two-thirds of
sitting Senators expired; no replacements have been elected; the
Prime Minister is currently ruling by decree
election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by
party - FL 26, independent 1; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote
by party - NA%; seats by party - FL 73, MOCHRENA 3, PLB 2, OPL 1,
vacant 1, other minor parties and independents 3
elections: Senate - last held for two-thirds of seats 21 May 2000
with runoffs on 9 July boycotted by the opposition; seven seats
still disputed; election for remaining one-third held on 26 November
2000 (next to be held in 2004); Chamber of Deputies - last held 21
May 2000 with runoffs on 30 July boycotted by the opposition; one
vacant seat rerun 26 November 2000 (next to be held in November 2005)

Judicial branch:
Supreme Court or Cour de Cassation

Political parties and leaders:
Alliance for the Liberation and Advancement of Haiti or ALAH
[Reynold GEORGES]; Assembly of Progressive National Democrats or
RDNP [Leslie MANIGAT]; Convention for Democratic Unity or KID
[leader Evans PAUL]; Democratic Convergence (opposition coalition
composed of KID, KONAKOM, OPL, PANPRA, RNDP, MIDH, and MOCHRENA)
[Evans PAUL, Victor BENOIT, Edgard LEBLANC, Serge GILLES, Leslie
MANIGAT, Marc BAZIN, Luc MESADIEU]; Democratic Movement for the
Liberation of Haiti or MODELH [Francois LATORTUE]; Grand Center
Right Front coalition (composed of MDN, MRN, and PDCH) [Hubert de
RONCERAY, Jean BUTEAU, Osner FEVRY and Marie-Denise CLAUDE]; Haitian
Christian Democratic Party or PDCH [Osner FEVRY and Marie-Denise
CLAUDE]; Haitian Democratic Party or PADEMH [Clark PARENT]; Haitian
Democratic and Reform Movement or MODEREH [Dany TOUSSAINT and Pierre
Soncon PRINCE]; Heads Together [Dr. Gerard BLOT]; Lavalas Family or
FL [Jean-Bertrand ARISTIDE]; Liberal Party of Haiti or PLH [Michael
MADSEN]; Mobilization for National Development or MDN [Hubert DE
RONCERAY]; Movement for National Reconstruction or MRN [Jean
BUTEAU]; Movement for the Installation of Democracy in Haiti or MIDH
[Marc BAZIN]; National Front for the Reconstruction of Haiti or FRON
[Guy PHILIPPE and Winter ETIENNE]; National Progressive Democratic
Party or PNDPH [Turneb DELPE]; New Christian Movement for a New
Haiti or MOCHRENA [Luc MESADIEU]; Popular Party for the Renewal of
Haiti, or Generation 2000 [Claude ROMAIN and Daniel SUPPLICE];
Struggling People's Organization or OPL [Edgard LEBLANC]

Political pressure groups and leaders:
Autonomous Organizations of Haitian Workers or CATH [Fignole
ST-CYR]; Confederation of Haitian Workers or CTH; Federation of
Workers Trade Unions or FOS; Group of 184 Civil Society
Organization, or G-184 [Andy APAID]; National Popular Assembly or
APN; Papaye Peasants Movement or MPP [Chavannes JEAN-BAPTISTE];
Popular Organizations Gathering Power or PROP; Roman Catholic Church

International organization participation:
ACCT, ACP, Caricom, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt
(signatory), ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol,
IOC, IOM, ITU, LAES, MIGA, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW (signatory), PCA, UN,
UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Charge d'Affaires Raymond JOSEPH (as of November
2004)
chancery: 2311 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, Miami, New York, and San Juan
(Puerto Rico)
FAX: (202) 745-7215
telephone: (202) 332-4090

Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador James B. FOLEY embassy: 5 Harry S Truman Boulevard, Port-au-Prince mailing address: P. O. Box 1761, Port-au-Prince telephone: 222-0354, 222-0269, 222-0200, 222-0327 FAX: 223-1641 or 222-0200 ext 460

Flag description:
two equal horizontal bands of blue (top) and red with a centered
white rectangle bearing the coat of arms, which contains a palm tree
flanked by flags and two cannons above a scroll bearing the motto
L'UNION FAIT LA FORCE (Union Makes Strength)

Economy Haiti

Economy - overview:
In this poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, 80% of the
population lives in abject poverty. Two-thirds of all Haitians
depend on the agriculture sector, which consists mainly of
small-scale subsistence farming. Following legislative elections in
May 2000, fraught with irregularities, international donors -
including the US and EU - suspended almost all aid to Haiti. The
economy shrank an estimated 1.2% in 2001 and an estimated 0.9% in
2002. Suspended aid and loan disbursements totaled more than $500
million at the start of 2003. Haiti also suffers from rampant
inflation, a lack of investment, and a severe trade deficit. The
resumption of aid flows from all donors will alleviate but not end
the nation's bitter economic problems. Extensive civil strife in
early 2004, marked by the flight of President ARISTIDE, further
impoverished Haiti.

GDP:
purchasing power parity - $12.3 billion (2003 est.)

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

GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $1,600 (2003 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 30% industry: 20% services: 50% (2001 est.)

Population below poverty line:
80% (2003 est.)

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
37.8% (2003 est.)

Labor force: 3.6 million note: shortage of skilled labor, unskilled labor abundant (1995)

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture 66%, industry 9%, services 25%

Unemployment rate:
widespread unemployment and underemployment; more than two-thirds
of the labor force do not have formal jobs (2002 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $231.6 million
expenditures: $366.7 million, including capital expenditures of NA
(2003 est.)

Agriculture - products:
coffee, mangoes, sugarcane, rice, corn, sorghum, wood

Industries:
sugar refining, flour milling, textiles, cement, light assembly
industries based on imported parts

Industrial production growth rate:
NA

Electricity - production:
580 million kWh (2001)

Electricity - consumption:
539.4 million kWh (2001)

Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2001)

Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2001)

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

Oil - consumption:
11,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - exports:
NA (2001)

Oil - imports:
NA (2001)

Current account balance:
$-48 million (2003)

Exports:
$321 million f.o.b. (2003 est.)

Exports - commodities:
manufactures, coffee, oils, cocoa

Exports - partners:
US 83.8%, Dominican Republic 6.5%, Canada 3.2% (2003)

Imports:
$1.028 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)

Imports - commodities:
food, manufactured goods, machinery and transport equipment, fuels,
raw materials

Imports - partners:
US 53.5%, Dominican Republic 5.9%, Colombia 2.9% (2003)

Reserves of foreign exchange & gold:
$73 million (2003)

Debt - external:
$1.2 billion (1999)

Economic aid - recipient:
$120 million (FY02)

Currency:
gourde (HTG)

Currency code:
HTG

Exchange rates:
gourdes per US dollar - 40.5 (2003), 29.2505 (2002), 24.4291
(2001), 21.1707 (2000), 16.9379 (1999)

Fiscal year:
1 October - 30 September

Communications Haiti

Telephones - main lines in use:
130,000 (2002)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
140,000 (2002)

Telephone system:
general assessment: domestic facilities barely adequate;
international facilities slightly better
domestic: coaxial cable and microwave radio relay trunk service
international: country code - 509; satellite earth station - 1
Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations:
AM 41, FM 26, shortwave 0 (1999)

Radios:
415,000 (1997)

Television broadcast stations:
2 (plus a cable TV service) (1997)

Televisions:
38,000 (1997)

Internet country code:
.ht

Internet hosts:
NA

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
3 (2000)

Internet users:
80,000 (2002)

Transportation Haiti

Highways: total: 4,160 km paved: 1,011 km unpaved: 3,149 km (1999 est.)

Ports and harbors:
Cap-Haitien, Gonaives, Jacmel, Jeremie, Les Cayes, Miragoane,
Port-au-Prince, Port-de-Paix, Saint-Marc

Merchant marine:
none

Airports:
12 (2003 est.)

Airports - with paved runways:
total: 4
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 3 (2004 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 9
914 to 1,523 m: 4
under 914 m: 5 (2004 est.)

Military Haiti

Military branches:
Haitian National Police (HNP)
note: the regular Haitian Army, Navy, and Air Force have been
demobilized but still exist on paper until or unless they are
constitutionally abolished

Military manpower - military age and obligation: 18 years of age for voluntary recruitment into the police force (2001)

Military manpower - availability:
males age 15-49: 1,792,112 (2004 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service:
males age 15-49: 975,341 (2004 est.)

Military manpower - reaching military age annually:
males: 97,429 (2004 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
$25.8 million (2003)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
0.9% (2003)

Transnational Issues Haiti

Disputes - international:
despite efforts to control illegal migration, Haitians fleeing
economic privation and civil unrest continue to cross into Dominican
Republic and to sail to neighboring countries; Haiti claims
US-administered Navassa Island

Illicit drugs:
major Caribbean transshipment point for cocaine en route to the US
and Europe; substantial money-laundering activity; Colombian
narcotics traffickers favor Haiti for illicit financial
transactions; pervasive corruption

This page was last updated on 10 February, 2005

@Heard Island and McDonald Islands

Introduction Heard Island and McDonald Islands

Background:
These uninhabited, barren, sub-Antarctic islands were transferred
from the UK to Australia in 1947. Populated by large numbers of seal
and bird species, the islands have been designated a nature preserve.

Geography Heard Island and McDonald Islands

Location:
islands in the Indian Ocean, about two-thirds of the way from
Madagascar to Antarctica

Geographic coordinates:
53 06 S, 72 31 E

Map references:
Antarctic Region

Area:
total: 412 sq km
water: 0 sq km
land: 412 sq km

Area - comparative:
slightly more than two times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries:
0 km

Coastline:
101.9 km

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

Climate:
antarctic

Terrain:
Heard Island - 80% ice-covered, bleak and mountainous, dominated by
a large massif (Big Ben) and an active volcano (Mawson Peak);
McDonald Islands - small and rocky

Elevation extremes: lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: Mawson Peak, on Big Ben 2,745 m

Natural resources: fish

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

Irrigated land:
0 sq km (1998 est.)

Natural hazards:
Mawson Peak, an active volcano, is on Heard Island

Environment - current issues:
NA

People Heard Island and McDonald Islands

Population: uninhabited (July 2004 est.)

Government Heard Island and McDonald Islands

Country name:
conventional long form: Territory of Heard Island and McDonald
Islands
conventional short form: Heard Island and McDonald Islands

Dependency status:
territory of Australia; administered from Canberra by the
Australian Antarctic Division of the Department of the Environment
and Heritage

Legal system:
the laws 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 Heard Island and McDonald Islands

Economy - overview:
No indigenous economic activity, but the Australian Government
allows limited fishing around the islands.

Communications Heard Island and McDonald Islands

Internet country code: .hm

Transportation Heard Island and McDonald Islands

Ports and harbors: none; offshore anchorage only

Military Heard Island and McDonald Islands

Military - note:
defense is the responsibility of Australia; Australia conducts
fisheries patrols

Transnational Issues Heard Island and McDonald Islands

Disputes - international: none

This page was last updated on 10 February, 2005

@Holy See (Vatican City)

Introduction Holy See (Vatican City)

Background:
Popes in their secular role ruled portions of the Italian peninsula
for more than a thousand years until the mid 19th century, when many
of the Papal States were seized by the newly united Kingdom of
Italy. In 1870, the pope's holdings were further circumscribed when
Rome itself was annexed. Disputes between a series of "prisoner"
popes and Italy were resolved in 1929 by three Lateran Treaties,
which established the independent state of Vatican City and granted
Roman Catholicism special status in Italy. In 1984, a concordat
between the Holy See and Italy modified certain of the earlier
treaty provisions, including the primacy of Roman Catholicism as the
Italian state religion. Present concerns of the Holy See include
religious freedom, international development, the Middle East,
terrorism, the failing health of Pope JOHN PAUL II, interreligious
dialogue and reconciliation, and the application of church doctrine
in an era of rapid change and globalization. About 1 billion people
worldwide profess the Catholic faith.

Geography Holy See (Vatican City)

Location:
Southern Europe, an enclave of Rome (Italy)

Geographic coordinates:
41 54 N, 12 27 E

Map references:
Europe

Area:
total: 0.44 sq km
water: 0 sq km
land: 0.44 sq km

Area - comparative:
about 0.7 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC

Land boundaries: total: 3.2 km border countries: Italy 3.2 km

Coastline:
0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims:
none (landlocked)

Climate:
temperate; mild, rainy winters (September to mid-May) with hot, dry
summers (May to September)

Terrain:
low hill

Elevation extremes: lowest point: unnamed location 19 m highest point: unnamed location 75 m

Natural resources: none

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

Irrigated land:
0 sq km (1998 est.)

Natural hazards:
NA

Environment - current issues:
NA

Environment - international agreements:
party to: none of the selected agreements
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution, Environmental Modification

Geography - note:
urban; landlocked; enclave in Rome, Italy; world's smallest state;
outside the Vatican City, 13 buildings in Rome and Castel Gandolfo
(the pope's summer residence) enjoy extraterritorial rights

People Holy See (Vatican City)

Population:
921 (July 2004 est.)

Population growth rate:
0.01% (2004 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
NA

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

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
NA

Nationality:
noun: none
adjective: none

Ethnic groups:
Italians, Swiss, other

Religions:
Roman Catholic

Languages:
Italian, Latin, French, various other languages

Literacy: definition: NA total population: 100% male: NA female: NA

Government Holy See (Vatican City)

Country name:
conventional long form: The Holy See (State of the Vatican City)
conventional short form: Holy See (Vatican City)
local short form: Santa Sede (Citta del Vaticano)
local long form: Santa Sede (Stato della Citta del Vaticano)

Government type:
ecclesiastical

Capital:
Vatican City

Administrative divisions:
none

Independence:
11 February 1929 (from Italy); note - the three treaties signed
with Italy on 11 February 1929 acknowledged, among other things, the
full sovereignty of the Vatican and established its territorial
extent; however, the origin of the Papal States, which over the
years have varied considerably in extent, may be traced back to the
8th century

National holiday:
Coronation Day of Pope JOHN PAUL II, 22 October (1978)

Constitution:
new Fundamental Law promulgated by Pope John Paul II on 26 November
2000, effective 22 February 2001 (replaces the first Fundamental Law
of 1929)

Legal system:
based on Code of Canon Law and revisions to it

Suffrage:
limited to cardinals less than 80 years old

Executive branch:
chief of state: Pope JOHN PAUL II (since 16 October 1978)
head of government: Secretary of State Cardinal Angelo SODANO (since
1 December 1990)
cabinet: Pontifical Commission appointed by the pope
elections: pope elected for life by the College of Cardinals;
election last held 16 October 1978 (next to be held after the death
of the current pope); secretary of state appointed by the pope
election results: Karol WOJTYLA elected pope

Legislative branch:
unicameral Pontifical Commission

Judicial branch:
there are three tribunals responsible for civil and criminal
matters within Vatican City; three other tribunals rule on issues
pertaining to the Holy See
note: judicial duties were established by the Motu Proprio of Pius
XII on 1 May 1946

Political parties and leaders:
none

Political pressure groups and leaders:
none (exclusive of influence exercised by church officers)

International organization participation:
CE (observer), IAEA, ICFTU, IOM (observer), ITU, NAM (guest), OAS
(observer), OPCW, OSCE, UN (observer), UNCTAD, UNHCR, UPU, WIPO,
WToO (observer), WTrO (observer)

Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Apostolic Nuncio Archbishop Gabriel MONTALVO telephone: (202) 333-7121 FAX: (202) 337-4036 chancery: 3339 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant) embassy: Villa Domiziana, Via delle Terme Deciane 26, 00153 Rome mailing address: PSC 59, Box 66, APO AE 09624 telephone: (06) 4674-3428 FAX: (06) 575-8346

Flag description:
two vertical bands of yellow (hoist side) and white with the
crossed keys of Saint Peter and the papal miter centered in the
white band

Economy Holy See (Vatican City)

Economy - overview:
This unique, noncommercial economy is supported financially by an
annual contribution from Roman Catholic dioceses throughout the
world, as well as by special collections (known as Peter's Pence);
the sale of postage stamps, coins, medals, and tourist mementos;
fees for admission to museums; and the sale of publications.
Investments and real estate income also account for a sizable
portion of revenue. The incomes and living standards of lay workers
are comparable to those of counterparts who work in the city of Rome.

Population below poverty line:
NA

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

Labor force:
NA

Labor force - by occupation:
essentially services with a small amount of industry; note -
dignitaries, priests, nuns, guards, and 3,000 lay workers live
outside the Vatican

Budget:
revenues: $245.2 million
expenditures: $260.4 million, including capital expenditures of NA
(2002)

Industries:
printing; production of coins, medals, postage stamps, a small
amount of mosaics and staff uniforms; worldwide banking and
financial activities

Electricity - production:
NA kWh

Electricity - consumption:
NA kWh

Electricity - exports:
0 kWh

Electricity - imports:
NA kWh; note - electricity supplied by Italy

Economic aid - recipient:
none

Currency:
euro (EUR)

Currency code:
EUR

Exchange rates:
euros per US dollar - 0.886 (2003),1.1324 (2002), 1.1175 (2001),
1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999)

Fiscal year:
calendar year

Communications Holy See (Vatican City)

Telephones - main lines in use:
NA

Telephones - mobile cellular:
NA

Telephone system:
general assessment: automatic exchange
domestic: tied into Italian system
international: country code - 39; uses Italian system

Radio broadcast stations:
AM 3, FM 4, shortwave 2 (1998)

Radios:
NA

Television broadcast stations:
1 (1996)

Televisions:
NA

Internet country code:
.va

Internet hosts:
9 (2004)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
NA

Internet users:
NA

Transportation Holy See (Vatican City)

Highways:
none; all city streets

Ports and harbors:
none

Airports:
none (2003 est.)

Military Holy See (Vatican City)

Military branches:
Swiss Guards Corps (Corpo della Guardia Svizzera)

Military - note:
defense is the responsibility of Italy; Swiss Papal Guards are
posted at entrances to the Vatican City to provide security and
protect the Pope

Transnational Issues Holy See (Vatican City)

Disputes - international: none

This page was last updated on 10 February, 2005

@Honduras

Introduction Honduras

Background:
Part of Spain's vast empire in the New World, Honduras became an
independent nation in 1821. After two and one-half decades of mostly
military rule, a freely elected civilian government came to power in
1982. During the 1980s, Honduras proved a haven for anti-Sandinista
contras fighting the Marxist Nicaraguan Government and an ally to
Salvadoran Government forces fighting against leftist guerrillas.
The country was devastated by Hurricane Mitch in 1998, which killed
about 5,600 people and caused approximately $2 billion in damage.

Geography Honduras

Location:
Central America, bordering the Caribbean Sea, between Guatemala and
Nicaragua and bordering the Gulf of Fonseca (North Pacific Ocean),
between El Salvador and Nicaragua

Geographic coordinates:
15 00 N, 86 30 W

Map references:
Central America and the Caribbean

Area:
total: 112,090 sq km
land: 111,890 sq km
water: 200 sq km

Area - comparative:
slightly larger than Tennessee

Land boundaries:
total: 1,520 km
border countries: Guatemala 256 km, El Salvador 342 km, Nicaragua
922 km

Coastline:
820 km

Maritime claims: territorial sea: 12 nm continental shelf: natural extension of territory or to 200 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

Climate:
subtropical in lowlands, temperate in mountains

Terrain:
mostly mountains in interior, narrow coastal plains

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Cerro Las Minas 2,870 m

Natural resources:
timber, gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, iron ore, antimony, coal,
fish, hydropower

Land use: arable land: 9.55% permanent crops: 3.22% other: 87.23% (2001)

Irrigated land:
760 sq km (1998 est.)

Natural hazards:
frequent, but generally mild, earthquakes; extremely susceptible to
damaging hurricanes and floods along the Caribbean coast

Environment - current issues:
urban population expanding; deforestation results from logging and
the clearing of land for agricultural purposes; further land
degradation and soil erosion hastened by uncontrolled development
and improper land use practices such as farming of marginal lands;
mining activities polluting Lago de Yojoa (the country's largest
source of fresh water), as well as several rivers and streams, with
heavy metals

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: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note:
has only a short Pacific coast but a long Caribbean shoreline,
including the virtually uninhabited eastern Mosquito Coast

People Honduras

Population:
6,823,568
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: 41.2% (male 1,434,555; female 1,376,216)
15-64 years: 55.1% (male 1,866,219; female 1,896,027)
65 years and over: 3.7% (male 118,404; female 132,147) (2004 est.)

Median age:
total: 19 years
male: 18.6 years
female: 19.4 years (2004 est.)

Population growth rate:
2.24% (2004 est.)

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

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

Net migration rate:
-1.99 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: 0.98 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.9 male(s)/female
total population: 1 male(s)/female (2004 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 29.64 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 25.89 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
male: 33.22 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 66.15 years
male: 64.99 years
female: 67.37 years (2004 est.)

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

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
1.8% (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
63,000 (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
4,100 (2003 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Honduran(s)
adjective: Honduran

Ethnic groups:
mestizo (mixed Amerindian and European) 90%, Amerindian 7%, black
2%, white 1%

Religions:
Roman Catholic 97%, Protestant minority

Languages:
Spanish, Amerindian dialects

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 76.2%
male: 76.1%
female: 76.3% (2003 est.)

Government Honduras

Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of Honduras
conventional short form: Honduras
local short form: Honduras
local long form: Republica de Honduras

Government type:
democratic constitutional republic

Capital:
Tegucigalpa

Administrative divisions:
18 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento); Atlantida,
Choluteca, Colon, Comayagua, Copan, Cortes, El Paraiso, Francisco
Morazan, Gracias a Dios, Intibuca, Islas de la Bahia, La Paz,
Lempira, Ocotepeque, Olancho, Santa Barbara, Valle, Yoro

Independence:
15 September 1821 (from Spain)

National holiday:
Independence Day, 15 September (1821)

Constitution:
11 January 1982, effective 20 January 1982; amended 1995

Legal system:
rooted in Roman and Spanish civil law with increasing influence of
English common law; recent judicial reforms include abandoning
Napoleonic legal codes in favor of the oral adversarial system;
accepts ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal and compulsory

Executive branch:
chief of state: President Ricardo (Joest) MADURO (since 27 January
2002); First Vice President Vicente WILLIAMS Agasse (since 27
January 2002); Second Vice President Armida Villela Maria DE LOPEZ
Contreras (since 27 January 2002); Third Vice President Alberto DIAZ
Lobo (since 27 January 2002); note - the president is both the chief
of state and head of government
head of government: President Ricardo (Joest) MADURO (since 27
January 2002); First Vice President Vicente WILLIAMS Agasse (since
27 January 2002); Second Vice President Armida Villela Maria DE
LOPEZ Contreras (since 27 January 2002); Third Vice President
Alberto DIAZ Lobo (since 27 January 2002); note - the president is
both the chief of state and head of government
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by president
elections: president elected by popular vote for a four-year term;
election last held 25 November 2001 (next to be held 27 November
2005)
election results: Ricardo (Joest) MADURO (PN) elected president -
52.2%, Raphael PINEDA Ponce (PL) 44.3%, others 3.5%

Legislative branch:
unicameral National Congress or Congreso Nacional (128 seats;
members are elected proportionally to the number of votes their
party's presidential candidate receives to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 25 November 2001 (next to be held 27 November
2005)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party -
PN 61, PL 55, PUD 5, PDC 4, PINU-SD 3

Judicial branch:
Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia (judges are
elected for seven-year terms by the National Congress)

Political parties and leaders:
Christian Democratic Party or PDC [Juan Ramon VELAZQUEZ Nassar];
Democratic Unification Party or PUD [Matias FUNES]; Liberal Party or
PL [Roberto MICHELETTI Bain]; National Innovation and Unity
Party-Social Democratic Party or PINU-SD [Olban F. VALLADARES];
National Party of Honduras or PN [Jose Celin DISCUA Elvir]; United
Confederation of Honduran Workers or CUTH

Political pressure groups and leaders:
Committee for the Defense of Human Rights in Honduras or CODEH;
Confederation of Honduran Workers or CTH; Coordinating Committee of
Popular Organizations or CCOP; General Workers Confederation or CGT;
Honduran Council of Private Enterprise or COHEP; National
Association of Honduran Campesinos or ANACH; National Union of
Campesinos or UNC; Popular Bloc or BP; United Federation of Honduran
Workers or FUTH

International organization participation:
ABEDA, BCIE, CACM, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU,
ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO
(subscriber), ITU, LAES, LAIA (observer), MIGA, MINURSO, NAM, OAS,
OPANAL, OPCW (signatory), PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU,
WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Mario Miguel CANAHUATI honorary consulate(s): Atlanta, Boston, Detroit, Jacksonville consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Phoenix, San Francisco FAX: (202) 966-9751 telephone: (202) 966-7702 chancery: Suite 4-M, 3007 Tilden Street NW, Washington, DC 20008

Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Larry Leon PALMER embassy: Avenida La Paz, Apartado Postal No. 3453, Tegucigalpa mailing address: American Embassy, APO AA 34022, Tegucigalpa telephone: 238-5114, 236-9320 FAX: 236-9037

Flag description:
three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), white, and blue with
five blue, five-pointed stars arranged in an X pattern centered in
the white band; the stars represent the members of the former
Federal Republic of Central America - Costa Rica, El Salvador,
Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua; similar to the flag of El
Salvador, which features a round emblem encircled by the words
REPUBLICA DE EL SALVADOR EN LA AMERICA CENTRAL centered in the white
band; also similar to the flag of Nicaragua, which features a
triangle encircled by the word REPUBLICA DE NICARAGUA on top and
AMERICA CENTRAL on the bottom, centered in the white band

Economy Honduras

Economy - overview:
Honduras, one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere
with an extraordinarily unequal distribution of income and massive
unemployment, is banking on expanded trade privileges under the
Enhanced Caribbean Basin Initiative and on debt relief under the
Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative. While the country
has met most of its macroeconomic targets, it has failed to meet the
IMF's goals to liberalize its energy and telecommunications sectors.
Growth remains dependent on the status of the US economy, its major
trading partner, on commodity prices, particularly coffee, and on
reduction of the high crime rate.

GDP:
purchasing power parity - $17.55 billion (2003 est.)

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

GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $2,600 (2003 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 12.8% industry: 31.9% services: 55.3% (2003 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):
24% of GDP (2003)

Population below poverty line:
53% (1993 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 0.6% highest 10%: 42.7% (1998)

Distribution of family income - Gini index:
56.3 (1998)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
7.7% (2003 est.)

Labor force:
2.41 million (2003 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture 34%, industry 21%, services 45% (2001 est.)

Unemployment rate:
27.5% (2003 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $1.342 billion
expenditures: $1.744 billion, including capital expenditures of $106
million (2003)

Public debt:
57.8% of GDP (2003)

Agriculture - products:
bananas, coffee, citrus; beef; timber; shrimp

Industries:
sugar, coffee, textiles, clothing, wood products

Industrial production growth rate:
7.7% (2003 est.)

Electricity - production:
3.778 billion kWh (2001)

Electricity - consumption:
3.822 billion kWh (2001)

Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2001)

Electricity - imports:
308 million kWh (2001)

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

Oil - consumption:
29,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - exports:
NA (2001)

Oil - imports:
NA (2001)

Current account balance:
$-279.6 million (2003)

Exports:
$1.37 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)

Exports - commodities:
coffee, bananas, shrimp, lobster, meat; zinc, lumber (2000)

Exports - partners:
US 65.5%, El Salvador 3.5%, Guatemala 2.4% (2003)

Imports:
$3.11 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)

Imports - commodities:
machinery and transport equipment, industrial raw materials,
chemical products, fuels, foodstuffs (2000)

Imports - partners:
US 53.1%, El Salvador 4.5%, Mexico 3% (2003)

Reserves of foreign exchange & gold:
$1.439 billion (2003)

Debt - external:
$5.246 billion (2003)

Economic aid - recipient:
$557.8 million (1999)

Currency:
lempira (HNL)

Currency code:
HNL

Exchange rates:
lempiras per US dollar - 17.3453 (2003), 16.4334 (2002), 15.4737
(2001), 14.8392 (2000), 14.2132 (1999)

Fiscal year:
calendar year

Communications Honduras

Telephones - main lines in use:
322,500 (2002)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
326,500 (2002)

Telephone system:
general assessment: inadequate system
domestic: NA
international: country code - 504; satellite earth stations - 2
Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); connected to Central American Microwave
System

Radio broadcast stations:
AM 241, FM 53, shortwave 12 (1998)

Radios:
2.45 million (1997)

Television broadcast stations:
11 (plus 17 repeaters) (1997)

Televisions:
570,000 (1997)

Internet country code:
.hn

Internet hosts:
1,944 (2003)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
8 (2000)

Internet users:
168,600 (2002)

Transportation Honduras

Railways: total: 699 km narrow gauge: 279 km 1.067-m gauge; 420 km 0.914-m gauge (2003)

Highways: total: 13,603 km paved: 2,775 km unpaved: 10,828 km (1999 est.)

Waterways:
465 km (most navigable only by small craft) (2004)

Ports and harbors:
La Ceiba, Puerto Castilla, Puerto Cortes, San Lorenzo, Tela, Puerto
Lempira

Merchant marine:
total: 238 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 598,600 GRT/616,158 DWT
registered in other countries: 16 (2004 est.)
foreign-owned: Argentina 1, Bahrain 1, British Virgin Islands 1,
Bulgaria 1, Cayman Islands 1, China 4, Costa Rica 1, Cyprus 1, Egypt
5, El Salvador 1, Greece 16, Hong Kong 3, Indonesia 2, Israel 1,
Italy 1, Japan 2, Jordan 1, South Korea 9, Lebanon 4, Liberia 4,
Maldives 2, Marshall Islands 3, Mexico 1, Nigeria 2, Panama 10,
Philippines 1, Russia 1, Saint Kitts and Nevis 3, Saint Vincent and
the Grenadines 1, Saudi Arabia 1, Singapore 22, Spain 1, Taiwan 2,
Tanzania 1, Thailand 1, Turkey 2, Turks and Caicos Islands 1, United
States 7, Vanuatu 1, Vietnam 1
by type: bulk 12, cargo 139, chemical tanker 5, combination bulk 1,
container 5, liquefied gas 1, livestock carrier 1, passenger 3,
passenger/cargo 2, petroleum tanker 54, refrigerated cargo 8, roll
on/roll off 4, short-sea/passenger 3

Airports:
115 (2003 est.)

Airports - with paved runways: total: 11 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 3 (2004 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 104 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 18 under 914 m: 84 (2004 est.)

Military Honduras

Military branches:
Army, Navy (including Naval Infantry), Air Force

Military manpower - military age and obligation:
18 years of age for voluntary 2-3 year military service (2004)

Military manpower - availability:
males age 15-49: 1,642,029 (2004 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service:
males age 15-49: 977,130 (2004 est.)

Military manpower - reaching military age annually:
males: 76,143 (2004 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
$99.8 million (2003)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
1.5% (2003)

Transnational Issues Honduras

Disputes - international:
in 1992, ICJ ruled on the delimitation of "bolsones" (disputed
areas) along the El Salvador-Honduras border, and the OAS is
assisting with a technical resolution of bolsones; in 2003, the ICJ
rejected El Salvador's request to revise its decision on one
bolsone; the 1992 ICJ ruling advised a tripartite resolution to a
maritime boundary in the Gulf of Fonseca with consideration of
Honduran access to the Pacific; El Salvador continues to claim tiny
Conejo Island, not mentioned by the ICJ, off Honduras in the Gulf of
Fonseca; Honduras claims Sapodilla Cays off the coast of Belize but
agreed to creation of a joint ecological park and Guatemalan
corridor in the Caribbean in the failed 2002 Belize-Guatemala
Differendum; Nicaragua filed a claim against Honduras in 1999 and
against Colombia in 2001 at the ICJ over a complex maritime dispute
in the Caribbean Sea

Illicit drugs:
transshipment point for drugs and narcotics; illicit producer of
cannabis, cultivated on small plots and used principally for local
consumption; corruption is a major problem; some money-laundering
activity

This page was last updated on 10 February, 2005

@Hong Kong

Introduction Hong Kong

Background:
Occupied by the UK in 1841, Hong Kong was formally ceded by China
the following year; various adjacent lands were added later in the
19th century. Pursuant to an agreement signed by China and the UK on
19 December 1984, Hong Kong became the Hong Kong Special
Administrative Region (SAR) of China on 1 July 1997. In this
agreement, China has promised that, under its "one country, two
systems" formula, China's socialist economic system will not be
imposed on Hong Kong and that Hong Kong will enjoy a high degree of
autonomy in all matters except foreign and defense affairs for the
next 50 years.

Geography Hong Kong

Location:
Eastern Asia, bordering the South China Sea and China

Geographic coordinates:
22 15 N, 114 10 E

Map references:
Southeast Asia

Area:
total: 1,092 sq km
water: 50 sq km
land: 1,042 sq km

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

Land boundaries: total: 30 km regional border: China 30 km

Coastline:
733 km

Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 3 nm

Climate:
tropical monsoon; cool and humid in winter, hot and rainy from
spring through summer, warm and sunny in fall

Terrain:
hilly to mountainous with steep slopes; lowlands in north

Elevation extremes: lowest point: South China Sea 0 m highest point: Tai Mo Shan 958 m

Natural resources: outstanding deepwater harbor, feldspar

Land use: arable land: 5.05% other: 93.94% (2001) permanent crops: 1.01%

Irrigated land:
20 sq km (1998 est.)

Natural hazards:
occasional typhoons

Environment - current issues:
air and water pollution from rapid urbanization

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Marine Dumping (associate member)

Geography - note:
more than 200 islands

People Hong Kong

Population:
6,855,125 (July 2004 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 14.2% (male 510,702; female 465,145)
15-64 years: 73.3% (male 2,461,914; female 2,560,382)
65 years and over: 12.5% (male 394,697; female 462,285) (2004 est.)

Median age:
total: 39.4 years
male: 39.3 years
female: 39.6 years (2004 est.)

Population growth rate:
0.65% (2004 est.)

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

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

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

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.09 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.1 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.85 male(s)/female
total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2004 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 2.97 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 2.77 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
male: 3.16 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 81.39 years
male: 78.72 years
female: 84.3 years (2004 est.)

Total fertility rate:
0.91 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: Chinese/Hong Konger
adjective: Chinese/Hong Kong

Ethnic groups:
Chinese 95%, other 5%

Religions:
eclectic mixture of local religions 90%, Christian 10%

Languages:
Chinese (Cantonese), English; both are official

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school
total population: 93.5%
male: 96.9%
female: 89.6% (2002)

Government Hong Kong

Country name:
conventional long form: Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
conventional short form: Hong Kong
local short form: Xianggang
local long form: Xianggang Tebie Xingzhengqu
abbreviation: HK

Dependency status:
special administrative region of China

Government type:
limited democracy

Administrative divisions:
none (special administrative region of China)

Independence:
none (special administrative region of China)

National holiday:
National Day (Anniversary of the Founding of the People's Republic
of China), 1 October (1949); note - 1 July 1997 is celebrated as
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Establishment Day

Constitution:
Basic Law approved in March 1990 by China's National People's
Congress is Hong Kong's "mini-constitution"

Legal system:
based on English common law

Suffrage:
direct election 18 years of age; universal for permanent residents
living in the territory of Hong Kong for the past seven years;
indirect election limited to about 200,000 members of functional
constituencies and an 800-member election committee drawn from broad
regional groupings, municipal organizations, and central government
bodies

Executive branch:
chief of state: President of China HU Jintao (since 15 March 2003)
head of government: Chief Executive TUNG Chee-hwa (since 1 July 1997)
cabinet: Executive Council consists of seven non-official members
and 14 official members; including Chief Secretary Donald TSANG
Yam-kuen (since 1 May 2001), Financial Secretary Henry TANG (since 2
August 2003), and Secretary of Justice Elsie LEUNG (since 1 July
1997)
elections: TUNG Chee-hwa was elected to a second term in March 2002
by an 800-member election committee dominated by pro-Beijing forces;
the next election is scheduled to be held in 2007

Legislative branch:
unicameral Legislative Council or LEGCO (60 seats; in 2004 30 seats
indirectly elected by functional constituencies, 30 elected by
popular vote; members serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 12 September 2004 (next to be held in September
2008)
election results: percent of vote by party - pro-democracy group
62%; seats by party - (pro-Beijing 34) DAB 12, Liberal Party 10,
independents 11, FTU 1; (pro-democracy 25) independents 11,
Democratic Party 9, CTU 2, ADPL 1, Frontier Party 1, NWSC 1

Judicial branch:
Court of Final Appeal in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region

Political parties and leaders:
Association for Democracy and People's Livelihood or ADPL
[Frederick FUNG Kin-kee, chairman]; Citizens Party [Alex CHAN
Kai-chung]; Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong or
DAB [MA Lik, chairman]; Democratic Party [LEE Wing-tat, chairman];
Frontier Party [Emily LAU Wai-hing, chairwoman]; Liberal Party
[James TIEN Pei-chun, chairman]
note: political blocs include: pro-democracy - Association for
Democracy and People's Livelihood, Democratic Party, Frontier Party;
pro-Beijing - Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong,
Hong Kong Progressive Alliance, Liberal Party