Gwp (part 6)

Legislative branch:
bicameral Parliament or Parlement consists of the Senate or Senat
(321 seats - 296 for metropolitan France, 13 for overseas
departments and territories, and 12 for French nationals abroad;
members are indirectly elected by an electoral college to serve
nine-year terms; elected by thirds every three years); note -
between 2004 and 2010, 25 new seats will be added to the Senate for
a total of 346 seats - 326 for metropolitan France and overseas
departments, 2 for New Caledonia, 2 for Mayotte, 1 for Saint-Pierre
and Miquelon, 3 for overseas territories, and 12 for French
nationals abroad; starting in 2008, members will be indirectly
elected by an electoral college to serve six-year terms, with
one-half the seats being renewed every three years; and the National
Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (577 seats; members are elected by
popular vote under a single-member majority system to serve
five-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 26 September 2004 (next to be held
September 2008); National Assembly - last held 8-16 June 2002 (next
to be held not later than June 2007)
election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by
party - UMP 156, PS 97, UDF 33, PCF 23, RDSE 15, other 7; National
Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - UMP 355,
PS 140, UDF 29, PCF 21, Left Radical Party 7, Greens 3, other 22

Judicial branch:
Supreme Court of Appeals or Cour de Cassation (judges are appointed
by the president from nominations of the High Council of the
Judiciary); Constitutional Council or Conseil Constitutionnel (three
members appointed by the president, three appointed by the president
of the National Assembly, and three appointed by the president of
the Senate); Council of State or Conseil d'Etat

Political parties and leaders:
Citizen and Republican Movement or MRC [Jean Pierre CHEVENEMENT];
Democratic and European Social Rally or RDSE (mainly Radical
Republican and Socialist Parties, and PRG) [Jacques PELLETIER];
French Communist Party or PCF [Marie-George BUFFET]; Greens [Yan
WEHRLING, national secretary]; Left Radical Party or PRG (previously
Radical Socialist Party or PRS and the Left Radical Movement or MRG)
[Jean-Michel BAYLET]; Movement for France or MPF [Philippe DE
VILLIERS]; National Front or FN [Jean-Marie LE PEN]; Rally for
France or RPF [Charles PASQUA]; Socialist Party or PS [Francois
HOLLANDE]; Union for French Democracy or UDF [Francois BAYROU];
Union for a Popular Movement or UMP [Nicolas SARKOZY]

Political pressure groups and leaders: historically-Communist labor union (Confederation Generale du Travail) or CGT, approximately 700,000 members (claimed); left-leaning labor union (Confederation Francaise Democratique du Travail) or CFDT, approximately 889,000 members (claimed); independent labor union (Confederation Generale du Travail - Force Ouvriere) or FO, 300,000 members (est.); independent white-collar union (Confederation Generale des Cadres) or CGC, 196,000 members (claimed); employers' union (Mouvement des Entreprises de France) or MEDEF, 750,000 companies as members (claimed)

International organization participation:
ABEDA, ACCT, AfDB, Arctic Council (observer), AsDB, Australia
Group, BDEAC, BIS, BSEC (observer), CBSS (observer), CE, CERN, EAPC,
EBRD, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, FZ, 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, InOC, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU,
MIGA, MINURSO, MINUSTAH, MONUC, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer),
OECD, OIF, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, PIF (partner), SECI
(observer), SPC, UN, UN Security Council, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR,
UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNMOVIC, UNOCI, UNOMIG, UNRWA,
UNTSO, UPU, WADB (nonregional), WCL, WCO, WEU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO,
WToO, WTO, ZC

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Jean-David LEVITTE
chancery: 4101 Reservoir Road NW, Washington, DC 20007
telephone: (202) 944-6000
FAX: (202) 944-6166
consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los
Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, San Francisco

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Craig R. STAPLETON
embassy: 2 Avenue Gabriel, 75382 Paris Cedex 08
mailing address: PSC 116, APO AE 09777
telephone: (1) 43-12-22-22
FAX: (1) 42 66 97 83
consulate(s) general: Marseille, Strasbourg

Flag description:
three equal vertical bands of blue (hoist side), white, and red;
known as the "Le drapeau tricolore" (French Tricolor), the origin of
the flag dates to 1790 and the French Revolution; the design and/or
colors are similar to a number of other flags, including those of
Belgium, Chad, Ireland, Cote d'Ivoire, Luxembourg, and Netherlands;
the official flag for all French dependent areas

Economy France

Economy - overview:
France is in the midst of transition from a well-to-do modern
economy that has featured extensive government ownership and
intervention to one that relies more on market mechanisms. The
government has partially or fully privatized many large companies,
banks, and insurers. It retains controlling stakes in several
leading firms, including Air France, France Telecom, Renault, and
Thales, and is dominant in some sectors, particularly power, public
transport, and defense industries. The telecommunications sector is
gradually being opened to competition. France's leaders remain
committed to a capitalism in which they maintain social equity by
means of laws, tax policies, and social spending that reduce income
disparity and the impact of free markets on public health and
welfare. The government has lowered income taxes and introduced
measures to boost employment and reform the pension system. In
addition, it is focusing on the problems of the high cost of labor
and labor market inflexibility resulting from the 35-hour workweek
and restrictions on lay-offs. The tax burden remains one of the
highest in Europe (nearly 50% of GDP in 2005). The lingering
economic slowdown and inflexible budget items have pushed the budget
deficit above the eurozone's 3%-of-GDP limit; unemployment stands at
10%.

GDP (purchasing power parity):
$1.794 trillion (2005 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):
$2.055 trillion (2005 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
1.2% (2005 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP):
$29,600 (2005 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 2.2% industry: 21.4% services: 76.4% (2005 est.)

Labor force: 27.72 million (2005 est.)

Labor force - by occupation: agriculture: 4.1% industry: 24.4% services: 71.5% (1999)

Unemployment rate:
9.9% (2005 est.)

Population below poverty line:
6.5% (2000)

Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 2.8% highest 10%: 25.1% (1995)

Distribution of family income - Gini index:
32.7 (1995)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
1.7% (2005 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):
19.6% of GDP (2005 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $1.06 trillion
expenditures: $1.144 trillion; including capital expenditures of $23
billion (2005 est.)

Public debt:
66.2% of GDP (2005 est.)

Agriculture - products:
wheat, cereals, sugar beets, potatoes, wine grapes; beef, dairy
products; fish

Industries:
machinery, chemicals, automobiles, metallurgy, aircraft,
electronics; textiles, food processing; tourism

Industrial production growth rate:
0.2% (2005 est.)

Electricity - production:
536.9 billion kWh (2003)

Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 8.2% hydro: 14% nuclear: 77.1% other: 0.7% (2001)

Electricity - consumption:
433.3 billion kWh (2003)

Electricity - exports:
72.2 billion kWh (2003)

Electricity - imports:
6.2 billion kWh (2003)

Oil - production:
76,300 bbl/day (2003 est.)

Oil - consumption:
2.06 million bbl/day (2003 est.)

Oil - exports:
409,600 bbl/day (2001)

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

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

Natural gas - production:
1.566 billion cu m (2003 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:
43.74 billion cu m (2003 est.)

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

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

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

Current account balance:
$-38.78 billion (2005 est.)

Exports:
$443.4 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)

Exports - commodities:
machinery and transportation equipment, aircraft, plastics,
chemicals, pharmaceutical products, iron and steel, beverages

Exports - partners:
Germany 14.7%, Spain 9.6%, Italy 8.7%, UK 8.3%, US 7.2%, Belgium
7.1% (2005)

Imports:
$473.3 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)

Imports - commodities:
machinery and equipment, vehicles, crude oil, aircraft, plastics,
chemicals

Imports - partners:
Germany 18.9%, Belgium 10.7%, Italy 8.2%, Spain 7%, Netherlands
6.5%, UK 5.9%, US 5.1% (2005)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$74.36 billion (2005 est.)

Debt - external:
$2.826 trillion (30 June 2005)

Economic aid - donor:
ODA, $5.4 billion (2002)

Currency (code):
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 - 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003),
1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001)

Fiscal year:
calendar year

Communications France

Telephones - main lines in use:
35.7 million (2005)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
48.058 million (2005)

Telephone system:
general assessment: highly developed
domestic: extensive cable and microwave radio relay; extensive
introduction of fiber-optic cable; domestic satellite system
international: country code - 33; satellite earth stations - 2
Intelsat (with total of 5 antennas - 2 for Indian Ocean and 3 for
Atlantic Ocean), NA Eutelsat, 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic Ocean region); HF
radiotelephone communications with more than 20 countries

Radio broadcast stations:
AM 41, FM about 3,500 (this figure is an approximation and includes
many repeaters), shortwave 2 (1998)

Radios:
55.3 million (1997)

Television broadcast stations:
584 (plus 9,676 repeaters) (1995)

Televisions:
34.8 million (1997)

Internet country code:
.fr

Internet hosts:
3,148,379 (2006)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
62 (2000)

Internet users:
29.521 million (2006)

Transportation France

Airports: 477 (2006)

Airports - with paved runways: total: 292 over 3,047 m: 13 2,438 to 3,047 m: 28 1,524 to 2,437 m: 96 914 to 1,523 m: 81 under 914 m: 74 (2006)

Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 185 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 73 under 914 m: 108 (2006)

Heliports:
3 (2006)

Pipelines:
gas 14,588 km; oil 3,024 km; refined products 4,889 km (2006)

Railways:
total: 29,085 km
standard gauge: 28,918 km 1.435-m gauge (14,481 km electrified)
narrow gauge: 167 km 1.000-m gauge (2005)

Roadways: total: 891,290 km paved: 891,290 km (including 10,390 km of expressways) (2003)

Waterways:
8,500 km (1,686 km accessible to craft of 3,000 metric tons) (2000)

Merchant marine:
total: 61 ships (1000 GRT or over) 875,777 GRT/1,318,605 DWT
by type: cargo 1, chemical tanker 3, container 5, liquefied gas 6,
passenger 3, passenger/cargo 32, petroleum tanker 10, roll on/roll
off 1
foreign-owned: 13 (Denmark 1, Hong Kong 1, Italy 2, Monaco 1, Norway
1, NZ 1, Singapore 2, Sweden 2, Switzerland 2)
registered in other countries: 154 (Antigua and Barbuda 1, Australia
3, Bahamas 37, Bermuda 1, Cameroon 1, French Polynesia 1, French
Southern and Antarctic Lands 36, Gibraltar 1, Indonesia 1, Isle of
Man 2, Italy 1, South Korea 12, Liberia 3, Luxembourg 14, Malta 6,
Mexico 1, Morocco 1, Panama 15, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 8,
UK 4, Wallis and Futuna 5) (2006)

Ports and terminals:
Bordeaux, Calais, Dunkerque, La Pallice, Le Havre, Marseille,
Nantes, Paris, Rouen, Strasbourg

Military France

Military branches:
Army (includes marines, Foreign Legion, light aviation), Navy
(includes naval air), Air Force (includes air defense), National
Gendarmerie

Military service age and obligation:
17 years of age for voluntary military service; conscription ended
in the 1990s; women serve in non-combat military posts (2001)

Manpower available for military service:
males age 17-49: 13,676,509
females age 17-49: 13,504,539 (2005 est.)

Manpower fit for military service:
males age 17-49: 11,262,661
females age 17-49: 11,079,472 (2005 est.)

Manpower reaching military service age annually:
males age 18-49: 389,204
females age 17-49: 372,719 (2005 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
$45 billion FY06 (2005)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
2.6% FY06 (2005 est.)

Transnational Issues France

Disputes - international:
Madagascar claims the French territories of Bassas da India, Europa
Island, Glorioso Islands, and Juan de Nova Island; Comoros claims
Mayotte; Mauritius claims Tromelin Island; territorial dispute
between Suriname and the French overseas department of French
Guiana; France asserts a territorial claim in Antarctica (Adelie
Land); France and Vanuatu claim Matthew and Hunter Islands, east of
New Caledonia

Illicit drugs:
transshipment point for and consumer of South American cocaine,
Southwest Asian heroin, and European synthetics

This page was last updated on 19 December, 2006

@French Guiana

Introduction French Guiana

Background:
First settled by the French in 1604, French Guiana was the site of
notorious penal settlements until 1951. The European Space Agency
launches its communication satellites from Kourou.

Geography French Guiana

Location:
Northern South America, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between
Brazil and Suriname

Geographic coordinates:
4 00 N, 53 00 W

Map references:
South America

Area:
total: 91,000 sq km
land: 89,150 sq km
water: 1,850 sq km

Area - comparative:
slightly smaller than Indiana

Land boundaries: total: 1,240.4 km border countries: Brazil 730.4 km, Suriname 510 km

Coastline: 378 km

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

Climate:
tropical; hot, humid; little seasonal temperature variation

Terrain:
low-lying coastal plains rising to hills and small mountains

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Bellevue de l'Inini 851 m

Natural resources:
bauxite, timber, gold (widely scattered), petroleum, kaolin, fish,
niobium, tantalum, clay

Land use: arable land: 0.13% permanent crops: 0.04% other: 99.83% (90% forest, 10% other) (2005)

Irrigated land:
20 sq km (2003)

Natural hazards:
high frequency of heavy showers and severe thunderstorms; flooding

Environment - current issues:
NA

Geography - note:
mostly an unsettled wilderness; the only non-independent portion of
the South American continent

People French Guiana

Population:
199,509 (July 2006 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 28.9% (male 29,540/female 28,210)
15-64 years: 64.8% (male 69,302/female 59,980)
65 years and over: 6.3% (male 6,350/female 6,127) (2006 est.)

Median age:
total: 28.6 years
male: 29.6 years
female: 27.4 years (2006 est.)

Population growth rate:
1.96% (2006 est.)

Birth rate:
20.46 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Death rate:
4.88 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Net migration rate:
4.01 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.16 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 1.04 male(s)/female
total population: 1.12 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 11.76 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 12.58 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 10.89 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 77.27 years
male: 73.95 years
female: 80.75 years (2006 est.)

Total fertility rate:
2.98 children born/woman (2006 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
NA

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

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
NA

Nationality:
noun: French Guianese (singular and plural)
adjective: French Guianese

Ethnic groups:
black or mulatto 66%, white 12%, East Indian, Chinese, Amerindian
12%, other 10%

Religions:
Roman Catholic

Languages:
French

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 83%
male: 84%
female: 82% (1982 est.)

Government French Guiana

Country name:
conventional long form: Department of Guiana
conventional short form: French Guiana
local long form: none
local short form: Guyane

Dependency status:
overseas department of France

Government type:
NA

Capital:
name: Cayenne
geographic coordinates: 4 56 N, 52 20 W
time difference: UTC-3 (2 hours ahead of Washington, DC during
Standard Time)

Administrative divisions:
none (overseas department of France)

Independence:
none (overseas department of France)

National holiday:
Bastille Day, 14 July (1789)

Constitution:
4 October 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 Jean-Pierre LAFLAQUIERE (since 19 July
2006)
head of government: President of the General Council Pierre DESERT
(since 26 March 2004); President of the Regional Council Antoine
KARAM (since 22 March 1992)
cabinet: 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; presidents of the General and Regional
Councils are appointed by the members of those councils

Legislative branch:
unicameral General Council or Conseil General (19 seats; members
are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms) and a
unicameral Regional Council or Conseil Regional (31 seats; members
are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms)
elections: General Council - last held in March 2000 (next to be
held March 2006); Regional Council - last held 21 and 28 March 2004
(next to be held in 2010)
election results: General Council - percent of vote by party - NA;
seats by party - PSG 5, various left-wing parties 5, independents 7,
other 2; Regional Council - (second election results) percent of
vote by party - PS 37.24%, UMP 31.58%, FDG/Walwari 31.18%; seats by
party - PS 17, UMP 7, FDG/Walwari 7
note: one seat was elected to the French Senate on 27 September 1998
(next to be held September 2007); results - percent of vote by party
- NA; seats by party - NA; 2 seats were elected to the French
National Assembly on 9 June-16 June 2002 (next to be held in 2007);
results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - UMP/RPR
1, Walwari Committee 1

Judicial branch:
Court of Appeals or Cour d'Appel (highest local court based in
Martinique with jurisdiction over Martinique, Guadeloupe, and French
Guiana)

Political parties and leaders:
Guyana Democratic Forces or FDG [Georges OTHILY]; Guyanese
Democratic Action or ADG [Andre LECANTE]; Guyanese Socialist Party
or PSG [Marie-Claude VERDAN]; Popular National Guyanese Party or
PNPG [Jose DORCY]; Socialist Party or PS [Alix LABBE]; Union for
French Democracy or UDF [Georges HABRAN-MERY]; Union for a Popular
Movement or UMP (includes RPR) [Remi Louis DUBOC]; Walwari Committee
(aligned with the PRG in France) [Christine TAUBIRA-DELANON]

Political pressure groups and leaders:
NA

International organization participation:
UPU, 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 French Guiana

Economy - overview:
The economy is tied closely to the much larger French economy
through subsidies and imports. Besides the French space center at
Kourou (which accounts for 25% of GDP), fishing and forestry are the
most important economic activities. Forest and woodland cover 90% of
the country. The large reserves of tropical hardwoods, not fully
exploited, support an expanding sawmill industry that provides sawn
logs for export. Cultivation of crops is limited to the coastal
area, where the population is largely concentrated; rice and manioc
are the major crops. French Guiana is heavily dependent on imports
of food and energy. Unemployment is a serious problem, particularly
among younger workers.

GDP (purchasing power parity):
$1.551 billion (2003 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):
NA

GDP - real growth rate:
NA%

GDP - per capita (PPP):
$8,300 (2003 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: NA% 6.6% industry: NA% 15.6% services: NA% 77.8%

Labor force: 62,630 (1999)

Labor force - by occupation: agriculture: 18.2% industry: 21.2% services: 60.6% (1980)

Unemployment rate:
19.2% (December 2003)

Population below poverty line:
NA%

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
1% (2003)

Budget:
revenues: $135.5 million
expenditures: $135.5 million; including capital expenditures of $105
million (1996)

Agriculture - products: corn, rice, manioc (tapioca), sugar, cocoa, vegetables, bananas; cattle, pigs, poultry

Industries:
construction, shrimp processing, forestry products, rum, gold mining

Industrial production growth rate:
NA%

Electricity - production:
465.2 million kWh (2003)

Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001)

Electricity - consumption:
432.6 million kWh (2003)

Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2003)

Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2003)

Oil - production:
0 bbl/day (2003 est.)

Oil - consumption:
6,600 bbl/day (2003 est.)

Oil - exports:
NA bbl/day

Oil - imports:
NA bbl/day

Natural gas - production:
0 cu m (2003 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:
0 cu m (2003 est.)

Exports:
$137.5 million f.o.b. (2003)

Exports - commodities:
shrimp, timber, gold, rum, rosewood essence, clothing

Exports - partners:
France 62%, Switzerland 7%, US 2% (2004)

Imports:
$625 million c.i.f. (2002 est.)

Imports - commodities:
food (grains, processed meat), machinery and transport equipment,
fuels and chemicals

Imports - partners:
France 63%, US, Trinidad and Tobago, Italy (2004)

Debt - external:
$800.3 million (2003)

Economic aid - recipient:
$NA

Currency (code):
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 - 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003),
1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001)

Fiscal year:
calendar year

Communications French Guiana

Telephones - main lines in use:
51,000 (2001)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
98,000 (2004)

Telephone system:
general assessment: NA
domestic: fair open-wire and microwave radio relay system
international: country code - 594; satellite earth station - 1
Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations:
AM 2, FM 14 (including 6 repeaters), shortwave 6 (including 5
repeaters) (1998)

Radios:
104,000 (1997)

Television broadcast stations:
3 (plus eight low-power repeaters) (1997)

Televisions:
30,000 (1997)

Internet country code:
.gf

Internet hosts:
106 (2006)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
2 (2000)

Internet users:
38,000 (2005)

Transportation French Guiana

Airports: 11 (2006)

Airports - with paved runways: total: 4 over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 1 (2006)

Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 7
914 to 1,523 m: 2
under 914 m: 5 (2006)

Roadways:
total: 817 km (1998)

Waterways:
3,760 km
note: 460 km navigable by small oceangoing vessels and coastal and
river steamers, 3,300 km by native craft (2003)

Ports and terminals:
Degrad des Cannes

Military French Guiana

Military branches:
no regular military forces; Gendarmerie

Manpower available for military service:
males age 18-49: 47,809 (2005 est.)

Manpower fit for military service:
males age 18-49: 38,676 (2005 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
NA

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
NA

Military - note:
defense is the responsibility of France

Transnational Issues French Guiana

Disputes - international:
Suriname claims area between Riviere Litani and Riviere Marouini
(both headwaters of the Lawa) in French Guiana

Illicit drugs:
small amount of marijuana grown for local consumption; minor
transshipment point to Europe

This page was last updated on 19 December, 2006

@French Polynesia

Introduction French Polynesia

Background:
The French annexed various Polynesian island groups during the 19th
century. In September 1995, France stirred up widespread protests by
resuming nuclear testing on the Mururoa atoll after a three-year
moratorium. The tests were suspended in January 1996. In recent
years, French Polynesia's autonomy has been considerably expanded.

Geography French Polynesia

Location:
Oceania, archipelagoes in the South Pacific Ocean about one-half of
the way from South America to Australia

Geographic coordinates:
15 00 S, 140 00 W

Map references:
Oceania

Area:
total: 4,167 sq km (118 islands and atolls)
land: 3,660 sq km
water: 507 sq km

Area - comparative:
slightly less than one-third the size of Connecticut

Land boundaries:
0 km

Coastline:
2,525 km

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

Climate:
tropical, but moderate

Terrain:
mixture of rugged high islands and low islands with reefs

Elevation extremes: lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Mont Orohena 2,241 m

Natural resources: timber, fish, cobalt, hydropower

Land use: arable land: 0.75% permanent crops: 5.5% other: 93.75% (2005)

Irrigated land:
10 sq km (2003)

Natural hazards:
occasional cyclonic storms in January

Environment - current issues:
NA

Geography - note:
includes five archipelagoes (4 volcanic, 1 coral); Makatea in
French Polynesia is one of the three great phosphate rock islands in
the Pacific Ocean - the others are Banaba (Ocean Island) in Kiribati
and Nauru

People French Polynesia

Population:
274,578 (July 2006 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 26.1% (male 36,541/female 34,999)
15-64 years: 67.9% (male 96,769/female 89,593)
65 years and over: 6.1% (male 8,428/female 8,248) (2006 est.)

Median age:
total: 27.9 years
male: 28.2 years
female: 27.5 years (2006 est.)

Population growth rate:
1.48% (2006 est.)

Birth rate:
16.68 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Death rate:
4.69 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Net migration rate:
2.85 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.08 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 1.02 male(s)/female
total population: 1.07 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 8.29 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 9.55 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 6.96 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 76.1 years
male: 73.69 years
female: 78.63 years (2006 est.)

Total fertility rate:
2.01 children born/woman (2006 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
NA

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

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
NA

Nationality:
noun: French Polynesian(s)
adjective: French Polynesian

Ethnic groups:
Polynesian 78%, Chinese 12%, local French 6%, metropolitan French 4%

Religions:
Protestant 54%, Roman Catholic 30%, other 10%, no religion 6%

Languages:
French 61.1% (official), Polynesian 31.4% (official), Asian
languages 1.2%, other 0.3%, unspecified 6% (2002 census)

Literacy:
definition: age 14 and over can read and write
total population: 98%
male: 98%
female: 98% (1977 est.)

Government French Polynesia

Country name:
conventional long form: Overseas Lands of French Polynesia
conventional short form: French Polynesia
local long form: Pays d'outre-mer de la Polynesie Francaise
local short form: Polynesie Francaise
former: French Colony of Oceania

Dependency status:
overseas lands of France; overseas territory of France from
1946-2004

Government type:
NA

Capital:
name: Papeete
geographic coordinates: 17 32 S, 149 34 W
time difference: UTC-10 (5 hours behind Washington, DC during
Standard Time)

Administrative divisions:
none (overseas lands of France); there are no first-order
administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there
are five archipelagic divisions named Archipel des Marquises,
Archipel des Tuamotu, Archipel des Tubuai, Iles du Vent, Iles
Sous-le-Vent
note: Clipperton Island is administered by France from French
Polynesia

Independence:
none (overseas lands of France)

National holiday:
Bastille Day, 14 July (1789)

Constitution:
4 October 1958 (French Constitution)

Legal system:
based on French system

Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
chief of state: President Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May
1995), represented by High Commissioner of the Republic Anne BOQUET
(since September 2005)
head of government: President of French Polynesia Oscar TEMARU
(since 3 March 2005); President of the Territorial Assembly Antony
GEROS (since 9 May 2004)
cabinet: Council of Ministers; president submits a list of members
of the Territorial Assembly for approval by them to serve as
ministers
elections: French president elected by popular vote for a five-year
term; high commissioner appointed by the French president on the
advice of the French Ministry of Interior; president of the
territorial government and the president of the Territorial Assembly
are elected by the members of the assembly for five-year terms (no
term limits)

Legislative branch:
unicameral Territorial Assembly or Assemblee Territoriale (57 seats
- changed from 49 seats for May 2004 election; members are elected
by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 23 May 2004 (next to be held May 2009)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party -
People's Rally for the Republic (Gaullist) 28, Union for Democracy
27, New Star 1, This Country is Yours 1; after by-elections of 13
February 2005 seating was as follows: People's Rally for the
Republic 27, Union for Democracy 27, and Alliance for a New
Democracy 3
note: one seat was elected to the French Senate on 27 September 1998
(next to be held September 2007); results - percent of vote by party
- NA; seats by party - NA; two seats were elected to the French
National Assembly on 9 June-16 June 2002 (next to be held in 2007);
results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - UMP/RPR 1,
UMP 1

Judicial branch:
Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel; Court of the First Instance or
Tribunal de Premiere Instance; Court of Administrative Law or
Tribunal Administratif

Political parties and leaders:
Alliance for a New Democracy or ADN [Nicole BOUTEAU and Philip
SCHYLE](includes the parties The New Star and This Country is
Yours); Independent Front for the Liberation of Polynesia (Tavini
Huiraatira) [Oscar TEMARU]; New Fatherland Party (Ai'a Api) [Emile
VERNAUDON]; People's Rally for the Republic of Polynesia or RPR
(Tahoeraa Huiraatira) [Gaston FLOSSE]; Union for Democracy or UPD
[Oscar TEMARU]

Political pressure groups and leaders:
NA

International organization participation:
FZ, ICFTU, PIF (observer), SPC, UPU, WMO

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

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

Flag description:
two narrow red horizontal bands encase a wide white band; centered
on the white band is a disk with blue and white wave pattern on the
lower half and gold and white ray pattern on the upper half; a
stylized red, blue and white ship rides on the wave pattern; the
French flag is used for official occasions

Government - note:
under certain acts of France, French Polynesia has acquired
autonomy in all areas except those relating to police and justice,
monetary policy, tertiary education, immigration, and defense and
foreign affairs; the duties of its president are fashioned after
those of the French prime minister

Economy French Polynesia

Economy - overview:
Since 1962, when France stationed military personnel in the region,
French Polynesia has changed from a subsistence agricultural economy
to one in which a high proportion of the work force is either
employed by the military or supports the tourist industry. With the
halt of French nuclear testing in 1996, the military contribution to
the economy fell sharply. Tourism accounts for about one-fourth of
GDP and is a primary source of hard currency earnings. Other sources
of income are pearl farming and deep-sea commercial fishing. The
small manufacturing sector primarily processes agricultural
products. The territory benefits substantially from development
agreements with France aimed principally at creating new businesses
and strengthening social services.

GDP (purchasing power parity):
$4.58 billion (2003 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):
NA

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

GDP - per capita (PPP):
$17,500 (2003 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 3.1% industry: 19% services: 76.9% (2002)

Labor force: 65,870 (December 2005)

Labor force - by occupation: agriculture: 13% industry: 19% services: 68% (2002)

Unemployment rate:
11.8% (1994)

Population below poverty line:
NA%

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
1.1% (2006 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $865 million
expenditures: $644.1 million; including capital expenditures of $185
million (1996)

Agriculture - products: coconuts, vanilla, vegetables, fruits, coffee; poultry, beef, dairy products

Industries:
tourism, pearls, agricultural processing, handicrafts, phosphates

Industrial production growth rate:
NA%

Electricity - production:
493.7 million kWh (2003)

Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 60.7% hydro: 39.3% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001)

Electricity - consumption:
459.2 million kWh (2003)

Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2003)

Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2003)

Oil - production:
0 bbl/day (2003 est.)

Oil - consumption:
4,800 bbl/day (2003 est.)

Oil - exports:
NA bbl/day

Oil - imports:
NA bbl/day

Natural gas - production:
0 cu m (2003 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:
0 cu m (2003 est.)

Exports:
$211 million f.o.b. (2005 est.)

Exports - commodities:
cultured pearls, coconut products, mother-of-pearl, vanilla, shark
meat

Exports - partners:
France 46.3%, Japan 20.8%, Niger 12.8%, US 12.5% (2005)

Imports:
$1.706 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)

Imports - commodities:
fuels, foodstuffs, machinery and equipment

Imports - partners:
France 52.7%, Singapore 14.9%, NZ 6.8%, US 6.6% (2005)

Debt - external:
$NA

Economic aid - recipient:
$580 million (2004)

Currency (code):
Comptoirs Francais du Pacifique franc (XPF)

Currency code:
XPF

Exchange rates:
Comptoirs Francais du Pacifique francs (XPF) per US dollar - 95.89
(2005), 96.04 (2004), 105.66 (2003), 126.71 (2002), 133.26 (2001)
note: pegged at the rate of 119.25 XPF to the euro

Fiscal year:
calendar year

Communications French Polynesia

Telephones - main lines in use:
53,400 (2005)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
87,000 (2005)

Telephone system:
general assessment: NA
domestic: NA
international: country code - 689; satellite earth station - 1
Intelsat (Pacific Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations:
AM 2, FM 14, shortwave 2 (1998)

Radios:
128,000 (1997)

Television broadcast stations:
7 (plus 17 low-power repeaters) (1997)

Televisions:
40,000 (1997)

Internet country code:
.pf

Internet hosts:
14,047 (2006)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
2 (2000)

Internet users:
55,000 (2005)

Transportation French Polynesia

Airports: 51 (2006)

Airports - with paved runways: total: 39 over 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 25 under 914 m: 7 (2006)

Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 12 914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 7 (2006)

Heliports: 1 (2006)

Roadways: total: 2,590 km paved: 1,735 km unpaved: 855 km (1999)

Merchant marine:
total: 13 ships (1000 GRT or over) 23,684 GRT/17,291 DWT
by type: cargo 4, passenger 2, passenger/cargo 5, refrigerated cargo
1, roll on/roll off 1
foreign-owned: 1 (France 1)
registered in other countries: 2 (Wallis and Futuna 2) (2006)

Ports and terminals:
Papeete

Military French Polynesia

Military branches:
no regular military forces; Gendarmerie and National Police Force

Manpower available for military service:
males age 18-49: 69,679 (2005 est.)

Manpower fit for military service:
males age 18-49: 55,305 (2005 est.)

Manpower reaching military service age annually:
males age 18-49: 2,747 (2005 est.)

Military - note:
defense is the responsibility of France

Transnational Issues French Polynesia

Disputes - international: none

This page was last updated on 19 December, 2006

@French Southern and Antarctic Lands

Introduction French Southern and Antarctic Lands

Background:
The Southern Lands consist of two archipelagos, Iles Crozet and
Iles Kerguelen, and two volcanic islands, Ile Amsterdam and Ile
Saint-Paul. They contain no permanent inhabitants and are visited
only by researchers studying the native fauna. The Antarctic portion
consists of "Adelie Land," a thin slice of the Antarctic continent
discovered and claimed by the French in 1840.

Geography French Southern and Antarctic Lands

Location:
southeast of Africa, islands in the southern Indian Ocean, about
equidistant between Africa, Antarctica, and Australia; note - French
Southern and Antarctic Lands include Ile Amsterdam, Ile Saint-Paul,
Iles Crozet, and Iles Kerguelen in the southern Indian Ocean, along
with the French-claimed sector of Antarctica, "Adelie Land"; the US
does not recognize the French claim to "Adelie Land"

Geographic coordinates:
43 00 S, 67 00 E

Map references:
Antarctic Region

Area:
total: 7,829 sq km
land: 7,829 sq km
water: 0 sq km
note: includes Ile Amsterdam, Ile Saint-Paul, Iles Crozet, and Iles
Kerguelen; excludes "Adelie Land" claim of about 500,000 sq km in
Antarctica that is not recognized by the US

Area - comparative:
slightly less than 1.3 times the size of Delaware

Land boundaries:
0 km

Coastline:
1,232 km

Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm from Iles Kerguelen (does not
include the rest of French Southern and Antarctic Lands)

Climate:
antarctic

Terrain:
volcanic

Elevation extremes: lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: Mont Ross on Iles Kerguelen 1,850 m

Natural resources: fish, crayfish

Land use: arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2005)

Irrigated land:
0 sq km

Natural hazards:
Ile Amsterdam and Ile Saint-Paul are extinct volcanoes

Environment - current issues:
NA

Geography - note:
islands component is widely scattered across remote locations in
the southern Indian Ocean

People French Southern and Antarctic Lands

Population:
no indigenous inhabitants
note: in 2002, there were 145 researchers whose numbers vary from
winter (July) to summer (January) (July 2006 est.)

Government French Southern and Antarctic Lands

Country name:
conventional long form: Territory of the French Southern and
Antarctic Lands
conventional short form: French Southern and Antarctic Lands
local long form: Territoire des Terres Australes et Antarctiques
Francaises
local short form: Terres Australes et Antarctiques Francaises
abbreviation: TAAF

Dependency status:
overseas territory of France since 1955; administered from Paris by
Administrateur Superieur Michel CHAMPON (since 20 December 2004),
assisted by Secretary General Jean-Yves HERMOSO (since NA)

Administrative divisions:
none (overseas territory of France); there are no first-order
administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there
are three districts named Ile Crozet, Iles Kerguelen, Iles
Saint-Paul et Amsterdam; excludes "Adelie Land" claim in Antarctica
that is not recognized by the US

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

Executive branch:
chief of state: President Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May
1995), represented by Senior Administrator Michel CHAMPON

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

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

Flag description:
the flag of France is used

Economy French Southern and Antarctic Lands

Economy - overview:
Economic activity is limited to servicing meteorological and
geophysical research stations and French and other fishing fleets.
The fish catches landed on Iles Kerguelen by foreign ships are
exported to France and Reunion.

Communications French Southern and Antarctic Lands

Internet country code:
.tf

Internet hosts:
38 (2006)

Transportation French Southern and Antarctic Lands

Merchant marine:
total: 77 ships (1000 GRT or over) 3,432,833 GRT/5,345,291 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 2, chemical tanker 27, container 18, liquefied
gas 5, petroleum tanker 15, roll on/roll off 6, vehicle carrier 4
foreign-owned: 76 (Belgium 6, Denmark 2, France 36, Germany 2, Hong
Kong 2, Japan 4, Norway 12, Saudi Arabia 1, Sweden 9, Switzerland 1,
UK 1) (2006)

Ports and terminals:
none; offshore anchorage only

Military French Southern and Antarctic Lands

Military - note: defense is the responsibility of France

Transnational Issues French Southern and Antarctic Lands

Disputes - international: French claim to "Adelie Land" in Antarctica is not recognized by the US

This page was last updated on 19 December, 2006

@Gabon

Introduction Gabon

Background:
Only two autocratic presidents have ruled Gabon since independence
from France in 1960. The current president of Gabon, El Hadj Omar
BONGO Ondimba - one of the longest-serving heads of state in the
world - has dominated the contry's political scene for almost four
decades. President BONGO introduced a nominal multiparty system and
a new constitution in the early 1990s. However, allegations of
electoral fraud during local elections in 2002-03 and the
presidential elections in 2005 have exposed the weaknesses of formal
political structures in Gabon. Gabon's political opposition remains
weak, divided, and financially dependent on the current regime.
Despite political conditions, a small population, abundant natural
resources, and considerable foreign support have helped make Gabon
one of the more prosperous and stable African countries.

Geography Gabon

Location:
Western Africa, bordering the Atlantic Ocean at the Equator,
between Republic of the Congo and Equatorial Guinea

Geographic coordinates:
1 00 S, 11 45 E

Map references:
Africa

Area:
total: 267,667 sq km
land: 257,667 sq km
water: 10,000 sq km

Area - comparative:
slightly smaller than Colorado

Land boundaries:
total: 2,551 km
border countries: Cameroon 298 km, Republic of the Congo 1,903 km,
Equatorial Guinea 350 km

Coastline:
885 km

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

Climate:
tropical; always hot, humid

Terrain:
narrow coastal plain; hilly interior; savanna in east and south

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mont Iboundji 1,575 m

Natural resources:
petroleum, natural gas, diamond, niobium, manganese, uranium, gold,
timber, iron ore, hydropower

Land use: arable land: 1.21% permanent crops: 0.64% other: 98.15% (2005)

Irrigated land:
70 sq km (2003)

Natural hazards:
NA

Environment - current issues:
deforestation; poaching

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered
Species, 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:
a small population and oil and mineral reserves have helped Gabon
become one of Africa's wealthier countries; in general, these
circumstances have allowed the country to maintain and conserve its
pristine rain forest and rich biodiversity

People Gabon

Population:
1,424,906
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
2006 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 42.1% (male 300,914/female 299,141)
15-64 years: 53.9% (male 383,137/female 384,876)
65 years and over: 4% (male 23,576/female 33,262) (2006 est.)

Median age:
total: 18.6 years
male: 18.4 years
female: 18.8 years (2006 est.)

Population growth rate:
2.13% (2006 est.)

Birth rate:
36.16 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Death rate:
12.25 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Net migration rate:
-2.65 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female
total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 54.51 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 63.65 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 45.1 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 54.49 years
male: 53.21 years
female: 55.81 years (2006 est.)

Total fertility rate:
4.74 children born/woman (2006 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
8.1% (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
48,000 (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
3,000 (2003 est.)

Major infectious diseases:
degree of risk: very high
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and
typhoid fever
vectorborne disease: malaria (2005)

Nationality:
noun: Gabonese (singular and plural)
adjective: Gabonese

Ethnic groups:
Bantu tribes, including four major tribal groupings (Fang,
Bapounou, Nzebi, Obamba); other Africans and Europeans, 154,000,
including 10,700 French and 11,000 persons of dual nationality

Religions:
Christian 55%-75%, animist, Muslim less than 1%

Languages:
French (official), Fang, Myene, Nzebi, Bapounou/Eschira, Bandjabi

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 63.2%
male: 73.7%
female: 53.3% (1995 est.)

Government Gabon

Country name:
conventional long form: Gabonese Republic
conventional short form: Gabon
local long form: Republique gabonaise
local short form: Gabon

Government type:
republic; multiparty presidential regime

Capital:
name: Libreville
geographic coordinates: 0 23 N, 9 27 E
time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during
Standard Time)

Administrative divisions:
9 provinces; Estuaire, Haut-Ogooue, Moyen-Ogooue, Ngounie, Nyanga,
Ogooue-Ivindo, Ogooue-Lolo, Ogooue-Maritime, Woleu-Ntem

Independence:
17 August 1960 (from France)

National holiday:
Founding of the Gabonese Democratic Party (PDG), 12 March (1968)

Constitution:
adopted 14 March 1991

Legal system:
based on French civil law system and customary law; judicial review
of legislative acts in Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court;
has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage:
21 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
chief of state: President El Hadj Omar BONGO Ondimba (since 2
December 1967)
head of government: Prime Minister Jean Eyeghe NDONG (since 20
January 2006)
cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister in
consultation with the president
elections: president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term
(no term limits); election last held 27 November 2005 (next to be
held in 2012); prime minister appointed by the president
election results: President El Hadj Omar BONGO Ondimba reelected;
percent of vote - El Hadj Omar BONGO Ondimba 79.2%, Pierre
MAMBOUNDOU 13.6%, Zacharie MYBOTO 6.6%

Legislative branch:
bicameral legislature consists of the Senate (91 seats; members
elected by members of municipal councils and departmental
assemblies) and the National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (120
seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve
five-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 26 January and 9 February 2003 (next
to be held by January 2009); National Assembly - last held 9 and 23
December 2001 (next to be held December 2006)
election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by
party - PDG 53, RNB 20, PGP 4, ADERE 3, RDP 1, CLR 1, independents
9; National Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party
- PDG 86, RNB-RPG 8, PGP 3, ADERE 3, CLR 2, PUP 1, PSD 1,
independents 13, others 3

Judicial branch:
Supreme Court or Cour Supreme consisting of three chambers -
Judicial, Administrative, and Accounts; Constitutional Court; Courts
of Appeal; Court of State Security; County Courts

Political parties and leaders:
Circle of Liberal Reformers or CLR [General Jean Boniface ASSELE];
Congress for Democracy and Justice or CDJ [Jules Aristide Bourdes
OGOULIGUENDE]; Democratic and Republican Alliance or ADERE
[Divungui-di-Ndinge DIDJOB]; Gabonese Democratic Party or PDG
[Simplice Nguedet MANZELA] (former sole party); Gabonese Party for
Progress or PGP [Pierre-Louis AGONDJO-OKAWE]; National Rally of
Woodcutters or RNB; National Rally of Woodcutters-Rally for Gabon or
RNB-RPG (Bucherons) [Fr. Paul M'BA-ABESSOLE]; People's Unity Party
or PUP [Louis Gaston MAYILA]; Rally for Democracy and Progress or
RDP [Pierre EMBONI]; Social Democratic Party or PSD [Pierre Claver
MAGANGA-MOUSSAVOU]; Union for Democracy and Social Integration or
UDIS; Union of Gabonese People or UPG [Pierre MAMBOUNDOU]

Political pressure groups and leaders:
NA

International organization participation:
ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, BDEAC, CEMAC, FAO, FZ, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD,
ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO,
Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OIF, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD,
UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIS, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Jules Marius OGOUEBANDJA
chancery: Suite 200, 2034 20th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009
telephone: (202) 797-1000
FAX: (202) 332-0668
consulate(s): New York

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Barrie R. WALKLEY
embassy: Boulevard du Bord de Mer, Libreville
mailing address: Centre Ville, B. P. 4000, Libreville
telephone: 76 20 03 through 76 20 04, after hours - 74 34 92
FAX: 74 55 07

Flag description:
three equal horizontal bands of green (top), yellow, and blue

Economy Gabon

Economy - overview:
Gabon enjoys a per capita income four times that of most of
sub-Saharan African nations. This has supported a sharp decline in
extreme poverty; yet, because of high income inequality, a large
proportion of the population remains poor. Gabon depended on timber
and manganese until oil was discovered offshore in the early 1970s.
The oil sector now accounts for 50% of GDP. Gabon continues to face
fluctuating prices for its oil, timber, and manganese exports.
Despite the abundance of natural wealth, poor fiscal management
hobbles the economy. Devaluation of its currency by 50% in January
1994 sparked a one-time inflationary surge, to 35%; the rate dropped
to 6% in 1996. The IMF provided a one-year standby arrangement in
1994-95, a three-year Enhanced Financing Facility (EFF) at near
commercial rates beginning in late 1995, and stand-by credit of $119
million in October 2000. Those agreements mandated progress in
privatization and fiscal discipline. France provided additional
financial support in January 1997 after Gabon met IMF targets for
mid-1996. In 1997, an IMF mission to Gabon criticized the government
for overspending on off-budget items, overborrowing from the central
bank, and slipping on its schedule for privatization and
administrative reform. The rebound of oil prices in 1999-2000 helped
growth, but drops in production hampered Gabon from fully realizing
potential gains. In December 2000, Gabon signed a new agreement with
the Paris Club to reschedule its official debt. A follow-up
bilateral repayment agreement with the US was signed in December
2001. Gabon signed a 14-month Stand-By Arrangement with the IMF in
May 2004, and received Paris Club debt rescheduling later that year.
Short-term progress depends on an upbeat world economy and fiscal
and other adjustments in line with IMF policies.

GDP (purchasing power parity):
$9.739 billion (2005 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):
$6.697 billion (2005 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
2.9% (2005 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP):
$7,000 (2005 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 6.1% industry: 59.2% services: 34.8% (2005 est.)

Labor force: 640,000 (2005 est.)

Labor force - by occupation: agriculture: 60% industry: 15% services: 25%

Unemployment rate:
21% (1997 est.)

Population below poverty line:
NA%

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
-0.1% (2005 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):
24.7% of GDP (2005 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $2.463 billion
expenditures: $1.618 billion; including capital expenditures of $325
million (2005 est.)

Public debt:
33.6% of GDP (2005 est.)

Agriculture - products:
cocoa, coffee, sugar, palm oil, rubber; cattle; okoume (a tropical
softwood); fish

Industries:
petroleum extraction and refining; manganese, gold; chemicals, ship
repair, food and beverages, textiles, lumbering and plywood, cement

Industrial production growth rate:
1.6% (2002 est.)

Electricity - production:
1.487 billion kWh (2003)

Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 34.5% hydro: 65.5% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001)

Electricity - consumption:
1.383 billion kWh (2003)

Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2003)

Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2003)

Oil - production:
268,900 bbl/day (2005 est.)

Oil - consumption:
12,250 bbl/day (2003 est.)

Oil - exports:
NA bbl/day

Oil - imports:
NA bbl/day

Oil - proved reserves:
1.921 billion bbl (2005 est.)

Natural gas - production:
90 million cu m (2003 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:
90 million cu m (2003 est.)

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

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

Natural gas - proved reserves:
33.98 billion cu m (2005)

Current account balance:
$675 million (2005 est.)

Exports:
$5.813 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)

Exports - commodities:
crude oil 77%, timber, manganese, uranium (2001)

Exports - partners:
US 53.5%, France 6.4%, China 6.3%, Trinidad and Tobago 4% (2005)

Imports:
$1.533 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)

Imports - commodities:
machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, chemicals, construction
materials

Imports - partners:
France 40.6%, US 6.4%, Cameroon 4.2% (2005)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$675.2 million (2005 est.)

Debt - external:
$3.903 billion (2005 est.)

Economic aid - recipient:
$331 million (1995)

Currency (code):
Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XAF); note - responsible
authority is the Bank of the Central African States

Currency code:
XAF

Exchange rates:
Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XAF) per US dollar - 527.47
(2005), 528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003), 696.99 (2002), 733.04 (2001)

Fiscal year:
calendar year

Communications Gabon

Telephones - main lines in use:
39,100 (2005)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
649,800 (2005)

Telephone system:
general assessment: adequate service by African standards and
improving with the help of the growing mobile cell system
domestic: adequate system of cable, microwave radio relay,
tropospheric scatter, radiotelephone communication stations, and a
domestic satellite system with 12 earth stations
international: country code - 241; satellite earth stations - 3
Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); fiber optic submarine cable (SAT-3/WASC)
provides connectivity to Europe and Asia

Radio broadcast stations:
AM 6, FM 7 (and 11 repeaters), shortwave 4 (2001)

Radios:
208,000 (1997)

Television broadcast stations:
4 (plus four low-power repeaters) (2001)

Televisions:
63,000 (1997)

Internet country code:
.ga

Internet hosts:
322 (2006)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
1 (2001)

Internet users:
67,000 (2005)

Transportation Gabon

Airports: 56 (2006)

Airports - with paved runways: total: 11 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 8 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2006)

Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 45 1,524 to 2,437 m: 7 914 to 1,523 m: 15 under 914 m: 23 (2006)

Pipelines: gas 272 km; oil 1,354 km (2006)

Railways: total: 814 km standard gauge: 814 km 1.435-m gauge (2005)

Roadways: total: 32,333 km paved: 6,247 km unpaved: 26,086 km (2003)

Waterways:
1,600 km (310 km on Ogooue River) (2005)

Merchant marine:
registered in other countries: 2 (Cambodia 1, Panama 1) (2006)

Ports and terminals:
Gamba, Libreville, Lucinda, Owendo, Port-Gentil

Military Gabon

Military branches:
Army, Navy, Air Force, National Gendarmerie, National Police

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

Manpower available for military service:
males age 18-49: 278,826
females age 18-49: 279,865 (2005 est.)

Manpower fit for military service:
males age 18-49: 159,198
females age 18-49: 156,122 (2005 est.)

Manpower reaching military service age annually:
males age 18-49: 15,325
females age 18-49: 15,367 (2005 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
$253.5 million (2005 est.)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
3.4% (2005 est.)

Transnational Issues Gabon

Disputes - international:
UN presses Equatorial Guinea and Gabon to resolve the sovereignty
dispute over Gabon-occupied Mbane Island and to establish a maritime
boundary in hydrocarbon-rich Corisco Bay; only a few hundred out of
the 20,000 Republic of the Congo refugees who fled militia fighting
in 2000 remain in Gabon

This page was last updated on 19 December, 2006

@Gambia, The

Introduction Gambia, The

Background:
The Gambia gained its independence from the UK in 1965; it formed a
short-lived federation of Senegambia with Senegal between 1982 and
1989. In 1991 the two nations signed a friendship and cooperation
treaty. A military coup in 1994 overthrew the president and banned
political activity, but a 1996 constitution and presidential
elections, followed by parliamentary balloting in 1997, completed a
nominal return to civilian rule. The country undertook another round
of presidential and legislative elections in late 2001 and early
2002. Yahya A. J. J. JAMMEH, the leader of the coup, has been
elected president in all subsequent elections.

Geography Gambia, The

Location:
Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean and Senegal

Geographic coordinates:
13 28 N, 16 34 W

Map references:
Africa

Area:
total: 11,300 sq km
land: 10,000 sq km
water: 1,300 sq km

Area - comparative:
slightly less than twice the size of Delaware

Land boundaries: total: 740 km border countries: Senegal 740 km

Coastline: 80 km

Maritime claims: territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 18 nm continental shelf: not specified exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm

Climate:
tropical; hot, rainy season (June to November); cooler, dry season
(November to May)

Terrain:
flood plain of the Gambia River flanked by some low hills

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location 53 m

Natural resources:
fish, titanium (rutile and ilmenite), tin, zircon, silica sand,
clay, petroleum

Land use: arable land: 27.88% permanent crops: 0.44% other: 71.68% (2005)

Irrigated land:
20 sq km (2003)

Natural hazards:
drought (rainfall has dropped by 30% in the last 30 years)

Environment - current issues:
deforestation; desertification; water-borne diseases prevalent

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:
1,641,564 (July 2006 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 44.3% (male 365,157/female 361,821)
15-64 years: 53% (male 431,627/female 438,159)
65 years and over: 2.7% (male 22,889/female 21,911) (2006 est.)

Median age:
total: 17.7 years
male: 17.6 years
female: 17.8 years (2006 est.)

Population growth rate:
2.84% (2006 est.)

Birth rate:
39.37 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Death rate:
12.25 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Net migration rate:
1.29 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 1.05 male(s)/female
total population: 1 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 71.58 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 78.06 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 64.9 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 54.14 years
male: 52.3 years
female: 56.03 years (2006 est.)

Total fertility rate:
5.3 children born/woman (2006 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: degree of risk: very high food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever vectorborne diseases: dengue fever, malaria, Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever, yellow fever are high risks in some locations water contact disease: schistosomiasis respiratory disease: meningococcal meningitis (2005)

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

Capital:
name: Banjul
geographic coordinates: 12 28 N, 16 39 W
time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during
Standard Time)

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 he was chairman of the
Junta); Vice President Isatou NJIE-SAIDY (since 20 March 1997)
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president
elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term
(no term limits); election last held 22 September 2006 (next to be
held in 2011)
election results: Yahya A. J. J. JAMMEH reelected president; percent
of vote - Yahya A. J. J. JAMMEH 67.3%, Ousainou DARBOE 26.6%

Legislative branch:
unicameral National Assembly (53 seats; 48 elected by popular vote,
5 appointed by the president; members serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 17 January 2002 (next to be held 25 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] (the ruling party); 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, IPU,
ITU, MIGA, NAM, OIC, ONUB, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIL,
UNOCI, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Dodou Bammy JAGNE
chancery: Suite 905, 1156 15th Street NW, Washington, DC 20005
telephone: (202) 785-1379
FAX: (202) 785-1430

Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Joseph D. STAFFORD, III embassy: Kairaba Avenue, Fajara, Banjul mailing address: P. M. B. No. 19, Banjul telephone: 439-2856, 437-6169, 437-6170 FAX: 439-2475

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

Economy Gambia, The

Economy - overview:
The Gambia has no significant mineral or natural resource deposits
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. Despite an
announced program to begin privatizing key parastatals, no plans
have been made public that would indicate that the government
intends to follow through on its promises. Unemployment and
underemployment rates remain extremely high; short-run economic
progress depends on sustained bilateral and multilateral aid, on
responsible government economic management, on continued technical
assistance from the IMF and bilateral donors, and on expected growth
in the construction sector.

GDP (purchasing power parity):
$3.034 billion (2005 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):
$429 million (2005 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
5.5% (2005 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP):
$1,900 (2005 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 30.8% industry: 14.2% services: 54.9% (2005 est.)

Labor force: 400,000 (1996)

Labor force - by occupation: agriculture: 75% industry: 19% services: 6%

Unemployment rate:
NA%

Population below poverty line:
NA%

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
8.8% (2005 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):
20% of GDP (2005 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $46.63 million
expenditures: $62.66 million; including capital expenditures of $4.1
million (2005 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:
140 million kWh (2003)

Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001)

Electricity - consumption:
130.2 million kWh (2003)

Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2003)

Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2003)

Oil - production:
0 bbl/day (2003 est.)

Oil - consumption:
2,000 bbl/day (2003 est.)

Oil - exports:
NA bbl/day

Oil - imports:
NA bbl/day

Natural gas - production:
0 cu m (2003 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:
0 cu m (2003 est.)

Current account balance:
$-53 million (2005 est.)

Exports:
$140.3 million f.o.b. (2005 est.)

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

Exports - partners:
India 40.4%, UK 18.2%, Indonesia 8.3%, Senegal 4.6%, Belgium 4.3%
(2005)

Imports:
$197 million f.o.b. (2005 est.)

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

Imports - partners:
China 21.3%, Senegal 11.3%, Cote d'Ivoire 8.4%, Brazil 6%, US 5.2%,
UK 5.1%, Netherlands 4.1% (2005)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$82 million (2005 est.)

Debt - external:
$628.8 million (2003 est.)

Economic aid - recipient:
$59.8 million (2003)

Currency (code):
dalasi (GMD)

Currency code:
GMD

Exchange rates:
dalasi per US dollar - 30.38 (2005), 30.03 (2004), 27.306 (2004),
19.918 (2003), 15.687 (2002), 15.687 (2001)

Fiscal year:
calendar year

Communications Gambia, The

Telephones - main lines in use:
44,000 (2005)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
247,500 (2005)

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:
14 (2006)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
2 (2001)

Internet users:
49,000 (2005)

Transportation Gambia, The

Airports: 1 (2006)

Airports - with paved runways: total: 1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2006)

Roadways: total: 3,742 km paved: 723 km unpaved: 3,019 km (2003)

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

Merchant marine:
total: 5 ships (1000 GRT or over) 32,064 GRT/9,751 DWT
by type: passenger/cargo 4, petroleum tanker 1 (2006)

Ports and terminals:
Banjul

Military Gambia, The

Military branches:
Gambian National Army (GNA), Gambian Navy (GN), Presidential Guard,
National Guard

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

Manpower available for military service:
males age 18-49: 311,025
females age 18-49: 316,214 (2005 est.)

Manpower fit for military service:
males age 18-49: 183,057
females age 18-49: 194,551 (2005 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
$1.55 million (2005 est.)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
0.4% (2005 est.)

Transnational Issues Gambia, The

Disputes - international:
attempts to stem refugees, cross-border raids, arms smuggling, and
other illegal activities by separatists from southern Senegal's
Casamance region, as well as from conflicts in other west African
states

This page was last updated on 19 December, 2006

@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 (PA) 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
began in September 1999 after a three-year hiatus, but were derailed
by a second intifadah that broke out in September 2000. In April
2003 the Quartet (US, EU, UN, and Russia) presented a roadmap to a
final settlement of the conflict by 2005 based on reciprocal steps
by the two parties leading to two states, Israel and a democratic
Palestine. The proposed date for a permanent status agreement has
been postponed indefinitely due to violence and accusations that
both sides have not followed through on their commitments. Longtime
Palestinian leader Yasir ARAFAT died in November 2004 and Mahmud
ABBAS was elected PA president in January 2005, bringing hope of a
turning point in the conflict. In February 2005 Israel and the PA
agreed to the Sharm el-Sheikh Commitments, focused on security
issues, in an effort to move the peace process forward. Progress has
been slow because of different interpretations of the verbal
agreement by the two sides. In September 2005, Israel withdrew all
its settlers and soldiers and dismantled its military facilities in
the Gaza Strip and four northern West Bank settlements. Nonetheless,
Israel controls maritime, airspace, and most access to the Gaza
Strip. An agreement signed by the PA and Israel in November 2005
authorized the reopening of the Rafah border crossing between the
Gaza Strip and Egypt under joint PA and Egyptian control, with
monitoring provided by the EU.

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
land: 360 sq km
water: 0 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: 29% permanent crops: 21% other: 50% (2002)

Irrigated land:
150 sq km; note - includes West Bank (2003)

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:
strategic strip of land along Mideast-North African trade routes
has experienced an incredibly turbulent history; the town of Gaza
itself has been besieged countless times in its history

People Gaza Strip

Population:
1,428,757 (July 2006 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 48.1% (male 351,642/female 335,060)
15-64 years: 49.4% (male 360,147/female 345,318)
65 years and over: 2.6% (male 15,231/female 21,359) (2006 est.)

Median age:
total: 15.8 years
male: 15.7 years
female: 16 years (2006 est.)

Population growth rate:
3.71% (2006 est.)

Birth rate:
39.45 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Death rate:
3.8 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Net migration rate:
1.48 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 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: 0.71 male(s)/female
total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 22.4 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 23.48 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 21.27 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 71.97 years
male: 70.67 years
female: 73.34 years (2006 est.)

Total fertility rate:
5.78 children born/woman (2006 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 many Palestinians), English (widely
understood)

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 91.9%
male: 96.3%
female: 87.4% (2003 est.)

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:
High population density, limited land access, and strict internal
and external controls have kept economic conditions in the Gaza
Strip - the smaller of the two areas under the Palestinian Authority
(PA)- even more degraded than in the West Bank. The beginning of the
second intifadah in September 2000 sparked an economic downturn,
largely the result of Israeli closure policies; these policies,
which were imposed in response to security interests in Israel,
disrupted labor and commodity relationships with the Gaza Strip. In
2001, and even more severely in 2003, Israeli military measures in
PA areas resulted in the destruction of much capital plant, the
disruption of administrative structure, and widespread business
closures. Including the West Bank, the UN estimates that more than
100,000 Palestinians out of the 125,000 who used to work in Israel
or in joint industrial zones have lost their jobs. Half the labor
force is unemployed. Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip in
September 2005 offers some medium-term opportunities for economic
growth, especially given the removal of restrictions on internal
movement. In addition, recent agreements and continuing negotiations
on the administration of Gaza's border crossings increase the
prospects for trade.

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

GDP (official exchange rate):
NA

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

GDP - per capita (PPP):
$600 (2003 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 3% industry: 28.3% services: 68.7% (includes West Bank) (2002 est.)

Labor force: 278,000 (April-June 2005)

Labor force - by occupation: agriculture: 11.9% industry: 18% services: 70.1% (2nd qtr. 2005)

Unemployment rate:
31% (includes West Bank) (January-September 2005 avg.)

Population below poverty line:
81% (2004 est.)

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
7% (includes West Bank) (2003)

Budget:
revenues: $964 million
expenditures: $1.34 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA;
note - these budget data include West Bank (2004)

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, but operations ceased prior to Israel's evacuation of Gaza
Strip settlements

Industrial production growth rate:
NA%

Electricity - production:
NA kWh; note - electricity supplied by the Gaza Strip power plant
and by an Israeli utility

Electricity - consumption:
NA kWh

Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2001)

Electricity - imports:
NA kWh; note - some electricity supplied by an Israeli utility
(2005)

Exports:
$270 million f.o.b.; note - includes West Bank (2003)

Exports - commodities:
citrus, flowers, textiles

Exports - partners:
Israel, Egypt, West Bank (2004)

Imports:
$1.952 billion c.i.f.; note - includes West Bank (2003)

Imports - commodities:
food, consumer goods, construction materials

Imports - partners:
Israel, Egypt, West Bank (2004)

Debt - external:
$0; note - includes West Bank (2002)

Economic aid - recipient:
$2 billion; note - includes West Bank (2004 est.)

Currency (code):
new Israeli shekel (ILS)

Currency code:
ILS

Exchange rates:
new Israeli shekels per US dollar - 4.4877 (2005), 4.482 (2004),
4.5541 (2003), 4.7378 (2002), 4.2057 (2001)

Fiscal year:
calendar year

Communications Gaza Strip

Telephones - main lines in use:
349,000 (includes West Bank) (2005)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
1.095 million (includes West Bank) (2005)

Telephone system:
general assessment: NA
domestic: Israeli company BEZEK and the Palestinian company PALTEL
are responsible for fixed line services in the Gaza Strip; the
Palestinian JAWAL company provides cellular services
international: country code - 970

Radio broadcast stations:
AM 0, FM 8, shortwave 0 (2005)

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

Television broadcast stations:
1 (2005)

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

Internet country code:
.ps

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
3 (1999)

Internet users:
243,000 (includes West Bank) (2005)

Transportation Gaza Strip

Airports:
2
note: includes Gaza International Airport closed since its runway
was destroyed by the Israeli Defense Forces in December 2001 (2006)

Airports - with paved runways:
total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2006)

Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2006)

Heliports:
1 (2006)

Roadways:
note: see entry for West Bank

Ports and terminals:
Gaza

Military Gaza Strip

Military branches:
in accordance with the peace agreement, the Palestinian Authority
is not permitted conventional military forces; there are, however,
public security forces (2002)

Manpower available for military service:
males age 18-49: 260,855 (2005 est.)

Manpower fit for military service:
males age 18-49: 221,530 (2005 est.)

Manpower reaching military service age annually:
males age 18-49: 15,196 (2005 est.)

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; Israel removed
settlers and military personnel from the Gaza Strip in August 2005

Refugees and internally displaced persons:
refugees (country of origin): 986,034 (Palestinian Refugees
(UNRWA)) (2005)

This page was last updated on 19 December, 2006

@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 A.D. and Christianity became the state religion
in the 330s. Domination by Persians, Arabs, and Turks was followed
by a Georgian golden age (11th-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.
An attempt by the incumbent Georgian government to manipulate
national 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. Progress on market reforms and democratization has
been made in the years since independence, but this progress has
been complicated by two civil conflicts in the breakaway regions of
Abkhazia and South Ossetia. These two territories remain outside the
control of the central government and are ruled by de facto,
unrecognized governments, supported by Russia. Russian-led
peacekeeping operations continue in both regions. The Georgian
Government put forward a new peace initiative for the peaceful
resolution of the status of South Ossetia in 2005.

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
land: 69,700 sq km
water: 0 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:
NA

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: 11.51%
permanent crops: 3.79%
other: 84.7% (2005)

Irrigated land:
4,690 sq km (2003)

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:
4,661,473 (July 2006 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 17.3% (male 428,056/female 380,193)
15-64 years: 66.2% (male 1,482,908/female 1,602,064)
65 years and over: 16.5% (male 308,905/female 459,347) (2006 est.)

Median age:
total: 37.7 years
male: 35.3 years
female: 40.1 years (2006 est.)

Population growth rate:
-0.34% (2006 est.)

Birth rate:
10.41 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Death rate:
9.23 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Net migration rate:
-4.54 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.15 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.13 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.93 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.67 male(s)/female
total population: 0.91 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 17.97 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 20.06 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 15.56 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 76.09 years
male: 72.8 years
female: 79.87 years (2006 est.)

Total fertility rate:
1.42 children born/woman (2006 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 83.8%, Azeri 6.5%, Armenian 5.7%, Russian 1.5%, other 2.5%
(2002 census)

Religions:
Orthodox Christian 83.9%, Muslim 9.9%, Armenian-Gregorian 3.9%,
Catholic 0.8%, other 0.8%, none 0.7% (2002 census)

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: 100%
male: 100%
female: 100% (2004 est.)

Government Georgia

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

Government type:
republic

Capital:
name: T'bilisi
geographic coordinates: 41 43 N, 44 49 E
time difference: UTC+4 (9 hours ahead of Washington, DC during
Standard Time)

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, Tbilisi,
Tqibuli, Tsqaltubo, Zugdidi
autonomous republics: Abkhazia or Ap'khazet'is Avtonomiuri
Respublika (Sokhumi), Ajaria or Acharis Avtonomiuri Respublika
(Bat'umi)
note: the administrative centers of the two autonomous republics are
shown in parentheses

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 24 August 1995

Legal system:
based on civil law system; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

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
head of government: President Mikheil SAAKASHVILI (since 25 January
2004); Prime Minister Zurab NOGHAIDELI (since 17 February 2005);
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
cabinet: Cabinet of Ministers
elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term
(eligible for a second term); election last held 4 January 2004
(next to be held in 2009)
election results: Mikheil SAAKASHVILI elected president; percent of
vote - Mikheil SAAKASHVILI 96.3%, Temur SHASHIASHVILI 1.9%

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-Democratic Front 67.6%, Rightist Opposition 7.6%, all other
parties received less than 7% each; seats by party - National
Movement-Democratic Front 135, Rightist Opposition 15

Judicial branch:
Supreme Court (judges elected by the Supreme Council on the
president's or chairman of the Supreme Court'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
Rights [David GAMKRELIDZE]; Republican Party [David USUPASHVILI];
Rightist Opposition [David 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 former President Zviad GAMSAKHURDYA ousted in 1991

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

Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Vasil SIKHARULIDZE chancery: 1101 15th Street NW, Suite 602, Washington, DC 20005 telephone: (202) 387-2390 FAX: (202) 393-4537

Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador John F. TEFFT embassy: 11 George Balanchine St., T'bilisi 0131 mailing address: 7060 T'bilisi Place, Washington, DC 20521-7060 telephone: (32) 27-70-00 FAX: (32) 53-23-10

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 grapes, citrus fruits, and hazelnuts;
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. It has sizeable but
underdeveloped hydropower capacity. 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
2000, achieving positive GDP growth and curtailing inflation.
Georgia had suffered from a chronic failure to collect tax revenues;
however, the new government is making progress and has reformed the
tax code, improved tax administration, increased tax enforcement,
and cracked down on corruption. In addition, the reinvigorated
privatization process has met with success, supplementing government
expenditures on infrastructure, defense, and poverty reduction.
Despite customs and financial (tax) enforcement improvements,
smuggling is a drain on the economy. Georgia also suffers from
energy shortages due to aging and badly maintained infrastructure,
as well as poor management. Due to concerted reform efforts,
collection rates have improved considerably to roughly 60%, both in
T'bilisi and throughout the regions. Continued reform in the
management of state-owned power entities is essential to successful
privatization and onward sustainability in this sector. The country
is pinning its hopes for long-term growth on its role as a transit
state for pipelines and trade. The construction on the
Baku-T'bilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline and the Baku-T'bilisi-Erzerum gas
pipeline have brought much-needed investment and job opportunities.
Nevertheless, high energy prices in 2006 will compound the pressure
on the country's inefficient energy sector. Restructuring the sector
and finding energy supply alternatives to Russia remain major
challenges.

GDP (purchasing power parity):
$16.03 billion (2005 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):
$6.4 billion (2005 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
9.3% (2005 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP):
$3,400 (2005 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 17.2% industry: 27.5% services: 55.3% (2005 est.)

Labor force: 2.04 million (2004 est.)

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

Unemployment rate:
12.6% (2004 est.)

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:
38 (2003)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
8.2% (2005 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):
24% of GDP (2005 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $1.43 billion
expenditures: $1.56 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA
(2005 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:
8.634 billion kWh (2003)

Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 19.7% hydro: 80.3% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001)

Electricity - consumption:
9.8 billion kWh (2005)

Electricity - exports:
71 million kWh (2004)

Electricity - imports:
1.2 billion kWh (2004)

Oil - production:
1,982 bbl/day (2003)

Oil - consumption:
13,000 bbl/day (2003 est.)

Oil - exports:
NA bbl/day

Oil - imports:
NA bbl/day

Natural gas - production:
20 million cu m (2003 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:
1.5 billion cu m (2005 est.)

Natural gas - exports:
NA cu m

Natural gas - imports:
1.5 billion cu m (2005 est.)

Current account balance:
$-625 million (2005 est.)

Exports:
$1.4 billion (2005 est.)

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

Exports - partners:
Russia 18.1%, Turkey 14.3%, Azerbaijan 9.8%, Turkmenistan 8.9%,
Bulgaria 5%, Armenia 4.7%, Ukraine 4.4%, Canada 4.2% (2005)

Imports:
$2.5 billion (2005 est.)

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

Imports - partners:
Russia 15.4%, Turkey 11.4%, Azerbaijan 9.4%, Ukraine 8.8%, Germany
8.3%, US 6% (2005)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$474.2 million (2005 est.)

Debt - external:
$2.04 billion (2004)

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

Currency (code):
lari (GEL)

Currency code:
GEL

Exchange rates:
lari per US dollar - 1.8127 (2005), 1.9167 (2004), 2.1457 (2003),
2.1957 (2002), 2.073 (2001)

Fiscal year:
calendar year

Communications Georgia

Telephones - main lines in use:
683,200 (2004)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
1.459 million (2005)

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:
10,752 (2006)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
6 (2000)

Internet users:
175,600 (2005)

Transportation Georgia

Airports: 23 (2006)

Airports - with paved runways: total: 19 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 7 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 2 (2006)

Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 4
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 2
under 914 m: 1 (2006)

Heliports:
3 (2006)

Pipelines:
gas 1,349 km; oil 1,010 km (2006)

Railways:
total: 1,612 km
broad gauge: 1,575 km 1.520-m gauge (1,575 electrified)
narrow gauge: 37 km 0.912-m gauge (37 electrified) (2005)

Roadways:
total: 20,247 km
paved: 7,973 km
unpaved: 12,274 km (2003)

Merchant marine:
total: 222 ships (1000 GRT or over) 1,059,386 GRT/1,538,746 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 27, cargo 176, container 4, liquefied gas 1,
passenger 1, passenger/cargo 3, petroleum tanker 3, refrigerated
cargo 4, roll on/roll off 2, specialized tanker 1
foreign-owned: 188 (Albania 1, Azerbaijan 2, Belgium 1, China 2,
Cyprus 1, Ecuador 1, Egypt 8, Germany 1, Greece 8, Indonesia 1,
South Korea 1, Lebanon 7, Monaco 13, Romania 11, Russia 28, Slovakia
1, Slovenia 1, Syria 43, Turkey 30, UAE 1, UK 4, Ukraine 22) (2006)

Ports and terminals:
Bat'umi, P'ot'i

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 (includes National Guard), Air and Air Defense
Forces, Navy (2006)

Military service age and obligation:
18 to 34 years of age for compulsory and voluntary active duty
military service; conscript service obligation - 18 months (2005)

Manpower available for military service:
males age 18-49: 1,038,736
females age 18-49: 1,105,910 (2005 est.)

Manpower fit for military service:
males age 18-49: 827,281
females age 18-49: 903,791 (2005 est.)

Manpower reaching military service age annually:
males age 18-49: 38,857
females age 18-49: 38,238 (2005 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:
Russia and Georgia agree on delimiting 80% of their common border,
leaving certain small, strategic segments and the maritime boundary
unresolved; OSCE observers monitor volatile areas such as the
Pankisi Gorge in the Akhmeti region and the Argun Gorge in Abkhazia;
UN Observer Mission in Georgia has maintained a peacekeeping force
in Georgia since 1993; 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 and Georgia continue to discuss the alignment of their
boundary at certain crossing areas

Refugees and internally displaced persons:
IDPs: 260,000 (displaced from Abkhazia and South Ossetia) (2005)

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 19 December, 2006

@Germany

Introduction Germany

Background:
As Europe's largest economy and second 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
land: 349,223 sq km
water: 7,798 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: 33.13% permanent crops: 0.6% other: 66.27% (2005)

Irrigated land:
4,850 sq km (2003)

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-Persistent Organic Pollutants, 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: none of the selected agreements

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

People Germany

Population:
82,422,299 (July 2006 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 14.1% (male 5,973,437/female 5,665,971)
15-64 years: 66.4% (male 27,889,936/female 26,874,858)
65 years and over: 19.4% (male 6,602,478/female 9,415,619) (2006
est.)

Median age: total: 42.6 years male: 41.3 years female: 43.9 years (2006 est.)

Population growth rate:
-0.02% (2006 est.)

Birth rate:
8.25 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Death rate:
10.62 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Net migration rate:
2.18 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 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: 0.7 male(s)/female
total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 4.12 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 4.56 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 3.66 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 78.8 years
male: 75.81 years
female: 81.96 years (2006 est.)

Total fertility rate:
1.39 children born/woman (2006 est.)

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

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
43,000 (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%
male: 99%
female: 99% (2003 est.)

Government Germany

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

Government type:
federal republic

Capital:
name: Berlin
geographic coordinates: 52 31 N, 13 24 E
time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during
Standard Time)
daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last
Sunday in October

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)
head of government: Chancellor Angela MERKEL (since 22 November 2005)
cabinet: Cabinet or Bundesminister (Federal Ministers) appointed by
the president on the recommendation of the chancellor
elections: president elected for a five-year term (eligible for a
second 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
November 2005 (next to be held November 2009)
election results: Horst KOEHLER elected president; received 604
votes of the Federal Convention against 589 for Gesine SCHWAN;
Angela MERKEL elected chancellor; vote by Federal Assembly 397 to
202 with 12 abstentions

Legislative branch:
bicameral Parliament or Parlament consists of the Federal Assembly
or Bundestag (613 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 three to six votes depending on
population and are required to vote as a block)
elections: Federal Assembly - last held 18 September 2005 (next to
be held September 2009); 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 -
CDU/CSU 35.2%, SPD 34.3%, FDP 9.8%, Left 8.7%, Greens 8.1%; seats by
party - CDU/CSU 225, SPD 222, FDP 61, Left 54, Greens 51

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 [Claudia ROTH 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]; Left Party (Linkspartei. was
Party of Democratic Socialism) or PDS [Lothar BISKY]; Social
Democratic Party or SPD [Kurt BECK]

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

International organization participation:
AfDB, Arctic Council (observer), 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, IPU, ISO, ITU, MIGA, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS
(observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, SECI (observer), UN,
UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNMOVIC, UNOMIG,
UNRWA, UPU, WADB (nonregional), WCO, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO,
ZC

Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Klaus SCHARIOTH chancery: 4645 Reservoir Road NW, Washington, DC 20007 telephone: (202) 298-4000 FAX: (202) 298-4249 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco

Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador William R. TIMKEN, Jr. 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) 2385 174 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 in the world - has become one of the slowest growing
economies in the euro zone. A quick turnaround is not in the offing
in the foreseeable future. Growth in 2001-03 fell short of 1%,
rising to 1.7% in 2004 before falling back to 0.9% in 2005. 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 aging
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. 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):
$2.48 trillion (2005 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):
$2.73 trillion (2005 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
0.9% (2005 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP):
$30,100 (2005 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 0.9% industry: 29.6% services: 69.5% (2005 est.)

Labor force: 43.32 million (2005 est.)

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

Unemployment rate:
11.7% (2005 est.)

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:
28.3 (2000)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
2% (2005 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):
17.1% of GDP (2005 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $1.249 trillion
expenditures: $1.362 trillion; including capital expenditures of $NA
(2005 est.)

Public debt:
67.3% of GDP (2005 est.)

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:
2.9% (2005 est.)

Electricity - production:
558.1 billion kWh (2003)

Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 61.8% hydro: 4.2% nuclear: 29.9% other: 4.1% (2001)

Electricity - consumption:
510.4 billion kWh (2003)

Electricity - exports:
54.1 billion kWh (2003)

Electricity - imports:
45.4 billion kWh (2003)

Oil - production:
158,700 bbl/day (2003)

Oil - consumption:
2.677 million bbl/day (2003)

Oil - exports:
12,990 bbl/day (2003)

Oil - imports:
2.135 million bbl/day (2003)

Oil - proved reserves:
395.8 million bbl (1 January 2004)

Natural gas - production:
22.22 billion cu m (2003 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:
93.88 billion cu m (2003 est.)

Natural gas - exports:
7.731 billion cu m (2003)

Natural gas - imports:
85.02 billion cu m (2003)

Natural gas - proved reserves:
305.8 billion cu m (1 January 2004)

Current account balance:
$115.5 billion (2005 est.)

Exports:
$1.016 trillion f.o.b. (2005 est.)

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

Exports - partners:
France 10.2%, US 8.8%, UK 7.9%, Italy 6.9%, Netherlands 6.1%,
Belgium 5.6%, Austria 5.4%, Spain 5.1% (2005)

Imports:
$801 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)

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

Imports - partners:
France 8.7%, Netherlands 8.5%, US 6.6%, China 6.4%, UK 6.3%, Italy
5.7%, Belgium 5%, Austria 4% (2005)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$101.7 billion (2005 est.)

Debt - external:
$3.626 trillion (30 June 2005)

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

Currency (code):
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 - 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003),
1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001)

Fiscal year:
calendar year

Communications Germany

Telephones - main lines in use:
55.046 million (2005)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
79.2 million (2005)

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:
11,859,131 (2006)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
200 (2001)

Internet users:
50.616 million (2006)

Transportation Germany

Airports: 554 (2006)

Airports - with paved runways: total: 332 over 3,047 m: 13 2,438 to 3,047 m: 54 1,524 to 2,437 m: 58 914 to 1,523 m: 72 under 914 m: 135 (2006)

Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 222 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 33 under 914 m: 185 (2006)

Heliports:
32 (2006)

Pipelines:
condensate 37 km; gas 25,035 km; oil 3,546 km; refined products
3,827 km (2006)

Railways:
total: 47,201 km
standard gauge: 46,948 km 1.435-m gauge (19,674 km electrified)
narrow gauge: 229 km 1.000-m gauge (16 km electrified); 24 km
0.750-m gauge (2005)

Roadways:
total: 231,581 km
paved: 231,581 km (including 12,200 km of expressways) (2005)

Waterways:
7,467 km
note: Rhine River carries most goods; Main-Danube Canal links North
Sea and Black Sea (2005)

Merchant marine:
total: 394 ships (1000 GRT or over) 11,017,754 GRT/13,091,194 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 1, cargo 60, chemical tanker 13, container
273, liquefied gas 3, passenger 6, passenger/cargo 25, petroleum
tanker 10, roll on/roll off 3
foreign-owned: 4 (Finland 2, Italy 1, Switzerland 1)
registered in other countries: 2,491 (Antigua and Barbuda 858,
Australia 3, Bahamas 22, Belize 3, Bermuda 21, Brazil 7, Bulgaria 1,
Burma 5, Canada 3, Cayman Islands 13, Cyprus 214, Denmark 13,
Dominica 1, French Southern and Antarctic Lands 2, Georgia 1,
Gibraltar 108, Guyana 1, Hong Kong 6, Indonesia 1, Ireland 2, Isle
of Man 56, Jamaica 3, Liberia 587, Luxembourg 10, Malaysia 2, Malta
64, Marshall Islands 194, Morocco 2, Netherlands 56, Netherlands
Antilles 60, NZ 1, Panama 35, Portugal 17, Russia 2, Saint Vincent
and the Grenadines 8, Samoa 1, Singapore 9, Spain 12, Sri Lanka 5,
Sweden 3, Turkey 1, UK 76, US 2) (2006)

Ports and terminals:
Bremen, Bremerhaven, Brunsbuttel, Duisburg, Frankfurt, Hamburg,
Karlsruhe, Mainz, Rostock, Wilhemshaven

Military Germany

Military branches:
Federal Armed Forces (Bundeswehr): Army (Heer), Navy (Deutsche
Marine, includes naval air arm), Air Force (Luftwaffe), Joint
Service Support Command (Streitkraeftebasis), Central Medical
Service (Zentraler Sanitaetsdienst) (2006)

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

Manpower available for military service:
males age 18-49: 18,917,537
females age 18-49: 17,913,113 (2005 est.)

Manpower fit for military service:
males age 18-49: 15,258,931
females age 18-49: 14,443,412 (2005 est.)

Manpower reaching military service age annually:
males age 18-49: 497,048
females age 18-49: 470,537 (2005 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 19 December, 2006

@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 a ban on 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. John KUFUOR, who defeated former Vice President
Atta MILLS in a free and fair election, succeeded him.

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 contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 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, petroleum, silver, salt, limestone

Land use: arable land: 17.54% permanent crops: 9.22% other: 73.24% (2005)

Irrigated land:
310 sq km (2003)

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:
22,409,572
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
2006 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 38.8% (male 4,395,744/female 4,288,720)
15-64 years: 57.7% (male 6,450,828/female 6,483,781)
65 years and over: 3.5% (male 371,428/female 419,071) (2006 est.)

Median age:
total: 19.9 years
male: 19.7 years
female: 20.1 years (2006 est.)

Population growth rate:
2.07% (2006 est.)

Birth rate:
30.52 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Death rate:
9.72 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Net migration rate:
-0.11 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.89 male(s)/female
total population: 1 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 55.02 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 59.56 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 50.33 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 58.87 years
male: 58.07 years
female: 59.69 years (2006 est.)

Total fertility rate:
3.99 children born/woman (2006 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:
degree of risk: very high
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea,
hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
vectorborne diseases: malaria and yellow fever are high risks in
some locations
water contact disease: schistosomiasis
respiratory disease: meningococcal meningitis (2005)

Nationality:
noun: Ghanaian(s)
adjective: Ghanaian

Ethnic groups:
African 98.5% (includes 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
total population: 74.8%
male: 82.7%
female: 67.1% (2003 est.)

Government Ghana

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

Government type:
constitutional democracy

Capital:
name: Accra
geographic coordinates: 5 33 N, 0 13 W
time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during
Standard Time)

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 (eligible for a second term);
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, IPU, ISO, ITU, MIGA, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM, OAS (observer),
OIF, ONUB, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNITAR,
UNMEE, UNMIL, UNOCI, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Fritz Kwabena POKU
chancery: 1156 15th St. NW #905, Washington, DC 20005
telephone: (202) 785-1379
FAX: (202) 785-1430
consulate(s) general: New York

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 34% 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, but was included in a G-8 debt relief
program decided upon at the Gleneagles Summit in July 2005.
Priorities under its current $38 million Poverty Reduction and
Growth Facility (PRGF) include tighter monetary and fiscal policies,
accelerated privatization, and improvement of social services.
Receipts from the gold sector helped sustain GDP growth in 2005
along with record high prices for Ghana's largest cocoa crop to
date. Inflation should ease but remains a major internal problem.
Ghana also remains a candidate country to benefit from Millennium
Challenge Corporation (MCC) funding that could assist in
transforming Ghana's agricultural export sector. A final decision on
its MCC bid is expected in spring 2006.

GDP (purchasing power parity):
$54.86 billion (2005 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):
$9.413 billion (2005 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
5.9% (2005 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP):
$2,500 (2005 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 36.6% industry: 24.6% services: 38.7% (2005 est.)

Labor force: 10.62 million (2005 est.)

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

Unemployment rate:
20% (1997 est.)

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:
30 (1999)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
15.1% (2005 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):
23.3% of GDP (2005 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $3.216 billion
expenditures: $3.506 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA
(2005 est.)

Public debt:
75.9% of GDP (2005 est.)

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

Industries:
mining, lumbering, light manufacturing, aluminum smelting, food
processing, cement, small commercial ship building

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

Electricity - production:
5.356 billion kWh (2003)

Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 5% hydro: 95% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001)

Electricity - consumption:
5.081 billion kWh (2003)

Electricity - exports:
400 million kWh (2003)

Electricity - imports:
500 million kWh (2003)

Oil - production:
7,433 bbl/day (2003 est.)

Oil - consumption:
39,000 bbl/day (2003 est.)

Oil - exports:
NA bbl/day

Oil - imports:
NA bbl/day

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

Natural gas - production:
0 cu m (2003 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:
0 cu m (2003 est.)

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

Current account balance:
$-790 million (2005 est.)

Exports:
$2.911 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)

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

Exports - partners:
Netherlands 12.6%, UK 8.3%, US 6.7%, Belgium 5.8%, France 5.7%,
Germany 4.5% (2005)

Imports:
$4.273 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)

Imports - commodities:
capital equipment, petroleum, foodstuffs

Imports - partners:
Nigeria 15.4%, China 12.7%, US 6.4%, UK 5.3%, Netherlands 4.1%,
South Africa 4.1% (2005)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$1.897 billion (2005 est.)

Debt - external:
$6.999 billion (2005 est.)

Economic aid - recipient:
$6.9 billion (1999)

Currency (code):
cedi (GHC)

Currency code:
GHC

Exchange rates:
cedis per US dollar - 9,072.5 (2005), 9,004.6 (2004), 8,677.4
(2003), 7,932.7 (2002), 7,170.8 (2001)

Fiscal year:
calendar year

Communications Ghana

Telephones - main lines in use:
321,500 (2005)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
2.842 million (2005)

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:
380 (2006)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
12 (2000)

Internet users:
401,300 (2005)

Transportation Ghana

Airports: 12 (2006)

Airports - with paved runways: total: 7 over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2006)

Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 5
914 to 1,523 m: 3
under 914 m: 2 (2006)

Pipelines:
oil 13 km; refined products 316 km (2006)

Railways: total: 953 km narrow gauge: 953 km 1.067-m gauge (2005)

Roadways: total: 42,623 km paved: 3,267 km unpaved: 39,356 km (2004)

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
(2005)

Merchant marine:
total: 4 ships (1000 GRT or over) 6,308 GRT/9,418 DWT
by type: cargo 1, petroleum tanker 1, refrigerated cargo 2
foreign-owned: 1 (Brazil 1) (2006)

Ports and terminals:
Takoradi, Tema

Military Ghana

Military branches:
Ghanaian Army, Ghanaian Navy, Ghanaian Air Force (2006)

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

Manpower available for military service:
males age 18-49: 4,808,451
females age 18-49: 4,762,459 (2005 est.)

Manpower fit for military service:
males age 18-49: 3,011,081
females age 18-49: 2,991,551 (2005 est.)

Manpower reaching military service age annually:
males age 18-49: 251,056
females age 18-49: 247,777 (2005 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
$83.65 million (2005 est.)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
0.8% (2005 est.)

Transnational Issues Ghana

Disputes - international: Ghana struggles to accommodate returning nationals who worked in the cocoa plantations and escaped fighting in Cote d'Ivoire

Refugees and internally displaced persons:
refugees (country of origin): 40,853 (Liberia) (2005)

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 money laundering 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 19 December, 2006

@Gibraltar

Introduction Gibraltar

Background:
Strategically important, Gibraltar was reluctantly ceded to Great
Britain by Spain in the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht; the British garrison
was formally declared a colony in 1830. In a referendum held in
1967, Gibraltarians voted overwhelmingly to remain a British
dependency. Although the current 1969 Constitution for Gibraltar
states that the British government will never allow the people of
Gibraltar to pass under the sovereignty of another state against
their freely and democratically expressed wishes, a series of talks
were held by the UK and Spain between 1997 and 2002 on establishing
temporary joint sovereignty over Gibraltar. In response to these
talks, the Gibraltarian Government set up a referendum in late 2002
in which a majority of the citizens voted overwhelmingly against any
sharing of sovereignty with Spain. Since the referendum, tripartite
talks have been held with Spain, the UK, and Gibraltar, and in
September 2006 a three-way agreement was signed. Spain agreed to
allow airlines other than British to serve Gibraltar, to speed up
customs procedures, and to add more telephone lines into Gibraltar.
Britain agreed to pay pensions to Spaniards who had been employed in
Gibraltar before the border closed in 1969. Spain will be allowed to
open a cultural institute from which the Spanish flag will fly.

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
land: 6.5 sq km
water: 0 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% (2005)

Irrigated land:
NA

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:
27,928 (July 2006 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 17.5% (male 2,499/female 2,388)
15-64 years: 66% (male 9,443/female 8,999)
65 years and over: 16.5% (male 2,059/female 2,540) (2006 est.)

Median age:
total: 39.8 years
male: 39.4 years
female: 40.1 years (2006 est.)

Population growth rate:
0.14% (2006 est.)

Birth rate:
10.74 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Death rate:
9.31 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Net migration rate:
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.81 male(s)/female
total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 5.06 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 5.63 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 4.46 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 79.8 years
male: 76.92 years
female: 82.83 years (2006 est.)

Total fertility rate:
1.65 children born/woman (2006 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 78.1%, Church of England 7%, other Christian 3.2%,
Muslim 4%, Jewish 2.1%, Hindu 1.8%, other or unspecified 0.9%, none
2.9% (2001 census)

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:
name: Gibraltar
geographic coordinates: 39 11 N, 5 22 W
time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during
Standard Time)
daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last
Sunday in October

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 British citizens who have
been residents six months or more

Executive branch:
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952),
represented by Governor Sir Robert FULTON (since 27 October 2006)
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
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

Legislative branch:
unicameral House of Assembly (18 seats - 15 elected by popular
vote, 1 appointed for the Speaker, and 2 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:
Self-sufficient 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):
$769 million (2000 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):
NA

GDP - real growth rate:
NA%

GDP - per capita (PPP):
$27,900 (2000 est.)

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

Labor force: 12,690 (including non-Gibraltar laborers) (2001)

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

Unemployment rate:
2% (2001 est.)

Population below poverty line:
NA%

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

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

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:
106.1 million kWh (2003)

Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001)

Electricity - consumption:
98.69 million kWh (2003)

Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2003)

Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2003)

Oil - production:
0 bbl/day (2003 est.)

Oil - consumption:
23,500 bbl/day (2003 est.)

Oil - exports:
NA bbl/day

Oil - imports:
NA bbl/day

Natural gas - production:
0 cu m (2003 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:
0 cu m (2003 est.)

Exports:
$271 million f.o.b. (2004 est.)

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

Exports - partners:
UK 30.8%, Spain 22.7%, Germany 13.7%, Turkmenistan 10.4%,
Switzerland 8.3%, Italy 6.7% (2005)

Imports:
$2.967 billion c.i.f. (2004 est.)

Imports - commodities:
fuels, manufactured goods, and foodstuffs

Imports - partners:
Spain 23.4%, Russia 12.3%, Italy 12%, UK 9%, France 8.9%,
Netherlands 6.8%, US 4.7% (2005)

Debt - external:
$NA (2000 est.)

Economic aid - recipient:
$NA

Currency (code):
Gibraltar pound (GIP)

Currency code:
GIP

Exchange rates:
Gibraltar pounds per US dollar - 0.55 (2005), 0.5462 (2004), 0.6125
(2003), 0.6672 (2002), 0.6947 (2001)
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 hosts:
641 (2006)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
2 (2000)

Internet users:
6,200 (2002)

Transportation Gibraltar

Airports: 1 (2006)

Airports - with paved runways:
total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2006)

Roadways:
total: 29 km
paved: 29 km (2002)

Merchant marine:
total: 180 ships (1000 GRT or over) 1,129,379 GRT/1,437,754 DWT
by type: barge carrier 3, bulk carrier 1, cargo 105, chemical tanker
26, container 26, passenger 1, petroleum tanker 11, roll on/roll off
6, specialized tanker 1
foreign-owned: 165 (Belgium 2, Cyprus 1, Denmark 1, Finland 3,
France 1, Germany 108, Greece 7, Iceland 1, Ireland 1, Italy 6,
Latvia 2, Netherlands 5, Norway 18, Sweden 5, UK 4) (2006)

Ports and terminals:
Gibraltar

Military Gibraltar

Military branches:
Royal Gibraltar Regiment

Manpower available for military service:
males age 18-49: 5,959 (2005 est.)

Manpower fit for military service:
males age 18-49: 4,893 (2005 est.)

Manpower reaching military service age annually:
males age 18-49: 187 (2005 est.)

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:
in 2002, Gibraltar residents voted overwhelmingly by referendum to
reject any "shared sovereignty" arrangement; the government of
Gibraltar insists on equal participation in talks between the UK and
Spain; Spain disapproves of UK plans to grant Gibraltar even greater
autonomy

This page was last updated on 19 December, 2006

@Greece

Introduction Greece

Background:
Greece achieved 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 supporters of the king and Communist rebels. Following the
latter's defeat in 1949, Greece joined 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. In 1981 Greece joined the EC
(now the EU); 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
land: 130,800 sq km
water: 1,140 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: 20.45% permanent crops: 8.59% other: 70.96% (2005)

Irrigated land:
14,530 sq km (2003)

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:
10,688,058 (July 2006 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 14.3% (male 790,291/female 742,902)
15-64 years: 66.7% (male 3,562,251/female 3,566,097)
65 years and over: 19% (male 891,620/female 1,134,897) (2006 est.)

Median age:
total: 40.8 years
male: 39.7 years
female: 42 years (2006 est.)

Population growth rate:
0.18% (2006 est.)

Birth rate:
9.68 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Death rate:
10.24 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Net migration rate:
2.34 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 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: 0.96 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 5.43 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 5.97 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 4.86 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 79.24 years
male: 76.72 years
female: 81.91 years (2006 est.)

Total fertility rate:
1.34 children born/woman (2006 est.)

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

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
9,100 (2001 est.)

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

Nationality:
noun: Greek(s)
adjective: Greek

Ethnic groups:
Greek 98%, Turkish and 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
total population: 97.5%
male: 98.6%
female: 96.5% (2003 est.)

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 long form: Elliniki Dhimokratia
local short form: Ellas or Ellada
former: Kingdom of Greece

Government type:
parliamentary republic

Capital:
name: Athens
geographic coordinates: 37 59 N, 23 44 E
time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during
Standard Time)
daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last
Sunday in October

Administrative divisions:
51 prefectures (nomoi, singular - nomos) and 1 autonomous region*;
Achaia, Agion Oros* (Mt. Athos), Aitolia kai Akarnania, 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; accepts compulsory ICJ
jurisdiction, with reservations

Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal and compulsory

Executive branch:
chief of state: President Karolos PAPOULIAS (since 12 March 2005)
head of government: Prime Minister Konstandinos (Kostas) KARAMANLIS
(since 7 March 2004)
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president on the recommendation of
the prime minister
elections: president elected by parliament for a five-year term
(eligible for a second term); election last held 8 February 2005
(next to be held by February 2010); 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
election results: Karolos PAPOULIAS elected president; number of
parlimentary votes, 279 out of 300

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 or
LAOS [Yeoryios KARATZAFERIS]

Political pressure groups and leaders:
General Confederation of Greek Workers or GSEE [Khristos
POLYZOGOPOULOS]; 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, IPU, ISO, ITU,
MIGA, MINURSO, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD,
OIF, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, SECI, UN, UN Security Council (temporary),
UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIS, UNOMIG, UPU, WCO, WEU,
WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC

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

Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Charles P. RIES embassy: 91 Vasilisis 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 capitalist economy with the public sector accounting
for about 40% of GDP and with per capita GDP at least 75% 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 between
2003 and 2005, largely because of an investment boom and
infrastructure upgrades for the 2004 Athens Olympic Games. Economic
growth slowed to about 3% in 2005. Greece has not met the EU's
Growth and Stability Pact budget deficit criteria of 3% of GDP since
2000. Public debt, inflation, and unemployment are above the
euro-zone average. To overcome these challenges, the Greek
Government is expected to continue cutting government spending,
reducing the size of the public sector, and reforming the labor and
pension systems.

GDP (purchasing power parity):
$238.2 billion (2005 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):
$209.7 billion (2005 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
3.7% (2005 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP):
$22,300 (2005 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 5.4% industry: 21.3% services: 73.3% (2005 est.)

Labor force: 4.72 million (2005 est.)

Labor force - by occupation: agriculture: 12% industry: 20% services: 68% (2004 est.)

Unemployment rate:
9.9% (2005 est.)

Population below poverty line:
NA%

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 3%
highest 10%: 28.3% (1998 est.)

Distribution of family income - Gini index:
35.1 (2003)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
3.5% (2005 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):
24.6% of GDP (2005 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $94.13 billion
expenditures: $103.4 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA
(2005 est.)

Public debt:
106.8% of GDP (2005 est.)

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:
-0.3% (2005 est.)

Electricity - production:
54.56 billion kWh (2003)

Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 94.5% hydro: 3.8% nuclear: 0% other: 1.7% (2001)

Electricity - consumption:
53.5 billion kWh (2005 est.)

Electricity - exports:
2.1 billion kWh (2002)

Electricity - imports:
4.2 billion kWh (2002)

Oil - production:
5,805 bbl/day (2003 est.)

Oil - consumption:
435,700 bbl/day (2005 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:
27 million cu m (2003 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:
2.34 billion cu m (2005 est.)

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

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

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

Current account balance:
$-17.86 billion (2005 est.)

Exports:
$18.54 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)

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

Exports - partners:
Germany 12.4%, Italy 10.4%, UK 6.7%, Bulgaria 5.9%, US 5.3%, Cyprus
5.2%, Turkey 5.1%, France 4.2% (2005)

Imports:
$48.2 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)

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

Imports - partners:
Germany 12.7%, Italy 12.4%, Russia 7.8%, France 5.7%, Netherlands
5.5%, Saudi Arabia 4.1% (2005)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$2.287 billion (2005 est.)

Debt - external:
$75.18 billion (2005 est.)

Economic aid - recipient:
$8 billion from EU (2000-06)

Currency (code):
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 - 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003),
1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001)

Fiscal year:
calendar year

Communications Greece

Telephones - main lines in use:
6.303 million (2005)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
10.043 million (2005)

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:
587,717 (2006)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
27 (2000)

Internet users:
3.8 million (2005)

Transportation Greece

Airports: 82 (2006)

Airports - with paved runways: total: 66 over 3,047 m: 5 2,438 to 3,047 m: 16 1,524 to 2,437 m: 19 914 to 1,523 m: 17 under 914 m: 9 (2006)

Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 16 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 13 (2006)

Heliports:
8 (2006)

Pipelines:
gas 1,166 km; oil 94 km (2006)

Railways:
total: 2,571 km
standard gauge: 1,565 km 1.435-m gauge (764 km electrified)
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) (2005)

Roadways:
total: 116,470 km
paved: 106,920 km (including 880 km of expressways)
unpaved: 9,550 km (1999)

Waterways:
6 km
note: Corinth Canal (6 km) crosses the Isthmus of Corinth; shortens
sea voyage by 325 km (2006)

Merchant marine:
total: 817 ships (1000 GRT or over) 31,895,832 GRT/54,341,584 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 270, cargo 61, chemical tanker 47, container
47, liquefied gas 5, passenger 11, passenger/cargo 114, petroleum
tanker 244, roll on/roll off 17, specialized tanker 1
foreign-owned: 24 (Belgium 12, Cyprus 1, Hong Kong 1, UK 9, US 1)
registered in other countries: 2,363 (Bahamas 232, Barbados 11,
Belgium 4, Belize 2, Bermuda 2, Cambodia 8, Cayman Islands 21,
Comoros 10, Cyprus 337, Denmark 5, Dominica 5, Egypt 6, Georgia 8,
Gibraltar 7, Honduras 3, Hong Kong 27, Isle of Man 45, Italy 6,
Jamaica 6, North Korea 1, Lebanon 3, Liberia 267, Malta 495,
Marshall Islands 199, Norway 1, Panama 524, Philippines 5, Portugal
4, Russia 1, Saint Kitts and Nevis 1, Saint Vincent and the
Grenadines 82, Sao Tome and Principe 1, Singapore 9, Slovakia 4, UAE
2, UK 7, Uruguay 1, US 1, Venezuela 3, unknown 7) (2006)

Ports and terminals:
Agioitheodoroi, Aspropyrgos, Irakleion, Pachi, Piraeus, Thessaloniki

Military Greece

Military branches:
Hellenic Army (Ellinikos Stratos, ES), Hellenic Navy (Ellinikos
Polemiko Navtiko, EPN), Hellenic Air Force (Elliniki Polimiki
Aeroporia, EPA) (2006)

Military service age and obligation: 18 years of age for compulsory military service; during wartime the law allows for recruitment beginning 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, Air Force; 15 months for Navy; women are eligible for military service (2005)

Manpower available for military service:
males age 18-49: 2,459,988
females age 18-49: 2,442,818 (2005 est.)

Manpower fit for military service:
males age 18-49: 2,018,557
females age 18-49: 2,000,650 (2005 est.)

Manpower reaching military service age annually:
males age 18-49: 58,399
females age 18-49: 55,571 (2005 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
$5.89 billion (2004)

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

Transnational Issues Greece

Disputes - international:
Greece and Turkey continue discussions to resolve their complex
maritime, air, territorial, and boundary disputes in the Aegean Sea;
Cyprus question with Turkey; Greece rejects the use of the name
Macedonia or Republic of Macedonia

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 19 December, 2006

@Greenland

Introduction Greenland

Background:
Greenland, the world's largest island, 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 EU) 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% (2005)

Irrigated land:
NA

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:
56,361 (July 2006 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 24.5% (male 7,072/female 6,740)
15-64 years: 68.9% (male 20,904/female 17,919)
65 years and over: 6.6% (male 1,768/female 1,958) (2006 est.)

Median age:
total: 34 years
male: 35.3 years
female: 32.3 years (2006 est.)

Population growth rate:
-0.03% (2006 est.)

Birth rate:
15.93 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Death rate:
7.84 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Net migration rate:
-8.37 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.02 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.17 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.9 male(s)/female
total population: 1.12 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 15.4 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 16.73 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 14.03 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 69.94 years
male: 66.36 years
female: 73.6 years (2006 est.)

Total fertility rate:
2.4 children born/woman (2006 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% (2000)

Religions:
Evangelical Lutheran

Languages:
Greenlandic (East Inuit), Danish, English

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 100%
male: 100%
female: 100% (2001 est.)

Government Greenland

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

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:
name: Nuuk (Godthab)
geographic coordinates: 64 11 N, 51 44 W
time difference: UTC-3 (2 hours ahead of Washington, DC during
Standard Time)
daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last
Sunday in October
note: Greenland is divided into four time zones

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 Soren MOLLER (since April
2005)
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)
election results: Hans ENOKSEN elected prime minister
note: government coalition - Siumut and Inuit Ataqatigiit

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)
elections: last held on 15 November 2005 (next to be held by
December 2009)
election results: percent of vote by party - Siumut 30.7%,
Demokratiit 22.8%, Inuit Ataqatigiit 22.6%, Atassut Party 19.1%;
Katusseqatigiit 4.1%, other 0.7%; seats by party - Siumut 10,
Demokratiit 7, Inuit Ataqatigiit 7, Atassut 6, Katusseqatigiit 1
note: two representatives were elected to the Danish Parliament or
Folketing on 8 February 2005 (next to be held February 2009);
percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - Siumut 1, Inuit
Ataqatigiit 1

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) [Finn KARLSEN]; 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; 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:
Arctic Council, 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 mineral exploration activities, it will take a
number of 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 (official exchange rate):
NA

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

GDP - per capita (PPP):
$20,000 (2001 est.)

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

Labor force:
24,500 (1999 est.)

Unemployment rate:
10% (2000 est.)

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.)

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); gold,
niobium, tantalite, uranium, iron and diamond mining; handicrafts,
hides and skins, small shipyards

Industrial production growth rate:
NA%

Electricity - production:
242.2 million kWh (2003)

Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0%
note: Greenland is shifting its electricity production from fossil
fuel to hydropower production (2001)

Electricity - consumption:
225.3 million kWh (2003)

Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2003)

Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2003)

Oil - production:
0 bbl/day (2003 est.)

Oil - consumption:
3,850 bbl/day (2003 est.)

Oil - exports:
NA bbl/day

Oil - imports:
NA bbl/day

Natural gas - production:
0 cu m (2003 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:
0 cu m (2003 est.)

Exports:
$480 million f.o.b. (2004 est.)

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

Exports - partners:
Denmark 62.5%, Japan 12.3%, China 5.3% (2005)

Imports:
$601 million c.i.f. (2004 est.)

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

Imports - partners:
Denmark 66.8%, Sweden 19.3%, Ireland 3.6% (2005)

Debt - external:
$25 million (1999)

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

Currency (code):
Danish krone (DKK)

Currency code:
DKK

Exchange rates:
Danish kroner per US dollar - 5.9969 (2005), 5.9911 (2004), 6.5877
(2003), 7.8947 (2002), 8.3228 (2001)

Fiscal year:
calendar year

Communications Greenland

Telephones - main lines in use:
25,300 (2002)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
32,200 (2004)

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:
8,851 (2006)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
1 (2000)

Internet users:
38,000 (2005)

Transportation Greenland

Airports:
14 (2006)

Airports - with paved runways:
total: 9
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 1
under 914 m: 5 (2006)

Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 5
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 2
under 914 m: 2 (2006)

Roadways:
total: NA
note: while there are short roads in towns, there are no roads
between towns; inter-town transport takes place either by sea or air
(2005)

Merchant marine:
total: 3 ships (1000 GRT or over) 5,540 GRT/2,540 DWT
by type: cargo 1, passenger 2
registered in other countries: 2 (Cyprus 1, Denmark 1) (2006)

Ports and terminals:
Sisimiut

Military Greenland

Manpower available for military service:
males age 18-49: 14,653 (2005 est.)

Manpower fit for military service:
males age 18-49: 10,199 (2005 est.)

Manpower reaching military service age annually:
males age 18-49: 440 (2005 est.)

Military - note:
defense is the responsibility of Denmark

Transnational Issues Greenland

Disputes - international: managed 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 19 December, 2006

@Grenada

Introduction Grenada

Background:
Carib Indians inhabited Grenada when COLUMBUS discovered the island
in 1498, but it remained uncolonized for more than a century. The
French settled Grenada in the 17th century, established sugar
estates, and imported large numbers of African slaves. Britain took
the island in 1762 and vigorously expanded sugar production. In the
19th century, cacao eventually surpassed sugar as the main export
crop; in the 20th century, nutmeg became the leading export. In
1967, Britain gave Grenada autonomy over its internal affairs. Full
independence was attained in 1974 making Grenada 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 and have continued since that time. Hurricane Ivan struck
Grenada in September of 2004 causing severe damage.

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
land: 344 sq km
water: 0 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% (2005)

Irrigated land:
NA

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:
89,703 (July 2006 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 33.4% (male 15,097/female 14,820)
15-64 years: 63.4% (male 30,106/female 26,764)
65 years and over: 3.3% (male 1,394/female 1,522) (2006 est.)

Median age:
total: 21.7 years
male: 22.1 years
female: 21.2 years (2006 est.)

Population growth rate:
0.26% (2006 est.)

Birth rate:
22.08 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Death rate:
6.88 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Net migration rate:
-12.59 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.13 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.92 male(s)/female
total population: 1.08 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 14.27 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 13.87 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 14.67 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 64.87 years
male: 63.06 years
female: 66.68 years (2006 est.)

Total fertility rate:
2.34 children born/woman (2006 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: 96%
male: NA%
female: NA% (2003 est.)

Government Grenada

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

Government type:
parliamentary democracy

Capital:
name: Saint George's
geographic coordinates: 12 03 N, 61 45 W
time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during
Standard Time)

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 3 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
November 2008)
election results: House of Representatives - percent of vote by
party - NNP 46.65%, NDC 44.12%; seats by party - NNP 8, NDC 7

Judicial branch:
Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, consisting of a court of Appeal
and a High Court of Justice (a High Court judge is assigned to and
resides in Grenada)

Political parties and leaders:
Good Old Democracy or GOD [Justin MCBURNIE]; Grenada United Labor
Party or GULP [Gloria Payne BANFIELD]; National Democratic Congress
or NDC [Tillman THOMAS]; New National Party or NNP [Keith MITCHELL];
People Labor Movement or PLM [Dr. Francis ALEXIS]

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, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO,
UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WTO

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

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: the US Ambassador to Barbados is accredited to
Grenada
embassy: Lance-aux-Epines Stretch, Saint George's
mailing address: P. O. Box 54, Saint George's
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 (official exchange rate):
$454 million

GDP - real growth rate:
0.9% (2005 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP):
$3,900 (2005 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 5.4% industry: 18% services: 76.6% (2000)

Labor force: 42,300 (1996)

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

Unemployment rate:
12.5% (2000)

Population below poverty line:
32% (2000)

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
3% (2005 est.)

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:
159.8 million kWh (2003)

Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001)

Electricity - consumption:
148.6 million kWh (2003)

Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2003)

Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2003)

Oil - production:
0 bbl/day (2003 est.)

Oil - consumption:
1,800 bbl/day (2003 est.)

Oil - exports:
NA bbl/day

Oil - imports:
NA bbl/day

Natural gas - production:
0 cu m (2003 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:
0 cu m (2003 est.)

Exports:
$40 million (2004 est.)

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

Exports - partners:
Saint Lucia 12.1%, US 11.3%, Antigua and Barbuda 8.2%, Germany
7.9%, Netherlands 7.8%, Saint Kitts & Nevis 7.4%, Dominica 7.4%, UK
6.8%, France 4.2% (2005)

Imports:
$276 million (2004 est.)

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

Imports - partners:
Trinidad and Tobago 27.8%, US 27%, UK 6% (2005)

Debt - external:
$347 million (2004)

Economic aid - recipient:
$15.4 million (2004)

Currency (code):
East Caribbean dollar (XCD)

Currency code:
XCD

Exchange rates:
East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7 (2005), 2.7 (2004), 2.7
(2003), 2.7 (2002), 2.7 (2001)

Fiscal year:
calendar year

Communications Grenada

Telephones - main lines in use:
32,700 (2004)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
43,300 (2004)

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:
17 (2006)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
14 (2000)

Internet users:
19,000 (2005)

Transportation Grenada

Airports:
3 (2006)

Airports - with paved runways:
total: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2006)

Roadways:
total: 1,127 km
paved: 687 km
unpaved: 440 km (1999)

Ports and terminals:
Saint George's

Military Grenada

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

Manpower available for military service:
males age 18-49: 24,031 (2005 est.)

Manpower fit for military service:
males age 18-49: 17,483 (2005 est.)

Manpower reaching military service age annually:
males age 18-49: 1,274 (2005 est.)

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 19 December, 2006

@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
land: 1,706 sq km
water: 74 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)

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

Land boundaries: total: 15 km border countries: Netherlands Antilles (Sint Maarten) 15 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: 11.7% permanent crops: 2.92% other: 85.38% (2005)

Irrigated land:
60 sq km (2003)

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:
452,776 (July 2006 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 23.6% (male 54,725/female 52,348)
15-64 years: 67.1% (male 150,934/female 153,094)
65 years and over: 9.2% (male 17,353/female 24,322) (2006 est.)

Median age:
total: 32.2 years
male: 31.3 years
female: 33.2 years (2006 est.)

Population growth rate:
0.88% (2006 est.)

Birth rate:
15.05 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Death rate:
6.09 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Net migration rate:
-0.15 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female
total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 8.41 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 9.59 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 7.16 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 78.06 years
male: 74.91 years
female: 81.37 years (2006 est.)

Total fertility rate:
1.9 children born/woman (2006 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 long form: Departement de la Guadeloupe
local short form: Guadeloupe

Dependency status:
overseas department of France

Government type:
NA

Capital:
name: Basse-Terre
geographic coordinates: 16 00 N, 61 44 W
time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during
Standard Time)

Administrative divisions:
none (overseas department of France)

Independence:
none (overseas department of France)

National holiday:
Bastille Day, 14 July (1789)

Constitution:
4 October 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 Jean-Jacques BROT (since 12 June 2006)
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
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
election results: 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 March 2004 (next to be held
by in 2010); Regional Council - last held 28 March 2004 (next to be
held in March 2008 to elect half of the body)
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
note: Guadeloupe elects two representatives to the French Senate;
elections last held September 2004 (next to be held September 2013);
percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA, Guadeloupe
elects four representatives to the French National Assembly;
elections last held 9 June-16 June 2002 (next to be held June 2007);
percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - RPR 2, PS 1,
different right parties 1

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
[Jules OTTO]; Union for French Democracy or UDF [Claudine LACAVE];
Union for a Popular Movement or UMP (including Rassemblement pour la
Republique or RPR) [Gabrielle LOUIS-CARABIN]

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:
UPU, WCL, WFTU

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

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

Flag description:
unofficial, local flag based upon the arms of the city of
Pointe-a-Pitre; the field is divided horizontally with a narrow,
blue stripe along the top edge charged with three gold
fleurs-de-lis; the wider, lower portion of the field is black and
charged with green sugar cane leaves - representing one of
Guadeloupe's main crops - surmounted by a gold radiant sun
representing the tropical climate; the only official flag is the
national flag of France

Economy Guadeloupe

Economy - overview:
This 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 (official exchange rate):
NA

GDP - real growth rate:
NA%

GDP - per capita (PPP):
$7,900 (2003 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 15% industry: 17% services: 68% (2002 est.)

Labor force: 191,400 (1999)

Labor force - by occupation: agriculture: 15% industry: 20% services: 65% (2002)

Unemployment rate:
26.9% (2003)

Population below poverty line:
NA%

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
NA%

Budget:
revenues: $637.7 million
expenditures: $680.1 million; including capital expenditures of
$112.5 million (2002)

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

Industries:
construction, cement, rum, sugar, tourism

Industrial production growth rate:
NA%

Electricity - production:
1.165 billion kWh (2003)

Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001)

Electricity - consumption:
1.084 billion kWh (2003)

Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2003)

Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2003)

Oil - production:
0 bbl/day (2003 est.)

Oil - consumption:
13,000 bbl/day (2003 est.)

Oil - exports:
NA bbl/day

Oil - imports:
NA bbl/day

Natural gas - production:
0 cu m (2003 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:
0 cu m (2003 est.)

Exports:
$147.8 million f.o.b. (2002)

Exports - commodities:
bananas, sugar, rum, melons, spring water

Exports - partners:
France 60%, Martinique 18%, US 4% (2004)

Imports:
$1.766 billion c.i.f. (2002)

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%
(2004)

Debt - external:
$NA

Economic aid - recipient:
$NA; note - substantial annual French subsidies (2004)

Currency (code):
euro (EUR)

Currency code:
EUR

Exchange rates:
euros per US dollar - 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003),
1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 j(2001)

Fiscal year:
calendar year

Communications Guadeloupe

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

Telephones - mobile cellular:
314,700 (2004)

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 hosts:
422 (2006)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
3 (2000)

Internet users:
79,000 (2005)

Transportation Guadeloupe

Airports: 9 (2006)

Airports - with paved runways: total: 8 over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 5 (2006)

Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2006)

Roadways:
total: 947 km (2002)

Ports and terminals:
Basse-Terre, Gustavia, Pointe-a-Pitre

Military Guadeloupe

Military branches:
no regular military forces

Manpower available for military service:
males age 18-49: 112,551 (2005 est.)

Manpower fit for military service:
males age 18-49: 92,834 (2005 est.)

Manpower reaching military service age annually:
males age 18-49: 3,364 (2005 est.)

Military - note:
defense is the responsibility of France

Transnational Issues Guadeloupe

Disputes - international: none

This page was last updated on 19 December, 2006

@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: 541.3 sq km
land: 541.3 sq km
water: 0 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 (January to June), rainy season (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: 3.64% permanent crops: 18.18% other: 78.18% (2005)

Irrigated land:
NA

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:
171,019 (July 2006 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 29% (male 25,703/female 23,903)
15-64 years: 64.3% (male 56,020/female 53,894)
65 years and over: 6.7% (male 5,391/female 6,108) (2006 est.)

Median age:
total: 28.6 years
male: 28.3 years
female: 28.8 years (2006 est.)

Population growth rate:
1.43% (2006 est.)

Birth rate:
18.79 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Death rate:
4.48 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Net migration rate:
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.08 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.88 male(s)/female
total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 6.81 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 7.48 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 6.1 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 78.58 years
male: 75.52 years
female: 81.83 years (2006 est.)

Total fertility rate:
2.58 children born/woman (2006 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
NA

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

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
NA

Nationality:
noun: Guamanian(s) (US citizens)
adjective: Guamanian

Ethnic groups:
Chamorro 37.1%, Filipino 26.3%, other Pacific islander 11.3%, white
6.9%, other Asian 6.3%, other ethnic origin or race 2.3%, mixed 9.8%
(2000 census)

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

Languages:
English 38.3%, Chamorro 22.2%, Philippine languages 22.2%, other
Pacific island languages 6.8%, Asian languages 7%, other languages
3.5% (2000 census)

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
local short 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:
name: Hagatna (Agana)
geographic coordinates: 13 28 N, 144 45 E
time difference: UTC+10 (15 hours ahead of Washington, DC during
Standard Time)

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 Guam, 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)
head of government: Governor Felix P. CAMACHO (since 6 January 2003)
and Lieutenant Governor Kaleo MOYLAN (since 6 January 2003)
cabinet: heads of executive departments; appointed by the governor
with the consent of the Guam legislature
elections: under the US Consitution, residents of unincorporated
territories, such as Guam, do not vote in elections for US president
and vice president; governor and lieutenant governor elected on the
same ticket by popular vote for four-year term (can serve two
consecutive terms, then must wait a full term before running again);
election last held 7 November 2006 (next to be held November 2010)
election results: Felix P. CAMACHO reelected governor; Dr. Michael
W. CRUZ elected lieutenant governor; percent of vote - NA

Legislative branch:
unicameral Legislature (15 seats; members are elected by popular
vote to serve two-year terms)
elections: last held 7 November 2006 (next to be held November 2008)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party -
Republican Party 8, Democratic Party 7
note: Guam elects one nonvoting delegate to the US House of
Representatives; election last held 7 November 2006 (next to be held
November 2008); results - Madeleine BORDALLO (Democratic Party) was
reelected as delegate; percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party
- Democratic Party 1

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

Political parties and leaders:
Democratic Party [leader Michael PHILLIPS]; Republican Party
(controls the legislature) [leader Philip J. FLORES]

Political pressure groups and leaders:
NA

International organization participation:
IOC, SPC, 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 largely on US military spending and tourism.
Total US grants, wage payments, and procurement outlays amounted to
$1.3 billion in 2004. Over the past 30 years, the tourist industry
has grown to become the largest income source following national
defense. The Guam economy continues to experience expansion in both
its tourism and military sectors.

GDP (purchasing power parity):
$2.5 billion (2005 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):
$2.773 billion

GDP - real growth rate:
NA%

GDP - per capita (PPP):
$15,000 (2005 est.)

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

Labor force: 62,050 (2002 est.)

Labor force - by occupation: agriculture: 26% industry: 10% services: 64% (2004 est.)

Unemployment rate:
11.4% (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):
2.5% (2005 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $319.6 million
expenditures: $427.8 million (2002 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:
840.1 million kWh (2003)

Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001)

Electricity - consumption:
781.3 million kWh (2003)

Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2003)

Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2003)

Oil - production:
0 bbl/day (2003 est.)

Oil - consumption:
19,000 bbl/day (2003 est.)

Oil - exports:
NA bbl/day

Oil - imports:
NA bbl/day

Natural gas - production:
0 cu m (2003 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:
0 cu m (2003 est.)

Exports:
$45 million f.o.b. (2004 est.)

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

Exports - partners:
Japan 67.2%, Singapore 11.6%, UK 4.8% (2005)

Imports:
$701 million f.o.b. (2004 est.)

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

Imports - partners:
Singapore 50%, South Korea 21.4%, Japan 14%, Hong Kong 4.6% (2005)

Debt - external:
$NA

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 (code):
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:
98,000 (2004)

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 3, FM 11, shortwave 2 (2006)

Radios:
221,000 (1997)

Television broadcast stations:
3; 6 (Low Power TV) (2006)

Televisions:
106,000 (1997)

Internet country code:
.gu

Internet hosts:
76 (2006)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
20 (2000)

Internet users:
79,000 (2004)

Transportation Guam

Airports: 5 (2006)

Airports - with paved runways: total: 4 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2006)

Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2006)

Roadways:
total: 977 km (2004)

Ports and terminals:
Apra Harbor

Military Guam

Military - note: defense is the responsibility of the US

Transnational Issues Guam

Disputes - international: none

This page was last updated on 19 December, 2006

@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 left more than 100,000
people dead 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
land: 108,430 sq km
water: 460 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

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: 13.22% permanent crops: 5.6% other: 81.18% (2005)

Irrigated land:
1,300 sq km (2003)

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:
12,293,545 (July 2006 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 41.1% (male 2,573,359/female 2,479,098)
15-64 years: 55.5% (male 3,353,630/female 3,468,184)
65 years and over: 3.4% (male 194,784/female 224,490) (2006 est.)

Median age:
total: 18.9 years
male: 18.5 years
female: 19.4 years (2006 est.)

Population growth rate:
2.27% (2006 est.)

Birth rate:
29.88 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Death rate:
5.2 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Net migration rate:
-1.94 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.87 male(s)/female
total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 30.94 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 33.55 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 28.2 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 69.38 years
male: 67.65 years
female: 71.18 years (2006 est.)

Total fertility rate:
3.82 children born/woman (2006 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 - in local Spanish called Ladino)
and European 59.4%, K'iche 9.1%, Kaqchikel 8.4%, Mam 7.9%, Q'eqchi
6.3%, other Mayan 8.6%, indigenous non-Mayan 0.2%, other 0.1% (2001
census)

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 long form: Republica de Guatemala
local short form: Guatemala

Government type:
constitutional democratic republic

Capital:
name: Guatemala
geographic coordinates: 14 38 N, 90 31 W
time difference: UTC-6 (1 hour behind Washington, DC during Standard
Time)
daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in April; ends last
Friday in September; note - there is no DST planned for 2007-2009

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 Jorge 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)
cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president
elections: president elected by popular vote for a four-year term
(may not serve consecutive terms); election last held 9 November
2003; runoff held 28 December 2003 (next to be held September 2007)
election results: Oscar BERGER Perdomo elected president; percent of
vote - Oscar BERGER Perdomo (GANA) 54.1%, Alvarado 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 September 2007)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party -
GANA 49, FRG 41, UNE 33, PAN 17, other 18
note: for the 9 November 2003 election, the number of congressional
seats increased from 113 to 158

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 (13 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]; Grand
National Alliance or GANA (an alliance of smaller parties) [Alfredo
VILA Giron, secretary general]; 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 [Ret. Gen. Otto PEREZ Molina];
Progressive Liberator Party or PLP [Acisclo VALLADARES Molina];
Reform Movement or MR [Alfredo SKINNER-KLEE, secretary general];
Unionista Party

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, ICC, ICFTU,
ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM,
IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITU, LAES, LAIA (observer), MIGA,
MINUSTAH, MONUC, NAM, OAS, ONUB, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD,
UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIS, 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
telephone: (202) 745-4952
FAX: (202) 745-1908
consulate(s) general: Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami,
New York, Providence, San Francisco

Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador James M. DERHAM embassy: 7-01 Avenida Reforma, Zone 10, Guatemala City mailing address: APO AA 34024 telephone: 2326-4000 FAX: 2326-4654

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. Other 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):
$56.86 billion (2005 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):
$26.98 billion (2005 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
3.2% (2005 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP):
$4,700 (2005 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 22.7% industry: 18.8% services: 58.5% (2005 est.)

Labor force: 3.76 million (2005 est.)

Labor force - by occupation: agriculture: 50% industry: 15% services: 35% (1999 est.)

Unemployment rate:
7.5% (2003 est.)

Population below poverty line:
75% (2004 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 1.6% highest 10%: 46% (1998)

Distribution of family income - Gini index:
48.3 (2000)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
9.1% (2005 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):
15.6% of GDP (2005 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $3.374 billion
expenditures: $4.041 billion; including capital expenditures of $750
million (2005 est.)

Public debt:
25.9% of GDP (2005 est.)

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:
6.898 billion kWh (2003)

Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 51.9% hydro: 35.2% nuclear: 0% other: 12.9% (2001)

Electricity - consumption:
6.025 billion kWh (2003)

Electricity - exports:
425 million kWh (2003)

Electricity - imports:
35 million kWh (2003)

Oil - production:
22,300 bbl/day (2005 est.)

Oil - consumption:
66,000 bbl/day (2003 est.)

Oil - exports:
3,104 bbl/day (2003)

Oil - imports:
NA bbl/day

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

Natural gas - production:
0 cu m (2003 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:
0 cu m (2003 est.)

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

Current account balance:
$-1.341 billion (2005 est.)

Exports:
$3.94 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)

Exports - commodities:
coffee, sugar, petroleum, apparel, bananas, fruits and vegetables,
cardamom

Exports - partners:
US 50.1%, El Salvador 12.1%, Honduras 7.3%, Mexico 4% (2005)

Imports:
$7.744 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)

Imports - commodities:
fuels, machinery and transport equipment, construction materials,
grain, fertilizers, electricity

Imports - partners:
US 38.1%, Mexico 7.6%, El Salvador 4.8%, South Korea 4.8%, Panama
4.4% (2005)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$3.673 billion (2005 est.)

Debt - external:
$5.503 billion (2005 est.)

Economic aid - recipient:
$250 million (2000 est.)

Currency (code):
quetzal (GTQ), US dollar (USD), others allowed

Currency code:
GTQ; USD

Exchange rates:
quetzales per US dollar - 7.6339 (2005), 7.9465 (2004), 7.9409
(2003), 7.8217 (2002), 7.8586 (2001)

Fiscal year:
calendar year

Communications Guatemala

Telephones - main lines in use:
1,132,100 (2004)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
3,168,300 (2004)

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:
49,026 (2006)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
5 (2000)

Internet users:
756,000 (2005)

Transportation Guatemala

Airports: 450 (2006)

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 (2006)

Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 439
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 8
914 to 1,523 m: 111
under 914 m: 319 (2006)

Pipelines:
oil 480 km (2006)

Railways:
total: 886 km
narrow gauge: 886 km 0.914-m gauge (2005)

Roadways:
total: 14,095 km
paved: 4,863 km (including 75 km of expressways)
unpaved: 9,232 km (1999)

Waterways:
990 km
note: 260 km navigable year round; additional 730 km navigable
during high-water season (2004)

Ports and terminals:
Puerto Quetzal, Santo Tomas de Castilla

Military Guatemala

Military branches:
Army, Navy (includes marines), Air Force

Military service age and obligation: all male citizens between the ages of 18 and 50 are liable for military service; conscript service obligation varies from 12 to 24 months (2005)

Manpower available for military service:
males age 18-49: 2,429,033
females age 18-49: 2,503,482 (2005 est.)

Manpower fit for military service:
males age 18-49: 1,911,412
females age 18-49: 2,070,806 (2005 est.)

Manpower reaching military service age annually:
males age 18-49: 134,032
females age 18-49: 130,641 (2005 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
$169.8 million (2005 est.)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
0.5% (2005 est.)

Transnational Issues Guatemala

Disputes - international:
Guatemalan squatters continue to settle in the rain forests of
Belize's border region; Organization of American States (OAS) is
attempting to revive the 2002 failed Differendum that created a
small adjustment to land boundary, a Guatemalan maritime corridor in
Caribbean, a joint ecological park for the disputed Sapodilla Cays,
and a substantial US-UK financial package; Guatemalans enter Mexico
illegally 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) 30,000 (Hurricane "Stan" October 2005)
(2005)

Illicit drugs:
major transit country for cocaine and heroin; in 2004, reemerged as
a potential source of opium, growing 330 hectares of opium poppy,
with potential pure heroin production of 1.4 metric tons; 76% of
opium poppy cultivation in western highlands along Mexican border;
marijuana cultivation 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

This page was last updated on 19 December, 2006

@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. Guernsey is a British
crown dependency, but is not part of the UK.

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
land: 78 sq km
water: 0 sq km
note: includes Alderney, Guernsey, Herm, Sark, and some other
smaller islands

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%

Irrigated land:
NA

Natural hazards:
NA

Environment - current issues:
NA

Geography - note:
large, deepwater harbor at Saint Peter Port

People Guernsey

Population:
65,409 (July 2006 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 15% (male 4,998/female 4,842)
15-64 years: 67.1% (male 21,752/female 22,170)
65 years and over: 17.8% (male 4,926/female 6,721) (2006 est.)

Median age:
total: 41.3 years
male: 40.4 years
female: 42.2 years (2006 est.)

Population growth rate:
0.26% (2006 est.)

Birth rate:
8.81 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Death rate:
10.01 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Net migration rate:
3.82 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.73 male(s)/female
total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 4.65 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 5.19 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 4.08 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 80.42 years
male: 77.41 years
female: 83.53 years (2006 est.)

Total fertility rate:
1.39 children born/woman (2006 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:
name: Saint Peter Port
geographic coordinates: 49 27 N, 2 32 W
time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during
Standard Time)
daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last
Sunday in October

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 Castel, Forest, Saint Andrew, Saint
Martin, Saint Peter Port, Saint Pierre du Bois, Saint Sampson, Saint
Saviour, Torteval, Vale

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 statutes; 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 Sir Fabian MALBON (since 28
October 2005)
head of government: Chief Minister Laurie MORGAN (since 1 May 2004)
cabinet: Policy Council elected by the States of Deliberation
elections: the monarch is hereditary; lieutenant governor appointed
by the monarch; chief minister is elected by States of Delibertion
election results: Laurie MORGAN elected chief minister, percent of
vote of the States of Deliberation NA

Legislative branch:
unicameral States of Deliberation (45 seats; members are elected by
popular vote for four years); note - Alderney and Sark have their
own parliaments
elections: last held 21 April 2004 (next to be held in 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 - account
for about 55% of total income in this tiny, prosperous 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):
$2.59 billion (2003 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):
NA

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

GDP - per capita (PPP):
$40,000 (2003 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 3% industry: 10% services: 87% (2000)

Labor force:
32,290 (2001)

Unemployment rate:
0.5% (1999 est.)

Population below poverty line:
NA%

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
4.9% (2004 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $539.2 million
expenditures: $448.3 million; including capital expenditures of $NA
(2002)

Agriculture - products:
tomatoes, greenhouse flowers, sweet peppers, eggplant, fruit;
Guernsey cattle

Industries:
tourism, banking

Industrial production growth rate:
NA%

Electricity - production:
NA kWh

Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: NA hydro: NA nuclear: NA other: NA

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; note - regarded as internal trade (2004)

Imports:
$NA

Imports - commodities:
coal, gasoline, oil, machinery and equipment

Imports - partners:
UK; note - regarded as internal trade (2004)

Debt - external:
$NA

Economic aid - recipient:
$NA

Currency (code):
British pound (GBP); note - there is also a Guernsey pound

Currency code:
GBP

Exchange rates:
Guernsey pounds per US dollar - 0.55 (2005), 0.5462 (2004), 0.6125
(2003), 0.6672 (2002), 0.6947 (2001)
note: the Guernsey pound is at par with the British pound

Fiscal year:
calendar year

Communications Guernsey

Telephones - main lines in use:
55,100 (2004)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
43,800 (2004)

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 hosts:
1,245 (2006)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
NA

Internet users:
36,000 (2005)

Transportation Guernsey

Airports: 2 (one on Alderney) (2006)

Airports - with paved runways: total: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2006)

Roadways:
total: NA

Ports and terminals:
Saint Peter Port, Saint Sampson

Military Guernsey

Military - note: defense is the responsibility of the UK

Transnational Issues Guernsey

Disputes - international: none

This page was last updated on 19 December, 2006

@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
land: 245,857 sq km
water: 0 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, salt

Land use: arable land: 4.47% permanent crops: 2.64% other: 92.89% (2005)

Irrigated land:
950 sq km (2003)

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:
9,690,222 (July 2006 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 44.4% (male 2,171,733/female 2,128,027)
15-64 years: 52.5% (male 2,541,140/female 2,542,847)
65 years and over: 3.2% (male 134,239/female 172,236) (2006 est.)

Median age:
total: 17.7 years
male: 17.4 years
female: 17.9 years (2006 est.)

Population growth rate:
2.63% (2006 est.)

Birth rate:
41.76 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Death rate:
15.48 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Net migration rate:
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population
note: as a result of conflict in neighboring countries, Guinea is
host to approximately 141,500 refugees from Cote d'Ivoire, Liberia,
and Sierra Leone (2006 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 (2006 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 90 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 95.16 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 84.69 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 49.5 years
male: 48.34 years
female: 50.7 years (2006 est.)

Total fertility rate:
5.79 children born/woman (2006 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:
degree of risk: very high
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea,
hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
vectorborne diseases: malaria and yellow fever are high risks in
some locations
water contact disease: schistosomiasis
respiratory disease: meningococcal meningitis
aerosolized dust or soil contact disease: Lassa fever (2005)

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); note - 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 long form: Republique de Guinee
local short form: Guinee
former: French Guinea

Government type:
republic

Capital:
name: Conakry
geographic coordinates: 9 31 N, 13 43 W
time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during
Standard Time)

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; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction,
with reservations

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: vacant; note - Prime Minister Cellou Dalein
DIALLO was dismissed on 5 April 2006
cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president
elections: president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term
(no term limits); candidate must receive a majority of the votes
cast to be elected president; election last held 21 December 2003
(next to be held December 2010); 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 in 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 of Democratic Forces of Guinea or UFDG [Mamadou BA];
Union of Republican Forces or UFR [Sidya TOURE]; Union for Progress
of Guinea or UPG [Jean-Marie DORE, secretary-general]; Union for
Progress and Renewal or UPR [Ousmane BAH]

Political pressure groups and leaders:
Student and teacher unions

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,
IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM, OIC, OIF,
OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIS, UNOCI, UPU, WCL, WCO,
WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Ibrihama
Sory TRAORE
chancery: 2112 Leroy Place NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: (202) 986-4300
FAX: (202) 478-3800

Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Jackson C. MCDONALD embassy: Koloma, Conakry, east of Hamdallaye Circle mailing address: B. P. 603, Transversale No. 2, Centre Administratif de Koloma, Commune de Ratoma, Conakry telephone: 30-42-08-61 FAX: 30-42-08-73

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 almost half of the world's bauxite reserves and is the
second-largest bauxite producer. The mining sector accounted for
over 70% of exports in 2004. 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, aggravating a loss in investor
confidence. Panic buying has created food shortages and inflation
and caused riots in local markets. Guinea is not receiving
multilateral aid; the IMF and World Bank cut off most assistance in
2003. Growth rose slightly in 2005, primarily due to increases in
global demand and commodity prices on world markets.

GDP (purchasing power parity):
$18.65 billion (2005 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):
$3.576 billion (2005 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
2% (2005 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP):
$2,000 (2005 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 23.7% industry: 36.2% services: 40.1% (2005 est.)

Labor force: 3 million (1999)

Labor force - by occupation: agriculture: 80% industry and services: 20% (2000 est.)

Unemployment rate:
NA%

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):
25% (2005 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):
17.3% of GDP (2005 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $305.6 million
expenditures: $590.4 million; including capital expenditures of $NA
(2005 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:
NA

Electricity - production:
775 million kWh (2003)

Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 45.5% hydro: 54.5% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001)

Electricity - consumption:
720.8 million kWh (2003)

Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2003)

Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2003)

Oil - production:
0 bbl/day (2003 est.)

Oil - consumption:
8,400 bbl/day (2003 est.)

Oil - exports:
NA bbl/day

Oil - imports:
NA bbl/day

Natural gas - production:
0 cu m (2003 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:
0 cu m (2003 est.)

Current account balance:
$-268.4 million (2005 est.)

Exports:
$612.1 million f.o.b. (2005 est.)

Exports - commodities:
bauxite, alumina, gold, diamonds, coffee, fish, agricultural
products

Exports - partners:
Russia 14.6%, South Korea 11.3%, Spain 10.2%, Ukraine 7.9%, US
6.1%, Ireland 6%, France 5.7%, Germany 5%, Belgium 4.5% (2005)

Imports:
$680 million f.o.b. (2005 est.)

Imports - commodities:
petroleum products, metals, machinery, transport equipment,
textiles, grain and other foodstuffs

Imports - partners:
China 8.5%, US 7.3%, France 7.2%, Cote d'Ivoire 5.2%, Italy 4.7%,
Belgium 4.1% (2005)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$69.83 million (2005 est.)

Debt - external:
$3.46 billion (2003 est.)

Economic aid - recipient:
$237.5 million (2003)

Currency (code):
Guinean franc (GNF)

Currency code:
GNF

Exchange rates:
Guinean francs per US dollar - 2,550 (2005), 2,225 (2004), 1,984.9
(2003), 1,975.8 (2002), 1,950.6 (2001)

Fiscal year:
calendar year

Communications Guinea

Telephones - main lines in use:
26,200 (2003)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
189,000 (2005)

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:
367 (2006)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
4 (2001)

Internet users:
46,000 (2005)

Transportation Guinea

Airports: 16 (2006)

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 (2006)

Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 11
1,524 to 2,437 m: 6
914 to 1,523 m: 3
under 914 m: 2 (2006)

Railways:
total: 837 km
standard gauge: 175 km 1.435-m gauge
narrow gauge: 662 km 1.000-m gauge (2005)

Roadways:
total: 44,348 km
paved: 4,342 km
unpaved: 40,006 km (2003)

Waterways:
1,300 km (navigable by shallow-draft native craft) (2005)

Ports and terminals:
Kamsar

Military Guinea

Military branches:
Army, Navy, Air Force, Presidential Guard (2006)

Military service age and obligation:
18 years of age for compulsory military service; conscript service
obligation - 24 months (2004)

Manpower available for military service:
males age 18-49: 1,852,534
females age 18-49: 1,827,560 (2005 est.)

Manpower fit for military service:
males age 18-49: 1,034,006
females age 18-49: 1,032,885 (2005 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
$119.7 million (2005 est.)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
2.9% (2005 est.)

Transnational Issues Guinea

Disputes - international:
conflicts among rebel groups, warlords, and youth gangs in
neighboring states have spilled over into Guinea, resulting in
domestic instability; Sierra Leone has pressured Guinea to remove
its forces from the town of Yenga, occupied since 1998

Refugees and internally displaced persons:
refugees (country of origin): 127,256 (Liberia) 7,165 (Sierra
Leone) 7,064 (Cote d'Ivoire)
IDPs: 82,000 (cross-border incursions from Liberia, Sierra Leone,
Cote d'Ivoire) (2005)

This page was last updated on 19 December, 2006

@Guinea-Bissau

Introduction Guinea-Bissau

Background:
Since independence from Portugal in 1974, Guinea-Bissau has
experienced considerable political and military upheaval. In 1980, a
military coup established authoritarian dictator Joao Bernardo
'Nino' VIEIRA as president. Despite setting a path to a market
economy and multiparty system, VIEIRA's regime was characterized by
the suppression of political opposition and the purging of political
rivals. Several coup attempts through the 1980s and early 1990s
failed to unseat him. In 1994 VIEIRA was elected president in the
country's first free elections. A military mutiny and resulting
civil war in 1998 eventually led to VIEIRA's ouster in May 1999. In
February 2000, a transitional government turned over power to
opposition leader Kumba YALA, after he was elected president in
transparent polling. In September 2003, after only three years in
office, YALA was ousted by the military in a bloodless coup, and
businessman Henrique ROSA was sworn in as interim president. In
August 2005, former President VIEIRA was re-elected president in the
second round of presidential polling. Since formally assuming office
in October 2005, Vieira has pledged to pursue economic development
and national reconciliation.

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
land: 28,000 sq km
water: 8,120 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, clay, granite, limestone,
unexploited deposits of petroleum

Land use: arable land: 8.31% permanent crops: 6.92% other: 84.77% (2005)

Irrigated land:
250 sq km (2003)

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:
1,442,029 (July 2006 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 41.4% (male 297,623/female 298,942)
15-64 years: 55.6% (male 384,559/female 417,811)
65 years and over: 3% (male 18,048/female 25,046) (2006 est.)

Median age:
total: 19 years
male: 18.4 years
female: 19.6 years (2006 est.)

Population growth rate:
2.07% (2006 est.)

Birth rate:
37.22 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Death rate:
16.53 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Net migration rate:
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 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: 0.72 male(s)/female
total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 105.21 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 115.53 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 94.57 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 46.87 years
male: 45.05 years
female: 48.75 years (2006 est.)

Total fertility rate:
4.86 children born/woman (2006 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:
degree of risk: very high
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea,
hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
vectorborne diseases: malaria and yellow fever are high risks in
some locations
water contact disease: schistosomiasis
respiratory disease: meningococcal meningitis (2005)

Nationality:
noun: Guinean(s)
adjective: Guinean

Ethnic groups:
African 99% (includes 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 long form: Republica da Guine-Bissau
local short form: Guine-Bissau
former: Portuguese Guinea

Government type:
republic

Capital:
name: Bissau
geographic coordinates: 11 51 N, 15 35 W
time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during
Standard Time)

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, NA 1996

Legal system:
accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
chief of state: President Joao Bernardo 'Nino' VIEIRA (since 1
October 2005)
head of government: Prime Minister Aristides GOMES (since 2 November
2005)
cabinet: NA
elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term
(no term limits); election last held 24 July 2005 (next to be held
in 2010); prime minister appointed by the president after
consultation with party leaders in the legislature
election results: Joao Bernardo VIEIRA elected president; percent of
vote, second ballot - Joao Bernardo VIEIRA 52.4%, Malan Bacai SANHA
47.6%

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)
elections: last held 28 March 2004 (next to be held in 2008)
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 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]; Democratic Social Front or FDS;
Electoral Union or UE; Party for Democratic Convergence or PCD
[Victor MANDINGA]; Social Renovation Party or PRS [Alberto NAMBEIA];
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 Popular Alliance or APU; 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, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OIF,
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); note - Guinea-Bissau does
not have official representation in Washington, DC; Guinea-Bissau's
representative in Washington is Henrique Adriano DA SILVA, P.O. Box
33813, Washington, DC 20033, telephone: (301)947-3958

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; the US Ambassador to Senegal is accredited to
Guinea-Bissau

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, offshore oil
prospecting has begun and could lead to 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. In December 2003, the World Bank, IMF, and UNDP
were forced to step in to provide emergency budgetary support in the
amount of $107 million for 2004, representing over 80% of the total
national budget. Government drift and indecision, however, have
resulted in continued low growth in 2002-05.

GDP (purchasing power parity):
$1.171 billion (2005 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):
$280 million (2005 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
2.3% (2005 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP):
$800 (2005 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 62% industry: 12% services: 26% (1999 est.)

Labor force: 480,000 (1999)

Labor force - by occupation: agriculture: 82% industry and services: 18% (2000 est.)